A Proposal to the New Confederacy

I propose a compromise to America's Historian-in-Chief Donald Trump and his loyal supporters: Put statues of slaves - chained to the auction block, tied to the whipping post, dead in the field - at the base of your "beautiful" Confederate monuments and we won't tear them down. They can stand forever in accurate context for all the world to see. Your cherished history will be saved. You will be able to proudly take your children and grandchildren to these monuments and show them exactly what your Southern States so gallantly fought to preserve.

R.L. Johnson, 2017

Goodbye Truth

Alternative facts,

they fall like rain

into gutters of lies

that flood the drains,

causing rivers of hate

to erode the land,

cutting through valleys

and canyons grand,

sweeping the truth

into the sea,

to drift away

conveniently.

R.L.J. Notes on the Trump Administration 2017

The Mourning After Dallas

The tragedy that unfolded in Dallas last night is not a competing tragedy with the reoccurring deaths of mostly black men killed by mostly white police officers. It is a part of the same tragedy. It is a tragedy of two races distrusting, disrespecting, and profiling one another; with members of each judging the whole of the other based on the actions of a few. The original sin cannot be undone. Forgiven or unforgiven, it can only be moved past. Only when America mourns equally for the lives lost on both sides of this tragedy will it begin to stitch the wound that continues to rip open with each violent incident. And until we do the deliberate work of stitching, the natural process of healing cannot begin. We must all be doctors today. Our needle and suture must be empathy and respect... Empathy and respect for one another.

Radical Corporate Terrorists

Trump won’t say it. He won’t utter the words. Neither will Hillary, or Barack. None of them will… “Radical Corporate Terrorists!” There, I said it; a phrase you won’t hear from apologists of free market abuse. They’re too politically correct to admit that some greedy capitalists are strapping exploding debt to people across the country. They’re terrorizing the middle class; reducing their numbers with every explosion, leaving them so sift through America’s ruins with the desperate poor. 

Radical Corporate Terrorists have infiltrated every county in the nation. When a student signs up for college they say, “here’s your exploding debt vest. Put it on, or you can’t attend”. When a person gets sick they blow up their insurance agreement and say, “Sorry, we don’t cover that. We cover other treatments, but not that one; not the one you need to survive… But if you’ll strap on this exploding debt vest we’ll keep you alive a little longer. But keep in mind that when it blows up it will financially devastate your family. It’s your call. We’re just here to help. Please fill out our survey”.

Every couple generations Radical Corporate Terrorists blow up the entire housing market, sending shrapnel flying in every direction, injuring everyone except those living at the penthouse level. The penthouse dwellers wander down after the fires are put out and purchase whatever they please for pennies on the dollar and rent it back the financially injured at inflated rates… because they can. And because their God, Money the Almighty, says they are the chosen ones. They have the right. Glory awaits them.

I’m tired of being politically correct. I want a government that will fight Radical Corporate Terrorism. I want a candidate who will acknowledge that “Radical Corporate Terrorists” are here, now, planning and carrying out attacks every day. I want to fight the real enemy for a change.

Of Guns and Gift Wrap

To Every American who gave or received a gun this Christmas:
I’m setting aside my opinion concerning the popularity of this gift-choice on this Christian day of peace to wish you a Merry Christmas with the sincere hope that this gun, this Christmas gift, is never fired in anger, in despair, or accidentally. May it be used skillfully for legal target-sport or hunting, and may any game it takes from the wild be taken for food and not trophy, and may that nourishment from nature be taken respectfully and humanely. Lastly and most importantly, should the exceptionally rare situation ever occur where the use of this gun becomes an option for personal defense, or to protect innocent life, may its wielder possess perfect judgement, and may their aim be true… for there is no pause button, or rewind button on this device.

Racism at the Highest Level

Rolling Stone recently named President Obama “One of the Most Successful Presidents in American History”, but imagine what could have happened if, like white pitchers throwing at Jackie Robinson’s head, a group of white lawmakers hadn’t since day-one been trying to take our President out of the game. Of course I’m talking about the Eric Cantor led group who vowed on January 20, 2009 to oppose every bill that President Obama supported regardless of the fallout solely to destroy his presidency. History will clearly show these men to be backwards immoral frauds who risked a nation in an attempt to take down one man of color for having had the audacity, like Jackie and others, to break down another one of their sacred racial barriers. Their back-slapping self-congratulating conversations will blow away in the wind, but their shame, just like Barack and Jackie’s success will be written in stone for the ages. Thank you Barack, for enduring and succeeding in a rigged white man's game for all of us who cheered, as well as for those who booed.

