Dear Legislator:

Elections are on the horizon. As you know, many Americans have developed strong opinions, influenced by their peer group, reinforced by a narrow selection of news media. Combine that with opinion polls and your own access to demographic studies, and you know what concerns the voting public. But rather than directing your campaign in a way that might maximize your support while widening the divisions in our country, it may be time to become bigger than the fray and offer some leadership.

It seems to be off the radar, but we need a revision in our foreign policy. We have been at war for 227 years out of our 243 as a nation. I know it would cost you a lot to deny the donations of the various “Daddy Warbucks” who have a vested interest in armament sales, but a platform dedicated to rolling back the Orwellian reality of continuous war might be enough to encourage grass roots donations. I’m broke on my ass but I’d find a way to donate a hundred bucks to the party that would set a priority of ending destructive foreign alliances and incursions. Our strained relations with North Korea, Iran and now Venezuela are symptomatic of our failed diplomacy.

World trade? The plight of US workers, the household economics of millions here and abroad, all are suffering from a 19th century colonial outlook that must be revamped before the US is simply bypassed as a former power by nations with a more practical and contemporary view of present day economics. The trade war with China is utter folly. Achievement based competition would be much healthier.

Gun violence may be more a problem of suicide prevention than gun control. Improving our outmoded medical system and providing care options for troubled individuals would be a better use of our energies and would likely receive a better reception than gun confiscation. How about mandatory gun education, licensing gated by weapon sales, and in this digital age it would be easy to make safety course completion records available to sellers as a prerequisite to sales.

Then there’s the decreasing prosperity of individuals and the American family. Some people may view this as an inevitable consequence of globalization, responding by either fighting the inevitable interdependence of all nations or shrugging and rationalizing our national policy failures in economics and international cooperation. Eliminating measures to reverse industry effects on the ecosphere and blaming immigration for job losses is retrograde policy bordering on madness. Fully embracing green power, training and motivating people to excel in new technologies, providing a living wage for traditional endeavors - these types of changes incur cost at implementation - an unpopular but necessary proposal.

If eternal war posturing and concomitant spending were removed from the picture we could quite possibly afford universal education, and replace welfare and student loans with investment in our citizens, rather than penalizing those seeking a better future. An increased tax burden on corporations or government control of business would be dangerously close to fascism, but we must halt the tax loopholes and subterfuge that allow excess profiteering with no regard for the welfare of the nation. Mandatory profit-sharing, required employee ownership of stock shares, a guaranteed minimum income - maybe all these remedies applied together would restore a love for country, pride of citizenship and cohesiveness in our communities.

Admittedly, uncontrolled immigration would be a problem until we work religiously to improve the quality of life in all the Americas. The inticement for illegals is our employers who depend on cheap labor and allow false social security information to pass by without scrutiny. There’s no immediate answer to the problem of filling menial jobs that hold little or no appeal within our culture. Societal mores will need to change, giving respect to careers previously scorned due to our historic vision of upward mobility. Increasing compensation, underwriting companies who cannot profit if employees are paid beyond the poverty level, saluting those who choose to serve - these are big changes, but an inspired leadership can change established attitudes.

And colonialism, imperialism and intervention in other countries politics must be replaced with enlightened and constructive foreign aid programs. Something akin to the peace corps could replace the threat of military might and our economic domination can no longer be allowed to drain their economies. We need to lift our neighbors up, abandon “zero sum” economic philosophies. World education, world development, starting in our own hemisphere and expanding to other geographies - hopefully by invitation once regional successes are known - this would be far better than continuing our bellicose policies and shading the knowledge of both our corporate and clandestine operations.

These are large changes that require true leadership, increasing the understanding of the citizenry and inspiring us to accomplish. We are inclined to adopt one of the two major parties and root for our chosen allegiance as though we were sports fans - obviating the need for thinking. Convincing people to accept previously obfuscated facts and replace their mindless party affiliation with an interest and demand for reality based solutions is the way out of the present morass and recent decline of American greatness.

How ironic that we have fallen prey to a con man, the most unqualified and destructive persona we have ever had occupying the White House. In an America already great for its penchant for liberty, already great for our compassion, great for our sense of equality and human dignity - we have been taken down a path of internal division and betrayal of our long standing allies with the slogan “Make America Great Again!”

Fighting the popular prevalence of illogic and untruth is a big assignment. The restoration of America as a beacon of truth and a champion of human rights in the eyes of the world is the true task for the future. Truth and human respect right here at home would be a great starting place, and the opportunity presents itself in our next great election cycle. Please don’t exacerbate our problems by descending to the lowest common denominator. Please rise above the fray, regain an Olympian perspective and inspire us to new solutions. Please unite and guide us to solve our problems without pausing to cast blame. Help us all work together as Americans, disregard party affiliations, stop spinning our wheels and end homelessness, heal the sick and injured, prevent madness, promote education, encourage faith and probity, improve our infrastructure, share wealth at home and abroad, and above all, let’s save the planet!

