#NotMyPresident

If I suspend commonsense & critical thought I guess Id be as excited about Trump as the folks on his FB page …but unfortunately I dont see an American hero. I see the man that made fun of a disabled person, says vulgar things about women, vulgar things about his own daughter, pats himself on the back because someone gave him a Purple Heart as a gift…this is NOT a man who cares about everyone, or anyone really. This campaign was little more than a nationwide ego tour for him full of rallies cheering for him. Becoming President was not a job for him, it was an accomplishment for his resume & ego. He clearly has NO clue how to run a country & this was obvious when he had no real concrete ideas, just snappy one liners via being a reality star. His ideas have no real basis or reality and yet conservs are sadly eating them up. Has America truly become land of the ignorant?

This year & past year in particular have motivated me to be more mindful of my time online & how I spend it. I un”like”-d a lot of pages that are just “noise” in my opinion. ….I’m more diligent about where I get my info from & I try to get news from a variety of places (NPR, PBS, plus Al Jazeera & BBC so I can see how the same events are reported elsewhere, plus the New Yorker which is lengthy usually but far more in depth than other news sources , my op, post.)… I actually got a subscription to the New Yorker. …That said I’m not afraid of alternate views but I will automatically disregard anything steeped in ignorance or hatred or the person has a sole source of information & its a random FB page, in which case I try to question in a way that might make them think ab where THEY get info from. Also, anyone that uses words like “libtard” either is in elementary school or not mature enough for an adult discussion, pass.

During the debates pre-election, it was clear he was far less qualified than Hillary. She had facts. She had ideas. He had…catchphrases and one liners. He enjoyed the spotlight and attaining a something & “winning” but he still has no concrete plans, just..one liners and catchphrases. Is anyone actually surprised? I’m not.

I watched a video a conservative friend of mine posted of Trump, speaking to a cheering crowd. In it he was talking about “Building that wall” and how Mexico was going to pay for it, how we were going to “bring back jobs” from people that outsource to other countries & “immigrants” and how we were going to rebuild hospitals, building etc with American materials from American businesses with American labor…and the crowd cheered.

There’s so much in this one short speech that is unbelievable that its flooring how anyone could wholeheartedly accept ALL of it as true. First of all, someone ought to inform DT that he wont be President of Mexico. He cant make them do anything. Nor has he made any deals with their government to do so.

As far as bringing back jobs (quote-unquote) will he be doing that within his own companies first? His own family’s? Ivanka for instance manufactures clothes in China, Indonesia & Vietnam (source: New York Times, Teen Vogue, New York magazine and the Daily Mail) Additionally, his own hotels and businesses were built on the backs of illegal immigrant labor (source NBC, Hillary Clinton, Time Magazine). He in no way strikes me as genuine in anything he says but he’s clearly pandering to the agenda of the far right with the knowledge that it will get eaten up. Hes the man they’re carrying on their shoulders and cheering all the way to the White House without any regard for what they’ll do once they get there. His Cabinet nominees are older almost entirely Caucasian corporate people & fellow wealthy elite. (which his transition team director shockingly called “the most diverse” of any cabinet” ????? Maybe he has vision problems.)  Not a single one so far has any experience relevant to the position they are being appointed for. So far it seems DT is surrounding himself w/ other clueless fools so he wont feel left out.

On another note, the conservatives calling for respect of leaders, telling others to accept it, make the best of it, etc are nothing short of hypocrites. How quickly their minds fade and they forget their own behavior when Obama was elected, and re-elected. The evidence is all over the internet including DT’s own tweets. These people would do well to stop commenting and embarrassing themselves, but sadly ignorance is bliss. Wouldn’t it be nice if the people calling for people to “respect leaders” in regards to Trump, did so w/ the awareness that Barack Obama IS still President, and has been even after Election Day? Hmm.

I will not respect this leader. I will turn my back on this government and work to help others,  however I can. I’ll donate to Planned Parenthood. I’ll join the ACLU (already have) . I’ll call Senators (I have called every one of them regarding the ACA. Every.Single.One.) this is my country. But he is not my President.

Dear Ms. Davis (email sent to Kim Davis)

Dear Ms Davis

I write to you as a fellow Christian. I’m a non denominational Christian living in California. We have had our share of wars here about the definition of marriage as well. I understand where your hearts at and that you truly feel what you say. I, unfortunately, have to disagree with your views & the way youre going about expressing them. You are presently employed by the county of Rowan and as such are paid by the people to perform job functions for which you are refusing to do. Ma’am, this is theft. You may feel the ends justify the means but committing sin to justify preventing sin (or what you view as sin) makes absolutely no sense. I feel for you, I do. However I think the right thing for you is to realize that in this country, marriages definition has changed. The law has changed. Your job duties have changed. The Supreme Court has spoken and the definition of marriage in this country, however, will NOT change. Please do the right thing, and step down.

