Republican Running Mate Speculation

Having watched the F.O video of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene when interviewed by Emily Maitlis, it’s become apparent that Taylor Greene will become the Democratic favourite for Trump’s running mate. One look at her Wiki page and it’s clear to see that her penchant for “conspiracy theories” and radical ignorant statements will prove perfect fodder for those seeking to discredit the” dystopian” (CNN’s characterization) ticket.

A challenge for the Democratic campaign will be that of making proposals and arguments to a large contingent of Americans that are so disenfranchised with their plight that the Trump ticket represents the only change radical enough to provide any kind of a boost to their plight. The other day, a youtube vlogger took a rural trip along New Mexico’s forgotten highways where townships recede in population and buildings are left dilapidated exemplary of industrial America in decline. Similar stories blight the maps of sorry old manufacturing towns across the U.S.

When you stop and think about it – political argument doesn’t much matter if one feels abandoned by the “American Dream”. Obviously, given the results of Super Tuesday, no amount of scandal, negligence, civil or criminal legal infractions by Trump are going to sway a populous who are simply fed up with the status quo. In fact, his troubles are likely relatable to his followers. The incredulity of a conspiracy theory means nothing to someone who is busted spiritually and financially. Representations of the “Deep State” irrespective of the term’s ambiguity can be interpreted to apply broadly to those feeling victimized with powerlessness in the face of economic change.

There is blame to be shared for the shattering of souls across America and the political dogma reaches for propaganda like terms of convenience when confronted by an electorate unmotivated to exercise objective thought in context of despair. This in essence is the biggest risk for a democracy.

The State of The Union goes off tonight and pundits suggest that a weary looking Biden needs to express  much fight and intention.                              

Oscar Lopez Story

It was disappointing to read about Juno award winning guitarist Oscar Lopez tonight (Oscar Lopez Story) in reference to his struggles to make living. He says he is not alone. Every living soul who has ever downloaded an album of his on Napster for free may want to pay him a visit at his car where he sleeps and chip in for a deposit on his next apartment. He has published 12 albums and is a “lively” performer. He’s become a casualty of the dysfunctional music industry and it’s a shame.

For some reason, you ascribe more value to the UFC and Mr. Beast than to a night on the town gettin’ down with your special someone. If you can get something for free because of an apparent immunity from prosecution…you take it irrespective of the longer term impact. You are hedonist to the detriment of a long term thriving culture. You have little persistence in focus in deriving art’s value due to haphazardness in seeking instant gratification. You lack appreciation for the work and practice deployed in order to present you with a meaningful experience with art. Finally, you lack empathy for the casualties flooding your society in concert (ironic pun) with your indifference.

The Depraved Trump

Yet another tidbit of evidence of the depraved Trump.

Yet another tidbit of evidence showcasing Trump as depraved. “Former President Donald Trump said Saturday that he wouldn’t protect a NATO nation that didn’t contribute enough defense funds and, instead, he’d ‘encourage’ Russia ‘to do whatever the hell they want.'”

Apparently even this statement is now being rationalized by the Republican spineless. In fact, Marco Rubio (remember the guy with the small hands) has come to Trump’s defence.

The statement certainly serves up juicy table scraps. Oh ya….corroborated the quote from video given that it came from “mainstream media” – for those keeping score.

Should we be surprised that a man of this character given his trouble with the law would espouse such drivel?

Will we see Mrs. Haley take off the gloves and go to work purposefully in educating the populous about the perils of poor character in high office? Will she speak to the disillusionment and hopelessness of Americans who find solace in a depraved voice?

Will the fearful stand up for virtue, honor, the war dead, and truth by denouncing the ugly man Donald Trump for all that he is and his unworthiness in leading Americans. Since the constitution of the U.S. has been ambiguous in preventing this man from seeking the Presidency given his track record, it may come down to the conscience of citizens bestowed a responsibility. Are citizens up to the task?           

Sled Island Viability In Calgary

The Calgary Sled Island summer festival is having challenges with cash flow and it may need changes in order to survive. Its sustainability has benefitted from COVID relief funding which has now dried up. It will need to look hard at costs within an environment where disposable income has been reduced because of inflation and consumer debt levels are high. Folks still need to deploy entertainment dollars but they need certainty that they are getting value for money. Should the event decide to continue to recruit acts from outside the city, costs will remain high. If the event refuses to turn down the volume, people will be annoyed and won’t come. Hard decisions are required during tough economic times. Unfortunately, management teams which heed the needs of vendors / artists over the interests of consumer group will fail. 

When attending a strong performance last summer at the United Church downtown, there was a hiccup in the setup and it was lucky they had a seasoned veteran sound man on board in order to facilitate the setup change given a band which showed up in numbers beyond which was expected.

The management team should also be acute to genres out of favour and communicate better with respect to the style and track record of artists anticipated to take the stage. 

Private sponsors may be will to show up and participate with cash but sponsorship must be honoured in such a way that shows benefit other than a company logo on a website.   

People Unsettled

Never has there been a time when people have been so unsettled psychologically. It’s obvious. All that you really need as a metric are the number of references to “mental health” within media and social circles. Many have problems….but why?

Our organization as a society may not be serving citizens as effectively today as it did in generations past.  Merit played more of a role toward ascribing contributions by employees in the past compared to today. While the eight figure CEO flaunts financials with a direct correlation toward his / her leadership, the inputs transpired far beyond the four walls of a window office in Class A office space downtown.  A tax systems looks to redistribute his /her wealth with a progressive system whereby fair beneficiaries aren’t necessarily accessing resources due to broken governmental systems. Poor stewards of tax dollars behave indifferently toward the disadvantaged and culturally we suffer with subconscious minds afflicted.

A despondent state arises because of advocacy fatigue. We think we should be doing more to help but bureaucracy blunts initiative. We turn a blind eye and look inward with attention on what we know we can control.

Certainly, there is a physiological attribution toward some mental health afflictions but I suggest that daily observations of how we are treating each other factor into the manifesting of feeling what we feel. In powerlessness comes despair. If one feels that every outreach will fall on deaf ears, one withdraws. Any psychologist will likely attest that a withdrawn soul infects the spirit. I suggest that withdrawn souls must be mended so that tears in the social fabric can be mended.

We must be more intuitive and less self interested in order to have impact on those less fortunate. We must re-evaluate our reason for being in order to generate activities which deploy contributions of our full potential and eventual legacy. Our stock performance… although worthy of our attention need not be a preoccupation. Neither do we need to upgrade to the latest Mercedes model.  However; we do need to advocate for those less fortunate if we are blessed with such skills which they do not possess.  As such, we are more comfortable in our well deserving material world spreading words of hope and forgiveness. In complement we must help authorities adhere to their responsibility of accountability for members of society who break our laws.

With greater participation sociologically by people positioned to serve unofficially, we will heal our culture. We will foster private participation in cultural development initiatives and even undertake a renewal of “multicultural” expression.  All this can be done without a cell phone app.