Category: Politics

Violation of Free Speech 2020

[Posted this to NextDoor (11/14/2020) about election signs being stolen from yard]
“Thanks to the person who violated my 1st Amendment right to free speech by stealing BOTH of the Biden-Harris signs from my yard, not in the public easement on Thursday, 11/12/20. (I live on a corner so I had two signs – one for each direction.)

My “Yes on Prop 208” sign and my Mark Kelly for Senate sign were NOT stolen.
How are we going to have a civil transition with this kind of behavior?”

AE Factory Service – Trump Supporter?

Here’s a letter I’m sending to A&E Factory Service about one of their employees – I really question if this employee is following the company’s guidelines regarding political expression.

A&E Executive Solution
1560 Cable Ranch Rd.
Bldg. A
San Antonio, TX 78245

Good Morning,

I am writing with a concern about an A&E Factory Service employee who lives in my neighborhood: This individual has an A&E Factory Service vehicle (#46415) parked in front of their house/driveway, flying “Trump for President” flags from their personal truck and a flag pole attached to their house, and a Trump for President yard sign in front of the house.

I’m writing to clarify if this type of display is in accordance with your company guidelines, if your business promotes this type of political display by contracted workers. I am very concerned that your business actively encourages employees to promote the re-election of Trump. I am concerned that your company has racially biased business practices, has views regarding immigrants, and that A&E Factory Service provides monetary support of Trump and his candidacy for President.

If all of the above is true, of course your company and employees have the right of free speech. I also have the right to boycott your business: I will immediately stop considering doing any business with your firm and will inform others via social media of your company’s stance. I will encourage others to also immediately cease hiring and to boycott A&E Factory Service, to choose other businesses that are at least not so flagrant in their political support of Donald Trump.

Letter to Martha McSally

I am writing to you on the eve of the start of the impeachment proceedings/trial in the Senate against President Trump following his legal impeachment in the U.S. House of Represetatives. I am asking that you stay honest and impartial while listening to the evidence presented against the President recently forwarded by the US House of Representatives.

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Retrospect – Candidates 2016

I wrote this back in mid August 2016 in Evernote.

What draws me most to why Donald Trump is the worst choice America can make for our political leader, our figurehead, our primary representative to the world community is his lack of compassion for non-white citizens, his selflishness, and monumentally about not really wanting to make a difference in all American citizens’ lives. I never hear/see any of his words that state how he wants to “make America great again”, just how others, like blacks, Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, feminists of all genders, GLBTQ citizens, the down-trodden and less fortunate, all of these unwanted citizens aren’t really desireable members of his elitist club, the White Man’s club.

But the real question here is what does our current leader, President Obama, and our future President, Hillary Clinton, really say and do to set them apart from Trump? What attitude and spirit do they bring to the table that Trump has never shown?

  • Both Obama and Clinton have spent their adult lives in service to the public – their track records are very clear on how they care for all members of society.
  • Both Obama and Clinton have spent much of their adult lives in service to targeted, less fortunate groups and ultimately everyone in their respective communities.
  • Trump has only been in service to himself, his ego, his empire, his ultimate business goals of power and money – he doesn’t speak of his history of volunteerism or professional life work he’s done to help the less fortunate or social justice causes: Good reason because he’s done neither!

It’s clear he views anything outside the scope of business as a waste of time and energy. Problem is, he’s not that great at business when viewed in the scope of longevity, consistency, continued growth, enabling all members of his business. Prime examples are all instances of his failed businesses, topically the Trump Taj Mahal Casino fiasco: Trump failed in the business venture, screwed employees and contractors out of earned wages, and eventually screwed the state of New Jersey out of the money he owed. In Trump’s eyes it was a win for him – he didn’t take too great a loss, less money out of his bottom line.

