Here come the clowns ...

“Here come the clowns” as Frank Sinatra wrote many years ago, but can aptly apply to the behavior of multiple members of the US House of Representatives.  One of the most recent actions by the clowns has been the introduction of the AR 15 National Gun Act to, specifically, make this fireman the official gun for the country.  It was developed in the 1950s as a military rifle and by 2019 over 15 million of these weapons had been sold in this country.  The bill has been crafted and introduced by one of the stalwarts of the sitting clowns, Rep. Barry Moore of Alabama.  To add to the questionable credibility of the intent of this legislation it should be noted that Rep George Santos of New York has signed on as a cosponsor as has Rep Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Rep Andrew Clyde of Georgia.  Clyde is the Congressman who referred to the insurrectionists as simply a group of tourists as they ransacked the capitol on that fateful January 6th day of infamy.  These individuals, along with many of their colleagues, drag out the constitution to attempt to make their point. The introduction of this bill is just one more attempt for a certain segment of the population to impose their will on all citizens.

 Indeed, the Second Amendment does state that:, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”  As one reflects on what was happening in this fledging country in 1791, the need for such an amendment was a necessary reality.  Do keep in mind that those who had come to the new country were fleeing religious and political persecution and had the need to protect themselves and others.  Moving up to the present day, we do not have the need for a militia nor are there any recognizable state militias.  There are existing entities within law enforcement and the military to meet the needs of this sovereign county that were absent in the country’s infancy. Certainly, an individual has the right to own a gun for the purpose of protection, but as we witness every day, guns have become the action of choice to solve disputes and differences.  Recently, a member of the University of Alabama basketball team was involved in a shooting that left a young woman dead.  How did an altercation between a couple of individuals rise to the level that involved the use of a gun?  That student along with the shooter have been charged with capital murder and are sitting in the local jail awaiting further judicial action.  As a result of such inexcusable and inane behavior, lives are changed forever.

We are all too familiar with the mass shootings that have occurred in the past few years.  It is as if we are becoming immune to reacting to these events because they are so frequent.  According to the Insider there were 647 mass shootings in 2022 leading to the death of 44,000 people due to gun violence. Grasp the magnitude of this number.  Thousands upon thousands of individuals are no longer coming home, raising their children, starting a family or engaging in any activity that can only be carried out by those of us who are still alive. These shootings have occurred in schools, malls, businesses, churches, parks, and anywhere that people are gathered.  No area of the country or size of the population makes a difference where such actions occur.  Are we safe anywhere?

 The mentality that we must make it easier to own and carry a weapon is, in my judgment, farcical.  In the past year, the legislature in Alabama passed a law and the current governor signed it that allows an individual to purchase a gun without obtaining a permit to own the gun.  The net effect of this legislation  is that there are no safeguards to controlling who gets a weapon.  The state also allows individuals to avoid concealing the gun so they can carry it outside of their clothing.  This all gives the appearance and the reality of returning to the old west when disputes were handled down at the OK Corral between gunslingers.  According to a recent article the United States has 120.5 firearms per 100 residents which makes this the country having more civilian-owned firearms than people.  A 2018 report by the Small Arms Survey found that there were 393.3 million weapons in the US and at that time the population was 330 million.  This is scary.

How has our society gotten to this point that guns have become the equalizer.  I can recall growing up in the 1950s when kids would have differences, they would settle the difference by a fight and then it was over. Today, a gun comes out and the other person responds by also pulling out a gun.  Why have we deteriorated to this level of baseless behavior?  In the aforementioned incident with the basketball player, he texted another member of the team to bring him his gun which, unbeknown by the car owner,  he had left in the back seat of the car.  The ease with which guns can be purchased and carried heightens the probability that they will be used.  If you do not have a gun readily available, then you cannot use it, but that’s not the way it is today.  As a society, we have seemingly resorted to a barbaric  resolution to disputes and differences.  What will it take to stem this depraved approach?  If there is going to be any resolution it will need to require gaining some control of who can purchase a weapon, what kind of weapon can be purchased, where should the weapon be carried, and other regulatory actions that bring a semblance of sanity to an insane atmosphere.

