Greetings and Salutations;

Anyone who is paying more than a moment’s attention to the world today knows that the political situation in America is dire! We have an administration that has engaged in despicable behavior and words since taking the Oath of Office in 2017. The actions of the Occupier of the Oval Office have been so blatantly offensive to Society and Constitution that he has become only the 3d president in America’s 250+ year history to be impeached. And then, the Senate voted to allow him to keep his office! The leader of the Republicans, “Moscow Mitch”, and another cowardly Republican, even went so far as to announce before the trial was held that it would be a Kangaroo Court, and, that #3 had nothing to worry about. Then, they had the audacity to stand up on the floor of the Senate, raise their right hand, and swear to do “Impartial Justice” in the trial to determine if #3 would be removed from office, and, perhaps banned from holding public office for the rest of his life. Did the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who was administering the Oath, and presiding over this sham trial say a word? Hell NO, he did not. At the very least, the Senators who had publicly announced they would not do impartial justice should have been recused from taking part in the trial. If it had been anyone else, they would have been imprisoned and fined for perjury.

Well, that having been said… I want to focus my attention on the next goal. Justice has been raped and murdered in the Senate, so, our next option is the ballot box. Over the past three years, there have been many fine speeches on the part of Democrats about what a travesty the current administration is, and, how it must be swept from power, in order to preserve the Republic and the Constitution. Now, though, it is 2020…and the actual election is rolling towards us, like an out of control freight train. We have had three debates with the Democrats, all in an attempt to winnow down the original crowd of 20 or so running for the office of President, to a manageable number to actually VOTE on in the coming primaries. 20 candidates are far too many, as it made it nearly impossible to produce more than sound bites for the first debates.

That, though, is not what concerns me already. In years past, the Democrats have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by getting into internal, family squabbles that fractured support, often ending up with a significant portion of the Party either not voting or voting for a third-party candidate that had NO chance of taking the presidency. In 2016, these were two factors that ensured that #3 was able to take the office. I had really hoped that the Democrats, as a group, would have learned a lasting lesson from the events of 2016. Alas, I am beginning to think that they have not. A year ago, the slogan of choice was “Vote Blue, no matter who!”, pointing out the fact that a bag of rotting hair would be a better president than what we had now. Today, though, I am seeing some signs of that solid support breaking up. I see a lot of impassioned debate about which Democratic candidate will be the new Messiah, that will save the Party, and America. There is no problem with this…although I am not so tribal that I am willing to put my complete support behind any candidate. As Treebeard, in Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” books put it “I am not entirely on anyone’s side, because not anyone is entirely on MY side”.

What does worry me is that I am seeing a reawakening of the old attitudes of “My candidate or no one”, and “The whole government is worthless because they do not pay attention to the Voters”. The problems with both these views is obvious, at least to me…and shows that a disconcerting percentage of the Democratic Party has become infected with the same virus of Intolerance, and unwillingness to compromise that has consumed the Republicans. We can be better than that!

As for the latter point, I am going to quote a comment that I spread around the Net quite a bit in 2014-2016. It is still as true today as it was then…and, I believe holds the same level of importance.

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First off, understand that anyone that tells you that a communication from you as a Constituent, to your Representative is a waste of time, because the politicians only pay attention to the lobbyists that write them the big checks, is lying to you. They are likely fearful that if you DO contact your Representative, it will destroy their chances for some big score from the Government or, they have an agenda that is not one you would support.
Now…to help change your government and what it is doing, there are some simple things to do.
1) Use this tool or This Tool – to track down YOUR Representatives.
2) Email or call them to let them know your objection or support for the item of interest. When you do this, be SURE to follow these guidelines:
…..a) Be Clear about what you are talking about.
…..b) Do not write a lengthy, emotional rant. Be polite, and simply tell them whether you support or oppose the issue, and give them a single reason why you feel that way.
…..c) Repeat as necessary.

I was reminded the other day that many, if not all, Representatives have a Twitter handle and a FaceBook Profile. Search those tools also, and add your feedback there too.

CLING to the basic truth that “All that Evil needs to succeed is for good people to do nothing” and use that as motivation to take action to make sure your voice is heard.

Your Elected officials pay attention when 10,000 emails show up. They pay attention when thousands of constituents call them up. Why? Well, it is fairly simple. They like their jobs! They know that the folks that are contacting them are the voters that care and are paying attention to what they are doing. They are also the people that can vote for someone else if they are sufficiently unhappy with the job the incumbent is doing.

Politicians might ignore a petition with 10,000 signatures, but, 10,000 emails, phone calls, or snail mail notes make a big impact and will get their attention.

Feel free to distribute this. It is available for use under the Open Source License – . The only limits are that it must stay intact (but can be extended) and I would appreciate a credit if used.

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I said at the start of this post, that our next option was the ballot box. Historically, there have been four boxes that Americans have used to create change in Society. We have now used two of them – The Soap Box, and the Jury Box. These two have failed, as we have a government on the Federal, and often the State, level that is neither paying attention to the desires of the Citizens, nor dispensing Impartial Justice to miscreants. In the Fall, we will, again, try the Ballot Box. Unless our elections are meddled with by the Republicans or the Russians, attempting to force a preferred outcome, our Government may change, and be able to move to a more positive path. IF the Ballot Box fails…will it become necessary for us to resort to the fourth Box? – The Ammo Box? And, perhaps more importantly, if it does, will Americans have the strength of will, and courage to do so? I do not know, although I fear the answer is no…and so, before I shuffle off this Mortal Coil, I will see America fulfilling the warnings of Orwell’s “1984”, or Sinclair Lewis’ “It Can’t Happen Here”, and become a fascist dictatorship. I fear that, as with Nazi Germany in the 1930s, a majority of Citizens will simply keep their heads down, thank God it is not them that is the target, and pretend everything is OK.

I hope that I am wrong, and, that the application of the Ballot Box will return America to a saner place. It will take years to deal with the inflamed hate for “the Other” that the Republican cultists following #3 have, but, with a new administration and positive movement, at least the country as a whole, and the Constitution will be safe again.

God Help Us All

Bee Man Dave.