Truthfully

People only see what they are prepared to see.
—     Ralph Waldo Emerson
[Why Republican politicians think the 6 January 2021 insurrection at the Capitol was a love-fest:  because it was Republican traitors trying to overthrow the government of the United States.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	Demonstrably Proven To Yield No Benefits
	But When You Must, Stand
2019	Paint-By-Numbers
2018	#45: Still Trying To
	Oh, Well…
2017	Two Views Of The Starting Line
2016	Never Had It, Never Will (Donald Trump)
2015	20/20
2014	All Of My Best Ideas Come While Walking…
2013	Learn To Learn
2012	I Remind You
2011	Respect And Prestige
2010	Living Legends (Willie Nelson) and the Gettysburg Address

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6/11 Capitol Riot Commission

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil:  God will not hold us guiltless.
Not to speak is to speak.
Not to act is to act.
―     Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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On This Day In:
2020	Fact Check: Presidential Memories
	Vote In November!
2019	Where Today’s Republican Party Is Failing America (And The President)
2018	Either / Or
2017	Redemptive Power
2016	On Calls To Renew Waterboarding / Torture
2015	Still Struggling
2014	How To Become A Saint
2013	Not Much Change
	Our Biggest Fear
2012	Brain, n.
2011	Styles Of Leadership
2010	Face Front!

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Saving Democracy And A Voting Rights Act

Some things you miss because they’re so tiny you overlook them.  But some things you don’t see because they’re so huge.
—    Robert M. Pirsig
From his book:  “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance“
[To “save” American democracy we need three things:  A voting rights act (to save the people’s right to decide our leaders);  increased vaccinations (single payer health care would be nice, too);  and, an infrastructure bill which make fighting climate change a national priority.  Unfortunately, one or two will not be enough – and the clock is ticking…    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	Two Hours From Now
	Criminal Incompetence, Criminal Indifference Or Both
2019	Slow Wisdom
	It Is A Start…
2018	Young, Fun And Playing Well
2017	Earning Your Blessings
2016	A Suggestion…
	Capable Of Being
2015	Looking For The Needles In The Haystacks
2014	The Definition Of A Gentleman
2013	Thar She Blows (Not)!
2012	Naturally
2011	Been Here, Done That
	Remember
2010	Timeless Classics

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The Truth Shall Keep Us Free

The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it.
—    George Orwell
[This quote is widely available on the web, but I recently found it on a blog I follow: https://aponderingmind.org/
The link for the specific post is: https://aponderingmind.org/2021/06/25/the-further-a-society-drifts-from-truth-the-more-it-will-hate-those-who-speak-it-george-orwell/
Like almost all of my “re-posts” from other blogs / websites, this excerpt is being posted without prior permission.  As such, I will remove / correct the post if requested by the the owner.  I am making no claim to ownership of the quote, the full post or to the original web site.  This is a blog I have been following for some time.
Please visit the original site if you have some time.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	But What About Tomorrow’s Blog Post?
2019	Don’t Forget Obstruction Of Justice
	An Honest, Unvarnished Assessment
2018	#45 And The Republicans Are Pretending (So Far)
2017	Made
2016	Halves
	Accepted Fraud
2015	Even The Little Ones
2014	Who’s On First?
2013	No Equal Measure
2012	A Single Host
2011	No Exemptions
2010	Memories Of KSA – Inside The Fire

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Happy 4th of July 2021!!

