Thanks, Gary.

While liberal rags throw together scathing indictments of Gary Johnson and his supporters, I'd like to offer the man thanks. Thank you for being the first Presidental Candidate I've ever voted for that I didn't choose as a defensive maneuver, but because I really believed in you. And you did good, Gary. We didn't hit 5% but you did well. We got over 4 million votes!

Thank you for being a libertarian who is pragmatic. Far too often Libertarians come off as contrarian, argumentative, negative, and obstructionist. Thank you for representing us with positivity, creativity, and sound policy.

Thank you for being a libertarian who is compassionate. While we libertarians do believe that an individual is responsible for only himself, and that can give way to being self-centered, your campaign was one of compassion. You stood up for many marginalized people and their right to the same treatment as anyone else.

Thank you for not giving into the temptation to pick up the dissatisfied Republicans by shifting to the right. As it became clearer that Trump would win the nomination, I think a lot of people expected the Libertarian Party to make a big play for those votes. You never caved to that pressure. You stood your ground for women's rights, gay rights, and the 14th Amendment, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that.

Thank you for admitting your mistakes and not excusing them. Unfortunately, only your bad news made headlines this year, but when it did, you accepted responsibility  and did not pass blame. This probably shocked a nation so used to politicians that cannot admit fault. Thank you for being humble and publically flawed. And thank you for taking ownership of your own actions.

Thank you for giving me something to believe in again. Thank you for teaching me that everyone's vote counts and everyone's vote is important, not just the votes that are counted for Republicans and Democrats. Thank you for teaching me how to stand on principle and be kind. Thank you for being an example of what it means to politely disagree, even if you do get passionate from time to time.

Thanks, Gary. Now go take a long vacation before your next adventure.

TRUMP WINS! The Republic Will Survive...but damn it's going to be ugly...

I'm shocked. I mean, I guess I should have predicted this. I've been wrong about nearly everything in this election except that Clinton would be coronated. Donald Trump is our President-Elect. Donald Trump. The guy who spouted off every moronic populist position he could, never once backed anything up with a fact, and bullied anyone who dared question him from his pulpit on twitter. Ugh.

The polls were wrong, just as they were in Brexit, but the margins here are astonishing. Some of these races (like in the rustbelt) were not even that close in the polls. It's very hard to imagine, as a college educated white woman, that Trump could win. After all, I personally know very few people who could even stomach the man, let alone vote for him. And perhaps it's the hysterical outrage about him that skewed the polls. People wanted to vote for him, they just didn't want to tell pollsters for fear of being judged. Well, welcome to judgement land because Clinton voters are going to assume the worst about Trump voters for a very long time.

And I understand that, to a point. Hey, I've lost elections before. I know how it feels. It feels like shit. I've cried over losses and I've never faced a foe as obnoxious and upsetting as Trump. People have every right to be upset and angry. It is only reasonable to ask yourself 'how the fuck could this have happened?' The problem I foresee, though, is that people who ask the question will not want the answer. They'd rather believe that 50% of the population are just racist, sexist, gross, bigoted and awful. We've been playing this 'anyone who would vote for him/her must be a terrible person' game for so long that it is just second nature. And it requires no effort to understand those with whom you disagree.

As I see it, there are many reasons Trump won last night. Some are small and some are large, but these, in my humble opinion, are the key reasons and the key issues that we, as a society, have to address unless we want to descend into populist policy and divisiveness that would make the last 16 years look like a party.

Fundamental Change in BOTH Policial Parties:

Van Jones is absolutely right when he says that both parties have to recognize the problems in their own parties. Really, they are 4 parties trying to fit into two:

Leftists (Bernie)
Center Left (Clinton)
Center Right (Rubio/Kasich/Ryan)
Rightist (alt-right/anti-PC/hard evangelicals/Trump)

And the fact is that the Center-Left couldn't make up for their party divide and the Rightists found common ground with some of the leftists (blue collar white struggling workers). That is what happened. More than anything else, that is what happened. Yes, there is an added issue of uneducated whites who are resistant to change that MUST be addressed. But this isn't just a case of racists vs civilized people. If you only discuss it that way, you can expect this to happen many more times in the future.


Resentment:

Resentment holds many forms in this election. Racial resentment is but one part of the story. There is resentment over Obamacare, which has his middle-class families the hardest. There is resentment over Washington business as usual. There is resentment over media bias. There is cultural resentment. All of these things came together to make any and all warnings about Trump's badness amount to very little for most.

As far as racial resentment, this is a matter of education, proximity, and understanding. I promise you. The racially illiterate #alllivesmatter people in this country will not get any closer to seeing the racial injustice in this country by being called stupid 'redneck' racists. The fact is, most of these people have a blind spot for the experiences of others. That doesn't mean you give up on them and write them off. Do we want the country to actually be a safer place for minorities or do we want to bitch about the people who don't get it? Let's try reasoning with people. Let's try changing minds! Let's stop pushing them away and back into their own resentment cocoons. Because, as a struggling white person in America, it would be very easy to feel like no one cares about your problems. And if you feel that way, it's a very short walk to resenting people who you think are having their grievances heard. I'm not endorsing this mentality, I'm imploring people to understand it.

