Mission Creep

…

Four years. The blink of an eye, when compared to some others… because it’s been allowed to go on FOR YEARS.

…

https://www.history.com/topics/1990s/columbine-high-school-shootings

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gunman-kills-students-and-adults-at-newtown-connecticut-elementary-school

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/10/us/gallery/pulse-orlando-shooting-2016/index.html

…

https://www.npr.org/2021/11/09/1049054141/a-secret-tape-made-after-columbine-shows-the-nras-evolution-on-school-shootings

…

I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s much easier to REMOVE someone from elected office who chooses to IGNORE the Will of The People, than it is to elect someone who will actually ACT.

…

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6558551/Casual-Paul-Ryan-starts-life-Speakers-chair-taking-kids-school.html

…

Why do they not act? When the evidence is CLEAR that their actions would SAVE LIVES… they hesitate. Instead of doing what is RIGHT they remain SILENT. For what? What’s more precious to them than saving someone’s life?

We all know what the problem is.

…

It’s a hard thing to swallow… it’s just a numbers game. Even if the odds are infinitesimally small. One-in-a-million, one-in-a-billion… people are dying due to the vaccine. It’s a stone cold fact. To deny it, is to deny science.

…

https://www.wibw.com/2022/02/10/nearly-year-later-autopsy-confirms-effingham-womans-death-by-allergic-reaction-covid-19-vaccine/

…

And that’s where this whole debacle went off the rails. Our elected officials chose to DENY SCIENCE and played politics with a deadly virus. I have no confidence that our elected officials are telling us the TRUTH right now… because BOTH SIDES have been manipulating facts and spinning scientific data for over TWO YEARS.

And now we can SEE just how accurate Donald Trump’s predictions were…

…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/30/trump-says-keeping-us-covid-19-deaths-to-100000-would-be-a-very-good-job

…

“If we could hold that down… so we have between 100 and 200,000 – we altogether have done a very good job.”

—Donald J. Trump

…

Nailed it, sir.

IF ONLY they knew in advance, if only they had some sort of PLAN…

…

IF the odds are one-in-a-million, in this country alone that’s 350 people… worldwide that’s 8,000 deaths. Even if we are generous and it’s more like one-in-a-billion, we’re still condemning EIGHT people to die.

That’s a hard call for anyone to make… because it could be anyone. It could be my MOTHER, or my CHILD. It could even be ME. And that decision is made with intent. With knowledge… with consent. A decision was made, knowing with certainty what the outcome would be.

Because of our knowledge and our collective effort to SAVE LIVES… we are at the LOWER end of those initial internal projections. Unequivocally, our SACRIFICE has saved over one million American Lives.

…

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/intelligence-report-warned-coronavirus-crisis-early-november-sources/story?id=70031273

…

How many more could we have saved?

Because of their political GAMES, how many people have died… needlessly?

Let us learn from our mistakes now, so that next time, our grandchildren will be able to save a million more than we did.

…

https://www.businessinsider.com/fiona-hill-says-putin-sees-us-as-weak-after-4-disastrous-years-under-trump-2022-1

…

…

And it’s not that hard to see how it could happen. When we lose focus on our goals. When doing what’s RIGHT becomes too cumbersome… when the PRICE of expediency is more attractive than the burden of responsibility.

At best we could say, that our elected officials are just out of touch with the lives of Everyday Americans. At worst… they act knowing the results of their inaction. And hey, I’m an optimist. I’ll gladly take a half-empty glass… if that’s all that’s left. But I refuse to be BLIND.

What person acting in GOOD FAITH, would name a bill after a recovering addict out of spite… especially when that recovering addict is the SON of the sitting President of the United States?

…

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10503993/Republican-Reps-introduce-HUNTER-Act-ban-taxpayer-funding-crack-pipes.html

…

Their privilege blinds them. They act as if addiction is simply a BAD DECISION made on the part of the ADDICT… therefore, they must be to blame.

Shame? They have NO SHAME… that’s what keeps their coffers FULL.

…

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2021/20211117.htm

…

https://dhhr.wv.gov/News/2021/Pages/West-Virginia-Experiences-Increase-in-Overdose-Deaths;-Health-Officials-Emphasize-Resources.aspx

…

https://www.cnn.com/2017/03/21/health/opioid-trump-supporter-medicaid-health-care-reform/index.html

…

Beware the company you keep.

Because you will be associated with their misdeeds, their criminal behavior… and to be SILENT is to be COMPLICIT.

When there is DOUBT within our Rule of Law, our adversaries WIN.

