the wrong stuff

George Washington was a man of integrity who wanted above all else to be seen as a man motivated by the public good and not personal ambitions. His profound integrity in serving the public was the reason people entrusted him with power during the Revolutionary War and the first presidency.

He worked hard to make sure that political differences were addressed through dialogue, not hate and bitterness. On several occasions, he wrote letters to his Cabinet members to stop their in-fighting and quell their party spirit. Washington told Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, “How unfortunate, and how much is it to be regretted then . . . that internal dissensions should be harrowing and tearing our vitals.” The president wished Jefferson and others to have “more charity” for other opinions and a sense of their own fallibility. He dressed down Alexander Hamilton, telling the Secretary of the Treasury that “differences in political opinions” are expected but should not lead to so much discord.

The Bill of Rights Institute 

the right stuff

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gilbert_Stuart_Williamstown_Portrait_of_George_Washington.jpg

Gilbert Stuart [Public domain]

the wrong stuff

image from GPA photo archive

President Donald J. Trump | Official Portrait, President Don… | Flickr

public domain

had enough? 

who do you trust?
   - trump & friends?  
   - pelosi & friends?

   - the republican and democratic parties that are financed by billionaire corporations and billionaire PACs that supply us with the candidates for public office? 

image by Democracy Chronicles

two party system | See the article "Two Parties See Record L… | Flickr

   
   - biased news media?

to fix our dysfunctional government is simple and easy--stop voting for  republican and democratic party candidates, including incumbents. 

voting for a republican or a democrat is a vote for their party. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

File:Godfather puppetmaster.jpg - Wikipedia

public domain

in the next election--national, state or local--don't vote republicans or democrats who have the wrong stuff. vote for someone who has the right stuff. even with their billion dollar donors, if voters don't vote for republicans and democrats, then the republican and democratic parties will shrivel up and die.

nothing will be better for our country. 

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

the same goes for the news media--stop patronizing biased news media that lobby for the republican and democratic parties instead of reporting the news factually and truthfully. they'll go out of business. nothing will be better for the USA. 

good and evil

source US Air Force

public domain

Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt cradles a young Iraqi girl as they both sleep in the hospital. The girl's entire family was executed by insurgents. The killers shot her in the head but she survived. The girl received treatment at the U.S. military hospital in Balad, but cries often. According to nurses at the facility, Chief Gebhardt is the only one who can calm down the girl, so he holds her at night while they both sleep in a chair. Chief Gebhardt was assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group at Balad Air Base, Iraq.

Humble chief gains national attention > U.S. Air Force > Article Display

abrasive, arrogant, obnoxious... it just goes to show that the two-party system doesn't provide enough good candidates for public office

'Make the time, or quit': Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demands lawmakers read the bombshell 9-page whistleblower report - AOL News  

trump and AOC are two peas in a pod from the same neck of the woods--abrasive, arrogant, obnoxious...

and, they aren't the only ones...

had enough?

who do you trust? 
   - republicans?
   - democrats?

   - the republican and democratic parties that are financed by billionaire corporations and billionaire PACs that supply us with candidates for public office? 

image by Democracy Chronicles

two party system | See the article "Two Parties See Record L… | Flickr

   - lobbyists?
   - biased news media?
   - or yourself?

to fix our dysfunctional government is simple and easy--stop voting for  republican and democratic party candidates, including incumbents. 

voting for a republican or a democrat is a vote for their party. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

File:Godfather puppetmaster.jpg - Wikipedia

public domain

in the next election--national, state or local--don't vote for a republican or a democrat. their party has failed us. vote for someone who can get the job done.  even with their billion dollar donors, if voters don't vote for republicans and democrats, then the republican and democratic parties will shrivel up and die.

nothing will be better for our country than ridding it of the republican and democratic parties.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

the same goes for the news media--stop patronizing biased news media that shamelessly distort the truth. they'll go out of business. nothing will be better for the USA. 

out of the mouths of children

don't you think that it's odd that children have become authorities on climate change? without even a college degree in science? that they lecture adults on the failures of adults? and file complaints against countries? 

