Money and Politics- Satire -

Money and Politics -  A Satire -

because if I were to lay bare the gravity of the offenses it would resonate throughout the Cosmos to crack the vaults of heaven- so grievous are the sins of wealth in our time....;)

ha! I waxed eloquent...;)

Money, the Republicans say the tortured legalisms that allow unfettered spending by imitation public welfare groups like Hushed Limbaugh and CrossRoads, and Alec  which intends to rewrite our Constitution one life-killing morsel at a time have not affected Democracy.  Well if not, it has certainly put the CRAZY back in to Democracy.  Democrazy is the Republican Brand that wants us to burn fossil fuels until we die-off like every other dominant species with the difference being- we had a choice. Oil and water don't mix and fracking will leave us with less water to drink and grow crops.

Money has transformed Democracy into a battle for survival for the political majority.  Ignorance has reduced the capacity of our people to govern. Now, they cannot find truth in the deluge of messages, and often vote against their interests. Such as

electing any Republican to office who then attempts to prevent voters from voting- in a Democracy these people should be shunned:

electing leaders who openly sell out to interest groups_ the No tax pledge is a conflict of interest, we elect them to use their best judgment for our benefit, not to swear allegiance to a No-Tax God;

Electing people who are bound to Conservative principles- which are non-existent until someone makes them up on the spot, and btw  the word "no" is not an effective way to govern when the people ask for the word "yes"

Has money transformed US Politics-- is the Pope Catholic-

Has money destroyed the Democratic Process in the US- sadly, yes, and there is little doubt. We can have a debate on needs and priorities and no one suggests abolishing Derivatives Trading- this is the food stamp./welfare. never fear for money again for the wealthy-- sucks investment capital out of the economy

Can we have another year where one House of the Congress makes war on the US economy  - yes,  and it will continue until Democracy bares its teeth, and reminds the wealthy there are more poor and needy than rich...

I am convinced that the poor are in pain now, no longer willing to sit idle while we need jobs and so many things to make the country grow. I think this election cycle in 2014 will either be a revelation or a prelude to deeper change akin to revolution-- It is pain after all that makes the animal learn- to the human animal, a world filled with pain is a patient and thorough teacher.

ASK NOT what your country can do for you...

... ASK WHAT YOU can do for your country...

Sometimes words carry a feeling, a way to see life
and our place in it; a grand mosaic of dots linked by time
to create the face of humanity. In a moment- in each moment-
we have the potential to realize such a state of being;
a well placed gratitude for the life of liberty granted
by accident of birth in America.
It is enough to be thankful, to realize the grace of good fortune.
It is exceptional to act upon this amazing stage
and bring something greater that that which we found
The idea of progress is such, an empty canvas before each eye;
We can inscribe a lasting art that knows our name
or flinch away let waste
the simple wonder of time under the sun.

To contribute to a Nation,
is to connect the tiny life we have
with the limitless possibilities of a faith joined.
It is a faith in a better, more just tomorrow, in

precious wisdom, that tomorrow has already begun ...hdm

at the end of the whip...

So the Biblical wisdom  rings true, sow upon the wind and reap the whirlwind. For me there is another and more apt analogy; at the end of the whip the sting is felt.  For the rest of the world watching Typhoon Haiyan was like the flight of a whip through the air, where the storm struck, its sting has left an indelible scar.  Surrounded by the seas, the seas may never seem the same.

It recalls times in every place when the whip's sting raised anguish.Times when all the things we have made seemed to melt away, and we are like the man who turns to the stone to hide and the stone speaks- there is no hiding place. Since we have fueled the air with carbon and moisture, sown heat and
energy, the whirlwinds are upon  us all.  There is still the persistent myth that Western money, denial, and ignorance will prevail.  In this ignorance then, we wait for the whistle of wind and the sting of the whip....hdm

Ted and the Shutdown Clowns

I imagine they had paid employees in the crowds, back when the TP Congressmen were campaigning on the promise to shut down the US goverment. Yes, that was the goal all along, Obamacare and shutdown.  The government spends money on things they do not like, so it must be shut down.
In the hours before they pulled their stunt, Ted Cruz vecame their leader, more like the Pied Piper lesading the rats out to drown in the river.  Ted was not going to take responsibility.

Ted could be the nominee next Presidential Election, Democrats are so hopeful it comes true- He would not win Texas-- not now that he has been exposed as a Dimwit leader a bunch of DimmerWits
They say he was a brilliant scholar- most brilliant scholars that I have encountered were really good at kissing some Professorial Ass- I mean a few were genuine intellects, but school is pretend, most of the time it does not interpret to the real world.  Cruz has devolved to the lowest common denominator in Texas- a complete hypocrite, whereas most politicians are Reformed Hypicrites( as Mark Twain used to say of himself).

The low point reached by Ted and the Shutdown Clowns is a denial of responsibility and a breach of the trust between Government and the People.  One swears a duty to uphold the laws when elected to high office and one swears a duty to the Constitution. It can mean many things but it certainly means you will not try to destroy the Government, or attempt to overthrow a duly elected President-- yes, we have noted 6 yrs now of Impeachment threats- ( I actually heard the first before Obama was sworn in) this is when the Clowns became Fools, now they have risen up to the level of Clown, because all that was missing from that pathetic showing were  big shoes, funny noses and noise makers.

I say these things now because soon they will have a chance to redo their Clown routine, that unless we stop Healthcare and put our economy into Recession by again slashing spending they will default the nation and ruin the economy right now.  They give us little choice, it is either die by gunshot or starvation- either way they intend to mortally wound the Nation.  In their petty minds the idea is to wound the Democrats, to wound the fat government-- but you cannot be that precise when your weapon is a poison pill.
 
And the Clown show will go on- them in front of crowds cheering to shut it down.  Little people can die from things like this, from the stress of no unemployment check, no food aid, from the loss of critical medical care-- and you know, there are still soldiers dying for freedom in Afghanistan.

It has become clear with the Tea Party...it is a case of them or U.S.-- both seem unlikely to prosper together. The hard part is this: if the evil is spending and we must shortchange today's families needing jobs and economic growth to save our future generations-- why would anyone believe they wont say the same crap to them-- you cannot have space based jobs because it would indebt the generations of the farther future--Maybe its time to talk about abolishing derivatives trading-- too much productive capital making money exchanging paper, it damages the economy and causes concentration of wealth, now that would make the conversation more interesting to everyone.

Republican Principles ( an oxymoron)

I never got Limbaugh-- never understood why anyone would listen to him, for me it is the Ted Cruz, Mitt Romney syndrome-- I assume there is so much money behind them that they cannot fall from press prominence ergo hoc sic propter hoc they are Republican leaders.  But notice the quick rise from nowhere for Pres Obama- bare 2 yrs in the Senate before he took center stage. the money dynamic followed the swath of leadership.

