Category: Politics

  • PACT Act Passed and Shame is Back for the GOP

    There are many traditions in the United States, but one of the longest running and most prevalent in our 250+ year history is screwing over veterans. From the Revolution to Afghanistan, the US Government has a habit of letting veterans down. I know no American, not one, who is opposed to helping veterans get health care, mental care, access to housing, food, and substance abuse help.

    So, when Republicans pulled their support from the PACT Act last week, sadly, I wasn’t surprised, and neither was every veterans group who has been pushing for the PACT Act. I am just dumbfounded that Republicans believed that they can get away with praising our military one moment and then turn around and fight against supporting that same military when they come home.

    But something happened this week that hasn’t been a part of the Republican party for the past six years; shame. The reason the PACT Act got passed yesterday was that the Republicans in the Senate got shamed. They were shamed by vets, their families, but especially by Jon Stewart. The Senate GOP tried to roll out their arguments against the bill, but no one was having it; everyone saw it for what it was – lies. The shame of telling lies became so great that they caved and passed the bill.

    I think this is important because over the past six years, the Republican party has had no shame. They have doubled down again and again on reprehensible positions and arguments, daring people to call them liars. This was Trump’s hold on the GOP – just lie and do what you want. At the end of the day, if you accomplished your goal, what does it matter what you had to do to get there, right?

    Could this be the crack in Trump’s grip on GOP politicians? Maybe. I know that Trump didn’t weight in on this topic, and that might have changed things. I also know the VA system is still a shit show, which was supposed to be fixed under Obama, so there is shame to be passed around. But, BUT, I think a few years ago, there was no amount of pressure you could put on Republicans to get them to change their votes.

    Change just might be possible.

  • I Finished “Breakfast of Champions”

    When I first read Vonnegut’s “Breakfast of Champions or Goodbye Blue Monday” I think I was nineteen or twenty. I was eating up just about everything the guy wrote. I remember loving the book so much that I tried to push it off on just about anyone who would listen. My best friend latched on to the book just like I did, and we still will state that “BoC” is our favorite Vonnegut novel.

    I read the book only once, or, at least I have no memory of reading it a second time. I say this because I recently re-read “BoC”, as I am going through all the books that I feel influenced me to want to become a writer. What I remember about the book is that it played with structure, and storytelling. I remember Vonnegut putting himself in his own book, and I thought that was such an interesting choice as I felt that part of the reason for the book was Kurt dealing with his own mental issues and his anxiety over having these issues, just like his mother had.

    Having just reread the book, I had totally forgotten have much the novel deals with racism. I mean, I remembered that some of the characters said some racist shit, but when I was reading the book again, I see that Vonnegut was full force attacking the image of Heartland Midwestern good honest Americans, by saying that these people were just as racist and bigoted as the people in “down south.” It felt like a contempt, a deep contempt for the people that Vonnegut grew up with in Indiana, and America on a whole. There were some things that were very dated from the early 70’s, but Vonnegut’s take on embedded racism, still felt very current. The novel is a dark satire, and at some points felt very nihilistic, yet Kurt’s writing still was hilarious and fast paced.

    And then I started to wonder why I had forgotten about all of the racism? Why had that not resonated, and stuck with me? I know that I am getting older, and the last time I read the book was 25 years ago, so I’m not surprised that I don’t remember all the details. But, if you asked me a month ago what “BoC” was a bout, I would have told you mental health, and I would have been very confident in that answer. I don’t think I would have actively tried to forget that the book was about racism, yet I did forget about it.

    There really isn’t an answer here, just an observation on myself. Just a reading machine who is trying to be a thinking machine.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Dancing Bears on the Supreme Court, Well…, and Obi-Wan Kenobi

    (Guns have more Rights than Women)

    Yup, I’m pretty sick to my stomach and also really pissed off. Roe was overturned, and I know that no one is surprised by this. Thomas, Roberts, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett only got on the Supreme Court to do exactly this. They were all groomed, and supported by Conservative think tanks and non-profits to reach this decision. They all lied and were coy about the idea of “weighing the case on its merits” when in reality we all knew the fix was in. This was a rigged outcome. And they know it as well. There was only one way each of them was going to get on the Court, and that was promising to deliver this when the time came. The time came, the music started, and these six dancing circus bears did their jig. Just like they had been trained to do.

