Donald Trump Getting A Full Pounding For Campaigning On Overt Racism

If it seems like there's a strange alignment of the Earth with both the sun and moon, then you know there's trouble bounding for one Presidential campaign: Donald Trump's. Seems as if the Donald's managed to draw the ire of both The Democrats and the GOP for openly calling for violent White Supremacy and it seems as if those calls are falling on open ears. From the violence at his rallies and campaign events to threats of violence against rival campaigns on both sides of the aisle, it looks like he's about to experience the ultimate form of karma: lost support, at least in the form of minority voters. The fact remains that his call to violence is also having the adverse affect of losing the American electorate, especially those who remember the violence of the mid-to-late 1960s all the way through to the early-to-mid 1990s.

Let me be very clear, we don't need a repeat. Which is why both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, together with the other Republicans running for President, are right to condemn the Trump campaign's violent rhetoric and incitement to violence against anyone who disagrees with him. It seems almost laughable on Donald's part to pin the blame almost entirely on Bernie, when it's clear that Sanders has given no instructions to his supporters to protest at Trump events; it's entirely their decision. While it's heartening to hear the other Republican candidates (Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, John Kasich) condemn Donald and distance themselves from his violent hate-filled campaign, it's important to remember that they also harbor many of those same hateful views and willingness to legislate on them (with the exception of Kasich). With Cruz, that's completely obvious, as he's actually more hateful and extreme than Trump is. Rubio's not too much different. Kasich, on the other hand, is someone I could think of backing if Hillary gets the nomination. This is because of his platform on a couple of issues: immigration and justice/police reform. On both these issues he's calling for pragmatism and moderation. Add 1 more issue to that: climate change. Now whether to leave regulations to the EPA or the states is a necessary debate to have and one that I'd wish would take place, but with the others largely denying the existence of climate change, that's not likely to happen. On a final note, while he is opposed to "non-traditional" (aka LGBT) marriage, he sees any further fighting to ban it as a lost cause. Which makes me think that if he is President, he may push for further legal protections of LGBT Americans.

Aside from that rant about why Kasich may be a better alternative, the fact remains that if the Donald doesn't end his campaign of hate, he's going to answer for it in the same way George Wallace did back in 1968. This may mean that while Donald does especially well in many parts of the South, he may face a world of trouble trying to win the vote elsewhere in November. Be it in places as hard-right Idaho and Wyoming to center-right Kansas and Nebraska. Bernie's argument about the need for a dramatic change in the political culture in Washington, that's actually responsive to all the people, may cut into Donald's support among Republicans. Imagine if Donald has to fight for those states due to many Republicans largely backing Bernie (especially conservative Republicans) that are turned off by all the hate-filled dog-whistles. Think about what happened to Mitt Romney when he faced Barack Obama in 2012, or when Obama faced John McCain in 2008. The fact remains simple, the Republicans' coalition of both the overwhelming majority of the White South together with the Great Plains and Mountain states (along with both Alaska and Indiana), it's not a coalition that will remain cohesive for very long.

If anything, the American people don't want a Southern-styled form of conservatism, (i.e., racial conservatism or put more plainly: hate-filled corporatism). We largely want to move past the era of racial hatred and Social Darwinism. It also means that we need to end this bankrupt status quo of simply keeping our heads in the sand. This is the type of conservatism being served to us a la Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

Bigotry

One of the worst things that I find distasteful is bigotry, and those who argue for making it national policy yet again.

@silvercallie7 @ChrisGallier85 They're right to be talking race as racism is still a big problem.

— jgsf1987 (@jgsf1987) February 29, 2016

@silvercallie7 @ChrisGallier85 And what exactly is so oppressive about guaranteeing everyone their fundamental rights as citizens?

— jgsf1987 (@jgsf1987) February 29, 2016

@silvercallie7 @ChrisGallier85 For too long White supremacy has shaped who we are, and it's time to confront it and learn from its violence.

