The Grinch that Stole Christmas – Trump & The GOP

by with No Comment FeaturedPolitics

2020… over 300,000 deaths and over 19 million cases of COVID-19. A year has been taken away from millions of Americans because of poor leadership. Trump and the GOP’s bad leadership is not the cause of COVID-19, but there is no doubt that bad leadership (and the lack of good leadership) has been the cause of the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Businesses have shut down, hotels, tourism, and restaurants have lost revenue. A stimulus relief bill was passed by the Democratic House of Representatives… in May 2020, but GOP refused to help American families. Late spring, Congress passed a one-time $1,200 stimulus and never released another stimulus. I’m honestly not sure if the GOP cares about people’s long-term finances, and their mental and physical health as well. Americans (who needed it) quickly went through that $1200. There is no way $1200 would have survived the remaining of the year. You do not need an Economic Class to know that the longer the debt, the bigger the debt, and Americans are hurting.

GOP math seems to believe that if you give people a one-time $1200 or $600 stimulus, despite most American’s living check to check, it’ll be enough to make ends meet. The President ironically put a halt on the relief bill, claiming all of sudden he is for a $2000 stimulus relief payment instead of $600. Meanwhile, millions are unemployed and that number increases by nearly 1 million jobless Americans a month. Americans are still being told to stay indoors and socially distance if or when they leave the house, avoid non-immediate family, and be safe. Some are nervous about becoming homeless, losing their cars, and how they’ll eat every day. But on Christmas Day, South Carolina’s Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was golfing with President Trump. Meanwhile, by the end of the day on Saturday, December 26, 2020, millions were faced with losing their unemployment benefits, and on Dec 31, millions will lose eviction protection and the Government shuts down if not funded. 

Over 26 friends of President Trump were pardoned by the President. Many who have pleaded guilty and even murders were pardoned and the GOP is silent. Russia hacked in the government departments and GOP is silent. Trump used Georgia’s Run-Off election for personal financial gain with zero amount going to Georgia Republican candidates… and GOP is silent. In December 2020, the GOP voted to defund the state Police Departments after they campaign just the opposite. We’re constantly seeing that the GOP never has the interest of the everyday American at heart, instead, their personal benefits, which includes the wealthy. GOP has failed the American people in almost every area… healthcare, wages, infrastructure, funding for schools, hospitals, small businesses, homes, immigration, Civil Rights, and more, and as a result, this Holiday Season has probably been more stressful and tense for Americans than ever before. A time of the year usually meant for peace, celebration and cheer, has been literally stolen by the GOP. The Grinch that stole Christmas… that’s the GOP.

Similar Read: Trump and Smokers

A Note to Those Nervous About the Holidays

by with No Comment FeaturedGen Z

If the thought of seeing your family around the holidays makes you nervous, you’re not alone. As the political Black Sheep in my family, I understand what it’s like to spend time around people you love, but entirely disagree with. Mixing differing political beliefs with family love can be a very difficult crossroads to be stuck at. They’re your family and you love them and don’t want to fight, but political beliefs can have strong feelings behind them. So what do you do? How do you push past your differences and share in the joy of the holiday season?

After the 2016 election, my mother tried to incite a “no politics” rule for holiday dinner conversation. However, rules like that are easy to say but harder to follow. If your family is anything like mine, political conversation is basically inevitable. So how do you deal with it? When I was younger I would try to fight back. I would get angry and upset, which naturally only made things worse. It’s hard to bite your tongue when you hear things you disagree with so strongly, but after a while I learned that fighting back would only add fuel to the fire. I quickly realized I was outnumbered and no matter what I said or how I worded it, there was no winning for me.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, my best suggestion is to find someone else to talk to. Whether you find someone who agrees with you or even just someone who doesn’t want to talk politics, whoever you find will help you feel a little less alone. For me, this person is my brother. Although he has learned to stay quiet like I have, even just having someone to shoot a glance at when you hear something you don’t agree with goes a long way.

