The racists 100 years ago in Tulsa and the racists of today's republican party (#4503)

      I am only going back 100 years here with this and not the totality of the 402 years of racial slavery of Africans on United States of America soil. Because the vividness of the marking that 100 years ago today exemplifies needs to be distinguished with it's own time marker. Those whites in Tulsa who couldn't stand that a community of black folks had gotten ahead in life such that they were examples to the whole country as to how democracy could and should operate as an economic structure that they had to wipe them off the face of the Earth. Racism back then did that and racism today is trying to do the same thing although the targets are far more spread out and indiscriminate.
     The boot on the neck paradigm that too many whites have as they perceive communities and individuals of color has flourished under the trump cabal and is now exposing itself for all the world to see. These white folks have infiltrated our military and our policing administrations such that they are not easily identifiable when they choose not to be. Racism is a culture that is a choice. When one knows that they are being racist and instead of apologizing and modifying their behavior away from racism choose to keep it and hide it when needed. There is not one racist who knows they are racist and can tell themselves they are not with any honesty. They are cowards if they do, hiding behind a lie!
     Cowards, that is what racists are. They have failed as human beings so they lash out at other vulnerable human beings. So 100 years ago today, in Tulsa Oklahoma, a gang of domestic terrorists under the color of authority killed 100's of black folks and burned down the greatest black city in the United States of America to have risen above the slavery that was abolished decades before. The cowardice of certain members of the white race once again reveals itself as they could not stand that folks of previous slave status could out do them in a fair contest to seek and pursue their happiness. Democracy was never a strength of racists then, and neither now as republicans have embraced racists into their party.

The wearing down of Joe Manchin (#4502)

      Since the beginning of our new majority in the Senate, Joe Manchin has been adamant that he will not change his position on keeping the filibuster because it promotes bipartisanship. Well that belief, not fact, went out the window two days ago when barely any republicans voted to create an investigative committee into the Capitol insurrection. Joe was left with little to crow about as the bipartisanship he hoped for never materialized. The rest of us who are not stuck to a senate rule that has it's origins in the old Jim Crow south already knew that the republican party was not going to then, and will not work with democrats now, because what democrats are proposing to do is antithetical to today's version of republicanism.
     The Joe Biden administration is going big on Roosevelt like policies that are specifically, but not entirely aimed at getting the working middle poor class back on track to succeed. This is not what republicans want. Instead, republicans would rather have a very large poor class that is beholden to the wealthy and scrambling to accept low paying jobs with little to no governmental programs as an offset to offer them help. Which is why it always seemed strange to me that Joe Manchin was holding out for some form of bipartisanship when republicans are more than indifferent to his offer. I get that Joe Manchin wants republicans to come back from their corrosive edge but it is nearly impossible given their trajectory.
     So after the January 6th 2021 commission failed to happen, which in all logic should have been the easiest chance for bipartisanship to appear, we got nothing from republicans. Joe Manchin was almost beside himself with disappointment that his republican colleagues in the senate couldn't even find it in their own interest to protect democracy. If one event is about to change Joe Manchin's mind on eliminating the filibuster to any degree it was this vote by republicans to deny a commission into insurrection. Joe Manchin is obviously less naive now and that bodes well for the rest of us democrat/independents as we are getting closer to a truer form of democracy.

You stop an investigation only when you are guilty (#4501)

      The guilty only have one way of avoiding punishment and that is to not allow an investigation into their crime. Such is what we had yesterday with the republicans in the senate who voted not to investigate the storming of the US capitol by their supporters on January 6, 2021. Needing 60 votes to pass the legislation that would have created a bipartisan commission to investigate the full scope of the capitol insurrection, the bill failed because republicans voted against it and then many of them didn't even bother to vote. The democratic caucus in the senate is only 50 senators so they could not reach the 60 vote threshold by themselves that the filibuster rule requires and not enough of the small handful of republicans who did vote for the bill could get it to 60 votes.
     There are two subjects here that are different but very important. First the treasonous stance that republicans in the senate took yesterday is shocking but given their trends not unexpected. They have long been the party of the wealthy and they would just as soon now have an autocratic government than a democratic one. This by itself should give every US American reason to never vote for a republican again but alas that is not how low our overall intelligence of our electorate has fallen. Too many would follow the republican party right off a cliff and stubbornly flip the rest of us off as they were in free fall to their deaths. It is a conundrum as to how to solve this wasteland created by ignorance but we shall endure.
     The other area of concern is the 60 vote threshold needed to even begin to debate a bill for a vote up or down in the senate. This rule, called the filibuster is a self imposed rule by senators to keep their chamber of legislating looking more like the English House of Lords than an equal chamber of government with the House of Representatives here in our government. They, the senate, like to think of themselves as a more serious deliberative body but nothing could be further from the truth. They are an obstacle to democracy instead and until they do away with their impossible to legislate rule the worst of what will happen to our democracy is still to be revealed. Never voting for a republican again and ending the filibuster, two things that all of our electorate should hold as foundational.

Another milestone post (#4500)

      When I first started blogging back in January 2009, I had no idea I would still be blogging in 2021. Well it is today 4500 blog posts and I could not tell you what the hell I have been blogging about except to move trump out of office and claim our human nature as compassionate and curious. Oh yeah, That we are biological data incorporating probes that have long term and short term memory with the ability to reason, analyze, and conclude, with emotional capabilities. Plus we have physical abilities that are constantly being expanded. Other than those things I am clueless about all the flowing streams of consciousness that I have been passing along in these many blog posts.
     Now given today's irrational thinking in the United States by too many I question our ability to be logical as an overall assessment. The absolute laziness of too many when it comes to their own education, probably thinking that they can skate by without putting in the work of learning with seriousness, has likely been the culprit. Our educational systems are too easily manipulated and I personally have seen way to many examples afforded mostly the wealthy. We do not need an ignorant wealthy class but that is what we are currently finding. Which is why I spend a bunch of time blogging about their arrogant irrationality.
     Anyway, nothing really exciting happening this morning except me waiting to see if the senate will pass the "January 6th trump induced white house being attacked commission" but I don't hold out much hope since most all republicans in the senate are culpable in some more than others' ways. But making republicans vote against the commission is a mighty tool for showing the United States electorate that the party of treason and the republican party are one and the same. The examples of that are aplenty but the time for showing that is always right now. So have a great day today everyone who calls themselves a progressive/liberal and the rest of you have some work to do on your own objective educations!

