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onetwistedmiracle · 4 years

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Heather Cox Richardson September 29, 2020 (Tuesday) My house is blissfully quiet, but my ears are still ringing. The first presidential debate of 2020 was unlike anything we have seen before. CNN’s Jake Tapper said: "That was a hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a train wreck." "He was his own tweets come to life." “We’ll talk about who won the debate, who lost the debate ... One thing for sure, the American people lost.” Conservative pundit William Kristol called it “a spectacle… an embarrassment… a disgrace… because of the behavior of one man, Donald Trump. The interrupting and the bullying, the absence of both decency and dignity—those were Donald Trump’s distinctive contributions to the evening, and they gave the affair the rare and sickening character of a national humiliation.” Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? In a normal presidential debate, both candidates try to explain their policy proposals, jab at their opponent, and convince undecided voters to move in their direction. If this had been a normal presidential debate, its weight would have fallen on Trump, who is significantly behind Biden, to win voters. Biden’s goal would simply have been not to lose anyone. If we were calling this like a normal presidential debate, Trump lost. He did not move the needle in his direction. Biden won; he did not lose anyone. But this was not a normal presidential debate. Trump long ago gave up the pretense that he wanted to win a majority of voters. For months now, he has made no effort to reach outside of his base. Instead he has focused on solidifying and radicalizing it. As his trade war with China and the coronavirus has weakened his support, he has given massive grants to farmers, promised checks to 33 million elderly to help pay for prescriptions, splashed transportation grants around, and recently even offered grants to lobstermen who have lost business because of the trade war. Trump set out tonight not to convince undecided voters to support him, but rather to harden his supporters and encourage them to disrupt the election so he can contest the results until the solution goes to the Supreme Court where he hopes a majority will rule in his favor. He laid it all out tonight. His performance was no accident. He came out determined to dominate the debate in much the same way as Fox News Channel personalities or talk radio hosts dominate their shows. He interrupted, argued, lied, and generally sucked the oxygen out of the room. He cheated, refusing to follow the rules that he had agreed to, thus demonstrating that he would not be bound by the rules everyone else had to live by. He bullied moderator Chris Wallace of the Fox News Channel into repeatedly appeasing him by saying, for example, “Mr. President you’re going to be very happy, because we’re going to talk about law and order,” and “Let me ask — sir, you’ll be happy, I’m about to pick up on one of your points to ask the vice president.” Trump was attempting to demonstrate his dominance. He went on to echo the grievances and lies that his supporters have come to believe. Ignoring the more than 200,000 Americans dead of Covid-19, he insisted he was the victim of Democrats' lies about the disease. When Wallace tried to rein him in, he attacked him for being unfair, although Wallace never once fact-checked Trump’s lies. If Trump had a strategy at all that involved voters, it was to try to keep them from backing Biden. Trump kept yelling at him about “Law & Order,” as he likes to tweet, and kept trying to drive a wedge between Biden and the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party, finally saying to him: “You just lost the left.” Trump tipped his hand, though, when Wallace asked: "Are you willing, tonight, to condemn white supremacists and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down?” Trump demanded names of such groups, and Wallace named, among others, the Proud Boys, the hate group that helped to organize the riot in Charlottesville, Virginia. After hedging, Trump finally answered: "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by! But I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left." "That's my president," the head of the Proud Boys posted on the social media chair that will still host them. Within an hour the group had new shoulder patches designed with the words “Stand Back and Stand By.” Trump called for his supporters to act as poll watchers to prevent a fraudulent vote. He is losing badly in Pennsylvania, a state he needs, and tonight he lied that Philadelphia election officials refused to permit his poll watchers to observe voting. “Bad things happen in Philadelphia,” he said, “bad things.” The truth is that seven satellite offices where voters can register and apply to vote, complete, and drop off mail in ballots opened in Philadelphia. Poll watchers are not allowed because there is no polling taking place. Trump’s calls for poll watchers are pretty clearly calls for voter intimidation. Tonight, again, Trump refused to commit to accepting a Biden victory, saying that he could not agree to fraudulent results. He suggested the election could take months to solve, and that he “definitely” wants the Supreme Court, including his new nominee Amy Coney Barrett, to “look at the ballots.” (Democrats have said Barrett should recuse herself from any election-related cases; Republicans say that is “absurd.”) It was a performance designed to show a strong man who is calling out his armed supporters to enable him to seize an election he cannot win freely. But Trump performed as he did because it’s all he’s got. He has no policies, no platform, no plans that he can sell to the American people, and no attention span either to govern or to explain how he wants to govern. So his only option is to dominate. Even he knows that ploy is a desperate one. Tonight’s tell was actually in his dominance play itself: overt bullying like he displayed tonight is actually a sign of weakness and abuse, not of true power. The bar for Biden going into this debate was low: since he is so far ahead, he simply needed not to lose votes. But he did well. First of all, he managed to retain his train of thought, which was no easy thing with Trump interrupting and lying and yelling, clearly trying to derail him and, at the very least, bring out his stutter. He put to rest Trump’s insistence that he is failing mentally. Despite Trump, Biden also managed to explain some of his policies, too, as well as pointing out that more than 200,000 Americans have died on Trump’s watch, and that he has done the economy no favors. Under Trump, he said, America has become “weaker, sicker, poorer, more divided and more violent.” But Biden’s strongest moments were ones Trump teed up. When Biden defended our troops from Trump’s “losers” and “suckers” comments, citing his son, Beau, who died of cancer after his service in Iraq, Trump missed the opportunity to acknowledge Biden’s loss, and instead repeatedly attacked Biden’s son Hunter, who struggled with substance abuse. Trump insisted—incorrectly—that Hunter was dishonorably discharged from the Navy (in fact, he was administratively discharged), and tried to smear him. Biden looked directly at Trump to say that Hunter had a drug addiction he is managing, and Biden is proud of him. While Biden spoke as a father defending his son, his message will resonate with the 20 million Americans who are battling addiction. Most important, though, Biden made the debate about the country and the American people, not about Trump. While Trump listed his own grievances, Biden spoke to the camera, asking Americans what they needed, what they think. He promised that we can accomplish anything if only we work together. He urged people to ignore the chaos and vote. “Vote whatever way is the best way for you,” he said. “Because he will not be able to stop you from determining the outcome of this election.” Biden also refused to be scared off by Trump’s threats not to honor the election results. He brushed them off, saying “I will accept it, and he will, too. You know why? Because once the winner is declared once all the ballots are counted, that’ll be the end of it.”

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#Heather Cox Richardson #commentary #2020 #dumpster fire #other than that mrs lincoln how was the play #vote #votevotevote #please all american citizens reading this make a plan to vote safely

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silassanford · 5 years

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His party is a group of fucking cowards. Or idiots. Or both. He should be seeing his colleagues faces on television every minute of the day, on every news program that they could be booked on. He should be sick of hearing of them on the radio. There should be protests at the gates of the White House every day of the week. Well, it’s as the old adage goes: if you want something done right, do it yourself. So that’s why when he stood up on the Senate floor, he had a plan in mind. He was going to talk until he very well collapsed. Not because he had some true opposition for the bill that stemmed from the pit of his soul. He has purely political reasons for doing this. If it did pass, everyone would know he fought hard against it. And if it failed… well, he would look like a hero of the people, wouldn’t he?

hour one “I stand here today before you to filibuster the Disarmament Act. I will remain here until I no longer have the energy to stand so that I may inform the public about what is at stake with this bill. And if you, a citizen of this nation, has a thought that they would like to express, please tweet with the hashtag filibuster for freedom, and I will read out some of your messages later...” hour two “I would like to bring up some of the excellent points that I have heard over the course of these past weeks. I would like to highlight Admiral Bell who spoke at the Disarmament Debate on the Cora Jones show. I would like to thank him for speaking out on this issue and I will read out one of his statements now. And I quote, ‘I don’t believe that there should be any sort of compromise when it comes to our Constitutional rights, and at best, that’s what this bill is asking of us. I believe that it would set a dangerous precedent in attacking the rights that the government is sworn by definition to protect.’ I believe that we should be following the procedure outlined in Article Five about proposing an amendment to the Constitution. And prior to that, there should be a bipartisan discussion about what such a bill should look like, rather than the president trying to push this bill through as hastily as possible.”

hour three “There is another politician whose eloquent thoughts that I would like to quote: ‘Gun violence is a reality and a tragedy in our lives that ensues from the misuse of a constitutional freedom. Interfering with that is comparable to curbing the freedom of speech because it has resulted in the spread of hatred and bigotry. When a freedom is misused, the answer is not to take it away. The solution is to address it. And this government has empowered every institution in this country to deal with the perpetrators and instigators of firearm-based violence. That is the very definition of ‘political action’. Asking for more is asking me to transgress the boundaries of my power.’ Those words were said by Theresa Wright, on the tragic day of her death. She firmly believed that the solution was not to take away the rights of citizens. If, as the president says, that he is trying to honour Theresa Wright’s legacy, then he should heed her words, rather than pushing his own agenda that goes against her beliefs.” hour four He took a bite out of a burger, flipping to the next page of his very tall stack of papers. He didn’t even look close to halfway through. A soft smile settled on his lips. A nostalgic look. “Some of my fondest memories with my son are when we went hunting together. My son is here, in the gallery, supporting my efforts here today. Hi, Henry.” A warm smile, a wave in the direction of the gallery. “It breaks my heart to think that other fathers won’t have the same opportunity to bond as I did with my son if this bill’s restrictive measures go into effect. What is more American than being able to get into my car with my boy and drive out of the city and taking what my son affectionately calls shortcuts and taking us through this great state of mine, having to fill up the tank of gap and then finally, arriving at one of the four great national forests that my state has and hunt some game? There is nothing more American than family.” hour five “The president hasn’t outlined how he is going to pay for the incentives he intends to hand out. I can only hazard a guess that it will come out of taxpayer money, or heaven forbid, out of the Defense budget which is used to keep this country and its troops safe.”

hour six “I would like to also bring up the point that Senator Lindahl made in the Disarmament Debate on the Cora Jones show, which is that this bill is a “violation of the preeminent human right, and that is the right to self-defense”. hour seven “I would like to acknowledge all of the people who have phoned into my office to express their thoughts about this bill. I would like to give a special shout-out for those from my hometown of Mobile, Alabama, and I will read out the concerns from one of its citizens, Betty McDowall. She has told me she has two adult sons and that she worries about the potential abuses of the lifetime ban, knowing that false claims to the police already have a disastrous effect on a person’s life, and now someone could be be banned for life from exercising their Second Amendment right. This surely is not constitutional. What’s next? Will the government issue lifetime bans on the freedom of speech as well?” hour eight “The president is attempting to forcibly expand the red flag law which is a state legislation and should be voted on at the state level, rather than unilaterally decided here for all of the states.” hour nine “I believe that it is unreasonable to raise the age of purchasing guns from eighteen to twenty five. If at eighteen a citizen can enlist themselves at the military and die for our great nation, they should be allowed to have the freedom to purchase a gun.” hour ten “Within the bill, it is listed that that the person wishing to purchase a gun must justify necessity for owning a gun. This vague rule that places the power in the hands of the government is a dangerous notion that they may be able to bar people from exercising their Second Amendment right. As given the lack of comprehensive criteria, this will lead to arbitrary and uneven decision making which will impede citizens from their right to bear arms.” hour eleven ”The bill has also proposed these ambiguous terns at a municipal level for those applying carry a concealed handgun. It references that a person must be determined to be of good moral character. Now, who is to judge these morals? Is it this administration who will dictate them to us? Would I, Mr. President, pass this judgment? Or would I need to renounce my beliefs that every life is sacred? Will I, and every citizen, need to choose between their religious beliefs and their Second Amendment right?” hour twelve “I do not think that the actions of one man should be used by the president as justification to punish an entire nation and take away their rights…” hour thirteen “I think that it’s certainly a clever ploy for the president to offer a tax credit to bribe citizens to not purchase any guns in the next twelve months. Come election time, I’m sure it will be a nice talking point about out how he’s reduced the number of guns in this country.” hour fourteen ”Now, I haven’t even yet gotten to speak about how excessive and far-reaching it is for a total ban on assault and automatic weapons except for basically law enforcement agencies. Of course the government would want to keep its citizens scared and unarmed.” hour fifteen and thirty one minutes “I hope that my words today have made everyone understand the importance of this moment. I call on all of the senators here to take a look at themselves. Anyone who proclaims to uphold the Constitution must vote no on this bill. Thank you for all listening. And with that, I yield the floor.” At the very least, whatever happened, he damn well that he’d been getting into the records of top ten longest filibusters. He’d been keeping count.

#challenge #cbcchallenge #click the cut at ur own peril it's LONG

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oliverzafar · 5 years

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CHANGE WILL COME FROM THE CHILDREN

Oliver Zafar officially announced his bid for the presidency in February of 2019, doing so as a left-leaning Independent candidate. His core values are based on progressivism and looking towards the future, ensuring a better America for both its present and future citizens.

Read more below about where he stands on the core issues facing Americans today!

CLIMATE CHANGE. Incredibly vocal about doing everything possible to stop climate change and vouches that the Green Movement can boost economic growth and create millions of new careers for those in the fossil fuel industry worried about losing their jobs. Launch a 10 to 15-year plan to transition to 100% clean energy and net-zero greenhouse gas pollution. Remove subsidies and tax breaks for the fossil-fuel industry and implement a Carbon Tax. Ban fracking and all fossil fuel exports. Require plastic bags in stores only be given out at a price. His own campaign is incredibly clean, offsetting all carbon emissions produced from travel activities and events by investing in renewable energy and carbon reduction projects.

GENDER AND RACE ISSUES. Mandate a universal paid parental leave policy for either or both parents. Fight the gender and race-based pay gap by requiring businesses to report salaries, promotions, and dismissals as broken down by gender and race to the public. Codify Roe v. Wade to continue ensuring safe and legal abortions. Conduct regular random, unannounced investigations into police officers to ensure no race or gender bias takes place. Work to decrease the disproportionate amount of women of color affected by infant mortality.

LGBTQ+ ISSUES. Describes the murder of black trans women in America as a “national crisis”. Include members of the LGBTQ+ community in the Equal Housing Act. Remove all legal loopholes that allow individuals to lose their jobs due to their sexuality in twenty-two states. Ban conversation therapy. Repeal the FDA’s policy that disallows gay men from donating blood.

HEALTHCARE: Work towards “Healthcare for All” by: a) sponsoring a buy-in program for Medicaid so that not only low-income individuals have the option to use public healthcare, and b) expanding Medicare by allowing people ages 50 to 64 to still buy into it. Have the government manufacture cheap generic drugs if prescription drug costs rise too high to stop excessive pharmaceutical price-gouging. Allow Americans to purchase medications from other countries as a way to lower consumer costs. Push to pass the Affordable Medications Act in the Senate to allow the federal government to negotiate drug prices with insurance companies under Medicare.

FOREIGN RELATIONS. Build a public and private international coalition against China’s intellectual property theft and compete against China in Asia with a TPP-style trade deal. Limit drone strikes, if not discontinue them completely. No military intervention in Venezuela’s current political climate.

ECONOMICS. Cut taxes on small businesses and farmers, raise them on corporations. Incorporate a VAT Tax to pay for many of his proposals, which he loves to emphasize is a tax already used by every developed country besides the US. Encourage more union-positive thinking throughout corporate America (he’s very proud of the fact that his own staff is unionized!). Stronger anti-trust regulations to break up monopolies and encourage companies to invest profits in their employees and communities.

IMMIGRATION. Repeal criminal penalties for people crossing the border. Reexamine the current immigration process and try to expedite/ease the process so that families are not forced to enter illegally. Conduct a comprehensive review of current ICE procedures and implement serious retraining based on federally approved security protocols. If this is still unsuccessful, abolish ICE and redistribute its responsibilities to other agencies. Increase foreign aid to Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and other countries in crisis to thus reduce the flow of asylum seekers to the U.S.

STUDENT DEBT. Expand access to college by providing interest-free federal loans. Allow employers to make tax-free contributions to pay off their employees’ student debt and help those in work-study programs graduate without owing anything.

EDUCATION. Introduce a free universal pre-K program to ensure all children have the same successful start. Introduce initiatives to increase the US’ advancement in science, technology, and mathematics when compared to other much more advanced developed countries. Research the amount of homework and schoolwork given at public schools and whether or not it’s the most productive to produce actual results.

DEFENSE. Lower military spending by ending regime-change wars and reducing the acquisition of nuclear weapons.

GUN REFORM. Enact the Disarmament Act with some modifications. Invest into research and development of “smart gun” technology and other technological preventative measures.

PACS: Reform campaign finance laws so that representatives don’t answer to donors, they answer to voters. Force every company that wants government contracts to disclose every campaign donation. Outlaw superPACs and overturn Citizens United.

— Please specify their target voter audience [age, ethnicity, region, income, etc]

Young, young, young! Oliver’s support is distributed between 18 to 44 years old, with very few older generations outside of his home state of Massachusetts willing to even hear him out. The quintessential Oliver voter is a grad student – high in education level but low in income. He’s also attracted a lot of support from people who are fed up with the two-party system that seems to permeate American politics and would instead prefer a more Independent candidate who doesn’t need to preen to Democratic powerhouses to make a decision. He polls very favorably among members of the LGBTQ+ community and people of color, especially Asians, Middle-Easterners, and Indians who want to see their region represented through either him or his fiancé. Both sides of the coast are the areas that his support is most concentrated in, especially Northeastern intellectual elites, while his spouts of passionate progressivism are lost on most of Middle America.

— What do their supporters love and believe in when it comes to their persona and campaign? AKA. What’s people’s reasoning for voting for your character?

The first thing Oliver’s supporters will cite as the reason that they vote for him is his passion. He speaks and campaigns with a kind of fire that most politicians lost before they even became elected. They love his youth after having grown up with generation of old white dirtbags ruling the country, and believe that as the first Millennial presidential candidate he understands the problems plaguing America’s most indebted, most stressed, and most socially conscious generation better than anyone else running. Progressives also appreciate how incredibly vocal he is about his experience as a gay man and a person of color who experienced an incredible amount of discrimination following 911.

— What does the opposition hate when it comes to their persona and campaign? AKA. What points are brought up when trying to convince others your character isn’t a good choice for the seat?

Take a seat y’all, this is gonna take a while: His youth is usually the first criticism people bring up, because it’s the one that’s least controversial as opposed to his sexuality or race (but we’ll get to that too). Even though he’s got over a decade of experience in politics, people hesitate to endorse someone who’s just a few years above the legal age to even run for president. His opposition will also bring up the hypocritical nature of his marriage, since Oliver’s this stalwart progressive while his fiancé writes for Republicans. Democrats and moderate Republicans usually stop there in terms of his personal life, but of course conservatives will reference his homosexuality as something “the country isn’t ready for” or bring up his Arabic roots as “something a post-911 USA shouldn’t trust”.

Aside from just personal issues, Oliver’s also received a lot of backlash for running as an Independent. Though he’s doing it for the sake of proving that a divisive two-party system is only going to ultimately hurt America (he’s got Madison 10 like… framed twice in his office), people are harsh to point out that he’s only going to take votes away from Berkeley and essentially hinder a Democratic victory. Oliver also doesn’t know how to just give no comment when asked questions by reporters (much to the exhaustion of his staff), which while seen as “endearingly passionate” by some is seen as “an inability to keep his goddamn mouth shut” by others. He’s also incredibly uncompromising on his key issues (climate change, healthcare, gun control, and student loans most prominently), which doesn’t resonate well with moderates who aren’t 100% committed to his radicalities. And as much as Oliver claims to fight for the people, he suffers from a chronic syndrome of Northeastern Elitism as a result of being an intellectually-raised, Harvard-educated, I’ve-read-The-Republic-in-its-original-Greek kind of guy that doesn’t hold Middle America at too high of a regard.

#cbcbcchallenge #last AND least..... trash king extraordinaire!#im sorry about the logo y'all photoshop just inserted those squares in the back and i've accepted defeat #i'll redeem myself with like a fun lil meme or smthg for pt 2 of this challenge

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voicehumanity · 6 years

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NOTICE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE:

We hope that you will read and share this.

There will be no effect on gun violence until there are rational changes made to American law and order.