Who Will Save the Planet?

   Will Earth Survive Humanity?

   The hominid species, with opposed thumb, magnificently malleable brain and the blessing/curse of supreme adaptability is now the alpha species on this remarkable planet. The way we act sometimes makes me feel we don't deserve this beautiful earth, and we're going to lose her.

   We all love a happy ending. So much so, we rarely consider the possibility of tragedy, as if voicing our fears would somehow call forth negative forces that would work against our best interest. Exactly the opposite: we need concern and focus to mitigate and reverse our increasingly inappropriate impact on the very orb that sustains us. 

   Not only that - we should have started a long time ago. Far better to do preventive than cleanup. Initially there was some debate about the science. “No, just an accident the canary died," if you get my drift. Later, denial from those who profit from the status quo. Politics is expediency and messing with existing systems is met with resistance. Now our youth, who stand to suffer the most from their elders’ laxity, are bringing attention to the desecration of this unique planet, the only one of any history and beauty within light years of reach - and the argument becomes a political stalemate.

  Thus we find that a cadre of profiteering mindset has bought a position of power and will exercise every device to retain and improve that position. Regardless of impact on fellow humans or the mother planet, not only do they deny, but actually abet the destruction. It's a simple shake of the head, arrogance of power, flat out denial. When we all need to work together, instead we are divided.

  In a world where marketing rules, and unit volume must increase, this business of stopping to clean up our shit and reverse the damage must be declaimed. We are at a point where the analyzers of the "lizard brain" know how to push our buttons. If you're not distracted by the constant circuses that have come to pass as culture in much of the world, then you're routed to a deadening routine - neither of which offer opportunity for increased knowledge, analytical or philosophical thought. Thus a few power brokers control the fate of the world.

And there’s a basic schism in the species Homo Sapiens, stemming from our sexuality, our dual nature, male and female. Or if you prefer, female and male. We are a young species, only here for thousands of years on a gracious planet that has taken millennia to ripen and allow our occupation. Compared to eons, our history is short. Yet our accomplishments are great. Apparently greater than our ability to understand what we have wrought. Greater than our ability to control what we have invented. Our inventiveness surpasses our ability to foresee possible consequences. Yet we push ahead with a masculine drive, undeterred by what might be considered as matriarchal cautions.

   Predominately we have male dominated societies, with some female communities. We have families patriarchal and matriarchal. Studies have shown that conservative voters are more likely to come from "father knows best" households while those who are more liberal in their thought live in households where tasks are shared and group discussion and consensus lead to decisions. There are marketers and advisors playing us like violins. They appeal to our "demographics" to create markets for their products, whether they be material, ephemeral or political. If it's to their advantage, they will divide us. Unity is not a goal of those in power, while control is.

  Please wake up, wherever you are, and don't be persuaded by the classic arguments: "us against them," "they are causing your trouble!" We are separated by those who enjoy power. Their lust for superiority allows them to ignore atrocities with insular denial. Government is not going to save the planet. Corporations are not going to save the planet. People who love each other as fellow humans, people who ignore the manufactured differences that are dividing us, everyday people are the ones who will save the planet.

   But now we need an eleventh hour solution, a buzzer shot, a breakthrough! Love and understanding are the prerequisites to working together. We should have perfected that a long time ago, but it's not out of reach. There are many great stories of human solidarity in the clutch situation - but it will take an unprecedented and radical look at the effects of our technologies, coupled with a quantum leap in moral and ethical maturation to accomplish this one. We all love a happy ending. The problem is, we never thought there could even be an ending!

Assault From Within

   Opposed to the ideals of personal freedom outlined in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, a cadre of billionaires and libertarian activists have connived for over fifty years to overthrow our government. Within the next five weeks we will determine whether we will continue as a democratic republic or permanently suffer the dictatorship of an oligarchy.

   With a philosophy that exalts personal possession and retention of wealth over the concept of common good, disciples of the philosophies of John C. Calhoun, James M. Buchanan and Charles Koch are masquerading as Republicans. Aided by a Supreme Court decision that corporations are persons, and money donated to political campaigns equals free speech, an extreme minority now controls the second largest American political party. Through gerrymandering, voter restriction, assiduous use of data gathering, computer analysis and various forms of subterfuge the Republicans now have majority control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

   The Republican president is a huckster and shyster who uses demagoguery and populist appeal to enchant his devoted followers to the point where they will believe anything he says. There is a complete news network devoted to propaganda supporting the clandestine libertarian agenda. Human rights that should be protected by a benevolent government are discarded due to hubris, greed and an ignorance that lacks any sense of compassion. Their goal is to legislate a complete coup, effectively nullify sections of the Constitution and Bill of Rights that are anathema to their cause through emergency measures and special rulings, prompted by manufactured threats, enabled by increased executive power.

