Mission Statement: Calamity News and Politics

CALAMITY POLITICS LLC 

 CALAMITY NEWS AND POLITICS.COM

Calamity and Lucifer Can't believe what they are hearing?

Federal, state and municipal government are the target of Calamity and friends. Calamity believes you can’t just sit on the sidelines. Political activity by dark money and right-wing  ideological forces are damaging our democracy. Health care, criminal justice, wealth inequality, abortion, civil rights, voter suppression, taxation and other social issues are both a moral and sociopolitical imperative in the age of Trumpianity and neo-Fascism.

UPDATE

Calamity News and Politics has been in existence for nearly six years.  CNP brings you the latest political news, health care updates, and information on climate change and weird news about talking crows in Grants Pass, Oregon and other silliness that comes to our attention. Our liberal e-magazine brings you political news analysis, delving into dark and dangerous politics!

But, we are not just liberal political news.  CNP has funny video casts, informative lifestyle articles, and authors from the far flung corners of the world. Check out Calamity News and Politics.

Fair and unbalanced!

            MISSION/POLICY STATEMENT

Big Fonts and Lots of Pictures

This is D.S. Mitchell, otherwise known as “Calamity”.  I am Editor, and Chief-Rabble-Rouser at Calamity Politics LLC.  You can find us at www.CalamityNews and Politics.com or www.CalamityPolitics.com. CalamityPolitics is a political blog with a distinct and proud progressive agenda. Calamity News and Politics uses an e-magazine format. You know, big fonts, and lots of pictures. We talk blue news, but we are not just about the state of politics in the United States.  We talk the ugly, the outrageous, the mind-boggling and the nail-biting aspects of  the partisan wars, but we also talk a lot about health and wellness issues, breaking news, and entertainment.

Mud-Wrestling Political Parties

Calamity Politics LLC presents relevant and controversial progressive news. The topics of political conversation are up for analysis and debate. The focus is primarily on the U.S. domestic political scene. The Calamity Politics LLC team  looks at the good, the bad; the planned, the unplanned; the dignity and the absurdity that is Washington, D.C., otherwise known as the mud-wrestling capital of American politics.

A Progressive News Source

Calamity News and Politics is more than just a progressive news source.  We here at Calamity Politics LLC believe in, and support, opportunity and inclusion for all American citizens. The shrinking Republican party has become a party of  dark money, white supremacy, voter suppression, and Fascism.

We also keep you up to date with the latest news on health, entertainment and any bright shiny object that catches our attention.  Check out our funny and informative video casts, news analysis and lifestyle articles from our amazing contributors.

Become a Candidate of Change

We don’t expect our readers to agree with all the policies Calamity Politics LLC staffers have outlined below, but if you agree with even half of them you should be talking to Democratic candidates and committing to vote a Democratic ticket. Or, if you are a hands on kind of person, get out in the community, and run for office. Whether it is a position on the school board, the state legislature or as national candidate the liberal army needs volunteers.  The progressive movement needs good, strong, and smart candidates as well as voters.

A Social Policy Statement

AbortionCalamity New and Politics supports Pro-Choice. We at Calamity Politics LLC  believe it is imperative to codify Roe.  Here we are in 2023 and the girls of this generation are expected to give birth to a rapist’s baby, even if she is only 10 years old. Hell on earth created by those who say they speak for God. Something just ain’t right here folks.

Affordable Care Act (Obama Care): First we need to save it. That means voting for Joe Biden and flipping the Senate Blue.  If we accomplish those two major hurdles , CNP suggests that we start with major repairs to the ACA system. Republicans have done a great deal of damage over the last ten years trying to gut the program.  Health care reform is imperative. The desperate straits of many Americans has been exposed with the COVID-19 pandemic. In America, if you have no job, you have no health care. I like many others believe universal health care is a human right. The United States is the only industrialized society that does not give its citizens health care. Support candidates that believe universal health care is a “right”.

