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Showing posts with label US News & Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US News & Politics. Show all posts

Friday, September 23, 2016

The Man Laughs at Our Rioting - We Should Change Our Style of Fighting

We should see by now that the protesting – let’s be honest, the rioting – in the streets does not work. The problem lies within the system and the omni-unaffected owners thereof. The system abandoned the common people, we should go ahead and admit that too, and the ugly truth reveals that the few beneficiaries, the absolute elite by true definition will not get affected by the same situations that affect the common people; they have backup plans, they have resources to comfortably accommodate any situation that us commoners would consider catastrophic and life altering (assuming survival). It may in fact benefit them greater in times of crisis – their daily bread gets bought with wars, fighting and death across the world and right here at home. But let us also not forget that business as usual, well, they own all of that too: corporations, regulatory agencies, governments and intelligence agencies, the elusive invisible government that may take orders from Satan (not sure if I joke or not…). So, certain businesses thrive as a side effect of natural disasters or other massive destruction scenarios and the elite enjoy their share of that tragic success as well. All of this to say, we cannot literally fight the system and win; it cannot happen, we can’t even literally fight the system and hurt it. We have to stop reacting this way so we can come together and fix the system the right way.

We first need to learn to let go of our anger so that we can begin to control ourselves. I will not completely dive into the mind control rabbit hole with the intentional calcification of our pineal glands through water fluoridation and other FDA approved additives in our food to keep our mental abilities suppressed and our cognition slightly less than optimal, with unusually mild temperaments to what should be obvious abuses, but I will say we need better control of our thoughts, our philosophies, our reverence of other life (plants, animals, humans, humans of different ethnicities and races, probably extraterrestrial). We need to become physically fit and strong, eat nutritiously and naturally, and more importantly, become spiritually strong. I don’t say to go turn into yogis or monks and become too holy to exist in the common world, but I believe we need to find that balance, all of us, so that we may start to heal societal wounds together, through our exploration of our own feelings and the feelings of others. I believe through this balance we begin to identity the source of that anger and begin to heal it.

People who achieve this balance start to look at the world differently, they see their problems differently, they see their place differently, and they begin to live their lives differently. They call it awaking, or becoming enlightened. Now there exists much more to this concept, I give a highly oversimplified version to get us started on the right path to correcting our problems in an effective way. Once that anger that normally causes us to react too soon, or too harshly, generating internal angst and self-doubt and all sorts of negative juju dissipates, we free ourselves to see that solving the problem does not equate to hurting the man or even getting even with him: it starts at letting go.

Now, I do think they feel most comfortable when we feel most comfortable and so small in a big world – can’t help ourselves even if we wanted to. Fortunately, we can! But we have to come together to do it. I do not mean in a hippie, let’s hold hands at the park kind of way, I mean literally, we need to come together as communities and face our issues at City Hall – not to shoot up City Hall and shut down the system, where again the elite continue to benefit, but to do much worse and participate in our local governments. People who do not vote (especially in local and state government) cause a great amount of harm and dishonor to all recipients of civil rights, especially those who do not receive enough of them – you set us all back and you shoot us all in the foot! We should be aware of our elected officials, their functions, their views, and their potential power over us. We should understand our vote for local and state elected officials actually over powers our vote for President of the United States. It offers more impact on who may end up becoming President later on as some of the state officials will cast an electoral vote which currently overrides the popular vote (literally, the vote for President doesn’t count, it more accurately would get called a poll), a stupid aspect of the system that remains because we have not yet learned how to work together as communities coming together with other communities to absolutely insist a change in the magic language that controls the system (much like Latin chants cast magically spells).

We will not solve societal problems overnight. Racism will not die tonight and police brutality will not stop tomorrow morning. These problems get so deeply rooted in people that it becomes hard for them to even acknowledge, more or less let it go. All we can do amounts to exercising patience and encouraging people to find their balance so they may one day release their anger. This process seems painstaking and insufferable with some people, but we cannot fail them; we exist as one, they fall, we fall, you fall, I fall.

As our communities slowly start coming together, accepting and embracing diversity and moving past labels and pseudo-classes, we will slowly start healing as a society. Our increasing influence in our government, our vigilant oversight of their actions, our accountability that we demand from our leaders will all start to make the very real changes that will save us. We begin to become able to address and change more serious hurdles like the fact that free energy technology got created over a hundred years ago yet we continue to increase the ‘cost’ of electricity. We can learn to adapt to green energy industrially that will move us away from fossil fueled vehicles, much along the lines of Jill Stein’s proposed Green New Deal, based off the successful New Deal presented by FDR. We could eliminate the IRS, stop paying taxes, do anything we as common people, not corporations, agree upon. We can literally change the world in so many ways when we learn to wake up, come together, and actively participate in the system. Can’t beat them, join them?

We need to become the system and make the system work exactly how we want. Sure it will take time, sure it does not make such a visible impact at first – it won’t make the nightly news – but it will keep our communities that much safer, that much tighter, and over time, more and more together. With so many people in this country, a little coordination and no army could take us all down. Our power to heal and control the system frightens the elite – probably the only thing – but as people currently accept the corruption and inability to do anything, the notion that we might come together and hijack our system back has become so absurd to them they would probably laugh at hearing of it. They find comfort in our complacency.

By the time we have learned to manage our government, as a patriotic right and duty, these rich and powerful elite will still have their riches and their statuses; however, we will have learned that we do not need them near as much as we thought. We will no longer fear them nor be concerned of them. We will have learned that their powerful stronghold amounted to our weak perception of our own abilities, a strength that comes from the calm inside of us, even if surrounded in chaos like the eye of a storm. Our inability to embrace each other and work together remains the only thing keeping us down.

