VOTER PROTECTION HOTLINE NUMBERS!

Do not tolerate anyone intimidating or harassing you or anyone you know at a voting location. Phone one of these numbers immediately.

VOTE 2024!

"American history is a record of small groups of people who keep remaking this country over and over, and who reveal to us all that the perpetual remaking is the greatest statement of fidelity to our creed and our national purpose, which is not to be like Russia, white and stagnant and oligarchic, or like China, monoethnic and authoritarian and centralized, but to be more like America, hybrid and dynamic and democratic and free to be remade."
--Author and activist Eric Liu

And please, for the love of democracy and our country itself,
VOTE DEMOCRAT!

"If You're Out There..." VOTE TOMORROW 2024!

I want to believe that you're out there, I want to believe that the United States still believes in the principles of humanism, dignity, fairness, actual democracy, liberalism and its promise of progress toward a better future. If you're out there, please vote tomorrow (if you haven't already voted by mail or by early voting) and PLEASE vote Democrat to defeat the rise of Nationalism and Fascism.

If you hear this message, wherever you stand
I'm calling every woman, calling every man
We're the generation
We can't afford to wait
The future started yesterday and we're already late

We've been looking for a song to sing
Searched for a melody
Searched for someone to lead
We've been looking for the world to change
If you feel the same
Then go on and say

If you're out there
Sing along with me
If you're out there
I'm dying to believe that you're out there
Stand up and say it loud
If you're out there
Tomorrow's starting now
Now, now

No more broken promises
No more call to war
Unless it's love and peace that we're really fighting for
We can destroy hunger
We can conquer hate
Put down the arms and raise your voice
We're joining hands today

Oh I was looking for a song to sing
I searched for a leader
But the leader was me
We were looking for the world to change
We can be heroes
Just go on and say
If you're out there
Sing along with me
If you're out there
I'm dying to believe that you're out there
Stand up and say it loud
If you're out there
Tomorrow's starting now
Now, now

Oh now, now

If you're ready we can shake the world
Believe again
It starts within
We don't have to wait for destiny
We should be the change that we want to see

If you're out there
If you're out there
And you're ready now
Say it loud
Scream it out
If you're out there
Sing along with me
If you're out there
I'm dying to believe that you're out there
Stand up and say it loud
If you're out there
Tomorrow's starting now
If you're out there
If you're out there
If you're out there

If you hear this message, wherever you stand
I'm calling every woman, calling every man
We're the generation
We can't afford to wait
The future started yesterday and we're already late

https://democrats.org/
https://www.johnlegend.com

Who Are You And What Will You Do?

"Life is so short you can’t waste even a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do versus knowing what you can do."
--Virgil Abloh

"You have to decide who you are and force the world to deal with you, not with its idea of you."
--James Baldwin

"Your life’s a nanosecond; if you have a contribution to make, then make it. Don’t bitch about it, just do it."
--Richard Serra

In It

The Zone. The Flow.

“The object isn't to make art, it's to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.”
--Robert Henri

“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”
--Søren Kierkegaard

USE YOUR POWER TODAY! VOTE!

There’s more work to do. Let’s elect Democrats across the country.

Democracy is worth defending.

PLEASE VOTE.

VOTE 2022!

"American history is a record of small groups of people who keep remaking this country over and over, and who reveal to us all that the perpetual remaking is the greatest statement of fidelity to our creed and our national purpose, which is not to be like Russia, white and stagnant and oligarchic, or like China, monoethnic and authoritarian and centralized, but to be more like America, hybrid and dynamic and democratic and free to be remade."
--Author and activist Eric Liu

And please, for the love of democracy and our country itself,
VOTE DEMOCRAT!

"If You're Out There..." VOTE ON TUESDAY!

I want to believe that you're out there, I want to believe that the United States still believes in the principles of humanism, dignity, fairness, actual democracy, liberalism and its promise of progress toward a better future. If you're out there, please vote on Tuesday and vote Democrat to defeat the rise of Nationalism and Fascism.

If you hear this message, wherever you stand
I'm calling every woman, calling every man
We're the generation
We can't afford to wait
The future started yesterday and we're already late

We've been looking for a song to sing
Searched for a melody
Searched for someone to lead
We've been looking for the world to change
If you feel the same
Then go on and say

If you're out there
Sing along with me
If you're out there
I'm dying to believe that you're out there
Stand up and say it loud
If you're out there
Tomorrow's starting now
Now, now

No more broken promises
No more call to war
Unless it's love and peace that we're really fighting for
We can destroy hunger
We can conquer hate
Put down the arms and raise your voice
We're joining hands today

Oh I was looking for a song to sing
I searched for a leader
But the leader was me
We were looking for the world to change
We can be heroes
Just go on and say
If you're out there
Sing along with me
If you're out there
I'm dying to believe that you're out there
Stand up and say it loud
If you're out there
Tomorrow's starting now
Now, now

