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Posts Tagged ‘politics’

What I Want to Hear

Posted in Culture, Politics, tagged , , , , , , , on 05 Oct 2025| 2 Comments »

Republicans are blaming the Democrats for the shutdown and, following the standard congressional “I’m rubber, you’re glue” playbook, Democrats are blaming the GOP in turn. That’s a weak, schoolyard response, and I’m sick of that game. Here’s what I want to hear from Democrats:

“You’re goddamn right we’re responsible. We are shutting this shit-show down, using every tool we can muster, using the power of the minority (just as you have done so many times over the years) to obstruct, to delay, to thwart, to frustrate, to discomfit, to drive a wedge between y’all and your base, to amplify our voice and blast our message, and our message is this: We will not be complicit!

“We will not be complicit in making health care unaffordable for millions by raising premiums and cutting services (and don’t trot out that bullshit lie about us wanting to provide health care to undocumented immigrants, because you know folks need an SSN to apply for Obamacare, and the undocumented, by definition, don’t have one).  People are having a very tough time, right now, and we won’t help you make it worse. We won’t. You’ll have to sit down with us. You’ll have to take the damned meeting. You’ll have to negotiate. You’ll have to fucking govern instead of strutting around like a bunch of mooks in cheap suits running a protection racket.

“Moreover, we will not be complicit in supporting your destruction of our society. We won’t support this rogue militia you’ve created out of ICE and CBP, a force that rappels from BlackHawks down into American cities to round up people indiscriminately, en masse, without warrants, destroying property, terrorizing communities, citizens and immigrants, adults and children alike. No. We won’t.

“We’re not going to just stand by and wring our hands and think back fondly on gentler times while you erode our most basic rights. No, JD, we’re not going to be ‘civil’ in the face of your incivility, we’re not going to be silent and meek when one of the tenets of our founding documents enshrines our freedom to tell you that you’re wrong and we’re right and why.

“And we’re not going to just bite our tongues when you call everything an ‘emergency’ so you can raise the cost of goods with tariffs, withhold funding appropriated by law, extort businesses and universities into silence, prosecute individuals because they made you look bad, and slap the ‘terrorist’ label on anyone exercising free speech.

“No. We’re not. We’re going to shut this down, and we’re going to do it loudly and unapologetically. We’re going to make governing this nation as difficult as possible until you come to the table, sit down, and negotiate. We are doing this because of the real and lasting harm you are perpetrating against our nation. We are doing this because we fucking can, and because the American people need someone to protect them, to look out for their needs, their health, and their lives.”

That is what I want to hear. That is what I think we need to hear.

k

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Dear Senator

Posted in Culture, Politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 27 Sep 2025| Leave a Comment »

I write to express my strong support for your recent vote to REJECT the continuing resolution to fund the government, and I beg you to hold fast and continue to fight for a negotiated bill that will undo some of the worst effects of the GOP’s efforts to strip American’s in need of their Medicaid and ACA assistance.

Moreover, I am also in support of the broader position that we cannot continue to fund the GOP’s efforts to dismantle the federal government, nor the administration’s obvious predisposition to limit, ignore, and outright deny American citizens their constitutionally-protected rights. A vote for the CR would make us all complicit in our own demise, and would be nothing less than appeasement of this the president’s growing autocracy.

I know that the president has threatened mass firings/layoffs should a shutdown come to pass, but I have two things to say about that.

First, he threatened this the last time, and Democrats blinked, wanting to avoid the unnecessary hardship that firings would cause to thousands of government employees. However, that concession, that concern, got Democrats nothing but a black eye and a reputation for not having the resolve to match their rhetoric.

Second, firing those employees would be the president’s choice, not a necessity, as he has the option of furloughing them instead. If he does fire thousands, yes, it will cause those employees harm, but how much harm will be caused by the loss of Medicaid and ACA subsidies? We must weigh the difference between employees losing their jobs and citizens losing their lives.

