Welcome to CurtBlog. I started this blog in 2004 to be a place where I express my opinions and ideas on politics, other social issues and anything else I want to ponder. These thoughts are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect those of any musicians or other people that I work with. I will also attach a link at the bottom of this page to access my older pre-2011 posts for anyone who may be interested in a real time take on politics and social issues during the W Bush/Iraq War and early Obama years. In hindsight, I was mostly correct in my opinions.
As to my personal politics now, the label that might come closest to me could be a Progressive Populist who is a pragmatic skeptical optimist. I’m no longer a Democrat and I would never be a Republican. In fact, both Legacy Parties are far too Corporate and Elite controlled for me. Therefore, I vote Progressive in Primary elections and then usually Democrat in the General. I do have hope that the younger generation and mindful Boomers can help halt the regressive far-right tendencies we witness these days and will peacefully force America and all of humankind to evolve up and become a much better, smarter, kinder and more gentle civilization.
You can comment on The Welcome page about any of my ideas. I will read and respond……thanks, Curt
FLAG PIN POLITICIANS
JULY 11, 2024
I will begin this essay with the bottom line. In November 2024, I will vote for every Democrat candidate all the way up and down the ballot. To be clear, no member of the modern Republican Party deserves to be elected to any office whatsoever in the coming election. I also still believe that “Sleepy Joe” beats “Don the Con” if neither nominee steps down – Trump is that bad – and the Republicans will go down with him on his coat tails. When the dust settles in 2025, the Democrats will control the White House plus majorities in both the Senate and the House. I just wanted to be crystal clear up front about my opinion on those issues – of course I could be wrong.
Having said all that, I am therefore going to reflect a little bit on how we got to this point. It was my opinion from the beginning that there should have been a fully contested Primary. Biden was never my preferred candidate. I wanted Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2020 and 2024. I left the Democratic Party in 2008 because they are not progressive enough and they are too friendly to Big Corporation interests, but I end up voting for the Democrats because they are better on civil rights and social issues and third parties never win. Unfortunately, the Establishment Democrats would not allow a real Primary to happen. We were all told that Biden was up to the challenge to protect democracy and that only he could beat Trump. As we all know now, when the critical moment came to prove that contention, Biden failed completely. The Democrat Gaslight Brigade is saying that it was just a slow start that got better plus he had a cold and was tired. It was actually the worst debate performance ever televised. The real question is, how could such a dismal performance be allowed to happen – and could it happen again? Realistically, if he performs that badly again then all confidence in him will be lost. The truth is that both presumptive nominees are too old and are in cognitive decline. Biden is a decent person and Trump is the worst human being to ever be President. If those are the two candidates we are forced to choose between, Biden is clearly the better choice.
Why are we forced to make such a compromised choice? In my opinion, the main reason that our democracy shows such serious decline is largely due to pervasive predatory capitalism. Both Establishment political parties cater to the demands of Big Corporations and ultra wealthy Oligarchs. Those entities and their support systems are the actual “Deep State” controlling the levers of power and influence – not the political parties themselves. Most politicians are largely bought and paid for and do whatever is necessary to enrich themselves and maintain or enhance their positions in the pecking order in hopes of becoming part of the Elite. Republican Party policies are largely unpopular and demographic projections do not favor them, so they keep moving further to the Right with MAGA and Evangelicals while promoting increasingly Authoritarian policies because that is perceived to be their only path to power into the future.
The Democrats compromise and defer as they try to keep their base happy while doing the bidding of the “Elite Deep State”. In the year 2000, the Democrats rolled over while the Supine Supreme Court installed the Republican loser of that election into the office of President. In 2016 the Democrats allowed the Republicans to deny an appointment to the Supreme Court, but every Republican appointment has sailed through easily. Now we have a totally corrupt and Radical 6-3 unhinged Supreme Court. They make rulings that constrain civil rights and ignore the Constitution. This Supine Supreme Court will fully endorse the Republican/Trump plan called Project 2025 that is a roadmap to gut our democracy in order to preserve white male privilege.
All three branches of our government are corrupted in the voracious pursuit of happiness providing power and profit to the one percent. There is one branch of government that is routinely ignored – We the People. Only this Fourth Branch of government can save us and then move on to improve our democratic system. I do not believe in the frantic rhetoric that if Trump wins in 2024 we will automatically lose our Republic and become a permanent dictatorship. He will obviously do plenty of damage, but if we cannot overcome the ravings of this very flawed old man, maybe we don’t deserve to be considered a great country any longer. Trump is providing proof of the certainty that our whole system of government needs vast improvement and much stronger safeguards from abuse of powers. We need to peacefully and proactively fight back to get past this low point in our history that insists on offering only “Flag Pin Politicians” doing the bidding of the “Elite Deep State”. So, whoever the final nominees are in 2024 for President, the best choice available is still the Democrats. They are easier to reason with in the struggle to evolve into the future. Hopefully, the lessons that we should learn from this point in time will lead to better options, maybe even new political parties and more progressive candidates.
LEVOLUTION
December 31, 2023
Moving into 2024, it is a good time to take stock of where we stand as the dominant life form on Earth and ponder the path we want to take heading into the future. Should we regress and stagnate or should we promote the process of progress to level up the human condition. Is our destiny more Star Trek Federation or Star Wars Empire or nothingness? As things stand, economic and social disparity is as bad as ever in history. Like in the days of Kings over Serfs, Oligarchs and huge Corporations control politicians to rule over We the People with predatory capitalism. If we are to evolve, diversity and equality must be at the forefront of leveling the playing field. This process, which I call Levolution, cannot be achieved all at once. It will first require a lot of effort and then intelligent voting to make the changes necessary to get there.
We all live in serious times that require serious effort from serious people. In my opinion, supporting entities that mindlessly want to tear it all down are not serious people. The answer is not to “Make America Great Again” but it is to evolve together as humankind. Progress includes protecting Planet Earth and our environment. It includes social and economic fairness with equal opportunity. It also includes advances in science and technology that make common sense – remembering that not everything that can be done should be done. It is a part of human nature to explore and research the unknown. We must just keep in mind that if we are to be an actually intelligent species we need to act like one. To survive as a civilization requires progression not regression.
2024 heading into 2025 looks to be one of the crossroads of history. As the situation stands now, the Republicans are a force of repression and little more than a cult of personality. On the other hand, the Democrats are a far too corporate friendly coalition that are also more reasonable and willing to take some of the steps necessary for Levolution. My approach to politics is to vote as progressive as possible in the Primary and then vote for whoever becomes the Democratic nominee in the General Election. In the past 30 plus years I have voted for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden to be President. During that same time, the Republicans have given us War Criminal GW Bush and Common Criminal DJ Trump. It is currently still a fact that independent and third party candidates cannot win the Presidency. I do believe the champions of progress will prevail in the end, but that cannot be taken for granted. It is of utmost importance for everybody to vote in November – whoever the candidates are. I yet remain unconvinced that the nominees will be Biden and Trump, but we will know in a few short months from now.
