Articles on Hammer Time Thoughts

Cowards Curtain Call

Thu, 21 May 2026 10:02:45 -0700

One of the most predictable and frustrating aspects of politics is when a politician suddenly discovers a conscience when they are no longer up for reelection. The most recent example of this is Senator Bill Cassidy, who lost a primary in his home state of Louisiana.

Senator Cassidy, who is a doctor, voted for anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead HHS after being pressured by other Republicans. But his cardinal mistake was voting to impeach Donald Trump, and as a result, he’s now looking for work.

And this week what did Cassidy do? He voted to advance a resolution to end the Iran War. He flipped.

And this isn’t unique, it’s happened several times during the Trump era.

Thom Tillis voted against Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” but then a day later he announced he wasn’t running for reelection.

Jeff Flake announced his retirement in 2017 then proceeded to vote against his party. He voted against judicial nominees and broke with the party on a number of votes.

“I wonder — could you have done this if you were running for re-election?" Pelley asked.

“Not a chance," Flake responded.

Politics in this country are fundamentally broken. If an elected official feels like they can’t vote their conscience, or more importantly what their constituents are asking for - then what is the point?

In today’s Republican Party, there’s no room for anything but blind loyalty to President Trump. The current Congress has abdicated its role in government, leaving no room for anything but fealty to the executive branch.

Looking Back at Earth

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:30:39 -0700

As I spent this past week monitoring the Artemis II mission closely I can’t help but look at the photos of earth and think, what could have been?

Earth is a spec of dust in the universe. And yet, we fight over petty differences. We argue over who has crossed what imaginary border. We kill each other over whose version of god is better. We concern ourselves with the genitalia of others and what women do with their own bodies. All while the wealth gap increases and the rich turn into oligarchs who weaponize that money to control media which exacerbates all of the problems above.

ICE DHS Funding Time to Get Active

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 10:41:00 -0700

I’m seeing a lot of posts the past few days that Chuck Schumer and the Democrats have caved because DHS is getting funded anyway. And while it is true DHS will continue as normal for 2 weeks - this is far from caving. It’s a win.

The Democrats will now be able to negotiate ICE and DHS funding separately from the rest of the government funding. This means people on SNAP and many other government programs will not be hanging in the balance during what will surely be contentious negotiations. If the funding bills fail to pass, DHS is defunded while the rest of the government operates.

This does still need to pass through the house, which is expected to happen Monday.

What to do

The next two weeks will be critical and it’s important we are active during this time. You should call and e-mail your senators often to let them know what you want. At a minimum you should ask them to demand a rescission of the supplemental funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Why is this important? Because if DHS shuts down, ICE and CPB will continue to function as long as this funding remains.

Fascism on the Ballot

Wed, 24 May 2023 13:00:00 -0700

Now that Ron DeSantis has officially filed paperwork to run for president over the past several days I put together a list of things he and his fellow Republicans have done in Florida. Unlike Donald Trump in 2016, we have an exact blueprint of what he intends to do on a national scale. He has said his plan plan is to “Make America Florida” let’s be honest about what he really represents. Fascism. Merriam Webster defines fascism as:

a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

And a bit more color from Encyclopedia Britannica

Fascist propagandists also attacked cultural liberalism, claiming that it encouraged moral relativism, godless materialism, and selfish individualism and thereby undermined traditional morality. Anti-Semitic fascists associated liberalism with Jews in particular—indeed, one precursor of Nazism, the political theorist Theodor Fritsch, claimed that to succumb to a liberal idea was to succumb to the Jew within oneself.

Lets not forget that Nazis targeted many groups even prior to The Holocaust in Germany including black people, disabled people, political opponents and of course gay and transgendered people. As I’ll illustrate, it’s not too hard to draw some frightening comparisons.

It’s gone so far that just this past week the NAACP issued travel advisory for Florida, saying the state “has become hostile to Black Americans” and the League of United Latin American Citizens and LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida have done the same.

With some of that background in mind here’s a list of things going on in Florida with relevant bills that have been proposed, already gone into effect, or have been signed and will go into effect soon. I’ve come with receipts, offering relevant sources and direct links to bills where possible.

Religious Freedom, as a Weapon

Fri, 13 May 2022 08:30:00 -0700

With the continuous rise of Christian Nationalism and our religious freedom actively under attack in this country, I wanted to take some time to talk freedom of religion and why I believe it is one of the most important rights enshrined in the United States Constitution. And why people from all religions and none should take it seriously.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The founders considered it so important that it was in the Bill of Rights and part of the First Amendment.

Benjamin Franklin when editing the draft of the Declaration of Independence changed the original wording from “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable” to “We hold these truths to be self-evident” It could be argued with that one phrase Franklin placed United States on a secular foundation. Is there anything more empowering than having self-evident truths? Our very freedom is founded on that proposition.

