When are YOU going to do something?

It’s not just about the fact a person can run to be a leader of our nation and still say disgusting things about women.

It’s that there are other men who have let him. Who allowed him to spend his whole life speaking about us like we are destined to be eaten. Who thought of this attitude as honest rather than deplorable.

I’m watching you. I’m sick of boys removing themselves from the conversation because they “would never”. But you would let your friend catcall. But in the locker room or in your living room or in your frat house, you laugh when he makes the rape joke, when he talks about her like she’s inconsequential, when he removes her consent and speaks about her as if she’s a haunted house; good for a night and a story but too trapped with ghosts.

You better look down, because you’re on fire, too. You’re not free of sin because your sin was listening, an ear that excuses behavior over and over and over again until those who laugh about it begin to preform it on a personal level. Until they think they will be tolerated for criminal behavior because you tolerated them too.

The worst part is they’re right.

I want to believe in mankind. Believe he doesn’t become an rapist overnight, that only decades of business meetings or beauty contests teach him that it’s okay to be demeaning. Teach him our bodies only belong in the orbit of a boy, only mattering when we have a son.

I know how many will fold into themselves about this, hide like always in the idea you cannot change what is, that we exaggerate, that it’s not that much of a problem. That it’s not on you. Maybe it’s someone else’s problem, you won’t speak up because something in your circumstance always prevents it. That women talk about men that way sometimes, don’t they? You’ll follow rabbit holes until you come back up to sunshine without realizing you smell of nothing but gravedirt.

I’m watching you. I want to let you know you don’t get to sleep at night anymore, because none of us do. The girls you laughed about, talked about our parts as if you couldn’t tell you were slicing us into pieces. The girls who still have bruises. The women who you only see the shadow of when they stand next to their fathers or boyfriends, the two-dimensional figments of your imagination.

We are real and last night it was hard for us to breathe. All that air got snatched up by his talking. Last night we didn’t sleep. I’m not just cursing him anymore. I’m telling you the curse goes deeper. It’s every rape case you ignored, every time you waived off how offended she got by his words, every time she got uncomfortable and you did your best not to notice. I’m cursing the boy who didn’t get her back safely even though he knew about his buddy. The boy who stood in the same room as someone who spoke about her roughly and just kept drinking. I mean you.

Not all men, maybe. But all men have seen it happen.

Now the question is: when are you going to do something?

Feminists hate patriarchy. We do not hate you.

So you hate feminists. They're trying to ruin society and make your life impossible. Do you really understand what a feminist is? Do you realize how dismantling the patriarchy is for the benefit of everyone? Well, let me try to explain it to you...

Feminists do not want you to lose custody of your children. The assumption that women are naturally better caregivers is part of patriarchy.

Feminists do not like commercials in which bumbling dads mess up the laundry and competent wives have to bustle in and fix it. The assumption that women are naturally better housekeepers is part of patriarchy.

Feminists do not want you to have to make alimony payments. Alimony is set up to combat the fact that women have been historically expected to prioritize domestic duties over professional goals, thus minimizing their earning potential if their “traditional” marriages end. The assumption that wives should make babies instead of money is part of patriarchy.

Feminists do not want anyone to get raped in prison. Permissiveness and jokes about prison rape are part of rape culture, which is part of patriarchy.

Feminists do not want anyone to be falsely accused of rape. False rape accusations discredit rape victims, which reinforces rape culture, which is part of patriarchy.

Feminists do not want you to be lonely and we do not hate “nice guys.” This idea that women are after a "tough guy" is patriarchy. The idea that certain people are inherently more valuable than other people because of superficial physical attributes is part of patriarchy.

Feminists do not want you to have to pay for dinner. We want the opportunity to achieve financial success on par with men in any field we choose (and are qualified for), and the fact that we currently don’t is part of patriarchy. The idea that men should coddle and provide for women, and purchase their affections in romantic contexts, is condescending and damaging. And also part of patriarchy.

Feminists do not want you to be maimed or killed in industrial accidents, or toil in coal mines while we do cushy secretarial work and various yarn-themed activities. The fact that women have long been shut out of dangerous industrial jobs (by men, by the way) is part of patriarchy.

Feminists do not want you to commit suicide. Any pressures and expectations that lower the quality of life of any gender are part of patriarchy. The fact that depression is characterized as an effeminate weakness, making men less likely to seek treatment, is part of patriarchy.

Feminists do not want you to be viewed with suspicion when you take your child to the park (men frequently insist that this is a serious issue, so I will take them at their word). The assumption that men are insatiable sexual animals, combined with the idea that it’s unnatural for men to care for children, is part of patriarchy.

Feminists do not want you to be drafted and then die in a war while we stay home and iron. The idea that women are too weak to fight or too delicate to function in a military setting is part of patriarchy.

Feminists do not want women to escape prosecution on legitimate domestic violence charges, nor do we want men to be ridiculed for being raped or abused. The idea that women are naturally gentle and compliant and that victimhood is inherently feminine is part of patriarchy.

Feminists hate patriarchy. We do not hate you.

If you really care about those issues as passionately as you say you do, you should be thanking feminists. Feminism is a social movement actively dedicated to dismantling every single one of them. The fact that you blame feminists—your allies—for problems against which they have been struggling for decades suggests that supporting men isn’t nearly as important to you as resenting women.

We care about your problems a lot. Could you try caring about ours?

When did protecting women mean taking away their choice?

Look, Texas, I love you. I might not have been born and raised here, I might not even have really even liked living here when I first moved here (who really enjoys 100+ heat in the summer?) but this is my home. I know that this is still a very Republican state and as a Democrat my voice is not very loud or even likely to be heard. But let me take the time to tell you that you have got to stop trying to limit my rights as a woman.

When Wendy Davis stood up for 13 hours and talked to the Senate about how terrible SB5 was, you tried to impose rules that you don't impose on the male members of the Senate when they decide to filibuster a bill. Male members were allowed to try and talk over her, interrupt her and completely ignore the other members that were trying to speak out in support of Davis. Then, after it was past time to vote, you went ahead and let the vote happen. Supports of Davis lined the walkways circling the gallery and yet you ignored them in order to try and push this through. When it was determined that the vote was void and the bill was dead, our Governor Perry decided to call a special session beginning July 1 to consider this bill again.

I'm really baffled by Republicans in the Senate that keep saying that the government needs to stay out of citizens' lives but then create (and pass) legislation like SB5 that trample all over a woman's right to decide what to do with her body. Let me explain something to you, Texas, I know my body better than you do. I know what I need to eat, what exercise I need, what birth control suits me best, and even what sort of medical care I need. Let me decide what I do with it. If I know I am not fit to be a mother, let me make that choice. I know you don't want to have people on Welfare and other government programs, so allow me to make the choice that will keep me off of them. Doesn't that sound better?

I know that there are some politicians like Sen. Jodie Laudenburg seem to think that even something as procedural as a rape kit can cause an abortion, and there are other Senators elsewhere that seem to think that the female body can even stop a pregnancy from happening in the instances of "real" rape, so maybe it would be best for politicians to stop trying to create legislation about something that they don't understand. Did you realize that, while SB5 says abortions after 20 weeks after conception will not be allowed, it is scientifically impossible to determine the date of conception? Did you realize that most women don't consider having an abortion without serious consideration of their actions?  And can I let you in on a little secret? Banning abortions won't mean abortions don't happen. It means that they don't happen in a safe environment. It means they will happen illegally. It means they will be dangerous. It means women will travel out of state in order to obtain an abortion.

