May We Have Abundant Life, But Not Like This
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Welcome to The Politocrat. I'm Omar Moore. It is Tuesday, December the 17th, 2024. On this edition of The Politocrat, the news and notes, and where we go from here, observations, and getting ready for 2025. All of that, coming up next.

Greetings and salutations, dear listener. Welcome to this brand new edition of the Politocrat Daily Podcast. Yours truly, Omar Moore, here on a Tuesday. I hope you are well. How are you feeling on this Tuesday? Yes, we are just, what, just over a week away from Christmas, those...

of you in the world who observe, celebrate, mark that day. I do hope that you have a very Merry Christmas. Of course, again, as I say, we're eight days away from it. Are you doing your Christmas shopping? I know this is a very stressful time of year. You have to get your presents together and your shopping list together. And hopefully you've started shopping. Those, um, people in the world who do shop for Christmas, um,

It is a very stressful enterprise and many people these days shop online. In fact, I think more people shop online these days, it seems, perhaps than they even shop in shops for Christmas. There is a convenience about going online to do this. But there's also, of course, the trepidation about are you leaving yourself enough time?

to get your presence out to the people who you're giving them to, whether it's family members, whether it's friends, whether it's whomever it might be. And so it's a really stressful push to get all that done. And of course, you've got to look at the post. And is this going to be mailed out in time? And you've got a certain cutoff date. I think today, actually, here in the United States, I think it's the 17th.

That is really the last date that you can really order something if you want it to get to someone before Christmas. Certainly in the U.S., if you want to get it to someone within the 48 or 50 states, I should say, the 48 contiguous states and the 50 states overall, you would really have to have it mailed off today here in the United States if you wanted to get to someone within the country. But

I know that that can also be the case for other countries as well. But yeah, you really don't want to be mailing off anything any later than today if you want it to get to someone no later than the 24th of this month, which of course is a week from today. And of course, this week's going to zoom by. You know that. So yeah, I'm putting more pressure on you to make sure you get your gifts mailed out, put in the post today. So yeah,

Yeah, that's one thing that I'm sure is preoccupying many a person, including you, dear listener. I do hope that you are in a good place. I know that this time of year, again, can be very demanding, very stressful, obviously, and obviously it can be one period of time that can be somewhat sad. This is the time of year where there are

Bouts of depression, although depression can come at any time, at any point during a calendar year, of course. Particularly at this time of year, people do get isolated, do feel lonely, do feel very much saddened.

Because there's this emphasis on the holiday and everything is grand and great and everyone is perfect and nobody has a problem and no one is sad about something or no one has a bout of depression or nobody, you know, everybody's fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, very nice and happy, shiny happy people as R.E.M. would say. Everybody is so festive, festive, festive and a lot of this really is cultivated by

advertising companies, corporations, the media, you know, this idea that everybody's in the Christmas spirit. Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas, you know, all of that. And meanwhile, the truth is, is that there are many of us who...

are facing all kinds of challenges, have fractures within our families, aren't being invited to Christmas dinner, aren't wanting to invite people to Christmas dinner, certain people at least, and really are very much up in the air about what things look like at Christmas time or beyond into a brand new year. So I do think one of the things that

we can do to counter some of the blahs, the winter blahs, the seasonal affective disorders and all the rest of it is to do this. One, do some meditation. I know that's not going to cure everything, but meditation is very helpful. And also, I think what we need to do is tap into ourselves right now.

I've talked about this many times, writing a diary, writing an entry, even if you are suffering from a bout of depression, clinical depression, if you can find it within yourself to write something and whatever you might be thinking to write that on a piece of paper or type that into a laptop or type it into your phone or speak it into your phone.

To get those thoughts out on paper, preferably by writing, but to actually speak them is a step in the right direction. And you may find that to be helpful. I do think that it's important not only to do that, but it's also important to reach out to somebody that you know. Someone you know, someone who you trust personally.

And if you don't have very many people that you trust or anyone that you trust, I really would recommend that you use one of the hotlines here in the United States. And this goes for any country, wherever you're listening to me from right now, I would bet that there is a hotline that you can call that would put you through to somebody, can help you, someone who will listen to you.

If it is something where you're feeling very low, feeling very despondent about the world, despondent about your circumstances, despondent about your situation in life or someone else's, it's very, very important that you, if you're in the United States...

turn to a professional for help and for free. It's not something that you have to pay for. It's not that you have to go and see a therapist who you're paying lots of money to perhaps, although that's again, something that I think would be helpful. But at this time of year, with a few days until Christmas, a lot of people are going through a lot of challenges, a lot of mental health challenges, a lot of different things, a lot of stress, as I say. So

In the United States, if you are listening to me from that particular country, you need to call the Suicide and Crisis Hotline. Now, I am not suggesting, dear listener, that you are somehow on the verge of saying goodbye to the world and goodbye to everyone you know. But there are people who might be. And perhaps you or someone who listens to this podcast or someone who doesn't listen to this podcast...

is going through a very serious crisis that they need help with. And I think that this would be a very good idea for you to get them to call this number in the United States if they are within the country. 981.

9-8-8 is the suicide and crisis lifeline. And again, it doesn't have to be that you are considering ending your life at all. It could be that you have some kind of mental crisis. You have some kind of struggle emotionally. You have some concern about something that's happening in your life or in your family and you need to

talk it out with someone, a medical person or a mental health professional, I really do think that this would be a good thing for you to do. It's a 24-7, 365 confidential mental health hotline. You are able to speak to a mental health professional. It's anonymous. You don't have to give your name. You don't have to give your real name. I don't think that you have to. But I do advise you,

to talk to someone if you're having some problems, nervous breakdowns, stress, mental health issues in general. You need to go and make that phone call 988. It's the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. And you might need some emotional support. You might need a little boost. You might need someone just to talk to, someone who will listen to you. Listening is a very important skill to have.

Listening is very, very important. And so the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is something that I think will be of some help to you or someone you know. So dial 988. And they have an online site as well, which is 988lifeline.org. That's 988lifeline.org.

dot o r g that's the place that you can also connect to so that's something that you can do you have professionals there crisis counselors there people who can help you and who will help you who are trained professionally to engage in this work and

And to receive you as a person and listen to you and hear you and connect with you. Because this is a really tough time of year.

