Honestly, I’m glad to see the back of 2019, though alarmed at how fast time whizzes by, faster and faster, it seems, the older one gets, until it feels like you are a child in the back seat of your family car, speeding along the interstate to some destination, as the mile markers and trees are all just a blur.
Oh, to stop at a rest station, get out, stretch my legs, breathe deep of the refreshing air, and gaze out upon a scenic view. Those pauses are what has been sorely missing from my life. The stopping, breathing, taking in the scenic view…I’ve just been speeding along the highway, grown up now, driving the car myself, yet by no means in control of everything or much of anything. Passing all those rest stops, all those exits to beautiful places, wishing I could just get off the road and rest.
That about sums up the last few years, maybe decades, of my life. Hopefully, intentionally, maybe I’ll be able to slow the car down sometimes in the coming year, 2020. Maybe pull off the—cue AC/DC—Highway to Hell (lol), and stop at the scenic overlooks. Maybe just leave the car there for a good, long while and go off on an inviting trail. A path that calls to me, not a road I feel I have to be on to get somewhere, while all the trees and the world just whiz by like a blur.
Happy, Healthy 2020 to all. May we slow down our cars, pull over, take in the scenery, experience the present, and breathe.
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Thank you, Democratic Majority In The House of Representatives, For Defending our Constitution and Rule of Law
45 has been impeached. I have known since he was but one candidate in the 2016 Republican field that this would happen if he became their nominee and got himself elected, which is why I said then that the RNC should disqualify him from their field (he was vowing to do something unconstitutional--banning all people from one religion from entering our country) before he even was their nominee. A POTUS is sworn to uphold and protect the constitution, which he or she cannot do whilst violating it.
I have always said I was 100% certain he would get himself impeached. I was told there was no way that would happen. Now it has.
Sadly, though, it seems that the Republican majority in the Senate is 100% complicit with 45 and thus he will not be removed in the Senate, which will be a profoundly tragic day in the history of our Republic, and for its future. It will set a terrible precedent that a POTUS is above the law.
The only silver lining in the likely tragedy of 45 not getting removed from office is that, if he remains in there, then whomever the Democratic nominee for President is in 2020 will surely win. But what exactly will he or she be Presiding over? What will our Republic be if the Senate does not remove this lawless POTUS?
I have always said I was 100% certain he would get himself impeached. I was told there was no way that would happen. Now it has.
Sadly, though, it seems that the Republican majority in the Senate is 100% complicit with 45 and thus he will not be removed in the Senate, which will be a profoundly tragic day in the history of our Republic, and for its future. It will set a terrible precedent that a POTUS is above the law.
The only silver lining in the likely tragedy of 45 not getting removed from office is that, if he remains in there, then whomever the Democratic nominee for President is in 2020 will surely win. But what exactly will he or she be Presiding over? What will our Republic be if the Senate does not remove this lawless POTUS?
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Again, I submit to you: impeaching 45 is not partisan, it is the very definition of patriotic.
I've mused about this before but I just gotta say again: I find it incredible how 45 keeps insisting that impeaching him is a "partisan" thing, because--according to him--the Democratic Party/Democrats are so terrified to run against him. The reason that gets me so riled up is that it is, as are so many things that flow from 45's mouth, the exact OPPOSITE of the truth! If I, for example, as but one Democrat and American citizen, were acting in a partisan way, I would want and pray for 45 to remain in office until election day, as literally ANY of our candidates would easily defeat him in a yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge landslide! He is our dream to run against!
Instead, however, I fervently want him to be impeached and removed, because I'm a patriotic American first and I want what is best for and, in this case, necessary for the survival of, my dear, precious, priceless country, the US of A. We have nothing if we don't have our constitution and rule of law. THAT'S what getting this constitution-violating, lawless, treasonous sack of bile out of office is all about! It has zero to do with "partisanship"!
Depending upon how this plays out, the 2020 election could be a nightmare for my Democratic Party after impeachment of 45, and even before the election, we could have a very SCARY situation in the streets, frankly, because 45's supporters are rabid. Let's just be honest, everyone got mad at Hillary for her supposedly political incorrectness in ACCURATELY describing his complicit supporters as a "basket of deplorables". Well, I'm 100% with Hillary on that one--they ARE! And particularly anyone on this or any other planet who still supports him at this point. After kidnapped babies in for-profit concentration camps, and all the many ways he has violated the constitution and our laws, and divided our country, and worked to enrich himself and benefit an enemy foreign power which, clearly, he is compromised by, YES: that person/those people are completely DEPLORABLE in my eyes but omg I digress, where was I? Right: his supporters are rabid, cult-like loons and there is no telling what they will do, frankly, if he is impeached and removed, or resigns (which he would not do without inciting violence in our streets on his way out the door). If I were thinking as a "partisan", I'd say, leave this train wreck in the White House, avoid all of those potentials, and what a dream come true to run ANY of our candidates against him in 2020!
But no, I care about my country. I care about following the clear constitutional imperative to jettison this guy through the constitutional trap door that our founders wisely built in to get him out of the White House. Most of all, I care about NOT setting a precedent saying that a POTUS can be lawless and that's okay, and about preserving and protecting our rule of law and our constitution going forward. For they are what truly makes America great.
Impeaching 45 isn't partisan, it is patriotic. So, of course, he is currently running around saying that it is "unpatriotic". Because he is indeed the leader of Bizarro World/Opposite Land. Meanwhile, here in reality: HE HAS TO GO.
Instead, however, I fervently want him to be impeached and removed, because I'm a patriotic American first and I want what is best for and, in this case, necessary for the survival of, my dear, precious, priceless country, the US of A. We have nothing if we don't have our constitution and rule of law. THAT'S what getting this constitution-violating, lawless, treasonous sack of bile out of office is all about! It has zero to do with "partisanship"!
Depending upon how this plays out, the 2020 election could be a nightmare for my Democratic Party after impeachment of 45, and even before the election, we could have a very SCARY situation in the streets, frankly, because 45's supporters are rabid. Let's just be honest, everyone got mad at Hillary for her supposedly political incorrectness in ACCURATELY describing his complicit supporters as a "basket of deplorables". Well, I'm 100% with Hillary on that one--they ARE! And particularly anyone on this or any other planet who still supports him at this point. After kidnapped babies in for-profit concentration camps, and all the many ways he has violated the constitution and our laws, and divided our country, and worked to enrich himself and benefit an enemy foreign power which, clearly, he is compromised by, YES: that person/those people are completely DEPLORABLE in my eyes but omg I digress, where was I? Right: his supporters are rabid, cult-like loons and there is no telling what they will do, frankly, if he is impeached and removed, or resigns (which he would not do without inciting violence in our streets on his way out the door). If I were thinking as a "partisan", I'd say, leave this train wreck in the White House, avoid all of those potentials, and what a dream come true to run ANY of our candidates against him in 2020!
But no, I care about my country. I care about following the clear constitutional imperative to jettison this guy through the constitutional trap door that our founders wisely built in to get him out of the White House. Most of all, I care about NOT setting a precedent saying that a POTUS can be lawless and that's okay, and about preserving and protecting our rule of law and our constitution going forward. For they are what truly makes America great.
Impeaching 45 isn't partisan, it is patriotic. So, of course, he is currently running around saying that it is "unpatriotic". Because he is indeed the leader of Bizarro World/Opposite Land. Meanwhile, here in reality: HE HAS TO GO.
December 3, 2019
I'm off work today and seeing news that 45 is once again bringing shame on our country, attacking our allies, attacking our constitution, and being the best puppet Putin could have ever dreamed of. Useful idiots like 45 don't come along every day.
I know 45 makes us all (except his crazed, cult-like followers) ashamed, but just focus on the fact that there is an impeachment inquiry underway and he certainly will be impeached in the House. Hopefully, he will be removed by the Senate, but if not, at least history will show that many of our elected representatives tried to preserve and save our constitution and rule of law. At least history will now show that we, America, went down fighting.
I know 45 makes us all (except his crazed, cult-like followers) ashamed, but just focus on the fact that there is an impeachment inquiry underway and he certainly will be impeached in the House. Hopefully, he will be removed by the Senate, but if not, at least history will show that many of our elected representatives tried to preserve and save our constitution and rule of law. At least history will now show that we, America, went down fighting.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
"Dad, do not worry. I will be fine for telling the truth."
I have to express my feelings re Lieutenant Vindman’s heart stopping testimony yesterday at the impeachment hearing.
My personal backdrop for yesterday is that it was a cosmic day for me: an important mile marker, my last every-three-months-for-two-years check-up with the gynecologic oncologist about my 2017 ovarian cancer. My last chemo was October of 2017, so it has now been two years and, so far, so miraculous: I’m fine! Everything looks great, and now we transition to me only going to the doctor every six months to get checked out (CA125 blood test, and check-up with the oncologist), for the next three years. I’m so grateful to be here! As my mom would say, "Thank God we're this far!"
And so it was that, yesterday, instead of being at work as I normally would have been when the impeachment hearings got underway, I was at home, getting ready to go to the doctor (went to work after the appointment, never fear). I was able to catch just the very beginning of Lieutenant Vindman’s opening statement. As I stood up, reluctantly, to turn off the TV and head out the door, and walked up to the TV to put the remote down next to it, I was suddenly riveted in place by what he said as I did so. I froze, and my heart leapt into my throat. Tears came into my eyes.
Lieutenant Vindman came here as a toddler, when his 47-year-old dad made the decision to leave his home, his country, the Soviet Union, so that his children could live free. As I stood there, inches from the TV screen, about to turn it off, Lieutenant Vindman suddenly stopped my heart: “Dad,” he said, “you made the right decision coming here. Do not worry. I will be fine for telling the truth.”
Tears filled my eyes. As they do again just typing that: Dad, don’t worry. I will be fine for telling the truth.
He is now under extreme threat from 45’s despicable, cult-like, hateful, mob-mentality, McCarthyesque followers. I don’t even refer to them as “supporters” anymore. No, as of this second, I only call them "followers": they are blind, hateful followers. They don’t think for themselves. Whatever hateful, dehumanizing, violence-inciting dog whistle 45 and/or Fox News (a.k.a. 45’s propaganda arm) blow, they follow. They are definitely like a cult at this point. Voluntarily brainwashed. The dog whistle gets blown, and they instantly bare their ugly fangs and attack.
Lieutenant Vindman is a patriot, who has dedicated his entire life to serving the United States of America. He has a purple heart. Yet he is being demonized by these rabid Trumpsters and threatened, as is the whistleblower, and other brave patriots. Lieutenant Vindman’s words, in the face of all that, to me, encompass everything about what we are going through as a country right now, and everything that we ARE as a country: "Do not worry, Dad. I will be fine for telling the truth."
And there you have what this whole thing is about. There you have what is important, what is worth being brave for, what is worth standing up for, what America really is: our constitution, our rule of law. Lieutenant Vindman (and I) have faith in it. The constitution and the rule of law will win. Our republic, our democracy, will win. The lawless fascist in the White House and his truly despicable followers will not. That said, I am scared of their hate. I’m scared for Lieutenant Vindman. I’m scared for Rachel Maddow. I’m scared for the Whistleblower. I’m scared for my dear Muslim co-worker and her family. I’m scared for myself when I sit in my liberal church on Sundays. We are in scary times, when the POTUS encourages, incites and leads with hate. But, do not worry, Dad. We’ll be fine for telling the truth. Though I am scared for brave individuals, and groups targeted by the disgusting POTUS and his perhaps even more terrifying followers, I have faith in our founders, and the wise, awesome and strong groundwork they laid. I have faith that, as a country, in the end, we WILL be fine, Dad. We will be fine for telling the truth.
