The pro worker decade is here now (#4442)

      With the advent of the election in 2020, and to Georgia's senate special elections in 2021, we currently find ourselves with worker friendly paradigms in government and public opinion arena's. So with little time to waste, we need our legislators to wrangle the best outcomes for workers who have been put on the backburner for decades. The middle class has been so devastated due to republican conservative devotion to the wealthy that the current life support for the working middle poor class is about to run out. At no time in the recent modern history of our nation has a single political party, republicans, been so adamantly opposed to lifting up our poor and lower middle class citizens to reasonably sufficient livable wages.
     The national minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour for more than a decade. So comparing the average price of a new home the last time the minimum wage was increased in 2009 we find a new home selling for less than $230.000. Today, in 2021, we find a new home selling for over $408.000. The price difference is nearly doubled for new home buying while the minimum wage has not budged from the 2009 amount of $7.25 an hour. The idea that the federal minimum sage didn't need increasing to keep up with prices as they increased over the years since the last federal minimum wage hike is ludicrous. This has been the republican mantra all along that the federal minimum wage is fine where it is at or lower, and even worse, many within the republican party want no federal minimum wage at all!
     Like I said earlier is that under republican conservative dogma the worker in the US is more like chattel when slavery was their economic model than independent market suppliers of labor. Enough of this backwards indentured thinking and now is the time to erase it by advancing the federal minimum wage to at least $15 an hour and creating more social programs that supplement workers and their families as they struggle to have a fair and equitable life. We have the votes to do many things and where we are weakest in that link we need to put pressure on those weak links to strengthen their commitment to the majority of American citizens within the working middle poor class.

The white man's calculus (#4441)

      I am a white man. yet I am not like too many white men who think they are owed privilege and advantage just for being white. When I was a child I began to learn about racism. How we whites were kept separate from other non white races. We were inculcated to believe that our heritage of whiteness was a gift from god or some special entitlement beyond human understanding. The luck of the draw as if a last straw defense. Well I am here to say that the initial instructions in our youth were nothing but vanity and racism itself. We were part of a segregating system that flowed from generation to generation without the need to question. Yet for me the question came almost immediately.
     I, in my life of adventure and discovery, found that other non whites were at least the same as me and many times better than me. I wasn't disillusioned from my foundational thinking I was actually relieved that it was only that I was lied to out of fear and ignorance. Because for me, inside, I knew that logic and common sense told me that there is no color line when it comes to being a human being. Examples are all around us in nature. So just as quickly as I, as a white male, was taught to be special I learned and then started living like everyone was special. Our differences as human beings is in our striving to be better people. Some deserve much more accolade for their outstanding merit while others are content to live a satisfactory existence of their own good pursuit of happiness.
     The problem of today is that still too many have not found that the color of one's skin is a non factor. What is a factor is the life within that skin and how that life is lived. The pervasive concept of privilege and advantage as a right due to a white skin tone is not a logical consequence of intelligence. It is rather a diluted concept that has the lazy attribute of ambition without the merit. To change this dynamic of skin tone differentiation we must start at the beginning. Where most all white's my age and older, along with many younger, were taught that a white man's way was the future. Logic, science, nature, and reality will not beg to differ any longer but instead demand that skin tone differentiation be dismissed as illogically racist.

A key union vote in Alabama is ending today (#4440)

      Two years ago a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee tried to unionize but failed as alleged threats of intimidation and violence were claimed by union activists. Under a trump regime that would seem to be the most likely truth given the trump disdain for workers. But this time with the Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama, the threats of intimidation and violence have not been front and center, yet are still alleged. President Biden came out and specifically admonished any anti union intimidation or threats. We will see how that worked out in the next few days as the secret ballots are counted.
     The idea that workers are intimidated or threatened to vote against their own self interest is not a democratic tactic. It is instead a tactic of a bully who wants others to bow down to his whims. Well I hope Alabamans see this for what it is as a false threat that cannot stand against an organized union. Especially with a pro union President and Congress. Even though the state politics in Alabama are heavily republican they are no match for the federal protections unions can avail themselves of. The hard fought right to work in a union is worth the effort. Not only does the pay become a livable wage but a union also protects the safety of workers beyond limited republican state requirements.
     This vote is also to be seen as a referendum on the progressive/liberal policies that are about to become US law with any luck at all. I have been waiting for this vote to end, today, since the Georgia runoff senatorial elections. This union vote is huge and will be a harbinger for things to come in other states where unionizing will get a big lift if and when this union election prevails. Now is the time to begin again with union drives all over the country to help raise the wages of a lot of people to beyond poverty wages. If the obstructing Congressional republicans are not going to raise the minimum wage then bringing about more unionization will surely do much to alleviate the republican agenda of keeping America's workers poor.

The calm before the storm (#4439)

      I expect other than this mornings Sunday talk shows that nothing much will stir the pot until tomorrow. The first meeting in congress on the plan to adopt DC as the 51st state begins as well the push to get an infrastructure bill passed through Congress. The raging filibuster reform conversation will be in the background for as long as it takes to finally skirt its obstructive presence. Today though is a calm one and just as well since the idiots and troublemakers in the republican party are a never ending supply of stupidity and outrageousness. Yet the method to their madness is that they are trying like hell to muddle the waters of democratic optimism.
     Although the lead character in the republican fictional act is not carnival barking at the moment they seem to have picked up his tired message and are rebranding it to fit whatever narrative they can vomit. They are not as proficiently mind numbing as he was so their tired act gets little positive revue. Yet our peacefulness is still disrupted by their actually being in existence so that we cannot "unsuffer". I like making up words as I go to fit my mental flow. :) It is the magic of an enlightened mind and heavy on the light for me. lol. Anyway, the calm today will be welcome as I am in no mood for anything else.
     Hopefully though we may get some good news from some area of concern and being hopeful for that is positive. The rest of this day will be spent relaxing and thinking of what may or may not be which is currently a front burner topic for me. Otherwise I hope we all can get some well deserved rest and peace so that when tomorrow hits we are ready and fortified to keep the battle against injustice, unfairness and inequity going strong. We truly cannot really rest for any lengthy period while the republican party can still dictate terms that deny democracy and attack decency and respect. Yet we do find a moment or two in time to just sit and do little and be really busy at that. :)