And it is a tough time of year for many people, whether they have families or not. There are people who have families who struggle with the weight of the world, the demands of the world, the things going on in their family, the family dynamic. This is a big challenge and this is a challenge at any time of the year. But it usually is this particular time of year where we get to mid-December because we are in the middle of December now.

And going toward, of course, next week and then New Year's Eve and then the first week of January is usually in that month, that period of stretch of time where people really do struggle with things. So I am saying this to you because I know that there has to be people have to be people in the world.

Or that there are, I know that there are people in the world who are struggling. I personally know of people in the world who are going through crises, who are going through things that are challenging and need some connection, need some help in the world, need someone to listen to them, need someone to connect with them, you know?

So 988 is the number that you need to call. 988, that's here within the United States. And if you are in another country, you can look up a line where you can have medical health professionals speak to you. I'm sure that that service, I know it's definitely delivered in the United Kingdom, that service where you can contact someone on phone or online and set up some kind of appointment where they can talk to you. You can call somebody and they will listen to you

in the United Kingdom, and I'm sure that this is true in other countries across the world as well. So I wanted to start with that today because I think that getting help for mental health challenges, getting help for some kind of crisis, getting help just to make sure that you have someone listening to you and you're not alone in the world, make sure that you do connect to someone rather than keeping things in your head

Start by writing things on a piece of paper if you can. Start by speaking into your phone if you can. Start by, you know, why not? I know it might be a bit more challenging, but why not start a podcast? I know everybody does that. Look, I've done that over the last few years, talking about issues that I think are important to talk about news-wise and talk about things that can help us

But I'm talking about even if you're someone who feels very, very overwhelmed at the moment, and you would think that starting a podcast would probably not be the thing you'd want to do when you're overwhelmed. But maybe your podcast could only be five minutes long. Maybe you could talk about what's happening if you feel so inclined. But I think one of the best things you can do, aside from writing things down, to get out of your mind a little bit and out to

of yourself is to connect with someone at the 988 phone number to talk to them. And I do think it will make a difference to you or to someone that you know, someone that you love, someone that you really care about. And that might be the best Christmas gift that you can give them.

And, you know, I think that it's very easy for us to get lost in this whole holiday season. And we can sometimes forget who we are in terms of forgetting that we still have to have time for ourselves, that we still have to make sure that we have a feeling of

positivity and encouragement in our hearts. And it's very difficult to do that. And we can be overwhelmed. And it does happen. And it's not that we I should say, it's not even that we forget to feel that we feel, but it's important to feel. I've always believed that for a long, long time. It doesn't matter who you are. Feeling is everything.

And you are entitled to your own feelings and no one can take those from you. And if someone is telling you that you can't feel a certain way, that you can't feel sad, that you can't feel happy, that you can't have joy, that you can't have moments of doubt, that you can't have moments of anger, as long as it's not violence. But if someone is telling you that in your life, you need to get away from them. You know, you need to get away from people who say that you can't have your feelings.

Because those are the kinds of people that you do not want to be around. Those are the kinds of people who want to stifle your joy, who want to stifle your feelings, stifle your expression.

of feeling. And it's important to have feelings. It really is. And it's also important, particularly if you are struggling at the moment with your emotions, struggling with feelings, struggling with the demands of life every day, with this technological world that we're in, this automation world that we're in, right? This AI world, the world of disinformation that we're in. And I've told you that we are in a disinformation age. I've said that many times here, and we are.

And so if you're struggling with things right now, whether it's Christmas shopping, whether it's family members, whether it's your relationship, whatever it might be, please, no crisis is too small or too large. And if you're here in the US, I insist that you call this number 988. It's 988. Thank you. Welcome back.

So some news that took place over the last 24 hours. The school shooting here in the United States that took place, and there may well have been more than one school shooting yesterday, but we've only heard about this particular one. The Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin, where a shooter killed a teacher and a student before turning the gun on herself. That's right, I said herself. It's a female shooter.

Her name was announced. I'm not going to give her a name out because I just don't think that giving out the names of these people is really helpful.

But the bottom line is, is that a loss of life from a school shooting took place yesterday. You know, I just spent time the first 15 minutes of this episode, dear listener, talking about seeking help, seeking mental health professionals and getting in touch with a crisis hotline, 988. I just spent that time talking about it. Now, I don't know if this shooter felt the need to do that. Obviously, she didn't.

And she was only 15 years of age, 15 years old, 15. And when you have access to guns in this country, this is what happens. And the access to guns is very easy. It's easier to put your hand on a gun in the United States, quite frankly, than it is to put your hand on a passport. I mean, honestly, it's easier and quicker to get a gun in this country than there's a passport. I'm not joking about that.

It's the laws that you need in this country to get a passport are much tougher actually than it is than the laws are in many and at least a number of states to get a handgun. It's just absolutely insane. But yet here we are in the United States doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, doing the same insane thing. And lo and behold, yeah, school shooting.

Another one. And there are hundreds of these every year in this country. Yeah, hundreds. No, no, no. I mean that. That's not some kind of exaggeration. Hundreds of school shootings a year inside the United States. It's absolutely insane. This is unbelievable. You know that according to the Associated Press, that school shooting I've just talked about was reported by a second grader, according to the police.

It's unreal what's been going on. And it's very, very sad. Very sad. 15 year old, 15 year old.

It's unbelievable. I mean, we are in a country of violence. The United States is a very violent country. It's the most violent country on the planet. And if you really want to know what a country is, look at its gun laws. Look at its access to guns. Look at the laws in these states where gun access is so easy. And even in Wisconsin, which supposedly has some kind of gun laws, Wisconsin is a hunting state.

I, you know, I don't, you know, it's just absolutely unreal. And now we'll have to find out today whether or not the parents had anything to do with this access to guns. Where did this 15 year old girl, because that's what she was a girl. She's no longer here. She ended her own life with that shooting with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Where was that girl's parents?

That's the thing that I want to know. I really do. I want to know. So we need to start asking these questions and we need to start answering them. And we need to continue to fight back against the gun lobby in this country.

