1. Short thread. This may have a martial arts flavor but is really about financial hardship.

2. I recently received a FB message from a female martial artist. From what I see, she had messages approximately 35 people, nearly all Americans. She has been training since 2015 or thereabouts.

3. In the message, she indicated that she was going on a road trip to test for her black belt. She further said she needed financial assistance to pull this off. She and her partner have less than $100 in their bank account and so she requested assistance.

4. Several recipients replied. Many said that they, themselves, were in tight financial straits. One said she and her husband were at the point where they could not afford their mortgage any longer.

5. Others related that they were living from paycheck to paycheck.

6. This contrasts with the “great economy” being touted by Trump and the GOP. The best economic message for the Democrats is staring at them and that is the daily and weekly financial stresses that many Americans face (as well as Canadians up here).

7. I realize that this is only a small pool of folks and may not be statistically valid but, based on my observations, the Democrats would do well to listen to folks like those in the chat group.

8. Yes, I contributed some $ to help this woman on her black belt journey. END.