Economic resentment, though, very likely played a much bigger role in Trump's win. Look at the areas he flipped from Obama. Look at the ground he gained. He is picking up areas of blue collar workers who've been left behind in this new economy. Pocketbook issues always have more impact than social issues. Some of these people are energy sector workers who see the Democratic Party going after their profession. Some of these people never recovered from the economic downturn. And despite the talking points that Obama surrogates have trotted out over the years, many people have dropped out of the job market completely and many more are underemployed. People who used to be able to earn a good living for 40hr/week work can now barely make ends meet.

Media resentment seems obvious. Democrats, you can deny this all you want but the majority of MSM is biased in favor of Democrats. It's why Fox News has such a large following. And this bias has led to a media badgering of Republican candidates for decades. So much so that Republican voters (and even conservative Democrats) do not believe the media when they are critical of Republicans. They seek out media that agrees with them, insulating themselves from other views because media has so specialized its message it now just offers up confirmation bias to whoever wishes to listen. Many liberal commentators have all but admitted this. They called Bush, McCain, and Romney the devil and now when the Devil was there, no one believed them.

Resentment cannot be underplayed. If you treat those who disagree with you like uncultured swine, they are going to be resentful and that resentfulness will not always represent itself in the most rational or mature of ways. If we don't deal with this, we are facing worse than Donald Trump in our future.

Polarization 
We are so polarized at this point that I honestly believe that we would defend any behavior in our own candidates. To be fair to Clinton, her behavior was more defensible than Trump's (in my opinion), but she is not without many many many faults. And Democrat after Democrat defended them. To be sure, Republicans did this with Trump as well. When we have a system so polarized that we are conditioned to excuse any behavior of our candidates, how can one be surprised when voters start condoning heinous behaviors.

Let's not pretend Democrats would have cared about Bill Clinton's sexual assault allegations if he were the candidate. Hell, they didn't care 20 years ago when they voted for him. And yet, they were outraged by Trump's allegations of sexual assault and verbal advocation of assault. The fact is, we are, all of us, hypocrites about this so long as we are conditioned to believe winning is everything. And we are very much conditioned to believe that.

Scapegoating
Yes, part of Trump's appeal to a chunk of his supporters is scapegoating 'others' like undocumented  immigrants and Muslims. There is no denying that, and it's a serious issue. We have to get struggling people to understand that their enemy is not people fleeing poverty from south of the border. These people are not taking your jobs. They are not raping and kidnapping people by the thousands. They are just like any of us. Muslims in America just want to live the American Dream like everyone else. Muslim extremism in America is very rare.

This is extremely troubling, this trend toward scapegoating. but do you know how to fix it? Electing Clinton wouldn't have changed anything. It would have just made the scapegoaters losers. They still would have been xenophobic and afraid. The only way forward is to bring these people into the 21st century, not try to progress while carrying around a ball and chain of about 25% of the population.

But even these numbers are not so cut and dried. Latino voters did not go to Clinton in the numbers that were anticipated. Why? Becuase many latino voters are facing the same struggles as these lower middle-class white families, and they see undocumented workers as 'cutting the line'. Fair or not, that's just reality, and we have to accept that too. Becuase you can't hope to win the latino vote simply by touting out 'Immigration Reform'. These people are keen and nuanced voters. You have to work harder than that.

*****

Some other thoughts:

-  Contentious primaries help your candidate. Coronating Clinton was the worst idea the DNC ever had. For one, it pissed off a fraction of your voters pretty epically. Secondly, there was less chance to vet Clinton as a candidate. Three, in an election where people were frustrated with Washington, handing a Washingtonian the election on a silver platter was terrible strategy.

-  This is not a time to call for the end of the Electoral College. The Electoral College protects us from letting NYC, Chicago, LA, etc decide our elections for us. It forces candidates to focus on all kinds of regions and their issues. One major reason Clinton lost ground in the rustbelt is that she took that vote for granted. Without the Electoral College, those voters are rarely even heard. Instead of having an emotional reaction in the despair of a loss, remember that if it went your way, you wouldn't want to lose the Electoral College. We can't make swift decisions about this based on upset over one election.

-  Obamacare. Democrats have drastically underestimated how unpopular this bill is. Premium hikes came in the mail over the last few weeks. The middle class has, inarguably, been hurt the most by this bill and they are not interested in 'fixing' what was broken from day one. They want real reform.

-  SCOTUS is important but most people don't understand the complexities of justice decisions.  The only group this argument works with are well-educated people.