A Few Thoughts About Us vs. Them (cops, civilians, and race relations)

As I continue to read comments from people condemning and defending cops, and from people condemning and defending protestors I have to wonder… Should we really be pointing fingers at each other? We all know what it’s like to watch a football game (or other sport) where the officials seem to be cheating for the other side… Right? Well do we blame the other side or do we blame the officials?  What I’m trying to say is that maybe we’re wrongly pointing fingers at each other… Maybe it’s the referees, or even the rules of the game that we should be questioning.

Every time a prosecutor fails to hold a bad cop accountable they put every good cop in danger. Cops hold more power than the public, but the public vastly outnumber the cops so we're sitting on a powder keg, with people on both sides are throwing matches… with the most dangerous match throwers being white supremacists who continue to fantasize about starting a race war. I don't blame the cops or the protestors (though there are bad actors on both sides). I blame a prosecutorial system that has failed miserably. When prosecutors who vigorously prosecute civilian criminals hesitate to treat uniformed criminals the same way there’s going to be a problem. Conflict of interest inherently creates lack of trust, and our current system undoubtedly creates a conflict of interest in these cases.

Instead of using our voices against each other... because lets face it folks, we need cops, and most of them are great men and women... Instead of using our voices against each other, why don't we join our voices and change the system? Just a thought.

First Holiday Grumblings

Here we go again… The Christians (not all of them, but you know who I'm talking about) are circling the wagons in preparation for the annual war on Christmas. I’m really surprised that I haven’t seen a “War on Christmas Sale” yet… at some hallowed place like Hobby Lobby or something.

Hey Christians: When I say “Happy Holidays” what I’m saying is “Hey, it’s cold outside and you look like a decent person so I would like to wish you happiness during this time of year regardless of how you may celebrate it.” You can understand that right? I’m including the others. I’m not excluding you.

Now if you tell you me that “Happy Holidays” offends you, and that I should be saying “Merry Christmas” instead, what I hear is, “I’m Christian. You should be too. Screw everybody else.” And as I walk away...  your voice continues to echo in my head, “Can’t you see all the decorations? We fuckin’ own December!” and then I regret having ever said “Happy Holidays” to you. In fact, I regret saying anything at all. It kind of ruins my Christmas. Yes by the way, I do celebrate Christmas. 

Back from Hiatus

Monday Morning Musings of a Moody Old Man:

Our government represents “We the People” and… Um, is this thing on? Is anybody reading this? What?! Oh, somebody’s there?

Hey Jack! It’s fixed! The blog seems to be up and running again. Yeah, someone’s reading it right now. You were right. It was the green wires. I twisted ‘em together and it seems to be working. Hold on, I think I’m losing the reader's attention… What? Yeah, get some electrical tape, or one of those wire nut things.

Hello reader. Thank you for reading along, Feel free to muse as well. Now where was I? Oh yeah…  

Our government represents “We the People".  Multinational mega-corporations don't. So instead of fixating on shrinking our government until it’s “small enough to drowned in a bathtub” (as Grover Norquist once coined) why don’t we focus instead on shrinking mega-corporations until they’re small enough to be held accountable to “We the People”?  I don’t know about you, but this recently accepted strategy of trying to make government fail while giving mega-corporations “too big to fail” status just seems like a bad idea…And designating “We the People” as the automatic cosigners to every mega-corporate loan no matter how risky it may be seems like a really bad way to run a country and build an economy (unless of course the object is to replace a democracy with a plutocracy.)

Just a thought from me, an official member of “We the People” as I ponder why so many fellow members of “We the People” keep casting their precious votes on behalf of “They the Corporations.”

Speech is not Money (and vice versa)

“Speech is not money.” Most of us can at least agree on that much, so you'd think it would be enough to simply say, "Therefore money is not speech." But in our logic-starved world, that just isn’t enough anymore. I must convince you further that money is not speech or you might falsely believe, as our corporate sponsored Supreme Court declared again today, that it IS. In an attempt to clear up this confusion about what is and is not “speech” I’ll make an argument to support my view that money is NOT speech, followed by the only logical argument I can think of to support the opposing view (i.e. the Court’s view).