So, Texas, instead of revisiting a bill that that the people have made it clear they don't want, maybe you could spend your time in the special session working on issues that we actually need to focus on. Could you maybe spend some time looking at the fact that the education system in Texas is laughable at best? I don't think I'm asking too much here. I'm only asking for you to recognize your own rules and your own voting rules. Texas, I know we don't always see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, but can you just take the time to look at how unabashedly wrong this is? The people literally spoke and you didn't listen. People chose to stand with Wendy Davis both in Austin and across the nation.

I know a lot of Texas is a believer of the "right of the fetus" argument, but it is, pardon my French, absolute bullshit. Let me ask you something, if I have a baby in one hand and a petri dish with 1,000 embryos in it and I drop them both, which one would you rush to catch? 

Farwell Privacy, Hello Orwellian Society

When the report was released last week that Verizon has been forced to hand over data for it's users, I was appalled. Not only as a Verizon customer, but as an American.

It is pretty obvious that I don't mind living a public life. If I didn't, I wouldn't have a blog and twitter and utilize various other social media platforms. But I have the ability to decide what I share. If I have a bad day at work, I can keep it to myself. If I'm dealing with a personal crisis, I don't have to disclose that to the world. But I have the ability to decide what information is public knowledge.

The court order gives the NSA access to the people on the call, the location, the duration, and the time of the call. It does not force Verizon to divulge the contents of the calls. But this court order is for all customers, whether or not they are actually suspected of doing anything wrong. These customers are being spied on with no real reason for this to be allowed. Verizon was expressly forbidden to announce to its customers that this request or court order was even a concern. This data was collected for calls in and out of the country.

Finding out that my civil liberties have been violated in such a way is a disgusting feeling. To think that companies haven't been spying on us for years is a delusion that most people have given up on. We all have come to accept that companies like Google track our internet footprint in order to market to us better. Microsoft and X-Box have announced that the new X-Box will be connected to the internet constantly and will be spying on its users. Stories pop up every day about companies doing this. But for the government to be secretly gathering information (and forbidding the corporation from informing its customers of this) is a massive violation of our Constitutional rights. And while the court order does not directly give the NSA the allowance to listen in to calls, who is to say that they really haven't been?

Sen. Lindsey Graham told Fox news "I’m a Verizon customer. I don’t mind Verizon turning over records to the government if the government is going to make sure that they try to match up a known terrorist phone with somebody in the United States." I can't seem to wrap my head around this statement. It is a huge violation of our rights to have the NSA gathering this information, but, on the off chance it does help, it is okay? (And besides, anyone that's seen NCIS know that terrorists and criminals use burn phones.) Sen. Saxby Chambiliss went so far as to say "This has been going on for seven years." So I guess we should just let it go because it has been happening without our knowledge?

I've been disappointed with Verizon for a while now. And, even though they really had no say in the matter, I'm disgusted that this has been allowed to happen. This is an excessive measure that takes the way our freedom and liberties in the name of "freedom" and "security". Some politicians are saying that this is to protect Americans from terrorists and various other "bad guys." But how long before these "bad guys" turn into people that don't agree with the government? How long before it is people like you or me that oppose policies and politicians and laws currently in place?

I've given serious thought to leaving Verizon because of this policy. But the thing is, who is to say whether or not this is happening to other carrier like AT&T or T-Mobile or Sprint? They may issue a statement saying they would never do this to their customers, but I don't know if that could be trusted. After all, Verizon was explicitly forbidden from informing their customers that this was happening. Who is to say that other companies aren't under the same sort of gag order?

Something needs to be done to stop this sort of action from continually happening to citizens. Citizens do not need this sort of surveillance. Protecting national security and protecting the status quo are not the same thing, but those in power may be unable to make the distinction.

Republican talk radio is amazing

Seriously, it's great. I love it. I used to never listen to the radio because I hated the garbage played on the radio. Seriously, with all of the music out there how is it that every radio station is playing the same ten songs? And usually they play them all at the same time. How is that possible?? How is it that with millions of songs to chose from and all of the talent out there, the same mind numbing pop crap is what is popular?

But I digress...

I have found the wonderful world that is AM and talk radio.

I don't watch Fox news or want to read any sort of republican publication, but I do love to listen to Republican talk radio when I'm driving. Granted, I don't really do that much driving, usually a grand total of 45 minutes a day, but I think it is good to listen to what the other side has to say. I may only hear a small part of a host's show, but there is almost always a portion of each show that allows callers to voice their opinion. And since I generally avoid talking politics with people, I think this is a great way to hear what real Republicans think.

I'm a fairly liberal Democrat. I'm quite proud of this fact. I support equal rights and I'm Pro-Choice and I think religion should be removed from schools and the judicial system and Healthcare Reform is a good thing and the countries we're occupying shouldn't have our military presence. I try to keep up to date with what is happening in the world from various sources. I read what some of the more extreme faux-news outlets call "liberal propaganda."  I try to find as many unbiased sources as possible, but that isn't really possible, everyone has an opinion and they are going to write with a bit of a bias.

But I love Republican talk radio.

I think it is fascinating to hear some of the more convoluted conspiracies that some of the audiences can come up with. There is almost as much thought put into the conspiracies as Martin put into Game of Thrones.  While it is easy to scoff at them for the absolute ridiculousness of it all, you have got to admit some of the Right-wing extremists have a lot of imagination.

And while a lot of people I know might think it is odd that I enjoy listening to such nonsense, sometimes it's good to step outside of my general comfort zone and listen to what the other side has to say. And sometimes it is nice to hear that there are a couple hosts that aren't batshit crazy. These are a bit hard to find, but it is nice to hear an educated argument from people I don't necessarily agree with. If you don't understand why your opponent believes something you will never be able to even attempt to convince them. It is also nice to hear these radio hosts are just as quickly to shut down conspiracy theories just as often as certain hosts are willing to create them.

Another reason I like talk radio is because it reminds me that not all Republicans are insane. The ones that we see and hear about generally are extreme and bordering on insane, but the majority are not. Just like the majority of Democrats aren't. The extremists from both sides are generally what the opposing side sees because we like to point and laugh at how ridiculous their point of view is. Sometime it is nice to be reminded of this fact. I think it is something that most people realize, but we forget it a lot of the time.

So, if you tire of listening to the same four songs on the radio on your daily commutes, try turning to AM and giving it a shot. Not only will your brain thank you for not being subjected to mind melting pop garbage, but you might actually be able to learn something new.

Today we saw the worst of humanity

This has been a pretty terrible day for everyone in the country, hell the world. The bombs that went off in Boston this afternoon don't just affect them, it affects all of us. And it is times like these that show who we really are as people. As humans

And I must say, I've been thoroughly disappointed with humanity today.

