Have you ever noticed the different stances of folks the first year or so of any Presidency?
Scenario One: Sitting POTUS is of the same party of the person you are talking to, and things with the economy are looking grim. "Well, they have to clean up the mess of the last POTUS, and that takes time!"
Scenario Two: Sitting POTUS is of the OPPOSITE party of the person you are talking to, and things with the economy are looking grim. "See! We elected _____, and everything is going to crap!"
Scenario Three: Sitting POTUS is of the same party of the person you are talking to, and things are good with the economy. "Look at all the great work our POTUS is doing! He has turned things around in such a short period of time!"
Scenario Four: Sitting POTUS is of the OPPOSITE party of the person you are talking to, and things are good with the economy. "Oh, he's just riding the progress that the previous POTUS started years ago!"
Really, which is it? Does it take a long time to create change in the economy of this country? Or can a POTUS bring about quick change? You can't have it both ways. You have to decide how this works, and quit flip-flopping!
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Thursday, December 7, 2017
We live in an ass-backward world!
Was reading just this morning that the House is working on a bill to loosen gun restrictions. The bill would "allowing those with permits to carry concealed weapons to legally travel with those firearms to other states".
As I read this article, I found myself thinking how ass-backwards this country is at the moment!! We have seen an increase in mass shootings this year, but our Congress is working on loosening regulations, rather than tightening them up? When I read about this bill, I can't help but feel like this is another one of those "good guys with a gun" arguments. Oh, if we have good guys with guns on planes and such, then we can stop terrorists? What?! Sure, it doesn't say that guns will be allowed on planes...mostly that if you are traveling across state lines by car or what not, you can carry, and as long as you hold a permit in the state you are from, other states cannot prosecute you for simply carrying. Even still...it is the whole arm everyone argument, again....that the solution to guns is more guns!
When will they put real time into real regulations that mean something? How about fixing the fucked up background check system that allowed a sicko to legally buy guns and shoot up a church? Or the system that let a single person stockpile enough weapons and ammo for a small militia, and gun down people attending a concert in Las Vegas? How about making illegal ANY mod that allows a weapon to function similar to that of an automatic, or prohibit the sale of automatic weapons to civilians?! Oh, that is right...civilians have the right to have the same weapons as our law enforcement or military...that is the argument. I guess that means that Joe Citizen should also have access to armored tanks, weaponized drones, bio-agents? Right? Because, see....your automatic weapons aren't going to do jack if our government really wants to put us in our place!
I'm just getting so tired with the lack of common sense these days!
As I read this article, I found myself thinking how ass-backwards this country is at the moment!! We have seen an increase in mass shootings this year, but our Congress is working on loosening regulations, rather than tightening them up? When I read about this bill, I can't help but feel like this is another one of those "good guys with a gun" arguments. Oh, if we have good guys with guns on planes and such, then we can stop terrorists? What?! Sure, it doesn't say that guns will be allowed on planes...mostly that if you are traveling across state lines by car or what not, you can carry, and as long as you hold a permit in the state you are from, other states cannot prosecute you for simply carrying. Even still...it is the whole arm everyone argument, again....that the solution to guns is more guns!
When will they put real time into real regulations that mean something? How about fixing the fucked up background check system that allowed a sicko to legally buy guns and shoot up a church? Or the system that let a single person stockpile enough weapons and ammo for a small militia, and gun down people attending a concert in Las Vegas? How about making illegal ANY mod that allows a weapon to function similar to that of an automatic, or prohibit the sale of automatic weapons to civilians?! Oh, that is right...civilians have the right to have the same weapons as our law enforcement or military...that is the argument. I guess that means that Joe Citizen should also have access to armored tanks, weaponized drones, bio-agents? Right? Because, see....your automatic weapons aren't going to do jack if our government really wants to put us in our place!
I'm just getting so tired with the lack of common sense these days!
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Women who vote for sexually abusive men
There has been a lot of talk lately about the kind of woman who would vote for someone like Roy Moore, who has basically admitted to relations with girls as young as 14. Many ask how could any woman vote for a man like this? This was also asked during the Presidential election as women voted for Trump, who was recorded on audio saying thing about he treats women and who has had several women come forward and say he touched them inappropriately and the like.
To answer the question of how a woman could vote for a man like this, you must first understand the culture of those known as Conservative Republicans! I was married for 15 years to a Conservative Republican. If you lived in this world, you would understand. I can't tell you how many times I was told that it was wrong for me to ever deny my husband sex. It didn't matter if I was down with the flu, if he was horny, I was expected to have sex. The Bible was often used to support this idea. I don't know how many times I was told that I should fulfill all of my husband's sexual desires as to avoid him being tempted by OTHER women! I found myself thinking, "How is it he cannot have enough self control to avoid his own temptation?!"
You see, these women are taught that their husband is their keeper. In this culture, men are pretty much allowed to do as they choose, and the woman is supposed to "serve" her husband! At one point, my ex-husband actually handed me a book titled "Me...Obey...Him" and urged me to read it. I never did! I was too strong willed and independent thinking for this man and their culture, and this caused me a lot of grief! Some of the things I could tell you would make you shudder, but I don't have time to tell of it all here right now...and if you read through my blogs, you may be able to get some idea of my life those 15 years.
Basically, in short, if you have to wonder how any woman can vote for men like this, it is because they are brainwashed and conditioned to! They are brainwashed by their parents, their husbands, their church...it doesn't matter what these men do. You have to vote party! You have to vote like your husband or father! People in this culture are not allowed to think for themselves. I mean...think about it. How many different people have you been in arguments with on social media in the last year on political issues, and think about how each of these Conservative Republicans simply follow the same script, many failing to offer any kind of supporting facts or alternate thinking points to support their stance! It is the way they say because it is simply the way they say...the way their culture says. These woman really don't know any other way to vote!
To answer the question of how a woman could vote for a man like this, you must first understand the culture of those known as Conservative Republicans! I was married for 15 years to a Conservative Republican. If you lived in this world, you would understand. I can't tell you how many times I was told that it was wrong for me to ever deny my husband sex. It didn't matter if I was down with the flu, if he was horny, I was expected to have sex. The Bible was often used to support this idea. I don't know how many times I was told that I should fulfill all of my husband's sexual desires as to avoid him being tempted by OTHER women! I found myself thinking, "How is it he cannot have enough self control to avoid his own temptation?!"
You see, these women are taught that their husband is their keeper. In this culture, men are pretty much allowed to do as they choose, and the woman is supposed to "serve" her husband! At one point, my ex-husband actually handed me a book titled "Me...Obey...Him" and urged me to read it. I never did! I was too strong willed and independent thinking for this man and their culture, and this caused me a lot of grief! Some of the things I could tell you would make you shudder, but I don't have time to tell of it all here right now...and if you read through my blogs, you may be able to get some idea of my life those 15 years.
Basically, in short, if you have to wonder how any woman can vote for men like this, it is because they are brainwashed and conditioned to! They are brainwashed by their parents, their husbands, their church...it doesn't matter what these men do. You have to vote party! You have to vote like your husband or father! People in this culture are not allowed to think for themselves. I mean...think about it. How many different people have you been in arguments with on social media in the last year on political issues, and think about how each of these Conservative Republicans simply follow the same script, many failing to offer any kind of supporting facts or alternate thinking points to support their stance! It is the way they say because it is simply the way they say...the way their culture says. These woman really don't know any other way to vote!
Friday, November 24, 2017
One of the many reasons I have lost faith in the church
I sometimes run into people I used to go to church with, and they ask me what church I'm plugged into these days. They seem shocked when I tell them I don't go to church any longer, and they do their best to convince me why I need to go back! I assure them I have not lost my faith...that I just can't support organized religion, and what it is doing to the world right now. I don't go into details...about how it was the church that stood by and said nothing while my ex carried on in an affair right in front of their eyes (yes, the flirting between them during church was incredibly obvious...so obvious that there were people who were unaware that I was actually his wife), or how after I left said church because I felt it awkward to be there with my ex and his family...considering I had been there for years on the praise team and everything...that no one, not even the pastor, ever called, texted, or emailed to check on me.
Since leaving that church, I have felt free to ask many questions, and in doing so, I've done a lot of reading that showed me much of what is being taught in today's churches is wrong. Not going to go into detail of all of those things here, as I could type for days on those subjects.