In any case, I do think that the Democrats will win the trifecta – the Presidency, the Senate and the House. Ultimately, I have more faith in human intelligence than most. If I am wrong about that and the American citizens are foolish enough to elect Trump or some other Republican to be President and also lose the Senate, the Democrats do have a very good chance of taking the majority in the House. That will probably be the worst case scenario and I believe that would be enough to put the brakes on losing our Democracy to Authoritarianism. Unfortunately, that would also guarantee another four years of Regression or Stagnation and no Progress at all to solving any of the huge time sensitive problems we face as a country and a planet such as the Climate Crisis. If the Republicans do lose big, like I think they will, I am not afraid of an outbreak of a Civil War. There would be a lot of whining and complaining and probably some occurrences of violence, but nothing major widespread.
At the end of the day, the destiny of the human race and the longevity of our experiment in democracy is largely up to the younger generation. The measure of how much we are actually evolving as a species is to found in them. Young people today seem to be, on average, more tolerant of differences in people and more aware of environmental concerns than most “set in their ways” elders. It is my hope that the majority of citizens, including the younger ones, will realize that the reality of being reasonable is the only way to move forward and to do so in the spirit of peace, love and understanding. Eventually we can elect new and better politicians, but right now we must take the next step on the path to Levolution. We have a long way to go to get where we need to be and we have a lot of huge issues to resolve and problems to solve. The journey from this crossroads starts now in 2024.
SOME NEW DIRECTION
December 13, 2023
It has been obvious for decades that the office of President of the United States is way too powerful. In our modern history the President has been assigned even more power during the “Cold War” post World War 2 and then after the “War On Terror” post September 11, 2001. Some even argue that there is such a thing as the all powerful Unitary Executive. That notion totally ignores the fact that this country was founded to get away from having a King and the Constitution is structured into three equal branches of government. In spite of occasional warnings about this dangerous situation, nothing much has been done to legislate guard rails to protect our Constitution from a bad actor. Along came a con man narcissist who lied his way into winning the Presidential election in 2016. When he lost the next election in 2020, he did not want to give up all that power and tried to overturn the election results. He did not succeed in destroying our Constitution, but now he is back to run for a second term in 2024 hoping to get away with his criminal behavior. The crazy thing is that this seriously flawed human being has a chance to win the Office again as he exerts a cult-like hold on today’s Republican Party. To be clear, I do not think he will win a second term. However, the truth is that since he even has any chance to win indicates that we as a people and the country as a whole are in dire need to take some new direction.
The question presents itself – how has such a flawed human being as DJ Trump garnered so much stubborn support. He currently seems to be leading in many of the polls, although I do not give much credence to polls this far out from an election. He was and is able to do so because he is seen by many as a burr in the saddle of the establishment and an outsider fighting the “Deep State” government. Our “Ruling Elite” have been going in the wrong direction on every level for decades, so I can understand why so many people voted for such a wild card in 2016 – to lash out at such an out of touch government. Turns out that over reaction only made things worse because of the selfish and foolish failure of a person Trump is – someone who is hungry for retribution, control and ego stroking. It seems to be assumed by almost everybody as a given that if Trump does manage to win that second term, he will become a Dictator and we will all just bow down to his will and let him trash our Constitution. I do not believe that to be true, but if we really are that weak as a country and a people, then maybe we will deserve to lose it. At the very least it means that all three branches of government need some major reform. The tragedy is our country and our world cannot afford to keep going in the wrong or too slow direction for four more years. The human race has far too many serious issues and problems to mitigate and solve. America the so called “Super Power” is one of the nations that must lead us all to some new direction.
The way our System is set up, we only have two viable political parties with any chance to win a Presidential election or even most races for Governor, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The modern Republican Party has devolved into a Trump worshipping cult that is on the extreme right wing. Their current mission is to reverse progress and take the country in a backward direction. The Democratic Party is centrist and more reasonable with some good members, but the leaders are far too beholden to Big Corporations and Oligarchs. Therefore, they are willing to make progress – but only slowly. As of December, 2023 the Republicans appear to be intent on nominating DJ Trump and the Democrats insist on nominating JR Biden. These are the choices of the “Ruling Elite”. Neither candidate is adequately up to the task of leading us into the future – I still think they might not be the final choice. However, if we must choose between those two because “lessor of two evils” persists as the operational rule, Biden is the obvious better choice in every way. He has had some good policy wins but it is just not enough. However, I do think that Sleepy Joe would beat Don the Con again.
Taking a look at any other possible options, none of the Third Party or Independent candidates could possibly win in 2024 – they can only be spoilers. The Republicans have Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Chris Christie – in that likely to prevail order, but it all depends on the Trump trials and his questionable health. On the other side there is Vice President Kamala Harris. I like her and I think she could possibly step up and do a better job than most people think, but she has been very low profile and I do not think she is actually popular enough to win. The Democrats also have several Governors like Gavin Newsom, Josh Shapiro and Gretchen Whitmer. I voted for Bernie Sanders in the Primary Elections of 2016 and 2020, but the Democratic Party was not ready to support someone that progressive. As with both Trump and Biden, Bernie is now too old, although maybe he could hold down the job until 2025. The problem is, I do not think that the Democrats are still yet ready to go nearly that progressive. I think that the best choice as a candidate to support who could also win is Gavin Newsom. There is no doubt he is a Corporate Democrat insider. As a Californian, I have seen him disappoint on policy many times. For instance, he failed to follow through on Medicare For All in California. In spite of the fact that he is a slick politician, he is pretty progressive on most social issues and better on many other policy issues than most Corporate Democrats. Plus he is a very talented politician and debater who could beat any of the Republican candidates in my opinion – including Trump. He is also younger than all the other candidates – a big plus these days.
We cannot afford to allow the Republicans to win and run a bulldozer through our Constitution for the next four years. We must take some new direction and then work hard to get better and younger candidates going forward. I wish that we had the choice of a younger Bernie or even Bernie himself in 2024. Unfortunately a talented, smart and charismatic leader has not yet appeared on the scene. The modern Republican Party is a total non starter so we must get the best results that we can out of the Democratic Party for the next four years and turn out in mass voting to win. Maybe in 2028 a new progressive political party and/or someone truly inspired to lead the country into a better future will be realized.
RIGHT IS WRONG
November 26, 2023
We all keep hearing the constant refrain about how DJ Trump is going to win back the office of President and the Republicans will win big and help him to destroy our democracy. The Great Experiment will be all but gone before its 250th anniversary. All this will happen because Trump will declare himself dictator for life and nobody can stop him. Like he is some kind of immortal superman instead of a weak, deranged old man and a life-long lying conman.
I felt quite sure in 2020 that DJT would not win re-election, even though so many people were worried sick that he would. I feel even more confident that he will not win the election in 2024. Actually, I would not be at all surprised if it turns out that he does not even become the Republican nominee. It he does win their Primary, I think he will lose the General Election by a fairly wide margin.
