So let me get this straight

So let me get this straight

Its alright for the police to be judge jury and executioner if you are black and don't comply with their commands?

Its not alright for the public to question the actions of police officers who do act egregiously?

Its alright if the police infringe upon a person rights (by perhaps acting as judge, jury and executioner) if that person has criminal background?

Its alright that victims were murdered because they were out after murder? 

Its alright for unregulated militia to patrol our streets and shoot citizens, who are exercising their 1st amendment rights, without the police stopping or questioning this patrolling?

Its alright for unregulated militia to shoot and kill, while claiming they are defending property that is not their property 

Its alright for the police to not confront a white person armed with an assault rifle, but not alright for a black man to have a knife on the floor of his car? 

Its alright for a white minor, armed with an assault rifle to wave to the police in the middle of a chaotic situation, and the police give the minor a bottle of water? 

Its alright for a minor to cross state lines with an assault rifle, to defend property that is not his own? 

Its alright for a white minor to shoot and kill white protesters, exercising their 1st amendment rights, and then be hailed as a hero?  

Its alright and exonerates a murderer if they spent time doing voluntary community service prior to committing murder? 

Its alright for armed protesters to drive through the streets of a city, spraying mace and shooting paint pellets at innocent bystanders? 

Its alright to use the White House for political purposes in clear violation of the Hatch Act? 

Its alright to flaunt centuries of precedent simply to own the libs?

Its alright to donate millions of dollars to an alleged murderer to help offset his defense costs?  

Why is murder an appropriate response to property damage, but property damage isn't an appropriate response to murder?

What is the End Game?

 What is the End Game? 

Has anyone considered the end game of the upcoming election? No, I am not talking about Thanos snapping his fingers and removing half the country which disagreed with your candidate. 

But seriously, are we prepared and has anyone thought about the path we are headed?

If the toddler-in-chief wins another electoral college victory (legitimately or not) or if it goes to the state legislatures the majority in the left will be very upset to say the least.  The right won’t care about what happens to the left, as all the seem to care about is owning the libs.

 CBS says they care more about this than lowering taxes, controlling covid, and healthcare reform

So, let’s assume that regardless of the partisan makeup of Congress, Trump will continue to drive his own agenda as agreed upon at the RNC and have little or no resistance from his party.  He will continue to push the bounds of ethics, to evade the law, as no one has held him accountable to his oath of office. He will continue to prop up fringe groups, promote conspiracy theories and do anything else to support those who show him the love. So essentially four more years of the same.  Now that is apparently what the right wants.

What do they expect the left to do?  I am sure they are not going to roll over and just accept this minority rule of law, and I am sure they will still try to push their agenda in the states they still control much to the chagrin of 75% of registered republican voters.  Okay, now you are owning the libs, you got what you want, do you expect to crush them under your foot?  Do you expect to deport 50-60% of the citizens since you believe the hate the country?  As the right has no agenda other than to prevent the democratic agenda, and have no desire to effectively govern as they simply want to blow up the existing

As the liar-in-chief refuses to compromise or negotiate with the left, we can expect the ACA to be repealed, we can expect greater tax breaks for corporations with little or no break for individuals, we can expect the military complex to continue to grow, we should expect Social Security and Medicare to go away, more sick and dead from the mismanaged pandemic, and more POC killed in the streets where unregulated militias wander the streets claiming to be patriots charged with restoring order.  If they retain the senate then we can also expect more unqualified judges to be put into lifetime appointments.  They are trying to build a utopia that never existing while ultimately killing the basis of our democracy that has stood for the past 244 years in order to achieve a vision that never existed

Now, let’s assume Biden wins, we already know that some of Trumps most rabid supporters and others are certainly going to call into question the validity of the outcome. I can see anywhere from 30-50% of the country stating Biden is not a legitimate victor and will refuse to accommodate or agree to be led by anyone from the left. I do think Biden will attempt to lead from the middle, and will try to speak for all Americans, but if a large percentage don’t accept this leadership, what is left?  If the Senate remains in Republican control, we can assuredly see another log jam of nothing happening, similar to what the turtle promised during Obama’s inauguration and certainly what we saw with the nomination of Merrick Garland.

So What is the End Game?

Do the rabid supporters want the country to be torn apart since they claim to hate the left?

Do they support minority rulers who can do as they please as long as the system in rigged in their favor, turning the US into an apartheid South Africa circa 1980? 

Is the left justified to attempt secession claiming states’ rights and majority rules (assuming 45 only wins the electoral college and not the popular vote) in order to fracture the union?  

Do we descend into mob rule in order to overthrow a duly elected government? (This can apply to either side)

How do we avoid this?

