My Thoughts Close Of The Election (Part 3)
My Thoughts On The Republican Party
This article has been a long time in the making. With this election, it's not about who I'm voting for, but who I'm
voting against. It's not enough to highlight that I have an particular opinion, but to tell you WHY
I have that opinion. First, I consider myself an independent. I don't
owe anything to either party. There really isn't a political party that
conforms to a beliefs. While I have much more sympathy for the Democrat
Party, I'm very reluctant to support them. There is a reason for this.
However, I have a very intense dislike of the Republican Party. The fact
that I use to be a Republican at one time probably explains this strong
animosity towards them now. To sum it up, my strong disdain towards
them is a result of the
party constantly lying to me. It's time to go down the rabbit hole,
point by point (I'm still probably missing things here and there).
The
Republican Party will often claim (especially during an election year)
that they are the biggest champions of life. However, the Republican
Party has constantly lied to me. They claimed to be Pro-Life when they
weren't . They simply said they were because they wanted my vote, and
nothing else. The topic of the Sanctity of Life was simply used as an
"mechanism" to fool gullible people into voting for them. Instead of
basing their platform on facts, the GOP uses emotional hyperbole based
on false claims to push their arguments.
The Republican Party
claims that they are the quote "Party of God" because they uphold the
sanctity of life. Apparently though, the innocent women and children in
Yemen didn't get that memo about them upholding life to the highest
standard. Neither did the children and teens in this country gunned down
due to gun violence our schools. One forgets that life extends beyond
the womb. Our government sold missile-armed drones to Saudi Arabia,
which then proceeded to use those drones to bomb civilian infrastructure
in Yemen. The worst cholera outbreak in a century have affected
millions. Buses loaded with children were bombed too (Can someone please
explain to me how buses loaded with children are considered military
targets that are worth bombing?)
The Yemen conflict is a
proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. A war where both sides are
despicable. There are no winner, but the losers are those who's lives
have been torn apart by the conflict. There's blood on the hands of
Democrats as well because Obama had been selling such weapons to Saudi
Arabia for the longest time before stopping for a brief moment. Trump
resumed the program. It's been estimated that only 10% of those killed
were associated with terrorist groups. With indiscriminate bombing, our
country has been killing more civilians in Afghanistan than the Taliban
were. The "Killing 99 innocent people to kill one terrorist is worth
it!" mindset is very reckless and can't be justified, especially by
those who claim to love the sanctity of human life. Terrorist are
horrible people. However, it's possible to get them without blowing up
an whole neighborhood. When we engage in mass-slaughter, we become no
better than the terrorist.
The NRA
Prayers only
have meaning when there's action behind it. The Republican Party claim
that they're Pro-Life, but haven't done anything meaningful for those
affected by gun violence. If anything, they enabled the problem to get
much worse. They convinced millions (with NRA funds) that "gun
regulations = I hate guns and America" and you're against the Second
amendment. This is a topic where no action was taken because those who
are a slave to outlandish rhetoric won the day. Hyper-partisan rhetoric
provided no middle ground. One can't perform an objective, non-political
examination of this health and safety topic. Rifles and handguns were never part of the gun-regulation debate. They serve a defensive purpose.
The debate was about civilians getting there hands on military-grade weapons that serve a purely offensive purpose. As such, it's possible for a gun-owner to be supportive of common-sense gun regulation at the same time. However, the Republican Party, along with the NRA, have painted supporters of common-sense gun regulation as being anti-Second Amendment, anti-gun, and anti-American, even though supporting such regulation doesn't make you none of these things. The NRA doesn't care about gun rights anyway. They only care when there is a financial incentive from the gun companies to do so. The more members, the more money. If getting that money even means letting Russian operatives infiltrate the organization, than so be it!
The NRA could care
less about the Second Amendment. They love that money though, and will
do anything to keep it, even it it means resorting to fear-mongering to
scare people. Fear is a powerful tool. Unfortunately, the NRA got fear down to a science. The
organization makes plenty of money when they tell people that there
Second Amendment is under threat, even though there was never a point in
our country's history where this was the case.
