Carl, My how things have changed. The only pledge I had to sign as a state
employee was to agree to never accept a public benefit such as social security,
unemployment insurance, pension, or fuel assistance for the rest of my life. I
guess money speaks louder now than political leanings.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2021 3:29 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: 50 things that are better already
Thanks for jogging my memory Roger. By the time I went to work for
the State Services for the Blind, 1975, I was 4o years old and not so involved
in the marches and demonstrations that I was involved in at 20-30. But that
Hatch act was like the old pledge that so many government workers had to sign,
"I am not now, nor have I ever been a member of the Communist Party", that was
so big back in the late 40's and well past the early 60's. Such muzzles were
designed by management and corporate leaders. I remember when my uncle hired
on at Oregon State Univ., and had to sign his disclaimer. He also was given a
form to fill out which described his volunteer activities. My dad asked him if
the town's business leaders had to fill the form out, too.
That shocked my uncle.
Carl Jarvis
On 1/26/21, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The Hatch Act had a really chilling influence on my job hunt right
after I graduated from college. At the time I was heavily involved in
politics and then I realized something that I had not thought much
about until that time. The large majority of jobs available to a new
holder of a bachelor's degree in biology was in state government.
___
George H. Smith “It is my firm conviction that man has nothing to
gain, emotionally or otherwise, by adhering to a falsehood, regardless
of how comfortable or sacred that falsehood may appear. Anyone who
claims, on the one hand, that he is concerned with human welfare, and
who demands, on the other hand, that man must suspend or renounce the
use of his reason, is contradicting himself. There can be no knowledge
of what is good for man apart from knowledge of reality and human
nature, and there is no manner in which this knowledge can be acquired
except through reason. To advocate irrationality is to advocate that
which is destructive to human life.” ― George H. Smith, Atheism: The
Case Against God On 1/26/2021 1:56 PM, Carl Jarvis wrote:
It's hot air such as this that keeps me from listening to the long
winded speeches about how wonderful we are, and how much better we're
going to make the world.
In my years at the department of services for the blind, the Hatch
Act laid out the penalties for openly supporting candidates. I could
not openly support anyone running for office, even if they were unopposed.
The husband of a staff person was running for state legislature. She
put a sign on her office door. She came close to losing her job,
which would have been sad, because no one who knew the creep would
vote for him, no matter how much we liked our co-worker.
I never bothered to look up the regulation because it didn't matter
to me. Putting up signs or button holing co-workers always seemed to
be a waste of effort.
Carl Jarvis
On 1/26/21, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
7. Qualified and knowledgeable nominees have been selected for
senior spots ?
10. We are now tough on Russian human rights abuses And this is good?
Who
the hell are we to be tough on another country's human rights abuses?
11. We get normal readouts of sane conversations between the
president and foreign leaders - Like our government has always been,
and will now again be honest about what goes on between our leaders
and those of other countries 13. Manners are in, bullying is out, at
least on the surface 14. You feel calmer after hearing the presiden.
Not really 18. The president is able to articulate policy details,
coherently even .
Well, it depends on whether or not he's had a good day and aken his
meds 28. It is the Republicans not the Democrats who are in disarray
. Not exactly. There's this cowed left wing of the Democratic party
plus a bunch of people who will probably ditch it.
30. No Soviet-style fawning over the president by his subordinates
Perhaps not. But there's a whole lot of denial about how the
unpopular nominee ended up as the candidate and about his record in
politics and his mental capacities.
34. Real cable news outlets get high ratings, others not so much
What the hell does that mean? The "real cable news networks" are
propaganda outlets for the Democratic establishment.
36. Voice of America is back in the hands of actual journalists
True, but it's still a propaganda outlet of the US. It was never an
objective news source.
39. Instead of running it like a business, the new administration
will try running government competently Which means that it will be
run for the benefit of corporations 45. We have a churchgoing
president “who has spent a lifetime steeped in Christian rituals and
practices. ” This is suppossed to be a good thing?
I'm
supposed to be comforted by the fact that this country requires that
its President be a practicing Christian?
48. The White House takes the Hatch Act seriously I can't remember
exactly what that is, but I have a strong feeling that it isn't a
good thing.
t
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2021 10:54 AM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] 50 things that are better already
Whether we all agree on the following list, one thing is for certain.
There is a sense of direction coming down from the top. Our job now
is to put in the effort to direct the new energy in the directions
that will do the Working Class, and the nation, the most good.
Carl Jarvis
Opinion by
Jennifer Rubin
Columnist
Jan. 25, 2021 at 4:45 a.m. PST
President Biden has not completed his first week in office, but
already there is much to celebrate. Let’s count the ways:
1. You can ignore Twitter
2. The White House briefing room is not an Orwellian nightmare of
lies
3. We are now confronting white domestic terrorism
4. We are not paying for golf trips
5. There are no presidential relatives in government
6. The tenor of hearings is sober and serious
7. Qualified and knowledgeable nominees have been selected for
senior spots
8. We have a first lady who engages with the public
9. We have not heard a word from presidential children
10. We are now tough on Russian human rights abuses
11. We get normal readouts of sane conversations between the
president and foreign leaders
12. The White House philosophy is to underpromise and overdeliver,
not the other way around
13. Manners are in, bullying is out
14. You feel calmer after hearing the president
15. Fact-checkers are not overworked
16. Quality entertainers want to perform for the White House
17. We have seen the president’s tax records
18. The president is able to articulate policy details, coherently
even
19. The worst the press can come up with is the president’s watch
20. We have a White House staff that looks like America
21. We have a national covid-19 plan
22. Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases Anthony S. Fauci is liberated, sounds happy and even looks
younger
23. Fauci, not the president, briefs on the science of covid-19 and
efficacy of vaccines
24. Masks and social distancing in the White House
25. The White House has policy initiatives and proposals, not merely
leaving it all to Congress
26. The administration is committed to releasing information, not
covering it up, on the slaughter of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
27. The Muslim ban is gone
28. It is the Republicans not the Democrats who are in disarray
29. The national security adviser has not been fired for lying to
the FBI
30. No Soviet-style fawning over the president by his subordinates
31. The president takes daily, in-person intelligence briefings
32. The president does not care about Air Force One colors
33. We have a president familiar with the Constitution
34. Real cable news outlets get high ratings, others not so much
35. President Andrew Jackson is out of the Oval Office, Benjamin
Franklin is in
36. Voice of America is back in the hands of actual journalists
37. We get memes about Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), not crowd size
38. We are back in the Paris climate accord and the World Health
Organization
39. Instead of running it like a business, the new administration
will try running government competently
40. We have a president who doesn’t think military service is for
“suckers”
and who doesn’t send his “love” to people assaulting law enforcement
41. The secretary of treasury nominee has her own Hamilton lyrics
42. Amanda Gorman is a household name
43. More than two-thirds of Americans approve of the White House
covid-19 approach.
44. No more work-free “executive time” in the presidential living
quarters
45. We have a churchgoing president “who has spent a lifetime
steeped in Christian rituals and practices.”
46. We have first dogs
47. The vice president’s spouse does not teach at a school that bars
LGBTQ students
48. The White House takes the Hatch Act seriously
49. The administration wants...
*Oops! Sorry to have cut off the last two.