Will 2018 Be Canceled? You Can Bet On It!

It's obvious to me that most politicians enter that carrier to either make money or to make more money.  It's a sweet deal provided you have what it takes; a lot of narcissism and a little bit of sociopathy.  Having said that, there must be someway to make lots of money from politics without having to become a politician.

 And a friend of mine  has figured out a way.   While most everyone else argues and bets on whether or not the Democrats will flip the House and impeach the president, my friend, Junebug, sees a whole different set of issue. "The Man be doing all kinds of weird shit and getting away with it," he told me.  "And if the Democrats win the House, the president will be impeached and there will be all kinds of investigations and other shit hitting the fan.  If that's the case, lot of rich white dudes gonna go to jail and become somebody's bitch.  Now do you really think those other rich white dudes in Washington are gonna let that happen?  And that's something I'm taking bets on."  Granted, my friend Junebug may be a crazy, but he's crazy like a fox and thinks like a sociopath.

Democratic Ennui

Although Wally is getting over a cold that knocked him on his ass for several days, he still feels listless.  “It’s like walking through syrup,” he recently told friends over lunch.  But he was not alone.  Others expressed similar feelings of vague dissatisfaction.  No one present, however, could define the vagueness nor cause for the subtle weariness that had overtaken them for the past year or so.

And it wasn’t until Barb, a retired social worker who’d been fingering her iPhone for the past several minutes, loudly exclaimed, “We got ennui, that’s what we got.”

Consisting mostly of retired progressive Democrats, it was only naturel that they figured the root of their malaise lay in their disappointment and neglect by the very people whom they had voted for and counted on to lead the way out of the doom and darkness of the Bush/Cheney Years.

But the path out of political doom and darkness was becoming circular, “and we seem to be heading back in the same direction from which we came,” Wally asserted. 

“Wally, you really need to get a life,” a retired air force sergeant argued.  “It ain’t all about rollbacks of financial and environmental reforms.  You gotta realize that this too shall pass.”

In the end, however, Wally had to admit that the sergeant was right.  But right now, America is in search of its soul.  And for Wally, that means only one thing.   Now that the Christmas commercials are over, the political ones are already on their way and will be here soon.  And things will surely get ugly.

“Sometimes,” he posted to a friend, later that day, “this constant and never changing impermanence really sucks.  You never really know what’s coming next.”

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What Would Hillary Do (WWHD)?

https://buelahman.wordpress.com

Wally says that he doesn’t get it.  “They just gave Wall Street a gift that will keep on costing the givers.  And it’ll be like, never have so many done so much for so few, all over again.   Wall Street will throw a party, not invite the rest of us, but leave us with the bill.  Just like in 2008.”

There is a lot wrong with that budget bill that recently passed both houses of congress, but one thing seems certain, with the roll-back of regulations governing derivatives trading on Wall Street, it’ll keep happening until it becomes illegal and someone finally goes to jail.

But to make sure they can keep passing legislation which totally benefit the top one percent, the same unknown person, or persons, also slipped in a little something that increases the cap on political campaign contributions from $32,400 to $777,600 a year.  During a two year cycle, for instance, a single rich person can give up to $1,555,200 or $3,110,400 for couples. 

So that’s how it works.  Rich people buy politicians via political contributions, who then pass legislation which voters don’t like, so that the rich can easier rip off the rest of us.  Once the laws are in place for continued rip offs, the rich then make it possible for them to give more, and the more that rich are able to give, the less relevant the rest of us become.

And both Democrats and Republicans are voting to screw us.  Democrats are saying how they don’t like the new laws but have to vote for them in order to get concessions from the other side.  Republicans, so far, haven't had to say much of anything.  And although Democrats never quite explain what the rest of us got in exchange for their betrayal of us, we all know that we'll eventually pay.

What’s next for Democrats?

Obama didn’t bring the change we were looking for and it’s unlikely that Hillary is even up for it.  According to Wally, “When it comes to Wall Street regulations and campaign contributions, she’ll let the rich people continue writing the rules and the only difference between her administration and a Jeb Bush Administration, for instance, is that Hillary will use K-Y Jelly when slipping it to us.  Shit.  She may even kiss us first.

“Meanwhile, I’m changing my voter registration from Democrat to Independent and if Democratic politicians keep ignoring Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders,” Wally finally concluded, “I’ll be looking around for a third party by the time 2016 rolls around.”