   The only thing preventing complete control by the minority extremists and radical anti-Constitutionalists is control of the 9th seat on the Supreme Court. A confirmation for nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a tool of the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation, will complete the trifecta, and billionaire libertarians will dictate the actions of Congress, the President and the Supreme Court. There will be no checks and balances, no more constitutionally democratic republic. The result will be an insulated, autocratic oligarchy hostile to social programs - racist and misogynistic - as already evidenced by the Republican exponents of this obscenely retrograde movement.

   Imagine if you will a carnival gathering of "rubes," all eyes following an adept shyster practicing sleight of hand, "which shell is the pea under?" Meanwhile a crew of pickpockets is working the assemblage. The bluster and braggadocio of President Trump is just a distraction while the libertarian operatives are dismantling our protections, preparing to plunder the populace. All this in the name of their twisted version of freedom that revolves around personal wealth and the concept that taxation and programs for the public good are violations of that freedom.

   In order to build their coalition and leverage this extreme minority into control of our institutions the Calhoun-Buchanan-Koch inspired libertarians have commandeered the controls of the Republican Party through campaign contributions, manufactured crises, and illegal church-state alliances. Legislating morality on behalf of Evangelicals, fanning the ever present flames of racial prejudice, militarizing the police in the name of homeland security, these are mere preambles to what will be possible when unlegislated special orders are reflexively approved by a nascent libertarian rule.

   From this broader perspective, present details of the Kavanaugh controversy being widely discussed are  important but short of the full import his potential appointment implies. Brett Kavanaugh's bid for a Supreme Court seat must be denied because it is nothing less than the success or failure of the democratic republic our forefathers created that will be decided in the coming weeks! In the interim, permanent damage will be avoided since the Court is back in session with a theoretical 4-4 split. And yes, another libertarian shill will take his place as the next nominee - for a lifetime appointment - but we will gain a delay! So not only must we deny Kavanaugh, we the people must secure Democratic victories in the mid-term election and prevent the subsequent appointment of anything but a truly impartial justice! If we allow a retrograde, Koch-aligned Court, it will mean nothing less than the loss of our hard earned constitutional democracy! The Buchanan-Koch elitist position abhors the very concept, views any constitution as a threat to their personal freedom!

   The challenges are great, and it's disturbing that we are not speaking and editorializing about the true nature of our present crisis. There is a highly organized fifth column attack on our democracy, over 50 years in the making, using every method possible to subvert and snatch the government away from the citizenry. We are misled by sensationalist media making the news exciting to please their sponsors. President Trump's buffoonery is a distraction that masks the malevolent, traitorous goals of the libertarian puppet masters controlling the Republicans and forcing their minority agenda on the nation.

   The coup is nearly complete. The watershed moment is near. The success or failure of the great American Revolution, keeping or losing our admirable democracy inspired by the French "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite" and the intellectual triumphs of the Enlightenment - this enormous test will be decided in early November! God help us, let the truth be known and pray the populace acts accordingly to turn back the threat of the corporate-libertarian alliance!

• 
  

  ---

Grievances mount - but where is the Revolution?

Everything in this world is upside down.
  He who should be hanged in the public square
  is crowned emperor instead.
  People stand and applaud.
                --  Rumi

Yes, It has finally come to this: we have no choice but revolution!

The present grievances inflicted upon the citizenry are no less than those suffered under King George III: the imposition upon the public of severe measures with no effective means for correction at our disposal.

The listing of our grievances is a separate task, but they are many and they are well understood by those who suffer. And while our governments are the source of many ill-advised and unevenly applied laws, statutes and regulations, there are sins of collusion, inaction and self-aggrandizement in all manner of institutions, not just the legislative and judicial.

Thus we are faced with a dilemma. Having been gifted with the greatest of governing documents, how will our citizenry respond to the need for revolution without overthrowing the seats of power? For common sense tells us that the armaments that would surely be brought to bear upon citizen militias are far advanced from the musketry, blades and torches of the 1700s.

On the other hand, we are faced with the failure of legal jurisprudence to ameliorate the ills we are suffering. The monetary costs and the time spent in the courts with no surety that even the most just of causes will prevail effectively closes this avenue of appeal as well. 

If respect for our founding documents, the folly of armed insurrection and failure of the courts to economically litigate blocks all traditional methods to allay the humanly manufactured inequities we suffer, what recourse do we have then, but to appeal to a higher power? The United Nations concept is well intentioned but it suffers the limitations of budget, bureaucracy and agenda that constrain all earthly foundations, committees and governments. And the US government would surely bristle at any attempts from that body to regulate internal affairs of state. 

