The hypocrisy of the republican party (#2923)

     Where to start. Let's start with trump's wives. 2 of the 3 of them were immigrants. I will just leave that alone and let it stand out as it's own example. But I will say this, if you are white and a good looking woman you can relax as to being included in the immigration ban no matter where you are form with republicans. Next is the overwhelming Christian vote he got during this last election. Now no one would ever have accused Mr. pussy grabber of being a disciple of Christ yet his lying, thieving and cheating were not enough to dissuade Christian voters from calling him their man. So not only is the republican party full hypocrites it is now established that the Christian community is as well.
     Now for the republican party in general. We have the speaker of the house, lying ryan trying desperately to destroy not only medicare/medicaid, but social security as well. Which begs the question why? ryan himself used benefits from social security to advance his education so apparently what was good for him is not good for the rest of us. Hypocrite much?" The worst example of their hypocrisy was when they cut funding for the embassies overseas which then left stations like Benghazi more vulnerable to attack, and then when attack came they blamed democrats because it was convenient just like today's republicans, deniers of their own blame.
     The key here is that republicans like to break what democrats build and then claim that the good that was built by democrats was faulty. It never ends with them. They claim to be for the working middle poor class while campaigning and then destroy that which the working middle poor class needs once in power. I have been sick of them most of my life and have tried to show their hypocrisy at every turn but it seems that we Americans are not smart enough to see through their lies. One final note is the recent immigration ban where the four countries that had citizens directly involved with taking down our twin towers not on the immigration ban, the fact that those four countries have trump hotels should explain why.

Today marks 8 years for this daily blog (#2922)

     I love milestones, yet they are also sad in a way. For two reasons this time. First is because it means I am getting closer to my end and second, because it is after the end of his 2 terms for our last president, Barack Obama. The first one where time has passed and time is closer to it's end is just a momentary reflection whereas the end of President Obama's time has a much deeper sorrowful impact on me. Yes, that's right, I miss President Obama, whom we won't get back, more than I miss the time, I won't get back. It is because our president had brought about civility, decency and an intellectual prowess that exemplified what is best about the human species.
     Sadly, and in a very real depressing way, our current administration led by trump, is about as uncivil, indecent and ignorant as any we have ever had that I know of in the history of our nations past. What we the American working middle class will experience going forward is akin to we having a sleek modern vehicle under President Obama to we now having a old rusty bicycle that has no brakes nor bearings. The times going forward are going to be our latest self induced nightmare that proves to the world that American exceptionalism was a ghost that never existed. We are the living proof that without proper and free education, we will only get worse in our ability to decide our own future.
     Which works out well for republicans as they can now say that we need them to decide for us because we are like children who need to be led for our own benefit. Ironically, republicans are the ones who have allowed our society to collapse in it's overall intelligence factor. So the republicans cause the problem and then come back at us with their solution of them dominating us. It is quite easy to see if we knew how to look at things with objectivity, instead of through our prejudices. So many things to say but I limit my daily blog posts to around 250 words a day. I don't want to fatigue my few readers with rambling observations.

No respecting the illegitimacy (#2921)

     No, there will be no giving of chances. Once one has declared themselves as dirty low down despicable human being, there is no mercy. Mercy may only come about where there is evidence of remorse, otherwise there is only one course of action to follow and that is the utter defeat of those who would be a scourge to civilized society. Not all are meant to be enlightened enough to understand basic human respect. There are those who are born without empathy toward our or any other species. There are those who choose to ignore their empathy toward our and any other species. Those are the ones who have no business being leaders in society.
     Unless a whole group of like minded semi-sociopaths create a path for public office for one of their own, a path that is strewn with the remnants of democracy, then at least there will be no legitimacy. So forward we go into a very uncertain near future that I hope will not destroy our future altogether. I will not stand by and shrug my shoulders and accept what is happening. There is no legitimacy in this current presidential administration. It is a coup of sorts perpetrated upon us by a republican party and their wealthy donors who perpetrated vote suppression tactics, and see America as theirs and not as ours. I am personally sickened by what has been allowed to happen. We have men in high office who cannot see the destruction they are doing to the idea of democracy.
     These men, republicans, are not of a diverse and varied background to understand the brilliance of the melting pot concept. Nor are they filled with a gravitas that is built upon wisdom. We are beset by men who think they know more than they ever will and there is no easy way to keep these men from maintaining public power and then using public power as a cudgel to divide and conquer the majority of us citizens. The stench of their agenda is now in the air for all to inhale. There are no more backroom ulterior motives being bandied about. They are front and center in our lives now and how we respond will dictate whether we ever do get back to being a democracy.

The thorn in my side, impatience (#2920)

     The theme throughout my life spanning the totality of it so far as to a bane, is impatience. If there is one person who can thwart myself it is me. I can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory without batting an eye with the best of them. Only to find out I could have been more patient and seen the error of my way, not as an immediate afterthought, but before I put act to action. It is like, metaphorically, taking a step out before looking expecting the ground to be there but in that instant of actually moving without being able to reverse, I realize the misstep. If I had been just a moment longer and looked down to make sure I wasn't at some precarious edge I could well have not stepped. It has been almost always a choice of mine that I seem to have to rush for a reason I am unable to explain.
     Although maybe it is a metabolism thing where the need to finish or move on is an addictive property that my ego demands. Whatever the reason, I have not learned to overcome this shortfall in my behavior, yet. Although writing about it now will undoubtedly help me find a solution. So much of it is my nature and how I seem to think that I know what is next that I must do and waiting to do it seems irresponsible. Yet I keep proving myself wrong by the too many outcomes that were not what I wanted, waiting for me after my action. Much of how my life has come about to being is a direct result of me jumping the gun and losing something for no other reason than me being impatient.
     Now not all my destiny has been caused by me being impatient but enough of it has so that I have taken note and yet still remain frustrated at it's continuance. However, all that said, if that is the worst of a thorn stuck in my side, well that is not that bad and is something I can change simply by pausing and examining more closely one last time before deciding what action to do. A fixable error in my behavior. I will work on that more now that I have spent the time opening up about it somewhere other than in my head. What I have let slip away though is still a remorse that will remain and that surely keeps me from ever growing an inflated ego.