ARGUMENT FOR: Speech is the use of words, written or spoken, to convey a message. If a message is intended to cause an action or influence an opinion, a message must contain relevant information to that end. In addition, that information must make sense to the listener in order to elicit some sort of logical response. Now depending on the predisposition of the listener and the quality of the message, the response may vary from: A.) Total agreement and support, up to and including the smooth completion of a task or action, to B.) Complete disagreement and refusal to cooperate, up to and including a punch in the nose. Other influences that may affect the impact of the message, such as: Which way the wind is blowing? Are the listener’s shoes comfortable? Is there a duck in the room? etc. are not considered speech, even though they may in fact alter the response of the person being addressed. Can you think of anything else that might affect the impact of a message, or alter a listener’s response? …BINGO! You guessed it. A fistful of cash. Of course cash isn’t speech any more than a duck in the room, or a gun to the head is, but it sure gets results when words (i.e. speech) fails. Now here’s why it matters. In some countries guns and intimidation equal power over the masses and in other countries extreme wealth equals power… and in both cases that power is all too often used (after speech fails) to thwart the will of the people. Thank you for listening. I hope you will agree with me that money is NOT free speech.

ARGUMENT AGAINST: Don’t listen to that idiot up there. If you agree with me I'll give you $100.00... Okay, you drive a hard bargain... $200, but you owe me.

America the Ugly vs. "America the Beautiful”

Thank you Coca-Cola, for luring so many bigots out of the shadows with your recent Super Bowl commercial titled, “It’s Beautiful”. By registering their disgust that a handful of fellow Americans would have the audacity to sing “America the Beautiful” in any language other than English during “their football game,” these bigots showed a nation just how intolerant many of its citizens actually are. They revealed to all of us their ugly hatred of “other” people. They revealed their irrational fear of the very world they live in. Most of all, by registering their disgust that a song written by a lesbian woman about a diverse nation of emigrants was being sung in languages brought here from foreign lands like, umm, let’s see… “ENGLAND!” they revealed their extreme ignorance of our shared history. But best of all, by registering their disgust on twitter, they showed America and the world just who “they” are.

And while I’m thanking big corporations (something I rarely do) thank you Cheerios for doubling down against your own batch of bigots with a sequel to last year’s ad featuring that adorable biracial family. I don’t even eat cheerios, but I bought a few boxes last year just to support the ad. Well, I guess now I should go to the store again and put my money where my mouth is.

SHOPPING LIST:
Cheerios
Coke
milk
rum


If you missed the anti-Coke tweets, you can click here for a sample.
 

Omni-ism

Dear Republicans, Tea Party sympathizers, and European bashers:

Capitalism lovers, especially Libertarians, and even more importantly Ayn Rand fans (who for the most part have absolutely no idea what her core philosophy, “Objectivism” actually is) need to understand that the United States of America since its very inception has always been a semi-balanced blend of capitalism and democratic socialism. They need to understand this little fact before they put all of their ideological eggs into the mythological unregulated free market basket and join in the chant, “We want our country back!” because failure to understand this will… well frankly, it will make them look a little dumb when someone asks them the question, ”Back from what?”

Now to those people whose reaction to this historical truth is that socialism is evil, I ask them to look at it this way:

Being a purely capitalist society would be a lot like being a nation of absolute carnivores. Now while I’m sure that sounds great to a lot of folks (very macho and American,) it wouldn’t be very healthy for our citizens, and it would no doubt lead to an early death for most of us (not to mention the years of gout we’d have to suffer through.)

On the other hand, being a purely socialist society would be a lot like becoming a nation of complete herbivores. Now while this might appeal to our strict vegetarian friends, it would be unacceptable to the vast majority of us, many of whom would probably stage a revolution after a just few weeks without bacon.

Therefore, just as we humans are naturally omnivores, I suggest that we should accept omni-ism as an economic model as well. A nice juicy capitalistic steak (USDA approved of course) along with a crispy green socialistic salad makes for a balanced meal, and a historically sustainable society. Yes, yes I know we Americans will keep arguing about how much meat we should eat and how many vegetables we need… and Texans will keep gorging on giant steaks while refusing to finish their peas… and Californians will continue nibbling on carrots and greens while exporting almonds to the rest of us, but in the end the value of private (for profit) enterprise, and the sensible benefits of social (share the risk, share the wealth) contracts will serve us all well... just as our founding fathers intended

  

Walmart Doesn't Love You (and Exxon doesn't either)

I haven’t warned America about corporate evil-doers in a while, so here goes for old time’s sake:

WARNING: Until further notice Representative Government in The United States has been suspended! Our eminent (i.e. eminently stupid) Supreme Court has effectively (if not officially) granted corporations the power to pick and choose our leaders for us, and dictate what laws they pass, thus accomplishing what Benito Mussolini (“Booo, hissss, booo!”) failed to do seven decades ago… bring fascism to America.

