kak·i·sto·cra·cy

/kakəˈstäkrəsē/

noun

government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state.

"the danger is that this will reduce us to kakistocracy"

a state or society governed by its least suitable or competent citizens.

plural noun: kakistocracies

"the modern regime is at once a plutocracy and a kakistocracy"

The United States should be called Kakistan from now on. 

I subscribe to Robert Reich's emails and here is what he had to say about Mitch McConnell's departure from the Senate -

<i>

He will be remembered as one of the most dangerous politicians in living memory. He helped transform the Republican Party into a cult, worshiping at the altar of authoritarianism. He’s damaged our country in ways that may take a generation to undo.

No, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. The politician I'm referring to is Mitch McConnell, who yesterday announced he will step down as Republican leader in November. Who’s worse — Trump or McConnell?

Like Trump, McConnell hasn’t been just a garden-variety bad public official. He’s been a truly awful public official. McConnell has always put party above America. Remember when he said his most important goal as Senate leader was to make Barack Obama a one-term president? The fact that he hasn’t always kissed Trump’s backside has infuriated the former furor-in-chief.

Despite his opposition to Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election — admitting publicly that Trump “provoked” the attack on the U.S. Capitol — McConnell voted to acquit Trump on the charge of inciting an insurrection on January 6, 2021.

So who’s worse? It’s a tough call. Trump defaced and defiled the presidency, but no person has done more in recent years to undermine the functioning of the U.S. government than McConnell.

Happy weekend to all. Personally, I am glad it is Saturday and looking forward to a relaxing weekend here at home. I have some chores to get done and will try and do those and hang out. I have slacked off on posting so will try and do that more here. I am committed to journaling and will endeavor to do that.

I admit that I am not watching the news that much - I feel like our government is in more competent hands so I don't need to obsessively watch this Administration. Maybe that is wrong and maybe I should always watch things but I feel like I can relax on that. I do more weekly viewing than daily viewing and keep up that way. With Trump it was a daily nightmare and with Biden it does not feel like that. I am sure for the Trumpers it feels awful - judging from their frantic comments on the White House FB page - they are not happy. I am feeling better about things. Sure Biden is going to misstep but I think in general things are better.

I am concerned that they are not going to pass the $15.00 minimum wage in the current aid bill. I am not sure why they are having such a problem with that. The current Federal minimum wage is at $7.25 an hour which is not enough for anyone to live on anywhere in the country. $15.00 an hour is barely enough for anyone to live on. I don't think that is really enough but it is a better number than they have now. We need to do this and they are having trouble with it. Seems indecent. Raise the wage! Let's get this done. I think if they don't put this in the bill - they will have to do it some other way. So hopefully they will get it done somehow. I just cannot believe anyone has a problem with paying a fair wage. Unbelievable.

Work is going on. I am a little tired of working from home but think I will be doing that for a while. It gets lonely. I think I will be here through the summer for now. Ho hum. I am glad I could do this and keep my job during the pandemic. I feel lucky that way. So there is that.

Anyways - hope you are doing well where you are and staying healthy. I have the second dose of the vaccine on March 13. I am going to do some prep for that so I am ready for side effects. Not sure I will get them but will be ready if I do.

That is all I have. Stay healthy there and peace to you! Poof, like magic this is cross-posted from - Dreamwidth! Please comment where you prefer.

Not much going on this week - working - journaling - getting my groove back.

I am very happy that the House has stripped that nutty Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments. It is a little unusual for the majority party to strip someone from the other party. Usually such discipline is done along partisan lines but the Republicans were not going to do it so the Democrats had to. This QAnon nutjob needed to be neutralized so now she is effectively a lameduck. She won't get much done. Most of the Republicans voted in support of Greene so that is pretty pathetic. They definitely circled the wagons there. Let's hope the good people of Georgia see the error of their ways and vote her out.

That is my only observation today. Not much on my mind. I will try and post more tomorrow. Today was busy at work and I am really tired. Short post tonight. Poof, like magic this is cross-posted from - Dreamwidth! Please comment where you prefer.

