Democrats and Independents... The time to engage has come!

We don't have to beat the Republican criminal syndicate (RCS) at their own game, using their methods and tactics, but we must compete and win if we're going to restore Democracy in the USA.

When they go low, we walk across them like the badly warn pavement they've chosen to become.

Fight fire with water cannons.  There's a reason those devices are bolted to vehicles.   

Let's demonstrate our determination.

Democrats in Texas, California, Illinois, NY, etc... have shown the way.  

There are things that government must do, because they are expensive to do well, and must be done as well as is possible for as close to everyone as is possible.

The business of business is profit, and there's no profit to be had in providing these most important of basic services: education (pre-k to post doc); transportation (roads, trains, airports, seaports, etc...); basic research (FFRDC, Tier 1 & 2 research universities, etc...); post office (6 days every week, to everyone come rain or sleet...); the military (to protect and defend the Constitution...); regulations that define the boundaries for establishing and keeping civil society.

Government must do health care (Medicare for All/Single payer), because the best medical practices are prevention and most efficient/fastest cure; the least profitable of all available means and methods.

Remember, the business of business is profit, and the best of health care is that which is most efficient and effective; least profitable.

These are some of the things businesses can't do well, no matter what they say, because the pursuit of profit is self-serving, and those who've profited most have taken unenlightened, self-interest to narcissist and megalomaniacal extremes.

Democracy is the worst kind of government, except for everything else.  Democracy is what we must constantly pursue as if our posterity depends upon it, because it does.

Lead, follow or get out of the way, because we've  got a Democracy to re-establish in these United States of America.

“De Minimis,” is for Cheating.

There is no such thing as a, “de minimis,” (insignificant) change to any voting machine; anywhere, ever.  All proposed changes should have every detail published and distributed well in advance, so that everything might be cross checked by multiple other, “third party oversight,” agencies and vendors.

I spent 25 years working in tech support for computer connectivity, networking, and in one of the data centers, where I spent 5 years, we did systems changes starting Saturday at midnight.  The phrase used for dodging reporting and accountability was, that the system, “change is transparent to the users.”

There were often changes in many of the different sub systems involved in the processing of data at this, unnamed, company.  Too often many of these changes were labeled, in the associated documentation (lack thereof), as, “transparent to users.”  Many of these changes were not known to said users, and most of the systems' users did not come in till start of business on Monday morning.  

The phones at the operations/tech support desks would start to ring as computer  users on the east coast tried to begin their work week on Monday morning.  The changes weren't just not, “transparent,” they often had caused applicable systems to crash.

It was apparent, though not followed through with, that no changes should ever be referred to as, “transparent to users,” and/or, “de minimis.”

The voting machines used in the USA are far more important than the data processing systems in any single company, so it is far more important that NO change may ever be labeled as, “de minimis.”

According to an investigative piece, from the Daily Boulder, a private lab quietly implemented sweeping changes to voting machines used in over 40% of U.S. counties ahead of the 2024 race. Those changes, the report claims, were made with no public notice, no formal testing, and no third-party oversight.

What changes were made to voting machines before the 2024 election?  Investigations and litigation is currently in process to find out.  The election has been certified by Congress, so the results of the 2024 Presidential election are unlikely to be changed as a result of the aforementioned activity.

Instead of labeling these as major changes, Pro V&V classified them as “de minimis,” a term typically reserved for insignificant tweaks. This classification allowed them to bypass public scrutiny and avoid triggering full-scale testing or certification processes.

But watchdog group SMART Elections wasn’t convinced. In their words:
“This wasn’t just a glitch in some sleepy county. It was a stress test of our entire system.”

Soon after the machines went live, complaints began to surface.

At the center of the controversy is Jack Cobb, the director of Pro V&V. While he doesn’t appear in the headlines, his lab certifies the machines that millions of Americans use to vote. According to the report, once the controversy began to gain traction, Pro V&V’s website went dark, leaving only a phone number and a generic email address. No public logs. No documentation. No comment.

Pro V&V is certified by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). However, once accredited, labs like Pro V&V face no real public oversight.

These are problems that should never have been allowed to happen; needs to be determined and addressed before November elections in 2026.

Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/kamala-harris-won-the-u-s-elections-bombshell-report-claims-voting-machines-were-tampered-with-before-2024/articleshow/121732679.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst  


https://aitechtonic.com/secret-changes-to-voting-machines-cast-shadow-over-2024-u-s-election-integrity/  


P.S., If the federal elections of 2026 lead to a veto proof, Democratic majority in the US Congress, then the transgressions, oft illegal, of the (criminally convicted, pathological liar) merde l'orange administration can start to be corrected while said troublesome 47th president still occupies our (US citizens') White House.

Let's Get Busy!