Of course, anything is possible in today’s world. I could be mistaken, but I believe that the only way he will win is if the Democrats manage to blow it and lose. Today’s Republican Party is so horrible and Trump is such a loser that I think the Dems will probably achieve the Trifecta of winning both Houses of Congress and the White House. However, they must play a strong game promoting their support of personal freedoms, choice, economic help for the Middle Class, pursuing peace and protecting the environment. The Democrats must sharply contrast their reasonableness and good policies vs Republican incompetence and fascism.
The main political problem we face is that Biden is very old and a very old-school Corporate Democrat whose Party is wedded to Elite Donors and entrenched in Neo-liberalism. On the other hand, Trump is very old and crazy and the Republican Party is also steeped in Elite Donors and adheres to repressive Neo-conservatism. Most of the time the general population is not paying very close attention to the reality of circumstances and are too awash in the propaganda and disinformation from our atrocious Mainstream Media. Conventional Media makes much more money when elections are seemingly a close unpredictable horse race. It won’t be that close.
Most pundits and politicians do not think much of the intelligence of American voters. It is true that people can often be fooled and swayed, but eventually push comes to shove. The Republicans are counting on apathy and cult-level loyalty to win and achieve more power than take away long established progressive policies such as choice, Medicare and Social Security. I believe that Right is Wrong and the majority of voters will realize that the Left is leading us closer to the direction we need to go in. Serious times need serious solutions including defined actionable policies. Truth be told, if Trump can lie his way into The White House again, maybe we as a people do not seriously deserve to continue as a respected nation.
So, we are at a cross-roads that includes Global Climate Change, the Economy, Inequality, War and a multitude of other problems. We definitely do not need to elect a small minded, mean minded, ego tripping, crazy crooked old man out for vengeance and self indulgence like Donald Trump. I am not really sure if Biden is the right choice either and he also might not be the nominee. Whoever wins the Democratic Primary though, the only way we can start the journey to where we need to go as a society is to put the Dems in power in 2024 and then force them to do more of what needs to be done moving into the future. Only then can we take a deep breath of relief and then go about the difficult process of finding, promoting and electing some better and younger politicians into office.
About: “LAW OF THE JUNGLE”
April 1, 2022
“Law of the Jungle” is a song I wrote in 2015 then recorded the basic tracks using real drums, guitars, bass, Hammond B3 organ and Leslie. Later I recorded the vocals and overdubs then mixed and mastered the finished tracks in 2022. The lyrics are about my opinion of the so called Elites and the system that rules us – from the big business owners to the politicians who make the laws to the executive branch of government who enforce the laws to the judges who interpret the laws to the secretive agencies that oversee the system. Oligarchs and other Elites should not be mythologized or idolized because they are also just vulnerable humans who receive special treatment in our system. They can still differ and dislike and compete with each other and often project the concept of the Deep State upon each other but in reality they are all part of the actual Deep State that thrives on power and inequality. They do all agree on the idea that Capitalism is the system that must prevail so safe guards must remain in place. The President of the United States is treated like an untouchable frontman for a crime syndicate and the system includes many controls like the Senate filibuster and the Census for Gerrymandering Congressional Districts and the Federal Reserve etc. Not really a partisan Democrat vs Republican or Left vs Right thing, but it is more a Have vs Have Not thing in a top down vs bottom up reality. All three branches of the Federal government, both major political parties and the Corporate Media propaganda machine are utilized to make the rich richer, powerful and in control of it all.
One of the main goals of politics on the Federal level is to make as little real progress as possible in our society. The so called Elites already have most of the money and power and they do not want that arrangement to change. Another goal is to keep the average citizen as ignorant and poor as possible. A prime example is the minimum wage that almost never goes up even though inflation does. It is a game played by both Republicans and Corporate Democrats not so much in collusion as in competition. When politicians are campaigning for office they will make lofty speeches about issues that will help them to win and then just hypocritically ignore the promises made. Most politicians become heavily influenced by the corporate lobbyists that actually outnumber them in Washington DC. There are some politicians who are somewhat more progressive, but they are routinely outvoted and marginalized. The Executive branch is also heavily influenced by the Elites and Big Corporation interests to such an extent that they routinely nominate many industry connected people to head government agencies.
In order to make sure that social and economic progress and equality is kept in check and White Male Privilege is maintained, the Judicial Branch is appointed to be as proactive as is necessary to accomplish that end. The final say on everything is dictated by The Supreme Court which has always leaned mostly heavily conservative except during the Chief Justice Warren Era years. Since that time the Supreme Court has again shifted radically to the Right and the Corporate Democrats stood back and let that just happen. Since the year 2000 The Supreme Court has become so corrupted and unaccountable that it is now poised to actively strip away civil rights gains and Constitutional protections regarding many personal and legal issues. The modern Republican Party is now so radically right wing that they do not want a Democratic Republic at all and they would impose an Autocratic Tyranny if they could. The political good cop bad cop game casts the Republican Party as strong and virtuous and the Democratic Party as either complicit or totally weak failures at protecting The People from Oligarchs, Evangelists and Corporate interests in their pursuit of power and greed. The corruption trickles down to State and Local politicians and police forces. The Establishment Corporate Media keeps much of the public confused and distracted with disinformation and conspiracy driven political cults of personality and idealism are promoted and exaggerated.
The irony is that The Elites would maintain plenty of power and would control more than enough wealth if they could simply allow more social and economic equality. They just can’t seem to stop themselves from wanting it all and their lust for power is unquenchable. That will be their downfall like it was back in the Progressive Era which did force some changes. The Elite backlash then led into the Great Depression which led to The New Deal and then The Great Society of the 1960’s then the Viet Nam War led to the Republican resurgence which led in turn to the Democrats becoming more Corporate friendly then the Republicans became radicalized. Because the world is so much more complicated now with Climate Change, Environmental Degradation, Pandemics, Overpopulation and Extreme Inequality, the next crash will be much worse and the populist backlash much more severe and pronounced. We are now entering an existential crises that the two Legacy political parties cannot or will not solve. We all witnessed a failed right wing insurrection and those who would try to destroy our democracy and cancel our Constitution must be brought to justice and be punished – without regard to who they are in the systemic, social and economic pecking order or else we will have to conclude some people really are above the law and the Department of Justice is just a protection racket.
What can be done to mitigate this quagmire? The first step is to elect some better people into office. The Republicans are totally off the rails and third party options are currently mostly unelectable, so that leaves the Democrats. The few decent politicians that are now in office are mostly Democrats in the Progressive Caucus. The party leaders on both sides of the aisle are all Corporate friendly, self serving, very old and set in their ways. Today’s Republicans actually support insurrection against elections. The only option right now is to elect more and better Democrats until evolved Independent or Third Party candidates can be elected. Protest is essential by taking it to the streets in mass nonviolent demonstrations to pressure those in control to allow the necessary action happens. Only People Power Makes Freedom Safe because that People Power in solidarity is the only force that can make the bottom up changes necessary to progress and evolve – and only the strong survive….Curt
MIDTERM SPURN
February 22, 2022
I have been around for a very long time and have a very long memory of all I have seen so I share some thoughts now and then. I have been saying for months on this blog that the Democrats are probably going to win the elections in both 2022 and 2024. Most people seem to think that the Republicans are going to have a big victory. Of course, for 2022 that may turn out to be correct. Traditionally the party out of power has a good result in the midterm. Also, the Republicans are doing everything they can to rig the election and keep people they don’t like from voting at all. They are more than willing to lie and cheat to win and most people think they will succeed. I’m saying what will occur is a midterm spurn.
