Tag: Income Inequality

“Original Intent”

I’ve wrestled with the idea of undoing all that has been done… and I’ve been taught that elections have consequences. Win OR lose, RESPECT should always be given to the Will of The People, and there’s no better time to figure out what’s on their mind than right AFTER an election.

But this moment is different. This moment is unique for MANY reasons, but most importantly, the trials and tribulations we’ve experienced so far have ALL been initiated with INTENT. Actions have been taken to create this situation…

This wound is self-inflicted.

I wonder, if given the chance, would President Lincoln have sought to UNDO the Presidency of James Buchanan? If it would have saved all the LIVES lost during his Presidency… if it were ME, I might have jumped at that chance, especially knowing what we know NOW.

What comes from our actions TOMORROW, begins TODAY. We hold the LIVES of millions in our hands right now. Do we choose to ACT, or do we let time march unopposed, dragging us ALL toward some pre-determined fate?

 

Liberals from the far left cheered and rubbed their hands in delight when Barack Obama was elected President in 2008. “Finally! We can UNDO the Presidency of George W. Bush and restore Justice.”

Conservatives cheered and rubbed THEIR hands with glee after GWB defeated Al Gore, ending 8 years of rule by the party of Bill Clinton. “Finally! We can UNDO the Presidency of Bill Clinton and restore Justice.”

But that DID NOT HAPPEN in either case. What happened was a CHANGE in legislative agendas, pursued by elected officials brought into power as THE PEOPLE saw fit. Never before in our NATION’S HISTORY has a newly elected President worked to erase EVERY legislative accomplishment of the PREVIOUS sitting President…

 

That was before Donald J. Trump.

 

Our system relies on legal precedent. No one was more keenly aware of this than George Washington. He knew every action he would take as President would be emulated by EVERY successive President. The limits of the Chief Executive and the expansive nature of the powers of The Office were established within those first 8 years.

How should we view the presidency of Donald J. Trump? Should any of the actions taken by him and his administration be viewed as legally relevant by a future President?

 

TODAY it’s immigrants from Mexico.

YESTERDAY it was immigrants from JAPAN.

BEFORE THAT  _______. (insert ethnic group HERE)

 

It’s disgusting that it HAS happened. It’s disgusting that it has happened AGAIN. Right now, there is NO WAY to limit what could happen in the FUTURE.

A strong Chief Executive is necessary for the defense of our nation. From foreign enemies to economic instability, from social unrest to natural disaster preparedness and response. The President must have unlimited access to whatever is necessary to defend our nation. In this, the Powers of the Presidency should NOT be constrained, we do so at our own peril in an hour of crisis.

A strong urge to DO SOMETHING, but an inability to ACT due to bureaucratic cowardice, STANDS as the legacy of The League of Nations. 100 years later, that legacy remains intact.

 

Article 1, Section 8, clause 12:

“The Congress shall have power to raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than Two Years.”

 

… and then came WWII.

 

And then we saw what evil truly looks like. And now we recognize, the only way to defend against it is to BE PREPARED. Never again can we sit idle as we did after WWI. The technological achievements realized during WWII have re-enforced that. Our nuclear arsenal must be manned at all times… so long as they are ARMED.

If we choose to pursue with reckless abandon, a political paradigm of revenge, we will devour ourselves rhetorically. PURITY will be prized over LIBERTY, and LEVERAGE over opponents will win the day instead of CONSENSUS or COMPROMISE.

 

…

 

When it comes to Justice and Equality, white men in this nation don’t particularly NEED an advocate… the Constitution was originally written with them in mind! And being ONE of those, I don’t want to see ANY of my rights degraded or removed… and I would fight like hell to ensure them! Speaking as a middle-aged white man, I’m outraged that EVERYONE in this country does NOT enjoy these rights EQUALLY.

EVERYONE who believes in the democratic principals this nation was founded upon should be outraged that the rights of HALF of its citizens can be so easily manipulated and disregarded. That’s STEP ONE of the dictator’s guide to CONQUERING nations…

STEP TWO is Rinse and Repeat.

