Let's make America great again

Let's make America great again.

Let's teach our children that lying and cheating are bad and reward hard work and telling the truth.

Let's make America great again.

Let's preach love and kindness and understanding and show hate and bullying will not be tolerated in our country.

Let's make America great again.

Let's make our education system the best in the world by giving teachers the tools and support (and salaries) they need to do their jobs -- and celebrating learning and intellectual curiosity, not ignorance.

Let's make America great again.

Let's make sure all Americans have the healthcare they need, both physical and mental, without them having to worry if going to the doctor or hospital will financially harm or bankrupt them -- or forcing Americans to choose between their health or the health of a family member and eating or paying the rent. And while we're at it, let's make getting and paying for healthcare easier, so Americans don't have to spend hours trying to figure and fill out complicated insurance forms.

Let's make America great again.

Let's re-institute the FCC Fairness Doctrine, so television and radio stations cannot spout lies and falsehoods and mislead the American people.

Let's make America great again.

Let's make sure fewer children and adults die needlessly by signing into law sensible gun safety legislation.

Let's make America great again.

Let's give power back to the people by limiting big business's and wealthy donor's role in our elections -- and by outlawing gerrymandering.

Let's make America great again.

Let's embrace those who honor democracy and human rights and work together to spread the message that love trumps hate.

5 ways to fight Trump and make America great again

I, like many Americans, am sickened and angered by Donald Trump and his administration -- and the willingness of the GOP to kowtow to or silently accept Trump's heinous behavior and actions.

Trump has nominated people totally unqualified and/or unfit to take office. And since becoming president (words that are extremely difficult for me to type), Trump has taken actions that threaten women's/human rights, the environment, healthcare, education, and the economy. (Let me know if I left anything out.) And it is highly unlikely that the Republican-controlled House and Senate will do anything to stop the Trumpocalypse, until, perhaps, it is too late.

So what can we horrified American citizens do to try to limit the damage Trump is inflicting on us? Here are some suggestions, which even my fellow introverts can do.

• Call your local Representative and Senators, who you can find via https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials. Whether you want them to know where you stand on an issue or how you'd like them to vote on an appointment or bill, it's important to call them.

• Follow your Representatives and Senators on Facebook and/or sign up for their email updates, to keep abreast of the issues, find out where they stand, and how you can help. Chris Murphy, one of my senators, constantly reaches out to his constituents to see where we stand on various issues, with polls and surveys, and I'd like to think my participation helps.

• Support organizations that will fight for the causes you believe in, either by donating money or time. Organizations I recently donated to, in the fight to protect our civil liberties, the environment, women's health, and those seeking asylum or refuge in this country, include the ACLU, the Environmental Defense Fund, Planned Parenthood, and the International Rescue Committee. But there are many more, which you can find via Charity Navigator (and other sites). 

• Support good journalism/investigative reporting. How? By purchasing a subscription to those newspapers and news organizations that are working hard to uncover the truth about Trump and his administration and those policies and actions that are detrimental to America and Americans.
  
  I personally have become a big fan of The Washington Post this election cycle (and started subscribing last year), and I'm a longtime supporter of NPR. But there are many fine organizations dedicated to providing good, fair, honest, hard-hitting journalism that could use your support, and you can find a list of them on the PEN Center.
  
  
• Last, but far from least, make sure you are registered to vote and vote in the mid-term elections, which will be on November 6, 2018. The only way to stop Trump -- and Pence, who may very well become President before November 6, 2018 -- is for the Democrats to win back the Senate and the House. Also, consider donating money and/or time to helping the good guys get re-elected or supporting candidates who oppose Trump and will fight for education, the environment, and women's and human rights.
  
  (Sadly, even moderate Republicans, if there are truly any, have proven that they will not defy Trump, no matter how much they may privately disagree with him. So the only way to put a check on his devastating policies is for Democrats to take back the House and Senate.)

Have any other ideas? Let us know via the Comments.

Will Barbie ever be President?

While strolling through the Clearance section at a Florida Walmart the day after Christmas, I came upon this, the Barbie President and Vice President dolls:

My first thought was: Wow, bet Barbie is really bummed she lost out to Tanning Bed Ken and Evangelical Ken. My second was, Wow, Mattel made Barbie President and Vice President dolls? Who knew? And my third thought was, oh what could have been. Now here lies (or stands) Presidential Candidate Barbie in the Clearance section, selling for $19.

I have continued to think about those Barbie President and Vice President dolls, which, sadly, I did not buy. (I know, I should have.) So I decided to search for them online and found the official Barbie President and Vice President website.

And ladies, you will be delighted to know what Mattel believes is the way to inspire young women to seek higher office: Good fashion sense!

Just read the descriptive copy on the Barbie President and Vice President page (and weep):

From campaign tales to election events to decision-making moments, these partners are ready to inspire stories around leadership in polished outfits worthy of the White House. Barbie doll as President takes the lead in a red and white jacket with smart black detailing, a classic blue skirt, sparkling earrings and black shoes. The Vice President doll is a strong second-in-command wearing a yellow peplum jacket, black pants, black shoes, a beaded necklace and black eyeglasses. Play out a world full of storytelling possibilities and career opportunities with this powerful duo ready to lead young minds into imagination because with Barbie, you can be anything.

