Voting Anonymously

RJ Walters

Now that the Arizona Senator Jeff Flake is out of office he feels he can finally speak his mind. He is doing everything he can to urge Republicans in congress not to support the current Oval Office occupant in 2020. Of course that has brought a Twitter rage to his doorstep but it now has no effect on him.

One of the things he mentioned in a recent article is that he has found that 23 Republican Senators would likely not support Trump if they were allowed to vote anonymously on the Senate floor. Given the vitriol atmosphere in that building it is almost impossible for anyone to cross party lines in any of their votes. If the Democrats are for it then they have to be against it. Of course, that logic is what has virtually stopped any progress inside the beltway.

My hero Will Rogers used to say that stifling action was a good thing and in some cases he is right. But there are some urgent matter that our country needs to deal with that it they aren’t handled will cause future agony. On top of that list is global warming. If there is any issue that demands bipartisan support that is the one.

I’m not one of those who think that the GOP has sold their souls to willful ignorance to stay in power. I think somewhere deep down every one of those 53 Senators has some level of apprehension when it comes to supporting the idiocy of the current administration.

Of course, nothing of any significance is going to happen in the Senate until McConnell loses the reigns and I think that will surely happen come January 2021. Getting him out would be a big plus for democracy but that won’t happen soon enough to prevent some permanent damage to our country and the world.

Being able to vote anonymously on certain bills will eventually be the most effective way to get critical legislation passed. It would allow each person in Congress to vote their conscience for things that really matter.

What do you think?

Painting with Words – Mesa Verde

RJ Walters
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
I am a dreamer to my core; it is just who I am.
That is simultaneously a curse and a blessing.
I recognize how things are but imagine them to be better.
There is no place better to do that than Mesa Verde

My first visit there seemed almost spiritual.
I could almost see my ancestors living their daily lives.
How they got there no one really knows.
Why they left is pretty much the same.

The stone and adobe walls they built are still there.
I touched them and dreamed I was among them.
In their isolation they lived in peaceful harmony with nature.
But that is kinda the Native American way, isn't it?

I would go back several more times and it always felt the same. 
I absorbed their world into mine if only for a few minutes.
God willing, I will go back again before I leave this earth.
My idealism and dreams needs a refill from time to time.

For me there is no place in the world quite like it.
A place where I can escape the dreadfulness of our times.
Where I can immerse myself in an imagined Utopian world.
We all need a place like that and Mesa Verde is that place for me.

I’m Canadian, We Don’t Do “Proud

RJ Walters

I’m pretty sure my roots go back to Great Britain, so maybe that is the reason I have such a kindred relationship with things Canadian. They still have the basic sense of being British engrained in them. 🙂 The quote above is from Martha Atwood who is Canadian and the author of “The Handmaid’s Tale”.

When I heard the quote in the title from her it made me think just how fundamentally different Canadians are from their southern neighbors. That and a photo gallery of my 2011-month-long visit is what this post is about.

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Just the facts, in 40 sentences.

RJ Walters

I have been looking for this type of list about the current Oval Office occupant (#CO3) for a while now. Thanks, David Leonhardt of the New York Times for putting it out in his column on Sunday.

Even with this very lengthy list it seems impossible for any Republican in Congress to put country over party and bring this guy to task. They finally need the guts to admit that their party that once stood for principles was kidnapped by a very flawed person who has his head stuck so far up his own rear end that he sees ABSOLUTELY nothing but himself.

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We Shall Meet In a Place Where There Is No Darkness

RJ Walters

I wonder if there are any of you who recognize the words above as being from the book by George Orwell entitled 1984. I took up this book to read again a few months ago but really haven’t gotten very far into it, but that is as it is.

The book was written in 1948 and was about a fictional totalitarian society, where there is no freedom except maybe in one’s personal thoughts — and those are communicated to others at risk of imprisonment or death.

We Shall Meet In a Place Where There Is No Darkness

This George Orwell book, with the exception of the Bible, is probably the most analyzed text in existence. Because of that the above quote has been interpreted to mean several things. but the most prominent is that Winston Smith (the main character in the book) is talking about his dreams as that is the only place where he can really think what he wants.

