In 2016, both of the mainstream candidates are the most disliked in history. We have a racist loudmouth who refuses to give us the details, and a corporate hack who has lied so much that we can’t be sure she’s telling us her actual name. Bernie supporters were cheated in this election, the DNC email leaks proving this. What is a liberal or progressive to do? Some will vote for corporatist Shillary Clinton, the epitome of the establishment. Some will flock to Jill Stein of the Green Party. Some will go to the socialist candidates. Some will even betray their principles and vote for Donald Trump to get back at the Democrats. There is a better solution. Have you met Gary Johnson? Gary Johnson is the Libertarian candidate for president. A libertarian is someone who wants to preserve personal and economic liberty. It’s very comparable to liberalism, which is a philosophy based on liberty and equality. There’s a lot of overlap between the two ideologies, especially when it comes to social issues.
For example, Gary does not approve of banning abortion. He believes that it is a personal choice, and should remain a right of the individual to decide. As governor, he did push efforts to ban late-term abortions, which means an abortion after the point of viability (when the fetus could survive outside of the mother). Johnson also disapproves of the death penalty. His position has shifted over the past 20 years, probably based on the development of his personal philosophy. Johnson now says that the federal government should not have to power to end a person’s life, and that too many innocent people are convicted every year. When it comes to education, Johnson believes that local and state governments are more efficient than giant establishment bureaucracies. He doesn’t believe in Ted Cruz of Texas dictating on what happens to the children in Florida. He opposes rigorous testing and “one size fits all” methods, promoting the uniqueness of children and their individual situations. Johnson believes in government regulation to protect our natural resources and the environment. He opposes the government choosing winners and losers, bribing politicians to target the wrong people and cause economic failure. Gary supports protecting national parks and trying to fight climate change. Gary believes in a non-interventionist foreign policy, meaning that if our interests or people aren’t directly challenged, we will not wage war against them. Surely that’s a nice change in pace from Terrorist Don and war-hawk Killary. Instead of sending our troops around the world to police the planet, Johnson wants to create a strong national DEFENSE, not offense. Immigration has been a hot button issue for this election. Johnson supports raising the amount of work visas and opposes the construction of a wall. Gary Johnson doesn’t support the discrimination of the LGBT community, supporting legislation to limit it as much as possible. Johnson is a supporter of gay marriage. His VP pick Bill Weld was excommunicated from the Republican party because of his support for the LGBT community and being pro-choice. The New Mexican governor is also sympathetic to the undocumented immigrants in America and Black Lives Matter. He believes that the system does target non-white people, to an extent. He opposes the War on Drugs, which was created to target protesters and black communities in the 60's. He supports amnesty to the working immigrants already in our borders, and a simple path to citizenship. Why should you vote for Gary instead of Jill Stein, or Gloria La Riva, or anyone else? Because he has the greatest shot. He’s on the ballot in all 50 states and averages around 8% in the polls, most of which don’t include 18-25 year olds. He would be the greatest middle finger to the two-party system, shattering it. Even if he doesn’t win the election, if he gets 15% of the popular vote, the Libertarian Party would get access to the debates next time. While you may not agree with Gary on everything, it should be known that President doesn’t have complete say in our system of government. You can elect progressive representatives in Congress and in local elections to preserve the revolution that you want to occur. You can keep fighting for what you think is right. Vote Gary Johnson in 2016.
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The Republican primary must’ve been a disastrous thing to watch for a conservative. Candidates who hold up conservative values were completely decimated by a trash talking populist. It’s obvious that the #NeverTrump people, the real conservatives, need someone to support in the presidential election. They need someone who wants to limit the power of the federal government and to deregulate small businesses. They need Gary Johnson. Gary Johnson is a former Republican governor turned Libertarian, meaning he wants to preserve economic and personal freedom as much as possible, like the founding fathers intended. The sense of individualism and liberty in his philosophy correlates with conservatism in a variety of ways.
