What is true patriotism? By Galen Larson, (FCFP)

I found this a very refreshing read, as my exuberant font adjustments make plain.  I've had similar thoughts many times, jotted down notes, but never written about it.  So I'm happy to share Galen's thoughtful opinions regarding taxes and patriotism.   The musings of 9 decades worth of genuine all-American patriotism.  I thank Gail and Galen for permission to reprint the following. 

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What is true patriotism?

By Galen Larson

© Four Corners Free Press

This is the month when Americans really show their patriotism, right? Lots of loud, bright fireworks, flags waving in the sun, red, white and blue frosted cakes – all to remind us what a great country we have.

We go to Fourth of July sales at the markets and furniture stores. We set off illegal fireworks surreptitiously in our back yards. We wear Stars and Stripes T-shirts and blue jeans.

I get tears in my eyes myself when I see Old Glory displayed and proudly saluted as it passes by in a parade.

But all that is symbolism and ceremony. It isn’t true patriotism. That takes work and, yes, sacrifice.

First off, I submit that one of the most patriotic things one can do is proudly pay the taxes we owe. Why? Because when we pay our taxes, we are saying to those that gave their all, “We will continue to support this great nation.”

Help defeat Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court bid.

RSVP to attend NARAL Pro-Choice America's tele-town hall!

https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/rsvp-to-attend-naral-pro-choice-america-tele-town-hall

Our battle to stop the (52 year old) Brett Kavanaugh from clinching a lifetime appointment (of creative right wing extremists attack on our way of government.) to the Supreme Court is gaining momentum. So we're doubling down.

Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell thought this would be easy. 

But we haven't allowed them one inch -- and our efforts are paying off: Brett Kavanaugh is polling lower at this point in his confirmation process than any other recent Supreme Court nominee. He's being compared to Harriet Miers, whose nomination was withdrawn.

We're going to keep the momentum going and defeat Trump's nonsense nominee. And thanks to activists like you, we can win this. 

Find out how you can plug in by joining the tele-townhall this Sunday.

Please RSVP to join NARAL's tele-townhall on Sunday, July 29 at 8pm eastern/ 5pm pacific to learn more. Once we have your information, you will receive a call on the number you provided us shortly before the townhall begins on Sunday.

In order to ensure we have time to set up the tele-townhall, we will only collect RSVPs until 2pm eastern on Friday, July 27.

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More on Brett Kavanaugh after some personal thoughts regarding the hypocritical dogma-shackled attack on a woman’s right to self-determination and self-defense   (gathered from past Colorado battles).

GOP religious extremists, and absolutists, continue trying to force their hateful obsession with interfering in and eliminating a woman's right to self-determination, including a woman's right to the self-defense of her own body with the attempts to rush through the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination before our critical November general election.

I'd love to ask these self-certain folks who presume they know "God's mind” why an unborn child is more sacred than a living one?  Why is a woman’s right to self-determination and self-defense spit on by so-called freedom loving people?  

Beyond that, if God hated abortion so much, why in heaven’s name does God spontaneously abort over half the conceptions that occur?

Former ICE spokesman James Schwab and ICE intimidation tactics.

Regarding Jeff Sessions, America's religious extremist Attorney General. *How dare Sessions fabricate enemies, in a time when we have real problems to focus on!  (*under the fold is more on the Sessions, Schwab spat.)

How dare Sessions fabricating a crisis in order to unjustly vilify vast swaths of humanity simply to further his ME FIRST political agenda.  I'm 63 and tell you it sounds more like Russian Propaganda Games than any factual reflection on the known physical facts and human reality!  

How dare Sessions and Trump be so hatefully stupid and blinded that they doesn't recognize the long term damage torturing toddlers and parents will do.  Make no mistake, this IS nothing less than child torture!  

It's as though Trump and Sessions are going out of their way to create hatred and rage for the sake of making mortal enemies out of people.  

There is no other logic or sanity to be found in the actions of Sessions & Trump's ICE.  What's most unbelievable for me is how many people believe their malicious nonsense.  Our future will be getting nothing but uglier with every day these vandals are allowed to own our government.

Not much to add, perhaps how the hell did Americans become so blinded by self-interest to hand over our government to such a gang of proudly dishonest, amoral, absolutist thugs, people who's highest calling is: ME FIRST! 

Americans its your move.  Or not.  The clock keeps ticking.