We have such disposable, life is so disposable in the United States is what I'm trying to say. And there is nothing more ironic than being killed at a school named Abundant Life. That's your irony. That's all the irony you need in a nutshell. And I'm not making light of this. But only in America can you have two people killed at a place called Abundant Life.

Just let that sink in for just a moment. It sounds like some kind of cruel and pathetic joke. Now, I send my deepest condolences to the families of the people who lost their lives. And quite frankly, I also send my condolences to the family of the girl who ended her life and who created this nightmare for these other families, you know, because they've lost somebody too.

But you see, we in the United States don't talk about that. We don't talk about everyone who's affected. Now, it doesn't mean I condone what this 15-year-old girl did. I do not. And had she stayed alive, I would have recommended that she get some therapy and some kind of sentence as a juvenile and then as an adult. But I also recommend that she gets treatment, just like I talked about in the previous block.

Because there's obviously something going on with her as well. And that does not absolve the act that she did. It doesn't. So this country has such a problem with guns that to say that it has a problem with guns and such a problem is an understatement.

There'll be more press conferences throughout the day. The Madison police in there in Wisconsin, Madison Police Chief Sean Barnes, is going to hold another press conference at some point during the day. And I'll follow up on it. You know, I did this with the Georgia shootings at the school there back in September where a 14 year old, I forget his name now,

Had a gun and killed people. And remember, I think it was four people he killed. And remember his dad also provided him guns and bought him a gun, an AK for Christmas or an AR for Christmas, automatic rifle for Christmas. Remember all that? And he was also charged and they both appeared in court and all the rest of it. And so, you know, we'll see if in Wisconsin...

the parents, the father, the mother, had some connection, although they are cooperating with police. That's one thing that we also know. But we'll see if there is any need for charges. And I don't know if there will be or if that's been discussed or if that's been asked by the media. But there will be more press conferences on that. And look, there's a lot of shootings that happened yesterday in this country that never got talked about, that never got national spotlight, that never got any moments of time. And we're

Our whole country, we need to have a real change in our mindset about all of these things because this is very, very critical. People who are babies with guns, literally 15, 14 year olds. I mean, this is insane.

And look, anyone with a gun who is using it to kill somebody, you know, that's a real problem we have in our society, the access to guns. And something's got to give something. You would have thought that it would have give back in 2012 or 13 or 14. You know, you would have thought it would have give when in Sandy Hook in Connecticut, Newtown, Connecticut, when 20 plus kids were killed who are all under the age of five.

You would have thought, you know, five or six years old, you would have thought something would give there. But no, you know, the country has no bottom. And these were white kids shot dead. And still nobody did jack about it because, you know, if it was black kids dead, there wouldn't even have been this much outrage that there was for Sandy Hook. Because, you know, this country looks at black kids as disposable and doesn't give a damn about them.

And so, you know, that's a fact. They don't give a rat's about our kids, our black boys and girls. You can forget it. There is no consideration for us. That's why we have to look and we have to put our young boys and girls up on a pedestal and lift them up and not even put them on a pedestal, but lift them up.

Because listen, black people have mental health challenges too. There's this whole idea that black people don't have mental health challenges. And so when a black person calls the police because their husband or their wife or their spouse or someone in their family is having a mental health challenge, these police come in and blow us the hell away. They don't bring a mental health professional with them. They bring their guns.

And you know what happened to that poor sister there back in the summer where she got killed in Ohio? I forget her name. Sonia Massey. I've just remembered her name. And that piece of garbage cop, the white cop, felt it was a good idea to shoot her in her face at point blank range in her own living room.

Great. Fantastic. So, you know, this idea that black folk don't have mental health challenges, I just want to just mention that for a moment. You know, it's just absolutely ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. And that only somehow that only white kids or white people have health challenges. And it's just so, again, it's so destructive. Everyone in any group has challenges with mental health.

If you're living in a society like this one or anywhere across this planet, there are mental health challenges. Just dealing with the world every day is a mental health challenge. I mean, I'm not trivializing this. I am saying that it is on that scale. So look, it's obviously more severe for some people than it is for others. But what I'm saying is, is that to live in this world is a tremendously stressful thing. And when you've got this technology and you've got all this AI and all this bullcrap,

That's why we need to get away from it, I think. And we need to start reading books again and getting away from that and getting away from the screens, the screens, the screens, you know, all of that nonsense. And we need to get away from social media or at least reduce our imprint or footprint on social media. And we need to focus on listening to music again and preferably music that you can listen

Either stream if you want to stream it or rather listen on CD or vinyl, you know? I mean, I know people don't necessarily have CDs in abundance anymore, but it's important. Or vinyl, you know? Listen to music, you know? Listen to something. Get out into the open air. Get outdoors if you can. I know this time of year is colder, it's gloomier, it gets darker earlier, but...

But these are the things we need to get out into the world, move, motion, very important. So this gun crisis in this country has been one for a long, long time. And look, bottom line here, dear listener, is that we have to start to continue, I should say, to get involved in reducing guns in this country. We really do.

And we need to join groups who effectuate that. So that's what I want to say. Very sad that happened. Or any shooting. Even the shootings that we don't know about. The ones in your neighborhood. The one in your community. The one down the street from you. The one where you heard that your cousin got involved in. Or whatever it was. We need to be sending our...

real condolences to people who have lost loved ones and we also need to do right by them and demand a more just society and a society where gun violence is reduced and access to guns is much more reduced than it presently is. Welcome back and I want to know if you are

continuing to feel despondent about the election results from last month. And there are people who continue to feel that way. And look, I think it's okay to have that kind of response if you are someone who feels, who continues to feel despondent or feel profoundly dismayed by the results of the election here in the United States last month. I think that's okay to do. But I do think that once we get to the new year,

We have to start being resolved, getting out there, starting to get active and involved in the push for change. The organizing that we have to do is very important and critical. And we cannot allow for the setback of last month to be a full-time staple of

I know that we can feel, I've talked about the importance of feelings and we should have them. I do think that when the new year arrives, which it will in literally in what, two weeks and one day from now, it's right around the corner. It is imperative that we start to get organized and start to look at 2025 and 2026 in this country on a local level, as well as

state or national level. But locally is going to be very important. The infrastructure around us is critical. And what local government does is absolutely crucial. And we have to be involved in that. And so

I know that I will start to get involved on that level with the, you know, in the, I mean, listen, it's very difficult because, of course, when you're busy with a lot of different things, you can't put your full attention in it. But any attention is better than no attention at all. And so what I would encourage you to do, dear listener, is to start to follow the local government guidelines.

your city start to follow the news in your city about what's happening locally in your town what your mayor is doing what the police chief is doing what the City Council in your city is doing what your Board of Education is doing what the school board is doing school board is very important it is where your children are learning or not learning

where you have all these right-wingers in parts of the country here who have infiltrated these school boards, really, over the last five to ten years, and have had these political campaigns, and they've driven certain books out of the curriculum. Well, we need to fight back against all of this, you know, and whatever you take dear and hold dear to you, whether it's education, whether it's reproductive rights, whether it is economics, whatever it is, because there's more than one issue.

