By the time Americans graduate high school, we’ve repeated those words hundreds – if not thousands – of times.
If they mean anything to you, we have a lot of work to do.
We lost control of this nation. Uncle Sam pitted cruise control against autopilot while we were distracted in the back seat, drunk with arrogance, and became assholes.
Our allegiance to each other deteriorated and we collectively blacked out. We woke up in a ditch – face-down, ass-up – just in time to elect President Trump.
Now we’re in some sort of ongoing episode of Scared Straight.
A wake-up call of this magnitude – as ugly and disturbing as it’s been – is a blessing. It was loud and painful. We all felt it in different ways and now realize the once in a lifetime opportunity before us.
I believe in this country and I believe in Americans.
The 21st century turns 18 next January. Let’s graduate to the next level. This opportunity is too big to fail. Level heads will prevail. Humanity will prevail.
Matthew Shepard won’t celebrate his 40th birthday on December 1, 2016. He hasn’t celebrated his birthday for 18 years.
Cause of death: Homicide
On October 6, 1998, Matthew, 21, was lured from a bar in Laramie, WY. He thought he was getting a ride home. Instead, he was driven to a rural area where he was beaten, tortured, tied to a fence, and left to die. A cyclist discovered him 18 hours later. What he thought was a scarecrow, was Matthew in a coma.
Matthew died on October 12, 1998, the way no human should. He passed away laying in a hospital bed in Fort Collins, CO.
Matthew was murdered because he was gay. Aaron McKinney, 22, and Russell Henderson, 21, are serving life terms. They deserve it.
What they didn’t deserve was growing up in a country whose government politicizes civil rights by planting deep seeds of discrimination and hate toward fellow Americans who are diverse in different ways.
Two administrations later, we spend money faster than technology evolves. Yet, our politics traveled back in time.
Both parties are guilty. The LGBT was ignored by one and attacked by the other. At least attacking acknowledges existence. Without the attacks, would we still be ignored? But, President Obama pushed a lot harder and made a little more progress.
I get it, it’s a process. A slow, slow process.
The Great American Hypocrisy: All lives will never matter.
As long as civil rights are politicized, America will remain a nation of enemies. Fear leads to discrimination. Discrimination leads to hate and so on.
Political parties don’t solve civil rights issues, they create them. Civil rights are platform poison.
To all the do nothing politicians.
Civil rights are constitutional and belong in the judicial system. Civil rights aren’t for you to repeal if you disagree with the outcome.
There are countless combinations of the civil rights menu and we have two options?
How many more sessions will you challenge Roe v. Wade? How much money do you have access to? Now you want to repeal gay marriage? Deny hospital visits to my partner…my family? You want to spend money on conversion therapy? Oh, now I can be fired?
Talk about setting a precedent – which is exactly why civil rights should not be political.
Watch this movie.
Being gay isn’t a choice! You know what is a choice? Taking bribes. Adultry. Lying. Living your life in the closet. Homophobia. Religion. Ruining your family. Ruining my family.
Go convert yourself.
Tell you what, fix our schools. Fix healthcare. Fix wages. Enable parents to be parents. Give Americans a real chance. Quit preaching fiscal responsibility while killing your citizens and flooding the world (and your basements) with taxpayer money.
I’ll tell you what we’re all.
We’re all sick of your bullshit politics.
And stop accepting bribes. Dig deep and find your merits – run on those. Actually do something for the people.
The establishments are in stalemate.
It’s simple. Either we’re all created equal or we’re not. Which is it? At least answer that. I know what you’re going to say. We all…what? Matter? Are equal? What? Spit it out.
*cricket*
You keep wasting our time and money playing tug o’ war with civil rights. If you want to argue civil rights, practice law. Otherwise, be the legislative, public-serving representative you signed up to be.
Watch this movie.
It wasn’t until 2009 when Congress passed The Matthew Shepard Act which President Obama signed into law. Matthew’s gruesome murder would finally be considered a hate crime. It took 11 years.
The Gone Old Parties
The 2016 GOP Platform is nothing short of horrifying. If you haven’t seen it for yourself, it’s right here.