God bless you, Lieutenant Vindman, and all of the other brave, patriotic witnesses who complied with their subpoenas, showed up and told the truth, and will continue to do so. America will indeed be fine, due to our constitution and rule of law, our free press, and courageous patriots like you and all of us who continue to stand up to this President, and for what America really is.
My personal backdrop for yesterday is that it was a cosmic day for me: an important mile marker, my last every-three-months-for-two-years check-up with the gynecologic oncologist about my 2017 ovarian cancer. My last chemo was October of 2017, so it has now been two years and, so far, so miraculous: I’m fine! Everything looks great, and now we transition to me only going to the doctor every six months to get checked out (CA125 blood test, and check-up with the oncologist), for the next three years. I’m so grateful to be here! As my mom would say, "Thank God we're this far!"
And so it was that, yesterday, instead of being at work as I normally would have been when the impeachment hearings got underway, I was at home, getting ready to go to the doctor (went to work after the appointment, never fear). I was able to catch just the very beginning of Lieutenant Vindman’s opening statement. As I stood up, reluctantly, to turn off the TV and head out the door, and walked up to the TV to put the remote down next to it, I was suddenly riveted in place by what he said as I did so. I froze, and my heart leapt into my throat. Tears came into my eyes.
Lieutenant Vindman came here as a toddler, when his 47-year-old dad made the decision to leave his home, his country, the Soviet Union, so that his children could live free. As I stood there, inches from the TV screen, about to turn it off, Lieutenant Vindman suddenly stopped my heart: “Dad,” he said, “you made the right decision coming here. Do not worry. I will be fine for telling the truth.”
Tears filled my eyes. As they do again just typing that: Dad, don’t worry. I will be fine for telling the truth.
He is now under extreme threat from 45’s despicable, cult-like, hateful, mob-mentality, McCarthyesque followers. I don’t even refer to them as “supporters” anymore. No, as of this second, I only call them "followers": they are blind, hateful followers. They don’t think for themselves. Whatever hateful, dehumanizing, violence-inciting dog whistle 45 and/or Fox News (a.k.a. 45’s propaganda arm) blow, they follow. They are definitely like a cult at this point. Voluntarily brainwashed. The dog whistle gets blown, and they instantly bare their ugly fangs and attack.
Lieutenant Vindman is a patriot, who has dedicated his entire life to serving the United States of America. He has a purple heart. Yet he is being demonized by these rabid Trumpsters and threatened, as is the whistleblower, and other brave patriots. Lieutenant Vindman’s words, in the face of all that, to me, encompass everything about what we are going through as a country right now, and everything that we ARE as a country: "Do not worry, Dad. I will be fine for telling the truth."
And there you have what this whole thing is about. There you have what is important, what is worth being brave for, what is worth standing up for, what America really is: our constitution, our rule of law. Lieutenant Vindman (and I) have faith in it. The constitution and the rule of law will win. Our republic, our democracy, will win. The lawless fascist in the White House and his truly despicable followers will not. That said, I am scared of their hate. I’m scared for Lieutenant Vindman. I’m scared for Rachel Maddow. I’m scared for the Whistleblower. I’m scared for my dear Muslim co-worker and her family. I’m scared for myself when I sit in my liberal church on Sundays. We are in scary times, when the POTUS encourages, incites and leads with hate. But, do not worry, Dad. We’ll be fine for telling the truth. Though I am scared for brave individuals, and groups targeted by the disgusting POTUS and his perhaps even more terrifying followers, I have faith in our founders, and the wise, awesome and strong groundwork they laid. I have faith that, as a country, in the end, we WILL be fine, Dad. We will be fine for telling the truth.
God bless you, Lieutenant Vindman, and all of the other brave, patriotic witnesses who complied with their subpoenas, showed up and told the truth, and will continue to do so. America will indeed be fine, due to our constitution and rule of law, our free press, and courageous patriots like you and all of us who continue to stand up to this President, and for what America really is.
Saturday, November 16, 2019
I'm #TooFarLeft Because...
I've been told since 1980 that I'm #TooFarLeft because:
1. I'm for single payer health care.
2. I know climate change is real and that solar employs while nuclear (and fossil fuel) destroys.
3. Speaking of nukes: I've also been shouting "NO NUKES!" since long about when "Chevy Van" was in the Top 40.
4. I believe in creative, non-violent resistance.
5. I believe that war is, at best, the very, very, very last resort.
6. I think everyone should pay their fair share of taxes.
7. I think there should be federally mandated and funded maternity and paternity leave required of all employers in this country.
8. I think there should be federally funded child care for all pre-school aged children.
9. I think birth control should be FREE and readily accessible to anyone who goes to a health care provider (under the single payer health care system referenced above in #1) and requests it.
10. In general, I think that investment in our citizens, social safety net and social programs, education, our nation's infrastructure and the greening of same, and our environment, should take priority for where my taxes should go, and they should NOT go into tax cuts for the richest 1% of American individuals and corporations.
11. I think electric cars should be the norm and be affordable to the 99%, and there should be much stricter fuel economy regulation on fossil fuel burning cars, especially now that the technology is HERE to git 'er done.
12. I believe in equal rights for all, regardless of race, creed, gender, physical challenge(s) or sexual orientation.
I left (<--no pun intended, but hey) a bunch of stuff out but yes, I am #TooFarLeft, as I've been told my whole life and now has been reiterated by Barack Obama today, and I am fierce and passionate about same: I shall remain #TooFarLeft FOREVER.
Questions? Concerns? There won't be a quiz later. Gotta save my energy to continue fighting to change the world.
1. I'm for single payer health care.
2. I know climate change is real and that solar employs while nuclear (and fossil fuel) destroys.
3. Speaking of nukes: I've also been shouting "NO NUKES!" since long about when "Chevy Van" was in the Top 40.
4. I believe in creative, non-violent resistance.
5. I believe that war is, at best, the very, very, very last resort.
6. I think everyone should pay their fair share of taxes.
7. I think there should be federally mandated and funded maternity and paternity leave required of all employers in this country.
8. I think there should be federally funded child care for all pre-school aged children.
9. I think birth control should be FREE and readily accessible to anyone who goes to a health care provider (under the single payer health care system referenced above in #1) and requests it.
10. In general, I think that investment in our citizens, social safety net and social programs, education, our nation's infrastructure and the greening of same, and our environment, should take priority for where my taxes should go, and they should NOT go into tax cuts for the richest 1% of American individuals and corporations.
11. I think electric cars should be the norm and be affordable to the 99%, and there should be much stricter fuel economy regulation on fossil fuel burning cars, especially now that the technology is HERE to git 'er done.
12. I believe in equal rights for all, regardless of race, creed, gender, physical challenge(s) or sexual orientation.
I left (<--no pun intended, but hey) a bunch of stuff out but yes, I am #TooFarLeft, as I've been told my whole life and now has been reiterated by Barack Obama today, and I am fierce and passionate about same: I shall remain #TooFarLeft FOREVER.
Questions? Concerns? There won't be a quiz later. Gotta save my energy to continue fighting to change the world.
Friday, November 8, 2019
Wake Up, Trumpsters: 45 is 100% Owned By Putin
For example, this whole Ukraine thing that has led to the House finally starting long overdue impeachment proceedings was, I'm 100% convinced, orchestrated by Vlad. 45 didn't come up with this on his own. Pressuring Ukraine, of all countries, to go on mike and say that Russia didn't interfere in the 2016 elections (the news media is not focusing on THAT part of the ask enough: yes, 45 also illegally held up money approved by Congress for Ukraine on the condition that Ukraine go on mike and say that they are investigating a political opponent of 45, but he asked them to state that Russia didn't interfere in the 2016 election. Who benefits from him getting Ukraine to say that lie? Is that in the best security interests of the USA? To deny the fact that our election integrity was interfered with by an enemy foreign power? Whose PR interest is getting Ukraine to say that in? Whose interest has it been in for 45 to consistently deny Russian interference in the 2016 election ever since it happened? Certainly not ours.
No: RUSSIA'S.
This is all Putin. The entire Trumpocalypse, all of it, this whole almost-three-years: it's all Vlad. Except for the incitement of xenophobia and hate. That's the only part that comes naturally to 45. Everything else he does is as a puppet, the strings of which are controlled by the fascist, murderous head of a fascist, oligarchic, enemy country.
Somehow, the Republicans are okay with this. All my life, they shouted "I'd rather be dead than red!" and jeered at all of us on the left, calling us "commies". To this day, they are trying to elicit old, cold war and post-cold war scare tactics toward Bernie Sanders and those of us who support him by calling us "socialists" and conveniently leavings out the "democratic" ahead of that. "Socialist", when screamed by the Right in the USA, is code for "communist": Soviet-style communism.
Yet it is 45, The Republicans' chosen one, who actually IS a puppet of ex-KGB and current fascist head of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Follow the money. Follow 45's actions. Connect all the plethora of dots that are out there and that have already formed themselves into a clearly pixelated picture.
Twitter version: PUTIN OWNS TRUMP. The sooner those of you who haven't figured that out yet do, the better for our republic. And for those of you who have, yet turn a blind eye to him for whatever disgusting reason(s) you have, you are complicit. Complicit with treason. Complicit with a POTUS who kidnaps babies and puts them in cages in for-profit concentration camps. Complicit with a POTUS who is lawless and incites hate and violence on a daily basis. I could go on but I'll just say you are COMPLICIT.
Wake up, Trumpsters. Wake the bleep up. Before it is too late for our country.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Bernie Exists
I'm sitting here watching the pundits on "Inside Politics", live on CNN right now, attempt to make Bernie invisible. How? Well, they keep showing a poll that has Warren first, Bernie SECOND, and Buttigieg 3rd. Buttigieg is BEHIND Bernie by 1 percentage point. Okay, so bear that in mind when I say:
Jeff Zeleny just said "The primary is shaping up as a race between Warren and Buttigieg."
WHAT? Do you not see Bernie Sanders in that poll you just had up on the screen, in 2nd place? Buttigieg is in third place in that particular poll. So how do you conclude that the primary is now between Warren and Buttigieg? Then the host echoed that, saying, yes, it really is. And on and on they went.
Do they really think that by not mentioning Bernie, he and WE, will just go away? They tried that strategy with the Fukushima nuclear meltdown and, guess what? It's still epic and it is still going on and it is still news and they still never mention it. Yet they can't make it go away.
I hate to compare Bernie and those of us who support him with a nuclear meltdown, but I'm just saying: not mentioning something or someone does not make that thing or person go away.
The mainstream news media is funded by corporate interests, so I guess they are trying the elementary school playground strategy of pretending they can't hear someone when it comes to Bernie, who is taking on all those monied interests of their sponsors. They see that Bernie is an inspiring, eloquent, authentic leader with a platform that would lead to real change that their corporate sponsors are afraid of, so their strategy in reporting on him as a candidate, and on the yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge, inspired, passionate, hopeful groundswell of support he has engendered and enjoyed since 2016 when he first ran, is NOT to. Not to report it. Pretend Bernie, Bernie's campaign, and Bernie's supporters do not exist. The corporate-sponsored, mainstream news media simply covers their ears and says "La la la la la la la, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
*shrug* Okay then. Don't report on us. Don't report on Bernie. Put a poll up on the screen and then act like you don't even see who is in second place in said poll that you are supposedly reporting on. We'll still be here when you stop pretending. Just like 45's actions will still be impeachable when Fox News stops pretending. Facts matter.
If you put a poll up on the screen as a topic of discussion, don't leave out the person in second place, and state that the race is now between the person in first place and the person in third place. Surely those of us who are ardent Bernie supporters cannot be your only viewers who are noticing that inaccurate and downright daft reporting. Get it together, CNN. And don't even get me started on how MSNBC covers--and doesn't cover--Bernie. Come on, guys.
Jeff Zeleny just said "The primary is shaping up as a race between Warren and Buttigieg."
WHAT? Do you not see Bernie Sanders in that poll you just had up on the screen, in 2nd place? Buttigieg is in third place in that particular poll. So how do you conclude that the primary is now between Warren and Buttigieg? Then the host echoed that, saying, yes, it really is. And on and on they went.
Do they really think that by not mentioning Bernie, he and WE, will just go away? They tried that strategy with the Fukushima nuclear meltdown and, guess what? It's still epic and it is still going on and it is still news and they still never mention it. Yet they can't make it go away.
I hate to compare Bernie and those of us who support him with a nuclear meltdown, but I'm just saying: not mentioning something or someone does not make that thing or person go away.
The mainstream news media is funded by corporate interests, so I guess they are trying the elementary school playground strategy of pretending they can't hear someone when it comes to Bernie, who is taking on all those monied interests of their sponsors. They see that Bernie is an inspiring, eloquent, authentic leader with a platform that would lead to real change that their corporate sponsors are afraid of, so their strategy in reporting on him as a candidate, and on the yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge, inspired, passionate, hopeful groundswell of support he has engendered and enjoyed since 2016 when he first ran, is NOT to. Not to report it. Pretend Bernie, Bernie's campaign, and Bernie's supporters do not exist. The corporate-sponsored, mainstream news media simply covers their ears and says "La la la la la la la, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
*shrug* Okay then. Don't report on us. Don't report on Bernie. Put a poll up on the screen and then act like you don't even see who is in second place in said poll that you are supposedly reporting on. We'll still be here when you stop pretending. Just like 45's actions will still be impeachable when Fox News stops pretending. Facts matter.
If you put a poll up on the screen as a topic of discussion, don't leave out the person in second place, and state that the race is now between the person in first place and the person in third place. Surely those of us who are ardent Bernie supporters cannot be your only viewers who are noticing that inaccurate and downright daft reporting. Get it together, CNN. And don't even get me started on how MSNBC covers--and doesn't cover--Bernie. Come on, guys.
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
45: The Puppet Show From Hell
Folks, no one seems to be saying it, stating the obvious, so I will: when it comes to 45’s now rightly infamous, impeachment-inquiry-triggering Ukraine call, I think it was all orchestrated by 45’s puppet master: Vladimir Putin. Think about it: strong-arming the Ukraine into somehow producing faux dirt on 45’s possible 2020 opponent *AND* telling them to produce faux evidence that shows Russia didn’t interfere in 2016’s election. Who does this benefit most? PUTIN!!! And now, 45 suddenly pulling the US out of Syria, totally abandoning the Kurds, our allies, and benefiting Assad: whose interests does that align with? Those of PUTIN!!!
Of all the news stories, op-eds and television punditry I’ve been absorbing like a sponge since the whistleblower’s story broke and now, since 45 decided to pull us out of Syria as of yesterday, I’m not seeing or hearing ONE journalist just SAY IT: 45 didn’t come up with these things on his own, people: Putin is pulling the strings and making his puppet dance!
Many have pointed out during the past three years that 45 is compromised, under Putin’s control, yet for some reason, no one in the news media, at least not that I have seen, is saying it specifically and clearly right now about those two things: the Ukraine call and surrounding entire situation, leading up to it and afterward, and this latest horror show of pulling out of Syria suddenly, abandoning our Kurdish allies and basically giving new life to ISIS. None of that is in the interests of the United States of America. All of that is treasonous because 45 is acting as the puppet of an enemy foreign power, precisely against the interests of the United States and our allies.
I have seen it said today that 45 pulling us out of Syria benefits Putin. I have not seen it said that he did it AT THE INSTRUCTION OF Putin, yet it is so crystal clear to me that he did, just as the whole Ukraine situation must have come from Vlad. 45 wouldn’t think of those things on his own. Oh, he'd initiate a wild goose chase to dig up non-existent dirt on an opponent, for sure--that's classic 45--but via the Ukraine, via strong-arming them? And including in said strong-arming that they should somehow clear Russia of interfering in our 2016 election's integrity? That's got VLAD written all over it, baby.
And this Syria pull-out? That's all Vlad, too.
I’m not saying 45 isn’t crazy—clearly he is a sociopathic, unhinged mercenary within the construct of a malignant narcissist’s personality. I've been shouting that from the rooftop to anyone who will listen since 2015. But I am saying that all of these actions are not just things that he up and did on a whim, or even on what passes for something that he thought through. I am saying, point blank, that if we scratch the surface of any of this, it will be Vladimir Putin’s face that we see beaming back at us. When you look at all the “crazy” things 45 does through the lens of him being Putin’s utterly compromised puppet, IT ALL MAKES SENSE.
As I have written many times before, 45 is a clear and present danger to our constitution, rule of law, separation of powers, free press, rights and our very democracy and republic. I am so very grateful and heartened that my Democratic Party has finally opened a formal impeachment inquiry, and I just pray that they move with all deliberate speed because, as the walls close in, 45 is becoming more and more dangerous, more and more putting the “clear and present” in “clear and present danger”. He’s got to go: it’s his presidency or the United States of America that we love—both cannot survive, so we have to choose. I am rooting with all my heart and soul for my country, the United States of America, and all that we truly stand for.
Of all the news stories, op-eds and television punditry I’ve been absorbing like a sponge since the whistleblower’s story broke and now, since 45 decided to pull us out of Syria as of yesterday, I’m not seeing or hearing ONE journalist just SAY IT: 45 didn’t come up with these things on his own, people: Putin is pulling the strings and making his puppet dance!
Many have pointed out during the past three years that 45 is compromised, under Putin’s control, yet for some reason, no one in the news media, at least not that I have seen, is saying it specifically and clearly right now about those two things: the Ukraine call and surrounding entire situation, leading up to it and afterward, and this latest horror show of pulling out of Syria suddenly, abandoning our Kurdish allies and basically giving new life to ISIS. None of that is in the interests of the United States of America. All of that is treasonous because 45 is acting as the puppet of an enemy foreign power, precisely against the interests of the United States and our allies.
I have seen it said today that 45 pulling us out of Syria benefits Putin. I have not seen it said that he did it AT THE INSTRUCTION OF Putin, yet it is so crystal clear to me that he did, just as the whole Ukraine situation must have come from Vlad. 45 wouldn’t think of those things on his own. Oh, he'd initiate a wild goose chase to dig up non-existent dirt on an opponent, for sure--that's classic 45--but via the Ukraine, via strong-arming them? And including in said strong-arming that they should somehow clear Russia of interfering in our 2016 election's integrity? That's got VLAD written all over it, baby.
And this Syria pull-out? That's all Vlad, too.
I’m not saying 45 isn’t crazy—clearly he is a sociopathic, unhinged mercenary within the construct of a malignant narcissist’s personality. I've been shouting that from the rooftop to anyone who will listen since 2015. But I am saying that all of these actions are not just things that he up and did on a whim, or even on what passes for something that he thought through. I am saying, point blank, that if we scratch the surface of any of this, it will be Vladimir Putin’s face that we see beaming back at us. When you look at all the “crazy” things 45 does through the lens of him being Putin’s utterly compromised puppet, IT ALL MAKES SENSE.
As I have written many times before, 45 is a clear and present danger to our constitution, rule of law, separation of powers, free press, rights and our very democracy and republic. I am so very grateful and heartened that my Democratic Party has finally opened a formal impeachment inquiry, and I just pray that they move with all deliberate speed because, as the walls close in, 45 is becoming more and more dangerous, more and more putting the “clear and present” in “clear and present danger”. He’s got to go: it’s his presidency or the United States of America that we love—both cannot survive, so we have to choose. I am rooting with all my heart and soul for my country, the United States of America, and all that we truly stand for.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Impeaching 45 is not about party, it is about country.
Okay, where, where, where, oh dear God WHERE to start on the jaw-droppingly infuriating, sad, frankly scary (we have GOT to get this man out of the office of POTUS, asap), incredible, sickening news conference I just witnessed 45 give?
Oh, I know!
Infuriating and Outrageous Item Numero Uno:
He kept saying that this is all a Democratic "witch hunt" because we are so terrified of losing the upcoming election, we have to impeach and remove him. Um, let me update you on something, 45: *every* poll out there shows *every* major candidate in the Democratic field of same beating your rhymes-with-bass definitively in the upcoming 2020 election. If any of us--our leaders, or Democratic voters out here in the electorate who also are AMERICAN CITIZENS FIRST--were acting on a purely partisan basis, we would NOT, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not want to impeach you! I myself would love to run against you! My platform? Two words: Not Trump!
This isn't about party, this is about saving our rule of law and our very country from you!
As for all the many, many other points I could make re your terrifyingly unhinged press conference, I will let them all speak for themselves. I will say this, though: the only people who still support you are the voluntarily brainwashed members of your cult, fueled by the constant pro-you propaganda and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories of Fox "News".
You, non-sir, are going DOWN. And you clearly know it. You know what you looked and came across like in your little presser there? A very rattled cornered rat who knows he's cornered.
Bye bye, 45. You're done.
Oh, I know!
Infuriating and Outrageous Item Numero Uno:
He kept saying that this is all a Democratic "witch hunt" because we are so terrified of losing the upcoming election, we have to impeach and remove him. Um, let me update you on something, 45: *every* poll out there shows *every* major candidate in the Democratic field of same beating your rhymes-with-bass definitively in the upcoming 2020 election. If any of us--our leaders, or Democratic voters out here in the electorate who also are AMERICAN CITIZENS FIRST--were acting on a purely partisan basis, we would NOT, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not want to impeach you! I myself would love to run against you! My platform? Two words: Not Trump!
This isn't about party, this is about saving our rule of law and our very country from you!
As for all the many, many other points I could make re your terrifyingly unhinged press conference, I will let them all speak for themselves. I will say this, though: the only people who still support you are the voluntarily brainwashed members of your cult, fueled by the constant pro-you propaganda and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories of Fox "News".
You, non-sir, are going DOWN. And you clearly know it. You know what you looked and came across like in your little presser there? A very rattled cornered rat who knows he's cornered.
Bye bye, 45. You're done.
Thank you, Speaker Pelosi
Email sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this afternoon by moi:
"I just want to profoundly THANK YOU for doing your duty by starting a formal impeachment inquiry re our current POTUS. By doing so, you are fighting for our constitution, rule of law, and democracy. I have sent you several emails and phone messages in recent months, passionately asking you to do this, so now that you have, I had to take just a moment out of my busy day to say thank you, Speaker Pelosi. I appreciate very much that my party is taking a stand on the right side of history and the constitution--I appreciate that so much, as a Democrat, but even more as an American. This is not a partisan thing, this is about preserving and protecting our democracy."
"I just want to profoundly THANK YOU for doing your duty by starting a formal impeachment inquiry re our current POTUS. By doing so, you are fighting for our constitution, rule of law, and democracy. I have sent you several emails and phone messages in recent months, passionately asking you to do this, so now that you have, I had to take just a moment out of my busy day to say thank you, Speaker Pelosi. I appreciate very much that my party is taking a stand on the right side of history and the constitution--I appreciate that so much, as a Democrat, but even more as an American. This is not a partisan thing, this is about preserving and protecting our democracy."
