The Lesser of Two Evils is Still Evil

I would be remiss if I were to sit out the entire presidential election cycle and not make a peep about it.  The truth is, there’s so much going on these days, it’s hard to pin down any one gripe or provocative factor and harp on about it.  But when it comes to the candidates, we are scraping the bottom of the barrel here, people.  I can’t imagine too many individuals are as excited now as they were a year ago, when the promise of new and refreshing leadership loomed on the horizon.

We now have squat, and squatter.  Thank you, voters of America.

In what promises to be a rather inevitable preface to our conclusion, business magnate, carnival barker, and hairpiece aficionado Donald J. Trump, and former Secretary of mis-Statement Hillary “Sniper Fire” Clinton, will face off, head to lack of head, in the EPIC BATTLE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE 2016.

It’s like the Thunderdome, but without the benefits.

Just look at these two, magnificent people.  Just.  LOOK AT THEM.  (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

I know the primaries aren’t over yet, but given the recent withdrawal of the last two Republican hold-outs, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, and Hillary’s YUGE delegate lead, obvious party candidates are obvious.  Which is a shame for Bernie Sanders, because that guy fought hard, and yelled harder.  And the kids love him.  Perhaps it was his 25 years of congressional experience as a “Washington outsider” that drew them in, or his Robin Hood-esque tax-and-spend schemes, but who knows.  Maybe if he had paid his interns the same $15 minimum wage he’s proposed for the rest of us, he’d be a bit father ahead, eh?

While Weekend at Bernie’s was an eventful time, he ended the same as he began – dead.  And hope vanishes from the souls of so many hip 18-35 year olds.  Sorry guys, better luck next time.  You’re stuck with this bitter, old, indoctrinating, polarizing, two-party system, and you’d better like it, because any more than two, and it just gets too confusing.  You need to pick sides, and their candidate is terrible and vile, and our candidate will be your champion.  Or, at least, less terrible and vile?

If only we had a political party which advocated all that should be fair in compromise, an embodiment of the center of the political landscape; a pro-gay-gun-marijuana-choice party, which would rather we not be spied on in the name of “safety”, disavows governmental overreach, and believes in the unencumbered exercise our constitutionally protected liberties, all of them.  A party with a candidate you can actually support and believe in, instead of an enemy of your enemy whom you call friend.  If only there were another box to check, in all 50 states, to give us a candidate who would give the evil forces of Washington a run for their money.  Someone who could genuinely change the direction of the country for the better, while giving us each something that we want, without taking something away from someone else.

This could fare well for us.  We might have a middle-ground here.  We may be able to actually unite, as one nation, and…

Vote Libertarian.

Oh, idealism, how you defeat the senses.  But idealism can turn to pragmatism when people commit to their beliefs.

The Libertarian Party holds core values that many Americans share, and are not as extreme or far out as you think.  Only sensationalists, red/blue diehards, and hell bent extremists would be so quick to dismiss a quantifiable, legitimate, and rapidly expanding group such as Libertarians.  And you’re probably more in tune with their line of thinking than you realize.  At least, if you’ve read this far.  Hey, there’s still hope for you!

To view a statement of the core principals of the party, go to https://www.lp.org/platform.  Scroll through and be intrigued.  It’s not as fantastical as you may have thought, and far more reasonable and down-to-earth as the uncompromising core values of the D’s and R’s (whatever those values may be, if there are any left, nowadays).

Bernie supporters can rejoice in an assortment of “outside-the-box” candidates, with a number of the same goodies as the Democratic platform.  Cruz supporters can seek the benefit of a constitutional-centric, small-government minded party.  Kasich supporters can appreciate the moderate stance on domestic and foreign affairs.  Citizens who are currently on the fence about electing the second coming of the anti-Christ would enjoy the fresh breathe of air.  As for Hillary and Trump supporters, well, there’s probably nothing for you here.  But hey, you can give it a whirl.  Maybe you’ll feel enlightened.

However, there is one downside to even considering voting third-party this election – criticism.  You’ll see it everywhere, and may have even blindly mouthed it yourself.

            You’re throwing your vote away!

            You’re giving the election to the other guy!

