Progressive: Here’s the definition

• Moving forward; advancing.
• Proceeding in steps; continuing steadily by increments.
• Open to or favoring new ideas, policies, or methods.

As the Northeast part of America is suffering from the SMOKE generated from the wild fires in the West, maybe more republicans will begin to realize the so-called “Green New Deal” is “past due” instead of “dead on arrival” in Moscow Mitch’s U.S. Senate. McConnell rules the Senate even when he’s in the minority – it’s been this way since the day he committed to “making Barack Obama a one term president.” (Of course, on that he failed – but, in damaging this nation he succeeded) Now, he’s committed to doing everything he can to prevent the progressive agenda of the democrats and Joe Biden. Here’s the question I have for republicans: “How bad does it have to get before the reality of the circumstances sinks in to you?”

I’ve been pointing out for years that republicans won’t react to emergencies until it’s usually too late. Meaning “reactive” instead of “proactive.” Well, the climate crisis is HERE and, still, republicans (and democrats like Joe Manchin) continue to take MILLIONS from the fossil fuel industry and continue to vote against the PROGRESSIVE legislation PROGRESSIVES have been pushing for years now. Here’s the deal: For those of us who have children (and, in my case, grandchildren) this is the existential CRISIS of our times.

Then there’s the coronavirus! During the term of individual 1 the crisis was, for all intents and purposes, with the exception of a month or so, our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president was MIA from his duties to “protect the American people – i.e. keep them safe” – better put, it was a dereliction of duty from individual 1which exceeds anything which has ever occurred in America by a president. I listened to an interview when individual 1 referred to the “herd mentality” he was “pushing” – which, of course, in his tortured use of the English language really meant he had “adopted” the “strategy” pushed by NON epidemiologist Scott Atlas. That “plan,” which called for our solution to be NO solution at all was convenient for individual 1 because he could IGNORE the pandemic. After all, who was doing MOST of the DYING from the disease caused by the virus?

OK, I know that was a dumb question! It was MOSTLY African Americans, members of the Latinx community, Native Americans, older Americans and poor Americans. That “plan” would have accepted a death toll of as high as 6 MILLION of our people as “worth it” in order to “save” Wall Street. I actually listened to the Lieutenant Governor of Texas pointing out it would be “worth it” for us OLD people and the others sacrificing out lives for the good of the economy. Talk about your typical republican short sightedness. Well, that should be obvious as I just mentioned the republican BLOCKADE of an attempt to mitigate the climate crisis.

I just (once again) checked the website “Worldometer.info” where every reported case of Covid-19 (I’m reading a book which refers to it as SARS-Cov-2) is recorded. The number of reported DEATHS are being reported, and the data is broken down into state by state categories. As we all (SHOULD) know, the problem of the recent spike in infections is coming, largely, in the areas where people have refused to get vaccinated. Many talk in terms of “red states” v “blue states” – but, I believe it should be referred to as vaccinated v unvaccinated.

For example, I live in a “blue state” (Washington) but there are increasing numbers of infections here, despite the FACT our state reached the 70% threshold of people who’ve been vaccinated. I live in a “red county in a blue state” and the numbers are going UP – regarding people who are testing positive with Covid. By and large, the increases are caused by those who REFUSE to get vaccinated – because the vaccines are WIDELY available – and FREE. However, the real issue is with the actual “red” states, where the issues are SEVERE. Today, Florida reported OVER 12,000 NEW infections (and, keep in mind, Florida’s governor prevents the FULL story from coming out of that state), Missouri reported 3346 new cases, Louisiana 2834 new cases, Georgia 2144 new cases, Arkansas 1860 new cases, Arizona 1174 new cases, Texas almost 5000 new cases, Mississippi 1199 new cases, North Carolina 1800 new cases, Oklahoma 1581 new cases, Utah 815 new cases, Tennessee 1412 new cases, and on and on. Do you get the idea? These are ALL “red” states OR governed by republicans!

Many of these states have less than half the population of the state I live in, so that makes the numbers even more startling/worrying. The national numbers which just a few weeks ago were down to close to 10,000 new cases per day are now more than 50,000 – in just about a three week period. Scientists have been warning us about the so-called “Delta variant” for months now and, of course, it’s now here – in full force. The reports I heard earlier today said 83% of ALL the new cases across America are of that “variant.” I personally know several “anti vaccers” who either have Covid as I’m typing this, or who have recently recovered from it. I know these people from my affiliation with my Christian beliefs. (And, I have to add, I refuse to allow other Christians who are, in my view, acting in ways which very well could be called heresy when it comes to “politics” to cause me to give up my beliefs – but, I digress)

One example of one of my Christian acquaintances who contracted Covid – both he and his wife are “leaders” in our church – which causes the “hair on my back to stand on end,” I’ll elaborate. I had heard the husband had the disease one week and the next week I was at a local hardware store where the sign on the entrance was “If you’re fully vaccinated you may enter our store without a mask” – the honor system – and, there he was WITHOUT a mask. I KNOW he’s NOT vaccinated, what I didn’t know at the time was how long it had been since he was diagnosed with the disease. I could tell by the look on his face when he saw my wife and me he was uncomfortable because he KNEW we KNEW he SHOULD have been “masked up.” He hurried out the door. This is the kind of dishonesty coming from Christians which makes my – well, I just said it above.

Republicans have been virtually encouraging their “sheep” to refuse to get vaccinated, they’ve been arguing against wearing masks for the past year, and now we’re seeing more and more of them in the hospitals – with doctors and nurses who had actually thought the worst was over and NOW they’re back “in the trenches.” Many of them complaining about “burnout” and wanting to be “done with all of this.” The reality is they’re dealing with serious Covid patients who DIDN’T have to be in the hospital – simply by getting the “shots in their arms.” And, these doctors and nurses are STILL doing everything they can to save as many lives as they can! Some leading republicans are now actually recommending people get vaccinated. Why? Well, it appears a large segment of those going into the hospital these days are part of the republican base.

