When god spoke to me

Many believers think that their god speaks to them in a 
cryptic manner but few have had the good fortune to actually hear his voice in all its glory (more later on why it's a him). I am one of those lucky few. It was November of 1973. I was hitchhiking from Miami, FL to Columbus, Oh. My first ride was a young man who had been paid to drive a car from Miami to Cleveland, OH. I could not believe my luck. One ride all the way. But god works in mysterious ways. A few hours later the engine blew and I was abandoned in the south central part of the state. Although it was late fall, it was Florida, so the sun was bright and warm; but I was all alone on the side of the road. There was nothing to see but blue sky, grass, palmetto palms and asphalt. Suddenly I heard a deep, manly but somewhat tinny voice: "Attention hitchhiker." I searched all four horizons and then finally looked above. Nothing. It was kind of creepy. I chalked it up to a flashback and stuck out my thumb again, although there wasn't a vehicle in sight. Shortly I heard, "Attention hitchhiker. You can't stand there." Holy shit. I still couldn't see anyone. It was then I realized that god must be talking to me. It sounded like he was using a megaphone which didn't strike me as odd at the moment. I was truly stunned. My religious timeline of Catholic school, drafted altar boy, forced church attendance and faked confessions followed by a lazy agnosticism had led me to believe that god had forgotten about me. Apparently he hadn't. But why didn't he want me to stand there? Did he have a greater purpose in mind for me? Without thinking much about it, I picked up my backpack and began walking towards the sound of the heavenly, but tinny, voice. I didn't know what to expect when suddenly I heard, "It won't do you any good to come down here." That didn't sound very godlike. At least not the god they had fooled me into believing existed when I was in Catholic school (he was mean and spiteful but he did give you a fighting, albeit losing, chance). So I took my chances and forged ahead, cresting the top of a small mound, when my eyes rested on my version of the kingdom of heaven: a toll booth for the Florida Turnpike. The bored booth operator, a stickler for state laws, informed me that I was not permitted to hitchhike on or near the turnpike. He directed me towards a state highway close by. I schlepped over there in the hot sun and stuck out my thumb. After only a few minutes, a Florida State Trooper pulled up. He was even more stern than the voice from heaven; no doubt my shoulder-length hair and backpack didn't lighten his mood. He told me that I couldn't hitchhike there, that I would have to go over to the county road. I could see the road. Between me and the road were a creek and a barbed wire fence. I asked the trooper if I could look for a shallow place to cross. He said he knew the creek well and there weren't any shallow places. I said, "You don't give a guy much of a choice, do you?" He replied, " You have a choice. You can cross the creek or get in the car." It was then I realized there was no god.

Actions vs. words

To many it may be tempting to take the bait that Donald Trump cast to the voting public and the media. But there is a colossal distinction between vapid platitudes and inspiring conduct.

In his speech to Congress last night, Trump said, "...we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms." In the two months prior to the speech, the Anti-Defamation League pleaded with Trump to condemn the waves of the threats against the Jewish community. He refused.

Trump said he was imposing a five-year ban on lobbying by executive branch officials. Last month he signed an executive prohibiting the lobbying of one's previous agency only but not any other lobbying.

Trump stated "By finally enforcing our immigration laws, we will raise wages..." He is against a federal minimum wage hike and thinks state should decide.

Trump went on to say, "As we speak tonight, we are removing gang members, drug dealers, and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our very innocent citizens. Bad ones are going out, as I speak, and as I promised throughout the campaign." His executive orders and implementation memos make any illegal imigrant a possible target.

Trump then said, "...the vast majority of individuals convicted of terrorism and terrorism-related offense since 9/11 came here from outside of our country." He lied. All the lethal attacks by radicalized Muslims in the U.S. since 2001 have been carried out by U.S. citizens or people who were in the country lawfully. No attacks came from the countries targeted in Trump's original travel ban.

Trump later said, "My administration wants to promote clean air and clean water." He recently signed an executive overturning a regulation prohibiting companies from dumping toxic waste in nearby streams and rivers.

