Category: Political

Posted in Political

Update: Corroborating News–Extortion: Foreign and Domestic

Posted on by simplebender

9/25: Disney/ABC/Nexstar choose profit over principle. By silencing a comedian, they protected the impending merger of Nexstar and Tenga, which requires FCC approval. They are bending to the FCC’s threats to withhold merger approval and review of their broadcast license.

Extortion: Foreign and Domestic

No one can control you if you don’t owe them anything. But more importantly, just because someone owes you doesn’t give you the right to try to control them. This control and unwanted influence is nothing more than extortion. We have seen extortion repeated numerous times in recent weeks and expect to see more. We watch as federal funds are restricted for personal vendettas and agendas. We have seen financial aid used as a tool to coerce and meddle in the policies of other nations, as a superpower attempts to influence a different sovereign’s internal affairs. The idea that if the government gives or grants you aid, you are obligated to do their bidding or succumb to their ideas of moral direction is itself immoral. The tariffs aren’t about trade imbalances. They are examples of abusive dominant position and extortion.

The ability to invoke fear and illicit reactions can be through hard or soft power. Hard power is the use of military or economic coercion, while soft power is the use of cultural or ideological influence. As a superpower and stalworth of freedom of choice and independence, we should stand on higher ground. We should help guide and support rather than threaten financial and social ruin if our direction isn’t followed. We should never judge another sovereign with our isolated provincial views without understanding their cultural underpinnings and environmental conditions. Our greatest strength does not come from fists or extortion but from example. We are a country of plenty, and our moral teachings and practices have been to share. To be witnessed as an example, not demanding compliance or sitting in judgment. The importance of standing on higher ground and maintaining our integrity cannot be overstated. We have just as many faults as those who we are attempting to extort, bully, and bend to our will and ways. The pedestal we once placed ourselves upon is crumbling by the weight of our ego, bigotry, and hypocrisy. Some believe they have found their political messiah, and some have found the courage to cowardly hide behind masks so their identity might not be known, but they cannot conceal their intent.

Greatness is demonstrated in many ways, and extortion isn’t one of them. The consequences of extortion are severe. It leads to distrust, resentment, and, ultimately, isolation. Just know that when you push someone too far, they will eventually turn against you regardless of what they owe you. They will join the others you’ve extorted and bullied. You will stand alone in isolation as your once friends collude and align with your old enemies for your destruction. Your greatness diminished and tarnished as you become the pariah rather than the advisor and steady ally.

We have lived through dark times before, and there will be more. We will get through them by understanding that we exist within a global community, and we don’t control it. The power of the purse has a double edge, and we certainly would object to those we owe telling us what to do. Don’t confuse wealth with worth; we witness the wealthy and powerful transform into worthless bullies, not great leaders. The gravity of these consequences should make us all pause and reflect on the path we are treading. 

#NeverFearTheDream simplebender.com @simplebender.bsky.social

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Posted in Current Events, Political

Vilifier to Victim Cycle

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Vilification is not an innocent weapon — it’s a destructive one. It takes little effort to sling insults, caricature opponents, or cast entire groups as villains. But like a boomerang, what you hurl often returns. The sharper the words, the more likely they cut you on the rebound. This cycle of destruction is something we must recognize — and break.

When you vilify, you don’t invite reasoned debate but reactionary hate. Anger rarely absorbs anger; it mirrors it. History shows escalation is almost inevitable: one stone cast is met with another, one torch answered with fire. In that spiral of hostility, the target shifts. Today’s accuser becomes tomorrow’s accused. The vilifier becomes the victim.

History offers painful lessons. Denunciation fueled the French Revolution, each faction outshouting and out-purging the last. Robespierre, once the loudest voice condemning “enemies of the revolution,” soon faced the guillotine he praised. Hate and retribution have no loyalty — they devour their own.

Modern politics echoes the same pattern. Leaders, activists, and media figures who stoke division often find themselves caught in the very fires they lit. Hate has no brake; once unleashed, it runs its own course.

Vilification is seductive. It feels like strength — drawing bold lines, protecting your tribe, mobilizing energy. But human nature is wired for reciprocity: what we project comes back. To weaponize hate is to release a force you cannot control. Your gender, race, faith, politics, or power won’t shield you — the backlash spares no one — you reap what you sow.

This is not a call for naïve pacifism but for clarity. To vilify is to plant the seed of retribution. To demonize is to risk becoming the demon in another’s story. History is merciless to those who think they can ride the tiger of hate and not be eaten.

