Gray day and a gray mood perhaps

So we're almost into July? Forecast for continued precipitation? Still wearing a jacket to go downtown in the morning? Well, we have had back-to-back mild winters. Two years ago, really no snow to speak of. I'm old enough to remember the winters of the late 1960s. Quite the contrast. 

So, these days no big disputes over who will pay for snow removal like in Donnelly. A relief? Or should we be disturbed by mild winters from the standpoint of climate change? What if we eventually learn that the science put forward by climate change believers is accurate? Don't you think that's a possibility? Well, those on the right end of the political spectrum would scoff at me. Guaranteed. 

Go to DeToy's Restaurant in the morning and listen to the guys in the middle section. Talk politics. What would happen to Gov. Walz if he were to walk in there some morning? He'd need a warning in advance. I'm not sure why the political climate of outstate Minnesota had to change so much. 

There is so much about our president now that isn't even "conservative." I have fundamental respect for the conservative philosophy. It encourages restraint with the spending of public dollars. There are most certainly times when we need that. Mainly we need to resist the demands of the education bureaucracy and in particular its unions. 

Larry Elder

They say California is literally run by the public employee unions. This is why Larry Elder never had a chance to become governor. And I'm as concerned about that as anyone. Hasn't California allotted a lot of $ to eradicate or combat the homeless problem? But the problem is still severe? So where did all the money go? I decided it was tiresome to listen to KFI-Los Angeles in the afternoon because they just droned on about the homeless. I get the message. 

Conservatism and Republicans are not one and the same. Republicans, led by you-know-who, want power. They'll posture and issue rhetoric to acquire power. And then you would think they would use all that power to achieve conservative ends. 

When DJT talks about wanting to get rid of the Federal Reserve chairman, does he really think that would be prudent judgment for all of America? Well no I don't think he even thinks that. The very wealthiest people would benefit from a return to near-zero interest rates. And everyone else? Well, we would be saddled with ever-more inflation. 

Republicans are very serious about tax cuts for the rich. And when they talk tax cuts they are talking about the income tax. They are not talking about local property taxes. Maybe you're aware that the property tax is a regressive tax. Republicans have seriously floated the idea of a national sales tax of maybe 30 percent to replace other kinds of taxes. This would be regressive on steroids, in other words hard on the common folks. 

But DJT and his party can posture by talking up other issues like cultural issues. And they really don't care much personally about those issues, for example many or most of them might be pro-choice in their own views. If someone close to them has a problem pregnancy, they would want the most sensitive care for that person. But then on another level: posturing to cater to people's emotions and to keep power. 

And I'll concede that abortion is a difficult issue. Complain to God about how he created the human body. Complain to God! Oh my, I'll incur the wrath of a great many by saying that. 

It appears I'm in some rough water because of my background of online writing. My application for joining Facebook has been denied. "Violation of community standards," this in spite of the fact I have never contributed any content to Facebook. So the action is being taken because of thoughts I have expressed elsewhere? Like my sympathy for the Palestinians? 

Has criticism of DJT become actually dangerous now? To endanger one's own safety and security? Look how the U.S. Senator from California got roughed up yesterday. Have we become like the boiling frog about this sort of thing?  

This morning I notice that a well-known online progressive commentator senses that the DJT people are "coming for him" and his YouTube site. Interesting because I sent this guy, David Pakman, an email just yesterday about my own experience and suspicions. Is it too late for me to escape this threat? 

Will the criticism of the administration be forced "underground" or some such thing? Forget it, I'm not up to joining such a thing. We may have to watch our whole country go down in flames at some point. Regardless, the whole right wing crowd would just find a way to blame "Democrats." 

There is no correcting this. Look at our congressperson Michelle Fischbach. She is guaranteed to go along with what DJT says and does 100 percent of the time. And Steve Boyd challenged her "from the right." That's who we are out here in our own little "Bible belt." I will try to co-exist, I really will. I would take no joy in feeling more isolated than I already do. 

Every week I consider just ceasing my online writing. For one thing, my eyesight gets worse all the time. My doctor has suggested "blue light blocking glasses." Well, you know what I did: I went online and learned that the only benefit of such glasses is as a "placebo." Well darn. I would have to get the strongest possible reading glasses. 

In the interest of self-preservation I may have to discontinue sharing my views online. But it may already be too late. Here's the email I sent to David Pakman who seems to think on the same wavelength as me:

 

Hello David - This is probably a better way to communicate than by submitting a comment to a YouTube post. Now I'm sure you're showered with communications all the time and you may well not even read this. I'm age 70 and not always the most sophisticated in using online communications. I posted to one of your YouTube posts recently about how I was disturbed at being denied a membership with Facebook, based on "community standards." Well that's pretty insulting because I consider myself a leading community member, give $ to my church and the U of MN Foundation. I am disturbed because there is no record of any activity on my part with Facebook. So where are they getting info for banning me? And I theorized that it might be because of some comments to Yahoo! News articles being rejected. Again, "community standards." 

It is common for Yahoo commenters to lament the flimsy ground on which comments are rejected. There are filters. Often you'll see commenters using "coded" language like "Not C's" instead of Nazis. There are certain terms that are just verboten even if the commenter is making a reasonable point about something (Godwin's Rule notwithstanding). I'm trying to think of examples and I now remember how I shared some cultural history background, noting how we in America once had the term "flunky" employees, i.e. low-level work. And this term is no longer heard, fortunately. We respect all jobs now, even the grocery store "carry-out boys." This has been a cultural shift. But I brought this up in a Yahoo comment and it was rejected based on "community standards." 

I had a comment "paused" recently because I used the expression "crack in the dike." Two words there I guess were problematic. A figure of speech of course. But the comment got through. But the bigger point I should make here is: are the various powerful online platforms "sharing" with each other so people with edgy views get pushed down - "edgy" by the standards of the MAGA power structure? I have blogged for 15 years, a very reasonable and shall I say "deep" blog and yes I'm a frequent Trump critic, and I sympathize with the Palestinians. So by the standards of DJT I'm a "terrorist sympathizer." I love the Jewish people but I do not love Israel. But now I'm apparently banned for life from Facebook. I should get a more detailed explanation as to why. But Fascists are not interested in rational and lucid conversations. If you read this email, God bless you David. I really truly am an upstanding person. But I feel on the defensive.

- Brian R. Williams, Morris MN (home of U of M-Morris)