Category: RANTS

CANCEL CULTURE – 2021

There’s lots of talk these days about Cancel Culture. Not sure exactly what that means when spoken by folks who are railing about “true history cancelling their culture”. But when I put my mind to it I can interpret it this way:

Some “official” bodies, (read: government), long time ago (3 or 4 hundred years ago or more?), who wanted to secure land for themselves and their kind, went about “cancelling the culture” of the peoples who occupied the lands they wanted…of course they said “nothing was there”…it was “discovered”…so there was no problem with “cancelling” anyone’s culture, huh? And in fact not only did they cancel the culture, but in so many instances, they cancelled the people themselves, by force, war and disease. And then, later, when some of ‘those’ people (yep, same ones) got in the way of some of the “official” folks obtaining more land for ‘their’ folks, these same “official” people started rounding up ‘those’ people’s children and shipping them off to their “official” schools, to force the ‘wildness’ out of them and make them more like the “official folks”; thus, once more, again, ‘cancelling their culture’ … (in the long run, it didn’t work, but it wasn’t because they didn’t try).

In the meantime, some of these “official” folks, those who owned plantations and needed ‘free’ labor to work the plantations, got involved in the business of importing some free, black labor from across the world; once they got here, in the US that is, these “free-laborers, who hadn’t been freed”, were separated from their countrymen, their wives, their siblings, their children, their relatives and their culture and sold on the auction block to the highest bidder, (you know, those who had the money to afford that)..and once again, somebody else’s “culture was cancelled” ; and would you believe it, some of these “official” folks (or their descendants) once again tried to take some of these black and brown children and send them to special schools, so they could learn the “official” culture…Oops, was that cancelling their culture, also?

(To be fair, I have to point out that some of the people whose cultures were cancelled, actually wanted some of their children to attend these schools, so their children could learn the “majority” ways, in order to function in this “official” culture.)

And, guess what? Check out your history and you’ll find that “cancelling cultures” was nothing new. Among others, even Christians had/have been “cancelling cultures” for a long time, in order to convert everyone to Christianity; for example during the Crusades against the “others”, and during the “Doctrine of Discovery” against the indigenous peoples wherever Spain and Portugal found them. In fact, just name a place where “official” US has been and see if there wasn’t also some “culture cancelling” going on there as well.

I’ve heard rumors, well actually not “rumors”, but “real” folks explaining their “real” ideas about what they think should exist in this country from now on…a country of ONE religion…a ONE RELIGION COUNTRY! That’s what I heard on November 13, 2021, said by Michael Flynn: “If we are to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion under God. One nation under God and one religion under God.” …. So … would … anybody … call this “Cancel Culture” … or not?

And would one think that by burning books that deal with subjects that the proponents of “book burning” don’t agree with, might be classified as cancelling someone’s culture?

Now that I think about it, what was this “Melting Pot” idea all about, except the blending of all the population into a homogenous mixture by “cancelling the cultures” of the diverse beings who were already here?

Can you who are reading this acknowledge that while you may not have been one who was involved in this “cancelling-of- cultures-process”, that some of your predecessors may have been? After all, most of those people whose cultures have been cancelled were never in charge of setting policy or precedent in this country. Wouldn’t want you to feel guilty about any of this; only want to share the truth and ask you to get to know the truth, by reading what the “official folks” wrote in their records, as they set about creating or trying to create a country that they wanted to look and think like them. If folks now are digging out these truths, from the textbooks, history books, historical documents (that were knowingly hidden from public view or just ignored), don’t call them trying to “cancel somebody’s culture”…they just want to tell it like it REALLY was…and IS.

Ima Phool: Just expressing my point of view!

JESS AND IMA ON HONESTY

JESS: Hey, Ima, I’ve been noticing that the word “honesty” isn’t being spoken of much lately.

IMA: No? I hadn’t paid much attention.

JESS: Well, in our run up to the last election, and ever since then, I haven’t heard the candidates speak about honesty or integrity in themselves, or their opponents. And since the last election no one seems to be using that term, not even the ‘TV talkers’. I wonder why?

