On this Memorial Day, I thinking about how we stop the next war from happening ... the one that was triggered on January 6, 2021, and is now festering and growing until it is ready to burst out like pus from a boil. The cause like most wars is economic greed. Income disparity has handed all the raises that working people should have g…
On this Memorial Day, I thinking about how we stop the next war from happening ... the one that was triggered on January 6, 2021, and is now festering and growing until it is ready to burst out like pus from a boil. The cause like most wars is economic greed. Income disparity has handed all the raises that working people should have gotten over the last few decades to the ultra rich. Now a family needs two incomes to survive and the elite complain about the lazy workers that won't take minimum wage jobs that won't even pay for childcare. It is also about education that has been starved by budget cuts again for decades. Civics and character and how to think (not what to think) is not being taught. So now we have too many Proud Boys who need to carry a big gun to feel powerful. We have too many people who don't understand the with rights come responsibilities to protect the rights of all. Without that responsibility, that freedom these people insist they deserve is nothing but anarchy and narcissism. If the For the People Act doesn't pass I intend to join the non-violent resistance. If the For the People Act does pass I'm afraid the Insurrectionists will be called to overthrow those nasty socialists. They will say they are justified and this is what the Second Amendment is for -- to take back the government for the few with the many guns. But there will be no "well regulated militias" just anarchists. I fear we're in for a rocky ride. There's still some hope although time is rapidly running out. By December, the 2022 election will be all we hear about along with the obstruction of government. And, if the Republicans who don't believe in the climate crisis take back the House and Senate in November 2022, which is a likely scenarios by some counts, democracy is dead and the planet will be dying. Maybe it will be the military who saves America yet again. But at what cost. How many Beaus? Will it be as bad as the first Civil War ... or worse?
I too am from Texas--and worry so about the direction of our state, where nearly every bill recently passed focuses on assuring the Republicans that they will stay in power. Texas had more FBI arrests from the Jan 6 Capitol insurrection than any other state. Our two Republican senators, our governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general all are such disappointing leaders that our only hope is to get them out of office. I am grateful for Heather's story about Beau--and am eternally grateful that my husband returned from his tour in Vietnam, after my first letter was "guess what I am pregnant?" How lucky to meet him at the airport as I could barely fit under the steering wheel. We always knew my son David, now 54 could have been born having lost his father in the war.
My Texas state representative cosponsored the permit-less carry gun law! I asked him if for his next bill if he was going to get rid of driver's licenses and have license-less driving. 3,893 people died in car accidents in 2020 in Texas; 3,683 people died from guns.
They do not deserve to be called "leaders." They are white supremacist thugs who have finagled their way into office via extreme gerrymandering. Now, they plan to stay there via extreme voter suppression mandates and by granting themselves power to decide who wins and who loses.
Here's the top story in today's Kerrville Daily Times: "A 28-year-old Kerrville man was jailed after local law-enforcement officers intercepted a message indicating he was preparing to carry out a mass shooting at Walmart, according to the Kerr County Sheriff's Office."
Oh my. I'm almost afraid to go anywhere these days. I do all my shopping online or curbside. But there's nothing that can stop a barrage of bullets from WMD fired out of passing vehicles - oversized trucks with Confederate flags for the most part. We are living in precarious times.
Just wrote to my Texas state representative again mentioning this and saying "Thanks for making me feel less safe in Kerrville!" The answer to guns is not more guns. Anyone can fire a gun. What is missing is the training and intelligence to act responsibility in these situations. Otherwise innocent people are killed.
Who would have thought 5-6 years ago that Americans would be discussing entirely seriously the loss of democracy in their country. It would have sounded daft then. Now it is entirely reasonable conversation to have...yet still faintly absurd.
I often think of what will be the turning point, beyond which there is no rescue, for ameliorating climate change. When will become literally impossible to subdue severe ravages?
I am beginning just lately to think the same way about America and democracy. It is clear that battle lines have been drawn. It is obvious that Republicans have set themselves on a course that could bring ruin to America. The bitterly ironic aphorism, We had to destroy the village in order to save it.”, comes to mind when I think about their wanton perfidy and recklessness.
Did we cross a final line when the Republicans filibustered the 1/6 inquiry? Did that utter fool Matt Gaetz paint the future clearly when he spoke this past week about the need to use the Second Amendment to overthrow the government (piously adding that he hoped it never comes to that, a total canard on his part).
