Unfiltered Ocean

Surely, you've seen Facebook posts that say that instead of protesting and "missing out on your education," how about at recess time, you just walk up to a student that looks lonely and start talking to them. #WalkUpNotWalkOut. Really now? We're gonna stop school shootings by just saying hi to someone? How silly. Yes, we should be nice and civil to each other, but to say Walk Up Not Walk Out is dismissive of the fact that since Sandy Hook, 3,500 plus people have needlessly died in mass shootings and our politicians haven't done anything to prevent further shootings. It's a farce because these same people are the same people who say "we should focus on mental health instead of taking away my God-given right to mow down someone with a machine gun" and yet continually vote for politicians who cut further and further from mental health funding. It's condescending because these people are the same people who say that teenagers need to grow up, b...

Yesterday, after striking since February 22nd, Gov. Jim Justice (R) signed a bill that gives all teachers, as well as all other state employees a 5% raise. After 9 days of school closures and hours of testimony to the Governor, the striking teachers got a better pay raise than the 3% raise that was originally offered. West Virginia teachers are among the lowest paid teachers in the United States, ranking 48th in the nation for teacher pay. Before the strike, they had not had an across the board raise in four years. In addition, they’ve seen their health care premiums rise, which still remains a problem. Gov. Justice agreed to form a task force in order to study what can be done to lower those health care costs. I applaud the teachers for standing up for themselves and for succeeding. As a child of the public education system, I’ve personally seen how teachers give so much of themselves, as well as having personally benefitted from their generosity; whether it was giving hungry stude...

In these times, we are sorely lacking in moral leaders. We have people like Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell, Jr. who claim to be our nation’s moral authority. And yet they continue to back a man whose actions and behavior serve as an example of what is unchristian: denying immigrants a safe refuge from their respective countries; working not as a steward to the environment, but as a shill for coal mining companies; and forgetting what Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount “blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” These abhorrent examples among others have shown that we are lacking a true moral authority. These men of the cloth, along with their predecessors: Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Oral Roberts among others, have used their faith to move this country, the United States of America, in the wrong direction; towards a fiery path of destruction, hatred, and malice; and away from (to ironically quote Ronald Reagan) a shining city on the hill, where equality, lo...

This is my final post of 2017. 2017 has been a year of, well, ugh. For some people though, it has been a year of despair. Our fellow friends and neighbors who were protected by DACA now face an even more uncertain future. They do not know whether or not they will be deported to countries that they do not know, as the United States of America is their one true home. Our Grandparents could face cuts in their Medicare and perhaps even their Social Security. Our environment is facing a great crisis and yet our government chooses to deny that fact and to pretend that there are no problems; instead they choose to exacerbate problems by building new oil pipelines and deregulating environmental protections. Millions stand to lose their health insurance coverage in the coming years. Income inequality stands to widen further and further, as the rich will get their permanent tax cuts, while the poor will keep getting the shaft. It is hard to try and say something uplifting when this will contin...

Recently, I took a short break from writing the Profiles In Politics series in order to call for Senator Al Franken to resign over his recent sexual harassment allegations. This past week, he did just that. This conversation on sexual harassment must and will continue, but in the meantime, I'd like to continue with my series. The Reverend Ralph Abernathy wasn't a politician in the traditional sense. In fact, he never held elected office. However, his contribution toward the betterment of American society was far greater than any average politician could ever hope to achieve. Rev. Abernathy was born on March 11, 1926, in Linden, Alabama. His father, William Abernathy, was the first black man to vote in Marengo County, Alabama, as well as the first to serve on a grand jury. Growing up, the Reverend was no stranger to activism. At his school, he led a successful demonstration to protest the inferiority of the school's science lab. As a result, the school updated it. After...

I'm taking a brief break from my Profiles In Politics series to address the Al Franken scandal. I admired Al Franken, not just because of his background in comedy, but also because of his forceful advocacy of progressive values. In high school, I included him in a drawing that I did of Progressive Senators that I admired: himself, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders. His official Instagram still follows me after I shared the picture on Instagram; which I took great pride in. So, as terrible as it is to see someone I admire be named as a sexual harasser, what's more important is the fact that these people were harassed and it was wrong. Two so far have spoken out against him. Will there be more? Al Franken should resign from the Senate. In the Democratic Party, we have to set an example of the changes we want to see in our society. We can't expect things to change in regards to sexual harassment if there is no self accountability or self responsibility. As the real pa...

This is the second installment of my series, Profiles in Politics. In Profiles in Politics, we'll explore some of my favorite politicians and why I admire them. Kiefer Sutherland is well known for his acting in such films as Stand By Me , The Lost Boys, and A Few Good Men ; but one little known fact about Kiefer Sutherland is that his grandfather was Tommy Douglas. Tommy Douglas probably isn't a familiar name for most Americans. In Canada, he is more than well known. In fact, in 2004, a CBC Television program called The Greatest Canadian , which ranked Canadians throughout all history on a scale of greatness, ranked Tommy Douglas as the greatest Canadian of all time. Who was he and why did he win? Tommy Douglas was born on October 20, 1904 in Falkirk, Scotland. When he was 6 years old, his family immigrated to Canada, settling in Winnipeg. Before leaving for Canada, Douglas fell and injured his knee. He developed Osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone, and had to go through...