But I saw one thing today that hit me wrong, and got me really wondering what role the church even plays in today's society. I saw a post from someone asking for prayer, because her family was being force to move in a matter of days, and they are running short on money. The woman was very stressed. There were many, many comments of people sending prayers, and assuring the woman that God will provide on time. That got me thinking....today is Black Friday! I wonder how many of those people offering prayer are out shopping the sales right now...the whole while, this member of their church is in financial need. I got thinking...if each family in this particular church (as I know it to be a good-sized church) just gave this woman $10-$20...the amount of money they are probably spending on food and Starbucks today as they run about looking for deals...how this woman would probably have enough money for her situation! But where is her "church family"? Offering prayer?!
But then I realize that seems to be the norm in the church today...and all the more reason I left! Someone needs help, they simply offer prayer, when what people need is action! Do they think if Jesus came across this woman in need, that he would simply offer prayer? I think not!!! I think he would rally up the disciples and figure out if they could do anything to relieve the financial burden...provide moving services or what not. If it was the deposit and rent that the woman needed help with, I could see Jesus calling the people to give...even if it is just a small token...toward helping the woman. It just bothers me how so many people who call themselves Christians can only find it in themselves to "offer prayer" when people are in need. Hasn't it ever occurred to them that God's plan was for the people of the church to help this woman?
Since leaving that church, I have felt free to ask many questions, and in doing so, I've done a lot of reading that showed me much of what is being taught in today's churches is wrong. Not going to go into detail of all of those things here, as I could type for days on those subjects.
But I saw one thing today that hit me wrong, and got me really wondering what role the church even plays in today's society. I saw a post from someone asking for prayer, because her family was being force to move in a matter of days, and they are running short on money. The woman was very stressed. There were many, many comments of people sending prayers, and assuring the woman that God will provide on time. That got me thinking....today is Black Friday! I wonder how many of those people offering prayer are out shopping the sales right now...the whole while, this member of their church is in financial need. I got thinking...if each family in this particular church (as I know it to be a good-sized church) just gave this woman $10-$20...the amount of money they are probably spending on food and Starbucks today as they run about looking for deals...how this woman would probably have enough money for her situation! But where is her "church family"? Offering prayer?!
But then I realize that seems to be the norm in the church today...and all the more reason I left! Someone needs help, they simply offer prayer, when what people need is action! Do they think if Jesus came across this woman in need, that he would simply offer prayer? I think not!!! I think he would rally up the disciples and figure out if they could do anything to relieve the financial burden...provide moving services or what not. If it was the deposit and rent that the woman needed help with, I could see Jesus calling the people to give...even if it is just a small token...toward helping the woman. It just bothers me how so many people who call themselves Christians can only find it in themselves to "offer prayer" when people are in need. Hasn't it ever occurred to them that God's plan was for the people of the church to help this woman?
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Body Shaming
A friend of mine posted a video this morning that rubbed me the wrong way. No, I'm not going to unfriend them or anything like that...I'm not that kind of person to turn my back on you because you may have an idea or a belief I don't agree with. And no, the video didn't make me really feel butt hurt, but it did urge me to speak out on the subject...mostly not just because of what was being said, but because so many people were laughing in acceptance of what was said!
This is the video...remember, I'm about to speak on this:
One thing he said really hit me in this video.... "You ate your way in, you can walk yourself out." The people laughed, thinking this was funny. I'm sure if they showed the audience, there would be many shaking their heads yes and mouthing the word "truth". But it isn't that easy for so many people!!!
We live in a society where looks are everything! It is so much so, that there are many, many products out on the market that people are buying up to make them look different. Notice I said different...not better...because really, what is good-looking to one person is not the same for another. Personally, alot of the things that people do to make themselves look "better" I actually think take away from their appearance. That said, I used to be considerably overweight. For my height, had I gone to the doctor in those days, they would have labeled me as morbidly obese. "An individual is considered morbidly obese if he or she is 100 pounds over his/her ideal body weight, has a BMI of 40 or more, or 35 or more and experiencing obesity-related health conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes." My ideal body weight for my height and build is between 115 and 130 lbs. At the time, I was well over 200 lbs...I stopped getting on the scale at 200 at which time I wore a size 16, and at the time I finally realized I had to do something, I was stuffing myself into size 18's really needing to go buy size 20. This is on a 5'2" frame! I think it is safe to say I was easily 230 to 240 lbs. At some point after I lost a few pounds, I joined a gym and did their free analysis for new members. My BMI at the time was 43. Now, I don't agree with BMI measurements, because it doesn't take into account muscle mass and bone density (yes, some people do have larger bones...I'm one of them...certain parts of my body today are "bony" but not as tiny as most would expect...my ankles for example). I guess I ate myself into it, right?
See, that is the important thing to consider here...how does a person get there? What is their story? Most overweight people I know don't want to be overweight and they didn't set out to do so!! If you sat and listened to their stories, like mine, you would realize that they can't just easily walk themselves out! How did I get to some 240 lbs? I AM a stress eater. Yes, notice I said AM...not was. I say AM, because I do still find myself sometimes in high stress situations just rummaging through the kitchen when I'm not even hungry. The difference between then and now is that I recognize it, and I can stop myself and redirect to a more constructive way of dealing with my stress. I have found a new outlet in dance, and I spend plenty of hours in the studio. Because I now know and acknowledge that I'm a stress eater. I keep fewer things in the house that are easy to eat...keeping things around that need actual preparation. This is also a deterrent...because if I'm not really hungry, the thought of making food and cleaning the kitchen cause me to just grab a glass of water and go do something else. But, it took me a long time to get where I am at now! I spent years in a state of depression. My first marriage was physically and emotionally abusive, and I feared that if I tried to leave, he would do something bad to me or take my kids away from me. He also used to say that if I got fat he would leave me, and I guess this is kinda where the stress eating started. Unconsciously, I think I was trying to get fat to make him leave, but I guess I underestimated what he deemed to be fat or something, because he didn't leave. He finally crossed the line one night while out with friends, and landed himself in jail for assault on an officer, and that is what gave me my out!
My second marriage I "thought" was better, but in reality, I wasn't really happy in that marriage either. It took me some time to realize it, but I was married to a narcissist. If you have never had an experience with being in a relationship with a narcissist, you have no clue what it can do to even a strong person...let alone a person trying to recover from a bad situation. They are huge manipulators. They will make you think you are losing your mind, and make you doubt yourself. At one point, they shower you with affection...this is their bait! They make you feel good about yourself, make you think you are in a happy place. Then, they slowly tear you down...and it isn't always obvious like with my obviously abusive first husband. No, it starts with little things...things that at first seem harmless...things that are really more controlling than anything else. Like, if you really want to cut your hair, they will tell you something like, "I really like it long." When you do cut it, they will constantly give you a strange look and say things like, "I dunno...guess it will take some getting used to", and will regularly make comments about how you should let it grow back out. In my case, my second husband would also always comment on my breast size, always saying it would be nice if they were a bit bigger, and constantly asking if I would consider getting an enlargement for him. Then, they is always the revisional history to try to make you feel crazy! "But you used to...." Um, no I didn't, but they will keep pushing THEIR history on you to the point you actually start to question if you are actually remembering things wrong!
I describe this scenario, so that you can see how I feel into a completely different mental state in my second marriage...one that pushed me to my highest weight! It was when my mom was diagnosed with diabetes, that I acknowledged my own health (I was hypertensive and pre-diabetic) and made it a point to make a change in my life. Thankfully, this also helped me see WHAT I was actually married to. As I lost weight, he kept criticizing my weight loss. Really!!! One would ask if he just liked bigger women, or if he was realizing he was losing control...afraid that the weight loss will give me confidence and allow me to see through his bullshit! I found out later that it was actually both! See, at one point in time, he told a really good friend of mine that he liked "fat women"...and said it was because they "will let you do anything to them in bed, because they don't get many guys"!! I mean, THAT right there should tell you what kind of man I was married to! Some who have read my other posts will also know that to the outside world, he presented himself as this kind, gentle, Christian soul...yeah, it just turned my stomach typing that! Even being married to this jerk, I took the long fought journey to weight loss, and got back down into my ideal weight range...and I've kept the weight off. Needless to say, I've since divorced his ass, too. But it wasn't easy. I had many backslides...where I gained weight back, falling off of the wagon so to speak. I surely didn't just "walk myself out" of being grossly overweight!! I had to fight...every...step...of...the...way!!!
