Month: January 2022

Would You Ever Consider Voting Republican? Hell No!

/ Stephen Sovie
Photo by Lena Bauermeister on Unsplash

Back in November, I met someone who was running for the town board where I live. He was actually campaigning, as a Republican, for a seat on the board. I must point out that the town, where I live, is a heavily Republican town outside of staunchly Democratic Rochester, New York. I politely told the man that I was a Democrat and would not support him. He asked me if I would consider voting Republican in the local election. Instead of just saying no, I went ahead and explained my position.

I told him that I grew up in a family where both of my parents were Democrats and my father worked in a factory and belonged to a union. Because my father belonged to a union, we weren’t wealthy but we never wanted for anything. I had severe asthma when I was younger and was frequently admitted to the hospital, or receiving treatment at home from my pediatrician (that was back in the days when doctors made house calls). All of this was covered by insurance that the union fought for and Republicans fought against.

I then told him I was gay and I was married to my husband, who is from Malaysia and now a U.S. citizen. I told him that ever since I realized I was I can remember how hard the Republican party fought to deny gays basic human rights, including the right to marry the one they loved. I went on to tell them that I had to move to Malaysia to be with my partner because Republicans would allow him to join me in this country. I told him that Republicans, for years, had prevented gays from visiting their partners if they were hospitalized, because there was no recognized familial relationship.

I reminded him how the Republican icon, Ronald Reagan, ignored the Aids Epidemic, while tens of thousands of gays died because the epidemic had not yet hit the straight white population. Reagan also eliminated the Community Mental Health Systems Act, which Carter and the Democrats, had introduced to fund community mental health centers. Today we are still paying for his deliberate negligence with the epidemic of gun violence and domestic abuse.

I told him that now I am older and retired I am living in fear. The Republicans are still trying to destroy my marriage with their attempts to repeal same-sex marriage and as well as legalizing discrimination against the LGBTQ community as well as people of color. I am living in fear that the right to vote will be taken away from my friends and fellow countrymen who happen to be non-white.

As with all senior citizens in this country, I am afraid of getting sick. With the Republicans being owned by big pharma, all but the very rich among us can afford their prescription medication. We are all one sickness away from being financially destroyed. If we were living in any other industrialized nation in Europe, North America, or Asia we would not have to worry about healthcare. I have worked all of my life to be able to retire, but now life has become a gamble. Will I stay healthy and enjoy my life or will I get sick and lose everything I have worked for?

To make matters worse, as I continued my lecture to the Republican hopeful, the money I have worked for and contributed to Social Security now can be taxed if I have invested wisely. Once again thanks to Ronald Reagan, who in 1983 passed a law allowing the IRS to tax social security benefits on 85% of benefits instead of the previous 50%. And don’t forget Reagan cut the corporate tax rate from 70% to 50% and Trump lowered them even more. So who makes up for the loss in revenue? The poor and middle class, of course! In all of my 73 years in this country, nothing from the numerous tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations ever trickled down to me.

In 2016 the Republican party gave me Donald Trump as president (with a little help from Russia). During those 4 years, I saw immigrants, people of color, gay people, scientists, Mexicans, and all foreigners, except for the white ones, demonized. I saw the decades-old relationships with our closest allies destroyed. I saw the poor and the handicapped ridiculed, while vicious inhumane dictators were catered to. I saw good decent women defiled. I saw the country divided, as never before. And then finally I saw him attempt a coup to overthrow the new duly elected President to remain in power. And not once did I hear any sitting Republican town board member speak out against Trump’s atrocities!

So Mr. Republican town board wannabe, “Hell No! I wouldn’t vote for any member of a party that vows to destroy me, my marriage or my democracy”!

From the candidate, just an insincere “Thank you”.

Still today I look back on that conversation and wonder, with all that is going on with the revelations of the Trump insurrection, how anyone could vote Republican. If they get their own way we may never have another election in this country.

Originally published in Rogues’ Gallery on Medium.com

Please check out my other posts on Stevesovie Thinks.

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Is Our Country Going in the Wrong Direction? And Why?