Yes, young ladies, you can be anything -- as long as you are fashionably dressed. So inspiring! If only Hillary had dressed better -- and had Barbie's figure! Then maybe Walmart would have been discounting Tanning Bed Ken for President dolls.

Democrats don't get it

This post is going to piss off a lot (all?) of my Democrat friends. So be it. But we Democrats need to do a reality check.

Item #1: The electors are not going to not elect Donald Trump. It doesn't matter if that petition got 10 million signatures. Save your op-eds, your pleas, and your sanity. It ain't going to happen. Thirty-seven Republican electors are not going to not elect Trump.

Sure, maybe a couple of them will vote for someone else, another Republican. But as has been proven again and again -- and again -- Republicans always fall in line. And the Republican electors will cast their votes for Trump. And on the slim chance that 37 of them decide to do otherwise, the decision will get thrown to Congress. And guess what? They're not going to make Hillary Clinton -- or Bernie Sanders -- the next President of the United States. But if it makes you feel a wee bit better to sign some petition begging a bunch of Republicans to not vote for the Republican candidate, go ahead.

Item #2: Republicans will fall in line and confirm all of Trump's cabinet -- and Supreme Court -- appointments (or almost all of them). Forget the kvetching and big talk from Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham et al. It's all just bluster. When it comes down to a vote, the Republicans will all fall in line and confirm Trump's cabinet and Supreme Court appointments, no matter how awful they are. Sure, one or two Congressfolk may dissent, but more for show, knowing someone else will cancel out their nay.

Item #3: Democrats in Congress will roll over, or compromise, like they always do. Just the other week there was big talk that the Democrats would let the Republicans flounder after repealing or gutting Obamacare -- that is, they wouldn't sign on to any legislation that offered less than what the Affordable Care Act offered. Yet now -- no surprise -- I am reading and hearing that (some? most?) Democrats will "work with" their Republican brethren, so that only, say, 19.95 million people lose their health insurance, or have to pay a fortune for insurance, instead of 20 million.

Look, I get it. A lot of these Democrats are up for reelection in 2018 and they feel that something is better than nothing. But if Democrats want to take back the Senate and House, they need to stiffen their spines and stand tall, instead of bending over and letting the Republicans give it to them.

Item #4: Bernie Sanders is not going to save us. I grant you that if the contest had been between Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, we may very well have been talking about President-elect Bernie Sanders right now. But Hillary Clinton was who Democrats voted for, despite all of the negative press about Hillary, by MILLIONS of votes. And I very much doubt Putin and the Russians had anything to do with that outcome.

Also, it is important to note that while a President Sanders would be much more palatable, at least to a large portion of the population, than President Trump, he wouldn't have gotten anything done. And all of his big campaign promises -- making college free, medicare for all, a $15 minimum wage, reforming Wall Street -- which sound great, but would require raising taxes and/or increasing the debt, substantially, would never be approved/get passed by Congress.

You think Congress was obstructionist under President Barack Obama, who looks practically Conservative compared to Bernie? You can bet your bippy Republicans would do their level best to make sure a President Sanders got nothing done -- or worse, would still pass all sorts of harmful legislation or repeal legislation and executive orders passed under Obama, because they probably have the votes to do so.

Item #5: Wishing won't make it so, and ignoring reality, or the news, won't make Trump go away. So where do Democrats go from here? We fight to take back the Senate and House, by supporting and campaigning for Democratic candidates. And we tell representatives in the House and in the Senate not to roll over, by writing and calling them. And we, or our elected officials, file lawsuits against Donald Trump, as these attorneys general plan or may do.

Want change? Move Red, you Blue Democrats.

So here is the problem, fellow Democrats. Between self-selection and Republicans gerrymandering districts, we're all clustered together. So basically we got clusterfucked this election.

The solution: Have some of us from Dem heavy states (I'm looking at you, Massachusetts people, and you, Californians, and all you Brooklynites) move to swing states, states where a bunch more Democrats (and by "a bunch" I mean 10,000 to 100,000, or more) could make a yuge difference in the next elections*.

[To see the latest state-by-state vote totals for the 2016 Election, click here.]

Which states am I talking about? For starters, Florida. Where a lot of us Northeasterners plan on moving (eventually) anyway. But also Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin -- even Arizona (which was pretty close this election), North Carolina, or Texas. Better yet, find a county in those states that leans slightly Republican and move there.

We're doing our part (though we're not registered to vote in Florida... yet). Now it's up to you to do yours.

Also, please consider donating to environmental causes (I just gave $$$ to the Environmental Defense Fund), the ACLU (am about to give), Planned Parenthood (ditto), and other organizations that help protect people and our planet.

This has been yet another public service announcement.


*You know what could also make a huge difference? If people registered to vote and then actually voted. Especially all you young Democrats. Just look at these Election Turnout numbers. Pathetic.

If you don't have anything nice to say (or tweet)...

Don't say -- or tweet -- anything at all. Especially if you are running for President of the United States.

