We The People Still Have The Power

Not a great start for President-elect Trump, attacking freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press in less than 140 characters.

Fascist tweets aside, I'm willing to keep an open mind about a Trump Presidency (call this the "acceptance" stage of grief). Right now, all we have is the fear-- we have yet to see how he and the disturbing people he's surrounded himself with will put their chilling rhetoric into action. It's hard to imagine--given everything Trump has said (or Tweeted) and done--how he will suddenly become an enlightened leader. Even half of his supporters aren't expecting great things here (the non-deplorables). But it is possible that with an organized opposition, any damage he can do to this country will be limited.

In the past few days, millions of Americans have mobilized in cities around the U.S. as a show of force. There are 59.9 million people who voted against Trump--a slim majority of American voters-- and what these protests show is that we're not going to be silent and we're not going to be steamrolled.

This is not a repudiation of those who voted for Trump. Sure, some in the crowd may demand the election be overturned, but that's not realistic, nor is it the point of these mass demonstrations. These protests are meant to serve as a warning. In our lifetimes, we've seen rapid social progress for the rights of minorities, women and LGBT citizens, advances in world peace, environmental health, and economic prosperity-- if Trump rolls back any of the rights or protections we've fought so hard for, these protests make it clear that he and the whole country will hear about it.

Even Wall Street sent a strong signal to Trump in the late hours of Election Day. Dow futures plummeted, before the market returned in the morning to make gains. It's hard not to see that blip as a threat from Wall Street-- screw up this economy, and these are the charts America will be looking at come next election.

We cannot forget that we have a government that answers to its people at all times. Not just on election days. Civil disobedience and protest have a long history in this country-- from the Boston Tea Party to Rosa Parks to Woodstock. Americans stood up for what they believed in against the powers that stood against them, and by show of solidarity and by virtue of their righteousness, won. This is the story of America. It's not anti-democratic to protest... it's in our blood.

Now is not the time to curl up in a ball and cry (though, that's an understandable emotion). Now is the time to get involved. For too many years, too many of us have been Facebook activists. We've forgotten what it means to hit the streets, to shout, to stand and be seen. To get involved.

This is a call to action.

Trump may be our next President, but he will not be our Dictator. When he threatens our liberties, we cannot, and will not, take it lying down.

Pay attention to what Trump does next. If he appoints a white nationalist anti-Semite as his chief of staff. If he allows Mike Pence and his ilk to pass discrimination laws against gay Americans or restrictions on women's health. Watch and see if he takes health care away from millions, while replacing it with nothing. Take notice if he endangers our security by pulling out of alliances and international treaties, or if he rattles the nuclear saber and risks war. All of us need to hold him accountable for his actions-- and not just those who didn't vote for him, but those who did. If he hurts us, don't stay silent.

Let us always remember the words of the infamous Access Hollywood tape. Not the "grab them by the pussy" part. The part that reveals what kind of man Trump is and how he may govern:

"And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything."

It's up to we, the people, over the next 4 years, to make sure he can't.

Opiate Of The Asses



I'm not ashamed to say it. I believe in God. Does he have a white beard and a deep, booming voice? Does he really dig pipe organ music?? I'm not so sure.

But what I am sure of is this. One reason God doesn't appear to us is that a good number of us humans are totally, freaking nuts.

Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock are among several celebrities who have restraining orders against some of their overly rabid fans. Can you imagine how many restraining orders God would have to get if he was walking around down here? Have you seen some of these nutballs???


God Would Not Give This Woman An Autograph

Two recent stories are perfect examples of how looney tunes some of these so-called religious people can be.

In the Sudan, a nation known for its religious tolerance and abundant good cheer, a British schoolteacher at the Unity High School was sentenced to 15 days in jail for allowing her elementary school class to name a teddy bear "Mohammad."

Nevermind that "Mohammad" is the MOST POPULAR NAME IN THE MUSLIM WORLD. For some reason, it's ok to give the name Mohammad to your son (who may grow up to become a drug addict, criminal, or any number of things offensive to the prophet's name), but to give that name to a teddy bear is illegal.

Fortunately, the Sudanese people are outraged by the verdict. Unfortunately, they're outraged because they believe the teacher's punishment was NOT STRONG ENOUGH.

At least 600 Islamic demonstrators spilled out of mosques after prayers, chanting: "By soul, by blood, I will fight for the Prophet Mohammad."

Some of the protesters demanded the teacher's execution, according to The Associated Press. The agency reports that some chanted: "No tolerance: Execution" and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad."

"Imprisoning this lady does not satisfy the thirst of Muslims in Sudan," a prominent cleric added.

Apparently, these extremist Muslims believe that even with all the poverty, war, and endless misery in the Islamic world, God is most pissed off that some teacher would have the nerve to let her students name a stuffed animal after his prophet.

