Comments Off on No generation ever feels empowered, why?
Engagement is empowerment! In order to feel empowered is to dig through the obvious trash and look back a bit at what has occurred. Each administration benefits from the work of the previous one (sometimes). When the time to elect a Head of state arrives look at history and understand what was done and the effect it has now. All work done is not grandiose, fully 90% is done by routine daily work. Sensationalism is to benefit the larger public many of whom want instant action, but Government does not work that fast sine what they do affects millions not just a few. Following the crowd is not the way to change government, voting with intelligence is!
The past 8 to 10 years has revealed how badly our government has been run. This less to do with the President than the long serving Congress. Granted that all persons elected to the highest office are not suited to do or even make an attempt at doing the job but many over the years have listened to the counsel of staff members who have expertise in the assorted positions and or the most part enable the “chief Exec” to accomplish their agenda. This country has angry people for a myriad of reasons from the ridiculous to the sublime. Many of those reasons are based on incomplete, inaccurate and slanted information (also called alternate facts). The long serving Congress uses it voting power (when they have) it to further the agenda of the sitting President (when it’s to their advantage) or their deep pocket donors. We now have State executives using the same game plan to further agendas which do not benefit the majority of the American public. The first to feel the negative effects of these agendas are the poor, handicapped and neediest (not to mention a double effect on people of color no matter their origin). History has all of the information we need to remember what can happen in America if we are not well informed. Simply put: Russian pogroms, German (Nazi) death camps, African continental Fascist groups are all past and present indicators of what is happening now and can increase if we are not wary. Currently we have people serving(?) in Federal legislatures and state Legislatures who have no idea what lawmaking is about but managed to con enough voters to gain the office. They have played on the anger of voters (who are largely uninformed) by them and the media. The solution is fairly easy: Voters need to spread their attention around to multiple news sources and remember: Democracy Dies In Darkness—Done In By Ignorance And Apathy.
THANKSGIVING: ALL OF IT
Virtually everything learned in school about Thanksgiving is a lie, including the central story of the feast celebrating a partnership between Native Americans and early European settlers. The Pilgrims were fanatical and violent religious zealots who considered indigenous Americans savages, and the Indians naturally resented their presence. The modern, feel-good story is propaganda that’s only 120 years old, but there was a celebratory feast in Massachusetts in 1637 — proclaimed by Gov. John Winthrop for the return of Puritan gunmen from hunting and murdering hundreds of Pequot Indians.
AMERICA GAVE THE WORLD DEMOCRACY
The rise of America undoubtedly shattered the era of kings and queens ruling over monarchies, which had existed in Europe for centuries. But the common schoolhouse lesson that America invented democracy would be news to the Greeks, who introduced “demokratia,” or direct rule by the people, which included three branches of government, in 507 B.C.
YOU NEED MILK FOR STRONG BONEs
Milk is absolutely necessary for a strong, healthy body — if you’re a growing cow. A series of studies have found no evidence that cow’s milk improves bone health, but have shown dairy has a negative effect on overall health, including on bones. The milk myth has been pushed by the dairy industry, which lobbies the USDA (whose previous chief recently took a cushy, high-paying job as CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council).
ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS AN ABOLITIONIST History teachers are quick to remind students that Lincoln was the “Great Emancipator.” In reality, however, Lincoln’s views evolved over time and he came to anti-slavery movement late in the game. He said publicly and repeatedly that he would tolerate slavery to preserve the Union. His anti-slavery sentiments, at least early on, seemed more pragmatic than moral, as revealed in his famous “house divided” speech.
THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION FREED THE SLAVES Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was limited in effect — first limited to slaves in rebel states, and then not universally known. The holiday of Juneteenth, celebrates the moment June 19, 1865, that Union soldiers rode into Galveston, Texas, to tell America’s last remaining slaves they were free. This was news to the slaves, who had never heard of the proclamation, signed two and a half years earlier.
POT IS A GATEWAY DRUG Anyone who went to school during the just-say-no era of the drug war knows that while marijuana itself isn’t so bad, experimenting with it leads to addiction, incarceration, and death from street drugs. For years, educators accepted the “gateway” theory, a 1950s scare tactic that has since been widely debunked and acknowledged as myth in 2016 by then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Social ailments such as poverty, bad home environment, and early exposure are better indicators of future addiction.
SLAVERY ENDED WITH THE CIVIL WAR
The 13th Amendment supposedly ending slavery still allowed forced labor as punishment for a crime. Convict leasing existed in every Southern state for decades after the Civil War. Tens of thousands of Black Americans who committed no real crime were kidnapped off the streets by corrupt local sheriffs, convicted in informal local courts for vague “crimes” such as vagrancy, issued fines they couldn’t pay, and sold to businesses to work in mines, timber yards, farms and railroads in conditions often worse than slavery.
AMERICA IS THE FREEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD
“It’s a free country” is a mantra most kids probably hear before they even get to school. The reality, however, is that 22 countries are freer than the United States. The Human Freedom Index ranks America No. 23 on its global list, based on government size, religion, labor, trade, rule of law, and basic freedoms such as movement and association.
