Who Are You?

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." -Maya Angelou


3 years ago Donald Trump rode down an escalator and told us that he is racist trash.

I believed him.


2 years ago we heard Trump on a bus bragging about being a sexual assailant.

I believed him.


1 year ago a woman was murdered protesting racism. Trump said he thinks White Trashionalists are good people.

I believe he thinks that way.


Today Trump is showing us that he doesn't care about families seeking amnesty from violence. He sees these people as criminals instead of victims. He can ignore the cries of babies being ripped from their mothers. He doesn't think they're human beings.

That is how he thinks.

At this point, there really is no question about WHO Donald Trump is.

The only question is: Who are his supporters?

#BeBest

Kiss Kiss.
Mean Progressive

Dismissing Godwin

Trump supporters have a new rallying cry when he goes on his rambling tirades: "Lock Them Up!" Them who? The media. It's not funny. It's absolutely fucking ridiculous. But it is not funny. The reason they want to lock up the media isn't for some profound universal infraction. Their ire is drawn by repeated condemnations from Donald Trump demanding that the media is out to get him. And the initial response, instead of asking for retractions or correcting any records, is to forfeit journalists' Constitutional rights and toss them in jail. Again, this isn't funny. And this is not an issue to be taken lightly.

I preface to all who automatically cry "Godwin's Law" when someone mentions Hitler - Shut Up. It could be argued that Godwin's Law has become a victim of that which the rule, itself, was meant to address: hyperbolic comparisons (to Hitler/Nazis). Now, of course, it is used hyperbolically to dismiss meaningful conversations where those comparisons are drawn.

In December 2015 Mike Godwin wrote in an Op-Ed for the Washington Post, "If you're thoughtful about it, and show some real awareness of history, go ahead and refer to Hitler or Nazis when you talk about Trump." Ok. Thanks.


Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf:

Propaganda must always address itself to the broad masses of the people. (...) All propaganda must be presented in a popular form and must fix its intellectual level so as not to be above the heads of the least intellectual of those to whom it is directed. (...) The art of propaganda consists precisely in being able to awaken the imagination of the public through an appeal to their feelings, in finding the appropriate psychological form that will arrest the attention and appeal to the hearts of the national masses. The broad masses of the people are not made up of diplomats or professors of public jurisprudence nor simply of persons who are able to form reasoned judgment in given cases, but a vacillating crowd of human children who are constantly wavering between one idea and another. (...) The great majority of a nation is so feminine in its character and outlook that its thought and conduct are ruled by sentiment rather than by sober reasoning. This sentiment, however, is not complex, but simple and consistent. It is not highly differentiated, but has only the negative and positive notions of love and hatred, right and wrong, truth and falsehood.

Trump seems to understand the value of crowds of 'human children,' as well. He offers constant reminders of building his wall, banning Muslims, and demanding our leaders use terminology to dismiss billions of 'others' when talking about terrorism. He even insists that our current president is one of those 'others,' and implies that President Obama is in league with the terrorists we are all supposed to fear - that only Trump can save us from. This is all rounded out by telling us, "I love the poorly educated." Yeah. No shit.

Hitler had a very powerful propaganda machine. It was built and perfected over a decade. Trump had little to do with the machine he is using today, but he is exploiting its existence nonetheless.

In Hitler's time, radio and print journalism were the dominant media used to inform the masses. Hitler said of his message, "I will provide a propagandistic casus belli. Its credibility doesn't matter. The victor will not be asked whether he told the truth." As with Trump's messages of blaming immigrants for rapes and murders, and blaming Muslims for all terrorist acts in America, Hitler used his propaganda to elevate the Aryans by correlating all evil acts in society to having been perpetrated by the Jews. And Communists (the left).

The first objective of propaganda is to dismiss those who the public is used to getting their information from. In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote of his propaganda, "It must not investigate the truth objectively and, in so far as it is favorable to the other side, present it according to the theoretical rules of justice; it must present only that aspect of the truth which is favorable to its own side." Donald Trump has certainly made the same assessment. So consider that every time you hear him whining about his media coverage or see him tweeting about his supposed vilification. These were just from today:

He has defined his victimhood-by-the-press for over a year now. His rallies have a penned area where the media are kept, and he regularly points them out to the crazed audience for their condemnations. The hysteria has even bled over into the pen where MSNBCs Katy Tur was once afforded a Secret Service escort for her own safety after a particulary nasty tirade against her by Trump.

It might seem like a stretch to suggest that he would round up the press who reported unfavorably about him if he were elected. There really is no telling what he would do, to be honest. He has given us some hints about his own opinions on killing journalists, however.

So there's that.

In 1933, when the Nazi's were rising to power, one of the first acts was to create concentration camps for Hitler's political opposition. Many of those who opposed him were the journalists who had written about him and warned of his rise.

Fritz Gerlich was a German who wrote against the Hitler regime. Early in his career, he was a conservative nationalist until the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. He saw the Nazi movement for what it was, and reported accordingly. In 1929, he started a newspaper to expose the lies the propagandists were beginning to feed the public. By 1932, the paper had a circulation of 40,000 and was renamed Der Gerade Weg (The Straight Path), where he wrote "National Socialism means: Enmity with neighboring nations, tyranny internally, civil war, world war, lies, hatred, fratricide and boundless want." After taking power in 1933, Gerlich was one of the first arrests made. He was transported to Dachau and died a year later during the Night of the Long Knives.

Otto Felix Kanitz, who was prominent in the Austrian anti-authoritarianism movement, wrote a pamphlet, Kämpfer der Zukunft, which was banned by the Nazis and included in the first book burnings in 1933. In 1934, he went into exile but returned to Austria in 1938. He was then captured and sent to Buchenwald where he was executed.

Henry Wilhelm Kristiansen was a Norwegian newspaper editor for a Communist newspaper. In 1940, Norway was occupied by Germany and the newspaper was shut down by the Nazis. Kristiansen was arrested, and later released. He continued his work underground and was arrested again in 1941 when he and his wife, Mirjam, were deported. She died in Auschwitz and he in Neuengamme.

Arne Jostein Ingebrethsen was a Norwegian newspaper writer who was determined to write against the German occupation of Norway. He was imprisoned for an article in 1940 and, upon release, continued his work to denounce the occupation. In 1943, he was arrested again and moved to different concentration camps until he died in Melk, just months before the camps were liberated.

I don't spend any of my time imagining that Donald Trump has the intellectual curiosity required to research Hitler's rise to make use of his successess. I believe Trump's methodology comes from having learned through his own career, and secondarily from subconsciously witnessing the rise of the Tea Party, about how to manipulate facts and appeal to the least among us.

