The Day 51 People Destroyed the United States Education System: The Confirmation of Mrs. Betsy DeVos

I sat yesterday and watched as 50 men and women that were elected to carry out our wishes, that work for us, vote to destroy the public education system against the wishes of most of their constituents. How did they do this you may ask? By confirming Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. For a list of how our Senators voted, visit this link. 

Mrs. DeVos brought out parents of special education students and “typical” students alike to demand that our Senators not confirm her. Tens of thousands of citizens exercising their right to speak, many of whom had never done so before. Trump supporters and Liberals alike- all standing together begging them not to do this, not to confirm her. Citizens wrote, called, and staged sit ins for weeks, opposing the confirmation of Betsy DeVos. Repeatedly we yelled that Mrs. DeVos has zero experience in the public education system and therefore shouldn’t be allowed to touch our public education. It makes a lot of people nervous that she never attended a public school, nor did her children. In fact, neither her or her children ever had to take out a student loan. In her life, she has never served as an administrator, teacher, or even as a volunteer in the public-school system.

DeVos with President Trump. Picture Courtesy of MatoMetrix.com

To add more, she holds no degrees in education. The teachers she will technically lead will have higher educations in the field than she does. It has also become clear that she isn’t a huge fan of public education and is not a friend to the special needs community. She wasn’t even aware what IDEA was during her Senate confirmation hearing. Her being such a huge proponent for vouchers is a slap in the face of all parents of special needs children. It is a wide belief that vouchers encourage isolation of students with disabilities and that they drain public schools of resources. It is also well known that voucher programs often require students with disabilities to sign away their rights under a federal civil rights law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA guarantees a free appropriate public education for all children. It has been cited several times that Mrs. DeVos believes that Special Education is a drain on our public education. Many Republicans have mentioned the increase in spending on special education since the 1980s by the Federal Government. As of now, our government gives states about $13 billion annually for special education. To add insult to injury, as of right now, Feb. 8th, 2017- the IDEA website is down. The claim is that they have had problems with it since January and are working on it. Kinda fishy seeing as though it went down the day she was confirmed. We shall see though. 

Picture Courtesy of nea.org

Every day it becomes more clear that Mrs. DeVos’ success is measured by her enormous wealth, not her qualifications or education. Her family has funded the billion-dollar charter school industry and shielded it from all rational for many years. They have also, single-handedly donated some 200 million dollars to the Republican Party over he last several years. Need examples of how she donates? For example, in 2000, the DeVos family spent near $5.6 million on an unsuccessful crusade to amend Michigan’s constitution to allow school vouchers. Just this summer the DeVos family contributed $1.45 million over two months’ time (for those of you counting, that’s an average of $25,000 a day) to Michigan GOP lawmakers to derail a provision that would’ve provided more charter school oversight in Detroit.

Mrs. DeVos formerly served as the Republican Party chairwoman in Michigan. She has also been very active in the drive to privatize our countries public education system. Her idea to do this is by creating programs and passing laws that require the use of tax-payer money to pay for private school tuition. This would most likely be done in the form of vouchers. Mrs. DeVos was also chair of American Federation for Children, a pro-school-choice advocacy group. Whose objective is, “promoting school choice, with a specific focus on advocating for school vouchers, scholarship tax credit programs and Education Savings Accounts.” Currently, Mrs. DeVos sits on the board of directors for the Alliance for School Choice. This is a special interest organization that organizes donations to legislative action that are in favor of school vouchers. Her family also started the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP), whose political action committee does the most aggressive lobbying for charter schools. Betsy DeVos and other family members of hers have given more than $2 million to this cause since 2001. GLEP has in turn spent that money essentially buying policy outcomes that have helped Michigan’s charter industry grow.

She spent many years pushing for educational changes in the state of Michigan. It is well known that her efforts returned disappointing results. To top it all off, the nail in the coffin- if you will: Mrs. DeVos and her husband own stake in a collection agency which collects on student loan debt. The firm in question is called RDV. DeVos once served as director of said company. The dealings of RDV had many high-level officials very concerned.

