The Real Fake News

ONE example of inaccurate reporting - ONE - and CNN fires the people who made the mistake immediately. Meanwhile, Fox News has been broadcasting falsehoods and propaganda for twenty years, and nobody there EVER gets fired for lack of journalistic integrity (only for decades of unpunished sexual harassment). Fox - The Real Fake News

Sometimes You Just Need To Dance

Sometimes you just need to dance ... with one very special person.

Celebrating Pride

From this Pride weekend on forward, let us vow to love all people as cherished and respected brothers and sisters, and may we focus on celebrating our similarities rather than fearing our differences.

Femslapped

I think that I just got femslapped. I was walking out of a building with multiple doors. I saw a lady walking toward the entrance, so I held the door for her. She looked at me and opened her own door. Ouch!

To Hell With Enthusiasm!

To hell with enthusiasm, Democrats! Who needs it? It doesn't win elections.

Don't get enthused - get ENRAGED! It works for the Republicans.

Democrats Are Losers

Democrats are losers. My own party disgusts me.

Goodbye Autocorrect

I had to break up with Autocorrect. She couldn't understand what I needed to say.

Bad Week In The News

What a tragic week it has been in the news!

- the London fire

- the DC mass shooting

- the UPS mass murder

- the Philando Castile verdict

- the Cosby mistrial

- the damaged naval destroyer

- the US prisoner returned in dire health from North Korea

- reversing progress in relations with Cuba

- the commitment to send more troops to Afghanistan

- the secret Senate healthcare bill

The Republican Takeover and What To Do About It

Some highly unscientific and completely subjective political odds:

Trump is impeached: less than ten percent
Democrats win the House in 2018: thirty percent
Democrats win the Senate in 2018: one percent

Unless Democrats pull off a mathematical miracle, Trump is going to be the president for a full four-year term. The chances of impeachment are extremely low with a Republican majority in both bodies of Congress. Even if you impeach and convict the current president, Igor Pence is waiting in the wings to take the country back into the Stone Age. The chances of flipping Congress are low, so don't expect big changes.

The impeachment fairy is not going to get us out of this mess. Republicans are entrenched in every branch of the federal government and in a majority of state legislatures, and they are doing everything possible to protect their territory and make it difficult for Democrats to have an impact even when they turn out in greater numbers.

These are the facts. Spending money on special elections in red states and "nearly winning" races is like getting drunk and convincing yourself that the attractive bartender wants to take you home and have your baby. It just isn't true.

Democrats sunk their own boat when (a) they didn't protect union and manufacturing jobs and (b) they didn't have the political will to implement single-payer healthcare and a living minimum wage. They sold out to the same corporations and investors and big banks that the Republicans all secretly support.

The Republicans, driving by their superior propaganda networks, their irrational stances on guns and abortion, and their visceral hatred of all things Clinton and Obama, dug in and realized the dream that they had been forging for forty years when Jerry Falwell's amoral minority first demonstrated why the founding fathers wanted a clear separation of church and state.

That said, what the flip do we do about it?

1. Forget about government in the near term. It cannot save you. It works for greedy corporations and powerful special interests. Your ex is now sleeping with someone new. She rides him hard every night, and she is never, ever coming back to you. It's time to give up on her. (With luck, you can elect a new soul mate in a few years, but that process cannot be rushed.)

2. Support NGOs with private funding. If Pence and McConnell want to defund Planned Parenthood, let them. They won. They have the power. They can do what they want. Organizations like Planned Parenthood need record support from private donations. The power that put Sanders on the map can keep these organizations afloat. Get corporations - the ones that don't like Trump - to pitch in.

3. Support legal challenges. This would be a great time to make a donation to the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Resources Defense Council, or any of a number of other watchdog groups. Legal challenges are expensive, but at this point, they are all that's stopping the Republicans from a full fascist takeover of the USA. 

4. Protest. Let your voice be heard. Express your dissatisfaction. Write to your congressman. Write letters to the editor. Attend rallies and town halls. Voter feedback is making a difference in the healthcare debate. It can make a difference on other policy debates as well.

5. Brace yourself for a long, hard future. Trump is likely to load the Supreme Court with conservatives over the next four years. Young, healthy conservatives. This is why the 2016 election was a must win for Democrats who, unfortunately, felt that it was more important to bicker over how the DNC is run than line up behind a candidate who could appoint some moderate and progressive justices. Opportunity missed. Lesson learned? Probably not. A new Dark Age has begun, and there's not much that progressives can do to stop it.

Copyright © 2017 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

Open

Open yourself to love 

And love with all of your heart 
Open yourself to patience 
Be humble and do your part 

Open yourself to forgiveness 

Before trouble rips you apart 

Open yourself to love 
That's the best way to start 

Copyright © 2017 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

The Dark Inner Life Of The Artist

I'm in a dark place, but it will be okay. Raw emotion makes me work harder.

Working Together

Violence is never justified, but death and suffering aren't always caused by violence. They are more often caused by neglect.

How many Americans suffer and die because they cannot get access to affordable healthcare coverage? How many Americans suffer and die each year because angry, vengeful, and emotionally disturbed people have virtually unrestricted access to firearms? How many people suffer and die each year from exposure to harmful pollutants?

If we want to make progress toward building a better society and a better world, our politicians, regardless of party affiliation, need to start working TOGETHER to reverse and rectify the widespread institutionalized neglect that is so frequently and loudly championed by greedy profiteers and single-minded special interest groups.

A Tragic Day

What a tragic day! My heart goes out to the victims of the London fire and the Virginia shooting.

