“You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby!”

On December 6, 2016December 7, 2016 By ls1228In election, Extreme Blonde Moments, headlines, Pisses Me OffLeave a comment

kennedys In January of 1961, President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, moved their young family into the White House. Instead of a lavish mansion, the new First Lady was horrified to find that once beautiful artifacts were worn or broken, furnishings were badly in need of repair, and that the Truman administration had used modern fabrics and commissioned cheaply made knock-offs! Believing that the appearance of class, elegance and grandeur at the White House must be restored immediately, Mrs. Kennedy made it her top priority. She would have extremely limited funds, but was sure that her upbringing, fine arts education and social ties would make that a minor obstacle. In her mind it was paramount that the White House be restored as authentically as possible so that once again the White House would be seen:

Befitting the residence of the sitting President of the United States of America
Honoring Past Presidents of the United States
As an ever evolving, living, breathing testimony of American history

Mrs. Kennedy used her wits and wiles to retrieve era appropriate artifacts and raise the needed funds to restore the White House as she set out to, and did it in record time. She brought glamour into evenings at the White House and helped move protocol out of the stoic 1940’s style and into the modern times. The White House became a place that intellectuals, artists, entertainers, and leaders of the world all wanted to be invited.

ST-218-1-62 (crop) Mrs. Kennedy stepped out of her husband’s shadow and created a position of power for herself as First Lady that lasted well beyond her years in the White House. Although she relished the spotlight the role she created for herself provided, it wasn’t for political gain. Jackie Kennedy was shrewd. She sought connections with people of wealth, influence and international notariety that they would be able to call upon and leverage in the years to come, never knowing, of course, that their time in the White House (and time together) would be cut so dramatically short.

national_organization_for_women_logo The end of the Kennedy era ushered in the Women’s Right’s Movement of the late 1960’s / early 1970’s. Over the next four decades glass ceilings of corporations and governments around the globe shattered and the emergence of women as international executives and world leaders became the norm.

2016 was going to be the year that Americans finally joined the rest of the world in recognizing and rewarding the most qualified and prepared person to ever be in competition for the highest office in our land, President of the United States, and that person was female: Hillary Rodham Clinton!

She’d proven more than worthy of the job by showing strength in International political circles as Secretary of State;
She’d proven she could and would cross the aisle to get things done as a two-term Senator from the state of New York;
She’d proven tenacious when fighting for women and children’s causes in her long law career;
She’d proven a supportive, forgiving and loyal wife when tested beyond the limits most women could take, when publicly lied to and humiliated by her husband’s infidelity under the harshest spotlight one could ever imagine, as the First Lady of the United States; and
She was running against a non-politician, a racist, a liar, a business failure, someone defending himself against many lawsuits including one for fraud (that he lost and paid tens of millions of dollars to settle), a man accused of sexual assault, a man awaiting civil trial for rape, a man on camera admitting to sexual assault – there was no way she could lose to this baffoon…Hmmm

We all know what happens to expectations and assumptions.

Only half of those eleigible to vote in the United States turned out
Of that 1/2: 2.5 Million more than that 50% voted FOR Hillary Clinton BUT
The Electoral College electorates are not distributed equally amongst the states and more electoral college votes were awarded (as of today, but are not yet official) to Donald Trump (the electorates from each state cast their votes on December 18th)

This President-Elect is known to live in homes adorned with self portraits, gaudy trumpapartment furnishings and walls covered in gold, he refuses to sit for daily intelligence briefings, he refuses to follow established Presidential protocol, he has named a white supremacist to his cabinet, is flying by the seat of his pants into one political landmine after another, he is Tweeting bald-faced lies to the American public, he still has multiple lawsuits pending against him, and, to top it all off, he has a wife who isn’t intending to live with him and perform the many daily and ceremonial duties as First Lady at the White House! All of this in less than a month after the election and just six weeks before he is officially to take office! WTF? Will no White House traditions survive?

