who is this man

“We’ve given people all they need to know.” Ann Romney wife of Mitt Romney and potential First Lady. As if the American public should be restricted in any knowledge about the people running for the office of president. When has the truth been so hard to be told. Maybe when the facts behind the truth are so wobbly and rank that once the truth is told that foundation will crumble. “We're not going let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers,” Neil Newhouse, the Romney campaign's pollster. Facts that don’t count, truth that is irrelevant, honesty as a pain in the ass, is that who want to be president? In a country run by dictators facts were a fancy of the informed, in a nation where facts mean nothing it becomes the folly of the fool.“We want to get it done”, Paul Ryan Romney’s VP nominee, the response to why neither he or Romney have mentioned any details about their proposed tax loopholes. Once again the real reasons, the actual policies, the news Americans need to know will not be spoken until, it is perhaps too late once the men have obtained the power. If the real seems too uncomfortable, and you still want to squeeze into the pants without losing the fat all that will happen is that the pants will rip apart.”Voter fraud is rampant in urban areas”, Gary Bauer, President, American Values. Code words are so essential when you are really worried about being called a racist, hater, bigot. Voter fraud has not existed in this nation but the accusation in innuendo that it might or could and only because of the minorities is one way to win an election anything but democratic. Find the scapegoat, scare the ignorant and prove your point without ever having to prove a point.  “The overwhelming majority of voters who back President Barack Obama do so because they are "dependent on government" and "believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing...I don’t care about their vote.” Mitt Romney, presidential nominee. According to Mr. Romney 47% of Americans are lazy, useless and losers. They are poor because of their own doing, they are uneducated because they are dumb, they are unemployed because they lack any motivation to earn their own way. Mitt does not want to be their president, this group of people won’t understand the value of tax cuts for the very rich, because hey envy the wealthy.  All of these people are surrogates for Mitt Romney they cannot share ideas or ideals unless he in fact agrees. Mitt Romney, speaking for himself has stated his lack of concern for the American people.  And this is the man some still want to elect as president. Why? What is it about hate, disdain, distrust, animosity, divide exclusion excites you to elect a man like Romney to lead this nation? 

respect...yourself

If you disrespect anybody

That you run in to

How in the world do you think

Anybody's s'posed to respect you(“Respect Yourself”, Staple Singers)

First it was Bachmann, then it was Perry, then it was, Gingrich, then it was Santorum, and now it is Obama, seems Mitt loves to disrespect anyone who gets in his way, not by saying how good Mitt can be or is but how bad the other guy was,and is.

If you don't give a heck 'bout the man

With the Bible in his hand

Just get out the way

And let the gentleman do his thing(“Respect Yourself”, Staple Singers)

You say you are a religious man, a devout man, a man of God, yet you enjoy deceiving, using lies as truth, saying Gods name but living to his will to help the poor, the elderly, the downtrodden. Mitt, your actions make me wonder if being a Mormon is more about being selfish then selfless. 

You the kind of gentleman

That want everything your way

Take the sheet off your face, boy

It's a brand new day(“Respect Yourself”, Staple Singers)

You want to brag about Bain as long as we don’t mention everything you did there like sending jobs off shore, firing people, closing plants. You say you are ready to discuss the hard questions, but any question about your taxes is too hard answer. 

Respect yourself, respect yourself

If you don't respect yourself

Ain't nobody gonna give a good cahoot, na na na na

Respect yourself, respect yourself(“Respect Yourself”, Staple Singers)

You belittle people needing food stamps as welfare queens, the unemployed as lazy and you had no idea Gays have a family. Mitt, you cater to the ‘birthers’, the bigoted and the bogus. You disregard minorities and the rights of women to make a choice for their reproductive rights.

If you're walking 'round

Think'n that the world

Owes you something

'Cause you're here(“RespectYourself”, Staple Singers)

Mitt you want to be president of this country because of all things you and Ann declared its your turn. You have little in announcing why you want be president, but constantly scream about why others should not be the president. We are supposed to trust, so you say, but things like facts and fact checkers are of no importance to you and your campaign.

