Howdy! In light of the recent (probable) assassination of a health insurance CEO, I've been mulling over our societal expectations, with regards to politicians. And, my thoughts boil down to, we ask too little, and demand even less. Which is a failing.

The media is struggling to drum up outrage at the murder of a man who has amassed incredible wealth at the expense of the health of his company's many clients. For those of us without obscene wealth, insurance denials can cost us our lives, and everybody knows somebody whose provider refused to cover necessary care. Everyone knows somebody who had to turn to charity in order to bridge the gap their insurance wouldn't cover, despite working full time, and having paid into the system.

In response to media updates on the hunt for the (probable) vigilante killer, feel free to peruse the social media app of your choice, and you'll see the comments proclaiming that the suspects having been presented are not the same individual, that the jackets, masks, and backpack don't match, that it is unlikely the shooter had such a variety of attire that day. The popular consensus has been, certainly among leftists, that the NYPD have been setting up a patsy, that they would fire upon an innocent, framed party, in order to look like the surveillance state is effective at both preventing assassinations, and holding the perpetrators thereof accountable.

And my point here is less about the morality of killing a mass killer. There are other folks better able to speak on the topic of social murder, though yes, that's a concept everyone should be familiar with.

My point is that we, the people, have been expecting the police to punish some rando for the crime of looking like somebody else who dared to threaten the elite, with zero expectation that our foresight could save the guy from this sorry fate. And what with today's news, am I expected to believe the shooter who, until now successfully evaded capture, appeared in a public fast food establishment wearing the same attire he did the day-of, while armed and carrying a manifesto? And that a concerned citizen cared so little about their class that they voluntarily turned him in? Okay, I'll accept that last, as there will always be those who bend over backwards to appease the haves over their fellow have-nots, even if not always for a reward, but simply because they're incapable of imagining anything better. But no. I'm overall not buying the narrative. This could be another guy wanting the glory, perhaps, but more likely, this is somebody whose been put up to this by the establishment. You and I can be shot with minimal follow-up investigation, but a billionaire dies, and they need to make a show of "justice."

More to the point, we are so accepting of corruption. It is known that Nancy Pelosi engages in very successful insider trading, not that she's alone, but that her corruption is blatant, yet still Democrat voters point to the Republican party as if their corruption absolves hers, and theirs. Once upon a time, legend has it a Presidential candidate dropped out of the race after popular backlash because he misspelled potato. While, the ability to spell isn't the best qualifier for a leadership position, we should expect intelligence, ideally eloquence, and necessarily, the desire to do good. Competence and caring. Democrats observe Joseph Biden's stutter and insist he always had it, despite ample footage of speeches he gave decades prior wherein he was an impressive orator with no sign of the defect. While that's not technically illegal to lie about, to my knowledge, we should demand accountability and truth from a Presidential candidate. And am I supposed to believe the guy who fought against desegregation, so his children wouldn't grow up in a "racial jungle," is supposed to mean well? The same guy that made it nearly impossible to expel student loan debt via bankruptcy, and fought to imprison drug users? That guy?

The guy, and party, who've backed a genocide for the past year? Because, up until he couldn't feign stability at the debates, Kamala Harris wasn't the candidate, but the Blue-No-Matter-Who-Brigade had his back. And, had he not been pressured by his own party to drop from the race, Those Blue-No-Matter-Who's would've voted for him. "The lesser evil."

Oh, some voters didn't watch those old speeches, didn't know he shares such blame for the student debt crisis, that he has a racist history, etc? Well, why not? Why leave it to the corporately owned media to tell you which candidate to trust? Is there a voter alive who doesn't know the popular news networks and papers are corporately owned? Corporations have paid and are paying off our representatives to abide by their best interests, rather than ours, and we do nothing. We grumble and shrug. Because what can we do?

Well, for one, we can support people who are actually fighting for positive change. Instead of whining about wasted votes, we can make our candidates earn our votes. Write, sign petitions, and abide by those demands. Don't whine about folks actually protesting for a better tomorrow. Don't want to risk your employment and freedom by joining a protest? Fine, but support those who are fighting for your supposed ideals. Throw money at the legal funds of those who get arrested fighting the good fight. Protests and strikes have to be inconvenient to work. Stop complaining about them. Boycott corporations who lobby against your ideals. Don't starve yourself, obviously, but do what is feasible. Don't throw money at "the lesser evil." Care. Don't choose ignorance. And if you are intentionally closing your eyes to the corruption and amorality that surrounds us, so be it, but then don't lecture about their voting against what evils you've chosen to support.

Poverty is a policy choice. We have the resources to feed, house, clothe, educate, and provide healthcare to every citizen of this country. But we need to set limits on capitalism in order to see those needs taken care of. Ideas regarding which limits vary, but with two capitalist parties in power, there will be minimal progress in that direction. You can see the measure of a society by how well taken care of the least of us are, and we're letting our citizens die in the streets.

The only powers you, legally, have over your candidate is in withholding your vote or your wallet. There is no pushing them left after they're in office. And if you want to push them right, you're reading the wrong blog. Fighting against bodily rights is a massive overreach, point blank, etc. I'm not wasting space here trying to convince right-wing voters of anything. Their party is catering to their social stances, at the cost of mine.

So liberals, leftists, demand better, not just for you and yours, but for everyone. I drop a new blog every Monday. Toodles!

Newsletter

Howdy! This past week I focused on finishing up woodburnings in time for Saturday's Winter Wonderland event, which was rained out, but not before I sold 2 pieces and won a TV. I'm still a little bummed my application for December's First Friday was rejected but I am on the lookout for new art markets in 2025. It's just a shame Destination Bryan has set a hard cap on 25 art vendors for First Friday, when under The Village's management, some months we had as many as 50 art vendors.

I also made a Lemon8 account. I really wish all the social media apps would stay in their own lanes or merge into one everything-app. It's annoying having to update 3 microblogs, 3 video apps, Facebook, and however many Instagrams I'm running now, all the time. I like being able to share my work but posting from one to the next is dull and repetitive.

I'm done with pet sitting for the year. I love animals but my dogs are tired of sharing attention and I want them to have time to de-stress before we head to New York for the holiday season. As it is, they don't appreciate the changes to their routine that come about during our visits up north. Sonmi has a minor surgery scheduled for later this week, and she's getting her teeth cleaned, so she's dealing with enough right now.

I'm currently reading The City and its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami. I am really enjoying it. The story is about a man who fell in love with with a girl when he was young, only for her to suddenly disappear. Adult him finds the youthful her in an, assumedly imaginary, village she used to tell him about.

For readers unused to Haruki Murakami's works, I suggest beginning with one of his older, shorter, novels. Kafka On The Shore is a nice go-to. Murakami's fans joke about certain tendencies that appear frequently in his work. Kafka On The Shore touches on many. If you find that book too uncomfortable, he may not be the author for you and that's okay. But better to figure that out from his shorter stories than from The Wind-Up Bird or 1Q84, which are very long.

Thanks for stopping by! I drop a newsletter every Monday.