Where is Dave Reichert?

I sort of got off track today.

I was going to a protest rally for a local Senator, not mine, who's voting all Trump all of the time. The Congressman is Dave Reichert. Trump Nation is arriving and the Republican-led Congress generally isn't seeing the danger signs yet. John McCain and Linsdey Graham get it, but most of the rest of them don't. Not yet.

Instead of representing their constituents, they're still letting the Trump administration plow services and regulation under, as Bannon said, ' the deconstruction of the administrative state.' That's double-speak for eliminating the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Urban Development and Housing, and the National Parks. These may not be the most efficient government programs, but they do a lot of good for our country and our people. How much more of an overt message do moderate Republicans need that the Trump administration isn't draining the swamp as much as sucking the swamp dry? Corporate deregulation is also part of their mission. The Republican majority Congress is still going along with it all and resisting the protests of real people at their town hall meetings, if they arranged the meetings at all.

Reichert put a camera and a lock on his door and won't open it except for people with appointments. Today, he threatened to cancel an appointment with the local Indivisible group if any people showed up to protest in conjunction with the meeting, even a silent protest that aligned with local police requirements.

Other Republican Congressmen faced angry constituents in their town hall meetings, reluctantly, but with some grace. Reichert refused to host a town hall at all. Oh yesterday, he did this Facebook live thing, but who knows if he answered any of the real questions. You couldn't even watch unless you first 'liked' him. I don't consider this Facebook live to be a live event, just picture one man in a room with an assistant. Nope. That's really just someone hiding out in a room and pretending it's an event. And with Facebook live, you can edit lots of what people see and hear. It's not a town hall meeting at all.

So, Reichert used to be the Sheriff of King County. He has experience with the public. Yet, he's too afraid of his constituents to unlock his door and face them except for extremely closely vetted individuals. He even coached other Congressmen to make sure their local offices had back doors from which they could escape. We're just a bunch of angry moms, dads, and grandparents, not vagrants or criminals.

But last week, Reichert voted to give people with extreme mental illness access to guns. Seriously. I wonder if he can see the irony in that vote.

So then, I didn't have anything to do this afternoon. I was too worried to keep watching the news. Instead, I made pancakes for Nick's sleepover kids and walked the dog. I really need to take a break from it all now and then. It's incredibly vexing. When I got back, Nick and I watched a couple of episodes of Neil DeGrasse Tyson in Cosmos on Netflix.

We watched science on television. Science is on the chopping block too, so I felt rather patriotic while I did it, standing up against the oppressive government in the name of learning more science and defying the anti-evolutionists.

I'll get back to active protesting tomorrow. I will. I promise.

Thank you for listening, jb
 

An Open Letter to Paul Ryan

An Open Letter to Paul Ryan:

When two great powers grapple, they often lock arms in a stalemate, neither side moving forward or gaining traction. But when one power is suddenly removed, the other often loses balance and begins to fall forward.

You finally have control of the Legislative, the Executive, and soon enough, the Judiciary branches of the United States government.

After millions of ordinary people around the world just marched against the direction the Executive branch of our government is headed, it might behoove those of you in the Legislative branch to reassess your priorities. Some Republicans have already begun, including John McCain.

A continued battle against President Obama's achievements may very well backfire. There is no great power in the government opposing you now. What makes more sense than continuing to oppose President Obama is to address the achievements you would like to make in service to the people of the United States.

Do you want to lower the deficit? What about reinforcing income and healthcare for our soldiers, the ones who gave up their health in service to their country? Why not simplify the tax code, making it more fair for all citizens? I'm not suggesting you make it more profitable for corporations. Corporations are not people. You could bolster funding to our system of education, bringing new energy into our flagging technical skills. Now is the time for you to seek balance.

Most of your population has beliefs that lie in between the two party's creeds. I vote as a centrist. I voted for Reagan and Bush Sr. both times. Since then, I have voted as a Democrat because I haven't liked the Republican candidates. I still see myself in the center, hoping for progress in that direction while allowing the greatest amount of freedom for all people.

How can Republicans best serve the people of the United States? Jobs? The pursuit of technology? Education? President Reagan was pro-education. What about the conservative use of our natural resources? President Theodore Roosevelt created many of our National Parks. There are great Republicans who served our nation.

Millions of people have just voted on January 21 in the Women's March on Washington. Pay attention. These people protested what they saw as ignorant and profiteering moves by our incoming Executive branch of government, Trump and his inexpert and billionaire Cabinet.

Listen!

Use your power in service to the people of the United States, not in opposition to President Obama. He is no longer in office! Look at what you want to achieve, at the legacy you intend to create. What is happening now is NOT it. You intend to confirm a leader of the Department of Energy who does not know what the DOE does and has a degree in animal husbandry. The intended leader for the Department of Education thinks bears enter the classroom and that teachers want to carry guns. The expected leader for the Department of Housing and Urban Development does not believe in supporting low income housing. An individual in the Oval Office has deep ties to Russia and is breaking the emoluments clause, making a profit from his position. Not only that, he brags about felony assault on women and is known for liquidating corporations for the cash he can get from them. He ignores most of his security briefings and taunts leaders of foreign countries he doesn't like. Plus, he costs a million dollars a day by staying at Trump towers. As a citizen, I don't want to pay for that. Are you just going to let all of this happen because you are still in the mindset of opposing President Obama? President Obama is no longer pushing back.

Be careful that you don't lose your balance and fall on your face.

Thank you for listening, jb