Please get involved in your city or your town locally. I cannot stress that enough. I really can't. And, you know, I think the media coverage during the last few months was emphasizing only one thing, that reproductive rights was basically the only thing. And for some people in the world, that is the only thing.

But there are also other issues on the table that we have to also deal with. Reproductive rights is very important. Also, jobs are very important. Also, food on the table and food.

All of that's very important. And also health care is very important. I think health care is one that really gets overlooked. And now that you're going to have this menace in the White House again, coming in just over a month from now, you're going to be dealing with this on a federal level and it can be a real problem. And so remember that health care is critical because this piece of garbage wants to get rid of your health care.

wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act slash Obamacare. And remember, for those of you out there who don't know this, Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act are the same thing. Tell that to some of your friends in some of these states, these Republican-controlled states who seem to think that the Affordable Care Act is very different from Obamacare. No, it's not. It's the same thing. Make sure you tell your relatives that in whichever Republican state that they live in.

And in any state, democratically controlled or Republican controlled. So that's something I want to add. Let's get organized. Let's start to do that. Let's do that in the new year. Let's start that as soon as January starts. You don't have to wait until January the 20th, for goodness sake. We need to all be doing this together.

after the January 1st has come and the champagne for some of us will have been popped and imbibed, if you will. But we need to get involved. And so let's do that. One other thing I want to say is

is that Judge Merchant, good on him, refused to toss out the guilty verdict for Donald Trump, speaking of that orange devil. I'm really pleased that Judge Merchant did this. Now, that may not seem to be a big deal, but I think it is a big deal. Not that I'm pleased. That's not the big deal. The big deal is that Judge Merchant decided to uphold that sentence, uphold that conviction, rather, and not throw it out.

Trump's lawyers had been for the last few weeks angling on the judge to toss it out. You know, the United States Supreme Court, which has declared him a king now, is

is something that they cited. Well, because of that, this verdict should be tossed out and set aside. And to his credit, Judge Mershon refused to do that. And I'm glad because it seemed for a number of months when he delayed the sentence saying that he was going to eventually, when no one was looking in the last few days of 2024, was going to perhaps just set the whole thing aside. But he didn't do that. And I'm glad he didn't do that because this is a state case.

In case people didn't realize, it's a state case, which means that the state has jurisdiction, not the federal government. They don't have any jurisdiction over this. So in these states, like New York, like Georgia, where there is still a prosecution, it's been paused at the moment, but it's still in effect. It's not been tossed out.

In those two places, Georgia and New York, those are state cases. So, you know, the judges have to stand firm.

And I'm glad that Judge Mershon did that. So that conviction is still upheld. It's still on the record and always will be on the record where Donald Trump is concerned. Now it's a question of the sentence. Is that sentence ever going to be given? And so that's the one thing now that we will find out over the next God knows how long, you know, few months, four years plus, who knows? Because I don't know that there's ever going to be a presidential election again in this country. We don't know that for a fact now.

We could have said that confidently had Vice President Harris won this election last month. But now it's a far from a fait accompli.

Lots to talk about on the Politicrat Daily Podcast, but we're going to do that another time. There's lots to be digesting and thinking about. But I do want to say thank you very much indeed for listening. You know what you do here, right? You can follow me on social media. I'm all over the place. Mostly, though, on places like Sez, S-E-Z dot U-S forward slash Sez.

Popcorn, R-E-E-L, threads.net, forward slash popcorn, R-E-E-L. Of course, on Blue Sky, popcorn, R-E-E-L, .bsky.social. Of course, on Spadable, spadable.com, forward slash popcorn, R-E-E-L.

And of course, fanbase, fanbase.app, forward slash popcorn, R-E-E-L, join the fanbase revolution. In social media today, Isaac Hayes III has put out this platform. And I'm telling you, there's going to be Twitter capability on it, you know, which is that's going to really blow the roof off. And that's coming in the first quarter of 2025. I'm excited about that.

And you should be too. So join Fanbase today and also invest in Fanbase. Go to startengine.com forward slash Fanbase. And of course, I will be on X and I can be found on X, but I'm not really on there very much these days. And you can understand why. You can really understand why. But I'm really not on social media as much now. And I think lowering the social media footprint, I just gave you what, seven social media sites, is really good. And I mean by that,

Being on social media less frequently, I think, will help your mental health. I can attest to that. I much, much more prefer who I am when I'm on social media less. And I also get a lot more done. So I'm pleased to say that. And I think it would be true for you too. So please, yes, you can use social media. I think it's good that you do. But I think that spending less time on it

is a really good thing. So much disinformation out there, but we have to counter that. And we have to start reading. And we need to read books, we need to read reputable sources. There are still some of them out there like Reuters, like the Associated Press, you know, places like Roland Martin, Unfiltered and the Black Star Network, and places like ProPublica,

who do excellent investigative journalism, really, really do. These are the kinds of sources that you're going to need to be consulting a whole lot more, especially now and especially as we go forward in 2025. This podcast, of course, is available on Apple and Spotify and all kinds of platforms, Amazon and Pandora and all the rest of it, so many more.

And really, I invite you to follow this podcast as well and tell your friends about it as well. We're talking about a lot more this week, including ordering your life for 2025. I'll be getting into that as well at some point in the next few episodes. Thank you very much for listening to this edition of The Politocrat. I'm Omar Moore. Welcome to The Politocrat. I'm Omar Moore. It is Tuesday, December the 17th.

