The Checks and Balances
Accounting for Media
August 16, 2018


Media in all its shapes and forms are part of the checks and balances of democracy.

At its best, media digs for information, makes calls and emails, checks sources, reads through large documents, sits through the slow machinations of government, sifts through it all, and tells you what it gleans. It questions presidents and policies. It attacks. It presses. It saves praises for the obituaries.

Hiding rolls of film in a toilet water tan- (let's say) reservoir to get pictures of heroics to print... reporting illegal activities and cover ups of a President... these are the highest standards of the press.

It also screws up, announcing President Dewey's win in 1948 and printing the 1963 route of the Presidential motorcade in Dallas. And Fox News.

It far too often regurgitates what it hears, while ignoring context and bias. It is far from perfect.

But it is better than corporate and Presidential proclamations and propaganda.

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Music Associations: Paul McCartney - Press
& the Queen of Soul, the late great Aretha Franklin (1942-2018) - Think














Election Primaries
Vote Today, Minnesota!
August 14, 2018


It's primary election day in Minnesota!

From 7am to 8pm, polling places will be open today to cast your votes for:

Despite what the Star Tribune reported today, if you have already registered to vote, you don't need identification.


For more information call 1-866-687-8683

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Music Association: George Michael - Freedom
Twin Cities Calendar - August 14, 2018






Voter Suppression
Voter Purges
August 10, 2018


Imagine going to vote and your name is no longer on the voter registration lists. You've been purged!

Almost 16 million voters were removed from the voting rolls between 2014 and 2016 — four million more than had been purged between 2006 and 2008 — a 33% increase that far outstripped growth in both total registered voters (18%) and total population (6%).

On April 19, 2016, thousands of eligible Brooklyn, New York voters showed up to cast their ballots in the presidential primary, only to find their names missing from the voters lists. The New York City Board of Elections had improperly deleted more than 200,000 names from the voter rolls.

In 2013, nearly 39,000 voters were removed the voter rolls when the state relied on a faulty database (Crosscheck) to delete voters who allegedly had moved out of the commonwealth. Error rates in some counties ran as high as 17%.

In June 2016, the Arkansas Secretary Of State provided a list to the state's 75 county clerks suggesting that more than7,700 names be removed from the rolls because of supposed felony convictions. The list from the Arkansas Crime Information Center included people who had some connection with the courts, such as filing for divorce.

On  August 8, 2018, a federal court issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the state and county boards of elections from purging voters based on mass challenges filed by private parties. These groups targetted three counties with “voter caging” -- mass mailed postcards to verify addresses that cannot be forwarded.


Crosscheck - Questionable Databases
While most states previously used the National Change of Address database compiled by the U.S. Postal Service, many states have more recently used dubious databases like the Kansas-based Crosscheck program, run by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Crosscheck creates matches based on birthdate, first and last name, which means Crosscheck finds false matches all the time.

Crosscheck - Chances of Having the Same Birthday
A book on my bookshelf, Harry Anderson's Games You Can't Lose, talks about the odds of people in a room having the same birthday. In a room of 30 people, you might think the odds are 12 to 1 (365 days divided by 30 people). “However you are not wagering on two people sharing one particular birthday (such as yours). You are betting that two people will share any birthday. This is what is known as progressive calculation. Each additional person adds another set of calculations to the odds. The fact is the chances are around fifty-fifty with 22 persons present. Every added person increases the odds” so that with 30 people the odds are 4 to 1 of finding two people with the same birthday. In a group of 180 people, it's more than likely that two people will have been born on the exact same day.

Crosscheck - Understanding Common Names
Over the past century, the United States has had 4.7 million James babies, 4.5 million John babies, 4.5 million Robert babies, 3.3 million Mary babies, 1.5 million Patricia babies, and 1.4 million Jennifer babies. The 2010 census found 2.4 million people with the last name Smith. Johnson accounted for 1.9 million, Williams was 1.6 million, Brown was 1.4 million, Jones was 1.4 million, Garcia was 1.1 million, Miller was 1.1 million, Davis was 1.1 million, Rodriguez was 1 million, and Martinez was 1 million. Common surnames are shared by 50% of communities of color, while only 30% of white people share common surnames. White voter names are underrepresented by 8%, African-American voters are overrepresented by 45%; Hispanic voters are overrepresented by 24%; and Asian voters are overrepresented by 31%. Minority voters are significantly overrepresented on Crosscheck.


