36 days left until the Georgia US Senate runoffs (#4321)

      Trying to inform the Georgia voter about the significant difference between democrats controlling the senate and republicans controlling the senate is the task at hand. Now for some the difference is moot, as they will vote for a republican come rain or shine in spite of logic, reason or necessity. Yet there are still many who vote for republicans who can be shown an alternative if it benefits them in some significant way. I don't know how those numbers break down but any republican who votes for the 2 democrats on the ballot is a victory for all of us. Explaining the differences is the key in how we approach all the voters in Georgia.
     First off, less than 3 weeks after the Biden inauguration, and with a democratic senate, stimulus money for our economy will begin to flow out of our national treasury to help all of us who are devastated by the Covid-19 virus. The contrast if republicans hold the senate is no stimulus money coming out of our national treasury for any foreseeable future. Another point of contention is the unemployment insurance for those who cannot work due to stay at home orders. We democrats want to do again the unemployment expansion that helped all our of work workers pay their bills and still have money left over for life events, much the same as the earlier stimulus bill passed last May.
     Making the case to the Georgia voter that an economic recovery stimulus plan will immediately begin to get to them with a democratic senate should at least get their attention. But there is more. Health care will not be taken from them and instead it will be expanded. Infrastructure jobs will also be coming quickly to us all over America to help reestablish higher paying jobs for our citizenry. Increasing the minimum wage is also something that will happen quickly. Food for our hungry will be expanded immediately after the Biden Administration is sworn in. Help in many ways for our citizens is ready to go when we win these 2 senate seats in Georgia on January 5th, 2021. So let's make the case!

37 days left until the Georgia US Senate runoffs (#4320)

      Other than the last gasps of denial from the trump cabal, the last few days have been somewhat calm and quiet. Which is a first for the trump era. I mean I don't even have much to say about anything this good morning because the news has been overwhelmingly against trump in just about every facet of life. So now I just shrug when I hear trump has been denied once again in court, both in the states and at the federal level. Yet I know I will not really be calm until we win those 2 Georgia US Senate runoffs and finally after Joe Biden is inaugurated on January 20th 2021. Yet I have not felt this at ease in the last four years.
     I want to say here that I think it was amazing what we accomplished as a nation in ending the trump attempt to claim our democracy for his own. Over 80 million votes were cast for Joe Biden and although trump may end up with 74 million votes it wasn't enough by a lot to keep his fantasy from coming true. Never before has a candidate lost with 74 million votes but then again never before has a candidate won with over 80 million votes. This election has been historic and it is just what we needed to end the madness of trump and his minions. A new Biden/Harris administration will be coming soon and when we do get our 2 senate seats in Georgia then a whole now era of putting the American people first will begin.
     The fervor from the last many months has died down now and for most of us it is a well deserved respite. But only a short rest as we have one more job of the highest priority to accomplish and that is winning the majority control of the senate. The absolute necessity of winning the senate is undeniable and for anyone not to be at their sharpest in helping us make it happen is a dereliction that cannot be allowed. Many of our activists have gone to Georgia to volunteer with the senatorial campaigns and many many more of us have given our last pennies to those same campaigns. Getting Georgians to the polls in these special runoff elections is difficult but not undoable. Help us make it happen in Georgia!

38 days left until the Georgia US Senate runoffs (#4319)

      The latest attempt to try to disenfranchise Georgia voters is based on checking every voters envelope with their signature on it to match against every voters voter registration form. A clear way to cause a tremendous amount of unnecessary work while being able to subjectively disqualify certain people's ballots. So if you are in Georgia, make sure that your signature is consistent with your signature that you signed with when you registered to vote. Now I know sometimes our signatures can vary by certain degrees and that is what republicans will be looking for especially in counties where they know it is a heavy democratic voting county.
     I have no doubt that they won't be too particular about signatures on mail in ballots in heavy republican voting counties. So make sure if you do use the mail in ballots that you sign with your normal signature and do all that is required for your vote to count. This special election in Georgia is going to be an amazing process because so much is on the line especially after an already historic election. The momentum is still there for our blue wave, we just have to make sure that it is felt once again on January 5, 2021. The end of the registration period for this special election is December 7, 2020 so make sure that if you are eligible to vote you are registered and with a signature that is easily recognizable.
     The republican party is scared once again in Georgia and well they should be. The enthusiasm for this election is squarely with we democrats as we have the most to gain and the now largest base of voters in Georgia. Meanwhile the republican party is making a disorganized run at solidifying their base to come out and vote with little incentive as will be shown. If we democrats win these 2 senate seats Covid-19 relief funds will begin to flow within about 3 weeks. If not no relief funds will be coming for the foreseeable future. Everyone in America is hurting right now except the wealthy class and there are not that many of them in Georgia. So if the Georgia electorate is hoping for some stimulus relief soon and more economic options in the future they will likely be voting for democrats.
     

39 days until the Georgia US Senate runoffs (#4318)

      Nothing now to distract us from the hard work of turning those 2 Georgia US Senate seats blue. The eyes of our whole nation is on Georgia and that is a good thing. What is true here is that we democrats are solidly behind our candidates of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. Two good men who know how to do their jobs and help the American working middle poor class. I know I am so tired of republicans getting elected and doing nothing for the American people. It has been happening for several decades now and must come to an end! We democrats and like minded independents have to come out and vote in force so as to leave no doubt as to the destiny of our comprehensive national heritage's revitalization.
     The republican party has vowed to obstruct any substantive plans Joe Biden and Kamala Harris wish to promote in order to uplift the working middle poor class so we cannot let republicans keep the majority in the Senate. Most of you know how this works already but here is a synopsis of how this should play out: When we democrats win these 2 Georgia US Senate seats we will have a tie in the Senate with Republicans. The republican party already has 50 seats in their senate caucus and we currently have 48. So when we democrats win these 2 seats in Georgia we will also have 50 seats in our senate caucus, since there are currently 100 senate seats in total. With a tie, the leader of the senate is controlled by the party of the incoming president, who is a democrat. Vice president Kamala Harris would then be the tie breaking vote.
     So in 39 days we will begin to know if we democrats have done enough in Georgia to reach 50 senate seats thus becoming the majority leaders in the senate. There is nothing more important now than these 2 Georgia seats. I wish we had done better in the senate during the election but we didn't and now we have a real chance to rectify that with a resounding and deafening turnout for our 2 great candidates for senate in the newly minted blue state of Georgia. Let us get this done and then the best of who we are as Americans will be able to show itself without obstruction from republicans at every turn!