 I worked in the Congress for liberals and progressive thinkers- Sen Kennedy, Wms., Pell, Mondale, Biden -Democrats yes but also Republicans like Jacob Javits, Clifford Case,  i worked around arch conservatives too, like Strom Thurmond  - it was easy to see what they stood for.  Today there is no longer a wall between public service and the reach of deep pocket fundors- there is no refuge for conscience, the demands are shrill and uniformed-- it is the way I can rationalize the money trough around the Shutdown? default-  an unbridled assault on democracy,  the Republicans appear unprincipled but that is an illusion, there is one overriding principle  to do as the master commands, however, that master is not the people.

I saw a small example of this today, I was mis-mailed a survey from a conservative Republican in Alabama- my choices were  to support raising taxes to reduce the debt or cutting spending to reduce the debt, or both...if cuts then what programs to cut...and there is the problem-- I advised him to tax derivatives to the max or abolish them, i advised him to give tax credits for new jobs here n the US and to  spend more money now -while it is cheap to do so to create jobs-- public service jobs to repair infrastructure, build libraries and computer centers- on and on  and this schmuck is gonna say-- the people want us to reduce spending no matter what--- tsk tsk-- he only listens if we repeat back what he has been told to hear...he is in the House but he represents nothing more than the next check from someone much more important to him than the people he represents.. time to prosecute some Gerrymander fraud, One-man one  vote cases.
The immigration law is a tidal point in US politics and our history as we transition to a non-white majority, and perhaps finally to a global citizenship not based on arms trade and warfare.

Vacant minds....

Stupidity---
the government shutdown and default on US debt is based upon it- so it is now the dominant theme in U.S. politics the demonstrated Stupidity of the Republican Party and the presumed stupidity of the American public.  It is important not to underestimate either force- Republicans use Stupidity like the Jedi used the the force.  It is strong within them and they exude it when they act.  It seeps like a low cloud when they fill a room- choking off the air needed for thought. 

They see they world through this cloud and the American people are to believe  that Democratic-led national health care is a national crisis that threatens he future of the country, so much so that Republicans are justified in attacking the national economy.  They see the public as accepting that Democrats have therefore failed to deliver a strong economy and are to blame for the shutdown, the default, and the economic harms of sequester, killing jobs legislation, small business legislation, infrastructure, and the national rail improvement- (can't put all the economic growth they have killed here I would need a new FB page) The question then is how stupid are the American people-  they start with many Caucasian-Americans who want to believe something evil about Obama- Fox News ran a comedy spoof that Obama is paying to keep a Muslim museum open in the Shut down- as a News item,  see  they want to believe anything evil. 

Then there are the Republicans who have decided to do anything, support anything to stop Obama- truly even in the Civil War Era there has not been a political party as destructive as these Republicans  Tea Party- a group of incredible phonies( so many of them actually live on the Government as military retirees, ex-civil servants, teachers  so forth), who claim credit for the blood sacrifices of our Nation's Heroes- yeah, they do, they say the American traditions of freedom are theirs. In summary they posses an over saturation of stupidity- more than a human mind can hold-- I see Donald Trump and I think about the movie  MIB--  aliens inside of stuff...hmmmm

The republicans( no caps  they are no longer a proper noun - just a semi-curse word like...Poop)  believe they can convince Americans that Obama has done all of these tings: damaged our Nation's credit, damaged our military, brought on the debt of the last 60 years of warring around the world for profits-- ye, and they are right, most Americans are inclined to believe all or part of it--- like those poled during the campaign who felt Mitt Romney deserved credit for killing Bin laden--- ahh thank you Fox News -- you keep us so well informed.

The Squeaker of the House

( satire and humor except for the parts about Republicans- that is my characteristic understatement for comedic effect)

The GOP chided ( weird word) the President for negotiating with Putin rather than Republicans-- but something important was forgotten- the Russians are far less a threat to the US than the Republicans. The Repubulicans have shown that they are willing and able to inflict deep wounds to the body politic. Russia on the other hand, values us as a trade partner and while they have nuclear missiles pointed at us, their destructive power is not as great as the Republicans. The GOP would take us all out-- Republicans now campaign to convince young people NOT TO HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE- not to detect the illnesses that will later shorten their lives-- see, that is an attempt to destroy our young people. Then, of course, they have blocked millions of new jobs- that also is a need of our young- careers and jobs. Finally, the GOP will throw the entire global economy into recession by dishonoring US debts-- because they are unhappy that a democratic American majority (1) elected a Black man; and (2) chose to have longer healthier lives( Obamacare) - (i debated for an hour which was more offensive to them, I tossed a coin it came down on its edge- it mocked me!)
Yes we have a "leader" of the GOP in Congress, I remember when that Office was filled with accomplishments- that made life better for the Nation- Tip O'Neill, Sam Rayburn-- I will remember the current Speaker as a Squeaker - a little furry mouse of a man. A tool for a few business interests who sits and spits the word debt- like we don't know its OUR money, its OUR debt, and God-dammit- We want to use it to make jobs and a better life here - aaahhhhmeeeii! there goes my vow - I promised God i would not curse-- but then again She understands, she has a nose too - and the stench from Washington, goes all the way up to where it can't go --no more... :)

War, Peace...and Idiots

There is a crisis of conscience in America.  We have seen the place of innocents and children in the calculus of power in Syria, hence the rest of the world. Lifeless children, the most compelling circumstance.  It is a sobering moment when we allow ourselves to feel what humans mus-- the need to protect our children It is a choice that comes only because we have the power to act.
It does not really matter whether we send missiles of troops because the idea is to communicate an idea...that the world as we know it will not stand idle while a government slaughters innocent people who disagree, who seek a different form of freedom. It matters that we are willing to consider putting our children- our brave men and women in uniform - in harm;s way.  They understand their business is killing but it is killing provoked by an attack, self defense OR THE DEFENSE OF HELPLESS OTHERS.
So we are at a crossroad, not just for this moment but for this age, when we raise the tolerance of the world against evil. Done not for money, as the case in the fraudulent  build up to the war in Iraq, but for love of life.  The miracle we can neither create nor restore. Then there are the idiots-- the Republicans, Cruz and the scourges of Kentucky...the idiocy of shutting down the government.  There are things in the world far greater than the idiotic fixations of Tea Party fantasists, matters of survival. Yet, we are here in the company of the art of shortsighted corruption, there is evil in the world, terrorists and Republicans

A murder of justice

It was ritual combat in the court room and the prosecution defaulted-- big time. They lost jury selection and then lost the jury-- did you see the social distance between the prosecutor and the star witness-- the lady on the phone-- the prosecutor treated her as if she were an alien-- speaking an unearthly language. The jury did the same and the quibbles over  why she didn't go to her murdered friend's funeral mattered more than his murder. That was the case- the stalking and the evidence of the victims state of mind-it was a beautiful piece of evidence-- pearls on a string-- yet flung into a trough, the jury became a group of feeding hogs-- looking only for the rancid garbage.

