Crisis at Our Doorstep

While on vacation over the last week, I was able to watch more TV and specifically News, than I have in a while.  One of the stories I heard a number of times is the humanitarian crisis we are having at the mexican/american border.   While I was relaxing for the week there were many people detained at the border, a man and his 18 month old child died by drowning, and 1000's of immigrant children were put into holding camps.

While I feel that things have to be really bad where you are to even consider the hike through hot deserts, dangerous people and the warm (sarcasm) welcome they are getting when they get to the border.  The thing that seriously disgusts me to no end is the treatment of the kids.  Kids do not have a say in where their parents drag them.  If you have a kid under the age of 15, you should know this already.  Are you really going to stand for your 8, 9 or 10 year old kid saying, hey mom, dad, yeah I don't want to make that hike up there, I'll just stay here! No, you will grab them by the ear, shirt, shoulder and point them in the direction you want them to start marching!  Good parents do that, parents that want something better for their kids.

What dawned on me as I sat slack jawed watching this totally Un American fiasco unfold at our borders was that, I am a huge animal rights person.  I love all 4 of my companion pets (2 dogs & 2 cats) and I loose my mother fucking mind when I see or hear stories about puppy mills or overcrowded shelters.  Most people that I know, regardless of how they feel about the crisis at the border, are incessed when they see pictures like this:

But when it comes to these PEOPLE in cages and worst yet, CHILDREN in cages they turn a blind eye to the cruelty and complete disregard for human life.  Is this ok?  In truth, I wouldn't treat my animals like the way these children are being treated.  BABIES crying for their mothers, kids afraid of what may happen to them, toddlers being left on their own.  We don't like when people do this to animals, we call them scum and shit, but we are ok when we do this to human beings....Im NOT ok with this...Not for animals and certainly not for children!

How does this make us "Patriotic"? 

How does this make us "American"?

How does this make us Free, Kind and Compassionate for our fellow human beings?

Do you really walk around in fear thinking that someday one of these kids will kill you or someone you love? REALLY?  Well after how we treat them, I guess I would be afraid of that now too.

And before you start screaming "Obama's fault"  this is happening NOW, and get over Obama already, not all the problems in your life began with Obama and it certainly isn't going to end with Trump.

What would you do if it were YOUR child in one of these pictures?  Is this really ok with you?  

We can not and should not make these kids pay for the sins of their parents.  

Regardless of the reason why their parents sought shelter/amnesty here.  

None of us here today, in this Great country of ours, can trace our roots back to this plot of land (america), we all come from immigrants.  Put yourself in these peoples shoes for one bleeping second.   The Irish, German, Italians, Hungarians, all the eastern europeans that are still coming here, the chinese, japanese, indians, the poor, the disenchanted, the christian, jews and atheists, WE are what make this Country the greatest place on earth!  And this INCLUDES these immigrants.  

Is this really ok with you?  

Is this who you think Americans should be seen as around the world?

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, 
whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother 
Mother of exiles. 
From her beacon-hand Glows
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command 
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. 
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
-- Emma Lazarus 1883

Election Results

All the votes are in and I did not win the primary so I will not be on the ballot in November.  I wanted to thank everyone that came out to support me yesterday.  It was a very long day and I met a lot of great Morrisville residences.

I would like to give a special thanks to Mike Yager for all of your help throughout this whole process. I would also like to thank Jane Berger for all of your knowledge of the process and paperwork involved.  I want to thank Jack and Mary for all of their help not only with the election but also with teaching me about the count afterwards.  People don’t really get to learn about what happens AFTER you cast your vote and what goes into actually calculating them.  As tired as I was, it was worth staying there for that education alone.

I also wanted to say that while the day was long it was also a very pleasant day.  Everyone was happy and talked to each other.   In the end it made me believe that even though we may not all always agree on everything we can come together as a community and respect each other with grace and dignity.  We really were the change that we all want to see and I can’t say how much I appreciate that.

Going forward I will still hold my representatives accountable for their actions.  I know that there have been many sore spots lately with people in our town over several issues.   But I believe that we all need to be willing to find a common ground, try to find the things that we can all agree on and try not to focus on the things that divide us.  We need to remember that what may be good for one person may be bad for another, that we are a community with several thousand people, not just a handful that value power over people. 
Your Vote Does Matter
Thank You,
Kelly

The Power of Doing Nothing...

An old crocodile was floating at the river’s edge when a younger crocodile swam up next to him,

“I’ve heard from many that you’re the fiercest hunter in all of the river bottoms. Please, teach me your ways.”

Awoken from a nice long afternoon nap, the old crocodile glanced at the young crocodile with one of his reptilian eyes, said nothing and then fell back asleep atop the water.