2024. On this edition of The Politocrat, the news and notes, and where we go from here, observations, and getting ready for 2025. All of that, coming up next.

Greetings and salutations, dear listener. Welcome to this brand new edition of the Politocrat Daily Podcast. Yours truly, Omar Moore, here on a Tuesday. I hope you are well. How are you feeling on this Tuesday? Yes, we are just, what, just over a week away from Christmas. Those

of you in the world who observe, celebrate, mark that day. I do hope that you have a very Merry Christmas. Of course, again, as I say, we're eight days away from it. Are you doing your Christmas shopping? I know this is a very stressful time of year. You have to get your presents together and your shopping list together. And hopefully you've started shopping. Those people in the world who do shop for Christmas, um,

It is a very stressful enterprise and many people these days shop online. In fact, I think more people shop online these days, it seems, perhaps than they even shop in shops for Christmas. There is a convenience about going online to do this. But there's also, of course, the trepidation about are you leaving yourself enough time?

to get your presence out to the people who you're giving them to, whether it's family members, whether it's friends, whether it's whomever it might be. And so it's a really stressful push to get all that done. And of course, you've got to look at the post. And is this going to be mailed out in time? And you've got a certain cutoff date. I think today, actually, here in the United States, I think it's the 17th.

That is really the last date that you can really order something if you want it to get to someone before Christmas. Certainly in the U.S., if you want to get it to someone within the 48 or 50 states, I should say, the 48 contiguous states and the 50 states overall, you would really have to have it mailed off today here in the United States if you wanted to get to someone within the country. But

I know that that can also be the case for other countries as well. But yeah, you really don't want to be mailing off anything any later than today if you want it to get to someone no later than the 24th of this month, which of course is a week from today. And of course, this week's going to zoom by. You know that. So yeah, I'm putting more pressure on you to make sure you get your gifts mailed out, put in the post today. So yeah,

Yeah, that's one thing that I'm sure is preoccupying many a person, including you, dear listener. I do hope that you are in a good place. I know that this time of year, again, can be very demanding, very stressful, obviously, and obviously it can be one period of time that can be somewhat sad. This is the time of year where there are

Bouts of depression, although depression can come at any time, at any point during a calendar year, of course. Particularly at this time of year, people do get isolated, do feel lonely, do feel very much saddened.

Because there's this emphasis on the holiday and everything is grand and great and everyone is perfect and nobody has a problem and no one is sad about something or no one has a bout of depression or nobody, you know, everybody's fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, very nice and happy, shiny happy people as R.E.M. would say. Everybody is so festive, festive, festive and a lot of this really is cultivated by

advertising companies, corporations, the media, you know, this idea that everybody's in the Christmas spirit. Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas, you know, all of that. And meanwhile, the truth is, is that there are many of us who...

are facing all kinds of challenges, have fractures within our families, aren't being invited to Christmas dinner, aren't wanting to invite people to Christmas dinner, certain people at least, and really are very much up in the air about what things look like at Christmas time or beyond into a brand new year. So I do think one of the things that

we can do to counter some of the blahs, the winter blahs, the seasonal affective disorders and all the rest of it is to do this. One, do some meditation. I know that's not going to cure everything, but meditation is very helpful. And also, I think what we need to do is tap into ourselves right now.

I've talked about this many times, writing a diary, writing an entry, even if you are suffering from a bout of depression, clinical depression, if you can find it within yourself to write something and whatever you might be thinking to write that on a piece of paper or type that into a laptop or type it into your phone or speak it into your phone.

To get those thoughts out on paper, preferably by writing, but to actually speak them is a step in the right direction. And you may find that to be helpful. I do think that it's important not only to do that, but it's also important to reach out to somebody that you know. Someone you know, someone who you trust personally.

And if you don't have very many people that you trust or anyone that you trust, I really would recommend that you use one of the hotlines here in the United States. And this goes for any country, wherever you're listening to me from right now, I would bet that there is a hotline that you can call that would put you through to somebody, can help you, someone who will listen to you.

If it is something where you're feeling very low, feeling very despondent about the world, despondent about your circumstances, despondent about your situation in life or someone else's, it's very, very important that you, if you're in the United States...

turn to a professional for help and for free. It's not something that you have to pay for. It's not that you have to go and see a therapist who you're paying lots of money to perhaps, although that's again, something that I think would be helpful. But at this time of year, with a few days until Christmas, a lot of people are going through a lot of challenges, a lot of mental health challenges, a lot of different things, a lot of stress, as I say. So

In the United States, if you are listening to me from that particular country, you need to call the Suicide and Crisis Hotline. Now, I am not suggesting, dear listener, that you are somehow on the verge of saying goodbye to the world and goodbye to everyone you know. But there are people who might be. And perhaps you or someone who listens to this podcast or someone who doesn't listen to this podcast

is going through a very serious crisis that they need help with. And I think that this would be a very good idea for you to get them to call this number in the United States if they are within the country. 988-

9-8-8 is the suicide and crisis lifeline. And again, it doesn't have to be that you are considering ending your life at all. It could be that you have some kind of mental crisis. You have some kind of struggle emotionally. You have some concern about something that's happening in your life or in your family and you need to

talk it out with someone, a medical person or a mental health professional. I really do think that this would be a good thing for you to do. It's a 24-7, 365 confidential mental health hotline. You are able to speak to a mental health professional. It's anonymous. You don't have to give your name. You don't have to give your real name. I don't think that you have to, but I do advise you.

to talk to someone if you're having some problems, nervous breakdowns, stress, mental health issues in general. You need to go and make that phone call 988. It's the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. And you might need some emotional support. You might need a little boost. You might need someone just to talk to, someone who will listen to you. Listening is a very important skill to have.

Listening is very, very important. And so the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is something that I think will be of some help to you or someone you know. So dial 988. And they have an online site as well, which is 988lifeline.org. That's 988lifeline.org.

dot o r g that's the place that you can also connect to so that's something that you can do you have professionals there crisis counselors there people who can help you and who will help you who are trained professionally to engage in this work and

And to receive you as a person and listen to you and hear you and connect with you. Because this is a really tough time of year.