Let me break it down for you.

Per The Washington Post, RDV is associated with a company called LMF WF Portfolio. LMF WF is described  by many as a limited liability corporation. In all actuality, it seems that RDV and LMF WF are the same, if not close to the same entity. It seems that the investment fund that Mrs. DeVos formed, called Ottawa Avenue Private Capital, is listed as statutory agent for LMF WF. Both companies share the same filing address which is directly tied to the DeVos family. In fact, some of the same people are listed as employees of all the above-named businesses, all tied to DeVos directly.

The big problem for most is that LMF WF is listed in legal filings as being involved in a $147 million loan to Performant Financial Corp. In case you don’t know, Performant is a debt collection agency that is in business with the Education Department. Do you see the problem here? It seems that, near twenty-three percent of Performant’s earnings are directly tied to its dealings with the Education Department. This in turn means that a percentage of what she is earning collecting on loans is coming from student debt.

Mrs. DeVos. Picture Courtesy of abcnews.go.com

Given her ties to these educational debts and her new position, DeVos is now in a stance to influence the award of the debt collection in these and all cases of educational debt. Not only that but she now is in a spot in which she can influence the school servicing and recovery contracts and the oversight and monitoring of said contracts too. DeVos also now has the authority to revise payments and fees to contractors for rehabilitating past-due debt. To sum that up, she has control of the money and how it is spent. She can choose to pay the student debts back, in turn lining her own pockets with tax payer dollars.

For all these reasons and more, Mrs. DeVos is not qualified to take on the job she has just paid for. It is not only this writer’s belief that she was nominated and confirmed based completely on finances and not on merit. It is also my belief that she will devastate our public-school system. Her belief that Charters and vouchers are the only way to go and her potential to bankrupt the education system all while lining her pockets make me nervous, and should make you nervous as well. Yes, Charter schools can be a viable option for some students, thing is, it’s not the only option for all students. In fact, voucher programs and charter schools would be a disaster to many students across the country. Our public education system is important. It needs improved on, not destroyed from the inside.

(Continued after picture)

Picture Courtesy of The Other 98%

As the Washington Post pointed out: "It’s impossible to imagine such improvements will be aided by an education who is so willfully impervious to the relevant data. Instead, Betsy DeVos’ lodestar has been her conviction that any nontraditional public school is better than a traditional one, simply because it’s not operated by government." I couldn't say it any better myself. Our only hope is that her outrageous ideas and plans get held up in the courts and take so long to implement that she'll be out of office by the time her hands actually touch our school systems.We can all hope, can't we.

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President Trump Seems To Be Attempting To Keep His Campaign Promises, No Matter the Cost...

In the beginning of January 2016, during the Presidential primary, Trump’s Presidential campaign released their first T.V. ad in hopes of gaining supporters. This commercial came amid a campaign that some would claim stunk of hate and Alt Right rhetoric. In said ad you hear the narrator saying, “The politicians can pretend it’s something else, but Donald Trump calls it radical Islamic terrorism” as pictures of Hilary Clinton and President Obama strolled across the screen. It then preaches of Trump’s proposal to “ban Muslims,” much as he is saying now. It goes further to state that he is going to keep Muslims from entering the U.S.A. until “we can figure out what’s going on.” The commercial finishes up by telling the American people that Mr. Trump “will quickly cut the head off of ISIS and take their oil” if elected President.

Fast forward to today, January 30, 2017- it appears President Trump is keeping at least part of that promise. He signed an executive order banning people from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen from entering our country over the weekend in an effort to combat terrorism. There is also a lot of talk going on that there may be a "Muslim registry" implemented. That has not been officially confirmed as of now though. There's a lot of fear talking right now. We'll have to wait to see what actions Trump and his cabinet take in the next few months.

A few important facts about the newly issued orders from President Trump: around 0.01% of terrorist caught have actually came from those countries. The terrorist from 9/11 were 19 men, 15 of those men came from Saudi Arabia (which you will notice is missing from the ban list), 2 came from the United Arab Emirates (which is located in the middle of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Oman on the Gulf Coast), and one came from Egypt. 

Picture courtesy of Slate.com

I was exceptionally shocked that Saudi Arabia and Egypt were not on the ban list given the percentage of terrorism that can be directly linked back to those regions, despite their governing bodies claiming to help fight terrorism. It was even reported that after 9/11 Saudi Arabia's aid to America was lacking sincere effort, even refusing to allow America to use it's bases to fight Osama Bin Laden's soldiers in Afghanistan. I guess if you compare the map of banned countries to the list of countries that Trump has business ties you start to wonder if you're seeing the reasons for the lack of mention of the two countries.

Now, what you believe from there depends on which side of the political line you straddle.

President Trump reports that this is NOT a Muslim ban. While being interviewed this weekend about the detainments and deportations he said this, “It’s not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared. You see it at the airports, you see it all over. It’s working out very nicely, and we’re going to have a very, very strict ban, and we’re going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years.” Supporters are hailing this move as necessary steps being taken by a “natural leader” who is a “work-a-holic” and is “just getting started.” The White House seems to be happy with the ban and the consequences of said ban on world travel and possibly even on world terrorism. Trump's favorite lady, Kellyanne, even came out to Fox News in response to the ban telling Americans that, "This whole idea that they're being separated and ripped from their family... it's temporary." Families are also reporting that they were told the same thing by border agents. I guess that is supposed to make it better.

As with any political battle, his supporters and non-supporters alike have taken to social media to vent their feelings about the most recent actions of our Government. In response to Trump’s criticism a lot of his supporters are citing actions Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter took during their terms as President in regards to immigrant bans. They are using these examples as direct means to prove Liberals wrong. Why you ask? I seems this has become a Kindergarten shouting match between two sides of extremist that both should be listening to the people that are hanging out in the middle, worried and shaking their heads.

If you don’t know what they are talking about, here’s a quick bit of information to catch you up.

According to Politifact.com in late 1979 an injustice was committed against America. 60 of our American embassy personnel members in Tehran were held captive. The culprits-Iranian militants. The hostage crisis lasted for a reported 444 days. The actions that conservatives of today are speaking of are the actions that President Carter took in response to that situation. You see, in a bid to get the Iranians to end the hostage situation Carter put forth a ban that kept Iranians from entering the United States unless they opposed the Iranian Regime or had a medical emergency. As part of this ban all Iranian students in America had to report to their local immigration offices. This was done to determine if any had violated the terms of their visa, if so they were deported. President Carter also halted the issuing of new visas to Iranians. In 1980, the Times reported that almost 60,000 students had registered with immigration, less than 500 had been deported. By the end, nearly 5,000 Iranians had left voluntarily, as a result of Carter’s actions. Can’t see the difference in what Trump has done and what Carter did? Just ask Kermit Roosevelt, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is quoted on Politifact.com as saying, “The difference [between Trump’s actions and Carter’s actions] is that Iranians were citizens of, and owed allegiance to, a country that was acting against the United States. The class of ‘all Muslims’ has no similar connection to ISIS or terrorists. That makes the analogy seriously flawed."

When it comes to the Conservative claims against President Obama, they are referring to an executive order from 2011. In that 2011 order, The Daily Caller reports, Obama specifically called for a ban that covered "anyone under a UN travel ban; anyone who violates any of 29 executive orders regarding transactions with terrorists, those who undermine the democratic process in specific countries, or transnational criminal organizations." Again, this is different than banning a whole religion to improve vetting processes. Obama’s executive order covered Iran, Syria, and Crimea. Of the three, Iran and Syria are predominately Muslim countries. This also making the circumstances different, his actions were NOT against a single religion.

