“Nothing changes on New Year’s Day” – U2
Truth be told, I’m not usually very big on New Year’s Day. Aside from being kind of an artificial holiday – it is a reminder that another year has passed and that we are a year older. Nevertheless, for the first time in years, I found myself staying up until midnight to see the passage of time.
For many, 2016 was just not a good year. It has been almost amusing to see people’s horror grow in December with the passing of several celebrities. While I’m a bit nostalgic for the loss of some of my 1980s icons from growing up – I largely rejected the pop culture they were a part of.
The loss of George Michael, like Prince this year and Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston from a few years ago, provides closure to an empty time of vacuous pop music and raw consumerism. As Paul Simon once lamented, “It’s every generation throws a hero up the pop charts.”
But 2016 was much more sinister than the loss of an artist who once implored us all to “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.” And, in fact, in a way 2016 is the nightmare that keeps on giving.
The truth is we should have seen the Election 2016 coming from a mile away. Throughout the election, still foolishly convinced he would not win, I feared the future of political discourse after all the rules were essentially thrown out. Now that he has improbably won, I don’t know that this nation can really continue without a real reckoning.
I never thought I would see the day where the American people elected someone to the office of the presidency who was, quite simply, publicly mean. This was a man who belittled his opponents, made personal swipes about his adversaries, mocked people with disabilities, and worse.
But all of this was essentially predictable. In the 1990s, people were convinced that the Clintons were behind of the death of Vince Foster. The Whitewater scandal lead to the impeachment, but not removal, of President Clinton when it was discovered he lied under oath about having some sort of sexual relationship with a White House intern.
The right, as it turns out, was not alone in fanciful conspiracy theories. I know lefty-activists who to this day are convinced that 9/11 was an inside job. They believe that flying a plane into a building was insufficient to bring that building down and that, therefore, George W. Bush manufactured 9/11 to bring us the justification for the war on terror and ultimately the invasion of Iraq.
Many believe that, while the Bush White House misread intelligence reports and suffered from confirmation bias on weapons of mass destruction, the President’s culpability went further – that he intentionally lied about the presence of these weapons again to finish the job he saw his father, President George H.W. Bush, not finishing.
The Obama years pushed us further on the path to a polarized country. There were many who were convinced that President Obama was a non-native born illegitimate president, who lied about being Christian and that, in fact, he was Muslim.
This rejection and polarization led to the rise of Donald Trump, the most improbable president in the history of this nation.
The truth is that there are a lot of things that deeply concern me about Donald Trump. His longtime views on the Central Park 5 do not give me comfort. His claims during the campaign about building a wall, mass deportations, and Muslim exclusion are concerning.
He has at least given aid and comfort to white supremacy and forces of tyranny like Russian leader Putin. His cabinet picks are not reassuring, given their lack of experience and their extremist views.
At the top of a very long list, though, is his casual disregard for facts.
There were the comments last month by Scottie Nell Hughes, a Trump surrogate, who basically stated facts no longer exist.
He said, “Everybody has a way of interpreting them to be the truth, or not truth. There’s no such thing, unfortunately, anymore as facts. And so Mr. Trump’s tweet, amongst a certain crowd—a large part of the population—are truth. When he says that millions of people illegally voted, he has some—amongst him and his supporters, and people believe they have facts to back that up. Those that do not like Mr. Trump, they say that those are lies and that there are no facts to back it up.”
In George Orwell’s 1984, the hero was broken when he was forced to believe that 2+2=5. But the more sinister problem was that the ruling party could simply alter history at their whim – “Oceania was at war with Eurasia; therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia.” Even though Winston remembered there was a point in time when that was not true.
The truth is that facts haven’t mattered for a long time. The left made the mistake of trying to factually disprove things like the birth conspiracy, whereas the reality is that those who believed it were never going to be convinced otherwise.
“The media is always taking him literally instead of seriously,” tech billionaire Peter Thiel said at a National Press Club event in Washington, D.C., prior to the election. “I think a lot of voters for Trump take Trump seriously, not literally.”
Instead, Mr. Thiel said he thinks Trump voters correctly “sense that the U.S. is very badly off track.” And while Mr. Trump’s comments about women are “unacceptable,” he said, the country is “at such a crucial point that you have to overlook personal characteristics.”
I don’t know what January 20 brings, but I fear that we are witnessing the end of the great American Democratic Experiment. And the downfall will be the ironic fact that, in a world of instant information and infinite fact-checking ability, the truth no longer matters.