Yet, listening
to the NRA, one would be led to believe that the G-Men were ready to
kick down your door and take away your guns and send you to
concentration camps any second now with something as simple as a change
in administration. This isn't too surprising though. The NRA does loves
there money. They will demonize anything to protect there revenue. If
that means selling the idea that your on some imaginary hit-list, then
so be it. Looking for scapegoats, they will blame video games and movies
for the violence. When science comes to the rescue and debunks those
claims, then the NRA will simply create there own "science" in an
pathetic attempt to counter it.
While the Democrat Party does believe in more more gun regulation. they still believe that people have the right to bear arms as guaranteed in the Constitution. They are not "anti-Second Amendment" or "anti-gun". If one feels that gun-regulation is necessary from a rational viewpoint, vote Democrat. If one feels that gun-regulation isn't necessary from a rational viewpoint, then vote Republican. This is how one approaches the topic from an non-partisan perspective. Believe it or not, the topic of gun regulation isn't even an Democrat-vs.- Republican issue. Gun regulation is a public safety and health topic, not a partisan one. As such, an rational examination of this topic needs to be free from party rhetoric, absurd lies, and conspiracy theories. I'm tired of the lies. Lastly, stop calling yourself "Pro-Life" when nothing is being done to protect it.
Abortion
With the Pro-Life movement claims to uphold the sanctity of life, for many, that sacred life ends when the fetus exits the womb. Once that baby is born, it's on it's own now! This is the reason why the GOP can claim to be the party of God and declare that they are upholding the sanctity of life while simultaneously blowing it up in other parts of the world.
I have a strong dislike for the Democrat Party. I hate to defend the institution dominated by cooperate interest and Washington insiders, but the Democrat Party isn't quote "Pro-Abortion". Being "Pro-Abortion" means that one celebrates abortion. They never ever said that abortions were OK or cool. They never said that they love abortions. What they did said was that it's a private personal choice. That's it. It's not the government's decision to dictate to women what they can and can't do with there body. If the government can start dictating what they can and can't do, then where does it stop?
I hate abortions too. However, it's not my place to dictate that
decision upon women. From the religious perspective, Christians can't
dictate that decision for them either. The only thing that we Christians
can do is advise women on the matter if asked. Spiritual malpractice
would take place if Christians started making the decision for them.
Christianity is a spiritual movement, not a tool for social and
political control.
Abortions are horrible. This is why if you want them to stop, then people have to be presented with safe sex alternatives. For those who are living in happy land, sticking your fingers in your ears while going "NAH NAH NAH, I DON'T HERE YOU" isn't going to make sex go away. It's as one wise person one declared "People are going to screw around like rabbits anyway, so if there going to do something dumb, at least be smart about it!". This also brings up another point: birth control and abortion are not the same thing. Birth control is an preemptive measure used to prevent a unplanned pregnancy whereas abortion is the act to terminate a fetus when it already exist. As such, one can be an advocate against abortion while being supportive of safe-sex alternatives, because birth control and abortion are not the same thing. On one hand, highlighting this seems trivial, but at the same time, many think that they are one and the same when they clearly are not. This stigmatization needs to stop. Education, strong economic opportunities, and safe sex is the best weapon against abortion. One more thing, outlawing abortion is not going to magically make it go away. If anything, it's going to make abortions much more widespread, which is counter-productive for those who want to stop abortions. Finally, we want to remember that the question is an private personal one that's not there for anyone else to dictate.
However, with many though, stating that abortion is a personal private manner is the same as declaring that abortions is the greatest thing since slice bread! (Horrible as nobody ever said this, but yet, many are demonized for having stating this opinion). Those who believe that it's not in there place to dictate there views on others are now "abortion lovers". I have a question. How is convincing people to your side by slamming them with fallacies working out? However, I shouldn't be too surprised.
When Trump tries to make his case, he has to resort to lies, false claims, and emotionally charged rhetoric. (Women Meeting with Doctors to Determine Whether to ‘Execute’ Newborn Babies/ No, New York abortion law doesn't let mothers abort babies a minute before they would be born/ Desperate Donald is Working His Christian Supporters Even Harder by Dropping the “A Bomb”...All linked below ).