In America, Blacks have not been granted the dignity of freedom.  Their freedom was won by incredible sacrifice, blood,  ages of tears, and destruction of life.  The history of Black America is the prototype for exploitation: converting lives into mere wealth, as if wealth had any worth in comparison.  The values that firmed the raison d'etre of America were such- a range of false nobility and truthful greed.  To the greedy one must conceded: the seem to lack human souls but they were brutal in their treatment of humanity and the truth- money matters more than any human life except their own heinous existences.  The revelation in the Trayvon Martin murder is that the community of which he was a part has claimed dignity; they have claimed his dignity. He lives on in the hearts of many millions- people who see him as human, as a life destroyed without reason; as evidence of our collective will to keep our young and make a better world for them. We claim the dignity of American freedom, we have fought and created it not just for others. Not just for the indolent rich who thrive on the work of others, but for the young and helpless, the old and needy-- for all who are here in this amazing place and in this challenging time. 

Now the natural advantages of white male status have long since faded away we live in the still brutal vestiges: the war machine that keeps our economy keyed to killing dark skinned people somewhere on the globe; the use of inherited wealth and privilege to drive millions into poverty who would by their own effort ascend to wealth.

First, we see a law like Stand your Ground- men with concealed handguns free to push their presence on an unsuspecting and unarmed world-- but there is a flaw in the formula.   A law can be changed as the hearts and minds of an enlightened people change.  Despite purchased legislators, there will be a wave of truth-a Democracy is a difficult thing to destroy. It takes more than a frightened little man with a handgun.

Second, this trial and this result will have a greater impact than one imagines- the Murder of Trayvon Martin will /has galvanized a greater community of people who can see American injustice-- while those who are blind to it will wallow onward. But this blessed coalition will flourish-- righteousness is like spring rains...it makes us grow-- into mighty trees...hdm

Brasil Continua Marchando! ( Brazil Marches On!)

 There is a lesson to be learned both in Brazil and in the USA: when leaders are well fed and the people are hungry, the government must be changed.  Here, and in Brazil, we have fat well fed leaders who watch or actively take part in making things worse for the poor.  The answer is to change government.  In Brazil the first challenge of the people has made the government stand still, but government actions so far are small and filled with illusions.

os ricos não precisam sonhar - eles têm;
os pobres não têm nada, mas seus sonhos

the rich do not need to dream--they have;
the poor have nothing but their dreams

The people in Brazil understand this and while the numbers of demonstrators has grown smaller, the anger and determination seems to have grown stronger. The government has time in this pause to come forward with actions to do what is needed: to spend on the neighborhoods that need streets and sanitation. To start making jobs for the people to do the work the people need.  To stop spending public monies to impress the world with marvelous architecture- when there are not enough schools and teachers do not get a living wage.  Healthcare has no better time than now for immediate action- every day costs something that cannot be remade- human suffering.
The time for progress is at hand, if the government delays or tries to use empty promises, they will have their hands full of public anger and refusals to allow things to go on as usual.  Strikes and deep interruptions will make the country unbearable- even for the rich. There is no comfort when there is no peace.

existe um caminho para a justiça e um caminho para a ruína.
Justiça é a que sobe o morro, é
a escalada mais difícil - o único caminho para o topo

there is a path to justice and a path to ruin.
Justice is the one that goes up the hill; it is
the hard climb-- the only way to the top

Brasil desperta

 Brazil Awakens!!!

 .

Brasil desperta
olhos, corações de repente abrir
eo som de pés marchando

It is the most welcome sign of progress when the people see the wrongs against them and say " NO More"  I read stories- young men who watched their mothers perish while receiving poor health care. Students who want more opportunity to climb the ladder for success. Parents who want better life for their children.  It has been going on for a long, long time  but now-- as if lifted by the same wind-- all of these hearts begin to fly....
 It is a blessed and rich country now  the people want to share the blessings..and for my part it is a wonderful thing to see.
A class of rich and powerful have grown on the backs of the poor. Corruption and influence have become tools of wealth.  Honest work has become a badge of relative poverty.  Low wages prevent movement in society, we become trapped while doing all that should be done: honest work, paying taxes, raising families, and obeying the law.

 uma pedra
uma pedra no meio do caminho  
para o progresso ...e justiça

This is not new but the anger is fresh.  The acceptance of injustice is not new but it has filled Brazilians to the brim...they can accept no more.  There is not a single event that lighted the fuse, a price increase in public transportation was like a prism in the midday sun- it focused light on one subject. It has burned quickly to ignite the black powder. It is nation that began like most of the Americas in an era of total loss of freedom for many to the gain of the few. 

The heat the Sun, 
the blood of its Saints, 
all  seems mixed with the power of the seas.

The beauty of land and people
remembered in loss of freedom: once endured in Black skin;
endured again in Dictatorship.
Now, it cannot be, because something rises from within.
A long simmered coal that glowed heat
until breath of spirit touched it thus;
 now, a fire burns...and burns!


 I can only hope that in the US the poor are watching and learning that action speaks louder than money...that Democracy is a thing of the People. Equality means making a society in which everyone has  a fair and reasonable opportunity to succeed.  Where the paths are made easier because we lift the road to meet our children's feet.  Where a stone in the road is where stumbling giants fall and the people stand strong

 ouvirmos
mesmo na escuridão ouvimos
sussurros da alma do sol

...hdm

Immigration Reform

There are basics: some wish to keep brown skinned immigrants out of the U.S.; this includes a significant sentiment among African -Americans.  Some wish to provide a legitimate path to citizenship for those born here, the issue(offspring) of persons with illegal status, some of whom are long term, upstanding residents with unresolved status issues.  There are also the pure politics, drawn from ascendant ambitions:  Republicans who want to be President because their egos demand the world's most influential personal vanity-"leader of the free world". 
It is alarming that the futures of so many gainfully employed and productive residents can be tied to an essentially insipid debate: that  millions of immigrants( i.e. the US population minus the Amerind peoples)feel worthy to adjudge the ambitions of people who simply wish to immigrate to find a better life. 
There are fundamental and fair questions: how many immigrants should we permit with a view towards improving social and economic conditions in the U.S..  How can we limit the cultural and racial biases that cause greater acceptance of and preferences for White Europeans than any other group.
The domestic politics have been divisive and inflammatory or- in a phrase- typically Republican.  As such, they have typically abdicated leadership in favor of the whims of wealthy donors.  The wealthy may actually see these question in terms of an abundance of low-waged agricultural workers and household help.  The nation cannot afford to be so blithely ignorant.  Immigration is a source of national economic growth. It is a benefit of a robust economy that we can attract talent and ambition from across the globe.
The politics of the reform legislation will perhaps play out this way: another law that provokes a flood of political money to both parties.  But on the Republican side it will enable further obstruction and government debilitation.  Because while our government is stalled in the political abyss of Republican sabotage, the world spins on: our food supply increasingly attenuated with chemical dependence, our air more lethal from toxic emissions. our water more scarce and commoditized for chemical agriculture, and fracking.  The world populations continue to blossom and our ability to house, hydrate, and feed them more tenuous.
One wonders, how long before the politics of freedom, which seems to burst out in place to place from time to time, will become incumbent with a greater issue: in a world of short supply of the necessities of life, will we continue to tolerate the influence of money in determining quality of life?  When the price of bread is treated like the price of oil, will we continue to accept the privileges of wealth?  There is one greater revolution in the making; one vast parallel-and- conscious rising as one. It will be to demand, then take, the basics of life as a right: air, water, food, space, justice, and social equality. 
Today it is nascent, hidden in the price of a potato-- the chemical de-evolution of global food supplies. The potato that twice has sustained the dynamic eras of world population growth; we are losing the potato--it is diminished from 4,000 varieties over 11,000 years of human social evolution into a plant that must be grown from a patented seed, and which cannot survive without 5-7 patented-chemical applications per acre, per year.  One that must be fortunate enough that nature does not develop an acute microbe to destroy it. It is a change that puts the world on a path to starvation without technical advances that apparently do not yet exist. 

