People! 2014 Elections for Those who Did and Did Not Vote – We are SCREWED…

Okay, 2014 election results. Not good. Of course, it does depend on which perspective you are looking from and through which rose colored glasses you are looking through.

 It seems that people did get out and vote – that is, SOME people got out and voted. And yet again, another year where MANY eligible voters DID NOT GET OFF THEIR HINNIES AND VOTE!!

Am I ticked off, yes, I am. We, as a country, could have had much, much better results from our November 4, 2014 elections.

Now, we will continue to face horrendous voting restrictions for a great number of people, specifically where governors stated there have been many cases of voting fraud when in fact – it was not true.

We will still see many more situations where women will not have free choice with their body. And yes, say it – abortions and birth control measures. Planned Parenthood and other clinic shutdowns…

We will continue seeing K – 12 education highly screwed up – funding and quality of education – FOR ALL PEOPLE, not just the privileged, well to do and those of certain backgrounds and neighborhoods.

You do not need me to elaborate any more than that. We ‘may’ continue to see education dumbed down with no national standard. A standard ensures that if a family moves to any other state in the country, that family can be assured that their child or children can readily pick up where they left off back home, rather than going into a system where the students in the ‘new’ school district are further behind OR very far ahead of their own children.

 

Come on people, many more of you all were supposed to become more civic minded and vote. More of you should have been HIGHLY motivated to vote to change the abysmal or dismal conditions many of you find yourselves in.

But it seems that many of you DID NOT GET OUT AND VOTE!!!

This 2014 mid-term election cycle was supposed to be another catalyst for change from the way things are going in this country. We were going to work on the horrific amount of money going into all the various elections.

As you know, the amount of money going into politics has become unbelievable. The U.S. Supreme Court does not seem concerned enough to know that they may have made a mistake in sending Citizens United on with a pass and allowing virtually unlimited amounts of cash to slosh around politics via so, so many venues of open and dark money outlets.

Do not be mistaken, the average person with a decent education, job and background – that average person IS locked out of raising “a decent amount of money” to enter politics and win and be a voice for their constituents.

We will continue to see all these politicians spending so much of their time raising money for their campaigns (and lucrative war chest for AFTER they leave politics) rather than working harder for the people in their communities, districts and states.

People! You could have made an immediate impact from this point on by GETTING OUT TO VOTE – but, you did not. 

We could have started changing the sadly bad trajectory this country is on. But, instead, we now have:

• A politician who cut taxes for the state, drastically to the point where the state is in a blood red hole – and oh yeah, the education system’s finances were gutted to stupid levels
• Another politician who believes people should be able to take up arms against legally federalized officers of the U.S. government (kinda sounds like a Sovereign Citizen type individual instead of a clear headed politician)
• Another politician in a southern state who implemented draconian voting restrictions
• A politician who managed to get unions reduced to, well, nothing – no bargaining powers, no teeth to have any kind of effective negotiations for their members – all the while that state clamped down on what people can earn AND this politician has aspirational aims of someday running for president…
• Another, sheesh, you get my drift – I could go on and on and on with other examples of politicians going back to the nation’s capital but they should have been booted out

We needed more people in office who are collaborative and willing to compromise to get things done.

And yes, we actually need to spend more money to improve things NOW instead of waiting another decade to spend the money when it is ALWAYS more prohibitively expensive to make changes and fixes.

 

There were quite a few people and organizations in this country that tried to get people out to vote and to vote with their head and what is right for the country, not just a few of the well to do or people of certain walks of life or even skin color.

But, it seems many people voted after paying more attention to rabble rousers who blatantly stoop to using a great deal of innuendo, veiled slurs and outright lies against others – just to gain YOU as a listener to their vitriolic conversations instead of truths and actual facts.

Again, yes, you can listen to whomever but PLEASE do your own research too. Listen to more and different viewpoints, different TV and radio stations – get as many DIVERSE viewpoints as you can, even if they are hard to listen to or to stomach.

