Cool Cactus Media

01/12/2021

feelin this

08/07/2020

“For the past 60 years, every decade has been hotter than the last, and 2020 is poised to be among the hottest years ever.”

Earth is overheating. This year is poised to be one of the hottest ever. Millions are already feeling the pain, but the agony of extreme heat is profoundly unequal across the globe.

07/21/2020

A father and daughter, a Boomer and a Millennial, a Republican and a Democrat, tackle polarization, the media, American politics, our future, and more...together! Check out this article inspired by Ezra Klein's book Why We're Polarized.

This piece isn’t meant to change your mind. It is merely an exercise in de-polarization, meant to show that even though we may feel diametrically opposed, Boomers and Millennials, Democrats and Republicans - we have many of the same goals. We all have different experiences and explanations for our...

07/08/2020

Love for our new baby boy, Eli. @ Colorado Springs, Colorado

06/03/2020

Read this full post, including source links at the link below.

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“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction” – Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

I cannot and do not speak for black people and their pain. I am privileged to learn about these issues with my face in a book and not on the pavement with a knee on my neck.

Here are some of the ways our country has systemically oppressed and murdered blacks:

1) Aggressive propaganda after the civil war depicting blacks as violent, animal-like, and evil. This was responsible for the rebirth of the K*K

2) Nixon’s ‘Southern Strategy’ and ‘War on Drugs’

3) Reagan’s war on drugs and support of white supremacist groups that were responsible for assassinating an entire generation of black leaders.

4) Bill Clinton’s Federal Crime Bill massive expansion of the industrial prison complex. In 1970 prison population was 357,292 but by 2014 it was 2,306,200. 1 in 17 white males will do prison time, compared to 1 in 3 African American Males

5) Political corporations that use their money to elect politicians that will put the bills they write into law - American Legislative Exchange Council writes laws for the Republican Party. They have written the “Stand Your Ground Law’, SB 1070 which allows police to stop anyone they perceive to be an immigrant, and most our immigration laws.

6) Plea deals - our penal system implemented a law that allows people to accept plea deals for admitting guilt to crimes they may not have committed. 97% of individuals are not offered a trial in our country. Black Americans are pulled off the streets in unprecedented numbers by cops that have unrestrained power and are incentivized into admitting guilt to crimes they did not commit, and then deprived of their rights to participate fully in our society due to their criminal status. Life-long oppression.

7) Militarization of local police forces. This has led to many tragedies that white people are aware of…Kent State Massacre, Waco, etc. We know of those because they were crimes against white people. What we haven’t been paying attention to is that police violence is one the leading causes of death for black males.

America was never great. Only quieter once, as the voices of the oppressed were murdered and imprisoned. These are only a small number of the ways that our country has deeply embedded racism into our laws and country - and lined their pockets with the proceeds. Racism is systemic - it isn’t just about persistent hate and fear of blacks. It is about white people having more access to voting, electing white leaders, who have consistently put laws in place that lead to SYSTEMIC oppression and death of blacks. If you are white in this country, you have benefited from that. It doesn’t make you evil, but it means that you have to be a part of the change. Or you are part of the problem.

DO SOMETHING.

Blacklivesmatter

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,  except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted , shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction” – Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution DISCLAIMER: I cannot and do

05/25/2020

Fake Book Club - up next is Why We’re Polarized by , and a blog post discussion on the book between a liberal millennial and conservative boomer. We’re going to show that productive discussions about politics don’t have to be rooted in our personal identities. Stay tuned!!

05/10/2020

Rang in year 26 with the girls doin what we do best. S’mores. 🔥🏕 @ Cotopaxi, Colorado

04/27/2020

Playtime: not cancelled. @ Colorado Spring, CO

04/19/2020

Check our newest blog post on Politics But Make it Funny! If ya like it, SHARE it.

BERNIE, BIDEN, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

04/11/2020

100 days of sobriety ✔️
6miles in 60minutes ✔️
This year I’ve decided that surviving cancer wasn’t enough, and I am taking back everything that should have been mine.

04/10/2020

Nurture🌱self. Nurture🌱others.