Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!

I've contemplated starting this since Obama and Romney campaigned for president. My distaste for the Republican party increases year after year. Their antics over the past 20-25 years lead to my outspoken beliefs.

My father worked hard to turn me into a loyal Republican. In the 1980s, he said we needed to build up our military because of the Russian threat. We all feared that the Soviets would invade the United States and how our quality of living would change.

Well, guess what? Russia didn't need tanks, guns, and airplanes to invade our country. They did it by only using the internet when they interfered in the 2016 election.

I voted for Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan because my father said so. I was naive and didn't understand platforms and political maneuvering at the tender age of 18. I even voted for the first President Bush, for the same reasons. It was during his presidency that I woke up and started to understand platforms and policies. I found that George H.W. Bush severely lacked in the empathy department. I also felt that with the right's anti-abortion platform that I couldn't support them anymore.

I started watching the Democrats. While still politically naive in many areas, I found I could support the Democrat platform much better. My beliefs in social justice, helping the poor, and reducing the size of the military aligned closely with the Democrat platform. Also, I found the right to choose to be one of my top issues. Women's bodies are not anyone's business except for the woman and her doctor.

I voted for Bill Clinton because I felt that he would guide us to an age of prosperity, which he did. And George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld promptly ruined that by two wars, allowing Wall Street to run without rules and regulations, and by his administration's incompetence.

President Obama tried to correct the economic devastation we all faced in 2008. For the most part, he did an okay job keeping out of a depression. However, I don't think Obama did enough to help homeowners who saw our values drop dramatically. My family moved to Florida in 2004, and we bought our house at the height of the boom. Then, the 2008 crash came, and we lost 50% value in our home. We decided to short sale our home and sold it for half of what we paid. Selling the house was a way to get out from under a mountain of debt that we would never recoup.

After the 2016 election, a dear friend of mine, whom I've known since childhood, told me she voted for Donald Trump. My horror was apparent when I asked: "How could you vote for that man?" We fought about it, and I didn't speak to her for a year afterward. Bluntly, I think anyone who voted for Trump needs to check their morals and ethics. I'll write more about this later.

My love for my friend outweighed my horror at how she voted. On one visit, she turned to me and said, "You hate Republicans, don't you?" My immediate answer was yes, I do. And here is why:

Today's Republican party does not have morals and ethics. They show us time and again that they are all about power and not supporting Americans and our needs. Wages are stagnant, people are struggling to have the basics, and Republicans think that we can live comfortably on $7.95 an hour. I'd like them to try that for a month. Tell that to the working homeless in Los Angeles and other high rent districts. Tell that to people who work and live in tents who can't afford an apartment or a house.

Republicans constantly demean women, of which I'll write another blog post to recap they derogatory things they've said.

In this blog, I'm going to visit many of the actions, comments, and positions that the Republican Party promotes. I hope that any sensible human being who doesn't worship Fox News, Breitbart, or nationalism can understand that Republicans don't care about Americans. Mitch McConnell proves that every day by not doing his job and continues with his obstructionism.

How does the polarization stop? When some lunatic takes an AK-47 and mows down our Democrat representatives and senators? Will the hate for others grow so much in this country that we'll die from within our borders? Are we headed for another Civil War? Or World War III if Trump continues to go after Iran?

I have lots that I want to say. I am unabashedly liberal and support progressive values. I believe that we each must care for others. I think my tax dollars need to go to programs to lift people out of poverty. I believe the money I pay to the federal government each month needs to go to infrastructure, creating jobs, increasing wages, and generally making everyone's lives better. Corporations need to pay their fair share instead of hiding their money offshore.

That is only the tip of issues about which I'll be writing. The right is attacking every fiber of our country, and stopping their agenda is imperative.

The only way I can shine a light on the issues I care about is by writing this blog. Thanks for coming. I hope we have a long journey together.