“We, the People”

We must not take for granted the individual rights guaranteed to us all within the Declaration of Independence. Our leaders and citizenry must proactively act to ensure that America remains a place where “we, the people” includes women, homosexuals, Liberals, minorities, the poor, immigrants and even Muslims!

The caravan of criminals and corrupt enablers who now steer America’s course seek to extinguish the American dream; to legislate a permanent caste system into existence. They desire to mute Lady Liberty’s words and the hopes of every JP Hernandez, Halil el Burtun, Juan Santos, LeBain James, Anyone Gay, and Lehman Sister who dares wish for a better life within our shores.

America is an idea rooted in concepts of empathy and the righteousness that each individual is born with inalienable rights and religious freedoms. Greed and Christian fundamentalism now threaten to destroy that framework. Seek to deny entry into the land of opportunity from “we, the people” and permit admittance to only “we, the people of merit.”

Do we really want to change the paradigm? Deny that diversity is the American identity? Redefine the scope of the Constitution so that it protects corporations like JP Morgan, Halliburton, Monsanto, Bain, Amway and the Koch Brother at the expense of the individual?

What If….

Two simple words that comprise one of the most powerful phrases in the English language. Once the psyche enters a “what if” wormhole it may be lost for hours, occupied in an endless maze of regrets and gratitudes. What if I had been there…What if i hadn’t quit…What if those chads didn’t hang…What if she had said yes…What if I spoke up…

The one thing I learned in Hebrew School was “never forget,” and I haven’t. We know what happens when a citizenry turns a blind eye to the everyday horrors unfolding around them. When a deluge of carefully orchestrated propaganda, false equivalents, sound bites and alternative facts enable a fearful and threatened demographic to perform acrobatic feats of cognitive dissonance to normalize, what in other times would be considered irrational actions. I will not suffer that fate. There is too much to lose. The only way to preserve the dreams of the future is to heed the lessons of the past.

Donald Trump is far from an original. The recent past alone provides a litany of would be authoritarians who proved capable of hijacking democratic institutions to slowly consolidate power. That Trump is the first to so blatantly do so from the Oval Office hardly makes him unique in his technique.

He seeks to divide the citizens of this country along racial, socioeconomic and political lines in order to deflect from his own scandals and advance the agenda and interests of a select few. He uses his bully pulpit to marginalize, belittle, conflate, delegitimize and, if necessary, squash dissent and opposition. Doing so allows him to continue presenting alternative facts, only now without the alternatives. Lies then become truth, and perception reality.

Though his tactics are tried and true the danger posed is no less real. Donald Trump and his merry bannon of deplorables pose a clear and present danger to the experiment in individual freedoms our founding fathers set in motion generations ago. He makes no secret of his intent; his desire to deconstruct and eliminate outdated democratic institutions. He seeks to rip the very fabric of America’s soul from its identity, to dim the light that serves as a beacon of hope and freedom to the poor, disenfranchised and oppressed who suffer across the globe.

The right to a free and independent press, the right of assembly, the right to be free from religious persecution, the necessity of checks and balances with three equal, though often inept, branches of government. These essential ideals are all under attack. The yuge majority of Americans realize that we are the great melting pot. That diversity IS the American identity and what has always made us great. We can’t change that anymore than a tiger can change its stripes. A list of all the great contributions immigrants and refugees have made to this country would dwarf a list of their misdeeds a million times over. Yet that is what appears to be at stake.

To those who continue to support our so called President, understand this. All you are doing is identifying yourself as a dinosaur. Painting a scarlet letter on your sleeve that your way of thinking and very belief system will soon be relegated to the history books. Think carefully about your next move.

The pathway to perdition is paved in ignorance. Do not suffer that fate. Do not remain passive. Future generations need not wonder where you stood when our leaders decided to play Russian roulette with our democracy. Do not be left to wonder what if…

People Over Party

Resist the urge to take the bait. This isn’t a story about Trump or Clinton. It’s a story about pedophilia and sex trafficking. It’s about the private lifestyle of the rich and powerful and their privileged status that sits above the laws of accountability.