Phrases like “Under God” and “In God We Trust” were added to the pledge of allegiance and currency in the 1950s. Over 150 years after the nation’s founding, and largely to emphasize the distinction between the atheistic Soviet Union and the United States.

There are several major Religious Freedom cases before the Supreme Court this session. Obviously, the future of Roe v. Wade which could result in abortion being banned across the country which appears more likely with the leaked draft opinion. And Kennedy v. Bremerton School District where a public high school football coach lost his job after repeatedly praying on the 50-yard line. Students felt pressured to pray with him due to his position of authority.

Christians in particular have taken the line “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” and are using it to weaponize Religious Freedom into Religious Privilege. They see equality, the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights, consequences for using your position of power to push prayer, and of course a woman having the freedom to decide her own course in life as an infringement on their freedom to exercise religion. And because they do not believe in these things, they want to erase these very freedoms from existence.

Republicans Gift to Democrats

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 13:30:00 -0800

As President Biden prepares to deliver his first State of the Union address tonight and Republicans begin to investigate parents of transgender children for child abuse, I figured it would be a good time to ask - what exactly is Republican’s plan for America should they take back control in 2022 or 2024? So lets dig in to their recently announced plans.

Last week Senator Rick Scott released the Republicans 11 Point Plan to “Rescue” America. This document is a gift to Democrats for the mid term elections, and it’s quite frankly a laundry list of culture war wedge issues that are hugely popular with the far right echo chamber of Fox News and the Republican Party. It’s a manifesto of classic Republican ideas mixed in with some Christian and White Nationalism. Importantly given this recent poll - people seem to think Republicans are better for the economy. So what do they plan to do?

In an attempt to keep this on the shorter side I will not be covering every point, and there’s some off the wall stuff in it I won’t touch on. You can read the actual document here (mirrored here), as well as some additional coverage here.

To be quite frank this is an 11 point plan of fascism, bigotry, racism, transphobia, isolationism, xenophobia, and the list goes on. Let’s go into some of the finer points…

The United States Lacks Perspective

Sun, 27 Feb 2022 13:49:31 -0800

This will come as no surprise to many people around the world, but the United States - and the west in general, lacks perspective. I said this when Afghans held on to the side of C-17’s leaving Kabul, hoping for a better life only to fall to certain death late last year. And I will not sugar coat what I am about to say.

As we sit here in this country bitching about gas prices to fill up our SUVs or the price of hamburgers, and raging out about the supposed “loss of freedom” being asked to protect our fellow citizens from a deadly disease, or complaining we were blocked access to a movie theater or restaurant because we’ve made the choice to not protect our fellow citizens…

An authoritarian invades a sovereign nation, a democracy - claiming it’s his. Ordinary citizens take up arms, brewery’s are converted to create Molotov cocktails. People look outside their homes and see Russian tanks going by, children separated from their parents who must now take up arms. Hiding in subways, to remain safe from the bombs above.

The Karen Convoy is in route to Washington DC to “protest” restrictions that are largely falling off, and certain Republicans line up to support Putin.

I say this with all due respect, wake the fuck up America. Our petty squabbles and culture wars mean nothing - they’re intended to divide. Don’t be divided.

I stand with Ukraine. I stand with Democracy.

Image Source Ukrainian photographer Dmitry Muravsky, 2016 (Facebook / Ukraine Ministry of Defense)

Speaking Out

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 13:00:00 -0800

I’ve followed politics most of my adult life, and I actually enjoy the inner workings of the US government and how it functions. I used to stay fairly quiet about it and my views on issues. I was an informed observer. But over the past six years that’s changed drastically for me. I wanted to write a post and explore why that is and my reasoning behind it.

In my view of todays politics, it is not about liberal vs conservative, democrat vs republican, or left vs right.

It is about right vs wrong, it is about truth and lies, it is about decency and outright filth.

For the most part, I am not speaking out on Republicans anymore. I am speaking out on people who got behind the cult of personality, and believe literally everything he says. I am speaking out on the the absolutely authoritarian tendencies of todays Republican Party. I am speaking out against a party who considers a violent insurrection, and beating first responders with thin blue line flags to be “legitimate political discourse”

Donald Trump brought out the absolute worst in people. He’s divided this nation more than it’s been in generations and on top of that, we’re dealing with multiple realities today. I am speaking out on the lies and blatant misinformation whether it be people STILL claiming Trump won in 2020 or that critical race theory is even something taught in public school.

Republican Normalization

Sat, 05 Feb 2022 18:37:17 -0800

A few months ago I posted an update on Facebook complaining of media bias against Democrats. One of my friends challenged me on it. It caused me to re-evaluate my statement.

After re-evaluating I realized I was oversimplifying the issue. The issue we are seeing today is normalization of a political party that has gone off the deep end into far right conspiracy and all out culture wars.