We shall see, but I am no longer optimistic about the future of this nation.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
I do hope you find peace, DG. Much of what you are doing in the local arena is creating a good effect.
The truth is there to be located and understood and it is always follow the money first.
There is little to fear but fear itself..
.
Focus on the goal, what you want this USA to become..
.
Many of us had high hopes when BO was elected… I had followed him and his career for many a decade and he presented as a caring family man ala Pres Carter. That is still true…. but his decisions were flawed, he chose not to do the things he promised and it was very quickly apparent to those of use who supported him, after Ron Paul was pushed aside, that he was not up to the job.
The Bayer/Monsanto big pharma/chemical company took over the clean water and clean food supply, while the BO family drank Enagic Kangen water, and had their own organic garden, poor and/or children got toxic flouridated water (courtesy of Bayer.. from when that company was fluoridating the jews in the holocaust at the behest of Hitler)
and also the dregs of the “food-like substance” commodity and other processed grocery store garbage.
His daughters got private school while the bulk of the children in the USA got common core.. a curriculum totally inadequate for all but the way below average children in this USA..
And please note that was on the USA average… not the Davis average..
I am touching on what I consider what his biggest mistakes are ,,… as the basics of clean water, clean food, rest and no toxins in the environment, are what allow children, and adults to learn and thrive….
These were and still are the most important things the pres can focus on… then real jobs..
.
For many decades it is obvious that the pres in general, is not much more than a figure head
but I believed the words of BO who for 8 years ran this country into the ground.. . yeah.. in meaningul ways.. so the stock market is up .. . so the rich got richer.. . BO sure got richer..
I thought he talked a good talk and presented as a kindly and caring family man, and he still presents that way, but his actions show a different story.
The Donald is nothing if not passionate and loud, but he is much more than a kind family man and that is a fact also, but he has gone to bat for hundreds and thousands of people, women, minorities and he always put his money where his mouth is.
Of course, he made a lot of money so he had money to put up.. His net worth went down in this campaign, while the BO and HRC crowd made money..
Instead of fostering more fear, I would recommend that anyone who still doesn’t “get” the Donald spend some time watching the Apprentice.. yeah it is for show but so is politics…
And watch and learn … one of the first folks who was truly obnoxious was a lady named Amarosa..
boy she and the Donald went at it sometimes.. and she was on other shows complaining that he was mean to her and due to her color or something or that she was presented in a bad light as her words were out ot context.. ..
A few weeks prior to the election, Amarosa sent ME a “personal” email about why she is supporting the Donald and why I and everyone else should also…
I may have it somewhere if anyone wants to see it….
Anyone who is still stuck in fear, needs to open their eyes and read some books, or watch that show..
Learn about why he has a following and why the Slavs are all celebrating..
From the vantage point of fear, which the DNC has been coming from for a long time, one gets a decent candidate like Bernie overthrown for the likes of HRC..
DG, since you brought it up, I can send you the list of the women who sued former pres…BC and I was shocked how many came forward.. . and statistics show, and that was from the 80s, that most women who are raped or fondled or otherwise attacked….will not come forward as they would be too embarrassed to have it known that they were used….and in this case, where a pres was involved.. .all eyes would be on them.. most do not want that… .some may do it to try to stop the crimes from being perpetrated on others.. while some may think it is an easy way to earn some cash….who knows…
Please DG, stop fostering and spreading fear.
Do what you can to handle the local criminal activity and do what you can to spread the truth that you are aware of…. .so far you haven’t gotten WHY Trump was elected ..
Bernie may have won if the nomination wasn’t stolen from him…. he certainly had a better chance in the many circles where I flit in…
lots of folks voted against HRC when push came to shove….
There is an old saying which was later adopted by the AA/NA/OA movement..
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
For decades now I have worked harder and donated more to the local campaigns and issues… it is much easier to make a difference and create an effect…
Grass roots can and does make a difference..
but as we saw omg.. with Dodd…..there is a reason that Mariko Yamada lost the support of the California Dem group… like with Bernie it was stolen from her…
Always look at the donor lists to understand better..
Look at the donor lists for pres… this is the first year in many decades that the dem and Rep donor lists are not all the same.
Bernie’s and the Donald are not full of big pharma and other chemical companies which now run the USA food supply…..
Follow the money and learn the truth..
Peace to you and yours during this new day, this new dawn of a new year.
Marina
Space, the final frontier . . .