Regardless of last name, regardless of party allegiance, whoever took part in the illicit behavior, helped to cover it up, obstruct the investigation of, or failed to protect key witnesses or preserve evidence in should be held to account.

We are all on the same side here. Let’s demand a full and transparent investigation. In fact, let’s reserve a special place in Guantanamo for the guilty. The national emergency exists within our borders and “we, the people”need to coalesce and unify around our common interests and shared values.

Drown out the divisive voices and cast them back to the corners. If the preponderance of evidence shows that Trump and Clinton are two sides of the same coin, so be it. This isn’t a political fight, it’s a moral one.

We Reap What We Sow

It’s easy to toss labels and dismiss our so called President as a hate filled racist. To blame him for the obvious divide that exists in our country. To point to the recent spate of mass murders as evidence of Trump’s poisonous effect on our society. The truth isn’t that simple though. To truly heal as a nation America is going to have to realize that Trump isn’t the cause of America’s ills, he’s the result.

‪The embodiment of the 21st century American dream. A child of the 1% with no discernible talents, skills or virtues beyond that of self promotion. A self aggrandizing narcissist with an unhealthy obsession for celebrity and fame‬.

More than the violence portrayed in video games and entertainment over the past generation what America has truly placed value on is fame and celebrity, at any cost. Time and again greed and avarice has been rewarded with magazine covers and reality tv shows.

Talentless hacks have launched fashion, music, reality tv, and pop culture empires with no qualifications beyond a well timed sex tape, teen pregnancy, failed audition, sound bite or in some cases drunken debauchery. Amoral executives celebrated for the ungodly sums of money they have amassed as their workers struggle pay check to check anxious in the knowledge they are one unforeseen expense away from ruin.

Billionaires who boast about paying a lower tax rate than the chauffeurs who drive them around town. Who unironically cite their ability to artificially manipulate the free market as proof of their economic genius and capitalist ability. Corrupt politicians who lack all empathy and who care more for the unborn than the living. Who sell their influence to the highest lobbyist and unabashedly serves the party over we, the people.

More than the problem Donald Trump is a symptom of what plagues America. Our so called President stands for nothing and cares only for power, fame and money. He is driven by ratings and vengeance, and looks only for the next score to settle, a deal to win. All he knows is how to marginalize, belittle, conflate, de-legitimize and, when necessary, squash dissent and opposition. Doing so allows him to continue presenting alternative facts, only now without the alternatives. Lies then become truth, and perception reality

Where were they radicalized?

America has a domestic terrorism problem. We must confront that fact with the same urgency we rightfully demand of Muslim leaders. Whether we like it or not, the threat is similar. We need to take a hard look at what drives each new perpetrator to commit such heinous acts. What motivates these overwhelming number of young, white, males to have such blatant disregard for human life. We need to ask ourselves, “where were they radicalized?”

Behavior matter. This has nothing to do with politics. Look at Donald Trump’s words. Log into twitter and review his timeline of tweets. It is repulsive. You’d be ashamed of your child if that was the method they used to become class President let alone leader of the free world.

When you dehumanize people, treat them as less than human and threaten to “send them back” as if they are defective merchandise. When you use your platform to characterize people who live within our shores as “animals,” as unworthy of the basic inalienable rights bestowed upon all men, you create a culture of indifference. You birth a generation that is losing the ability to empathize. That sees targets and avatars in their crosshairs rather than sons and daughters. You create an expectation of violence and bloodshed. You spit on the vision of our founding fathers and blasphemy the words of our Declaration of Independence. The essential truths set forth therein.

When you draw false equivalents between those who protest for equality and freedom with those who represent hatred and ignorance. Who use tiki torches and strap assault rifles to their bodies to intimidate and snuff out those who seek progress. When you see the good in klansmen, neo-Nazis and white supremacists you give voice to the fringe of society. You enable their message of hate and violence. Allow those who hate for other reasons, who feel excluded, isolated and left out to rationalize their desires.

