Jun 21
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Jun 21
According to a recent survey by PayScale, there is a giant gap between how millennials view themselves in the workplace and how they are viewed by their managers. Media fretting about how this alleged “slacker generation” is faring in adulthood often manifests in articles decrying the number of millennials who still live with their parents. A recent Pew poll, for example, had the headline “For First Time in Modern Era, Living With Parents Edges Out Other Living Arrangements for 18- to 34-Year-Olds.” But such statistics may say a lot more about the state of the economy than the work ethic of millennials. Likewise, this PayScale study on how millennials misperceive their workplace skills may say a lot more about flaws in our educational system than flaws in 20-somethings. As we will see, one way to correct these flaws centers on increased science education.
According to the PayScale study, while only 2% of millennials (defined as those born 1982-2002) thought of themselves as “unprepared” for their jobs, 13% of their managers described their millennial employees as unprepared. Forty-four percent of managers say writing proficiency was an issue among millennials; for public speaking, 39% of millennials fell short; for data analysis, 36%. Even worse, managers deemed 60% of millennials lacking in critical thinking skills, 56% inattentive to detail, and 46% lacking communication skills. What is especially striking is that millennials did not seem to understand their own deficits. While 20% of millennials described their job qualifications as “extremely prepared,” only 9% of their managers agreed.
Overconfidence is rampant among American students. As part of the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) test in science and math abilities, students were asked to rate their math confidence. For the 2012 PISA test, 69% American students reported confidence in their math abilities (compared to the international average of 56%). On the PISA test, however, the United States ranked an embarrassing 27th out of 34, with US students demonstrating “particular weaknesses in performing mathematics tasks with higher cognitive demands.” This gap was particularly acute at the upper levels of math, with just 2% of Americans scoring in the highest rank; 31% of Shanghai students achieved this level. American students may think they’re good in math, but in comparison to their peers in other countries they are not. Students from non-US countries who excelled on the PISA test were much humbler about their mathematical prowess.
The paradox of students feeling confidence but lacking skills may be partly the result of our toxic culture of unearned self-esteem, where effusive praise for mediocre achievements mixes with the haunting dread that some child, somewhere, might not feel like a champion all the time.
But a bigger portion of the blame falls on what schools offer and what schools require. Think about the skills the employers cited above were assessing: writing proficiency, public speaking, data analysis, critical thinking, attentiveness to detail, communication. There are many disciplines that touch on pieces of these, but only one type of class that consistently employs all of these: science courses. We might not be able to change endemic American overconfidence, but requiring more science classes might at the least improve a broad range of skills.
Science draws upon and integrates numerous essential skills. Scientists are expected to be effective communicators, frequently speaking in public at scientific conferences and translating their complex data into coherent explanations, both oral and written. Science requires attention to detail. Critical thinking is the essence of scientific examination, and critical analysis of data is required at all levels of science.
Science classes draw on skills taught in courses ranging from English, history, public speaking, math, and logic. Even artistic and graphic skills come into play; for example, early in my geologic education, I was expected to become proficient in Adobe Illustrator as a means of displaying data I collected in the field. So science courses can truly be said to be a capstone discipline, drawing on elements learned in other courses, integrating many disparate skills to synthesize something bigger than one individual class. Most students will not pursue careers in science, of course, but everyone can benefit from classes requiring the integration of so many skills.
It should be emphasized that the purpose of education is not merely to prepare students for earning money. But science courses can refine the skills employers are looking for. In our technologically-driven economy it makes sense that schools should expect their students to take an ever-increasing number of science courses.
It may be too late to fix the workplace deficits of millennials, but we can work today toward increasing the amount of science future students are required to take.
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Jun 21
The young woman sat on the edge of the wooden porch of her house in Mechrey, a floating village on the northern reaches of the Tonle Sap, west of Siem Reap. She stared dreamily at the riverbank, as her feet splashed gently in the murky waters below. This was the house of her parents, the house she, Ratha, was born in. Her father had been a fisherman for as long as she could remember, and her mother, despite her poor health, tended the house and took care of the six younger siblings.
Ratha felt happy to be home for a few days to see her family and had that warm fuzzy feeling inside her. Soon she would be heading back to work at the luxurious and glitzy five-star hotel in central Siem Reap, wearing her elegant silk uniform and welcoming international guests from all over the world. As she thought about her life and how lucky she was, a bright smile lit up her face. “I’ll never forget the day father agreed to let me go to study at Sala Baï… Mama was so sad to see me go, but both Papa and her knew in their hearts such an opportunity was rare. It was a dream come true for our family,” she reminisced.
Ratha was just one of the students that our Women On A Mission (WOAM) team met on our bike tour of Cambodia. She was one of the lucky students to graduate from Sala Baï’ — a hotel and restaurant school that was launched in 2002 by the French NGO ‘Agir pour le Cambodge’. Since its launch, the school has seen more than 1,300 students graduate and each student has been employed within four weeks of graduation. During their free 11-month course, the students study English, French, labour laws and technical skills for their chosen speciality. Students can study catering, tourism, front of house and the school has just launched beauty therapy. With their new skill set, each student is then able to earn around three or four times their average household monthly income, which means the lives of these young adults and their families are changed forever.
Ratha is now able to help pay for her little siblings to go to school as well as buy her mother’s precious medicine. Like Ratha’s journey, the stories of other Sala Baï students are heart-warming and often heart wrenching. They remind us that education can change lives and give young people from underprivileged backgrounds a brighter future. In a country like Cambodia where primary school dropout rate is close to 40 per cent, Sala Baï is impacting the local community and making a difference.
While the future for the students of Sala Baï is bright, the future of these school dropouts isn’t always as rosy as Cambodia is a hunting ground for human traffickers. The traffickers are reportedly organised crime syndicates, parents, relatives, friends, intimate partners and neighbours. Children are trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced into organised begging rings or factories. A UNICEF survey found that 35 per cent of Cambodia’s 15,000 prostitutes are children under the age of 16.
WOAM, the non-profit organisation my partners and I co-founded in 2012, has for objective to champion the cause of underprivileged and abused women and girls and shine more light on the tireless work that organisations like Sala Baï do to empower women and stop human trafficking in its tracks. So 14 members decided to head to the Cambodian capital of Siem Reap to see what we could do to help.
During our trip to Siem Reap in March 2016, the WOAM team visited Sala Baï during its annual alumni festival and met the students, graduates, teachers and managers. We were able to conduct interactive leadership development workshops at the school to share best practices from the hospitality industry in Singapore and in the region.
We also took an arduous 55km bike ride, in blistering heat, in and around Siem Reap’s Unesco World Heritage sites and fell in love with the country’s magnificent temples of Angkor, built by the Khmer Empire at the apogee of its power. Our journey then led us out to the floating village of Mechrey, where many of Sala Baï’s students grew up. It was our chance to see first-hand how this innovative project is changing communities. It was there that we met Ratha and she was able to show us just how valuable the work of this NGO has been to her village.
Cambodian history is fascinating even if marred by terrible violence and bloodshed. But it was when King Sihanouk was overthrown in 1970 and Cambodia was renamed the Khmer Republic that Cambodia entered its darkest period…
The Khmer Rouge killed nearly 1.5 million Cambodians and maybe as many as 3 million from 1975 to 1979, spreading like a virus from the jungles until they controlled the entire country, only to systematically dismantle and destroy it in the name of a Communist agrarian ideal.
Today, more than 35 years after Vietnamese soldiers removed the Khmer Rouge from power, the genocide trials still continue — a bittersweet note of progress in an impoverished nation still struggling to rehabilitate its crippled economic and human resources. As we cycled through the countryside we saw the scars from its war years, including the Killing Fields, where the Khmer Rouge had slaughtered millions of Cambodians.