The most disturbing aspect of Trump is his lack of empathy, his true lack of compassion – I’d hazard to say (being generous here) that he borders on a moderate degree of sociopathy. His general immaturity and obvious low scores in Emotional Intelligence don’t bode well for a possible leader; Examples:

  • His heartless and cruel ridiculing of a disabled press member this year.
  • His unwarranted and dangerous call for violence against Hillary Clinton.
  • His inciting riots and white-on-black violence at his pre-Convention gatherings.
  • His encouraging crowds to physically abuse protesters and unwanted members of gatherings.
  • His total lack of understanding what a nuclear missile can do, but still wanting to be the bully and scare everyone with the thought that he would consider their use. Clearly, he has no clue that the President doesn’t press a “button” and has a military cabinet that would fight against any such action.

White America Hatred Exposed

I’m sure it’s been said dozens of times before, but it’s predominantly male, white America that voted Donald Trump into the White House. Their anger over eight years of social-justice motivated policies and legislation under a humane and just Barack Obama were too much. They could no longer maintain their simmering kettle of anger and feelings of their white disempowerment. Their frustration and bitterness that a brilliant, gifted African-American male was accomplishing so much and had such consistently high approval ratings here at home and around the world angered them. All of President Obama’s accomplishments were hard fought despite extreme opposition at every turn from the GOP. Don’t forget about all the images of Obama that were burned in effigy, all the racial epithets and stereotypes, the double entendres the Tea Party and whites used during his eight years in office. What could possibly explain that hatred if that wasn’t White America pushing back?

White, heterosexual America has now found its champion in Trump and the brains behind the operation, Steve Bannon – both trying to keep White America protected against the supposed Islamic Jihad, as Bannon keeps reiterating, described here “Steve Bannon Aligns With Vatican Hard-Liners Who Oppose Pope Francis” on NPR and their reporting from “Stephen Bannon in 2014: We Are at War With Radical Islam”the New York Times

“…something we have to face, and it’s a very unpleasant topic, but we are in an outright war against jihadist Islamic fascism. And this war is, I think, metastasizing far quicker than governments can handle it.”

and some great analysis here “Steve Bannon, the Church Militant and the Global War Against Islam”. How much of this crisis is mostly a product of our ceaseless waring in the Middle East? The product of the GW Bush Presidency is of course never mentioned – that’s a fiasco the ultra-conservative GOP would rather we forget.

Trump is the the biggest champion of his oil industry buddies, outside of the infamously oil-sodden Koch Brothers: Both Trump and Koch want the North Dakota Access Pipeline and Keystone XL pipeline finalized so they can reap ultimate profits while ignoring environmental concerns like community water sources and public waterways destroyed with little impunity, completely ignoring the sacred American Indian tribal lands that are torn up for the pipeline. All the while, there’s Flint Michigan and their on-going water crisis that no one is paying attention to, sending relief, providing a solution. Again, the poor don’t matter in the ultra-rich’s world view. But I digress – let’s get back to point at hand: White Anger

The poison that Trump, Bannon/Breitbart are spreading with their message of White Nationalism isn’t just for U.S. citizens to receive and get worked up about. Canadians have their own groups with their White anger stirring their shit-soup up. Case in point, this rally that was put together to intentionally spread misinformation about recent proposed legislation (here Member Motion M-131) by Iqra Khalid, a member of the Canadian Parliament in response to the recent Muslim temple burning by a White Nationalist racist whack-job. This incredibly brave young, hijab-wearing Muslim woman, Sarah Hagi (@geekylonglegs on Twitter decided to go a recent rally of really ill-informed and confused white people with a few of her friends. Here’s her description of the rally of racist, group of miscreants and their messy Islamophobic mutterings – all that was missing were their Sunday best Klan sheets and burning crosses!

We progressive Americans, focused on social justice and an egalitarian society, can’t stay focused on the anger and hatred of White Nationalism and xenophobia, we must look forward to a just society that cares for all of its citizens. Trump and company’s view of poor and less fortunate is they are losers and if they aren’t capable of making a better life for themselves without resorting to assistance, the government should cut them loose and let them fend for themselves!

  • No more assistance for healthcare
  • No more public education
  • No more family planning and female reproductive health support
  • No more “protection” for GLBT individuals
  • No more protecting them against harmful chemicals and polluted air
  • No more safeguarding their right to clean, wholesome water.

