Monday, February 13, 2023:  We Were Once A Civil Society
If nothing else, Marjorie Taylor Greene and her Republican cohorts have shown us that the right wing nut cases have lost any pretense of being part of a civilized society. There was a time (not long ago) when everyone regardless of socioeconomic standing was taught the basics of a polite society. If you disagreed, you did so in a adult manner. You worked out your differences and came to a mutually acceptable solution. Instead, we now have a group of elected Republican representatives that act like orcs.

The Institute for Civility describes it this way. "Being civil is the act of showing regard for others by being polite, but civility is about more than just politeness, although politeness is a necessary first step. It is about disagreeing without disrespect, seeking common ground as a starting point for dialogue about differences, listening past one's preconceptions, and teaching others to do the same. Civility is the hard work of staying present even with those with whom we have deep-rooted and fierce disagreements. It is political in the sense that it is a necessary prerequisite for civic action. But it is political, too, in the sense that it is about negotiating interpersonal power such that everyone's voice is heard, and nobody's is ignored."

And civility should begin with the those who have been elected to represent us and are expected to govern in a manner consistent with their stature.

Thursday, February 2, 2023:  Dateline Washington D.C.: SNAFU
So McCarthy and his hooligans are planning to go to war over the debt ceiling and apparently all the Republican lemmings in congress are going along with the resulting global economic train wreck. They seem to be willing to fuck several billion people all for what they see as the holy grail - a balanced federal budget.

Assuming that they are not just stupid, Republicans are without a doubt the ultimate hypocrites of budgeting. They claim they want a "balanced budget" but somehow they always forget that they have played fast and loose with the revenue side by giving massive tax breaks to corporations and their rich benefactors while raising taxes on the lowest income group….. and intentionally so. Money is power, so they work on shifting more wealth upwards. The next step is to kill any and all programs that provide economic and personal security for the rest of us. Besides making the rich richer and allowing obscene corporate profits go untaxed, they now claim that our only alternative is to cut key programs that benefit the 99% of us who don't own four mansions, a private jet, and a multi-million dollar yacht.

For years the Republicans have been after Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. They added the Affordable Care Act to that list during the Obama administration. Absent crippling or outright killing these programs, they have had to settle on cutting funding to key government agencies whose job is to protect our environment, our work lives, and oversee corporations and the uber wealthy.

Of course, if that weren't enough, they want make sure that they suppress the rights of everyone that isn't a white male. It's the old "disenfranchise anyone of color or who isn't an Evangelical Christian" and "keep women pregnant in the summer and barefoot in the winter".

Some folks don't like it when I say I would never vote for any Republican. But the fact is that voting for a Republican anywhere on the ballot is voting against the best interest of my family, friends, neighbors and 99% of Americans.

Voting Republican is the most unpatriotic thing I could do.