We need to take to the streets for the John Lewis voting rights bill (#4438)

      Well it seems that the people of America are going to have to force republican politicians to make a decision, either support voting rights or pay heavily in 2022. With Joe Manchin still resisting doing the correct thing for democrats to move on voting rights legislation the next step for we democrats is to take to the streets. Even if it means we boycott and disrupt our own recovering economy. There are just a few moments in time when doing what is correct will actually solve a myriad amount of difficult problems. Well getting the federal voting rights bill passed into law is one such moment.
     That it has to come to this while we are still battling against the Covid-19 virus is unfortunate and unnecessary. If Joe Manchin would just stop for a moment and consider what former senator Robert Byrd would do in this moment he would realize the transformation Robert evolved to from filibustering the 1964 civil rights act to supporting voting rights. Joe Manchin needs to heed his mentor's progress and emulate it. Until we can get Joe Manchin to sign onto the John Lewis voting rights bill, of which all 49 other senators from the democratic caucus have done, we will not see anything done on the crucial protection of our most sacred democratic right.
     There appears to be no republican senator who would join democrats in voting for the John Lewis voting rights bill. So it will be up to Joe Manchin to decide if he is for protecting voting rights and if he is willing to vote to adjust the senate rules in order to pass it on a majority vote. No matter how many times I try to understand Joe Manchin's position on maintaining the filibuster I cannot reasonably conclude that his argument for it is valid. The old senate would maybe apply but this new senate is not willing to be cordial and productive toward protecting voting rights and instead they are for obstructing and diminishing voting rights. So the Joe Manchin ideal of bipartisanship is not a real thing and only exists in the Joe Manchin illogical take on our current reality.

The pressure is mounting (#4437)

      Yesterday I asked how long Senator Joe Manchin will hold out for bipartisanship. Well today that expected bit of time may have become much shorter. With the draconian voter obstruction law passed in Georgia yesterday along republican party lines, the heat on Manchin just turned up to a red hot level. There is little doubt now that the republican party will destroy democracy and replace it with autocracy. So Manchin is now going to have to come off his bipartisan perch because it doesn't exist. The republican party is going out full guns to make sure they are not denied power by voters in the next election.
     President Biden is already at the point of changing the filibuster or even eliminating it so Joe Manchin should not be far behind. Georgia was just the first republican led state to so restrict voting with many more to quickly follow so the time for Joe Manchin to come to the realization that his stand alone defense of bipartisanship on a voting rights bill that would expand and protect voting rights is impossible. His posturing was admirable for about a New York second but that second has long passed. I expect that Joe Manchin will relent and sign on the the John Lewis voting rights bill and agree to it's passage as his democratic caucus dictates.
     It is inevitable that the John Lewis voting rights bill that has already passed the house is going to become law or we will no longer be a democracy. So choose Joe Manchin because those chairmanships he now holds won't be there come the next election unless he protects voting rights. He has much too lose and if he is the one who allows republicans to retake the house and senate because he has more allegiance to a rule in the senate than he does to democracy itself then he will bring a curse down on himself and his namesakes. I doubt very much Joe Manchin is suicidal so he will bring his endorsement of the John Lewis voting rights bill in short order. The clamor for passing this bill into law in order to protect our democracy will stay at a fever pitch aimed directly at him until he does.

How long will Manchin hold out for bipartisanship? (#4436)

      The truth be told the idea that any republican at this point will willingly be bipartisan is ridiculous. Yet that is what Joe Manchin would have us believe. He has to have an underlying motive to extol this fantasy. That which I cannot fathom from his public remarks yet it is true nonetheless. So what could the motive be for him to act like a republican in obstructing democratic values? I am disappointed in that his explanations are not very deep with considered logic so the only other conclusions I can form is that Joe Manchin is being disingenuous or is not very bright. It is difficult to think that Joe Manchin is not very bright as he has shown an astute political nature over the life of his public career.
     So what is left is him being less than honest with us about his motives. I cannot reckon a reason for him to be so stubbornly glued to the filibuster without changes if he is really a democrat with the same aims as our democratic caucus. He has left some room for change if a serious bipartisan effort from republicans is not forthcoming and I expect at that time he will throw his hands up in the air and say well then it is time to change the filibuster to another form. The theatrics of it all are frustrating though since the time to act is now and not later after once again republicans stall and work to let the time run out on this 117th Congress.
     Joe Manchin holds the keys to our future and he is not letting us get the car started. The pressure we put on him to explain his rationale beyond the bipartisanship angle is what is needed because the longer he has to defend his now becoming more ridiculous stance the sooner he will get to ending his opposition. What all of us who want the filibuster out of the way need to do is keep hammering Joe Manchin with the facts of the filibuster and the sordid intransigence of the republican party. We will get there because I know that Joe Manchin will not want to go down into history as the one person who destroyed America's democracy. Because that is what is at stake as long as the filibuster is held in higher esteem than the fundamentals for democratic rule.

Always hopeful but always factual (#4435)

      I am a romantic at heart and surely at this point in my life will always be one. The heart wants what it wants whether it is possible or not. Yet my hope is always, and I mean always tempered by reality. Reality is the capstone by which I begin and end all my thoughts and behaviors. So you will never know what I wish for or hope for because I am not one to live my dreams instead of living reality. Reality is what you will see when you look at me. Reality may be cold and heartless at times but that is the environment we live in. I can make it less cold and heartless through my acts of caring and questioning but I cannot change the fact of reality's nature.
     Which brings me to what I call the fairy tales. Mostly they are religions or cults that espouse anti reality propaganda. Sure they are attractive as all you have to do is look at all the organized religions in the world to see how many are serenaded into their grasp. The cold heartless nature that exists in reality scares many away from working hard to tame that current phenomenon. So instead too many go the easy route of basing their lives off of anti reality beliefs. I get it surely I do. Yet getting the reason why many do it doesn't make the reason sound of logic. Instead it shows how our species is vulnerable to our frailty. I was once a religious believer in my younger adulthood but as I grew more into the knowledge of reality I shook off the fairy tale and began to build a life founded in reality.
     I know many will not like this post of mine today yet the logic and facts of it are sound. My maturity and growth began when the fairy tale illusion was exposed. It was like the Allegory of the Cave scenario in the book The Republic written by Plato. The young man crawled out of the shadows that he only knew as real and finally saw reality without the make believe filters that were protecting him from his fears. We will never grow as a species until we are able to accept our lot in life without trying to sugar coat it with fairy tales or illusions that are not real. Good luck to our species making the next evolutionary jump out of the safe harbor of fantasy and into the necessary clarity of reality.

