One of the virtues of Donald Trump’s campaign is that it has brought the spotlight to a group of Americans who have been ignored by politicians.

This group of disenfranchised, who mostly live in rural America feel that the country is not as great as it once was, but the reason I’m writing this post is to point out that equally large parts of the United States have flourished over the past eight years.  For example, my partner, Sergio, went from being unemployed to starting his own business; this last quarter proved to be his busiest ever. I too have seen my salary rise and our future seems more sure footed and stable than it did eight years ago.  More impressively, the United States emerged from a global economic slowdown faster than most of the world. Those points don’t diminish the needs or the worries of those left disaffected, but it is worth noting.

In addition to the economic news, something else has happened over the past eight years that transcends economics. We had the first sitting President who said gay and lesbians deserved to be treated equally; essentially expanding the civil rights movement beyond race and gender. At the same time a light was shed on racial inequalities in a way that it had not previously. Do you think that the Black Lives Matter movement would have the same impact if we didn’t have a sitting Black President? I don’t take this to be a coincidence and should Hillary Clinton be elected, one should expect (and hope) that issues surrounding women’s rights will enjoy similar prominence.

Perhaps it is for these reasons that I think America is already pretty great and more importantly getting better with each passing year.

Anyone else find it interesting that in this election, with the exception of Barack, the men have faltered, fumbled or failed at taking on Donald Trump? It has been women like Hillary, Michelle and my US Senator, Elizabeth Warren, who have stood up to the orange-tinged bully, Donald Trump.

Hillary has done far better than the 15 men who joined Donald Trump on the debate stage earlier this year and she has gone toe-to-toe with him on the campaign trail – never flinching.  Additionally, Michelle Obama’s speech at the DNC followed by last week’s speech in NH struck a nerve; in less than a week the abbreviated clip I shared has nearly 3 million views.

I’m particularly proud that these three women have not shied, bowed or cowered in the face of Trump’s withering personal attacks and his misogynistic, pussy-grabbing advocating surrogates comments, that seek to discredit women by hurling insults about their weight or looks. #ImWithHer.

I pride myself on being fairly knowledgeable when it comes to politics but this morning, while I was watching Dr. Jeffrey Sachs on Morning Joe, I was surprised to learn that the federal government is barred from negotiating prescription medication prices with pharmaceutical companies.

The point of sharing this isn’t to cast blame or shame on one political party or another because the law, that was passed under a Republican President with the support of a Democratic Congress did not change under a Democratic President with a Republican Congress so in lieu of casting blame, I thought I’d take a novel approach to politics and suggest a solution.

Call the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to speak to your representative to ask what can be done and how they have voted. In politics the squeaky wheel gets the grease and if you call asking for clarity on this it may make your representative think twice about the pharmaceutical lobbyists.

I know my blog isn’t very political and that political action isn’t why people visit my blog but the thought that the Federal government is barred from negotiating the price of prescription drugs because of pharmaceutical lobbyists  and a do-nothing Congress is galling. For all the talk of cost-saving with regards to our healthcare services and social programs like Medicare, Medicaid as well as programs like Social Security this seems like a HUGE donut hole we should be able  to change that would bring immediate and significant cost savings.

I know that you’ve likely seen this already but I still think it is funny.

I’ve been writing about the economic backlash that has resulted from North Carolina’s homophobic / transphobic legislation HB-2, because I want to make sure that people don’t forget that even if politicians make easy, short term gains by targeting the gay community the times have changed and  hateful legislation like North Carolina’s HB-2 will come at a cost.  I’m sure this comes as a surprise to rednecks like NC’s Governor Pat McCrory, but I find it long overdue and am thankful for the support from the business community.

Although it is difficult to come to an exact number to determine how much HB-2 has cost North Carolina, Unicorn Booty suggested the cost is approaching $400 million dollars. This further validates Trillium Asset Management CEO Matt Patsky who said earlier this week that North Carolina was headed for a “state-government-inflicted recession”. Go figure. Hate just doesn’t pay like it use to.

This is how UnicornBooty came to their stunning calculation.

• $176,000 in legal fees for Republican lawmakers who have been sued over the law
• $47,000 in legal fees for Governor Pat McCrory who has been sued over the law
• $500,000 diverted from the state’s disaster relief fund to help pay for HB2 litigatio
• $87,700,000 lost from businesses refusing to expand in North Carolina since HB2 became law
• $109,400,000 from canceled conferences, concerts and other events since HB2 became law
• $106,000,000 from the NBA relocating their All-Star Game
• $51,000,000 from the NCAA relocating their championship game
• $40,400,000 from the ACC relocating their championship game

And here is the worst news for Governor Pat McCrory and those who stand by HB-2, there is no reason to believe those losses will stop.  The reality is the expectation is these losses will continue.

It seems every couple weeks more bad press results from the anti-LGBT, transphobic legislation Governor Pat McCrory signed into law. Earlier this week approximately 60 investors representing $2.1 trillion in managed assets called for a full repeal of HB2; joining the NBA, NCAA, entertainers and more than 200 businesses that have called for North Carolina to repeal the anti-LGBT law.

In a news conference on Monday, Trillium Asset Management CEO Matt Patsky said that North Carolina was headed for a “state-government-inflicted recession” while the economy of the rest of the country improves.

Source: EdgeMedia Network

I couldn’t make this crap up if I tried. Responding to Michelle Obama’s inspiring speech from the previous night Bill O’Reilly felt the need to point out that the slaves referenced in Michelle Obama’s speech were “well fed and had decent lodgings.” Pardon my language but are you fucking kidding me? Does he mean to infer that these slaves should have been happy about their bondage? Does he mean that we shouldn’t be proud of the progress our country has made with regards to civil rights? What does he mean? Below I’ve included an excerpt of Michelle Obama’s speech which O’Reilly felt the need to critique.

“That is the story of this country, the story that has brought me [Michelle Obama] to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needs to be done. But today I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves, and I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent black young women playing with their dogs on the white house lawn. And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters, now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.” – Michelle Obama

Bill O’Reilly’s ugly commentary reminds me of what Michelle Obama said she and Barack tell their daughters when people take the low road in politics: