March 30, 2024

#Nine Passengers

"We are faced with evil. I feel rather like Augustine did before becoming a Christian when he said, ' I tried to find the source of evil and I got nowhere. But it is also true that I and a few others knew what must be done if not to reduce evil at least not to add to it.' Perhaps we cannot prevent this world from being a world in which children are tortured. But we can reduce the number of tortured children. And if you believers don't help us, who else in the world can help us with this?" -- Albert Camus


I saw some recent news about Ruby Franke. She previously had a podcase called "8 Passengers" about families and parenting. I had never heard of her until last August 30, when she was arrested along with her therapist, Jodi Hildebrant. They were charged with torturing Franke's children.

Both spent several months in jail, before being convicted and sent to prison. In general, somen's prisons do not tend to be as violent and dangerous as men's prisons. However, even moreso than Ruby and her therapist coming from a very different social class than most other inmates, the fact they were convicted for torturing children puts them at the highest risk for being attacked. If not, they will likely be shunned by other prisoners. For crimes against children are easily recognized as the lowest of the low.

Because it was Good Friday, at least when I started reading Camus, I had started with reading from "A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr." (Edited by James Washington; Harper & Row;1986). The 676 pages include speeches as well as his writings. I read two of his presentations: his eulogy for four children, and his most important speech opposing the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war.

The first, of course, came after the KKK bombed the 16th Street Church in Birmingham, killing four little girls on September 15, 1963. The second was perhaps his greatest speech, "A Time to Breal Silence (Beyond Vietnam)" at the Riverside Church on April 4, 1967. In that war, like all others, children were wounded and killed by American bombs.

Those were the things I pondered while growing up. What would make a group of men bomb a church? Did our military draft young men to fight in war, because they hadn't matured beyond their high school days when they did whatever the coach asked? At what point does a sense of personal responsibility for one's actions come into play? Does it in everyone? How many steps away from the action does a person say no to torturing children" If your tax dollars are funding the torture and murder of children?

My generation was met with the contempt and violence of much of older generation when we said no to that ugly war, racism, and sexism. One of the things I remember is found in "The Eloquence of Protest: Voices of the 70s" (edited by Harrison Salsbury; Houghton Mifflin; 1972). It is a letter from a father, Dr. Paul williamson, of Mississippi, to his son, a college student. He wrote that if he protested the war, he deserved to be killed, just like the "revolutionaries" at Kent State.

Now, I was a young person at this time. So I couldn't figure out bombing churches or anywhere else, especially if there were children who would be killed or injured. Still can't. Or parents and grandparents who became furious and insulting of young people proresting such things. Even saying your kid deserves death for exercising his Amendment 1 rights, saying that threatened the country.

Basketball legend and philosopher Bill Russell said something when I was young, that I hope to never forget: "Pick your enemies carefully, because they are who you risk becoming the most like." Now I'm a grandfather, and find myself wishing more of my generation remembered what Mr. Russell said. I hear many my age complain about political-social rallies of young people, as if exercising Amendment 1 is a bad thing. Ignoring what Johnny Cash called "the lonely voice of youth," while expecting them to listen to us in a one-sided conversation.

March 28, 2024

Sanctimonious

" I made the pont that the liberals had stood with Clinton while the DLC people had deserted him and described the miserable (Joe) Lieberman as a 'sanctimonious prick.' Hillary said, 'Well, he is cartainly sanctimonious,' but showed no eagerness to pursue this line of thought." -- Journals 1952 - 2000 ; Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.; Penguin, 2007, page 837.


This discussion between Arthur and Hillary took place at at White House event well before Al Gore was the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. Thus, they were not talking about Joe Liberman as a potential choice for vice president. Indeed, they agreed on a word that, dating back to the early 1600s, has never been a compliment.

Al Gore had picked Warren Christopher to conduct his VP search. Arthur suggested two good choices -- George Mitchell and Chris Dodd. But Christopher picked Lieberman, who Gore would telll Schlesinger had been his 4th on the list. Arthur expressed his outrage:

"Lieberman is not only sanctimonious but a hypocrite -- the 'conscience of the Senate' got there by defeating a fine liberal Lowell Weicker in one of the nastiest campaigns in recent history. Lieberman is also president of the Democratic Leadership Conference, the Republican wing of the Democratic party ...." (page 847)

"Joe Lieberman, though he refrained in his acceptance speech from attributing his nomination to the personal intervention of the Almighty, cannot keep his wretched sanctimony out of the campaign. On 27 August he gave a speech in Detroit declaring that belief in God is the basis of morality and the American republic.One wonders why the Founding Fathers did not bother to mention God in the Constitution. 'As a people,' Holy Joe opined, 'we need to reaffirm our faith and renew the dedication of our nation and ourselves to God and God's pirpose.' Lincoln had it better in his second inaugural, 'The Almighty has his own purposes.' " (page 850)

Schlesinger details phone calls, meetings, and social events where party members discussed their unwillingness to vote for the Gore/ Lieberman ticket due to Joe's being the potential vice president. He names names, something that dispels the myth that it is the left wing of the party that refuses to vote for our nominees. Some say they will vote for Ralph Nader. Arthur, who describes George W. Bush as "a frightened ventriloquist's dummy," suggests that the republican ticket couldn't do much harm in four years in office.

