On Monday, December 19, the Electoral College will convene to officially elect the next president of the United States. These electors have a moral obligation to stop Donald Trump from taking office—and they can do that by choosing Hillary Clinton to be president.
Donald Trump is Dangerous Donald Trump is uniquely unqualified to be president. He has zero political experience and no military experience. He appears to have a completely reckless disregard for America’s relationships with foreign powers and our standing in the world. His foreign policy knowledge is nonexistent, and in just over a month as presumed president-elect, he’s been involved in numerous international blunders. He also regularly declines daily intelligence briefings. His sole credential is that he claims to be a successful business man. However, he has a lengthy list of failed business attempts, and his businesses have declared bankruptcy six times.[i] Not only is he woefully unprepared, but his exorbitant bigotry should be the antithesis of what we want America to be. His homophobia, misogyny, racism, xenophobia, etc. has been show time and time again not only through his rhetoric, but by his closest advisors and those he has chosen for top level government positions. Trump also clearly lacks the temperament to hold the office of commander-in-chief. His tweets attacking specific American citizens, television shows, and businesses demonstrate his mental incapacity to hold the job. His businesses and refusal to release his tax returns show a massive conflict of interest and potential for corruption. He and his advisors also traffic in what has come to be known as “fake news,” but should be more accurately called propaganda. One such incidence resulted in gunshots fired in a Washington, D.C. pizzeria.[ii] We simply cannot allow this type of extremism and violence to infiltrate the White House. Russian Interference There is also the recent revelation that the Russian government interfered with the election to install their preferred pick—Donald Trump—as president.[iii] We have known this for a while, but the media chose to ignore the issue. Hillary Clinton herself brought up evidence of Russian meddling in one of the presidential debates, and Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid released a letter to intelligence agencies prior to Election Day calling on them to release more information on the topic. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies are also working to intervene in other elections across the world—most notably in France and Germany. Trump’s connections with Russia and Putin are not difficult to see. Paul Manafort, who was at one time the national chairman of Trump’s presidential campaign, has extensive pro-Russian ties[iv] as does his expected choice for secretary of state, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson.[v] The Electoral College The Electoral College provides a way for our country to avoid a disastrous president. Alexander Hamilton explains some of the purposes of the Electoral College in The Federalist Papers: No. 68.[vi] Hamilton argues that electors have a duty to prevent foreign powers from improperly interfering in our elections, and to stop unqualified persons from holding the office of the presidency. See these excerpted quotes: “These most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one querter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union?” “The process of election affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single State; but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union, or of so considerable a portion of it as would be necessary to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of President of the United States. It will not be too strong to say, that there will be a constant probability of seeing the station filled by characters pre-eminent for ability and virtue.” The People’s President There are some misguided attempts to convince the electors to choose an alternative Republican as president instead of Trump. That would be erroneous; Hillary Clinton is the people’s choice for president of the United States. She won a decisive victory in the popular vote. Her popular vote lead is currently over 2.8 million votes, and is expected to end up at around 3 million—roughly two percentage points ahead of Trump’s total.[vii] Despite media coverage to the contrary, Clinton does not have the baggage that Trump has. She has unprecedented experience and qualifications. An online petition calling on the electors to pick her as president has gained almost five million signatures, making it the most popular petition in Internet history.[viii] I urge you to sign the petition, as I have, and I urge the electors to save American democracy from Donald Trump. It’s not too late to stop him, and it’s not too late to put Hillary Clinton in the White House. Sources: [i]http://www.snopes.com/2016/08/01/donald-trumps-bankruptcies/ [ii]https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/pizzagate-from-rumor-to-hashtag-to-gunfire-in-dc/2016/12/06/4c7def50-bbd4-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.e4fbfacaf2db [iii]http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/10/505072304/cia-concludes-russian-interference-aimed-to-elect-trump [iv]http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-making-inquiry-ex-trump-campaign-manager-s-foreign-ties-n675881 [v]https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/12/10/who-is-rex-tillerson-the-exxonmobil-chairman-who-may-become-secretary-of-state/?utm_term=.5bab2e38d85c [vi]http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed68.asp [vii]http://cookpolitical.com/story/10174 [viii]https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-make-hillary-clinton-president-on-december-19-4a78160a-023c-4ff0-9069-53cee2a095a8
0 Comments
Each fall I eagerly await my Fall TV Preview issue of Entertainment Weekly. I peruse the pages of the magazine reading up on the new shows of the season, then meticulously map out a schedule and set my DVR accordingly. After a few months of watching the new offerings available this fall, there are five that stand out to me. These shows have made an impression on me in some way, and they’ve officially become a part of my TV watching routine.