What was learned - election 2022

Now that the midterm elections are behind us, what did we learn, if anything, from what took place throughout the county on November 6th and four weeks later in Georgia.  It is certainly no mystery that the country is so strongly divided that the likelihood of much being accomplished for the good of the country is, at best, unlikely.  Perhaps one of the most alarming outcomes of the elections were that it has become ever so apparent that people are voting for the party, not the person.  A prospective voter sees a capitol R or capitol D and that is the determining basis for a decision.  How sad and how potentially disastrous.  This was never so glaring as in Georgia in the race between Herschel Walker and Rafael Warnock.

Senator Warnock was the Democratic incumbent and Walker was the Republican candidate who, incidentally, was endorsed and supported by former President Trump.  Throughout the campaign and the ensuing runoff, Walker made one absurd statement after another.  One example was when he stated that the problem with the climate was that China’s bad air was replacing American’s good air.  Not sure what this means, nor do I believe Mr. Walker knows what he meant.  Additionally, he has lied, repeatedly, about being a graduate of the University of Georgia, being a law enforcement officer, being the number one student in his high school graduation class, and on and on.  Of course, his mentor, former President Trump, could very easily be crowned the “King of Lies”.

Not only has Walker made unsupported claims and foolish statements, but he has also been found to misrepresent what he says he believes.  An example of this. which has been documented over and over, has to do with abortion.  While he claims to be against it and has stated so in his campaign, he also demanded that two different women that he impregnated, have abortions and paid for them to be done.  Further, he claims to be a peaceful person, but an ex-wife and his son have stated that he has been abusive to them and held a knife to his ex-wife’s throat. 

There is more that could be included about the lack of appropriateness for Walker being a nominee for anything short of the football Hall of Fame.  There is no question, he was a heck of football player in college and in the pros, but his claim to fame begins and ends on the field.  The brief overview of the situation in Georgia was provided as an indication of how a totally inept and unprepared individual could come so close to winning a statewide election.  Over 48% of those who voted in Georgia voted for Walker which equates to over 1.7 million votes.  One can only surmise that the basis for this decision was the capitol R beside his name.  Granted there were those who were adamantly against the Biden administration and anything Democratic, but would Walker have been an adequate answer to these concerns?  He would probably have been a given Republican vote on any actions in the senate, but there is no evidence that suggests that he has the capacity to engage in critical thinking or decision-making. I am aware that such attributes are not prerequisites to being elected to office, but when the ineptness is so glaring, how can you turn a blind eye. 

As a country we have become so polarized that the concept of compromise has, basically, become a dying phenomenon.  It has been ever so rare that any legislation has had bipartisan support and when it has it is only a handful from the minority party.  The purpose of the legislative bodies, the house and the Senate, is to engage in activity that is beneficial for the country and the citizens therein.  As stated in the constitution’s, preamble—to promote the general welfare of the people.  This seems to have been lost. The capitol R and the capitol D seem to reign supreme.  You must wonder if an Orangutan ran with the capitol R or D beside its name, would it get elected.  Could happen! 

While the decision by the Senator from Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema, created a bit of havoc and chaos for the Democrats in the Senate, I understand her point.  I do believe that her decision was, primarily, a political decision rather than a philosophical one; however, she did state that the two parties had become too partisan.    It can certainly be argued that there is something to be gained from being an independent and not being aligned with a specific political party.  Theoretically, as an independent you can consider the issues on their merit and face value and view them from the perspective of the best interest for the general welfare rather than for the best interest for a particular party.  It is understood that any significant movement toward independency would undermine the current two-party system; yet that might not be a bad thing.  At the Federal level the parties have become so, uncompromisingly, entrenched that stagnation and stalemates characterize the legislative climate.

