mikenuno

[mikenuno]

Aftermath

I feel like I’ve just woken up from a really horrifying nightmare. I’ve sat these last couple of days in disbelieve and denial that we are living in a Trump president elect reality. And the thing that really pains me is that America sold their soul for some fake promises about making America great again. They forgot that America has always been great, and the economy has been rebuilt for the past 8 years by President Obama. All of those people in Middle America that voted for him are in a better place than they were in 2007. So understanding the facts of the case here it really angered me to see so many people fall for Don the Con. I watched the results come in, and experienced every emotion that one is capable of. I was sad. I was mad. I was let down by America. I never in my wildest dreams could of imagined Americans voting for a racist, xenophobic, sexist, homophobic, evil man. I immediately thought about all those groups that Trump has targeted, and the realization that there is now a bull eye on every single one of those people. It was a fury of emotions that brought the only tears that I have shed in many years. The fact that so many Americans forgot who they were, or that they just showed us who they really were this whole time.

I always understood that we weren’t not living in a post racial society just because we elected a Black president. My disgust really came in the realization that so many people still held on to these racial/ethnic views of the past. I guess I always wanted to give people the benefit of the doubt, and really believed that people could be better. However, my optimism has been completely shattered into pieces. You want to believe the best in people, but some of them are lost causes. I understand that not all of them were racist or sexist, but at the end of the day they voted for someone who was (to the highest office in the land). Imagining Donald Trump in the same club as George Washington, FDR, JFK, and Obama is disgusting. A man that doesn’t have common decency, and has never had to work a day in his life. Americans have always had this belief that you should pull yourself up from the bootstraps, but here comes this man that completely breaks with this conservative ideology. He actually goes against everything the Republicans claim they stand for. The biggest hypocrites to ever exist. They went after the Clinton’s for infidelities, and Trump was the embodiment of philandering. Michelle Obama was criticized for showing too much skin, and Melania Trump has posed naked several times. Hillary has been the punching bag for decades because she marched to the beat of her own drum. It all been one fuckin double standard after another. Just once I would like to see Republicans own up to all of this.

Now, they expect liberals to just take a seat back and unify?! No! This is the same group of people that vowed to stop anything Obama wanted to do before he even set foot in the oval office. You want to preach unity after running a campaign of divisiveness? This isn't how the movie is going to play out. The conversations will stir about what went wrong, and what we did right. But we should have these conversations, we must be better, we must fight the forces of evil that are much stronger than we ever could have imagined. Old America and New American went to war,  and New America was vanquished. We now stand in the start of a new fight. They may have won the battle, but they will never win the war. We stand on the right side of history:equal pay, marriage equality, gun control, wall street regulation, and the women's right to choice. We must not let down those that have come before us. I think this will need all of those on the “left” to come together and hold a united front. We are going to need it frankly, because this is the strongest that Republicans have ever been ( control all branches of government). I have my views on what went wrong, and could engage in all the counter factual if we had gone with another candidate, which I will discuss in my next post. The civil war on the left will happen, and is happening. And although I think it is counter productive, we must have it. It will help in the process of healing, and make us stronger in the end.

I will say that I am so proud of Hillary Rodham Clinton. She fought the good fight when the whole world was against her. She was up against the FBI, wiki leaks, Julian Assange, the Kremlin, the media, Trump, the far left (bernie bros and ideological purist) and inherent sexism of everyday Americans! She has honestly never caught a fair break. i think the world has always operated on different levels of expectations for Hillary. People have always been more critical of her. And I think that is why I’ve always loved Hillary. In the eyes of Americans nothing was ever good enough for them when it came to Hillary Rodham. I don’t think a normal person would be able to get out bed with all those expectations weighing on your shoulders( and decades conservative smear campaign). Let alone all the criticisms of how she dressed, talked, emoted or didn’t emote, laughed, or compromised when she had to.

So while I’m sad for the progressive cause, I’m also sad that I will never see a female president in my lifetime. Hillary had worked her whole life for this moment, only to lose to an orange clown. i will never forgive those that didn’t turn out to vote her. She was not perfect, but nobody is. I truly believe that she wanted the best for this county. And we let her down. This makes my heart ache even more. The people wanted “change” but they let their hate cloud their judgement. She was speaking to change and progress they just werent listening...And this is for the liberals that never truly embraced her, and the idiots in middle America that wouldn't notice a good thing if it slapped them in the face. I only hope that we can recover from this, and embolden ourselves. I’ve seen in the past couple of days that people have blamed her, but we should take our share of the blame. We failed her, as well. So lets make her proud, and really show her that she didn’t waste a lifetime trying to help everyday Americans.