We will take our system back. We will not continue to fight in the streets and damage our own communities while the powerful elite sit back and laugh. We will find our balance, heal our own wounds, and release our anger. We will come together and uplift each other with respect and tolerance. We will unite and become active in our government so that corporations and the elite alike learn to submit to the power of our unity. We must make America (and the entire world) for the people again. We must awaken.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

When Patriotism Becomes Deplorable

God be with those who self-identify as deplorable, a word among the worst in our language. To self-identify as a deplorable actively starts pushing civil rights back in time. Pretty soon, I will hang in a tree next to some other pseudo-classes because we emote evil as savages in the eyes of the just deplorables, who will swear God smiles down upon their acts of terror.


I don't support Hillary or Trump, and I continue to lose faith in this America that I heard of as so damn great, because I constantly witness everyday Americans falling into boxes in which they become labeled and trapped. In my childhood, I remember America as a proud and honorable country. Women, treated as second class citizens, worked together and fought for unity and equality, and although met resistance, demanded their place at the table as the weak minded cowered to the power of unity, the voice of reason. African Americans, treated savagely as animals and slaved to work as such, worked together and fought for unity and equality while meeting even greater resistance, yet they too demanded their place at the table as even more weak minded souls cowered to the power of unity, the voice of reason. Civil rights movements continued long after the women and the blacks achieved their allotted rights. No matter the fight needed in the name of civil rights, the people of this country always won the battle and we always pushed civil rights just a bit further. The progression of our civil rights became so revered that we became the nation of tearing down walls even in other countries.

Now, I start to see a shallower version of America. We want to build walls, separate ourselves from the others, a critical flaw in the citizenry of America because a true American in terms of race does not exist. When the great melting pot builds walls, we become trapped inside a huge box where we learn that walls protect us from the others, the different. Now we must build more walls within our walls. These savages call the same God by a different name, we must not tolerate them. These savage men sleep with other savage men, we must not tolerate them. These savages have skin of a different color, we must not tolerate them. How many walls can we truly build?

Identifying as a deplorable does not endorse your party affiliation; it does not show your support of a candidate. It defines you as a person.

What God fearing person justly explains abstract hatred?


I don't care who you vote for, but please do not feed the fire of hatred, the fire of hell. This deplorable phenomenon could violently ring louder than presidential campaigns and could echo in time way beyond this rigged, fake ass election if it becomes glorified and upheld in our collective conscious.

To use one of the shallowest arguments from a childish mentality I have ever witnessed: if you have a problem with America as a free nation where all lives receive civil liberty, dignity, and respect, you could just leave…

Yet we all know that this corrodes true American ideology. As true Americans, we slay those existing in peace on land that we would like to claim as our own, we enslave those existing in peace on land with different ways of life, and we continually root out differences encountered in our ‘home’ land through violent acts of crime, rape, and murder.

It takes a cold hearted, shallow minded, evil, despicable person to find honor as a deplorable – please, I beg you, do not find comfort or complacency in such a deplorable label. Stop building boxes. Stop fostering hatred and discrimination. Please remember your spot at the table as just as earned as the person next to you, regardless of skin color, religious affiliations, or geographical location of their birth. Every being on this planet exists as one, and until we embrace that in this country, pride in America means nothing. Another lie we hear, like our history, like our out of control government.

My individual good will always surpass my nationalism; patriotism means nothing to me when patriotism becomes deplorable.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Remembering 9/11, the Questions to Come, & the Questions that Remain

Today citizens of the United States remember the victims and brave firefighters and volunteers that all starred in a horrific moment of world history. Thousands died, and several thousand more suffer greatly even to this day over the murder of their loved ones.


The 9/11 Legislative 2 Step


Friday – September 9, 2016 – seemingly to provide legal closure to families of victims, a bill passed allowing families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudis for damages. While receiving overwhelming support from our governing body, the White House threatened to veto the bill over diplomatic concerns with Saudi Arabia as an ally.


Interestingly enough, however, that same day, the White House declassified 28 pages of a 9/11 report – previously classified by President George W. Bush, protecting either intelligence of financier leads or the diplomacy between an allied nation, or both – that generated much speculation while resting quietly out of public scrutiny for over 13 years in a Capitol basement. Those 28 pages admit we have not linked possible financiers of the terrorists to the Saudi Arabian government definitively.

The release of these 28 pages received support from family members who intend to take their cases against the Saudis to court – possibly implicating the Saudi Arabian government if able to establish those connections – and from the Saudi Arabian government who states this measure will squash the notion that their government facilitated the attacks.

"Since 2002, the 9/11 Commission and several government agencies, including the CIA and the FBI, have investigated the contents of the '28 Pages' and have confirmed that neither the Saudi government, nor senior Saudi officials, nor any person acting on behalf of the Saudi government provided any support or encouragement for these attacks," Abdullah Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States.

Many thought these 28 pages would offer more concrete evidence – a smoking gun – against the Saudi Arabian government, yet only offer leads and more questions.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Saudi-Secret-Pages-New-York-City-911-Sept-11-Attacks-Officials-386991701.html

It seems to me these two acts suggest our government hopes that family members of victims will somehow find evidence in their cases against the Saudis that national intelligence could not produce. If these family members that pursue cases against the Saudis do not generate enough evidence to receive financial compensations – which I see as a very likely scenario – then after all of the hassle, we will still stand in this same place, unable to link these horrific attacks to the Saudi Arabian government. Conversely, if family members do succeed, new questions will arise:

• How could these families of 9/11 victims, pursing their cases, generate more evidence than our national intelligence regarding the financial associations between suspected (possibly confirmed) financiers and the Saudi Arabian government?