When there is no room for counter-opinion, there is no compromise. Without compromise, polarity hardens into conflict. And conflict, left unchecked, leads to violence — and death. But there is hope. We should call for understanding, not for “beating the hell out of” those we oppose. Listening can reveal common ground. Words can wound, but they can also heal. If we speak to persuade rather than to poison, we stand a chance of escaping the boomerang’s return flight. Vilification may win the moment, but it never secures a peaceful future.  #NeverFearTheDream

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Posted in Political

Deconstructing Democracy by Design

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A ‘what-if’ thought experiment….or is it….

When federal agencies are defunded, are the states prepared to bear the burden? What if they falter, fail, and unravel under the weight? What if the unraveling of local governance isn’t a consequence of poor planning—but a feature of executive design?

Imagine a government waving the banner of “smaller federalism—drain the swamp,” slashing national programs in the name of efficiency and state empowerment. Medicaid becomes a block grant. Public housing and food subsidies are cut. Regulation and environmental oversight rolls back. Disaster relief is “restructured.” Methodically, the burden shifts to state and county governments, which are already stretched thin. Local taxes rise, services crumble, and local bureaucracies balloon in a vain attempt to compensate.

One town staffs its clinics. The next can’t keep its water clean. Some mandate gun control, others abortions, and others endorse sex work and gambling to increase state revenue. Air quality fluctuates by zip code. One region welcomes immigrants, the next sponsors agents for deportation. Resulting in dysfunctionality, geographical injustice, and discontinuity. The news media is mistrusted and declared ‘enemies of the State’. City, County, and State governments begin to crumble and fail under the weight of their new obligations.

Resentment festers—as inconsistency breeds inequity and confusion. Citizens demand relief, but help doesn’t come from local government, only more indecisive directives. Citizen uncertainty, polarization, and outrage against the policy void yield unrest. Not everywhere—but in enough places to make the headlines—just enough to be used as an excuse.

We’re already seeing a preview. Federal troops were deployed to California—not for disaster relief, but to enforce immigration policy, overriding the state’s will. FEMA faces cuts while climate disasters rise. Communities are left broken, ripe for corruption and manipulation.

And as the ground shifts, so do the guardrails. The Department of Justice leans in, and the Court tilts the scales. Recent rulings—many of which were urged by the Executive—have expanded presidential power by disregarding or reinterpreting laws passed by Congress and previous court decisions. Scholars once warned of an “imperial presidency.” It’s no longer theory—it’s precedent. The President need not wait for Congress. The office can act—or undo—with little more than a pen and a thin legal pretext.

And so, the same hand that dropped the burden returns—not as a partner, but as a “protector.” Protests are reframed as threats. Dissent becomes disorder. Disorder becomes insurrection.

Elections are postponed “for public safety.” Ballots are secured behind walls and counted by select administrators. Local authority is preempted. Emergency declarations morph into permanent policy.

Federal power consolidates—not with a coup, but with a shrug, and tacit approval, marked by deafening silence.

This isn’t prophecy—but it’s no longer just a thought experiment. It is no longer just possible it is verging on probable. It’s unfolding. If federal power can be withdrawn at will and restored at gunpoint—backed by a court with no limits—what does democracy even mean?

If this is the road ahead, it’s not the failure of states we should fear most. It’s the success of the plan—and our failure to notice.

Posted in Political

Due Process…..

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“No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or in any way destroyed, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.” — Magna Carta, 1215 (Clause 39)

Our nation’s history is a testament to the struggle against arbitrary rule. The great-grandfathers of our Founding Fathers experienced the terror of being forcibly removed from their homes and imprisoned under the whims of King John. Four centuries later, England again endured authoritarian rule during the reign of Charles I, who’s infamous “Star Chamber” court was notorious for arbitrary decisions and the absence of due process. His absolutism led to civil war, the rise of Parliamentarian power, and, eventually, his execution. This historical context is crucial to understanding the risks of eroding due process.

Today, we risk repeating history. The principle of “innocent until proven guilty” is eroding, replaced by guilt by association.

Our Founders—and the generations before and after them—fought for Due Process: the simple but powerful idea that no one should be punished solely for their beliefs, associations, or background. Yes, every group has bad actors, and they must be held accountable. But not everyone in that group deserves blanket suspicion or punishment.