Purges: A Growing Threat to the Right To Vote by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School urges that states notify voters who may be removed from the rolls so that errors can be averted. It also urges more states to join the 12 that, along with Washington, D.C., provide for automatic voter registration when a citizen interacts with a state agency (in California or Minnesota, the Department of Motor Vehicles). Automatic registration, it says, better tracks changes of address, reducing the need for purges and questionable databases.

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Music Association: U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name







Voter Suppression
Voter Fraud Claims
August 6, 2018


Just before the 2016 election, Donald Trump was starting to make claims of voter fraud, expecting to continue those claims throughout the Hillary Clinton administration. But he won.

Donald Trump won the 2016 election but lost the popular vote and continued to make unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. A committee, PACEI (May 2017 - January 2018), was formed to dig up signs of voter fraud. Kris Kobach, the operational leader of PACEI, kept its findings hidden from some of its own members. One committee member, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, twice sued the committee to release its documents, which are posted on the Maine Secretary of State's website.

Dunlap sent a letter to the committee chairs last Friday (August 3, 2018), saying:

The 29 PDF documents (7.37gb) listed on the Maine Secretary of State's website do not include details about the files, so here they are:

0001 (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0000001.pdf) - 562pages, 217mb
emails w/ selective redactions mostly from Andrew Kossack, p212 shutting states out on security from Russian hacking, p465-479 Garden State Gotcha, p480-499 Martinez-Rivera, p500-550 Bellitto v. Snipes

0563 (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0000563.pdf) - 652pages, 271mb
p001-015 Garden State Gotcha, p016-035 Martinez-Rivera, 036-086 Bellitto-v-Snipes, meeting agenda, emails, Trump email p107-109, NH Operator ID cards p179, p269-273 The Measure of American Elections 2014, p363-413 Bellitto v. Snipes, p414-433 Martinez-Rivera, email, minutes, p566-580 Garden State Gotcha (15pages-redacted), p627-635 Brennan Center for Justice 7-4-2017

1215 (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0001215.pdf) - 949pages, 255mb
p016-094, 119-193 MT lawsuit, p194-218 PA issues, p229-503 Bellitto-v-Snipes transcript, p504-556 index, p573-607 John Lott Jr show, p611-626 Simpatico show, p668-678 Andrew Appel story, p680-695 Voting By Mail, p696-702 Kimball Brace show, p703-714 Paul Gronke resume, p721-739 Simpatico story, p743-745 Senate letter, p754-765 NH memos, p769-783 Kobach letters to states, p799-850 NH coalition letter, p857-872 Simpatico show, p880-897 Simpatico story, p912-943 John Lott Jr show, p944-945 Bratlie copy of MN voter rolls, p949 Maine denies request

2164 (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0002164.pdf) - 442pages, 254mb
Kossack emails, p048-065 Simpatico story, p090-118 GAI (Government Accountability Institute tries to sound like GAO) story, p120-121 KY reply, p126-134 NH memos, p142-155 Hans Spakovsky, p247-348 Kobach letters to states, p382-388 Andrew Smith show, p389-417 GAI, p419-420 KY reply, p425-437 Hans Spakovsky, p438-442 Nordic show

2606 (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0002606.pdf) - 395pages, 269mb
p001-009 Nordic show, web pages, p032-038 Andrew Smith show, p039-067 GAI story, p069-070 KY reply, p075-087 Hans Spakovsky, p088-101 Nordic show, emails & webpages, p201-231 ACLU-v-PACEI, p232-253 Common Cause-v-PACEI, p254-269 EPIC-v-PACEI, p275-395 ACLU-Florida-v-PACEI

3001  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0003001.pdf) - 313pages, 247mb
p001-056 NAACP-v-PACEI, p057-076 Lawyers Committee, p081-182 Kobach letters to states, p184 "Commission's Real Goal: Voter Suppression" by E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post (upside down), p188-196 CO reply, p197-198 WY reply, p205-306 Kobach letters to states

