Tag: Politics

  • Opinion | The Imaginary Male Loneliness Epidemic Isn’t Bad Enough

    Men are not lonely; they are insufferable and entitled, fueled by toxic masculinity to perform to be these “alphas” when, in fact, behind closed doors, they are submissive and breedable, as the saying goes. When will men learn that the effort they are making is failing and only harming their chances of finding a soul mate? Fifty-five percent of men voted for Donald Trump, according to Pew Research in the 2024 analysis of voting trends, and they wonder why women do not even want to touch them. The entitlement to women’s bodies as they treat women like incubators for their offspring to raise their children to be ignorant and follow unthinkingly, but sure let them be alphas. When they focus on physical aspects of a woman’s body, they are fetishizing, and it’s even worse for communities that are asian, black, and trans. The simple answer is that men are undatable, and it is entirely their fault.

    In the United States, women legally gained the right to obtain a credit card in their own name with the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) of 1974. Why did it take so long? The answer is male privilege and the systems of control men exert on femme identities to submit and cater to their needs. Control is huge for men, and one in three women is a victim of intimate partner abuse. Once again, the fault of the male loneliness epidemic lands on men, and personally, the epidemic should get a lot worse. Property does not equal women, and women have the autonomy to choose when to engage in relationships with partners who are men, but men think that because they take a woman on a date, they are owed sex. Many can echo “Make it make sense,” but it doesn’t; the reasoning is not logical but transactional.

    Women’s suffrage was successfully achieved in 1920, nearly 150 years after the founding of the so-called free nation, the United States. If freedom exists, why do twelve states have a near-total ban on abortion? Men think they are lonely, but once again, they caused this and are insufferable. The dating trends swing toward men wanting the best of both worlds, having multiple partners and subscribing to non-monogamy, which is disguised as ethical. While some may practice polyamory in healthy and consensual ways, men would rather have various partners. Tell me the science of men wanting women with minimal “body counts” but can find a partner every week. Mind you, someone who can carry a child can only create a human once a year, but men can impregnate almost unlimited amounts of children, granted they have to have potent sperm, but most men don’t, just from experience, the quality is poor, and shouldn’t be watery. Women’s bodies are screaming at the thought of a man entering them because why would women risk a yeast infection just for a man to treat her like a fleshlight? When men learn they are the problem, maybe the outcome of their lack of sex life will dawn on them to change.

    The history of oppression for women began when the earth was created. Billions of years leading up to this point, where men think women should stay home, sacrifice their career, and lose autonomy because their very partners voted for a lunatic who has openly encouraged Zohran Mamdani to exclaim Donald Trump is a fascist. Another topic not only talked about but denied by men is the gender pay gap. Men are paid more for the same jobs because, inherently, they devalue women. Every man forgets the woman who delivered him, so where is the appreciation? ALL WOMEN suffer from gender prisons that exist around the world. Yes, I said gender prisons because traditional values harm femme identities in every culture.

    Now that we have an introduction to the problem, which may have been fueled by a recent match on Bumble, from honestly a thumb, we can begin to know the history of this so-called epidemic, which is, in fact, just men causing their own loneliness. In the early 2000s, the idea of a loneliness epidemic emerged from Robert D. Putnam’s study, “Bowling Alone.” As social media began to take hold in modern society, distance became a regular part of everyday life. Being connected virtually is blamed for causing loneliness. Individualism is another reason people blame loneliness, while traditional community structures break down around the world. The rise of worker exploitation, long workdays, and the focus on monetizing almost every aspect of our lives, including subscriptions for refrigerators. People are stressed, but often men do not do the work, such as therapy, to understand emotional intelligence to the point that they can have empathy for communities other than themselves. Privilege is the act of believing something is not essential because it does not personally affect them, and this is rampant in an American society. Conservatism and radical misogyny have grown in the past fifteen years, fueled by the rise of toxic politics. The right saw a marketing standpoint of attacking minority communities, and with the need for men to have power, many young men saw this as an opportunity to find community without doing the work to build networks of support, but rather groups of common interest.

    Simply put, men thought they were solving an issue when, in fact, they created a solution to allow women the safety of avoiding the risk of harm from the privilege of men.

    The Dominance Behavioral System (DBS): Psychologists describe the DBS as a biologically-based system that guides motivation and behavior related to power and subordination. It involves an individual’s drive to pursue power, sensitivity to cues signaling opportunities or threats to power, and the enactment of dominant behaviors. Men have the psychological need for power due to their insecurities.

    You may hear many men say they cannot date a woman who has a higher income; this is insecurity and a sign of financial control over a woman, a common abuse tactic in the dynamics of harm. Partnerships are not about subordination but rather about equity in the roles each person plays and the compromises each makes. Submission isn’t power; it is weakness, shielded in insecurity, for the need to be better, and men compete with fellow men for superiority.