THumP® supports the U.S. Constitution as it is written. We do not solicit changing the current Constitution except by the rules set forth therein. A 2/3 majority in both houses of Congress can legally change, amend, or rewrite the Constitution to reflect more modern ideals and solve many of our social problems.

We call upon the American people to vote in every election. Until we have found credible candidates who will represent our platform with courage, instead of selecting any proposed candidate at the ballot box, we encourage voters to write in: The Humanity Party. This will send a strong message to the government, regardless of who is elected.

It is our hope that our message will reach the American people.

Our message is one of hope, peace, and unity. We do not condone or organize protests or movements that disrupt peace. We know that change can come through the law and order that is currently established through the election process. However, we know that the major two-party system cannot, will not, accomplish the rational changes that need to be made.

Here is our position on gun control:

We support the U.S. Constitution and its 2nd Amendment AS IT IS WRITTEN, for the purpose for which it was written.

No citizen, outside of a "well-regulated militia" should be able to own a gun for personal protection, unless that protection is against natural predators at locations where such protection is needed.

That said,

We do not believe that government should force the American people to give up their guns. We need the right form of government that can prove to the people that its "well-regulated militia" can do the job better, safer, and more efficiently than unregulated gun owners. Only when the people are convinced that the government is able, will they feel safe enough to trust a government controlled "well-regulated militia."

Therefore, THumP®'s first course of action is to establish a type of government in which the American people can trust, in which the rest of the world can trust. Only then can people be influenced to give up their possession and use of guns.

Furthermore, we acknowledge that most gun deaths are a cause of suicide. When people lose hope, they lose their desire to live. We insist that if the right form of government existed in which people could hope for a better world, less would want to end their life.

We have researched and found the true motive behind the terrible Las Vegas massacre in October 2017. Although we do not condone the way that the shooter made his point, our information has provided substantial evidence that he did what he did and sacrificed his own life to make a strong point about the need for gun control.

We strongly encourage those who follow The Humanity Party® to immediately report anyone who speaks of making a stand for gun control by sacrificing their life in taking other lives. This is not the way to spark change. Violence begets violence. It always has; it always will.

Our patience comes from our hope that people will consider many of the underlying causes of violence against oneself or against others. Economic and social inequality is one of the root causes of desperate, hopeless acts of violence. Another one, just as important, is emotional inequality, where one feels less valued than others.

We have outlined our platform and presented our plan to give hope to people through economic and social changes, as well as personal self-worth and value. A strong, righteous government that is not self-serving can provide relief from the pressures of hopelessness and worthlessness.

Please carefully review our Proposed Constitution at our website: http://humanityparty.com/proposed-constitution.html

In order to prove to the people that a new government is all that is needed to properly protect and keep people safe, we recommend these initial changes:

We need more law enforcement officers who are well trained and well paid - as the first part of the 2nd Amendment implies: "well-regulated."

We need to eliminate cash from all financial transactions. This will greatly reduce criminal activity where cash is the main source of trade. No gun or its ammunition can be sold or transferred without a regulatory fiduciary overseeing these transactions.

We call upon Congress to pass laws that support the 2nd Amendment as it is written. We propose that the United States consider the gun control laws implemented by the State of Israel.

No person should be able to own a gun or buy ammunition unless that person receives a license. The law should put strict "well-regulated" restrictions on private gun ownership, allowing each person who is awarded a license to own only one hand gun, and no automatic weapons of any kind. Ammunition should be limited and extensively tracked. Every purchase should be properly recorded and tracked.

According to an investigative report published in the New York Post:

"Israel limits gun permits to people who meet strict requirements of residency, occupation, or army rank.

"Forty percent of all gun permit applicants are flat-out rejected by the Israeli government.

"Gun owners must renew their permits every year and immediately report any change of eligibility status to the Israeli federal government.

"Israel relies on professional members of the military and police force for security, rather than 'good guys with guns' or even Civil Guard volunteers."

Israel is located in one of the most violent locations on Earth. Threats to the State of Israel are constant and repetitive, but Israeli citizens are safer than most other places in the world, including the United States. Why? It has a "well-regulated militia." It was not "good guys with guns" that helped Israel win its wars. It was a "well-regulated militia."

We only use Israel as an example. The Humanity Party® does not endorse or support any country, nation, or people who believes that their religious beliefs are more right or that place them above others. We call on Israel and the United States to concentrate on bringing economic and social equality to the disputed parts of that nation, to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We do not endorse or encourage any type of violence in response to human suffering. If The Humanity Party® were in power, our first priority in that part of the world would be to initiate economic aid and policies that address human suffering in these disputed territories.

We have experienced considerable pushback to our proposal to enforce strict gun control, even making it illegal for anyone outside of a "well-regulated militia" (law enforcement and military) to own a gun except for sport and predator protection.

We ask people to please consider our proposals for the right form of government first. Keep your guns and back our proposals. Once we have proven to the people that the right form of government is one in which a person can hope, and we can prove that this government's "well-regulated militia" can indeed provide safety and freedom to the people, then we hope that people everywhere will put down their guns and support human equality and a unification of the world.

“Hope” is the intrinsic measure of our humanity, or better, that which we feel can be possible in spite of the improbabilities that seem to be part of our present experience.

It is improbable that we can convince American gun owners to put down their guns, but if we do not try something different that demonstrates a measure of our shared humanity, that we feel can be possible, then there is no hope.

THumP® has the solutions. No one else does.

humanityparty.com

#guns #gun violence #America Law and Order #Vote #hope #peace #unity #law and order #well regulated militia #violence #platform #THumP #TheHumanityParty #Congress #2nd Amendment #Israel #soultions

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benjamintomes · 4 years

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This one landed differently.

What I’m about to say is probably gonna land differently too. Don’t start this unless you have a bit. It’s on the long side, a Snickers Bar and a beer might serve you well if you attempt to get through this.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why this killing of an unarmed black man by law enforcement gripped the nation and the other ones did not. Is it any worse than the litany of other incidents that went almost completely unnoticed by both White America and other police officers? This one is terrible, no doubt. But so was the shooting of Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Dontre Hamilton, and Charles Kinsey, just to name a few. I’m glad it has been noticed by the public, but this should have been the instant reaction the first time it happened. We’re now onto a new phase of life that should’ve happened 55, 155, 244 or 401 years ago, depending on what you think or know about US History.

There was no reset button pressed, though. You can pick any point in US History, drop a random pin on it, and it will land where no real, tangible changes were made to ensure America was equal for everyone.

The new reality is that there’s a captive audience that sees the problem, but has looked away for so long, some can’t seem to enter the conversation without causing folks to get upset with them. Much of the inflammatory comments on newspaper articles and social media, I see a lot of genuine confusion over why there’s anger over seemingly ‘innocent’ comments. Those new to the issue, there’s a level of frustration and fatigue that’s been built up for years that is hard to get past. In Wisconsin, it’s so rare that white and black people do things together, simply starting a conversation on race presents its own set of issues.

Sadly, that’s going to be the easy part. What’s been recognized by those who see the issue for the first time is a tiny, corner piece of a section which, if panned out and looked at from a wider lens, is a familiar entity. Because it’s us.

Like an addiction, someone hooked on a vice has no real chance of beating it until the problem is admitted, owned, shared and attacked. It’s time for all of White America to look in the mirror and concede that there is an issue, and the issue is us.

America, we have a race problem. White people are out of control.

It’s not funny, because it’s true.

If its hard to hear, there’s a great chance you’re not part of the problem; you are the problem. This is the part of the show a few of you tuck your racist tail between your legs and wander away from the discomfort. To that end, please unfriend me. Not just here, but in life. I want to make it clear; if you are a racist, it’s best that you stay away from me. This isn’t going to get better until racism goes back to being a non-negotiable again. I can’t know you, won’t know you, if you engage in things that are racist. That’s because of how I feel.

Because of how you feel, there’s a second level of this. The status quo is changing. The micro-aggressions and passive-aggressive commentary on public forums aren’t going to be dismissed the same way as before. The toxicity from it is going to stand out more than you know. When this four year drama is finally over in November, an awful lot is going to be different. They’re not going to be quick to explain it to you anymore. If you’re one of the pack of people that hump posts on race like horny dogs that can’t wait to smear it with little snippets of white wisdom, don’t. People are fed up with you. I’m done making excuses for anyone saying bigoted things. If I see it, I’m calling it out and taking my own social distance from you online and elsewhere.

I’m not cynical enough to believe all white people are problematic. To be clear, though, this country was plotted, formed and planned on a color-based system and the statistics tell us it still is. An awful lot of white people have recognized the issues, and been involved for the common good, for years. That said, there are some wise words from both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King about the most dangerous faction towards racial equality, and that comes from liberal minded white people.

For today’s world, I would amend it a touch; primarily to include white folks convinced of how racist they aren’t, but actually are and don’t realize it. Might they be liberal? Sure, and some of them most certainly are. Of recent note, Amy Cooper and her fear of the terrifying black birder; she was sporting a mask in public, and even using politically-correct terms while trying to get him in trouble for existing while black. I don’t know what way she slants, but if I were a betting man I’d say left.

Prior to the last four years, I quite honestly, didn’t care what direction you leaned. I do now. I’d love to separate from politics, and prior to 2016, I could. I’ve had conservative friends for years, and in a previous context, I found nothing wrong with that word. I do now. My standards haven’t shifted, but what composes conservatism has. I can’t sit here and pretend that we’re in some past era, where the difference between political parties was marginal; split upon how monies should be collected and allocated, foreign policy, and the validity of some domestic programs or policies.

To pretend that’s where things are now is disingenuous and colorblind.

Conservatism had been long been rooted in financials; and still is, but it was not synonymous with hate. It is now. You can spin it, justify it, deny it, or look past it all you want, but the reality is the movement climbed in bed with racists, supremacists, billionaires and fascists. The current GOP is a Frankensteinesque mix of different groups with oddly grouped agendas, strange relationships and little in common with one another outside of their skin color. It’s no accident that the only real thing they have in common is race.

When Republicans decided to look past the open homophobia, xenophobia, racism and questionable past of Trump, they altered this country in the wrong way. Predominantly white voters, voted for a white supremacist campaigning on extra white lies, to sit in the White House.

Four years later, here we are with the worst economy in 70 years, the first legit pandemic to ravage this country since 1917, cities burning, 100,000 Americans dead, 40 million unemployed and the racial strife in this country is so bad it’s hard to tell tell if white people jumping in on riots is solidarity or a setup. It’s safe to say, that the great experiment of 2016 has been a colossal failure. Trump didn’t drain the swamp. He jumped in it and made it dirtier. In Washington DC, that’s almost impossible to do. But yet, here we are minutes from a Trump tantrum from him waging war on his own citizens.

Despite being over 3 years in to his term, prominent white people and his mindless clones are taking to the airways and blaming Obama for every single Trump failure, including racial tension.

If this is you, do everyone a favor and shut the fuck up. Now.

I grew up wrestling and then got into fighting as an adult. If any athlete I knew issued blame like the excuse-making racist in the White House, they’d be written off instantly as a loser. Not just by me, either. Any coach worth their jock strap would put an end to that type of excuse making. Yet, I’ve read other coaches celebrating and reveling in Trump’s blame games, retweeting gleefully things they’d beat their athlete’s ass for if they said after they lost or failed. Things our current US President Tweets should embarrass every American, if for no other reason that we put someone in charge that can’t even apply fucking grammar and punctuation to his threatening or whiny posts.

Just because the nonsensical speeches and single syllable words made sense to you, didn’t mean it was correct. If you read the Tweets, the rhetoric and don’t feel a bit insulted or ignore the bouncing orange ball in DC, you may not be bright enough to be involved in the conversation about it.

America’s become a laughing stock to the entire world. We put the most vile, crude, brain-dead simpleton in charge of this country. This isn’t a difference in political ideology. This is a difference in human decency. Most of you were so blinded by rage and hatred of Hillary Clinton that you lost sight of simple human decency. The signs were there. White America just didn’t care about them; just like they did with other killings of unarmed black men by law enforcement, dating back to eras most of you aren’t ready to hear yet. This didn’t start with Rodney King. Not even close.

It’s not that they went unnoticed; folks saw it. Instead of trying to understand, large sections of White America became a jaded peanut gallery on the posts and conversations of anyone concerned about an issue of race. I think they’re aware they’re being shitty, but don’t realize what they’re actually saying aloud when they comment publicly on videos of police brutality or any other racially charged post.

I’m not sure what inspires some of you to post publicly things like, “well, let’s see the rest of the video” when someone without a weapon on them was killed by a cop.

I see whatcha did there. You probably felt so witty, too. You wrote your lil comment and felt all proud. Thing is, what you really wrote was “I revel in the murder of black people.”

I get that isn’t what you wrote, but it’s the exact message you send.

Another unarmed minority is killed by law enforcement. The story hits. You comment again, “Well, if they would have just complied…” Or, better yet, you witty ones that opted to show just how racist you weren’t by hashtagging #alllivesmatter in response to the BLM movement.

Again, you make your lil statement, feel all proud because you publicly supported the police. Good job. Corn Bread Trophy for you. Hacksaw Jim Duggan would be proud of you. So too would Kid Rock. And fucking Chachi. You can do that. You can say things like “law and order” and “war on crime”. You can say you #backtheblue. I still see you for what you are and what you are doing.

So too can anyone that has spent time in the black community, or is part of it. Every time you write it, what is read is that you revel in the murder of black people. It might not be what you meant, but it’s how it lands. John Ehrlichman and Lee Atwater already laid out your codespeak, and if you don’t know those names, you aren’t really looking much into the side you align with. You are just dropping to your knees and blindly supporting them.

When kids like Trayvon Martin are killed, those same people wrote that he should have just complied. Oh, not Zimmerman, who disregarded law enforcement and went after an innocent kid any way. The racism runs so deep, people thought Martin should’ve listened to the fat vigilante. He didn’t, nor should he have. Zimmerman started a fight, got his ass eviscerated by a teenager, so he shot him, claiming self-defense. I read, from people I knew, that justified it as if Zimmerman were a cop. White people that did not know him paid for his defense...and offense; donations helped pay for a suit to sue Martin’s family.

It’s funny, cause I can go back and read things people wrote, and it’s no coincidence they were sporting red trucker hats a few years later. You can call your red MAGA trucker hat whatever you want. I call it a Klan hood. You can say thug as many times as you want, I know what you mean. Whatever level of slick verbiage you think you wield, you don’t.

The level of hypocrisy from so many of the problem is sickening. When Martin was killed, I read comments justifying it from people that actually ran away from cops with me, side by side, in another lifetime. I, for one, am thankful that when I ran away from cops when they busted keg parties in the 1980’s and 90’s, I was never shot in the back. Call me crazy, but if a member of Door County’s finest shot your son for running from a kegger, Karen would lose her mind. She’d scratch her Back the Blue bumper sticker off the next fucking day.

Even for the folks that are involved and see the bigger picture need to do more, including me. We all owe it to ourselves, the country and the population of people America set up to fail from the start. If you don’t agree with that, it’s time you educate yourself on the reality of your existence.

If you’re my age, it’s quite likely the history you were taught was wrong. At best it ignored the worst of us. At its worst, we were fed a ton of propaganda. We just never knew it, and unless you’ve pushed yourself to think openly and do independent research, it made you highly vulnerable to the actual fake news that’s been pumped into our social media streams by foreign outlets.

I cringe as people struggle to decipher a difference between a bullshit, unproven bit of looney bin material in memes and politically charged gifs and repost them without a thought. To be clear, I don’t care if you’re a boomer, a hick, or just plain stupid. Most of the stuff that gets passed around would look suspect to anyone that looked at it critically. Between the failure to recognize bogus material and the chosen oblivion of obvious signs Trump was a mistake, white credibility is severely damaged in America right now, even if you weren’t part putting Trump’s idiotic ass in office.

Too many people didn’t say a word while a fucking presidential candidate advocated putting Muslims on a register. Instead, you cheered and voted for him, despite this being a clear constitutional violation. Who cares, right? It didn’t impact you , and even though you didn’t know any Muslims, you’re sure they are bad. Also, you weren’t smart enough to consider how quickly that would radicalize people and create the problem you proclaimed to fear.

He mocked disabled people. You voted for him anyway.

He mocked women. You voted for him anyway.

He denigrated the outgoing black president and questioned his birth certificate. You voted for him anyway.

He called Mexicans rapists and criminals. You voted for him anyway.

He called for a wall to keep “illegals” out, while he was employing “illegals”. You voted for him anyway.

He said Mexico would pay for the wall. They didn’t. You voted for him anyway.

He told the country he’d eliminate the health care for the majority of America’s minorities. You voted for him anyway.

He called cast members on the Apprentice the N Word. You voted for him anyway.

He called countries with primarily black and brown populations “shithole countries”. You voted for him anyway.

He made a known homophobe his vice presidential candidate. You voted for him anyway.

He called Collin Kaepernick a son of a bitch for protesting peacefully. You voted for him anyway, and like robots, hated Kapernick because your master told you to.

Under normal circumstances, it might be argued that your vote does not necessarily define you. All of this was prior to being elected; all of it was known. If you chose that path despite all of that, you’ve already stated loudly and proudly that equality, decorum, tact, racism, bigotry and hate are not deal breakers for you.

If you regret it, just own it. Publicly; as publicly as you championed him. If you stand by the decision and think it’s been a great four years, well then, just call yourself a racist so at least we know to write you off from here on out.

He was sold as a change from the bad norms of Washington DC. Before elected, it was widely known that:

He had sex with a porn star while his wife was pregnant. He paid her off to stay quiet. You voted for him anyway.

He invited unethical and likely illegal help from a foreign nemesis. You voted for him anyway.

He had ties to Jeffery Epstein. You knew. You voted for him anyway.

He was backed by the KKK and other hate groups. You didn’t denounce them and voted for him anyway.

He refused to disclose his physical and accepted his boasting of amazing health and voted for him anyway.

He bragged of sexual assault. On camera. You voted for him anyway.

He gave speeches that were legitimately nonsensical. You voted for him anyway.

He screamed America first but was hiding dealings with foreign companies. You voted for him anyway.

He refused to release his tax returns. You voted for him anyway.

He mocked prisoners of war, from his party. You voted for him anyway.

He dodged the draft. Not only did you vote for him, you somehow branded him a military president.

People predicted a disaster, and boy did we get one. Every sign that this could go terribly wrong was there, and White America voted him in anyway. It’s been no better since then. It doesn’t make anyone look less racist to blame Obama for problems going down now, or refuse to put his portrait up like a petty child with insecurity issues.

When a white supremacist killed a white person protesting white supremacy, he called the white supremacists “very fine people”. You defended him and would’ve voted for him again.

Under his direction, Latino kids were placed in cages, separated from families, and sexually abused. You would’ve voted for him again.

His cabinet dropped like flies. Many called out illegal activity as they left. You’d have voted for him anyway.

His aides ended up in prison. You would have voted for him again anyway.

He sought out foreign help in an election, again. You’d have voted for him again anyway.

He was convicted of fraud through a cancer charity for kids. You’d have voted for him again.

He incited violence during a pandemic, calling for states to liberate themselves. You’d have voted for him again, anyway.

He’s referred to as a Foreign Agent by Russia. You’d have voted for him again anyway.

He eliminated the Pandemic Office and blueprint for how to handle one. You’d have voted for him again.

He called the virus that killed 100,000 Americans a hoax, and mangled the response. You might have voted for him anyway.

The man told America that they could inject fucking Lysol and play with some UV light to solve a virus. You…..were…..gonna….vote...for...

I can’t. I just can’t. Neither should you. This presidency is going to topple hard. When it does, whatever has been known about how shady the entire Trump family was will pale to what comes out from behind closed doors.

The Trumps are not alone.

Just a month ago, rallies were held by white people in even whiter communities surrounding the most segregated metro-area in the country, because, you know, hair cuts and money. So, sitting there, publicly demanding the entire state be reopened while black and latino people of Milwaukee were being disproportionately decimated just two miles away by the virus. It was no accident that the universal flag for racist losers and Nazi memorabilia were on prominent display. This disease preyed on communities already suffering from years of abuse and neglect, with armed white protesters screaming for the state to reopen. You can make the case that it was celebration of minority death. I mean, why bring universally racist icons if it isn’t?