• Why would President Bush keep this information classified, even through the end of his second term, knowing that the information would alter, for better or worse, our ability to implicate the Saudi Arabian government, or not?

• Why would President Barack Obama continue to keep classified these 28 pages knowing that no implicating information had been obtained and the matter of diplomacy void as even the Saudi Arabian government requested the declassification of this information?

Considering the lack of information obtained from the 28 pages, considering the conflicts existing between the declassified information and the bill passed on Friday, did we do anything? Will families win their cases, or will these cases become highly profiled exploitations with empty results predicted, empty results achieved?

The 9/11 Shuffle Before the 2 Step


These questions in the air and the multitude of possible questions to arise out of this situation could distract from the current issue that many vocalize on this anniversary of 9/11 – the simple fact that hundreds of other questions regarding that faithful day – very real, honest, rightful questions – remain unanswered to this day.

One of the simplest unanswered questions comes from Dr. Judy Wood, who has presented her disapproval of the findings of 9/11 commission in court, and to the public for over a decade in books and presentations all over the world:

Where did the towers go?


Dr. Judy Wood and hundreds of other people of different professions, with varying degrees of education and political experience, have pleaded extensively to all Americans to ask why the official investigations do not accurately, scientifically reflect what happened on September 11, 2001.













Many people become offended and enraged at the mere thought of official reports containing any fallacies, the mere idea of any inaccuracy, especially with any implied malicious context, equates a huge disgrace to the countless victims of those tragic attacks. I just do not know how to console people with those views, especially as the number of people stating simple facts that discredit official reports grows daily. Other nations have even expressed conflicts of our official story and the intelligence that they have gathered.

Many people may even become offended by accepting international criticism of the 9/11 attacks as those countries have no business or no role in our country. To people agreeing, I ask, does America treat other nations with such impartiality? Of course not! Our involvement in foreign nations, most certainly post 9/11, has led us to a very unstable moment in history where international conflict threatens peace and the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians exceedingly – in fact, many have died and die at this very moment due to our involvement, that escalated exponentially as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks, attributed to terrorists.

After fifteen years has passed, there exists no atrocity greater to the lives lost than not finding the real truth behind those terrorist attacks. To anyone claiming questions disrespect the lives of thousands lost, I say your silence disrespects above and beyond any terrorist. We must not let these lives lost remain without true explanation. We must seek the truth, which unfortunately requires our admission that official reports reflected errors. The day that our government truthfully explains exactly what happened to the Twin Towers, to the Pentagon, to World Trade Center building 7, might become the day we begin to track the real terrorists. We must not allow our government to rewrite the history of what really happened on September 11, 2001 and we most certainly must question profusely why they have tried – and so far has succeeded.

#NeverForget

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

The Secret Benefits of HIV / AIDs

We the people cannot understand the greatness of HIV / AIDs and all the benefits it has offered our country and our planet. This extraordinary laboratory creation acts as but one example of why we can never reduce or question military and national security budgets. We simply would not exist as a great nation if we questioned and provided any oversight of our government; we would ruin things with our lack of intelligence. The government has our best interests at heart and we must believe that. Although it may appear a horrendous infection to us commoners, our great government patiently awaits the day they can share the classified greatness of this man-made disease that we simply cannot see. I hope that we evolve enough as a people to receive and understand such enlightenment before the day I die.



Disclaimer: Satire


#HackingHillary's Labor Day Coughing Attacks & Hillary Clinton's Potential Health Problems

As mainstream media assures us Hillary Clinton suffers no medical conditions, a contrary hashtag trends in social media – #HackingHillary – which follows another recent hashtag that placed Clinton’s health at the center of the national spotlight: #HillaryStools.




Mainstream Media "Reporting"


Mainstream media, per usual, quickly divided into two polar extreme opinions: Clinton remains in perfect health and all occurrences of her sickly appearances amount to simple conspiracy attacks from the right; Clinton suffers extremely from medical issues, including brain damage, that the left conspires to hide from the eyes of the public. In true American fashion, only these two options exist, no need for corporate media to waste time looking at any evidence further.

In fact, not only did corporate media deem her alleged health problems unworthy of coverage, but they may have completely refused to tolerate any such coverage. Dr. Drew Pinsky, board-certified medicine specialist and television personality, spoke about Clinton’s health, citing information she released publicly, “based on the information that she has provided and her doctors have provided, we [became] gravely concerned not just about her health, but her health care…”



Subsequently, Dr. Drew’s television show “Dr. Drew On Call” got cancelled. According to online reports, CNN demanded that Dr. Drew retract his comment on Clinton’s brain injury, he refused to comply, and his show got terminated. Officially, Dr. Drew and HLN, CNN’s sister company, state the show would have ended on the same date of termination due to programming changes, although online reports state sources claim Dr. Drew fears angering Clinton further and will not push the issue forward.

Another instance of this intolerance of Clinton’s health reporting surfaced when The Huffington Post abruptly terminated one of their reporters, David Seaman, and deleted two of his articles from their website that referenced Clinton’s health, without even informing Seaman of his termination. The two articles deleted appeared as “Hillary Clinton’s Health Super (Aside from Seizures, Lesions, Adrenaline Pens)” and “Donald Trump Challenges Hillary Clinton to Health Records Duel.” As Seaman discovered his firing on his own, he uploaded a video to YouTube stating “I’ve honestly never seen anything like this, and happening in the United States in 2016. I frankly [feel] a little scared.”




Clinton Coughs Through Labor Day Appearances


From either side of the fence, however, Clinton’s Labor Day campaigning resulted in two separate coughing attacks that cannot simply be dismissed, one coughing fit even rendering her incapable of continuing with her speech.



