75,019,268, we were right!

I'm Shamontiel, a 20-year digital and print editor, journalist, and fact-checker. 
When I'm not working, there's a 99% chance I'm walking somebody's dog or my own four-legged security guard/fitness instructor.
As a 20-year vegetarian, I'm adamant about daily, morning meditation; weight training; and love dance fitness (mainly Kukuwa).
If I'm not cooking, wrestling my way through a DIY project or walking dogs, I'm buried in commentary on politics, news and culture. (Born on Veteran's Day and always thinking of my late 95-year-old grandfather on his birthday, Flag Day, I'll never call either holiday anything but the names that suit them best.)

---

MOST RECENT SUBSTACK POSTS

Photo credit: Shamontiel L. Vaughn

1. BLACK GIRL IN A DOGGONE WORLD™: Should AI dog training supplies be in your home? ~ The pros and cons of training your dog via technology instead of human-only observation

2. I DO SEE COLOR: Why wouldn't the Black Power Movement be considered successful? ~ The reason I unenrolled in one Harvard University political course

3. HOMEGROWN TALES: Skip the grocery store, grow these 11 items on your windowsill ~ With SNAP benefit cuts, job loss and mortgage interest upticks leaving some people in a bind, homegrown groceries are the one thing we can all control

4. ONE BLACK WOMAN'S VOTE: Trump Accounts for newborn babies is the creepiest part of the BBB ~ While new parents are celebrating a child, now they're forced into having a Trump stock account

5. BLACK GIRL IN A DOGGONE WORLD™: Hate Elon Musk or not, he was onto something with 'dog mode' Teslas ~ Pet owners have three months to use the expiring $7,500 tax credit for new EVs and up to $4,000 tax credit for used EVs

Photo credit: Shoham Avisrur/Unsplash

6. I DO SEE COLOR: Can people with different political views stay married? ~ That scene in 'We Belong Together' when Ashanti said more with her face than she did with her mouth about Nelly performing for the Trump inauguration

7. WINDOW SHOPPING: Summertime and getting fruit nails is easy ~ Fruit nail trends are skyrocketing on TikTok, and here are 15 design ideas for you

8. HOMEGROWN TALES: Tackling the cigarette smell from the neighbor's yard ~ 7 ways for non-smokers and smokers to live near each other in harmony

9. I DO SEE COLOR: 'Cultural sensitivity' may go missing for psychologists without a DEI program ~ If you're Black, is it harder to 'manage happiness' during Trump's second-term presidency?

​10. BLACK GIRL IN A DOGGONE WORLD™: With so many dog toothbrush options, which is the best to fight dog tartar? ~ Round dog toothbrush, soft-bristled human toothbrush, dual-sided angle dog toothbrush, or silicone finger: Which is the best toothbrush for dogs?