40 days left until the Georgia US Senate runoffs (#4317)

      I am thankful that we are no longer going to have a selfish cruel idiot for a president. That should about cover it but there is more. I am thankful that we are going to have a president who cares as much if not more about the rest of us than he does about himself. That is the exact opposite of what we still have for the next 55 days until Joe Biden's inauguration. So today as I listen to and see all the thanksgiving day normalcies I will reflect upon the reality that the worst of what has been the last 4 years is about to end and a new beginning toward something special is about to blossom.
     There are still some rough spots we have to get through mostly with the last ditch efforts of trump to derail our electoral process but that is just not going to happen. Then there are the problems we are going to have with a supreme court filled with conservative hacks who put their own agendas above our constitution. But after we win the special runoffs in Georgia for those 2 senate seats and retake the majority those problems will have real solutions to consider. Changing how our elections are manipulated is a high priority and if needed packing the high court to change the current religious based dynamic is another. But overall after we win those 2 Georgia senate seats life will immeasurably improve.
     Now I don't take anything for granted which is why I am on the daily Georgia senate runoff countdown. We have to win those 2 seats in order for the best of all worlds to begin here in America. We cannot have a selfish cruel Moscow mitch dictating the health and well being of all the rest of us if we want a future that has hope and opportunity. So I am claiming those 2 seats for us as if we have already won them while also doing whatever I can to help make it so. My determined stance notwithstanding, those races are going to be a struggle to win but if we democrats show up and vote we stand a better than even chance of winning them. Let's get this done and then really have something to be thankful for!

41 days left until the Georgia US Senate runoffs (#4316)

     An opportunity for an even more competitive Georgia senate runoff is brewing. Not for republicans as they are the ones who are infighting over the fate of trump. Since Georgia went blue as of this election the republican party has been blaming the republican leadership in the state. The republican party controls Georgia and for it to go blue has caused much consternation among the republican party. They cannot fathom that the republican leaders in Georgia were not able to restrict voting and or obstruct in every other way to make sure that republicans somehow had the most votes.
     It is clear that national republicans are pissed at Georgia state republicans for not cheating enough to win. So a schism has occurred with national republicans calling on voters loyal to trump in Georgia to not vote for the 2 republican senate candidates. As some back handed way at punishing Georgia state republican representatives. I am not sure about their logic but then again, it is the republican party so logic doesn't need to be the outline. But what it does is give we democrats more opportunities to win both senate races while republicans are infighting with each other over trump. For me it is a sweet occurrence because anything that helps us democrats get back the senate majority is welcome.
     I could care less about how the republican party goes about it's evolution going forward but as long as they are in chaos for now I am well pleased. Joe Biden needs a friendly senate and house in order to push his agenda through and start to build our economy while defeating Covid-19. As well as making campaign finance laws more equitable to a egalitarian process for one person one vote. The list of things that need to be done and their high priority is long and on the line in Georgia so we need all the help and luck we can get so that the future of our nation is the destiny we want for our better angels.

42 days left until the Georgia US Senate runoffs (#4315)

      Well, the dam of emotions broke in my head yesterday. The final gasp of desperation from trump was laid to rest. His appointed director of the GSA finally announced the ascertainment of Joe as our president elect. So now the transition from an appointed president trump to a real elected president Biden can begin. Joe has not waited while being blocked from his appointment with destiny as he has started naming cabinet level and White House staffing members. The FBI background checks may now officially begin in the process of filling out our depleted executive branch positions. There is much to do here as trump allowed us to become a skeletal executive branch.
     So much good karma now going forward that I think this is what we needed as a political party especially with the Georgia senate elections coming up. The weight of trump destroying our society has been lifted now as the path forward toward Joe and Kamala is real and happening. With that injected invigoration into our mindsets the possibility of us winning in Georgia now is increased because destiny demands it! A manifest destiny if you will that must happen for all the pieces of a great new beginning to fall into place. 42 days until that reality will be realized and I feel a surge of energy just now thinking about it.
     Our great political leaders in Georgia are already working very hard to inspire one more turnout that breaks all records for a runoff election. Georgia is now a purple state with more blue than red so we have the chance to raise Georgia up on our shoulders and declare them the new state of democratic rebirth. A truly remarkable outcome that not even I had the optimism to suggest would be our new reality. What a great day going forward we are in. My optimism is so sky high that I now expect a complete democratic charge to the forefront of all of our national political agendas. Come join us make this new era one we will never be ashamed of.

43 days left until the Georgia US Senate runoffs (#4314)

      I have a friend named Alisha who is heavily saddened by the trump disdain for the death he is causing due to Covid-19. She brought up an important point yesterday in that the toll this period in time is taking on not only the dying but those of us who feel helpless to stop it and is overwhelming us. My emotions are raw and my temper is at an all time high. If possible I would do something to stop it but I am no one able to try anything from where I sit. Short of doing all we can to prevent contracting the Covid-19, there is nothing to be done but wait it out and then set in motion our response to ending this pandemic when that time comes.
     The trumps are on a mission to delay and deny the Biden victory so we cannot plausibly start a protocol early before the inauguration. With how things are going it may well be later than the inauguration that we are able to begin steps to defend against the virus. The trumps are responsible for any delay and should, in a just universe, be held to account for their life debasing actions. Alisha was telling me that her sorrow over this was just getting to much for her and all I could do was tell her that I was here online for her so that at least we could share our commiserations. All of us who have an ounce of sympathy and compassion for those who are most affected by this pandemic are being emotionally crippled by the lack of empathy and supportive action from the trump cabal.
     There are 43 days left until the Georgia US Senate runoff elections so that should be our focus during this time. Keep our heads focused on winning those elections so that on day one the Biden administration can produce the needed solutions to our most vexing and grave problems. I am bone weary at this point after fighting the long battle to oust trump and his minions so there is little left in my tank as to energy and acute awareness but what is left needs to be drawn from to the very last molecule. Alisha and I will eventually be okay like many others who are in the same way. We will get through this but the humanity we all should have in our lives has taken a toll, while too many of us have paid too dearly with grave results.