 

The SHAPE and the COLOR of the body we inhabit should not determine the VALUE of the SOUL within it. Nor should it determine if an individual is WORTHY of Equal Justice Under Law. The Individual Human Experience is shared by ALL of us. What horrifies ME should also terrify YOU. Ensuring Liberty and Equality for EVERYONE guarantees it will continue… when you defend the rights of OTHERS, you defend those rights for YOURSELF.

 

So forgive me…

How can anyone justify locking up over 5000 CHILDREN for NO CRIME, other than doing what they were told to do by their guardian? Mother, father, aunt, uncle… they made a journey over thousands of miles and are taken from the ONLY familiar face they know.

An Obama-era policy, strictly enforced under a new administration, has led to KIDS in jail in a FOREIGN LAND without their PARENTS. Obama… Trump… Who CARES… is it WRONG. Should it STOP? Damn straight it should.

 

ONE is too many. One more day is TOO LONG.

 

Just as it was with the Bush-era practice of the President ordering Drone Strikes. A horrible precedent being established, it was then continued under a new administration and reworked to increase the efficacy, in ways previously unimagined.

 

U.S. drone strikes

 

Could NO ONE in power foresee the possible outcomes of allowing KIDS to be taken away from their parents? Have they never watched The History Channel?

 

ICE

Our government can’t even manage to get THE BASICS right anymore. Courtesy, common sense… decency and civility. Ideas and concepts American Citizens take for granted in everyday life, our Federal Government seems to have forgotten. It is as if we must teach our government how to WALK all over again.

 

Every step we take toward Equality brings us one step closer to realizing the Founders’ ORIGINAL INTENT. They were right in THEORY, if not in PRACTICE. Now, in order to secure it, we must have BOTH… we must PRACTICE what we PREACH. I don’t know about YOU… but that should be a pretty easy thing to DO, seeing as how ALL of us have already pledged an OATH to do just that:

“… with Liberty and Justice for ALL.”

Let’s get it done!

#MenForERA

 

JC

A Scout is Brave.

WHY are you so angry? Process it. Root it out. WHY are we triggered to anger when we’re told “others” are coming to take our jobs, our safety, our LIVES.

One answer: we are all crazy. Seriously, the way mental health is portrayed in most people’s lives, as a personal weakness if you have to go to a shrink. Some of us walk around in our daily lives wondering if we can find the inner strength to make it through one more day, and somehow seem to struggle through. And all the while, passing on the street, people coming and going without a passing glance, souls who have seen horrors we could not even imagine existed… and not quite as strong as ourselves. And but for the random chance of a passing stranger’s caring glance, or the stray alley cat with one ear missing rubbing against a leg. Maybe, not so bad…

Another answer- we’re being manipulated. Not just straight lying. That’s too easy to spot. You have to convince people to change their views, or they won’t be deeply held. Make an emotional connection with people’s inner soul, what makes ’em tick. Gotta hit ’em right where they live. Something they can relate to, from their past. An ever present ‘us vs. them’ feeling, keeping you on edge and maybe lose some sleep.

BREAKING NEWS: ‘They’ are just over the border, off the coast of the State, coming in boats like landing craft on D-Day. Are YOU safe?? Watch the “buy my crap” news team, tonite!

How many generations are we talking about here? How many different ‘others’ have their been in the last 17 years… 40 years… 60, 80 years… All being fed fears of ‘us against them’, to the benefit of only those who profit from fear and hate. The people who profit from constructing walls. Who profit when we fear a someone and need to protect our something. So we RUSH RIGHT OUT and BUY a thing that will stop a them. Because we are designed to. Intentionally.

The science of mental health is successful because we have learned what makes the mind work the way it does. After all, it is a science. We know how to treat diseases of the mind because we find their origins, and follow the evolution of a mind from childhood to adulthood. In order to treat the disease successfully, we must know what causes it… This means we must know, necesarily, how to destroy a mind as well as how to heal it.

Through the scientific method, with determination the size of the American Spirit, anything is possible.

