RIP American Democracy

                 Born July 4, 1776, died January 31, 2020

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

Today our Founding Fathers are crying, Lady Liberty is broken and weeping and those veterans who gave their lives in all of our wars fighting for democracy lay in their graves having died in vain. This afternoon the majority Republicans in the U.S Senate voted 49–51 to refuse to hear the truth from witnesses in the impeachment trial of our country’s most dishonest, treasonous and corrupt President.

Even though a number of those Republican senators admitted Trump was guilty they still refused to consider the overwhelming evidence that was presented to them. They refused to hear from first-hand witnesses who observed Trump’s illegal behavior, even though one of those witnesses volunteered to testify. They chose to deny the truth and they defied their oaths to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

I can say that I am not really surprised that our Republican Senate chose to legitimize and crown a dictator. I’m sure that the vast majority of them are either terrified of Trump or complicit in his criminal activities and enriching themselves from his affiliations with Russia and our own oligarchs. They have chosen money and party over country. Now there is nothing we can do to them, or Trump, except for destroying them at the ballot box this November.

What does surprise me and pisses me off royally is the stupidity, laziness, apathy, and cowardice of the American people. While Trump’s team has been locking up children at our southern border and ripping them away from the arms of their parents there has been mostly silence. While Trump is rolling back or killing regulations protecting our climate and environment there is silence. While Trump is destroying our long time alliances with those countries we stood shoulder to shoulder with, in defending democracy there is mostly silence. While the rights of our fellow American citizens are being attacked there once again is only silence.

I can remember in my youth protesting an immoral and illegal war in Vietnam because we felt it was our duty. We did not stand for our government sending our fellow youth to fight and die in an unjust war. We protested en masse for our beliefs. We protested who we thought was a corrupt and immoral President. Eventually, Nixon resigned before he was impeached because Americans made their voices heard. Recently I have witnessed tens of thousands of residents of Hong Kong marching for pro-democracy, risking arrest, injury and even death. They were protesting for something they wanted and were willing to die for, and that was democracy.

Since Trump took office in 2017 there has been a steady erosion of the values and beliefs I grew up with. The United States I knew and loved is changing. We are going backward. Backward to the days when straight white Christian males ruled with an iron hand. Non-Christians, people of color, LGBTQ people and immigrants were not considered equal. Women were considered property. All of these people were considered inferior.

As this country continues this downward trend I ask where are the people? Where are the Americans, descendants of immigrants who shaped this country? Where are the sons and daughters of the greatest generation who fought the Nazis so that we may be free? Where are those Americans whom the world became to know as generous, empathetic and welcoming to those less fortunate? Most of them are sitting on their fat asses because they don’t want to be involved! They are content with the financial scraps Trump has thrown them in the guise of a “tax cut” that only made the rich richer. Hey, the stock market is doing great, even though they have to have three jobs to pay for housing and can’t afford decent healthcare. Marie Antoinette’s words, “Let them eat cake” sounds appropriate here!

During this impeachment trial, in which our democratic form of government is being destroyed and our Constitution is being shat upon, there is little resistance. One would think people would take to the streets in protest, but they haven’t, at least not in large numbers. Admittedly there have been protests but the media has managed to look the other way. Oddly, the media is partially responsible for Trump’s rise, but now even as they are being viciously attacked by him, they remain silent.

Not only haven’t Americans not demonstrated to take their country back, but they are reticent to even engage in a discussion of what is happening. On sites such as these people are afraid or are unwilling to have an opinion or take a stand. You don’t see very many articles about resisting Trump’s activities garnering many views or notoriety here. I guess that’s because that would mean they would be getting “involved”. How many times have I heard the phrase, “I don’t like politics”! What bullshit! These people are the same as those people in Germany who looked the other way during the Holocaust.!

I know I am not the only one who feels this passionate about our country and what Trump and his fascist cohorts are doing to destroy it. I hope there will be more intelligent and patriotic people who will take their heads out of the sand and join me and the founder of this publication, Sherry McGuinn in fighting for our democracy and all that this country stands for. Don’t be afraid to voice your concerns and stand up for yourselves. We have so much to lose! Standing together WE CAN save our freedoms.

We Have a White Supremacist for Our President.

Image by Cristian Ferronato from Pixabay 

I have lived through many presidents and remember them all,  from Harry Truman to the present one.  I may not have agreed with all of them, but I did at least like them and respect them, except for the one we have now. It makes me sick to even type the name of Trump!

I can remember times when our country was divided on the issue of the Vietnam War, when I saw many and even violent anti-war protests.  Eventually the protests were instrumental in ending that war.  Afterwards we slowly came together as a country.  I remember being in Germany shortly after JFK was assassinated and observed how much loved and respected he was.  He is the President whom I admired the most and the one who inspired me to take an interest in politics.  I remember the race riots in Los Angeles and Chicago, as our citizens of African descent had to fight for their God given rights, against white racist and bigots.  I can remember Stonewall, in NYC, when gay people finally began to stand up for their rights.  I remember the American Indian movement, when the original inhabitants of our land fought for what was legally theirs.  They were tough fights, but eventually these groups won, at least some of their rights, with the help of their fellow citizens and politicians, including the President.