Books will certainly be written in the future to chronicle, and compare, Hitler and the Nazis to the rise of the Tea Party and Trump's capacity to hijack their very limited message of nationalism and hating the 'others' to rise to the point where he has. They will compare their prominent egos, questionable sanity and demagoguery. They will note Trump's taking dog whistles to the next level at a time when those who needed to hear them most were at their apex. One of Hitler's greatest draws was his promise to disavow the Treaty of Versailles and rebuild the nations military. Trump has a similar message. Of course, he manages to twist-turn it into a dismissal of our own military greatness and paints his patriotism as dubious, at best.

Historians will show how neither Trump nor Hitler were remotely religious, but espoused Christian 'values' in attempts to build up the simple-minded and define their superiority. Trump's bullshit nationalistic dialogue depicting a country very few can identify will be covered. Trump's nonsensical rhetoric about caring for the nation's poor mirrors a lot of what Hitler said. Of course, to be honest, Hitler actually did see to social welfare of the working class. Trump's tax plan, and long history of only looking out for himself, would surely offer more than a little supposition about who would benefit from any policies he might want to enact.

The good news? The myriad commonalities between Hitler and Trump can be countered with numerous differences. Hitler was an amazing orator and used his skills to rally many people beyond his base. Trump can either stand in front of a teleprompTer and mangle the very words in front of him, or ad-lib an entire speech and leave any thoughtful audience to seriously question his mental stability, but be certain: he thinks of little more than inflating his own ego.

Hitler worked very hard for many years to build his movement. He was passionate in his attempt. Trump is lazy and expects to just hijack a fading movement and take it to the White House. As utterly disgusting and inhuman as Hitler's entire rule was, he completely believed in it. He was a genuine zealot of his own movement. Donald Trump could obviously care less about nearly every issue in the GOP (or any other) platform. Hitler had a large team of people who understood his mission and worked tirelessly for him (many out of fear). Trump doesn't know what he's doing from one minute to the next, and his own 'team' are wholly confused about his end game. Those in the GOP who would gladly kiss his ass and embrace his platform of hate are even being dismissed by the candidate. Hitler had the foresight to make use of the willing parasites around him.

Let me be plain ... Just because he is a goddamned clown, it doesn't mean that, if given the opportunity, he wouldn't absolutely destroy our country. Evidence is found in countless answers he's offered from quickly determining that women who seek abortions should be punished, to his absolute dismissal of the killings of journalists shown above where he says of Putin, "At least he's running his country."

Because we are a democracy, the likelihood of his ascension can be diminished by our own passion and drive to continue moving America forward. Of course, that means all of us have to continue to speak out. Even to those who would really rather not talk about it. And, as hard as the media often makes it for us, we must rally behind their attempts to communicate the truths about the vile self-serving creature who is trying to follow MY President into the White House.


Kiss Kiss.... Mean Progressive

Public Service Message

For All Parents and All Teenagers:

I just saw last nights episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on my DVR. As always the main topic offered me serious giggle mixed with abject horror. I deleted it and went looking for the other shows I'd missed this weekend. Then I realized there are a lot of states where the kids are getting really fucked up information. And plenty of their parents don't have HBO.

 For all of those people... And for everyone else in need for a good laugh/confirmation the GOP has a terrifying agenda even for the kids...

Happy Monday Y'all. Kisses all around,

Your Mean Progressive

Extreme Political Views

Some months ago, when the Pam Geller inspired shooting happened in Texas, I wrote a blog post about the many terrorist acts in America since 9/11. Not surprisingly (to those not desperate to live in an alternate reality), the overwhelming majority of those attacks have been tracked to right-wing hate groups or those who follow right-wing 'media.' Then last month I did a piece for my Dear Media: series about the fact that we are never informed of the terrorists who don't meet the very narrow definition of the terrorists we want to believe in. As I wrote both I felt like my writing was irrelevant. And both times, I was pretty much right.

The same week as I wrote my Dear Media piece last month, we had the tragic massacre in South Carolina. Again, no one told us that the killer was a terrorist. The media literally tripped all over themselves to determine whether or not he was a terrorist because it seemed like maybe he was, but they didn't want to be too hasty in assigning labels.

When we, as a society, are desperate to tell ourselves that we live in a post-racial era, we ignore racism to feed our need to hold onto our irrational and childlike fantasies. We do the same thing when we see repeated acts of terrorism and allow them to be called anything else. When the terrorist is a white man he is, undoubtedly, suffering from mental health issues. He is always a lone wolf, as well. It is curious that the shooter who killed 5 Marines one week ago suffered from documented mental health issues but very few outlets reported that information. The obvious correlations to his family having come from Kuwait were identified almost immediately and since then we have only been offered supposition based on where he really visited while he was in the Middle East last year.

We will never find a way to stop these events from happening if we limit our definition of a terrorist as one who comes from another country or worships another God. Earlier this month a white man from Tennessee was let out of jail after having been arrested plotting a massacre of Muslims in New York state with an undercover FBI agent and others. The judge determined that,"(The government) has not shown by clear and convincing evidence defendant's release would pose an unreasonable danger to the community or any particular individual," even after his own attorneys admitted he posed a genuine threat. Lest there be any confusion as to how extreme his plans were, these were his recorded words:

“When we meet in this state, the people we seek will know who we are. We will be cruel to them, and we will burn down their buildings. If anyone attempts to harm us in any way, our stand gunner will take them down from 350 yards away. The standoff gunner would be me.”

Last night another white man who has been inspired by right-wing rhetoric attempted a mass killing. He was able to kill 2 women and injure 9 others then eventually killed himself when the completion of his plot had been foiled. We were immediately informed by the media of his mental health diagnoses. I have yet to hear a major media outlet tell us about his political views, however. I have heard that he was 'extremely political.' I have heard that he had 'radical political views.' But no one has explained what those views are. Sadly, as with our desire to really just not know about racism and gun violence, no one wants to hear about where these ideas are bred, manipulated and disseminated throughout our society.

Here we see that he was in a Facebook group called "I Hate Liberals." I will quickly admit I am in a Facebook group called "I Hate Republicans." I will then advise that I have never heard of a flaming Liberal committing extreme violence in defense of or because of their views. If anyone sends me information, I will update and cite right here, I promise.

In the Raw Story article here, we learn that he had very extreme views of the US Government and the fears which are presently being offered by the right-wing radio hosts like Michael Savage, Alex Jones and the like. Below he said that death is soon coming on the 'financially failing filth farm called the US." When people can ask themselves the question, "How will we be able to identify those with extreme views before they commit such atrocities," but then refuse to answer the question with something along the lines of, "They are all listening to the same constant drone of hateful rhetoric," we will continue to allow our citizens to be taken out, one by one or two by two, by those whose hatred is fed in these protected institutions of right-wing hate and propaganda.

