The Price We Pay.

I realized something today… and I feel a bit ashamed for having not realized it sooner. This is no longer MY platform. Sure, I may be the one weaving the narrative, but the focus isn’t ME. My name might be in the URL, but the story isn’t mine… it’s OURS.

So what’s my deal, why must I be such an angry young man? ‘Head down! Nose to the grindstone!’ What do I have to worry about? Who am I to think that I could change all that? Besides, that’s THEIR problem… that’s THEIR neighborhood.

Just be grateful for what you GOT and MOVE ON.

Just pay it no mind. Stop watching all those news programs and start reading more science fiction novels. Maybe get a haircut and get a real job… advocacy work only seems to pay the bills when you’re associated with an established POLITICAL PARTY.

But you know… BOO HOO my problems.
As if my life was so hard. Like I’ve got it so tough.

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https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-paid-aviation-company-615000-transport-migrants-marthas-vineyard-2022-9

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This afternoon, my blood sugar levels SPIKED because I ate something my body disagreed with. Now I’ve gotta sit here on the couch for a couple of hours until I get it back under control…

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/14/louisiana-woman-skull-less-fetus-new-york-abortion

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… poor me.

As if my problems were somehow more important than anyone else’s.
Just be grateful for what you GOT.

But we know… that’s NOT how things work.
That’s not a sound plan for survival.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_…

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Maybe it’s too many HOURS watching The History Channel… back when they still aired shows that actually documented our HISTORY. Maybe it’s the STORIES shared by my grandparents… passed down through the generations, as a warning of what might come. SILENCE will not save you. In time, the MOB comes for us all.

The price of our INACTION will be paid in LIVES.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/09/biden-democrats-abortion-dobbs/

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https://www.yahoo.com/video/kamala-harris-declares-border-secure-134949180.html

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/15/senate-delays-same-sex-marriage-vote/

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Is this how we want our Government to work… always behind the eight ball, unable to anticipate problems and form coherent plans?

Maybe I don’t understand POLITICS. Maybe I just don’t get it. I’ve never been a successful candidate… I guess I don’t know how all this stuff WORKS. We send them to Washington to get stuff DONE, yet nothing ever gets DONE. Immigration Reform. Voting Rights. Police Reform. Issue after issue. Decade after decade…

Why?

Because they can’t FUNDRAISE on a problem that’s already been SOLVED.

The Dobbs decision was leaked in May… TWO MONTHS before the final verdict was handed down. There was NO PLAN, other than VOTE BLUE no matter WHO.

And now the FUNDRAISING is through the ROOF. The polling is dramatic. The playing field has now SHIFTED, and the Democrats are looking competitive once again. Thanks to some shrewd political calculations, expert data analysis, and a whole lot of timely MESSAGE SHIFTING…

**Imagine IF they had been focused on solving these problems from DAY ONE.**

Imagine if the White House actually BELIEVED in these causes and wanted to see these problems resolved. TWO YEARS! And that’s being generous. These issues have been front and center since 2016. They knew before they entered the White House that these problems exist, and now they’ll only continue to get worse… because there’s still NO PLAN. NO VISION. No method being presented that will ensure these problems are actually solved.

But… their INACTION on Reproductive Rights, has been a BOON for their BOTTOM LINE.

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I don’t like the idea of politicians profiting off of their own INACTION. Be it monetarily or otherwise, the fact that some elected officials have more to gain personally by standing in the way of lifesaving legislation, is abhorrent.

Even worse than that, Governor Ron Desantis of the Great State of Florida, is currently spending MILLIONS of dollars trafficking WOMEN and CHILDREN off to other States… instead of doing what’s required… actually addressing the problems those migrant families are facing.

These problems can be SOLVED, yet money is actively being spent to enflame the situation… and there is NO LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE.

That’s my problem. That’s what pisses me off. It’s not the fact that I have NO POWER… it’s the fact that no one seems to have the power to CHANGE what’s happening right now. None of us do… even when one party holds the MAJORITY.

Generations have suffered, and they will continue to do so.

They say patients is a virtue… they say that about COMPASSION as well.

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https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/what-is-lada-adult-onset-type-1-diabetes

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My problems will be solved when ALL of our problems are solved. My problems are a dime-a-dozen, when compared to the burdens carried by others.

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https://www.breastcancer.org/facts-statistics

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https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2021/21_0006.htm

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In time… it comes for us all.

I for one, wish President Biden GOD SPEED on his Moonshot to end cancer as we know it. Because God knows… it can’t come soon enough.

