peggysue2
peggysue2's JournalThis Morning's Republican Meme
I've had the TV running in the background this morning. Three separate GOPers have claimed the stories of a Republican Civil War nonsense, that Republicans have always, always had battles & disagreements between themselves. Word for word, the message is being broadcast--nothing to see here, we're all on the same page.
Which, of course, belies the old standard: Republicans fall in line; Democrats need to be herded like stray barn cats. But the technique underscores the methodology of embedding the Big Lie: Repeat the Lie, again and again, until people accept it as fact. Republicans have that routine down pat.
I think we can safely assume the heat has been turned up on the pot of thrashing froggies. The Manafort story last night--State (non-pardonable) charges of money-laundering--is making a lot of people nervous and antsy. I read one report that there was panic on the Hill yesterday afternoon. Jeff Flake's speech on the floor of the Senate surely didn't help, an appetizer of things to come.
The Age of Trump: Where Even Slavery is Given a Pass
There was a previous Oped on Marc Faber--think it's still up in the news section--regarding his provocative statement about thanking God the US was founded by white people. But it wasn't until I went to Salon and read the entire piece that I found another equally appalling but pertinent nugget, a ghastly apology for Confederate monuments. Precisely this (boldface mine):
"In his newsletter, Faber also praised the Confederate monuments that have become a national debate in the wake of the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Faber said the monuments were "statues of honourable people whose only crime was to defend what all societies had done for more than 5,000 years: keep a part of the population enslaved."
You cannot make this crazy shit up. In fact, if you mentioned this to one of the wing-nuts, the Confederate flag/monument lovers, they would swear you were lying through your teeth. Though I suspect many feel the same way, the sentiments are frequently couched in words like . . . tradition and honoring the historical past. Like Faber they would no doubt argue that they were not racist.
No sir, not an ounce of racism in those words.
What Does the Democratic Party Stand For?
I caught the tail end of a MSNBC round-robin discussion of a group of 'concerned' Democrats, who were calling for unity, solutions to ongoing problems, working together, while claiming they did not to know what the Democratic Party stood for?
Really?
Just off the top of my head:
The Democratic Party stands for protecting the rights and security of women, minorities and immigrants, those who too frequently are demeaned and dismissed. They also stand for protecting the rights and security of everyone else as in voting rights--expanding the franchise, not compressing it.
The Democratic Party stands for a strong national defense, one based on diplomacy and mutual respect, while supporting nuclear non-proliferation policies.
The Democratic Party stands for healthcare for the American public, the right to healthcare, not a privilege.
The Democratic Party stands for a vigorous defense and support system to fund Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, the Democratic Party stands for offering assistance to children of the poor through healthcare insurance, food vouchers for school lunch programs and nutritional assistance for poor women and infants. They support benefits for the disabled.
The Democratic Party stands for clean air and water, a pollutant-diminished environment for the sake of the health and general welfare of our people.
The Democratic Party stands for solutions and ideas to mitigate the effects of Climate Change without invoking God or Fate of wishful thinking.
The Democratic Party stands for the education of our children, a quality, well-resourced public education, a system not based on zip codes.
The Democratic Party stands for workers' rights, rather than the Robber Baron philosophies.
The Democratic Party stands for retooling workers for the 21st Century, rather than lying to them, pretending the 'good ole days' of King Coal (or any other waning industry) are coming back or that ravaging the place you live--polluting streams and creeks, destroying the natural habitat of wildlife and fauna in the name of profit-making--is anything less than counterproductive and short-sighted.
The Democratic Party stands for sensible regulation be it guns or the financial sector.
The Democratic Party stands for a fair tax system, not an excuse for the rich and famous to shovel more money into their bank accounts.
The Democratic Party stands for the American people, the American Constitution and the protection and furtherance of our democratic Republic.
What else is there?
If a self-proclaimed Democrat doesn’t know this already, I don’t know what to tell them, beyond they haven’t been paying attention. Or perhaps they’re not really Democrats.
Whatever.
I would suggest these people reread the 2016 Democratic Platform, the most progressive platform in decades. If you can’t find the Democratic Party in that document or in the things I’ve listed above then you’re willfully blind and/or working off another agenda.
I’ve had it with the naysayers and whiners. Our eye needs to be fastened on the only thing that counts: 2018 elections.
The country’s safety depends on it.
A Step Too Far
I apologize in advance if this item was already covered. I just ran across this vile video (in a sea of recent vileness) but this blew my mind. Link here:
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/06/nra-declares-war-on-half-of-america/
Sorry for the link but I've forgotten how to embed.
In any case, the NRA has gone too far with its propaganda when they're basically shilling a Call to Arms. We, meaning those who disagree, The Resistance, etc., etc., have become 'them,' the clear enemy who dare criticize Our Great Leader.
Enough!