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Respect the Earth: my thoughts for Climate Strike 2019
This will be my shortest blog entry ever. Yet this is what I'm most passionate about in all the world, and have been my entire life. These are my thoughts during Climate Strike 2019:
Respect the earth. Every day, in every way you possibly can, and can possibly imagine.
That's it. That's everything. For when we live in harmony with our earth, with nature, then we truly "get it", and we treat each other with respect, too.
Respect the earth. Every day, in every way you possibly can, and can possibly imagine.
That's it. That's everything. For when we live in harmony with our earth, with nature, then we truly "get it", and we treat each other with respect, too.
Friday, September 13, 2019
Stop saying that Bernie "yells", or I'm going to yell.
I feel so bad for Bernie, having a sore throat last night going into what was arguably the most important Democratic 2020 presidential candidates debate so far, as it was the first debate with all the major candidates on one stage, and also it was on regular, broadcast television. I know most of us have cable in 2019, but believe it or not, some people do not. This was the first televised debate of the 2020 Presidential campaign for all those people—their first chance to see the candidates and hear them argue for their platforms and vision for America. What a night for Bernie, the candidate with THE platform and vision for America, to lose his voice! But, bless him, bless him, bless him, he soldiered through it admirably.
Still, from the git-go, when I heard his voice, I thought, and worried, and still worry: uh oh, NO, not tonight! What is wrong with his voice? And will people understand that isn’t his regular voice? He literally wasn’t in full voice last night—yet he still, to use a baseball pitching term, had his “good stuff” in terms of his arguments, his substance. He has it all over the other candidates on that and always has. He set the table for the Democratic candidates’ platforms in 2020 and they just all walked to the table and sat down, eating from the idea and vision food he laid out for them.
Yet his voice was hoarse and somehow the camera angle and lighting also made his eyes seem a tad darty and wild, so all in all, I worry that the American people, who, honestly, are kind of a superficial lot in terms of what they go for in a Presidential candidate (and I say “they”, as I myself, though also an American, am the opposite: I read the small print on the ingredients label, and ignore the shiny packaging and branding on front), may have judged him harshly somehow based on his voice last night.
That said, though I’m at work and busy and thus haven’t had time to read much post-debate news, opinion, spin and chatter this morning, it seems that Bernie’s sore/hoarse throat is a topic and is, correctly, being characterized as such: a sore or hoarse throat. So, thank goodness, people get it. They understand it was a sore throat and not his regular voice!
That’s the good news, but the bad is, in the little bit I’ve had time to read thus far, people are joking, yet not joking, that it is because of all the “yelling” he does. I swear, if I have to hear one more person say that Bernie “yells”, I’m going to lose my rhymes-with-pit. He actually does NOT often even raise his voice. Biden, for example, has a much more wound-up debate style, and Warren—fuggedaboutit, she is amped up and wired for sound, baby. And what about Castro last night, he practically had to be restrained. Yet people constantly misinterpret Bernie as, quote, “yelling”.
I think people think anyone with a thick New York accent is “yelling”. I think people think anyone Jewish is “yelling”. It’s like, people who only eat Wonderbread, if they taste rye, they probably think it is a very strong bread. If they only eat vanilla ice cream, and they get a taste of mint chip or coffee, they think, wuuuu, that’s some strong stuff!
Interestingly, sociologically, politically and psychologically, I don’t think it is that Bernie yells a lot (because he does not). I think it is that he is talking about real change, and that scares people. That jars people. So they translate that in their brains to “he’s yelling—why is he yelling?”
Bernie doesn’t yell. Not very often anyway. I submit to you that he doesn’t “yell” as often as many of the other candidates up on that podium last night tend to. He normally speaks clearly, thoughtfully, never condescendingly, always like that favorite teacher who assumes you are intelligent enough to hear the whole, complex, nuanced, substantive, detailed truth and keep up. Yes, he’s passionate. Passion isn’t the same as “yelling”. Even that time, in the prior debate, when another candidate was saying something about how he couldn’t guarantee such-and-such would happen or wouldn’t happen under his particular (single payer, woot!) “Medicare for All” plan, and Bernie said, yes I can, “I wrote the damn bill!”, he didn’t yell. He said that very passionately but he wasn’t yelling.
I feel like this “Bernie yells” false narrative is strikingly similar to when Howard Dean was taken down for literally NOTHING when he emitted a slight little exuberant “Yeah!” at a high point of campaigning. That ended his run, basically. It was nothing, and certainly nothing bad. It is amazing how something that is literally nothing can take a candidate down, so I’m here to nip this “Bernie yells” nonsense in the bud. Just stop it. Or I’m going to yell at you. I’d be scared of THAT if I were you. Because I can unleash some fire and fury when I want to, kids. So lay off all the false narratives about Bernie and stick to substance. Which, by the way, he will wipe the floor with anyone who tries to mischaracterize him on. And they know it. So they are going with the “yelling”. That’s all they have. And it’s not even real.
Still, from the git-go, when I heard his voice, I thought, and worried, and still worry: uh oh, NO, not tonight! What is wrong with his voice? And will people understand that isn’t his regular voice? He literally wasn’t in full voice last night—yet he still, to use a baseball pitching term, had his “good stuff” in terms of his arguments, his substance. He has it all over the other candidates on that and always has. He set the table for the Democratic candidates’ platforms in 2020 and they just all walked to the table and sat down, eating from the idea and vision food he laid out for them.
Yet his voice was hoarse and somehow the camera angle and lighting also made his eyes seem a tad darty and wild, so all in all, I worry that the American people, who, honestly, are kind of a superficial lot in terms of what they go for in a Presidential candidate (and I say “they”, as I myself, though also an American, am the opposite: I read the small print on the ingredients label, and ignore the shiny packaging and branding on front), may have judged him harshly somehow based on his voice last night.
That said, though I’m at work and busy and thus haven’t had time to read much post-debate news, opinion, spin and chatter this morning, it seems that Bernie’s sore/hoarse throat is a topic and is, correctly, being characterized as such: a sore or hoarse throat. So, thank goodness, people get it. They understand it was a sore throat and not his regular voice!
That’s the good news, but the bad is, in the little bit I’ve had time to read thus far, people are joking, yet not joking, that it is because of all the “yelling” he does. I swear, if I have to hear one more person say that Bernie “yells”, I’m going to lose my rhymes-with-pit. He actually does NOT often even raise his voice. Biden, for example, has a much more wound-up debate style, and Warren—fuggedaboutit, she is amped up and wired for sound, baby. And what about Castro last night, he practically had to be restrained. Yet people constantly misinterpret Bernie as, quote, “yelling”.
I think people think anyone with a thick New York accent is “yelling”. I think people think anyone Jewish is “yelling”. It’s like, people who only eat Wonderbread, if they taste rye, they probably think it is a very strong bread. If they only eat vanilla ice cream, and they get a taste of mint chip or coffee, they think, wuuuu, that’s some strong stuff!
Interestingly, sociologically, politically and psychologically, I don’t think it is that Bernie yells a lot (because he does not). I think it is that he is talking about real change, and that scares people. That jars people. So they translate that in their brains to “he’s yelling—why is he yelling?”
Bernie doesn’t yell. Not very often anyway. I submit to you that he doesn’t “yell” as often as many of the other candidates up on that podium last night tend to. He normally speaks clearly, thoughtfully, never condescendingly, always like that favorite teacher who assumes you are intelligent enough to hear the whole, complex, nuanced, substantive, detailed truth and keep up. Yes, he’s passionate. Passion isn’t the same as “yelling”. Even that time, in the prior debate, when another candidate was saying something about how he couldn’t guarantee such-and-such would happen or wouldn’t happen under his particular (single payer, woot!) “Medicare for All” plan, and Bernie said, yes I can, “I wrote the damn bill!”, he didn’t yell. He said that very passionately but he wasn’t yelling.
I feel like this “Bernie yells” false narrative is strikingly similar to when Howard Dean was taken down for literally NOTHING when he emitted a slight little exuberant “Yeah!” at a high point of campaigning. That ended his run, basically. It was nothing, and certainly nothing bad. It is amazing how something that is literally nothing can take a candidate down, so I’m here to nip this “Bernie yells” nonsense in the bud. Just stop it. Or I’m going to yell at you. I’d be scared of THAT if I were you. Because I can unleash some fire and fury when I want to, kids. So lay off all the false narratives about Bernie and stick to substance. Which, by the way, he will wipe the floor with anyone who tries to mischaracterize him on. And they know it. So they are going with the “yelling”. That’s all they have. And it’s not even real.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Nancy Pelosi, Do Your Job
I just took in a quick horror flick, a.k.a., 45's tweets from just the last 48 hours. Folks: our country (and the world) needs this man either to be impeached and removed, or article 25'd out of office, asap.
If House Speaker Nancy Pelosi doesn't make a move, then it really pains me to say this, but she will be just as complicit and, frankly, at this point, treasonous, as Mitch McConnell, AG Barr, and every other complicit 45 stooge. Now, I *know* that Nancy is not a 45 stooge, and that she actually thinks she is doing the right thing by NOT doing the right thing, but she needs to instead do the right thing. Forget political calculations (which I think hers are faulty on this anyway). Forget jumping ahead to what we all think the result of moving forward on impeachment is going to be due to the complicit, treasonous Mitch McConnell. Forget all that and ask yourself, Nancy: do we have rule of law in this country or not? If we do, we can't allow a lawless POTUS to go unchecked. It sets an unacceptable precedent for the future. That alone is enough: you must--you have a duty to--move to impeach. But wait, there's more: read the man's tweets for just the past 48 hours alone. This is not a person who is fit, in any way, shape or form, to be POTUS. You must--you have a duty to--move to impeach.
There's no choice here. Either we choose the United States of America, and our duty to protect and defend it, or we choose to be complicit with the opposite of that. Those are the options. I say, if we go down, we need to go down fighting. We need history to show that we TRIED.
If House Speaker Nancy Pelosi doesn't make a move, then it really pains me to say this, but she will be just as complicit and, frankly, at this point, treasonous, as Mitch McConnell, AG Barr, and every other complicit 45 stooge. Now, I *know* that Nancy is not a 45 stooge, and that she actually thinks she is doing the right thing by NOT doing the right thing, but she needs to instead do the right thing. Forget political calculations (which I think hers are faulty on this anyway). Forget jumping ahead to what we all think the result of moving forward on impeachment is going to be due to the complicit, treasonous Mitch McConnell. Forget all that and ask yourself, Nancy: do we have rule of law in this country or not? If we do, we can't allow a lawless POTUS to go unchecked. It sets an unacceptable precedent for the future. That alone is enough: you must--you have a duty to--move to impeach. But wait, there's more: read the man's tweets for just the past 48 hours alone. This is not a person who is fit, in any way, shape or form, to be POTUS. You must--you have a duty to--move to impeach.
There's no choice here. Either we choose the United States of America, and our duty to protect and defend it, or we choose to be complicit with the opposite of that. Those are the options. I say, if we go down, we need to go down fighting. We need history to show that we TRIED.
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Lights
Went to the Lights for Liberty event here in my city (St. Petersburg, FL) last night. It was raining. I had just worked a full day. I didn't feel like going. But I went, for the children. I went for my people, because never again. I went because this is happening in my country, my beloved United States of America, and it is outrageous, horrifying and unacceptable. I went because of something one of my heroes, Gandhi, said, which I thought of (and posted) just before leaving, and which was then said by another attendee at the event later, last night: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." But, back to the children: mainly I went because there are children in cages. Babies. In cages.