Socialism and Economics
The Republican Party hates Socialism. I hate Socialism. However, there definition of Socialism is essentially an umbrella term for anything that they dislike. When one looks at how the word is actually defined, no one in this country advocating such a system. However, they use the term as a scare word. Using fear to scare people is essentially one of the most diabolical things that one could do. The top wigs of the Republican Party will take a extremist ideology like Antifa, and paint an entire political spectrum as die-hard Communist. However, among many, it worked. The Republican Party has basically painted the Democrats as secret Marxist and pseudo Communist. They have to resort to fear-mongering and lies to scare people to vote for them.
Capitalism is a very beautiful thing. However, the thing that many
have forgotten is that under Capitalism, the corporations are here to
serve the people, and not the other way around. Companies compete within
the confines the law and regulation, not rewrite them to their own
fancy. Ethics are thrown out the window in pursuit of the mighty dollar.
When this happens, one believes that companies can do whatever they
want to their hearts content because they quote "made it". If they want
to rewrite the rules to their own benefit, let them. They are beyond
accountability anyway and can act with impunity. The Corporation has
become law onto itself. Acts of employee and social responsibility are
dismissed as "Communistic" banter.
The Republican Party will claim to be the champion of the "common man" by giving a tax cut. A tax cut that was very much a massive pay day for the top 1%, while being overtly generous by throwing the reaming table scraps to the other 99% (if there lucky to get even that). The Republican Party supported economic policies that, while granting economic benefits in the short term, is costing us dearly as I type this. I'm referring to the trade wars due to the tariffs. The American consumer has suffered horribly from the trade wars.
The economic situation in Venezuela is not a
good thing. However, presenting unrestricted Capitalism as some sort of
magical bullet against unrestricted Socialism is just as reckless.
Capitalism without restraint was what caused the 2008 Financial
Meltdown. It's a recipe for disaster. This is the economic equivalent of
"Get rich and then quickly flea the house as it crumbles with everybody
inside" approach to Capitalism. Regulation is needed in order to
prevent another disaster. Recessions are part of the normal economic
cycle. Economic depression are not though. The fact is that Capitalism
can be highly customized to fit any particular need. It's possible to
have countries with strong social programs and still be largely market
driven. Unfortunately, in the current political climate, anyone who
declares that there needs to be corporate accountability and regulation
are written off as "Commies" out to destroy the country.
Conspiracy Theories (Obama)
After
Obama became President in 2008, a political movement formed as a angry
response to his Administration; the Tea-Party movement. Soon though,
this movement became a hotbed for conspiracy theories and absurd
rhetoric. They didn't base there arguments on rational interpretation of
his policies, but on outlandish claims that had no merit.
For once, I get to have a little fun while letting my true colors fly (if not already). The phony and pathetic quack that is Alex Jones became the boisterous demagogue for the thick-headed. This butt-faced swindler and bloated con-artist became the voice of the gleefully ignorant. The human equivalent of a clogged septic tank began to defecate nonsensical crap to his minions to swallow wholeheartedly. Yes, I have a very strong bias against this conniving scammer who bamboozles ignorant stooges for a living. Look at the bright side. I never even trashed talk Trump this hard (and he deserves it too!)
I had a strong dislike of Obama. However, that dislike was based on party policy. His biggest failure was letting the banker CEO's walk then there worthless rears should have been tossed in prison for wrecking the world's economy. Yet, many people I knew disliked him for things that had no merit like the following:
- OBAMA WASN'T BORN IN THIS COUNTRY! (Even though he was)
- OBAMA WAS OPERATING DEATH PANELS WITH OBAMACARE! (Such panels never existed)
- OBAMA WANTS TO DESTROY THE WHITE RACE! (Even though he's not a racist)
- OBAMA WANTS OPEN BORDERS (not a real thing as no one from either side advocates for it) TO RID THE COUNTRY OF WHITE PEOPLE (Again, not racist).
