Tag: democrats

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what’s the cost ?

So many of us have lived our lives placing unmerited value on the opinions of others while discrediting our personal truth and reality.  Breaking the shackles of people-pleasing requires honest self-appraisal, a healthy dose of self-esteem, and an enormous commitment to self-realization.

My neighbor and I are finally back on speaking terms after the 2016 elections.  Both of us were probably too adamant in our political stance, too certain that our candidate was the right one.  Harsh words led to over-the-fence glares and avoidance at the mail box.  The god bless americacost of being right was a wounded friendship.  Today, with November elections approaching, what price am I willing to pay to be outspoken and will I again stir up neighborhood animosity with placards in my front yard?  Is it worth it?  Will I risk physical harm by sporting signs on my pickup truck?

Hell yes, I’ll do it again.  If friendships and relationships can’t survive differences of opinion, then perhaps there wasn’t much to work with anyway.  If I can’t drive to the market or the library or the post office safely, then perhaps we have already lost the battle.  I marvel (and would love to be a mouse in the corner at dinner time) at the marriage of Kellyanne Conway and George.  Good Lord, what conversations they must have over lobster and steak.

We cannot afford not to exercise our rights to political opinion.  If neighbors, family, friends, and others who have a differing viewpoint can’t deal with my opinion, that’s their problem and they need a refresher course in democracy and civics.  GO BLUE!

PRIDE7

I   AM   LARRY – worthy, unique, loved

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Mayor Pete – Bill Maher

copyright unshackled 3I refuse to carry QUEST into political tit for tat, but I sure as hell will endorse a candidate who is intelligent, of sound mind, a patriot ( did not claim bone spurs), a veteran, a man of vision, under the age of 70, well-spoken, educated, honest and witty.

When asked by Bill Maher if he had considered the possibility that Trump will claim a rigged election and refuse to leave the White House, what would he do?

Mayor Pete responded smilingly, “Well, it will be kind of awkward when Chasten and I move in.”

 

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Mayor Pete

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Let’s give a shout-out to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the host city for the Democratic National Convention, July 13-16, 2020, at Fiserv Forum.  Particularly in today’s heated and volatile political climate, it behooves us to know our candidates’ platforms.

Pete Buttigieg – PBS.org

CLIMATE CHANGE

He believes climate change is a national security threat. Supporting “Green New Deal” proposals, candidate Pete is one of 407 U.S. mayors who signed a pact to adhere to the Paris climate accord after Trump pulled out of the international agreement in 2017.

ECONOMY/TRADE

Strongly supporting labor and union groups, he believes the NAFTA trade agreement caused irreplaceable job losses across the industrial Midwest saying that Democrats must work harder to advocate for working people.

GUNS

Mayor Pete is a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group that advocates for gun control legislation at the state and federal level.  A supporter of universal background checks, he opposes guns in schools and “Stand Your Ground” self-defense laws.

FOREIGN POLICY

Pete, having served as a Naval intelligence officer in Afghanistan, like other Democratic candidates has criticized Trump for conducting foreign policy by tweet.  He would withdraw troops from Afghanistan, but believes troops should remain in Syria and considers Iran to be the greatest threat to Israel in the Middle East.

HEALTH CARE

Buttigieg says he’s all for a single-payer health care system but would not immediately jump to that system from the current system.  Instead he would first implement an all-payer rate setting which would not eliminate private insurance companies.

IMMIGRATION

Mayor Pete supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, DACA, and opposes Trump’s aggressive deportation policies.

SOCIAL ISSUES

He favors passing the Federal Equality Act, an amendment to existing civil rights legislation that would give federal  non-discrimination protections to LGBTQ people.  He opposes Trump’s transgender ban in the military and supports gender reassignment surgery for transgender people in prison.

For links to greater detail go this PBS link – Pete Buttigieg platform

Peter Paul Buttigieg is a former military officer, now in the Naval Reserves, and combat veteran who has served as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, since 2012.  Born January 19, 1992 in South Bend, he was married to Chasten Buttigieg in 2018.  He is a graduate of Pembroke College in Oxford, University of Oxford and Harvard University.  He is a Rhodes scholar who speaks 8 languages: English, Norwegian, French, Spanish, Italian, Maltese, Arabic and Dari.

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PRIDE7

 

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if God were here – what would She do?

laughing emoji2A dear friend recently suggested that listening to Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, right-wing politicians and preachers would add a dimension of understanding to the crisis enveloping our nation.  I tried his advice and immediately realized that the new dimension puts me in greater fear and disgust than ever.  The crap America finds itself in is much more odorous and enormously deeper than I ever imagined.  To my friend I must answer, “Next time just mind your own business.”

