EXPOSED BY THE LIMELIGHT

EXPOSED BY THE LIMELIGHT

Although Americans did not go to the polls particularly to vote for Mike Pence, the 2016 presidential election did revitalize his political career. The people of Indiana know more about Mike Pence than the American public. Before he was selected to be Donald Trump’s running mate he was campaigning to be reelected as the governor of the state of Indiana. Public opinion polls showed that it was a tight race between Mike Pence and the democratic candidate John R. Gregg. The approval ratings for Mike had dropped into the low 40’s and over 52% of the citizens of Indiana disapproved of his handling of education and gay rights issues.

Mike Pence is presently basking in the limelight as Donald Trump’s selection for VP. He was handpicked solely to guarantee that Donald Trump would receive the evangelical vote. Mike Pence has a long record   of supporting policies that work against women and the LGBT community. Donald Trump knew if he chose a white, homophobic male as his running mate, white Republican Christians would rally behind that decision.

Right-wing, conservative Christians support Mike Pence not because he wants to incarcerate murderers, rapists, and thieves, but because he wants to jail any same-sex couple applying for a marriage license. All they know, and all they want to know about him, is that he hates homosexuals. Mike Pence is the greatest threat to the LGBT communities of any leader in recent history. He is by far the most extreme anti-gay candidate ever to run on a national GOP ticket.

Mike Pence received boos from the audience and cast of the Broadway production “Hamilton” because they knew of his strong stance against human rights issues in the state of Indiana. After the performance actor Brandon Dixon spoke directly to Mike Pence: “We, sir, are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us . . . .”  

FACT: In 2013 Mike Pence signed a bill that would put gay couples in jail for simply applying for a marriage license.

He attempted to use anti-gay bigotry as religious liberty. He was willing to jail marriage clerks who supplied a license or clergy who performed the weddings. He spent millions of taxpayers’ dollars to enforce this bill.

FACT: In March of 2015 Mike Pence signed a bill entitled The Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

On the surface this bill appeared to be something beneficial for religion.  But in a detailed analysis it proved to be designed primarily to discriminate against LGBT citizens.  It was another one of Mike’s attempts to use religion as a disguise for discrimination. From the very beginning this bill provoked an outrage from the general public.

FACT: In 2007 he voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

FACT: As the governor of Indiana he voted against equal pay for women and minorities.

FACT:  He voted against raising the minimum wage.

FACT: He publicly stated that smoking cigarettes “DOES NOT KILL.”

FACT: In 2015-2016 Christian ministers stood in pulpits all across America threatening church members with the wrath of God if they did not vote for the Trump-Pence ticket.

Never before in history have preachers taken such an active roll in the election of a US President as they did in the 2016 presidential election.  Knowing that the next president would be able to appoint at least three   Supreme Court Justices, their main objective was to overthrow the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage and Roe v. Wade. The Marriage Equality Act gives same-sex couples the legal right to marry, and Roe v. Wade gives women the legal right to make a choice pertaining to abortion. Millions of Americans believe it is wrong for Christians to attempt to pass laws that will force religious principals   on a free society.

  

Mike Pence is an advocate of conversion therapy. This therapy is a misguided approach for the cure of homosexuality. All of the nation’s leading professional medical and mental health associations have rejected conversion therapy as unnecessary, ineffective, and dangerous.

Yet Mike Pence has publicly stated he intends to establish conversion therapy centers all across America. When he was governor of Indiana he tried to convert funds used in the prevention of HIV/AIDS to establish conversion therapy centers. California was the first state to pass a law forbidding the use of conversion therapy, and that action now has been followed by many other states. 

Mike Pence has shown time and time again that he cannot govern for all the people, but only for the ones that he approves. Americans have in Mile Pence a vicious, smooth talking wolf wrapped in a religious WHITE fleece of sheep’s clothing, and soon he will be just one heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States. 

For over two hundred years gay Americans have been beaten, jailed, and murdered for the simple reason of being gay.  Thousands of gay individuals have paid the ultimate price with blood so that all LGBT citizens could one day be free. Now Americans have elected a bigot and a homophobe to be the future leaders of the US government.  How long will it be before America will be able to live up to the creed of allowing all Americans to be free?   

