The Queen is Dead

I have no goats in that rodeo but the Monarchy will continue with its patronage and lineage in tact as Britain goes forward to be great Imperialist nation it always has been. And with that I still look at all the world problems and see a direct link to Britain as the one Country whose hands have been in the puddings of all the colonies they dominated and in turn left more damage in their wake as they walked off with millions in the Bank of England, which like the Church is State controlled. It is how the Federalists see America as in the future. A leader that is both the head of State and Church, that the States self govern and the President is largely a figurehead whose job is secure as it is passed along through lineage and patriarchy, that voting thing is just for the local yokels who will have even less say on running their own States and Cities thanks to endless gerrymandering and legislation to ensure that the power remains in the “right” hands. Cromwell where are you now? ** look at the history of Cromwell and how he dissolved the Rump Parliament as in his view they were a sea of liars. And with that a replacement group were selected by their religious piety. Wow sounds not unlike the Boris Johnson years. Or the Trump years as history has a way of transcending both time and place. Again Cromwell was appointed/selected as the “lord protector of the realm” The piety of religion never ends frankly. Our current Congress is hot mess of incompetence on a good day and they are often evoking a religious fervor in the same manner. And hence that may explain January 6th. Again the parallels of Cromwell not lost.

This past week I was in Washington D.C. the center of power and of Democracy and with that as I walked the streets I got in ways I had not until I went there with the only agenda to try to learn about my Country in a new way. And thanks to Socialism you can! Yes all the Museums and Gallery’s are free to enter and they offer quite a perspective and history lesson on what defines America. I did not see or note much religion as a notation but I have a funny aside when it comes to discussing Religion I had a massage by a Brazillian woman who migrated here and is moving to California next year for reasons I was unclear but it seemed to vent her ire about the liberal policies of the State while espousing the fantastic conservative ones of Virginia where she lives and commutes into DC for work. Aside from confirming what I have long said, that many Immigrants are largely conservative and prefer the policies and stated beliefs of the Republican party it shows how little they know when they live and work in the shadow of Democracy, a liberal concept if any. And with that anytime I mentioned living in the South and finding the Conservative policies largely mired in Religion she changed the subject and with that I have two series injuries that I suspect were intentional. Was she a religious kook? I have no idea but that I have a bad bruise on my clavicle should make one wonder.

And as I wandered about DC I met some amazing locals, all Black and all long standing residents who work for the Government or had at some point as it is very six degrees of separation when it comes to that throughout the city. One of my observations was that essence of the air, the very streets seemed to posses an aura that was intoxicating, like the most powerful “crack” that permeates the skin and explains to some level what happens to one when they arrive with all their beliefs and appointments in place. It is a heady drunk that one could see easily becoming addicted to and again explains why so many of our Representatives in Congress are so useless. They feel destined if not mandated to behave utterly inappropriately and arrogantly in the same way Charles assumed the throne yesterday following his mothers death. The chain of command is well established and in place throughout history and little changes other than the names. And I have always believed that was Trumps fascination not the Authoritarianism that you see in Hungary, although I do believe there are many many Republicans that advocate such a system as this new crop of crackpots seem to have a fetish for. But it was that significant moment, that action and reaction that enabled, that drew them into the idea of being elected as once they too had whiff of the intoxicating air, after hand to hand combat and battling in the streets to enter the most hallowed chamber of Government, it had to be surreal and empowering in ways that bring us here to this state of chaos.

When I met many of the local residents, or at least all the faces of color, I had a better perspective if not understanding of how Politicians are seen in D.C. They are not viewed through the same lens we have, they have a much closer birds eye one and while they are dependent upon them for work they are not special or different as there are a parade of them that walk through those chambers and along those streets over time and with that they can see whatever power they have assembled can be gone in an instant. So the reality is that many of them, families included are looked upon with amusement if not disdain. I met a woman at the Visitors Center (which many locals had not heard of and yes folks it is by the White House and set up by Jacqueline Kennedy to provide insight into the families and history of those who moved in and out of that esteemed home on the hill. It is well worth a wander) who had much to say about the varying occupants who have passed her on the way in and out of said house. She expressed disdain that the Obama’s did not leave and stayed in DC, not returning to Chicago to bring cache and of course leadership, jobs and mentoring as promised. In fact we wondered what the purpose was as he no longer lived there and running said foundation from a distance seem odd but she felt that they were always aware of being part time occupants (as they all are frankly and you can see why Trump took it hard) and with that were not able to give up the position so easily as in DC they would be still be more famous and respected than in the Windy City. She said that they were notorious party people and with that were also out and about to all the “in’ spots. So again I get it, I really do. That is hard to give up. With that she had little good to say about anyone other than Trump. I found that interesting as she is not the only face of color who sings his praises. She said he was always on his own, only went to his hotel (which I have been too now renamed but I saw the original structure before he remodeled it and it was hideous and is pretty fantastic. The only thing changing is the main restaurant) and never was with anyone, almost always on his own. Interesting as I thought where was Melania. And she said that unlike many First Ladies she too was not seen much nor their son. And with that the trashing of the Clinton’s, Reagan’s and even Lady Bird Johnson (LBJ was praised but also commented as a philanderer) which none shocked me given what I had read over time, but Lady Bird was given the recent podcast of her tapes and her recordings of her that had a concentrated effort of her policies and desires at the time which seemingly have gone either unnoticed or disregarded. It appears that perhaps those were done to remake her image and legacy when time passed and memories fade. Hard to know as I had no sense of her as a Woman or First Lady until that podcast, but this woman’s words I felt may have substance as I did agree with regards to both Hilary and Nancy. And while I still to this day would have felt Hilary would have been a better President than Trump, I can point to Biden as true that. I never liked Biden and with that the recent story in the The New Yorker Magazine about his own revisionist history, does not shock. The ambition and intoxication of power is the headiest of drug.

And that brings me to the gossip portion of this post. And yes folks I did go to the National Art Gallery, the Gallery of Portraits (which has Trump’s being overlooked by a smirking Nixon portrait done by the folk artist Norman Rockwell) and of course the African American Museum which will of course be closed once Trump gets re-elected as frankly there is your Critical Race Theory in 3D. It is an amazing dedication to the role of Black Americans throughout the building of America and their contributions to all what we so appreciate in the concept of the American ideal – creativity, imagination, perseverance, dedication and intellect. And with that it defines the role of Slavery and the exploitation of Black Americans who came unwillingly and were imprisoned, exploited and murdered all in the pursuit of money and wealth. Yeah it takes a day or two to get through it and you will not come out of it without perspective. Irony that on Wednesday the day I left, the Obama’s were at the White House unveiling their official portraits that will hang in the White House (the gallery hangs a different set for the first families and are considered more informal and in a way more reflective of the individual and it will hold the two portraits currently on tour and are great btw) and with that the relationship of the Biden’s with the Obama’s was another issue of commentary and reflection by many I met who again have no kind words about either in some way or another, other than Michelle who no matter where one goes gets raves. She left a mark in ways other than it appears only Jacqueline Kennedy can compare.

And so back to my Biden gossip. I met a fantastic young woman in a local bar there and we had a great conversation and laugh and she met the infamous Hunter during Dad’s time as VP. She and friend were at the Capital Grill and having drinks when he came in and joined them at the bar. Outgoing and friendly he bought them drinks and invited him over to his place. They did not realize who he was and did not ask his last name and with that they drove out to the Biden mansion. She did not see the ballroom as the article linked mentions. But there he asked if he could smoke crack and proceeded to do so, asking them to join them. They refused and said they needed to leave and with that he offered to get them home, they again refused that, wisely so and with that found a cab to get them back to DC. My first thought was: Does he have a Black Fetish and assume that because they were Black and would be open to that or he was truly a fucked up lost soul and felt safer with Black women as well they are least judgemental about that. I have no clue and she did not think that but that he was truly an addict and had no concept of boundaries. That would be also true and that being the son of a powerful man has a sense of entitlement that would disconnect him from what is appropriate versus not. All White House families have a blacksheep and in my discussion at the Visitors Center we did laugh at the varying ones who have been paraded through that home. There was Jimmy Carter’s brother Billy, Rodger Clinton and even Jack Ford, the son of Betty and Gerald was a bit of a roue back in the day. And of course the President’s themselves have their own issues with that as well, including FDR, JFK and LBJ making one think having initials as moniker is not a good thing.

History is as complex and as dirty as we wish to make it. I was again surprised at the Trump accolades, which seem to be all over the map and while almost all agree he was nuts we all agree he is coming back like Grover Cleveland. Cleveland is the only president in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms in office. And he got married in the second one, his one wish that he always wanted, LOVE. So hey.

And with that I want to point out that crazy conspiracy theories, delusional thinking and weird beliefs are not just the provenance of white folks. During my tour of the AA Museum there was an exhibit to the former Cabinet Secretary, Ben Carson, noting his accomplishments as a Physician, with nothing about Trump mentioned. I was standing there shocked and with that two women said, “We just pretend that we did not know that either.” And with that we laughed and moved on as it is better to remind oneself of the good one does over the bad at times. And that Museum is laden with info both good and bad so you can remind oneself of that despite it all we are all here today sharing in that knowledge.

And when I came home I was reminded of that ignorance is wilful and with the discussion about Nixon and Trump in my laugh factor given their portraits, a young Black woman who works in the building informed me that Trump had done more for Black people than Obama and that Nixon came up with Father’s Day as a holiday in 1972 to hide his war on Black people aka the War on Drugs. (Father’s Day is not a federal holiday and with that it was around unofficially since 1910 so what Nixon did was federally recognize the day as one of significance) And she proceeds to show me some YouTube dude who has made that a fact. Well I agree that the War on Drugs was a war on Black people but Father’s day a false flag? Okay, bit of a reach but hey whatever! I did not bother to ask her to substantiate the Trump claim as that is time I don’t need to waste. She is also strongly anti vacc, a colorist, which equally disturbs me even more so now given my visit to the Museum, and has other odd views that again shows an ignorance fueled by the interwebs. This is America and we have Q’Anon folks that has contributed to much of the current state of affairs. So who am I to criticize.

My train trip home was joined by my local Senator, Menendez who has had his own issues regarding corruption and currently his son is running for our local rep here in Jersey City. The idea that it is only Royalty that has Birthright is not lost. So politics corrupts absolutely but with that I felt that DC deserves better and more. They need statehood and representation and with that they also need to allow people to live there and can afford to do so who work there and keep those offices and museums alive for us all to visit. They are free, your Socialist government in action.

Well Prayer ain’t working

As an Atheist I could have told you that. As the testimony continued in Congress yesterday including families of victims of the Tops Grocery Story and Uvalde Massacre, a Pediatrician described what he found with regards to the Children’s bodies: Dr. Guerrero described returning to the emergency room to horrifying sights: two children who he said had been “pulverized” and “decapitated” by bullets.