- OBAMA WANTS TO IMPLEMENT SHARIA LAW AND TURN OUR
COUNTRY INTO AN ISLAMIC STATE (even though he doesn't subscribe to
Islam, much less Radical Islam. Also, It's very hard for one to
implement an Islamic state if that person is a practicing Christian)
- OBAMA
WANTS TO IMPLEMENT CONCENTRATION CAMPS (I can make the very safe
assumption that committing mass genocide isn't a part of official
Democrat Party
doctrine)
- OBAMA IS TERRORIZING CHRISTIANS (Even though I mentioned earlier that he's a practicing Christian).
- OBAMA STAGED SANDY TO TAKE AWAY PEOPLE'S GUNS(horribly offensive for those who lost there loved ones in that horrible shooting).
- OBAMA IS GOING TO CREATE THE NEW WORLD ORDER (While jamming to New Order!!!!!!!!!)
- OBAMA IS WORKING WITH THE GLOBALIST WHO ARE CONTROLLING THE MEDIA ( re-branded Anti-Semantic rhetoric).
- OBAMA
IS WORKING WITH THE GOVERNMENT TO COVER UP ITS SECRET ROLE BEHIND 9/11
(offensives to those who lost loved in on that horribly day).
- OBAMA IS THE
ANTICHRIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(Yet
somehow, Trump is the Messiah and a champion of Christians for whatever
reasons despite him doing nothing for them or showing no interest in
religion until the election. It's strange how religious politics works.
Maybe God is partisan after all! Or maybe those who sold the idea that
Obama was a Muslim are the same people now trying to pass-off that
a-moral buffoon as an pillar of Christianity)
- MICHELLE OBAMA IS TRANSGENDER. (Sure, why in the Hell not).
People are entitled to there opinions. However, people are not
entitled to there own facts. Do individuals know how ridiculous they
they sound when they peddle these conspiracy theories as the gospel
truth. No wonder one questions there mental health. Sure, one could say
"Thank God that none of these horrible things happened!". Declaring
thanks that these imaginary catastrophes were avoided is like giving
thanks that Godzilla didn't destroy Tokyo. Sure, we should be grateful
that a giant mutant lizard didn't destroy a major city and kill
thousands. At the same time, these events didn't occur not because of
strong opposition, but because these things were never in the cards to
begin with. Wouldn't that thanks been much more appropriate for
something of actual merit?
These conspiracy theories became
junk food for the intellectually handicapped. Alex Jones murdered logic
and reason in cold blood so that he could spread fear and paranoia to
those incapable of reasoned and cognitive thought. Copy-cats like Glen
Beck became poor imitators of someone you didn't want to imitate.
Immigration And Violent Rhetoric
Many think that anything that conforms to their opinion, no matter how ridiculous, is now validated fact because they think so. If an fact-checker comes along debunking that claim in question, then it becomes easier to attack the fact-checker than to it is to do that self-evaluation. Many of these people already see fact-checker as "liberal propaganda" anyway. We become the minions with charged, but yet, horribly misinformed opinions. We don't vote based on critical analysis, but by how our party tells us to vote. The words from our preferred demagogues becomes truth simply because they said it. When we repeat a claim from an conspiracy theory over and over again, it magically becomes the truth. When Trump made the claim that 3 million undocumented immigrants voted in the 2016 election (even though he provided no evidence to support such claims), it was embraced as the gospel truth simply because he said it.
Trump will declare that
such immigrants are "mooching off the system", even though the collected
data shows over-wise. Undocumented immigrants have actually been
subsidizing our social programs. Yes, they actually have been paying
taxes. (11-13 billion estimate) Throw-away terms like "Open Borders" are
used even though no one from either party is actually advocating. Sure,
the Democrats aren't fans of ICE. Many have advocated its demise.
However, even if ICE was disbanded, those functions would simply be
absorbed into another government agency, which debunks the "open
borders" myth. "Open Borders" isn't a real thing. Also, while wanting a
approach that is more humane, the Democrats still feel that those who
enter the country need to be citizens, and under them, deportations
continued anyway.
