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The Middle Way

~ A journey between extremes

The Middle Way

Monthly Archives: February 2017

The Andy Scale Goes National

26 Sunday Feb 2017

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Clowns, Dingleberries, Emotional Intelligence, Middle Way, Politics, Trump-Hole

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The Republican Party has learned little from the people. They are still trying to figure out how they ended up with Donald Trump as they’re leader. But, obviously they are willing to go with it for now, since they can use it to push their agenda through for a little while. 

The Democratic Party, on the other hand, seems to have learned… well, about the same.

After a crushing defeat in the 2016 elections that left the country with an unstable megalomanic in charge, and after having been caught with their pants down for rigging the primaries in favor of an unpopular establishment candidate over an extremely popular independent, they have shown once again, that they can veer even further off course.

Having your party chair step down mid-election, because she was exposed for rigging the primaries, is bad. Having your vice-chair leave mid-election so she could ethically back the popular independent, leaves an ethics drain at the top. And then to have your interim-chair involved in a scandal about leaking debate questions to the “preferred” candidate, reinforced people’s concerns. 

Now the DNC has elected a new chair. It wasn’t the chairperson that Bernie Sanders backed. Nope, they went with the party loyalist again. Showing that, what Click and Clack proved was correct. Behold! The Andy Scale can now be used to efficiently rate the United States Government!

“Posit the question: Do two people who don’t know what they are talking about know more or less than one person who doesn’t know what he’s talking about?

Amazingly enough, you proved that even in a case where one person might know nothing about a subject, it is possible for two people to know even less!
One person will only go so far out on a limb in his construction of deeply hypothetical structures, and will often end with a shrug or a raising of hands to indicate the dismissability of his particular take on a subject. With two people, the intricacies, the gives and takes, the wherefores and why-nots, can become a veritable pas-de-deux of breathtaking speculation, interwoven in such a way that apologies or gestures of doubt are rendered unnecessary.”

Srinivas Kuchibhotla

26 Sunday Feb 2017

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Compassion, Ego, Hate, Human, Memorial, Middle Way, Patriotism, Politics, Race, Terrorism, Trump-Hole

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When Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot the other day, it was by an angry, drunken American man, screaming “Get out of my Country!” While this story has been in the news somewhat, it’s not a headline. Trump skipping the Correspondence Dinner is, but not a white guy murdering an immigrant. But, let me ask you this, do you honestly think if the roles were reversed that it wouldn’t be a HUGE headline?

Apparently Mr. Kuchibhotl’s wife was concerned about staying in America too, because of the surge in violence lately. But he assured her by saying “Good thing happen in America!”  By most definitions, this sounds like the kind of immigrant you want coming in your country, even by conservative standards.

In fact, Donald Trump has repeatedly talked about attracting these very kinds of immigrants!  “People that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in.”, Trump croons. It seems like Srinivas Kuchibhotla was exactly this kind of guy Trump asked for. And he was murdered for it.

And now, the very same President won’t call this a hate crime. He won’t even consider the possibility that his own stance on immigration contributed to the killing at all.

The Shell Game Continues…

25 Saturday Feb 2017

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Conspiracies, Dingleberries, Medical Marijuana, Middle Way, Open mind, Patriotism, Politics, Trump-Hole

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Step 1: Announce plans for increased support of state’s rights.

Step 2: Reverse government’s position on for-profit prisons

Step 3: Essentially announce plans to fill for-profit prisons with non-violent drug offenders who are acting legally within their own state

Step 4: Forget the news cycles are so close together than a 4 year old can see the pattern

The Revolution Can Not Be Televised…

24 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Dingleberries, First Amendment, Middle Way, Patriotism, Politics, Trump-Hole

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So, they’re banning news outlets they don’t like now?

Shame. Shame. 

24 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Dingleberries, Emotional Intelligence, Guns, Hate, Middle Way, Patriotism, Politics, Terrorism, Trump-Hole, Women

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Gabrielle Giffords recently commented on the fact that many GOP members of Congress are afraid to face their constituents because they might be packing a gun. I think they’re starting to understand why not everyone is a big fan of angry citizens having concealed, loaded weapons in public spaces. Reminding them that, if she could attend town hall meetings after being shot, they should too… because it’s their job!