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
—    Confucius
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
—     Abraham Lincoln
Excerpt from:  “The Gettysburg Address“
[The italics in the text / quote were added by me.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	Happy 4th of July 2020!!
2019	Happy 4th of July 2019!!
2018	Happy 4th of July 2018!!
	People Got to Be Free
2017	Happy 4th of July 2017!!
2016	Red, White And Blue BBQ
	Happy 4th of July 2016
	IMF’d (Marathon / Binge)
2015	Happy 4th of July 2015!!
2014	Happy 4th of July 2014!!
2013	Patriot Act, Anyone?
2012	Five Lost Wars
2011	Worth Fighting For
2010	Still Learnin’ Hard…
	4th of July 2010

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Biden Won By Almost 7 Million Votes

Never explain; your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it.
—    Victor Grayson
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On This Day In:
2020	The Tragedy Of Trump Republicanism
2019	What Do Your Children See You Doing?
2018	Is #45 STILL Losing America
2017	We Sleep To Remember And We Sleep To Forget
2016	Useful Gift
2015	Who’s The Boss?
2014	What Counts In The Future
2013	Improper Sequence?
2012	Two Gems
2011	A True Test

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Why Republicans Are Failing America

Government can be preserved only by statesmen with knowledge in proportion to their task.
—   Plato
[A “loyal” opposition / minority party, should be working to guide government to better policies through compromise, not fighting to stop EVERYTHING dead in the water.  The same is true when you have a unified government in control of both the White House and Congress.  A “loyal” majority party should not have to force anything through with no concessions to the minority.  The majority party needs to be particularly careful when the dis-loyal minority attempts to force you into these actions.  Their purpose is to create a “moral equivalency” to justify their past actions and further / future undemocratic actions when / if the dis-loyal minority ever manages to regain control of the government.    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	Normal Scientific Assumptions
2019	Close Change
2018	Don’t Break It
2017	Representative Government For The 99%
2016	Trying To Ignite Ice
2015	Or Increasingly Unwilling To Pay For…
2014	Returning Time
2013	Gentle Invitation
2012	Pleading The Insanity Defense
2011	Graduations And Conservatives
	The Big Sin

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One Likely Consequence

Economic medicine that was previously meted out by the cupful has recently been dispensed by the barrel.  These once unthinkable dosages will almost certainly bring on unwelcome after-effects.  Their precise nature is anyone’s guess, though one likely consequence is an onslaught of inflation.
—    Warren Buffett
[Government handouts can get you through a non-market caused depression (like the one recently caused by COVID / relief payments), but without an employment plan which improves the general welfare (like a massive infrastructure bill), only the wealthy will benefit when inflation inevitably begins to roar.  Infrastructure will improve the national resource base (bridges, roads, levies, dams, drainage, parks, beaches, river-fronts, water and waste treatment, trains and airports, etc.), it will also provide medium and long-term employment to re-build our middle class.  The longer the delay in passing a major bill, the less time available for its impact to begin before the next election cycle and the greater the opportunity for the “do-nothing” Republicans to blame the lack of progress on Democrats who wanted more than they could deliver and then failed to deliver anything.  The danger is too little and too late.  With or without jobs, inflation is coming (IMHO).  The question is: who will gain from it and who will suffer for it?    —    KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2020	Know Love
2019	Spoiler Alert
2018	Tic-Toc
2017	Explaining Working Class Support For Donald
2016	Not In My Experience
2015	Effort
2014	Honest Wants
2013	Faith, n.
2012	Surprise Me
2011	Confused With Truth

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A Bit Like Politics

You won’t do ministry that really matters until you define what matters.
—    Aubrey Malphurs
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On This Day In:
2020	Independent Isolation
2019	This Pilgrim Has Had A (Mostly) Happy Road
2018	And Men, Too
2017	Damned If You Do
2016	A Storm Over The Horizon
2015	What About Today?
2014	Idiot, n.
2013	Temporary Reality
2012	The Great Objective
2011	Read A Book

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How Trump Won The Fringe Right

Never argue with stupid people.   They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.
—    Mark Twain
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On This Day In:
2020	I’d Include Health Care
2019	Accustomed To It
2018	Booking My Trip Into The Expanding Universe
2017	Fear Instead Of Convictions
2016	Memorial Day – 2016
2015	A Handful Of Reviews
	And You Can Quote Me
2014	Get Wisdom
2013	Enjoying The View?
2012	Adam’s Rib
2011	I’m Sure I Remember That…
	Memorial Day, 2011