When you bow to the statues of confederate soldiers, display the hate filled flag on your pick up truck, and conflate the history of the Confederacy with that of the United States you deny the American dream. When you name call, cyberbully, race bait and shame people based on their looks you encourage our kids to do the same. To separate themselves from those they don’t like and humiliate them for it. When a pro- life agenda only includes the unborn, the living become expendable.

We reap what we sow. This is not a problem that can be prayed away. There are no alternative facts. The time for cognitive dissonance, for denial, is past. Save us the hypocrisy of lowering your flags to half mast. In fact, raise them Stars and Stripes high and proud instead. This is America! This is what we’ve come to accept as normal.

This is what we will remain until we elect leaders who understand, who as a nation we were founded to be. Who lead with the knowledge that the American identity exists. That the vast majority of us want the same things. That we share so many more values in common than we do ideas that tear us apart. That there is no “us” or”them”, “red” or “blue.”

From shore to shore America is comprised of Republicans, Democrats and Independents, young and old, Muslim, Christian, Jews, atheists and other, Irish, Italian, Asian, African, European and Native, scientists and clergy, gun enthusiasts and gun control advocates, men and women. We are the great melting pot. That diversity IS the American identity. We can’t change that anymore than a tiger can change its stripes. A list of all the great contributions immigrants and refugees have made to this country would dwarf a list of their misdeeds a million times over.

To solve school violence, immigration, terrorism, or even the opioid epidemic requires we all respect multiple views and ideas. It requires a change in Washington, DC. An understanding that we are a nation built on compromise, trust and acceptance.

Sending Out An S.O.S.

I’m not sure if it’s willful blindness, cowardice or complicitness but Americans, and more importantly our Democratic and opposition leaders need to wake up to a simple fact.

The American system of checks and balances is dead. The constitutional crisis is here.

Newsflash The GOP control the White House, the Senate and the Supreme Court!

You have zero chance of getting answers from the caravan of corrupt criminals and enablers who are already in control and occupy the three most powerful arms of the US government. Perhaps we’ve been too busy paying attention to the distractor in Chief to realize that an entire caste system has been legislated into existence.

More troubling is the entire judiciary has been transformed to enforce the values of white Christian America long past the point demographics would have otherwise allowed. To interpret “we, the people” to include JP Morgan, Halliburton, Monsanto, Bain, Amway and the Koch Brothers; but not JP Hernandez, Halil el Burtun, Juan Santos, LeBain Johnson, Anyone Gay, or the Koch Sisters.

All this time we spend focused on Donald Trump. Countless hours spent reporting on his every outrageous move, sound bite, and tweet. Wake up and smell the coffee! The man himself is not the story. He’s a means to an end, a pawn, a hairy arm to distract you fools. To give you something to talk about. Why on earth do you think nobody in the GOP will hold him to account?!?!.

To date, the McConnell led Senate has confirmed 146 Article III judges nominated by a man who REMAINS an active target of a counterintelligence investigation. This includes 44 judges to the US Court of Appeals and 99 judges to the District Courts, and 2 to Associate Justices to the US Supreme Court.

The majority of these mostly white men will be the ones to determine the limits of Executive Privilege and the House Democrat investigative reach. Do you trust them to stop this bloodless coup?

Rather than face this truth Democrat leaders march on and inspire us to vote Blue in 2020. They choose to take us down the path of traditional checks and balances, blind to the fact an unconventional threat looms. They bellow that our participation in the political process is the last great hope to restore our democracy! To remove the openly corrupt leader from our nation’s highest office and restore common decency!

Meanwhile, Rome burns. This isn’t a political fight. There is no political opposition only a consolidated faction of self interested criminals who seek to control the future of the greatest nation on Earth. To think our participation in the suspect and possibly rigged electoral system which placed the inept and unpopular buffoon into office in the first place is the key to his removal, ridiculous.

Does anyone think the way to remove a corrupt authoritarian from office is to vote him out in a free and fair election that he controls? In the history of the world has a single free and fair election been lost by an incumbent authoritarian in control of that country’s executive branch, and with absolute and penultimate legislative and judicial support behind them as well?

Seeing that Deranged Donald also knows a criminal indictment awaits him upon his return to civilian life and me thinks the Democrats have a better chance of surviving a round of Russian roulette than they do of taking back the White House.