I get that some people believe that "political correctness" has gone too far. (In some cases, I agree with them. An emotional support rabbit? Puh-lease. Spare me.) But it's still politic to be polite, especially if you want to win voters and influence heads of state.

Did Donald Trump's Trump's father, or mother, never say to him, "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all"? Did he never see Bambi?



Hey, it's OK to disagree with someone (other than me). But there is no reason, especially for someone running for "higher" office, to resort to ugly name calling, crudeness, profanity, and bullying.

Silence may be golden, but recently I've been wishing it was orange.

How to pick the next President of the United States

It's time to change the way we vet and elect our President.

Forget debates and town halls. Forget appearances on late-night talk shows. And forget the electoral college. (Seriously, does anyone understand how the electoral college even works?)

If we want to truly get Americans involved in the electoral process and pick someone who will best represent we the people, we need to change the process. We need to have presidential candidates run for office in a way that Americans will understand and watch.

What we need is... a presidential reality TV show.

We can call the year-long reality TV show, The Amazing Presidential Race, with the election taking place during November sweeps. What could be more perfect for our talent-show-, Kardashian-, and Houswives-loving times?

But The Amazing Presidential Race would be more than just a political obstacle course. It should also include a test of knowledge, a la popular quiz shows, such as Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and Jeopardy!

So all candidates running for President would have to go on special week-long (or longer) presidential editions of both Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and Jeopardy! with Jeff Foxworthy and Alex Trebek, respectively, asking the candidates questions about U.S. History, European History, the Middle East, Economics, the Constitution, Math, and other topics that a fifth grader, or, really, a high school graduate, or someone applying for citizenship, or certainly someone running for President of the United States, should know, as well as more difficult questions. Wouldn't that be way more entertaining than what we have now?

Lastly, I propose a talent portion, a la American Idol, where each presidential candidate has to go before a panel of judges (think three Simon Cowells) and present his or her vision for America, which the judges will then critique and then we, the people, get to vote for, via Facebook, Twitter, some special app, phone, or text message. I guarantee candidates will get way more votes than they would have under the current system. And we would get a much better sense of what our candidates are made of.

So, who's with me?

Talk about a wrong number

As longtime registered Democrats, the spouse and I were greatly surprised, and amused, to start receiving calls during the last presidential election from various Republican candidates, the Republican party, and Mitt Romney. 

I actually picked up the phone a few times, to tell them to stop and put us on the "do not call" list, but most of the calls were robo-calls. 

If that wasn't bad enough, now we have the Tea Party calling us. (Thank Cablevision for Caller ID.)

WTF?

Which made us wonder, Do these people not do their research? And if they did, are they desperate or delusional? And if the latter, do they really think that calling us during dinner or at bedtime is going to endear us to the cause?

For that matter, do any of these politicians, pollsters, survey companies, telemarketers, and nonprofits really think, especially in the age of Caller ID, that people are actually going to pick up the phone, during dinner or when they are putting kids to bed -- and give them money? (I feel a bit bad for the nonprofits, but there are other, better, less in-your-face ways of reaching people, like email.)

Thoughts?

What President Obama and Congress really need to do

Get some Balls.


[H/T Powaqqatsi]

Like the ad says, "Things get done when you've got Balls."

Right now, however, it seems that the Republicans are the only ones with Balls, which is not that surprising considering Cindy Hensley McCain's company is the distributor.

On a more serious note, I hope President Obama and Congress manage to pass some sort of real health care reform this year and, more importantly, focus on getting Americans back to work in decent-paying jobs.

Putting people back to work and ensuring that millions of Americans can get the medical help they need without going broke? I'll drink to that.

President Barack Obama could learn a thing or two from the trainers at SeaWorld

After all, if one can train a killer whale to roll over and jump through the air, how hard can it be to get a Republican to roll over and jump on the economic recovery bandwagon?

All you need is the right bait and some positive reinforcement and pretty soon you'll have those ornery Congresspeople and Senators falling in line.

Don't believe me? Then read writer Amy Sutherland's article, "What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage," about how she used tips gleaned from exotic animals trainers to successfully get her husband, Scott, to modify undesirable, unproductive behaviors. (Sutherland also wrote a whole book on the subject, Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched: Life and Lessons at the World's Premier School for Exotic Animal Trainers, which is being made into a movie starring Naomi Watts.)

Just think, President Obama, if an average woman can get her alpha male husband of over 12 years to start picking up his dirty laundry and stop hovering around her and second-guessing her, what you (no average man) could do with John Boehner and Mitch McConnell!

You just need to learn how to reward the behaviors you like and ignore the behaviors you don't, according to Sutherland and the exotic animal trainers. (And after all, aren't all politicians exotic animals?) Oh, and whatever you do, don't nag or sound self-righteous. "After all, you don't get a sea lion to balance a ball on the end of its nose [or Congress to pass major legislation] by nagging," noted Sutherland.

So may I suggest that for your next vacation, President Obama, you take the family to SeaWorld and spend a few days with the trainers there?

I am sure if you do that you will have those cats in Washington, D.C., toeing the line in no time...

And practically jumping for joy to pass key legislation.