Tag: Notre dame

“Merica” bought by or sold by Hobby Lobby… you choose.

This morning I woke with only one thought on my mind… Hobby Lobby, those bastards! Not feeling well and being physically destroyed for once by the weather and not my own hand. Have I mentioned before I am a recovering addict? Anyhow, I laid in bed wondering perplexed, pondering exactly what it meant to have this industry giant and their discriminatory practices with registers soon to be ringing from the sounds of a free market system in our small town. I thought, how could a company with such questionable ethical ideals and small minded, self serving business practices be entering my small towns market? Contemplation of the legal ramifications and implications of picketing on public property, I imagined myself chained to a bulldozer waving signs that read, “You may love God, but God hates homophobia”, and such.

My mind then turned to the recent go-rounds with a local neighborhood action committee. They were fighting to prevent another extremely controversial company from entering our community. I recalled HOOTERS had recently tried to enter the Mount Pleasant business market. Committees outraged over the possibilities of having a HOOTERS opening, (well… at least in their neighborhood) had jumped into action to prevent this from happening. The opening would have been in an albeit adjacent location to their neighborhood, but in an appropriately zoned area, near other businesses and intended to end the continued blighting of a now still empty eyesore in our community.

Through my self-righteous indignation I had envisioned myself not shopping and picketing a business that I didn’t believe contributed to or was a necessary brand for our community. One that I believe personally divides and strips others of their rights. A belief and feelings I am now more than ever willing to fight for and defend. At this point in the article if you are unfamiliar with the literal definition of self-righteous, there is a link below. An interesting side note for readers not from the area, who know little or nothing more about me other than what this blog has to had offer.

Both my mother and father have been in local politics my entire life. Entirely out of respect for their positions as community leaders, for me this has meant along with keeping opinions, at least publicly on vast array of local items. I have also kept silent on a myriad of other issues. As you can imagine a son straddling the addiction and recovery worlds could, can, and has been somewhat of an embarrassment. With my father having retired from his position and my mother soon to be done with her tenure, if I choose I will no longer need to keep myself from the local spot light of our small town politics, save causing my family further embarrassment. Hmm?

Having said this… I have a reputation in our community. Not necessarily a good one, but not necessarily such a bad one either. As with Hobby Lobby (the Greens) and the practices of companies like them I am blessed to be in America, (an American) and whether you agree with my opinions or not… they matter (if only to me) and are sometimes even counted. Once long ago… even encouraged.

Maybe there wasn’t collusion, whatever that means, but there was interference (Russian interference) with or without our presidents assistance. As a result it has become all but impossible to offer objective opinions on almost any subject anymore. With instant social media, angry and ignorant responses hiding behind the safety of a computers raining a barrage of hate. We are subject to an almost immediate response, internal national anti- American rhetoric for suggesting unity and inclusion. Of course, this just perpetuates the already strained division we have in our country. A message of unity and inclusion being labeled as anti-American, should seem itself to be anti-American in a country founded on immigration and labeled as a “melting pot”.

Having accepted God into my life… I live in the light, now. So, no secrets here. Nothing left to hide or to lose. You won’t find skeletons in my closet, I came out years ago. In fact my closet is bare. I have laid it all out. Some of the past I will keep and fight to take care of, as long as there is breath in my body. Things such as freedom, equality, liberty and justice for all. Much of my past, I will leave behind. And what doesn’t fit anymore, I am giving away or returning. Maybe these are ideals and principles our country should adopt, too. This is the nature of recovery and my way of making my (and your) America great again.


Hatred, anger and intolerance seem to be at an all time high. Being criticized the moment one exercises any form of belief, an idea suggesting that acceptance, tolerance, unity or inclusion are the answer, has become the new American way of life. Instead of open dialog, discussion and debate we hurl accusations and encourage divisive division from both sides of the aisle. This will not deter my voice though.

Lets get back to Hobby Lobby. I do little anymore without a fair amount of research. So upon lugging myself and my now almost fifty year old aching body out of bed, a task that gets more difficult with each passing day (don’t take drugs kids). Especially in this yo-yoing Michigan weather. I began my research.