You goin' out

The world backwards

Like you did

When you first come here(“Respect Yourself”, Staple Singers)

The use of negative ads, the misuse of facts, the innuendo, the lack of substance, all of this give the feel of a candidate being ass backwards. Your arrogance that the American public should have access to your life is frustrating. Mitt you are running for president and not the new monarchy.

Keep talkin' 'bout the president

Won't stop evolution

Put your hand on your mouth

When you cough, that'll help the solution(“Respect Yourself”, Staple Singers)

You hide behind your surrogates who accuse the president of being a socialist, a Muslim, a Kenyan. You pretend to have no idea about your negative ads. You seem to think you can govern this country not on your merits but on a made up negative record of the president. Mitt, this election should be about your qualities not your abilities to weasel out of stating anything that sounds like the truth.

Oh, you cuss around women

And you don't even know their names

And you dumb enough to think

That'll make you a big ol man (“Respect Yourself”, Staple Singers)

Your wife says she loves women but when it comes to questions of their equal pay for equal work, their abilities to decide the health of their bodies you cop out of granting the freedoms they deserve. You still have difficulty with the definition of rape and want to dismantle Planned Parenthood. Mitt women are not chattel.

Respect yourself, respect yourself

If you don't respect yourself

Ain't nobody gonna give a good cahoot, na na na na

Respect yourself, respect yourself

Respect yourself, respect yourself(“Respect Yourself”, Staple Singers)

I hear you are a good family man, a religious man, a businessman and yet your behavior in the public arena has demonstrated none of that. Your demeaning diatribes about Gays, Poor, Elderly, Immigrants, Muslims, Women demonstrate no respect for the people for whom you wish to be president. Your etch-a sketch never taking a stand, being for it before you are against then being for again is sick. Your attitude that your life is your business is bogus. Mitt as I see it and I hope and pray millions of Americans see it you will be a cohost on some stupid faux newscast on FOX. You can join the ranks of Mike Huckabee, and Sarah Palin two other politicians with no respect for the American people, and no respect for themselves!

not again

Here we go AGAIN, President Obama apologizes way too much. According to the moralist and man of values Romney, our presidents foreign policy plan is based on two words apology tour. Somehow, the world according to Romney, the puppet for puppet masters like Karl Rove, Rush Limbaugh and anything FOX, is trying out the adage, this Muslin/Kenyan is  not one of us, not an American, you know because he is black.

I am amazed that smart people still support Mitt Romney. Here is a man who has no use for fact checks, insists we should trust his decisions before electing him to office, and feels that his background as a CEO, Mormon, Entrepreneur, Governor and taxes paid or not paid are none of the business for most Americans. Here is a man who doesn’t say vote for me because I can do it, but vote for me because the other guy, well, the other guy “ain’t one of us”, you know white.

One more inexcusable speech from a man who ignores his past comments, refuses to admit any video or audio of past statements saying they are fake, and is proud as hell to flip/flop and etch a sketch hoping no one really noticed in the first place. And yet there are a large group of people voting for and supporting this man.

What is it that Barack Obama has not done, that electing Mitt Romney will make better?Is it that he (Obama) says LGBT’s are human... the elderly need a safety net... young adults brought to this nation as young children deserve a chance to become citizens... all Americans should have the right to affordable health care...we are choking the environment...women are smart enough to make their own reproductive choices??????

We had 8 years of Republican government and the rich got richer, but too many foundations supporting every one else began to collapse, wars were waged never budgeted for, housing market devastated, retirement funds emptied, unemployment rising at outrageous rates, division of wealth distribution, and more “we vs they” greater then the Civil War and the days of segregation.

And  Mitt, if elected wants us to return to those days when only a handful of individuals could boast about their successes, and a few have risen to the top of society while others sunk or are still sinking to the bottom. And PEOPLE are still in favor of this man becoming the next president of the United States. It makes no sense. What has President Obama done that is anti-US except to try to be inclusive for all of us.

