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My latest column about the current issues surrounding the USPS battle. Submitted to the Butler Eagle on 8/26/2020

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Printed on the editorial page on 8/25 was a submission from our co-publisher and president, Ron. He laid down some solutions about how to fix the USPS. I want to delve into the first of the three items he tackled. Quote from Ron’s editorial, “The USPS was for some reason singled out as an entity that needed to prepay massive retirement benefits. The debt on those benefits is now reported to be $161 billion.” This is in reference to the Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act (PEAA) signed into law in December 2006. This federal law did many things to reform the post office, some helpful and some not. There is one major crippling affect that this law has done. Section 803 requires the USPS to pay the pensions of employees 50 years in advance. Repeat: prepay the pensions for employees 50 years in advance. This is unheard of. The $161 billion Ron references is the total amount of debt accumulated by the USPS from 2006 to 2019. Not all of that can be contributed to the pension prepay section of the PEAA. But some estimates have it between $80 billion and $100 billion. If a privately owned, for-profit company had to abide by these rules they’d be out of business rather quickly. So, why have these requirements been placed on an important American institution with major achievements and a mission to serve American citizens? Another blow to the USPS in this law is to limit the service to only postal services. (Nonpostal services must be approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission) Which is a right hook to the jaw of American ingenuity. The USPS is successful in so many ways. One of them is a huge network they’ve established and to maintain since 1775. Repeat, 1775. That is older than the Bill of Rights. One of the major underlying social issues in this country is the disconnect between urban and rural Americans. So, as a quick example, why couldn’t Congress pass a law establishing postal locations offer banking services in very rural locations as a way to help small businesses? They can operate under the same reform and oversight established in the PEAA as a safeguard to serve Americans and not gouge them with unreasonable fees. The USPS’ mission is not to make a profit, as with any other agency that falls under federal jurisdiction. They are to serve the people. Let them. The USPS is and can be a lot of things. One of the things it is not is leverage during a pandemic for political power.

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6 things boomers have done

Full disclosure: I was born in 1980. That puts me on the verge of GenX and Millenial. I've heard the phrase GenY coined, which fits well for folks born from 1980-1984. We're a small slice of a generation. With the world's speed increasing, generations are getting a little smaller. In some aspects I cannot relate to people who are 33 years old. And in other cases I can relate better to my half brother who was born in 1969, which is supposed to be the latest you can be born and still be considered a baby boomer. Our dad is a baby boomer. He was born in 1949. WWII was over, the economy and jobs were roaring back, rock n' roll was but a twinkle in the eye of blues musicians all through the Southern U.S. and different parts of England.  I've been hearing the word boomer thrown around a lot. Sometimes it seems like some media types use it as a pejorative. My parents are boomers. They raised me to be the left-leaning progressive that I am today. Through my years of parenthood and being a homeowner the relationship I have with my parents has grown stronger. And it's partly because we are aligned ideologically... because they raised me that way. This isn't an article about me defending my parents. So, let's go down a list of five things that boomers have done for the U.S. and America:

1. Rock 'n roll

2. They long-fought against an imperialistic U.S. occupation of Vietnam

3. Boomers laid the groundwork for ending the prohibition on cannabis

4. Showed us how to march in the streets for peace and environmental protection

5. Walked alongside Martin Luther King and separated the racists from the anti-racists

6. Boomers started the love movement of the 1960s and used their music to spread their message 

Granted, not all baby boomers checked this list. But I've been hearing too many generalizations about the boomer generation. If you are a progressive who is trying to fight for the working class, we must respect and honor those that came before us who made it possible for us to continue the fight against the wealthy and special interests who try to control our lives. We are standing on the shoulders of giants. We didn't get here on our own. We might not finish the job on every front. Our children will pick up where we left off. We wouldn't want them speaking ill of our generation, now would we? 

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It’s OK to be wrong. Make it right? Please.

This week, 75 years ago, the United States military dropped two atomic bombs on the island Empire of Japan, as it was known then, three days apart. Estimates of the amount of people dying from the bombings is between 129,000 and 226,000. These bombings essentially ended World War II and the war officially was over less than a month later. 

During the late 1930s, Dr. Seuss, the beloved American children’s book author Theodor Seuss Geisel, wrote political cartoons for the New York Daily News, many of which depicted Japanese people in unflattering and evil ways. I can imagine this only helped public support and justification to drop the bombs on Japan in 1945. After the war ended Dr. Seuss had a change of heart and traveled to Japan, witnessed the aftermath of the bombings and returned to write his next book, “Horton Hears A Who.” 

The book is dedicated to a friend he made while in Japan, Mitsugi Nakamura. Released in 1954, the theme of the book is mentioned several times, “a person is a person no matter how small.” That can be interpreted as small in stature, small in age, being from a small country or appearing small while looking down from an airplane. Pick one. Or all of them. Every year on March 2, I celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday at libraries and schools all across America. There is no doubt that he has had a significant and positive impact on generations of people. Future generations will continue to read and be inspired. He rewrote the rules of how to connect with and teach children. He did it in a fun and colorful style. After considering some of these things about Dr. Seuss it has brought us to a conclusion that even the greatest of Americans may lose sight of the important things in life. But forgiveness is powerful, equally when forgiving others or yourself. We can lose our way with fear, anger or pain. But we all begin our lives the same way.

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One of the constant themes during Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns is “Not Me, Us.”

If you support and understand Bernie’s policies and visions for America then you know that this is where we take it over. Bernie did his part and cannot change our country all alone. He never said he could or would. It’s always been about millions of people standing up and demanding the change we wish to enjoy. 

