Thursday, July 30, 2015

Friends, Lay Down Your Weapons

With the constant drone of the media covering the 2016 presidential race, it is easy to see why it is at the front of so many people's minds. That said, this post is not about whether Bernie or Hillary is the better candidate. I'm also not going to discuss the individual actions of the overt clowns crowding the Republican Primary arena. Right now, I am worried about one thing.

I am most concerned that the displays of hateful rhetoric between supporters of Hillary and Bernie will damage any chance of us electing a highly-effective president. People have lost friends over these intensely heated debates. They've quit attending Democratic club meetings over them. They've tuned out and turned away from politics because so many of us seem to have trouble arguing for our candidate without personally attacking supporters of the opposition.

I'm writing today to implore everyone to lay down your weapons and start talking to each other like adult and rational human beings. Calling your fellow activists "stupid," "bots," or "undercover Republican trolls" only shuts down the conversations that we so desperately need right now. It effectively marginalizes your friend's feelings and current understanding of the political world. As an acting representative of your candidate in that conversation, you are also showing others how they will be treated if they disagree with you.

Whichever candidate wins the nomination will likely take President Obama's place as scapegoat for the (in)actions of a purposefully stagnant Congress and hyper-conservative state legislatures. While our attention is decidedly focused on the presidential race, the Tea Party is focused on winning local and state elections. Here in Texas, they control our capitol and the actions of our governor.

Meanwhile, we are so up-in-arms over this primary that few are actively searching for or considering running as a candidate in any of the races lower on the ballot. It's like we've collectively fallen for the myth that the United States President is somehow omniscient and omnipotent. In reality, no candidate& can successfully represent our interests if they are constantly shut down by Congress, and the president has little power at all over actions by the states. You might not be aware, but the majority of laws passed each session happen in our state legislatures.

You want laws which enhance the safeguards for gender pay equity, support LGBT and minority rights, and invest necessary funding into our roads, schools, and health care? Focus on changing the partisan demographics of your state's legislature. Organize and find candidates who will actively represent your ideals, and then work hard to make sure they can win in 2016.

Because the president sure as heck isn't omniscient and/or omnipotent, regardless what the conservative pundits and shock-jocks say. Our next president will need all the help they can get, which won't happen if we shun the next generation of activists and/or disregard the experience and knowledge of our elders and peers.

For that reason, I ask that you join me in pledging the following:
"I pledge to promote my chosen candidate in a positive manner, without the use of slander and/or profanity, and to support my stances when necessary with sources that are as unbiased as possible. I pledge to listen as much as I speak, to moderate the tone of my speech, and to apologize and disengage from debate when things get out of control. I pledge to find peace of mind through community service, exhibiting our party's ideals in direct actions and strengthening our shared future. I pledge to focus on state and local politics, and to seek out high-quality candidates to run in the next election."
If you agree with this and wish to publicly take the pledge, please comment below and share this post with your friends. Thank you.


Your friend,

Michael Messer
Friendly Neighborhood Democrats

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Evolving Role of Twitter and Facebook For News And Politics

Social media will be more crucial to 2016 candidates than past election cycles. A new study conducted by the Pew Research Center, in association with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, found voters rely more than ever on their favorite social media platform(s) to keep informed.

The study found 63 percent of users on each of the Facebook and Twitter social hubs consume most of their news on those sites. These numbers are on the rise from 2013, when 52 percent of Twitter users and 47 percent of Facebook users reported finding their news on the sites. The increase was seen across all age groups.

Politics was the most prevalent of all the news subjects that users reported they came across on social media and a growing roster of 2016 candidates are taking advantage in the shift in how people consume news. Many have wasted no time this election season establishing a social media presence.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Marco Rubio: Women's Right Of Privacy Decision "Egregiously Flawed"

GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Marco Rubio (FL) said the historic Roe v. Wade decision that "women have a right of privacy" to make personal reproductive decisions is “historically and egregiously flawed.” Rubio made the statement in a speech Friday before the National Right to Life Committee’s annual convention in New Orleans. Rubio promised he would fight to restrict women’s right of privacy to make personal decisions “at home and around the world.”

At the time Roe v. Wade was decided in 1972, most states, including Texas, severely restricted or banned the practice of abortion. Texas' law banned all abortions except those necessary to save the life of the mother.

In 1970, lawyers Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington brought a lawsuit on behalf of a pregnant woman, Dallas, Texas area resident Norma L. McCorvey ("Jane Roe"), claiming a Texas law criminalizing most abortions violated Roe's constitutional rights.

The lawsuit was filed against Henry Wade, Dallas Country District Attorney, in a Texas federal court. The federal court ruled Texas' law violated the U.S. Constitution. Wade appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reviewed the case through 1971 and 1972.

In the 7-2 Roe v. Wade majority decision, Justice Harry Blackmun wrote, the Texas law banning abortion violated Jane Roe's constitutional right to privacy to make personal reproductive decisions concerning her own body.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Jeb Bush Says American Workers Must Work Longer Hours And Years

If you’re in the American middle class—or what’s left of it—here’s how you probably feel. You feel like you’re struggling harder than your parents did, working longer hours than ever before, and yet falling further and further behind. The reason you feel this way is because most of you truly are falling further behind. But during an interview with The New Hampshire Union-Leader editorial board, GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush said, "people need to work longer hours."
“My aspirations for the country, and I believe we can achieve it, is for 4 percent growth as far as the eye can see, which means we have to be a lot more productive. Workforce participation has to rise from its all-time modern lows. It means that people need to work longer hours and through their productivity gain more income for their families. That’s the only way we are going to get out of this rut that we’re in,”Bush said.
Wealthy GOP politicians want all of US to work harder, when they have hardly every spent an hour of work at hard labor. Jeb Bush wouldn't last an hour pouring asphalt in the hot sun, but some people do that all day.

For the over 109 million Americans in full-time jobs, work weeks often are longer than the 40-hour standard. According to a Gallup poll conducted last year, full-time salaried employees reported working an average of 47 hours a week, without overtime compensation. Many salaried employees are forced by their bosses to work 60 to 70 hours a week for a 40 hour based salary.