Apparently it isn't bad enough that over 80 people were injured today. It isn't bad enough that two people have died. It isn't bad enough that one of the dead is an 8 year old little boy. It isn't enough that a city was sent into a panic. It isn't enough that we, as a nation, are mourning this tragedy. We have to turn this into a political, racist, disgusting event that makes everyday people call perfect strangers terrible things.

Just like every other tragedy, the news tried and failed to report on this as it happened. Reporters and journalists all wanted to be the first one to have information, regardless of whether it was true or not. People were reporting that buildings were being bombed, when in reality they just had a small maintenance fire. People were reporting that a man was arrested and in custody just a few hours after the attacks. People were reporting that 12 were dead when emergency responders were still trying to figure out what was happening. There were numerous reports that all turned out to be false today.

And you know what, when they're trying to give people like you and me information immediately, journalists are going to make mistakes. I know that. I'm not expecting every report to be completely accurate when tragedy strikes. But I do expect them to redact misinformation. I do expect new casters to not blatantly lie about someone of a certain ethnicity to be in custody and arrested. These same news outlets don't correct the information to say that a citizen saw an ethnic man running from a bomb blast a tackled him. He was tackled because of his ethnicity. He was tackled by a citizen like you or me because of the color of his skin.

That is wrong.

And this story is still developing. No one knows what all happened today. It will be a while before we all know. Buy the way people reacted to that news was disgusting. And anyone that tried to correct that information was a terrorist. Or a Muslim supporter. Or a Muslim terrorist supporter. Or part of a sleeper cell. Or deserved to die. (Yeah, these are all things I've been called in the last three hours for trying to point out that story was false.) And you know what, that is really disappointing. Humanity was at its worst today.

This was an act of terrorism. Thousands of people were terrified. These innocent people were terrorized. The person or persons responsible for an eight years old boy losing his life need to be punished. I will never deny that. But maybe, when something as terrible as this happens, we need to learn to come together and not tear each other apart. We need to be better than this.

This is still all developing. This is still fresh and raw. And it hurts.

But we need to stop lashing out in hurt and fear and anger at each other. We need to be there for the people that need us. Those that were effected by this tragedy need the rest of us. They need our support.

Not our hate.

This is about equality

Starting today, the Supreme Court of the United States is going to be listening to arguments about Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. Pretty much, they're going to make the decision about marriage equality in this country.

What enrages me is the fact that this has even needed to go to the SCOTUS. I remember reading this little phrase as a kid and thinking that this was really the answer to this question of marriage equality. I know its not a very well know sentence but it stuck with me. It means that all United States citizens are allowed the same rights. It means we are all granted the same equal rights.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." 

I know, as a country we've really had to struggle and fight to make sure the color of a person's skin and what's between their legs isn't what's going to make them a person. I know getting equal rights is still something we fight for every day. Women still fight for equal rights and equal pay. People of different nationalities are still fighting to be treated the same as a white man. But the situations for all people (except maybe the white, land-owning male) has really improved in this country. Equality is something that everyone agrees on, equality is a good thing. We all deserve to be treated equally and given the same equal rights and equal opportunities.

So why are we even discussing whether or not people of the same sex should have the right to get married?

Is it because marriage is a "Christian institution" so they get to decide who can get married? No. Because people in other religions and in other countries get married all the time. People with no religion get married in this country all the time. Marriage is by no means a Christian institution. If you're going to sit back and tell me that marriage is a Christian institution and they get to decide the rules, then you're also telling me that this is a Christian nation and Christians are the ones to make the rules. But they aren't.

One of the founding principles of this country is the separation of Church and State. Many of the people that founded this country fled their homes in other countries in search of a place they could worship or not worship what they wanted without fear of persecution. By turning a secular thing like marriage into a religious institution wherein they get to make the rules breaks this simple principal. It means that anyone that gets married must be a Christian or its not a "real" marriage.

Every American citizen is allowed the same set of inalienable rights. This is what this country was built on. Are homosexual men not citizens? Are homosexual women not citizens? Just because someone is bisexual, they're not a citizen? Just because they're transgender, they don't matter? Its time we as a country realize that just because someone loves someone you don't think they should love learn to just say... Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Because it is of no concern who other people love.

And if you want to tell me that these couples really don't need to get married, I'm calling BS. Not only because you're denying them a right that they should have as an American citizen, but because there are things that are granted to married couples in this country that a same-sex couple can't have because of who they love. Don't believe me, read up here about some of the benefits of marriage. How could the SCOTUS say that it is in fact constitutional to deny American citizens these rights?

I really hope in the (near) future students will read their textbooks in school about this time in our history when these couples had to fight so hard to be able to love people and look back with the same disgust that we look back on the fight of African Americans. These are basic rights. By denying them you are saying that we are not all equal.

This isn't that hard, people. Love is love.

Get mad, but get informed first

I'm absolutely fucking sick of hearing people complain about the government when it seems like they don't know the basics of how our government works. I get that people dislike the President. I get that people dislike the cuts that are being made. But lets get one thing clear:

The President isn't the one that decides these cuts.

What's that? You didn't know that? You thought that the President had full power? No. Wrong. Don't you remember learning about a little system in place called "checks and balances"? It means that while the Executive branch (aka our President) is the one to sign a bill and pass it, the Legislative branch (aka Congress) is the one to actually write it up and create it while the Judicial system (aka the Supreme Court) make the ruling on a laws legality. It means that while the President can make speeches and statements about various things that he thinks should or should not happen, it ultimately comes down to what those 535 members decide on doing.

Get used to the fact that while the President is the one to sign a budget into law, Congress is required to pass a budget every year in October that decides where funds will be distributed and cut. Various committees in both the House of Representatives and Senate decide on what is put into the budget. And if they can get a budget put together and agreed upon by the majority (which hasn't happened since 2009), it gets sent to the President to be signed into a law. But you say he can veto a law which means this is all his fault? No. It can get sent back down for a 2/3 vote. And if that doesn't pass? Then the House and Senate can make appropriation bills and set up a time when automatic cuts will be made if they can't agree on a budget.

If you want to get mad at someone, get mad at the people that are sitting in Congress, writing laws and setting the budget and deciding what should be cut. Maybe you should get mad at the fact that there are certain aspects of the budget that can't be touched, while roughly 36% of the budget is open for our wonderful leaders to manipulate. Things like Social Security (22%), Medicare/Medicaid (23%) and the interest on the US debt (6%) are areas that generally can't be cut, they're mandatory spending. The "discretionary spending" that can be cut (17%) covers things like education, NASA, and departments that regulate food and health safety while the defense budget (19%) covers the military and wars and homeland security, this is where cuts are going to be made.

Maybe you should get made that the reason Social Security is such a financial drain on the country is brought about by leaders in Congress deciding some 30-odd years ago to use this money as their own personal bank while never paying it back. But guess what? Those people that paid into it are now retiring. And those people deserve to get their Social Security checks because its their money. Its not an entitlement, it is their money in the first place! Maybe you should stop getting mad at the 70-year old couple that draws a check every month that doesn't even cover half of their monthly living expenses. Maybe you should realize that there are simply more older people retiring than there are younger people working. So of course its going to cost more to give them Social Security. Maybe you should realize that people are living longer, Social Security was made to help people from retirement to when they die, which used to be around age 70 and is now around age 80.