Feeling frustrated and disrespected, the young crocodile swam off upriver to chase after some catfish, leaving behind a flurry of bubbles. “I’ll show him”, he thought to himself.

Later that day the young crocodile returned to the old crocodile who was still napping and began to brag to him about his successful hunt, 

“I caught two meaty catfish today. What have you caught? Nothing? Perhaps you’re not so fierce after all.”

Unphased the old crocodile again looked at the young crocodile, said nothing, closed his eyes and continued to float atop the water as tiny minnows muched away lightly at the algae on his underbelly.

Again, the young crocodile was angry he couldn’t get a response from the elder, and he swam off a second time upstream to see what he could hunt.

After a few hours of thrashing about he was able to hunt down a small crane. Smiling, he kept the bird in his jaws and swam back to the old crocodile, adamant about showing him who the true hunter was.

As the young crocodile rounded the bend, he saw the elder crocodile still floating in the same spot near the river’s edge.

However, something had changed — a large wildebeest was enjoying an afternoon drink just inches near the old crocodile’s head.

In one lightning fast movement, the old crocodile bolted out of the water, wrapped his jaws around the great wildebeest and pulled him under the river.

Awestruck the young crocodile swam up with the tiny bird hanging from his mouth and watched as the old crocodile enjoyed his 500 lb meal.

The young crocodile asked him, “Please… tell me… how… how did you do that?”

Through mouthfuls of wildebeest, the old crocodile finally responded,

"I did nothing"

Moral of the story...sometimes its best to just do nothing...

A Talk About Grants

A grant is defined as " a sum of money given by the government or other organization for a particular purpose." 

Grants can come from many different sources, they can be federal, state or even county generated.  Some grants are even granted through private individuals or businesses (think scholarships and research grants).  Grants are applied for and the requirements for applying vary from very simple to very complex.  Many grants require matching or a percentage of funding included in the requirements, other grants do not require any other funding at all, some grants even are diminished/satisfied by time.  Some grants you have to pay to apply for, others are free.  All grants come with specific instructions based on the kind of grant and what the grant will be used for.  There is no "one size fits all" description of what goes into a grant or the grant writing process.  

We hear a lot about what it takes to actually write a grant.  Depending on the amount of funding, where the grant is coming from, what the grant is for and the complexity of the grant usually will decide on who or how the grant gets written.  If the instructions are not adhered to perfectly, usually your application will be turned down.  Also most grants are time sensitive, meaning there is an open window of time when it must be filed as a qualification of the said grant.


Some people make it their life's work to write grants.  There are also companies whose primary service is finding and applying for grants.  There are college classes on how to write grants because they can be so complex, time consuming and difficult to write.  Not everyone is skilled enough to actually write a grant, it is definitely a specific skill that not a lot of people possess.  You do not just pick up this skill by way of a job, its not like typing.  Mostly people that are going into public service or community development will take classes to learn this skill.  

So in ending when you hear someone say that writing grants are easy and anyone can do it, they most likely have no idea what goes into the grant writing process.  

Cornerstone Timeline

You may have heard about the Cornerstone Reports, this is a timeline of the events around those reports along with related news articles.


2011 - Talk and Rumors of possibly dismantling the MPD starts to circulate.  Infighting & law suites plague police department.

July 2012 - Because of the infighting & law suites the solicitor and insurance company recommend an investigation be done.  Council hires Cornerstone Consulting to investigate MPD at the cost of $130,000 Plus $20000 for an audit of the PD since there hasn't been an audit in over 20 years plus, $350 per hour, for a special attorney to review the report.  

December 31, 2012 - Chief Jack Jones Retires

April 2013 - Borough received Cornerstone Report

July 28, 2013 - news breaks about the investigation 
Morrisville Investigates Police Department

July 31, 2013 - After 7 months without a head of the police department, Frederick DeVesa is hired as interim Director.
Interim Police Director Hired

August 2013 - Fredrick DeVesa quits

September 2013 - DeVesa files report from his two weeks at MPD
Scathing Report

October 2013 - At 10 months without a Chief of Police, a group of concerned citizens got together to form the Morrisville Town Watch.  Within the previous month a child abduction happened in town and the citizens were not made aware of it until weeks later.
Town Watch 1
Town Watch 2

November 2013 - Dave Rivella is Elected Mayor

December 2013 - Marks 1 year without a head to the Morrisville PD -
Also Rivella appoints Ted Parker to his vacant Council seat.
Rivella appoints Ted Parker to Vacant Council Seat

December 2013 - Cornerstone Report Mysteriously Disappears
Disappearing Report

January 2014 - 13 Months and still no one is running the Police Department -
More Law Suites ensue
More Law Suites

February 2014 - Chief McClay is sworn in at council meeting
Chief Sworn In

All about Me

While I do not have a political background and I do not make the claim that I am a seasoned politician.  I can say that I am a concerned citizen and big fan of the TRUTH and financial responsibility with my tax money.

