Don't let the Perfect be the enemy of the Good.

If I were "King of the World", or at least the Supreme Dictator of the US, I would immediately enact

• Medicare for All.
• Free college tuition.
• Taxes on the rich and corporations to pay for it.
• Placement of solar panels and wind turbines all over the country.
• An end coal mining.
• Major funding cuts to the military.
• Severe cutbacks on other fossil fuels.
• Abolition of the Electoral College.
• Equal Pay for women for equal work.
• Laws to keep abortion legal but with restrictions.
• Laws to make marijuana legal but with restrictions.

All are good ideas, and if I could snap my fingers and make them all happen I would.  But I'm unfortunately a realist and a pragmatist, too.  In the same way we don't put on a pair of ice skates for the first time and become Olympic athletes within a day, none of these things will happen quickly or easily.  And some of them will NEVER happen.

There are those, even among my dearest friends, who simply don't see why these things can't be accomplished immediately -- that's the "Perfect".  They need to realize that having "Good" is better than not having "Perfect.".  There are those who simply don't see these things as necessary at all.

But I'm a Libra.  I look for balance.  I look for order.  I look for sustainability.  I look for fairness.  And to me, this is how I REALLY would accomplish these goals.

Allow people to buy into Medicare down to age 60.  Then within a year, lower that to 55, then to 50.  See how it goes.  Maybe we should pay for that by increasing the income tax on the super-wealthy by just 5%.  Really, how can society justify the rich buying a 10th yacht when people in their 50s are dying from preventable or treatable conditions because they can't afford insurance?  And don't tell me the rich WORKED for it.  So what?

Make college free for the first year (oh, and lower the interest rate to 0% for the other years).  Again, that 10th yacht would go a long way toward paying tuition for a first in the family college student.

We give fossil fuel companies (and others) BILLIONS per year in subsidies, yet conservatives say we can't afford to subsidize solar and wind power.  Begin by investing 10% of what we give to Exxon-Mobil to renewables.  Then next year increase that to 20%, and keep going.  Sure it'll take 10 years before we end the subsidy to the oil companies, but if they get into renewables, they would benefit that way, too.

Some things CAN be done immediately, like equal pay for equal work, legalization of marijuana, and abolition of the Electoral College.  And we SHOULD do those things.

My message to my liberal, radical, progressive friends?  Just because I don't believe in taking the car down the road at 120 MPH doesn't mean I don't want to go for a ride.

Take it easy, keep pushing, don't expect miracles yesterday.

Spring? Before Winter?

Spring?

Just down the road a patch of daffodils is blooming.  Our daffodils in the back garden are budded.  Today is Feb 25.

My Maine mind says something's wrong with that.  After 11 years, and 11 springs down here, I'm still not used to the idea of daffodils before April.

And this year, more so than in recent years, it just doesn't feel like we even HAD winter.

Oh, we've had cold, but not as cold as we've seen it here.  Maybe down into the high single digits, once or twice.

Oh, we've had snow, but not as much we've seen it here.  Maybe 4 inches total since November.

And OH, have we had rain!  More than I ever imagined we could have.  As I write this, rivers all over the state are flooding, schools are closed in the east due to flash floods, and road washouts, and the worst of the flooding may not hit the Ohio for several days, then it's down the Mississippi.

But overall, it just doesn't feel that we have actually HAD a winter here.

And yet I hear people complaining about what a hard winter we've had.

On the other hand, I've always been told that "Mother Nature" gets even with us.  If that is the case, then the next six months should see tons of snow in March, but no rain and cold temperatures until fall.  In other words, by October I should be asking "did we even HAVE a summer?"

During the 1998 Ice Storm in Maine, we were blocked in for three days.  During the 2009 Ice Storm in Kentucky, we were blocked in for about three days.  But during the snowstorm last March, we were blocked in for five days.  Normally a foot of snow would melt in a day or two, but that snow was followed by below freezing temps, so it didn't melt for about a week.

I guess the most visible part of "climate change" that I can see is the extremes of weather, not just "global warming" but warmer warms, colder colds, snowier snows, rainier rains, and drier drys.

Maybe after every season, we'll start saying, "Did we actually HAVE _____?"

