Category: Politics

  • Two Mass Shootings, Again

    Two mass shootings happened in the span of a week, and only now, for me, is it sinking in what has happened.

    I am not proud of this fact, but it felt normal.

    The poor guy in Boulder, CO standing outside of the grocery store saying that he feels like no place is safe pretty much sums it up. No place is safe, and we are all fine with it.

    Asian-Americans have been saying for over a year that they are being scapegoated for Covid-19, but did anyone listen? People had been pointing out for a year that the rhetoric that Trump and his supports were using was hurting Asian communities, but it was blown off. In fact, I saw a conservative friend ask why it was okay to “UK Variant,” but why couldn’t he say, “China Virus?”

    It doesn’t register for most people anymore. Even when it turns violent. Even when the inevitable AR-15 or whatever semi-automatic people killing gun is used, it doesn’t matter.

    Apathy has won.

    Most Americans see the hate, see the use of guns to kill large numbers, and they shrug because we have given up. There will be another racist attack. There will be another mass shooting. And we give up.

    We give up because it will turn into a debate about free speech and the 2nd Amendment.

    But it’s not about that. It’s about hate and fear. And are we going to do something? When will it be different? Or when will I blog about this same thing all over again?

  • Inauguration Day!

    It is a good day! Trump is gone, Biden is in. The Inauguration happened like clockwork. As it should. The tradition continues.

    I remember seeing Reagan’s at a school assembly in ’85. We also watched Bush in ’89 in our music room at my grade school. I have no memory of Clinton’s in ’93, but I saw Clinton’s in ’96 in my dorm room. I saw W. Bush in ’01 at my apartment with my roommate. In ’05, I missed it live as I was working, but caught a replay of it at a bar after work. In 2009, I watched it at the rehearsal studio I worked at, and was joined by all sorts of people who wanted to see Obama take the oath. In 2013, I opened up the business conference room so students could see Obama. In 2017, I was home. I don’t remember why I was home, as it was a Friday and I should have been at work. I watched Trump with my wife, and we were just sick as he talked about “American Carnage.”

    Today, I watched the 2021with my daughter. We watched as Kamala Harris take the oath of office, to become the first woman, African American, and Asian-American to hold that office. I am very fortunate that I was able to share this moment with the kid, as this will be the first inauguration she will remember.

  • House Votes for Impeachment, Nothing Changes

    Well, I’m watching the House debate and vote on impeachment, and it is just making my stomach sink. Last night it looked like Republicans were going to break with Trump and vote to impeach. Now, watching the debate and the first procedural vote, it looks like nothing has changed from the last time there was a Trump impeachment vote. Yes, there will be more Republicans voting “for” than last time, but there is no way one could say this is a bipartisan vote.

    I am well aware of the fact that 120+ Republican House members voted to overturn the election are in solid red districts, meaning their only real challenge is in the Republican primary, and not in the general election. Odds are that these districts are Trump country, so they have to vote against impeachment, or risk being primaried.

    That is the truth, and that is also disgusting.

    I’m not sure what is worse; the Republicans politicians from these districts, or the people in these districts.

    Sadly, I don’t see 17 Republican Senators voting to convict Trump. Maybe if 60 Republican House voted for impeachment, then I could believe in the Senate. But if only 5 House Republicans vote “for,” then it’s like we are right back where we were.

  • Still Dealing with the Capital Riot

    I can’t seem to get my head in the game today. The kid’s schooling is going fine, and the wife is off and working.

    Me? I feel like there is this looming storm outside that is about to hit.

    Yes, this is a day of Covid fatigue, but also everything that has happened at The Capital, Trump, Biden, and all the other shit involved with it.

    I thought I was linked to the news before, but now, it’s like I can’t go five minutes to see if there was an update. It’s sickening. I feel like I am in a knot. This weekend was a loss for me, as I didn’t accomplish anything, just dealing with the anxiety of the moment.

    What I feel like is right after 9/11. Such as everything had changed, but at the same time, everyone was trying to go about their normal routines. Now, it seems even stranger as nothing was normal before 1/6, and today everything feels even weirder. The mere fact that people can’t even agree if the attack and its repercussion are worth dealing with. One side is, “Let’s Deal with This!” while to other is “Move on and heal.” The answer is both, but I don’t see that happening.

    The kid has asked a few questions about it, and I know she is trying to figure out what happened, and whether she should have an opinion. Clearly, the wife and I are very angry at Trump and want him removed immediately. But when I hear my kid parrots the same sentiment, that makes me uncomfortable. I know she can’t grasp all the details other than bad guys broke into an important building, so I feel like she should say those things. Yet, bad guys did break into an important building, and if we don’t stand up and defend this country from those bad guys, then what future am I leaving for my daughter.

    We have to show my kid how Americans deal with a situation like this. Protest peacefully. Vote. Get involved. Call and write your representatives on the local, state and federal level. Stay open minded and curious. Fight the fiery emotion of hate, with the cool logic of reason. And remember, always, that all Americans have a place at the table of Democracy.

  • The Sacking of The Capital

    Yesterday was pretty awful. I watched the whole Capital invasion unfold starting at about 2pm, and then I was pretty much stuck to the TV and social media for the rest of the day. My “Dry January” also got thrown out the window, as I watched the confirmation of the Electoral College late into the night. I called it at 1am, and tried to get some sleep.

    I am horrified at what happened, but not surprised. It had been building for months, and Georgia’s voting systems manager Gabriel Sterling had called out Trump saying this is what will happen if President didn’t stop his lies.

    But it didn’t stop with Trump. No, this is also Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley’s doing as well. Dan Patrick and his stupid lawsuit at the Supreme Court also had a hand in this. And I especially blame Mitch McConnell, who danced around saying Biden had won the election, which gave air to all of these lies. All of these actions led to this situation.

    And then there were all the cowardly Trump supporters, who had been saying since 2015 that Trump is just kidding, only making jokes, he would never do anything the threaten the country. Just a month ago, I had a friend say online that Trump would never incite mob rule, that it was just liberal fear mongering.

    And yet the President of the United States sent a mob to the Capital Building to stop the certification of a free, fair, and legal election.

    I want to laugh this off, and say that in two weeks Biden/Harris will be sworn in and things will start getting better.

    But, this is going to be a very scary two weeks. I don’t see Trump shutting up, and I don’t see that his supports were horrified at what happened yesterday. If anything, it seems to have energized them; That majority male and white mob that forced their way into the Well of the Senate and the House, went home yesterday with out any penalty. They looked like the Visigoths sacking Rome.

    The easy lesson here is that this is why you don’t elect people like Trump. That if we want to protect and preserve our Nation, then we all have to demand that all of our elected leaders must meet a minimum of decency and decorum. That if you ignore these norms, you get chaos and bedlam.