We progressives must RESIST! and rally around our liberal, left-leaning progressive incumbent public servants and candidates for offices at all levels of government – rally around with monetary support, being present for their rallies and public meetings, volunteering to help with re-election efforts. We must have a strong show of support and show our faith in the possibility of the America that we saw for eight years under President Obama. We must keep the cherished view of an America that welcomes everyone, cares for its citizens, moves forward with compassion, keeps our role as a leader in the world. We did this in January, we’ll do it again on April 29th for The People’s Climate March, we will do over and over again this year for upcoming elections and referendums. Yes – RESIST!

Thoughts on Fall 2016 Election Cycle

I’m not experiencing pain and sense of loss because of the behavior and statements of President-elect Trump and his followers. My anger, pain, and sense of betrayal stem from how many Americans were tricked and others decided to betray the social contract of all-for-one, one-for-all when they voted with a strong voice against President Obama’s legacy and the vision of Hillary Clinton and said “Yes!” to Donald Trump.This blog, Don’t Fall Apart, does a great job of describing the angst and the stress Hillary voters are experiencing. To me, the anguish is so much more. I’m feeling a strong sense of betrayal and dread that Americans, specifically white Americans, really are a bunch of racist, misogynists, xenophobic, ignorant fucks – perfect mirroring of their adored figurehead, Donald Trump

I’m angry and hurt that this nation made it clear that it has abandoned:

  • women (expecting their right-to-chose, their equal pay for equal work, equal opportunities),
  • our hard-working immigrant population (seeking a better future in America, respect and fair, humane treatment),
  • the sick (looking to the medical care safety net of the Affordable Care Act),
  • the poor (needing the assistance safety net help with food, shelter, work-training programs),
  • the elderly (facing an uncertain future of cutbacks to their Social Security lifeline, their Medicare being drastically modified)
  • the down-trodden and homeless (needing a help hand, job training, understanding and compassion)
  • the mentally ill (needing assistance, housing, therapy)

Don’t get me wrong, I find the horrible statements made against the above groups, the language and behavior, lack of compassion and acceptance of “the others” that Trump (and his band of racists) harasses, ridicules, physically assaults in person, in the press, on TV news cycle – all of that is reprehensible and casts such a bleak pall over America.

We’ve seen so many times where members of the American Taliban (ultra-Christian Right, misogynists, racists/white supremacists/KKK hiding behind the clever tag of Alt-Right) vilify women, non-white people, and progressives who stand for social justice and the social welfare contract. These American Taliban call themselves God-fearing Christians, who shield themselves behind their Bible, spouting their hatred all the while they profess their sense of entitlement, white privilege, power and strength because of their Savior. My recollection of Jesus’ teachings are caring for others above yourself – where did that mindset go?

Here’s a great guest piece on Bill Moyers’ web site Farewell, America that I totally agree with. The thin layer of veneer that was hiding white hatred, white male insecurity has been pulled back and exposed with the millions of votes for Trump. The writer, Neal Gabler, questions if our American society will ever be the same!

It’s just after the Christmas season, right before New Year as I write this. I’m searching for words that can help soothe my soul and prepare me for 2017 and the Trump Presidency. (Holy shit, whoever thought we’d be facing that nightmarish reality?!?) Here’s an insightful thought from Kate Johnson, a contributor to the January 2017 issue of “Lion’s Roar” Buddhist magazine Have a Very Buddhist Christmas

“As a dedicated dharma practitioner, my beliefs have changed, but my longing for unconditional love and a fresh start for humanity have not. I still see Christmas as a time to celebrate the shared wish for a better world. It seems like we all want peace and for everyone to be safe and fed. Yet we have all contributed to a system in which these things seem impossible, and that truth is breaking our hearts.”

Yes – the truth of our national betrayal does break our hearts. Let’s not live with broken hearts or anger and frustration surging through us during these next four years – let’s reach out and help our fellow Americans, all of them! Here’s a wonderful quote from revered teacher, Joan Halifax, Roshi from an article in Lion’s Roar Buddhist magazine published soon after the election – Buddhist Teachers Respond to News of Trump’s Presidential Win:

“So please, stop and look deeply, and let’s work together in not building a contentious future, but a generative one. And let’s not pretend we know, but be open and learn; let’s bear witness to what is happening in our country, in our world, and take wise, compassionate, and courageous responsibility. Let’s reach through differences, listen deeply, and ‘give no fear.'”

