The Mason Missile, February 26, 2023

Greetings, Americans! The primary elections are coming up, and I’m again urging everyone to get out and vote. Before voting, please listen to the candidates and ask them questions, since they’ll perform works in government that would affect how we live, now and for years to come. They must not be disconnected to the people. I watched parts of President Joe Biden’s State Of The Union address, and also watched the luminaries of the Republican Party, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, make damn fools of themselves; MTG particularly acted up, yelling at Biden, when he bought up the long-term Republican goal of eliminating Social Security and Medicare. (Just so you know, I’m on both of those programs, as are millions of Americans who would face financial disaster without them.) Also, Greene, along with calling Biden “liar” and howling like she was in a poorly-run strip club, wore a fur-trimmed coat inside the chamber. (That’s all she has to offer the public; hysterics, lies, conspiracy theories, and grand-mal tantrums to get the media looking at her, rather than working on the needs of the American people—to such a low has the Republican Party sunk to.) Another freaky thing Taylor-Greene did was screaming “Liar” when Biden accused “some” republicans of wanting to end, for all time, Social Security and Medicare. (https://www.mediamatters.org/social-security/mainstream-medias-extensive-reporting-gops-efforts-cut-social-security-and-medicare). (Full disclosure, I’m on both programs, and they have been a big help to me and millions of other Americans.) The Republicans in Congress have threatened to not allow the raising of the debt ceiling unless Social Security and Medicare were damaged in some way, either by raising the eligibility age or attaining less in payments. They say they want to “sunset” the programs, and to vote on them as “discretionary” spending; their long-term goal has been, since the New Deal, to eliminate them altogether. Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah let the cat out of the bag when a video resurfaced of him telling a group, “It would be my objective to phase out Social Security, to pull it up by the roots, and get rid of it,” adding that, “Medicare and Medicaid are the same sort and need to be pulled up.” Here is the video: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8UxMnrk8qI) https://www.mediamatters.org/social-security/mainstream-medias-extensive-reporting-gops-efforts-cut-social-security-and-medicare) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iJKpSUpltE) Of course, the republicans are insulted that they’ve been called out on this, “How DARE you accuse us of destroying Social Security and Medicare?” But the evidence is there. Another Republican Senator, Risk Allen of Georgia, said, “People come up to me, and they actually want to work longer,” which is why he calls for raising the retirement age to 70 years; Ted Cruz of Texas (when he’s not in Cancun) compared Social Security to a “Ponzi scheme.” (https://www.alternet.org/proof-republicans-social-security-medicare/) So here are the receipts on the Republican War on Social Security and Medicare. Social Security and Medicare, however, enjoy overwhelming support from Americans—so why are the MAGAists and other rightists still hell-bent to destroy them? It can only be ideological fanaticism. The Republican MAGAs and their rightist cousins have lived in a doctrinal bubble, assuming without any evidence that the American people are behind them. But so far they’ve given up on that assurance, as shown by the gerrymandering of legislative district to give them an advantage in elections, and the restricting of people’s ability to vote, particularly people of color, through repressive laws and police force. And they distract us with “culture war” (oh, how I hate that phrase!) nonsense like their scare about drag-queens and intelligent discussions about race, gender, gender identity, and sexual preference. Let’s not fall for that crap. The real issue isn’t big-government-small-government—it’s about who the government works for—ALL the people, or an uber-wealthy oligarchic class? Please keep this in mind as we study the issues, and organize for the benefit of our communities. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! America will be free! Bye

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, February 20, 2023

I speak about Jewish views on reproductive rights, and the need to defend them.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, February 6, 2023

I speak about the Republican hypocrisy around the Chinese spy balloon, the decline into racism of the Republican Party, and the work of Bayard Rustin.