In the dire place of human necessity, there is yet a seed of revolution; and it cannot be patented.

messin' with Republican money

Republicans-ahh gotta Love'em 

the heartless well never mind that there are not enuff bad words in my brain to cover that..
.BUUUUTTT they have finally found something that unites them and gives the purpose--they caught someone trying to mess with their money!
Not the money for jobs, that is the last thing they want-- they want Americans to be unemployed, miserable, broke and angry at the President.
No, not money to save lives or protect our embassies- the sequester cuts everything, the Republicans deliberately cut finds for Embassy security and in effect helped the Benghazzi attack happen- thanks fellows
No, not money to create new businesses and industries here in the U.S. where there are figuratively millions of unmet needs that could spur business growth- just think of all the things we do with phones and electricity- do you you have a little machine to keep em all charged-- portable go anywhere never run out of phone-- well you should and it should be made in your home town...
NOOOO the money is the$$$$billions$$$$$ of dollars that keeps these clowns in office, that lets them float when they should sink under the weight of the awful things they have done to their country-- the IRS( Republican appointees) going after likely frauds in the political fund raising disguised as organizations to help people. They only help Republican candidates who want money to continue sabotage of our economy. Sooo did i mention that these guys float...hmmm what a coincidence...hdm

The Senate is out of our control...

The Senate failed us... no gun control-- We are controlled by gunseller$

A Nation held hostage  terrorized from within.  We have demons that only 100 round clips can exorcise...deep and haunting demons, dark skinned men in the dark demons...so they turn to guns, manly guns, the sacred right that never was until we invented it a few years ago and declared our history rewritten.  There is no right to own guns in the Constitution and we all know it-- the 2nd Amendment protected State militias and slave killers in the 1790's does not mean every imbecile with a yen to kill can go into Walmart and buy a machine gun in 2013-- which they can.
 Abolishing guns, as a rule, excepting for hunting and recreation with strict licensing is one way.  Shotguns and hunting ammunition would be a good start..i mean last i saw  deer dint have unions nor the ability to shoot back!  Multi- round magazines and high velocity bullets will ruin a venison stew --yes?  Infringing freedom, well 40,000 Americans per year are killed by guns, nearly as many as on our highways. I'm in favor of banning cars too, but one demon at a time, and blown tires on the highway are not the same as pointing and squeezing the trigger and watching children's lives disappear...the cars should be non polluting and drivers should be trained-- now we pollute and most drivers are dangerously ignorant, as are most US Senators-- openly corrupt, inventing bullshit lies to avoid the truth-- one actually said we cant have gun laws because criminals dont obey them...ahhhmeeiii-- no wonder the rich don't pay taxes, i mean after all criminals dont pay taxes, and criminals dont vote  or give a good damn about this country but the rest of us do and i hope we are burning inside on this issue. I hope we will carefully and eagerly try our best to vote these idiots out of office-- after all, like a human life, a Senate seat is a terrible thing to waste on gun violence...hdm

abolish congressional districts

 A scourge of our times- when the economy is in peril, a backward and determined group of House or Representatives repeatedly act to further weaken the economy, punish voters they purportedly represent, and  by making and following extra-governmental commitments in clear conflict with their duty to use their best efforts to promote prosperity and public well being. They are in effect sabotaging the economy and depriving Americans of the one means we have to directly create jobs and industry in America- to spend our collective resources to create jobs and industry.

A Representative's pledge not to raise taxes made to a campaign funding group is in a fundamental sense a conflict of interest, in a broader sense a violation of an Oath of Office. A clear duty exists in the Constitution a unique power of the House of Representatives to levy taxes.
It might be more clear to the vengeful progeny of the business of international conflict if a President to  a pledge to a group of rich philanthropists never to wage war.  We would all - especially if it were a man or woman of color- immediately be thrust into a Constitutional crisis- It might sound a little like this:
what do you mean we wont go to war-- we force the poor to pay enough in taxes to be able to maintain two wars at any time!!!
So this pledge on taxes is a deeper problem than wrapping one's self in a cloak or RIGHTeousness and talking about keeping your money while taking every benefit in sight-- i chuckle at all of the tax rebates that have come from business lunches to discuss "no more corporate taxes". Yes. those ungrateful Bastards for whom we spend more for defense than the next 5 highest nations combined, for whom we maintain peacekeeping nearly worldwide so that they can safely export our economy to Singapore and the Philippines. Those for whom we enforce patents and incredible debt collection laws, give them a safe and trade-able international benchmark currency.
So, we need to explore this urgently: can we abolish these gerrymandered Congressional Districts- probably not without  an amendment to the Constitution but - can we broaden each to be co-terminus with the boundaries of a State? Essentially remake all of them like Montana or Wyoming- places with two Senators but barely enough population to have two House seats?  I doubt John Boehner would win in a State race in Ohio, I mean unless the amount of idiots per square mile has suddenly increased in Ohio; OOOhh and that jerk in Texas who apologized to BP for having to pay for nearly destroying the Gulf of Mexico; and Michelle Bachmann- who has single-handedly proved women are not superior- the list goes on-- yes.  We who love this country, need to go on attack against the bought and paid for House Republicans- it really is a matter of them or US. It has been shown by their conduct- debt ceiling blackmail, the sequester-  they will not rest as long as there is a breath of life in our Nation's economy.

Ghosts of Conservatism - a Satire

I am more convinced now than ever, there really is no such thing as a Conservative: it is like describing the shape of an Amoeba one can never be wrong unless one says the shape is true.  The Conservative is that way- it can be anything but true.  It cannot be true to voters nor to the speaker of the phrase "I am a conservative".

