Defund What? Who Is America Now?

Defund the police? Well, not really. BUT, it' makes the point and that's what was needed. A few things need to be defunded. Like the GOP. The NRA. But police?

Let me see if I can briefly break this down. 

Pres. Reagan first defunded social services and many of our mental health institutions to the point of breaking our nation, dumping all that and other services...and redistributing them elsewhere. Like on police, jails, and prisons. Overwhelming them to the point of dysfunction. 

Ensuing from that damage, death, social destruction lasting decades. 

To be fair, many of our mental institutions were broken since forever, in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. But in typical Republican conservative style austerity thinking, what Reagan did brought us to here, today. In having not just broken further, but entirely eliminating some very necessary resources. 

Rather than rebuilding them, rebuilding our mental health services, and too many other social services. All because they are what? Socialism? 

Give me a break. Yes, police need all the money they have and more. But also... their methodologies are old, tired, tried, tested, and bad. Many of their current, forced services desperately need to be broken down, replaced, redistributed to those departments in government who most need them. 

So they can actually be functional, and useful to American citizens. What this all means and needs IS a breaking down and rebuilding, reorienting, redistributing and reinventing in order to be functional. To actually and properly do the jobs they are mandated to do. 

To bring back services to those who can do them, who ARE well trained to do them. With new information from these past decades as we have learned so very much. Yet not simply reopen these services and yet again let ignorant lawmakers decide how they should function. But turn the power over to those who actually know what they are doing. 

As with healthcare where insurance companies, legislators try to manage, dictate a doctor's intimate knowledge of their client, with their medical services, when only the doctor can do that, with their client, whom we used to designate as "patient", we need to get back to being functional again. 

We have learned much these past decades about things the average American citizen, simply has not. And perhaps reasonably so. People are judging things now on very old information that has seeped into the mainstream. Or bad information they got from very stupid articles on the internet leading laypeople to think they know something. When surely they do not. 

America's' biggest problem? A lack of funding for necessary programs. And an end to Democrats trying to fix a system broken so very much by Republican actions. Some from very long ago. Why are we still trying to fix what isn't broken, but unnecessary? Or simply nonexistent?

All while most Republican legislators seem to have no idea what America really needs. We need to stop trying to fix what cannot be fixed. To rebuild what we truly need. Not by eliminating it! But by wisely and effectively rebuilding an infrastructure to protect, to SERVE all and not just some American citizens. 

Why can we not seem to fix our problems? 

Because we keep trying to fix what was purposely broken and long ago purposefully set on a destructive path. We need to see where this is the case, and then...dismantle it and rebuild it. We can do it!

Americans. How do we alter our path? Sometimes it can start with something very simple. Compassion, over anger. (see, How to change anyone's mind)

On another thread, we're really not all so different as studies have proven. We just seem to enjoy acting like children, and masturbating our minds to whatever strokes out fancy. 

500+ Person “America In One Room” Deliberative Polling Experiment Shows Dramatic Shifts Toward Centrist Policies Among Both Republican & Democratic Voters.

Representative Sampling of American Electorate Underwent Three Days of Briefings & Discussion on Immigration, Healthcare, Foreign Policy, Environment, & Economy; Just-Released Results Demonstrate Major Opinion Changes on Top 2020 Policies Like Medicare for All, Universal Basic Income, Immigration Restrictions, & More. Here's eve a video about it. 

Consider this as if nothing else, a thought experiment. From here forward whenever talking to others, especially Trump supporters, every single time you mention "Donald Trump", or worse, "Pres. Trump", whenever you mention that man's name, hang your head, sadly shake it "no", before lifting it with tears in your eyes.

Keep doing it until these delusional, once Republican. hopefully, still, American citizens, get the point and begin to see what they have blocked from both their eyes and minds so they will start to at least WANT to return to a social tract of reality, decency, and intelligence. 

Do NOT be afraid to use the word "social" so they can stop being so terrified of a single, simple word that only means them and us, together. 

Just as America was once not about a divided people under some confused beliefs in "God", rather a single America built of "E Pluribus Unum"...America..."Out of many, ONE"! Our real and ACTUAL American Motto. 

Because THAT is who we ARE, like it or NOT!

