A Call To Action

“Danger, Will Robinson,” “Beware the Ides of March,” “Perhaps extinct animals should be left extinct,” “The British are Coming,” “Beware Greeks bearing gifts,” “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US,” “Winter is Coming!”

So many famous stories, whether rooted in science fiction or history, past or present, are built on the premise of future danger. Stress a need for the protagonist to act proactively to avoid an impending catastrophe. To anticipate what the enemy will do next and take actions to prepare for, mitigate or prevent the intended outcome.

Sometimes those in power heed the warning; rally the troops, fortify supplies, prepare countermeasures. Other times they fall on deaf ears; tragedy ensues, civilizations fall, buildings crumble.

The situation America faces today is no less dire than those above. Donald Trump poses a clear and present danger to the American dream and democracy as we know it.

Unfortunately instead of memorable rallying cries, for the most part our leaders offer deafening silence. An occasional stern warning about lines Deranged Donald dare not cross. A nice sound bite or tweet from an individual representative, but as a whole, crickets.

My fellow Americans, “winter is coming!” We are rapidly accelerating towards the point of no return. We cannot afford to sit back passively and wait for something as obvious as a Reichstag Fire to recognize a real national emergency exists.

We cannot be so naive as to place all our trust in 2020, that free and fair national elections will solve this crisis. The stakes are too high and the future too nebulous. We believed the polls in 2016 too. Only Donald Trump, a man obsessed with polls, believed his election was guaranteed despite most indicators. Only he knew his election to be a fait accompli. One so inevitable that he promised to protest the election results only in the event he lost. It makes one wonder what he knew that nobody else did.

The point is we can’t put all of our eggs in one basket. We need to be more aggressive. The best way to defeat a bully is to bring the fight to him. We need our citizens to engage in bold and direct action. National strikes, sit-ins, DAILY demonstrations and other disruptive but non-violent methods are required.

We need our leaders to take to the steps of the Capital EVERY DAY. Bullhorns in hand they should be leading the crowd. Listing all of the misdeeds being committed by this den of corruption. Publicly read pages from “The List” by Amy Siskind that painstakingly details the weekly actions taken by this caravan of corrupt criminals that pose a threat to our democratic norms.

Now that the government shutdown is averted Nancy Pelosi should be entirely focused on ensuring a Presidential shutdown. If necessary the Democratic majority should refuse to advance the people’s business until legislation is brought to the House and Senate floor protecting Mueller and his investigation.

“A storms a-coming!” “Stop playing Russian roulette with our democracy!” “BASTA!” None may have the ring of “the British are coming,” but the stakes are no less important. The resistance needs a rallying cry, a call to action. Something that will stir people to leave our comfort zones and make proactive sacrifice. To understand that the time to act is now

The 3-D Painting

When I was a kid 3-D computer generated pictures were quite the fad. The ones you would stare cross eyed at for hours on end. Bits and pieces of the big picture coming in and out of focus. Your frustration builds with the knowledge that something epic awaits if you could only get your eyes to focus the right away. Then when you’re about to give up and your eyes start tearing up from exhaustion; voila! It all comes into focus.

It was almost always some type of exhilarating scene. A dinosaur chase that featured a T-Rex reaching out to grab you in the foreground. A school of dolphins seemingly leaping out of the pixelated water and into your living room. The payoff always worth the effort.

As I try process the actions of Donald Trump and this den of corruption I feel like I’m back in high school staring at one of those pictures. I concentrate on all that’s been done these past few years and bits of the real picture, the hidden agenda, slowly comes into focus.

Look to the right. A bunch of middle aged smirking white men seem to be looking away from the rest of the picture. They shake hands and pat each other’s backs in a sense of accomplishment. A few appear to have their heads buried in the sand and others have their arms raised upright in a rapturous pose.

Behind them you can make out the dreams of the GOP establishment. Billboards line a pot holed highway. One advertises the end of entitlements and social welfare programs. “Say goodbye to your healthcare, food stamps, social security, and public benefits but hello to your temporary $200 tax cut,” it reads. Through a thick smog you make out the words of the next sign, “Regulations! We don’t need no stinkin regulations!” it says. “Koch Brother’s Toll booth ahead – $40” reads the last.”

Is that Jesus moving into the forefront? A tear falling from his eye as he poses triumphantly on his Jerusalem throne. His foot resting on the throats of Muslims, Hindus, and a host of other non-believers as he takes in his heavenly kingdom.