Many people flee violence in their countries—or even in our neighborhoods—because they were coerced into associations they didn’t choose. These individuals deserve to be judged by their actions today, not by the group they once belonged to. Not every gang member is a felon—but if we apply collective guilt to some groups, shouldn’t we apply it to others? To organizations with histories of abuse? To law enforcement agencies where some officers have abused their authority? Or what about political protests? Some individuals turned otherwise peaceful movements—like Black Lives Matter or the January 6th rally—into scenes of violence. However, the majority who showed up did so to express their beliefs, not to break the law. Likewise, social media platforms have hosted harmful or hateful content, but they’ve also become places of education, connection, and free speech. Do we judge the entire protest or platform by the actions and posting of its ‘worst’ participants?

Most of us are, or have been, part of groups where some members acted in ways we reject. We shouldn’t be punished for their choices.

This country is built on the foundation of individual rights, not collective guilt. When we lose sight of this, we don’t just lose due process—we lose the very essence of liberty. This is when we start down the path of political purges and authoritarianism, as seen in Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, and Maoist China. Our republic was designed to prevent exactly that, and it’s up to each of us to defend our individual rights.

If someone has committed a crime, let them be arrested, tried, and convicted—individually and fairly by a jury. But mass detentions, deportations, or punishments without due process undermine the very freedoms that protect all of us.

These rights are not just for someone else’s protection-they are for your protection too. It’s time to stand up, speak up, and defend them. Your voice matters, and your actions can make a difference in preserving the due process and individual rights that are the cornerstone of our society. Speak up—Stand up—Defend it –Or Lose it and maybe yourself.

NeverFearTheDream simplebender.com @simplebender.bsky.social Mundus sine ceasaribus

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Posted in Political

Polycephalic Government

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For a government to survive and flourish, it should master the art of being polycephalic—a two-headed entity. It must be tactical, firm, and transactional in its dealings with other nations and major corporations, while remaining empathetic and responsive when building relationships with its citizens. One side is necessarily transactional; the other is inherently relational.

To earn respect from other countries and corporations, a government must take clear, principled stands while staying flexible in negotiations. To gain the respect and support of its citizens, people need to feel heard and valued—not just managed or pacified. They want to believe their leaders take their concerns seriously and act in their interest. A true relationship between the government and the population is based on trust and mutual respect, not mere management.

Foreign powers—whether allies or adversaries—respond to displays of strength and resolve. They respect governments that honor agreements and defend their positions. While negotiation, brinkmanship, and strategic posturing are part of diplomacy, other nations quickly recognize empty gestures and adjust their strategies accordingly. Effective foreign policy demands both strength and strategic adaptability, even when it creates friction with allies and adversaries alike.

Domestic governance, however, requires a fundamentally different approach. In a representative republic, leadership is not about dominance or control. Governing a diverse society requires building long-term relationships, showing mutual trust, and pursuing shared goals and values—even when none are apparent. The government representative must remember they work for the people. The people are their clients. Not the other way around. Success comes through compromise and persuasion, not threats or coercion. Citizens want to feel important and respected. They expect their representatives to act on their behalf, not at the behest of outside forces. A representative government fails when it resorts to force or manipulation to control its people, as coercion undermines democratic principles and personal freedom. A polycephalic government must function with both “heads” in harmony. It should not treat citizens like foreign powers or corporations in transactional terms. At the same time, it must seek to improve the lives of all citizens—not just those who elected them. Domestic and foreign policy are distinct realms requiring different strategies. Confusing them invites conflict and dysfunction.

NeverFearTheDream simplebender.com @simplebender.bsky.social Tollite mundum ceasaribus

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Posted in NeverFeartheDream, Political

Never Fear The Dream…

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You honor your cause, even a lost cause, by ardently defending it with integrity. You dishonor and cheapen it when resorting to threats, intimidation, coercion, extortion, or extradition. 25.11.1

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Posted in Political

Beyond Tokenism, Tribalism, and Wokeism

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The issues and consternation we face with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility aren’t new. Humanity is predisposed to tribalism and discrimination. We like to be around those who are like us….whether race, gender, creed, hobby, or sports team. This country has had an issue with DEIA from its start. The idea that someone gets something to fill a quota rather than being the most qualified just isn’t American.

We stand on a merit-based system. As a country, we have struggled with DEIA laws thrust upon us since post-Civil War reconstruction and especially since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We reject the concept of merit and privilege being replaced with legislation trying to eliminate discrimination because the result is systematic alienization and reverse discrimination.