For the life of me, I cannot recall a single supporter, present or otherwise, condemn it. Did anyone call out the people that brought the symbols of hate there? No. They looked away from it and accepted it. Not a soul said anything about it. To clarify, If you sport either one, you’re a fucking racist. Let’s finally drop the Southern Heritage thing. For fuck’s sake, Wisconsin isn’t even down south. If your heritage is rooted in treason, ownership of people, and preserving an inequitable society, you’re a racist. You can convince yourself of whatever you want to, but it can’t make you any less of a racist piece of shit. You’re either racist, dumb, or both. I am guessing both.

Racism needs to become a non-negotiable. It won’t, until it is identified, put on blast, attacked and destroyed.

I’m done being patient with mouth breathers, and to beat racism, there’s no room for it. There are way too many people with access to keyboards in small towns they never left, but are quick to declare themselves as experts on issues of race and diversity. If that’s you, stop it. If you haven’t been involved significantly in situations that provide context, you need to sit at the kids table on this one.

And, on that note, if you have spoken a negative word about the peaceful protests of Colin Kaepernick, and are silent now, shame on you. Trump’s rhetoric was bound to have explosive consequences. If you did that and are loud about the looting, you are a hypocrite of epic proportions. You also know nothing about violence, non-violence, or riots. You might not have tossed a brick but your fingerprints ended up on this mess anyway.

Racists are bullies by nature. If you’ve dealt with these folks, you might’ve concluded that there’s only a few stimuli that stands them down. Typically, a significantly bruised ego and violence do the trick. Violence is a hot topic of late.

Let’s be clear; MLK’s protests were hardly non-violent. The opposition to racial equality was so unbelievably strong, violence was automatically factored in before they even started. MLK knew he’d be beaten, sprayed with hoses, arrested, and demonized by the FBI and American public. White hate ran synonymous with violence. He knew his life was in danger. The hostility was so thick against equality that it wasn’t really peaceful as it was no -retaliatory. There was violence, and a lot of it. And, it was started by white people.

Looking at the videos from yesterday and the day before, it appears as if its is that way once again. If you are going to invoke the word of MLK, keep in mind, staying peaceful didn’t make things equal. The shit he was protesting for continued. In fact, every legal step in the history of this country to level the playing field for blacks and whites was met with immediate white resistance.

While we’re on the topic of MLK, he had a lot of worthwhile material that you won’t find on Pinterest memes used to passively show black people how you feel they should protest. For instance, he called rioting the voice of the unheard.

I think that last statement is telling, and a perfect way to close this out. I don’t know a thing about the Minnesota Governor, but read a quote of his that I whole-heartedly agree with, albeit on differing premises. He said, something to the effect of, “This has nothing to do with George Floyd anymore.”

To that I agree.

This is about a whole lot more. This is about the similar cases of brutality that were fumbled by justice. This is about a tone-deaf system that ignored the skyrocketing costs of things like college and rent, and growing disparity between the haves and have nots. This is about a refusal to make resources equitable. This is about unresolved residue from years of redlining. This is about disparities in education. This is about an America that, for the first time in history, won’t be a white majority.

And this is about the last four years, while people tolerated your intolerance and warped ideology. The rhetoric was wrong. If you can’t call the grifter in the White House a mistake as our country sits in the most epic pile of shit it’s ever been in, fuck you and the colorblind white horses ass you rode in on. Mistakes happen. Own it and move on. Right now, a lot of people paid attention to your odd devotion to the man spewing hate from the White House, and are waiting to see what you do with it. People are mad now, but when his tantrums turn to full-scale assaults on American freedoms, your support will not be so quickly forgotten.

I began working in urban education in 1995, when the nearly all-white college I went to, refused to place me in an urban setting, so I did it on my own. Since then, I’ve worked almost extensively in the black communities of Milwaukee and West Palm Beach, with a couple of short exceptions. 25 years, tens of thousands of hours and a lifetime of experiences...I have to tell you, though; the same bullshit doesn’t happen in reverse.

Not in Florida, not in Milwaukee. On this, I have context.

If you’re on a fence, don’t be. In 21 years I’ve spent much of it where I am the minority, I haven’t ever, not one single time, been made to feel bad for my race. I’ve not once been treated like I didn’t belong, didn’t fit in, or didn’t have a spot at the table.

When my son transferred to the urban school I teach at, he experienced the same. He’ll be one of two white kids in his graduating class, but was instantly treated with acceptance and inclusion. Why is that? You don’t have to be a historian to know if distrust and hesitation are going to exist, it should be coming from the other direction. It isn’t, though.

What I’ve almost never had, was a request to see what I do. The post humpers love to tell everyone what they think, but don’t really seek understanding. I make it pretty clear where I work and what I do. Nobody ever asks if they could shadow me, and see what I see.

And I wouldn’t mind it if people would.

My experience working with the black community has been profoundly positive and if you are sitting on a fence, the route to getting off of it requires getting involved in something.

There are answers to the issues we have, and they start with an overhaul of the US presidency and current state of affairs with American policing. As a fight trainer that’s been around a number of gyms, I can tell you that very few police officers put time into their skills in restraints. I am beyond positive that more time spent doing that would immediately reduce some of the issues.

It doesn’t solve the racism, but it does solve some of the things that are leading to needless death. It’s just one example that it is not an impossible issue to brainstorm on.

I have seen, for the first time, officers from other districts put out videos, passionately calling for you not to lump them in with the bad ones. It’s the first time I’ve seen this, and it is a massive step in the right direction. The next step is to get the good ones to validate they are the majority. Standing up to bad colleagues is a good starting point. I saw an example of that today, which is also a first. The window for good cops is open, but on a short timer. The good ones need to know the whole world is watching. For the public, there’s no way for anyone to look at an officer and know where they fall. That shouldn’t be. The good ones have the power to step up and ensure everyone can tell the difference by their actions when something corrupt happens.

The difference lies in action. When your partner abuses someone, what will you do? In my profession, I’m a felon if I don’t report potential abuse I see. It made my profession better. Will you step in front and prevent a death?

Would you accept me defending teachers that got it on with your kid? If a colleague beat your kid, and I blamed the kid, would you think the same of me? I wouldn’t, and be honest, you’d be fighting mad. I’d be lumped in with it simply for my defense of it.

As bad as this is, I strangely feel like there’s finally hope for tangible change. I don’t like seeing the looting or violence, but we’ve had black folks in this country for exactly 401 years now, and there’s not been a single one that you could call a good one for African-Americans. Some have just been less painful than others. That said, there are signs that Americans of all races aren’t going to accept terrible treatment of others. While a lot of Americans feel like they want racial harmony, I’m not convinced at all that’s what the government or even some police departments actually want. I think a lot of people fear racial unity.

I agree that riots can be the voice of the unheard, but they’re also not immune from manipulation. I also know they’re highly predictable, and based by similarly predictable public comments condemning the looting. It inadvertently provides proof there’d be incentive to nudge it along. Don’t confuse perceived tolerance with an acceptance of looting; rather, a wait for judgment until all video comes out. Sounds familiar, right? You do it for the officers, even when it’s not needed. Why not here? Other than the irony, there’s good reason to reserve judgment. I have questions. I’ve seen trays of bricks left out in streets on videos and have a ton of questions to be answered before I blindly take that bait.

It doesn’t even truly matter right now which side it came from. The only way things are going to finally level off in this country is with a complete blow out and with better leadership. The latter ain’t on the menu for November. Americans deserve better than the two candidates presented to us, and if the two on the ballot are the best we’ve got, we suck. The leadership will have to come from the people in spite of whomever sits in the White House.

To be clear, I’ll have no issue with the Republican Party if and when they the hate is run out of it. There’s no place in any party for homophobes, racists, xenophobes or idol worshipers. Several from within the party have spoken up, but are quickly drowned out by threats from above and folks that love Trump more than they love the country. For those wishing for the full demise of that party, that isn’t good either. An unopposed Democratic Party worries me as well.

That party might not have the same hate in it, but the brass is not in-tune with people willing to vote for them. I don’t trust them to make the decisions without a solid differing voice. They’ve got work to do too; in particular, around a few really sharp candidates in Corey Booker and Kamala Harris that have had little support and a demonstrated ability to work with the other side. Differing voices need to be heard when not uttering hate language.

Right now, the differing voice calls pandemics hoaxes, skipped holding their own primary, and treated election security bills like a kickball. It’s also attempted to restrict first amendment rights by threatening to take over social media. Until there’s no overt hate or deceit in that voice, it’s a game of lesser evils. Sorry, but presence of hate sells out the one on the right.

For now, anyway. Time will tell what happens from here. History has failed at every available step to make things right. When slavery sort of showed up on our new land’s doorstep 401 years ago, nobody spoke up enough. When our country was formed in 1776, Washington had a chance to put money where his mouth was, but didn’t. He called slavery wrong, but owned over 100. The country followed his lead. In 1807, violence erupted in Haiti and the surrounding area contemplated the future of slavery. Nothing was done. 1857, citizenship was removed from all free black people in America, little was said or done. 1865, Lincoln’s plan ends abruptly when he’s killed. The new president is impeached and undermined equality so bad even fellow southerners cringed.

Andrew Johnson also facilitated the start of the KKK by pardoning Nathan Bedford Forrest, a known war criminal, resulting in the deaths of thousands of African-Americans to domestic terrorism. The trend continues into our modern era. Our timeline needs a moment for significant change, and waiting isn’t going to work.

For a country coming out of a 2.5 month lockdown, with 40 million unemployed and 100,000 plus dead from a virus mishandled by a man that stared directly to an eclipse, that time is now.

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citizentruth-blog · 5 years

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Families Suffer, Health and Security Risks Grow as Government Shutdown Continues

Congressional Republicans are faced with severing the will of their constituents or angering President Trump who seems locked in on receiving funding for his proposed border fence. United States President Donald Trump threatened to continue the partial government shutdown for 'months or even years' during a January 4th news conference in the White House Rose Garden. The President followed up his boisterous remark by walking out of a meeting with House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) calling it a "total waste of time." He would publish the following tweet. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1083099784012091396

Americans Mostly Blame Trump For Shutdown

After several major outlets had problems fact-checking President Trump's Oval Office address on immigration, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a move to get the chamber to vote on spending bills to reopen the government and pay workers the money owed to them. "The last thing we need to do right now is trade pointless -- absolutely pointless -- show votes back and forth across the aisle," McConnell said on the Senate floor. He continued, "The political stunts are not going to get us anywhere." While he claims his concern is avoiding 'political stunts' his true intentions likely lay with the low popularity of the government shutdown. Congressional Republicans are faced with serving the will of their constituents or angering President Trump who seems locked in on receiving funding for his proposed border fence. A recent Reuters survey reads: The national opinion poll, which ran from Jan. 1 to Jan. 7, found that 51 percent of adults believe Trump “deserves most of the blame” for the shutdown, which entered its 18th day on Tuesday. That is up 4 percentage points from a similar poll that ran from Dec. 21 to 25. Another 32 percent blame congressional Democrats for the shutdown and 7 percent blame congressional Republicans, according to the poll. Those percentages are mostly unchanged from the previous poll. A Morning Consult poll shows similar results with 33 percent blaming 'Democrats in Congress' and 47 percent blaming 'President Trump.'

via Morning Consult + POLITICO 'National Tracking Poll #190109 January04-06,2019'

Workers And Families Continue To Suffer

"The shutdown is definitely hard on the family," an individual with knowledge of a situation of a government contractor said. Gizmodo collected GoFundMe stories from workers also affected by the shutdown: From a government worker named Julie Burr in Kansas City, Missouri: Being a contracted government worker, I’m losing pay every day that this government shutdown continues. I’ve taken on extra shifts at my 2nd job but it isn’t going to pay rent and all my bills. Being a single mom, I’m in panic mode right now. If you’d like to help, any donations are appreciated. Another from a single mother captures the plight individuals are facing: From a worker named Kinata Holt in Missouri: I am a single mom of 6 children who depend solely on me. As a veteran and federal employee my only income has been stopped do to the government shutdown. I have sought and exhausted all other resources but they have not been enough to keep up with my bills or my children needs. I am not sure when will be able to return to work and I am merely asking for those who can to please help with a monetary donation of your choice.- A mom in need.... God Bless And the story from two boys about their mother sums up the struggle. As many are aware the president has called for a government shutdown. I am 14 years old who is in 8th grade and my brother is 12 years old who is in the 6th grade. What the president does not know, my mommy is not a democrat or a republican she is an independent. An independent mom who works for the federal government. My mom is a single mom of 2 boys trying to make ends meet. My mom does not get help from the state, she works really hard to provide for me and my brother. She raises us to know that education is #1. She is a strong independent woman. The last few weeks have been really hard. My mom was in the process of trying to move so my brother and I can have our own room. This has come to a stop now. Because she has not received her pay check and interest rates have gone way up. In addition, our lease is up and we don’t know what we are going to do. My brother and I came up with an idea... If we can get help, we can help our mom for a couple of weeks so she doesn’t have to go on unemployment, she mentioned she has to pay all loans and unemployment back and i know that will be just another stress for her. My mom needs new glasses for the new year because she lost her old pair. Shes afraid to go to the doctor because she will have to pay. I think its kind of funny, that my mom now ask me to read whats on the TV, or hands me a piece of paper and say “ Robert read this”. Prescription Meds, I know she has not picked up. Gas, to pick us up for school. Rent, her bills. We need lunch money and groceries for our home. My little brother drinks 2 gallons a week, cause hes a growing boy and he loves cereal. My mom has given her life to the country and has worked for the government for the last 10 years. i feel so sad for her. My mom cant get a second job because we are her second job. She picks us up and drops us off to school everyday and also take us to our sports every day. My brother and I are reaching out to the world to see if we can raise enough money so that she doesn’t have to worry anymore. We just want her to relax and know that everything will be okay, despite her job in jeopardy. Thank you world for reading this. God Bless Everyone as they go through this difficult time in America! Signed, Robert & Tris

Security And Health Risks

"The ongoing federal government shutdown has stopped most food safety inspections, but the Food and Drug Administration is planning to resume at least some of them. To do it, the agency will have to force furloughed workers to come back without pay," reported NBC, detailing what Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told one of their reporters. Dr. Gottlieb would also publish the following Twitter thread to update concerned citizens. https://twitter.com/SGottliebFDA/status/1083055700593516545 "The shutdown needlessly risks the safety, security and efficiency of our national airspace system," Captain Joe DePete, President of the Air Line Pilots Association, said in a show of industry solidarity toward the federal workers hit by the funding fight according to Dallas News, echoing concerns of some who feel flying may not be safe during the shutdown. "At this point in time, the traveling public has not anything to be concerned about, three months from now, I might not say that." John Goglia Former Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Board member and independent safety consultant told CNN. His take is more optimistic than others have about the current state of the TSA during the partial shutdown. Read the full article

#ChuckSchumer #FDA #GovernmentShutdown #MitchMcConnell #NancyPelosi #PresidentDonaldTrump #PresidentTrump #Shutdown #TSA

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itsrainingjellybeans · 7 years

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Trumpcare is here...what can you do....

Today, Mitch “Voldemort” McConnell finally let America see his disaster of a bill. It is worse than anyone expected after the House passed their bill in May . While it is described as slightly less austere than the House version, it isn’t anywhere near the “much better” bill that Upton kept promising.

Fred Upton walked out of the House Trumpcare vote and promised that the Senate would give us a much better bill and that the House bill would then be reconciled or reworked giving the impression that the horrific parts of the House bill would never come to fruition. But that didn’t happen. Fred needs to answer for this and explain his vote.

President Obama commented and as ever it was personal, eloquent, beautiful, intelligent, and thought provoking. Something we haven’t seen in 6 months (see below for the entire statement)

This is everything I know to date about Trumpcare House Version and Senate version. This is long but please read it all carefully and share it with. We need Americans to understand this.

I published this at 6:00 am after writing for 8 hours so if there are mistakes, please forgive me.

Indivisible :How the TrumpCare fight will play out

Ezra Levin Indivisible Founder sent out an email yesterday with this presumptive time table for Trumpcare Senate Version Senate Republicans have promised a vote by the end of next week. But there are still several steps between now and passage of TrumpCare. Here’s how the former congressional staff at Indivisible Team think the fight will unfurl:

Tomorrow, we’ll get a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score, which will quantify exactly how many millions of Americans will be screwed by this bill and in what ways.

On Monday or Tuesday, Republicans will officially announce the vote is happening by the end of the week and start debate on “the bill,” which is just a draft bill intended to make it look like they’re being transparent but in reality is a trick to hide just how awful their finished product will be.

Over the next couple days, Senators will submit amendments, most of which will fail and none of which would make this bill redeemable.

On Thursday, the Senate will plan to VOTE on the legislation, but first they will vote on all submitted amendments (known as “vote-a-rama”).

At the last possible minute, Senate Republicans will replace the entire bill they just got finished “debating” with an alternative TrumpCare bill secretly crafted behind closed doors.

By the end of Thursday, there will be a final vote in the Senate.

As soon as that same Thursday, the House may then pass the legislation and send it to Trump to sign. This could take longer, but this is the worst case scenario and quite possible.

Next weekend, one week of congressional recess begins. They’ll either have the bill done by then, or they’ll have to wait another week.

Throughout this process there will be precisely zero public hearings in the Senate. Make no mistake, this is a historically partisan, secretive, and undemocratic process for one of the most consequential pieces of legislation of our generation. This is atrocious.So let’s fight it. All you need to pressure your Republican Senators, including DAILY scripts and new materials, is on our

TrumpCareTen.org

website. Need more background materials? We’ve got ‘em for you

here

. It’s critical that you’re showing up and that when you’re not showing up, you’re calling your Senators every single day. (Indivisible Guide Email 6/22)

Vote-A-Rama

This is imperative that we all do- Add your own amendments to the bill based on your own story. Submit them to

OURAmendments.ORG.

Legislators are using these amendments to add to this bill and we can filibuster by amendment as they have to consider each one. Again this is NOT to actually improve this disaster of a bill but to slow down the vote so more Americans aware of how much this is going to hurt all of us.

Indivisible Group Facebook Live

Indivisible did a great FB Live Last night that explained a lot of the scheduling and answered some questions and explained Vote-A-Rama

American’s Don’t Like Trumpcare

According to a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released 6/21

only 35% approved of the House Bill passed last month

49% disapprove of the House Bill

16% don’t know or care

This is a decrease from the poll taken after the House passed the bill in May

only 17% think it will decrease costs for their family

46% think it will make their costs increase

only 27% think it will make the US health care system better

41% think it will make the US health care system worse

65% of all voters want the Republicans to compromise with the Democrats for reach bipartisan reforms

Even among Republican voters 54% want a bipartisan bill

Trumpcare hurts Special Needs Kids.

Public schools use Medicaid funds to provide services for special needs children

$4 Billion in Medicaid services will be eliminated under the House version

Schools use the money on services, professionals, and equipment necessary to provide a safe and healthy environment in order for special needs children to attend public school.

Let me point out the most disgusting part of this.attack on literally our most vulnerable citizens is that this was not a thoughtless regulation that wasn’t intended as such or a mistake nobody caught. This was a deliberate regulatory change written into the House version of Trumpcare passed in May. Trumpcare deliberately decimates the entire $4-Billion Public Education Special Needs Medicaid program. The House version of Trumpcare changed the regulation so that public schools to no longer eligible Medicaid providers. . “Under the bill, states would no longer be required to recognize schools as eligible Medicaid providers or pay them for those services, which schools will still be required by law to provide.”

Survey of 1000 schools in 42 states shows schools use the money for 70% use money for salaries for health care professionals who serve special education students such as speech, behavior and physical therapist

equipment such as feeding tubes, wheelchairs, communication devices, vision and auditory assist devices, appropriate gym equipment and other adaptive devices

vision and hearing screenings

Oh the Games the GOP Plays...

Everyone is talking about the game that McConnell and the GOP is playing. Tell me if you have heard this one before ....Four GOP Senators have announced they cannot support the bill in its current form. Rand Paul of KY, Ron Jonson of WI, Ted Cruz of TX and Mike Lee of UT released a joint statement “...we are not ready to vote for this bill but we are open for negotiation and obtaining more information before it is brought to the floor” Where have I heard this before? It just seems to familiar but I just can’t put my finger on it....

The 4 go on to talk about how the draft “as written” doesn’t let them keep the promises they made to their voters- to repeal Obamacare and lower health care costs-though they do concede this bill is better than Obamacare in its current form. UGH. None of them have a soul.