Oh now, now

If you're ready we can shake the world
Believe again
It starts within
We don't have to wait for destiny
We should be the change that we want to see

If you're out there
If you're out there
And you're ready now
Say it loud
Scream it out
If you're out there
Sing along with me
If you're out there
I'm dying to believe that you're out there
Stand up and say it loud
If you're out there
Tomorrow's starting now
If you're out there
If you're out there
If you're out there

If you hear this message, wherever you stand
I'm calling every woman, calling every man
We're the generation
We can't afford to wait
The future started yesterday and we're already late

https://democrats.org/
https://www.johnlegend.com

VOTER PROTECTION HOTLINE NUMBERS!

Do not tolerate anyone intimidating or harassing you or anyone you know if they vote early or on the day. Phone one of these numbers immediately.

PLEASE, PLEASE VOTE!

If you are in a Super Tuesday state like I am, PLEASE, FOR THE SAKE OF OUR DEMOCRACY, VOTE!

Address of John F. Kennedy upon Accepting the Liberal Party Nomination for President, New York, New York, September 14, 1960:

"What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label, 'Liberal'? If by 'Liberal' they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of 'Liberal.' But, if by a 'Liberal,' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people - their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties - someone who believes that we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I'm proud to say that I'm a 'Liberal.' [Applause.]

But first, I would like to say what I understand the word, 'Liberal,' to mean and explain in the process why I consider myself to be a 'Liberal,' and what it means in the presidential election of 1960.

In short, having set forth my views - I hope for all time - 2 nights ago in Houston, on the proper relationship between church and state, I want to take this opportunity to set forth my views on the proper relationship between the state and the citizen. This is my political credo:

I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, and the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. It is, I believe, this faith in our fellow citizens as individuals and as people that lies at the heart of the liberal faith, for liberalism is not so much a party creed or a set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man's ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of Justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves. [Applause.]

I believe also in the United States of America, in the promise that it contains and has contained throughout our history of producing a society so abundant and creative and so free and responsible that it cannot only fulfill the aspirations of its citizens, but serve equally well as a beacon for all mankind. I do not believe in a super state. I see no magic to tax dollars which are sent to Washington and then returned. I abhor the waste and incompetence of large-scale Federal bureaucracies in this administration, as well as in others. I do not favor state compulsion when voluntary individual effort can do the job and do it well. But I believe in a government which acts, which exercises its full powers and its full responsibilities. Government is an art and a precious obligation; and when it has a job to do, I believe it should do it. And this requires not only great ends but that we propose concrete means of achieving them.

Our responsibility is not discharged by an announcement of virtuous ends. Our responsibility is to achieve these objectives with social invention, with political skill, and executive vigor. I believe for these reasons, that liberalism is our best and our only hope in the world today. [Applause.] For the liberal society is a free society, and it is at the same time and for that reason a strong society. Its strength is drawn from the will of free people committed to great ends and peacefully striving to meet them. Only liberalism, in short, can repair our national power, restore our national purpose, and liberate our national energies. And the only basic issue in the 1960 presidential campaign is whether our Government will fall in a conservative rut and die there, or whether we will move ahead in the liberal spirit of daring, of breaking new ground, of doing in our generation what Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman and Adlai Stevenson did in their time of influence and responsibility."

For the complete speech, follow this link to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum:

https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/Liberal-Party-Nomination-NYC_19600914.aspx

Still Resisting

"History Is Watching" and "The Time Is Now" posters available from Studio Number One
http://www.studionumberone.com/

"Reject Misinformation" and "Embrace Humanity" images from Make America Smart Again
http://www.dumbisovermasa.com/

USE YOUR POWER TODAY!

To my followers and regular readers in the United States, today is the day to turn the tide in our country. Our democracy itself is literally at stake. Our safety and liberty as citizens are at stake. Our future not only as a nation but as a planet is at stake.

Please vote.

Use your power. If everyone votes, we can bring about positive change and a shift toward humanist values that are currently under threat in the United States.

Lyft is offering 50% coupons and free rides to underserved communities so people can go to their polling places to VOTE! You can get there! You can vote!

The Ride to Vote: Use Lyft to Exercise Your Rights
At Lyft, we’re working to improve lives by connecting people and their communities through the world’s best transportation. This Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 6), we want to help people across America exercise their right to vote.

It is estimated that over 15 million people were registered but didn’t vote in 2016 because of transportation issues.1 That’s why we’re committed to providing 50% off rides across the country, and free rides to underserved communities that face significant obstacles to transportation.2 More details on our plan:

*Across the country, we’ll give away 50% off promo codes with our partners that encourage voter turnout. We’re thrilled to be working with Vote.org, Nonprofit Vote, TurboVote and more to help distribute codes to those who need them. We’ll also have a product integration to help passengers find their polling location.

