Democrats – Trail Mix

Cat In The Box

By Jamie, a Trail Mix Contributor

Copies of this wonderful story by Dana Michel of the well loved little grey cat are very rare and you can’t have mine. More than a half century ago, this was my daughter’s favorite book because it went up and down from the little cat in the box on a chair in the room in a house on a street with five trees in a city in a state in a country in the whole wide world and back down again to the box on a chair each trip going from the detailed & specific to faster and faster as adjectives and adverbs were omitted to speed the trip until finally you got to “Now Go To Sleep”. She loved it for its view of the safety of the little box to all the places outside her door.

Little gray cat inside a square box. Square box on top of a big striped chair. Chair in the room. Room in the house. House on the street. Street in the city. City in the state. State in the country. Country in the world. Oh, where in the world is my little gray cat?

In the world a country. In the country a state. In the state a city. In the city a street. On the street a house. In the house a room. In the room a chair. On the chair a box and inside that box is my little gray cat.

So how is this political? I’ve come to the conclusion that Conservatives, Libertarians in the US and the extreme right wing movements around the world, simply don’t have a clue how big anything is, and they really need to read this book. Their views barely reach beyond the limits of their family to the street and colors every issue from employment to taxes to refugees. They need to read this book. The Liberals, Democrats and general left wing see the big big picture with a wide wide world of variables, possibilities and interests, but forget that many of those issues can feel like an alteration of all that is normal in a culture and that the majority of people live and look at a street with five trees. They really need to read this book.

So where are you on the spectrum? How to adjust to a globe that in communications and movement is shrinking almost by the second? How does your view from the little box on the chair to the whole of the globe color your political attitudes?

Those Who Are Too Smart To Engage In Politics

Are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. — Plato

By Blue Bronc, a Trail Mix Contributor

What a feeling I awakened with this morn. Friday evening was the Anne Arundel County Central Committee annual dinner. A meeting of the most political of political people in politics. People who are the unseen forces behind the every Democratic Party Member running for any office. The people who watch CSPAN and listen to NPR, or are on NPR or CSPAN. The people who watch Prime Minister’s Questions.

Oh, and there were the elected too. Anne Arundel County provides the high power to the Maryland Assembly. The fight to keep Governor Hogan from going all Republican on Maryland rests with the Speaker of House, Rep. Busch. A few miles away is the now blinding white dome over the Congress. Several Maryland members of the Congress came to the dinner too. Rep. Steny Hoyer was great as usual. Our candidates to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski spoke well and gave good reasons to vote for either of them. Sen. Mikulski was not at the dinner to my disappointment.

The night was even more exciting because of the key note speaker, Rep. Elijah Cummings. Oh the deep feelings he brought out. His speech was full, heartfelt and powerful; from his poor childhood and that of his parents as near slaves in South Carolina, to today as one of the most important Democrats in the Congress. He is the one man who destroyed Republican attempts to blame Ms. Clinton for Benghazi and pretty much everything else that has happened since the Romans left England.

He reminded us of what we are – Democrats. We can see what Mr. Weird Hair is doing, and why those voting for him do so. We are Democrats and we must never forget why so many are falling for the bluster and wild talk. It is up to us to make life better for all Americans.

For all the political power in the room, and there was a lot, we enjoyed a nice night together. In politics one often gives everything to achieve the win, or preventing someone else from winning. Long hard hours, constantly promoting your candidates, often calling people asking for money. You make this relaxation time your fun time.

Okay, politics is still in the air. Rather, politics is the air.

You have slogged through so far and want the candy. Today, there is no candy. Today is the “ask”. The point of all this is to lure you into getting involved in politics. Politics is the putting a stamp on an envelope. It is getting a nice walk on a weekend to meet fifty or one hundred people at their homes to hand them literature about a candidate. It is driving a candidate from one house party to another house party (you get to eat campaign food doing this). It is doing whatever you feel comfortable doing to help elect a woman or man you want to represent you.

A dinner, you pay a lot for, is a reward. No awards are given out. Maybe a shout out, but most likely not. The dinner is how political people take a break from politics. More politics.

A side effect is you might want to run for office too. That is a blast, at least for some of us. For others, not so much a blast as a drudge through the mud.

‘I Got The Fever For Some Ham Hocks’

— Goodie Mob (Soul Food Remix)

By Blue Bronc, Trail Mix Contributor

Can I call the Bern to go find where my ham hock went? How about Hillary coming to town and making me a big bowl of ham hock, beans and greens? No need to bother with the Republicans. To them, anyone who would eat a ham hock is not one of their voters (this is guessing they even know what a ham hock is).

All day I had been dreaming of a smoked ham hock in a pot meeting with a pound of split green peas, on onion, a few carrots and celery and some chicken stock. Okay, some thoughts for hot dogs. Not hot dogs in a plastic package which have a shelf life longer than my truck. Hot dogs and a smoked ham hock from the local Dutch/Amish Market (some confusion as both labels are used interchangeably). Hot dogs with a crunch, a smoked ham hock that is big and meaty.

While I was getting a turkey leg to smoke and a pile of chicken leg quarters, someone moved my grocery buggy. Little did I know that, when I took my cart and rolled over to buy a pack of hot dog buns. Hot dog buns that you do need to eat or freeze today. My cart with my hot dogs, smoked ham hock and two pork chops was not where I tossed my chicken and turkey parts. I got home and had two pork chops and a pound of bacon.

ham There is something about being in the midst of a couple dozen Amish men, women and children that I enjoy. I have been lucky enough to have grown up visiting their villages and towns since I was a young child. Their lives are very enticing. Oh the lack of anything beyond 1890 is something well known. The other parts of their lives are what I like.

Why would anyone not like a utopian socialist religious society like the Amish? Plenty of fun things to do. Milk cows. Muck the horse barn. Sew your own clothes. Sounds good so far, eh?

Republicans are fervently not Amish. The whole share and work together to make a better day causes them to freak out and stain their drawers.
How about Democrats? Amish? No. Some parts sound good, but being nice to each other every day and sewing your own clothes seem a bit much.

Bernie? How about Bernie in the old Amish community? Nah. He is a socialist, not a utopian socialist, which includes religion. Not that not being religious is a problem for a good share of Americans. His foreign events policy would be interesting to them.

Can you imagine living in a world where the pace is the speed of a horse and you have to do a lot of wood splitting to stay warm in the winter? A place where there is no television, radio or internet.

A place where you do not have to hear or see politicians like the group we have today.