            Muh rights!  Supreme court nominees!  I must vote D/R!

       Their platform is not a practical approach to the issues and their solutions won’t work!  (This one doesn’t seem to come up nearly as often, for some reason.)

Learn to appreciate the door in the face.  Some people just aren’t as open to real change as much as they may talk about it.  I mean, hell, we deserve to continue to be taken advantage of, lied to, taxed to death (and even afterward), with only cronyism, a ballooning national debt, and a dissatisfied citizenry to show for it.  It’s the American way!

Nothing will ever change in politics unless we change the way we vote.  Our current choices for mainstream candidates are, frankly, abysmal.  Their actions over the next four years will inevitably impact the direction of this country.  But fear should not be a factor in your decision for the highest office holder in the United States.

Your vote is your vote, and it is for who it is.  There is no ballot mirage, where votes for candidates appear in one column and disappear from another.  You’re voting for your choice, and it does count.  Don’t let anyone dissuade you from that.  Studies have shown that there is a pretty even split amongst voters who stray from their registered party affiliation to vote for a third party.  To say otherwise is to perpetuate the fallacy and atrocity that is the two-party system.  And we all see how well that is working out for us, don’t we?

Like anything else behemoth and cumbersome, changing how our electorate “works” won’t happen overnight.  It’ll take strength in numbers and long term commitment.  And the magic number is 5%.  If 5% of voters choose the Libertarian nominee this election, the party receives a huge boost in many ways for the next election cycle – Federal campaign funding eligibility (considering an overwhelming majority of Libertarian candidate contributions are currently from individuals, this is huge), and a spot on the national stage to face off directly with the D and R candidates.  It gives Libertarians a seat at the big table; a springboard to encourage change in both parties, and perhaps expand their own.

At least 19% of the U.S. population self-identifies as Libertarian, according to an April 2015 Reuters poll, and the number is steadily climbing.  Our country needs you to put your vote where your mouth is, so we can work to save this great Republic from the unrelenting clutches of abounding elephants and donkeys, and put our trust into something we can actually believe in.

It’s time we tamed the zoo.

No Happy Endings

Before I begin, I want you to look at this picture.

Victims, left to right: Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife, Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.

Remember these faces.  Imagine the successful, vibrant, endearing qualities of these three young college students.  They are not murderers.  They are not our enemy.  They are our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, and family.  They are the people that make a difference, for the better, in America.

Oh, yes, and they’re Muslims.  Well, they were, before they were coldly murdered by Craig Stephen Hicks, in Chapel Hill, NC, yesterday.  The jury is still out regarding his true motivation to kill the trio (an interaction supposedly deriving from a parking dispute), but his background and his known bias all point to one thing: a deep-seated hatred, and fear, of the followers of Islam – a hatred that has been perpetuated by the hands of the United States government, mass media, and social networking.  Sorry to say, he’s far from the only one.

Years of the United States’ “war on terror” have eroded the public view of Islam.  Numerous terroristic acts all over the globe have been carried out by Muslim extremists, which in part led to this “war”.  As such, we’ve sent our soldiers to fight in regions of the world where Islam is the religion of the majority.  Fuzzy logic and a clash of cultures turned Islam into the face of our enemies, and the two are no longer differentiated.  Citizens cling to this, and blame these atrocities, and the subsequent loss of lives, not on the mad men who perpetrate them, but on the claimed religious core of their disjointed, bastardized beliefs.

Further exacerbating the situation are tactics used by governmental agencies to supposedly root out terrorism, such as the passage and abuse of the Patriot act, TSA discriminatory search practices, hundreds of cases of entrapment perpetuated by the FBI against Muslims, and even the mapping and tracking of Muslim communities by the NYPD.  All these avenues, and many more, have been used to normalize the practice of Islamophobia.

The disease spreads like wildfire on social media, where tensions run high on a text-filled, soulless platform; trolls flourish, fear and misinformation prevail, bigotry knows no bounds, and sheep blindly follow the wolf.  Sensational headlines, pushed by fear-mongering news anchors and publications, invoke irrational thoughts in their subscribers by emphasizing buzzwords.  Muslim.  Islam.  Extremist.  Jihad.  The religion is gutted, and twisted.  Its followers are demonized.  Neilson ratings rise.