*For underserved communities, we’ll provide rides free of cost through nonpartisan, nonprofit partners, including Voto Latino, local Urban League affiliates, and the National Federation of the Blind.

https://blog.lyft.com/posts/2018/8/22/get-out-the-vote

PLEASE, PLEASE VOTE!

Address of John F. Kennedy upon Accepting the Liberal Party Nomination for President, New York, New York, September 14, 1960:

"What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label, 'Liberal'? If by 'Liberal' they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of 'Liberal.' But, if by a 'Liberal,' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people - their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties - someone who believes that we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I'm proud to say that I'm a 'Liberal.' [Applause.]

But first, I would like to say what I understand the word, 'Liberal,' to mean and explain in the process why I consider myself to be a 'Liberal,' and what it means in the presidential election of 1960.

In short, having set forth my views - I hope for all time - 2 nights ago in Houston, on the proper relationship between church and state, I want to take this opportunity to set forth my views on the proper relationship between the state and the citizen. This is my political credo:

I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, and the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. It is, I believe, this faith in our fellow citizens as individuals and as people that lies at the heart of the liberal faith, for liberalism is not so much a party creed or a set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man's ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of Justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves. [Applause.]

I believe also in the United States of America, in the promise that it contains and has contained throughout our history of producing a society so abundant and creative and so free and responsible that it cannot only fulfill the aspirations of its citizens, but serve equally well as a beacon for all mankind. I do not believe in a super state. I see no magic to tax dollars which are sent to Washington and then returned. I abhor the waste and incompetence of large-scale Federal bureaucracies in this administration, as well as in others. I do not favor state compulsion when voluntary individual effort can do the job and do it well. But I believe in a government which acts, which exercises its full powers and its full responsibilities. Government is an art and a precious obligation; and when it has a job to do, I believe it should do it. And this requires not only great ends but that we propose concrete means of achieving them.

Our responsibility is not discharged by an announcement of virtuous ends. Our responsibility is to achieve these objectives with social invention, with political skill, and executive vigor. I believe for these reasons, that liberalism is our best and our only hope in the world today. [Applause.] For the liberal society is a free society, and it is at the same time and for that reason a strong society. Its strength is drawn from the will of free people committed to great ends and peacefully striving to meet them. Only liberalism, in short, can repair our national power, restore our national purpose, and liberate our national energies. And the only basic issue in the 1960 presidential campaign is whether our Government will fall in a conservative rut and die there, or whether we will move ahead in the liberal spirit of daring, of breaking new ground, of doing in our generation what Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman and Adlai Stevenson did in their time of influence and responsibility."

For the complete speech, follow this link to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum:

https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/Liberal-Party-Nomination-NYC_19600914.aspx

PLEASE VOTE! YOUR RIGHTS DEPEND ON IT!

VOTE TO END MASS INCARCERATION.

VOTE FOR IMMIGRANTS’ RIGHTS.

VOTE FOR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM.

VOTE FOR RACIAL JUSTICE.

VOTE TO EXPAND THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

VOTE FOR POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY.

VOTE FOR LGBTQ RIGHTS.

VOTE FOR NET NEUTRALITY.

VOTE FOR DISABILITY RIGHTS.

VOTE TO END SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.

VOTE FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE.

VOTE FOR THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY.

VOTE TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA.

VOTE FOR FREE SPEECH.

VOTE LIKE YOUR RIGHTS DEPEND ON IT. BECAUSE THEY DO.

https://www.aclu.org/voter/

Be a true patriot and vote against children in cages, vote against the destruction of our educational system, vote against this administration's love of despots and dictators, vote against neo-Nazis, vote against the destruction of our planet and its inhabitants through climate change, vote against the slaughter of children in their schools because of guns, vote against the destruction of health care (the GOP now says they are for "Medicare for all" but their hypocritical history and behavior shows they are lying and will say anything to retain power), vote against violence toward the LGBTQ community, and vote against fear of people of color or from other cultures and countries.

VOTE!

ON TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6TH

https://maddogpac.com/

"But when fascism comes it will not be in the form of an anti-American movement or pro-Hitler bund, practicing disloyalty. Nor will it come in the form of a crusade against war. It will appear rather in the luminous robes of flaming patriotism; it will take some genuinely indigenous shape and color, and it will spread only because its leaders, who are not yet visible, will know how to locate the great springs of public opinion and desire and the streams of thought that flow from them and will know how to attract to their banners leaders who can command the support of the controlling minorities in American public life. The danger lies not so much in the would-be Fuhrers who may arise, but in the presence in our midst of certainly deeply running currents of hope and appetite and opinion."
--from AS WE GO MARCHING by journalist John Thomas Flynn

The current administration, and the party and followers who support it
exhibit EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE WARNING SIGNS.