With Liberty and Justice for All?

And if you’re growing up black in America, would that headline be true or false?

Wally will be turning seventy in a few weeks and he is still confused about that part of the Pledge of Allegiance that says, “With liberty and justice for all.”

“I was in the third grade when I first thought about that phrase,” he said.  “Even back then, I knew that it didn’t apply to me.  And it was a very unsettling thing for a third grader to suddenly realize.”

As it turned out, Wally wasn’t the only kid on his block to wonder why such an untrue phrase was included in something as important as the Pledge of Allegiance, and he and his friends talked of it often.   But as third graders, they had no understanding of poetic license and spin.  For them, liberty and justice for all, was either true or it wasn’t.

“The things we remember are probably very different from what most white people remember,” Wally wrote in an email to an old friend.  “Back then, lynching’s and police dog attacks were what we paid attention to.  And now, black kids are probably thinking about being shot by a scared and angry cop.”

Later that same day, Wally found himself discussing the recent police shootings with a white friend from his college days in Minneapolis, “I know what liberty and justice for all, means to me”, he said.  “But what does it mean to you?”

Learn to Think Like a One Percenter

A rising tide lifts all boats, “But,” according to Wally, “if you’re among the very competitive top one percent, the less boats crowding the water, the more enjoyable and expansive your view.

“And fishing will always be fun.”

One percenters have a totally different view of the world than the rest of us.  And while the rising tide theory may make sense to the rest of us, the very wealthy have a different take.  “Not only is more for me better, less for others also works.” 

“I’d laugh in the face of Keynesian Economics,” Wally declared to friends, “and proudly let people know that my boats’ are already afloat and then ask, ‘and I should care about your boat because…?’”   

For toppers, economic inequality is a good thing.   More for them and less for the rest of us means that what they have is worth even more, simply because the rest of us have so much less.   Although things may eventually return to balance, it will be a while before that happens.  Meanwhile, the more inequality there is, the more vulnerable politicians become and more open to immense campaign contributions.  And the more politicians that toppers control, the more the laws, legislation and regulations will go their way.

“These days, were I in the top one percent,” Wally recently told fellow attendees at a Denver Inequality Teach-in, “my job wouldn’t be to create wealth like in the old days.  My job now days would be to snatch as much wealth as I can from people less clever than myself.  And that would mean most everybody else.”

Wally went on to explain to the horrified group how lifting all boats is probably a silly idea to a one percenter.  “Their idea is to keep as many boats as possible stuck in the mud and out of lake,” he said. 

Another attendee, having heard enough of Wally’s craziness, challenged him with, “Good thing you ain’t rich because you’d be a real dick.”

“To be in the top one percent, I’d have to be a sociopath,” Wally shot back.

“Ok.” the other attendee asked calmly, “suppose you actually had to look some of those people you fucked over in the eye.  What would you say to them?”

“Have a nice day and thanks for all the fish.”

Did Democrats and MSNBC Drop the Ball?

“I’m an old black man who votes Democrat and watches MSNBC a lot,” Wally recently told friends.  “But were I an old white man, I’d probably vote Republican and watch FOX News.  It’s not that Republicans and Fox news are all that great, but they do talk to America’s darker and most intolerant side.  And they do this by involving their viewers.

“I imagine that people who both hate and fear those of us who aren’t white, love their FOX News as much as I love my MSNBC.   Mostly what Republicans and FOX are doing right now, is ragging on our first black president and they seem to love calling him “incompetent” and insisting that he doesn’t have the same authority as his predecessors.  I don’t know what most white folk think of that kind of talk, but to me it’s obvious.”

Having said that, Wally admits that both Democrats and MSNBC are on a losing streak right now, “And it’s their own damn fault,” he said.  “And I can’t help but wonder if there is a correlation between progressive television’s loss of viewers and the failure Democrats to turn out their base.”

Wally says, both network and party took the easy way out.  When you don’t have a nest of hateful, fearful and angry viewers to depend on, you’ve got to find some relevant issues to stand on and make them interesting enough for people to understand and care about.  Democrats and MSNBC did neither.

Perhaps, if MSNBC did more investigative reporting and a lot less talking head stuff, they might manage to up their ratings.   Meanwhile, FOX News doesn’t have to do much of anything except be able to come as close as possible to using the N-word without actually using it.  “For a lot of older white people watching FOX is pretty much like attending a KKK rally in the privacy and comfort of their living rooms,” a close friend of Wally said.  “And they seem to find it very satisfying.”