In Matthew McConaughey’s briefing he shared that the only way a family could identify the body of their daughter was by her green Converse shoes with a heart on the toe.

And yet a nutfuck with a gun shows up at Brett Kavanaugh the Supreme Court Justice house and Mitch McConnell goes histrionic over getting special protection for them in wake of the protests that have resulted from the Roe leak. Really? Not build a fortress in which they are to live to protect gun rights instead. As that is the suggestion moving forward with regards to Gun Safety.

Then I read the story about a 10 year old and her killing a friend of her Mother during the two women’s argument. There is a lot to unpack about this story but the reality is that this is the whole issue about gun safety and parents arming themselves with weapons, no training, no required security to prevent children from accessing the gun and of course the insurance that would pay for injuries and treatments if you well survive a gun attack. Nope lets make sure Kids are armed and dangerous or at least surrounded by those who are.

To quote a Mother, Zeneta Everhart: “To the lawmakers who feel that we do not need stricter gun laws, let me paint a picture for you: My son Zaire has a hole in the right side of his neck, two on his back and another on his left leg caused by an exploding bullet from an AR-15,” said Everhart, who paused in describing her son’s injuries. “As I clean his wounds, I can feel pieces of that bullet in his back. Shrapnel will be left inside of his body for the rest of his life. Now, I want you to picture that exact scenario for one of your children.” She went on: “This is who we are as a nation,” testified Everhart, “I continuously hear after every mass shooting that this is not who we are as Americans and as a nation. Hear me clearly: This is exactly who we are.”

Well it is not who I am. I have had enough I don’t need to paint a picture or visualize the damage. Start releasing those crime scene photos, the autopsies of the children and their wounds to see what damage the AK 15 does to the human body. Can anyone really defend the reasoning behind why we must have said type of weapon? Oh yes “to kill wild hogs, prairie dogs and “other types of varmints.” WHAT THE FLYING FUCK?

I watched the election returns and yes that is who we are. Almost all of the primary candidates ran on a campaign of FEAR and stopping crime, the recall effort of the City Attorney in SF who actually tried to do what he promised, reform the system was promptly kicked out office. Yeah we like our guns on Cops, on anyone and everyone. We feel safer. That is the biggest oxymoron I have ever heard. Emphasis on moron.

In the meantime the whack jobs are getting elected onto School Boards and in positions of significant authority but alas smaller less noticeable ones across the country. The County Clerks that verify Election processes will be there making sure the vote is safe or is it? And when I read about another Ivy League Professor who was angry and ran for Governor of Massachusetts, was “Oh no another Masshole liberal who is failing to do the heavy lifting first.” I adored Elizabeth Warren and her failed run for President was largely due to that she was associated with that same moniker. Her origin story (not the ham fisted Native American thing) but the one of being from working class Oklahoma roots, being a single mother and actually making it into Law School (not Harvard she taught there but was not a Graduate she went to Rutgers folks, right down the road here) and then into the halls of the Ivy League and into the White House where she was a Candidate to run a powerful CONSUMER protection agency and in turn then elected against great odds to the Senate. She did not tell her story in a way that resonates with well working class men and women. She was amazing with small girls and her angle on that was a powerful message. I for some reason cannot figure out what Kamala Harris’s was. Again my point here is that not all qualified people get the job they deserve or want.

When I heard of the NYT columnist, Nick Kristof, running for Governor of Oregon, I was shocked and NOT impressed. Sorry but really? I felt The New York Magazine did a great profile on that failed campaign and it had a lot of problems, the first the Candidate himself. And this did not help in the least: Kristof knew he had not lived in Oregon long enough (year) to meet the legal requirement to hold office (three years). He hired lawyers and corralled a stable of allies to argue his case in the media, which was that voters should decide if such rules matter. And this is another issue of import: Asked if he would consider a state office besides the office of governor, he said, “In Oregon?” He paused. “If I’m trying to figure out how I can bring about the greatest change on issues I care about, I’m just not sure that that’s how I can do it.” Besides, he added, “one of the advantages of losing one’s job very publicly is that you get a lot of job offers.

Just because you think you can doesn’t always mean you should. And with that the Conservatives running for Election offices, County Clerks and other more theatrical positions, will have much access and information on how to work within a bureaucracy and bring about the change that Kristof spoke of, only not in a good way. Again the Senator Patty Murray began her career as a School Board Member and she is a liberal Senator folks. Maybe that is a way to get that foot in the door, nah fuck it I want to be President. Okay Donald. I often look back at the Kentucky Clerk who refused to honor an application for a same sex couple on the grounds of her religion and beliefs which was ultimately refused to be heard by the Supreme Court at the time would likely face a much more receptive court if she did so today.

My criticism of the Ivy League prof was that in the end she dropped out but noted it was good for her “mental health” I thought well great, another reason I am glad I don’t live in Massachusetts. And as May was Mental Health Awareness Month and largely due to the mass shootings which we blamed on mental health, we failed to examine and acknowledge the many elected to State Offices who clearly have mental health issues. Now might be the time to note that and with that, Marjorie Taylor Greene I am speaking to you, not unlike the voices in your head.

I am exhausted from having to explain that I may not agree with all good Liberals on everything and I don’t. And I should not have to apologize nor be verbally abused or dismissed as angry, strident or whatever other euphemism is for BITCH. Besides I prefer Cunt. We truly refuse to hear truths, facts or even opinions that differ from ours. The one thing the Religious Right and the MAGA crowd have done is manage to put aside many of their fundamental differences to unite under the tent and promote the Big Lie and with that they all get something. Religious crackpots got the Supreme Court of their dreams and the MAGA crowd get guns. Win-Win for them, Lose-Lose for us.

“America is inherently violent … I continuously hear, after every mass shooting, that ‘this is not who we are as Americans’ … This is exactly who we are.” – Zeneta Everhart

Feel like you don’t fit in either political party? Here’s why

November 9, 20212:00 PM ET

Domenico Montanaro NPR

Protesters gather at a rally to demonstrate against the LA City Council’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city employees and contractors on Monday in Los Angeles. A new study from the Pew Research Center breaks down ideology within political parties, including by views on the role of government.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

The idea that Americans are polarized makes it seem as if there are only two sides in politics — liberal and conservative, Democratic and Republican.

But Americans are far more complicated politically, a new Pew Research Center typology shows in a study that gives a clearer picture of the full spectrum of American political views.

Americans are divided not just by party but also within them, enough so for Pew to sort Americans ideologically into nine distinct categories (one more than in its last typology four years ago, with some decidedly different contours).

Clear lines emerge when it comes to race, inequality and what the government should do about it. There are also decidedly different views on the role of government overall, economic policy, immigration, religion, the United States’ standing in the world and — for Republican-leaning groups — former President Donald Trump.

What’s more, despite surveys having found broad support for a third party outside the two major ones, the study shows that there’s no magic middle. In fact, the study finds that the three groups with the most self-identified independents “have very little in common politically.”

There are also clear implications for control of Congress. While there has been much focus on Democratic divisions between progressive and moderate wings in Congress, the study finds there are more divisions among Republican groups on the issues. But where Republicans have an advantage is having more of a sense of urgency about who is in charge in Washington. The strongest Republican groups more so than the strongest Democratic ones think next year’s midterms “really matter.”

The typology was created using more than 10,000 survey interviews over an 11-day period this past July. A typical national survey has about 1,000 respondents. This is the eighth typology Pew has created since 1987.

Here’s an overview of Pew’s nine categories (to see where you fit, you can take Pew’s quiz here):

Faith and Flag Conservatives (10% of the public)

Committed Conservatives (7%)

Populist Right (11%)

Ambivalent Right (12%)

Stressed Sideliners (15%)

Outsider Left (10%)

Democratic Mainstays (16%)

Establishment Liberals (13%)

Progressive Left (6%)

Republican-leaning groups

Republican-leaning groups largely believe government is doing too much, that everyone has the ability to succeed, obstacles that once made it harder for women and nonwhites to get ahead are now gone, white people largely don’t benefit from societal advantages over Black people, that political correctness is a major problem and military might is key to keeping the U.S. a superpower.

Two-thirds also think the Republican Party should not accept elected officials who have been openly critical of Trump.

They divide, however, on economic, social and foreign policy. On economics, there are splits on whether corporations make a fair amount of profit and if taxes should be raised on the wealthy. They also don’t fully agree on which is more important — oil, coal and natural gas expansion or developing alternative energy supplies.

On social issues, they diverge on whether same-sex marriage or abortion should be legal, if government policies should reflect religious beliefs and even whether they feel uncomfortable hearing people speak a language other than English in public places. There are also differences on whether election changes that make it easier to vote would make elections less secure.

On foreign affairs, some think the U.S. should take allies’ interests into account; others do not.

Faith and Flag Conservatives

• 23% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents
• skew the oldest in age of the Republican-leaning groups
• deeply conservative on nearly all issues
• religious and want Christianity front and center in public life
• very politically engaged; nearly 9 in 10 believe who controls Congress after next year’s midterms “really matters” — the highest of any group
• overwhelmingly white and Christian
• among Trump’s strongest supporters — most believe Trump definitely or probably won the 2020 election
• roughly 4 in 5 say too much attention has been paid to the Jan. 6 insurrection

Committed Conservatives

• just 15% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents
• highly educated, loyal Republicans who are very politically active; nearly 8 in 10 believe the results of the 2022 elections “really matter”
• pro-business
• want limited government
• less restrictive on immigration than the other three GOP-leaning groups
• more “globalist” — in other words, they believe U.S. involvement with the world and with allies should be prioritized
• less enthusiastic about Trump, but generally big fans of former President Ronald Reagan

Populist Right

• 23% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents
• among the least likely to have a college degree and among the most likely to live in a rural area
• hard-liners on immigration, even more so than Faith and Flag Conservatives
• highly critical of the U.S. economic system; a majority believes the “economic system in the country unfairly favors powerful interests, that businesses in this country make too much profit and that taxes on household income over $400,000 should be raised”
• strong Trump supporters; 4 in 5 would like him to remain a prominent figure in politics, and almost 6 in 10 want him to run again
• about 8 in 10 believe the results of the 2022 elections “really matter”

Ambivalent Right

• 18% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents
• the youngest and among the least religious and politically active of the Republican-leaning groups
• most don’t identify as “conservative” politically, but are conservative economically, on issues of race and in that they prefer smaller government
• more moderate than other Republicans on immigration, abortion, same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization
• lean toward the GOP but are not enamored with it; almost two-thirds would like Trump to not remain a national figure, and, in fact, a quarter identifies with Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents
• the only GOP-oriented group to say President Biden definitely or probably legitimately received the most votes in the 2020 election, and only about 4 in 10 believe the results of the 2022 elections “really matter”

Crossovers

Stressed Sideliners

• 15% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and 13% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents
• financially stressed and tend to tilt left economically and conservative socially
• the group to which Hispanic Republicans are the most likely to belong
• largely disengaged from politics; only about 4 in 10 voted in 2020, and fewer than half believe the results of the 2022 elections “really matter”

Democratic-leaning groups

While Democratic-leaning groups generally agree on many issues and say that problems exist when it comes to race and economic inequality, there is an intensity gap about how much should be done about those problems and how radical the solutions should be.