 

THE MASTER GATOR

THE MASTER GATOR OF AMERICA’S SWAMPLANDS

The MASTER GATOR has chosen as his first priority to drain the swamp. But a TV celebrity stands in the middle of the swamp without any experience in political swamp draining. Draining the swamp will be difficult because the voters have returned to the swamp the same slime that created the swamp in the first place. The swamp is filled with a poison where Congressional votes are for sale to the highest bidder. America’s working-class know this but apparently do not care because they continue to vote for the same swamp gators year after year. If recent cabinet appointees provide any signal, it is that the swamp is being flooded rather than being drained.

The political reality is that Americans have elected a TV celebrity to be the next president of the United States. He has disrespected women, made fun of the handicapped, called Latino Americans disgraceful names, and stood unashamed while thousands of his supporters cheered. He built a campaign based on a series of falsehoods, and he used Fox News to promote them as the truth. Preachers have condoned his sexist remarks, while Christians shouted amen.

Political opportunists have encouraged his narcissistic behavior with so many pats on the back that his suit has been rubbed thin.  He has refused to show his tax returns but his supporters do not care. He is a bully, homophobe, sexist, and racist, and yet thousands of Americans believe this leopard can change his spots. He did not receive a majority of the popular vote, but his popularity has soared to the point that many in the media are now afraid to disagree with him. Donald Trump believes his truth is the only truth, and he represents an extremism that is a disease that can kill a democracy.

Political campaigning has reached a point in America where words spoken have no meaning. Many Americans have become so numb to a corrupt political system that they do not expect a candidate to follow through on his campaign promises.

Many of Donald Trump’s supporters are saying we should give him a chance to see what he can do. I strongly disagree. Donald Trump was a part of the coalition of Republicans and Fox News who refused to give America’s first black president a chance. In fact, they tried every political trick in the book to destroy him. Donald Trump denied Obama’s birth certificate and then blamed his opponent when the truth was revealed. He has little regard for the truth and he needs to be tested in the early days of his administration. Donald Trump does not have the stamina, temperament, or the intelligence of Barack Obama.  If he is given a dose of the same medicine that was given his predecessor, he will collapse, and his supporters need to witness the collapse.      

The real ignorance of Donald Trump is already shown in the Carrier Deal. Carrier made 7.5 billion dollars in profits in 2015. They paid their five top executives an annual salary of 50 million dollars each.  In the Trump deal Carrier received 7 million dollars in financial incentives to keep 1000 jobs in the US.  But 1300 jobs will still be outsourced to Mexico and one facility in Indiana will be closed.  Now every corporation in America can hold the United States government hostage by threatening to send jobs to Mexico in order to receive financial incentives plus huge tax breaks. The man who brags about being a master dealmaker has just made one of the worse economic deals ever made in the history of the United States. 
  

TRUMPISM CAN BE STOPPED

TRUMPISM CAN BE STOPPED

The year 2017 will welcome the biggest political divide in American history, with the exception of the years during the Civil War. No one has the crystal ball, nor can any one accurately read the tea leaves, to say what will happen in the next four years. However, if Mr. Trump continues to surround himself with bigots and appoint racists to cabinet posts, the next four years will be volatile. Every time he appoints another bigot, Fox News, the KKK, White Supremacists, and the American Nazi Party celebrate. Fox News celebrates because its ratings increase. The KKK, White Supremacists, and the Nazi Party celebrate because they believe the appointments are a means to take back the country they lost. All they needed was a demagogue as their leader.

Looking at the other side of the coin: after the final election countdown was complete, Democrats received a majority of the popular vote. Therefore, the Democratic Party is far from being dead. Everyone knows that America’s political pendulum swings back and forth every four to eight years. So if the Democrats in the House and Senate demonstrate strong leadership, the Democratic Party will survive. Millions of Americans are going to be greatly disappointed with the Trump administration, but the greatest disappointments will be within America’s working middle-class.

The Democratic Party must rebuild; America’s working middle-class must be the center of the rebuilding process. Democrats must fight for an increase in the minimum wage to 15 dollars an hour, and nothing less will do. They must continue to fight for tuition-free colleges and universities and use every means possible to fight for America’s youths. If the Democrats can win over the millions of average working Americans who are now devout followers of Fox News, the greatest change in all American history can occur. But it is going to take strong words and strong leadership, followed by strong actions, to prove to white working–class Americans that they have been brainwashed by this so-called news media whose sole purpose is to keep the Rich Man’s Party in power. 

Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House, will perhaps get his legislative agenda passed through the Republican-controlled House and Senate. His plan is to cut funds from Social Security, Medicare, disability programs, and programs that provide food for the needy. When retirees actually hold reduced Social Security checks in their hands and see with their own eyes that the funds have been cut, maybe reality will set in. Although at this time in American political history it is difficult to predict the reactions of any citizens. 

When working-class white Americans realize they have been manipulated by Fox News and the Republican Party and will have to work another four years without an increase in salary, it is possible they might wake up. They will also be faced with the problems of the Republicans increased inflation that will further reduce their purchasing power. For the next four years America’s working-class will continue to work but will receive a salary that is below the poverty level in the Great American Society.

Some churchgoers already have broken away from the Republican-controlled Christian churches, and many more are sure to follow that example. Parishioners will not continue to sit quietly in church while preachers spew rhetoric of hate disguised as Christian responsibility. Many intelligent church members will no longer continue to be brainwashed by money-loving preachers who have turned the gospel into a multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme. 

Within the next four years a Great American Coalition will be formed. This coalition will consist of working-class Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans, LGBT Americans, disabled Americans, Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans, and displaced American Christians. When this SOLID coalition is formed, it will be a force that cannot be stopped. The Republican leaders have already realized the possibility of this coalition, and that is why they have continued to support Fox News with unprecedented loyalty. They know the only thing keeping the Rich Man’s Party in power are the millions of average white Americans who are brainwashed by Fox News.

I have problems understanding parents, particularly those living in the South, who want to revive the fears of the KKK, the unrest of White Supremacists, and the renewal of the scars in flying the banner of slavery. Why they desire their children and grandchildren to live in the turmoil of bigotry is something I’ll never know. There are small communities scattered throughout America in which diverse peoples are living together. Christians are living with Muslims; Whites are living with Blacks; and heterosexuals are living with homosexuals. Recent surveys show that these are the happiest communities in America.   

America is running out of land for military graveyards and granite for headstones, but hate still continues to breed wars.  The astonishing fact is that the chief promoters of hate in America are the Republican-controlled Christians. They hate Muslims, Jews, African Americans, Latino Americans, and the wide diversity of Americans in the LGBT community. Republicans have no idea the kind of hornet’s nest they have stirred up. We are the hornets who have been mistreated all our lives and we are prepared to produce a severe sting. The Christian church has lost the complete meaning of the cross. The truth is the devil controls the minds of most so-called Christians because hate is a demonic characteristic.   

Many of my acquaintances are presently involved in a great advent of gloating. My advice to you is this: you best do your gloating now, because it will be short-lived.  May I remind you that four years, seen from a historical perspective, are no more than a few grains of sand on the beach. The chest you are now beating is a drum that contains the heartbeat of all humanity; within a few, short years that drum will be fine-tuned to the sounds of a different drummer.  

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

The results of the recent election make it apparent that most Americans do not want to solve America’s social ills. They have lived so long with hate they enjoy the turmoil that hatemongering brings. A few Americans realize they are living in distress but seem helpless to know what to do about it.

An American tragedy is in the making. The election of Donald J. Trump proves that America is front and center in the “dumbing down era” of American history. To make the assumption that Donald Trump is America’s great Santa Clause is a grave mistake. Americans voted for a Christmas wish list of campaign promises that will not be fulfilled. It is morally wrong to accept a sexist, racist, bigot, homophobe, and xenophobe as the leader of the free world. Racism alone will create more problems than a Republican police state will be able to solve.

The only way to end this tragedy is to adopt an inclusive progressive agenda. That has not happened and apparently will not happen within the next four years. America’s social mixing bowl consists of people from all over the world and that is one of the nation’s greatest strengths. The exclusive Republican agenda, plus the selective teachings of the Republican Christian ministries, will not solve the problems. 

There is no doubt that a vote for Donald Trump was a vote for a “political savior.” A confused citizenry is an open invitation for a dictator, and Americans are headed down that path with incredible speed.  A one-party political system, which Americans have just adopted, is only one step away from communism, and communism is a form of authoritarian rule.