Or is there still time to save America and chart a new course. Nominally there is a potentially brilliant Democratic government which could, in two terms, do so much good for Americans and America. But we all know now that the operative word is “nominally”. The Democrats have lost control of the Senate between Mitch McConnell, Joe Manchin, and that sly opportunist Kirsten Sinema.
And it’s becoming evident that President Biden, no flamethrower, is still hoping to bring the Congress of the past back to life. It is amazing to me that there are still negotiations on vis-à-vis thé Infrastructure Bill and that the Democrats have chopped their original proposed expenditure in half - without result. That is especially telling after the Republicans bargained for three concessions on the Commission Bill, got all of them - and still “voted” it down. Winning 54-35 counts a loss in this Mad Hatter world.
I’m still inclined to think that we haven’t crossed the Rubicon yet, that the House will conduct its own inquiry and its results will be accepted as valid, in the light of the revelations they extract. I think that a wave of appropriately severe jail sentences will make a number of the knuckleheads still hellbent on the joy of destruction begin to think twice. If Amy Berman Jackson is representative, the judiciary takes the concept of a free America seriously. And finally, it may all come down to how the former guy is disposed of. If he too is sent to prison and not with a slap on the wrist, America will have shown that it can rise to the occasion. The Republican Party will collapse like a pricked balloon and they will take years to recover enough to win elections.
It’s funny in an ironic way, to think of how much could ride on the hitherto obscure Allen Weisselberg.
We are big boys and girls here. We get over things. It was a curious beginning, I’ll grant you that, but I have nothing but the highest respect for you based on everything that you have posted here. Introductions can sometimes be rocky, through no fault of anyone. Who cares. It’s all good.
Amy Berman Jackson is exactly a figure needed on the Supreme Court. Weisselberg, I imagine, is singing like a canary and that will be a good thing. Maybe America will start healing if indictments and prison are invoked. That would definitely give new meaning to “Memorial Day”.
I resonate deeply with the if...then...else at the core of your message, Cathy Learoyd (Texas). I also see 2022 as the crucible for American democracy in our time. Pondering immediate next steps, but for me it starts with reading - Thoreau, Tolstoy, Gandhi, King - and looking for training programs in preparation for sustained non-violent resistance.
I took a webinar on Non-violent Resistance with George Lakey. It was fabulous. Mr. Lakey's personal experiences over six decades with non-violence is a fountain of knowledge. One tip I learned from him is "If in doubt about what to do, sit down." That deescalates any situation.
I also studied non-violence resistance with George Lakey. He teaches gently and with humor in such a way one comes away grasping what once seemed complicated and scary. I also had the good fortune to work with him and many others on a community project. Remarkable man. An elder in my world. Read his books on economy to understand how simple (and how flexible) socialist economics really is.
Bill, both NAACP and various Quaker associations have online training in exactly that. The full name of the Quakers is Religious Society of Friends, but our offerings are not religious in nature: the goal is to teach people from all kinds of backgrounds the principles of planning and carrying out pacifist principles and actions (and usually have some fun while we are at it). NAACP tends to be more focused but the purpose and teachings are similar. There are other sources of non-violent training as well, but in my mind these are two of the best.
It will be worse. It won't be limited to particular geographic areas. Think of the civil wars that happen in the less-developed world, where the fighting is close to "everywhere."
I agree that if it happens it will be much worse because of the was these militias have permeated all of our states. Now Flynn calling for a military coup. All of it is scary.
Yes, indeed, MaryPat, we have work to do. Let's not forget: We ARE the majority. We HAVE skills. If we can organize OUR community, then coordinate with YOUR community, then connect and spread the word to THEIR community, we CAN together protect and defend We the People and Democracy.
I think you nailed it, Cathy and thank you for pointing this out. This is about as serious a moment in our history as ever has been. When we think about the “Beaus” and my father and his father before him who went to war willingly. knowing they might not come back, it begs the question of what are we willing to do to preserve democracy, in our own country? Their acts of bravery and sacrifice truly humble me.
We should all be concerned MaryPat, in fact, very concerned, but not terrified. Terror is when you face the unknown and unbeatable and, right now, we are more numerous, more thoughtful and more likely to work together to defeat this insidious menace. There is a need for effective strategies short of violence because, if it comes to open warfare, identifying the "enemy" will be the biggest challenge because they will look just like us.
The only thing that should be set on stun is our phasers. For the sake of those who come after us, we don't want to kill another 600,000 Americans, we want all of us to be able to sit down and reason together.
And that’s the exact thing Matt Goetz was calling for earlier this week. The Democrats need to be more decisive and build a supermajority coalition with the few remaining Republicans to protect the country. Quickly.