 Of course, those who are willing to believe and follow these spin doctors tell themselves that those on the left hate America. This came just one week before he determined that we were living in a 'filth farm' which deserved to soon die. I will gladly assume that the people who passionately follow the hate on the right are suffering from mental health issues. I don't say that to be mean. I suffer from some pretty profound issues, myself (of course, my personality points inward instead of out; a clear difference between left and right). If you can be led to believe in myriad conspiracies passed around and find your way to a place where you think that random people should die and further justify your own right to kill them, you are not in the right frame of mind, regardless of your national origin or your religion.

Until American society embraces the actual definition of terrorist and allows themselves to see that the same talking points Isis are offering to those who join them are those dog whistles (if only using different words) being sent out by our right-wing propagandists while instilling similar fears, we will continue to have no way of dealing with these issues because we refuse to answer the questions we are asking ourselves.

What an absolute clusterfuck we allow ourselves to endure instead of admitting our own complicity and tolerance of what we create.

Don't Feed The Animals

Its hard to live in this country where so much of our discrimination is institutionalized. Racism is ignored and defended as a right. Women have still been unable to get the ERA passed. It is legal in many places to fire someone for being in the LGBT community. Now, just two days after I posted a story to compel people to think beyond the rhetoric the Regressive Party is trying to feed America about hating those receiving welfare in an attempt to distract from the rampant handouts given to corporations (which far exceed those given to our citizens who are sincerely in need), the Oklahoma GOP was good enough to prove my point.

This brilliant comparison had been made by Regressive State Representative, Mary Franson in 2012. She, too, found irony in the Department of Agriculture calling for people to stop feeding the animals, which was creating dependency, yet the same Department Agency offered food stamps to the poor.

It was just in March when Alaskan Representative (R-duh!) Don Young determined it would be a novel idea to "feed them to the wolves" while arguing against the Interior Department having the grey wolf on their endangered species list. After asking how many people had wolves in their districts, he suggested:

They haven't got a damn wolf in their district. I'd like to introduce them in your district. If I introduced them in your district, you wouldn't have a homeless problem anymore.

Once each of these stories made the national news, those responsible for their release were forced to recant. It is repeatedly said in one form or another by the Regressive Party. It is not a misstatement. It is a misrepresentation. They are misrepresenting their constituents. They have been elected to represent those who live in their district. Unless they have zero in their district receiving aid, they have literally just shown sincere contempt for those they are supposed to be representing. And their contempt is for the fact that they NEED TO HAVE FOOD.

America, it truly is time that we no longer abide having those represent us and legislate on our behalf who cannot even pretend to give a shit about those who require their voice in lawmaking.

An Actual History Lesson

I have seen this ridiculous meme countless times in the last month. I know that anyone who demands its history of pride and heritage has either been conditioned to believe that or is desperate to be seen as something other than racist trash. I also know, for certain, that the person who posted it is in desperate need of many history lessons. The kind of history lessons that won't be found in the new books Regressive Party politicians across the country are trying to rewrite to create this exceptionalism they try to force feed those who don't think for themselves. The kind of history lessons that don't come from memes, the most common means of far right dissemination of 'facts.' And the kind of history lessons that won't be found in a book written by Bill O'Reilly, a man who calls himself a historian but who the intelligent among us call a propagandist.

I always end any debate regarding that flag with the same question, "Would you expect to see the Nazi flag flying in Germany today?" It is the exact same thing. Nazi descendants live today. They don't leave a Nazi flag on the tombstones of their ancestors. No state or official buildings fly the Nazi flag. In fact, the flag is illegal in Germany as it is such a source of shame. Why demand that American society be less than that of the Germans?

As with all aspirations of the Confederacy, Nazis built their new society by kidnapping, forced labor and genocide. They both had the same agenda: Define, create and maintain a master race. Hitler was actually inspired by Americas treatment of its slaves and the Native Americans when he created his plans. Hitler believed innovation was a marked feature of a leading world power. He used the ideas of free labor to build German industries and believed that The Long Walk of the Navajo was a brilliant means of weeding out the Jews who would be useless to him as they could march to their prisons and if they were unhealthy, they would just die along the way.  His intent to build his ideal society drew directly from the shames America tries to forget.

The Confederate Congress initially adopted a flag which ended up creating a lot of controversy because many believed it looked too similar to the American flag, so it was promptly replaced. The second and third flags adopted both had the symbol we now associate as the Confederate flag as part of the design where only the number of stars would increase based on states joining the Confederacy. The second flag adopted had an entirely white background and the 'X' was where todays American flag has its stars. The man who designed it, William T. Thompson, called it the "White Man's Flag" because it symbolized the "supremacy of the white man." He wrote for Savannah's Daily Morning News in 1863:

"As a people we are fighting [to] maintain the Heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause.

The third flag was barely seen because the war ended as it was being introduced. Debating over which flag was put to use is a wasted exercise in semantics, however, as the objective of its creation was pretty much encapsulated in the quote above. (and in the fucking war itself for Christ's sake)

Hitler proudly designed the Nazi flag himself. He decided to use the traditional colors of Germany because:

"As National Socialists, we see our program in our flag. In red, we see the social idea of the movement; in white, the nationalistic idea; in the swastika, the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan man, and, by the same token, the victory of the idea of creative work. (from Mein Kampf)

The swastika was meant to represent an Aryan objective to have a racial 'cleansing.' Beginning in the early 20th century German nationalists determined the Aryans of India (many hundreds of years BC) depicted a glorious tradition of superiority and, basically, rewrote their own version of history to support this premise based on Nordicism disturbingly embraced and defined by British psychologist, William McDougall, explaining a 'master race' in 1920:

"Among all the disputes and uncertainties of the ethnographers about the races of Europe, one fact stands out clearly—namely, that we can distinguish a race of northerly distribution and origin, characterised physically by fair colour of hair and skin and eyes, by tall stature and dolichocephaly (i.e. long shape of head), and mentally by great independence of character, individual initiative and tenacity of will.

The invasion was profoundly misinterpreted by Germans to define the glories of Aryan invasion where the intimidating symbol of the swastika would also serve as reminder of the dangers of spiritual and racial mixing due to close proximity of the races.

Both the Confederate flag and the Nazi flag are used today by white supremacist groups all over the world as a means of glorification and intimidation. It is not a coincidence that they have both been adopted by those with such mentalities. The flags are symbols which represent times and places where white supremacy was given a voice and an opportunity to thrive. Germany spends none of its time celebrating either that history or its soldiers. Remembrances of ours should also be left to (actual) history books.