I share all of this to show where the ideas in this video are terrible, and that we shouldn't be laughing about what he is saying! It isn't being offended, or butt hurt. We shouldn't body shame, because we don't know anyone's story!!! That overweight person may be depressed or may have some medical condition where they have tried everything but cannot lose the weight! That underweight person may be living in an abusive situation that has caused them to become anorexic or bulimic (if you study these conditions, you will find that for most who suffer from them, it is about having control of themselves...everyone else in the world is "controlling" them, and they try to grasp one thing they can control). So don't be too critical of people! Don't judge without knowing their story! You may be doing more damage than anything. And don't entertain people who do!
This is the video...remember, I'm about to speak on this:
One thing he said really hit me in this video.... "You ate your way in, you can walk yourself out." The people laughed, thinking this was funny. I'm sure if they showed the audience, there would be many shaking their heads yes and mouthing the word "truth". But it isn't that easy for so many people!!!
We live in a society where looks are everything! It is so much so, that there are many, many products out on the market that people are buying up to make them look different. Notice I said different...not better...because really, what is good-looking to one person is not the same for another. Personally, alot of the things that people do to make themselves look "better" I actually think take away from their appearance. That said, I used to be considerably overweight. For my height, had I gone to the doctor in those days, they would have labeled me as morbidly obese. "An individual is considered morbidly obese if he or she is 100 pounds over his/her ideal body weight, has a BMI of 40 or more, or 35 or more and experiencing obesity-related health conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes." My ideal body weight for my height and build is between 115 and 130 lbs. At the time, I was well over 200 lbs...I stopped getting on the scale at 200 at which time I wore a size 16, and at the time I finally realized I had to do something, I was stuffing myself into size 18's really needing to go buy size 20. This is on a 5'2" frame! I think it is safe to say I was easily 230 to 240 lbs. At some point after I lost a few pounds, I joined a gym and did their free analysis for new members. My BMI at the time was 43. Now, I don't agree with BMI measurements, because it doesn't take into account muscle mass and bone density (yes, some people do have larger bones...I'm one of them...certain parts of my body today are "bony" but not as tiny as most would expect...my ankles for example). I guess I ate myself into it, right?
See, that is the important thing to consider here...how does a person get there? What is their story? Most overweight people I know don't want to be overweight and they didn't set out to do so!! If you sat and listened to their stories, like mine, you would realize that they can't just easily walk themselves out! How did I get to some 240 lbs? I AM a stress eater. Yes, notice I said AM...not was. I say AM, because I do still find myself sometimes in high stress situations just rummaging through the kitchen when I'm not even hungry. The difference between then and now is that I recognize it, and I can stop myself and redirect to a more constructive way of dealing with my stress. I have found a new outlet in dance, and I spend plenty of hours in the studio. Because I now know and acknowledge that I'm a stress eater. I keep fewer things in the house that are easy to eat...keeping things around that need actual preparation. This is also a deterrent...because if I'm not really hungry, the thought of making food and cleaning the kitchen cause me to just grab a glass of water and go do something else. But, it took me a long time to get where I am at now! I spent years in a state of depression. My first marriage was physically and emotionally abusive, and I feared that if I tried to leave, he would do something bad to me or take my kids away from me. He also used to say that if I got fat he would leave me, and I guess this is kinda where the stress eating started. Unconsciously, I think I was trying to get fat to make him leave, but I guess I underestimated what he deemed to be fat or something, because he didn't leave. He finally crossed the line one night while out with friends, and landed himself in jail for assault on an officer, and that is what gave me my out!
My second marriage I "thought" was better, but in reality, I wasn't really happy in that marriage either. It took me some time to realize it, but I was married to a narcissist. If you have never had an experience with being in a relationship with a narcissist, you have no clue what it can do to even a strong person...let alone a person trying to recover from a bad situation. They are huge manipulators. They will make you think you are losing your mind, and make you doubt yourself. At one point, they shower you with affection...this is their bait! They make you feel good about yourself, make you think you are in a happy place. Then, they slowly tear you down...and it isn't always obvious like with my obviously abusive first husband. No, it starts with little things...things that at first seem harmless...things that are really more controlling than anything else. Like, if you really want to cut your hair, they will tell you something like, "I really like it long." When you do cut it, they will constantly give you a strange look and say things like, "I dunno...guess it will take some getting used to", and will regularly make comments about how you should let it grow back out. In my case, my second husband would also always comment on my breast size, always saying it would be nice if they were a bit bigger, and constantly asking if I would consider getting an enlargement for him. Then, they is always the revisional history to try to make you feel crazy! "But you used to...." Um, no I didn't, but they will keep pushing THEIR history on you to the point you actually start to question if you are actually remembering things wrong!
I describe this scenario, so that you can see how I feel into a completely different mental state in my second marriage...one that pushed me to my highest weight! It was when my mom was diagnosed with diabetes, that I acknowledged my own health (I was hypertensive and pre-diabetic) and made it a point to make a change in my life. Thankfully, this also helped me see WHAT I was actually married to. As I lost weight, he kept criticizing my weight loss. Really!!! One would ask if he just liked bigger women, or if he was realizing he was losing control...afraid that the weight loss will give me confidence and allow me to see through his bullshit! I found out later that it was actually both! See, at one point in time, he told a really good friend of mine that he liked "fat women"...and said it was because they "will let you do anything to them in bed, because they don't get many guys"!! I mean, THAT right there should tell you what kind of man I was married to! Some who have read my other posts will also know that to the outside world, he presented himself as this kind, gentle, Christian soul...yeah, it just turned my stomach typing that! Even being married to this jerk, I took the long fought journey to weight loss, and got back down into my ideal weight range...and I've kept the weight off. Needless to say, I've since divorced his ass, too. But it wasn't easy. I had many backslides...where I gained weight back, falling off of the wagon so to speak. I surely didn't just "walk myself out" of being grossly overweight!! I had to fight...every...step...of...the...way!!!
I share all of this to show where the ideas in this video are terrible, and that we shouldn't be laughing about what he is saying! It isn't being offended, or butt hurt. We shouldn't body shame, because we don't know anyone's story!!! That overweight person may be depressed or may have some medical condition where they have tried everything but cannot lose the weight! That underweight person may be living in an abusive situation that has caused them to become anorexic or bulimic (if you study these conditions, you will find that for most who suffer from them, it is about having control of themselves...everyone else in the world is "controlling" them, and they try to grasp one thing they can control). So don't be too critical of people! Don't judge without knowing their story! You may be doing more damage than anything. And don't entertain people who do!
Monday, November 6, 2017
Same song, different verse!
I had a great day yesterday! We had a dance performance that had me disconnected from the world for the entire day as we ran through techs, costumes, makeup, performance, and many, many laughs. I came off the high to find out about the mass shooting here in Texas yesterday morning. ANOTHER mass shooting, and yet another weekend where there was some sort of tragic loss of life.
This morning, I read the news. POTUS it talking about this being a mental health problem. Oh, so we have a mental health problem, but nearly as soon as you started in office, you undid a requirement for SSA to report anyone who was receiving SSD for a mental health issue to the background check database?! You made it easier for people with mental health issues to get guns, and NOW you want to claim this gun violence a mental health issue?
Let me point this out...this is the second time in just a matter of months that a mass shooting was carried out with a LEGALLY PURCHASED weapon...a weapon, mind you, that used to be banned in this country from 1994 to 2004. A weapon that is not desired because of it's effectiveness for hunting or home protection, but because it is easily customizable to the shooter's tastes! A weapon that in mere minutes can be converted from a semi-automatic weapon, to function very closely to a fully automatic weapon. A gun that you can LEGALLY purchase a magazine for that can hold 30+ rounds of ammo, making it easier to mow down a crowd of people! Tell me again, what Constitutional right dictates that you can own a weapon like this? The right to bare arms does not give an automatic right to an AR...simply that you are allowed to own a gun. This means that our government is fully within the Constitution to limit the TYPES and NUMBERS of weapons a citizen owns. It would also be within the Constitution to require mandatory licensing and training before even owning a firearm. "Oh, but that will make it harder for some to obtain a gun, and thus be a violation of the Second Amendment." Really? If you are still given a path to ownership, how is that taking away your right?