We will be okay. I swear. I'm really upset by this result. I don't trust him. I don't like him. I worry about discourse in America with him as President. I worry about the reaction in our country to such a terrible person as our President. But I know that America isn't just a bunch of racist. We are a complex, growing nation that desperately needs to unite. And the President isn't a dictator.

Act locally, guys. Don't flee to another country (p.s. you will find they have pretty strict immigration policies). Don't stop speaking to your family and friends. Don't ostracize 50% of the population. Engage with them. Proximity breeds understanding and tolerance. Political purity breeds ignorance and close-mindedness. Engage in local races and propositions as ardently as you do a Presidental race. Protest. Sign petitions. Help your neighbors. Be kind. Try to wake up the part of the population who still lives in the past. We are the future. This result is bad. It will lead to a lot of heartache and hard fights for what being an American really means, but those are battles worth having. Because you cannot march forward into the future while leaving half of the population behind. We have to bring them with us. No democratic government can last when we are this divided and this unwilling to listen to each other. Today is a new day.

A helpful list of quotes for your every emotion tonight...

There are going to be a lot of feels all over the country tonight. Some will be elated. Some will be devastated. Some will be resigned to the future. Some will be in denial. Wherever you fall on the spectrum of emotions, here are some quotes to help you through.

"Patriotism can be good and bad. Knee-jerk patriotism can be very bad. I'm patriotic almost to the point of self-consciousness, but I love my country the way I love a friend or a child who I would correct if she was going the wrong way." -Emmylou Harris 

"When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail toward your coveted goal." -Napoleon Hill

"When life gives you one-hundred reasons to cry, show life you have one-thousand reasons to smile." -Unknown

"Everything will be alright doesn't mean everything will stay the same." -Unknown

"Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it is less good than the one you had before." -Elizabeth Edwards

"There was a saying that man's true character was revealed in defeat. I thought it was also revealed in victory." -Alison Goodman

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." -Sun Tzu

"I think you can disagree with people and debate over their positions on issues without engaging in the politics of personal destruction." -Hillary Clinton

"What we need are critical lovers of America - patriots that express their love of country by working to improve it." -Hubert Humphrey

"Few have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation." -Robert Kennedy

"This country will not be a good place for any of us to live unless we make it a good place for all of us to live." -Teddy Roosevelt

"True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people of the earth, universal brotherhood and goodwill, and a constant and earnest striving toward the principles and ideals on which this country was founded." -Elenore Roosevelt 

"The life of the nation is only secure when the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous." -Frederick Douglass

"America was not built on fear. America was built on imagination and unbeatable determination to do the job at hand." -Harry Truman

"There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America." -Bill Clinton

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table." -Ronald Reagan

"Oh if I could live another century and see all the fruition of all the work for women! There is so much yet to be done." -Susan B. Anthony 

"You are the director of your own movie, and if you don't like what you are doing, change it." -Gary Johnson

"We'll have so much winning if I get elected that you may get bored with winning. Believe me." -Donald Trump

"Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward. In this would, and in the world of tomorrow, we must go forward together or not at all." -Hillary Clinton

Just remember, everyone, the sun will rise again in the morning. I promise.

My thoughts, as this insane election comes to a close...

Tomorrow the most contentious, ugly, and insane election of my lifetime will come to a close. Barring some sort of miracle, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will be our 45th President of the United States, and we will all have to make peace with that or go through the complex and headache-inducing process of moving to another country who is likely to have a leader with equally as many flaws.

First and foremost, I encourage everyone to read this excellent piece in the Wall Street Journal: How to Get Beyond Our Political Tribalism. Our polarized society is unsustainable and possibly a bigger threat to our existence than either Trump or Clinton could have ever be. Watching pundits and voters make excuses for the inexcusable and attack the nearly imperceptible in the opposition, I've sadly come to the conclusion that if Republicans put up Hitler and Democrats put up Stalin, each team would dogmatically and passionately support their trash heap of a candidate to the end. This is not good. This is not sustainable. We've lost the ability to critique our own candidates or give reasonable benefit of the doubt to the opposition. We also don't debate issues anymore. We debate politicians. When was the last time you saw a policy issue picked apart in detail by the media or candidates? We debate personalities and character traits instead. Trump is a sexist pig! Clinton is a mean bitch! Never mind both of them are promoting problematic policy.

And, more than any other election, this polarized environment has also highlighted the political 'purity' with which we conduct our lives and friendships. Family members had stopped speaking to each other. Friends have stopped being friends. Facebook feeds have been 'purified' of any offending opposition material. People watch Fox, or MSNBC, or CNN, or whatever news channel they watch to hear their own opinions spouted back to them, not to hear facts. And for this reason, most voters are woefully out of touch with reality about either candidate. The age of 'false news' hit an all-time high this year with Snopes and other fact checkers working overtime to explain to the public: No. Podesta didn't say he wanted to sacrifice children in a Satanic Ritual. And No. Trump didn't say he was going to deport Lin-Manuel Miranda even though the actor is from Puerto Rico, which is US territory. People, desperate to believe the worst about the opponent, shared these fake news stories far and wide and often didn't want to hear that the news was fake.