I thought: okay, even though it's raining and I don't feel like it, I *have* to go, because what if there is media coverage and only a few people show up? That would be awful. I have to go.
Well, as I approached the church at which the event was being held, my heart swelled up and almost burst. I felt exactly as I had in January 2017 at the very first ever Women's March: I realized, oh my God, there are *so many* GOOD people! So many good people in America! (Also eff the electoral college, because clearly the majority of Americans are NOT being represented by our presidential election results--sorry Mom, I know we disagreed on this, and I've thought about your excellent arguments for it for many years, but I'm sure now: I'm against the electoral college! But I digress...) The whole street was jam-packed with cars, trying to get to the event, and trying to find parking! There were people directing traffic!
The entire church parking lot was full. That particular church has a (large!!!) overflow parking lot, which was also completely full. "We're telling people to park in the neighborhood", said one of the people directing traffic to me. So into Allendale I went, along with a whole line of cars. Block after block into the hood I went, the residential street I was now on was completely lined with cars. Not ONE spot.
Luckily, I'm from St. Pete--well, not originally from St. Pete, but I mean, I've lived here for 25 years. And my current house is just minutes from Allendale. I know how to find a parking space: so I kind of went the long way around the church, to the street behind it, and kept going and finally found a street that had spaces, which was actually not a far walk from the back of the church.
As I walked on the signature, beautiful brick streets of my city, rain drizzling down, I flowed into a sea of other people. Each one of them had put children ahead of avoiding going out in the rain. So many people SHOWED UP. Again, my heart felt, well, heartened! Just like at the first Women's March, I was so very heartened and hope-infused by all the PEOPLE!
The sea of us flowed into the church, which was full. No seats in the huge sanctuary. The program was about to start. We were initially told to go up to the balcony. But no, wait, it was full, too. It was standing room only. Okay, the children are all crowded into cages. I can stand in a church for a few hours. "It's better to show up than to give up", as another hero of mine, Bernie Sanders, often says. So many people showed up. My heart was in my throat, before the event even started.
Suddenly a voice from the stage, way far away, "If the ushers would bring people up to the front, there are seats in the front row." I found myself in a stream of people being led to the front row. Unfortunately, my seat was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to the right side, so my chiropractic adjustment of a few days ago ended up getting a little jiggered out of wack by the end of the thing, as I had to turn my neck waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to the left the entire time, as guess what side of the stage the podium was on. But it's okay. The children. My neck is fine. Also, it was hardest on my ENT situation with all the lit candles, particularly this guy behind me who kept his lit the entire time and the smoke was really bothering me, but it's okay. It's a few hours, I kept telling myself as I coughed and sputtered. The children. You need to be here.
The event was extremely hard to sit through. There were cages on the stage, replicating the cages at the concentration camps (I call them what they are, not detention centers). The first thing that happened was some people--some adults, mostly, and some teens and kids--a large group, went up on stage, behind the fencing, each wrapped in a thin Mylar "blanket", just like the ones that the children have. And then, the really though stuff began: each person up there read from something written by people--adults and children--in the camps, which had been obtained by a group of attorneys who had gotten in to see them. It was terrible. Terrible to hear, in the first person, what is going on in our country, in our name! These are concentration camps and children are being tortured, period.
No one (but other detainees) is taking care of the babies. They are not being given diapers or beds, toothbrushes, showers or medical care when they are sick. One girl said that a guard asked them "Who wants to care for this two-year old?" A person had said she would, but that person (another child) got tired of it after a few hours, so didn't take care of the two-year old anymore. So the person who wrote this note, this first-hand account, for the lawyers, stepped up and did so. She takes care of the two-year-old now. There are no diapers, no clean clothes. And the two-year-old "never talks."
After the first-hand accounts, one after the other after the other, there were speakers, and a musician, and break-out groups at the end, so that we would not leave without knowing things we can actually DO to try to help. There was a legislative action break-out group, and something else, and a "Homestead" group.
I went to the Homestead group, for people interested in possibly going down there, to the Homestead, FL facility. But when I actually heard what it would be like, what it would consist of, now I'm not sure. I don't want to just wave at children who are captives in concentration camps, and hold up a heart. I don't think the younger ones are going to understand anything but BEING REUNITED WITH THEIR PARENTS, or other family. Being freed. If I go down there, I am breaking these people the BLEEP out. Because, if I were in Germany, 1944, I'm not just going to stand there holding up a heart and waving.
So that doesn't feel like the thing that I want to do, though God bless those who are bearing witness, and bringing attention to the camps, and trying to help in that way. But I think that I would get myself killed (being dead--no pun intended--serious here) by trying to break in and free the people. I'd be shot on sight, or jailed. Because no way am I standing on some ladder and waving and holding up a heart. The thought of that, as they were talking about it, made me sick.
One woman (who had gone, who had been there) said that "When it hits you, when it punches you, is when they wave back." NO! I thought: no. To me, the whole description of going there just sounds too much like going to see animals in a zoo or something, and these are children. Again, I would NOT--I'm telling you right now--just be able to stand there and hold up a heart and wave, although I think those doing so are admirable, loving, courageous, beautiful souls. But again, I would get myself arrested or killed, I'm 100% sure of it, if I went there. Because my Mom's side of the family is Jewish, from *Germany*. And these kids are being traumatized, tortured really, in concentration camps, *right now*, *in my country*, and, there is an actual group with this great name: NEVER AGAIN IS NOW!
So, I'm glad I choose the Homestead break-out group, out of the three or four different ones, thinking, that's what I want to do, I want to--I NEED to--go down there. Because, had I not listened to the first-hand accounts of what that entails, I would not have learned that NO, no you don't, Edi. You are not going down there. Not to just stand there on a ladder and hold up a heart and wave, anyway. If I go down there, it will be to go INSIDE and not leave there without CHILDREN. Because it would kill me, one way or another, to just stand there and wave. Maybe the older ones understand what that is--that we are sending them love, that we care, that we are TRYING--but the little ones? All they are feeling is: "Why is no one HELPING us? Where is my PARENT?" And unless I can go down there and get them OUT of the concentration camp and/or reunite them with their family, I can't go, I tell you. I will have to help in other ways.
So last night was terrible in the sense that the whole situation we were there about is terrible. Yet last night was, just like the Women's March in 2017, only even more so: profoundly heartening and hope-renewing. Why? For the simple reason that so many, many, many, MANY people SHOWED UP.
In the front row, at one point I turned and looked when everyone was holding up lit candles. A full sanctuary. A full upper balcony. Standing room also all full. A sea of lit candles. A sea of souls who care. Who came out on a rainy night for the children. Folks: America is still good. Right now, evil is being done in our name, on our watch, by our representatives, but we will stop it. We will.
I thought: okay, even though it's raining and I don't feel like it, I *have* to go, because what if there is media coverage and only a few people show up? That would be awful. I have to go.
Well, as I approached the church at which the event was being held, my heart swelled up and almost burst. I felt exactly as I had in January 2017 at the very first ever Women's March: I realized, oh my God, there are *so many* GOOD people! So many good people in America! (Also eff the electoral college, because clearly the majority of Americans are NOT being represented by our presidential election results--sorry Mom, I know we disagreed on this, and I've thought about your excellent arguments for it for many years, but I'm sure now: I'm against the electoral college! But I digress...) The whole street was jam-packed with cars, trying to get to the event, and trying to find parking! There were people directing traffic!
The entire church parking lot was full. That particular church has a (large!!!) overflow parking lot, which was also completely full. "We're telling people to park in the neighborhood", said one of the people directing traffic to me. So into Allendale I went, along with a whole line of cars. Block after block into the hood I went, the residential street I was now on was completely lined with cars. Not ONE spot.
Luckily, I'm from St. Pete--well, not originally from St. Pete, but I mean, I've lived here for 25 years. And my current house is just minutes from Allendale. I know how to find a parking space: so I kind of went the long way around the church, to the street behind it, and kept going and finally found a street that had spaces, which was actually not a far walk from the back of the church.
As I walked on the signature, beautiful brick streets of my city, rain drizzling down, I flowed into a sea of other people. Each one of them had put children ahead of avoiding going out in the rain. So many people SHOWED UP. Again, my heart felt, well, heartened! Just like at the first Women's March, I was so very heartened and hope-infused by all the PEOPLE!
The sea of us flowed into the church, which was full. No seats in the huge sanctuary. The program was about to start. We were initially told to go up to the balcony. But no, wait, it was full, too. It was standing room only. Okay, the children are all crowded into cages. I can stand in a church for a few hours. "It's better to show up than to give up", as another hero of mine, Bernie Sanders, often says. So many people showed up. My heart was in my throat, before the event even started.
Suddenly a voice from the stage, way far away, "If the ushers would bring people up to the front, there are seats in the front row." I found myself in a stream of people being led to the front row. Unfortunately, my seat was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to the right side, so my chiropractic adjustment of a few days ago ended up getting a little jiggered out of wack by the end of the thing, as I had to turn my neck waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to the left the entire time, as guess what side of the stage the podium was on. But it's okay. The children. My neck is fine. Also, it was hardest on my ENT situation with all the lit candles, particularly this guy behind me who kept his lit the entire time and the smoke was really bothering me, but it's okay. It's a few hours, I kept telling myself as I coughed and sputtered. The children. You need to be here.
The event was extremely hard to sit through. There were cages on the stage, replicating the cages at the concentration camps (I call them what they are, not detention centers). The first thing that happened was some people--some adults, mostly, and some teens and kids--a large group, went up on stage, behind the fencing, each wrapped in a thin Mylar "blanket", just like the ones that the children have. And then, the really though stuff began: each person up there read from something written by people--adults and children--in the camps, which had been obtained by a group of attorneys who had gotten in to see them. It was terrible. Terrible to hear, in the first person, what is going on in our country, in our name! These are concentration camps and children are being tortured, period.
No one (but other detainees) is taking care of the babies. They are not being given diapers or beds, toothbrushes, showers or medical care when they are sick. One girl said that a guard asked them "Who wants to care for this two-year old?" A person had said she would, but that person (another child) got tired of it after a few hours, so didn't take care of the two-year old anymore. So the person who wrote this note, this first-hand account, for the lawyers, stepped up and did so. She takes care of the two-year-old now. There are no diapers, no clean clothes. And the two-year-old "never talks."
After the first-hand accounts, one after the other after the other, there were speakers, and a musician, and break-out groups at the end, so that we would not leave without knowing things we can actually DO to try to help. There was a legislative action break-out group, and something else, and a "Homestead" group.
I went to the Homestead group, for people interested in possibly going down there, to the Homestead, FL facility. But when I actually heard what it would be like, what it would consist of, now I'm not sure. I don't want to just wave at children who are captives in concentration camps, and hold up a heart. I don't think the younger ones are going to understand anything but BEING REUNITED WITH THEIR PARENTS, or other family. Being freed. If I go down there, I am breaking these people the BLEEP out. Because, if I were in Germany, 1944, I'm not just going to stand there holding up a heart and waving.
So that doesn't feel like the thing that I want to do, though God bless those who are bearing witness, and bringing attention to the camps, and trying to help in that way. But I think that I would get myself killed (being dead--no pun intended--serious here) by trying to break in and free the people. I'd be shot on sight, or jailed. Because no way am I standing on some ladder and waving and holding up a heart. The thought of that, as they were talking about it, made me sick.