I have another burning question in all of this. I was reading that the San Antonio shooter had been court-martialed, served time, and was dishonorably discharged from the military for assaulting his wife and child. This is a conviction, right? Even though handed down by a military rather than a civilian body, it was still a conviction?! So, tell me how this was not a red flag on this man's background check when he walked into the sporting goods store to LEGALLY purchase this weapon?!
We need better record keeping of our background check system to flag people who should not be allowed to buy these weapons. We need mandatory licensing and training. And finally, we need to go back to banning these easily customizable guns and limit the size of the magazines. No one should be able to legally own a weapon that can mow down a crowd in a matter of a few minutes! There is no civilian NEED for this!
This morning, I read the news. POTUS it talking about this being a mental health problem. Oh, so we have a mental health problem, but nearly as soon as you started in office, you undid a requirement for SSA to report anyone who was receiving SSD for a mental health issue to the background check database?! You made it easier for people with mental health issues to get guns, and NOW you want to claim this gun violence a mental health issue?
Let me point this out...this is the second time in just a matter of months that a mass shooting was carried out with a LEGALLY PURCHASED weapon...a weapon, mind you, that used to be banned in this country from 1994 to 2004. A weapon that is not desired because of it's effectiveness for hunting or home protection, but because it is easily customizable to the shooter's tastes! A weapon that in mere minutes can be converted from a semi-automatic weapon, to function very closely to a fully automatic weapon. A gun that you can LEGALLY purchase a magazine for that can hold 30+ rounds of ammo, making it easier to mow down a crowd of people! Tell me again, what Constitutional right dictates that you can own a weapon like this? The right to bare arms does not give an automatic right to an AR...simply that you are allowed to own a gun. This means that our government is fully within the Constitution to limit the TYPES and NUMBERS of weapons a citizen owns. It would also be within the Constitution to require mandatory licensing and training before even owning a firearm. "Oh, but that will make it harder for some to obtain a gun, and thus be a violation of the Second Amendment." Really? If you are still given a path to ownership, how is that taking away your right?
I have another burning question in all of this. I was reading that the San Antonio shooter had been court-martialed, served time, and was dishonorably discharged from the military for assaulting his wife and child. This is a conviction, right? Even though handed down by a military rather than a civilian body, it was still a conviction?! So, tell me how this was not a red flag on this man's background check when he walked into the sporting goods store to LEGALLY purchase this weapon?!
We need better record keeping of our background check system to flag people who should not be allowed to buy these weapons. We need mandatory licensing and training. And finally, we need to go back to banning these easily customizable guns and limit the size of the magazines. No one should be able to legally own a weapon that can mow down a crowd in a matter of a few minutes! There is no civilian NEED for this!
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Our education system must REALLY be flawed!
I've been in some discussions on social media as of late with regards to recent issues that have left me wondering about our education system. It isn't the misspellings or the terrible grammar that gets me. I mean, even mine isn't perfect. No, what gets me is that people don't even know how our country works!!!
Perfect example....
I was reading a rant today from a lady (a Trump supporter, mind you), who insisted that she was tired of her tax dollars going to undocumented immigrants, and that she was "filing paperwork to no longer have to pay taxes". Naturally, the comments in response were along the lines of "good luck with that" and "great, so that will mean that our tax dollars will now have to pay for you in prison". This woman goes on with her rant stating that it isn't even legal for the government to collect taxes...that it is in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. THIS was the moment I had to step in, and give the woman a little bit of a lesson on history and government.
I had to explain to her that the reason our country declared independence from British rule was because we were being unfairly taxed without representation. THIS is what our Constitution protects against! Before our declaration, Parliament was imposing taxes on the colonies, while the colonies had no representative in Parliament to speak on their behalf. Therefore, they had no voice when it came to the taxes being imposed on them, and thus this is considered taxation without represntation.
Today, at every level of government that can impose a tax on the people, we have elected officials. At the local/city level, we are broken up into precincts or districts and the people of those areas elect their representative to the City Council. The state is also divided up into districts, and as such, we elect senators and representatives to the state congressional body, as well as to the federal Congress. All of these people are supposed to represent the interests of the majority of the people in their designated area, and thus are our representation in terms of lawmaking, which includes taxes. If we don't like how our representative is voting on our behalf, we have the right to call or write that representative and state our case. We can also speak at the next election with our votes, but voting against that person in hopes that they will be voted out of office. Local, state, and federal taxes are very much legal, as we all have a voice of representation at every level.
Not to mention, the Sixteenth Amendment of our Constitution specifically allows for the collection on income tax: "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration."
I would love to see what happens with this particular woman and her taxes. The article she was complaining about was the Governor of California signing a bill giving new students a free year of community college if they enroll full time, and she immediately went off assuming this was only for people of color, and that undocumented immigrants would benefit from it. Sounds to me like she needs to try to get that one year of college and go take a crap load of US history and US government courses!
Perfect example....
I was reading a rant today from a lady (a Trump supporter, mind you), who insisted that she was tired of her tax dollars going to undocumented immigrants, and that she was "filing paperwork to no longer have to pay taxes". Naturally, the comments in response were along the lines of "good luck with that" and "great, so that will mean that our tax dollars will now have to pay for you in prison". This woman goes on with her rant stating that it isn't even legal for the government to collect taxes...that it is in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. THIS was the moment I had to step in, and give the woman a little bit of a lesson on history and government.
I had to explain to her that the reason our country declared independence from British rule was because we were being unfairly taxed without representation. THIS is what our Constitution protects against! Before our declaration, Parliament was imposing taxes on the colonies, while the colonies had no representative in Parliament to speak on their behalf. Therefore, they had no voice when it came to the taxes being imposed on them, and thus this is considered taxation without represntation.
Today, at every level of government that can impose a tax on the people, we have elected officials. At the local/city level, we are broken up into precincts or districts and the people of those areas elect their representative to the City Council. The state is also divided up into districts, and as such, we elect senators and representatives to the state congressional body, as well as to the federal Congress. All of these people are supposed to represent the interests of the majority of the people in their designated area, and thus are our representation in terms of lawmaking, which includes taxes. If we don't like how our representative is voting on our behalf, we have the right to call or write that representative and state our case. We can also speak at the next election with our votes, but voting against that person in hopes that they will be voted out of office. Local, state, and federal taxes are very much legal, as we all have a voice of representation at every level.
Not to mention, the Sixteenth Amendment of our Constitution specifically allows for the collection on income tax: "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration."
I would love to see what happens with this particular woman and her taxes. The article she was complaining about was the Governor of California signing a bill giving new students a free year of community college if they enroll full time, and she immediately went off assuming this was only for people of color, and that undocumented immigrants would benefit from it. Sounds to me like she needs to try to get that one year of college and go take a crap load of US history and US government courses!
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
I thought California was part of the US!
There are tweets about the NFL bullshit! There are what feels like a billion tweets about "fake news", and equally as many complaining about Congress (more pointedly Democrats) not getting the job done.
There have been fires burning in northern California for 3 days now!!! 21 people are confirmed dead, many are "missing". Nearly 200,000 acres burned...homes lost, businesses lost, state revenue lost in the form of what will probably be tainted grapes (as this area brings in the biggest amount of revenue due to wine sales). Thousands of people are sleeping in shelters right now, wondering when they can return home, and if there will even be a home to return to.
I have to ask, as POTUS, where are the tweets of concern and condolences for these Americans?!
There have been fires burning in northern California for 3 days now!!! 21 people are confirmed dead, many are "missing". Nearly 200,000 acres burned...homes lost, businesses lost, state revenue lost in the form of what will probably be tainted grapes (as this area brings in the biggest amount of revenue due to wine sales). Thousands of people are sleeping in shelters right now, wondering when they can return home, and if there will even be a home to return to.
I have to ask, as POTUS, where are the tweets of concern and condolences for these Americans?!
