I am a Small-R Republican

Our lives begin to end the moment we become silent about things that matter! - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

At 71, I won't be quiet while my country is stolen from We the People.

I am enraged by the following:

In a narrow 5-4 vote. McConnell's Coup has worked again. A decision was made today by the tainted Supreme Court.

Gorsuch and Kavanaugh were both appointed by a moral defective who took our presidency not because of the will of the people but through an election tainted by a sophisticated manipulation of the electorate in certain states by a murderous tyrant in collusion with, at least, members of the current president's campaign to allow the loser of the people's vote to steal the majority of the anti-republican electoral vote. Whew.

In addition Gorsuch's nomination would not have been possible without the despicable racist Republican senate blocking Constitutional advice and consent for the judge nominated by a president elected by a majority of the electorate. Those Republicans stole my 2012 vote.

I am a small-r republican. I love the Constitution and recognize that the 1st, 5th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th and other amendments would not have existed had the founders not hammered out the compromises that allowed the Constitution to become our basic law. Even the embarrassing and just plain disgusting Three-Fifths compromise had to be. But, hallelujah, the founders envisioned a Constitution that would be always in the process of being made "more perfect".

It is past time to do some perfecting.

It is time to rid ourselves of the failed Electoral College. It has never worked anything close to how it was intended to work.

With fifty states that range in size from tiny Wyoming to huge California the Senate is so wildly anti-republican that it is grossly unfair to folks in big states like Georgia. Cobb Dekalb, Gwinnett, and Fulton Counties in Georgia EACH have more people than Wyoming for Heaven's sake! Our state Georgia has 18 times the people of Wyoming. Still that half-million folks in Wyoming have equal representation in the senate with the 10 million Georgians. I am sorry, but that does not jive with the Declaration, in my opinion. It is time to rethink the Senate.

The notion that a corporation should be considered a "person" is offensive and evil. It is time to overturn the Citizens United outrage.

Gerrymandering must be ended once and for all. It is time to standardize how redistricting is done to make it fair for all.

It is time to institute ranked choice voting in all primary and general elections.

It is time to make it clear that the 2nd amendment is not intended to create a bloodbath.

It is time for the people to take back our rights. 
It is time for truly republican government in America.

Dutch Cradle Cross

Many years ago Louise Langham and others in our church established a tradition of celebrating once a year the new children and grandchildren born into our congregation during the previous year. I have spent decades watching others celebrate their grandchildren, but today, finally, I got my turn. Sheila and I were prepared with an 8 x 10 to display to our fellow Methodists since the real deal is ensconced in northern San Diego County in California. 

Now for several years I sang a beautiful arrangement of "Jesus Loves Me" for the baby recognition Sunday. But I did not do that last year and was not expecting to this time around... till I got to church this morning and found myself listed in the bulletin! Somehow I hadn't heard about my solo. I quickly drove back home, located the sheet music, brought it back to church and with eight minutes left before the prelude handed the music to our wonderful pianist Shelly Reid.  

When Clementine Georgia Carlin's name was called Sheila and I proudly joined the other parents and grandparents and babies down front. Sheila held the picture aloft as she collected  the certifiicate...

... a book on parenting a one-year-old, and a beautiful little Dutch Cradle Cross. We had chosen Proverbs 31:25 as her Bible verse. 

So one side of the cross has that reference on it...

The other side has her full name...

The cross was crafted by Glover Hall, one of our church friends who has made these crosses for this celebration for several years. The calligraphy is by our dear friend Anita "Bo" Stewart. Her artistry makes this memento even more precious to us.

There must have been a dozen or more babies recognized this morning. As everyone else headed back to their seats I took the pulpit with zero rehearsal to sing "Jesus Loves Me". Despite a good deal of emotion welling in my sentimental ol' breast, an unsteady first note, and some rhythm difficulties in the middle section, I enjoyed singing the song and it was well-received.