Giffords said, “Many of the members of Congress who are refusing to hold town halls and listen to their constituents concerns are the very same politicians that have opposed common sense gun violence prevention policies and have allowed the Washington gun lobby to threaten the safety of law enforcement and everyday citizens in our schools, businesses, places of worship, airports, and movie theaters.” She concluded, “Have some courage. Face your constituents. Hold town halls.”

All come to look for America…

21 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Conspiracies, Dingleberries, First Amendment, Indivisible, Middle Way, Patriotism, Politics, Trump-Hole

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I really don’t know what it says about America in general, that we somehow elected one of the most dishonest and unstable presidents in U.S. history when, during the same election, we had the option of one of the most decent and ethical politicians we’ve ever had the option to choose.

Down the Rabbit Hole

19 Sunday Feb 2017

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Conspiracies, Dingleberries, First Amendment, Middle Way, Open mind, Politics, Terrorism, Trump-Hole

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Donald Trump: “You look at what’s happening last night in Sweden … Sweden … who would believe this? Sweden, they took in large numbers, they are having problems like they never thought possible.”

One Trick Pony

18 Saturday Feb 2017

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Dingleberries, Ego, Indivisible, Middle Way, Politics, Trump-Hole

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Only a month into the Presidency and Donald Trump is going back out on the campaign trail. He can’t even get his cabinet approved, and yet he decided to start running for his next term after only a goddamn lunar cycle.

He actually needs the attention. I mean, physically needs it!  He has actually gone into withdrawal from adoration. The rush of the campaign trail and the screaming crowds is where he gets off, and he misses it.

Donald Trump, after years of telling everyone how bad the other guy was and how he could do better, has found out how much work it is to govern, and it seems he also came up with a way to avoid it, and get cheered on while doing it!

Dodd-Frank

03 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Dingleberries, Middle Way, Politics, Trump-Hole

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Did Donald Trump actually just admit he wants to change banking regulations to help his friends?!?!

“We expect to be cutting a lot out of Dodd-Frank because, frankly, I have so many people, friends of mine, who have nice businesses who can’t borrow money. They just can’t get any money because the banks just won’t let them borrow, because of the rules and regulations in Dodd-Frank,” – Donald Trump

Read the story here

02 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Dingleberries, Environment, Indivisible, Middle Way, Politics, Trump-Hole

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The Nashua River, just downstream from the Mohawk Tannery


 

I grew up in southern New Hampshire, in a town called Nashua. The town got its name from the river that runs through it. The river runs from northern Massachusetts, thru to the Merrimack River, and ultimately the ocean. Back in the 19th century the town was one a handful of mill cities along the Merrimack River, such as Manchester, NH and Lowell, MA.

Nashua was also the home to the Mohawk Tannery. For those who don’t know what a tannery is, let’s just say that that’s where animal hides are processed into leather. To borrow a description from Wikipedia “Historically, this process was considered a noxious or odoriferous trade and relegated to the outskirts of town, amongst the poor.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

When I was younger, I played on a football team, and we practiced a few miles downwind from the tannery. When the wind was just right the smell would be so bad that the players would get stopped in their tracks while running laps as they tried to catch their breath in between retching. It brought more than a few kids to their knees, vomiting in the bushes. Having grown up in New Hampshire I can tell you I would take the smell of a pig farm, chicken coops, or even a paper mill, over a tannery. If you don’t know what any of those things smell like, just go hang out behind your local Denny’s dumpster on a hot summer day.  It’s not the same, but you’ll get my point.

Back in the mid 20th century, when the tannery was running full tilt, and when there was little to no environmental regulations to speak of, there was an interesting game the workers at the local mills would play. When they came into work each morning they would punch in, and then grab a colored chip off the wall, and make their wager. Betting on what, you ask?

Well, what they were betting on was what color the river was going to turn that day when the tannery dumped its colorful toxic waste of chemicals and dyes. The picture at the top of this post is of the Nashua River on one such day. Yes, really.

We are actually at a point in our history when a large portion of our population has no idea that only 50 years ago this kind of thing was so common that seeing a clean river running through an industrial town was nothing more than a fairy tale.

I could go on about the Trump Administration and its reckless dismantling of regulations, or the need for the EPA and The Clean Water Act. I could tell you about how the Mohawk Tannery was one of the first Super Fund sites in the United States it was so bad. I could even try to pull on your heart strings by talking about kids swimming in raw sewerage, or dead wildlife. But I’m not going to do any of those things. Instead, I’m going to end this post right here, and ask you to stop and just look at this  picture of the Nashua River for a little while.

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