Democrats and MSNBC, meanwhile, Instead of appealing to everyday middleclass “voters” who may have lost a home, seen their children’s education suffer, experienced wage stagnation or haveing to pay back high interest student loans, went for the low hanging fruit and pretty much left the big banks and Wall Street alone.

Right now, most everyone is pissed at big banks and Wall Street.  And if some of those corrupt bankers and big money people on Wall Street were actually charged and went to jail for their crimes, instead of paying huge, tax deductible and easily afforded fines, the Dems may have had a better turnout.  And imagine if MSNBC were able to report on the big bank/Wall Street corruption and how the Obama administration was kicking ass and taking names.  We may well be in a different place today.  "And not until the rest of us can deduct our traffic tickets and court imposed fines," said another of Wally's friends, "should J.P. Morgan Chase be able to deduct theirs.

“And while Democrats and MSNBC were telling and showing their base, FOX News and Republicans were involving their base, and that,” says Wally, “makes all the difference in the world.”

Tell me, I’ll forget

Show me, I’ll remember

Involve me, I’ll understand

Income Inequality Means: We Get What We Pay For!

Blue Team Leaders: Listen Up!

It took Wally several days to recover from the dramatic ass-kicking that his blue team took in the midterms.  Initially, he was pissed at the people who didn’t bother to vote.  And the more he thought about it, the more pissed he became.  “I guess it’s an undisputed fact now,” he said.  “Poor folk and progressives don’t give enough of a shit to get up off their asses and vote.”

But as time passed and he got more of a grip on himself, he realized that it wasn’t the voters fault.  “Simply put,” he said, “poor folk and progressives had only two choices last election.  We could have voted either Republican or Republican-lite.”

It only makes sense that Republicans are better at being Republicans than are Democrats.  Somehow, the GOP always end up defining the situation and the Dems always end up buying into whatever the Republicans say is real.    And instead of running on their successes, Team Blue runs from them. 

“Worse yet,” according to Wally, “party leadership either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about the people who have close to an unconditional love for their blue team.”  Instead, our politicians go chasing after red team people who will never vote blue.  “As a result,” says Wally, “their friends lose interest and find better things to do then vote.  Why bother?”

But mainly, the Dems need to talk about the banks, Wall Street and hedge funds.  Most every citizen knows that paying a huge tax deductible fine, for cheating Middle America out of billions, just doesn’t cut it.  As long as no one ever goes to jail, there is no reasons for the perpetrators to do anything different.  Most of us already know that, in the end, big banks, Wall Street and hedge funders will somehow end up with our money.  “And while we’re at,” says Wally, “we may as will privatize social security and give what little we have left to them.  Make it a total wash.”

Democrats Get Bitch Slapped!

There’s no way around it, us Democrats got our asses kicked this past Election Day.  “And once again,” according to Wally, “our president forgot who his friends were and, as a result, his friends forgot about him.”

comicsmakenosense.blogspot.com

By stalling on a promised executive order relating to emigration and deportation, Obama pissed off his base and failed at ass kissing his adversaries.  “You think he would have stopped that shit by-now,” Wally asserted.  “And I’m starting to wonder if he’ll ever learn?” 

Had he signed the damn thing, it would have been over and done with by now and one less heartache yet to deal with.

But now, with all the kumbayas going around, it’s highly likely that in an attempt to show sincerity, Obama will make a deal and use immigration as a bargaining tool.  “Although he insists that he’s not going to, he’ll cave,” said Wally.  "But after all is said and done, Republicans won't do as they promised, anyway."

And then there’s the financial sector.  If the economy is doing so well, why aren’t most of us feeling the results?  Simple, all the fat and most of the lean goes to banks, Wall Street and hedge funders; rich people getting richer.

Worse yet, while those folks are gobbling up all the money and tax breaks, cutting no one any slack and foreclosing on mortgages, only a handful of politicians ever really speak of it.

Who knows what the political environment might be in 2016?  Likely, we 99 percenters may have figured a few things out by then, and it might be Elizabeth Warren vs. Ran Paul as opposed to Hillary Clinton vs. Jeb Bush.

And if that’s the case, hold onto your hats folks!

#DemocratsGetBitchSlapped

Did Democrats Blow It?