That sound you hear is Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis rolling over in her grave in Arlington National Cemetery.

Because men have held a majority of the elected positions of political power since the inception of the United States as a Nation, fashion’s influence hasn’t been one of the more focused upon aspects of politics. Of course it has received passing historical commentary that was appropriate for the era and/or if there was an obvious show of poverty or wealth during the campaign, but essentially, aside from times when shown in their military uniforms, men have generally worn some version of the standard tailored formal suit and tie combination and women (mostly in their roles as spouse or hostess) whatever the popular gown of the era.

I am a proud member of the Pantsuit Nation group on Facebook, but I do admit to laughing at the jokes made by and about Hillary and her attachment to the non-descript (but obviously well made and expensive) pant suits she wore on the campaign trail. I also admit that the sometimes frumpy and shapeless pantsuits paired with the vicious #FalseNews stories that the real press wouldn’t de-bunk as loudly as the Trump campaign, the internet, and Fox News/CNN and others spread them, might just have been what ultimately cost Hillary half the public’s trust and the election.

hillary_clinton_official_secretary_of_state_portrait_crop I truly believe that Hillary Clinton not appearing as she did at all three debates, beautifully made up and glamorously styled as she showcased her intellectual and political strengths, contributed to her issues in connecting with people. The likeability factor, that I dismissed, mattered a whole lot more to middle america than I realized. Had she appeared everytime we saw her looking as she did at the debates, there might have been some who would have given her ultimate truths more of a chance to be heard instead of listening to the continual lies Trump-eting from other sources.

Unless there is a great moral and ethical shift within the voters who comprise the Electoral College on December 18th, in which they could decide that what they have seen and heard so far, in the first 6 1/2 weeks since the election, is just more than the United States bargained for or can sustain for 4 years, and decides to #VoteTheirConscience and swing their votes to the better qualified Hillary Clinton, I’m afraid that the long way that we appeared to have come from 1960 to 2016 might just take some steps backward. Hmmm indeed.

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Organize This Chaos

On November 12, 2016November 12, 2016 By ls1228In election, Extreme Blonde Moments, headlines, Helpful Tips, Pisses Me Off1 Comment

hatecrimevote

This Blonde has had enough of the hateful personal attacks coming out of the woodwork, the attic, crawling out of the sewers and the swamps, falling from the skies, and everywhere else.

Many people who claim to be your friends aren’t. They hold racial, gender, sexual, and religious biases that differ with your beliefs. Deal with it, erase them from your life or learn to agree to disagree if that’s possible, but you are not going to change them anymore than they are likely to change you.

America, because tens of millions of people seem to need a refresher course in U.S. History, was founded on a few basic principles that are stated quite clearly in The Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The government of the people, by the people and for the people is clearly outlined in the Declaration of Independence, “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”

All that said, this Blonde has a few things to get off her chest: lamarch

Peaceful protest is a First Amendment right
Vandalizing property, assaulting citizens and committing other crimes of opportunity are not
Peaceful protests and petitions can result in desired change: A Texas Electoral College Member (a state that was awarded to Trump) has publicly stated he is considering a change in his vote on December 19th, and a petition circulating on Change.org, asking the Electoral College #VoteYourConscience and follow the will of the Popular Vote to award the election to Hillary Clinton, has (as of 12:30 PST) gathered 3,620,136 signatures.
Protests that stray from the intended purpose and spiral into lawless riots turn people against your cause

Police in the cities where days of protests have been happening are being supportive of Constitutional rights and doing what they can to keep the protestors safe, but when they turn the switch and become thugs and criminals they are playing right into the playbook of the voters whose votes they are protesting.

antitrumplapd

Instead of inflicting damage which will cost cities money to clean it up, think about other ways to protest that may get the point across.