    We can begin to talk about patriarchy, and in recent times, when the Barbie movie was released, a firestorm of toxic male fragility became evident. Men do not want to be called out. The failure to tackle internal “demons” has led to patterns of failure, yes, men failed by not acting to change their ways of control. The concept of a “real man” is portrayed in media and pop culture as someone in power, in control, and superior. You may see a typical use of words in this article signalling the root causes of the so-called epidemic. While loneliness has risen in specific measures, the causes can be attributed to a lack of empathy in everyday life. Life in America over the past fifteen years has changed to allow men to pursue individual goals rather than the traditional “protector” role. Historically, men were seen as providers and protectors, but, in hilarious terms, the song “Scrubs” by TLC shows that men have given up on their so-called duties as members of society. So, when did it become evident that change was needed? The answer lies in the need for change that emerged when the second power existed and was exerted. Another cause of the lack of attention men receive from their female counterparts is the infantilizing of a woman’s identity. Women are grown and not to be called girls, but a common theme among men is to see women as fragile. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta formally rescinded the 1994 Combat Exclusion Policy, ordering the military branches to open all combat jobs to women by 2016, provided they met gender-neutral physical standards. This was the policy decision that set the integration process in motion. Why did it take so long for women to be able to serve in combat roles?

    Men have dominated every field, and now, with the trump admin removing some professions from educational funding and imposing caps on those degrees that are heavily dominated by female identities, it has only made the way for keeping women out of the workplace. Many conservatives view women as having traditional roles to stay home and produce a nuclear family, but why do we as a society allow this? Many popular forums like 4chan have allowed hate toward women to run rampant, and very recently, the killing of a blue-collar woman because the man just didn’t like her, despite this woman reporting to human resources multiple times, the man made her feel uncomfortable. Amber Mary Czech will forever be twenty years old, and that is due to femicide. Thousands of women lose their lives every year to acts of violence from men, and this femicide needs to end, but the government will not act. WHEN WOMEN are assaulted, often they are treated as suspects and blamed for the acts of men. The common saying “Boys will be boys” excuses this inexplicable behavior, but men continue to allow their fellow men to exploit and hurt women to uphold what? Masculinity?

    Straight men perpetuate this rhetoric as if they are not the cause of it. In the grand scheme of things, many may not feel hopeful about change, and I echo those sentiments: so, when will the status quo change? ALL OF THIS TO SAY, MEN SHOULD BE LONLIER AND SIT WITH THEIR ACTIONS!

  • Noem Out: Trump Fires DHS Secretary Following Disastrous Hearing and “Metro Surge” Fallout

    On March 5th, 2026, Trump issued a statement announcing that Kristi Noem would be leaving her position. Noem has been under fire for her mishandling of the deaths of two American citizens during the ICE operation “Metro Surge” that resulted in the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. During the first year of Trump’s second term, Noem served as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, an agency that the American people strongly protested for its conduct on immigration policies.

    Noem came under the latest scrutiny during her congressional hearing. In the hearing, lawmakers asked Noem why she used $220 million in taxpayer money to fund an ad campaign she said Trump personally approved.

    Trump told Reuters on Thursday, “I never knew anything about the ad campaign.”

    A woman wearing a cowboy hat and a blue shirt is riding a brown horse in front of Mount Rushmore, with the faces of four U.S. presidents carved into the rocky landscape.
    Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem filming an ad at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, Oct. 2, 2025.
    Tia Dufour | DHS

    The most significant legal and political consequences revolve around Governor Noem’s testimony about her top aide, Corey Lewandowski. When questioned about whether Lewandowski had a role in approving Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contracts, she responded with a flat “No.” However, internal DHS records and ProPublica reports later revealed his signature on multimillion-dollar contract routing sheets. This has led to accusations that she lied under oath.

    Noem sparked a lively debate after her comments on two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, tragically shot by federal agents in Minneapolis. Even amidst significant pushback and conflicting evidence, she stood firm in her stance, choosing not to apologize for calling them “domestic terrorists.”

    Noem has a legacy defined in mistrust and a lack of transparency for the American people, who have fought since the beginning of the second term of Donald Trump for accountability of ICE agents and internal policies.

  • Corporate Interests vs Community: Roxbury Stands Against ICE

    Amid widespread resident outrage over a warehouse sale, New Jersey residents stand against ICE in Roxbury. DG Roxbury Property Owner, L.P., linked to Dallas-based Dalfen Industrial and a Goldman Sachs asset management fund, sold a 470,000-square-foot warehouse at 1879 Route 46 in Roxbury to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for ICE. The deal closed on February 19, 2026, for $129.3 million, raising concerns about the local community’s future and the influence of corporate and financial interests. The protest drew over 150 people from Roxbury and neighboring towns. With signs held up that said NO ICE and referencing the disgraced Trump admin as equal to nazis many spoke up for what they believed in.

