Building His Army

This notice went out to Trump supporters along with an accountability survey of the mainstream media.

THIS should worry us all.

"...I don't trust the media..."

"...you -- the American people -- are our last line of defense against the media's hit jobs."

"You...greatest asset in helping our movement deliver truth to the American people."

This is POTUS45 setting up his army. An army far more worrisome than one under the guise of the military. An army with more influence, more motivation and way more anger. This is Trump assembling his troops of propaganda warriors, yellow journalist citizens and soldiers of alternative truth.

We've seen this before. We've seen this very clearly in history.

And his warriors are more than ready to fight. We've all seen them. On Facebook. On Twitter. In our families. I've seen people who are fighting for the right's of all humans being publicly torn apart by family members. I've watched as people who have chosen to build their government on a platform of hatred, violence, isolation and bullying screech at those trying to stop the madness.

The hypocrisy is palpable.

And if that's what's happening out in the open, I can only imagine what's happening behind closed doors -- where the bullies really come out to play. All of us who are witness or recipient to this need to be very aware that we've now reached the next level of this war we're in.

They are officially coming for us.

They'll say that this is paranoia. They'll say it's a scare tactic. They'll say it's fear mongering.

We all know it's not. We mustn't fall victim to these ploys. We mustn't allow his army of hate to undermine what we know is true.

Our country and it's values are at stake.

The people we share this Earth with are in danger. People in this country. People outside of this country. Us.

POTUS45 is working to remove the facts from our daily lives. He's looking to destroy what we've spent centuries building. He's looking to take us back to the days where one type of person has more power, more rights and more freedoms than the others.

We cannot stop our fight.

We cannot go silent just because we become targets.

We cannot allow things that make our blood go cold to halt our progress.

If I go down during this fight, I know that I will have given myself to the greater good. If I lose people because I won't get off the front lines, then so be it. I answer to myself and to what my soul and conscience know is right. You can call that God or whatever word or name is most comfortable for you. The moniker doesn't matter to me -- only the love and acceptance that I find there does.

"But I can't do it alone. I need you by my side, supporting our message and doing your part to get the truth to the American voter."

His call to action for his followers is a call to action for us as well. We must stand up to hate and bigotry. We must stand up to racism and bullying. We must stand up to sexism and every other -ism out there that works to make perfectly good people out to be less than their fellow human beings.

No matter who tries to stop us -- be it a President, a soldier, a stranger or family.

Thankful

There's been a lot of negativity in our country during this election cycle and now during the start of this presidency. And let's face it, the negativity has just been more publicized, it's not new.

It's been with us forever.

It's plagued us.

We've plagued ourselves.

But it's time to put that behind us.

Not forget.

Not at all. There's been far too much forgetting in this country. Far too much.

But it's time for us to turn that negativity into growth. It's time for us to use it. Because if we don't, then we're just going to let it destroy us. And I don't plan on letting that happen, at least not without a fight.

And it seems like there are a lot of other people out there that think the same thing. And that gives me hope. A lot of it. Because it reminds me at a time when everyday brings more and more vulnerability, that the beautiful ideas our country is supposed to stand for are important priorities for so many of the people that stand beside me.

It's nice to know that as powerful as the word "racist" is, the word "resist" eclipses it's power. It's bolstering to know that as intimidating as the word "sexist" is, the word "persist" is going to define this time in history much, much more. We've turned words that were spat out with condescension and hate into a rallying cry that we shouted from rooftops.

One by one, I saw my American brothers and sisters become "nasty women" and "bad hombres". One by one I saw people, of all colors, all creeds, all genders and identities embrace each other and say, "you're safe", "I'll fight for you" and "love trumps hate".

I saw people join hands with each other. I saw people hit the streets in droves. I saw people standing up for themselves and standing up for the people around them. And that's something to have pride in. That's something to remember when the negativity and hate is weighing us down and making it hard to hold your head up.