Teen activist Greta Thunberg and 15 other children file complaint against 5 countries over climate crisis | FOX59 

what have we come to when we glorify such arrogant behavior by children? 

they should be in school listening and studying and learning about science, and respect. 

http://picpedia.org/handwriting/r/respect.html

of course, given the example of the media, and bad parenting, the actions of these impudent children can be better understood. 

virginia dmv real id ruse

so, 

"Virginians now have the option to upgrade to a REAL ID compliant driver’s license or identification card, or stick with DMV’s standard credential."   Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles 

so, that's what my wife and I do. we take all of our paperwork to the dmv. we get our real ID licenses back in the mail. great!

then, we go to use them. we book an alaska cruise on princess cruise lines.

we can't use them. it seems that virginia dmv isn't going to activate them until october 2020.

WTH!!!! 

abortion

Fetal remains found in home of dead abortion doctor Ulrich George Klopfer of South Bend’s Women’s Pavilion - The Washington Post 

by the numbers:

• total population, USA & territories = 330 million
• total abortions in USA since 1973 = 45 million 
• jews killed during nazi germany holocaust = 6 million 
• total USA soldiers killed in ALL wars = 1.35 million (half from civil war)

  

• 45 million abortions since 1973 = 13.6% of the USA's present population

Anti Abortion Vigil | Nigel Hanlon | Flickr

labeled for noncommercial reuse

common sense gun regulation

County, Shenandoah Farms move to head off a deadly shooting accident | Royal Examiner 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Virginia_highlighting_Warren_County.svg

David Benbennick [Public domain]

repeal the second amendment

the second amendment to the US constitution states: "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

in 1790, a year and a half after the US constitution was ratified, the population of the US was slightly less than 4 million. U.S. Population, 1790-2000: Always Growing In 1790 the US was largely rural. 

today:

• the population of the US is approximately 330 million. Population Clock 
• more than half of the US' 50 states have populations of more than 4 million. List of U.S. states by population - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Most of the US' population today is concentrated around urban centers. 
• mass shootings in the US are increasing at an alarming rate in both number and people wounded and killed. List of mass shootings in the United States - Wikipedia 

needless to say, the US has changed greatly since 1790. the constitutional right of a citizen to own a gun makes no sense in light of today's population, population density, and mass shootings. 

the solution is obvious: repeal the 2nd amendment. 

image by LeftPolemicist

File:Repeal the 2nd Amendment logo.svg - Wikimedia Commons

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-

Share Alike 4.0 International license.

citizens would not have an automatic, constitutional right to privately own a gun. Private ownership would be subject to application and rigorous background check. criminal record, committing a crime with an illegal weapon (felony), unlawful possession of a firearm without a valid permit (felony), providing false information on permit application (felony), mental disorders, violent crimes, etc. would be disqualifiers. law enforcement would know what to do, without hesitation, if a person is threatening another person or persons with a gun. 

John Paul Stevens, ex-SCOTUS justice, shocks with call to repeal 2nd Amendment - Washington Times

"...shocks..."??? what's so shocking about repealing the 2nd amendment? as Justice Stevens says, "the second amendment is a relic of the 18th century".

"The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate."
Article V, U.S. Constitution

• question: has anyone in Congress pursued repealing the 2nd amendment?
• answer: not that I'm aware of
• question: has any state legislature proposed repealing the 2nd amendment?
• answer: not that I'm aware of
• question: why?
• answer: no guts?
• question: why don't politicians have guts?
• answer: party politics ("don't bite the hand that feeds you")
• question: what is the "will of the people"?
• answer: according to polls, most Americans want stricter gun control laws
• question: had enough?
• answer:

who do you trust? 