Trump introduced families of victims killed by illegal immigrants. He didn't invite any families of those killed by white supremacists or U.S. nutjobs.

The most powerful yet painful part of the speech was the introduction of Carryn Owens, the widow of a U.S. Navy Special Operator, Senior Chief William "Ryan" Owens.  Owens' parents refused to attend. Trump proclaimed, "I just spoke to our great General Mattis, just now, who reconfirmed that, and I quote, "Ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemies."  The military said that was not true. Although he referred to Mattis as "great," earlier in the week, Trump blamed the U.S. military for the death of Owens.

“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” 
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

#makeadifference
#resist
#grabyourwallet
#nobannowall

Power to the People

At yesterday's CPAC gathering (Conservative Political Action Conference), the power behind the Trump throne, Steve Bannon, stated that Trump's agenda is "the deconstruction of the administrative state" which means eliminating taxes, regulations and trade pacts and replacing them with a system that "empowers ordinary people over coastal elites..." Bannon's use of the term "elite" begs the question what is a billionaire who lives in a penthouse with a golden elevator?

This is all part of the ongoing magic trick by the Republican Party of convincing its members to vote against their own self-interests. The Party has taken advantage of the fact the voters don't know the difference between an elitist and the actual elite. Republican voters think an elitist is Sean Penn aiding earthquake victims in Haiti or some unknown Ivy League college professor quoting Howard Zinn instead of Wall Street bankers getting incredibly wealthy by betting against their own clients and nearly collapsing the American financial system.

Bannon said the plan is to fight the "globalists and corporatists" which is interesting since Trump's economic team is led by billionaire investor, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross; Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, a hedge fund manager; and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, former president of Goldman Sachs. They have been tasked with cutting taxes for the wealthy and rolling back banking regulations, that, of course, will "empower ordinary people."

“Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.” 
― George Carlin

Pay No Attention to That Man Behind the Curtain

I always thought one of the greatest magic tricks of all-time was the Republican Party continually getting people to vote against their own self-interests. Donald Trump has improved upon it. With his masterful use of alternative facts, Trump mesmerizes his hardcore supporters and creates the illusion that their grandest wishes are about to be fulfilled.

Here is an article from Robert Reich:

Donald Trump gave a speech Friday at South Carolina’s Boeing facility, where the new 787 “Dreamliner" was unveiled. He said the plane was “built right here” in South Carolina, and that “our goal as a nation must be to rely less on imports and more on products made here in the U.S.A.“ 

That’s pure fantasy. I’ll let you know why in a moment. 

He also called for "a very substantial penalty to be paid when they fire their people and move to another country, make the product, and think that they are going to sell it back.” And said he’ll lower taxes and get rid of regulations that send our jobs to those other countries. "We want products made by our workers in our factories stamped by those four magnificent words, ‘Made in the U.S.A.’”

Trump doesn’t seem to know anything about global competition, and what’s really holding back American workers. 

In fact, almost a third of Boeing’s Dreamliner comes from abroad.

And not from low-wage countries. In fact, the Dreamliner’s components come from countries with high taxes and high regulations, good wages, strong unions, excellent schools including technical education, and universally-available health care. 

For example:

1.The Italian firm Alenia Aeronautica makes the center fuselage.

2. French firm Messier-Dowty makes the aircraft’s landing-gear system.

3. German firm Diehl Luftfahrt Elektronik supplies the main cabin lighting.

4. Swedish firm Saab Aerostructures manufactures the access doors.

5. Japanese company Jamco makes parts for the lavatories, flight deck interiors and galleys.

6. French firm Thales makes its electrical power conversion system.

7. Thales selected GS Yuasa, a Japanese firm, in 2005 to supply it with the system’s lithium-ion batteries.

Oh, and the first delivery of the Dreamliner is scheduled to take place next year – to Singapore Airlines. Currently there are 149 orders for it from worldwide customers including British Airways and Air France.

In other words, contrary to Trump, the Boeing Dreamliner is made all over the world and will be sold all over the world.

Trump’s “America First” economics is pure demagoguery. We get a first-class workforce by investing in Americans’ education, training, infrastructure, and healthcare – and rewarding them with high union wages. 

We don’t boost the competitiveness of American workers through xenophobic grandstanding.

#makeadifference
#resist
#grabyourwallet
#nobannowall

The Death of the EPA

This is what prosperity looks like to Scott Pruitt, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As the former Attorney General in Oklahoma, Pruitt sued the EPA dozens of times. Pruitt's official state website refers to him as the "leading advocate against the EPA's activist agenda." The Senate rushed to confirm Pruitt today before emails between Pruitt and the fossil fuel industry are released Tuesday as ordered by a Oklahoma court.

Pruitt plans to immediately eliminate the Clean Power Plan which restricts greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants and the Waters of the United States rule that designates which waterways are regulated by the federal government. The President just recently repeal the "stream protection rule" that prohibited dumping of waste into nearby streams. In Scott Pruitt's new world you definitely will want to avoid using water.

When asked by Sen. Tom Carper at the EPA nomination hearing to name one Clean Air Act regulation that he supported, Pruitt could not.

#makeadifference

“Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.” 
― Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Spread the Word

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Søren Kierkegaard

"Last week Public Policy Polling released a poll showing that 51 percent of voters who support President Donald Trump’s attempted Muslim ban believe that the Bowling Green massacre, a figment of Kellyanne Conway’s insufferably vivid imagination, is one of the reasons why it’s necessary." - Bob Cesca, Salon

How is it possible that so many are so uninformed? It is vital to share as much information from creditable news sources as you can. Social media provides excellent platforms for spreading factual information because it provides exposure to news that may not be read or seen on Breitbart, Infowars, The Drudge Report or even Fox News. Spread the word.

#makeadifference

Privilege in Action

This was a recent Facebook post:

I want my friends to understand that "staying out of politics" or being "sick of politics" is privilege in action.
Your privilege allows you to live a non-political existence. Your wealth, your race, your abilities, your religion, or your gender allows you to live a life in which you likely will not be a target of bigotry, attacks, deportation, or genocide. You don't want to get political, you don't want to fight because your life and safety are not at stake.
It is hard and exhausting to bring up issues of oppression (aka "get political"). The fighting is tiring. I get it. Self-care is essential. But if you find politics annoying and you just want everyone to be nice, please know that people are literally fighting for their lives and safety. You might not see it, but that's what privilege does.
I also want to say to my friends who are new to this, my friends who have recently become more vocal, my friends who've seen the damage #45 has done so far, my friends who went to the women's march -- I am proud of you for getting involved. Don't stop there. Keep having these discussions, keep talking about politics, stay active.
And when you read the critiques of the march from other progressive women who didn't feel represented, don't get defensive or discouraged. Activism needs critique. We need to ask ourselves where we were as Flint's water has been poisoned, or where we were when Philando Castile was killed, or John Crawford or Eric Garner. If the women who showed up at the march showed up when people of color were murdered, it would stop.
Intersectionality means showing up even when the issues don't affect us directly. Stay awake and stay active. We need you so much right now.
I am passing this on and hope you do the same. unfourtunately I am not quite sure who wrote it,  
- Kristen Tea by way of Marc by way of Grace Towers by way of Michelle Arce (edited to replace a word with #45) by way of Amy Grillo by way of Nora Bates Zale

#makeadifference
#resist
#grabyourwallet
#nobannowall

“Responsibility I believe accrues through privilege. People like you and me have an unbelievable amount of privilege and therefore we have a huge amount of responsibility. We live in free societies where we are not afraid of the police; we have extraordinary wealth available to us by global standards. If you have those things, then you have the kind of responsibility that a person does not have if he or she is slaving seventy hours a week to put food on the table; a responsibility at the very least to inform yourself about power. Beyond that, it is a question of whether you believe in moral certainties or not.” 
― Noam Chomsky