IMA: Do you think that honesty is less important these days than it used to be? I remember, as a child, being told that I should be honest and truthful; that “honesty was the best policy”; of course that was before there was such a thing as “alternative truths”.

JESS: Yep, honesty was so important a long time ago that the country even lied about how important it was.

IMA: What are you talking about, Jess?

JESS: Don’t you remember the lies told about Abraham Lincoln and the penny, and George Washington and the cherry tree? They were part of our history lessons…only to learn later in life that because somebody thought that honesty was such a great character asset it was necessary to lie about how “honest” those two presidents were.

IMA: Oh, yes, I remember when the true stories were reported. And I remember, too, that honesty had lost some respect when Jimmy Carter was vilified for admitting “honestly” about ‘lusting in his heart’.

JESS: Yeah! Well, even though today “honesty” may have lost its place in terms of positive character traits, maybe one day it will be important enough again so that our current politicos and ‘importants’ will have lies told about them too.

FORGIVENESS 101

As more and more knowledge is being revealed and accepted as true concerning the brutality and inhumane conditions meted out during America’s Peculiar Institution Of Chattel Slavery, there seems to be a growing expressed desire for FORGIVENESS.

It is understandable that people of conscience would desire to atone for their country’s actions but, FORGIVENESS is not where the process begins. FORGIVENESS begins with honest and truthful CONFESSION…followed by the acceptance of the confession by the victim. Then, and only then, is FORGIVENESS manifest and RECONCILIATION possible.

CONFESSION BEGINS THE PROCESS AND FORGIVENESS IS NEAR THE END!

HOPEFULLY FOLLOWED BY PEACE

COMPROMISE vs ACCOUNTABILITY

I sense the foul whiff of compromise in the air and it alarms me. Compromise has never worked out well for me. The Compromise of 1790 robbed me of two/fifths of my humanity and perpetuated my enslavement.

By 1850, with America on the verge of collapse, Congress reached what it hoped was a solution….the notorious Compromise of 1850, which required that fugitive slaves be returned to their masters. Like so many political Compromises before and since, it was a deal by which white Americans tried to advance their interests at the expense of black Americans. Yet the Fugitive Slave Act, intended to preserve the Union, in fact set the country on the path to civil war.

The compromise of 1865 resulted in a reign of terror and lynching and 100 years of Jim Crow, discrimination and segregation.

We need the fumigating properties of ACCOUNTABILITY to dispel this loathsome whiff of political COMPROMISE.

I am concerned that failure to demand ACCOUNTABILITY…. given the rhetoric and actions that are being so easily expressed today…could result in the resurrection of ovens and gas-emitting showerheads, reminiscent of the not-too-distant past.

ESTABLISHING A NEW MENTALITY

THE NEED TO ESTABLISH A NEW MENTALITY IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE EVIDENT.

THE CURRENTLY ESTABLISHED MENTALITY:

“THE ESTABLISHMENT”

WHICH WAS BIRTHED BY COLONIALISM AND THE “DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY” AND WHOSE PRIMARY PRINCIPLES WERE WHITE SUPREMACY AND THE PROFIT MOTIVE NEEDS TO BE JETTISONED,

AND A NEW MENTALITY BASED ON :

MUTUAL RESPECT and COOPERATION

NEEDS TO BE ESTABLISHED!

JESS, 2019

AFTER TRUMP…WHAT?

PRESIDENT TRUMP IS THE RESULT OF, NOT THE CAUSE OF OUR DIS-SATISFACTION WITH THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. IF THE CAUSES OF OUR DIS-SATISFACTION ARE NOT ADDRESSED AND CORRECTED, AFTER PRESIDENT TRUMP’S EXIT THE CAUSES OF OUR DISCONTENT WILL REMAIN.

  • THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE NEEDS TO BE ABOLISHED. ITS ONLY REASON FOR BEING IS TO OBSTRUCT THE POPULAR WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
  • THE METHOD BY WHICH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS ARE DETERMINED SHOULD BE IN NEUTRAL HANDS- SO THAT GERRYMANDERING CAN BE AVOIDED.
  • THE NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES NEEDS TO BE EXPANDED. THE U.S. IS ONE OF THE MOST UNDER REPRESENTED DEMOCRACIES IN THE WORLD. WE HAVE 435 REPRESENTATIVES FOR A POPULATION OF 325,000,000 PEOPLE. THAT EQUATES TO ONE REPRESENTATIVE FOR EVERY 700,000 CITIZENS. NO OTHER DEMOCRACY IS SO UNDER REPRESENTED.
  • VOTER SUPPRESSION SHOULD BE TREATED AS A FELONY AND ANYONE FOUND GUILTY OF IMPEDING IN ANY WAY A CITIZEN’S RIGHT AND ABILITY TO VOTE SHOULD BE PUNISHED BY FINE AND INCARCERATION.
  • CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED AND THE LENGTH OF CAMPAIGNS SHOULD BE SHORTENED. WITH THE CURRENT STATE OF TECHNOLOGY THE NEED FOR TWO YEAR CAMPAIGNS IS LUDICROUS.
  • ELECTION DAY SHOULD BE MADE A NATIONAL HOLIDAY OR MOVED TO THE WEEKEND TO INCREASE VOTER PARTICIPATION.
  • A WAY SHOULD BE FOUND TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF VIABLE POLITICAL PARTIES TO BROADEN THE CHOICES AVAILABLE TO THE CITIZENS.
  • MILITARISM AND PERPETUAL WAR SHOULD BE ADDRESSED.

FAILURE TO ADDRESS THESE PRE-TRUMP FAULTS WILL RESULT IN A POST-TRUMP ERA OF CONTINUED DIS-CONTENTMENT

IMA’S STILL RANTING ON CAMPAIGNING!

Back in the early part of May, I talked about how Presidential Campaigning seemed to be dependent upon how much money a candidate raised in order to get elected and I failed to mention how much of a role the media played in making our choices for us. But this morning I got a reminder of the media role.

Heard on the news, just this morning, the “reporter” said, “with the presidential election a year and a half away, it looks like it will be Joe Biden versus Donald Trump in 2020”.

I guess I should have gasped at that…in fact I did go “WHAT?”. I did conclude that if this gets reported enough times, this is what will stick in the minds of those folks who listen, absorb and regurgitate, and once again, what will be the point? Media, it seems, doesn’t even bother, like it once did, to refer to this campaigning exercise as a “horse race” anymore. Nope, just straight out, these are your opponents…the rest of you may as well pack your bags now and go home..except for the fact that too much money will be lost to the television broadcasters if they quit now!

Maybe there’s nothing my ranting will do to change anything, but maybe someone else will get the idea that this is a really weird way to elect a President of the USA and create some changes so that the PEOPLE can actually feel like they have some input into what we’ve been told is the most important position in the country.

I can only hope so, …but don’t ever forget….IMA PHOOL!

JESS’S RANT

AT THE CORE OF OUR DISCONTENT

WE, THE PEOPLE, ARE ANGRY; WE, THE PEOPLE, ARE DEPRESSED; WE, THE PEOPLE, ARE DISSATISFIED; WE, THE PEOPLE, ARE DISAPPOINTED; WE, THE PEOPLE, ARE DISGRUNTLED. WE, THE PEOPLE, ARE DISCONTENT.

