Of the many characteristics associated with the millennial generation, voter turnout is not the first that comes to mind. One could say that millennials are credited with leading the iGen and Gen Alpha crowds into battle for whatever political topic is trending on social media. Millennials are champions of the moment. Maybe because they all were gifted with ADHD diagnoses at the ripe age of seven years old, or it might genuinely an issue of follow-through.
Millennials rally behind a cause, but when its time to head to the polls, as we saw in the 2016 presidential election, only 51% of the generation actually showed up. With the midterm election scheduled for Tuesday, let’s hope that all generations, regardless of their side of the aisle, vote their conscience and create visible change for this country.
Whether you’ve registered or not, here’s what you missed from the news over the weekend.
Sanctions Are Coming
President Trump received a lot of heat from the residents of Winterfell, despite it being cold up north, when he tweeted out the “Game of Thrones”-style graphic of himself on Saturday. The graphic was posted in reference to the reimposition of all sanctions against Iran set for Monday. The fabled sanctions were lifted back in 2015 when the Obama administration and the Iranian government signed a nuclear non-proliferation agreement.
“On November 5th, the United States will reimpose sanctions that were lifted as part of the nuclear deal on Iran’s energy, shipbuilding, shipping, and banking sectors.”
–Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State
Trump’s weirdly-timed HBO nod aside, the move to reimpose sanctions has been described by sources close to the administration as a step towards furthering the “economic war” on the Iranian regime. As we know, President Trump is no fan to the world of bad deals and, back when Obama was lord of the land, Trump criticized then-President Obama for entering into such a bad deal with Iran.
“These sanctions hit at core areas of Iran’s economy. They’re necessary to spur changes we seek on the part of the regime. In order maximize the effect of the President’s pressure campaign, we have worked closely with other countries to cut off Iranian oil exports as much as possible.”
–Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State
Spank You, Very Much
The American Academy of Pediatrics, an organization where all company parties are Dora-the-Explorer themed,” announced, in a new policy statement, that they really don’t like when parents exercise corporal punishment against their children. The organization recommends that adults use “healthy forms of discipline” rather than spanking, hitting, or slapping their children when they’ve done something wrong.
“In the 20 years since that policy was first published, there’s been a great deal of additional research, and we’re now much stronger in saying that parents should never hit their child and never use verbal insults that would humiliate or shame the child.”
–Dr. Robert Sege
So, You Can’t Find It At Lowe’s?
Faced with an unending losing battle with Home Depot, lesser home improvement chain, Lowe’s, announced over the weekend that it will be closing 20 of its locations around the country, as well as 31 stores in Canada. The company’s most recent strategic assessment indicated that people just aren’t buying hammers like they used to, and the “wind-down” of underperforming stores will help as the company tries to rebuild their business.
“While decisions that impact our associates are never easy, the store closures are a necessary step in our strategic reassessment as we focus on building a stronger business. We believe our people are the foundation of our business and essential to our future growth, and we are making every effort to transition impacted associates to nearby Lowe’s stores.”
–Marvin R. Ellison, President and CEO, Lowe’s