Now, back to the current situation at hand…

If you believe what the people are saying about the aftermath of Trump’s ban, then you have a different viewpoint of what is going on altogether. There are countless videos and reports coming from social media and various outlets stating that in airports all over the United States you see a very altered picture of reality then what President Trump is depicting. Inside the airports were reported as being chaotic. Lawyers started showing up Saturday night to help the refugees that were being refused entry. Some of the people being detained were found to, reportedly, have Green Cards and were still stopped. People from the 7 key Muslim countries were stopped, their phone contacts and social media accounts reportedly searched, and them asked how they felt about President Trump. Children and Grandparents detained. It didn’t just happen in the U.S. either, airports all over the world are having to turn away people flying to the U.S. that are from those countries. Many of whom recently had visas approved and were headed here. They were already vetted, yet they were detained, questioned, and refused entry.

Protests at JFK Airport. Picture Courtesy of NyDailynews.com

When you turn your attention to what is going on outside airport security then you get a real glimpse of what America is supposed to be about. You see Americans standing up for what America is supposed to stand for. You see humans out in masses, protesting what is being called the actions of a "want to be dictator." You see airports full of men, women, and children holding signs welcoming the refugees that are being detained inside, signs opposing Trump’s ban. Over 5,000 showed up at JFK alone. The Taxi services to JFK Airport protested as well, refusing to transport passengers as they arrived.

NY Taxi Workers Alliance's official statement about the ban

Behind closed doors even more was happening though. The American Civil Liberties Union in Brooklyn, NY petitioned Federal Judge Ann Donnelly to grant a request issued by them Saturday evening to stay deportations of valid visa holders after they have landed at a U.S. airport. Judge Ann Donnelly granted the stay, effectively stopping Homeland Security from deporting anymore visa holders as the got off flights. Virginia, Washington, and Massachusetts following suit, ordering stays. A small victory for the masses, a victory none the less. Crowds cheered as they were given the news. Shortly after, however, Homeland Security issued their own statement. It reads, “The President's Executive Orders remain in place—prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety. The president's Executive Order affects a minor portion of international travelers, and is a first step towards reestablishing control over America's borders and national security."

Despite the Federal Judge’s ruling many reports are stating that border control officers are ignoring the court. They are sticking with what Homeland Security and President Trump ordered them to do. This includes, reportedly, coercing non-English speaking passengers into taking volunteer deportations and, in some cases, refusing civil rights lawyers access to immigrants being detained. The actions of the rogue Border Agents sent civil rights workers into overtime. In one case an Iranian Fulbright scholar was forced on to an AirUkraine flight at JFK-hours after agents had received the court order to stop. Reports are saying that in this instance that, “She was on the phone with us [her lawyers] and stood up [to exit] and asked to get off the flight; the crew just ignored her.” As a result of being ignored civil rights attorneys made frantic calls to higher-level officials-the plane was eventually turned around on the tarmac and the woman returned to detention, instead of being deported. Another media site reporting that a Mother refugee and her children were detained for over 20 hours without being offered food or water. Yet another story coming out reporting that a 5 year old boy was detained and kept from his mother, alone, for 5 hours.

Protests at Seatac Airport in Seatac, Washington. Picture Courtesy of q13fox.com

These court rulings were just victories for people that reached the U.S. shores though. Many others are being detained in other countries, awaiting the (supposed) 90 day ban to end so that they can come to America per their visas, or in some circumstances return to America- WHERE THEY LEGALLY LIVE. Many residents were overseas visiting family or attending funerals and were reportedly stopped trying to return home. Olympian Mo Farah was detained trying to return to Portland, where he lives. He wrote, “On 1st January this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien. I am a British citizen who has lived in America for the past six years-working hard, contributing to society, paying my taxes and bringing up our four children in the place they now call home. Now, me and many others like me are being told that we may not be welcome.”

Protesters in Boston. Picture Courtesy of chinanewsasia.com

As of today, January 30, 2017, our government has came out and essentially admitted that it made a mistake. Things weren't clear enough, it seems, and Visa holders should not have been detained. This has done nothing to silence the masses that are protesting at airports all over the United States of America over the ban being enacted to begin with. His response to the situation on twitter has some fuming even more. President Trump tweeted out today that, "Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage..." A claim that many believe to be fabricated.