No rational or thoughtful individual would take time with this argument and explain to me the pride they have in their ancestor who fought to enslave people and commit treason. Those who demand otherwise are free to fly that flag in their homes or in their lawns and silently tell the rest of society who they are, as any German would if they projected pride over the Holocaust. And the rest of society will shun them and diminish their voices, as we should. We are the 'land of the free and the home of the brave.' As such, we have no business glorifying those who meant to enslave others and, in a cowardly fashion, tried to secede rather than give up an entitlement to continued atrocities.

White Lives Matter

The Fox cable channel with the word "news" in its title was so moved by the recent tragic waste of a young life that they had their little ass-kissing O'Reilly fanboy go all the way to San Francisco to speak to their Board of Supervisors. Jesse Watters asked them, "How many dead people does it take?" It seems to take quite a lot, Jesse. Either that, or your question wasn't specific enough and missed an all-important adjective. It certainly takes a lot of black people if we are meant to go by Fox coverage which still demands that the entire black community bears responsibility for the myriad killings by police officers. If you did forget the adjective 'white,' however, it seems one is enough.

I know its hard to make it out in the video, here is her picture. She was absolutely beautiful. 

Here is another photo of a beautiful face we lost far too soon to indefensible and horrific gun violence.

Fox news, however, had a completely different perspective on that tragedy. The explanation for this loss was quite easy to find. There is a reasonable and understandable explanation for this murder, you see, the young man pictured above "looked a certain way." 

Aside from the very important information as to the immigration status of the alleged killer in this story (who, curiously, does not seem to be alleged when mentioned on Fox or by the Regressive Party candidates), little is known about this case, so far. I think we can all be sure, however, that she had to have been wearing a hoodie, or she would still be with us today.





POST: No one need bother play semantics with my sarcasm as I am one who sincerely believes that, in fact, all lives DO matter. You can feel free to write me a book below. I will not waste my time with white trash, however, and will ignore it without reading. No Regressive is worth my time. You were the moron who followed a link to a site called "Mean Progressive," after all.

GOP Congressman Promoting Imperialism. Still.

I am an Ohioan. We have been called a blue state recently in the news. I would love to live in a blue state, however, I do not. We might be leaning toward purple, but we are most certainly not blue. We have Boehner for Christ's sake. And Rob Portman *sigh*. And we have a Congressman from the district where I grew up named Bob Gibbs. He represents the Canton area. That is where you find the Football Hall of Fame. Many famous athletes and celebrities go there every summer for the inductions, but apparently that honor is not enough for Congressman Gibbs.

As seen in this Daily Show piece from last night, he and the McKinley Presidential Library and Museum believe that they speak for all Ohioans (and Americans?) when they demand that America doesn't acknowledge the original name Denali for the random mountain they decided to attribute to the former President. Honestly, McKinley had nothing to do with this mountain. Alaska hadn't even become a state by the time he died. But since 1975 when Ralph Regula was in Congress, those trying to have it acknowledged by its original name, Denali, have been denied.



We all need to appeal to Bob Gibbs and tell him that to sincerely represent Ohio he needs to focus on his disgraceful voting record of consistently trying to take away women's rights and Ohioans access to affordable healthcare, always caving to the NRA lobby to maintain that 100% rating, decimating our environment and repeatedly voting to stymie the progress of America by wasting time on bills meant to only distract voters and condemn the legacy of President Obama. Ohio often looks like a backward and ignorant state when we make national news, don't be our next embarrassment.

During this time when Americans are finally having an awakening about her history of legitimate oppression of so many and obliteration of entire cultures, it is offensive to think you would be battling those who mean to rename Mt McKinley back to its original name. Come on Bob! Your constituents have a lot of things to worry about, the name of a mountain is on no one's agenda. You were sent to DC to represent us, not humiliate us. Welcome to the 21st century, Imperialism is no longer accepted. Thanks.


Please sign this petition and forward to everyone who would like to see this one simple act of Congress to actually accomplish something positive.

Woody Allen Deserves No Quarter

Last night Bill Maher was quick to support Woody Allen when they were discussing the Bill Cosby rape allegations. Maher said that he would offer 'quarter' to Allen and insinuated that his accuser (Mia Farrow) had a personal reason to make accusations and that it was different. I make few distinctions between rapists and child molesters. It is hard for me to believe that any thoughtful person could with what we do know about Allen, regardless of whether or not he was ever found guilty.

It always disgusts me to hear Woody Allen celebrated. Do we not have enough off-beat comedic talents that we can't spare just one? The fact that he has maintained his career and continues to draw the biggest celebrities to be in his movies is, frankly, disturbing. The charges of molestation against his own adopted daughter, Dylan, were never filed in 1992 by the prosecutor who cited that there was potential for instability during a trial due to the child accusers instability. Their having gone unfiled had nothing to do with credibility or evidence. I don't need those charges to be true to loathe him, however. I find his lacking morality cause enough to believe the child and find him repulsive.

When Allen started his affair with Soon-Yi, not only was he supposed to have been her father-figure, but he was in a relationship with her mother. Her mother discovered the affair by finding naked photos of her daughter taken by Allen. Obviously this discovery precipitated the end of their family. That is a lot of weight for any child, but especially an adoptee, to bear. And how long had the relationship been going on? His having had the affair and then advising her to keep their secret is not only a blatant disregard for the family of which they were both members, but overt evidence of grooming techniques attributed to pedophiles. He destroyed the security of Soon-Yi and all of her adopted brothers and sisters. Whatever role or bond that each of the family members was meant to have had was made irrelevant and completely destroyed. Imagine explaining to a child that their sister would now be having the relationship that their mother had had with the man who had been their father-figure, and actual father to one, Ronan. (but I'm still pulling for that Sinatra rumor to be true).

Of course, he reminds everyone that he was neither her legal father nor biological. Right. No, sure. That makes sense. Never mind the fact that you were the father-figure in her home from the age of 10; or that you knew her as a young, broken and vulnerable child acclimating to a new country, language, home and family. There is no rational way for that familial relationship to ever gravitate into a romantic one. It was your responsibility as a guardian to make her feel safe in her new life. Piece of shit.

If society can accept this behavior, adoption should be outlawed because every child's emotional development and stability are at risk. If these are the mindsets of those raising our adopted children, how are they supposed to grow up strong with self-respect; with a feeling of connectedness and security? As best I can tell, the only accessory that never goes out of style in Hollywood is the adopted child. But they line up to kiss his ass. Does no one look at their own family and question what type of monster Allen must be? I believe in the goodness of people. I believe everyone deserves a chance until they give you a reason to question their character. I believe Allen has more than gone out of his way to prove his own repulsive character. As long as Hollywood continues to revere him, they bare their own character, as well.

Are Temper Tantrums A Good Campaign Strategy?