So it is with knowledge of the painful ramifications a shutdown would cause that I plead with you to stand your ground for as long as it takes to bring your GOP colleagues to the table, to push the president to take your meetings, and to force this administration to govern by negotiation and consensus, rather than by fiat.

Thank you for your past service to our state and to the nation.

In hope,

k

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Disappeared

Posted in Culture, Politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on 17 Apr 2025| 1 Comment »

William Roper: “So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!”

Sir Thomas More: “Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”

Roper: “Yes, I’d cut down every law in England to do that!”

More: “Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ’round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s! And if you cut them down—and you’re just the man to do it—do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!”

Setting aside my opinions about the real Sir Thomas More, I have always found the above exchange (spoken by characters in Robert Bolt’s play, A Man for All Seasons) to be a powerful reminder on the importance of the rule of law.

It is a particularly relevant exchange, today, when we have this same argument playing out in America. Why allow a terrorist to defend himself? Why allow a criminal the benefit of the law?

You may have heard of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man from El Salvador who had been living in the United States. You may know that he entered the U.S. illegally after fleeing gang persecution in his native country. You may have heard that Mr. Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang. You may have heard that his wife (a U.S. citizen) at one point received a Temporary Restraining Order against her husband. You may have heard Mr. Garcia referred to as a “terrorist.” You may also have heard that Mr. Garcia has always denied being affiliated with any gang, and that he has not been charged with any crime. And you may even have heard that the Trump administration admitted in court documents that Mr. Garcia’s deportation was an “administrative error,” but that they don’t plan on doing anything about it. “Oopsie,” as the president of El Salvador said, with a nod and a wink.

You may have heard all of that. But all of that is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that Mr. Garcia was living within the jurisdiction of United States and was therefore subject to our laws—all of our laws—when he was taken into custody and deported without a hearing, without any charges filed, without a chance to challenge the assertions leveled against him. Based solely on an anonymous tip, he was designated a member of MS-13 (and thus a “terrorist”) and summarily sent to a notorious gulag in El Salvador.

So, why should we care if an alleged terrorist and gang-banger was “accidentally” deported to one of the worst prisons in the Western Hemisphere? Why should we care if Mr. Garcia didn’t get to mount a defense, to challenge the accusations made against him, to have his day in court?

Why should we care if our government has “cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”

Consider this: It was only this February that the Trump administration designated MS-13 as a “terrorist organization,” making members subject (tenuously) to the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Pursuant to that designation, in March, Mr. Garcia was picked up as an alleged member (and thus, a terrorist), and renditioned without charge or trial to the prison in El Salvador.

Within six weeks, that happened. Also in that time, Mr. Trump has referred to protesters against Elon Musk and Tesla as “domestic terrorists,” and has mused publicly that next he wants to send “home grown” criminals—meaning American citizens—to that same Salvadoran gulag. Do you think, with “the laws all being flat,” that you or I or our outspoken friend or our activist cousin would be allowed our right to due process if we were deemed “terrorists” by this Administration? If anyone—including an American citizen—can be falsely designated a terrorist, would there be any laws left to protect us? Even if that accusation was merely an “administrative error?”

Our Constitution, in its Fourteenth Amendment, guarantees everyone person living within our nation’s jurisdiction—that’s every person, not just every citizen—equal protection under our laws and equal access to due process of those laws.

If it does not apply to Mr. Garcia, the it does not apply to me, and it does not apply to you.

Now, Mr. Garcia may be all or none of the things he’s accused of being. Though I have an opinion, I do not know for sure (and neither do you), because Mr. Garcia has never had a chance to face his accusers to defend himself, and the government has never provided any evidence—inside a courtroom our outside—to prove their assertions.

Mr. Garcia may be the Devil the Trump administration says he is, but I would still give him the benefit of the law.

For my own sake.

k

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The Lesson

Posted in Creativity, Poetry, Politics, tagged , , , , , , on 31 Mar 2025| 2 Comments »

What you are trying to teach me?
To harm? To hurt? To hate?
That a worthy reputation
is only built through fear?
That honor is irrelevant,
an antiquated ideal?
That rules, golden or base,
apply only to governed
and not the government?