/ Stephen Sovie
Pixabay

Lately, it seems that the latest sport of the media, Fox News as well as the mainstream media, to impress upon their viewers the idea that the Democrats are in big trouble coming into this year’s midterm elections. The reason, they say, is that the majority of people in the country believe the country is going in the wrong direction. One of the polls media sites is an NBC poll from January 23 which states that 72% of Americana believe the country is going downhill. This is just what the media loves. So what the hell does the “wrong direction” mean?

Well, for people like Fox News and even “past her prime” Andrea Mitchell the reasons are Biden’s low approval ratings and inflation. According to her and others, inflation includes gas prices and s shortage of consumer goods. Guess what Andrea? A pandemic affects not only the US, but every single country in the entire world is suffering from inflation. And Biden isn’t President of all of those countries! It’s the pandemic stupid!

The pandemic has disrupted the worldwide supply chain and shortage of labor, caused by Covid deaths and illnesses. The United States relies heavily on goods and services from other countries of the world. People have forgotten the rule of “supply and demand”. Now that the demand is high and the supply is low, manufacturers raise prices. Biden or Congress doesn’t. It is interesting to note that according to Forbes American billionaires have become $1.8 trillion richer during the pandemic. According to GOBankingrates.com Jeff Bezos became $95 billion richer as Americans flocked to Amazon during the pandemic.

Yes, prices have gone up, but we forget that in many cases salaries have increased, thanks to the increase in the minimum wage in many areas, giving Americans more money in their weekly paychecks. American families also received a great deal of financial help from Biden’s child tax credit to the tune of about $3000 per family. Unfortunately, the Republicans didn’t like struggling poor families receiving help for their families so they voted against extending the tax credit beyond this year. We also must not forget the two stimulus packages of $1400 each per person were given to the American people to help with the financial burdens caused by the pandemic. We also must not forget that the Republicans voted against any kind of economic relief to be given to the American people. They voted against Biden’s infrastructure bill that will provide millions of jobs throughout the country. Oddly enough the Republicans are bragging they delivered millions to their constituents, even though they voted against the bill.

As far as the belief that some in this country are blaming Biden for the increased divisiveness in the country I find that mind-boggling. It wasn’t Biden who attempted a coup to overthrow the newly elected President. It wasn’t Biden that publicly incited the attack on the Congress on January 6th. It wasn’t the Democrats who lied about the 2021 vote and then continued to push the “Big Lie” even after all the accusations of fraud have been disproved. It wasn’t the Democrats who opposed any kind of investigation of the insurrection. It’s not the Democrats who have ignored subpoenas and refused to testify in front of the January 6 Committee.

The more and more information of sedition and collusion surrounding the insurrection comes out we can see that it wasn’t Biden, nor the Democrats that have been attempting to destroy our democracy. Yes, we are in serious danger of losing our democracy, but it can’t be put on Biden. Trump and the GOP put ultra Conservatives on the Supreme Court to eventually destroy women’s reproductive rights, which could happen any day now. And this will only be the tip of the iceberg. Same-sex marriage will surely be the next right on the chopping block. Since the election, every state controlled by the Republicans has passed draconian laws severely limiting voter rights, especially for Blacks and other minorities.

The mains stream media doesn’t want to talk about how things have gotten a little better since Trump was voted out of office. It’s almost as if they would prefer the chaos of Trump and his criminal associates, to raise their ratings. It’s doubtful that the media doesn’t realize that if Trump returns to office, it will be for good, and among his first targets will be the media. There will be no such thing as “freedom of the press”.

Maybe with the start of televised hearings of the January 6th Committee, the American people will see how very close we came to losing our democracy and who’s to blame. I invite you to read my post “Will The Televised Jan. 6th Committee Hearings Make a Difference?”.

We Must Stand Up for our Democracy!

/ Stephen Sovie
Wikimedia Commons

I am posting this letter written by my friend and fellow patriotic Democrat, Bill Fine. Please read it. He speaks the truth.