Big smile, here…
Marina
“stop fostering and spreading fear”
How nice for you that you apparently have no reason to feel any fear. I wonder if you would feel the same if members of your immediate and extended family were members of groups that the president elect has directly threatened ? I cannot and will not discount his actual words. Either he meant what he said, and my family is directly threatened, or he did not mean those threats and he won by directly lying. There is nothing you can say that will change this fundamental reality that affects my family, if not yours.
“but he is much more than a kind family man”
Maybe you consider a “kitty grabbing” braggadocio who cheated on one wife, married that woman and then subsequently dumped her as well a “kind family man”. I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on that characterization. I always thought of a “kind family man” as one who was faithful to his wife and participatory in the raising of his children. I guess maybe I just haven’t kept up with the times.
How much harm can he do in 2017? I mean, so long as you’re not poor, minority, Muslim, gay, in the military, female, or have a pre-existing condition, things should be fine. < / sarcasm>
[not sarcasm] Although I loathe the choice voters made in November, your point “how much harm can he do” is on point… Mr T is opposed by many in his own party for his “views” (actually, sound bites… am not convinced he has any true convictions, nor morals [except choosing younger women with bigger breasts as wives])… I suspect the vast majority of Congress will ’emasculate’ him on policy… wait six months… his own inner circle is concerned about the “tweeting” thing… I’m reminded of a pendulum… pushed perhaps too far one way, then swung the other way too far… yet it always finds its way to the center twice as often as it swings to an extreme.
Society is what society is… that is where we should focus… not a media clown. Who said, “you can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time…”?
The House of Representatives, Republicans in particular, will be VERY concerned about letting him go “off-leash”… they face re-election in two years…
I am neither pessimistic, nor optimistic for the next year… we just need “to keep trucking”… ignore the doomsayers and cheerleaders… just be real and keep ‘evolution’ moving forward…
“Survival mantra”… prepare for the worst, expect the best…
“The House of Representatives, Republicans in particular, will be VERY concerned about letting him go “off-leash”… they face re-election in two years…”
Part of the problem in the current system is that house seats are so gerrymandered, it almost doesn’t matter anymore.
“I am neither pessimistic, nor optimistic for the next year… we just need “to keep trucking”… ignore the doomsayers and cheerleaders… just be real and keep ‘evolution’ moving forward…”
I don’t mean this as a personal attack, but I don’t see anyone to be anything other than pessimistic – the system is fundamentally broken perhaps beyond repair.
Did not consider it personal, at least to me… I recognize it is VERY personal, and you and yours feel so, as to you and yours… I’ll not presume to tell anyone how to feel [and I expect the same from others]…
“Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness”… this is not “the end of the world”… like a kidney stone, this too shall pass…
By “lighting one candle”, I mean hugging your children, let them know they are valued and loved… do the same for strangers, even the ‘scary’ homeless… your neighbors… etc. I have little/no fear… I’ve always stood up to bullies and to liars… and I’m not as physically imposing as you, David. I am grounded in reality, and part of that is a spiritual bent… it as real as gravity…
By “any means necessary” should include self -reflection, self-awareness, and personal commitment to act morally… the hinges of Hell will not prevail against that strategy. IMHO…
David, I understand your pessimism all too well. If anything, you have understated the case above. But I am also reminded of your post from just two days ago. We have to fight, especially at the local level, where we are likely to be able to make progress and where we can have larger scale impacts from smaller groups (cities, states) working together.
With that in mind, I want to let people know about an opportunity to vote for Democratic Assembly District Delegates to the state party. Delegates elect Party officers, endorse candidates for statewide, legislative and congressional office, attend the annual convention, network with other Democrats, represent your constituency, promote the California Democratic Party agenda, and vote to endorse resolutions and ballot measures.
This is an opportunity to elect progressives to serve in these positions. Here is our local event:
Date: Sunday, January 8
Candidate Speeches Begin: 1:00pm
Registration & Voting Begin: 1:30pm-3:30pm
Counting of Ballots Begin: 3:30pm
Location:
Mary Stephens Library (Davis)
315 E 14th Street
Davis, CA 95618
*Any registered Democrat living in the district is eligible to vote. On-site voter registration is available for those not registered as Democrats.
For details about progressive candidates who are running, see http://adems2017.vote/ad4/ . There is also a Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/ProgressiveLaborAllianceAD4/
More generally, one way that the Vanguard could help is by letting people know about events and opportunities like these.
Since I’m pretty sure that the event will not let “no party preference” folk vote, will ignore the event, as “progressives” and “conservatives” both ignore (and often revile) me and mine… and “progressives” are only so in certain ways… Robert La Follette would probably ‘spinning in his grave’, given the current “progressive” philosophy…
Yes, as it states clearly above, one has to be a registered Democrat to be eligible to vote.