Existence of self may be progressive (#2919)

     According to quantum theory, it may be well that our consciousness' exist beyond the earthly demise of death. Now it is all just theory but in the core of my being I have always felt that there is more to me than just existing in this dimensional plane. It isn't anything I can prove much like religious folk, it is just a theory based upon some inner compass. This is where the religious and myself, who is not given to religion, somewhat intersect. The idea of an after life has been a clarion call attracting the religious to their beliefs since the dawning of human understanding.
     Which is reasonable to conclude that religion, at the time and to some extent still now, answers that deep seated intuition that we are not just here in this existence as a one time deal. However, where religion and I then leave that intersection is the relative knowledge that life can go on after death without the narrative of a God system. We are a species that has evolved to a critical step in our evolution. We can now delve into the mysteries of our dimension and that which envelopes it with amazing insight through innovative processes. Those being, logic and science. In times past religion was the peace that helped us to realize that our lives had more to them than was known through the concept of heaven, however, logic and science now actually give us the tools to prove how the extension of life beyond this dimension may occur.
     From an idea, to a sequence of being. There is symmetry to we humans moving our faith from blind acceptance to breaking down the equation that helps us to see the actual process. We humans are curious despite many of our cautions. We will get beyond the limitations out there that hold us back from progressing into the natural order of our evolution. It is intuitive to every one of us whether we admit to it or not that this life should have more to it than it has shown so far and that showing is now coming upon us. We cannot be afraid to adapt to it, rather we should embrace it with the the knowledge that our inner core already has.

We must not be afraid to protest (#2918)

     If it is wrong then make it right or at least don't ignore it or go along with the wrong. I must say this I guess, we are all not owed a life here in existence. None of us is without a duty to bring honor or justice to whatever it is that is going on around us. So protesting is just a natural order of things when protesting is needed. Courage is the act of standing for whatever is right. Our military does it when they go into battle. They know the risks to their individual lives but they take the risks because a greater risk to many more must be stopped. There is no escaping our duty whether we try to or not.
     So it boils down to what kind of person are you? That is the person you must decide is worth fighting to keep alive. For myself, I have forgone selfishness and greed in order to maintain an inner peace for myself. Value is weighed in all kinds of different ways but for me value is integrity, respect and above all else good behavior. I have my few commercial items that maintain me within the global family but none of that "pig iron" is more important than any one human being. Although some human beings I have no hope for them becoming decent since they have sold their honor and integrity as a choice.
     Those are the ones we must protest against. The ones who have no compassion nor empathy for anyone other than themselves. When they have power, like what is currently happening, we must all find our courage and make a stand for what is best about our species because this struggle that is beginning as a protest is for the very life of our existence. Make no mistake here, if we don't somehow stop the cruel and brutish nature of our current political leadership, we will find that most all of us won't wake up some morning to the fresh smell of our nation burning to the ground.

Darkest before the dawn? (#2917)

     Unfortunately we are just now heading into the darkness so there will be a time of pain and suffering coming that we have not had to deal with even greater that the last great recession of 8 years past. We will see the chipping away of health care, social security, unemployment, food stamps, women's rights, racial integration, voting rights, access to the Internet... the list goes on and on and when republicans are through they will have done it to all of us, not just we liberal progressives, but conservatives and independents as well.
     The darkness will be horrible and many will perish prematurely from the brutal nature of the republican agenda. The contrast will be the abundance awarded to the wealthy and corporate entities. This will become clear to most all Americans when we realize the loss in our pockets and in our rights within what is left of our democracy. the truth of things will no longer be able to be confused or obfuscated. It is then that we will be primed to change from what our reality is now and to come, to the proper awareness that republicans are just greedy and self serving, not true melting pot Americans.
     In that moment of time we will then be able to unite like never before and undo the past, our present, and begin a new paradigm of American leadership, https://shift.newco.co/https-medium-com-peteleyden-why-trumps-inauguration-is-not-the-beginning-of-an-era-but-the-end-72a86833f0a3. Apparently it is so that we must suffer worse and more brutishly before we can say enough is enough. It is sad that we couldn't just rationally understand this in the logical world without having to live it in the physical world but such is the limited progress of American humanity. The enlightenment of ideas, creativity and modernity is here and will not be denied but how long we Americans allow the denial to persist is the shame we will pass on to our future generations.

Where is the supreme court? (#2916)

     The leadership of the court is with the chief justice, John Roberts, and he has been noticeably absent from the public in defining what is law and what is not. While the new administration comes in and is wholesale abolishing ideas and concepts we have established through the democratic process the Robert's court has been silent. It seems that his republican credentials keeps him from being objective, which the court is supposed to be. It is why I keep saying that our democracy is coming to end. The republican party is on a mission to destroy the best of who we are as Americans, practitioners of liberty, justice and equality and there is no one to stop them.
     Because party affiliation is more important to office holders and court appointees than their sacred oath to defend our democratic nation from subversive ulterior motives. Which leads me to conclude that our way of life is about to be torn down from within. Many of us will be left with choices that are demoralizing and disheartening. We did this to ourselves because we believed the lies of the corporate owned media. Because we failed to even show up and vote. Because we are too lazy as a nation to care about the respect and dignity of each other. Because we put the market place first above human dignity.
     There are so many excuses for why we are where we are today, yet we were the ones who were in charge of our destiny. But we abdicated that to others who are not following the path of our best interests, they are following the path of their own best interests. I really don't think we will survive this coming four years and there is no guarantee that the already rigged system to favor republicans won't become even more rigged before 2020. We may well be witnessing the unraveling of our American experiment and not a peep from the leader of our constitution's supposed greatest defender.