Not gonna lie ... I cannot think of a single physical torture anyone could lay on me that would make me vote for a Republican. However, just watching from the outside, I feel confident that I would not vote for a Democrat or Independent who behaved the way those on the right have behaved this week. What must those in the center be thinking? Honestly!

This was the headline on Mike Huckabee's blog today where he railed over SCOTUS' decision on marriage equality. So, ummm... if you were, say, President, and you decided to resist and reject the judiciary, wouldn't that make you a tyrant? Moron.

He said the court was out of control yesterday, too. When they upheld the Affordable Care Act (say those three words in your head - wonder why they needed to give it another name?) he just wanted to lose his mind. This Christian will not abide living in a country where everyone has access to affordable healthcare. God. Dammit!




Ted Cruz had a fit yesterday, too. He, along with the rest of the GOP hopefuls, cannot interpret what the court ruling said. They all believe that they are going to be able to get rid of Obamacare. Never mind what they said in the ruling. No. Really. You have to have something to rail about, right?

Teddy hasn't commented yet on today's ruling. But last week he did tell a congregation, oops sorry, I mean conference attendees, "I would encourage everyone here to be lifting up in prayer the court that they not engage in an act of lawless judicial activism." So I assume he will be upset. Dick.

Bobby Jindals reply to Obamacare being upheld is almost comical. Its comical in the way that I like to laugh at people who are really assholes and say nonsense, not like a funny joke or anything. He was really pissed off because the Supreme Court didn't take away healthcare from millions of people based on semantics. Jindal demanded that the Supreme Court does not have the final say in the land . because ... yeah.

Of course, Mister Christian was all aflutter over SCOTUS' support of marriage equality today. It is curious. Im not kidding. I cannot have a rational discussion with someone and come out of it understanding how in the FUCK your religious liberties are diminished by another persons happiness.

I don't want to bark too loudly. Maybe they don't realize what they sound like to rational people. I just hope enough of them are paying attention. Good Gravy!

America the BEAUTIFUL

There is nothing special here. I want to just save this for myself in the future. This was the best week to be a Liberal in a very long time. Monday the Republican governor of Alabama took down the Confederate flags on the statehouse. By himself. He didn't wait for the legislature to allow him to do it. He just did it. It was instigated by an awful event and the tragedy will be with us forever. I hope more progress continues to come from their loss to honor them.

Yesterday Obamacare was upheld by SCOTUS. The Republicans in Congress have little else to signify their time in DC other than trying to take down Obamacare (because why would anyone think it was acceptable to give affordable healthcare for all?) and having hearings on Benghazi. The way that the findings were written made it almost impossible for anyone to try to take it down again. Now people will have to just work toward making it the best resource for all Americans.

And then today .... I swear when Audrey was a baby I envisioned the country having marriage equality by the time she grew up and entered the world, but I thought there were too many backward people in the world. IT PASSED. In the Supreme Court!!! And even though the GOP likes to turn every single thing into a states rights issue so they can influence their own courts and define their own little fucked up world, the court made this for the whole country. SO SUCK IT!!! And all of my brothers and sisters in the country can marry who they love and my world became more beautiful today.

My favorite headline today? Slate:

Hey! Here's a map of where gay marriage is legal in America!

Bill O'Reilly Fanboy Gets His Turn

Sometimes I like to record the Fox cable channel with the word 'news' in its title when big things happen in politics. Maybe I'm a sadist? Or a masochist? Since I don't know the difference, maybe not. But because Obamacare was upheld by the Supreme Court yesterday I just had to see what O'Reilly had to say about it. But he wasn't on. Apparently the night before Bill O'Reilly lost his shit. He went off on the idea that the right are racists and said that America is not racist. Basically, the problem with the black community is ... the blacks. They don't have normal family units and they have shitty neighborhoods and they have shitty schools. He is not a racist by pointing that out. The left have "the gall" to point out that America is a white supremacist nation? He kept saying that. I don't remember ever having heard anyone saying that the entire nation was filled with white supremacists. I remember hearing a lot of talk about our history. Our actual history. But then, we know that Bill rewrites history for a living, so maybe he is just confused by now about which are actually the facts.

Bill had a tirade about racism so crazy that made it in the news (the point, if I am not mistaken). And then he was not at work last night. So maybe he needed a little cooling off period? Maybe he is on suspension? Maybe he is getting fired? OOOHhhh let us all start rumors, shall we? That is what he would do. Or maybe he finally got arrested for domestic violence? Who knows.

Anyway, in his absence a little mongrel named Jesse Watters filled in. He has no charisma. And he is an asshole. He talks straight out of his ass. He is perfect for this channel. In his defense for America not being a racist country he talked about a childhood memory playing with a toy of the car from the Dukes of Hazzard. He waxed poetic about his memories of the show he loved when he was growing up. He then shows a picture and says, "What is this? The General. The Robert Lee. The Robert E Lee." Right. Having been an actual fan of the show I can tell you it is called none of those. He was born in 1978. The show started in 79 and ended when he was 5. I'll bet he doesn't have too many fond memories of the show. But whatever. I just needed that moment because I hate when people bastardize childhood memories and don't know what they're talking about. Sorry. I am easily distracted.

In the first segment this asshole, Watters, speaks to Clay Cane, editor from Bet.com, and introduces him by reminding him the night before O'Reilly determined the disintegration of the black family here in America, "I know you would agree that is one of the biggest problems, if not the biggest problem. How does white supremacy create out of wedlock births in the black community?" Just take that in for a moment. Asshole.

Poor Cane tried to answer respectfully and say that there is a lot more to it and began explaining that we have a history of laws and policy that are supposed to undo the centuries of racism, slavery and Jim Crow, however all of the damage done to the community won't be miraculously erased in 50 years and by saying racism is no longer an issue while the fact of its history and maintenance are negated. Which, to all thinking people would then be answered by a, "Duh." But Watters is obviously not one of us. He replied, "You didn't answer the question of whether or not white supremacy causes African American men to not get married to women they have babies with." And then he offered him no time to respond. Again. Take a moment with that. He dismissed the man telling him that the reason we are dealing with racism is because we dismiss the discussion. This guy is perfect for this channel.

The interview then goes to the other black man on the panel, Jason Riley, a Washington Post columnist and Fox News Contributor. Watters confirms the talking points about the left scaring blacks into believing that the right are racists so they won't vote for them. (Apparently, having missed the entire discussion he just had with Mr. Cane), Riley agreed and said that racism is used by the left as a weapon to shut down debate. Again. While sitting next to the man who tried to just have a thoughtful debate.