Will we ever get to a point when elected individuals vote for what is best for the general good?  Will the role of lobbyists ever be brought under control and some meaningful oversight Will politicians come to act as independent thinkers and not be beholden to the lobbyists who donated the largest political contribution?  Will there ever be campaign finance reform that means something?  Will we return to the era of compromise and genuine collegiality?  The answers to these questions remain unanswered and well might for years to come.  Although the answers may be difficult to achieve, it does not mean that we should not continue to “fight the good fight”.

Assault on democracy...

In a matter of days, the midterm elections will take place throughout the country. Each of the seats in the House of Representatives are up for election and a third of the seats in the Senate are being contested. As we move closer to this momentous day, there is a basic question that each American who chooses to either vote or refrain from doing so—what will democracy look like after the first of the year, 2023? There has been a great deal of discussion on this topic from all sides of the political spectrum; however, there seem to me, to be some basic and logical concerns that we all should weigh. As I write this, some who read it will take exception to my conclusions, and that I understand, but it is my judgment and belief that there are irrefutable facts that MUST be given careful consideration. In addition to the above-mentioned contests, there are also elections for state legislative positions and statewide offices, such as governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. Many of these races are as critical as those which have national implications. Within the ranks of many Republicans running for various positions there are the deniers of the legitimacy of the 2020 election. These same individuals have vowed to question the outcome of any election that is not favorable to them and have not ruled out action, including violent physical action, if necessary.

Included on an Internet site is a description of democracy: The word democracy comes from the Greek words’ “demos,” meaning people, and “kratos” meaning power, so democracy can be thought of as “power of the people”: a way of governing which depends on the will of the people. As we all will remember from our school days, American democracy is characterized by a representative form of government. A representative democracy is the opposite of an authoritarian form such as communism, fascism, or any totalitarian form of government. The concern that we are seeing around the country and the world is the rise of a more authoritarian mindset and the selection of leaders who embrace autocracy over democracy. Witness what has taken place in Italy, Venezuela, and Hungry as examples of this movement. The governors of Florida and Texas have leaned in this direction around certain panic-induced issues such as abortion, immigration, and crime. Further, we have a former president who has been hell bent on flaunting the law throughout his career, whether in business, private life, or politics. We must keep in proper perspective that to have a functioning representative democracy, there must be a common adherence to the rule of law, ethical standards, judicial fairness and equality and an abiding respect for human life. Anything short of this is mere tyranny that begins to move us as a society in the direction of an authoritarian form of governing.

In the October 24-31, 2022, edition of TIME magazine, the featured article is entitled: “HOW OUR GREATEST PRESIDENT SAVED DEMOCRACY AND WE CAN TOO”. Jon Meacham, the author makes the point that Lincoln was not a paragon of equality and justice for all. “Yet he defended the possibilities of democracy at an hour in which the means of amendment, adjustment, and reform were under prolonged and almost successful assault.” We do not have to look back far in our nation’s history to see the actions of the insurrectionists’ assault on the capitol on January 6, 2022. This action certainly mirrors what Lincoln was facing in the raging conflict between the slave-oriented states and the Union. The debate goes on between those who support the unsupported rhetoric of Trump and those who denounce the positions he has taken and continues to take on the campaign trail and through social media. In the privacy of the voting booth, will a majority of voters vote to uphold our democracy? Will most voters come to realize who Trump really is and chose to sideline him for the last time? We will have to wait and see how this all plays out.

As we are witnessing from a variety of venues, Trump, his family, and his organization are under attack by various governmental entities. There is the January 6 Select Committee that has gathered untold amounts of substantiated information on the role Trump played in the events leading up to January 6th and the assault that occurred on the 6th. Further, there are the numerous suits brought by the Attorney General in New York and the District Attorney in Fulton County Georgia. Added to these legal actions are the repeated charges brought against him by numerous women who claim that he assaulted them. When one steps back and views the words and the actions, they are replete with one lie, falsehood, exaggeration, and innuendo after another. He lies when there is no need to lie. The real tragedy is that so many people in this county look past all of what he is and is not and continue to throw their support to him. He has made it ever so clear, as have many of those running for office throughout the county, that if the Republican party candidates lose, they will not accept such a result. How does this support a representative democracy? It does not.

