Thursday, June 29, 2017

Term Limits Equals Voter Suppression

Daily, on social media, I see things that just really make me scratch my head. Obvious things may come to mind like breatharians (people who believe that they can survive without food) or the Flat Earth Society (that's right, people you believe the Earth is flat), but I am not talking about those things. I expect the crazy in an unfiltered medium where anyone can get on-line, chat and hook-up with someone who is equally crazy. No, I am talking about bad ideas, specifically, term limits.

Term limits, to put it lightly, is a very bad idea that has legs. The idea of limiting the terms of members of Congress became very popular during the 1990's when incumbents were reelected at a rate of 100%. Term limits is when you put a limit to the amount of years or terms a political office holder can hold that office. They are usually passed when a group of people, either from one part of the country or in a particular party, don't like the choices that the other side is making, so they try to limit the amount of time their elected officials can hold office. US Presidents serving two terms was only a tradition for over a century set in place by our first president, George Washington. President Grant, our 18th President, was the first to break tradition and actually try to run for a third term, but he lost the nomination of his party to James Garfield. It wasn't until President Franklin Roosevelt, our 32nd President, was inaugurated for a third and a fourth term that anyone officially broke this tradition. He died during his fourth term so we don't know if he ever would have attempted to run for more. During his fourth term, his opponent in his last election, Thomas Dewey, proposed an Amendment to the Constitution to limit the terms of the presidency. Since both houses of Congress was controlled by the Republicans, it was passed and completely ratified by 1951. It took a total of seven years for the 22nd Amendment to be passed.

Since then many Presidents have had to stepped down after two terms. Among them were Eisenhower, Reagan, Clinton, W. Bush and Obama. Truman was grandfathered in so the law didn't apply to him but he decided not to run for a third term on his own.  Supporters of term limits would argue, aren't you glad that the law prevented Reagan or W. from run for a third term. I say, no, I am glad they didn't get a third term, but I think it should be the voters or the candidate to decide this, not the law. I also think that having Obama as President for a third term would be much better than having Trump as President. I find it frustrating that I didn't get a chance to vote for him again. Since I have already stated, in prior blog entries, that I'd support Zippy the Pinhead over Donald Trump, so this is probably obvious. Any of our prior Presidents having a third term would be better than Trump serving even one term. Maybe even W. At least we'd be getting someone with some experience. I digress.

The idea of Congressional term limits angers me in particular. As a Vermonter, I am very much over-represented in Congress. I have two great Senators in Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and my Congressman, Peter Welch, is proving to be very effective. Why should I lose them? Because someone in Indiana or Florida thinks they are dead weight? Isn't that for the voters of Vermont to decide? If they weren't doing a good job, we'd vote for another candidate. That's called a Representative Democracy. Term limits is the antithesis to Democracy. You don't like some Congressman in another state ... tough! Adults deal with these things.

Every time I see someone stumping for Congressional term limits, it is never their own representation that they are complaining about, but someone else's. It is someone in Rhode Island complaining about a Georgia or Texan representative or it is someone in South Carolina complaining about New York and California. Never their own. We have a process to get rid of dead weight and under performing politicians ...again, it is called an election.

Lets apply this logic to other occupations, lets try brain surgeons. After eights years of you developing your skills as a surgeon ... sorry, you can't be a brain surgeon anymore. After twenty years or so, our society would have no skilled brain surgeons. Bad analogy? Bad example? A politician is not as skill an occupation as a brain surgeon? Sure, but it is still a very skilled occupation. If you think Congress is dysfunctional now, imagine if it were filled with freshman Congressmen. Imagine a legislative body with no institutional memory.

In one of Vonnegut's novels, I believe it was Slapstick, he came up with a solution to our democratic woes. Our leaders were chosen at random, in a lottery, to ensure that no one who wanted the job would get it, because anyone who wanted it was surely insane therefore unqualified. It is an absurd idea in an absurdist work, but it always made me think ... hmm. Surely any random person would be a better selection than Trump. Right? Maybe so. But would they be better Senators than Bernie Sanders or Patrick Leahy, I think not. Surely, our election process has produced more good statesmen than bad. The bad just get more press. Until the Vonnegut method takes hold, keep your term limits off of my candidates and stop trying to suppress my vote.

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Authoritarian Creep - Trump Log #33

I have spent my life in awe at how many stupid people I meet ... people with little or no media skepticism, with no ability to communicate and seemingly no desire or ability to change. I am not talking about the mentally disabled, but functioning adults in our society. Not to sound too arrogant, but we all have met people who have very strange, paranoid and ill-informed ideas. Trump's election just shows that we have reached a critical mass. They have reached an unmanageable number and they have organized. They can be easily manipulated into organizing and voting against their own interests. It is only so long a culture can go around celebrating ignorance before it will end up with a snake oil salesman as its leader.