Watters cut back into the conversation to remind Cane that we have made a lot of progress because "we have Obama and Oprah. And we gave 'them' affirmative action, the welfare state, Obamacare; all of these programs to make sure the sins of slavery have been eradicated." Cane tried to come back with discussions about gentrification but neither Watters nor Riley were letting him have it.

Watters concluded the interview by telling Cane, "people come to America from all over the world, not because its racist, but because its a great nation." Exactly. He said that to a black man who is here because his ancestors were brought to be slaves while denying both any racism in our history or our present. In the next segment he invited a nice young white woman to come on and determine whether or not she thought America was a racist society. Surprisingly, she only thinks there are racists on the left. They told us that the entire thing about Charleston was spun by the President wanting to use the race card.

And this is why my country is in the place it is. These assholes have a voice. And an audience.

A Plan to Have the Flag Down By Monday

From every interview of the Governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, it is clear that she has no compassion or understanding about the pain perpetuated by flying the Confederate flag atop the state house.

From this debate, her interest in removing the flag would only be compelled by the CEOs of the major corporations which call South Carolina home.

These are the top 22 large corporations in America which have a a major presence in South Carolina with a copy of their Twitter handles. You can also go to their Facebook page. You can send them a message or you can write them a letter. If enough people compel them to act they will do so. Their only interest is in maintaining their good name. And, apparently, Nikki Haley's only interest is in making these corporations happy.

If you want to forward a letter to Nikki Haley there is one here you are welcome to use.

By Monday, if these corporations are threatened by enough customers of a boycott, they will become involved. 

Please help in the effort.

Mean Progressive

Please also take a moment to sign this petition which is nearing 500,000 signatures if you have not already. The voices of Americans can be heard here.

Dear Nikki Haley: It Is Time

Dear Governor Haley:


It is common knowledge for all Americans that the Confederate flag is a symbol for racist groups. As such, one would think that it would be an embarrassment for it to be displayed publicly at a government building. Please ask yourself what the difference is, historically and emotionally, between the Confederate flag and this swastika flag. Both flags have been adopted by countless racist hate groups because of their commonalities. If that does not make sense to you, I insist you should not be representing any state or its citizens. You raised the question of your capacity to lead when you  answered in debates that removing the flag was not important to the CEOs of corporations in South Carolina. Do their opinions still hold the same weight?

State Representative Doug Brannon means to propose a bill to have the Confederate flag come down in November. That really is too long to wait. The healing cannot begin until the flag is removed from your statehouse and November is many months away.

You had a massacre in your state. Members of your community were murdered while they were praying in their church. The objective, per the assailant, was to start a race war. The hatred and racism from the time of slavery has never been addressed properly and is still a very important issue for all Americans to contend with. You dismiss the lives lost this week when you allow the very symbol adopted by racists as their flag to fly over the state house.

The insult is so much more profound when you realize that not only was one of the people who was killed, the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, the pastor of that church who had just spent an hour praying with his killer, but he was a member of the House of Representatives for the state of South Carolina. He must have had every ounce of the grace attributed to him by so many to have entered that building every day and pass that flag which represented so much pain and hate to then offer the respect to all inside. Every person inside the state house that he paid respect to had the power to return the favor by taking the flag down. It is unimaginable that they will allow it to fly now.

When you dismiss all pleas for the flags removal you disassociate yourself from a profound opportunity to begin the healing that our country has been in such desperate need to find. If it remains after the slaughter of these human beings in an event that we know to have been only an issue of race, you are perpetuating the problem and condoning not only the actions, but the mentalities behind the racist actors in our society today. They want that flag to stay up. The good-hearted and loving among us what an empathetic, thoughtful reflection to offer revelation to those with the authority to declare it time to take the flag down and respect those who were lost.

At present, your town is full of monuments and reminders to those who led the battles in attempts to maintain the ownership of other human beings. Can you not allow this massacre to be the event that makes you understand what type of pain that causes? I hear interviews of those defending their ancestors who fought in the war who demand the flag is an important reminder of their sacrifices. Would it not be prudent, at this time specifically, to consider the sacrifices of the ancestors whose lives they were fighting to remain enslaved?

The black community, too, are your citizens. And you perpetuate their suffering when you tell them that the struggles of their family are irrelevant. You condone the hatred when you fly a flag that all know is a symbol of hate in America. It is time to take it down. Today.

Most Sincerely,

All Patriotic Americans

This number of signatures on this national petition will continue to grow. I urge you to keep an eye on it. It will help document how many people are beginning to associate racism with a Republican leader who refuses to understand the importance of their role in perpetuating racism.

Anti-Obamacare Nazi Propaganda

I have an anxiety disorder. Because of it I have panic attacks. I have never had a full out panic attack about anything political, though. Until today. I cannot even explain how it happened. A friend of mine in a group on G+ posted this video and I watched it. I began shaking. And before I knew it I was working to catch my breath. Sometimes when I type the words, "I just can't take it" they seem exaggerated. They really aren't. 

I am now crying. I'm so sorry to lay this all on you. It is so unprofessional to define my panic attack to you but I feel it is relevant, too. I have only just recently started to research Obamacare and its many Republican attackers. I knew I supported Obamacare and I had thought for decades that the fact that America is the only major industrialized nation to not have universal healthcare is quite telling of why we are so unbelievably fucked up as a nation. I have met some people on Facebook who are sincere victims of the Republican push to get rid of Obamacare. Their stories broke my heart and I am hoping to find the time it will take to really dedicate to an incredibly in-depth series on these tragedies. 

The millions of lives the right is jeopardizing by playing games with healthcare is heartbreaking. I cant think about it without getting sick. I am one of them and I don't even think about it. I can't spend time wondering what will happen if my governor, who happens to hate Obamacare, gets rid of our funding. I would probably be in full panic attack mode every day.

Since I started becoming more involved with social media in the last several months, I have had a revelation about the means by which those on the right are brainwashed into believing the absolute bullshit they do. It is astounding to hear them quote a rewritten Bible or history. They blow my mind. So I started researching their history and tried to figure out how this was accomplished.

I have always been fascinated by people and how they think. It was because of this fascination that I have been researching the Nazi propaganda and the Holocaust for about 30 years now. I have been struck by the profound commonalities. I wrote a piece in April where I compared the beginnings of the two movements and their propaganda ploys. The article is really long and one day I mean to break it up into several pieces. But I guess its saying something that it is only a comparison of the two and it is so long.

The group that made the bullshit video above is called Freedom Works. They are a propaganda group who literally spin every issue possible to the will of the billionaires who need the teabaggers to follow their agenda. Their web site isn't only just as hateful and devoid of any sensibility, it is a mirror of the tea party web site I found when I was researching their propaganda techniques and came across their spin doctor, Jerome Corsi. This Freedom Works site has different categories where you can select your talking point and then you can get all of the opinions you need by the professional bloggers for this Super Pac. Yes. It is a Super Pac. And yes, they literally give you your talking points. This site is an absolute revelation to me. It is, apparently, where the teabaggers get their rewritten history and contrived understandings of the Constitution.