Much to my surprise I won’t be picketing Hobby Lobby anytime soon. In fact, I don’t entirely disagree with some of their position. I may even stop in just to see what all the hub-bud is about. Probably not though.

Know the facts before you judge based on someone else opinion.

It’s true, some of the forms of birth control used as their guise to openly discriminate against homosexuals, were in fact banned from their healthcare program. The morning after pill is no longer available, among others. So, their lobbying efforts worked. And with a victory to make decisions to take control of women’s rights, away from women, they were able to secure, and prove, yet again money and power speak louder in Washington than the people do.

But the Hobby Lobby and its owners “Christian (self)right(eous)” David and Barbara Green, inadvertently secured some other things too… rights for gays and lesbians in the work place. Thank you Justice Ginsburg. An ensuing decision on religious freedom and the right to openly discriminate against folks on sexual orientation or any other bias was upheld. A win for all minorities. A win for all people, but unrecognized by most.

What wasn’t a win for all minorities and the rest of low and middle income America is that we seem to be continuing to ignore big money and the corporate rule in America. Where is the concern? The concern that this is now the America we all live in. An America where the people within our communities don’t care about each other or the rights of their next door neighbors. We’ve become a society of every man, woman, and child for themselves. No longer banding together to ask these questions or any questions for that matter. No longer a country where we would mourn collectively the loss of a true leader. A country where a centuries old historic landmark burns to the ground and before the embers are out, the memes are up. Memes depicting God freebasing over its blaze. A disgrace and a message sent to the rest of the world, yet again about who we’ve becomes as Americans citizens.

Truly a loss of Biblical and historical proportions for all of us.

We seem to have become a country only respecting money, social status, and sports. Winning no matter what the costs. Whatever winning is in these scenarios? For some winning is just getting a hot meal each day. Others win if they don’t lose their homes. Still more are just looking for a struggling child to receive an education. Many have family, friends and neighbors in need of healthcare assistance. With the American opioid epidemic continuing to be ignored and a growing demographic including… I’ll bet someone that you know who needs or will need programs and funding available to help in the recovery process of addiction. For most Americans theses would be the wins.

It’s all fine and well to sit on a soap box when the issues you’re lobbying for don’t directly affect you or the people you love. Even easier to be the ruler on high, and suggest such things as, “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche” or more commonly known and spoken in English as, “Let them eat cake”. Especially if and when it’s someone else’s American, son or daughter.

In business America we do any and everything to encourage free trade and commerce. Until… apparently it means having to side step a group of “undesirables” living the same lives, but with different clothes, husbands, wives, religions, and beliefs. Oh and most importantly lest we forget, a different color, ethnic background or sexual orientation. Lives equally as worthy as any of ours, as long as the public side-walk they’re using isn’t in our neighborhood, right?

How is this concept or idea any different than that of segregation in schools? Or separate drinking fountains for blacks and whites? With our commander and chief working so hard to create division in our country, where are all the protesters and good “Christian” folk fighting for the rights of others? Are you so far on the “right(eous)“, that you can’t see how wrong the direction we are headed in as a people is?

When the idea of a few drunken college students and gals in tight tops and short-shorts wandering out of Hooters into your neighborhood was the issue you rallied and poof, no Hooters. No commerce or added taxes to our communities base. An empty building still stands in it place. But when basic human dignity and rights are at stake… silence. They must have some hella good crafts and hobbies at this store.

