kentuck
kentuck's JournalWe have a moral obligation to speak out against racism, hatred, and cruelty.
We see all of these with Donald Trump and his supporters.
We cannot silently accept the cruelty of unnecessarily separating children from their parents. We cannot accept the racism exposed in their immigration policies.
We cannot accept the hatred in their words. We cannot accept the divisiveness in their politics. We cannot accept the incivility of their actions.
We cannot accept the name-calling and threats they express toward others that might disagree with them.
Whether or not we win the next election, we have a moral obligation to fight back against such negative and destructive politics. We must keep fighting. We have no choice.
Where the media has failed and continues to fail the American people?
It is the obvious double standard they are willing to use in reporting failings of the Republican Party, as opposed to the Democratic Party.
They may as well be connected at the umbilical cord.
There is no way in hell a Democratic President could nominate a National Security adviser that was an "unregistered" foreign agent who was having secret discussions with the Russians, after the Russians had hacked the RNC computers. Admit it. It is a double standard and the media is in collusion with the Republican Party and are nothing less than accessories to these very serious crimes. There is nothing that should be minimized with these treasonous actions.
And there is no way in hell a Democratic President would be permitted to lie like Donald J Trump, and no way to stifle the screams from the Republicans to the media, against the Democrats, that would let an incompetent criminal violate our Constitution and wipe his ass with it. It simply would not happen if it were a Democratic President. The media would not permit it. They would carry the Republican water until that criminal was thrown out of our White House.
A Democratic President would not have been permitted to take office with such clouds of conflict of interests over his head. But it is OK with the Republicans, and therefore, it is OK with the national media. We can only conclude that there are more important things in this world than free speech and a free press, especially if they were in conflict with their business philosophy.
No, a Democrat would not be permitted to get away with the stuff that is going on right now. The media would be very much more vocal. Mostly because they would be coached by the Republican Party and their supporters.
Does anyone truly believe that the media is "liberal"? Does anyone truly believe that there is not a double standard?
Nobody that voted for Trump can say they didn't know what they were voting for?
It was all on display.
All the misogynistic, hateful, crude, vulgar, arrogant, narcissistic qualities of a Grade A asshole.
They knew he liked to grab women by their private parts. They knew he was crude and vulgar.
Yet, they voted for him. Did they expect him to be different once he was the President? Did they truly think he would change?
They were told over and over, if someone shows you who they are, believe them.
When you vote for a criminal, you will get a criminal.
But, let's not play games. If you voted for this asshole, step up and take responsibility.
I am 100% sure there are many that are in absolute denial. But that doesn't change the facts.
Have patience, children....this snowball is rolling downhill.
Everyday is a new story. A new piece of the puzzle is found.
Today, they discovered that General Flynn was registered as a foreign agent. We also discovered that the investigation for the server in Trump Tower is still going on. The Director of the FBI met with the Gang of Eight to give them updated information.
And more information came out on Trump emissary, Carter Page, who worked for Merrill Lynch in Moscow.
But there is no stopping a snowball rolling downhill unless it hits a tree or something?
This scandal has a life all its own. There is no stopping it or covering it up. Tomorrow will be something new. Another piece of the puzzle will fall in place.
Have patience.
The Republicans are playing Russian Roulette with our country.
They are putting a bullet into the chamber and spinning it like a roulette table. Then, they are pulling the trigger. If we are lucky, we will escape execution one more time.
But, there is a limited number of times that they can spin the chamber before the bullet is fired into the brain of America. It is the biggest political gamble any political Party has ever taken.
All the while, they are telling you not to worry - the bullet is not real. It is fake. It won't hurt you. The other Party is just trying to scare you.
But the truth of the matter is that the bullet is real. It is not a game. It will lay your brain on the wall in a vivid Jackson Pollock masterpiece.
Why Democrats need a liberal alternative?
It is not something that will divide the Party - it is something that will grow the Party.
A Party's participation is about message, as it is about money and polls. Democrats need a message that will connect with the people. Begging for money, in order to compete with the Republicans, over the social media network, is not the way to do it. The Republican majority, in the House and Senate, has grown to dangerous and extreme numbers. Simply because they do not know how to govern. Our country is not safe in their hands. We, as a people, must get our allies to the polls.
That is why it is imperative that Democrats have an alternative voice. We need the debate - an honest debate - about the ideas which our Party stands for. Candidates such as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Martin O'Malley, Sheldon Whitehouse, and others, should be encouraged to run for President. It would be the best for our Party and our country. We need rational and intelligent citizens representing us in Washington. Those that are "anti-government" are not usually very good at running our government. They are drawn to the darkside. They want to legislate their extreme minority views upon the rest of us. They are not inclined to protect our land, our water, or the air we breathe. It is time to put education, knowledge, intelligence, and science, back into good standing.
(edited)
What is the purpose and goal of "politics"?
"Politics" has almost become a dirty word nowadays.
Someone once described its roots as "poli" and "tics"..."Poli" meaning many and "tics" meaning blood-sucking insects.
