Do we need a Brutus?

Brutus' murder of Caesar didn't stop the end of democracy in Rome, so I'm not advocating that. What I'm talking about is a Republican who will vote to impeach Trump in the Senate.

Are we entering on a time when democracy is eclipsed? When a politician can only speak in partisand spin, then objective legal proceedings no longer can be objective. Where are the conservative and Republican critics to defend democracy? I know so many friendships and family associations that have ended because of this terrible time in American history. Where are the people who want to bring us together? America didn't want to be brought together with Obama, and we're proving that again by the embrace of Trump. Who is going to wake up and notice that the embrace of Trump is unAmerican?

In my life, though deep political divides have existed, the institutions of democracy have been solid. At present the balance of power is being challenged. Political scientists call this a regime cleavage. The very foundation of democracy is at stake.   

Interesting times

So Trump self sabotage himself. He destroyed his chances of being re-elected by breaking the law. He's not really partial to following the laws except the non-disclosure agreements his staff sign. They should follow the law. It was just a matter of time before the karma vector of this wannabe tyrant hit up against limits he would find did not suit him. I'll never forgive the people who ignored all the warning signs.

Of course the rose colored glasses, of those who still defend him, see a proud strong man defending himself against liberal excesses. Confirmation bias. You believe what you want to believe. The same could be said about me, but that's why we have objective laws. He broke the law. They can pretend they don't see it, but they also can't say they are the law and order republicans any more. Many prominent Republicans have resigned from the party, and the ones who are left love the power grab, the pussy grabber.

By sucking everyone else in, he provided cover. That's why he likes to point at others, he's looking for something from Biden's son. You going to take down a whole herd? Upping the stakes.

Do we want to impeach every other player in this scandal? I do. Lets go to number twenty on the succession list. I don't care even if it is Moscow Mitch. Get someone who isn't tainted with the blood of illegal activity (that we know of, yet). But impeachment is only about one official as far as I know. The jerk who stands in till the next election will pardon the whole lot. The crime pardoning president will be his place in history. They will say we need to make peace and move forward as a nation. I'm not done rubbing their faces in the mess they made.

That Trump thinks Biden is his biggest threat, doesn't even see Warren or Sanders. The logic that says Obama created Trump might also declare that Trump created Sanders. I know a lot of people who can't imagine a woman winning the presidency. I've always predicted that the first woman who becomes president will be a republican. But Warren used to be one, so maybe some can hope.

Meanwhile people are suing South Carolina Republicans because they canceled the primary. The many headed hydra of this big bowl of wrong against democracy has made a lot of work for others, and it's not clear what efforts will be wiped out and when.

What happens to the Republican party when Trump gets impeached? Do they all just stand in line, rank and file behind Moscow Mitch? Ben Carson? Who ever ends up with the presidency in their lap. Not exactly how we hoped it would happen. And then does whoever run for president? Was he even considered? I'm pretty sure it would be a sham running, with little possibility of winning. Romney has been in the wings for quite a while now, "look over here, look over here." Not sure I want someone who needs psychologically to be president so much, though I suppose they all need the ego boost. Every president has been hamstrung by one problem or another. Are we ready for a Mormon?

So the Democrats are voted in and there's a historic sweep also of the House and Senate. Trump was like a bad colon cleanse. Drain the swamp? He built gaudy casinos on it and invited all his swapthing friends. He's the master at inverting the narrative. You call him a tyrant, well, he's the most democratic president in history. Forget that he didn't win the popular vote because we give farmers in the midwest more power. Their hardscrabble existence is about self reliance, and that aligns with the Republican rhetoric of personal responsibility, that is a general principle for everyone, but hardly a basis for the government when people die from their murderous policies.

Trump has defeated the philosophy that government is bad and doesn't matter. He's gone in and wrecked it up pretty bad, but we deserve something better.

Meanwhile his daughter has gotten a patent in China for election machines? Wasn't really sure the family was into democracy. I thought they would go into the moat and alligator business.

