In the last few weeks, as of this writing, we have seen a professional soccer player lose his job because of message his wife tweeted, a college coach forced to apologize over a shirt he wore bearing a conservative news network logo, google has de-funded conservative websites spearheaded by an effort from NBC who decided to actively attack a competitor for articles that NBC didn’t like (using the pretext of the comments section as fodder) And on and on it goes. I am reminded of the McCarthy hearings from the 1950’s when all you had to do to hurt your enemy was accuse them of being a communist. The accusation was all it took to destroy people’s lives.
I guess at this point I am curious about a few things.
- When will we decide as a silent majority to stand up against this Witch Hunt and bullying and say “Enough!”
- How can we, as mature adults, expect our children to understand the anti-bullying campaigns we want to encourage in our schools while as adults the behavior is actively pursued and encouraged? We have no moral ground to stand on when our children see the adults engaging in this behavior as well as promoting it. The New York Times recently wrote an article endorsing this behavior amongst teenagers under the guise that public shaming is simply holding someone accountable for perceived slights. For children, as well as adults, holding someone accountable does not necessitate bullying or destroying their livelihood. The message should be that bullying is bullying and shaming is simply a variant of the act.
- This is just a matter of curiosity. When and how did Hollywood become so liberal? The McCarthy hearings that swept this country were against most liberal ideas and led by prominent Republicans like John Wayne. It is interesting to note that today the political ideologies have changed but the bullying from Hollywood continues.
It is my hope that someday soon we, as a society, will reach a tipping point much like we did with the McCarthy era. We will say “Enough” and resume some semblance of sanity while assuming humility over the embarrassing behavior. In times like this it becomes easier to see how the Salem trials and the McCarthy era evolved. Eventually those chapters in our history ended as will this one. My hope is that it is sooner rather than later, and that when it is over most of us can claim that we did not participate, that we did not destroy peoples’ lives, threaten then with harm, or encourage the furthering of hatred.
]]>It has been more than 50 years of protests, 50 years of begging, 50 years of faithful obedience and to this day the two main parties do not hear our wishes. The Republicans are no better than the Democrats at this game( and no worse.) To see them vote is like watching lemmings jump from a cliff; the first votes ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and all the others follow. It’s a pact they agree to for party support. Furthermore, their inept bungling and inability to listen to the will of their members led to the rise of Donald Trump: a virtual outsider who represented, among other things, a change to the party that the people could believe in; one thing Donald represented was guaranteed change.
It is interesting to note how these two rebels rose to power: Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. I use the word rebel in a positive sense here much as we would say that Thomas Jefferson or George Washington was a rebel. Trump and Sanders rose to power in political party whose members cried for change. Neither set of party leaders listened and everyone knows how that turned out. If only the Democrats had not blocked Sanders or perhaps the Republicans could have bowed their heads in humility, put their hands in the air and given us honest change.
It is now that I see, as an independent voter who has voted for both parties based on the quality of the candidate and the issues at hand that these two parties will not change, they will not listen to us, and they will not barter. Neither party broke the rules of their parties by what they did. In essence both parties are set up like private clubs. They can do what they want and the members be damned. But the faith is broken, and yet like a weak child afraid to strike out on our own or to stand up to an abusive situation we return and hope the beatings will stop. In our heart we know they won’t.
This last election convinced me of two things. First that the national election is not yet rigged. I say yet, because I fear that given enough time and energy the general election could be compromised by the parties. They are learning their lessons better than we are and consistently put measures in place to keep outsiders on the outside. My reason for my belief that the system is still fair in the vote is simple. Both parties hated Trump so much that they would have conspired to put Hillary in the office and performed back room deals between the parties to ensure their monopoly. Hillary fell into the ‘better the enemy you know’ category. The second conclusion I came to is that now is the time to abandon the parties and form new ones. We need at least a third and a fourth strong option. How much better would our debates have been if there had been three or four candidates to choose from? I can almost hear the critics and media cat-walling now about this idea. If there were four candidates we might have a president with only 25 percent of the votes win the office, but what of it. If that is a risk we must take to break this chain of slavery to the current parties then it is a move we must aggressively make. Even still, I would counter argue to those critics who post trivial banter so they can sell advertising space that even in large elections many are so lopsided that a clear victor would be chosen.