Despite the fact that Cambodia has faced such horrors and is still a poor country, there is every reason to be optimistic about its future. In the early years of the 21st Century, the Cambodian economy grew rapidly. As of today, the textile industry in Cambodia is booming and so is tourism, and in 2005 oil was discovered in the sea off Cambodia. But if you had any concerns about the future of the country, the Sala Baï scheme would instantly placate them. No longer do the young women of Cambodia see only one way out. Education has been proven to be one of the most efficient ways to stop human trafficking before it starts. As they say, if you educate a woman you educate a nation… or in this case, save a community.
Women On A Mission (WOAM) is an non-profit organisation headquartered in Singapore, which combines challenging self-funded expeditionary travel to remote locations around the world, with the support of humanitarian causes.
This Cambodia bike trip had for objective to raise awareness and funds for Sala Baï, a Hotel and Restaurant training school in Siem Reap that is moving mountains to stop human trafficking in its tracks. To support Sala Baï please visit the team’s donation page here.
Photo Credit: WOAM
Watch the highlights of the trip — film produced and directed by WOAM teammate Savana Peetoom:
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Jun 21
'Green News Report' – June 21, 2016
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe Green News Report is also available via…
IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: OUR 700TH EPISODE!!! Heat wave shatters records across the Southwest, as California’s snowpack melts away; Bernie Sanders wants YOU to fight climate change; PLUS: President Obama warns climate change is coming for your national parks… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!
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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): The Enormous Threat To America’s Last Grasslands; Document Dump: Lawsuit Reveals Extent Of DuPont’s C8 Cover Up; Solar Impulse Leaves New York On Trans-Atlantic Flight Without Fuel; Permafrost Soil Under North Slope Lakes Is About To Thaw; Hot Mess: States Struggle To Deal With Radioactive Fracking Waste; As Wind Power Lifts Wyoming’s Fortunes, Coal Miners Left in the Dust… PLUS: Texas Tribe Wins 10-Year Fight Over Its Use Of Eagle Feathers… and much, MUCH more! …
‘Green News Report’ is heard on many fine radio stations around the country. For additional info on stories we covered today, plus today’s ‘Green News Extra’, please click right here to listen!
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Jun 21
Pull out your mat, grab your cell phone, and get inspired wherever you are!
Whether you’re looking for motivation, instructional videos or just some beautiful photos, these 10 yogis are sure to liven up your Instagram feed.
From beginners to professionals and all levels in between, these accounts extend a helping hand with tips and inspiration to take your practice to the next level.
Next time you’re feeling a bit frantic, ditch the stress for a moment of zen and remember: Ready, set, scroll!
1. Rachel Brathen, @yoga_girl
This yoga girl is all about the art of letting go. Follow her for some inspiring tips on releasing the negativity within.
2. Kerri Verna, @beachyogagirl
This yogi is all about making anything a yoga friendly environment. Follow her for some moves on the beach or at home.
3. Caitlin Turner, @gypsetgoddess
This nature loving goddess makes yoga on mountain tops look easy. Follow her for some yoga motivation.
4. Robin Martin, @robinmartinyoga
This yoga instructor emphasizes the importance of progress. Follow her for some tips on how to start small.
5. Amanda Bisk, @amandabisk
This yogi makes exercising look beautiful! Follow her account for some stunning tips and inspiration.
6. Dylan Werner, @dylanwerneryoga
This yogi is all about inspiring ways to find balance in nature. Follow his account for some tips and fitspiration.
7. Patrick Beach, @patrickbeach
This yogi makes us feel like every man should do yoga. Follow his account for some yoga motivation.
8. Michael, @misterely
This yogi master is all about sparking inner balance. Follow his Instagram accounts for tips on how to find yours.
9. David Romero, @theyogidr
This USC professor and yoga instructor is all about finding your inner peace. Follow his account for some body and soul inspiration.
10. Jared McCann, @wearejared
This yoga instructor is all about finding strength within chaos. Follow his account for some tips on how to feel grounded.
