November 4, 2018

Republicans: Addicted to their own misery.

Listening to MSNBC tonight and they're talking about how Republicans are still bitter, even after winning. I do have many Republican friends, but the ones that seem to be the biggest Trumpers have this personality trait: They are addicted to their own misery. No matter how much you compliment them, they find some ways to perceive things in bleak terms. i.e. "No body has ever said I was beautiful," even after you spent the day telling them they look prettier than Scarlett Johansson.

And, no matter how much you go out on a limb to help them, it's never enough. They're always crying poor mouth, which is why they desperately want that $300 tax return which is tangible, even though they'll pay more for everything else that gets worse because of deregulation. They simply can't conceptualize how the safety nets improve their own lives. They're too busy seeing that those programs will help people they can't relate to.

They run in tight tribal circles, which as far as I can tell, are shrinking.

October 29, 2018

Since I am faced with similar issues, I can tell you this:

The key to breaking these red counties is to make them more diverse. Reverse the white flight patterns that created them. They have an entire subculture that they want to protect because they game the system to stay on top and in control. And that should scare everyone if it's true that all politics are local. They need these footholds to launch much bigger campaigns.

They are going to try to do everything they can to push out all minorities that don't bend their way. So, we could use a little support.

October 29, 2018

She's a Marshmallow.

A white person who loses her shit and browns out when faced with an ordinary situation that involves minorities.

Don't underestimate how much damage they can do, especially when a community is invested in removing minorities from their neighborhoods.

October 4, 2018

The inbetween of a racist-enabling society.

One thing that Kavanaugh has brought to light is that there was a whole lot wrong in the frat culture of the seventies-eighties. It probably didn't stop during that time, but I can only attest to that era.

In relation to racial issues, in the private college I attended the racial mix in frat houses didn't even reflect the meager 2% minorities that attended the college at that time. I remember that race was a non-issue during the eighties, probably because everyone believed it was handled by federal law and because, well, there were no racial clashes on campus because, well there were so few minorities that there were no social issues to consider. Out of sight, out of mind. There was a frat house that was known to be patronized by Southern rednecks, but I never associated with them so I don't know to what degree they could be called racist.

What is important to know, is that the general appearance was that most people knew to be racially sensitive, from what I remember. A few times a frat bro might have slipped and said something in poor taste within ear shot of the one black member in the house, but everyone took it good naturally. At least that was the impression.

This, however, did not pass the test of time.

Jump forty years ahead and what I see is that all those thoughtless comments did have an impact in the long term. Each year, the few minorities found less and less reason to return to reunions. On the other hand, white frat brothers have found less reason to withhold what can only be termed as racist comments. Especially in this permissive climate, those who did not have personal restraints, just got worse. The problem is, they are in a nether region because they don't see themselves as racists because they haven't really suffered any social consequences for the things they say. And the people, their friends, who should stand up and say something to them, well, they're the real subject of this rant.

Let me just say that denial is not the same thing as being racially sensitive. I find that people, when faced with an individual who is too free with racist comments, would rather be non-confrontational and would rather smile nervously and look away, rather than stand up and tell someone that they're coming across racist. They tolerate their frat brothers because that's what the band of brothers that they joined decades ago, taught them to do. They are non-judgmental, non-confrontational and mostly useless in helping to turn the tide. In fact, they might even get surly at someone who would make their racist frat brother feel uncomfortable. They would rather ignore the behavior, and by ignoring it they send the message to their more racist frat brothers that there are no social consequences to their misbehavior. They are enablers.

I don't know what it would take to bring these people to action. But I am certain that they're the ones who hold the key to turning this whole thing around. Maybe the fraternal order could send out a policy statement regarding this issue, because I find it odd that men feel compelled to support behavior in a frat brother, that they would not accept in themselves.

August 5, 2018

Time for traveling Dem political doctors to work their way around the country.

How many insider Democrats were surprised by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's win? The after game analysis seems to be that she was able to connect with the Democratic base that never votes. And we all know why. They feel disconnected from the process.

I'm just wondering, especially now that Obama is trying to rally the base, maybe it's time for a Democratic team to reach out and visit important purple localities to understand the ground game better. I know, when I worked for a large company, that home office would periodically visit us and pulled us in randomly to ask us questions about our supervisors. Granted, it was an informal interview that never seemed to work because our branch was tight. Blemishes and all, we got along. And we were a very diverse work group, employed by a very traditional company.

If it did happen, who has the resources to launch such a team and who has the courage to put the information to best use?

Forget about phone polling. Most people who feel disconnected won't answer the phone, so that would be a waste of time.