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https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/cancermoonshot

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Let us HOPE it’s not treated the same way… as the price of INSULIN… as IMMIGRATION REFORM… as GUN SAFETY LEGISLATION… as ABORTION…

You know, unfortunately; if they fix all THAT… they won’t have anything to RUN ON in TWO YEARS.

Now, wouldn’t that be a shame.

-JC

A Pyramid Scheme

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https://theintercept.com/2022/07/29/bank-of-america-worker-conditions-worse/

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How can this be seen as a viable path toward a stable economic future? Focusing on the financial stability of corporations and financial institutions ensures there will always be something out there for people to BUY… but it doesn’t ensure there will be someone out there able to BUY IT.

Our Government goes to great lengths to ensure financial support for producers and manufacturers, but it often overlooks or is indifferent to the financial needs of the American Working Class.

They’ll step in and take action when the price of GAS or OIL starts to skyrocket, whether they actually have an effect on prices or not; but when people start losing their JOBS due to a pandemic… they hesitate. They drag their feet.

They fail to anticipate or understand the knock-on effects of an event like that. The generational trauma that can result from a family losing it all.

Companies and corporations, they have insurance payouts and golden parachutes. When things go SOUTH, they file for bankruptcy and then try it all over again…

Man, wouldn’t that be nice.

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https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/07/us/climate-tax-deal-vote

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So, we’re COOL now… right?

See… they’ve been working for the American people all along.

‘Democrats get shit done! This is the People’s Agenda!‘

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/climate/trump-paris-agreement-climate.html

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All of it is ‘transitory’… because through all of it, there is no consistency between Administrations. It’s all or nothing. Do or die. What’s done under the leadership of ONE party is immediately undone by the NEXT. And it’s all done in the name of POLITICS.

Our Elected Officials play GAMES… while Americans DIE.

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https://www.npr.org/2022/08/02/1115325176/pact-act-veterans-burn-pits-toxins-passes-senate

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Of course they were gonna pass that BILL. C’mon, it’s just POLITICS! They’re not monsters… just Senators. But you see… the problem is though; this is just what we’re able to SEE. Just the TIP. What other practices do they engage in that We, The People, aren’t privileged enough to see?

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/07/insulin-cap-budget-congress/

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“Republicans left the portion that applies to Medicare patients untouched but stripped the insulin cap for other patients.”

The ⁦@CDCgov⁩ says 1.6 million Americans live with #T1D.

The @GOP must think those people don’t #VOTE.

FYI… we do.🇺🇸
https://t.co/cW5KzelqkM
— Jack Charbonneau (@MrJLCharbonneau) August 7, 2022

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**If you’re not a fan of the sausage being made, then maybe we should change the way they make the sausage.**

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Our Right to LIFE, LIBERTY, and the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS is not transitory. It’s not an entitlement or a government handout… it’s what makes this Nation GREAT.

It’s not the WARS we’ve won.
It’s not the GODS we worship.

It’s the UNALIENABLE RIGHTS that we’ve been given by Our Creator; enshrined in Our Constitution and protected by Our Bill of Rights.

These Rights are UNIVERSAL… regardless of the STATE in which you live.

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https://www.npr.org/sections/2022-live-primary-election-race-results/2022/08/02/1115317596/kansas-voters-abortion-legal-reject-constitutional-amendment

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Because it is SELF-EVIDENT.

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https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/05/mitch-mcconnell-acknowledges-a-national-abortion-ban-is-possible-if-roe-is-overturned

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The most PARTISAN among us should not be allowed to dictate to us which of our Basic Human Rights are acceptable… and which ones are not.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/kavanaugh-conundrum-trump-s-fbi-grandstanding-highlights-flaw-bureau-s-ncna911991

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https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/08/04/fbi-kavanaugh-wray-whitehouse/

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The laws are written to benefit those at the TOP, while the rest of us must work just to get by. There is no SAFETY NET for the majority of this Nation. If we FALL, we fall. We start back at ZERO and pray we will somehow work our way back UP… Golden Parachutes be damned.

The people at the TOP of the pyramid must remember… it’s a long way DOWN without the support of the people at the BASE.

-JC

I Choose to Engage

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There’s only ONE THING that remains consistent in this life… change. People change. Our understanding of the world changes, and our perception of our place within it changes as well.

Our priorities change. As we age, as we take on more responsibility, we gain more knowledge. Leading us to see things as they truly are, instead of just believing whatever we want… or believing whatever we’re told. REALITY can be a difficult concept to grasp… whereas fantasy is so much easier to believe.

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As a child, I thought I knew what was RIGHT… until it was not. Until I was proved WRONG… and then I was faced with a choice. To change myself, or change my perception of what is RIGHT and what is WRONG. To ignore facts or accept them, even when those facts stand opposed to everything I had learned so far.

