Author: Michael A. Ventrella

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What “Make America Great Again” really means

Whenever I hear conservative politicians say things like “Make America great again” I have to wonder. The economy is booming. Unemployment is at its lowest rate in ten years. The deficit has been reduced by 2/3rds. The stock market is at its highest ever and gas prices are at their lowest in years.  Foreign policy-wise, ISIS leaders have been killed, Qadaffi was removed, bin Laden is dead, and we have less troops overseas than we did eight years ago.trump

These are all things that, if a Republican were in office, conservatives would be citing to say how wonderful their President is.

So what do they mean when they say “Make America great again”?

It’s clear that they’re not talking about the standard of living, foreign policy, or the economy. What they want is to go back to the old ways. You know — an America where

  • Minorities know their place and aren’t all uppity and saying “Black lives matter”
  • Gays hide in the closet and don’t demand rights
  • Transgender people are treated like they have mental problems and are shunned from society
  • Women let men decide their personal health issues, especially concerning abortion
  • Non-Christians let Christians force their religious views into the laws
  • Immigrants are kept out so that we can keep a white majority
  • No one questions the rich and powerful or demands that they pay their fair share
  • Health care and other needed necessities are only available to those who can afford it

That’s the America they want back — where rich, white, Christian men run things and everyone else sucks it up.

It’s a definition of “great” that only applies to a small minority of Americans who have managed to convince the simple-minded and gullible that America is not about equality, opportunity, and freedom but instead about allowing those in power to force their views onto the rest of us.

 

 

 

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Editorial cartoon: Trumped

Clay Bennett

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Why I voted for Bernie today

Today is primary day and the big state with the most delegates is Pennsylvania, where I am. And I voted for Bernie.bernie bird

Do I expect him to win? No, although it’s still possible (though unlikely).

But this is a primary and not a final election. Voting for who I really want in a primary is much different than the November election where you often have to choose the lesser of two evils. And since this is not a “winner take all” election, even if he only gets 40% of the delegates, that gives him more power at the convention to get his issues brought forward and make sure the Democratic platform talks about them.

I don’t think Bernie ever expected to do as well as he is doing. He originally said he wanted to run to emphasize his issues, and he certainly has accomplished that.

But most importantly, voting for him sends a signal to politicians: You don’t have to suck up to the big money interests to run a good campaign. You don’t have to shy away from socialist ideas. You don’t have to move to the right to get votes.

And Hillary supporters who say I’m naive and idealistic have to explain why Bernie does better against any Republican than she does.

 

 

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Editorial cartoon: Demoted

Jakcson

David Horsey

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The Ten Best Prince Songs You Might Not Know

Damn, Prince was only a month older than I am and could afford the best doctors. Appreciate life every minute folks, because you could leave any minute.

I have most of Prince’s albums, ignoring some of the more obscure weird ones, like the all-instrumental jazz one. And there are lots of great songs there that many people just don’t know.prince2

Here’s a list of my favorites that weren’t singles or big hits. Normally, I’d post YouTube links, but Prince guarded his songs very carefully. I urge you to check these out, though. Look them up on iTunes or Amazon and see for yourself.

In alphabetical order:

Chaos and Disorder: Prince knew how to rock when he wanted to, and this one never gets boring. From the disappointing Chaos and Disorder album — but the opening is great.

Dolphin: This should have been a hit single. It’s from the excellent Gold Experience album, which is probably my favorite Prince album — not a bad song in the bunch. This one is tremendously catchy with wonderful pop hooks.

Guitar: Prince shows his guitar skills in a great little song. “I love you baby / But not like I love my guitar!” he sings and you know he means it. From the Planet Earth album. At the end he’s singing “I love you baby / Ah, you know the rest.”

Joint 2 Joint: From Emancipation, this song runs about 8 minutes long but isn’t a jam — it starts off kind of mellow, then builds and switches, and has various parts such that by the time you get to the end, you’ve forgotten that this started off so simple.

La la la He he he: This is an obscure B side from the Lovesexy sessions. Very Funkadelic influenced. Be sure to get the long ten-minute version which never gets boring. Listen for Prince’s bass solo, overdubbed at double speed.