Good Girls Revolt Amazon Video (all episodes available for streaming via Amazon Prime) Good Girls Revolt is loosely based on the experience of female employees at Newsweek magazine in the 1960s and 1970s, including Nora Ephron (played by Grace Gummer). Upon meeting ACLU attorney Eleanor Holmes Norton (played by Joy Bryant of Parenthood fame)—who now serves as a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington, D.C., they begin to organize because the fictional News of the Week magazine refuses to allow women to write for their publication. The show features a bevy of great actors including Genevieve Angelson (House of Lies), Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect), Erin Drake (Love & Mercy), and Hunter Parrish (Weeds). It is a must watch for fans of Mad Men. The Good Place NBC, Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. The premise of The Good Place is one of the most unique plots on television recently. The adorably hilarious and talented Kristen Bell (House of Lies, Veronica Mars) plays Eleanor Shellstrop. Eleanor dies and the afterlife takes her to The Good Place. The catch? She’s not supposed to be there. We quickly learn there has been a major mix-up and Eleanor is not an attorney who did international humanitarian work. The series also stars Ted Danson (Cheers) as Michael—a sort of angelic figure who runs the sector of The Good Place Eleanor to which Eleanor is assigned, and D’Arcy Carden (Broad City) as a Siri brought to life type assistant. The show provides many laughs following Eleanor’s journey through studying ethics and trying to keep her not so good identity hidden. Insecure HBO, Sundays at 9:30 p.m. Created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore (The Daily Show, The Nightly Show with Larry Witmore), Insecure is loosely based on Rae’s web series Awkward Black Girl. The show stars Rae and newcomer Yvonne Orji as best friends Issa and Molly grappling with their careers, friendship, and relationships in their twenties. The show feels like an updated, funnier and fresher version of Girls—perfect timing as that show prepares to end its six season run early next year. Music is also a major part of the series and features Solange Knowles as a music consultant. Pitch Fox, Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. Kylie Bunbury (Twisted, Under the Dome) plays Ginny Baker, who becomes the first woman to play in Major League Baseball when she is drafted by the San Diego Padres. Ginny faces major hurdles from the press and her teammates as she is thrust into the limelight overnight. She must deal with the pressure of being a role model and spokesperson, while also tackling the complexity of her relationships with her family and friends. The show co-stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved by the Bell, Franklin & Bash), Mark Consuelos (All My Children, Alpha House), and Ali Larter (Heroes). This is Us NBC, Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. This is Us is one of the most watched and talked about new shows of the season. If you are a fan of family dramas that will most certainly make you cry—think Brothers & Sisters or Parenthood—then you will love This is Us. Without giving away spoilers, the show stars Milo Ventimiglia (Gilmore Girls, Heroes) Mandy Moore (Tangled), Sterling K. Brown (The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story) , Chrissy Metz (American Horror Story: Freak Show), and Justin Hartley (Young and the Restless, Mistresses) as characters all connected in a unique way. Many of the episodes feature exciting and surprising twists, and each episode packs an emotional punch. This article first appeared in The Leaf. |
No inhibitions
Archives
July 2024
Categories
All
|