Regardless of what you believe, as of right now, it seems this is just the beginning. Like him or not, Trump made many promises on the campaign trail that he seems to be determined to keep. Of course, while watching out for his own interests as well. Some of those promises that are yet to be kept are found terrifying by many, to say the least. For a look into 76 campaign promises he made check out this link. I hope that our President and his cabinet members wake up to the voices of the people soon and finds a way to balance our countries highest beliefs and morals with his current plan of action. I hope he is able to accomplish this peacefully and without stripping rights and liberties away from humans. America is a Melting Pot. We are a country made up of immigrants and refugees. Our Statue of Liberty says it all: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free!"

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Political Labels and The Recent Marches in America

I have never defined myself by political affiliation. I have voted all over the ballot based on the issues I believe in my whole adult life. No matter what my views happened to be I have never been verbally assaulted by my friends and family because of said views, until now. Suddenly I am a “Liberal” and a “Left Side Enthusiast,” a “Feminist” and a “NASTY WOMAN.” Now, facing my mid-thirties I suddenly have labels. Suddenly all of my morals and beliefs cause me to be filed into this small labeled box based on who others think I am. I have never seen myself as one that can be labeled. I am not Liberal nor am I Democrat. I am not Republican nor am a Conservative… I am HUMAN. I stand for Human Rights, no matter where those rights lay their roots. I was unaware that human rights could become so blurred based on party lines. Given this realization, if I must take on labels to be a decent human being then so be it. I guess I am a Liberal, Democrat, Feminist, Nasty Woman who happens to advocate for the rights of pretty much everyone.

With that said, never have I witnessed an election polarize so many families, so many friends. I've never, since my birth, seen the rights of the people stomped on with such indifference. You can say America isn’t divided all you want. This is just the belief of a few. It seems to me that we are being fed “alternative facts” by the spoon full and expected to swallow it like its nourishment being provided for our bodies and minds. I didn’t realize being able to observe the obvious made someone Democrat or Liberal. I always thought it made them perceptive. From where I sit, it seems like we are more divided than ever. The far left and the far right acting like toddlers throwing fits. No wonder people are compelled to rise and resist.

In case you somehow have blinders on and have missed it. On Friday January 20^th thousands of humans revolted in violent riots against the inauguration of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States of America. The widespread damage and chaos of these riots were overwhelming and produced no positive results.

Inauguration riots 2017

Saturday January 21^st millions of human beings, worldwide, peacefully marched in cities all over the globe in unity of different human rights. Again, last night, January 24^th, 2017 people marched in cities across the U.S. in opposition of the pipelines that President Trump is pushing through. They marched in recognition of the treaties that the Federal Government is ignoring and in the memory of the lost loved ones of our Native American brothers and sisters whose final resting places are being threatened in the name of greed. More marches are being planned for various reasons. I’ve, personally, never seen a movement like this.

A pipeline protester. Picture Courtesy of tigrignamovies.com

I’ve never seen so many of my fellow humans so frightened of one person since… probably Hitler. America has always stood by our peoples’ basic rights. The right to assemble, to protest, is one of those rights and I will always advocate for it. I will never advocate for the right to riot, this is not a basic right- it’s a crime. Despite the difference in the two, it seems that the Government may now wish to target our right to assemble, as well as other basic rights. The combination of the given actions of the Trump regime in his first week is making some people around the world nervous.

Sign seen at the Women's March

The March on January 21^st, 2017, was lovingly dubbed “The Women’s March.” It was, arguably to some, the single largest civil rights protest in human history and serves as an excellent example of the nervousness of the masses. Though it was called the “Women’s March,” it was about so much more than just women. Everyone marched for their own beliefs and for everyone’s beliefs. On that date, women, children and men of all backgrounds, ages and ethnicity marched across the globe in recognition that the direction the American Government is headed has the potential of being dangerous. They marched because basic rights are being infringed upon and threatened. They marched because after all these years we needed to show that we, the American people-and people of the world, will not be silenced when it comes to the basic rights of others.