The republican party does not care about poverty or hunger (#4499)

      Talk to any republican and they will tell you that free stuff is the biggest problem in our society. Not hunger or poverty. They do not get that the only reason anyone would make things available to people in need is because we are human. The republican party does not want to help anyone who is left behind in the manipulated capitalistic privileged/advantaged paradigm we are currently being forced to exist in. Which is why my disdain for them is beyond calculating. They are more prone to snobbery than compassion. It is their instinct because they have no clear understanding of economics or democracy outside a dog eat dog, survival of the fittest belief system.
     Their alternate world doesn't allow them to know that merit has been replaced with ruthless and cruel power. They cannot think outside the box because they don't understand what is in the box to begin with. They were taught a certain way of things and not to question that certain way. Instead of critical thinking they have rote thinking. Which is a lower form of intelligence gathering often attributed to the lesser animal kingdom not the amazing human being species. What is even worse is that they cannot tell the difference and will hear no argument that rebuts their rote thinking.
     So sure they are that what they are doing is the best and only way forward we see the dilemma that those of us who are able to adapt critical thinking to new emerging paradigms are faced with. It is like they are stuck with less than modern forms of answers to questions that are light years beyond. It isn't even the same debate as to the subject. So many times people have wondered why republicans cannot understand simple logic. Well it is because they were not taught to consider logic in the face of their foundational remembering. Science, logic, critical thinking are all just tricks for unsettling their world view and therefore they are not be considered.

The republican waste of space (#4498)

     The middle class and below have nothing to expect from the republican party. The democrats have said in no unambiguous terms that no one making less than $400,000 a year will see a tax increase. While republicans keep proposing taxes and fees on the working middle poor class. Democrats do not want those making 400 grand a year to pay any new taxes. The republican party wants those making less than 400 grand a year to pay more in taxes and fees. So you do get that republicans support raising taxes on the less well off while protecting the wealthy from any tax increase? You do get that correct?
     When it comes to exercising our right to vote as citizens of the United States of America there is only us democrats who are trying to protect everyone's right to vote. The republican party on the other hand is trying to weaken voting rights especially in areas where the less well off generally vote for democrats. The republican party is also trying to kick citizens off the voting rolls if they are not actively voting within the republican decided limited time frame. The republican party is also removing drop off boxes in heavily democratic districts in order to make voting harder for those who are fortunate to vote by mail. As well the republican party is cutting back on early voting days so that when citizens do vote they must wait in long lines or give up entirely because it is too hard to receive and cast a ballot.
     When it comes to a minimum wage, the republican party is all about keeping it at it's historic low or even eliminating it entirely and letting the market dictate the cost of human labor. Democrats are trying to raise the federal minimum wage to at least the beginning of a livable wage but have been thwarted by republican politicians. Some corporations are starting to get the bigger picture and are raising their minimum wages to more than double the stagnant federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. The republican party is not about to help the United States of America's working middle poor class and that is fact, not some opinion. Thus, given the above and more left unstated, the republicans are a waste of space conclusion.

It is time for the showdown between democracy and autocracy (#4497)

      The brashness that autocrats exemplify is growing to a crescendo. Which to me means that they are optimistic that they can push democracy around. Even thinking they can overcome democracy through their brutal behavior. Well that is what they think. Here is what I know. They are full of wishful thinking when they bet that our democracies will fold under their boorishness. What I do expect us to do is to get all up in their faces and challenge them to a fight. We are not a sleeping giant nor a shrinking violet. We are ready and willing to knock them out of existence if they do not back down and allow for democracy to flourish in their own societies.
     There is no room for allowing each individual nation to have it's way in our world when their way is to suppress and harm. The nature of our planet is at stake and the only way we all get out of this alive is for all of us to be on the same page. No more time for dictators or autocrats who would deny human rights. The time is now for all of us to stand up for our democracies and make the ultimatum to the stragglers who still seek the power over all. They are bullies and need to be dealt with like bullies. Confront and challenge and then be ready to whip their asses. The Covid-19 virus has allowed us to reset our societies in many ways and since we are resetting our ways let us go full bore and reset our world into a shared vision on democratic values.
     The world has dictators who need to be swept away and in our own nation we have selfish assholes who think that democracy will not allow them to rule. All of these bad actors need an ass kicking to show the world that anything that denies democracy has a very bad ending. I hope the chance is taken and the autocrats are forced to blink in the face of the whole world watching. I am tired of the stalemate and now is the time to force the fight that has long been needed. Changing our world into a cohesive unit of humans that respect the dignity of freedom and every life is long overdue. Take heed wanna be strongmen and women, a reckoning is coming and you are about to feel the heat!

The republican party is not serious (#4496)

      I see all these republican politician talking heads on the television and they are all trying to sound like they are wise and know what is correct to do. It is all a huge lie. They are not wise nor are they trying to do what is in the best interest of our nation. They are just acting out lines they have refined to be able to hoodwink us with false logic. They are not a serious party at all. They try to change every problem that is simply understood in order to deny the simple solutions that we all know will work. It is insane to me to even watch them pretzel out responses that are both disingenuous and also intentionally false.
     Their whole agenda of denying democratic principles within our society and replacing it with hate and snobbery is their goal. If they can turn us against each other then they will stop the change that is coming with democratic policies. I say democratic policies because republicans a long time ago quit trying to help the American people and instead are laser focused on only helping the wealthy and powerful. So as long as they can go on television and spew their propaganda without being sufficiently challenged then our society and the improvements we need within it are going to be stalled.
     Instead of asking how democrats are going to get 10 republican senators to join with them to vote on intelligent policies that actually help everyone, the media should be roasting all republicans for not supporting good solid policies. The idea that democrats should be faulted for failing to convince republicans to do the correct thing is absurd and indicative of how much the media protects, with bias, the republican party that is not serious. I am appalled by it and blame the media for allowing the narrative to be expressed in terms that denigrate democrats because of the selfish cruelty republicans hold dear.