And it is a tough time of year for many people, whether they have families or not. There are people who have families who struggle with the weight of the world, the demands of the world, the things going on in their family, the family dynamic. This is a big challenge and this is a challenge at any time of the year. But it usually is this particular time of year where we get to mid-December, because we are in the middle of December now,

And going toward, of course, next week and then New Year's Eve and then the first week of January is usually in that month, that period of stretch of time where people really do struggle with things. So I am saying this to you because I know that there has to be people have to be people in the world.

Or that there are, I know that there are people in the world who are struggling. I personally know of people in the world who are going through crises, who are going through things that are challenging and need some connection, need some help in the world, need someone to listen to them, need someone to connect with them, you know?

So 988 is the number that you need to call. 988. That's here within the United States. And if you are in another country, you can look up

line where you can have medical health professionals speak to you. I'm sure that that service, I know it's definitely delivered in the United Kingdom, that service where you can contact someone on phone or online and set up some kind of appointment where they can talk to you, you can call somebody and they will listen to you in the United Kingdom. And I'm sure that this is true in other countries across the world as well. So I wanted to start with that today because I think that getting help for

for mental health challenges, getting help for some kind of crisis, getting help just to make sure that you have someone listening to you and you're not alone in the world. Make sure that you do connect to someone rather than keeping things in your head. Start by writing things on a piece of paper if you can. Start by speaking into your phone if you can. Start by, you know, why not? I know it might be a bit more challenging, but why not start a podcast?

I know everybody does that. Look, I've done that over the last few years, talking about issues that I think are important to talk about news-wise and talk about things that can help us

But I'm talking about even if you're someone who feels very, very overwhelmed at the moment, and you would think that starting a podcast would probably not be the thing you'd want to do when you're overwhelmed. But maybe your podcast could only be five minutes long. Maybe you could talk about what's happening if you feel so inclined. But...

I think one of the best things you can do, aside from writing things down, to get out of your mind a little bit and out of yourself is to connect with someone at the 988 phone number to talk to them. And I do think it will make a difference to you or to someone that you know, someone that you love, someone that you really care about. And that might be the best Christmas gift that you can give them.

And, you know, I think that it's very easy for us to get lost in this whole holiday season. And we can sometimes forget who we are in terms of forgetting that we still have to have time for ourselves, that we still have to make sure that we have a feeling of

positivity and encouragement in our hearts. And it's very difficult to do that. And we can be overwhelmed. And it does happen. And it's not that we, I should say, it's not even that we forget to feel that we feel. But it's important to feel. I've always believed that for a long, long time. It doesn't matter who you are.

Feeling is everything. And you are entitled to your own feelings and no one can take those from you. And if someone is telling you that you can't feel a certain way, that you can't feel sad, that you can't feel happy, that you can't have joy, that you can't have moments of doubt, that you can't have moments of anger, as long as it's not violence. But if someone is telling you that in your life, you need to get away from them. You know, you need to get away from people who say that you can't have your feelings.

Because those are the kinds of people that you do not want to be around. Those are the kinds of people who want to stifle your joy, who want to stifle your feelings, stifle your expression.

of feeling. And it's important to have feelings. It really is. And it's also important, particularly if you are struggling at the moment with your emotions, struggling with feelings, struggling with the demands of life every day, with this technological world that we're in, this automation world that we're in, right? This AI world, the world of disinformation that we're in. And I've told you that we are in a disinformation age. I've said that many times here, and we are.

And so if you're struggling with things right now, whether it's Christmas shopping, whether it's family members, whether it's your relationship, whatever it might be, please, no crisis is too small or too large. And if you're here in the US, I insist that you call this number 988. It's 988. Thank you. Welcome back.

So some news that took place over the last 24 hours. The school shooting here in the United States that took place, and there may well have been more than one school shooting yesterday, but we've only heard about this particular one. The Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin, where a shooter killed a teacher and a student before turning the gun on herself. That's right, I said herself. It's a female shooter.

Her name was announced. I'm not going to give her name out because I just don't think that giving out the names of these people is really helpful.

But the bottom line is, is that a loss of life from a school shooting took place yesterday. You know, I just spent time, the first 15 minutes of this episode, dear listener, talking about seeking help, seeking mental health professionals and getting in touch with a crisis hotline, 988. I just spent that time talking about it. Now, I don't know if this shooter felt the need to do that. Obviously, she didn't.

And she was only 15 years of age, 15 years old, 15. And when you have access to guns in this country, this is what happens. And the access to guns is very easy. It's easier to put your hand on a gun in the United States, quite frankly, than it is to put your hand on a passport. I mean, honestly, it's easier and quicker to get a gun in this country than there's a passport. I'm not joking about that.

It's the laws that you need in this country to get a passport are much tougher actually than the laws are in at least a number of states to get a handgun. It's just absolutely insane. But yet here we are in the United States doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, doing the same insane thing. And lo and behold, yeah, school shooting.

Another one. And there are hundreds of these every year in this country. Yeah, hundreds. No, no, no. I mean that. That's not some kind of exaggeration. Hundreds of school shootings a year inside the United States. It's absolutely insane. This is unbelievable. You know that according to the Associated Press, that school shooting I've just talked about was reported by a second grader, according to the police.

It's unreal what's been going on. And it's very, very sad. Very sad. 15 year old, 15 year old.

It's unbelievable. I mean, we are in a country of violence. The United States is a very violent country. It's the most violent country on the planet. And if you really want to know what a country is, look at its gun laws. Look at its access to guns. Look at the laws in these states where gun access is so easy. And even in Wisconsin, which supposedly has some kind of gun laws, Wisconsin is a hunting state.

I, you know, I don't, you know, it's just absolutely unreal. And now we'll have to find out today whether or not the parents had anything to do with this access to guns. Where did this 15 year old girl, because that's what she was a girl. She's no longer here. She ended her own life with that shooting with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Where was that girl's parents?

That's the thing that I want to know. I really do. I want to know. So we need to start asking these questions and we need to start answering them. And we need to continue to fight back against the gun lobby in this country.