44 days left until the Georgia US Senate runoffs (#4313)

      The dwindling presence of trump and his obvious demise is unfolding before our very eyes. His attempts to overturn the will of our people from the results of the past election are failing everywhere he is manipulating a different result. Much like denial, it isn't going to change anything no matter how much he keeps believing that it will. Reality will run it's course and the thrashing and throes of trumps will not change it one wit! I am not a psychologist nor psychiatrist and cannot specifically say what it is that trump is exhibiting but from my daily observations as a human being I can say that his behavior is not within the range of normalcy. 
     It is odd that we are seeing a president of the United States act in a way that is beneath the dignity of the office in such a blatant and chilling manner. My personal embarrassment is deep and introspective. Because he was appointed to the presidency during my lifetime when I thought that nothing like him or his enablers would ever hold public office in our great nation. Yet it has come to pass and is now ending. I will say here again that I don't hold myself responsible for his attainment of our presidency but my generation had much to do with it. Which I take as a personal slap in the face from my peers.
     59 days left of this uncaring person and that will be the result regardless of his inability to rationalize the moment. 44 days left until the special runoff elections in Georgia and if it isn't clear to everyone in the state of Georgia just how important it is to show up and vote for both democrats in the runoff elections then we will have the same problems going forward like if trump had not been defeated. There can be no slack in the attention to making sure that all of the healthy minded souls in Georgia vote for a healthy minded America. We can get many things done over the next 2 years but only if we get every eligible Georgia voter to once again come out and vote for the democratic party.

45 days until the Georgia US Senate runoff (#4312)

      I got nothing for today. But that doesn't mean that I haven't anything to say. It just means that my mind is elsewhere on trivial things that are happening to me personally on a small scale. Like chores I need to address that are occasional and not daily. So as my mind is occupied with that, the things of a more national importance have taken a backseat. Yet as is the daily occurrence in the post election/pre inauguration time of trump we have much the same disaster that keeps getting worse. The Covid-19 spread throughout our nation is on the rise in an alarming way while trump is playing golf today.
     He is still not allowing the transition between his hot mess and the new Biden administration. Which is making matters worse in most every way that can be measured. We know now that trump is deliberately undermining the Biden administration as a petty vindictive spoiled brat would. He is so emotionally crushed as to not having been reelected that he is trying to make America pay for our lack of allegiance to him. What he doesn't get is that he is the one who owes allegiance to us! Again I keep hearing that we democrats have got to cave in to playing nice with our republican captors like in a Stockholm Syndrome sort of reality. I don't see it like that, instead I know we need to play hardball with republicans because unlike we democrats who are experts at knowing the carrot aspect of treatment we are too hesitant to apply the stick when it is obviously needed.
     The deaths now from Covid-19 are on pace to reach 2000 a day, every day, for the foreseeable future and trump has all but ignored any solution other than waiting on a vaccine. I have no sympathy for him nor his enablers in the US Senate and state governorships and legislatures who refuse to address a stimulus package to help we Americans who have been ravaged by Covid-19 due to inept and reckless policies republicans have deployed. I try not to think about the anger I have within me toward them as my own heathy outlook is in jeopardy of becoming diseased with a reverse hatred that will linger far beyond this awful time that is left in the trump era.

46 days until the Georgia US senate runoff elections (#4311)

      Another day closer to the runoff elections in Georgia and another day of chaos for the republican party in Georgia. As Georgia is prepared to give it's certification today for Joe Biden winning Georgia, trump and his allies in the White House are still claiming voter fraud in Georgia. Now remember, Georgia is a heavily dominated republican controlled state so as the national republicans from the White House continue to defame the state republicans in Georgia, the tension mounts. Pulling at the seams of their republican political party fabric is ill timed with so much at stake for republicans in the US Senate.
     The timing couldn't be more perfect for we democrats as after just winning Georgia for the first time this millennium lol. Having control of the Senate is at stake with these 2 Senate runoff elections. In 46 days what is left of the republican party in Georgia infighting like this will only help us democrats at the polls. Now the republican party in fighting is helpful but not the way for us to win. We must register our voters and then make sure they vote in any way that is possible. If we democrats do our job of getting the most out of our electorate as to actually voting then we stand a good chance of defeating a confused and struggling republican party.
     This mess that trump is creating in what should be the transitional period between he and Biden is playing out in Georgia and not in a good way for republicans. Most of the republican base may well still vote for their 2 republican senators but they are not going to add many more to their ranks from Independents who in all likelihood cannot stand this divisiveness and poor acceptance of the reality of the presidential race the republican party is creating. The lack of maturity and the disrespect that not only trump is showing but as these 2 republican senators, who are tied to trump in many ways, by extension to them as well. The upheaval that trump is causing is a major breakdown to inciting enthusiasm within the Georgia republican electorate.