Maybe instead of blindly blaming the President for the cuts being made to our education system you should get mad at the fact that the US defense budget is more than the top 12 countries combined and then the decision is made to cut their education assistance programs instead of cutting outdated programs and systems in place. Maybe you should get mad at the fact that the military has no problems spending money to update their computers and systems every year because if that money isn't spent, it means they have too large of a budget (which they do) and their budgets get cut the next year. Maybe you should start to realize that the three wars we were in cost a lot of money and we're going to be paying for them for quite a while. And those wars? Guess what? The current President wasn't the one to get us into them.

Maybe you should stop blaming a single individual for the Sequester and start blaming the people that actually thought it would be a good idea for automatic spending cuts to happen March 1, 2013. The people that thought this would be a good idea? Oh yeah, they're the same people that couldn't agree on a budget for a year and thought that in two years when things were really bad, they'd be able to come together and reach an agreement. Maybe you should take the time to actually learn about what the hell our government is doing instead of waiting until shit hits the fan and complaining about everything. Maybe you should take your opinions to the place where it actually matters, start participating in your elections that happen all the time instead of voting once every four years for a man that really doesn't have that much power.

Get mad at the government, that's fine. If you're mad, it means you're taking an interest. It means you're involved. But don't just sit back and get mad when things that we all knew would happen eventually happen. Before you start blaming a single individual for an entire country's problems, it might be in your best interest to actually learn how things work and how laws and budgets are made.

HCR and PPACA

In May, I left my previous job as an Executive Assistant for a property management company and started a job as Marketing Assistant at a corporate benefits consulting firm. This job, while extremely challenging and difficult has really been a great opportunity. Not only because its a great job and all that, but I now actually understand medical. dental, vision, life, disability, LTC, and pretty much any other benefit that a company would like to offer for their company. Also, I also have the ability to actually understand what the hell is happening with Health Care Reform and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

You know, that thing that most people have just stuck to calling "Obamacare." 

Honestly, I'm absolutely sick of hearing people trying to talk about it like they actually know what is happening. This morning we spent just under three hours with one of our lawyers and he went pretty in detail about what to expect the next two years and what the regulations actually are and what really is going to happen. It was one of the most exhausting meetings I've been in just for the sheer volume of information. Even though I still have a bit of a headache from everything that's going to happen, I'm really glad we had that meeting. 

There is a large number of people that like to write articles about what you should expect in 2013 and 2014 with healthcare reform and I would say (at a rough estimate) 90% of these people are talking out of their ass. These people like to regurgitate the exact same non-information that has been presented over and over before. Very few of them have actually read PPACA or any of the announcements and rulings that have been made about it. We (meaning me and the company I work for) can't have such a luxury. We have to read this. We have to know exactly what is happening. We have to be able to advise our clients. And knowing as much as I do about the coming six years in healthcare really has me worried about the amount of misinformation out there about it. I'm really more concerned with the sheer amount of outright lies being told to the US public about what the ramifications will be. I'm concerned about the fact that people blindly read and watch these major news networks and accept their word as gospel when they don't have the slightest clue what is happening.

I'm not going to tell you all the caveats about HCR and PPACA for two simple reasons: 

1. Did I mention we were in a three hour meeting today discussing it and my head still hurts? Its complicated stuff.
2. I like my job

But I can tell you all this: Don't blindly accept that everyone's insurance rates are going to be rising exponentially and companies are going to start getting rid of benefits. That's not going to happen. Health care  will increase, but mostly due to the fact that there are going to be a lot of people that don't have insurance that now will and a lot of previous limits are no longer there. So there is a big risk that underwriters (the people that determine your rates) can't account for. 

If you would like more information about what's actually happening, I would suggest reading the actual bills. Anyone that says that this program is going to cripple the country or bankrupt the country obviously doesn't know anything about PPACA. I'd be more than happy to explain what is really happening with anyone that has questions, just obviously not in a blog post where you might be able to take it as legal counsel. If you're a business owner, I would suggest hiring someone in this business (a corporate benefits consulting firm) to help you navigate the next few years. Don't try to do it on your own.

(I do know of a great company that could help you all out...)

Celebrity Affairs

It seems everywhere I turn, I can't help but encounter news about a certain CIA Director's affair turned scandal. And you know what? I couldn't possibly care less about it.

Why are we so bombarded with "news" about the fact that this many, and any other powerful figure, has an affair? What does this matter? From the little bit that I've gathered about the man, he seems to be a hard working, dedicated man that did a great job while serving as a General and as the director of the CIA. You know what this story proves about him? He had the opportunity to have an affair with a woman that was writing a biography about him.

I'm going to guess if she's writing a book about him, they're going to spend a lot of time together. These two probably corresponded a lot. These two probably spent a long time talking and getting to know each other. What started out as a respect probably was easily turned into a school-girl-type crush. There was opportunity. So they started to have an affair. And now it seems this man's career is over? For having a consensual relationship with a woman? Really? This is news? The woman wasn't trying to extract military secrets out of him. They were just sleeping together.

Yes, if this affair happened while the Petraeus was in the military it would be a violation of the military code of conduct. But is having an affair illegal? No. Is this a terrible thing for his wife to be caught up in? Of course. But is this news? No. What happens in this man's personal life is not, by any standard, news.

And for that matter, I don't care about any actor, musician, politician, teacher, or street performer that has an affair with a consenting adult. Because that isn't news. News stations are so oblivious to real tragedies happening in the world but they can't miss a story about someone even remotely well known that was unfaithful. There are still thousands of people suffering from Hurricane Sandy yet they are almost nonexistent in the news. That news is so last week. There are millions suffering from violence, starvation, poor healthcare, lack of freedom and this is what is plastered all over every major news organization? There is a looming fiscal cliff, a war that might be ending soon, Guantanamo Bay still open, and a Congress that refuses to work together in our own country and this is what people want to focus on?

Maybe it isn't just politics that need to be revamped, maybe the priorities of Americans need to be changed if we want to see change within our country.

The Big Day is Finally Here!!

I'm sure everyone is just as excited as I am that today is election day! No more of the constant political ads. No more of the continuous coverage of people in Ohio that still are undecided. No more talking about polls. It's done! It's over!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am so glad that after tonight this will all be over. And as happy as I am that the election is finally here, I'm sure residents of any swing state are even more excited to have the 24/7 constant stream of political ads have finally come to an end. Tomorrow, for the first time in a very long time, residents of Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, Nevada, Wisconsin, Florida, Virginia and North Carolina will finally be able to watch television without the constant barrage of how such-and-such candidate is evil. Those people are such troopers to put up with such madness.

Before this is all said and done, go vote. Don't give me the same bullshit about how both candidates are evil and neither one is doing any good, make up your mind and vote. There is an independent on the ballot if you out-right refuse to make a real decision. Thousands of people have fought and died (and paid millions) for you to get out there and vote. There is no reason whatsoever to not cast your vote. You might live in a Republican state and be a Democrat and be thinking Why should I vote? My one vote doesn't matter? But your vote does matter. If everyone out there that said their vote didn't matter actually stood up and did something, things might actually change. A red state might turn blue. A blue state might turn red. No one will know because thousands of people don't vote because they don't feel like they matter.