I think we need to clarify what emoluments are, and strengthen that part of the constitution. Trump's greatest service to America is that we've learned we need to strengthen the institutions of democracy in America. 

Political thoughts

Progressive means changing things. Trying something new. Cutting edge. In music it means really going for it, pushing the envelope. King Crimson. In politics it means really attempting to ameliorate some of society's flaws and errors and systematic prejudice and oppression.

Conservatism is a basic psychological fact. Things can't change that much, that quickly, without people getting uncomfortable. Lots of adults were deeply challenged by the 60's, when they wanted to come home from the war and just live a regular life, recover from the trauma of war.

Progressivism is a basic psychological fact. We want to change things to improve them. Young people imagine they can run things in a more positive way.

What would happen if I suddenly became president? All my platforms (tolerance, multiculturalism, environmentalism, justice, public health) and programs and leadership would lead to a lot of change. Perhaps some of the things would not mesh together. There are always unintended consequences to every course of action.

People fear communism, what they they didn't like was dictatorships. Turns out there are probably just as many right wing dictators. It's really the fear that someone will take over, along the lines they don't want. To permanently lose the election.

Society is going to get gentler and kinder. It's in our own best interest to take care of people, suffering people let loose in the world cause lots of trouble. But when things get better, the government should shrink and not increase. I might want big government to tackle some issues, but I don't want it forever. It just seems to be what is needed.

It is important to take responsibility for your life. In systems theory there are all kinds of systems that are causal factors. Republican rhetoric likes to focus on personal responsibility. That's great, apply it to the congressmen and military too. I'm all for lack of hypocrisy and seeing the larger picture.

Meanwhile policy and words are murder. Governors squashed greater access to health care out of spite, and that let so many people die. Republicans have to be "pro-life" because they are so anti-life, it's a manic reparation.

The hypocrisy and murder party, that loves creationism, secretly embraces a Mad Max/Waterworld survival of the fittest.

As far as I can tell, the swing for far right to centrist and far right has been going on forever here.

The racists who hated Obama, that led to the swing that led to tRump, will hopefully lead to a swing towards the center that we haven't seen since Roosevelt.

We need to figure out how to game kindness, togetherness, large mindedness that fosters taking care of everyone, and personal responsibility.

The internet, a greater spread of information, is helping.

When you give monkeys a medium treat, they like it, eat it. If you give one monkey a medium treat, and another a special treat, the monkey throws the treat they would usually like at the giver, because they want the special treat. This is a basic behavior aspect of mammals. We are the third chimp.

Real political dialogue is not ironic. Republicans that blame liberal thinking for the problems in society are only seeing a political reality and not THE REALITY. When Pence said he was offended at LGBTQ offense, was just acting like a rodeo clown (no offense to those guys). You can't claim you care about plants feelings, as an argument against vegetarian/veganism, when meat takes up so much more plants. It's an insincere argument because they don't care. That basically is the Republican argument: turn kindness towards others on itself. Nice try jackass.

The political philosophy that we need smaller government is a valid theory. Even saying it shouldn't be federal but state and local is a valid theory. But the way they do it. It's like claiming to be Christian when there's not a Christian bone in your body. I get queasy disillusioning people. There is a sense in which I am very much not like my ideals. I am capable of point a finger at me, admitting my faults.

They say if you don't love America, then leave it. Like patriotism is a fawning all positive love affair. That's not realistic.

People say, we should only love our citizens. We can't even do that, we don't have anything for others. I disagree. We need to open our hearts, not find reasons to close them down. That is just spiteful. That Chris Rock line from a movie, "God Bless America, and nobody else."

I can't wait till Warren is president and all those conservatives start pointing out her contradictions. I can't wait.

Republicans are like the equivocators of the Gunpowder plot. Feeling oppressed, they feel entitled to lie, and then speak the truth in their head and to God.