Friday, October 6, 2017
Remembering what it was like
Being born in the early 70's, and living my tween and teen years in the 80's, I remember what it was like to live during the Cold War. I remember those phony "tornado drills" in school...they weren't tornado drills. We believed they were back then, but as we got older, we realized that going into the hallways and lining up against the wall in what any of us who have done yoga know as "child's pose" wasn't the way you respond to a tornado in the area. No, this was the "kiss your ass goodbye" drill in case of a nuclear launch! They called it a "tornado drill" as to not freak out a bunch of children.
On the radio, we would hear songs from artists singing about how much they hoped both sides would realize that a nuclear war was one that was not winnable. We saw movies such as Red Dawn, and the potential of nuclear war was the topic of many a TV story line. When the Cold War was over, we breathed a sigh of relief. We saw the Berlin Wall come down. The USSR was dissolved, and the country once again became known as simply Russia. Or focus then turned on the Middle East...a war that was far less scary as there was little chance of that causing the annihilation of an entire planet.
But we fast forward to today. This back and forth exchange of words between our President and the leader of North Korea...a nation who has been doing more and more testing of missiles that could be fitted with nuclear warheads. We again see news headlines that elude to the threat of WWIII...a nuclear war that will only destroy earth with no real winner. We have to unstable people with itchy trigger fingers, and we are closer to nuclear war now than we ever were in the 80's. I wonder if school children are again having to do "tornado drills" in schools as the threat becomes more and more real. "It could be...the calm, the calm before the storm." These are the cryptic words recently spoken by our President. North Korea has already stated that previous tweets would be construed as a declaration of war by our country. We have the Secretary of State trying to calm things down, and our President saying it is a waste of time.
I again feel that fear in my heart...like in the 80's...replace "Russians" with "North Koreans" in this song (yeah, I know...we already know the answer...he doesn't).
On the radio, we would hear songs from artists singing about how much they hoped both sides would realize that a nuclear war was one that was not winnable. We saw movies such as Red Dawn, and the potential of nuclear war was the topic of many a TV story line. When the Cold War was over, we breathed a sigh of relief. We saw the Berlin Wall come down. The USSR was dissolved, and the country once again became known as simply Russia. Or focus then turned on the Middle East...a war that was far less scary as there was little chance of that causing the annihilation of an entire planet.
But we fast forward to today. This back and forth exchange of words between our President and the leader of North Korea...a nation who has been doing more and more testing of missiles that could be fitted with nuclear warheads. We again see news headlines that elude to the threat of WWIII...a nuclear war that will only destroy earth with no real winner. We have to unstable people with itchy trigger fingers, and we are closer to nuclear war now than we ever were in the 80's. I wonder if school children are again having to do "tornado drills" in schools as the threat becomes more and more real. "It could be...the calm, the calm before the storm." These are the cryptic words recently spoken by our President. North Korea has already stated that previous tweets would be construed as a declaration of war by our country. We have the Secretary of State trying to calm things down, and our President saying it is a waste of time.
I again feel that fear in my heart...like in the 80's...replace "Russians" with "North Koreans" in this song (yeah, I know...we already know the answer...he doesn't).
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Have to stay on this gun issue for now.
As more information is coming out on the Las Vegas shooter, the more I find myself here scratching my head asking even more questions!
How is it this man bought 33 firearms...mostly rifles...over the course of 11 months (that is 3 firearms a month), and he remained under the radar? Oh, because we are not required to register our firearms, and sellers aren't required to report who they sell firearms to....so no one was keeping track! Every time I have brought up mandatory firearm registration this week, I've been responded to with the excuse that if people were required to register their firearms, the government will know exactly who has them, and these people would be targeting for confiscation of said firearms should the government turn into a dictatorship or something. How could citizens defend themselves against the very thing the Second Amendment serves to prevent? A couple of points here, people:
- In every state that has a conceal or open carry permit process, people have run out in droves to get said permit, because they LOVE the idea of being able to carry their firearm on their person in public (you know, the whole 'I could save people in a mass shooting' argument). Guess what? By getting that permit, you have already told the government you at least have a handgun! Oh, and do you have a hunting license? Yeah, you have just told the government you likely own a rifle! Don't give me the bullshit excuse that registration would allow the government to have a list of gun owners!
- Do you REALLY think if the government wanted to completely take over and take our freedoms away, that your home arsenal is going to help you? Do you have full body armor like the soldiers for the government would have? Do you have tanks? Oh, I get it...you have a drawer full of anti-virus for every possible biological weapon that could be thrown at you, right? You have rocket launchers to take out drones? The point I'm making is that if an evil government takes over, they are not going to go door to door confiscating firearms! That would be too much work! No, they will use other means to drive us out of our homes, and if you come out baring your firearm, they are just going to shoot you down!
Seriously, no one NEEDS more than maybe one or two personal protection firearms, and another 2-4 for sport...as I do understand different rifles for different types of hunting and such. NO ONE NEEDS a semi-automatic rifle (which, as we have found, can be purchased legally, but easily modified to function as an automatic...which I will address in a bit). No one needs ARs. No on needs silencers.
And that brings me to...why are bump stocks legal? As you may have read, several of these LEGAL semi-automatics were fitted with LEGAL bump stocks which allowed them to be fired faster...closer to that of an automatic. Here is a link that describes this, with an illustration of how it works: What Is a Bump Stock. Why does anyone NEED this? You do realize that this combination of LEGAL firearm and modification is what led to the loss of life being so high in Las Vegas! It is this rapid fire that enabled this shooter to kill 58 people and injure another 500+ in the matter of 11 minutes! Sure, there would have still been deaths and injured could he not rapid fire, but the counts wouldn't even be as close to being as high! This combination needs to be outlawed ASAP! "But people will still buy this stuff off of the black market." You know, I'm tired of that excuse. Here is the deal...if something is illegal, sure, people may be able to get it off the black market, but we are not manufacturing more of these items for public use, and they are not allowed to be imported in by anyone other than our military! Every time a law enforcement officer finds one, they can take it off the street and have it destroyed, thus lowering the number of these things on the street, making them harder to get...even black market.
A little side note here that some of you may not know...there is this bill called The Share Act that not only weakens some current gun regulations (such as those covering silencers), but also restrictions on the hunting of wildlife, even if the species is endangered and/or on a wildlife reserve! Imagine, a heard of bison in the Grand Canyon which is basically like shooting fish in a barrel...all for sport...not for food, but for a trophy to put on one's wall!!! This is what we have come to as a people? So little compassion for life...be it human or animal...that we take pride in taking down innocent animals that we never intend to use for food? Many of you may know, I'm pescatarian, because I believe in preserving animal life if possible. I don't have a problem with using products that come from animals without harming the animals themselves...eggs from free-range chickens (they are not actual chicks unless fertilized by a rooster, and eggs from laying hens are specifically kept away for this reason), milk products from cows or goats (why cheese is still allowed). I'm not going to sit here and tell people they have to stop eating meat, and abandon all their products that come from animals. I just choose to do my part by eating less flesh so that fewer animals meet the slaughter house to meet the country's needs, and I advocate for eating less meat so that we can raise fewer animals for this purpose. This helps improve the living conditions for these animals in the time they are living, and can serve to regain farmland for human consumption crop use, which will also help the environment. Again, if you are a hunter, I don't have a problem with you as long as you eat what you kill, and aren't doing it simply for sport and a wall trophy! I also believe that wildlife reserves and national parks should be safe-havens for animals, and that if a species is endangered, they should be on the no-kill list. Why this little rant? Because once the sting of this event is over, the NRA will be lobbying for this bill to be heard! It means more money for gun and ammunition makers. Oh, yeah....did you know that this bill also will loosen restrictions on armor piercing bullets? Just thought I would mention that for all the "Police Lives Matter" folks, who also tend to be the same people who push for less regulation of firearms! That's right, The Share Act will also put more police lives in danger! I felt I should throw that out there!
The whole thing infuriates me! How can people be so closed minded? "There ARE laws, and laws don't stop criminals. Murder is already illegal. This is strictly a mental health problem...we need better mental health care!" While I agree we do need better access to mental health services for people who really want help, people forget a HUGE point here...the people who commit these mass shootings like this are not the kind of people who will admit to and seek help for a mental health issue! These people think they are perfectly normal!! Just listen to people interviewed so far from this guy's circle...no one noticed anything out of the ordinary with this guy! Even if they did, you can't force a person to go seek help. It is hard to get a psychiatric hold on a person for more than 72 hours, if you believe they are harm to themselves and others. Arguments for better mental health care are a moot point in this situation!