Another piece to this discussion is the role of the courts in a representative democracy. The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs which attacked the right of a woman to have an abortion serves as an example of the current Court’s decisions. On the one hand large numbers of individuals, over 70 percent, in the country took the position that the decision was wrong. Considering the substantial number who took this position, such a decision is not reflective of the position society has and that the Court is charged with supporting and upholding. One of the positions taken by Trump during the 2016 campaign was that he would change the complexion of the federal court system by appointing judges who support a more controlling and less egalitarian legal framework. He has appointed many judges at the various levels of the system and three justices to the Supreme Court. Looking at the abortion issue, there are those on the current court who lied during their confirmation hearings and meetings with senators on this subject. In a recent release of Senator Ted Kennedy’s diary, he has a notation in it that Alito promised that he recognized the importance of precedent and that Roe had been affirmed and reaffirmed on several occasions. Kavanagh made the same promise to Senator Susan Collins in an interview with her and Amy Coney Barrett alluded to her support of precedent during the confirmation hearings. All three of these justices voted in the affirmative to negate Roe and support Dobbs.

In the October 24, 2022, addition of The Guardian, Jill Filipovic, authored an article entitled: “Democratic’ midterms hurdle: Americans are getting used to eroded democracy”. She states that over 70 percent of voters in the country said that American democracy was at risk; however, just 7 percent identified it as the most critical issue in this election. If indeed, democracy continues to erode and the populace becomes immune to the effects of this, then trouble does loom ahead for the survival of a constitutional representative democracy in this country. Ms. Filiovic uses abortion as an issue to make her point. When the decision was leaked this summer, there was an uproar from many varied segments of society; however, such concern has been reduced to a whimper today. Similarly, I would point to the outcry when George Floyd was murdered by the police in Minneapolis. There were marches and legislation proposed, but it is difficult to find much support for dealing with the brutality experienced by some Black people in their involvement with law enforcement. Recently, there was another school shooting in St. Louis, and there have been more than forty this year alone, yet as a society, we have become numb to these tragic events experienced by our children.

All that is going on requires some measure of unity and working together. At this point in time that is a utopian idea that will not come to fruition. Do not lose sight of the fact that “A house divided cannot stand.”  Is this our fate? When you buy the ticket and board the train, control of the destination is out of your hands and at the pleasure of the engineer. As Josh Moon stated in the Alabama Political Reporter, “Elections have lifetime consequences.”  It is my unwavering hope that voters will heed the call to sanity, reason, and common sense. Once the election is over, future outcomes will, potentially, be fraught with lawlessness, unconstitutional decisions, and the absence of what is in the best interest of a representative democracy.

Cult-like behavior...

Where, oh, where have we gone and what have we become? This could easily be the response to a basic question about the current condition of our country. It is as if we have stepped into a different world that we do not recognize. With all that is going on, both internationally and nationally, is it any wonder that mental health crises are on the rise at the same time mental services are either in decline or non-existent? Is it any wonder that crime seems to on the increase and mass shootings have become the norm due to an absence of morality and lawfulness being passed on by the institutions that comprise the fabric of society? Those institutions include the home, the schools, the places of worship and the government. Is it any wonder that differences are settled with firearms rather than dialogue and debate? Is it any wonder that the truth gets buried in lies when a former president makes no apology for continuing to lie about anything with which he does not agree? Indeed, there are many examples that could be given to paint a different landscape than would have been painted in the past. This is not to suggest that utopia existed in the past, it simply suggests that differences and disagreements, truthfulness, and untruthfulness, and fairness and unfairness were managed less violently. It suggests a difference in degree and magnitude, not a difference in kind or similarity. Throughout the history of this country there has always been some type of violent behavior directed toward some group beginning with the Native Americans. The lynchings of African Americans and the concentration of the Japanese are but a couple of examples of this unacceptable and contemptuous societal behavior. The Internet has offered a platform for any individual or group of individuals to promote lies, conspiracies, rumors, etc. and this becomes impossible to control. It is the movement toward cult-like behavior that, on the one hand is perplexing, and on the other quite scary.

