Sunday, November 25, 2018

What a butterfly has to go through..

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
Maya Angelou(gratefulness.org)


Saturday, November 24, 2018

Noam Chomsky on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “Spectacular” Victory & Growi...

Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is

Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness...because in the last analysis all moments are key moments and life itself is grace.
Frederick Buechner (gratefulness.org)


Thursday, November 22, 2018

A Day of Giving Thanks

The greatest gift one can give is thanksgiving. In giving gifts, we give what we can spare, but in giving thanks we give ourselves.
Br. David Steindl-Rast(Gratefulness.org)

It has been a long wonderful giving of thanks day, however I am going to bed. I blame it on the tryptophan. Good night & thanks.




Sunday, November 18, 2018

How far you go in live depends

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.
George Washington Carver(gratefulness.org)

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Adam Schiff: President Trump Acting AG Appt. Appears To Violate Constitu...

My heart is moved...

My heart is moved by all I cannot save: so much has been destroyed. I have to cast my lot with those who age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world.
Adrienne Rich(gratefulness.org)

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Michael Moore On Democrats' ‘Awesome’ Midterm Wins | The Last Word | MSNBC

Following Criticism, Trump Begins Distancing Himself From The New Acting...

Trump Freaks Out After Democrats Win House: A Closer Look

Jim Acosta: From CNN To Fox News, No Journalist Is The Enemy

Modern autocrats don’t tend to announce themselves as autocrats. They claim to be democrats, and they portray their opponents as illegitimate.


"... top Republicans don’t seem to be willing to take their chances. They’d rather win unfairly than lose fairly — which is, again, the kind of decision that autocrats make."


David Leonhardt

David Leonhardt

Op-Ed Columnist
NY TIMES
Modern autocrats don’t tend to announce themselves as autocrats. They claim to be democrats, and they portray their opponents as illegitimate. Once your opponents are illegitimate — because they’re traitors, cheaters or not true citizens of the nation — all kinds of extreme behavior can be justified in the name of democracy.
Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, is a master of this autocratic approach, as I saw during my recent trip to Hungary. And we’re now witnessing President Trump and other top Republicans use the same tactics. No, the United States is not an autocracy. But what’s been happening this week is deeply worrisome.
Once again, Republicans are trying to thwart the basic functioning of government — in this case, a full counting of the votes in Florida and Georgia. They’re choosing power over democracy.
President Trump, Senator Marco Rubio, Governor Rick Scott of Florida and Georgia’s Brian Kemp have all falsely accused Democrats of trying to steal elections. “An honest vote count is no longer possible,” Trump tweeted yesterday. Kemp’s campaign accused his opponent, Stacey Abrams, of “making up numbers.” Scott told Fox News that Senator Bill Nelson, his Democratic opponent, is trying “to steal this election.” None of these claims are true.
And they’re damaging. “The new voting wars threaten to undermine the very foundation of American democracy: that election officials can fairly and accurately count ballots and that they can declare a winner whom the losers will accept as legitimate,” writes Richard Hasen in Slate. “When electoral procedures lose popular legitimacy, it is nearly impossible to get that legitimacy back,” argues Tom Pepinsky, a Cornell political scientist. “We’re in a dangerous place as a country,” says Brendan Nyhan of the University of Michigan.
There is nothing wrong with political candidates vigorously advocating their interests during a vote count or recount. The tabulation of ballots can involve judgment calls, especially in Florida, where some counties have a history of election problems, as Vox’s German Lopez notes. But there is no evidence of fraud in Florida or Georgia. Trump, Rubio, Scott and Kemp are just making that up.
I want to note that a full count of the vote in both of these states will still likely show that the Republicans won. In the Florida Senate and governor races, the margins appear too large to be overturned by a recount, writes Kirby Wilson of The Tampa Bay Times. Georgia is an even longer shot, as Rolling Stone’s Tessa Stuart suggests.
But top Republicans don’t seem to be willing to take their chances. They’d rather win unfairly than lose fairly — which is, again, the kind of decision that autocrats make.
Related: Fortunately, not all Republicans have made the same decision. In Florida, a Jeb Bush-appointed judge scolded Scott for leveling baseless allegations, as Sahil Kapur of Bloomberg News notes. In Arizona, the state party has behaved odiously — fanning conspiracy theories about George Soros, as my colleague Paul Krugman points out. But several top Republican officials in the state — including Martha McSally, who conceded a Senate race yesterday — have handled close elections in a principled way.
“These actions shouldn’t be surprising, but they’re in stark contrast to what we’re seeing from those overseeing the close statewide races in Georgia and Florida,” Ian Bassin of Protect Democracy writes in The Times.
The pro-democracy movement. The first bill from the new House Democratic majority will deal with election issues, NPR explains. The bill would establish automatic voter registration, grant independent commissions the power to oversee redistricting and mandate more disclosure of campaign financing.
These are all good ideas. But I continue to think mail-based voting deserves more attention than it’s getting. It has a stronger record of lifting turnout than automatic registration does.