I will never consent to the theft of our democracy! (#2915)

     For those of you who are all to willing to make friends with the republican party despite their cavalier efforts to overthrow democratic principles I say shame on you for not standing up and fighting for all of us. Why do some of you think it is okay to let the rapers and pillagers off without fighting back to protect that which is ours, not theirs? Why? Out of some sense of polite and proper civilized acceptance? I for one will never allow the thieves and liars an inch of respect or cooperation. One of us won't survive but not both! This is the time for saving our nation as a democracy and for you who think we should let the will of the republican party have it's way, disgusts me to no end!
     Republicans literally stole this last election and you want to validate them as if they were honorable and noble. They gerrymandered districts so that republicans were assured of victories in the House of Representatives and in the districts they packed all the democrats they made it difficult to register for the vote and to actually vote. Where republicans had control over states they purged voter rolls to benefit republican politicians while subverting individual rights of democratic voting citizens. While the republicans enjoyed the majority on our supreme court they passed laws that benefited wealthy republican donors so that the media could be controlled by republican narratives filled with confusion and lies.
     Those of you who want to now lay to rest the results of this last election without any emotion aimed at how the results were arrived at are cowards of the worst sort. You roll over and let republicans bully you because your fear is too great. Well, your fear is your downfall and if you want what is left of your life you had better find a way to overcome your fear and being known as cowards and stand to fight. America the brave is not so brave after all is it?

Yesterday was a magnificent day of national protests (#2914)

     We all should be aware by now that trump is more of a dictatorial mindset than a democratic one. So naturally many of we Americans decided to have protests all over the country aimed at denouncing the disparage to women in our democracy by republicans. To say that it was a rousing success would be to understate it. First and foremost the attendance at these protests were the largest gathering of angry protesters our nation has ever seen, http://www.politicususa.com/2017/01/21/womens-march-biggest-protest-history-estimated-2-4-million-march.html. But even more important is the salve it provided to a majority of our nations voters who were devastated by the election results 2 months ago.
     The degree of goodwill that emanated from these marches was palpable. I felt my hope return that we can salvage the living democracy our nation was founded upon. Despite the denial that republican leadership, especially trump, exhibited in the wake of the rallies, we are being energized by the will to squash the cruel agenda the republican party has planned for our working middle poor class. We will not sit idly by and let them take our dignity and respect. Yesterday's marches was a magnificent shot across the bow of the invaders to democracy wearing republican clothes. There will be no hiding their agenda when so many of us are up in arms ready to fight them.
     The deceptive subtly republicans employed in conning too many of us before the voting will not sail now. We are on to them and their attempts to bully us is now laughable. They are supposed to be our elected representatives yet instead they act like they own us. The worst of the disease of insatiable power has afflicted them and we now have the cure for it. We will stand up and not let them lie, cheat and steal our democracy so that they can rape and pillage our society. Yesterday was a magnificent day and a day no one should forget in the ongoing battle against republicans to destroy our democracy!

The trumpocalypse begins (#2913)

     Trumpocalypse, http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=trumpocalypse. There is so much damage trump can do to our democracy and it will be devastating. From losses in our social safety net, many of our liberties, to losses in economic recovery to losses of life and treasure abroad. Our nation's very existence is tenuously in the balance. Sure we have nuclear weapons en mass, but that foretells another loss of our democracy, but that includes annihilation. I am not sure what we can do legally and politically but the republican party has established this nightmare scenario and it will be on them with the help of every democrat to find a way to stop the idiot who now controls the very lives of over 300 million American citizens.
     What massive protests we will have today in Washington D.C., and all across our country, will help serve as a template for our immediate future. We have a president now who won't be swayed by majority public opinion in that he is much like the republican party who have an agenda and despite the cruel and inhumane nature of it. It will be forced upon us regardless of our adamant objection toward it. How have we come so far that our representative government has now become a demanding one? Our democracy is being unraveled by the republican party that wants the power of ruling without the respect of consent.
     Surely they used the system to get elected but only first by gerrymandering, lying and voter suppression. They were skillful in their abilities not to shake the foundation of our society but subtly through our own prejudices and fears. We are in for a soul crushing next four years unless we find the strength to mount such an opposition that the republicans are forced to retreat from their onslaught to make us an oligarchy instead of a our proud tradition of being a democracy. This is no conspiracy theory and if you cannot be convinced that it is happening then you are the enabling primary reason that in four years we will no longer be anything of value for anyone else in the world to aspire to except other dictatorial regimes, that utterly ironically, we as Americans have been fighting against our entire existence.

No remorse, no forgiveness (#2912)

     Let's just set aside the no forgiveness part for a bit and focus on the no remorse part. Having acted badly in my own life I finally had to come to the crossroad where I either changed to a new behavior or old behavior would have ended me. It was at that point where I had lost hope and the will to modify my old behavior in ways that would have helped me stay alive. So it was either all change or let the ride continue down the slope of my ending. There was no reward for my bad behavior and for that I am grateful. If there had been a reward for my bad behavior I wouldn't be here today. So accepting my change and becoming a better human, and the humility that came with it, served as my foundation to try to ameliorate what damage I had already caused.
     The same parallel can be drawn now with our new president. However the difference here is that his bad behavior has rewarded him. In my case I knew I was not going to make it if I didn't change and life would be much harder and more punishing to me for keeping my old behavior. Yet, we Americans have chosen to reward awfully bad behavior with the most noble of jobs in America. Not only will I not accept the outcome as a "good thing" but it is actually an enabling outcome for him. He will take this reward as a sign that his bad behavior is not a bad thing and himself not in any way needing to be remorseful. You do get that right? So now the no forgiveness part.
     For the life of his occupancy in our nations most trusted and honored job, trump will get nothing from me. Absolutely nothing. His bad behavior is not to be rewarded in any way since not only does he not improve his own life and those around him but for the rest of us in this nation we will feel the absurdity and suffering from his leading us as not a leader but as a nasty brutish man who has no moral compass to fall back on. This will be the toughest part of my life and for many the harshest part they ever imagined. I feel sorry for us that overall we were shallow enough as humans to reward criminal behavior with prestige. Well I for one won't forgive him!