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Jun 21
It’s hard for me to take a holiday seriously if it’s not connected to a day off from work. Or, worse yet, if it arbitrarily excludes people who don’t meet the criteria being celebrated. Not in love with someone? No Valentine’s candy for you asshole. And yet I always find myself celebrating Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. But for very different reasons.
As strange as it sounds in a household made up of men, it’s Mother’s Day that my husband and I have always put the most effort into. Especially when our son was younger. There were always activities at school leading up to Mother’s Day and we didn’t want him to feel excluded. Or maybe it was ourselves we were protecting, doing everything we could to avoid hearing Jackson say that he wanted a mom too.
For years we invited our moms or sisters to spend time with us mid-May and act as our surrogates. As Jackson has gotten older, the holiday has gotten less and less important to him, which is too bad. There’s something conceptually wonderful about celebrating those who have mothered us, but it’s buried under greeting cards, flowers and a very literal interpretation of its namesake. It is Mother’s Day after all, not Mothers’ Day. If the point is to celebrate those who have nurtured, cared for and loved us unconditionally then sign me up. Manly or not, I’ve always gravitated toward that role in raising our son. If, however, a vagina is required, then I’m afraid I’m out of luck. Which leaves me with Father’s Day.
I’ve never been able to get excited about Father’s Day. Maybe it’s the fact that it occurs in mid-June. School is out, summer is shifting into high gear and I want to be doing things. The idea of a do nothing day isn’t very appealing. Or maybe it’s because I’ve never needed the excuse of a holiday to do nothing. My husband Ken and I have an agreement that when one of us needs a break from parenting, we take it. I’ve sent Jackson and Ken off to a concert, a movie or an art fair on their own more times than I can count. Likewise, I’ve been happy to face the prospect of an endless Sunday alone, spent on an unyielding metal bench, while Jackson spends 30 seconds at a time gliding up and down the length of some pool or another.
Or maybe it’s a deep-rooted fear that I’m not particularly good at fathering. Ken is the protector, the one who pushes our son to be a better version of himself, who balances discipline with fun. I acquiesce. Yield. Doesn’t my husband deserve to be celebrated on Father’s Day? Not to mention everyone we know thinks we deserve double the attention on Father’s Day, so whether we like it or not, we celebrate it. But it bugs me that we are trapped by these old-fashioned notions of gender roles.
Which brings me back to the beginning — maybe the Days have outlived their usefulness. Do moms and dads still need an official day in order to feel appreciated? Is one day out of 365 enough to express how much a parent is appreciated? I mentioned this very thing to a group of women at a book club meeting the other night and they told me in no uncertain terms to shut the hell up. They needed Mother’s Day. Point taken, but can we at least move it to a Monday? And maybe get the day off from work? Oh, and can we move Father’s Day to a winter month? And how about Dad’s Day instead? It has some nice alliteration and loses the creepy Darth Vader vibe. No? I didn’t think so, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Oh well, I guess I’ll keep right on celebrating along with the rest of you. Happy Father’s Day everyone.
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Jun 21
Even for residents of southern England, Cranborne Chase is a bit of a mystery. This historic royal hunting ground stretches across rolling chalk hills and ancient woodlands that are dotted with tiny villages of thatched cottages that look to have changed little since the time of Thomas Hardy.
It has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and yet with no major roads cutting through it, no railway lines and no iconic monuments like Stonehenge or Avebury, it gets relatively few visitors. The area, which covers 380 square miles, is criss-crossed by walking paths, but on a recent visit with a friend I encountered only a handful of other hikers.
We started in the postcard-perfect village of Farnham (population 180) in the county of Dorset, a three-hour drive from London, with an overnight stay at the Museum Inn, a 17th-Century coaching house and the only pub in the village. The excellent draught bitter comes from a small brewery four miles away in the village of Sixpenny Handley.
