Be a patriot. Celebrate the founding fathers. Celebrate the country, the formation of the country, the exceptionalism of the country I was blessed to be born within but months ago, on the phone with my father, “I don’t really have that experience of pride about this place. That hasn’t been, not since I was a little kid,” Cloaking pride of patriots and flags and symbols … Continue reading Errant Words on the Fourth
Too many politicians remind me of dry alcoholics. They may want to change, and their poison of choice may have been removed, yet they still hold onto old ways. One new member of the House of Representatives filled out his communications staff and not his legislative. Helping Americans comes a distant second to building their own brand through exclusive interviews and speeches and being firm … Continue reading You Can’t Heal – 7
The inauguration is the day after tomorrow. 20,000 National Guard soldiers in DC. Articles today talked about screening being done to ensure none of these men or women have violence on their minds and are committed to peaceful transition of power. Covid19 continues to rage across the country and the world while some would still argue about the efficacy and liberty of wearing masks. Everyone … Continue reading You Can’t Heal – 5
I watched the attack of the Capitol, same as you did. I felt a range of emotions, same as most people: anger, fear, sadness. I also felt an understanding, not for the actions taken but for where they came from. For eight weeks, many of the people there had been told by their social media feeds, their news networks, maybe their friends and families, some … Continue reading You Can’t Heal – 4
The 4th of July… Tis’ a holiday of conflict. Maybe it’s twenty plus years of social work that has done this to me. Or perhaps it’s simply a matter of giving a damn about people I’ve never met in towns I’ve never been to, concerns about whether they have enough to eat, a place to live, a sense of safety and hoping these random strangers … Continue reading Independence Day…
The Tenderloin: the TL, Little Saigon, the Loin, Tenderloin Heights… Fifty square blocks or so wedged between San Francisco’s downtown Civic Center – City Hall, the courthouses and Federal buildings – and the main Shopping/Financial Districts with your Niketown’s, Apple Stores, Macy’s and rapists like Bechtel, the banks and their assorted bullshit…fifty square blocks crammed into the center of San Francisco that too many people of this city either try to ignore or take great pains … Continue reading So, this is the Tenderloin…San Francisco…
It would seem if one wanted to get an idea of a person’s mental health, about their emotional disposition, one thing to do would be to take a look at their reactions to receiving hundreds of death threats. Would they brag about it in the media? Would they become introspective? What would they do, especially if they were very wealthy and a captain of industry … Continue reading On Koch: Mental health, Martin Luther and martyrs…
Hey Chris… It’s me, Drake… Just letting you know I haven’t forgotten what a whore you are/were for your big buddies of capitalism, those corporate cronies idolized in your wistful wet dreams of power that left you swooning so hard, you just had to become one more pathetic lobbyist… A lobbyist…do the world a favor and step on the third rail! So, now you work … Continue reading Dear Chris Dodd of the MPAA…SOPA/PIPA NSFW version
Mitt Romney, the presidential candidate one pundit described as the candidate who most looks like the guy who laid you off during the recession had this to say in New Hampshire today: “I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.” Granted, the line was taken out of context as he was discussing how people dissatisfied with the service they are getting … Continue reading Romney: I like being able to fire people…
At the end of this month the payroll tax holiday will expire, and if allowed to lapse, it will come as a tax increase for working lower and middle class Americans. The Democrats, including Obama, are in favor of an extension while many Republicans are not. Many Republicans are demanding the extension be offset by spending cuts elsewhere or simply done away with altogether. Why? Simple… According to Macroeconomic … Continue reading Republican coincidence and payroll tax holidays…
Drake Toulouse: Photography and Words 