Joe--The Old Guy

 

Yes, I know Joe Biden is 180 years old and moss grows on his head and he stutters a bit, but just take a look at how ‘normal’ things are compared to how it was in January of 2021 when he took over.  In only two years he has guided a country completely unhinged by a coup attempt by the last President to a more organized and even (dare I say) bipartisan place where actual good work is being done.  The economy has stabilized, unemployment has never been lower, inflation has been reduced, the deficit has been significantly reduced, we have avoided a Republican induced crisis over the debt limit, good legislation has been passed on medical care, the environment, the economy, and veteran’s benefits.  The chaos we endured over 6 years of unending lies, character assassination, incompetent appointments, and misinformation has been mitigated.  We have had a safe, competent and secure national election that has made it clear that the majority of the country wants less of Trumpism and more of normal-ism, patriotism and unity.

 

I would say that is a pretty strong endorsement for our current President, who with a sure hand has definitely made life better for those of us most in need of help.  His quiet but steady leadership, wisdom and negotiating skill has burnished off the sharp edges of despair that we all felt on January 7^th, 2021.  Let’s give credit where credit is due.  

 

Listen to what our Republican friends are proposing for our future as we

approach 2024.  I hear calls from the front runner and other contenders for a national default, a purging of our national law enforcement, further restrictions on our rights to abortion and voting, coddling of our adversaries (Russia and other autocratic societies), disengagement on the world stage, destroying our civil service system, increasing restrictions on books, thought and education as well as other avenues of free expression in an insane culture war on journalism and free expression.   They are promoting a continuing attack on our electoral system which has been shown to be pretty resilient.  All we hear is a cry for ‘election integrity’, when in fact they have been unable to prove any fraud or malfeasance.

 

So, let’s take a deep breath and think about extending this current phase of intelligent government another four years so we can continue to pass useful legislation, reduce our national debt and deficit, and leave the chaos of unhinged leaders behind.  The old guy who stutters a bit seems to be doing just fine.  His mind is as sharp as ever and he has the wisdom and experience to handle the rough seas of our current world conditions.  

 

Bravo Joe!

Anger

People are getting angry.  For many Americans the level of frustration and anger is increasing at a faster rate than I can ever remember in my 75 years on this planet.  

Since 2000 when the Supreme Court handed the election to George Bush, even though he did not win the popular vote, we Americans have suffered through insult after insult to our way of life at the hands of a minority of our countrymen called Republicans.

 

These Republicans have destroyed our sense of safety by stonewalling any effort to promote gun safety regulation, they have steadfastly opposed any effort to improve the lives of working people by rejecting efforts to improve health care, child care support, by lowering taxes on the least deserving rich people in this country, obstructing efforts to extend voting rights, disenfranchising citizens who want to vote, obstructing efforts to lower greenhouse gasses and a whole host of other efforts to make life better for the average American.

 

Most recently they have attacked our freedoms by banning books, gerrymandering their way to power so they can pass legislation that targets minorities for restriction of rights, for restriction of medical care, for the right to privacy and choice with regard to our own bodies.

 

And as a final coup-de-gras, these traitorous Republicans attempted to overthrow a national election, supported an insurrection led by a liar and disgraced President.  They have supported the twisting of truth and the promotion of misinformation and lies in an effort to subvert and destroy our democracy.  They are dragging us into the abyss of default and will ultimately destroy our economy and bring chaos to all of us as we descend into depression and the unraveling of the American republic.

 

If we can last until November of 2024 we will have one last chance to rescue our way of life in what could be the last honest election we will ever have in the United States of America. 

 

I think people who are the real patriots, and believe in the fundamentals of American Democracy are just angry enough now to throw all these people out of office so we can get our country back.  I choose to believe that there is a wellspring of true patriotism that is being born in the ranks of our youth and those in our silent majority who believe in the integrity of the rule of law and the fundamentals of our Constitution.  I choose to believe that because of the innate stupidity and selfishness of these people called Republicans, they cannot see that they are completely out of step with the majority of Americans.  I believe that will be their undoing.

 

I believe that the rest of us are gaining clarity of purpose.  I believe that those of us who are angry will express that anger in November of 2024 and remove this sickness that is called the Republican Party from our body politic and recapture the essence of the American ideal: that all men are created equal and have a right to pursue happiness in the way that they individually choose.

 

I believe that unless we rid ourselves of this scourge called the Republican party, we will be living in a new, dystopian and disappointing version of what we once called "The American Dream".

Merrick Garland Has Failed Us

It's really hard to accept that 2 years and 5 months after January 6th, we still have not seen an indictment of the one person who is clearly responsible for bringing the United States of America close to democratic collapse.  The US Department of Justice has had all that time to muse over whether any of literally hundreds of infractions committed by Donald Trump qualifies as justification for indictment for the most serious crimes of insurrection and sedition.  We have seen months of detailed testimony and recreation of the events leading up to January 6th reviewed by the Congressional January 6th Committee as well as hours of video evidence clearly showing the result of Trump's invitation to insurrection.  His continued election denial and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, even to this day only serve to underline the magnitude of his crimes.