Ladies and Gentlemen of all persuasions... I hear too many of you complaining about how life is mistreating you. Especially, that the Democratic party does not work for you.

Have you registered to vote? Checked your voter registration? Do you vote in as close to every election as possible?  Have you communicated with your elected officials (briefly, courteously and reasonably often)?

Seems like a lot to ask of you... However, it really does not take all that long with the Internet and e-mail tools available these days. You already knew these things unless you are one of those folks described in the first paragraph, who hasn't attempted any of these things.

If you don't do any of the aforementioned, suggested things, how do you expect Democrats to know what you want? What you need? You're expecting a clairvoyant to just magically be able to know all and do exactly what you want; every where, all the time.

If that describes your lack of activity in your own best interest, you're your own worst nightmare.

Your job is too tough and doesn't pay the bills, provide the benefits you and your family need...  So, did you join a union? Did you ever think to organize with your co-workers to petition for what you, and everyone else, really are expecting in return for your  hard work?

Once again, you might be the problem if you are expecting that what you want will just magically happen!

Are you surprised when things just don't automatically go the way you want?

If you can't be bothered to make a modest effort for yourself, for your own life, you are the reason that you will always be disappointed.

One of the loudest, and most consistently present voices in America are African-American, women!  But they don't have the numbers to do it all by themselves.

In the last Presidential election they could not carry the most qualified candidate to victory, not only because they have insufficient numbers on their own, but also because misogyny and racism worked against them.

We, Americans, are literally in the worst of times, because too many of us could not be bothered to show up and act in our own best interest.

We all need to stand up, look around, find the team that's most likely to work with, and for, us (a union and the Democrats) and get busy.

Democracy doesn't happen  on it's own, and isn't self sustaining... If we, each and every one of us, can't be bothered to at least show up we will always be saddled with what someone else wants.

We need to get all of our back sides in gear, join together, and let's create the society that works as well as is possible for all of us.

Let's get this done!

Three Steps Forward; Four Steps Back...

 Fight fire with water cannons!

In the 1940s there were unions and workers started to reap more of the benefits of the industrial, then information, age that their efforts created. The 1960s saw Civil and Voting Rights advanced for more Americans. In the 70s women's rights and health care needs were advanced in the USA. We voted for a seriously qualified, African-American man for our President early in the 21st century; twice.

We got self-satisfied and the progress was lost.

Some megalomaniacal, wealthy oligarchs (aristocrat wannabes), with the help of some seriously insecure, (almost exclusively white) people (a.k.a., MAGAts) elected the 34 times convicted, pathological liar to the Presidency; twice.

The oligarchs are surprised by the consequences of electing said merde l'orange; FAFO. The MAGAts are discovering that, "the leopard is eating their face;" FAFO, once again.  

Where there is wealth (in the USA we've created the largest, wealthiest of economies the world has ever known) theft will be a near constant threat.  The aristocrat wannabes pretend that the miracle, of the USA, was because of what they've done. They are utterly incorrect. They want the spoils funneled to themselves, but they are completely incapable of doing this, amongst the many other things at which they always fail, for themselves.

Hence merde l'orange and the MAGAts.

We, the people, need to take back our Democracy.  Protest, peacefully, and vote in every election.

Our Democracy is our responsibility.  

Remember, Democracy doesn't happen on it's own, and does not sustain itself.
 
Democracy is a form of government that must be: of, by and for the people, or it will not work.  

When government works it is boring!  The following books are explanatory; need not be read cover to cover to be understood:

Who is Government; by Michael Lewis (and many others); Riverhead Books, 2025.  

Bulls, Bears and the Ballot Box: How the Performance of Our Presidents Has Impacted Your Wallet (Your Wallet Does Better During a Democratic Administration), by Bob Deitrick and Lew Goldfarb, Advantage Media Group, 2012.

Poverty, By America; by Matthew Desmond; Crown Publishing; 2023.  

How Infrastructure Works, Inside the Systems That Shape Our World; Deb Chachra; Riverhead Books; 2023. 


We, the voters (nobody else can do it for us), bear the responsibility for good government.

"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for everything else," said Winston Churchill.

The USA is now enduring the, “everything else,” that is the worst of government.

Come together, right now, and restore our progress, our Democracy, as only we (all the people) can. 

Rep. Maxine Waters Explains the Klepto Bills Before Congress...

 My colleagues in Congress are making a mistake advancing these crypto bills...
This week, the House will consider several crypto bills, including the so-called CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act.

July 14, 2025, 5:00 AM CDT
By Rep. Maxine Waters, representative for California's 43rd congressional district

I told you so.

Believe it or not, as an elected official, I hate saying those four words. Not because I don’t like being right, but because when the moment comes to say them, it usually means that something has gone terribly wrong. It also means other elected officials and policymakers were warned and chose to ignore that warning and move ahead anyway.