Pew notes that in past typologies, it has found cracks among Democratic groups on social issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and legalizing marijuana, but those no longer exist. Instead, now the divides are about how liberal the party should be.

These Democratic-leaning groups believe in a strong federal government, one that should do more to solve problems. They also agree that the economic system unfairly favors the powerful and that taxes on big businesses and corporations should be raised, as should the minimum wage (to $15 an hour).

They feel more needs to be done to achieve racial equality, that nonwhites face at least some discrimination, that significant obstacles remain for women to get ahead and that voting is a fundamental right and should not be restricted. When it comes to major foreign policy decisions, they agree that allies should be taken into consideration.

Fissures exist with regard to U.S. military power and, to a lesser extent, social and criminal justice, as well as immigration.

Progressive Left

• 12% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents
• young and highly educated
• 4 in 5 call themselves “liberal,” with 42% saying they are “very liberal”
• largest Democratic group to say it backed Sen. Bernie Sanders or Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the Democratic primaries (though members of this group broke heavily for Biden in the general election versus Trump)
• very politically engaged; a little over 8 in 10 believe the results of the 2022 elections “really matter”
• more than two-thirds white
• extremely liberal policy positions

Establishment Liberals

• 23% of Democratic groups
• very politically engaged; 77% say the results of the 2022 elections “really matter”
• supportive of the Democratic Party and its leaders
• liberally minded, but prefer more measured approaches
• when it comes to race, they say they recognize societal ills and that more needs to be done to correct them, but instead of wholesale change, they say it should come from within existing laws and institutions
• more likely to back compromise and more welcoming to those who agree with Republicans on some things
• generally upbeat about politics and the country

Democratic Mainstays

• 28% of Democratic-leaning groups, which makes them the largest of the Democratic-leaning groups
• older, less likely to have a college degree than other Democratic groups
• most identify as moderate
• Black Democrats are concentrated in this group, though the group is the most racially and ethnically diverse of all the groups
• have liberal views on race, economics and the social safety net, but are more conservative on immigration and crime and are pro-military power for the most part
• 73% say the results of the 2022 elections “really matter”

Outsider Left

• 16% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning groups
• youngest of the groups that lean Democratic
• liberal, especially on issues of race, immigration and climate
• are less politically active than other Democratic groups, are less reliable voters, are more likely to identify as independents; when they do vote, they break overwhelmingly Democratic
• not thrilled with the Democratic or Republican parties — or the country writ large, for that matter
• most say other countries are better than the U.S., and almost 9 in 10 don’t feel there are candidates who represent their views
• only about half say the results of the 2022 elections “really matter”

Culture Wars

 I voted yesterday and it was not easy as there was not one candidate I respected nor any issue placed on the ballot that I gave one flying fuck about and that includes the Amendment to add a Police Oversight board.  I voted no and why? Because I know the cronyism here, the problems with education, comprehension and other issues that will simply add a boondoggle of bullshit to a city already mired in it.   

Phil Bresdesen is a DINO and his henchman sits on the School Board here and is well known as an asshole and bully so while he plays affable his team is entirely a different animal.  What is more disturbing is given the problems in the district he has been ineffectual if not invisible in lending any reasonable thought or decision to work on resolving the issues that currently plague our schools. I suspect he is seat warming pending the outcome of the election then moving on.  That said, voting or not in this case for Blackcunt would be utterly absurd as she could only do harm so  it was the lesser of two evils.  As for Governor the plumber is just too much for me so again I voted for the other DINO in the room, Karl Dean.  Wow if there is a blue wave it is non-existent in this red sea.  

There is some belief that the newcomers to Nashville and the region will change the dynamic.  Uh no. They are largely white, uneducated millennials who have come from even more depressed economies, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky who as we know are redder than any shade of lipstick and equally as uneducated and conservative.  So no, this is not Georgia which is on the cusp of change but then again we have made sure the Blacks, the Latinos and more importantly the Kurdish population are properly marginalized and isolated from any participation thanks to stringent voter laws and of course geographical gerrymandering.   That and the role of the Church gives them the idea that they are speaking for them through varying methods and access that they use to push the agenda of the moment, hence the Amendments on the Ballots that are utterly bizarre to useless.  I can’t wait to see if the gender neutral pronoun one passes.  I doubt it as you have to read these lengthy prospective laws  with their poor construction and circuitous wording to understand them and well literacy is a problem here even when you can read.   I can and it took two turns for me to realize one was about special elections which was all about the former Slatterns incident.  This is a ballot issue?

What is even more appalling is that in the article below it appears that the decrepit aged Senator Lamar Alexander is not ruling out running for re-election in 2020.  That would put him at 80 at the time and 86 at the end of that term.  As he has served in every single position in both State and Federal Government it is clear he has failed in decreasing said size of Government and has pretty much parlayed that loathing for Government into a LIFETIME career with secure pension and health care well into his dotage which for most Americans have already retired and in turn are pushing up daisies.  Yes U.S. life expectancy is 78.69 years so clearly Senator Alexander is well past death at this point.  So at what point do we find someone is a reflection of current American age, gender and race? Never? Well not in Tennessee apparently we get the two white men who are no more Democrats than I am a Republican.  Welcome and if you move here learn to read, register to vote and do it.  But start the process of demanding candidates before it is too late and working to get them elected.  And that is not Tennessee they don’t work hard and have no intention of doing so.  It reminds me of the one hit wonder band The Tennessee Teens.  They were neither teens, nor from Tennessee let alone America but they tapped into the money maker and that is what matters here – money. 

A Changing Tennessee Weighs a Moderate or Conservative for Senate

By Jonathan Martin
The New York Times
Oct. 24, 2018

MEMPHIS — As Phil Bredesen, the former Democratic governor of Tennessee now running for Senate, was wrapping up a voter forum at Rhodes College recently, the liberal-leaning mix of students, faculty and local residents began to grow restless from his unapologetically moderate brand of politics.

Finally, an audience member stood up and drew scattered applause by saying that supporters of Mr. Bredesen were “a little bit troubled” by his vow to back President Trump when he thinks the president is right. On what issues, the candidate was asked, would you support or oppose Mr. Trump?

It was the political equivalent of a batting practice pitch, a friendly heave served up so Mr. Bredesen could reassure supporters in his hotly contested race — and perhaps catch the attention of progressives further afield.

But Philip Norman Bredesen Jr., a low-key 74-year-old wealthy former health care executive, has no appetite to go viral.

After allowing that some people “have very emotional reactions” to Mr. Trump, he said it was important “to knock that stuff back and try to think carefully about issues.” Then he discussed trade policy.

In this year of liberal resistance, when Democratic passions are running high and Senate candidates like Beto O’Rourke of Texas are attempting to harness that energy, Mr. Bredesen is doing just the opposite. He is hoping to lower temperatures, blur the lines between himself and Republicans, and run on local issues against Representative Marsha Blackburn in a state that Mr. Trump carried by 26 points.

It is a throwback campaign, the sort that Southern Democrats used for years to distinguish themselves from their national party, in a region that has moved decisively away from its political roots. But as Democrats eye winning back some of the South’s fast-growing states, Mr. Bredesen’s approach also represents a well-timed political science test of which strategy is more effective: his brand of political vanilla that reflects the history of the state, or the more unrepentant, and perhaps more inspiring, brand of liberalism on offer from Mr. O’Rourke.

In fact, Mr. Bredesen may be running the most cautious, high-profile Senate campaign of any Democrat in the country.

He came out in support of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh — after the searing Senate hearings. He has aired a commercial in which he shoots sporting clays and trumpets his “support of the Second Amendment” as well as his N.R.A. A rating as governor. He casually scorns his party’s drift left and leaders like Chuck Schumer in language more often heard from Republicans.

“I remember sitting down here as governor during the time of the Great Recession, where, I mean, there’s just a lot of pain, and everybody wants to talk about what bathroom somebody’s using or something, you know?” he said in an interview, when asked why this state had turned right. President Barack Obama, he added, was “a very smart guy, but kind of elitist in his leanings.”

This style helped Mr. Bredesen win the governorship twice in the previous decade, convincing him that he could capture the seat currently occupied by his close friend Senator Bob Corker, the Republican who retired rather than bite his tongue about Mr. Trump.

Yet in the immediate aftermath of the Kavanaugh confirmation fight, Mr. Bredesen saw his polling sag as conservative-leaning voters aligned themselves with the Republicans. The race has tightened again, according to public and private surveys, but the court battle was a boon to Republicans here.

Ms. Blackburn, a hard-line conservative from exurban Nashville, has delighted in the opportunity to nationalize the race: At a debate earlier this month she referred to Hillary Clinton over 20 times.
Elections 2018News and analysis about the midterm elections

Tennessee has shifted drastically to the right in the last decade. Its congressional delegation and state legislature have become dominated by Republicans with Democrats all but extinct outside Tennessee’s major cities.

That may be why Mr. Bredesen has for months, in public and private, repeated the same assessment of his chances: If it is a contest between him and Ms. Blackburn, he will win. But should the race be framed as a Republican versus a Democrat, he will lose. And it’s why his friend Mr. Corker originally felt him out about running as an independent to avoid the party-label stigma, according to officials familiar with the conversation.

“He’s well-respected, he’s popular, he was a good governor, but he’d sit in between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren,” said Senator Lamar Alexander, the state’s senior Republican. “And unfortunately for him, the Kavanaugh nomination reminds people of that. I have Republicans and independents who are uncomfortable with Trump and maybe even uncomfortable with Marsha but they are furious about Kavanaugh.”

But if that anger propels Ms. Blackburn to victory, 2018 will be remembered as the year Tennessee made a sharp break from its tradition of electing pragmatic leaders — a tradition that has endured even as the state has been tugged right.

This race, therefore, is not just a clash between a centrist Democrat and a conservative Republican. It is a test of whether Tennessee will remain politically distinct or become just one more reliably red bastion, like Mississippi to the south or Kentucky to the north.

“In our mind we think we’re a little more progressive, a little more advanced, but I don’t know,” said Raumesh Akbari, a Democratic state legislator in Memphis.
Traditional alliances fray

To understand the race between Mr. Bredesen and Ms. Blackburn, you have to understand the political history of this 495-mile-long state.

“It all goes back to the Civil War,” said Mr. Alexander.

That can be said for much of the South, of course, but the war shaped Tennessee differently than its neighbors. Tennessee was the last state to join the Confederacy and the first one to rejoin the Union, having sent more troops to fight for the North than any other Southern state.

That is because its mountainous east was inhospitable to plantation slavery and remained largely loyal to the Union — and to the party of Lincoln. Voters in the state’s eastern-anchored Second Congressional District have not elected a Democrat since before the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter.