Clinton joked that thinking of Donald Trump made her allergic. While mainstream media did acknowledge these two coughing fits, they still continue with the previous narrative that Clinton’s health remains excellent, while many still feel very skeptical of her actual state of health.




More #HackingHillary



Monday, September 5, 2016

Do We Subconsciously Erect Extra Hurdles for Third Party Presidential Candidates to Jump Through?

The 2016 presidential elections document a very interesting time in American history. Five major presidential candidates emerged in this White House race, and in this digital age of instant gratification, where almost any topic imaginable awaits online dissemination, to have explained in depth from several different perspectives, instantaneously with just a few clicks, a majority of people can only name the two establishment party candidates: Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton.


The three other candidates, Bernie Sanders (may his campaign RIP), Dr. Jill Stein, and Gary Johnson vaguely exist as part of the election show. Probably the most interesting aspect of these elections, the majority of people disapprove of these two main candidates basking in the media’s spotlight. This election could officially get coined the election of the two lessor evils when clearly, that outlook defies the fact that three other, now only two, intelligent candidates aspire to participate in the presidential conversation and present their presidential platform.

How do we have an historically embarrassing approval rating of two major candidates while at the same time marginalizing, almost downright ignoring, two (previously three) other candidates, in the media and collectively? How does one major party claim ‘anybody but Trump’ while the other claims ‘anybody but Clinton’ and no one finds any interest in a shortlist of anybodies? My only theory has to do with a phenomenon that I am noticing and can only describe as a psychological disadvantage to joining the presidential elections as a third-party candidate.

It seems many, if not the majority of, Americans, when confronted with someone different (politically or otherwise), subconsciously need to find a ‘place’ for that person. Finding the place – label – of that person, here a presidential candidate, takes precedence over all other logistical functionality regarding that person, meaning that before the candidate gets thought of as possibly offering useful information or as having a serious platform that could benefit the greater good of the country, the candidate must pass an internal verification process of each voter. The candidates of the firmly established parties, the republicans and the democrats, simply avoid these special, collective conscious discriminations that greatly reduce legitimacy of the third-party candidates.

This psychological disconnect of third-party candidates appears on television just as surely as it exists in your Facebook and Twitter feeds; it certainly exists in mine. This seemingly illogical ‘block’ that requires further processing may start simply enough with our words, as the most effective slight of third-party candidates stems from use of the phrase ‘third-party.’ With little imagination, use of third-party offers as much appeal as the third-wheel on a date and provides the same bad taste in your mouth. But I fear its use does much more than that…

Simply saying 'third-party' should obviously reinforce the idea that the system optimally operates in two parties, yet the subtleness of the phrase affects us subconsciously more than we may believe, allowing us to consciously ignore that connotation. Democrats and republicans do not make the first and second parties, yet all nondemocratic and nonrepublican candidates fall into the third-party label. Now that all opposing forces of the primary parties exist in this third-party box, the potential for group invalidation – much harsher and less fair than individual invalidation – becomes an instinctual option. Not only does label validation and invalidation exist, it becomes much easier to get invalidated as a third-party candidate since that box identifies with many people from many different political perspectives. Also, as third-party candidates do not often win, this box also fills with losers, and Americans do not like losers.

So for Sanders, Stein, and Johnson, somewhere between announcing their candidacy and laying out their platform, they already have to fight down all the randomly assigned modifiers of that third-party other box, which includes: not qualified, not represented in congress, not experienced (my favorite), not able to win, not to mention the less polite modifiers like kooky, radical, and extremist. This only happens because we collectively accept that third-party candidates, like all others before them, offer dreamers and losers, not potential respectable presidents. These third party candidates face scrutiny like no others all the while, in this election, the two major parties offer the people little in the way of change and little in the way of practical political conversation at all. They offer entertainment, insultingly unintelligent smear campaigns that dominate our daily news while real message offered by third-party candidates get little to no coverage.

Collectively, we have allowed this to happen and accept it. We do not want change because we fear it. While the media finds every way to invalidate third-party candidates in massive conscious altering campaigns, we reflect that same mentality in our own conversations, on Facebook, Twitter, and in real life. This psychological block allows us to watch the presidential election show comfortably, accepting that the ability to change what happens evades us. It allows us not to question that lack of media coverage from third party candidates, not to question the lack of politics in the coverage of the elections as a whole.

Most profoundly it, it allows us to very safely, very comfortable, ignore any voice that might exists somewhere inside that says, “maybe I should research this person or this campaign more, to see where their energy focuses, which issues they address, and whether I agree or disagree with their general platform.” In the same way, it allows us to avoid a much scarier question, “what if I agree more with a new candidate than my previously selected, party loyal choice?”

Sadly, without ever consciously becoming aware of any of these notions, otherwise open and highly intelligent people continue to write off third-party candidates without due process, without researching those candidates, without researching their platforms, really, with very little interest.

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Where Does a Real Cop End and a Real Person Begin?

I know a few cops and would love to hear their real cop opinions on events at the construction site of the Dakota Access Pipeline, as well as their philosophical stance on public policing in general.



As a cop, where do you draw your professional line?


When do you decide to stop following marching orders – or just do your job – when it conflicts with the protection and service to which you swore an oath? Likewise, at what point do you become consciously aware that your orders conflict with that service and protection?

For what, if anything, will you place your personal conviction to protect and serve other Americans over your professionalism?


I almost refuse to believe that the officers lack awareness of the fact that this water source supplies the only clean drinking water to these people, and if anything goes wrong with the pipeline’s construction or everyday use, from completion until forever, these people will simply thirst to death and die – a second gift of genocide to the native Americans from the contemporary Americans. The police officer sawing that cast-like restraint with a handsaw (no possibility of harm there, right?) totally knows that, right?