November 6, 2018 possibly the last time your opinion will matter.

America, we need you now don't you care about your sons and daughters?

CBS This Morning

Published on Jun 28, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvmtBKtxzO0

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CBS NEWS June 28, 2018, 7:45 AM

JEFF SESSIONS TELLS OAKLAND MAYOR 'HOW DARE YOU,' AS HE CLAIMS SHE HELPED '800 CRIMINALS' ESCAPE ARREST - Carlos Ballesteros ON 3/7/18

ICE spokesman resigns, citing fabrications by agency chief, Sessions about California immigrant arrests -Meagan Flynn and Avi Selk, 

ICE Spokesman Quits Over Leaders' Use Of 'Misleading Facts' To Discuss Calif. Arrests - Bill Chappel, March 13, 2018

The Federal Government Is Reportedly Hauling Toddlers Into Immigration Court - Paul Blest, June 26, 2018

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf responds to Jeff Sessions' 'how dare you' remarks

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/mar/15/recap-oakland-mayors-ice-raid-tip-trump-admin-crit/

Fruits of Koch's labors - GOP tax scam.

I've done a lousy job of keeping up over here, I have a draft about the ultimate defeat of the malicious Anti-Democratic recall petition against La Plata County commissioner Gwen Lachelt.  But its been on the back burner due to more pressing obligations.  Though I received the following from Karl Hanlon and it seemed like something that really should be shared far and wide. 

Lost in the deafening roar of the outrage over the human rights abuses on our nation's border was the passage of an unfortunate anniversary – one we cannot let pass without noting. Yesterday marked the six-month anniversary of the day the Trump Tax Scam was signed into law. A law Scott Tipton voted for.

After six months to review, I have bad news: it’s worse than we thought.

This backwards scam is a massive tax cut for billionaires & corporations that raises taxes on millions of middle class Americans. It’s going to increase the deficit by $1.9 Billion which lays the groundwork for Republicans in Congress to attack vital programs like Medicaid and Social Security. Tipton’s vote for this will hurt us here at home.

 {BALLETS MUST BE AT COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE TUESDAY, JUNE 26th:}

Bibliography - Chris Jankowski - GOP Sells Their Soul to the Devil.

I was coming home tonight listening to NPR when Karen Duffin reminded me of the old story of Chris Jankowski who perfected targeted smear campaigns based on wanton lies that blindsided candidates and derailed many campaigns.  The man is quite proud of himself and his stealth effort, being the amoral creature of obsessive self-interest that he is.  

I find his story and his fundamental hubristic contempt for humanity, civility and common decency difficult to stomach.  But, rather than kicking the dog out of frustration when I got home, I decided to put together this collection - just in case anyone out there was interested in learning more about what these treasonous scoundrels did and continue to do.  

The other thing to get out of this is how inept the DNC has been to confront such efforts and to come up with a clear message that enunciates the need for a rededication to rationally resolving problems based on truthful facts and a bit of respect for each other's humanity.

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Posted by Aaron Keck | Mar 7, 2017 | The Hill, 97.9 WCHL, Chapelboro, NC

Gerrymandering: New Book Explores How GOP Took Over – And Why It Might Not Last

Author of “The Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal Democracy,”  David Daley speaks with WCHL’s Aaron Keck.

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June 15, 2018, Karen Duffin, All Things Considered

How A Political Consultant Changed Voting Districts Nationally

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November 28, 2016, Melissa Sandgren, Huffington Post

The Dismantling Of Progressive America. Why The 2018 Elections And 2020 Census Matter.

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October 31, 2016, Fusion TV, Naked Truth

Even the GOP’s top gerrymanderer says they could ‘pay a price’ for their election tactics

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June 27, 2016 Issue, By Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker

Drawing the Line - How redistricting turned America from blue to red.