If I can get in line at 7:00 in the morning surrounded by far too many brats running around an elementary school without coffee, you can make it to your polling station. If pregnant women are willing to stand in line for hours on end while also keeping watch on their toddler, you can vote. If a woman can stand in line for two hours with a four year old and a ten month old, you can vote. There are no excuses. This is one of the most basic responsibilities we have as an American. So go vote.

And then celebrate because its all finally over!!

Until the next election season, that is.

What is the True Cost of Freedom?

The world’s annual budget on defense spending came to roughly $1.1 trillion in 2011. The United States spent 56% of the global budget for national defense. This comes to a total of more than $693 billion spent every year on wars, national defense, homeland security, and the national military. China ranks second spending 7.3% of the global budget, a number that comes to $76 billion. When you consider that the United States only makes up 4.4% of the global population, the amount that the United States spends on defense is quite outrageous. If China, a country that currently takes up 19.16% of the global population spends $617 billion less than the United States, what justifications could the United States possibly have for such outrageous spending? When the United States are currently facing the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, the first place that the nation should look to decrease our debt and increase our surplus should be to trim the fat from the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.

Politicians on all sides of the political spectrum have been staunchly opposed to any sort of talks that might lead to a cut for the Department of Defense. Even when the “Super Committee” that was formed last summer was told to make cuts or the Department of Defense would be the first place to see these cuts, politicians refused to make any secessions. They then voiced the fact that there would be no cuts to the Department of Defense. This seems to be the only place that politicians can agree, the DOD will not be cut or even forced to slow its spending. The Department of Defense has seen great increases in its budget annually since the days of the Cold War. The increases that the United States approved in the past sixty years all have great justifications as to why these increases have been needed.

The Cold War has been a huge factor as to why the United States needed a large military and why the Department of Defense needed to grow and consume more and more of the US budget. After the end of World War II, the United States was labeled as a global superpower and almost every move the United States made during this time was in direct response to the Soviet Union. The Korean War was the faceoff of the United States and the United Nations against countries under the influence of the communism that was spread by the Soviet Union. The United States was able to step in and influence this war. President Eisenhower even threatened China with our own nuclear weapons in order to bring about an end to the war. The military continued to grow and expand during the Vietnam War, another effort by the United States to stop the spread of communism. The Persian Gulf War required yet again more military growth and even more of the United States’ budget to be spent on wars against communism.  The Cold War was a time that the United States took a stand against communism. This was a time for the US to intervene in other country’s problems and spread democracy to the less fortunate. This was a time for the US to rid the world of terrible dictators. This was a time for the US to ease the suffering of many people in dire situations created by evil communists.

In the past ten years, the United States’ Department of Defense budget has grown at an exponential rate. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States began its War on Terror. President Bush authorized Operation Enduring Freedom for the invasion of Afghanistan to rid the country of the Taliban. He also authorized Operation Iraqi Freedom that freed the Iraqi people from the clutches of Saddam Hussein. Whether the original reasoning of finding Weapons of Mass Destruction was pure fiction from the President or not, the new directive was to create democracy and spread freedom. The United States soon had concrete evidence of numerous human rights violations and had the duty to rid the country of Hussein and create freedom. Since military occupation has been required by the United States in order to insure that democracy prevailed, the United States has spent over $800 billion on the War in Iraq from 2003 to the present day.

The Department of Homeland Security has also been forced to continue to increase its budget in the past ten years in light of the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington DC. For the fiscal year of 2012, the United States has budgeted $432 billion for the Department of Homeland Security. In order to assure safety to all citizens and prevent another such tragedy from occurring, border security became a top priority. Before 2001, there was not much thought given to border security, and therefore not as much money was required to be spent on it. Since 2001, border security now requires money to be spent not only on controlling illegal immigration, but also watching for potential threats. This strengthened watch has also led to a renewal of the War on Drugs. With the Patriot Act signed by President Bush in 2001, citizens surrendered more of their rights as more of their tax dollars were spent on national safety. The United States gave itself the power to detain potential threats to the nation for an indefinite amount of time. Guantanamo Bay was created as a haven for the United States to “interrogate” such potential targets. In their fear of another attack, US politicians stripped away many rights of citizens. Tax dollars that could have been put into schools and the future of the country were turned against the citizens.

National Defense makes up 22.53% of the United States’ budget. In 2012, the US has budgeted $553 billion for the entire Department of Defense. Veterans’ benefits, something that anyone serving in the military will receive, make up an additional 3.26% of the budget. The United States are suffering a crisis, the likes of which has not been seen since the Great Depression. Politicians are looking for ways to not only decrease the national debt, which is now exceeding $14 trillion, but a way to stop the increase of debt. No one wants to make cuts. No one wants to lose the security provided by the military, the retirement provided by Social Security, the help from unemployment compensation, the healthcare provided by Medicare. If something isn’t cut soon, the country runs the risk of losing all of the benefits it has grown accustomed to.

The military can be reduced. If the United States were to withdraw completely from other countries, trillions of dollars would be saved. Due to the fact that the military occupies places like South Korea in order to prevent a nuclear war, this will not happen any time soon. The personnel that are stationed outside the country can be greatly reduced. If the United States were to focus more than 0.84% of its budget on technology programs, there could be huge advances for society. Less people would be required to do the same amount of work. If the United States were to avoid all wars, it would not require such an expansive military. The United States military could cut its military in half and still function if only there was a bit of reorganization. If the United States were to work and cooperate more with the European Union, it would be able to scale back the Navy and share the burden of patrolling the oceans with other countries. 

The United States has been telling itself for hundreds of years that it has a manifest destiny. Part of being an American is spreading freedom and democracy to the rest of the world. If the United States sees communism being spread, it is their job to step in and right things. Trillions of dollars have been spent in the past fifty years on the basis that the US has to stop the spread of communism. What gives the United States the right to step in and tell another country that their beliefs are wrong? Especially when the United States continually enters the Middle East, an area with a history that makes the United States look like a child, what makes the US right? If the United States and the politicians never stop to consider the history of this part of the world, it can never hope to make progress. The fighting and strife that the United States continually tries to put a stop to in the Middle East dates back thousands of years to the Shi’a and Sunni split. If there is any hope of the United States putting a stop to the fighting, politicians and any personnel sent over must understand the culture they are getting involved in. The United States will never be able to force democracy on any society, especially when no one ever stops to think about why there is fighting to begin with.

In the past year, politicians have been bickering like spoiled children about what needs to be cut from the budget in order to try and create a balance. Most democrats have been screaming for the need to raise taxes on the wealthiest 1% of America. With the Occupy Wall Street protests that spanned the nation for months, many citizens picked up on the cry that the wealthiest portion of Americans are being treated much better than the working man. Even with a small tax increase on the wealthiest Americans, there would still be rampant spending. If Democrats proposed to cut something as well as increase taxes, they would have more support across the aisle. Without cutting any programs, the United States will just continue to spend money it does not have. It would continue to build the debt that is eventually going to crush future generations’ hopes and dreams for a better America. 