But at some time in our past, "politics" was not always so lightly appreciated. During Greek and Roman times, a "politician" was a person that was generally held in the highest respect.
Some believed "politicians" had a higher calling. They were men of principle who discussed means to help the greatest masses of people, by means of "government".
"Government" was not always a bad idea. Starvation, crime, and general anarchy were not the best way for our citizens to live. So they formed "governments".
So, what should we expect from this "government"? Yes, we wish to be protected from rampaging hordes? And we wish, at the least, the most basic survival needs be made available to each and every citizen. That seems to me to be the most basic of requirements from government?
And "government" created roads, streets, and lamps, and provided local police for peace in the neighborhoods. And the idea worked quite well.
What is your idea of "politics" and "politicians"?
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All heart and no cattle...
Liberals are bleeding hearts. They tend to believe the best in people.
They believe that people on food stamps need the food. They don't think they are just scamming the government.
They believe that folks getting unemployment checks would prefer a job. They don't think they are lazy and are just laying back watching their favorite TV shows.
They believe that every child should have a good lunch at school. They don't blame the parents if the child comes to school hungry.
They believe that most immigrants are looking for a better life for themselves and their families. They do not believe that they are all criminals or drug mules.
Liberals believe that government should help those in need. They do not believe that government is evil and can do nothing right.
On almost every issue that is debated, liberals give the benefit of the doubt to those that suffer or are in need. They do not vilify or criticize from a superior or unsympathetic position.
At the most basic level, this is the difference in today's political Parties. One has a heart and one does not. Words and rhetoric cannot cover up this most basic human flaw.
The imminent backlash of the Democratic Left.
It's coming.
The Democratic Party had a chance to keep them in the fold but they blew it.
No amount of threats of Republican takeover will change the direction the Left is going. If the Republicans take over the House, Senate, and the White House, then so be it. The alarm bells no longer work. The fear-mongering from the centrists will fall on deaf ears.
They have not left their Party - their Party has left them.
Most Democrats do not want to hear this and refuse to accept that it will happen. After all, anything is better than having the Republicans in total control. Well, no, it isn't .
It is worse to be deserted by your own Party. It is worse to have your ideals destroyed and replaced by Republican ideals. Winning the next election is no longer the most important thing for these beaten-down supporters of the Democratic Party.
If you think this is only a lone voice expressing dissatisfaction with the Party and , in the end, we will all unite behind Hillary to keep the White House, I think you are tragically mistaken.
The Democratic Left will either take back the Democratic Party or they will start their own Party. They will suffer no more under the illusion of being represented by the Democratic politicians in Washington.
I'm sorry I feel compelled to say this.
After reading the article by Glenn Greenwald...
After reading the link by Greenwald, it is pretty obvious that he is in possession of a lot of information. And I would assume he got the information from Edward Snowden.
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<snip>
Obama told Charlie Rose last night:
"What I can say unequivocally is that if you are a US person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls … by law and by rule, and unless they … go to a court, and obtain a warrant, and seek probable cause, the same way it's always been, the same way when we were growing up and we were watching movies, you want to go set up a wiretap, you got to go to a judge, show probable cause."
The GOP chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers, told CNN that the NSA "is not listening to Americans' phone calls. If it did, it is illegal. It is breaking the law." Talking points issued by the House GOP in defense of the NSA claimed that surveillance law only "allows the Government to acquire foreign intelligence information concerning non-U.S.-persons (foreign, non-Americans) located outside the United States."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/19/fisa-court-oversight-process-secrecy
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And if the NSA has not been following the guidelines set by law, then they should be held accountable. It appears that the laws may have been broken and they need to be fixed from the damage done by the Congress, rushing through legislation at the end of the year before it expires. To do something like that, with something as important as rights guaranteed by our Constitution, is unforgivable.
It seems to me that our entire government, from the top to the bottom have been delinquent in their duties? Even the President has been lax in seeing that the laws are being executed in a lawful way.
The Attorney-General gave his approval to the NSA to do more or less whatever they wanted. And they followed few guidelines. They did whatever they wanted. Make no mistake. This is lawlessness on a grand scale. This is the scandal some folks have been looking for.
But Congress cannot be forgiven for their incompetence. The Attorney-General should resign. The NSA Director, Keith Alexander, needs to step down also. Obama needs to clean house with these people. The American people cannot and will not accept such lawlessness from any government officials. The DNI position should be done away with and go back to the way it was when it worked. The intelligence is too diluted.
Finally, the Senate Intelligence Committee needs to be changed. We need some fresh thinkers with intelligence watching out for us. Those presently on that committee have lost the faith of the American people. They can keep their Senate seats if the voters want them, but they should no longer be sitting on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
It is a mess from the top to the bottom and only one person can fix it. That would be Barack Obama. He is the only President we have at this time. This would be his true legacy if he could fix it. But he's going to have to fire some people and replace them with qualified people that see reality in the scope of history. Fortunately, the FBI Director is leaving. That would be a good place to start. This is just my humble opinion.
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