Tag: Political Views

Make Your Voice Be Heard

How many times have you been asked to “make your voice be heard” by contacting your rep or the White House?

Do you really think that any of those people give a damn about you or your concerns?

Guess what….they do not!

Have you called or written to your government?

Did you get the answer you wanted?

What prompted me to write this post is the the White House has taken down the site for petitions….

It appears that the ‘We the People’ petition system has been taken off the White House website. Here is an archive of what it looked like before Biden took office.

The system has been around for many years. At any given time, hundreds of petitions were active. If you get 100,000 signatures, the White House is supposed to give an answer. You may remember that there was an active “Free Assange” petition that the Obama Administration was obligated to answer (and gave a bad answer).

When Trump took office, he briefly discontinued it but put it back up after a media uproar.

Now it appears the Biden White House has removed it. The website used to be here:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov

This URL, as well as URLs for all currently-active petitions, just forward to the White House front page. I explored the website and could not find any mention of it. The link used to appear in both the “Contact” and “Get Involved” links, but it is gone from both.

I have seen nothing about this in the media. When I Google “White House Petition System Down” and other similar searches, I only get 4-year-old articles about the time that Trump temporarily disabled it.

Wikipedia says that the system was taken down the day Biden took office: On January 20 2021, the day the Inauguration of Joe Biden took place, the website’s address started redirecting to the White House’s website home address.

This is a terrible event, and it must be publicized, and Biden must be made to reverse this decision.

(antiwar.com)

It was returned but does it really have any effect on policy?

Biden is not a transformative president.

He just wants a return to the “good old days”…..the days of yore…..the days of 2008….the days of nothing actually being done but the appearance of change.

Even when the active engagement of their base in ongoing political advocacy enhances their ability to succeed, it is foolhardy to believe that politicians secretly welcome pressure or that they will pay tribute to those who, on select occasions, are able to force their hands. Having invested their faith in their talent for insider maneuvering, these elected officials see themselves as indispensable servants of the public good. They want their constituents to be appreciative, and they are rankled at encountering people who are not. “Cut me some slack,” is how Obama put it. “Give me a break, man,” Biden has already exclaimed. These are just other ways of saying, “Don’t make me do it.”

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/02/13/its-myth-presidents-welcome-movement-pressure-and-biden-no-different

Will we change the thinking in DC with our so-called participation?

NO!

Hope!  We will plug along and things will remain the same….no matter how much you attempt to participate and bring the message to those in the Ivory Tower.

Direct action is the only way to make change….and then it will be incremental because you have scared the economic titans….and they will sign on to some small advances.

Think I am mistaken?

Look at our history….that will tell you all you need to know.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Romancing The War

War re-enactment is a popular way for us Americans to remember our history…..down here where I live it is Civil War re-enactment……every year we have the weekend of reliving the famous battle of the Mississippi Coast….the problem is it is all made up there was NO famous or otherwise battle of the Mississippi Coast…..but yet the locals romanticize the death and destruction of the Civil War.

My question is….WHY?

In his book The Red and the Blue, Steve Kornacki offers an illuminating and concise history of the birth of contemporary political tribalism in the United States, tracing its origins back to the 1990s in the defining political contest between then U.S. President Bill Clinton and the Republican Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. In retrospect, cast in a Long Edwardian Summer nostalgia, followed by the attacks of September 11 and the ensuing war on terror, the 1990s were indeed a time of political turmoil in the U.S. that periodically discharged into acts of political violence and terrorism, culminating in the Centennial Olympic Park and Oklahoma City bombings. Although political tribalism was not the direct cause of these acts of domestic terrorism, commentators at the time noted the poisoned political climate made such violent manifestations at least more likely.

Curiously, the rise of political tribalism in the 1990s, similar to the 1960s, coincided with a general rise in interest in the U.S. Civil War, America’s bloodiest and most costly political conflict. Since its conclusion in April 1865, the Civil War, cloaked in Lost Cause mythology, has inspired anti-federal government and white supremacist ideology like that of William Luther Pierce, a fierce defender of the antebellum South and the author of the dystopian racist novel The Turner Diaries, which inspired the Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh. The depiction of the Civil War in print and film in the late 1980s and early 1990s appealed much more to the broader masses than it had in prior times.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/12/07/how_romanticization_of_the_us_civil_war_whitewashes_political_violence_114009.html

I wish I could give a good reason why adults want to play war……but I got nothing.

Tribes

An IST op-ed

My better half was watching a retro movie the other day entitled “Tribes” starring Darren McGavin about the USMC and a mystical wonder child that the Drill Sargent tried to break and could not….all so early 70’s…..and typical TV drama of the day.

The title got me to thinking about our country these days and the damage that all this silliness and yes it is flipping silly, is doing to the fabric of American society.

To begin with….what is political tribalism?  n….loyalty to a tribe or other social group especially when combined with strong negative feelings for people outside the group…..in other words….political division.

I read Political Tribes: Group Instinct And The Fate Of Nations, a new book by Yale law professor Amy Chua. Chua does not write as a political partisan. Rather, she writes as an analyst of our political culture, which is rapidly tribalizing. I strongly encourage everyone to read the book to understand the nature of our dire political moment, and how much worse it could get if we don’t find some way to stop the cycle.

I want to be very clear: Amy Chua does not side with either the left or the right in her book. She says that all of us are tribalizing. She doesn’t say this in an artificial “pox on both your houses” way. She really means it, and she shows how it’s happening.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/a-time-of-tribalism-amy-chua/

Here on IST many visitors from the Right, because I criticize Trump, as being a Dem they are wrong and if they would just visit more often then they would have seen that I was a critic of Obama and his people as well…..but they read one post and label me.  I do not really mind just shows their ignorance.

This whole “us against them” mentality is not American in my book…..it accomplishes nothing politically and finger pointing is just as silly (even though I have done it in the past out of frustration).

This “tribalism” has been more successful for the Right than the Left……

In “How America’s identity politics went from inclusion to division” (Guardian, March 1, 2018), Amy Chua argues that the U.S. left has given us the U.S. right, or at least has provided opportunities for the political right to rise to power. Chua makes the case that identity politics on the left and right makes the U.S. a less inclusive society.

She is right to some extent about some kinds of identity politics, but it’s there where the equivalency ends because identity politics on the right has led to murder, mayhem at the highest levels of government, and a return to racism that is supported by the right’s enormous wealth. Identifying with their own best interests gave the gay community medicines that made AIDS less than a certain death sentence.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/03/05/political-tribalism-why-the-right-is-so-successful/

In my opinion the Right has succeeded in the division admirably and as they divide us the Dems try to counter and thus the division gets deeper and deeper…..as the country divides the Congress jumps on the bandwagon…..

A few days ago I argued that sins-of-omission by Paul Ryan and his fellow Republicans in the House, and Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans in the Senate, amounted to de facto shirking of their “check and balance” duty relative to Donald Trump. Because members of the majority party in the legislative branch  wouldn’t call out or even notice Trump’s excesses—except, as with Jeff Flake and Bob Corker, when they had decided not to run again—they were putting unsustainable pressure on other parts of the formal and informal governing system. The courts, the press, Robert Mueller, and so on.

https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2017/11/a-nation-of-tribes-and-members-of-the-tribe/544907/

In the past I enjoyed political debate and discourse but these days it is not anything like the days I enjoyed……many especially on the Right will not except the title of “Tribes”……call it whatever you like but it boils down to political tribes…..

When it comes to politics, in 2015 we witnessed nothing less than a paradigm shift. The old rules are out the window. Technology and changing mores have conspired to lower barriers of entry—and acceptability. Gatekeepers no longer exist. What we have right now is closer to direct democracy than we’ve ever seen, and our civilization is regressing as a result.

One party (the Democrats) already represents the liberal half of the nation. The other half seems to consist of modern, Buckleyite conservatives, but also an increasingly large horde of populist, nationalist, individualistic Americans—who now have a megaphone and a vessel in the form of Donald Trump.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/americas-political-parties-are-just-tribes-now

If you do not like the term “Tribes” then maybe “politics of identity” or “identity politics” may  tickle your fancy……no matter the title it is NOT Making America Great…..in any way.

To Hell With The Constitution

This post is for a loyal reader, Terrance of Sibboleth (go to blogroll and visit this interesting blog….and SOON!)..he lives in Michigan and maybe he  will have some further insight……

For decades now the sacred piece of paper, the Constitution, has been used as a political prop and has been used as a reason to oppose everything from equal rights to marriage…..and you would think that this document would mean more to Party that has used it way too often for political gain….the Republicans.