    Aerial view of a large commercial building with a white flat roof and a parking lot beside it, surrounded by sparse trees.
    Credit: No ICE North Jersey Alliance. Aerial view of the Roxbury warehouse sold to ICE.

    Roxbury Township in Morris County, NJ, is a suburban area with about 23,111 residents as of 2023 and an average age of 43.3. The community is mostly white, comprising roughly 71-80% of the population, and has a median household income of over $130,000. The poverty rate is low, at approximately 5.4%. 

    The call is clear: get ICE out of New Jersey. The GSA, which oversees the sale and leasing of property, has been contacted and requested documents related to the sale of the warehouse. The agency responded to the request and alerted The Penny Tribune that they will try to release the documents pertaining to another property in Roseland, NJ, as well as the detention facility in Newark, NJ. The GSA confirmed this on February 19th 2026, they would release the files.

    A screenshot of a web form for submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. It includes details such as the request date (03/01/2026) and status (To be Processed), along with options for Agency Office and Request Type.

    A video submitted by a protester shows them walking up to the group of people. A line formed along the street as drivers passed by, witnessing their community standing up for the non-citizen population.

    Photos of the protest:

  • From First Responder to the Ballot Box: Ronnie Murchinson-Rivera’s A Lifeline for a Struggling Sunshine State

    Ronnie Murchinson-Rivera: A service-driven future leader for FL District 6. Protecting Social Security, housing, and families. #UnitedUnafraid

    When family values create a politician:

    Beginning in the concrete jungle of New York City gave a future politician the values to lead the Sixth District of the Sunshine State of Florida. Because of his upbringing, Ronnie Murchinson-Rivera pledges to bring his leadership back to his roots. He was born and raised in New York City, in a working-class family with limited resources. One of his core values is that family comes first. His family taught him to work hard and stay honest. Values we can all agree a politician should have, and that working-class families in New York and Florida share.

    “You worked hard, stayed honest, and treated people with respect. Service was not something we talked about; it was something we lived every day. That upbringing shaped who I am and how I serve today.”

    Ronnie is guided by his mother, who has shaped him to know to do what is right, even when it is hard. His mother taught him strength, honesty, and compassion; these values became the foundation for the promises Ronnie makes to serve the people of the 6th district. When Ronnie faces difficult decisions, integrity, fairness, and courage guide him. His mother’s lessons guide him every day.

    Ronnie and his mom. Kim, 2006.

    When a career in service showed a failed system:

    Working in EMS and later in law enforcement exposed him to life at its hardest moments, when people were most vulnerable. He witnessed families losing loved ones, seniors alone with no support, and working people struggling just to survive. Those experiences stayed with him every day. They taught Ronnie that public service is not a theory; it is personal. It is about standing with people when they feel invisible and ensuring systems protect them rather than fail them.

    Randy Fine has done the opposite with proposed laws like no welfare for non-citizens, despite the fact that people without a social security number already do not qualify, and attempting to enact the “No Sharia” law, stoking Islamophobia

    Ronnie’s life experiences have shaped not only his mission but also his future as a politician to the people of Florida. Ronnie’s first job was serving the people. Teaching him in his early career more about life than anything else. He exemplifies the understanding of struggle, fear, hope, and strength in a single shift as a first responder. A powerful testimant he learned that work is about purpose, showing up when people need you most, and making a difference in real lives. Lives that contribute billions of dollars to communities and a constituent base of everyday working-class families.

    Ronnie’s first job at Bed Stuy Volunteer EMS

    The American dream has faded for many people, but the teachings of working-class struggle shaped Ronnie. Earlier in life, he believed hard work guaranteed stability. Real life showed Ronnie that it was not always true. Seeing hardworking families still struggling with healthcare, housing, and rising costs, listening to people, and seeing those gaps changed his perspective. He chose to grow. Growth is something everyone should commit to daily, especially our politicians. Leadership means learning, listening, and being willing to change when truth demands it. Ronnie pledges those core beliefs he feels are a politician’s duty.

    The Commitments of a Future Representative

    Ronnie Murchinson-Rivera is making an impact, letting Randy Fine know that nothing is fine. Ronnie is a left-leaning progressive Democrat with the self-identified label of “Radical Leftist Scum”. The slur was launched by Donald Trump in December of 2025. The RLS movement has now spread worldwide and has become a major trending topic on social media for months. RLS is not, in fact, radical; it affirms that all people are granted their constitutional rights and the freedom to pursue personal progress. Residents in the sixth district want to reclaim their home taken over by right-wing ideology. A change in perspective, currently shaping Florida is what constituents want.