So, stop and attempt to understand the origin of your rage. If these groups of people are so dangerous and such a threat that we must spend millions to stop them, but they will keep coming, and more walls need to be built… People say we have to secure the borders to stop terrorists. Stop terrorists? From WITHOUT? I have two words to say to that- Timothy McVeigh. The people from abroad who seek to do our country harm are nothing compared to the homegrown version we cultivate currently. America First.

The natural emotional responses of the human mind are studied by commercial industries to sell brands. To make you remember who has the best fries in America. So you will remember what car maker is “going places”. To drill into your head what meat Bigfoot likes to eat. You should enjoy this meat product because you relate to some thing or person that situation and outcome…

Once we understand the triggers, the emotional response that is desired, and the action implied, we will see who stands on the side of The People. We have to come together and see we’re all on the same side of the street. We are all standing waiting for a bus, wishing for a better life for ourselves and our family, not wanting to be standing here waiting for the bus! We are all striving to be heard and being yelled down by someone who knows better than ourselves.

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Alan Vargas at a March for Our Lives event. @TheAlanvargas

 

We are all just trying to make a buck and get closer to the goals we set in our lives.

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We are all human, born imperfect and striving for perfection, and everyone should remember that, and show compassion because we’ve all been there, or will be someday…

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This officer tased this suspect while he was submissive and attempting to comply.

What makes you mad? Why are you so mad that you could scream?

I promise the solution to this is SPEAKING OUT. Silence is what brought us here, and silence will bring us more of the same. Share ideas, share feelings, share the joy we find when we give a hand to others, and lend an ear to gain knowledge. No one grows as a person, through war. War breaks people down. War grinds strong people to dust slowly over decades. You wanna find answers on a spiritual level? Listen to the heartache of another human being and give emotional support. You might find answers to problems in your life by helping someone else with their’s.

…at least that’s how I see it.

Keep your head up!

JC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“By Hook, or By Crook…”

Donald Trump is Our President, and we should make no mistake about that. The idea that he is illegitimate is wrong. The law provided the structure for our President to be elected. It also endowed the power to remove the President to the elected representatives. In 2017, Our Constitution oversaw the peaceful transition of power, power given by The People.

The Law provided the ‘method’, Donald J. Trump provided the ‘means’.

Now we have to ask, how does that stand within ourselves? Are we “Good with this?” Or do we want the “system” to CHANGE?

“…we do it in LOVE and we do it IN TRUTH.” – Bishop William Barber

Everyone is interpreting the polling data WRONG. More people see this as a “Which Hunt” because we ALL see crimes have been committed, and NOTHING HAPPENS. Dr. Ronny Jackson is passing out pills to the Prez and his peeps, while a black man with a family sits in prison for WEED.

And all along we fight, brother vs. brother, while Russia, China, N. Korea, Germany, France, Canada, and Mexico are watching. As we judge the actions of everyone, from the leader of the Committee to Elect Donald J. Trump for President, to the treasurer on down, we wonder where the equal enforcement of Law has gone. There is a missing piece to this puzzle we are not being given.

All Americans understand why we are not told. We understand classified intel exists for ONE PURPOSE and we accept that. When the HONOR that once was associated with that purpose is discarded, and those who continue to maintain their HONOR are made to look like they stand against our People… AND NO Officer, either elected or appointed, does ANYTHING?!!

Of Course we SCREAM “Which Hunt!”

The corruption of unseen money ROTS a system based on HONOR. It creates a conflict of interest within a mortal man, pitting the choice between survival of family vs. survival of society. IF the benefit of society is to create stability and prosperity for ALL who seek it, then Donald J. Trump has beautifully demonstrated where the weaknesses are in our current election system.

He is, under Constitutional Law as it stands today, our Commander in Chief. And until we recognize the scope and abilities that are ‘part and parcel’ of the Office We have created, and own it FULLY…

History shows where “witch hunts” end.

We have been given the Power to CHANGE that destiny. We, The PEOPLE, are the only one’s who can DEMAND it. United. Demand it from Our Leaders… accountability, transparency, ACTION for the People, not the moneyed interests. The Vote, a POWER WEILDED by THE PEOPLE every two years, to enact change, or to ensure our shared prosperity, however We see fit.

End The Electoral College.

JC