47 days left until the Georgia US senate runoffs (#4310)

      It is beginning to seem like trump will be the determining factor in the outcome of these 2 senate runoff races. For republicans it may not be a good thing. Even some more moderate republicans have to be turned off by the antics of trump to stall and attempt to overthrow our election. They may decide that the republican party is not worth their effort to vote for them in this crucial Georgia election. What Georgia republicans are about to find out is that if there is nothing in it for trump he won't help them get their 2 republican senators elected. That in itself may be enough for we democrats to overcome a republican vote total.
     That trump was already asked and declined to come to Georgia to campaign for the their candidates is a prelude to what they can expect in the very near future as this election day on January 5th 2021 draws near. What all the rest of us have already known for more than 4 years is that trump is all about what he can get out of anything he does. Since he has already lost the presidency what is the incentive for him to campaign for colleagues who would want to move into the senate? Maybe the republican power players in the national party will try to lure trump to Georgia with some hidden bestowal that would move trump to reconsider his initial denial of help?
     I don't know what will happen in these last 47 days but trump does have the ability to rev up his base to come out and vote so these republican senators in Georgia are at risk of losing trump's momentum. If they have to run on their own policies they are in trouble. Which is why they need trump to scare up the most voters for them. The republican party and their allegiance to trump cuts both ways as he is so childlike and filled with tantrums when he doesn't get his way, which is the presidency. He may well sit out this special runoff election while he calculates his own best options for the future. That he lost Georgia is another reason he may not want to come to Georgia where his feelings were hurt. lol.

48 days until the Georgia US senate runoffs (#4309)

      The rot and pettiness of the republican party is on full display now that the election is over. We are finding that the frivolous lawsuits being filed against the election outcome by trump are nothing but a smokescreen to try to justify their inability to admit defeat. Not only that but the way some high ranking republicans have gone about trying to throw out valid votes cast by democrats is likely criminal. Yet as we know there is no one at the moment to hold them accountable while they remain in power during this, what is supposed to be a transition period. However in 63 days we will have a transition regardless of how stubbornly inappropriate republicans are making it.
     Then we will serve justice to those who have flaunted laws for their own purposes as a new administration that will not tolerate selfishness will begin. Begin it will as there is nothing the outgoing hot mess of hatred and thievery can do to stop our democratic process. The thrashing about in the throes of fear are all the trumps have left to do. What they can do for the good of our nation is to disappear from view and make their peace with their eventual judgement. Yet that is not what they will do and instead they are letting their arrogant privilege guide them at all costs. Without being reinstalled as president, trump has some serious allegations to defend himself against now and the thought of that must keep him awake at night.
     I cannot tell you his exit strategy but it won't be an honorable one. That time has come and gone since his first days in office when he began his march to a lifetime presidential appointment. But instead our democracy won out and for all his bluster and bombastic rhetoric he will be regarded as nothing more than a petulant wanna be tyrant who even failed at being that. He has not yet been uninstalled out of our lives but we did complete the process to begin his departure. For that a great weight has been lifted from our shoulders and our minds rest easier at night because of it. When he is officially gone the gasp of fresh air from me and the rest of us will symbolize a victory truly earned.

49 days until the Georgia US senate runoff elections (#4308)

      There isn't much to say about the Georgia runoff elections except that they are a work in progress. 49 days until the actual election though leaves plenty of time for our forces on the ground to get those 23,000 or so newly eligible voters registered for the runoff election. Plus get our regular and irregular voters ready with their plans for voting. The deadline to register for the January 5th runoff election is December 7th. The mail in option is available for this runoff election so there are some steps to take to make sure those who can will have a mail in ballot and those who are not sure or know they have not applied yet can access the Georgia Secretary of State website to either sign up for mail in voting or register and then sign up for mail in ballots. Keep track of your ballot option is also available. Here are several helpful links:
     https://www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do 
     https://georgia.gov/how-do-i-register-vote
     https://sos.ga.gov/admin/files/Absentee%20Ballot%20Fillable%20form%20820.pdf
     https://georgia.ballottrax.net/voter/
     The links for donating will be added here as well. Each of us must do what we can to help our democratic party win these seats and that means leaving nothing left to feel guilty about not doing. Like I said yesterday, unless specifically asked to participate in Georgia to help with the registrations, walk in voting, or mail in voting the best we can do is support our friends in Georgia both monetarily and with helpful suggestions where applicable. Here are some donating links:
     https://warnockforgeorgia.com/
     https://electjon.com/
     https://newgeorgiaproject.org/  Associated with Stacy Abrams.
     https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fair-fight-1
     I hope this link today is helpful to all who are concerned and directly involved in the Georgia runoff elections. Good luck to us all who want a US Senate that is lead by a democratic leader.
        

New countdown, 50 days until the Georgia US senate runoff elections (#4307)

      I am bone weary but it seems that just getting to our general election wasn't enough to let us rest from our task. These Georgia runoff elections won't be until January 5th 2021 so we all must keep our minds set to doing what we can to help out with a double victory for us democrats. Because of Covid-19 it is suggested that our activists do not flood the state of Georgia looking to help on the ground in registering voters or making sure registered voters show up to vote. There are about 23,000 coming of age newly eligible voters who could not vote in the November 3rd 2020 Georgia presidential election but will be eligible to vote in the January 5th 2021 runoff election. Getting those young folks registered and primed to vote will be one strategy to employ.
     However there are enough human democratic forces on the ground to handle the logistics in order to get us a victory there but monetary resources are needed. That is where our national democratic concern can really play a part in giving us the best chance to turn both those republican senate seats blue. Stacy Abrams is there coordinating with the democratic forces nationally to best utilize whatever advantages we have. So being patient and letting those who know direct all of us would be in our best interest. I have given and will continue to give what little financial help I can because there can be no question as to how important it is for us democrats to control the agenda in the senate for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
     We democrats have the House and the Presidency so controlling the agenda of the senate will give us a chance to bring legislation forward that will serve the majority of Americans who voted for change from trump and republican control. Getting control of the senate would also allow us to fill judgeships with objective jurists who put our constitution first before any other consideration. Which is the point of us having a constitution by which to be governed. So much is at stake still that even though my bones ache and my mind is sore from the lack of our nation's intellectual prowess we must soldier on as to victory if we are to become the nation that the majority of us and the world expect us to be.
     