“My father also used to say that for 75 years after the war, the Union pension checks continued to come into east Tennessee,” recalled Al Gore, the former vice president and senator from Tennessee, whose political baptism by fire came in his father’s unsuccessful run for re-election to the Senate in 1970.

But Democrats were ascendant in the middle and western tiers of the state and the party had a hold on politics until 1966, when Howard Baker won a Senate seat and ushered in a half-century of robust political competition.

“The competition attracted talented people into public life,” said Mr. Alexander.

It took skill, he said, to forge coalitions between the old-guard Republicans in the east, the ancestral Democrats in the middle and west and the newly empowered black voters.

This demand created an incentive for Tennessee’s politicians to hug the political center and kept the state from lurching to the right like other Southern states.

“A kind of balance of power, equilibrium, set in,” Mr. Gore said.

Tennessee elected a stream of standout statewide officials like Mr. Baker, Mr. Gore and former Senators Bill Frist and Fred D. Thompson, who “all made Tennessee look good on the national stage,” said Representative Steve Cohen, a wily Memphis Democrat who served in the state legislature before going to Washington.

And for four decades, starting with Mr. Alexander, the two parties traded the governorship back and forth every eight years as the state became an auto-making powerhouse and Nashville boomed into the crane-filled destination city for tourists and transplants it is today.

Even as the state grew more forbidding for Democrats, a breed of business-aligned Republican moderates kept winning. Today, Tennessee is led by Gov. Bill Haslam, a Republican and heir to the Pilot Oil fortune, and represented by Mr. Corker and Mr. Alexander in the Senate. It is a lineup that is more garden party than tea party.

“We have never elected a fire-breathing Republican statewide,” State Senator Jeff Yarbro, a Nashville Democrat, noted over a meat-and-three-sides lunch in his city one day last month.

Up the hill, in the State Capitol, Mr. Haslam said Mr. Bredesen was attempting to place himself as the rightful heir to the state’s mantle of moderation.

“He’s making the argument, ‘I’m another pragmatic in the tradition of Tennessee leaders, I’m going to do what’s best for Tennessee,’” said Mr. Haslam. “And that’s always been a good argument in Tennessee.”

Yet the same forces — the rise of tribalism, the decline in regional media and the Democrats’ shift left — that have polarized politics across the South have taken root here.

And, Mr. Haslam added, there are a growing number of voters in the state who were raised elsewhere and care little about local history. Many came to Tennessee for its favorable business climate and lack of an income tax.

“Our tea party here is made up of people that didn’t grow up here,” he said, recalling how, when he ran in 2010, he would see voters wearing Yankees, Cubs and Bears hats and offering a common refrain: “We left for a reason.”

Ms. Blackburn, 66, has heard the critique of her combative style of politics before, often secondhand from the state’s center-right business elite: She just does not measure up to Tennessee’s lineage of statesmen.

She does not hesitate to call this line of attack unfair.

“We’ve never had a female U.S. senator,” Ms. Blackburn said in a cafe in Franklin, a quaint town in her Middle Tennessee district. “So that is something that would be new.”

She first made her name as a state legislator, egging on local conservative talk radio hosts and battling her own party’s attempt to implement an income tax. She became even better known after coming to Congress in 2003 thanks to her frequent cable-news appearances.

But she has never been a nominee for statewide office and she is plainly tugged between competing impulses that reflect the larger uncertainty about Tennessee’s place on the political spectrum: Should she tone down her hard-line tendencies to appeal to a broader audience in the fashion of other leaders, or should she amplify her partisan style to energize Mr. Trump’s enthusiasts in a state he would probably win again in 2020?

After invoking her gender without being prompted, she quickly backed away from what could be seen as making any claim of misogyny.

The skepticism about her, she said, is not based on gender. “It is rooted in unfamiliarity,” she insisted.

Ms. Blackburn also readily acknowledged that she is more conservative than Mr. Corker and Mr. Alexander — “I am to the right of them,” she said — but said she can work across party lines.

“I have a long history of bipartisan accomplishment,” she said.

And on Mr. Trump, she is eager to tie herself to him on policy but seems to recognize she must not fully condone his personal conduct.

“Do I think he’s a good man?” she says, repeating the question. “I think he is a really good example to legislators on how to make a promise and keep it.”

The day after Mr. Bredesen spoke at Rhodes College last month, Ms. Blackburn campaigned at a tailgate before a University of Memphis football game. Before posing with the cheerleaders — who belted out a “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!” chant — the congresswoman encountered a supporter named Teri Melkent.

Ms. Melkent used to work in the medical device industry, but now stays home with her two children. She cares deeply about immigration, her “right to bear arms,” and thinks Mr. Trump is “doing a great job.” And the Democrats’ treatment of Justice Kavanaugh? “An absolute, ridiculous travesty,” she said.

Ms. Melkent lives in Germantown, a comfortable Memphis suburb that was on the front end of the state’s shift toward the G.O.P.

But Germantown is also home to James S. Dickey Jr., a certified public accountant who voted Republican up until 2016, when he could not stomach Mr. Trump.

“I think he’s an idiot,” Mr. Dickey said of the president, upon leaving Mr. Bredesen’s college forum.
Image
Ms. Blackburn acknowledges she falls to the right of the state’s current Republican senators, Mr. Corker and Lamar Alexander, but says she can work across party lines.CreditShawn Poynter for The New York Times

Mr. Dickey, who’s backing Mr. Bredesen, predicted “a lot of Republicans will end up voting for Phil.”

Mr. Bredesen, who still speaks with the bluntness of the boardroom he led at HealthAmerica Corporation before he became Nashville’s mayor, said revulsion toward Mr. Trump among Democrats had given him a wide berth.

“I’m in the fortunate position that people on the left are enraged enough that they will find almost anything I do, with the D after my name, acceptable,” he said.

This assumption, along with his support for Justice Kavanaugh, irritates some Democrats, and Mr. Bredesen lost some volunteers after the court fight.

But progressive leaders here are urging their allies not to walk away.

“You can get on your political high horse but the consequences are pretty severe,” Ms. Akbari said, invoking the cost of purity in the 2016 election.

Mr. Bredesen must maximize his support among African-Americans, who make up about 16 percent of the state’s electorate, overwhelm Ms. Blackburn in Tennessee’s largest urban areas and split or at least hold down his losses with the rural voters in the middle and western part of the state.

There are many younger Republicans in the state who think this is fantasy, that no Democrat is viable here.

“I always believed that Blackburn would be successful, in part due to our move from a conservative state with a shade of blue dog to a single-party state today,” said Mark Braden, a Nashville-based Republican strategist, alluding to Tennessee’s faded brand of moderate Democrat.

Mr. Gore, and more than a few of his Republican friends in Nashville’s well-heeled precincts, do not believe it.

“The political culture of the state writ large has a lot of resilience, and still rewards candidates in either party who reach out beyond their party boundaries and try to frame a reasonable-sounding message that isn’t too hot, isn’t too left, isn’t too right, but really focuses on kind of a common-sense approach to governing well,” the former vice president said near the end of an hourlong conversation in his Nashville office last month.

But Mr. Alexander, who said he “might” run again in 2020, sees the ending of that cycle of history.

“We’ve sort of gone the full circle back to a one-party system,” he said, before posing a question to which he seemed to know the answer.

“If Tennessee becomes a one-party Republican state do we lose that competition that I think created a stream of talented people over the last 50 years?”

Dr. Doolittle

I live in the “South” which means I live with the praisers of Jesus, the lovers of the supreme, as in the white one and the color green means more than any other color on the spectrum.  The vanity, the superiority, the moral injustice, the mythology and victimization martyr are the largest personality types on the personality spectrum. The concept of Southern Hospitality is like another myth and the ability to contradict themselves in mid sentence describe the communication skills that defy the amazing writing and gifted talents that have somehow emerged, no escaped, from the oppression that envelops you like the humidity.   I see why food is a such an escape here as it prevents people from talking.  Talking requires thinking and that is hard when education is viewed like a suspect in a Law & Order line up.  And on that color spectrum the love of the color blue always follows green.

As the midterm elections begin after the last elections, the special elections, the major elections and everything in between we have learned that money means power and power means you have power to do absolutely not a goddamn thing. 

We already know that the Trump family are the Grifters in the White House and their interest is their own but what about other elected officials that are there doing the bidding of Turmp et al?

Let’s start with Mitch McConnell the chinwagger in chief of the Senate.  Name three pieces of legislation that he has been responsible for? Name one then.   He is like the horses that Kentucky is infamous for, a stud who drives the money up for a chance to breed a champion.  McConnell is not much better than the remaining Paul twin but at least he is interesting as he is nuts.  That is a common trait in the South, we always go for the nuts to find the ones most interesting and of course expensive. Cashews anyone?  Peanuts are the lowest on the scale in the mixed nut plate and peanuts are largely boiled and salted and infamous from the South as well.  I bet Mr. Peanut has a story or two.

But McConnell is a true special breed of a Senator who has done bum fuck nothing but put forward an agenda, dove when the bullets hit and he still stands like Mr. Peanut a symbol of another time.  This editorial about him from his biographer says all you need to know about the head of the line of do nothings.

This Is the World Mitch McConnell Gave Us

By Alec MacGillis
The New York Times|Opinion|June 28 2018

There is an unusual space in the basement of the University of Louisville library, in the large anteroom to the official archives for Senator Mitch McConnell. The space is called the Civic Education Gallery, but it is, essentially, a kind of shrine to the political career of Mr. McConnell, not unlike the exhibits on Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron you’d find at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The mere fact of the shrine is curious enough, given that it memorializes a politician who shows no sign of leaving the stage any time soon. What’s most unusual, though, is what it chooses to highlight. There are a few artifacts from Mr. McConnell’s youth — his baseball glove, his honorary fraternity paddle — but most of the exhibits are devoted to the elections Mr. McConnell won, starting with high school and on up through Jefferson County executive and the Senate.

When I visited the room while researching my 2014 biography on Mr. McConnell, I was struck by what was missing: exhibits on actual governing accomplishments from the Senate majority leader’s four decades in elected office. That absence confirmed my thesis that Mr. McConnell, far more even than other politicians, was motivated by the game of politics — winning elections and rising in the leadership ranks, achieving power for power’s sake — more than by any lasting policy goals.

Well, that was then. Four years later, it is becoming increasingly clear that Mitch McConnell is creating a legacy for himself, and it’s a mighty grand one.

Mr. McConnell has created the world in which we are now living. Donald Trump dominates our universe — and now has the power to fill the second Supreme Court seat in two years. Mitch McConnell, who has promised a vote on whomever the president nominates “this fall,” is the figure who was quietly making it all possible, all along.

First, there was Mr. McConnell’s vigorous defense, going back to the early 1990s, of the role of big money in American politics, which would help Mr. Trump not so much in terms of funding his campaign, but in helping shape the conditions for his appeal.