More and more we hear the term, Trumps America. How’s the saying go? The squeaky wheel… He’s willing to tweet the most, talk the loudest, say what he thinks and believes about any and everything. All while sitting in the White House acting on and speaking on behalf of all of us. The frightening part, half of America defends his hate message, nods and agrees. And just what is the other half of America doing? The half that doesn’t vote in elections and doesn’t protest anymore, as we slowly lose our rights and the class division continues to grow…

We wait patiently hoping Muller, taxes, that next big tweet to bitch about or some other misstep gets him impeached. But It won’t. He has already stolen the narrative, total vindication and exoneration remember? The rest is just fodder for the continued and nauseating news cycle. Which he is a master of controlling. Done and done. I watched Chappaquiddick not long ago, fascinating. At almost fifty I am just a touch to young to remember any of this event. But, here are some thoughts… an example from across the aisle. Love me some Ted Kennedy. He did many good thing. But, he did lie and was responsible for the drowning death of a woman. Also, one of our longest term Senators, though. We are a forgiving and forgetting people with short attention spans.

Even if you believe any of the people supporting Donald Trump care about what the report or any reports have to say, these are the same folks who will re-elect him in 2020. Re-elect a man to a post many believe he didn’t want for anything more than a hobby in the first place.

Fundamentally, Americans with the same agenda… get the niggers, spics, Jews, Muslims (towel heads), fags and dykes out… that’ll make America great again! Did I leave anyone out, Don? I should have started this article with that sentence. It would be close to a Trump speech and then I’d of had the narrative, wouldn’t I?

Listening to and watching the current domestic and foreign polices on immigration and aid, leads me to believe the only colors this administration sees are white and green. With a national platform on which to picket and protest for his agenda. An agenda of exclusion and elitism with just a sprinkle of racial unrest, it appears an ethnic cleansing is what he has in mind. He doesn’t say this it out-right , but I sure get the impression he thinks America could use a good white washing.

Unfortunately, I get that impression and the 2016 election results seem to suggest an awful lot of Americans agree. A subject I don’t hear many speaking out about. We must continue to talk the rhetoric of unity. But we did this in the last election cycle. What we got from this was the realization that despite all the pontificating and posturing, Americans still have a growing and thriving racial inequality and unrest. Still a lot of healing be done, from now more than a centuries old wounds. Unfortunately, wounds that seem to be re-opened each day with every new tweet.

I am told Hobby Lobby has an enormous selection of games, and obviously hobbies, art supplies and crafts too. I have heard many a twenty something and millennial mention how awesome the stores are. They are looking forward to the edition of this chain into our community. The Greens must feel pretty confident that a middle American demographic small mid-western town like Mount Pleasant, MI. works for them and their agenda. Otherwise who would work and shop there?

Not our communities men and women. We are good “Christian folk”. And certainly not those attending one of Americas higher learning institutions. These young women and the men who support them, receiving educations at a college like Central Michigan University would never support such policies like that of Hobby Lobby. Young adults at this level must have been taught about our checkered American past with regards to prejudice and bigotry, multi-cultural differences, inclusive… and our ” melting pot history”. Unless all these individuals too, believe in the “Greens agenda” and “Trumps America”.

As it turns out surprisingly I do have more in common with the Greens than I would have expected. All three of us have a belief in our Creator. A sense of faith and belief in good fundamental Christian values. Where we seem to separate is on the issue of shoving our personal lifestyle choices and beliefs down the throats of other Americans.

It’s funny how, oh again how’s that saying go… ‘money, power something, blah, blah, power corrupts… Absolutely! It safe to say when you’ve decided to tell a person (much like slavery) what they can and can’t do with their bodies… you’ve become corrupted… Absolutely.

Self imposed dominance, rarely seen for what it is… but in some instances actually refereed to as, rape.. At its core an exercise in power and total domination. What an ugly truth for the Greens. What an ugly truth for Donald Trump, the president. But what an even uglier truth for those who would support those who support laws or an agenda which at its core, is the raping of America and its people. Regardless though, let’s all hope Hobby Lobby has a great selection of stained glass materials, right(eous)?

We may not have the money they do or the platform he does, but what we do have is each other, our social media and local news outlets. Let our letters be sent, let our words be written. Pick up the signs. Make the calls. We must let our voices be heard. Take up the fight to keep what truly made America great in the first place, America great again… Freedom of choice and expression, but mainly inclusion with a vast array of diversity.

As always thanks for popping by, God Bless, Duane.