One of the things that I truly hate about politics is that no one tells you what they have actually accomplished during their time in office.  I will switch the channel or toss that paper into the trash without even opening it if it's just about saying how horrible the other person is.  More often than not it's either something blown totally out of proportion or even made up completely.  I have no doubt it will be the same with this election cycle.  When people don't have any accomplishments, that's what they do.  It's a distraction away from their shortcomings.

I am going to talk today a little about what I feel that I would bring to the table to serve my ward on council.

I have previously worked for the City of Perth Amboy Housing Development Corp.  PAHDC was a division of Perth Amboy community development division. I was hired as bookkeeper and office manager and worked under the Director.

Primarily I kept the books on about 11 different grant programs ranging from CDBG and RCA grant money to Lead Based Paint Abatement and other neighborhood revitalization programs going on at the time.  I was also in charge of the sealed contractor bidding process and participated in planning a number of community outreach programs to clean up properties of seniors/disabled and lower income people that didn't have the ability or funds to do it themselves.  I also worked closely with the director to identify and apply for grants that would benefit neighborhoods in Perth Amboy.  I also received my NJ Notary while I was at PAHDC and I performed administrative duties for a 21 member board.

I ended up leaving PAHDC because my mother was terminally ill so I spent the last few months of her life taking care of her.

Soon after my mother's passing I went back to work for Lifesign LLC which was a bio-meditec company.  They made and distributed rapid medical tests. I was hired as office manager and general accounting and worked under the President of the company.  I managed an office of about 7 people and was responsible for all of the company bookkeeping including payroll, payroll taxes, cafeteria plan, AP/AR, budgeting, HR, Benefit negotiations, sales tax in 7 different states.  While I was at Lifesign I became a certified bookkeeper.

I am currently an Executive Assistant at East Coast News, and work for two wonderful Brothers who own 4 distribution warehouses nationally.  During my time here, I have negotiated contracts for supplies and trade shows, coordinate company travel, been involved with accounting both inhouse and for their other properties, Insurance, property taxes, corporate taxes, and event planning.

So that is me in a nutshell.  I feel with my background I would be an asset to the 4th ward.  I would certainly listen to the people in my ward and diligently answer emails and phone calls.  If I don't have an answer, I would do whatever I can to get an answer.  As a community we have much further to go to make our town what it should be and I would love it, if I could be part of that forward moving team.

Thank you
Kelly

Lend Me Your Ear

Dear Friends, Family and Colleagues,

Recently, I announced that I would be running for a seat in Morrisville’s Borough Council.
I have decided to run because I believe that I have a lot to offer the town I live in, not only
with the career skills that I have built my entire life, but also because of the unique life
experiences that have brought me to where I am now.

We talk a lot these days about how we want to come together as neighbors, friends and
citizens, but yet we find ways to divide ourselves. I have advocated for many years that we,
as neighbors, as citizens, need to find common ground. To not allow what you think you
know or want personally, to hinder what is for the betterment of all people. I believe in
my heart that this current bipartisan council is where that starts.

Your municipal government affects you more than your state or federal government ever will.
The money that they spend is directly related to your core costs. It includes housing,
whether you rent or own. The infrastructure of your town, are your roads falling apart? The
school system, recreation, businesses, police, fire/ambulance. Outside of your rent or
mortgage, taxes are your next biggest expenditure. We do not need to be taxed any more.
We need people who will spend your tax dollars responsibly. Period.

During this primary, I will be running against some spiteful people. These people are the
remainder of those that have systematically, over the last 20 or so years, stood by as our
streets crumbled, while giving golden parachutes to their cronies. They have hired people
as political favors. They have stifled progress by creating an RCO, which in turn, wasted
taxpayer money for any project that would go out for bid. They allowed our police department
to fall into shambles, to the point it was almost dismantled.

They will try to discredit me, I am more than sure of that. For me to be successful with this
endeavor, I am turning to the people that know me best and asking for your support. I will
need advertising, flyers, signs, mailings, and I cannot do this all alone. I am inviting you all
to get involved with my campaign and help make a difference in this small, historic town.