If God wants his followers to murder someone over that... well just imagine what other offenses he wants his people to kill for.

Extremist Islamic Guy: Excuse me, sir, what are you doing?

Guy: What?

ETG: You double-dipped the chip.

Guy: Excuse me?

ETG: You dipped the chip, took a bite, and then you dipped again.

Guy: So?

ETG: Infidel!!!! (stabs guy with knife)

George Is Lucky He's Not In Sudan

I'm no prophet, but I think the almighty has more important things to worry about.

The other story in the news today is even more tragic. A 14-year-old boy had a 70% chance of surviving leukemia if he got a blood transfusion. He chose not to.

Why? he was a Jehovah's Witness. And they don't believe in blood transfusions. According to the boy's religion, he wasn't allowed to live. God wanted him to die.

The same God that allowed mankind to create medical breakthroughs that could save his life, didn't want the boy to use those medical breakthroughs to save his life.

These may be extreme examples, but they're not the only ones. There's people who say we'd all be better off without religion. I don't think that's true. But clearly, we'd be better off if God could just get restraining orders against all the nutjobs.

Perhaps he should hire Nicole's lawyer.

Abortion Contortion

One thing politicians love to do is take sides. They love to draw a line in the sand and stand on one side of it. It just makes things easier. Answering yes or no takes a lot less thinking than a rambling, nuanced John-Kerry-type response. By splitting every issue down the middle, no matter how complicated it is, our esteemed electable leaders can win over huge chunks of the populace in one fell swoop. It's hard to convince 50% of the populace... it's far easier to make a general statement that they already agree with and make that your position.

For instance, take abortion.

Politicians only take two stances on this issue:

A) Abortion is immoral and should be illegal.

B) Abortion is a personal choice and should remain legal.

By rallying around one of these two statements, candidates maximize their chances of attracting a large group to their side of the sand.

But the issue of abortion is more complicated than: Abortion is murder vs. abortion is not murder. When you talk about making something illegal, you're talking about creating a punishment to fit the crime. In our legal system, that means community service, a fine, jail, or death. As it turns out, not many abortion protestors have given this much thought:



Of course, this video in itself gives a rather simplistic view. Very few, if any, politicians have offered bills that penalize the woman who seeks an abortion. Their bills tend to punish the doctors. The reasoning is, if no doctors will perform an abortion, then no woman can get one. I'll get back to why this is wrong in a second.

But the reason why I posted the video above is to make the point that none of the women interviewed had given the issue any thought. They sat down on the "NO" side of the abortion sand, set up their beach umbrella and their protest sign, and never thought about what it means to make something illegal. They never thought about the effect such a law would have. Abortion is murder, hence, abortion is wrong. They never once questioned the agenda they signed up for. Is their particular anti-abortion chapter for punishing women or against? They don't know. They never even bothered to ask.

This is what happens when you set up two camps and eliminate the spaces in between. You eliminate critical thinking, and are left with a bunch of talking parrots.

And an America of talking parrots frightens me. It should scare you too.

I have no problem with an abortion protester if they can argue their case intelligently. It's when they fall back on, "God said so," or "Abortion is murder," that I have a problem. Because those lines don't represent any thought. They heard someone else say it. They read it in a pamphlet. They repeated it and got a cracker.

If they took the time to examine the issue, they'd realize that making abortions illegal doesn't stop abortions from happening. Back when abortions were illegal, women still got them, in horrifying ways: throwing themselves down stairs, forcing a clothes hanger up their shoozle, going to dirty mexican clinics. Perhaps pro-choice crusaders should put up those pictures next to the aborted fetuses anti-abortion protesters show. From this video, it seems like most of these protesters don't think an abortion merits death. But if abortion becomes illegal, that's exactly what many women who obtain abortions will recieve.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to be pro-choice. But I am trying to convince everyone to THINK. Illegal means punishment, in more ways than one. Not just for doctors. Illegal means rape victims have to carry a rapist's child for nine months. Illegal means a poor mother has to lose her job and go into debt to bring a baby to term. Illegal DOESN'T mean: The U.S.A. is Abortion FREE and a country God can be proud of. Drugs are illegal too. And punishing the dealers and the users hasn't stopped them.

One final thought. If you want to reduce abortions (which is a realistic and honest goal), then attempt to reduce the societal factors which can lead to that painful decision. Institute programs to help expectant mothers. Increase effective means of sex-education. Raise the minimum wage so people can afford to raise their kids. Pass fair labor laws that provide maternity leave and day care help for families. Fund adoption programs. Improve social services and the foster care system. Promote birth control and family planning. Any number of these would reduce abortions, and do it in a safe, effective way.

But I guess that just takes too much work.


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P.S. Not that politicians need to play any games. They can just hack the vote.