3314 is the same as 3761 & 4201 & 4648 & 5095 & 5542
3314  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0003314.pdf) - 53pages, 311mb
p01-53 The Election Process - Kimball Brace show

3367 is the same as 4254 & 4701 & 5148 & 5595
3367  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0003367.pdf) - 167pages, 265mb
p001-009 unknown show, p010-050 Andrew Appel show, p059-073  Garden State Gotcha (15pages), p074-078 Judge Alan King statement - "This Commission, and we as a people, should be expanding the rights of our citizens to vote, instead of arguably looking for ways to keep people from voting." website copies, p091-121 John Lott Jr story, p122-131 Bellitto v. Snipes, p132-142 Martinez-Rivera, p143-167 Bellitto v. Snipes

3534 is the same as 3974 & 4421 & 4868 & 5315
3534  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0003534.pdf) - 227pages, 272mb
p001-007 VIP-NC, 039-052 Andrew Smith show, p053-081 GAI story, p083-084 KY reply, p089-113 Hans Spakovsky show, p114-140 Nordic show, p141-156 Simpatico, p157-158 NH memo, p159-190 John Lott Jr show, p191-226 Ronald Rivest show

3761 is the same as 3314 & 4201 & 4648 & 5095 & 5542
3761  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0003761.pdf) - 53pages, 311mb
p01-53 The Election Process - Kimball Brace show

3814  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0003814.pdf) - 160pages, 263mb
p001-009 unknown show, p010-050 Andrew Appel show, p052-066  Garden State Gotcha (15pages), p067-71 Judge Alan King statement - "This Commission, and we as a people, should be expanding the rights of our citizens to vote, instead of arguably looking for ways to keep people from voting." website copies, p084-114 John Lott Jr story, p115-124 Bellitto v. Snipes, p125-135 Martinez-Rivera, p136-160 Bellitto v. Snipes

3974 is the same as 3534 & 4421 & 4868 & 5315
3974  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0003974.pdf) - 227pages, 272mb
p001-007 VIP-NC, 039-052 Andrew Smith show, p053-081 GAI story, p083-084 KY reply, p089-113 Hans Spakovsky show, p114-140 Nordic show, p141-156 Simpatico, p157-158 NH memo, p159-190 John Lott Jr show, p191-226 Ronald Rivest show

4201 is the same as 3314 & 3761 & 4648 & 5095 & 5542
4201  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0004201.pdf) - 53pages, 311mb
p01-53 The Election Process - Kimball Brace show

4254 is the same as 3367 & 4701 & 5148 & 5595
4254  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0004254.pdf) - 167pages, 265mb
p001-009 unknown show, p010-050 Andrew Appel show, p059-073  Garden State Gotcha (15pages), p074-078 Judge Alan King statement - "This Commission, and we as a people, should be expanding the rights of our citizens to vote, instead of arguably looking for ways to keep people from voting." website copies, p091-121 John Lott Jr story, p122-131 Bellitto v. Snipes, p132-142 Martinez-Rivera, p143-167 Bellitto v. Snipes

4421 is the same as 3534 & 3974 & 4868 & 5315
4421  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0004421.pdf) - 227pages, 272mb
p001-007 VIP-NC, 039-052 Andrew Smith show, p053-081 GAI story, p083-084 KY reply, p089-113 Hans Spakovsky show, p114-140 Nordic show, p141-156 Simpatico, p157-158 NH memo, p159-190 John Lott Jr show, p191-226 Ronald Rivest show

4648 is the same as 3314 & 3761 & 4201 & 5095
4648  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0004648.pdf) - 53pages, 311mb
p01-53 The Election Process - Kimball Brace show

4701 is the same as 3367 & 4254 & 5148 & 5595
4701  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0004701.pdf) - 167pages, 265mb
p001-009 unknown show, p010-050 Andrew Appel show, p059-073  Garden State Gotcha (15pages), p074-078 Judge Alan King statement - "This Commission, and we as a people, should be expanding the rights of our citizens to vote, instead of arguably looking for ways to keep people from voting." website copies, p091-121 John Lott Jr story, p122-131 Bellitto v. Snipes, p132-142 Martinez-Rivera, p143-167 Bellitto v. Snipes