Now close your right eye. Off to the left! Is that a shirtless Russian man riding on a horse? Standing in his shadow a seemingly endless line of workers doing hard labor. Rolling oil barrels directly into the Kremlin. Working with heavy machinery a pile of weapons of mass destruction amassed in the forefront. Ordinary looking people laying steel pipeline and rail. A massive red army on the march westward.

Open both eyes again and all you see is buckets of money falling from the sky like rain. Gold, silver and jewels piling up on the ground. International currencies from around the globe floating into focus. Shekls, rubles, dollars, euros, pounds, yens, even whatever they use in China all accounted for.

The middle part of the picture is the hardest to make out. Your eyes consistently distracted by the cheetoh orange swirls at the center of it all. The details that do emerge so horrible one must look away in horror from time to time. Military choppers fly through the sky. Major US cities lined with national guard as skyscrapers burn. Armed sentries sit in surveillance towers standing watch over the whole of America. Our borders encased in a wall of barb wire and chain linked fence give off the appearance of a giant prison yard.

Other random visions appear so quickly you are barely able to make sense of them. Is that a throng of young protestors with their hands cuffed behind their backs? Many appear bloodied, their placards and signs of dissent scattered and trampled in the streets. Others look defeated. A single marijuana joint hangs from their lips as they are loaded into a paddy wagon. A line of police cars queues up outside the overflowing prison.

Large ships packed stern to stern with disheveled and scared looking minorities and immigrants. Men in hoodies. Women in hijabs. The Statue of Liberty a small dot in the distant horizon as the boats move further away from America’s shores. A real national emergency unfolding

You look away blinking back tears. Your concentration broken. What the hell does it mean? These disjointed images that flood your brain. You realize you have a choice. Start anew and try to make sense of it all. Recross those eyes and keep staring until the entirety of the big picture reveals itself, or walk away. Grow apathetic with the hope that someone else comes along who is able to see it for themselves. An independent arbiter so to speak who may or may not tell you what it is that’s really there.

For me the choice is clear. There is no option but to refocus and keep looking until it all makes sense. The entire picture emerges. I’ve invested too much to choose otherwise and walk away now. No, much like I did in high school I’ll keep searching for that final payoff.

There’s another funny thing about those pictures that motivates me to keep me looking. Sure you initially spend hours staring and talking about them, but once you figure them out and you “see it,” you quickly lose interest in them. Pretty soon after that they get taken off the walls. Relegated to the far reaches of the garage or attic, frame cracked, forgotten.

Fake National Emergency

It’s never been about the god damn wall or our national security. It’s about power and the consolidation of it.

Donald Trump was so afraid of financial ruin, so worried that his family name would become a laughingstock that he conspired with a foreign enemy against the interests of America.

He will go to whatever lengths necessary to preserve his legacy, fortune and freedom. He makes Trump will use these powers to further divide a once proud immigrant nation. He will intimidate and mobilize troops into California and other border states or sanctuary cities to enforce his will. He will declare martial law, suspend due process and otherwise act the strong man.

He will erect his barbed wire along our border and build not a wall to keep Mexicans out, but a prison yard to keep Americans in. He will openly play Russian roulette and won’t stop until the final bullet pierces the very heart of our democracy’s soul #NationalEmergency #Resist

Root Cause Analysis

Imagine if America’s response to 9/11 didn’t include an examination of airline safety regulations. How do you expect to solve a problem if you won’t even acknowledge a root cause?

If placed in the wrong hands guns kill people. The same way cars, airplanes, bombs, poisons and narcotics do. The goal is to enact common sense rules and regulations that mitigate the chance these potential instruments of terror will wind up in the wrong hands.

This isn’t rocket science. If you can require psychological examination before a person may proceed with their constitutionally protected right to an abortion surely we can do the same before they purchase an assault rifle. Enough is enough #NeverAgain #GunReformNow

The Ability To Lead

No question men are presumed to be qualified leaders. When they interview for a position of power rarely does one question their “ability” to lead. Of course nothing is further from the truth. Some people are not to fit lead, period. Even some who excel in other areas of a team or lower levels of leadership.

In both business and politics unqualified men are thrusted into leadership positions on the basis of their subject matter experience or connections alone.