July 28, 2018

Let's talk about police procedure.

The main aggravation is police using excessive force. I understand that. But what about under-policing? Like underachieving, under-policing involves using tactics intended to underreport crime. It is the method of choice for areas that are meant to be propped up as desirable places to live. Good for real estate prices. Good to sustain the Potemkin Village Effect.

I thought about this late last night when the police lost interest in the information that I offered that might provide a clue to the whereabouts of a lost dog. The owners can't understand how it happened. The dog is very old and very sick. Hasn't made it pass the driveway in several months. Last night they went out to dinner to celebrate the wife's birthday and when they returned, the dog was gone. They thought maybe it had gone to find a place to die.

With that information, I scoured my security cams looking for signs of a fuzzy pixelated figure moving on the outskirts of the cams that faced the house. Nothing. It is not likely that it came into our development because I was working outside for most of the time that the owners were out to dinner. And my cams have a clear view of the road into the development. Nothing.

It is possible that the dog went into the development next door, but that's when I realized that at that time of the day the number of cars coming into the development spiked as people came home from work. Someone, surely, would have seen the dog. I guess it might still show up at the pound, but this is a small place and it wouldn't have been difficult to connect the dog to the house it belonged.

The one thing that I had was video of a figure moving above the shrub line. Too blurry to I.D. the man who was wearing a hat, but for someone who is very familiar with the landscape, it did appear that he walked out of his driveway and went into the next door house where the dog was staying, reappearing a minute later. You can tell a dog was not walking by his side when he returned, but at that diminutive video size, you can't confirm if he was carrying the dog. There are signs that he adjusted his walk as he returned, the way we do when we lose our grip of something bulky. The one thing I was sure of was that it needed to be looked into.

So, I told the police that the clip would need enhancement to confirm if this was a valid clue. They took the SD, took it to the car and ten-twenty minutes later, they returned with the SD claiming there was no evidence so they didn't need it. I repeated that the video would need to be enhanced - zoomed - but they left it to me to do the work. I have some DUers working on that now.

But here is the thing, they saw the video. They saw the man. They can connect the house he retreated to. And now, they have everything they need to handle the situation through backchannels. This is how it works in good ole boy towns. If they follow the pattern, they will call in the usual network in the community to see if it can be handled diplomatically. The town protects its Potemkin Village image, and the network can continue to inflict anguish and anxiety on the rest of us without worry of reprisals because of their relationship with the city. They need each other.

I'm saying that this style of under-policing should be looked into because it interferes with a fair process that will weed out abusive people from the ranks of community leadership.

July 23, 2018

The question of our times:

How can the Republicans claim the high ground when they're fighting from the gutter? They have church ladies saying that only a dirty slob like Trump can defend them from the coming race wars and others thanking Russia for Trump, because Putin kept them safe from Hillary.

WTF!! If nothing else, we can all agree that there is no moral high ground in their churches; no ethical standards from their businessmen and no honor from their Congressmen.

I mean seriously, does anyone believe now that they're capable of following stare decisis? Nothing they do from this point on warrants our trust or respect.

AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND THAT WE SEE THEM CLEARLY.

July 11, 2018

A lesson that Democrats can learn from our military generals.

If there is one thing that military generals continually harp on whenever the US is attacked by insurgents or a foreign power, it is to strike back swiftly and decisively. Every Democratic president who failed to take this route was taken to the woodshed for this reason: Generals know that if you don't stand up to these hostile actions, they will only escalate. If history is a lesson, any escalation is put on the shoulders of the president who did not retaliate.

Clinton was reamed for this for the Black Hawk down incident, even though he tried to bring it to the attention of the public. When he tried to point our attention to that side of the world, the Republicans diluted his resolve by launched a wag the dog strategy, claiming that Clinton was just trying to take our attention from his Lewinsky problem. Clinton buckled, because he did tend to wait for public opinion from both parties. He was a Centrist president. And for that measured response, history, as it will be remembered by Republicans, is that Al Qaeda were given an early, hidden victory.

Eight months into the Bush II presidency, we were hit with 9/11. Who got blamed for this? Clinton, because the Generals claimed that he did not put Al Qaeda down earlier.

And, here it gets interesting. What did Bush II do? He made a decisive attack -- against the wrong people! But that didn't matter. He was applauded for taking action.

The sad truth is that Republicans don't know one dark people from another. I know this personally, because I know someone who lost a son in 9/11. It was a massive loss. There is just no way that I can give proper due to what she felt, and how she overcame that loss, if she did at all. However, decades later, when we discussed the military response from the U.S., and I mentioned that Bush attacked the wrong country her response was, "At least he did something."

