politics as usual

Been some time…

(I know there needs to be a photo to suck you in, to make you scroll… preferably of a cat, right??)

It looks like democracy,Joe Biden and the lack of the former guy. combined with the resulting sanity must agree with me….I haven’t had a “ranty, get over yourself, grow up and think of others” post for a good long time. Rather than a new blog post a day till I catch up with all the crazy that is running through my head, here is a stream of consciousness stream of ranty thoughts wandering around…

We are now in the Groundhog Day portion of COVID-19…., we’ve had two St Patrick Days with no parades, everyone has had at least one birthday in lockdown, we did two Easters, we are heading close to our second anniversary of Memorial Day where we BBQ in our backyards with a few folks, weather permitting, sans chaos and crowds, masked even if you are amongst those who have been jabbed twice (last date for that second jab has to be around Mothers Day, to provide you the requisite antibodies, etc) You even may be able to visit your mother on Mother’s Day instead of like last year, when you attempted to teach her to Zoom….if you have followed the science.

As promised, a little bit of Alastair the Cat…(and friends Baby Beluga, Ducky and Baby Doll)

As to the doubters among us– you do realize that you are here, alive and hale and healthy in your 40’s? 50’s? 60’s? 70’s? BECAUSE your parents, back in the before times, in the ’50’s ’60’s, 70’s,’80’s–DIDN’T ask your 18 month old self if you WANTED to be saved from smallpox or polio or measles, or mumps, or, or, or…And yes. Some parents EVEN let them test those vaccines on young children, because otherwise children wouldn’t make it to adulthood to give consent. (IF your parents opted you OUT successfully from all vaccines, THANK the vaccinated “herd” around you for having survived without catching any of the above..) Anyway, be glad and thank your parents for giving you a chance to live long enough to complain about the simplest thing you could do for people and wear a mask, let alone thank them for the chance to live long enough to die from Covid 19…

Have been scouring the interwebs and have discovered exactly NO ONE who has turned down (returned to sender) their stimulus money, despite carrying on about whatever communist plot it is a part of –(and of course, the “communist plot/socialism” bits only pertain to the LAST $1400; the first two installments equaling $2600 having been issued under the directive of dear leader, that money and it’s reason for appearing in your bank account is as pure as the driven snow–proof in fact, that the gubbermint CARES for you. It’s the New, Democratic money that is suddenly suspect and a sneaky socialist/communist plot.

The socialist plot trope in these storylines has gotten so out of hand that some GOP reps seem to think Corporate Communism is actually a thing…further proof that our educational system has failed–1, that someone would say such a thing, and 2, that other people would believe it. (of course, option 3 is that person one, speaking, BELIEVES they can FOOL you into believing whatever claptrap comes out of their GOP mouth because Dems are the devil… and remember, if you can’t see the con, you are the mark…)

I mean, look. YOU know you are not as stupid as some of the people you have elected –by choice or by apathy– think you are, right? Their voting records are right out there in the open, but they hope that instead of listening to what reliable news reports tell you about how they voted, or researching it yourself, they instead think their fancy, high-production-value videos of them lying through their teeth will sway you.

But. If you are still only getting your “news” from the insane number of emails that “trmpAndCo* are sending you, and you are STILL sending out $$$ to support the whinging, crybaby, poor little “billionaires” in their attempt to destroy (or their favorite misused and bizarre word –CANCEL) democracy, well, I don’t know what to think.

There is a story in the NYT, early April 2021, which describes in heartrending detail how older, not so internet savvy trmp* supporters accidently approved REPEATED, WEEKLY withdrawals of cash (you offered him $50, or $500, ONCE? and yet, you accidentally approved $50 or $500 every WEEK??) from their accounts, to “support” the poor little rich billionaire baby boy in his fever dream of the big lie, till they couldn’t pay their bills. While most of the over 100 MILLION dollars was returned, it essentially ended up being a huge interest free loan to the poor billionaire who didn’t want to use his own $$ to fight for his seat.

WHAT is bi-partisianship? No, REALLY. What do YOU think it means? Because according to the recent retelling of the GOP, in order for something to be Bi-Partisan, THEY,– the LOSERS, the Minority party,– THEY should have as much if not more say over what happens in the government.