Diversity is not just a preference; it’s a necessity in business, sports, education, social interaction, and life. The ideas, experiences, prowess, and insights of other nationalities, races, genders, and creeds enrich our lives and country. It’s a vibrant aspect of our nation—a nation of immigrants.

Equity is not equality. It’s about ensuring everyone is on an equal footing. The privileged should not be treated any better or worse than the impoverished, and the rich should not have any more access to political officials than the hoi polloi. The challenge is: How can you ensure equity when the playing field has never been level? None of us start with the same privileges or handicaps. Treating everyone equally only perpetuates and extends inequities. And if you believe the education system and/or medical care in this country is equal for all, you’ll struggle to understand any of this.

We stand on a merit-based system. We reject the idea of nepotism and ‘pay to play’ influence. Right? Yet, we all know the person who got the job because their parent knew someone, had money, or owned the company. We stand on merit, right? I understand the frustration with DEI. I was once told I would hire a specific person for an open, publicly posted position. The job description was unambiguous. Looking at the resume, the new hire didn’t appear to be a good match, but that didn’t matter. Quickly checking my DEI card, I recognized there was, in fact, justification for the hire, regardless of qualification. The new employee was part of an exclusive minority. With a little extra time, patience, and training, the company finally had a good employee. The child of a sitting U.S. Senator allowed us to check a box and have an amazingly unique perspective at break time. Merit didn’t matter then; to some, it doesn’t matter now. Of course, the good-ole-boy, nepotistic system was always so much better in so many ways, right?

Remember that DEI never intended to mean ‘Don’t Ever Integrate.’ It was meant to be a way to give opportunities to all people, not just those with connections. Is the current direction and directives about merit or returning to our country’s quasi-legal racial segregation state? As cop killers and killing cops are pardoned, the answer may already be self-evident. Courage and Be Bold   

#NeverFearTheDream   simplebender.com @simplebender.bsky.social

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This was first printed in the Bend Bulletin 1/30/25 titled: Measuring merit and diversity

Posted in NeverFeartheDream, Political

Never Fear The Dream….

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Leaders must have character, not merely be characters. The seducer and seduced share a symbiotic relationship—each supporting and needing the other. We all play both roles when our turn comes. But authentic leadership leaves no room for doubt: lead for the betterment of all, for the greater good, not just for those you’ve won over, seduced, bought, and/or suckered. 25.031

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Posted in Political

The Intoxicating Mirage of American Greatness

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We are no better than Don Quixote as he chased the demons he saw in windmills as we become drunk on the hysteria and mirage of American greatness. While he blamed magicians for his confusion and failure, we blame minorities and immigrants. We are no different; only our delusion is different.

Neither the Constitution nor the Preamble ever professes any illusion of aspiring to greatness. The Founding Fathers’ writings in the Federalist Papers are silent on any desire for national greatness. These men, willing to risk everything openly professed a desire for an independent nation. A nation recognized and respected as an equal by all the world’s other nations. They weren’t so egotistical to wave the vain flag of greatness or superiority.

Yet today, we insanely strive to regain something we never had, were, or will be. We are drunk on our delusions and egos. Being ‘great’ is a fixation of one’s ego. It isn’t real. It is your fantasized view of yourself. Something which, when unachieved or perceived to be lost, we blame everyone, anyone, but ourselves. Like Don Quixote blaming mystics and magicians, we lash out at everyone but ourselves. Ironically, we blame them for something that never was and can never be.

We are a country with many admirable traits and traditions and rich in resources and intellect. We are like almost every other country in the world. We all have our national pride, but our national ego is more of a liability than an asset. When working internationally, the first and biggest hurdle to overcome is not being the ‘arrogant, ugly American’ as we are known worldwide.

How do you determine ‘greatness?’ Is our historic and persistent racism a measure of greatness? As a country of immigrants, whose foundational economy was built on the backs of slaves, should our measure of greatness be the number of immigrant families we disjoined and caged or how we showed compassion? Is our historic and persistent racism a criterion of greatness? Is the denigration of minorities and the perpetuation of our domestic caste system our yardstick? Is the benchmark the number of citizens in the wealthiest Causation country suffering in poverty? Is it the number of books and ideas we can ban or sequester? Is the measure the need for a nanny state because we don’t trust half of the population to make their own decisions on healthcare? Or maybe it is our growing affinity to authoritarians and dictators rather than democracies? Democracy isn’t dead but authoritarianism a growing plague. Democracy conquered communism and now seems focused on conquering itself. A country boasting about greatness should have addressed and resolved these inequities decades ago. However, what we have shown incredible greatness in is our ability to deflect, ignore, and our propensity to find a scapegoat for our failures.