It’s time to get our heads out of our asses and steer this ship away from the iceberg. If our current captains can’t do it than perhaps we need to look beyond the control tower for some help

Tick tock

It’s easy to bury one’s head in the sand and ignore the blatant patterns and lessons of history. To dismiss comparisons with the past as hyperbolic ravings rather than examine the similarities to present day America will certainly allow you to sleep better at night. Just don’t be surprised to wake up one day to find you live in a ghost town. Lifelong friends rounded up in the dead of night when their names appeared in an immigrant database.

Look around, look around; we sit here today and bare witness;

as refugee kids are separated and locked in cages separate from other family, as open air facilities are transformed into housing facilities and like minorities are packed like sardines into them concentrated into confinement, as an entire political party and its leader refer to these minorities in dehumanizing ways and echo policy that to protect our borders and working class jobs we need to “send them back,” only those with “merit” may return after extreme vetting takes place.

as walls and artificial barriers are erected to control populations and designed not just to keep those beyond our borders from coming in but also to keep those within from leaving, as a culture war rages in our cities and suburbs and white supremacists and civil rights protestors are given equal standing in the court of public opinion, as needless massacres take place on a daily basis and ordinary citizens no longer grow anxious and unsafe going to shopping malls, places of worship, playgrounds, or schools, as sweltering record temperatures scorch our lawns and near daily natural disasters of historic proportions wreak havoc on our infrastructure, as a bullish economy is artificially supported by tax cuts, trade wars, and deficits that will bankrupt future generations and secure a permanent caste system in this country.

as deputized ICE agents terrorize communities to round up our tired, our poor, and those who look like they may have one day dared cross into our border on the chance they’d grow up to be free, as international tensions rise, arms races heat up and beacon of hope that once lit our nation’s shore is dimmed our reputation transformed from peacekeeper to pariah and laughingstock, as a bullish economy is artificially supported by tax cuts, trade wars, and deficits that will bankrupt future generations and secure a permanent caste system in this country to serve the war machine to come.

Hitler rose to power in 1933. The launch of the pogroms, the mobilization of SS and Gestapo forces, and the wide scale round ups of Jews and other minority groups into concentration camps that all didn’t begin for five more years. Kristillnacht, the night of broken glass, during which Jewish communities were terrorized by Gestapo agents took place in November 1938.

“In two days and nights, more than 1,000 synagogues were burned or otherwise damaged. Rioters ransacked and looted about 7,500 Jewish businesses, and vandalized Jewish hospitals, homes, schools, and cemeteries.” In total 91 innocents massacred, their blood left to glisten in the shards of glass that littered the street.

That hatred and vitriol was not birthed over night. It was methodical. It took years of carefully orchestrated sound bites, slogans and fear mongering rhetoric produced to stretch societal norms to where such things became commonplace. To set preconditions for the cognitive dissonance that allows for a society to coalesce and systemically ostracize a minority segment of its population. To brand, scapegoat and force them to concentrate and live in squalid conditions while one time neighbors carry on as normal. It requires a coordinated assault and manipulation of one’s senses to the point where people are no longer viewed as such. Empathy is erased from one’s psyche and replaced by the primal instinct to protect the clan, to survive.

In time concentration camps beget forced labor camps beget extermination camps. Lest you think those are the same things those didn’t come about until 1942. It’s called “The Final Solution” because it followed a series of unsuccessful prior initiatives launched by Hitler…

to control the borders, apply extreme vetting and otherwise encourage German Jews to emigrate from their childhood and return to the native lands from which their kind came;

to erect new defenses that would protect ordinary Germans from the Jewish vermin and thieves who scheme to steal working class jobs and otherwise drain German resources;

to ostracize, brand, round up and concentrate Jews into camps while the legislature figured out how to solve the “Jewish crisis” and plague upon Germany.