Fox News has peddled immigration
conspiracy theories that often used hostile language like quote
"invasion". Despite "Open Borders" not being a real thing, it's paraded
as the biggest danger facing the country. Making hostile, untrue claims
have real-world consequences. Despite immigration rates being the
lowest in many years due to a 17-year decline following 9/11, the fear
of an "invasion" and the quote "extermination of the white race"
resulted in a madman to murder innocent people in El Paso. Hostility to
undocumented immigrants have inspired a new generation of Neo-Nazis and
White-Supremacist.
During the immigration issue of 2017, there was this person I
knew at church who started crying passionately about the events that
were playing out. Yet,
not one of her damn tears were for those children who been ripped apart
from there
parents; the ones who had nothing but the clothes on there backs, but
for the idiot in the fancy suit born with a silver spoon in his
hand. How could "they" treat "him" so bad, as she cried in sight of everybody within eyeshot! Trump
is the last one who needs sympathy. The party that claimed to uphold
family values were literally ripping families apart during the Summer of
2017.And yet, this corrupt and deplorable fool was the poor and innocent victim,
and not the children!? Are people really that blind to there pseudo Messiah.
The Administration that constantly talked about Christian values completely mocked it during the immigration crisis. The administration that claimed to be Godly never referenced the Bible until that event, and then when they did, it was to demand total, unquestioned obedience. Christian values.....more like a lack of if you ask me!
Recently, Trump made the remark that if he listened to the scientist, people would be a lot more depressed. One could argue the merit of that. However, if Trump listened to the scientist, there would still be 200,000 people still alive. If he took action in the earliest of days, things wouldn't have gotten to the point where they are now. Trump poorly handled the virus outbreak, plain and simple. Sure, one who get there news from the likes of Breitbart or Fox News that sang his praises would be blind and oblivious to his failures. All the glowing hype and hogwash in the world can't hide his failures. Those who weren't disconnected from reality knew how dire the salutation is.
However, Trump needed a distraction. Trump knew that he failed his county during the outbreak, and now he needed that cover. I could make a safe bet that Trump used Portland as an excuse to distract people from the virus. Over 200,000 died as a result of the poor handling of the virus. Sure, deaths were going to happen, but if restrictions and sacrifices were made in the very beginning, things would have never gotten to this point. Things would have sucked for a month or two before going back to normal. However, things would have gone back to normal. This wasn't meant to be though. Because of sheer ignorance, over 200,000 died from the poor handling from the virus.
For many, the outbreak in itself became
another Democrat vs. Republican issue, despite the outbreak having
nothing to do with partisan politics. Many others who are a slave to
conspiracy theories saw things that weren't there. Several saw the virus
as an overblown conspiracy or something that was exaggerated by
Democrats.
For something as massive as a outbreak, a massive government response was necessary. However, everybody was on there own as we had to rely on state governors for such help and support. Trump washed his hands of the responsibility of the outbreak, Pontius Pilate-style. It would be up to the states. In some states, this was a blessing (and I'm not talking about New York either). Here in Texas, it was a curse as Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick were much more concerned about that sweet sales tax money than they were about people's lives. It wasn't about life. It was about the money. IT WAS ALWAYS ABOUT THE MONEY. For those who claimed to be "Pro-Life", there actions were anything but. Greg Abbott made a calculated risk and it horrible backfired. His greed killed over 15,000 here in Texas. If the word "Democrat" was used a a by-word for failure, then Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick ran the states as Democrats. Yes, Andrew Cumoe really did drop the ball. He slashed New York's health budget for many years before the outbreak. However, one could also cut him some slack as he didn't know how bad things would get. However, by the time the virus got to Texas, Greg Abbott knew, but yet, he thought that he could control the situation. It horrible backfired.
One time, I overheard a
conversation at church where someone just rattled off states where the
governors really dropped the ball. The individual claimed that she was
impartial, but yet, every state named was one run by Democrats, while
Florida and Texas (where the governors were perhaps most incompetent)
was never mentioned.
In regard to Portland, there have been isolated acts of violence. There would have been rioters and criminals taking advantage of the protesters. Nothing that the local police couldn’t handle. However, Trump needed that distraction from the virus. He knew that sending the federal agents were going to make things much worse. They were going to cause the chaos that he wanted. They were going to antagonize the protesters so they could then justify force. They've made the situation much worse. The protest would have largely dissipated by now if it wasn't for them.
Things never had to come to this. Trump wanted to distract people
from his poor handling of the virus outbreak. He also wanted to demonize
his opponents by turning Portland into a partisan topic. The
Portland protester had nothing to do with partisan politics.
Trump won. He got his virus distraction. His supporters got there boogeymen to demonize. Something that wasn't a partisan topic got turned into yet another empty Democrat vs. Republican issue. This is what happens when one turns tribal politics into an obsession. Satan is real. He’s called fear and paranoia. Embracing these attributes, we become our own worst enemy. We are better than this.
During the time when we needed a peacemaker the most, we got someone seeking conflict and division instead. Trump was much more interested in taunting the protesters than seeking resolve. Trump has perpetrated conspiracy theories as substitutes for the real reasons that the demonstrations took place : police violence and racial targeting/profiling. Not surprisingly, the conspiracy theories touted by him aren't rooted in reality. He is portraying the spontaneous rioters as a "well organized" group being back by some nefarious villain (many hint at there preferred boogeyman of the week, George Soros). As in typical Trump fashion, he makes the ridiculous claim without providing proof to evidence to validate them.
The protest have largely been peaceful. However, the protesters never
had it easy. They had to deal with street thugs and trouble makers
looking to exploit there anger for there own benefit. On the opposite
end, there were police officers and federal agents purposely
antagonizing them so that they could use any excuse to use excessive
force. The media is to blame as well. In this country, news reporting is
a business, not a public service. It's all about the ratings. There not
going to focus on the largely peaceful protest, but the isolated
incidents because that is what's going to generate the most views, and
thus, most revenue.
Police do a valuable public service, but there are officers who have let power consume them. It's wrong to assume that all officers are criminals, as it's also wrong to assume that the protesters are criminals too. It's wrong to blindly believe that everything that the officers do is justified and it's also wrong to blindly believe that everything that the protesters do is justified as well. Blind support is destructive, regardless of which side taken. It's not as simple as black-and-white.
However, our loud-mouth demagogue has painted all protesters as militant radicals that need to be violently oppressed. There is no middle ground. You can't sat that police are important while also feeling that they need to be held accountable for there actions. That president will call you anti-police (another throw-away term). Charged, hyper-partisan rhetoric provides no alternatives. You either have to believe that all police are blindly justified in there actions or your a blood-thirsty Commie that wants anarchy. Trump dragged logical and reason to a empty ditch before tapping a slug through its head and murdering it in cold blood.
Conclusion
Very intense rage sets in from the realization that I've been lied to for many years.
The Second Amendment was never under threat. The party that claimed to
champion the sanctify of life regularly blew it up. Nothing was done for
those killed due to gun violence. Many supporters who claimed to uphold
moral integrity embraced an a-moral buffoon as a pillar of Christianity
for a cheap victory. The party that claimed that claimed to uphold
family values while fighting to preventing families from being ripped
apart were literally ripping them apart during the Summer of 2017. That
brings up something else. How families operate is a personal private
issue, not a political one. Whoever is in the Oval Office shouldn't have
an impact on the family dynamic. If it does, then the fault lies with
that family, and not the political parties!
If the Republican Party works for you, then by all means, embrace them. However, don't try to convince me that they have my back. I'm going to vote for each candidate based on ethical merit. I don't have a political affiliation, so I don't owe any party allegiance to anybody. The political parties have to work much harder not to take there voters for granted. Doing straight party vote has been a failures for those that think that there preferred party is infallible. Those who make partisan politics into a personal extension of themselves have horrible misplaced priorities. At the end of the day, a political party should just be that : a political representation of our preferences, and nothing more. They are not black-and-white. Things are never that simple as there is a lot more than what meets the eye.
Because I never was a Democrat, I don't
know if they are Democrats who have shared experiences as well. The
Democrat Party probably has the exact same issues that the Republican
Party faces. If people who supported the Republican Party could be
treated with such disdain, it can happen with any political party for
that matter. Both political parties are equally prone to corruption and
their moral and ethical shortcomings.