Remember, under reconciliation- the game they are playing to get this bill through- they have to save money but they need a simple majority of Republican votes meaning they can only lose 2 votes with Pence as tie-breaker. Otherwise they have to deal with the Democrats and they are not interested in working with the Democrats on this bill AT ALL.

It seems that only Rand Paul is actually against the bill and that is because it is too liberal for his taste. That man is beyond obtuse.

One of the 4 game players will pretend to offer some ridiculously paltry amendment-say an $8 Billion amendment to compensate for the deplorable high-risk pools. The AHCA high-risk pools are underfunded by $200 Billion meaning the $8 Billion injection covers about 4% of the funding gap. The Senator who plays this role gets an extra cookie for dinner if he then goes around proclaiming that if that 4% underfunding isn’t enough then he will personally be up there fighting as hard as he can but then just ignores that every group who looks at the breakdown calls out how little it does to help those high-risk pools...said Senator just continues to stand in the corner, slowly picking the chocolate out of his cookie before sliding them into his mouth to suck on.

Expect 1 or more from the group of 4 to suddenly declare they found THE amendment suddenly makes the bill acceptable for them... even though it actually changes absolutely nothing of substance in this abhorrent bill. This is a the worst game of bluff I have ever seen.

NO AMENDMENT WOULD MAKE THIS BILL BETTER because it is just that bad. No amendment or group of amendments would help that.

It boils down to a horrific dystopian disgusting bill made more gross because of the tax cut.

Trumpcare DEFUNDS Planned Parenthood.

THIS IS ABHORRENT. I have discussed before how this will affect access to birth control and women’s health services.

This is about more than just getting affordable birth control but having access at all.

Women throughout American will be HARMED by this as they are unable to get birth control which will increase the abortion rate- unless the GOP is able to make it illegal whic his there goal for sure.

More women will have unplanned pregnancies ensuring they will never get out of poverty and often making single moms.

Unplanned pregnancies in low income women with Medicaid Cuts is a recipe for NO prenatal care and babies with long term health problems from lack of prenatal care. With no resources to pay for services for these children, the kids will suffer for life. I cannot express this enough. Lack of prenatal care leads to maternal and fetal complications that can and will affect babies for life.

Problems with Trumpcare according to Indivisible Guide Resource page

Lowers the percentage of consumer costs covered by insurance. The ACA requires that plans cover 70% of the cost of health care but Trumpcare only mandates they cover 58% of the cost so you will pay MORE out of pocket PERIOD.

Lowers the threshold for tax credits. The ACA gives tax credits for anyone who makes less than 400% of Federal Poverty Level- around $48K for a single person. Trumpcare lowers that to 350% BUT it is made worse by the fact that the Trumpcare plans will be lesser quality meaning even more out-of-pocket expenses

Allows states waivers for 10 Essential Health Benefits. Let’s review what those 10 EHB are shall we?

Emergency Room

Labs

Prescription Meds

Rehabilitation -post accident, stroke, illness

Mental Health and Substance Abuse aka opioid addiction programs

Ambulatory Care aka outpatient doctor appointments

Pediatrics

Maternity and child Birth

Preventative Health and Birth Control

Hospital care

5 ways Trumpcare is an assault on our freedom by LOLGOP

Trumpcare Chains us to jobs again- the ACA allowed people to change jobs without fear of losing their health insurance. Trumpcare will make insurance more expensive and also take away the freedom to move jobs. Trumpcare does away with the Individual Mandate in exchange for a rule that allows insurers to charge more to people who have an insurance lapse of over 63 days a year.

Trumpcare and 1 serious illness or accident puts you at risk for bankruptcy. The ACA did away with annual and lifetime caps but guess who is brining them back? If you think you are healthy and it won’t happen to you think again (my Fox News Loving neighbor told me that “only poor people get sick” but that isn’t true. Also remember that by definition accidents are accidental...and innocent people get caught in them all of the time. Remember that as you munch on kale chips and goji berries and chug Kombucha right after you post your latest tell-me-how-great-I-look Facebook photo cross-linked to Instagram #Progress #GynRat #HealthyLifrestyle. Someone else can smash into your car as you drive home from the gym and you are at suddenly playing the medical-bankruptcy roulette right along with the obese noncompliant diabetic and the family history heart disease. It CAN happen to you and I have seen it happen to people.

Trumpcare threatens the entire insurance market. The GOP -lead by Lord Voldemort - decided that something that affects 1/6 of our economy doesn’t deserve careful discussion and consideration. It is appropriate that a bill that affects 1/6 of our economy...

Trumpcare dooms Everyone. Trumpcare dooms anyone who has family or loved ones who may get old, sick, disabled, or have an accident but doesn’t have hundred’s of thousands of dollars saved for their care

Trumpcare gives the wealthy even more control of our politics. The richest 400 Americas get a $7 Million tax break EACH YEAR paid for by cutting Medicaid $880 Billion. 400x7,000,000=2.8 billion which just happens to be the cost of the last presidential election. Republicans are counting on a payback “Thank You” from those 400 wealthiest Americans in the form of donations for vulnerable MoC.

is simply a “win” and not actual reform.

is a bill that gives the wealthy a significant tax cut is more important than actual health care reform.

is rushed given an arbitrary “due date” that leads to an extreme rush through

is done so with the input, knowledge, and experience of as few people as possible, making sure that no experts represent the American people, disabled Americans, rural hospitals, teaching hospitals and large medical centers, Medicaid, nursing homes, AARP, nursing and doctor groups or even a doctor or a nurse. Ir does appear insurance lobbyist were involved.

even if it is based on choosing a due date that has more to do with getting a “win” on the books beside Trump’s

even if the rush job is caused simply because passing it before a recess is crucial...otherwise MoC might be talked out of voting “yes” by their constituents or they might find their conscience or realize that there have been terrific economic gains from Medicaid Expansion

by specifically excluding ALL Democrats in the House and Senate from the process

by excluding all Republican Senators except those in the working group

by including only wealthy, old, white men in the working group

by allowing lobbyist to work on the bill that had not even been seen

by pretending that a huge tax cut for the wealthy is actually a health care bill

by allowing NO time for public comments

by ignoring the precedent the legislative process

by ALL of the Democratic Senators ,

by ALL of the female Senators (there has been contradictory reports of 1 women maybe in the working group maybe at times)

by ALL of the minority Senators

keeping bill under lock-and-key from all but 15 Senators

by only allowing 15-man working group and lobbyist to see bill until it was entirely written

by giving the bill to CBO very late in the process; score expected Monday or Tuesday with Vote coming before end of next week (recess starts Friday)

by not allowing any women on the working group

by not working at all with democrats

by not bringing bill to committee for mark ups before brining it to floor

by only allowing 1 week to read and discuss the bill

by not allowing public hearings and time for public to get their comments to the MoC

by not allowing time for proper amendments

MOST OF ALL THEY MADE SURE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AREN’T GETTING THE BEST BILL POSSIBLE. ONE THAT WILL BUILD UPON THE PROTECTIONS GIVEN TO US BY THE ACA. Instead they are taking away ALL of those protections and more.

Trumpcare will cost everyone more money

According to a new report by the DHHS that hasn’t got much press, Trumpcare will

Lower Premiums- yes it will but beware of 2, 3 and 4.

Deductibles and Copays will be 61% higher

Because government assistance will end costs will be even higher to most people

The tax cut will cut into Medicare solvency by 2 years

Trumpcare will hurt our economy

(according to University of Michigan Study)

30,000 jobs per year

$2.4 billion dollars ANNUALLY in increased revenue

$1.5 million in tax revenue that is paying for itself by this increased tax revenue

Will hurt older Americans as 80% of Nursing Home expenses are covered by Medicaid

According to CBO the House version will cause 23 Million Americans to lose their health insurance

It’s about the Money Honey.....

The ACA requires insurers to spend 80% of premiums on health care costs and NOT on things like administrative overhead, CEO salaries, Ads, or PROFITS.

Money collected for premiums, not used for health care costs and above the 80% is refunded back to families.

The ACA returned $396 Million to 4.8 Million families in 2015.

On average, families that paid premiums got a rebate of $138 taken out of shareholder profits.

This my friend is why I suspect many companies got out of the exchanges....Not ENOUGH PROFIT and CEO PAY.

The Government documented this data by State and for the USA. Let’s look at Michigan and the US, shall we?

2015 MLR Rebates by State- click link for other states .

MiCHIGAN And USA Total llll

All Markets: Total Rebates

All Markets: Consumers Benefiting from Rebates

All Markets: Average Rebate per Family

Individual Market: Total Rebates

Individual Markets: Consumers Benefiting from Rebates

Individual Markets:Average Rebate per Family

Small Group Market: Total Rebates

Small Group Market: Consumers Benefiting from Rebates

Small Group Market: Average Rebate Per Family

Large Group Market: Total Rebates

Large Group Market: Consumers Benefiting from Rebates

Large Group Market: Average Rebate Per Family

MI $34,316,590

USA $396,684,376

MI 635,603

USA 4,850,555

MI $120

USA $138

MI $2,876,430

USA $107,360,358

MI 40,247

USA 1,188,509

MI $119

USA $124

MI $26,640,351

USA $153,761,425

MI 323,179

USA 1,928,008

MI $166

USA $142

MI $4,799,809

USA $135,562,593

MI 272,177

USA 1,734,038

MI $47

USA $146

Trumpcare eliminates this regulation starting in 2018. Individuals States will decide whether to keep protecting consumers from insurance wasteful spending.

Republicans think it is ok to radically alter Medicaid

without input, discussion, pubic hearings, expert advice

Trumpcare essentially ends Medicaid as we know it, radically changing

who is eligible including infants, prenatal care, disabled Americas and children and nursing home patients.

how much money states are given by changing the system to block grants and decreasing the program by $880 Billion

while also taking away the source of women’s health and BIRTH CONTROL for 3 million women

if they also make abortion illegal we will have a crisis of severely disabled babies born with life-threatening conditions including fatal a chromosomal abnormalities (Trisomy 13, Trisomy 18), Potters Syndrome, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Ectocardia, gastroschisis, anencephalic, hydrocephalic,

Trumpcare will devastate our economy in Michigan and hurt the US

According to the

Commonwealth Fund

By 2018 Michigan loses

15,700 jobs

17,400 health jobs

$804 Million Gross State Product

$895 Million Business Output

By 2026 Michigan Loses

50,800 jobs

30,600 health jobs

$5,070,000.000 Gross State Product

$8,032,000.000 Business Output

* Gross state product (GSP), or gross regional product (GRP), is a measurement of the economic output of a state or province (i.e., of a subnational entity). It is the sum of all value added by industries within the state and serves as a counterpart to the gross domestic product (GDP).(Wikipedia)

Is 1 week enough time to read, debate and vote on a bill that affects 1/6 of our economy?

Lindsay Graham and John “the flip flopper” McCain

pretend...er, I mean think-they THINK- so.

Fred Upton Lies

The Michigan legislature was very hesitant to pass the Medicaid Expansion and wrote a provision that if the Federal Match Rate (normally is 65%) must offset all costs to the state or the Expansion is automatically terminated. According to a

Memo released by the state Senate:

barring any legislative action to change the Medicaid expansion ("Healthy Michigan") statute, would result in termination of Medicaid expansion in Michigan after FY 2019-20 (it should be noted that the SFA has projected that the Healthy Michigan statute’s net State costs provision would lead to the termination of the program after FY 2020-21 even absent any Federal changes).

“The bill would repeal ACA reductions in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments. It appears that this is being done to provide more money to states that, unlike Michigan, chose not to expand Medicaid. The intent would be to offset uncompensated care costs in those states.”

“The bill would reduce retroactive eligibility for Medicaid from three months to the month in which a person applied for Medicaid. When an application for Medicaid is approved, Medicaid covered services for the person are reimbursed by Medicaid retroactive to three months before the date of application”

“The bill would implement, beginning in FY 2019-20, a per capita Gross cap on Federal Medicaid reimbursement” AKA BLOCK GRANT

Mitch McConnell Lies

McConnell keeps saying that the ACA was kept under secrecy as well but he is lying.

“Simply put, if there’s a chance you might get sick, get old, or start a family – this bill will do you harm”

President Obama posted a perfect post today. I am sure most if not all of ou read it but I wanted to post it again and to highlight the parts that i found the most important or poignant. “Our politics are divided. They have been for a long time. And while I know that division makes it difficult to listen to Americans with whom we disagree, that’s what we need to do today.I recognize that repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act has become a core tenet of the Republican Party. Still, I hope that our Senators, many of whom I know well, step back and measure what’s really at stake, and consider that the rationale for action, on health care or any other issue, must be something more than simply undoing something that Democrats did.We didn’t fight for the Affordable Care Act for more than a year in the public square for any personal or political gain –we fought for it because we knew it would save lives, prevent financial misery, and ultimately set this country we love on a better, healthier course.Nor did we fight for it alone. Thousands upon thousands of Americans, including Republicans, threw themselves into that collective effort, not for political reasons, but for intensely personal ones – a sick child, a parent lost to cancer, the memory of medical bills that threatened to derail their dreams.And you made a difference. For the first time, more than ninety percent of Americans know the security of health insurance. Health care costs, while still rising, have been rising at the slowest pace in fifty years. Women can’t be charged more for their insurance, young adults can stay on their parents’ plan until they turn 26, contraceptive care and preventive care are now free. Paying more, or being denied insurance altogether due to a preexisting condition – we made that a thing of the past.We did these things together. So many of you made that change possible.At the same time, I was careful to say again and again that while the Affordable Care Act represented a significant step forward for America, it was not perfect, nor could it be the end of our efforts – and that if Republicans could put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we made to our health care system, that covers as many people at less cost, I would gladly and publicly support it.That remains true. So I still hope that there are enough Republicans in Congress who remember that public service is not about sport or notching a political win, that there’s a reason we all chose to serve in the first place, and that hopefully, it’s to make people’s lives better, not worse.But right now, after eight years, the legislation rushed through the House and the Senate without public hearings or debate would do the opposite. It would raise costs, reduce coverage, roll back protections, and ruin Medicaid as we know it. That’s not my opinion, but rather the conclusion of all objective analyses, from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which found that 23 million Americans would lose insurance, to America’s doctors, nurses, and hospitals on the front lines of our health care system.The Senate bill, unveiled today, is not a health care bill. It’s a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America. It hands enormous tax cuts to the rich and to the drug and insurance industries, paid for by cutting health care for everybody else. Those with private insurance will experience higher premiums and higher deductibles, with lower tax credits to help working families cover the costs, even as their plans might no longer cover pregnancy, mental health care, or expensive prescriptions. Discrimination based on pre-existing conditions could become the norm again. Millions of families will lose coverage entirely.Simply put, if there’s a chance you might get sick, get old, or start a family – this bill will do you harm. And small tweaks over the course of the next couple weeks, under the guise of making these bills easier to stomach, cannot change the fundamental meanness at the core of this legislation.I hope our Senators ask themselves – what will happen to the Americans grappling with opioid addiction who suddenly lose their coverage? What will happen to pregnant mothers, children with disabilities, poor adults and seniors who need long-term care once they can no longer count on Medicaid? What will happen if you have a medical emergency when insurance companies are once again allowed to exclude the benefits you need, send you unlimited bills, or set unaffordable deductibles? What impossible choices will working parents be forced to make if their child’s cancer treatment costs them more than their life savings?To put the American people through that pain – while giving billionaires and corporations a massive tax cut in return – that’s tough to fathom. But it’s what’s at stake right now. So it remains my fervent hope that we step back and try to deliver on what the American people need.That might take some time and compromise between Democrats and Republicans. But I believe that’s what people want to see. I believe it would demonstrate the kind of leadership that appeals to Americans across party lines. And I believe that it’s possible – if you are willing to make a difference again. If you’re willing to call your members of Congress. If you are willing to visit their offices. If you are willing to speak out, let them and the country know, in very real terms, what this means for you and your family.After all, this debate has always been about something bigger than politics. It’s about the character of our country – who we are, and who we aspire to be. And that’s always worth fighting for.

Choose the facts that upset you the most or you feel Fred should have to answer for and call his office. Call

the list of people is also pinned to the front page of our homepage

www.facebook.com/indivisiblekalamaz...

Call Mitch McConnell

Call John Cornyn

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE find your Representative at www.house.gov

CALL YOUR SENATOR. Find your Senator at www.senate.com

Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 317 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510 (202)224-2541 http://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/

They may ask you for your Zip Code: Lexington, Kentucky zips are 40501-05, NOT 06, 40507-11, NOT 12, 40513-17. OR find zip codes for another city in Kentucky at USPS.

John Cornyn (R-TX) 517 Hart Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 Main: 202-224-2934 Email: https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/contact

Lubbock zip codes (I picked it because we used to live there) 79401-07, NOT 08, 79409-24 or pick any TX city and look up a zip code

Washington 202-224-6621Grand Rapids (616) 233-9150

Call the White House White House 202-456-1111

Please consider donating to Indivisible

The Indivisible movement has profoundly changed the course of history in America. After the 2016 election many of us were devastated; terrified about the unwanted and dangerous changes that seemed destined to come to our country. We were confused about how to use our voices in a political system that I- and I know a lot of you-had no idea how to navigate in a way that would effect change. Prior to the Indivisible Movement, the only way I understood how to use my voice was by voting and I couldn’t wait two years...I had things to say in 2017 and I needed someone to tell me how to do that.

Ezra Levin and Angel Padilla stepped up and gave us the Indivisible Guide... a tangible and simple plan for using our voices TODAY.

The guide was a hastily typed, typo-laden document, released online with the expectation that a maybe a few hundred people would see it. Instead it quickly gained traction and became a beacon of hope for so many of us because it was so simple and based on a movement that had been shockingly effective in shutting down Obama’s agenda. Based on the Tea Party strategy of communicating with one’s local Members of Congress to act in our best interest. The Indivisible Movement expressly shuns the portion of the Tea Party’s strategy that involved abhorrent behavior like spitting at lawmakers, starting fights at town hall meetings, and using disgusting and rude signage to get our point across.

Ezra, Angel and some of their friends quickly formed a loose group under the name Indivisible Guide and partnered with Move.On to start the Ready To Resist calls that gave me the information I need to get this group started. Since January, they have become a formal group providing information and encouragement as well as a platform for exchanging ideas with other Indivisible Groups. They are constantly updating the materials and resources available online at Indivisibleguide.com.

They are pushing back hard against Trumpcare and are distributing a digital ad informing Americans what Trumpcare really will mean for America. They are asking for donations to pay for this push.

If you can, please consider donating to the Indivisible Guide.

To read their June Action Plan here.

Need a Script? Indivisible has Daily Call Scripts

To see a breakdown of how each state will be effected by Trumpcare here.

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brainfoodgp · 7 years

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Brain Food Garden Project Blog February/2017

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” –Cicero-

Reading has been important to me from my earliest childhood memory. My grandmother taught me to read when I was very young and gave me my first “big boy” series of books, 9 lovely stories of early prairie life starting with Little House in the Big Woods, as a gift when I graduated kindergarten. My first and lasting literary memory is of a little Laura Ingalls playing a game of throwing a hot pigs bladder, like a ball with other children, after the seasonal slaughter and preserving of the pig of course. Now that’s a memory you want sticking with you for the rest of your life…right?

When you are bullied as a child for being different or not behaving exactly the same way everyone else behaves you look for any means of escape. You don’t at eight years old identify diving with the Nautilus for deep sea adventures or escaping pirates on Treasure Island as a “wellness tool.” However, at 44 when you are waving your wand around at a Death Eater for let’s hypothetically say the millionth time, reading the Harry Potter series, it is probably time to make the connection…OK!

All joking aside, the importance of reading for me is one of my most important wellness tools. And that is why this month’s feature section is a short list for some of the books that keep me going or informed me in some way or that I discovered at that perfect moment in time. In “Notes From The Resistance” this month, we continue to share some important and relevant news stories about the current state of our democracy. And who says a healthy meal can’t be decadent. One of or BFGP gardening family members brought this Cauliflower Crust Grilled Cheese Sandwich to our attention. Every time I make it I’ll thank Ruth Gendreau Bennett and trust me when I say you will too. Whatever you read in the coming months I hope you are entertained, educated or inspired to change the world to make it a better place. Happy reading.