What do you want me to learn?
Cruelty +  Money = Power?
That everything, even a life,
has a market value?
That caring for others’ well-being
is a sucker’s game?
That discord and outrage
are the privilege of the rulers
and not the ruled?

Because that is not the lesson
your actions drive home.

The lesson I am learning,
the lesson that you teach, is
that bullies have no friends, only sycophants,
that predators prey on individuals, not unified fronts,
that small-minded men use power as a weapon, not as a tool,
that loyalty born of fear lasts only as long as the loyal are afraid,
that plans of destructive intent always birth unplanned consequences,
that masses move slowly, react slowly, but once in motion, stay in motion.

The herd now smells the wolves.
Tick-tock.

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Focal Points

Posted in Culture, Politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on 05 Feb 2025| 3 Comments »

If you are anything like me, this last fortnight has felt like it was two years long. The constant barrage of cruel and often inept Executive Orders, the firehose of incompetent actions and rescissions, not to mention Congress’ total abdication of the “advise” portion of their role in “advise and consent,” has made the simple act of getting out of bed each morning a ponderous chore. And this, after I’ve already dramatically reduced my intake of current events. Frankly, there are times when I don’t know if I can make it through . . . however this is going to go on.

But then I remind myself: That is the entire point.

Proposing wholly unqualified candidates for high office, demolishing decades-long diplomatic agencies, purging competence and expertise from critical sectors, shuttering life-saving research and aid activities, starting a totally useless trade war with our closest allies, blaming every perceived woe on multiculturalism, threatening to invade/take over friendly nations, issuing pardons to persons who committed violence and riotous mayhem against the Capitol police and the seat of Congress, giving a wholly unreliable and arguably unhinged billionaire complete and unfettered access to the personal data of every single taxpayer in America (and more). Where to start? What to do? Where to look?

Take a step back, and you will see it. This is a blitzkrieg maneuver, a “shock and awe” tactic, to carpet bomb the Left into complete disarray, to start so many political wildfires that those who, like me, believe that our government should be by and for the people, become stunned into ineffectiveness simply because we do not know which fire we should fight first.

There is a famous quotation attributed to Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, who was by all accounts a brilliant military strategist. Translated and distilled over the centuries, it comes to us finally as this:

He who defends everything, defends nothing.

There is no hidden meaning to this quotation. It means what it says: if you run around trying to defend every inch of territory—political as well as physical—you will eventually lose; one must take small losses to focus on the primary points of contact.

And so must we, to counter this wholesale dismantling of systems that, though flawed, do provide safety and comfort to Americans. We must focus our efforts, concentrate our will, and do our best to “not sweat the small stuff.”

Pick two issues, maybe three. Read about those so you know what exactly is going on—you don’t want to get bogged down in conspiracies or tripped up by mis/disinformation—and then call your congress-critter, go to one of the town hall meetings they will be scheduling or, better yet, both. Register your concerns. If we all do that, our representatives and senators will have either (for Dems) data they can use to hone their focus or (for GOP) an idea of how upset their constituency truly is.

My main issues? Of the myriad choices, my two bugbears are:

  1. Giving Elon Musk and his JV Squad of tech-noobs my personal information and total access to petabytes of sensitive government data. Having worked in the health insurance industry, the concept of providing the “minimum necessary” amount of data is a standard precept; no one—especially a group of unvetted non-government employees—should have full read/write access to the entirety of any government database.
  2. The shutdown of USAID, which only takes up 0.7% of the national budget but which saves lives, promotes democracy, provides alternatives to growing drug crops, feeds starving kids, and has been the front line of our diplomatic “soft power” for over half a century. Shutting these efforts down is a huge gift to autocracies such as Putin’s and Xi’s, because who do you think is going to rush into the vacuum just created?

Those two might change as this sh!t show continues its run, but they’re what I will try to defend for now.

Find your focal points. Marshal you resources. Decide the issues that fire you up the most—personally, morally, legally, ethically—and defend those things. Then take a break. Then get back to it.

