I’m glad they’re taking down statues of traitors and I think they should rename the military posts named after traitors, as well.  I know.  BOLD, controversial stance, right?  For me, the question isn’t one of slavery.  Slavery is America’s original sin.  We’re stuck with it, that history, like it or not.  We can – should – learn from it and try to do better.

It seems like some people want to try to “solve” racism by pretending slavery didn’t exist.  When a statue of a confederate soldier, general, their “President” or whichever traitor they happened to be comes down, many suggest the Washington or Jefferson might be next because they owned slaves, too.  I would not support the removal of statues of Washington and I doubt that black Americans would want that, either, despite the fact that he owned slaves.

But people who took up arms against the United States of America?  People who actually fought battles against and killed US soldiers?  Why would any American want to celebrate someone like that?  Do these same people want a statue of Osama Bin Laden in their hometown squares as well?  After all, he attacked America, too.  How about Emperor Hirohito, the leader of Japan on December 7, 1941.  No.  Not them.  Just the guys who took up arms against the United States in a failed (perhaps “failing”) effort to keep slaves.

Racists are all proud that their team refuses to surrender even though a) they lost and b) they were completely wrong in every measurable way.  Sadly, racism is alive and well in America.  I just don’t think we should erect or maintain statues in it’s honor…

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Now might be the time to remember that slavery is all the proof anyone needs that the Capitalist class will do anything – ANYTHING –  in the name of profit.  Left to it’s own devices, unregulated Capitalism will literally kill people for money.  It’s really quite insane that any civilized society would continue to trust the Capitalist class to “do the right thing.”  They won’t.

I oppose so-called free market Capitalism for that very reason.  I also know Communism can’t work, has never worked, will never work.  So?  What’s left?  Regulated Capitalism that heavily taxes the highest incomes to prevent hoarding.  In short, the New Deal.  FDR was smart to call it that.  Far too many Americans just crap their britches when they hear the word ‘Socialism’ so the whole ‘Democratic Socialist’ name becomes a non-starter.  Some will just scream ‘Communism’ and run.  End of conversation.  I would like to call it ‘Social Capitalism.’  First, it’s a better description of what is, after all, an economic system but second, it prevents those who would distort from shifting the conversation.  After all, ‘Capitalism’ is still right in the name…

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Conservatives are STILL working to rig every “election” in this once-great nation, all the while screaming about liberals rigging the elections.  The tactics of voter suppression are so blatant, so old they’re not even hidden any more.  Minimal voting machines in places you don’t want people voting?  Done.  Removal of names on voter roles – perhaps because they “sound too black?”  Done.  Hell, cheating voting machines in the first place?  Done.

Now we have the mail-in ballot “controversy.”  In truth, there IS no controversy.  Mail-in ballots have been used in this country since the civil war.  They’re safe.  There’s somewhere between little and no evidence of statistically significant voter fraud with mail-in ballots.  One has to specify “statistically significant” because, in point of fact, there ARE cases of people voting more than once from time to time.  Inevitably, they’re conservatives.  This killer ex-cop, Dickhead Chauvin I think his name is, apparently voted illegally in Florida – twice.  But his extra votes – along with Ann Coulter’s and Rush Limbaugh’s – are hardly going to turn an election.

There’s only one party that works SO HARD to cheat in elections: the Republicans.  Sure, they constantly scream about how the Dems are trying to cheat.  They pretend that Democrats literally bus illegal aliens from precinct to precinct so they can cast illegal ballots and boost the Dems to victory.  Pure, unadulterated bullshit.  Quite simply, there are more liberals and progressives than there are conservatives in this once-great nation.  When we come out to vote, we win.  But that’s their story and they’re sticking to it.

I say, the fact that conservatives are working so hard to prevent people from voting on paper is all the proof one needs that voting on paper is the correct choice…