Letter to Readers: After Senators were unable to pass legislation to protect voting and our democracy, it is obvious that working to preserve our democracy is not going to be easy. One of the main obstacles is the persistent mis-information spewed out from right wing media. Is it possible to push back against this mis-information; I don’t know. But if we don’t try, if we give up without trying then we will lose; our democracy will lose. It is a daunting task, they have a massive network and a surprising number of individuals who are willing to spread mis-information. This is our democracy and if we want to keep it we will have to get to work. Think about what is at stake. First the Democrat’s agenda, such as reducing child poverty, reducing household poverty, providing health care and pushing legislation to minimize climate change. Yes, you can argue that not enough is being done in any of these areas but turning over the government to the GOP is like burning the house, leaving everyone homeless, because you don’t like the kitchen. Second, there will be no accountability for the insurrection or other illegalities if some rich donors pay the GOP. There is also the GOP assault on science and knowledge. The last Republican President pushed ultraviolet light as a cure for Covid. No member of the GOP pushed back instead they made excuses. Your silence is acquiescent to this behavior. There are 163 members of “Letters to the Editor Group” just one tenth of this group could have a major impact. A letter in the Lockport Journal, (1/7/22), wrote about the loss of confidence in our elections. He wrote: “a significant portion of the electorate has lost trust in our elections” and went on to give his opinion on how to restore faith in our elections. Opinion polls I have seen confirm his opinion on the lost of trust in our elections. But his reason for that loss of trust is wrong. He blames it on loosened requirements and less security in the election. Yet independent unbiased nonpartisan studies by Universities and Colleges, by independent organizations like the Pew Center and the Brennan Center and investigative journalist by most major news organizations in major cities all demonstrated that the election was secure. People believe the election was not secure because they were told, without evidence, that it was not secure. This is why we need letter writers to push back against the mis-information. Another letter in the Batavia Daily News, (1/15/22), complained that Democrats’ major concern was passing out food and water at polling places, failing to acknowledge voting suppression and the loss of impartially administrated elections. The writer added: “I have no problem with shoveling federal money at more voting machines or whatever it takes, for districts where voters have long waits.” Obviously, this writer is not informed about issues involved in the voting legislation. Right wing media is prevalent in our area. This is why we need letter writers to provide fact-based information. This is our democracy if we want to keep it. Please join in writing letters to the papers. Don’t silently acquiescence. Thanks Bill Fine

Will The Televised Jan.6th Committee Hearings Make A Difference?

/ Stephen Sovie
Geograph Ireland

This past week the Jan.6th Committee announced that they were weighing holding prime time televised hearings sometime early in the year. In the past few weeks information about what the committee has already uncovered began leaking to the public. According to Yahoo News Rep. Jamie Raskin told a group of progressives that public hearings will reveal information that “will blow the roof off the House”. Other members of the Committee have intimated that they have evidence that implicates members of the House and even the Senate in the planning and organization of the insurrection.

More and more information regarding Mark Meadows’ and Kevin McCarthy’s involvement have come to light, as well as information supplied to the Committee some of Trump’s closest associates in the White House. What we do know about Trump’s involvement appears to be quite damning, but what we don’t know could be very devastating to Trump and senior Republican leaders of Congress and the Republican National Committee. The latest revelation of forged Electoral College documents from 5 swing states that Trump won’t the election could turn out to be a bombshell if they lead to Trump’s or McCarthy’s involvement.

I am old enough to remember watching the Watergate Hearings on live television every day after school. I can remember my parents, as well as the rest of the country, riveted to the TV as damning testimony about Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate breaking and subsequent coverup. These televised hearings nailed Nixon’s fate and led to his resignation. What happened on January 6th is far worse than a botched burglary and coverup. January 6th was an attempted coup to install Trump as president for life.

Will these televised hearings be different? They probably will be. At the time of Watergate, the country was not as deeply divided as it is now. Many, if not most Republicans, wanted to get to the truth of what Nixon did and what he was hiding. They wanted to enforce the Constitution and swore loyalty to the Constitution instead of to Nixon or to their party.

Nixon had his faults, but he did have a measure of integrity and he did love his country. He did what was best for the country. In the present situation, Trump has always done what’s best for him. He has managed, with the help of the media, to cultivate a cult following. Trump, the ultimate narcissist, cannot admit defeat, cannot admit wrongdoing, cannot accept responsibility. He can only lie and cheat and seek revenge upon those who dare disagree with him or those who he imagines have wronged him.