We have such disposable, life is so disposable in the United States is what I'm trying to say. And there is nothing more ironic than being killed at a school named Abundant Life. That's your irony. That's all the irony you need in a nutshell. And I'm not making light of this. But only in America can you have two people killed at a place called Abundant Life.

Just let that sink in for just a moment. It sounds like some kind of cruel and pathetic joke. Now, I send my deepest condolences to the families of the people who lost their lives. And quite frankly, I also send my condolences to the family of the girl who ended her life and who created this nightmare for these other families, you know, because they've lost somebody too.

But you see, we in the United States don't talk about that. We don't talk about everyone who's affected. Now, it doesn't mean I condone what this 15-year-old girl did. I do not. And had she stayed alive, I would have recommended that she get some therapy and some kind of sentence as a juvenile and then as an adult. But I also recommend that she gets treatment, just like I talked about in the previous block.

Because there's obviously something going on with her as well. And that does not absolve the act that she did. It doesn't. So this country has such a problem with guns that to say that it has a problem with guns and such a problem is an understatement.

There'll be more press conferences throughout the day. The Madison police in there in Wisconsin, Madison Police Chief Sean Barnes, is going to hold another press conference at some point during the day. And I'll follow up on it. You know, I did this with the Georgia shootings at the school there back in September where a 14 year old, I forget his name now,

Had a gun and killed people. And remember, I think it was four people he killed. And remember his dad also provided him guns and bought him a gun, an AK for Christmas or an AR for Christmas, automatic rifle for Christmas. Remember all that? And he was also charged and they both appeared in court and all the rest of it. And so, you know, we'll see if in Wisconsin...

the parents, the father, the mother, had some connection, although they are cooperating with police. That's one thing that we also know. But we'll see if there is any need for charges. And I don't know if there will be or if that's been discussed or if that's been asked by the media. But there will be more press conferences on that. And look, there's a lot of shootings that happened yesterday in this country that never got talked about, that never got national spotlight, that never got any moments of time. And...

And our whole country, we need to have a real change in our mindset about all of these things because this is very, very critical. People who are babies with guns, literally 15, 14-year-olds. I mean, this is insane.

And look, anyone with a gun who is using it to kill somebody, you know, that's a real problem we have in our society, the access to guns. And something's got to give something. You would have thought that it would have give back in 2012 or 13 or 14. You know, you would have thought it would have give when in Sandy Hook in Connecticut, Newtown, Connecticut, when 20 plus kids were killed who are all under the age of five, you

You would have thought, you know, five or six years old, you would have thought something would have give there. But no, you know, the country has no bottom. And these were white kids shot dead. And still nobody did jack about it because, you know, if it was black kids dead, there wouldn't even have been this much outrage that there was for Sandy Hook. Because, you know, this country looks at black kids as disposable and doesn't give a damn about them.

And so, you know, that's a fact. They don't give a rat about our kids, our black boys and girls. You can forget it. There is no consideration for us. That's why we have to look and we have to put our young boys and girls up on a pedestal and lift them up and not even put them on a pedestal, but lift them up.

Because listen, black people have mental health challenges too. There's this whole idea that black people don't have mental health challenges. And so when a black person calls the police because their husband or their wife or their spouse or someone in their family is having a mental health challenge, these police come in and blow us the hell away. They don't bring a mental health professional with them. They bring their guns.

And you know what happened to that poor sister there back in the summer where she got killed in Ohio. I forget her name. Sonia Massey. I've just remembered her name. And that piece of garbage cop, the white cop, felt it was a good idea to shoot her in her face at point blank range in her own living room.

Great. Fantastic. So, you know, this idea that black folk don't have mental health challenges, I just want to just mention that from, you know, it was just absolutely ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. And that only somehow that only white kids or white people have health challenges. And it's just so, again, it's so destructive. Everyone in any group has challenges with mental health.

If you're living in a society like this one or anywhere across this planet, there are mental health challenges. Just dealing with the world every day is a mental health challenge. I mean, I'm not trivializing this. I am saying that it is on that scale. So look, it's obviously more severe for some people than it is for others. But what I'm saying is, is that to live in this world is a tremendously stressful thing. And when you've got this technology and you've got all this AI and all this bullcrap,

That's why we need to get away from it, I think. And we need to start reading books again and getting away from that and getting away from the screens, the screens, the screens, you know, all of that nonsense. And we need to get away from social media or at least reduce our imprint or footprint on social media. And we need to focus on listening to music again and preferably music that you can listen

Either stream if you want to stream it or rather listen on CD or vinyl, you know? I mean, I know people don't necessarily have CDs in abundance anymore, but it's important. Or vinyl, you know? Listen to music, you know? Listen to something. Get out into the open air. Get outdoors if you can. I know this time of year is colder, it's gloomier, it gets darker earlier, but...

But these are the things we need to get out into the world, move, motion, very important. So this gun crisis in this country has been one for a long, long time. And look, bottom line here, dear listener, is that we have to start to continue, I should say, to get involved in reducing guns in this country. We really do.

And we need to join groups who effectuate that. So that's what I want to say. Very sad that happened. Or any shooting. Even the shootings that we don't know about. The ones in your neighborhood. The one in your community. The one down the street from you. The one where you heard that your cousin got involved in. Or whatever it was. We need to be sending our...

real condolences to people who have lost loved ones and we also need to do right by them and demand a more just society and a society where gun violence is reduced and access to guns is much more reduced than it presently is. Welcome back and I want to know if you are

continuing to feel despondent about the election results from last month. And there are people who continue to feel that way. And look, I think it's okay to have that kind of response if you are someone who feels, who continues to feel despondent or feel profoundly dismayed by the results of the election here in the United States last month. I think that's okay to do. But I do think that once we get to the new year,

We have to start being resolved, getting out there, starting to get active and involved in the push for change. The organizing that we have to do is very important and critical. And we cannot allow for the setback of last month to be a full-time staple of

I know that we can feel, I've talked about the importance of feelings and we should have them. I do think that when the new year arrives, which it will in literally in what, two weeks and one day from now, it's right around the corner. It is imperative that we start to get organized and start to look at 2025 and 2026 in this country on a local level, as well as

state or national level. But locally is going to be very important. The infrastructure around us is critical. And what local government does is absolutely crucial. And we have to be involved in that. And so

I know that I will start to get involved on that level with the, you know, in the, I mean, listen, it's very difficult because, of course, when you're busy with a lot of different things, you can't put your full attention in it. But any attention is better than no attention at all. And so what I would encourage you to do, dear listener, is to start to follow the local government guidelines.

your city start to follow the news in your city about what's happening locally in your town what your mayor is doing what the police chief is doing what the City Council in your city is doing what your Board of Education is doing what the school board is doing school board is very important it is where your children are learning or not learning

where you have all these right-wingers in parts of the country here who have infiltrated these school boards, really, over the last five to ten years, and have had these political campaigns, and they've driven certain books out of the curriculum. Well, we need to fight back against all of this, you know, and whatever you take dear and hold dear to you, whether it's education, whether it's reproductive rights, whether it is economics, whatever it is, because there's more than one issue.