The people marched on the 21^st and the 24^th because our planet is being threatened- All mention of Climate Change was erased from the White House website shortly after President Trump’s inauguration; shortly thereafter the American peoples’ basic rights to be informed of what is going on with our environment was taken from us. Our National Parks and USDA silenced. Communication with the American public cutoff. Our EPA only allowed to resume communications after the black out order if they agreed to erase mentions of climate change from their website. During this march, many people of the world stood together and screamed that OUR WORLD matters. That climate change is real. They screamed that we want to have a planet to leave to our grandchildren. I have seen talk and criticism of how some of the protesters acted in regards to their trash. Given that some were marching for that reason and some were not- it doesn’t surprise me that there are human beings that are ignorant to littering and its effect on our environment or that some of them would be present during marches the size they were that day. We are talking millions of people marching for various reasons. Luckily, museums are collecting the protest signs to keep.

A toddler with a self made protest sign at one of the many Women's Marches across the globe

In America people are resisting in the name of our various beliefs. The right to birth control, and (even though I am not in support of it) the right of a woman to obtain an abortion. President Trump and VP Pence have made clear their stand points on abortion, cutting international funding to any facility providing or educating about abortion. Also, advocating and pushing for the all-out outlaw of abortion in these United States and the defunding of Planned Parenthood. As a teenager, PP provided me with the birth control that kept me from becoming an unwed teenage mother with few options. We, as a people, are outraged at Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education. As many have said, our children deserve a Secretary of Education that actually cares about education. We also deserve one that has had experience in education; a nominee that knows the simplest facts about Federal Civil Rights laws like IDEA, that knows the difference between “growth” and “proficiency.” Her confirmation will threaten the basic rights of our countries most vulnerable-our disabled children.

The people marched because healthcare for low income families, the disabled, and the elderly is being threatened. The Republicans "solutions" aren't realistic solutions to many American families. We are being thrown to the wolves by the top 1%. All HUMANS deserve healthcare, period. 

(Blog continues after Healthcare picture below)

Some Healthcare facts for you from http://healthresearchfunding.org/universal-healthcare-pros-cons/

Per New YorkStates Department of Health these countries have universal healthcare, yet we in the U.S. do not:

Copied from the New York State Health Department

 I have seen posts on Social Media about the consequences of the actions of these nations after providing universal healthcare. The majority being the most concerned with where the money to pay for said healthcare comes from. Taxpayers, it would come from mostly taxpayers. You know what, I am fine with paying a little more tax if it means ANOTHER HUMAN BEING doesn’t die from a preventable disease.

Why you ask- because at some point we must stop seeing everything through red and blue tinted glasses and start seeing life from the viewpoint of others. I was taught as a little girl to LOVE OTHER PEOPLE. What has happened to that?

The people of America are rising-up because all we have done for domestic violence is at risk. Crisis Centers are at risk. At age 15 I watched my mother thrust into a life of abuse. I watched her thrive from the help she received from the local Women’s Shelter. These places are important. No woman or man deserves to be in a situation where their lives are at risk at the hands of another. No child deserves to set under a table and scream as one parent assaults the other in front of them. This happens daily in America, all over the world. Without the guidance of Women’s shelters and Family shelters a lot of these individuals have no clue how to live a life without abuse. Why would any person be OK with cutting programs like this? It seems, according to USUncut.com, President Trump plans to cut 15 major Government offices. One of those being the Office of Violence Against Women. This particular department makes up around $480 million per year. That breaks down to $3.50 per taxpayer. I don't know about anybody else but it also makes me nervous that talks of cutting this office are happening at the same time that Russia is voting to decriminalize some forms of Domestic Violence.