One woman (who had gone, who had been there) said that "When it hits you, when it punches you, is when they wave back." NO! I thought: no. To me, the whole description of going there just sounds too much like going to see animals in a zoo or something, and these are children. Again, I would NOT--I'm telling you right now--just be able to stand there and hold up a heart and wave, although I think those doing so are admirable, loving, courageous, beautiful souls. But again, I would get myself arrested or killed, I'm 100% sure of it, if I went there. Because my Mom's side of the family is Jewish, from *Germany*. And these kids are being traumatized, tortured really, in concentration camps, *right now*, *in my country*, and, there is an actual group with this great name: NEVER AGAIN IS NOW!
So, I'm glad I choose the Homestead break-out group, out of the three or four different ones, thinking, that's what I want to do, I want to--I NEED to--go down there. Because, had I not listened to the first-hand accounts of what that entails, I would not have learned that NO, no you don't, Edi. You are not going down there. Not to just stand there on a ladder and hold up a heart and wave, anyway. If I go down there, it will be to go INSIDE and not leave there without CHILDREN. Because it would kill me, one way or another, to just stand there and wave. Maybe the older ones understand what that is--that we are sending them love, that we care, that we are TRYING--but the little ones? All they are feeling is: "Why is no one HELPING us? Where is my PARENT?" And unless I can go down there and get them OUT of the concentration camp and/or reunite them with their family, I can't go, I tell you. I will have to help in other ways.
So last night was terrible in the sense that the whole situation we were there about is terrible. Yet last night was, just like the Women's March in 2017, only even more so: profoundly heartening and hope-renewing. Why? For the simple reason that so many, many, many, MANY people SHOWED UP.
In the front row, at one point I turned and looked when everyone was holding up lit candles. A full sanctuary. A full upper balcony. Standing room also all full. A sea of lit candles. A sea of souls who care. Who came out on a rainy night for the children. Folks: America is still good. Right now, evil is being done in our name, on our watch, by our representatives, but we will stop it. We will.
Sunday, July 7, 2019
Which Side Are You On?
I just ended a friendship with someone I go back many decades with, and who is very special to me. Someone I loved with all my heart.
But this person doesn't seem to have a problem with 45 kidnapping babies and children, separating them from their parents, orphaning them, and traumatizing them in cages in concentration camps. I've been aware of this for a while, but I tried very hard to not let it come between our friendship. However, the thing is, this is one of those times in history when you HAVE to choose sides. And there is no middle ground. Not only is there is no being okay with children in cages, in concentration camps, obviously, but for me, there is no being okay with anyone who IS okay with that. No matter who that person is.
There's a line and you are either on the right side of it or you are not. So if anyone is okay with Trump separating children from their parents, not documenting who they belong with (and/or, in some cases, even when "US PARENT" and a phone # is written on the child's arm, the administration isn't even bothering to make a phone call to reunite the children with the family member), and keeping the children in cages, in concentration camps, please unfriend me now. We're on different sides of history. And there is no reaching across, on this one, for me. Not for anyone. Because if you choose that side, I can no longer see that you have a heart or soul.
But this person doesn't seem to have a problem with 45 kidnapping babies and children, separating them from their parents, orphaning them, and traumatizing them in cages in concentration camps. I've been aware of this for a while, but I tried very hard to not let it come between our friendship. However, the thing is, this is one of those times in history when you HAVE to choose sides. And there is no middle ground. Not only is there is no being okay with children in cages, in concentration camps, obviously, but for me, there is no being okay with anyone who IS okay with that. No matter who that person is.
There's a line and you are either on the right side of it or you are not. So if anyone is okay with Trump separating children from their parents, not documenting who they belong with (and/or, in some cases, even when "US PARENT" and a phone # is written on the child's arm, the administration isn't even bothering to make a phone call to reunite the children with the family member), and keeping the children in cages, in concentration camps, please unfriend me now. We're on different sides of history. And there is no reaching across, on this one, for me. Not for anyone. Because if you choose that side, I can no longer see that you have a heart or soul.
Thursday, July 4, 2019
In Dire Distress: 4th of July, 2019
I have never before in my life displayed, i.e, "flown" in any fashion--including as an image on my Facebook page--an upside down American flag. I am a very patriotic American citizen. Some on the Right may not think so (I'm on the Left myself--a very liberal Democrat), as I often dissent and protest, but I'm sure our founders would get it: dissent is the quintessence of patriotism. We must speak up when something is wrong, and we must speak out for what is right. That is how we create and maintain a healthy country.
Right now, we not only don't have a healthy country, America is indeed in dire distress. The flag should only ever be flown/displayed upside down in times of dire distress. Right now, everything that the flag itself symbolizes is in great peril. So, on this 4th of July, I have a heavy heart. There are children in cages and tanks rolling on the streets of my hometown, our nation's capitol. We have a sociopathic, cruel, lawless con artist puppet of an enemy foreign power as POTUS. As long as there are children in cages, in concentration camps, in my beautiful country that stands for the exact opposite of that, I will fly our flag upside down. This is not disrespect for America. Let me make this clear: this is a sign of profound respect for America. This is a sign of dire distress of America. This is a plea that we must RESIST this President and save America. This is the 4th of July, 2019.
Right now, we not only don't have a healthy country, America is indeed in dire distress. The flag should only ever be flown/displayed upside down in times of dire distress. Right now, everything that the flag itself symbolizes is in great peril. So, on this 4th of July, I have a heavy heart. There are children in cages and tanks rolling on the streets of my hometown, our nation's capitol. We have a sociopathic, cruel, lawless con artist puppet of an enemy foreign power as POTUS. As long as there are children in cages, in concentration camps, in my beautiful country that stands for the exact opposite of that, I will fly our flag upside down. This is not disrespect for America. Let me make this clear: this is a sign of profound respect for America. This is a sign of dire distress of America. This is a plea that we must RESIST this President and save America. This is the 4th of July, 2019.
Friday, June 14, 2019
June 15: Act to Defend Democracy: #Impeach45
The time has come for all of us to stand on the right side of history. Do we stand for our constitution and rule of law? Do we stand against treason and babies in cages in concentration camps? It is horrifying that the end of that last sentence is *not* an exaggeration. That is reality. It is time for all of us, for each of us, to stand for what America stands for. It is a constitutional imperative that we impeach 45.
Please take action by going to one of the #ImpeachTrump rallies being held throughout the country tomorrow, June 15 (see link below). As Margaret Mead famously said:... "I am only one, but I am one." You and I matter in a democracy, my friends. What you choose to do, or not do, has consequences. Make them good ones. Tomorrow, Indivisible and other grassroots organizations are having a national day of Impeach Trump rallies. Please come. Please care. If you don't, America is, in the immortal words of the Eagles, already gone.
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Network News Media Not Talking about Bernie
I notice consistently that the news networks don't talk about Bernie or his policies when they discuss the 2020 election. I'm hearing a lot about some of the other candidates and which ones appeal to voters, etc., but evidently they think that by never mentioning Bernie, they will be able to marginalize his candidacy. Think again.
Right now, on CNN State of the Union, they're talking about Biden, Buttegieg, Harris, ...not hearing mention of Bernie.
It's by design. And again, it is not going to work. You can't make something go away by not mentioning its name (trust me, I am trying that by never saying the name of our current POTUS, yet he's still there). Bernie and his policies are a movement, not one person. You may be able to ignore him and not give him any mention or air time, but you can't ignore all of US.
Right now, on CNN State of the Union, they're talking about Biden, Buttegieg, Harris, ...not hearing mention of Bernie.
It's by design. And again, it is not going to work. You can't make something go away by not mentioning its name (trust me, I am trying that by never saying the name of our current POTUS, yet he's still there). Bernie and his policies are a movement, not one person. You may be able to ignore him and not give him any mention or air time, but you can't ignore all of US.
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Clear and Present Danger: Part II
At the exact time I was at a Bernie 2020 kick-off event, listening to Bernie on the big screen talking to us about how our campaign (it is belongs to all of us, not just those who work in it officially as paid staff, but all of us volunteers, the grassroots--cue Jefferson Airplane: we're the volunteers of America!), and his presidency, is going to be the exact opposite of 45's: he, and we, are going to bring people together, not divide into "us and them": at that exact moment, a shooter committed a hate crime in a synagogue in Poway, CA. What we know so far is that 1 person is dead, and 3 are injured.
It would not be fair of me to write "This is Trump's fault." Perhaps this shooter would have done this anyway, in a world in which Trump was never POTUS. But Trump is president. And all he does is whip up hate and division, try to fuel his support with "us and them", and overtly, directly and blatantly incite violence. That's the world we, and this shooter, live in.
Hate crimes, like this--this was a hate crime, law enforcement is already calling it that due to the evidence they already have--have sharply risen during 45's reign of terror.
So would it be fair of me to write, this is Trump's fault? No, as we don't know that. But would it be accurate of me to write, I think this is probably Trump's fault, in addition to the shooter's fault? Yes. Do I think this is the direct result of Trump's hatemongering for 3 years non-stop? Yes.
The shooter killed the person who has died (and that death toll may go up). In my opinion, it is likely that 45 also shares the blame. Yes, I said it.
ALSO: we need to ban assault weapons.
I was at an event talking about love and bringing people together. I stepped back out into a world where another one of my people has been murdered due to hate, and 3 others injured. And I see Trump all over this.
It would not be fair of me to write "This is Trump's fault." Perhaps this shooter would have done this anyway, in a world in which Trump was never POTUS. But Trump is president. And all he does is whip up hate and division, try to fuel his support with "us and them", and overtly, directly and blatantly incite violence. That's the world we, and this shooter, live in.
Hate crimes, like this--this was a hate crime, law enforcement is already calling it that due to the evidence they already have--have sharply risen during 45's reign of terror.
So would it be fair of me to write, this is Trump's fault? No, as we don't know that. But would it be accurate of me to write, I think this is probably Trump's fault, in addition to the shooter's fault? Yes. Do I think this is the direct result of Trump's hatemongering for 3 years non-stop? Yes.
The shooter killed the person who has died (and that death toll may go up). In my opinion, it is likely that 45 also shares the blame. Yes, I said it.
ALSO: we need to ban assault weapons.
I was at an event talking about love and bringing people together. I stepped back out into a world where another one of my people has been murdered due to hate, and 3 others injured. And I see Trump all over this.
Clear and Present Danger
Oh my God. Waking up to hearing a recording of 45 ranting and raving about how the investigation into the Russian interference in our 2016 election was a "coup" and an "attempted overthrow of our government" and that those conducting the investigation are "sick people", etc.
I cannot wait until this sick (I've commented before on how everything the president calls those he is attacking and attempting to dehumanize and vilify are names that actually project things that are true of him), very dangerous, lawless president is impeached and removed from office, as I have been 100% certain he will be for a very long time, and as I have thought, even before becoming 100% certain that he will be, that he would be if he were elected, even since the 2016 primaries. The man is lawless, as I said. We are a nation that is based, thankfully, on the rule of law. So those two facts are incompatible. This man cannot stay in office. As I have said many, many times: this is not partisan, at all. 45 is a clear and present danger to our country. He has to go. It is a constitutional imperative.