If a company where you regularly shop, dine at or otherwise patronize supports values, laws and lawmakers that you don’t, then change your spending habits. Shop, dine and spend your money with companies that share your values.
If the house of worship you pray in has deviated from the righteous path that you try to follow, then join another congregation that more closely aligns with your beliefs.

Major sports leagues, the NCAA, corporations, organizations, recording artists and others have moved their events away from states that enacted legislation that was Anti-LGBTQ. By doing so, hundreds of millions of dollars in spending was directed away from those economies. In the end the almighty dollar is a much greater sword to wield when the intention behind the loss of revenue is known.

The estimate in lost revenue to North Carolina alone was a HALF A BILLION DOLLARS. Several companies intending to move their corporate headquarters or build regional facilities canceled their contracts costing jobs, tax dollars and they still did not, and have not, changed their Anti-LGBTQ legislation. In fact, they have diverted $500,000 from the state’s disaster relief funds (funds that are sorely needed to repair massive storm damage) to fight litigation against their Anti-LGBTQ legislation! HMMM

If you don’t like that your City, County or State voted to elect a Councilman, Mayor, Commissioner, Assemblyman, Senator, Representative or yes, President, then let your money, as well as your voice and future vote do your talking.

Enough with causing chaos in the very cities you claim to be speaking for
Don’t contribute to your party the next time they come calling
Write letters to your representatives
Send letters to the editor of your local and regional papers
Start a grassroots movement “Bernie-Style”
Remember that mid-term elections are only 2 years away

In 2018, 33 of the 100 Senate seats are up for re-election. Currently Republicans hold 52 seats and 8 of those will be up for grabs: Arizona, Nevada, Mississippi, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, & Wyoming. If any Senators die in office or are otherwise unable to serve before that, there can be special elections, so there is no reason to wait until then to get involved if this really matters to you.

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I’ve Had it With The 2016 Election!

On September 30, 2016June 16, 2022 By ls1228In election, Extreme Blonde Moments, Pisses Me OffLeave a comment

election2106 I have had all I can stand of the 2016 Presidential campaign! There were stories today that the people of America needed to hear more about before they make a moral and ethical call on the candidate who will be best suited to lead us into the next four years and beyond, but the television media didn’t cover them.

Yesterday the media uproar was all about Donald Trump calling Miss Universe 1996 a slob, pig, etc., and how he fat shamed her well before it became a “thing” on Twitter and Facebook, instead of covering Newsweek’s bombshell on Trump sending an advisor to Cuba and spending money there during the embargo then trying to cover it up after the fact as a catholic charities trip.

Today, instead of continuing on the illegal Cuba spending coverage, the media has shifted to Donald’s intent to smear Secretary Clinton with the decades old story of her responses to getting blindsided by her husband’s affair (s), instead of covering another bombshell that hit the wires last night regarding the legitimacy of The Trump Foundation.

Two weeks ago all any news channel was doing was hunting up John & Mary Q. Public to see how they feel about Hillary not sharing that she went to the doctor, got antibiotics to clear up the nagging cough & congestion in her chest (a.k.a. the “walking pneumonia”) Friday, then ignored her doctor telling her to take the weekend off, so John/Mary Q. Public went on the record stating “that” makes her untrustworthy.

Hour upon hour of coverage listening to pundits interpreting “what she was thinking not telling America she has what is equivalent to a really bad chest cold!” We have HIPAA people! With her permission, her doctors have given the results of her most recent physical, which was obviously before her doctor appointment last Friday, and he provided the press and all interested parties a report of overall good health. Sometimes people are going to get sick, sometimes people go to the doctor because they have an infected ingrown toenail, sometimes they need an antifungal cream, Viagra, prescription strength vitamins, etc. There is no reason that routine visits to or by the doctor are anyone’s business but hers and her doctor. Once Mr. Trump’s doctor has given his report of his overall health and fitness, he is under no obligation to hold a press conference every time any minor ailment comes up for him either. HIPAA protects us all from those intrusions in our privacy!