While Mr. McConnell has long cast his defense of campaign spending as a First Amendment issue — money is speech — he made no secret of his motivation for fighting so hard on the issue. Namely, that he was well aware that he, as someone lacking in natural campaign talents, and the rest of the Republican Party, as more business-oriented than the Democrats, would need to maintain the flow of large contributions to be able to win elections. “I will always be well financed, and I’ll be well financed early,” he declared after winning his first race for county executive, in 1977.

His crusade against campaign finance reform culminated in the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling eliminating limits on corporate spending on elections, which Mr. McConnell followed up by blocking legislation to disclose the identity of large donors. Even before that ruling, the spread of big money in politics had done so much to sour the public on government, creating a ripe target for the Tea Party and, later, for a billionaire populist running against “the swamp.”

Mr. McConnell laid the groundwork for the right-wing insurgency of 2009 and 2010 in another way, too, with his decision to withhold Republican support for any major Democratic initiatives in the Obama years. This meant that Republicans had less influence on the final shape of legislation such as the Affordable Care Act than they would have had as fully willing negotiators.

But Mr. McConnell, prioritizing elections over policy, calculated that by blocking or delaying Democratic legislation, above all through aggressive use of the filibuster, Republicans would create a tedious gridlock that voters would blame the Democrats for. After all, weren’t they the ones in power?

Mr. McConnell was right. This strategy helped to foment opposition to the health care bill, and to drive huge Republican gains in the 2010 election. But it also fueled the rise of the Tea Party, which was motivated substantially by the notion that Mr. Obama was “ramming things down our throats” — that is, passing legislation on a partisan basis after Mr. McConnell withheld any Republican negotiation. Of course, Mr. McConnell proceeded to have plenty of headaches managing the far-right contingent in his own caucus, but it was a contingent he helped produce.

His role in the election of Mr. Trump was even more direct. Most notable was his refusal to hold a confirmation hearing, let alone a vote on Merrick Garland, Mr. Obama’s nominee to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, despite the fact that the nomination was made a full 10 months before the end of Mr. Obama’s term. This refusal exploded norms and dismayed Beltway arbiters who had long accepted Mr. McConnell’s claim to be a guardian of Washington institutions. It also provided crucial motivation to Republicans who had grave qualms about Mr. Trump but were able to justify voting for him as “saving Scalia’s seat.”

Mr. McConnell’s other form of aid for Mr. Trump was more hidden. As The Washington Post reported a month after the 2016 election, Mr. Obama had been prepared that September to go public with a C.I.A. assessment laying bare the extent of Russian intervention in the election. But he was largely dissuaded by a threat from Mr. McConnell. During a secret briefing for congressional leaders, The Post reported, Mr. McConnell “raised doubts about the underlying intelligence and made clear to the administration that he would consider any effort by the White House to challenge the Russians publicly an act of partisan politics.” The Obama administration kept mum, and voters had to wait until after Mr. Trump’s election to learn the depth of Russian involvement.

Now, with the retirement of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, it is evident just how much of a lasting legacy Mitch McConnell’s will leave the country: Donald Trump will have at least two lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court. The president has — and will now enjoy — greater latitude in filling those seats as a result of Mr. McConnell’s doing away last year with the 60-vote requirement for Senate confirmation, to get Neil Gorsuch seated. In the day and a half before Justice Kennedy’s announcement, the impact of the Scalia seat was made plain again, as the court issued 5-4 rulings in favor of Mr. Trump’s “travel ban” and anti-abortion groups, and against public employee unions.

The abortion and union rulings had an ironic resonance, as far as Mr. McConnell goes. In the 1970s, when he ran for county executive in Louisville, he secured the pivotal endorsement of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. by pledging to back collective bargaining for public employees (a promise that went unfulfilled), and while in office he worked effectively behind the scenes to protect abortion rights locally.

But that was a long time ago, before Mr. McConnell saw the rightward swing of the Reagan revolution and decided to hop on board for his own political preservation as a Southern Republican. These days, Mr. McConnell has made explicit, with taunting tweets among other things, that he views long-term conservative control of the Supreme Court as his crowning achievement. It’s not hard to see why: Holding a long-term majority on the court greatly aids his highest cause — Republican victories in future elections — as recent rulings on voting rights and gerrymandering demonstrated once again.

Whether Mr. McConnell decides to add an exhibit in the Civic Education Gallery documenting his role in the rise of Donald Trump is another matter. The final historical judgment on that score will not rest with him, in any case.

And here in Tennessee we have a motley crew of Trumptards currently in office or electing to run from Marsha Blackburn to my personal favorite cunt, Diane Black.   Google either of those broads to understand what women are like in the South.  These are the classic battle axes that dominate the landscape offering you a Deviled Egg and a Sweet Tea, while smack talking you behind your back.  Bless You’re Heart, bitches!

The siren call of the Trump also finds men lining up for their share of the power and riches by yelling border wall, no sanctuary cities, no abortions and I am not of the swamp while simultaneously managing to hire Immigrant labor, have girlfriends whom they encourage to abort if they get knocked up (Jesus thinks birth control too is murder dontcha know) and hide their money in offshore accounts just like Trump, so the swamp is fairly crowded apparently.

Here we have Randy Boyd who has to be the biggest douche I have heard on the parade of ads and the less I know of him the better but that seems to be impossible.   Heard of the “double Irish”? No it is not a wrestling hold (loving Glow this season btw) but a tax loophole that enables Boyd to avoid paying taxes.   Gosh what is next a fake charity?   Oh wait he has the biggest faker in America trumping for him, the dad of none other than the squawking press secretary, Mike Huckabee!  Praise JESUS! 

Bill Lee whose commercial for Governor has him sitting in a church pew apparently praying for God to stop abortions, immigration or Democrats or that anyone finds out about illegal campaign contributions,  shows again he is a true Southerner.  

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee donated $1,000 to Phil Bredesen’s campaign in 2004, when the current Democrat candidate for U.S. Senator was gearing up to run for his second term as governor of Tennessee, and did not contribute to Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential campaign, according to reports filed with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance and the Federal Election Commission.

A spokeseperson for the Lee campaign confirmed to The Tennessee Star that Lee donated $1,000 to Bredesen in 2004, but noted that Lee also donated $1,000 in 2006 to his Republican challenger that year, Jim Bryson.

The spokesperson also confirmed what a review of Federal Election Commission records by The Star revealed: Lee did not contribute to Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential campaign. The spokesperson was quick to add that Lee voted for Trump in 2016 and attended the January 2017 inaugural.

 Then we have varying other idiots lining up to clean the swamp with Donald Trump.  Their overwhelming idiocy explains why Trump loves the uneducated.  And as it has been repeatedly said that many poor and working class believe that is how rich people act and behave and that is how they would act and behave if they were rich.   Glad to know that meritocracy has failed.  Praise JESUS!

But the Trump seal of approval seems to vary on success rates and he is winning!  So is Charlie Sheen, wait how did that work out?

This from CNN fake news analyzes the idea that during these odd rambling incoherent rally’s ostensibly to promote a blessed candidate it does not seem to be quite as effective as one would believe.   Well Mitt Romney may be the exception as he is the Siamese Twin to Trump when it comes to vacillating.   Or is that a Pushmi-Pullyu?

All Politics Are Just That

The adage goes… all politics are local and is credited to the late former Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, as a way of explaining how people see and vote in their communities.  Uh sure sometimes and not.  This today in the rise of social media and Citizens United with the influx of dark money anyone anywhere can engage in the political campaigns and issues regardless of where one lives.   This is an article from 2011 that demonstrates even then how often this turns out to be less than true.   Since that time we have had an admission by Facebook that there might have been a problem and the rise and fall of Cambridge Analytics which indicates that anyone anywhere can vest an interest in an election, be it local or national.  The Koch Brothers have perfected that as we here in Nashville learned about the Transit Bill that failed resoundingly after their engagement.

Many people simply don’t engage at all which is another problem and here living in the State with the least voter turnout in the nation it shows that a minority can in turn rule a majority and do so easily and be influenced easily as the education levels parallel the same number who elect to vote.  One-third here have post-secondary degrees and one-third of the population votes.  I always find that interesting as it shows that if that is the same cohort it proves that the people in this State are conservative and idiotic which again I need to point no further than the Trump family to prove my point.

The primaries being held across the nation yesterday wielded a few surprises.  The primary win in New York of the 28 year old Democratic Socialist over a long term well liked Democratic Congressman was just one and the reality is that this came after the declaration that Bernie Sanders had not taken his popularity to other contests and candidates in the same way Trump has.  Well again not all of the Trumptards have been elected so really this is picking nits and wits which frankly has to stop.

How about allowing people to listen to candidates, make decisions on them via the way we used to – through candidate pamphlets and their own ability to compare and contrast their stance on positions.  Oh fuck that I will just go to Facebook and they will give me a heads up.   I send everyone to the public library to have them assist those who are not registered here as they can give them completely unbiased and basic information versus a rant or rave.  Kids need to learn civics that is the big problem we quit doing that years ago in pursuit of STEM or whatever floated the boat regarding education reform. Funny how that reform worked in Oklahoma, I guess winds are sweeping down the plain right now.

Here in Tennessee I have little choice and I am sure as hell not voting Republican. The choices here are surreal and the Nashville Scene does a great job explaining there agenda or whatever they are doing other than citing Jesus and Trump.  

I am ashamed to even have to listen to the varying idiotic ads that run here every minute. I hear Build Walls, No Sanctuary Cities, Praise Jesus I will build a wall and pray that I never hear from these idiots again.  Just to give you an idea that even in the most remote part of Tennessee this town has tried to stop ICE from taking the local Immigrants who are doing the jobs no one wants.  So again what did you say about sanctuary’s or walls? 

For the record I am voting for Fitzhugh for Governor on the primary on the Democratic side and Phil Bresden for Senate.  He could not be worse than Corker and frankly why that aging dinosaur, Lamar Alexander, who clearly sees retirement as akin to death (and clearly is) has not retired shows that Jurassic Park applies to the Senate.  I know I don’t want to die here and the 18 month clock started to tick after the last appointment at Vanderbilt on Thursday.  I cleared that hurdle and moving now to finishing the dental reconstruction next year.  No regrets on postponing it for six months as I need a break from them and clearly they from me.  I just once want a conversation where I feel they are actually listening to me, tracking me with their eyes and giving  a shit.  Imagine every encounter where you follow their eyes to a point over your head or directly behind you while smiling and grinning at you like an idiot.  Other times watching in glass or through my glasses that they are gesticulating and eye rolling behind you.  This is the care you receive at Vanderbilt and I am paying cash for all it.