The United States, a nation under a mental health crisis! (#4434)

      If it isn't the republican party living in a paradigm of lies then it is their followers who are not all there and doing atrocities as a matter of course. The link between using lies as a political tool that has now become the foundation for foment of crazy killer acts is now obvious. The mental health of our nation is at risk because the lies of the republican party are so in defiance of reality and logic that those who are vulnerable to mental manipulation are easily transformed into maniacal killers. Blaming the innocent for the failures of cunning cowards is now our new normal. The segue from dishonesty to harm is not a new one and cannot be allowed to continue.
     I am not blaming all lies on republicans but the big lies are all republican lies. The deaths from simple minded shooters who can always trace their origins back to some falsehood the republican party has stoked. Until we stop the lies we will never stop the maniacs with guns intent on doing harm. I am no psychiatrist/behavioral psychologist but as a thinking man it is easy to premise the logic to the conclusion that confusing and inflaming the less intelligent among us to do harm is not a leap too far. The mental health of our nation at this moment is not in a good place given all the anxieties of Covid-19 and the unnatural agenda of the republican party.
     We can defeat Covid-19 with proper science and research developments but as to the agenda of the republican party there can be only one solution to their lying and that is to hold them to account for it. They need to be made to stop making shit up in order to hurt the democrats and to rile up their most fervent supporters. The law must have a say in how to tame the republican party from it's incessant stream of mistruths and deviations from reality. Otherwise there will be more events like yesterday in Colorado and still no change in what is still to come. A society based upon facts and lies will not do well in keeping it's citizens from harming each other. So ending the lies is the logical thing to do!

The republican party is still digging a hole over the stimulus (#4433)

      The vast majority of our nation is very happy with the stimulus law that just passed with zero republican votes in the House and Senate. With 76% of Americans supporting the stimulus and even 60% of republicans, the bill had widespread support among all political persuasions https://morningconsult.com/2021/02/24/covid-stimulus-support-poll/. Yet not one republican voted for the bill. So now 21 republican led states are now crying about aspects the stimulus law. So 60% of republican voters want the support of the stimulus law but their representatives are still trying to deny them the relief. To me that is the opposite of what the republican elected officials should be doing but I don't get to order their thoughts.
     To me it is an infighting that has much more to do about denying democrats a victory in passing the necessary, much needed relief than it is about the relief itself. But at what point does the incongruity of their stance begin to whittle away their supporters from the republican party? Think about this, if I were asking you to vote for me and I said that what you want and need most will not happen, how would I expect that you would vote for me? I would have to be a fool to think that doing the opposite of what you expect is a winning message? I am no political prognosticator on an expert level but even I can see that the messaging in the form of stimulus denial can be a winning agenda item going forward.
     I expect that the public case that is to come demanded by republican led states will get no traction and be frowned upon by those whom the law is aimed at for relief. Yet there it is republicans doing to themselves that we democrats would have paid good money to see them do. I mean if the opposing political party wants to destroy their own chances at regaining relevancy then so be it. I have no sympathy for republicans since it is a choice to be one. There is no force that is holding the republican party together other than their own machinations. So keep digging republicans as more of our states citizenry receive the aid they most desperately need. Try and take it back from them once they have already used it to improve their lives without your help.

When might makes right (#4432)

      Not often does strong arming come across as the best option but in the case of ending the filibuster in order to process legislation that is not only needed but wanted by the vast majority of our nation, it is appropriate. The opposition is a gang of anti democratic thugs who would rather steal power from the majority than legislate popular and necessary solutions to problems. So strong arm them out of our way in order to form our more perfect union is the correct step forward. Not all of our democratic caucus is at this point yet but more than 90% of us are and the last bit who are unsure need to learn why the rest of us are not going to stop until the filibuster is either removed or put aside so we can get around it!
     The republican party has not been shy about showing us that they are not going to legislate for the good of we the people so sidestepping them to get our work done is our best option since it is the only option to creating success for all of us, yes, even illogical and intentionally confused republicans. This necessary strong arming is not for selfish, greedy, lusty gain, it is for democratizing our society so that all of us have an equitable start in life to pursue our happiness as the intention of our American Declaration of Independence highlights. The idea that democracy is not for all of us is ludicrous with a Civil War as an example. To the winners of maintaining democracy goes the spoils and for that we are both shamed, that it took a war to change our disgrace, but also humbled that we won the ideal of democracy!
     So all of us who are of the democratic loving mindset, we need to stand up for rights for all and do it without hesitation. Life is not to be skated through without taking a stand. That is the shy cowards way of hiding from reality. Instead we must stand up in the sunshine of reality and muscle up the courage to defend democracy against those from without and within. The time for hiding from our duty to democracy is over and the only course any of us have left is to decide if democracy is going to be our form of government or if a white nationalist form of authoritarianism will prevail. So let us get to work and power the ideals and principles of democracy forward right over the heads of those who won't!