Several things make me feel that the Democrats will win the midterms and then go on to win in 2024. As usual, the Republicans push things way too far when they are in power. In the states where they control the government, their relentless efforts to attack the rights of women, LGBQ people and even our the right to vote is way over the line. Their attacks on education and their racism is disgusting. Their attempts to steam roll the election system to control power is very much alarming. Their opinion of the average citizen is so low as to be a real insult. The Republicans think that just because they control about 25% of the population they can intimidate enough of the rest to seize power, but their attitude will alienate the majority of voters and rouse people up enough to defeat them in 2022. If they do lose in 2022, I think that they will surely lose in 2024. Even if they somehow manage to win in 2022, they will conduct themselves so horribly that they will then go on to lose in 2024.
Another big negative for the Republicans is their embarrassing devotion to Donald Trump – the worst individual human to ever be the American President. Having said that, George W Bush still remains the worst American President ever. He had eight years to bring us war lies and crimes, torture, the Patriot Act, rigging bankruptcy, the 2008 economy collapse and much more. Trump at least did not lie us into a shooting war, but he did allow many terrible things to happen, try to destroy our democracy and harm our international alliances. He probably won’t go to jail, but he will likely be disqualified from running for any future office. If the Democrats are too weak to make that happen and the Republicans are dumb enough to nominate him, Trump will still lose in 2024. I see no reason to believe that he has gained more support since 2020 – when he lost. I do not think he will even be their nominee and many of the far right powers that be are ready to throw him under the bus. I think Trump deserves to go to jail, but I doubt our ruling class will go that far. It is starting to look like a deal is in the works behind the scenes and behind his back amounting to no criminal charges for Trump in exchange for no more politics from Trump.
Trump and his supporters recent indulgence in praise for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is exposing ever more clearly the true face of today’s Republican party. It is not a good look and is showing just what type of goals and policies they want to pursue. They are obviously rooting for the oligarchs and not the people. I think their craven support will end up hurting all Republican chances to regain power in America. President Biden has been doing a pretty good job of dealing with this crisis so far. The Democrats are showing themselves to be much more measured and sane than the Republicans are at keeping us safer in our dangerous modern world. Unsurprisingly, our abominable corporate owned mass media is as horrible as ever in their lust for war porn ratings, the political horserace, the pursuit of profits and fickle appreciation from the so called elites.
One of the biggest shoes yet to drop against the Republicans is the House hearings into the January 6 insurrection. If the Democrats put on a strong presentation on national TV of what happened and who helped make it happen, it is going to make a huge impact on voter turnout in favor of the Democrats and badly damaging for Republicans. The American people will be shocked and disgusted at what went down with enough of an effect that voters will overcome all the obstacles and show up at the polls to help protect the American system of democracy. Of course the Democrats and the Mass Media must do their jobs to help that happen. Donald Trump will be ever more exposed and disgraced and he will be a major downer and divisive factor for the Republicans in both 2022 and 2024. The Donald Trump spell will finally be broken. Unfortunately, that will leave the door open for future better smarter far right candidates. That makes it even more imperative that the Democrats win in the coming midterms to protect voting rights plus making other progress. All the Republicans have to offer are the politics of destruction, policy regression and a campaign of nothingness. People are starting to notice.
So, the big question is whether or not Democrats and Independents will turn out in sufficient numbers to defeat the Republicans in 2022 and 2024. Biden has done a much better job than Trump did in dealing with Covid 19 and it looks like the pandemic restrictions will hopefully ease at just about the right time, so that will help their cause in 2022. The economy and inflation are potential problems that the media constantly emphasizes, but most people realize a big part of that is caused by corporate profit taking. So far, the Democrats seem unable to get much legislation passed and can’t seem to convince the Corporate Democrats to revise the filibuster in order to make progress. I do think enough voters will finally realize that it is actually the Republicans who are stopping anything good from being done and will therefor give Democrats a bigger majority in 2022 and a chance to make some progress. That would also make it easier to win in 2024 regardless of who the candidates are on both sides.
Most commentators seem to have very little faith in the common sense of the American people. The assumption is that 74 million people voted for Trump in 2020, so he will probably win in 2024. Well he barely won in 2016 and he lost as an incumbent in 2020 because even more voters showed up to get rid of him. He is not gaining more support for 2024 if he is allowed to run. His winning in 2016 is an indictment of the American political system and the two legacy establishment parties that serve oligarchs and corporations and not so much of a blame on the voters. Many of the Trump voters were seeking a for way to lash out against our corrupt professional politicians. The people are often fooled and manipulated, but not forever. The majority eventually catches on, and I think we are almost at that point. I have more faith than most in the American people once enough truth is exposed. I think that the January 6 insurrection hearings will provide enough of that truth.
Maybe I’m wrong about all this and lies, hypocrisy, cheating, ignorance, selfishness and the politics of hate will win out yet again. I really don’t think so, but we shall see. For sure though, no matter what, everyone must vote and not give up. Voting the straight Democrat ticket is the best option for 2022 and 2024. The bottom line though when all is said and done is that only People Power keeps freedom safe and we cannot depend solely on the professional politicians. If Democrats, Progressives, Independents and even sensible Republicans cannot stand up to The Big Lie and turn out to vote in order to protect our democracy from those who are trying to dismantle it, then perhaps we will actually deserve what we will get.
>updated on 2/28/2022
THE SANS PARTISANS
January 15, 2022
I quit the Democratic Party in 2008 because they were too corporate friendly. The final straw was when supposedly progressive Senate Democrats voted to support the FISA bill that allowed Telecoms to spy on their customer user data. That was just one of many issues – including supporting the invasion of Iraq, the Patriot Act, bankruptcy reform and many more. The neoliberals and the neocons were on the same page of way too many issues that were detrimental to democracy and the average citizen. Today there still remains far too many Corporate Democrat politicians, although there are some that are actually more progressive. An ongoing problem is that their good intentions are routinely stymied by those so called moderate Corporate Democrats and all the Republicans and Presidents too.
I support candidates like Bernie Sanders or even more progressive choices whenever I can. When there is no good choice available, I pragmatically vote for the best strategic option. In our current circumstance, that is usually the Democratic candidate. Occasionally I vote for a third party candidate like the Green Party in the Primary – even though I know they will not win – because the best option available is showing support for progressive politics. I would never vote for the modern Republican Party because they are actively trying to destroy the people’s right to vote. The current Republicans are horrible on just about every issue and they are worse now than ever – even to the point of supporting insurrections. Today the only hope of making any progress is electing more progressive Democrats.
