Blood on the GOP’s Hands

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The massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland this past Valentine’s Day has brought forth a debate, the same one that comes up after every mass shooting in recent memory. The issue of gun control is a hot-button; it ignites so much passion on both sides of the aisle that it’s hard to get past the rhetoric and the finger-pointing and the conspiracy theories to see what’s really going on.

The National Rifle Association has been blamed for the rising number of people killed by firearms, including assault weapons – rifles designed for the sole purpose of killing many people in the shortest amount of time with minimal effort. Supporters fight back, citing the Second Amendment, unwilling to give even one inch of ground, for fear of creating a slippery slope of bans, regulations, and limitations.

I’m not against gun ownership. I come from a family of law enforcement officers, and have owned firearms myself. Most NRA members are in favor of responsible and sensible gun laws. I am; however, against owning guns designed for offensive and systematic mass murder. 

The Constitution is vague by design, and can be interpreted in a number of different ways. It’s this vagueness that has made the NRA extremely influential in US politics, and the reason assault rifles and other non-civilian firearms are sold in such vast numbers. While a handful of Democrats have taken money from the NRA, the vast majority of recipients are Republicans.

But this is the tip of the iceberg. Just under $6 million was directly donated to candidates’ campaigns during the 2016 election cycle. The bulk of the NRA’s influence is due to outside, or independent spending –  terms that encompass expenditures for everything other than lining a politician’s pockets. A case in point, an October 2017 Politifact article reveals that the NRA spent more than $200 million on political activities since 1998. Other spending includes promotional efforts, totaling about $250 million per year. 

The NRA didn’t start out as the perceived supporter of murder and mayhem, as some gun control advocates might believe. The humble beginnings consisted of a group of apolitical hobbyists who supported gun safety and responsible gun laws. Some events appear to have changed the focus of the NRA to a lobby for the GOP – the 1966 University of Texas shooting that killed 17 people caused a furor of calls to ban guns, with an equally passionate defense of gun ownership. The assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, among other violent events, resulted in the 1968 Gun Control Act, which started a tug or war between the NRA and gun control advocates, and served to start the ideological path of the association to the hard right. The Cincinnati revolt of 1977 also widened the chasm between sensible gun ownership and rabid Second Amendment defense. 

Membership numbers swelled, which put the NRA on the path as a lobby with money to promote its ideology. Currently membership is around four million members, but donations by members, corporations (including gun manufacturers) and other political entities are significant. Total annual donations by individuals totaled $22 million in 2014.

It’s easy to see how the NRA morphed from advocate for firearms education and safety to radical right-wing lobby, willing to halt any and all legislation to regulate firearms. Let’s call a spade a spade – the NRA doesn’t care about the multitudes of adults and children that are killed by bullets. They relish it – gun control proposals make membership surge, and causes a spike in gun sales. It seems that after every massacre, the NRA gains more power.

However, the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida seems to have given rise to a movement that has the potential to give the NRA a taste of humble pie. These kids are sick of active-shooter drills, and hearing the NRA offer “thoughts and prayers.” They will be the ones in office in just a few years’ time, and are likely to change the face of gun ownership for decades to come. 

The Deadly Decisions of Donald Trump

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NPR published a story this week highlighting the recent increase of the number of coal miners diagnosed with progressive massive fibrosis, otherwise known as black lung disease, in central Appalachia, the heart of coal mining in the US. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says that they have identified the largest cluster of advanced black lung disease ever reported. More than 400 new cases between 2013 and 2017 were reported by just three clinics in the area.

The disease was nearly wiped out in the mid-90s, with those clinics reporting five to seven cases per year. The number of cases has multiplied alarmingly to five to seven cases every two weeks or so. The spike is attributed to several causes, including longer shifts and the mining of thinner coal seams, grinding up the surrounding rock into silica dust, which is deadlier than the coal dust itself. The increase of layoffs and retirements also contributed, and brought in more miners into the clinics to take advantage of federal black lung compensation programs.

The Trump Administration is looking into rolling back some of the protections implemented just two years ago, which increased protections for miners by forcing operators to limit mine workers’ exposure to the dust by adding filters to the work areas, among other things. While the administration may not touch the regulations themselves, they are impacting the ability to enforce those regulations.

As in other departments, Trump’s strategy appears to be hiring the fox to guard the henhouse. The former mine safety chief of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, Joe Main, was the driving force behind these tougher regulations. Trump’s pick to replace him is David Zatezalo, former chairman of Rhino Resources, which has been cited numerous times for mine safety violations.

Workers in the coal industry might see this appointment as bringing in one of their own. The coal industry is declining, and miners need to feed their families. However, no critically-thinking human can deny that the coal industry is killing people, destroying families, abusing the environment, and enriching the oligarchs. When one takes into consideration all of the factors, Trump’s rhetoric about caring for the coal miners rings hollow.

Similar read: Betrayal of the Coal Miner

Schumer Takes One for the Country

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He almost lasted a whole year. President Trump’s first government shutdown comes even with the Republicans holding all the cards.

Chuck Schumer had the upper hand in this shutdown but was forced to give in by agreeing to support a deal to keep the federal government open until Feb. 8, leaving immigrants who came to the U.S. at a young age in political chaos.

Last week, Senate Democrats were holding their ground for full protection for the Dreamers but settled for an ambiguous promise to discuss the crisis. Even if the Senate does debate a bill in the next month or so to protect the Dreamers, there will be little to hold Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to his promise to schedule a vote. What makes this situation even more taxing, is if there is a vote and it ends in their favor, there is little-to-no guarantee Trump will sign it.

Schumer held a lot of power in this situation. He had the president and the GOP majorities in Congress cornered with the pressures that was built up to protect the Dreamers thanks to the public outcry for more options, but let it slip away.

Had Schumer waited for a few days, Republicans might have folded and bowed to the public pressure to keep the government open and protect the Dreamers. But now, we won’t ever know if the Republicans would have learned an important lesson in humility.

In the next few weeks we will learn how much the American people who are more liberal-minded, and the dreamers who are holding on by a thread, will have to pay to keep things somewhat balanced.

If we can even call it that anymore.

The (White) Women’s March

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This past weekend, on the anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration, people from all walks of life gathered in the streets to bring awareness to sexism, sexual assault, misogyny, reproductive rights, and feminism, as well as celebrate equality and the power of women’s (and allies’) voices in this nation. Seeing people all over the country take to the streets for a second year in a row to protest our current administration and its policies as well as celebrate the power of women, is a welcomed resistance against the current and historic oppressions facing women and other marginalized communities.

However, the marginalization and alienation that The Women’s March and resurgence of the feminist movement exist to fight, lives within these movements. Even in a collective, all our voices are not heard. The traditionally marginalized voices of women of color and POC members of the LGBTQ+ community are still muffled, if not ignored all together.

True progress comes when black women’s issues are women’s issues, when trans issues are women’s issues, and when having a seat at the table is more than a token appearance, but an investment in the thoughts and minds of those who are different from yourself.

The feminist movement historically and notoriously ignores intersectionality, and has never been inclusive of all groups, making it a somewhat problematic movement. That is not to say its problematic nature invalidates its main goal of equality. The Women’s March and the feminist movement are making progress in society, but not progress for everyone. The change being made is positive, but as a society, we’ve still got a long way to go.

Surviving Womanhood #MeToo

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It was the first week of 8th grade and I, like the rest of the class, was ready to experience the excitement of the last year in middle school. After all, my friends and I were wearing our best outfits, we were older, and as young ladies our bodies looked more like grown women than little girls. That week I realized what the battle of being a woman was all about. My eighth-grade teacher taught me a valuable lesson – that standing up for respect as a woman comes at a hefty price. This teacher would come up to the young ladies, put his arm around them as they were doing work and get so close that his face would be inches from theirs. One day while at the board answering a question, he came up to me and stood entirely too close with his arm around me, and asked if I needed help. I took a step away from him, and in front of the entire class said, “I rather you not put your arm around me or be that close when you speak to me, it is uncomfortable.” From that day on, I was on the shit list. I was kicked out of class every day for no reason, I was constantly ignored, and was disciplined without motive. The delivery of my message was public, and put him on the spot. However, I was intentional in my delivery because I wanted to be a voice for more than myself.