Check in on the Biden Presidency (#4431)

      For those of us who appreciate the peacefulness of quiet and silence, this Biden administration has been the tonic that soothes our souls. I do not wake up in the middle of the night to check to see if trump has retired or expired. Seriously, every fucking night it seemed. The stress of what he was going to do or say every morning when I got up to check the latest headlines was real and a burden. I kept telling myself that we were one day closer to the election, the midterms first and then the next presidential election. It is what sustained me knowing that after how ever many days there were we were going to have a chance to end his reign of indignity, ignominy, and delusion.
     Well we won the midterms which gave us back Nancy Pelosi as the Speaker of the House and her merry band of democracy loving fighters in 2018. That in itself was a salve unlike anything I could have hoped for. We did not take back the senate but with the house we were able to stifle the worst of what trump could have done to us over those next 2 years, not to our enemies but to American citizens. Still though trump had great power over our society and he demonstrated that power whenever and however he could despite his lack of mental acuity. So the daily onslaught of his demagoguery and hate continued but with fewer ways to destroy the will of our good people.
     It all came crashing down on trump in the 2020 general election and that was a satisfying result. For we democrats the election of 2 senators from Georgia into our ranks in January 2021 gave us the senate as we as well held the house. So now Joe Biden is making good on his promises to pass legislation that is badly needed to reimagine our nation after the principles we were founded on. I cannot be more proud of Joe's ability to fight for us and his willingness to embrace the progressive paradigms of equality, justice, fairness, and opportunity. It has only been about 60 days but Joe Biden is standing like a rock against the forces of republicanism that would undercut his unwavering desire to defend our nation and our values.

Skirting the filibuster and raising taxes (#4430)

      The idea that raising taxes in the regular filibuster driven senate is a fools errand. Because raising taxes is part of how the infrastructure bill will need to become law. So unless the filibuster is at least skirted it will have no chance, zero chance of passing when needing at least 10 republican votes. Same with the high priority Voting rights bill recently passed in the house although not with the tax increase component. The whole of the Biden presidency in these first two years is contingent on moving past the filibuster or eliminating it. My preference is to totally eliminate the filibuster for good and then get on with passing the American people's preference for our future.
     The republican party does not want that and in fact are fighting to end the idea of a true democracy. They want a republican patriarchy where only the wealthy and themselves have a say in how our government is structured. As we see in the many states currently republican led legislatures are passing bills to limit and obstruct access to the ballot box for those who are traditional democratic voters. Suppressing the vote is a republican agenda item along with suppressing equality of opportunity for those who are not them. This really is not a difficult concept to understand in that without getting past the filibuster in the senate the Biden administration will not be able to pass any meaningful legislation this Congressional term.
     So what are the options here? If no filibuster reform then no help for the working middle poor class and no improving the state of American society. Nothing will change for the good while the worst of what America is will gain more importance. If filibuster reform is achieved soon then policies that have overwhelming American electorate support will find their way into law. Real change will begin to happen and the American dream of equality of opportunity and the equal pursuit of happiness for all will dominate instead of being impossible. The choice is real simple at this point so how we move forward in the next few months will determine which pathway we take as a nation.

The momentum is still growing for filibuster reform (#4429)

      Yesterday I was more enthusiastic about Senator Joe Manchin than I am today because yesterday he clarified that he is still against filibuster reform so far. Yet in past interviews he indicated he was open to reform. Well be that as it may the rest of the democratic caucus in the Senate is moving toward some form of reform that will give legislation a real chance to pass. Otherwise there will be no legislation passing under the grim reaper moscow mitch's minority watch. If that holds until the 2022 elections then we democrats will suffer some mighty depressing losses. Which is why keeping the pressure on for a filibuster reform is critical for the future of our democracy.
     With President Joe Biden getting behind filibuster reform for the first time 2 days ago we are seeing more and more democratic senators speaking out for reform in some form. As well many powerful democratic figures in the House are also speaking out because they know that without filibuster reform the only other way they will be able to pass any piece of legislation into law is the last usage in this Congress of the budget reconciliation process. The budget reconciliation process can only be used 2 times during a term of Congress which is every 2 years. So if it isn't related directly to the budget, like we were advised about a minimum wage increase not making the cut, then it won't pass by the king of obstruction moscow mitch.
     The only way to get to filibuster reform is to get Joe Manchin of West Virginia to agree. He is the last stubborn holdout and if we democrats are to keep our majorities in the 2022 election then Joe Manchin will have to help us. Otherwise, I know he must know this, we will lose both the house and senate next year. What it will take is everyone making the persuasive argument like Senator Raphael Warnock did yesterday on the senate floor. That our democracy is in peril if we do not defend the right to vote and to do that we must get past the senate rule that can be changed at any time. Joe Manchin has the weight of history bearing down on him and if he doesn't relent and give our democracy a real chance to survive then he will go down in history as the one who put the final nail in the coffin of America's great democratic experiment.

Joe Biden wants filibuster reform (#4428)

      President Joe Biden came out yesterday and said he is for filibuster reform. Senator Joe Manchin has already said he is for filibuster reform. So at least we have a starting point from which to begin the conversation of filibuster reform and what that will look like. Two months ago we were well back from this point so the movement although not lighting fast in real time is in political time, amazingly quick. After watching what happened on the stimulus bill I have no doubt that both Biden and Manchin see the writing on the wall that attempting to negotiate with republicans, who have no good faith, is a fool's errand.
     Both Joes have mentioned the filibuster reform that requires a senator to hold the floor with a speech to attempt to delay a vote. Like the movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". That in itself would cripple the republican advantage of forcing the majority to cross a 60 vote threshold. I would like to see a carve out for voting rights like we currently have for confirming judges on the federal circuit courts and supreme court, as well as on budget issues. It seems very logical as Stacy Abrams has forwarded since the right to vote and accompanying voting issues are fundamental to maintaining our democracy. The social contract of democracy is self rule and when that self rule contract is broken by republicans we no longer have a democracy.
     This 2 year window between the general election in 2020 and the midterm election in 2022 is crucial to getting the Biden agenda accomplished as much can happen between now and then to change the current dynamics of a closely held majority by we democrats to republicans. I don't foresee it but politics is not an easy electoral rubric to predict. Especially considering that the current voter restrictions being advanced by republicans in the states. As well the redrawing of districts into republican gerrymandered strongholds. We must get our democratic agenda passed in the next year and a half  by reforming the filibuster or eliminating it or we gamble on not getting anything done at all.
     