FACTS don’t lie… but the interpreter does though.

IF my goal is to learn all I can, then I must also learn when I am WRONG and accept new information. FLEXIBILITY in the face of stubborn ignorance… my ignorance. To adapt and evolve is to survive. Rigid adherence to failed ideologies and lies, will only lead us to our demise.

It’s the ONE THING that is guaranteed… nothing will stay the SAME. Everything will change. It seems the trick is… do you want to be part of that change, or do you want to get run over by it.

To engage, or NOT to engage. To BE, or NOT to be… that is why I choose to engage.

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What do we know of struggle, on a personal level and on a National scale? What do we know of LOSS… of hardship… and what comes after those events? What is born of them…

I have no grand experience to offer. Mine is a story of the mundane. Of the ordinary. The everyday. I am OF The People. Of the streets. Yes, those suburban cul-de-sacs were always well-paved… but there are some lessons you learn, regardless of the hood you grew up in.

Because the BANK will come for your house regardless of your zip-code, and they make sure you understand that from a very early age… so plan accordingly.

I know who I am, as well as who I am NOT. I know this… because I have seen what happens to those who I am not. And that is why I choose to engage.

If not… who will? Who will represent the MAJORITY in this moment… the Bankers? The Hedge Fund Managers? The Kings of Commerce? How’s that been working out for us SO FAR? Let there be NO DOUBT… if we don’t make a change now, then this is how it will continue to be in the FUTURE.

Is that how we want to be seen upon the World Stage… as a giant PIGGY BANK? As a massive ARMS CACHE? Again… how has that worked out for us SO FAR?

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https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/17/middleeast/us-saudi-yemen-bus-strike-intl/index.html

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https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting

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How will that work out for us in the FUTURE?

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arabia-invites-chinas-xi-to-visit-kingdom-amid-strained-u-s-relations-11647284211

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Who’s interests do our elected officials represent…
On who’s behalf do they ACT.

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… and our response?

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Our actions NOW will not prevent World War III from starting… those shots have already been fired. Our actions now will determine whether or not World War III has already begun.

The opening salvo has been offered. Decisions are being made. Sides are being drawn… RIGHT NOW. In this moment.

Based upon every piece of evidence that we have at our disposal… the Pandemic… the Housing Crisis… January 6th… securing our Right to VOTE…

How will GOOD INTENTIONS turn out in the end.

Who will BENEFIT… who will NOT.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_refugee_crisis

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We mustn’t let the mistakes of our PAST, cloud our judgement on events of the FUTURE… just as we shouldn’t forget the lessons that we’ve learned from our own stupidity. How long does it take for us to secure an occupied territory… how long does it take for us to get that territory back.

We act when it is JUST. We show restraint when it is NOT.
To act in this moment is JUST. Our INACTION is not.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2022/03/19/mariupol-theater-satellite-images/

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We do not act to engage in WAR, we act to prevent it. To secure… not to occupy. To defend… not to advance. To secure PEACE as we now know it, and prevent the necessity that comes, when one nation declares WAR on all the rest.

At that point… that is war. We must avoid the campaign that played out through the Spring of ‘45. That is what we should be working to achieve. NOW. Because tomorrow… it will be TOO LATE.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/18/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/

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Had my family and I been living in one of those Ukrainian cities, where they’ve been without electricity since the earliest days of this invasion… my TIME would be just about up.

Juvenile Diabetes… diagnosed at age 36. My body doesn’t produce its own insulin. If I don’t find a pharmacy with a working refrigerator within 28 days… I don’t live to see day 40.

Without intervention, my LIFE would be lost.

But, considering the sorry state of our Healthcare System and the inability of our Congress to change it… I face that possibility EVERY MONTH.

The fight is JUST. So I choose to engage.

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While I support the decisions made by President Biden so far, I believe there are more actions we should be taking that are not currently being employed.

Though we do not have access to the same information that he has… we do have our own EYES. We do have the WORDS of President Zelenskyy… and we do have the WORDS of President Putin.

History shows us what becomes of leaders who place POLITICS over the well-being of our Nation. Like an aged soldier… they simply FADE AWAY. Their policies eroded and their legacies chipped away, until all that’s left is the TRUTH. Stripped BARE by the passage of time.

No SPIN left to disguise it. No window dressing to hide their mistakes. Just the results of their own ACTIONS… and the ever-present, nagging regret… that there might have been something more, they could have done.