Fast forward to my first job at a pizza shop; I was 15 years old, answering phones and preparing orders. A male employee cornered me in the basement while I gathered supplies and tried to grope me. | At 17, I worked in an office for a man that greeted me with hugs that were too tight and kisses on my cheek that were too wet. | At 25, my director told me that I should wear a tight dress and lipstick because he was sure the client would like it. There are countless encounters throughout my career where men have looked, attempted to touch, made inappropriate comments, unwanted advances, and mentioned sexual innuendos. They were never welcomed, but to protect my professional place, I had to be careful how I handled it. When I was 15, I yelled at the man and told him never to touch me again, and my manager simply told me to stay away from him. At 17, I told the owner of the company that I did not like the greeting, and in order for me to continue to work for him, I would need a more professional environment. I thought I would lose my job that day, but it was worth the risk. And at 25, I didn’t say a thing, just laughed it off even though I was extremely uncomfortable.

The sad part is that my story is not unique. Many women face this every day. Unfortunately, our culture perpetuates harassment by allowing the advances to prevail. Woman are expected to accept them and move on with their day. Women are left constantly weighing the repercussions of how to respond to an unwanted advance at the risk of their place within a job, relationship, classroom, or community. Young ladies should not be taught that this behavior is acceptable, and it starts with having conversations in school. Both young ladies and young men must be taught to have a level of respect in their communication and have a clear understanding of what sexual harassment looks like and may feel like. For too long, silence has been perceived as acceptance, and as a community, we must no longer be silent. Let’s teach the next generation how to speak up so that sexual harassment is no longer the norm – until no woman has to say, “me too.”

[H&M Board of Directors] Diversity = 0%

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H&M is a global brand; but as you can see from the picture above, their board of directors lacks diversity, any diversity. The Stefan Persson family, the Swedish billionaire founding family, owns the majority of voting shares, and by any metric you prefer they’re clearly a successful brand.

However, “Coolest Monkey In The Jungle” is probably a phrase every business should know not to associate with black people in their marketing campaigns, let alone a young black male… especially a company like H&M, the second largest clothing-retail company in the world with more than 4,500 stores and 130,000 employees. At least you’d think they’d know not to do such a thing, but apparently not.

H&M has often used black models and other people of color to represent their brand. Just take a look at their 2016 Annual Report, which is their main snapshot and pitch to current and potential investors…

So if these are the images they portray to their investors, why would they think a young black male in a “Coolest Monkey In The Jungle” hoodie would fly?

Lack of diversity, pure ignorance? Either way, when will large companies stop making such careless mistakes that threaten their bottom line? The Weekend quickly responded and tweeted to his 8 million + followers that he would no longer be working with them.

The 24/7 meme creators quickly responded. Too bad this isn’t the image H&M released in an attempt to market their youth apparel.

Instead, they signed off on an insensitive and offensive image, which will probably end up being the first of many marketing blunders of 2018 that offends people of color.

Is Sexism Inevitable?

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Cat-calling. Body shaming. Objectification. Anti-feminism. Being a woman in America can be a daily stressor. America, from its inception, has been a sexist and patriarchal country. Forget the standard pressures of balancing school, work, and your personal life. The mere fact you have two X chromosomes means you are subject to certain unnecessary stressors, such as harassment and hyper-sexualization.

From the time a girl is born, society puts limits on her in terms of what she can or cannot do according to her gender. While little boys are encouraged to be wild and explorative, little girls are told to sit and play. And while the little girls are sitting and playing nice, today’s media bombards them with constant images of the “perfect” body, usually in a tight and/or barely-there outfit to highlight every physical asset possible. Little girls learn quickly that much of their worth is determined by their dress size, bra size, and how they rank on the pretty scale of 1 to 10. By the time they reach adolescence the double standard for women has been reinforced, and every day is a constant reminder of their inferiority to men.

When I was in middle school, I remember wanting to join the basketball team at my small private school. I was tall for my age, over 5 feet, when most students my age (boys included) were only 4 foot-something. Unfortunately, instead of being allowed to try out for the basketball team, I was told basketball was for boys and I should join the cheerleading team.

When I was in high school, I remember the day I went to career counseling. I told my guidance counselor I wanted to be an engineer or astrophysicist working at NASA. Her response was, “Ok, but let’s look at other options as well because those aren’t fields women typically do well in.”

When I was in college, I was raped. Like most victims of sexual assault, I did not report it – not to the police or my parents. I knew the system was against me as a woman and I did not want to be humiliated or shamed. Unfortunately in America, when a woman says she is a victim of sexual assault, she is questioned. What did you do? Are you sure? How was it rape if you didn’t fight back? Women are blamed by men and other women for what they were wearing, where they were going, etc., for an action she did not ask for or consent to. When women blame other women for their rape(s); or as in my case end up dating your rapist on top of calling you a liar; it is especially painful.