More often than not the reverse is true for women. Before being afforded a position of authority a female must prove worthy. She must tangibly demonstrate and defend that she has both the personality, commitment and acumen to succeed as a leader. This is evidenced in everything from the questions asked in interviews to the coverage of the candidate.

Although the status quo is unquestionably biased against women the solution is not to start treating the female candidates like their male counterparts. It’s to start treating the male candidates, to start reporting on their attributes as if they were a female.

Don’t get me wrong. On their own the stories of Klobuchar’s treatment of her staff do not disqualify her from a position of power. In fact good leaders are demanding. They expect to be surrounded by competence. They expect their peers to act rationally and in accordance with the facts, science and logic presented of them. They make decisions that advance the collective mission, not individual self interests or monopolistic blocs.

The truth is for years we demanded too little of our leaders. The dangerous game of Russian roulette our democracy now plays is the end result of what plagues our Republic. A profound failure of leadership. A country run aground by leaders who continually put party over people. Elected officials who fail to grasp the most fundamental principle of representative leadership. That first and foremost you serve the interests of the majority of your constituency, regardless of self or party interest.

Klobuchar has a strong and accomplished record that suggests the ability to compromise and stand on principle when necessary. There is no doubt she is fearless and can get things done. The job of President, however, is more than that.

To recover our values and the loss of worldwide credibility caused by this caravan of the corrupt will require the cooperation of a diverse set of true leaders. It will demand true diversity of thought and compromise across political, gender, race and religious spectrums.

As the Mooch says, “the fish rots from the head.” We need a leader who is relentlessly positive and unnervingly empathetic. Now more than ever we need to examine each and every candidate to ensure such is the case

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/02/13/amy-klobuchar-sexism-jennifer-palmieri-225026

Drain a Swamp, Find a Cesspool

This is what happens when you legitimize a once marginalized populance. When you invite them to take a seat at the big boy table and give credence to their message, provide a platform for their voice.

Their hate metastasizes disproportionate to their representation. Their rot spreads; infects neighbors and associates until the stench takes over the greater whole.

https://www.vox.com/2018/7/9/17525860/nazis-russell-walker-arthur-jones-republicans-illinois-north-carolina-virginia

The Apostle Pence

If our Comrade in Chief and his caravan of the corrupt read books perhaps they’d know that Jesus was a dark skinned peace loving community organizer of questionable descent who handed out healthcare and food to the poor. Without turning a profit.

That Jesus hated the aristocracy not because they were rich and had plenty, but because so many were poor and had nothing

That Jesus was a pacifist, who preached against the 1%, and respected “working women,” foreigners and the disenfranchised.

That Jesus preached first and foremost that it was impossible to serve both money and God.

It makes you wonder how those who disagree will ultimately be judged #Resist #Karma #HistoryHasItsEyesOnYou

The Mockingjay Calls

The oncoming conflict was so obvious. Heck the most notorious American conman alive was the opposition. Did anyone with even half a brain really believe he was there to save America.

It’s truly laughable! We knew he was a pawn…the overwhelming majority of us. A man so repugnant that his own reflection screams back “ImPeach.” Some of us chose to turn a blind eyes for selfish reasons, others out of fear they’d be labeled an alarmist, but we knew he had the stench of caviar and old fashioned American whiskey all over him…a pawn for the rich and putinful.

Even Obama…chose to put his faith in our institutions…The dreams of his ancestors and the audacity of hope…til the end. We would have listened to him. The majority, the military, all of us had he taken a stand. Had he taken that microphone on January 20th and said what the FBI had told him…how the Russians had interfered in our elections…attacked our most fundamental institution…an act of war.

We would have listened had he appointed an independent commission. Had he given them 90 days to confirm one question and one question only…had he conditioned the peaceful turnover of power on that one condition and that one condition only…

One question…ninety days.

Was Donald Trump fairly elected by and if he were to assume office would he be working for the American people?

In the interest of national security we would have listened. Ignored the rantings and protestations that would have followed. It wouldn’t have been easy but we would have listened.

I honestly believe Obama considered it. It was his duty to protect our security interests until his very last day in office. McConnell and the GOP efforts to strip him of his power a year early notwithstanding. A known and imminent threat slithered into the most powerful office in the world, it was not off caravaning many thousand miles away.