Since the Biden inauguration I have felt safer (#4495)

      In normal circumstances I would have said since the Biden victory in November after the election I have felt safe but that wouldn't be true. We saw with trump that his ego would not allow him to admit he lost and until trump actually left the White House on Joe's inauguration day I couldn't be sure that a coup would not have taken place. The petty pathetic trump is still harboring thoughts that he is still president and that is still an alarm. Yet when Joe was inaugurated a return to some sense of normalcy began to sink into me. I felt like the worst of what was 4 grueling cruel years were done and a new hope of optimism was beginning.
     Since that inauguration day things have actually gotten a bit better with the steady leadership of the Biden/Harris administration. The irrelevancy of trump and his minions notwithstanding. As I go to sleep each night I am settled into a calm and relaxing state just like I am when I wake in the morning realizing that the drama and torturous behavior of trump is now long gone. The single most important act that occurred in the last year, besides the election, was for Twitter to suspend the trump daily barrage of stupidity and harm. No more do I wake up to the insanity that he trailed behind him and in front of us.
     My safe harbor in today's world is the United States. This is where we progressive/liberal/independents have turned a ravaged nation into a hopeful one. I would think about leaving the US while the trumps were in control but decided that I needed to stay here and endure his onslaught so that I could be part of what drove him and his ilk out. Staying and fighting for our country is our duty if we can and when we do we often find that fighting for democracy gives us the edge because we are fighting for each other, not for some abstract concept that has it's core buried in greed, power, and selfishness. My safe harbor is The United States of America and after a bit of cleaning up the ravages of trump we will show the world once again we are greater than our worse natures.

Trying to build a bridge (#4494)

      Not all bridges are made from construction materials. Some bridges are psychological and are made differently from the concept of simply spanning from one point to another. Yet building a psychological bridge does accomplish that. It is far from an orderly process that can be followed on a blueprint. There is a concept surely and the end goal of course. Yet the in between is the tricky part. I am no great expert, craftsman, journeyman nor apprentice when it comes to building this psychological bridge so my often futile attempts are painful and discouraging. I do try though and once in a while I do succeed in adding a piece to that bridge that is solid and foundational.
     Finding my way is like stumbling around in the dark with no clear directional aim. But if I want something that is a value to me then I won't stop until I see daylight. Such is the psychological bridge I am working on. Lest I be more careful I can make what I have assembled so far come crashing down with no intent to do so. Life is like that, a series of trial and errors at times that will confound even the best of us. The tricky part is not only succeeding in building the bridge but not destroying it as I am building it. We all are tortured souls to some degree in our lives or we haven't really lived yet. So engineering my way through the morass of good and bad experiences and limited knowledge is my curse or seen in a hopefully better light, my template for what not to do.
     If building a bridge that would carry all the emotion and care that a lifetime would accumulate, one must be enlightened that there is another side to consider. My own experiences help me one way or the other in building this bridge but the other side where this bridge must find a solid mooring must also be understood. But like all things in life, anything worth doing will always be complex and filled with land mines. This isn't some simple task that has rules and guidelines. This is beyond the normal fabric of simple physics. The other half of this bridge is the two way travel that must be formed and being able to see in both directions while firming up the span of it is not something we humans are geniuses at. The work continues...

Giving the cannabinoids a shot at relieving the pain (#4493)

      My doctor says that the health group I am with does not advocate for any marijuana use for pain relief. So I am doing my own testing to see if I can find the correct Indica strain that relieves pain without sending me on a mental trip inside my own head. lol. I am no novice at using pot since my early days starting in the 60's but it has been nearly a couple of decades since I last partook of the substance. Well now a days my lower back is a real point of pain and the idea that I am increasing my dosages of the prescription Ibuprofen is troubling.
     I spent yesterday in the most pain free way with just a joint of Indica that lasted all day. I am not usually excited about a pot product but this one is just the right mix of pain relief and no buzz. Which I need to keep my day in its at least normal routine. I don't expect to drive or go out into public while in a pain relief mode but having my day be livable in the old normal way is truly a gift. I am hoping the research on marijuana for its most effective pain relief will continue and evolve to the point where just having the effect of pain relief is the only side effect. Moving on from the traditional pain relief pills is my goal and hopefully marijuana will help me do that.
     It is amazing to me that when I was much younger I used to smoke pot on regular intervals and enjoyed the buzz in its very humorous way. Yet that is not me now. I am not trying it for recreational purposes, I am trying it for pain relief in my lower back where there is an intensity of pain that hampers any normal movement on my part. I push through the pain to get things done but then the price I pay later is an excruciating one. If some form of marijuana will alleviate my lower back pain so that I am more active and able to function then great. From one end of my life to the other, it seems that marijuana has book ended an influence in the book of my life.

I know how my life began and I know how my life is at nearly the end (#4492)

      No, I don't know the secret of life, just how I felt when I was starting out in life. Which is what I am saying about how my life is now at the far end of it. Nothing has changed except the information and experiences gained in between. I didn't know how life would entertain me if I survived my formative years, which like most of us growing up during our generation, for certain questioned. I can think of at least 100 times I put my own life in jeopardy not counting what others did that could have done the same. But how I understand and feel within my skin hasn't changed just my outlook on it. When I was younger I was idealistic with hubris. Today I am still idealistic but with less hubris as reality has disappointed me with it's showing of indifference.
     But be that as it may be though, I am still enthusiastic but with less actual action. I didn't change over time in how I feel, I just, if anything, physically mellowed out a bit. I have the same dreams and same desires that followed me through my formative years and for that I am grateful to have maintained my vigor and life momentum. No matter the outcome of things in my life I am well prepared to accept them regardless the effect. So maturity for sure has been gifted me and maybe just a smidge of wisdom as well. I did survive my early years and that is a plus. I had been privileged as well considering what others are going through in our current and past history.
     Now let me be clear here. I am in no way saying that my life is about to end or anything like that but to have survived nearly 66 years so far I do get that I am vulnerable to any and all life decaying scenarios. Yet I endure to keep plugging along with my happiness such as it is given the one true happiness I yearn for has eluded me so far. However, my horizon is clear and wide with a panoramic view of what is to come if I only would slow down to enjoy it. Which is what I am trying to do these days. I am in no rush to change the world like before trump was still the appointed one but I am still engaged to help make sure no such trump ever again is allowed such privilege in our lives.