Only by listening to multiple channels of information can you make an informed decision. Listening to one TV outlet or a single radical radio station or reading a niche newspaper is not the way to informed decision making.

It seems that many voted without using their own wonderful brain and critical thinking and analytical capabilities.

And, I am truly willing to bet that quite a few of those who DID deem it important enough to vote did not do their own fact checking and research. Nor did too many people (out of the eligible millions), I wager, debate things, not argue, with others around them. Debate and discuss with people who are of different make-ups, you know, different:

• Race,
• Age/Generation,
• Gender,
• Education,
• Income brackets,
• etc., etc., etc.

JUST others who are different and diverse from you for an open and honest debate… 

So now, well, again – WE ARE SCREWED for the next two years. That of course is just my own opinion but we, as a country, get those in office who have no head for:

• Fairness,
• Science,
• Forward thinking,
• Logic,
• Equitable politics and
• Getting the important things completed and not just getting the job done for those who pay the most or are the most vocal (read as extreme).

People! Take a truly critical look at who was voted into office and what they did for their states, their districts and what their endgame could be. There are many politicians who are not interested in fully representing their complete constituencies. Those politicians are really only interested in working on representing a small percentage of the total. The small percentage of the total encapsulates the highly vocal minorities and very well to do.

Many of us will be simply amazed if anything of a significant nature will get done in the next two years, after the past six years of blocking a President primarily because of his skin color.

What will happen to certain politicians if the next President is a woman…? Will you go ballistic and implode? Will you want to start the process all over again, that of taking your ball home and sulking in the corner instead of ACTUALLY WORKING on things for the future and progress of the entire country?

 

We, Americans, only gain the politicians who we vote for, that is, if you made the effort to vote and voting critically instead of selfishly.  

 

 

People! Please – Get Out and VOTE – Make a Difference…

It does not matter if you are conservative or liberal.

It does not matter if you are poor or middle income.

It does not matter if you are a high school dropout (for whatever significantly important reason you had) or a highly educated person with one or two PhD’s.

It does not matter if you are a woman, man, or teenager (of voting age).

It does not matter if you are blue, orange, black, brown or white or whatever color you are or represent.

GET OUT AND VOTE! And not just for a Presidential election but for all elections; in your community, your county and your state elections too.

Get out and vote and make a difference. If you wish to make a change in government; local, state or federal – get out and vote.

If you are disenfranchised for whatever reason, the only way change is going to happen is if you GET OUT AND VOTE!

 

If you are facing horrendous voting restrictions – get out and vote somehow and use your power of the vote to make changes for the future.

If you are facing situations where you cannot control your own destiny, your own body – get out and vote to change that situation.

If you are in a situation where education is or becoming compromised because of the way a vocal few dictates (or attempting to dictate) what you learn – get out and vote. Use YOUR knowledge and education to make a difference (check out the Colorado school district where the board wanted to, well, basically, water down our controversial and at times violent past and only teach the ‘positive’ things of the U.S.).

 

Come on people, how do we, as a community, get the vast majority of Americans (naturally born and naturalized) to become more civic minded and vote? How do we motivate you, even if you do have hardship conditions to vote in – how can we collectively get the vast amount of eligible voters to GET OUT AND VOTE?

 

If you want to change the way things are going in this country, such as the horrific amount of money going into all the various elections – GET OUT AND VOTE! The amount of money going into politics has become unimaginable. Ever since our U.S. Supreme Court saw fit, in their inestimable intelligence, to allow virtually unlimited amounts of cash to slosh around politics via so, so many venues of open and dark money outlets – it appears to be locking out the average citizen to raise money to enter politics and be a voice heard for their constituents.

Many in politics now seem to spend a great of time attempting to raise money for their campaigns rather than working harder for the people in their communities, their districts and states. That to me, seems rather a sad farce to all Americans – that many of our political leaders act out of tantrums because they cannot “always” get some issue their way.