At the end of the day, though, come November 9th, we need to decide what kind of nation we want to be? Do we want to be this insanely divided on even the most trivial matters? Do we want to hate 40-50% of the country because they disagree with us? Listen, at the end of the day, 90-95% of voters won't have voted for MY candidate. I find Trump and Clinton both repulsive. That doesn't mean i have to find all of their supporters repulsive. The racist ones? Sure. I don't have to like them. but what about the millions of American voters voting for Trump or Clinton not because they really love either of those candidates but because they have been given two shitty options by this flawed system? And yes, you can stop all the think pieces on how 'If you vote for Trump you are a racist/sexist/asshole' or 'If you vote for Clinton you support a criminal in the white house!' ...This is outrageous, erroneous, and divisive bullshit. Some people are weighing options and coming to the conclusion that one candidate is marginally better than they other. That's no crime.

Personally, my hopes are for Clinton to win the Presidential race and Republicans to keep the House and Senate (though I'm skeptical of the latter). I think Clinton, with all her flaws, is more Presidential and more educated on policy. Even if she makes bad choices (which seems inevitable) she has the basis of knowledge to make educated bad choices. Trump, on the other hand, will likely make bad choices based on whims, which could be much more dangerous. But, even if I'm 'less scared' of Clinton, I know what she will do with a Democratic House and Senate blank check. If you think Obamacare was bad... So, I think the best any of us can hope for is gridlock. And who knows, maybe Hillary Clinton will take a page from her husband Bill and work in coordination with Republican lawmakers. Something Obama has failed to do. This may do wonders for the concept of depolarization.

Predictions for Tomorrow:

Presidential

Unless polls are completely off or mismanaged (like leaving out millennials as some have), I feel pretty confident in this one. Biggest 'toss-ups' here are Florida, Pennsylvania,  and North Carolina. Clinton MUST WIN Pennsylvania or Florida. She doesn't have to win both. Trump needs both.

Senate

This is optimistic for Republicans, but my logic is that Trump will likely bring Republican Senate voters and Clinton will likely bring Democratic Senate voters in tight races. For this reason, I see it shaking out this way. But I'm far from confident about this prediction. Best case for Republicans is 53 seats, I think. Worst case for Republicans is about 47 seats.

House

No map here, but I think the Republicans hold the house by at least 20 seats. Best case for Republicans 40 seats. Worst case, 5-10 seats.

Happy watching, guys. And remember, on November 9th, we will all still be here and the sky will not have fallen. Chin up.

There is NO excuse for Trump's Remarks. None. Zero.

So naive Krystle thought, yesterday, that Trump's joking about sexually assaulting women was the worst of it. I mean, in a reasonable world - even for someone who supports Trump - the response would have to be 'Come on, dude. That is not cool. You have a serious problem with women.' Well, thankfully I did get that response from some Trump Supporters, though, admittedly, these were not enthusiastic supporters to begin with. But the response from many was more disturbing than anything Trump said. Let's go over a few points just to clarify some things for everyone. 1. This is not about Bill or Hillary Clinton. We can and should have a conversation about Bill Clinton's treatment of women and sexual assault allegations. But they do not excuse Trump's remarks. You cannot pretend to be morally outraged by Bill Clinton and then turn around and use him as an excuse for why Trump's comments, which were advocating sexual assault, are no big deal. You see, this is why politics is off the rails. No one will dare turn a critical eye to their own candidate. Just as Democrats refuse to talk about Hillary Clinton's many troubling characteristics and policies, Trump supporters refuse to admit they picked a bad candidate who says terrible things and has no respect for anyone but himself. And so, both sides blindly march on, ignoring the faults of their candidate, in this bloodbath election until someone wins. Only problem is, the entire country loses when we don't have people with the ability to be objective choosing who runs the country. 2. This is not 'locker room banter'. Or should I say, if this is locker room banter, rape culture is worse than any of us feared. Do I expect men (or women) to be perfect angels who never objectify others in private? No. Of course not. We've all said things like 'I'd hit that' or 'he could get it' or 'Daaaam, look at that rack!' This is 'locker room banter'. Things like 'I can do whatever I want to them,' or 'I just grab them by the pussy' are the 'locker room banter' of rapists. This is not normal. This is not just objectifying a person you find attractive, this is joking about violating her consent and autonomy because you feel that your wealth or status makes you entitled and that 'she'll let you do it'. If this is your locker room banter, I don't want you alone in a room with me or any other women. 3. 'She lets you do it.' An extension of rape culture, this idea that he's off the hook for groping women because they 'let him' is troubling in the extreme. First of all, how do we know they let him? We take his word for it, but do you think he'd ever admit he tries this with women and they rebuff him? Not the narcissistic baby man. But forgetting that it is statistically unlikely that he has been warmly received by every woman he's groped, the idea that he's entitled to do it because she didn't stop him sets a dangerous precedent.