I was told by friends before the election that Donald Trump was for LGBT rights, despite what I was hearing online and in the media. They were all saying that there was nothing to worry about. I really tried to believe them. That was until all mention of LGBT rights were erased from the White House Website. Just poof, gone and no replacement is put up. It creates an uneasy feeling when a party is notorious for infringing on the rights of minorities and then things like this happen. As a result, people assembled and marched in the name of LGBT rights. I hope that they are creating a phenomenal page in support of LGBT rights and have yet to launch it, somehow I won't hold my breath. Under the Obama administration we saw great strides in the rights of the LGBT community, including but not limited to the legalization of Gay marriage. Under Trump's administration, who knows what will happen. I may just be crazy but I don't see how judging who and how someone loves is a political issue to begin with. Love is love to me. I watch some people preach about being nonjudgmental Christians then stand together in the same breath and judge others based on who they love because of their own personal religious beliefs. I am scared for my friends who are in the LGBT community. I'm scared of what will come of President Trump's Supreme Court appointment this week. I am hopeful that he won't turn the clock back decades on the rights of many people I know and love, and many strangers I aspire to meet.

Also, yes, as the name of the march suggests, people are resisting because to them it feels like women’s rights are being threatened. It is easy to see why. We elected and inaugurated a President with dozens of sexual harassment cases in his past (whether founded or unfounded, they exist) and an ex-wife that tells of his notorious womanizing. A man that, on tape, talked about grabbing women by “their pussies” shortly after marrying his beautiful wife. A human being that sat and talked about how money and power make it OK to do those things to another human being. I will never understand how any person, any woman, could hear his words on that tape and be ignorant to the damage caused by them. The most powerful man in the world- talking about the gender that births your generations like we are meat. Like we are beneath men. Like we are toys. It’s disgusting. It doesn’t matter what we wear, say, or do for a living- our basic rights and our intimate areas are not up for grabs! That should go without saying. I don't care if he was planning to run for office when he said it or not, the point is that he did in fact say it. It is indicative of the type of man he is. We are living in a day and time where women go to college and still receive less pay than their male counterparts. (I was going to link the White House page on gender inequality to this section; however, when I visited the site it too had been taken down as of 1/25/17) This part of the movement isn't about whether men are afforded clean air and water while women receive dirty air and water, as was so ignorantly stated to me earlier- it's about the fact that after all these years there are still women who are oppressed, in our country and in others.

Woman marching at the Women's March. January 21st, 2017

America was born of resistance. A resistance full of immigrants. My family immigrated 100’s of years ago, from mostly Ireland. We all come from backgrounds like this. Yes, we have an illegal immigration problem in this country. I have seen it with my own eyes. I also have a brain and it tells me that a wall isn’t going to solve this problem. Some of his other ideas may help, like stopping the “catch and release” tactics used by border control where we expect the immigrant will appear in court later. Building a wall though! A majority of undocumented immigrants overstay their visa. I do not see how a wall of any size will possibly combat that problem. Walls are born from hate and cost money we obviously do not have. Don’t tell me Mexico will pay us back for it without a solid plan as to how he plans to accomplish that either. Now his call for better vetting procedures I am all for! I am hopeful of what his ideas for how to revamp our vetting process will be. I am also somewhat hesitant to hear them, It seems as though they will include a ban on travel to the U.S. from muslim countries. We have yet to see for sure though. To tell you the truth though, it really gets to me that we are even discussing building a wall when there are American's without health insurance, veterans being provided sub-par healthcare after sacrificing for our country, and middle and lower class families that work their butts off and still can't afford their premiums and co-payments. 

Woman at Women's March. January 21, 2017

It has become increasingly obvious that a large part of the world has a message for anyone that will listen. It is being screamed from every corner that women have rights, minorities have rights, immigrants have rights, Democrats have rights, Republicans have rights, HUMANS have rights. Those are beliefs I can stand by. I believe in the rights of humans, whether those other humans are “Liberals,” “Red Blooded Conservatives,” or otherwise. Despite our viewpoints on the issues we are still human beings. If all of that makes me a Democrat or a Liberal, a Feminist or a Nasty Woman- then so be it. Bring on your labels. I'll wear them proudly.

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