Citizens United:  The Citizen’s United decision is just one of the terrible decisions of the John Robert’s Supreme Court. We must limit money in political campaigns. Dark money corrupts lawful government. We need to move to government funding of presidential elections, until then, we will see more and more corruption.  The Citizens United decision symbolizes the corporate take over of democracy. This decision, perhaps more than any other, exposes the extent to which wealthy and powerful interests are dominating American politics and policy. Big money continues to disrupt every part of the progressive agenda. Environmental protections, health care, abortion rights, criminal justice, and the minimum wage are under assault, and Chief Justice Robert’s is carrying the gun.

Civil Disobedience:  Take to the streets if you feel the urge. Organized resistance is imperative to show the Trump administration and the GOP that we disapprove of their actions. Calamity Politics LLC supports the First Amendment. Speak out. Carry signs, but don’t destroy property. It never helps. Remember the non-violent resistance of Gandhi, and Dr. King moved nations and changed history.

Climate Change Imperative:  The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically shown that man’s activities have a negative impact on the planet. Recognition  of such negative effects should make it obvious that we need regulation. We need significant change in government leadership. Drastic cuts of the EPA budget could mark the destruction of the United States by toxic waste. Make climate change an issue to vote on.  I am confident that Joe Biden will be talking about the climate crisis. Trump is destroying many forward thinking programs of the Obama Administration. We are at a tipping point. We have only one mother, time to protect her.

Collective Bargaining:  Support strong unions. Recognize that the shrinking middle class is directly related to the destruction of the union movement in the United States. Oppose Employee Free Choice Act. Support and encourage union membership and action.

Criminal Justice Reform: Oppose “for profit penitentiaries.” Oppose laws that target minorities. Support state payment of DNA testing. Fight for criminal justice reform. Time to release non-violent, elderly prisoners during the coronavirus pandemic, not just those politically supported.

Education:  Support public education. Encourage business to provide scholarships for needy students. Scholarships paid for my schooling and I would love to see more young people benefit from such programs. Come on American business, step up. Bring some real money to help lower-income kids access big name schools. Access to free college would change lives and this country. Education is the foundation of tolerance and peace. Time to increase taxes on the wealthy. Free college education would empower a generation and our country.

Electoral College: Abolish the Electoral College. Legal basis for the abolition of the EC is “Taxation without Representation,” “Due Process” AND “Equal Protection.” Let’s bury this horrible mechanism instituted to win over the southern slave owners. Time is long past. Many states have enacted legislation that will hopefully bring an end to this horrible institution, which is in fact, disenfranchisement.  The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is an agreement among a group of states and the District of Columbia to award all their electoral college votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the overall popular vote in the 50 states and D. C. The compact is designed to make sure that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide is elected president. We have had two horrible presidents in the last twenty years. The election of each was based on winning the electoral college. 

Environment:  Recognize that man’s activities have a negative effect on our fragile environment, and as such, should be subject to regulation. Trump has chosen to allow corporations legislative cover to destroy our environment. We must stop them. Oppose Trump’s proposed cuts to the EPA budget. Science should be the basis of environmental policy and government decisions, not those corporate entities that donated the most money to a political campaign.

Fund Raising:  Raise money for the Democratic Party at all levels. Promote young, forward thinking candidates. We must excite the youth of America.  We must convince the young people that they can have a voice in government policy, and then challenge them to take part. Participate in our government by voting, donating to progressive parties and candidates running for office. ACTIVATE. The Retrogressive policies of the Republicans and the Trump Administration are harmful to the planet, and our democracy. We must vote them out.

Lobbyists:  Support lobbying restrictions. They give money or other benefits for particular favors. Lobbyists can have both a positive and a negative impact on the government and the direction of policy. Works that way on both sides of the aisle. The overall impact of lobbying is bad for democracy. It is to such a pathetic state that Trump has appointed lobbyists to key administration positions.