So we are left with the need to appeal to a heavenly power. But praying for necessary change would seem an empty exercise to all but the most devout. And our religious institutions are unlikely to abandon their current programs to form an alliance of any consequence. The chance of an extra-terrestrial civilization intervening to save us from ourselves - slim at best.

Are we out of options? Are we doomed to keep exacerbating our ills? Must we throw up our hands, allow continued desecration, increasing usury and destruction of hope to destroy our children's future? Of course the answer is "no" - but then where is the way out of this downward spiral - what method, so far undiscussed, still to be discovered?

We, in America, have inherited the greatest governing documents ever created by mere humans. Having received this gift our mission now is to protect it, and further revolution, destruction of the edifice of government would be sinfully retrograde. So the challenge is not to mount armed insurrection, but instead we must analyze the source of our failures, search for the motivation that fuels the mechanism of greed, disrespects the poor, saddles our students with debt. Why do we suffer self-serving duplicity when the intent of the electoral process is to select qualified servants who will administer for our common good? The answer lies in the human heart - change the heart and the culture will follow!

Science, scripture, parables, common sense, our own experience: all these teach us that the shape of the future is latent in the present. When we look back with our 20-20 hindsight we are able to see the tendencies, the trends, the inventions that were unrecognized at the time, yet they were harbingers of the future. The "love generation" of the 1960s was on to something, but it was a reflexive reaction to the sins and shortcomings of the elders. Emotion and idealism guided the protest and the search for alternatives. And failures of the human heart led to opportunism and excess. From the promise of the 1967 Summer of Love to the disorganized chaos of Altamont in 1970, and the myriad excursions and experiments in between, as a beacon, love alone was found lacking.

Nevertheless, the answer to the current dismantling of institutions, the lack of compassion, unconcern for the fate of the least of us, this unholy state of affairs - the answer still is love. But rather than an abstract ideal, we need love that lives in the heart. In every sphere we need love. Restorative love that will redeem the hardened criminal. Respectful love to motivate the law-giver, the law enforcer. Love that will teach our children of their inherent worth and great potential. We need enlightened approaches to the societal challenges of automation, robotics, instant communication, global poverty and devastating changes in our weather.

There is no dispute that we have a male-dominated society. Women's suffrage, a battle fought a mere 100 years ago. Wage inequality. Misogyny. And now there's an unveiling of the pervasiveness of sexual bullying from those who have been shielded by their power. Essentially that power stems from an ability to control the economic fate of others: reveal the sins of an unprincipled sexual aggressor, lose your job. And suffer disrespect, be suspected of deceit, a suggestion that your immorality was the cause of the situation, a total disregard for your pain - and the perpetrators show a facile unawareness of the damage caused by their betrayal.

The current defrocking of sexual opportunists is unprecedented and the change in our awareness and attitudes should not be abandoned as if this is a fad or a temporary, brief interlude in the continuing history of American culture. There is always an opposition to change, gains can erode, the tone and temper of an epoch can be forgotten. We must not let that happen. And even more than reinforcing our respect for women, we must level the field, redefine the relationship between the sexes and realize the full potential of every human being.

Gentlemen, it's time to recognize the innate failure of patriarchy to embody the highest of ideals. There is a place and a function for the penile point of view, inherently greater body strength, endurance, the urge to probe and pursue goals and practical, functional ideals. But we are all impoverished by the lack of a nurturing consciousness, the destructiveness of heightened competition and a winner take all mentality as promoted by maleness. We see the insensitivity of the peer group in fraternity hazing, the tendency of the heterosexual to make a pariah of men who are gay, or merely thoughtful and sensitive. It's a bankrupt philosophy that endangers human beings, and threatens the very existence of the mother of us all, our planet.

So here, directly in front of us, is the opportunity for the revolution of spirit we so desperately need. Men need to relax and retreat, let the ladies take the lead. There have been successful matriarchal societies throughout history. We should take a lesson from historical triumphs where women were respected as worthy, wise and knowledgeable. We need more mercy and understanding, less acquisitiveness.

And while we're at it let's study and eliminate the vestiges of white superiority, the subconscious "given" that destroys individuals and divides humanity. The teaching that we have more similarities than differences - anathema to those who espouse "white power" and chauvinism - is now proven by our knowledge of DNA, and exemplified by the monumental successes of those of all genders and racial extraction.

The distinction of race is an archaic distraction from the tasks ahead. We are but one race, the human race, traceable to African origins. Let's all relax, accept our commonality, treat every human with respect and get on with improving our existence, protecting the health and welfare of not only all human beings, but all sentient beings.

And as we learn of the interconnected nature of all life and the resources of the planet that supports us, it is predominantly women - those who give birth and share innate qualities of nurture and respect for life, those who intuitively understand the need for cooperation and communication - it is women who are best positioned to display the qualities needed to end corporate pillage, remove the over-weening need for profit from health care, stop the ravaging of our environment and bring some intelligence to our planning and governance.

Ladies, come forth, lead us and teach by your example. We need you to guide us to our much needed revolution of the heart!

American Deconstruction Era begins

   Freedom of speech - but you can't shout "fire" in a crowded theater. Right to bear arms - but murder is a crime. A government can pass laws - but people are free to break them. Ultimately, we are governed by our own morality and common sense - but it is commendable when those who govern - our elected representatives - act with high mind and noble purpose.
   America is in crisis. If you share my concerns I urge you to contribute to causes you believe in, make phone calls, write letters, visit city council meetings - and examine the efficacy of your opposition to the retrograde trend of the Deconstruction - use your valuable time and energies in the most effective way possible.
    Internet search engines give us access to a compendium of information unprecedented in human history. I use DuckDuckGo for search (since Scroogle was quenched) and Avast firewall "do not track." I realize my Yahoo email has been run through a NSA splitter and is being scanned for keywords. I have been on an FBI watch list since subscribing to the Berkeley Barb in the late sixties - registered with Peace and Freedom Party since 1968 when the deaths of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy shocked me out of a dull lock-step with the "two party" system.
    As a young man I was expelled from high school after publishing a protest newspaper (The Iconoclast) in December 1960. Of 14 participants (2 remain undiscovered) I was the only one who would not recant my views. My valid concerns were brushed away by a kangaroo court in high school district headquarters. This cost me a college scholarship and introduced me to a number of realities concerning the defensiveness and vindictiveness of those who wield power.
    In that regard, I warn you there is no such thing as "free speech." You will be held responsible (fairly or unfairly!) for your ideas. This is human nature, it is not confined to despotic dictatorships. If you offer a threat to established ideas you'll be subjected to difficulties. I do not recommend silence - I recommend caution.
    Pick your battles carefully, love your enemies even while their ignorance brings you to tears of frustration and thoughts of violent reprisal. Think deeply about a way forward - the simplistic, destructive policies of retrograde thinking are having their day. Sadly, the threads of federalism and white supremacy, the dogma of exclusive religion and zero-sum gaming (in order to "win" the "enemy" must be crushed) - these are all with us still, and can only be debunked through education and an honest study of history.
    Good luck, dear people of planet Earth! Here are a few links:
Sedition Act of 1918
The Return of Seditious Libel
Alien and Sedition Acts
Worst Presidents Ever...
    Witness the Dakota Access Pipeline: America's new administration is continuing in the worst tradition of US treaty breaking, borne of the original sins of our country: Indigenous genocide and human slavery.
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States
    Water protectors need our support to pay legal fees. They are predominately people of limited means and they have sacrificed greatly to prevent eventual fouling of their water supply. In a greater sense, they are the first victims of an ill-advised rollback of protections against corporate greed - an attack on scientific method - denying principles of the Enlightment that created our "nation of laws." And laws remain only as good as those who observe, enforce or amend them.

America's Trump Dilemma

First, please don't call him "president-elect." Maybe "presumed electoral appointee" or "Mister Trump." Thank you.

At this point his newly appointed administration seems to be comprised of beady-eyed little men, small in every sense of the word, and mean and shrewish, power-hungry soulless women, all sworn destroyers of lawful societal gains painfully acquired over the last 150 years. The distorted campaign lies are over, and the disassembly of democracy awaits January 20th to begin in earnest.

Media talking heads, news anchors, and privately owned networks are all sugar-coating the constant stream of ethical insults emanating from the fascist revolutionaries - is there no honor in this new Amerikkka?

There should be enough data to compare the 2012 vote to 2016, precinct by precinct. Then run a formula to spot anomalies. If the Democratic vote declines by (say) 10% in any jurisdiction - look for vote suppression - go out to neighborhoods and interview, look for valid voters routed to provisional ballots. Another possibility: look at the percentage of Trump votes compared to the number of registered Republicans, calculate the percentage of presumed crossover Dems and compare to historical norms - if a precinct shows a higher than average crossover, look at balloting procedures. Diebold machines preset to favor Trump, debit Hillary? Poorly designed paper ballot? Alt-right volunteers misreporting local results? What about more votes cast than the number of registered voters?

But there's no time - mere days until the "Electoral College" selects our next president. There are multiple reasons to disfavor "the Donald" - but what about the cadre he has aroused? The breadth and depth of middle US rejection of federal power, the 60+ years of fifth column propaganda from John Birch Society, Cato Institute, Koch Brothers, Rupert Murdoch etc. resulting in a potential army of rednecks, neo-Nazis, survivalists and racist cops who were poised to revolt if the pre-election polls were correct and take the "lib-tards" to task if (shudder) a Clinton should be elected again. They were readying to oppose, deny, obstruct and commit atrocities if their guy didn't win. So having won the theoretical electoral vote (by minus 2.8 million popular votes) imagine the furor, hate, vitriol and violence that would be unleashed if the present Pyrrhic victory is snatched away December 19th!