But recently a Repub governor has shown just what they really think of the Constitution……

Recently, the Benton Harbor City Council – governed under the authoritarian emergency financial manager appointed by Tea Party Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder – passed a resolution to honor the US Constitution the week of September 17.

The emergency financial manager for Benton Harbor declared, in the spring, that the Benton Harbor City Council could only do three things: call meetings to order, approve minutes and adjourn meetings. As a result, the state-appointed manager of Benton Harbor declared the city council resolution honoring the US Constitution as null and void.

As Rachel Maddow pointed out in a September 19 commentary, there is a frightening irony in “elected officials not being allowed to honor the Constitution because they’ve been overruled by an appointed overseer who nobody voted for.”

In April of 2011, BuzzFlash at Truthout wrote a commentary entitled “Tea Party Michigan Governor Rick Snyder Adopts Soviet-style Authoritarian Powers Over Michigan Cities.”

Maybe the emergency financial manager for Benton Harbor will force the Benton Harbor City Council, chosen by the voters, to follow the Politburo books of rules and orders.

The Constitution is important when they are attacking a person’s right to marry but NOT important enough to celebrate its creation….maybe now people will see just what a/holes they are and see that the Constitution means NOTHING to them if they cannot use it as a tool for political gain…..

Does Crazy Make The Best Leaders?

During the current election cycle we have had many, many candidates and those that pretend to be candidates….some logical, some calculation and some that just sound like a mad hatter……but what about those that sound crazy….would they make a good leader?  Even if they are a stone loon?

It seems there has been a bit research in this area and the findings show that being MAD could work for the good of the country.  This reported on the Newser website……

People often complain about the madness of America’s leaders in Washington—but what if that madness is actually a good thing? After looking at famous leaders from Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King, Dr. Nassir Ghaemi has concluded that being manic or depressed often makes for better leaders, reports NPR. “Historians have often not paid much attention to these features of their lives; they’ve just written them off as irrelevant to their leadership,” said Ghaemi. “I wanted to show that these symptoms not only were present in their lives, but were relevant to their leadership.” “Creativity and resilience is higher in people with mania, and realism and empathy is higher in people with depression compared to normal subjects,” said Ghaemi, who has just published the book A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness. “The problem often with mentally healthy, average leaders is—even though they’re not weak in the sense of not having any of these qualities—they often don’t have enough to meet the very high demands of crises.” Ghaemi also speculates that one of the big problems with “No drama Obama” is that the current president might just be too normal. “And in fact, if he had a little bit of drama to him, it might be quite helpful.”

You may think that some of the candidates are not wrapped real tight….but research says…..not to dismiss them out of hand….our next leader could be a mad hatter…..and could possibly be good for the country…..(pause here for raucous laughter)…….NO!  I do not believe either but it was an interesting post to write……

Peace!

How To Spot A Person’s Politics

I was sent this in an email…I am not sure from who….but if this steps on toes I am sorry…..let me know and I will give credit……

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, “You’re in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

“She rolled her eyes and said, “You must be an Obama Democrat.”

“I am,” replied the man. “How did you know?”

“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help to me.”

The man smiled and responded, “You must be a Republican.”

“I am,” replied the balloonist. “How did you know?”

“Well,” said the man, “you don’t know where you are or where you are going. You’ve risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You’re in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it’s my fault.”

Oh, there is so much more to be said….but I will let this stand on its own……Good One!

Which Way Do You Swing?

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Political Theory

Gotcha!  No, this is not some post on being sexual….one way or the other…..it is about political theory…..as any political philosopher would do….ask you questions and have you answer and then learn about one’s self……

Are you a conservative or a liberal?  You may take a political aptitude tests that tells you if you lean left or right….but are you a conserv?  Or maybe a liberal?  Could a Marxist slip in there?  I will not give you the answer but ask some questions and see where the answers lead….

Do you believe in……?

Privatization of public services

Deregulation of the economy

A more liberal trade and industrial policy

Massive tax cuts

Monetarist policies to check inflation, even at the chance of high unemployment

Strict controls of organized labor

reduction of social spending

down sizing government

expansion of international markets

remove controls of world financial flows

Are you on board with any of these proposals?

Please all my readers give me their thoughts  on this…..I will explain in the comment section after I have heard from you guys…..thanx for playing along….I appreciate it…..

