Stop telling me to “Give Him A Chance”!!

Stop telling me to give SCROTUS a chance.  Stop telling me “We won, get over it!”  Let’s break it down why I won’t just “give him a chance” and why I can’t just “get over it”.

First off, let’s not keep saying that he “won”, since that is currently under investigation, if the investigation ever gets underway, that is (man, are they dragging their feet on this!)  But when the truth comes out that Russia did, in fact rig the U.S. election, then the FACT will be that SCROTUS did not “win” and we don’t need to just “get over it”.

Besides, let’s remember back to when President Obama won on 2008 and 2012.

Across this country, Anti-Obama protests happened, mainly because of the color of the man’s skin.  On the other hand, people are protesting SCROTUS for his discriminatory ideas against Muslims, minorities, women, LGBT, our environment, and the list goes on.

Secondly, if one more person tells me to “give him a chance”, I’m going to lose it!  He’s been in office for 55 days now.  And I cannot name ONE thing that he has done so far while in office that is in line with my way of thinking!  NOT ONE!  Can you?

I asked someone this question.  His answer was the pipeline.  WHAT?!?! I was floored by this response.  Really?  I guess because it’s not running through HIS backyard, it’s ok.  I guess because it’s not risking contaminating HIS drinking water, it’s no big deal. 

He rallied with how we need to stop being dependent on OPEC and the Middle East for oil.  That I agree with!  But in how we get there, this person and I see very differently.  He would risk ruining our environment, risk poisoning the drinking water supply, all for a limited natural resource that wouldn’t reduce our dependency on other countries anyway.  I, on the other hand, would like this country to finally embrace alternative forms of energy, like wind, solar, water.  Wouldn’t it be great if Americans who support SCROTUS and his “Alternative Fact” could support Alternative Energy?  I mean, one of these is a REAL solution!  The other is just a way to get away with LYING!!

I cannot give SCROTUS a chance, because so far he has:

1. Rolled  back gun control. (Yes, now it’s easier for someone who is mentally unstable to get a gun.  Guess SCROTUS wants to help his fellow mentally unstable friends.)

2.  He has endangered our environment by rolling back the protection of waterways from coal mining waste. (So, all those waterways that took years and years to clean up … guess it won’t take as long to get back to the “good old days”, huh?)

(that's coal runoff, btw)

3.  The SCROTUS eased U.S. fiscal regulations in the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. (By the way, these were put in place to PROTECT the American people from the issues that caused the financial crash in 2008 … a parting gift from the Bush administration that President Obama had to clean up!)

4.  He ordered that the Labor Department review a rule from President Barack Obama that requires financial managers to act in their clients' best interests when handling retirement accounts. (What the hell??  What needs to be reviewed here?? Why would anyone think that this is not a good thing, or that it’s overreaching to require a financial manager to act in his/her client’s best interest?!?!)

5.  The SCROTUS signed an executive order that makes it a requirement that for every new federal regulation on small and large businesses, two existing regulations must be removed. (I get the concept of wanting to limit big government, but really?  Shouldn’t we be removing regulations that aren’t working?  Not just because we put something new in so we need to take 2 things out.  I mean, this may work with your closets, but this isn’t the way to randomly run a government!)

6.  He also signed executive orders that would make it possible to complete the Dakota Access and restart the process for the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada.  (see my objections previously stated above!)

And, if all that wasn’t enough … on his VERY FIRST DAY in office:

7.  Within hours of his inauguration, the SCROTUS signed an executive order which was his first step toward repealing the Affordable Care Act.  (So to all those Americans who didn’t have health care before President Obama put this Act in place … get ready to worry about your health again!  Because you may end up sick, with no coverage, again!)

8.  He also suspended a scheduled insurance rate cut for new homeowners, which had been set by President Obama's government. The cut would have reduced annual insurance premiums for new Federal Housing Administration loans by 25 basis points -- from 0.85 to 0.60.  (So much for helping out the little guy!)