It is now that we must abandon the two parties and choose another party to support. I will not be crass enough to tell you which one to join. You must make the choice. But the decision to leave is a choice we must make as a majority. If we leave the parties en masse and flock to the other parties then we can begin to elect new leadership, slowly, and with patient persistence. It will be turbulent, but that is what change is about and I would argue it won’t be more turbulent than it is now. The real danger is this, if we allow the parties to recover, if we allow the democratic party to rebuild (Remember they are in shambles but their leadership is still in tact; the same old people with the same old tricks), and if we allow the republicans to plug the gaps that allowed true change into their party (albeit not the best change) then we will only be worse off in the future. We must rally around one undeniable truth: The parties will NOT change until we force them. That force will come with our abandonment of them. If we allow them to recover, if we allow them to become stronger, and if we allow them (the gods forbid) to join forces then we will only have ourselves to blame.
In these next elections over the coming years we need to leave the Democratic and Republican parties. We need to vote for independents and encourage new candidates. Bernie Sanders showed that it is possible to raise millions of dollars, come out of nowhere, and have a shot. We now know that it was a false belief due to the parties atrocious behavior, (he never truly had a chance) but the idea has been proven valid. We need to take heart in that failed attempt and try again, even as we realize that the rebellion against the parties did succeed in part. It was either going to be Trump or Sanders and we got Trump. Let’s let the pundits argue the merit of that particular victory as we revel in the idea the the victory of Trump was a black eye to the parties delivered by the voters.
Above all remember this: The parties will NOT change until we force them.
LCT
]]>1.) She’s a free spirit. She lives by the beat of her own music and doesn’t really care what anyone has to say about it.
2.) She has her own style when it comes to dressing and her art.
3.) She loves to paint and does it for herself.
4.) She lives in Seattle in an apartment.
5.) She is a big steampunk fan.
6.) She loves to listen to music and can often be found dancing with her ear bus tucked in her ears! (Girl after my own heart!)
5 things to love about romance novels
5.) Happily Ever Afters. We love a great ending and knowing that no matter how many troubles and problems seem to mount up eventually they’re solved.
4.) The . She’s everything we want to be or admire in others. She is strong and she gets the hero!
3.) I can survive through hard times. Yes, I know its fiction, but putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and experiencing their problems can be very empowering. It makes you realize that you can take on whatever life throws at you.
2.) It isn’t over ’til it’s over. Don’t close that book just yet. Just because a character dies does not mean they are truly dead, sometimes they have amazing ways of surviving when you thought they were lost forever.
1.) The Hero. The one all the women dream of being with. He’s the alpha, compassionate, loving and protective. He will do anything for his family and that includes you.
The Dancer
By Ursula Sinclair
Writing the story about a male dancer was in some ways very easy for me, in others difficult, but not for the obvious reasons. I’m not male nor am I a dancer. But I raised a dancer and was involved in the world of ballet for fifteen years, so it’s a world I am comfortable talking and writing about. The reason it was somewhat difficult was because of the male and female leads that preceded The Dancer. The Ballerina & The Fighter.
Maze, the hero of The Ballerina & The Fighter, was a force to be reckoned with. So the last thing I wanted to do was try to have Dante, the hero in The Dancer, compete with Maze’s personality. I knew Maze wouldn’t stand for it. Maze is in a class all his own. Lol While I wrote Maze’s story I listened to a lot of Eminem, and Coolio’s Gangsta Paradise, and Church In The Wild to try to set the tone of that story and get into Maze’s head. Also Ivy was a sweetheart inside and out. She was the light to Maze’s dark. So I had to stay away from that.
Instead, I gave Dante his own distinct personality, his own personal demons. Along with a female who would soothe those fears and who he’d open up too. Yet, the heroine in The Dancer, Kali couldn’t be too sweet. She too had to be almost the opposite of Ivy. While writing the Dancer I actually listened to a lot of Hozier. Love him, saw him in concert. But I also listened to lots of Tchaikovsky. Because these characters had to stand apart from the ones who came before them. I think I did that. Let me know if you agree. Also you’ll find these characters very much epitomize society as we recognize it today. Let me introduce you to Dante & Kali. Their story, while the third in the Ballerina Series, can also be read as a stand alone.
