America Has Hit Rock Bottom

It was bound to happen.  That big "thud" that you heard after the last election was this country hitting rock bottom.  This country is in a very, very bad place and it's not going to get better any time soon.

Racism is as prevalent as it's ever been over the past 50 years.  Politicians are more corrupt than every before.  Jobs are non-existent despite the fact that our infrastructure is crumbling like an Oreo in Shaquille O'Neal's back pocket.  Violent crime rates are higher than giraffe nostrils while cops are shooting first and not asking questions later.

All of this comes from an accumulation of things over the past 30 or 40 years.  Because of that, it can't be fixed overnight.  But make no mistake about it.  It can be fixed.

Well, not racism.  That's never going away in the U.S.  This country was built on racism, so it has no choice but to continue to spawn racism.  You can't plant an apple tree and expect oranges, no matter how hard you wish for them.

But, everything else can be fixed.  We can vote crooked politicians out of office if we actually took time to think.  We get swayed by name recognition and political party loyalty when we step into a voting booth.  And while I'm on the topic, let me step on my soapbox for a minute...

(steps on soapboax)

Black people need to stop voting for Democrats as a default.  The only reason that I say that is because Democrats are so confident that we're going to vote for them, that they don't even try to do anything substantial for us.

When I was a child, I remember countless Democratic candidates coming to my neighborhood to speak to the voters.  They asked questions and acted like they truly wanted to earn our votes.  As an adult, do you know how many Democrats have visited my current neighborhood?

Zero.

I've been visited by plenty of Jehovah's Witnesses, but the next Democratic candidate to step into my driveway will be the first.  And I've lived here for 20 years.

As for Republicans...  They refuse to even make the effort to meet with black people because they know that we're not going to vote for them any way.  Black people got upset that Donald Trump didn't meet with certain black "leaders".  Why should he?  For PR?  Would you waste your time visiting someone that you knew was biased against you?

No, you probably wouldn't.  Until black people make Democrats earn their votes once again, then we'll keep getting what we're getting.  You can't do the same thing over and over and expect different results.  That's just dumb.

(steps off soapbox)

Dag, what was I talking about again?  Oh, yeah.  'Murrica...

Until we do away with political parties, our country will continue to spiral out of control.  How can you have a United States if everyone is divided?  How can you say "united, we stand, but divided, we fall" when it's always "us vs. them"?  If we simply took the time to think, we could turn this country around.  The people have the power.  We're just too lazy or dumb to use it.

Freakin' sheep.

Move Over Oscar-Mayer! There's a New Weiner!

So, NY-Dem, Anthony Weiner, finally admitted to what everyone pretty much knew last week: he sent junk photos to some lady.

Aside from it not being in your best interest to be involved in a penis scandal with the last name "Weiner," it's also a bad idea to lie about something that would inevitably be proven. Not only did Weiner admit to sending a tweet of his underwear-bulging junk to some woman, he also mentioned that there were other women, ages unknown, he did the same before and during his marriage.

Now, personally, I don't care that he cheated. That's between Weiner and Mrs. Weiner and no concern of mine. The issue of him lying does bring his integrity in question. It now makes you wonder if he will (if he hasn't already) lie over something a lot more corrupt and detrimental to his constituents. The funny part about all of this is Weiner's refusal to leave social networking alone. He claims that he will keep his Facebook and Twitter accounts open and play it straight going forward. He also said that he's not quitting his job.

You know what? I don't blame him. Should he quit? Probably, but this isn't anything new in politics. Guys in politics have cheated since ever and it's just the perk of being a member of the "Good Ol' Boys' Network." If you get caught up in a scandal then there's a fake investigation. Not to see if you've violated ethics, but to see if your presence hurts the political party's PR or not. If the investigation drags on long enough, over time, something else will happen that will cause people to forget about you and what you did. Then people who only vote all Republican or all Democrat will vote you back in office because loyalty is more important than having values.

So, the man who has caused Oscar-Mayer's stock to drop (I stole that from a tweet), will now go back to his normal day-to-day life. He's thankful to be in a career that thrives on not doing your best, but showing that your opponent does worse. He's thankful that Oprah is no longer on the air to interview his wife (who I'm sure has book publishing company execs camping in her driveway). Most importantly, he's thankful that the tweets and posts filling the social networks are saying that he's "bigger" than Brett Favre.

Hey, while you're here, check out my guest posts that I've done over at Sonia's site (LogAllot.com) and Brandon's site(LostInIdaho.me)

How Do You Protect Your Brand? (guest post) ~ LogAllot

Mommy, Look at the Penguins! (guest post) ~ My Own Private Idaho

The Divided States of America

"United we stand, but divided we fall".