And I’ll just note that for the second time this week you’ve given a generalized attack on all progressives that is completely lacking in specifics. The information content of such attacks is zero. All it says is that some person with an anonymous handle of Howard P doesn’t like progressives. *yawn*
Define “progressive”… your take… I distrust [mistrust] those who wear the label of “progressive”, as espoused by many “progressives” (S Greenwald, and others), who actually are not, in the traditional sense…
Some “progressives” here have indicated that they want to see universal health coverage for all, better wages, yet, in the next breath, want to cut wages and health coverage for gov’t employees…
What you seem to take as an “attack”, I meant as a challenge… as a student of history, I know what the “progressives” were, what are they now? What are their ‘values’?
In the traditional sense, I would be deemed a “progressive”… favoring progress, socially and economically… the last 15 years or so, it is unclear who the “progressives” are, but it is clear that they are “exclusionary”… they don’t want to consider meaningful input except from their own… *yawn* [you provided no concrete ‘facts’/info, either]
The concept of “no growth” flies in the face of a traditional progressive position…
I mean it in the sense that Bernie Sanders is a progressive.
Yes, that sense.
Who are these people? Not me.
To make a challenge, you actually have to have something specific to say, not just “I don’t agree with this” or “I don’t like this.”
See Bernie’s platform.
You didn’t give me anything to reply to.
But who is “no growth”? I’ve never met anyone who is “no growth.” “No growth” is a label used against people who want “slow growth” by people who want faster growth.
Roberta… your 6:01 post…
You fairly responded… thank you for that…
I will do some more research, and thinking/evaluating…
But many local “progressives” haven’t sounded much like Bernie Sanders… a person I was much more open to than his ‘rival’.
I disengage, for now…
I appreciate your open-mindedness on this issue. I’d recommend taking a look at the candidates:
http://adems2017.vote/ad4/
I am pretty sure that most, if not all, were Berners (aka Berniecrats).
There is a substantial centrist faction in the Democratic Party in California. Just look at the money spent and outcome in our local assembly and state senate races. But it wouldn’t really make any sense for a formal political party to allow non-members to vote in their delegate races, now would it?
Then, if you believe that, the Democrats should exclude NPP’s from voting a Democrat ballot in the partisan primaries… to do otherwise doesn’t make sense, does it?
So much for the term “democrat”… and for “republican”…
Your response was perhaps a bit ‘partisan’ and a tad condescending…
All of the major parties in California opposed Prop 14 which established open primaries. The voters chose to pass it anyway.
Personally, I believe the courts should have struck that down. The voters didn’t have the right to determine how parties chose to select their own candidates. I know a lot of people will disagree with that, but that’s my view.
Party activities have to exclude non-party members
Why should the political parties be able to dictate who is on the ballot? Are we trying to find the best people to represent us or the ones who best represent the position of their political party? Perhaps the direction we need to move is away from partisan political parties and professional politicians and towards citizen representation. Make State government non-partisan and part-time and maybe we can start solving problems rather than working to sustain the job security of the political class.
Don… you are correct, but missed a key point… there is a key difference between efforts for true open primaries, and what the current practice in CA today… Democrat and AIP parties choose to let NPP’s vote in their partisan primaries… Republicans, Greens, Libertarians do not…
NPP’s are the fasting growing “party”, by %-age in CA. Folk turned off by the far left and far right… will take more years, but both major parties are becoming irrelevant in CA… the moderate Democrats are seen as “too conservative” by the leadership of the “democratic party”… moderate Republicans are seen as “too leftie” by the “republican” party structure… we’ll just have to see how those attitudes pay out…
David… your 11:17 post… no they don’t… aren’t you pro-choice? The parties can choose [to let NPP’s interact]… perhaps the only way CA Republicans can become relevant again…
I am not really sure of the point you’re trying to make here. Party affiliation is becoming increasingly irrelevant in California, and the endorsement by the official party apparatus doesn’t seem to matter to most voters. Case in point, Mariko Yamada managed to get her supporters to rally and block the endorsement of Bill Dodd. But the results of that speak for themselves:
https://ballotpedia.org/Bill_Dodd
What Roberta is talking about is running as a delegate to the state party apparatus, as Sean Raycraft is doing. Would that have prevented Bill Dodd from being on the ballot? Do you think official endorsement of Mariko would have carried her to victory? Activist Democrats and Republicans, in my opinion, are more than welcome to control their own endorsements with votes only from active registered members of their parties. Clearly that doesn’t determine outcomes.