And today, once again, Mitt Romney uses his code words stating that President Obama is not one of us. Well whatever Obama IS, I am exactly like him. This president speaks my language, speaks of my values, and speaks for me.

Good God

Pat Robertson Tells Man to Beat his Wife, Move to Saudi Arabia. Good ole Reverend Robertson joked and giggled that the laws in this land provide protection for spousal abuse. He then added that in some conditions, especially when the wife is a nag (and had’t read the scriptures where it says the husband is the boss and has the power) a little bit of abuse can go a long way. Robertson ended by saying the Muslims are bad people but when it comes to beating up your wife all good Christians can turn the other cheek. And then Pat (I am your direct communicator to God) Robertson asked his audience to pray and of course send in money.

Children with disabilities are God’s punishment to women who previously had abortions. VA Del, Bob Marshall. Va. Delegate Marshall is praying to a very vengeful God who will not only smote you but will also provide your kid with any myriads of disabilities. It seems not only is his God pro-life but will make that life difficult if you don’t toe the line. Mr. Marshall of course uses no science but prefers science fiction to make his inane and insane accusations. But because Mr. Marshall is a man who quotes the Bible while he is stumping too many small minded. religiously blind minions believe he is correct.

Mitt Romney suggested that President Obama has taken God out of his heart during a rally in Mansfield, Ohio on Monday, telling a crowd of manufacturing workers that unlike the current occupant of the White House, he will always be guided by the Almighty. I am not sure when I ever  heard the president say he has taken God out of his heart. In fact most of the presidents comments and action seem much more like something God would prefer (unlike Mr. Romney’s actions). God out of his heart, hmmm, saying poor people should have access to food, elderly to use social security until they pass, men loving men to wed, a woman the power to control her body, Americans access to affordable health care are not God like? As for me Mitt, my relationship with God is personal and the stronger I believe the more I care, share, concern, and have conscience in my interactions with the world around me the stronger God becomes. And Mr. Romney you may give a large percentage of your money to your church, but that is just money, how you act is the sign of a true believer!

Finally, I want to know who this GOD is that people like Pat Robertson, the Virginia Delegate, Bob Marshall and Mitt Romney pray to. I want to know the Bible they read and where it states hate first pray second. I want to understand how the GOD they are best buds with can be a purveyor of prejudice before he/she provides empowerment. I want to wrap my head around how a GOD these men worship is always voting Republican/Tea Party, on the side of bigots, racist and homophobes, and never worried about rights, freedoms and equality.

Good God!

together

Growing up on Denniston Avenue in Pittsburgh living in a row house, surrounded by four other rows of homes I thought that my universe started and ended at 1618A. There were large three story homes across the street, and albeit many of those families perhaps had more income then the row house families, but they were still a part of my universe. We all had to shovel the snow from our yards and parking spaces in the winter, sat either on our porches or front lawns in the summer, worried about falling branches and tree limbs in the spring, and raked the leaves from the sidewalk in the autumn trying to prevent spills and falls on the pavement. 

When an American holiday happened, we all placed our flags on the front of our homes, assisting the older neighbors who just could not do it for themselves. When the snow was really deep the kids pitched in and made traversing on the pavement safer for all of the families. A power outage and we made sure the most frail of families to the most self reliant were safe and sound. It is what we did on Denniston.

Of course we had neighbors who were scary and mean, but this was Denniston and it was our universe, so each and all played a part in making it through the day.

I was raised by my mother and father telling me that I could do or be anything I wanted but along the way, I would need assistance from those around me. I could be a success but that success had some dependency on how I treated others and how others saw me. You could be alone if you wanted but loneliness was poison because it meant that you were brazen enough to think all you earned was done only by you. My parents aided me in realizing I am as good as those in my world.