How is it this man bought 33 firearms...mostly rifles...over the course of 11 months (that is 3 firearms a month), and he remained under the radar? Oh, because we are not required to register our firearms, and sellers aren't required to report who they sell firearms to....so no one was keeping track! Every time I have brought up mandatory firearm registration this week, I've been responded to with the excuse that if people were required to register their firearms, the government will know exactly who has them, and these people would be targeting for confiscation of said firearms should the government turn into a dictatorship or something. How could citizens defend themselves against the very thing the Second Amendment serves to prevent? A couple of points here, people:
- In every state that has a conceal or open carry permit process, people have run out in droves to get said permit, because they LOVE the idea of being able to carry their firearm on their person in public (you know, the whole 'I could save people in a mass shooting' argument). Guess what? By getting that permit, you have already told the government you at least have a handgun! Oh, and do you have a hunting license? Yeah, you have just told the government you likely own a rifle! Don't give me the bullshit excuse that registration would allow the government to have a list of gun owners!
- Do you REALLY think if the government wanted to completely take over and take our freedoms away, that your home arsenal is going to help you? Do you have full body armor like the soldiers for the government would have? Do you have tanks? Oh, I get it...you have a drawer full of anti-virus for every possible biological weapon that could be thrown at you, right? You have rocket launchers to take out drones? The point I'm making is that if an evil government takes over, they are not going to go door to door confiscating firearms! That would be too much work! No, they will use other means to drive us out of our homes, and if you come out baring your firearm, they are just going to shoot you down!
Seriously, no one NEEDS more than maybe one or two personal protection firearms, and another 2-4 for sport...as I do understand different rifles for different types of hunting and such. NO ONE NEEDS a semi-automatic rifle (which, as we have found, can be purchased legally, but easily modified to function as an automatic...which I will address in a bit). No one needs ARs. No on needs silencers.
And that brings me to...why are bump stocks legal? As you may have read, several of these LEGAL semi-automatics were fitted with LEGAL bump stocks which allowed them to be fired faster...closer to that of an automatic. Here is a link that describes this, with an illustration of how it works: What Is a Bump Stock. Why does anyone NEED this? You do realize that this combination of LEGAL firearm and modification is what led to the loss of life being so high in Las Vegas! It is this rapid fire that enabled this shooter to kill 58 people and injure another 500+ in the matter of 11 minutes! Sure, there would have still been deaths and injured could he not rapid fire, but the counts wouldn't even be as close to being as high! This combination needs to be outlawed ASAP! "But people will still buy this stuff off of the black market." You know, I'm tired of that excuse. Here is the deal...if something is illegal, sure, people may be able to get it off the black market, but we are not manufacturing more of these items for public use, and they are not allowed to be imported in by anyone other than our military! Every time a law enforcement officer finds one, they can take it off the street and have it destroyed, thus lowering the number of these things on the street, making them harder to get...even black market.
A little side note here that some of you may not know...there is this bill called The Share Act that not only weakens some current gun regulations (such as those covering silencers), but also restrictions on the hunting of wildlife, even if the species is endangered and/or on a wildlife reserve! Imagine, a heard of bison in the Grand Canyon which is basically like shooting fish in a barrel...all for sport...not for food, but for a trophy to put on one's wall!!! This is what we have come to as a people? So little compassion for life...be it human or animal...that we take pride in taking down innocent animals that we never intend to use for food? Many of you may know, I'm pescatarian, because I believe in preserving animal life if possible. I don't have a problem with using products that come from animals without harming the animals themselves...eggs from free-range chickens (they are not actual chicks unless fertilized by a rooster, and eggs from laying hens are specifically kept away for this reason), milk products from cows or goats (why cheese is still allowed). I'm not going to sit here and tell people they have to stop eating meat, and abandon all their products that come from animals. I just choose to do my part by eating less flesh so that fewer animals meet the slaughter house to meet the country's needs, and I advocate for eating less meat so that we can raise fewer animals for this purpose. This helps improve the living conditions for these animals in the time they are living, and can serve to regain farmland for human consumption crop use, which will also help the environment. Again, if you are a hunter, I don't have a problem with you as long as you eat what you kill, and aren't doing it simply for sport and a wall trophy! I also believe that wildlife reserves and national parks should be safe-havens for animals, and that if a species is endangered, they should be on the no-kill list. Why this little rant? Because once the sting of this event is over, the NRA will be lobbying for this bill to be heard! It means more money for gun and ammunition makers. Oh, yeah....did you know that this bill also will loosen restrictions on armor piercing bullets? Just thought I would mention that for all the "Police Lives Matter" folks, who also tend to be the same people who push for less regulation of firearms! That's right, The Share Act will also put more police lives in danger! I felt I should throw that out there!
The whole thing infuriates me! How can people be so closed minded? "There ARE laws, and laws don't stop criminals. Murder is already illegal. This is strictly a mental health problem...we need better mental health care!" While I agree we do need better access to mental health services for people who really want help, people forget a HUGE point here...the people who commit these mass shootings like this are not the kind of people who will admit to and seek help for a mental health issue! These people think they are perfectly normal!! Just listen to people interviewed so far from this guy's circle...no one noticed anything out of the ordinary with this guy! Even if they did, you can't force a person to go seek help. It is hard to get a psychiatric hold on a person for more than 72 hours, if you believe they are harm to themselves and others. Arguments for better mental health care are a moot point in this situation!
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
How I would change gun laws.
If I had say into gun laws, here is how I would change the laws:
1. REQUIRED FEDERAL REGISTRATION of ALL firearms. All sales should require that the seller register that the sale took place (which should include the name, address, and ID number of the person buying the firearm), and the buyer would then have 30 days from the date of sale to register the firearm. If the buyer does not register said firearm, fines and/or jail time could be ordered based on the length of the delay of registration, and how many notifications the buyer received for violation. Think this a violation of your privacy? Well, how is it that I'm required to register my car and my dog, but you aren't required to register your firearm?!
2. No ammo purchases should be allowed without valid registration for the firearm for which the ammo is being purchased. If the ammo does not fit the firearm registered to that person, they cannot buy it. If there are no firearms registered to the person attempting to make the ammo purchase, they cannot buy it!
3. If you have been diagnosed with a mental illness, this needs to be recorded in a central database, and no one with a diagnosed mental illness should be allowed to purchase a firearm.
4. There should be a stated limit to the number of firearms an individual can own. No one needs 42 firearms! Tops, a person should be allowed 5...handgun for personal protection, and 1-4 various for hunting or sport. Again, since registration will be required (see #1), a check in the database before the purchase is completed will show if a person has met their limit.
5. There should be a limit to the amount of ammo a person can purchase within a certain time frame, and large amounts should be flagged.
6. One should have to submit to a fingerprint background check with ALL gun purchases.
7. I should be illegal to buy or sell firearms or ammo on the internet. It should be required that all purchases be made in person, and that any required documentation filled out and ID checked for all firearm purchases.
8. AR and semi-automatic weapons should be outlawed for private citizens. There is no need for these weapons outside of our military and law enforcement!
These are just a few ideas I have. I'm not hearing about rights and such at this point. You should be lucky you even get to keep your firearms with recent events!
1. REQUIRED FEDERAL REGISTRATION of ALL firearms. All sales should require that the seller register that the sale took place (which should include the name, address, and ID number of the person buying the firearm), and the buyer would then have 30 days from the date of sale to register the firearm. If the buyer does not register said firearm, fines and/or jail time could be ordered based on the length of the delay of registration, and how many notifications the buyer received for violation. Think this a violation of your privacy? Well, how is it that I'm required to register my car and my dog, but you aren't required to register your firearm?!
2. No ammo purchases should be allowed without valid registration for the firearm for which the ammo is being purchased. If the ammo does not fit the firearm registered to that person, they cannot buy it. If there are no firearms registered to the person attempting to make the ammo purchase, they cannot buy it!
3. If you have been diagnosed with a mental illness, this needs to be recorded in a central database, and no one with a diagnosed mental illness should be allowed to purchase a firearm.