And so evolves the cycle of bigotry, and an escalation to the breaking point.  Death threats and ill-wishes for Muslims in general abound.  Incidents arise such as in Europe, where dozens of mosques have become the target of vandals using firebombs, guns, and even pig heads.  Three innocent Muslim college students are murdered, seemingly for discriminatory reasons.  Tensions run high.  The media ignores the signs, underreports the facts, and perpetuates the propaganda.  Government officials stand idly by, and say nothing.  Thousands of innocent Muslims are oppressed by both government forces and non-Muslim citizens, all across the globe.

It’s a pattern of escalation we’ve seen once before in recent history that’s hard to ignore – the implications of which are frightening, to say the least.  Much like anti-Semitism spread far and wide in the 1930’s, anti-Muslim sentiment has taken a stronghold in the 21^st century.  Sadly, it’s just a matter of time before we reach the tipping point: Islam’s Kristallnacht.

I don’t foresee a happy ending to this story, either.

Four ‘fer Friday

Welcome to world politics, where everything is made up and the points don’t matter.

Join me, as I take you on an international journey through the field of current events, as we explore the diverse, shitty news erupting out of every corner of the Earth.

Mankind, you make me so proud.

 

As seen in this slightly modified screen capture taken from Google Maps, illustrated is the current, complex, geo-political quagmire that is the world.

 

The Motherland of Dangerous Shit

You still have a better chance of being struck by a lightning bolt filled with AIDS than contracting Ebola, unless, of course, you live in the Sierra Leone region of Africa (then, you may get both!).  Despite the increasing death-toll overseas (currently nearing 1,000 people) and the heightened alert statuses from the CDC and WHO, the US population has been reassured that bringing two Ebola-ridden missionary doctors from Africa to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, will not endanger US citizens in any way.  It appears that, so far, experimental treatments are having mixed to positive effects on both patients.

And cue the Ebola conspiracy theories.

 

Zionism: I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means

A new old war has been raging between Israeli forces and the Hamas-led militants in the Gaza Strip via Operation Protective Edge, a military campaign formed by Israel to repel the increasing rocket fire originating from Gaza.  Different news sources will give you different perspectives on the situation, and even different “facts,” but this much is certain: Hamas is a formally declared terrorist organization.  People seem to forget that.  Palestine is not a formal country, despite the UN’s best efforts to make it so.  People seem to forget that, too.  The overwhelming anti-Semitic tone of the mainstream media’s coverage, as well as the US’s standoffish approach to the situation, certainly doesn’t leave a peaceful feeling in the pit of my stomach.  But, hey, they’re just Jews, and it’s probably their fault anyway.  And if blaming them worked for 1930’s Nazi Germany, it can certainly work now.

Thanks for showing your true colors, world.

 

I Thought We Settled That Shit, Bro

ISIS is certainly making headway in Iraq (as well as the rest of the Middle East) on their quest for Sharia-led world domination.  And I know of quite a few active and former service members who, aside from being enraged about the current crisis that our government helped make happen, wouldn’t mind going back to lend a hand in remedying the situation, if you know what I mean.  They may just get the opportunity, thanks to a flip-flop in White House administration policy regarding the use of military force in Iraq.  President Obama declared this week the authorization of targeted airstrikes in support of the defense against invading Islamic militants, but stressed that the US will not support operations with ground troops.  Laughable, as this was the same policy put into effect in Libya, with pitiful consequences.

10+ years, billions of dollars, and hundreds of dead soldiers later, we’re back to where we started.  If a full withdrawal of troops is Obama’s desired legacy, as has been stated, then just get the fuck out of there and let the place (further) go to shit.  Why not?  Putting lipstick on a pig is exactly that.  Though, I’ve previously stated enough on my views of US foreign policy that I don’t think there is anything more constructive or innovative I can add here.

Good luck with your quagmire.  Let us know how it works out for you.