Let’s move on and not cling to the anger and bitterness of this past election cycle. Let’s now continue to remind our elected officials that they work for us, they should be doing our bidding and reminding them that their well-heeled contributors/corporations needs and desires do not take precedence over the citizens’ needs. I don’t give a whit about the Citizens United decision – yes, I want it reversed but that might be a while with the new Supreme Court this next year. We must tell our elected officials that we are watching them and we hold them accountable. We won’t let them take America down with them as they stuff their pockets full of corporate cash.

McCain’s Racial Epithet

[An older piece that acts as a reminder of the bigotry and small-mindedness of Arizona Senator John McCain, good to remember that this racist is running for Senate seat again. Hasn’t he done enough damage already?]

mccain_smallArticle from San Francisco Gate (SF Chronicle) is from the 2000 Presidential election era and has resurfaced during the 2008 election era. McCain’s use of the extremely bigoted and distasteful racial epithet, gook, to describe his captors during his Vietnam war imprisonment, is completely unacceptable.

Thank goodness for StirrdUp — I’m really grateful that their users found this little gem in the Chronicle’s archives.

I wonder how Asian-American voters feel about this use of this derogatory term? Let’s hope they turn away from a party that supports such hate language. I can appreciate all that McCain went through during the Vietnam war, but to continue to use such language almost thirty years later is unforgivable. I’ve always had a very low opinion of McCain, one of my state senators, but now I think he is just a pig. My opinion of the Republican party has also dropped many notches from its previously low position.

McCain’s Real Record on the War in Iraq

[Here’s an older article that provides a bit of perspective about Arizona Senator John McCain and his callous disregard for the will of the American people’s desire to get out of the endless conflict and war-making in the Middle East region. Let’s not forget his stance during this 2016 election cycle.]

johnmccain_highres1MoveOn.org, has forwarded an entry from a web site focused on spreading the facts that Vets Vote. Here’s a link to a fine article the VoteVets.org web site has posted that describes facts about John McCain’s Real Record on the War in Iraq. Very fascinating bit of journalism! I’ve posted the article (sent out by the MoveOn.org group) and posted on the VoteVets.org web site:

Senator John McCain presents himself as a maverick and a critic of the Iraq war. But a close read of his record indicates that his position on the Iraq war has consistently matched President George W. Bush’s.

Before The War:

McCain used many of the same arguments as Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Cheney and President Bush when advocating going to war with Iraq.
McCain co-sponsored the Use of Force Authorization that gave President George W. Bush the green light–and a blank check–for going to war with Iraq. [SJ Res 46, 10/3/02]
McCain argued Saddam was “a threat of the first order.” Senator McCain said that a policy of containing Iraq to blunt its weapons of mass destruction program is “unsustainable, ineffective, unworkable and dangerous.”
McCain: “I believe Iraq is a threat of the first order, and only a change of regime will make Iraq a state that does not threaten us and others, and where liberated people assume the rights and responsibilities of freedom.” [Speech to the Center for Strategic & International Studies, 2/13/03]
McCain echoed Bush and Cheney’s rationale for going to war.
McCain: “It’s going to send the message throughout the Middle East that democracy can take hold in the Middle East.” [Fox, Hannity & Colmes, 2/21/03]
McCain echoed Bush and Cheney’s talking points that the U.S. would only be in Iraq for a short time.
McCain: “It’s clear that the end is very much in sight. … It won’t be long…it’ll be a fairly short period of time.” [ABC, 4/9/03]
McCain said winning the war would be “easy.” “I know that as successful as I believe we will be, and I believe that the success will be fairly easy, we will still lose some American young men or women.” [CNN, 9/24/02]

During The War:

Senator McCain praised Donald Rumsfeld as late as May 12, 2004, after the Abu Ghraib scandal.
Asked if Donald Rumsfeld can continue to be an effective secretary of defense,
McCain: “Yes, today I do and I believe he’s done a fine job. He’s an honorable man.” [Hannity and Colmes, 5/12/04]
Senator McCain repeatedly supported President Bush on the Iraq War–voting with him in the Senate, defending his actions and publicly praising his leadership.

