call now to reject Steve Bannon!

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security is taking calls about Steve Bannon's appointment to the National Security Council. 

You can call: 202-224-4751 to voice your objection.

Please share and spread the word!  

Steve Bannon is a self proclaimed white supremacist and war monger who has no business being in the position of a high ranking official on the National Security Council!

~s~

this from contributor uncle meat:

i do not believe some realize how close this man can bring us to destruction.  this administration has so many parallels to the third reich that it is impossible to ignore.  please check history:  films, books, etc.  detailing the formation of nazi germany.  you will be chilled by the similarities.  then, people remained passive, apathetic or simply in disbelief of the building storm.  we dare not live in the same situation with our heads in the sand.  we must stand now, find meaningful ways to take action and do so, regardless of the cost.  take off the rose colored glasses, if indeed you are indeed still trying to look at these times through them.  truly look at our world, and let us work together to try and save it from those who want and are working for chaos.

the strength within

i've heard it repeatedly and in a dozen different ways that we need some divine intervention to thwart those in power and the unlawful political process that is happening in our country today. i couldn't agree more! but there's something I would like ya' all to think about if you believe in the god of the christian bible. (and just to be clear, mentioning these things is in no way meant to offend anyone.) and even if you don't believe, please keep reading, because this applies to all of us.

i want you to think about the stories throughout the bible, the amazing things that benefitted the people. to begin with, we have god speaking to noah, telling him how to save those of faith from the flood to come. did god build the ark? no, noah built it. then we have moses leading the slaves out of israel. was it not moses, inspired by his faith and the suffering of his people who got the job done? another example is when the philistines were waging war against israel, the israelites were afraid of goliath, the giant who mocked and challenged them continually. david, alone and with only his sling and a bag of stones was able to bring goliath down, thereby causing the philistines to turn tail and leave. we can just as well open the new testament and read how god used to john the baptist to spread the word of a coming savior. further on we read of numerous healings and miracles performed by jesus; how he cured lepers, healed the infirm, turned water into wine and raised lazurus from the dead.

i can just as easily use more modern stories as an example. think mahatma gandhi, nelson mandela and martin luther king to name just a few, throughout history men and women of conscience and compassion have brought about change.

the point i'm trying to make here is not to preach biblical stories, but to say to those who feel scared, helpless and hopeless, those hoping god will intervene on our behalf, that we can see by example, and throughout history, that our conscience and our own actions have always been the catalyst for change. always.

whether we believe in god or simply in goodness, we have to consider that the way that he, she or it works is with us and through us. i have a card I bought many years ago and framed. It hangs in my home and reads, “we are the prayer that we want answered.” this reminds me everyday that it is we who have the ability and the power to change our lives for the better.
~s~

side-note: this post was written with those of faith in mind, i am certainly not suggesting that a religious or spiritual belief is necessary for one to be altruistic. there have been and are many humanists and atheists who have worked and continue to work towards a better future for all.   

this is what i know

people are scared, they are worried.  and if you’re like me, a senior citizen with children and grandchildren, who in all her years has seen nothing like we’re seeing now, then your big concern isn’t so much for yourself, but for these loved ones and their future.

i grew up during the years of the civil rights movement and the vietnam war, so i remember the upheaval of the era.  i was a bit too young to be involved at the time, but i recall the demonstrations and protests, the kent state shootings, the rioting, the draft card burning, the flag burning and the bra burning.  i also remember the hope instilled in us by JFK, RFK and MLK, but i also remember their untimely murders.  they were silenced then, but their words have lived on and give us much needed inspiration and courage still to this day.   

if you have kept up with recent news, then something should be quite evident to you; nationalism is upon us.  if you haven’t kept up, it’s time to wake up.   what happened in the sixes and seventies was big.  and the people united and change came for many who had been denied their basic human rights.  but there was risk involved.  for many the risk resulted in great personal loss.  we must remember that change and progress cannot come into being without challenging the status quo, without risk and without a certain amount of sacrifice.  

i feel the situation we find ourselves in today is looming even larger than those in the past.  so much of the freedom and progress americans have fought for and accomplished is about to crumble.  without action, instead of progressing in the realm of human rights, decency and democracy, we will have taken two step backwards, losing what we have fought for and stood for.  we the people MUST speak out, unite, protest, dissent and use whatever power we have to change what's happening.  yes, it is risky and scary business and we have a choice to make.  i strongly feel we have no real choice, because whether we remain silent or stand up against tyranny, our lives will never be the same. so my friends, we must ask ourselves these questions, “what do i stand for?  what is worth fighting for?  do i want to create a better world, a better life or will i allow others  who have no real interest in doing what is right to decide the future for me and for future generations?”  

it’s now or never my friends.  

~s~

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— 
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— 
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me. - Martin Niemöller