Opinions of the British monarchy are now somewhat mixed, but the Queen enjoys the respect of many of her subjects. The monarchy has re-invented itself before; I think it is now time for the monarch to become the ‘defender of democracy’. While it is no longer appropriate flor the monarch to be partisan, I see know reason why the Queen cannot speak out in favour of democracy. British (and Canadian and Australian) Prime Ministers have far too much power. There are too many decisions that ministers make in the Queen’s name without Parliament getting a look in. Of especial concern at present are the massive trade treaties being negotiated in secrecy through the European Union. Member states will have the opportunities of ratifying the treaties (or not as they choose). In most members states...
Politics
Dear Senator Toomey,
As I am sure you know, the nation learned in the last several days that not only will the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) likely be put up for a long overdue vote next week by Sen. Harry Reid, but also that the three remaining members of the Senate Democratic Caucus who were not yet supporters of the bill, now indicate their support. These Senators have added their voices to the majority of the Senate which supports this bill, including a number of your Republican colleagues who have either signed on as co-sponsors or voted the bill out of Committee.
In short, Senator, I believe that there is no single piece of civil rights legislation in existence that is more impactful to members of the LGBT community than a fully inclusive ENDA. This legislation does...
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September, 4th 2015
Open letter to My Elected Leaders:
President Obama
United States Congress
Governor Haslam
Tennessee Legislature
Mayor McFarland
City of Murfreesboro TN, City Council
Dear Elected Leaders,
My name is Nathan Oshop, on August 4th 2015; I became the Victim of a violent crime. I was not physically injured; however the psychological and emotional injuries were profound. Up until the night of august fourth I worked part time delivering pizzas in my city of Murfreesboro Tennessee. I was lured to an address with a phony order. As I was settling back into the driver’s seat of my vehicle, a hand held my shoulder as two guns were pointed at my head. There were 3-5 attackers. They were calm, cool, and collected. They were young of age; yet very capable I...
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To all the good people of Canada, I apologize for staying quiet so long. Because of real threats and false promises made to me and my Canadian family I did not bring this to your attention sooner. But since promises made to me have been dishonored. It is time to share the truth whether you choose to believe it or not.
If you read my "Open Letter To Prime Minister Harper" you already know that I tried to work within the law and within the Canadian bureaucracy. Many people in the American government tried very hard to get me killed or locked away where I could not tell my story. When I sought sanctuary in Canada, I was illegally seized and buried deep in maximum security confinement for 10.5 months even though I was not charged nor indicted for any crime in America nor Canada. http...
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Senator Cruz – it is to be expected that the 2016 election will produce all manner of “pick me, pick me!” opportunism. One of the more recent examples of such opportunism would be your screed urging the destruction of Planned Parenthood.
Two things become abundantly evident upon reading your impassioned Planned parenthood condemnation: a willingness to investigate the actual facts of a contentious issue would never get in the way of your pompously shrill grandstanding in support of lies and deceit. More importantly, it draws into sharp focus how irrecoverably disastrous a Cruz presidency would be.
The easiest of your bombastic claims to refute is your assurance that “ending taxpayer funding of abortion providers will have little impact on a woman’s access to healthcare.”
Really...
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Querido Señor Rubio:
I am not a Republican. However, after years of studying Plato, I have taken to heart his message from The Republic, and consider it my personal responsibility, as a member of a democracy, to educate myself about the relevant issues in our society. And so I tuned into the recent Republican presidential debate. And I have to admit I was very proud of you, for our backgrounds are extremely similar. I too was born in Miami, the daughter of Cuban exiles; my father was imprisoned by the Castro government. I grew up playing in the streets of Little Havana. I attended and got my Bachelor's degrees from Florida International University, where you currently teach some courses. So, despite our political disagreement, my heart welled with pride seeing you up on that stage....
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Dear Mr. Rand Paul,
I recently read a transcript from your appearance on Meet The Press:
If there is a war on woman, I think they've won ... The women in my family are doing great, and that's what I see in all the statistics coming out ... In fact, I worry about our young men sometimes because I think the women are outcompeting the men in our world ...
Judging by your sample size of approximately four women, it seems you're not too interested in stories that don't revolve around you and your family. But before you go making such claims about "what all the statistics are saying" these days, there are a few you didn't mention that I'd like to bring to your attention.
Although women account for over half of the world's population, we account for over two thirds of the world's...
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To Governor Scott Walker: Until you pushed through your anti-union bill attacking the public employees of your state, I had never heard my 88-year-old grandmother call somebody a douchebag [...].
Watch the video below.
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Dear David Cameron, Theresa May, Nigel Farage, the Daily Express, protesters in Germany, Katie Hopkins, Philip Hammond, anyone who has ever written a disparaging comment on a Mail Online article, police in Hungary, the governments of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia, the people of Britain, Czech police, tourists in Kos, Tony Abbott, cartoonists, Ukip MEPs and people on Twitter.
Over the past few weeks and months you've been responsible for spreading anti-migrant and anti-refugee sentiment.
Some of you have used dehumanising language.
Some of you have reacted to this language by misunderstanding why people are trying to reach Europe.
Some of you have hauled refugees off trains and written numbers on their arms.
Some of you...
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I thought since you're so familiar with Mr. Trudeau and call him Justin, I'd be familiar with you and call you Stephen.
The water is rising fast, Stephen. You're pretty good on the piano. Maybe you've played a little number by Bob Dylan called "The Times They Are A-Changin'"
Come gather 'round [Stephen]
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.
As with Richard Nixon and Watergate, the crime is not so much the initial blunder (paying Mr. Duffy $90,000 to keep quiet), but the lengths you've gone to cover up the crime. You did tell us some months...
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