1. congress?
2. lobbyists--like the NRA?
3. elected politicians who are more about taking lobbyists' money to get re-elected and blaming the other party than solving the nation's problems?
4. political parties, financed by billionaire corporations and PACs?

here's how government works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

if you vote for a republican or a democrat, then it's not the person who you voted for who is in control--it's the party.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for someone who can get the job done. don't vote for a democrat or a republican. soon the republican and democratic parties will dry up and die. nothing will be better for the United States of America.

PS similarly, by refusing to patronize dishonest and biased media, they too will shrivel up and die too. 

latest hurricane dorian forecast shows landfall at mar-a-lago

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT05/refresh/AL052019_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind+png/090144.png 

democrats will jump for joy.

republicans will demand an investigation.

trump with tweet "fake news"--a "deep state" conspiracy.

deja vu

"The population of indigenous peoples of the Americas before the 1492 Spanish voyage of Christopher Columbus has proven difficult to establish. Scholars rely on archaeological data and written records from European settlers. Most scholars writing at the end of the 19th century estimated that the pre-Columbian population was as low as 10 million; by the end of the 20th century most scholars gravitated to a middle estimate of around 50 million, with some historians arguing for an estimate of 100 million or more. ... While it is difficult to determine exactly how many Natives lived in North America before Columbus,[6] estimates range from a low of 2.1 million[7] to 7 million[8] people (including 200,000 in Canada) to a high of 18 million (including 2 million in Canada)." 
Canada's Royal Commission on Aboriginal Health estimates 500,000.

Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas - Wikipedia 

from 1610 to 1850 population of the US grew from 350 to 23,191,876 (excluding native americans). In 1860, the population, including native americans, was 31,443,321, a growth of 35.58% from1850. it's interesting to note that the growth rate from 1840 to 1850 was 35.87%. the addition of native americans to the count in 1860 had little effect on the population growth rate, suggesting that the number of native americans were very small when compared to nonnative americans. 

Demographic history of the United States - Wikipedia 

it is clear that native americans didn't stand a chance with the growing population of white america. how did the government deal with the situation? poorly. very poorly. the US government lied to the indians. the government made promises in treaties with the indians that the government didn't keep. the government forced native americans onto reservations, in many cases, far away from the land where they were living. those who resisted were killed--sometimes quickly, i.e. execution or outright murder by soldiers and civilians, and at other times slowly by forced marches to remote reservations or death by starvation, exposure and/or disease. 

neither the native americans or the immigrants were of one mind. most chiefs didn't speak for their tribe. that they did was a myth concocted by self serving whites. in fact, in most indian tribes each man spoke for himself and acted on his own. some native americans saw the inevitability of "might (and numbers) makes right" and sought to live in peace with whites. other native americans resisted until their end.

similarly, not all settlers thought and acted the same. some believed that native americans should be accommodated fairly. others believed that they should be exterminated.

atrocities were committed on both sides. many--perhaps most--on both sides viewed the atrocities that were committed by both sides as monstrous crimes.

what did we learn from our treatment of native americans over three centuries? 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Western_Indian_Wars.jpg

attribution: Work of the United States government, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

answer: not much. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars

weather.gov

for those like me who respect privacy, turn back the clock to the day when you could get your local weather forecast with a simple phone call. you didn't have to reveal your exact "location" to a website so that they can sell your address and other personal information to private vendors to pester you with their advertising--e.g., weather.com. 

I finally gave up on weather.com when I couldn't get my local weather forecast without revealing my exact location. I'd enter my town and state and get weather for some other location--goodbye weather.com.

use weather.gov instead of weather.com and you can get your local weather forecast and keep your privacy by not giving up your exact location and other personal information to pesky vendors.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US-NationalWeatherService-Logo.svg

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [Public domain]

this vietnam combat veteran finally got what he, his wife, his mother and his daughter deserved--a place of honor for him in Arlington National Cemetery

A Vietnam vet is buried at Arlington National Cemetery after decades in a run-down graveyard - U.S. - Stripes 

Flags at Arlington Cemetery

Photo by: Sebastian J. Sciotti Jr.

public domain

our 2-party system of government--the republican and democratic parties--is failing our nation

Opinion: Two days, two mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio -- just another weekend in America - Los Angeles Times 

these are just the latest two in a LONG list of mass shootings, including the last 6+ years--from newtown, CT in december 2012, where six adults and 20 grade-school-age children were killed by a deranged 20 yr. old gunman with an assault rifle, to the present.