Actually, he if knows not, that suggests an entirely different, uglier problem that could exist within the policing regimes: brutal, unadulterated ignorance. Sadly that possibly and probably exists, although a separate issue and topic to tackle, compounding bad situations much like this, and creating an environment where people seemingly get murdered by police officers, execution style, for what appears as not adequately stroking authoritarian ego – my, harsh perspective and opinion that I do not apply to every police officer.


So how do real police officers perceive the actions of these police officers installed at the Dakota Access Pipeline construction area? Do real cops believe that corporations over step the rights of humans for corporate greed, yet must comply with their job for personal, familiar security, or do cops find these protesters – protesting their most basic right to water – a true problem and feel they need stopped?

That perspective obviously affects the impact on his or her role and actions taken in any situation. It may even allow them to disconnect slightly, to facilitate actions that others, the general population for example, may find harsh (or unlawful, cruel, even treasonous).


Silent wars hide in the headlines



We face new wars. Corporations actively waged nothing short of a war upon the Native Americans fighting for a basic need of survival: clean water. An entity resembling the shattered remains of a people controlled government has waged war upon the consciousness of said people, subconsciously instilling fear of enemies, neighbors, the different. That same entity waged war upon the consciousness of our police forces, a similar tactic, subconsciously instilling fear of losing control of a person pulled over, a small group of people, a large mass of protestors, the people. The simple objective of these two collective-couscous altering wars facilitates a loss of control - revolt - in the people while simultaneously crafting a deeper alliance by police forces to the higher governing forces that write their checks.

I sincerely hope that the police have not generally become so insensitive from policing (and I often do fall short of remembering how dangerous and stress generating a police officer’s life becomes) that he or she cannot recognize simple human indignation when it occurs. I feel bad for what I would consider a ‘good’ cop installed in situations like this. I think I can safely say most of us do not go to work with the pressure of the possibility of unknowingly becoming part of a situation that could pivot the history of an entire nation, a very powerful nation, filled with very power entities (corporations), with interests in a situation that you now manage via the authority invested in you by a people that you may or may not be letting down.

What do you do?


What do you do as an officer when you truly feel that your marching orders defy your oath? If you feel conflicted in any way as an officer and you would like to express any concerns you have in policing that you feel you cannot adequately discuss or address with your superiors – I would love to hear about it. I have no interest in names, identifying information, or subjecting anyone to a loss of their employment. I just want to hear from the real mean and women facing real and heavy problems that might need outside exposure and analysis. Shoot me an email with anything you would like to share to brandonjcarver@gmail.com.

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

What Message Did We Miss With Kaepernick Dismissed?

Since I did get on Facebook recently, I learned a football players name: Colin Kaepernick, the one who did not stand up for the national anthem in protest.


"I [will not] stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. [The issue seems] bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way, [past] bodies in the street and people getting paid leave [while] getting away with murder."


It did not surprise me to hear his stance on the state of America, if one watches any news or participates in social media, he can see that the declining state of America dominates current political conversations. We have a republican presidential candidate that seemingly wants us terrified of going to the grocery store – we might get shot.

With all of the conversations launched through the #BlackLivesMatter movement – the good, the bad, and the ugly – Kaepernick’s simple, silent protest I saw as just another muffled voice in the crowd, another everyday person becoming unpleased with the current state of affairs.

I saw the following statement from the NFL as a sort of validation of how little I felt about his protest, honestly not giving it too much consideration at the first glance of the headline:

"The national anthem, a special part of the pre-game ceremony, [offers] an opportunity to honor our country and reflect on the great liberties we afford as its citizens. In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose and participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem."

I did note to myself that many people would initially find his protest, an exercise of one of his basic rights as a free American, as off-putting or distasteful, but I did not think long enough to foresee that people would become so angry, so fast, and stay that way!

The American flag does mean many things to many people, and one certainly has a right to feel passionately about the flag, but I also think it unfair to say that the American flag does not mean many things to Kaepernick. His protesting the National Anthem and not saluting the American flag symbolizes an expression of discontent and a demand for action to resolve the root issues causing that discontent. I see that as an honorable act.

I see how one can view Kaepernick’s protest as offensive and want to write him off completely, yet I want people to understand that protests have a deeper meaning, and sometimes the conversation just needs hearing. One can say many things, like why the national anthem, why the football game, why not this, that, and the other? But possibly the goal was simply to get a conversation started – you nailed that part, Kaepernick – and instead of expending energy taking offense, we should expend energy fostering these tough conversations that are needed to address this very real issue that really exists.


Kaepernick Simply Said What We Are All Saying


Police brutality and racial inequality unfortunately dominate news headlines. It hits a city far away on television, then it hits closer to home – sometimes it does hit home. An entire movement – #BlackLivesMatter – spawned as a result of trending police brutality and racial inequality.

These problems really require our attention, and if I personally could get more people talking about solutions, I would! Kaepernick simply became aware of his position and the opportunity that he had, and he simply felt convicted to use that position for the cause. I personally thank him for understanding that we need better and for risking his livelihood just to help get that message out there. I also feel obligated to continue that conversation on ending police brutality and racial inequality in my neighborhood and nationally – the least, right?


But Kaepernick Does Not Know Oppression, He Can Leave This Country If Unhappy


After starting this piece, I thought about not even addressing some of the negative reactions I have witnessed, which actually moved me to research this topic more and begin writing. But I am going to address a couple common responses because I have become disconcerted with the actions of so many people, not just in reacting to Kaepernick, but in general.

The lack of respect that I witness in online conversations concerns me, especially regarding sensitive topics that are imperative for the well-being of our country.