More bits and pieces, and things that keep me up at night...

University of Southern Maine vs University of Maine at Portland

We went through this back in 1967-68.  I went to Gorham (which changed is name every few years whether it needed to or not).  The proposal then was to merge Gorham with the University of Maine at Portland and call it the University of Maine Portland-Gorham (affectionately known as PoGo).  Students at UMP complained that tey would lose their alma mater that way -- but they couldn't care less about losing ours.  Eventually the compromise became the University of Southern Maine.

Now someone stated a few weeks ago that USM doesn't tell anyone where the University is.  I beg to differ.  It's in "Southern Maine".  Like ALL OVER Southern Maine.

Renaming USM to UMP again totally ignores other campuses in York, Lewiston, Gorham.  If its only campus were in Portland, I could see it.  But what idiot doesn't understand what "Southern Maine" means?

Leave it alone!
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We don't know our own history

An article in this morning's newspaper bemoaned that most Americans really don't know anything much about our own history.

Really?

When the only subjects that matter are science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) we're not going to get kids who know history, can write proper English, know any foreign languages, or have any concepts of art or music.

The importance of history was proven to me several times before I retired.

First, the state of Maine stopped testing history -- they continued testing in STEM and music.  So that told me that on a state level, history was unimportant.

Second, when I retired from my four-person team, the plan was to split history teaching among the English, science and math teachers on my team.  Now all three were first-rate teachers, but the administration would have had a fit if we had, instead, split math instruction among the English, science, and history teachers.  In fact, I was told that math is so important it must be taught by a specialist -- so apparently history is NOT important enough -- it can be taught by anyone.

Here in Kentucky, even funding for the state universities (Murray State, Western Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, University of Kentucky, Morehead State, and Northern Kentucky) is based on the number of STEM students enrolled and graduating.  So if one majors in history, it doesn't count toward state funding.  Then we wonder why history isn't learned.

Long story short, don't expect our nation to know anything about its own history if it's not taught by specialists, or if it's put on the back burner as "unimportant."
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Closing off pubic records in Kentucky

The conservative Republican governor, often listed as the worst governor in the country, is closing off public records, and cutting off access to the state Capitol.  No more protests there, must submit FOIA requests in writing not email.  The little tin-horn dictator in Frankfort is getting his way and is being supported by conservative Republicans all the way.  They have just passed the most restrictive abortion law (banning it entirely if Roe v Wade is overturned) and the most liberal gun law in the country (no permits, no training, open or concealed carry practically everywhere).
===================================================
County magistrates asking questions called "nosy."

We had an election this past November in which we elected county officials -- Judge Executive (like the mayor of the county) and Magistrates (like the board of selectmen).  In all my years here, I have never heard of the Fiscal Court (which runs the county) being politicized.

But now the Republicans are in charge, and things are different.  One magistrate asked when the next meeting of the Parks and Recreation Committee would be held.  One of the most conservative Republicans told him to look it up in the paper!  When the magistrate asked, what paper, he was told he was asking too many questions.  Needless to say, the Magistrate asking the questions was a Democrat, and the "holier than thou" Republican just HAD to get those digs in.

By the way, the notice of the meeting was NOT in the newspaper.

This particular magistrate who could not even be civil to his fellow magistrate crowed after the election that now, thank God, we have a Republican majority on the county level.  It's as if party comes first and county comes second...again typical of what we see from Republicans nowadays.
===================================================
Bernie running.

NOOOOOOO!

First, he's not a Democrat.  He shouldn't be running as one.

Second, if he runs as an independent, he'll split the progressive vote, and will re-elect Trump.  Look what happened in Maine in 2010 and 2014 when liberals split.  LePage won.  Twice.

Third, if he doesn't get the nomination, how many of his supporters will stay home, and thus elect Trump -- like they did in 2016?