Perhaps the most savage comment on how his friends viewed Lieberman came in a discussion with Philip Roth, who said, "I am considering issuing a statement: 'Mr. Roth is not available forinterviews. He has gone to the hospital to have his foreskin sewed back on'." (page 847)

All of this was from when Holy Joe was still a Democrat, if in name only. In my opinion, he played as significant a role in the election's outcome as the corrupt Supreme Court. I think the world would be very different if Al Gore had been president. I do not think that 9/11 would have happened, for example ...... not because I subscribed to the paranoid LIHOP nonsense that was common back when. Rather, he would have paid attention to all of the warning signs.

I do not rejoice at the death of any human being. That's not to say I wouldn't be pleased to learn of the death of, say, Putin. Or his top helpers, for I won't know until that happens. But it is to say that even in his biggest role as a Democrat, Joe Lieberman was terrible. And he became contaminated by the bitterness that saturated his being after the Democratic Party rejected him.

March 26, 2024

Difficult Things

"All noble things are as difficult as they are rare." -- Spinoza


A series of four angry phone calls greeted me this morning. I'll skip to the last one, from my cousin, who was very unhappy with the news about the court decision that cut his bond by 68%. I reminded him about our conversation last night, when I suggested he not count the defendant's chickens before they came home to roost.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ny-appeals-court-reduces-trumps-bond-civil-fraud-case-175-million-vict-rcna144659

This did not, of course, make him happy. He continued to express his belief that the defendant has never been held responsible for his actions. I said that I'd send him the link to a page that documented that among the 4,000+ law suits he has been involved in, he has lost quite a few of the most important ones. I added that I did not think this history had been taught in the infamous Defendant University, although I am confident that E. Jean Carroll would agree with me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_and_business_legal_affairs_of_Donald_Trump

Now, this doesn't not mean I agree with the ruling. I don't. But I did not find it to be at all surprising. As a NYS resident, I've wished that we had as good of higher state courts as New Jersey traditionally has had. I could go on a long rant about past corruption, but will instead say that today George Conway gave the best explanation of why this isn't as terrible a decision as I know it to be.

I try to never post/link to anything by (former) republicans. I am not friends with them. But I recognize that we share a concern about the defendant & maga cult. Thus, for example, I've had communications with Sarah Longwell for years, as it provides me with ways to approach conversations with republicans I know in real life.

Despite being familiar with previous issues with past NYS Attorneys General, I want to say that I have complete confidence in Letitia James. If anyone can change the ruling in higher state court, it is this lady. Now, in my long life, I have rarely had that level of trust in anyone in political life.

"How the fuck," I have been asked recently, "can you be confident that anything good can take place?" This reminds me of around 50 years back, a conversation I had with Rubin. He said that "everything under the sun is exactly as it should be, or it wouldn't be." Being young and angry, carrying an enormous chip on each of my shoulders that were almost as fat as my head, I pointed out numerous injustices -- including his legal case.

Everything is a direct result of yesterday, Rubin said. And yesterday was a direct result of the day, week, month, year, decade, and century before. And so on. The only things that can change, he noted, are human beings ..... and when people change, everything around them changes. This includes the potential for both good and bad.

When Joseph Campbell spoke of "the Hero's Journey," each time that person finds him/herself at their darkest hour, it is then that they understand the only thing they can change is their self. When they do, it is when they can bring about change. Now, few can be the hero. But we can all recognize that our country -- our society -- is at the time when the danger of darkness is the greatest.

That leaves but two options. One is to embrace the darkness, in ways ranging for compition to express the most extreme outrage, to saying it's all too much, I quit, guess I'll go eat worms. The other is to recognize that the best thing that you can do is to do everything to elect Joe Biden and other Democrats. Focus energy on that. And once we get that done, we will be in position to bring other much needed changes.

March 22, 2024

Keep Hope Alive

" Catastrophizing is a cognitive distortion that prompts people to jump to the worst possible conclusion, usually with very limited information or objective reason to despair. When a situation is upsetting, but not necessarily catastrophic, they still feel like they are in the midst of a crisis."
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/catastrophizing#:~:text=Catastrophizing%20is%20a%20cognitive%20distortion,the%20midst%20of%20a%20crisis.