There are no parties. The choice is conscience. Next month is not the time to leave America’s future to chance. Next time there will be more options.
Let’s land the plane, refuel, and continue the work that needs to be done.
No, not voting isn’t a vote. It’s literally not a vote.
It’s been a tumultuous year in U.S. politics. Some Americans are so disgusted, many say their vote in November will come in the form of not voting at all.
How does that work? It doesn’t.
Most Americans don’t fully support either ticket, much less the party platforms. However, there are only two candidates who have a chance at winning.
Be part of the solution, not the problem. Swallow your pride and make a damn decision.
This one should be easier than figuring out what to do for dinner.
In the land of the free, you have the freedom to be stubborn. If you want to sit on the sidelines this year, that’s your choice. Bite that hand that feeds you and punish America by foregoing your right to vote. I can’t imagine anything more American.
Except, I don’t know, actually voting?
Take your ball and go home. Don’t be a poor sport because the game isn’t going your way. You don’t like the players. You don’t support the teams. You go home, alone, and play with your ball, pretending it’s a game. Don’t be selfish.
This election isn’t about Republicans and Democrats. Get that out of your head. The bases will disagree, but this election is about humanity. It’s about common decency. It’s really that simple. This election will define America’s collective conscience for the rest of the world.
Not voting supports your least favorite candidate. Not voting is even worse than voting for (who you consider) the lesser of two evils. It supports (who you consider) the greater evil.That greater evil is just fine with you not voting. They don’t expect your vote anyway. You’re playing right into their hands.
Three’s a crowd. My heart dropped when the supposed nominees became official. I believe the majority of Americans realize the desperate need for a third party, but now isn’t the time. Reread the previous point. Voting third party only supports the greater evil. If you do, at least you voted. Somewhere in your mind you have to know it’s a wasted effort.
If neither earned your vote, which one lost your vote? If they’re not worth voting for, they’re worth voting against. What better way to send a heartfelt ‘fuck you’ to the candidate who failed you?
Failure without consequence? Come on!
If you’re anti-Trump, you should vote for Clinton. What’s the best outcome for Trump if you’re anti-Trump? Not voting for Clinton. That’s all the support Trump needs from you. As hard as voting for Clinton might be, you’re only helping the guy you refuse to vote for.
If you’re anti-Clinton, you should vote for Trump. If Clinton annoys you so much, go ahead and vote for Trump. Do it. I dare you. You’re the one who has to live with your decision. Good luck sleeping at night. Seriously, go cast a vote for Trump if you believe Clinton is the devil’s spawn. Just one request – be proud of and stand by your decision!
Bernie Sanders supporters should vote for Clinton. That’s right from the horse’s mouth so I can’t say much more. Bernie cares about you. He endorsed Clinton. By not voting, you’re failing the candidate you so-called “supported.”
Still undecided? You’re either lying or in denial. By now neither candidate has anything new to say. Now, the claws come out to motivate people who never vote by scaring them with rhetoric. Trump’s only going to get worse. Clinton is only going to gain more surprising endorsements. It’s almost as if the decision is being made for us. But, it isn’t and the bullshit polls will remain close. The truth about the choice America will make on November 8 is being laid out.
If you won’t take a stand for yourself, take a stand for America. There’s only one side who doesn’t think everyone should vote. Gosh, I wonder why. That’s because they know they would lose. And it’s not because people are uninformed. It’s because the majority of Americans know the difference between right and wrong.
We’re all in this together.
Even the people who disagree with what they just read.
A web of corruption is spun in the wake of awarding and winningU.S. government contracts and funds.
Corruption has no party affiliation, just special interests. Cash is king.
This affects the public and private sectors in nearly every industry and most countries.
Uncle Sam needs a colonic. STAT!
Someone grab a hose and bucket; it’s about to get dirty.
Photo Credit/Source: Kathy van de Laar/LinkedIn
All bets are off in 2016. I’m not buying most of what the presidential front runners are selling. Media coverage is basically satire except it’s not funny anymore.