Anyway, his rantings and ravings, since the Mueller report is now finally actually coming out (we still need the redacted parts to get revealed to Congress, but that will happen), and since he knows it is bad and there is even much *more* to come out with all the ongoing investigations, grand juries and Congressional subpoenas, have gotten much, much worse. 45 knows the walls are closing in. 45 was dangerous enough before this. We are now not only in a full-blown constitutional crisis, we also have to be keenly aware that 45 is completely dangerous and could do anything at this point, to attempt to distract attention from what is happening and unite the country behind him: such as: start a war. He doesn't care. He has no allegiance to our country, no empathy or feeling for other human beings, no sense of responsibility as a President. As I have been shouting since 2016, 45 is a sociopath and a mercenary. He is a dangerous form of a narcissistic personality, I believe they even call it "malignant" narcissism. He *only* cares about himself. He's not only capable of *anything* to distract us and to attempt to unite his stupid (sorry not sorry) and hateful followers, one of which I tried yesterday to reason with and it just reaffirmed to me that they cannot be reasoned with and also they are never going to see him as a problem whatsoever, no matter what comes out--so frankly who cares, we have to go around them and just concentrate on our laws, our constitution, and helping our beautiful system to work as designed (translation: call your Congress person and your Senators and express your deep concern over how dangerous this president is), he's also quite capable--in fact, it a huge part of how he won the nomination of his party, and the presidency--of exploiting divisions, inciting violence and whipping up hate. He enjoys it. It's fuel to him. It, along with the McDonald's food, keeps him going. That's his diet: McDonald's food, hatemongering, watching Fox, and tweeting.
We are in deep, deep trouble. This is a very scary moment in American history. But I believe in our constitution and our wisely designed system of checks and balances, and I believe in the majority of we, the people, in this country. We will rise up and form a human chain around the aforementioned constitution. We'll save and protect it, and it will save and protect us.
Friday, February 22, 2019
Speaking of vertigo: up is down and down is up… or so those against single payer argue.
Okay, kiddos, it’s time for a little (read: YUUUUUUUUUGE) rant outta yours truly here.
It’s regarding one particular bit of disinformation that those who are against a single payer healthcare system always whip out as a fear tactic, when the reality of the sitch is that nothing could be further from the actual truth! If one is going to argue against something, one should have one’s facts straight. Yet repug candidates for office always run fear-inducing ads with the LIE I’m about to discuss, when the reality is that our CURRENT health care system, which is TOTALLY controlled by private insurance companies, is the system to which the following LIE-when-said-to-apply-to-single-payer actually applies.
Before I say what it is, I’ll say why I’m ranting about it right at this moment: I just experienced the ACTUAL reality of our CURRENT, private-insurance-controlled, employer-based health care system, and it is one that REALLY “won’t let you choose your own doctors”. YEP: that's the lie they try to scare you with re single payer, when the reality is that, under a true single payer system, YOU CAN GO TO ANY DOCTOR IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, no matter if you change your employer, no matter if you don’t have an employer, no matter if you live in Alaska and want to see someone in Maine: up to YOU. Yet Republicans (mainly, but also others who are against single payer) are constantly saying that “the government won’t let you pick your doctor!” LIE. Or that “the government will make you change doctors from the one you have”. LIE—just another version of the first lie. And not only is it a blatant lie, what is doubly infuriating is, THAT IS THE SITUATION UNDER PRIVATE-INSURANCE-COMPANY-BASED HEALTH CARE!
Case in point that happened to me today: Maybe you saw my very recent Facebook post about my vertigo coming back last Saturday. Well, it is still with me, so I called the fantastic place I went for treatment in 2011, and to which I’ve always felt comforted to think that, if I ever needed a second treatment, I could go back. The insurance I had at the time (in 2011) was a PPO which means that you usually didn’t need a referral for a specialist, but in the case of this place, you did need a referral BY a specialist, saying that you need this particular place/treatment. ANYWAY, so in 2011, I had all that and I was treated. Today, I called the center, to tell them that I was a patient in 2011, my vertigo has flared up, and if I want to come back, do I need a referral like I did last time, as I have new insurance now? Oh, what insurance do you have, they asked. I told them. The response I got was “We can’t accept Blue Cross Blue Shield--they won’t allow us in their network.” Oh NO, I said. It hadn’t even occurred to me that BCBS wouldn’t have this place (a renowned center for balance/vestibular disorders) in their network. “But we can submit it out of network.” No, I said, you can’t: the plan I’m on does NOT have ANY out-of-network benefits. It’s an “EPO”, which means, in a nutshell, NO out-of-network benefits.
So tell me again, repugs-and-other-anti-single-payer-peeps, how a single payer plan is going to mean I can’t choose my doctor. What the bleep do you think we have RIGHT NOW? I’ll tell you: we have private insurance companies and employers dictating who is and isn’t “in network”. Whereas, with single payer, THERE ARE NO NETWORKS.
I’ve been at my employer/job for 19 years, going on 20. We’ve had many different insurance companies and plans in that time. They change insurance companies every few years. We are now back to the insurance company we had in 1999, when I started here. Every time they change, your doctor could be suddenly “out of network”. What if it was my oncologist? The one who is supposed to follow me for 5 years after my ovarian cancer in 2017? She’s in network, thank God, but it just as easily could have been that she isn’t. I was really scared when the company announced we were changing insurance companies this year.
I am OVER our health care system! I’m one of the very lucky ones WITH insurance. Yet I just got told by a provider I need (they are the only place of their kind in this region) that my insurance company “won’t allow us in their network”. So if I hear ONE more repug or anyone else LYING about single payer, saying “the government will choose your doctors!”, when actually, that’s the OPPOSITE of the truth, I may just spontaneously combust. And, if I do, I pray that whatever hospital I’m transported to is in-network.
P.S. The other lie is that single payer is so expensive for both individual Americans and the American economy: Another LIE. Individual Americans would save significant money every year as, though taxes might go up, you would have ZERO insurance premiums, co-pays, deductibles or co-insurance. And as for our economy, our CURRENT, private-insurance-based system is totally unsustainable and conflict-of-interest-ridden, whereas a government run, single-payer system is economically sustainable AND covers every single American citizen.
But yeah, just keep spreading lies about it, Republicans and others who are against it. Just keep lying. While meanwhile, Americans with jobs are going bankrupt due to health issues, many Americans aren’t even covered, the insurers have a conflict of interest when it comes to providing care versus making huge profits, and last but not least, our current economically unsustainable insurance-based system is just that: unsustainable, with costs continuing to skyrocket and it is hurting our entire economy.
But just keep lying.
It’s regarding one particular bit of disinformation that those who are against a single payer healthcare system always whip out as a fear tactic, when the reality of the sitch is that nothing could be further from the actual truth! If one is going to argue against something, one should have one’s facts straight. Yet repug candidates for office always run fear-inducing ads with the LIE I’m about to discuss, when the reality is that our CURRENT health care system, which is TOTALLY controlled by private insurance companies, is the system to which the following LIE-when-said-to-apply-to-single-payer actually applies.
Before I say what it is, I’ll say why I’m ranting about it right at this moment: I just experienced the ACTUAL reality of our CURRENT, private-insurance-controlled, employer-based health care system, and it is one that REALLY “won’t let you choose your own doctors”. YEP: that's the lie they try to scare you with re single payer, when the reality is that, under a true single payer system, YOU CAN GO TO ANY DOCTOR IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, no matter if you change your employer, no matter if you don’t have an employer, no matter if you live in Alaska and want to see someone in Maine: up to YOU. Yet Republicans (mainly, but also others who are against single payer) are constantly saying that “the government won’t let you pick your doctor!” LIE. Or that “the government will make you change doctors from the one you have”. LIE—just another version of the first lie. And not only is it a blatant lie, what is doubly infuriating is, THAT IS THE SITUATION UNDER PRIVATE-INSURANCE-COMPANY-BASED HEALTH CARE!
Case in point that happened to me today: Maybe you saw my very recent Facebook post about my vertigo coming back last Saturday. Well, it is still with me, so I called the fantastic place I went for treatment in 2011, and to which I’ve always felt comforted to think that, if I ever needed a second treatment, I could go back. The insurance I had at the time (in 2011) was a PPO which means that you usually didn’t need a referral for a specialist, but in the case of this place, you did need a referral BY a specialist, saying that you need this particular place/treatment. ANYWAY, so in 2011, I had all that and I was treated. Today, I called the center, to tell them that I was a patient in 2011, my vertigo has flared up, and if I want to come back, do I need a referral like I did last time, as I have new insurance now? Oh, what insurance do you have, they asked. I told them. The response I got was “We can’t accept Blue Cross Blue Shield--they won’t allow us in their network.” Oh NO, I said. It hadn’t even occurred to me that BCBS wouldn’t have this place (a renowned center for balance/vestibular disorders) in their network. “But we can submit it out of network.” No, I said, you can’t: the plan I’m on does NOT have ANY out-of-network benefits. It’s an “EPO”, which means, in a nutshell, NO out-of-network benefits.
So tell me again, repugs-and-other-anti-single-payer-peeps, how a single payer plan is going to mean I can’t choose my doctor. What the bleep do you think we have RIGHT NOW? I’ll tell you: we have private insurance companies and employers dictating who is and isn’t “in network”. Whereas, with single payer, THERE ARE NO NETWORKS.
I’ve been at my employer/job for 19 years, going on 20. We’ve had many different insurance companies and plans in that time. They change insurance companies every few years. We are now back to the insurance company we had in 1999, when I started here. Every time they change, your doctor could be suddenly “out of network”. What if it was my oncologist? The one who is supposed to follow me for 5 years after my ovarian cancer in 2017? She’s in network, thank God, but it just as easily could have been that she isn’t. I was really scared when the company announced we were changing insurance companies this year.
I am OVER our health care system! I’m one of the very lucky ones WITH insurance. Yet I just got told by a provider I need (they are the only place of their kind in this region) that my insurance company “won’t allow us in their network”. So if I hear ONE more repug or anyone else LYING about single payer, saying “the government will choose your doctors!”, when actually, that’s the OPPOSITE of the truth, I may just spontaneously combust. And, if I do, I pray that whatever hospital I’m transported to is in-network.
P.S. The other lie is that single payer is so expensive for both individual Americans and the American economy: Another LIE. Individual Americans would save significant money every year as, though taxes might go up, you would have ZERO insurance premiums, co-pays, deductibles or co-insurance. And as for our economy, our CURRENT, private-insurance-based system is totally unsustainable and conflict-of-interest-ridden, whereas a government run, single-payer system is economically sustainable AND covers every single American citizen.
But yeah, just keep spreading lies about it, Republicans and others who are against it. Just keep lying. While meanwhile, Americans with jobs are going bankrupt due to health issues, many Americans aren’t even covered, the insurers have a conflict of interest when it comes to providing care versus making huge profits, and last but not least, our current economically unsustainable insurance-based system is just that: unsustainable, with costs continuing to skyrocket and it is hurting our entire economy.
But just keep lying.
Saturday, February 9, 2019
Democratic Socialism v. Socialism: A Politics 101 Lesson for Donny John & Co.
Okay, Donny John, you're in luck! I don't want to do what I absolutely need to be doing today, thus I am have time to give you a lesson in political science. I will keep it sort and sweet--one blurb--as I know you have the attention span of a flea.
Pencil ready? Okay--yes, you may use your cell phone instead. But do take notes on this, because clearly--from your little "we will keep America from becoming a socialist country" dig at Bernie, AOC, and all of us you sneeringly referred to often in your 2016 campaign rallies as "Bernie people"--you don't understand the difference between "socialism" and "democratic socialism". So here's a little succinct lesson gleaned from a quick Google:
"The key difference between socialism and democratic socialism is that democratic socialists don't want the government to own the means of production and socialists do. They believe that certain general social goods like health care should be run by the government, but otherwise support capitalism."
Okay, you can go out and play now. But no bullying the other children.
