This Is How It Is: Trump Gets Sworn In January 20th. We’ve Still Got 2.5-ish Months Under The Obama

wait what about mike pence and conversion camps?

here, from politifact

Newsom, a prominent LGBTQ rights supporter, said Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Pence “advocated for diverting taxpayer dollars to so-called conversion therapy.”

Conversion therapy is a controversial practice that seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation from gay to straight. It’s banned in five states including California, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont and New Jersey.

When asked about the claim, Newsom’s spokesman pointed to Pence’s own words. During his first successful run for Congress in 2000, Pence wrote on his campaign website, under a section called Strengthening the American Family:

“Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.”

Also on the website, Pence wrote: “Congress should oppose any effort to put gay and lesbian relationships on an equal legal status with heterosexual marriage.” And “Congress should oppose any effort to recognize homosexual’s [sic] as a ‘discreet [sic] and insular minority’ entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws similar to those extended to women and ethnic minorities.”

Our research found no evidence Pence has walked back his stance on public funding for conversion therapy. His spokesman did not respond with information about Pence’s current position.

and in case you didnt know, conversion therapy is horrible for LGBT youth

You are going to run this country, and this world, very soon. So you will not listen to this man, or the 75-year-old, doughy-faced, gray-haired nightmare men like him, when they try to tell you where to stand or how to behave or what you can and cannot do with your own bodies, or what you should or should not think with your own minds. You will not be cowed or discouraged by his stream of retrogressive babble. You won’t have time to be cowed, because you will be too busy working and learning and communing with other girls and women like you, and when the time comes you will effortlessly flick away his miserable, petty misogynistic worldview like a fly on your picnic potato salad. He is the present, sadly, but he is not the future. You are the future. Your strength is a million times his. Your power is a billion times his. We will acknowledge this result, but we will not accept it. We will overcome it, and we will defeat it. Now find your team, and get to work.

‘Parks and Recreation’: Leslie Knope Writes Letter to America Following Donald Trump’s Victory (via Yahoo)

“I first ran for Congress in 1999, and I got beat. I just got whooped. I had been in the state legislature for a long time, I was in the minority party, I wasn’t getting a lot done, and I was away from my family and putting a lot of strain on Michelle. Then for me to run and lose that bad, I was thinking maybe this isn’t what I was cut out to do. I was forty years old, and I’d invested a lot of time and effort into something that didn’t seem to be working. But the thing that got me through that moment, and any other time that I’ve felt stuck, is to remind myself that it’s about the work. Because if you’re worrying about yourself—if you’re thinking: ‘Am I succeeding? Am I in the right position? Am I being appreciated?’ – then you’re going to end up feeling frustrated and stuck. But if you can keep it about the work, you’ll always have a path. There’s always something to be done.” (Humans of New York)

lizdexia:

When Obama won, the right threatened violence and uprisings. They spewed vitriol and simmered in their own hatred and this is what we got.

Today, I’ve had so many conversations with people who are considering and embarking on new paths of public service. People who are talking about law school, public policy, teaching, international engagement, volunteering, even just giving radical amounts of kindness to the people around us who need it. I’m not seeing violent rhetoric or talk of violent uprisings. I’m just seeing a lot of good people saying “It’s going to be hard work, and we’ll do that hard work because we need each other.”

We can take our country back. When they go low, we go high.

ithelpstodream:

Bill Clinton cheats on his wife. Impeach him. Trump proudly brags about sexual assault (and has cheated on his wives). Elect him.

Hillary oversaw the department of state while 4 people died in an embassy attack. Put her in jail. 2 Republicans were in office while over 200 people died in embassy attacks. No problem.

Immigrants don’t pay taxes. Round them up and kick them out. Trump doesn’t pay taxes. He’s a business genius.

Hillary’s foundation only spent 87% of their donations helping people. She’s a crook. Trumps foundation paid off his debts, bought sculptures of him, and made political donations to avoid investigations while using less than 5% of funds for charity (and he got shut down by NY State). So savvy… Put him in the white house.