The last full day of President Obama (#2911)

     The day has come when you Barack Obama will serve one more wake-up and then be a private citizen again. This is a bit of a special day for me in that nearly 8 years ago, on January 31, 2009, I made my first daily blog post. As a disclaimer, there were 3 days where I didn't make a post but on the next ensuing day of each of those I posted 2, 1 as a makeup and the other as the daily post. but through it all President Obama you were our President. So today is the last full day that I have to post a subject while you, President Obama, are still in office.
     First I want to thank you President Obama for being a pillar of honesty and decency. I cannot say that I agreed with all of your policy positions but I can say that I did agree with most of your policies and above all I fully admire your character to live as an example of grace, strength and dignity. You have showed all of us how to raise children, how to work everyday, and how to care for those who need caring for the most. Your honor to the office of President of the United States is fulfilled with pride and accomplishment. While your own personal educational accomplishments are outstanding and give us the hope that brilliant minds can also be flexible, benevolent and filled with common sense.
     The future comes tomorrow for we Americans and it will not be like the hope for a future we had back on January 20, 2009. Yet we have fresh in our memories what the future should be like and with that knowledge fight back against the forces that would tarnish and taint the gift we have been given over the last 8 years. Well done Barack, you and your family have served our nation as role models that will be lasting and fondly remembered. It is with a heavy heart that I have to say goodbye to you as our President but the honor of having been an American citizen under your leadership is one of the proudest times of my life.

Enlightenment and modernity are our future (#2910)

     What I like to refer to simply as the "space era". We are ready to lift off our planet more frequently with technology that is incredible and sophisticated. I do believe that this is why republicans are so hell bent to stop us. They are too lazy to learn what it takes to live in a modern society that doesn't have the advantages and privileges their prejudices have become accustomed. They would rather fall back into some bastardized form of religion in order to keep the status quo. But their intransigence notwithstanding, we are going into our space era future despite them.
     Oh they will have their last throes of tantrums in the form of trying to destroy what is left of our great nation but not even their destructive ways will save them from the inevitable force of intelligence. I know I have often been gloomy since our last election but it seems that the American electorate that did not vote to destroy our way of life and even some who did are now focusing on making our voices heard in no subtle way, which has given me a rise in hopeful spirit. The great American electorate, voters and non voters alike, are beginning to awaken to the drama we are about to enter.
     The idea that we would not have some of the modern technologies at our fingertips is startling. As republicans wish to change the rules of our society from freedom to subjugation, all are now realizing the sudden and misguided republican agenda and the vast majority are not approving. The ease of our lives is dependent upon government representatives that work as the voice of it's citizens and not as the masters of them. Yet that is our immediate future with republican control. I have always had faith in our society to do the right thing and although we took several steps back this last election we are now fully becoming aware of it and making plans to stop and move forward again.

With trump coming in it is back to the underground "black" market (#2909)

     What republicans refuse to understand is that Americans cannot survive on minimum wages. There has to be more to pay for the necessities in life. So many if not most will surely revert to making money under the table to avoid having to give toward taxes. They have little to no choice when the incoming administration is all about cutting wages and reducing taxes on the wealthy. The idea that the wealthy need a bigger tax cut while the working poor are getting less is unbelievable to me and has always been so. But that is the republican ideology. Make work hard to find for most and pay them little to do it when they find it.
     Republicans say that cutting taxes on the wealthy will create jobs but for 35 years we have seen no evidence of it. Instead we see evidence of less jobs available because the wealthy with their tax cuts don't need to create and expand industry, manufacturing and retail when they are making more money by paying less in taxes. Republicans do not get it or if they do get it they are lying about it. My best guess it is both, with them knowing and lying as the greater probability. Either way whether they know or don't, they are wrong and we American majority working middle poor class will be the ones punished for it.
     So the "black" market will revive and an underground economy will expand so that although the federal republican administration will do it's harm, the black market will help to offset it. All the while the federal and state governments will receive less in revenue creating shortfalls in funds needed for necessary public programs. That seems to be the logical progression of the strategy of republicans, which will entail the killing off of the weakest among us as the price. Such a harsh and brutish fate we face and it is because the ignorant majority among us refuses to believe that being good and having public programs that benefit all of society is better than a survival of the fittest paradigm. We are a sad lot here in America!
     

Prayer is no excuse to justify inaction (#2908)

     Let me first tell you that I am not a believer in any religion. None! So it is with that mindset that I write this. I see so many folks saying that they will pray for some situation or some person and then act as if they had done something of a tangible value. Like take credit when the circumstance or situation is resolved in some positive way or even take credit for a disappointment by saying that they prayed and should get some credit for it despite the negative outcome. Prayer to me is a cop out for the most part. I am no perfect soul so I can't say prayer works or doesn't work but I can comment on the people who use prayer as a way to do nothing.
     Inaction is not served by making excuses or offering nothing of tangible value. Like seeing a homeless person without some obviously necessary thing while you have many such things but pass them by. Justifying your inaction with a prayer for them. It is nonsense to me that if a real need is there and you have enough to help and you don't, then your hypocritical prayers are only a salve on your own selfishness. I have seen so much despair and suffering in my lifetime that the idea of some deity listening and answering prayers is in the realm of fairy tales. The only way I know how to help those who are in despair and suffering is to actually help them in tangible ways like giving of myself or sharing what little abundance I have.
     Funny isn't it that a guy like me, who doesn't buy into any religion, practices goodwill and benevolence far more that those who claim to be religious. The stench of it makes me wonder just what kind of person goes to church every week yet treats others with contempt and condescension? Although offering a prayer is sufficient in their minds but not anything else of real value. I have no problem with those who have a spiritual sense to them but if they are not living with that sense as their main guide to life then their religion is just as hollow as their prayers.

