ClydeStyle

Tag: Congress

  • History repeats, and we still miss the message

    This is blog 3 of 5 in the history series, and the question today is how you feel about it.

    So, a few weeks back, we had another mass shooting of sorts, his time on a military base in Georgia. As of July 31, 2025, there have been 268 mass shootings in the United States, resulting in 262 fatalities and 1,161 injuries. Several daily newspapers are keeping count.

    Clearly, the media is not reporting all of them, I would imagine, because they don’t want to scare the public.

    The worst part of the shootings over than the deaths would be the lack of action taken by Congress to produce laws to make us safer.

    During the organized crime epidemic of the 1920s and 30s, we not only had mass shootings, but the police had a difficult time dealing with criminals with Tommy guns.

    So, in 1934, the National Firearms Act was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This act put a huge tax on civilian ownership, which discouraged sales.

    With so many mass shootings now and the fact that automatic weapons are being used in most cases, we need stricter gun laws. However, the gun lobby has deep pockets, and America’s greed has allowed its votes to be bought for the right price.

    This all means that we have had the answer of what o do about gun violence since 1934. We’re not doing it because our lawmakers have sold their souls for profit and purchased a one-way ticket to hell!

    Can you imagine saying to the parents of the Uvalde, TX school shooting, “Sorry, but the lobbyists gave me a six-figure check for my vote.”

    Clearly, we now have the wrong people in government, and they have completely violated our trust. Voting won’t ever fix this mess because both political parties are guilty. We desperately need an intervention that doesn’t destroy our land.

  • Attacks on freedom for all people sour July 4th celebrations

    America has made great strides in its  history in an attempt to live up to its constitution. No one can argue that things are better than they were 100 years ago.

    But did this change come from a new revelation that the only God who created the universe made all men equal and that the past treatment of minorities was sinful and would greatly hinder eternal life in heaven? Nope. It doesn’t seem like God has ever stopped the sinful flesh at anything it decides to do.

    So then, white people were free from immediate eternal punishment and could still rob, cheat, and steal from minorities. They could still allow racist systems that would impede the process of minorities moving forward, and they could continue to allow police and other forces to discriminate and incarcerate minorities without real due process.

    And they have.

    What has been a constant with white people is that when you lay their actions before (a tactic mastered by the civil rights movement), then it would guilt enough of them to do the right thing.

    The problem with this is that they do the right thing for the wrong reason. And that leads to resentment.

    Then comes Donald Trump. In his first term in office, he attempted to resend as much civil and human rights as whites would allow. Now, of course, you’re thinking white people wouldn’t allow America to go backward, would it?

    There are too many non-racist folks in Congress to let that happen, right? Well, I looked up exactly how many things he did to destroy civil and human rights, and I wanted to list them all here. I didn’t because there were too many. On average, it looked like at least 70 things each year he was in office.

    I couldn’t believe it myself because you would think that if the democrats knew this, they would have run on a platform that shared it with the rest of us. Could it be that they were resentful, too?

    This link will take you to the list of things he tried https://civilrights.org/trump-rollbacks/

    All of them didn’t succeed, but with this gigantic list, you can really tell that the powers that be are not for minorities. He is already on pace to surpass this list in his second term.

    And now, with Independence Day fast approaching, who really wants to celebrate it?

  • The scam of insurance

    Let’s talk insurance. We live in a time where insurance companies are denying hurricane victims, California fire victims, and auto insurance is overwhelmingly high, especially in no-fault states, and life insurance is too hard to secure.

    Families are suffering as promised benefits are denied while Congress continues to get richer from insurance lobbying. You can not expect to see the current Republican Congress do anything about this. Since 1992, Republicans have benefitted the most from insurance lobbyists receiving millions of dollars for their silence on the issues.

    Democrats have had opportunities to deal with this problem, but even when they controlled both houses of Congress, nothing got done on this front.

    The insurance industries philosophy is to find a way not to pay so the stock holders can reap their dividends. Greed has taken over morality, and the middle class and poor are suffering the most.

    Insurance was actually started as an act of benevolence in Rome and Greece in 600 AD. You can even trace the concept of insurance as far back as 4000 — 3000 bce.