Married or single, gay or straight, and with or without children, women in the 21st Century wear many different hats. They can be:

stay at home mothers or homemakers;
members of the 9 to 5 work force;
members of the military;
single parents working multiple jobs;
students;
owners of corporations or small businesses;
politicians;
volunteers, or community activists;
part time employees;
unemployed and looking for work;
unemployed by choice;
or retired and loving it.

No matter what hat they wear, they all are highly likely to have one thing in common: they burn the candle at both ends to make sure that everyone they are responsible for is clothed, fed and happy before they even consider taking care of themselves. Does no one consider that this is likely the case with a woman who happens to also be running for president of the United States of America?

Apparently Donald Trump, Mike Pence, the vast majority of the media covering this Presidential election don’t want you to consider it to be the case and they want as much doubt to be cast Secretary Clinton’s way as possible so they have just a tiny bit more hope that they can somehow convince the voting public that someone who has easily handled the responsibility of being, among many other things: Lawyer, Children’s Advocate, wife, mother, grandmother, First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of The United States of America, Senator for the State of New York and Secretary of State for the United States of America; somehow is just not mentally qualified or able to stand up to the physical requirements of being President of the United States of America.

Having nothing substantive to say about their candidate, the Trump campaign pounced on a grainy video showing Secretary Clinton losing her footing getting into her vehicle as she left the 9/11 15th Anniversary gathering at the former site of the World Trade Center. She’d been battling the cough, as we’d all seen reported, for a few weeks and, the warm day, large crowd, highly emotional retelling of the terror and sorrow of September 11th, 2001, combined with dehydration made her feel dizzy, so she sought out her secret service team after 90 minutes so she could go to her daughter’s nearby home to rest. Obviously, she waited just a few minutes too long, as her dizziness caused her to stumble as she stepped off the curb to step into the vehicle and the stories spun from there. Once she reached her daughter’s home drank some water and cooled off she began feeling much better. Conspiracy theorists suggested a body double replaced her. COME ON! Maybe her hair looked different because she took a cool shower to refresh. WTF People?

It’s no big news that people get sick occasionally. But, according to the Trump Campaign, Mike Pence, some within the Republican National Committee, many of the talking heads on the cable news networks and pundits across the internet, Hillary Clinton is not only not allowed to get run down and catch a common cold or the flu, but if she says she has, the RNC says there must be a giant Democratic Party conspiracy to hide a much more serious ailment (cue the body double LMAO). This woman, the first in modern history to be the candidate of a major party for the highest office in the land, is under a scrutiny that is unprecedented and bordering on violating her rights!

If Secretary Clinton’s campaign, when announcing her weekend schedule, had simply made a statement mentioning the visit to get a prescription to knock out the lingering cough and mild related upper respiratory irritation, the stumble getting into the vehicle might have been a non-story. The truth, that she was dehydrated (antibiotics can be very hard on the body while helping it heal) and just needed to get out of the sun and get something cool to drink, might have helped to avoid the excessive speculation and negative coverage today.

If, on the other hand, Mr. Trump had been overheated/dehydrated, showing signs of fatigue from the grueling schedule that is being maintained by both candidates for President in this election, and had lost his balance stepping down from a curb and up into his vehicle, it would have been highly unlikely that there would have been the wild speculation that he has some unrevealed or terminal illness. He’s a man and an excuse would have been made that he tripped, it would have been laughed off, lampooned by the late night hosts, and the topic would have been dropped. We saw that truth when Trump sniffled and gulped water during the first Presidential Debate when he was getting schooled by Secretary Clinton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWq0M85xMyM

The late night guys got their jokes in, the mainstream media suggested he was coming down with a cold, internet conspiracy theorists deduced that he had “obviously” snorted Adderal or Cocaine, and then a couple of days later the subject was dropped.