Everyone of us is who we are deep down inside (#2907)

     I was making this point yesterday for the reason why we care that all have something instead of just some. The old saying of "A conservative says, "if it hasn't happened to me, I don't care." A liberal says "this should never happen to anyone, and that's why I care." sort of explains it but not to the heart of it. Where the heart of it is in that we are instinctual beings. I claim that we have two dominant traits, compassion and curiosity. In these two instinctual traits lie all the goodness and ability that we possess. This is who we are, simply put, caring and curious. All things come from these or the lack of them. When we have no compassion is when we are brutish, mean and nasty. When we have no curiosity we are dull and taken with the ruthless game of advantage and privilege in it's place.
     So when we look deep inside ourselves we know who we are. We remember the goodness that was so kind and welcoming. We remember the care that others gave us when we couldn't care for ourselves, and we remember the opportunity to learn from others so that we could understand more about the world we live on and the space surrounding our world. That is who we are, not the chaser of who can be the best or worst toward success. Success is an illusion that although has some advantages and privileges, but remember, those advantages and privileges must be bought and sold with a caveat, not freely given.
     Life is a funny little thing and understanding how to live with who we are is of greater priority then to exist in society doing what others do regardless of the honor and nobility of our species. We are not the part of some machine that grinds despite our first objections, and then resignation. We are a microcosm of our own lives and those of us who would rather live our lives with care and wonder are the shining example of a better age. I know who I am deep down inside and never for a second or more of my life will I ever betray the life I am so honored to live.
     

Taxation without representation (#2906)

     The incoming excuse for a president suggested that states that voted for him would receive special attention from him in the form of jobs, security and services, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2017/live-updates/trump-white-house/confirmation-hearings-trump-speaks-and-vote-a-rama-analysis-and-updates/trump-suggests-states-that-voted-for-him-will-get-special-attention/?utm_term=.9a7fc7853f84. We all pay into the federal tax system and those of us here in California, which rank 46th overall out of 50 states in federal dependency, with 1 being the most dependent, https://wallethub.com/edu/states-most-least-dependent-on-the-federal-government/2700/#methodology, and are a deep blue state that did not vote for Trump are asking ourselves since we are already a donor state in the terms of paying more in federal taxes per dollar than we receive back in benefits and are now going to be targeted even further for not voting for Trump?
     The worm is about to turn and we Americans who are being disadvantaged because of our vote is enough to take notice that our representation is not equal nor cared about. Taxation without representation comes to mind and in that sense we are heading right back to why we even had a revolution to begin with. Although Great Britain was our instigator it now seems that the republican party and it's leaders have taken Great Britain's role. The cause is irrelevant when the effect is the same. I know I will not tolerate being treated any less like any one else in America.
     So here we are at a crossroads with a heavy decision to make. Will we allow a far less than majority voted for president and his gerrymandered and vote suppressing political party treat us as objects instead of humans? I say no we won't and the actions going forward should be to gird ourselves for a confrontation that we must never stand down from. If we do not protect our line in the sand then no one else will and we will surely become fodder for the cowards that think they are alpha.

The unraveling of America (#2905)

     When the worst of us is in charge of all of us nothing much good can be expected. Therefore it is with some resignation that I have to conclude that we are all going to feel some awful consequences. Some much more than others since it will be the working middle poor class that is hit hardest. The compassion in our society is drying up and instead in it's place is an arrogance that flaunts it's wealth while dismissing it's effect on everyone else. The next 4 years are going to be the unraveling of what was left good about our society. What honor and trust that was there will be eroded by the narcissism of privilege and advantage.
     When I first understood that on election night the republicans were going to win, I was already in "I am out of here mode". I still want to go somewhere where a society is about all the people and not just about the wealthy but I know I must stay here and be a voice of opposition and recorder of the coming awfulness so that if America does survive the next 4 years we may be ready to finally end the republican party like we should have last year. It will be to our eternal disgrace that we didn't and the proof of that is about to show itself. We did this to ourselves by not working harder to make everyone understand just how terrible republican politics would be to our society.
     There were many forces aligned against us and for now they are the victors but if our democracy survives we will have an opportunity to reverse what is about to happen and then begin again to rebuild a society that can warrant freedom, liberty, community, justice and equality of opportunity as true motto's of our land. However, I am not hopeful our society will survive to keep democracy in it's mind and heart. The forces that would destroy democracy are in control and they plan to wield a heavy ax on the neck of our future and they will surely slip the knife between the ribs of our dreams.

Alcohol, the great confuser! (#2904)

     It seems that alcohol's greatest achievement is to keep us from focusing on what we need to do as a society. Not only does it take us from our sharp mental state but it allows us to live as if we are not really here. Another thing it does is make us feel less than worthy when we do over indulge and many times leads us to a life that is shameful and demeaning. In the bigger picture, alcohol is keeping us from our rights. It is an appeaser of anger in that it transfers our attentions from what is really important, such as our political and economical life to a mindset "oh well". For many it is the escape from the immediate hell of reality that is only getting worse.
     It really is a gateway drug in that it diverts our attention toward it and it's supplications, such as sports, instead of our politics, where our democracy is being ripped apart by the wealthiest and greediest republican political party ever seen in 240 years our nation. While many are getting a buzz and rooting hard for sports teams, brutish politicians from the republican party are dismantling any and all social programs as quickly as they can. So while our attentions are on sporting events they are swiftly taking from us and giving to the wealthiest. It is happening as I write this and will continue to happen because we are too busy drinking the next can of beer or the next shot of whiskey.
     When history writes of this era, if there is a human future, it will show that we masses were sedated with strong drink while the foxes tore asunder the hen house. We humans are literally on the brink of extinction and we are too busy buying another round of alcohol to notice. We Americans deserve this since we lost track of our courage and succumbed to being inebriated cowards who are being led to the slaughter by ignorant feverish fools who can only see the profit of wealth as their end game. The end game will come for them but it won't be more wealth, it will be the end of the American experiment!

