Keep the vision of the society we wish to live in

Other bits of news:

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory trusted the political analysis of the state’s Christian conservatives and went all out for the state’s “bathroom bill” that targeted transgender citizens. McCrory didn’t listen to what happened to Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, where a similar license to discriminate bill essentially killed his political career (until he jumped on the nasty guy’s coattails).

At the moment McCrory is on the low side of a very close race to keep his job. He’s down by a few thousand votes and the state won’t certify the results until all provisional votes are counted.



Recreational marijuana was legalized in California, Nevada, and Mass. and lost in Arizona. In Maine the measure is too close to call. Medical marijuana was legalized in Florida, Arkansas, and North Dakota.

Gun control laws passed in California, Washington, and Nevada. Higher minimum wage laws were passed in several states, including Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington.



Michael Moore has a five point plan. My summary:

1. The Democratic Party failed us. Take it over.

2. Fire all pundits who pushed a narrative rather than seeing what was really happening.

3. Any Congressional Democrat not ready to be obstructionist as possible must step aside.

4. Stop saying you were “stunned” and “shocked.” It only means you weren’t paying attention to the despair of your neighbors.

5. Hillary won the popular vote, which means a majority want action on climate change, equal pay for women, debt-free college, raising the minimum wage, universal health care, and they don’t want us invading other countries. The majority of voters agree with the “liberal” position.



George Takei also has things to say, which he did in a series of tweets:

1. We may not have prevailed, but we must not despair.

2. This does not feel like the America we love and honor.

3. We must reaffirm the values we cherish: equality, justice, and the care of our planet.

4. We must stand up to any divisive acts and look for the most vulnerable among us.

5. Keep the vision of the society we wish to live in.

6. This country has lived through slavery and grave injustices. We’ll find our way through this too.

7. In the toughest days we find our true mettle.



I didn’t know this was a thing. After women of Rochester, NY vote, many of them take their “I voted” sticker and place it on the grave of Susan B. Anthony. This year the line for doing so had hundreds in it and was an hour long. The city’s mayor kept the cemetery open until well after voting closed.



There were thousands of people many in many cities across the country protesting the nasty man’s victory. The protests in Manhattan focused on Trump Tower.



This is the second of the last five presidential elections in which the candidate with the most votes didn’t win. Time to get rid of the Electoral College – or at least make it more reflective of the country by getting rid of winner-take-all. The good news is that such a change doesn’t have to come from Congress (since the GOP benefited both times why would they want to?). The downside is what the Michigan GOP considered – assign the Electoral College votes according to which party won each highly gerrymandered congressional district.



It is not completely dark for progressives. Democrats in office are becoming more diverse, such as Catherine Cortez-Masto (Harry Reid’s replacement) who is the first Latina in the Senate, and Tammy Dickworth who is the first Thai-American there. Democrats made gains in western state legislatures, including taking back the New Mexico House. We gained a majority in the North Carolina Supreme Court and kept a couple others (including Kansas!).



Yesterday I wrote about the GOP to-do list. My comments were on the mild side. For example, I suggested the GOP would privatize Medicare. It looks like they would rather kill it. They’re not too fond of libraries either.

400 equals 155 million

I found this one just before my trip to Texas and, alas, couldn't share it with you until now.

As various levels of government have been slashing spending -- and decimating services for the poor and middle class -- it didn't take me long to figure out we do have enough money to offer government services (good roads, to start), help the country out of recession, educate everyone, eliminate the deficit, take a serious cut out of the debt, and more. Where is this money? In the pockets of the rich.

Michael Moore says the same thing, but with a lot more eloquence, accuracy, depth, and anger. He spoke at the Wisconsin Capitol to the assembled protesters back at the beginning of March. Here's a summary of what he said.

America is not broke. It is rich, but the money has been taken from our hands in the greatest heist in history. The richest 400 Americans now have more money than 155 million Americans combined. We don't want to admit we surrendered our democracy to the moneyed elite. Much of this money was taken from us illegally through the market crash and other crazy scams (much was taken from us legally through tax deals).

These rich people are now afraid of us demanding our money back. In hopes of preventing that the rich have done two smart things.

* They control the message. They own most of the media (which is why they want to shut down NPR). The message is this: You too might be rich someday! See, even a poor kid of a single mother can become president. So don't rock the boat and be sure to vote for the party that will protect you when you too become rich.

* They have created a poison pill they know we'll never swallow. They've already threatened once and we've already blinked. Give us trillions or we'll trash the entire economy, draining your savings and pension accounts, killing your jobs, and taking your homes. We said please take our money! And millions still lost jobs and homes. Yet the chant continues: Give us your pay and pensions or we'll trash the economy.

America is not broke or broken. We are still rich in talent, ideas, hard work, and love. Especially love and compassion for the least among us.

What to do? Take lessons from Cairo and Madison.

The rich have overplayed their hand. They weren't content to raid the treasury and take away our jobs. They have started taking away our dignity and souls. That has triggered a massive, nonviolent revolt. The moral compass of the rulers is broken. We plan to steer the ship ourselves. There are a lot more of us than there are of them.