Secretary Clinton has been campaigning on her merits as a stateswoman of experience and knowledge of the players and situations that are challenging the World and the United States, while Mr. Trump’s campaign has utilized attack ads, negativity and divisive social issues that bring out the hate and ugliness in his supporters.

Trump focuses on racist fears, he accuses others of improprieties without concrete proof: he implied that Bill Clinton’s extramarital affairs (like those perpetrated by the thrice married Mr. Trump himself, about which he pled the 5th 97 times during his 1st divorce deposition, and documented in a recent book ) are somehow a negative reflection on Hillary’s potential as a President, he goes off on rants and makes wild accusations, and he applies ugly monikers (“Crooked Hillary“) hoping that his ugly reality show performance will keep the attention of the haters and “conspiracy theorists” long enough to get them to come out to the polling places and cast their votes for him in November.

His campaign’s lack of clear agenda & his frequent change of message and campaign staff turnover has been a sideshow:

No Republican Heavyweights, including former Republican Presidents and Vice-Presidents, will give him their endorsements, nor will they campaign for him;
They have had multiple changes of Campaign Leadership Since June 2016;
Fact checking mistakes are a common occurrence in live speeches and interviews;
His current Campaign Manager, a former Pollster, continues to perpetuate a known falsehood by quoting a poll that is known to have been fabricated two weeks ago by the Trump Campaign, and yesterday she admitted on The View that Trump spent money in Cuba during the time of the Embargo (admission of illegal activity!);
Evidence of an illegal payment to Florida’s Attorney General four days after she publicly expressed consideration of joining other states in suing Trump University/Donald Trump for Fraud;
Evidence of intent to commit tax fraud when the above payment of $25,000 was shown to be entered on his tax form as an entirely different payment made to an organization he had (and has) never given a single cent to;
Allegations of Campaign Contribution Fraud when he repaid his foundation with funds from his personal account after being fined for the alleged error in entering the illegal contribution and fundraising event he hosted and attended for the Florida Attorney General at his Mar-A-Lago Resort;
yesterday, the Attorney General for the State of New York announced that The Trump Foundation does not hold the Certifications necessary to solicit cash donations; and that’s just a small sampling of the last month or so.

Because they don’t want to defend the actions noted above and have nothing to say defend their candidate’s lack of knowledge of world affairs, experience with international diplomacy, or ability to lead our nation with 6 weeks to go before election day, the Trump Campaign is instead heading back into the gutter and continuing to fight for electoral votes as if they are lobbying for viewer votes on a reality show.

In the end, I have to believe that knowledge of what is morally right vs wrong is going to lead Americans to make a decision against hate, racism, sexism, and every other ugly thing that Trump stands for, by voting against him. I do know that I am done watching another minute of the horrific media coverage that is attempting to sway voters by refusing to give viewers an unbiased, unsensationalized look at the candidates!

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Shattering the Glass Ceiling

On July 27, 2016July 26, 2016 By ls1228In Extreme Blonde MomentsLeave a comment

glassshatterers I’m taking a short but sweet moment to reflect upon a really important historical moment for me and every woman young and old. Hmmm

Tonight Hillary Rodham Clinton added another job title to her resume:

Daughter
Lawyer
Women’s & Children’s Rights Advocate
Wife
Mother
First Lady of Arkansas
First Lady of the United States of America
Senator for the State of New York
Secretary of State
Democratic Nominee for President of the United States

A woman, not just any woman, a woman who has had to crawl through the muck and mud of Washington politics while being hosed down with gasoline and simultaneously dodging lit matches, first as a supportive spouse, then a member of the team and finally as the top dog poised to shatter the final and thickest glass ceiling, has earned the nomination of her party for President of the United States of America.

readyforhillary

It’s a proud moment in history that carries with it the irony that, if she is elected, she will earn the exact same pay as if a man were elected to the office and will have begun making good on her first campaign promise, “gender pay equality.”

genderpayequality

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Funny Video Whether You Vote Elephant or Donkey

On July 25, 2016 By ls1228In Extreme Blonde MomentsLeave a comment

elevsdonk1 We’ve all seen political candidates come out to address a crowd with a popular song blaring in the background, but have you ever stopped to think about whether the candidate has the permission of the artist who sang the song, or the publisher who owns the rights to the song? I never have, and apparently neither have many candidates.