The BFGP Feature:

So many books so little time. These are a list of books that I have been reading since the election in November until now. Next month I will bring back the “What I’m Reading” section but all of these books listed in this feature are books that literally have helped keep me focused and have worked their magic to keep me mentally healthy.

In A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness by Dr. Nassir Ghaemi a book I read several years ago that I picked up and started re reading after the outcome of the election. This amazing read helped to prepare me for what was to come with the new leader of the free world being a fascist authoritarian. Dr. Ghaemi breaks down the leadership styles of many historical figures to showcase how their mental health concerns, if there had been such a diagnosis in their time, contributed or hindered their leadership styles. It is a fascinating read that covers Lincoln to Kennedy and Gandhi to Hitler.

Long before my hero Khizr Khan offered to loan the fascist his copy of The United States Constitution at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. I myself have been carrying around my own copy of the Constitution for years. There is no better sword for fighting ignorance in those that probably haven’t read the document since high school government class. You want to argue why our founding father’s wanted to build a “Christian nation” let me slap you down with their own words. You don’t understand why the fascists contempt and suppression of our free press is Unconstitutional please let me introduce you to Amendment 1 of the Bill of Rights. You think all Americans should have the right to bare semi-automatic weapons let me introduce you to the actual second amendment. I can’t help but feel if more Americans carried around a copy of the US Constitution instead of a gun we all might be better off for it.

Books have always had this magical way of finding me just when I am at my lowest and always in the most unexpected ways. In this scenario picking up a book from my mother’s bookshelf that I had never read and sent her as a Mother’s Day gift. Relationships between mothers and sons can often be challenging even difficult. However, add a Christian fundamentalist mother to a gay, bipolar activist son and life is often combustible. The Rainbow Comes and Goes by: Anderson Cooper and his mom Gloria Vanderbilt entered my life at the perfect time. Although their story is far different than my mothers and my story. It made me realize that even the best mother and son relationships have limitations. It is how we deal with those limitations that make us stronger.

The Book of Joy By: His Holiness the Dali Lama and the Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a gift from a friend waiting for me after the long holiday break. Reading their discussions and breakdown of the 8 pillars of joy helped me through a growing depression that could have gotten much worse. The four pillars of the mind: perspective, humility, humor and acceptance and the four pillars of the heart: forgiveness, gratitude, compassion and generosity continues to heal me every day. One of the books greatest teachings that I am still processing is you cannot truly have forgiveness unless you are fully capable of total acceptance of things you have absolutely no control over.

Gardening as everyone reading this blog knows is one of my greatest wellness tools it is the very foundation that Brain Food Garden Project is built on. Starting my first two Farm School classes in January and February—Food Justice and Botany opened up many lines of questions for me. The reading material that accompanied each class opened my eyes to new ideas and concepts that I had been thinking about for a long time but provided answers in a completely different context. Beyond the Kale: Urban Agriculture and Social Justice Activism in New York City By: Kristen Reynolds and Nevin Cohen, Symbiotic Planet: A New Look At Evolution By: Lynn Margulis, Botany for Gardeners By: Brian Capon and A Botanist’s Vocabulary By: Susan K. Pell and Bobbi Angell. I am grateful to the teachers that provided these resources, answered my questions and inspired many more questions that only I can answer for myself.

One of the reasons I love gardening so much is its ability to make us all more mindful. I have been revisiting a book I read many years ago in preparation to introducing the material to my garden club members this season at ACMH. The book Digging Deep: Unearthing Your Creative Roots Through Gardening By: Fran Sorin. This lovely book with wonderful exercises helped me to envision my best self at a time I needed it most. Now I’ll see if Sorin’s message will inspire others.

Reading has brought me greater empathy for others, a deeper understanding of my true inner self and immense joy and pleasure throughout my life. During dark and difficult times books have lifted me up making it easy to embrace reading as a cherished tool for recovery. If any of the books I discussed here find their way onto your reading list drop me a message and let me know about your thoughts. I started this writing with the line so many books so little time. I plan on getting through as many wonderful books as I can before I take my final breath! Reading truly brings me infinite joy.

Notes From The Resistance:

So we are 15 weeks in and the fascist authoritarian party (formally known as Republicans) have been busy. They have enacted an un Constitutional ban on Muslim immigrants and citizens in many cases. They have ended protections in schools to stop bullying and keep our Transgender kids protected. They are working overtime to kill The Affordable Care Act taking vital insurance or limiting resources for some 20 million Americans. These are some stories from the front lines over the past month. We must never normalize any of this hatred we must keep fighting and resist.

1.) The regime still continues to attack science any way they can… Click here

2.) Many of us living with mental health concerns cringe a little when we hear people refer to the fascist leader as mentally ill. This article sums up those feelings… Click here

3.) The protests over the fascists police state immigration round up continues as “detention” camps and private prisons profit… Click here

4.) The big Agriculture farmers that voted for the fascist are starting to have doubts over his leadership… Cick here

5.) Guns let’s put them in the hands of our most vulnerable citizens sound like a good idea?… Click here

Healthy & Delicious Recipes:

When I curl up with a good book on a rainy afternoon nothing makes the day even more perfect than sipping and munching two of my childhood favorites a cup of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich! You know cauliflower is one of my favorite brain foods and this recipe for a Cauliflower Crusted Grilled Cheese Sandwich is going to become one of your favorites, trust me.

Ingredients

Makes 2 grilled cheese sandwiches

Cauliflower crust “bread” slices

1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets (should yield 3 cups of cauliflower rice)

1 free-range organic egg, lightly beaten

½ cup / 1.7 oz / 50 gr shredded mozzarella cheese

½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Grilled cheese

1 tablespoon butter, room temperature

⅓ cup / 3 oz / 85 gr sharp cheddar cheese, grated/shredded, room temperature

Directions

Cauliflower crust “bread” slices

Preheat oven to 450°F (220°C) and place a rack in the middle.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and liberally grease it with olive oil. Set aside.

In a food processor rice the cauliflower florets (it should be evenly chopped but not completely pulverized).

Transfer cauliflower rice (about 3 cups) to a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 8 minutes, until cooked.

Place the cauliflower rice in a tea towel and twist it to squeeze as much moisture as you can (I usually squeeze out over a cup of liquid). This is very important. The cauliflower rice needs to be dry, otherwise you’ll end up with mushy dough, impossible to use as slices of bread.

Transfer the cauliflower rice to a mixing bowl, add egg, mozzarella, salt and pepper and mix well.

Spread cauliflower mixture onto the lined baking sheet and shape into 4 square.

Place in the oven and bake for about 16 minutes until golden.

Remove and let cool 10 minutes before peeling them off the parchment paper (be careful not to break them!)

Assemble cauliflower crust grilled cheese

Heat a pan over medium heat.

Butter one side of each slice of cauliflower crust bread (preferably the top part).

Place one slice of bread in the pan, buttered side down, sprinkle on the cheese and top with the remaining slice of cauliflower crust bread, buttered side up.

Turn the heat down a notch and cook until golden brown, about 2 to 4 minutes.

Gently flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, about 2 to 4 minutes.

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moodybroodysblog · 6 years

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Why I'm scared as fuck. If he gets this then it's going to go toward a deeper step of who's a "real American" aka no minorities.

Sure you can argue it's not fair for someone to do the whole "birth tourism" and have their kid here just so they can be a citizen but that's super rare. Most people get birthright citizenship because one parent is coming over here for work and it just happens or the one parent is married/in a relationship with a US citizen. Also, why is an immigrants kid becoming a citizen in this way so dangerous to you? It's not affecting you in any form other than that there's an extra person and we need immigration quite frankly with a decreasing birthrate in many states now to keep the economy going at this rate but don't even get me started on that.

Please go out and vote and secondly once you vote for those Democrats go hard and demand progressive policies and removing this fascist from office and all his goons. Call out people in the community talking about this like it's good. Get a community watch to make sure this behavior is running amok in your town. Gang up on far right groups demand social media platforms shut them down. If you take the ostrich in the sand approach what will happen next is there will probably be revoking citizenship of people who don't speak English and then it could go toward all first gen immigrants, maybe even second (this is what I am) or third it could be limited rights given to the 1,2,3 American born (insert minorities here) like restricting our travel, we get different passports, or random border checks and harassment because we have foreign sounding names or look a bit too "ethnically ambiguous" or too brown.

Don't believe me that it would go this far? Dude read a book about the rise of Nazism and Mussolini's regime too. This stuff goes in steps. They revoked Jewish and Romani people's rights in steps like this too. Go read about the 1935 Nuremberg laws how they went from Jewish people being stripped from attending college as much, serving in public office to then giving them special passports to denying them any work outside of the ghettos they were put in to segregating them from society to full scale concentration camps and killing.

I don't want to see this happen to my people. I don't want to see this happen to me or my family. I know Trump and the Republicans hate Latinos to the point that they are being used as the feature fear point in the midterms about the caravan. And yes, it's more complicated with there being Republican Latinos especially the older Cuban community. But you have to understand that the Republican party itself is collapsing deep inside. Trump is making it into the party of him which is shaping to be more extreme, more hateful and flies in the face of some conservative ideals (i.e closing borders and not caring about the outside vs. traditional McCain, Reagan, Bush, wanting us to keep diplomacy and dominance on the world stage) it's going to accelerate into this white pride movement that's now normal not just a crazy wacky fringe movement.

Have the courage to call out someone believing in racist conspiracy theories or fetishising minorities while staying safe in their white bubble. Question your own beliefs about minorities, question your family's beliefs. Question if you don't have any friends who are minorities, question your community, the school system, question American society on a daily basis. Most of this has to do with the fact that we're more segregated in schools than in the 1970s and 80s... Question this. to look at this with a critical eye and feel the need to do something about it.

#Trump #immigration #poc #minorities #america #politics #citizenship #facsism

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ki-on-life · 6 years

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The Posture of a President

Those words were soon hotly debated.

It has been argued that he was referring to MS-13 gang members. Since the conversation President Trump was having had to do with detained immigrants in general, others saw this as a remark about all immigrants coming to the border or here illegally.

Implying that a group of people “animals” or “criminals” is usually meant to demean them and reduce sympathy. Historically, it’s gone hand in hand with violence and abuse - and not just toward bad guys. All over the world and through time, labeling people as “less-than” has been used to explain why abusing or killing them was okay. In one example - 1994 Rwanda, before people murdered their neighbors with machetes, they called the people they eventually murdered - Cockroaches. It was implied that killing them was a good thing. 1 People need safety and truth. When that need is not met, there’s going to be a negative reaction. It becomes an important point to clarify who the President meant when he called a group ‘animals.’ Is it reasonable to think he meant more than just MS-13 gang members? I would say yes, it is reasonable because I’ve seen clear examples of him doing this and similar things throughout the past couple years. There is a pattern.

There’s some serious implications involved in believing that. It colors the way I’ll react to any changes in immigration policies or statements that the government makes under this particular President. And I would like you to understand my thinking even if you may think differently. Please, just hear me. And so, I would like to tell you about Trump’s reelection campaign video I saw in January of 2018. My read of this spot hinges on techniques and implications from my educational and professional experience in video production. At the end of this piece, I’ll talk about the wider implications I see grown from this analysis.

Here we go.

The Re-Election Campaign Video is Called “Complicit”

On January 20, 2018, President Trump's official reelection campaign released on YouTube a video entitled “Complicit.” This echos the buzz word about the Special Prosecutors investigation into the Trump Campaign’s work with Russians to sway the vote in Trump’s favor. The release date for the video was the one year anniversary for the Trump presidency and the start of a government shutdown resulting from a lack of agreement on a federal budget. The video was produced by President Trump's official reelection campaign and President Trump says at the end of the video that he approved the message.

Unlike other political campaign ads I’m used to seeing, this spot does not encourage the viewer to choose a particular way to vote or engage in the government in any actionable way. It does not tell you to vote for Donald Trump. It doesn’t tell you to contact your representatives to tell them to pass legislation.

The piece refers to four groups of people: Illegal Immigrants, Democrats, Donald Trump and Americans.

The topic revolves around Luis Bracamontes, an illegal immigrant on trial for murdering two police officers. The video says the Democrats are not protecting America families from people like Bracamontes -- as opposed to Donald Trump who has the right plan for protecting Americans.

There were Parallel Messages from the White House. The White House put out public statements around the same time of the campaign video. Like the campaign video, these statements also stated that the Democrats were to blame for the shutdown and jeopardizing the safety of Americans.

The Press Secretary’s Official Statement called Democrats “Obstructionist Losers.” 2

White House official photos released of Trump are titled that Trump was still working during the “Democrat Shutdown.” 3

For a time, the White House official phone message stated they were shut down by Democrat’s bad behavior. 4

In contrast, leading Democrats had stated several times before and after these statements that they had tried to make deals and compromises, but their efforts were not accepted by Republicans or the White House. News media had prior to all this reported on some of these efforts. This shutdown is the first government shutdown to occur while one party held majorities in the House, Senate, and was in the White House. Which may cast doubt on whether or not Democrat representatives really could have stopped the budget at all.

Presidential Re-election Campaigns =/= White House Official Statements ...BUT... Since the White House statements & Trump’s campaign video said similar things and released them the same time, I think it’s safe to say we can see that the campaign video reflects Trump’s - and the government's - official posture.

Defining the Good and the Evil

Luis Bracamontes is used as the example of Evil.

The piece opens is Luis Bracamontes bragging about killing and boasting that he wanted to do more. He smiles, happens to look right at the camera, and the shot freezes. A distorted stencil font labels him as “pure evil.” The music is suspenseful and foreboding. The effects they put on his video and images change his look - skin color is different, the image overall is more grimy.

Luis Bracamontes’ story is a harrowing one.

He killed two police officers in 2014. He is a Mexican citizen, a convicted drug dealer 5 and probably drugs were increasing paranoia. He had been deported twice - in 1996 and 2001. The footage in the video is from his 2018 trial, when he was convicted and sentenced to death. His wife testified that he was abusive and terrified her 6. She was sentenced to 25 years for her role in the events. During his trial and sentencing he yelled obscenities and applauded when convicted. If anyone wanted a really freaky example for a villain - he is your guy.

Donald Trump is used as the example of Good

The piece ends as Donald Trump stands at the podium with a middle aged white woman slowly leaning in to hug him. She closes her eyes and puts her head on his chest. Trump’s arm is around her. It reminded me of a child who was leaning into her father’s chest looking for safety and comfort.

Democrats are said to help murderers

The video says “Donald Trump is right,” and says what he’s right about (voice-over says it’s building the wall, deporting criminals, and stopping illegal immigration). It then cuts to close ups of a montage of three leading Democrats while the voice-over says “Democrats who stand in our way, will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants."

The campaign said as much in it’s own description A spokesman for the campaign said in a written statement:

“[The] new campaign ad draws attention to the stark contrast between ‘complicit’ Democrats and the President for his full commitment to build a wall and fix our border to protect Americans from drugs, murder and other atrocities.”

So, the goal of the piece is for the viewer to consider Democrats as one the bad guys. By contrast Donald Trump is said to save Americans from evil people by his immigration policies.

Expanding on the “Evil” Group

The cop-killer is smiling We hear Bracamontes' voice, see him smiling and there is text that reads:

"ONLY THING THAT I F*****G REGRET IS THAT I F****G JUST KILLED TWO.”

It is effectively disturbing no matter how I look at it. That smile. That creepy smile. The video goes on to other parts of the issue. And the next time we see his smiling face is right after the voice-over finishes saying Democrats “will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants.”

Guilty by Association

At the phrase, “illegal immigrants,” the video puts back up the smiling Bracamontes video with the red, eroded stencil font that says “illegal immigrants.” I noted that it was specifically plural.

This technique is used in visual media to create an association between the image and the text. In this case, it says that the example of an illegal immigrant is Mr. Bracamontes.

Immigrants are Generalized

When the video talks about illegal immigrants, we see grainy footage of non-white people with their faces blurred trying to climb a wall, being arrested -- or standing by a city street. They are not personal, they are phantoms. The only definable face of an illegal immigrant you see belongs to that disturbing grinning shot of a murderer.

You’re intended to associate Bracamontes as the example of undocumented immigrants - particularly those that may appear to have Hispanic or Latino heritage. The video associates these people with feelings of disgust, fear, and anger through the gritty stylization and tense music.

It’s associating the idea of an illegal or undocumented immigrant as wrongdoers and criminals that are going to destroy our society. And using the word ‘our’ is a specific choice made in production as well.

Identifying with the “Good”

The viewer is supposed to be the “our” in the script. The voice-over talks from the first-person point of view. This style speaks to the viewers feelings about themselves.The safety of Americans is referred to “our” safety. The Democrats were said to be standing “in our way.” Good Americans are represented by the woman who leans in to Trump who gives a protective embrace.

Yet, Americans are also implied to be the ones leading the way to protect our families through choosing Trump’s plan for illegal immigrants. This implies that Democrats are not good Americans because they are not protecting their fellow Americans against the defined “evil.”

The President is meant to be the strong, unafraid protector Donald Trump’s camera shots are all shot from a slightly low angle. A common technique often used to create the feeling of strength, power, confidence. One is literally looking up to him.

Contrast that with the shots of the Democrat leaders shown - which are shown from a straight on angle. Note that his image is clean. When there is text, it’s clear and crisp.

Using shots of the featured Democrats at eye level makes them look less powerful than Trump, but still in conflict to the viewer. Their shots have a filter that distorts the exposure enough to make their appearance just a little bit removed. This creates tension with them. Interestingly, visually the use of distortion effects make them similar to the visuals of illegal immigrant clips and Luis Bracamontes.

There IS a Call to Action After All

Divide, Judge, and Be Afraid.

Back at the beginning, I mentioned the regular kind of call to action was missing from the campaign video. Well, looking deeper, I think there is one.

This ad is calling the viewer to use Bracamontes’ evil actions and jovial love of killing as representative of all immigrants without papers - or perhaps even if they look like they might be illegal. It is also asking people to feel disgusted towards Democrats and see them as bad people who prefer protecting horrible people at the expense of good people. It also wants the viewer to love and embrace President Trump as the protector from these criminals and groups who are complicit to murder. Us vs. Them. Good vs. Evil.

All this is basic storytelling technique used for a variety of projects.

We will see it nearly every time we go to the movies, or watch a commercial. And it’s not always good or bad - like a language. It’s all how one uses it to tell a story through performance. But it can have big implications when it’s used to promote an idea like this.

Past Posture Informs the Present

The Animals Comment Back to the round-table conversation on May 16th where the President said that “These aren’t people. These are animals.” It was a conversation about illegal immigrants as a whole especially ones who came in contact with law enforcement.

In the conversation, Trump was talking with Margaret Mims, Fresno County Sheriff. They were discussing her desire to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She shared her frustration about laws preventing her from telling ICE about some arrests and detainees:

Trump: "And we're suing on that, and we're working hard, and I think it will all come together, because people want it to come together. It's so ridiculous. The concept that we're even talking about is ridiculous. We'll take care of it, Margaret. We'll win."

Mims: "Thank you. There could be an MS-13 gang member I know about — if they don't reach a certain threshold, I cannot tell ICE about it."

Trump: "We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in — and we're stopping a lot of them — but we're taking people out of the country. You wouldn't believe how bad these people are. These aren't people. These are animals. And we're taking them out of the country at a level and at a rate that's never happened before. And because of the weak laws, they come in fast, we get them, we release them, we get them again, we bring them out. It's crazy.

Official Government Statements gets specific

Similar to how the White House had parallel messaging with the campaign video when it came out, right after Trump’s ‘animal’ comments were made public, the official White House news webpage posted “What You Need To Know About The Violent Animals Of MS-13.” And has some pretty violent and terrible things described. There is no author name nor any sources cited. And while MS-13 gangs are intimidating, they are not exactly the entity the official statement describes.6 7

Creating the Scapegoat

Implying that a group of people “animals” or “criminals” is usually meant to demean them. But that doesn’t mean that they are un-human or even that Trump’s statements classifying immigration stuff is true. The people that are coming to the border? A quick peek:

Most people who are detained at the border have no gang affiliation.

Many are women with young children escaping violence.

Nearly half of detained immigrants are being held without conviction.

And those undocumented people already here that could be detained by ICE now or in the future?

They can be doctors under DACA. 8

On average, they are parents with young children, they pay taxes, and have been here for at least 10 years. 9

They can be held indefinitely without trial or hearings. 10

They have no automatic right to an attorney.