4. There should be a stated limit to the number of firearms an individual can own. No one needs 42 firearms! Tops, a person should be allowed 5...handgun for personal protection, and 1-4 various for hunting or sport. Again, since registration will be required (see #1), a check in the database before the purchase is completed will show if a person has met their limit.
5. There should be a limit to the amount of ammo a person can purchase within a certain time frame, and large amounts should be flagged.
6. One should have to submit to a fingerprint background check with ALL gun purchases.
7. I should be illegal to buy or sell firearms or ammo on the internet. It should be required that all purchases be made in person, and that any required documentation filled out and ID checked for all firearm purchases.
8. AR and semi-automatic weapons should be outlawed for private citizens. There is no need for these weapons outside of our military and law enforcement!
These are just a few ideas I have. I'm not hearing about rights and such at this point. You should be lucky you even get to keep your firearms with recent events!
Okay...NOW, I will address this!
We have had 24 hours to mourn, and allow some of the facts to come out. I feel now I can better address the situation as I see it.
There still is not a motive for this act of terror...and yes, it is terror! I keep seeing people touting that because no political or religious motive has been found, it can't be called such. Terror is anything that strikes fear in people, and yes, these events in Las Vegas have left people afraid! What we do know is that this was an older (in his 60's) white male who was rather well off. He was the son of a bank robber...a father who had been diagnosed with mental illness. Because of this, naturally, everyone is going with the lone wolf, mental illness excuse for this man's actions, though so far nothing has been uncovered to support the shooter suffered from mental illness....only the reports of his father's. It has been pointed out...and has gotten me thinking, as well...how race often seems to play out in these things! Someone noted, if the person is Middle Eastern, it has to be jihad...if the person is black, we start hearing how blacks are more likely to kill people...but if the person is white, it is mental illness, and ALL people want to talk about is mental illness! They don't want to talk about the weapons they used, or how they got them, etc. MENTAL ILLNESS! MENTAL ILLNESS!
But let's talk about the weapons of choice here for a moment...guns. After searching all of the shooter's residences and the hotel room, 42 firearms were recovered (23 of which were in his hotel room), thousands of rounds of ammo, and pounds of ammonium nitrate! Now, it is being said that it appears all the firearms and ammo were obtained legally, and some were then altered to function as automatic rifles. The question I've had to ask is how can someone LEGALLY obtain this much fire power, and stay under the radar?! I've been on some discussions about gun control, and I do believe that this issue needs to be taken up by Congress. Now, I'm not saying that folks need to have their guns taken away...which I've had to try to explain to people, yet they don't get. When you say gun control, all the Second Amendment fanatics quickly go into the "it's my right, you can't have them" defense, coming up with a billion scenarios why gun ownership should remain legal...thinking that you want to ban ALL guns. No, I'm not calling for a ban. I'm being realistic! NO ONE needs 42 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammo! Let's be real here! One firearm to protect your person and/or your home. Maybe two to three different guns for hunting or sport, if you are into that. That is all a person should be allowed to have. I'm not saying ban all guns...I'm saying we need to set limits on how much a single person can actually own! If we don't already have it, we need a database, where we record every purchase of a firearm or ammo, and red flags are raised in various situations...like say, if too much ammo is being bought within a short period of time. When a person has reached the "legal limit", they are informed by the seller that they cannot purchase the firearm or ammo, and if they have questions, call a number. "Well, what if I sold..." Then, once talking to the person on the phone number provided, if you have proof of the sale, you can submit it and after review they can give you your firearm credit back. If we want to allow people to be collectors, maybe require a special collector license that requires a mental check every year or two. If a collector fails a check...they will be flagged, and no longer allowed to purchase further firearms or ammo until they can pass a mental check (i.e., to avoid error, they can ask for a recheck after 2 months, while their purchase right is suspended). We also need to outlaw ARs and semi-automatics (as these are the easiest to convert to fully automatic with a few instructions from the internet). No one NEEDS these for home protection or hunting!
This data base should also contain entries for anyone diagnosed with a mental illness, regardless of if they are actively on medication (because anyone can simply stop taking their medication), and they should not be allowed to purchase a firearm. "But that is a violation of HIPA and doctor/patient privilege...etc." Really? You are screaming mental illness in these cases like Las Vegas, but you don't want to limit sales to people with actual diagnosis? And no, the person at the point-of-sale should not have access to the details. Much like it works when your credit card is denied...they receive a code when they run the person's ID (you know, because we can chip and use magnetic strips on those these days to contain all identifying info) that indicates the sale cannot go through, and they simply tell the customer, "Sorry, but I can't sell to you today. Please call this number, and you can talk to someone about why you are flagged." Of course, this would also mean reinstating the Obama-era policies that Trump so quickly undid upon taking office that prevented people who receiving SSD for a mental illness from buying firearms!
And then there is the issue being brought up with regards to suppressors. I've made the argument that no one NEEDS a suppressor, and that Congress should not proceed with deregulation of these in light of this. I was told to go do my research and quit watching movies! Seriously, I know what suppressors do, and no one NEEDS one. I've heard the argument "it allows you to use your firearm without having to wear ear protection"...that sounds like a want, or should I say a don't want...you don't want to wear ear protection, so you want a suppressor! I've also heard the argument that it quiets down your firearm so you can target practice on your own property if your neighbor doesn't like the sound of guns. Again, this sounds like a want...you want to target practice on your property. Truth be told, most people cannot do this because they live in neighborhoods, so you can really just do what they do if your neighbor is too bothered, and go to the range! You don't NEED a suppressor!
Bottom line, we need better gun control in this country! I keep hearing that there have been some 272 mass shootings of 4 or more people so far this year according to some group tracking these. I'm not certain about those numbers, but what I am certain is that we are seeing more and more of these kinds of events like Las Vegas, Orlando, and Sandy Hook here in the last decade of my life than I recall in my earlier years on this earth. Something needs to be done! "But they will just continue to buy on the black market"...well then maybe we need to concentrate more on shutting down the black market than say...I don't know...busting people for recreational pot! "But it will take money to build the database you speak of, and whatever organization needed to monitor and field consumer questions"...okay, well we really don't need that damn wall...so let's use that money to actually help prevent tragedies like this!
There still is not a motive for this act of terror...and yes, it is terror! I keep seeing people touting that because no political or religious motive has been found, it can't be called such. Terror is anything that strikes fear in people, and yes, these events in Las Vegas have left people afraid! What we do know is that this was an older (in his 60's) white male who was rather well off. He was the son of a bank robber...a father who had been diagnosed with mental illness. Because of this, naturally, everyone is going with the lone wolf, mental illness excuse for this man's actions, though so far nothing has been uncovered to support the shooter suffered from mental illness....only the reports of his father's. It has been pointed out...and has gotten me thinking, as well...how race often seems to play out in these things! Someone noted, if the person is Middle Eastern, it has to be jihad...if the person is black, we start hearing how blacks are more likely to kill people...but if the person is white, it is mental illness, and ALL people want to talk about is mental illness! They don't want to talk about the weapons they used, or how they got them, etc. MENTAL ILLNESS! MENTAL ILLNESS!
But let's talk about the weapons of choice here for a moment...guns. After searching all of the shooter's residences and the hotel room, 42 firearms were recovered (23 of which were in his hotel room), thousands of rounds of ammo, and pounds of ammonium nitrate! Now, it is being said that it appears all the firearms and ammo were obtained legally, and some were then altered to function as automatic rifles. The question I've had to ask is how can someone LEGALLY obtain this much fire power, and stay under the radar?! I've been on some discussions about gun control, and I do believe that this issue needs to be taken up by Congress. Now, I'm not saying that folks need to have their guns taken away...which I've had to try to explain to people, yet they don't get. When you say gun control, all the Second Amendment fanatics quickly go into the "it's my right, you can't have them" defense, coming up with a billion scenarios why gun ownership should remain legal...thinking that you want to ban ALL guns. No, I'm not calling for a ban. I'm being realistic! NO ONE needs 42 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammo! Let's be real here! One firearm to protect your person and/or your home. Maybe two to three different guns for hunting or sport, if you are into that. That is all a person should be allowed to have. I'm not saying ban all guns...I'm saying we need to set limits on how much a single person can actually own! If we don't already have it, we need a database, where we record every purchase of a firearm or ammo, and red flags are raised in various situations...like say, if too much ammo is being bought within a short period of time. When a person has reached the "legal limit", they are informed by the seller that they cannot purchase the firearm or ammo, and if they have questions, call a number. "Well, what if I sold..." Then, once talking to the person on the phone number provided, if you have proof of the sale, you can submit it and after review they can give you your firearm credit back. If we want to allow people to be collectors, maybe require a special collector license that requires a mental check every year or two. If a collector fails a check...they will be flagged, and no longer allowed to purchase further firearms or ammo until they can pass a mental check (i.e., to avoid error, they can ask for a recheck after 2 months, while their purchase right is suspended). We also need to outlaw ARs and semi-automatics (as these are the easiest to convert to fully automatic with a few instructions from the internet). No one NEEDS these for home protection or hunting!