Another reckoning is coming for republicans! (#4491)

      Of course it is a reckoning aimed at republicans. In case anyone had a doubt about which political party is due a major smackdown. Hopefully we see it begin today with the House voting on the 1/6 commission to investigate the insurrection at our national capitol. It will pass the house if only because there are enough democrats in the House for a majority but the tell will be how many republicans also vote for it. If around 50 or so republicans vote yes to the commission it will be hard for Senate republicans to follow the trump lead and vote no. However doing hard things that hurt democracy is nothing new to republicans so even if the House republicans join democrats in their vote the Senate will likely vote down the commission.
     Why you may ask? Simple. The trumps don't want it because they would be made to look like the traitors they are again plus the republican Senators who were instrumental in orchestrating the insurrection would come under fire. Then there is the result of the work of the commission that would leave its traitorous cowardly smell on the republican party coming into the midterm elections. The calculus for republicans is that not having a commission to investigate their actions is a better outcome for them personally despite it being a harm to our democracy. This is routine for republicans, they will always, and I mean always, put themselves first before they would our democracy.
     Never in my lifetime have I seen the republican party take itself apart so violently over the worst policies they could be advocating for. Not only that they are attached to trump for their belief that he can deliver for them regardless of what reality has already shown. The trumps are not winners. They have never gotten more votes nor held gains they inherited. The trumps keep losing and the republican party does not get it. Don't get me wrong I am all for the republican party exposing itself to a self destructive stance. This gives us democrats the chance to build our majorities to the point where republicans are a minor irritant instead of an absolute obstruction.

Keep exposing the republican stench and corruption (#4490)

      The rot of the republican party is stinking like skunk spray. There is nothing healthy about the republican party and what they are trying to do instead of healing themselves they are trying to infect everyone around them. They are more like the Covid virus, trying to infect us all so that we are like them instead of cleaning up their own host and living like the amazing human being species that we truly are. So the only thing left for us liberal/progressive's and moderate independents to do is to leave the republican party to its demise and focus on the work that is needed to reshape the post Covid economy and our social expansion. There is nothing republicans can offer that is helpful or imaginative. 
     So as our United States electorate begins to learn that any allegiance to what they thought was the grand old party has been badly misplaced the real work of change begins. As the midterm election draws closer the idea that the republican party has an appealing message is for naught. They will get their die hard base to stay with them and the lies they spew but the rest of the thinking electorate will not have any of it. Which portends well for we who have a real vision for our country and policies that buttress that vision. As we had an electrifying 2020 election the momentum that girded that is still with us. Because we know now even more so that giving the republican party any leadership is giving ourselves a punch in the gut.
     It isn't even that difficult for us to expose the stench of the republican party as the corrupt head of it, trump, is well good enough at exposing it himself. His minions who are all in on the big lie are as well good at repelling thinking voters. I expect that there will be another good showing for democrats in the midterms and with that greater margins in Congress. With those greater margins I also expect that there will be changes made in 2023 without democratic obstruction from the few in the senate who are not as enlightened as we had hoped they would be. There is still the need to offset voter suppression but if not through Congress then the courts may be our only hope in making sure that the republican party cannot deny votes that would help cure their raging disease.

Doing the right thing in the book of your life (#4489)

      You have to live with yourself so how you live indicates what you think about life and the beings that inhabit the same space. Nothing is hidden from the rest of us because we are all too closely bunched together on this planet. Sure some get away with all kinds of things and given advantage and privilege that isn't a surprise. Yet how one lives often is enough for those of us with a keen sense of logic to discern just how complete a person is as to their behavior. I bring this up as a point of emphasis to explain why we should always try to be the better or best versions of who we are. Because once we give into the the fact that what we do is observable for the most part, what is it that we want to leave as our legacy?
     There is no great scorecard in the sky keeping track of our dos and don'ts, our good and bad, or our rights and wrongs. There is only us and those around us to know. If you have a conscience then you know what I mean, For those who don't have a conscience then this is all just a waste of time. But mostly all of us do have a conscience so how we live and what we do in life is or will be important over time. Sometimes it takes a minute or two in our lifetimes for us to get that we will remember our lives and when the remembering begins as reflections it is important to live our lives in such a way that the better and best of it are the highlights, not the worst of what a human being can become.
     I speak from experience in that it took me a moment or two when I was young to get that I am the living record of my life and I cannot fudge or recalibrate the fact of my life without lying to myself. I don't do that because I live in reality, not fantasy. I am a full grown man who hasn't got the luxury of playing childish games with my memory. I accept who I was during my learning years and I accept how I live after those learning years. I am not great wise man nor an example of how to live, yet I am truthful and honest about who I was and who I am. I accept my reality and the life within the book that is mine. Do the same in your life. Live like you are the best person you can be and then know that others can see your book being written and try to be proud of the words on your pages.