[mikenuno]

Why it’s bigger than Dolezal

I figured that once the jokes had died down the inevitable outrage is something that would rise to the surface. It is a weirdly bizarre situation that came out of left field to the general public but I think we can learn much from it. I firmly believe that most people are afraid to discuss racial relations because they do not want to be labeled racist or bigoted. And this is really attributed to the fact that we live in such a politically correct society that you cannot speak your mind without offending someone ( and their mother). This Dolezal story allows us to have an honest conversation about race, and it is one that is needed desperately. I remember reading that we had reached a post-racial society, after Obama claimed the oval office, but recent events are proving otherwise ( police brutality etc). I wanted to take the time to address a couple of points that I have been seen online about the topic on hand. I think everyone decides to become a virtual activist when a story like this comes around ( Jenner Trans story etc), and are very quick to condemn or praise. The problem is that we sometimes let emotions get the best of us and really fail to understand the bigger picture at hand: racial relations in 2015.

1.)  “She took a job from a black person..” I think this point is important in breaking down the issue. Many people think she got her position in the NAACP based on her perceived “blackness”, but I’m sure many other people of color were also competing for the same position. I think people assume that she got this job based on some type of affirmative action policy, which is not the case here. The woman clearly has some type of activist record in which to pull from and is very active in her community. I think people are quick to get outraged, but not quick to write a letter to their congressman, or help the movement... It is easy for someone to sit behind a keyboard and downplay her contributions to the #blackmovement , but at the end of the day she is bringing something to the table and well....you are behind a keyboard.

2.) “Because this woman benefited from being Black and can go back to being white when it no longer suits her needs“ As I understood it this woman consciously took on the the struggle of the minority or more specifically here the “black experience.” All the persecution and obstacles that come from that experience are things that she took on. So if we break it down, she actually had this white privilege and turned it in for what we could argue is a more difficult livelihood.I think the fact that she felt more akin to this black path is actually quite refreshing ( to be honest). We live in a society that values white western European conceptions of beauty, and many minorities are trying to aspire to this image. And here comes this woman trying to take on perceived qualities that many  ethnic woman are trying to run away from “ ie kinky hair etc). Imitation is the best form of flattery. And while Rachel’s story is  an outlier, it does not mean that we should reject people that have been drawn to other cultures. I think to get offended by this is to accept the fact that minority cultures are sub cultures to the mainstream white society.

3.) “ she stole black culturism” Ive read this argument and it is generally applied to white people stealing perceived black characteristics and making them their own. This is true ( and also in Latino, and asian culture), but I do not think it is that much of a bad think.  I think to be offended by this is somehow accept that minority culture is somehow beneath white society. Why should I be offended that aspects of our cultures are becoming mainstream? If anything it is normalizing or giving people familiarity with something that they aren't usually in contact with..(also applies to outrage over Iggy Azalia blackcent)

I understand why some people are against it, and yes I partially agree when it comes to this particular lady. But I am not quick to dismiss people that actually do feel a greater affinity to another culture. This is in no to take away from the minority struggle, and I agree that we cannot choose to throw in the towel when we are done. I think the bigger problem here comes from people that do take some of these cultural components, but then turn the other cheek when its time to actually fight for injustice in the community. I feel like in school you learn all about race being a social construct blah blah and how race is more ultimately about culture and how you are raised. I feel like this is actually more true than one would be think in the real world. In my experiences I have seen Hispanic kids in urban areas take on behavior and attributes of the black children ( or vice versa)..So these kids might not be quote and quote black, but they probably relate more with that culture. I have talked to people before that have lived this and it seems to hold true more than not.

I think society is changing and well racism and bigotry is still something that we are dealing with it...I don’t think shunning someone that feels an affinity to a minority culture is necessarily a bad thing...And we should probably start getting comfortable with it....because its not the last time this type of thing is going to happen.....

[mikenuno]

I’d say go to hell, but I never want to see you again.

Sylvia Plath  (via wolf-cub)

[mikenuno]

if you don't have this....you need to get it!!

My debut album is now available on iTunes. Check it out here.

[mikenuno]

<3

[mikenuno]

Having your cake and eating it too

We all agree that spending is a bit of control, but then what is the next step, what do we cut? The American public wants their social services, but doesn't want to pay for them. This reminds me of many surveys that I've read over the years in local communities about measures that increase spending in education, but also raise community taxes. When residents are asked if they would like to increase spending on education they overwhelmingly say yes. Yet, when asked it they would like to raise property tax to pay for this the responses are different. This local issue is one that represents the federal fiscal problem that faces this country. The American voter thinks that spending is out of control, but then doesn't want to reform the programs that would help change this in the form medicare reform, social security reform, and cutting military spending.

This is one of the main things that bothers me about the debt ceiling debacle. Congress has spent the money through the passing of various legislation, and then holds a vote to determine whether to pay the tab or not. The whole idea seems ludicrous right? I mean the conservative opponents that plunged the government into a near financial collapse are ones that push fiscal responsibility but clearly act against this ideal.