 

Putin Putout

Citizens of the US can no longer purchase newly manufactured Russian made (read: Kalashnikov Concern, makers of Saiga and other Izhmash factory produced firearms) AK-pattern rifles thanks to one of the many sanctions imposed against Russia by President Barack Obama.  At this news, some were pissed, some were indifferent, some were filled with joy.  Multiple subsequent postings on firearms boards and trade sites had many users pulling their Russian-made rifles out of the woodwork and listing them for ridiculous premiums, similar to the phenomenon that struck the firearms industry immediately after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

So what does that have to do with anything?

Aside from my utter sadness, yet understanding, of the aforementioned news, Russia has decided to retaliate against the European Union, the US, and associated opposition for the recent tightening of sanctions.  In a vibrant display of kamikaze affection, Putin announced the immediate embargo on the import of numerous foodstuffs, instigating a trade war which could possibly disrupt the world’s economies.  Because if Russia’s going down, they’re taking the rest of us with them.

Sooo… can we just let them keep Crimea now?  This shit is getting more and more pointless.

 

The Wrap Up…

The world’s plights may make for entertaining fodder, or a short discussion between friends, or a half-amusing blog post, but these are real issues affecting real people.  And we’re moving backward.

The United States faces geopolitical and economic pressures like never before seen in world history.  Despite our best efforts through the evolution of science and technology, obstacles such as disease, war, and famine still erode any progress we make as a society.  Cultural barriers block an outstretched hand.   Trade barriers block a peaceful union.  Leadership barriers block a meaningful discussion.  We yearn to fly, but face against the wind.

The time has come for our nation to turn around and spread its wings.

Hold Me Closer, Hobby Lobby

In a direct hit to the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka Obamacare), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision on Monday allowing “closely held” for-profit companies to refuse to cover contraceptives via their insurance programs if they hold religious objections to these sorts of fancy, first-world-sponsored creations of the devil.

As noted in Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dissent of the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case, unknown is the breadth of reach this decision could have on future “religiously based” employer mandates; whether this will allow employers to encroach upon human rights (denying life-saving coverage such as blood transfusions), or force their employees to perform actions against their will (say, mandatorily perform salat five times a day, because, Allah).

Also unknown is how “closely held” the company must be in order for the company to act upon their so-called “objections.” If you bear hug the shit out of it, does that count? Also, who’s “objections” are being voiced, exactly?

So a Priest, a Rabbi, and a Satanist go in on a company…

The joke would be funnier if the implications weren’t so frightening. Thanks, SCOTUS, you earned that 30% approval rating.

Current Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Feel their power. Heed to their glory.

However, what is known is that the protection afforded to employees by making mandatory a certain level of coverage has now been undermined. The worst part of this debacle is that people are failing to recognize that this is a public health issue, not a religious one.

As noted in a number of articles, birth control does much more than simply preventing pregnancy. There are other aspects of taking birth control that are medically relevant to the health and well-being of women, such as reducing the risk of cancer, quelling the discomfort of menstruation, and balancing hormones.

It’s not about sex. It’s not about faith. It’s about health.

Ginsburg acknowledged that in her dissent. “What the Court must decide is not ‘the plausibility of a religious claim…’ but whether accommodating that claim risks depriving others of rights accorded them by the laws of the United States.”

Denying coverage of contraceptives, or any other legitimate medical need, leads to a lack of accessibility. Ever check to see the original cost of medications your doctor has prescribed you? It’s a hell of a lot cheaper through insurance. Wages aren’t exactly on the rise, by any means. And Washington has yet to spearhead any in-depth, fruitful inquiry into the high medical costs that plague the health care industry, let alone talk about the issue.

The Supreme Court majority royally fucked up here when they fell for the religion ploy. I place the blame, and any subsequent fallout, squarely on their shoulders – make no mistake about it. Hobby Lobby just so happened to be the good, God-fearing Christians who brought the case forward. You know, the same ones who order and stock cheaper and more profitable products produced in China by slave workers forced to live in the squalid settings of the poverty-laden repression they face every day. Those ones.