History of conservatism in the US can be summarized very briefly because it is nearly empty. In the Revolution these were the men who wanted to belong to the King and then wanted to be the king. Our Founders were firebrands of their day- they risked hanging to declare their love of money in America -so i give them credit for conviction- they loved money and ALLLL the freedom it could buy.  In a broader perspective the Founders were complete phonies- in the model of say 4th Century Athens, where philosophers spoke of freedom on and on till weak and redfaced; then turned TO A SLAVE- for a goblet of wine. So these Athenian disciples of freedom had a limited view.  The Founders in America were similar. They wanted everyone to fight and die for their right to own and be rich and lead the rabble, namely- The people who actually fought, some of whom suffered awful deaths- were not worthy of voting or any say in government- only the Founders and their 'kind" were so endowed - by God- of course.  They too turned to their SLAVES for refreshment and sex and cute little brown children who would also be slaves- what the hell  is it about White Men and Freedom and Slavery- at least in Asia and Africa they said 'we are slave owning, murderous bastards who have no souls - here they pretend to be-- well Thomas Jefferson--anyway-- Conservatives are like that.  They get elected and tell voters they are Conservatives-- well there is that little thing-- the Constitution and the duties it imposes upon the elected-- to use their best judgment UNDIVIDED TRUTH AND LOYALTY and BEST efforts to benefit the people who elected them-- nothing in there about being an Amoeba-- you are supposed to be a Senator-- obligated to the people-- so  what is the Conservative crap-- are the people fed by it, housed, and educated by it-- are they made safer by it-- OR ARE YOU JUST AN  AMOEBA  BEING TRUE TO NOTHING
I look at the latest Crop of Republicans who go on these sabotage missions to ruin the economy, who exalt debt- which they largely have made in Iraq to feed their greedy billionaires-  and tell America it has no future.

 Note:  if debt were really the concern, a sincere concern for future Americans- we still must judge Republicans/Conservatives by how you treat present day Americans- those you wish to put nearer starvation on social security, those you refuse to give jobs to  today-- we cannot believe you would treat future Americans any better, that this is just a leverage point to disguise an assault on those you view a rabble- unworthy of a voice in their futures, those who want the jobs you block and refuse to create.  Just a note in case you missed it earlier - i even changed fonts to make it stand out !!  ;)

Yes they actually try to convince us we cant build bridges or reinvent the railroads, or run cars on electric power-- or create new industries.  They DAMN sure say we cant have say a million public service jobs to give young people a decent start in life.  THEY say we can't have a rising standard of living unless the millionaires FEEL LIKE INVESTING as opposed to collecting bets in the DERIVATIVES MARKET-- well that is a Conservative- a great ball of failure and bad karma-- when what we need - is the American way- we spend to raise our standard of living, invest in US- us- we the people- rails, roads, bridges, solar energy on every roof, make-work jobs for those with no skills, skill training for those who want- and millions want it.  New industries: we need to grow healthy food, and people need to know how to do it- we can do jobs for that; we need to improve our water conservation before we run out- jobs for that.  We need to fix bridges that are falling down  - i drive on some everyday.  We need to better educate our kids- more teachers, more online teaching, more tutors and help for those who need it-- jobs to do that-- see i can come up with a million jobs quite easily.  Elected people could too if they weren't a bunch of FRIGGIN AMOEBA--- and really I apologize to the Amoebas out there  i don't mean to put you in the same class as these Republicans  -- you are brainless but innocent of  efforts to destroy progress.

So this is satire except for the parts about Conservatives and their phony ideals, and attempts to ruin the economy, and divided loyalties-- the rest is clearly satire...;)

Green Jobs

There is something so sad about a nation that loses its energy- seems old, feeble and incapable of dynamic action.  I thought of the British that way for many years- and watched as pieces of their treasures went on the auction bloc- how London became piece-mealed to Arab oil money, Indonesian manufacturing money and so on.  There was some poetic symmetry in the vast British Empire being auctioned off to billionaires from India and Pakistan-- what in the name of a caste system have you done to deserve such Karma!!!
The US was supposed to be different the inexhaustible reserve of our national spirit-- it has been sapped away.  Not from the people- they still hunger, not from the economy- well despite our ridiculous treatment of oil, derivatives, and insurance- all of which need attention from criminal law prosecutors; we still have a vast economic potential here. We are weary because we have parasites in the heart in our energy-generation part of us.  The Republican Party has been waging an assault on the US economy an insidious cancer eating away at the strength of government.  They have starved the US economy to plunder Iraq for the war machine- creating a few hundred billionaires at the expense of economic collapse.  We collapsed and Obama rebuilt the economy with bold action.  The the Republicans went at it again- using State governments which they had starved under Bush.  By the time we got the Recovery Act money to the States- they had no resources to plan and do thing- they mostly  just took $billions and fixed a few streets, rebuilt a few collapsing bridges-- projects that had been there on the shelf-- because they were so cash strapped they could not plan, could not develop new and  meaningful ideas.

So we still have more sunlight than Germany and use a fraction of the solar panels they do.  WE still have young inner city workers who have never had a job- 20% unemployment in Detroit few months back  - maybe 40% among young Black men-- We have windy planes and no windmills. We only use enough biomass to tease ourselves and we have deliberately dragged our national ass on electric cars.

So many Could Be's :

• subsidize the costs of electric cars for female single heads of households so that the effective cost is say$5,000 which we can provide guarantees and let the thieves in commercial finance - finance it.

• Lets have every city  that wants it to have some double tractor city buses- natural gas powered to use on their most populous routes- like in Detroit up and down Woodward, Jefferson , 8 Mile,  or Gratiot-- Broadway or 7th Ave. in Manhattan,  Pennsylvania Ave and 7th street/Georgia Ave in DC.-- capitol grant  and operating subsidy.

• Lets solar panel 100 homes in each of 50 medium to large cities- buy America, install and service them.  Free to the owners picked by lottery from the tax rolls.
• Lets initiate urban farming in an organized way- with heirloom vegetables and training on organic farming techniques, and hope we can foster a new source of food production - safe foods, traditional foods- and sell them at nominal fees and donate to food banks, schools, charities.
• Lets pay teachers and other qualified people to make instructional videos that add knowledge and skills: tutorials on math from Master teachers; how to repair things in a home by craftsman; how to build things - book cases, small furniture- something o reacquaint Americans with hand tools and wood.

Why do these things?? - just to prove we can  make a plan that makes a POSITIVE difference, one we can see.  Just to put some $ in some green collar American wallets. The Republicans have been trying to convince us we are only good at making War somewhere, that  everything else is less important than the national debt- which they ran up in War and destroying our economy. So lets make some green jobs- electric car builders, bus builders, solar panel builders and assemblers.
So we need a reminder that the even if we have been infected by fatal levels of insurance,derivatives hoarders, and Republicanism-- we are still the USA, we can still make a way when no one believes we can-- its a tradition here-- winning!

POLI-nation

Nature has helpers, the miracles we take for granted every spring and the sweet fruits of summer begin with seeds because last summer a bee met a flower...and you know the story, strong and young bee meets a flower he cant resist, they kiss  and next thing you know  he's off to kiss another.  It is not a story of broken hearts its the story of the delicious Pink Lady apple I had for breakfast.  It's the bees and the wanna bees- pollination.

MS BEE GOES TO DC 

There is another Bee story, an imaginary Bee  the Bee Ambassador- goes to Washington D.C. to Plead for the Bee-nation because it is dying.  The latest wave of herbicides and pesticides is killing them off- half the bees in commercial beehives died over the winter-  the Ambassador warned sternly- soon you will be a nation without Pollination.  Your food will be in shortages and only the rich will be able to buy ordinary fruits and vegetables, hunger will rise and starvation too, soon you may fear that so any people will perish from hunger.