List of mass shootings in the United States - Wikipedia 

why haven't our elected representatives from the republican and democratic parties addressed this HUGE problem? 
could it be because republicans are too busy blaming democrats, and vice versa?
regardless of their excuse, there is NO excuse for our government representatives' failure to address this HUGE problem. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mass_Shooting_Deaths_by_Year_1994-2017.jpg

Doctorrads [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

labeled for noncommercial reuse

had enough?

who do you trust? 
   - republicans?
   - democrats?

   - the republican and democratic parties that are financed by billionaire corporations and billionaire PACs that supply us with the candidates for public office? 

image by Democracy Chronicles

two party system | See the article "Two Parties See Record L… | Flickr

   - lobbyists?
   - biased news media?
   - or yourself?

to fix our dysfunctional government is simple and easy--stop voting for  republican and democratic party candidates, including incumbents. 

voting for a republican or a democrat is a vote for their party. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

File:Godfather puppetmaster.jpg - Wikipedia

public domain

in the next election--national, state or local--don't vote for a republican or a democrat. their party has failed us. vote for someone who can get the job done.  even with their billion dollar donors, if voters don't vote for republicans and democrats, then the republican and democratic parties will shrivel up and die.

nothing will be better for our country than ridding it of the republican and democratic parties.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

the same goes for the news media--stop patronizing biased news media that shamelessly distort the truth. they'll go out of business. nothing will be better for the USA. 

can any candidate for POTUS claim the moral high ground?

the republican president's daily trashing and poor treatment of friends and enemies, immigrants and citizens, republicans and democrats, other countries, etc. in his tweets and in his daily public and private speech is immoral. his favoring the rich over the poor, his other discriminatory policies and his infidelities are likewise immoral. his support of dictators who deny basic human rights, e.g. north korea, saudi arabia, etc., is immoral. his failure to address gun, environmental and other important issues is immoral.

democrats who support murdering babies even to moments before they are naturally born are immoral. using vitriolic and hateful language in attacking republicans, including the president, is likewise immoral. 

regardless of whether it's a republican or a democrat, not telling the truth is immoral.

so, are there any candidates running for president who can claim the moral high ground? 
answer: no. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Morals-and-ethics.jpg

Teodoraturovic [lCC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

labeled for noncommercial reuse

had enough?

who do you trust? 
   - immoral politicians?

   - the republican and democratic parties that are financed by billionaire corporations and billionaire PACs that supply us with the immoral candidates for public office? 

image by Democracy Chronicles

two party system | See the article "Two Parties See Record L… | Flickr

   - immoral lobbyists?
   - the biased news media?
   - or yourself?

to fix our dysfunctional government is simple and easy--stop voting for immoral republican and democratic party candidates, including incumbents. 

voting for a immoral republican or a democrat is a vote for their immoral party. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

File:Godfather puppetmaster.jpg - Wikipedia

public domain

in the next election--national, state or local--don't vote for someone who is immoral. vote for someone who has morals.  even with their billion dollar donors, if voters don't vote for immoral candidates, then the republican and democratic parties providing the immoral candidates will shrivel up and die.

nothing will be better for our country.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

the same goes for the news media--stop patronizing immoral news media that shamelessly distorts the truth by covering the words and actions of immoral politicians, and they'll go out of business. nothing will be better for the USA. 

nobody trusts a liar.

who trusts a liar?
answer: nobody.

there are individual liars, corporate liars and national liars.

communist north korea, iran, and russia are examples of national liars. countries that lie use propaganda and disinformation as part of their national policy. needless to say, these countries can't be trusted.

there are companies that lie, e.g. those that say that they will protect your personal information, and don't, or companies that deliberately lie about their products or services. corporate liars can't be trusted.

and there individual liars who can't be trusted either.

image by A.Davey...