Chuck Schumer said everything is on the table (#4427)

      Last night on the Rachel Maddow show Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that everything is on the table as to how to proceed in getting legislation passed. Earlier this year Chuck said the same thing before the Relief package ended up going to the Budget Reconciliation process which only required 51 votes. Now as that process was successful and no republicans voted for it in either chamber of Congress the idea that another Budget Reconciliation could be used to get an infrastructure repair and replacement bill through Congress becomes even more plausible. As well as possibly a carve out of the filibuster process for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act bill that has passed the House already.
     The importance of what Chuck Schumer said last night is that the democratic majority in the Senate is well prepared to advance the Biden administration goals of reimagining our democracy with all 50 senators on board in some fashion. From Joe Manchin of West Virginia to Bernie Sanders of Vermont, they are in agreement that Congress must get the appropriate bills passed and onto the desk of our President. This is a huge change in the rhetoric that had been coming previous when several senators were hesitant to move bills without bipartisan support.
     Putting America first before putting a handful of republican senators first is the correct approach. We have seen that these republican senators do not represent the wishes of their constituents when it comes to health care, voting rights, infrastructure repair and replacement, immigration reform, police reform and assorted other policies that need reimagined. So putting the American populace first is appropriate and passing legislation that addresses our needs instead of a handful of republican senators is now obvious. What the republican party has done is remove itself from serious negotiations by doing nothing but obstruct and divide. That they think that we still need them is becoming obsolete because of their own disrespect of our democracy and disrespect of the power they were given to be fair and just.

The republican party will kill the filibuster (#4426)

      As much as republicans whine about democrats wanting to kill the legislative filibuster it will actually be republicans who do it. Take for instance the last budget reconciliation bill that provided stimulus to our citizenry, localities and states, plus needed funds for arresting the pandemic. Not one republican in either chamber, House nor Senate, voted to pass the bill into law. Surely they will take credit for it in parts but not one vote came from them to make all of it a reality. The idea that not one republican would vote for the wildly popular law is insightful. Given that bipartisanship is the glue holding together the filibuster, republicans had an opportunity to show even with a handful of yes votes that the filibuster is purposeful.
     But since none of them voted for the stimulus law, we see that bipartisanship is not the glue that holds the filibuster together. Instead it is obstruction that is holding the filibuster together. The needs of the many aren't considered when republicans control the filibuster as the minority. So what is the real purpose then of the legislative filibuster? As many can now see it is just a cudgel used by the republican party to bring harm to our citizenry while undermining the goodwill of the democratic party. Let me explain it this way, it is like getting stabbed in the stomach with a spear and then letting the spear remain within us because of fear. Well the filibuster is the spear we democrats are being stabbed with and if we don't remove the filibuster it will continue to harm us to the point of death.
     Even our most conservative members of Congress are starting to understand that the supposed good of the filibuster remaining is heavily outweighed by removing it. Sure, they are slow to come around because of tradition but the logic of keeping the filibuster for questionable idealistic concepts is being exposed and the arguments for removing it are becoming much more time sensitive and valid. Especially around the new voting rights bill that needs to be signed into law when it passes the Senate. But it cannot be passed in the Senate unless it has a way around the filibuster rule. We will lose our democracy and our one person one vote principle if we do not find a way to pass the voting rights bill out of the Senate!
     

My own personal life (#4425)

      I cannot remember the last time I spent any time thinking solely about how my life is going and what could change. I have been on cruise control for so long that having thoughts of how I am doing are as unfamiliar to me as me thinking about how anyone else should live their life. I gave up that ridiculous judgmental thinking a long time ago. But for myself I have just not had any reason to consider what is going on with me for quite some time. Just cruising through life fighting hard to maintain my own existence and standing up for those who deserve at least that fighting chance. That the bar is set so high for us just to survive is a shame within the true nature of our species.
      I am hopeful that I still have a shot at a greater happiness than the current more or less happy paradigm I have now and for that I am looking inward for revelation. It isn't hard to find since I am a man of simple needs and wants. But as with all things through time there is always a better way to approach things. If I am being a bit cryptic it is because I am still a person of privacy with a touch of superstition. I don't believe in superstitions but sometimes the better course is to not tempt fate but let it happen without trying to move it one way or another. Sure there are influencers involved but fate will have its way no matter my opinions.
     That I am even considering my own self evaluation at this stage of my life is actually a good thing given that there are surprises out there that are not to be discounted. When one lives an interesting life filled with good intentions and behaviors then the possibilities for a better day tomorrow always increases whether they do or not. So being able to recognize something special and do a little preparation for it cannot but be a better or best move for me personally. So I have spent a few sentences not saying much but let me tell you that there is a lot here from my viewpoint and although I am not saying too much I am saying a ton.

The right to vote should be lowered to 16 years of age (#4424)

      As myself as an example, I was ready to vote even before I was 16. As well I cannot say that I was smarter or more intelligent than anyone else who went to school with me except in specific areas where we all had advantages of interest. Mine was above all political. I loved math and science as a rule and letters and art less so but nonetheless I could hold my own on all subjects. Yet back when I was a younger I was well aware of the differences in the political parties and how they affected society. Granted, I was born 1955, before I was aware of Eisenhower's mix of progressive and conservative politics. But I was aware of the stout liberalism of Kennedy/Johnson and then the stark difference with nixon.
     I railed against nixon even at 13 years of age because he was anti working class. He did give us the EPA but that is all the positive I can ever accede to him. I found out later that he lied and thwarted us democrats around Vietnam causing tens of thousands of unnecessary American deaths just so he could get elected. And so it has been since nixon that republicans for the most part will do anything to have power. But back to me being aware of the circumstances of my political growth. The liberal/progressive vision for America has always been centered on the working middle poor class. The improving of life from the bottom up and not the top down. At 16 I wanted to vote so badly that I talked about it at school in our class elections and school student body meetings.
     The thing is that there were others along with me who knew the differences in parties and what they would mean to our future. We were all involved in school elections and taking civics and history classes to sharpen our understanding. We were ready for the challenges that were coming our way because our generation was going to inherent the problems within it soon enough. We were ripe for being involved in the decisions of our nation and although some policies were complex, the voting for representatives who could easily explain them was not complicated. We were deprived of that opportunity to be part of our electorate and for that I have held a grudge against those who thought we were too young to understand our own futures. Shame on them, let 16 year old citizens vote now!