Democrats ask what's in to for us, republicans ask what's in it for me (#4306)

      In a nutshell this is the difference between the two political parties. Now you may say to yourself that in a dog eat dog world republicans have the correct approach. But only if you are advantaged and privileged. If not then you would be wise to think like democrats in several ways. First, you show that you have empathy toward those who have struggled and fought for very little outcome. Secondly, you show wisdom in that you may well have a bad circumstance befall you and leave you disadvantaged and unprivileged. But most of all it shows that your concern for our society is greater than any one person or group of persons.
     I have been part of the privileged advantaged set my whole life but I choose not to be a member in good standing. Because I know pain and suffering in the day to day disappointments that real life shovels on those with little or no way out. I have seen the bullies beat the weak and been unable to respond to stop it. I have seen my mother cry when she couldn't give us children the things we desperately needed. I have seen my father work himself to the bone in order to feel like he is a good man. Our society has so many flaws that enrich the wealthy while penalizing the poor. The dog eat dog mantra is a result of those manipulating capitalism in order to maintain their status.
     Merit should always be the deciding factor in defining success. Being creative and innovating should be encouraged not subdued and stolen. I am not advocating socialism here, I am advocating for a form of capitalism that embraces all not just the wealthy. The era of privilege and advantage is ending and the new era of opportunity for all in all walks of life is bursting upon our society so we should embrace it and let it do it's magic. I am so tired of the archaic and antiquated paradigms of suppression and obstruction. Let freedom of equality be our judge and let the work ethic and creative imaginings of this freedom determine our worth. Make it so!     

How badly do we want it? (#4305)

      The senate runoff races in Georgia will go a long way toward defining this moment in time. Will we go back to getting nowhere like the last 4 years or will we leap into our new future with our grasp on the wheel? The coming elections in Georgia will tell us all we need to know by the end of counting the votes there after the election on January 5, 2021. The importance to we democrats is immense and the importance to republicans is that they will be able to continue to stifle progressive legislation. If on the other hand we democrats force our will and take those senate races then the real change to America will begin.
     Let me list some of the ways. The national minimum wage will increase to a livable one like at least $15 and hour. The health care law that is always under attack from republicans can be expanded and made ready for all to secure. Campaign finance laws will be remade to stop dark money from entering our elections. Civil rights adjustments to secure the vote for all Americans can finally be implemented. Equal pay for equal work as applied to women will also become the law of the land. A much needed stimulus package to aid all of us in varying ways to protect us from the ravages of the unchecked trump Covid-19 virus. Immigration reform that solidifies dreamers to a pathway for citizenship as well as their parents.
     Setting up an infrastructure plan that transitions us to green energy and making efficient dirty energy until it can be phased out. The job creation alone will help revitalize our society into a much larger middle class. Of course most of this is contingent upon removing the Covid-19 threat with a national plan of attack, as we democrats have a fluid plan to apply. The gun violence and racial inequality issues are also front and center of our agenda and creating opportunities for justice to be applied when violators are caught and tried. The future will either be solving problems or letting them simmer. The 2 senate races in Georgia will tell us all we need to know once they are voted on.

The inevitable is coming (#4304)

      The trumps are slowly being backed into a corner and they are starting to feel the pressure. More republicans are coming out and stating that Joe Biden should be receiving intel briefings. This step forward toward the legitimacy of the Biden presidency is a step away from trump and his denialist strategy. We know trump knows he lost but for now trump finds it more advantageous to himself, not our country, to play along with his "I won" narrative. He is raking in the dough from his duped followers and for trump that is a salve he can accept.
     However, the rest of us in our nation are being disserved by trump's selfish ploy and as of yet we have had no demonstrable harm, however harm is just waiting to appear if this continues. Today should mark some change in the trump obstruction of Biden as Arizona has now been called for Biden giving him 290 electoral votes, which is too much a climb for trump to overcome. So expect even more pressure to come from trump financial supporters like sheldon adelson, who told trump already that he should concede. If trump fails to heed the advice he is being given from his own corner he will soon learn that everything has a price. In this case a price trump will have to pay that he will not like.
     So the inevitable is coming like that light in the tunnel screaming down the track toward the opening it has earned and deserves. Joe Biden will be given his due and nothing trump does will change that. All this talk of a coup and or some kind of refusal to concede will only hurt trump and the republican party, it will not stop the duly elected president who will be sworn in on January 20th. The refusal of trump may well also influence the Georgia senate runoffs where democrats will have a real chance to reclaim the senate majority. That election is just 43 days from now and if trump keeps on acting like a petulant child he will undoubtedly convince moderate Georgia voters that anything republican at the moment is a shameful and undemocratic path.

The Covid-19 dilemma (#4303)

      With trump still running our government for the next 69 days the fact that he has given up on abating the virus leaves us Americans in a very dark place. Without a national plan to not only make personal protective gear available widely against Covid infections, but to ameliorate it's spread, the death and sickness rates we are now experiencing will continue to get worse. All because trump has other more important things to do that are not related to protecting our nation from all kinds of threats. I fear that the viral spread will continue to expand while we Americans are forced to keep our economy moving because the republicans do not want to pass stimulus help to allow us to shelter for a while so that we can get a hold of the virus and contact trace where it has grown most.
     So what we are left with is the republican control in the senate stalling any help to we Americans to keep ourselves safe in the face of the republican inability to accept the seriousness of the deadly Covid-19 attack. The republican party is responsible for all of this and their response has been to allow Americans to die as a result. What are we to do except to accept our fate until the Biden administration can be sworn in. Joe can get everything ready to fight against Covid but he can't implement any of it until he is sworn in and in the meantime trump and mcconnell will continue to sacrifice American blood. The fact of this is terrible but it is the reality we are living in.
     For myself I have not given in to any relaxing of Covid protocols to keep myself and those around me safe. In the meantime while we are dying left and right we need to make sure we get every vote possible out of Georgia so to take the leadership of the senate away from the republicans. The importance of that is to be able to pass legislation that actually can start immediately to save lives that otherwise would be lost. Whoever controls the senate controls the agenda so we need those 2 senators from Georgia so as to control the senate for Biden. Georgia is ground zero for our nation and ground zero in our hope to finally control the republican mess of Covid-19.