A Liberal Gene?

For decades conservs have tried to say that liberals are some suffering from a mental disease or that it is a sickness or some such dribble……oops!  It seems someone has found a liberal gene…..

Appearing in the latest edition of The Journal of Politics published by Cambridge University Press, the research focused on 2,000 subjects from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. By matching genetic information with maps of the subjects’ social networks, the researchers were able to show that people with a specific variant of the DRD4 gene were more likely to be liberal as adults, but only if they had an active social life in adolescence.Lead researcher James H. Fowler of UC San Diego and his colleagues hypothesized that people with the novelty-seeking would be more interested in learning about their friends’ points of view. As a consequence, people with this genetic predisposition who have a greater-than-average number of friends would be exposed to a wider variety of social norms and lifestyles, which might make them more liberal than average. They reported that “it is the crucial interaction of two factors – the and the environmental condition of having many friends in adolescence – that is associated with being more liberal.” The research team also showed that this held true independent of ethnicity, culture, sex or age.

Fowler concludes that the social and institutional environment cannot entirely explain a person’s political attitudes and beliefs and that the role of must be taken into account. “These findings suggest that political affiliation is not based solely on the kind of social environment people experience,” said Fowler, professor of political science and medical genetics at the Univer. of San Diego.

Okay, I can just hear Limbaugh, Beck and the rest of Right Coast radio jerking off…..so liberals are born and conservs are made…is that about it?

American Core Values

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Politics/Government/Society

Lecture #7

I recently wrote a thing on what are “traditional values”, at least to the American people….I found that not many people thought of the concepts that I had, which were Liberty, Freedom and Equality….I got lots of anti-abortion or anti-gay or immigration, both sides of the spectrum….all, in my opinion, are emotional issues and not what I would categorize as a “traditional value”….with this done I got to thinking about what use to be called “Core Values”….those values that people think are the essence of the American democracy…..I spent a couple of weeks talking with college students at a local Jr. college…the ones taking American Gov 101…..their answer were a bit surprising, at least in my mind……I did NOT ask what political leanings they had…I wanted to get a honest non-partisan answer……what I found in my survey….

The students say these are the core values…..as they see them…..

Democracy…but they were not sure why….

Patriotism….loyalty to the country and the flag…but few said they would join the military right now…or even mentioned American exceptionalism

Freedom….they say we have freedom of speech, movement, and that of achievement……

Charity…..to help those who need help

There were some others but they were not important….these were the most common answers…..but what I found missing were the exclusion of religion and equality….only 1 out of 25 said equality and no one mentioned religion, at all……

If something is to be a ‘core belief’ then it has to be a standardized list…these would be the issues that the country stands for and fights for when a fight is necessary.  If you belief that society is organic, by that I mean ever changing, does that mean that values and so-called ‘rights’ are ever changing?  Or is it necessary for the ‘core values’ to remain the same so that the country has a foot in reality?

Thank You For Making My Point!

Daily Agitator

We are bombarded daily but this poll or that poll….the Prez popularity is falling or rising or ………More people are conserv…the country is going in the wrong direction….are a few of the polls that the media is SO addicted to these days…a minute by minute look at how Americans view Washington and its players……these figures are used to drive the political debate or drive the story of the day….but how accurate are these figures?

From the Newser website:

Yeah, it’s expensive, but pollsters need to start calling cellphones. According to the latest CDC data, 23% of US adults, or 25% of US households are cellphone-only, writes Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com. Add in “cellphone-mostly” households and that jumps to 40%—and it could be even higher by November, never mind 2012. These people are just being ignored, even though they are very different from their landline counterparts. Cellphone-only users are more likely to be young, urban, poor, and technologically savvy than their peers. “All of these characteristics are correlated with political viewpoints and voting behavior,” Silver argues. Pollsters try to compensate by “upweighting” the few young people they do reach, but that’s a lousy solution, and a recent Pew study proves it. Pew pitted a weighted landline-only poll against one that called cells and discovered that the latter swung six points in Democrats’ favor—a statistically significant result.

I have been preaching this all the way back to the 2008 election when daily polls were all the news…..during the election I asked why the people with cels were not part of the poll…..and that any poll that did not include these people was NOT accurate in any way and should be ignored completely….I said that then and it is MORE important now.