Gerrymandering:  At this point, I worry that the Republicans, at the state level, have reshaped the elective districts of the varying states, to such an extent, that I am not confident that we can even elect a Democrat, or an Independent president. Here again the Robert’s Supreme Court has suggested that a “presumption of legislative good faith” outweighs racial discrimination. With the 2019 Rucho v Common Cause, case Roberts, in a 5-4 decision closed the casket lid on partisan gerrymandering. Roberts declared it was up to the voters to undo the gerrymandered mapping. This despite overwhelming evidence that election results have advantaged the party that draws the maps.

Gun Control:  Calamity Politics, LLC supports the 2nd Amendment, but we strongly support restrictions on purchase of handguns to the mentally ill  and the domestically violent. The government should restrict access to semi-automatic weapons to all private citizens. I oppose silencers. We need to stop the bloodshed. We had 417 mass shootings in the United States in 2019. Let’s use common sense and stop the inflammatory rhetoric. When schools were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, there were no school shootings, the first time since 2002. Well, 2022 has brought violence to our schools with a renewed violence. It is now official. Gun violence is the leading cause of death in American children. A stark reminder that children’s lives are at risk and our government seems a willing prisoner of the NRA.

Health Care:  Health Care is a right of citizenship. Goal: single payer system under the Medicare umbrella. Monitor the Congress for any behind closed doors activities to destroy the ACA. The Department of Justice under Trump was in court arguing for the repeal of ACA. We need to expand health care in this country not restrict it.

Immigration:  Comprehensive reform.  With an estimated 11-15 million illegal immigrants in this country we need to facilitate paths to citizenship for these people. First of all, we need to recognize that not all undocumented people in the U.S. crossed the border from Mexico. Most undocumented folks in this country came here legally, by airplane and over stayed their visas. It is time to stop buying into the Trump philosophy of ending the immigration of people of color into the country. We should honor the “Dreamers” contract. I believe in a kind and gentle handling of the people who have migrated here, legally or illegally. People have kids, they have relationships, these people are human beings and should be treated with dignity and respect. These people are here because they want a better life. A dream that is recognizable to all of us.

Infrastructure: : Two dams have collapsed a few years ago in Michigan displacing more than 10,ooo people. The road I drive down every morning has craters reminiscent of those on the moon. Half the bridges in the USA are at risk of collapse. This situation can be the fuel for millions of jobs for the future. It has become an imperative to rebuild our infrastructure. Time to rebuild our crumbling roads, airports, bridges, water treatment, dams and sewer systems. Time to move from fossil fuels to the new green future.

Investigations:  There are so many investigations that should be started. Currently, Mike Pompeo should resign. It is clear every progressive voter in this country must turn out and sweep the corruption of McConnell, Graham, and Trump out of office. Every voter, in every city, county and state needs to run Trump and his Master Vladimir Putin out of the people’s house.

Law Making:  All candidates for elected federal positions in the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches must provide no less than 5-7 years of income taxes for public scrutiny. All candidates for any Federal position must divest themselves of all investments or place their personal fortunes in a blind trust. No ownership of individual stocks can be permitted. No exceptions. We have to look no further than Richard Burr, Dianne Feinstein, Kelly Loeffler and James Inhofe who are under investigation for questionable stock sales prior to the designation of the coronavirus as a pandemic.

LGBT:  : Support human rights.  Resist efforts to turn back. Fight against voter suppression. Demand transgender protections.

Medicare/Medicaid:  Protect Medicare from privatization, voucher system, or phase out. Protect 55 million recipients of Medicare and the 70 million recipients of Medicaid. Support broadening either of the systems preferably Medicaid to give us universal health care.

Military:  Maintain strong military. Diplomacy over military action when possible. The adventures in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan must be reviewed and the deployment of our military to fight endless wars must come to an end. It is time the internal interests of the US need to be weighed against the fruitless undeclared wars. Illegitimate arms sales to Saudi Arabia must be investigated. NATO is essential to our defense, we must protect and improve the relationship we have with those partners.