History tells us that many of our Founding Fathers did not trust in any political parties. I am now launching The Sans Partisans populist movement, which is more a state of mind than a formal organization. To be a “Sans” does not require joining or quitting anything. You can still be registered to a formal party if that is the best political strategy for you. The Sans Partisans realize that our major problems are not ultimately going to be solved by either of the two establishment legacy parties that are controlled by corporate interests, oligarchs and plutocrats. Actual change can only come from the bottom up with the power of the people demanding it. Turns out Occupy Wall Street had the correct idea about that.
The Sans Partisans are the 99%. We all need to realize that we can agree to disagree about certain social issues and we can have that debate later. Now is when we need to band together and take the necessary steps to solve truly serious issues and problems we all face like the environment, overpopulation, inequality, voting rights and more. The Republican Party is currently attempting to gain and hold power by force and inhibiting the right of citizens to vote and have that vote count. They are the ones that try to steal the vote with voter suppression laws and control of state governments. Most people seem to think that they are going to succeed and win the elections in 2022 and 2024, and that may be correct. It is certainly possible that they can cheat enough and fool enough people and intimidate their way to being victorious. I for one, have more faith in our citizens’ ultimate determination to protect democracy from insurrectionists and special interests.
I say that they will not manage to win in 2022 or 2024. I believe enough American citizens will realize the Democrats should maintain control of the government – not so much because of how great they are doing, but because of how terrible and dangerous the Republicans have become. Polls are starting to show what my gut tells me. The truly strong support for the establishment legacy parties is only about 25% each. The potential support for the Sans Partisans populist movement is potentially about 50%. We can keep the Democrats in power for now, and then pressure them to do more of the right thing for the 99% until we can get even better politicians nominated and elected in the future. Either a new and more representative party will be formed, the Democrats will be reformed, or maybe there is less need for a formal political party at all. Sensible Republicans can be a part of this movement too. The problem is not so much left or right but have or have not. Regardless of your current party affiliation, do you really want greedy and selfish special interests to control our future? Do you really want deluded and detached power politicos controlling our government and handing it all to those special interests who do not care at all about you? Do you really want to trash the Constitution and our democracy? Who or what hat would protect the 99% from sociopathic CEOs and oligarchs then?
The hardcore 25% who now love Trump will never be convinced, so don’t even try. They must be outvoted and held in check if they try to rebel against losing elections. I do not suffer fools gladly, but if some ditto head tried to argue with me that Biden did not win the 2020 election, I would ask them if the Democrats are so good at stealing elections without leaving even a trace of evidence, why did they not steal the 2016 election when Hillary ran and Obama controlled the government? Tell me why did the Democrats let Trump win in 2016 if they are so good at stealing elections and nobody can find any evidence that can hold up in court? It would have been so much easier for Democrats to steal the election in 2016 and not hand power over to Republicans while waiting until 2020. Is it really the case that the Democrats are so dominant and capable while the Republicans are supposedly so weak and vulnerable? Of course none of it makes any real sense and it is all part of The Big Lie.
Trump was in charge of the government in 2020 and still lost, but the election was obviously not stolen. Eighty one million Americans showed up to vote in order to get rid of Trump – that is what actually happened. The Republicans still bow low to that insurrectionist loser and that makes me feel hopeful about 2022 and 2024. As I have stated before on this blog, I believe the powers that be will throw Trump under the bus and he will not be the nominee in 2024. Trump likely will never actually go to jail, but he will instead be disqualified to ever run for office again by invoking the 14th Amendment and other laws. The Trumpsters will be so angry and disillusioned they might even not bother to vote.
Any policy differences can be debated later after we protect and save our democracy. My list of some of the issues and principles The Sans Partisans populist movement should support:
>Voting – all citizens should be automatically registered to vote at 18 and constitutionally guaranteed access to voting rights that count. Public financing only for all elections with hand counted paper ballots. Your vote is important so overcome all Republican obstacles
>Executive – presidents and all politicians should be held accountable for any crimes committed while in office
>Congress – no filibuster – abolish gerrymandering and pass state recall laws for bad actors
>Supreme Court – pass term limits and impeach bad actors
>Mass Media – limit corporate ownership and expand more reality based public outlets
>Economy – a citizens dividend of $1000 per month each – cut the Defense budget in half or more to help fund it and reform welfare programs that are inefficient or outdated
>Taxation – tax the rich, large corporations and all income such as stock dividends and transactions – end all fossil fuel and other corporate subsidies
>Medicare for All – including eyes, ears, teeth and drug coverage plus totally remove the cap on Social Security contributions
>Labor – guarantee the right to unionize, equal pay at a of minimum hourly wage starting at $15 plus good benefits
>Equality – equal opportunity and justice under the law regardless of gender, race, orientation, religion, etc
>Diversity – civil rights for everyone because diversity makes the human race stronger
>Environment – start with the Green New Deal and then much more alternative energy. Develop more on hydrogen fuel, photosynthesis, nuclear fusion and eliminate nuclear fission
Join with the decentralized Sans Partisans populist movement because power centric political parties tend to become centers of corruption. The 99% can work together to control and use the existing party machinery to attain better more fair policies, but actual progress comes only if We The People demand it. Locally based activist efforts come from the bottom up and would include such tactics as boycotts and work strikes when necessary. Ultimately taking it to the streets at strategic times on a national level will also be necessary. Those are the only types of actions to ever work. We no longer have the time for apathy. The so called Elites will not simply just hand anything over. They want to maintain their positions of wealth and power and grab even more. The time has come when they must now learn to share.
AN AVALANCHE OF HAPPENSTANCE
AN AVALANCHE OF HAPPENSTANCE
October 8, 2021
I grew up in the 1960’s and still retain the lessons learned from that era about issues such as civil rights, economic inequality and the foolish quest for empire. Since I started paying attention to politics I have leaned left and voted for the most progressive candidate in the Primary then for the chosen Democrat in the General Election. For President so far I have voted for Jimmy Carter twice, no vote in 1984 (because I knew Reagan would win in California and I was disillusioned), Michael Dukakis, Bill Clinton twice, Al Gore, John Kerry, Barack Obama, the Green Party in 2012 (because I was disillusioned about the Democrats not being progressive enough and I knew Obama would win in California), Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden. The Democrats are always the preferred choice but they must do better. It seems like no matter who control the government the United States is like a rockslide turning into an avalanche rushing downhill. I think that the only way to stop this or slow it down is to elect more progressive Democrats to every political office possible. We certainly won’t reverse the downfall by supporting third parties that cannot win (until a new viable one comes along) or by not voting at all.
