The Mason Moment, September 19, 2021 (Sequence 1)

I speak about the need to stand up to anti-vaccine-anti-mask bullies who prevent the rest of us from resisting COVID.

The Mason Moment, Sept. 1, 2021

I speak of Labor Day and the role of American workers in our economy and society.

The Mason Missile, August 26, 2021

Greetings, Americans! We are currently in the month of Elul, the month preceding Rosh Ha’Shona, the Jewish New Year, the time of self-reflection, self-evaluation, and forgiveness, for yourself and others. I take this time now to say, if anyone out there has offended me, I forgive you; and if I had offended anyone out there, I ask for your forgiveness. We need these times for self-reflection, of analyzing our behavior and our thought patters. We are all human and thus subject to failures and errors, and Lord, I made more than a few in my day. That’s is one thing I’ve been working on, as a lot of people have, forgiving myself of my errors and negative traits, learning from them, and moving past it; this also comes under self-esteem, the reminder that you (and I) and worthy of all that is positive. That’s been an ongoing job for me, and it’s not over yet. In September, it will be 40 years living in Philadelphia; I’ve been through some experiences, some pretty rough, and have gone through some changes, but I’m pleased with how things have turned out for me. I’m glad for the opportunity to make a positive contribution to my community, and I continue to do so. I have zero tolerance for these fools who refuse to face the reality of COVID-19,, and who refuse to put masks on and/or take the vaccine; due to this willful ignorance, we’re facing the Delta Variant, as we hoped that we can finally put this behind us. The anti-vax-anti-mask people have been militant to the point of threatening to kill doctors and nurses who have been working constantly to cure people affected by the virus, along with throwing tantrums in school board meetings and tearing the masks off people, evoking the word “freedom.” (https://www.inquirer.com/wires/ap/mask-vaccine-conflicts-descend-into-violence-harassment-20210821.html) A lot of Republican hacks are playing up to this crowd, such as Governors Ron DeSantis (Florida) and Greg Abbott (Texas), along with Congress-idiot Jim Jordan of Ohio, they rant about “freedom” and “no government overreach” and “parents should control their kids and not the government,” giving no thought about the spread of the virus; so these people, and their kids who are told to go back to school while the virus is still floating in the atmosphere, are expendable. Several cities, including Philadelphia, are becoming stricter in demanding mask-wearing and proof of vaccination. I’m not an authoritarian, but the damn virus is STILL out there, noting to play around with, something to take seriously. I am definitely pleased with the increase in vaccinations over the last month. (https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/20/health/us-coronavirus-friday/index.html?utm_term=16294596046618e3d5769f7f1&utm_source=cnn_Five+Things+for+Friday%2C+August+20%2C+2021&utm_medium=email&bt_ee=ni5q19hDJ0hCyQtn0Mjaea8nV1lIvuI2fNRC4iUD6x2Ka8Dbn2qqdcNJU4Agudqu&bt_ts=1629459604664) Let’s not let the bullies and fools push us around; let’s take the vaccine (and the booster when it comes around), put he mask on if a facility requires it, wash our hands, and look out for each other. The results of the 2020 Census are in. There has been a decline in the birth rate of non-Hispanic whites, and the population of those over eighteen has increased; there have been significant increases in the Asian and Hispanic populations. (https://www.inquirer.com/wires/ap/census-data-us-is-diversifying-white-population-shrinking-20210813.html) (https://www.inquirer.com/wires/ap/explainer-5-takeaways-release-2020-census-data-20210812.html) This is what has white nationalists freaked out-the end of their numerical dominance. They realize this and now they’re playing defense, advocating these efforts to limit voting rights such as voter-ID laws and restrictions on where drop-off boxes are located. They can also double into the anti-vax-anti-mask crusade, since extremist movements tend to meld into each other. You can also throw in religious cranks and such conspiracy theories as Q-Anon. These are the elements have to stand up to, if we want to save the health of our bodies, and the health of our democracy. They are, alas, beyond reasoning with-like school bullies (I have my share of problems with them) they see reasoning and negotiation as weak, and they have so problem with attacking us. We MUST and CAN and WILL stand up to them, in the vaccination clinic and the voting booth. I know we’re up to the task; we have a whole history of freedom-fighting behind us. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! America will be free! Bye!

The Mason Moment, August 24, 2021

I advocate for Medicare For All, the For The People Act, the John Lewis Voting Righst Act, and the PRO Act.

The Mason Moment Aug. 16, 2021

I speak about the need to vaccinate against COVID.

