December 18, 2020

Many times I have been called perfect.

The problem is, many times people insist on adding to the description. Words like "ass", or "idiot", and other words.

My resolution for 2021 is to stop listening after I hear the word perfect.

December 17, 2020

A request for help for 2 progressive women candidates. (X-posted from IL group)

The GOP is truly terrible at policy, and governance, but they do understand how critically important it is to run candidates for office at every level of government. From local school boards, to library boards, to town and township posts, the GOP recruits people.

By doing so, the GOP inspires people to run for office, and these people spread the GOP narrative. And to be honest, often Democrats look instead to state wide or national offices, and ignore local races. But remember that Sarah Palin got her start running for mayor of a tiny town in Alaska.

In my area, 2 local, very progressive women are running for offices in Palos Township. The township is located southwest of Chicago. It has been the site of many protests, mainly concerning a racist Trustee who frequently posts her Islamophobic brand of hatred on Facebook. And she often identifies as a Palos Trustee, using her status as a local politician to strengthen her message.
If you are interested in learning more about the Palos Township situation, I am including a link. And a Google search will reveal much more about this racist.

Part of the issue as well is that the Township is stonewalling on FOIA requests, which is part of the issue. And they have covered for the racist, and her lies, for 3 and 1/2 years.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/opinion/ct-sta-slowik-palos-township-dispute-st-1007-20201006-55ecsoeszjfahnrk6p25rpgm6i-story.html


These women are both very active in the community, and one in particular is active in nearly every progressive cause there is.
The reasons I am writing, and posting this, are twofold. To spread the message that people are actively fighting against every form of hate, and to ask the DU community to consider making a donation via Act Blue.

I am including links to their Facebook pages, a well as a link to ActBlue, and a link to volunteer for anyone who is interested. Volunteer opportunities include text messaging and phone banking. Please, if you can, consider donating, and consider volunteering.


Thanks in advance,
Guillaume


FB: https://www.facebook.com/mervatefortrustee/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/tammyforclerk/

Donation Link: https://bit.ly/contributetm

Volunteer Link: https://bit.ly/volunteertm

December 17, 2020

Calling all Illinois DU members, especially in the Chicago area

The GOP is truly terrible at policy, and governance, but they do understand how critically important it is to run candidates for office at every level of government. From local school boards, to library boards, to town and township posts, the GOP recruits people.
By doing so, the GOP inspires people to run for office, and these people spread the GOP narrative. And to be honest, often Democrats look instead to state wide or national offices, and ignore local races. But remember that Sarah Palin got her start running for mayor of a tiny town in Alaska.
In my area, 2 local, very progressive women are running for offices in Palos Township. The township is located southwest of Chicago. It has been the site of many protests, mainly concerning a racist Trustee who frequently posts her Islamophobic brand of hatred on Facebook. And she often identifies as a Palos Trustee, using her status as a local politician to strengthen her message.
If you are interested in learning more about the Palos Township situation, I am including a link.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/opinion/ct-sta-slowik-palos-township-dispute-st-1007-20201006-55ecsoeszjfahnrk6p25rpgm6i-story.html


These women are both very active in the community, and one in particular is active in nearly every progressive cause there is.
The reasons I am writing, and posting this, are twofold. To spread the message that people are actively fighting against every form of hate, and to ask the DU community to consider making a donation via Act Blue.
I am including links to their Facebook pages, a well as a link to ActBlue, and a link to volunteer for anyone who is interested. Volunteer opportunities include text messaging and phone banking. Please, if you can, consider donating, and consider volunteering.



FB: https://www.facebook.com/mervatefortrustee/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/tammyforclerk/

Donation Link: https://bit.ly/contributetm

Volunteer Link: https://bit.ly/volunteertm

November 30, 2020

I encountered a Trump voter who spoke about "communist-democrats" Saturday.

I was gathering signatures with a friend of mine for a local person who is running for office in my area. A person from one household was signing my petition as my friend was speaking with the neighbor next door.
This Trump voter came out of the house, followed my friend as she joined me, and spoke to both of us about "communist-democrats", and other Trump brand idiocy.

My friend attempted to reason with the Trump voter, but reason never works on the unreasonable.

And that is, and will remain, a huge problem for the near future as 70 million US voters believe that up is down and down is up.

What is critical, in my view, is to motivate the 33% who did not vote, or were prevented from voting.

November 22, 2020

On values voters, and silent majorities.