Agree and add that Geotz's comments are a misrepresentation of the Second Admendment as justification for anarchy, not for protection of the nation by patriots. That he was cheered is more than a little concerning.
This is key: Without that responsibility, that freedom these people insist they deserve is nothing but anarchy and narcissism."
And it is with reluctance I write on this day that I believe we are already at this point. I hold out hope that Pelosi and Schumer and wise heads in the House and Senate (which would eliminate all the trumplicans) have some plan to ensure passage of the For the People Act. Look what just almost happened here in Texas last night...it will happen everywhere if that Act is not signed into law. It's our only hope now that Abbott is planning to bring the same bill back in a special session. We are in that zone now, I fear, where We the People have no power - it's up to those who were elected. And in Texas, we have two seditionist insurrectionists who have the power in the Senate and a whole bunch of numbskulls of like mendacity in the House.
How eloquent, Cathy, how bone-rattling, how heartbreaking. An appropriate emotional response from my core on this sad and scary Memorial Day weekend 2021. Yes, I, too, fear we're in for a rocky ride. I so hope we're both dead wrong.
Wars usually have sides. The 1860 Civil War used the Mason Dixon Line. I am at a loss to imagine where a line would be drawn in the USA today. Wouldnt it be wiser to focus on a common enemy ...climate change? Tornados, floods and drought, earthquakes, pollution, species extinction and rising sea levels should have priority. War is not the answer. We don’t need more destruction. War mongers better channel their energy into something constructive. No one wins a war.
On this Memorial Day, I thinking about how we stop the next war from happening ... the one that was triggered on January 6, 2021, and is now festering and growing until it is ready to burst out like pus from a boil. The cause like most wars is economic greed. Income disparity has handed all the raises that working people should have gotten over the last few decades to the ultra rich. Now a family needs two incomes to survive and the elite complain about the lazy workers that won't take minimum wage jobs that won't even pay for childcare. It is also about education that has been starved by budget cuts again for decades. Civics and character and how to think (not what to think) is not being taught. So now we have too many Proud Boys who need to carry a big gun to feel powerful. We have too many people who don't understand the with rights come responsibilities to protect the rights of all. Without that responsibility, that freedom these people insist they deserve is nothing but anarchy and narcissism. If the For the People Act doesn't pass I intend to join the non-violent resistance. If the For the People Act does pass I'm afraid the Insurrectionists will be called to overthrow those nasty socialists. They will say they are justified and this is what the Second Amendment is for -- to take back the government for the few with the many guns. But there will be no "well regulated militias" just anarchists. I fear we're in for a rocky ride. There's still some hope although time is rapidly running out. By December, the 2022 election will be all we hear about along with the obstruction of government. And, if the Republicans who don't believe in the climate crisis take back the House and Senate in November 2022, which is a likely scenarios by some counts, democracy is dead and the planet will be dying. Maybe it will be the military who saves America yet again. But at what cost. How many Beaus? Will it be as bad as the first Civil War ... or worse?
I too am from Texas--and worry so about the direction of our state, where nearly every bill recently passed focuses on assuring the Republicans that they will stay in power. Texas had more FBI arrests from the Jan 6 Capitol insurrection than any other state. Our two Republican senators, our governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general all are such disappointing leaders that our only hope is to get them out of office. I am grateful for Heather's story about Beau--and am eternally grateful that my husband returned from his tour in Vietnam, after my first letter was "guess what I am pregnant?" How lucky to meet him at the airport as I could barely fit under the steering wheel. We always knew my son David, now 54 could have been born having lost his father in the war.
My Texas state representative cosponsored the permit-less carry gun law! I asked him if for his next bill if he was going to get rid of driver's licenses and have license-less driving. 3,893 people died in car accidents in 2020 in Texas; 3,683 people died from guns.
Great response!!!!
God forbid, Texas leaders should put that much enthusiasm into learning how to turn the heat on in a climate crisis.
They do not deserve to be called "leaders." They are white supremacist thugs who have finagled their way into office via extreme gerrymandering. Now, they plan to stay there via extreme voter suppression mandates and by granting themselves power to decide who wins and who loses.
Here's the top story in today's Kerrville Daily Times: "A 28-year-old Kerrville man was jailed after local law-enforcement officers intercepted a message indicating he was preparing to carry out a mass shooting at Walmart, according to the Kerr County Sheriff's Office."
Oh my. I'm almost afraid to go anywhere these days. I do all my shopping online or curbside. But there's nothing that can stop a barrage of bullets from WMD fired out of passing vehicles - oversized trucks with Confederate flags for the most part. We are living in precarious times.