Progress is at a stand still and the arguments are old as time.
Forget what you thinkyou know about republicans and democrats. Right now, there is no difference between them regarding the biggest problems plaguing our country – greed and corruption.
While rampant, these problems are not unique in the United States. Criminals, everywhere, line each others’ pockets with U.S. taxpayer funds.
Until this is fixed, our politics will remain broken.
It’s that simple and it’s sad and pathetic.
Money, money, money.
In December 2015, Reuters reported the U. S. tied ex-Panamanian president, Ricardo Martinelli, to a bribery scheme involving German software giant, SAP.
Last year, ex-SAP sales executive, Vicente Garcia, pleaded guilty to bribing Panamanian officials. On December 16, 2015, Garcia was sentenced to 22-months in prison by a U.S. court in California.
In February 2016, SAP agreed to pay a $3.9 million penalty under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act after an investigation by the SEC.
Isolated event or the tip of the iceberg?
That’s up to the SEC to determine. I have to believe the SEC learned from its careless investigation of Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi Scheme, I hope they wouldn’t miss another. However, corruption knows no bounds.
The U.S. government and public sector spend billions of dollars, annually, on SAP software and maintenance. Many taxpayer funded implementations run tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars over budget.
SAP is not alone, but they are a nucleus. The U.S. government is an SAP customer. More than 70% of the Fortune 500 are government contractors and most of them are SAP customers.
Between the U.S. and SAP and contractors and SAP and the U.S. and contractors, there is ample opportunity for the morally bankrupt.
It’s a global playground. Like I said, SAP is everywhere.
The climatein America has changed. Unusually high temperatures have caused a dense pocket of hot air to become the country’s very first Trumpnado.
Unpredictable winds and shrapnel fly out of this thing so randomly, you’re best to avoid it altogether. Unless, of course, you’re a storm chaser.
It’s on a path of special destruction causing a wake of WTF at every turn.
The Trumpnado will dissolve sometime after it jumps the Sharknado.
That moment could be this week. Some would argue it already happened.
The GOP got Trump’d!
If I had to pick one thing I like about Donald Trump it would be Celebrity Apprentice. I hope he does more Celebrity Apprentice when he’s done with this circus.
When I first heard Trump was running for president, I thought it was a joke. Then, I watched the first Republican debate and it clicked. He’s sabotaging the GOP. That party got Trump’d.
During the first debate, he was the only candidate who would not commit to supporting someone else as the nominee, hinting that he could run as an Independent. Plus, did that fight with Megyn Kelly during the first debate make any sense? Remember when he asked her if she was bleeding?
He later stated he would support another nominee. Honestly though, would it surprise anyone if he flipped on that?
Trumpnado Warning!
Since hitting the campaign trail, Trump’s statements and stances are petulant and arrogant.
His words have been increasingly aggressive and disturbing and the media is having a hay day re-posting and re-tweeting and regurgitating everything this man says.
He’s attracting disturbing personalities like flypaper.
It’s like the Twilight Zone.
He’s acting so far the opposite of presidential, it’s embarrassing that he’s actually leadingthe Republican polls.
However, that could be the point he’s intended all along.
He’s erratic, unpredictable, unfiltered, and getting worse by the day. He’s effectively not electable.
It’s getting so bad, it makes perfect sense. Even Fox News contributors today were discussing how he’s gone off the rails and becoming a problem for the GOP.
Intended or not, he’s helping the Democrats and the other candidates have caught on.
I believe he’s always intended to run as an Independent to ensure a Republican loss. His campaign is straight out of Team America: World Police, “America! Fuck Yeah!”
It would be funny if our president had this in Las Vegas. Photo Source: TripAdvisor
He will steal millions of votes from the Republican nominee while ensuring a bigger blue turnout.
Trump is being so blatantly and believably stupid right now, but he’s not a stupid man.
I predict record ratings for the next installment of the Celebrity Apprentice. The good news for Trump is his current haters will forgive him and he won’t have to take a huge pay cut to play in the Oval Office.
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