That's when I understood how Bush had used the loss, sorrow and pain from the 9/11 survivors for his own purpose. He took us into a wrong-minded war, and Republicans would applaud him for it and demonize the rest of us for questioning his decision. They just do not have a cultural reference point to differentiate between one dark skinned country from another.

Bush II would never be held accountable for his massive mistake -- or from interfering with a proper vetting that would have helped us focus on the Taliban and bin-Laden earlier. The Bushes were allowed to protect their Saudi Arabia alliances, and the division in the American people grew because the facts were never laid out clearly for everyone to see.

Lean Forward. That was the policy that President Obama would use in relation to the Iraq War. He walked away from holding Bush-Cheney responsible. Yes, at least he got bin Laden, but the division between the American people grew because we were allowed to walk away with a different set of facts.

It should not be a surprise that we have great divisions in our country. Simply, Republicans can create their own reality. Democrats just go along with it. It has been that way since the Fairness Doctrine was abolished. Republicans will change the rules where it suits them, and ignore them when they can't and the Democratic leadership does not hold them accountable. The right will cheat, spread propaganda to their supporters and the Democratic leaders always, always opt for civility in response. It is a pattern that has set in because we have not decisively retaliated with a massive counter-offense to stop them. That is the lesson we should learn from our military generals.

For better or for worse, the counter-offensive seems to be generating from the grassroots. Democratic voters all across this county have finally given up on the leadership to lead. I see this because there is a noticeable uptick in the number of ordinary citizens who are standing up to Republican public figures like McConnell and Sanders. They are standing up to them because no one in the Democratic leadership seems to do it. These ordinary citizens see the unfairness that is going on, and they are saying, Enough.

I suggest that we make it very obvious that we know that Republicans have crossed the line. We should pitch in money for a campaign ad that will highlight the facts as we see them. We need a new way to get our point of view through the red firewall of the right-wing media. The message we send should be clear: No, the end does not justify the means in our Republic. When we catch you gaming the system, anything that is decided by your Republican triumvirate is not valid.

July 3, 2018

The things I learned, living in America. Or observations of a Right-wing community.

I'm not originally from here. I was an American born in another country. I moved here to attend college and stayed to live out the adult years in Central Florida, where I watched the last few decades unfold. So, appraising my childhood indoctrination and expectations as an American child living abroad, these are the things that my parents taught us that have not served us well in our adult life:

(1a) We were taught that no one is above the law. It's not true. There are some people who have learned to use donations and networks to cement good relationships and associations with the right people. It not only helps them get out of trouble, but it may also encourage them to push things outside the boundary of civility. This has been going on for so long that now we can see the next step develop as they feel emboldened to codify this right into law for the president.

(1b) A corollary to the first observation is that you can steal things. But you have to learn how to steal it fair and square. In other words, you have to have people that you can count on to vouch for you and watch your back. It helps to hold a prominent position on a community board because most people will refuse to believe that you'll use your position for personal gain, since surely, someone in authority will remove you if you abuse your position. But it never happens that way. No one comes. There is no 24th cavalry, or no self-regulating law organization that will step in to protect us. What we find is that there is a segment of the population who believes that abuse of power is a perk of the position. In this climate, a corrupt leader can always count on support in this population because these people know from experience that there are benefits to becoming willing soldiers. This is how co-conspirators are created. They become handy, because they can ward off criticism by vouching for your stellar reputation and mention your military service to remind everyone that your word and reputation is above reproach. At a local level it is easy to get away with the "stealing things fair and square" because no one takes fiduciary responsibility seriously.

In case you haven't connected the dots, this social dynamic is happening on the national level. A small percentage of the public is supporting and vouching for a crooked leader, and the majority is helplessly watching. I have only seen this dynamic broken once at a local level. It required filling up city hall and a new face came to the mic and called the good ole boys on their bullshit.

(2) Protect your children from the neighbors. Many of us grew up ready to pay the consequences if a neighbor found fault with our behavior. Of all the things that my parents taught me, this is the one I regret the most. We would have faced severe punishment from our parents if a neighbor tattled on us. It may have made sense when we lived in a nurturing community, but in a right-wing community you are making your family vulnerable. I would tell young parents who live in hard right communities that you need to be prepared to stand up to anyone who disciplines your child without your permission. The reason is obvious. The world is getting more hostile, and people may take advantage of this antiquated, old village community concept, where everyone was forced to take the adult's version of what happened. Autocratic right-wingers know you're moving into their communities with these social beliefs and will take advantage of that indoctrination. The worst of them will take out their aggression towards you on your children. This is something that most people won't understand if they're under 55 years of age, but it was very different when we were growing up. So, especially if your neighbors are hard right, give your children the benefit of the doubt.