Many Republicans have been calling for government programs such as Welfare, NASA, the EPA, and job training programs. They claim that these programs allow people to “ride the gravy train” and allows thousands of people to receive government support for free. These programs are said to encourage people to continue to stay out of work or quit looking for a job all together. These programs that are proposed to be cut do nothing for the future of our country. Politicians seem to ignore the fact that these programs take up very little of the current budget. Food and nutrition assistance programs in the United States makes up only 2.83% of the budget. NASA currently only makes up 0.45% of the budget. The EPA makes up only 0.57% of the budget, all government programs designed to protect natural resources only make up a combined 1.12% of the budget. Job training programs make up 2.77% of the US budget. If job training programs were cut, it would affect student financial aid, funds for special education, funds for public schools, and other education funds. Cutting this part of the budget is a sure way to cripple the future generations. Why not trim the national defense instead of ruining the paltry education system the United States has in place? 

Even bringing up the subject of cutting national security budget is going to cause many ruffled feathers on Capitol Hill. Politicians and citizens alike have grown used to the notion that the United States military has to be the biggest and the strongest. The United States must be the force to step in and right every wrong in the world. If the US continues in this thought process, the debt of the nation is just going to continue to grow. The military is too large for a nation this size. Some politicians jump on the idea that by scaling back the military, the military is being disbanded and the country will be open for attack. The US only needs to cut out programs that are no longer needed. Scale back the stations that are in place across the world, find more efficient ways to fight specific battles. If the military was scaled back by only 5% it would mean that there would be almost $35 billion freed up. This money could be put towards other aspects of the government to grow the economy and create a better America. This money could be put toward the $14 trillion debt that the US has created. That’s by only cutting the defense budget by 5%. This can easily be done and almost no changes would be required. If the US cut the budget by 10%, there would be $69 billion freed up. With a 10% cut, there would need to be cut backs, but it would be departments that are outdate. This would require some jobs be absorbed by current employees, but many of the jobs cut would never be missed and would not create a much heavier workload for employees. This would show that there is tremendous waste in the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security.  These are cuts that would provide funds for the betterment of the entire American people while reducing debt and never decreasing the safety of the nation.

It is too easy for politicians to evade cutting programs and allowing the United States debt to grow. The easiest and least felt departments that could be overlooked have been held onto out of tradition and fear. Politicians seem to prefer demanding cuts for the less fortunate or disproportionate tax hikes for the wealthy rather than trim away real fat and change the current American mindset. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” The fear that Americans have created about losing an excessive military has not only stunted the growth of a nation, it is crippling it more and more each day. 

Vote or Shut Up

I'm so tired of hearing people complain about the government and politics when they never vote. If you are old enough to vote, there is no reason that you shouldn't be out there voting. And don't just vote on the upcoming presidential election, vote on the seats in the Senate and the House. Vote for your local government. Make your voice heard, and note just by making a lot of noise.

Get Your Boehner out of my Uterus

When Obama was campaigning in order to gain the Presidential nomination and later the actual race to the White House, he made the same promise many Democrats who came before him promised: There will be national healthcare. During the short time that he had a Democratic House and Senate, Obama shocked the nation by pushing this through and being able to provide a national health care bill. Republicans have never been happy about this fact. Now, with the next Presidential election approaching, they have decided to deem this health care bill a “War on Religion” due to the fact that religious institutions would be required to offer birth control to any women they employ. Republicans have recently taken up the great call to interfere with women’s rights, most notably their right to birth control. By taking up these causes, Republican leaders are taking away the rights that women have fought for years to attain.

The Roman Catholic Church has opposed birth control use for decades. Pope Paul VI reiterated the Roman Catholic Church’s view in 1968 when he issued the Humanae Vitae. It is one of the core beliefs of their faith that life begins at conception, thus birth control of any sort is destroying this sacred life. Pope Paul VI also stated that sex is meant only for natural procreation, thereby condemning extramarital sex, premarital sex, and sex for pleasure. If the government is forcing all American companies and places of employment to provide birth control to their female employees, then this is a direct violation of the Church and should not be upheld. Even the United States Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Forcing the Roman Catholic Church to distribute birth control and go against their doctrine is breaking this core foundation of the nation. The roman Catholic Church has ignored the fact that there is great disparity between the rich and the poor, another pillar of the Catholic faith. There have been hundreds of thousands of people crying out about the income disparity, yet the Church has remained oddly silent. Even though it has recently been widely publicized that roughly 98% of Catholic women use some form of birth control, contraception is still an issue that the Church feels interferes with their religious freedom.

In late January, it was announced that Obama’s health care would cover birth control for women across the country. January 20^th it was announced that there would be changes to the current national health care that would go into effect next year. Birth control and contraception will be completely covered by all employers. If the health care plan was not fully put into effect by employers, they would be fined $2000 per employee annually. Obama and his administration were willing to meet with religious officials to ensure that this would not hinder their rights, but he was only met with opposition at every turn. The Roman Catholic Church insisted that this was infringing on their rights and nothing could be done in order to appease their worries that this would take away the rights of the members of the faith to freely practice religion. The Church claimed that the government could not mandate that employers provide healthcare when it was in direct violation of their faith.

The Roman Catholic Church and many Republicans feel that mandating birth control be covered, not forced down anyone’s throat, is interfering with their religious freedom. This provision is not forcing anyone to take birth control. It is simply another preventative medication that is covered. Contraceptive measures that would be covered are like other medications, like Viagra, that are currently covered. Does everyone use Viagra? Does the Church get up in arms that Viagra, a pill that lets men interfere with God’s decision on whether or not they should be able to impregnate their wives, is currently covered by insurance companies? No, the Church and Republican leaders are solely concerned with what a woman does to her own body.

The Speaker of the House, John Boehner, has spoken out multiple times against the President and Democrats that favor the health care bill. Boehner has even gone so far as to call this an attack on religion by the federal government. He has long called many of Obama’s more “radical” policies an attack on religion. When Obama called for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Boehner was quick to say this was the liberal bias that is ruining the country and our military. When this health care provision was proposed, he began to tell media outlets that the government was promoting abortions and abortions would be funded by the US government. This battle cry against state-funded abortions has been picked up by many conservatives. This is also one of the major reasons people oppose the birth control mandate, they have heard it is also going to fund abortions. Many conservatives have not given much thought to the claims made, they just take up the cry and perpetuate the lies spread. Does anyone recall the “death panels” that were said would go into effect? Or the fact that Obama is not even real United States citizen and was born outside of the country?

When the White House issued the statement that birth control would be provided as a preventative measure to women, free of charge, the backlash from the Church was instantaneous and loud. Even though the Obama administration has clarified that religious institutions are exempt from this ruling, the Church is still up in arms. Government officials have clarified several times that houses of worship and church affiliated organizations are exempt from the birth control mandate, but this is not good enough for the Church. The Church and many Republican officials have called for the government to remove all mentions of the birth control mandate. There was even a debate held in Congress, with the ability to call witnesses on both sides of the debate, led by Representative David Issa. The debate that Issa wanted to lead centered not around women’s rights or even birth control, the issue that Republicans had with the health care provisions was the infringement of religious freedom. Issa was outraged that religious freedom was being stepped on in favor of this health care provision.

Even though the debate itself was called over the issue of birth control and the fact that it is going to be available, Issa claimed that this was not a women’s issue. He felt that a group of older men would be the key witnesses on the issue of birth control and would have more knowledge than any woman. Issa claimed that this was not about women’s rights, even though it was only the matter of birth control for women that was an issue, so women had no place in this debate. Many Democrats were enraged that a panel of religious leaders, all male, were the ones that had authority to speak on a woman’s right to birth control. The panels did not have a single legal scholar on them, either. This meant that there was no one to speak on whether this provision really was unconstitutional or not.

Republicans are constantly calling for an end to big government, but wouldn’t it be nice if this group of men would stop pretending they knew anything about what life with a vagina is like? Many women do not take birth control for the “birth control” aspect of it. Many use it to relieve the symptoms of a painful menstruation cycle. Women might choose to use birth control in order to be able to skip periods altogether. Some women might use birth control to help regulate their periods, this way they don’t have to constantly wonder when it will happen. Men that sit in Congress assume that any woman that is on birth control is using it so she can have sex without the repercussions of a baby. Conservatives ignore all of the other reasons a woman might need access to birth control, or why they might want help paying for it. Birth control is not cheap. Even though many Representatives believe otherwise, this birth-control-using-woman knows otherwise. Birth control is very , very expensive. A woman on a hormonal birth control pill can spend up to $18,000 in the thirty years in her lifetime that she is using birth control.

If the US government was forcing women of all religions to take birth control and forcing men to wear condoms, this would be infringing on the religious freedom of these people. The provision that everyone is throwing a fit over is just providing an option to women who need assistance. Women have fought long and hard to be able to decide what to do with their own bodies. Women are competent people who are able to decide what to do with their own bodies. We do not need a bigoted man to tell us what to do. We do not need to have a religious body tell us we are not allowed to enjoy sex because it is only for the use of natural procreation. We especially will not stand for this when “natural procreation” is allowed between a priest and a little boy.

I'm fed up with Susan G. Komen

I'm absolutely disgusted with the entire Susan G. Komen foundation. As I'm sure you all know, last week there was quite the controversy when Komen decided it was no longer going to be sending funds to Planned Parenthood. Then, within a few days, the decision was reversed. Both of these decisions were entirely political and have been the last straw for me.  Before you continue to blindly support Komen, take a good look at what they actually do for women and where they actually stand politically. You may be surprised.

Komen decided to pull it's funding from Planned Parenthood on the basis that they have a new rule that states that Komen is not allowed to give out funds to a company that is under investigation by the government. Oddly enough, this rule was created shortly after Karen Handel was hired by Komen. Handel is a very outspoken anti-abortion advocate and has been reported on several occasions as saying that she is "pro-life, I do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood." Is it really that surprising that shortly after she was hired this new rule has come out about who may or may not receive Komen grant money and the only ones affected by this decision is Planned Parenthood? 

It is quite obvious that Komen has folded to the religious right in this country and is putting politics before the health of women. Komen has folded to the conservative propaganda that continually spews the lie that Planned Parenthood is an abortion factory and that all Planned Parenthood does is provide abortions. Apparently the fact the Planned Parenthood provides support and often the mammograms (or pays for the mammograms) of women that cannot afford them. The religious agenda ignores the fact that Planned Parenthood has saved countless lives with their services. All they focus on is the fact that Planned Parenthood offers abortions, a service which is only a tiny percentage of the services actually performed. 

Big deal, Komen decided to see reason and reverse the decision. Did they reverse the decision because they care about women? No, they did it because they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars with this widely publicized decision. They aren't reversing the decision because there has been some change in the mindset of those at the top of Komen. All they see are the dollar signs, dollar signs they lost with this poor decision. 

If this was the only problem with the entire Susan G. Komen foundation, I may be willing to forgive the organization and continue to support them. But this is the final act of a long list of grievances that Komen has committed. Komen has continued to take thousands of dollars from companies like Bank of America, a company that is under government investigation I might add. Komen has a history of going after small charities for using phrases like "for the cure" and using thousands of donation dollars to pursue these lawsuits. Komen pays the top executives a disgustingly high salary, all while trying to siphon more money from people that want to help a worthy cause. Komen uses sexist marketing hooks in order to draw attention to their campaign. Komen is known to partner with extremely unhealthy companies such as KFC to raise money. 

The Susan G. Komen foundation is nothing but a money making campaign that only looks out for itself now. It has lost sight of the fact that it is supposed to be helping women. I know that I will never send another penny towards this farce of an organization. I was sending them about $50 a month, a total of $600 a year and that dropped in the past year as more and more of their true nature has come to light. Now, all of the money I was sending will be split between Planned Parenthood as well as a few other select organizations that I am still trying to decide between. 

SOPA, PIPA, ACTA

Since you are all using the internet, I'm assuming you've at least heard mention of the two US bills that were threatening to go through congress, SOPA and PIPA, as well as the global bill threatening to pass now, ACTA.  Since there are numerous websites designed to help people understand what these are, I'm not going to add to that list. (To read more on ACTA, you can go here or here)

I download files. I share files. I see nothing wrong with this at all. It seems that the main concern for these proposed bills are the fact that there is a large amount of theft of intellectual property. You hear from top CEO's and executives about how when people download music, movies, and television shows, they are stealing from the artists and these companies. These bills are going to protect these innocent and helpless companies from such terrible, terrible theft.

But, are the people that download really going to start adding to the massive profits these companies are already seeing? Are these people that have been getting unlimited music, movies, and television shows suddenly going to start spending thousands of dollars on these products? The simple answer is no. If you have been getting something for free for years, you're not going to start spending money on it now. I can see that there will be new ways to get around this law before the ink is even dry on the last signature. Would you like to know why? Because people like free things and people are going to want to continue to get free things.

Another problem I have with the claims that these companies make about the massive losses they incur from illegal downloads is the fact that these downloads actually help. It may seem a bit counter-intuitive at first glance, but the more you look at this statement, the more merit it has. I can speak from my own personal experience when it comes to this fact. I have downloaded countless songs, albums, movies, and even a television show or two. I have watched movies and shows streaming. And yet, when I do this, I am actually putting myself in a position to give these companies more money. If I hear about a new band, I don't want to spend the first $10 on an album I might find absolutely terrible. So what do I do? I download it. I then listen to this new artist and decide I really like this band. I then make decide that if this band is going to have any chance of making it in the music industry, I need to support them. I spend money on albums, concerts, clothing. I also promote this band. I may share some of the albums with friends, making them a fan as well! Looking through my spending records from last year alone, I can see that I've spent over $3,500 on albums, concerts, and attire for these bands. If I hadn't had the chance to listen to them for free, that would be $3,500 that the music industry would have never seen.

Finally, are these television and movie studios really losing money when people download their products and watch them? Not necessarily. When I download or stream a show, I'm most likely doing this because it is not available yet in the US. That might seem a bit strange, but I'll clear this up for you... Most of the shows I enjoy are British. The BBC will release them in the UK first, then roughly a season later, it will be allowed to air in the US. For instance, I love the new BBC show "Sherlock." Sherlock only has three episodes per series. This means for the next three episodes, you'll have to wait a year. Now, in the UK, "Sherlock" was released almost a month ago. It will not be aired in the US for several more months. So I decided that I would download it and watch it. Does this mean I wont watch it when it finally does air here? No, I'll watch it. I love the show and the story line. But I do not like having to wait many months for the new series when it is readily available elsewhere. The same goes for other shows I love, "Doctor Who", "Merlin", and "Skins". All of these shows are released early in the UK and those fans in the US must wait. Most fans will still watch them when they air here, but that does not mean we like being left out and forced to wait when they have them all ready to air!