The recovery act (#4423)

      There is a new law in town and it won't be taking any shit from republicans. This new law was passed by democrats with no republicans voting for it. Yesterday President Biden signed the bill into law and today it is going full non stop toward supplying our nation with eagerly needed resources. Such is the shape of the republican party these days when a bill that is welcomed by over 70% of the nation is not supported at all by republican politicians and becomes law without one of them agreeing to vote for it. So no time for republicans who are whining about the scope of the law while it helps put needed resources everywhere in our pandemic riddled economy.
     This recovery act is the first step that the Biden/Harris administration has taken to alleviate the ills caused by the previous corrupt administration. What a momentous achievement in the first 50 days of our new intelligent and caring administration. The good that will come from this will be felt in every corner of our nation. Individuals and entities like small businesses, cities, and states will now be able to come out from under a heavy financial burden to at least breathe some fresh air of economic opportunity. As well will we as a nation begin to see the vaccines hit our populace with increased speed and inoculation options.
     Defeating the pandemic here at home is priority number one while getting resources to our most vulnerable citizens who have had to endure the ineptitude of the previous administration and the hardship they caused unnecessarily. The recovery act will not only defeat the covid-19 virus but it will strengthen our economy with a robust rebound. What happens in the foreseeable future with our other goals of election security, infrastructure repair and replacement, immigration reform and climate change initiatives is yet to be seen but if the recovery act is any indication we will not be too surprised if the Biden/Harris administration is successfully fulfilled, senate filibuster notwithstanding.

The republican leech party (#4422)

      So it took only hours for a republican senator yesterday to claim victory in a part of the Covid-19 relief plan that he voted against. He didn't vote for the program in the bill but is brimming with pride that it passed. So he didn't vote to pass it but is claiming credit for it passing. I get it even though it makes no sense. Because the republican party is like a leech, they attach themselves to a healthy body and suck life giving energy and sustenance from its host. So anything that is a positive thing is now up for claiming as their own if it serves their purpose of doing nothing for something.
     I really didn't expect them to move this fast in claiming the stimulus bill as something they brought about, unless voting against it brought it about which still makes no sense. But history has shown that with President Obama's stimulus bill after the last republican induced disaster, republicans who voted against it also claimed victory by voting against it. It seems that the past doesn't change much in the future with the republican agenda. Vote against something helpful and popular with the American public and then claim responsibility for it's passing even though voting against it. Still it makes no sense no matter how many times I type it and then conclude from the premises.
     So back to the republican party and "what is it good for", like the verse in the song War by Edwin Starr, "absolutely nothing". They vote against the bill that provides relief to most of the working middle poor class and health care for containing the virus, and yet say look at me and say thanks because the bill exists because of me. I am bit hyperbolic but I have no doubt there will be other republicans who see the writing on the wall that they are scum for voting no on the bill and will somehow invert that factual no into an alternative reality yes. The leeching ability that the republican party has evolved to is recognizable, because they have done it before and no doubt will do it again. Actions have consequences so vote to make the leeches go back into the cesspool and out of Congress.

Today the stimulus bill passes the House for the final time (#4421)

      In little over an hour the House will take up the recently passed Senate bill, that was passed earlier last week by the House with some changes made by the Senate, thus the need to repass it in the House today. It may take all day and may even go into tomorrow. Nonetheless the process starts today and then when it passes Joe Biden will sign it and thus the greatest progressive law since I have been alive (over 65 years) will take affect. Much is still to be seen how this bill will intertwine into our society but know this it will be in ways that bring about relief and opportunity for the working middle poor class.
     There are no intentional tax breaks for the wealthy in this bill bill yet republican governors may find ways to take some of the money and give relief to the wealthy anyway. In a perfect world the bill would have been written in such a way as to block such shenanigans by republican governors but time is and was of the essence. Still though this bill will accomplish so much and begin to alleviate historical disadvantages that the working middle poor class have had to endure since the days of reagan. This is the first of what could be many legislative pieces that have the glow of being positive, destiny defining moments.
     The beginning of our future is in motion and today will be a pivot not only ending a lot of poverty and uncertainty in our economy but also fortifying and advancing an attack on the spread and defeat of the Covid-19 virus. A twofer in one. As efficient as one can get with such a major complicated piece of legislation about to become law with little time to spare. Quite an achievement for the Biden administration with absolutely zero help from the republican party as of this typing. We may see a few republican votes in the final House vote tonight or tomorrow but even that is questionable. Regardless though this has been a democratic championed bill that will bring much happiness to the beleaguered and battered working middle poor class in our American society.

What Joe Manchin did on the Sunday talk shows was important (#4420)

      Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has been in the spotlight lately with his demands for bipartisanship at a cost to our democratic majority rule. But if you look at what Joe Biden has been saying, Manchin's demands are within Biden's political scope. Joe Biden has wanted bipartisanship all along. What Joe Manchin is doing is paving a pathway for it. Now that may sound counter intuitive but here is my take on it. Previous to Sunday Manchin had said that he was against filibuster reform of the legislative process in the Senate. He didn't equivocate. Which is where this last Sunday marked an important pivot.
     On Sunday Manchin iterated on all the political talk shows he joined is that he wants bipartisanship to have a chance to succeed but, and this is where the importance comes in, only for as long as it takes to see that bipartisanship is not working if that is the case. Then and only then would he be in favor of changing the Senate rules such that passing important legislation along party lines is allowed. With his statements on Sunday he has effectively drawn a line in the sand for the republican party to cross. Joe Manchin went from he would not change the Senate rules to he will be in favor of changing the Senate rules if republicans keep acting in bad faith.
     The beauty of this is simple and effective. If republicans do not come on board to help pass legislation that Joe Biden promised the American electorate then by damn they will be shut out of the process. At least 10 Senate republicans will now have to show that they are willing to compromise with Senate democrats to pass common sense, fair, just and equitable legislation that is demanded by our citizenry. Joe Manchin has served to be the hinge by which the Biden administration's desire for bipartisanship will swing. I did not see this as an end game but as it became clear it filled me with hope that the burning republican party may now be ready to show that it is rising from it's ashes. Thanks to Joe Manchin and his threat that not working with democrats will further their agonizing inferno.