The Powers that BEE

(Satire because if i just get pissed off and start to rant it is not nearly as entertaining...;))

Ever wonder who benefits from the House majority that was purchased in 2010 by US Businesses?  I mean they don't do anything except try to make the economy sick so that idiot American voters will blame some one who tried to help them.  Who benefits from a dead hand government?  Wellllll there is a LOOOOOOONNNGG list.  Near the top is Insurance- their strangle hold on the US economy increases in every sphere except Derivatives Trading. Near the top AGRIBUSINESS  because they are in the process of using the worlds population bomb to move food production to politically friendly places like China and India and to turn on the chemical farming taps to full flow.  Yes they want to chemical fertilize, then chemically herbicide, after planting to chemically pesticide,  Before planting to chemically modify the plant seed itself so that it contains pesticides- such as chemicals which make insect larvae never mature.
Soon all foods might be GMO foods, tasteless bounty that id eaten long enough might make us glow in the Friggin Dark!!!!  But to the insects in the ground and air, the honey bees-- it is a death sentence  and soon we will need a chemical solution for pollination- but for ow the solution to huge profits from food production is in  POLI-nation- the country shaped by industries that want to change the world as we know it, without us knowing it- and overseen by a Government that has been Hog-tied and pistol whipped-- ahh sorry NRA - I know- guns don't whip people, Fuckin Republicans whip people...ahhhhmeii!

Jobs with Dignity

It is an odd thing about perception- dignity in the workplace.  A man with a broom in the blue light aisle at Walmart has no dignity.  He works for low wages and his employers, most customers and probably his family make sure he has low self esteem, a lowered sense of worth than even these meager circumstances bring.  Same man as the owner of a small shoppe( i add the  e  to show class  or classe ;)) and he has a job with dignity. His employer- himself- regards him as essential to success and every minor task is a brick in the wall of this solid business.So may this be a key to the economic future of the US ?  Dignity means being in the ownership-- somewhere, some how--  to justify all of the rest that we may endure.

 The politics of this day are tawdry, one political party has been essentially sold to the low bidder, the Republicans now exist as the man with the broom for a polyglot of rich- mostly white- men.  Some of these right -wing angels ( really devil is more like it) simply have an exalted sense of self - fed by billions- and surrounded by ass-kissers, think that every bit of verbal drool from their lips should be etched and handed to Moses.  Well, Moses in this case is a political Party leading us INTO BONDAGE.  Some want to abolish the minimum wage so that we can be paid as Chinese or Indian workers( maybe $3.00 per hour)  or be free to compete with each other to work more for less- the Crab pot theory.  I have not heard a return to Chattel Slavery but this is the crew that would do it for a buck,--Republicans may be high priced whores but they deliver. It is difficult to imagine the voter base that supports unbridled warfare abroad and enforced poverty at home, I would like to meet some of these people-- check for a strong aroma of Sulfur!

Thus, the equation must self correct. This would be a powerful move for the federal government to boost employment.  Rescue some of the skeletons in our dying industrial base.  The goal would be that more and more, small companies grow large and would be run by people who invest care and give fair incomes to their worker/partners.  More and more employees will own companies. Some will buy their employers out- Employee Stock Options and purchases; some will arrive as cooperatives, where everyone pushes a broom but also has a seat in the company Board room- a trend that bodes well for employment but also for healthy competition for employees who have been systematically downsized into people who will pretty much do or take anything to get a paycheck
There is an awful trend in the US and it comes from globalization.  If we reward companies for seeking low wage labor abroad, then eventually they demand low wage labor here.  We do not wish to be agents of our own demise, and lowering wages is economic demise.  Wage earners are the job creators in America. 

Who Really... Benefits

 

The Republicans campaign on the idea that too many Americans receive benefits, Romney and his famous 47% condemnation of America, will probably doom national Republican candidates for decades to come. There is another side to this-the idea that 47% of Americans are hopeless dependent on federal handouts because they are poor. The targets of this message are people who receive a great deal of government benefits ( a great deal more than the poor) and persist to condemn the poor for the same conduct.

 

Paul  Ryan was the poster child for this hypocrisy: social security was critical to his path; but the voters who "buy in" get subsidies too- big ones- public golf courses, marinas, exceptional care of streets and cleanups; exceptional police and fire protection, world class hospitals-- all of these things are subsidized by government and taxpayers not to mention the business side- judicial enforcement of intellectual property, protection of creditors rights-- all of these things to which the wealthy feel entitled, not dependent, and really in this age seem to constantly ask/demand more-- people in Detroit pay property taxes through the nose and can barely get trash pickups, potholes that loosen fillings. It is the overall hypocrisy of the message that makes it fail-- derivatives trades and traders get more government benefits that people on welfare by far-- they have a protected/sheltered enterprise bigger than the economies of most countries. The full faith and credit of the United States is not just a product of tax and spend balances, it is everything.  The people who fight our wars, fill the ranks of civil service, civil defense; the people who support laws and civil conduct here.  It is the parents who raise families by sacrifice and keep kids in school to learn to be productive and leaders. 

 

There are lies and then there are damned lies, and people have a way- like a sensitive sense of smell- to detect the rottened GOP core here...hdm

Gun Owners the new Lunatic Fringe

Yes, this includes a lot of friends, people I enjoy laughing and working with( yes i know it is poor grammar but it is something up with which i will put).  Point is my fellow gun owner citizens are making America unsafe, and those with assault weapons are part of a lunatic fringe that thinks it is getting ready to go to combat against the US Army/Navy/Marines/Coast Guard-- ahh you get the idea.  They say they will kill anyone who takes away their guns which are used to keep us all safe hmmmmmmm.  That is the lunatic part. 
There is no right of individuals to have weapons if that possession and potential use is a danger to us.  Like anything else we do,  it can be regulated by US  the American Government- We THE PEOPLE   or as the said in my favorite Star Trek episode  VEE DEE PEOOOPULLY-- you had to have ben there never mind!

The Second Amendment was for States to have militias and for Slave owners. The Slave plantations in the south were prisons, people held against their will by force of death.  They dint want to pay for protection so the Slavers made every white man better than the Black man and an armed deputy; required him to go catch and return or kill escaped slaves- also known as humans seeking freedom. It had nothing to do with owning guns because well everybody who wanted a black powder musket to hunt or self defend could have one  unless it was illegal.  Towns and cities or even saloons declared no guns, a State could do it- you as head of your home could do it- we as a nation can do it- except for the other part of the lunatic fringe- the legal and business establishment of gunsters.

Yes, they have created a right to bear arms which includes the latest hot things they make and sell---now, I know the Founding Fathers were a horny, and resourceful lot of men ( well a few were Gentlemen, most believed women were inferior as well as most men, a few were rapists, most were slavers which meant they were completely immoral i.e.  would buy, sell, or kill a human for a $) but they were not lunatic enough to think everybody should have a machine gun, and neither are we.  The vast majority of Americans believe we should ban assault weapons, the vast majority of TV commercials paid by gunsters comprises the only consensus in favor of more deadly weapons.  Hunting and self defense ownership -after investigation and some serious taxes- im thinking minimum tax of $1,000 per year per handgun.   I don't own one and won't. I would not allow one in my home unless by a police officer or soldier.  I don't want anyone to have one.  I think we should all learn karate or jujitsu and settle our disagreements by beating the shit out of each other with our bare hands, and if you lose go get a baseball bat and bat .400.