Your contribution will help so much in getting the word out and to raise the initial funds
needed to launch this campaign. There is no small amount, any amount is more than I could
ask for. If you would like to contribute, please make your check out to “Morrisville Votes” and
mail it directly to me at 562 Doloro Drive, Morrisville, PA 19067. You can also Venmo your
contribution to @Mike-Yager-6 or my paypal account at jadedmage@gmail.com

Sincerely yours,

Kelly Chiavarini

Recent Events

I know that it's been awhile since I've posted. 😁  While I still seem to have a great viewership, to whoever comes to read what I have written, I thank you & I hope that you find some humor and levity in my musings.

Over the last year or so, I have taken on a number of endeavors, I became a grandparent to a beautiful baby girl and have been working like a mad woman on my career.  

My Etsy store is chugging along wonderfully.  My sales have doubled over the course of the year.  If you are interested in checking it out, there is a link somewhere on the side column or you can click here to get to it > The Curious Charm

I have also recently decided to run for Borough Council in the town I live in. (Morrisville, PA)  Which is probably the biggest news of all.  I have advocated for many years for people to come together because we are all neighbors and citizens of this great country of ours.  I believe that we can and have to find things that we all can agree on.  

One of the reasons I made this decision is because over the 8+ years that I have lived in Morrisville, I have seen this town go from a huge hot mess to resurrection from the ashes in the last year or so.  The first year that I moved here, I almost turned around and moved back out.  I will get into some of the problems and issues that were faced in other blog posts.

That was until I found a group of people that were willing to do whatever it took to really bring this sleepy little historic river town into the future.  This group of people were both Democratic and Republicans, working together. 

This bipartisan group of people is exactly what so many people want to see. I don't know about you but, I am so tired of all the infighting and nothing ever happening because so many people are hung up on labels.  If people would just stop fighting and finger pointing at each other, we can find common ground.  We can do good things, we can be happy and live in peace.  

In ending, I will be putting my mad skills and faith in humanity to the test.  I am sure I am going to have a heck of a road to till but I'm up for the challenge.  

Tyranny

Do You Have Faith or Are You Crazy?

Lately, I have noticed a new phenomenon.  It's called Blind Faith in certain people.  Gone are the days of having faith, trust and confidence in someone or something at a normal level, now we go all out and put certain people on pedestals as if they are Gods or Deities and whole heartedly believe they can do nothing wrong ever.   

Allow me to define the difference between Faith and Blind Faith using Dictionary.com

Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. Or a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Now there is nothing wrong with a little faith or trust or even confidence in someone or even something.  But when you cross the line, and think that a human being is God like or infallible, you have just lost your mind.   

As much as I abjure religion, I do not take away from people that do beleive in God and completely understand that they think he is infallible, but there is NO HUMAN, that ever walked the earth that is infallible.  And if you are religious, and believe that any man or woman is infallible, I hope your God smites you!  You know who I'm talking too!

Definition of Blind Faith is to have unwavering faith in someone or something without true understanding, perception and discrimination.  To have an unreasonable and unfounded trust and confidence in something or someone.

Now doesnt that sound just a little CRAZY to you?  You ARE a normal, rational human being aren't you? 

I was seeing this Blind Faith usually only when I would talk to the current POTUS fans, but recently, I'm seeing it from the other side too.  But it has more to do with Party or core beliefs as opposed to person.

I guess because I do not have Blind Faith in anything, I do not understand why anyone would have it.  I think that a healthy dose of faith is always a good thing.  As human beings we need to believe in something or sometimes someone and having high hopes for situations or people isn't really a bad thing.  But it crosses a line when you think that beyond any doubt, your person, party, or idea is without fault or error.  It is hubris to think that people will not or can not make mistakes.

I think its time all of the moderate, balanced, idea driven people ban together.  I wouldn't really call myself a Liberal, although I do fall slightly left of center and I would definitely not call myself a conservative, as I feel their ideals are too severe and restricting.  But really all I have seen lately are people that are too far left and too far right.  When I thought that I have seen the most left of leftist or the right of rightist, there is always someone that tops the most extreme on both sides.

In ending, I am a firm believer in the middle, no crazy, no extreme.  I also believe that the steely pendulum of politics certainly does swing from one side to the other, and with it currently at the height of the right, it will swing back, hard and fast to the left.  So I would implore everyone to find a solid middle ground as I have done, as it's much easier to stand than to kneel. 

Wat you call me?

In my best Howard Cosell voice, "Ladies and Gentlemen....In this corner we have...".

Well ok maybe I'm being a little dramatic, or maybe not.  But it seems to me no matter where I go or what discussion I try to get into these days there is always always always someone who will start dropping the name calling.  Seriously, a person just can't have a serious political debate or conversation with someone without someone starting the name calling.

This got me to thinking.  Why do people resort to calling names when you are trying to have a serious conversation?