Am I mis-remembering that badly? I could have sworn that the Democratic party did, in fact, endorse Dodd over Yamada.
Well, this is interesting. I was remembering that Mariko’s supporters blocked the endorsement in the primary, and found that story from February. But then the state Democratic Party did endorse Dodd in the general election in August.
Yes, and Yolo County Democrats as well. I was quite ticked about it – I’m sure I’m not the only one. It’s things like that that make me see the Democratic Assembly District Delegates as important.
is there an easy way to check which party one is registered in? I bounce around a ton…
most likely in the Dem this time as Bernie was running and Mariko and so on..
I like Sean a lot also .. though the invitation to tea may have been put on hold after the DNC elected HRC for the Dem finalist.. oh well
Yeah… the easy way is to contact the elections office in the county you are registered in, give them your address (of record), name and you’ll have the answer in a minute or so… you could have also figured it out if you voted in the primaries… the poll workers have to advise what ballot is offered… Democrats and AIP allow NPP’s to vote for partisan offices in the primaries… Republicans don’t…
While my pessimism isn’t a white flag and I believe we have to fight at the local level, I am increasingly of the belief that these changes are not going to occur at the electoral level. Jeff Adachi made an interesting comment at our event in November – social justice reform doesn’t happen because of the federal government, it happens despite it.
I think we should fight at whatever levels are available to us. And I endorse what you said the other day, that local actions can have national effects. Again, I am not disagreeing with your pessimism. Just don’t want us all (including me) to get sucked down by it, no matter how warranted it is.
You say “fight”… I’d tend more to “convince” … but that’s just me…
You say that like it’s a good thing.
I say that like it’s an opportunity, for those who are registered Democrats. One that people can take or leave. To me, it’s a good opportunity to start to change the Democratic party. I am also open to a new party. At this point, I am not ruling anything out.
uh oh.. I am not going to be back.. .is there a way to vote for Sean from MX? My primary residence is still yolo and we are in the process of getting something smaller and newer in Davis again. .likely a condo.
Promise?
Well, first you have to know who Sean is, and then you need a time machine and go back in time seven weeks . . . for starters.
ahhhh AM…. I have known Sean Raycraft from his earliest days.. and yes I know who he is and what he stands for.. so what if we don’t agree on everything.. he is a kind, caring and smart person…..that is who we need… don’t know any of the others either.. at least not on the “progressive” side….
but the more he experiences and learns the more he may understand the other sides as well.
If Matt Jr woulda come out against A he woulda won also ….. but since then he is learning more than a lifetime’s worth of the ins and outs of that parcel. Live and learn… and of course, don’t forget to follow the money
PPS> I was kinda tweaking ya about how does one find out which party ….I know because I had to change mine to vote for Bernie in the primary.. yet I had some Davis folks who missed the deadline..
also I wanted folks to know that they could change their affiliation on the spot.. if they wanna vote for Sean that is…
and finally I DID wanna know if there is some “absentee” way to vote.. since I am signed up to get absentee for the other elections why not for this?
I mean the DNC of the CA COULD do it if they want… the technology exists 🙂
Yes. Dodd had all the wealthy winery backers in the Napa/Solano areas..
I tried but too late to get signs up in the areas of Yolo and Lake where there enough organic farmers to offset..
I was sooooo shocked to see that in the final.. I didn’t even know about it until even after the election….
And yes, it is all about follow the money and learn the truth..
I have learned way more about all that since the election. Just as I – was many a time sharing that info on many threads.. and it was being snuffed out.. it has to do with Mariko’s stance on the Delta Twin Tunnels..
And the majority of the brain dead Dems looked at the ballot and voted Dodo…
There is a ton more about those tunnels.. and That is also why LK lost her job, and so on. . The Napo is now a finalist elsewhere.. she will not pass her review..
Our formerly “conservation” gov who was married to Linda R.. is being manipulated.. otherwise why would that be his pet project?
In the whole Sac/Delta/SF Bay area that is the most urgent topic around and yet it never sees the light of day.
Garamendi had such a long and highly regarded career that he is still in.. As one of the best former Regents, a friend of UCD and all UCs…a real organic farmer, etc.. he won..
The DNC and all those committees are also bought out…. politics and politicians and media.
follow the money folks.. and the truth is likely hidden..
But if ya learn to pull a string, ala forensics or simply opening ones eyes…..one can learn the truth…