If you matriculated out of elementary school, “if you don’t like it, you can leave,” should no longer be considered a valid, adult response to someone. If you are still in elementary school, when you perceive someone as different from you, or they anger you, you should look for similarities and try to solve your problems amicably – like adults.

Also, at no point did I hear this guy say that he himself felt oppressed. I see people talking about his fat NFL contract and his wealth as if it carried any relevance. I do not believe he protested for his own benefit, but for the awareness of the police brutality and racial inequality. I think the memes and references to his millions side step from the real point, almost intentionally, as if admitting a disinterest in having the real conversation.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

McDonald's Thrives, Employees Collect Food Stamps, Other Government Assistance - And You're Loving It!

I have a problem with big businesses like McDonalds. It's too big and their greatness is not reflected in their value as an employer. I know there will always be "big dogs" and "small fries" within any group of anything - and I am not mad at success - but can we at least get a good grip of what success entails?

McDonalds to Uncle Sam: You Scratch My Back, I'll Scratch My Back


McDonalds is a ginormous corporation that generates BILLIONS of dollars in profit annually (even quarterly), yet the employees are barely paid. How can McDonald's be a great American success story when it takes money out of the hands of Americans to subsidize the payment of wages to its employees?

Actually, in what world do we live in where there is a minimum wage and a living wage and we allow the minimum wage to be set so substantially lower than the living wage? If the minimum wage does not equal the living wage, it is mathematically impossible for anyone to thrive off the minimum wage, without working multiple jobs. What is the point of having a minimum wage if it means that 40 hours a week are simply not enough?

The problem that is created when the minimum wage is lower than the living wage is that companies are not doing anything illegal by watching their employees enroll into government assistance. Companies like McDonald's are aware of the number of employees seeking that assistance and can easily see within their own company that the wages paid are simply not enough to support the most basic needs of a huge percentage of their employees - and it is so much more lucrative for them to not care and do nothing.

At What Point Does "Taking" Tax Money Become Simple Theft?


McDonalds, and other megacorporations, could easily raise the wages of employees and still generate billions of dollars in profit, without ever collecting one cent from taxpayer dollars, and (I don't care what anybody says or calculates) without raising the price of that Big Mac made from Lord-knows-what (that people are obviously okay with eating, still, for whatever reason).

We cherish McDonald's in the country as a great American success story, but how many of the employees of McDonald's experience that same pride as an employee of one of the greatest business endeavors in this country? And as one of the greatest examples of business success in the world, how in the hell can McDonald's justify the use of tax payer money to basically pay what they are not paying to employees, when they are well aware of the economic situation of our country and their employees (unless of course the justification is to never reduce the profit margin for any reason, in which case it would make way more sense to do nothing and keep saving...)

I say saving because it obviously saves the corporation money. If McDonald's did increase the wages of employees (and this is not a sob story for corporate profits) it would cost them, obviously, the extra money they put into, and that would be compounded by employer contribution taxes, health care costs, and other liability costs like general liability and worker's compensation, and I'm sure in other ways, too.

I just don't care.

STOP FEELING BAD FOR CORPORATE PROFITS ALREADY - Are You Benefiting?


I am not saying McDonald's should go out of business (however, I personally do not understand why they are even in business as they current serve very little that I would actually ingest into my body - and pretty much nothing from their menu comes to mind...) but I am suggesting that, as is possible with any company, mistakes are being made. If they do not generate enough revenue to pay their employees a decent wage, they have a bad business model that requires some reworking.

Gasp, profits might need to drop a little (a little - we are talking BILLIONS GENERATED QUARTERLY - put away the tissues for corporate profits), maybe the price of a Big Mac does need to go up a little (I bet Burger King would enjoy a McDonald's price hike), because as with any company, the revenue from your products and services should support the overhead of the company.

By having employees who qualify and receive government assistance - at billions annually - there is obviously a problem with the wages and that part of the overhead is not being supported by the revenue from the products - although McDonalds generates more in profit quarterly than the amount of funds received by it's employees annually through government assistance.

McDonald's is robbing the poor (America - check our balance sheet) to finish paying the portion of the poor that they employ, and all while pocketing cash hand over fist.


If McDonald's could not thrive as a company by paying its employees enough that they did not qualify for government assistance, I still would not feel bad - but are you joking? These people pay millions of dollars for some air time on TV - adjusting the wages of the employees across the board will marginally effect profits, but could easily be compensated - causing no effect on profit margin - just by skipping some commercial advertisements at millions of dollars a piece here and there. Or whatever.

The bottom line, McDonald's wouldn't sweat if it doubled the wages of all its employees. I'm not an economist or analyst of finances, but I still don't give a damn what anybody says - these people are straight up crying wolf when they cry about profits or the imaginary need to increase items on the menu - and if they do, they do! Who's fault is anyway if the McDonald's business model (that includes fair compensation to its employees) is unprofitable?

If it really is, do the right thing and go out of business, McDonalds. But again - that is like, NEVER, going to happen. They could honestly double the wages AND provide whole, natural, organic food and STILL not even notice anything because they make so much money...

Sources for "McDonald's Thrives, Employees Collect Food Stamps, Other Government Assistance - And You're Loving It!":

"McDonald's Reports Solid Third Quarter 2013 Results" from McDonald's Press Release
http://news.mcdonalds.com/Corporate/Press-Releases/Financial-Release?xmlreleaseid=123038

"McDonald's Low Wages Cost Taxpayers $1.2 Billion Per Year: Study" by Jillian Berman, Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/15/mcdonalds-wages-taxpayers_n_4100866.html

Friday, March 14, 2014

Watch The Most Shocking Second A Day Video #WithSyria



Just Because It Isn't Happening Here, Doesn't Mean It Isn't Happening...


#WithSyria Watch The Most Shocking Second A Day Video
It seems like there is little anyone could do...