The Republican Party is currently the vessel for a modern day fascist movement. They’re actively dividing our nation and positioning white people, especially white males as victims who’s country is being taken away. They’re actively demonizing racial justice movements and protests as criminals. They’re actively trying to erase our nations history and saying kids should not “feel shame” for our county’s history. They’re using things like CRT (which isn’t even taught in K-12) to fashion policy which will make teachers unlikely to teach our actual history. Not to even speak of voting law in places like AZ that will allow them to pick their own slate of electors.

Whitewashed America

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 17:44:56 -0800

The latest Republican culture war, and disturbing new trend - is the banning and censoring of books. In this latest NBC News special report they uncovered some of the books parents have asked school libraries to remove.

Records requests to nearly 100 school districts in the Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin regions — a small sampling of the state’s 1,250 public school systems — revealed 75 formal requests by parents or community members to ban books from libraries during the first four months of this school year. In comparison, only one library book challenge was filed at those districts during the same time period a year earlier, records show. A handful of the districts reported more challenges this year than in the past two decades combined.

These parents feel empowered now to come out of the woodwork, fueled by white grievance stoked by Republicans and the former president. They wish to have their kids grow up in a whitewashed version of reality, devoid of thought or critical thinking.

Lets Talk Voting Rights Act

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 17:16:47 -0800

We are at a critical moment in our democracy, where our fundamental right to vote is at risk. With President Biden’s speech today, I wanted to put together a list of what is in the Freedom to Vote Act that is before the Senate. Every single Republican Senator is in opposition to this bill, as well as the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. They don’t even want to debate it, let alone vote on the bill itself.

And before I go too far, the Constitution more than allows for the Federal Government to create or alter election laws, despite Republican talking points:

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.

What does this bill do? Let’s go over the key points:

Capitol Insurrection

Thu, 06 Jan 2022 16:52:53 -0800

Today marks the one year anniversary an attack on the very seat of the United States Democracy. I sat here, in this very spot one year ago — and watched in horror on TV as a mob of angry supporters of Donald Trump, stormed the capitol, and called for the hanging of the Vice President of the United States because he chose the constitution and his oath over a single man. They erected a gallows out front ready for the task.

All while Donald Trump sat comfortably in the White House watching it unfold on TV doing nothing to stop it. As his supporters, fueled by his lie that the election was stolen beat law enforcement officers while carrying thin blue line flags. These people were not patriots. They wished to install Donald Trump as leader despite losing a free and fair election. I’ll also note that many Republicans won in 2020. Did they challenge their own elections?

For a very short time Republicans said enough is enough — we cannot proceed like this. There was a glimmer of hope that maybe, they’d realize their error in supporting a man like Trump.

Democracy Requires Compromise*

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 15:32:03 -0800

As we enter a new era in US politics there’s a tendency for an all out battle of us vs them. And rightfully so, the last four years have felt like four decades for many of us. In a democracy, compromise is needed to accomplish almost anything. But on the flip side, there are some things that there should be absolutely ZERO compromise on.

Until we as a country can get to the point when we agree on a set of shared values and most importantly truth compromise will not be possible. The last decade or so the Republican party has adopted a platform of division and obstruction. Their entire goal is to block anything Democrats do and as a result block any social or democratic progress forward. Their goal, is to further the hierarchy where the rich are at the top and the bottom should just deal with it and pull themselves up by their bootstraps. The Republican party isn’t really even conservative, they are reactionary - their entire platform doesn’t even consist of any real ideas or policies anymore. Everything they do is us vs them, giving immigrants citizenship? They’re taking “our” jobs! They don’t want opportunity to be equal.

In order to proceed forward in pursuit of the more perfect union our founders envisioned our citizenry must have equal rights and without this, we exclude our fellow citizens. This most certainly isn’t an all inclusive list but some of the ones I feel are most important.

Casting a Vote for Exclusion

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 15:25:38 -0800

I have been thinking quite a bit this past 24 hours about the last four years, and the end of the campaign for president. For many of us it has been a truly exhausting four years for many reasons, all of which have been covered ad nauseum around the world and here at home. As of this writing over 146 million people voted in this year’s election. Of particular concern to me and the reason I am writing this is the 71 million people who voted for Donald Trump. Like it or not, this is in fact a record — he now holds second place in terms of number of votes cast for a presidential candidate.

But… why?

I have been having a hard time wrapping my head around this and I am still grappling with it. And spoiler alert, I will not be answering it here — and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to answer it. I also keep seeing people say “Have some understanding, you know how they felt from 2016” regarding his loss. But… do they really?

Casting a vote for Donald Trump is casting a vote for exclusion. You may have liked one or two of his policies that benefit you but in the grand scheme of things you casted a vote for exclusion. There is more than enough evidence of this, and I will list just a few of them.