Republican Race to the Bottom Nears the Home Stretch

This is not real hard. This is not a heavy lift. 

Here are the facts:

The evidence of Trumps collusion with the Russians just with what we already know is overwhelming.

[Source]

The evidence of Racism among the Trump administration and at least 2/3 of the Republican base is quite obvious and cannot be denied. 79% of Republican voters are still with him even after his response to events in Charlottesville and his pardoning of Joe Arpaio. His whole campaign was one racist litany after another.

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The over 1000 documented falsehoods and lies he has told in his seven months in office.

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Close to 44 million Republican voters are still behind this incompetent, dangerous, clown of a human being. This number represents 79% of Republican voters. 79%!!! The majority of the base of the Republican party is so radical, so racist, so un-Christian, so un-American. The Republican party is not a party for conservatives. It is not a party for the common American worker. If you think it is please share for me in the past 20 years anything this party has done for you.

What this party has done in the past 20 years is...

• Take us into a war based on the falsehood that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. We now know that they knew this not to be the case at the time but did so anyway. 

• Took a balanced Federal Budget where we actually had surpluses and were on the way to eliminating our Federal debt and gave us a tax rebate that really only helped the wealthiest Americans.

• Took us to the brink of economic calamity in 2008 based largely upon their decision to repeal Glass–Steagall and to not oversee and regulate the housing, credit, insurance, and investment markets.

• Spent the better part of 7 years telling falsehoods about the affordable care act. Yet when they finally had the opportunity to repeal and replace it could not.

• Privatized much of our Federal prison system (with the assistance of some Democrats) and created a system of injustice for minorities.

• Created systemic voter suppression, and gerrymandering of districts as a means of staying in power as they have a shrinking base and no real ideas for governing.

• Continue to deny climate science as Houston sits under 50 inches of rain, and the planet moves closer to the point of no return. 

• Continue to trash and discredit the media.

A Question and a Reality Check

With 2/3 of Republican voters still behind Trump what exactly do you think Republican politicians are going to do?

The current Republican party is not dangerous because of Donald Trump. They are dangerous because we now are acutely aware of what 45 million people in their base believe and stand for. 

This should rock you to your core. This is a party that is self-destructing. Unfortunately they are doing so in a manner that is going to take all of us down. 

If you are a conservative with your head in the sand... pull it out and take a stand. History is judging you and your silence as we speak. 

The good news is that 45 million racist Republicans only represent 20% of the electorate.
The bad news is 50% of the electorate is too busy to vote.
The good news is we still have this thing called the Constitution.

Get active

Get involved

Get off you ass and do something

It is time to end minority rule in America. 

The Struggle Americans with a Moral Compass Face

On Oct 16, 2016 I wrote a piece about what real political courage looks like.
This courage led to the loss of a block of southern states to the Democratic for more than a generation.

You see, Americans do not care much for history. When Americans do recite history it is generally a sanitized, milk-toast version written in a voice that is coma-inducing. We really do not know how many racists there are in America. It is just not something most Americans will own up to being. Being an overt racist has not been politically correct. That is until now.

We had overwhelming evidence long before the election that Trump was a racist. We have the dog-whistle racism of birtherism that no one on the right would denounce. When I say the "Right", I refer to both politicians and voters.

Today we do have an idea of how many racists or people that do not mind racists there are in America. The number is about 50 million. This is the number of loyal Republican/Trump voters that are still with him. Still with him in spite of the overwhelming evidence that he colluded with Russia in influencing our election. In spite of the overwhelming evidence of his ties to organized crime, to Russia an adversary and hostile foreign power, to criminal activity that includes money laundering.

Money laundering is something already on Trump's curriculum vitae. In 1998 Trump's casino ended up paying the Treasury Department a $477,000 fine for charges of money laundering he was facing. The plea bargain allowed him to pay without having to admit any liability under the Bank Secrecy Act. "Yes, little Mary and Kyle, poor Black and Hispanic men get hard time in Federal prison for simple possession of marijuana while rich people get fines that do not even amount to fair taxation for their crimes."