End republican rule (#4488)

     Never vote for a republican anywhere! The best way to end republican rule of our nation is to stop electing republicans. Those that are left need to be thoroughly investigated for any and all dirt that may disqualify them. They are hiding shitty things and we need to find it. They are republicans so you know they cheat lie and steal. Once we are to the point where they have no power at all then we can begin to have a nation that symbolizes and actually practices democratic values. I want all of us to be able to share in the American dream. What we have now is a paternal advantaged privileged system that keeps feeding its disease while harming the vast majority of the rest of us.
     The wealthy can prosper in a democratic society but not at the cost of a healthy middle and poor class. I add poor class because some just want to enjoy life for other things other than chasing dollars. Still though the quality of life of those who are poor must be protected and respected. But most all want to be at least in a burgeoning middle class where opportunity is abundant and merit is respected. The only way that can occur is for the wealthy to stop being so greedy and hateful. Our democratic government has the answer for that through wage protections and safety guidelines. Passing laws that insure that equality and opportunity are sacred makes the job of turning the wealthy into responsible law abiding citizens again doable.
     However, without being free from republican rule none of this will occur. The republican party has shown itself to be a party aligned with autocracy, not democracy. In autocracies the leaders tell the people what to do. In democracies, the people tell the leaders what to do. See how simple it is to understand the reason for protecting our democracy? If we are to be ruled by the wealthy and powerful the only purpose we could have for them is for us to serve them. In that there would be no limitations as to what service they would require from us. The penalty for us not serving them is far from fair and would likely be of the most cruel and brutish varieties. In autocracies the death of the ruled is more an option than just punishing since there are so many of us to abuse.

Expanding the Supreme Court (#4487)

      The need for expanding the Supreme Court has been laid out in no uncertain terms when it comes to our liberal/progressive agenda. As the trumps were able to stall President Obama's pick and then ramrod their nominations on the court through, the ideological balance on the court is heavily favored toward republicans. There really shouldn't be a partisan divide on the Supreme Court but reality is what it is and now we liberal/progressives need to address it. We democrats are not good at playing politics, at least not in the past, so we must begin to play the with the same hardball tactics that republicans do routinely. If we are anything at this point in time it is being challenged so what will our response be?
     Adding 4 more justices to the court, even if they are all independently minded, would be a great way to nullify the extreme right wingers on the court now. Because I do believe that democracy and our constitution should come first when all adjudication is concluded. So decisions based upon equality, fairness and justice will naturally be the outcomes if we have enough neutral justices on the court. I know that we will pick some more left wing leaning justices as nominees and that is fair given that left wing leaning is really another term for objective and caring. But regardless, the need for more justices is to help preserve certain court challenges coming in the future against democratic policies we democrats are hoping to become law.
     Upholding laws on fair immigration, women's rights, adding states to our union, voting rights, minimum wage, police reform, and other priorities of our democratic movement. Even the right to remain a democracy may come under assault from the current republican party and their wealthy donors. We need to change the trajectory of our Supreme Court from one that wants to deny rights, to one that protects the rights of all. What the trumps have done to our democracy is equivalent to treason in my understanding when looking at the big picture. Everything they and republicans have been doing over the last handful of decades has been coalesced to a dual agenda, keeping power and diminishing working middle poor class rights.

We have to protect our voting rights (#4486)

      The republican party wants to diminish voting rights while the democratic party wants to expand voting rights. Let us see here, which is consistent with democracy and which isn't? Let me go ahead and speak the truth about who wants democracy to flourish and who wants democracy to die. We democrats are all for one person one vote. For all of us not just for some of us. While republicans are the ones who think that some are not to be allowed to vote and if they are it should be difficult for them to vote. I don't think I am embellishing one bit either. There are too many republicans in state houses run by republicans who have already restricted voting by passing laws and too many who are in the process of passing laws that restrict voting.
     So the necessity of a federal law that protects voting rights from all these republican legislatures who are intentionally denying voting rights is critical. The house has passed 2 voting rights bills that should be given every opportunity to become law. Even Joe Manchin is getting involved in the voting rights push as he sees the need to put all 50 states in a preclearance mode. Which on the face of it is well done because the original 9 states that were under the previous full preclearance paradigm, and 6 more states under a partial preclearance, are and were not the only states today that practice voter suppression.
     But more has to be done about gerrymandering and dark money. Plus making voting as easy as possible everywhere. We have a great task ahead of us on the democratic side and most of that task is getting Joe Manchin on the correct side of history. He is moving slowly our way but we need him to move much further if we are to stop the democracy crushing republicans and their agenda to steal power and our government. I want all the other policies that President Joe Biden is advocating for but if not at least we need to protect voting rights, otherwise 2022 may well be a disaster if our right to vote is hindered too often in too many places.

2022 is shaping up to be a continuation of our blue wave (#4485)

      The long held reality is that at the midterms of a new presidential administration, the party out of power generally does well to very well. So understanding that the next year or so is very important is critical to us getting anything done. Yet we have a democratic senator who does not hold this view and is willing to hold up needed legislation to protect his view. Which in normal circumstances would doom our democratic majorities to minority status after the midterms. But, and I say but, this is not like any other midterm that is about to take place. We are coming out of a pandemic, which is similar to what happened in the 2010 midterm but not without another very disturbing difference.
     The loser of the 2008 presidential race did not go on and on about how the election was stolen from him. This year we have that obviously false dynamic spewed by republicans broiling along with a recovery once again positively engineered by a democrat. So why does the trump cries of foul make a difference? In that crying foul when everyone with an intellect knows there was no foul is why. Like a toddler screaming for his toys that belong to everyone, trump is making the republican party choose between being sane or insane. The choice however has been made and trump and his whining has been selected. The republican party chooses to be insane in their strategy which makes this coming midterm election unlike any other.
     Which gives us democrats the whole sane playing field to operate within against the insane republican party. I know that gathering the independents to one's side is how elections are won so it surprises me that the republican party has foregone that approach. Instead they are playing to their base and trying to obstruct democratic votes. Their plan is to get every one of their voters to the polls while denying millions of others that same constitutional right. I cannot see how this strategy endears itself to independent voters. So I expect at the end of the midterms in 2022 that we democrats will increase our majorities in both houses and will then will be able to bypass Joe Manchin and shit can the filibuster once and for all.