Enough of this idiocy. The criminal Republican profit over any or all or what it costs all others but them. The criminal Trump presidency, criminal Donald Trump, and his now criminal friends, a band growing day by day with him at the center. Enough of the GOP embracing fringe nut groups like QAnon. Enough already! ENOUGH!

America has had it! 

WE have ALL had ENOUGH!  

America's Slumbering Giant Awakes... And Brother, She's Pissed!

Interesting to note, I'm seeing some positive things happening. Like Black Lives Matters and Defund the Police. Or, Refund the Police, to redistribute some funds and services to more effective agencies and a more enlightened mindset. 

August 11, 2020 update: We're back at when Obama got elected the first time and had to stop the Bush train running over a cliff. Now Biden has to stop a train running toward a similar but entirely different cliff with flames at the bottom. Nazi types along the cliff edge. 

Did it the first time, it'll get done again.

I do however think we should finally be tired of so much assault and battery and blame from the right, while that's who's pulling their Republican backsides out of plummeting downhill into flames, along with the rest of us and yet ...they continue to abuse while they ridiculously call it...patriotism.

Isn't it time we stop just being upset and finally do something to end this nonsense? Just a thought.

Kamala might be the beginning of that. One can only hope!

#Vote...Now back to our regularly scheduled program:

Those groups mentioned above have been pointing out we need to rethink, be wiser, seek to fix a still broken police and judicial system. Look around, it's not that radical and even police over past decades have pointed this out. They're overworked, overused, and many times ill-used. 

I've watched for decades who police aren't as well trained, well manned, or regularly retrained as they are in some other countries. So much of our infrastructure has to do with a lack of funding. We want 100%, the best quality, as long as we don't have to pay. While one conservative business-oriented political party doesn't even want taxes at all and take what there is and consistently redistribute that tax money to those who don't need it... because they are so wealthy. And that translates back to them as, power.

I have time and again given my educated, informed opinion on all this and it is now finally being supported by even die-hard, life long Republicans supporting what I've been saying. It's amazing, astounding, and we have a long broken Republican party that has morphed into a Donald Trump GOP. 

And it is so bizarre. But at least we're beginning to see reality seep in and decency seep out. By a few anyway, but more and more on a daily basis. We may be seeing the end of a very bad road America has been on since the Reagan administration. 

One Republican is a former Republican strategist, political consultant, and author, Stuart Stevens in his new book, "It Was All A Lie". You can see/hear him on Amanpour and Friends, talking about what is going on today. How they knew exactly what they were doing. And now, through the "Lincoln Project" these people and Stevens, are speaking out. Against what has come of their decades-long efforts. 

LISTEN to these people, because so much now is being driven by ignorance, the uninformed and the purposely disinformed.

There has been much knee-jerking by conservatives, by racists, and bigots about "Defund the Police" which simply isn't about having no police. Rather, effective social services and effective policing. Not simply old-style, anachronistic, and conservative type abusive punishing.

Instead, we have dysfunctional practices that do not benefit a functional social structure or productive and effective system and are simply giving Republican, and sometimes progressive types, power and the rest of us concern, and at times disbelief. Abuse never fixes anything. Wisdom, consideration, facts, knowledge, experts appropriately applied,  do. 

We simply cannot keep doing the same ineffective practices and expect things to get batter. 

Cannabis. Abuse is hidden very often and around for so long it's now hard to even see.

Paul Begala (political consultant and political commentator) pointed out recently that he has finally woken up on the cannabis topic somewhat late to the game and pointed out that studies have now shown that in 95% of our counties that have more than 1% of blacks, they are arrested 364% more for weed than whites. They don't USE it more, they are simply ARRESTED more. 

So it has been a pretty useful tool of systemic racism and to populate our prisons including for profit prisons. Joe Biden too has got to wake up to this, as Paul points out. And he very well may. But it surely isn't going to happen with a Republican president any time soon. 

So yeah, kind of a disparity and a very good reason for #BLM to work this into their agenda. As Meghan Daum (author, essayist, and journalist.) said last Friday, they need to roll this legalize cannabis, anti-war on drugs message into their overall action. 

I'm amazed this hasn't either been included in the BLM message. Or for that matter eliminated from our country's legal system! We all have GOT to wake up! 