#blacklivesmatter

#NoBanNoWall

#NoH8

#NoDAPL

These ideas have ensconced us. They've immersed. They make me glad for the concept of hashtags.

Climate Change Matters

Science is Not a Conspiracy

The Affordable Care Act

The EPA

The Department of Education

These issues and areas have become priorities. They've stopped being punchlines in a political agenda and have started to turn into pieces of our lives.

And you know what, they should be.

It's awesome to just go about everyday and get our Starbucks and go to work, pin items on Pinterest, heat up leftovers and go on Facebook to share pictures of our kids or pets or dinner. That's great.

But that's a life half-lived.

Our planet needs to be important to us.

Our children's education (whether we have them or not) needs to be important to us.

Curing disease needs to be important to us.

Human rights, ours and those of every human, need to be important to us.

We need to stop judging each other.

We need to stop hating each other.

We need to realize that coming together and supporting each other is the only way to truly create something to be proud of.

Having a gold toilet? I'm sorry, that's not something to be proud of. That's not. Sure, working hard to be able to afford a gold toilet may make you proud but the toilet itself is just a toilet, whatever it's made of. Helping yourself or someone else get access to water, plumbing and proper sanitation -- that right there -- that is something to be proud of.

It's not honorable to lead an easy life.

It's not honorable to lead a selfish life.

And as I look around, no matter where I am -- in the real world or online -- I see honor in so many places. I see good, honorable people -- people so I'm proud to walk this land with -- standing up for themselves and standing up for their neighbors, saying...

"I matter."

"You matter."

"He matters."

"She matters."

"They matter."

I see people stopping and saying "this doesn't sound right", "I'm not sure about this", "this doesn't feel good".

Those words, that questioning, it's beautiful. Even if you thought that you would feel differently, if it turns out that you just can't bring yourself to hate people the way you're being asked to -- that's beautiful.

Please, see the beauty in that.

See that it's never too late to change your mind.

See that there is amazing power in the courage and bravery to change your mind, to change your heart.

Amidst my anger and fear, I'm beginning to be thankful. Thankful that God thought to put me on the earth during a time where I could witness this love bringing us together; this love and respect making us stand up and fight, for ourselves and for each other. I'm thankful that God has given me the chance to do what's right, to be actively involved in my life, to care about more than just my own, small piece of this place.

And I'm thankful that God has given me the chance to participate with and witness so many honorable people that I proudly call brother and sister.

Thank you all for giving me something to strive for...to give me something to aspire to.

Grandma Bernice: The New Propaganda Machine

In this age of the Internet and social media, propaganda is not just the work and ammunition of governments and political parties anymore. Any run of the mill human being can now join in on the fun of spreading lies and misinformation just like their favorite underhanded politicians.

In just one afternoon on Facebook, you can see dozens of articles, click bait and videos promoting false angles on news stories in addition to the straight-out lies being floated around.

And even though we may see that these stories have originated from websites or organizations that are fueled by alternative facts, also known as fiction, most of the time we see them because a friend or family member has shared them.

We are assaulted with this propaganda every day of our lives and multiple times a day at that, either from some random trashy pop-up or a hate-filed meme that Grandma Bernice shared implying that illegal immigrants collect welfare and she can solve the problem by typing "Amen".

This new society of ours is moving and expanding at such a rate that we're not even aware that we've become the yellow journalists of the past. Who needs unethical reporters when our own citizens can spread gross exaggeration much easier?

When @POTUS45 said live and on the air that Chicago was worse than Afghanistan and that people were being shot left and right, real reporters across the country did their homework and checked his false figures. Real journalists and writers began immediately shedding light on his lies while the yellow journalists out in the Interwebs began to spread his disease of misinformation like wildfire.

Sure, a number of "real" news outlets have stoked the flames but even those are finding it hard to completely ignore the lies coming out of our current administration. But have the great citizens of our country who follow our @POTUS so blindly been listening to these organizations that they once loved to quote outright?

No. No, they're not.

