Tag: Political Change

Closing Thought–20Nov18

For some time now Libertarian has been a lock step with the GOP on many issues especially on the economic side…..but a Libertarian think tank has made an observation that many of us have made in the past….it is a “one trick pony” ideology…….

Seems the Libertarians agree with me and others……

For millions of people, ideology is the lighthouse in a dark sea of politics. An uncompromising vision of how the world is supposed to work, and how to fix it, is just too alluring for partisans to ignore. Political parties’ most frenzied supporters are demanding ideological purity from their candidates as they push out moderates, especially on the right. As a result, ever fewer temperate souls are left to hold the middle ground in politics.

Yet the libertarian think tank Niskanen Center in Washington, DC, argues the moderate middle is the future. Niskanen president Jerry Taylor wrote in an Oct. 29 essay that he is dropping the libertarian banner the center has shared with the likes of the more conservative Cato Institute. In a 3,595-word farewell to the libertarian world, he says libertarianism, and ideology itself, is a dead end. “I have abandoned that libertarian project…because I have come to abandon ideology,” writes Taylor, who invites readers to flee the “clean and well-lit prison of one idea.”

https://qz.com/1443787/a-libertarian-think-tank-just-gave-up-on-libertarianism/

Really?

If I have any Libertarian followers please weigh in on this turn of events…..are they right about the politics of the party?

Don’t Be Fooled!

Closing Thought–07Nov18

Did your fav candidate win?  Are you looking forward to a new day in DC?  Is the country better off after this Midterm?

Let me answer all questions with one statement.

“Don’t be fooled, flattered or flummoxed by the election.”

Why?

NOTHING will change and we will have nothing but chaos for the next 2 years.

But hey….don’t take my word for it……

Let’s face it. Most politicians use the mass media to obfuscate. Voters who don’t do their homework, who don’t study records of the politicians, and who can’t separate the words from the deeds will easily fall into traps laid by wily politicians.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/06/dont-be-flattered-fooled-and-flummoxed-in-todayss-election/

Whoever said that we Americans get the government we deserve was so damn right…..we deserve the shitty representation that we have now a days…..because we are too busy sucking up slogans and optics and not enough checking the accuracy of the candidates claims.

The American voters are suckers!  They proved it yet again yesterday during the 2018 midterms.

This country can not move forward until the population learns to move forward….as it is now they are stuck in the past and their voting habits prove it.

Jackboots And Apple Pie

Most Americans are spectators in this democracy….I say that because most elections only about 49% of the voting population actually shows up.

But in the last year it seems that this fragile democracy is in danger of falling apart….yes, I am talking about the time from 2016 election to today……nothing happening is encouraging if anything it appears losing ground weekly…..

It can be analyzed back to Pres. Trump……

The problem with Donald Trump is not that he is imbecilic and inept—it is that he has surrendered total power to the oligarchic and military elites. They get what they want. They do what they want. Although the president is a one-man wrecking crew aimed at democratic norms and institutions, although he has turned the United States into a laughingstock around the globe, our national crisis is embodied not in Trump but the corporate state’s now unfettered pillage.

Trump, who has no inclination or ability to govern, has handed the machinery of government over to the bankers, corporate executives, right-wing think tanks, intelligence chiefs and generals. They are eradicating the few regulations and laws that inhibited a naked kleptocracy. They are dynamiting the institutions, including the State Department, that served interests other than corporate profit and are stacking the courts with right-wing, corporate-controlled ideologues. Trump provides the daily entertainment; the elites handle the business of looting, exploiting and destroying.

https://www.alternet.org/peek/donald-trump-useful-idiot

I am not alone…..most thinking people, that means people that can count beyond 10 sees problems mounting up….

Democracy is in under siege around the world, according to a new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The annual Democracy Index tracks the health of the world’s governments. And the results for 2017 are depressing. In 89 countries, democratic norms look worse than they did last year, the report’s authors write. Just 4.5 percent of the world’s residents live in fully functioning democracies, down from 8.9 percent in 2015.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/01/u-s-democracy-is-in-grave-danger-a-new-economist-report-warns/

So far events in government point to a leader that is more concerned about his personal affairs and not those of the country…..a leader that demands loyalty to him and not necessarily the rule of law….BTW this country was founded on the rule of law, in case there was confusion…..a leader who shows affection for authoritarian heads of state…..