So my country is bruised and torn from the week it has had and 2021 is not starting out so great here. I don't know about the rest of the world. Here - not great. We had a few days where we thought it was going to be ok and then wham - insurrection in the Capitol of those maga-heads. I am watching CNN right now - and the people who did it were really not very smart - they went face to the camera and are easily identifiable so they are now being arrested by the Feds. I think they will get a lot of them. They did not wear masks - even with the pandemic - so it was a spreader event - and they were grinning on national TV for the cameras. Not very smart. I think they think they are patriots but we all know that they are terrorists - white supremacists judging from the t-shirts that they were wearing (Camp Auschwitz and other things).

There are calls for Trump to resign from all over. I doubt he will. He is not going to do the right thing here. The other recourse is to remove him with the 25th amendment (for an unfit President) but Pence is refusing to do that. So I think the House will have to impeach him again and I hope they can do it quickly. They need to act fast. They need to make sure he cannot run for office again. He has talked about a 2024 bid so they need to stop that right now. Mitch McConnell is saying it will take time - well he needs to step on it and move quickly. No dragging things around in the Senate. Just do it.

I am still very angry about it. I was shocked when it happened but now I am still pretty angry. It was very upsetting to see our legislature over-run by those people. I am sorry that people got killed in this and feel that Trump is directly responsible for those deaths. He needs to go and then he needs to be prosecuted. I am sure he will try to pardon himself - hope that does not work. Maybe he will resign and ask Pence to pardon him - it could go like that. Who knows. It is a crap shoot right now.

Any bets? Poof, like magic this is cross-posted from - Dreamwidth! Please comment where you prefer.

I am really trying not to get all worked up over the evening news. The Trumpists and their BS this week have me on my last nerve. I am sure it will all be fine but it is ridiculous. Trump lost and they are all butt hurt and cannot accept the election. Funny how we had to accept it when he won in 2016 - they told us to get over it. Well it is time for them to get over it. This is how elections work - there is a winner and a loser. Trying to overturn an election threatens our democracy and the Republicans are going too far with this. All of the people trying to do this should lose their seats in Congress - I really think so. The news is calling them the Jim Crow Caucus because they are basically trying to invalidate the black vote here. Sounds about right to me. They are also expecting trouble in Washington, DC that day too - Trump supporters doing crazy shit there too. This is madness. We had free elections and there were no problems with them. They are literally making this stuff up. Anyways. See? I am all worked up.

I had a pretty good day for my last day of vacation - got my food shopping done - did a lot of reading and relaxed around here. It rained most of the day so I did not get my walk in. I will go tomorrow.

Back to work tomorrow - I will deal with that in the morning. I don't think I have any meetings tomorrow so that is good. Just work to do. Blah.

That is all I have. I wish it was Inauguration Day - this transition is for the birds - it is taking far too long. Speed this up!

Hope all is well with you where you are. <3 Poof, like magic this is cross-posted from - Dreamwidth! Please comment where you prefer.

Hello to all who are still reading LJ. I am trying to figure out of the LOTR challenge is happening for the end of the summer — the Sultry in September thing. It is getting on in the summer so it is too late for Ardor in August. Does anyone know what is happening with that? I am really in the mood to write something and would love a good prompt to do. So let me know if you know anything. I have been looking forward to this.

In other news — I had a nice time in Vegas. I go there to relax and do the resort thing and eat good food. So that is pretty much what I did there. I don't gamble or anything crazy like that. I don't really even drink much. I had my one margarita at the Mirage Hotel Bar and really enjoyed that. I literally have one drink a year. LOL. We had BBQ and Thai Food and then cooked some food in the room. Due to problems with our suite, I was able to negotiate a serious discount with the hotel and we saved some money there. So that was all good. I love saving money. Minor inconveniences at hotels can turn into major savings on your bill. Keep track of that stuff and ask for money off at check out. It will pay off.

Anyhoo. Work is going well and that is just a thing. I am a little bored with it but we have a new VP and I really like her a lot. She does good things for the world and has a nice way about her. I am looking forward to seeing the changes that she will make for our division. She has good mojo.

I am watching this debate and find myself getting really annoyed at the state of American politics. I can't help but feel that the Democrats could really blow it in the next election. Not sure where this feeling is coming from but it is just a feeling. I don't like Biden...I am tired of the Bernie bro's texting me and I have no idea how they got my number...I do like Warren and feel like she has solid plans and is smart enough to do the job. I don't know about the rest of them.

