Status: If I pay my mortgage payment today, I am not going to have anything in my checking account. Been working full-time since 1985. I never go to movies, I don't take vacations, I don't eat out much, I don't buy clothes (ask my co-workers--my dress code is "rags chique"). What's wrong with this picture? Yes, I can dip into my savings, but the point is, one should be able to earn enough to live on when one has a college degree and has been working one's butt off since 1985, and I don't even have a car payment right now. And the only reason I even have a "savings" is not from actually being able to "save" anything in all those years of working full-time, but because I was bril enough to buy a house in a down market in 1995 in an area where everyone told me I was crazy to buy, but I knew had potential. Only from selling that house in 2013 do I have any "savings", so don't let the word fool you into thinking that a working person in America can actually "save" enough (or anything) from their paycheck every month to accumulate anything in the bank. My smarts in buying that first house and spending 18 years bringing that 'hood back is what did that.
Anyway: thanks, Reagan. You are the gift that keeps on giving, you and your damn trickle-down economics. In the workforce full time since 1985 and can't make ends meet from my salary. I don't see anything trickling down. How long does it take? Been waiting over three decades up in hea'!
And now my fellow workin' stiffs have mistakenly voted Trump in, thinking he is somehow going to help us? HOW, with more of the same, failed, repug, doublespeak policy, which is actually trickle-UP economics?
Something is very wrong with this picture. We need Bernie but we got stuck with Trump, the anti-Bernie. I am not happy.
Monday, December 26, 2016
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Trump Keeps Lyin' When he Outta be Truthin'
Well, as of 4 hours ago, Trump has officially gone off the deep end.
He now claims, on Twitter of course, that "I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally."
1. Millions of people did NOT vote illegally.
2. Trump did NOT win the popular vote, not even remotely close.
He is spewing out a slew of demented tweets because he is upset about the recount movement. Do we even care that he LIES blatantly and routinely, or has it, in fact, become so routine, that it seems normal that we now have a President Elect who just tells bald-faced lies that are easily disproved and we just give him pass after pass on it?
He now claims, on Twitter of course, that "I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally."
1. Millions of people did NOT vote illegally.
2. Trump did NOT win the popular vote, not even remotely close.
He is spewing out a slew of demented tweets because he is upset about the recount movement. Do we even care that he LIES blatantly and routinely, or has it, in fact, become so routine, that it seems normal that we now have a President Elect who just tells bald-faced lies that are easily disproved and we just give him pass after pass on it?
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Trump's Transition: Nothing About It Is Remotely Okay
Good morning, friends.
I would normally be driving to work right now. You know, as a working American, member of the 99%, who has worked full-time since 1985. I have a dentist appointment a bit later this fine a.m., though, so I'm home, with a minute to reflect on re my current state of abject terror.
I have stated many times since a week ago this morning that I have never felt this kind of terror for my country before in my life. Today, I want to say something about Trump's transition and what it tells us. It has done nothing but exponentially increase my terror, and deepen my horror.
Where to even start? The obvious place would be with Trump's choice to appoint a hate-monger as White House Chief Strategist. A man who peddles anti-semitism, racism, sexism and white nationalism. Or I could start with how Trump has refused to put his assets into a blind trust, and is instead going to have his children run them. In other words, he will still be running his businesses, and those same children will have high clearance and access in the Trump administration. They are already peddling their wares on .gov sites. Trump is a real estate developer who is going to also be President of the United States. He's also appointing people who are lobbyists, and who have clear conflicts of interest. So much for "draining the swamp". But some of us tried to warn that he is a con man. So I don't want to start with all of the above and so much more. What I really simply want to talk about is something else very, very terrifying.
Trump's transition team cancelled their meeting with Obama's White House transition team, which was scheduled for the day after Trump met with Obama. Trump and his team are also failing to return the calls of the Pentagon, the State Dept, and others who are standing ready to facilitate the transition. Why the duck is Trump NOT even moving forward with the transition of power?
As Rachel Maddow said last night, before Trump even assumes power, we have quite a few (many--MANY) things going on here that are all "breathtaking" in how NOT okay AT ALL they are--how totally unacceptable, unethical, corrupt and horrifying they are. She used the word corrupt.
Trump was elected President a week ago. I was horrified and terrified. But this is America, and the man was elected President, so I was willing for my party to work with him if he proposes anything good, and fight him on anything bad. However, now? We need to RESIST. We need to fight. He is loading up with White House with hate mongers, lobbyists and nepotism. He is signaling that he is going to use the Presidency for his own business interests at the expense of what is good for the country and the world (not to mention the environment, but I'm talking about just the conflict of interest here). Trump has a conflict of interest between his own financial and hateful/vengeful purposes, and what is best for the United States of America. We have to stand up to that and fight it.
Also the man has zero experience--ZERO--in government, and he is surrounding himself with people who also have zero experience, which is equally terrifying and horrifying to the fact that he is so unethical, corrupt and conflict-of-interest-infused.
Nothing about this is normal or okay in the slightest. We have to fight this. We have to protest. Yes, he won the election, but NO, the things he is already doing are not even remotely okay. So don't tell me not to protest. Don't tell me to "accept". This isn't like the 8 years of Republican downright treasonous at times obstructionism of a decent President whom they just happened to disagree with (not to mention, many of them were racist against). No, this isn't about that Trump's policies are anathema to everything I believe is healthy for this country and world, which they are. If it was just that, I'd say, hey, the man won. Give him his four years to ruin the country and environment, just like other repug Presidents before him, and I will fight him on policy but respect that he is the President. No, this isn't like that. This is like this: this man is corrupting the entire office of the Presidency for his own ends. So we MUST fight that, we must fight him, because Donald Trump clearly does not have the best interests of this country at heart. This isn't about disagreeing with him on policy, this need to protest him NOW. This is about him corrupting the office, using it to amass his own power and as a headquarters for hate, too.
We fight (non-violently, of course). We protest. We stand up and we speak up. We stand up for our country, our democracy and each other. We do this NOW. And we don't stop.
I would normally be driving to work right now. You know, as a working American, member of the 99%, who has worked full-time since 1985. I have a dentist appointment a bit later this fine a.m., though, so I'm home, with a minute to reflect on re my current state of abject terror.
I have stated many times since a week ago this morning that I have never felt this kind of terror for my country before in my life. Today, I want to say something about Trump's transition and what it tells us. It has done nothing but exponentially increase my terror, and deepen my horror.
Where to even start? The obvious place would be with Trump's choice to appoint a hate-monger as White House Chief Strategist. A man who peddles anti-semitism, racism, sexism and white nationalism. Or I could start with how Trump has refused to put his assets into a blind trust, and is instead going to have his children run them. In other words, he will still be running his businesses, and those same children will have high clearance and access in the Trump administration. They are already peddling their wares on .gov sites. Trump is a real estate developer who is going to also be President of the United States. He's also appointing people who are lobbyists, and who have clear conflicts of interest. So much for "draining the swamp". But some of us tried to warn that he is a con man. So I don't want to start with all of the above and so much more. What I really simply want to talk about is something else very, very terrifying.
Trump's transition team cancelled their meeting with Obama's White House transition team, which was scheduled for the day after Trump met with Obama. Trump and his team are also failing to return the calls of the Pentagon, the State Dept, and others who are standing ready to facilitate the transition. Why the duck is Trump NOT even moving forward with the transition of power?
As Rachel Maddow said last night, before Trump even assumes power, we have quite a few (many--MANY) things going on here that are all "breathtaking" in how NOT okay AT ALL they are--how totally unacceptable, unethical, corrupt and horrifying they are. She used the word corrupt.
Trump was elected President a week ago. I was horrified and terrified. But this is America, and the man was elected President, so I was willing for my party to work with him if he proposes anything good, and fight him on anything bad. However, now? We need to RESIST. We need to fight. He is loading up with White House with hate mongers, lobbyists and nepotism. He is signaling that he is going to use the Presidency for his own business interests at the expense of what is good for the country and the world (not to mention the environment, but I'm talking about just the conflict of interest here). Trump has a conflict of interest between his own financial and hateful/vengeful purposes, and what is best for the United States of America. We have to stand up to that and fight it.
Also the man has zero experience--ZERO--in government, and he is surrounding himself with people who also have zero experience, which is equally terrifying and horrifying to the fact that he is so unethical, corrupt and conflict-of-interest-infused.
Nothing about this is normal or okay in the slightest. We have to fight this. We have to protest. Yes, he won the election, but NO, the things he is already doing are not even remotely okay. So don't tell me not to protest. Don't tell me to "accept". This isn't like the 8 years of Republican downright treasonous at times obstructionism of a decent President whom they just happened to disagree with (not to mention, many of them were racist against). No, this isn't about that Trump's policies are anathema to everything I believe is healthy for this country and world, which they are. If it was just that, I'd say, hey, the man won. Give him his four years to ruin the country and environment, just like other repug Presidents before him, and I will fight him on policy but respect that he is the President. No, this isn't like that. This is like this: this man is corrupting the entire office of the Presidency for his own ends. So we MUST fight that, we must fight him, because Donald Trump clearly does not have the best interests of this country at heart. This isn't about disagreeing with him on policy, this need to protest him NOW. This is about him corrupting the office, using it to amass his own power and as a headquarters for hate, too.
We fight (non-violently, of course). We protest. We stand up and we speak up. We stand up for our country, our democracy and each other. We do this NOW. And we don't stop.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Are We Supposed to Act Like Everything is Normal?
Are we supposed to feel and/or act like everything is normal now?
I walked for hours today. It didn't take away the terror. This abject terror that I can't describe and that I've never felt before Trump was elected President. Instead of getting better, it is getting worse every day. As time relentlessly marches toward his swearing in, as he starts to form his thug-fascist cabinet, as his people start talking about violating the constitution and shipping political dissidents back to Turkey and up-ending environmental regulations/protection, my terror deepens and grows.
I feel that our democracy is in grave, profound peril. I feel that our environment doesn't have four years for us to fiddle while Rome burns. I feel that I and other people are in danger, as we fall into one or more of many categories of people that Trump has stated over and over again he is going to take the country "back" from. I feel that our economy is going to head right back over the cliff (but that is actually the least of my worries--I'm more worried about our democracy itself, the environment, and what will happen to many citizens, possibly including myself, if the US becomes a fascist state).