Fact is, many more will survive to hate each other tomorrow, that is the American way- fuss and fight and come back again  and try to be friends- this idea of slaughter is not us.  It is the gun makers, the fear sellers, those who want to believe that Whites are a dying breed-- so much bullshit associated with guns-- but when you see them at the target range- putting holes in the heart of the target-- just remember it is a rehearsal for a killing-- and why do we need to do that... why do we need to do so much of that...hdm

the Game Changer

A corporate takeover of the US government has been a mere suspicion until now, for in the news cycle of early January comes a precise method for carrying out the plan.  Backstep a bit to the Republican nomination for President, Mitt Romney and the cascade of money; the carpet bombing of the public with false claims.  Romney was a vulture capitalist- one of the small army at war with US economy and US business, ripping apart companies and selling them of to the highest -usually foreign - bidder.  They have bankers and investment groups and are a new wave of economic drain; an activity that builds nothing, takes away everything and leaves the US economy worse off for everyone except the small group of vultures that feed on the events.

Now fast forward to the next election for President, and the Democrat nominee, will probably get many more votes than the pro-Corporation opponent, but the Democrat has no chance of winning.  Electoral votes are awarded on the basis of congressional districts. Congressional districts that have been carefully carved to be Republican.  Many more voters in the State and indeed the entire nation will not vote Republican but they will be carved into fewer electoral districts and fewer electoral votes will come.  The Constitution envisioned State-wide elections when assigning the role to Electors chosen on the basis of States which cannot be carved to favor one or the other Party any more than they are now--but districts, can be shaped and designed to include and exclude specific voter characteristics.  This is how we have a Republican Majority in the House that has a popularity in the range of 20%. This is how we will have a completely un- representative Presidency too.  The weakness in the system is the State- corporate money can buy local elections quite cheaply- it is the blind spot of the Democratic party in many key states, it is now the place where the Revolution will not be televised, where Corporate America becomes- the American government, and citizens become an unwanted nuisance.

Inauguration Day

Inauguration Day was an anticlimax for me, probably for millions-- oh there was the staff Ball and the donor Balls, there was probably $300 million spent to celebrate the election which costs would exceed $3 Billion. But still for me, an anticlimax-- the joy was felt most  two days before the election when -in the critical aftermath of an epic storm- America blinked into focus, and the charlatan and all of his guise became transparent, there were people in the water, in dire peril;  and there was a hand reaching to them with sincerity and kindness-- and finally for America, the color of the hand became the color of rescue, of care, of love and compassion--the color of hope and faith, life in abundance-- yes all of these things have a color.

There was white fright, universal flight away from the rantings of a hollow man and suddenly we saw a human...He was there all the time, and many finally saw him as if for the first time.

Now, Inauguration Day was also Dr. King's Day and as I remember him, he would smile on this day, in his heart he would know, the could have been few better ways to celebrate the principles of his life, than to stand together and celebrate a vision of hope and change, set voyage to a place of greater abundance for all Americans.  It is the sad-sweet burden of men like Dr. King- they sacrificed so much so that we can be as good and bad as we choose-- freedom is that to do all things- to save lives, to collect machine guns and hope for a chance to use them-- yes, this is America, not as we wish it to be, but as it is...flawed and fabulous; cold and compassionate drunk in  anger and somehow loving in the sobered afterglow-- we are so many things and w ask so much of our leaders-- and none more than the man inaugurated  on King Day.   hdm

Django

Django

there is an issue here which should not be.  The issue basically is the reverence we feel to historical truth and accuracy, a sort of holy grail- an artifact so long lost it is a fiction and as a practical matter does not exist.   Quentin Tarantino seems to use his films to snatch and claim some characteristic of Black life as he sees it in America- the thug styles in pulp fiction, how he made the phrases M***F**** seem like a punctuation mark in nouveau Black-speak  ( let me tel you if you hang around enough Black men you see he has a point--ahhhhmeiii!)

Now the movie-- Django
It is about exploits and they appeal to people with a mindset towards video games, amazing film special effects, or movies in general which oversize physical abilities ( Iron Man, Spider man, Batman, Bourne parts 1- 100, "24"  -which i loved_-- you get the pattern). Now the Black elites seem divided , some boycott the film find its historic faults (Spike Lee, i am a huge fan). Equivocate over its artistic merits by finding difficulties in the historic record ( like Angela Rye, i am a fan- she is smart). But to many in the masses it is earth shattering,  mind expanding -gratefully received heroism.

Quaere: Why would we back away from that--???!!!
 
First one sees there are other aspects of Black history-(1) we are not the only group who can see the record or interpret it; another sobering fact- there were so many years, month and days of Tarantino's career before now when someone could have told a Django without the excesses of bad language and historical inaccuracy.  There ought to be some gratitude for an event which focuses young minds on an old history which is still very much in our everyday in America but forgotten like a campaign slogan from a lost campaign. ( The 2nd Amendment some think is about owning a machine gun, was about militias who chased down and sometime executed Black people who escaped from plantation- prison camps) . James Madison was a slave owner who hanged 30 men recaptured trying to escape from his prison camp plantation( later became president with a smalllll  p ) and was one of the drafters of the 2nd Amendment.
For example, Affirmative action ended not because Black people chose, but because the historic record was left fallow-  there are lives in being that were touched by ex-slaves, children of parents who knew their slave predecessors by witness of Mother and Father.  My Grandmother, knew her slave ancestors and she raised me- so  to say there are no present effects of slavery- well neither mule nor the 40 acres have yet arrived, and as far as I know those who were paid reparations for slavery and abolition were slave owners in the South who started this garbage to begin with.

My point is not reparations, nor Affirmative Action- my point is history and how the record is lost until found by someone like Tarantino, or Oprah, a film Producer--then the historical accuracy voices are raised when they seemed conspicuously absent in more meaningful events- like tracing the loss of wealth in Black families from the enslavement (kidnap and murder) of our slave ancestors when making public policy designed to overcome the effects of slavery...anyway

Django viewers have come to speak to me, among people i know, people I ask- hardly a scientific poll, more like random comments and rumors- like good evidence at a trial by jury  ; ) ) . I have been told that it  has appeal to people who can go to a movie, pay a lot for popcorn, and see a Black man do the wild and heroic stuff that we rarely see done by a Black man even in the imagination of fiction; and for what it is worth- for some it raises the idea of self esteem, and group esteem for many others.