It would never occur to me to film or document any of these exchanges as frankly what good or even what bad will come of it.  The recent verbal assaults of both private citizens and public persons serve a point that regardless of how idiotic you are you are not ever going to escape or forget how stupid you were at that moment.  The woman on the plane, the woman who called about the sleeping girl in her dorm, the idiot in the fast food place, the woman who complained on the street about water, the woman shouting racist expletives.  These are moments of idiocy and differ than the marchers in the streets of Charlottesville shouting “Jews will not replace us” or public figures who are having a private moment but are confronted by the public as that is the price you pay for being a public servant.  Sorry but shouting at you or asking you to leave how is that different that the Baker or the Florist who refused to serve the Gays? Or the public servant who refused to do her job to file marriage licenses?  Or one who lies daily and rebukes the Press for asking questions on behalf of the American public?  I don’t say throw a drink on them but asking them questions, demanding answers and if they are asked to leave because their presence is causing a disruption as any customer who would then so be it.

Living here in the land that time forgot clearly again Tennessee seems to parallel Jurassic Park, I have never met a population more afraid of conflict and of others than they are here.  They do not vote, they do not read, they have little intellectual curiosity and are well divided by class and then by race with even more divisions falling into that category which causes further frustration and confusion when it comes to politics.  So that may well be why few vote and in turn enable the Legislators to enact gerrymandering and other laws that make voting a challenge for many. 

Today this data arrived:  Nashville housing prices rose at more than double the rate of wages this quarter compared to the same period last year, according to federally reported sales deeds and labor costs.  The local figures, compiled by California-based ATTOM Data Solutions, follow national trends.   But the gap is wider in the Nashville area. Home prices jumped 7 percent while wages inched up just 3 percent in the quarter ending June 30.

The strange hybrid development that thinks Nashville is moving towards being a smaller New York City ads to the culture here that as someone I know called a cross between “bougie” and “pretentious” and I call simply, delusional.   Few Americans actually travel within America let alone outside so the few that do go in either one of two mindsets:  Open to culture or closed off to it and complain throughout.  You all know those people and I prefer the former versus the latter and it is why I travel alone.  It is the best way to speak to the locals and explore a location that enables you learn about it on your own terms at your own pace and anyone who travels should do so with one who shares your values regarding everything from food to down time.

When I watch the local elections across the country and with Nashville’s coming around the bend in August I doubt many will vote and in turn the insanity by the candidates will continue.  Have you ever asked a friend, neighbor, co-worker who their Representative is in Congress? In their local House? Their City Council rep or School Board Rep?  Do you know?

If you care about Politics you do and if you don’t you don’t.   I do but I do also take down time to explore Nashville, read magazines, books and watch TV.  My job is not demanding so I am fortunate but there is a point where you have to say enough and do things other than work.  Do you?  Again we are a nation that mirrors Nashville and there is a fear factor that dominates the workplace and with endless outing on social media the lack of privacy is something that makes it difficult to have a private and a public life and what we have seen of late that will not change. 

All politics all the time is not a good thing unless that is what you do and then even then it is all you do. It is not worth it.

The United States Constitution does not contain any explicit right to privacy.  However, The Bill of Rights, expresses the concerns of James Madison along with other framers of the Constitution for protecting certain aspects of privacy. 

For example, the first amendment allows the privacy of beliefs, the third amendment protects privacy of the home against any demands to be used to house soldiers, the fourth amendment protects the privacy of a person and possessions from unreasonable searches, and the 5th Amendment gives privacy of personal information through preventing self-incrimination. 

Furthermore, the 9th Amendment says that the enumeration of certain rights as found in the Bill of Rights cannot deny other rights of the people. While this is a vague statement, court precedent has said that the 9th amendment is a way to justify looking at the Bill of Rights as a way to protect the right to privacy in a specific way not given in the first 8 amendments. 

The issue of whether the Constitution actually protects the right to privacy in ways not described in the Bill of Rights is a controversial subject.  Originalists often argue that there is no general right to privacy within the constitution.  However, as early as 1923 the Supreme Court, recognized through decisions, that the liberty given in the 14th amendment guarantees a relatively broad right of privacy in regards to about procreation, child rearing, marriage, and medical treatment termination. 

Two decisions by the Supreme Court during the 1920s solidified this view of the 14th amendment. They found the liberty clause of the 14th amendment to prohibit the states from trying to interfere with private decisions of parents and educators in when shaping the children’s education.  During the case Meyer v Nebraska in 1923, the Supreme Court said that a state law that did not allow the teaching of German or other foreign languages to students before the ninth grade was unconstitutional. 

The issue of the right to privacy regained momentum in the 1960’s during Griswold v Connecticut where the Supreme Court said that the state law prohibiting the sale, distribution, possession and contraceptives to couples who were married was unconstitutional. There were different reasons for this based on the judge, whether it was the gray area of the law or the zone of privacy created by the Bill of Rights. 

In 1969, the court ruled on Stanley v Georgia in a unanimous decision staying that an individual had the right to privacy to have and watch pornography, even if the pornography could potentially be the basis for any prosecution against the distributor or manufacturer. The opinion stated that the State could not tell a person who was in his own home what he movies he could watch or what books he could read. 

More recently, the Supreme Court has acknowledged the right to privacy. For example, in the 1990 case Cruzan v Missouri Department of Health, the Court found that individuals had the right to make their own decisions about terminating medical treatments that were life-prolonging. Another case was Lawrence v Texas in 2003 where a sodomy law in Texas that prohibited homosexual sodomy was struck down by the Supreme Court.

Gay Old Town

Are you a pedophile like Roy Moore and want to date a child and marry her? Then come to Tennessee where marrying a minor is great and legal; However, you raging Homosexuals we are not interested in you getting yourself hitched here but hey come to NashVegas for your Bachelor party and we can give you some conversion therapy if we can find a therapist willing to see you as they don’t have to take your kind as patients.  That may also explain the law that prevents hand holding on school grounds.  Good thing you can marry then and you can hold anything you want just not at school! 

**And since I wrote this a Teacher at Hillwood High is another of the several Teachers accused of sexual misconduct and that is just one of seven since I have moved here.  I have tallied over a dozen in the last five years.  And the Mayor banging her bodyguard is a problem.  He is a body guard after all. Anyone have Ryan Gosling’s number I need my body guarded.

**Irony after writing this India is working on curbing child marriage.  Yes India is more progressive!

Let’s just run down today’s Legislative agenda:  Hate gays, marry kids.  Okay.  Wine sales on Sunday? Maybe.  I hope that goes through as I drink a lot more now.  And to think they believe here that former Mayor Berry’s affair will hurt Nashville’s image.  Too late and not if I have anything to do with it.  Oh wait I mean I only hope and I am here to speak the truth, it may be mine but I do back it up with the facts thing.

As to why the great Legislature of Tennessee decided to keep the law regarding marrying minors is they were afraid it would open the door to enable Gay couples to marry.  Logic here? Again reminding you 33% of the people are educated and only 30% vote and they may be the same people which is even more frightening.

What can I say? I cannot believe anyone Gay would be willing move here and to do so without some professional obligation and security in which to move when the job ends.  And it will I have an odd feeling that thanks to Trump the economy will tank and we will find ourselves in a deep recession. The pockets are in place and here I see a true problem with some businesses canceling expansions,   or the costs to existing ones.  Add  to that  real estate from homes being sold to many many Apartments built now sitting empty.  Even the Antique market is changing and that too affects many cottage industries.  And we have the decline of restaurants and closing many here.  This is the “it” of this city.

The school situation is also hilarious as the two largest districts, Franklin and Davidson, are informing parents that the scheduled walkout on March 24 regarding gun control will be a moderately controlled one inside the school and maybe the gym if they need a space in which to gather and just stare at each other.  Gee a good opportunity to fund raise with some food trucks or book sale, no? No. Okay, then.  Well the Superintendent of Franklin, Mike Looney (yes real name) might be in court that day but don’t piss him off regardless.

As for our Superintendent he robo called the families on Saturday night to inform them of the districts decision regarding the 24th.

As you may know, there is a national initiative regarding school walkout days in March and April. We recognize student activism is part of the learning process and we respect and support our students’ right to free speech. With their safety in mind, we have asked principals to help students find assembly space within each school for those students who plan to participate. Please know that if students leave school without permission and do not sign out, their absence will be counted as unexcused. Additionally, any disorderly conduct that disrupts school operations will be handled compassionately but firmly, in accordance with the student handbook.

MNPS understands that our students may be feeling lots of emotions, including anxiety, fear and even anger about recent events. Please talk to your children about their feelings and know we have counselors available to help them. If you have questions about your school’s plans for walkout, please contact your principal.

 It went to every parent in every school. Watch those third graders now!

I have said many times that many efforts of the few generate zero effects for any.  They learned after the Sixties to shut that shit down fast now and they will not be having any Blacks or Hippies or Students or anyone marching without a permit, only on sidewalks and if you get hit by a car while protesting on the street, well too bad so sad it’s legal.  Why do you think White Supremacists have chosen this their number two State?  Had Charlottesville happened here well too bad so sad.  Man I love the state motto – Volunteer.  Depends on what I assume.

So again come to the Volunteer State and lend a hand.  To do what? Well vote that is for certain. Bring progress, bring Gays, bring help and by that help for me to move.  I can finish the dental stuff anywhere I am not married to them.  Well that is about the only law we don’t have – Polygamy cause then we could be in a group marriage with two members of the same sex.  OMG GAY!

The Trump Suit

Ever played Poker? Gin Rummy?  Ever played Bridge?  What is a Trump hand?

In Poker the best winning hand is the Royal Flush:

A, K, Q, J, 10, all the same suit. 

Bridge:

In bridge, the bidding often designates a suit as the trump suit. If the final contract has a suit associated with it — 4♠, 3♥, 2♦, or even 1♣, for example — that suit becomes the trump suit for the entire hand.

In Gin the card game not the drink:

Gin Rummy, the number of the upcard may further restrict your ability to knock. You can knock only if your total of deadwood is less than or equal to the initial upcard.

Maybe now we have some cards dealt from the deck that might turn the hand into our favor.  So what game are we playing?

Living in a red state where only 30% of the population are educated and vote it shows that the minority can rule the majority and take a look at our Government who we elected – Haslam, Alexander, Blackburn, Corker, Mae Baever (sadly retired), some other right wing crazy fuck, another right wing religious nut and some other sort of kind of liberal person who knows their place by not saying too much.  We have a great Government and the one progressive fucks her Bodyguard and flies to exotic locales on Government bidness” Bless her heart!

Today the news announced that there are concerns we may be like Denver and turn purple with the current upcoming election for Corker’s spot may go to a Democrat!! OH MY!! I would say God but that is taking his blessed name in vain.  What does that really mean? Really?

I love that there are ample Republicans running for the Corker seat but they want him to reconsider and run cause we need a white man in Government and fuck you Marsha Blackburn you bitch and lover of Trump, step aside and let a real man run!   Ain’t Tennessee grand!  I will let you form your own opinion on that one but I live here.

