The Horizon by Aziz Anis

The horizon, that sharply defined line separating sky from land or sea that we can clearly see in the far distance, whichever direction we gaze, is a deceptively unreachable destination. We all know that if we literally attempt to travel by any means along any latitude or longitude towards the horizon we can only end at our starting point. However, we use it symbolically, when we encourage our children to succeed in life, by asking them to reach for the horizon. What we really hope to accomplish is to urge them to create a destination goal for their life path as well defined as the horizon but practically reachable.

For those who consider their horizon goal in life, in whatever profession they pursue, is the accumulation of wealth, whether they start from some wealth or from nothing, they are now faced with the need to make a choice about how much and to what extent they want to exercise their relative free will.

The reason I call it relative free will is because absolute free will is practically non-existent. Our free will is tempered by the limitations imposed on it by physical and natural forces, by laws, rules and regulations of society, by family, cultural and religious traditions and rituals, by ethics and principles of honesty and decency, by emotions such as love, kindness, empathy, generosity and charity and so on and so on. The extent to which we exercise our free will can actually be considered as a point on a rising scale from zero upwards. Those at the bottom who are almost totally deprived of the ability to exercise any free will are individuals enslaved by external forces such as other human beings or some physical or pathological condition. Dictators, tyrants, despots, oligarchs, murderers and criminals occupy an area closer to the top of the scale. Decent, benevolent, friendly and caring individuals are probably located at a point somewhere below the center, closer to the bottom than to the top.

Now returning to those whose horizon goal is to accumulate wealth, their choice will depend on how much, for what purpose and how fast do they want to do so. If their aim is to achieve financial security for themselves and their family and build enough funds for a comfortable retirement they will exercise their free will within the respectable and decent limitations of society.

Those however who choose the horizon goal of immense wealth and power, will elect a fast track where they exercise their free will to the largest extent as long as they can get away with whatever infractions they commit. They will intentionally deaden any feelings of remorse or consideration for the hurt they may cause others whom they trample along the way. Their standard excuse is that they are business people and for them to succeed as such they cannot allow themselves the luxury of human emotions. Of course, though they publicly lament that fact, they actually enjoy and relish their ability of stepping over everyone else. They smile their greasy smile while echoing hollowly their refrain of “it’s nothing personal, it’s a business decision” as if this statement was enough of a pass to validate any atrocity they commit. The only Deity they believe in is Greed and they call it good.
No matter how much money or power they accumulate they never feel that they have reached their goal. They completely lose any sense of guilt about or debt to anyone of those whom they have impoverished directly or indirectly by their actions and call them the Have-nots. They take no responsibility for them as part of the society that contributed to their wealth by buying their products and their services. When they do employ these Have-nots they exploit them with the lowest wages and benefits if any and yet they call themselves job creators. They blame these Have-nots for being Have-nots because they did not work as hard as they did, wasting time in enjoying the frivolities of life, while they, the super wealthy were busy working hard at accumulating their wealth.

And now that they have more than enough to buy politicians and influence they spare no expense. They are well on their way of transforming our Democracy into their own Feudal System with the aid, support and blessings of our August Supreme Court.