    In the US, insurance had its origin in the late 17th century. Like everything else, it was on the level, and people paid faithfully their premiums and could expect to receive payment on their claims filed during that time. The complete reniging of insurance payments for qualified clients wasn’t widespread until the Reconstruction era, where former slaves were denied claims mostly because of the color of their skin.

    In his autobiography, Malcolm X tells the story of what ultimately drove his mother insane started with trying to collect on a life insurance policy for her husband. In the movie Malcolm X, his father was murdered by the KKK as they bashed his head in with a hammer and stretched his bloody body across train tracks to be destroyed. This left Malcolm, his siblings, and his mother devastated and destitute. She eventually lost her children because she could no longer take care of them because the insurance company denied her claim, stating that they believed his death to be a suicide.

    I would love to tell you that this was the only incident where this happened, but that would not be true. You see, poor Blacks during this could not afford to take the matter to court and secure a lawyer, so the insurance companies knew this and could take advantage.

    Today, billions of dollars flow through insurance companies, and they have found a way not to honor their policies. Over the years, the list of things that can deny your claims has grown tremendously, as have the payouts to Congress for their silence. In just 2024, insurance companies spent more than 117 million to Congress. In previous years the number has been higher than 150 million. They have also spent around 130 million in campaign contributions for the candidates that will ensure no legislation is passed to stop them.

    So, in the meantime, constituents suffer from natural disasters, health challenges, death, and dismemberment and other unpaid claims and the insurance machine rolls on! God bless America.

  • Modern day house slaves function like their past counterparts

    During slavery, house slaves were unique in that they could live in the Master’s house and always be in close proximity to the family. They would learn domestic skills like cooking, cleaning, and even child care. Sometimes, the slaves would be taught how to read. Definitely, these house slaves had greater benefits than being just a field slave that worked outdoors.

    House slaves dressed better, did not have to work as hard, could get scraps, and other items considered trash by the Master. Life was definitely better.

    But at no time did the house slaves have any influence over the Master, nor could they even express their opinions. When the Master did something that they didn’t like or agree with, they’d better just keep it to themselves. The wrong kind of expression on your face could end in a backhand by the Master if he thought he wanted to say something about his actions. So the house slaves were just that – a slave and they had no opinion or independent thoughts of their own that they could express.

    In Congress these days, we have seemed to resurrect the house slave. Republicans in Congress, instead of serving at the pleasure of the people who elected them, are now serving at the pleasure of our new dictator, Donald J. Trump. He is never challenged, questioned, or  advised even when he makes a decision that violates the constitution.

    Now, let’s not be nieve and think that Democrats have no house slaves because they sat back and allowed Joe Biden to leave our border wide open. They didn’t wave or salute. Trump has been a bit outrageous with his latest decisions, and the recent town hall meetings in Republican districts have been very vocal about their concerns over Trump’s decisions.

    The bottom line is this: We can not properly implement democracy if the checks and balances won’t hold the line. In other words, Congress has a job to do, and it is not to be the Congress for the president, but for the people. We voted for representatives who would be the voices of the people. Our country has lost sight of this. If we continue down the current path, it won’t be long before we are all house slaves or we really have an insurrection.

  • Immigration isn’t everybody’s issue

    If you looked up, fear mongering in the dictionary, you would see a picture of old Uncle Sam because America’s preferred use of getting a reaction from its citizens is always fear. Politicians and talking heads often want to inform the general public what they are afraid of, and lately immigration is high on the list.

    It seems that the “powers that be” like to use the “magic” approach to politics. They like to distract you with the right hand while stealing from you with the left. Today, that right hand wants us to be concerned about border security. Why?

    We are told that migrant crime is high. It is not. We are told that they will take all of the good jobs. False. Mexico is dumping its prisoners on us. There are far more women and children coming over.

    There are always going to be poverty crimes because you have poor people. So, it makes sense that poor migrants will commit petty crimes at times. The jobs that they work are definitely jobs that Americans would not take. You can tell that our government doesn’t really want to fix this problem based on the amount of help wanted signs at the border. You could leave Mexico on the right day at the right time and have a job in the US within 48 hours.

    But why is this such a big issue or better, what are we avoiding by spending the time talking about this? Well, nothing has been done about the criminal justice system. We still have people in prison for cannabis in places where it is now legal. Nothing has been done about voter suppression. There have been attempts to dump student loan debt, but nothing concrete. And let’s not even begin the conversation on reparations.