ENTER TOM: (“Yeah Tom!!”) Thomas Jefferson was wary of the Supreme Court for a reason. He warned us long ago that the Supreme Court’s power must be curbed or it would overrun the other branches of government. Jefferson argued that the Court’s independence from the will of the people would eventually upset the checks and balances established by the Constitution, and I now present to you exhibit A.) the recent Citizens United decision as proof that Mr. Jefferson was absolutely right… But Mr. Jefferson is way too dead to help us now, so EXIT TOM.

ENTER AL: (“Al who? Oh, that Al,” …polite, yet unenthusiastic applause.) Al Gore (like him or not) was also absolutely right when he said in his new book The Future, that Congress “is now incapable of passing laws without permission from the corporate lobbies and other special interests that control their campaign finances.” The Als, Gore and Franken, along with Robert Reich, Bernie Sanders, and other hefty lefties are sounding the alarm (and by hefty I don’t mean fat, with the possible exception of one of the Als. I mean important and imposing, like Robert Reich) and we need to tune into their message before it’s too late! Unfortunately however, those who control most of our media are doing their best to mute this information, and distract us with their own brand of pseudo news and propaganda, as they continue to build unprecedented wealth, and consolidate their power.

MY WARNING CONTINUED: (“Is he almost done mom?” “Yes, I think he’s almost finished dear…  Here, have a lifesaver.”)  Ahem! …We can fall for their propaganda and continue to arm ourselves against every other nation on the planet, especially those damn commies, and we can pretend that Muslim terrorists are the threat of the future, but the greatest threat to our American way of life is not foreign. It is domestic! We created it, and we feed it, and only we can kill it… but not if it keeps us divided and ignorant, and that IS the strategy of corporate America… to keep us divided and ignorant, and they're doing a bang up job. As I suggested above, the Citizens United Decision, if we let it stand will be looked back on as the birth of fascism in America. Okay, run along now and save your country while there’s still time.
  

If We Accept Wayne Lapierre's Logic:

I had planned to write an article about what things might look like if we embrace Wayne Lapierre's vision of gun use in America, but instead, for better or worse I ended up creating a magazine ad that you just might read in that alternate future:

 

 

 

click image to enlarge

Gun Violence and Finger Pointing

Yesterday’s tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School saddens all of us, and today’s bickering and finger pointing between liberals and conservatives should anger all of us. This should NOT be political. A post that I read on my facebook feed today said that liberals blame guns and conservatives blame criminals for gun violence. Well I guess that sums it up for a lot of folks, but if each side draws a line in the sand separating those two simplistic viewpoints we will never solve the problem. Instead of blaming just the guns, or just the criminals, why don’t we work on keeping the two apart… As far apart as possible.

Lock up criminals, and lock up guns when they’re not under the direct control of their legal owners... and for God's sake let's get a handle on the mental illness problem in this country. Also, we need to change our mindset about guns, especially among young people. A gun is just a tool. There is nothing inherently cool about one, so let’s stop glorifying them in video games and movies. Hey kid! It’s a gun damn it, not a superpower! Treat it with respect.

2¢

I know, I know, every time I say I’m gonna add my two cents worth, I spit out a buck and change, but I promise, if you'll indulge me for just another minute or two I'll shut up for awhile…

We are all being told by big money interest groups today that America is failing and that we should blame the Democrats; but if you look objectively and thoroughly at the facts, their claims begin to fall apart pretty quickly. America was at the brink of financial collapse when Barack Obama took office, and while our recovery has been slow, we ARE recovering, and we’re recovering from the very policies that the big money interest groups want to reinstate via the election of Mitt Romney. If you look at the broad scope of activities and actions that each branch of our government, and each political party has participated in over the past four years a clear picture will emerge of who is actually on the side of average American citizens, and who is on the side of billionaires and multinational corporations who have absolutely no allegiance to you or me, and very questionable allegiance to the United States.

Consider how The Supreme Court has changed the political landscape of America with the Citizens United decision, and imagine how they will change the social landscape of our nation if allowed to lean even further to the right in the next four years. That’s toothpaste that won’t be put back in the tube in our lifetime.

Also consider (especially if you’re a Republican) the actions of the Republican Party over the past four years. This is not your father’s Republican Party, or Ronald Reagan’s Republican Party. This is the Koch Brother’s Republican Party, directed by money and fueled by hatred for our first African American President, and don’t believe for a second that that hatred evolved over the past four years because Barack was somehow not up to the task. This ugly hatred for Barack Obama began on inauguration night as memberships in (and the total number of) white supremacist groups immediately began to swell across America. This hatred and hunger to topple our president began on day one when Paul Ryan and top Republican leaders met in Washington DC to plan the downfall of Barack Obama, vowing to make him a one term President before he had even moved into the Whitehouse.