The scariest thing about living under an authoritarian is how normal it all starts becoming. What we were outraged by a month ago becomes old hat today. "What did he do now," is a daily mantra. Yesterday's outrage is today's yawn because we have a new outrage that will soon be tired. This is why it is important to remind ourselves everyday of the predicament that we are in.

Trump log:
6/21/17 - Trump wants to cut housing subsides for the poor with one exception, the subsidies that he personally makes millions off of. (Source: Washington Post)

6/22/17 - Trump appoints a wedding planner, Lynne Patton, to be in charge of the arm of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that oversees New York and New Jersey. Like his Secretary of HUD, she has zero experience with housing, but she did plan his son's wedding. Again, he clearly values loyalty over everything else including ability, experience and qualifications. (Source: CNN)

6/23/17 - Not only is the Trump administration having a difficult time finding talent, but the talent that the Federal Government already has, some that has spilled over from multiple administrations, are bowing out. Expect more incompetence to creep on by. (Source: Washington Post)

6/24/17 - Several positions on the EPA's Board of Scientific Counselors are expiring. Trump's EPA director plans to fill them with industry representative from the oil, coal and gas. Stop it! It isn't opposite day anymore. (Source: Slate)

6/25/17 - The President called my Senator, Bernie Sanders, "crazy" on Twitter. Now it is getting personal. (Source: Washington Post)

6/26/17 - Now that I am moderately successful, I travel to Europe every few years. By the conversations I've had with the locals, I could tell America was losing popularity during the W. Bush years but seemed to have been perking back up during the Obama years. It seems we're heading back down in again in the world's opinion. Time to pull out my Canadian flag patch for my backpack again. (Source: Washington Post)

6/27/17 - The Senate's version of Trumpcare has been released this week and it is just as bad as the House version. The non-partisan Congressional Business Office (CBO) has reported that 22 million Americans will lose their insurance by 2026.  The estimated amount of deaths by loss of insurance per year is in the 10 thousands, mostly the elderly, poor and disabled. Maybe this is the Republican's cure for global warming ... to depopulate the planet! (Source: Chicago Tribune)

Prior Trump Logs:
Issue # 1 - posted November 15th, 2016
Issue # 2 - posted November 22nd, 2016
Issue # 3 - posted November 29th, 2016
Issue # 4 - posted December 6, 2016
Issue # 5 - posted December 12, 2016
Issue # 6 - posted December 19, 2016
Issue # 7 - posted December 26, 2016
Issue # 8 - posted January 3, 2017
Issue # 9 - posted January 10, 2017
Issue #10 - posted January 17, 2017
Issue #11 - posted January 24, 2017
Issue #12 - posted January 31, 2017
Issue #13 - posted February 7, 2017
Issue #14 - posted February 14, 2017
Issue #15 - posted February 21, 2017
Issue #16 - posted February 28, 2017
Issue #17 - posted March 7, 2017
Issue #18 - posted March 14, 2017
Issue #19 - posted March 21, 2017
Issue #20 - posted March 28, 2017
Issue #21 - posted April 5, 2017
Issue #22 - posted April 11, 2017
Issue #23 - posted April 18, 2017
Issue #24 - posted April 25, 2017
Issue #25 - posted May 2, 2017
Issue #26 - posted May 9, 2017
Issue #27 - posted May 16, 2017
Issue #28 - posted May 23, 2017
Issue #29 - posted May 30, 2017
Issue #30 - posted June 6, 2017
Issue #31 - posted June 13, 2017
Issue #32 - posted June 20, 2017






Saturday, June 24, 2017

The Greatest American Rock Band

Who is the greatest rock band in the history of rock n' roll? Such names as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and Led Zeppelin come to mind. The amazing thing about this list is that these bands, and a ton others, are all British. It is very impressive how much a small island nation, approximately the size of New England (smaller actually), has put out so much great music. If not more than the United States, then certainly more influential. But I am talking about American rock music today.

Who is the greatest American rock band?  Before you answer this, you have to first ask: What is an American rock band? David Byrne was born in Scotland but moved to the US when he was 8. He met the rest of The Talking Heads in Providence while attending Rhode Island School of Design. The rest of the band is from the US. Is this an American band.? I say yes. Their main guy is an American regardless of the Scottish roots and they got their start playing in New England and New York bars. Definitely, an American band. Carlos Santana was born in Mexico and moved to the US when he was a teenager, like The Talking Heads, the rest of Santana is from America. Even though they are considered Latin Rock, they are still an American rock band.