    The more we talk about immigration, the less we spend on issues that really matter. If Congress was paid based on the work they completed, our Congress would go broke.

    We must not let what matters to us die on someone’s desk in Washington. We need to make a statement with our voting and even seek even greater ways to get our positions heard.

  • Our political parties have failed us completely

    Next month, our Supreme Court will hear arguments as to whether former president Donald Trump is eligible to run for president given the 91 charges he is facing. The people are confused as to what is really happening because Trump is claiming he is immune from wrongdoing and that the charges are not valid.

    There would have been a time in our recent history that the Republican party would select a more presidential candidate. George Santos was booted out of Congress for all the lying and cheating he has done. How is Trump different?

    Would Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush or George W. Bush approve of such a candidate like Trump? Further, with the danger of election interference by Russia and Trump facing a ton of debt, are we not taking a chance with him being vulnerable to more corruption because of his debt?

    Then there is current president Joe Biden. He might as well be 300 years old because, for some reason, despite the level of stress that comes with the job, would any former president agree with Biden continuing in this role? It is hard to believe that Bill Clinton and Barak Obama would agree that Joe is ready for another term. We know that both parties could support better candidates. But at this point, they can not be trusted.

    The two-party system does not work for this reason. They have lost the trust of the people, and that is probably the only thing that can be agreed on.

    So what is the country to do? This clear, good Ole Boy network in politics has betrayed us. The parties have lost sight of what the people really want. The majority of the people are tired of seeing money by the billions sent overseas, and we have millions of struggling people here.

    We are tired of wars and being involved in wars. We are tired of our government taking care of everyone else by us.

    Solution: All three branches of government need to be replaced. One huge election and nobody over 70 should be allowed to take any position. Our smartest and brightest people are between 40 and 60 years old, and we need to tap into that market. We need to have a greater balance of medical professionals, former teachers, business executives, and blue-collar workers in Congress. We should maintain a third of each. We need to pledge to take care of home first and settle our own issues so that we can reach out together as a country to help others, but not until we are good at home. Finally, we need to be as diverse as the U.N. white people should not dominate the branches. We need to embrace diversity and build a country that works for everyone and not just some.

  • The sadness of Veterans Day still looms

    Every year at this time, I get sad. I’m sad because I know that there are millions of veterans without benefits. We spend so much of our national budget on weapons of mass destruction and maintaining a strong military, but we’re not making good on our promises to the men and women who risked their lives.

    Neither political party has addressed this. You can see homeless vets, vets on drugs, and more struggling with debt from medical complications.

    Meanwhile, our government, still trying to fight the good fight, is helping other countries  like Isreal and Ukraine while our folks struggle.

    It seems that in the 21 century, we would err on the side of people and rather have a scenario where our veterans are overpaid than under.

    This problem seems so easy to handle, but because our veterans are not useful to our cause anymore, we have thrown them away.

    What’s worse is that there is a divide among the veterans between the ones receiving benefits and the ones who don’t. How can they be a band of brothers on the battlefield, but once we get back home, it’s every man for himself?

    I don’t celebrate Veterans Day because of this. I wish the nation wouldn’t be celebrated either until we have corrected this atrocity!

  • Judges Thomas and Alito are just the tip of the iceberg

    Life constantly proves that we are flawed. As a part of our moral development, we should seek to excel in integrity, goodness, truth, and character, but we have lost our way.

    If we can no longer expect our Supreme Court justices to be honest, how can we expect it in other courts? It seems that there is always a problem when people don’t speak out against injustice. We made that a habit in our country, and it still hinders us today.

    The only thing needed to start a revolution after slavery ended would have been for whites to stand up and acknowledge wrongdoing. If some would have just called it as they saw it because never is it ok to make people property.

    During the Civil Rights movement, our legislative, judicial, and executive branches had a golden opportunity to move our country light years ahead by simply speaking up for what is right! Today, there are horrible police practices that many police, if they were not guilty themselves, could denounce as evil, but they stand silent. Some of the districts that our children are supposed to be educated in are failing. Some of that failure is “teacher failure,” but no one is saying that. Prison conditions in America are deplorable, and very little is being done to change it. Veterans still don’t have all of their promised benefits, but again, we are quiet.

