There is Something Rotten in Denmark

or is that Boston, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, DC, and many other cities this week. Black Lives Matter has exposed to the world (this time we have the videos) that not many lives matter, really. This is not new to us. Power and control over these lives, or the loss thereof, is much more important than listening to what other viewpoints are. A war is much more honorable than a compromise, definitely more manly. Turning the other cheek: what a concept. Walking in another man's shoes is for losers!

Thus it follows that 57 members of a Boston police force applaud in support as two officers leave the courthouse when charges are brought against them for shoving a 75-year old man to the concrete...and we saw it on video. The all those men quit the force in protest. Uh...OK.

In Philadelphia a police department commander is caught beating a young lady with his metal baton like a mad man. If he'd been black, he would have been shot on the spot. All of this happening across the country as decades of indiscriminate brutality finally came to ahead with the death (murder) of George Floyd..robbed of his "freedom to breathe" by a cop who put a knee to his neck for almost 9 minutes...and never broke a sweat or pulled his hands out of his pockets. (Got those cellphone videos again.)

But surely those in charge of running this country, maybe President Trump, those elected to "serve and protect the Constitution" and the rights and responsibilities contained therein are formulating a measured response to all this madness and chaos! Nope: employ tear gas, pepper bombs, flash bangs, rubber bullets (which are metal bullets covered in rubber, by the way) and hold up a Bible in front of church. Then for good measure construct a bigger metal fence around the barriers already there.

Folks, we are in some deep do-do.

Just an aside here: somebody please explain to Trump and Barr what Antifa means ((although I'm sure they already do but it's better just to spew it our there). It's short for antifascist: someone who is against a totalitarian type of government. Who fought against fascism? Everybody on the same side as the Americans in World War II. 

The Wonder Of Voting in America
or wondering if your vote is counted

Our system of voting is not the same for every state, country, locale, class, or skin color. Oh, yes, I know.....we say it is, but deep inside we know that is a lie.  Big corporations with deep pockets, their lobbyists and politicians, and those with "hidden" ulterior motives set the tone for this basic "freedom " we take for granted.
"Politicians of one party do not set voting schedules to favor their side and harm the other. Politicians do not move around voting places to gain advantages for themselves or to disadvantage their opponents. In fact, in almost no other country do politicians have any say in the administration of elections at all."

http://tinyurl.com/a39cb3t

Instead of looking for "voter fraud", manipulation of votes, re-programmed voting machines, and changing the requirements for voter IDs or early voting hours, why not just make it MANDATORY for everyone to vote???

"Places with mandatory voting also have less wealth inequality, lower levels of political corruption and higher levels of satisfaction with the way democracy is working than voluntary systems. Here in Australia, where we love freedom as much as anyone else, we have a mandatory voting regime that is well managed, corruption-free, easy to access, cheap to run and has an approval rating of more than 70 percent."
                                                           http://tinyurl.com/a39cb3t

Oh, I know I'm not naive enough to think that would ever be agreed upon here....what the Repubs complain about then? Would they want to put people in jail because they DIDN"T vote or voted for the WRONG person?

And even after the election no matter how it is done, we'd still get result like this, no matter what: 

"House Republicans are sending a stark message to the White House: If President Barack Obama pushes for tax increases during the lame-duck session, it would ruin his chances for a productive second term."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/83297.html#ixzz2BNpD3cwk

Same old, same old: http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/06/14974172-gop-leaders-draw-line-on-taxes-ahead-of-election-results?lite

Back To The Mayflower: 2012?

Observing events and listening to rhetoric of the last four years, it seems to me that we are right back where we started some four hundred years ago. Or conversely: every year that's passed has sent us one hundred in the OPPOSITE direction. So much for progress.......

Ok, it wasn't just overnight, but what happened? Immigrants and settlers came to this country for many reasons: some to escape religious persecution or to more freely expand their beliefs. Fine. But we've gotten WAY off track here: 

"It strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem, something America is stuck with instead of blessed with," Romney said. "Perhaps religious conscience upsets the designs of those who feel that the highest wisdom and authority comes from government."
"There is no greater force for good in the nation than Christian conscience in action," Romney continued.     Romney 5/12, Liberty University

versus

  "What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establishments had on society?  In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the civil authority; on many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny; in no instance have they been the guardians of the liberties of the people… A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate it, needs them not."  --James Madison, A Memorial and Remonstrance, 1785 
.

Everyone in this country has the freedom to worship in whatever manner they so choose, with NO ONE Christian, Jew, Muslim, atheist or government dictating how they may do so. Conversely, no religion may have ANY undue influence in  government legislation. The extremists seemed to have gotten the message a little muddled.

Nothing seems to be beyond the reach of overly "religious:"

NEW YORK — Long a lightning rod for conservative criticism, the Girl Scouts of the USA are now facing their highest-level challenge yet: An official inquiry by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

At issue are concerns about program materials that some Catholics find offensive, as well as assertions that the Scouts associate with other groups espousing stances that conflict with church teaching. The Scouts, who have numerous parish-sponsored troops, deny many of the claims and defend their alliances.

Since when does a secular, community-based, loose affiliation of young girls...those taking the time and effort to become upstanding young women, citizens, and contributors to society....have to follow approved church-based (in this case Catholic) teachings? 

And then we all know about this: 

It all follows four months of headline-making salvos that, to some women at least, have begun to feel like a bombardment of sorts. Think: Susan G. Komen ending cancer-screening grants to Planned Parenthood (quickly reversed). And disputes over laws designed to protect women against wage discrimination (Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker last month signed a repeal of his state's equal pay law, while a U.S. Senate candidate in Michigan called a federal equal pay law a "nuisance.") 

Each side blames the other for the histrionics, and the end result is that  all women's rights, not just reproductive, are being whittled away. That's all well and good for those that actually believe these tenets. The rest of us SHOULD NOT be forced to bow to these archaic, unfortunate rulings, and politicians who say we do are simply pushing their own religious views.The rights of some should NOT mitigate the rights of ALL.
And don't get me started on the current treatment and denigration of unemployed workers, the poor, nonwhites, children, students, single mothers, seniors, people who don't know where their next meal is coming from, those without decent medical insurance.....

In the latest budget reconciliation package is a proposal to cut $400 million in bonus money used by states to find and enroll children who are likely to qualify for and benefit from CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program)...  “The whole purpose of the funds is to make sure that children who are eligible based on state-determined standards have an easier time — getting enrolled.

And Republicans think we need to nip that in the bud.Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/gop-to-states-stop-looking-for-poor-children-to-insure.html#ixzz1u0EurxdR

People found their way to our shores from England, Spain, Ireland, Africa just to name a few. They came to escape prison, to make money and own land, start a new life, for adventure, as indentured slaves (whites and blacks), as brides for settlers already here....for all sorts of reasons. This was the Land of Opportunity. Now in 2012, life seems as if it going the other way.....are the opportunities going to be elsewhere? Where is our Mayflower?  Do we have to board a ship, take to the sea, and search for a better land, or can we make our voices heard right here?  Or SOS? The choice is ours. Make your voice heard.