I walked today and everything looked the same. Nature--still beautiful. The trees look so peaceful. They don't know. I know. You look at people's faces, into their eyes, and you can tell. You can tell who knows and who doesn't. The ones who know look like me: shell shocked, grim on a beautiful day, steeled.
Are we supposed to act like everything is normal? Luckily, my tea-partyish boss was on business in another city last week, so I didn't have to keep up the front all the time. Next week, I'll have to. I'll have to act like everything's fine, my precious, hard-fought-for country didn't just go from democracy into the hands of a would-be fascist. And maybe I can do it, if I have to, to pay the mortgage. Maybe I can act like everything's normal. But this feeling won't go away. My country's been taken, democracy has a gun to its head, everything and everyone I love is in profound peril, and I'm supposed to act normal?
I walked for hours today. It didn't take away the terror. This abject terror that I can't describe and that I've never felt before Trump was elected President. Instead of getting better, it is getting worse every day. As time relentlessly marches toward his swearing in, as he starts to form his thug-fascist cabinet, as his people start talking about violating the constitution and shipping political dissidents back to Turkey and up-ending environmental regulations/protection, my terror deepens and grows.
I feel that our democracy is in grave, profound peril. I feel that our environment doesn't have four years for us to fiddle while Rome burns. I feel that I and other people are in danger, as we fall into one or more of many categories of people that Trump has stated over and over again he is going to take the country "back" from. I feel that our economy is going to head right back over the cliff (but that is actually the least of my worries--I'm more worried about our democracy itself, the environment, and what will happen to many citizens, possibly including myself, if the US becomes a fascist state).
I walked today and everything looked the same. Nature--still beautiful. The trees look so peaceful. They don't know. I know. You look at people's faces, into their eyes, and you can tell. You can tell who knows and who doesn't. The ones who know look like me: shell shocked, grim on a beautiful day, steeled.
Are we supposed to act like everything is normal? Luckily, my tea-partyish boss was on business in another city last week, so I didn't have to keep up the front all the time. Next week, I'll have to. I'll have to act like everything's fine, my precious, hard-fought-for country didn't just go from democracy into the hands of a would-be fascist. And maybe I can do it, if I have to, to pay the mortgage. Maybe I can act like everything's normal. But this feeling won't go away. My country's been taken, democracy has a gun to its head, everything and everyone I love is in profound peril, and I'm supposed to act normal?
Thursday, November 10, 2016
A Hopeful Message For Those of Us Who Voted Blue...
I want people to realize and think about something: if you, like I, felt like you woke up in a country you don't recognize on Wednesday, think about the following truth, and take heart, though I do believe we are in for a long national nightmare. We can draw strength from this fact: Hillary Clinton won the popular vote.
She lost the election, but won the popular vote. She lost due to our electoral college system, which is a part of our Constitution. So Trump did win the election. I'm not arguing that. I'm saying to those Americans, like myself, who are horrified, and terrified for our country, that realizing that *more Americans voted for Clinton than for Trump* can help us. It can help us feel less like foreigners in our own country.
More Americans voted for Hillary's message, plans and platform than voted for Trump and what he stands for. So take heart. Look around you. You are still home. You're not in a foreign country. The majority of the American people want and voted for a progressive, inclusive healthy society. It's just that, due to a complex constitutional construct called the electoral college (which has pro's and con's, and can be argued for or against, but it is certainly the law of the land right now, so Trump certainly won the election), we did not prevail in this election. We are the majority, though.
So keep your heads up, your hearts hopeful and your spirits strong. Also keep your voices speaking, eloquent and substantive. Our time will come. To paraphrase one of my heroes, Martin Luther King, Jr., I may not get there with you, but we as a country will get there. We are going to have to go through some dark times now (<---back to me--I'm not paraphrasing MLK on that last statement), but you know what the cliche says--and cliches don't make it to cliche status without containing truth: it's always darkest before the dawn.
Twitter version: hang in there, friends, you are not alone. You are the majority of America.
She lost the election, but won the popular vote. She lost due to our electoral college system, which is a part of our Constitution. So Trump did win the election. I'm not arguing that. I'm saying to those Americans, like myself, who are horrified, and terrified for our country, that realizing that *more Americans voted for Clinton than for Trump* can help us. It can help us feel less like foreigners in our own country.
More Americans voted for Hillary's message, plans and platform than voted for Trump and what he stands for. So take heart. Look around you. You are still home. You're not in a foreign country. The majority of the American people want and voted for a progressive, inclusive healthy society. It's just that, due to a complex constitutional construct called the electoral college (which has pro's and con's, and can be argued for or against, but it is certainly the law of the land right now, so Trump certainly won the election), we did not prevail in this election. We are the majority, though.
So keep your heads up, your hearts hopeful and your spirits strong. Also keep your voices speaking, eloquent and substantive. Our time will come. To paraphrase one of my heroes, Martin Luther King, Jr., I may not get there with you, but we as a country will get there. We are going to have to go through some dark times now (<---back to me--I'm not paraphrasing MLK on that last statement), but you know what the cliche says--and cliches don't make it to cliche status without containing truth: it's always darkest before the dawn.
Twitter version: hang in there, friends, you are not alone. You are the majority of America.
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Across the Grand Canyon
"Are we still friends?", inquired a nice co-worker of mine this morning, peeking her head into my cube. She asked because she voted for Trump. And I had tried to convince her not to.
"Of course," I said...then added, kiddingly, yet kinda not "...even though you've ruined the country."
"Well, I'm cautiously optimistic.", she said, with a smile.
"I'm cautiously packing.", said I, without missing a beat.
Thus ended a warm, cordial conversation this morning between the two Americas. At least some of us can still converse, across the Grand Canyon of polarization. We feel completely differently today. Two people in the same country. One cautiously optimistic. The other terrified.
"Of course," I said...then added, kiddingly, yet kinda not "...even though you've ruined the country."
"Well, I'm cautiously optimistic.", she said, with a smile.
"I'm cautiously packing.", said I, without missing a beat.
Thus ended a warm, cordial conversation this morning between the two Americas. At least some of us can still converse, across the Grand Canyon of polarization. We feel completely differently today. Two people in the same country. One cautiously optimistic. The other terrified.
Friday, November 4, 2016
This Song Goes Out to My Country...
I dedicate this song to my country, on the eve of our Presidential election. I know the election isn't until Tuesday, yet as my work week ends and darkness falls tonight, it feels like we are on the eve of it. And I feel like we (or maybe it's just me...but I think it's we) need an infusion of ...innocence, maybe. Sweetness, optimism, hope.
Things have gotten so ugly, so polarized, so dark, so divisive. I'm afraid for us. I'm ashamed of where we could go. Where some forces are pulling us. So tonight, I want to tune in to all that is good and inspiring about America. There is so much. May we join hands (in spirit anyway) and hearts, remember all that is good and great about our country, and have hope that it will carry the day. This song goes out as a loving prayer from me to/for my country.
Things have gotten so ugly, so polarized, so dark, so divisive. I'm afraid for us. I'm ashamed of where we could go. Where some forces are pulling us. So tonight, I want to tune in to all that is good and inspiring about America. There is so much. May we join hands (in spirit anyway) and hearts, remember all that is good and great about our country, and have hope that it will carry the day. This song goes out as a loving prayer from me to/for my country.
Friday, October 14, 2016
The World is Not Trump's Locker Room
Trump is a menace to society. In fact, he puts the "men" in "menace".
I think men, in particular, should speak up and say, hey, I don't know what locker room you frequent, Trump, but you don't speak for how most men think, talk or act. I think it is vitally important that men rise up, en masse, and do this. For the sake of little boys everywhere to know that respect is the way to go. And for the sake of little girls, and the bigger girls among us out here, listening to all that has been swirling about on the media in the past two weeks, so that we know that the world isn't a totally terrifying place in which we aren't allowed to have boundaries. Even if there are a few terrifying men like Trump running loose on the land, we need to know that, one, we are allowed to stand up to them and say NO, and, two, most men aren't like that, and can be allies in creating a better, more respectful world for all people.
I have been heartened to hear a lot of men doing just that--speaking up and saying that Trump does not represent them. We need all of you guys to do that. Gandhi had it right: you must be the change you wish to see in the world. We all must. Part of that is speaking up and out, giving voice to decency.
I think men, in particular, should speak up and say, hey, I don't know what locker room you frequent, Trump, but you don't speak for how most men think, talk or act. I think it is vitally important that men rise up, en masse, and do this. For the sake of little boys everywhere to know that respect is the way to go. And for the sake of little girls, and the bigger girls among us out here, listening to all that has been swirling about on the media in the past two weeks, so that we know that the world isn't a totally terrifying place in which we aren't allowed to have boundaries. Even if there are a few terrifying men like Trump running loose on the land, we need to know that, one, we are allowed to stand up to them and say NO, and, two, most men aren't like that, and can be allies in creating a better, more respectful world for all people.
I have been heartened to hear a lot of men doing just that--speaking up and saying that Trump does not represent them. We need all of you guys to do that. Gandhi had it right: you must be the change you wish to see in the world. We all must. Part of that is speaking up and out, giving voice to decency.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
While Rome Burns...
I'm very sad and dismayed about our country and the world as I prepare to hit the hay tonight. Why? Because, instead of CNN et al. covering an important, positive, substance-laden rally in Miami today, in which Al Gore and Hillary Clinton discussed, in depth, her plans for tackling climate change, which was really news and really would INFORM voters about what one of the candidates stands for and will do if elected, and provide a clear contrast to her opponent, what are they covering tonight? "Trump slams Clinton..." Personal attacks and slander from Trump against Hillary. And tapes, tapes, tapes galore containing vile things that Trump spews. On and on. But no coverage of the actual issues (although, the fact that Trump is completely unfit for office, a con man, and a dangerous would-be fascist are all important issues to consider in the election, I will definitely give the media that, but couldn't they ALSO bother to cover a little SUBSTANCE about the huge issues facing our country and the world?), the actual policy differences between the candidates.
