There are forty-three days until the General Election on the 8th Day of November. It has come
to this... Welcome to Sunday Morning Coffee where I write about some of the news you may have heard about and some that you might have missed. Sit back, grab a cup and let's get going.
Principled Leadership
No doubt that would be a quality each of us would respect and demand of our elected leaders. This week Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) proved to the world that he has none of that and it is politics as usual. In case you missed it Sen. Cruz this week endorsed the man who made fun of how his wife looks and the man who implicated the Senators father in the assassination of President Kennedy. Astounding. Meanwhile former President George H.W. Bush said he was going to vote for Hillary Clinton. While that shocked the GOP some were not impressed. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who (hold your nose) supports Donald Trump, explained it away because President Bush is, "Getting up in years". Now that, my friends, is true principled leadership. Weary...
You Had It Better...
Meanwhile Donald Trump, speaking in front of a large white crowd, rewrote history and told our African-American brothers and sisters that they had it better off...back then. Now, because of Progressives, black people are dumbed down, unemployed and in constant danger of being shot. Clearly the private schooling Mr. Trump attended skipped over that whole slavery issue. That whole segregation issue. That uncomfortable time during the past century were African-Americans were hunted, beaten, hung and set on fire...by white folks. This guy makes stuff up and, it would seem, the media just gives him a pass. Somebody once said that if you tell a lie often enough people will start to believe it as truth. Yeah...look it up. (Cartoon - Tim Lloyd) You should know that when Tim sent this weeks cartoon he admitted it was tough to draw. I understand, brother...I really do.
Tulsa
Black folks have it so good in America that when their vehicle quits running the police show up and kill the driver. It would seem that it is now a capital offence to litter in Tulsa. What is amazing about all of this is that it would have been just another murder of an unarmed civilian by the police who, according to the video, had been profiled as a "big bad dude" if that very same video did not exist. In this case Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby, who shot and killed 40 year old Terence Crutcher, was charged with voluntary manslaughter. The Justice Department is also involved in the investigation.
Charlotte
In North Carolina four shots from police service weapons killed Keith Lamont Scott. Video footage released by the Charlotte Police Department after several days of violent protests do little to answer the question about a gun being in the possession of Mr. Scott. What it does show is Mr. Scott walking away from his vehicle the moment the shots ring out. Another "bad dude" down?
Shall We Continue?
It is the end of September and so far this year, according to several sources between 790 and 844 people have lost their lives at the hands of police officers in America. The numbers are different depending on how those calculations are done. In 2015 there were, according to the Wall Street Journal approximately 1,200 people were killed by police officers with zero officers being convicted of murder or manslaughter. What is troubling about the 2016 numbers is the percentage of Native American, African-American and Latino people who have been killed. If you would like to read the entire article here is a link.
Washington State
A nut case with a gun opened fire at a mall in Burlington, Washington and killed five people. Arcan Cetin is charged with the murder and five peaceful people guilty of simply going shopping are now dead. Just for the record in Canada seven people have been killed in mass shootings...and three of those were with a crossbow. So, is there something different with regard to gun laws in Canada and those in the United States? Nah...guns don't kill people...remember?
Tom Vilsack and Millennial Voters
The former governor and current US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was in town this past week speaking at an event which focused on young voters and he had a solid message. Rather than focus on the candidates what the Iowa Democratic Party needs to do is focus on the progressive issues which will mostly impact Millennial Voters. Duh! And, what are those issues? The agriculture secretary mentioned water quality for one. Everybody, except the governor and the Iowa GOP, know Iowa water stinks and is getting worse and there needs to be some serious spending to reverse decades of damage. How about college loans? Voting rights? Equal protection for sexual orientation? All issues that impact the youth vote. However the Iowa Democratic Party seems to think that focusing on candidates is enough. It ain't. A photograph used by The Iowa Starting Line had Sec. Vilsack with a group of young voters and former State Senator Jack Hatch. I happen to know that Jack is drafting a book about where the Iowa Democratic Party needs to go rather than what their focus has been. He promised me it would "tell all" and raise some eyebrows. Look for it after the General Election and...he too is right.
GOTV Drives
So far this week our door has been hit by two young democratic activists driving the Get Out The Vote effort. Have no fear...we're in. However, I don't remember a time where there were so many people out...so early. In the past four months we have been visited by five GOTV folks from the Iowa Democrats and one from the Iowa GOP.
Miyoko Hikiji
This past week I volunteered to make business phone calls for Iowa State Senate Candidate Miyoko Hikiji who is running in the Urbandale area. Why? It really is time for my friend Sen. Brad Zahn to retire and let a progressive woman with loads of great ideas represent Senate District 20. Let us do away with the fear and intimidation and elect a principled person. Join me?
Partly Personal
I still have a Bernie Sanders bumper sticker on my vehicle. It's not that I am not for Hillary it's just that I can't seem to find a Hillary Bumper Sticker!! Hey...got one? Get it to me for cryin' out loud. I know...whining right?
My bride was on a vacation to Minnesota this weekend. She and a group from the Des Moines Cycle Club headed north for a trip to Lanesboro. Talk about a community that truly embraces the economic impact of cycling...check out their website. Nicely done!
Have a great week and thanks for reading!
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