That phrase has been thrown around for the better part of three centuries. We've all heard it, yet we don't subscribe to the theory.

"United States of America"? More like the "Divided States of America".

How can we call ourselves "united" when we're constantly separating ourselves from one another?

To most people that I know, I'm considered African-American or black. I've been in this country almost 39 years and I don't ever recall once being called an "American". In fact, if I live 39 more years, I seriously doubt I'll ever hear someone in this country refer to me as an "American". The only way I'll hear it is if I go to a foreign country. They tend to refer to their visitors from the U.S. as "Americans".



Why am I classified in my own country? Why is the U.S. different? Why do I have to select who I am on every application I fill when it should be assumed that I'm just an "American"?

Then there's the old Democrat and Republican argument that's been going on for a few hundred years. Citizens align themselves with a political party and a news station that promotes that party's agenda and then the ignorance begins.

We've all seen countless town hall meetings of people screaming at one another over statements they're regurgitating from a Glenn Beck or Chris Matthews. They only know one side of the story, but they testify as if they really understand what's going on in this country.

I watch both FOX News and MSNBC (so I can actually get something that resembles the truth) and I see how both of them manipulate their audiences. FOX News is notorious for taking a Democratic's quote and selling their own interpretation of it as a fact. MSNBC is notorious for bringing Republicans on as guests and then screaming them down without letting them express their point.

As long as Republicans and Democrats keep us arguing, they'll keep making money. Republicans toasted George W. for basically creating a monopoly for the pharmeceutical companies. Democrats tore him a new one for preventing imports from Canada amongst other things. But, when Barack basically extends the same agreement, the Democrats have nothing to say and now Republicans are up in arms. Both of them did the same thing, but we act as if they're different because these news stations treat them as such.



And while the citizens are arguing about it, both Demos and Repubs keep getting rich and re-elected because we feel that they can't be wrong. After all, FOX News and MSNBC says they're correct, right?

Name one politician in the White House who isn't rich? Can't do it, can you?

Now, ask yourself this: would you raise millions of dollars for a job? Sounds stupid, doesn't it? Well, politicians do it every election.

There is a Senate candidate in Nevada who raised over $3 million dollars in less than two weeks. Two weeks! All for a job that paid a salary of $174,000 in 2009.

Think about it. What person would raise millions of dollars for a job that pays $174,000 unless there was some sort of kickback from it? And do you truly think corporations donate millions of dollars to a candidate without expecting something in return?

Those same corporations who give their senior leaders eight-digit bonuses and donate millions towards campaign finance have the audacity to tell the U.S. citizens that they don't have the money to create jobs. Interesting.

So, if you're arguing that one party really cares about spending more than the other -- you're fooling yourself.

If you're arguing that one party is fiscally responsible than the other -- you're fooling yourself.

If you think that the same people responsible for sending jobs overseas truly want to create jobs here, then I hope you're good-looking because brains aren't your strong suit.

Who do you think the White House will show its loyalty to regularly:

The corporations that donated the millions and millions of dollars to get them a $174,000 job?

Or you?

Stop voting for political parties and vote for progress.

If You Don't Vote, Then Shut It!

Approximately 213 million voting-age citizens were eligible to vote in the 2008 presidential election but only 186 million of them were actually registered. Those figures mean that almost 13% of all eligible voters in our country remain excluded from participation in our political process.

Those 13% need to keep their mouths shut until they vote. I don't want to hear about your high medical bills, taxes or any other problems you may have. You don't have the right to complain, loser! If you don't vote, then shut it!



And I don't want to hear the argument "what's it going to change anyway?" If you want change, then vote for candidates who actually understand what you're going through and not these fat cats who get into office and find new ways to take our money.

The only people who aggravate me just as much as non-voters are people who vote for a certain party regardless if the candidate is any good or not. So, if you vote (D) or (R) just because you prefer the party and not the candidate, then I have no sympathy for you and your problems either.

My concerns only lie with the few people in the U.S. who are actually trying to make this country better by putting the best person in office, not their favorite party. Voting along party lines is the equivalent of voting for every contestant on American Idol with mohawks just because you like stylish hair. "If doesn't matter if they can sing, but if that hair looks 'rad', then you have my vote!"



Sounds stupid to you? Good. Now you know how I feel.

November will determine who controls Congress: Republicans or Democrats? This election is actually more important than the presidential election because let's face it: the president is a figure head. He truly has has no power. Congress basically runs the country.

The problem is that a lot of people don't know that. They'll turn out for a president, but won't turn out for other elections which are actually more important.

Pay attention, people. Pay attention to the things going on in the world.

Join the discussion here!