I read a quote from a 2013 Forbes article, which states … “when people become angry enough or desperate enough, sometimes they’ll support crazies who would never attract a crowd in normal circumstances.”  Yes, this is definitely what happened this past election cycle.  What these supporters didn’t realize, though, was that this particular crazy is not someone who is going to help them out of their situation.  He’s a crazy who will RUIN this country if he is allowed to continue on the path he has started down.  By the way, the article was entitled “How Dictators Come to Power in a Democracy”.  And I’ll repeat, this was an article from 2013.  Long before SCROTUS even announced running for the Presidency.  I wonder, is Forbes now going to be considered fake news as well?

For those who aren’t scared enough yet, with all that he has done so far, here is just a little taste of what is already in the pipeline (no pun intended) of new rules being voted on in the House:

1.  Terminate the Environmental Protection Agency (sorry Environment … even though you support human life on this planet, we’re no longer gonna protect you!)

2.   Vouchers for Public Education (Wait, didn’t recently released studies prove that this actually hinders the education of our youth?)

3.  Terminate the Department of Education (The full text of that bill was …. "The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2018."  Yep, that was the entire bill!  Nothing mentioned on who or what would take over, how there would be functions of oversight, who would be responsible for enforcing civil rights and student aid.  Just … terminate. Oh, and a date.)

4.  Repeal Rule Protecting Wildlife (According to what I found, at least 8 species of animals went extinct in 2016.  And that was WITH wildlife protection.  Guess that number will go up if this bill passes.  Guess Republicans don’t see how all things connect.)

5.  Repeal Affordable Care Act (So, what do those who were uninsured before this act do?  Guess you just risk death, like you did before … 20,000+ people died each year in the U.S. due to not having health care coverage before this act.)

6.  Defund Planned Parenthood (All those people who go to Planned Parenthood for something other than an abortion (which accounts for 3% of all services) will have to find some other affordable place to go. Oh wait, there won’t be Affordable Care anymore!!)

7.  National Right to Work (Of course the SCROTUS would like this anti-labor union bill, since Unions hurt his business interests)

8.  Criminalizing Abortion (“Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act”) (This bill supposedly prohibits abortions that are based on the race or gender of a fetus.  Um, I really don’t think that in this country people have been ending pregnancies because of these specific issues.  So no big deal, you say?  Well, not quite.  You see, the bill fosters racist steriotypes and could create a culture of racial profiling in abortion clinics, with people being denied the right to an abortion based on their race. Really sneaky of the ALL MALE panel that is trying to get this passed.)

9.  Concealed Carry Reciprocity Law (This law would force states that have stricter limits on carrying a concealed weapon to allow those who have a permit in another state to carry their concealed weapon in ANY state. Wait, what?!?!  Are you kidding me?!?!)

So, this was the first 55 days.  We still may have 1,416 days to go. Hopefully not. Hopefully the American people will wake up to the slow (or not so slow) transition into a dictatorship that is currently being attempted by the SCROTUS.  Hopefully people will realize that when SCROTUS says he will “Make America Great Again”, he means for him and his billionaire cronies, not for the average American. 

Hopefully you will get involved, get out there, rally, protest, contact your representatives, act, vote!!!  Because if you don’t, you will wake up one day and not recognize this country that you are living in.  It will seem like some sort of dystopian nightmare.  But it won’t be a nightmare that you can wake up from, it will be reality!

KEEP AMERICA GREAT!

So, it’s been three and a half weeks since a certain Cheetos-colored individual took office.  This individual is also known simply as “45”.  I think I prefer 45, because I actually like the taste of Cheetos, but this Oompaloompa leaves a VERY sour taste in my mouth!  Nothing at all like a Cheetos.  I, personally, will never put the title “President” next to that man’s name, even if I do use his last name to speak of him and my distaste for his agenda.  As the hashtag goes, he’s #notmypresident!