Frustrating Stupidity

As we used to say back in Pennsylvania, some people don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.

11:11

At 11:11, the elevator stopped on the eleventh floor.

The Future Of Transportation

I don't trust Uber with a licensed human driver. What are the chances of me riding in a car WITHOUT one?

Salad Blues

[Homer Simpson voice] So sick of salad! Must manage cholesterol!

New York Minute 57 - Barbecue Protest

This weekend, the annual Big Apple Barbecue event filled the streets near Madison Square Park with the scent of grilled, smoky pork, beef, and chicken. The sun was warm, the lines were long, and the crowds were hungry and enthusiastic. 

I gave up on my first attempt to attend on Saturday. The place was mobbed. I tried again around 6 PM thinking that I might be able to pick up some dinner, but they had already closed the food stands down for the day.

I made one final run on the place late Sunday afternoon. Happily, this time I was successful. I sampled dishes from a couple of the stands; everything was delicious.

While I was there, a group of animal rights protesters showed up and began chanting anti-meat slogans. "Animals feel pain just like us!" I was thinking, "yeah, well, animals feel hunger, too. And when they do, a lot of them kill and eat other animals."

The chants continued. At one point, someone from the crowd of barbecue enthusiasts yelled out, "Black Lives Matter!" That lightened the mood. A gentleman near me remarked that they were protesting in the wrong place. "There's nothing but meat eaters here!"

A moment later - I swear this really happened - counterprotest erupted when a group of queued up barbecue fans started chanting "We want meat! We want meat! We want meat!"

Oh, my goodness, that was such a total New York minute!

I didn't hear the anti-meat protesters after that. I think they gave up and called it a day.

Copyright © 2017 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

Not What I Needed On A Friday

Just as I sit down to a VERY late lunch at my desk, the guy who "hockers" out loud in the office has to start up...

Big Decisions

Don't make big decisions when you're emotional...not that ever I follow this advice.

Interruptions and Productivity

The more interruptions, the longer it will take to finish the job. When will people figure this out?

A Lifetime Ago

It seems like a lifetime ago when we raced through fields of thick green grass, laughing at the things that make boys laugh.

It seems like a lifetime ago when we celebrated every birthday together with our parents and our sisters.

It seems like a lifetime ago when you showed so much talent at baseball and golf and swimming.

It seems like a lifetime ago when I marveled as you played the piano effortlessly.

It seems like a lifetime ago when you got your driver's license before me. It annoyed me that your birthday was two months ahead of mine.

It seems like a lifetime ago when you drove me to my music lesson and waited for me patiently.

It seems like a lifetime ago when you attended my grandfather's funeral in my place when I was stuck recovering in that damned dreary hospital.

It seems like a lifetime ago when we drove over to that big empty house where your friend drank straight liquor while listening to Queen on his father's stereo. I helped you clean him up when he got sick.

It seems like a lifetime ago when you came out to see my rock and roll band play at that little club on the quiet street at the end of town. I loved seeing you there and chatting with you on breaks.

It seems like a lifetime ago when you called me to wish me luck on my first big job after I moved so far away.

It seems like a lifetime ago, and I'm sorry, because now I realize that it was. It really was.

I'll miss you and all of the happy times that we shared a lifetime ago.

 

Five Key Facts about the Paris Climate Accord

Five Key Facts about the Paris Climate Accord

1. It's Voluntary - Every country sets their own targets for carbon reduction. Would you like to mine more coal? Go ahead! Wind turbines? Your choice. Nuclear power plants? No one is stopping you.

2. It's Self-Regulating - Didn't meet your target this time? That's okay. There is no enforcement and no penalty. The idea that the US - or any other country - would be compelled to meet certain commitments is a fallacy.

3. The Funding is also Voluntary - Countries can donate to the Green Climate Fund if they would like to offer assistance to smaller countries for the carbon transition. It's not compulsory, and it's not based on GDP. Your government can donate as much or as little as it sees fit.

4. Pledged Funding is Modest - The USA has pledged $3 billion. We spend more than that EVERY YEAR on support for security forces in Afghanistan. 

5. Clean Energy is a Growth Industry - China in investing US$360 billion in the development of clean wind turbine technology. They are closing over a hundred coal plants and switching over to clean energy. They want to be the world leader in clean energy technology, and they are pursuing that goal aggressively. 

Power Struggle

The GREEDY have tricked the FEARFUL into giving them all of the power. It's time for the INFORMED and the ALTRUISTIC to take it back.

Sarcasm

Sarcasm is the truth that someone doesn't want to hear.

The Paris Climate Agreement - Pros and Cons

I have seen financial arguments against the Paris climate agreement. Apparently, the US agreed to subsidize smaller countries as they transition away from carbon fuels. That does sound a bit unfair on the surface, but consider that they US created most of the current problem as it amassed its financial windfalls. The rest of the world is paying for environmental damage cause by our country's accumulation of wealth and status. So, maybe giving back to less fortunate countries isn't so much to ask.

(For the record, China is the number one carbon emitter today.)

That said, climate change is not a financial issue but an existential one. Wealth and prosperity are meaningless on a dying planet. The Paris agreement provided a framework through which the entire world could coordinate efforts to avert imminent catastrophe ona global scale. The foolishness of walking away from such a framework cannot be overestimated.

Copyright © 2017 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

Happy Friday

Happy Friday! It became Friday all by itself. Making it happy is our responsibility.

Haiku 128

Calm like the surface

Of a crystal mountain lake

No disturbance comes

Copyright © 2017 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved