My Soapbox

In this episode, I discuss my frustration with the blatant conflict of interest by allowing our elected officials police themselves, as they will not hold themselves and their colleagues accountable.  This will undoubtedly be demonstrated once again with the almost certain acquitting of Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial since not enough members of Congress have the intestinal fortitude or the spine necessary to do the right thing, which should be obvious to anyone who has seen the evidence of the former President of the United States inciting the horrendous riot on the Capital on January 6, 2021.  I talk about why only We The People should be holding our elected officials accountable via a simple vote on such things as conviction of an impeached elected official, because We The People are the only ones who can hold them accountable. Voting for representatives is not enough - not when dishonest and bought and paid for leaders do not represent the people, but instead their corporate donors and fellow Q'Anon conspirators, nor can they be trusted to enact accountability on themselves. I also discuss the obvious conflict of interest with allowing our elected officials be bribed by lobbyists and corporate donations, which should be banned forever within the United States government to help mitigate this obvious and corruption-producing conflict of interest. 

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In this episode I discuss the rise of Authoritarianism in the United States, and the parallel between Authoritarianism in government and religion characterized by blind submission to authority, as opposed to individual freedom of thought and action. I discuss why it is not surprising given the United States' religious predilections why so many in our country would embrace Authoritarianism as a shortcut over Democracy due to our "want it now" mentality and wanting to simplify an ever-increasingly complicated world.  I also reflect on some of my thoughts about the recent controversial conversation between Sam Harris and nondualist Jim Newman on Sam's "Waking Up" app. 

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In this episode I discuss some of the new promising news on the Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines and their overall general effectiveness - including the great likelihood they prevent both disease and spreading the virus. This is in contrast to what I had previously understood in my episode 123 "A Shot in the Arm" about the vaccines possibly being effective against getting bad cases of Covid but not necessarily stopping the spread of Covid. In other words, it was once said you could potentially be a "silent vaccinated spreader" of Covid, which to my mind is not a genuine vaccination.  I am pleased to hear that with enough vaccination and with the cases dropping some 35 percent overall in the past two weeks, we may just have reason to be more optimistic than I had previously thought. 

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In this episode, I reflect on the horrendous display of mob violence on the Federal Capitol today, as rioters stormed the very building during Congress' attempt to officially certify the 2020 election results. The result was four dead, three medical emergencies, and an unprecedented dark moment in American history when a sitting president incites mob violence because his injured pride cannot accept a lawful election result and reality itself. I discuss the possibility of Trump being removed from office via the 25th Amendment.  I also discuss the incredible victory for Democrats to win back the Senate after winning two Georgia state runoff elections with Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock defeating David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. With Biden's victory and the Senate now majority Democratic, I speak of some optimism that America now at least has a chance to move forward with a better Covid-19 vaccine distribution program, dialing down the white hot temperature, violence, and divisions in this country, and restore some national credibility.   

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In this episode I reflect on some of my thoughts on Beethoven during the 250th anniversary of his birth on December 16, 1770.  Some things I reflect upon are his great humanity in overcoming tremendous challenges in his life such as his ever-increasing deafness, his personal failures at finding a wife, his struggle for custody of his nephew Karl with Karl's mother, and the eventual tragedy which results from Beethoven's abusive treatment of Karl and his failed attempt at trying to turn him into another Beethoven musical prodigy.  Also discussed is his role in my opinion as the first truly "modern" composer who almost single-handedly put an end to Classicism in Western Music, began Romanticism in earnest, as well as some of the parallels I see in the 19th Century Beethoven with another musical revolutionary, the 20th Century Stravinsky, as re-definers of modernism in Western Music.  I also ponder the amazing evolution of Beethoven's extraordinary music over the span of 56 years of life, culminating in the Ninth Symphony and his last five late-period string quartets.  

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In this episode, I discuss the F.D.A. clearing the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine yesterday, Friday, December 11, 2020, and why regardless of its efficacy, this will not be the immediate "shot in the arm" some believe it will be in allowing society to "get back to normal" or "ground zero." Social distancing, mask wearing, and all of the other preventative protective measures that have been recommended for months by medical health professionals will still be needed for quite some time to get the now out of control pandemic more under control. Another extremely important point I emphasize is that Dr. Fauci, the Johns Hopkins website, and other credible public health sources are advising that while the vaccine may prevent one from getting ill and having symptoms, it does not mean you cannot contract the virus itself and spread it to others, meaning for all intents and purposes that until the infection numbers plummet to minuscule levels, we will still need to wear masks, social distance, work from home, etc., for the indefinite future.  

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In this episode I discuss my thoughts on a booklet I received last Sunday entitled "Two Ways to Live" outlining the binary options of either 1. Live our way resulting in death and judgement, or 2. Live God's new way to be forgiven by God and given eternal life.  I discuss why this simplistic, binary option is false, and what I perceive to be "a third way" to live - namely the way of critical thinking, sound reasoning, compassion, rational thought, respect for others as well as for the truth above all else, even when the truth hurts or displeases us, which has nothing to do with belief in God as defined by Christianity.

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In this episode I discuss my great elation and relief with the victory of President Elect Joe Biden and in my view the larger and more important victory of Democracy itself with the vote determining the outcome instead of fraudulent litigation and legal disputes by disgruntled Trump Republicans. I also express the beautiful poetic symbolism that Democracy in 2020 would be won in the state of the City of Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence was signed since Biden’s winning of Pennsylvania earned him the Presidency in 2020 as the incoming 46th President of the United States.

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In this brief episode, I share the most recent revelation I had about why it is Donald Trump is even competitive in a genuine, credible election. It is at least in part because he leads not a party, but a religious cult. It is "the Gospel According to Trump" if you will because the super-irrational following and almost literal worship of him despite his incessant lies and incredible flaws that are even known and accepted by his followers is eerily reminiscent of the way gullible and vulnerable people can get trapped into following a super-charismatic cult leader for purely emotional reasons that have nothing to do with logic, reason, evidence, etc. I have come to realize that the reason for the double-standards and the fact the rules are different for Trump than for other politicians is because he isn't a politician, but a cult leader competing against politicians. It's apples and unicorns. They don't play by the same rules because they aren't the same animal.  This is a cult against a party, which is a frightening place for America to be when religious radical cult following infiltrates our democratic institutions.  It is clear to me this problem is far greater than just the figurehead of Donald Trump, who managed to somehow wave his magic wand over the Republican Party and hijacked them into becoming the Cult of Donald Trump and with his loyal followers. I can only hope with a possible Biden election, some normal Republicans will come to their senses. One can only hope. 

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