The drama of trump (#4302)

      Pennsylvania and Nevada are beyond trump's reach so why is he refusing to concede? Several reasons have been floated like he is trying to remain relevant in any way he can by being an obstructionist and also so he can build up his resistance for after the Biden inauguration. He seems to think that his future if not in the presidency lies in the media as a voice for his continuing support. He won't be as regulated as to his comments as a private citizen as much as he is now so expect his rhetoric to become much more bellicose and divisive. Surely though he must know that he will be subject to criminal and civil actions once he is out so how that plays into it all is still yet to be determined.
     All I know is that he is an example of petulance and it cannot be a salve for what ails us, instead it can only be an irritant. We will survive him at this point but not in any comfortable way. For that alone he must be made to pay a price as he is so far destroying the norms of our democracy with impunity. That must come to an end as it does not dissuade any future president from following his corrupting lead. There are 70 days left until the inauguration and trump has not yet allowed for the transition from his failed administration to proceed to Joe Biden's administration. The pettiness involved in that is historic!
     Yet despite all that trump may obstruct on he will find himself bare when January 20th rolls around. Joe will be sworn in and there is nothing trump can do to delay that. Once that happens and if trump is still obstructing then the hypothetical scenario where trump's belongings are thrown out onto the White House lawn become reality. We may be behind on getting out ahead of things because of trump and his arrogant stubbornness, but knowing Joe Biden as we do he will quickly get things going in the correct direction. The time of trump is over and as he tosses and turns in his throes of despair he will be gone and that in itself makes for all his foolishness bearable, albeit, totally unnecessary.

It appears no stimulus deal until after the inauguration (#4301)

      I had hoped that there would be a smartening up with republicans about the real devastation Covid-19 is spreading but I am just being foolish. I hadn't expected them to give in to reality but I sure was hopeful after the election gave we democrats more of an agenda to get things done. But no, mcconnell hasn't changed nor will trump in his desperation aimed at his own troubles. The republican party is about as worthless as ever and yet still too may of our citizenry gave them another chance to screw us over once again. Like groundhog day it seems like too many republican voters are immune to reality.
     Yet we democrats have a chance still to take the senate with elections in Georgia and we need to focus on them for now if a stimulus package continues to be obstructed by republicans. I know we would have a bare minimum advantage when we win those two Georgia senate seats in early January but being the party in charge of the agenda and also able to submit judges for approval is a critical get. If we are able to get a couple of statehoods for DC and Puerto Rico then we can expect a larger democratic pool of democratic senators, thus giving us more leeway to change the legislative filibuster and add seats to the judicial system. Among other things that need immediate attention.
     All of this is going on in the foreground of the trump administration not allowing for the GSA to approve the transfer of power to the Biden administration. I fear that the trumps have a plan whereby they deny the election and hold fast to their idea of them still being in charge beyond January 20, 2021. A coup if there ever was one here in America. I know this much, that if that is what the trumps consider their plan it will be met with something far greater than indifference. The greatest mistake our nation has ever made within our borders less the Civil War was to appoint trump to the presidency in 2016. Now how do we get rid of him after he has been voted out is another problem we will have to resolve.

Keeping America (#4300)

      I had been asked many times in the recent past what would happen if trump was reelected. I never gave an answer because I never put any thought into the question. Kind of like when people ask me how I would like to die. I don't care to muse on things that are not of any value. So my ignoring of that question about trump being reelected has become moot just like him. What I did though was put thought to how we can improve our democratic base. To me we need to reconnect with rural voters. I have been putting out ways for us to do just that by forming think tank like commissions that actually listen to rural voters and help them help themselves.
     Problems going forward are in need of solutions not hypotheticals that are moot. This is how we evolve and energize progress. We all have problems and we all need to be heard about them. That is the purpose of our elected officials, to make our lives better while maintaining. Now working to expand our base should never take the front seat to taking care of our current base. But we do have the capacity to not only help our base who got us to this point but to also broaden our base by listening and creating solutions. We have the capacity once again to do more than one thing at a time. It isn't a one or the other thing, it is an all inclusive thing that all of us can marshal in concert with each other.
     We are an amazing species with memory, both long and short term. We have the ability to be logical with our reason, analysis, and concluding. But probably even more amazing is our ability to project our foresight out to imagine as a way to push the envelope on what is possible. There is nothing our species cannot do when we give ourselves the permission to try. These past 4 years have been a prime example of how we got in our own way and that we are no longer faced with that as our future we have to grasp our true manifest destiny of democracy in action. Equality, fairness, justice, and the pursuit of happiness for all is now before our feet and we need to take the steps forward to claim them.

The national nightmare is finished (#4299)

      There are still 73 days left of trump to endure but yesterday marked the milestone by which our collective psyche rebooted to a more perfect place. The lifting of the millstone from around our necks is complete and nothing going forward will ever have such a traumatic demoralization effect again, at least not in our lifetimes. Four years of oppression is nothing compared to the centuries of oppression the black race has had to suffer so we who are not black have just been given a dose as to why the Black Lives Matter movement is real and powerful. The hard lessons of these last 4 years, that have been taught, has awakened a part of our society that had been indifferently sleep walking through time and space.
     Today when the sun comes out and shines down upon us the feel of it's warmth should be the most welcome refreshing we have had for what seems like a timeless era; those of us who are still able to enjoy it's pleasure. Many are not with us who have been less fortunate in this time of a Covid-19 virus that has been allowed to flourish by an incompetent ego maniacal type grifter. The basking in celebration of his defeat is normal and should be experienced because if we don't at least take a moment to acknowledge our successes, what is the point after all? But a moment is enough and then back to the hard work of replacing our oppression with the opportunities we should all share in.
     If there is one prescient subject we must all imagine it is that we can never allow our democracy to be at risk because we were too callous or ignorant of it's frailties. The guard at the door is us and we must never sleep if we are to protect the treasure of our most perfecting hopes and dreams. That we are alive and have such gifts of mind, body and soul is extraordinary so it stands to reason and logic that we would build a society that honors such gifts and allows for building up of the knowledge and foresight we are so capable of expressing. That will only happen if we are living within a democracy where equality, justice and the pursuit of happiness are equally measured as a starting point for all.