4868 is the same as 3534 & 3974 & 4421 & 5315
4868  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0004868.pdf) - 227pages, 272mb
p001-007 VIP-NC, 039-052 Andrew Smith show, p053-081 GAI story, p083-084 KY reply, p089-113 Hans Spakovsky show, p114-140 Nordic show, p141-156 Simpatico, p157-158 NH memo, p159-190 John Lott Jr show, p191-226 Ronald Rivest show

5095 is the same as 3314 & 3761 & 4201 & 4648 & 5542
5095  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0005095.pdf) - 53pages, 311mb
p01-53 The Election Process - Kimball Brace show

5148 is the same as 3367 & 4254 & 4701 & 5595
5148  (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0005148.pdf) - 167pages, 265mb
p001-009 unknown show, p010-050 Andrew Appel show, p059-073  Garden State Gotcha (15pages), p074-078 Judge Alan King statement - "This Commission, and we as a people, should be expanding the rights of our citizens to vote, instead of arguably looking for ways to keep people from voting." website copies, p091-121 John Lott Jr story, p122-131 Bellitto v. Snipes, p132-142 Martinez-Rivera, p143-167 Bellitto v. Snipes

5315 is the same as 3534 & 3974 & 4421 & 4868
5315 (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0005315.pdf) - 227pages, 272mb
p001-007 VIP-NC, 039-052 Andrew Smith show, p053-081 GAI story, p083-084 KY reply, p089-113 Hans Spakovsky show, p114-140 Nordic show, p141-156 Simpatico, p157-158 NH memo, p159-190 John Lott Jr show, p191-226 Ronald Rivest show

5542 is the same as 3314 & 3761 & 4201 & 4648 & 5095
5542 (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0005542.pdf) - 53pages, 311mb
p01-53 The Election Process - Kimball Brace show

5595 is the same as 3367 & 4254 & 4701 & 5148
5595 (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0005595.pdf) - 167pages, 265mb
p010-050 Andrew Appel show, p059-073  Garden State Gotcha (15pages), p074-078 Judge Alan King statement - "This Commission, and we as a people, should be expanding the rights of our citizens to vote, instead of arguably looking for ways to keep people from voting." p091-121 John Lott Jr story, p122-131 Bellitto v. Snipes, p132-142 Martinez-Rivera, p143-167 Bellitto v. Snipes

5762 (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0005762.pdf) - 230pages, 273mb - mostly just presentation shows
p016-26 Robert Popper story, p27-38 Donald Palmer story, p39-52 Andrew Smith show, p53-81 GAI story, p83-84 KY reply, p89-113 Hans Spakovsky show, p114-140 Nordic show, p141-156 Simpatico show, p159-190 John Lott Jr show, p191-226 Ronald Rivest show

5992 (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0005992.pdf) - 617pages, 245mb
Kossack emails, p003-032 Andrew Smith show, p72 voter turnout (MN highest 1980, 1984, 1988, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) not a voter ID state p70, p75-78 by-laws, p151-152 voter ID laws, p165-169  The Measure of American Elections 2014, p213-241 Andrew Smith show, p259-269 Co-WY state replies, p325-351 Lawyer Committee v. PACEI, p370-381 OH reply, p401-402 PA reply, p421-467 explanation of Kobach - personal email, p497 voter supression denial, p511-526 Simpatico show, p595-605 Robert Popper story

6609 (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0006609.pdf) - 473pages, 192mb
Kossack emails, p016-051, 157-228, & 233-303 Ronald Rivest show, p105-132 Nordic usb-hack show, p312-343 John Lott Jr show

7652 (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD001_0007652.pdf) - 473pages, 190mb
3-hole punched website clippings, p369-470 Kobach Letters to SOS's (July 26, 2017)

2-0001 (http://paceidocs.sosonline.org/PDF/PROD002_0000001.pdf) - 1618pages, 125mb
postcards & emails opposing the sharing of state voting records, p497 postcards again, much from Indiana (Holmcombe) and New Hampshire (Gardner), p558-600 redacted, p1331 postcards again, p1430 more postcards


Obviously, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity was the Department of Redundancy Department. A better understanding of voter fraud is provided by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School.