    Fuck

    I watched Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I have mixed feeling about it. I liked it. I mean, it was better than The Book of Boba Fett which started strong and then just went flaccid. Obi-Wan did have one donkey of an episode, Part IV, that almost derailed me from the series. What kept pulling me back was nostalgia and Ewan McGregor. I say nostalgia because I have been thinking about this situation, Obi-Wan sitting in the desert of Tatooine looking out for Luke, since I was a kid. I had all kinds of ideas of the adventures that Obi-Wan had, protecting Luke while trying to stay in hiding, helping the Rebellion, etc.… I am old enough now to know that nothing will beat my imagination and excitement I had when I was 10 years old playing with my STAR WARS toys. But, I still like to see if someone else can come up with something new, that might inspire some wonder in me. Then there is Ewan McGregor, who has been one of my favorite actors since I first saw him in Trainspotting. I like the fact that, as an actor, he has had a career of playing so many different types of characters, moving easily between big budget movies and small independent films. When he is on screen, I want to see what his characters do. Ewan’s Obi-Wan was compelling, and I enjoyed watching the character regain his confidence and faith in himself through the story. I thought the series started strong and ended strong, but as I said before, the middle was a bit of a slog as it all felt too easy for the characters to succeed. That having been said, if they make a second season, yes, I will watch it. Cause I can’t say no to Ewan.

  • SCOTUS and VOTING

    With the January 6th Hearings, and the SCOTUS rulings, this is the reminder that we all need to vote.

    We are now living in the consequences of the 2016 election. Trump got to put three justices on the Court, and we are now watching our right s and protection get stripped away. Miranda got gutted, and you can carry a gun anywhere now, and I have a good feeling Roe will be overturned tomorrow.

    VOTE VOTE VOTE!

    When I was a little kid, I always felt that I was so lucky to be born an American. We aren’t a perfect people, and as a nation we have made a lotta mistakes, but I always felt in my gut that we, all Americans, believed in justice for all.

    I see now that this belief was a hope, and not guaranteed for any of us.

    We must vote, but we must also, as Frederick Douglass said, agitate!

    Agitate! Agitate! Agitate!

    Agitate for justice in the country.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Summer, Dragon Warrior, and Louie Gohmert is a Coward

    (Get in loser…)

    The kid still has about a month left to school, but Summer is here. I have broken out the air conditioners due to a couple of eighty-degree days, and one awful ninety-degree day. The shorts are out as well, and so is the talk of going swimming. Nothing says Summer more than a kid wanting to get in the water and swim. For me, I’m not a huge fan of Summer heat – I did grow up in Texas so I have suffered under enough hot weather to last three or four lifetimes – but I like the feeling of freedom that summer creates in one’s mind. Summer means plans, and vacations, and projects, and also being a little lazy and watching tv all day. Also, Summer means that I will get to spend a great amount of time with the kid. I would like to take her to museums, and maybe a road trip out to the Pollock/Krasner house in Springs, Long Island. There are only eleven weeks to cram a lot of fun in.

    I have got it in my head that I want to play Dragon Warrior. If you don’t know, it was one of the first RPG for the NES back in 1986. (Yes, I am aware that the original name was Dragon Quest but was changed for the North American market, but we’re talking about a 45-year old’s nostalgia here, so I would like to keep calling it Dragon Warrior.) I have looked up the game, and I can buy a version to play on my iPad or iPhone, but both versions look updated, and clean. What I am looking for is the 8-bit original to play. It would be great if I could get that on my devices, but I feel what I’d have to do to make this happen is buy an old NES and blow on the cartridge hoping that it will load, and then hope beyond hope that it still can save my game. (Hey other 40-year-old! You know what I’m talking about.)

    And let’s not forget that @LouieGohmertTX1 is a coward that wants to make it easier for mass murders to get their hands-on semiautomatic guns as fast as possible. Thanks @LouieGohmertTX1 maybe you can club some puppies and baby seals before you walk out the door?

    (Say, don’t forget to like this post, or share it, or leave a comment. I got bills to pay, you know.)