The jobs of the future depend upon the creative ability of American citizens.  Creative individuals cannot reach their full potential under a repressive form of government. Any move on the part of the government to stifle creative growth is a major mistake. At the present, Americans have no idea the harm they have caused to themselves and to the democratic form of government.   

Americans claim they cannot trust an established politician, yet they reinstated several lifelong Republican politicians to the House and Senate. It is one thing to throw a corrupt politician under the bus, but it is another to destroy an established politician with a pack of lies conjured up by an obviously corrupt political machine. 

It is also evident that Fox News played a major role in the defeat of Hillary Clinton.  A man from outside the United States came to America with a little money and the idea that, if he could fan the flames of hate, he could attract a following that would render him a billionaire. He cared nothing about the American people then or now; he just wanted to become richer. He hired a group of so-called news anchors who will do or say anything for money. They have developed a massive following of confused individuals who have turned into a cult. Therefore with the use of brainwashing techniques—which meant pounding the airways 24-7 with one lie followed by another—they were instrumental in electing the President of the United States. 

Like the bully he is, every time Mr. Trump got into trouble on the political playground, he ran to Fox News to heal his wounds. “Of course, you won the debates,” they lied to him and many other confused Americans. So now the President elect is a puppet to Rupert Murdock and perhaps even to Roger Ailes, who is still working behind the scenes.  Americans are left with the tragedy.

Americans have no idea how bad the situation is going to get. Here are   a few examples of the beginnings of the tragedy.

~There are videos of students running in the hallways of America’s Junior High Schools with signs shouting, “White Power!”

~There are also videos of elementary students shouting down the teachers with chants of, “Build that wall! Build that wall!”

~Bullies have reestablished themselves on America’s playgrounds controlling their playmates as if to say, “Listen up chums, being a bully will get you to the White House.”

~American citizens are already questioning, “If the president pays no tax, why should we?” 

Mr. Trump, your favorite phrase—“IT’S A DISASTER”—has quickly taken on a completely new meaning. You are just about to see what a real disaster is, and this is only the tip of the iceberg.  

On January 20, 2017 Americans will have a new president. Already this man is showing signs of being a puppet, because he just isn’t qualified to take on the job. Have you heard the latest news? Donald Trump has said he is going to relax and play golf and let Mike Pence run the government. My, my, how quickly things change. It was just a short time ago that Republicans were criticizing President Obama, and   calling him all kinds of nasty names, if he even thought about playing a game of golf. Now we see what was NOT okay for a man of color has just become OKAY for a white man. But according to the leaders of the Republican Party there is no PREJUDICE within their ranks.

The process of brainwashing is not going to work with me. The statements saying “now is the time for everyone to get along and work together” are hogwash.  Fox News and the Republicans in the House and Senate chose to give President Obama not one second, not one hour, not even one day for the so-called political honeymoon. The very minute he set foot in the White House they started an organized program to destroy HIM. There are no second thoughts, there is no doubt, Fox News and the Republican Party did everything within their power to destroy America’s first black president. If the Democrats in the House and Senate have any kind of a backbone, they will give Donald Trump a double dose of the same medicine that was given to President Obama?

I have experienced—first hand—threats, verbal abuse, even physical abuse as a gay man when I lived in America’s Southland. I believe a heavy responsibility rests on my shoulders to tell the world of the evils of homophobia in the entire nation. I plan to do everything within my power to see that the future generations of young gay boys, young lesbian girls, transgender teenagers, and bisexual youths born in the United States of America do not live in a bigoted environment surrounded by homophobic prejudices. However, that responsibility has just developed into a greater challenge with the President-elect and the Vice President-elect being two of the most extreme bigots known around the world.  It is going to take some strong words, and yes, maybe some robust actions, to prevent them from destroying the progress that has been made in human relations in America in the last fifty years.

COUNT ME OUT

COUNT ME OUT!

(Suffering from Post-Traumatic Election Disorder)

As I sit in my condo trying to make sense of what has happened in American politics, I am befuddled. I don’t even know the meaning of that word, but it is the only word that seems to describe the way I feel. I see the future for America as a rodeo where a cowboy is about to hop on the back of a mean bull. For the next eight seconds he needs to hold on tight because he is in for a rough ride. Those eight seconds for Americans will be extended into days, weeks, months, and years.