Plus 4 days since the election (#4298)

     As the votes are still be counted the amount of them left to count has shrunk down to a minimal amount. Yet the major news outlets are being slow in declaring a winner. Part of me thinks that they are holding back calling some of the states because the drama is making them a boatload of money. Hey, capitalism is the name of the game right? But I find that that thought is somewhat shallow. The reason is that I can see that their caution makes sense logically considering the closeness of the race and the stakes involved. So like I said in my opening sentence, the amount of ballots left to count have dwindled down so far that the calculus is becoming impossible to ignore not to distinguish a call for a winner.
     This is where we are now with the count. Today sometime we will get to the point where at least 2 of the states will be called and the overall winner will be determined. That winner will most likely be Joe Biden because he is the leader in these last still counting 4 states and he needs the fewest amount of states to achieve the 270 electoral college threshold. Pennsylvania is at the cusp of being called and should likely be the first of the remaining states to be called hopefully before noon today. Because the 20 electoral votes are enough by themselves to put Biden over the top of the 270 threshold. If Pennsylvania is not the first to be called today then at minimum there needs to be 2 states called before Joe can reach the 270 target.
     This dragging out of the winner has been a bit excruciating but all told it is somewhat satisfying. Because the alternative is that trump would have been reappointed and that would have been the worst gut punch any of us could have had to endure. Yes, even worse than the gut punch we got in 2016. The last 48 hours has been obvious to those of us who are watching the vote count that Joe Biden would eventually be declared the victor, well at least most probable. That it has been such a long drawn out process has given everyone time to get used to the fact that Joe, in my opinion, will be elected as our 46th president. What happens to trump going forward after Joe is inaugurated is less important to me than what happens to our citizenry and the progress that we can make.

Okay, so instead of yesterday, today is the day for Joe and Kamala (#4297)

     There are 75 days left in the trump theft of our democracy. I say that with the utmost confidence despite no one is calling Joe Biden the next president. Because for one I am not restricted by norms or protocols that exist in a world of caution. Secondly it is plain as the nose on my face that Biden has taken Georgia and is about to jump ahead and then pull away from trump in Pennsylvania. That doesn't even take into consideration the leads in the late voting for Joe in Nevada and Arizona. This election is done except the final tally and the declarations of victory. Yet there may be some miracle out there for trump but I just don't see it within the known possibilities.
     Sometime today as the last votes are coming in the world will see that Biden is the next president but don't expect to hear that from trump because he lives in an alternant universe between his ears. But despite trump and his inability to be humble the reality is that Joe and Kamala will be our next president/vice president. It took us many twists and turns to get to this precipice but getting here was the ultimate goal. We didn't do so well in the Congress but we have a pathway to still take the senate. As to the makeup of the individual state legislations we will have to wait to see the final outcome a week or two from now. It is important because of the census and the redistricting because of it.
     Even this morning the talking heads are flirting with the inevitable by resigning themselves to a likely Biden victory without saying he has won. Which is fine for now because the numbers are the final arbiter in all this and the numbers are not lying about being heavily favoring the Biden/Harris ticket. How we move forward today when the final nail is inserted into the trump coffin is beginning to become clear. The trumps are thrashing about in the throes of denial and that is how we will go forward. Their last gasps with court challenges and bluster from stages and microphones is all they have left. The stages and microphones won't get trumps any votes and as the majority of the legal world sees it, their court challenges are just as bad an idea.

Today is the day for Joe and Kamala (#4296)

      The 4 year long nightmare of trump will end as of the end of day today. He will still be president in the lame duck session for 76 more days but for no longer after that. I have been holding my powder on calling the election for Joe, but not anymore. The verdict is about to be given and trump will be found lacking. These last few days have been a real rollercoaster ride of emotions inside my skin and I know it is with the many of us as well. But the struggle has been worth it as the outcome is that trump is now going to be a one term appointed president and his pernicious crew along with him. I may be out ahead of the corporate prognosticators but they have different restrictions than I do.
     It is obvious to me and others that the numbers are adding up for a Biden victory in several still contested states. Georgia and Nevada will go blue soon today and then later Arizona is a real good possibility. The vote in Pennsylvania will take longer to count but the trend line for those votes will be heavy for Biden. Maybe tomorrow or Saturday Pennsylvania will be called for Biden which would just be icing on the cake as Biden today should be declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election. Now with Georgia and the heavy vote coming in for democrats the senate race between Ossoff and the republican will be forced into a runoff.
     With 2 runoffs for senate in Georgia set for early January the likelihood of a democratically controlled senate is still within reach. Today will go a long way toward alleviating the anxiety we all endured on election day/night. If we do end up with a Biden presidency and control of the senate and house the outcome we all wanted will be realized. However we get to the finish line getting to the finish line is the goal. So if things keep going the way they are then my call for Joe and a 2nd senate runoff race is on the way to becoming a fact. Now I know that any one who attempts to read the future on these races that are left are really just showing they are foolish but with enough convincing evidence out there I feel confident that Joe will win and Ossoff will go to a runoff.