Although Wally took advantage of Colorado’s easy vote by mail system, were he not black, chances are he might have not cared enough to buy and affix the two postage stamps necessary to return his completed ballot. 

“Problem is,” he recently told friends, “the main reason I voted was that a Republican governor and legislator would start looking for ways to restrict the rights of African-Americans, Latinos and other people of color to cast our votes.”

So for Wally and others like him, voting was very personal.   “This is one of those times where us people of color either use it or lose it,” he said.  “So for me it was more a matter of desperation as opposed to enthusiasm.”

And although Attorney General Eric Holder made a valiant effort to push back on voter suppression, he let the big banks and Wall Street off with a mere slap on the hand and then a wink and a nod.  In other words, he didn’t do a damn thing of substance.  “Both Wall Street and big banks got off with meaningless fines that are nothing more than a mere business expense,” said Wally.  “Besides, everyone knows that it’s the stock holders and not the decision makers who pay the fines.”

Granted, unemployment is under six percent and economic growth is between 3.5 and 4.6 percent so far this year but, according to Wally, “most of us are still feeling like shit.”  And that is because the financial sector killed our economy and got clean away with it.  “Huge fines which they can easily afford don’t count,” he said.

But even as economic numbers get better, there’s an uneasy feeling about and everyone’s waiting for the other shoe to drop.  “And with both bankers and Wall Street having gone unpunished,” according to Wally, “it’s like having a serial killer loose in the neighborhood just after another murder.  Things may be quiet for now.” he said.  “But everyone knows he’ll kill again.  Meanwhile, all that the rest of us can do is shit our pants and live in fear."

What If Republicans Take Control?

Wally recently had lunch with several left leaning friends and every one of them, Wally included, were down in the dumps.  “There’s no getting around it,” said one.  “Republicans ran a better campaign and put the Dems on defense.”

“I’m starting to think that they’re just smarter than us,” said another.  “After the way she dissed Obama, I know a lot of my sisters and brothers back home won’t come out for Ms. Allison Lundergan Grimes, the bitch.”  Update, Kentucky’s two largest newspapers have recently endorsed Ms. Grimes, but that may not be enough.

Then there was the Bruce Braley campaign in Iowa.  If nothing else, they all agreed, you don’t tell folks in Iowa that they’re not capable of understanding something because they’re just farmers and not attorneys.  “And what’s up with Massachusetts Democrats and Martha Coakley,” Wally asked.  “She can’t relate yet they keep running her for office.  Shit, she was the one who created Scott Brown, the asshole.”

But all agreed, bad times are ahead for Democrats and others of the 99%.  And although, if Republicans win, they will not have the 60 votes needed for a veto proof  congress, but between the House and the Senate, they can create a lot of havoc and stalemates. 

And the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, will constantly be under attack in hopes of an eventual kill.  Consumer Protection, financial regulation and oversight, environmental protection, voting rights and that all makes this country what it is, will likely be diminished, if not totally taken out.

Meanwhile, every crazy idea that the Republican House tried to pass, might eventually pass the Senate, causing a Presidential veto and once again, there will be obstruction and blame.  “Only this time,” said Wally, “we’ll all be watching.  And better yet, we’ll know who all the players are and which team the're playing for.  Just in time for 2016”

It’s Not Just Demographics, Stupid

GO:  IPI-Clock

Although he missed it by less than twenty-four hours, he still missed it.  Worse yet, he didn’t even know it was coming until after it had already passed.  On Friday, August 22, 2014, according to EthniFacts, the United States of America reached its “Multicultural Tipping Point.”

And Wally is a little depressed about it.  “I’m PC and into the diversity thing,” he recently told friends.  “But right now, we’re on the precipice and either we’ll step back a little or jump off.

“Meanwhile, we’re all pissed off, angry and compartmentalized.   Whites want to keep what they have and fear the rest of us want to take it from them and that we’ll treat them like they treat us.  And the fact that we have an African American as president really scares the shit out of them and they’d rather cut off their nose to spite their face than abide a successful black president.”

At times, even Wally is known to be verbose.  In short, most minorities go to #Ferguson, and white people tend toward #ILoveFerguson.   “It’s a simple tale of two cities,” Wally said.  “And symbolic of what’s happening all over the country.”

It’s possible that the Republicans will take the Senate in November, 2014.  And if they do, according to Wally, our government will most likely cease to function and we’ll all be fucked. 