For many its as if nothing is even happening...

It's Syria, not America...

Why Should You Care About Syria?


Pretty soon, these videos could feature American children and families, loosing everything. The problems around the world are real and they are coming to your doorstep.

Change in this country and around the world is necessary - and it starts with each of us, first by caring, then...

Thursday, February 27, 2014

The FDA Announces New Nutrition Label Requirements - Are They Effective?

The (FDA) Food & Drug Administration announced changes to the nutrition labels on food products today, proving that the FDA does indeed function - people work there and they clock in and they make graphic changes to the food labels for a purpose.

I can't quite discern the purpose. There is an emphasis on updating serving sizes to be more realistic, which is indeed a good thing, but mainly the emphasis is on emphasizing the calories. So the serving sizes may increase slightly, and the calories will be printed larger and more dominantly, but what is this all suppose to prove again?

I guess these are good changes all in all, I just have very little doubt that this will effect most American's decision making when it comes to reducing intake. People who are concerned with nutrition labels are already making smarter choices, it's a lack of caring that affects most Americans.

Here is a breakdown of the changes that will be featured in the new nutrition label as mandated by the (FDA) Food & Drug Administration:

The (FDA) Food & Drug Administration Announces New Nutrition Label Requirements - Are They Effective?

  • The redesign would change how serving sizes are calculated and displayed.
  • Percent daily values would shift to the left, making them easier to read. Some package sizes would be required to show both "per serving" and "per package" calorie and nutrition counts.
  • Vitamin D and potassium counts would be required. Vitamins A and C would be optional.
  • Calorie counts would be more prominent, and the existing "Calories from Fat" line would be removed.
  • The new design would require information about added sugars.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Why the Arizona Gay Law Makes Me Think Overpopulation

The Arizona "gay law" clearly goes beyond gay people as it basically is asking the question, "as a business owner, do I have the right to discriminate my business to anyone based on my personal principles?"

The answer may very well be "yes" which is neither all good nor all bad - but plenty bad. I understand that people do not want to be told how to conduct their businesses that they built with their blood, sweat, and tears - and I get that - but I also do not understand why so many people are obsessing about who they get to oppress.

Why are we so afraid to love our neighbor? Is his skin color really so different that it causes hatred? Is his god so vastly different that his mere existence is a threat to us?

It is certain, according to the infallible law of sustainability, that earth's population can only grow so large before a) there are not enough resources to sustain the populace and b) the "organism" of the populace as a whole is too large to sustain itself and function correctly.

Admittedly, part a is the more commonly accepted theory whereas part b is more of my footnote of an observation.

However, with this theory in mind, I cannot help but wonder if this "gay law" in Arizona, possibly to be followed by Georgia and other states, is not a sign that our populace is indeed too large and that nature is starting to throw some curve balls. Basically, is it possible that there are so many people that our collective energy is trying to eradicate parts of itself so that that rest of the organism can continue to thrive?

I have a similar question / hypothesis regarding homosexuality as a natural, biological response to overpopulation.

What other reason do we have to keep hating and fighting our neighbors after all of this time, even when the deity that we fight for clearly commands us to love our neighbors?

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

2012 Elections Yield More Victories for Gay American Rights

2012 Elections Yield More Victories for Gay American Rights
The fight for Gay American Rights continues and the 2012 Elections yield major victories in the ongoing battle.

Maine and Maryland both approved gay marriage as the first two states to approve the notions by popular vote. Main and Maryland are now the seventh and eight states that allow same sex marriage in the United States.

The state of Washington also voted on gay marriage, but results are not immediately determined.

Minnesota defeated a proposed constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage in their state.

As this is still a fight, opposition is always around the counter. "At the end of the day, we're still at 32 victories," says Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage. "Just because two extreme blue states vote for gay marriage doesn't mean the Supreme Court will create a constitutional right for it out of thin air."

President Obama Gets Four More Years!

President Barack Obama Gets Four More Years

By now you already know! I think the American people know that Obama could not have possibly rebounded this country completely in four years, nor could anyone else have for that matter. To take him out of office would have been the single most unjustifiable action against him and completely unfair. Whereas the Romney campaign was lie after lie after lie, we have now a President who has for the most part delivered on his word. Nothing happens over night.

Barack Obama, make this country proud! When I am old, I want to tell people who awesome the first African American President of the United States was. I want you to be the American Hero that this country needs so bad right now! In one word: Forward!

God Bless America!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

10 Things Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Paul Ryan

Contributed by MoveOn.org...

Most people don’t know just how bad Romney’s VP choice is. So we made this list of 10 things to know about Paul Ryan. Read it, then share it with everyone. The future of America is on the line—from a woman’s right to choose to our economy.








A MoveOn original. Paid for by MoveOn.org Political Action.

10 Things to know about Paul Ryan

1. His economic plan would cost America 1 million jobs in the first year. Ryan’s proposed budget would cripple the economy. He’d slash spending deeply, which would not only slow job growth, but shock the economy and cost 1 million of us our jobs in 2013 alone and kill more than 4 million jobs by the end of 2014.[1]

2. He’d kill Medicare. He’d replace Medicare with vouchers for retirees to purchase insurance, eliminating the guarantee of health care for seniors and putting them at the mercy of the private insurance industry. That could amount to a cost increase of more than $5,900 by 2050, leaving many seniors broke or without the health care they need. He’d also raise the age of eligibility to 67.[2]

3. He’d pickpocket the middle class to line the pockets of the rich. His tax plan is Robin Hood in reverse. He wants to cut taxes by $4.6 trillion over the next decade, but only for corporations and the rich, like giving families earning more than $1 million a year a $300,000 tax cut. And to pay for them, he’d raise taxes on middle- and lower-income households and butcher social service programs that help middle- and working-class Americans.[3]