Sincerely
Bianca May

“There is a saying, ‘Love your friends and hate your enemies.’ But I say: Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way you will be acting as true sons of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust too. If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even scoundrels do that much. If you are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. (TLB, Matthew 5:43-48)

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (NIV, Matthew 7:1-5)

I John 4: 7-8 (NRSV)

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

How are you showing Jesus love by your actions today? Do people see Jesus when they see you?

Bernie Sanders for President!

Earlier this year I was asked if “women were going to vote for Hillary regardless of what she stands for on issues” just because she’s a woman. My answer to that person was an unequivocal, no. Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to see a female president in office for many reasons. I think the country needs to break the glass over that White House ceiling. I think it would change the dynamic of the military and Congress to learn to adjust (sooner rather than later) to answering to a female leader. I think other countries who are far more advanced than us in this area would respect us. I think children growing up in this country now need to see that ANYONE can be president. (And really how cool would it be to follow up the first African American president with the first female one?). That said, Hillary does not reflect me or my views. Women don’t all agree with other women on what we need as a society or hold similar values even if we are of the same gender.

I DO think Hillary is qualified to be President. She has more experience than a lot of the other candidates. She has the unique experience of having LIVED in the White House already and seen firsthand how the job of President works. She has no illusions about what she can or cant do as President. She likely will not make false promises. She knows our leaders and our Congressional representatives. She is definitely a qualified candidate. Unfortunately the candidate I want to support for President will be someone whose values reflect mine, whom I feel can address concerns that I have about our present society. I feel that candidate is Bernie Sanders.

There is a lot of criticism towards Bernie as being a “socialist.” Bernie is an independent, probably more a democratic socialist but all the same. Even if he were a “socialist” I think far too often people need to stop treating this like a bad word or equating it with communism (the two are different you know).  Bernie has ideas that help us become a better First World country (and more i line with other First World countries). Bernie sees the big picture and doesn’t cater to the wealthy corporations that can further his career just to add another notch in his political tool belt. Another common argument I have heard and read is that Bernie Sanders “cant win.” Well, he can if we support him. If we vote in the primary election and appeal to others to support him too. There’s no realistic reason he CANT win if we support him and vote for him.Our votes DO Matter. Our voices DO matter only no one will hear them if we act in a defeatist way by choosing to do nothing.

A criticism from the Pro-Bernie set is the lack of TV coverage about him. There’s references to a “blackout” since most major news organizations focus on Hillary Clinton and other candidates. I definitely advocate pressuring news outlets and cable companies to change this and to reflect ALL candidates that people are supporting. In reality, we know the news media is owned by a few corporations. I am sad to see the lack of Bernie coverage but not surprised. And honestly, maybe I’m underestimating the importance of cable in 2015, but I’m not tat concerned either. Cable is dying. It seems cable TV debates are things viewed by old people. In last years list of things that will be dead by next year (put out by Yahoo!) cable was in the Top 10.   I think Bernie has a lock on social media which will be more important than prior election years. Maybe this seems ignorant, and I hope not, however history tells us of a similar election and time when media was at a crossroads. In the 60’s, radio was the prevailing form of media for most households. Television was a hot new thing that was emerging. The Presidential debate between Richard Nixon and JFK was broadcast on both platforms, and in an interesting twist, audiences of both had completely different takes on who “won.” Audiences listening in on the radio came away with the impression that Richard Nixon was the better candidate. He made good points. He was an articulate speaker. By contrast, television viewers saw a nervous man, with sweat coming off his brow. Television viewers saw a young candidate with charisma and a comfortable demeanor engaging with Nixon. Television viewers thought JFK was the better candidate. Granted in this example both candidates were equally broadcast in both platforms, but I think we can see this as an example of how difdferent media can affect a different outcome. True it would be great for Bernie to be covered on TV but with TVs relevance dwindling, and social media accessible and prevalent virtually everywhere, I’m not worried about it either. #HeresHoping #FeelTheBern #BernieSandersForPresident

Privatization of the Post Office, say what?