Perhaps it raises an opportunity for Black leadership to promote some of those historically accurate facts and events-- you know  while so many are looking, and hungry for popcorn...hdm

the arithmetic of Gun Control

There is a flaw in the theory of the gunseller, a flaw in the mathematics.  It takes some advance calculus to catch it  but once one does it becomes obvious:  the scales of human slaughter are out of balance.
One killer's life is not the balance of an innocent- the killing of a murderer does not restore the victims, does not ease the weight of our grief-- it does nothing but give us a bad bargain- a wasted life for a precious one.  Then there is the calculus of the machine gun, the teeny centimeter pull of a trigger that can take 100 lives- innocent lives.  The twitch of a muscle that makes orphans from happy children, widows of passionate loving women; childless grief of proud parents-- who would never want to see their children dead-- we are not made for that--yet, that is the offer. The bare effort that turned a movie theater into a deathtrap and a kindergarten classroom into something I still can not speak...

Gun sellers make the White Woman of America feel safe, he -for she and her safety- must own weaponry, an arsenal!   She relishes the power of the jolt and boom. Knowing, that if someone kills her, he will die too.  Wait --No, she feels safe because no one will kill her because if they do-- they die too.  Nooo wait, there is safety in this somewhere...it can't just be  an illusion

let's see  bullets fly from bad guy, killing innocent people, and a good guy (who is passing by and sees the scene) shoots and hits the bad guy-- ok that is safety-- the bad guy dies after some innocents  die in fear and agony-- wondering of their loved ones-- the unsaid good byes on their stilled lips.
Well I am just thick, and dont get the trick.  The Second Amendment is our freedom to be safe by gunshot death--
So as we consider limiting machine guns, and trying to curtail the epidemic of mass murder sweeping over our country, we must consider that we have the power to make laws to stop killings.  Nothing in our Constitution requires abject stupidity in the face of slaughter.  We can ban assault weapons and limit gun ownership in ways we can agree-- by will of the people.  We do not owe more lives to the profits of gun sellers, we do not owe more lives to the myth that everyone has an unlimited right to instruments of destruction.  We owe it to ourselves and our children to prevent the killers from killing, as much as we can, as soon as we can- and to be more vigilant of the threat posed by businesses that sell deadly devices.

guns, guns, and more guns (part satire, but frankly it hurts too much to laugh)

I am watching the heads of the NRA( press event) talk about the need for more guns now in our schools because their members, gun makers, wish to continue to supply machine guns to lunatics in America--ahh I suspect that may be a deep splinter-ed group of the gun lobby- Lof A  Lunatics of America nooo excuse me  the Heavily Armed Flaming-Lunatics of America Secret Society  or HALF-ASS ( I know they are a little off in grammar too).

 Now it appears there has been an unstated partnership between the lunatics and the NRA:  the lunatics supply an unlimited amount of hatred,violence and Batshit crazy and the NRA provides advanced weaponry, ammunition, and a political fog through which no one can proceed to cut off the machine guns and the ammo. The political fog is a work of political art.  They took down one Maryland Senate candidate way back when  - an early gun opponent- and the legend has grown to the point of invincibility.  It is a big business but it is not like oil or food or clean water-- it is manageable,  not too big for government.  It's not like we could not live without it-- imagine the fright and panic-- a gun shortage-- lines two blocks long at Walmart for ammo---Huge black white market for used bullets!!!

Now,  supply and demand is an American tradition.  There is a demand by the  lunatics, we supply the victims- young, old, movie goers, pedestrians on NY City streets.  Now what the NRA proposes is to add the possibility of a crossfire to the equation- that spontaneous evil would be met by planned good and in the shoot out, we can also become collateral damage.  That would be progress, I mean we are probably falling behind the war-lord zones in Ethiopia, the child soldier zones in Africa or Taliban zones in  Afghanistan; we are in peril of losing the number one rank in danger per square inch of life-- so we may need to accelerate the rate of destruction in order to keep up, so the NRA says it is the one to acept the challenge- put guns in every school.

The NRA for their part is ready for their vision of America to become reality.  There will be no thought of say- limiting advanced weaponry from future sales-- no more assault rifles from Walmart, or On-line;  no ban on sales to certified homicidal maniacs ( after all they too have a need for protection say...from assault by police officers)

Life in America, a perfect storm of legislatively protected gunfire-- ahh  so we can all  love the smell of gunpowder in the morning-- will it remind us of freedom ? I dunno, I think there are at least a few other Americans who don't believe the Constitution guarantees us the right to death by gunshot...hdm

Politics~ GUNS

Politics~ GUNS

to paraphrase someone far wiser than me

when your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all your problems as nails

when your country believes in gun violence,
it treats all of its citizens as... target practice

I don't believe the Constitution gives a right to have weapons to individuals, there was no right to weapons at common law in England the only rights one had came from the King, and they dint believe in giving folk weapons to be used against the king-- in fact the document many cite as common law right to arms only says that Protestants should have the same weapons as Catholics-- i say give all a copy of the Bible-- that can be deadly in the wrong hands too. But i definitely do not think the Founders- slave owners, women haters, elitists were also In Sane and that is what it takes to believe we should give anyone with $400 a machine gun and ammunition. There is no torture of reason that is going to prevail on that point- and the NRA is beginning to sound like a terrorist organization.

Now i know this is too long for most of my readers here so I will summarize:

I have seen the way you drive your cars, my fellow Americans, machine guns are definitely not for you. hdm

Divine Winds

 
History and legends tell of two incidents when the nation of Japan faced a certain defeat by invasion and the armada was destroyed by storms-- the armadas of Kubla Kahn and the storms that intervened to save them-- were called Divine Winds (the word became infamous later in WWII as Kamikaze-- the last gasp of a defeated nation to squander its youth in a vain attempt to extend a certain defeat).  Kamakaze was a man made divinity and it failed. I think of this now as a great storm seems to crush some parts of my country- places i have lived and think of as my home-- and I do not think it is a Divine Wind-- there is suffering and loss of life and we should all send our prayers to those affected and any efforts we can make to help. No,  It is the impact of this storm that speaks a lesson to me-- how the sophistications and dedications to profits and business so quickly recede and lose significance when the land on which we stand disappears beneath roiled ocean waters and flood. When our systems fail, power gone, underground and above ground networks lost to unstoppable surge of tides-- it is then we are reminded of the need each of us has for others; for help in dire times, when we cannot be saved by wealth or false pride--or the sense of superiority which none of us has earned. No, it is the Divine Wind that sweeps away pettiness and we realize it could be us in the water or our child-- reaching for a rope, reaching for life itself--hoping for a Divine Wind....hdm

Politics- Republican Values

They refused to even vote on relief for people in the freezing days of winter who may be homeless, without jobs, lost possessions from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy-- they gave breaks to oil companies, to film makers-- but the people of New York and New Jersey who suffer-- well, there was a decision not to even vote on an agreed amount of emergency and humanitarian relief. The Speaker of the House became the symbol of why Americans must remove them from public offices; this demonstration that they are unfit to govern. Their policies are a confusion of public matters and a clear course to receive money from wealthy individuals and corporations. They have worked against the American interests in prosperity under the ridiculous guise that we cannot afford to spend money to care for our people nor grow our economy unless it is through war. It is becoming clear, it is them or us, Republicans or the American society we expect to live in- one based on fairness and opportunity, sacrifice for the common good, and a government that efforts to improve the lives of its citizens. To the GOP i think America will say-

goodbye and dont let the door knob hit ya where the Good Lord Split ya