Republicans suppress voter turnout and will never get my support (#2903)

     This is not some baseless claim. It has happened and continues to happen where republicans control the political power in too many states. The aim is clear. https://thinkprogress.org/study-finds-republican-voter-suppression-is-even-more-effective-than-you-think-3b2562ae2f52#.xjop9y2ys. They know their policies are not suited for the American working middle poor class, which is the majority of voting Americans, so they work to make voting hard for we folks. Now some republican voters are caught in their traps but mostly it is democratic voters who are denied their franchise of voting. Through strict identification laws that make it difficult for minorities, the elderly, students and the poor to acquire the "valid" identification republican lawmakers have made necessary to prove that the one voting is the one who's name is on the voting rolls. there have only been a handful of voter fraud cases brought up over the last several decades, http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/08/07/31-in-a-billion-election-expRerts-report-shatter/200359.
     Republicans do not hide that they are trying to obstruct voting for those they deem not American. They argue that there are too many who could be gaming the voting system. How ironic, since it is republicans who are gaming the voting system by deny upwards of millions of citizens of their right to vote, http://www.rightwingwatch.org/report/the-right-to-vote-under-attack-the-campaign-to-keep-millions-of-americans-from-the-ballot-box/. What we are facing here is the republican party doing all it can to deny democracy to American citizens. So when their candidates are elected they are elected by a system they have rigged. I will not tolerate such acts of treachery and for those who say we should get behind the winning candidates I say to them that they are cowards for letting the cheaters prosper.
     Republicans cheat, lie about it, and steal our right to a free and open election. They are cowards who are trying to deny our liberty to vote in our democracy. What will we do about this? Shall we fight against them and make them pay a price worthy of their treachery? Or will we cower in the dark afraid that they may harm us even more. Ashamed is what we should be for allowing them to do this and the only way to stop the shame is to stop the republican party.

The necessity of holding to our valued principles (#2902)

     There is a greater ideal at stake here. Much larger than my emotional needs and economic progress. Who I am inside of me is what I strive to be at all times and although I am human and prone to weaknesses and temptations, I must not lose sight of what makes me tick. There is no momentary advantage or desire that is greater than me sticking with my principles. That is why I will never normalize that which is less than honorable. I will not bow to the lesser of better and best. It is how I am made. I do not accept that which others acquiesce to. I do not accept that which harms or punishes for the sake of punishing or some other nefarious selfishness. I will not tolerate ignorance nor it's defenders.
      "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country".-Nathan Hale, says it best when faced with the ultimate sacrifice. These are not just words for me, they have life in them. I will not allow myself to stand by and let the lesser destroy that which is good. I hope to be able to have the same courage as Nathan if ever I am faced with his choice. But I know I won't follow his lead if I don't cherish the same valued principles that he did. If I am not a hero inside my soul I won't be a hero outside my flesh. The foundation I have within me can never be given away or taken unless I allow it. So when the troubling times come I must be prepared to stand tall and fight hard with all I have so that who I am is justified in being.
     I don't know what happens after death and I don't know what happens before life. I don't even know a scintilla of the knowledge that is available here while my life is in existence. Yet I do know one thing for absolute certainty. I am who I am and if I am going to be who I am then I must live as who I am. I can only do that by not wavering or compromising on my valued principles. Honor, justice, ethics... are but a few, but all things that do no harm and actually increase the better and best of who we are. I will live life on my terms regardless of how others would shackle and control me.

Little donnie cries foul because he's an ass! (#2901)

     Isn't it an upside down world when the one who is causing all the harm is mad because no one likes him? How utterly out of touch does one have to be in order to miss the irony? We have such a mad person upset because he is making most of us struggle even harder against the forces of great wealth accumulation. Is it too much to ask that we be allowed our anguish when we are being harmed? Are we so insignificant that we are not allowed to protest our objections to being crushed by those who wish to take our democracy from us? Are we considered not as human beings with tremendous potential and instead as burdens for the power hungry patriarchal who would dismiss us without a by your leave? Apparently so and while we are being condescended to we are to accept it with a hallelujah!
     I am still dumbstruck by the outcome of our last election and for the life of all that is logical cannot yet come to grips with the thinking that allowed it. My mind will not let me consider such harsh and brutish scenarios as I am an enlightened man who believes that science and the sheer force of will can overcome any problem that confronts us. Yet here we are in this vacuum of an existence that has a man/child now as our leader and his angry, other hating political party in power. The sense of privilege and advantage that I disdain is now the normal, not the exception. The arrogance required to dismiss the will of a majority of American voters is enormous and quite beyond my own understanding as to it's depth.
     So when little donnie cries foul because we are not worshiping his brutality toward us I can only think to say to hell with him and all that he surrounds himself with. I broker no peace with those who only wish that we have less opportunity while thanking him for it. His admonishment of us who dare to call him out for his injustice will be amply rebutted by we the many as long as he continues to think that his narcissistic illusions will be obeyed. His tantrums will no doubt be the legacy of his presidency and our response to them must be legendary.

