First, I'd suggest reading these two blog posts by RobertaX.
I live in a state that is mostly blue, but not solidly. Republicans have been elected to the U.S. Senate, to Congress and to the governorship (one of whom did two terms both as a governor and in Federal prison). But since then, the Republican primary voters have been selecting crazies. They are hard to the right and, as a result, they have gotten beaten like gongs. The Senate candidate went on and on, expressing her fealty to Trump, and lost soundly. The last gubernatorial candidate lost badly to an incumbent governor who is widely regarded as being out of touch with all but the wealthy and willing to close his eyes to corruption; he won places no Democrat had won before. The Republican had pledged his fealty to Trump in 2018, but that wasn't as big of a drag as it was four years later.
I don't care for the Democrats' zeal on gun control. I don't care for the Republicans' xenophobia. I don't care at all for the Democrats' fondness for examining reparations for slavery. I don't care at all Republicans trying to outlaw being transgendered.
But what I really don't care for is that Republicans have decided that the Rule of Law is not important, that democracy is meaningless, and that they are rabidly following a candidate who tried once to pull off a coup and who, no doubt, will try again if he can. I have no tolerance for the millions of Republicans who have decided that their loyalty to their party is more important than being loyal to their country. That is a betrayal of everything that American soldiers, sailors, Marines and (later) airmen have fought and died for in wars over the last quarter of a millenium.
Freedom, the rule of law, and democracy have been the holy trinity of American politics and American ideals. We've often not lived up to it. It took a civil war to eliminate chattel slavery and constitutional amendments to ensure almost everyone had the right to vote. At times, there has been backsliding (aided and abetted recently by the Supreme Court). And yes, we've had politican candidates who sought to reverse much of that, but they gained little traction.
Until now. Now, we have a political party that is disloyal to the Constitution, to the rule of law, and to the American Way. That anyone would vote for them boggles my mind.
And if that includes you, maybe you should think of relocating to a country more in tune with your beliefs. Like Hungary or Russia.
Pspsecretary
53 minutes ago
16 comments:
I too find myself in an uncomfortable middle ground, shaded well to the left. However, on the reparations front, I’m not sure that we don’t own something, given the systemic injustice and historical obstruction of the creation of generational wealth that we have imposed upon the African-American community. Cash payments to all…seems a recipe for disaster and effectively giving wealth to businesses and scammers. Investments in the community are good, perhaps free education and investing in people,within that community…IDK, but I’m also not the person to ask.
Even if it's a shotgun approach with all the inaccuracy that involves, it's hard to argue that a significant part of our population has been badly done by, and continues to be on a structural basis.While calculating actual per capita damages would be a quagmire, a blanket acknowlegement of injustice would go a long way toward zeroing that account. Post apartheid South Africa understood in their bones that there can be no reconciliation without truth.
Keep telling people don't call me an 'Independent'. 'Independent' is a party, I am of no party affiliation. 'No Labels' is a party, 'No Party' is a party, just not one I'm a part of. I don't belong to parties, not that kind of guy. Rode with a couple clubs, but never wore a patch. That I haven't voted republican since a county treasurer in 1999 is beside the point
It's like religion ~ got no religion. Got no party
Don't call me a 'liberal' ...
MarkS, that's a subject for another time.
This is a reasonable place to start
I don't think most of them are crooks; I think they're egotistical bumblers to varying degrees.
I'm a Democrat, been one since I was 18, support most of their policies, some of which have literally saved my life. Living out here where the D/R split is 29/71, I just don't run my mouth about it much. I get along fine with my neighbors, but feel sort of strange when the jacked up pickup with the Devin Nunes stickers on it drives by...
-Doug in Sugar Pine
The real reparation is to work to see our fellow men and women, all of them, as ourselves. Anything else is largely Declaring Victory, Mission Accomplished. It can only ever be a work in progress, the true American Dream: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that....
Consider Germany and the Holocaust. Most nations have evil in their DNA, war crimes, genocide, inhumanity :)...but Germany is one of the few that have really acknowledged that and made a substantive effort to look in the mirror and atone. And it's been a Tar Baby.