Last week Donald Trump pissed off Queen, who have requested he not use their music at his campaign events many times, when he took the stage at the Republican National Convention to their hit song, “We Are the Champions.” Queen guitarist, Brian May, took to Twitter and made it clear that he, and the rest of the surviving members of Queen, do not approve:

queentrump

Apparently believing that all mentions on Twitter are good mentions, the Trump campaign then used the Beatles classic, “Here comes the Sun” as Ivanka Trump took the stage on Thursday night. While she was the sole ray of sunshine in an otherwise nasty festival of name calling and mudslinging, the campaign again failed to get the proper permissions and the Estate of George Harrison, the song’s writer, was not amused, stating that it was unauthorized, offensive and against their wishes.

The issue isn’t new and one of the song use conflicts goes back to the 1980’s, when Ronald Regan was one of the first to use Bruce Springsteen’s massive hit, “Born in the USA.”

There is a great article, written in November of 2012, by Eddie Deezen for Neatorama.com, in which he describes how many Americans from every walk of life have so badly misunderstood the true meaning of the words of Springsteen’s song, and have turned it into the “ultimate All-American song,” when, in fact, it is an angry song about how horribly the Vietnam Veterans were treated upon their return home from war.

Over the years artists have taken offense to having their songs affiliated with campaigns and candidates haven’t always chosen songs wisely when trying to communicate their messages:

1984 – Ronald Regan (Republican): “Born in the USA” Bruce Springsteen says that his song is, “far from a Rah, Rah America song…that the song has a much darker side” he asked for the Regan campaign to stop using it and they did.
1996 – Bob Dole (Republican): He got shot down twice. First by Isaac Hayes and David Porter who co-wrote “Soul Man,” as performed by Sam Moore, and later the Blues Brothers; then Bruce Springsteen, who again did not want “Born in the USA” used by a politician.
2004 – John Kerry (Democrat): He made a choice that backfired on him when he chose Creedence Clearwater Revival’s, John Fogerty penned, “Fortunate Son,” which he wrote in response to the romance between Eisenhower’s son & Nixon’s daughter, making the dig that neither family would see a son sent to Vietnam. Kerry, a proud Vietnam Veteran, likely chose the song as a dig at the incumbent George W. Bush, who never saw action in Vietnam because of his wealth and family ties that kept him stateside. Kerry lost the election.
2008 – Rudy Guiliani (Republican): “Rudi Can’t Fail” The Clash penned the song as an ode to an irresponsible young man being criticized by his elders. FYI, Rudy Guiliani, while dubbed “America’s Mayor,” citing his grace, strength and stamina in the days, weeks and months following 9/11, did fail. He lost in the primaries and never made it past the nominating process.
2008 – John McCain/Sarah Palin (Republican): First McCain chose ABBA’s “Take a Chance on Me” then he switched the campaign theme song to Heart’s “Barracuda” after adding Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate because it was her nickname in high school. Heart, of course, wanted nothing to do with that dumpster fire of a campaign. It failed.

John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, highlighted a few of the ironic songs the campaigns have used this campaign cycle with a touch of snark and then got a group of musicians who’ve had their music used without their permission, to collaborate on a very tongue-in-cheek song and video to try and get the message across to politicians in a way they might understand, a video resembling a campaign ad:

Copyright law and publishing rights are on the books for the protection of the artists. It’s time they put some muscle behind their tweets and start making the campaigns, who thumb their noses at them and continue to blatantly use their music, pay for their offenses. Take them to court when a standard cease and desist letter doesn’t get the desired result. Hmmm!