Here is a thought about that from Walter Fisher who is a certified Educator (whatever that means) 🙂

There is no freedom save of one’s personal thoughts — and those are communicated to others at risk of imprisonment or death.  Dreams, therefore, represent an escape from the constant repressiveness of the society in which Winston Smith lives.  Only through his dreams can Winston reflect on the past and entertain thoughts of the future

I don’t know about you but it seems these time kind of have a whiff of that. Doublespeak certainly is prevalent at least in the executive branch of our current government. For those of you who are not familiar with the word, doublespeak is a language that deliberately obscures, distorts, and reverses the meaning of words that is meant to make “truth” sound relative.

But I kinda think that the current version of doublespeak is to cover up the proud ignorance of the current Oval Office occupant (#CO3). This guy can’t seem to form an opinion on anything outside of himself without first seeing it on Fox News. How dangerous is this type of doublespeak?

If politics is one of your primary focuses in life then we are certainly living in a world of darkness. But if you boycott that menu it is much easier to see things from a silver lining viewpoint.

USPS ..to.. FDD

RJ Walters

Everyone knows that the United State Postal Service (USPS) has been in financial trouble since the 21st century began. That is not surprising given that most financial transactions now take place on the Internet. I can’t remember when I last mailed a bill payment through them or much of anything else for that matter. This post is about what may just be the future of the USPS and that is as a FDD.

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My Biggest Shock Upon Retirement!

RJ Walters

Sometimes the journey into retirement just isn’t very joyous, in fact it can be a down right painful journey at times.

Like almost all of us I had many challenges in my early retirement years. I started my retirement from the corporate world at age 54 and like the cartoon above, I didn’t really have any retirement plan to guide me. The first few years were difficult but now after almost twenty years I think I have finally gotten most of it right.

This post is about the biggest shock among the many I encountered.

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The Business Roundtable & The Three Legged Stool.

RJ Walters

This post is about how an idea that died, or maybe I should say killed by corporate America is now new again. It seems that the Business Roundtable, which is a group of 188 CEOs has decided that corporations should be accountable to more than just its stockholders. The three-legged stool is finally being resurrected again, and none too soon.

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A Morning On The St. Lawrence Seaway.

RJ Walters 
It's been eleven years since the Canada trip.
How could time have flown by so fast?
It was a month long adventure that I won't forget.
Especially that sunrise along the St. Lawrence Seaway.

We were traveling in the hinterland between cities.
We were determined to follow the Seaway to its source.
It was getting dark so our attention was for a place to sleep.
We feared we might have to sleep in the car.

Then there suddenly a small sign on the side of the road.
We were desperate so we took a chance.
The person in the small shack labeled "Office" only spoke French.
But his wife knew English.

She told us she would give us her best room.
"You can't drink the water but it's good for a shower."
The price was absurdly cheap.
I was skeptical but what was the alternative?

The "Best" room looked like it was once a chicken coop.
There was a small bed with a hundred year old mattress
along with a chair and a small lamp on a night stand,
and "Do Not Drink The Water" sign on the bathroom door.

We ate a snack and then turned in for the night.
The bed spring poking into my back annoyed me for hours! 
I finally gave up any hope of sleep and spent the night in the chair .
It seemed like hours before the first glimmer of daylight.

I made my way to the shoreline in anticipation of sunrise.
In the predawn light I saw the silhouette of a lone fisherman.
He sat on a plastic bucket holding a long pole.
That sight became the primary remembrance for the entire trip.

Mayor Pete…

RJ Walters

As my first candidate to look at in my “The Next President” series I want to focus on a local guy. Who would have ever thought that the mayor of a small Indiana town could get such attention? All you have to do is google “Mayor Pete” and he comes up.

How could a 37 year-old from perhaps the most conservative State north of the Mason-Dixon line even show up on the radar? He isn’t rich by any means and moreover he has proudly proclaimed that he is a gay person with a husband! I mean he graduated from high school after the millennium! Despite all of this he is a front runner in the second pack for president.

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