I would have to say the reason I think people resort to name calling is that they are not very educated or very smart and they get very annoyed that you are not agreeing with them.  Call it egocentric or self centered, but everyone wants to be the "right" one, but it takes a truly well read or educated person to understand there are more than just YOUR opinion in the universe and that the world is not always black & white and that there is a whole big gray space out there that things are in limbo.

It also seems that the really dumb ones; you know the type, they get all of their news and history from Facebook memes, and usually think they are so much smarter than you, seem to be the loudest and nastiest of the bunch.

I also love the ones that have the comeback to a point you may have made with, "oh yea, I've done that, talked to that, been in that, and I got a totally different outcome than you"  I call that the, I'm too stupid to come up with a legitimate counter point so i'm just gonna say "nah nah nah boo boo, what bounces off of me sticks to you" comment.  I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have been called a "snowflake" simply because I do not have blind faith in our political system, either side...question authority, now that is patriotism.

But that's really not the way a conversation works.

I love having a real conversation with people that may not view the world the way I do.  I have always enjoyed the challenge and the information exchange.  I have learned a lot from people that I do not agree with.

But it never seems to fail, that some time during a great conversation and exchange of ideas, there will be at least one jackass that jumps in and starts with the name calling.  Their spelling, context and punctuation are usually pretty bad also.

Sometimes they can't help themselves.  They are not really intellectual enough to make valid points so their frustration always gets the best of them.  I am not talking specifically about the left or the right but both sides have these low IQ Individuals.   Some of the names are rather funny actually but they have no place in a true meeting of the minds.

I like to think I have an open mind, while I will say that my core values do lean more toward the left than the right, I do not always side with the left.  As far as I am concerned, extreme anything is not a good mindset.  I also do not give any man, woman or being my faith blindly.  I do not have faith in what could or may happen.  I have faith only in myself and my accomplishments and those who have shown me they mean what they say.

So in ending, when you want to get into a conversation with people, have a point, don't call people names because you don't agree with them or have a different view.  Listen to what others have to say.  You may find something new and exciting and actually learn something from others.  Don't close your mind to others thoughts or ideas.  Don't go through life with blinders on and DONT call people names, it just makes you look unintelligent.

Open up your mind, the possibilities are endless.

False Idols

In current events there has been a lot of hoopla about confederate monuments. As I'm sure anyone that that doesnt live under a rock is aware of the riot that started in Charlottesville VA and ended with some wacko Neo Nazi wanna be nationalist gunning it towards a group of people, killing 1 woman and injuring about 2 dozen more.

In a recent study (2017) there are about 1500 statues, symbols and monuments of the Confederacy in public places throughout the country, most of which are in the southern part of of the country.  They include not only statues and monuments but also names of schools, libraries, flags and other assorted tributes.  The majority of which were erected in the early 20th century, specifically 1911 which was the the 50 year anniversary of the start of the civil war.  (1861 to 1865).  There is a belief that a lot of these statues and monuments were erected as a "fuck you" to the north and the introduction of the Jim Crow laws that supported segregation between 1876 and 1965.  

Make no mistake, we all know why the Civil War was waged, it was in a nutshell for a State's right to allow people to be owned.

A little History Lesson...

By the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 slavery was legal in all 13 colonies.  By the time the Constitution was ratified in 1789 there was a small number of free people of color who were among voting citizens (male property owners).  After the revolution the Abolitionist laws were passed in most northern states which developed into a movement to abolish slavery.

By the end of the 18th century, Slavery was pretty much abolished, in the north at least.  The problem came around because in the north there was a different economy and much more low cost labor.  At the same time, the cotton industry in the south was booming, and so to keep up with the high demand, the southern states remained slave societies.   And during that same time, the southern states tried to extend slavery into the western territory and annex cuba as slave territory, this is pretty much when the country became polarized over the use of slavery, so much so, it created the mason-dixon line, where above the line, colored people were free, below, not so much.

One more little tidbit before I get to my actual commentary is by the time the Slaves were freed, there were 4 million slaves in this country...think about that for a second...FOUR MILLION SLAVES...now that's fucked up...

So here we are, 2017 and we are fighting over tributes.  I mentioned above, the majority of these statues, monuments and tributes were not erected directly after the end of the civil war but decades later.  Whether or not they really were a "fuck you" in the face of the more socially progressive north and government, I do not know, it was 106 years ago, not many people are still around from that time to tell us truthfully what was the idea behind the tributes.  

If you look at this logically, for colored people, to look upon a statue of a general or soldier that you know wanted you and your children enslaved to them, segregated, ostracized and treated worst than a dog, just put your feet in their shoes for a minute.  What if it were colored people who wanted to subjugate white anglo saxon people?  How would it make you feel seeing those tributes?

