None of this is okay.......

Yeah, it's been awhile. You remember me? Short, snarky, sarcastic. It'll come back to you. I can wait.

In the meantime, I have something I need to get off my chest.

Last night I attended a vigil for the 11 Jewish victims murdered at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and for the 2 African-Americans murdered in Jeffersontown, KY. I'm absolutely sickened by the actions of these white supremacists who thought it was okay to murder people in cold blood because they look differently or have different religious backgrounds.

I'm sick of people being horrible to each other. I'm absolutely horrified by the actions of the president of the United States. If you are a Trump supporter, just stop reading now and close the tab because you will disagree with me and want to comment about how wonderful he is and that's just going to make me sick. I don't want to hear anyone tell me about how terrible the Democrats are. I don't have the patience to listen to people say how awful the media is. I'm sick to death of hearing Trump supporters parroting back the shit that comes out of his Twitter feed on a daily basis.  Nothing you can say in favor of Trump is going to get anyone to change their minds. And nothing I say about how terrible he is will change anyone's mind, so let's just agree to disagree and move on, shall we?

The president of the United States is a purveyor of hate. He spews vile rhetoric at his rallies and that seems to give people the permission to be awful, terrible excuses for human beings. Racist, homophobic, intolerant, all of the dregs of society are crawling out of the gutters and have been told by Trump that it's okay to be awful to people who don't look like they do.

As a result of the president giving permission to these disgusting people, there has been an influx of awfulness. There is now so much division, anger, hatred, divisiveness in the United States it's terrifying. If you are black, brown, Spanish, Muslim, gay, trans, bi, anything that doesn't look like the president, you are a target. Does anyone else think it's ironic that Trump paints those people as the villains, yet in the past week it's been 3 white middle aged American men who have perpetrated these violent killings or attempted killings?

Don't even get me started on the 13 explosive devices that were sent by that crazy ass bastard with the sticker-filled van in Florida. Someone posted on my FB wall that 'not all Trump supporters are like that'. But if you support Trump, you can't pick and choose what you want to agree with and what you find distasteful. It's not a buffet. You either support him or you don't. No middle ground. Terrible things have been allowed, even encouraged, in this country since Trump took office, and even more will be allowed to happen. He welcomes it. He has lit a fire of hatred and it's burning out of control.

All I can do is hope for change. I have to believe that there are millions of people out there who are just as sickened about the turn this country has taken and that those people will get out and vote. Vote for people who do not condone the senseless killings of innocent people. Vote for a change. Just vote.

"Mostly, I'm tired of people being ugly to each other. I'm tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world every day. There's too much of it. It's like pieces of glass in my head, all the time.... Can you understand?"  -  John Coffey, The Green Mile, Stephen King, 1996

Dear Media: Get your heads out of your asses...

Dear People in the Media,

I don't normally write letters but felt that this issue deserved a strongly-worded note to you guys, so here goes.

WHY hasn't ANYONE brought attention to the fact that Presidential Candidate and Major Blowhard Donald J. Trump screwed the people of Atlantic City? Why isn't this being brought to light?  While his bankruptcies HAVE been discussed in the media, not one of you seems to think it's a big enough deal to bring to the forefront. I think that's a damned disgrace. He. Ruined. Lives.

Seriously, four business bankruptcies. And whose lives were affected by those bankruptcies? Certainly not his. He came through without a penny out of pocket. But the little guy, the electrician, the plumber, the builder, the concrete worker. So many others who were promised payment for building his empire in Atlantic City, and so many were left with mounting bills, unpaid employees and possibly personal bankruptcies of their own because he failed to pay his own bills. I don't know the statistics but I do know that hundreds and possibly thousands who helped build Trump's hotel/casinos were not paid for the job they did and if they WERE paid, it was not the full amount.

How many lost their jobs, their businesses or even their homes because Trump did not pay his bills? Does he care about the little guy? No. He cares about his own pocket, his own bank account.

WHY ISN'T ANYONE MAKING THIS AN ISSUE??