Anyhow, enough of Trump's litany of moral and ethical failures and back to our originally scheduled program. History overwhelmingly supports the following narrative.

• The Democrats were the party of Slavery, this is a fact! 
• A Republican led President ended slavery. This too a fact, as are all items that follow. 
• For 100 years, until the civil rights act we oppressed African Americans. 
• In the 1960's Democrats did the right moral and ethical thing and stood up to the actions of other racist Democrats. 
• Republicans used this opportunity to take control of a large block of southern states. 
• Since the civil rights era of the 1960's we have continued to practice a form of dog-whistle racism that we have politically institutionalized from our prison system to our system of education.

The racism we are experiencing today is not some new phenomena. Racism is baked into the fiber and being of American culture. A culture that so many on the right practice. A culture many on the left deprioritize and often work politically with Republicans to create legislation that serves to further server to oppress minorities.

It is time to throw away this cake and once and for all end the civil war. This does not need to be a war of violence though there has been and there will continue to be violence. This is a struggle for decency and what is just and moral. In this fight we are taking on about 50 million of are fellow citizens. Many are homophobic, racist, and really do not care much for Democracy.

Though I think darker days are still ahead we will prevail because we are the majority. I want you to burn this day into your memory. 59% of the Republican base agreed with Trumps comments comparing Neo-Nazis to protestors against Neo-Nazis. This is 40 million Republican voters. That number is sobering but should not come as a surprise to anyone if we examine history.

History will judge each and every one of us as we struggle through these times. Struggle to fight for the principles of decency and the foundation of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. The choice is yours. Be wise. Be decent. Be just. Do not be afraid to speak the truth.

Automation - What say you?

One of the favorite shows this pessimist likes to watch is CBS News Sunday Morning. It is usually a nice mix of positive and uplifting stories. This morning they did a story on automation. They showed a company that has already drove a driver-less truck across Colorado. They sat in the cab of a long haul semi-truck that was being driven by a robot cruising down the interstate. They showed the Amazon store in Seattle that you can go into, shop, and never encounter a store worker.

Sound cool?

Today we have 3.5 million truckers, 600,000 Uber drivers, 180,000 taxi drivers. We have millions of grocery store workers. Automation and AI is here today. It is estimated that close to 50% of our jobs could be lost to automation by 2025.
[source]

We also have millions of people working in part time retail jobs trying to make ends meet. These were jobs back when I was a young boy that were full-time and allowed a person to work and support an entire family. What happened?

In 1870 50% of people worked in agriculture. By 1900 this number was 33%. 20% by 1950. Today 2% work in agriculture. [source] Ironically there is a trend back to small farming operations.

Manufacturing and mining jobs have been largely been replaced by automation.

When computers came on the scene there was great concern that jobs would be lost. Word processing led to the end of typewriters. Streaming video has replaced video stores that did not have a long lifespan to begin with. But, since the advent of the computer millions of jobs and many new occupations have arrived.

It is hard to predict the macro movements of our civilization. Change is inevitable.

What is certain is that change impacts our lives. What is a 45 year old that has spent the bulk of their life as a driver supposed to do if their job is lost to automation? Throughout the rust belt we can find communities that have adapted and changed with the times and our thriving. We can find other towns that have not been able to adapt where a large percentage of people live in poverty and despair.

Society is "the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community." Our society is seemingly becoming more and more survival of the fittest. The response to all this change is what we have typically done throughout history... try to redirect and blame those that do not look like us. Redirect and deflect blame where it does not belong.

What is the true measure of a society? What is the true measure of a person?

We are Witnessing the Downfall of the Republican Party

...either that or the end of Democracy as we know it. ...

Trump is and has been behaving like someone that is guilty. This is most likely because he is. His connections and behavior to Russia is overwhelming and we have not even gotten to what the Grand Jury will reveal. Many people will likely be going to prison including Trump himself.

