I'm about to get unfriended and a lot of hate I bet. I keep posting this on people's facebook when I see them complaining about the NFL and the players.



Now that everyone is ticked off and talking about it. Can we discuss why this all began in the first place? It wasn't because a bunch of players just decided to show disrespect to the flag. Which, by the way, is not just a symbol of our service men and women. It is, as Terry Bradshaw said, as symbol of the ideals of our country.

The idea behind the protests has nothing to do with a lack of support for our troops. It has everything to do with the racism that still exists in our country. The fact that African Americans still suffer injustice at the hands of the police and the court system on a regular basis. It is probably difficult for them to stand in respect of a symbol of something they feel they are not really a part of and from which they are intentionally excluded.

I am sure my post will not be appreciated but there it is anyway.

My recent conversation with a MAGA co-worker who often takes the chance to tell us he is a Christian. I didn't start this one - he did. But I finished it:

Him: Wow, did you see all that stuff happening in Houston?

Me: Yes, horrible, isn’t it?

Him: Yes. Did you see how Trump stepped up and promised that the government would take care of everyone? That’s a REAL President.

Me: Hmm, I thought you’d be upset about the government interfering in a local matter. I mean, you were the one who told me that government is NEVER the answer when I suggested single-payer health care. That private enterprise can ALWAYS do better than the government. (yes, I baited him.)

Him: Oh, that’s different. A lot of people’s homes have been destroyed in Houston and there are lives at stake because of all the flooding. They HAD to do something. It’s too big for the local people.

Me: Oh really? (Mind spinning here with all the obvious problems in that statement given his earlier staunch defense of the free market as the solution to everything). So, there ARE things that are too big or not well-suited to private enterprise after all?

Him: Sure. A natural disaster is one of those things.

Me: So, I guess timing is everything.

Him: Yes, it is.

Me: Right. So, when a whole bunch of family’s lives are being ruined all at once and they are losing their homes it’s a disaster. Because the circumstances are beyond their control. The government should do something. Help out and also protect them from price gouging by private businesses. But when one family at a time is having its life ruined and losing its home over an illness then it’s okay. The government should stand by and let the free market take its course. Who cares if families here and there are ruined one at a time, over time.

Him: That’s not what I said.

Me: Oh, yes, that is exactly what you’ve said.

Him: No, you don’t understand. People can choose to live better lives and take care of themselves so they don’t get sick. The government shouldn’t help out people who don’t take care of themselves. It’s not the same thing.

Me: Really? You mean people can’t chose to not build in flood plains and hurricane zones and they can’t just buy insurance on the free market to cover their losses?

Him: You’re being silly. It’s not the same thing.

Me: You mean people choose to have cancer or be in a life-altering accident? They choose to have an illness in a country where we pay 3 times as much for health care in our free market as other civilized countries do in their single-payer systems? And get worse outcomes overall.

Him: No. It’s just not the same thing.

Me: Hmm, the outcome is the same in both situations. A family is ruined and the country worse off for it.

Him: You just don’t understand. It’s not the same.

Me: (Shaking my head and walking away) You are absolutely right. I do not understand.

We are in a sad state of affairs. The country got taken over by Make America Great Again or MAGA.

Well, the country is ALREADY GREAT. It doesn't need to be taken back from anyone or back to an imaginary 50's Beaver Cleaver time that never existed.

I think the slogan, The Left is RIGHT! is a good start at branding for the next series of elections.

We can add to it like this:

The Left is RIGHT!
- Right about civil rights
- Right about women's rights
- Right about ..... (put what you wish here since we are right about most things).

So I want to trademark the slogan and TLIR for use before some neo-Nazi does.

I was thinking about putting up a gofundme to pay for it because it's more expensive than I expected.

What are your thoughts?

In case anyone wants to sign and share the support for Booker's legislation legalizing Marijuana.

Here it is:

Subject: It's time to reverse decades of failed drug policy!

Hi,

I signed a petition to The United States Senate which says:

"Add your name to the Marijuana Justice Act, which will remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances and look to reverse the decades of failed policies that disproportionately target communities of color. "

Will you sign this petition? Click here:

link: http://pac.petitions.moveon.org/sign/its-time-to-reverse-decades?source=s.em.cp&r_by=10725033|


Thanks!

Moderators, I think this should be here and not in Computers and Internet.

If you are like me, and want to scratch your eyes and ears away every time a website starts automatically playing Trump I have a possible solution. I couldn't stand to listen to W and now 45 is far worse.

in Chrome, install the extension Disable HTML5 Autoplay

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/technology/personaltech/stopping-video-autoplay-on-google-chrome.html

So far this works pretty well.