The fact is, he is a powerful man and he does hold a lot of careers in his hands. So, when he assaults a woman she might feel uncomfortable stopping him. That does not mean she's asking for it or that she's consenting. Being alone in the room with Donald Trump should not put you at risk of being groped. He doesn't have a right to touch you until you stop him. He doesn't have a right to touch you at all - not until you give him affirmative permission to do so. You know, men around the interwebs constantly laugh about feminists saying 'teach men not to rape' but it sounds, based on the response of Trump supporters, that we very much do need a crash course lesson in what consent is. Hint: Consent is not the absence of a 'no'.

 4. Irony of Rape Culture denial. What is really interesting here is that everything from Trump's comments, to Billy Bush's acceptance of them, to the excuse-making on behalf his supporters is a vivid, technicolor picture of rape culture.

 Thinking it's okay to touch people because of your status: check
Assuming that if she doesn't say 'no' you are in the clear: check
Spreading this mentality to other men: check
Shifting the blame to imply 'all men' do this: check
'Boys will be boys': check Blaming the women who 'put themselves in that position': check Thinking a Presidential Candidate with this attitude about women is nbd: check I leave you with a question I asked a Trump supporter which he, to his credit, admitted he could not answer: How would you explain these comments to your daughter? How would you want your daughter to be treated if she were alone in a room with Donald Trump? How would you want your daughter to be talked about in the 'locker room'? Sadly, we still need to use the 'what if it was your (fill in the blank)' to get through to some people.

Yes, I'm a Feminist.

"Feminist" has become a popular whipping boy on social media. Some of that is the fault of bad feminists, but the bigger culprit is men who seek out, like an anti-feminist Drudge Report, any and every story of self-proclaimed feminists being absurd in order to delegitimize actual rational Feminism. Unfortunately, as a libertarian, I come across this mentality more often than I'd like. In a guise of 'just looking to keep the facts straight' in the face of 'female emotional bullshit' or whatever, many men within our political movement have a pathological need to tell women in the West that they have no problems and kindly STFU.

Fuck. That. Noise.

I used to be the 'feminist hating feminist'. I followed enough people with these anti-feminist attitudes that I began to think Feminism had become a farce of itself - existing mostly just to sit around bitching about things that are, at the end of the day, not a big deal. You know, the things you read on Tumblr and then scratch your  head wondering if these people just look for reasons to be upset. Yes, there are certainly feminists like that. But mostly, feminist are normal women who just are sick of the bullshit. They are people getting very tired of having to explain sexism over and over with people who really don't care if sexism is real or not anyway. They don't look for ways to drag men down. They hate the Patriarchy, not men.

I'm now a proud, card-carrying Feminist. Yep, it's not a dirty word to me. All rational people should be feminists. I'll never stop enlightening men who don't get that their reality isn't everyone's reality. I'll never apologize for stating facts to a person who doesn't want to see them. I will never again, be that woman who shoves my own reality down to attempt to rationalize men's attitudes when they don't get it. How often do you think these same men spend trying to understand where women come from? How much more time do they spend trying to disprove the rape culture versus listening to women who've been victimized by men who felt emboldened by our cultural norms?

Despite the fear of being a dreaded 'Social Justice Warrior', I will tell you, flat out, the reason women are frustrated as hell at men who are not #woke is that these men, undoubtedly, attempt to gaslight each one of us into believing the bias, sexism, harassment, etc is either harmless or in our heads. A guy is catcalling you? Maybe it's rude, but certainly it's not threatening. A woman questions the sexist culture of gaming? Well, she's a slut anyway. Obviously, this is about her SJW agenda. The boss leers at you in a meeting? It's a compliment. And besides, what's the big deal. I'm sure it's isolated. Men rationalize to you that your own experience isn't really what you think it is? Well, maybe you are overreacting. Don't be so emotional. These things happen to you on a daily basis from so many men it's hard to keep track? Well, it's #notallmen!

Fuck. That. Too.