McCain maintains the war was a good idea.

At the 2004 Republican National Convention, McCain, focusing on the war in Iraq, said that while weapons of mass destruction were not found, Saddam once had them and “he would have acquired them again.” McCain said the mission in Iraq “gave hope to people long oppressed” and it was “necessary, achievable and noble.”
McCain: “For his determination to undertake it, and for his unflagging resolve to see it through to a just end, President Bush deserves not only our support, but our admiration.” Plain Dealer, 8/31/04]
McCain: “The war, the invasion was not a mistake.” [Meet the Press, 1/6/08]
Asked if the war was a good idea worth the price in blood and treasure,
McCain: “It was worth getting rid of Saddam Hussein. He had used weapons of mass destruction, and it’s clear that he was hell-bent on acquiring them.” [Republican Debate, 1/24/08]
McCain defended Bush’s rationale for war. Asked if he thought the president exaggerated the case for war, McCain said, “I don’t think so.” [Fox News, 7/31/03]
McCain has been President Bush’s most ardent Senate supporter on Iraq. According to Michael Shank of the Foreign Policy in Focus think tank, McCain was at times Bush’s “most solid support in the Senate” on Iraq. [Foreign Policy in Focus, 1/15/08]
McCain voted against holding Bush accountable for his actions in the war. McCain opposed the creation of an independent commission to investigate the development and use of intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq. [S. Amdt. 1275 to H.R. 2658, Vote # 284, 7/16/03]
McCain praised Bush’s leadership on the war.
McCain: “I think the president has led with great clarity and I think he’s done a great job leading the country…” [MSNBC, Hardball, 4/23/03]
Senator McCain has constantly moved the goal posts of progress for the war–repeatedly saying it would be over soon.
January 2003: “But the point is that, one, we will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” [MSNBC, 1/22/03]
March 2003: “I believe that this conflict is still going to be relatively short.” [NBC, Meet the Press, 3/30/03]
June 2004: “The terrorists know that this is a very critical time.” [CNN, 6/23/04]
December 2005: “Overall, I think a year from now, we will have a fair amount of progress [in Iraq] if we stay the course.” [The Hill, 12/8/05]
November 2006: “We’re either going to lose this thing or win this thing within the next several months.” [NBC, Meet the Press, 11/12/06]
Senator McCain opposed efforts to end the overextension of the military that is having a devastating impact on our troops.
McCain voted against requiring mandatory minimum downtime between tours of duty for troops serving in Iraq. [S. Amdt.. 2909 to S Amdt. 2011 to HR 1585, Vote 341, 9/19/07; S Amdt. 2012 to S Amdt. 2011 to HR 1585, Vote #241, 7/11/07]
McCain was one of only 13 senators to vote against adding $430 million for inpatient and outpatient care for veterans. [S Amdt. 3642 to HR 4939, Vote 98, 4/26/06]
Senator McCain has consistently opposed any plan to withdraw troops from Iraq Senator McCain repeatedly voted against Senator McCain has consistently demonized Americans who want to find a responsible way to remove troops from Iraq so that we can take the fight to al Qaeda.
McCain: “I believe to set a date for withdrawal is to set a date for surrender.” [Charlotte Observer, 9/16/07]
McCain called proponents of a congressional resolution opposing the troop surge in Iraq intellectually dishonest. [Associated Press. 2/4/07]

The Future:

Senator McCain now says he sees no end to the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq.
McCain: “[M]ake it a hundred” years in Iraq and “that would be fine with me.” [Derry, New Hampshire Town Hall meeting, 1/3/08]
McCain on how long troops may remain in Iraq: “A thousand years. A million years. Ten million years. It depends on the arrangement we have with the Iraqi government.” [Associated Press, 1/04/08]
http://pol.moveon.org/ Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.