Then in 2016 Donald Trump was elected by the Electoral College, with the help of Russia and his base, comprised of racists, bigots and sorely uneducated individuals.  He lost the popular vote by a sizeable margin.  It's been downhill for our democracy ever since.  One of his first actions was to attempt Muslims from entering the country.  Then he called Mexicans rapists, criminals and drug dealers, as well as denigrating a federal judge of Mexican descent.  He has attacked the parents of a slain Muslim war hero and he has also attacked John McCain, a former POW and war hero.

In his short two years as our President, he has called African countries shitholes and alienated our closest allies, as he cozies up to dictators like Putin and Duterte.  He has banned transgender people from serving in our military and has attacked LGBTQ people, actively supporting the rollback of all rights they had previously won.  He has courted right wing religious groups who support passage of laws that would allow them to discriminate against the LGBTQ community.

Spending more time on the golf course and on Twitter than working for the American people, he has attacked the free press when they report his lies and corrupt activities.  He is quick to take to Twitter to condemn anyone of color or non-Christian faith involved in a terrorist activity, while remaining silent when the perpetrators of mass murder are white.  He supported white supremacists and neonazis after Charlottsville.  He was uncharacteristically silent after the mass shootings at the Pittsburgh synagogue.  He was silent when a white Coast Guardsman was arrested with a cache of assault weapons and plans for a terrorist attack on white Democratic politicians and journalists. And recently he downplayed the terrorist attack in New Zealand where 50 Muslims attending religious services were killed by a white supremacist who admired his stance on immigrants!

Trump's silence on the acts of terrorism carried out by white supremacists and his outrage at acts of terrorism carried out by people of color or people of other than Christian faith is a true indication of who and what he is.  He is a racist!  His actions are solely to inflame his racist followers to ensure he is elected once again in 2020, thus delaying the impending legal actions that will surely land him in jail where he belongs. 

I am not even sure he will give up if he is defeated in 2020 or, God forbid he is elected, at the end of his second term. He is the most disgraceful, racist and immoral person to ever serve as President and it is a travesty that the Republican Party not only protects him, but enables him.  The GOP has lost all respect and relevance as a political party and are as guilty as Trump in all of his treasonous misdeeds.

Graham-Cassidy Healthcare Bill is just Another Attack on the American People!

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    The latest attempt buy the Republicans to take away healthcare form the American people is the Graham-Cassidy Healthcare Bill.  The Republicans are trying to ram it through before September 30, the deadline they they themselves set.  This would repeal Obamacare and force approximately 18 million people off the healthcare rolls.  It would eliminate insurance for pre-existing conditions, eliminate maternity coverage and eliminate the lifetime bans on the amount of lifetime benefits.  It would also raise premiums for most people.

    This plan would drastically cut the amount of money paid to the states through medicaid which assists lower income people.  It is interesting to note that the states that would be hit the hardest are Blue states, such as California and New York!  This his money in return would be given to states, such as Texas and Alabama, which are Red states! Sound like a reward for those states who voted for Trump.  All of the national patient and health groups, such as the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association etc. are vehemently opposed to this bill.

    Of course the Republicans are not listening to these groups or the American people, but instead are paying more attention to the Koch brothers, who have said that if the Republicans do not pass a repeal of Obamacare they will cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions to the Republicans!

    Why don't the Republicans like Obamacare? There are three reasons. (1) It was a Democratic plan, (2) it helps the women and poorer members of our society, while fairly taxing the rich and most importantly (3) it was created by a Black president!!!!!

Life in These United States

I was passing the time a short while ago by reading Yahoo News on my IPhone and came across an interesting story, titled "The 10 States With the worst Quality of Life". The criteria for quality of life were employment rate, household disposable income per capita, health and percentage of people without health insurance. The 10 states were: 1.Mississippi, 2. Alabama, 3. Arkansas, 4. W.Virginia, 5. Tennessee, 6. Oklahoma, 7. S. Carolina, 8. Louisiana, 9. New Mexico, 10. Georgia.

The article described the poverty and quality of life in these ten states, without mentioning a word about politics. It did mention that in most of these states there was high voter turnout as compared to the rest of the country.  After reading the article I sort of thought there was something familiar with these states. All but Arkansas and West Virginia have Republican governors and all but West Virginia are Red states! Very interesting.

I can only draw one conclusion. With the high voter turnouts in these states, which support Republicans, maybe the electorate enjoys the poor quality of life! It makes no sense to continue voting for the party that keeps you in poverty!

Keep Them Poor and Uneducated

In many third world countries of the world where there are authoritarian governments or, where the ruling power has been in power for many years, there often is sharp divide between the educated and uneducated and the rich and poor. One of the main reasons these governments stay in power is that the governments keep their people uneducated and poor, while promising prosperity, lower taxes and change, at election time, if there are elections.  It always amazes me how people can be so gullible.

