Tag: Politics

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It’s been a week since Charlie Kirk

Katrina Russell

It has been a week since Charlie Kirk was brutally taken from the world, and no one can stop talking about him. Both sides of the isle have been whipped up into a frenzy over his death. One side claiming that he deserved to be murdered because he was evil and spread hate, and the other side deeply grieving a man whose only crime was disagreeing with those he spoke with.

I have been watching Charlie Kirk for years. I have become obsessed with news over the last few years, as many have, and find myself going down the rabbit whole of debates and commentary. He was my go to when I wanted something lighthearted and civil. He was the one that I went to when I wanted to watch what the youth of today was being taught to think and how one could politely disagree and possibly change some minds.

That was the problem. Charlie could change minds. Charlie could have a respectful conversation with those he disagreed with and they could start to understand his point. They could see him as a person who just had different information or different opinions about a subject and that is ok.

He also helped conservative students find their voices. As someone who has recently gone back to school as an adult for my MEd I can’t believe the indoctrination process. I was told that I had mandatory Critical Theory classes and when I disagreed with the teacher she didn’t listen to my argument and evaluate if I had made valid points, but just disagreed with the methods. No, I was told to comply or fail. I took the F and switched schools.

This was me as a middle aged mother who has decades of bullies behind me and an understanding that you can never comply or they will not stop. Imagine being the 18 year old kids leaving their homes for the first time and being told if they disagree with their professors that their futures will be ruined. Charlie gave them other options. Up to and including the understanding that state sanctioned school is almost never the answer.

Will the loss of Charlie Kirk I feel for his family and especially his kids. He was such an ambassador for the importance of having a father in the house, and now his poor babies will grow up without him. I understand that loss. My son lost his father when he was only 6. The difference is that Charlie Kirk left behind hours of footage that his babies can watch and learn from. Charlie Kirk touched the hearts of millions of people who are forever changed. Charlie Kirk has been gone from this world for a week, but his legacy will never be lost. We are all Charlie Kirk now, and those who don’t like it can sit down and watch us rise.

Politics

Saving Democracy… by Destroying it

Katrina Russell

Everyday I see headlines about how the Republican party is trying to destroy democracy and that the only way to save it is by voting for which ever Democrat is running. The problem with this concept is that the Democratic candidates are being chosen democratically.

Back in 2016 I remember voting in the primary and everyone I knew was up in arms because Bernie Sanders kept winning the popular vote but somehow “super delegates” were changing the way democracy was handled and were putting into place Hillary Clinton. In 2020 Bernie was back to making trouble for the Democrats taking way too many of the regular delegates for comfort so again the super delegates stepped in to save the day.

The Republican have their own set of super delegates but they are pledged to vote the way the people have voted. They are not entitled to change the direction of the party on their whim. They follow a little thing called democracy and letting the people decide.

Now I know lots of people are going to say that we are a democratic republic and not a straight democracy, and I understand that. That is the reasons for the delegates in the first place. It’s not a straight popular vote. The votes are based more on the area themselves choosing a candidate than the individual people but if, for instance there are 2 candidates and neither has enough votes to be considered the all out winner of an area, and the super delegates come and and just throw all of their support behind which ever candidate they choose then the people and the states have not chosen. What should happen is a runoff election in which the two main candidates run against each other without 3rd party options. Then maybe someone would have enough votes, and if not then the super delegates get behind which candidate the state voted for, not having super delegates choose their own candidates for their own reasons.

So in both 2016 and 2020 the Democratic party used super delegates to choose who the party wanted instead of listening to the voters. Flash forward to 2024 and now the Democratic party basically held a closed primary saying that they are running the incumbent and not willing to put any money behind any other candidate. They quickly moved to keep RFK jr. out of the running and secured all the delegates to vote for their man that was already in office….

EXCEPT now their man is not the one on the ticket. They have manipulated the system again and put a woman that was unable to win her own state or obtain 1 delegate in the last primary straight into the official candidate running. No one voted for her… I mean ever. No one agree to this. The people had zero say in who their candidate was. All the people who donated for “Uncle Joe” are now having their donations transferred over to the woman who manipulated the system. (And I don’t just mean the justice system to keep innocent people in prison for slave labor like she did in California). The Democrats usurped the democratic system and installed their own person again.

How is any of this democracy?

cancel culture, Mental Health, Politics, school shootings, Uncategorized

The Impact of Hateful Rhetoric in Political Discourse

Katrina Russell

In case you missed it. The ex President and current front runner to be the next President of the United States just had his life almost taken by an attempted assassin. This is not the 1st time, and it probably won’t be the last when someone crazy decides to listen to the hateful rhetoric by their party and the legacy media to cast an opponent as evil and worthy of death. Obviously the only person criminally responsible for the attempted assassination was the trigger man himself, but he is not the only one responsible morally.

There was a time in political debate when people argued the issues. When people discussed why taxes should be higher or lower, whether Medicare/Medicaid/ social security was a drain or wasn’t enough, whether we should put more money into schools or infostructure. Now people are arguing about who is more of a dictator and who wants to destroy the whole country, and who is just plain evil.

When you spend all day every day calling your opponent “Hitler” it shouldn’t be a surprise that someone wants to kill him. Everyone wants to kill Hitler. If given the chance I’m sure it would be on almost every bucket list, so calling your opponent Hitler every day for a decade… what could you possibly have expected?

I understand trash talk. I understand inflammatory speech like, “Let’s get out there and kick some a**!” or “We’re going to fight like He77!”. What I don’t understand is how anyone can go around spreading lies about the competition, and brainwashing an entire community because you don’t want to “fight” on the issues.

If they actually believed he was the next Hitler then they would be praising the shooter. A lot of people are. A lot of people do believe the rhetoric and honestly believe that their “enemy” should be eliminated, but those in charge know they are lying. They know he’s just a guy that wants different policies and procedures than they do. But they are sill responsible for their words and actions. We all are.