The way that appears to work in their mind is this— THEY could have won election/re-election by ONE vote in their congressional or senatorial seat. They PERSONALLY should be more paid attention to than the others; indeed, their “firmly held” belief is that ANY legislating/governing/lawmaking REQUIRES a 60% YES vote.

Remember, THEY could win their election 10,000 to 9,999 votes… but to actually legislate, the vote total in Congress/The Senate would need to be equivalent to 11,999 to 7999–60/40!–THAT is what a filibuster-proof majority (which, any member can simply EMAIL a message saying they plan to do so… nothing more taxing than 30 seconds during a commercial break of a TV show’s worth of effort..)

Also, did YOU elect Mitch McConnell? If you didn’t vote for him (say, because you DON’T live in Kentucky) does it not piss you off even the smallest amount that HE is telling YOUR representative that THEY may not, WILL NOT vote FOR something that President Biden proposes? (one can only assume the reason is that YOU and YOUR state may actually BENEFIT from said bill, and that would just not do.

Do you like the idea that your representative will simply REFUSE to vote yes on something as basically positive as repairing that bridge into your state– you know the one– only one lane of traffic at a time because it’s gotten so unsafe that the weight restrictions cause back ups all the time??–Your rep MUST vote NOPE, no thanks, don’t need your money, JUST SO BIDEN FAILS.– And NOT because they were elected to say No, or because they truly BELIEVE that is the right answer,but JUST because Mitch TELLS them them must say no. (and equal opportunity complaint– Manchin has outsized influence right now) Democracy is a very fragile experiment, and we need to be as careful with it as possible–and we need to UNDERSTAND and participate.

Where that is taking us is to the unbelievable place where a GOP senator is sending out scary ads talking of THE HORROR of President Biden wanting to dedicate $400 billion to CARING FOR YOUR ELDERY MOM… Yup, the one you FINALLY get to see on Mother’s Day, assuming you’ve both gotten your jab.

Can you even imagine? Remember, early in the pandemic, which political party felt that your elder family members would be willing to DIE to keep the economy open.

It MATTERS who you hire– from local dog catcher on up the ladder of public service. IT MATTERS.

WHO you vote into office matters so damn much that those in power will do almost anything to keep that power-do the people you are voting to put in charge BELIIEVE in SCIENCE?

Do they BELIEVE IN GOVERNMENT?? Do NOT elect anyone who does NOT believe in the power of government, ok? IF they say that private enterprise is the way to go, tell them to go be a CEO, and leave the welfare of your state in the hands of someone who believes in government, and what it can do for people.

I can’t tell you the number of posts I see on Twitter and Facebook, of people I actually know, all around this country, basically crowd-sourcing COVID vaccine appointments–it hurts my heart. But, then, I read the thread, and my heart grows two sizes when I see EVERY RESPONSE is one more idea about where and how in that state that you can maybe find a shot. And there are such things as Covid Angels, who have put their skillsets and time together, who are matching shots on the ground and turning them into shots in arms.

I get my second shot on my daughter’s birthday, and while I will not be seeing her on Mother’s Day, I am SO VERY glad that hugging my granddaughter can be a real thing again…

This is why we can’t have nice things.

Just a random thought from a sinus-y, head-achy brain, that’s waiting for the caffeine to kick in.

I think Congress and the GOP in general are a pile of petulant children, not at all adults who care a whit about you and I, their constituents, and even less about governing. They care about posturing, however. They are afraid to utter a vocalization that will not tow the line of their silent partners–those with the moneybags; the ones who bought them their seats of power in exchange for their free will.

They want to make sure that whatever they say will play well and be bombastic  and loud and rally the people in the 10-20 second clips that will make the news.

Governing- not so much. Smokescreens- those they like.

President Obama has just done SOMETHING, ANYTHING, finally, about the issue that our country is being shot full of holes by people who feel their right to lug around and use a gun over-rides my right to LIFE, let alone liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What’s funny is they have been screeching “We don’t need new laws, we need to uphold the ones we have–” after EVERY mass shooting, and so, that is what President Obama has finally done. The majority of sane people agree this is a Smart Thing, (especially if they don’t have to say it on camera, with their name attached, in case they happen to be Republicans and will be ‘found out’.)