The Mason Moment, August 6, 2021

I speak of the passing of Rich Trumka, and of the need for workers to organize for their defense

The Mason Missile, July 23, 2021

Greetings, Americans! The assaults on our democracy go on, with the passage of restricting voting laws going through Republican-dominated state legislatures, including Pennsylvania. I commend the Democrats of the Texas legislature, who exiled themselves to Washington to prevent a quorum from voting on the voting-restriction bills. (https://www.texastribune.org/2021/07/12/texas-democrats-voting-bill-quorum/) Governor Greg Abbot has threatened to arrest these legislators if they come back to the state; but they’re national heroes, and I commend them. This was a bold action, and we must take bold action to stand for the essential right to vote; take that vote away, and we lose all the others. This is what the late, great John Lewis, congress-member from Georgia and one of the heroes of the Civil-Rights struggle meant when he said, “Get into good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” (https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/john-lewis-quotes/?template=next) The idea against popularly-based democracy in this nation has a long history-the idea that a minority must have veto power over the majority. During the drafting of the Constitution in 1797-in Philadelphia-southern states know that, as they were an agricultural society, and the northern states were more heavily populated, any popular vote would turn against them, and the northern states could end up voting against the slavery system, while-this was the real danger to the slave system-slaves could united with poor white and overturn the dominance of the planter class-and the planter class tried to model itself on the noble classes of Europe, which still dominated their societies-but their dominance was starting to slip away. John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, one of the great statesmen of the period between the war of 1812 and just before the Civil War-one of the “Great Triumvirate” alongside of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. Calhoun, in his posthumous book Disquisition of Government, promoted the idea of “concurrent majorities.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrent_majority) This is the idea that a majority of interests groups in a nation, and not the majority of the population as a whole, vote on an issue to approve it. This idea was used during the Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833, when he was against the Tariff of 1828, the “Tariff of Abominations.” Calhoun used the idea of Concurrent Majorities to make any federal tariff not apply in South Carolina if the legislature did not approve of it. (https://www.ushistory.org/us/24c.asp) The opposition to democracy, once skimming around the fringe of our politics with lip service to “democracy,” is crawling out of the political woodwork and into the political mainstream. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) said of this country “We’re not a democracy,” and later, ““Democracy isn’t the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity (sic) are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that.” (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-lee-democracy/democracy-isnt-the-objective-republican-u-s-senator-draws-democrats-ire-idUSKBN26T2YX And again, from Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky): “The idea of democracy and majority rule really is what goes against our history and what the country stands for,” and “The Jim Crow laws came out of democracy. That’s what you get when the majority ignores the rights of others.” (https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/rand-paul-latest-gop-question-democracy-majority-rule-n1270697) (I’m dating myself here: I remember the administration of Richard Nixon, when, as he expanded the Viet Nam War into Cambodia, he asked for support from the “vast silent majority” of Americans. The Republicans right has always used the argument of “We’re the majority of Americans, and we don’t care about your issues” as a way of evading the problems of racial discrimination, LGBTQ oppression, the environment, etc. they’re for the majority when it’s convenient for them, but they know now they’re becoming less and less a majority.) Ruling elites have tried, and still try, to find some rationale for negating or vetoing any popular effort for social reform. This is the idea behind the shit-ass “fiction” and “philosophy” of Ayn Rand: The Superior Man-always a man to Rand-is a billionaire resisting his “inferiors” in telling him how he should run his business, no matter what damage he does to his workers, the local community, or the environment; and he, the Superior Man, presents himself as the person being oppressed. (It’s an old story, of a once-dominant group passing itself off as an “oppressed minority.”) Race and ethnicity enter into this mix, and further “scientific” excuse could be formulated to justify further social inequality affecting all of the lower classes, of all races and ethnicities. From what we have seen in the past several decades, from Reagan through the t---p takeover of the Republican Party, corporate moguls and their political serfs, left by themselves, do NOT have the interests of the American public at heart; by indulging them like a bratty kids they are (I have ZERO respect for them), they have turned the federal treasury into their own personal piggy bank to tap into when their “free market” turns sour on them, as with the S&L bailout of 1990 to the Federal reserve’s loans to the mortgage companies after the 2008 Crash-and the general public, us working and low-income people, and still struggling with food, mortgage payments, and medical bills. Let’s stop falling for the bullshit! We must and will come together and make our elected officials know our grievances are real and our cause is just. Along with that, we will continue to educate ourselves on the issues, formulate solutions, and communicate our beliefs. The ruling elites portray working and low-income people as racist, ignorant, and only interested in the hottest video games; let’s give them one rude awakening. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! America will be free! Bye!