The opposed personality types and opposed philosophies involved in our country's perpetual political seesaw have borne a smoldering resentment toward each other since the first settlers hit the eastern shores of the US. This deep, inherent tension flared into horrible violence with the secession of the Confederated States. The defeat of the Southern rebellion merely marked an end to armed conflict - the enmity continues.

Perhaps God's gift of free will has doomed us to centuries of struggle - autonomous individual versus communal consciousness: "I'll get mine, you get yours" versus sharing and compassion. Planet-wide, unscrupulous seekers of wealth and power connive to achieve their own elevation, play upon our fears, create enemies that they alone are qualified to save us from. And then, due to the nature of the human mind to seek collaboration and find validation and easy answers, the manufactured scapegoat becomes agreed upon, an object of hatred and derision.

And there are other power seekers who would subvert the intentions of the Good Samaritan - play upon the sympathies and dreams of their constituency with the same goal: to control elements of destiny for personal enrichment and aggrandizement. They have no need to demean their opponents, merely shrug, condescend, suggest that if their critics were capable of logic, reason, possession of factual information, they would come around and see things differently.

The aggressive and war-like personality against the peace-loving pacifist type - ''twas ever thus." The Democrats are up against their own nature - mustn't rock the boat, be careful of the precedent you might set - we can't overturn the results of a certified election...

Well. (that's a Jack Benny "well!")

The Democrats and the nation are damned if you do, damned if you don't. Accept the tarnished folly of 2016's unprecedentedly puerile election process, accept the subterfuge of innuendo, voter suppression, foreign interference and disingenuous FBI complicity - or risk civil unrest, perpetual legislative gridlock and a cementing of the divide between conservative and liberal factions should enough "faithless electors" be found.

Most likely we will hand the keys to the corporate fascists. The new regime will up the ante, betray us all, accelerate the transfer of wealth to the few controlling families. And they will concentrate most of their destructive power against their perceived enemies: those who are college educated, liberated females, artists, people of color, those who won't turn against familial and community mores to support the new orthodoxy. And there will be collateral damage to the underprivileged who misread the import of the struggle and voted for the red hat. When the jobs don't return, when their friends and relatives lose their health care, can't afford to rent a home, let alone buy, when interest rates go up, taxes increase, the invisible rich will get invisibly richer and the right wing media will convince the beleaguered masses that their increased woes are due to the prior policies of the Clintons and Obamas.

And there will be warfare, for war means money for munitions manufacturers and purveyors of petrol - war will rally the populace to face external problems and ignore the domestic transgressions of the new conservative fascist ruling elite.

This is such a tragic juncture. If we embrace the Trump governance our lot may very well be a surveillance state, loss of personal liberties, continued economic collapse of our households, and we will be sold devastating popular wars in the guise of patriotism.

If we manage to refute the machinations of the RNC - their vote suppression and Koch inspired statistical analysis that led to leveraging the electoral vote - if we convince the Electoral College to bar the door against the demagogue in accord with Hamiltonian principles and the original intent of the electoral college, then we risk revolt and the possibility of a second Civil War.

Personally, I have no appetite for war external or internal. But having been born to this planet Earth I am forced to witness all manner of atrocity. And having lived some 73 years at this writing - I can't speak for you - but I know this for myself: when the end draws near, all one has left is one's personal integrity. The weight of conscience dooming your spirit/soul to rebirth, to do it all again and try to get it right the next time - or the knowledge of living an honorable life, setting oneself free to rejoin the pool of Godliness - unless you choose (for some crazy reason, like too much altruism?) to come back and help those in this sphere who remain ethically challenged - and there are many.

So, no matter what lies ahead, do what you know is right. Speak when you encounter ignorance. Refuse to accept that which is unfair or immoral. Don't remain passive when learning of distant atrocities - it was the silence of the "good Germans" that doomed those forced to wear the Jewish star and the pink triangle.

The economic disasters of 2007-2008 have been somewhat mitigated and while we achieved a post-meltdown equilibrium that has been less than idyllic - the stable economy and low interest rates of the past four or five years are soon to become the "good old days."

While "divine guidance" is an imperfect and human way of describing a marvelous and righteous serendipity of events, that phrase was indeed employed to describe the improbable victory of the Colonies in our war of Independence, and the confluence of great ideas that came together in the form of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. In the trying times ahead it would do us all well to go back and study the writings and philosophies that formed our great nation.

I fear the effect of the dark forces latent in the American psyche, now unleashed by the machinations of those who call themselves "conservative." They seem hell-bent on destruction rather than conservation. We are at an impasse with opposing points of view, both sides seeking to educate - or punish - the other. The larger spectacle will play out as it will. The forces are already in motion. At this juncture all that is left for the individual is "to thine own self be true."

