Unfiltered Ocean

Yesterday, President Donald Trump issued his first presidential pardon to disgraced former Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio, who was Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona from 1992 to 2016, was tried and convicted of contempt of court after refusing a court order to stop racially profiling and detaining people without reasonable suspicion that they were committing a crime. Apparently, Arpaio sought to find illegal immigrants and deport them back to their country of origin. Many people (*cough* many Trump supporters) think Arpaio did his constitutional duty, but if anyone truly cares about the constitution, one would know that the 4th amendment protects people from improper search and seizure and warrants to conduct such searches and seizures must be issued upon probable cause. Arpaio did not have probable cause, let alone a warrant to search and detain people. Now when it comes to pulling over people, you don't need a warrant to pull them over (you still need a warrant to search the trunk...

Abortion is never an easy topic to discuss or write about. I remember there was a brief moment when I was in high school where I considered that maybe being in the "pro-life" camp wasn't such a bad thing. I told that to my maternal grandmother. She told me I don't have a right to think like that because I am not a woman and I will never have any idea what it's like to be pregnant. Being a mother of three children and having faced the possibility of losing one of her children while pregnant, I knew she was absolutely right. I will never know that feeling, whether physically or mentally. So since that day, I have been staunchly pro-choice. And I know the Democratic Party reflects that view as well, which is why I am a Democrat. We are the party of choice. As my paternal grandmother, who (ironically) is in the "pro life" camp says: "We all have choices to make in our lives." That mantra guides not only my daily life, but my social views, and abo...

On a Facebook group that I am a part of, I noticed a Craigslist ad for a room in Milwaukee, Oregon, just outside of Portland. It cost $730 a month! Now to its credit, utilities were included in the price, except internet. That was another $20 a month! But the kicker was that the "room" was in the garage of the house and there were no pictures of the "room!" Insanity! I called out the poster of the ad for her greed, telling her she needs to lower the price. She didn't have a real response, other than to call out my age. I told her "Listen, lady, age doesn't make the difference whether or not I can see the fact that you're a price gouger trying to take advantage of people! Lower your price and maybe people will take your post more seriously!" She later said my generation was entitled and I told her that "I'm sorry you don't have any reasonable come back to me calling you out on your greed, but maybe one day you and the rest of you ...