ON EDIT:

There are instructions for older versions and flash as well - just search for them

Here it comes. Trump's only method left to distract the country from his Russia scandals and his despicable personality.

CNN Headline: Trump: US patience with the North Korean regime 'is over'

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump, speaking alongside South Korean President Moon Jae-in, declared Friday US patience with the North Korean regime "is over."

"The era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed," Trump said in a statement from the Rose Garden. "And, frankly, that patience is over."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/30/politics/trump-moon-jae-in-rose-garden/index.html

ON EDIT:

You know his tiny hands are itching to be a War President. Just think about how everyone said he was "Presidential" when he bombed a bunch of civilians in Syria. Frightfully, N. Korea has nukes and so does tRump.

The situation is increasingly dire at the Secret Service, where the task of keeping up with President Donald Trump and his family has strained the agency nearly to the point of breaking, according to a Thursday report in The New York Times.

After a trying campaign season, the Secret Service has undertaken the immense task of providing protection for Trump, a handful of his aides, the president’s four adult sons and daughters along with their spouses and children, and first lady Melania Trump and their 11-year-old son, who both live at Trump Tower in New York. All told, the Secret Service is looking after 40 percent more people than it would in a typical non-campaign year, essentially putting the agency in perpetual campaign mode, the Times reported.

“They are flat-out worn out,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) told the Times.

It’s not just the number of people under Secret Service protection. The president and his family have taken a freewheeling approach to travel in the opening months of his presidency. Trump has spent at least seven weekends at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in the 11 weeks since his inauguration, each trip costing taxpayers an estimated $3 million or more.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trumps-secret-service_us_58e69f28e4b08d572e03e58c?dnpp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Morning%20Email%20040717&utm_content=The%20Morning%20Email%20040717+CID_ad1852a0d583ca63f41e18dcf22517e1&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=HuffPost&

Remember how the Republicans reacted every time the Obamas or their children took trips. Not a peep from them now of course.

Well, I had to let him know better.

He posted: "Its so fun to be deplorable and sit back and watch and listen to your lib heads explode."

My response:

I am certainly a West Coast Liberal. I don't drink lattes but I do drive a Volvo.

But, my head and that of others, is not exploding. I have to say nothing surprises me anymore. Certainly not Trump's win in the election. Certainly not his immediate about face on campaign promises.

In fact, I'm having fun watching the heads of Trump voters explode as they realize they have been taken for a ride. They've been suckered.

Explode as they realize the ACA where THEY get their insurance is actually the same thing as "Obamacare" where all those OTHER PEOPLE (non-whites) got their insurance. That the ACA health insurance that saved granny from cancer (the cancer from the coal dust and other industrial waste) will now be taken away - no more chemo for granny. Too bad, so sad. She already lead a full life anyway. She served the only purpose a woman is good for - giving their husbands children. RIP granny.

Explode as they realize Mexico is never going to pay for a wall that is not even feasible. And congress is not going to vote for higher tariffs on Mexico or anyone else.

Explode as they realize all those coal jobs are never coming back no matter what Trump promised. Newsflash - renewables are now as economic as fossil fuels. And the rest of the world that actually believes the science on climate change is moving to renewables and away from fossil fuels. For goodness sakes, freaking TEXAS is a leader in solar jobs. Catch up coal country. Nether McConnell nor Trump is going to save you. The coal barrons have these neat giant machines that let them rip the top of your mountains off for coal. With very few people to operate them. They dump the cancer-causing waste in your drinking water and don't bother employing you.

Sure, China is importing more coal. But hey, Trump wants to muck up relations with them right away over Taiwan and the South China Sea. Not too good for business.

And "drain the swamp?" That was so funny when he said it on the campaign trail and even funnier now that he has the richest, whitest cabinet since Reagan. Goldman Sachs is delighted to be so represented on the cabinet and in the administration..

Speaking of St. Ronnie Reagan (The President with the MOST scandals and the largest number of convicted administration members - more than Nixon. I'm betting Trump will exceed both of them.) I'm sure St. Ronnie would have something to say about Trump's inappropriate relations with Russia. It really does appear Golden Boy Trump is Putin's bitch. Pun intended on the golden part.

Far from exploding, I'm laughing. And he's not even sworn in yet. This is going to be a hilarious 4 years. Trump voters wanted the reality show host - now they have him. Hope they enjoy their new reality.

Cheers!

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