Thought of the Day - Self Imposed Mediocracy

As long as we allow our political parties and our system of elections to put forth mediocre candidates, the outcome can only result in mediocrity. We deserve better and we cannot allow it to continue into our next elections. This goes for local, state, and federal elections as well. Mediocracy begins at the source. We can not again as a nation afford to choose unwisely and we can never again allow poor choices to be our only choices.

What happened? We happened.

It's devastating to learn that foreign governments and other unfriendly elements have exploited vulnerabilities in our election system. However, while we're out trying to solve the problem with hardware, software, and censorship, we're forgetting the most important and least protected vulnerability in our system, people.

Zbigniew Brzezinski (that was Mika's dad) had it right when he said and I'll paraphrase; "we've lost our ability to reason and to think critically". If there are two things to take away from the 2016 election they are; 1) There were no foreign agents in the booth with us when we voted, and 2) the government can't protect us from our own gullibility. 

UPDATE -
Since the writing of this blogspot, the 12th person in the Presidential Line of Succession has resigned in disgrace and virtually the entire administration is under investigation by special prosecutors for the DOJ/FBI for the distinct possibility of collusion with a foreign government, whose purpose was to engage presidential candidates, campaign members, and various other Americans that possibly include members of Congress and other government agencies, in acts of subversion and treason against the United States by interfering in our election system. So without being too snarky I ask; Exactly how does a nation undo the damage done by it's own gullibility?

The Roy Moore election and democracy in America

The idea that Roy Moore could actually be elected clearly illustrates the danger America faces. You can not wrap a platform of racism, religious fanaticism and alleged pedophilia in the flag of conservative Republican nationalism and call it democracy, or say that there's anything right about it for America. Call it what it is, immoral.

On compassion for the enfeebled

It's a strange word, but yes definitely. Humanity demands it. We only have one life. Eventually we're all going to be feeble. You think you have it hard now? Try being feeble while getting health care from predatory, insurance profit mongers.

Let's be very clear about our best next steps forward...

Lets be very clear in understanding when democrats say the immediate plan going forward is to shore up health insurance markets and "look" at lowering the medicare eligibility age to 55. The reality of this scenario becomes crystal clear but you have to look closely. If you lower the age of medicare eligibility to 55, it means you're basically leaving everyone under 55 in the same sinking insurance boat paying unaffordable health insurance premiums in collapsing markets. By moving those 55 and older from insurance to medicare, you reduce the insurance "risk pools", meaning the costs will no longer be spread over as many insured as there were before, thereby forcing premiums to go up to compensate.

We can not, for lack of a better term "half ass" medicare for all/single payer. Do not let them pull the wool over our eyes in an effort to kick it down the road for years. America can not wait because we can not afford to wait. Medicare for all/single payer can only work if everyone is in. One pool of people, not 50 different states with multiple pools. It's ridiculous to think 50 disparate health care systems will work better and more affordable than one, or that the same cost savings through economies of scale by a single system, can be achieved by 50 different and substantially smaller systems. Again, medicare for all/single payer can work and it can work now. It doesn't take 5 years and then maybe. It can be achieved now by a single pool of people, old, young, sick and healthy, all in. It's really the only viable solution if we are to rid ourselves of the 800 pound insurance gorilla in the room

If it makes you feel any better...

Well, if it makes anyone feel any better, I don't think anyone is worth being paid several million dollars a year to play a friggen game. (sorry Emmit Smith, you were the man, but just sayin')...I mean it's not like they find cures for cancer...but I digress...Who do you think the rest of the world despises more; the protesters or the perpetrators of injustice?

Some people want to focus attention on a symbol, on a piece of cloth. Protesters want to focus on and bring attention to injustice. In this case, racial injustice and cops shooting innocent, unarmed people. I do not believe the recent protests had anything to do with flags, the military, the anthem, veterans, god, mother, or apple pie. It's like that commercial, "if you don't get it, you don't get it". Flags were created to be symbols. Symbols to rally around. They were created for people to readily recognize and take notice. We hang our flag upside down as the official, international symbol of distress. We use our flag to rally patriots to elections and soldiers to their deaths. We can surely use it to rally protests against injustices suffered by Americans. I'm positive our flag has been used for worse, i.e, parading it down main street next to swastikas in "peaceful" neo-nazi rallies.

The president is an imbecile. He takes pride in tweeting his perfunctory brand of fascism. America can not and must not be so gullible. Ask any Veteran. The cost of freedom isn't the flag and wrapping oneself in it doesn't make one a patriot. There's a well known quote about that somewhere....and finally...We're all Americans. People have a constitutional right to protest and a constitutional right to disagree with how we do it.

Dueling Politics - Clinton/Sanders Books and the Constitution

What all this tells me is that it was a mistake for Sanders to toss that "I" at the end of his name, replace it with a "D", and expect to be treated fairly by those that didn't consider him a "D", but wanted and needed his political following. It was especially deleterious to progressives, who were OK with the alphabet swap, only to have their hopes shattered by their candidate dropping out at the last minute and campaigning for the person who was by all progressives' account, THE reason Sanders was running in the first place. It became clear from the beginning that she wasn't for what Bernie was for. She pretty much had the "take it easy, I'm going to make this all right, please keep sending your dollars" attitude of the status quo. She constantly lamented "the country isn't ready' for this or that yet. The country needed her to be president and they didn't need or want that much change to happen quickly. The country didn't agree and look what happened.

It also tells me that if this chain of 2 party, status quo, plutocracy isn't broken by a strong 3rd or 4th political entity and soon, the United States is doomed to perpetual mediocrity and less than expected "incremental progress" both parties insist is what it takes for change to occur. Some things can no longer be waited for. America has waited too long for change that is not coming. It almost happened in 2016, but corrupt politics and the yearn for money and power overcame the campaign slogans. Couple that with lapse or absent enforcement and oversight, hacking, alleged collusion with foreign governments, add corruption within the political parties, and America is in real trouble. Maybe more so now than ever. The flaw seems to be in the language of the Constitution and is the key to ridding America of corrupt politics and government. The sad part is those benefiting from the corruption have no interest, and are under no obligation to change the Constitution if it negatively affects them. Notwithstanding, they are the only one's authorized by the Constitution to do so. It's perpetual corruption under the guise of constitutionality. OK all you constitutional scholars out there...have at it.

Assume The Position

I want someone in authority to tell me how jacking up the price of gas around the country in times of disaster benefits anyone but the suppliers of gas? I especially want an explanation of why this is happening to those who must buy gas to escape with their lives?

I also want you to explain to me how this is NOT price gouging? Any answer that uses "the markets" as an excuse isn't acceptable. The markets are not a defense for price gouging so I don't want to hear it.

What is it with you government people who are responsible to make sure these things just don't happen in America? We need to get rid of those who refuse to grasp reality of the pure greed that is occurring and those who would attempt to defend the indefensible of putting capitalism over humanity in times of crisis.

JohnQPublik.info