 

The “dumbing down” of America is a mystery yet to be solved. I have difficulty getting my head around minimum-wage workers going to the polls and casting a vote for the political party that has looked them directly in the eyes and said, “We are not going to increase the minimum wage for working-class Americans.” So you are stuck with at least four more years working for minimum wage that is not even a living wage. But because Fox News told you that you must vote against the lady who used a private server for her emails, you voted for the Republican Party. If this is intelligent voting—COUNT ME OUT!

I have further difficulty understanding retirees, many of whom are barely making ends meet with Social Security checks, voting for the political party that has publicly stated they will reduce funds for Social Security recipients. Plus—those who plan to retire must work an extra two years because the Republicans plan to up the retirement age.  But because Fox News told you that if a lady used a private server for her emails she is evil and you must vote against evil, you voted for the Republican Party. If this is intelligent voting, please do not hesitate for a second—COUNT ME OUT!

Hold on just another minute. I personally know many individuals who count on monthly disability checks as their only means of income. But they went to the polls and voted for the political party that has also stated they will cut federally funded disability programs. Let me put this in terms that are easier to understand.  This means that your monthly check is going to be less. It isn’t something that will happen to someone who lives a hundred miles away; this is something that is going to happen to you. But you listened to Fox News and you believed all the lies about the evils of the Democratic Party, and you went to the polls and voted to cut off your nose to spite your face. If this is intelligent voting, don’t give it another thought—COUNT ME OUT!

But wait, I’m not finished. I personally know many Christians who voted for the man who told evangelicals that he will appoint judges who will overturn the Marriage Equality Act. There is absolutely nothing on record that proves same-sex couples have caused any harm to anyone.  But those same Christians voted for the political party that has cut funds for programs that feed hungry children. Not only that, they have stated they will cut more funds from the same programs. Same-sex couples have caused no harm, but cutting funds that feed thousands of hungry children has caused much harm.  I will tell you straight out, actions such as those have caused me to have little or no faith in man-made Christianity. If this is an example of Christian voting, please—COUNT ME OUT!

Now I come to the final point. I know a few gay men who have been very vocal in their support for Mike Pence. Apparently you fellows don’t know that he spent millions of taxpayers’ dollars to DENY the rights of LGBT citizens in the state of Indiana. He even went so far as an attempt to jail same-sex couples who applied for a marriage license. I know that straight America loves this, but I have difficulty understanding gays who support these actions. Apparently you don’t understand “conversion therapy”—a program Mike Pence intends to institute all across America—and the harm it will do to young gay boys, young lesbian girls and transgender students. I hope it’s because you don’t know, rather than you don’t care, because your vote has already done much harm to gay America. I assure you that the millions of gays yet to be born will be much smarter; they will do extensive research and find out who voted for what, and when. They will continue to write the book of gay accomplishments and name the great gay leaders who sacrificed their lives for the cause. It is highly improbable that your names will ever be inscribed in that book. If your vote for candidates who have caused harm to LGBT citizens is, in your heart and mind, the right kind of vote, then by all means—COUNT ME OUT!

(Of course, I got the idea for the title COUNT ME OUT from the lady, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, who used the important phrase “DEAL ME IN” successfully in many of her campaign speeches. I want to give credit where credit is due.)               

      

  

     

                                                                                                

OBSTRUCTIONIST LEGISLATORS

OBSTRUCTIONIST LEGISLATORS

    American democracy was founded by the process of compromise. The Great Compromise laid the foundation for the bi-cameral legislative branch of government. It was a compromise between the large states and the small states that led to the adoption of the US Constitution. 

  The American form of democracy has been successful for over two hundred years, but within the past few years the Republican Party has tried to hold the government in jeopardy with a no-compromise approach.  This approach is based strictly on the fact that a man of color was elected President of the United States.

   There is evident proof that on the first day of President Obama’s administration the leadership of the Republican Party sent out a mandate, spearheaded by Fox News, that they would find something wrong with every word that came from the President’s mouth. Also, all members of the party were encouraged to obstruct any presidential proposals.