The resistance is mounting (#2900)

     When Trump becomes president will be the first day of our actual resistance for the next 4 years. January 20th will mark the date and all effort to stymie and ignore the man/child in the White House will begin. There is little we can do as progressive liberals to thwart what is coming but for sure we must resist with all our might. Nothing should come easy to these democracy crushing cowards who now fill the highest seats in public office here in America. All of us will be adversely affected, except the wealthy, by the incoming cabal of racists, misogynists, traitorous and condescending would be demigods and their agenda to make America into a world not unlike the Germany of World War II.
     We have no other choice. We are at the mercy of a man/child who acts and behaves like a grammar school bully. It is beyond hope that after his 70 years on the planet of being who he is that he will somehow miraculously change and become a reasonable statesman. So we must face the fact that those in his party who want more control over our economy and social lives to profit the wealthy and reckless will succeed. We are about to find out what it is like to have little to no hope for a better future even if we are willing to sell our souls to the worst of who we could be. I am not one who will succumb to my animal self that I have tamed and changed into a civilized intelligent person, but surely others will because they are weaker and more prone to fear than many of us.
     Regardless of those who do join up with Trump because they are weak and afraid, the rest of us must never legitimize him, his party nor his policies. The very balance of us even having an election in four years is now in jeopardy and if we don't stay strong against him we will soon find that republicans will maneuver our democracy from free and open to pay for and closed. Don't doubt me as conservative majority supreme court decisions like Citizen's United and McCutcheon are just the beginning to making our elections a pay for play. Do not sit this out liberal progressives, your actual necks may be on the line.

Why ignorance doesn't breed desperation, "the demigod effect" (#2899)

     When some people feel like they are entitled nothing about anyone else matters. Even the ignorant poor have a sense of condescension toward others. It is a psychological upheaval leading to a consternation for those of us who are affected by it. When the ignorant feel like they can take shortcuts through life and skip having to be responsible for their own thinking and doing then we get what we have now. A society of want to be privileged who demand recognition without having to earn it. The demigod effect is how I think of it. Based in some luck of the draw scenario where those who are born away from the of the worst the world has to offer and think that they are special because of it. That is the genesis. Instead of living life as a humble human being they start out as arrogant.
     Arrogance is a breeding ground for privilege and where any advantage can be obtained the thought of being privileged grows even more. We have some of the poorest people living on the planet in our society yet they think they are better than those who actually strive to improve. It is an upside down illogical way of thinking that helps to justify their cognitive dissonance. It, in their minds, doesn't need to be explained it just is. So instead of looking at their lives and saying to themselves I deserve more and need to work to get it, they look at others and say they don't deserve what they got.
     There is no desperation to their lives so therefore no need to change their existence. What replaces what should be desperation in their lives is instead filled with hatred and loathing. I usually call it fear and then cowardice but it is a much deeper a malady. It is their false understanding that they are special and others are not. More so they do not see themselves as ignorant. They see themselves as intelligent without having to prove it. They see life through their personal prism and anything that is outside that prism is just others trying to take what rightfully belongs to them. I live in the world of reason, analysis and then conclusion, you know, logic. Yet these ignorant ones are above such fancy talk and only subscribe to their own distorted sense of privileged understanding.

The cowardice of the American psyche (#2898)

     When less than 1% of Americans are actually involved with our military to protect our nation then it becomes clear that the other more than 99% are devoid of what it is to protect democracy. They have no investment that is life threatening so they become mundane to the idea and numb to the priority. Most all of us have become the frog in the slowing heating up pot of water. We don't realize the slipping away of our democracy because there is no sudden alert to it. It is just a steady dwindling, right under our noses until we get to the point where all of a sudden we are not in a democracy anymore but a plutocracy controlled by the wealthy.
     Since most of us are not in any real life threatening situations concerning the defense of our nation we have become soft to it's defense. Our minds are not ready and able to defend our nation with any alacrity. Instead we have become withdrawn from each other and mostly only interested in our own personal welfare. We are not the united states anymore than we are united in our belief to fight for democracy. We have fallen down in our duty to sacrifice all for the survival of equality of opportunity, fairness and justice, the hallmarks of democracy.
     We fear more than we courage. I know that sentence sounds strange but the idea is there for none to misinterpret. We are living in a society that has been built with blood from the courageous and we are now the inheritors of that great gift. Yet we shirk our responsibility to not only protect it but to advance it. Our generation is the one that shrank from the challenge and embraced our cowardice over our courage. We are afraid of what others think, we are afraid to lose what we have, we are afraid of so many things that our lives are not worthy of the examples of our patriotic fore-parents. We are a majority marginally disgraceful lot and now that we have shown the world how corrupt and diseased our souls are we cannot escape the consequences.

Do not condone mediocrity (#2897)

     Despite the outcome of our last national election, we should never condone mediocrity. Now I know many, even myself included, feel like this last national election was much worse than condoning mediocrity but still it is at minimum that. It is far too easy to deny that we are accountable when in our heart of hearts we know we are. Yet our disposable economy sometimes reaches deep into our souls and allows to us convince ourselves that nothing really matters that much except what is most important to us. It is easier to justify our own wants and needs as they pertain to ourselves than it is to our community and society at large. Sacrifice on a personal level has often been construed with foolish and bleeding heart behavior.
     Yet that would be false! Sacrifice is the duty of all our citizenry and anyone who would scoff at sacrifice is an undeserving degenerate or narcissistic egomaniac. They day we settle for less than what is honorable and noble is the day we begin to bleed out our soul. What is best about the human species is the choices we get to make based upon factors we can control. A little bit of foresight, reasoned analysis toward a conclusion, gives us the advantage of making decisions based upon logical outcomes and not merely guesses. We humans have the luxury of being the only species in the known Universe who control their own destiny without some sovereign species lording over us. We are the sovereign here and when we actually know and start to live like it, mediocrity will diminish to the waste bin of history.
     Well we know we are not yet clear of mediocrity since collectively we cannot seem to step forward into enlightened modernity without falling back into deception and chaos. The unimaginable is waiting for us to discover but we seem to like only being where we can just exist without having to exert any more effort than necessary to survive. Marking time is not a status quo I promote, instead I promote moving forward into the great unknown as most efficiently as possible with no time to waste. It is my nature to be curious and to care about all things, and I am not alone in being a human who has these characteristics. We all do, and when we all realize it then is when the amazing magic of our species will reveal itself.