We warned them about the risks of tearing down the barriers between commercial and investment banking, and of deregulating regional banks. But those warnings were ignored, those bills became law, and when it all came crashing down, everyone was quick to point fingers, but not at themselves. Now, I’m sounding the alarm about the risks of pending crypto legislation, which will open the floodgates to massive fraud and financial ruin for millions of American families.

I’m sounding the alarm about the risks of pending crypto legislation.

This week, the House will consider several crypto bills, including the so-called CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act, which proponents claim will establish a pro-innovation regulatory framework for crypto that also safeguards consumers and investors. But the reality is that they would be passing bills written by and for the crypto industry. If either bill passes through Congress, we’ll one day look back on its enactment as a pivotal moment in time — much like we point to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999. That legislation dismantled Glass-Steagall’s firewall between commercial and investment banking, allowing banks, brokers and insurers to combine into mega financial “supermarkets” — all in the name of “innovation.”

When the predatory mortgages-fueled housing bubble burst, these “innovators” who amassed their wealth on the backs of vulnerable families required massive taxpayer bailouts. That is, they privatized their gains and socialized their losses. A warning from the more recent past is the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018, which weakened oversight of regional banks and exposed depositors to potential losses, as seen in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023.

Crypto often paints its critics as Luddites at best, anti-American at worst. The fact is, the CLARITY and GENIUS bills wrap themselves in the flag of innovation, but all they really do is replicate the same mess that led to past financial crises: They call for few regulations, minimal enforcement, weak consumer protections and more industry consolidation.  On top of that, these bills have a special, intentional wrinkle that makes them especially dangerous: They would legitimize and legalize the unprecedented crypto corruption by the president of the United States.

Donald Trump and his family are raking in piles of cash, much of it through shady crypto ventures, which have made Trump $1.2 billion richer. At the same time, the Trump administration has gutted watchdogs and silenced critics, allowing Trump to exploit the oversight gap created to enrich himself through meme coins, stablecoins and backroom deals with foreign governments. What we’re witnessing isn’t just unethical; it’s the largest fraud and abuse of power in modern history.

Trump has used the power of the presidency to pitch crypto deals abroad — engaging with questionable and dangerous foreign entities. The bills Congress will consider this week place no checks on that behavior. Indeed, they make it easier for Trump’s personal financial interests to dictate U.S. policy.  In committee, Democrats offered numerous amendments to curtail the president’s abuse of power. Republicans voted down every single one.

Trump’s corruption shouldn’t be our only concern, however.  A big problem with these bills is that they fail to protect consumers. The CLARITY Act handcuffs the Securities and Exchange Commission, preventing it from proactively protecting people against fraud. Regulators would have to wait until after investors have already been harmed to act — potentially after a company has collapsed and life savings have vanished. We’ve seen this before. FTX collapsed because insiders illegally operated the exchange, controlled customer funds and traded against their own clients. The CLARITY bill does nothing to address that and, in fact, actually creates space for similar schemes. This won’t just affect consumers in crypto markets — CLARITY will undermine traditional securities markets by creating loopholes that traditional firms can use to evade our existing securities laws.

The GENIUS Act is no better. Though its supporters say it will provide urgently needed protections for users of stablecoins, there’s no funding provided to regulators to implement the law, and the consumer protections it provides are weak. In contrast to the way banks are regulated, there are no community reinvestment requirements, no third-party vendor oversight, and the federal oversight of stablecoin issuers licensed by states or overseas is weak. This leaves users vulnerable to fraud and discrimination.

A second problem is that the bills create serious national security risks. While the CLARITY Act mentions the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), it does little to actually enforce it. During the House Committee on Financial Services’ markup of the bill, Republicans summarily rejected Democratic proposals to ensure crypto companies comply with the BSA, commensurate with the risks of financial crime facing their firms. The bill also broadly exempts the decentralized finance industry from nearly all oversight, a category that Trump’s World Liberty Financial notably claims to fall under. Meanwhile, the GENIUS Act opens the floodgates to foreign-controlled crypto that poses serious national security risks, all to appease Trump’s inner circle, which has ties to crypto.

These bills will only strengthen Wall Street’s dominance alongside Big Tech, while squeezing out smaller innovators.

A third problem is that the bills entrench Wall Street’s power. Crypto has long been sold as a way to democratize finance away from big banks. But these bills will only strengthen Wall Street’s dominance alongside Big Tech, while squeezing out smaller innovators. They give megabanks and Big Crypto the green light to consolidate control.

This should be enough reason for my colleagues to vote no.