Two political polar opposite approaches to the pandemic (#4419)

      As you may already know the House and Senate passed the Covid relief bill with only democratic votes. No republican voted for the bill in either chamber of Congress. So to say that the democratic response to Covid is to help struggling Americans not only get their inoculations of vaccines but to get financial help to get through the current economic bottleneck until the pandemic is better under control would be as factual as any statement made. That no republican voted for the bill is another stark fact that helping Americans when in the midst of a pandemic isn't their goal.
     As well in the 50 states, DC and our territories, mask mandates had been either used or partially used to help stem the flow of the virus. Yet now several republican led states are discontinuing the usage of masks as if the pandemic were under control. These states that are doing this are led by republican governors who have been defiant in the face of scientific data and conclusion. So just ignoring Covid seems to be their agenda. Not much of a plan when an attack on the health and safety of our populace. As we democrats who lead in states and at the federal level continue to practice good health and safety guidelines to blunt the spread of the virus we see again the polar opposite approach in how to deal with the current viral contagion.
     There is another election coming up in 2022 and if the leaders who are up for election have found themselves firmly on one side of how to deal with the pandemic or the other it may be wise for we voters to distinguish who is trying to contain and eliminate the virus and who is unconcerned about the viral spread. Now to make this perfectly clear if you vote for the republican party you are voting to NOT care for protecting our society from imminent debilitation and death. Or if perhaps you are voting for democrats then you are voting to protect our society from a virus that can and will be subdued through practicing safe and healthy procedures for the very near future. I, as a logical man know that the democratic approach is the best path forward, How about you?

For the People Act 2021 (#4418)

      The House this last week passed the For the People Act. This is the most significant piece of legislation dealing with voting rights and other important ethics since the original voting rights act in 1965, https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1. Besides the Covid relief bill that will become law no later than this coming week, this For the People Act of 2021 is the highest priority of any bill yet to soon to become law. The Senate will not pas it under the current 60 vote threshold needed so how will this voting rights act affirmatively get past the Senate? 
     Unless there is a way to also do voting rights through a reconciliation process similar to the budget reconciliation process there is only one other way and that is to eliminate or redesign the filibuster in a way that gives the majority vote of 51 the path forward. I am no Senate scholar as to rules but it seems to me that frustration by all who want progress should allow us to make hard decisions that do very good things. Those decisions are in our near future because there is one thing I know for sure is that moscow mitch mcconnell will not let anything of Joe Biden's agenda pass the Senate under the current 60 vote filibuster threshold.
     That frustration that mcconnell will bring out in our democratic leaders should suffice to trigger unity in finding a way around the 60 vote threshold. Especially important is that the For the People Act of 2021 is a direct solution to the republican party and their current rush to restrict and obstruct voting rights of millions of Americans in many states. Making the states comply with this new bill from the House will require the Senate to pass it as well and Joe Biden to sign it when it hits his desk. Only then will these republican plans to thwart the will of the people be extinguished. The republican party knows that they cannot win elections unless they restrict and obstruct voting.

We all reach the end of days (#4417)

      What will we do when we are getting closer to our dirt naps than we are to our births is our decision. I know for myself I want to leave this world in a better place than when I entered it and that for me is nothing new. A lifelong goal of mine since I matured and realized that my own desires and wishes were just less improvement and more selfishness. Sure I need to satisfy some of my pursuits of happiness but not at the expense of others not getting much of any attempts at happiness. I hear and read from folks that since this last election we can take our foot off the pedal of striving for our shared goals. Well I am here to say that striving for our shared democratic goals is a never ending process, our manifest destiny if you will.
     So each of us has to decide for ourselves if we are going to be fighters for the rest of our lives for those of us who cannot fight but are victims nonetheless? Will we be champions of the better and best of humanity in the face of the worse and worst of us? Will we be on par with our founding fathers/mothers in the concept that equality of opportunity and the ideal of non discriminating individual merit need to be protected as a paradigm within democratic principles? Will we fight to be the apple of the eye of our children as they learn and grow to respect and defend democracy like we? Can we accept that the time for working hard to defend our democracy can only be relaxed when all the world is under a democratic ideal?
     None of us is any more special in our humanness than any other. We are all living creatures who are magnificent in our abilities given the most basic growing and learning processes. Until this concept is established beyond reproach then the time for taking a rest is not upon us. I am much closer to my end time than my beginning time yet I know that the fight must continue regardless of the allure of retiring to a false scenario. I know that many say that they have earned their place in the sun with no more care for the world than for it to be a supply for them. I say to them how dare they act like deserving human beings when compassion and curiosity are the drivers of our destiny. When no one is harmed by how our democracy differentiates then their excuses to be lazy and satisfied fall short of the least we should do.

I was reminded this morning of my deceased oldest brother Jim (#4416)

      For the years that have followed since my brother Jim's sudden passing I have not thought of Jim as much as I now realize I should have. He died in 2002 and it will have been 19 years soon enough. But for the first 50 years of his life he was an important figure in my own development. Whenever I had a tough question needing a solution to I went to Jim many times before even my parents. An older brother can give real up to date advice when both of us have gone or are going through similar circumstances. Many a time Jim was there for me to tell me what my options were when I really needed someone to trust. Parental advice is often to hard to get when the subject of current events is not in their wheelhouse.
     Of course as I got older I needed Jim's advice less and less but that doesn't mean that we were without reasons to hang out together. I was real fortunate that Jim was rational and reasoned. He loved science and questioned many things as a rule. Sure he had his quirks but he was curious after life and had an enthusiasm for his family and work that was quite admirable. Even when my life was changing from the hard charging invincible youth/young man to a more mature man Jim was able to help with that transition. His smile or smirk however you want to describe it had his happy mischievous nature behind it.
     I cannot imagine how much more difficult my life would have been without my oldest brother Jim. He left us early with a heart attack leaving behind his wife ad 3 children. Jim did have the best of what it is to be human within him and although he left us early he did leave a positive impression on my life. I still miss Jim and even though I haven't had him at the forefront of my mind lately he has forever influenced who I am and still who I can be. That's correct. Even my future is influenced by Jim as he is still my best example as an oldest brother as to how to be a man and how to love life with more than an eye to my own concerns.