 

Yesterday I was angry, sad, seriously concerned about the direction of our country

 Yesterday I was angry, sad, seriously concerned about the direction of our country 

We have both parties, as alleged representatives of the population, sniping at each other as the entire country seemingly moves in two opposite directions, while living together in two parallel realities unwilling or unable to understand why the other sees the world as they do.  There is no desire to talk, to compromise, to agree, to find a common understanding. 

We are too quick to paint our neighbor as our enemy, as hate spews forth from our posts, while we remain cordial to each other in our backyards.  We have turned an international pandemic into political squabbling where everyone has become an expert in infectious diseases when most of us barely passed high school science or college stats, but we are still able to find memes and graphs which support what we are being told by those politicians that benefit and honestly don’t care if we get sick or not.

Side note: Wear a fucking mask, what is the downside?

We have another black man shot in the back, in his car, in front of his children in Kenosha WI by the police captured on video.  We are told we cannot believe what we saw with our eyes (hello Orwellian images of 1984).  We have both sides screaming back at each other, not listening to what the other side is saying.  We have one side saying we should have unquestioning faith in their ability to make hard decisions while subsequently taking away the public’s ability to question that judgement.  Who then should hold the police accountable to serve and protect without allowing them to also be the judge, jury and executioner?

We have one side stating pure lies about the other side, with no interest in understanding why they are not true but spreading them simply to support their perspective of demonizing the opposition and reinforcing what they want to believe to be true. People believe these lies without as much questioning the validity of them or wondering about the outlandishness of the claims and then try to paint the other half of the American population as believing those lies to be true. 

Everything is being framed in finite terms, with only black and white world with no shades of grey and no color spectrum what-so-ever, and nothing in the middle.  We have people believing ridiculous conspiracy theories and believing egregious lies, making it easier to hate and demonize the opposition. 

There is no way we can continue down the path we are going without some sort of major collision that will end poorly for us as a country. 

If the toddler in chief wins then the left is furious especially if it is yet another electoral college victory only.  If Biden wins, I assume at least 30% of the country will believe the fix is in (as that is what they have been told). The other problem is if Biden wins, I believe he will attempt to govern the entire country, and those same 30% will refuse to be led by him, driving a larger wedge into our society. How will the progressives react when he pivots rights to appease? Will the turtle try to block all executive agenda points if they retain the senate, like he did with Obama? There is no positive outcome in any of these scenarios. The only question I have is Biden going to be a replay of James Buchanan or Abraham Lincoln (not necessarily rising to the occasion, but as for the precipice of the next Civil War)

What is the end game for either side? I am not sure they care as they are all lining their pockets with the decisiveness.  Everyone gets rewarded by this except those that have the most to lose, We the People.  Until we decide it is enough, and the politicians need to speak for us, not for corporations, not for lobbyists, not for the media, then we will continue moving at light speed awaiting the collision. Maybe a meteor hitting Earth the day before our elections is a good idea, but also a very American centric perspective as it would screw everyone else on the planet too. 

 Do we all support another Civil War?  Are we ready to send our kids to war with our neighbors?  Would we accept a secession of some states similar to what the traitorous Confederacy tried in 1860? I don’t believe the geographic break is as easy as it was then, as we have many states divided, are those going to fracture as well? 

Is this the future?

The Unraveling of America - Rolling Stone

"How can the rest of the world expect America to lead on global threats — climate change, the extinction crisis, pandemics — when the country no longer has a sense of benign purpose, or collective well-being, even within its own national community? Flag-wrapped patriotism is no substitute for compassion; anger and hostility no match for love. Those who flock to beaches, bars, and political rallies, putting their fellow citizens at risk, are not exercising freedom; they are displaying, as one commentator has noted, the weakness of a people who lack both the stoicism to endure the pandemic and the fortitude to defeat it.” –

Quotes from What does it mean to be an American?

Becoming American means following the rules. It means respecting your neighbors, in your own neighborhood. —Francine Sharp, 73, retired teacher in Kansas (born in Kansas)

If you work hard, you get good things in life. —José, college student/roofer; immigrant without legal status in Tulsa, Oklahoma (born in Mexico)

Being American is making a change, and making good changes. Being American is being welcoming, being caring about other people, being proud of the country. And it’s forgiveness. It’s not holding grudges on anything—I mean, where’s that going to get you? —Natalie Villafranca, 14, in Texas (born in Dallas)

Being American means protection by the law. Anyone can say whatever they want and, even if I don’t agree with them, they’re still protected by the law it’s my job to enforce. That’s their freedom. That’s their right. —Sean Larkin, 40, sergeant with Tulsa Police Department’s gang unit in Tulsa, Oklahoma (born in Virginia)

 

Disproving the lies

Author Unknown - Agreement 100%

Just a note for my right-leaning family and friends from my left-leaning self as we near voting day:

They say we want to disband police departments (and that we hate the police): we don’t, that’s a lie. We want to weed out racism and unnecessary police brutality and for those who abuse their power to be held accountable.