Blurb-
“Let me in.”
Dante
It’s not easy being a male dancer in a world where women dominate. Ballet. Yeah, I’m a ballet dancer, but I prefer male professional dancer. Still, I am at the top of my profession. Choreographers clamor to create dance pieces for me, and women just clamor for me period. See, being straight in a female dominated profession has its perks. But even though I don’t hurt for companionship, I still get up in the middle of the night reaching for something, someone, who is not the person lying next to me. Because I always wake up feeling empty inside…until. She played for me.
Kali
It’s not easy being a female in a male dominated profession. Most people can’t name five female guitarist, bass or lead, but I bet they can name five male guitar players. Still, I am at the top of my profession. I’ve proven to the world that music ability isn’t driven by gender. It hadn’t always been that way, but now I am in constant demand. My time is no longer my own. As for a relationship with a significant other? I stay away from other musicians I perform with or might perform with, like the plague. Not good to mix business with pleasure. Still, I’m only human and I wake up in the middle of the night reaching for something that’s just not there. Then one day he danced for me, and suddenly, I was no longer empty inside.
Violence. Due to the content of this work recommended for 18+ only.
The First Book in the series The Ballerina & The Fighter is currently FREE.
Available on:
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Beautiful couple embracing and kissing against sea sunset
About the Author:
Ursula Sinclair is the pen name for LaVerne Thompson an award winning, best-selling, multi-published author, an avid reader and a writer of contemporary, fantasy, and sci/fi sensual romances. She writes romantic suspense and new adult romance under the pen name Ursula Sinclair.
To learn more about her and her work you can find her here:
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Print Length: 224 page
Publisher: Jokat Publishing (June 7, 2014)
Publication Date: June 7, 2014
ASIN: B00KUVH9WQ
Book description:
Michael Angel is the oldest of five brothers all of whom are unwed, a fact that displeases their mother immensely. Susan Angel is a determined woman who chooses her eldest son as the starting point on her quest to see her children married. However, when Michael falls for the wrong girl, an artistic free-spirit who enraptures his sou, Susan’s relationship with her children will change, and as the series progresses, so will she.
Melanie Price is certainly not Mrs. Angel’s first choice for her professional and upstanding son, Michael. While she attempts to separate the lovers, her sons begin to fall under the spell of the energetic and fun loving pipsqueak that has entered their lives. From the hardened construction worker, to the brooding paramedic, the widower, and the emotionally scarred divorcee, the Angel boys will begin to see in Melanie a hope and an idea that having a woman in your life is something to be desired.
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Reviews:
“The book is an excellent story. Leo brings in actual places in Seattle to give that feeling of you are in the story, plus the characters are true to life. Every emotion and feeling come to life with the characters. Melanie is a true angel herself weaving her magical innocence and quirkiness into the Angel family. Michael didn’t have a chance when he met her-he was a sucker from day one for her. They are a great couple and compliment each other perfectly. Very refreshing to read a romance novel from a male author. One of my favorite authors today!” – Melinda Bell
“Enticing An Angel, follows the story of Micheal Angel, who is the oldest of five, as he falls in love with an artistic, free spirited, Melanie Price, who is mother never wanted to see him with. Causing the entire family structure to collapse and for all five children to break away from their mothers control.
This is a delightful read, as the characters Leo Taylor, is able to make add to the value of this novel as a whole. This read, is a short somewhere around one hundred and sixty pages, but Taylor still manages to pack it with a punch being the first in a series of books to come.
The characters are truly a wonderful thing through this novel from start to finish, seeing them grow and prosper is just an amazing experience. Each character adds to drama, tension, and suspense in this novel and I love seeing each one at work. Taylor, has a great way of building his characters and making them truly relatable and lovable. By far the best aspect of this novel, would have to be the mesmerizing characters, which Taylor crafts with amazing detail and profound craftsmanship.
Also, the romance in this novel is heart-touching and beautiful, feeling one hundred percent authentic and original. The plot is only strengthened by Taylor’s powerful writing style that lets the entire novel flow smoothly.
Overall, this was definitely a great read and I can’t wait to read the novels to come, watching the characters grow even more throughout the series. I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves to read romance and character rich novels as they will definitely be please when reading Enticing An Angel”. – Paris Carter