We are in a historic struggle that goes beyond what, in theory, would be an election contest between a Democrat and republican candidate for president. As a "historic struggle," it will involve stumbling blocks, set-backs, disappointments, and frustrations. Without these things, it could not possibly be defined as a "historic struggle," now, could it?

It would instead be "business as usual." But this is truly a struggle between democracy and dictatorship. The foundation stone of democracy is the rule of law. For the first time in our nation's history, a former president is facing both criminal and civil charges. Those criminal charges are at both the state and federal levels. And we all want to see him convicted, for these are serious crimes that threaten democracy.

In order to decrease the chances of the defendant facing consequences, your and my enemy wants to increase the catastrophizing among Democrats. They want us tired, discouraged, and thinking like Eeyore and behaving like Chicken Little. They are the phantoms that Carlos wrote about in "Journey to Ixtlan," seeking to trick you into believing lies.

During the months to come, you can expect to see misinformation and disinformation flowing out like endless rain into a Russian gutter, across the internet. Do not step in it. So not argue with it. Do not repeat it.

Even on a good forum, we sometimes see one of our friends expressing doubts about the future, and even catastrophizing. For it is a human trait, that we all might be prone to once in a while. For example, if your doctor has a serious look on her face, and says she needs to order some tests. Or if you are really tired, and didn't fully read an article, but are reacting to a headline. Maybe you are doing your taxes, have the television on, only only hear a bit of a report, and your kid is asking you about cursive writing. Or you are intoxicated on alcohol, pot, mushrooms, and/or LSD. Could happen to any of us.

The thing is, catastrophizing isn't a good thing for Democrats. Look what it has done to what was once the republican party. Has not the defendant convinced his maga cult that everything is either terrible or tragic? And that only he can fix it? If you don't believe me, try telling some shit stain wearing a maga hat that things are getting better, a little better all the time with President Biden in office. They will tell you it couldn't get much worse.

We are in a historic struggle. There will be tough times and bad things that are real. We need to be accurate, focused, rational, and strong. That makes it better in tough times, and at our best we can not lose. We need to be at our bests. And kick the shit out of the maga cult.

March 19, 2024

Bend the Arc

Bend the Arc is one the the most important social-political groups that I've ever known of.


"In an appearance on extremist Sebastian Gorka's podcast yesterday, Trump accused Jews who vote for Democrats of hating their own religion.

"We don’t take voting advice from a man whose embrace of white nationalism has put our lives in danger over and over again. The future Trump and his followers want is one where our multiracial Jewish community, immigrants, and all others targeted by white supremacy can’t be safe. .....

"Bend the Arc is leading the Jewish fight to defeat Trump in 2024, and it will take all of us to win."

https://www.bendthearc.us/trump_gorka_podcast

March 18, 2024

A Car Wash

I was just thinking ...... if when the defendant was talking about the entire country experiencing a blood bath if he loses in November, he really was speaking about the auto industry ........ does that mean Katie Britt was talking about a car wash when she said, "Never forget, we’re steeped in the blood of patriots who overthrew the most powerful empire in the world"?

March 14, 2024

Momentum, Impulses, and Face Paint

"We make her paint her face and dance."
-- John Lennon; 1971


I'd like to do a follow-up to my post "I've Got a Feeling," regarding why I am 100% confident that we will crush the defendant and the maga cult in November. A line from a "banned" song on the 1972 double album "Some Time in New York City" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono comes to mind. The song's title was taken from a 1969 work by Yoko.

Speaking of things being banned ..... the Dobbs decision by the USSC was the goal of the christian nationalists branch of the republican party. They are attempting to increase the momentum of their national effort to ban women's reproductive rights. Other in their party recognized that Dobbs had added momentum to the Democratic Party, and hoped that Dobbs would fade from public discussion until after the 2024 elections.

Momentum is an essential dynamic in elections. It can be difficult to see which way the wind blows, because of the information overload associated with the media and internet. There are many distractions on the information highway. At unanticipated times, things can collide and throw things off course. This is true on American highways, the information highway, and during campaigns.

We know from the impulse-momentum theorem that the "impulse" that hits a moving object equals the change in momentum. Think of a police PIT maneuver (Precision Immobilization Technique) on the highway. Or the "Monkey Business" that derailed Gary Hart's 1988 campaign. Or the momentum the "Biden is old" bit was getting in the media, before President Biden flattened it head on with his SOTU address.

Just as a PIT requires timing, a campaign does, too. Older forum member will recall that in 1968, had Hubert Humphrey announced he would not follow LBJ's approach to Vietnam a week earlier, he would have beat Nixon. Thus, a campaign's impulese effect its momentum. Let's now look at two current examples.

The republican party has "issues" with minorities and women that have had building momentum in the maga era. Thus, the defendant displayed an impulse, yelling, "Blacks!" at a couple of rallies. Pathetic. Even Lara Trump recognized this -- and we are talking about someone so stupid that she is married to Eric -- and ended the RNC's "minority outreach" after firing about 60 RNC employees. The media has called this a "bloodbath" in the maga party.