History knows this story. We, the people, must now recognize what has become of America before we pass the tipping point. We must no longer allow this caravan of corruption that sit in the control room of the greatest nation to ever grace the map to play another round of Russian roulette with our democracy. Odds that the fatal bullet will eventually strike the heart of this nation’s democracy grow with each day our Comrade in Chief sits in office

Scream

“Do you like scary movies? – Uh-Huh –

What’s your favorite scary movie?” – Scream (1996)

I admit it. I’m an alarmist. Full born “the sky is falling” when it comes to Trump and his merry bannon of deplorables. Feel like I’m in one of those horrible horror movies where the protagonists keep making one asinine decision after another. The casualties mount as common sense is cast aside for plot convenience. Friends and family suddenly move into the line of fire as each terrible choice ups the tension and gore.

I’m not one who typically looks back but like most legendary horror villains (Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers and Ghostface) this one didn’t form in a vacuum. He was created over time. A product of an environment created by a prior generation. The sins of the past catching up to the present. To beat it we need to learn those lessons. Understand the beast. Trap it in its own game.

So ask yourself, where did Donald Trump come from? Who created him? How did a social liberal from NY transform into an authoritarian fascist. Amazingly all paths lead back to one man. A lone Dr. Frankenstein so to speak.

Democrats in particular have been reticent to go down this path in recent years. Back in our parent’s day it was our favorite trail. A respite we knew to be lined with beautiful flowers. A safe place we’d return to for comfort. As the years passed we began to go less and less.

In 2008 we cleared the brush from the obscured entrance and once again began that familiar hike. This time the trail seemed more mysterious. Many of the flowers wilted. The path overgrown. The beauty somewhat masked. Behind any given rose a giant thorn seemed to be waiting to deliver an unavoidable prick to anyone who dared to touch it. A sense of danger permeated the air. We still dared pluck a few flowers for old time’s sake but did so believing we may never be back. That rather than tempt fate too long it was time to find a new trail. Choose the road less travelled when we came to the inevitable fork in the road.

Democrats opted for a change of scenery back in 2008 and for eight years we forged a new path. We took some missteps. As all pioneers do. But for the most part it was clear that we had chosen wisely. Moved the party forward. Yet somehow we ended right back to that once again obscured entrance. This time we entered cautiously. Aware we may no longer find it as comforting as we once had. Still we entered hopeful we’d come back to that fork. Make the same choice. Only this time when we arrived there was no choice. The fork was replaced with a giant “one way” sign. We were being forced to confront our demons. To discover what lie at the end of that trail.

Maybe it was a test like the way Yoda made Luke travel to Dagobah. Prove he was capable and ready to fight the dark side. Able to control his base impulses. Defeat it once and for all. It was as if in order to truly embrace the values of a progressive nation, we would first need to reject the Democratic Party of the past.

By now I hope it obvious. The man waiting at the end of that trail. That Dr Frankenstein. His name is William Jefferson Clinton. And the Democratic voters. We failed the test. Proved incapable of true progress.

America never really rejected Hillary. We rejected the Clinton machine. A political apparatus built on quid pro quos and political favors. That all too often prioritized party loyalty over people. That waged phony preemptive wars and did anything but support our troops. That favored corporations and catered to the 1%. That used their fame and access to personally enrich themselves and those around them. For better or worse that’s what Hillary is to many of us. A vestige of a rigged system. This is particularly true for the young progressives who drive enthusiasm and build energy into the base.

Ironically the Republicans were faced with a similar test. Donald Trump was a rejection of the Bush/Romney/McCain GOP. A statement by those on the right that they were tired of politics as usual. Done with the neocons. That the system was broken and needed a disrupter to fix it. Tired of losing they ate it up. They passed the test. Make no mistake Jeb, Cruz, Rubio all would have been slaughtered in a general election, by any Democratic candidate. America had already made that choice. This time the GOP fringe was galvanized and ready to inject energy into a stagnating base.

Those who saw this unfolding rallied for Bernie early on. We’re not talking the Bernie Bros further to the left. We’re talking Obama Dems. Bernie wasn’t the perfect candidate but he was the only one to back. The only one who knew what this election was about. It wasn’t about character, Bill Clinton had already removed that as a job requirement, it was about change.