The republican dumbing down of American society (#4415)

      The republican party is not for an enlightened society, they are for an obedient one. If you haven't noticed over the last 50 years it has been the ambition of the republican party to bastardize religion and other mind control paradigms so that they could control how far the envelope of possibilities is expanded in how we think. Since the 1960's, the decade of my greatest growth, the republican party has found that when enlightenment is left to itself the control they can have over it is lessened. They don't like that because if you have figured this out yet the only thing that matters to republicans is control. Sure they like the wealth they can glean from it but the control is the highest priority.
     That is why you see them constantly going against society with their obstructions when improvements to society are promoted. It is why they use religion like a weapon to punish any and all who do not worship at the altar of republican jesus, aka... for now trump. He was the most likely patsy for their ambition and still he doesn't get that he is just a pawn in the game of whittling down the American populace through difficult and hardship laden economic reality and the unleashing of a Covid-19 virus that republicans are at most tepid about constraining. The more of us who die is okay in the bigger picture for them because controlling how we live and think is still number one with them and if they cannot control us then they will allow us to be eliminated.
     I know this may sound harsh but I have lived fighting against the conservative/republican/anti democracy crowd my whole aware life and if you think I don't mean what I am saying here then you have no clue about the chaos in your own life and where it originates from. I feel badly for those who cannot fathom that the republican party is not patriotic to our constitution, when all you have to do is look at the latest voter suppression push by republican controlled state legislatures. Look at the unanimous obstruction to the Covid-19 relief bill where republicans are saying that Americans are doing fine without it. Where republican governors are opening up their states to more Covid-19 transmissions. The proof is all around and the only question is do you want to recognize it?

The death throes of the republican party (#4414)

      They chose to die on a hill of beans. They chose to die for all the real shitty ideals that racists, misogynists and power hungry dopes crave. That they choose to die is all right with me. I live a life that has smiles on my face, not hate in my heart. The color of our skin is not who we are as a species. It is just a variety of difference. We are all different from each other in so many ways that it is no less an ulterior motive for someone or a group of people to focus on skin color as a detriment. The gender of our species is not a determinate in how we view each other detrimentally. Again, we are a species of human beings where there is no template for acceptance other than being a human being.
     The drive by republicans to force our society into a set of subclasses is endless at this point. They don't even bother to hide their agenda when they openly admit in our highest court that unless they have voter suppression they cannot win elections. They actually admit that fact in a bald faced way as if it was unthinkable that all should be able to vote. What is really telling is that the republican party is still beholden to the dwindling trump base of less than critical thinkers and those many republican politicians who are beholden to trump are not able to remove themselves from under his skirt. Remember, trump has lost the popular vote twice, lost the house twice and lost the senate this last election, so why all the fealty if not for cowardice on their part.
     As much as I relish seeing the end of the republican political party that is more fascist than democratic I still feel the pain and suffering they are not ready to stop inflicting on us as they wither. How much longer will this keep happening is now dependent upon our senate democrats who have the power to put the final nail in the coffin of the republican/fascist party. By eliminating the senate legislative filibuster we democrats can then move our nation forward with progressive/liberal policies that are not unduly burdened by a 60 vote threshold. The coming months will show us if this last election was historic or whether it is just another pause in the republican plan to neuter/spay the working middle poor class.

The minimum wage (#4413)

     I cannot for the life of me see how leaving the raising of the minimum wage out of the current budget reconciliation process will not doom the raising of the minimum wage to years of not changing. If there is one law that could be employed as an economic tool to a corrective effect it is raising the minimum wage. For all of my life the minimum wage has been a burden to me and those billion or so of children and adults who have moved into and out of life here in America during my 65 years. For the sake of all that is decent and good the minimum wage must be increased to give the majority of we Americans who are not gifted into life with a silver spoon the ability to have at least a beginning of a respectable life.
     The small minded who are blocking the minimum wage increase cannot possibly fathom the desperation and despair that emanates from the majority of us who have to live hand to mouth with little hope of passing down a better world to our children. The wrong headed conclusion that only the wealthy are deserving a good or great life put capitalism above democracy and that cannot ever be allowed to be the formula for government. Living and working to only remain in poverty is as cruel a policy as has ever been allowed to exist. For the wealthy in our society to be able to control how we the less advantaged and privileged exist is not only wrong it is antithetical to democracy.
     We did away with indentured servitude; we did away with slavery; we did away with jim crow laws. So now we have to do away with a poverty riddled minimum wage that has kept the majority of us from pursuing our happiness because we cannot get away form the trap of working all the time just to survive. Everyone gets that correct? Working ourselves to the weary end to have little more than we had when our lives began is us being manipulated. I shouldn't have to write about this because 90% of us are living this. We know the struggle we have just to exist. We want more but until we the people force our government to improve our lot by striking and protesting it seems it will not change for the foreseeable future.

Late post today (#4412)

      There is plenty of subject matter to post about but I don't seem to be drawn to anything of a public conversation. I think my private life is rushing to the fore of my mind which is leaving me uninterested in forming an opinion on important subjects for today. I guess I can have a day every now and then where the ideas are not robust and plentiful. I spent the day out back working on the siding on the back of this house of mine so that I can get closer to finishing with this 8 year project to redo the outside of the house. I still need to do something about this flat roof but that is a thought for another day down the road.
     As I keep getting older I find that the ability of my previous youthful past has limits that were not as prevalent as they are now. Gone are the days where I could go from sunrise to sunset with little more than a break or two along the way. At 65 years old I have worn this body down to a shadow of it's heyday. But I still have a lot left given that I was a bit of a stud when it came to doing rough framing work. The last of the siding on the back outside is off and tomorrow I will put the new siding on, caulk, and prep for primer and paint. This house has needed so much care since I came aboard that it seems to be a mighty project with a never ending date.
     Yet that is fine by me since I have time now for doing what I can when funds are available. It does hurt to get back into a production mode but it is a good hurt that reminds me of the hard days and nights I use to live with endless energy. Life should be lived on an edge that doesn't deny us the value of a job well done and the fulfillment that brings. I have a few sayings of my own that I use at times, like the one where if I don't come home after the end of a rough framing work day without at least 3 slivers that I need to pull out then I haven't been working hard enough. I know me and no one is a tougher critic on what I can be and what I am. At this stage of my life though I should probably reduce that to one sliver a day. :)