When I was in my mid-twenties I was working on the corporate side of healthcare. I remember trying to offer ideas in business meetings, but apparently, no one heard me. I decided to assert myself even more as I had seen my male counterparts do. However, when I took that initiative I was labeled as too loud and bossy, and when I complained about the unfair labels I was told I was too emotional. I remember many of my ideas being shot down only to be later suggested as my boss’ original thoughts. 

Now I am over thirty and my womanhood is frequently questioned because I am unmarried with no kids. If a woman at this stage in life gives the slightest impression she enjoys sex, she fears being labeled in a negative way (i.e. she’s a “hoe”, she’s “loose,” etc.), though men are rarely labeled “hoes” for their assumed promiscuity. Whenever I do marry and decide to have kids it will be a battle to get adequate maternity leave.

Most women can relate to similar if not worse situations of sexism and unnecessary stressors during these phases of their life.

The problem with how women are viewed and treated in American society can partially be blamed on women as well. Some women help keep the negative female connotations going by condoning negative male behavior. When President Trump was campaigning and his “locker room talk” about grabbing women by the pussy was leaked, many women dismissed his negative behavior and still voted for him. Daily, I see women tear each other down rather than build each other up, and add negative rhetoric about how a woman should or should not act.

I could go on for days describing the hypocrisies and everyday nuisances of being a woman in America. However, the question I really want an answer to is when will the blame game stop, and when will men start taking responsibilities for their actions? When will men start calling out other men when they do offensive things to women? When will we truly advance from this patriarchal, chauvinistic society?

It looks like times are starting to change. I guess better late than never.

Trump’s Tax Bill Might Destroy the Middle-Class

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Inside the numbers… According to a recent WSJ Poll, only 24% of Americans believe this is tax bill is a good idea and 41% think it’s a bad idea; 63% of Americans think it’s designed for corporations and the wealthy, and only 7% think it’s designed for the middle-class, which has been a Republican talking point over the past few weeks.

As this recent poll states, this tax plan is highly unpopular.

Without going into grave policy detail… this tax plan will absolutely benefit corporations and wealthy individuals more than the middle-class. It will increase wage inequality and shrink the middle-class, sending more households to the lower class and fewer to the upper class. Also, this tax plan repeals the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act. According to the CBO (Congressional Budget Office), a nonpartisan group of economists, roughly 13 million people will lose their health insurance due to repealing the mandate.

What Republicans are not telling us, excuse me, what they’re not admitting, is that they know trickle down economics doesn’t work. They also know that corporations likely won’t hire more employees or increase wages when these tax cuts are signed into law, instead, they’ll reinvest in their businesses, buy back stock, and give out record bonuses to their top management and c-suite executives. While this tax bill adds $1.5 trillion to our national debt, they’re already planning on proposing huge cuts to entitlement programs in 2018_ all while 6-7-8 figure earners, as well as select groups like real estate developers and private equity professionals, benefit from these massive tax cuts.

With all that being said, Republican’s brilliantly designed this bill to have an immediate positive impact on most middle-class households [short-term]. But considering the personal tax provisions are set to expire in 10 years, it’s important to note that the business tax cuts will not. Therefore, the positive impact for corporations and the wealthy [in the long-term] is astounding and much greater. For example, in 2027, two-thirds of middle-class households will see a tax increase in their personal income taxes, and none of them will see a tax cut.

By design, this middle-class tax honeymoon will surely last long enough to surpass the 2018 mid-terms and 2020 presidential election. However, can Democrats capitalize on recent big wins in Virginia, New Jersey, and most recently Alabama, and pick up enough seats to challenge Trump and maybe win the White House? IF Democrats can somehow win the House and Senate, and the White House in 2020, can such a massic tax bill be easily reversed, or amended to thwart such a negative long-term impact on lower and middle-class households?

The Second Sexual Revolution

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[It took me less than an hour to write this article, but it took me weeks to get the courage.]

In the last few months, dozens of powerful men in entertainment, news, politics, and business have been accused of sexual misconduct from women – and men – who, for their own reasons, stayed silent until now. The result has been earth-shattering; public condemnation, and the loss of their lucrative positions. For some, but not all.