It appears that Trump wants to be a dictator…..

It began the day he was sworn in, with his vow to end “American carnage”—a direct echo of his autocratic pronouncement when accepting the Republican nomination that “I alone can fix it.” Donald Trump has chipped away at the pillars of democracy ever since. According to a new report from Freedom House, an independent watchdog group that has monitored democracy globally for decades, “The past year brought further, faster erosion of America’s own democratic standards than at any other time in memory.” The nation’s core institutions, the report says, have been “attacked by an administration that rejects established norms of ethical conduct across many fields of activity.”

In his first year as president, Trump often appeared driven by his urges for self-aggrandizement, self-enrichment, and revenge against anyone and everyone he perceived to be his political enemies—targets to be punched 10 times harder or screwed 15 times harder than they’ve punched or screwed him. He has used the presidential platform to taunt and threaten, going after federal judges, members of Congress, law enforcement leaders, celebrities, professional athletes, private citizens, and, of course, his greatest bête noire: the “Fake News” media, which he has blasted hundreds of times since taking office.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/01/donald-trump-wants-to-be-dictator-of-the-united-states/

TO political observers nothing about the Trump act seems to be democratic……he desires total control on all aspects of government and even some within the legislative branch are enabling his moves toward authoritarianism.

American democracy is in danger!

That is the tale back when I was a radical wanting to rid ourselves of this system….it is humorous that they saw a danger then but do not see it now…..selective knowledge.

I do not think that our republic will be replaced with some sort of Trumpian mind fuck…..I just see the games being played that can be dangerous to our way of governance.

Did you know that about 1 in 4 Americans would accept authoritarian rule…..

A new survey reveals that although most Americans like to believe they prefer democracy over authoritarian forms of government, the actual content of their convictions can veer precipitously toward authoritarianism.

“If given a direct choice, the overwhelming majority of Americans choose democracy,” writes Lee Drutman, Larry Diamond and Joe Goldman of the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group. “In fact, on each of the five questions we asked, three quarters or more of all respondents provide at least some support for democracy, and half or more express support for the strongest pro-democratic option. By contrast, depending on the question, between an eighth and a quarter of respondents provide an answer that does not support democracy.”

https://www.salon.com/2018/03/16/more-than-one-in-four-americans-prefer-authoritarian-politics/#.Wq0YyHZOt8Y

A scary thought and turn of our democracy…..we should be careful and watchful….

Could this be the beginning of a 3rd revolution?

Get ready, America. According to a new study on inequality and revolutions throughout history, the United States soon may experience a profound paradigm shift, Inverse reports (with a hat tip to Lee Camp). A team of scientists at Washington State and 13 other institutions conducted the study, and their findings, published in the journal Nature, could have major implications for today’s world.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/revolution-u-s-brewing/

If accurate which way will it go?

Will the revolution be televised?

On Syria–Please Enlighten Us

Since the attack by the US on a Syrian airbase we are hearing that Assad must go…..not something new but it has gotten a bit louder after his unwise alleged use of chemical weapons.

Hell “Assad must go” has been a slogan for 25+ years and yet he is still there and still in charge

While I agree that he must go…..but how do people see this occurring?

It has been a rallying cry for decades….first his father and now the son….words do not get it done.  How would the world accomplish this feat?

Invasion?  Now there is a great idea (sarcasm) yet another country that we invade as part of our humanitarian nation building….and it has worked so well in Iraq….why not try it again? (Again sarcasm)

I know….I know…..how about a negotiated settlement of hostilities.  Hahahaha!

Now that the laughter has subsided….let’s look at negotiations…

Negotiations work well in most situations….labor strikes, boycotts, things along those lines….but when we deal with situations that involve religious freedoms, human freedoms or the future of an entire society a mutual agreement is not in the cards.  And especially when there are multiple players all wanting something different.  These will only provide a shift in the power base not a peaceful transition.