All the media cares about are sensational stories, spin, and ugliness. Why not cover the actual platform, policies and priorities of each candidate? Well, in Trump's case, he has none, other than banning entire religions, building walls, jailing his opponents, and "taking our country back from those people". He specifically includes me as one of "those people", as he specifically said many times that Bernie supporters are "bad, bad people, folks" and "we are going to take our country back from those people". He SPECIFICALLY and clearly stated that at several rallies, when he verbally attacked Sanders' protesters or anyone he *thought* was a Sanders' protester. It's all on tape.
Hillary, meanwhile, actually has very specific plans for how to fix what ails us, and make our country and our environment healthy. But does the news media cover that? NO. If they had any intention of doing so, they should have covered the ENTIRE rally in Miami today (which they did NOT), replayed it in part or whole throughout the rest of today (which they have NOT), and had their little panel of talking heads discuss it. They covered many, many Trump rallies in the primary season from start to finish. That is, in fact, how I know that Trump plans to take his country back from ME, specifically, as I am a "those people" and a "bad, bad people". So why don't they cover the fact that Hillary has the best, most ambitious plans to tackle climate change of any candidate ever, and that Al Gore was standing by her side, singing the praises of her plans today? Climate change is only the biggest issue facing humankind.
I guess that isn't as newsworthy as taped outtakes of "The Apprentice".
All the media cares about are sensational stories, spin, and ugliness. Why not cover the actual platform, policies and priorities of each candidate? Well, in Trump's case, he has none, other than banning entire religions, building walls, jailing his opponents, and "taking our country back from those people". He specifically includes me as one of "those people", as he specifically said many times that Bernie supporters are "bad, bad people, folks" and "we are going to take our country back from those people". He SPECIFICALLY and clearly stated that at several rallies, when he verbally attacked Sanders' protesters or anyone he *thought* was a Sanders' protester. It's all on tape.
Hillary, meanwhile, actually has very specific plans for how to fix what ails us, and make our country and our environment healthy. But does the news media cover that? NO. If they had any intention of doing so, they should have covered the ENTIRE rally in Miami today (which they did NOT), replayed it in part or whole throughout the rest of today (which they have NOT), and had their little panel of talking heads discuss it. They covered many, many Trump rallies in the primary season from start to finish. That is, in fact, how I know that Trump plans to take his country back from ME, specifically, as I am a "those people" and a "bad, bad people". So why don't they cover the fact that Hillary has the best, most ambitious plans to tackle climate change of any candidate ever, and that Al Gore was standing by her side, singing the praises of her plans today? Climate change is only the biggest issue facing humankind.
I guess that isn't as newsworthy as taped outtakes of "The Apprentice".
Monday, October 3, 2016
Pottersville in Perpetuity
Even though Trump is an orange disaster on two legs, his campaign is imploding before our very eyes, and Clinton is on the rise in the polls, I'm scared.
This is only October, and Clinton may be peaking early. I'm scared that all it would take would be, say, one terrorist attack, and suddenly the American people would go into xenophobic overdrive and fall into the arms of he who bellows about walls around the borders and banning all Muslims (which, by the way, is unconstitutional and should therefore disqualify Trump from being sworn in as POTUS, if he states he will do anything contrary to upholding the Constitution).
Michael Moore was on either CNN or MSNBC, either yesterday or at the crack of dawn this morning (what--my memory cells are shot), saying something I completely understood, as I feel the exact same way: he said he can't find the humor in the whole Trump-running-for-President thing, because he (Moore) is old enough to have lived through enough to know that it could actually happen--Trump could win. He said this isn't funny, this is basically extremely terrifying.
That's how I am feeling, too. Extremely terrified. It's not that I can't laugh at the humor of, for example, SNL's hilarious parody of the debate. When we lose our sense of humor, all is lost. But at the same time, I'm SERIOUSLY scared. It's been said so often that maybe it is not being taken seriously, but Donald Trump is unfit for the office of President of the United States of America.
So though he is tweeting and tanking and totally tailspinning, and I so want to REVEL in it...the Michael Moore part of me can't. I mean, speaking of Michael Moore, to this day, I cannot watch the first 15-ish minutes of "Fahrenheit 9.11" without breaking down crying, and we are talking sobbing. I remember 2000. Just a few votes can change the course of history. Even though that particular election was actually stolen by the FOBs (friends of Bush--like baby bro' and K. Harris), they probably would not have been able to pull that off, despite their best despicable efforts, had more people VOTED, and had some not voted third party in a crucial election with the best general election Presidential candidate of my lifetime running on the Democratic side.
We cannot allow history to repeat itself, as Trump would actually be, God help us, *worse* than shrub. WORSE. Than shrub! I know, I know, that seems impossible, yet it isn't--we are talking about Trump here: he'd be worse. And Hillary? She is running on the most progressive Democratic platform in history. She's not the "lesser of two evils", she's GOOD. So vote for her. Our country's life depends on it.
This is like 2000 on steroids, and the question is: do you want Bedford Falls or Pottersville? With shrub, with the 2000 election being stolen, we got Pottersville...but we're coming back from it slowly but surely now, and there is still time to save us. If we elect Donald J. Trump, there will be no going back: our country will become unrecognizable. Our constitution will be trashed. Trickle-down will be the law of the land, and we, my friends, will all be living in Pottersville in perpetuity.
Twitter version: for the love of God, please vote Clinton!
This is only October, and Clinton may be peaking early. I'm scared that all it would take would be, say, one terrorist attack, and suddenly the American people would go into xenophobic overdrive and fall into the arms of he who bellows about walls around the borders and banning all Muslims (which, by the way, is unconstitutional and should therefore disqualify Trump from being sworn in as POTUS, if he states he will do anything contrary to upholding the Constitution).
Michael Moore was on either CNN or MSNBC, either yesterday or at the crack of dawn this morning (what--my memory cells are shot), saying something I completely understood, as I feel the exact same way: he said he can't find the humor in the whole Trump-running-for-President thing, because he (Moore) is old enough to have lived through enough to know that it could actually happen--Trump could win. He said this isn't funny, this is basically extremely terrifying.
That's how I am feeling, too. Extremely terrified. It's not that I can't laugh at the humor of, for example, SNL's hilarious parody of the debate. When we lose our sense of humor, all is lost. But at the same time, I'm SERIOUSLY scared. It's been said so often that maybe it is not being taken seriously, but Donald Trump is unfit for the office of President of the United States of America.
So though he is tweeting and tanking and totally tailspinning, and I so want to REVEL in it...the Michael Moore part of me can't. I mean, speaking of Michael Moore, to this day, I cannot watch the first 15-ish minutes of "Fahrenheit 9.11" without breaking down crying, and we are talking sobbing. I remember 2000. Just a few votes can change the course of history. Even though that particular election was actually stolen by the FOBs (friends of Bush--like baby bro' and K. Harris), they probably would not have been able to pull that off, despite their best despicable efforts, had more people VOTED, and had some not voted third party in a crucial election with the best general election Presidential candidate of my lifetime running on the Democratic side.
We cannot allow history to repeat itself, as Trump would actually be, God help us, *worse* than shrub. WORSE. Than shrub! I know, I know, that seems impossible, yet it isn't--we are talking about Trump here: he'd be worse. And Hillary? She is running on the most progressive Democratic platform in history. She's not the "lesser of two evils", she's GOOD. So vote for her. Our country's life depends on it.
This is like 2000 on steroids, and the question is: do you want Bedford Falls or Pottersville? With shrub, with the 2000 election being stolen, we got Pottersville...but we're coming back from it slowly but surely now, and there is still time to save us. If we elect Donald J. Trump, there will be no going back: our country will become unrecognizable. Our constitution will be trashed. Trickle-down will be the law of the land, and we, my friends, will all be living in Pottersville in perpetuity.
Twitter version: for the love of God, please vote Clinton!
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Trump will "fix it" alright: fix it for the 1%, ruin it for the rest of society.
Wait a minute, let me see if I have this:
So Trump pays no taxes, his surrogate (Giuliani) is running around today proclaiming that makes Trump a "genius", and Trump is tweeting out that he understands the tax system better than anyone in the world and, wait for it, that..."I alone can fix it."
Oh, mark my words, friends: he'll "fix" it alright. He'll fix it so that the 1% pays no taxes and the 99% pays all the taxes. We will have no money flowing in for government investment into our society.
Since 1980, the repugs have been convincing people that "cutting taxes" is a populist thing that helps them. Really, it HURTS 99% of the people and it hurts our entire society (infrastructure, education, health care, environment, etc.: everything). Even if the 99% pay a tad less in taxes under repugs than under Democrats, they pay and pay and pay and pay for that in so many other ways--WE pay and pay and pay and pay for that. I couldn't even afford to have one single, solitary child thanks to living under the thumb of Reaganomics and this attitude of laissez faire cconomics my entire adult life. What we REALLY need is democratic socialism, but we aren't going to get that--not now. However, thanks to Bernie and us Berners, the Democratic platform has inched in a better direction than what we have now, and it is, in fact, the most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party. So don't we want to at least be moving in the right direction, versus being steered straight off a cliff by Trump and the repugs, yet AGAIN? If we do, then we need to vote for Hillary! When will the 99% stop buying the LIES we are being told by the 1% and stop thinking that "cutting taxes" is a good thing for us or for society as a whole? It isn't. It also isn't patriotic--everyone should pay their fair share, in order to have a healthy, thriving society that uplifts us all.
Trump's brand of "fixing" will be the dysfunctional, unethical opposite: the many will be working ourselves into the ground to carry the few on our backs. Trickle down economics is NOTHING but welfare for those very few at the tippy top, at the expense of everyone and everything else. Anyone who tells you anything different is lying to you.
So Trump pays no taxes, his surrogate (Giuliani) is running around today proclaiming that makes Trump a "genius", and Trump is tweeting out that he understands the tax system better than anyone in the world and, wait for it, that..."I alone can fix it."
Oh, mark my words, friends: he'll "fix" it alright. He'll fix it so that the 1% pays no taxes and the 99% pays all the taxes. We will have no money flowing in for government investment into our society.