Undoubtedly, any time you try to talk about these issues online, a pack of men will rush to the thread to tell you that you are 'emotional' or 'irrational' or a 'SJW' or condescendingly tell you that 'well this isn't Iran, so what do you have to complain about?' The reaction by #notallmen to women's issues, complaints, concerns is so profoundly predictable I could have a conversation with myself and play both parts with ease. Just the other day, I posted a short video pointing out that Stanford Rapist Brock Turner would be released from jail next month, serving only 3 months on an already criminally light sentence. This led to a 'take down' of the idea of 'rape culture' in America by two libertarian-leaning guys that actually shocked me. How could anyone lose sight of the obvious injustice of the Brock Turner case and its accurate depiction of what the rape culture promotes (from the 'it was alcohol's fault' defense to 'he's had a promising future, what a shame' reaction to the sentence that was an outright slap in the face to the victim). Why is there such a strong need in so many men to delegitimize women's voices? Are they really afraid of being falsely accused of rape or harassment? Or are they doing things they shouldn't do and feel threatened by women voicing their intent to stop putting up with that bullshit? Sometimes I can't tell, and that's pretty scary.

What women are asking for is a little introspection, a little self-awareness, a little 'listen to me first and wait before telling me that my reality is not valid'. It seems, no matter how many women reiterate the problem of societal sexism, too many men simply say 'not true' and never bother to consider that we don't get together in private meetings to make up street harassment, men who don't understand boundaries, massively popular song lyrics and media depictions that teach boys 'no' means 'maybe', or workplace harassment.

I am a mother of two boys. Actually, having two boys and thinking of the men I want them to become has made me more of a feminist. Becuase, despite the false narrative, feminism is not about hating
men. Feminism benefits men. When men and women are equals, when women are no longer objects and men are no longer meant to be led by anger and libido, men are free to be who they are, not who society tells them to be. Men are not inherently violent. So, why are the vast majority of violent

crimes committed by men? Men are not born emotional stoics. So, why are men criticized for showing a wide range of emotions? Why is doing things arbitrarily labeled 'feminine' such a point of embarrassment for men? Societal sexism. I want my sons to be well-rounded, emotional, kind, humans who treat women as equals and respect women as they would men. I want them to understand consent and find it sexy. I want them to be whoever they want to be without fear of being called a 'pussy'. I want them to be the kind of men who hear a woman's story of sexism and sympathize rather than tell them 'I'm sorry. But that seems isolated.'

And, btw, feminists talk about injustice to men too. I know the popular commentary is 'but what about the men!' Gender equality requires that inequities to men are addressed. But it's pretty disingenuous when a man trying to disprove sexism comes with that argument because how often do you think he considers gender inequality that hurts women? Coming along to say 'but what about meeeeee' when there is a quantifiable, statistically proven imbalance that works in your favor is like asking gay people where there is no 'straight pride' parade or asking about 'white history month' during black history month. Deflecting conversation from a societal problem by asking it to focus on you is the absolutely last way to show you really care at all about gender injustice or inequality.

I am a feminist. And being a feminist goes hand in hand with libertarianism despite the outward appearance of most comment sections on social media. Free markets, free minds, and personal autonomy have no place for men who don't see women as equals. Mutual respect and the non-aggression principle are the very values that are the antidote to societal sexism. These are values all libertarians should embrace.

The 'Wasted Vote' Fallacy

It's been said by nearly everyone endorsing a Third Party Candidate, and, apparently, it continues to need to be said. Let me make this perfectly clear:

Voting for a 3rd Party Candidate is NOT wasting your vote.

Did y'all get that in the back of the room? Good. Now, let me tell you why.

1. Voting is not about picking who you think will win. 

This seems obvious. If voting was all about picking who you think will win, everyone should check the polls right before the election and just vote for the front runner. Obviously, you vote for the person you believe in. Or, at least, that's what you are supposed to do. Otherwise, what are you voting for?


Moreover, if voting is about who you think will win, then shouldn't all Republicans in California just vote for Clinton while all Democrats in Alabama vote for Trump? Someone, anyone, explain to me why Democrats in Red States and Republicans in Blue States have an inherent right to vote their consciences but 3rd Party voters are silly ideologues who 'spoil' elections?


2. Strategic Voting is fancy speak for 'I don't believe the system can change and I am too scared to try.'

I know. I know. Trump is scaaaary. Clinton is eeeevil. (Pause a moment for my eyes to roll right out of my head). Okay. We've gotten that out of the way? Yeah. Trump is scary. So is Clinton. So is our two party system. So is our National Debt. So are the endless wars we find ourselves fighting. Now that we've established a lot of things are scary, let's move past the fear-mongering.

The duopoly of political power we have in America has this brilliant (and terrifying) built-in protection clause. You see, when we break off into two teams, our candidates can do whatever the fuck they want because they know you will vote for them as lesser of two evils (real or perceived). Remember when Romney was sooooooo scary/stupid/evil? or Obama? Or McCain? Or Gore? Or Bush? Or Kerry? You can only cry 'wolf' on 'OMG THE OTHER GUY IS THE LITERAL WORST' before people stop being moved by that strategy. That's the two party's fault for not giving us positive options but rather putting up polarizing candidate after polarizing candidate. Don't blame the sane man just because everyone else is crazy.