Right now, Obama is sending a message that he is no longer, “the caver in chief,” and will stand strong and fight them off.  Meanwhile, Republicans are betting that he’ll fold and cave rather than risk a total government shutdown.  Now, does that suck or what?

Democrats, meanwhile, seem to be focused on 2016 and already writing off 2014.  Only problem is, a lot can happen in those two short years.  Imagine the worst possible things that Republican governments can do and, rest assured, it will be done.  Not only will they do as bad as you imagine, they will do worse than you can imagine.

In two years, they can suppress the vote, destroy the environment, repeal Obamacare, eviscerate public education and privatize social security, and that’s just for starts.   For Republicans, it’s all about power and control and by 2016, there may be only a few Democrats left who are still able to vote.  Republicans do not play fair and will do whatever it takes.  This is not a game for them and neither is it about democracy.

But if Republicans end up controlling both houses of Congress as well as state legislatures, it’ll be just like Wally said, “…we’ll all be fucked.”

Weird Wally Sez:  Remember, This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around.

A Buy Partisan (BuyPartisan) App Has Finally Arrived: Now We Can Spend Consciously

App's screenshot after scanning the barcode of a product

Although Wally is technically smartphone illiterate and manages well enough with his Motorola 3G, when he chanced upon something called a “BuyPartisan” app, he downloaded it immediately.  It was his second ever smartphone download.  “Since there is no longer such a thing “bipartisan” in politics,” he said, “I may as well join the shitfest.”

According to Colby Itkowitz, of the Washington Post’s “In the Loop,” Matthew Colbert “developed the app to give consumers more knowledge about how they spend their money.  For some, it may translate to not buying a certain cereal anymore, for others it could simply be a conversation starter, Colbert said.  But he hopes all users will appreciate having at their fingertips an awareness that a fraction of their grocery bill went to political contributions.”

Wally says that he is anxious to try it out, “It’s my newest and most fun toy of the year, so far.”  And although he doubts that the app will seriously effect his buying habits, “it’ll still be fun to know where some of my money goes,” he said.

“As long as people take Wally’s attitude towards the app, there won’t be much of a problem,” says one Denver attorney.  “But should it become both popular and effective, then you can expect that state and federal legislators will start passing laws placing mucho limits on what apps like that will be able to do.  Most likely it’ll happen as a Corporate Privacy issue because, unlike in the recent past, corporations are now people.”

It’s Time for Voter Registration in Ferguson, MO

Let's protest at the polls people. Let's protest at the polls

“The Ferguson Police Department,” insists Wally, “is what happens when black people don’t vote.”  And despite all that is wrong in Ferguson politics, the fact remains that most brothers and sisters of Ferguson didn’t bother to vote.  “It’s only common sense that people tend to get the type of government they deserve,” he’d said.

Initially, Wally was somewhat upset with the victims of the Ferguson Police and wondered how it was possible in a town where African Americans outnumber whites by more than two-thirds, whites hold all the political power? 

Like most Americans, regardless of race, Wally’s thoughts and opinions were much like bumper stickers; short, sweet and to the point.  And “Black People Don’t Vote,” precisely fit the bill. 

But after typing “how many blacks voted in the last Ferguson, MO elections,” into google search,  Wally says that he now sees with eyes wide open and things aren’t always as they first appear.  As a result, Wally figures it might be a good idea to couple voter registration and education to the current protests, “That'll scare the shit out of those power hungry bastards,” he said.

Note:  Today is August 19, 2014 and the mentioned search has surely been updated and improved.  But by far, the best article to date appeared in yesterday’s edition of the Daily Kos and is probably still worth reading even if you read nothing else.  

Weird Wally Sez:  Remember, if you don't vote, you won't count.

Television Has News and Views but No Real Clues

Wally is said to have spent most of his weekend finishing up the last few episodes of Star Trek's Next Generation.  Was a time when he'd get up and watch Meet the Press on Sunday morning, but in Wally's mind, David Gregory is no Tim Russert.  While Russert used to confront bullshit when it appeared, Gregory seems to encourage it.   Worse yet, the post Russert version of Meet the Press is more like the Milk Toast Review Show.  “Dude’s always beating a dead horse,” Wally is fond of saying.  “Who gives a shit what folks like Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld and William Kristol have to say about the Middle East?  Everyone already knows that those neocons don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground.”   According to Wally’s worldview, if those assholes weren’t always being given a platform from which to spew their bullshit, the rest of us would be a lot better off. 