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June 15, 2016, Dave Davies, Fresh Air Interview, NPR, 32:12 min

Understanding Congressional Gerrymandering: 'It's Moneyball Applied To Politics'

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June 13, 2016, Paul Rosenberg, Salon

This is how the GOP rigged Congress: The secret plan that handcuffed Obama’s presidency, but backfired in Donald Trump

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April 24, 2016, David Daley, ELECTION 2016, The New Yorker

The House the GOP Built: How Republicans Used Soft Money, Big Data, and High-Tech Mapping to Take Control of Congress and Increase Partisanship

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Apr 5, 2014, Winston-Salem Journal, The Associated Press

GOP gambit remade N.C. political map

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November 11, 2013, By Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone 

How Republicans Rig the Game

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October 10, 2013, By Michael Sargeant, 

Finally: A Republican Prediction That Came True

Below the fold I share quotes from the above listed articles.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) - GOP get some backbone - oppose Trump Cultism

Republican Senator Bob Corker has some revealing words for the cowards in his own party.  Time for the GOP to stand up to the Trump Cult of ruthlessness and disregard for America's Democracy, save America from itself.  I follow this video with another of David Cay Johnston sharing his insights.

CNN  -  Published on Jun 12, 2018

GOP Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) criticizes his own party on the Senate floor for failing to even vote on amendments because they may upset President Donald Trump.

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Here's some more details of what's going on in Washington these days.
What we don't know, can and will hurt us.

David Cay Johnston 'It’s Worse Than You Think: 

What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America’

Town Hall Seattle

Streamed live on Jan 29, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azck1jY79cA

Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Cay Johnston may know Donald Trump better than any other working journalist, having first profiled the forty-fifth president in 1988 and tracked him ever since. He was the first to write about a potential Trump presidency when Trump announced his campaign in June 2015, and we turn to him now for a comprehensive examination of the first one hundred days of Donald Trump’s presidency in his book 'It’s Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America'. 

He provides unique insight about the actions the new administration is quietly approving without drawing the attention of the Washington press corps, and examines phenomena the mainstream press stopped covering years ago. Join Johnston for a deep exposition of the workings of federal government agencies as they affect the lives of all Americans: from our wallets, to our health care, to our safety.

David Cay Johnston is a journalist, author, and winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting. He has chronicled Donald Trump’s conduct in his books: Temples of Chance and the New York Times bestseller The Making of Donald Trump. He has been called “One of America’s most important journalists” by The Washington Monthly, and he has acted as an uncredited source of documents and insight for major campaign reports by The Washington Post, The New York Times, Bloomberg, and network television.

Presented by Town Hall Seattle as part of the Civics series.

Bibliography - Articles Reporting on Scott Pruitt's War on our EPA

Thinking about root causes and bubbles, it seems to me our fundamental problem, the one that spawns all others - is that pretty near everyone, from top to bottom, clings to the notion that increasing economic growth is our cure-all, sadly sober math and unavoidable physical reality makes clear that it’s the path to speeding humanity’s self-destruction.  So it goes.

Over the past year, I’ve started a few Scott Pruitt projects, but have been overwhelmed and unable to follow through since it requires more focused time and energy than I could muster so I've walked away, hoping for another day.  Still I hear the news while driving to jobs and am appalled at what these people and their hatchet-man Pruitt are getting away with while most the public seems unconcerned.  Sad thing is, they are going to win unless many more children of the Intellectual Enlightenment get informed and engaged.

The following handy resource is a bibliography focused on what Scott Pruitt has been doing as EPA Administrator.  After this list I repeat it sharing selected quotes from each of the articles hoping to entice readers to continue on to the full stories and reports. This is by no means a complete list, but it is a good start.  I'd welcome any additional suggestions, if offered.

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This November's election is voters biggest, best chance to oppose 

and stop the Republican Party's increasingly totalitarian thinking.

Community requires Enlightened Self-interest, not single-minded self-interest.

Trump's Americans: ME FIRST!  Is a path to ruin for everyone. 

06/05/2018,  By Alexander C. Kaufman, Huffington Post

EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Has Racked Up At Least 10 New Scandals In Just The Past Month

(... Last month, the EPA barred reporters from entering a heavily publicized summit on toxic water contaminants.
An Associated Press reporter was grabbed and shoved by a security guard. ...)