In a few weeks, we’ll mark the 15th anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act, landmark legislation that Congress passed in response to the 2008 financial crisis. That crisis was made so much worse by one of those Wall Street supermarket firms, AIG, an insurance giant that was allowed to insure complex, poorly regulated and dangerous financial instruments. I will never forget the despair of Americans who lost their homes, jobs and life savings then. Many of them never recovered.

Passing the CLARITY and GENIUS Acts would prove that we learned nothing from that disaster. Congress now has a choice: Protect the public and uphold democratic accountability, or hand over the keys to a president using his power for personal gain.
If these bills become law, America will eventually face its first crypto financial crisis. And when that happens, my Republican colleagues will likely point fingers at everyone but themselves, just as they’ve always done, and say they had no idea this could happen.

But I won’t. I’ll say I told you so. And then I’ll get to work on cleaning up their mess.

Rep. Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters represents California's 43rd congressional district in the House of Representatives.

The Republican Criminal Syndicate Fails, Again

 You might have heard recently that there's been a deadly environmental disaster in the Texas Hill Country.  You might also have heard the RCS (Republican criminal syndicate) deny Climate Change...  Well 7 days after the first, “100 year,” flood (less than 20 years after a previous deadly flood, Blanco River in 2015, in Hill Country) we're having a second, “100 year flooding event,” in the Texas Hill Country.   

During a press conference, about the flooding in Kerr county on the weekend of July 4th 2025, the governor of Texas deflected a question about disaster preparedness with an ignorant football reference. It demonstrated the vacant attitude with which the RCS, in Texas, has approached state services.  The RCS dominated state government in Texas has failed, many times, to provide the kind of assistance that could have saved lives, including in the Guadalupe River area known as “flash-flood alley.”

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/greg-abbott-bizarre-postflood-football-analogy/  

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/texas/articles/2025-07-09/a-decade-of-missed-opportunities-texas-couldnt-find-1m-for-flood-warning-system-near-camps  

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/06/texas-disaster-warning-emergency-communication-bill-kerrville-floods/  

The RCS dominated state government in Texas has consistently withheld the kind of spending needed to provide proper services for the state's large population.  The state legislature has created, “budget surpluses,” by not using the money we, Texans, pay in taxes.

The Texas government has instead created the slush fund known as, “the Rainy Day Fund...”

https://texastaxpayers.com/what-is-the-texas-rainy-day-fund/  

Texas has a very regressive state taxing system: those who can afford it least, pay the largest percentage of their income in taxes.  The Texas legislature could, and has often talked about, giving relief to said heavily burdened tax payers, but has never done it.

Texas' RCS government has failed, repeatedly, to protect the citizens of Texas, and many of the visitors to Texas, from incidents of floods, freezes, shootings, etc...   Too many people continue to be needlessly injured and killed.

It is well past time, for far too many folks who've been injured or killed, for the voters of Texas to elect a government that tries it's best to serve everyone in Texas...  

I've been a Democratic, candidate for the Texas legislature, multiple times, so I'm not an objective observer. However, voting in your own best interest is to vote for Democrats.  Give (y)ourselves a chance.

When Government Works, It's Boring...

Ladies, Gentlemen, any and all others...  Government, when it works well, is incredibly boring.  That's why we have Inspectors General, DOJ, FTC, SEC, CFPB, etc...  They watch and report on what our government is doing; if everybody picks their favorite agency, and keeps up to date on it, we the people can keep government in line.

Remember, we the people (a.k.a., voters) are ultimately responsible for keeping our government working for us.  Recently, too many of us dropped the ball and let an oligarchy, assisted by gullible MAGAt voters, install their favorite convicted criminal, pathological liar back into the oval office (FA).  Those, who had been warned, are FO the hard way; our democratic republic has been violated/lost.  Folks who caused/allowed this to happen are discovering, the hard way, that this has unpleasant repercussions for almost everybody.     

The reason that some things must be done by government is because social structure that works best as is possible for as close to everybody is not done for profit; not what businesses do.  The business of business is profit, the occupation of government is working together to make a place for all to prosper while creating and leaving a better world for the next generation.

Suggested reading; copied from: https://blueboomerhd.blogspot.com/2024/06/vote-in-your-own-best-interest-vote-for.html  

You need not read all these books cover to cover to get a really decent idea of what's being presented for your consumption.

Who is Government; by Michael Lewis (and many others); Riverhead Books, 2025.  

Bulls, Bears and the Ballot Box: How the Performance of Our Presidents Has Impacted Your Wallet (Your Wallet Does Better During a Democratic Administration), by Bob Deitrick and Lew Goldfarb, Advantage Media Group, 2012.

Poverty, By America; by Matthew Desmond; Crown Publishing; 2023.  

How Infrastructure Works, Inside the Systems That Shape Our World; Deb Chachra; Riverhead Books; 2023. 

There's more where that comes from (see link provided above)...