This has been one of my primary issues with Biden. Others I have with him could be easily alleviated (eliminated?) in choosing Susan Rice as VP. But I hear him too, he wants someone he can feel a camaraderie with, unlike what happened with John McCain and his nightmare VP candidate, Sarah Palin. Vet completely, then choose! 

Under current circumstances (with our First Criminal Trump and cohorts), I'm really not too worried about Joe. Just as Obama had "evolved" on gay marriage. And sure, some of that should have to do with the electorate and supporting what they elected you for, but you also have to LEAD as a Leader!. I am hoping Biden and VP, in not being Trump or the GOP, also will evolve on this topic, as well as a few others.

With Democrats, we do have hope. 

With Republicans, we're simply damn well LOST. 

Seattle, for one, is thinking about, instead of continuing to abuse and constantly move their homeless portion of their city, using social services and placements, and other ways to actually do something positive. Instead of just shifting them around the city, pissing off homeowners and businesses...as well as the homeless. 

At times, traumatizing those homeless who are already vulnerable and in dire straits. These people are not living the high life, they are disadvantaged and as we've seen, this can happen to just about anyone. Also, finally enforcing previously failed efforts to get Seattle's high tech massive corporations to pitch in

What do you do with a kid who is acting badly or a mental patient or a prison inmate who is out of control? Yes, sure. You can drug them, or punish them. But frequently lowering the lever of stimuli is helpful. As it is with sexual performance issues, which has proven effective through techniques like "sensate focus", by removing erotic stimuli and then reorienting. You wouldn't however, punish someone to help. You'd...help.

Our government has been broken now for decades.

The Republican party (now Trump Christian Republican party), has been broken for decades. Adding divisive religious issues simply disrupts functionality even more, which should be a private thing, as it used to be. Not the least in part because that backfires so often. 

The Democratic party is not broken (as conservatives like to say, from their own broken platform). Yes, they do seem to be too often ineffective. But that's not broken (like the GOP is...and again now, the Trump GOP). When someone uses underhanded means and you refuse to stoop to that level, sure, you appear ineffective. Because crime pays. It's WHY we HAVE laws and law enforcement because crime is easier and if we don't control that, chaos ensues and not in any good way. 

That's where we are today with Donald Trump. A man now stressed to stay in power before he is arrested, just as Vladimir Putin is doing, to avoid prosecution. But Russia is not America. WE have a good chance. Still. But not for much longer if we don't pay attention and ACT.

America has been in a gigantic TIMEOUT between the abuses of the Trump administration (supported by Russia) and Trump's GOP. Specifically so much by the actions of (really, the INactions of) Sen. Mitch McConnell and his Republican Senate. Trump's mostly Republican Senate. 

At least the NRA is losing its iron grip on our Congress and may soon be dissolved because of the criminal actions of Wayne LaPIerre and his three friends and the rest of their 72 person board. Personally, I would love to see a new organization to replace the now lost NRA to do what they did for so many decades until the corruption of LaPierre. It was once about safety and sanity. Like the American Government. 

We desperately need a return to a sane and rational America. And one of a new compassion.

We may very well be starting to rise out of our decades-long mental and social illness greatly brought on by this extremist, conservative-led GOP. A political party who has become an extremist group of late. Who have allowed their opposition at all costs to the Democratic party, to necessitate the Democratic party themselves to lean back merely in order to balance things out. 

Extreme? Yes. Perhaps we could lighten up a bit? Yes?

To seem to have gone too far left...merely to keep the ship that is America afloat. While the far right-wing has constantly and disingenuously claimed them to be TOO FAR LEFT. When they simply are not. Projecting their extremism onto those who are merely trying to neutralize the extremism coming from the right's side of the aisle. 

It's a mess, to be sure. As one can see simply in describing it. 

It is a national mental illness greatly brought on by the conservative movement into social and mental illness. Win, at all costs, no matter who or how many are harmed. Harm them more and you have more control. It is, madness! It is selfish conceit and greed now personified in Donald Trump in the White House and Mitch McConnell in the US Senate. 

But, are we beginning to see that change? America, to wake up from it? 

We very well may be seeing the end of this massive abuse from this conservative Republican Trump administration. A global pandemic, and Republican's and Trump's failure, could be the best thing that has happened to America for some time. All the truly unnecessary deaths notwithstanding, but that being said, in order to get her back on a sane and productive path once again, it's good to note that something good MAY come out of all this misery and suffering. 