Don't get me wrong here.  I LOVE Bernie.  I LOVE all of his ideas, even the impractical ones.  I also LOVE Joe and Hillary.  But that doesn't mean I would vote for any of them given other choices (well, of course if they get the nomination they WILL have my vote).
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Maine joins several "liberal" states suing Trump

After 8 years of becoming North Alabama, Maine is finally coming out of the conservative shadows.  Five years ago, there was a survey done that basically compared Maine with MS, AL, LA, GA, and AR in terms of economics and social aspects.  Frankly, I'd rather see Maine allied with NY, MA, CA, OR, WA and VA, which is happening as a number of states are suing Trump over the "state of emergency."  Interestingly, none of Maine's former "friends" are doing that.
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Cornbread Mafia -- largest marijuana growing and distribution operation in US History

Last night at the Boyle County Genealogical and Historical Society meeting, we hosted Joe Keith Bickett for a talk and book signing on his latest book, Cornbread Mafia: The Outlaws of Central Kentucky.  From the press release of the Boyle County Public Library:

Many years ago he cultivated and distributed marijuana, and in the late 1980s was indicted, convicted, and sentenced to twenty-five years in federal prison along with many others as part of the infamous “Cornbread Mafia.”

While in prison, Bickett wrote several memoirs about his life and personal involvement in the Cornbread Mafia. Bickett was released from prison in 2011, and published his first book in 2016. The Origins of the Cornbread Mafia: A Memoir of Sorts is the untold, true story as to how the term “Cornbread Mafia” was coined many years ago.

Bickett’s latest book, Cornbread Mafia: The Outlaws of Central Kentucky, details members of the Cornbread Mafia and other outlaws during the 1980s. It features a cast of colorful characters recounting unbelievable and sometimes humorous stories of their experiences. The book also tells the chilling story of drug addiction, as well as the prosecution and incarceration of many of those involved. Outlaws includes pictures of many of the “founding fathers” of the Cornbread Mafia that have not been previously published.

When laws just make things worse for people of color...

1.  Restoring voting rights for felons in Kentucky

One in four African-Americans has lost the right to vote FOR LIFE.  That's over 300,000 people in this state who can't vote because of something they did maybe years ago, and for which they served time behind bars and/or paid restitution.

Kentucky is only one of two states that still do this.

Voting rights can be restored but only
   for non-violent crimes
   on petition to the Governor
   on payment of $500 -- the most expensive in the country
   after expungement of the conviction -- which can only be done for one conviction and only once in a lifetime

Fewer than 1,700 have had their rights restored in the past two years.

The former Democratic governor issued an executive order restoring voting rights to 140,000.  The current Republican governor reversed that order.

2.  "Felon" check box on job applications

By being required to answer "Have you ever been convicted of a felony", former felons who have done their time and/or paid their restitution are continually punished, in some cases decades after they have repaid their debt to society.  Then we wonder why they can't get decent jobs, and re-punish them over and over and over.

3.  Cash bail is a problem that affects only the poor.

When a poor person is accused of a crime (and it's so often a person of color), bail can be paid to get out of jail.  But if the person can't afford the baill, he or she must stay in jail.

Staying in jail can result in loss of a job, a paycheck, loss of housing, a vehicle, getting behind on child support, and in general, can ruin a person's life.

Then, if the person is adjudicated not guilty, it's too late.

So we punish the poor basically for being poor, we cause them to lose everything, then we blame them for having lost everything.

This is not an issue the Roger Stones of this world have to face!

And on a TOTALLY different note,

The Boyle County Genealogical and Historical Society, Inc, in conjunction with the Boyle County Public Library, will host Joe Keith Bickett, and his new book, "Cornbread Mafia: The Outlaws of Central Kentucky" at its February Meeting, Monday, Feb 18 at 6:00 PM at the Library.

Mr. Bickett was involved in, and convicted of involvement in, the largest marijuana growing operation in the US.  The tentacles of this operation spread all over the eastern US, and are literally the stuff of legends.  It seems that everyone I've talked to, and everyone who has talked about this, is interested -- from law-abiding little 80-year old ladies, to local law enforcement officials!

This will be quite a departure from our usual round of history and genealogy speakers!

Three regressive bills, and one (sort of) environmental win...

In the Kentucky Legislature, three regressive conservative bills have been passed or are about to be passed...

1.  Passed on the One Year anniversary of the worst school shooting in US history -- A bill that would allow firearms practically anywhere, open or concealed, with no permits, and no training.  What could possibly go wrong?