There are going to be enough Republicans that ultimately vote to impeach Trump. His Presidency has been a disaster. Trump is out for Trump and the reality is that 62,984,825 people voted for this guy. 16 people ran for President in the Republican party. He crushed them all. What does this say about the Republican Party?

For 8+ years the Republican party has sold their base a line of total horse shit and lies about the ACA. They now own all 3 branches of government and they cannot repeal the ACA because they realize that the ACA has done and is doing good for 16 million of our fellow Americans. They have nothing to replace it with.

This is party with no vision and not a single good idea I can point to (leave a comment for any good ideas they have that I may have missed. I won't be holding my breath)

Whatever this party does they will likely lose enough of their base that their demise is inevitable. I take no solace in saying this. America is at its best when we have our two political parties healthy and thriving.

Frankly, the Republican party needs to stop appealing to haters and racists and the segment of immoral religious zealots masquerading as Christians. I am not speaking about all evangelical Christians. Many are friends of mine and they are fine people with good moral values. I am talking about people like Pastor Kevin Swanson, Ralph Reed, and other leaders and followers that preach a false gospel of hate.

While this party is getting its shit together or another party emerges to replace them some of the elected leaders could switch over to the Democratic party. Alabama Senator Richard Shelby was once a Democrat. People in the same party do not need to agree with one another on every policy matter. Compromise is key in any Democracy.

I cannot speak for Democratic voters embracing some of these people to join. Over in Democrat land there is a movement brewing to replace the old guard with a more progressive group that is more in tune with where the base of this party wants to go.

Republican Constituents - We Invite You to Join Us

Liberals, Conservatives, and Moderates do not need to agree on everything. We do need to unite on the ties that bind us. Affordable health care is one of these matters. Abiding by a Democratic process is another.

It is time to broaden our focus from Trump to the Republican party as a whole. Are they really working in the interests of working class people?

When the ACA (Obamacare) was passed it was done in an open and public process. Here are the facts

• After the bill was released to the House and to the public a month long markup ensued with 160 Republican amendments. 

• The Senate health committee spent nearly 60 hours over the course of 13 days marking up the bill 

• The Senate Finance Committee held 53 meetings about the ACA and an eight-day markup of the bill. The longest markup for the committee in over 20 years. 

• The Senate Finance Committee committee considered 130 amendments and held 79 roll-call votes.
• There were 44 hearings and public events about the plan in the Senate alone.

The bill was signed into law in March 2010, 8 months after it emerged from committee in the House.

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These facts are also available in the Congressional record.

Now, for the current repeal of the ACA and replacement with the AHCA (Trumpcare) which is a hodge-podge of multiple versions of a bill that the CBO estimates that anywhere from 16 million to 32 million Americans will lose coverage. May I also remind you that Trump ran on replacing the ACA with a bill that would cost less, cover more people and provide better coverage.

• House version of the bill done in a partisan manner.
• Two House committees conducted markups of the bills simultaneously.
• Representatives voted within 48 hours of the bill’s release to the public. They did not even wait to see the CBO report.

• Senate leaders went behind closed doors with 13 Republican Senetors to create their own version of the AHCA. They would not even let their own members see the bill.

• Republicans brought multiple versions of the bill to the floor to vote on without an time for public review or for debate. This debacle is happening as I write this. John McCain even chastised his party for their partisan effort and lack of transparency.

[Source] 

So, let us cut through the bullshit and examine these facts. Irrespective of what you think of either bill which process seems Democratic to you? Not a heavy lift to answer this question.

Moving on. Popularity of the ACA is currently over 50%. Popularity for the AHCA (Republican/Trumpcare) is anywhere from the teens to 27% (Fox News Poll). Hmmmmm, is the AHCA fulfilling the wishes of the majority of working class Americans? Again, the answer here is not a heavy lift.

Republican voters, please join the rest of us and do what is right. Call your Senator and give them an earful. Only takes 10 minutes out of your day and could save the life of one of your neighbors or family members.