It’s tempting to assume that our society plods along slowly progressing toward some more perfect union achieving an inevitable modern manifest destiny. However, if one steps back to ponder where we have been – where we are – where we are going – the arc of the moral universe is not bending toward justice. It almost seems like invisible hands relentlessly hold back any real social or economic progress. It kinda makes you wonder and raises a lot of questions about why social and economic inequality keeps growing hugely bigger almost every decade. Is the causation of this an avalanche of happenstance or is our world mostly controlled by a ruling elite? I’m just asking because I care about the US Constitution. As flawed as it remains, it is about the only thing we have to pursue the goal of equal protection under law and maintain relative freedom.
We do know that throughout human history there has existed a ruling elite presiding over the majority consisting of dirt poor commoners. There has always been a wide gap of money and power separating the haves and have nots. The United States was supposed to be the country that fought a Revolution to ditch the monarchy and establish a republic with a mission statement that all men are created equal then we fought a Civil War to reaffirm it. The Founding Fathers hypocritically qualified only white males but made the Constitution to always be a work in progress by including the amendment process. There was always the hope that we would eventually evolve as a society into the melting pot of diversity creating that more perfect union.
So why do we treat some of our Presidents like kings, Senators like Lords, the rich corporate businessmen like a Royal Oligarchy and the Supreme Court like a mystical Priesthood? This is most especially true of the ones that unquestionably support unfettered Capitalism and the Corporate Agenda. Our country’s journey from the Revolution to the Civil War to the Industrial Revolution to the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era to the Roaring 20’s to the Great Depression to the World Wars to the New Deal to the Cold War to Vietnam to the Great Society to Nixon/Reagan/G W Bush/Trump to the Green New Deal was manipulated behind the scenes by powerful wealthy interests in order to remain Kings of the Hill – not simply just occurring by accident.
Some of the levers of power to manipulate things for benefit of the rich and powerful include:
– The President – can’t be indicted for a crime – and apparently is never held accountable post presidency. The Chief Executive has to be powerful to run the government, but should not be able to turn the White House into a crime scene without facing consequences
– Congress – the Senate filibuster assures nothing too populist gets done – a partisan dance between the political parties quells progress. The progressive members are not allowed to pass their agenda because The Speaker and Majority Leader have total schedule control
– The Parliamentarian – an unelected office holder Democrats defer to and Republicans ignore if they don’t like the unofficial opinion decided about legislation
– Corporate Democrats – there always seems to be just enough “centrist” Democrats on hand to make sure of minimum legislative progress Corporations and oligarchs oppose. When they leave office cushy lobbyist jobs and speaking fees are often provided
– Supreme Court – can now cancel an election vote count – nulling Separation of Powers. Past precedent is being ignored and rulings are partisan to favor conservatives. Democrats defer when Republicans take unfair advantage nominating Justices by stealing seats
– The Electoral College – can cancel the popular vote and can be more easily manipultated
– US Census Reapportionment – helps keep the Republicans in power – Democrats defer
– The Debt Ceiling – helps create a fake deadlock to hold back economic progress
– The Federal Reserve – a made up entity attempts control of the economy to favor the rich
– Mass Media – almost all owned by Oligarchs to control the flow of information
– Social Media – largely owned by the Oligarchy manipulating the mindset of people
– Corporate Personhood – the courts allow them free reign to buy influence in elections
– Federal Agencies – Executive Branch offices like the FDA, EPA, DEA, FCC etc were created to protect the public interest but are often headed by Corporatists with industry goals
– Religion – partisan blind faith based religion manipulates followers to deny reason and do as told in the pursuit of owning the liberals
– Human Nature – So many people are so easily amused and so easily brainwashed with propaganda that they are also easily manipulated to vote against their own interests
Those are fifteen of the Federal political levers plus there are state and local levers like Secretaries of State and the Legislatures of each state – you can probably think of many more – used to control how power is wielded over the have nots by the haves even more. The economic imbalance between the classes now rivals or surpasses the Gilded Age. The Progressive Era forced many reforms back then, including women’s right to vote ratified in 1920. The Bankers and Oligarchs reacted by pushing us into The Roaring 20’s – which resulted in bringing on The Great Depression. That collapse led to four times elected President Franklin Roosevelt and The New Deal. The Power Brokers hated those popular reforms so much they attempted a coup against America. The coup failed to materialize but there was no punishment for the perpetrators or even a real investigation. The New Deal reforms were so popular that the Democrats controlled Congress for most of the next 60 years. That proves when real progress is delivered the general population will give their support to that party with policies that help the people.
Except for the reasonable Republican Eisenhower, the Democrats also controlled the White House until 1969. John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson got even more popular reforms passed. JFK was assassinated under mysterious circumstances. LBJ decided not to run for a full second term because of his Vietnam War escalation. That left the door open for Richard Nixon to then be elected. A relentless political war to reverse The New Deal and Great Society reforms began and still continues to this day. Republicans leaders must lie, cheat and steal to win and are often allowed to do so. Nixon lied his way into winning the election then committed crimes in office and was forced to resign. However he was never indicted and received a pardon. A few years later Ronald Reagan lied his way into winning the election and committed crimes in office but was also never indicted.
Several years later the Democrat Bill Clinton won the election fairly and became the neocon President who actually did reverse or weaken some of the popular reforms with so called bipartisanship and triangulating policy. The cynical Republicans still impeached him for nothing and he was appropriately not convicted and served two terms. That resulted in a conservative Supreme Court totally trashing the Constitution and installing the loser George W Bush as President in 2000. GWB lied to win office, lied us into war, committed war crimes and yet again was never indicted. He also enriched the Banks and crashed the economy. Democrats deferred and decided to look forward not back. The Republicans always push their advantage too far and the Bush years led to President Barrack Obama for two terms. He was somewhat a breath of fresh air being a decent person who mostly held onto the status quo with some reforms. The Republicans never let the Democrats slide on anything. One wonders why such a disparity between the two parties is allowed to persist.
All of this has led us to Donald J Trump. The biggest liar and crook and worst human to ever be President. After four years of his horrible one term in office he could not win a second term, so he tried to pull off a coup to overturn his election loss. He is still trying ten months later. The question now is will Trump be punished for his crimes or is he above the law? Do we live under a secret monarchy where the powerful can commit crimes with impunity? Is insurrection, sedition and an ongoing coup attempt enough for the Department of Justice to prosecute these crimes committed by Trump and his enablers? All of these politicians on both sides swore an oath to protect the Constitution. We will soon find out what kind of a country we have devolved into. If we do not deserve to be the United States of America for which it stands, I guess we can thank Trump for ripping away the mask to expose our in name only democracy.
The good news is that DJ Trump is such an ass that almost everybody hates him and the majority of voters are getting very sick of his whining. He may finally be the one former President who gets thrown in jail so that the rest of the Elite class can keep the game going and continue the grift. They may have to throw a few crumbs of progress at the commoners for now so I think the Democrats will win the next couple of elections at least. Incremental gains will be made on social issues and a watered down Green New Deal will be passed. Republicans can always claw a lot of it back in a few years when they convince the people to vote for them again. That is unless a true Progressive Populist revolution occurs that forces real lasting change to make us a true democratic republic. For now I will keep voting for Democrats until there is a viable alternative, but establishment political parties like the Democrats and Republicans won’t get us there without being forced to by a massive wave of People Power.