 

People! Please, make a difference from this point on, GET OUT AND VOTE!

We need to change the sadly bad trajectory this country seems to be on. We need to make America stronger and not some divisive or fractured groups of people living in various parts of the country.

We need to bring people closer together rather than going further apart. We have too many militias who want to bring anarchy if they can. We have Sovereign Citizens who want their own strange world. We STILL HAVE Nazi wannabes in different communities of the country.

Education believe it or not will bring people together. We have to gain a society of more educated people, of all ages and eliminate all the many pockets of educational disparities. We have to bring better schools to all communities – hopefully this will stop the insane movement of self-segregation that has been occurring around the country. We were supposed to be moving forward, integrating people into all walks of life for a better future, yet we seem to be going in reverse in so many ways.

 

And vote with your head. Use your own brain and the great thoughts you have formed on your own.

Stop listening to rabble rousers who are not using facts but instead are using innuendo, veiled slurs and outright lies against others – just to gain YOU as a listener to their vitriolic conversations. Sure, you can listen to whomever but do your own research too. Listen to others of different parties, different TV and radio stations – get as many DIVERSE viewpoints as you can, even if they are hard to listen to or to stomach.

Only by listening to multiple channels of information can you make an informed decision. Listening to one TV outlet or a single radical radio station or reading a niche newspaper is not the way to informed decision making.

Listen to or watch or read: FOX, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, BBC, Al-Jazeera, Washington Post, N.Y. Times, L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, The Oregonian, and several of the many news and talk show radio programs. Even if it is at times just flat out difficult.

Then do your own fact checking and research. Then, do your own critical thinking. Debate it with others around you – not just the like-minded who are the same as you (same race, same age, same educational level), but others who are diverse or different from you. I did not say foolishly argue or get into name calling but true, honest debate.

Then and only then, make an informed decision.

Because, otherwise, you “will” wind up with someone in office who has no head for: fairness, science or for equitable politics and getting the important things completed and not just getting the job done for those who pay the most or are the most vocal (read as extreme).

 

People! Do yourself and your great-grandchildren a favor.

PLEASE, GET OUT AND VOTE!!!

 

50 years later & SCOTUS – We’ve Failed…

Really? Really!!!

Okay, 50 years later and SCOTUS (supreme court of the US) has apparently failed people of the U.S., those who are morally inclined for doing the right thing for the many and not just the vocal. 

Religion, as I know it, is a private affair and as such should never play a part in local, state or federal government. Yet, it does.

Yes, when this country was formed, people knew less about science but they knew more about racism, bigotry, suppression, oppression, sexism, discrimination – well, should I continue on…?

My point is, is that this country has changed over a couple of centuries – at least a little bit – and the world has changed. It is supposed to be for the better, not in taking strides to go backwards. 

Yet, this is what the SCOTUS is doing, with their latest decision for Hobby Lobby and contraception, causing us to go backwards in our nations’ progress. That decision was a slippery slope (Justice Ginsburg and Hillary Clinton both stated that). That decision is going to open up a Pandora’s Box of more discrimination across the country – no service for gays, attempts to do away with minimum wage, etc., etc., etc.

Nia-Malika Henderson wrote a great piece on this topic: How Justice Ginsburg’s Hobby Lobby dissent helps shape the debate about reproductive vs. religious rights — www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/07/01/how-justice-ginsburgs-hobby-lobby-dissent-helps-shape-the-debate-about-reproductive-and-religious-rights/ Jul 1, 2014

 

Religion as I understand it, and no disrespect, is that if individuals want to practice any religion, they are free to do so, as long as they are not forcing others to see it or be an unwilling participant. For example, those of us who may be atheist or agnostic – are forced to handle currency with “In God We Trust” or to see it in courtrooms and/or other public governmental institutions.