2.  A bill that ends net metering and screws over anyone who has invested in solar technology, thus pandering to the electric utilities and the coal industry.  Renewable energy is one of the major hopes for poverty-stricken eastern Kentucky, but our Legislature is still under control of coal and the electric utilities that use coal.

3.  A bill that would make all abortions illegal if Roe v Wade is ever reversed -- yet our governor supports adoptions by Christian couples -- not bi-racial, not gay, probably not Jewish...

And from the Tennessee Valley Authority, some good news.

Closing of a coal-fired power plant in western Kentucky by the TVA -- over the objections of Governor Bevin, Senator McConnell, AND President Trump!  The three republicans wanted TVA to keep the plant open because it used coal purchased from the Murray company, Murray being a main campaign contributor to all three politicians.

On the occasion of the 400th Anniversary of Slavery in the US

The first slaves were brought to Virginia in 1619.  At first, they were treated as indentured servants, much like white indentured servants, bound to work for usually 7 years, then freed from their obligation.

But over time, whites went free, whereas blacks remained indentured for life, and their children were also indentured.

My thoughts on the results of this single event:

Enslave blacks for nearly 250 years.
Free them and give them equal rights.
Then take away those rights, and blame them for it.
Lynch and murder anyone who violates white norms.
Destroy whole black neighborhoods and communities.
Drive blacks out to create "Sundown Towns".
Deny children a decent education because they are black.
See to it that most can only live in undesirable areas.
Don't allow them to get good paying jobs.
Keep them from entering the learned professions.
Segregate schools, and vastly under-fund black schools.
Deny public funding for advanced programs in black colleges.
Don't let blacks shop in areas outside their neighborhoods.
Don't buy anything from them.
Don't lend money to them to improve their homes.
Don't allow them to buy homes in white neighborhoods.
Watch as their homes and businesses gradually decline.
See their children in dead end jobs and low rated schools.
Blame their poverty and lack of education on their laziness.

Then, integrate society, so blacks can shop anywhere.

Now, watch as black businesses go bankrupt.
Watch as black homes become more unfit and unsafe.
Declare black neighborhoods to be "slum" areas.
Decide to eliminate slums by:
   Rerouting highways through them (Cincinnati's I-71 and I-75).
   Taking property for university buildings like Memorial Colosseum (Lexington).
   Saying you are going to "renew" them.
   Once they are bulldozed, let them become parks (Danville's Constitution Square).
Destroy the social cohesiveness of the black community.
Destroy the identity of the black community.
Blame blacks for not participating fully in the new integrated society:
   Which is basically white-run.
   Where blacks still have no power.
   When whites and white supremacy rule.
Punish them more often and more harshly than whites for the same crimes.
Require cash bail which they can't pay, so:
   They lose their jobs.
   They can't pay their bills, including child support.
   They end up in jail far more often than whites for the same accusations.
   They take plea bargains and thus often become labeled as felons.
   They become part of a cycle of poverty and crime from which they can not escape.
Then, blame them for being part of a cycle of poverty and crime.

That's "socialist"? I never knew that...

OK, if you believe that "Socialism" is the worst evil ever spawned in this world, you may not want to read the rest of this.

But you probably should.

When it comes to socialism, there are many different varieties, and some economic systems that call themselves "socialist" aren't really.  The former Soviet Union was not "socialist" in the most common sense of the word, any more than North Korea is "democratic".

Those who say that socialism destroyed Venezuela are overlooking the fact that an incompetent  populist leader who promised to Make Venezuela Great Again by kicking out all those nasty capitalists (yes, some people believe that capitalism is the scourge of the world), then allowed his powerful friends to loot the country, to suck its lifeblood dry for their own profit, and to destroy its economy, all the while tamping down on such inconveniences as a free press which was critical of the regime.  Not that THAT is happening here in the US of course.  Because ...

The US MOST certainly is NOT going to become SOCIALIST!  Nope.  Never.

Well, ... let's see...  Assuming that "socialist" at least includes people pooling their money to benefit themselves, others, and society in general, here's what we have.  And those who believe in this type of socialism are responsible for many facets of our everyday life

75 Ways Socialism Has Improved Americahttps://www.dailykos.com/stories/2012/3/29/1078852/-75-Ways-Socialism-Has-Improved-America==========================================

Socialism.  There is nothing more feared and hated in America.  The word alone sends shivers down the spine of the American people.

