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.

[Source]

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.