Onward.

k

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The Call

Posted in Creativity, Poetry, Politics, tagged , , , , , on 15 Jan 2025| 1 Comment »

Bow, ye Faithful! Bow!
For your Creation comes forward
Wrapped in the trappings of power
Wreathed in censorious brimstone
Flanked by slavering legions!

Genuflect! Bend the knee before Him!
This gold-plated god of hammered tin
Hear the sheet-metal thunder
Of empty pronouncements
And believe His words yet again!

Wail, thou dissenters, and lament!
As the paisley-clad dreams
Conceived in your Summer of Love
Are ground to dust and ash
Beneath His jackboot heel!

Kowtow, lick-spittle magnates!
Turn your fawning obsequiousness
And pettifogged morality
Up to Eleven
And pray you evade His notice!

Exalt, all, as Turpitude ascends!
Powered by the Voice of Millions
Who wanted nothing more
Than cheaper eggs and
Shelter from the storms.

Pray, you huddled masses!
Fellow citizens of the coming chaos!
Pray with every atom you possess
That we are all strong enough, in time,
To regret this thing we have done.

——————-

k

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Time to Get Serious

Posted in Culture, Politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 21 Sep 2024| Leave a Comment »

Early voting began yesterday in three U.S. states, which means we are in the final stretch of America’s 2024 presidential election. (Finally!) It also means that for the next six weeks we’re going to be inundated with adverts, texts, mailers, flyers, and door-knockers.

By now, most people have made up their mind, and frankly, if you’ve already decided on voting for Trump, I’ve got nothing for you; thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you next time. However, about 5–6% of Americans are still on the fence, trying to decide either between the candidates, or between voting and staying home.

First, please please please commit to voting on November 5. It is so important that you exercise this power. You can go to Vote.gov to find out if your voter registration is current and/or how to register if you’ve been purged from the rolls. Even if you do not live in one of the critical “swing” states, you still have Senate, House, and state races that are critical to the success of your candidate and the agenda you support.

One of the most common concerns folks express about Harris is that they don’t know enough about her, and don’t know where she stands on the issues. With her having been thrust into the race so late in the game, this is a legitimate concern. We didn’t have a year-long primary to learn these things, and she’s been playing catch-up. However, the information has been coming out, and I encourage anyone still unsure about Harris to explore her positions on the issues—such as the economy, taxes, health care, education, reproductive freedom, climate crisis, civil rights, immigration, gun violence, and foreign policy—and compare them to Trump’s†.

Last point: There has been a lot of activity in state election boards (and in campaign rhetoric from the GOP) that has laid the groundwork for specious challenges to the outcome of the election. If the vote tallies are close, we’re going to see a tsunami of delays, lawsuits, and chaos surrounding demands for recounts and refusals to certify results. To counter this, progressive-leaning voters need to come out in record numbers, to increase that margin of victory (yes, even in reliably blue states), so there can be no doubt as to the outcome.

To me, the choice has always been clear, but I understand that such is not the case for everyone. In my mind, an even temperament and a willingness to compromise are two hallmarks of a successful presidency. Next to those, I look for an agenda that is geared toward helping middle and lower income households, because that is what a society is supposed to do: help those who need help, not those who already have it made.

Harris isn’t a perfect candidate—I’m sure everyone will find one of her policies that rankles—but comparing the two candidates, comparing their respective agendas, and comparing their approaches to governing, I find the GOP candidates terribly lacking. The politics of division and denigration—of women, of minorities, of legal immigrants, of the childless, of the non-Christian and non-hetero and non-cisgender—that is no way to govern a society that is as complex and multi-layered as ours. It is a bleak and hostile view of our nation, its history, and its people, and it deserves to be soundly rejected.

Thanks for stopping by. I’ll put away my soapbox, now.

Remember to check your registration and make a voting plan!

k

† You can find Trump’s issue statements either as part of his series of Agenda 47 videos, or see many of them described in Project 2025. (Though Trump has denied any connection to that project, it was authored by many of his former staff and its elements are strongly echoed in his rhetoric.)

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