4. He’s an anti-choice extremist. Ryan co-sponsored an extremist anti-choice bill, nicknamed the ‘Let Women Die Act,’ that would have allowed hospitals to deny women emergency abortion care even if their lives were at risk. And he co-sponsored another bill that would criminalize some forms of birth control, all abortions, and in vitro fertilization.[4]

5. He’d dismantle Social Security. Ironically, Ryan used the Social Security Survivors benefit to help pay for college, but he wants to take that possibility away from future generations. He agrees with Rick Perry’s view that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme” and he supported George W. Bush’s disastrous proposal to privatize Social Security.[5]

6. He’d eliminate Pell grants for more than 1 million low-income students. His budget plan cuts the Pell Grant program by $200 billion, which could mean a loss of educational funding for 1 million low-income students.[6]

7. He’d give $40 billion in subsidies to Big Oil. His budget includes oil tax breaks worth $40 billion, while cutting “billions of dollars from investments to develop alternative fuels and clean energy technologies that would serve as substitutes for oil.”[7]

8. He’s another Koch-head politician. Not surprisingly, the billionaire oil-baron Koch brothers are some of Ryan’s biggest political contributors. And their company, Koch industries, is Ryan’s biggest energy-related donor. The company’s PAC and affiliated individuals have given him $65,500 in donations.[8]

9. He opposes gay rights. Ryan has an abysmal voting record on gay rights. He’s voted to ban adoption by gay couples, against same-sex marriage, and against repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell.” He also voted against the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which President Obama signed into law in 2009.[9]

10. He thinks an “I got mine, who cares if you’re okay” philosophy is admirable. For many years, Paul Ryan devoted himself to Ayn Rand’s philosophy of selfishness as a virtue. It has shaped his entire ethic about whom he serves in public office. He even went as far as making his interns read her work.[10]

If there was ever any doubt that Mitt Romney’s got a disastrous plan for America—he made himself 100% clear when he picked right-wing extremist Paul Ryan as his running mate. Paul Ryan is bad for America, but we can’t beat him if Americans don’t know everything he stands for. Share this page with all your friends.


Sources:
1. “Ryan’s Budget, Robin Hood in reverse,” Economic Policy Institute
2. “12 Things You Should Know About Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan,” Think Progress, August 11, 2012
3. “Ryan Budget Would Raise Some Taxes; Guess Who Gets Hit?,” Off the Charts, April 12, 2012
“Middle class could face higher taxes under Republican plan, analysis finds,” The Washington Post, June 19, 2012
4. “Statement on Mitt Romney’s Selection of Rep. Paul Ryan for His Vice-Presidential Running Mate,” NARAL, August 11, 2012
“Paul Ryan’s Extreme Abortion Views,” The Daily Beast, August 11, 2012
“Paul Ryan Sponsored Fetal Personhood Bill, Opposes Family Planning Funds,” Huffington Post, August 11, 2012
5. “12 Things You Should Know About Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan,” Think Progress, August 11, 2012
“Ayn Rand would have HATED Paul Ryan,” Daily Kos, August 12, 2012
6. “Pell Grants For Poor Students Lose $170 Billion In Ryan Budget,” Huffington Post, March 27, 2012
7. “Ryan Budget Pads Big Oil’s Pockets with Senseless Subsidies,” Center for American Progress, March 20, 2012
8. “Koch brothers have Paul Ryan’s back,” Politico, August 11, 2012
9. “Paul Ryan as VP Matches Mitt Romney on Homophobia,” The Advocate, August 11, 2012
10. “Paul Ryan And Ayn Rand”, The New Republic, December 28, 2010

Hypothetical Presidential Race: Who Would Win Between Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert

This is something that I just had to share...

In a hypothetical head-to-head presidential matchup between Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Republicans would vote for Colbert 3-to-1 while Democrats would vote for Stewart 3-to-1.

Hypothetical Presidential Race: Who Would Win Between Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert

Source: UpWorthy

Is Superstorm Sandy Really the Result of Global Warming? You Betcha!

Superstorm Sandy has caused quite a media storm (get it?) but of course, the truth is always hardest to access. I feel in my heart that weather is something that we contribute to but cannot fully control, although technology has been invited that can manipulate it.

Does global warming contribute to climate change? That's not even the question. Of course! The real question that we need to consider is: Is Sandy a natural or man made storm? A hurricane could be a silent act of war, way less obvious than a bomb...

But getting back to the question at hand, actual scientists (those smart people with intelligent advice that we as a country ignore at all costs) have a cute, idiot friendly video on the subject...

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Update - All Charges Against Ehud Halevi Have Been Dropped

NYPD Brutally Attack and Beat Homeless Man Ehud Halevi In Synagogue



I recently wrote about this incident and am so thankful to learn that all charges against homeless man Ehud Halevi have been dropped. Thanks was issued to over 100,000 people that signed the Change.org petition from Rabbi Moishe Feiglin.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Andrew Cuomo: No Law Maker Pay Raises Until Marijuana Decriminalized

Yes, you did read that headline correctly...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been very vocal about the issue of decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana of residents in New York. Thousands of people in his city each year are criminalized, disproportionately black and latino, and Cuomo thinks that the "crime" of small possession is outweighed by the constraints and costs of the punishment.



Now Governor Cuomo has come and said point blank, "I would not even consider — even consider a pay raise — unless the people's business was being done in a thorough, responsible way," which referenced his "People's Agenda" and includes the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana possession and a small pay wage increase for citizens.

You can read more about this subject at: http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-10-16/news/34505314_1_minimum-wage-cuomo-r-nassau-county.

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