The republican party is still attempting its coup! (#4484)

      With the ouster of little cheney from her leadership role in the republican party this morning the coup by the ousted trump is still on. The republican party is now poised to follow their losing candidate trump to the end of their careers and freedoms. The big lie is now being held as the principle bedrock fantasy of their destinies and there is nowhere else to go but to try to upend our democratic government. Their names are on record and their actions will be recorded. The usurping of democracy will not be allowed to happen as all of us are on high alert to stop and then crush their effort. The price they must pay will say much about how we endear our national constitution.
     Treason is a word with negative connotations and the reason for that is to dissuade anyone from trying to strongarm their way around our laws and democratic ideals. The word itself is a scarlet letter of shame and disdain for all who would be treasonous. But also to be a traitor is punishable up to death. No one likes to think that a punishment of death is easy to make, yet when it comes to treason the idea is less offensive. So to take the correct approach it would be necessary to put the most extreme punishment on traitors who think that they are immune to the laws of the land and their oaths to our nation. I for one would not be conflicted in adjudging a death sentence on those who would steal my right to freedom and my right to protect and maintain our democracy.
     Think of it this way, several nations tried to attack our freedom of democratic values and our response every time was to war with them with bullets and bombs. Death is how we protect our precious and dear democracy and it it must be used to protect our democracy from within then so be it. A coup is a takeover of our elected government and that is not to be allowed regardless of who is doing the coup. Their death is a logical sequence of their actions and a deterrent to all others who would think that equality and freedom are theirs only. Beware republicans who are behind this trump coup, you will not come out of this with your life if justice has its say!

The wedge that is the lie (#4483)

      There is one really big lie floating around in the republican party and it is a whopper! That the weasel, a pus filled pimple on a man's ass, trump won the election in 2020. That there are more than a few powerful republicans who are feeding this lie's frenzy is an indication of just how poisoned the wealthy and powerful in our nation have become. Which speaks to wealth reform as well as political reform. When the wealthy end up speaking for we the people we are no longer a democracy, we are instead an oligarchy with authoritarian tendencies. What is even worse though is that a former appointed president is the core of the big lie and he is fomenting it relentlessly.
     Now less about the wedge that is trump and more about what that wedge is doing to the republican party. First, President Biden was hopeful that he would be able to negotiate with republicans on big social and economic issues. Well with the big lie being what it is we are all able to see that the fealty the republican party has to the lie is greater than than any fealty republicans feel toward democracy. So the conclusion is that there will be little to no negotiating with republicans because they are siding with trump and that President Biden is illegitimate. How can they negotiate in good faith when the whole of the republican party believes that trump is still the appointed president?
     Not even the likes of Joe Manchin can square that circle so I expect that after meeting with President Biden his stance on no filibuster reform will soften. Because even Manchin knows that trying to negotiate with republicans at this stage is a fools errand. Most all of us already knew this because of the obvious evidence surrounding us. Yet some are slower on the uptake and that is what is happening with Joe Manchin. President Biden got this from the get go even though he wanted to try negotiating and is still in small ways attempting to do so but regardless he is planning the next step of passing legislation regardless if he has republican input or not.

Forging our future, not just letting it happen (#4482)

      I know that there are too many of us who are sitting back just letting reality take it course without being a force for making it into what we need. It is so easy to sit back and hope that the rest of us are strong enough to force reality into a more equal and fair paradigm. We don't have to take a stand and then defend that stand regardless of the cost. We calculate that being silent and subservient we are not rocking the boat with some who we have made too important in our lives. The trade off for our doing nothing is the little bit of table scraps that come our way. The dependency on others for our benefit is the cost we pay for not being strong enough to forge our own lives with our own principles for living.
     The only thing holding us back from being our own persons is our fear. Afraid of striking out into the unknown without that pacifier we have been given to tie us to being subservient human beings. Like the Allegory of the Cave scenario in The Republic, where the shadows on the walls are sufficient for us to accept as reality instead of the sun shining outside the cave. The fear that we may upset some who are not us but hold sway over us, is the fetter that keeps all of us constrained. Without all of us moving forward into our destinies we are doomed to the marching in place scenario. Our fear is what must be defeated and shame on anyone who would feed us that fear so that they don't have to face their own.
     We don't each have to be super human to effect change in the world. We only need to be the better and best version of ourselves in our own little worlds. When we all do this then there is no room to exist for the despicable who are only alive when the rest of us are dead inside. Let me be clear here, each of us has the right and power to be alive as who we are, not as who others want us to be. I know that it isn't easy to know who we are at the beginning of life but there are many clues easily recognizable. Do we care for others? Are we more hero than villain? Do we love more than hate? These questions should all be answered early in our childhood lives and when so it sets us up to becoming whatever iteration of human being we hope to become as adults.

Last evening I planted a grapevine (#4481)

      A friend brought over a grapevine yesterday and asked me if I wanted it. I wasn't sure I wanted it but on instinct just said yes and then put it into a bucket of water. I wasn't feeling great at that moment of high noon with the sun blaring down and all but I did at least put the grapevine in a large bucket of water in the shade. I am no expert at planting grapevines but the old put it into the ground and drench it with water concept seemed sufficient. So as I started to feel better toward the evening I did go out to the back chain link fence and dig a good sized hole between to the last two remaining grapevines I had left.
     I used to have four grapevines when I first moved here but two of them did not make it over the years. So as I put this new fresh grapevine into the ground between the two older ones I had a reflective experience. I thought about how the new grapevine will now have another more experienced grapevine on either side of it and how the older grapevines now have a younger grapevine between the two of them. A sort of cathartic moment as I could sense. For me it was a more personal reflection as I have had to dig in my backyard with a shovel for other reasons than burying roots. My little animals that have passed over the years are buried in my yard and so many reminders are all around me of their lives with me.
     So this time I got to add a life to the yard instead of hide the end of one. This was good for me as the cycle of life keeps pointing out. When I was young new lives were blossoming all around me. But now that I am older it seems that lives are ending more so than beginning. This isn't a tragedy, it is the normal way of how our existence is lived. Yet in my soul I always feel the loss or gain in varying measures of sadness or happiness. That little grapevine yesterday was a real aware moment for me and it was good that I was by myself for the planting of it because the gravity of the moment was able to play out in a somber and respectful way in my mind and soul.