These bills are going to censor the internet. They are going to greatly diminish the knowledge we all have and have grown accustomed to. Not only are many sites we use everyday going to be forced to shut down, but they are creating these bills for completely bogus reasons. And, you should be afraid of what happens next. If letting someone use something for free, even when you own it legally, is going to be illegal, beware of what could happen next. Don't be surprised if used CD-, movie-, and book-stores are all forced to shut down. Don't be surprised to see libraries all being forced to shut their doors.

Politics at Work

It is common knowledge that talking about politics in the workplace is a bad idea. Everyone has their own views on the government and how things should really be run. Everyone has heard the advice to refrain from talking about politics at work because it can cause unnecessary tension and cause you to view your coworkers in a different (and often incorrect) light. So why do we still do it?

It may start out as something as simple as discussing the current debt crisis and how our country has had it's credit rating downgraded (partly due to the $2,000,000,0000 miscalculation by the S&P) and how it is affecting the stock market and the fact that this is going to lead to a double dip recession and all the progress that has been made in the past two years is gong to be erased, but the conversation will inevitably turn to politics. Some people will discuss the stimulus package that Obama passed as leading to the debt, some will point to the health care reform that has lead to the debt. Some will point out that the ongoing and pointless wars we're in are leading to much of the debt. Some will point out that the tax cuts for the wealthy are a leading cause of the debt. After a while, people will start to blame the Republicans for trying to push through a bullshit bill in order to reduce the debt, blame the Tea Party for their lying tactics and fear mongering, blame the Democrats for refusing to let the bills pass until the last minute, blame the President for not stepping in... There's always someone to blame. And with this continued conversation and this continued line of reasoning, people will be starting to get angry with those that disagree with their thoughts.

It might even be a more controversial issue that is brought up with coworkers that can lead to a heated discussion, like the fact that gay marriage is finally allowed in New York. Or maybe the topic of abortion will be brought up. Or maybe it is the continuing war in Iraq and Afghanistan that is brought up with the news of yet another attack and more soldiers being killed.Or maybe it is the proposed legalization of marijuana.Or maybe it is the thought of lowering the drinking age to match the voting age. Or maybe it is the country's crumbling and deteriorating education system. Or maybe it is the great need for health care reform in the country. Or maybe it is the need for tax reform and budget cuts. Or maybe it is the amount of religion allowed in schools and allowed to influence our country's leaders.

These are all issues that almost everyone has some strong feelings about. And these are also issues that you will usually never change anyone's mind or opinion on. By getting involved in these conversation, you might be able to ascertain why people believe what they do and you might get a new view point on these issues. But, sadly, most of these conversations lead to people getting angry that the other person won't believe as they do and they don't understand how the other person can believe all of the liberal/conservative propaganda in the media.

In the end, most of the time the other person's views on these issues and their political beliefs may change the way you view this coworker entirely. You might have thought that this person was a smart person, capable of doing their job, a hard worker. But now that you know their views in politics, your opinion of them will (maybe only subconsciously) change. If they can believe all of the ridiculous propaganda and lies in the media, are they really as intelligent as you once thought? If they aren't as smart and as competent as you thought, are they really able to do their job properly?

People don't like to admit it, but most of these doubts will arise. I've noticed not only from my coworker's behavior, but also my own. It is (usually, but not always) a subconscious reaction to learning that someone you once respected has what you see as absurd beliefs and convictions. Is this right? Of course not. But it is what happens. After learning of such differing views, you might want to try and point out the fallacies in the the other person's argument. It might be remarks occasionally made. It might be an unspoken tension between you. But your work environment has changed. Hopefully, if you start to see that you view a coworker differently based solely on their political or religious beliefs, you will be able to take a step back and realize that just because you have opposing views on certain issues does not affect the way they can do their job. And if you start to sense the tension based on your differing views, you will be able to step back and realize that you are at work to work, not to argue about our nation's future and our problems.

Why do we get so upset when people have such opposing views from us? Because we want to be right. We want it to be the other person's (or political party's) fault. With all of the issues we're facing in the nation, we want to have someone to blame. If we can blame someone, then we might be able to easily fix whatever is broken. If we can show the other person that they're wrong, they'll stop and we can win. And who doesn't like to win?

Should people talk about politics at work?

Today, the building I work for is hosting an event for the Dallas Democratic party. This is a very large event where we will be having 500 people here, all Democrats, all supporting our President and celebrating his 50th birthday (Happy birthday President Obama!). And there is one person who I work with that is very much a right wing Republican.

Every time this man sees me, he feels the need to make snide comments about Democrats, the President and politics in general. He knows very well that I am a Democrat. He knows very well that I support our current President. He knows I keep up with current events and politics. I know he doesn't. And yet, for some reason unbeknown to me, he is constantly trying to bring up political issues and attempt to debate with me. Since this man doesn't keep up with anything in the news, he only spouts off the Faux News rhetoric, he really doesn't have any idea what is going on. He does know that Obama is (apparently) a Muslim, Obama is (apparently) not an American, that the new health-care bill (apparently) is trying to kill off old people, atheists are (apparently) trying to take over the country, etc, etc.

And today, with the Dallas Democratic party holding an event here, he has gotten 20x worse.

So, this brings me to my real point: Should we discuss politics at work? This is something that I will go into detail with in my next post, but in short, I feel political debates should be kept out of the workplace. Unless you work in government. In that case, you really can't avoid it, can you?

Should we cut military spending?

The loudest voices against the impending debt ceiling compromise in Washington come from conservatives like Joe Lieberman.   They worry that if future deficit goals are not met, military spending will be cut “disproportionately.” They scream about the fact that any funding might be taken from the military, something everyone pretends receives almost no funding. This is the Great Elephant In The Room.  No Republicans and precious few Democrats dare confront the Military-Industrial Complex President Eisenhower warned would distort our budget priorities and ultimately sink the economy.

America spends as much on the military as the rest of the world combined.  Yet somehow this is never enough. We cut welfare, education, health care proposals,  but continue to spend more and more on the military. Are we really still “the land of the free and the home of the brave?”  Or are we instead a bloated, paranoid giant huddling behind our overwhelming firepower, forever afraid we won’t be able to bomb enough people in enough places to protect our unprecedented standard of living, which after all, is proof of God’s favor upon us?  Or maybe it’s more pragmatic: maybe we’re afraid that cutting the military budget will decimate what has become America’s largest jobs program.

Either way, it’s pathetic.

Day 8: A Photo that Makes you Angry or Sad

Don't Ask, Don't Tell. How could someone ever support this? Just because someone is gay does not mean they should not be able to serve their country. Anything along the same lines where the religious right wants to make a homosexual a second class citizen is just wrong. When I hear about it, it makes me mad. When I see the religious right trying to take over the country and force their beliefs on the rest of the country, it makes me mad. And when they tear down an entire community because of the fact that they love the wrong person, that makes me sick.