(202)225-3121

For the 47 million or so Christians that voted for Trump I would encourage you to read and pray on two verses.
Mark 8:36
Matthews 25:40

That number again is
202-225-3121

Thank you

I'm Afraid I Can't Do That Dave

Imagine you lived a hundred or so years ago as a buggy maker or a blacksmith. Horseless carriages were arriving on the scene. Electric, gas, steam powered. They were expensive toys for the wealthy. They did not fair well on mushy dirt roads. But still, you had some angst about what the future might hold and how you would work to feed yourself and your family if these inventions ever took off.

I wonder how many people back then could envision an interconnected Federal highway system and interstate. How many had any idea that the gas engine would prevail. Who understood that the entire world economy would be based upon petroleum? Doubtful but a few, if even that many.

Who knew the environmental problems carbon based fuels would create? Problems that threaten the very existence of our planet.

Today we are at the beginning of the new automobile. It is called AI. It is already here and no matter what we try to do it is not going away. Because hindsight is always 20-20, and the way forward is done largely in the dark. We really have no idea what the future holds.

Like the blacksmith of yesterday how many taxi drivers, delivery people, and long haul truckers are contemplating what they will do to feed themselves and their families when self-driving vehicles become the norm? How many other businesses and services that support these people will fall by the wayside? How long to I have before this wave of innovation takes root?

Change is always a certainty of any time. Most change is slow and deliberate. We have time to prepare. Time to react. Time to adapt.

But there are times in the course of human history that hit us like a flash flood in the desert. This is one of those times.

Future Shock Right Now

The Birth of Artificial Intelligence has already occurred and the infant is healthy and growing up and doing so much faster than our own children and grandchildren.

We have already arrived at a time where digital electronics can be embedded into a human body and interact with our brains.

Today we are able to collect and store data in a capacity that is virtually without limitation (aka Big Data). That data can be mined, analyzed, and computers without the aid of humans can work in capacities that can serve us. They also can (and do) manipulate us.

Take Facebook as an example. There are two billion of us that participate in this online universe with varying frequencies. Take a step back and contemplate your relationship with Facebook. You might think you are the customer. You would be dead wrong. Customers buy things. You are not a Facebook customer. You are the Facebook product!

Further, Facebook places us into various bubbles. The ads and news feeds you see are based upon the things you post, your attitudes, the attitudes and opinions of your friends. You may have noticed that ads that you see are even related to things you did outside of Facebook. Every thing you post, everything you like, every group you join is recorded, stored in perpetuity and analyzed. All of us on Facebook are subject to manipulation. Did you know that Google personalizes search result based upon who you are. The degree to which we allow ourselves to be manipulated really becomes the question. You are being manipulated by software developers like me.

Ever take the Myers Briggs, or Keirsey Temperament Sorter? I remember how pissed off I was the first time I did. I answered a handful of questions and this formulaic assessment had my number dialed right in! Now imagine how much more data Facebook has on you to make similar assessments and to understand how you are wired.

AI is already here and working to manipulate us. If we were to compare AI to life forms, todays AI is still at the zygote stage. The Facebook zygotes have the ability to place us of into the various bubbles they think we belong. Diversity be damned.

Now if this may sound like gloom and doom I am trying to preach it is not. The last time I checked most of us have the ability to make our own choices. This is the most important point for you to understand and be aware of each and every day.

AI is not going away. It will become even more powerful, and the pace at which this is going to happen will be somewhat mind blowing. AI is going to profoundly change our lives and our society. Actually it already has. We have highly intelligent people behind vehicles moving down our roads at high speeds while texting profound things like "lol see ya soon." Intelligent people who momentarily decide to act like fools and endanger the lives of their fellow humans so they can text some message that really can wait until they park the car. Yet, I digress with my texting rant.

AI, though a child, already is being used to exploit us. If you think about societies that do not function well there is always one predominant trait that stands out.

Us vs Them...

Conservative | Liberal

Urban | Rural

Mix in with this a healthy dose of fear, hatred, and stereotyping and we have a mixed a powerful elixir of manipulation.

I am having a hard time believing this is where we all want to be. This is certainly where we are headed. The choice is still your... at least for now.