And for God's sake - don't be silent.         Federalist Paper no. 68

Divided We Stand

The demographics of discontent and distress must be understood and addressed if we are to continue the American Dream - but just what is that dream?

I'm writing this one week post-election, 2016. The coup is damn near complete. We will have a fascist government installed and we will suffer division and pain. With right wing majorities in both houses of Congress, a neo-conservative beholden President offering Supreme Court judges and a spiteful cadre of newly emboldened white supremacists, misogynists and anti-intellectuals coming to the fore - the fabric of the nation is under stress.

The great documents bequeathed to us by the founders of our democratic republic are only as good as the people see fit. Thirty-three red states, and it takes thirty-four to ratify changes to the Constitution. And if police and military both throw their weight behind so-called "alt-right" directives, the letter of the law will easily become subverted by political bias.

How did we arrive at this precipice? There are both legitimate and illegitimate reasons. Fact-finding will follow, and some blame-placing is in order as well! The sad fact that remains is that millions of people in America and quite likely billions of folk around the world are feeling grief, fear and uncertainty as an amateur takes the helm of the earth's greatest ship of state. And he got there by invoking populist techniques, inciting retrograde philosophies, speaking with bullying sarcasm and dog-whistle racism to great numbers of tired, frustrated voters suffering the stagnation of globalization and corporate thuggery.

There is a great irony here in that the people who elevated our reality show strong-man into the cat-bird seat stand to lose the most from the changes complicit in the radical right agenda. The "loyal opposition" will be hard pressed to utilize every check and balance available to the minority position to halt the dismantling of a hundred fifty years of hard-fought gains under the broad umbrella of human rights. What of the new president's debt to the "evangelicals" who would be quite pleased to take away a woman's right to choose what to do with her own body, who would not hesitate to start a "holy war" in the Middle East because of their belief in a coming Armageddon?

So the president-elect has made himself a Faustian bargain, with outre constituencies ready to hold his feet to the fire. And there will be other actors vying for power, creating unholy alliances, exacting their own petty vendettas, acting petulantly out of derelict attitudes and dislike to dismantle programs and institutions that are intended to offer aid and succor to the needful.

Ultimately, while some of the "squeaky wheels" will get their wish - in the name of "smaller government" people will lose their health care, an attempt will be made to end the Social Security program, military spending and offshore adventures of empire will increase. And while we are fighting those squabbles between red-faced and blue-faced partisans, corporations will become even bigger bastions of impropriety and white-collar pillage. Globalization is not a tide that will retreat. And in the name of "deregulation" - ostensibly to unfetter businesses from the restraints of caring for the environment - we will at the very least doom future generations to fight an even greater battle to save the oceans and the forests, to restore the precious balance of nature.

The "nyet-kulturnies" are celebrating and yet they have poured gasoline on their own funeral pyre. One doesn't build a better life by dismantling and destroying. We are all one humanity - to divide into competing nation-clans is folly - we should be unifying to improve the lot of every human being. It's nothing short of a sin to elevate oneself at the expense of another, but how can one counsel the sinner when they are feeling a great justification? And now we come to the crux of the matter. In order for our nation and our planet to survive we have to understand the point of view of those who oppose us, and common citizens need to unite against their true oppressors.

There is something very basic in the schism between Democrats and Republicans, left and right, neo-liberals vs neo-cons. Not long ago there was a university study probing the psychological makeup of the two major parties. The conclusion was startlingly direct and simple: Democratic-leaning folks came from families that co-operated, shared responsibilities, solved grievances with meetings and discussion, whereas Republican personalities were quite content with top-down management, essentially patriarchal families where the father was the boss, the judge, the commander. Of course there are exceptions, and differences in degree, but these findings point to something very basic in human nature.

Inside a political party there are strategists who use every modern tool they can to analyze trends and capitalize on the aspirations and fears of various identifiable sub-groups in the electorate. Because the "game" is to get as many electoral votes as you can to insure victory, resources are concentrated in areas that could swing in your direction while ignoring states where your party is historically well outnumbered. But those areas that are focused on will be subjected to every ploy and dirty trick - voter intimidation, sub rosa partisan tampering, late vote-counting according to district demographics, negative ads, false news articles, rumor, innuendo, wise-cracking ideological henchmen in the media. Of course both sides do this - and of course both sides know the core guidelines for managing opinion - which is dangerously close to brainwashing and can be charitably described as propaganda.