No Benchwarmers In A Democracy by Diane Straub

It is hard to sit on the sidelines of a big game. You end up doing useless things like wishing so hard that the player up to bat will hit a home run and put your team on top. Some pray, "Please God, just let my team WIN for once!" Some turn their baseball caps inside out in the now familiar "rally cap." We need a win and we need it now! Not next year or when we rebuild, we need it now! Sports are like that. They inspire civic pride, identity, passion and unity. But win or lose..unless you are a player, owner or coach..it's not a life-altering event. You will carry on just as before by the next day. The world of politics has much in common with sports. We have teams and favorite candidates, we identify and have a passion for certain issues and people. Many people strongly identify with team Democrat or Independent. It is an important part of their life and an important part of their value system. But, unlike sports, politics and elections ARE life-altering events. In the United States today the outcome of this "game" IS life and death to millions. Too many Democrats and Independents sit on the sidelines in midterm elections. The excuses sound very "fair-weather fan." Many point to the fact that their favorite player only had a double when they wanted a home run. Some say that the team just isn't playing hard enough. The disappointment of not winning the World Series is just too hard for them to take. A pennant is not good enough. The satisfaction in getting really far into the playoffs falls too short for them. "It's not enough", they bellow. What is at stake in the 2014 midterm elections is the very soul of this country. Too many people don't seem to understand their place in this democracy. They feel like bench-warmers, like they do not affect the outcome of the game. Or they behave as fair-weather fans, staying home, pulling their support from the team to express their displeasure at certain plays or calls they didn't agree with. Either of these behaviors is a forfeit..it is handing the whole game over to the other side. How do we motivate each and every Democrat and Independent to step up to the plate for these midterms? The best way is to ask the questions: what do you personally have at stake if the GOP gains more seats in the House and Senate? and; what qualities do you want to see in the leadership of your country? Consider the following..(from the GOP platform) GOP ON GUNS: Right to obtain and store ammunition without registration. (Aug 2012) Open more public land to hunting. (Sep 2004) No frivolous gun lawsuits, no gun licensing. (Sep 2004) Will protect right to bear arms. (Aug 2000) GOP ON HEALTH CARE: Repeal ObamaCare; it is an attack on our Constitution. (Aug 2012) ABC for AIDS: Abstinence, Be faithful, Change behavior. (Sep 2004) Ethical research yes; embryo cells no; cloning no. (Sep 2004) No assisted suicide. (Sep 2004) Government-run universal health care leads to inefficiencies. (Sep 2004) A reformed Medicare will give seniors choice, flexibility. (Aug 2000) (vouchers in the Ryan budget) GOP ON CIVIL RIGHTS: Constitutionally define marriage as one man & one woman. (Aug 2012) 2006: Federalize gay marriage via Constitutional Amendment. (Apr 2008) The Patriot Act is used to track terrorist activity. (Sep 2004) Homosexuality is incompatible with military service. (Sep 2004) States should not recognize gay marriage from other states. (Sep 2004) Affirmative Access, without preferences or set-asides. (Sep 2004) Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004) Strong support for traditional definition of marriage. (Aug 2000) Let Boy Scouts exercise free speech (ok to ban gays). (Aug 2000) Women exempt from combat; “candid analysis” of military gays. (Aug 2000) Is this the way you imagined your country would look in 2014? Is sitting out another election worth this future...Vouchers for Medicare, more attempts to repeal ACA, more people jailed, more war on women, more attacks on our students, our working families, our military and veterans, our seniors, minorities and immigrants. More decimation of our environment and public lands. More denial of science and inertia on climate and resource policy. No jobs policy, no infrastructure policy, no transportation policy. We are watching the privatization of America, the worship of the wealthy and corporate to the expense of the rest of us. Life and Death being played out for our fellow citizens while the republicans thrust theocracy and self-serving elitism down our throats. Eight to Seventeen thousand will die each year due to red states refusing to expand Medicaid. Our students are piling up more and more debt as republicans work to cut loans and grants and completely privatize education financing so the banks can make a killing off their dreams. The only good expenditures according to them are tax cuts and defense spending. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. There is more..much more more. Take the time to read everything at stake here...http://www.ontheissues.org/republican_party.htm So, now is the time to ask yourself..what is your place in this Democracy. Are you going to be a fair-weather fan or a star player on a team with a winning strategy? Time to get those rally caps on and get in the game. No forfeit in 2014...Vote Blue..Let's win the World Series and rebuild for the future...the other team will show up to play...time to answer with some power hitting of our own! THEY'RE GOING, THEY'RE GOING, THEY'RE GONE!!!!! Ahhhhh....

Democrats You May Help Us GOTV For Important Primary Races Tomorrow, May 20, 2014

Fire. It. Up.

Here are a couple of Tweets from our Twitter account @PDMFNB in order to help you GOTV with voters in Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon, and Pennsylvania via social media.

You may help us GOTV by copying, pasting and sharing the below tweets to your walls on Facebook, to your Facebook Pages and groups; to your Google Plus profiles and Communities; and of course please retweet these tweets heavily on Twitter this evening, and all through the day until the Primary polls close tomorrow.

MT @PDMFNB: #AR Key Political Races in Tuesday’s Upcoming Primary http://shar.es/VblkU #PDMFNB 


 MT @PDMFNB: #GA polls open Tuesday from 7 AM to 7 PM Eastern. Anyone waiting in line to vote at 7 PM may vote #PDMFNB http://mytimetovote.blogspot.com/.../elections-in-georgia...


 MT @PDMFNB #ID Dems! Write-in candidates need you tomorrow: Tuesday 5/20 to vote in the Primary! http://idahodems.org/.../idaho-dems-write-candidates.../ … #PDMFNB

 MT @PDMFNB: #KY Dems! Polls open Tuesday 6 AM - 6 PM. Mail-in ballots must be received by clerk before 6 PM #PDMFNB http://elections.mytimetovote.com/dates/kentucky.html …


 MT @PDMFNB: Here you go #OR these are your Democratic Party picks! Polls open 7AM - 8PM Tue May 20. http://www.dpo.org/candidates #PDMFNB 

 MT @PDMFNB: #PA find your voting place for tomorrow! https://www.pavoterservices.state.pa.us/.../PollingPlaceI... …  

Things We Should Be Doing On Our Campaigns by Sharon Newell Holle

Connect with your county Democrats or the campaign staff themselves.