And here we are in 2012 and the leadership of the Republican/Tea Party are sounding off that YOU and only YOU are what counts. Any assistance from others is a mere distraction. And in fact many who have less then you are either jealous of your success or want to tear it down. For men like Romney/Ryan and their cohort of supporters poor is bad and is the fault of the lazy. If you are successful, it is because you did it, and did it without the help of the loser who only wants to drain your blood.

I lived on Denniston Avenue almost fifty decades ago, but the spirit of community still lingers large in my heart and soul. The idea that others are unimportant or just a side bar is foreign to me. I had teachers who motivated me, I had neighbors who supported me, I had role models who guided me, I had friends who believed in me and I had family who loved me. I could not be the man I am NOW if it was not for EVERYONE else from my past.

Sorry Mitt and Paul, my America is one of inclusion, not exclusion.

found something

When our Founding Father’s created the Constitution they began a framework of ideas and ideals for a new nation. They tried hard to remove the restrictions of tyranny and torment delivered by an uncaring royalty. Our Founding Fathers realized that many of the laws created by the royals of Britain were more restrictive then resounding. They were set to limit the quality of life for the peasant, and prolong the quantities of life for the privileged. 

Many of the amendments in the Constitution written at the time of our Founding Fathers were interpretations of the status quo of the day. They were treaties of the times illuminating the ebb and flow of the society of the day. Some had far reaching articles added with the understanding that the moment can change and a few moments from now may beg a slight bit different approach. The Constitution was a new document meant to to set a foundation, but the Founding Fathers realized how foundations can shift and change and some elasticity is essential to keep the foundation standing.

In decades since the Founding Fathers established this land of free and equal, society had discovered that free and equal was not benefiting all of the citizens of this great nation. And rational men and women like our Founding Fathers have found consensus in the fact that the “pursuit of happiness” can be pursued only if happiness is provided to the many and not the few. So women became more then chattel, minorities more then slaves, workers becoming valued assets, and so on and so forth. It was common knowledge that the Constitution was the parameter by which America survived but that foundation could expand and should expand when the lives of its citizenry become less then or not equal to.

And now we have a new brand of Republicans being led by anarchists calling themselves the Tea Party who love to exclude, eliminate and deny rights to the Constitution. They are at the ready to recall the rights and liberties thriving in the Constitution and replacing them with a version of Americana more like fascism and fanaticism then democracy. And this group of bigots/racists/ homophobes/sexists set about their redefinition of the Constitution insisting they are doing the continued work of the Founding Fathers. And the many who learn about current events from Fox News, science from their Evangelical preachers, exclusion from their biased families seem to think the denial of rights, freedoms and justice is how and why this nation of ours was created.

And the Republican/Tea Party seems to be enjoined by others who think the president is a Muslim, should not be the president because he is black, not going to defend Israel because he would first like to try a peaceful track, likes the poor by not providing the wealthy with even more tax breaks, hates America because he shows respect to the other nations of the world. We watch as the Romney/Ryan team want to tear down the rights in our Constitution and witness the Republican/Tea Party continue to lie about facts or hide the truths.

Our Founding Fathers did NOT create the Constitution so one day false prophets could redefine their values based on their own bias, bigotry and ignorance. And yet we are being sold a bill of goods based on bogus.

founding fathers

"I don't want anybody to persecute any religion including Islam, but we have a duty as Americans to understand that they intend to take us over and compel us to become Islamic,"  Lee Douglas says. (Huffington Post)

The Governor of Tennessee hired a staff person who among other things happens to be a Muslim. It seems that for those living in Tennessee no matter your birthright, if your religion does not fit into the parameters of anything Protestant, you “ain’t got no rights to work for the state of Tennessee, so says Lee Douglas, a dentist just south of Nashville and an anti-Shariah activist. He adds The First Amendment may provide the freedom to practice all religions, but, according to Douglas, the "government is showing a deference and is accommodating one single religion — Islam, Shariah," (Huffington Post).

