Category Archives: voting rights

One Small Rant …

Posted on by under Election 2024, Environmental Issues, Free Press Issues, Global Issues, History, Political commentary, Rants, Social commentary, voting rights

Just one little rant this morning …

“Get out and vote. Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what: it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians…. Get out, you’ve got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.”

That, my friends, was presidential candidate Donald Trump speaking to a group of Christians at a summit in West Palm Beach, Florida.  C’mon, Republicans!  How much more hardcore evidence do you need to see that your preferred candidate has no intention of being president in a democratic process, but has every intention of being a dictator, of turning the United States as it has been for nearly 250 years into a fascist dictatorship?  Most of us have seen it for years now, understand what it would mean if he were to ever set foot in the Oval Office again, but for those whose heads were still somewhere in the clouds, this latest should be a harsh wake-up call!

Those words … “you don’t have to vote again” … chill me to the bone, and they should anybody who cares about the future of the world.  YES, I said “the world” … not just the nation.

Europeans are still licking their wounds from Trump’s first term: they have not forgotten the former president’s tariffs, his deep antagonism towards the European Union and Germany, or the US withdrawal from the Paris climate accords and the Iran nuclear deal. Nor have they recovered from Trump’s general boorishness at international summits, not to mention his regular threats to withdraw from NATO.

Trump’s ties to dictators Putin and Orbán are far stronger than his appreciation or respect for our allies.  Is it any wonder the world will be watching with bated breath on November 5th?  Meanwhile, those Republicans who still have their heads buried in the sand, continue to applaud and cheer, even wearing “sympathy bandages” on their ears to show their ‘solidarity’ for the madman.  C’mon, folks, take your heads out of the sand, or whatever dark place you have stuck them, and WAKE UP AND SMELL THE DAMN COFFEE!!!

Voter Apathy — Part III (A Reprisal From 2018)

Posted on by under Election 2018, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary, voting rights

This was the third and final post in my series on voter apathy back in 2018.  If you missed Parts I or II, I’ve included links at the bottom of this post.  I cannot stress enough just how crucial this coming election will be for the continuation of the United States of America into the future, and for our future in the global world.  Obviously, some things have changed and are different between the 2018 mid-term elections when I first published this piece and today’s presidential election, but remember that old saying that “the more things change, the more they stay the same”?  Seems true at the moment.  For this post, I shared the words of another, Roxane Gay, in an OpEd piece she wrote for the New York Times.  The piece speaks for itself …

You’re Disillusioned. That’s Fine. Vote Anyway.

Very pragmatic advice for anyone thinking about not casting a ballot.

Roxane GayA young woman in Milwaukee recently asked me if I had any advice for disillusioned young voters. She said that in a representative democracy it was hard to want to vote for, in her words, “yet another 40,000-year-old white man” who didn’t look like her or have familiarity with her experiences.

Her question was genuine, and even though more women are running for Congress than in previous years and Stacey Abrams of Georgia has a chance to be the first African-American woman elected governor, I understood her overall frustration. For every beacon of progress there is a stark reminder that the status quo all too often prevails.

Young people are facing a lot of problems they had no hand in creating. Far too many of them are saddled with incredible amounts of student loan debt, working in a gig economy where little job security is scarce. If they have health insurance, it is likely inadequate. Homeownership can seem out of reach. Black voters are being disenfranchised at alarming rates. Reproductive freedom is precarious. Citizenship is precarious. Climate change threatens our planet on an alarming timeline. Things are grim and politicians of all persuasions are doing very little to assuage or address the very real concerns people have about this country and their place in it.

I could have offered a warm, gentle answer but these are not warm, gentle times. Given everything that has transpired since President Trump took office, I have no patience for disillusionment. I have no patience for the audacious luxury of choosing not to vote because of that disillusionment, as if not voting is the best choice a person could make. Not voting is, in fact, the worst choice a person could make.

In 2016, nearly 40 percent of eligible voters chose not to vote. Many who showed up to vote for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 were apparently so underwhelmed by Hillary Clinton that they simply stayed home. And, of course, there were the voters who chose third-party candidates who had no chance of winning the presidential election but were still able to affect the outcome in key states. If and how one votes is a personal choice, but that choice has consequences.