…

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-afghanistan-putin-ukraine-b2013938.html

…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/25/mike-pompeo-taliban-timeline/

…

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Agreement-For-Bringing-Peace-to-Afghanistan-02.29.20.pdf

…

Strip it all BARE. Lay it out there for the whole WORLD to see. That old phrase ‘You better get RIGHT with Jesus’ comes to mind… and that seems about right. They’ve now shown themselves to be the hucksters and carpetbaggers that they truly ARE.

They have NO FAITH in the Will of the MAJORITY… so they’ll just take whatever they CAN for themselves. While the rest of us desperately rally behind their PARTY… their RACKET… their COVER… praying that maybe someday, SANITY might rule the day in the United States Senate.

But we all know what the problem is… and an ADDICT will not change their ways until they admit they have a problem.

…

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/reports/a-decade-under-citizens-united

…

Our elected officials, making FUN of addicts… laughing at the plight of their VOTERS. Their CONSTITUENTS. All while they fail to remember… damn near every single one of those addicts owes their addiction to the LAX OVERSIGHT allowed by the very legislative body in which they serve.

They fail to tell you… all of this could have been avoided in the first place.

…

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/what-led-to-the-opioid-crisis-and-how-to-fix-it/

…

Can they not remember? Did they simply forget? The mind does start to fade after a certain age… maybe we should just give them the benefit of the DOUBT.

Or maybe we all know what the problem is.

…

Senator Manchin and his family’s got it all figured out… why can’t YOURS?

…

Is there nothing left that we hold SACRED? Is there nothing that can bridge the gap… no place where we can find COMMON GROUND?

If I may be so BOLD to suggest… there is NO political division in this country. There is no existential threat. There is still ONE overarching ideology that encompasses every political party, that every one of us can agree upon.

Our Legislators legislate based on MONEY and the pursuit thereof.

To FUND their Political Organizations.
To FUND their Political Parties.
To FUND their re-election campaigns…

All at the expense of THE PEOPLE they were elected to represent.

Any system that would allow the influence of MONEY to decide who is worthy of legislating for the rest of us, will inevitably favor those WITH money over those WITHOUT.

Be it the Second Amendment, a woman’s right to CHOOSE, or the teaching of this Nation’s long and prosperous HISTORY… we all know what the problem is.

…

https://dailycaller.com/2022/02/03/nancy-pelosi-calls-on-american-athletes-to-stay-silent-during-olympics-in-beijing/

…

https://sfist.com/2019/08/16/nancy-pelosis-three-primary-challngers-will-debate-saturday-night/

…

Remove the corruption, restore HONOR in governance.

No one holding the honorable title of SPEAKER of the House of Representatives should be advocating for SILENCE… on that fact, there is NO DEBATE.

-JC

On the Subject of Equality

The following letter sent to the Archivist of the United States from the United States Senate, and signed by Senators Portman, Romney, and Johnson, moved me to add my own voice to the discussion.

…

https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2022-02-08%20Letter%20to%20Archivist%20re%20ERA.pdf?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=de6ac831-0170-4b20-be6c-4cd4075a2e1b

…

It remains my opinion that EQUALITY has no time limit, and the Will of The People should always reign supreme.

…

Below is a copy of the email I sent to the archivist this evening, outlining why I believe the Equal Rights Amendment should be added to the Constitution.

…

To: The Honorable David Ferriero
Archivist of the United States
National Archives and Records Administration 8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740

Dear sir,

I am writing in regard to the letter sent from the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security, dated February 8, 2022, and singed by Senators Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, and Ron Johnson, addressing their concerns about the 28th Amendment and the “… calls for you to disregard your duty and certify the ERA.”

There are few things in this world that are more important than doing one’s duty.

Upholding the Will of The People and defending the Rule of Law, even in the face of overwhelming pressure, is quite honorable indeed. Even when holding that position stands opposed to the opinions of many others, integrity must always be maintained. In a land based on precedent, our actions today will impact generations to come. There can be no doubt, some future case will be presented in an attempt to challenge the validity of a future amendment, and this situation will be referenced. Whether that amendment has already been ratified or not… so long as there is a Constitution left to amend.

It doesn’t take a Constitutional Scholar to see— there’s not a whole lot of legal precedent on the subject of Constitutional Amendments. Each and every case is important in its own right, and the Equal Rights Amendment is no exception.

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the subject, either reasons why the amendment is dead or why it should now be added to the Constitution, but there seems to be one fact that overrides them all— The People have spoken. The requirements have been met. That’s indisputable. Well… if there is a dispute, precedent shows us how disputed amendments can be resolved. There is no precedent allowing for a judicial override of the amendment process, and I say for good reason. Look no further than the example set by the State Supreme Courts.