But although he actually missed the real-time bust because he was watching Melisa-Harris Perry, there was a major confrontation on Meet the Press last Sunday.  Problem was, David Gregory got busted.  Chris Gunness, a spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency did the takedown.  Seems as if Israel had released a video showing, what they alleged to be, Hamas rockets being fired from a UN school.  The allegations later turned out to be false, but Wally found a clip of the bust and posted it to his twitter account the following Monday.  “This is really worth watching,” he wrote.

If Oprah can do it, why not Sarah?

 

It wasn’t all that long ago that Wally used to describe Sarah Palin as, “Hot!” But now, “She’s just plain crazy.”  But, he also concedes, “She might just be crazy like a fox.”  And although he’s never quite sure which kind of crazy she is, he no longer describes her as “Hot!”

But now, she’s gone and raised the ante and Wally can’t wait.  Like Oprah, Sarah Palin is starting her own television channel and since her announcement of her new channel, SarahPalinChannel.com, people have taken to twitter, eager to post their ideas for shows on her channel, #PalinTVShows. 

“But before you go a tweeting your bright ideas,” sez Wally, “you need to check this out…”

Mitt Me Again, Mr. Romney

Weird Wally is telling anyone who’ll listen about waking up this morning in a cold sweat.   “I had a dream,” he insists.  “And it was horrible!  Mitt Romney was on all over my television trashing Obama, bad mouthing Hillary and, worse yet, beating her in the polls.

“The last election was bad enough, but another one with Mitt Romney as leading man is enough to make me puke.”  When he first learned of the possibility in a Washington Post article back in April, Wally said that he'd actually cringed.  “There’s something offensive about a top one percenter pretending that tax cuts for the wealthy and less regulation of their corporations, which are people, are good things for me.” 

But Wally also says, it’s getting more and more obvious that Romney will be the Republican candidate in 2016.  And Wally isn’t so sure that Hillary will actually be the leading lady.  “It’s quite possible that she may come to her senses,” Wally is rumored to have said on several occasions.

Besides being in the top one percent herself, Hillary will have to put a lot of distance between her and Obama.  “He’s a good president,” Wally wrote in a Reddit post, “but he didn’t see a lot of shit coming his way, and what little he did, seems to have gotten by him.  And Hillary shouldn't have to deal with it.”

If nothing else, Hillary is a fighter and Wally likes that about her.  Many times, he remembers having sighed in frustration when Obama, once again, caved to the other side.  “What part of ‘No’ don’t you understand, Mr. President?” he'd often ask.

Romney vs. Hillary would be nice enough, with Hillary the most likely winner.  She’s a take no enemies kind of politician, but has a lot of baggage.  But Romney vs. Warren, now that, Wally readily admits, “Is something I could get into.”

And although highly unlikely, if Hillary does come to her senses and decides not to rum, Wally says he is comforted by the fact that Elizabeth Warren is waiting in the wings.   But in Wally’s very weird minds’ eye, he is already affixing a “Clinton/Warren in 2016,” sticker to the bumper of his 94 pickup.  

An Open Letter to the Tea Party People

Dear Tea Party Person,

I haven’t a clue as to who you are nor what you are like.   Everything I know about you people comes to me second or third hand.  The few tea partiers I do know, I go out of my way to avoid.  Besides having little in common, I see you as racist, angry and hateful, narrow minded, xenophobic and, quite possibly, mentally or emotionally ill.   But how did you come to be like that?  Better yet, how is it that I have come to see you as I do?  Might we both be influenced by xenophobia and similar mental health and emotional issues?

But like I already said, what little I do know of you may be flawed.  Mostly, I know you by clips I see on television news and it’s usually of very angry people saying very ugly things about our president or, crowds of people wearing costumes from the 1700s, who insist on taking “our country back” from the rest of us.

And your politicians are just as ugly as the bullies in Murrieta, California, verbally abusing a few busses full of women and children.  Your Tea Party Conservatives vote for less regulation on Wall Street and are in favor of decreasing government’s ability to protect the environment.  And while you call yourselves “freedom loving,” you elect people who want to take away other people’s right to vote.  So, when you call yourselves freedom loving, does that extend to the “others?”  People who, for instance, might be less like you and more like me?  What about a woman’s right to determine how she lives her life?  Should gays and lesbians have the same freedoms as everyone else?  Does religious freedom give corporations the right to come between doctors and patients when it comes to determining what kind of medication and procedures their employees are allowed to access?