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… and may it soon be for the people of Ukraine.🙌 #StandWithUkraine🇺🇦 https://t.co/jxN61TOa51

— Jack Charbonneau (@MrJLCharbonneau) March 1, 2022

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Our independence shines brightly in this hour, a burning passion that illuminates the night. And now, beneath the rubble… those SEEDS have started to grow. Those roots are breaking solid ground.

And we know… those roots are STRONG. That plant is stubborn. Through the rock, through the refuse… in fields long forgotten by the PLOW…

Toward the LIGHT. Ever toward the light.

And as the days grow longer… may there only be MORE LIGHT.

-JC

“… an Alternative Narrative”

Donald Trump’s actions as President make NO SENCE when viewed in isolation. Random, chaotic, contradictory… even self-defeating. He acts as if he is POWERLESS in situations where historically, we’ve looked to our President for action. He asserts himself into situations where NO President has before, causing more harm to others than he would if he had just stayed SILENT. He embraces EVERY opportunity to ENRICH HIMSELF through the powers of OUR Office, and he seeks to remove programs designed to provide aid and comfort for those who need it most.

The ends of ANY evil plan hatched by the most VILE among us could be carried out with EASE and in SHORT ORDER if they were to ascend to the Office of President… yet Donald Trump, with his party holding ALL THREE BRANCHES of government, could not deceive enough people to Repeal and Replace Obamacare, a talking point issue supported by the GOP for just shy of a DECADE.

Losing the MAJORITY in the House does NOT advance the agenda of Donald J. Trump.

Not compromising on FUNDING for the Border Wall and SHUTTING DOWN the Federal Government for over a month does NOT advance the agenda of Donald J. Trump.

Advancing the dis-credited theory of Ukrainian Interference in the 2016 US Presidential Election does NOT advance the agenda of Donald J. Trump.

Using a personal cell phone, known by the Intelligence Community to be monitored by the heads of State of foreign adversaries, to conduct illicit political activities, does NOT advance the agenda of Donald J. Trump.

Welcoming the Russian Ambassador into the White House while barring all US reporters and allowing Russian media EXCLUSIVELY into the Oval Office, does NOT advance the agenda of Donald J. Trump.

None of this creates effective governance, and none of this lends itself to success. None of these actions would help ANY President find success or achieve their goals… whether their intentions were to do GOOD or create TYRANNY.

They make the President of the United States look WEAK.

They make the President of the United States look CORRUPT.

They make the President of the United States look DANGEROUS.

They make the President of the United States look UNSTABLE.

They make the President of the United States look INEFFECTIVE.

They make the President of the United States look IMPOTENT.

What Donald Trump has done as President of the United States thus far, creates GRIDLOCK. What Donald Trump has done as President of the United States thus far creates DIVISION.

What Donald J. Trump has done as President of the United States thus far does NOT advance the agenda of the President, the Congress, OR the people.

It advances the agenda of the ONE person who worked the hardest to secure his election.

It advances the agenda of Vladimir Putin.

LOOK… the President of the United States is just as flawed and weak as every other democratically elected leader… they’re ALL THE SAME- CORRUPT.

American Exceptionalism is just a MYTH…

… is there anyone in this nation who believes a President should EVER say that?

Vladimir Putin does NOT believe it is POSSIBLE… Vladimir Putin does NOT believe in American Exceptionalism.

Vladimir Putin suppresses the VOICE of his people, seeks to take away retirement benefits from retirees, and STEALS the wealth generated by the sale of the nation’s resources. And when the PEOPLE of Russia RISE UP en masse and demand FREE and FAIR elections… he sees the handiwork of the C.I.A. He doesn’t see his people pleading for a BETTER LIFE.

He sees PARANOIA and ESPIONAGE.

He does not believe in the ability of the Russian people to STAND UP and SPEAK OUT and hold him accountable… so they must have been HELPED by someone else… of course! It was “THEM!” It’s EASY to make America the scapegoat when you feed your people LIES… and America has a PUPPET serving as President.

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Government by-proxy… EVERYONE’S got a hidden agenda. Political party proxies, business proxies, non-disclosure proxies, and just plain GREED, self-centered and selfish.

I have a mortgage that’s UNDERWATER from all the bullshit that went down in 2008.

I have TWO teenaged boys who will (hopefully) have to pay for college in a few years.

I have a car payment.

I worry about my boys when I drop them off at school, I worry about the divisive conversations they’re seeing online.

I raise the kids and take care of the house while my wife is the breadwinner.

I am the husband of a PICU nurse who saves the lives of babies born with broken hearts.

I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) in 2016. (…of all the things I THOUGHT I could someday get, childhood diabetes was NOT on that list at age 36!)