Trump made 4 billion dollars in 40 years, when an index fund started at the same time with the same “small loans” he received would be worth $12 billion today… without a trail of bankruptcies, thousands of lawsuits and burned small business owners. He’s a real business whiz. Hillary took a loss of $700k. She’s a criminal.

Trump is the first candidate in the modern era not to release his tax returns, and took a billion dollar loss in 1 year. Genius.

Hillary takes responsibility for private email servers and apologizes. Not credible. Trump denies saying things (on the record) he actually said (on the record), he’s just telling it like it is.

Your arguments are thin. Your ignorance of reality is shocking. Your double-standards are offensive, and your willingness to blindly support him and recycle the rhetoric is absurd. Your opinion is not fact. Your memes are not news articles. And your hypocrisy is not a platform.

- Alex Schiller

Reminder that popular vote does not decide the president. Electoral vote does. Donald Trump is not president yet.

The Electors meet on December 19th. Their votes are counted January 6th. They have voted against the will of the people before and it’s highly possible they could do again. The fat lady hasn’t sung yet. Hilary still has a snowball chance.

We will not truly know until January 6th. The only thing we can do now is hope for a miracle, but there is that hope. (Especially given that there’s also a chance that Trump will be in prison by that time and would be disqualified regardless.)

If you hate Donald Trump, listen up.

There is a petition that we can sign to change the outcome of this election. This petition will be given to the Electoral College before they vote on December 19 and it tells them why they should cast their votes for Hillary and get this dangerous man away from the presidency. we need to take back our country from the racist, sexist, homophobic, islamophobe that is Donald Trump and his supporters. We can do this. The petition already has over 1.5 MILLION supporters. join the fight to take back our country. please. do it for our future. do it for our human rights. please sign and share this petition with your friends and family so we can gather more supporters and change the future. sign the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-electors-electoral-college-make-hillary-clinton-president-on-december-19?recruiter=626583473&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

what do we do tho? like, honestly? what happens if he’s elected? what do we honest to god do?

Today, Wednesday, November 9, 2016, is my 18th birthday. The first thing I did when I woke up this morning was check the news. It was despairing. The United States of American had the opportunity to elect as the 45th president, a woman, for the first time in our country’s history, and we failed. Instead of crying over the news of an alleged sexual assaulter, chauvinist, sexist, homophobic, and racist person winning this election, I could have been crying tears of joy, that on my 18th birthday, the first female president was elected in the United States. That would have made me so proud of the country I love.

But that was not the world I woke up to. It was hard enough knowing that I missed being able to vote by a single day, but to have our country’s values skewed in such a way that we take steps backward in progress, and after the first African American president was elected, is terrifying.

I refuse to fear Donald Trump. He seems to thrive off of lies and hatred in order to further a personal agenda for power and money, and he represents everything I hate. What is really worrisome is what he represents. The fact that so many people have been convinced of his lies, empty promises, and regressive ideas that go against the true values of freedom and democracy that America is supposed to represent shows that we still have so much work to do.

I respect and love this country enough that I decided to study law and possibly devote a career to representing and fighting for the rights of the people of the United States. I believe we can do better, but I also know that it is much easier to succumb to fear than togetherness. Turmoil in the United States and across the world has always been there, but we have to decide how we react to those situations: with impulsive hostility or with measured foresight.

America has made an irreversible mistake, and though these words are nothing new to the ears of American citizens, they are essential to keep in mind. Law and government are supposed to represent change, our values, progress, and our democratic standard. If our government does not represent us, is not treating us in the way we deserve, it is in our hands to make that change. Bad laws are brought into being, but if they do not reflect us and the health of our society, we have the right to challenge them. Laws are malleable, not stagnant, and ever changing with progress. Never forget that our government works for the people, not for themselves. They represent all of us, not just a few. Regardless of personal beliefs and party affiliation, legislators’ responsibility is to represent everyone. 

I encourage everyone, especially young people, to not be passive and apathetic about politics and government because it is in our hands to decide change. If you claim that politics is unsavory, it is your job to fix it. Get involved, spread love, and stand strong in your beliefs because they belong to you and no one has the right to take them away.