August 7, 2017

Just myself.

Actually, several. I used to go "Ignore Free," because I was pure of heart, took the high road, and danced like nobody was watching.

But that all changed in early 2017 when a whole phalanx of obsessive primary revisitors started making my blood simmer on a regular basis. So I decided to cave in and start blocking them. (Most of them are also on my jury blacklist.)

What a refreshing change! The difference is a lot like blocking the stupid religious and home shopping channels from my TV service.

I also have quite a few keywords on my Trash Can list, because they signal a discussion that's almost always either a circular firing squad, a bait-and-hide gambit, or some other pointless exercise that I'd prefer to avoid.

And, to complete my true confessions, I've trashed several groups -- one of which is also on my Subscriptions list, I see!

I'm actually a pretty open and agreeable person in real life. But I find online life without DU Road Rage to be much more enjoyable.

July 28, 2017

Wonderful!

And for millions of Americans, the wolf is pushed back just a little farther from the door.

We take a short break to celebrate this rejection of disaster. Then we get back to work. There are many battle fronts in this war we've been thrust into. This humiliation of Trump, McConnell, Ryan, and their confederates gives us strength and inspiration to continue.

June 16, 2017

Karen Handel's neighbors get threatening letter with white powder

Karen Handel’s neighbors told to take a ‘whiff of white powder’ in threatening letter
by Steve Burns Greg Bluestein, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
10:07 p.m Thursday, June 15, 2017 - Neighborhoods

"Roswell police and the FBI are investigating after envelopes with 'white powder' were found in congressional candidate Karen Handel’s mailbox and at four others in her subdivision.

The call came in about 1 p.m. for Roxburgh Drive off Old Alabama Road in the Willow Springs neighborhood, police said.

'This afternoon we had some suspicious packages delivered to our house and to our neighbors,' Handel said in a statement. 'The packages contained threatening letters and a suspicious substance. The police were quickly notified and the street is now being blocked off. We will continue to coordinate with law enforcement as necessary.'"
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more...
"Ossoff campaign manager Keenan Pontoni told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his campaign has also received multiple threats of violence in recent days, which he said have been reported to police. The Ossoff campaign hired a security detail on Thursday as well as a result of the escalating tensions."
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Local TV station WAGA Fox-5 received a similar letter, postmarked Greenville, SC. The envelope contained baking powder.

Color me suspicious. This close to voting day, I'm not sure this episode passes the smell test.

June 14, 2017

What I want for Republicans is political defeat and utter humiliation,

not murder and martyrdom.

May 2, 2017

One of my worst fears

is that I'll end up in an old folks' home for people born in the 1950s like me, and the entertainment director will lead group sing-alongs featuring the greatest hits of Seals & Crofts, America, Bread, and so on.

There is so much great music in a wide variety of genres, I feel like I'm living in the greatest era for musical exploration ever! To me it's a miracle that with very little effort I can hear Roma songs from Eastern Europe, Indian Carnatic music, 1920s hot jazz from the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, the latest funk from Booker T. Jones, hard-to-pigeonhole artists like Jun Miyake (his music on the soundtrack to the Wim Wenders film, Pina, OMG!), groundbreaking new jazz from people like Jason Moran and Cassandra Wilson (not to mention the beautiful hymn-like tunes of Abdullah Ibrahim), fascinating electronic music from people like Paul Lansky, or how about the all-female saxophone group The Tiptons?... and so much more, all in the same day.

I suggest plunging yourself into unfamiliar waters and seeing what you find. Try letting the Pandora app turn you on to new sounds. Watch some of the NPR Tiny Desk Concerts for incredible variety and virtuosity.

I love much of the music of my youth. I will never get tired of the greatest Beatles songs, or my favorite R&B tracks (Martha & the Vandellas -- my lifelong crush!). But there is an amazing world of music out there, just waiting to titillate your eardrums and take you to new places. Give it a try.

April 19, 2017

Real world perspective from a long-time Georgia resident

Frankly, an endorsement from Bernie Sanders would probably have been kryptonite in that district. Remember, this is a district that elected Tom Price to Congress SEVEN straight times. His predecessor in that seat was Republican Johnny Isakson, currently the slightly less horrifying of our two Georgia U.S. Senators.

That is a semi-affluent north Atlanta district that is maybe starting to lean a little more purplish shade thanks to changes in the electorate there (and repulsion to Donald Trump), but it's by no means a progressive stronghold!

I doubt seriously that anybody in the campaign or the DCCC gave the idea of a Sanders endorsement for Ossoff more than a second's thought, which is fortunate -- because, as much as I admire Sanders's policy positions, Ossoff is better off without that endorsement.

April 14, 2017

The first protest in space just happened, and it was against Donald Trump

@ASANspace
Thanks to The Independent's Indy100 for posting about this.
#RESISTANCE

April 10, 2017

Great post - thank you!

I remember the tragic and shocking events of 1963 and ensuing years well. And I have been inspired in many ways by the collective shifts in consciousness that we experienced (and helped create) in the 1960s and '70s.

One of the principal projects of the American right wing for many years has been to trivialize and eradicate the spirit of the 1960s: equality for all, a giant fuck-you to the U.S. Wehrmacht, free love, consideration of alternate philosophies and political systems, priority of the natural and the human over commerce -- in short, a general willingness to try new ways of living and thinking.

The Right fears equality, worships American military dominance, detests free love in any form, requires conformity, and values commerce above all. We will continue to reject their ugly and barren worldview.

As I get older and more independent, I'm more willing than ever to challenge the status quo. I look forward to joining with my peers and anybody else who's up for the fight for a world that's more just, verdant, interesting, and nurturing.

March 17, 2017

I'm interested in stopping Trump. Who's with me?

The ongoing divisive narratives about "Bernie Bros" and "Hillbots" do nothing but help Trump.

Any Democrat or progressive who perpetuates either of these two myths needs to splash his or face with cold water, wake the fuck up, and join the real fight of our lives.

I said [font size=36] either[/font].

February 16, 2017

House GOP discusses Obamacare replacement ideas but doesnt call them a plan

By Mike DeBonis and Kelsey Snell, Washington Post - February 16

This quote from the article sums it up for me: “There’s no consensus. We had two minutes to discuss it.” - Raul Labrador (R-Idaho)

The recess constituent meetings should be lively, if these "representatives" aren't too chicken to show up.