While we are a blessed nation, no country is great at everything. They all have strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots. The pragmatic salient question might be, ‘Should America strive to be average or average at all things?’ If we are average, we acknowledge there are those better than us in some things, and we are better in others. By being average at all things, we surrender those areas in which we can be superior.

Our desire and aspiration to be Great should not cloud the realization that we are just one among many in this world. Our founders knew this, and they promoted internationalism, not isolation, to gain acceptance and influence. They didn’t strive for dominance but for mutually beneficial relationships. In our drunken, intoxicated state of euphoria, touting our Greatness, let’s hope we ultimately don’t drive ourselves to Mediocrity.

Maybe our Greatness is our ability to cast an eye over our shoulder to see how far we’ve come, accept where we are, and then turn to look forward and have a vision of where we should be. Sober love of country over drunken delusions. NeverFearTheDream……simplebender.com

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This was first published in the Bend Bulletin 11/20/24

Posted in Political

It is Election Season: Time to Sharpen Your Occam’s Razor

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It is time to sharpen your personal Occam’s Razor. It is time for you to be able to thinly slice and dissect the information you see and hear and decide reality from fantasy. Your ability to differentiate between these two will determine your level of sensibility versus gullibility. All this as we prepare to cast our ballots.

Assessing the spin when listening to stories and news headlines is increasingly difficult. These are written by highly skilled and well-paid scriptwriters whose role is to take a little truth and to create a tale for the most significant impact. It is a tale with just enough truth to shield the whole story from excessive scrutiny. They play with words to spin the facts to twist your mind. This is why you need to sharpen your Occam’s Razor. This requires us to accept that the one solution to a problem is the one with the smallest possible complexities or has the fewest assumptions. While deciphering the spin of misinformation it is a method which allows you to ask: ‘Does that really make sense?’ and/or ‘If there is underlying truth, what is it and how much?’ Another way to understand is ‘The simplest explanation is usually the best.’

During this election cycle, like the last, there is a plethora of bogus stories being created to try and make a point or generate fanatical reactions. When candidates purposely espouse unverifiable comments, look behind their intent. They aren’t trying to set or defend policy. They are shifting the discussion and casting it in such a light to cause anxiety and social division. They want to avoid the rare moment of candor when admitting it is acceptable to create stories for a campaign or candidate’s benefit. Simply put, they want you to believe it is all right for candidates to tell lies and continue to tell them in an unadulterated attempt to energize support. In our elections, dabbling in fantastical make-believe shouldn’t be acceptable to garnish support. It shows weakness of position and is insulting to the voters. Does it really make sense to claim one political party can control the weather and the other not? Is it really likely one political party would sponsor attempted assassinations and recruit inexperienced snipers? Is it really likely one candidate wants to be dictator for only one day? Do you really believe a vice-presidential candidate is plotting an Article 25 coup after inauguration? Did you really believe foreign corporations will pay tariffs or domestic consumers? Do you really believe any individual candidate can reduce inflation? And, do you really think those military personnel who have died, injured, or were captured are losers and suckers; really?

Sharpen your Occam’s Razor. Guard yourself against the frauds, lies, and spin. Question everything and everyone. Think critically. Ask yourself if something said makes basic common sense or if it is just too fantastical or complicated to be real and true. Is it simply a cooked-up story, a lie with a smidgen of truth, or a repeated lie which now seems true because it has been told so many times? The problem is these concocted fantasies seduce millions. It seems America’s standard of greatness is now based on lies, deception, and disparaging others while pandering to the gullible. There is value in credibility and believability, or at least there used to be.

The one thing salacious, rancorous, weak candidates do not want is a thinking, analytical voter. Candidates want the easily swayed and unsuspecting. They play with their fears and not their common sense. They weaponize fear, anxiety, disinformation, and hate fueled by lies to seduce you and secure your vote. This year, every year, disappoint them. Think for yourself and break away from the clutches of someone else’s twisted reality, which holds you captive. Listen, study, ask critical questions, and don’t be a single-issue voter. Exercise your Occam’s Razor and then vote accordingly, country before party.  #NeverFearTheDream    simplebender.com

A version of this article was first published in the Bend Bulletin 10/18/24