AOC Speaks the Truth About the State of Our Government

One of the key aspects of being in politics (as I see it) is the ability to clearly communicate with the voting public. Supporting legislation that fits within your belief system is good and obviously part of the job. But if the public is not aware of it, it makes us wonder if we voted for the right person.

The frustration coming from many Democrats is that while those in power are doing what they were hired to do, their Achilles heel is messaging. Meanwhile, the Republicans are exceptional at sharing their message. However, the implication is that they want to tear down this country and rebuilt it as a religious autocracy in which anyone who is not a caucasian Christian heterosexual male is a second-class citizen.

Last week, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Though I thoroughly dislike her stance on Israel, she speaks the truth about what must be done to save America from itself.

If only those at the top would listen…

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Saying Goodbye to Melania Trump in the Best Way Possible: With A Song In Her Heart, Melania Trump Returns To New York

Imitation, we are told is the sincerest form of flattery. It can also reveal truths that we would rather not deal with.

For the last four years, actress Laura Benanti has been satirizing former First Lady Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Last Tuesday, Benanti stepped into the shoes of Mrs. Trump for the last time.

Start at 3:53

It’s as if they were saving the best for last. Using the opening number from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast as a baseline, the song speaks to how much we want her and her family out of the city.

I hate to say it, but there is one thing I will miss about you know who and his family. It is the comedy that is writing itself.

The Holocaust and the Attack on Jussie Smollett Happened For The Same Reason

This past Sunday was Holocaust Remembrance Day. Earlier this week, actor Jussie Smollett was verbally and physically attacked on the streets of Chicago for being a member of the African-American and LGBTQ communities.

Though both events may appear to be different, they are related by one very disturbing fact: someone decided that because another human being is different, they have the right to verbally abuse and physically attack them. In an ideal world, we would judge our fellow human being by who they are as an individual, not by how the identify themselves. But we don’t live in an ideal world. We live in a world where we someone walking down the street and we judge them based on factors such as skin color, religion, etc.

Last night, actor Ellen Page was on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert and accused Vice President Mike Pence of contributing to the attack on Mr. Smollett.

I agree with her. Whether we realize it or not, those in power can influence the average man or woman on the street. If we see our political leaders working towards diversity and respect, we try to emulate them. On the flip side, if we see our political leaders endorsing hate/prejudice and using their position to legislate either, we see it as a go ahead to attack another human being because they are not like us.

It’s 2019. We have a choice at this point. We can choose love, diversity and respect for our fellow beings. Or, we can continue on this path of hate and prejudice. I hope that we (when I say we, I mean a collective cultural “we”), choose love, diversity and respect. But these days, hope often springs eternal.

 

Thoughts On Kirsten Gillibrand’s 2020 Presidential Election Announcement

Yesterday, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced that she was throwing her hat into the ring for the 2020 Presidential election on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

I am absolutely thrilled with this announcement. Not just because she is my Senator, but because I think (and hope) that she has a shot of winning the party nomination and getting a certain person out of office. It’s about time that America caught up with the rest of the world and elected a woman to lead us. Unlike the current occupant in Washington D.C., she understands the needs of the average American. She is not just saying what we want to hear, she is saying what has to be done to move this country forward. She is a woman balancing a marriage, raising children, working and dealing with what we all deal with.

If I am being honest, I don’t believe that Elizabeth Warren would be able to win the election. I believe that Senator Gillibrand would be able to win the nomination and the election.

Next year is the centenary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. To know that Americans have elected a woman into the highest political office in the land a century after American women were given the vote would be more than a dream come true. It would finally shatter the glass ceiling and prove once and for all that women are much more than we are made out to be.

Only time will tell, but I am crossing fingers that fall, we will be able to say President Elect Gillibrand.

 

 

 

Thoughts On Bill Clinton’s #Metoo Comments

A Presidential Impeachment is history making. 20 years, Bill Clinton was nearly impeached for lying about the sexual liaison he had with then White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

While promoting his new book, The President Is Missing, (co-written with James Patterson) on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, President Clinton was asked about the scandal.

 

I believe that we have to take the following into consideration when passing judgement on President Clinton:

1. He was not the first and will not be the last public official who is caught having an extramarital affair.
2. An older male manager taking sexual advantage of a younger female employee is nothing new. Working women throughout history have dealt with this problem for an untold number of generations.
3. We didn’t have the language or the perspective in 1998 that we have today. The #Metoo movement has shined a necessarily uncomfortable spotlight on the issue of sexual harassment and assault, especially in the workplace.
4. Unlike other men accused of a similar crime (especially you know who), President Clinton appears from my perspective to be genuinely contrite about his actions.