As expected, they’ve all* now come out screeching about how wrong the president is and how illegal it is for him to enforce the laws that already exist! (*If there are any GOP elected officials or candidates who haven’t, please share with me.)

Healthcare was dealt a similar fate. Back in the days before the ACA, there was this thing called RomneyCare, for the residents of Massachusetts. And President Obama wanted to avail the entire country of such a Wonderful Thing. So, he bent and he twisted and he sliced and he diced and he arrived at the admittedly not perfect ACA, which could be a lot better if the amount of energy put into fighting and destroying it were put into making it better. (But, hey, that’s just me.) Once out of the hands of the Republicans, it now has President Obama’s name attached to it, and has suddenly become the worst idea EVER.

And now, the Faux News is carrying on that President Obama is faking his tears about shot dead six-year-olds, and the GOP candidates say he is simply distracting us from the incipient horrors of Daesh by trying to keep American citizens from killing each other, and he should be more concerned with defeating Daesh. Considering the number of people murdered last year by Daesh in this country versus the number of people murdered by (formerly) law-abiding good guys with guns who went bad, I think the president is on the right track.

By the numbers.  (If you READ the article before belly-aching, you will see the author indicates the numbers are slightly off from reality, but the reality is that the CDC isn’t ALLOWED to collect all the information they need, and therefore the data comes from a variety of sources and is being approximated.)

So, to counteract this wily bit of distraction by the president, the GOP  has decided to attempt to defund the ACA and Planned Parenthood. AGAIN. (Head-scratching inserted here.)

27 things…the Reality episode

Name the 27 things you simply couldn’t live without.

Since we (I) are flinging 27 things a day, in an attempt at a new year, organization and all that fun stuff, can you whittle your list down to 27 things?

That’s right. List them, go on. Your cell phone, your computer, your Blackberry, your nice car, your….

Ok have you got your list?

All 27 things?

How many of these showed up?

Shoes. Pants. Or shirt, socks, mattress, blanket, pillow, cup, plate, fork, clean water, food, bandages, medications, electricity, a safe, dry place to lay your head. The knowledge your family was alive, and whole.

If these items are on your list, how far down are they?

How many Haitians would like to be able to even say that they possessed 27 things tonight?

I cannot watch the news. It’s not only that I rarely have the TV on, or that I can’t handle the images of the devastation in Haiti, but even more than that, I can not listen to how this is a political bonanza being manipulated for one side or the other, or how it is religious retribution.

I have no tolerance for anyone calling themselves ‘godly’ or ‘good’ or ‘god-fearing’ or ‘righteous’ or ‘just’ (or whatever religious term applies) and then saying that the God they believe in and worship would think that the images we see, the lives destroyed, are all justly sacrificed because of a 200 year old pact with the devil (by slaves, wanting FREEDOM,of all things…)

To publicly call out such backward nonsense, to use the power that they have for reaching people and asking people to give, to be donors, to help, to pray, to come together; to use that opportunity instead to be petty and to sound narrow and idiotic….

I can not tolerate the bickering about whether or not the President of the United States of America has the right to ask us to donate to a cause such as helping our fellow human beings. That by doing so, he is merely attempting to win people over. Or harvest emails.

Politics be damned, already. The suffering in Haiti, these human beings, are your fellow travelers in this world.

Whether or not their government was corrupt, or will remain corrupt, should be of no consequence right now.

Honest, desperately poor people are this very night mourning the loss of thousands and thousands of their family and friends.

ETA: Read THIS and tell me that we should be bickering over whether these fellow humans are worthy of our assistance.

Text “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5 on behalf of the Yele Foundation, the leading contributor to rebuilding Haiti founded by Wyclef Jean.
Text “Haiti” to 20222 to donate $10 on behalf of The Clinton Foundation (former President Clinton is Special Envoy to Haiti)

Text “Haiti” to 25383 to donate $5 on behalf of the Internal Rescue Committee.

Text “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 on behalf of the Red Cross in the U.S.
Donate to Catholic Relief Services, or to Doctors without Borders or Salvation Army, but donate.
We are blessed by the number of possessions we have,  (many times 27), the comforts we take for granted, and the warm, dry safe places we will rest our heads tonight.