The era of anti-intellectualism is upon us (#2896)

     We humans are on the threshold of becoming more like our ancestors than the hope they had for us. It is inexplicable that we have allowed this to happen but we didn't recognize the enemy within us until it was too late. I find nothing about what is about to begin as a silver lining. the pain and suffering of going backwards from respecting humanity to abusing it is too monstrous. The era of growing intellectualism is being reversed so that there are less who can dream great dreams and create new understandings. Mediocrity is our new paradigm and as such we will be led around much like herding of the flock.
     Those of us who will fight against the fetters and binders will find ourselves ridiculed and debased for thinking that equality can be achieved. There are too many forces now in power who wish to delineate between who deserves full citizenship here in America and who should be lesser through loss of rights. The era of intellectualism is dying and in it's place is the acceptance of less. America had been a land of hopes and dreams for all those others who were repressed by similar governments bent toward disrespect of human life. Now America itself is aligned with those nations who find that controlling humanity is more profitable to their greedy selves than the idea of making our nation a bastion of democratic principles.
     The darkness that has descended upon us will no doubt take what we have worked all our lives to build and protect and crush the soul right out of it. Our federal government is about to become the playground for the wealthy and the master of those who are not. We let this happen to ourselves because we did not wish to sacrifice our time and energy to continuing the common good of all and instead only wished to take for ourselves without adjusting for the cost of losing our soul. Well it is too late now and the burgeoning selfish will have their way. such is the destiny we have allowed.

When poverty is the desired goal (#2895)

     Welcome to the republican party folks. Poverty, disease and ignorance are what the republican party is striving for. How else do you explain taking retirement in the form of social security insurance from the aged and those infirm? How else do you explain taking health care away from more than 20,000,000 people by destroying Obamacare? How else do you explain wanting to dismantle the education department of the United States? If it were just this it would be enough to prove their agenda but there is more! Like denying women the right to make the same wages as men for doing the same job. Like trying to lower the minimum wage and deny over time pay to workers. Like telling women they must bear children even if they are victims of rape and incest.
     I could go on with many other examples of republicans and their strategy to destroy any middle class of note. Especially since they are taking our social programs and cutting them in order to somehow through their greedy pretzel logic justify giving more tax breaks to the wealthy. Income inequality is already at or near record highs, https://www.thebalance.com/income-inequality-in-america-3306190, but that is not enough. Republicans want the wealthy to control all the wealth and resources of our nation. Soon enough the many of us will less than equal as guaranteed by our constitution because the republicans now control all areas of government, including the Supreme Court where the rights of corporations and money are given equal footing with human life.
     For what is left of the shrinking middle class and growing poor class there is poverty and despair on the horizon. What shall we do about it fellow Americans? Soon the consolidation of power by republicans will be complete and the opportunity for us to mount a defense against the raping and pillaging of not only our nation will begin but the raping and pillaging of our economic and social lives. There is a moment in history where enough actually becomes enough and I am convinced that the time for all we American citizens to take a stand against the republican strategy of more wealth for the wealthy and greater poverty for everyone else is at hand.

Sports teams and racism (#2894)

     I find it ironic in some respects about how many great black athletes are willing to ally their name to teams and communities that are horrific racial discriminators. As if they are not in the same dimension. What does it tell me about these athletes who would lend their acquiescence of racism in order for themselves to have a better chance to succeed? The fans who watch these athletes coexist with racism as if it was no priority have the luxury of hating others while rooting for their teams to win despite the others being the most of the best players on their teams. These fans in the racial communities are being enabled to keep their racism as long as they don't use it against their teams.
     I know how hard it is for for black athletes to sacrifice their futures for a greater good that brings them no closer to their own individual prosperity, yet if they would consider that no matter who they played for they would still be great athletes. In college sports, such as football and basketball, this is quite evident by the success of teams embedded in racial heritage. If each black athlete were to weigh the dynamic of their names being affiliated with discrimination of their communities and states they should realize that nothing will change until they also make a stand against racial injustice. None of us is immune. Even me, a white older man is just as responsible to making our society more equal, fair and just. For me, and it should be for all of us, we are all deserving of respect and dignity when we have not abused it.
     Our nation is so dependent upon our sports to distract us from the very real problems we face in our economics, politics and social lives. Using our sports as a platform to face down racism is an excellent way to further the cause of our most admired and courageous leaders who fought against slavery and racism with their treasure and ultimately their lives. Our great black athletes need to reboot how they think about teams they wish to join not from a personal success advantage but from a stand that faces down the convenience of racism to exist behind the shadows of acquiescence.

The majority will (#2893)

     I know we liberal progressives are not in national power but we are the true majority in this nation. We believe that everyone should have the same shot at the American dream. We believe that equality is more than just a definition, it is a practice. We believe women should have control over their own bodies. We believe in social security as insurance for the last days of our lives. We believe that everyone should have health care. We believe that honesty is the best policy and that money is not speech nor are corporations people. What we believe is simple fair and right. So the idea that most of us here in America are not liberal and progressive as the majority is to deny logic and truth.
     We do have a huge problem with getting citizens to vote and that does need to be addressed in the future with at minimum a cost/benefit process. When we all vote there is no room for the worst of our natures to prevail in our politics. When less that 30% of our population decides the futures of the rest of us 70% it is unreal and unacceptable. So we are now left with a liberal progressive majority that is dependent upon a new government that believes in austerity for the non wealthy and abundance for the wealthy. For the at least next 2 years we can do little to stop this reality except to protest. We can make our will felt against every decision that further strikes the working middle class into hardship.
     The clamor we must evoke is not just for we politically active but for those who sat out the last election thinking that nothing bad could come of it. Well, doing nothing has proven to be a bad choice and the only way to rectify that is to turn from ambivalence and become proactive. We, all of us majority, need to rally wherever we are to stop the democracy crushing republican party from further annihilating the will of the people. The fake news and outright lies of the republican party notwithstanding, we must awaken from the hate and reclaim our liberal progressive roots.