Newsletter (1802) February 2018

NEXT KCDW MEETING FEB 28TH (WEDNESDAY): Yacht Club Broiler – No host lunch – 11:30 am; Meeting – 12:30 pm. Speaker: Chad Enright, Democratic Candidate for Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney; NO RSVP required. 

BluuRF? by Jo Fox Burr 

One of my favorite signs in the 2018 Women’s March said, “Too much to put on one sign.” And it was a big sign! I recently bought a book for my Grandniece entitled “The Book with No Pictures” by B. J. Novak. The book admonishes the reader to read every word, no matter what it says – such as “BLuuRF” or “I am a monkey who taught myself to read.” And it goes on like this until you finally get to a page which says “GLuURR GA-WOCKO ma GRUMPH a-doo AiiEE AiiEE! BRROOOOoOG BRROOoOOOG BRROOOOoOG” This is followed by a page with similar gobbledygook. Looking at these two pages, I found myself thinking, yeah, this is exactly what I think about Trump. Could not have expressed it better. 

Before starting this article, I thought maybe I should watch the news to see if anything was breaking (such as another government shutdown) which I should address. Then I thought, if I did, before I finished something else would happen (such as an end to the shutdown plus another White House aide being dismissed for beating his wife) which, if I addressed, would send me on a different tangent. Trump is the chaos president – or rather pretend president – Jeb Bush warned us about. As has been commented upon too often, any one of the outrageous acts committed by him or one of his lackeys would bring down any other president – or at the very least be talked about for more than one day. While far from the ‘stable genius’ he claims to be, he is a master at diverting our attention from his despicable acts, which he does by pulling even more despicable acts out of his hat or perhaps his hair. 

And still his base stays with him. Trump is an embarrassment, but his base is an even greater embarrassment. Though they are a minority at only 30-37%, they effectively control the Republican Party. Trump’s playing to them emboldens them to openly express racist and other abhorrent views. While powerful at the moment, they cannot succeed in the long run. They are too disorganized and have no clear objectives except hate and repression. 

Still their current power has served to kneecap the Republican leadership in Congress. Whether or not you agree with how the government shutdowns were ended, one positive outcome was that it finally forced this Republican leadership to basically ignore Trump – as even they realized he was speaking the language of gobbledygook in Novak’s book. To get the votes they needed they were compelled to work out bipartisan agreements with the Democrats. This, in itself, was a good thing. However, these were true anomalies, as they far too often fold to Trump’s childish whims because they fear the power of his base. They put their jobs and party before the health of the country; something for which history will shame them. It did please me to see that in a recent encounter with the press, Ryan seemed to have red eyes. Could his conscience be causing him to lose sleep? 

Sometimes it is really very hard to keep the faith that our country will ever recover from this horrible nightmare. But then I see the massive number of people, not just women, showing up for the Women’s Marches two years in a row. I see the record number of declared Democratic candidates, many of them women, running for offices across the country, for both national and local positions. And I see the amazing Democratic wins in Trump territory we have already witnessed since he moved into the White House. It all gives me hope that while Trump has taken us backwards into darkness, the next major election cycle will do much to stop his destructive momentum and reverse the course. Hopefully this is the ‘Last Hurrah’ of this male dominated, bigoted, chauvinistic, corrupt regime; playing itself out in such a horrific manner that we, as a country, will never turn that way again. And I do believe that we women will be the force to lead the way to a saner more enlightened future. I am woman, watch me vote! 

OTHER UPCOMING DEMOCRATIC MEETINGS AND EVENTS: (*GM designates a general membership meeting) 

Kitsap County Democratic Central Committee:

GM* Feb 26th (Monday)

6:30 pm Social

7 pm meeting

Eagles Nest 

KCDCC Annual Dinner & Auction:

Mar 10th (Saturday)

5:30 pm

Olympic College

$60

Speaker: Maria Cantwell

Buy tickets on line at http://kitsapdemocrats.org/ 

23rd Leg. District Democrats:

GM* Feb 22nd (Thursday)

6:30pm Social

7pm meeting

Poulsbo library 

26th Leg. District Democrats:

GM* Mar 1st (Thursday)

6:30pm Social

7pm meeting

Kitsap Room

Givens Ctr. Pt Orchard 

35th Leg. District Democrats: Pig Roast-Pot Luck

Mar 24th (Sat) 3 – 6 pm

Pacific NW Salmon Ctr. Belfair

$25, $45 couples, Kids free

Buy tickets on-line www.Facebook/35th LD Dems 

KITSAP COUNTY DEMOCRATIC WOMEN OFFICERS: 

President – Jo Fox Burr: 360-613-4042, foxburr@comcast.net 

Vice President Linda Lovgren Houlton: 360-373-4188, houltonhilton1@gmail.com 

Secretary Donna Raymond: 360-377-3055, donnaed64@comcast.net 

Treasurer Voni Falkner: 360-613-9596, vonifalkner@gmail.com 

Deputy Treasurer Bert Johnson: 360-204-5257, bertlj@wavecable.com 

 

Kitsap County Democratic Women 

PO Box 3411 

Silverdale, WA 98383 - 9998 

ADDRESS CORRECTION 

“There is a story, often told, that upon exiting the Constitutional Convention Benjamin Franklin was approached by a group of citizens asking what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer was: ‘A republic, if you can keep it.’ The brevity of that response should not cause us to under-value its essential meaning: democratic republics are not merely founded upon the consent of the people, they are also absolutely dependent upon the active and informed involvement of the people for their continued good health.” -from ‘Perspectives on the Constitution: A Republic, if you can keep it.’ By Richard R. Beeman, Ph.D

 

POSTSCRIPT FROM JO FOX BURR, PRESIDENT AND NEWSLETTER EDITOR 

In my enclosed article I wondered if I should check the breaking news before I started it and concluded that if I did, before I finished something else would happen which could send me off in a totally different direction. As it turns out, something happened between the time I finished the article and managed to get the Newsletter sent out. And that something is yet another horrific shooting at a High School in Florida with 17 confirmed dead and unknown numbers injured. Of those survivors, I cannot help but think of how traumatized they and their families are and will be for the rest of their lives. Trump sent his condolences. Rubio has sent his prayers. My stomach turns and my blood boils at these pitiful responses.

 

Newsletter: