Lesley Was Lucky Not to Have Such a Scary Bunny (see below)

Happy Easter

A Little Bird Tells Bernie, "You Can't Win."

Crash and Bern - There is No Shame in Admitting Defeat

I feel I have to chime in in on the political race - when it comes to my opinion on things that matter, I can't hold back. I want to preface what I'm about to say with - I like Bernie Sanders. I agree with everything he has to say about how things are rigged against the little guy in favor of big business, etc. (btw, it all sounds a bit like Ralph Nader and Elizabeth Warren and others, so he didn't exactly invent these ideas). Not to dump on the man, but you have to ask honestly, what has he actually accomplished other than to draw attention to these ideas (which others already have before him)? I'm not saying they don't need to be continually addressed, but at some point he starts sounding like a broken record (I'm not sure that idiom works so well in this digital age). When you look at his people's own webpages promoting him, there is indeed a long list of accomplishments, but they are mostly just votes he made on other people's policies. He began in the House in 1991 and later joined the Senate in 2007 for a total of 25 years now... voting. Well how hard is it to vote like a Socialist? It's a funny thing about people who don't do much... and please don't talk about him getting arrested when he was part of SNCC in 1963... my S.O. (significant other) was part of SNCC. My S.O. was beaten up, arrested and shot at as part of SNCC and calls himself a Socialist too, but he doesn't think he's qualified to be president. Bernie talks a good game, and that's important, but like so many people who don't actually do much, they are the ones so quick to judge those who do. Oh and then he speaks out of both sides of his mouth when he proudly says he was involved with Obama Care, but then says the single payer plan is better. Let's look at Bernie who was the talk of the town when he was elected the first self-proclaimed Socialist to the House, but how quickly he abandoned his party when it came to running for president. What are you anyway, Bernie? Don't get me wrong. I do respect the man, but I will respect him a whole lot more when he bows out of the race. Let's look at the numbers. At the time that I'm writing this, Hillary has 1690 of 2636 delegates (= 64%) and Bernie has 946 of 2636 delegates (= 36%). That's what we call a landslide victory for Hillary. Don't think so? Let me share an example of a landslide victory with you (just google landslide victory and this one will come up). The outcome of the presidential election of 1936 had FDR winning with 61% of the vote and Alf Landon only 37%. Notice that Alf had one more percentage point than Bernie and notice that FDR had three fewer percentage points than Hillary. It's a sure thing that Hillary will win the Democratic nomination. The sooner Bernie starts backing Hillary, the more likely she is to win against Trump who is sure to be the Republican nominee (I'm going to assume I don't need to go into what's wrong with this candidate). It's basic math. Unless you are a misogynist. Misogyny tends to blur numbers. Hillary clearly has a stronger resume. If she were applying for the job and didn't get it, she could have a sexual discrimination suit. But elections don't work that way. She has to win over the public. She has to win over people like my S.O. who calls her shrill. I have to remind him that women's voices are generally higher in pitch than men's. There is an undercurrent of misogyny in this country. So many women feel it. I hope women realize all that they'll be doing for their gender when they vote for Hillary. Oh, and you men needn't worry - having a woman in charge won't mean you'll have to suffer the same injustices that we have endured. Remember that women give life and your mother loves you.

Plantu Cartoon Expressing French-Belgian Solidarity

"European Sovereignty" is Code for "White Supremacy"

Recently, I got into a back-and-forth in the comments column of a YouTube video. A guy named Bill Still included all kinds of misinformation about "illegal immigrants" in his video/rant. Where I live (San Francisco), the phrase "illegal immigrant" is considered politically incorrect by many. When I've used it, people have corrected me by saying, "No human is illegal." Frankly, I think they miss the point because it is a legal issue. There is a problem with laws that make movement across the border by some people illegal, even though these people are vital to our economy. The right wing won't admit it, but any economist will tell you so. The right wing will argue that these immigrants are bleeding the economy dry. They have little understanding of how our economy works, or maybe that erroneous argument is just a way to veil their prejudice. One could argue, the right-wingers lack of education is the real problem and education in the U.S. needs to be improved. Sorry xenophobes on the right, but this means more government money to educate people like you who don't understand the law, history, demographics, and economics. Before this past weekend, I had only heard the term "European Sovereignty" as it relates to the current "Refugee Crisis" in Europe and while I found it offensive in that context, more recently I heard from Bill Still (and his followers on YouTube), who are presumably American, use it in relation to "illegal immigrants" in America. They speak of preserving our "European Sovereignty." I asked Mr. Still where in the Constitution it is written that those of European descent are any more entitled to anything here in this country than anyone else. I was completely astonished by his response which was, "The nation was meant specifically for the people that founded it. It's very simple." I decided not to respond to this or any more messages from this man who has a completely distorted view of what this country stands for. However, I did feel the need to "alert the media" as it were. I'm not sure how many people out there in cyberspace read this blog, but in case you are wondering why certain candidates running for president are so popular despite or because of their racist views, the answer may be that there are many like Mr. Bill Still out there and it's not just misinformation they are spreading. It's hate speech. I feel so fortunate to live here in San Francisco. Seattle, Boston and San Francisco are considered among the America's top three "Smartest Cities" (see LINK) BTW, Mr. Still and friends, the San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most diverse areas of the country. So, I'm also happy to know that it's doubtful you'll be visiting any time soon.

This Picture of Pre-Peeled and Packaged Oranges Sums Up What is Wrong with Whole Foods (Thank You Twitterverse for Shaming Them)

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Welcomes Syrian Refugees