Since 1980, the repugs have been convincing people that "cutting taxes" is a populist thing that helps them. Really, it HURTS 99% of the people and it hurts our entire society (infrastructure, education, health care, environment, etc.: everything). Even if the 99% pay a tad less in taxes under repugs than under Democrats, they pay and pay and pay and pay for that in so many other ways--WE pay and pay and pay and pay for that. I couldn't even afford to have one single, solitary child thanks to living under the thumb of Reaganomics and this attitude of laissez faire cconomics my entire adult life. What we REALLY need is democratic socialism, but we aren't going to get that--not now. However, thanks to Bernie and us Berners, the Democratic platform has inched in a better direction than what we have now, and it is, in fact, the most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party. So don't we want to at least be moving in the right direction, versus being steered straight off a cliff by Trump and the repugs, yet AGAIN? If we do, then we need to vote for Hillary! When will the 99% stop buying the LIES we are being told by the 1% and stop thinking that "cutting taxes" is a good thing for us or for society as a whole? It isn't. It also isn't patriotic--everyone should pay their fair share, in order to have a healthy, thriving society that uplifts us all.
Trump's brand of "fixing" will be the dysfunctional, unethical opposite: the many will be working ourselves into the ground to carry the few on our backs. Trickle down economics is NOTHING but welfare for those very few at the tippy top, at the expense of everyone and everything else. Anyone who tells you anything different is lying to you.
It's trickle-down that put some Millennials "in their parents' basement": Hillary wants help them out, Trump wants to lock the door.
Trump is infuriating me this fine a.m.
Why? He's trying to run with Hillary's comments to donors at a fundraiser during the primary season, taking them--as have the media--totally out of context and trying to make them seem bad, even though, even out of context, they aren't bad at all--quite the contrary! What she was saying to her donors, during the primary season, is: she understands why a lot of Millennials are for Bernie. They are indeed "children of the Great Recession", as she put it. This is not an insult! This is nothing that they caused, it is something that has impacted them--and all of us--greatly and, now some are indeed "living in their parents' basements"--that's just the reality: many Millennials can't afford to move out of their parents' home, to get an apartment, condo or house. Again, she was NOT saying that this is their fault in any way, or anything for Millennials to be ashamed of! On the contrary, she was TRYING to say she understands why they are frustrated and why a democratic socialism platform is appealing to them (p.s., it is appealing to them, to me--since 1981!--and to the millions of Bernie supporters of *all generations* because it is a functional, sane, ethical, healthy economic system and society, and it is what we desperately need to move to as a country, but I digress). She was saying this to donors, to say she understands where Bernie folks come from, why they (we) support him, and what they (we) want. She then went on to say or imply that she thinks it is idealistic and that "we" (meaning her campaign and her donors, to whom she was speaking) "don't want to discourage that". THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY ZERO WRONG OR OFFENSIVE IN WHAT SHE SAID.
This is just like the "Dean Scream" of an election past, or the mischaracterization in this election's primary of Sanders' supporters as "violent" at the Nevada state Democratic convention, when all that happened was a few merely "boo'ed" at the fact that proper process was NOT followed. It is a FALSE NARRATIVE, being put out either originally by the media, or by Trump people and the media are running with it. Please, people, really listen to the entire thing she said and do not allow this thing to have legs.
But now we finally get to how Trump is infuriating me! He is now smearing Hillary, saying that she said that, and he is throwing in a bunch of other things that, as CNN points out, SHE NEVER SAID. And--the most smeary part, other than throwing in statements she never made--is that he is saying SHE was disrespectful to Sanders supporters with that statement. Now, I personally, as a profoundly passionate Sanders supporter, could indeed name you one time that she WAS disrespectful to Sanders' supporters during the heat of the primary season--but this wasn't it! At all. In any way shape or form! In fact, she was expressing understanding for where we (especially the younger ones amongst us--but trickle-down Reaganomics, which this country has been dominated by for most of the past 36 years, hurts us ALL) are coming from and what we want, what our ideals are.
During the primary season, I listened to several Trump rallies--beginning to end, because God knows the media carried them all live in prime time, which they almost never did for Sanders or Clinton. Trump REPEATEDLY would single out protesters at his rallies and start snearinly, bullyingly saying: "It's a Bernie person. Beeeeernieeeeeeeee." Then he would go on to say, and I quote, as it never varied: "Folks, we are going to take our country back from these people. We are going to take it back."
As a Sanders supporter, I will never, EVER forget those words, or how chilling and seeing-red-inducing they were/are for me! YOU, Trump and your idiotic (sorry not sorry) supporters, are going to take YOUR country back from ME? So then this is not my country?
Do not forget, my fellow Sanders people, that Trump said that over and over and over again: he plans to take "his" country back from you, from us. Yet now he is saying Clinton was disrespectful to us by pointing out that the younger generation supports Sanders because they haven't had a fair shake? How is that disrespectful? I am hearing the OPPOSITE in that. But from Trump, all during the primary season, I heard not only repeated disrespect, but outright THREATS. Telling me as a Sanders' supporter, telling us as Sanders' supporters, that you are going to "take the country back from 'those people'", tells me that, in your eyes and under a Trump administration, this is not and would not be my country. So how will you take it back from me, Trump? Will I be going to a concentration camp?
I CRY MAJOR FOUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He who has threatened to take my country away from me and all Sanders' supporters is saying Clinton was disrespectful to us when she pointed out that the Great Recession hurt Millennials and limited their opportunities?
So unfair. SO unfair. I can't stand unfairness and this is it. Please think about the above and be fair.
Why? He's trying to run with Hillary's comments to donors at a fundraiser during the primary season, taking them--as have the media--totally out of context and trying to make them seem bad, even though, even out of context, they aren't bad at all--quite the contrary! What she was saying to her donors, during the primary season, is: she understands why a lot of Millennials are for Bernie. They are indeed "children of the Great Recession", as she put it. This is not an insult! This is nothing that they caused, it is something that has impacted them--and all of us--greatly and, now some are indeed "living in their parents' basements"--that's just the reality: many Millennials can't afford to move out of their parents' home, to get an apartment, condo or house. Again, she was NOT saying that this is their fault in any way, or anything for Millennials to be ashamed of! On the contrary, she was TRYING to say she understands why they are frustrated and why a democratic socialism platform is appealing to them (p.s., it is appealing to them, to me--since 1981!--and to the millions of Bernie supporters of *all generations* because it is a functional, sane, ethical, healthy economic system and society, and it is what we desperately need to move to as a country, but I digress). She was saying this to donors, to say she understands where Bernie folks come from, why they (we) support him, and what they (we) want. She then went on to say or imply that she thinks it is idealistic and that "we" (meaning her campaign and her donors, to whom she was speaking) "don't want to discourage that". THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY ZERO WRONG OR OFFENSIVE IN WHAT SHE SAID.
This is just like the "Dean Scream" of an election past, or the mischaracterization in this election's primary of Sanders' supporters as "violent" at the Nevada state Democratic convention, when all that happened was a few merely "boo'ed" at the fact that proper process was NOT followed. It is a FALSE NARRATIVE, being put out either originally by the media, or by Trump people and the media are running with it. Please, people, really listen to the entire thing she said and do not allow this thing to have legs.
But now we finally get to how Trump is infuriating me! He is now smearing Hillary, saying that she said that, and he is throwing in a bunch of other things that, as CNN points out, SHE NEVER SAID. And--the most smeary part, other than throwing in statements she never made--is that he is saying SHE was disrespectful to Sanders supporters with that statement. Now, I personally, as a profoundly passionate Sanders supporter, could indeed name you one time that she WAS disrespectful to Sanders' supporters during the heat of the primary season--but this wasn't it! At all. In any way shape or form! In fact, she was expressing understanding for where we (especially the younger ones amongst us--but trickle-down Reaganomics, which this country has been dominated by for most of the past 36 years, hurts us ALL) are coming from and what we want, what our ideals are.
During the primary season, I listened to several Trump rallies--beginning to end, because God knows the media carried them all live in prime time, which they almost never did for Sanders or Clinton. Trump REPEATEDLY would single out protesters at his rallies and start snearinly, bullyingly saying: "It's a Bernie person. Beeeeernieeeeeeeee." Then he would go on to say, and I quote, as it never varied: "Folks, we are going to take our country back from these people. We are going to take it back."
As a Sanders supporter, I will never, EVER forget those words, or how chilling and seeing-red-inducing they were/are for me! YOU, Trump and your idiotic (sorry not sorry) supporters, are going to take YOUR country back from ME? So then this is not my country?
Do not forget, my fellow Sanders people, that Trump said that over and over and over again: he plans to take "his" country back from you, from us. Yet now he is saying Clinton was disrespectful to us by pointing out that the younger generation supports Sanders because they haven't had a fair shake? How is that disrespectful? I am hearing the OPPOSITE in that. But from Trump, all during the primary season, I heard not only repeated disrespect, but outright THREATS. Telling me as a Sanders' supporter, telling us as Sanders' supporters, that you are going to "take the country back from 'those people'", tells me that, in your eyes and under a Trump administration, this is not and would not be my country. So how will you take it back from me, Trump? Will I be going to a concentration camp?
I CRY MAJOR FOUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He who has threatened to take my country away from me and all Sanders' supporters is saying Clinton was disrespectful to us when she pointed out that the Great Recession hurt Millennials and limited their opportunities?
So unfair. SO unfair. I can't stand unfairness and this is it. Please think about the above and be fair.
Saturday, September 24, 2016
You're a chump if you support Trump...
Trump's stuuuuuuuuuuuu-pit base doesn't see that he isn't an "outsider", fighting the establishment: he IS the 1%, and not a nice, philanthropic, fair-minded member of it like Warren Buffett, who wants a fair taxation system and economy--no! Trump wants pure, despicable, unethical, unsustainable, country-ruining, environment-ruining "trickle-down", laissez faire economics. In other words, he wants to poop on the 99% to make his own little penthouse garden grow.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
9.11 Fifteen Years Later: Keeping It Real
It's hard to fathom that 9.11 was 15 years ago. I won't go into where I was that day, what I did, or how it impacted me, as I've written about that before. This year, I will just say that it is hitting me that we now have newly minted adults, 18 years old, in this country, who were three years old at the time, in 2001. They don't remember.