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Music Association: ACDC - Hells Bells












NRA (National Russian Activist) Pete Brownell, Russian spy Maria Butina, and Donald Trump, Jr at NRA (National Russian Alliance) meeting in Louisville, Kentucky (May 2016)






Voter Suppression
The Right to Vote
August 5, 2018


The Bill of Rights is a name applied to the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution and is kind of a misnomer. The first ten amendments do not list rights. They restrain Congress from blocking certain rights, using “restrictive clauses.” It's about establishing government, not setting law. The right to vote is not in the Bill of Rights nor in the United States Constitution.

Constitutional amendments prevent the denial or limits of the right to vote due to race, gender, age, or failure to pay a poll tax.

• The 15th Amendment says, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
• The 19th Amendment says, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
• The 26th Amendment says, “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.”
• The 24th Amendment says, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.”

The 19th Amendment is understood to remove the gender limit on the 14th Amendment, and the 26th Amendment is understood to alter the age limit in the 14th Amendment from 21 to 18. Paragraph 2 of the 14th Amendment says:

If states deny the right to vote, the 14th Amendment says their representation could be reduced by the percentage of denied votes over all eligible votes from that state. So, if the state has ten U.S. Representatives and denies ten percent of its eligible voters from voting, then one Representative (10%) will not be allowed to be in the U.S. House of Representatives. Or none of that state's U.S. Representatives will be allowed in the House for the first 10% of the number of days scheduled to meet. I don't think any of that has ever happened.

The right to vote is established and altered by state governments.

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Music Association: Beastie Boys - Fight For Your Right


 





Voter Suppression
The Future of Voting
August 1, 2018


Someday, every American will be available to cast a vote.

When you dive headfirst into the pool of voter suppression, you find the waters thick with obstacles, complications, and outright lies thrown in by men afraid of difference and change. Everything here is labeled like political cartoons. Some of it is as simple as having candidates who are all the same age (old), same race (white), and same gender (men). Issues buried in bullshit and negative bias are other dirty elements of the voter suppression pool. The flashing signs are SuperPAC sponsored media messages, thanks to Citizens United. The odd looking drain on the side of the pool purges the voting rolls. That leaky raft is a voter ID, a modern version of a literacy test or a poll tax. Those narrowing squiggly pool dividers are gerrymandering. Old prison fatigues and unisex swimsuits are labeled disfranchisement. That faulty timer limits early voting. That soggy, undelivered registered mail is from a caging list. The crowd on the front edge of the pool is labeled high turnout. That skeleton in the lifeguard stand is labeled electoral integrity and partisan mistrust.

Take a deep breath, plug your nose, and dive in.

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Music Association: Steve Windwood - Arc Of A Diver
Twin Cities Calendar - August 14, 2018 - Primary Election Day
             & Tuesday, November 6, 2018 - Election Day


















By The Numbers
Yelling “Next!”
July 27, 2018


On John Oliver's third Last Week Tonight show, back in May of 2014, he pointed out the stupidity of polls surveying people's opinions on facts. Oliver said, “You don't need people's opinions on a fact. You might as well have a poll asking which number is bigger, fifteen or five. Or do owls exist? Or are there hats? The debate on climate change should not be whether or not it exists. It's what we should do about it... ”




A new NBC News poll compares the stupidity of registered voters in three northern Midwest states.


Voters in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan were asked if they approve or disapprove of President Trump. The approval rating was 38% in Minnesota and 36% in Wisconsin and Michigan.



Voters were also asked if President Trump deserves to be re-elected. The polls had 30% of Minnesota voters re-electing him. Wisconsin was 31%. Michigan was 28% for re-electing Trump.

Voters should have also been asked which number is bigger, fifteen or five.

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Music Association: Steely Dan - Rikki Don't Lose That Number








By The Numbers
Issues That Count
July 16, 2018


You are offered a choice of three candidates.

You pick one but are told your candidate may not win due to the electoral college making each vote a state-by-state contest. They offer to let you change your vote to one of the two candidates left. Is it better to change your vote or stick with your initial pick?

It almost sounds like the Monty Hall problem, except candidates are not new cars. They are each at least 35 year old. They have been around the block. Their tires have been kicked. Some have a trunk full of baggage.