I am not condoning the violence and the protests that have been going on, I feel that nothing will ever be settled if people don't stop screaming and listen for a minute and have a reasonable conversation without resorting to name calling and blame...

Should the tributes be taken down?

I think that should be handled on a case by case basis.  These are all antiquated works of art and should be treated as such.  Art in its many forms, isn't always liked or enjoyed.  Art is made to evoke emotion, good and bad, so these tributes are indeed works of art.  As works of art, I feel they should be put into museums, not destroyed.  

There are larger ones, like Stone Mountain in GA (which, if you have never been, you should go, it's really spectacular) which can not be put into a museum but I think should stay where it is, untouched.  The point is that we can not whitewash (no pun intended) our history but we can tell it to our children in an appropriate way.  What is going on now with the insanity of the statues is just ridiculous and short sided.    

Why is this a Problem now?

In my research on this subject, I found that it's not necessarily new.  While there have been outcries about the flying of the confederate flag over Public properties for many years, it all came to the mass public light and social media in 2015 when Dylan Roof shot and killed 9 colored people in a church in Charleston, SC.  He got a lot of attention because he posted pictures of himself posing with firearms and the confederate flag.  Eventually the confederate flag that flew for years at the state capital was taken down.  And this is what started this Statue shitstorm we are living through today.  

The confederacy fought to maintain slavery and white supremacy in the United States, it's a very dark spot on the south, and they know it and that is why now the representatives of these states are looking at taking these tributes down.  

While there is historical justification to these tributes, it isn't really something this country as a whole should honor or commemorate in any way.  But because these tributes have been there for so long, they should be treated with the historical value and teaching generations to come.

In ending, a quote from Frederick Douglass, Abolitionist.

"We must never forget Victory to the Rebellion meant death to the Republic.  We must never forget that the loyal soldiers who rest beneath this sod flung themselves between the nation and the nation’s destroyers. The Confederacy was on the wrong side of history and humanity. It sought to tear apart our nation and subjugate our fellow Americans to slavery. This is the history we should never forget and one that we should never again put on a pedestal to be revered."

Peace Out
Jaded 😸

Me Thinks Thou Protests Too Much

When I think of Protests, I think of the Vietnam war and the huge protests that happened in the 60's & 70s.  Or more famously in America the Boston Tea Party.  Our country is young but we have seen our share of Protests, Violence and Chaos when a group of people gather to assert their first amendment rights and free thought and expression.  Especially when counter-protesting groups have something to say too.

There have been many Protests that people came together peacefully to force a change and it actually worked.  The Seneca Falls Convention in 1894, led to the 19th amendment and the Right of Women to vote in 1920.  The Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, when Rosa Parks was arrested for failing to give up her seat to a white man.  After about a year a protesting, Montgomery Alabama integrated it bus system.  In 1963, when Martin Luther King and 200,000 people Marched on Washington and he gave his famous speech "I have a dream" lead to Lyndon Johnson signing the Civil Rights act of 1964.  There are many many more throughout our history that have culmanated in changing what was into what is.

I believe that the idea behind what a protest is, is indeed genuine and thought of with good intentions for most people. However, as with many good intentions, someone is always bound to take things too far. Many groups these days I believe begin altruistic and eventually get taken over by people that's sole purpose is to physically fight with opposing groups.  

Groups that started with a legitimate cause, such as BLM or Occupy Wall Street, who had a legitimate grievance to voice, it began very slowly and quietly, until every time they gathered, the Black Bloc would creep in and ruined whatever peaceful demonstrations they were having. We have all seen the videos of those black clad demonstrators, faces covered, woven between peaceful participants, then they go berserk and start smashing windows, cars, fences, barricades, whatever they have or can find.

So now we have violent groups to the far left, such as the Black Bloc and Antifa, that have fashioned themselves after the far right groups such as the KKK, Neo Nazis, Skinheads, White Supremacists or Nationalist.  Ready to incite violence whenever they can.  It's kind of hard to wrap your head around people whose core beliefs are liberal or socialist to want to incite violence but as I always say, the pendulum swings both ways.   Perhaps their ideas are a bit barbaric, perhaps they are mad for totally different things.  Whatever the case, it seems to me that people who join any of these groups, left or right are mad about something.  But being mad, doesnt make a bit of difference if you don't get out and Vote!

There are still the altruistic people stuck in the middle, which is who most people that go to these demonstrations are.  I think we all lose site of the fact that we all still have the right to speak out against our grievances and most people are not totally left, or totally right but sit somewhere in the middle, shaking our heads and fingers at both sides.  We all have an opinion, and are duly entitled to that opinion.  But we do not have a right to force our opinion on another person.  We can debate, argue, bicker or stew over our beliefs but it will always be wrong to use violence to get our point across.

