Unfiltered Ocean

The Guardian recently published an expose on Ivanka Trump's clothing factory in Indonesia, detailing the horrendous working conditions that workers face on a daily basis. Some of the abuses include poverty wages, anti union intimidation, verbal abuse, and the fact that many workers can't even afford to have their children live with them. They make the equivalent of $173 a month, which comes out to about $1.08 per hour (assuming they work 40 hour work weeks). However, female employees receive a monthly bonus of $10.50 if they don't take a day off due to their menstrual cycle. As the Guardian notes: They are not egregiously abused but are in circumstances so far removed from the first daughter’s “women who work” brand that it was impossible for them to imagine a situation where anyone would wear the dresses they were sewing. Ivanka Trump should try to rectify this hypocrisy. Luckily, I see a path for her that hits close to home. Zlín, Czechia (formerly Czech Republic a...

Today offered millions of Americans a sigh of relief when it became apparent that not only would Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell not get his way with repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, but when it also became apparent that he did not get his way today when three Republican Senators said they would vote against his proposal to just repeal the Affordable Care Act alone, effectively killing it. Those three Senators are Susan Collins (R-ME), Shelley Moore Caputo (R-WV), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The irony of those three being the final nail in the coffin of Wealthcare is that they, along with all female Senators, were kept out of the process to create Wealthcare in the first place. In secret, there were about a dozen or so white, cisgendered, male lawmakers, deciding what is best for everyone else in the United States of America, without the input of a single female in the entire Senate. What goes around comes back around. What I find infuriating about this whole ...

I live in Beaverton, Oregon, just outside of Portland. I'm a west coaster, born and raised. I was born in Nevada, where half of my family lives. I grew up partially in Hawaii, where my Dad still lives. And I have a lot of family in California, Oregon, and Washington, as well as friends in all of these places, plus Alaska. So the idea that North Korea now has the capabilities to send an ICBM to the west coast is more than just concering: it scares the living shit out of me. Seriously, the thought that I might have 20 minutes left on this Earth because of an ICBM launch is no laughing matter. Not only would I probably die, but so would tens, if not hundreds of thousands of innocent people. We need to do something about it - and fast! No, I am not advocating that we launch an attack on North Korea. That should be the absolute last final option if diplomacy fails. Instead, we should meet Kim Jong Un, face to face. That's right - I think Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un should m...

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek-- And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak. -Langston Hughes, "Let America Be America Again" As an American, I am not in a very celebratory mood today. I love my country and I love its people, but like the men who signed our Declaration of Independence on this day 241 years ago, I have my grievances. And I do not think I am alone. As Americans, we do not participate in the affairs of our nation. We do not vote. In this past Presidential Election, 55.4% of eligible voters voted. In 2012, that number was 60%, and in 2008, that number was 63.7%. If you think about it, in 2016, 38% of the entire population decided who will preside not just over them, but also over the other 62% of the entire population. Granted, if every eligible voter voted, that would number ...