In the Monty Hall problem, a contestant picks one of three doors, trying to get a car but two of the doors each have a goat. One of the goats is particularly ornery and confused. Before opening the door the contestant picked, the host opens a different door, which has a less-ornery goat. The host might give the contestant the option to switch doors (presumably to the other unopened door) or stay with the initial pick. Or the host might offer bribes to not switch. Three thousand dollars. Four thousand dollars. Five thousand dollars. “Cash money.”

What should they do?

The contestant stares at the two unopened doors, thinks it is one or the other, so it's a fifty-fifty chance. The contestant and the voter have already lost. They are facing the wrong problem.

Why doesn't their vote count? Who is trying to get voters to see a three-way race as a two-way race?

The host is playing psychological games, offering a switch or making the contestant think their selection is valuable by trying to bribe them not to switch. Russia and Cambridge Analytica were practicing psychological warfare too in the 2016 U.S. election and other elections worldwide.

Monty Hall summed up the Monty Hall problem by saying, “If you can get me to offer you $5,000 not to open the door, take the money and go home.”

Monty Hall died last September. I cannot help wonder if his will offered his three children: an envelope, a curtain, or a seemingly simple box of Rice-a-Roni (the San Francisco treat).




“The angry man will defeat himself in battle and in life.”  - Samuri maxim

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Music Association: Nena - 99 Luftballons













That's Entertainment
Old School Media
July 13, 2018


The modern dodgeball of entertainment and advertising has so thoroughly dominated lives, that people wonder what life was like before media-phones.

It used to be books.

Abe Lincoln used to walk miles to borrow a book. At least that's what I heard on TV or a podcast or on Wikipedia or an exercise commercial or something.

It probably went something like this.

Knock, knock.

“Oh, it's that Lincoln boy again. Let's act like we're not home.”

“He already borrowed a book. We only have the two books!”

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Music Association: Gordon Lightfoot - Read My Mind
Picture Caption: “Hey, that's my book!”








Language Watch
Immigration
July 10, 2018




No immigrant has taken a job from a real American. You were laid off by a capitalist who took advantage of that immigrant to increase profits.
Nothing makes that capitalist happier than to hear that you're idiotic enough to blame the immigrant and not the business owner who laid off the more expensive laborer.

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Music Association: Billie Holiday - They Can't Take That Away













Two Steps Back
Democracy In-Action
July 4, 2018


History almost never marches forward.
It does side-steps of ego, fear, and power grabs.
Progress isn't very progressive.

When I was a kid, I had a poster on my wall that said,
“When My Brother Is Imprisoned, I Am Not Free.”
Being sent to my room without dinner was a social issue.

I imagined a fair world, a just world, and a free world.
I was told that was what we had.
I read Plato's Republic, Thomas More's Utopia, and Thomas Paine's Common Sense.

I was told we had a better world.
I was told we were the free world.
I was told we were the land of opportunity.

I was told everyone could vote.
I was told the person with the most votes won.
I was told we lived in a democracy.

I was told lies.

The United States is a limited-democratic, representational republic
with more prisoners than any other country
and cowering old people afraid of strangers.

Our voting rights differ state-by-state.
District lines drawn to box in minority parties.
With only Maine and Vermont allowing prisoners to vote.

Russians colluded with the presidential candidate's sons and staff,
while Facebook's data fueled Cambridge Analytica
to manipulate the flaws of the Electoral College.

Shutting out and shutting up, isn't what this country was about.
That wasn't what I was told.
That wasn't the sales job I received.

As we celebrate Independence Day, may mental fireworks highlight what our democracy should be.

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Music Association: The Who - I'm Free
Book Quotation: “Pride's criterion of prosperity is not what you've got yourself, but what other people haven't got. Pride would refuse to set foot in paradise, if there'd be no under-privileged classes there to gloat over and order about...” - Utopia by Thomas More, 1516







Music Videos

Landmine Hopscotch

Superman

Cambridge Analytica's proxy war for Spanky

Impact Investing



Holiday Gifs of Cats and Kittens Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5  


Southdale Hennepin Library

Wonder Woman

Food Fraud