 

And yet, nothing has happened.

 

How interesting that with regard to George Santos, justice apparently moves swiftly when it comes to indictment of his crimes.  Somehow Garland's DOJ decision making power seems not to be hindered.  In just a few weeks, there was enough investigation and evidence to support a 13-count federal indictment.  My, my!  How commendable to move so expeditiously!

 

One only wonders whether Merrick Garland is just afraid, or incompetent.  Either way he needs to go.  We need an AG who values our democracy and is not reluctant to come to its aid and support when it is threatened.  Because of Garland's recalcitrance, the existential threat to our democracy looms large in the specter of a new Trump presidency.  If Trump is elected, and with his clear prominence in the race for the Republican party nomination it is not beyond the realm of possibility, Garland will have been instrumental in the collapse of our republic.

 

He needs to go.

I Need Relief--PLEASE!

 When you have a nagging problem that just simply hangs on it just becomes really irritating and.... tiring over time!  If you have a hunk of food caught between your teeth, it is frustrating and infuriating when you can't get rid of it, and you don't have access to dental floss anytime soon!

 That is something I am feeling with the almost constant drumbeat of anticipation about Trump's impending indictments.  It is just so tiring!  You can't turn on the news without the lead story being about this disgraced man howling some incoherent charge about chaos and destruction being a result of all these witch hunts trying to destroy him.  All I want to know is when will he simply disappear from all our consciousness?

 

Our country and our existence for the past 7 years has been sullied with the rancidness of his presence, no matter whether you love him or hate him.  He just always seems to be present, either just below the surface or making his presence overwhelm us at all times when we don't want to hear about him. 

 

When will it stop!

 

Normal politics and relative equanimity seem like a distant almost forgotten memory.  He's just such a victim, isn't he?  And his constant incitement to violence is so malevolent!  He is just such a fetid hunk of meat caught in my molars!  I just want him gone.  And I don't think we will be free of this piece of toilet paper caught on our shoes until he just disappears or expires, which will not be soon enough unfortunately, ---unless we all just send him an unlimited amount of high cholesterol foods and get some of his sycophants to force feed him really fatty french fries!

 

Our media's frenzy in breathlessly and incessantly analyzing all the possibilities and permutations of the impending indictments is a waste of mental space.  They give him airtime where he spews his sordid, filthy rhetoric.  My tolerance for watching any of television's endless news programs becomes less and less each time they snag my attention, because within 30 seconds it becomes apparent that I have heard it all already and it is a waste of space polluting my cerebral file space.

 

We just can't seem to be rid of this piece of schmutz- and I am just.....tired!  

 

Either charge the asshole or shut up, all of you so called prosecutors.  Thanks for nothing, Merrick Garland!  You have proven yourself not up to the job.

 

Lord, just make him .....gone.....PLEASE!

A Simpler Life

 

A friend asked me recently why I haven't written anything in my blog for a long while.  I was quiet for a moment as I tried to articulate why I have felt the ennui that has blocked me from writing.  I somehow believed that by writing, I could express what seemed rational to me.  What I have learned is that rationality is overrated.  Truth has become a value-less commodity.  Ultimately, I think I just surrendered the belief that I could have any effect.  I've been around for 75 years, and I can't remember a time when everything has seemed so complicated; so out of control.  We all keep telling ourselves that 'things are alright', but we know on some level that they aren't.  We have entered an era of misinformation and deception.

 

It's true that the political situation in America has perhaps been the biggest disrupter, leaving all of us anxious about the state of our democracy.  For all my life, I never worried about that.  It is terribly unnerving and frightening to become aware that the foundational tenet of our safety has been fractured and in danger of collapse at the hands of irrational politicians and others whose only God is money and power.  The most demoralizing effect of all this is the realization that a significant portion of my countrymen believe a lie so monstrous that loss of life is of no consequence to them.  A coup attempt and insurrection seems to not be a problem for a large minority of our population.  This is demoralizing to me.

 

But there is also the rise of authoritarianism in the rest of the world, the increasingly fragile economy of the world, and, most importantly, the ability of humanity to see what is going on everywhere all at once.  It becomes overwhelming.  In all of history up until the last several decades, our awareness of the immensity and complexity of human activity, and pervasiveness of human cruelty was veiled because our ability to see and hear about such things was limited by communication technology.  Now, our awareness is hyper-sensitized because our existence has morphed into uninterrupted screens of everything we want to know and everything we don't want to know about.

 

Perhaps our children can contend with this new reality because they are 'children of the screens', but we are not.  I do my best to stay connected and 'wired in', but it is really tiring for a brain born in the middle of the last century.  Information overload taxes the feeling of control that makes for a satisfying life.

 

As I contemplate the remaining years of my life, I have turned my attention to finding a place to live that is secluded and protected from the irrationality and complexity that seems to be all around us.  Our major populations centers are increasingly disorganized, violent and dangerous.  Density of population only seems to aggravate the confusion we are all feeling.  

