Representatives of the T.C. Williams Young Democrats Club
Last Monday evening, April 2, 2018, there was a terrific meeting of the Alexandria Democratic Committee. We filled the cafeteria at the George Washington Middle School.
This photo was taken before the meeting began and while people were still pouring in.
The Young Dems were present to announce that they now have 40 members, up from just 11 last year, and that they are selling baked goods every Saturday at the Del Rey Farmers Market and they had samples to sell to us. All proceeds will help pay for their trip to Richmond to attend the state convention of the Young Dems.
The focus of the meeting was a report from our state senators and delegates on the results of the recent state legislative session. We're so close to having enough votes to control both houses, but we're not there yet so most of the comments were about how close we came to ALMOST passing important legislation. Many excellent bills died in Republican conrolled committees including one to prevent mentally ill patients who have been involuntarily committed from buying guns. It's insane to let the insane have guns yet those legislators bought by the NRA vote against any "restrictive gun legislation"!
There was also a call to get ready for the next round of elections for state positions next year. We gained so much in last year's elections that we must continue to elect more Democrats to the legislature.
There was also a call to get ready for the next round of elections for state positions next year. We gained so much in last year's elections that we must continue to elect more Democrats to the legislature.
I was encouraged by the energy and enthusiasm shown at the meeting but I read the Washington Post the following morning and returned to my "democracy is dying" mind set - I swing between a deep gut rage to despondency at the recklessness, incompetency, and complete disregard for ethics that permeates this administration at the national level. There's actually a word for this type of government - "kakistocrcy". I did not make this up.
Two articles from the Post of April 3th have stuck with me. The first was the opinion piece by Dr. Jill McCabe, wife of the FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe who was fired by Cadet Bonespurs (dba David Dennison) after a prolonged public attack totally void of facts but done with the apparent goal of discrediting the entire leadership of the FBI and a complete disregard for the lives of everyone in the McCabe family. This is such an abuse of presidental power and smacks of a petty dictator in a 3rd world country. OK, so they say there is an internal DOJ investigation that recommended his firing, but who did the investigating and did they allow McCabe to clarify any points made during his interview? How many times has Cadet Bonespurs son-in-law been allowed to revise his application forms for a security clearance?
The second was a front page article about teachers finally protesting the constant slashing of state school funding by Republican legislatures. It's about time but I can't help but wonder how many of those teachers have actually voted for the very Republicans that are determined to destroy public education in this country. There seems to be 2 reasons for this action (paid for by the Koch brothers) - profit must be the only goal of anything and that includes education, so if you can't afford to send your students to good schools, tough, and what better way to control a population but to be sure they are uneducated or, at least, undereducated. Propoganda works so much better when no one bothers to think critically and is afraid to question authority. Too often the "authority" in many people's lives these days is a right-wing evangelical minister who is feeding his flock the nonsense that a god sent Cadet Bonspurs to save the nation. Just the thought of that stupidity makes me livid!
Yet April 4 is the 50th anniversary of the assasination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I heard Congressman John Lewis on Andrea Mitchell's show on MSNBC on April 3rd. He talked about the power of love and nonviolence and quoted Dr. King - " I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bare." I long for the strength found in the concept of "love your enemy." At the moment it is beyond my emotional capabilities.
The second was a front page article about teachers finally protesting the constant slashing of state school funding by Republican legislatures. It's about time but I can't help but wonder how many of those teachers have actually voted for the very Republicans that are determined to destroy public education in this country. There seems to be 2 reasons for this action (paid for by the Koch brothers) - profit must be the only goal of anything and that includes education, so if you can't afford to send your students to good schools, tough, and what better way to control a population but to be sure they are uneducated or, at least, undereducated. Propoganda works so much better when no one bothers to think critically and is afraid to question authority. Too often the "authority" in many people's lives these days is a right-wing evangelical minister who is feeding his flock the nonsense that a god sent Cadet Bonspurs to save the nation. Just the thought of that stupidity makes me livid!
Yet April 4 is the 50th anniversary of the assasination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I heard Congressman John Lewis on Andrea Mitchell's show on MSNBC on April 3rd. He talked about the power of love and nonviolence and quoted Dr. King - " I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bare." I long for the strength found in the concept of "love your enemy." At the moment it is beyond my emotional capabilities.
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