Those three syllables conger up images of Big Brother Government ruling over us all, telling us what to eat, wear, buy, and think. Our children in national uniform being indoctrinated with propaganda in government education camps that use to be schools, turning them into little slaves. While their parents work twelve hour shifts in the concentration camp that slaughters rich successful billionaires, as the poor and needy get a million dollars a month in welfare. A murderous government waging a war against freedom and liberty to gain complete control over everyone and everything.

You know, the way things were under that socialist Bill Clinton. And the way things were under that socialist Barack Obama.

They imagine the USSR and how Democrats are turning America into it because our government will give money to poor people so they don't starve to death. (Giving money to billion dollar corporations is NOT socialism somehow. You would be a communist and a hippie to think otherwise.)

This is scary stuff!

And it's about to get scarier, because I have some terrifying news for you....  Socialism is alive and well in America and it has been here for a very long time!  Oh, that's not all. it gets much worse! I hope you're sitting down...

As it turns out, You love socialism and you use it everyday, and you may not even know it! It may have even saved your life. I know, this is bad...  Now relax and breath. It's going to be okay! We are going to get through this.

You see, we are still a capitalist nation. In America, you can still make a billion dollars, get a giant tax cut, and pay your employees barely enough to survive while you sail in your yacht to escape any guilt that might inconvenience you. So don't freak out just yet!

The thing is, socialism is all over America and people actually like it. Even you... Yes you!

I know, I know. You're a conservative that believes in freedom and the constitution. You hate handouts and believe in hard work and the individual. You think government should get out of the way and let you live your lives and allow you to prosper on your own. You know that all rich people must have worked hard and all poor people are lazy. There is no other reason why they could be poor considering life is completely fair and all people are born into situations and environments that allow them to have all the opportunities and blessings that you had. There is no fathomable way they could have 2 or 3 jobs they work very hard at but still can't make ends meet. You got it all figured out.

But still, even you get your kicks from a little socialism every now and then.

Socialism is taxpayer funds being used collectively to benefit society as a whole, despite income, contribution, or ability.  Sounds horrible, huh?

Well I hate to be the one to tell you, but Socialism, which you have been told to fear all your life, is responsible for all this...

SOCIALISM HAS CREATED, through legislation, public taxation or personal membership,
Social Security
Medicare
Credit Unions
Electric Co-ops
Public transportation
The Grange and other cooperative organizations
The eight hour day
The forty hour week
Unemployment and other types of insurance
Worker's Compensation
Public hospitals
Public health agencies
Public libraries
Public parks
Public beaches
Public utilities commissions
Social welfare programs
Police and fire protection
Postal service
The GI Bill
Government scholarships and grants
Garbage collection and public landfills
The Environmental Protection Agency
Public museums
Public schools
School lunch programs
Public jails and the prison system
Public parking
Sports mega-stadia, professional, college, high school, etc.
Progressive taxation of income

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA (in general or to a greater or lesser degree) SUPPORT
Capitalism but not unrestrained
Resources to meet human needs not just to make money for the wealthy
Market forces determining demand for most consumer goods
Planning to shape major social investments like mass transit, housing, and energy
Workers' unions
Ownership or control of means of production for benefit of people
Freedom of speech and assembly
Productive and meaningful work
Higher pay for the least desirable jobs
Community health centers
National universal health care
Nationwide child care
Child nutrition programs especially for the poor
Free college education
Raising the minimum wage
Reproductive freedon
LGBTQ and other minority groups
Profit sharing
Military defense
Highways
Ending child labor and exploitation
Equal pay for equal work
Legal immigration

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA OPPOSE
Unregulated corporations making economic decisions for everyone
A centrally-planned economy
Corporations exporting jobs and production overseas
Corporate pollution and destruction of the environment
Dictatorial regimes that call themselves "socialist" or "democratic" when they are neither
Suppression of dissent
Multi-national corporations which control economies of poor countries for the benefit of bankers and the rich
Private jails and prisons
Extreme wealth disparity

Another One Bites the Dust

I'm glad we don't have solar panels here.  I can barely remember the last time we had enough sun to power them.  It's been rain, rain, rain, and now it's rain, wind, wind, wind. 