We are reaping what has been sown from voter disillusionment and we will continue doing so until enough people recognize what is truly at stake when they don’t vote. A representative democracy is flawed but it is the political system we must work within, at least for the time being. We have a responsibility to participate in this democracy, even when the politicians we vote for aren’t ideal or a perfect match. Voting isn’t dating. We are not promised perfect candidates. Voting requires pragmatism and critical thinking and empathy and now, more than ever, intelligent compromise.

Only 40 percent of Americans choose to vote during midterm elections, generally speaking. There has been a lot of talk about the importance of voting next Tuesday because we are desperate to change the political climate and the first step in doing that is shifting the balance of power in Congress. Politicians, their volunteers and progressive publications have been vigorously trying to get out the vote in a range of ways.

Many of these efforts have been well intended but poorly executed. One tactic has been the use of bait-and-switch on social media — sharing something innocuous like celebrity gossip or a recipe, only to direct people to a webpage about voting and voter registration. These efforts imply that one cannot care about both trivial things and the state of our democracy. This bait-and-switch approach may not be anyone’s primary voter outreach strategy, but it is happening often enough to grate on my nerves. These efforts are predicated upon the belief that condescension and manipulation are the only way to reach apathetic or disillusioned voters when what we need is brutal honesty.

We deserve a better class of politicians who recognize the greater good and act in service of that greater good rather than in service of amassing more power. We deserve politicians who are held accountable for their decisions. We deserve politicians from all walks of life, not just the same old wealthy white heterosexual people who are overly represented in all branches of the government.

We also deserve to be disillusioned and disappointed with what our politicians, thus far, have offered. For the most part they have failed us spectacularly because they understand that radicalism doesn’t play well even though radicalism is what we need now, more than ever. And it is certainly a travesty that universal health care and a livable minimum wage and civil rights and higher taxes on the wealthy are considered radical, but here we are.

I am going to vote on next Tuesday but I can’t say I am particularly optimistic about the impact my vote will have. Between the corrupt stranglehold the Republican Party has on political power and the incompetence and cowardice of the Democrats, voting feels futile. The politicians I will vote for don’t represent me and what I believe in as much as I would like them to.

Voter disillusionment makes perfect sense but it is also incredibly selfish and shortsighted. In the past week, a biracial man was charged with sending pipe bombs to prominent Democrats; reports said he drove a van covered in hateful propaganda. A white man tried to enter a black church in Louisville, Ky., and when he couldn’t, he went to a nearby Kroger grocery store and killed two black people. On a Saturday morning in Pittsburgh, a white man entered a synagogue, shouting anti-Semitic epithets. He killed 11 Jews and injured six others. This took place in the same week in which it was reported that the Trump administration thinks it might be able to define the transgender community out of existence, and in which the president continues to use the caravan of migrants heading to the United States to stoke the xenophobic hysteria of his base.

Every single day there is a new, terrifying, preventable tragedy fomented by a president and an administration that uses hate and entitlement as political expedience. If you remain disillusioned or apathetic in this climate, you are complicit. You think your disillusionment is more important than the very real dangers marginalized people in this country live with.

Don’t delude yourself about this. Don’t shroud your political stance in disaffected righteousness. Open your eyes and see the direct line from the people in power to their emboldened acolytes. It is cynical to believe that when we vote we are making a choice between the lesser of two evils. We are dealing with a presidency fueled by hate, greed and indifference. We are dealing with a press corps that can sometimes make it seem as though there are two sides to bigotry. Republican politicians share racist memes that spread false propaganda and crow “fake news” when reality interferes with their ambitions. Progressive candidates are not the lesser of two evils here; they are not anywhere on the spectrum of evil we are currently witnessing.

If you are feeling disillusioned, get over it, at least enough to vote and vote pragmatically. Tell your friends to vote. Drive people to the polls. Support candidates you believe in with your time or, if you can afford it, money. Volunteer for community organizations that address to the issues you most care about. Attend town halls held by your elected officials. Hold them accountable for the decisions they make with the power you give them. Run for local office. Do something. Do anything.