Pencil ready? Okay--yes, you may use your cell phone instead. But do take notes on this, because clearly--from your little "we will keep America from becoming a socialist country" dig at Bernie, AOC, and all of us you sneeringly referred to often in your 2016 campaign rallies as "Bernie people"--you don't understand the difference between "socialism" and "democratic socialism". So here's a little succinct lesson gleaned from a quick Google:
"The key difference between socialism and democratic socialism is that democratic socialists don't want the government to own the means of production and socialists do. They believe that certain general social goods like health care should be run by the government, but otherwise support capitalism."
Okay, you can go out and play now. But no bullying the other children.
Friday, February 1, 2019
Bernie and us Berners Have Moved the Democratic Party and Our Country Forward
Bernie, his vision, his priorities, his platform, his leadership, his eloquence, his refusal to let the media drag him off message, his insistence on sticking to substance and never talking down to the American people, his entire 2016 campaign, and last but not least, all of US--the Berners!--really accomplished a tremendous amount in 2016, though right now, with the situation in the White House, it may not seem that way.
Bernie, his vision, his priorities, his platform, his leadership, his eloquence, his refusal to let the media drag him off message, his insistence on sticking to substance and never talking down to the American people, his entire 2016 campaign, and last but not least, all of US--the Berners!--really accomplished a tremendous amount in 2016, though right now, with the situation in the White House, it may not seem that way.
What did he, and we, do? We moved the dialog, discuss...ion and talking points in this country. We changed not only the 2016 platform of the Democratic Party, but we changed what are considered valid, mainstream ideas and issues moving forward, for the future of our party and this country!
Single payer? It's now not laughed out of the room. It's mainstream, Kamala Harris has come out strongly for it upon announcing her campaign, to my utter thrilledness. SINGLE PAYER NOW! I've been shouting for it since long about 1980, when I first came of age, and happened to go to Europe for a class in college one semester, and learned, while I was there, of a little thing called single payer, and democratic socialism. WOW. Brought some buttons (political) home with me. Still have them. Still for single payer. Know it is what our country needs for a health care system if we are ever going to have one that is economically sustainable and morally/ethically right--in other words, if we are going to have a health care system that is healthy for our country in more ways than one. Single payer now? Yes, Virginia: NOW!
Finally!
Thank you, dear, unwavering, unfaltering, Bernie Sanders. And thank you, me, you and all of us because we stood together, we raised our voices and our candles high in the air, and the party and the nation has taken note, and notes. Single payer is kitchen table talk now. He did that. We did that. Never think that you can't make a difference.
Bernie, his vision, his priorities, his platform, his leadership, his eloquence, his refusal to let the media drag him off message, his insistence on sticking to substance and never talking down to the American people, his entire 2016 campaign, and last but not least, all of US--the Berners!--really accomplished a tremendous amount in 2016, though right now, with the situation in the White House, it may not seem that way.
What did he, and we, do? We moved the dialog, discuss...ion and talking points in this country. We changed not only the 2016 platform of the Democratic Party, but we changed what are considered valid, mainstream ideas and issues moving forward, for the future of our party and this country!
Single payer? It's now not laughed out of the room. It's mainstream, Kamala Harris has come out strongly for it upon announcing her campaign, to my utter thrilledness. SINGLE PAYER NOW! I've been shouting for it since long about 1980, when I first came of age, and happened to go to Europe for a class in college one semester, and learned, while I was there, of a little thing called single payer, and democratic socialism. WOW. Brought some buttons (political) home with me. Still have them. Still for single payer. Know it is what our country needs for a health care system if we are ever going to have one that is economically sustainable and morally/ethically right--in other words, if we are going to have a health care system that is healthy for our country in more ways than one. Single payer now? Yes, Virginia: NOW!
Finally!
Thank you, dear, unwavering, unfaltering, Bernie Sanders. And thank you, me, you and all of us because we stood together, we raised our voices and our candles high in the air, and the party and the nation has taken note, and notes. Single payer is kitchen table talk now. He did that. We did that. Never think that you can't make a difference.
Impeach 45
It is a constitutional imperative to begin impeachment proceedings re 45. He has, and continues to, violate our precious constitution in so many ways, he is a clear and present danger to our country, and a treasonous traitor.
It's getting close to 2020 now. Some may be thinking, oh, let's just wait it out. Focus on 2020. I say we cannot set the precedent that a US President can get away with the violations of the constitution that this man has done and is doing, and we cannot tolerate a traitor in the White House.
Start the impeachment process now, for the sake of the present and future health of our constitution, rule of law, and country.
Impeach Trump Now
It's getting close to 2020 now. Some may be thinking, oh, let's just wait it out. Focus on 2020. I say we cannot set the precedent that a US President can get away with the violations of the constitution that this man has done and is doing, and we cannot tolerate a traitor in the White House.
Start the impeachment process now, for the sake of the present and future health of our constitution, rule of law, and country.
Impeach Trump Now
Sunday, January 27, 2019
Silence is Not Golden in the Face of Fascism
Silence is not golden in the face of fascism, hate, bigotry, and/or cruelty, and certainly not when any or all of those become national policy. In my strong opinion, we must speak out against the walking, talking, tweeting violation of, and affront to, our constitution that is our current President, and his barbaric, cruel, illegal, immoral, un-American and inhuman policies such as kidnapping babies and children, putting them in cages, not keeping records of who and where their parents are, traumatizing and orphaning them.
Because I am familiar--literally familiar, it affected my family, my people, but also familiar in the sense that I've studied it, studied the holocaust, studied history, and I know that history isn't really history: it's the present, in the sense that the potential for everything that has ever happened in human history lives within us all today--I know what I'm seeing in our current President, and I know I need to speak out, loudly and clearly, when I see it. I know I need to stand together with all my fellow Americans of all stripes in the Resistance, and I need to stand with all 45's victims--some are not American, some are not old enough to know how to talk, and have no way to be heard even if they can talk, as they are in cages as we speak. 74 years ago today, Auschwitz was liberated. 74 years ago is not a long time. Look around today. Both of those potentials in the history books from 74 years ago are still there: the Nazi potential. The Resistance potential. 74 years ago, the good guys won. Today, we need to open our eyes and see that the fight against hate and cruelty never is over. It's up to us.
Bernie 2020!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh my God. OH MY GOD. See article linked below re what all my Oh-my-Godding is about!
Okay, then, my 2020 Presidential Candidate dance card is FULL, and it's all Bernie Sanders!!!!!!!!! Yes, he's a senior. Yes, he's male. Yes, he's white. And YES: if you are against him due to any or all of those, you are any combination of ageist, sexist and/or racist. In a truly egalitarian society, which no, we aren't yet, but the only way to be that is to BE THAT, none of those factors would matter. Yet I've heard many so-called fellow progressives say they don't want any older, white and/or male candidates. Again: none of that should matter. I don't care if a candidate is white, black, purple, pink or polka-dotted. I don't care if she's a she or a he or anywhere in between. Age is a little bit different, as it is a legitimate factor to consider on two fronts: if the person is old, are they healthy? If so, then FUGGEDABOUTIT. If the person is young, do they maybe lack the relevant experience and wisdom to be the leader of the free world? If the experience isn't there, it's definitely relevant, yet if somehow the wisdom is, then they still could be worth consideration, as long as they meet the constitutional age requirement. Back to Bernie: he's healthy. And with his age, comes many, many years of experience, not just as a Senator, but as a political and civil rights activist and leader. He's been on the front lines in civil rights actions. He's been handcuffed and arrested fighting for equal rights, for civil rights, for everyone. So I don't care what color he is or isn't--he's a damn good egg. He puts his body and his life, his time and effort, where his mouth is.
Bernie Sanders' positions and priorities are EXACTLY in sync with my own and have been since I came of age in the early 1980's, and he was Mayor of Burlington, Vermont. The only issue we disagree on is open primaries, which isn't make or break to me. I'm a lifelong Democrat (since my dear Mom registered me as such when I was just 17 years old) and also a Democratic Socialist (since about age 19). Bernie has fought for single payer forever. Bernie has fought for fair taxation forever. Bernie has fought to change our budget priorities from unfair tax cuts for the very rich to fair taxation for all and investing in the PEOPLE and infrastructure and future instead of in, again, tax cuts for those who don't need them, and a war-based economy. But my entire adult life, and the entire time Bernie has been fighting, we've been up against a solid wall of Republican opposition and the dominance of the trickle-down theory (read: LIE) of economics. I think that now we are finally, finally seeing a demographic shift in our country, and an evolution of ideas, and now maybe America is ready to listen, hear and understand what we really need!
Bernie, if he is in the race, is my candidate, period. PERIOD. And now it sounds like he's in the race! So let me declare, before he even declares, if it even needs declaring, given my approximately 10,000 or so posts in 2016: I'M FOR BERNIE. I'M WITH BERNIE. Bernie is with me, with all of us, with what is the healthy prescription for our ailing-in-so-many-ways, beloved country. BERNIE 2020! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Bernie Sanders Set to Announce 2020 Presidential Run
Okay, then, my 2020 Presidential Candidate dance card is FULL, and it's all Bernie Sanders!!!!!!!!! Yes, he's a senior. Yes, he's male. Yes, he's white. And YES: if you are against him due to any or all of those, you are any combination of ageist, sexist and/or racist. In a truly egalitarian society, which no, we aren't yet, but the only way to be that is to BE THAT, none of those factors would matter. Yet I've heard many so-called fellow progressives say they don't want any older, white and/or male candidates. Again: none of that should matter. I don't care if a candidate is white, black, purple, pink or polka-dotted. I don't care if she's a she or a he or anywhere in between. Age is a little bit different, as it is a legitimate factor to consider on two fronts: if the person is old, are they healthy? If so, then FUGGEDABOUTIT. If the person is young, do they maybe lack the relevant experience and wisdom to be the leader of the free world? If the experience isn't there, it's definitely relevant, yet if somehow the wisdom is, then they still could be worth consideration, as long as they meet the constitutional age requirement. Back to Bernie: he's healthy. And with his age, comes many, many years of experience, not just as a Senator, but as a political and civil rights activist and leader. He's been on the front lines in civil rights actions. He's been handcuffed and arrested fighting for equal rights, for civil rights, for everyone. So I don't care what color he is or isn't--he's a damn good egg. He puts his body and his life, his time and effort, where his mouth is.
Bernie Sanders' positions and priorities are EXACTLY in sync with my own and have been since I came of age in the early 1980's, and he was Mayor of Burlington, Vermont. The only issue we disagree on is open primaries, which isn't make or break to me. I'm a lifelong Democrat (since my dear Mom registered me as such when I was just 17 years old) and also a Democratic Socialist (since about age 19). Bernie has fought for single payer forever. Bernie has fought for fair taxation forever. Bernie has fought to change our budget priorities from unfair tax cuts for the very rich to fair taxation for all and investing in the PEOPLE and infrastructure and future instead of in, again, tax cuts for those who don't need them, and a war-based economy. But my entire adult life, and the entire time Bernie has been fighting, we've been up against a solid wall of Republican opposition and the dominance of the trickle-down theory (read: LIE) of economics. I think that now we are finally, finally seeing a demographic shift in our country, and an evolution of ideas, and now maybe America is ready to listen, hear and understand what we really need!
Bernie, if he is in the race, is my candidate, period. PERIOD. And now it sounds like he's in the race! So let me declare, before he even declares, if it even needs declaring, given my approximately 10,000 or so posts in 2016: I'M FOR BERNIE. I'M WITH BERNIE. Bernie is with me, with all of us, with what is the healthy prescription for our ailing-in-so-many-ways, beloved country. BERNIE 2020! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Bernie Sanders Set to Announce 2020 Presidential Run
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