I think all Americans on the left and even in the center who are also terrified of the extreme right need to be aware of their rhetoric so we can not only counter it in discussions with teabaggers, but with confused people who pay no attention and get their information from teabaggers. This shit cannot go on. I can't take it. I realize today's post is about as fluid as a brick and I sincerely apologize. I wanted to give this information to anyone who was looking to understand the propaganda you are up against when ignorant people demand that Obamacare is such an evil.

The GOP Field of Presidential Hopefuls is Genuinely Orgasmic [VIDEO]

I have struggled for years now trying to figure out how my President, who has been such a respectful and patient leader has been maligned repeatedly by the right and America has allowed it to go on. At the same time, those who are saying the nastiest things about President Obama and are doing nothing positive for the country while trying to dismantle every means of progress we have made over the last 6 years, are supporting people in efforts to succeed this presidency that would make an absolute joke of our country.

We are still trying to get over 8 years of having looked like we were not only capable as a citizenry to elect a leader who could represent us in the world with sincere diplomacy and tact but who would go out of their way to embarrass us whenever possible. We finally have someone who can maintain respectful dialogue with foreign leaders. He has actual ideas about how to make our country better. He has the capacity to build relationships with people who oppose him in hopes of moving America forward. But those on the right refuse to cooperate. At all. And those are the same people the GOP want us to consider to replace him? How can it even be a close contest? How can anyone take this group of jackasses seriously?

Last night Jon Stewart, sadly, showed us just how far its gone. When the career of any comedian can legitimately be propelled by bringing serious attention to the embarrassment of those who are hoping to lead our country, that says a lot.

That was hysterical! And sad. Comedians used to be able to exaggerate rumors or have a little bit of fun poking at our politicians. They are now, basically, able to make us laugh at ourselves. We are the ones who are giving these assholes a voice. We are the society that gets a kick out of watching a meaningless piece of shit fire people on a television show with a singular agenda of Donald Trump entertaining himself.

When Mike Huckabee talks on the stump I get pissed. Every time. He hates everyone and wraps his hatred up in a flag and a Bible. But I understand that the GOP has worked very hard to create a base who are just simple minded enough to believe that shit. When Scott Walker or John Kasich are discussed I realize that most people in America don't pay close enough attention to their work as governors to understand that they are way farther right than the real conservative base is. And I know the GOP will try to take advantage of that. They will hope to serve us one of their more 'centrist' candidates after all of the Bible desecrating sons of bitches are able to cancel one another out. I even understand that the GOP will try to give us Jeb Bush ... just because. Conservatives are pretty easy. Here. Its a Bush. You have elected them exclusively for the last 25 years. Have another one.

Donald Trump is something else though. This is taking things too far. The other GOP hopefuls at least tried to sound like viable candidates when they kicked off their campaigns. They didn't want America to really know that they hate just about every section of America and are only trying to appeal to the teabaggers. He managed to ramble on for about an hour telling us how rich he is. Repeatedly. I will bet that if someone did a search there would be no campaign speech in history that used the words "I" or "me" or "my" more often than he did.

Trump's ego is being given an opportunity to run for President of the United States because he can afford to pay for his own campaign. He concluded yesterday by taking an actual shit on my country by saying the "American dream is dead."

Damn Straight the American dream is dead, motherfucker, just not for the reasons you cited.

Can I have my fucking country back!?!?

Really??

My President

One day, thoughtful historians will chronicle the eight years of President Obama as having been remarkable for many reasons. He walked into the White House during a time when the economy was a disaster and the country was in two wars. His administration was the one who finally caught Osama bin Laden. Against the most absurd opposition, he managed to bring Americans universal healthcare. The auto industry was revitalized under his guidance. This President has been able to display an exceptional gift for thoughtful diplomacy. Against profound Republican resistance, several bills to help Veterans were able to pass and be approved by the President. The list of his accomplishments seems never-ending. The thing that people seem to miss is the fact that he is making good on many of his campaign promises. History will be able to recount every attempt, even if unsuccessful, of a leader who aspired to represent the legacy he meant to create.

At present, much of the narrative around the President is nonsensical rhetoric. Those condemning him have never acknowledged his having had a single accomplishment. The opposition literally determined upon his inauguration that they would derail all of the President's efforts. To just consider half of his accomplishments in light of that fact is remarkable. They have willfully and deliberately hurt this country in order to postpone votes to move the economy forward. They have endangered suicidal veterans by voting against a bill for them. They have endangered children presently being trafficked in the sex trade IN AMERICA because they demand the bill include a denial of their right to terminate any pregnancies that come of their experience. One of the loudest opponents to the President, who believes himself worthy of the same title, actually read a Dr Seuss book in the Senate during a filibuster attempt to keep Americas citizens from having healthcare. Their childish dissent, while demanding Americas exceptionalism, will be remembered as one of the most shameful aspects of American history, to be sure.

As for me, I love my President. There will never be a leader who will do every single thing that I want, I know that. And I certainly don't want the job so I will have to entrust the country I love to someone who is up for the challenge. I can go back to each of our Presidents through Reagan and see that their egos ran for office and determined their actions and defined their character while in office. I can say that I am sure this is not the case with President Obama. He has a humility and grace that I have never seen in a leader. It is unimaginable how much stress the job of President is to any person who takes the job seriously (lets not pretend that all who get the job or aspire toward it do), but to add on top of that the amount of blatant disrespect he is paid every day with every action and you have to be in awe of this man and his strength. As much as the 'representatives' on the right want to ruin him, they are going out of their way to show history what a profound grace he embodies. Those of us who are true patriots are offered sincere pride in America with President Obama at the helm.

This picture was on my Facebook page on Easter. I giggled, at first. It is so sweet and funny. He manages to have a sense of humor through all he has endured. It is also hopeful. He is standing next to a childhood image looking up at the Washington Monument. We are offered a vision of an innocent hope for our country. I love him. And history will, too.

And The Clowns Now Have a Ringleader!

I don't know. The GOP has never failed to leave me open jawed with a shaking head from the gaggle of goons they offer us every 4 years for the presidency. I consider myself a reasonable person. But I am also naive. Every time my naivete tells me that there is no way in hell [fill in the blank] will even make it through the primaries. Then every time I feel a little more detached from the country I love because it is, quite obviously, peopled with dupes and morons. This year is different, though. Somehow the GOP has managed to outdo themselves. This time the hopefuls have been repeatedly called a clown car. There is no better way to explain it.