Nothing will change by sitting at home for the midterms or any other election. We cannot afford disillusionment. We cannot afford to do nothing. Lives are at stake and if you don’t recognize that, you are no better than those with whom you are disillusioned.

Roxane Gay, an associate professor at Purdue University, is the author of “Hunger,” and a contributing opinion writer.

Links to Part I & Part II:

Voter Apathy — Part I (A Reprisal From 2018)

Voter Apathy — Part II (A Reprisal from 2018)

vote-animated

Mood-Altering Snarky Snippets

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2024, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Rants, Social commentary, voting rights

I was in a good mood when I first got up this morning.  Came downstairs, fed the birds & squirrels outside, watered the flowers, fed the kitties inside, made myself a cuppa coffee, then settled down to cruise the news.  And that was the end of the good mood.  Hence today’s ‘Snarky Snippets’.

Has there ever been a more bigoted group of people than today’s Republicans?  First they take away women’s rights in overturning the iconic Roe v Wade, and now they’ve decided that women who choose not to have children are incapable of doing … well, anything useful.  Several times in the last few days I’ve read of men referring to childless women as “childless cat ladies”.  But it has gotten completely out of hand, with one person going so far as to say that …

“Political leaders should have children. Certainly they should at least be married. If you aren’t running or can’t run a household of your own, how can you relate to a constituency of families, or govern wisely with respect to future generations? Skin in the game matters.”

That came from Blake Masters, who ran for a Senate seat from Arizona in 2022 and failed miserably.  I think I see why.  But there are others, including the Republican candidate for Vice-President, who are blowing their misogynist dog whistles against women who either cannot or choose not to have children … simply because presidential candidate and Vice-President Kamala Harris has no children.

J.D. Vance, running mate of Donald Trump, has a unique idea to punish those without children, and reward those who are parents:

“Let’s give votes to all children in this country, but let’s give control over those votes to the parents of those children.”

That’s right … he wants parents to be able to cast votes for themselves, but also for each of their offspring, thereby rewarding parents for having children and punishing those who don’t.  That would likely pave the way for Republicans to win in every election, since it is the Republicans who seem not to know when to stop!  I’m beginning to think that China’s former ‘one child’ policy made a lot of sense!

Let me make something clear … and I hope you’ll share this post with any Republican friends you might have …

IT IS NOBODY’S DAMN BUSINESS WHETHER A WOMAN CHOOSES TO HAVE CHILDREN OR NOT!!!!!

Did I say that loudly enough for the Republicans to hear?  We don’t mandate that a man running for political office prove via DNA tests how many children he has sired … frankly we don’t care.  So why is it different for a woman???  Quite frankly, if I were young now, I would choose not to have children, not to dump an innocent child into the world as it has become, for frankly we are destroying the planet and it would be criminal negligence to add another person to suffer the destruction.  I am sick and damn tired of men deciding what women can or cannot do!

Furthermore, having or not having children has absolutely nothing to do with intelligence or capability!!!!!!!  Kamala Harris is more intelligent and qualified than 99% of the rest of the politicians in Washington … or elsewhere … and it has nothing to do with her private decision about bearing children.  It has to do with her education, base intelligence, and experience.  Men … and women … get over yourselves!  It’s none of your damn business whether any woman has children or not!!!!!!

And then, there are the books.  I really want to laugh about these, but I guess I’m just not in a laughing mood right now.  First, there is Melania Trump’s forthcoming book, and an autographed copy can be yours for only … wait for it … $150!  Wow, what a bargain, eh?  Of course, you can also buy the not-autographed copy for only $40, but who wouldn’t want to pay an extra $110 just to see Melania’s scrawl?

The book, aptly titled “Melania”, is described on Melania’s own website (naturally) as …

“… the powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has defined personal excellence, overcome adversity, and carved her own path. The former First Lady invites readers into her world, offering an intimate portrait of a woman who has lived an extraordinary life. Melania includes stories and images never before shared with the public.”

Um … “personal excellence”???  Is this what they mean …

And Donnie also has a new book that he did not write for he is incapable of even scribbling his name, coming out on September 3rd.  His book only costs $99!  What a bargain … NOT.  No reputable publisher would publish his garbage book, so it is published by “Winning Team Publishing”, co-founded in 2021 by Don Jr. and Sergio Gor.  According to Axios, the book includes photos from his time in office — a White House Christmas, the Abraham Accords and China — plus the 2024 campaign, all with captions he wrote. Big whoops.  But what’s really interesting is the cover …

Wow, talk about turning a near tragedy into profit.  Trump should have to pay royalties from the book sales, if there are any, to the family of the shooter, and maybe also to the family of the real victim, Corey Comperatore, who died of his wounds that day, while Trump only suffered a small nick on the ear, likely by a shard of glass.

Thank You, David …

Posted on by under Election 2024, Global Issues, History, Political commentary, Re-blogs, Social commentary, voting rights

I try to avoid posting four times in any given day, for I think it is too much.  But given today’s news, that Joe Biden has withdrawn from the 2024 presidential race, and the aftermath, Republicans calling for him to be replaced immediately, it was inevitable that I would have to say something.  I started once … twice … thrice … but my words were too much, were filled with something I’d rather not be remembered for.  And then, from across the pond, came a voice … a voice of reason and truth from our friend Lord David Prosser.  Thank you, David …

Hey Joe.(Apologies to Jimi Hendrix).

Voter Apathy — Part I (A Reprisal From 2018)

Posted on by under Election 2018, Election 2024, Political commentary, Social commentary, voting rights

In 2018, I wrote a three-part series on voter apathy, people failing to do their civic duty.  Voting is a right … and one that we should safeguard, for it would be all too easy to lose it … but it is also a responsibility!  If you live in this nation, you pay taxes in this nation, then you have a duty to educate yourself on the candidates and the issues, and vote your conscience for the candidate(s) you believe are best qualified to lead the nation.  If you fail in your duty, then you are responsible for whatever befalls us all.  I am deeply concerned about this nation today … both citizens and the press seem more concerned about petty issues than the fact that there is a would-be cruel & evil dictator on the ballot this year.  Instead, they worry that the other candidate, the one who has a history of success for the people of this nation, might be getting old.  Upon hearing and reading of a number of people saying that since they don’t like either candidate, they just won’t bother to vote, I decided to reprise my series from 2018, for it is even more relevant today than it was then.  This is Part I, and I will follow over the course of the next week or so with Parts II and III.

An article in New York Magazine’s Intelligencer caught my eye yesterday.  The headline?

12 Young People on Why They Probably Won’t Vote

Say what???  In the wake of the Parkland school shooting last February, I thought young people were energized, I thought they were determined to make their voices heard, to make a difference.  According to the article, however, more than half of American adults plan to cast ballots in November, but only a third of people ages 18 to 29 say they will. What happened?  I had to know, so I read the article.  Here are some of the highlights …

  • 2016 was such a disillusioning experience. Going into the election, I was so proud to be in this country at this moment, so proud to be voting for Hillary Clinton. I had my Clinton sweatshirt on all day. I was on Twitter telling people that if they didn’t vote they were dead to me — like the whole thing. Watching the results come in, it was just disheartening. My faith in the whole system was crushed pretty quickly.

  • I think there’s a way to be an informed nonvoter. I’d rather have an informed nonvoter than an uninformed voter going in and making a choice they don’t understand.

  • There are things that I’m aware of where I’m certain I’m right. But for most things, although I feel strongly, it’s very probable that there’s some aspect of this that I don’t understand. Somebody provides a new avenue of thought, and it changes the way I think about something. I never felt certain enough to vote.

  • I tried to register for the 2016 election, but it was beyond the deadline by the time I tried to do it. I hate mailing stuff; it gives me anxiety. I don’t remember seeing voter-registration drives, no. I’ve seen a lot more the past two years. I’m sure there must have been stuff. I just don’t remember it.

  • I guess I still thought, Okay, my vote is largely symbolic in this election because I’m in Texas. Even if Texas went blue, I’m pretty sure my vote wouldn’t matter anyway. Austin is very liberal, but it’s very gerrymandered.

  • I have ADHD, and it makes it hard for me to do certain tasks where the payoff is far off in the future or abstract. I don’t find it intrinsically motivational.

  • I rent and move around quite a bit, and when I try to get absentee ballots, they need me to print out a form and mail it to them no more than 30 days before the election but also no less than seven days before the election. Typically, I check way before that time, then forget to check again, or just say “F*** it” because I don’t own a printer or stamps anyway.

  • I feel like the Democratic Party doesn’t really stand for the things I believe in anymore. Why should I vote for a party that doesn’t really do anything for me as a voter? Millennials don’t vote because a lot of politicians are appealing to older voters. We deserve politicians that are willing to do stuff for our future instead of catering to people who will not be here for our future. I’m a poli-sci major …

  • I look at it this way: That report just came out the other day about global warming, talking about how we have 12 years, until 2030, for this radical change unlike the world has ever seen. And The Hill newspaper just put out that article about how the DNC does not plan on making climate change a big part of their platform, even still. I just do not understand why I would vote for a party that doesn’t care about me in any way. They can say, “Sure, we’ll lower student interest rates.” Well, I don’t give a shit about student interest rates if I’m not going to live past 13 more years on this planet.

  • Most people my age have zero need to go to the post office and may have never stepped into one before. Honestly, if someone had the forms printed for me and was willing to deal with the post office, I’d be much more inclined to vote.

  • I vote when I feel like I have to. But I mostly consider it something that sucks a lot of people’s time and energy away from actually building power with the people around them.

  • For a while, I thought it was an immoral act to vote. It means that we’re giving our approval to a system that I totally do not want to validate.

  • My parents are of the generation where they actually watch the news, and they know about candidates via the news. Where my generation, the millennial generation, is getting all their news from social media like Twitter or Instagram or Facebook, and that is not always the best. Reading things through social media is snippets, and it’s not the whole details on everything, you know? It’s a wild theory, but setting voting up so that it’s all on social media, putting all that information in just an Instagram Story, in a Snapchat filter or whatever — bulleted-out, easy-to-read, digestible content — would encourage me to vote.

As you might guess, the article left me torn between a sense of intense fury, seriously wanting to go smack a young person, and one of “we are doomed, folks … these are that ‘next generation’ we’ve been counting so heavily on!”  Who’s to blame here?  Perhaps we all are, but offhand I am angry with parents who have not bothered to instill a sense of responsibility into these young people, and our schools who somewhere along the line decided it was more important to teach them to program a computer than to teach them how our government works and how very important each and every vote is. vote-3

Good People Doing Good Things — Young Ones

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Economic issues, education, Good people doing good things, Social commentary, voting rights

Today is Wednesday, so it must be ‘good people’ day!  I think that with everything in the news these days, we all need these good people posts more than ever to help us remember that not everyone is greedy or cruel, that there really are people out there doing their best for humanity.  Today, I want to focus on three young people who saw a problem and took the initiative to do something to try to help.  When I see young people acting to help the environment or other people, it helps me think that maybe, just maybe there is hope for the future after all!

After learning about a family member’s struggle with homelessness, Peyton Anderson (12 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin) wanted to learn more. The statistics she found were overwhelming: in the United States, an estimated 4.2 million youth and young adults experience homelessness each year and approximately 700,000 are unaccompanied minors—meaning they are not part of a family or accompanied by a parent or guardian. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, these estimates indicate that approximately one in 10 adults ages 18 to 25, and one in 30 youth ages 13 to 17, will experience homelessness each year. Wanting to reduce those numbers, Peyton created Eye of a Child in in 2019.

Eye of a Child is taking on homelessness by raising awareness of the issue and its causes while providing direct support to youth and young adults who are unhoused and homeless. Each year, her organization hosts three major events: a backpack and school supply drive during the summer; a holiday toy drive in the late fall and early winter; and a birthday donation celebration in the spring where she hosts large collective birthday parties for youth living in shelters around the greater Milwaukee area. Over the past five years, Peyton has collected and distributed over $50,000 in financial and in-kind donations to shelters! Despite the unique challenges homeless and unhoused youth and young adults face, Peyton is determined to show everyone that “every child deserves to smile”.

As an avid reader and writer of current events, Sierra Pape (16 | Atlanta, Georgia) feels deeply about the importance of protecting the fundamental right to vote, especially with the history of voter suppression in Atlanta. Between witnessing barriers that have disproportionately affected marginalized communities, low rates of youth voter turnout—in 2022, over 70% of Georgia’s eligible youth voters did not vote in the midterm election—and her own personal values of social justice, Sierra was determined to take action in advocating youth to vote. In 2022, Sierra helped kickstart the Midtown High School chapter of the national nonpartisan organization, When We All Vote.

When We All Vote works to change the culture around voting and to increase participation in every election by helping to close the race and age gap. As the chapter’s Co-President, Sierra has worked around the clock to organize registration and education events that specifically address barriers to youth voting, such as teaching young people about how to register to vote and what the voting process entails. By creating partnerships with the Black Student Union and 21st Century Leaders, two other student advocacy organizations at her school, the chapter is now 100 members strong, has registered more than 425 young people to vote, and have reached over 700 community members. As Sierra continues in her education, she hopes to extend her efforts at her future college and work with colleagues at other higher education institutions. Given the country’s history of youth leading societal progress and Georgia’s rich history of civic engagement, Sierra firmly believes that this next generation of voters will ensure a brighter and more equitable future for all.

When Sehaj Grewal (17 | Richmond, Virginia) started middle school, he quickly learned about the impact of hunger: at his school, over 35% of students qualified for the free lunch program. Sehaj, who is Sikh, began thinking of his faith and its central tenet of seva or selfless service. At Gurdwaras, Sikh houses of worship, all people who enter are served a free vegetarian meal where everyone sits on the floor and eats together—regardless of faith, gender, or socioeconomic status—as a way to both combat hunger and demonstrate equality. Recognizing the impact of a hot nutritious meal bringing together and uplifting a community, Sehaj enlisted his family and friends to found Seva Truck Richmond in 2021.

Seva Truck Richmond began with a mobile food truck to deliver warm, nutritious meals to school children in need with the goal of reducing food insecurity and its effects on physical and mental health. Meals are prepared using locally sourced ingredients, including produce grown by the Seva Truck team, and are distributed on a daily basis at Title 1 Schools and sites around downtown Richmond where they can support people experiencing homelessness. Over the past two years, volunteers of all ages have helped make the distribution of more than 23,000 hot meals possible. Sehaj’s efforts to establish a regular group of student volunteers has sparked new ideas for expanding Seva Truck’s reach, including opportunities for volunteers to address hunger and homelessness through job skills development, a mobile shower and laundry trailer, and a co-op farm that will provide temporary housing as part of a work-exchange program. For Sehaj, Seva Truck Richmond demonstrates that helping people in your community can be simple and impactful, and one idea can inspire others.

Snarky Snippets Time!

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2024, Free Press Issues, Political commentary, Social commentary, voting rights

Well, I’ve gone on enough about the @#$& Supreme Court decision in the case of Trump v United States (that title ought to tell you something in itself!) whereby the court said that yes, presidents are above the law, and about the media’s extremely biased views on President Biden, and it’s time to look at some other things.  Luckily, I am talented in my ability to find the snarky side in almost anything!

In Thursday’s election in the United Kingdom, the Labour Party soundly defeated the incumbent Tory or Conservative Party.  I shan’t opine on whether that may be a good thing or not, for I really don’t understand enough to do so intelligently.  But, one thing I will say is that those guys move fast!  Whereas here, a new president may be elected the first week in November, but he/she will not take office until January 20th of the following year.  In the UK, the reins of power were transferred yesterday, the day after the election!  But what’s even more impressive is that there was no whining, no calls of ‘election interference’ or ‘stolen election’, nobody questioned whether the voting machines had been tampered with or whether election workers were dishonest … the results were accepted and outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, “The Labour Party has won this general election,” then he called Keir Starmer, the new Prime Minister, to congratulate him.  THIS, my friends, is maturity, responsible behaviour, professionalism … THIS is how it is supposed to work!  It’s called “peaceful transition of power” and is essential to a non-authoritarian government!  Some here in the dis-United States could take a lesson or three from Mr. Sunak!

I’ve introduced you to North Carolina Lt. Governor and candidate for Governor, Mark Robinson before.  He is one nasty piece of work … not quite even deserving of the title “human being” in my book, saying that Martin Luther King was an “ersatz pastor” and a “communist,” and the 1960s civil rights movement was “crap.”  He also believes that women should not have the right to vote, and that the survivors of the Parkland school shooting are “angry, know it all CHILDREN” because they advocate for stricter gun laws.  Yep, a solid asshole is Mr. Robinson.  His latest?

“Some folks need killing! It’s time for somebody to say it. It’s not a matter of vengeance. It’s not a matter of being mean or spiteful. It’s a matter of necessity!”

Among those he believes “need killing” are ‘socialists, communists, and leftists’.  Surely, you say, the people of North Carolina couldn’t consider voting for this ‘man’ as governor.  Think again.  Robinson has been consistently ahead of his Democratic competitor, Josh Stein, in the polls and remains in the lead today.

Holidays in the U.S. for some are naught more than an excuse to get drunk.  I would be shocked if there were ever a July 4th holiday where someone didn’t die because of a drunk driver or drunk gun owner … usually there are several such incidents.  On Thursday, a man in New York City drove his truck at a high rate of speed past a stop sign, onto the sidewalk and into a park.  He killed three people and injured at least nine others.  The man, Daniel Hyden, was arrested for drunk driving and driving without a valid license.  Now here’s the irony:  Mr. Hyden works as a substance abuse counselor in New York and serves as a program director for three residential programs in Manhattan.  On his LinkedIn page he writes:  “My mission is to use my lifelong experience with addiction to teach addicts how to save themselves and achieve long term recovery.”  I’m reminded of that age old saying, “Cura te ipsum” or “Physician, heal thyself.”

A million thumbs DOWN to every U.S. media outlet for their fixation/obsession with President Biden’s one bad night and whether he should remain on the ballot.

👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎

More than one week later, EVERY DAMN media outlet is covering almost nothing else.  The New York Times, Washington Post, even those outlets that are typically less biased, more fair, like PBS and Reuters, and Associated Press (AP) seem unable to tear themselves away from asking the same thing over and over and over ad nauseam!  Meanwhile, they are giving Felon Trump a practically free pass, despite his equally horrendous performance that night.  There were probably a few mass shootings in the U.S. over the holiday, but the free press are too busy to care!  I’m seriously considering cancelling my subscription with the New York Times and saving myself $20 a month!  Meanwhile, if you want any real news, I suggest the UK’s The Guardian!

A Better Definition of ‘Patriotism’

Posted on by under education, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary, voting rights

I hear the word “patriot” or “patriotism” bandied about a lot these days.  I’ve been told more than a few times that I’m not ‘patriotic’ because of my tendency to question the motives of certain people & policies here in the U.S.  By the definition of some, ‘patriotism’ is waving a flag and having a ‘Trump’ bumper sticker on their car.  But to me, that form of ‘patriotism’ is false, has nothing to do with loyalty or care for one’s country.  Our dear friend Roger shared his view of patriotism and I think his definition is far superior to any I’ve heard lately, so please take a look for yourself.  Thank you, Roger, for your clear-eyed view from across the pond!

4th July. USA. A few Words on Patriotism

And In Other News …

Posted on by under Election 2024, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary, voting rights

The headline reads …

Putin Invades U.S. – No Resistance Was Met

Okay, so that’s a stretch of my imagination … presumably our government is still functioning and the military still ready, willing, and able to defend the nation.  However, Putin has other tools in his kit such as the ones he used to sway the 2016 election, and I’m sure he’s having a field day right now, probably sitting their chuckling while eating his borscht.

EVERYONE in this nation is so fixated on a 90-minute debate last Thursday night that literally nobody is talking about anything else.  That’s not only pretty damn foolish, but also pretty damn dangerous.  The Supreme Court made three rather disastrous decisions late this week, decisions that typically would have been headline news and had everyone talking, but I haven’t even seen mention of them on blogs or in email except from Heather Cox Richardson and Joyce Vance.  In Georgia and Tennessee, efforts have begun to purge voter rolls, but I didn’t see that in the New York Times or The Washington Post.

Yes, the debate was problematic in more ways than one, but guess what, peeps?  There are other things happening as well that may, in the long run, have a larger impact than one debate that was poorly managed from the get-go.