They've been ignoring anyone with a degree and the ability to put two words together and opted instead to become the wheels of their own propaganda machine. They latch on to anyone they can find with a matching opinion and a loud enough voice and then throw their false facts, their exaggerated claims without one speck of research behind them and their righteous indignation to the masses.

And we of the world are their victims.

Year Forty and One

So, I've been forty-one for a couple of months now and I would've thought that I'd hate it. And don't get me wrong, I don't love the number, but now that I'm realizing how much of my response to that number comes from what men have told me (men who have decided that they're still sexually spry at the age of 80), I'm a little like "fuck you, whatever".

Basically, me at 41 is pretty unapologetic about who I am.

And that has honestly changed my entire life.

Sure, I'm still married and pretty much all the vital stats are the same but the growth I've had in the past year has been monumental.

Because of health issues, I've spent three-fourths of the past year living with both my new husband and my mom. At different points I've wanted to strangle them both (not really) and I have it on pretty good authority that the feeling is mutual.

But the things I've come to understand have been eye-opening. Things about myself, things about my loved ones, things about the world.

I'd feel, almost, like a whole new person if the woman I am now didn't feel so familiar in so very many ways.

I'll tell you one thing, I like her. I like her a lot.

She speaks her mind. And she's working on not caring about what other people think.

She puts actions to her words. And she tries to really accomplish the goals she's set for herself, not just play at it.

She finds the idea of the unknown more exciting now instead of totally scary. And she's pretty fucking psyched about what the future holds for her.

But enough of the third person.

There are pieces of my life that fit now in a way that they've never fit before. Some of that has to do with me and some of it just has to do with timing and the universe.

I guess in year forty and one I'm realizing that nothing comes before it's due. And some lessons just aren't ready for us to learn from them until the exact right moment in time.

And most importantly, we have to really stand behind what we say. We can't make exceptions about what we believe just because our feelings are hurt. And we have to try and use compassion whenever we can, especially with those we love. Because love, understanding and forgiveness are the greatest gifts we as humans have to give.

And life is truly better for everyone when these things are incorporated into our daily lives.

I'm expecting this next year to bring me more knowledge and growth than the last and I'm kind of hoping that it's like this for a while. I have a hunch it may be. This older and wiser duo they've been advertising is pretty rad. They should add badass to it, though. Cause I'm definitely more of a badass at age 41 than I ever have been before.

I think, maybe, the world just wasn't ready for this me yet.

One Woman's Message to Donald Trump

Don't be afraid of Alec Baldwin. Or Kate McKinnon. Or Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Don't be afraid of Hillary Clinton. Or Bernie Sanders. Or Elizabeth Warren.

Don't be afraid of Malcolm Turnbull. Or the Mexicans. Or even ISIS.

Be afraid of me, Donald.

Let me introduce myself.

I'm a 41 year old college-educated white woman.

I was raised Roman Catholic.

I went K-12 in our public schools and I went to a private Marianist university.

I am married.

I didn't vote for you.

You cannot con me.

I don't buy into your branding of the world.

I am a human.

I am a thinker.

I believe in the power of good over evil.

And I was born to take you down, Donald.

This isn't some threat of violence -- I don't deal in the garbage that you do. This is merely a promise to safeguard my country and the people in it.

You, Donald, are a danger to my country. You are my country's greatest terrorist threat. And I will not sit idly by as you continue to destroy the freedoms that my country is supposed to strive for.

I may only be one but there are millions of me.

You have been put on notice.

I am Tom Petty. I am a Heartbreaker.

Well, I won't back down
No I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down

No I'll stand my ground
Won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground

And I won't back down
(I won't back down)
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
(I won't back down)
Hey I will stand my ground
And I won't back down
Well I know what's right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground
And I won't back down

To anyone saying that people speaking out against Donald Trump need to "drop it", "get over it", "let it go", "give it up", "quit being little snowflakes" or whatever else insulting and bullying lingo they'd like to use, I say: NO. 