3. Your values and priorities are not more important than mine. 

Now, this is going to come as a shock to some of you, but just because you happen to like a candidate or party that is popular doesn't actually mean your point of view is more valid. A billion people believe Mohammed moved a mountain. Doesn't mean that mountain moved. 2.2 billion people believe a man named Jesus rose from the dead after three days. Doesn't mean zombie Jesus was real. Having a lot of people agree with you means exactly nothing about the validity, truthfulness, morality, or importance of your position or candidate. Stop pretending it does. Democracy means you can win elections. Winning doesn't make you right.

4. We aren't idiots. We know Johnson/Stein/whoever is not going to win. That's not the point.

Going back to the first point, when you say 'but he can't win', you are implying that you think we are voting only for the purpose of winning. Of course, we'd love to win. And, frankly, people from both parties would probably end up happier if a 3rd party won because this polarizing bullshit would go right in the trashcan. But we know, realistically, a 3rd party cannot win...yet. The goal is to let the parties and the people know that this duopoly in politics is coming to an end. We just happen to be the ones brave enough to stand up for our principles before it becomes popular. You can't fault us for that. One day, in 20 years, when 3rd parties are winning elections, and you all decide to head over to a party you actually believe in (rather than the team you root for), we will happily accept you with as few 'i told you sos' as possible.

5. If your candidate loses it is because you have a bad candidate. 

Bullying people who don't like your candidate into voting from him/her because of the 'peril' that will befall the nation if they don't is implicitly admitting that your candidate sucks but sucks less than the other one. Maybe you should have picked a better candidate, then. I'm not the one who chose two of the most polarizing and least popular people of all time to represent my party. You guys did. And since you did, own him/her. And own that loss, whenever it comes. It's not my job to prop up your bad choice.

And while we are at it, let's talk about 'stealing' votes. Fuck that. Seriously. This is an insane and absurd mentality whereby you believe your candidate is entitled to my vote and that if I don't give it to them, I'm stealing it. They are entitled to nothing. Nothing. Being a member of a party with a lot of corporate money and letterhead doesn't mean anything. You get the votes you earn, or that you can scare out of people. That's it.

So, guys, before you start campaigning for your candidate, wherever you choose to campaign, stop with this 'wasted vote' fallacy. The only 'wasted votes' are the people who actively vote against their best interests and ideals because they are scared.

And while you are convincing yourself that Trump or Clinton are just 'too scary' to do anything like vote with your conscience, think about all the nations bombed, corporations bailed out, politicians enriched, and system problems over the last several decades and ask yourself how the two party system isn't 'too scary' to do anything about?

US Presidents in Order of Hot-factor as Young Men

I'm bored. This election is annoying the shit out of me. So, here's some mindless fun. Let's rank the US Presidents from least hot to totally bangable when they were young lads. :P

43. James Monroe

Kay. I was told, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. He might have established the 'Monroe Doctrine' but he certainly was not at risk of being 'heartthrob of the century'. Yikes.








42. Thomas Jefferson

Hate to do it. He is one of my favorite Presidents and he wrote the damn Declaration of Independence, however, I must remain unbiased in my assessment of the superficial and this dude needs to smile. And maybe also a new face. Love you, Tommy. Mean it.






41. Martin Van Buren

BRB, just going to have a nightmare or five.













40. John Adams

Hard pass.



















39. James Buchanan 

The Bachelor President was probably not that interested in what the ladies thought anyway.











38. Andrew Johnson

Why so serious, dude? Is it all that impeachment mess? Either way, he didn't want black men to have citizenship, so I'm not feeling terrible about hating on the guy and his weird face.












37. Millard Fillmore

If this guy is supposed to be Alec Baldwin's twin, this painter has a lot of explaining to do.

36. Lyndon Johnson

The guy just looks like he's planning something evil. That stare will haunt me for weeks.

35. James Madison

I'm going to give James the benefit of the doubt and assume the creepy vampire vibe I'm getting is just artistic licence. He looks like he could have been a decent looking dude, weird halo aside.









34. John Tyler

Average dude with a big nose. Incidentally, I am a fan of big noses. I'm also a fan of dudes who oppose a 'National Bank'.

33. George Washington

Another of my favorite presidents whose face just doesn't match his beautiful spirit. By no means ugly, George is just...whatevs.










32. Benjamin Harrison

Not ugly. Not hot. This Hoosier (okay, he was born in Ohio but we claim him!) fought for black voting rights in the South, though he was ultimately not very successful...obviously.








31. Abraham Lincoln

Basically, he looks the same young as he did old. A large man, his features still never grew into his face. Still, he did free the slaves, so...









30. Chester Arthur

I can't decide if I'm being too harsh on this guy because of that ridiculous haircut and beard, but I very much doubt he was going to make the top of the list either way.