It is hitting me that, the older you get, the more you understand the importance of history, and that history is real. It isn't just a bunch of books about dead white men who fought wars, which is how it seemed to me as a child. I thought history class was the most boring, removed-from-reality, dry subject going. You see, it is so important to have a good teacher. It is so important, especially for young people who haven't lived through that much "history", to have teachers who help them understand that this stuff really happened, this was living, breathing, real stuff. And we need to learn from it.
As I got older, I did have better teachers and I did have a great history teacher and I was totally absorbed by the class and learned a lot (this was now 10th or 11th grade, by that time). I learned about the Holocaust and was horrified. There were films. Horrible, awful films. That made it more real. More real than the books about dead white men fighting far off, long ago wars that I read about in elementary school and that seemed as flat and one-dimensional as the pages I was reading. It's all about how the books are WRITTEN, too. I loved reading as a child and I have an extraordinarily vivid imagination. Had the books been written better, I would have been interested, I would have been gripped, I would have maybe understood more that this was real stuff that happened, and it was relevant to me somehow. But in elementary school, like I said, I thought history was boring, a bunch of dry, lifeless dates and facts, and all about war and white men conquering stuff and I'd rather be outside playing.
There will be more than books about 9.11. There are videos. They make it more real. Even when everyone who lived through 9.11, all of us, are dead, the videos will likely still be around. And the museum, the memorial. But we still need good teachers for history. We still need teachers that help put things in context, that make history come alive instead of seeming like a bunch of dry, faraway dates and facts on a page, and that help children understand how real things that happened before they were born were to the people living then. And how those people were just like them. And last but not least, how human history tends to repeat itself, unless we learn.
It is hitting me that, the older you get, the more you understand the importance of history, and that history is real. It isn't just a bunch of books about dead white men who fought wars, which is how it seemed to me as a child. I thought history class was the most boring, removed-from-reality, dry subject going. You see, it is so important to have a good teacher. It is so important, especially for young people who haven't lived through that much "history", to have teachers who help them understand that this stuff really happened, this was living, breathing, real stuff. And we need to learn from it.
As I got older, I did have better teachers and I did have a great history teacher and I was totally absorbed by the class and learned a lot (this was now 10th or 11th grade, by that time). I learned about the Holocaust and was horrified. There were films. Horrible, awful films. That made it more real. More real than the books about dead white men fighting far off, long ago wars that I read about in elementary school and that seemed as flat and one-dimensional as the pages I was reading. It's all about how the books are WRITTEN, too. I loved reading as a child and I have an extraordinarily vivid imagination. Had the books been written better, I would have been interested, I would have been gripped, I would have maybe understood more that this was real stuff that happened, and it was relevant to me somehow. But in elementary school, like I said, I thought history was boring, a bunch of dry, lifeless dates and facts, and all about war and white men conquering stuff and I'd rather be outside playing.
There will be more than books about 9.11. There are videos. They make it more real. Even when everyone who lived through 9.11, all of us, are dead, the videos will likely still be around. And the museum, the memorial. But we still need good teachers for history. We still need teachers that help put things in context, that make history come alive instead of seeming like a bunch of dry, faraway dates and facts on a page, and that help children understand how real things that happened before they were born were to the people living then. And how those people were just like them. And last but not least, how human history tends to repeat itself, unless we learn.
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Stronger Together
As I listen to Hillary Clinton give an excellent stump speech in Johnstown, PA, I want to make an appeal to my fellow Berners. The ones of you who are thinking of not voting for Hillary: Bernie fought hard to get a lot of our issues into the Democratic Party platform. Hillary has said that she has heard us and that she will work to implement it. Now, you may or may not believe her, but at least with a Democratic administration in the White House, we will have a voice, and we can keep pushing them to the left. With Trump in there? It will be more failed trickle-down economics as, listen to me: he is in there SOLELY to benefit the 1% at the expense of the rest of us, our economy, our infrastructure, our EVERYTHING.
Hillary will fight for at least some of our agenda: infrastructure, the environment--she is up there talking about climate change AS WE SPEAK. Talking about infrastructure. Talking about unions. Etc. Etc. Etc. Trump is ALL about cutting taxes for the rich at the expense of the rest of us, and cutting regulation on business at the expense of the environment, period.
So, take on the DNC? Heck yes, we need to do that. But at the same time, we need to do what Bernie himself has passionately and sincerely urged us to do: put the country first and vote for Hillary-Kaine, so that we have a sympathetic administration in the White House. We can't afford 4 more years of Republican obstructionism. Think how bad it was, even with Obama trying to get something done from up top. Think how much WORSE it will be with TRUMP at the top!!!
Bernie wants us to vote blue so that we can GET CHANGE DONE, so that we can implement things that we all--he and you and I--fought hard to be heard on and to actually get into the platform. To not vote for it is to ensure that it won't happen--none of it will happen. We will go back to the darkest elements, the most destructive elements, of the Reagan era. Do NOT let your outrage blind you to that fact. Vote for Clinton-Kaine! Do not make me pull this car over! Seriously: as Hillary's slogan says, we are stronger together!!!
She's on our side, folks. She's not perfect but she's pretty damn good.
Hillary will fight for at least some of our agenda: infrastructure, the environment--she is up there talking about climate change AS WE SPEAK. Talking about infrastructure. Talking about unions. Etc. Etc. Etc. Trump is ALL about cutting taxes for the rich at the expense of the rest of us, and cutting regulation on business at the expense of the environment, period.
So, take on the DNC? Heck yes, we need to do that. But at the same time, we need to do what Bernie himself has passionately and sincerely urged us to do: put the country first and vote for Hillary-Kaine, so that we have a sympathetic administration in the White House. We can't afford 4 more years of Republican obstructionism. Think how bad it was, even with Obama trying to get something done from up top. Think how much WORSE it will be with TRUMP at the top!!!
Bernie wants us to vote blue so that we can GET CHANGE DONE, so that we can implement things that we all--he and you and I--fought hard to be heard on and to actually get into the platform. To not vote for it is to ensure that it won't happen--none of it will happen. We will go back to the darkest elements, the most destructive elements, of the Reagan era. Do NOT let your outrage blind you to that fact. Vote for Clinton-Kaine! Do not make me pull this car over! Seriously: as Hillary's slogan says, we are stronger together!!!
She's on our side, folks. She's not perfect but she's pretty damn good.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Thank You, President Obama
Holy harmonic convergence, Obama has his GREAT stuff tonight!!!
The audacity of hope!
You know, I've been mad at him since 2007 over some stuff that I won't bore you with at this breathtaking moment, as he walks off the stage after his BEST SPEECH EVER, and one of the best speeches I've ever, ever heard.
Obama: All is forgiven. You have been a steady hand steering the ship through very stormy seas. I have not always agreed with you. But I've come to appreciate you. And at this moment, it is hitting me: you've been great. It's hitting me that I want to say a deep, heartfelt: Thank you, President Obama. Thank you.
The audacity of hope!
You know, I've been mad at him since 2007 over some stuff that I won't bore you with at this breathtaking moment, as he walks off the stage after his BEST SPEECH EVER, and one of the best speeches I've ever, ever heard.
Obama: All is forgiven. You have been a steady hand steering the ship through very stormy seas. I have not always agreed with you. But I've come to appreciate you. And at this moment, it is hitting me: you've been great. It's hitting me that I want to say a deep, heartfelt: Thank you, President Obama. Thank you.
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Get a Piece of It
Sanders just tore it up on "State of the Union" with Jake Tapper!
Bernie is SO great: Tapper asked the question that the press just seems obsessed with, namely: why don't you get out, why don't you NOT go to the Convention? You've gotten some concessions on the platform this week, why not just endorse Hillary and get out?
He said "Nope, no." He said that yes, we did make some progress on the platform this week, but in two weeks, the platform committee meets in Orlando and we still don't have--and, emphasis mine, we ***NEED***--single payer health care, a carbon tax, an anti-fracking plank, etc. So we go to Orlando and we fight, and we go to the Convention and we fight for what America needs.
Why is the press and why are Hillary people so incapable of understanding that we are in a democratic PROCESS right now, and Bernie has built a movement behind him, so why oh why on earth would we just quit now?! WE ARE GOING TO THE CONVENTION.
Get used to it, Hillary supporters. Get used to it, media. We are the base of this party. If you would turn your eyes from wooing the 2016 iteration of the so-called "Reagan Democrats", which don't even exist and never have, and which are actually called REPUBLICANS, and also turn from wooing your corporate masters, you would see that you have a yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge base that is waiting to embrace the party if the party would only embrace US. Embrace the PEOPLE instead of the 1%, and the clueless voters (a.k.a., most Republicans) who support the interests of the 1% because they are easily confused.
Your base, on the other hand, is NOT easily confused. We are HERE, we have been here all along. All the decades that you have tried to be Republican Lite, Reagan Lite. WE DON'T WANT THAT. And we are not going to stand for that anymore without a fight.
As Bernie said during this campaign season: "democracy is messy". We're in there and we're scrapping. Like successful baseball hitters, we don't give up when we are at the plate! We just keep trying to "get a piece of it"! It ain't over 'til it's over: we are still trying to get hits and hopefully a home run...we are, to borrow a phrase from Clinton's 2008 campaign, in it to win it. What is "it"? Well, ideally the whole enchilada, platform-wise, PLUS the nomination, but we definitely are in it to win the "it" of getting what this country desperately needs on the Democratic platform!
#SeeyouinOrlando #SeeyouinPhilly #Getapieceofit!
Bernie is SO great: Tapper asked the question that the press just seems obsessed with, namely: why don't you get out, why don't you NOT go to the Convention? You've gotten some concessions on the platform this week, why not just endorse Hillary and get out?
He said "Nope, no." He said that yes, we did make some progress on the platform this week, but in two weeks, the platform committee meets in Orlando and we still don't have--and, emphasis mine, we ***NEED***--single payer health care, a carbon tax, an anti-fracking plank, etc. So we go to Orlando and we fight, and we go to the Convention and we fight for what America needs.
Why is the press and why are Hillary people so incapable of understanding that we are in a democratic PROCESS right now, and Bernie has built a movement behind him, so why oh why on earth would we just quit now?! WE ARE GOING TO THE CONVENTION.