We now live in a fractured sexual culture. On one hand, powerful men are toppled like so many dominos by companies who supported them and ignored their actions for years. On the other hand, some seem impervious to consequences of the accusations. Even when several accusers speak up. Even when proof is provided. The reason for this is that they have an army of staff and supporters who are willing to parrot the accused’s assertion that these women are lying, and have ulterior motives for doing so. Chief among them is our own POTUS, who doesn’t simply accuse the women of lying about the accusations; he is saying they are liars. In my mind, that’s a big difference. Just like with the press, he is attempting to devalue and villainize these women – another form of sexual misconduct.

Questioning the motives of the accusers and the timing of these accusations are completely missing the point. Having been a target of sexual harassment, unwanted advances, and even assault, I can tell you my own motives for keeping silent:

I knew that no one would listen.

I knew that I could lose my job.

I knew that could be blamed for the assault myself.

I knew that no one would believe me.

My own mother didn’t believe me when I told her I had been raped. If my own mother wouldn’t believe me, who would?

We still live in that culture, even as a mere handful of high-profile men are removed from their positions of power. This is a drop in the bucket. Sexual harassment, unwanted advances, and rape happens every day. Every 98 seconds, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. That means that each year, more than 321,000 people age 12 and older are victims of assault. More than 880 people. Every. Single. Day. A high percentage of these assaults are by someone the victim knows – an employer, a co-worker, a lover or spouse, a respected celebrity or cultural icon with a squeaky-clean reputation.  And these statistics are only a small part of the real story. Multitudes more victims do not speak out for fear of victim-shaming or reprisal.

I think what we really need to question are the motives of the companies, political parties, military groups and studios that turned a blind eye, willfully ignored, or outright accepted as part of the culture, who let those powerful men get away with this behavior for years – even decades.

I believe that we’re at a turning point in this country. A second sexual revolution. As more men and women shine a light on their own experiences, others will be emboldened to do so as well. This is not as much about pointing fingers as it is validation. And as more victims step forward, the power will be taken away from those who abuse it.

The future doesn’t have to look like the past. 

Alabama Surprises Everyone… The LCR Responds…

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On Tuesday night (12/12/17), Doug Jones pulled out a narrow victory (by just 2%) over the Republican hopeful and alleged pedophile Roy Moore. For the first time in 25 years, Alamaba will send a Democratic Senator to Washington. Despite Donald Trump initially supporting Luther Strange, he eventually jumped all in to support Roy Moore. But allegations of sexual harassment and abuse proved to be too much. We asked some of our contributors to weigh in, and this is what they had to say…

“I suppose now Moore has completed the circle. Now everyone has a reason to hate him. He should have stepped aside. This to me is less of a call to halt conservatism and more of an end to the indecency that’s been endemic in our politics these past few years. Perhaps we are finally past the high water mark.” – Right Army Veteran 

“Doug Jones narrowly beating Roy Moore despite Moore’s recent accusations and historically spewing racial and religious intolerance for others should be of no surprise. Alabama historically stays proud of rejecting anyone who isn’t a white Protestant, scientific facts, healthcare, education, and countless other positive elements. What should be of surprise is the nation needing the likes of Alabama. In 2017, where phones can recognize your face, the US Senate shouldn’t be one Senator away from going back to 1940. Seems we have much more work to do. Using Alabama football as an example, we’re just a field goal ahead and haven’t even reached halftime yet.” – Independent Texan Male

“Alabama stood on the right side of history in this election. While the margin was a lot closer than I would like, the best man for the job won. I really hope this is indicative of what the 2018 elections will be like. We need these small victories to keep hope alive. Way to go, Alabama!” – Center Left HR 

“A year ago, Alabama overwhelmingly voted for Trump. Today marks a turning point, where the vote reflects a change in the ‘anything but a Democrat’ mentally. Perhaps there has been the wake-up call that some of us have been waiting for.”– Registered Independent Voter

“Doug Jones’ upset victory in a deeply red state bodes well for the Democrats and for the future of American politics. It demonstrates that there truly is a red line and that not any candidate can win just because of their party affiliation. That being said, Democrats need to take note of the importance of African-American voter turnout in this race and keep that in mind for 2018.”– Center Left College Student 

Similar Read: Model Citizen or Not, You Can Win in Alabama