Earlier this afternoon, Barry heard a loud "thump".  Down by the Salt River, he saw this...

It's not on our property, but close enough to have heard it.  This tree was probably a twig when Sterling Coulter was killed by Indians right near this very spot in 1790.

The ground gets super-saturated, then all it takes is a bit of wind (and we've had howling winds today) and down they go.  The tree has probably been dead for 20 years.  Luckily, none of the neighbor's cows were in the way though they DID investigate the break in the fence!

Now, this IS one of Kentucky's major rivers, the Salt River, about 1/2 mile from its headwaters.  It's seldom more than 3 feet wide and 6 inches deep here.  But with all the rain, it's been running high for months now.

We walk down to the river to get water, which we boil, for our aquarium and house plants.  Since we've been doing this, rather than using city water, we have only lost one fish, and the plants both in the aquarium and around the house LOVE it.  It's just pure rain water, filtered through rocks and springs, and lightly flavored by the cows that live in the pastures near it.

OK, on to serious stuff -- I'm coming up with a list of societal features that were brought to us by "socialists."  When people say they hate socialism, they need to define WHICH socialism they hate.  So, time for an essay.

But not today.

I'm going back to working on the genealogies of Oakland area families, for a bit more.

Later.

This is what I think about ... OH! A Squirrel!

Really, some days it doesn't pay to try to have any coherent thought pattern.  I get so sidetracked at times, I wonder if I'll EVER find my way back.

Right now I'm a Westbrook, Maine, Facebook page, and someone posted a picture and a name that sounded familiar.  Sure enough, I asked the poster if he knew the person whose name was familiar to me.  YES, it was his uncle.  And his uncle was best man at my folks' wedding!  So now I have connected with a nephew and niece of the man in my folk's wedding photos.  And also, several people commented that they remember THEIR parents talking about my Dad -- they remembered because of his nickname growing up.

On another tab, I'm trying to connect with my Armenian relatives, and think I may have made a connection with cousins in New Hampshire who KNOW where their ancestors came from in Armenia -- the same town where my birth grandmother was born.

And in yet another tab, I'm doing family research in about 200 obituaries from the Oakland area that I have collected over the past 10 years or so, which I said I'd process some day.  Well, it's some day now.

Finally, I have FreeCell open, ready to play at any time.

So this is my squirreling day.

All the while, I've been thinking about a load of different, totally unrelated topics:

Who on earth can afford $47 dollars per person for a dinner that contains food that one can't pronounce?

Who the heck tried, poorly, to sing "America the Beautiful" at the Super Bowl?  I couldn't tell what they were singing, they were so bad.  Gladys Knight, however, rocked the National Anthem.

So now apparently, smoke, fire, lasers, and spotlights can cover up for lack of talent.  The halftime show?  I'd rather watch "The Gong Show."

The 17-year old who vandalized the Hindu temple in Louisville in the name of Jesus has not only given a bad name to true Christians (who would NEVER do that, and indeed showed up to restore the temple) but to Kentucky as a whole.

Will we EVER see the sun for more than 5 minutes?  Well, at least it's not super-cold for a few days.

Why does the cat give me the "evil eye" in bed when I move and HE doesn't like it?  It doesn't work the other way around, apparently.

That a person may or may not have dressed in "blackface" in 1985 isn't enough of a reason for him to resign as governor.  That he KNEW about the yearbook photo and it just now came out, and that he first admitted he was in the photo, then denies it, IS reason to go.  However, ANY Republican opinions on the subject are irrelevant until they insist that Trump resign for doing FAR more than dressing in blackface 34 years ago.

Hawaii wants to raise the age for smoking by ten years or so every year until by 2024 the only people who can buy tobacco must be over 100.  Now a Maine TV station is asking if Maine should consider a law like that. 

Here's my take:  Everyone who supports this needs to consider that prohibition worked just fine in the 1920's. No one had access to demon rum or other alcohol, it wasn't smuggled into the country from Canada or the Bahamas. No one made "bathtub gin". No organized crime arose supplying booze because no one wanted it any more because it was illegal, right?