Music fills my soul today (#4480)

      Politics aside, music is my vibe this morning. Rocking out in the music of my day. For those of you who know what Kzap radio was from my youth will know the genre I am floating on this morning. With YouTube having most all the music of my day as easy to access as anything in the world is a beautiful thing. From vinyl to 4 track to 8 track to cassette tape to cd the sounds of mostly organized vibrations that lift and move me are a living thread throughout my life. Bringing those vibrations back to into my soul is a gift. Unlike politics, there is no disagreement in my mind as to what is good. Turn it up!
     The one constant that never gets old is the music that pleases my being. I can listen to a song from over 50 years ago and it creates the same excitement in me as if I were the teenager who first heard the song. From the melodies to the lyrics, the orchestrations soothe all my ills. I can escape my reality for just a moment and enter the magical world of unending imagination. Music does that for me. It gives me the ability to see my life and the world around me in so many differing ways. It connects me to the artists who create such magical worlds with their music. It is as if we are all searching for the same harmonic beauty.
     For the record, music is on always somewhere in my day regardless if it is just for a bit or as background sound when I am busy doing other things. I have no doubt that it is music that will create peace in our world. None of us can resist the waves of sound when they penetrate our beings. I find myself tapping my feet or swaying to the sounds even when I had no conscience recollection of choosing to do so. It is as natural as me breathing air. It just happens whether I choose to or not. Another aspect of music is the cleansing of my soul. I am so different from when I started listening to when I finally turn the sounds off. A refreshing but even more, a rejuvenating. I thank existence for the paradigm of music and will always be in it's debt for keeping me sane and energetic.

Pass the federal voting rights bills! (#4479)

      Reconciliation can not be used to pass the voting rights bills that have passed the House but need Senate approval. Since no republican will vote the for the federal voting rights bill regular order with a 60 vote passage needed, will not happen. So the last option is to carve out an exception to the filibuster for voting rights bills and then pass it with a 50 + 1 vote for legislation to get to Joe Biden's desk. 49 democratic senators have signed onto the idea of passing federal voting rights bills with the exception of, yes, Joe Manchin. He thinks that states should have the final say as to election procedures. His reasoning is massively faulty when considering that the greater federal offices are at stake.
     So not only will we have to convince Joe Manchin that federal voting rights are as or more important than state voting rights but that we need to adjust the filibuster if no elimination of it is possible. A task that at the moment seems insurmountable, yet even Joe Manchin will see the writing on the wall as we move forward with no honest negotiations coming from republicans. Joe Biden has made it clear that he will not allow republicans to obstruct his agenda so he must be in some kind of a secret agreement with Joe Manchin on process after the exhaustion of regular order processes. At least that is what I tell myself given all the logic at stake here.
     A national voting rights law will even out how and when our electorate can vote with states having to abide by the federal rules. Giving everyone their right to vote without obstacles and impediments is at the heart of the federal voting rights bills. Even Joe Manchin will understand that democracy requires participation, not oppression. So I figure like what I have already heard that sometime in August the trigger for a filibuster carve out will be triggered and Joe Manchin and the rest of the democratic caucus will pass the voting rights bills with their 50 votes and then the tiebreaker cast by Vice President Kamala Harris. We will get this passed and then the republican party will find that their attempt to abuse democracy will not prevail!

Watching republicans implode (#4478)

      I have no position on what the republican party is doing to itself. First off I have never liked or needed republican policies in my lifetime. The republican party since nixon has done nothing for the working middle poor class nor for the health of our planet. So their current infighting has nothing to do with me since I want them to disappear off our political landscape. Then a more centrist democratic party could contend with a green party or some progressive party that pushes us toward a more equal democracy instead of toward a more authoritarian one like with the current republican anti democratic party.
     So my response to those who want me to come down on one side or another over the republican infighting I just say no, I just want some popcorn and to watch them destroy themselves. They have nothing for me so I have nothing for them. Take for example the current liz cheney battle with her republican leadership position. She is taking the high road and demanding that her republican party denounce the trump lies. She is being overwhelmed by her republican colleagues who accept the trump lies as truth. So her high ranking position in the republican party is jeopardized. Will she be ousted? It looks like it and then the republican party will further be melding itself to the trump fantasy.
     All the accolades that are going toward cheney and even romney are a bit short sided since both have been staunch republicans their whole lives. Which means they have voted to deny working middle poor class folks the equality of opportunity and equal rights in our democracy. So just because they are standing up to the trumps does not make them good people, just a tiny bit less horrible people than the trumps which still makes them horrible people. So don't go putting either of them on some hallowed ground for admitting that truth is above lies because every democrat I know has been doing that since our infancy. Which brings me back to my subject, popcorn anyone?

No social media platforms for infamous perpetual liars! (#4477)

      If there was one criteria for not allowing a perpetual liar on a social media platform this is it. The Facebook decision coming today in possibly allowing ex appointed president trump back on after being suspended for his role in the January 6th Capitol insurrection being the subject here. Not only has he not taken any responsibility for his incitement to violence that day but he has perpetuated the Big Lie about election fraud, which by the way did not happen. So someone who has the propensity to ignore reality and promote his own debased thinking that is harmful and deadly is not to be allowed on any social media platform.
     I have just learned as of this moment that the ban on trump from Facebook was upheld. A very good and correct decision. There will need to be a review in 6 months but the likelihood that trump will change from his selfish brutish ways are more a wish than a reality. It has been 6 months since the election and trump is still trying to overthrow the election despite it being one of the most secure and watched elections in history. The mental deterioration of trump has been an ongoing source of conjecture since he was appointed president so the idea that his mental ability to change to being a better man is implausible.
     Now all the other media platforms must do the same and keep his violent tendencies off their sites. His brand of sexism and racism must never be part of our mainstream conversations. Neither here in the United States nor anywhere in the world. He is a stain on democracy and his continued attempts to undo democracy must be answered with a stern and forceful stoppage. Keeping him silent in mainstream conversations will eventually nullify his call to violence and hatred. His greedy and selfish persona does not need to be amplified in our world, where doing right and good by people is the norm, not the trumpian exception.