Perhaps it was our fault, the majority of like minded Americans who hold the ideals of this nation so sacred. Perhaps it was our responsibility to push this great experiment in individual freedoms forward. Perhaps Obama would have fought harder had it not all been so difficult. Had we fought more for Garland he may have believed he had a play. Instead he put his faith in hope.

There’s still a chance he is right. That we avoid the worst of this.

It’s not the institutions that will save us though. As nice as it is to see the lowest branch of Congress flex it’s oversight muscle the truth is they hold absolutely no ability to hold this caravan of the corrupt to account. Try as they may I’ve seen this story enough times to realize that the legislative branch is no longer a separate and equal branch.

The same is now true of what once was our independent judiciary. Two Supreme Court Justices hoisted into lifetime seats by a perhaps illegitimate leader. 25% of the jurors who will ultimately determine the limits of Executive Privilege hand selected by the Defendant. It still boggles my mind that our defenders of the constitution allowed such a blatant coup to take place.

That’s not all. The rot even more prevalent at our lower levels of justice. As of February 6, 2019, our Senate has confirmed 85 Article III judges nominated by a man who is an active target of a counterintelligence investigation, this includes 30 judges for the US Court of Appeals and 53 judges for the District Courts.

Yet here we stand debating about the need for the extreme vetting of already extremely vetted refugees of war. We restlessly await the unilateral declaration of a “national emergency” to contend with the unprecedented threat these war ravaged women and children pose to our national security.

Meanwhile the very men hired to defend our national security, the ones we actually rely on to keep us safe day in and day out remain largely unvetted. Rather than worry about a future theoretical threat or systematically failure perhaps Americans need to turn their attention to the present day actual threat.

Our system of checks and balances has failed. The constitutional crisis is here. The head of our National Security Agency was an ACTIVE agent of a foreign adversary when given the position. He remained in that role with unabated access to our nation’s most sensitive secrets for 19 additional days after the President learned that this was the case and that Flynn had lied about it.

For more than three months the man who has led our Department of Justice, charged with enforcing and overseeing our nation’s laws in accordance with the Constitution, has gone unvetted. When he finally appeared in front of Congress it was clear that he was an unqualified buffoon and clear benefactor of some type of presidential quid pro quo.

These examples aren’t outliers. We all know of the historic turnover and corruption that has taken place at the highest levels of this administration. We know of at least 30 examples of high level advisors receiving security clearances despite the recommendations of our intelligence agencies. We know of the advisory ethic opinions that have been ignored and disregarded. Forget extreme vetting, there isn’t even routine vetting of these protectors of our freedom.

We are past that point where we can rely on the vote as a legitimate check and balance. Yes, the Blue Wave was real but take note of the corruption and controversies that took place at the State levels. Pay attention to the widespread and overall successful suppression efforts that took place in Florida, Georgia, Texas and Carolina, key battlegrounds.

Our Comrade in Chief finds safety and job security in the chaos he stokes. He uses it to his advantage. Time is not on our side. We must continue to rally the vote and identify strong candidates for 2020 but more importantly we must act Stop turning a blind eye. Take to the streets in peaceful protest and make clear who we are. We are the majority.

To move forward the dreams of our ancestors we must demand answers. Take comfort in the audacity of hope and hold those who wish to trample on our ideals to account. The spirit of the American people has been a beacon of hope and freedom throughout the world for over two centuries. Our diversity our greatest strength, the backbone of our success.

There are days the optimism swells and it feels like we’re getting closer. Days when the news of the Mueller investigation inspire or public rallies prove effective. When Michelle Obama made her unexpected appearance on the Grammy’s stage it was one of those moments. When she walked out between Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith and JLo, in that moment it was as if they held a giant Mockingjay pin up to this administration. A symbol of hope, defiance and resistance.

And over the swell of the applause which reached all the way to my Virginia living room carried the voice of the Mockingjay with a welcomed and unmistakeable reminder…

Yes we can, yes we can, #YESWECAN

Banana Republic

I had a boss who was fond of the phrase “perception is reality.” He used it as an excuse to justify his inaction for almost any employee related conflict. No point in meeting to explain whatever employee issue was being raised that day “perception is reality” he’d say. It drove me crazy each and every time.

While true perception is an individual’s sense of reality. Let’s also be clear, reality is reality. I may perceive the Earth to be flat, but science tells us otherwise.