In the less than one month since 45 took office, he has scrawled his name on a number of documents meant to push through his own agenda.  You know what I’m talking about, the agenda that his supporters wanted.  Or so they thought.  http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/every-terrifying-thing-that-donald-trump-has-done.html

I have one friend who actually voted for him (I actually know more than one person who voted for him, but I only know of one with whom I can have a rational discussion with about what 45 has been doing since taking office).  Every time either I or one of my other #notmypresident friends mentions something to our 45 supporter friend that was on the news (but, of course, not on FOX news), this 45 supporter friend is a bit surprised, and says that he hadn’t heard about that.  And he will even admit (at times) that he’s not really in favor of what 45 has done so far.

I think a good number of 45 supporters may feel the same about some of the things that 45 has been doing since taking office.  But I think they are so embarrassed by being duped by this con artist, this charlatan, this swindler, this fraud, but most of all, this dangerous individual … that they are just keeping quiet … or even worse, they are doubling down on their support. 

I mean, if you really and truly support 45 and the actions he has taken so far and intends to take in the future, then you are telling us that you are a racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, pathological liar … or that, at the very least, you support such a person! 

A lot of people who support 45 have said that the Women’s March didn’t really DO anything.  That it was a waste of time and that we were just being “crybabies”.  They want us to believe that over 3 MILLION people worldwide showing up and raising their voices didn’t mean anything. 

Supporters of 45 will say that going online and signing a petition or changing your social media profile to show you stand in support of what you believe in won’t change anything.

Or they may say that if you are against the Muslim Ban (from 7 countries that weren’t where the terrorists were from to begin with … but which don’t have business dealings with 45, so what does he care if he blocks them or not), that you’re anti-American.  And I don’t even want to think about what they will say when people show up for the rally in Times Square on February 19th to show solidarity and support of our Muslim brothers and sisters.  http://www.ffeu.org/blog/2017/2/8/i-am-a-muslim-too-rally  I’ll be there, will you?

Or the people supporting 45 will claim that speaking out against spending billions ($10 to $12 billion estimated) of tax dollars (because we all know that Mexico ain’t footing the bill!) on building a wall won’t stop him from going forward with this plan.  And never mind that the money to do this means other more deserving government funded programs will struggle or even fold, because 45 promised a wall to the bigots and racists of this country!

Supporters of 45 will say that being up in arms over his attempt to take away the availability of health care from millions of people without an alternative plan in place is wasted breath.  That Obamacare was horrible to begin with.  Say that to the 20,000 to 45,000 people who have died every year due to a lack of health care coverage before the Affordable Care Act went into effect!  Oh wait, you can’t … BECAUSE THEY DIED!!!

To those who say that doing all these things and more is a waste of time, I say to you ….

The United States of America is great (always has been and will continue to be) because we have the RIGHT and the ABILITY to speak up.  We ARE able to contact our representative (https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials) to let them know how we feel and that if they don’t feel or act the same, that we can put new representatives into office next time (http://www.mytimetovote.com/2017-Primary-Election-Dates.html).

America is still and always will be an amazing nation, because in this country we are allowed to join groups like INDIVISIBLE (https://www.indivisibleguide.com/) to find out what you can do to make your voice and your heart heard.

In America, we can raise our voices in a literal way but also in a figurative way by joining in the first National Strike against 45, which is planned for next Friday, February 17^th http://strike4democracy.com/  Because, even if you must go to work (because nobody is asking you to risk being fired), you can at least not buy ANYTHING that day!  You can make your view heard by controlling your wallets.  Because we all know, money talks!

And since money talks, in this great country of ours, we can be more cognizant of where we actually do spend our money.  We can support businesses that are on the same page as we are, when it comes to our viewpoints.  https://grabyourwallet.org/  

Yes, America is a GREAT nation.  Always has been, and one orange-colored racist isn’t going to change that!  Because, as long as we all are cognizant, vigilant, diligent of what is happening, as long as we speak up and take action, we can ensure that this will remain a GREAT nation, and not the dictatorship that a certain Oompaloompa and his racist, billionaire-club cronies want to create.

(My apologies to Willy Wonka.  I know it’s insulting to you and your orange colored assistants to use this term in describing this guy, but it really fits, at least color-wise!)