May 24, 2018, By Nicholas Kusnetz, InsideClimateNews

Pruitt 'Secret Science' Rule: Public Gets More Time for Say as Criticism Grows

May 23, 2018, Marianne Lavelle, InsideClimateNews

Pruitt’s Anti-Climate Agenda Is Facing New Challenge From Science Advisers

May 16, 2018, By Umair Irfan, Vox

5 lies Scott Pruitt has told about his mounting scandals  

May 10, 2018, By Nicholas Kusnetz, InsideClimateNews

Scott Pruitt Plans to Radically Alter How Clean Air Standards Are Set

May 8, 2018, By Jillian Austin, Mt. Juliet High School Student Newspaper

Despite Being the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt Has Done Nothing But Further the Damage Done to Our Planet

May 3, 2018, By Elaina Plott | The Atlantic

A Pruitt Aide's Attack on Zinke Angers the White House

May 2, 2018, Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune

EPA chief Pruitt overrules staff, gives Wisconsin's Walker, Foxconn big break on smog

April 26, 2018, By Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin, 

Scott Pruitt admits little culpability in EPA controversies, mostly blames aides and staff

April 13, 2018, By Star-Ledger Editorial Board 

Don't overlook Scott Pruitt's real damage | Editorial

April 12, 2018, By Eric Lipton and Lisa Friedman, New York Times

Lawmakers’ Letter Claims Further Spending Abuses by the E.P.A. Head, Scott Pruitt

April 11, 2018, Rhea Such | ECO Watch

Scott Pruitt Has Betrayed the Mission, the National Interest and the Public Trust

April 10, 2018, Dan Turner’s opinion at Fox News

Lost amid all the 'noise' over Scott Pruitt is the very real damage Obama's EPA did to rural communities

April 9, 2018, Robin Bravender and Niina Heikkinen, E&E News reporters

Pruitt's holding on. But he's tarnished

April 6, 2018, By Howell Raines | NBC News

Scott Pruitt's EPA deregulation is destroying a conservative environmental legacy led by Richard Nixon

April 5, 2018, By Felice Stadler | Environmental Defense Fund

Pruitt has made environmental injustice the norm at EPA: 5 shocking examples

April 5, 2018, By Heather Smith | Sierra Club

Even Fox News Is Fed Up With EPA Chief Scott Pruitt

April 5, 2018, Michael Bastasch, Boston Caller

Media Reports Suggest These Trump Officials Are Leaking Damaging Info On Scott Pruitt

April 2, 2018 | By Marianne Lavelle and John Cushman | InsideClimateNews.org

Why Weakening Fuel Efficiency Standards Could Be Trump's Most Climate-Damaging Move Yet

March 30, 2018, Justin Worland, Time

Scientists Worry Scott Pruitt's New EPA Change Will Harm Life-Saving Research

March 30, 2018, By Alex Guillén and Nancy Cook, Politico

Pruitt holding on, so far

March 29, 2018, By Alex Formuzis and Sonya Lunder | Environmental Working Group’

Thanks to Scott Pruitt, 30 Million Pounds of Brain-Damaging Pesticide Will Be Sprayed on Crops in Next 5 Years

March 28, 2018, By John Podesta, Washington Post Op-Ed

Enough is enough. Scott Pruitt needs to go.

March 23, 2018, By Charles P. Pierce | Esquire

Scott Pruitt's EPA Has Managed to Make George W. Bush's Katrina Response Look Admirable

March 8, 2018, By Umair Irfan | Vox

Scott Pruitt is slowly strangling the EPA

February 27, 2018, Kevin Drum | Mother Jones

Scott Pruitt Kills Agency That Studies Chemicals Harmful to Children

February 8, 2018, Opinion by Alexander Nazaryan | Newsweek

HOW THE EPA'S SCOTT PRUITT BECAME THE MOST DANGEROUS MEMBER OF TRUMP’S CABINET

January 20, 2018, By Alexander C. Kaufman, Huffington Post

Scott Pruitt’s First Year Set The EPA Back Anywhere From A Few Years To 3 Decades

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November 19, 2017 | By Alex Guillén and Emily Holden, Politico

What EPA chief Scott Pruitt promised — and what he’s done

November 1, 2017, William D. Ruckelshaus (Administrator of the EPA from 1970-1973 and 1983-1985)

Pruitt is turning his back on transparency at the EPA

July 27, 2017, By Jeff Goodell | Rollingstone

Scott Pruitt's Crimes Against Nature

February 4, 2017, LA Times Editorial Board

Putting Scott Pruitt in charge of the EPA risks irreversible damage to the planet

February 8, 2017, James Temple | Technological Review

How Much Damage Could Scott Pruitt Really Do at EPA?

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December 12, 2016, Christine Todd Whitman, EPA administrator from 2001 to 2003

I was EPA administrator. Advice for the next one: Don’t walk back environmental progress.

THE CASE FOR FIRING SCOTT PRUITT

https://www.nrdc.org/case-firing-scott-pruitt