Get used to it, Hillary supporters. Get used to it, media. We are the base of this party. If you would turn your eyes from wooing the 2016 iteration of the so-called "Reagan Democrats", which don't even exist and never have, and which are actually called REPUBLICANS, and also turn from wooing your corporate masters, you would see that you have a yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge base that is waiting to embrace the party if the party would only embrace US. Embrace the PEOPLE instead of the 1%, and the clueless voters (a.k.a., most Republicans) who support the interests of the 1% because they are easily confused.
Your base, on the other hand, is NOT easily confused. We are HERE, we have been here all along. All the decades that you have tried to be Republican Lite, Reagan Lite. WE DON'T WANT THAT. And we are not going to stand for that anymore without a fight.
As Bernie said during this campaign season: "democracy is messy". We're in there and we're scrapping. Like successful baseball hitters, we don't give up when we are at the plate! We just keep trying to "get a piece of it"! It ain't over 'til it's over: we are still trying to get hits and hopefully a home run...we are, to borrow a phrase from Clinton's 2008 campaign, in it to win it. What is "it"? Well, ideally the whole enchilada, platform-wise, PLUS the nomination, but we definitely are in it to win the "it" of getting what this country desperately needs on the Democratic platform!
#SeeyouinOrlando #SeeyouinPhilly #Getapieceofit!
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Bernie Supporters Do Not Want "Free Stuff"
Republicans and DINOs are saying that Berners want "free stuff". This is not the truth.
Under trickle-down Reaganomics, which has dominated our country since 1980, it has been 36 years of "free stuff" for the 1% on the backs of the 99%. We are not the ones who don't want to pay our fair share of taxes. We want to pay our fair share, and have been paying it all along. The 1% don't want to pay theirs, and have not been paying it, for 36 years. They've been freeloading for 36 years. They don't want to invest in the people, infrastructure or environment.
Republicans and DINOS do not want the tax structure changed so that everyone--all of us--are paying our fair share. They want to continue with unfair tax breaks for the very rich and for corporations. They want a society that, as Bernie says, is rigged, in which the fix is in and all the money actually trickles UP to the top.
Bernie and Bernie supporters want a society that is for the people--for all the people. It is a question of priorities, not of "free stuff". We want our tax money to be invested back into the people, in the form of health care for all, child care, maternity and paternity leave, college education, and other things that benefit our entire society in so many deep, enduring ways. We want to invest in our infrastructure and our environment, instead of in wars for oil so that private corporations can get richer at the expense of our kids getting killed, and our blood and treasure being spent for no reason other than to explode the deficit and enrich private corporations.
So please understand: it is the Republicans and DINOS who truly want "free stuff": they don't want to pay their fair share of taxes. They have proudly stated this for 36 years--this is what their candidates run on: lowering taxes. Not only is this "trickle-down" model that we have been living under for 36 years unfair, it is very unhealthy for our society, both ethically and economically. It exploits and essentially makes the 99% slaves to the 1%, and it is also not sustainable, as it explodes the deficit when you have the richest among us not paying their share of taxes.
Meanwhile, while the Republicans and DINOs want "free stuff"--no taxes, no regulations, just allow the rich to hoard everything, on the backs of the workers of this country--by contrast, Bernie supporters DO want to pay our fair share, and we want our money to go toward making things so much better for all of us, for everyone. That is what democratic socialism is. It is ethical and it is economically sustainable, two things our current system is not.
While Bernie and Berners say: "Not me, us.", Republicans (and DINOS) say "Not us, ME."
Berners are the true patriots!!!!!!!!! It doesn't get more patriotic than Democratic Socialism: everyone pays their fair share of taxes, and that money gets invested back into the people and society, for the greater good. It is far more ethical and economically sustainable than our current tax structure and set of national priorities.
Under trickle-down Reaganomics, which has dominated our country since 1980, it has been 36 years of "free stuff" for the 1% on the backs of the 99%. We are not the ones who don't want to pay our fair share of taxes. We want to pay our fair share, and have been paying it all along. The 1% don't want to pay theirs, and have not been paying it, for 36 years. They've been freeloading for 36 years. They don't want to invest in the people, infrastructure or environment.
Republicans and DINOS do not want the tax structure changed so that everyone--all of us--are paying our fair share. They want to continue with unfair tax breaks for the very rich and for corporations. They want a society that, as Bernie says, is rigged, in which the fix is in and all the money actually trickles UP to the top.
Bernie and Bernie supporters want a society that is for the people--for all the people. It is a question of priorities, not of "free stuff". We want our tax money to be invested back into the people, in the form of health care for all, child care, maternity and paternity leave, college education, and other things that benefit our entire society in so many deep, enduring ways. We want to invest in our infrastructure and our environment, instead of in wars for oil so that private corporations can get richer at the expense of our kids getting killed, and our blood and treasure being spent for no reason other than to explode the deficit and enrich private corporations.
So please understand: it is the Republicans and DINOS who truly want "free stuff": they don't want to pay their fair share of taxes. They have proudly stated this for 36 years--this is what their candidates run on: lowering taxes. Not only is this "trickle-down" model that we have been living under for 36 years unfair, it is very unhealthy for our society, both ethically and economically. It exploits and essentially makes the 99% slaves to the 1%, and it is also not sustainable, as it explodes the deficit when you have the richest among us not paying their share of taxes.
Meanwhile, while the Republicans and DINOs want "free stuff"--no taxes, no regulations, just allow the rich to hoard everything, on the backs of the workers of this country--by contrast, Bernie supporters DO want to pay our fair share, and we want our money to go toward making things so much better for all of us, for everyone. That is what democratic socialism is. It is ethical and it is economically sustainable, two things our current system is not.
While Bernie and Berners say: "Not me, us.", Republicans (and DINOS) say "Not us, ME."
Berners are the true patriots!!!!!!!!! It doesn't get more patriotic than Democratic Socialism: everyone pays their fair share of taxes, and that money gets invested back into the people and society, for the greater good. It is far more ethical and economically sustainable than our current tax structure and set of national priorities.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Bernie Has Always Lived the Change I Wish to See in the World
Bernie and his campaign move me to tears, in a very good way.
He hasn't had to evolve; he's always fought for respect, dignity and equal rights for all people. In the segretated '60's, he put himself (physically) on the line in the civil rights movement. He has always stood up for LGBTQI Americans, LONG before it recently became politically correct to do so. He stands up for the earth, which has no voice. He stands up for the poor, reminding us that our government is supposed to be by the people and for the people, not by the corporations and for their profit. He stands for children, for college students and for senior citizens. He stands for families--for policies that embody and empower true family values, like maternity and paternity leave, child care, and health care for all. He has always stood up for what is right. He has always seen it. He has always known it. He has always lived it.
He hasn't had to evolve; he's always fought for respect, dignity and equal rights for all people. In the segretated '60's, he put himself (physically) on the line in the civil rights movement. He has always stood up for LGBTQI Americans, LONG before it recently became politically correct to do so. He stands up for the earth, which has no voice. He stands up for the poor, reminding us that our government is supposed to be by the people and for the people, not by the corporations and for their profit. He stands for children, for college students and for senior citizens. He stands for families--for policies that embody and empower true family values, like maternity and paternity leave, child care, and health care for all. He has always stood up for what is right. He has always seen it. He has always known it. He has always lived it.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Sanders is About the Opposite of Violence
For the love of God. Now CNN is trying to spin Sanders' for saying "democracy is messy", trying to twist that into some sort of call for violence. He was simply saying that, in a democracy, there is diversity of opinion, there is DISSENT, there is debate, there is passion. It isn't all about UNITY, all the time, especially not at a party convention, which is about picking candidates and hammering out a party platform. If we were just about UNITY, we would be a staged parade in North Korea, not a democracy.
CNN is so obviously--ever since Nevada--trying to give legs to a narrative of Sanders and his supporters being some sort of violent mob. I think it is, indeed, taking off as a narrative with some, because people fear the real change that Bernie represents. However, Bernie condemns violence. In fact, the real change that he represents is about undoing the violence of the last 36 years. The violence that is what I've always called the "Robinhood in Reverse" effect of Reagan's trickle-down economics. The violence of corporate welfare. The economic and social violence by the 1% against the 99%, carried out via the Reaganomics we've all been forced to endure since 1980. Bernie is about UN-doing violence, and bringing about a fair, healthy economy and society that works for the people. So put that in your narrative, sit and spin on it, CNN!
CNN is so obviously--ever since Nevada--trying to give legs to a narrative of Sanders and his supporters being some sort of violent mob. I think it is, indeed, taking off as a narrative with some, because people fear the real change that Bernie represents. However, Bernie condemns violence. In fact, the real change that he represents is about undoing the violence of the last 36 years. The violence that is what I've always called the "Robinhood in Reverse" effect of Reagan's trickle-down economics. The violence of corporate welfare. The economic and social violence by the 1% against the 99%, carried out via the Reaganomics we've all been forced to endure since 1980. Bernie is about UN-doing violence, and bringing about a fair, healthy economy and society that works for the people. So put that in your narrative, sit and spin on it, CNN!
Friday, April 22, 2016
Earth Day
Respect the earth
Every dayBreathe it in
Feel its way
Hold it tight
Let it go
Listen as it lets
You know
Friday, April 8, 2016
Breaking: Democratic Base Awakens After Decades on Life Support, and the Ensuing Earthquake Exposes Deep Fault Line Within Democratic Party
In the past few weeks, I have lost two long-time friends who are also fellow Democrats, over the fact that I am an ardent Bernie Sanders supporter and they keep relentlessly commenting on Facebook, smearing Bernie and his platform, and they also keep making outrageously smearing statements about Bernie's supporters. Since I am a many-decades-long and ardent Bernie supporter, when people I thought of as friends insist upon attacking us, I take that very personally: they are attacking me.
I didn't end my friendships with them because they disagree with me on policies or on a candidate. I don't mind if people hold different views from my own (they have a right to be wrong *lol*), or support a different candidate. I do take profound issue with them personally attacking all Bernie supporters by making shockingly offensive and inaccurate, generalized statements about us, or about Bernie himself, or about his platform. And the fact that I've personally lost two long-time friends in the span of a few weeks, two fellow members of the Democratic party--the fact that it got to a point at which the friendships of many years are actually over, when we are supposedly the party of tolerance and respect for diversity--I think warrants a blog entry, so here goes:
I think the Democratic party is actually experiencing an earthquake right now that is exposing a fault line, an ideological divide.