Clemmie's great aunt, Deborah Shaw Lewis was sitting on the first row with her iPad videoing the proceedings.

So Clemmie, (and your Mom and Dad) we'll deliver these things in person or via mail just as soon as we can. A little while ago I took the certificate and cross and picture across town so my mother could see them. 

Thank you to Louise, Glover, Bo, our friends in the "Circle of Friends" UMW group, Shelly, our Pastor Nanci, and everyone who helped make this day so special.

Gleaning Facebook: John McCutcheon at Cherrylog

 

Getting ready for some great singing and storytelling from John McCutcheon at the Craddock Center, Cherrylog, GA!

Gleaning Facebook: John McCutcheon at Cherrylog

Getting ready for some great singing and storytelling from John McCutcheon at the Craddock Center, Cherrylog, GA!

Bovine Excrement

I try to be a bit creative with the language to avoid words like "bullshit", but in a world where a cowardly lowlife like Donald John Trump can sit in the office once held by Washington, Lincoln, and Obama and tweet insults and lies daily, such barnyard language to communicate righteous fury may be necessary.

We must maintain an adequate degree of disgust with this abhorrent stain on our history. He is not yet Hitler, but like Hitler did in Germany, he is eroding our sense of what is normal and decent. The American (minority) president alienates and demonizes democratic allies while lauding totalitarian despots! He does the bidding of Putin, Xi, and Kim, while stiff-arming Trudeau, Merkel, and Macron.

We cannot accept the corruption and, yes I dare call it, tyranny. We must maintain our outrage to throw evil and its enablers out of office. Last November Americans took the opportunity to hand Trump's apologists their worst defeat in since Watergate and at least establish a check on #DonTheGrabber's excesses.

Do not stay silent. Resist. Speak out. Register voters. Get your friends to the polls. Donate to Democratic nominees. As Ben Franklin noted, we have a republic if we can keep it. We the People must save our republic from this "bullshit".

Ad Hominem

Regarding the Man Himself

Our president is, according to those who have worked most closely with him, a "moron" and an "idiot".

His briefings are daily dumbed-down to fit his limited vocabulary, understanding, and literacy.

He is, according to every fact checking agency of which I am aware, an unprecedented liar.

He is according to my eyes and ears (and more specifically dozens of women) a loathsome creep.

But perhaps his most outstanding quality is his cowardice. He cannot stand-up to the satire that all public officials face. He cannot bear to attend the correspondents' dinner. He cannot face the public. He cannot face the press.

Idiot. Ignoramus. Liar. Creep. Coward. That is the man-child who soils the office of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, both Roosevelts, Truman, Ike, and Obama.

One of my pet-peeves is ad hominem argumentation. Yet here I use just such an argument. It must be noted that while most ad hominem arguments are logical errors, there are exceptions. Hitler was, in deed, evil. Whatever his policy positions, he was an evil man, and ethical, moral folks were obligued to oppose him on that basis if they were in the know.

Our president, chosen in an undemocratic fashion, in an discredited election, by less than even a plurality of the people, is Constitutionally president but illegitimate in terms of the basic principles we say we stand for. He was not elected in a republican manner. But that aside, he is an evil man. I have known that for as long as I have been aware of him (several decades). If you have been paying attention you know that and should oppose him.

Could he be redeemed? According to my faith tradition, yes he could. For the good of his family, especially young Barron, I pray he will be. But that is between him and God. In political terms, at 72, it is too late for redemption. He must be legally and overwhelmingly repudiated and removed.

Gleaning Facebook: Bright Little Minds

I had a great time tonight telling stories to "Bright Little Minds" at North Heights Elementary. Thanks Angie Ray and Caroline Ray for your help. I have been telling stories about once a month at different Rome City Schoolsduring their "Bright Little Minds" evening pre-school programs.

Angie: Funny thing is.... Caroline is still carried away with Mr. Shaw.