However, his apologies cannot and will not absolve him of his actions. While his reputation has recovered, the reputations of the women linked to the scandal will forever be tainted. Monica Lewinsky will never lead a normal life. Hillary Clinton perhaps could have perhaps won the 2016 Presidential election, if not for her husband’s past misdeeds.

I don’t know if I will ever completely forgive President Clinton. But at the same time, I appreciate the apology and his support for the #Metoo movement. If there is any silver lining in this story, it is that the #Metoo movement is not going away. It is only getting stronger and will continue to grow until women are treated equal to men.

Thoughts On Michelle Wolf And White House Correspondents’ Dinner

A good comedian knows how to make audiences laugh while making them think at the same time.

Michelle Wolf made the audience laugh at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night. She also made quite a few people angry.

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is at its core, supposed to be a roast. It’s supposed to be an opportunity for both politicians and members of the press to relax and have a congenial laugh at each other’s expense. The problem in regards to the response to her act as I see it is two-fold. The first issue is that you know who did not attend either last year or this year’s dinner because underneath his braggadocios b*llshit, he is really thin-skinned and cannot take a joke. The second issue is that politics these days is such a sensitive topic that it doesn’t take much to push someone’s buttons.

Personally, I thought she was really funny. No one was left off the hook, regardless of political affiliation or title. She is also a woman who is not afraid to step out of the box of always being nice or complementary. It’s 2018, that concept alone still makes some people feel uncomfortable.

I could go on, but I think Stephen Colbert hit the nail on the head.

There has been some talk of this year being the last year that the dinner is held. That conversation has been started by you know who, not surprisingly. The tradition needs to continue. Not only because it represents what democracy truly looks like, but also because it humanizes adversaries who are normally at each other’s throats. We will need that humanity to ensure that the American democracy lives on long after this generation is gone.

Abstinence Only Education Does Not Work

Like any subject, one needs all of the information before making any decisions. Sex is no different.

Our kids are going to have sex eventually. It’ a part of growing up and a part of life. For most, if not all students in America, sex education is part of their classroom experience.

Unfortunately, some adults still believe that the only sex education our students should receive is abstinence only. The problem is that abstinence only programs do not work in reducing teenage pregnancies or the rate of transmission of sexual transmitted diseases.

Very recently, the orange one in Washington D.C. has announced that he will be financially promoting abstinence among programs in the nation’s schools.

Not only is that dangerous, but it is a joke considering his own past.

While it’s true that not being sexually active prevents unwanted pregnancy and STDs, it is to my mind unrealistic to teach our young people that sex is bad. What is bad or wrong makes it all the more tempting and fuels rebellion.

Some might say that sex education encourages promiscuity, but I don’t agree. These are the same people who say that sex should wait until marriage. It’s 2018, to ask a teenager to wait until marriage to become sexually active feels like an antiquated idea that is straight out of 1958.

In the end, our kids will be having sex eventually. We just have to make sure that they have all of the information so that a decision that could potentially be life changing is based on facts and not myth or rumor is made.

Billy Bush Finally Speaks

We all remember the Billy Bush Access Hollywood tape from last fall.

It was what many of us hoped would be the downfall of Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign. Instead Trump won the election and Billy Bush‘s life and career were left in tatters.

Though he publicly apologized for the video’s content last year, Trump has recently rescinded that apology and claimed that it was not him making those statements.  In response to the rescinded apology, Billy Bush has not only written a NY Times Op-Ed about the video, but he also recently appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to talk about not only the video, but how his life has changed since last fall.

It’s not easy to do what he did, especially considering the very public downfall that occurred after the release of the video. Nor is it easy to forgive him for condoning Trump’s behavior. But the fact that he is willing to speak up says a lot. I hope more will join him. Perhaps then, this country will return to a state of normalcy.

Trump’s New Immigration Policy

America, despite its lofty ideals of freedom and diversity, can sometimes be described as “do as I say, not as I do”.

Our immigration policy history is not as welcoming as we might think. Added to the list of these policies is President Trump’s new immigration policy, if Congress agrees to codify it into law, will be one more blemish on the lofty ideals that we claim to be proud of.

Unless someone can say that they have Native American ancestry (and even their ancestors had to come from somewhere else), we are all immigrants. Most Americans can trace their family back to someone who chose to leave their family and their homeland for a new life in America. That is the first issue that I have with the proposed amendment to the immigration policy. The second is a reply to the b*llsh*t excuse that has been used for generations to prevent new immigrants from coming into the country: they will take our jobs. While some new immigrants may have a professional background and a degree, many others have to start from scratch. Find me an American citizen who wants to spend their days picking vegetables under a hot sun or washing dishes in a restaurant and earning minimum wage. That person is unlikely to be found.

I could go on, but I think Stephen Colbert’s response and satirical revision of Emma Lazarus’s The New Colossus in response to the new proposed policy says it all.