So if it's a given fact that we the people are being played like a violin by propagandists and psychologists, ultimately we are being duped. This whole business of getting fired up for your candidate plays upon some basic human needs. The marketing mavens refer to the "lizard brain" - primeval in motivation and response - subliminal cues are tools to control our psyche. We are sure we are thinking for ourselves, but are we? We are divided, and perhaps the co-operative family versus the strong central figure is a reality, a basic world view we are carrying into every situation. But we need to accept some basic differences between us, accept left-leaning socialism and knee-jerk conservatism as home base for different personality types.

The biblical concept of loving your enemy is the key to our survival as a species. Of course it can be as simple as I love you, you're made out of the same stuff, I respect you, but "you drive me crazy!" Our current plight is not trivial, however. Millions of Americans are distraught, their tears are flowing. There is sadness that the final glass ceiling has yet to be shattered, fear that one's parent will be deported, a sense that black lives don't matter. There is gloating and a sense of vindication from those who are despised for their bigotry, their para-military love for weaponry, their very life-style. And there are an even greater number of Americans who don't fit either of the descriptions just offered.

When we look at the numbers in a general sense, there are 300 million (plus) US citizens, roughly 240 million eligible to vote. With 132.5 million votes cast - 61.8 million for Hillary Clinton, 60.8 million for president-elect Donald Trump - we see that the Republican candidate has a little over 25% support from eligible voters, and if those too young to vote follow the pattern of 18-25 year old voters, it's a safe bet that the conservatives have the full support of less than a quarter of the country. And what percentage of Trump's support belongs to neo-Nazis, what percent to rabid racists, survivalists, misogynists? Not very much. While whites with reprehensible attitudes abound, they are statistically a minority, albeit a sadly dangerous minority if they are armed and feeling put upon!

Nevertheless, here's our source for hope. Citizens of goodwill far outnumber the ideological partisans, but we are divided by profit-seekers who use the basic facets of our humanity against us. Whether it's a "non-profit" playing on our sympathies, empathy and concern for those of unfortunate circumstance, or an organized campaign playing on insecurities and fears to achieve hidden agendas - both "left" and "right" are being manipulated. If we can back off from the dogma we've assimilated as the "information age" has expanded to the all-pervasive news feeds we experience today - slow down and start talking to our neighbors - we will find that we all want a lot of the same things. And places of fundamental difference usually boil down to someone trying to tell somebody else what to do.

We need to get some dialogue and a sense of compromise restored to the general populace - and then hold our legislators responsible to We the People - before the original design of the representative government is taken away from us. There are mean-spirited, misguided, traitorous men and women who would, as the saying goes "hurt all mankind just to save their own." This may sound crazy, but in a way Donald Trump is "just a patsy." The more malevolent forces are all too happy with the power he has given them by virtue of his election. At some point, probably sooner than later, some real takeaways are going to go down. Before long Republican voters will begin to feel the pain - perhaps not a pain of betrayal - but a realization that things just got worse instead of better. That's when we will begin to heal our rift and instead of family infighting we can pull together and fight the real enemy.

And who is the real enemy? In a sense, it's untrammeled, unbridled lust for profit, corporate capitalism. It's love of money in the choice of what news story to run - don't offend the advertiser. It's elections that hinge on applying a "war chest" to offices and ad campaigns. It's cynicism in the institutions that serve us - banks, utilities, law enforcement - protectors of property, not respecting the populace. It's the families at the top of the pyramid who are insulated money-grubbers with no sense of indebtedness to the society that elevates them.

And how do we fight these enemies? First with a sense of common decency, love for our neighbor, and a new found ability to put aside philosophical differences and restructure the richest nation on the planet. We should be able to eliminate inefficiency, cut graft, re-think things like pork-barrel politics, eliminate "earmarks" on legislation, cut defense spending, take excess profit out of health care, repeal "Citizens United," require corporate profit-sharing with employees, limit CEO salaries, do away with offshore tax shelters, and increase benefits for the citizenry. Let's control the mad quest for the buck, decrease the perks of power, instill a sense of fairness and respect for the least of those among us - for Christ's sake!

Alas, it's going to get worse before it gets better. But when the red hats get their comeuppance - we are all going to be suffering. And it will take real work, prayer and education to get the citizenry on the same page, facing the same way. Left and right, black and white and the rainbow in between - abandon the learned attitudes that separate us and get ready to establish common goals outside of the obfuscating pap our political parties have been feeding us. We should hope the unfathomable destructiveness of the "alt-right" becomes obvious before doing irreparable damage to our country and our allies, before inciting even more enmity toward the US, before irrevocably harming the planet.

Yes, it will get worse before it gets better - don't gloat and say "I told you so" - give no "chickens come home to roost" speeches. Instead, let's get smart, drop the old political posturing, learn from events, teach each other, and bond together because surely there will be a backlash to the insanity of the neo-cons. The good people of this Land of Liberty can only save it by pulling together and fighting the common power brought to bear against us - the corporate monoliths and all the institutions that conspire to separate us from our birthright as free human beings.