It was a 12-mile walk next day to the village of Cranborne across some of Britain’s oldest inhabited landscapes. Archaeologists believe this land was settled continuously from at least 3,500 BC to the collapse of Roman Britain in the 4th Century.
We walked between tall hedgerows twisting with butterflies, across a field of chest-high rape, through kissing gates and over stiles. We saw a young deer gamboling along a rutted lane, and surprised a number of pheasants, which burst from the underground with our approaching footsteps. In the morning we greeted locals walking their dogs, but as the day wore on there were fewer human encounters.
Underfoot were layers of ancient history. We crossed the Ackling Dyke, an old Roman road, then within 100 yards we found ourselves tracking the path of the Dorset Cursus, a ditch dug 5,000 years ago that stretches for six miles. Its purpose remains a mystery, but at several points the cursus aligns with the midwinter sunset, suggesting some form of pagan worship.
We arrived in the afternoon at Cranborne, skirting its elegant manor house, which began life as one of Henry VIII’s hunting lodges. Wandering around the village, we chatted to a few locals over their garden fences. The main talking point was the impending celebrations for the Queen’s 90th birthday. Each village we passed through was planning a carol service or a tea party on the vicarage lawn.
We sank a few pints of Badger First Call at our next stop, the Inn at Cranborne, which was mentioned in the Doomsday Book in 1086 as a single-storey tavern with a dirt floor. It has significantly raised its game since then — after a long soak in a roll top bath tub, I dined on a cheese soufflé made with Old Winchester Cheddar and venison cooked in chocolate.
The next day’s circular walk took us along ancient droving paths and through the village of Gussage All Saints where signs outside the houses said “Homemade jams and chutney” (there was an honesty box for payment), and “Honey for sale — knock on the back door”. We knocked, bought and chatted with the owners, who told us how the villagers had pooled financial resources to save the local pub, The Drovers Inn. It is due to re-open to its new shareholders this summer.
Just outside the village at a place called Knowlton is a ruined 12th-Century church that — unusually — stands at the centre of a Neolithic ritual henge earthwork. It’s an eerie windswept spot, with sweeping views in every direction, and tells a fascinating story of how the Normans chose to build a Christian church on a place of ancient pagan worship. On the perimeter of the henge is a cluster of mature yew trees where local people have tied brightly-coloured ribbons and keepsakes to the branches, with tearful messages to deceased friends and family. Maybe some pagan beliefs have yet to die out.
How to do it
You could strike out alone on these walks, but it’s not easy and you’ll struggle to find the trails in any books. A local company, Alison Howell’s Foot Trails, offers a range of self-guided walks with Ordnance Survey maps, trail notes and taxis to transfer your luggage between inns. A four-night trip starts at £495 per person including accommodation and breakfast, based on two sharing.
To get to Cranborne Chase, you could drive from London or take a train (1hr 40 mins) to Salisbury from London Waterloo. Another option is to fly to the south coast: Farnham is just 30 minutes by road from Bournemouth Airport, or 50 minutes from Southampton Airport.
* Mark Hodson is Editor of 101 Holidays. Photograph of pub interior courtesy of the Inn at Cranborne. All other photographs by the author.
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Jun 21
Going Against the Flow: Chris Heivly, Managing Director of The Startup Factory
Posted in: Today's ChiliChris Heivly co-founded MapQuest (which sold to AOL for $1.2 billion), was sole managing director of 77 Capital (a $25 million venture fund), and has been an executive at five software companies. Currently, he is one of two managing directors of The Startup Factory, a seed investment fund making 10 to 14 new investments per year. A national writer and speaker about startups and startup communities, Heivly is also the author of “Build the Fort” and founder of the Big Top Reverse Job Fair.
Chris Heivly
Q: In “Build the Fort,” you urge entrepreneurs to think more like 10-year-olds. Why did you organize your book around the way your 10-year-old self approached the challenge of building something new?