Kind of encompassing “all of the above” in “how do we deal with all of this,” is the democratic proposal for the so-called “infrastructure” plan – around $4+ BILLION in INVESTMENT into the critical infrastructure of our nation both structural and investment in our people – an investment which is far overdue. We KNOW republicans will BLOCK this badly needed INVESTMENT into our nation and our nation’s people for as long as they can get away with it and, as the climate crisis intensifies, their obstinance will be making it more dire for the rest of us. And, they’ll respond to its passage just as they did after attempting to BLOCK the “Covid Relief Bill” and, then, taking credit for its passage after the fact. These people are DEPLORABLE! (And, there’s too many of them to fit into a “basket.”

PROGRESSIVES have been pushing for various INVESTMENTS into the American people for as long as I can remember – more often than not to be BLOCKED by republicans. (OK, when I was young, it was the democrats – they’ve, essentially, changed sides since the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – speaking of which, republicans on the Supreme Court have succeeded in “gutting”) Harry Truman was pushing the idea of a national health care bill, which has seen various other iterations since, and, ALWAYS, it’s the republicans/”conservatives” who BLOCK the proposal. We’ve got the Affordable Care Act but that’s still a far cry from “national health care,” and, yet, republicans have been attempting to repeal it since the day it was passed.

Republicans attempted to stop Clinton’s budget proposal which led to one of the greatest economic expansions in American history without a single republican vote, they voted en masse to Block Barack Obama’s attempt to turn around the Financial Crisis of 2008 which could have resulted in another “Great Depression,” making the recovery far slower than need be. And, now they’re voting in “lock step” to BLOCK virtually EVERYTHING which is proposed via Joe Biden and the democrats in Congress – despite the FACT most of their proposals are supported by OVER 70% of the American public.

Republicans are willing to sacrifice the fundamental values of this nation in a BRAZEN attempt to regain POWER without giving the MAJORITY of America’s voters a reason to support their agenda. As it stands, there is NO agenda and republicans are SHAMELESS in their willingness to find a way to gain POWER without creating any kind of agenda. This is why their actual agenda (OK, I know I just said they don’t have one, but…..) is simply to BLOCK enough voters from being able or willing to cast a ballot (for a democrat) in order to create an even greater threat of minority rule than what currently exists. (I’m talking about things like the Senate and the Electoral College which are two things which allow for republicans to “win” with less than a majority) The reason republicans spend so much energy to castigate “liberals” is because they have no defense against a “progressive agenda.” (Other than “what about abortion” – which is the issue republicans have LIED about (and dodged a true dialogue seeking a solution) since the early 80’s – again, a story for another day).

Final Thought: Next week the beginning of the House Select Committee investigating January 6th, 2021 will start with a group of Capitol and Metropolitan Police Officers who were BEATEN and injured as individual 1’s MOB, with their Confederate flags as weapons (Other flags as well) attacked our nation’s Capitol building. I’ve listed an endless barrage of republican “stupid” over the past 18 months or so and Kevin McCarthy’s attempt to pollute the committee with the likes of Jim Jordan and Jim Burns was pure stupidity. Did he really believe Nancy Pelosi would allow him to get away with this? Or, was he planning this to be the way he could boycott the committee – AFTER, he torpedoed his own plan for a BIPARTISAN “9/11 type” Commission?

Who knows, but, in both instances, we’re talking more republican “stupid.” Kind of like individual 1 and Moscow Mitch refusing the democrats “offer” to help our now TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president gain a victory last November. I’ll go to my grave believing if republicans in the Senate had passed the so-called “HEROES Act” – which was sent to the Senate in May of 2020 individual 1 would have won re-election. That bill had MOST of what was in Biden’s “Covid Relief Bill” supported by OVER 70% of Americans. So, now, McCarthy has given the democrats a free run – as they will be getting HUGE audiences as they “investigate” what we all saw with our own eyes – and those of us paying attention saw clearly in the days leading up to January 6th, 2021 as individual 1 was GROOMING his foolish cult members to believe they could actually overturn the results of the election by telling them “Fight like hell or you won’t have a country anymore.” This all is going to be “front and center,” likely right up until the 2022 midterms – democrats reminding America’s voters what’s at stake as they replay all those videos which are becoming more prevalent. (Also, this will remind progressives that Merrick Garland SHOULD be doing his own – well the Justice Department, that is – into the January 6th INSURRECTION)

I have to add: I pointed out above; yesterday Florida had OVER 12,000 NEW cases of people INFECTED with the “Delta variant” of Covid-19 – the MOST contagious and dangerous variant of the disease, by far, in just that ONE day! Well, what do you know? Suddenly, Ron DeSantis, one of the WORST governors in the nation when it’s come to addressing the pandemic, was front and center espousing the “virtues” of the Covid vaccines. The only news I had heard about DeSantis and the vaccines, earlier, was him getting his own, early on, and giving preference to his political supporters for the “shots” when they weren’t readily available. This recent SURGE stands to not only make DeSantis look incredibly bad (or should I say, “worse than he already looked”) but is also threatening the rest of America because Florida is like the American “petri dish” of the Delta variant. I had surmised this before the data became public. (In fact, Florida and several other “red states” don’t submit their data on many days – apparently, another attempt at hiding the TRUTH.)

Today, as of 9:00 PM Eastern time none of Alabama, Iowa, Kansas, Idaho, South Dakota, and Alaska had reported. Do you see the parallels here?