LIAR IN CHIEF | Excerpt from: "Trump’s latest lie at NATO bl… | Flickr

labeled for noncommercial reuse

who wants a liar representing their country? 

had enough?

who do you trust? 
   - politicians that lie?

   - the republican and democratic parties that are financed by billionaire corporations and billionaire PACs that supply us with lying candidates for public office? 

image by Democracy Chronicles

two party system | See the article "Two Parties See Record L… | Flickr

   - lobbyists?
   - the biased news media?
   - or do you think for yourself?

to fix our dysfunctional government is simple and easy--stop voting for liars, e.g. republican and democratic party candidates who lie. 

voting for a republican or a democrat who lies is a vote for their party. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

File:Godfather puppetmaster.jpg - Wikipedia

public domain

in the next election--national, state or local--don't vote for a liar. vote for someone who tells the truth.  even with their billion dollar donors, if voters don't vote for liars, then the republican and democratic parties providing the lying candidates will shrivel up and die.

nothing will be better for our country.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

the same goes for lying news media--stop patronizing news media that lies, and they'll go out of business. nothing will be better for the USA. 

The Mueller hearings were a waste of everyone’s time

The Mueller hearings were a waste of everyone’s time 

pretty much. 

earlier: 

"I'm watching the House Mueller inquiry. watching Mueller testify is like watching myself. Mueller is a year and some change older than I am. he doesn't hear so well. he's being bombarded by rapid-fire questions from fast talkers. he's struggling to find the specific reference in the two volume reports that the questioners have before them. He's doing MUCH better than I would be doing under the circumstances. I've peed twice since the hearing began." 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pee.jpg

GracinhaMarco Abundo [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

labeled for noncommercial reuse

had enough?

who do you trust? 

   - the republican and democratic parties that are financed by billionaire corporations and billionaire PACs that supply us with lousy candidates for public office? 

image by Democracy Chronicles

two party system | See the article "Two Parties See Record L… | Flickr

   - lobbyists?
   - the biased news media?
   - or do you think for yourself?

to fix our dysfunctional government is simple and easy--stop voting for republican and democratic party candidates, who don't represent the best interests of our country to move our country forward. 

voting for a republican or a democrat is a vote for the party--the hand that holds the puppet/money strings. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

File:Godfather puppetmaster.jpg - Wikipedia

public domain

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for someone who shares your values. 

even with their billion dollar donors, the republican and democratic parties will shrivel up and die if no one votes for their ineffective candidates.

nothing will be better for our country.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

the same goes for biased media--stop patronizing divisive, biased media and they'll go out of business. nothing will be better for the USA. 

t-rump--darling of the republican party

Fox News Cuts Into Trump Speech To Deliver A Brutal Real-Time Fact Check | HuffPost 

had enough?

who do you trust? 
   - a republican president who's made a mockery of the truth?
   - the sad group of democratic party candidates for president?

   - the republican and democratic parties that are financed by billionaire corporations and billionaire PACs that supply us with lousy candidates for public office? 

image by Democracy Chronicles

two party system | See the article "Two Parties See Record L… | Flickr

   - lobbyists?
   - the biased news media?
   - or do you think for yourself?

to fix our dysfunctional government is simple and easy--stop voting for republican and democratic party candidates, who don't represent the best interests of our country to move our country forward. 

voting for a republican or a democrat is a vote for the party--the hand that holds the puppet/money strings. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIAJl-wZElg

File:Godfather puppetmaster.jpg - Wikipedia

public domain

in the next election--national, state or local--vote for someone who shares your values. 

even with their billion dollar donors, the republican and democratic parties will shrivel up and die if no one votes for their ineffective candidates.

nothing will be better for our country.

File:Two party system diagram.png - Wikimedia Commons

the same goes for biased media--stop patronizing divisive, biased media and they'll go out of business. nothing will be better for the USA.