On Listening

Whatever you do, don't let people tell you to "get over it."

Don't let them tell you that the election is over, and it's time to "move on."

When they say you're a "sore loser," don't listen.

Because that's not how this works. We don't elect people, give them the keys to the car, and then step away. It doesn't matter who won, we should never do that, although too often we do. Myself included. It is incumbent that we do exactly the opposite. Never forget: they work for us. And when they don't, it's important that we call them on it and demand better. We don't have to wait until we cast our ballot to do that.

So protest peacefully. Demand more of our free press. Ask them why they aren't covering what you see as important. Contact your representatives, even if it seems like there's not a chance they'll listen. Post stuff on Facebook and Twitter and be willing to lose friends who aren't willing to listen (just make sure you listen to them as well, and perhaps find points of agreement somewhere in the noise).  Donate to causes that can help us fight back right now, like the ACLU.

It's important. All of it.

Lucky for Us, Ricketts Has Been a Failure

Lucky for us, so far Pete Ricketts has been a massive failure in his short term as governor.

Lucky, you say? Jeremy, what kind of Nebraskan are you, rooting for the failure of your governor? Certainly a true Nebraskan would still see fit to root for your governor to be a success despite not agreeing with him on many issues.

And well, that is true. I don’t want my governor to be a failure. I want him or her to be successful in ways that will help Nebraskans. Of course. But when you’re Pete Ricketts, and your agenda is about 25 years out of date, and out of lockstep with sensible Nebraskans, well, for the most part, yeah, in a lot of cases I am going to be rooting for you to fail. So I say again: lucky for us, as so far, we have been awfully lucky that our governor is failing.

How exactly is he failing? Let’s take a look:

*You’re Doing a Heck of a Job, Brownie

Look, is it really fair to judge someone for not fixing the prison system when they’ve only been on the job for 5 months or so? No. But when one of your major campaign promises is that you can fix our broken prison system, then yeah, it makes it a little more fair to judge someone on it at this early juncture. When you go out and hire someone for big bucks to fix the prisons ($180,000 a year), and then a week after that highly paid guy takes a tour of a prison a very serious riot straight out of a Sly Stallone movie takes place, well, then it becomes even more fair to criticize someone. 

To make matters worse, after a prison riot that led to two deaths and nine guards walking off the job, yesterday Ricketts visited the prison. When he was finished, he decided to channel George W. Bush in the Katrina aftermath by saying something almost impossibly stupid: "You’re doing a phenomenal job managing this very difficult situation."

 

Well, I just don’t know what more to say.

*The Gas Man

Despite countless campaign promises to lower taxes, Rickets was unable to muster enough support in the legislature to prevent a gas tax increase and even saw his veto overriden, despite the fact that our legislature is strongly represented by the GOP. (Technically, Nebraska has a non-partisan legislature but it is made up primarily of registered Republicans, who hold 36 of 49 seats.)

My Letter to Pete Ricketts

Mr. Ricketts, your stance on the use of cannabis oil in the treatment of epilepsy repulses me. You have been consistent about your belief in reducing the role of the federal government in the daily lives of citizens, yet when you have an opportunity to effect real change in the lives of those who suffer from a disease completely beyond their control, you have the audacity to refer people to an antiquated FDA procedure. This does not make any sense and is inconsistent with someone who believes change can come on a local level. On the state level, with the support and leadership of your administration a treatment with vast potential could be enacted in short order.

Your stigmatization of this treatment due to its tangential association with marijuana is lacking in common sense. There is no possible recreational use of this treatment. It is not an intoxicant. Yet because of a slight association to recreational marijuana, you won't support it. Frankly, you should be ashamed.

Perhaps you are ignorant on what a seizure entails. My wife is a Registered Nurse. She currently takes care of a seizure sufferer. This individual is three-years old and has little quality of life. Seizures have greatly diminished her life capacity and have caused her failure to thrive. I can only wonder what a possible 50% reduction in seizures, as shown in 70% of those who use this treatment, would allow her to do. But I can only wonder as her mom wisely obeys doctor's orders. Since a doctor can't legally prescribe it in this state, the three-year old will continue to suffer. Why would you not do something so simple that could effect change in a three-year old?

I did not vote for you because the impression you gave me was that you were beholden to tired ways of thinking and policies that have been proven failures. It is clear that with your position on this important issue, where leadership and open-minded thinking is required, I was correct in that assessment.