ALBERT EINSTEIN FLUNKED MATH
Many sub par math students have been consoled by encouraging teachers who remind them that even Einstein — history’s most famous mathematical genius — flunked math class. He did not. He mastered differential and integral calculus by 15, and taught himself algebra and geometry with books his parents bought him before he was 12 so he could master the fields on his own over summer vacation.
WATER TOWERS STORE DRINKING WATER
It’s true that some water towers store drinking water, but even in those cases, the main function of a water tower is to create water pressure. Most drinking water comes from wells, reservoirs, lakes or rivers. The reason water rushes out when you turn on your faucet is because massive stores of water in vertical, gravity-fed water towers apply enough pressure to force water to flow through your municipality’s network of underground pipes leading to your house.
THIS WILL GO ON YOUR PERMANENT RECORD
Generations of teachers and principals kept students in line with the most ridiculous threat in the history of U.S. education: The next behavioral infraction will go on your permanent record. There is no permanent record. Some districts do keep files on students that contain personal information and attendance records, but even in those cases, anyone who isn’t the student or the student’s parent — including college admissions officers — can’t access the record without a written release.
“What we got here is a failure to communicate”. This one of the most remembered lines from “Cool Hand Luke”, we currently have a massive miscommunication or under communication issue across the country. The widely accessible media information is now divided into so called “fake News” and real news. It seem that the majority of “fake news” comes from on air personalities who are not journalists but more provocateurs who comment on current events under the guise of relaying true events. It is unfortunate that our TOTUS et al have used these outlets as purveyors of facts rather than the generators of biased and single sided information based on alternate facts. These semi news organizations have and probably will continue to garner support from folks who want to believe salacious and biased information rather that what is true. The failure is not so much in the communication but more the skewing of the information to present a particular sense of the real information that is available elsewhere. It is unfortunate that our CIC has not grown into the job and probably will not given the past two years of this administration. There is a fine line between Governing and ruling, since this is not a Monarchy, there should be no line to navigate just a willingness to have factual and realistic conversations about administering a culturally diverse country. There is no one size fits all in this and apparently TOTUS does not understand that.
Today the news is new but tomorrow it will be old but revised to reflect the events that have occurred today and tonight. The worst thing about news is that it evolves so quick, that is also the best thing about it. With that statement I have been following the “antics” of the Trump administration. His picks for his cabinet all appear to be anti anything Obama. Every action they take is against whatever Mr. Obama has done. This is a simple way to “fix” things but a detriment to progress. All actions made by Executive orders do not go into effect immediately so what is the point of doing it haphazardly with no investigation of the long range effect on all of us. An example of this type of action is the push for repeal of “Obamacare”. The proposed replacement has been shown to be lacking and worse than the “Affordable Care Act” with all of its issues. Now some of the legislators are looking into fixing the ACA as they should have done at its inception! The newly minted Attorney General whose track record as a Senator was less than stellar on Human rights has risen to a new low in issuing orders on sentencing regardless of severity of crimes(talk about human right violations). The education secretary is so steeped in “Rich Bitch” as to have no idea of what education is or what is required. These two appointees coupled with Dr. Ben Carson serve show that our TOTUS seems to be in a wonderland of his own and is in the process of building walls between the USA and our closet Allies. The recent European trip was more like a tourist than a world leader in that he appeared to have no clue about protocol and procedure. All of this with the swirl of Russian interference still in the air, where will we be by the end of the year? Is disarray the order of the day for this administration?
100 plus days into his term the President is looking more like someone who is looking to be impeached or someone who is clueless about governing. Our neer do well Congress appears to be unable to do anything about it unless they just want a cover for their personal agendas. The anti Trump messages from radicals like Ann Coulter is a sure clue that we are heading for a potential disaster at home and abroad. The President has the idea it seems that he is the smartest person in the room however when you ignore the counsel of seasoned diplomats, you are not the smartest and are bound to board the mistake train which does not have many stops. It is a sure sign of distress when the neediest of us all vote for whoever can promise the most and crow the loudest while ignoring the underlying character flaws that could surely bring the government to a stop at home and abroad. Our allies are in a state of awe after the recent Presidential visit as they have not figured out what his agenda is (perhaps Trump hasn’t either). If we look at the current administration as a medical condition we would consider it as being in Hospice care, just being made comfortable with no medical treatment. Many times this results in a cause of death as “failure to thrive”, along with any other medical causes leading up to the demise. The “aftershock” will be years of unraveling the mess locally and abroad while the country’s progress slows to a snails pace. The opportunity we have now is to pay close attention to our current elected officials especially the long serving ones as they have ridden to victory on promises (not kept) and innuendo.