Syria?  Who are the major players for the vacuum of power?

Some say that there are 1000 oppositions groups in Syria with about 100,000 fighters….but there are major groups fighting for control….and BBC has been kind enough to make the list a bit easier……

Source: Guide to the Syrian rebels – BBC News

As one can see there are more rebel groups than hairs on one’s head and all want the same thing….POWER!

With further US backing the rebels will win but only to fall into Anarchy as the many political factions find themselves no longer united against a common enemy. A revolutionary government will probable exist for a short time during which the new government will try to root out all opposition under the cover of “seeking out those still loyal to the old government.   But this Government will also fall to a Islamic fundamentalist government due to presser from the surrounding nations and terrorist groups like al-Qaeda who will use the social and political turmoil of the short lived Revolutionary Government to set up a strong foot holed in Syria.

The chant of “regime change” grows louder….but is it truly the best idea?

The use of chemical weapons against civilians in Idlib, Syria, was an abhorrent gesture of disregard for human life, and the perpetrators deserve to be brought to justice. However, the attack—repugnant as it was—has not in any way changed the strategic calculus on the ground in Syria. Ramping up intervention in Syria beyond Thursday night’s cruise missile strikes remains a terrible idea, as further action will be very costly, could saddle the United States with the futile task of rebuilding another ravaged Middle Eastern country, and will leave the people of Syria worse off.

Source: Regime Change in Syria? | RealClearDefense

As I pointed out during the recent “Arab Spring”…..there will be little progress toward democracy in the countries that are suffering with the protests.

Even the Trump cronies cannot agree on Syria……and what is next…….

President Trump’s decision to bomb Syria this week “was really one of the president’s finest hours,” says US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, speaking with CNN‘s State of the Union. “He wanted to know exactly what the facts and evidence was. He wanted to know what the options were, what the risks were, and the political strategy and solution side of it. After all of that he made a very, you know, strong decision,” she adds, per the Hill. Saying that “if he needs to do more, he’ll do more,” Haley indicated that regime change was on the table. “If you look at his actions, if you look at the situation, it’s going to be hard to see a government that’s peaceful and stable with (Bashar al-Assad). Regime change is something that we think is going to happen because all of the parties are going to see that Assad is not the leader that needs to be taking place for Syria.” Elsewhere on the Sunday dial:

  • Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wants to first reduce the ISIS threat, then “I think we can turn our attention directly to stabilizing the situation in Syria.”
  • National Security Adviser HR McMaster had tough words for Russia’s complicity, per the Hill: “Russia should ask themselves, ‘What are we doing here? Why are we supporting this murderous regime that is committing mass murder of its own population and using the most heinous weapons available?'”
  • Tillerson also weighed in on what he sees as China’s understanding of the growing threat in North Korea, per Politico: “I think there’s a shared view and no disagreement as to how dangerous the situation has become. And I think even China is beginning to recognize that this presents a threat to even to China’s interests as well.”

Why?

Easy answer is that there is little to no experienced politicians with democratic chops.  Without that experience the country will revert back to an authoritarian process.

So far I have been correct.

But back to the topic.

“Assad must go”!  Good one!  But who will replace him at the top of the power pyramid?

The one that sticks out in my mind is the Free Syrian Army leader, Gen. Salim Idris……his rhetoric is what the world wants to hear but I doubt if it is accurate.

Why?

He is a military man and they only know one way to control.

If Washington has an idea of how to replace Assad then please enlighten us.

Syria is the perfect example of how slogans and one liners will not solve the problem….makes good sound bites but that is all it is…..hot air.

What The Hell Happened?

2016 was an election about change….a funny topic because Americans do not want change……it was a primary season about the rise of the outsiders….

We have a 3 branch system of government…..a great idea…but unfortunately ours does NOT work and has NOT worked for decades.