Monday, November 12, 2018

Sign I was carrying in Solemn Vigil to victims of ...


2 Progressive veterans in tight races

Ron -
It isn’t just the elections in Florida and Georgia that are still going. A pair of our progressive veteran candidates are locked in super-close races — and they need our help.
We ran ads for Democrat Jared Golden in Maine — we shared them with you. Right now he’s down around 1,900 votes, but the unique ranked choice voting in the state makes him the favorite to win.
In California, Gil Cisneros trails by about 2,000 votes as well. But if you’ve followed the mail-in ballots in the state, you know that Democrats are making up ground every day.
We have a chance to win BOTH of these races. A good chance. But our progressive veterans need the funds to stop any attempts to take this election from them. So we are asking:
Democrats are poised to build on their majority, and it’s progressive veterans leading the way. This is so important. Because if we keep these margins high and beat Trump in 2020, we can really begin to turn things around for this country. So please chip in to help our veterans today.
All my best,
Jon Soltz
Iraq War Veteran and Chairman

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Democrats win popular vote in House AND Senate

Senate

43

Democrats

35 seats up for election
51

Republicans





























House

219

Democrats


193

Republicans


Monday, November 5, 2018

Emma Gonzalez sent me email....




First, I want to say thank you.

If you’re getting this email, you’re with us – you stood with us when we marched in D.C. alongside hundreds of marches around the country, and when we traveled the nation in a bus on the Road To Change starting even more conversations about ending gun violence. And you’ve been with us for the past few weeks, as we’ve been going to college campuses to help turn out young people to vote.

I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I know that NRA-corrupted politicians are powerful, and they’ll do whatever they can to block policies that could end our country’s plague of gun violence.

But there’s one thing I’ve learned over and over this year – there are a hell of a lot more of US than THEM.

More of us want to save lives. More of us are fighting for our loved ones whose lives have been taken by guns. More of us are fighting for the little kids who shouldn’t have to grow up in a world of active shooter drills and mass shootings.

So tomorrow, let’s show up:

If you haven’t voted yet, vote tomorrow. Look up your polling place by texting CHANGE to 97-779. Make a plan. Figure out when you’re voting and how you’ll get there.

If you’ve already voted, get your phone right now and text everyone to remind them to vote, then post on social media to remind people online, too.


If we show up in huge numbers tomorrow, I know we’ll send a message. Not only to the immoral politicians who don’t deserve to be in office. But to people all around the country and the world who need to believe we can use our democracy to turn tragedy into change.

- Emma

A Closer Look Midterm Marathon

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Why this group is called Veterans Against Putintrumpism (VAP)


Anthony Garn I asked 2 questions in order for one to join this group 1. Are you a veteran or supporter? 2. Do you oppose 45 and his agenda. Number one you answered right. However, it appears that you do not oppose 45 and his agenda enough to get rid of him? Since you are not voting blue, what will you do?
Manage


Rita FoxRita and 1 other manage the membership and posts for Veterans Against Putintrumpism (VAP). Anthony...we ARE the blue. This is not the right group for you. Any vote for a write-in candidate is a vote against America and a vote for Trump although it be in directly.
Manage

Ron AlexanderYou manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Veterans Against Putintrumpism (VAP). Thank you Rita, he is why ambivalent people are not welcome here. You see all the trouble he has caused!
Manage

Pat Vacek Riedel I agree 100%


Anthony Garn Seriously? Deleted my comment because I don’t bow to the blue like you?
Manage


Sad
Reply15m

Anthony Garn I thought this was a veterans against tRump page, not an only vote like Ron page.
Manage


Sad
Reply13m

Anthony Garn And I can’t stand either party. They are both sold out to the highest bidder.
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Sad
Reply13m

Ron AlexanderYou manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Veterans Against Putintrumpism (VAP). I understand why you are against Corporate control in "both parties" but there is a big difference here. The Democrats have NOT SOLD OUT TO RUSSIA.
Manage


Reply11m

Anthony Garn Did I say they were the same? They are both bought and paid for but with some different corporations and. rich people.
Manage


Sad
Reply10m

Ron AlexanderYou manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Veterans Against Putintrumpism (VAP). One parfy has sold out to Russia, and if you cannot see that, Anthony, you are delusional and sold out to the Alt-Right~                                           











Ron AlexanderYou manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Veterans Against Putintrumpism (VAP). One parfy has sold out to Russia, and if you cannot see that, Anthony, you are delusional and sold out to the Alt-Right~
Manage

Reply11m

Ron Alexander If you don't believe this Anthony Garn, you can leave the group! Yes, VETERANS AGAINST PUTINTRUMPISM, and this is the prime reason for this group.
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Reply7mEdited

Ron AlexanderYou manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Veterans Against Putintrumpism (VAP). Yes, VETERANS AGAINST PUTINTRUMPISM, and this is the prime reason for this group.
Manage
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