Wayward Landlubber

   Bernie Sanders has brought socialism into focus. At least it is a form of socialism: democratic socialism. This is a feat not seen since Eugene V. Dobbs ran for president early in the 20th century. Those with some knowledge of history would remember that Debbs ran his campaign from prison where he had been sentenced for sedition: incitement or resistance to lawful authority.    At present we have many examples of socialism right under our noses, and they are not the ones pointed out to us by Republicans. Except for Social Security and Medicare, few of them are available to us not in the 1%. Those with the money to buy influence have been able to socialize debt while privatizing profit. This is an ancient story that has exploded since the Citizens United ruling. To add to the insult, the profits that are privatized are taxed at a far lower rate than small folk or small businesses pay. This imbalance in no way pays for the burden of socialized debt. Let's look at s...

   I'm an old bartender, which means I was once a young bartender. People think of bartenders as soft upstairs, sort of like the character of Woody from the TV sitcom Cheers. In truth, a bartender who takes pride in the craft has many skills not called for in the bartenders guide: they are called on to maintain control of drunks, to diplomatically cut them off before they lose control, they are called on to counsel the lovelorn, or the depressed, to know a little about many subjects, and of course, to have a deep knowledge of cocktail recipes as well as a taste memory of the various bottles on display.    I once worked with such a bartender. Stan was the the rare old bartender. He was then my age now. I was a young novice. Stan had an encyclopedic memory of classic cocktails and their history. People, mostly men, would stride up to the bar, lay down a $5 dollar bill and name a drink that might stump Stan. Invariably he would make the requested cocktail, charge the p...

   Our country was founded on the revolutionary idea of speaking truth to power. The preamble to the Constitution of the United States contains the phrase, " government by the consent of the governed". That is a potent weapon of resistance movements, and an ineffectual weapon for those who want to maintain power over the powerless. Liberals freely speak the truth to power, Conservatives freely speak the truth OF power. Can this axiom be defended? Maybe. Liberals and Conservatives might agree that Liberals do not have aggregated power, or do not have it for long. Evidence for this might be found in the influence of the Electoral College since the 2000 election. Conservatives fear aggregated power by Liberals and will use every method, including voter suppression, to prevent that possibility. They need not worry. Liberalism is an aspirational focus on extending power beyond the conventional boundaries; those unfamiliar or untried by most people. Liberal ideas are feared until t...