Replace alcohol references with marijuana. Same story. We don't have anyone in this country smoking pot any more because it's illegal, right? Oh forgot, several states are violating federal law by allowing it. But prohibiting it has basically ended pot smoking because if it's illegal, people simply won't use it.  Right.

Excuses, excuses, excuses...

While many if not most Republicans defend and make excuses for all sorts of sordid and immoral activities of their members from the President on down to county clerks (hear that, Kim Davis?), Democrats are losing their heads over a former comedian, then senator's joking photo, and a medical school yearbook's racist photo from 1985, causing one, possibly both, to resign. Who of us is totally innocent going back 35 years in our lives? Who of us is the same person as we were 35 years ago? Why is one party so quick to condemn its own members while the other party defends to the death, its own members? Where is there a Republican who is calling for corrupt and immoral Republicans to resign? There isn't one, because there are NO corrupt or immoral Republicans -- the corrupt and immoral people are always those power-hungry Democrats, who want everyone (even African Americans -- imagine that!) to be able to vote, and have health care, a secure retirement, clean air and water, good infrastructure, and a good education, all of which are "socialist."

And to top it off, a professor from New York University called for the governor's resignation so the lieutenant governor can move up, and we can add another black to the list of state governors?

She said NOTHING about the current governor's actions over the past 35 years -- she just wants a black governor in Richmond. That is just as bad as someone saying they want to replace a black president with a white president, with no regard to qualifications, facts, or surrounding situations. It is RACIST and I hope my black friends see it as such!

And with more Democrats entering the presidential race, I'm most disturbed by what I call "100% Purity." ANY Democrat who has EVER done ANYTHING that SOMEONE opposes is unqualified. I fault Gillibrand for leading the Franken resignation, Booker for voting against buying cheaper drugs in Canada, Harris for not protecting blacks in the criminal justice system, etc.

I for one can't imagine voting for Gillibrand, but if she is the party nominee and the choice is her or Trump, I'll get a Kristen for President bumper sticker. Same if Harris, Booker, Beto, are in that position. I just BEG Joe, Hillary and Bernie to step aside and not run, just lead younger Dems in the cause.

People who want 100% perfection from a Democrat may as well simply stay home, or vote for Trump. That's what put him in the White House in the first place. People who supported Bernie and disliked Hillary either voted Stein (whom we shall see was a Russian shill) or stayed home, and vice versa. When Democrats are split, Republicans win - look at Maine's governor, 2010 and 2014.

Now, a flashback to when we first moved here...

Shortly after we moved here, the president of the state senate, David Williams, was critical of the governor, Steve Beshear, because Beshear hosted a group of Hindu businessmen who were planning to invest tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars and create hundreds of jobs. 

Beshear met with them and joined them in a Hindu ceremony, and Williams lost his head! Although the newspapers (Lexington Heerald-Leader in  particular) didn't report all he had to say about it, I remember him saying he didn't want one cent or one job created by people who didn't believe in "our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ". 

And he made such a stink about it that I think the Indians cancelled their plans. So the Christian senate president was happier with unemployment than he was with a non-Christian investment.

Now in private business, Williams can basically do or say what he wants, but he was the President of the Senate of Kentucky, and was using religion to make political and economic decisions.

On 31 January, the Huffington Post printed an article about a Hindu temple in Louisville being vandalized by Christians.

And a few hours ago, the Louisville Courier Gazette posted that a 17-year-old had been arrested in the hate crime.  If past practice still holds, most of the newspaper's reader comments would be anti-Hindu, and would defend the kid, in this deeply religious "Christian" state.  If a Hindu vandalized a Baptist church, people would want the death penalty.  

But TRUE "Christians" would be at the temple today from 10 am to 1 pm helping clean up the vandalism!  If I were closer to Louisville, I'd be there and I don't even pretend to be a Christian, just a moral person.

Huffpost Article -- https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/swaminarayan-temple-louisville-vandalism_us_5c534fb6e4b043e25b1a6aad

Louisville Courier-Journal Article -- https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2019/02/01/suspect-arrested-connection-louisville-hindu-temple-vandalism/2741889002/

Lexington Herald Leader Article -- https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article44134224.html