The day after (#4295)

      I have no enthusiasm for posting today which is why I need to post today. Yesterday was not a good day for me nor too many of us. We had some hope that was surely tamped down last night however by this morning it had risen back up. I don't want to talk about numbers or strategies but instead just about how I perceive our nation on whole as of yesterday. We have real problems that are not being understood. I heard a talking head talk about how we don't listen to each other thus the angst we have toward each other. His comment struck me in a way that I find profound. 
     I was thinking that the rural vote seems to always go against we democrats. The reason is I believe that we are not hearing the rural community about what is going on in their lives. So the solution seems simple to me. We democrats need to design a commission that listens to rural voters about what help they need to make their lives better. A national rural policy that we democrats can fit together like a jigsaw puzzle that can cover the needs of the many differing rural communities without being negative. Our rural community needs things that only they can communicate because they are the ones living their lives. A rural community policy commission.
     We may not be able to do a perfect fit for all but we can at least try to work as hard as we can to give the best effort possible. The idea of an urban committee and a metropolitan committee would be wise to create along with a rural community committee. We can make life easier for all our citizens but we must pave an avenue to address it. We have to listen to each other in order to bring ourselves into knowing how we can interact in a way that is positive and full of growth. We can do this but we democrats must do better in finding policies that move our society forward without leaving any of our citizens behind. A lesson learned can be good when the best of what we can be is the reward.

0 days left until the election (#4294)

      It is as if I have been waiting my whole life for this one very critical day. Nothing that has happened in my past has the significance of what this day is about to achieve for me. It is like I have been holding my breath for 4 years and now I am about to let it out and gasp a fresh new breath to breathe. I know I wasn't alone in this warped time moment so to those of us who are of the same, good luck to us all today. I am confident that we will be alleviated from the stench that is trump and move toward a new beginning with the wind at our backs and the sun shining down upon us. What we have been through should never happen again and hopefully our species will never forget the shame of it all.
     I can vividly remember sitting here at my computer 4 years ago, watching the returns coming in and saying to myself what the fuck is going on! I could not for the life of me understand how we could have been so duped by this obvious huckster who could not have been a worse candidate for our nation. Yet the feeling I finally had to let filter over me as a default position was one of well maybe he won't be as bad as I know he is. It didn't take long for me to learn that my wishful thinking was of no avail. He went straight to his worst for us and has not relented since. That he didn't blow us all up is a silver lining in all of this but the heartache, suffering, and death he has caused has been soul crushing.
     But we are now just a few short hours away from the avalanche of voting that will go forth all day long. There are 0 days left to wait for our national election because today it has arrived. I am up here at just after 2am because I cannot sleep with the importance of what is about to happen. I don't want to miss a second of it. I voted very early on so my part in this individually is complete yet I can still encourage others to do their part before this day is over. We as a nation need to make a statement today as well as with the 100 million or so early voters who have already added our voices to our democracy. Today is going to be a day for the ages and I can say I was part of it and the change it will bring. :)

1 day left until the election (#4293)

      24 hours until the voting begins. 24 hours of anxiety riddled time that although things are looking good for a Biden victory the trump dishonesty is still prevalent. Yet deep down in my soul or gut or whatever you want to call it I feel good about what is happening for tomorrow. That trump thinks that he is doing great is just another sign that he isn't. His tell if you will is that he says what is generally the opposite of the truth. Fancy way of saying he is a liar! But let him do the easy thinking that he is about to win while we do the hard work of defeating him.
     Today will be a flurry of activity by both political campaigns and the tell in that is where are they campaigning. The trumps are trying to hold onto the states they barely won in the upper mid west while the Biden campaign is going places that were lost in 2016. This speaks volumes about what each campaign knows is coming. The trumps need to salvage what they can to have a longshot at staying in power while the Biden campaign is trying to bring about a blue wave election. Now the 2 campaigns are not the know all of everything but it is revealing the lean each is taking on the last day of campaigning, less election day itself.
     So my jitters about an upset is just me remembering the not comparable 2016 outcome. Not comparable because then we were too cocky about winning and then lost. This time we are if anything overly cautious about winning while still working to win. Big difference, yet the anxiety is still there which is why I got up at 3:30 in the morning today. I will catch a nap later. It isn't just anxiety I feel either, it is a anticipation like a christmas morning as a child, a sense of accomplishment about to be had. Not arrogance or expectation but a hope that has some real meat, blood and bones to it. I will enjoy this last full day of campaigning by our Biden candidate and in that I hope you will join me.

2 days left until the election (#4292)

      There are just under 48 hours now until we start to begin our voting on the east coast of the United States of America. It is wonderful to be able to say those words since I figured I would have been dust from trumps at the beginning of his appointed presidency. I knew he was capable of being who he is showing himself to be before he connived and hustled his way into our highest elective office. I have been waiting everyday for the hammer to drop on me since I never held back on how much a dangerous wastrel he was from the public sphere. Though I have become less concerned with his ability to actually gravely harm us individually over the last couple of years.
     However, he has found a way to indiscriminately harm us through his negligence with and his "it is what it is" formulation of a Covid-19 non plan. My greatest concern was outside his petty retributions were his control over our nuclear codes. I am still concerned but not as much as earlier in the past. He is too busy now trying to save his own skin from criminal and civil charges that are piling up mighty high. So he has to stay in office for the rest of his life to avoid being held to account. Which also explains why he will say or do anything to keep himself in our highest, in his case, appointed office.
     But what he is finding out is that he cannot baffle us with his bullshit and has no way at all to dazzle us with brilliance. His fate is increasingly becoming clear to the rest of us and to the many surrounding him. He may not care about anything but his own skin but everyone else in his circle has already made secondary plans. Those of us democrats who are still the handwringers of despair who are too afraid to take good news of value will not accept that trump is done and on the way out and that is okay. But for those of us who can handle the logic of reality with a bravado, despite the setback of the 2016 election, we are basking in the knowing that the flailing about by trump is of no consequence to his losing and being just another citizen available to answer for his wrongdoings!