News & Articles

There was once a democracy on a faraway shore. It wasn’t necessarily a democracy for indigenous peoples who lived on that faraway shore, nor the enslaved or indentured or immigrants and oppressed for that matter. It appeared as though democracy, enshrined in a noble Constitution, was mostly in place for those in power or those who hoped to have power over others. 

I happen to believe the Founders were a bit more altruistic in their hopes for a perfect union, even if it didn’t include all the people who happened to live within the nation. But over time the “will of the people” appeared to be a metaphor for those who struggled to actually live free from the tyranny of others.

In many ways it sounds like the year 2024 to me.
The political party of No-no-no, formerly known as the Republicans, wants that democracy for itself and its believers and not the majority of Americans who currently occupy that faraway shore.
Where else did the notion of (no) right to work laws arise. 
Where else did the notion of (no) women’s rights to choose bubble to the surface. 
Where else, in many states like Texas, did the notion of sending taxpayer dollars to private schools instead of public schools become law. 
Sensible gun laws? Forget it. 
Immigration is just a buzzword for the hope to put a wall around the country and keep people out. 
Don’t think there weren’t zealots in the past who felt the same way, angry at immigrants for arriving on this faraway shore. Old habits don’t die in this land of the free.  
The list is endless.
Health care is to be a private matter, not burdened by universal coverage as in places like Germany or Norway. Nope, it’s every man, woman and child for themselves for a minority that thinks it’s the majority. 
Make America Great Again isn’t going to be for all Americans no matter how the slogans are written. The rights of the majority will be pushed aside by a minority in power, just like in any other autocracy in this big wide world. 
We the People will be We the People in Power. You can paint it any you want but this current crop of No-no-nos doesn’t give a hoot about solving the pressing issues of the country. It’s about gaining a majority in all three branches of government and leaving the rest of us out of the discussion.
Yes, any political party wants to have the ability to influence the public forum. This group is different, willing to sell their souls and shout falsehoods aplenty.
Go ask folks like Rep. Pete Stauber how he plans to address things like climate change and poverty. 
That side of the aisle has no policy in place for anything other than to gain power and keep other people out of the picture. 
Oh wait, they do have a policy of disinformation and misinformation for the believers who think they are the forgotten people of the nation.
I just read a piece in the Atlantic by Anne Applebaum titled Democracy is losing the Propaganda War. The subhead reads Autocrats in China, Russia and elsewhere are now making common cause with MAGA Republicans to discredit liberalism and freedom around the world.   
Americans, yes Americans, are joining hostile foreign influencers and governments to muddy up fact and make fiction out of our democratic system in the pursuit of power that will ignore what needs to be done to provide a safe future for our people. 
Wait, Republicans and their social media outlets are joining foreign forces to undermine our democracy? Sounds a bit treasonous to me. Treasonous. Hello Pete Stauber, former police officer supposedly dedicated to the facts, just the facts ma’am.
He’s not alone in this MAGA cabal. Treasonous
And now we have a Supreme Court fully vested in the tenets of the Federalist Society.   
I am determined to go have a nice protest barbeque on the steps of the Supreme Court after they ruled a few weeks back we have a King immune to all laws while in power. It’ll be a nice little barbeque with me grilling wild sockeye salmon from Bristol Bay, Alaska. 
Please bring potato salad and pickles and a wild rice casserole we can all share in protest. 
I suppose I’ll have to get all the required permits which I will look into and I will observe all the rules unless they say no. In that case I will make the case that the rule of law has been forgotten in these parts already so who cares? It will be a new society of Who Cares? Who cares about the future we will leave to our children and grandchildren.

Yes, it’ll be a nice little barbeque we can share in protest. Stay tuned for dates and times.