Another tactic you can employ is changing the subject when the conversation gets too heated. During the holidays my mother tries her best to cut off any political conversation as soon as it starts, that way it never even has the chance to escalate. Political conversations can easily turn into fights. If you can redirect the conversation before it even begins, then there’s no fight to have to diffuse later.

 The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and happiness surrounded by loved ones. Talking politics may make for an interesting debate, but the subject can be very touchy and can easily take a turn for the worst. The important thing to remember is that regardless of what you say, people are very unlikely to actually change their opinions. So why cause yourself the stress? Talking politics during the holidays is far more likely to lead to a fight rather than a productive conversation. Save everyone the hassle and leave the politics at the door so everyone can have an enjoyable holiday season. 

This article was originally published on 12 December 2018.

A Bowl of Soup, Super Bowl Politics

by with No Comment FeaturedSports

You ever have a good bowl of soup? I mean a really good bowl of soup. Either jumbo, crab soup or Étouffée… well, I don’t think Étouffée is soup but it’s served in a bowl with soup like features… all of which leave mouth watering feels if you don’t eat it that often. That’s because soup is generally blah served via a can and you’re only eating it cause you’re a little under the weather or cold. So when you do get a good bowl of soup, my God, it’s amazing. More amazing than a traditional dish of food sometimes. 

I for one gladly break my plant-based diet during my annual trip to New Orleans to satisfy my desire for some shrimp Étouffée or jumbo. Delicious!

I thought about a bowl of soup while thinking of a Super Bowl recap. Whether you’re a casual football fan or a die-hard fan like myself, it’s hard not to say this Super Bowl lived up to the hype. It was a bowl of disappointment, reminding me of regular soup. The soup we all order at a restaurant that isn’t terrible, but not memorable.

Each football season we look forward to the Super Bowl. It’s an unofficial holiday, and despite never knowing exactly who will be playing, it’s mega get together akin to Thanksgiving and Christmas. We love the Super Bowl, even if our respective clubs aren’t playing.

Last Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots was exactly that – a bowl of soup on the menu that looked promising, but ended up not being eaten and made you have that awkward talk with the waiter to “try something else” instead.

Outside of Patriots fans, no one had an interest in seeing the Patriots appear in their third straight Super Bowl and their fourth in the last five years. Most knew if the Patriots got in, especially against the Rams, they were going to win. No matter what transpired in the actual game, a super dud in many opinions, the outcome was going to be Tom Brady hosting up the Lombardi trophy. 

The backdrop of the Super Bowl didn’t help the lack of interest either. The conference title games between the Patriots and Chiefs and the Saints and Rams both ended in major controversy. Between a bogus roughing the passer call on Tom Brady, not shocking, to the missed pass interference call against the Rams, many fans felt as if the Patriots and Rams didn’t even belong in the Super Bowl, let alone excited to watch them play. 

To make the situation worse, the game was terrible. Terrible in every sense of the word. It didn’t deliver the same excitement we saw in earlier season games, and it was definitely underwhelming in comparison to last years Super Bowl with the Eagles and Patriots.

The Super Bowl was supposed to be some world famous Wolfgang Puck tortilla soup, but instead, it tasted more like hard strips of stale chips in broth. Yuckers! 

Next year’s presidential election will likely be similar to the stale chips. It’ll pit Trump against a Democrat primary sure to be full of drama and intrigue. While we’re all excited to see the complete list of candidates, we know the eventual primary winner is sure to be common and uninspiring. Obama ’08 was an anomaly, not the norm. 

Every now and then we get a Patriots comeback against the Atlanta Falcons (SB LI – 2017), or the Seattle Seahawks (SB XLIX – 2015) Russell Wilson throwing an interception on the goal line when everyone in the stadium just knew they’d score and take the lead with seconds remaining. Those Super Bowls were anything but common, just like Obama ’08. But, for the most part, Super Bowls have either been blowouts or okay at best. Or should I say, just a regular bowl of soup… and 2020 will be no different.