I'm not a fucking snowflake. I'm a human being. I'm a human being that wants equal rights for myself and for all the other human beings. And I'm not going to shut up until we get them. 

You want to ridicul us by calling us snowflakes when you're the overly-delicate motherfuckers who get vindictive on a human rights level when more than just Christian holidays are acknowledged? You call us babies when you voted for a fucking racist, sexist BIGOT because you were mad that the job force was being comprised by more than just white males? 

I'm not a fucking snowflake and I'm not gonna "let it go" as you so elequaintly put it. I'm going to fight. I'm going to fight for the rest of my life, if that's what it takes. Because it's my goddamn duty. Because the gift of life I was given isn't something that I think is only deserved by myself and people who look like me. 

I am not a snowflake. I am a human. And I defend the equal rights of other humans.

With pride. With dignity. And with the knowledge that I am not just thinking of myself and my needs but the needs of all those living on the Earth with me. 

How My Mom Casually Taught Me to be a Feminist

It's not hard for me to see how I became so demanding about my basic equal rights as a woman. The movies and TV shows that my mother surrounded me with as I grew up speaks volumes about the woman she is and feminist beliefs she taught me.

My mother LOVES Mary Tyler Moore. Mary Tyler Moore (the show) was my mom's favorite but the woman herself could do no wrong. I knew at a very young age that she was the first woman to wear pants on prime time television (one per episode until she started sneaking them in more often) on The Dick Van Dyke Show. I knew that the MTM logo I saw so many times on TV was her and I knew how much she dedicated of herself to (what was then known as) Juvenile Diabetes.

Carol Burnett constantly tugged her ear on our TV and I knew those Golden Girls before they were golden. I knew Bea Arthur as Maude was the first woman on prime time to get an abortion and started out by arguing with Archie. And I knew that when Betty White was Sue Ann Nivens to Mary Tyler Moore's Mary Richards that she was waaay more like Blanche Devereaux than Rose Nylund.

Jane Curtain and Gilda Radner were hilarious and Goldie Hawn was a triumph. I saw her shake her groove thang on Laugh-In reruns and heard the term rape for the first time in a movie while watching Foul Play with my mom.

The movie 9 to 5 was watched every chance gotten. My best friend and I could quote that thing by the time we hit double digits and whenever I watch the movie with a new person I always share with them my mom's favorite scene (the hospital scene and corpse escape).

If I had to take a guess, I'd say my mother's favorite playwright is Neil Simon. When most people think of him, they think The Odd Couple (if they realize he wrote that). He's written countless amazing plays and movies but my mother's favorites have always been the ones starring Marsha Mason. Max Dugan Returns, The Goodbye Girl, Chapter Two. Neil Simon could write one hell of a strong woman. She was funny, strong, real, smart, silly, vulnerable and brave. She handled the shit life threw at her. And she always held her head up.

Gidget was on A LOT. The movies (although my mom only really liked the original) and the TV show. I knew both Sandra Dee and Sally Field as our favorite girl hero. I learned at an early age that it was okay to be smart and headstrong and stubborn. It was okay to try and do the things that the boys do. I learned that being myself was more important than fitting in and that a boy worth liking was one that liked me for me.

And no one, NO ONE, was on our TV screens when my mom was in charge of the remote more than Doris Day. And if you don't think that Doris Day was a goddamn feminist then you haven't ever seen one of her movies. She did everything. She had a career. She had a love life, even if she was single. She was smart. She had her own money. She was stubborn. She stood her ground. She said what she thought even if it took guts to do it. She wasn't afraid to argue and she was damn good at it. And she did it during a time where that was even a bigger deal than it is today.

I got lucky. My parents taught me how to be a strong person. They taught me how to treat others and they taught me the values that I cherish today. The values that I write about a lot in this blog. My mom, though, she taught me how to be a feminist. She taught me what it meant to be a strong, independent woman. So it's no surprise that when my high school did a production of Arsenic and Old Lace and they opened up male roles to females because the play was so male-heavy, I expressed how cool I thought that was. A male classmate of mine overheard and asked me if I was some kind of feminist. When I went home and told my mom about the conversation that night, know what she said?