Anyhoo. That is about all I have right now and this got much longer than I thought it would.

Poof, like magic this is cross-posted from - Dreamwidth!
Please comment where you prefer.

So hey - I was going to post more in the new year. I have been meaning to post but not gotten around to it so here I am.

2018 is going great for Donald Trump so far, eh? *sarcasm* He is using his great words to great effect, right? He says the best things. I mean really He insults all of Africa and Haiti in one really horrible sentence and we are supposed to be ok with that? Let me just say here that he does not represent me or my views. I did not vote for him. I do not agree with him and his inherent racism. And I think it is worth noting that he did not win the popular vote. The majority of Americans voted against this troll. We do not like him either. We wanted Hilary Clinton. So BOOM. There it is. We are stuck with this fool until he can be impeached. The Dems need to win the midterms and get this creep out of office. That has got to be the plan. There are a lot of House seats up and enough Senate seats to do the job. So my hope is that the Dems will do this and if Trump keeps this up- he will be helping the Dems win the midterms. So keep it up Donny-boy. Keep it up. /end political rant.

I have great news on the job front here - I saw this job on the Uni website and it was perfect for me - a great job, director level, excellent pay but it was closed to applications since December. So I debated applying for it and thought - what the hell. They can ignore my app if they don't want to see it. So I zapped my resume and cover letter in there to see what would happen. And guess what - they wrote me back and I know the person hiring. She said that she is glad that I applied and wants to interview me next Friday! Psych! So I guess closed does not really mean closed. I will remember this for future things. So I am super excited. The job is for a Director of Special Events at a college and I feel like this could be the one. THE ONE! It is all very copacetic here. I helped them with a hiring committee a few years ago and remembered thinking that they would be great to work with so here is my chance. Awesome!

(please don't mention this on FB. I count on your discretion)

On the WW front - I am so close to goal that I can taste it. I am .8 away. So very close. I am hoping to hit that this week. Woot! Once I hit goal - I have to maintain for 6 weeks and then I am lifetime - I get to go for free forever. And I intend to maintain my weightloss forever. I did not do all this work to gain it back. I have been reading about what it takes to maintain weight loss and you have to keep on top of it. I think this will be a constant thing for me and I will always have to watch it. I don't mind that as I enjoy tracking food and all that. My plan is to go a bit below goal so I have a few buffer pounds between me and goal. So that should work.

So all good news. Sorry about the political rant - it was in my mind and came out of my fingertips. Oh and Slashy Valentine - not started. Oops.

Hope all is well with you in your part of the world. I love comments!



Poof, like magic this is cross-posted from - Dreamwidth!
Please comment where you prefer.

Here is what Joe Kennedy III has to say about the new healthcare bill the Republicans are proposing - I am going to keep an eye on this guy. He is going to be important. For sure. He sent this out over Obama's mailing list but he has been fighting the good fight in Congress. He is in the House of Representatives for Massachusetts. 

Mercy.

It is about how we care for the least among us -- not how we treat the powerful.

It calls on us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the sick.

It is kindness. It is grace.

There is no mercy in a system that makes health care a luxury. There is no mercy in a country that turns its back on those that are most in need of protection: the elderly, the poor, the sick, and the suffering.

There is no mercy in a cold shoulder to the mentally ill.

There is no mercy in a policy that takes for granted the sweat, the tears, and the sacrifice that working Americans shed every day so that they might care for their families' basic needs: food, shelter, health, and hope for tomorrow.

So when Speaker Ryan called his repeal bill "an act of mercy" last week, I knew I had to speak out.

It is an act of malice.

We, as Americans, are better than this. Every working family deserves better than this. And when millions of people have their access to health care put on the chopping block, we have to stand up to this.  Poof, like magic this is cross-posted from - Dreamwidth! Please comment where you prefer.

I have become an MSNBC junkie. I don't know if I can make it through four years of this Trump Administration and I hope I don't have to. I am really hoping that Trump gets impeached and does not last the whole duration of his presidency. I just have to say it here. I really am hoping that.