    Florida’s 6th Congressional District exemplifies Florida’s dual character: it combines the lively vibrancy of the “World’s Most Famous Beach” with peaceful inland agricultural areas. Located on the northeastern coast, it extends inland toward Central Florida’s core.

    Voters in the 6th district are demanding change. Rising housing costs threaten the sustainability of lifelong residents. Two-thirds of voters are retired or nearing retirement and fear for their Social Security benefits. Ronnie pledges to represent them.

    In 2026, the debate over Social Security has shifted from a theoretical “looming crisis” to a pressing legislative priority, as the trust fund exhaustion date—now projected as early as 2032—falls within the terms of Senators elected this year.

    Ronnie on the issue –

    “These programs are earned benefits from a lifetime of work. I will protect Social Security and Medicare from cuts and privatization. I will fight to lower prescription drug costs, strengthen healthcare access, and protect the dignity and security of our seniors. Retirement should bring peace of mind, not fear.”

    Families are feeling the weight of rising costs every day. Housing, healthcare, and groceries are stretching budgets. Ronnie is fighting to lower healthcare and prescription drug costs, support fair wages, expand affordable housing, and ensure working families are not left behind. American Stability should not feel out of reach for the working class. A future of possibility strengthens communities across America; it shapes the values of millions striving to be citizens of the United States.

    Ronnie on the current administration’s immigration policy:

    “A nation of laws must also be a nation of justice. We need real immigration reform, humane policies, and accountability. Families belong together, human rights come first, and yes we must abolish ICE and replace it with a system that is lawful, transparent, and rooted in dignity.”

    A strong opponent is needed to unseat Randy Fine, the successor to Michael Waltz, leaving his position to serve the Trump administration. An admin who poses challenges to politicians not part of the status quo. Communities across America shape the values of millions. Ronnie pledges and shows that he is the opponent to defeat Randy Fine.

    When asked how he plans to win, a clear response and a value-based plan is seen,

    “My campaign is about people, not division. Progressive values mean opportunity, fairness, healthcare, education, and dignity for everyone. Many extreme policies come from fear and distraction instead of real solutions. My focus is lowering costs, protecting healthcare, strengthening Social Security, and making government work for everyday people.”

    Millions were promised fair housing, lower costs, and affordable solutions to their challenges. The Trump administration has failed, and so has Randy Fine. The call is clear: a candidate with the grit to fight and challenge toxic MAGA ideologies must win this election in Florida’s 6th District. The people need it, and Ronnie wants them to know he is ready. The fight will continue every day, and justice will be served through equitable public service for the people, not the elite.

    Ronnie founded a nonprofit in New York City helping homeless families, children, veterans, and anyone in need get food, shelter, and support. Committed to working with local food banks and outreach programs, he served in a way that reflected his drive to help the neighbors he saw struggling. Ronnie volunteered as a music teacher in a New York City public school and later coached youth football for the Mount Dora Hurricanes, mentoring young people on discipline, teamwork, and character.

    “I was drawn to this work because when you see a need, you step forward. Strong communities are built when we lift each other up.”

    To Ronnie, “United Unafraid” represents unity, strength, and courage. Communities are strongest when they stand together and refuse to be divided. Something Randy Fine has not committed to every day, but instead has chosen to spread division. The constituents want Unity. These values reflect honesty, resilience, and shared purpose. Together, everyone overcomes and moves forward. The mission is clear: unify the people and secure the prospects of communities for future generations, as one-fifth of voters are entering adulthood and now face navigating policies in a broken system not guaranteed to succeed. The prospects of communities for future generations.

    I am running because public service means protecting people, defending dignity, and standing up when our community needs a voice. Too many families feel unheard and left behind. I have spent my life serving others and I have seen both the strength of our people and the struggles they face.

    I am running for seniors who deserve security. For working families who should not have to choose between healthcare, housing, and food. For veterans who deserve care and respect. For children who deserve safe communities and real opportunity.

    I am running for those who feel targeted or unheard, including the LGBTQ community who deserve dignity and equal protection. I believe deeply in the Constitution and the rule of law. As a former law enforcement officer, I also believe law enforcement must protect rights, not violate them. Many families are living in fear, and when fear replaces trust, communities suffer.

    I am running because division is being pushed into our communities. Race, fear, and anger are being used to separate people instead of unite them. That weakens our country and distracts from real issues. America is strongest when we stand together.

    I am running to protect our environment, protect housing stability, and protect children and families. Our future depends on it.

    People are ready for leadership that listens, cares, and acts with compassion and courage. I am running to bring people together, restore trust, and fight for a future where every family has opportunity, security, and hope.

    Public service is about people. And I will never stop fighting for them.

    Florida, will you make the stand for a better future where housing is a secured right and you can afford not only to live but to prosper in safety and potential?