If one wants to practice their religion – don’t make everyone around you be unwilling (or unwitting) participants. Hobby Lobby, in its zeal wants to implement their religious belief on their thousands of employees and not all of them are religious, just because they work at Hobby Lobby. For those of you who say ‘maybe those employees who don’t like it should get another job elsewhere,’ – what do you know of the plight of those workers? Do you know how easy or difficult it will be for the Hobby Lobby employee to ‘easily’ move on to another job, one that is as good paying (hopefully) as the one they are leaving?

Why are people trying to force religious beliefs on others? Why aren’t the religious, those that are trying to spread religion, letting the non-religious go about their business in peace? Not allowing the non-religious (or even the willing religious) to partake of something like contraception is somewhat abysmal and akin to Sharia Law. Yep, I did say Sharia Law because that what it boils down to when one wants to put their religious stamp on others who do not want to participate.

If one is religious that is fine, you can believe the world was created 6,000 years ago that is quite up to you. There are even those who believe that mankind domesticated dinosaurs but there are no dinosaur fossils (T-Rex, Stegosaurus, Brontosaurus, etc.) as young as 6,000 years old.

But for some people, they believe in the science of the world being created hundreds of millions of years ago (and more) with the human race evolving over the past several million years, with fossils to prove it (Australopithecus, homo habilis, homo erectus, neanderthals, homo sapien, etc.) – that is, if one believes in carbon dating as many do.

We have got to separate and remove religion from politics and government, we have to.

 

The Supreme Court has been making decisions they believed were helping but in fact are actually hindering and causing us to become a have and have not country.

A case in point, the Citizens United decision, where more money can be dumped into politics – that is simply bad but many people seem to believe it is a good idea. It is not.

If those with the most money influences (and dictates behind the scenes) political events and issues because of that vast wealth being sent in at fire hose torrent speeds, the less wealthy will feel the effects and suffer accordingly. This is akin to going back to the robber baron days where the rich were the one’s setting the rules and regulations, the poor “be damned!”

Now of course, not all rich are as maliciously inclined to gobble up all they want with scant disregard to the ‘little people’ or the ’47 percent.’ There are many altruistic wealthy folks, just not enough to overcome the non-altruistic…

 

And the voting rights issue, it is bad enough that we have the problem of political gerrymandering compounding every single problem facing us. Because the SCOTUS knocked down sections of the VRA, we are at this cliff drop off of states making sweeping changes to hinder and impede the votes of certain people. And using the fear of voting fraud in certain conversations keep cropping up, yet, there is very little fraud…

Please do your own wide research on this, “do not” just go to one news outlet and read content there – READ & RESEARCH FROM MULTIPLE, VARIED SOURCES!” Otherwise, you will doom your own knowledge and filter only on what you want to read rather than other varying opinions, which ‘may’ help you to form newer, better and more knowledgeable opinions.

If some of the states wanting to implement some of the draconian voting laws, why not make it easier for the people? Why not put into effect, mobile voter registration vehicles where the vehicle can go to different communities on a rotating basis to let those folks register? This would alleviate the commuting people for many of these folks… right…?

The SCOTUS, in their great wisdom, in cutting out parts of the VRA allowed many states to modify and cripple voting for quite a few citizens.

Overall, the SCOTUS has failed. They have failed, more than likely, in using their personal values rather than logical and contemplative reasoning to decide momentous decisions that spread far and deep into the future.

So ultimately, we, the people of the U.S. have failed along with the Supreme Court. Why? Because we get who we vote for in the political arena. If one votes for a vitriolic individual who refuses to compromise, poo-poos any real science and looking to establish extreme measures to resolve some problem – that is who goes onward doing things many people dislike. 

Subsequently, these individuals in office, they are the ones who go on to decide in some form or fashion the types of people who serve on boards, committees and institutions like the Supreme Court. People like members of the SCOTUS make decisions, which extrapolated out into the future, can cause chagrin, harm and little progress.