    It’s hard to name an area of interest that isn’t corrupt. Pastors in churches are taking advantage, and some are even getting paid to sell a bad version of hope. And even in the presidency — from Trump to Biden — there are major struggles with integrity and truthfulness.

    Sadly, it seems that we declared independence from the wrong things. Where we should have set ourselves free from lies, laziness, selfishness, and bigotry, we embraced these and would go on to forsake fairness, honor, moral virtue, and serving others. Our freedoms are not for the better but the worse in America. We are free to dishonor our constitution and look out for number one — self!

    There are more justices guilty. We will see more police brutality, bad teachers, and corrupt politicians. And unless there is accountability being enforced, America will implode from within. We won’t have to worry about foreign enemies destroying us. We’re killing ourselves.

  • Do you seriously care about causes?

    One of the great things about living in America is the freedom to protest. This government claims it will defend your right to do just that. I have to say “claims” because I still have the images of the protests during the Civil rights movement where water and dogs were used on peaceful protesters. Also, within the last 5 years with the Black Lives Matter movement and how brutal the police were to them.

    But my point is that causes are connected. It’s almost impossible to just protest one thing because chances are there are several issues within the cause you want to champion.

    Then, we tend to fail in the areas most important with causes — our solutions suck!

    For example, once upon a time teen pregnancy was shameful and the idea that you may get pregnant was a good deterrent for abstinence. Our country at that time was conservative and had a much better observance and reference for the word of God. There were government agencies that controlled what was acceptable over the airwaves and we made sure that what kids could see and learn in media would be something beneficial to their development.

    There were definitely protests regarding unwanted pregnancies and then adoption was the main source of handling them. Then some where the pregnancy dynamic became worse and some women (mostly poor and disenfranchised) sought their own methods of handling the problem (sometimes with a coat hanger of all things). Then Congress sought to solve this issue and put a bandaid on our unwanted baby problem and abortion was legalized. If you can’t beat them, join them philosophy.

    Now before abortion protests started, did we not see the deterioration of the American family? Did we miss how sex was overused to sell everything? Where were the protests for these because this is still happening today.

    We are depleting our resources, making animals that don’t belong to us extinct and using persevatives and additives in our foods that are slowly killing us. What’s our big cause again??

    The largest drug in America is not opiods, it’s sugar. Sugar is responsible for more degenerative diseases then anything else. Where are the protests?? Of all the “walks”, “races”, and “marathons” for cures, we haven’t cured a thing. Our health care system makes the majority of it’s money treating us instead of curing us and their prices are astronomical.

    Is it possible to have a cause of abortion, but not murder? Aren’t they the same thing. There are Christians in this country who are quick to protest abortion but won’t even speak of an unarmed Black man being murdered by police. We protest fur coats, but could care less about the treatment of pigs, chickens and cows.

    We would do well to check our causes so that when we protest (and I believe we should) we can be more productive with our solutions and actually make life easier for others. And above all else, we must avoid hypocrisy!

  • Enough is enough: To live by the sword is to die by the sword

    You know, I wasn’t going to say anything about the mass shootings. I was hoping that lawmakers would develop a conscience and do the right thing for the people — atleast that’s what Democracy is supposed to be about. A system of government that is by the people and for the people.

    Clearly everyone sees this as a problem. We have had well over 200 mass shootings this year. Mass shooting is defined by the number of people killed. Somewhere, someone came up with the idea that if atleast 4 people get shot, they don’t have to die, it constitute a mass shooting. And we specialize in them.

    Congress has the task of representing “we the people” and sadly the interest of the people is not the interest of Congress. This is not a new problem as lobbying groups and corporate special interest tend to rule our country with the almighty dollar. Part of congress believes that a good guy with a gun trumps a bad guy with a gun. Clearly that’s not the case.

    There were 19 small town officers in Uvalde at the school harassing parents. They must have been afraid to go in so chances are more kids were killed than should have been. There have been copycat shooters in other states while Congress tries to figure out what to do. Our system is failing.

    Meanwhile, Canada is strengthening it’s gun laws because it is the right thing to do. Some countries, like Japan, decided that they had outgrew handguns and following a mass shooting in 1989, the country decided to band guns from their society.

    If America was not so greedy we could solve the gun problem. We have become masters at making money off the suffering of others. A statement needs to be made at the voting polls. What are you prepared to do?