That’s the thing. Facts exist. There is such a thing as truth. A good leader understands this and knows that one of their most important jobs is to shape perception to match reality.

They rely on facts, science, logic and reason to persuade the majority to get in the boat and row towards a common goal. When JFK announced America would put a man on the moon within years hardly anyone perceived it possible. Good leadership not only got the majority to believe it but made it a reality. Pushed the naysayers to the margins.

Then there’s another kind of leader. Still skilled communicators but the arrogant narcissistic types. The ones who don’t take “no” for an answer. Who degrade, demean and harass their “subordinates.” Who talk a lot without saying anything of substance. Who take credit for the good work of others and shift blame when something goes wrong. Who surround themselves with ass kissers and “yes” men.

These type shape perception not to match reality, but to match what they wish their followers to perceive as reality. They use slogans, rumors, propaganda and lies to do so. Repeat them until they rise to the level of alternative fact. Feed on the discontent of the margins to spread their falsehoods. Power to the people. To those who could’ve been a contender, if only…

There are no two ways about this Russia business. Donald Trump, the so called President of the United States, and his corrupt caravan of criminals and enablers were working in cahoots with and for the benefit of Puppetmaster Putin and his henchmen of oligarchs.

Donald Trump is the subject of an active counterintelligence investigation and an unindicted coconspirator in a current criminal case. He’s about to deliver a “state of the union” that will ignore the consensus conclusions of our intelligence community and reject the proven findings of science and industry experts.

The entire production dependent on phony statistics, false equivalents and personal anecdotes unsupported by evidence. Absolutely none of it will be based on reality. Instead what we will hear is a mosaic of lies, propaganda and alternative facts all designed to craft the perception that America faces a national emergency that only our Dear Leader, Donald Trump is able to solve.

Welcome to the banana republic that is Trump’s America. Where reality no longer matters. When all the evidence points one way Donald Trump and his merry bannon of deplorables will insist you ignore your eyes and ears and believe otherwise.

This country was founded on the principle of informed consent. Informed meaning look it up yourself. Do some independent research. Trust but verify through multiple sources and corroboration. Tune out opinion. Focus on the facts. I double dog dare anyone to offer a plausible innocent explanation for all of the Russian ties;

The meetings, the selective memory, the soft talk, the financial ties, the server communication, the false equivalents, the sympathetic appointees, the obstruction, the lies, everything being done by the agency formerly known as State Dept., the intelligence gaffes, the lack of sanctions, the removal of sanctions, the ill advised withdrawal from Syria and Afghanistan, the revival of the nuclear race, the secret meetings, the refusal to criticize, the insults and slights of our traditional allies, the childlike denials and ensuing bouts of panic, the obstruction again, the dismantling of our democratic institutions…on and on it goes

Alternative State of the Union

The so called President, who happens to be the subject of an active counterintelligence investigation and unindicted coconspirator in a current criminal case, is about to deliver a “state of the union” based on lies, propaganda and alternative facts.

His report to Congress will ignore and dispute the consensus conclusions of our intelligence community. The realities of the world stage and current threat assessments of career apolitical diplomats.

It will reject the proven findings of science and industry experts. Mock the need for regulation or alternative energies. Rely on phony statistics, false equivalents and personal anecdotes not supported by evidence.

So riddle me this why allow this farce to take place at all? Does anyone really believe it will fulfill the President’s constitutional duty that from time to time they are to deliver to Congress “information of the State of the Union.” Of course not.

The President of the United States is a clear and present danger to the safety and security of our nation. Stop extending him a platform from which to spread his propaganda and lies. Stop extending the courtesies, respect and traditions that typically come with the office of the Presidency when it is well established that they will not be reciprocated or honored by the man who sits in that position.

Start by holding an unannounced boycott of the “alternative state of the union” in its entirety. Democrats, progressives and those who aren’t interested in delusion and conspiracy theory should simply not show up. Leave half the chamber empty. Strip away the politics from the spectacle and leave it for what it is, a rally for Trump.

Let those who wish to identify as a dinosaur expose themselves to the world. Each time the crowd stands to cheer their Dear Leader, appease his authoritarian instincts to advance their self serving agendas let the camera zoom in on the scarlet letter they wear on their sleeves. The mark that this outdated way of thinking and very belief system will soon be relegated to the history books. A cautionary tale in history’s annals #HistoryHasItsEyesOnYou