We failed because too many people are too short-sighted and use things like gender discrimination or religion, a hugely personal belief, in attempting to brand everyone around them with the same philosophy or belief – whether others want it or not.

SIDEBAR: On the topic of gerrymandering, we have to stop it and stop it now or else we will just see, for the long haul, political parties no longer having truly competitive races with continual gridlock at every turn. We need an independent organization that is bi-partisan to create new district lines in every state, a system that is fair and equitable and not one where we have: “okay, this group here is fine, they will vote for democrats at every election” and “this group over there is fine, they are all one race and wealthy, they will only vote for one party forever.”

Why can’t we stop this gerrymandering nonsense, it is at the heart of political gridlock….!!!??? Or are we doomed to having one party or the other, because of gridlock, blocking commonsense changes and progress for everyone…?

NOTEABLES: To obtain medical supplies dependent on your employer’s beliefs and desires, who in Hades and/or in their right mind would want to do that?

To allow the rich to dictate (again) the direction of politics and societal norms (if we have any left) – who in their right mind would want that?

To allow states to hobble the voting activities of many of their citizens because it would make the voting more slanted towards one party, well, that is just so disingenuous…

Maybe the worst of all, having men decide what is right and best for women and their productive organs (their bodies) – that is simply unbelievable of the utmost magnitude.

Solutions for inequities, religious superiority (anywhere in the world) and other discriminations:

Many of us are as stumped as anyone else, successful and resourceful answers are difficult and difficult to implement once found. There are too many people who are too dogmatic in their beliefs and refuse to modify their beliefs – even if you put illuminative and very verifiable evidence on their plate in front of them, served up with a heaping bounty of ‘no guilt’ and complete lack of finger pointing.

We just do not seem to have enough people in this country (or around the world) who are looking past their own nose, their own short-sightedness and looking down the road to the future as to what will be best for society overall… Too many people (and businesses) are looking at short-term gains and goals and not the long game.

We need ‘more’ people in this country that are willing to:

• Open their eyes and their minds to become better educated and to broaden their mental and moral horizons
  • Read or watch or talk about topics that stretch your own internal compass
• Stop the self-filtering habit of continuous conversations with the ‘same’ people discussing the ‘same’ topics free of differing, open and diverse viewpoints
• Stop the self-filtering habit of only listening to the ‘same’ radio stations (radio or online) and/or to the ‘same’ TV news channels all the time – instead, more people should watch different TV/radio programs
  • Watch PBS, BBC, AlJazeera America, FOX, CNN, Bloomberg and/or CNBC to gain a grasp of other opinions from differing viewpoints, from other perspectives – to see what is going on in other parts of the country (and the world)
  • Stop listening only to individuals who rail and rant about limited topics that make little sense in the short term – such as stopping change, things like renewable energy and gender equality (at everything, as much as is possible but most certainly in pay and power) – go outside of your comfort zones and hear/see multiple other aspects of life and the economy – many people around the country have different thoughts than you – you do not control what others should be thinking or seeing or doing
• Help educate other people in their communities to broaden their minds and stop thinking and acting as if we were still in America of 1800, or 1880, or even 1955
  • People HAVE GOT to start thinking of those long term goals that was mentioned previously, 10, 20, 50 and 100 years into the future – yes, there may be pain now, the initial cost and the mental disequilibrium, which is sure to arise
• Help the less advantaged people rise up and become better, where in the end, the entire society prospers and not just the few who had it handed to them from their ancestors – those who simply took what was available while oppressing and suppressing others

None of this can be accomplished without many more people ‘stretching’ their minds to learn newer things, accept more ways of thinking and certainly not least – becoming more adaptive to the ever changing world of the future. And being old, young, religious, straight, gay, white, brown, black, blue or green – none of that excuses anyone from changing for the better and bringing EVERYONE forward with them.

