Sunday, January 31, 2016

A Few Things....,

Iowa, Iowa, Iowa!

Monday marks the official start of the primary season.  First on deck?  The Iowa caucuses.  While Iowa is not the make or break of a lot of campaigns, it will go a long way towards weeding out the contenders from the pretenders.  On the Democratic side, regardless of outcome, Hilary and Bernie will both move on to New Hampshire.  However, this should be the reality check Martin O'Malley needs to have him move out of the way and start his REAL campaign towards respectability in 2020 and beyond.  Any hopes he had of being the next Barack Obama and catching the excitement of a disappointed electorate should be dashed by now; a very distant 3rd place finish should seal that deal.
Now, on the Republican side, the "gang of clowns" who are all fighting to be at least recognized should be whittled down to those that have the stones and the cash to limp into New Hampshire and come up for one last try at the brass ring.  We all know it is really just a matter of time for the reality to slap Christie, Paul, Santorum, Huckabee, and Fiorina in the face and tell them to get off the stage; though I am sure Christie will try to take a "bite" out of that slap before he has to "swallow" his truth.  But Jeb Bush should have the long green needed to keep limping along for a few more primaries, sad to say, but what is even sadder, the choices left to challenge Trump are going to be Rubio, Cruz and Carson; a couple of kooks and a Doctor with dementia!  WOW!

Don't Drink the Kool-Aid!

The situation in Flint Michigan has surpassed absurd and is squarely looking like criminal negligence.  In an effort to save money, the appointed city manager, made a decision that will have disastrous consequences for decades to come.  The water flowing through the pipes and infrastructure of that city is so dirty and so toxic that unlike in areas like the Hinkley California case showcased in the book and movie Erin Brockovich, people are not seeing the effects later in life and in the new born children; the lead levels and pollution is immediate and visible to the naked eye. 
Children are showing effects now, older folks are suffering now, hospitals and restaurants are not able to use the water flowing out of their pipes to clean, cook, or wash.  This is 2016, so how crazy is that?  And in a classic example of the "peter principle", the same city manager who was directly responsible for the decision to change the source of the city's water supply from Lake Huron to the already known polluted Flint River, has been assigned by the Michigan governor to take control of Detroit's school system.  Not up on THAT story yet?  Well it is a disaster of such horrendous proportions that teachers' union has gone all in to bring attention to what is happening to those students, those schools, those teachers and the whole system.  When schools cannot use the gymnasiums because the floors have buckled, when kids are going to class in buildings that are overrun with black mold, when teachers are having to "survive" instead of live off of their salaries; then you have what is by definition, a disaster.  Why is the state of Michigan killing its lower status citizens and then failing to educate its children, and why is this NOT on the agenda of the Republican Presidential candidates?  The governor is Republican.  Why is this not on the agenda of the Democratic Presidential candidates?  Why are we continuing to read and hear about how Obamacare is destroying the future for our children and grandchildren but no one is discussing how the reality on the ground in Michigan is killing the people TODAY?  Do yourself a service, investigate these issues and start asking these hard questions; your NOW deserves answers.  Flint is saving dollars, one life at a time.

Enabling A Murderer: Hey Netflix!  

Look, if you have not watched or started watching the Netflix documentary "Making a Murderer", you should start doing so if at all possible.  I will not reveal anything here as to the final resolution of the story or to any subsequent follow up shows and stories about the case.  What I will say is, I just wish, the same attention, the same scrutiny, the same media attention would be focused on George Zimmerman and the Trayvon Martin murder. 
Nothing about that case made any sense to those of us who understand the fear and outrage of a community that is to this day beset with killings of young Black men.  Why won't someone do some serious in-depth investigation and bring to light details of that fateful night and follow up on the life of the man who pulled the trigger and killed that young man?  Will someone please start asking hard questions about the how the case was turned to make the victim the wrong doer and the killer the hero and how that hero continues to walk the streets and cause mayhem amid societal norms?  What happened in the prosecution's criminal investigation of that night that ended up with a young child dead and a glory seeking asshole walking amongst us?  Nancy Grace, how come YOU are no longer beating the drum for Trayvon?
This country is all abuzz over this case in Wisconsin, but no one is as outraged as the Black community still is over Trayvon.  The shame of it is, the truth should still be released, we owe it to Trayvon.

Oops, Our Bad; We Didn't Mean It

What if you staged a standoff and no one came?  What if you raised a call to arms but forgot to tell people to bring provisions?  What if you provoked the police and they actually fired on you?  Well if you are a White man with a bunch of guns trying to show how big your testicles are based on the caliber of your weapons, you get a quick lesson in what WILL happen IF the government does come for your guns.  Those fools, no, Domestic Terrorists; those Domestic Terrorists in Oregon found the answers to those questions this last week.  After staging a protest in support of people who did not want their support.  After taking over a federal refuge and declaring you were there for a fight, and walking around wearing their AR-15s around the necks and dressed as if they were real soldiers, Ammon Bundy and a few of his followers got the confrontation they SAID they were looking for from authorities.  Guess what?  They fought the law and the law won!  This is not a game People! This is not a show and tell situation where people in the federal government are cowered by seeing big bad men with guns on TV talking big game.
Now, from behind bars, arrested protest leader, Ammon Bundy is telling the 4 fools still at the refuge to stand down and go home.  He is also telling all of us that "this was never meant to be an armed stand off".  Hmmm...., how do they call walking around brandishing guns and saying they aren't leaving, NOT an armed standoff???? Where I come from, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and points a gun at you and says it will shoot if you come for it, that is what it IS!  And finally....,


It IS just TOO Important!

I did a quick experiment on social media the other day.  I asked supporters of both Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders if their candidate did not win the nomination, would they still support the ticket, or do what several supporters of Hilary did in 2008; refuse to throw their support behind Obama.  How short memories are for those who claim to be progressives.  In 2000 people who sought a different kind of candidate wrote in for Ralph Nader, if just half of those voters had put their support behind Al Gore in Florida and Ohio we would not have had 8 years of George Dubya Bush.  Don't be so butt hurt because your candidate won't get the chance to stand next to Donald Trump or Ted Cruz to fight for rational thinking, that you
  • lose the chance to keep Obamacare, 
  • to set the direction of the Supreme Court, 
  • to keep marriage equality,
  • to continue the fight against global climate change
  • and to keep the Black Lives Matter movement front and center
This election is more important than your personal desires.  This is an election that could change the status quo of  party change every eight years.  Not since Reagan to Bush has one party held the White House in consecutive administrations.  The Dubya Bush years where a disaster both domestically and abroad.  Though the anger of power comfortable White folk have marred the tenure of Barack Obama, his administration has been good for this country.  Respect abroad has encouraged other countries to believe in America's greatness again; whereas England and Israel have already held parliamentary votes to decide if they should ban Donald Trump from their borders because of his crazy divisive rhetoric on the campaign trail. 

I am not choosing a candidate at this juncture, but I am imploring you, if you proclaim to be a Democrat first, then follow your mind and not your heart if Hilary or Bernie is not your first choice.  I was blown away by how many people are so vested in their personal choice at this point that they declared they would either stay home, or refuse to support the nominee if they don't get what they want.  Well if you don't think you will get what you want if either Bernie or Hilary is your choice, wait til you see what happens when a stacked Congress sends Obamacare repeal legislation to the White House and it is signed.
This election is just too important to walk away with your feelings.  Vote the party, both candidates have admiral qualities and either will make a great President.  And either of them are a much better alternative then what the Clown Car is gonna drop off at your doorstep.

No comments:

Post a Comment