For later….

http://www.savethepostoffice.com/post-topics/privatization

Aug 1st, 2015

Well its been a busy summer, kids so admittedly I never updated this 😦 I first heard about this proposed idea from a person collecting signatures outside of the local post office. She let me know that there was a proposal to privatize the USPS system so that people would need to go pick up their mail from Staples and pay to receive it. Now I dont like change anymore the next person but this doesn’t sound like just “change,” it sounds like a complete overhaul of the postal service. This would be good if it sounded good but it really doesn’t seem to benefit the consumer. Where are our tax dollars going if not to the USPS? I understand there’s less mail with the advent of e-mail but there is still A LOT of mail. The post office has not cut back hours of operation except for their actual offices where people go to ship things etc. But the delivery people still work six days a week, meaning there ARE still packages to be delivered and stamps being bought. A few years ago, Dear Abby wrote about the USPS reminding people that we still have one of the best bargains as far as sending letters etc. In other countries, it cost far more to do so. Perhaps instead of suggesting we move the whole thing to Staples, we could just raise the price of a stamp? #JustAThought

“More pads for homeless women on their periods”

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/4/15/more-pads-for-homeless-women-help.htmlI found this piece in Al Jazeera and it was eye opening, and food for thought. I definitely aim to be more mindful when donating to shelters etc. I will strive to remember toiletries and sanitary products.

New York City shelter sees big jump in donations; UK campaign pushes for access to free tampons in shelters

April 15, 2015 7:15PM ET

by Lisa De Bode @lisadebode Google+

Donations of women’s hygiene products at a major New York City homeless shelter for the year so far are already five times those for all of 2014, thanks to increased awareness among donors about the enormous obstacles faced by homeless women on their periods as they struggle to stay clean on the streets.

New York’s Care for the Homeless has received five large in-kind donations this year of more than 3,500 pieces of feminine hygiene products, from private individuals and organizations who collected pads, tampons and other sanitary products to help homeless women deal with their periods.

This often overlooked issue has inspired a similar campaign in the United Kingdom, #TheHomelessPeriod, which aims to raise funds to donate sanitary products to shelters and calls on policymakers to provide more products for free.

“We’re blown out of the water for this year,” said Rosanna Montilla, associate at Care for the Homeless, a nonprofit that provides medical care at 25 clinics catering to the homeless in New York City. “We received lots of interest.”

The campaign comes as the city is witnessing historic levels of homelessness. About 60,000 people are homeless in New York City, compared to less than half that number in the 1980s, when the city first started tracking this statistic, according to the Coalition for the Homeless. And more women and their families are living on the streets than ever before. There are more than 3,310 women in the city’s shelters every night, grappling with restricted access to safe sanitary spaces such as showers and bathrooms and limited availability of menstrual products at shelters.

“It’s not one of the items that people automatically think of when they donate toiletries,” Montilla told Al Jazeera in an interview in January. “When you get to specific items like female hygiene products, you have to specifically ask for it.”

When Kendra Parker, one of the five donors and a member of the First Baptist Church of Crown Heights, New York, first read about the lack of menstrual products in the city’s shelters, she rallied colleagues to donate and collected 3,000 tampons, sanitary napkins and liners during a drive at the church in February.

“You think about the plight of the homeless, but you don’t think about hygiene and all the difficulties that [women] run into,” she said.

With few other options, homeless women have reported using rags they wash and re-use during their periods, or stuffing large quantities of toilet paper in their panties when nothing else is available. Maribel Guillet, a two-year resident of a Bronx shelter who said her period typically lasts about 10 days, told Al Jazeera in January that she had trouble working around her shelter’s bathroom restrictions to accommodate her heavy bleeding. “Sometimes the lady’s nice. Other ladies is not,” she said, referring to shelter supervisors. “Some of them won’t work with you.”

A United Nations report also decried the “humiliation” women suffered at having to use the bathroom outside, exposing them to the risk of sexual assault and discomforts of changing their hygiene products when menstruating while homeless.

These concerns are widespread among homeless women across the world and inspired three campaigners in the United Kingdom to launch a petition and blog on March 26 to press Simon Stevens, chief executive of the National Health Services, to allocate funds for free sanitary products to women living in shelters, similar to a program that distributes free condoms to shelter residents. More than 80,000 people have already signed the petition.

“This initiative believes that tampons and towels should be made available through homeless shelters, the same way the government provides condoms,” a campaign statement reads.

The three people behind the petition, Sara Bakhaty, Oliver Frost and Josie Shadden, met as interns at an advertising agency, and put up cardboard signs at busy intersections in London to raise awareness about the particular problems of female homelessness. They read: “For homeless women, period pain is an understatement”; and “Just when you couldn’t feel any lower, your period starts.” The signs include the hashtag #TheHomelessPeriod, which has been used by other activists to launch fundraising campaigns for local shelters.

“We’ve been really inspired by those who have taken it a step further and chose to raise funds or donate themselves,” Bakhaty said via email.

One of those activists, Sarah Wyatt, urged people to donate money to a GoFundMe account to buy menstrual products for women living in shelters. Wyatt, from Arundel, UK, raised $340 in three days, and said that the money “will go a long way to helping women who have to face their period whilst living in an already difficult situation.”