Keeping my emotion separate from my logic (#4476)

      This has always been a tough one for me as a guy who mostly wore his emotions on his sleeve. Yet over the years I have become a bit harder in that I don't let emotion dictate nor define my whole life. Instead I consider the logic of my life and apply the emotion to lessons learned. Being a dual person like most all of us are who must live with both our emotion and logic often at odds is a battle. Yet the battle can be and is being controlled more by myself with the logical side of me in relation to disappointment and unfairness as perceived.
     I have grown to building an overview perspective that of course still has the emotion in it but it also has coping mechanisms that rationalize the effects of whatever emotion materializes. Gone are the days of "oh whoa is me" reactions and instead there is a reflective action that compartmentalizes the totality of the occurrence into an understanding state. Seeing all the good and bad of a changing dynamic is a systematic way for me to accept and move on from one failure to another hope. So I keep trying to find the best in life as well as adapt to the often too many sad endings that come my way. It has been awhile since I last had a gut punch effect in my life and if the present is any indication it may never happen again.
     Yet if it does I am prepared to heal and move on from any and all sadness. I just wanted to post about this because it was a lifetime of learned experiences that allowed me to solve this issue with myself. I can fully engage in a relationship that I think is worthy without the fear of what happens if it doesn't work out. It won't matter because I am prepared either way. So should we all be in our pursuit of personal happiness. We humans are an amazing species and the life we live should never be constrained by how we don't handle our conclusions when they are emotionally painful.

We need a national scorecard on policies (#4475)

     I find that we United States Americans are not up to date on what policies are being proposed, what positive polices are currently in action and what negative polices need to end. A national scorecard that updates daily with information about each policy and how that policy is being implemented. A national database that gives the pros and cons, much like with our election pamphlets that help us with arguments for and against and the rebuttals to those arguments for and against. I know how difficult it is to keep up to date on pressing issues of state when our own lives continue to be complicated.
     But not doing so only harms us all because we are not giving our consent to what is important and necessary by default. Which I think is a big part of the problem as to why we keep electing politicians who are not legislating for our best interests. A national scorecard that is available everywhere for all of us to glean our information from and would be a simple solution to help give our consent to how we are governed. We cannot leave it up to those who are elected to discern our greatest needs when we do not offer them the advice they need to act. Yes, we need to advise them how to proceed, not the other way around.
     Whether it is a government program that engineers a national scorecard on current policies or a public/private enterprise, the need is evident in that too many of our electorate have to rely on questionable sources for their information. A one stop shop that keeps a daily tab on how our policies are working and even a foresight column for thinking out ahead about possible policies that could be effective. A place where politics and subjectivism are not part of the equation. Only facts and logic. If we are to use our critical thinking skills then we need a place where the policy formulas are available and easy enough to comprehend. A national scorecard would be a learning tool that would benefit us all.

The republican agenda, sabotage Joe Biden's vision for our economic success (#4474)

      The republican party has always wanted a vast pool of workers who are dependent upon the wealthy for survival. They don't want a healthy working middle class, they want an unlimited supply of poor people who are willing to work for less than poverty wages. This is why the republican party will not raise the federal minimum wage and actually if they had their way they would eliminate the federal minimum wage. They want no regulations, no restraints on the whims of the wealthy. If this isn't clear to everyone yet then we still have some learning pains to go through. Which explains why republicans are still being elected to positions of power.
     So all those good programs that Joe Biden outlined in his address to the nation the other night are like a red flag to republicans. Their vision of an autocracy that doesn't accept equality is in danger if we democrats are able to make law that will help the working middle poor class with opportunities. So the idea that there is going to be bipartisanship on anything substantive is naive at best and full of dishonest ulterior motive at worst. However don't take my word for it just watch how the efforts at bipartisanship play out in the coming weeks and months and then conclude the truth from that. Joe Biden was wise to put a deadline on these bipartisan efforts so that the republican party cannot delay legislation as a strategy.
     I expect that once the dishonesty of the republican party is once again exposed it will trigger our moderate senators to rethink their stance on blocking legislation with only democratic approval. Because to have an opposing political party to bargain with takes an honest opposing political party and republicans are not that if they ever were. I have been critical of Joe Manchin and rightly so but it is his nature to work across the aisle but even he will have to admit that this current crop of republicans are not acting in good faith. He will come around once he is sure that he has tried his best and failed at negotiating with republicans and he sees that they just tried use him to their advantage.

What is up with Joe Manchin? (#4473)

      All I hear from Noe Manchin is he doesn't support this and he doesn't support that. He knows we democrats can do nothing without his vote so why is he being so obstinate? I know he has principles that guide him but seriously! How can he not be for a bill that protects the right to vote? I cannot get past this one piece of legislation that he will not get behind. The right to vote is fundamental to our society and for him to keep allowing republicans to deny the right to vote by not supporting a federal voting rights protection bill is asinine! So again, what is up with Joe Manchin? Protecting the filibuster to the point where the needed legislation becomes impossible is also asinine!
     I don't know how we get out of this debacle with Manchin as he is our 50th vote needed to move around the filibuster as an option. So I guess we sit back and watch as Joe Manchin destroys democracy and let's his infamous comrades in the republican party turn our form of government into an autocracy. Well I cannot fathom that and will keep putting pressure on Manchin in emails as it is all I can do at this point. But make no mistake here. Joe Manchin is putting his name right there at the top of a list of people who did much less for our nation for reasons that are illogical at this point as well as just plain dumb. I like the idea of bipartisanship but there is no real republican party to negotiate with, just bad actors pretending to be nice.
     Fate of some sort or a higher power from where I don't know must appear if we are not to lose this advantage that the American voters gave to we democrats. My heart is hardening toward Joe Manchin in that he is holding onto a vision of the past that no longer exists. He has to know that there will be no legislation coming in the future if he continues to obstruct. He has to know it! Yet he keeps crying for bipartisanship as an excuse for his non help. What will it take to get Joe Manchin off his obstruction? I don't know and if someone out there does please enlighten us!