His followers, not only in the general public, but in Congress, the military, the courts, and the media have accepted his “Big Lie” and are determined to destroy our democracy and crown Trump king. As those followers of Jim Jones went to their deaths, instead of accepting the truth, Trump’s cult members cannot or will not be persuaded by common sense, facts, or the truth before their eyes.

I’m afraid the revelations coming from prime time hearings conducted by the Jan. 6th Committee, shocking as they may be, will only serve to strengthen the beliefs of those of us who already believe that Trump was responsible for the insurrection. What other type of behavior can be expected from a pathological narcissist? Unfortunately, I don’t think televised hearings will make a difference, but the American people must be presented with the facts.

You may want to read “Time is Running Out on Our Democracy“

Is the Dream Coming to an End?

/ Stephen Sovie
Pixabay

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream where all people had a right to vote, regardless of the color of their skin. He lost his life to a racist assassin as he fought for equality for all people and especially people of color. Since his death, there have been other notables, such as the late John Lewis, who continued his fight for voter equality. Slowly, but surely, those rights, that have been passed since King’s death have been eroded by a Conservative Supreme Court and Republicans in Congress. Today King’s dream is on the verge of being destroyed.

President Biden has been trying to pass his voting rights legislation, to protect the rights of people of color and minorities to vote. Trump was defeated, as Biden was elected with massive support from the Black community. Because of the strong support of minorities for Democrats, Republican legislatures in Red states, have been passing laws severely restricting the ability for Blacks and other minorities to vote. In states, such as Texas and Georgia, districts with a predominance of Blacks have been limited to only one voting place. They have even passed laws making it a crime to offer water to anyone standing in line to vote. With these restrictive voting laws, it is highly unlikely that a Democrat can ever win an election again. And if they do the Republicans have made it possible for the Republican legislature in those states to overturn the results.

The House has passed Biden’s voting rights bill, but Senate hasn’t voted on it, and it appears that it will never pass in that chamber. With the Senate split 50-50 the bill has run up against the antiquated filibuster rule which requires a majority of 60-40 to pass legislation. The filibuster rule is only a rule formulated years ago to protect the rights of slave owners. It is not in the Constitution and can easily be changed, as it has been numerous times, including twice this year.

Even though there are 50 Democrats in the Senate, 2 of them are DINO’s acting and voting like Republicans. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin have refused to support voting rights (as well as “build back better”) professing that the bill should pass on a bipartisan agreement. They have refused to support carving out an exception to the filibuster rule to pass voting rights. Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans, naturally are dead set against this, even though McConnell carved out an exception to add 2 Trump appointees to the Supreme Court.

Biden and the real Democrats have been negotiating with Sinema and Manchin to support the change in the filibuster to no avail. Today Sinema on the Senate floor announced that she will not support a change in the filibuster, literally killing the bill. Manchin most likely will do the same. Instead of coming out and saying they are against the right to vote for all Americans, including Blacks and minorities, they are hiding behind a fake bipartisanship concern. I don’t know if there are financial concerns involved or if this is pure and simple racism.

One thing that everyone forgets, in attacking Biden for not doing enough, or Sinema and Manchin for trying to destroy Biden’s agenda, is that there are also 50 Republicans in the Senate. Isn’t it strange that not one single Republican supports the right of Black people to exercise their right to vote, without having to overcome insurmountable obstacles? Could it be that the Republican party, the party of Trump, has officially become the White Supremacist party?

We must not allow the media to convince us that Joe Biden and 48 Democrats have failed Blacks, the poor, and minorities. 50 Republican senators do not want Democrats to ever be in power again and the best way to assure this is to prevent Black people from voting. This nation cannot survive the return of Donald Trump, nor can it survive as a republic under Republican rule.

Time is Running Out on Our Democracy

/ Stephen Sovie
Pixabay
Pixabay

It’s been exactly one year since the attempt to overthrow our government and the insurrection is still continuing. Sure, several low-level participants have been arrested, tried, convicted, and jailed for the violent assault on the seat of our democracy, but the organizers and financial backers walk free among us. Trump and his associates are free to continue their lies and attacks on our democracy and Constitution. Millions of his followers still believe he won the election and believe that violence is an acceptable means for him to return to power.