    Republicans presently have the majority in the House and in the Senate, and their only purpose is to make sure the administration of America’s first black president is a failure. Nevertheless, they have failed! They have offered no plan, no suggestions, and no positive legislation that benefits Americans. They are highly paid elected officials who have done nothing but obstruct the President’s policies. Never in American history has there been a political party whose only objective was obstruction.

   Every minute of the day for over seven years Fox News and the Republican Party have tried to find something wrong with every thing the President has proposed. Instead of offering something positive that would benefit Americans, all they have provided is criticism.

   There is a hidden danger in all of this. They have been able to brainwash many average Americans to support the Rich Man’s Party. A perfect example: many working class Americans support the party that has publicly stated they are against any increase in the minimum wage. The party’s leaders advocate cutting funding for Social Security recipients. They plan to decrease all federally funded disability programs. They have already cut funding—and plan to cut more—from programs that feed hungry children. Yet they propose the biggest tax cut in American history for 1% of the country’s population—the mega rich at the top.  Also, with the help of Fox News, they have been able to use brainwashing techniques to get many Americans to support these anti-social policies.

    Everyone in the world knows that the wealthiest nation on earth should be able to provide health insurance for all citizens. The fact that Obama’s healthcare program prohibits insurance companies from dropping customers due to preexisting conditions is itself enough to save the program.  But instead of helping the program because it is the right thing to do, all Fox News and the Republicans can do is try to find something wrong.

   President Obama has accomplished something that has helped over 20 million Americans, but, according to Fox News and the Republicans, that is bad. And the reason it is bad is because it is an accomplishment by a man of color. This is pure and simple pre-Civil War prejudice.  Prejudice has always been something tucked away in the hearts of many Americans, but no one knew just how deep it was until a man of color was elected to the office of President of the United States.                 

    The way some Republicans and Fox News have treated President Obama, his wife, and his children, is a disgrace that will never be erased from American history. But through all of the criticisms and the name calling, the President now has an approval rating of over 52%. 

   On November 8, 2016, if the public opinions polls are correct, there is a great possibility that the American people will show the Republican Party that they are not going to allow a political party to jeopardize the progress of American government.  The American voters will probably elect Democrats to regain the majority in the Senate, and perhaps even in the House. Just as soon as the majority of average Americans realize that they have been brainwashed to keep the Rich Man’s Party in power—all done by the Republicans and Fox News—great change will come to America.

THE DANGER OF MIND CONTROL

THE GOSPEL OF MIND CONTROL

    Some religious leaders have turned Christianity into a multi-million dollar business. The pulpit is being used as an instrument for financial gain and many preachers have become very successful in the process.  Nevertheless, preachers are not satisfied with 32 room mansions, luxury jets, chauffeured limousines, and house servants; they still want more. Therefore, gospel ministers have learned to use the power of the pulpit to control the minds of their followers. For years they have used brainwashing as a tool to justify the killing of gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals. They spent months, as well as thousands of churchgoers’ dollars, to influence lawmakers to pass laws to limit the right to marry. They have continued to teach parishioners to disobey the Supreme Court ruling of marriage equality. They have banned same-sex couples from the church and made heroes and heroines of those who denied basic civil rights to individuals of different sexual orientations.

   In recent days preachers have looked women directly in the eyes and told them that men have the god-given right to make nasty, vulgar, and disrespectable remarks about them.  The greatest horror of this is that some women believe it. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, preachers are using the wrath of God to dictate how people should vote. They have stood before congregations and told thousands of people they will go to hell if they do not vote for a certain candidate.

    There is a bright light at the end of this tunnel. Those who call themselves the masters of the pulpit find it difficult to control the minds of America’s youth. Recent public opinion polls prove that the majority of young Americans do not think that preachers have the right to tell them how to vote.

    America is a nation born in hate, lives in hate, and enjoys the turmoil that hate brings. America’s youth are trying to shape a different America. They have seen the beauty in the diversity of skin color. They have learned there is no threat in the friendship with individuals of different sexual orientations and that knowledge can be acquired from people of different ethnic origins. In spite of what is being taught in many churches, young Americans bring hope to a closed social environment where change is slow, and a stagnated mind opposes all forms of progress.