The Republican Party, and the Supreme Court have not always been, and will not always be controlled by the Neocons, the Koch Brothers and the radical right, but right now THEY ARE, and while not all Republicans hate their President, and while most Republicans are not racists, nearly all racists are Republicans (and will be for as long as Barack is in office) so if you’re a moderate Republican or a Reagan Republican maybe it’s time to take your Republican Party back instead of blindly chanting along with them that you want to “take your country back!” In fact when the chanting begins, ask them “Back from what?” You’ll find that that’s a question most folks in the mob cannot articulate an answer to. But I can articulate what you need to take The Republican Party back from (if you must remain a Republican) and it will do your party, and your country good. But in the meantime you could follow Chris Christie’s lead and accept Barack’s leadership, even if you do not vote for him, or follow Colin Powell’s lead and cross party lines until sanity returns to the GOP.

Well, that’s my two cents worth.

 

Thank You Mr. President

 

Thank you President Obama. Thank you for fighting so hard for so many Americans during these past four years. Thank you for toiling day and night to clean up the mess that was left to you by the previous administration, and by Republicans that to this day continue to throw their shit on the floor, and taunt you as you continue to mop it up. Thank you for being consistent in your message, and unwavering in your commitment. Thank you for leading we the American people who still have respect for the office of the Presidency, and for attempting to lead those who do not. Thank you for pushing tirelessly against the immovable obstructionists in Congress in order to repair a nation that they are so willing to further damage for their own political gain. Thank you for working to improve the lives of the millions of Americans who blindly reject every policy that you seek to enact on their behalf. Thank you for continuing to speak to all of your constituents, even though so many of them now cover their ears when you talk.

 

Most of all Mr. President, thank you for being willing to sacrifice four more years of your life to continue taking on this task on behalf of your country. You dream for those with minds too closed to dream. Like Jackie Robinson, you put up with vilest sentiments that still exist in American society, even as you inspire America to be better.

 

Thank you President Obama. You have my confidence and my vote.
 

A Few Words About Sacrifice

While watching Meet the Press today I heard Republican Governor Bob McDonald of Virginia say something very telling and I’m wondering if anyone else heard it. As he was praising the Paul Ryan budget he said (and I double checked the transcript): “It takes big ideas, and-- and things that are going to take some sacrifice for a lot of people in order to get our country back on track.” and I immediately noticed that he said “sacrifice for a lot of people” and not sacrifice for ALL Americans. After the segment ended I stopped and thought, is this the new paradigm for America? Are the days when we all sacrificed really over for good? Are we now and forevermore to be a two class society? Do we now have one class of people who are too rich to sacrifice, too rich to fail, too rich to jail, too rich to fight in the wars that they so eagerly support, too rich to be bothered with the problems of the masses, too rich to be burdened with higher taxes? And do we now have another class of people who are to be called upon forevermore to do the dirty work, to do the fighting and the dying, to take the fall, and make up the shortfall, and pay the higher taxes in order to keep our country on track? Is this the conservative vision of the Natural Order of Things? Is it the result of a generation of trickledown economics? Or is this a wakeup call to the 99% who with only a modicum of self preservation have the power to turn our country back into a nation where we all sacrifice in times of hardship, and where a rising economic tide does indeed raise all ships … including the boats and rafts of the middle class and poor. Yes, if only the 99% would serve themselves instead of their masters, we could have that country back, and we could tell Governor McDonald, and Paul Ryan, and their ilk that “you sirs will share in our sacrifice, and together we will ALL get our country back on track.”

  

The Evolution of Intolerance:

With their cloaks of fear and ignorance wearing thin,
Those who stand against gay equality
Will soon stand before the world
As they stand before their God,
Wrapped only in the tattered cloth of bigotry.

Though less recognizable
Than the white sheets of another era,
The cloth still chafes;
Bleeding, infecting, and scarring
All who continue to wear it.
  

C.E.O. Position Available:

Large American Corporation seeks C.E.O. with right qualifications. Applicant must be willing to accept obscenely large salary, benefit, and bonus package in compensation for slashing the wages and benefits of hourly employees, and eliminating hourly positions when and wherever possible. A successful applicant is one who can place short term profits above the long term health of the company, the community, and the environment. A successful applicant is one who favors modern marketing techniques over personalized service or quality products to maintain a strong customer base. The moral inability to deny a family a home, deny a woman her rights, deny a man his dignity, or deny a child a doctor may disqualify any applicant from this position. If chosen for this position you will be granted a chauffeured limousine, a company jet, and a seven city condo package. If you do not already have a trophy wife, one will be appointed to you at orientation. Large American Corp. is not an EEO employer. Wealthy white male psychopaths encouraged to apply.