Setting that precedent for amendments to the United States Constitution would introduce partisanship into the ratification process and it would allow for judicial review of any amendment before passage, especially if a partisan actor were ever appointed to your office. It would forever change the amendment process.

As I said, I’m no legal expert. Just a guy with an opinion. But, I am a Citizen who still hopes that one day, this Nation will pursue the amendment process with great vigor in order to bring about some much needed changes. As it currently stands, that process is already fraught with many obstacles. Whatever your decision will be, I pray you consider what precedents your actions will create… and always err on the side of The People. May their Will guide us all.

Thank you for your dedication and adherence to the Constitution, and good luck to you in whatever path you choose in your retirement.

Sincerely,

Choose Your Own Adventure

…

How do we allow Judicial Discretion without ceding the continuation

of discriminatory intent? It all starts at the TOP.

It’s a pyramid scheme.

…

https://www.npr.org/2021/12/08/1062369646/a-federal-judge-dismisses-rose-mcgowans-lawsuit-against-harvey-weinstein

…

https://wjct.org/uncategorized/2019/01/judge-dismisses-ashley-judds-sexual-harassment-claim-against-harvey-weinstein/

…

Those judges are on the bench because they were nominated and confirmed by elected officials, who hold their office because of a discriminatory system. A system that is not representative of The People overall, but only a segment of the population.

A poll is a scientifically accurate snapshot of the electorate because of the deliberate attention paid to BIAS and efforts made to minimize its influence…

…

C72A0BF5-C42A-4695-B1C2-A2CB3FA89413 — Credit: Breaking Points w/ Krystal and Saagar

…

… and any politician worth their salt, pays attention to the polls.

…

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/us/amir-locke-minneapolis-police-shooting.html

…

Our response to crime isn’t what eliminates crime or deters people from committing crime in the first place. What drives someone to commit a crime.

The overall societal elements that drive someone to pick up a GUN instead of a PHONE… the dire straits that lead someone to STEAL just to pay the BILLS… the conditions that lead one to find more in common with a criminal organization than with a worker’s union…

That is what changes. That’s what makes fertile ground. Not the actions of police. The police officers are only doing what they’re TOLD to do— Enforce the Law.

The Law… as created, by elected officials who are BEHOLDEN to campaign contributions.

You got a GOOD IDEA? Great! Let’s run it past the DONORS and see what they think… ’cause if they don’t agree, you might not get re-elected. If it hurts their BOTTOM LINE or stands opposed to their ideology, they might not DONATE to your campaign. Worse still, they might DONATE to your political opponent.

Hell… they might back a PRIMARY CHALLENGER for that election.

…

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/gop-primary-challenger-against-liz-cheney-raises-over-1-million

…

They might even back a candidate that doesn’t EXIST.

…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/20/florida-election-trump-senator-rodriguez/

…

And why not? If that legislation were to pass, it would cost them MORE MONEY than it would for them to fund a non-existent candidate.

…

https://nicic.gov/private-prisons-united-states-2021

…

Don’t step outta line or the man will come for YOU next.

…

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/30/alexa-factory-whistleblower-i-was-tortured-and-jailed-now-amazon-should-apologise

…

Did Stop and Frisk work? Crime went DOWN during that period in time, so elected officials took credit for that progress… until it was found to be locking up BLACK MEN disproportionately, then it was shunned and disavowed.

Does the beating and killing of MORE BLACK MEN by police reduce crime?

Unequivocally… no.

Then why does it continue to happen? During periods in time where crime rates are HIGH. During periods in time where crime rates are LOW. Whether we create MORE LAWS or REPEAL THEM. When our Nation’s economic activity is soaring AND when our economic activity is dismal… some things just remain CONSTANT. Some things are just a given.

…

https://jackcharbonneau.com/2021/04/24/justice/

…

Getting Tough on Crime is kabuki theater of the Highest Order… an enterprise, worth BILLIONS of dollars.

Throwing BILLIONS at crime does not address the underlying conditions that give rise to the criminality in the first place. So why would we associate a reduction in crime with MORE COPS, MORE LAWS, and MORE JAILS? Because they can’t STOP the crimes already in-progress.

There’s a delay effect… a temporal echo. What was PASSED by previous legislatures creates what we see TODAY. More cops, more policing, more violence does not solve the problem NOW. It only addresses the product of their inadequate and flawed legislation. It’s a parallel to Trickledown Economics.

You want people to NOT do crime? Then you have to present them with a viable alternative to a life of crime.