I have said repeatedly that what I see here is the true affects of what poverty and subtle racism can do to young people.  I have never seen anything quite like the violence and behaviors exhibited by these children that are largely children of color which has led me to question my own perceptions about race and in turn how I respond and react to these children.  And then I walk into the all white public school listen to the equally nasty and idiotic remarks, see the same lack of humor and intellect and think:  “Phew, I am not a racist, just a bitch!”  Oddly comforting as I just don’t like the kids here they are mirrors of the adults and again 70% are poorly educated and over 50% are Evangelical so the odds of me liking any of them is slim to none.

So when I saw the Students/Children speak out so vehemently and eloquently about the shooting in Parkland I was amazed. The videos and interviews with the Media were much more succinct in explaining the horror that transpired in that school. The shooter was one of them – White and Male – and he lived in that community and knew those whom he shot at and ultimately killed.  I want to recall that this parallel to Columbine cannot be lost.  A white suburban community, a very large high school, a kid with a history of calls and encounters with Police and the ability to buy guns.  The difference is that the boy in Parkland had no family and that reality combined with lack of connection to anything – the inability to deal with grief, flags thrown down indicating anger issues shows that we have a problem with or without guns thrown into the mix.

But there is on thing for certain having articulate, emotional, angry and yes largely white students stand before cameras, post videos, thoughts and speak about the horrors that transpired that day are finally lending voices to gun control that perhaps we needed.   I want to point out that I am amused if not relieved that every single shooter in these schools are white angry boys.  The reality is that if this kid had a vowel at the end of his name, was a color less white the debate would be entirely different.

Anna Devere Smith’s new play, Notes From the Field,  is being aired on HBO and it is in this production she discusses the school to prison pipeline, the reality what schools can and cannot do,  and the true issues surrounding poverty and how that contributes to the perceptions and more importantly the misconceptions that one has when you encounter children from said homes of poverty.  The illiteracy, the domestic violence, the gun violence, the use of guns and of course sexual exploitation all comes from this and enables, allows and permits those in positions of power to go: “See I told you, they are all like that.”  The use of the vague pronoun and the sheer ability to validate a stereotype while simultaneously ensuring that said stereotype remains for it gives and enables them to retain power is all that matters.

 When playing cards we throw down the hand that is dealt and hence we use the cards to manipulate and confuse other players when we have nothing to play but we still want to win.  Play poker or just watch championship Poker and you will understand.  We all play games, wear armor/costumes, take on a posture to hide our fear or rage and then we can get a gun and resolve that one much easier.

So maybe just maybe the kids may force that hand.  It is better than nothing.  Life is a gamble and I am ready to play.   Let’s just hope they keep our attention on the issue, but then you know kids they have a short attention span.

The students at Florida’s Douglas High are amazing communicators. That could save lives.
By Margaret Sullivan Media Columnist The Washington Post February 17 2018

Parkland student David Hogg: ‘Blood is being spilled on the floors of American classrooms.’

Telegenic and media-savvy is one way to describe David Hogg, a lean and dark-haired senior at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

But maybe a better way is this: Change agent.

And what could be more sorely needed than a change agent right now? Because the mass shootings in America have become a horror of repetition in which meaningful change has come to seem impossible.

Enter Hogg. The 17-year-old is the school’s student news director, who not only interviewed his fellow students during the horrific massacre at his school on Wednesday, but then spoke with passion to national media figures, providing footage that has now circled the globe.

In a level gaze directly into CNN’s camera, Hogg called out politicians for their hapless dithering.

“We’re children. You guys are the adults. . . . Work together, come over your politics and get something done,” Hogg said.

Hogg wasn’t the only teenage survivor who demonstrated thoughtfulness and poise this week.

When CBS’s Jeff Glor interviewed four Douglas High students on his evening news show Thursday night, their quiet strength was remarkable.

They didn’t, of course, all have the same message. Two of the students Glor interviewed made the too-familiar case that it is too soon to be entering into political conversations. Another argued for greater gun control. One simply wanted to remind viewers to express love to their tell family and friends while they can.

But what ties them together is their command of the visual medium and their powerful composure amid the worst kind of tragedy.

This seems all the more notable because they are teenagers.

But, in fact, it’s probably their very youth, and the all-digital world of social media — the water they’ve always swum in — that makes it possible

This is the YouTube, the Instagram, the Snapchat generation.

Communicating immediately and effectively is second nature. Even in their pain and fear — no, especially in their pain and fear — they knew what to do.

“They showed not only a familiarity with social media but a remarkable ability to ‘cover’ the events happening in their own lives,” David Clinch, global news editor at Storyful, told me.

That, Clinch said, “gives me some encouragement that this generation is not just able to understand and communicate about what is happening around them but is also putting themselves in a position to control the narrative and make a difference in their own futures.” (Storyful vetted and verified the videos students were producing, many of which then went out into the larger media world.)

In some cases, you could even see or hear Douglas students grappling with their own changing views in real time.

“I don’t even want to be behind a gun,” one girl told a student journalist during the attack, according to The Washington Post.

She said that, despite having rallied for gun rights in the past and having planned to go to a shooting range for her 18th birthday, she had changed her mind: “It’s definitely eye-opening to the fact that we need more gun control in our country.”

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), an outspoken critic of congressional inaction on gun control, seemed to think the students could make a difference.

“It’s really tragic that one of the ways our movement grows stronger is by having more victims,” he said, “but that is the reality.”

Of course, the status quo is so corrupted and intransigent that perhaps nothing that is said — including by the transcendent voices of these young survivors — will make a difference. As so many others have observed, even the 2012 massacre of tiny children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., didn’t create change.

This week, though, feels just a little different.

In the wake of the massacre, students are demanding a more meaningful conversation on gun regulation, Robert Runcie, superintendent of the Broward County schools acknowledged at a news conference Thursday. “I hope we can get it done in this generation,” he said. “But if we don’t, they will.”

The passion, intelligence and credibility of the Douglas High survivors is not going to go away.

“I will not feel hopeful until a majority of Americans are out on the streets demanding change,” David Hogg told me by phone Friday afternoon.

His message to politicians is simple: “Instead of condolences, give us action. There is something seriously wrong here.”

Hogg noted in our conversation that he and his contemporaries make up the first post-9/11 generation. They also are the first to be immersed in digital culture from early childhood, and to understand at a gut level its full potential.

“Using these tools,” he said, “is what our generation should be known for.

Jerry Who?

Sunday evening John Oliver did an excellent takedown regarding the issue of Gerrymandering. And what one finds is that the Representatives both locally and nationally do a very poor job of actually representing the constituents within their State and Region.  They do, however, a very good job of maintaining their job and their “beliefs.”

We are not a nation divided as much as a the media represents.  Simply put, a woman won the popular vote, as in the majority, but then we have this outdated convoluted system of Electoral College votes that removes that actual vote and in turn power of the majority to elect their own leader of the Nation and literally override their own votes.  And one wonders why less than half our population votes.  And of course add to it the laws and regulations put in place that almost ensures that fewer vote and especially those of color.

And why is that? Well we are told our elected officials are doing what their constituents want.  Well if they did given the last go around with Town Halls it goes to show that the divided seemed less so when it came to issues of import, such as those decisions being rendered by the Electoral College’s President.

And this also applies to the Senate and the concept that the equal two person concept of Senators from States regardless of population somehow bring parity and equanimity when it comes to legislation.  The idea being that they are elected and represent their party as elected by their State to represent their best interest of said state or why would they be elected if not.  And here is where the party divide concept comes into play.

This article I think describes how the Senate too is also equally non-representative of the people at large and their constituents.  Surprise Surprise Surprise.  Or not.

The Senate may be developing an electoral college issue

By Philip Bump April 10 2017 The Washington Post 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) signals a thumbs-up as he leaves the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 6, 2017, after he led the GOP majority to change Senate rules and lower the vote threshold for Supreme Court nominees from 60 votes to a simple majority in order to advance Neil Gorsuch to a confirmation vote. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

 

Theoretically, a bill or nomination could pass out of the Senate with the support of senators representing only 16.2 percent of the population. If the two senators from the 25 smallest states agreed to support a bill — and Vice President Pence concurred — the senators from the other 25 states and the 270 million people they represent are out of luck. (Residents of D.C., of course, are always out of luck.)

Generally speaking, though, that’s not how it works. Big states and small states come from both sides of the political aisle and can vary widely in constitution, meaning that Wyoming and Rhode Island don’t often land on the same side of political issues. What’s more, the nature of the Senate is that its members generally pride themselves on the comity of their body. For a long time, that comity has been powered in part by the filibuster, providing a way for any senator to hold up legislation — and requiring a super-majority to get that member to be quiet.

With criticism flying about the electoral college, here’s what you need to know about our system for electing the president a

 

But the times are changing. Last week, the Republican majority changed the rules of the filibuster to allow confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, several years after Democrats, frustrated at not being able to approve judges of their own, changed the rules on Republicans. Those moves, coupled with the fervently partisan moment on Capitol Hill, has meant a much-less-congenial Senate — and a Senate that, by one metric, is closer to allowing outright minority rule.

This is tricky to measure, in part since the two senators from a state don’t always concur. If, for example, we say that the population of a state stands in support of a bill or a nomination if either one of their senators supports it, the percentage of the U.S. population supporting each bill in every such vote since 1991 looks like this. (Data for these visualizations are from GovTrack.us and the Census Bureau.)

Data from GovTrack.us and the Census Bureau. (The Washington Post)

(This tally starts at the outset of the 102nd Congress in 1991.)

In none of those votes did less than half of the U.S. population approve. You’ll notice, though, that the results of late have often been closer to that line. (Again, because of D.C., the figure can never hit 100 percent.)

This misses a component of the vote, though: What about the senator from a state that may oppose? If we instead count a state’s full population if both senators back the bill or nomination and half the population if only one does, the pattern looks like this.

Data from GovTrack.us and the Census Bureau. (The Washington Post)

 

Using this metric, there have been a number of approved bills and nominations in this congress that have had the support of less than half the country.

On average, bills and nominations that have passed so far in 2017 (the first year of the 115th Congress) have had the support from senators representing far less of the American population than normal.

Data from GovTrack.us and the Census Bureau. (The Washington Post)

 

In 2016, an average of 95.6 percent of the population lived in a state with a senator voting for passing legislation. On the relative metric — one senator supporting equals half the population — votes were approved by senators representing 83.6 percent of the population. This year those figures are 76.3 percent and 66 percent.

There’s a reason those averages are as low as they are right now. Most of the votes taken in the Senate in 2017 have been on President Trump’s nominees to the Cabinet or the Supreme Court — fights that have been deeply contentious thanks to the combination of an increase in “no” votes on nominees and thanks to the fervent opposition from rank-and-file Democrats to the Trump administration.

That means that, as a percentage of all passing votes taken so far this year, far more have been approved by less than half the country’s population (on our relative metric) than in any year prior.

Data from GovTrack.us and the Census Bureau. (The Washington Post)

 

The percentage of passing votes that get support from senators representing the vast majority of the population on our relative metric was far higher 20 years ago than in recent years.

Data from GovTrack.us and the Census Bureau. (The Washington Post)

 

For what it’s worth, the Gorsuch nomination had support of senators representing 56.5 percent of the population, counting either senator’s support as reflecting the entire population of the state — or 44.4 percent of the population on our relative metric. If you consider that latter metric a better reflection of reality, it puts Gorsuch into an unusual position: Earning a successful nomination to the bench despite his earning less than half of the support of the country — and appointed by a president who was similarly successful, thanks to the electoral college.

Over the rest of the 115th Congress, it’s likely that the Senate will find more votes on which it agrees, and the percentage of the population represented by passing votes will tick upward. It is also possible that, thanks to senators from populous blue states withholding support, the 115th Senate will continue to move closer to a situation in which a minority of the U.S. population overrides the majority in passing legislation.

A D for Democracy

The Age of Democracy is now. And that means if we do nothing we will find our democracy gone or a version of it that is a facsimile of what the founding fathers had in mind when the wrote the flawed but the foundation of our country.

We have challenges being landed in communities across the country, from school board elections to voting rights in one after another poor town or city or state to the aging equipment and the long term problems/costs associated with delayed or debated results, the reality is that the 1% speak loudly and more elaborately than anyone in the 99%. Even in matters that have nothing to do with the community where they live or work. They are the Gladys Kravitz of America.

As more people run away from the hurricane into cities and towns where jobs lie or at least one’s they believe will pay them more and offer more opportunity they leave communities behind that are sheer pushovers for folks like these to use their towns and cities as trials and tests for further ways to erode this foundation. It is as if one bitch of a storm caused by global warming hit the beach and it was akin to Normandy only this D day is the day democracy died.

 This is just one more way they will do so – money over guns.

 Outside Spending by Special Interests Floods Judicial Elections at Record Percentage, Report Finds

October 29, 2015
The Brennan Center for Justice

Once Rare, Multi-Million Dollar Judicial Races Have Become Commonplace Across U.S. Special-interest groups accounted for a record-high 29 percent of total spending in state judicial races in the 2013-14 election cycle, according to a new report by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Justice at Stake, and the National Institute on Money in State Politics.

Offering a detailed analysis of the latest state Supreme Court campaign trends, Bankrolling the Bench: The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2013-14 shows how special-interest spending has impacted the composition of state courts nationwide — and calls into question how campaign spending may affect courts’ decisions.

The study finds that multi-million dollar judicial races, once unheard of, are now common across the country. Social welfare organizations and other outside groups are also increasingly spending on court races, the report notes, spurred in part by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling in 2010. The cycle also saw a notable development in a highly public initiative by a national group, the Republican State Leadership Committee, which spent nearly $3.4 million across judicial races in five states.

 “As special-interest groups continue to pump money into judicial races, Americans are rightfully questioning whether campaign cash influences courtroom decisions,” said Alicia Bannon, senior counsel in the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice and co-author of Bankrolling the Bench.

“Fifteen years of data makes clear that high-cost and politicized judicial elections are not going away. It’s time for states to rethink how they select judges and to adopt common-sense solutions such as public financing and stronger rules for when judges must step aside from cases.

Without real policy change, fair and impartial justice in America is at risk.” “The hard numbers make it clear: when judges have to run for election, there is a risk that the concerns of ordinary people will take a back seat to the special interests and politicians who are trying to reshape courts to fit their agendas,” said Scott Greytak, Justice at Stake policy counsel and research analyst and lead author of the report.

“This turns how we choose our judges into a political circus that is bad for our courts and bad for democracy. The good news is that we can fix this. We can work toward real reforms like merit selection, to help get money and politics out of the process, so judges can focus on their real work instead of raising money and fending off political attacks, and so all of us can have confidence that our courts are fair and impartial.”

 While overall election spending was slightly lower than in other recent cycles due to a high number of uncontested races, more than $34.5 million was spent on state Supreme Court elections in a total of 19 states — much of it coming from special interests.

Outside spending by interest groups in judicial races rose to a record-setting 29 percent of total spending, or $10.1 million, in 2013-14, topping the previous record of 27 percent in 2011-12. When outside spending by political parties was also included, total outside dollars accounted for 40 percent of total judicial election spending, a record for a non-presidential election cycle.

Among the report’s other key findings:

 The highest spenders overwhelmingly supported Republican and conservative candidates. Most of the top spenders targeting judicial elections supported conservative candidates, including nearly $3.4 million spent by the Republican State Leadership Committee. Democratic supporters also spent substantially in a few key races. Two of the top three highest spenders in the election cycle supported a Democratic candidate (in Michigan) or opposed a Republican candidate (in Illinois).

 The airwaves around judicial elections were dominated by ads, many of them harsh, about criminal justice issues. “Tough on crime” was the most common campaign theme, as a record 56 percent of TV ad spots discussed the criminal justice records of judges and candidates. Average per-seat spending on judicial elections has surged in states with retention (i.e, yes-or-no) elections.

The average for 2009-14 represents a tenfold increase over the average for the previous eight years. Negative advertising in the most recent retention elections jumped to 46 percent of all ads, compared to 10 percent in the prior cycle. Lawyers and business interests spent big on judicial elections.

Business interests — many of whom frequently appear in state court — and lawyers and lobbyists were the largest donors to Supreme Court candidates, collectively responsible for 63 percent of all donations. Business groups and plaintiffs’ lawyers were also major contributors to several of the highest-spending outside groups.

I’m with Stupid

I wanted to write some pity observations, some snark but this comes after Friday’s Bill Maher and Alexander Pelosi’s visit to a parking lot with regards to the coming elections. As it is an off year one would expect some lack of interest but her interviews with people regardless of political party advocacy the respondents were utterly clueless. To say idiotic would be nice to say stupid would be more appropriate.

I think this op ed says it all – smile you’re on candid camera. Or as Forrest Gump says “stupid is as stupid does” which explains why we have what we have in America. And we have a lot of it. Shit piles up as they also say. Maybe it needs its own composting can.

The Opinion Pages | Op-Ed Contributor
Curses, Fooled Again!

By PETER FUNTSEPT. 26, 2014

I SPENT the summer producing new “Candid Camera” shows, and among the many things I observed after a 10-year hiatus was that people are more easily fooled than ever.

That may seem counterintuitive, but I’m certain it’s true. Much has to do with multitasking. When my dad, Allen Funt, introduced the show over six decades ago, he had to work at distracting people. Nowadays they do it to themselves.

Many people we now encounter are fiddling with cellphones and other devices, tackling routine activities with less-than-full focus. That makes them easier targets for our little experiments, but also more vulnerable to personal mishaps and genuine scams.

I worried briefly that people are now so tech-savvy that some of our props and fake setups wouldn’t be believed. Instead, we found that the omnipresence of technology has reached a point where people will now accept almost anything.

We showed customers at a salon an “un-tanning machine” that ostensibly sucked off dark pigment in seconds. We told residents in a Denver suburb that they would be getting mail delivery via drone. We gave patients at a dentist’s office an iPad and said they’d now have to conduct their own “online dental exam.” In each case, just about everyone bought in. At the dental office, several people were even prepared to give themselves a shot of Novocain before we intervened.
Continue reading the main story Candid Camera: Drone Mail Video by TV Land

I don’t necessarily believe 21st-century Americans are more gullible, but they tend to give that impression by protesting life’s little insults without taking time to fully digest the situation.

For instance, we told shoppers in Seaside, Calif., they would be charged a “$10 in-store fee” for not buying online. We told customers at a New York food store that to pay with a credit card they would need “three forms of photo ID.” We hired a cop in Scottsdale, Ariz., to enforce a “2 m.p.h. pedestrian speed limit.”
Continue reading the main story Candid Camera: 2 MPH Video by TV Land

Virtually everyone took these propositions to be true. They shot back quickly at big government, big business or any other entity that seemed to have too big a role in managing their lives.

We tried a few political experiments and the results were all too predictable. We showed New Yorkers petitions to recall state officials, but the names were all fictitious. Most people supported the effort, among them a lawyer who carefully explained that one should never sign anything without complete knowledge of the facts, and then signed anyway. In California, our actress posing as a candidate obtained dozens of campaign signatures without ever stating a position, a party or even her last name.
Continue reading the main story Candid Camera: Recall Petition Video by TV Land

In Arizona, we hired two actors to portray “illegal immigrants.” One played a well-dressed gentleman from England, the other a blue-collar worker from Mexico. The British fellow got plenty of signatures to “vouch for good character,” while the Mexican guy had difficulty just getting people to stop and listen to his plea.

One thing that surprised us is the frequency with which people now whip out phones to record whatever strange situation we create. When we rigged a self-serve yogurt machine to start but never stop, one young customer took video for two full minutes. When we arranged to have a store in Arizona institute a “gays- only” policy, one startled patron conducted (and recorded) his own interview with our actor — essentially producing the “Candid Camera” show without realizing he was on it.
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Continue reading the main story Candid Camera: Yogurt Video by TV Land
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Diana Moses
19 hours ago

I recall the scenarios on Candid Camera years ago as being less about trying to find something close to believable and seeing if the people…
Judy Allen
20 hours ago

I haven’t laughed this consistently in a long time.What in the world is “TV Land”?I did find it on our cable listing.I hope we can find out…
John Binkley
21 hours ago

I think a lot of it, compared with 50 years ago, is that people are now exposed to so much more bizarre stuff on TV, and that things seem to…

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I don’t mind the smartphone obsession in our scenes; it’s rather funny. It is a shame, though, that so many people now interrupt real life — in effect hollering “cut” — to record what could be called Act One. In doing so they spoil their own Act Two.

Much hasn’t changed over the years. For example, I expected to encounter more profanity in everyday conversation, but it’s really not there. I also wondered whether young people would be less spontaneous and engaged when caught in our scenarios, yet there’s no hint of that whatsoever. I thought in these litigious times fewer people would sign a waiver to appear on our show, but the percentages have stayed about the same over the years.

I do note that today more people step out in public looking a bit disheveled and unkempt and are then hesitant to sign because they’re not happy with their appearance.

Fortunately for our show, people are still, for the most part, willing to engage a stranger and to smile when a little joke is revealed. That said, many folks are feeling the weight of the world’s problems, perhaps more than before.

It seems the less able we are to control the macro aspects of our lives, the more we dwell on minutiae. That might explain why strangers stood on a street corner for many minutes to help our actress select the best cellphone picture of her dog. Folks listened with surprising curiosity as our actor explained why he needed change for a dime.

Posing as a sanitation worker, I told residents in Queens, N.Y., that they would now be required to separate household trash into eight different color-coded bins. I can’t imagine someone being more passionate about any world controversy than the gentleman who was incensed about a bin devoted to “poultry waste.” “How,” he asked, “am I going to eat enough chicken in two weeks to fill that up?”