Popular vote:  One person one vote. Abolish the Electoral College. Support the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

Retake State Governorships, US Senate, and Presidency:  Work with Democratic Party and Progressive Independents to take back the Senate, White House and state governorships.

Same Sex Marriage:  Support the Law.  Resist any efforts to turn back the clock.

Social Security & SSI:  Maintain and strengthen. Protect benefits of 65.1 million people who paid for years into the system.

Supreme Court: All you have to do is pick up the newspaper or turn on cable news and you will hear about the abuses, the corruption, the chicanery, the grift, of numerous Supreme Court Justices. Time to stop this outrage.  Unless action is taken to expand the number of justices on the court the heavy imbalance of conservatives on the court will last possibly 4o years; changing the high court for a predicted two generations. With a rash of terrible recent decisions and the reports of endless corruption it is time to write ethics guidelines, initiate term limits, and most importantly expand the court to 15 jurists.

Tax Law:  Every corporation and every person must pay their fair share. Inheritance Tax on estates valued at over $5,000,000. I personally support a 20% flat tax on all citizens earning an income whether through investment or labor. I call it a “patriot tax.”

Term Limits: It is long past time to place term limits on politicians. It has become obvious that the longer a politician holds office the richer they become and the more indebted to rich donors they become. Let’s stop the stupid. Term limits make sense.

USPS: The U. S. post office is guaranteed by the Constitution. Demand Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump fund this essential service. Right now the USPS is in big trouble. Please contact your government officials and demand they fund this national treasure.

Veteran’s Affairs:  Support the VA. The Veteran’s Affairs Health System is the largest health care system in the country. I was a VA nurse for 3 years and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I felt honored to serve those that had served our country.

Vote By Mail: Recent actions have proven that we need to end voter suppression. One of the easiest ways is to implement vote by mail. Oregon, Washington, and Colorado have had such systems in place for a quarter century. The programs work great. Let’s do it.

Voter ID:  Revise social security card to make it legal identification in all 50 states and territories. It will be your voter id. No more purges. Once you register, you are registered for life.

Voting Rights:  Encourage voter registration. Fight voter suppression by all states and entities. Let’s move to vote by mail.

Wall Street:  Protect the public from the flagrant banking excesses of the early 21st century.       

FOREIGN POLICY

Australia:  Maintain strong ties.

Canada:  Maintain strong ties

Europe: Maintain strong ties.

U.K.: Maintain strong ties.

China: Clamp down on corporate and political espionage.  Speak out against the genocide against the Ughyurs. Speak out against the intrusions by the Chinese government in Hong Kong.

Iran:  Offer financial programs to cut sanctions and monitor Iranian nuclear program.

Israel:  Maintain secure independent state. Reduce financial aid if Israel continues its building program in the contested West Bank region. Demanding that Israel protect human rights is the right thing to do.

Japan:  Maintain strong ties. Support a trade compact with Asian partners.

Mexico: Work with our southern neighbor to protect and expand trade, limit illegal immigration and stop drugs. Spend money on drones, cameras and keep up fencing currently in place. Reject a “wall”. Stop downgrading the Mexican people. Recognize Canada, Mexico and the United States are dependent on one another and together are powerful and desirable trading partners. It is reasonable to rewrite NAFTA and bolster the trading agreement to help the U.S. but certainly never just walk away from the treaty or the relationships between the three countries.

Russia:  Maintain sanctions. Aggressive push back against Russia’s incursions in the United States elections. No visits to Russia by either Secretary of State or President of the United States at this time in our history.

NATO:  Support NATO treaties and obligations.