If life keeps biting you in the ass, eventually you stop caring about all the other noise and just focus on yourself. Me against the WORLD. Do or die…

We must avoid getting to that place.

And that doesn’t happen overnight. You can’t hire MORE COPS and solve a financial crisis. You can’t stop and frisk people and expect to solve the problem of increased murder rates. If you tell someone their JOB depends on them finding CRIME… then they WILL find it. Whether it exists or not.

Because they wouldn’t want to lose their JOB now. That could lead them down a dangerous spiral… and we all know where that could lead.

So why would we allow it to happen in the first place.

…

So NOW… let’s reduce crime. Let’s make MORE laws. Let’s get rid of LAWS. Let’s stop enforcing laws or shift the threshold of what constitutes a breaking of the law…

…

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/01/economy/us-job-openings-quite-december/index.html

…

If we do THIS, or if we do THAT. If we tweak it around the edges. If we look into the problem… let’s form a panel. A committee… an Investigative Body. MORE COPS. MORE POLICING. ‘I’m outraged!’… by the apparent result of their own INACTION? By the inability to anticipate the consequences of their legislative actions?

By the intentional limiting of options, caused by their need to FUNDRAISE for their re-election.

…

So, how do we fix it? How do we get back to NORMAL… without going back to Business as usual? More SUNLIGHT is always the answer.

How do we CLEARLY interpret the Will of The People? Is it with LESS participation? Will we find it through practices of exclusion and disenfranchisement? One man should not rule over a FREE PEOPLE, but should a small handful of elected elites be allowed to decide FOR US who is worthy of that position?

Again, unequivocally… no.

…

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/SeventeenthAmendment.htm

…

More participation equals BETTER GOVERNANCE. Everyone has a role to play, and everyone’s VOICE should matter equally.

…

…

With each successive HOUR, with each passing DAY… the generation that came after the LAST, now knows more than their predecessors… BECAUSE of the work they have done. What we have now was unimaginable to them… and what will come, is beyond our wildest dreams.

…

https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/timeline/tiros

…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TIROS-1

…

… because they asked WHY.

Because they knew the answers COULD be found, if only we look hard enough. If we refuse to be fooled by those who cling to old ideas and false pretenses…

…

https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/a-satellite-look-back-at-50-years-of-earth-day/

…

https://phys.org/news/2019-02-latest-weather-satellite-western-alaska.html

…

When we push the boundaries and expand our horizons… when we step outside our own little world… we find the answers. We gain KNOWLEDGE. And, of course… we find the answers to questions, we never even knew existed.

…

If THIS is the image we wish to SEE…

…

https://twitter.com/maxar/status/1269382265320214528?s=21

…

… then how can we expect to find it with resolution like THIS.

…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2020_United_States_presidential_election_results_map_by_county.svg

…

And what will we SEE? The fine points, the details, the minutiae… at the heart of it all, is our LIVES. When the Rule of Law reigns Righteously and Equally, we will know what the opinion of the MAJORITY is. It’s the difference between thinking we know what The People want, and actually knowing what they want.

The answers to these problems exist. The question now becomes—

Do we have the COURAGE to find them?

CLARITY. Above all else. MORE SUNLIGHT is always the answer.

-JC

Let There Be No Doubt

I keep thinking about WATERBOARDING, and how that War Crime… that Crime Against Humanity… was found to be justified by a lawyer. Did he ever go to prison? Were charges even brought against him?

…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/electors-giuliani-trump-electoral-college/2022/01/20/687e3698-7587-11ec-8b0a-bcfab800c430_story.html

…

…

Of course not. It was a legal OPINION, presented after thorough research and collaborative efforts within the entire White House Office of Legal Counsel…

As directed by the Chief Executive.

There are no “Rogue Actors” in a White House Administration. There are only those who GIVE the orders and those who FOLLOW them… and if they don’t follow those orders, they are asked to LEAVE.

…

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/alexander-vindman-escorted-out-of-the-white-house-949729/

…

The Commander-in-Chief gets what he wants. If they can’t deliver, then he finds someone who CAN.

…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/05/michael-cohen-trump-code-language-lie-to-congress

…

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/17/politics/sondland-deposition-impeachment-inquiry/index.html

…

“But he did know about the general arrangement, that Michael would take care of things like this, like I take care of things like this for my clients.”

—Rudy Giuliani

…

The President sets the tone. The President calls the shots.