It’s 2020, four years from now. The campaign is under way to succeed the president, who is retiring after a single wretched term. Voters are angrier than ever—at politicians, at compromisers, at the establishment. Congress and the White House seem incapable of working together on anything, even when their interests align. With lawmaking at a standstill, the president’s use of executive orders and regulatory discretion has reached a level that Congress views as dictatorial—not that Congress can do anything about it, except file lawsuits that the divided Supreme Court, its three vacancies unfilled, has been unable to resolve.

On Capitol Hill, Speaker Paul Ryan resigned after proving unable to pass a budget, or much else. The House burned through two more speakers and one “acting” speaker, a job invented following four speakerless months. The Senate, meanwhile, is tied in knots by wannabe presidents and aspiring talk-show hosts, who use the chamber as a social-media platform to build their brands by obstructing—well, everything. The Defense Department is among hundreds of agencies that have not been reauthorized, the government has shut down three times, and, yes, it finally happened: The United States briefly defaulted on the national debt, precipitating a market collapse and an economic downturn. No one wanted that outcome, but no one was able to prevent it.

Source: How American Politics Became So Ineffective – The Atlantic

So the question remains…what the Hell happened?

That one is easy to analyze…..

Trumpism may have parallels in populist, nativist movements abroad, but it is also the culmination of a proud political party’s steady descent into a deeply destructive and dysfunctional state.

While that descent has been underway for a long time, it has accelerated its pace in recent years. We noted four years ago the dysfunction of the Republican Party, arguing that its obstructionism, anti-intellectualism, and attacks on American institutions were making responsible governance impossible. The rise of Trump completes the script, confirming our thesis in explicit fashion.

Source: The Republicans waged a 3-decade war on government. They got Trump. – Vox

And then some say it has been a 50 year struggle for the GOP…..a struggle to change the very definition of “American Values”……

The current U.S. presidential election cycle may seem over the top. But in one important way, it is no different than any other over the past several decades. Since the 1970s, presidential candidates running under the Republican ticket have successively shifted further and further to the political right. How many times have we heard—or said—that George W. Bush made Richard Nixon look like a liberal?

The rightward political shift is no accident. Since the end of World War II, far-right conservatives and libertarians have patiently laid the groundwork for a national climate receptive to their ideals of weak government and a strong corporate presence.

Source: The far-right’s 50-year project to transform American values with a clandestine ‘counterrevolution’

Now look at this country and what is happening…..the country is so divided that nothing gets accomplished….it is a program that will change nothing…..a program that will eventually destroy this country from the inside.

(I know it is a lot to take in…but it is worth reading all the links…that is if you see there is something wrong with this country….if not then return for the search for Pokemon).

Want Political Change?

In these days of high drama the big story is the two insurgent candidates that are both claiming something along the lines of political change for Washington…..

I try to start my posting day with something that can get the conversation moving…..unfortunately not always in the direction I intended….but what the Hell as long as it started…right?

I do not post often on religious stuff….to me that is a private thing and none of my business…..but there comes a time when I break that small rule of mine…..

Today I have an article that …..I just do not know what to say…..other than….you have to read it for yourself.

Robert Eggers’ period horror film “The Witch” has been one of the surprise hits of 2016. It’s even gained a second wind since its February 23 release: the first weekend of April it played on 666 screens around the country, raking in an additional USD$465,000.

The tale of a Puritan family turning on each other as they attempt to root out the supernatural evil plaguing their farm, the film won Eggers the award for best director at Sundance – and even frightened horror master Stephen King.

(never fear there is so much more….read on……)

Source: Can a burgeoning satanic movement actually effect political change?

I am speechless…..maybe you have something to add….if so…please knock your socks off…..

Candy Man Cometh

I could have fun with the title, but I shall leave that for the pros……this piece is about Congress……that institution that waste time and money by members who all try to look as if they know what they do…..but we all know better….their track record is about as lean as my list of heroes.

When a new Congress goes into session they pick committee leaders, speaker or majority leader….on and on…..but I bet that most people did not know that their is a Congress person in charge of the “candy counter”, right?