Religious beliefs should be and are protected, but to what end? The opinion issued by Justice Scalia attacked the dissent as questioning the faith of the organization. This is the same man who also said, when issuing the ruling on Employment Divison v. Smith (1990), “To permit [that a person may defy neutral laws of general applicability, such as public accommodation laws, as an expression of religious belief]would make the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect to permit every citizen to become a law unto himself.”

So a company can establish blatantly discriminatory practices based on “faith,” but individuals don’t meet the standard? Companies like Hobby Lobby make their profits off the backs of the same people they’re disenfranchising. Worker’s rights are now effectively dead.

The oft-mentioned Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) doesn’t even apply here, except to discredit the Supreme’s own majority ruling. The purpose of the law, passed in 1993 as a direct response to the above mentioned case, was to establish an overriding of a general law if it was found to be unreasonably burdensome to a person’s exercise of their religion. I see no mention of “companies” made, let alone the connection between offering a choice and forcing one’s self to exercise that choice.

There is no burden, plain and simple. There are only discriminatory tactics that are working against a sound public health policy.

I don’t agree with a lot of the ACA, but if you don’t see the flaws in this ruling, you must really hate women more than you love God.

Washington’s Wake Up Call

An effigy of change has taken hold in the 7^th congressional district in Virginia, and it spells hope for a nation mired in a political albatross.

In what’s being touted as a major upset to Republican politics, Dave Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College, widely defeated incumbent congressman and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor with a 56 to 44 percent win in the primaries. And given the district’s R+10 lean toward the GOP, Brat is all but a sure bet in November.

In this classic underdog story, Dave Brat, left, defeated incumbent congressman Eric Cantor, right, in the VA 7th congressional district Republican primaries.

The facts surrounding Brat’s successful run are simply astounding, and should serve as a warning to both parties that change begins on the ground, and America is not pleased with what we see in Washington.

Brat was outspent 40 to 1. Cantor had the backing of PACs, corporations, and other benefactors locally and nationally. Brat raised a paltry $200,000 for his run, most of it from grassroots supporters (and no support from any Tea Party faction, as was erroneously claimed). Running up to the primary election, polls indicated a potential landslide victory for Cantor. He had taken on most of his previous contenders with merely a scratch against him. However, when you fall out of favor with your constituency, all the money in the world can’t cushion the effects.

Brat ran on a moderate platform, as evidenced by his positions closely aligning with basic tenants of classic, pre-schism Republicanism. His oft-repeated mantra includes:

• That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice,
• That all individuals are entitled to equal rights, justice, and opportunities and should assume their responsibilities as citizens in a free society,
• That fiscal responsibility and budgetary restraints must be exercised at all levels of government,
• That the Federal Government must preserve individual liberty by observing Constitutional limitations,
• That peace is best preserved through a strong national defense,
• That faith in God, as recognized by our Founding Fathers, is essential to the moral fiber of the Nation

Oh my God, a sensible Republican! Well, time will tell, anyway, but these points certainly speak more to positive intrinsic beliefs than the cronyism and other disparities embodied by his soon-to-be predecessor.

Logic and politics fell hand in hand, and won. Are your feet beginning to feel the pangs of frost, yet? Certainly, hell must have frozen over.

With an approval rating hovering around only 14%, it’s no wonder congressional incumbents, such as Cantor, the first Majority Leader in United States history to be voted out of active office, are facing a tough re-election process in November. This example of bucking the trend should strike fear into their cold hearts, and lead our elected representatives to the realization that none of their jobs are safe.

We will not stand idly by as career politicians destroy the tenets of America.

We can harp on enacting term limits all day, stand upon our soap boxes with bullhorns, and decry the injustice we feel by our sworn leaders’ betrayal of the people’s interests, but in our country, the only way to enact real change is to vote. Our quintessential right has been re-infused and given new hope by the actions of a 65,000 citizen-strong electorate.

Our nation doesn’t need to be ruled by an extreme, ruthless faction of tyrannical partisan hacks. We just need to pull our heads out of our asses long enough to smell freedom, and pull the lever for some well-qualified, levelheaded, fresh faces.

During a post-election event last night outside Richmond, VA, Brat stated, “”The reason we won this campaign, there is just one reason, and that’s because dollars do not vote – you do.”

Here’s your wake up call, Washington.