Yet, even when the hate and venom spews from the mouths of those elected officials and religious leaders, it’s hard to believe that you and I can be so different and intolerant.  And while I consider myself open minded, I am as guilty of avoiding and stereotyping you as much as you are of avoiding and stereotyping me.

On the other hand, I believe that we probably agree on more than a few things.  For starts, neither of us trusts Wall Street and big banking and we’re also suspicious of big corporations.   But your Tea Party politicians want to deregulate both banks and Wall Street.   Worse yet, they are fine with corporations being people and have no problems with the ruination of our environment in search of energy and profit.  How is it that you continue to elect people who want to lower taxes for the top one percent at your expense?  They pay less, while we pay more and you continue to vote for them, and against your own best interest.  Makes no sense to me.

So, how about we plan a picnic in the park next weekend.  It might be fun.  We could exchange iPods and listen to each other’s music.  Bring burgers, hotdogs and potato salad.  Bring the kids and board games.  If near a lake, bring swimming stuff.  Maybe we can even have a conversation, ask and answer a few questions.  It could be informative!  It could be fun!

A picnic in the park.  Let’s make it a plan.  But whatever we decide, please leave your guns at home.

Sincerely,

Wally

"I'm sick and tired of people calling me racist when I know I'm not," he said.

Weird Wally was more than a little miffed by the time he got home from his usual Thursday night at the local bingo parlor.  And to make matters worse, he was pissed at himself more than anything else.  After all, the man was a total asshole and Wally knew early on that he should’ve simply gotten up and moved to another table, but he did not want to be rude.

“I’m sick and tired of people calling me racist when I know I’m not,” he’d said, taking a seat across the table from Wally.  “I have nothing against Obama, it’s just that he was born in Africa and shouldn’t be president.”  Billy Carlson, it turns out, was a recently retired bricklayer from Alabama who’d moved to Denver to be close to the Mountains.   And despite all the empty seats in the hall, he’d chosen a seat next to an African-American, in order to make an obvious point.

Billy was frustrated and said that he wanted his country back.  He had issues with the blacks, the browns, gay marriage, White House scandals and cover ups and a whole lot more.  Several times Wally was on the verge of voicing his opinion, but thought better of it.  This isn’t the kind of guy whose going to listen to anything I have to say, he thought.  Besides, Billy was one angry redneck who probably carried a concealed weapon and was looking for any excuse to use it.

Maybe it was Wally’s silence, but for some reason, Billy thought he’d found himself a kindred spirit in black skin, and ended up walking Wally to his car.  “I don’t get it,” Billy said before departing for his own car, “how can I be racist when everyone thinks like I do?”

By this morning, however, Wally was no longer miffed.  As a matter of fact, he started feeling encouraged.  Something had come to him during the night.  If Billy thought that everyone thought like him, it could only mean that his world was limited to likeminded people.   And people who thought like Billy, Wally was aware, were most likely very old white men and hard core rednecks; the very people who would most relish the idea of impeaching and removing from office, America’s first black President.

Since it first became obvious to him that if the Republicans planned to Impeach President Obama should they gain control of the Senate, Wally began getting more and more depressed.  This whole impeachment thing, he thought, was red meat for the Billy Carlsons of the world, and they were always hungry for more and more. 

 But since people like Billy Carlson listened only to themselves and the Republicans listened only to people like Billy Carlson, the party was always in search of more red meat to feed the tiger that they had by the tail.

And with the Republican Speaker of the House adding to the frenzy by announcing his intentions of Suing the President on behalf of Congress, things were getting really ugly.  And with Billy Carlson seeking only the company of his own kind, and everyone else wanting to avoid that kind of ugliness, Wally suddenly realized that the Republicans may be in the midst of a flawed feedback loop, from which there is no escape.

Meanwhile, with all their talk of lawsuits and impeachment of the Nation’s first African-American President, the Republicans are starting to piss off a lot of people of color.  And Wally knows one thing for sure, it’s the pissed off people of color who will also get out and vote.

And although Wally is not quite ready to say, “Bring it on!” he is starting to feel better about the possibilities.   Funny how this Republican feedback loop is causing them to throw red meat both left and right and Wally can only hope that they don’t come to their senses too soon.

Friday Wrap-up: June 6, 2014

Not much real stuff in the news this week, only more Republican talking points about Obama making a deal with the Taliban on the release of Bowe Bergdahl, an American Prisoner of War, after being held by the Taliban for over five years.  Thing is, Republicans were for the deal, up until the president did it.  No real news there.  And speaking of news, Joyann Ried is turning out to be WW’s favorite anchor on MSNBC.  Granted, her Facebook page seems kind of hokey, but her show is top shelf and makes even WW give something a thought or two.

Meanwhile, “Orange Is the New Black,” comes out on Netflix today and Weird Wally (WW), will be turning off his cell until he’s finished, at least, five of the thirteen episodes.   Although WW abhors violence, he is said to have felt some serious gratification while Piper Chapman was beating the crap out of the woman who had kept bulling her.  Great way to end the first season.

First book on WW’s summer reading list was, “Natchez Burning,” by Greg Iles.  WW sez this is a “No Skim Zone,” story and hard to put down.  That there are so many characters often gets confusing and the ending, though satisfying, is far to action packed.  In short, WW insists that Natchez Burning, would probably make a better movie then it did a novel.

WW just started, “Flash Boys,” by Michael Lewis, a non-fiction account of the corrupt under plunder in which many Wall Street players are currently engaged.   To outsiders, some of the concepts may seem foreign and difficult to understand, but readers will get a definite feel for how Wall Street is ripping them off.  Although this book will piss people off, they will soon realize that there is no real solution.  A lot of very smart sociopaths are finding their way to Wall Street, and like brilliant computer hackers, neither security nor regulators can stop them.  And the way they see it, their job is to rip the rest of us off.

Weird Wally Wants to Know:  While using one of the public restrooms in a Denver area Whole Foods, WW noticed the usual sign reminding employees to wash hands before leaving.  Problem is, with Whole Food’s effort to always conserve energy and water, it takes the water about twenty seconds to come out in small streams for three or four seconds, before pausing for another twenty.  And so goes the water cycle in that particular restroom.  Been that way for five years now and WW can’t help but wonder why no one has ever complained?

Don't forget to checkout the Asshole of the Day blog.

And Weird Wally Sez:  Always remember to talk about voting every chance you get!

Secret Interview with a High Level Republican Operative: Part II

This is Part II of an interview that took place over the Memorial Day weekend between Weird Wally and a high level Republican operative, whom we call Dick, as he wishes to remain anonymous.  To learn how this unlikely conversation came about, click here for Part I of this interview.

WW:  I understand all of that, but by scaring the crap out of white people might help you guys in 2014, by 2016, things will be different.  Minorities, young people and single women will come out and droves and you guys won’t stand much of a chance.  Besides, only twenty-five percent of voters are so far right that they actually give a shit about when a fetus become “life,” and who is allowed to marry whom.

Dick:  Don’t kid yourself Wally, if things go according to plan, those people who didn’t give a second thought to the mid-terms of 2014, might not have a vote in 2016.

WW:  I don’t think so, Dick.  I know your plan.  Take enough state houses and kick as many Democrats off the voting rolls as you can.  But the administration will defend their turf with help from the ACLU, NAACP and a lot of others.

Dick:   Obama will be too busy defending himself because, if we take over the Senate, game over.  Your president will be impeached and we may have enough Senate votes to actually remove him.  And with a Republican House inciting investigation after investigation, your boys will be too busy with no will left to fight for their turf.

WW:  And all this will happen because my side won’t bother to vote.

Dick:  We’ve done a lot of polling and focus groups.  We know for a fact that content voters don’t vote, while the scared and angry do.  And that is how us few old and powerful white men will fight and win against shifting demographics.  Then too, polls also show that the current white majority, even liberals, are a bit nervous about the coming shift and fear being treated like the minorities they will soon become.

WW:  So everything hinges on my side not voting this election and you guys taking over state houses and . the U.S. Senate.

Dick:  Ancient Chinese proverb, Wally.  "You snooze you lose."   By the way, what did you say the name of your journal type blog is?

WW:  Weird Wally’s Worldview.

Dick:  I like the name, shows a total lack of class.  You should consider coming to work for my side.  An African-American man, such as yourself, could make a mint blogging for us conservatives, here’s my card.  Think about it.  Remember, you snooze you lose.

Thus ends the Secret Interview with a High Level Republican Operative: Part II.  Meanwhile, WW is said to have a major announcement in the coming days.  Stay tuned and click here for updates.