Please get involved in your city or your town locally. I cannot stress that enough. I really can't. And, you know, I think the media coverage during the last few months was emphasizing only one thing, that reproductive rights was basically the only thing. And for some people in the world, that is the only thing.

But there are also other issues on the table that we have to also deal with. Reproductive rights is very important. Also, jobs are very important. Also, food on the table and food.

All of that's very important. And also health care is very important. I think health care is one that really gets overlooked. And now that you're going to have this menace in the White House again, coming in just over a month from now, you're going to be dealing with this on a federal level and it can be a real problem. And so remember that health care is critical because this piece of garbage wants to get rid of your health care.

wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act slash Obamacare. And remember, for those of you out there who don't know this, Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act are the same thing. Tell that to some of your friends in some of these states, these Republican-controlled states who seem to think that the Affordable Care Act is very different from Obamacare. No, it's not. It's the same thing. Make sure you tell your relatives that in whichever Republican state that they live in.

and in any state, democratically controlled or Republican controlled. So that's something I want to add. Let's get organized. Let's start to do that. Let's do that in the new year.

Let's start that as soon as January starts. You don't have to wait until January the 20th, for goodness sake. We need to all be doing this after the January 1st has come and the champagne for some of us will have been popped and imbibed, if you will. But we need to get involved. And so let's do that. One other thing I want to say.

is that Judge Merchant, good on him, refused to toss out the guilty verdict for Donald Trump, speaking of that orange devil. I'm really pleased that Judge Merchant did this. Now, that may not seem to be a big deal, but I think it is a big deal. Not that I'm pleased. That's not the big deal. The big deal is that Judge Merchant decided to uphold that sentence, uphold that conviction, rather, and not throw it out.

Trump's lawyers had been for the last few weeks angling on the judge to toss it out. You know, the United States Supreme Court, which has declared him a king now, the

is something that they cited well because of that this verdict should be tossed out and set aside and to his credit Judge Mershon refused to do that and I'm glad because it seemed for a number of months when he delayed the sentencing that he was going to eventually when no one was looking in the last few days of 2024 was going to perhaps just set the whole thing aside but he didn't do that and I'm glad he didn't do that because this is a state case

In case people didn't realize, it's a state case, which means that the state has jurisdiction, not the federal government. They don't have any jurisdiction over this. So in these states, like New York, like Georgia, where there is still a prosecution, it's been paused at the moment, but it's still in effect. It's not been tossed out.

In those two places, Georgia and New York, those are state cases. So, you know, the judges have to stand firm.

And I'm glad that Judge Mershon did that. So that conviction is still upheld. It's still on the record and always will be on the record where Donald Trump is concerned. Now it's a question of the sentence. Is that sentence ever going to be given? And so that's the one thing now that we will find out over the next God knows how long, you know, few months, four years plus, who knows? Because I don't know that there's ever going to be a presidential election again in this country. We don't know that for a fact now.

We could have said that confidently had Vice President Harris won this election last month. But now it's a far from a fait accompli.

Lots to talk about on the Politicrat Daily Podcast, but we're going to do that another time. There's lots to be digesting and thinking about. But I do want to say thank you very much indeed for listening. You know what you do here, right? You can follow me on social media. I'm all over the place. Mostly, though, on places like Sez, S-E-Z dot U-S forward slash Sez.

Popcorn, R-E-E-L, threads.net, forward slash popcorn, R-E-E-L. Of course, on Blue Sky, popcorn, R-E-E-L, dot bsky.social. Of course, on spoutable, spoutable.com, forward slash popcorn, R-E-E-L.

And of course, fanbase, fanbase.app, forward slash popcorn, R-E-E-L, join the fanbase revolution. In social media today, Isaac Hayes III has put out this platform. And I'm telling you, there's going to be Twitter capability on it, you know, which is that's going to really blow the roof off. And that's coming in the first quarter of 2025. I'm excited about that.

And you should be too. So join Fanbase today and also invest in Fanbase. Go to startengine.com forward slash Fanbase. And of course, I will be on X and I can be found on X, but I'm not really on there very much these days. And you can understand why. You can really understand why. But I'm really not on social media as much now. And I think lowering the social media footprint, I just gave you what, seven social media sites, is really good. And I mean by that,

Being on social media less frequently, I think, will help your mental health. I can attest to that. I much, much more prefer who I am when I'm on social media less. And I also get a lot more done. So I'm pleased to say that. And I think it would be true for you too. So please, yes, you can use social media. I think it's good that you do. But I think that spending less time on it

is a really good thing. So much disinformation out there, but we have to counter that. And we have to start reading. And we need to read books, we need to read reputable sources. There are still some of them out there like Reuters, like the Associated Press, you know, places like Roland Martin, Unfiltered and the Black Star Network, and places like ProPublica,

who do excellent investigative journalism, really, really do. These are the kinds of sources that you're going to need to be consulting a whole lot more, especially now and especially as we go forward in 2025. This podcast, of course, is available on Apple and Spotify and all kinds of platforms, Amazon and Pandora and all the rest of it, so many more.

And really, I invite you to follow this podcast as well and tell your friends about it as well. We're talking about a lot more this week, including ordering your life for 2025. I'll be getting into that as well at some point in the next few episodes. Thank you very much for listening to this edition of The Politocrat. I'm Omar Moore.