The Office is designed to ensure that, no matter who we elect as Our President, they can successfully enact whatever agenda they embrace…

…

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/13/805796618/trump-administration-diverts-3-8-billion-in-pentagon-funding-to-border-wall

…

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a26985261/trump-administration-abortion-period-tracking-migrant-women/

…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/immigration/appeals-court-weighs-whether-immigrant-teen-can-be-denied-abortion-while-in-us-custody/2017/10/20/ab414d2a-b50c-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html

…

Whatever agenda they embrace.

…

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/21/read-the-never-issued-trump-order-that-would-have-seized-voting-machines-527572

…

Our election laws have become so cumbersome, they can now be used to justify overturning an election. And it’s not the lawyer’s fault, he was just doing what he was TOLD to do…

By the President of the United States.

He may not have signed the Executive Order, but we can SEE the results. He got what he wanted- a legal plan to keep him in the Office.

You know… ‘Nudge nudge, wink wink. Say no more!’

…

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/azeenghorayshi/here-are-the-trump-moscow-plans

…

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/how-much-were-trump-organization-property-values-overstated-by-a-lot-ny-ag-says/3502263/

…

… give or take $200 million.

…

Now, imagine if we elected a President who worked this hard for THE PEOPLE… instead of focusing it all on THEMSELVES.

…

Equality. As promised. Emblazoned upon the wall of our Highest Court. The People have spoken. It’s time to RATIFY EQUALITY.

Let there be NO DOUBT!

To be SILENT is to be COMPLICIT… where do YOU stand?

-JC

Time to Take Your Medicine

…

3C41222C-D5F8-443F-B772-06C763A58B2B — —Martin Luther King, Jr.

…

A War on Voting Rights.

A War on Women.

A War on Reproductive Rights.

A Digital War, a Cyber War…

A War on Democracy itself.

War is expensive. War destroys LIVES. War may attempt to secure access to LAND, but this is the 21st Century. Unless we’re talking about Antarctica… just about every piece of land has been spoken for, and it’s been that way for quite a while.

War is the enemy of a Civil People. War is the enemy of a Prosperous Nation.

…

The People of the United States do not seek war, but that should not be seen as a statement of cowardice. We will fight to secure PEACE. Whatever the cost.

Twenty years of aggression has left its mark on this Nation. We are not the same as we once were. Let us bear our SCARS… the scars that we’ve given to ourselves. Let them STAND as Our Testimony, so that others might see them and learn from our example.

A smoking gun. A mushroom cloud. Yellowcake Uranium and Mobile Processing Sites… all LIES. A fabrication. Created to justify that which they could NOT. What happens when we go to War for a LIE?

Twenty years later those leaders are NO LONGER our leaders… war is detrimental to the future of anyone who wishes to secure influence or power.

…

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/donald-trump-campaign-offered-actors-803161/

…

Boldness, in the face of hatred and oppression will secure our future… INACTION will not. The victors will always be standing on the side of PEACE.

Defend, but do not advance. Secure, but do not attack. We know for what it is that we stand… do they? If they do not, then let there be NO DOUBT. Whatever the outcome, whatever the cost… we will stand for PEACE. We will stand in defense of those who would also stand for PEACE.

The American People will defend PEACE… because we cannot stomach the cost of WAR.

…

https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2021/08/16/the-war-in-afghanistan-cost-america-300-million-per-day-for-20-years-with-big-bills-yet-to-come/?sh=28e70f697f8d

…

https://www.defense.gov/casualty.pdf

…

Maybe it’s time for us to take our medicine.

…

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/16/world/europe/russia-ukraine-invasion.html

…

War is anathema to everything this Nation desires. It doesn’t secure wealth. It doesn’t secure life. It doesn’t secure status or stature either… as we revere those who ended our wars more so, than those who started them.

…

We curse the war and celebrate the PEACE that follows, because everyday we continue to fight is another day stolen from our future. Another day we could be rebuilding, but instead… we continue to destroy. And we know we do not stand alone.

War breeds distrust. War breeds resentment and anger. War is the mother of Vengeance, fathered by Misery and Greed. Burdens shouldered, by those who had nothing to do with starting the endeavor… they pick up the broken pieces of what’s left, long after those who gave the orders have surrendered.

War will not solve the problems of the PAST; war only creates new problems.

…

May our future endeavors always be JUST, and may we never again fight a war for Vengeance… as a method that seeks to correct mistakes of the past. Instead of responding to anger with anger, let us first ask WHY.

Those mistakes… those actions… they were not OURS. Our Forefathers, our predecessors… we live with their mistakes. With their guidance, may their past inform us TODAY.

Let us HONOR their memory, by ensuring we don’t make the same mistakes.

-JC