Republican and conservative leaders--and their supporters--don't care that climate change is going to literally destroy our civilization, and that we are going to be out of land, out of food, and out of luck. They don't care that people of color are being assassinated, they don't care that women are being raped, they don't care that children are shot en masse in their own schools (of course conservatives shriek about protecting fetuses, but once you are born, then they will destroy you), they don't care that a single health emergency could force someone into bankruptcy and ruin for the rest of their lives. We need decency, sanity, the ability to think ahead and determine consequences. As John F. Kennedy said, we need leaders who believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, human liberty as the source of national action, and the human heart as the source of national compassion. And when you see conservative leaders and their supporters siding with Neo-Nazis and white supremacists, denying a safe haven for those ravaged by poverty and war, giving--yet again--huge tax cuts and more money to the wealthy and more and more hardships for everyone else, attempting to destroy the time-honored institution of public schools in favor of education for the wealthy only, deliberately telling lies to incite violence toward one of our most cherished manifestations of democracy which is a free press, blaming women for being victims of male violence, supporting child molesters and wife beaters and embezzlers and black-out drunk sex-assaulting judges for public office (they have admitted the only reason they do so is to annoy and incite the left, which is harming themselves as well), and trying to destroy any system of sane healthcare in favor of profit margins for insurance companies, it is clear that they are NOT the ones who will bring much needed dignity, purpose, action, liberty, or compassion to the United States.

If you or someone you know has ever thought or said, "I don't vote because my vote doesn't count" has to realize that 2/3 of the US population usually does not vote. If that missing 2/3 did vote, then their vote would matter tremendously (and we have seen proof so many times where a candidate won an office by only a handful of votes). Then they would wield power, and in order to wield power, you have to take it. You have to actually vote. If you or someone you know has ever thought or said, "Well, I'm not really into politics" has to realize that what is before us is not "politics." This is not partisan, this is about survival. We have a chance now. Maybe the last real, clear shot. I am still holding out hope that we are brave enough to create the world that the best part of ourselves strive toward.

"The Carnival is Over" by Shirin Neshat featuring Cate Blanchett and Anohni

Apropos of yesterday's lovely video of female unity and power by Cher here, visual artist, filmmaker, and photographer Shirin Neshat has created an amazing video starring the always-powerful Cate Blanchett and the voice of transgender singer-songwriter Anohni.

“For a long time my work has focused on women and the ways in which they defy society’s repressive codes. I was interested in how female singers are universally treated as objects of desire. At first, Cate looks gorgeous, but when she sings it’s a transgender’s voice. The audience heckles her, and she becomes confrontational. When the music comes back on, she does a seductive dance but her face is evil. For her final act of subversion, she takes off her hair and makeup and walks away. That part was Cate’s idea. F**k the beauty.”

Neshat and Blanchett do not have sites.
http://anohni.com

"SOS" by Cher

After her stint in the second film installation of "Mamma Mia" featuring the music of ABBA, Cher secretly embarked on a new record project covering nothing but ABBA songs. The result is her new album "Dancing Queen" featuring this delightful version of "SOS," one of my favorite ABBA songs (I really appreciate that she did not try to reinvent it, but let it sound like ABBA).

But it is the video that is truly special: while Cher is absent, the sense of empowerment and unity for women is a moving, beautiful message (witness all the different ages, sizes, shapes, and colors of beauty). It's no surprise that Cher created this message as she has always been a vocal critic of leaders and the Republican party who are anti-women and who look for ways to continually strip women of rights and equality. I do not follow people's social media accounts because I am a busy man, but please take a look at her Twitter feed because it is representative--sometimes hilariously so--of her no BS attitude while actually being quite a political voice of reason.

And if anyone is thinking "Why Cher?", I will let Mark Bego, Cher's biographer fill you in: "No one in the history of show business has had a career of the magnitude and scope of Cher's. She has been a teenage pop star, a television hostess, a fashion magazine model, a rock star, a pop singer, a Broadway actress, an Academy Award-winning movie star, a disco sensation, and the subject of a mountain of press coverage." I would like to point out that she has also won a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Cannes Film Festival Award, a special CFDA Fashion Award, and a Kennedy Center Honors prize, among several other honors. She has sold 100 million records worldwide to date, becoming one of the best-selling music artists in history. And get this: she is the only artist to date to have a number-one single on a Billboard chart in each decade from the 1960s to the 2010s.

So there.

https://www.cher.com

"We Exist" by Arcade Fire

Actor Andrew Garfield stars in this powerful video for Arcade Fire's song "We Exist."

http://arcadefire.com/site/