1. After your door knock and literature drop event your campaign should do a follow up phone bank.

2. This phone bank is to follow up on targeted registered voters that were not at home to receive your door knock. There may be other calls your campaign will have you make as well, be prepared.

3. The campaign or Democratic party should arrange for a specific time and place for the phone bank event.

4. Sometimes the campaign or Democratic Party will provide cell phones or land line phones for volunteers to make their phone bank calls. Just in case they do not, make sure you bring your charged-up cell phone to the event.

5. Show up to your phone banking event on time with a charged-up cell phone, a pen or pencil, and scratch paper to take notes, and something to drink like bottled water.

6. Your campaign organizers or county Democratic leaders will have a short training session on how to make phone calls to voters.

7. You should be provided with a phone script and phone (If they have them), phone call list, a table and chair to sit at while you work.

8. When making phone calls be friendly, polite and informative. Know your candidates and what position they are running for in our government. You are only to introduce voters to the candidates. If voters have questions about the candidates you should be able to answer them. You may NOT tell someone to vote for a certain candidate! You CAN say, "I am voting for such and such a candidate because..." and state your reason. You may answer questions about registering to vote, but at this time we are not signing people up. Inform Voters they may register to vote online or at their County Auditors office. Ask voters if they would be willing to volunteer for the Democratic Party and get their contact information.

9. If someone shows disinterest in voting, simply thank them for their time and hang up.

10. Host or attend a Meet and Greet or House Party for State and local candidates. They need your help and will truly appreciate what you do for them.

11. Different states may be following a different strategy. This strategy is through the Iowa Democratic Party. We all do about the same thing at the same time across the country.

THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENT!

A Political Planet by Aziz Anis

What a shame it is to live on a planet that has been favored by the universe and placed in the perfect Goldilocks location, which grants it the most favorable unique conditions to make it the lush green globe that it is, rich with water and all the goodness of plants that bathe it in life’s essential needs of oxygen and nourishment which maintains the teaming innumerable variety of life that inhabits it, and then see it destroyed by the ignorance and primitive dogma of the so called most advanced species that lives on it.

With vacuous smiles of insatiable drooling greed for profit and power at any cost and words of irresponsible dismissal unsupported by any valid scientific research or irrefutable evidence, Republican Politicians backed by their pundits and their base of the ignorant and the semi-educated fanatic religious voters, claim to be skeptic of the findings of more than 98% of the most knowledgeable and advanced scientists and climatologists and their report of our passing the point of no return and can no longer stop the progress of the drastic damage that we have already caused.

Unless we neutralize the influence of these political mongrels that are leading the world and us to an unimaginable climactic catastrophe, by voting them out of office, we might as well give up doing something or anything to deal with and adapt to what already we have to face. 

For the sake our children and all future generations of all who inhabit this planet please vote these monsters out of office.

DEAR REPUBLICANS, MASTERS OF HYPOCRISY AND DECEIT by Aziz Anis

by Aziz Anis (who enjoys using uppercase in his writings)

I POSTED SOMETHING SIMILAR BEFORE BUT I THINK IT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THE MOMENT TO POST THIS MODIFIED VERSION.

DEAR REPUBLICANS, MASTERS OF HYPOCRISY AND DECEIT:

YOU SEEM TO BE QUITE CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT SHOULD INCITE YOUR ANGER AND FURY. LET ME EDUCATE YOU AND DRAW YOU A VIVID PICTURE SO YOU CAN HAVE A LITTLE MORE SENSE AND AT LEAST HAVE THE APPEARANCE OF BEING REASONABLE. HYPOCRITES LIKE JOHN BOEHNER, JOHN MCCAIN, THE CAR THIEF DARREL ISSA AND THE REST OF YOUR HATEFUL BIGOTED PARTISAN GANG WHO ARE PUTTING ON THIS THEATRICAL FAKE SHOW OF ANGER AND FURY ABOUT THE FOUR AMERICANS WHO WERE KILLED IN BENGHAZI WHILE AT THE SAME TIME THEY ARE THE SAME PEOPLE WHO DENIED THE REQUEST OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT FOR FUNDS TO BOOST SECURITY IN OUR EMBASSIES, PARTICULARLY IN HIGH RISK COUNTRIES LIKE LIBYA, FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN RACIST SPITE FOR OUR FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT.