Waiters, waitresses, casino workers, housekeeping, facilities, security, cooks, cashiers. So many people left jobless when his businesses suffered cuts due to declining revenue. It just completely blows my mind that this isn't being seen as an issue worth discussing.

THE MAN WANTS TO RUN OUR COUNTRY. If elected, he's going to run it right into the ground. We will be the laughing stock of the planet. He'll call smaller countries 'pussies' like he did when mocking Ted Cruz. And before you get your knickers in a fucking knot, I know he didn't say it, he repeated it, but did he have to? No he totally did not. But he doesn't care what comes out of his mouth. He believes his own hype but he doesn't have a plan to back up the hype.

How is he going to "Make America Great Again"?? He doesn't know. He's just going to. So there.

Have faith, trust him.

Sorry, but no can do. I personally know that he screwed over a shit ton of people in a town where I used to live and work. I've seen what his business plan has done to the city of Atlantic City. He decimated that town and that's what he'll do to our country if, God forbid, he's elected.

In conclusion, I just want to see this issue brought up as more than just a passing question in a debate or an interview. I want headlines about it, I want to see every major news outlet interviewing the folks who were left in his path of destruction in Atlantic City. I want to see him held accountable for what he did to a city that had great promise. A city now in ruins. I don't want to see our country in ruins if he's elected.

So please, get your heads out of your asses and put the spotlight on this.
Thanks,
Snarkfest

Trump for President? NO THANK YOU!

Here's a warning before you read this. The opinions in this blog post are my own. I'm not getting into a debate about my opinions. I'm just sharing what my thoughts are, because it's my blog. If you disagree, don't start an argument with me, no name calling, and don't be rude. Rude, mean or hateful comments will be deleted. Because it's my blog.

I cannot begin to understand how in the world Donald Trump is ahead in the Republican polls. What is WRONG with people? I am the last person in the world who wants to get into a discussion regarding politics, but I can't keep my mouth shut anymore. And while I do understand that people are sick to death of politicians, electing THIS 'businessman' would be detrimental to our nation.

I worked for Donald Trump in Atlantic City back in the 90's. He filed for bankruptcy four times. FOUR. The man does not pay his bills! He wheels and deals and then leaves his contractors in the lurch. Those contractors are men and women with families to feed, and he never paid them what he owed to them. I say again: the man does not pay his bills. From the linked article:

Trump doesn’t deny that four of his businesses have filed for bankruptcy. He argues, however, that filing for bankruptcy is a common business decision, and he was smart to make the moves when he did.

"Hundreds of companies" have filed for bankruptcy, Trump said earlier in the debate. "I used the law four times and made a tremendous thing. I'm in business. I did a very good job."

How is he going to run the country if he cannot manage his own finances?  Our country is already in financial straits so how is electing a man who is totally out of control in his own business finances going to get us back on track? He may be a genius businessman but his personal skills, quite frankly, suck.

Mocking reporters with disabilities? That's goddamn disgusting. THIS is who people want representing our country to leaders of other nations? NO! I am utterly and thoroughly horrified that the possibility even exists that people are going to elect Donald Trump as President. He is unbelievably full of himself.  He is a blowhard, a bully, and now, IN MY OPINION, a dirty liar.

Now he is claiming that he watched Muslims celebrating in New Jersey the day the Towers fell in NYC.  Were there Muslims celebrating? Yes, but not here. Not in the US and not publicly in the streets, as Trump claims. I saw them on the television, but that was international news coverage and they were not in New Jersey. But this is what he believes. In his twisted, bloated, self-serving brain, he honestly believes the shit that comes out of his own mouth. And what scares me even more is that millions and millions of Republicans also believe what he's saying.

I was in New Jersey that day, standing side by side with Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Blacks, Whites, Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis, Spanish and we cried. We all cried as we watched the coverage. In a casino chock full of people from all races, religions, all walks of life, we all stood together as one and we cried. There was no celebrating, as Trump claims.

I keep thinking that this nightmare will end, I'll wake up one morning and find that Trump really ISN'T running for President, that he really ISN'T in the lead in the Republican polls. But dammit, every morning I wake up and people are still believing the hateful shit that he's spewing.