THE GREAT WHITE HOAX
September 2, 2021
A lot of people are very worried that the Republicans are going to win the elections in 2022 and 2024, but I say they will not. People still think Trump will be the Republican nominee for President in 2024, but I say he won’t be. I think the Republicans will be beaten very badly in both elections largely because they have invested so much of their everything into Trump.
So why do they continue to blind faithly support such a loser? Because of the Great White Hoax. Trump is the figure-head of the last hope for defending the fictitious traditions of white male supremacy. Humans are not superior because they are white or male. Diversity and intelligence is what makes people excel. Social dominance for aggressive conservative white males also protects the class of people who have always actually been in charge – the super rich and privileged Elites. That is the real reason this world is so messed up.
So will the (so called) Elites prevail and bring ruin to us all? Right now it sure looks like it. Let’s count some of the ways why things look so dire.
>Trump would not concede losing and 30,000 people stormed the Capitol to install him
>The Republicans grow ever more crazed hanging on to their base to keep their positions
>The Corporate Democrats are close to useless and are compromised by big donors
>The Establishment Big Media is worse than ever with bias for The Elites and pro war
>President Biden is better than any Republican, but he is still a Corporate Democrat
>The Supreme Court is the worst in decades and is handing down historically bad decisions
>The State Republicans are doing everything they can to destroy voting rights for non whites
>In California, Republicans are trying to recall a Democrat governor and replace him again
>The Proud Boys etc are planning another big protest in DC on September 18
>The weather and wild fires are getting ever more destructive and nothing is being done
Plus many other fronts on which our democratic republic is being attacked relentlessly.
In my opinion, based on my own analysis, this is the last gasp in the effort to preserve The Great White Hoax – which is actually the effort to protect the interests of The Elites. This effort will ultimately not succeed. The temporary wins to ban abortion, destroy voting rights, no environmental protection, no affordable healthcare and stupid pandemic policy will not sit well with a large majority of Americans. These positions they advocate and vote for will backfire and I think the Republicans will lose big in 2022 and 2024.
Absolutely we can take nothing for granted that the Democrats will win. The Republicans lie and cheat whenever they can get away with it, and they never seem to end up suffering many consequences. Why do the Democrats let them slide almost every time? For that matter, why did the Democrats let the Republicans steal the last 2 or 3 Supreme Court seats. Why did the Democrats wimp out and lose so badly in 2010 for Congressional seats when the Census was in play? Why do the Democrats support so much corporate legislation and foreign wars? Why won’t they expand the Supreme Court or fix the filibuster? Sadly, it is because The Elites control most of them too, and it takes two teams to play the game – The Great White Hoax as cover to coddle and protect The Elites.
For now, the Democrats are still much better than the crazier than ever Republicans. Until there is a viable Progressive Party, the only pragmatic thing to do is vote for the Democrats and try to pressure them to be better. Therefore, I think the Republicans will lose the recall election in California and lose badly in 2022 and 2024. I also think their regressive voting rights and women’s rights laws will be reversed and the new laws will be much stronger.
Something will be done about the Supreme Court too. I think impeachment of at least two of them is called for. Of course racism and sexism and inequality are very real things that have to be confronted and defeated. White Privilege is a difficult tradition to defeat, because so many Americans actually are prejudice and that helps keep the game going. Will the lead Republicans go to jail for their insurrection? Probably not, but that would be a good way to slow down their attempt to trash our democracy in support of The Great White Hoax.
NUMB-ERR-WON
June 21, 2021
So I was right about Trump losing the election – even as he refuses to admit it. He tried to steal it, but his followers were simply too lame to pull it off. I must admit that they came closer than I thought they would to overturning the vote count and it got pretty crazy. In the end, I was right that we would have more of a somewhat serious protest than a civil war.
I realize it is not completely over, because there are a lot of brain dead Trumpists out there. However, I believe that January 6 was their biggest and best shot at taking control. A large majority of Americans are not down with the new confederate/plutocrat agenda. Having said that, we are a long long way from where we need to be as a country and a civilization.
It is a very open question as to whether the Democrats can step up to pass the necessary reforms. They are also very heavily influenced by the Corporate/Big Bank/Big Tech/Disease Care/Oligarch/ Plutocrat/Military Complex. They need to win the coming elections, because it will still be easier to progress with the Democrats than it would be with the Republicans.
The only way we get to where we need to get with progress on issues of healthcare/the environment/justice/equality/civil rights/fair economy and more, is if the majority of citizens loudly demand it. That will likely mean taking to the streets in mass protest. Let us hope that we the people are not too numb and too dumb to make it happen.
DONALD LAME DUCK
October 13, 2020
Presidents don’t get any more lame than Donald Trump. In his reckless hubris, he caught Covid 19 and also crashed the economy into a likely depression. Now we have dead Americans and lost jobs as far as the eye can see. In addition to all the damage he has done, I think the majority of voters are very sick and tired of his antics and instability.
I don’t think any Republican dirty tricks can save him now. I also think that the movers and shakers behind the scenes are done with him too – because they have got pretty much everything they could hope to get from him and the system they profit so much from now needs restabilizing. Then they will blame all the problems on the Democrats going forward.
After he loses the election, he will be a very Lame Duck. Donald could do a lot of damage during the interregnum of this lame duck period – I don’t think he will actually do all that much – even if he wants to. I think he will strut and posture in a threatening way in order to manipulate the public and politicians into worrying what craziness he might do – so we just let him go away with a full pardon and his properties intact. Actually, America has never put a President in jail or even prosecuted one, so he just might get a pass – like he has his whole life – but he’ll be gone.
A lot of people are very afraid that when Donald loses, there will be civil unrest – or even a Civil War. Some of his Proud Boys might cause a fuss and do some damage, but I don’t think there will be prolonged major trouble. Once Donald is exposed as the loser he is, I think his cult will soon fade away. There will be new leaders and causes for them to rally around in the future – not Lame Donald.
Why has this lame old man who is in terrible physical and mental condition managed to hold on to so much power and control? He breaks all the rules and flaunts laws and norms at will, and nobody stops him. One reason is money and power in the hands of the few individuals who control the institutions – media, banks, telecoms and energy systems, etc. These powerful people – mostly men – support the politicians who help them get what they want. Whoever wins in our system, the Oligarchs still win and the imbalance continues.
Another reason for our endless systemic failures is that humans are still a pretty lame lifeform at our current stage of evolution. Many of us are easily swayed with propaganda, are not all that intelligent, quite superstitious, selfish or outright racist. The reality is, however, only the power of the people united can put the human race on the right track toward fairness and justice – we will have to de-lame ourselves in order to make progress.