Children as young as 3 represent themselves before judges without legal counsel and sometimes without speaking any English. 11

It’s not uncommon for them to be abused by American government officials and contractors 12

I’ve heard it said a good scapegoat needs to be “both all-powerful and powerless,” (Not in God’s Name, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Pg. 76). Someone that can be blamed for all the trouble, but unable to retaliate. And those that aren’t innocent of violence and mean harm? They are still verifiable members of the human species who -- like all of us -- are responsible for their own behavior.

Reasonable Conclusions

Perhaps on it’s own, I can see how the “animals” comment might be seen as just about the MS-13 gang. Not sure I like being derogatory about anyone, but still. Trump may really have meant just MS-13 at that particular moment he said it. But ..... In light of Trump’s larger pattern, it is reasonable to say that his comments on MS-13 reflect his posture about undocumented immigrants in general. In this, the campaign video is the most telling point for me. I believe it’s fair to say that Donald Trump extends the badness of certain known criminals to ANY immigrant without papers. So calling one an ‘animal’ easily means implying ‘they’ are all ‘animals.’ That’s not a stretch as it also fits Trump’s common behavior pattern when he faces things he criticizes. I get that not all will agree with that assessment - or even agree with me that it’s bad news to classify undocumented immigrants this way (I’m sad about there being disagreement on that point). I hope at least it can be understood that this has bigger implications than just calling one group a derogatory name.

Trump demeans and villainizes all sorts of people

A short list of things he’s publicly called people when they didn’t do what he liked:

Democrats are complicit to murder for not supporting his immigration plans

Macy’s dropped a Trump-brand line - Trump said they suck and that Macy’s was “bad for the U.S.A”

A basketball player who he didn’t think thanked him enough was an “ungrateful fool.”

He’s called the media things like “Scum” and “FAKE NEWS” and “anti-American”

NFL players that take a knee during the anthem he called “Sons of Bitches” and implied this week that maybe they shouldn’t be in the country if they don’t stand.

What do you think he’d say to the world about your family, if they were suddenly in the way of something he wants? Why would he treat you and I any different?

Is it Personal, or “just Business?”

I can only really guess if he really believes these things about immigrants as he seems to encourage others to.

I’m more concerned about what is going on for each of us. How will we talk about people - especially ones we think are bad or wrong? Where are our boundaries? Often, what we declare about others can tell us a lot about ourselves. Will you consider this an opportunity for some solemn self-reflection? I think it matters - even if we are nowhere near the border.

I’m sad to hear Trump talk about others with such demonization. I’m doubtful that Trump sees the larger pattern of his in his words - or maybe he sees it as good. I would like us all do be able to do differently. And I don’t know if Trump knows how to do things differently. I’m not confident that he will stop short of policies that harm those he criticizes.

Trump’s got a history of harming others

He was very violent with his first wife - including rape. 13

He walked in on undressed girls because he owned the pageant. 14

He is on tape happily talking about kissing women without waiting for consent - not to mention grabbing women’s private parts. 15

He has several allegations of assault. 16

He cut off medical funds for his nephew’s baby because he was angry. 17

That doesn’t include the stories available about his business practices that have hurt others.

His posture is now United States policy

Out of the heart comes what a person speaks. And this posture is now forming real-life consequences for more than just people who come in contact with him person-to-person. There are people already talking about the harm that they see and experience at the hands of new policies born out of his stated perspectives. 18 19 As I’ve written above, the White House officially says things that mirror the language of what Trump says about Immigrants. The White house reflects Trump’s views on the opposing party - that they are accomplices to murder if they don’t comply. So, these aren’t just his own personal postures anymore.

They are now the United States government’s postures, too.

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#us vs them #theyareanimals #areweokaywiththis?#complict

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yourcertainstudentlight-blog · 6 years

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How much will car insurance cost if I decide to buy a 2000-02 Chevy Corvette?

"How much will car insurance cost if I decide to buy a 2000-02 Chevy Corvette?

I have a clean driving record; I have never been in an accident, no tickets, no nothing. I'm not saying its true but I heard from a friend that it cost about $500 a month for car insurance for the vette?

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://saleinsurancequotes.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr

RELATED QUESTIONS:

""Why is it that I am still able to be sued for an auto accident if I live in Florida, a no-fault state?""

I've been in 2 accidents. The first was very minor; I rolled into the bumper in the car in front of me at a stop light and scratched their bumper. No damage was sustained to my car, but I am at-fault. The second I was cutting through an intersection that was at a red light and was about to pull into the left-turn lane when the woman in the car that was coming down the lane wasn't looking forward and hit the driver side door of my car. I was already halfway in the lane trying to straighten out into the left-turn lane but I couldn't move when she was coming, because if I moved back I might have hit someone and if I went forward she would have hit me anyway. At the scene the policewoman told me I was at fault, but when I talked to my claims adjuster, she told me that there is some negligence on the other party's part because if I had just randomly pulled out into traffic, the other party would have hit the front of my car, not the driver-side door. I am being sued by the first person and I found out just now I am being sued by the person in the second accident as well. I was told that since I am registered under my parents insurance, the other party can see that they have a lot of assets they can sue for from my parents. My question is, why are they able to sue me so easily? I've done research, and I know Florida is a no-fault state, meaning drivers cannot sue each other unless serious injury occurred, such as loss of life, limb, permanent injury, etc. In both accidents, I did not get ticketed, and I believe no police report was written, only exchanges of information.(Police were called, however. I did not leave the scene) Also both of the other parties did not ask for an ambulance or medical assistance(I know about the feeling pain later thing) but I'm sure if someone was suing for something as serious that can be listed as loss of limb or death, they would have showed some indication of injury at the scene. Both people stepped out of their cars and were fine, however.""

Car insurance help? ?

Car insurance for a school permit? my question involves teen drivers and insurance i am a 15 year old in iowa, i would like to get a school permit (in iowa, this allows me to drive to and from school over the most direct route without an adult in the vehicle)because of the many extracurriculars I'm involved with. my dad was wondering though if it would be very expensive to get me on the insurance plan. here are some factors -we are with westfield insurrance -I'm a 15 year old girl -honor student -passed drivers ed with an A -my parents work at the school, so i would catch a ride when i could with them, i would only probably use the school permit for late night or early morning practices (i mention this because i read that if a person only drives occasionally it could lower costs slightly? ) -never been in an accident or been pulled over -i wouldn't be driving a fast car, probably our van or pontiac grand am any estimates on costs? my dad said that i wouldn't be able to get on the insurance if it was 100 or more $ a year, so if you could give me some suggestions on how to lower it or any tips at all, i would really appreciate it""

""Im looking or an affordable health insurance, please help?""

hello, I need to see a doctor as soon as possible but i don't have insurance. anyone know any good affordable health insurance. thank you in advance""

How come my insurance is going up?

My mom just told me that the insurance company is raising my insurance by like 168$(6 month pay day) and I dont know why. I havent gotten a ticket, pulled over or anything. I mean at school I get parking infractions and stuff and it says ' your license plate has been reported to the police department' but ive gotten multiples of those and have friends that have gotten way more and nothing happens. So I want to know a reason on why the insurance would be going up. Thanks""

Does my parents insurance still cover me?

I'm 19(turning 20 on Dec 1) & I live in California(southern CA) Not in school right now, still looking into trade schools will attend school in spring '11. My parents have health insurance but since I was 18 it stopped covering for me. Insurance covers almost all costs though sometimes we have to pay a small percentage. Now this new bill has passed & I was wondering if it will cover me? Or should I apply for Medicaid? Currently looking for my 3rd job. Previous jobs did not give me health insurance. Thanks""

Did you see the left/right coalition letter against the health insurance mandate?

March 19, 2010 Dear Member of Congress: On behalf of our organizations and the millions of people we represent, we strongly encourage you to oppose the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act of 2009. Our groups and members may disagree on what are the best solutions to our health care problems, but this unprecedented coalition of organizations from across the political spectrum agrees that forcing individuals to buy insurance from private companies under the threat of fines or jail is not the reform we need. The individual mandate is a section of the bill that requires every single American to buy health insurance-whether or not they want it or feel they can afford it-or break the law and face penalties and fines. Consequently, the bill does not actually cover 30 million more Americans-instead it makes them criminals if they do not buy insurance from private companies. We hope you agree that it is unconscionable to force people to buy a product from a private insurer. This would effectively be a tax-and a huge one-paid directly to a private industry. Enacting this mandate would be a major victory for the insurance companies at the expense of the American people. It should be no surprise they support the government forcing everyone to buy their product. Imagine how the hamburger industry would respond if the government forced everyone to have hamburgers for lunch or pay fines? According to the President's Council of Economic Advisers, the average annual premium for single coverage is $4,321. If the 46 million uninsured are forced to purchase private health insurance at that price, then the insurance industry stands to bring in up to $200 billion in new insurance premiums per year. The Senate bill also includes an estimated $630 billion in corporate welfare for private insurance companies in the form of subsidies over the next 10 years, creating even less incentive than currently exists for private insurance premiums to be lowered. To make matters worse, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that 19 million Americans would not buy insurance and as a result would be forced to pay $29 billion in taxes/fines. The Joint Committee on Taxation has made it clear that failure to pay these fines could result in jail time. Thirty-six states have passed or are considering measures that would allow their residents to opt out, including Virginia, Utah, Pennsylvania, Florida, Minnesota, Michigan, Georgia and Ohio. Given these fact, it is not surprising that a recent NBC News poll finds 57 percent of Americans do not want the government to create a law that requires everyone to have health insurance coverage and that only 38% of Americans favor the mandate, making it the least popular part of the bill. The American people stand in firm opposition to the individual mandate. We stand with them. We hope you will, too. Sincerely, Americans for Tax Reform, Grover Norquist, President Democrats.com, Bob Fertik, President Healthcare-NOW!, Katie Robbins, National Organizer FreedomWorks, Matt Kibbe, President and CEO Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), Tim Carpenter, Director Campaign for Liberty, John Tate, President 60 Plus Association, Jim Martin, President Liberty Tree Foundation, Ben Manski, Executive Director Hector Barreto, Chairman, The Latino Coalition National Taxpayers Union, Duane Parde, President National Coalition of Organized Women, Consuela Sylvester, Ohio Director Citizens for Health, Jim Turner, Chairman Competitive Enterprise Institute, Gregory Conko, Senior Fellow American Association of Small Property Owners, F. Patricia Callahan, President U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation, Dane vonBreichenruchardt, President Institute for Liberty, Andrew Langer, President Santa Monicans for Safe Drinking Water Coalition, Gene Burke, Founder, Director Alliance for Natural Health USA, Gretchen DuBeau, Executive Director Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Jane Orient, Executive Director Fairfax County Privacy Council, Mike Stollenwerk, Chairman The Rutherford Institute, John W. Whitehead, President Pain Relief Network, Siobhan Reynolds, Executive Director American Policy Center, Tom DeWeese, President Justice Through Music, Brett Kimberlin, Director Velvet Revolution, Brad Friedman, Co-Founder After Downing Street, David Swanson, Co-Founder Project Vote Smart, Mark A. Adams, Founder Democracy in Action (DIA), Dorothy Reilly, Organizer Squadron13.com, Gordon Sturrock, Founder Democracy for America - Tucson Chapter, Richard Kaiser, Co-chair DownWithTyranny.com, Howie Klein, Publisher Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights, J. Bradley Jansen, Director DownsizeDC.org, Inc., Jim Babka, President Cyber Privacy Project, Richard Sobel, Director Citizens For Legitimate Government, Lori R. Price, Managing Editor Republican National Hispanic Assembly, Minnesota Chapter, Rick Agui""

Does Florida auto insurance work in Virginia?

What if you have Florida auto insurance coverage but you move to Virginia? Are you still insured?

Cheap car insurance?

Does anyone know where I can get cheap car insurance online? I need full coverage. I have checked Geico and Progressive, they are so expensive. Thanks!""

What is the best motorcycle towing insurance to have?

I have a Yamaha 650 V-Star with spoke wheels and I tend to go on several hundred mile road trips. I did not had a flat in 6,000 miles of riding last year, but I want to be prepared.""

Comparing and contrasting life insurance?

was looking for some experianced and educated perspectives on taking the best approach considering life insurance for the first time at age 28 with 3 kids?

Problem with my car insurance company?

Just before new year, sitting stationary at a roundabout, old guy bashed into back of me. Exchanged details and went through the insurance. Nearly 4 months on...and my insurance company is still chasing liability. Meanwhile, my premium was due for renewal at end of Jan and that has gone up and my insurance company tell me they have problems with the other insurers as they don't answer their phones. They tell me they're sending out letters every 2 weeks and are trying to phone them. I don't think this is enough, especially after all this time. Basically, I'm being held over a barrel. I'll bet the old guy has got his car fixed now, but meanwhile even though I've done nothing wrong, I'm paying out more money and still have rear damage to my car!! I'm getting really sick of it, especially as I need to sell the car soon. It's completely ridiculous. Please wait for rest....""

How much will car insurance cost?

I'm getting my restricted liscence this coming January, because of my job. I'm trying to figure out a budget. I'm a 15 yr. old female who drives a 2007 toyota camry. Thank you for any help in advance!:)""

Where can I find cheap car insurance for my BMW 7 Series car?

Hi. I just bought a BMW 135i Convertible. Where can I find cheap car insurance for this car? I've checked the major ones like Geico but the quotes they list out are pretty expensive in my opinion.

What is the payment you make to the insurance company called?

***Auto Insurance

Car insurance question?

I know it could be inaccurate I just want a general answer. So my brother is 18, has a 2000 celica, he has liability on my dads insurance plan and his cost $100 a month.. If I was to get a 1998 323ci bmw with liability and im 16 years old, will it also cost $100 a month? Or would it be a bit higher cause its a BMW.. if so how much higher do you think""

Is the lack of affordable health insurance so bad people have to come on yahoo for advice?

i'm very concerned about the people who come on here for medical advice. some of it is very general, but some of the stuff here should be checked out by a doctor. should yahoo remove this section? i think it's a bit dangerous for people to rely on laymans for medical advice. last time i checked you had 7 years of school to deal with. not to mention the people that have been to the doctors and still come here and ask questions. it's like, why did you even go to the doctors. to me, this seems a bit nuts. or is it just me?""

How much will health insurance cost for a 21 year old with no preexisting conditions?

I never had to pay for health insurance (part of family benefit package) so now I'm thinking of getting one. How much will it cost? I am healthy, work in an office (not dangerous), attend university (are there student discounts?), I am athletic,(healthy weight), I live in Los Angeles the only health issue my family has is that my dad is diabetic (but he got it when he was around 50 so i don't think it's heritable)] I need an insurance to only cover me in case something happens and I need emergency care (surgeries, hospital stay etc.) approximate numbers will be appreciated.. thank you""

How much does having a reliable car and insurance effect child visitation through the courts?

Here in California

Its about car Insurance?

hi guys i was wondering ive recently looked at a car ad the cars insurance saids 15E its and 2003 ex police car 'volvo s80' at the age of 21 is that going to be expensive. ??????????

Taxi insurance?.....?

Just wondering how much about the taxi INSURANCE is to be a driver. Im 21, have my own car. Normal insurance is around 240 PM (60 week). Anyone know how much extra on top of that for taxi insurance? Around 30 more ive been told?""

""Geico Car Insurance, help? what do i do?""

Hey guys, my parents have three cars and all have geico insurance, but we're about to be out of country for a month or two and not even going to be using the cars for one or two months.. Is there a way that we can cancel/pause the insurance, so we won't have to pay insurance for a month. I mean we're not even gonna be using the cars, so were losing 1,200 dollars for absolutely nothing.. And if you can, can you explain it or just give me a link? thanks""

What insurance can i get ? need advise?

i am 17 years old and i got a truck and im going to get my license in a few days how can i get insurance for my truck and what will be the cheapest price ? i need advise on what i should do and how i should get insurance like should i get it under my dads insurance or how ?

Free car insurance quotes?

are these qoutes accurate or could the price they give you actually be lower then what the free quote says?

What is the cheapest car insurance I can get in Minnesota?

I am a young mom and getting my first car this month so I don't have a lot of money to spare so I'm wondering what is the cheapest insurance I can get in Minnesota? Thanx (:

Will your insurance go up with a Seat belt ticket?

In Georgia, will your insurance go up if you get a seat belt ticket with statefarm insurance?""

How much will car insurance cost if I decide to buy a 2000-02 Chevy Corvette?

""Any opinions on AUTO INSURANCE in Providence, RI? cheap prices?

cheap prices

Help finding a car insurance quote?

I'm doing a project for my economics class where I have to pretend to be a 22 year old living on my own and make a monthly budget for myself. I have to find a car insurance and health insurance quote, but everywhere I search asks for personal information and has to search through my records and credit to give me the right quote. I'm only 17 so they wouldn't find anything on me. I need it for a 22 year old making 27,000 a year. Please help me! 10 points to the best answer :)""

Kids Health Insurance?????

Which kids health insurance will pay for braces?

Lookin 4 cheap car insurance!!?

how much does car insurance cost for a new driver (17 years old) in the uk???

Children's health insurance?

Just had custody of 15 and 18 year old changed from me to their Dad . All their lives I've been responsible for their insurance . As far as CHIPS goes in Texas . Since kiddos now live with their Dad . I can no longer get them enrolled . And our custody papers say I am to keep insurance on them till they are no longer eligible . Well , they are no longer eligible . Through the guide lines of CHIPS here in Texas . I even have the paper they sent to me . I can't get insurance on them . What am I to do now . Or is it up to my ex to go and enroll them ? I am a stay at home Mom who babysits . So I do not have access to private insurance .""

""I need Health Insurance, had Gastric Bypass, On unemployment.... Help?""

I had Gastric Bypass in May of this year. I am on unemployment and wanted to pay out of pocket for insurance because I have had complications. I applied but was denied because of the surgery in the past. I have searched for a job and nothing. Ive been with my Boyfriend for the past 4 months, but his insurance says something about domestic partnership but only after 12 months of living together. How can I get around this, I need health insurance. Anyone else have the same issues? Let me know I am confused here.""

Motor Insurance from group 5 to group 12?

I'm currently paying 30 per month for my group 5 car insurance but I've been offered a car that's group 12. I can't get a quote until I know all the details of the car, but don't want to look too interested until I know about the insurance. anyone give me an idea please?""

Does life insurance cover suicide?

How much I motorcycle insurance in mass?

I was wonder in how much it would be to insure a motorcycle in mass? I know there's a lot of factors to what the price will be. I just want a rough estimate. Thank you

Can I get my own car insurance policy with State Farm and still be covered on my parent's policy?

I have been on my parents' car insurance for a few years. I have a car that is covered by their policy, but I just bought another car (I still have my old one) and I need insurance. Can I get my own policy with State Farm, or do I have to bundle it with my parents' current policy? Will that be cheaper?""

What best health insurance?

Is there a non-owners motorcycle insurance policy available from any insurance company anywhere?

How ill this effect my car insurance quote?

there is a question on an money supermarket asking if i have access to any other vehicles. my answer would be company vehicle, excluding social how would this effect my insurance quote? also how would company vehicle, including social effect my qoute? Thanks""

How do i know what my car insurance covers?

I recently got into a car accident, just yesterday. There was 3passeners in the car. I, one of the 3. My sister who is 21 was driving the '99 Ford focus. It was not her fault. we were at a four way intersection and had a green light to go. Everyone was stopped besides our light going south &the other going north. An elderly woman on the right hand side who was going to turn, crashed into my side. (The passenger front, as well as the back door.) It is all crashed inward. We then hit a palm tree on the side of the road and landed on top of it. Some yellow/green fluid leaked out. Us 3 passengers in the Ford taurus all went to get checked at the hospital. We are all fine. But now we have no idea what to do with this wrecked car, that has now been towed. The Ford Taurus we were in, only has liability insurance. how will the car be fixed or can it even get fixed? This car accident all took place in Avon park, FL. The car we were in has Insurance from Michigan. Since that is where my father and his girlfriend purchased the car last year. The insurance &everything is under his girlfriends name. So Shes the one who said it only has liability insurance.""

What solutions would make health care treatment instead of health care insurance more affordable?

considering out of pocket expenses? and would this be a conservative approach to the health care issue?

How much does sr-22 insurance cost for a DUI conviction in the state of TN?

just wanted to know if anyone knew what i'm looking at to pay for this to get a restricted lisence because i couldnt find it on the interet

A Question About My Health Insurance?