An end to decades-long abuses. And a return to the American dream. The real dream. One that we can all attain and not just a kleptocracy, and one supported in many ways by a Russian Oligarchy which they took their notes from. 

No sane person thinks having the greatest number of citizens in prisons is wise. 

No sane person thinks fixing the economy is done by throwing trillions of dollars to a bloated military-industrial complex. One that now includes corporations. Global multinational corporations, just as we were warned so long ago to not do post-WWII...and then, we did it. Some corporations with bigger annual profits than that of many small countries. Sometimes several countries together. 

Is America finally beginning to bet the mental healthcare it needs? Finally? Even while refusing to supply healthcare, mental healthcare, and social health care to herself?

It may well be. It seems so and one can only hope. For we deserve better. Much, much better. We are American citizens who are being beaten and shot in the streets (being shot with a rubber bullet, that requires many reconstructive surgeries, or NOT, is still being SHOT), and accosting US with poisonous gas, not even allowed to be used anymore in wars. Yes, police count, but they are also doing the abuse too much of the time and yes, they too need consideration. They are also caught in the crossfire far too often. 

We are American citizens and we cannot let them forget that. And they cannot forget that themselves, but we have to hold them accountable. Even Ammon Bundy supports Black Lives Matter! 

Does not politics make for strange bedfellows? Indeed it does! 

But first thing? We need to fix our conservatively infected government, our corrupted Office of the President, and all the damages they have done. Then, deal with Trump's extremist conservative Republican party. Perhaps dissolving them much as may hopefully be done to a very corrupt NRA who has done vast damages to America.

As well as all those foreign AND domestic enemies who are aiding in all this.

#Vote? Yes, to be sure! But also, ACT! 

Now is the time. Do not let up. Do not stop.

Defund Police or Republicans?

Defund the police? Well, not really. BUT, it' makes the point and that's what was needed. Let me see if I can briefly break this down.

"The Power Of Good Trouble", said Congressman John Lewis.
"An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind," said Mahatma Gandhi.

First, another relevant and informed perspective:

Atlanta Mayor Worries U.S. is Headed on “Course For Disaster

Maybe it's the Republican Party who needs defunding?

First off...

Let's say Trump loses the 2020 election. The next four years will be a nightmare of trying to fix all the damage Trump and the GOP have accomplished. This disaster formerly known as the conservative Republican President Donald Trump.

Giving them the delicious opportunity, while Trump whines in his Twitter background, to claim how defective the new President and Democrats are at running things. Running GOP broken things. Donald Trump broken things. For the first time in US history, the world pity's America.  It is easy to destroy, but hard to build and so leaves one open for ridicule and abuse. A Republican mainstay.

As Bernard-Henri Levy said:: "Be wary of Trump."

What did electing Donald Trump president do to America?
For the first time, a conspiracist holds the highest office in the country!
Among so many other travesties and ensuing disasters?

It legitimized a faux successful "businessman", a mentally ill individual.
It legitimized his and others' lies.
It legitimized conspiracies.
It legitimized mental ill-health.

Something set up by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.

THAT is not a conspiracy, but a matter of record when Reagan shut down mental institutions. Cut funding for mental health issues. Dumped it all on police leaving so many mentally ill walking the streets, homeless, jailed, and imprisoned.

America has always been a little "buggy". American historian Richard J. Hofstadter labeled it, "The Paranoid Style in American Politics." Apparently, "Psychological projection is essential to the paranoid style of U.S. politics."

Just look at America today. QAnon? A conspiracy factory of people feeling a lack of control, needing to feel smarter than others. Even if they are not. Just like Donald Trump, their nearly religious leader for many of them.

Not to mention the multitude of political "time bombs" left for the new administration in many and varied ways. Even going beyond the political to literally damaging American families, the middle class and citizens directly, all because that is not the Republicans care or purview. Money is.

All while Dems painfully struggle to make things functional once again. In some cases, struggling against situations that are not even possible to fix. Mainly because as "Defund the Police" indicates, fixes aren't possible and restructuring is necessary. A reorientation to priorities and beliefs is required.

