Outside the Gates

The BBC has done a good job of covering what’s actually happening in America directly outside the convention halls where politicians make high-flying inspirational speeches about how our problems are fixable while offering no constructive, realistic policy proposals to actually fix any of them.

Tampa has one of the highest percentage of homeless in the nation, and no they aren’t all lazy or hooked on drugs. However, they must be swept under the rug lest the well-to-do Republican delegates actually see the results of their policies:

Tampa homeless 'sidelined' by Republican convention pomp 

And rural North Carolina towns were among the most decimated by deindustrialization and outsourcing that have swept the country since the 1970’s. Despite all the rhetoric about the middle class, is there any movement from the Democrats to reverse this?:

Incomplete: The North Carolina town the recovery forgot

So here you can see what's really happening even as our politicians live in their bubble and pontificate about how great things will be if only they're elected. Meanwhile, on the rest of the planet:

Arctic ice melting at 'amazing' speed, scientists find