The passionate voice, the clenched fist, the lurid photos and the fear-mongering all speak to a despicable, destructive history. It's time for reasonable people to say: No More. It's time for responsible, sane gun owners to shout: No More. It's time for the electorate to say in unison: No more of the Insanity. No more of the lies, the obfuscation, the gross distortions.
As a gun owner myself, I am sickened, absolutely disgusted by this. I call out to other sensible, sane gun owners to push back against this online, on FB and/or in tweets. We all must be The Resistance. Because there is no other sane, honorable choice.
Early Voting in Knox Co.,Tennessee
Early Voting started last Wednesday in my neighborhood. The traffic has been brisk and amazingly efficient. Must give kudos to our volunteers, more than I've ever seen. They were obviously geared for a large turnout. Made the experience easy and fast. I was in and out within 15 minutes. Tried to go last Friday but the line was out the door.
So, 3 votes for Hillary Clinton from my household and my Hillary sign has survived, even in this Red-Red district.
Have a very good feeling about this election, even though my current state will likely go Trumpville. Btw, no sign of discontent or nastiness. Not sure how November 8th will go but early voting was a breeze. That's why I do it every cycle.
We should all be following the President's advice, regardless of our geography: Don't Boo, Vote!
Garry Kasparov Has A Few Words
You remember Kasparov, Russian chess champion, Putin dissenter, now in exile. He's paying attention to The Donald's comments, the current reference to 2nd amendment people. Here's a link to his current tweets:
http://twitchy.com/sd-3133/2016/08/09/garry-kasparov-finds-trumps-second-amendment-people-remarks-all-too-familiar/
Here's a small sample:
"Putin's followers often "joke" about opposition leaders being killed. Posters with crosshairs, etc. Then they are murdered and it's no joke."
Winter is coming. Wake up, America. From a man who's been there.
Hillary and This Old House
Was able to key up Hillary Clinton’s Colorado campaign visit yesterday. While the cable shows went berserk over The Donald’s meltdown and interviewed Baghdad Bob supporters chanting how everything is in order, nothing to see or hear, Hillary Clinton was out there . . . campaigning.
How radical, eh?
Looking at the schedule, her program was stacked throughout the day. Several things struck me.
When Hillary talks about creating good paying jobs, she doesn’t stop with a simple statement, as in: ‘I’ll create new jobs. I’ll create so many jobs, produce so many hu-u-u-ge job opportunities you won’t believe it!’
That’s not HRC’s style. Hillary Clinton provides details from the ground up because the devil and/or angels are always in the details.
For example:
Early childhood education, preschool, is known to enhance a child’s success later on. And success later on is tied to the stability of the family which in hand must include steady, good-paying jobs and/or continuing education/retraining for the parents, as well as affordable child care and healthcare for all families. For the today’s kids, Internet access is essential for research and homework assignments. Something in the neighborhood of 5 million children are not connected to the Net and at a distinct disadvantage. Internet access is also important for businesses, budding entrepreneurs. It’s appalling that many rural areas, those that actually have access, depend on dial-up. The US military developed the freaking Internet and we have fellow citizens still relying on dial-up connections? That’s what I used when I was working on a Commodore 64. Back in the day, as they say.
Jobs preparation be it professional, technical or vocational, all educational routes, require affordability without the burden of oppressive debt. Investment in our fellow citizens is crucial because our people constitute the Nation itself. The term ‘commonwealth’ is not a dirty word; it’s woven into the fabric of who we are as a country and the very notion of ‘commonwealth’ distinguished the American experiment early in our history.
Donald Trump sees the country in flames—a divided crime scene. Hillary Clinton sees the country as a whole, systems and programs out of sync, in need of repair, rebalancing. It’s not unlike looking at an old house where the structure is still sound and solid. The house has good bones, we might say and immediately envision modernizing the interior, replacing or restoring elements that no longer work efficiently, knowing that each improvement dovetails into the next change or challenge. The work seems endless but we keep at it because this is our house, this is where we and our children live and work and dream.
I will never accept setting a torch to the old house or pretend that burning things down is the answer to anything. That’s for anarchists and nihilists who have neither the eye nor requisite mindset to distinguish good from bad, right from wrong. They would rather turn their backs on the old house, dismiss the workmanship, the history, forget the sweat, tears, the spilled blood while shrugging off the backbreaking effort to raise a structure where no house exactly like this one ever stood before.
Burn it down, they scream. Burn it to the ground!
Which is why, in IMHO, this election is so important. Our house, our futures and those of our children are at stake. The generations that came before us are watching and whispering:
"Don’t screw this up," they murmur. 'Never trust an arsonist."
Profile Information
Name: PegGender: Female
Hometown: New Jersey
Home country: USA
Current location: Wilmington, DE
Member since: Sat Feb 6, 2016, 07:31 PM
Number of posts: 10,442