It’s said you can catch more flies with honey—or, in Capitol Hill’s case, with a desk full of Twizzlers, Three Musketeers, and Milky Ways. Sen. Pat Toomey is the latest honcho to take the helm of the “Candy Desk,” currently located in the back row of the Republican side of the Senate chambers next to the most-used entryway, CNN reports. The desk, which is filled with free treats for lawmakers of any ilk, is a 50-year-old tradition: California Sen. George Murphy opened shop in 1965 to satisfy his sweet tooth and found that senators from all parties would come over to snag a confection and “mingle,” Toomey says, as per ABC News. There’s technically no eating allowed on the Senate floor, but an exception has been made for treats from the Candy Desk, the Boston Globe noted in 2013.

Tradition also holds that the senator manning the desk accepts donated candy from his or her home state, so the 114th Congress will be sated with sugary snacks from some of Pennsylvania’s more than 200 candymakers—including Hershey, Mars, and smaller manufacturers such as Wilbur Chocolate—under Toomey’s Wonka-esque watch. The senator obviously intends to take his sweet new position seriously. “The Candy Desk duty is Mounds of responsibility,” he said in a statement last week, as per CNN. “I campaigned for this assignment on the platform of life, liberty, and the pursuit of Peeps and hope Pennsylvania’s treats will sweeten the bitter partisan atmosphere.” Past titleholders have included Sens. John McCain, Rick Santorum, and outgoing Candy Man Mark Kirk

Seriously?  Is this a paid position?

And There You Have It!

How to build a better election – The Week

The V (for vote) Day is only days away……I am not confident that the voter will do anything that will help change the downward spiral of this system….I do wish I could be more optimistic….but sadly I cannot.

Almost everybody realizes that the election system needs a major overhaul…..reform will not do it….it needs a change….and before the next election.

This article is a good damn idea….NO!  It is a goddamn excellent idea!

 

How to build a better election – The Week.

Are Americans Capable Of Change?

CHANGE!  That magical word that can deliver votes.  Every American wants and sometimes demands change……but are they capable of change?  Or is it just a political slogan to win over the population?

This has been a post in the making….I started with the opening statement and weeks later I am still trying to put it together…….

Americans say they are looking for change……most are not….what they are looking for is their party or candidate or whatever to be elected.  To change Washington you would have to change the system…….ALL candidates are funded by special interests and they fund the candidates to get what they want….and they want things to remain the same…..they have a free run of DC they will NOT give that prestige up for any reason or than to be forced and I mean FORCED to relinquish their stranglehold on politics….and that my friend will never happen….not with the Dems or the GOP or the Tea Party or whatever little group one belongs.

Congress approval rating is at 13%, the lowest point in history and yet this rating does nothing to change their thinking and their policies……..the voter’s concerns means nothing to these people.  In a recent survey 72% of this polled say that elected officials do not deserve to be re-elected and yet they are almost every time.

Do Americans really want change?

The reps will offer up reform and reform is NOT change.  Reform is something done to appear to be concerned and changeable but in reality all it is is a feel good situation that gives the illusion of change.  With reform the underlying problems will remain just out of sight.

Sorry to say but voting is another feel good situation for the people….they are not in control of the process…..they get to vote on a person chosen for them…..and that sounds a lot like the old USSR where voters got to vote yes or no on a candidate…..ours is a bit more sophisticated but it is basically a yes or no vote.

Another problem is the people accept the reform as change…either they are ignorant or they are just naive…….there has never been real change…..a butt load of reforms but change has been elusive.

Personally I do not believe that there will be substantial change in my lifetime…..and that brings me to a quote I have in the back of my old radical brain….”There is NO solution….but revolution”.  Now the word revolution will make a lot of my readers shudder……remember though there are many ways to have a revolution and NOT all involve a bang bang shoot’m up………

If you are NOT willing to make change….then please stop using the term…..for so far all it is is a political campaign prop.  And a real cute bumper sticker.

Is There a Revolution Coming? Americans Finally Realize Global Capitalism Is a Murderous Sham | Alternet

If one truly wants change, not reform, but serious changes in the way our government goes about doing business…..then the word …REVOLUTION has to be considered……(spoiler alert!)………and that will be the next post……..

Is There a Revolution Coming? Americans Finally Realize Global Capitalism Is a Murderous Sham | Alternet.