The New Patriot

It is officially time for Democrats to stop trying to kick the snot out of each other and focus on beating tRump. If you’re even reading this right now, I’m sure I don’t have to recap for you what just transpired in the senate, where the repubs couldn’t even really bother with a sham trial. Witnesses and documents are not necessary. While this was pretty much a forgone conclusion from the get-go, just watching the senate do this, and give rationale clearly aimed at two-digit IQ’s, is just a bridge too far. Repubs like to make fun of people who point out that we are slipping into a dictatorship and will even ask “how are we becoming a dictatorship.” Well, here’s your answer. First and foremost, those in power -- particularly the autocrat at the top -- are not only able to escape consequences for their actions, but after a while, to evade and scrutiny of their actions. Check on that. And perhaps, finally, at long last, people are starting to see that it’s not just tRump, but the repub pa...

We’ve all been down this road -- you’re debating with your right-wing uncle or your repub friend on social media, and they’re ranting and raving about whatever fox is telling them to be angry about that day. And you, not just pushing your agenda but actually wanting to get at some form of truth, you ask a tough question. It’s one the repub has no answer to. On very rare occasions, when you happen to bump into one of the five or six or so conservatives that have a shred of intellectual integrity, you may get an answer, but don’t hold your breath. Quite commonly, they’ll try to re-direct the questions. The really good ones will make some statement that sounds like an answer -- a very subtle re-direction -- but not actually answer the question. Other times, they’ll mealy-mouth it to death. And in some cases, they’ll get angry and curse, name call, and maybe even block you from their feed. We need to keep asking these questions. I’m not the only one presenting these, and I’ll be quite open...

I started this blog in hopes, in my own little microscopic way, of making a difference, in not letting our country become the two-bit kleptocractic cesspool that the tRump crime family is doing their black-hearted little best to make it. Sorry to say, they’re hell-bound for leather in making it so, and have had much success. But, as the Thom Hartmann quote I've used to title this post says, we can't give in to depression or anger. We real Americans know full well that this is country is not perfect, nor has it ever been (and we also know no such country has ever existed on Planet Earth). The USA’s warts are ugly and plentiful. We know that the fruits of freedom have not been shared by all. And we know the American right’s is fiercely devoted to freedom and liberty for some -- and denying it to many. Real Americans, on the other hand, believe that nobody has a monopoly on freedom, that more freedom actually makes us a better country, not worse. Despite many sad and awful chapte...

Norman Goldman is off the air. For those of you who don’t know, Goldman, a longtime attorney here in the state of California, hosted a radio call-in talk show for nine years, having previously been a regular contributor and frequent fill-in host for the late Ed Schultz. Goldman’s show was an impassioned three hours of views, legal analysis and civics that stood alone on those lonely, rare portions of the AM band willing to host something besides right-wing or sports talk. Few people could take apart the complex issues of law, politics and governance and make them not only understandable, but fun, as Goldman did, day in and day out. All that is gone now. He and his wife, Francis, had self-funded the radio program the whole time, and after losing two million dollars on the venture, they finally had to tap out. This post isn’t just about lamenting the loss of a great radio voice, but hopefully drawing your attention to the situation that has denied a voice to a massive chunk of the Ame...

I can’t even believe I feel a need to write about this, or that other people aren’t seeing it. Maybe I’m just imagining all this, but sometimes I watch a public debate and just can’t believe how basic fundamental facts and ideals aren’t even part of the conversation. Recent surveys show alarmingly low support amongst millennials for democracy. Yes, that democracy. Here, in the birthplace of modern democracy, government by the people, for the people, is fading away. There’s nary a shrug from those very people who have both benefited from democracy, and whose duty it is to carry it into the next century and beyond.  Closely related, a lot of millennials also say they have no confidence in democracy’s ability to solve problems or improve their lives . It’s not that they dislike or have a particular issue with democracy -- it just that they don’t see its usefulness anymore. And growing up in a period of hyper-partisan gridlock, you can sort of understand that view. Bu...

The guy with the giant American flag flying from the bed of his gazillion-ton pickup truck thinks he’s a patriot. He’s not. And with that line, I want to welcome you to the first post of my new blog, the New Patriot . Just what the world needs, right? Another political blog. Geez, aren’t those tough to find (note: that was sarcasm). You may ask yourself, “what could this guy possibly have to say that hasn’t been said a lot of times already, and probably a lot better?” Fair question, one which I will address. I guess you can think of this post as the let’s get acquainted post. By looking at the title, you might think this is a repub or conservative blog. And if that’s what you did think, then that right there should give you an inkling of a big-time problem we face in our nation today. It’s anything but conservative, or as I prefer to say, right-wing. So why do I pick that title? Well, it gets to the very heart of why I have begun this blog and began my quest to save th...