I was right two years ago about picking Kamala Harris for VP and I was wrong about Bernie Sanders being nominated for President. We will have to work hard to convince Joe Biden to do some things right more than wrong. Of course, Lame Donald almost always does the most wrong thing possible, so we will be better off with him gone. Hopefully, the Democrats will win the Senate and hold the House and do a lot of good strong things in the next two and four years. We don’t want the Republicans to regain power.
Interesting times indeed.
BEYOND DON THE CON
June 13, 2020
For over three years, I have been saying that Trump will resign before his first term as President is finished – I still think that will probably happen. If he does not resign, he will lose the election by a fairly wide margin – unless he can steal it – which we must guard against.
In the next few months, he will act so reckless and horrible that the majority of people will be afraid of just what he might do next. His base will love it, but most of us will dread his behavior. Many well known people have expressed how worried they are that Trump will refuse to leave office if he loses the election. I’m not worried about that at all.
Trump is a coward and a con man. He has failed and quit at everything he has ever done – from marriage to business to finance. He declares bankruptcy or files lawsuits and leaves everyone else holding the bag of debts and responsibility. His gig as President will be in no way different than what he always does.
The flim flam man scam will be to get enough people to be so afraid of what he might do next, and so badly wanting him to just go away – that he will finagle a full pardon and be allowed to keep his properties if he’ll just resign – or agree to walk away if he loses the election. Either way, he will be gone. To make sure that happens, I think the citizens of this country should organize a movement to surround the White House with at least two million protesters in mid January and millions more around the country to either insist he goes or celebrate that he has gone.
Don the Con has actually unintentionally done this country a great service. He has shown us how much we need to change and improve America. We are lucky that he was the one to expose the Republicans for what they are and also to uncover the corruption and weakness of Establishment Democrats. If it had been a more capable and smart Republican fascist instead of him, we might have lost our chance to evolve and improve our democracy.
The Establishment Democrats have made sure to nominate one of their own as the 2020 candidate – and he is a poor choice – but he will do a better job than any Republican. Biden is likely to serve only one term. Hopefully he will choose a Vice President capable of leading the country where it needs to go and hopefully the Democrats can also win the Senate.
That journey to a better America starts with policies like The Green New Deal, Medicare For All, UBI, No More War, Equality and Justice For All, No More Corporate Welfare, etc. There is much progress to be made in moving Beyond the Dawn.
4+8=12 YEARS-BERNIE/KAMALA
February 20, 2019
Everybody on the left should chill a little and let the Primary unfold and see what happens. ANY of the potential Democratic candidates and Bernie would be light years better than ANY Republican. NUMBER 1 PRIORITY — get the Republicans out of the White House and the Senate — PERIOD.
In 2016, I voted for Bernie in the Primary and Hillary in the General Election. Vote with your heart and your mind in the Primary and whoever wins — vote for them in the General – it’s elementary. If Bernie turns out to be the best chance to win, let’s go with it. Yes, he’s old, but he seems healthy. All we need is 4 years from Bernie to set the table for his Vice President to be elected President. If, for the first time ever the VP is a woman, she would most likely win in 2024 — after all that horrible things that the Repugs have done. Then we would likely have the first woman President — for probably 8 years.
4+8=12 years of sanity and moving in a much better direction — maybe even stretching to 20 years! It’s elementary.
In this scenario – if it plays out this way – Bernie wins the Primary and picks a female Vice President. Bernie is old, so he may not be viable for 2 full terms – ending almost 10 years from now. If he only serves 4 years, then his VP will be in a good position to win the White House in 2024. If Bernie passes away in office, the Democratic VP will become President and will still be able to run in 2024 with the power of the incumbency – and likely win 2 terms. We also will have accomplished overcoming the bias and electing a female President.
Everything that’s broken can’t get fixed in just 4 years, but Bernie is right on most of the major issues and he can set the table for some real progress. If the Dems control the House and Senate in 2025 Kamala or Warren or whoever would get a lot done. It is not worth arguing about purity — winning is the only option. I think Bernie would win in 2020 because a lot of Independents really like him. Whoever the Democrats put up, I’ll vote for them, though I prefer the more progressive candidates.
WHY I CAN’T BE PRESIDENT
February 18, 2019
1. I’m not rich, don’t lust for money (and I don’t fear being financially destroyed)
2. I’m not politically connected (can’t be threatened with loss of position/power)
3. I’ve never been married and have no children (can’t be extorted)
4. I lived the life of a rock musician for 30 years and pretty much done it all (can’t be blackmailed)
5. I hate hypocrisy and change things if I find myself being a hypocrite
6. I hate lying and dishonesty – nobody is perfect – but be reasonable
7. I’m agnostic, don’t attend church and assume there is no God (unknowable)
8. I favor taxing church property
9. Anti Empire — I would cut military spending by at least 60% in 4 years and bring nearly ALL troops home and close all foreign bases – except strategic bases on islands – no mainland foreign bases anywhere
10. I would decommission all fission nuclear plants and build no more – then put major effort into fusion. If plantlife can harness the Sun with photosynthesis, humans should be able to figure out how to harness our clean star energy.
11. I would fight to impose a no less than 1% tax on all Stock Market transactions and other financial income
12. I would break up the big banks and support Public State Banks and US Post Office banking.
13. I support Medicare For All and expand it to include eyes, ears and teeth
14. I support removing entirely the cap on Social Security taxes — tax all salary and payroll income
15 .Tax the rich much more — higher income tax rates and 80% tax on inherited wealth over 10 million dollars – and close loopholes and tax corporations more
16. I am a Democratic Populist/Socialist — capitalism needs a transformation — I still believe in democracy – capitalism not so much – unless it’s forced to be honest
17. Corporations are not people — they need to be strictly regulated — some need to be broken up
18. Money is not free speech — political campaigns should be publicly funded
19. Women should have equal opportunity and equal pay and control choices for their own bodies
20. tolerance for all types of people — I celebrate diversity – total equality of opportunity.
21. no drug war or trying to legislate morality — no prison for consenting adults private behavior
22. The right to vote for all citizens should be guaranteed with no suppression and paper ballots that are hand counted
23. I would support and improve and expand network neutrality for the internet
24. full on support for the Green New Deal — then even bigger efforts to mitigate Climate Change – no fracking, coal, tar sands, or oil drilling
25. and — I also can’t be President because I don’t wear suits and neckties
So, no way. Oh well, I don’t really want to be President of the USA anyway. What was I thinking? Apparently, you have a better chance if you are a dishonest, liar, cheater, ignorant, pliable, greedy, selfish dimwit with dementia who really only cares about himself — and is also a major ass hole.
So, thanks a whole lot to Republicans — for Trump, GW Bush, Reagan and Nixon. You have been on quite a binge for over 40 years. I may never be President, but I do care about my fellow humans and planet Earth – the only home we have (or even know about). I think the Republican attempt to defeat or outlast future demographics and the forces of human evolution will will end by 2025 with Democrats in full control of the Federal government and their party a minority for decades to come. ONLY, however, if there is a huge voter turnout for all the coming elections. The Democrats should be more progressive to excite their base – many independents are ready to join in.
My old blogger site: