Tag Archives: politics

Shitshow: the current world status

You’d think that the current pandemic spread round the planet would be a uniting factor for humanity. A common “enemy” that forces us to put aside our petty differences in the interest of general perseverance. A forceful reminder that people are more important than profit. A highlight of who actually props up a functioning society when it comes right down to it. A painful lesson prompting changes to so many broken systems, unless of course you’re the current president of the US.

I am staying (and working from) home. I am washing my hands. I am sanitizing surfaces regularly. I have cancelled my vacation(s) for April. I have not purchased Covid-induced low priced airfare because I suspect traveling will be encumbered for an indeterminable amount of time and I am not going to pretend otherwise. I have not panic bought any supplies nor have I hoarded toilet paper or hand sanitizer. Yet, lots of people are going about daily routines, being selfish, believing obvious lies, endangering others, and spreading the damn virus all around like idiots.

The US federal government’s response to this pandemic is abysmal. Luckily there are plenty of state governors and officials, responsible businesses, and citizens willing to ignore the bullshittery coming from the president and his men. These people are working to help slow the spread, regardless of any negative impact to the stock market/economy. However, there’s only so much they can do, and if they are being contradicted by a soulless conman and his cronies, the devastating impact of this virus will continue to increase. How anyone can look at Trump and still claim he is doing a great job and has their best interest at heart is either extremely wealthy and determined to protect that wealth and status no matter the cost to others, or they are beyond delusional and clearly have a death wish.

The situation is going to get worse before it gets better. What is it going to take to make people wake up and realize that we have FUCKED SHIT UP by allowing special interests to dictate priorities and shape laws that do nothing to protect the planet or people on it? The whole “got mine now and fuck the future” mentality is corrosive and an offense to the potential of humanity. If this doesn’t incite real systemic change, I fear nothing will. Normally I would say if society can’t learn how to do better than they don’t deserve to continue, but there are so many wonderful people that contribute in such a positive way to the environments in which they reside that it’s just not fair a smaller percentage of shitty people get to ruin it for the rest of us. We might need to practice social distancing for now, but when the pandemic has passed we need to unite and stand against all the destructive systems in place that allowed this to occur and make sure that we don’t keep repeating our mistakes.

Goodbye Democracy

On January 31st 2020 one party of American government decided they gave ZERO FUCKS about their constitutional duty and voted against having witnesses at the Senate trial. That they aren’t disputing the actions of the president, but instead are saying that they’re fine with what he did, while several are also in conflict by voting and one of the counsel for the president was also in conflict as they themselves are witnesses should really be a giant red warning flag to every American citizen.

FUCK YOU and FUCK YOUR ASSAULT on DEMOCRACY!

I’m not surprised but I am very disappointed.

I will not forget and I will not forgive.

Happy Impeachment Day

As I’ve listened to the arguments from both sides for/against impeachment of Donald Trump, the long-standing question I have is how is it legal for elected officials to stand there during the committee hearings (and now in the house) and blatantly lie with zero compunction?

Even if they want to dispute the facts from the investigation based on “intent”, they are still definitely lying about things Trump has literally said on camera to the public. They lie about dates (timelines) that are easily proven and well documented. They lie about events that were witnessed by the nation. They break the oath they have taken to side with the country over party. Still don’t understand how this is acceptable in any way.

The Argument So Far

One side says there is irrefutable evidence.

The other side says wait longer and use the courts so that you don’t open up dangerous precedents.

Me in my car screaming at the radio how frustrated I am by all the deflections, lies, and misleading rants.

No one changing their minds.

And why would they? If the people complaining that this is all a hoax were willing to take facts into consideration (instead of ignoring them because they don’t support the narrative they tell themselves) there wouldn’t even be the constant argument/debate happening. Since facts and honor don’t matter to certain people there will be no way to convince them there is a valid reason for impeachment. They can’t understand that the only reason anyone suggested it right off the bat in 2016 was because he committed impeachable actions before he even became president, and he continues to do so. You can tell yourself whatever bullshit you want, but the rest of the country has said it won’t lower the standards to suit your interests. It has nothing to do with just not liking him, and everything to do with him being the worst person to ever hold the office of the presidency based on his words and actions that divide a nation, jeopardize national security (and our elections) and reduce our standing on a global scale. Basically he has done the opposite of what a president is supposed to do.

If a democrat had conducted himself this way, impeachment would have already taken place.

Stop pretending. Stop ruining things for everyone just because you’re worried you won’t get to control everything anymore for your own befit, others be dammed. I wish you embraced compassion. I wish you were unable to block yourself off from empathy. I wish your unwavering nature was one of kindness, decency, and generosity. I wish I could call you honorable. I wish your goals were to protect the planet and advance scientific endeavors that benefited the population as a whole. I wish you lived a life of love, instead of fear. I think that would be the worst punishment I could ever inflict upon you.

 

Does It Break Your Heart?

Watching so many people blatantly disregard facts in lieu of stubborn denial breaks my heart.  The idea that there are countless individuals who have zero regard for common decency, zero interest in preserving our planet, and zero desire to assist anybody who is even the slightest bit different from them breaks my heart.

How do you wake up each morning, full of so much hate and be ok with that?

How do you fall asleep at night without realizing you’re a cancer on civilized society and this planet?

How can you remain so fucking oblivious to the hypocrisy and corruption you live and breath and defend each day?

How can you look at what is going on in America, hell across the planet, and not understand what side of the line you’re on, and if you do know that you’re on the side of bigotry, hatred, destruction, and corruption, how do you live with that?

I don’t want some deflecting, self-righteous, gaslighting response either. I challenge you to state your case using logic, truthful facts, and justifiable morality.

The idea that my country is playing chicken with an authoritarian agenda fucking BREAKS MY HEART.

The possibility that even after irrefutable proof has been obtained and presented that there are still numerous people who refuse to acknowledge it, and refuse to put the wellbeing of their country over their allegiance to an epitome of vileness BREAKS MY HEART.

If there continues to be a divide between reality and delusionality this democracy won’t survive.

 

Hard to Watch

Trump held a rally near my city the other day and I debated going to the protest for it. Ultimately it didn’t work out for me to attend (several mitigating factors) but as part of my decision making process I had to take into account the possibility that my attendance at a Trump protest rally could expose me to a dangerous situation. I could be hit, pepper sprayed, trampled, run over, or even shot at. As I contemplated that, it made me sad, and angry, that I had to even consider that in my decision to attend. Fear is a tactic weak people use to try and intimidate others from speaking up.

I also know that if the protest remained peaceful the entire time supporters would claim everyone was paid to be there, or that the protesters weren’t very energetic/enthusiastic/authentic, that it was a “weak” turnout, etc. If there were any moments of violence, it would be used to as fuel to portray them in a very negative fashion. Thousands went, I watched live streaming of it, I messaged with people during it and for the most part it was peaceful. Until the supporters started to exit the rally. That’s when there started to be issues. Immediately there were portrayals of the protesters being the aggressive ones, and I sat in my house wondering just how accurate that message was. I’m not saying I believe that only Trump supporters would/could be violent and protesters would/could only be peaceful, because when you get a crowd together violence is always a possibility and there are always people (no matter what political affiliation they have) who will escalate a situation and ruin it for the rest of us. The difference is in the actions, cumulatively speaking, in the overall rhetoric of the majority, in what they allow and condone as acceptable behavior. Before the rally ended and the protesters started getting pepper sprayed I had already been observing the general opinions being posted on the old social media sites. While it sure seemed like each side was convinced that the other side was the violent delusional ones, I found significantly more negative comments from Trump supporters (disparaging the Minneapolis mayor, and/or any protesters) than I did from protesters or protest supporters. One comment even talked about needing “ethnic cleansing” of democrat supporters. Right there, with no shame. I took a screen shot to remind myself how much society has back peddled. While I don’t discount the existence of an equally troubling comment from a protester somewhere, I never found one that was vicious or hateful like that.

To also see so many thousands of Minnesotans embracing Trump’s message of hate and being stubbornly oblivious to the hypocrisy, corruption, and destruction of it all was absolutely painful. For a brief moment I had been hopeful that the stipulation of the city of Minneapolis and the statement from AEG requiring Trump to pre-pay for costs associated with rally security and road closures might actually hold, but as per usual, he refused, there were no consequences, and he used it as more fodder in his constant efforts to divide the nation. I will not hold my breath waiting to see if his campaign eventually pays the bill, especially after his “twitter fight” with the mayor. As to the argument about the bill being much higher than Obama’s back in 2009, not only has the cost for everything increased in the last decade, the propagation of hate and violence towards others that has been encouraged by Trump leads to needing way more security as well as more street closures since the level of protesters are higher, plainly put, it’s comparing pomegranates to bananas…just because they are both fruit doesn’t mean they cost the same. Not that anyone’s going to point that out.

Every single day it gets harder to watch this shit show go on. I don’t understand how anyone who thinks they are a decent person could support him, and if they aren’t claiming to be decent people I would be really scared, because then it just means they are super ok with no accountability, mass destruction of the planet, zero regard for other people’s lives if they happen to be even slightly different, alienation of our allies, the reverence of authoritarian dictators, personal gain over everything and everyone, racism, sexism, and the degradation of liberty. I seriously hope they impeach him, and Pence, because this cannot go on, not if we want America (as a land of the free, home of the brave) to survive.

 

Profit over People

Yet another mass shooting in the US, and still the government does nothing about it.

People demand action but due to the dysfunction of the divided parties all they get is bickering until these situations become normalized.

Is it really just the fear over 2nd amendment rights being violated that keeps any gun law reform from actually happening, or is because there’s no profit in gun law reform?

When a mass shooting happens, gun manufacturing stock rises and more guns and ammo are sold. More news is consumed (paid for) and there’s an increase in advertising prices. Local funeral homes have a rush of business. Hospitals are able to charge thousands for critical care. Therapists have a rise in new patients and often more medication is prescribed. Security systems, self-defense, and other related products/services see an increase in business. Fund raising happens to help families with expenses. It is incredibly profitable for numerous parties, not to mention that it also  distracts the public from laws being voted on and other scandals previously dominating the news. Additionally, these events increase a sense of fear, grief, and anger (all emotions that make you easier to manipulate) in the general population.

There are numerous ways to protect 2nd amendment rights and still regulate gun ownership. If the lawmakers truly cared about the well being of their constituents we wouldn’t be stuck in this loop of violence. 

I’ve written about this before but the topic remains relevant. As the divide grows from the hate fueled stoking of the current president so does the number of white men who think they have the right to go shoot everyone different from them. Apparently no one seems to want to do the work to change the underlying belief system regarding the right of all lives to exist as equals and since there’s no profit in stemming the tide of bloodshed this epidemic of unnecessary slaughter will continue. How long until there are no people left to profit from?

Blue Splash It Is

Not exactly the blue wave one could have hoped for across the country, but there was a blue splash and the congressional house will now allow for the faintest hint of checking upon the current government.

My current local district flipped from red to blue and we flipped the state house as well, so that we’re now the only state in the country with a divided house/senate. Blue, blue, blue across the major seats open so I can take my anxiety level down a tiny notch, even if I don’t think the battle is close to being over. I wish I didn’t have to use words like “battle” and I wish we could go back to being able to support third party candidates without worrying that by doing so we were helping other candidates that openly support hate and fear and divisiveness.

Also, can I say how pleased I am to have 2 awesome ladies as my state senators and to have my near future district being repped by a passionate and engaging Somali woman. Our country, our states, our districts, our cities…they are made up of more than old straight white christian men and to see more and more diversity in government is AMAZING.

Let’s keep the momentum going. Can we stop fear mongering and start problem solving? Can we stop focusing on profits and start focusing on people? Maybe if we started really addressing the global climate crisis and reversing all the damage we’re doing to the planet people wouldn’t have this underlying fear and anxiety that is being tapped into for exploitation by rich assholes. When there is enough to go around, people don’t feel the need to hate their neighbors, or start wars, or rally against anyone seeking asylum. The hate, the wars, the sense of scarcity…those are all tools used by people that want to profit from and control others. Don’t give them that power.

 

Last Vestiges of Hope

Tomorrow, November 6th, 2018, America has the opportunity to try and halt the growing divide of hatred that has permeated the country. One of three things will happen.

Voting percentages remain as low as usual and result in things continuing on as they are.

Almost everyone votes and we get the blue wave that restores a bit of check and balance to the government.

Almost everyone votes and there isn’t a blue wave, maybe only a blue splash that doesn’t quite restore any checks or balances and shows that the problem of hatred and greed extends far deeper than anyone was willing to admit.

Right now we can still have hope. I just hope my hope isn’t dashed the same way it was back in November of 2016.

VOTE, no matter who you’re voting for, because I either want to see the majority accurately represented in government or I want to know without a doubt that I am surrounded by assholes.