Chris: Adults seem to make things so complex. The natural thing we do is create this vision for the company that’s three to five years out, when we’ve gotten sales, marketing, customer support and product or manufacturing up and running. We fall in love with this idea of, “I’m the captain and I’ll make all the pieces run perfectly.” But startups aren’t smaller versions of big companies. They’re totally different. When 10-year-olds want to build something, they bring a very simple view of the world to it. It starts with something as simple as a question, “Hey, Chris, you wanna go build a fort?” And then they think about how to hack that thing. They don’t build a house, they don’t design the shutters – they just build a fort.
Q: What does entrepreneurship mean to you, and what underlying characteristics do you see in successful entrepreneurs?
Chris: Entrepreneurship means freedom. It’s like grabbing a blank sheet of paper and having the excitement, creativity and freedom to fill out that blank sheet and say, “I’m going to give THIS a shot.” Successful entrepreneurs are the people who totally jones on that kind of thing. Some people see a blank sheet and their hearts race out of control to a point of paralysis. The best entrepreneurs create positive energy out of that fear. They embrace every aspect of that blank piece of paper. Entrepreneurship to me is the opportunity to fill in the blanks.
Q: If you could do something over in your life, what would it be?
Chris: Take more chances. I don’t think I really became a good entrepreneur until my mid to late 40s. I wish I would have channeled my fear and made stronger leaps earlier. Starting a company was not an option or even on my radar for me coming out of college. I would love to do my 20s over again and be that much better today.
Q: What are you most proud of in your professional career?
Chris: I’m most proud of writing “Build the Fort.” You’re talking to someone who struggled with writing in high school and failed freshman English in college. I am the person who was told he couldn’t write. Imagine the fear of going to write a book when all these people say I suck. Obviously, I’ve learned how to write since then, but it still took me nine months, writing four or five days every week while juggling a day job, and found two weeks off work to write full time – and all that time I was dealing with the little voice that said, “you suck.” And after all that, I have a book that works. I’m proud of that. The metaphor is simple and the messages are very consumable, and everyone gets it. It makes me proud when people come up to me and say, “I built forts, too.” That simple sentence shows that I connected with them.
Q: Tell us about an instance where you had to go against the flow to realize your goal.
Chris: About 10 years ago, we moved to Raleigh-Durham, and I was running a virtual company out of my house. A few years later, I was reading about Y Combinator and TechStars, and I wondered if my new home could support an accelerator. In 2009, I decided to get out and network the idea. The old guard didn’t want to hear it; they doubted there were enough entrepreneurs in the area to even make it work, and were leery of this new guy in town. So I held an event for entrepreneurs only, offered free pizza and beer, and waited to see who’d show up. At the first one, we had 80 people interested in talking about entrepreneurship. A few weeks later at the next one, 120 people showed up. And The Startup Factory grew from there.
Q: If you were to give advice to your 22-year-old self, what would it be?
Chris: Leap. It’s not that scary. You’ll survive. Even in failure you’ll land on your feet.
Follow Chris Heivly at @chrisheivly, check out the other interviews in Going Against the Flow series at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charu-sharma/ and join this movement to empower 1 million female entrepreneurs on goagainsttheflow.com.
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Jun 21
The taxi industry is tired of competing with ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft. According to a new report, the taxi industry’s tires are more than a little tired, too.
The report, conducted by ConsumerAffairs partner WeGoLook, found 16 percent of taxis pick up passengers with at least one balding, unsafe tire. In comparison, 14.7 percent of Lyfts and 12 percent of Ubers have the same problem.
Nationally, about 10 percent of vehicles on the road have at least one bald tire.
The study is based on a survey of tread depth on 300 different cars used by Lyft, Uber, and taxis, and was conducted across Chicago, Dallas and Miami, for a total sample size of 1,200 tires.
A tire’s tread depth affects its ability to grip the road, especially in less-than-perfect driving conditions where snow or water is on the road surface. A 2012 NHTSA study traced back nine percent of crashes to tire problems.