NUMEROUS POLLS SHOW THAT A MAJORITY OF WE, THE PEOPLE, ARE DESIROUS OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE; POLLS SHOW THAT A MAJORITY OF WE, THE PEOPLE, DO NOT FAVOR PERPETUAL WAR OR ASSASSINATION BY DRONE; POLLS SHOW THAT A MAJORITY OF WE, THE PEOPLE, WANT AFFORDABLE COLLEGE COSTS AND RELIEF FROM STUDENT LOAN DEBT; POLLS SHOW THAT A MAJORITY OF WE, THE PEOPLE, WANT DECENT SCHOOLS FOR OUR CHILDREN AND FAIR SALARIES FOR THE TEACHERS OF OUR CHILDREN; POLLS SHOW THAT A MAJORITY OF WE, THE PEOPLE, WANT OUR DAMAGED AND DECAYING INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRED AND RENEWED; POLLS SHOW THAT A MAJORITY OF WE, THE PEOPLE, WANT SAFE, AFFORDABLE AND CONVENIENT MASS TRANSIT; POLLS SHOW THAT A MAJORITY OF WE, THE PEOPLE, WANT THE ABOLISHMENT OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE – WHOSE ONLY FUNCTION IS TO DENY THE POPULAR WILL OF WE, THE PEOPLE; POLLS SHOW THAT A MAJORITY OF WE, THE PEOPLE, WANT THE PROBLEM OF GERRYMANDERING ADDRESSED AND CORRECTED. WE, THE PEOPLE, WANT CITIZENS UNITED OVERTURNED AND DETERMINED THAT MONEY IS NOT SPEECH.

THESE ARE BUT SOME OF THE CAUSES OF WE, THE PEOPLE’S DISCOMFORT. OUR DISCONTENTMENT COMES FROM OUR GOVERNMENT’S UNWILLINGNESS OR INABILITY TO ADDRESS OUR DESIRES.

AT THE CORE OF OUR DISCONTENTMENT IS THE FACT THAT WE ARE ONE OF THE MOST UNDER-REPRESENTED DEMOCRACIES IN THE WORLD.

WE HAVE ONE REPRESENTATIVE FOR EVERY 700,000 PERSONS.

WHEN YOU DO THE MATH AND DIVIDE OUR POPULATION OF 325,000,000 BY 435 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, IT SHOWS THAT EACH MEMBER OF CONGRESS REPRESENTS 747, 126 PERSONS!

COMPARING THE UNITED STATES WITH OTHER BICAMERAL GOVERNMENTS PRODUCES THE FOLLOWING RESULTS:

COUNTRY…. POPULATION…… POPULATION/SEAT

  • SWITZERLAND………… 8,061,516 …. 32,770
  • UK…………… 63,742,977…. 44,173
  • ITALY………….. 61,680,122…. 64,858
  • FRANCE………….. 66,259,012…. 71,631
  • SPAIN………….. 47,737,941…. 78,646
  • CANADA………….. 34,834,841…. 84,346
  • AUSTRALIA…………. 22,507,617….. 99,591
  • GERMANY………….. 80,996,685…. 104,109
  • JAPAN…………… 126,451,398…. 178,856
  • MEXICO…………… 120,286,655…. 191,539
  • RUSSIA…………… 142,470,272…. 231,283
  • UNITED STATES…………. 318,892,103…. 596.060

THE ABOVE DATA WAS RETRIEVED FROM “https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_legislatures_by.number_of_members&oldid=876745922”

(U.S. population as of 2018 was 326,766,748; if divided by 435 it equals 751,187.9)

ARTICLE 1, SECTION 2 OF THE US CONSTITUTION STATES “THE NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE FOR EVERY THIRTY THOUSAND.”

WE NOW HAVE ONE REPRESENTATIVE FOR EVERY 700,000.

INCREASING THE NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES WOULD RESULT IN A CONGRESS THAT MORE RESEMBLES WE, THE PEOPLE AND WOULD BE MORE RESPONSIVE TO THE PEOPLE’S DESIRES AND WOULD ADDRESS THE CORE ISSUES OF OUR DISCONTENT.

TRIPLING THE NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES WOULD RESULT IN A TOTAL NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES OF 1305 AND A RATIO OF 1/233,333, WHICH WOULD STILL BE LESS REPRESENTATIVE THAN THE AFOREMENTIONED BICAMERAL DEMOCRACIES.

THE NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS HAS BEEN FIXED AT 435 SINCE THE PERMANENT APPORTIONMENT ACT OF 1929, RESULTING IN THE CURRENT RATIO OF ONE REPRESENTATIVE PER 700,000 CITIZENS.THIS WAS NOT AN AMENDMENT, THIS WAS JUST AN ACT OF CONGRESS AND CAN BE CHANGED BY CONGRESS.

BECAUSE OF THE CURRENT STATE OF COMMUNICATIONS AND TRAVEL, THE CONSTITUTIONALLY MANDATED RATIO OF 1/30,000 MAY BE UNREALISTIC AND UNNECESSARY, BUT A THREE-FOLD INCREASE WOULD BRING US CLOSER TO COMPLIANCE WITH THE FOUNDERS’ WISHES AND THE CONSTITUTION.

ONE ARGUMENT AGAINST CONGRESSIONAL EXPANSION AND HOPEFULLY IT IS A FACETIOUS ONE, IS THAT THE BUILDING CAN’T ACCOMMODATE MORE REPRESENTATIVES, AS THOUGH THE BUILDING CAN’T BE ENLARGED OR REPLACED, IF NECESSARY. ARE WE TO BELIEVE THAT A TRUER DEMOCRACY IS TO BE HELD HOSTAGE TO THE SIZE OF THE BUILDING?

IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT THOSE WHO MAKE PEACEFUL EVOLUTION IMPOSSIBLE, MAKE VIOLENT REVOLUTION INEVITABLE.

LET US PRAY THAT EVOLUTION TRIUMPHS.

REFERENCES:

  1. U.S. CONSTITUTION
  2. WIKIPEDIA – LIST OF LEGISLATURES BY NUMBER OF MEMBERS
  3. WORLD ALMANAC AND BOOK OF FACTS – 2018
  4. THE BOOK OF RULE – HOW THE WORLD IS GOVERNED.

IMA RANTS ON CAMPAIGNING

I just heard a media spokesperson deliver the news that Joe Biden had thrown his hat in the ring for President in the 2020 Election and the second sentence out of media’s mouth was how much money Joe Biden had already raised. I don’t recall how much money that was, but it was a significant enough amount for the spokesperson to report it, and it reminded me of an opinion I’d developed way back in 2003 when Dennis Kucinich was running for President. At that time, I heard on a radio talk show that a caller had made the comment “that the coming election was not about ideas, but about money and Kucinich wasn’t able to raise enough money to be considered a viable candidate.” As I recalled, no one on the show challenged that idea which at the time seemed to be the operative idea in recent and possibly future elections.

My mind then leaped to the conclusion that if money is the “operative word” then WHY BOTHER WITH ELECTIONS AT ALL; JUST HAVE A MONEY-RAISING CONTEST AND WHOEVER RAISES THE MOST MONEY WILL BE DECLARED PRESIDENT; the election process can be dispensed with and more money saved at the local levels, because they won’t need to pay for voting machines, clerks, ballots, etc.; and since the biggest beneficiary of most of that money is the media, especially television, due to the cost of the ads, the general public doesn’t reap much benefit; and since (at that time) the REPUBLICANS HAD ALREADY OUT-MONEYED THE DEMOCRATS – THAT SEEMED TO BE A FOREGONE CONCLUSION THAT “GWB” WOULD BE ELECTED … AGAIN … AND, IN FACT, HE WAS!

Then, I found among my writings an update on that idea…in 2008 Barack Obama was elected President, and it was said that he/his party raised more/spent more money than his opponent, John McCain. And I asked myself, “Is that the way we’re going to keep electing Presidents?”

And lo and behold, here we are again, in 2019! If this is the way it’s going to be, a hint to ‘would-be’s’: if you can’t raise the most money, you’ll not make it to the top post…unless something happens in the Congress, in the Courts, in the Streets…to change the way that Election Campaigns are conducted and the BIG money is gotten out of the process!