Day 637

Day 637 Monday October 15, 2018    944 Days to Go

Let me be clear, I write these screeds for me.

It’s my way of dealing with the tragedy that has befallen our country and the world.

Some people disagree with what I write. This takes different forms, which I will get to in a moment. When someone disagrees I ask them for their opinion and supporting facts. Rarely do I get any facts, or any supporting evidence. I support my claims with evidence. I try to connect the dots. I do have harsh criticism for those in public office who are lying or hypocritical. I point out my reasoning and the history. Some people take exception to what I write. I ask them for their evidence. I ask them not to call me, my friends, or others names. Rarely, do I get anything but more name calling, more insults, more hyperbolic statements. Real facts, real evidence – no. Occasionally, I’ll be pointed to some web site that is pushing a conspiracy theory, or is fascinated with some minor, mostly irrelevant point. But that’s it.

I think it important to look at the big picture, at what is going on, at how history has shown similar events in the past and draw conclusions from those sources, and look for a way forward, to look for solutions to problems we are facing.

Let start with the idea that we want to solve problems, problems that are facing all of us. Can we agree on those problems? Here in lies the first problem. We can’t seem to agree on the problems facing us.

Let me list a few possible candidates:

Climate change,

Gun violence (and I’ll expand that to violence in general),

Drugs,

The economy,

voting rights,

women’s rights (and I’ll include abortion in here),

freedom of and from religion,

free and fair elections.

If I think of the people who typically disagree with me I don’t think we can even agree that many of the above issues are problems. Certainly, the possible solutions are wildly divergent.

I provide evidence to say the above things are problems and I am told I don’t understand, that I am wrong, or that I am proposing “out there” ideas. If I ask for their ideas, their evidence, I get by-and-large nothing. By that I mean, other than name calling or a link to a website that a quick Google search reveals it to be a right wing web site with a specific agenda, I get nothing that can be discussed.

Let me quickly go down the list:

Climate Change – what ya got that says it ain’t real? (I got Hurricane Michael and Florence, the melting ice cap and wildfires in California for starters. Plus we’ve had the warmest years on record every year for what? the past ten years?)

Gun violence – Everyday there’s another shooting. What else do you need to know? Every other country in the world has come up with a solution. I think we can to. Okay, that makes me an optimist. What do you have?

Drugs – The opioid crisis, brought to you by drug gangs and big pharma. Violence and lies. Can something be done? I think so. How about you?

The economy – Republicans spend more than Democrats. I’m for spending less, and I’m for spending it in places that help people, not a few people, not a few companies. I say a rising tide lifts all boats. Let’s do things that help us all have better lives. Don’t talk to me about socialism or twiddling with the monetary supply or interest rates; talk to me about how what you are proposing helps people.

Voting Rights – Everyone has a right to vote. Those who oppose that are unpatriotic. I call them Republicans (Joke! There are a few Republicans who actually believe that everyone should be allowed to vote. Most of them are dead.) The list of voter suppression tactics and gerrymandering by Republicans are legion. Yeah, I’ve heard “the Dems do it too” argument. But when you look at the way the districts are drawn in most states today there is no way you can conclude anything but cheating and rigging of the system. Hundreds of thousands of people were not allowed to vote in the last election due to “Operation Crosscheck” and in this election in Georgia alone 53,000 are being prevented by “Exact Match.” While the evidence, the evidence, of what these systems claim to be doing – preventing voter fraud – is a lie, because there is virtually no voter fraud. There might be now with hackers getting into the voting systems, but there aren’t voters fraudulently voting.

Women’s Rights – Here is the largest hypocrisy. Women are asking to be left alone to decide for themselves how to live their lives and to be treated the same as a man when it comes to the workplace. This is a big problem for men and for people who read the bible and for people who crow about “freedom.” Seems we can have freedom everywhere but here. We need to stop women from conducting their own affairs. We need to preach to them, to thump the holy book, to lie to them, to stop them from doing what they think is best. Why? Because we know better! Hey, I got news for you all that say that stuff. You don’t.

When it comes to the pro-life movement. Each one of those people who says they are pro-life has a choice to back either you kill the woman who is living or allow the woman to stop what is going on in her own body. If you say she doesn’t have the right to stop what is going on in her body then you are saying you prefer that the woman dies. It’s that simple. I call the pro-life movement the pro-death movement because they have chosen to let a woman die for their self righteous beliefs. 

As far as women getting paid the same as men. It will happen, when women are in charge.

Freedom of religion and freedom from religion – You can go and pray to any god or belief you want. But when you try to use that belief or god to justify how I should live my life, we got a problem.

Free and Fair Elections – One party is for them; one is not. One party embraces all voters; one does not. One party looks to improve conditions; one party lives in fear that someone will take something from them. Your choice which party you want to embrace. Or you can cop out and vote for Jill Stein or the latest Libertarian or Green Party or whatever.

Our electoral system has problems. Getting rid of the Electoral collage altogether would allow for the person with the most votes to win. However, it could usher in many candidates getting small percentages of the vote, or as happened in Maine two centrist candidate split the vote for Governor and a crack pot won more and got elected. Until that kind of problem is solved ( and there are some ways to do it, possibly, which I’d be glad to discuss later – at length) we are stuck with our current system. A possible solution would be to have the electoral votes of a state go to the candidate who won the popular vote. That would mean Trump and W would never have won an election and four of the nine Supreme Court justices would not be sitting on the bench today. You the ones who voted for allowing dark money into politics and who have voted against the will of the people repeatedly.

I welcome those who make snide comments about what I write, or about me, my friends, the politicians I favor, or the ideas I espouse to try and say something factual, positive, and helpful. 

Hint: Calling me “out there” or someone you don’t know a lesbian, or repeatedly saying “Can’t wait for Trumps second term”, or MAGA! ain’t doing any of the things I am encouraging you to do. Oh, and telling me “I don’t understand” or pointing to the anti-fa movement or some bizarre behavior in a minor incident in a small time college several years ago ain’t cutting it either.

And before you send me a link to a website no one has ever heard of why don’t you save me the trouble and google it first? If it comes back as labelled “alt-right”, or “Christian”, or has financial backing of names Koch, Mercer, etc. Save your breath (fingers typing?) because they all have a specific agenda and it’s not to help people.

Moving on. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has made it clear that if anyone tries to punish them for interrogating, torturing, murdering, and sawing up a journalist there will be retribution. I don’t know what? Maybe you’ll be interrogated, tortured, murdered, and sawed up? So I guess we better not say anything, huh? And there’s that money! The one hundred and ten billion dollars! Can’t let that slip through our fingers!

Let’s just be quiet. Maybe it will all go away? 

Isn’t there a Bible saying about reaping the whirlwind? Do you think all of Trump’s pals are watching? Kim in North Korea? Duerte in the Philippines? Xi in China?

Hey guys, No problem. We are open for business. Buy some arms, stay in my hotel. Give lovely Ivanka an exclusive deal, take out a loan on Jared’s family properties and we’re good. 

This is America! This is what we’ve become. Aren’t you proud? 

Stand up for what you believe in.

944 Days to Go

PS The Ossuary, Chichen Itza, Mexico.