In 2016, there were no
winners, only losers. Regardless of whether Trump or Hillary won, we
lost. I know that that consume tribal politics as a narcotic would beg
to differ, but that's the case. During the 2018 Texas mid-term, a huge
chunk of those who voted for Beto didn't do so because they were voting
for him, but because they were voting against Ted Cruz. During the
mid-term, I said that the 2020 election was essentially going to be the
2018 mid-term, but on a national scale. I was mostly right, minus the
virus outbreak (nobody saw that one coming).
Regardless of
whether either Biden or Trump wins, we lose. If Biden and Trump were the
best that either party could do, then there was a failure in the
system. Both leaders are curses for there respective party. We should be
demanding much better from our political parties. People who settle
into this pathetic "lesser than two evils" crap have given a blind pass
to there preferred party.
In my personal opinion though, there is only one thing that I'm certain about: Trump has to go. If a vacuum cleaner was running as an opponent, I would have voted for it. A vacuum cleaner would do a better job of running the country than Trump. Most people who are going to vote for Biden aren't doing so because they support him, but because there voting against Trump. Sure, there are some people who are enthusiastic about Biden. There are also people who get excited when they eat a Big Mac. However, that doesn't really mean anything. Most of the turnout isn't going to vote to support Biden, but to vote against Trump. I'm going to be one of them. Trump is a perpetual liar and scum-bag. In all honesty though, I don't even think that Biden will be much better than Trump. However, 4 years of Trump has basically been Hell on Earth for those who value logic and reason. Biden is simply the best of a very lousy situation. Yes, I already have to set my expectations pathetically low. Despite this, I'm not voting along party lines. Neither party deserves my precious vote in all honesty.
Snopes - Did RNC Video Depict Rioting in ‘Biden’s America’ Using Barcelona Footage? : https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/rnc-video-biden-america/
FactCheck -Video Manipulated to Show Biden Asleep : https://www.factcheck.org/2020/09/video-manipulated-to-show-biden-asleep/ \
Guardian - Trump stands by antisemitic trope that sparked anger among Jewish Americans : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/21/trump-american-jewish-democrats-response-antisemitic...
BBC - Families of Yemen bus strike victims despair at global response : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45449978
The Guardian - Yemen's cholera outbreak now the worst in history as millionth case looms : https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/oct/12/yemen-cholera-outbreak-worst-in-history-1...
Wikipedia - 2016–2020 Yemen cholera outbreak : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016%E2%80%932020_Yemen_cholera_outbreak
NewsWeek - War on ISIS Under Trump Set to Double Civilian Death Toll Compared to Obama : https://www.newsweek.com/president-trumps-isis-war-course-double-obamas-civilian-deaths-637538
Articles of Interest - The NRA
Frontline - Gunned Down: The Power Of The NRA : https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/gunned-down/
Snopes - Did George H.W. Bush Resign from the NRA? : https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bush-nra-resignation/
FactCheck - Deceptive Second Amendment Ads : https://www.factcheck.org/2019/09/deceptive-second-amendment-ads/
Wikipedia - Wayne LaPierre (criticisms) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_LaPierre#Criticism
Wikipedia - National Rifle Association (criticisms) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rifle_Association#Criticism
NYTimes - N.R.A. Seeks Distance From Russia as Investigations Heat Up : https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/us/nra-russia-maria-butina-investigations.html
The Guardian - NRA in crisis: how the gun group became ensnared in the Russia inquiry : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/01/nra-russia-investigations-gun-lobby
BBC - Sanctuary counties: Inside Virginia's gun rights resistance : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51483541
Articles of Interest - Abortion
Patheos - Pro-choice honors life : https://www.patheos.com/blogs/gracecoloredglasses/2020/10/pro-choice-honors-life/
Patheos - Desperate Donald is Working His Christian Supporters Even Harder by Dropping the “A Bomb”: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/shanephipps/2019/05/02/desperate-donald-is-working-his-christian-suppo...