Just wrote to my Texas state representative again mentioning this and saying "Thanks for making me feel less safe in Kerrville!" The answer to guns is not more guns. Anyone can fire a gun. What is missing is the training and intelligence to act responsibility in these situations. Otherwise innocent people are killed.
This is a link to GA Gun Laws with a map to click on other states to view their gun laws. Texas may not be updated as of yet.
https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-gun-laws/georgia/
Who would have thought 5-6 years ago that Americans would be discussing entirely seriously the loss of democracy in their country. It would have sounded daft then. Now it is entirely reasonable conversation to have...yet still faintly absurd.
I often think of what will be the turning point, beyond which there is no rescue, for ameliorating climate change. When will become literally impossible to subdue severe ravages?
I am beginning just lately to think the same way about America and democracy. It is clear that battle lines have been drawn. It is obvious that Republicans have set themselves on a course that could bring ruin to America. The bitterly ironic aphorism, We had to destroy the village in order to save it.”, comes to mind when I think about their wanton perfidy and recklessness.
Did we cross a final line when the Republicans filibustered the 1/6 inquiry? Did that utter fool Matt Gaetz paint the future clearly when he spoke this past week about the need to use the Second Amendment to overthrow the government (piously adding that he hoped it never comes to that, a total canard on his part).
Or is there still time to save America and chart a new course. Nominally there is a potentially brilliant Democratic government which could, in two terms, do so much good for Americans and America. But we all know now that the operative word is “nominally”. The Democrats have lost control of the Senate between Mitch McConnell, Joe Manchin, and that sly opportunist Kirsten Sinema.
And it’s becoming evident that President Biden, no flamethrower, is still hoping to bring the Congress of the past back to life. It is amazing to me that there are still negotiations on vis-à-vis thé Infrastructure Bill and that the Democrats have chopped their original proposed expenditure in half - without result. That is especially telling after the Republicans bargained for three concessions on the Commission Bill, got all of them - and still “voted” it down. Winning 54-35 counts a loss in this Mad Hatter world.
I’m still inclined to think that we haven’t crossed the Rubicon yet, that the House will conduct its own inquiry and its results will be accepted as valid, in the light of the revelations they extract. I think that a wave of appropriately severe jail sentences will make a number of the knuckleheads still hellbent on the joy of destruction begin to think twice. If Amy Berman Jackson is representative, the judiciary takes the concept of a free America seriously. And finally, it may all come down to how the former guy is disposed of. If he too is sent to prison and not with a slap on the wrist, America will have shown that it can rise to the occasion. The Republican Party will collapse like a pricked balloon and they will take years to recover enough to win elections.
It’s funny in an ironic way, to think of how much could ride on the hitherto obscure Allen Weisselberg.
Eric your posts are never less than superlative.
Agree totally. That was an amazing post, Eric.
I deeply appreciate your comment, as I feel the highest regards for your posts (and love the title of your book. Life: A Field Manual).
Unfortunately the circumstances under which we have met are not propitious.
We are big boys and girls here. We get over things. It was a curious beginning, I’ll grant you that, but I have nothing but the highest respect for you based on everything that you have posted here. Introductions can sometimes be rocky, through no fault of anyone. Who cares. It’s all good.
Did we have a disagreement? I honestly have no recollection of that whatsoever. Zero.
Of course, I’m in my pre-Alzheimer’s stage. :)
Awhile ago, a much older friend who blanked on my name asked me to forgive her because she's experiencing "halfzeimer's disease".
No disagreement, just a brief misunderstanding. I don’t think I’ve ever disagreed with you Eric.
“ . . . and love the title of your book. Life: A Field Manual.“
I think you just made my day Eric. I’m not sure anyone has ever told me that, one person maybe until you.
Thank you. 😊
Amy Berman Jackson is exactly a figure needed on the Supreme Court. Weisselberg, I imagine, is singing like a canary and that will be a good thing. Maybe America will start healing if indictments and prison are invoked. That would definitely give new meaning to “Memorial Day”.
I resonate deeply with the if...then...else at the core of your message, Cathy Learoyd (Texas). I also see 2022 as the crucible for American democracy in our time. Pondering immediate next steps, but for me it starts with reading - Thoreau, Tolstoy, Gandhi, King - and looking for training programs in preparation for sustained non-violent resistance.
I took a webinar on Non-violent Resistance with George Lakey. It was fabulous. Mr. Lakey's personal experiences over six decades with non-violence is a fountain of knowledge. One tip I learned from him is "If in doubt about what to do, sit down." That deescalates any situation.