The House select committee is slowly uncovering the truth of what led up to January 6th. We know that several members of the House and Senate were involved in the planning for the coup. We also know that correspondents from Fox News played advisory roles leading up to and during the insurrection. Numerous subpoenas have been issued, but the majority of them have been ignored, per Trump’s instructions. Only one subpoena recipient, Steve Bannon, has been arrested and is due to face charges seven months from now. No word on the fate of the others subpoenaed. It is now fashionable among Republicans to ignore subpoenas, knowing there are no consequences for doing so. Delay has been and still is the weapon of choice for Trump and his criminal organization.

In November 2022 the midterm elections could bring an end to the select committee and their investigation if as history and the political pundits predict, the Republicans will regain control of the House or the Senate or both. This will also be the end of our democracy and our country, as we know it.

The media seems to be cheering on the Republicans to win in November, in hopes that the resulting chaos will improve their ratings. They fail to realize that if the Republicans and Trump are returned to power the press will be among the first to suffer. Trump will surely seek revenge on anyone and everyone who opposed him, criticized him, or did not give him complete loyalty.

Our country has only a year to bring our democracy back from the brink. They have one year to bring the truth of what happened leading up to January 6th to the American people. The committee must, as they have proposed, hold their hearings on prime time television for everyone (except Fox News devotees I’m sure) to see and hear. Trump and his cronies in the House and the Senate must be exposed for what they are – traitors. We can only hope that Americans will wake up to see how dangerously close we are to losing our Republic.

Check out my previous post “I Think Our Democracy is on the Eve of Destruction“

On the January 6th Anniversary Will the Media Be Responsible?

/ Stephen Sovie
Wikimedia Commons

The first anniversary of the January 6th insurrection is fast approaching and the country is seriously divided. As the official government observances of this failed coup are being planned with moments of silence, prayer and, special observances in Congress, with members sharing their experiences on that dreadful day. Events will focus on remembering those Capitol police officers who lost their lives or were injured defending the seat of our democracy. There will be reflections on how close we were to losing our form of government and how we can prevent another coup attempt in the future.

In the past year, the House select committee investigating the insurrection has uncovered evidence that Trump and some members of Congress had an active role in planning and financing the insurrection. Subpoenas have been issued and for the most part ignored, as Trump has instructed those served to not testify. The Department of Justice has arrested hundreds of those who took part in the insurrection, all of which have been the little people. Some of these have been tried and sentenced. But not one of those responsible for planning or financing the coup has been brought to justice.

At the same time, on the same day as the official government observations of the bloody insurrection, the person responsible for inciting and planning the insurrection, to remain in power, has planned an event to celebrate those who carried out the insurrection. He will undoubtedly continue his lies and conspiracy theories that have been debunked, time and time again. We’ve heard it all before. We don’t need to hear it again.

Many journalists have recommended that the media not cover Trump’s expected tyrade, unless his speech is taped and fact checked and only parts are aired. Covering his remarks live serves only to allow Trump to continue spreading his lies. He’s not news any longer. He doesn’t get to control the press, as he was allowed to do for over four years. The hatred and division must end at some point and the press has to help end it.

I’m sure Fox News will cover every unintelligible syllable of the raving maniac, as if God Himself was speaking. But I hope that the mainstream media can find some semblance of responsibility and integrity and refuse to cover his pathetic attempt to regain his relevance. I’m not holding my breath though. The MSM must realize that if they aid Trump’s return, they would not function as a free press in his regime.

As of the afternoon of January 4th Trump has canceled his event for reasons unknown. I’m sure in time we will know the reasons.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Banned from Twitter, Good Riddance!

/ Stephen Sovie
Pixabay
Pixabay

What a great way to start out the New Year! I woke up to the news that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was permanently banned from Twitter for continuously posting false and dangerous information about COVID-19. It took three warnings from Twitter and the imbecile didn’t learn a lesson. Good riddance to the vile, ignorant, hate-monger!

As happy as I am over this event, I am saddened and upset that Congress hasn’t got the collective balls to expel her from Congress. She has been vaccinated, but she hypocritically continues to spew lies about Covid, kissing up to Trump and her fellow right-wing terrorists. It’s about time our members in Congress found a spine and protected our democracy!