For example, Gary Johnson opposes affirmative action quotas, saying the minorities should not get special treatment in the hiring process. Johnson believes people should be based on their character and their skills, not for the color of their skin or their private parts. When it comes to education, Johnson wants it to be brought down to the state and local levels to increase efficiency and take away the bureaucratic power of the federal government. Johnson is also a strong proponent of school choice, believing that competition is a great way to ensure appealing results. Johnson opposes Obamacare, and wants the slow and jankey federal health care system to be transitioned down to the state level. This respects the Constitution, and will make healthcare more efficient across the board. As a person who supports liberty, it’s needless to say Gary Johnson opposes strict gun control. Johnson says he is open to talking about restricting access to the mentally ill and possible terrorist subjects, but only after proper investigations. He opposes the concept of a gun free zone, saying that’s where most mass shootings happen. Johnson also supports property rights, opposing eminent domain (the confiscation of private property for public use). Let’s say you have a farm that’s in the way of a highway. Under a Johnson administration, the federal government would not be permitted to taking your farm and tearing it down. Johnson and the conservatives don’t only agree on these issues, but also the economy as a whole. Gary opposes long-term federal welfare, considering it is our biggest expenditure and all. Under a Johnson administration, he wants to cut every bloated sector of the federal government by at least 43% each, decreasing the tax burden on the American citizen. Johnson’s tax policy is a national sales tax called the Fair Tax, which means that the government won’t have to force you to give them part of your paycheck. It’s completely based on voluntary exchanges. The former governor also wants to deregulate businesses and eliminate corporate welfare, creating more competition and more jobs. When he head of New Mexico, unemployment decreased dramatically. Now, odds are you don’t agree with Johnson on everything. But you don’t need to! The president does not have unlimited power in the United States! We need to elect a smart congress that will push our agenda and keep the President in line. But to do that, we need a president that will listen to Congress. Hillary will most likely be another Obama: sneaking around Congress, forcing her party to support her agenda, executive orders. Trump is a fireball that does what he wants, when he wants. We need a smarter choice for President. #Johnson2016 I know, I know. After reporting on the presidential election, talking about local politics, it seems rather all to have this type of article on my blog. But it’s something I feel like needs addressing. Recently, politicians and important figures from all over the globe have been declaring what some call “A War on Memes.” That sounds satirical, doesn’t it? I wish it was.
That can’t happen in America, can it? We have rights here! The first amendment! I’ll have you know that both mainstream presidential candidates have been critical of memes, therefore attacking the first amendment and free speech as we know it. Hillary Clinton, in her speech directed towards the Alt-Right, was interrupted by a man shouting the name of a popular Internet icon. “Pepe!” he cheered, catching the former Secretary off guard. Later on, her campaign released an official analysis of a dank meme. This picture depicts Donald Trump and a variety of his supporters as a parody of “The Expendables.” One of these supporters was Pepe the frog, given wrinkled features and Trump’s signature hair. Elizabeth Chan of the Clinton campaign said that he’s “a symbol associated with white supremacy.” This accusation is based on absolutely no evidence and shows that either Hillary gives access to her website to whiney Social Justice Warriors willy-nilly, or that she agrees with her and wants to push the war. Well, Donald Trump has to be cool with memes, right? He’s practically a living meme. Well, Trump has been very opposed to any criticism of him. He has sued numerous people for saying he looks like an orangutang child, that he has tiny hands, that he isn’t as rich as he claims, etc. Trump has threatened to open up libel laws against newspapers to take down negative content, which could possibly encompass political cartoons, the grandfather to the dank memes of today. Donald has even voiced support of “closing down certain sections of the Internet.” Does Donald Trump know that’s the tactic of numerous authoritarian nations? Does he know that it violates freedom of expression and communication? Yes, he knows, but if you bring it up you’re “foolish,” according to him.
Can anyone other than politicians betray our trust with our memes? Yes. Yes they can. Facebook has removed memes before, especially if they mocked Mrs. Clinton. They’ve taken down entire pages before! Being Classically Liberal is just an example of this Orwellian purging. They don’t have to be politically based, however, to feel Zuckerberg’s wrath. Cabbage Cat, Gangster Popeye, and a variety of other pages were removed from the platform. It’s not just Facebook that people are being “zucked,” it’s Instagram as well. The only place left is Twitter, right? Well, famous troll Milo Yiannopoulos was kicked off the site. He was BANNED. This started a #FreeMilo campaign, but it ended up going nowhere. This is a fight over freedom of speech. Some will say it’s “foolish” to bring up freedom of speech. Is it? This is America, where we can say what we want, no excuses. “But you can’t yell fire in a movie theater!” Shut up. That’s different. It’s different when it’s a call to action. If you’re calling for violence or disorder, yes, that does have its consequences, especially if it actually causes the violence and disorder it was trying to accomplish. Some will say that “freedom of speech only deals with the government.” Freedom of expression is having the right to say what you want to say without anyone getting in your way. Of course, other individuals can respond to your speech and expression, but the government cannot. I apply that same philosophy to conglomerate corporations and social media sites. So… how can we fight back? Some people have put a filter on their profile pictures. You might’ve seen it on your friend’s profile: pink background, an upside down Facebook “F.” That is literally doing nothing. Sure, the support and thought counts, but come on. Does it mean anything after a tragedy? Not really. We need to have direct action to get actual change. Well, the social media attack on memes will only go down if one thing happens… If their profit is threatened. We’ll have to threaten to boycott social media. This won’t happen. Social media is intertwined with our life, and most of us aren’t willing to separate with it. Maybe some of us will, and will make a difference in this battle. What else? Well, we can start the #LetFreedomMeme movement. Tag politicians in your tweets, raid their comments, spam them with #LetFreedomMeme. Needless to say, it’ll annoy them until they change their platform, specifically their meme policies. It’s a nice callback to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and I’m sure it can make a difference. We can protect the freedom of expression for everyone on the Internet, and preserve the basic components this country was founded on. |
Christopher CaldwellJust some thoughts on current events and such. Archives
January 2017
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