— jgsf1987 (@jgsf1987) February 29, 2016

These are tweets I sent earlier to the name on the left, drowning on and on about how the talk of racism is a left-wing/socialist conspiracy that The Democrats are using for political purposes. First of all, the Democrats are right to be campaigning on racism as it's still a massive problem here in America. I've written about its effects extensively on my blog. Especially when it comes to the discrimination and violence that comes along with it. We need to face the elephant in the room here because it's really becoming a problem that's reflecting badly on all of us Americans.

It's time to take a stand against the GOP and say that enough is enough when it comes to exploiting racial anxieties and hatred for political gain. It's sickening to think that in the year 2016 we're still fighting the same battles we fought back in the mid-to-late 1960s. It is time to confront our violent past under the banner of White supremacy and all of the damage it caused here at home.

Seeing The Right Destroy Itself

As primary season heats up, so to will the right-wing's death-spiral. Granted, this is news to no one following the right's internal war, or who relish in our nation's political culture. What was once the party of pragmatism has devolved, and I'd say for the worse, into a fundamentalist know-nothing organization hell-bent on destroying the very nation they profess to save.

Apparently, this internal war has started to drive out mainstream conservatives, and that's beginning to say a lot. To be a Republican these days is to be a fundamentalist hate-filled corporatist who aspires to give all wealth/power to the elites and to create a nation of, by and for White people. It's sickening to think that there are people living here in America that actively cheer as corporations profit off of the suffering of others. Privatized prisons are one shining example.

Apparently this is the new Republican Party. That is unless a fair number of mainstream conservatives can claim the party back and expand the base to different ideologies like Ronald Reagan did back in the 1980s.

The Reason To Elect Bernie Sanders As POTUS

Electing Bernie Sanders would do America a lot of favors as he's the only candidate who has any kind of plan for dealing with many of the issues we face today. Moreover, he's shown clearly that he's not letting himself be bought off by Corporate America (note the redonating of Martin Shkreli's donation back in September), nor is he trying to win their affection either.

The fact is that Bernie's plan for helping Americans still struggling to get by is the most feasible and it would help turn things around in the right direction, but it can only happen with the involvement of all of us get involved in the political process. It's on us to pressure Congress to do the right thing, or to elect a Democratic Congress alongside Bernie. We need to make the point clear that we're not going to take anything the GOP throws at us sitting down, not even the most vile of overt racism that we've seen in 5 decades.

Bernie's been the only candidate thus far who's released a plan for putting people back to work by fixing our crumbling infrastructure (all the roads and bridges) and clamping down on the greed and recklessness of not only Wall Street, but the entirety of Corporate America. For too long Corporate America has been cutting corners just to make a quick buck with impugnity, and that needs to change. We need to clamp down on big business and end their attempts to game the markets to their advantage. Bernie's the only candidate with a plan to do just that, as we need to put clear rules in place to govern how the markets function.

For more information on why to elect Bernie as POTUS, check out his website.

Taking On The Establishment

After a couple of hard-won victories in New Hampshire for both Bernie Sanders  and Donald J. Trump for President, it's clear that people have woken up to all the corruption that's manifested itself into the political establishment and they're highly disgusted by it. None of this should come as a surprise, since there's been an enormous amount of anger directed at Washington over the last 40 years. It's only now that we're seeing the anger boil over. This is why we're in for an interesting election should both Bernie and Donald get their parties' nominations this summer.

Dispelling The Myth That Racism Is Respectable

I'll be very clear, there are many people in America who absolutely think that racism and race-baiting is respectable. These people in my opinion need to have their heads examined. If anything, we in America are tired of race-based dog-whistle politics and we're tired of it being used as a distractionary tactic from the thievery that's been happening in Washington. Americans are tired of having these Southernized politics for a clear reason, it's an ugly reminder of how horrid we behaved in the past when it came to race.

It's not respectable to go around making dog-whistle calls, or for that matter, start to shout "White Power!" at political rallies. White supremacy has made an ugly stain on our past, and the best way to overcome it is through understanding the experiences of people on the receiving end of its most violent forms. This is why we need to make our voices heard to the racial demagogues and White supremacists that we soundly reject their calls to reestablish a racial caste system yet again.

Let's make 2016 the year that we reject the old racialized establishment we've inherited from our parents and grandparents.

Superbowl 50

I have to say that having Superbowl 50 here in the San Francisco Bay Area is mega sweet. However, I've heard from some people I know that getting around in San Francisco is an absolute nightmare, which is a non-surprise in itself. Granted going anywhere in the city by car can be an obsticle course, but it's crazier now that people are here for the big game on Sunday.

Then again, it does a lot of good for the Bay Area's tourism industry.

The Loss Of David Bowie

Losing David Bowie to cancer is a lreal loss for rock music as he was a legend. One who will be irreplaceable. RIP 1947-2016

The President's Executive Action On Gun Control & Gun Safety

From what I saw on C-SPAN earlier, it's clear that Barack Obama's absolutely infuriated with the inaction from Congress on the issue of gun violence. Even seeing him weep about it in front of the various families who suffered losses in the most recent mass shootings says a lot as to why he's right to take executive action where Congress failed to do so. The crisis of gun violence, especially mass shootings, has gotten way too out of hand that he needed to act.

The executive orders he issued would overhall the background checking system by streamlining it and would expand it to sales at gunshows and online. Not to mention it would update who would be considered a dealer, and increase enforcement against dealers who are operating without a license. Additionally, he's ordering the hiring of some 200 new ATF agents to enforce the laws on the books with the money already appropriated by Congress. As for the mental health aspect of it, we need to do more to end the stigmatization of mental illness and mental disabilities, and he's ordering an additionall $500 million in new funding for mental healthcare. You can read more on what the President plans to do on The White House's website. You can find it here.

Hearing what I did from the National Rifle Association, it comes as no surprise that the President managed to outsmart them and outmaneuver their GOP pawns in Congress. They can't do much more than throw a temper tantrum since they have no real means of rescinding the President's actions. Hearing other presidential candidates (such as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz)  from the Republican Party promising to rescind them is no surprise either if they're elected to office. The good news is that on The Democrats' side, Bernie Sanders is promising to keep the order in place and enforce it. He's right to point out that the time for moral outrage over this senseless gun violence has long since passed. I found out about this from scanning through PoliticusUSA's website.

Sources:
White House - https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/01/04/live-updates-what-president-doing-keep-guns-out-wrong-hands
PoliticusUSA - http://www.politicususa.com/2016/01/05/bernie-sanders-vows-continue-obamas-executive-orders-guns-elected-president.html

Debbie Wasserman-Schultz Could Lose Election For Democrats

The more I hear about The Democrats' ongoing internal troubles, the more I'm beginning to think that the current DNC Chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, is setting the party up to lose the election in November. It's not hard to see why, with the debate schedule to the lax security around donor info makes me really uneasy about what other troubles could be plaguing the DNC. This does not inspire confidence, especially in the party that has great ideas. Furthermore, she is a huge supporter of Hillary Clinton, and does owe her career in Congress to the Clintons, but I'm getting concerned that she's putting that loyalty ahead of objectively monitoring the race. But as I've said numerous times on the blog as to why I think nominating Hillary is a mistake, the biggest reason being that she's uninspiring and too many base Democrats see her as being dishonest. If we don't get a new DNC chair, we're not going to see another Democratic President again once Barack Obama leaves office in a year. This would be the likely scenario should Hillary be nominated for President, as the nation as a whole would vote to elect Donald Trump as President (that would be bad news in more ways than anyone can imagine).

Furthermore, I don't understand Schultz's decision to contract out the maintenance of the Democrats' donor database out to the company NGP VAN, which apparently cannot hold secure donor information between various campaigns. Granted what Bernie Sanders' campaign did was horrifying, but it highlights the problem of contracting out that kind of work. It lead to lax security measures for holding on to people's private information. I have yet to hear anything coming out of an inquiry as to why this happened and how to prevent it. If I do, I'll share my thoughts on here.