I've recently found more and more that Facebook is nothing more than an unregulated arena of intellectual futility; a cesspool of fake news, factless claims and hyper partisan opinions. Simply, it's become a place to argue with people who do and don't think like you, using talking points created to distract you from the heart of an issue while not talking about the government policies which actually shape the world around us. To say the least, it's a disheartening place that is only redeemed through videos of cats & dogs being hearteningly adorable.
I'm not going to make the claim that I have all the answers, that I am the smartest guy in the room or that I have an insider's-look into the world of Washington D.C. I will say that of the 35 years I've been on this planet, I've watched both political parties rip America apart in different ways; cater to moneyed special interests and corporate policy-shapers, put their financial gain before their own constituents and whose policy positions will blow like a changing wind when a gust of cash hit's their campaign coffers. It doesn't matter which side we are talking about; Democrats and Republicans both do it, but claiming their is an equal participation is still, probably, a false equivalency.
The United States has lasted 240+ years through a separation of powers, a peaceful transfer of power post-election and through a press that has helped shape the conversations of the hour by both catalyzing and mitigating the discussion of the day. Those mechanisms seemed to have been put in the crosshairs after the Presidential Coup of 2016. I use the word 'coup' not lightly, but accurately, although the purpose of this blog is not to further document the laundry list of empty promises and lies that Donald J. Trump made to the American people, but to highlight the policies he is in fact attempting to put in place and how they are in stark contrast to the values that made the United States into the global destination for persons of all demographics from all corners of this 4.5 billion year old planet we call earth.
So who am I is probably where I should start;
- A millennial, born with the dual privilege of being a white male with a diverse ethnic history of both Arab and European descent.
- Raised in a northern midwestern state; a heavily Catholic, heavily white suburb of a major city that was a former heavyweight in industrial & automotive manufacturing.
- The product of a suburban, stay-at-home mother and a hard working, blue-collar tool & die maker father with a lifetime of practical work experience.
- College educated and working in heavy equipment as an Automation Engineer; a STEM field that replaces human labor with robots.
- A student of psychology, sociology, history and current events who appreciates getting to the heart of issues when having a constructive discussion on American politics, government policy & economics.
- I am not spiritual; irreligious and hostile towards unscientific claims, I attempt to find the facts and quote scientific data when I can, although I'm not opposed to educated opinion.