Okay, okay, I’ll admit that my attitude doesn’t advance the enlightenment of mankind nor does it advance a civil conversation, but I am wearied by the daily assault of racism and misogyny from the State News Network, the WH, and Bootlickers Unlimited.  I am wearied by curses and labels from those who are incapable of engaging in meaningful, intelligent dialog.  I am wearied….oh Lord, I am simply too tired to explain one more time to one more white, evangelical Republican that all people are created equal.  Yes, the blacks, browns, Muslims, gays, and Puerto Ricans are also loved by an omnipotent, magnanimous, munificent God and She absolutely loves those brown babies sitting in cages on our border.  Yes, She does.  It says so in their Christian scriptures.

You may query, “Larry, you seem awfully out of sorts, are you a political burn-out?”

I am fine, but I am weary.  And I am disillusioned.  Those issues that we are urged to discuss and find compromising solutions suitable to both of us – I have come to realize  we are so polarized on those key issues that there is no compromise.  Compromise is overrated anyway.  It reminds me of my ex-wife.  The compromise she advocated was this: “what’s yours is mine, what’s mine is mine and what’s ours is mine.”  Do you see the problem there?

Actually, I should probably not be this insincere about the weighty problems facing our nation, but have I told you how weary I am?  The American Academy of Psychologists has defined a new disorder in our country which they have named TBCS – trump bull crap syndrome.  It affects 10 out of every 10 Democrats and it is contagious.  Hey, go easy on me, I did not name this affliction and I did not vote for trump.

I see two solutions to my dilemma. 1) Seek solace and refuge with my make-believe monk friends on the island of Galagos in the Mediterranean, or 2) buy a few white sheets and work counter-intelligence with the local KKK.  Okay, option 2 is not a valid solution because there is no intelligence to counter in the KKK.   However, come to think of it, there is a 3rd solution.

Pray hard, trust that God, in her mysterious ways, will emasculate the bullies who have usurped our government and then lead our nation to a sensible election in 2020.  Maybe a female President?  Or maybe a gay president?

We want Pete, we want Pete, we want Pete.

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oh, for Pete’s sake

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Pete Buttigieg

A heckler yelling Sodom and Gomorrah at a Buttigieg rally in Des Moines, Iowa, was drowned out by supporters chanting, “Pete, Pete, Pete.”  Then from the podium came a response from the candidate.  Looking toward the heckler he said simply,

“The good news is the condition of my soul is in the hands of God, ” 

and then back across the crowd to his supporters, “but the Iowa caucuses are up to you.”

The amazing rise of the latest of Democrats to declare his candidacy for President in 2020, Pete Buttigieg has stunned pollsters by coming in 4th behind Bernie, Biden, and Beto.  Commentators have marveled that this scenario could never have happened just 10 years ago.  An openly gay man in a committed marriage standing in front of millions of viewers nationwide with the audacity to believe he has a chance to win the Presidency.  Unheard of!  Oh, how the literalists, infallibles, and inerrants must be flapping jaws .  Sodom and Gomorrah indeed.

“Did you see it, ” the thumpers must be muttering, “his husband had the nerve to give Pete a peck on the cheek in front of the cameras with the world watching?  What will people think?”

Just my personal and biased opinion, but I think the world might exclaim in gasps of relief, “Thank God those folks across the water have finally come to their senses.  The Yanks could possibly elect in 2019 an intelligent class act, a monogamous married man, a Rhodes scholar who served his country as a Naval officer in Afghanistan and then returned home to dedicate to public service.”

Yeah, I’m sure that’s what our European friends are saying because Pete Buttigieg, the gay mayor who publicly introduced his husband on national TV with a kiss does not rock their sensibilities nor ours nearly as much as the current political regime in the USA which protects a draft-dodger, a racist, a womanizer, and a liar.

The good news is that the condition of my soul (and yours) is in the hands Of God.  No man, no religion, no theology, no President, no world leader, no spouse, no friend, no pastor has a claim on what we know to be our truth.  Just let that resonate for a moment.  Do you feel the freedom, the assurance, the joy?  The chains are broken not because a priest or minister says so, but because the master of your life, and the God of my life have stepped into the picture and overruled all those who tell us that we are immoral, evil, misguided, unworthy and headed for hell’s fires.  That human assessment simply is not true.  If the book which you read for inspiration and instruction condemns you and if the people you choose as spiritual leaders condemn you, then you need to give up that funny book and its associated church, mosque or temple to find a  fellowship that speaks love and compassion.

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namaste rainbow