Tell your children about Ruby Bridges, the first Black child to integrate an all-white public elementary school in Louisiana. She turned 71 last year-she's only 71.
To everyone so eager to cancel someone for a tattoo they got at age 22, a drunk text, a selfie they took in the middle of a mental health crisis:
Show us your laptop.
Show us your iCloud.
Open your entire digital life to your worst enemy. No context. No filter. No explanation.
You won’t.
You won’t because you know what I know. Any one of us, frozen at our worst moment, photographed in our lowest hour, looks like a monster. Looks like a stranger. Looks like someone who deserves to be cast out.
That is not who we are.
My mom and baby sister were killed in a car accident when I was just a kid. Cancer took my brother Beau, my best friend and my rock. I battled alcoholism. I battled addiction. I chose the coward’s way out more times than I can count.
For years I believed the defining chapters of my life were written by tragedy, loss, and shame.
I no longer believe that.
Pain can shape us. Loss can humble us. Failures can leave scars that never fully fade. But none of them have the authority to define us.
And it sure as hell ain’t the critic that counts.
That authority belongs to us alone-the person in the arena.
Every setback presents a choice. Play the victim, or cut the bullshit and take ownership for who we become next.
Life does not determine our character. It reveals it.
Again and again we are asked the same question. When shit happens, what next?
We are not defined by what happened to us. We are not defined by the worst photo, the worst text, the worst tattoo, the worst night. We are defined by the person we choose to become. And by the courage to choose that person, every single day.
So before you reach for the gavel - show us your laptop.
You won’t.
The whole world saw mine. And I am still here. Still becoming. Still choosing. Still standing.
That is the only definition that matters.
It is a moral failure of our country that we changed the rules to create a trillionaire while doing nothing about the 771,000 homeless and over 18 million who do not have enough to eat.
The President just said we're on the cusp of a deal with Iran.
Today's post explores two fun facts:
1. It's the fiftieth time he's said this. (I counted!)
2. Even so, stocks rose on the news.
https://t.co/PD9aPN7aaN
Every medication comes with disclosures.
If this property tax amendment is the cure, what are the side effects?
Before we rewrite Florida’s Constitution, voters deserve the full warning label.
I lay them out here. 👇 https://t.co/lAuTRZWoUC
It's the opposite. During the mid- to late-19th century, suits were the uniform of clerks and administrators. Those higher on the social and economic ladder — such as lawyers, doctors, and politicians — wore the more "gentlemanly" frock coat with a silk top hat. In fact, Labour Party founder Keir Hardie caused quite a stir when he showed up to work on his first day as a Member of Parliament while wearing a tweed suit to show his allegiance to his working-class constituents. The press was shocked, noting that he wore a "cloth cap in Parliament" (a tweed deerstalking cap, rather than the silk top hat).
With time, everyone wore the suit. By the early 20th century, those who owned the means of production wore the same uniform as those who managed them. Blurring this distinction can seem meaningless today, but it was quite a big deal in the early 20th century. Even manual laborers who wore more utilitarian clothing to work — chambray shirts, blue jeans, chore coats, etc — had a suit for religious services on Sunday. Thus, the suit was not a symbol of domination, but rather hid class markers.
To be sure, there were distinctions in how people wore suits and where they bought them. In London, businessmen could be distinguished by whether they bought their clothes from a "City tailor" or a "West End tailor" (the West End being the higher-grade option reserved for those with money). But these were relatively minor and only for the trained eye. Relatively speaking, class symbols today are significantly more obvious not only through the different grades of quality, but also logos and general aesthetics. Hence, to some degree, why fashion changes so rapidly today — people are constantly shifting their social position.
I’m proud to have officially qualified for the ballot in Florida’s 1st Congressional District! 🎉
This week, I traveled to Tallahassee to complete the candidate qualification process with Florida's Division of Elections. Now, the real work to fight for the everyday people of Northwest Florida continues.
Check out https://t.co/r5mwhZyXHK to find out how you can join in.
#GayForCongress
⚠️ WARNING- The property tax amendment disclaimer
This constitutional amendment may cause increased dependence on Tallahassee, reduced local independence, replacement fees and assessments, higher borrowing costs, altered housing incentives, expanded lobbying activity, and, in certain communities, financial distress.
Not effective for renters. Renters may continue experiencing rising housing costs without receiving any advertised tax relief.
Effects may last longer than four hours.
Some effects may persist for generations.
Before voting, ask your Governor whether county-by-county and city-by-city financial modeling is right for you.
Trump again tells his delusional story about how Steve Hilton was "approved" to advance in the California election only because California officials were feeling "heat" after he started yelling about the "rigged election"