 

So, the solution for me is to build a retreat in the mountains that will offer us solace and security.  Less people, simpler living style (with the advantage of instant communication) seems like the best alternative.  As I increasingly realize that there is little that I can do to influence the morphing of human society into something rather dystopian, the best solution is to focus on the meaning of my family, the people I love and a return to the natural rhythms of nature.  

 

I think therein lies the best option for my future.  So as my 'wa' quiets down, perhaps I will begin to comment on simpler things that become clear and have meaning.

Election Day--a day that will live in .......?

We are approaching the end, thank God, of our election season.  As I sit in front of the TV and try to digest what I see, it is so discouraging to be alive and witnessing what might be the disintegration of our America.  It just seems like there is a kind of insanity that is gripping half of our people.  Truth, honest truth, has been abandoned.  There seems to be a mass hysteria that has infected almost half our citizens.  It is an infection of anger, mistrust, belief in conspiracies, acceptance of lies as truth, abandonment of compromise, disgust for democratic principles we have been taught to cherish and honor.  There is a belief among these people that facts and reality are unimportant in the quest for power.

 

There are people who are about to possibly take the reins of our government and our society who accept the notion that truth is overrated.  Greed and power are all that matters, and reality is a myth.  Our democratic republic cannot exist in that kind of an environment.  A democratic republic has as its foundation the rule of law and the peaceful transition of power.  We have suffered through the leadership of a man who rejects both of those bedrock tenets and who has created a cult of followers who blindly pay obeisance to his lies.  Power is simply to be held onto at all costs, no matter the will of the people.

 

His 'plan' was to instill fear, hatred and violence in our body politic with an eye toward slowly, but relentlessly, replacing all those who believed in the tenets of our democracy with toadies and sycophants who revel in hisview of corruption in the service of greed and power.  

He has succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams or nightmares.  He hovers in the wings like a malevolent blood sucking insect waiting for his minions to summon him back into power so he can continue feeding off the fears and paranoia of his followers and those of us who cry out in anguish at the loss of our dream of equality and tranquility.

No matter how loud the rest of us scream that a bleak future awaits us upon the success of this minority, we seem unable to stop them.....Well it does seem that way doesn't it?

 

And so, cometh the day of reckoning this Tuesday, November 8, 2022.  If the rest of us can amass enough energy to outvote this bubbling cauldron of liars, we might be able to salvage our democracy from the jaws of election deniers and those who would bow down to autocracy and fascism.  

 

I would like to agree with Michael Moore, the well-known documentary film maker who in the past has tried to reveal the corruption of various segments of our society.  Of all the pundits I see on television who all 'tsk, tsk' their fears of the disappearance of our democracy, Moore is the only one who is optimistic in his prediction.  He says that there are 'more of us than them', and all we have to do is show up and vote.  He is expecting a resounding clarion call to our better angels.  

 

I wish I had his faith......Vote like your life depended on it---it does!

Where Have All The Children Gone.....

 There really is only one solution.  

 

As we try to navigate the horrors of repeated gun massacres, it is so obvious that action is stalemated by 50 Republicans in the Senate in the face of support by 90% of our citizens to take comprehensive action to control America's gun culture.  How is it with that kind of support, our representatives blindly accede to the gun lobby?  It is our own fault.  We must retake our right to vote from those who want to prevent us from exercising as a majority.

 

The fact of the matter is that the overwhelming majority of Americans want significant action on this and every other major issue that grinds our society into little pieces.  But all action is foiled by legislators and a party that wants to preserve their cash contributions from the gun lobby.  Greed trumps murder.

 

So how is it that with overwhelming support for change and regulation nothing happens?  The problem is deeper and more serious.  What we are experiencing is a broken representative government.  Our republic is hostage to minority rule.  

 

The Republican party is hell bent on twisting and gerrymandering our redistricting process.  They are singularly focused on passing laws that put election control in their hands to the extent that they can unilaterally decide to ignore actual voting results.  Our representative government is corrupted by an archaic electoral college process that has enabled Republicans who do not win the popular vote to secure office.  Republican Presidents who have not won the popular vote are able to stack the Supreme Court with arch conservative justices, especially with the help of Mitch McConnell who thumbed his nose at the Constitution and illegally prevented a popularly elected president from fulfilling his constitutional duty to appoint a Supreme Court justice. 

 

Worse than that, we have Republicans who represent all of us in the Senate and the House who are cowards!  They are not leaders.  A leader would DO something in the face of this mass carnage.

 

What is the answer?  We have no other mechanism now except to choose people who will actually lead and work for us.  We must recapture the ballot box.  If our republic is to survive, we must vote for people who will work for us and not simply posture for greed.  If we do not vote for good people who are honest and believe in our Constitution, then we are doomed as a democracy---sooner rather than later.

 

There are more of us than there are of them.  Let's take our country back.  Vote for people with morals and a conscience.  That's what the founding of America was based on--not the acquisition of power at whatever cost.  A friend of mine, Peter Yarrow, from Peter, Paul, & Mary, gives us all a plaintive, melancholic, moment to think about what we must do.

 

LINK: https://vimeo.com/716663975