The problem then falls on those members of Congress that will vote to keep these policies in place because they know the voters want them, but then complain about having to pay for them. The issue is simple we have to curb entitlements, and raise revenues! We can't have our cake and eat it too somethings gotta give eventually..

[mikenuno]

Contrary to popular belief Obama is not increasing the deficit and it's actually shrinking. And the reason it increased is because he inherited a broken economy in free fall and had to enact stimulus bills to avert an economic collapse! In 2009, he also took the budget toll of the auto bailout that was passed under Bush but  it didn't show up in the budget until the following year under Obama.

due to financial deregulation (glass-steigel ie clinton), derivatives, housing  bubble, credit agencies etc

[mikenuno]

and sometimes drinking poison has the opposite outcome...you have enough small doses and you eventually become immune...

[mikenuno]

Egypt/ The Occupied Territories-Gaza/ and Israel

I had a whole post dedicated to breaking the down the current conflict 9, which is obviously rooted in the historical issues between the Palestinians and Israeli's ( the Jews). However, I accidentally deleted it, so it is a post that I'll have to re-write when I'm not dying of sleep.

My deleted analysis in its crudest form consisted of what I've always thought on the topic....the U.S needs to get its ass out of Israel's ass. It's not a war-(scuffle) between 2 sovereign states it is...one power occupying another territory..so an on going civil war might be a better label for the issue. The reality is that Israel needs to finally attempt to address this issue ( ie 2 state solution or finally accept the Palestinians as anything but second class citizens--) and it will only ever do so if the U.S puts pressure on it and makes it clear that if they don't, they are on their own! But as we all know this talk of disavowing Israel is blasphemous in these parts and quickly labeled anti-Semitic...( damn crazy holy belters who need the Jews to occupy the Holy Land for the end of days and the Resurrection...eeeek)

[mikenuno]

J'adore la chanson et la musique électronique!

(and the euro version is 10 times better..it needed to be faster!)

Turn this shit up!

-fin

[mikenuno]

“The American Dream is getting out of debt.”

— Astra Taylor, an organizer of the Rolling Jubillee, an off-shoot of Occupy Wall Street which is buying up millions of dollars worth of consumer debt and cancelling it. We discussed the innovative project at length on Saturday’s Up w/ Chris Hayes. (via upwithchris)

[mikenuno]

[mikenuno]

Reflect & Inventé

"I used to think I was gonna save the world but this one is too broken. So I got selfish and I'm now trying to save myself, which is actually much more difficult..."

[mikenuno]

Smile, your enemies hate it

-anonymous

[mikenuno]

Robert Reich, Paul Krugman, Joe Stigletz...ummm yes! Preach it Eliot Spitzer. Give me a truly progressive cabinet...none of this Timothy Geitner ish!

I know it is probably not realistic to imagine any of these "well known" liberals getting confirmed by the Senate, but I can dream. The fight that the Republicans would start is something that would make the "hoop la" around the potential name dropping of Susan Rice as the Secretary of the State look like child's play. Republicans would be going for blood if Obama went this route...and I hope it is something he really does.

If you really want to change Washington you need to pull from people that truly want to change the status quo and not just pick from the old guard that is waiting for their turn in line.  I want Obama to embrace the Progressive platform and give me FDR! And he won't do this if he makes the same mistake and appoints cabinet members that have worked for the Bush administration (see note)

*In his attempts to seem conciliatory he appointed many people from the Bush administration  {(some that had a hand in financial crisis in 2008) see Timothy Geitner) }and some of the old guard from the Clinton years.

Shake it up OBAMA!

[mikenuno]

Damn...she never dissapoints with the "feel good" .."yolo" songs!

Ke$ha - C’mon

I *ucken love this song!!!! bring on the album.

[mikenuno]

Red states get more revenue from the federal government then they give back to the federal government.....funny how the states that are complaining that their money is spent to support welfare queens, and Jezebel abortions are not factually true. It looks like they are actually taking more than what they are putting in...now does this go against the conservative mantra....mmm

Explaining the Map:

States that receive more than a dollar back for every dollar they pay in taxes (which they've coded red), and the states that receive less than a dollar back for every dollar they pay in taxes (which they've coded blue). Just to repeat: Red states are getting a good deal, and blue states a bad one.

Fourth Branch:

There is a very strong correlation, then, between a state voting for Republicans and receiving more in federal spending than its residents pay to the federal government in taxes (the rust belt and Texas being notable exceptions). In essence, those in blue states are subsidizing those in red states. Both red and blue states appear to be acting politically in opposition to their economic interests. Blue states are voting for candidates who are likely to continue the policies of red state subsidization while red states are voting for candidates who profess a desire to reduce federal spending (and presumably red state subsidization).