This came in under the wire, but still May 15 ... and has the potential to get interesting:
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/15/state-department-inspector-general-fired-261536
I was bullied too. At home for decades, at school grades 4-8. I think a lot of us here were, and the silver lining is it helped us develop our superpowers. Adults who should have been the ones to help were part of the problem in my case, including teachers, counselors, and family members.
@Bluebelle is right. Anyone who is bullied needs to standup for themselves. Even though I always ended up getting in trouble when I did, I never regretted doing so.
I lived in the South from 2001-2014. We also fled West, to more progressive pastures. While I was never strongly bullied, I did find myself being ostracized and mistreated, at work and other venues, for: 1) Being a left leaning independent voter; 2) Not being a Christian; 3) Not being white enough; 4) Being originally from the Northeast. I can only imagine what it would be like to live there now, but I suspect it's for the best that I don't, because when I truly get bullied, I am capable of reacting violently*. I'd be in jail...
*Now that I think of it, the only time I ever really got bullies to back down permanently involved physical confrontation every time.
@jeanne-mayell - I agree that anger channeled appropriately can move mountains. It reminds me of another passage in a Seth book by Jane Roberts. Anger is a way of saying you have transgressed (something like that, don't quote me :))
I also agree that every single post on this site (no matter which way we are looking at a situation) is an expression in that moment for that person and will resonate with someone, in that moment. Sometimes for me I need a reminder to let go of my anger and fear and other times I need to be able to express it and use it....
I appreciate all the posts here.
Yes! Right on.
I can relate so much to your story. As someone who was bullied, and eventually got to the point where a bully ran from me crying without me laying a hand on him, I agree. I too do not want or condone violence. But sometimes enough is enough.
We are at our enough. We can no longer afford to be nice.
I want to write so much more of a response, but it is quite late here and I am sleepy. I will just say for now that I was at the impeachment hearings (the investigations back in November). I promise you that if one or many of us had stood up and started calling BS to the surreal, what planet are you on anyway, stuff the repubs were saying it would have made a difference. We need to interrupt their pattern and call them out. We need to shock them.
That doesn't take violence. In fact, them seeing us as weak is an advantage. It makes it so much easier to surprise them because they underestimate us and don't see it coming.
We need to galvanize and disarm them with our words and strength. It is time.
Our love needs to be greater than our fear of being disliked. In this case, our love needs to be for Freedom and Justice.
All of this is why I'm not disheartened by the fact that it would take a constitutional amendment to assign term limits to judges. Because social change will be happening at exponential speeds for the next few decades, ratifying constitutional amendments may just become a matter of course. We all know various aspects of the Constitution need to be reworked. I like the astrological perspective @gbs gives to this discussion of reform.
As I said in my reply, we are only able to undo those problems in the manner that you suggested under the current system *as it stands now*, and my reply was written with that in mind. As you said above, though, I am not at all disheartened by the amendment process, either. I agree that there are a few "updates" that are needed in the Constitution; I just don't think it's going to happen as soon as it could, and perhaps that's a good thing. Many times decisions like that which are made in haste require reversals or changes later when we run into unintended consequences,so perhaps the slower approach of the amendment process is a good one. I would personally like to see an amendment that permanently reverses the Citizens United case with no recourse for reviving it. In that case, I would be leery of defining what a person *is* (that would likely open several cans of worms), but I would definitely like to see a good definition of what a person *isn't*, i.e., an artificial entity created by statutes and supporting regulations. I am of the firm belief that this one thing would eliminate a lot of the issues with campaign finance reform and getting money out of politics because those things would suddenly become eligible for legislative regulation without fear of them being struck down.
Those daily briefings by Heather Cox Richardson are great! Your prediction about the 15th has me wondering what further significance might come from the number of events she wrote about last night, perhaps this one?:
Tonight's news dump was Trump giving notice that he intends to fire yet another inspector general, this one from the State Department. Trump wants to replace Steve Linick, a career official from the Justice Department appointed to his position by President Barack Obama in 2013, with an ally of Vice President Mike Pence. Trump says he no longer has the “fullest confidence” in Linick. Trump plans to replace Linick with Stephen Akard, who was chief of staff for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation when Pence was Indiana governor.
Linick had issued a number of reports lately about Trump appointees retaliating against career employees. Even more important to Trump, perhaps, is that at the State Department, Linick oversaw Trump’s loyal Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. Tonight, after news broke of Linick’s firing, Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tweeted on an official account that Linick had just opened an investigation into Pompeo. MSNBC reporter Chris Hayes noted that “Engel is an extremely cautious politician. For him to put this out is mind-blowing.”
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy tweeted: “Using foreign aid to destroy rivals. Weaponizing the judiciary. Firing all the inspectors general. Democracies begin to die when a leader starts to destroy the limits on his power, and his faction decides that he is more important than the republic. Welcome to that moment.”
https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/posts/2276155012528552?__tn__=K-R
T & admin are clearly testing to see how much they can get away with! Let's all visualize the justice card (like the "you get a tower card and you get a tower card post that I think was by @Lovendures)--they all must be held accountable to the law as part of saving our democracy! (Sadly, only part, since preserving voting rights is also essential, as is the SCOTUS decision about the rights of electoral college members to vote against the popular vote of their state.)
I live in North Carolina, so Burr is one of our senators--not a fan even before the despicable insider trading. But my understanding is that he planned to retire after this term anyway. Wouldn't it be something if he turned against T. in favor of upholding democracy and the rule of law? If he had the shred of decency to think well, my career is over and I may be going down, but I can do something right and take a moral stand to protect my country? If not Burr, then SCOTUS or someone needs to hold the line against tyranny. This does feel like a tipping point. I still feel the sense that T & Co's bloated balloon of power is about to start deflating.
@baba, thanks for the link about Burr.
I loved Obama's response to yesterday's diatribe of the inane and insulting tweets about him by the Mad King: "VOTE."
Speaking of our former President: Tonight at 8pm, Obama will deliver a televised prime-time commencement address for the Class of 2020 during an hour-long special event honoring all graduating high school seniors. ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC will simultaneously air the special, along with more than 20 other broadcast and digital streaming partners.
posted by @kateinpdx:
I promise you that if one or many of us had stood up and started calling BS to the surreal, what planet are you on anyway, stuff the repubs were saying it would have made a difference. We need to interrupt their pattern and call them out. We need to shock them.
I have felt that as well. I'm not sure whether it's part laziness or just a fearful resignation that it's too big to take on, so why even try? We the people have yet to fully recognize how powerful we really are. Ever since the topic of bullying was addressed a few days ago, I began thinking about people's perceived lack of personal power and how it's often connected to any wounds that remain unhealed. That certainly is playing out on our grand national stage. Perhaps we need an MLK-type figure to remind us who we really are, and to galvanize us into action. But right now we still seem too scattered, and this pandemic isn't helping.
Bottom line: these a-holes work for US. And the Ds are too damn nice.
How is it possible for Trump to have not contracted Covid 19 by now? He flouts all safety precautions and insists on setting the worst possible example.
I am feeling that the Abbot tests are wrong and he is a carrier. It may be wishful thinking on my part.
Can anyone sense if this is true? Maybe throw a tarot card or two?