They say we want to release all prisoners: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want to weed out racism and ensure the punishments match the crimes and to de-privatize prisons.

They say we want open borders: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want asylum seekers to be given their chance to seek asylum. We want to help people who are coming from unimaginable terror and poverty help to give them the chances we have. We want to ensure children aren’t separated from their parents and that nobody is kept in cages. But we do want proper vetting.

They say we want to take away your guns: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want logical gun control to help prevent mass shootings.

They say we want to wage a war on Christianity and Christian values: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want people of all religions to be able to practice and worship freely.

They say we want to get everything for free: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want to work hard and make sure that healthcare and education are affordable for all.

They say we want a war against traditional marriage: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want people of all sexual orientations to be able to love freely, no matter who you love.

They say we want to destroy or rewrite history: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want to recognize the ugly parts of our past and do everything we can to say “that’s not okay, let’s not honor those aggressors, let’s not let those things happen again.”

They say we want to take away your constitutional rights: we don’t, that’s a lie. We choose to believe science and wear masks and try to prevent the spread of this disease.

They say we hate America: we don’t, that’s a lie. We just recognize our faults and want us to do better, be better.

Stop with the us vs. them. Stop with the straw man arguments. Stop with the fake news. Stop with Fox new. Our position is one of empathy, compassion and logic. Stop believing the hype. Stop with the division. Just because we want equality for all doesn’t mean we want to take anything away from you.

Do they care about anything other than owning the libs?

I am not watching the RNC shitshow this week.  Full disclosure I did not watch the DNC last week either.  My mind is made up and nothing is going to change who I am voting for in November 

If I cared, which I don't, I would be curious about the expectations from the right.

Is this what republicans they want from their convention?

Is the Trump family all that matters? Do you see any parallels between this and a dictatorial dynasty in North Korea? 

Is furthering his unclear and inarticulate agenda more important than having an actual platform, stating what you stand for as a party?

Do they have no interest in hearing from other prominent Republicans?

They have proven they don't care about the lies, since they say everyone lies but is there a limit to the lies or any lie that goes too far?

Does the fear mongering make them feel better or worse about the direction we are heading?

Does it bother them that the toddler-in-chief is running as if he is an outsider and not the person responsible for the past 3 years?

Does it bother them that he "jokes" about 12 more years, trampling on the constitution that along with the flag they always want to masturbate upon as a demonstration of their patriotism?

We already know that 170k dead doesn't bother them, and they are happy to blame the Dem governors for nursing home deaths but is there a limit that is unacceptable?

Do they have any interest in working with the libs as opposed to owning them to work towards unifying the country?

DO they care that Russia put bounties on our soldier and our commander in chief rolls over and does nothing?

Why do you believe a proven con man when everyone else is telling you something else?

Why do you think traditional media is trying to deceive you but the media you watch is not? 

Why do you think the entire country has an agenda that is polar opposite of yours?

Why do you think your fellow American is your enemy?  Hates the country?

If your boy wins in November, do you continue to alienate half the country or perhaps the majority who voted for Biden?  To what end?  Is total destruction of the union you claim to love the only end game? 

Are we not one country?  Why are you alright with the president representing only one part of the country and not working towards uniting the country? 

Why are you alright with federal troops invading cities and states (only democratic run) and not sending the militia to defend your second amendment rights?  

Why are you standing next to the federal troops cheering this police state action?

Why are you alright with arresting citizens off the streets, in clear violation of the 4th amendment?

How can the definition of what it means to be an american has become such a divisive question? 

Why is it you hold up the constitution when it is helpful to your cause, but happily piss upon it when it goes against your interest?

Why do you believe worshiping the flag makes you more patriotic than anyone else?

What every happened to separation of church and state?  This country was founded on the principles of religious freedom, which means you are free to worship as you see fit and I am free to worship as I see fit.  

No Sharia law is not coming to anyplace, but you seem to want to push Christianity and Jesus on all of us, which seems contradictory to me 

Nobody supports live abortion.  Once a baby is born, it is born and no one is killing.  Late term abortions (those happening in the last trimester 

I could go on, but I don't care as I know they are rhetorical and the rabid supporter does not care about any of these?