Manchin is at it again. I can understand the frustration of the most liberal Democrats on this one. He was given everything he wanted on the previous bill and more to sweeting up the deal and we are now here. But I think most of us saw this coming so I think this is a good lesson for Joe.
Does anyone have a good read on Joe Manchin why is he such a roadblock,,,money power…
Being a roadblock makes him important. The Democrats who come to him to try to make a deal are like supplicants to a higher power- I think he gets off on that.
I think someone predicted late March a version of the BBB would go through.
As far as predicting the why on manchin is honestly not that hard. He's cozied up with corporations and has made millions on coal companies he owns. There was a news article I read the other day about him. He was in his yacht and speaking to his constituence who had to paddle in canoes and kayaks to reach and speak to him. That moment was very symbolic for me about how us voters had to go our way over to reach him and also the representation of his status.
As far as where he goes and what he does for now, I do not know. But as much as he's very visibly relishing the importance of his position, I don't see him sticking around all that long or his position as arbiter lasting. That's just my guess.
He was in his yacht and speaking to his constituence who had to paddle in canoes and kayaks to reach and speak to him. That moment was very symbolic for me about how us voters had to go our way over to reach him and also the representation of his status.
Wow. There it is quite clearly: He wants supplicants figuratively crawling on their knees to beg favors of the throne.
This article in the NYT is worth your time: It's about the overwhelming demand across the country for therapists–in red states and blue states, urban areas and rural, on a whole variety of issues.
I see this as a part of the Great Unraveling, where the overwhelming events of the pandemic have opened people up, often in very painful ways, to exploring the purpose of their lives.
It's yet another example of the start-stop nature of this year: underneath the political dinosaurs clinging to power is this deeper current of self-assessment and reckoning at the individual level.
My two cents on justice, forgiveness, and the current state of things. I think it rhymes with what Jeanne and others have already said. I hope it adds to and builds on it.
My understanding is that justice is something we seek to create. It will be served as such, by its creation, once it is fully created. It will be a state of balance with fairness, truth, dignity, and equality which will be unequivocally available to all. When the redressing of wrongs and injuries will available, equally and unconditionally, to all.
For some perspective, we're 245 years into that endeavor just with a small lens focus on the US. We've made slow, uneven, and painful progress and far too many of us have suffered immeasurably because of, and in the cause of, that slow, uneven, and painful process. The struggle continues as it has for those same 245 years. Until justice and equality are the right of every single person on this planet unconditionally, it doesn't exist for any of us. That is where we are going, every step forward thus far has been hard fought and hard won. This time is no different.
My understanding is that forgiveness is not the relinquishment of justice. Forgiveness is the releasing of my ego-ic need to be the judge that metes out punishment to my satisfaction. My desire for a given punishment is emotional and a slippery slope that easily leads into vengeance and darkness. Therein lies the bitterness and the poisoning of the heart. That poison afflicts who bears it, not the perpetrator of the injury. There also is found defeatism. Forgiveness is the acceptance that punishment is not mine to give and does not determine the success or outcome of justice.
In a simple sense, in the long term, if we succeed in creating a world of true justice, dignity, and equality, what happens to tfg and his, will be of little consequence to us; both he and his movement will have been stopped and judged by history and karma. (Yes, in my heart of hearts, I long to see him cuffed, doing the perp walk but I have to resist putting my energy into those thoughts, they are too small and limiting. I have to remind myself that my energy is better served in creation rather than destruction)
Forgiveness is a gift to us that allows us to stay in the light and continue our mission with a free heart filled with love. It's not a gift to the those who cause injury. Except perhaps as a hope of the availability of redemption through choice and karma. Forgiveness could be a gift to them - the hope that they can right their wrongs in a real and meaningful way and escape what they create. *With a nod to my favorite holiday movie - A Christmas Carol ;)
In the grand scheme of justice and forgiveness, in the end, we cannot be defeated until we surrender. As long as there remains one person who seeks the light and a better world, we are not defeated. Everything we suffer, we can suffer in honor of and with those who suffered before us. We can honor them by acknowledging they gave far more than us and more than we can imagine. Just as in our personal lives, there will be too many defeats and setbacks, great and small, yet somehow, here we all are.'
That said, I deeply feel our collective disappointment, fears, and discouragement. I think it's ok and healthy to acknowledge the immense struggle we face. It's a constant battle to not give in to it. Certainly I don't often win. It's more important to keep getting back up. I have to journey far outside of myself to find glimpse of a higher perspective and true hope. Maybe thats both the curse and gift of all who are here.
Peace to all.
My understanding is that forgiveness is not the relinquishment of justice. Forgiveness is the releasing of my ego-ic need to be the judge that metes out punishment to my satisfaction. My desire for a given punishment is emotional and a slippery slope that easily leads into vengeance and darkness.
Well said, IMHO. We humans are not meant to be the ultimate administrators of Karma. We're neither wise enough to deal out consequences that are 100% just and right, nor are we strong enough to wield that kind of power without, as you said, "poisoning the heart".
This is where faith in God/gods/the Universe/the Force/Spirit/Higher Power must come into play, lest we lose ourselves.