TRADE

Recognize globalization is the future, but we as a country must keep up our own strong manufacturing base.  It makes no sense to be totally dependent on other countries for the most essential products. We should be seeking favorable trade agreements with favored trading blocks and promoting the great American products. We are weaker trying to go it alone.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Heart of the Matter

Finally, the devil is always in the details. I love this country with my entire being and want the best for ALL of its citizens, not just a few rich guys from Goldman Sachs, Exxon Mobil, Dow Chemical or the Trump Organization. With those thoughts in mind, I support the above outlined agenda and because of the highlighted issues. I also support a straight party line vote for Democratic candidates, or Progressive Independents at all levels of government.  I believe, if a candidate declares Independent, but supports Democratic ideals and intends to vote with the Democratic caucus, that person would be a satisfactory substitute for a less desirable Democratic candidate.

In This Together

As I noted at the beginning of the Mission Statement for CalamityPolitics.com and CalamityNewsandPolitics.com I support the social safety net. Human rights are worth fighting for. Let’s make sure everybody has a fair shot. Time to shake up the political landscape a bit and have a few laughs while doing it. Join the Resistance. Fight back.  We are in this together, whether you are Democrat or Independent what’s happening at the heart of our government is pretty damn scary. The Republicans have gone off the rails and are currently destroying every check and balance we have on the Executive Branch. God help us. We must act.

Government and Political Corruption

We hit back hard against the Trump political machine.  Everyone at Calamity Politics comes to work ready to fight against the misguided Trump government steeped in bigotry and corruption. The Washington, D.C. scene under king Trump has become the most corrupt and lawless administration in American history.  Keeping the power in the hands of a few old white men is not going to work any longer.

Inclusive

Women, Blacks, Jews, Asians, Latinos are banging on the castle walls. We will have a seat at the table. Stronger Together, we have a joint resolve to shape this country into it’s still unfulfilled promise. We are a great melting pot of people, that deserves to share in the opportunity, the wealth and freedom of our nation’s yet unfulfilled promise. The middle class is shrinking. Home ownership is diminishing. Most people have less than $400 in their savings account. It does not have to be this way. We can become that land of opportunity for all, but only if we demand it, and work tirelessly for it. If you are outraged, if your moral compass is being twisted every day by Trump, you have come to the right place.

Trump is Filling the Swamp

A progressive political, social and economic agenda includes a heavy dose of anti-corruption philosophy. Calamity Politics LLC supports organizations such as Move On, Indivisible, Planned Parenthood, Me Too, Emily’s List, and Black Lives Matter to name a few. Rather than clean out the swamp the Trumpublicans have taken corruption, bribery and extortion to unheard of levels.  In some ways progressives and progressive organizations have become the muckrakers of this young 21st century. But it takes time and money to bring change. Progressives must give of time and money to create significant change.

Stop Voting a Rich Man’s Agenda

Over the last decade particularly, I have been shocked at the effect of the Republican ads, political lies, misinformation, and distortions. After nearly every election cycle I have talked to people who voted against their own best interest. What the ‘eff can explain this bizarre phenomenon? The explanation is, as I see it;  the common man wants to be wealthy and powerful. He imagines himself to be in such an elevated status, or will be at some future date and votes accordingly. It seems irrelevant to these voters that the powerful and rich have a stranglehold on the economy and that thru legislative schemes and unfair taxation have stymied upward economic movement. If things don’t change soon there will no longer be a middle class in America, but there will be lots of poor people, one paycheck from disaster.

Four Hundred Against the Rest

Listen, there are 400 people in the United States that have more wealth than 200 million of their fellow Americans. Get real folks, unless your household income exceeds  $750,000 a year, the Republican Party is not on your side. I believe in fair taxation of the wealthy. When I was young, the wealthy paid 90% of their incomes in taxes. Those taxes supported massive infrastructure programs, public education, hospitals and immense social programs. It helped balance the inequities of income. Since Reagan and the GOP “trickle down” economics myth, the rich now pay less than the poor. Due to unfair taxation the biggest lie ever perpetrated on a society is alive and well. The once robust middle class is on life support. The number of poor households has mushroomed and there are more homeless people in this country than ever before.

D.S. Mitchell/”Calamity”

 

 

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