Everyone is talking about the GOP coming apart at the seams. Perhaps being overlooked is what is going on over here on the Democratic side. Bernie is the heart, soul and mind of the party, and he's breathed life into its body, which has been on life support for decades. We have air in our lungs now, we're awake. He's given us breath and voice!
Hillary and her followers who keep relentlessly smearing Bernie's supporters like me don't seem to be celebrating our awakening. They don't even seem to respect that, or us. They want us to go back to sleep, back into a deep coma, and stop all our crazy talk about "pie-in-the-sky" dreams. They are comfortable with the status quo. What's more, if the newly revived and awakened Democratic base keeps trying to speak, let alone rip off the life support and get up, they will keep trying to shut us up.
Everyone is talking about the GOP coming apart at the seams. Perhaps being overlooked is what is going on over here on the Democratic side. Bernie is the heart, soul and mind of the party, and he's breathed life into its body, which has been on life support for decades. We have air in our lungs now, we're awake. He's given us breath and voice!
Hillary and her followers who keep relentlessly smearing Bernie's supporters like me don't seem to be celebrating our awakening. They don't even seem to respect that, or us. They want us to go back to sleep, back into a deep coma, and stop all our crazy talk about "pie-in-the-sky" dreams. They are comfortable with the status quo. What's more, if the newly revived and awakened Democratic base keeps trying to speak, let alone rip off the life support and get up, they will keep trying to shut us up.
Well, hear this across the increasingly wide fault line being exposed by this ideological earthquake, fellow Democrats who are trying to smear and dismiss us Bernie supporters: I will not be silenced. We will not be silenced. Bernie has helped us find our voice. And we are going to raise it.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Al Gore: It’s Time to Bern a Few Bridges
Just my passionate two cents: I think one of my heroes should definitely endorse the other one, right now. I think Al Gore should come out and endorse Bernie Sanders.
Come on, Al, what are you waiting for? Bernie is the strongest candidate on climate change by far. Bernie has the progressive agenda. He gives voice to, and fights for, what the base of the Democratic Party has held in our heart of hearts for so long, while we and our country endured decades of Reaganomics surrounding and drowning us.
Are you trying to stay out of it? Now is not the time in history for that. Now is the time to use your hard-won and much-deserved influence and gravitas to stand behind the person who will fight to save our country and our planet. The stakes are high. The time is now. And what has Hillary ever done for you? What has she ever done for us, really? Look at Bernie. Look at his record, look at his history. Look at our country and our world, and the crossroads both face. The choice is clear. Your endorsement matters. Do it.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Time to Find a Secret Annex?
Donald J. Trump, a few moments ago: "We have to look very seriously at the mosques."
My reaction: Oh my God this really is like right before Nazi Germany.
Donald J. Trump, right after that: "We are in a war. We don't know where these people are."
My reaction: Probably hiding in an secret annex somewhere if "they" know what's good for them. And I need to get a suitcase ready, and find my annex because I think I'm a "they" in Trump's eyes. Even if not, when he starts rounding people up from mosques, that is when I will put a star of David on my arm and say "Take me, too."
My reaction: Oh my God this really is like right before Nazi Germany.
Donald J. Trump, right after that: "We are in a war. We don't know where these people are."
My reaction: Probably hiding in an secret annex somewhere if "they" know what's good for them. And I need to get a suitcase ready, and find my annex because I think I'm a "they" in Trump's eyes. Even if not, when he starts rounding people up from mosques, that is when I will put a star of David on my arm and say "Take me, too."
Friday, March 25, 2016
Trump Puts the Bully in Bully Pulpit
I implore you all to think about Donald Trump’s latest reveal of his character:
Do you think someone is presidential material who tweets out an unflattering pic of the wife of one of his opponents next to his gorgeous trophy wife, the point of which is clearly and unmistakably to sneer-n-smear at his opponent with the meaning of "my wife is prettier than yours"?
Think about how juvenile and SHALLOW, how misogynistic and unpresidential, that is. Do we want someone who thinks that the looks of his opponent's wife are a valid campaign issue? Do we want someone who thinks it is okay to attack an opponent's spouse or even an opponent him or herself based solely on appearance?
Regardless of what you think of Trump's stands on issues--let's say you are all about walls, waterboarding, and shipping entire religious groups out of the country--do you really want someone with the temperament and shallowness of Trump? Not only does he openly and clearly incite violence against anyone who dares express disagreement with him, but he attacks people time and again based on their looks and or physical "packaging" alone. Just a few examples of the plethora that exist, off the top of my exhausted-from-a-week-at-my-job little head:
1. Saying he wants to look Rosie O'Donnell "right in her fat, ugly face" and...blah blah blah.
2. Mocking a reporter with a physical challenge.
3. This latest tweet of his, designed to say that his wife is pretty and Ted Cruz's wife is ugly.
This man is NOT presidential material, no matter what you think of his stands on issues--he is a vindictive, misogynistic, vengeful, temperamental, volatile bully. Do you want him to have his finger on the button?
Do you think someone is presidential material who tweets out an unflattering pic of the wife of one of his opponents next to his gorgeous trophy wife, the point of which is clearly and unmistakably to sneer-n-smear at his opponent with the meaning of "my wife is prettier than yours"?
Think about how juvenile and SHALLOW, how misogynistic and unpresidential, that is. Do we want someone who thinks that the looks of his opponent's wife are a valid campaign issue? Do we want someone who thinks it is okay to attack an opponent's spouse or even an opponent him or herself based solely on appearance?
Regardless of what you think of Trump's stands on issues--let's say you are all about walls, waterboarding, and shipping entire religious groups out of the country--do you really want someone with the temperament and shallowness of Trump? Not only does he openly and clearly incite violence against anyone who dares express disagreement with him, but he attacks people time and again based on their looks and or physical "packaging" alone. Just a few examples of the plethora that exist, off the top of my exhausted-from-a-week-at-my-job little head:
1. Saying he wants to look Rosie O'Donnell "right in her fat, ugly face" and...blah blah blah.
2. Mocking a reporter with a physical challenge.
3. This latest tweet of his, designed to say that his wife is pretty and Ted Cruz's wife is ugly.
This man is NOT presidential material, no matter what you think of his stands on issues--he is a vindictive, misogynistic, vengeful, temperamental, volatile bully. Do you want him to have his finger on the button?
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Flower Power or Round-Up?
Just watched (in horror) a Trump rally in Ohio, live streamed on YouTube. And here is my musing on that:
1980, Washington, DC: National Mall, big crowd for the 4th of July celebration. But it wasn't a good feeling type of
patriotism to me. There was an ugly vibe
in the crowd. Reagan had come to
power. There were people wearing tee-shirts
that said "Fuck Iran", and I looked around, still very young (18) and
naive, and having thought up until that moment that, when my generation grew
up, everything was going to be flower power and kumbaya, and I realized: oh my God, people my age are...like...NOT all
liberal and progressive and about peace, love and rock and roll, like the
lyrics of our music would have one think.
What is going on here?
What was going on was the birth of the Reagan Era. And now it is in its death throes, and the
type of person who wore the "Fuck Iran" tee-shirts back in 1980 is the same type of person at the Trump rallies today. It's exactly the same vibe, the same
feeling, as I felt surrounding me on that July 4th, 1980, on the National Mall. It is an ugly, xenophobic, macho, "us and them" vibe. It terrified me then and it terrifies me now.
I am not the same naive girl I was then, so even though I
see so many hopeful signs in our country, I realize that that ugly element is
still there, too. And I can never get complacent. Even if Bernie wins the general election and
becomes president, even if we elect a great congress at the mid-terms to work
with him, even if our country makes great strides toward economic and ethical
health as a culture, that ugly element that is all about xenophobia, fear,
bigotry and hate will always be a part of us, too. Because, tragically, that ugly potential has
always been and will always be a part of humanity. So even if flower power were to rule
throughout the land, there are always those who would try to spray Round-Up on
it, on us, if given half a chance.
We have the potential for great good, and we have the
potential for great evil. The laws of
this great nation are such--the constitution is such--that it makes it very
hard for us to go the evil route for too long, though we have done it (slavery,
the Japanese internment during WWII, different groups having to fight for civil
rights, etc.). The internal compass of
our nation is geared toward good as our true north.
But it is up to each of us to fight for that, to safeguard that. Like a garden, our country needs constant
tending in order to be healthy and thrive.
Let us not forget that. Let us speak up for flower power, even when others scream for Round-Up, and rounding up.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
This Female Bernie Supporter Accepts Your Apology, Madeleine, and I Appreciate It
This is a follow-up to my last outraged blog which was regarding a statement Madeleine Albright made at a Hillary Clinton rally, which in the context she spoke it, implied that women who do not support Hillary Clinton have a "special place in Hell" reserved for us. She has, as of yesterday, since apologized, and clarified, in the following New York Times editorial.
My reaction? Apology accepted, and appreciated. One poor choice doesn't necessarily negate a lifetime of great achievement. I, for one female Bernie supporter, forgive her and am back to my previous stance of admiring her. Here is her apology:
Madeleine Albright apologizes in a New York Times Op Ed
My reaction? Apology accepted, and appreciated. One poor choice doesn't necessarily negate a lifetime of great achievement. I, for one female Bernie supporter, forgive her and am back to my previous stance of admiring her. Here is her apology:
Madeleine Albright apologizes in a New York Times Op Ed
Monday, February 8, 2016
Going to Hell for Bernie
I’m exhausted. I’m
busy. I work so hard, as a female member
of the 99%, and I don’t feel like coming home and summoning up the eloquence to
write a blog tonight. But, I’m also
pissed off. You know: ANGRY.
And I am therefore compelled to write this tonight.
I am an ardent supporter of Bernie Sanders. He has been a hero of mine since way back
when he was mayor of Burlington, Vermont.
I love his ideals. I love what he
stands for and how he stands for it.