Many conservative voters love to describe themselves as “values voters”. They also often describe themselves as being part of the “silent majority”. These memes have been around in modern politics since Nixon first ran for office in 1968.

What is implicit in the phrase “values voters”, and the accompanying phrase “silent majority”, is that other voters have no values, and represent a minority view. This allows these self-described values voters to feel good about their choices, and allows them to feel that opposing viewpoints are minority views.

Consider that in the 2020 election, most self-described conservatives, most “values voters”, voted for Donald Trump.

Trump has always been quite open about his racism, in speech and actions. From his promotion of “birtherism” as a racist attack on the Nations’s first black President, to his actions on the Central Park 5, Trump has always demonstrated his racism. If you voted for a racist, your vote enabled a racist, and that makes you little better than one. Enabling a racist, no matter the motives, is a character defect, not a value.

If you voted for a misogynist, a person with a long history of sexual assault, your vote enabled this person, and that too, is a character defect, not a value.

If you voted for a person with a well-known, lifelong, history of cheating on his taxes, his wives, his customers, and his vendors, that is a sign of a character defect, not a value.

If you voted for a person who has lied over 20,000 times, that enabled the lying. That too, is a sign of a character defect, not a value.

If you voted for a person who bullies everyone who works for him, a person who bullied his GOP opponents in 2016, a person who attacks anyone who disagrees with him, you enabled the bullying, and that, too, is a character defect, not a value.

If you voted for a person who lied to the public about COVID19, a person who made the refusal to wear a mask into a test of political loyalty, you enabled a situation that resulted in the US ranking #1 in COVID19 fatalities. Refusal to wear a mask, refusal to take actions that are proven to slow the spread of the virus is pure selfishness. These too, are character defects, not values.

If you remained silent as Trump demonstrated to the world his unfitness to hold office, if you remained silent as Trump bullied others, if you remained silent as Trump promoted xenophobia and misogyny, you demonstrated both moral and political cowardice. That cowardice is no value, it is a character defect.

Finally, Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 and 2020. Given that 43% of eligible voters did not vote in 2016, and 33% did not vote in 2020, Trump’s “silent majority” represented, at best, 38% of the eligible electorate. I am no mathematician, but 38% is certainly no majority, silent or otherwise.

October 30, 2020

I am hosting a November 4th "Protect the results" rally in the SW suburban Chicago area.

These rallies are taking place all over the country.

The object is to rally people, and to be visible reminders that every vote must be counted.

Trump, and the GOP, do not really want people to vote. They only want likely GOP voters to vote.

Our job, post-November 3rd, is to contact our Representatives, our Senators, and the media in our area, and demand that every vote be counted. We do not want another election to be decided by the SCOTUS as was done in 2000.

October 2, 2020

If COVID19 takes Donnie Trump,

I am prepared to mourn as much as seems appropriate.

September 8, 2020

MAGA-racistville (sorry Jimmy)

Wearing my Klan hood
Sure makes me feel good
Cleaning my gun that’s covered with oil
Planning my next march, white robes filled with starch
My Aryan blood is beginning to boil

Wastin' away again in MAGA-racistville
Searchin' for my white identity
Some people claim that there's a black man to blame
And we know, it's all Obama’s fault

Don't know the reason
Stayed here all season
Nothing to show but this Nazi tattoo
But it's a real beauty
A white power cutie
How it got here I’m proud to tell you

Wastin' away again in MAGA-racistville
Searchin' for my white identity
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame
Now I know, it’s never my fault

I messed up my Klan robes
Got blood on my Klan robes
Had to run, had to head on back home
But there's booze in the blender
And soon it will render
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on

Wastin' away again in MAGA-racistville
Searchin' for my white identity
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame
And we know, it's all Hillary’s fault

September 6, 2020

I have an idea on how to persuade Trump voters to wear masks.

And my idea could make me rich. I think I could easily sell many millions of these special masks to most of the 63 million Trump voters.

I will incorporate a KN95 filter into a KKK hood.

And for a small extra fee, the buyer can have a Nazi flag, SS lightning bolts, or MAGA embroidered on the mask.

I realize that not every Trump voter is a racist, but at $10 per hood/mask, I should get 99.5% of Trump voters willing to buy the hood/mask.

Note: This is somewhat satirical.

August 27, 2020

Re; Jacob Blake, and the "why did he not yield" meme...

Did white supremacist Cliven Bundy yield when he was asked to do so?