Patheos - Capital Punishment For Abortion Is Not Pro-Life : https://www.patheos.com/blogs/suspendedinherjar/2019/04/capital-punishment-for-abortion/
PolitiFact - Do Democrats support abortion up until (and after) birth? : https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/feb/27/ted-cruz/do-democrats-support-abortion-until-and-a...
PolitiFact - No, New York abortion law doesn't let mothers abort babies a minute before they would be born : https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/feb/01/viral-image/no-new-york-abortion-law-doesnt-let-mo...
Snopes - Do Women Meet With Doctors to Determine Whether to ‘Execute’ Newborn Babies? : https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/execute-babies/
Snopes - Did President Obama Order Mother’s Day Be Used to Celebrate Abortions? : https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/obama-mothers-day-abortions/
UpWorthy - It is possible to be morally pro-life and politically pro-choice at the same time. : https://www.upworthy.com/it-is-possible-to-be-morally-pro-life-and-politically-pro-choice-at-the-sam...
Articles of Interest - Socialism
Merriam-Webster - Socialism : https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/socialism
PolitiFact - Says Dan McCready "really admires socialism." : https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/sep/06/dan-bishop/mccready-socialist-pants-fire/
HuffPost - Lindsey Graham Smears Democratic Congresswomen As ‘Anti-America’ Communists : https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lindsey-graham-democratic-congresswomen-anti-america-communists_n_5d2...
Articles of Interest - Immigration
The Atlantic -The Truth About Undocumented Immigrants and Taxes : https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/09/undocumented-immigrants-and-taxes/499604/
BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE - Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth : https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/debunking-voter-fraud-myth
NYTimes - No, Democrats Don’t Want ‘Open Borders’ : https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/27/us/politics/fast-check-donald-trump-democrats-open-borders.html
PolitiFact - Donald Trump falsely claims there's an 'open borders bill' backed by Democrats : https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2018/oct/08/donald-trump/donald-trump-falsely-claims-theres-op...
PolitiFact : Fact-check -Did 3 million undocumented immigrants vote in this year's election? : https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/nov/18/blog-posting/no-3-million-undocumented-immigrants-...
Articles of Interest - Covid-19
The Atlantic : All the President’s Lies About the Coronavirus - https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/trumps-lies-about-coronav
The Atlantic : We Are Living in a Failed State - https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/underlying-conditions/610261/
PolitiFact - Was the novel coronavirus really sneaky in its spread to the U.S.? Experts say no : https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/mar/19/donald-trump/was-novel-coronavirus-really-sneaky-i...
Snopes - Trump Claims ‘Total’ Authority, Over Governors, To Reopen Economy : https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/04/13/trump-claims-total-authority-over-governors-to-reopen-economy/
Snopes - With Tweets, Trump Goads States to Lift Coronavirus Restrictions : https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/04/17/with-tweets-trump-goads-states-to-lift-coronavirus-restrictions/
Snopes - Trump Dubs COVID-19 ‘Chinese Virus’ Despite Hate Crime Risks : https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/03/18/trump-dubs-covid-19-chinese-virus-despite-hate-crime-risks/
NYTimes - Trump’s Claim of Total Authority in Crisis Is Rejected Across Ideological Lines : https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/us/politics/trump-total-authority-claim.html
Business Insider - 'Please only serious responses': Jared Kushner reportedly looked to a Facebook group to crowdsource ideas to stop the coronavirus : https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-jared-kushner-facebook-group-crowdsource-2020-3
Politico : Inside Jared Kushner’s coronavirus research: A wide net on a giant Facebook group - https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/13/jared-kushner-combat-coronavirus-facebook-127941
Spectator : EXCLUSIVE: Karlie Kloss’s dad helps Jared with coronavirus ‘research’ - https://spectator.us/karlie-kloss-dad-jared-kushner-coronavirus-research/
Articles of Interest - Race
NYTimes - In Days of Discord, a President Fans the Flames : https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/us/politics/trump-george-floyd-protests.html
BBC - El Paso shooting: Has US neglected fight against white extremism? : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49227590
BBC News - RNC 2020: Trump warns Republican convention of ‘rigged election’ - https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-53898142
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