My biggest fear is that tRump, who has shown he can do anything, normal ethical standards or ethical qualms don't matter, might start a war to get himself re-elected. He's the king of distraction. That would be some heinous shit. His ability to dupe the American public could be tested, though, there is also a strong strain of America waking up from it's enabling his shenanigans.

Time to stop being punked, bamboozled by this flim flam man.

Weasel politics

Eric Trump thinks the press should not have reported that his father's resort hires. He thought they should cover a dam accident in central america. Um, you can do both. But I get the idea that certain things are covered and others aren't. The exception in South Carolina for a adoption agency to be prejudiced against their views is one story.

I will never be for a democrat or other politician who wants things not to be democratic. Mitch McConnell doesn't support democratizing moves. He imagines federal workers will all go and work on democratic campaigns. I've seen memes from conservatives about how letting all the immigrants in is another way of getting more votes. Or that free college is about making more democrats. Winning at any cost is what truly disgusts me, and I don't like it from the democrats either.

I can't help but think Schultz's vague proposals are like Aaron Burr, the villain of the musical Hamilton. "Talk less, smile more," to which Hamilton has the rejoined, "If you're got nothing to stand for, what will you fall for?" To be sure Hamilton is loose with history, but it feels true.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders claimed that God elected Trump. I had not heard that she had a direct line with God. By extension she must be doing God's work by lying for him.

The Trump administration's willingness to say anything should give them shame.

Kamala Harris

There's a fawning article about Kamala Harris in the Atlantic that ignores the recent revelations about her dating life, which an annoying conservative friend on FB pointed out. I pointed out that it's unlikely that Harris spent campaign money to pay hush money for a sex scandal. The implication my facebook friend had was that she slept her way to the top instead of earning with merit. Like all the Trump family in the administration who rose through merit. Never mind that we very rarely apply the standards to ourselves.

So I looked into this Root article. Not wanting to repost things that are from suspicious media, I looked up and The Root was founded by Louis Gates in 2008. Jr. Jason Johnson is a professor at Morgan State University. Johnson joked about being worried there would be a photo of Kamala Harris in an Eight Ball jacket (seen above) that she might not wear it unironically. Willie Brown  "was doing what among old black men would be crassly referred to as “bragging on his dick.” "

"Brown had been separated but not divorced from his wife, Blanche Vitero, since 1976. He met Kamala Harris in 1994 when she was 29 and he was 60 and their whirlwind romance was all over the California newspapers. They broke up around the time he was elected mayor of San Francisco, a position he held from 1996 to 2004."

So it wasn't extra marital, even if that was none of our business.

"She’s not a Jezebel, a Mammy or an Omarosa. She’s also the first viable woman running for president who has had an entire adult dating life. Elizabeth Warren got married (the first time) at 19, Michele Bachmann at 22, Carly Fiorina 23, Hillary 28 and even 2020 candidate Kristen Gillibrand got married at 35."

Johnson's point at the end is that he didn't like it that Kamala Harris supported prison labor, "her refusal to back independent investigations in police shootings, her relatively timid attempts to fix prison overcrowding, her failure to properly site [sic] Tribe Called Quest lyrics."

This guy is funny even if he doesn't know the difference between "cite" and "site". You could probably find a million grammar mistakes in my writing. The politics of pointing out others mistakes without admitting your own struggle is annoying. Pointing out Kamala Harris' sexuality before she was married without seeing Trump's sexual politics while married, and using illegal funds for hush money--that was criminal!

This guy is funny, I'm going to try and read his articles.

Harris got married at 49 to Douglas Emhoff, a lawyer with 2 adult children.

Too many rabbit holes in politics. It's all smoke and mirrors for financial injustice and lack of justice in America, catering to the rich.

I've had recent rants on my spiritual blog and my Shake-speare blog. I have too many blogs and opening up another dormant blog is perhaps not the thing I should be doing, but I'm thinking more politically and therefore this is where my political thoughts belong, blog-wise.