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I’ve Still Not Found #45’s One Thing

There may be a hundred things you know about a person — all of them bad.  But there may be just one thing you don’t know, which if you did know, would completely change your opinion.
—     Robert H. Lauren
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On This Day In:
2020	Listening To A #IncompetentDonald COVID-19 Press Briefing
2019	I Am Doubtful
	Future Justice Looks Corporate
2018	True Measures
2017	Hoping For Tapes
	In It Now
2016	On Viewing This Mudball
2015	It Takes A Village
2014	In God’s Eyes
2013	We Root For Ourselves
2012	Like A Shark
2011	Discernible Virtue

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We Like To Believe So, Anyway

Today knowledge has power. It controls access to opportunity and advancement.
—    Peter Drucker
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On This Day In:
2020	I’m Older Now
2019	Why #45 (#LazyDonald) Was Destined To Be A Failed Presidency
2018	Easter In Liverpool
	Star Guides To Destiny
	Growl
2017	Decisions
2016	Along The Path
2015	Make Mine Rare, Please
2014	Passion Flooding
2013	On Purpose
2012	Sans Gall Bladder, Day 4
	How Did You Spend Your Day?
2011	It’s Hammerin’ Time!!
	Convenient Auxiliaries

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Thinking About Faux News

Could be worse.  Not sure how, but it could be.
—    Eeyore
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On This Day In:
2020	First Place
	Perseverance
2019	Insha’Allaha Bukra
	No More Tears (Or Fog)
	Too Busy Thinking About My Baby
2018	Lost Time
2017	Are You Talking To Me?
2016	Here, Desire Is Purified
2015	Hopefully Just Visiting
2014	Fond Memory?
2013	Distress, Hope, Trust
2012	Creating Interlocking Fragility
2011	Four Stories And A Gospel
	What Have You Burned Lately?

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Our Identity Crisis Continues

“If in fact Biden wins, it’s still the case that an openly bigoted aspiring authoritarian not only won the presidency but captured the complete loyalty of one of two major political parties, and — but for a once-in-a-century pandemic — he might have been re-elected,” says Ian Bassin, co-founder of Protect Democracy, a non-partisan legal group.  “If that doesn’t tell you that something is completely rotten in the foundations of our democracy, I don’t know what would.”
The story of American politics in the 21st century has been one of escalating polarization and gridlock, a nihilistic feedback loop that has made the country all but impossible to lead.  For years, a chaos-ridden nation has waited to deliver its verdict on Trump’s unorthodox presidency.  But this is 2020 — the year when up was down and real was fake, the year of the plague, the year of the unexpected:  of course it would not be that easy.  Both sides hoped for a knockout blow, a landslide that would forever settle the question of which version of America is the true one.  Instead, our identity crisis continues.
—    Molly Ball
From her article:  “Long Division“
Appearing in:  Time Magazine, dtd:  16 November 2020
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On This Day In:
2020	In Need Of Concerted Action
2019	Anything / Everything
2018	Touching A Nerve
	Good Fences Make Good Neighbors
	I Have Realities In My Past
2017	Did I See You In Chapter 13?
2016	As I Recall
2015	Less And More Irritation
2014	That Marvelous Feeling
2013	Exceptional
2012	A Wild And Crazy Believer
2011	A Lack Of Scarcity
	The Joy Of Prevention

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Republican Congressional Leadership Continues The Big Lie

Anyone who has proclaimed violence his method inexorably must choose lying as his principle.
—    Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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On This Day In:
2020	Cut To The Chase
	Fun Fog
2019	True Piety
2018	I Would, Too (A music-video for all)
2017	100th Day (of the Trump Presidency)
	Both Unlucky
2016	Or Blog
2015	Stretched Today?
2014	Outta Here
2013	Getting Words Right
2012	There’s A New Dog In Town
	Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is
2011	A Conservative Is…

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