If I have health insurance, for example, health net..and I got married..would I still be covered even though I have a different last name or will my health insurance drop me?""

2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS. Need Reviews & Insurance prices?

Hi, im 16 I am thinking of buying a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS Mileage: 72,130 Transmission: AUTO $3,960 Is this car good for a teen? Is maintenance expensive? Will my insurance rate be higher than usual? Thank you.""

Will a provisional influence car insurance?

Hi guys, Im thinking about getting myself a car when Im 17 and Im looking into the insurance and what type to look for so I can save and know what Im looking for. So I was wondering if I have a provisional moped license will that help to lower my car insurance? and what car should I be looking for that cheap and easy to run and best on the insurance. Thanks in advance for your help.""

""Cons, what is a better health plan than the President's plan?""

Do you or your candidates have a viable plan for Americans? Many people are without insurance because it is not affordable or it they have pre-existing conditions, or their employer does not offer it. Many Americans have lost jobs and health insurance is out of the question for them. Any ideas?""

Why can't I change my health insurance plan?

I tried calling my health insurance this morning to change to a better plan (Blue Shield) and they won't let me. Why is this? They aren't the ones paying the monthly payment, copays etc.""

Need the names of insurance companies for commercial trucks...NOT brokers...thanks?

Does two mortgages on a home make your insurance more expensive?

If I get a second mortgage on my house will my insurance go up?

Financing a car and someone els pays for insurance?

If I'm financing a car can someone els buy me full coverage and pay for it? . (Car being under there name for insurance yet under my name for the car payments with the bank)

Is it cheaper to get insured on your parents insurance?

How much will car insurance cost if I decide to buy a 2000-02 Chevy Corvette?

Car insurance young driver need help???

need my insurance to be 1500 or less ....any insurers would be a great help a few months ago a had a 1000 quote fully comp now i cant get lower than 2000. need help.

Car insurance without a driving license?

I know there are insurance companies in california that sell car insurances without requiring a driving license. does anybody know some of these companies and what is the average price of this kind of insurances? thanks

""Is it cheaper to be put on your parents car insurance, or get your own?""

I'm 16 and I need car insurance, would it be cheaper to be put on my parents, or get my own entirely?""

Where can I get laibality insurance for a medical assistant?

I am looking for insurance to covoer myself for Medical assistant

Do I need insurance on a 50cc moped/scooter in Oregon?

...and if so how much? I'm looking at a 1986 honda spree and saw that it gets great gas mileage, registration is cheap, it's perfect for me. I'm a poor college student, working part time, and am in need of a money saver. So an estimate of insurance IF I need it would be great! :)""

Guestimate how much i will have to pay for insurance?

In MA, a 1994-95 honda civic hatchback 120,000 miles,im 18 and didnt take driver's ed. This is my first car. All i have is a permit for 4 months.""

Health insurance question?

Had COBRA insurance, terminating, looking for health insurance. One health insurance has turned me down. Am on SSDI and have a condition that needs outpatient surgery monthly. Anyone have any suggestions?""

Cheap Car Insurance?

Whats the cheapest car insurance

I need to find health insurance?

I missed the open enrollment at my work and I need to find affordable health insurance. I really dont make that much money so it really does need to be inexpensive.

Will my insurance cover it?

My dad is taking me off the insurance and my coverage will end at the end of February. Anything I get done through February, as long as it is before the 1st of March should be covered, correct? I know insurance companies don't reimburse immediately. It usually takes a couple of weeks. But anything should be covered within that month right? Thanks for the help.""

Pregnant And Can't Get On State Health Insurance!! What Should I Do!?

I'm so pissed off!! I have tons of medical bills stacking up and I am on no health insurance! Because I live with my parents and am under age 21 (I'm 20 and will be til May), and I already have one son. Thankfully he's covered. But I have all these bills that are stacking up and won't be able to be paid off because by the time I get on anything it'll be past the 3 month time limit for back pay!! I live in MN and the problem with getting my parents income is my mom and dad both have new jobs, but my dad was laid off his old job so how the hell am I supposed to get his stop work form filled out by a company that no longer exists!?! I can't get on anything unless I have their income!! Even tho' I'm 4 months pregnant!! This is so f***'d up!!""

""Im 21years old,male with a mazda miata 2001. My auto insurance to too high. where can I get cheaper insurance?""

Im 21years old,male with a mazda miata 2001. My auto insurance to too high. where can I get cheaper insurance?""

""On average, how much does car insurance cost for a 17 year old male?""

Dear reader I am a 17 year old male. I am searching for car insurance once I get my driver's license I will be required to pay for my own car insurance. I want to get an average cost (monthly) for someone my age- regardless of the company I am not sure what factors play into a policy's amount- however, if it does matter, I am a straight A student with a 4.2 GPA (scale of 4.0)- I have never been convicted, nor prosecuted for a felony or anything of that sort. To sum up, I am quite responsible for a male my age. Please do not be rude in your responses I appreciate your help PS. the car that I would be driving is a Toyota Camry 2005 (all paid for). I also live in the state of MD""

Is there an option to suspend auto insurance coverage when you are not in the United States?

I am in the United States and have liability-only auto insurance coverage. I will be on vacation (out of United States) for about a month and my wife (also on my insurance policy) would be out of the United States for more than six (6) months. Based on preliminary findings, it seems that not having coverage (break in coverage) would impact future insurance premiums. What is the best way to save money as well as not impact coverage? Is there a concept like - suspend coverage for a while that when we are not in the country and not pay for that duration? Thanks in advance.""

How much would full coverage insurance cost on a 1965 Silver Cloud 3 Rolls-Royce?

Male driver, clean driving history.""

""I got a loan to pay for a car, is it paid for or finance (insurance purposes)?""

I got the loan from a credit union, I used it to pay for the car, but I am not sure if I should select paid for or financed when filling out the application for car insurance. Help please!""

Anyone in California need a quote on Insurance?

I sell Insurance.

Insurance costs between 1.0 and 1.4?

i just got my driving licence and im trying to buy used car.. im looking at insurance prices and was wondering how much difference i would have between 1.4 engine and 1.0. im in my mid 20's and was wondering if u could get a car with bigger engine then 1.0 and still pay reasonable price im looking for only few years old small car.. nothing flashy.

Question about switching auto insurance?

Currently I'm with state farm and I recently changed back accounts without telling them accidently so now I am a month behind and they took away my coverage. I am thinking about switching to a cheaper insurance company but would I still have to pay state farm the rest of what I owe for the 6 month contract I have with them?

Does anyone know of a sporty car that's not considered a sports car by insurance?

I like the grand prix but i want a company that is still in business thanks

Car insurance companies accept no claims bonus from Lebanon?

Does anyone know an car insurance company that accepts no claims from international countries? My mother wants to use hers from Lebanon (Asia) to help reduce her quote.

Car Insurance?

I just got my license and my parents bought me a used car (03 Nissan Sentra). It has insurance under my mom's name, but not mine. Can I legally drive that car and if I do get into an accident driving it, will it be covered?""

How much would I pay for car insurance?

Im 19 and I was just wondering what would be a good estimate for how much I would pay for car insurance on like a normal sedan.

Do I pay the excess on my car insurance when a claim is made against me?

I know that I have to pay when I make a claim on my car insurance, but im not sure if when someone makes a claim against me if I have to pay the excess in that instance?""

Is there a way to get really cheap car insurance like $50 or so?

I've had some really minor things (all but one not my fault) on my record recently and my car insurance is over $200.00! I tried to get some quotes from other places, but they were all about the same. What do poor people do in this situation? I can't afford this and it is the most basic coverage I can get from Gieco.""

How much will car insurance cost if I decide to buy a 2000-02 Chevy Corvette?

Which insurance is better?

Which insurance is better health or life?

What is general insurance?

i want to know abt general insurance.

How much might my car insurance be?

I want to know how much would my car insurance be if im sixteen and im driving a 94 dodge stealth. I am also a guy. I know sports cars cost more to insure so could you please include the price of insurance for a normal car as well??? Located in Tampa, Florida Thanks for any help you can offer, -Kyle""

Insurance company won't give me enough money to fix my car or get a new one-- what do I do?!?

I got into a car accident a week ago, a truck driver backed into me while I was just stopped at a stop sign. He admitted it was his fault, I had witnesses that supported my story, and his insurance is willing to pay me, BUT since my car is a 1996 Corrolla with almost 200,000 miles on it, the cost of repairing the hood and fenders and everything exceeded the amount my car is worth. Their estimator said the amount of damage is about $2500, so they consider it totaled. Now the choices they are giving me are that they'll take the car and give me $1700 (which won't be enough to get another car), or let me keep the car and give me $1200 (which won't be enough to repair it). I think this is really unfair since the accident wasn't my fault at all and now I'm being told I'm going to have to pay to either get a new car or fix my old one out of my own pocket, but I've tried arguing with them to raise the amount they're going to give me and they say they're not legally required to give me any more money than what my car was worth. Is there ANYTHING I can do? I'm a poor college student and really have no money to be spending on something that I couldn't help :(""

Can you drive your parents' car without insurance?

i am 16 and live in Washington and I was wondering if I had to pay my own insurance to drive their cars.

Getting Health Insurance?

I recently moved to New York City and the health insurance is expensive here. I was living in Virginia with my family and they still live there. Can I apply for Virginia health insurance, even though I'm living in NYC?""

How much price of the car drops after a accident occurs?

Rear ended............. car bumper is damaged honda civic ex sedan 2008 ?? The insurance wanted to estimate a diminished value for car and I just want to be prepared to know around how much would be rational. Thank You so much.

How do you buy insurances?

I don't care which insurance it is, you look up complaints there is a looooong list about all of them.""

What are the cheapest cars to insure for a 17 year old boy with just 1 month of obtaining a full uk driving?

license my budget for the car is 500-2000 for my first car im going to be looking at getting insured under a parents name with over 20 years of driving experience but they dont want to put no claims down on my insurance so i will be a additional driver. Please give me a big list of cars you suggest within my budget to purchase a car for 500-2000 pounds as i dont have a car yet and need a cheap one for a run around and i need cheap insurance. the insurance has to cost 2500 maximum for the cars you suggest

What is the best auto insurance carrier?

Hi everyone. I am shopping for car insurance and want to know the best but most affordable out there. My mother thought to put me on her policy with Progressive and I would pay her for the insurance, but they were going to charge her over $500.00 to do so. My friend has gotten into two accidents and hasn't had to pay nearly that much , and neither did her dad when he put her on his policy. So my question is, which is the best, most affordable insurance? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you. :D""

Fuel economy and average insurance prices of mitsubishi 3000gt?

I'm thinking of getting a 1991 Mitsubishi 3000gt. I would prefer the VR4 (DUH!), but if I can't find one(Right now I can find 3, so I'm not too concerned), I'll just get the SL. I don't want the base model. So what is the average fuel economy of this car( vr4 and sl)? And the average insurance prices? Anybody have experience with owning this car? I've heard that it's fairly cheep to insure, because it's considered a coupe by insurance companies, instead of being recognized as the high performance sports car that it is. Is this true? And is it as fun as it looks? ;)""

What is the relationship between the MOT & car insurance?

My daughter had an accident whilst without an MOT. She has fully comp insurance but as her car was stationary and she was hit from behind and she has an independent witness. The other driver's insurance will have to pay. But does her not having an MOT present any problems? Thanks.

I'm 17 and taking lessons shortly but don't know how to get cheap car insurance?

Why do people get life insurance?

Ninja 250 insurance for a 17 year old?

I have no wrecks tickets or anything on my record for driving a car. I want a motorcycle because they are cool and get like 2-3 times better gas mileage then my car. The problem id my parents complain they are dangerous and thy also say the insurance is like 3 times as much. I live in the U.S will the insurance be a lot, if so can you give me a estimate per month? Also since a 250 is cheap and not very fast will that make a difference in safety and insurance price?""

Best Car Insurance for 17 year old.?

I'm a 17 year old male. My GPA is just below 3.0 last time I checked it. I think its somewhere around 2.5. I've had my license for almost 10 months now. I've been driving for a year and a half, no accidents. Nothing like that I'm a good driver than most crazed kids my age. With my job I currently make about 150 every two weeks I hope that goes up once summer comes around. My grandmother wants to put me on her car insurance and she told me that the car I plan on buying would have to be in her name, and I'm ok with that. When I buy it do I get both our names on the title. She has metlife and my mom has gieco which is the better of the two. And how can I work it out so they dont have to worry about it if i was on there insurance i would pay my part but i want the cheapest possible and im wondering what to expect for a down payment and monthly rates. Thank you If it helps I plan on buying a 2001 Chevy Cavalier and yes its a 2 door so my rates will probably be higher.""

""By looking at these charts, can you understand why the U.S. needed health insurance reform?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/03/health-care-costs-_n_3998425.html

Question about homeowner liability and earthquake insurance?

So, let's say the neighbor's swimming pool cracks open in an earthquake, and the water runs down the hill and floods my house. Let's say the pool owner has earthquake insurance. Would that insurance fix my flood damage? Let's say the pool owner has no earthquake insurance but I do. Would my insurance cover the act of God that broke somebody else's pool?""

How much does it cost do get a lawyer to file for Bankruptcy (Chapter 7)?

I am a single person, low income (waitress), just suffered a major medical expense and no insurance. I have lots of credit card debt, no car, house or student loan debt. How much would it cost a lawyer to file my case with bankruptcy court? Thanks!""

Why is my insurance quote so big ?

I am UK resident from 2009. I got my drivers license 6 months ago. It's from Latvia, which is in EU. Now when I search for car insurance, the cheapest one is 5,000 GBP. Should I change it to UK license, will it reduce the price ?""

Is insurance affordable under the Affordable Care Act?

Window tints ticket insurance rates?

does a nonmoving window tint ticket , affect my insurance rates if i pay if off and keep the tints on, here my problem i am under my parents insurance plan and my dad would not let me keep my tints if i keep getting pulled over for them. i have alot of money and i just want to keep paying for the tickets. money is not the problem, i just want to know if i pay the tickets off will it show on my insurance or anywhere else?""

How much wil my insurance go up?

I was just recently in a car accident. It was my fault I hit a truck and totalled my car. The truck didnt seem to really have damage I hit the metal ball where you attatch a trailer the hitch. I have fred loya car insurance. how much will my insurance go up? Please. will rate best answer.

I would like to buy a car.How much is the price of the car insurance about? I am going to buy a 1300cc car.?

I am buying a used car from a private party. What do I need to do before and after buying the car?

Before: carfax, test drive, mechanic check... anything else? After do i need to register it in my name to my state dmv within a certain amount of time? I talked to my insurance ...show more""

How much will car insurance cost if I decide to buy a 2000-02 Chevy Corvette?

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/car-insurance-help-uk-cassiopeia-najera"

0 notes

commonsenseapocalypse · 6 years

Text

The gravity of the situation

With the most recent mass shooting, the liberal left and the uneducated are in a full-on feeding frenzy over gun control and banning so called “assault rifles”. I’m going to offer up my opinion on how we got to where we are and it’s not going to be popular, but it will be truthful and please keep in mind, this is my opinion, how I see things from a perspective that hasn’t been overly involved in politics.

Sixty years ago, the democratic party was completely against desegregation and equal rights. President Johnson voted against civil rights, it’s a fact. Civil rights were pushed for by republicans. Why? Because most conservative republicans believe that people should work for a living, earn their own way and live their lives in peace, free from heavy handed government oppression. The democrats, former plantation owners, slave owners and founders of the KKK, believe that those who work should give x-amount to the government to support unnecessary programs that ultimately line the pockets of the politicians on the left. The democratic party is the establishment that we should be rallying against. There is no better example of democratic corruption than Hillary Clinton.

When Hillary started her political career, she was, in fact, a republican. Soon after she realized the huge potential for personal gain off the backs of hard working American men and women, so she switched sides. The fundamental difference between conservatives and liberals is this; conservatives believe that you should get to keep what you work for, liberals believe that they are owed a part of what you work for. This is it, in its simplest form.

The two biggest catalysts that I feel are responsible for the degradation of the American social construct are: welfare and social media. I’ll explain in a minute, but I also want to say that I’ve seen and heard on both traditional media and social media is that we need God in schools. I don’t believe that. What I do believe is that there are good lessons in every religion that can be incorporated in the home, in schools and in the workplace. That being said, let’s move into welfare and social media.

Welfare: I firmly believe that our government, in their infinite wisdom, had the best interests of its citizenry at heart. There must be a safety net for those who fall on hard times, but it MUST be temporary and used sparingly and as a last resort. The federal welfare program has an annual budget of ONE TRILLION DOLLARS. ($1,000,000,000,000.00) That is a whole lot of zeros. Here is the mind-blowing part, only 25% of that goes to recipients. The remaining seven hundred fifty billion goes to administering the funds. Imagine, if you would, a smaller, more efficient government that distributed double that amount ($500,000,000,000.00) and split it among the states and eliminated the federal program. We would have double the available funds to the people for when they needed it AND we would reduce our spending by half of a trillion dollars EVERY YEAR! Win-win, right? Not in the eyes of the democrats. Their inability to give up control over the people, they would spin this as a right-wing attack on welfare, when, in fact, it would double the available funds and put the money in the hands of the states, who also have their own welfare programs. Do you think the states would benefit from an additional ten-billion dollars a year?

I firmly believe that welfare recipients should be able to pass a drug screening, be subject to well-being checks by an officer of the state and should be made to comply with rules and regulations regarding the receiving and spending of state funds. Some of those funds could and should be used to supplement educational and vocational rehabilitation programs to help those get back into the workforce. There should also be time limits on how long you can receive benefits due to hardship. Welfare is a safety net, not a career. Don’t confuse welfare programs with disability programs. They are two different things and I’m not discussing disability programs here.

The objective of the liberal left is to keep as many people on welfare as possible. It is their vision that the state (government) is the provider for the people and since people have a limited field of vision, they are conned into believing that that government is good because it gives them free money, free housing and free food along with low or no cost medical, cellular phones, internet and utilities. This is phase one of the lefts agenda to create an oligarchy. Long term welfare is nothing more than government sponsored slavery and oppression. In effect, it is racism at it’s highest level, by providing these “benefits” to minorities and immigrants, the left is keeping minorities out of the workforce, not by race, religion or creed, but by catering to minorities under the guise of “caring” and “tolerance”. If they really were concerned, they would be doing more to lift up minorities through education, family planning and getting people to work, to owning a small business or generally contributing to society as a whole. Try instilling values instead of supporting cultural deconstruction through music and movies that glorify violence towards women, drug abuse and catering to mental illness instead of making excuses for it. There is a fine line between art and obscenity.

Social Media: I could talk about the dangers of social media for years, but for the purpose of this, I’ll keep it limited. The purpose of the invention of the internet (thanks Al Gore!) was to share information, quickly and globally, and to that end it has been a huge success. The introduction of social media, i.e., Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snap chat and the like however have completely changed the paradigm of factual truth. In an open society like this, people bump and run. What I mean by that is people see something and blindly run with it, sharing it unchecked, uncontrolled and therefore spread inaccuracies, fallacies and downright blatant misinformation as fact. People post half truths or flat out lies and then others, claiming to be “social justice warriors” blast out complete falsehoods. That translates to real life and pollutes the system. It contributes to the decline of civilization as a whole and transmits grotesque violence and ignorance. Unfortunately, this genie is out of the bottle and there is no going back. The only hope we have is a global catastrophe, like a massive CME that completely wrecks our power grid and disables this monster long enough for civilized people to reset our culture.

I read a shared post on Facebook of another “threat” to a school and the perpetrator used the phrase “30 kill streak”. Think about that for a moment. A phrase taken directly from violent video games. The culture has desensitized our youth and has bred a mentality that the more you kill, the more you win. There is a serious problem with that. It creates a mindset of action without consequence, much like participation trophies creates a mindset of unearned gratification. If you get the same result without earning it, that evolves into the “why try if I’m going to win anyway” attitude. The progressive movement has removed honor, dignity, consequence and personal responsibility.