Until today, I also had a lot of respect for Hillary Clinton. A long time ago, I used to think she was just
about power and ambition, and not about ideals.
Then I came to believe that she actually did stand for things—good things—and
not only that, she’s smart and experienced and a damn eloquent speaker and she,
somewhere along the way, earned my respect.
Today, she lost it again. For
good. Oh, I will vote for her in the
general election if she’s the nominee of my party, don’t worry. But before today, I would have done so with
great enthusiasm. After today, I will
just do it, like I did for Barack Obama twice, and for John Kerry. The last presidential election I was truly
excited about was 2000. And I’m excited
again now, for Bernie—and only for Bernie—thanks to the Clinton campaign’s
dogged determination to profoundly insult female Bernie voters.
First up to the plate, apparently as sort of a warm-up act,
we had Gloria Steinam. Now, I’m not sure
if this opening act was sanctioned by the Clinton Camp or not, so in fairness,
she may not have been acting as a Clinton surrogate, as I am 100%
sure the next two people and statements I’m going to describe after the Gloria
incident clearly were. Gloria got interviewed by
Bill Maher and decided to opine that young women are only voting for Bernie
because they are thinking, quote: “Where
are the boys? The boys are with Bernie.” Now, folks, I am just going to let that one
speak for itself, because that is just the kindling for my fire tonight. It is not the reason I am taking time I don’t
have, energy I don’t have and facing facts I don’t want to face, just to write
this. No, that would be because definite
surrogates of the Clinton campaign: Bill
Clinton, speaking on Hillary’s behalf, and then Madeleine Albright, speaking on
Hillary’s behalf with Hillary right there cheering her on, no less, have said
things that are so offensive that I am DONE.
DONE with respecting Hillary, done with sticking up for her, finito.
Let’s start with Bill. He is going around saying that Bernie’s campaign is engaging in sexist attacks against Hillary. This is simply NOT the truth. In fact, Bernie has said that if any of his supporters are posting anything sexist against Hillary (which, as anyone who has the slightest understanding of the internet realizes, he has no control over), he not only does not condone it and requests that they stop, but he doesn’t want their support. You can’t be any clearer AGAINST sexism in the campaign than that.
Now we move on to what has spurred my complete outrage: Madeleine Albright. Former Secretary of State. Current Clinton campaign spokesperson. Someone I have met. Someone I had great respect for. Someone who completely lost ALL my respect with ONE comment today, and also—taken in tandem with the Steinem shocker and the Bill artful smear—managed to make me lose respect for Hillary, which Hillary had built up from basically where I’ve been SHOT back to today, which is nil. I have no respect for her. In fact, I now have active contempt for her.
Let’s start with Bill. He is going around saying that Bernie’s campaign is engaging in sexist attacks against Hillary. This is simply NOT the truth. In fact, Bernie has said that if any of his supporters are posting anything sexist against Hillary (which, as anyone who has the slightest understanding of the internet realizes, he has no control over), he not only does not condone it and requests that they stop, but he doesn’t want their support. You can’t be any clearer AGAINST sexism in the campaign than that.
Now we move on to what has spurred my complete outrage: Madeleine Albright. Former Secretary of State. Current Clinton campaign spokesperson. Someone I have met. Someone I had great respect for. Someone who completely lost ALL my respect with ONE comment today, and also—taken in tandem with the Steinem shocker and the Bill artful smear—managed to make me lose respect for Hillary, which Hillary had built up from basically where I’ve been SHOT back to today, which is nil. I have no respect for her. In fact, I now have active contempt for her.
For you see, Madeleine Albright decided to say that women
who don’t support Hillary have “a special place in hell”. Yep.
You read that right. I decided to
listen to the comment myself on video this afternoon, since I couldn’t believe
I had heard it reported correctly, or in context, on CNN’s early news this
morning. CNN had reported that she said
young women who support Bernie have a special place in Hell. What she actually said, at first blush, does
sound a lot better: women who don’t
support other women have a special place in hell. HOWEVER, if you listen to the entire thing in
context, it was clearly and solely in the context of saying women should
support Hillary. There is absolutely no
mistaking her meaning: Madeleine Albright
definitely, clearly, unmistakably meant that women who don’t support HILLARY have,
quote, “a special place in hell.”
Folks, there is really no way, and thankfully, no need, to put into words just how offensive this is to me as a woman who supports Bernie. As a Democrat. As someone who has stuck up for Hillary to my fellow Bernie supporters throughout this campaign. As someone who has admired Madeleine Albright for decades. I’m done. I’m done trying to bring the party together. I’m done trying to bring progressives together. I’m done sticking up for Hillary. Why would I stick up for someone who claps when her surrogate says I have a special place in hell?
Do they honestly think that is the way to win female Bernie voters over? By condemning us? By insulting us? By saying we have a special place in hell? My mom always told me, “You catch more flies with honey.”
But these people evidently think bullying will work. They think fire and brimstone condemnation will work. They think playing the vagina card will work. Well, I am not voting for someone just because they are a woman, I’m voting for the person whose POLICIES help women, men, children, the elderly, the environment, the economy, our country and the world. That person is Bernie. He steadfastly sticks to the issues, the substance, and refuses to engage in personal attacks. He doesn’t insult my intelligence. So who is the true feminist? He doesn’t bully and threaten me with going to hell. So who is the true feminist? His policies would really challenge the patriarchy, so who is the true feminist?
I tend to vote for those who don’t tell me I have a special place in hell reserved for me. I tend to vote for those who are respectful and respectworthy.
Folks, there is really no way, and thankfully, no need, to put into words just how offensive this is to me as a woman who supports Bernie. As a Democrat. As someone who has stuck up for Hillary to my fellow Bernie supporters throughout this campaign. As someone who has admired Madeleine Albright for decades. I’m done. I’m done trying to bring the party together. I’m done trying to bring progressives together. I’m done sticking up for Hillary. Why would I stick up for someone who claps when her surrogate says I have a special place in hell?
Do they honestly think that is the way to win female Bernie voters over? By condemning us? By insulting us? By saying we have a special place in hell? My mom always told me, “You catch more flies with honey.”
But these people evidently think bullying will work. They think fire and brimstone condemnation will work. They think playing the vagina card will work. Well, I am not voting for someone just because they are a woman, I’m voting for the person whose POLICIES help women, men, children, the elderly, the environment, the economy, our country and the world. That person is Bernie. He steadfastly sticks to the issues, the substance, and refuses to engage in personal attacks. He doesn’t insult my intelligence. So who is the true feminist? He doesn’t bully and threaten me with going to hell. So who is the true feminist? His policies would really challenge the patriarchy, so who is the true feminist?
I tend to vote for those who don’t tell me I have a special place in hell reserved for me. I tend to vote for those who are respectful and respectworthy.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Hot Tramp, I Love You So
All day, I've just been gritting my teeth through my grueling workday, until I could make it to this point when I can just do what I've wanted to do all day: focus and reflect on David Bowie and his music.
He was the first to do a lot of things, to break fearlessly through a lot of boundaries, to be outrageous. He broke gender norms when nobody dared to. Now when rock stars do that, no one thinks a thing of it. He defied categorization as an musician, being impossible to pin into one or even several genres. He was avant-garde in everything he did, seemingly fearless about how society might judge him and definitely impossible to label in any way except: brilliant.
He opened minds and opened doors. He colored outside the lines and he colored with no lines. He touched my heart and my soul, moved me, inspired me, affirmed me, and set my imagination free...his music makes my heart beat stronger.
He was the first to do a lot of things, to break fearlessly through a lot of boundaries, to be outrageous. He broke gender norms when nobody dared to. Now when rock stars do that, no one thinks a thing of it. He defied categorization as an musician, being impossible to pin into one or even several genres. He was avant-garde in everything he did, seemingly fearless about how society might judge him and definitely impossible to label in any way except: brilliant.
He opened minds and opened doors. He colored outside the lines and he colored with no lines. He touched my heart and my soul, moved me, inspired me, affirmed me, and set my imagination free...his music makes my heart beat stronger.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Get the Memo
Memo to everyone in the United States of America:
The constitution of this great country, which is also the main thing that makes this such a great country, is about equal civil rights for all American citizens. The Supreme Court took up the issue of same-sex marriage and ruled that, constitutionally, no matter what one's sexual orientation, every American citizen has the right to marry.
The constitution of this great country, which is also the main thing that makes this such a great country, is about equal civil rights for all American citizens. The Supreme Court took up the issue of same-sex marriage and ruled that, constitutionally, no matter what one's sexual orientation, every American citizen has the right to marry.
Apparently, the above memo I just issued is necessary, as there are some who are just NOT understanding and/or accepting this reality. If you don't like the constitution, go move to another country which isn't ruled by it. And by "ruled by", I also mean "protected by". See ya later, Chief Justice Roy S. Moore of Alabama. And don't worry: you can always come back to America for a visit, as I'm guessing you are not Muslim.
Click this link to see the NPR article that prompted me to write the above memo/blog.
Click this link to see the NPR article that prompted me to write the above memo/blog.
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Why won't the media call white, Christian, American-born TERRORISTS what they are?
Question: why, when an armed group of white, Christian, American-born wackadoos take over federal property and say they will stay there for months unless and until they get their way, are they called "a militia" by the media, as opposed to "TERRORISTS" which is what they are?
You don't just stage an armed takeover of federal land and make a set of demands without being TERRORISTS. They aren't a "militia", so why are we letting them call themselves whatever they want? Why not let them go by "freedom fighters"? NO, call them what they are: a band of terrorists that have taken over federal property because they are mad at the government.
You don't just stage an armed takeover of federal land and make a set of demands without being TERRORISTS. They aren't a "militia", so why are we letting them call themselves whatever they want? Why not let them go by "freedom fighters"? NO, call them what they are: a band of terrorists that have taken over federal property because they are mad at the government.
Interesting who the media will call terrorists and who it won't. I'm WAY more scared of these wackadoos than I am am of Syrian refugees who are FLEEING FROM terrorism. While Trump is busy talking of building walls around the country and the others in the GOP field are busy stopping terriFIED refugees from getting safe asylum here, we have a bunch of homegrown, heavily armed nuts staging a domestic coup in Oregon. Is anyone paying attention?
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