Thanks to AATP.ORG Facebook Page.

I often compare these gullible people to members of the Tea Party and other such conservative groups that promise lower taxes and prosperity for the poor. Even in the face of the truth, or the facts they see conspiracy and lies. I decided to do a little research on which states are the most educated and which states are the poorest. I was not surprised.

Since taxes support social welfare programs and other government benefits I decided to find out which states received the most benefits. The top ten are "red" states. Of those states that pay for those benefits, 9 are "blue"states, with Colorado being the exception. For further details you can check out this article in Slate.com Now if the Tea Party ever succeeds in destroying so called "liberal" socialist handouts of the Democrats and drastically reducing taxes and government these ten red states will be destitute.

Next I looked at the least educated states in the country. The least educated states are West Virginia, Arkansas,Mississippi, Kentucky and Louisiana. These are all "red" states in the South. No surprise is that the most educated states are "blue" states, which include Massachusetts, D.C., Connecticut, Maryland,Vermont, New Jersey, Virginia and Colorado. Think Progress has more information on these and more statistics.

Thanks to Americans Against the Tea Party Facebook page.

Knowing this I look at what the Tea Party has been doing. They are trying to lower those very taxes that support the poor people in their own "red" states. They have been fighting unemployment benefits, as well as food stamps and other benefits for the poor and unemployed. They also fought against Obamacare and any other kind of health care that would benefit the poor and uninsured. What is really puzzling is that the morons who support the Tea Party are supporting their own destruction. And speaking of taxes, the Tea Party would have you believe that Americans pay the highest taxes of any country on earth.  Here is a chart that tells the real truth.

Thanks to www.oecd.org

It seems from these statistics one could draw the conclusion that the GOP is using the Tea Party and other conservative groups to take control of the country by keeping the poor and uneducated "red" states poor and uneducated and trying to make inroads into the "blue" states by manipulating and lying to the poor and uneducated in those states. For the remainder of Obama's second term the American people will come to learn just how racist, bigoted an moronic the Tea Party is, as they will see made up scandal after scandal created, while they are fighting every measure to improve the lot of the citizens of this country.

They Don't Make TV Shows Like That Anymore

Lately I have been seeing posts on Facebook with photos of old TV shows from the 50's, 60's and 70's, with the caption telling you to like if you remember it. I must admit that I remember all of these shows and become quite nostalgic when I look at the photos. I always "like" them and "share" the photos. So far I have seen "The Andy Griffith Show", "The Brady Bunch", "The Lucille Ball Show" and "Cheers".

Seeing these led me to reminisce about other old shows. Some of my favorites were "The Life of Riley", "Leave It to Beaver", "Father Knows Best" and "Our Miss Brooks" to name a few. There are many more TV shows that I and others around my age should remember. Not all are as old as the ones I just mentioned, but they are the ones I remember fondly.

When I think about watching these shows I think of a simpler time when I was younger than 12. I had nothing to worry about and nothing to fear, except for maybe not getting my homework done on time. I can remember sitting in front of the old black and white General Electric television in my living room and watching these shows with my parents and older brothers. The plots were simple, usually nothing more serious than getting a failing grade in school or not getting the chores around the house done. There was no sex. The parents slept in separate single beds and  heck I don't remember even seeing the parents' bedrooms until "The Dick Vandyke Show". There were no drugs, no swearing or profanity and no violence. The only gun play was in the westerns, but there was no gore or mass shootings. In all of these shows the neighbors were all friendly, well dressed and  well to do middle class people. They were nothing like my family, or the family of anyone else I knew.

None of these shows portrayed poor families, homeless people, handicapped people, Blacks, Asians or Hispanics. Everybody was white. No one was Catholic or Jewish and certainly not Muslim.  There were no gays or even people who could have been gay. Everybody seemed to be married or widowed. None of the mothers worked, even though the very young and  older women worked as either librarians or teachers. Even though these shows took place during the Cold War, there was no mention of it.  There was absolutely no mention of any social issues whatsoever. It was a perfect world of White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Americans, undoubtedly all Republican too.

We may look back and think about the old days, when everything was peaceful and simple, with no problems and no worries. In reality though these TV shows portrayed an America where everyone was hiding their heads in the sand. The plights of minorities, such as Blacks and Women were ignored and not talked about in public. Children were going hungry and being physically and sexually abused and there was a great deal of domestic violence that was ignored by everyone, including the authorities. There was gang violence, there were drugs , race riots and all manners of discrimination that was legitimized by looking the other way. Everything was perfect only if you were White. The only reason life was so simple was the fact we did not know about all of the suffering taking place, not only in our country, but in our own neighborhoods of our home towns.

I look back at my childhood and have warm memories and feelings when I think about these old TV shows. I wonder if , no I hope, that all people my age can look back at their childhood, when also thinking of old TV shows and feel the same warmth as I do.