There is no excuse for being unwilling to change! We are moving further into the 21^st century, all of us must change…

 

 

 

Politicians kissing the back side of Billionaires & Millionaires – WRONG move by the Supreme Court…

It seems as if the ‘regular’ person is never going to get a break, the way the very wealthy seem to receive breaks. Not with the way money flows into the coffers of so many political parties – and I am not calling out any one party at all.

Instead, what I am calling out is how we are now moving down the slipperiest slope of all, the one of money in politics – and each year, for those of you who are far-sighted and forward thinking, it is going to become worse than the previous year as some of the rich become richer and some of them become ever greedier and more demanding of how others should follow them (i.e. religion, abortion, you name it), regardless of how ‘you’ feel and believe about it….

We have so many people in positions of power and affluence that do not really care about the ‘regular’ person on Main Street. Yes, sure, these people may mouth the words that they care but they are not putting any action behind those words.

After having the Supreme Court rule in favor of groups like Citizens United and now with the recent ruling in favor of McCutheon – the wealthiest donors can shovel massive amounts of money to all of the political parties they chose. With that kind of money, it is difficult for the ‘regular’ person to really influence anything. Does this remind you of the robber baron days or the days when the moneyed of the land simply bought whatever outcome they wanted, whether it was good or bad for the ‘regular’ person…?

 I am not at all indicating that all people with power and affluence are not acting for the betterment of all people. I am only referencing those that you see in the news and on the streets every day and you know who they are, you do not need me to tell you that.

These are individuals who, for any or all of the reasons below, simply want to keep gaining power, wealth and affluence without any regard for others. The reasons, well, for more:

• Money to buy more things (bigger yachts) to show off
• Power to get what they want when they want
• Affluence to affect more outcomes to win more, MORE favorable legal, financial rulings in order to amass more money

 

But going to congress or the senate used to be an aspiration for many and it did not matter if you had money or not, as long as you were perceived to want to do good for the folks back home. Well, now, without campaign finance reforms we are getting to the point where you have to have money, LOTS of money.

Are the days of a ‘regular’ person going to the congress or senate going to come back, I doubt it. Without some kind of mass revolt across the country to stop Gerrymandering, we’ll keep on seeing people, some of who are flat out crackpots or who thinks very differently. For example, there is one individual from S. Carolina who ‘may’ be such a person who thinks very differently. He wanted to endorse a bill, with new language, somewhat different than that proposed by a 10 year old girl who wanted to have the Wooly Mammoth as the state’s official fossil. The ‘new’ language was adding (paraphrasing here) words to the effect of “the wooly mammoth, a beast created by God.”

— That kind of blew me away that this S. Carolina state senator would add a religious statement to a bill, especially when the fossil is over 10,000 years old and when many in the religious community below the earth was created by god 6,000 years ago. How do you reconcile that…??? If you choose to believe in a god, any god, that is your right but don’t mix politics and religion…

 

At any rate, “WE” have to figure out some way to pull back these stupid, unjust laws created by the Supreme Court that is now opening the spigots, which are actually flood gates, of money to various political parties.

• Look at what the Koch brothers are doing across the country with their money, influencing races.
• Look at the casino magnate, Adelson, and all the conservative political parties beating a path to his door for his financial largesse as he attempts to influence political activities.

 

“WE” have to figure out some way to pull money back out of politics so that ‘regular’ people can have a chance to go to congress or the senate to make better decisions for everyone, not just one race or one party or one gender.

You need more proof? Look at all of the individuals who have gone to congress and the senate in the last decade or two and look at their wealth – many of these folks come out with MILLIONS in their “personal” piggy bank, money that the wealthy donors (and you) provided for their ‘campaigns.’

 

The Supreme Court purportedly stated that the decision was no different than other 1^st Amendment rights. Well, many of us disagree, this was not a first amendment type of right – this puts us back into the dark ages and the industrial age when money ruled over right and wrong, when money allowed certain people massive power over everyone else to do whatever they wanted at any time…

The Supreme Court should have done the ‘right’ thing…