This is why we must rally together, find a candidate(s) to support and give them our support. Once they are elected then we must hold them accountable to the ideology of Bernie’s campaign. I’m in Pennsylvania in District 16 and the Democratic candidate for this seat is Kristy Gnibus from Erie. She is a public school teacher, single mother, cancer survivor and is endorsed by End Citizens United. 

Mike Kelly narrowly won in 2018. He is vulnerable. Kristy’s campaign has what it takes to win the majority vote this time. But we cannot take it for granted. If we want to create change we need to work for it. 

I am open to hearing other ideas about how to carry the Bernie and Our Revolution message forward. Let’s get together and create a plan. We have less than 7 months until November. 

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In It Together, Moreso than ever

This is my first ever published writing. I am sharing it again now because of the COVID-19 situation. If ever there was a time to start believing in a collective society, now is it. We are not a “collection of individuals” as Margaret Thatcher once said. Your pain is my pain. Your joy is my joy. We are all living this life together. Earth is but a spaceship floating through the infinite universe. We are all riding together. Let’s enjoy it. 

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My Message to Mitt Romney

Mitt, I'll start with my disclaimers. I am a Democrat. I have been an Independent in the past. I am a Bernie Sanders delegate. I did not vote for you in 2012, in fact I volunteered for Barack Obama. You have displayed some courage recently and as well as in the past in standing up to Trump. I dislike the GOP as a whole, for reasons that do not apply here. But I would trade this GOP for the GOP from pre-tea party. But if I could really get my way I'd take an Eisenhower GOP. If your intention with this impeachment vote is to set yourself up for a WH run in 2024, cool. Please do everything in your power to disband this insane cult of personality. I fear a civil war if we don't put Trump behind bars. Don't fear a civil war in the wake of his imprisonment. We will be beneficiaries of the 8-second attention span. Most of his ardent supporters will forget about Trump as quickly as they anointed him their leader. Easy come: easy go. Let's get back to normal and our parties can work together to benefit the USA and the world. Cheers. Good luck.

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This is Why Pearl Jam is my Favorite Band

I grew up loving music. Not so much as a musician but more of a fan. I did play the saxophone, guitar and tried to teach myself the harmonica, but that’s not the point here. My dad had a nice record collection. He also had one of those old, shiny, silver Pioneer stereos that were made in the USA and had the big ½” cable for the over-the-ear headphones. Not Beats. This is old school music. If it wasn’t terrible dancing and a missed lip sync then it was him blasting WDVE or WRRK in the station wagon that shaped me into a music fan. My mom always let us stay up past midnight to catch the musical act on Saturday Night Live too. These are some of the things that got me hooked on any music that had guitars.

I made a few bad music choices in the 80s. I am not afraid to admit that. We did what we could with what we had. The 80s, in my opinion, was when the trend of having to look deep to find the good music started. Then came 90s rock; the revival. The saviors of rock n’ roll. I didn’t know it at the time but this movement made rock music real, raw, emotional and unapologetic again. My brother and I tried to figure out the lyrics to Smells Like Teen Spirit. We also tried to figure out why Temple of the Dog had two singers and one looked like the guy from Soundgarden and the other looked like the guy from Pearl Jam. And they all kind of looked like the bands on my dad’s record albums. (Except David Bowie and Elton John. No one could imitate either of them. And not because their outfits changed like the wind either. They were so expressive and eclectic.)

In those early 1990’s I grew up in a town that was hit hard by severe economic loss due to a near full collapse of the American steel industry. Opportunities were lost, lives were ruined, and families had mounting pressure to stick together even though many struggled to put enough food on the table. Our family scraped by at times. Other families were not as fortunate as ours. But listening to the passion that poured from the speakers when I played these albums made me feel like someone out there seemed to understand me and my life. It wasn’t only the lyrics but the screeching guitars and pounding drums emoted something inside of me. Something that I strayed from as I explored other new music and rolled with the changes in my late teens and early 20s. Kurt was gone, Soundgarden seemed to be on hiatus, Layne passed away. It seemed like the moment was over. But I returned to Pearl Jam when a friend in college invited me to see them at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh in April 2003. I had heard some cuts from their new album Riot Act on the radio and they sounded great. But I wasn’t prepared for that show. It just blew me away. I was reminded of my youth and innocence.

After 2003 I explored Pearl Jam on a deeper level. PJ20 took place in 2010 and I learned some new things about them. I continued to dive deeper into their music, examining lyrics, and connecting with other fans on the internet. I also traveled alone to see them in Dallas and made single serving friends on the way.

Pearl Jam survived the fame. Similar bands of the 90s were not able to maintain the same longevity. There is a saying I repeat to my children, fall down seven times; stand up eight. In life, you really must choose to push forward. Pearl Jam helped me do that when times were tough. Because life is not easy. We, as people, must extract motivation from somewhere. Why not from a band that has been an example of sticking together through tough times? Through divorce, disease, addiction, obsession, death. There is no quitting in life. There is no quitting in art. There is only progress.

When I die I hope my people will have a celebration of my life. If that happens, I want everyone to stop and look up at the giant screen. There will be playing a live performance of Pearl Jam’s Alive. Because I may be dead but my spirit still lives on inside my loved ones. When I was on Earth I lived a life of love and passion. I ask each and every person to do the same. Love one another. Take care of your family and neighbors. Live a life of expression and respect. Your life is only alive once. But your legacy lives on forever. What will your legacy be? How will you be remembered when you were Alive?

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First Post

This is my new blog. My wife told me that I could use a place to direct my energy. That it would be helpful for me. Which is probably true. 

But I think she just wants me to stop annoying her with all of my ideas, thoughts, inventions and schemes to improve our town and the world. ; )

So, here goes nothing.