I have a pre-existing condition.

This is MY AGENDA. That’s what’s on the FRONT of my mind. THESE are my constituents.

I was BORN and RAISED in this city, and I am proud to call Kansas City my HOME. The problems faced by me and my family are the SAME problems faced in California, or in Dallas, or in Detroit. Racism happens NORTH of the Mason-Dixon Line and sexual discrimination in the work place happens to MEN, too… especially when it comes to raising a family.

I have NO PROXY INTERESTS. I have no DARK MONEY hidden agendas holding me DOWN. FREE and CLEAR… I plan on aiming for the STARS.

We must CLARIFY what it means to be an American. We must REMEMBER who we are!

LONG LIVE THE CONSTITUTION!!

Long live the OFFICE of the President of the United States.

Official Campaign Announcement: I Am Resuming My Campaign.

… ding ding.

I am pleased to report that after 10 days of steroids and pain medication, Charlie has regained the use of his back legs! Though not 100%, he is responding well to the treatment… it might not be cancer after all!

His recovery will be slow it seems, and I will have to continue helping him more than usual, but I am confident I can resume my campaign and give it the level of attention it deserves. Unfortunately, Charlie will be focusing on his recovery and will not be returning to his role as my “campaign manager”, effectively cutting my staff in HALF.

ATTN: “NOW HIRING!”

“Jack Charbonneau 2020: Political Revolution” is now accepting resumes from candidates interested in the following position:

Presidential Campaign Manager

Hours are FLEXIBLE and the pay is… flexible, as well.

… but THAT does not matter right now, it’s NOT cancer!

My Paternal Grandmother died of bone cancer… after she had successfully survived THREE heart attacks! Grandpa Loren died of a heart attack just a year or so before her. My step-mother’s dad died of cancer caused by years of chewing tobacco. My Maternal Grandfather died of lung cancer. Back in the early 1980s, the cause was thought to be cigarettes. Twenty years later his son, my Uncle Ron, was diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer. It had spread up his spine and throughout his body.

His doctor, recognizing the family history, told my mom, “Your son should start his yearly prostate exams when he turns 30.” And guess what… they found an “irregularity”. A nodule of some sort, that I must monitor yearly.

Cancer is vicious. It’s indiscriminate and it’s relentless. The incredible team that treated my uncle gave him an extra five years. Beyond all odds… it was quite a feat! But that is rarely the case.

Grandpa Loren died in January 1993 from a heart attack after shoveling snow. That summer, my parents insisted I stayed with Grandma to help her with the chores. By the end of that summer, she was starting her battle with bone cancer of the spine.

9 months later she was gone.

So many stories go that way, “Nine months later…” and the roller coaster stories that fill up those weeks, all the triumphs and setbacks. That time I spent with grandma left quite an impression. At 14, it was the first time the full picture had been painted for me. It’s the same lesson that everyone of us at some point in our lives HAS learned, or will eventually learn, as cancer rates are expected to CLIMB. It’s predicted that nearly 50% of us will be diagnosed with some form of cancer at some point in our lives.

… when is that “Moonshot” going to LAND?

If it were up to ME, I’d like to see it happen SOONER, rather than LATER.

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As I’ve spent the last few days contemplating life or death decisions for my DOG, based on MONEY… it’s not that hard to consider the situation if it were ME. I am fairly new at being diabetic (T1D), but I was fully aware of how dependent I had become the FIRST time I filled my prescription for insulin and needles. Through no fault of my own, my body decided to attack my pancreas and shut down my ability to produce insulin.

If I cannot fill that prescription… I will die.

Those prescriptions cost $1000 per month out of pocket.

This Presidential Candidacy… 100% brought to you by Elli Lilly and Co, at whatever cost they decide to charge. For me, money has lost all value. Whatever the cost…

It is quite humbling. I’m not sure what happened to the strapping young lad who used to inhabit this body, but I can see WHY he left… this ol’ body’s not quite what it used to be!

Without the scientific and technical achievements that have emerged from within this FREE and OPEN society created by our Constitution, I would not be here. I owe my continued existence to this nation, and I am more than happy to do all that I can to ensure its continued existence as well.

So… now you know my “ulterior motive” for seeking the Presidency. The United States must continue to THRIVE and grow technologically to a point where EVERY type one diabetic can once again produce Beta Cells and create their own insulin. I believe someday it WILL happen, but only if the United States endures.

There are fights in this world that are STILL worth fighting. We must not forget- OURS is truly a BLESSED NATION! It is a GIFT with which we have been entrusted, to SHARE with all humanity…

I would not want to be derelict in THAT duty.