Mr. Douglas is not a lone voice nor the only loony voice coming from Tennessee when it comes to racist rant. He has a grassroots organization infecting all of the counties in Tennessee. Mr. Douglas adds, deference should be shown to the religion of the country's Founding Fathers.(Huffington Post).

If we follow Mr. Douglas’s illogic thought process, one might wonder how the Jews in America get away following their religion as not a single Founding Father was Jewish. And one might wonder how the hell Mitt Romney could even run for president since there was not a Mormon listed as a Founding Father. If we pay close attention to Mr. Douglas and his gaggle of goons we would notice this man has NO IDEA what our Founding Fathers wanted to found in the first place.

This new brand of Republican/Tea Party person is crawling from the netherworld built on hate, misinformation fermented by fear and loathing. He has been given a boost by the urging of the success of the new Republican/Tea Party to go big on bigotry and bias. The new brand of Republican/Tea Party loser, bases all fact on the interpretation of their Bible assuming it trumps anything written in the US Constitution. And no one in the leadership role of the Republican/Tea Party seems to have found the balls or backbone to stop, immediately in their dirty tracks, this brand of hooligan from seeding more of their own madness.  “You ain’t like me”, so it seems so I don’t want you in my America!

For me, a word from Romney/Ryan and their band of boys and girls acting as surrogates should reply dramatically to the low life like Mr. Dennis and say, STOP, this is not the America we see the Republican/Tea Party living. We should hear corrections whenever racist, homophobic rhetoric is bandied about. Instead however we either get silence or the comment, this is a state rights issue and I do not want to infringe on their rights. Or we get innuendo and code from the candidates slyly saying the same thing but less obvious.

This incident from Tennessee  IS NOT a fluke. Nope it is all a part of the plan to scare, separate and seclude certain people from participating fairly and freely in American democracy.

When you vote Republican/Tea Party in November you empower a whole of people like Mr. Dennis. And if you find that okay then suddenly your conscience must have faded to nothing of importance at all.

labor day weekend

It was 7:58pm and the sun was on its way to the other side of the Earth. I heard the sound of the night critters begin at 8:02 pm. Talk of Bowl games moved from a whisper to loud chatter, the 2013 autos were being introduced and at my favorite farmers market the peach and apricot stands were replaced with apples, pears and other boring fruit of Autumn. Advertisement for the MDS telethon played, minus Jerry Lewis's name, and back to school sales were in full force. No matter what Mother Earth had to say, summer had exited, and fall was standing in front of the line. And before I realized it, Labor Day weekend was here.

As a child, it was a wonderful forever period of time from the last day of school to the last day of summer. Time meandered lazily allowing you to linger playing with the kids on your block until 11:00 at night, no need for the rules and regulations of a school night. Days lasted longer with more adventures to discover and even more secrets to unwrap and eventually share. The time between Memorial Day to the Fourth was filled with picnics, fireworks drive-in movies, scary stories, the biggest thunderstorms ever and all the kids on the block playing outside. The months of July and August took forever to transpire as each day seemed to last at least 14 hours. The days were filled with adventures that only needed a ball or chalk or one other kid to mesmerize and amuse. The nights trumpeted in the tinny sounds of transistor radios showcasing the voices of baseball announcers describing in great detail the details of the game. Lightening bugs erupted from the dark and the ice cream trucks blared their horns followed by the pleas and cries of kids shouting 'Mommy please can I have a quarter.

It is Labor Day weekend, and this year like too many from my recent past it has arrived way too soon and way too fast. What happened to June and July let alone August? I just got used to wearing tank tops and shorts, I don't want to know anything about sweaters and jackets. I want to imagine that Christmas is still 8 months away and that the only shopping I need to do is to buy sun screen. But here it is, Labor Day weekend as if it just happened, well a year ago.

I am lucky, as this year I am spending this end of the summer holiday in a place that has no time limitations. But damn, where did the year go, and why does it seem to travel faster each year I get older.