YOU SHOULD BURY YOUR FACE IN YOUR OWN SHIT OUT OF SHAME IF YOU COULD MUSTER ANY.

WHERE WAS YOUR ANGER AND FURY, WHEN OVER 3000 INNOCENT AMERICANS WERE MURDERED ON YOUR WATCH IN 9/11/2001 DURING THE BUSH/CHENEY ADMINISTRATION BECAUSE YOU REFUSED TO TAKE BILL CLINTON’S WARNINGS ABOUT AN IMMINENT TERRORIST ATTACK SERIOUSLY AND TAKE THE PROPER MEASURES OF PRECAUTION THAT WERE LEFT FOR YOU BY HIS ADMINISTRATION?

WHERE WAS YOUR ANGER AND FURY, WHEN YOU RECKLESSLY WENT TO WAR IN AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT ADEQUATE INTELLIGENCE AND PROPER PLANNING TO CAPTURE OR KILL A SINGLE MAN, OSAMA BIN LADEN, A TASK WHICH YOU FAILED TO ACCOMPLISH AND WHICH WAS LATER ACCOMPLISHED WITH A SINGLE SUCCESSFUL NAVY SEAL RAID WHICH COST US LESS THAN A HUNDREDTH OF WHAT YOU SPENT ON THAT WAR, AND WHICH WAS ORDERED BY THAT BLACK PRESIDENT WHOM YOU HATE SO MUCH?

YET, IN DURING THAT SAME WAR THOUSANDS OF OUR BRAVE SOLDIERS AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF AFGHANIS DIED AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WERE WASTED AND YOU NEVER SHOWED ANY ANGER OR FURY.

WHERE WAS YOUR ANGER AND FURY, WHEN BUSH AND CHENEY CONJURED WITH LIES AND DECEPTION AN EXCUSE TO ATTACK IRAQ, IN ORDER TO GET THEIR OIL AND ENRICH CHENEY AND HALLIBURTON, AND LED US INTO A NEEDLESS EXHAUSTING WAR, WHERE MORE THOUSANDS OF OUR AMERICAN BRAVE YOUTH GAVE THEIR PRECIOUS LIVES AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF IRAQIS WHERE KILLED AND MORE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WERE WASTED AND YET YOU SHOWED NO ANGER OR FURY.

YOU SO UNDERESTIMATE THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT YOU THINK YOU ARE FOOLING THEM WITH YOUR THEATRICS WHEN WE ALL KNOW THAT YOUR REAL OBJECTIVE FROM ALL THIS PHONY ANGER AND FURY IS TO SMEAR A POTENTIAL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON OF WHOM YOU ARE SCARED SHITLESS BECAUSE YOU DON’T HAVE ANY IN YOUR RANKS TO MATCH OR BEAT HER IN 2016.
I HOPE I HAVE SUCCEEDED IN PAINTING A CLEAR PICTURE FOR YOU AS TO WHAT SHOULD ANGER AND INFURIATE YOU THOUGH I AM SURE THAT YOU ARE ALREADY FULLY AWARE OF THE PHONINESS OF YOUR SHOW BUT YOU ARE TOO DUMB, BIGOTED AND HATEFUL TO REALIZE THAT EVERY OTHER AMERICAN IS ALSO FULLY AWARE OF THAT AND CAN SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOU.

YOU HAVE OVER-DEALT YOUR HYPOCRITICAL HAND SO OFTEN THAT NO BODY BELIEVES YOU WHEN YOU CRY WOLF ANYMORE.

GOP's Strategy to Retake the Senate

As Progressive Democrats, it is practical to focus resources in the States where the Republicans are competing for Senate seats that they think they can take.

They need six seats to gain control of the Senate, but per the Cook Political Report*, out of the thirty-six available seats, only about twelve seats are competitive.  The competitive seats are located in Iowa, New Hampshire, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Montana, West Virginia, Georgia, and Kentucky.

You can help your Democratic Party friends and relatives in these States to become registered to vote by using this website: http://canivote.mytimetovote.com/ and checking where and when they need to register to vote both for their Primary, and the Midterm elections.

Each state is different, and we can help them wade through what they need to do in order to keep the Senate controlled by the Democratic Party.

 
*Cook Political Report information from Melissa Harris-Perry's show yesterday on MSNBC http://on.msnbc.com/1i9u5Hw