All while the GOP continues to harass and obfuscate, stall and do whatever they can, and did before, as with Obamacare when it began, to challenge and break and refuse to see things work at every turn and opportunity. As long as it is not Republicans running things. Rather than work hand in hand as it should be, and get things done.

Because it's not about the American people with the GOP, or with Donald Trump.

It's about power. About perception of the fragile reality of their reality-altered base.

Now...

Pres. Reagan first defunded social services and our mental health institutions to the point of breaking our nation, dumping that and other services...and REDISTRIBUTING them elsewhere. As with the police, jails, and prisons. Overwhelming them to the point of dysfunction. Damage. And deaths.

Speaking of Pres. Reagan...this: The Reagan Foundation has asked the Trump campaign to completely distance themselves from Ronald Reagan.

I know, right? Pretty much says it all.

To be fair, many of our mental institutions were already broken in the 60s, 70s and 80s. But that was reason to revamp, revision and rebuild. Instead, Reagan gave up and did more damage than anyone else back then.

In typical conservative Republican style austerity thinking, what Reagan did brought us to here, today in having not breaking further, but entirely eliminating some resources, rather than rebuilding them, rebuilding our mental health services and other too many other social services.

All because these "social services" are what? Socialist? Give me a break. That's just sheer ignorance, misunderstanding the meaning of...words. Words used to conflate, distract, obfuscate and reorient for political purposes. And Greed. A central conservative Republican tenet. They ARE the party of business, and more so, big business.

Yes, police need all the money they have and more.

But also... they need their methodologies completely reworked. Many of their current, forced services need to be broken down, replaced, redistributed to those departments in government who need to control them. So they can actually be functional, and useful to American citizens.

What this all means IS a breaking down and rebuilding, reorienting, redistributing in order to be functional, to actually do the jobs they are mandated to do. To bring back services to those who can do functionally them. With all the new information from these past decades, as we really have learned so very much.

Not simply to reopen those services, to let ignorant lawmakers decide how they should function. But to turn power over to those who actually know what they are doing. As with healthcare where insurance companies, legislators have so long tried to manage them. To dictate a doctor's intimate knowledge of a client and their needed medical services. When only the doctor can do that, along with the client, whom we used to designate as "patient".

But no, God no, that would cost money! Yes, service, functional, productive high quality services to save money in the long run, does cost money...now! We have to stop this short sighted, short term thinking so apparent in Republican efforts.

We have learned much these past decades about things the average American citizen, simply has not. And so many lawmakers are too average in their minds and efforts, beliefs and ideologies. Yes, even those from Harvard. Because too many, have taken a good education, and turned it against America. Ted Cruz comes to mind.

People are judging things now on very old information they have, information that has seeped into their minds from the mainstream. The grapevine. Or information they got from very ignorant or divisive, if not partisan articles from their political bubble, in the media or on the internet leading those laypeople to think they actually know something. When surely they do not.

With all the access to information we have today, what we see are people with a vast amount of information, and a very shallow degree of knowledge. Yes, you can talk to a completely stranger, or a person living on the street and they may know about a lot of things. But drill deeper and you find they know very little about each subject, or how it connects to other subjects.

Brief aside: some of those street people if you talk to them, are actually more aware and knowledgeable than many of our lawmakers. To be sure there are many who are uneducated, mentally disabled, if not just stupid. But believe it or not, you can find that in the US Congress today, too. Just listen to them talk on TV sometime. Or listen to "Pres." Donald Trump. Or listen to his niece and clinical psychologist, Mary Trump, or read her book about was a stupid inept disaster her uncle Donald Trump is!

Seriously, Donald Trump has no place in the White House. I have argued before, he never even should have been invited to the White House, let alone given our highest office in America. I mean, come on! Were voters high or something?

America's' biggest problem? Aside from Trump and his political party?

A lack of funding for necessary programs and a lack of understanding them. We need an end to Democrats trying to fix a system broken so much so by Republicans, trying to fix what isn't broken, but simply incorrect, or unnecessary. Or non-existent.

Mostly Republican legislators seem to have no idea what America really needs. It is why they stall actually doing anything so often.

We need to stop trying to fix what cannot be fixed. To rebuild what we truly need. Not by eliminating it but by wisely and effectively rebuilding an infrastructure to PROTECT and SERVE all. Not just some, American citizens. Not just the few rich and powerful.

