Red Flag Archives - Page 3 of 11

2021/01/082022/09/19

How They Stormed Congress

If you got 30 minutes or so here is a very well done report and analysis of the mobbing of our Capitol Building from a New York Times podcast, The Daily. Spoiler alert it was not spontaneous. They warn you and I will too, there is strong language in the podcast.

How They Stormed Congress

The other mind blowing thing I came across today was a poll by YouGov as reported in Newsweek.

45 Percent of Republican Voters Support Storming of Capitol Building: Poll

I have almost never agreed with Republicans, but I used to respect them even with their differing opinions. That is not so anymore. We need to get back to teaching Civics and History. Hell we need to get back to teaching manners.

Just as aside, surely it is just not me? When I look at the Proud Boys and other MAGA mobsters in their paramilitary (and worse) grab with their phallic symbols dangling over their shoulders, I am reminded of a bunch of 12 year old boys playing army in an empty lot. Time for the Lost Boys to grow up.

And so it goes.

Keep well.

2020/10/26

Marching to a Theocracy

When the Founding Fathers spoke of Religious Freedom, what they really meant was freedom from religion. They were very adamant about avoiding what was so common in Europe at the time, state sponsored religions. There was a very strong push in the infancy of our country to set up a state church. Fortunately, we more or less escaped that calamity.

I have always thought of the United States as a religiously diverse country. This belief arose because there are so many different protestant religions in this country. The reality is that, according to the Pew Research Center, the United States is around 78% Christian¹. This puts us in the middle of the pack as far as religious diversity is concerned.

Some 223 years after our constitution went into effect; Continue reading “Marching to a Theocracy”

2020/09/192020/10/04

Sidewalk Battle for America’s Soul

The title may be a bit overly dramatic, but perhaps not. I really do believe there is an ongoing battle for the soul of the United States. If the GOP prevail, we will most likely have an authoritarian, racist future dominated by the super rich and corporations where the poor and old struggle to survive. With the Democrats, hopefully, we will have a kinder, gentler future with a country willing to accept all and support all where moneyed people and corporations are not the ultimate arbitrators of policy.

I ride my bicycle for exercise in several places, but frequently in Creve Coeur Park. The park has several miles of paved trails that folks use for bicycling, running, walking and in-line skating. The last few weeks I have seen anti-Trump slogans written in chalk appearing on the trail. They include such things as Continue reading “Sidewalk Battle for America’s Soul”

2020/09/08

BREAKING: The #BlueWave2020 Trailer

2020/09/04

Major General Paul Eaton to Trump…”You’re no patriot”

Read Jeff Goldberg’s article in The Atlantic. How could anyone support Trump? pic.twitter.com/xqfnklmCBq

— Major General (ret) Paul Eaton (@PaulDEaton52) September 4, 2020

2020/08/29

Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #2,889

yeah I know you did not ask!

I was reading an article about the recent Republican National Convention. The article referred to Mike Pence as Gospodin Trump’s wing man. At the time I thought, “wingnut would be more accurate.” Ruminating on that, I thought, “No, the function of a wingnut is to help hold things together.” This administration’s handling of the country is more like a turbine breaking up at high speed. Watch out for flying parts.

I am not sure what the appropriate term is for just another nut job circling around planet 666 aka Trump’s Dystopian World is, but anything I can think of is not appropriate for mixed company and children.

2020/07/29

This pandemic is real people…

A few weeks ago I posted an article, The Pandemic Blues – Take II. In it I detailed several things that happened to me during a round of golf that disturbed me in relation to folk’s attitude towards the corona virus pandemic. I then mentioned passing a popular bar/restaurant on my way home that is close to the golf course. It caters to a working class crowd, and is a nice place to grab a cold one and a bite to eat. What I noticed that day was how crowded the parking lot was, to the point of overflowing. And how I could not imagine social distancing taking place in there.

The last 2 or 3 times I have been golfing over in Illinois, the bar has been closed. Today at the golf course there was a young man behind the counter who I knew and knew to be from the area. I asked him if he knew the story about why the bar was closed.

Well yes he did. It turns out 2 of the waitresses tested positive for COVID-19. They were going to just close down the place for a couple days for a “deep cleaning”, he told me. He then went on to relate that there was a cluster of 20 COVID-19 cases in a small town close to Columbia, IL When they did the contact tracing they all went back to the bar! So they have closed the bar down for 2 weeks. I suppose that works to… I’m not really sure.

I can only hope when they reopen they test their employees a little better and force their customers into practicing social distancing. I do not really see the later happening in this particular establishment.

We all need to take care and realize that this is a real and serious pandemic, and that it is far from over.

Keep well.

2020/04/072020/04/07

Dollars are votes for Fox News

Fox News at one level is simply a symptom of the disease overtaking our country. At a different level they are aggravating and are part of the etiology of this malady. The malady is ultra conservatism. The malady is aggrandizing of Trump, unfettered capitalism, racism and pseudo-religious values. The malady is the denigration of immigrants, other religions, people of color, people that do not fit into the Norman Rockwell Continue reading “Dollars are votes for Fox News”