We have Huckabee and his sincere hate for women. We have Ted Cruz who has promised to take us all back to the 12th century with both his fire and his brimstone. We are getting an opportunity to be reminded just how awful the Bush legacy is and, after six months, Jeb has finally decided that he would like to carry on those proud accomplishments. They are trying to give us Carly Fiorina because she has ovaries, I believe. And there's Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon who is the black man they will offer us this time because the GOP sincerely believes the rest of America is as stupid as their base. For the same reason, apparently, we are also getting a chance to consider Marco Rubio. He is of Cuban heritage and his parents came here to escape Fidel Castro. Except they didn't. Its all just so ridiculous. And, even though most have been running their campaigns for months now, so far we know about little more about them than a universal hatred for President Obama and Secretary Clinton, who have apparently ruined the country. Fabulous.

Today Donald Trump decided he would run, as well. He has fooled us before and tried to convince us that he was going to do it and then changed his mind. But he managed to get attention and I'm sure that is all he wanted. He has his own reality TV show for Christ's sake. He is a ridiculous human being who sincerely promoted the idea of President Obama having fooled us all with a fake birth certificate. He has managed to perpetuate the hateful narrative coming from the far right from a celebrity of his own egotistical creation having nothing to do with politics.

The only people who would actually consider him a viable candidate are the people he pays to support him and the teabaggers who will follow anyone who offers them a platform based solely on hate. Are we supposed to take seriously a man who wants to run our country and demands he can handle this economy he mocks after having filed bankruptcy four times? Or maybe we want our Commander In Chief to have nothing but pained aggression toward women who join the military and all but condone their being raped for having joined in the first place? Are we supposed to hope that the person who holds the veto pen to decide on the laws meant to protect our citizens to have spent many tens of thousands of dollars of his own money to advertise in the New York newspapers to have children be given the death penalty for a crime, it just so turns out, they had nothing to do with? This, the same man who had a public temper tantrum when those grown children finally won a settlement from the city who had abused their rights, with the help of his provocation.

I admit. I am one of those people who sits and whines every 4 years just thinking about what a tragic place we would all be in if whomever I hate most that time gets the job and I will have to end up leaving the country. I don't know how much I have ever really planned on doing it, though. This time my daughter is grown and on her own and my house is paid off. I honestly think that would be it for me. There are plenty of reasons to love my country, but if enough people come together to vote for him (while factoring in all of the bullshit that would have to happen at the polls) and he ends up leading this country, Im gone. I will take Mitt Romney's brilliant advice and self-deport. I'm thinking England. If I'm not mistaken, I'm destined to end up with Jason Statham. So I am going to go get started on making that happen. I'm sure he's been wondering where I am.


Kiss Kiss ... Mean Progressive

Read My Lips: No New Bushes

I am a woman. And a Liberal. As such, I am outraged and disgusted by the entire Conservative field of Presidential hopefuls for 2016. For some reason, however, Jeb Bush is the most offensive to me. All of the other candidates on the right are overtly pandering to the radicals of their party by repeating hateful rhetoric for all who don't meet their restricted standards for 'patriots.' Jeb is waiting for them to whittle the field because they will all count one another out and leave him alone as the more centrist candidate. Of course, those of us who actually pay attention know there is nothing centrist about him (or Walker, Kasich or any of the others who will be peddled out later). He, like the rest, has shown actual disdain for women.

Last week Jeb Bush was publicly outed for having written a book and passing a law in the 90s to literally shame unwed mothers. He responded by telling America that he had evolved. An evolution of ideas and understandings is a beautiful thing; I dare say it means one is being Progressive. And it is something he managed to prove the Conservatives are still unable to do in his response. As he is seemingly unaware, having put the world 'evolved' into his sentence didn't actually mean that he has. The remaining part of the quote was, "In fact, since 1995 ... this book was a book about cultural indicators [and] the country has moved in the wrong direction. We have a 40-plus percent out-of-wedlock birth rate."

Right. Jeb not only failed to back track on his position, he managed to wax poetic about his own prophetic insistence on where our culture was headed. He fails to even consider that maybe his idea of a perfect family might be just a bit narrow. He believes that a family is incomplete and children cannot have "lives of purpose and meaning" in a single parent home. I feel pretty confident that my daughter, who is now grown and in her senior year of college, would disagree. I bet there are scores of millions of children who would disagree. Of course, my child was never arrested for public intoxication or trying to illegally obtain prescription drugs, either. So I guess there are some lessons Jeb could've taught my daughter that she missed out on. I'll just have to hope she turns out okay in the end.

A lot has been made about Jeb Bush or Secretary Clinton potentially being nominated as a part of a dynasty. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. We had Theodore Roosevelt and then Franklin D. If we could have then had Eleanor, the niece of Theodore and wife of Franklin, that would've been a beautiful revelation for the country. On myriad levels. I imagine we would be a much healthier nation if that could've happened. But, of course, it never did so having fantasies about where we could be now is irrelevant. The Bush legacy, however, is a terrifying prospect. Honestly.

I'm sorry, but if you enter a campaign with a running mate who cannot spell the word 'potato(e?)' history cannot be expected to remember you kindly. Are we meant to have already forgotten all about George H W Bush's failed presidency where he waited less than 18 months for his proposal to negate his campaign slogan of "No New Taxes"? Or his veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1990? And then, I suppose, we should also forget the fact that the first war in Iraq was his creation and offered a singular objective for Bush 43 to complete once the Supreme Court and Florida (ehem) handed him to us as our President.

The George W Bush presidency. Sigh. Do I have to? 9/11. Iraq war. Katrina. That funny 'lock box' came up empty. Deregulating banks. I can't do this. Remembering him gives me hives (not kidding). Here follow this link if you are made of stronger metal than I obviously am.

Jeb Bush seems to want us to forget about his family legacy. He tells us he is his own man. But he also told us that those advising him on foreign policy were many who had advised his father and his brother. And, possibly even more terrifying, in May, when asked who would be on his team of advisers he listed his brother George. Absolutely! Have a quiet moment with that vision.

Jeb's arrogance has been acknowledged repeatedly during the last six months with his unwillingness to answer questions and behaving as if he has already won the nomination. It must be pretty profound if he thinks he is going to tell America that he wants his brother to help him on foreign policy and believe that we will not begin crawling out of our own skin. Or, just maybe there is something to the recent scientific breakthrough of the 'stupid gene.'

No matter the reason, I feel confident that his own legacy as a governor and that of his family will keep him away from the general election. I doubt he will even make it through the primaries, either. Then we can have more time to bathe in the insanity of the nominees who have even less tact than Jeb and who you don't even have to search for sound bites to embarrass. Won't that be fun?