One of the Court’s decisions was in the case of Fischer v U.S.  In a nutshell, this ruling will reverse some of the convictions of January 6th insurrectionists, and it may call into question the case in Washington against Donald Trump, although Jack Smith says it won’t have an affect.  Another of their decisions was in the case of Grant’s Pass v Johnson, whereby they overturned legal protections for the homeless, giving cities the power to arrest, cite and fine homeless people for sleeping outdoors.

But perhaps the absolute worst, most critical of the Court’s rulings this week was in the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, Relentless v. Department of Commerce.  This one is going to require a deep dive that I’m not inclined to do today, but in essence, it takes away a degree of power from federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and many, many others, and turns it over to the courts.  Federal agencies are staffed with experts in their fields … doctors, scientists, etc.  The courts are filled with lawyers, none of whom are qualified to determine whether, say, lives will be lost if a company doesn’t implement certain workplace safety rules, or in the case of insufficient testing of new products.

Worse yet, and I will do a more in-depth post about the Loper Bright case, this ruling fits hand-in-glove with certain parts of the Republican plan of action, Project 2025, that will require agencies to be staffed with loyalists rather than experts.

Tomorrow morning the Supreme Court is expected to announce their decision about whether or not Donald Trump has immunity for crimes he committed while occupying the Oval Office, and if so, to what extent.  This IS IMPORTANT, my friends, for it could all but shut down at least one, if not more of his federal cases, could let a criminal walk free and commit even more heinous crimes.  The Court has proven itself to be the most corrupt in the history of this nation … will they ‘do the right thing’ and rule that there is no blanket immunity, that a president is not, in fact, above the law?  Or will they cave to the GOP?  Stay tuned …

See, folks, while some couldn’t take their eyes off one topic, life went on, other things happened in the world.  Heck, for all we know there could have been a mass shooting and 100 people could be lying dead in the streets of Spokane because everyone was so fixated on talking about President Biden’s debate performance that nobody noticed all the bodies!  Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but you get my point, yes?  Put it into perspective, yes be concerned, but don’t let it dominate.  Even the two main news outlets are filling their pages with ponderings on the debate to the exclusion of all other news.  If you want any real news, you’ll likely have to head to The Guardian or BBC!

Note to Readers:  I apologize for any delay in responding to your comments, for I am seriously behind at the moment.  Know that I always appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and I am trying hard to get back on top of things, but have gotten a bit overwhelmed these last few days.  I really need 4 more hours in every day!!!

60 Years Later …

Posted on by under education, History, Law and justice, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary, voting rights

I missed an important anniversary yesterday.  It was exactly 60 years ago yesterday when three young men were brutally murdered, with the assistance of law enforcement, by the Ku Klux Klan for their ‘crime’ of helping Black people register to vote.  The men, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, were attacked by more than 20 klansmen, beaten to death, shot at point blank range, then their bodies were thrown into an earthen dam 15 feet deep.

You all know the story, it’s been immortalized in many ways including the movie Mississippi Burning, numerous books and documentaries.  Rather than retell the story here, today I think it’s important to focus on where we are today as compared to sixty years ago.  Have we learned from the horrors that took place in the past?  Have we, as a nation, as a society, become more open to the idea of racial equality?  Have we learned to embrace our differences rather than scorn them? Did these three young men give their lives for a greater good, or did they die in vain, as humans continue to judge and condemn people based on the colour of their skin?

Sixty years later, but as I read the news each day, see stories of white nationalists claiming their skin colour somehow makes them superior, see states gerrymandering voting districts to distill the votes of people of colour, I wonder if we have really learned anything.

Robert Reich had a personal connection to one of the three young men so brutally murdered sixty years ago and he’d like to share that story with us …

(Note that Reich told this story and I shared the written version last year, but the video is new this year)

There is only one way we can honour these and other people who have paid the ultimate price in the fight for equality, and that is to DO BETTER!  We must be better, help promote understanding and love, fight against bigotry in all its forms, teach tolerance by living up to our own standards.  It’s up to us, my friends.  Will our grandchildren still be asking when the 100th anniversary of Freedom Summer happens in 2064, whether we have progressed or not?