"Did you tell him, 'Yeah, why aren't you?'"

I mean, how cool is my mom?

For the Record...

Enough asking questions. Enough using logic. Enough putting together clear, thought-out arguments.

I have one thing to say to Donald Trump and the Trump Administration. It's a message from a lot of us but if you're reading this, go ahead and put my name on your list to take the blame for it...

We know what you're about.

We know what you're doing.

You don't care about fake news or alternative facts. You don't care about statistics or numbers or demographics.

You care about you.

You are an egotist, a narcissist and a sociopath. You are a megalomaniac. You will say anything, do anything, pretend to be anything you need to in order to get what you want.

And what you want is power and money.

There's no point debating you.

There's no point trying to prove you're wrong.

The people with compassion and sense already know the truth. The people who truly believe in doing what's right know the truth.

You can never be convinced because you have no opinion. You only have greed.

You have no logic or truth or reason. You have no spine or backbone. You only have you. You only have you and greed and desperation for power.

Those people who continue to be loyal, whether in your administration or your inner circle or your fandom, have nothing on us.

We, the many. We, the people. We have everything on our side, while you have nothing. You may sit in your Oval Office, you may tweet as @POTUS on your unsecured phone, you may cut us off and cancel our rights but we are still more powerful than you will ever be.

We are the thinkers.

We are the seers.

We are the lovers.

We are the dreamers.

We are what make the tides turn and the wind howl. We will forever have the power because we are the truth and the light. Wherever you bring darkness, whether in intellect or spirit, we will be there with the flame of enlightenment.

Mouthpiece of Terror

Dear Press Secretary and all-around Mouthpiece of Terror Sean Spicer,

I hope you know what you're doing. Seriously. I'm not joking or trying to tease you.

I hope you didn't take this job lightly.

I hope you didn't think that taking this job was going to bring you and your family, for generations, anything other than pain, misery and shame.

As someone who makes their living repeating other people's words, do you agree with the direction our country is headed in? Do you? And with the same level of vehemence that our president and his cronies do? Because, honestly, you better.

In the years and lifetimes to come, your part in this war on equality will not go silent. Your participation in the destruction of our American ethics and values will forever tarnish your legacy and the legacy of your entire family.

If you have kids, I hope they agree with what you're doing because you are ruining their lives. You are ruining the lives of future family members you haven't and will never meet. The freedom and anonymity that they've come to cherish will never be the same again.

Adolf Hitler isn't the only evil moniker that survived World War II. He may have led the movement but he is nowhere near the only criminal. And Adolf Hitler isn't the only name spat out with disgust today.

Your name will join that list.

You have put your face and your mouth at the forefront of this new brand of very old terror. It will never come clean again.

Adolf Hitler
Heinrich Himmler
Joseph Goebbels
Reinhard Heydrich
Josef Mengele
Adolf Eichmann
Hermann Göring
Otto Strasser

Are you ready for your name to join?

Donald Trump
Steve Bannon
Sean Spicer

How's it looking?

A little black and white photo of you with your mouth open and booming words of hate flowing like charcoal out of your mouth. Can you picture it? I can. We all can.

And soon, we won't need to. Text books, history anthologies, Wikipedia...it'll all do the work for us.

Your megaphone of terror will be known the world over if you continue to do "your job". You will be forever synonymous with propaganda, hate and the destruction of something that was once a beautiful idea.

You will be known as a grim reaper, a death eater, a dementor. Fairy tales will be written with you in mind, trying to teach our children about the horrors of the world and how to stop them while they're still young enough to be kept safe from filling their heads with the specifics of the truth.

You are a mouthpiece of terror. Your words bring hate and violence. They'll bring death and destruction...


...to the good people of the world as well as to your family's name and legacy.