In an attempt to appeal to women, and change the momentum of Dobbs, the republicans have inflicted damage to their party by having two women paint their faces and do the maga dance: Katie Britt and Nancy Mace. In essence, the republicans "rat-fucked" themselves. Having Britt read a strange script that she did not write was kind of funny in a tragic way. Mace was simply an insulting call to the darker impulses of humanity.

The timing is perfect. And as the Democratic Party's momentum builds, it will force other republicans to either publicly support the defendant, or voice their opposition. Considering their cowardly nature, we can be confident that they will embrace the ball & chain on their campaign.

March 12, 2024

I've Got a Feeling

I have a feeling that we are going to kick the defendant's flabby, pale ass into the dust bin of history in November. From there, the bin shall be dumped into a sewer, not to be recycled. And we will crush his republican cult beyond repair.

President Biden's great SOTU will continue to make his numbers rise in accurate polls. Katie Britt's performance will continue to be useful in sinking all republicans' number. Both provide the grass roots with exactly what we need for campaigning.

We can donate to Democratic Party candidates. We can volunteer at our local campaign headquarters. We can go door-to-door. We can communicate on the telephone and/or internet. And we can have fun delivering the message from the rooftops.

March 10, 2024

The SOTU

"You watch the speech?"

I had to make a quick trip to the grocery store. While there, I recognized the voice behind me. It was a young man who works there. He had been friend's with my cousin's late son, and a few years ago, my cousin had asked me if I could help the guy in a custody case. I did, and he and his girlfriend have had custody ever since.

My cousin told me a few weeks ago that he had seen the guy in the store, and talked to him about politics. It turned out that he and his girlfriend are not registered. My cousin asked me to talk to them, and I have the few times I'm buying food.

"Yeah, I watched it. It was really good," I said.

"Everyone says he's too old," he said.

Since he (and her) are interested in Indian history, I told him that the older men and women of the Iroquois hold the highest positions. Their approach differs from our own in some ways, though. Those in the Council of Chiefs make sure tat children, the eldery, and the helpless eat first, so to speak. And the elderly are respected, and "protected like clear spring water."

I said that, in my opinion, President Biden delivered the best SOTU I've ever seen. That it was historic. I suggested that he watch it. He said he might watch part of it. I was not convinced. I knew I needed something more. And I had it.

I said that he should also watch a bit of the republican party's response, as given by Katie Britt. He asked why? I said this was her try-out for vice president on the republican ticket. I noted that she placed the features of borderline and histrionic personality disorders on display. He laughed, and I said this was proof that his ex-wife didn't need to be an unemployed meth addict -- for she could be a U.S. Senator.

"Does your television have a 'scratch & sniff' function?" I asked. He gave me a strange look. I said that is needed to smell the apple pie she was baking. More, I noted the official film does not show she is barefoot. Or pregnant.

His strange look transformed into a puzzled look. I said watch it, and tell me how both parties are just the same. Tell me that you want this woman deciding your girlfriend and daughter's health care.

Then he looked at me seriously, and said, "Yeah. I will."

March 6, 2024

A Path in the Wilderness

My favorite verse of this song is:

"When you believe in things
That you don't understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition aint the way"

I find the potential relationship between superstition and conspiracy theories is interesting. I had a man say to me that the "Russian scandal" was a Democratic Party conspiracy theory that was "proven" to be false. I asked him if he remembered Paul Manafort? Did he recall that the defendent was not a person of interest in the FBI's investigation of his campaign -- that it was only after he was president that his role was examined closely. He thought a second, and said I was right.

Now, this is easily attributed to a poor memory. People forget things, possibly relating to the rapid pace of information available on the internet. And, of course, a significant part of the Russian interference in recent elections has been the aimed at maga-types. In my opinion, in this year's election, their target will be on potential fractures in the Democratic Party. Indeed, these forces are fully aware that the only way the defendant could possibly "win" is if Democrats are divided.

There are a number of important issues in which Democrats can have very different opinions on. These can include sincere, deeply held beliefs. If we fail to respect others' opinions, we create fractures. When we respect others' thinking, we create unity. And united, we will crush the defendant and republicans down the ticket in November.

Rustin Cohle was correct when he said that time is a flat circle. Yet when running on all cylinders, the Democratic Party is three dimensional. It is a sphere, and as such, it has the gravity that attracts votes from other objects. Indeed, it is the way to a certain victory in November. Should we fail to respectfully unite -- and understand that others in the party can have sincere differences of opinion on some issues -- we still can win, but that is not a sure thing.

The potential to crush the defendant is one option that is available to us. But it depends upon how each and every one of us behaves. I think there is far too much at risk here to not take this path.

Peace,
H2O Man