December 2016

On pledging allegiance to the flag, are you one of those persons who gets upset if others don’t stand with the proper hand over their heart …stance to salute and honor our flag, or if someone “takes a knee” to the national anthem?  Do you really believe in liberty and justice for ALL?  Do you ever try to undercut your fellow citizens in reducing their liberties — even in your own mind?   Would you ever even contemplate telling your very own neighbors an outright lie — like say, for instance — “the caucus starts at 7:00 p.m.”, when you know darn well it starts at 6:00 p.m. and late-comers would be locked out, knowing that they will miss their opportunity to participate in the local democratic process  –just so you can garner a few more votes for your candidate?  How about the liberty or freedom of religion — for everyone to worship in whatever denomination they choose?  Or is yours the only real faith — the only path to salvation?  And what of the right to be free “from religion” — to choose a secular path of life?  Do you believe that Jews, Buddhists or Muslims should be entitled to the same rights as you enjoy — IF they are citizens?  And what of justice?  Do you believe that ALL LIVES MATTER?  Would you be traumatized to see or hear of a white, unarmed neighbor shot down in the street, possibly for as little as a traffic violation?  What if that unarmed person was poor? homeless? black?  Should the same level of justice be applied to ALL?  Some folks might be more upset to see a dog shot down in the street.  And what of immigrants?  Refugees?  Those in war-torn regions?  Aleppo?  Iraq?          What is our responsibility to our neighbors?  Jesus said, “Whosoever shall give them a cup of water in my name”, they shall be rewarded.  Perhaps it would be wiser to abstain from pledging allegiances or vows that you don’t truly uphold.  Don’t be hypocrites!   “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of the devils; ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.”  And “when you dance with the devil, you don’t change the devil, the devil changes YOU!

Was the 2016 election stolen?  Was there outright voter manipulation in some states?  Jill Stein is behind a recount effort in three battleground states and has raised millions of dollars to pay for it.  Clinton’s people have joined the effort.  Cyber-hacking could have interfered with electronic voting machines.  We know there were purged voter rolls casting many legitimate voters out, many provisional ballots tossed out, voter-suppression tactics employed, an aggressive Russian disinformation agenda aided by WikiLeaks — to hijack our election, FBI Comey’s ploy eleven days preceding 11/8, an additional $200 million in “dark money” gifted to the GOP 2 weeks prior to election day, an abundance of online fake “news” sites spewing outrageous lies, and mainstream media failing to call Trump out on his constant barrage of lies, while focusing incessantly on disparaging Hillary’s private email server, which was NOT illegal!  There is a vast network of GOP gerrymandered states , which greatly hinder a democratic outcome; that situation needs remedied NOW!  If the recount shows Trump to have not legimately garnered the necessary 270 electoral votes, the Dirty Tricks party should not be awarded the election as the result of cheating and chicanery!  This election stinks on so many levels; 11/9 felt like 9/11.  Hillary was NOT a flawed candidate!  We have flawed elections because only half of those eligible to vote — voted, and most people don’t feel the need to adequately educate themselves on most issues.   Hillary won the majority of the popular vote — with nearly 3 million more votes than Trump, so those millions of voters feel extremely disenfranchised!  She has won more popular votes than any presidential-candidate EVER, except Barack Obama!  There is a legal, constitutional remedy set by the Founders for this “electile dysfunction”.  The Electors who vote on December 19th actually determine who the president-elect is; and if enough of those pledged for Trump decide his conflicts of interest too multitudinous, instead vote for Hillary , she would be our president-elect.  There is precedent for this: “Abraham Lincoln’s winning total in the 1860 election included 4 electors who were pledged to Stephen Douglas”; they changed their minds.  This election is the very scenario that our Founders had in mind in setting up the Electoral College system, seeing that the uneducated electorate could be duped into voting for a totally unfit candidate — the country could be saved by the Electors — from Trump and his vast array of Swamp Monsters dismantling our democracy piece by blessed piece!