Who is not an American rock band? The Jimi Hendrix Experience is fronted by the Seattle born master of the electric guitar Jimi Hendrix but two other guys, of this foursome, are British. So I have to say no. Some might say that The Band is an American band. Four out of five of their original members are Canadian and one American but most of the replacement members have been Americans. My ruling would be no on this one as well.  These are arbitrary rules, established only for the sake of argument. Without a doubt, the greatest rock band from Australia is AC/DC and only one member was actually born in Australia so these rules are not set in stone.

I created this survey in Survey Monkey. It is one question. I suggest you take it before you read the rest of this. It just basically asks "Who is the Greatest American Rock Band?"  I posted it to one of my Facebook groups earlier this week, I monitored discussion and had to add a lot of bands that I hadn't originally included. At this point, over 90 people have answered it so far. To my surprise, Pearl Jam is winning with a slight edge over The Grateful Dead. Van Halen, Metallica and Lynyrd Skynyrd are not that far behind. I excluded a few bands that I can't stand like Journey, Mötley Crüe and Night Ranger ... because hey, it is my survey and I said so. Hopefully, no one will miss them.

What is great when it comes to a band? When I voted I considered longevity, song writing, influence, orchestration, broad appeal and live performance.  With these categories, I can understand why someone would vote for The Grateful Dead. They've played together for several decades, they have some great song writers, their live performance is something that everyone should see at least once in their life and they have influenced hundreds, if not thousands, of bands. But they do not have broad appeal. It seems that rock fans either love them or hate them. They also have wide ranging styles sometimes jazzy, sometimes country and sometimes psychedelic. I find this to be a good thing, but many fans don't. Sometimes when you mention that you love The Dead, you get laughed at and derided. Sometimes you hear jokes about drugs. This is sad, but this made me consider other bands when I voted.

You get similar reactions if you said The Talking Heads ("too new wave") or Metallica ("too heavy metal") or The Beach Boys ("too poppy"). Most bands are in their silos with few having universal appeal.

I expected more people to vote for The Eagles, but I understand why they aren't winning. Their music didn't age well. They are a great band that were quite versatile especially after Joe Walsh joined the band. But some of their catalog sounds trite. Perhaps they were over played. They have only gotten five votes. Not even half of Pearl Jam's eleven.

I voted for The E Street Band. Perhaps I'm being influenced by listening to Bruce's "Darkness on the Edge of Town" CD all week, but this band has everything. They have one of the greatest song writers in American history in Bruce Springsteen who is also a great guitarist and performer. You couldn't see a better live performance. They've been together for decades and have influenced a generation of performers and are still relevant, putting out socially relevant music that still rocks. If I were at a party with a bunch of strangers and I were asked who my favorite band was, and I said "Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band," no one would grunt. They have almost universal respect. That is what makes them the greatest American rock band.

I have to start thinking about Canada now.




Wednesday, June 21, 2017

The Clicks Keep Coming - Trump log #32

The clicks keep coming. When I starting pushing out these Trump logs every Tuesday, since the election in November, I assumed it would settle down at some point. This is not so. They keep coming and coming ... Everyday I just read my papers and my Facebook feed, then have to pick which one to include.

The US has initiated impeachment proceedings three times in the past: Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Nixon. We currently have more evidence and justification to impeach now than any of those. Also, the crimes that were possibly committed are higher ... certainly higher than lying about a blow job.

Trump log:
6/14/17 - Trump's Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, wants to prosecute providers of medical marijuana. Even though many states have made it legal, it is still a federal law. Most AGs ignore these type of situations. This is not normal. (Source: Washington Post)

6/15/17 - Special counsel Mueller is now investigating Trump in his connection to coordinated efforts between his campaign and the Kremlin into meddling with the 2016 election. (Source: Washington Post)

6/16/17 - Have you been excited as I have been about Cuba opening up?  This also can be added to the list of shit that Trump is ruining. (Source: New York Times)

6/17/18 - The President has a cabinet meeting televised and they each take turns jerking his chain. Thanks to Youtube, we have video of this high level circle jerk. (Source: Youtube --- see below)

6/18/17 - The new world order, the one with Trump as president, is one without America. (Source: New York Times)

6/19/17 - There has been a dramatic increase in the number of civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria since Trump has been president. (Source: New York Times)

6/20/17 - Experienced Republicans are not applying for jobs in the White House for fear that it would damage their long term career trajectory.  So our president with no government experience is and will be surrounded by not the best and brightest. (Source: Washington Post)

Prior Trump Logs:
Issue # 1 - posted November 15th, 2016
Issue # 2 - posted November 22nd, 2016
Issue # 3 - posted November 29th, 2016
Issue # 4 - posted December 6, 2016
Issue # 5 - posted December 12, 2016
Issue # 6 - posted December 19, 2016
Issue # 7 - posted December 26, 2016
Issue # 8 - posted January 3, 2017
Issue # 9 - posted January 10, 2017
Issue #10 - posted January 17, 2017
Issue #11 - posted January 24, 2017
Issue #12 - posted January 31, 2017
Issue #13 - posted February 7, 2017
Issue #14 - posted February 14, 2017
Issue #15 - posted February 21, 2017
Issue #16 - posted February 28, 2017
Issue #17 - posted March 7, 2017
Issue #18 - posted March 14, 2017
Issue #19 - posted March 21, 2017
Issue #20 - posted March 28, 2017
Issue #21 - posted April 5, 2017
Issue #22 - posted April 11, 2017
Issue #23 - posted April 18, 2017
Issue #24 - posted April 25, 2017
Issue #25 - posted May 2, 2017
Issue #26 - posted May 9, 2017
Issue #27 - posted May 16, 2017
Issue #28 - posted May 23, 2017
Issue #29 - posted May 30, 2017
Issue #30 - posted June 6, 2017
Issue #31 - posted June 13, 2017


Tuesday, June 13, 2017

The Republican Party is a Hate Group - Trump log #31

In the two years prior to the 2016 election, Donald Trump retweeted white supremacists approximately 75 times. Now that he is President, he has a white supremacist, Michael Bannon, as a top adviser. Why this doesn't disqualify him from being supported by any non-racist, I don't know. For me, if you retweet such crap once, you can chalk it up to an accident and claim you didn't know the source. But if you do this 75 time, lets face it, you are a white supremacist. Yes, I do go even further here ... if you support a white supremacist as US President, possibly the most powerful role on the planet, then yes, I think you are a white supremacist. If you support Trump, isn't it time you have face it and admitted it about yourself?

My wife tells me often that not all Republicans are bad. My response to her is usually the same, "if they weren't so bad, then they would have left this disgusting party by now." The GOP "health" plan is really a tax cut plan for the most wealth among us. It is an attack on the poor. Some elderly people will have an 800% increase in their premiums while the 1% wealthiest among us will get cuts in their taxes. Many poor people will die while the wealthiest of the wealthy will get a boost to their revenue which most of them won't even notice. Pretty disgusting! If that is not hate, then I don't know what you want to call it.

Republican hypocrisy is astounding. They cling to the flag and Constitution and yet, when it comes to following the Constitution, they seem to ignore it ... like when President Obama nominated Judge Garlard and they didn't even have hearings. Their most disgusting attack on democracy is their efforts to prevent blacks and the poor from voting. Whether it is gerrymandering districts, passing laws to prevent the poor from voting or outright attacks on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, they have made it clear ... they are the party, of not just the wealthy, but the party of the white and wealthy. Voting fraud isn't a problem, not even close. The Republican party is the problem!

The clicks keep coming ...

Trump Log:
6/7/17 - Director of National Intelligence, Daniel Coats, was asked by Trump to intervene in the FBI's investigation of Michael Flynn. This is interference at a much higher level than previously reported. (Source: Washington Post)

6/8/17 - Did you watch it? It was appointment watching for any political junkie. James Comey, ex-FBI director, testifies that President Trump obstructed justice. (Source: Washington Post)

6/9/17 - Trump's infrastructure plans are a joke. He had a press conference, but he had nothing real to sign, no law, no executive order. As we expect, it is a bunch of lies and handouts to the wealthy. (Source: New York Times)

6/10/17 - Trump, via Twitter, is calling Comey a liar. His lawyer is also calling him a liar. Lying in testimony to Congress is a series offense. If Trump believed this, then why wouldn't he be pressing charges?  The ball is in your court Mr. President! (Source: Slate)

6/11/17 - How did the Republicans become the only political party anywhere to deny climate change? It is simple, they have been bought by the Koch brothers and Trump is simply along for the ride. (Source: New Yorker)

6/12/17 - The Attorney Generals of DC and Maryland are suing President Trump in federal court over the abuse of the emoluments clause. (Source: Washington Post)

6/13/17 - Trump's FDA plans to delay the implementation of Michelle Obama's sugar-added labeling regulation, possibly indefinitely. (Source: Washington Post)

Prior Trump Logs:
Issue # 1 - posted November 15th, 2016
Issue # 2 - posted November 22nd, 2016
Issue # 3 - posted November 29th, 2016
Issue # 4 - posted December 6, 2016
Issue # 5 - posted December 12, 2016
Issue # 6 - posted December 19, 2016
Issue # 7 - posted December 26, 2016
Issue # 8 - posted January 3, 2017
Issue # 9 - posted January 10, 2017
Issue #10 - posted January 17, 2017
Issue #11 - posted January 24, 2017
Issue #12 - posted January 31, 2017
Issue #13 - posted February 7, 2017
Issue #14 - posted February 14, 2017
Issue #15 - posted February 21, 2017
Issue #16 - posted February 28, 2017
Issue #17 - posted March 7, 2017
Issue #18 - posted March 14, 2017
Issue #19 - posted March 21, 2017
Issue #20 - posted March 28, 2017
Issue #21 - posted April 5, 2017
Issue #22 - posted April 11, 2017
Issue #23 - posted April 18, 2017
Issue #24 - posted April 25, 2017
Issue #25 - posted May 2, 2017
Issue #26 - posted May 9, 2017
Issue #27 - posted May 16, 2017
Issue #28 - posted May 23, 2017
Issue #29 - posted May 30, 2017
Issue #30 - posted June 6, 2017

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Life Under an Autocrat - Trump #30

Life under an autocrat is exhausting. You cannot get away from him, almost every conversation is about him. If it doesn't start that way, it slowly becomes about him. You cannot get away from him. "Did you hear what he did today?" "Oh shit, what?" He is in the air we breathe, making us choke. Not sure how much more I can take!

Two countries on the planet didn't sign the Paris Agreement, Nicaragua and Syria. Nicaragua didn't sign it because the agreement wasn't strong enough. Syria didn't sign it because they are amidst a civil war and have other problems. As Trump pulls out of the agreement, it is clear that he does not see the world as a global collaborative, but as a group of separate entities fighting for resources. This is an idea that died in 1945. In the wake of World War II, we saw the error of our ways and came together as a planet. However imperfect, it has worked for the most part. Now we finally have the answer to the question that we've been asking Trump supporters for the last two year, "When was America great?" When America was alone.

Trump Log:
5/31/2017 - As part of the sanctions against Russia for their hacking during the 2016 election, President Obama ejected them from diplomatic compounds in New York City and the Maryland shore. Trump tells his buddies to come on back. (Source: Washington Post)

6/1/2017 - Trump has issued 17 ethics pledge waivers in a little over 100 days of being in office. Obama issued 17 in the eight years he was in office. (Source: Washington Post)

6/2/2017 - As expected, Trump announced that the US will withdraw from the Paris Agreement. (Source: New York Times)

6/3/2017 - Trump has ordered aides not to respond to Democrats requesting information in regards to White House oversight. (Source: Politico)

6/4/2017 - Hurricane season is fast approaching and still we have no director of FEMA or NOAA. (Source: Tampa Bay Times)

6/5/2017 - Trump's tweets after the London Bridge terrorist attack are a national embarrassment. (Source: New York Times)

6/6/2017 - Changes made by the Trump administration to the federal government's contraception mandate could leave hundreds of thousands of women without contraception. (Source: New York Times)

Prior Trump Logs:
Issue # 1 - posted November 15th, 2016
Issue # 2 - posted November 22nd, 2016
Issue # 3 - posted November 29th, 2016
Issue # 4 - posted December 6, 2016
Issue # 5 - posted December 12, 2016
Issue # 6 - posted December 19, 2016
Issue # 7 - posted December 26, 2016
Issue # 8 - posted January 3, 2017
Issue # 9 - posted January 10, 2017
Issue #10 - posted January 17, 2017
Issue #11 - posted January 24, 2017
Issue #12 - posted January 31, 2017
Issue #13 - posted February 7, 2017
Issue #14 - posted February 14, 2017
Issue #15 - posted February 21, 2017
Issue #16 - posted February 28, 2017
Issue #17 - posted March 7, 2017
Issue #18 - posted March 14, 2017
Issue #19 - posted March 21, 2017
Issue #20 - posted March 28, 2017
Issue #21 - posted April 5, 2017
Issue #22 - posted April 11, 2017
Issue #23 - posted April 18, 2017
Issue #24 - posted April 25, 2017
Issue #25 - posted May 2, 2017
Issue #26 - posted May 9, 2017
Issue #27 - posted May 16, 2017
Issue #28 - posted May 23, 2017
Issue #29 - posted May 30, 2017