Pure and simple this election. It was about rejecting a system that allowed for the creation of Donald Trump. The majority of Americans we don’t want that system. Amazingly Trump understood this. He held himself out as Exhibit A. Look at me! I am a monster created by a rigged system. I know it so well that only I can break it.

Of course he’s a con man. Had no intent to do any such thing. That was never the point. This was all about shaping perception. Those early 2008 Obama Dems, we understood that. Jumped off the Bernie train once hope was lost and threw our support behind Hillary this time. Resigned to the status quo but favoring it over narcissistic authoritarian rule. Hoped that the majority would see the emperor wore no clothes. That not all change is good change. We sat dumbfounded as Trump dominated the headlines. Pushed the narratives that reinforced the perceptions of the Clinton machine. Made it a reality in many independent’s minds. Anchored Hillary with the legacy of her husband rather than allow her to ride the coattails of a hugely popular incumbent. Made this an election about change rather than values. The rest as they say is history.

In the words of The Fly, “Be afraid… Be very afraid.”

Memorial Day

This Memorial Day we remember our fallen heroes. Those men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice to defend the American dream. To advance the great experiment in individual freedoms set in motion by our founding fathers nearly 250 years ago.

We honor those who died in defense of America. Make no mistake. There are not “many sides” to America. You either believe we are a nation in which all men, regardless of race, gender, religion or national origin are free and equal, or you don’t. You either believe in the Bill of Rights that put the great American experiment in motion, or you don’t.

There only side to America our veterans died for begins and ends with the word “we,” as in “the people.” You either believe that “we” word and all the freedoms that follow are guaranteed to all Americans and bestowed on ALL mankind, or you don’t. You either honor our nation’s fallen as a proper patriot or you deny their legacy and act the deplorable.

That’s right. Those who chastised HRC for placing the label “deplorable” on Trump supporters pay attention. Consider the words of David Duke when he notes that those who rally for white supremacy do so to help “fulfill the promises of Donald Trump.” These dregs of society who play the victim and whine at the tough break life handed them because now America has progressed enough to where you actually have to compete with overqualified minorities and women in life. These wife beaters, alcoholics, small dicked pistol packing mouth breathers who think the color of their skin grant them special privilege in life. To hell with the words of our founding fathers and the sacrifice of those who served fighting for us all!

Our so called President may talk of record approval ratings but know this. Most of us, regardless of political party, stand on the right side of the battles that lay ahead. Most believe in the ideals this country stands for and understand its great history. We unequivocally condemn those who seek to divide our nation by race, religion, national origin or class. We recognize how we came to be the most powerful nation in the world. The majority of us take pride in the knowledge that America IS the great melting pot. That diversity IS the American identity. We can’t change that anymore than a tiger can change its stripes. A list of all the great contributions immigrants, refugees, and minorities have made to this country would dwarf a list of their misdeeds a million times over. Americans are waking. We know who we are. And we like it that way.

Those who continue to support Trump and this cesspool of corruption understand this. All you are doing is publicly identifying yourself as a dinosaur. Painting a scarlet letter on your sleeve that your way of thinking and very belief system will soon be relegated to the history books. Think carefully about your next move.

Whatever your choice, know this. We are the majority and will act as such! We will not be divided or tore down. We will continue to protest and resist hate. We will not be silenced or ignored. We will continue to engage and speak out against false equivalents. We will not be intimidated or bullied. We will remain active but peaceful. We will not be stilled or marginalized. We will demand transparency, justice and accountability.

Dinosaurs will fight hardest the nearer to extinction they are. It’s a hard thing to admit to oneself that your way of thinking is obsolete. In waging war on the deep state. In peddling conspiracy theory and in spreading the blame and remaining neutral in his condemnation of the torch carrying hate mongers who gather in support of his agenda. Our Comrade in Chief has effectively deputized this merry bannon of deplorables to continue to intimidate our cities and towns with their words of hate and presence. The tighter the noose around his neck the more he relies on them.

Still, make no mistake. The war is won. Like those we honor today knew, progress is perpetual and by definition doesn’t include the word “again!” It knows but one direction #Forward