It is most interesting that embodied in the Ten Commandments, there are admonitions for humankind to maintain some semblance of an orderly, organized, and productive society. Note that the very first two commandments provide a backdrop for some of my comments that will follow. The first commandment: “You should have no other Gods before me” addresses the unitary place that God should have in one’s life. The second commandment: “Thou shall not make unto thee any graven images,” similarly, speaks to the oneness of God and no one, no movement, no system, nothing should compromise the message. Included in another passage of the Bible, is the stated belief, God is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning, and the End. Far be it for me to attempt to invoke the teachings of any religious set of beliefs; however, to include what I have points to serious concerns for where we are today as a nation, a society, a leader of people and countries. Further, it attempts to bring into focus concerns specific to the Evangelical community and where their allegiance lies.

While it is difficult to maintain a modicum of objectivity, let me strive to do so. The number of individuals who continue to support the former president’s unfounded claims of a “stolen election,” are astounding. Further, when you overlay those, primary Republicans, who identify with the Evangelical movement, those numbers are even higher. Fully two-thirds to three-fourths of these individuals support these accusations. These are some of the same individuals who participated in the assault on our country on January 6th. They include those who were seeking out the Vice President to “hang” him for not doing the president’s bidding. Included would be those who were responsible for the death of several police officers and the maiming of countless others. The destruction of property and lives must be laid at the feet of those who were involved. How can anyone who espouses to believe in what they claim to be the inherent teachings included in the Bible be swayed to behave in this manner. It is my belief that what has emerged over these past few years has been a “Cult of Trumpism.” 

Let me share why I believe, there is a “Cult of Trumpism.”  Thankfully, Google is of some assistance, and the following definition comes from that source:” A cult is a group or movement held together by a shared commitment to a charismatic leader or ideology. It has a belief system that has the answers to all of life’s questions and offers a special solution to be gained only by following the leader’s rules.” Seems to be on target in describing the current climate in the Republican Party. Considering what we are witnessing today, there seems to be little to question that the belief system promoted by the former president and his followers meets this definition. Whatever one might think of Trump, he does have charisma and he does have the power of persuasion. Amongst those who claim to be Evangelicals, he does provide a means to their stated ends. He has delivered on appointing judges at all levels that are inclined to support the belief system. These judges have been instrumental in limiting abortion and will rule in favor of curtailing some of the other more progressive decisions of the past. Thus, the means, support for Trump, justifies these outcomes, the end.

There is no doubt that Trump has charisma and has been ever so successful in getting others to follow him. The belief system that he promotes is that he and his followers are right and those who do not follow are wrong. If you look at the current array of political contests, many in the Republican party parrot what they have learned to say to get anointed by Trump. Many of his followers have been successful in the recent midterm primaries and the general election will be the litmus test as to whether the majority throughout the country support Trump’s belief system. Do understand that although Trump is charismatic, charisma is without morality. Various individuals throughout the history of humankind have been charismatic and have been influential in leading others, not always in an acceptable direction. The danger in such an environment is that individuals lose their individuality and fall into “group think” and are focused on following and supporting the leader. The question looms as to what the outcome will be if Trump and his followers are losers in upcoming elections. Will there be a repeat of the recent general election where Trump stated before the results were known that if he lost it was because the election was rigged. Will this become the acceptable message and, if so, what will follow? Will there be a repeat of January 6th? Will the streets of the nation erupt with clashes between Trump’s followers and the non-followers? Will guns and other weapons resolve differences? Will there be any safe havens? What will life be like once some of the dust has settled? What will be the vision for our country? Do remember, as the biblical passages states: “where there is no vision, the people perish”?

A bit of this and that ...