To this end, I liken progressivism to religion. People blindly believe in the agenda without knowing the agenda, much like people follow the doctrine of religion based on belief and faith. Progressive liberals are the single most dangerous threat to our freedom and national security. Think I’m crazy? Who was recently defending North Korea’s dictator? Who has developed sanctuary cities for undocumented aliens from countries that support extremist groups and drug cartels? Who believes that things should be free “unearned” like college and health care? Who, and this is my absolute favorite, condemns a rifle because it has been used to kill less than 300 people in acts of violence since 1984, but supports safe spaces and clean needles for heroin addicts? Overdoses account for 64,000 deaths per year. Add that up… it makes no sense. Just for comparison, Daily statistics:

- All gun related deaths (suicide, accidental, murder and police involved) averages 86 per day, but murder only accounts for 33 per day on average

- All drug related overdose deaths average 175 per day

- Alcohol-impaired driving deaths (2015) average 33 per day

- All vehicle related deaths (2017) average 110 per day

- Abortions in the U. S. average 1,800 per day

- 16 million children in the U. S. alone do not have the minimum food requirements, every day

Just putting it perspective, the left’s attack on the AR-15 and the second amendment is both under-warranted and extremely dangerous. Dangerous in the sense that it leaves our citizenry unprotected against all threats, foreign and domestic. Case in point, 1946 – Athens, Tennessee, armed citizens removed a corrupt local government from power; 1941 – Empire of Japan attacked the U. S. Territory of Hawaii, but refused to attack the U. S. mainland due to the simple fact that our citizens were armed.

The Second Amendment to the U. S. Constitution reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” For fun, here is the definition of both Militia and infringed:

Militia: a group of people who are not part of the armed forces of a country but are trained like soldiers. Citizens who can mobilize as a military unit without being a part of the country funded military.

Infringed: to wrongly limit or restrict.

With that, I can see where people would take “wrongly” into their own context and say that restricting the rights of the people to keep and bear arms isn’t “wrong”, but it is as equally guaranteed as freedom of speech, religion and the press. If states continue to infringe upon the Second Amendment, once the people are disarmed, what is to stop them from revoking other amendments?

I know this seems like a bashing of the liberal left, and it is, but that being said, I have fundamental issues with the right as well. In order for us, as a nation to come together as a united front, we need compromise and open dialogue and we have to start by NOT trusting politicians and our elected officials. Anyone who says “I’m a politician” is a criminal. No one says “I’m a public servant” and there is a very distinct difference in the two.

We have, as a whole, given free reign to Congress and that needs to end. We need term limits and any benefit and pay that is given to Congress needs to be voted on by the public, not an in-house vote. Of course, I would vote for a raise for myself every single time if it were an option.

I know I touched on “free stuff” but just handing out free health care and free college isn’t a feasible option and in the “golden countries” like Denmark, it puts an unhealthy tax burden on the citizenry. If you want to fix health care, tuition costs and housing costs, put formulas in place to regulate what they can charge. I know the socialists like to tout the benefits of Denmark, but completely neglect to mention other socialist countries like Venezuela where it is failing. If you want to fix the deficit, take away foreign aid and tax shelters for the Fortune 500 companies. Make them pay their fair share and if they move operations to another country, impose a tariff to import back to the U. S. or to conduct business here.

I don’t have the solution to why some people choose to kill as many people as they can, but it’s not the AR-15 or any of it’s accessories that are the problem. Since the shooting in Parkland, Florida, over 200 people have been killed and/or wounded in two separate knife attacks, one here and one in China. If someone wants to rack up casualties, they will find a way, guns or no guns. Recently, people have used their cars and trucks as weapons and the terrorists of 9/11 used razor blades and airplanes. There is no legislation that we can put in place that will prevent acts of violence and/or terror. None. There are more guns in America than there are people. Even with a new ban on the AR-15, you will never, ever get enough guns off the streets to prevent these types of attacks.

People compare Japan’s gun laws to ours, there are two fundamental differences here. First, Japan isn’t a republic and their government wasn’t founded as ours was. Second, the Japanese teach discipline, honor and respect in their households and they have an acute focus on education. Their curriculum isn’t standardized, and they don’t lower the expectations to give everyone a fair chance. You succeed, or you don’t. They don’t have a need to legislate equality in education because they push their students to succeed and learn, they don’t have cry rooms, safe spaces and participation trophies. So compare if you want, but there are vast cultural differences between our two countries and it truly is like comparing apples to rocks.

A good place to start; cut foreign aid by 50%. That is roughly 17 billion dollars annually, that we could invest in teachers, school supplies and other educational benefits. Cut federal welfare and disperse half of the one trillion dollars to states to boost their own welfare programs and invest the other five-hundred billion dollars in infrastructure, creating more living wage jobs, invest in pharmaceutical programs that limit out of pocket expenses for citizens and foster family and meal planning programs that would help people make better food choices that leads to healthier citizens, both physically and mentally. I truly believe that the increase in mental health issues are directly related to diet, exercise and the lack of stable households. With family and meal preparation education and planning, we can fix a percentage of the issues that plague our country.

I suppose my bottom line is this. I have a deep rooted distrust for the government as a whole and I’m a firm believer in the Second Amendment for that reason alone, but I also believe that I should have the right to defend myself on the street against any threat, especially from people who believe that selling drugs illegally, perpetrating violence against women and taking things that aren’t theirs is their “cultural right” and who just have a general disregard for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We can fix a lot of our own issues, but it will take real work and real world action, not posting and sharing things on Facebook. That’s like spritzing water from a 3 oz. bottle on a wildfire. It makes zero difference. Instead of vilifying the NRA, how about a partnership, with government funds, to create a national gun safety program? Of course charge people who want to own guns for taking the class.

The more the government imposes its will on the people, the more people will resist. That’s why we have the president that we have. Get woke folks.

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usnewsaggregator-blog · 7 years

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Asia and Australia Edition: Xi Jinping, Singapore, Republicans: Your Thursday Briefing

New Post has been published on http://usnewsaggregator.com/asia-and-australia-edition-xi-jinping-singapore-republicans-your-thursday-briefing/

Asia and Australia Edition: Xi Jinping, Singapore, Republicans: Your Thursday Briefing

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Photo

Credit Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times

• In Washington, President Trump continued his attacks on Jeff Flake and Bob Corker, two of his harshest Republican critics, who have said they will not run for re-election to the Senate.

“They had zero chance of being elected,” Mr. Trump said on Twitter. “Now act so hurt & wounded.”

And with divisions roiling the Republicans, the prospect of a once-in-a-generation bill to cut taxes increasingly appears to be the last, best hope for the party to find some common ground.

_____

Photo

Credit Adam Ferguson for The New York Times

• At least 19 Nigerian girls abducted by Boko Haram and sent on suicide missions managed to survive to tell their stories. Dozens of others have died.

The teenagers described how the armed militants tied suicide belts to their waists, or thrust bombs into their hands, and directed them toward crowded civilian areas.

Some begged ordinary citizens or the authorities to help them. “I came away thinking they were heroes,” our correspondent said.

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Photo

Credit Hugh Peterswald/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

• Australia’s plan to close the Manus Island detention center in Papua New Guinea next week would expose the asylum seekers there to more danger than they face now, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.

Continue reading the main story

“There has been an escalation in violence in the last six months and there has been little to no action by police,” the group’s Australia director said. “It’s simply not safe to move them out of the facility.”

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Photo

Credit Associated Press

• After more than 50 years of conspiracy theories, the final trove of sealed government records on President John F. Kennedy’s assassination is expected to be made public today.

Here’s a look back at decades of unanswered questions.

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Business

Photo

Credit Darren Staples/Reuters

• Toyota demanded “clarity” about the terms of trade after “Brexit” and warned of damage to its British operations, highlighting the looming dangers to Britain’s largely foreign-owned auto–making sector — and by extension, to other sectors that similarly operate from Britain to supply the European market.

• Here’s a rundown of the most futuristic cars at the Tokyo Motor Show.

• Assessing Australia’s tech: Our Sydney bureau chief finds an average internet speed below Thailand’s, but a flourishing start-up scene.

• Drawing on extensive economic data, a Times Op-Ed argues that China must slow its vigorous growth to catch up with the U.S. as the world’s top economic superpower.

• U.S. stocks were weaker. Here’s a snapshot of global markets.

In the News

Photo

Credit Spencer Platt/Getty Images

• The U.S. ambassador to New Zealand, Scott Brown, revealed that he was investigated and cautioned by Washington over comments he made to women in Samoa. [The New York Times]

• The #MeToo movement prompted a debate at the European Parliament, partly because of widespread reports of sexual harassment within the E.U. bureaucracy. [The New York Times]

• A Vietnamese court sentenced a student activist to six years in prison for using social media to promote a multiparty democracy and freedom of the press. His lawyer called the sentence “absurd.” [AP]

Continue reading the main story

• Malaysia’s nine state sultans issued a rare joint statement calling for an investigation into a corruption scandal involving Prime Minister Najib Razak. [Agence France-Presse]

• Kenya holds a second presidential vote today that may be as muddled as its first, discredited one. [The New York Times]

• Singapore is the first Asian country judged to hold the world’s most powerful passport, giving its citizens visa-free access to 159 countries. [Business Insider]

• Canberra, Australia’s “bush capital,” was named No. 3 on Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Cities, setting off a wave of sarcasm in the country’s news media. [BBC]

Smarter Living

Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.

Photo

Credit Anthony Wallace/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

• Here are six spooky travel destinations for the Halloween season. Above, last year’s celebration in Hong Kong.

• Here’s how to choose a good air purifier.

• Recipe of the day: Discover the best way to make salmon with our recipe for citrus salmon with herb salsa.

Noteworthy

Photo

Credit Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

• Two very different hotels in Afghanistan’s Bamian Valley — one with plush executive suites and an extensive menu, the other a two-room mud hut with wasps and 80-cent beans — speak to the fluctuating fortunes of an area seeking a new identity after the destruction of their giant Buddhas.

• In memoriam: Fats Domino, 89, the early rock ’n’ roll star with a boogie-woogie piano.

• Albert Einstein’s two-sentence “theory of happiness,” written in lieu of a tip to a Tokyo bellboy in 1922, sold at auction for $1.56 million.

Continue reading the main story

Back Story

Photo

Credit Yoshikazu Tsuno/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

“Do I look like a gangster? I’m a businessman!”

Such is life in the world of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, an installment in the long-running video game series that was originally released 13 years ago today.

The Grand Theft Auto games, an action-adventure series in which players pursue a life of crime, has stretched over 20 years and more than a dozen titles.

With 250 million in sales, it’s one of the most successful franchises in video game history, falling behind only famous names like Mario and Pokémon.

The games are known for their nonlinear, open-world style, which allows players to cause random mayhem in fictionalized versions of U.S. cities.

As such, the series has long been accused of glamorizing violence. (In 2009, Guinness World Records labeled it the most controversial video game series ever, citing more than 4,000 news articles.)

Even so, the series has been a critical success — several titles are among the most well-reviewed games of all time — and celebrated for its soundtracks, voice acting and the sly sense of humor it applies to American culture.

As one character notes, guns blazing, “Ain’t the American dream grand!”

Thomas Furse contributed reporting.

_____

Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. Browse past briefings here.

Continue reading the main story

We have briefings timed for the Australian, Asian, European and American mornings. And our Australia bureau chief offers a weekly letter adding analysis and conversations with readers. You can sign up for these and other Times newsletters here.

If photographs appear out of order, please download the updated New York Times app from iTunes or Google Play.

What would you like to see here? Contact us at [email protected].

Continue reading the main story

Original Article:

Click here

#australia #briefing #edition #jinping #republicans #singapore #thursday

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batai52 · 7 years

Text

Hillary’s Platform and Women’s Rights

Firstly, I personally do not want independents on the Democratic ticket in 2012. Yes, that is a period. In the fictional Star fleet universe one of the academy’s final tests is the dreaded Kobayashi Maru, which was created to test the character of cadets on the fastback to command positions. The simulated Kobayashi Maru is a no-win scenario, or a solution that involves ‘redefining the problem’. Why play politics as usual according to someone else’s rules? Go on the attack of the male dominated industry of politics-as-usual and make it more about some unfinished business such as Hillary’s platform and what she wanted to do such as the ongoing work of Global Goals as we presently relish in the world of global support from citizens who are eager for change in policies and politics.

In doing the Women’s March in Washington (https://www.womensmarch.com/), I felt that it would take just a few minutes more out of my day to join the Women’s March online also and in doing so, adding my name to the exponentially growing Pledge of Liberation the realization was that as a united voice, we declare our commitment to fighting for the liberation of all people.

No longer can we allow women’s issues to be treated as if they are in competition with each other, rather than fundamental to one another. As women reaffirm their commitment to each other, and we ask our members of Congress to remember their own pledges to their communities and constituents. As Helen Mirren recently said “It is very clear that when women are given respect and the ability and the freedom to pursue their personal dreams and ambitions, life improves for everyone. Feminism is not an abstract idea but it’s a necessity.”

As a progressive supporter of Hillary, entering my 65th. year of life in this corporeal existence, my childhood had been an uphill climb mentally and morally and there were times in my life I am specially not proud of, albeit I have also been granted a conscience and with that and three brain cells left that I thank God and the universe for that are capable of "functioning on multiple levels, and in multiple dimensions."

SUPPORTING GLOBAL MOTHERHOOD

The 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing heralded in the world’s arrival at the crossroads for a global agenda for gender equality. For the first time in history, we have the opportunity to see a world where every pregnancy is healthy and wanted, where every birth is safe, where every child can actually survive beyond their 5th birthday, and where all women, children and adolescents are safe and and empowered to thrive and realize their full potential.

However, we still have a lot of work to do. Right now, millions of women, children and adolescents still don’t have access to the life-saving information, services and supplies they need. The fact remains that one in five children are dying before the age of five from diseases that are entirely preventable, such as pneumonia and diarrhea.

In 2010, the global community formed an unprecedented partnership around Every Woman Every Child movement led by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Now, to achieve the Global Goals, the UN Secretary-General and other world leaders are launching an updated Global Strategy to end preventable maternal, child and adolescent deaths by 2030 and ensure their wellbeing.

Governments – rich and poor alike – must commit to close the gap on preventable deaths so that young people can grow and unlock their full potential. Affordable and effective interventions like access to Healthcare, vaccines, antibiotics, hand-washing and breast feeding have proven track records and immediate impacts.

Already, Japan, Norway, Canada and the US, as well as many other countries, have publicly supported the Global Strategy. Now, it’s time for Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa and Colombia to follow suit by committing to prioritize maternal, newborn and adolescent health in their national plans.

Not only for us every day folk, this is also an invitation to World leaders and community leaders. Please do your part to ensure the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents everywhere. Come to the Global Citizen Festival in September in New York City and pledge your commitment to the United Nations’ Every Woman Every Child partnership and the updated Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health to set a strong precedent for other countries to follow and to ensure strong implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Let us finally get rid of: #GlobalPoverty, #GenderInequality, #MarriageInequality, #FinancialInequality and #GlobalHunger and begin to make global changes #IndigenousRights #LGBTQEquality, #GenderEquality, #FemalesHealthandSafety, #EducationforFemales, #FinancialEquality #WomensRights and #Innovationimprovements, #SanitationandEnvironment. We simply can no longer afford to deny the full potential of one half of the population. The world needs to tap into the talent and wisdom of women for its own protection, if we are to survive at all. Whether the issue is food security, economic recovery, health, or peace and security, the participation of women is needed now more than ever. This is sickening, to deny half the human race, their human engrained and imprisoned potential. It is a mockery to life itself, as we MEN have had well over two-thousand years to try and get it right. We have failed miserably and now we must learn to “unpack our social knapsacks” and look for more equal and ‘real change’ as we enter the 21st century. Say YES to female leaders.

In fighting the Trump-Ryan assault on our Democratic values, not only must we take back our house in 2018 we must put a halt to Trump and company agenda by keeping open access to ALL Americans. We must also put an end to the republican agenda by keeping our promises to our seniors and elders, support Wall Street Reforms by protecting native and indigenous rights and lands fighting corporate greed, supporting all members of society regardless of skin color, nationality, belief system, or any other constitutional indifference, supporting Immigration reform to protect immigrant families from being torn apart, support Climate change and protect our planet, defend a woman’s right to choose, ‘exposing gerrymandering’ and blocking attacks on all Americans voting rights, increase the minimum wage thus the American Dream and continue to investigate the Trump Administration as he continues his own agenda in the oval office making billionaires and millionaires richer on the backs of the rest of the nation. It is already happening. All one has to do is open their eyes, read the news and REALIZE it is already happening. Will you join me and take action?

One of our problems is that the DNC has become outmoded and defunct, obsolete and resistant to change, but it will change for the very reason that it must continue to live as change is in the air. There are younger democrats out here and this is not your grand pappy’s DNC anymore. It is younger with more vitality and it has a message. Move over! Their message is more progressive than ever as they have learnt and listened to the other side of the aisle for a while and have formulated their platform. It must become our platform. Our new message to democrats nationwide. Blue dog conservatism in the ranks will have to learn to become the student and not the master of the ship as progressive ideals take hold.

As an assumed-looking white male I have always had other voices in my blood, and they usually tend to be older and much wiser, and I do learn from and abide by them. Being human and having made my share of mistakes in life, in examining my life in a critical context I realized that when people of conscience do nothing when they are individually called, the earth dies just a little bit more every time.' We are each but mere fibers in this web of life where we are all inextricably connected in one way or another, and whether one chooses to believe it or not, what happens to one community affects all communities. When one segment of society its marginalized for so long, it is the community itself that eventually pays the exacting price.

As a veteran in taking the Oath of Enlistment I also swore to, “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign AND domestic.” The last time I looked at the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, you know, that social contract that started out as nothing but a racist, sexist and xenophobic rag, the rights of ALL citizens were supposedly inclusive!

A Florida mother, Marissa D, Alexander’s life was torn to shreds in ways that I cannot even fathom, and for what, telling a judge, a nation, a world that she believes in her heart that she did the right thing by her standard of morals and her deep relationship with her God. It is solely because of the grace of GOD and Marissa's use of critical analysis of the moment, hindsight, that Rico Gray is alive today, walking free. I volunteer my time as an admin for one of Marissa’s support pages.

I believe of the 195 countries in the world about 24 have a woman as either head of state or government. About 22 percent of all legislative positions worldwide are held by women, and I have read that around 20 percent of governments have a female representative for the UN. It is my believe that a truer equality that has been lagging behind ever since women's suffrage took the front pages in the 20th. century. Although life presents an opportunity for progress at the weirdest times, it would send a powerful message to all countries directly or indirectly perpetuating gender inequality if one of the visible positions in the world is held by a women.

Like the civil Rights movement, Equality and women's rights is not an issue that will ever go away, as it is the number one issue in many nations and so it should be here in our nation. And not only should kit be the number one issue, the message should resonate far and wide as we make sure that its presets should be considered by one and all as the standard model for embarking on foreign trade or doing business at all with the United States. This should be understood and considered tantamount.

Feminine and women's rights are trying to be muffled out by burgeoning sexual exploitation industry to the point where women are being denied access to their own sexuality. It is almost as if the sexual media themselves have said to all women 'No, you cannot have your identity back.' Sexual exploitation is a serious violation of fundamental human rights.

It is sickening to deny half of the human race, their human ingrained and imprisoned potential. It is a mockery to life itself, as we MEN have had well over two-thousand years to try and get it right, we have failed miserably. We must now learn to unpack our sexual and "racial knapsacks" as we turn and look to the future of more "Real Change" as we continue through the door to the 21st. century. as the world will need active global citizens who are engaged in the world, knowledgeable about its diversity and passionate about change. Ending sexist conventions of the past with information and ideas that inspire and motivate global communities to act.

I hope my words find there intended audience, I want them to become the proverbial 'food for thought', If you are as mad as I am about the way things are going, you will formulate a plan of action and just do it. I want time to be now. I want people to rise up and scream to the world, ‘Enough!’. ’I have had enough of this and not going to take it anymore,’ and mean it.

Not knowing when my time is due, I do not have time in my life to lament on others petty feelings about human differences and I will work hard to see that this platform is given its just and overdue consideration inside the beltway in Washington where it really matters. I believe a Quorum call should be called for in the next democratic-controlled congress, based on the sheer importance of this platform.

In solidarity! Allan Hill, Woman’s March group The Oly Embrace,

https://www.olyembrace.com/ https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/ https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/ “Never again allow a group of old rich white men define the healthcare of a Country that is 50.8% women and 37% other races.” -Helen Mirren

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