Violence will never change anyones mind.  As a matter of fact you may just lose ground if you are violent or cause chaos.  Demonstrations or Protests are meant as a platform to bring people together under a common cause PEACEFULLY.  You do not have to agree with what the Protesters are saying, that's up to you, but to invoke violence in the name of Peace?  Are you fucking kidding me?  You just make yourself look dumb.  

As far as joining these dumb groups, I will say this in ending. You were born into a group, it's called AMERICAN CITIZENS. For crying out loud, start acting like it already.  This is a country that has many people to make one people, e pluribus unum. There is no white indigenous people here, there are no black or latino, or asian indigenous people here.  No one has more rights than any other person, it's guaranteed by our constitution.  We are only fighting each other while all the politicians screw us over.  There will never be a good ending if WE don't ban together to make this country work, its call team work and its not impossible, it may take some effort on everyone's part, but it does work out in the end.  I promise...

Peace out..

Jaded 😸

How to Survive the Current Adminstration

Happy 420

Happy 420 to all those that Participate

May the Powers that be 

Finally realize

that Pot is not a gateway drug

Doctors pushing Oxycodone are!

Good Bye 2016

This year, by far, has been one of the most interesting years that I have ever lived through.  Being that it was my 50th year on this planet is only part of the strange, interesting, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes insane year that was 2016.

One of the things that struck me about 2016 was all the celebrity deaths, I mean right down to today, the 29th of December!  This year in just the music industry alone we lost; Glenn Frey, David Bowie, George Michael, Vanity, Paul Kantner, Maurice White, Keith Emerson, Frank Sinatra Jr, Merle Haggard, Prince, Nick Menza, Christina Grimmie (hay no hating she was really popular and a great person!) Matt Roberts, Leonard Cohen.  I know there was many more that Im probably forgetting.

What about news and movie actors and actresses, we lost Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, Ricky Harris, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Alan Thicke, Ron Glass, Florence Henderson, Robert Vaughn, Tommy Ford, Curtis Hanson, Jon Polito, Gene Wilder, Steven Hill, John Mc Laughlin, Barry Jenner, David Huddleson, Garry Marshall, Michael cimino, Alan Young, Morley Safer, Doris Roberts, Patty Duke, Garry Shandling, Alan Rickman, Pat Harrington Jr, Abe Vigoda.

Then there were the Literary and Political, people we lost;  Antonin Scalia, Harper Lee, George Kennedy, Pat Conroy, Nancy Reagan, Rob Ford, Jim Harrison, Elie Wiesel, Mark Takai, Rev. Tim LaHaye, Phyllis Schlafly, Greta Zimmer Friedman, Edward Albee, W.R. Winsella, Shimon Perez, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Janet Reno, Gwen Ifill, Fidel Castro,  E.R Braithwaite, Richard Adams.

And wait there is more!!!  Cant forget Sports and the Sciences; Craig Sager, John Glenn, Arnold Palmer, Jose Fernandez, Pat Summitt, Buddy Ryan, Gordie Howe, Mohammad Ali, Chyna, Joe Garagiola, Bob Ebeling, Lee Reherman, Tony Burton, Edgar Mitchell...

Oh my lawd, the list just keeps going on, its like 2016 wiped out the fucking 1980's!!!  WTF!

Well I was going to go somewhere else with this post but Fuck it, I'm depressed now...

Good Riddance 2016...

Oh yea....One more death, technically it happened in 2016

But doesnt take place till 2017...

The Death of the USA as we know it....

Open Letter The Democratic Party

Dear Democratic Party,

You really screwed the pooch on this one!

For a long time, with the infiltration of the crazy tea-baggers, I had thought it would be the Republican party that implodes on itself.

In the words of our President Elect...WRONG!!

WTF were you thinking?  You had a ROCK STAR in Bernie Sanders and you told him to go sit down!

I am so very disappointed in you.  While I have flipped back and forth between both parties for most of my adult life, finally settling on Independent, only to find out I couldn't vote in the primaries, I came back to the Democratic party. Here I thought we had an understanding, that we believed in mostly the same things, i.e: a hand up, peace not war, live and let live, working class families, equality for everyone....

I would have never in a million years, thought you would turn on us like this.
You had this in the bag, you had your shining candidate, the people were screaming at you and YOU ignored us!

You have looked us, the people that believed in you over for big money endorsements.  You are no better than a sports figure selling their souls for a puma or nike endorsement.  You Suck!

A word of advice, don't listen to polls!  Everyone lies, you should already know this but you let your guard down when you thought you had it in the bag.

I really think you need to go back to the drawing table and reinvent yourself. Seriously, you have two years to dig your heels in, pull your big boy pants up and decide what you are going to do to fix this giant fucking mess that is going to be the Trump presidency.

I'm sorry but I have completely lost my faith in the party that was for the working class people.  Where did you lose your way?  Where are the passionate people that fought for civil rights and equality?  Have they all been swallowed by wall street riches and the broken promises of riches beyond your wildest dreams?

You,Democratic Party, have really let us down.  I hope you have learned just a little from this giant disaster you created.

Something to Look Forward To

The Election is over.

I am sad to say that it did not turn out the way that I had thought and hoped it would.  I have some fears, but I hold out Hope.  This was the biggest "FUCK YOU" anti-establishment vote that this Great Country has ever bore witness to.  We are living in history like some of the greatest events in our short 238 years of existence.  Do not kid yourself, this is BIG!

I was never a hard core Hillary supporter and I realized early on that there were so many more people (Bernie), and women, that would have made a better candidate.   While I love the idea of a woman President, I was not thrilled with Hillary, although I did come to like her more than I did when she was first nominated.  She is one tough cookie and no one can ever take that away from her.

I have worried what this country will be like with Mr. Trump as President.  While others seem to think he is the right one to govern this great nation of ours, I have had my doubts.  I feel as though I am living in a Jerry Springer episode.  But I am holding out hope.

As much as I have said in the past that we, as a nation, need to have a 3rd viable party, The Donald was not what I was talking about or what I envisioned.  But I guess that the general consensus is that, you get what you get, not what you want.  I just hope that after the 1st 100 days, I am proven wrong on all the fears that I have.  I want to be wrong, I really want to be wrong.

I have often been taken back by the sheer unbridled hatred that some of Trumps Supporters have shown towards Hillary and  President Obama.  Saying things and doing things that, quite frankly, I don't know how they sleep at night with a clear conscience.  Now I hear how upset some are over the Protests that are going on against Mr. Trump.  Kettle meet Pot...Do you really think it would have been different if the Donald lost? Don't you think for a second that people would have rallied proclaiming the Elections are fixed?

I suppose these are the times when we need hold onto hope.  I can imagine what our forefathers must have gone through when this great experiment didn't turn out the way they thought it should.  They always held onto the hope for a better, more brighter future. Even in the face of invading forces and a civil war to match no other, there were always some shining moments and then the ones we look back on with shame.  I am hoping that this is not one of those shameful times.

After 234 years of existence, this county is surely divided.  Just look at the vote, 119,176,385 people that voted in this Presidential Election, 59,687,671 voted for Hillary and 59,488,714 voted for Trump.  THE COUNTY IS DIVIDED!  50/50  (btw Hillary won the Popular vote but lost the electoral vote, go figure?)  But I hope that Mr. Trump can find it in his being to be the Uniter that this country really needs right now.  I hold onto hope.

I don't want to be bitter.
I don't want to be a hater, because that emotion is what I find deplorable in some people.  Hate kills and consumes and deteriorates a person's soul.  A person who hates stops listening and becomes lost...

I feel as though the altruistic people that built this nation are shoved to the back burner now and the savages are taking over. (Rambling)  When I read some of the things I see on Facebook, it makes me want to cry.  Don't be a hater, be a catalyst to make this work, prove to the other half, that everything will be ok.  It's ok to love and understand your neighbor even if you didn't vote the same.

As much as there are people that are sore losers, there are also people that are bad winners.  If CHANGE is really what you want to see, start with yourselves.  If UNITY is what you really want, to bring this county together, the time is now and by being boastful and rude, is NOT the way to do that.  Have some compassion and empathy for the other side, for they have ideas and visions of what this country should be also...don't be a hater.

Still, I am holding out Hope.  I hope that Mr Trump and his supporters do the right thing.  I hope that they include all people in their vision for what America should be.  I hope that we all find peace and prosperity in the coming years.  As for myself, I am going to hold onto this hope as I never have before.

On a lighter note, Pot is now legal in 8 States!  I guess that's something to look forward too, right?

The Results ARE In

We have a new President of the United States...

And....

It is......Donald Trump

What the Fuck were we thinking?

More on this later, I just don't have the diplomacy in me to talk about this just yet.

The Presidential Election

Today is the 57th Presidential Election that this Already Great Country of ours has seen.  While it has been a real FUN ride, I am so glad it is almost over.  I know it's not just myself that feels this way, but millions and millions of people who are just tired of all the Bullshit day after day, night after night, right down to minute after minute.  

Today is Election Day.

If you have an opinion then you should get out and vote.

If you want to be heard, Cast Your Vote

Don't Ever think YOUR Vote Doesn't Count.

Get out today and VOTE!