We just cannot seem to fix our problems. Or maybe we just don't want to? Because we keep trying to fix what was purposely broken and long ago purposefully set on a destructive path. We are now watching ourselves self-destruct. And why? There is no good reason for it.

We need to see where the is the case, and then...dismantle it. And build it again as if for the first time.

But there is more to all this...how? Protest is one. Voting is another. But voting hasn't been working so well for America of late. So? Then what? Well? We're seeing it all around us today. the #MeToo movement kind of started the momentum. Then "BlackLivesMatter (#BLM) kicked things for good reason, into high gear. That began a world wide action as this kind of abuse was happening world wide.

The authoritarian pandemic has encircled the globe. Frighteningly, voters around the world have elected strongmen, authoritarians. But some countries pushed back. France for one. The UK got a smarter Donald Trump clone in Boris Johnson.

Russia in the meantime is having a great time abusing our our media and government. The UK government. The EU government. Working toward the destruction of western democracies. China is fighting for it's own form of global economic domination. Iran, along with Russia and China continue to attack our elections.

But maybe now, just perhaps, we've finally seeing the worm turn. Something, is happening. And like a cornered wounded animal. the authoritarians are fighting back, lashing out, knowing perhaps, that they are on the way out. And good riddance to them. They have hurt us ENOUGH!

But, it is not in our American nature to stand idly by and be beaten while we peacefully protest. It is against our sensibilities to stand and be beaten. Not without reacting to show our displeasure, our anger at injustice, to automatically defend ourselves.

Yet, we need to evoke "The Power of Good Trouble", as the sadly so recently late Congressman John Lewis had said.

Still, it is not in our American nature to stand idly by like Blacks in the South in the 1950s and 60s knowing what would happen if there were reactions other than peace to their abuse in protesting abuse.

It is not in our American nature to stand idly by like emancipation protesters in India who walked with Gandhi, while being beaten and shot, murdered in our own streets. Streets that we have paid for. Beaten and killed by our own police, who we have paid for. Knowing that if we struck back, entire protests would be slaughtered as they would have been and at least once were, by the British army. By "their" government. Which was never really "their" government.

Yet, time and again peaceful protests around the world have won. But through much pain and death. And are Americans willing and able for that? Going to war, dying with a weapon in your hand, having the opportunity to fight back is one thing. To stand idly by as you are beat into the ground, to survive with permanent damage or be murdered on the spot in order to horrify the country and the world at large, is quite another thing entirely.

I get that. We have a problem with authority. And yet, the conservative side of America who has always had a problem with authority suddenly under this Trump administration, seems strangely quiet about all that. Now they are angry at those rebuking authority. Once paranoid and angered by the potential of the government's "jack booted thugs" coming for them, now those are their guys?

Are we winning now? These protests? As this illiberal, authoritarian criminal president turns all against us and claims votes from our pain and righteous protesting?

ARE we winning? Or is this a stalemate? How can we break through the wall to overwhelm the other side? Sometimes a stalemate is a win. Sometimes it is a breathing moment, where you can turn the tide and in the end, win the day.

Are we winning the day? Surely, the 2020 election results will prove that one way or another.

The enemy now is our own delusional backward priorities as so well exemplified in too many of our laws. In the bigoted and ignorant attitudes of far too many American citizens. In our overtaken government, surely in these past four years. Overtaken by despicably illiberal Republican abuse for forty years now. And  surely now by this conservative mental defect of a Republican president, this Donald Trump administration.

FIGHT BACK, does not mean to fight back any more than "defund the police" actually means to defund the police. In that vein, we also need to defund this broken zombie, Republican party. A party that disdains the average American citizen, but is in a never ending honeymoon with the wealthy and powerful, with corporations, big business, industry, and the military industrial complex. The corporate/ military/ industrial complex.

Authoritarians like Trump grin as they use ever-bigger violence against protesters violence. After all, they have the entire government on their side and too many laws. Along with far too much power in the presidency. Power that even Republicans have complained about for years now that has gotten only worse.

As the world watches our pain and self-destruction in abject horror.

We all need to wake up.

Including those violent protesting who think they have already woken up but have fallen into a pattern of taking one step forward and being pushed three steps back.

We need to re-evoke "The Power of Good Trouble". And deal with it until we succeed.