Showing posts with label trump. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trump. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 02, 2018

Start The New Year Right -- Register To Vote!

“What one does realize is that when you try to stand up and look the world in the face like you had a right to be here, without knowing that this is the result of it, you have attacked the entire power structure of the Western world.” -- James Baldwin

“Apathy gets you the government we have today.” – Gil Sery

When I was a kid, all the Southern black folk around me took their civic responsibilities very seriously.  Election Day was a solemn moment, one fraught with a reckoning to the past and the full understanding that once upon a time, the simple act of casting your ballot in a local election could get you and perhaps your entire family killed, or at least run out of town on a rail. To vote was to stand shoulder to shoulder with those who couldn't -- and I figured if the powers that be were going to work this hard to keep me from doing something, I should do it.  Voting became synonymous with adulthood.  I would couldn't wait to grow up so I could move to New York City, live in Harlem, live the life of an artist (whatever that meant), and vote. 

So far, so good.  



I can't explain why white women voted for Trump in droves, many of them knowing full well that their vote would have elected Hillary -- and yet they showed up for a record-breaking women's march on Washington, DC the next day. 



I suppose I could blame the electoral college. Still and all, I don't know why half the country didn't bother to vote in the last presidential election. I can't tell you why most people don't vote in mid-term elections. I can tell you this: Way too many people genuinely don't care -- and unfortunately, the first sign of bad nutrition is apathy. 

I can also tell you that 2018 midterm elections will be fire. 

If you want to stick your toe in the water, here's some tasty apps. I'm already at the other side of the pool -- eating clean, running and working on a new song cycle.  It's 2018, folks. #GetYourLife!
  1. Click here to get all the information you need so you can register to vote!

    * General election: November 6, 2018
    * State primary: September 11, 2018
    * Federal primary: June 26, 2018
  2. Voter -- Matchmaking for Politics!
    Answer a few simple questions and find out which politicians truly have your best interests at heart, and have a track record to back it up.


    Because advertising is one thing -- but who your favorite politician really is? That's probably something else.
  3. Countable
    An app that makes it easy to pester your Congress member.



    If you'd like to know what your representative is up to in Congress, you can use this handy app to  find out. And then you can use the app to contact them directly, tell them how you want them to vote on legislation and you can see their voting record -- so if they're half-baked, you can vote them out in the next election cycle. 


Monday, November 28, 2016

"What Now?" Part 1: Let's Go Shopping!

"There are people who have money and people who are rich." -- Coco Chanel

In this post-election Christmas season of non-stop shopping, Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales and endless pop culture distractions, there are simple effective ways to use your money to make your voice heard politically. Because buying things -- whether you're shopping for a blouse at Lord & Taylor or eating a hamburger at McDonalds -- is a political act.

If you are anti alt-right, anti-white supremacy, anti white nationalism, anti-hate or anti-Trump, here are a few suggestions on how to put your money where your politics are.

1.  #GrabYourWallet

This campaign, initiated by Shannon Coulter and Sue Atencio, has a pretty straightforward missive: If you'd like to hit the Trumps where it hurts them the most, boycott the retailers that carry their merchandise.  Their comprehensive list includes contact information to retailers, so you can call and/or email the reasons why you won't be shopping there.  Because if people won't buy, they won't sell.

Frankly, if I see something I really like at Nordstrom's, I can usually go online and find it someplace else at a fraction of the cost. This ain't the 80s. We have the internet. So there's that.

2.  Donate to anti-hate groups in a hateful person's name.



Are you related to any Trump supporters who vote Republican no matter who's on the ticket? Do you know any bigots? Is your co-worker a racist?  Take a tip from John Oliver, host of Last Week Tonight and donate to an anti-hate group in their name.  What a wonderful Christmas present for that uncle that hates gay people or that white supremacist cousin you grew up with that just joined the Klan.

Here's John Oliver's short list:

Planned Parenthood
Center for Reproductive Rights
National Resources Defense Council
International Refugee Assistance Project
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
The Trevor Project
Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund

3.   RageDonate

I love this one.  It takes quotes from Trump and matches it with the appropriate charity in a revolving, ever spinning, never-ending roulette of hate speech. With one click, you give $10 and your rage subsides -- until he makes another inflammatory racist remark.

BONUS: Buycott

This is an app that let's you vote with your wallet by scanning barcodes while you shop. With one swipe, you can trace a product's corporate family tree and make a more informed consumer decision. And yes, it's free.