Well, here we are again with an update on a recent sojourn to the local hospital. I had started this article several weeks ago, but then all hell broke loose in Buffalo, Uvalde and Tulsa and my attention was drawn to the gun control issue. This was the focus of the previous article that I shared with you a week or so ago.

It was about a month ago that we went to the Emergency Room around 4:30 in the morning. After about a two hour wait, we were taken back to one of the curtained-off bays in the ER. I had been having excruciating pain in my lower left abdomen and after x-rays and further examination, it was determined that I had a kidney stone that was causing blockage into the kidneys. Emergency surgery was performed, and the surgeon put in a stent to bypass the blockage. The stone remained and was removed when I went back for additional surgery. This was the sixth time I had been hospitalized over about an 18-month period. I have been quite critical about my past experiences at the local hospital, but on this occasion, I cannot say enough about the care and attention that all the medical staff gave me. The ER physician continued to check on me, the nurses and technicians were very attentive and professional in their care, and I want to convey my appreciation. It is important to give credit where credit is due just as it is important to be critical when that is appropriate. Following the surgery, the pain abated, and I remained in the hospital for four days during which time the focus was on getting my blood numbers stabilized. I have been back home for several weeks and have been free of any pain or complications. I can only wish that my current condition will continue to be the norm.

Let me change my focus. It is my belief that the following case example is the epitome of self-serving hypocrisy by an individual immersed in faction of the political spectrum which has minimal regard for the needs of others. From 2011 until 2017, Robert Bentley was the governor of Alabama. Prior to Bentley assuming the governorship, the Affordable Care Act was passed and signed into law by President Obama in 2010. A primary component of this new law was the opportunity for states to expand Medicaid coverage to those who were not currently covered. Either these folks worked in a job that did not provide medical coverage or their salary was too high, thus making them ineligible for Medicaid coverage. The Federal match in the first few years following the new law, was 90-10 meaning that the Federal government would put up 90 percent of the cost and the respective state would be liable for 10 percent. In ensuing years that match would change with the states assuming more of the monetary responsibility. Even though the state must participate at a higher percentage, the revenues generated by the expansion would more than offset the increase for the state. By providing for coverage under Medicaid, eligible individuals would have more spendable income and would be paying more in taxes to the various branches of government. Similarly, the income generated to health care professionals would also be taxed and these dollars would contribute to the state’s overall revenues. In Alabama it was estimated that with the expansion of Medicaid, as provided for in the Affordable Care Act, 300,000 individuals would be covered.

Let me go back to Bentley in his role as the state’s governor. He was adamantly against the expansion of Medicaid throughout the time he served as the state’s governor. He claimed that the state could not afford to pick up the additional costs in ensuing years and refused to accept the facts that additional revenue would be coming to the state because of the expansion. As a result of his intransigence about expanding Medicaid coverage for more Alabama residents, the state remains as one of twelve states that have refused to expand Medicaid.

Bentley was forced to resign as governor in 2017, following legal issues that surfaced while he was governor, including having a questionable sexual relationship with a staff member. Following his removal from office, he returned to Tuscaloosa and resumed his Dermatologist medical practice. In a recent article that was published by AL.com, Bentley comes out in support of expanding Medicaid and, he argues, the failure to do so leaves a substantial number of Alabama residents without medical coverage. This is a bit hypocritical. While in a position, as governor, to promote expansion, he chose not to support the expansion. Now that he is back in private practice, he is taking the opposite position. Is he taking this “newfound” enlightened position because he could expand his own practice? That is a question that only he can answer.

 Medicaid should be expanded. The arguments against doing so pale in comparison to the good that would come from expansion. There are too many individuals who are adversely impacted by the state’s failure to affirmatively act on expanding Medicaid. Indeed, even as Bentley has stated, there are many who do not have the coverage that they deserve. Will the state ever join the thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia that have expanded Medicaid coverage, or will they continue to be one of the twelve who have refused? The likelihood of effective change is, at best, remote and that is the tragic reality. The case example that featured Alabama, could be replicated in eleven other states and this perpetuates the tragedy of the “haves and the have-nots.”