(3) In a right-wing community, people do discriminate against those they cannot control. It seems odd that every American claims they are fighting for the Constitution, but the social structure that controls local community decisions is not democratic and could not withstand a sharp audit of the Fourteenth Amendment. It's appalling. Equal Protection and Due Process of Law are nuisances which the right ignores on a local and state level. And now we're seeing the right brutalizing the Fourteenth Amendment with Trump policies.

In essence, America is a little less American than the way I viewed it back when I was a child. Our parents should have taught us to be less trusting, and to recognize that there are two tracks in America. The fast track has access to backdoors, where the powers that be use inducements or bribery to curry support for their causes. It is a profitable shortcut and once they are in, they're in for life.

I often think of the children who grow up in these households. Why would they ever show any tolerance for a fairly functioning government when they know there are rewards in the back channels that intentionally skirt procedure? They grow up learning how to be devious, feigning shock and dismay when they are not received with civility from the ordinary populace while they co-conspire with like-minded souls in private meetings. In essence, Republicans.

Revision History:

First revision to include Observation 1b.
Second revision to tie in the parallels between local right-wing communities and what we're seeing on a national level.

June 14, 2018

Looks like the boom finally hit in my right-wing community.

I was here in the nineties when the final stage of the community I live in was processed through the city. The process was so corrupted that I couldn't understand why no one else saw it or reacted to it in the same way I did. I tried on several occasions to try to bring attention to the issues and was gaslighted and defamed for my efforts. It took another 16 years before I began to understand that what I had witnessed was the kind of government that you get in a Republican backwater in Florida. This is what happens in a community where people are anti-government by nature and work to dismantle the process that was meant to protect us all, because they're only interested in profiting from the chaos. And, of course, we can't forget how everything grew geometrically worse by having attorneys who thought they could serve in both public and private capacities.

The details of what went wrong are something that has always been an objective of mine to write about as soon as my calendar clears up. Not sure that I will get to put it all down on paper before the coming lawsuit finally hits the courts. Nevertheless, it does appear that the other development has finally decided to take action, blaming our community for a poorly built retention pond structure, and all that goes around with that. Actually, I think they just want us to pay costs based on contracts between the two developments, for infra-structure that was poorly engineered and poorly installed.

Jesus. Where do I begin.

None of this makes me feel any kinship or sympathy to my own Association. This was long overdue. Anyone could see it coming, and most left the community because of it.

However, just to keep everything honest, I would caution that in case of a lawsuit the first thing one should remember is to include all the co-defendants. In that case, this Association should be able to list the following:

The City: Dear God people. Just show the picture that the THOA printed in their monthly in the November or December issue of 1997. It clearly shows this city's mayor, deputy mayor and commissioner involved with a ground breaking of the property months BEFORE we had the first public meeting. Wake up. The city co-opted your development. Yes, it does appear that there were people living in my own community that took part in backwater meetings and, in turn, advanced their cause by misleading - or outright lied to the rest of us in order to stifle dissent and expedite the approvals for a competing developer. That's how I see it.

And if that's not enough to seal our fate, let's remember how the Orlando Sentinel helped the sitting officials win another term by endorsing those elected officials. I plan to write how that extra term hurt us even further because the city manager had time to bring two critical players together in one of those seemingly innocuous board meetings - i.e. the arbor committee. Not long afterward, another, more ironclad contract suddenly emerged between the two communities.

The original contract was a ridiculous scribble that did not list specifics, like broken pipes or drainage. But the second contract was more firm, and I don't believe it would have ever come about if those public officials had not served a second term. So, thank you, Orlando Sentinel. You gave them time to cover the loose ends. Always serving the community.

In sum, I hope my Association thinks to ask the lawyer if it's not in line to add the city as a co-defendant. I'm not a lawyer, but it does seem to fit in with what I learned when I received a B.A. in legal studies.

Oh, and don't forget to look who was listed as board members of your own newly formed development in those early years. At least two of them helped to cut my nuts off when I tried to bring attention to the city's backwater agenda and its methods.

Let's see, did I forget anyone? I'm sure that I did.

For now, I will try to post whatever comes out of this legal scuffle, because I do believe that all of this is a product of governance from a Republican leaning good ole boy community. Good government process is not their thing. Backwater deal making is. I for one am glad that this is finally going to see its day in court. It may be painful to us, but the future residents of these communities will thank us for it, especially if the city finally accepts responsibility for allowing this to happen.