Who are the American people that the politicians and their spokespeople (cohorts) are always speaking about and for? We have had the politicians who are running or backing someone who is running asserting what the “American people” want or do however how do they come by what “the American people” want. I believe this phrase is just another method of garnering attention for or against some issue while putting an idea out there as truth without any backup. It is easy to issue statements that appear to be correct, true or plausible on the surface but in the light of day they seem to crumble. We have many well known, high profile pundits and on air celebrities who associate with one party or another along with the various sub sects of those parties, yet none can or do speak for the “American People”. It is difficult to speak for people you don’t really know beyond some scientific (sometimes pseudo) information which can be suspect as the sampling for the gathering of this information can be skewed by factors that are as diverse as the “American People”. The idea that a political aspirant can speak for all or most is inherently flawed since these runners selectively meet and greet with their existing or potential constituents. It is unfortunate that the electorate has become so tired of the all of the promises that they will and tend to believe the freshest information that aligns with their current feelings about the government as it relates to their current situation. The real facts as I see them are: We (voters) have to be better informed and not be guided by talking heads whose sole job is to present information as fact according to who they work for. The more controversial the better and the truth is immaterial, voters have to do their own detection of the truth and then vote as they see fit. We have an obligation to ourselves to oust (by vote) any and all representatives who do not truly represent us. Read the Constitution (it is only a few pages) and understand that it is not absolute and therefore can be interpreted according to our times and laws not any individual or organization. The Constitution as with any written or spoken words can be skewed to suit an agenda but personally reading it should give you a better idea of what is about and how it relates. It is unfortunate that we have reached a state that we keep the most divisive people in office then elect someone who is so unqualified as to be considered inept just because we want change. It is “woke” time
The mid term elections (2018) are coming and with them the seemingly unending robocalls, TV ads and posters appearing out of nowhere. No matter which party or sub party you identify with, the people running are not always what they seem to be. Do not get caught up in the politispeak and rhetoric. The scripted and rash statements made are not talking points or even facts much of the time so we must be focused on what the candidates are saying and try to parse out the real meaning. Elections have become no more than entertainment and advertising disguised as political campaigns. If you are seduced by the darker side of these campaigns, you will surely be disappointed. Any person running for an office should be as honest as possible and able to stand close scrutiny, if not then we need to dismiss them. The choice we have in any election is usually not wide ranging since none of the aspirants can be truly honest without being insulting (ala Trump). Each side has researchers who investigate the other side for dirt (most of the times) and any information that will give them an advantage. The job of voters is to look at all available information for what it is ( campaign talk!). The key is to learn as much as you can about your choice and be willing to change if you find something that does not sit well with you. Convincing someone about your choice is not your job, it is the job of the candidate. Always remember the candidates need you more than you need them.
In the last 4 years (at least) we have become aware of the extensive blanket of li’s (lies) presented to the American people (and probably beyond) by the political establishment. Many of us expect to be lied to by salespeople, politicians and other folks attempting to persuade us in their views. This persuasion takes place daily in the shows we watch on TV, the shows we hear on the radio and in written media. This persuasion has taken a foothold in our electronic transmissions (while taking the fun out of that). It is particularly bothersome to me that too many of us decry the extensive dishonesty in the political sector but we do nothing about it. The opportunity for change is and always has been in our hands. All we need to do is vote! Voting is easy , the hard part is wading through the massive wall of li’s (lies) that our elected officials (local, State and Federal) put up to keep their jobs. It is our job to do the homework (just like school) and understand what these people are doing in our names. The many outlets for news have varying degrees of honesty but taking them as a source of information rather than truth you can determine where the real truth is. We all should understand now that many if not all current office holders have lied to get the job. The primary reason for this is the long serving electeds want the status quo to remain as is so they tend to corrupt or subvert the good intentions of newcomers. It is hard if not impossible to return from the far edge of honesty, truth and the related rewards. To paraphrase a quote “let the LIar beware”
With the election of Donald Trump, there appears to be a need to re inspect and upgrade the internal firefighting equipment in the White House. The Senate and house have apparently done their upgrades since neither place has had a significant thermal incident. The reason for the upgrades are the extensive cases of fiery pants at press conferences and news interviews. It is important to understand what I am saying here. We have always had layers of truth in politics, the layers are as follows:
The real truth that could cause panic and scare the bejesus out of us or calm us according to your personality.
The half truth which can inform us without its full implication being known (also scary).
The outright lie which unfortunately has become so rampant that we see it sometimes as the real truth and act accordingly .
The advent of Trump (that is exactly what it is). Advent is the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. That is how Mr. Trump perceives his Presidency. That perception will be his and his backers undoing. That Undoing has already started with the resignation of Gen Flynn and the total on air recorded lies of the dream team of Conway, Spicer, Miller or “CONSPILLER”. This is the administration many of us chose for the wrong reasons and now have voters remorse.
This is in total a very shaky start to a top down spiral of Government which includes the Congress whose only aim it appears is to stay in power with their boot on the throat of their constituents. Anyone who votes can control this potential rash of fires that comes from the current administration. My opinion is that the establishment GOP is waiting for the meltdown so they can impeach and install a President Pence. The Dupublicans probably have discussed this with Mr. Pence and feel he is more inline with their madness.
Michael1942's Blog 
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