"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us"
An unending task
Can we please stick to the topic at hand, which is the threat to American democracy posed by Trump and his legions of supporters?
Sadly, I suspect the only solution to the Trump infection is to try DJT and, if found guilty (I know, but America), jail him. That will smoke out the truly violent among the support, and allow the rest to quietly crawl back into their holes.
Meanwhile, to address the division and division in society Trump seems to be fueling, let’s focus on that. I propose the following…any business may discriminate against any group, as long as they place a notice, in 2”+ letters and in every language in common use in an area (as reported by county/parish level authorities), at each and every entrance to their building and at every point of sale in their business and/or on the first page of their web presence, with a checkbox to allow further navigation on that website.
Additionally, there shall be a $10,000 fine for serving any member of a group that you claim have a policy not to serve unless the customer failed to honestly answer a question or series of questions used to determine if they fall within that group. This would cause every racist/sexist/homophobic or other hating individual/business to be fully in record and cause them to ask their customers if they are African-American/LGBTQIA+/Hispanic/Asian/White/Democrat…I’d love to know who to boycott!
To see one group stand solidly behind T**** is disheartening. Damn the truth. Damn the evidence. Damn the government. They refuse to acknowledge that his actions have harmed the country. They resort to 'what-aboutism' as a defense to try to somehow convince others (and probably themselves) that a conspiracy exists.
I've only been around since 1956 but from my memory I recall the Kennedy assassination, the moon landing, Vietnam War, Watergate, and Iran-Contra, as being called conspiracies. It seems that since the Nixon, Carter, and Reagan eras that these types of theories are more prevalent. They dilute what most people believe about news reports. But that is also an indictment on the part of the news media. Sex sells, lead with the tragedy, put a spin on it to keep folks from changing the channel so the sponsors/advertisers can make a buck.
Unless a person was there, no one can really know the "truth".
Dale
I once heard that the reasoning part of the brain, the cerebral cortex, has a millionth the neurons of the rest of the brain and nervous system. That being so, reason is generally swamped by what we believe and feel....if it doesn't flat out make excuses for what our lizard brain wants.
It's not a matter of right and wrong (battle lines) but figuring out a way to reach people and talk them down off the ledge.
"Can we please stick to the topic at hand, which is the threat to American democracy posed by Trump and his legions of supporters?"
As opposed to the DNC types?
Seriously, there are folks on BOTH sides who are a threat to our Republic. (Not a Democracy).
Joe (who we must remember Got More Votes than Anyone Ever Before without any shennaigans) and his Liberal ilk keep chipping away at freedoms and giving more power to the state. They are as much a threat as the extremists on the GOP side.
BTW, I find it funny how you twist "can't transition children until they are 18" to "can't transition at all". Please be truthful.
More lies, deflection and bullshit, B.
DeSantis has done just what I said. He’s not the only one.
As to threats to democracy, it’s your team that attempted a coup. It’s your team (and you) that keeps lying about the 2020 election.
It’s sad how your guys say they love America while trying to destroy it.
Which part was lies which was deflection? Seriously. Feel free to show where I lied.
You always go there when you can't defend. When someone calls you on your bullshit.
Next you'll close comments because you can't refute the truth.
It's a pattern.
Republicans trying to outlaw being transgendered. DuhSantis has made it difficult for adults to get medical car, along with making it a top-level misdemeanor for a fully-transitioned transsexual to use a public bathroom. Which effectively bans travel to FL. Arkansas and Kansas have enacted the same bans. The AG in MO has tried to ban transitioning for adults.
And if you don’t like the way I run my blog, then piss off. I won’t stand for being for being insulted in my own space. You’re a bit more subtle than the Banhammer Boys, but you seem to be itching to join them.
From where I see it, you continue to push the big lie with your veiled “ (who we must remember Got More Votes than Anyone Ever Before without any shennaigans)”, so yeah, you lie. You deflect by your “As opposed to the DNC types” statement. You try to come across as a reasonable voice of the right, but anyone reading your blog can see the racism and arrogance that you spout. You don’t allow any dissent or opposing point of view on your blog, so for you to throw shade at this blogstress hypocritical at the least.
Dale
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