Here's an interview with Mr. Lakey.
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2020/10/facing-right-wing-violence-while-defending-election-coup-george-lakey/
I also studied non-violence resistance with George Lakey. He teaches gently and with humor in such a way one comes away grasping what once seemed complicated and scary. I also had the good fortune to work with him and many others on a community project. Remarkable man. An elder in my world. Read his books on economy to understand how simple (and how flexible) socialist economics really is.
Bill, both NAACP and various Quaker associations have online training in exactly that. The full name of the Quakers is Religious Society of Friends, but our offerings are not religious in nature: the goal is to teach people from all kinds of backgrounds the principles of planning and carrying out pacifist principles and actions (and usually have some fun while we are at it). NAACP tends to be more focused but the purpose and teachings are similar. There are other sources of non-violent training as well, but in my mind these are two of the best.
Thank you, Annie, for these pointers. As a Friend of mine might say, these look like "weighty" resources.
LOL, indeed! It sounds llike you already have some connections. That's great!
It will be worse. It won't be limited to particular geographic areas. Think of the civil wars that happen in the less-developed world, where the fighting is close to "everywhere."
I agree that if it happens it will be much worse because of the was these militias have permeated all of our states. Now Flynn calling for a military coup. All of it is scary.
We have work to do.
Yes, indeed, MaryPat, we have work to do. Let's not forget: We ARE the majority. We HAVE skills. If we can organize OUR community, then coordinate with YOUR community, then connect and spread the word to THEIR community, we CAN together protect and defend We the People and Democracy.
I think you nailed it, Cathy and thank you for pointing this out. This is about as serious a moment in our history as ever has been. When we think about the “Beaus” and my father and his father before him who went to war willingly. knowing they might not come back, it begs the question of what are we willing to do to preserve democracy, in our own country? Their acts of bravery and sacrifice truly humble me.
I agree 100% and I am 100% terrified.
We should all be concerned MaryPat, in fact, very concerned, but not terrified. Terror is when you face the unknown and unbeatable and, right now, we are more numerous, more thoughtful and more likely to work together to defeat this insidious menace. There is a need for effective strategies short of violence because, if it comes to open warfare, identifying the "enemy" will be the biggest challenge because they will look just like us.
Concerned. I will change to to concerned, with all my faculties off "stun" and on "effective strategies." For my children and grandchilden.
The only thing that should be set on stun is our phasers. For the sake of those who come after us, we don't want to kill another 600,000 Americans, we want all of us to be able to sit down and reason together.
Ditto.
MaryPat I agree 100% too, but feel like the frog in the pond as I don’t easily feel the rising heat in the water.
😧
And that’s the exact thing Matt Goetz was calling for earlier this week. The Democrats need to be more decisive and build a supermajority coalition with the few remaining Republicans to protect the country. Quickly.
Agree and add that Geotz's comments are a misrepresentation of the Second Admendment as justification for anarchy, not for protection of the nation by patriots. That he was cheered is more than a little concerning.
And you in Texas are in what the late Red Barber called the catbird seat, seeing it unfold before your eyes.
This is key: Without that responsibility, that freedom these people insist they deserve is nothing but anarchy and narcissism."
And it is with reluctance I write on this day that I believe we are already at this point. I hold out hope that Pelosi and Schumer and wise heads in the House and Senate (which would eliminate all the trumplicans) have some plan to ensure passage of the For the People Act. Look what just almost happened here in Texas last night...it will happen everywhere if that Act is not signed into law. It's our only hope now that Abbott is planning to bring the same bill back in a special session. We are in that zone now, I fear, where We the People have no power - it's up to those who were elected. And in Texas, we have two seditionist insurrectionists who have the power in the Senate and a whole bunch of numbskulls of like mendacity in the House.
How eloquent, Cathy, how bone-rattling, how heartbreaking. An appropriate emotional response from my core on this sad and scary Memorial Day weekend 2021. Yes, I, too, fear we're in for a rocky ride. I so hope we're both dead wrong.
Wars usually have sides. The 1860 Civil War used the Mason Dixon Line. I am at a loss to imagine where a line would be drawn in the USA today. Wouldnt it be wiser to focus on a common enemy ...climate change? Tornados, floods and drought, earthquakes, pollution, species extinction and rising sea levels should have priority. War is not the answer. We don’t need more destruction. War mongers better channel their energy into something constructive. No one wins a war.
The Rethuglicans don’t believe in climate change if they allowed such thinking their entire ideology would have to change.