This is the third week and it is absolute insanity.

I am too tired to give details and it is almost too much to keep up with.

Hope all is well with you in your part of the world. It has turned into a dystopian nightmare in the US. It really has.

Poof, like magic this is cross-posted from - Dreamwidth!
Please comment where you prefer.

Here is my word meter for the Slashy Valentine -



I don't have a sense of how long the story is going to be but I better wrap it up soon as Red just sent out the warning email! Gotta get it done!

So that is what is going on. If you follow me on FB you know I am not pleased with what is going on in Washington. More on that later.

Happy weekend to all.

Poof, like magic this is cross-posted from - Dreamwidth!
Please comment where you prefer.

Originally posted by iheartnickcath at House Passes CISPA: Make Sure It Dies In Senate

Originally posted by mcc2040 at House Passes CISPA: Make Sure It Dies In Senate

Originally posted by philstar22 at House Passes CISPA: Make Sure It Dies In Senate

Originally posted by lk737 at House Passes CISPA: Make Sure It Dies In Senate

CISPA would give the government and corporations vast new powers to track and share data about Americans’ Internet use.

But our hundreds of thousands of emails and tens of thousands of phone calls have had a real impact:

Amendments were adopted that made CISPA (marginally) better.

Earlier this month CISPA was supposed to sail through, but we helped foment opposition, and the vote was far closer than anybody could have imagined even a couple of weeks ago.

Most Democrats held firm in opposition, and more than two dozen libertarian-leaning Republicans defied their leadership and voted no.

Most importantly, President Obama has threatened to veto CISPA.

***Additionally, CISPA would destabilize the internet inviting cyber attacks and increasing the amount of identity theft.***

The Senate will consider cyber security legislation in the coming weeks. Let’s turn up the heat right away: Tell the Senate to reject CISPA and any and all legislation that doesn’t respect privacy and civil liberties.
Add your name at right to tell the Senate to reject cyber security legislation that doesn’t respect privacy.

http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/cispa_passes/?akid=1332.1998782.hoiowQ&rd=1&t=2

Sarah Palin have so much staying power. I don't get it. I really don't. The woman is a train wreck and now it seems that she is going to run for PRESIDENT at some point in the future? Hilary Clinton please run that woman over.

America never ceases to amaze me with who will hold the national attention but really...Sarah Palin has got to go.


by sailinghome

I am going to give the short view of the Obama speech tonight. I was writing during the address so I heard it but did not totally absorb it.

It seemed to be a confirmation of his election platform. He reaffirmed all of his major points and I was happy to see attention to these major areas:

-the economy
-healthcare
-alternative energy

He speaks so well and I have to say I am proud to have him as my president.

One side comment. I found it totally inappropriate that they allowed people to get autographs signed in chambers there. Most of those people are politicians and what not. Why the heck is our president signing autographs in Congress? This rock star stuff is getting to be a bit much to me. He is our President NOT a Hollywood star. This is in no way a criticism of his policies or his speech. I think he should be talking politics in there not asking people whose name he should be signing. /rant

And who were those groupies in the back? Gah. Okie. Done.

California Gov Schwarzenegger seems to think taking pets to the vet is a luxury. Evidently our Governor feels that one way to raise money for the state in these times is to create a 9% veterinary services tax.

Vet medication and other products are already subject to sales tax, but the Governor wants to add a separate tax on services -- classifying veterinary care a luxury item. In addition to pet owners, this will decimate rescues already struggling to pay vet bills. Having volunteered for Forgotten Felines of Sonoma County for over a year, I have seen personally how important it is to keep costs down for these organizations.

For many pets and strays, it's literally a death sentence. Please take 15 seconds to stop this NOW. You can call the Governor's automated line any time, follow prompts to note your opposition, and it will take less than 15 seconds... You don't even have to talk to anyone.

Simply: 1) Call the Governor's office at 916-445-2841

2) Select your language choice. Press "1" for English.

3) Press "5"

4) Press "1" to select the issue of extending the sales tax to veterinary
services.

5) Press "2" to "OPPOSE" the Veterinary Services Tax proposal.

6) PLEASE COPY AND FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW IN CALIFORNIA.