FBI Turnabouts Further Complicate US Election

FBI Director Comey's October 28th letter to Congress not only undermined the campaign of Hillary Clinton, but also altered the direction of Senate and House elections. There have been millions of early votes in the nine days since Comey's October surprise.
     Before October 28, there had been movement in down-ballot elections. After the announcement, it became apparent that the movement had slowed and congress would most likely go to incumbents. These seats could well remain entrenched despite Comey's "no criminality" announcement this afternoon.
     It is well-known that congressional gridlock has made it almost impossible for President Obama to accomplish the agenda he ran on. This has further disconcerted an unhappy populace. Now even if Clinton were elected, it could be difficult for her to make the kind of progress the US needs, much less fulfill the promises of progressives like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren who have been stumping for her.
     The BBC website has some of the best coverage of the ramifications of  Director Comey's recent actions, in particular a brief analysis, suggesting the FBI and media do "soul-searching...about how this story has played out and been covered":  FBI and Media's Influence on Election.
     I might add that it seems curious that today's FBI announcement came on a Sunday (not weekday), less than 24 hours after Saturday Night Live's opening skit, claiming FBI interference, as well as media obsession with Clinton's emails.* (See right side link: SNL Tries to End Vitriol)
     Political satire has, of course, historically helped "turn tides."

* US Radio Program "This American Life" covers the inside-story of why/how Cinton chose and set up a personal email server.  Master of Her Domain.

Rigged Elections? What About Trump's?

  Most Millennials I know plan to vote 3rd party -- for candidates with values more like their own. Understandably, they want a better Country. Many other voters say they won't vote at all. They don't realize that every third party vote, or no vote, is a vote for Trump. At the very least, this will result in a split election debacle. Even more likely, it will make Trump President. Do you really want Trump for US President?
    Trump accuses the system of election rigging, but omits mentioning election rigging on his behalf. For example: white nationalists being sent on behalf of Trump to monitor voting, which is election interference, as is the disenfranchisement of African-American voters in numerous States. And his connections with Russia and constant flow of hacked anti-Clinton emails reek of election-rigging. Given the mutual admiration between Trump and Putin, and Trump's powerful business connections with ties to dictatorships, are we supposed to believe this election isn't being rigged in his favor?
 

US Conspiracy Theories Fly

Watergate? Really?
     Both Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice (under Republican President George W. Bush) and Colin Powell had Classified Documents on Private Email. So why has this become a goliath for Hillary only?
       Selective Attention, according to Communication Theory, is our tendency to focus on information that confirms our preconceptions.
       We are first emotional, not rational, beings. At this point, there is little critical thinking while conspiracy theories fly. This is not Watergate, which involved breakins, secret recordings and a vast Republican conspiracy. It is, rather, an understandably cautious person following precedent.
        The U.S. does need change, and I cannot say that Hillary is the answer. Like all of us, including past Presidents, she is flawed. But it is crucial that the U.S. elect a qualified, rational candidate and responsible Senate and House capable of compromise.
        Fact Check and State Department links:
                                           State Department Emails
                                           Fact Check  

U.S. Election/Protest Chaos

Reporters and filmmakers continue to be arrested for trying to cover and film U.S. military intrusion on North Dakota oil pipeline protests. 
      A free 4th Estate is essential to a free Country. With continued silencing of the only 4th Estate not consumed by Reality TV, it is impossible to reach a preoccupied U.S. populace regarding the significance of miliary decimation of yet another protest. This is becoming increasingly characteristic of fascist/dictatorial systems.
      Also, regarding our forthcoming election: we cannot continue to compare displaced voters' adulation of Trump to Britain's Brexit. This election is far more complicated and serious, and may well result in continued chaos, paving the way for Trump electoral surrogates and continued congressional stagnation, no matter what the results of the election may be.  

End U.S. Poverty/Inequality

Tavis Smiley revisits Poverty Tour and begins a 4 year initiative to end pervasive United States poverty.

End Poverty Initiative

Tavis Revisits Poverty Tour

Rules, Laws, Inequality

He parked his Jaquar anywhere, and often in a no-parking zone. Always closest to whatever club, restaurant or play we were going to. Once I asked why. "Rules are meant to be broken," he said.
                 He never got a ticket.
     He was the wealthiest guy in the city. Also the handsomest. His reputation was pristine: no violations, no record for breaking rules -- or in this case -- laws.
     I've never liked rules, so I never asked again. I've always felt better "going with the flow".
            A man I know still flies his plane beneath bridges.
                                            ******
     So last night at the gym, I was surprised to hear myself say, "They're breaking the rules."  I was referring to some small thing that was disrupting everyone.
     I stopped in the middle of the gym and wondered about myself, rules, and this culture.... (I'm of a generation that believed that handing out free meals, giving homes to the homeless, and living for the greater good would have brought us to a kind of utopia by now.)  We reasoned that eliminating restricitions could strengthen our higher selves.  But we were wrong.
    Of course, without rules there would be chaos, without laws - anarchy. But, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, law and morality are not necessarily synonymous.  
     It's difficult for humans to make and use laws wisely, especially in an unequal social system.
     It's not just a media myth that often, the most wealthy and privileged get away with parking their cars beside fire hydrants and flying beneath bridges.
    A.S. Neill, writing about freedom-inspired "Summerhill," claimed  All Crimes, Hatred, Wars Can be Reduced to Unhappiness -- "unhappiness" being restricted freedom.
    

Huffington Post blog predicts Trump win

Outside the Coffee Shop that summer, Pink Floyd sang, "We don't need no education."
     Carl turned to me. "I'd like to shoot them," he said. Great Lake waves pounded nearby. Blond, angelic Carl's blue eyes blazed, the eyes of a refined classical musician.
     This interesting/distressing Huffington Post blog reminds me of that day: of how at the same time, he was upset about the splashy headlines blazing from USA Today in a newsbox beside us.

      Michael Rosenblum says our indulgence in screen time and reality tv predicts that Trump will win:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-rosenblum/donald-trump-is-going-to_b_11637008.html?section=us_politics

(If link doesn't work: It's Huffington Post, Politics, 8/21/16: "Donald Trump Is Going to be Elected")