Rock and Roll is Alive (And it Lives in Minneapolis): Another obscure B-side which rocks away and then halfway through splits off and does some Frank Zappa-like musical twists and turns, always surprising.

Slow Love: A track from Sign O’The Times, this is a perfect make-out song. I never get tired of hearing this one.

So Far, So Pleased: A duet sung with Gwen Stefani, this pop bit flows along wonderfully and should have been a hit. It’s on the Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic album.

Three Chains of Gold: This is from the symbol album (you know, the one where he named himself after that weird symbol). This could have been a Queen song. It has a few different parts that blend together and then in the end combine to build to a great climax.

We Can Funk: Prince wrote this with George Clinton and it shows. It’s exactly what you’d think a Prince/Funkadelic mix would sound like. It’s from the Graffiti Bridge album.

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Editorial cartoon: Cruz in for a Bruisin’

Jen Sornesen

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We need money to fight money

Some Bernie supporters are posting memes about how terrible that awful liberal George Clooney is. Did you hear? He hosted a fundraiser for Democrats where rich people paid a lot of money to eat with celebrities. And then that money went to Democratic candidates across the nation (including Hillary — apparently that was the part they disliked the most).politifact-photos-ClooneyNBCscreenshot

Now, I understand the complaint that we need campaign finance reform and that the system is bad because so much money is needed to campaign. In fact, George Clooney agrees. “I think it’s an obscene amount of money,” he said.

But the fact is that in order to change the system — to get rid of Citizens United and to enact campaign finance reform — we need to win. And how do you win? With money. It’s a vicious circle.

Come on, you know the Republicans are doing this, too. If we didn’t raise as much as we could, too, we’re giving up before we even start. And it doesn’t help us at all if we’re protesting ourselves. We can’t laugh at how stupid the Republican candidates are being for attacking each other constantly while we’re doing the same thing.

Money in and of itself isn’t evil. And there’s nothing wrong with being rich. The problem is in how you get the money and what you use it for.

I support Bernie, really I do, but some of his supporters are making it difficult. They complain about party rules that have been in place for over 40 years while they’ve done nothing to change them, and they often don’t understand how it all works — they confuse the rules for the primary elections with rules for the general election and just kind of look naive.

In many ways I am an idealist as well but I think it’s important to be an informed idealist.

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Editorial cartoon: Feeling the Bern

David Horsey

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Let People Pee in Peace

Jesus, let people pee in peace.

Prohibiting trans people from using the bathroom they are more comfortable in is the latest right-wing non-issue du jour. It’s imperative that Fox News and the conservative blogs keep their followers scared, because that gets them to the voting booth (as well as increases ratings).

But the fear is entirely fictional. It’s made up, just like their other false boogeymen voter fraud, Planned Parenthood sells baby parts, Beghazi was a crime, the war on Christmas — I could go on. Lies, all of them.cis

Gullible people think this is a huge new threat because the right-wing media tells them it is. Well, here’s a big news flash: Transgender people have been around your whole life. You’ve already shared bathrooms with them. Your fear of them isn’t real.

Why haven’t you noticed? Because transgender people identify with a different gender than they were born with — and they look like that gender, by their own choice.  If you force someone who looks like a man to use the women’s restroom, how does that benefit anyone? Who are we trying to protect here?

“Oh noes,” they yell. “But what if some pervert pretends to be trans just so he can go into a woman’s bathroom so he can peep on people?” (Texas politician and Stupidest Man in Congress Louis Gomert said that he would have lied about it, done that in school, and thus knowingly committed a crime.) Then prosecute the bastard! Make the guilty pay, not the innocent. Seriously, this argument sounds a lot like “We should make women wear burkas because there are people out there who may rape them.” Stop blaming the victim.

So grow up. Treat people with dignity. And let them pee in peace.

 

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Editorial cartoon: Republican House of Horrors

Tom the Dancing Bug 1283 republican house of horrors

Tom the Dancing Bug 1283 republican house of horrors

Ruben Bolling