Tire treads that measure less than 3/32 of an inch deep are considered “bald” and unsafe.
Of the taxis measured for ConsumerAffairs, the average tire tread depth was 6.66/32 of an inch, compared to 7/32 of an inch for both Ubers and Lyfts. Personal cars came out on top with an average of 7.58/32 of an inch of tread.
Of those surveyed, drivers in Chicago were found to have the safest tires, followed by Dallas. Miami tires ranked last.
Note: The Huffington Post’s Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington is a member of Uber’s board of directors, and has recused herself from any involvement in the site’s coverage of the company.
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Jun 21
Clinton is considered the presumptive Democratic nominee after beating Sanders by nearly 4million votes. The Sanders campaign planned a massive layoff of at least half its staff. After meeting with President Obama, Sanders pledged to work with Clinton to defeat Trump. The mission to defeat Trump was solidified during a meeting between Sanders and Clinton after the D.C. primary.
Sanders has not conceded and some supporters are energized by his tenacity to keep the dream alive. But while the dream of a Sanders presidency is not dead, it’s clinging on life support and even the most ardent supporters are ready to mercifully plug the plug.
The majority of Sanders supporters will support Clinton in the general election. But some are considering all their options, some even shockingly considering voting for Donald Trump. (shudder) So, while yes, for many voting for the Democratic nominee who shares many of the same goals and beliefs seems like the natural choice. But to others I must ask–have you considered Hillary Clinton?
Like Sanders, Clinton believes abortion is a woman’s right.
Like Sanders, Clinton believes women should have access to and funding for contraception.
Like Sanders, Clinton believes in expanding stem cell research.
Like Sanders, Clinton supports providing contraceptives for low-income women.
Like Sanders, Clinton advocates reducing teen pregnancy by providing education and contraceptives.
Like Sanders, Clinton wants to reinforce anti-discrimination and equal-pay requirements.
Like Sanders, Clinton is committed to fighting for minorities, immigrants and women’s rights.
Like Sanders, Clinton wants to increase America’s commitment against global AIDS.
Like Sanders, Clinton wants more funding and stricter sentencing for hate crimes.
Like Sanders, Clinton would consider a constitutional amendment against Citizen’s United.
Like Sanders, Clinton believes presidents should reveal donations to their foundations.
Like Sanders, Clinton supports banning campaign donations from unions and corporations.
Like Sanders, Clinton believes assault weapons should be off the street.
Like Sanders, Clinton believes businesses should be legally required to hire women and minorities.
Like Sanders, Clinton strongly supports same-sex marriage.
Like Sanders, Clinton believes voter registration should be an easier process.
Like Sanders, Clinton does not believe citizens have an absolute right to gun ownership without restrictions.
Like Sanders, Clinton believes in expanding Obamacare.
Like Sanders, Clinton wants to prioritize green energy.
Like Sanders, Clinton believes in taxing the wealthy at a higher rate.
Like Sanders, Clinton believes in a pathway to citizenship.
Like Sanders, Clinton does not support privatizing social security.
Like Sanders, Clinton supports a clean power plan.
Like Sanders, Clinton supports cap and trade.
Like Sanders, Clinton is committed to defeating Donald Trump.
Look, I get it. I was not a Clinton supporter from the beginning. I felt the Bern and voted for Sanders in the primaries. When examining every issue, Sanders shared more of my views than Clinton and I valued his record, goals and consistency. But the primaries are over and he didn’t win. And please put your tin foil hat away because she won outright– fair and square. This isn’t a hanging chad situation. We’re talking about a lead of almost 4 million votes. The end is nigh.
Before you gorge yourself on Bernie’s Yearning ice cream or weep into your favorite “Feel The Bern” t-shirt while mourning, please know all hope is not lost. Take a look at the list above again. Many of those key issues you feel so strongly about are also important to Clinton and she shares your commitment to accomplishing those common goals. For that reason, I’m with her.
Read more of Farrah at fortheloveofwineandcoffee.com
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