29. Warren Harding

Nice enough eyes. Not at all offensive like his love of tariffs or bribes, but nothing that would stop traffic either.












28. Harry Truman 

Cute. He looks like the kind of guy who you'd take home to mom. Adorable even.












27. Jimmy Carter

Those lips. Guaranteed, Jimmy is a good kisser. A little too innocent looking for my liking, but definitely solid.










26. William Henry Harrison

We've established I like big noses, yes? Okay, well I do. And this dude has plenty to spare. Can't put my finger on it, but he's got something. Too bad his dumb ass didn't wear a coat and, windbag that he is, talked so long at his inauguration he got sick and died. Beauty over brains.






25. John Quincy Adams

Those eyes, that bottom lip, the defined nose. I would have hit it, for sure. Plus, I love running my hands through a lush head of hair.










24. Ulysses S. Grant

Not the best picture quality, but I can still tell the guy has amazing eyes. He's serious without looking mean. He used all that seriousness to win a war, and then take office and fight the KKK. Swoon.








23. Andrew Jackson

This ginger fox could get it. Sure, he expanded the Federal Government, but maybe I could look past it for those deep blue eyes.










22. William Taft

Before the days of needing a custom built tub for his girth, Taft was kind of a hottie, in that Ivy League Frat Boy kind of way.











21. Teddy Roosevelt


This is another man with dreamy eyes, this time with absurd sideburns. He looks ready to take life by the balls and go adventuring.










20. Zachary Taylor

Handsome and blonde, this 'Whig Party' member needed no wig, with those adorable curls.
















19. Woodrow Wilson

Very nice, President Wilson. If only your policies had been as lovely as your face.











18. Dwight Eisenhower

Those pensive eyes and that beautiful pout make Ike, one of our hottest war heroes/presidents of all time.










17. Calvin Coolidge

Not known for being a great friend to women, the looks cannot be denied. That hair, tho...











16. Franklin Pierce

Dude looks like he could take charge in the sack and in the saddle. And don't think I didn't notice that he took the time to match his own hair with his horses. The man obviously knows how to take care of himself.








15. Herbert Hoover


Does this look like a guy who deserves all the blame for the Great Depression? I think not. Movie star good looks and a sweet innocence make him too pretty to really hate.









14. Franklin Roosevelt

Hot and smart, it is just too bad FDR completely and totally fucked up the possibility of Americans ever grasping what the actual role of the Federal Government is, all while stacking the SCOTUS for his own purposes and creating entitlements we are still unable to afford. Hot though. Can't argue that.





13. Gerald Ford

I could be biased because I find football sexy, but damn. Look at those muscles, that hair, those pouty lips. Whew.















12. John F. Kennedy

One of the few presidents that was just as hot in office as he was as a young lad, it's not hard to see why he made the ladies in his day swoon.









11. Bill Clinton

I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that he's dirty and will sleep with literally anyone with a vagina and a pulse, but there is something about Bill. Something beyond 'hot' and well into sexy. It is really no wonder that he faced the most public 'affair scandal' of any President in history. It was really only a matter of time.





10. Grover Cleveland

I mean, damn. Is there anything hotter than a well-manicured head of hair and a well-tailored coat?











9. George W. Bush

Such an adorable face, sexy smile, and a glimmer in his eyes. I admit to a crush all 8 years he was in office.










8. William McKinley 

Whew. President McKinley. Damn.













7. Barack Obama

I like dudes who smoke. I like dudes who wear absurd hats. Obviously, this is love. If only he cared about the national debt.












6. Richard Nixon

Least improved award goes to Nixon because he was hot AF as a lad, but definitely NOT as an old dude. Holy shit. I could stare into those eyes all day long...









5. James Garfield 

The most gorgeous eyes, poutiest lips, just got out of bed hair? He's like an old-timey Channing Tatum.











4. James K Polk

Haters are gonna hate on this one, but he's hot. Really hot. Like hot-older-dude-with-the-big-sexy-nose hot, and those eyes that tell you he's into something naughty. Would hit it.











3. Ronald Reagan

I don't want to hear any of your nonsense about his politics, if you can look at this man and not drool, you need help. Not only one of the sexiest presidents, one of the sexiest actors of all time.








2. Geroge H.W. Bush

He's got all the attractive qualities of his son, but the original is actually hotter. So he raised taxes? He also raised my heart rate. :P










1. Rutherford B. Hayes

Yum. I'd eat him with a spoon. Big government though he was, I could abandon principle for those gorgeous eyes and those sexy lips. Plus, bonus...he's got quite a nose.

BONUS ROUND
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

Donald Trump

Totally and completely mediocre. Not tremendous in any way, though also not a terrifying Oompa Loompa either. 

Gary Johnson

Oh. Bae. That hair. Love you anyway. 

Hillary Clinton

Lovely. Will easily make it to near the top of the list of 'presidential hotness' should she win this year.