This data base should also contain entries for anyone diagnosed with a mental illness, regardless of if they are actively on medication (because anyone can simply stop taking their medication), and they should not be allowed to purchase a firearm. "But that is a violation of HIPA and doctor/patient privilege...etc." Really? You are screaming mental illness in these cases like Las Vegas, but you don't want to limit sales to people with actual diagnosis? And no, the person at the point-of-sale should not have access to the details. Much like it works when your credit card is denied...they receive a code when they run the person's ID (you know, because we can chip and use magnetic strips on those these days to contain all identifying info) that indicates the sale cannot go through, and they simply tell the customer, "Sorry, but I can't sell to you today. Please call this number, and you can talk to someone about why you are flagged." Of course, this would also mean reinstating the Obama-era policies that Trump so quickly undid upon taking office that prevented people who receiving SSD for a mental illness from buying firearms!
And then there is the issue being brought up with regards to suppressors. I've made the argument that no one NEEDS a suppressor, and that Congress should not proceed with deregulation of these in light of this. I was told to go do my research and quit watching movies! Seriously, I know what suppressors do, and no one NEEDS one. I've heard the argument "it allows you to use your firearm without having to wear ear protection"...that sounds like a want, or should I say a don't want...you don't want to wear ear protection, so you want a suppressor! I've also heard the argument that it quiets down your firearm so you can target practice on your own property if your neighbor doesn't like the sound of guns. Again, this sounds like a want...you want to target practice on your property. Truth be told, most people cannot do this because they live in neighborhoods, so you can really just do what they do if your neighbor is too bothered, and go to the range! You don't NEED a suppressor!
Bottom line, we need better gun control in this country! I keep hearing that there have been some 272 mass shootings of 4 or more people so far this year according to some group tracking these. I'm not certain about those numbers, but what I am certain is that we are seeing more and more of these kinds of events like Las Vegas, Orlando, and Sandy Hook here in the last decade of my life than I recall in my earlier years on this earth. Something needs to be done! "But they will just continue to buy on the black market"...well then maybe we need to concentrate more on shutting down the black market than say...I don't know...busting people for recreational pot! "But it will take money to build the database you speak of, and whatever organization needed to monitor and field consumer questions"...okay, well we really don't need that damn wall...so let's use that money to actually help prevent tragedies like this!
Monday, October 2, 2017
Now is not the time for politics!
I was saddened when I read the news this morning about the mass shooting in Las Vegas...50+ dead, and 400+ injured. I'm getting so tired of every week there being another example of hate in the world! Okay, it may not be every week, but it sure feels like it!
So, this morning I post about my heavy heart, saying there is too much hate and disregard for human life in the world. Immediately, one of my family members goes on saying something along lines of with the media blasting hate in the news for weeks, and all the hate out of Hollywood and the NFL, it is no wonder...that satan is here on earth. Really? Now is not the time for politics! Now is the time for waking up!!! Religion, politics...while fine that we all have different ideals, beliefs, and opinions...continue to drive a wedge between us! Again, I'm reminded of my favorite Jonathan Swift quote:
In the past week, I've been in many discussions about current events that resulted in me simply having to walk away once the insults and hate speech started flying! People cannot even have a simple discussion without resorting to attacks. I find this especially true when people are presented with facts that go against their belief system...they get defensive and start personally attacking those presenting the fact, even when others are simply making statements attacking no one. Do I feel that the current administration has fed into this? You bet I do! But at the same time, I find so much hate coming from the supporters that voted for him, and it is no wonder. And no...it isn't just the right...the far left has lost their damn minds, as well! It seems so many on either side have no regard for other people....it is all about them, them, them! Do I believe in the NFL protests? Yes, because I do believe there are people in this country being treated unjustly, and that needs to be corrected. Do I support violent protests, regardless of the cause behind them? No I don't, as I don't support anything that aims to cause harm to others...and damaging property does still cause harm to people. You destroy a store front, that store may be that of a small business owner who is just struggling to get by, as an example.
This country has literally lost it's mind! I don't know....maybe this is end times! Maybe this is what it looks like! If so, from what I've seen lately on social media and such, the people who are so sure they are the ones to be taken up in the Rapture are the ones that, in my opinion, are the most likely to get left behind! I made a joke after the whole "end of days prophesy" of 9/23/2017 showed nothing significant happened..."What if the Rapture did happen, but no one was qualified to go?!" What if this was true?
So, this morning I post about my heavy heart, saying there is too much hate and disregard for human life in the world. Immediately, one of my family members goes on saying something along lines of with the media blasting hate in the news for weeks, and all the hate out of Hollywood and the NFL, it is no wonder...that satan is here on earth. Really? Now is not the time for politics! Now is the time for waking up!!! Religion, politics...while fine that we all have different ideals, beliefs, and opinions...continue to drive a wedge between us! Again, I'm reminded of my favorite Jonathan Swift quote:
"We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another."
In the past week, I've been in many discussions about current events that resulted in me simply having to walk away once the insults and hate speech started flying! People cannot even have a simple discussion without resorting to attacks. I find this especially true when people are presented with facts that go against their belief system...they get defensive and start personally attacking those presenting the fact, even when others are simply making statements attacking no one. Do I feel that the current administration has fed into this? You bet I do! But at the same time, I find so much hate coming from the supporters that voted for him, and it is no wonder. And no...it isn't just the right...the far left has lost their damn minds, as well! It seems so many on either side have no regard for other people....it is all about them, them, them! Do I believe in the NFL protests? Yes, because I do believe there are people in this country being treated unjustly, and that needs to be corrected. Do I support violent protests, regardless of the cause behind them? No I don't, as I don't support anything that aims to cause harm to others...and damaging property does still cause harm to people. You destroy a store front, that store may be that of a small business owner who is just struggling to get by, as an example.
This country has literally lost it's mind! I don't know....maybe this is end times! Maybe this is what it looks like! If so, from what I've seen lately on social media and such, the people who are so sure they are the ones to be taken up in the Rapture are the ones that, in my opinion, are the most likely to get left behind! I made a joke after the whole "end of days prophesy" of 9/23/2017 showed nothing significant happened..."What if the Rapture did happen, but no one was qualified to go?!" What if this was true?
Thursday, September 28, 2017
It still amazes me.
Sometimes I get so frustrated that this blog has gotten so political. Then, I have to remember...I had to spend years keeping silent about my beliefs and opinions.Why, you may ask? I was married into an uber-Conservative family, and felt like if I opened my mouth to contradict their bullshit at any given time, I was going to have a shit storm unloaded on me. I could already tell the in-laws didn't really like me...they could sense by my demeanor and dress that I wasn't like them...I wasn't about to add more fuel to the fire. I've had these uber-Conservative views shoved at me my whole life, seeing as after my parents divorced, my mother had primary custody of me, and her family is very uber-Conservative. I am very thankful for having a hippie for a dad, to expose me to a more open way of thinking. See, it was mostly dad that pushed for me to not be baptized Catholic as a baby, saying that the fight between his parents in trying to determine if he would be Lutheran or Catholic (which are nearly the same dang thing) almost caused his parents to divorce. My dad convinced my mother to allow me to explore the world of religion on my own, and I'm so thankful he did! Sure, I ended up going to Catholic church when I was a kid...on my own, mind you, because my mother was and still is a non-practicing Catholic, but she never stopped me from going. I took the same stance with my kids, and one was baptized in the Catholic church, while the other a non-denominational Christian church. I was never actually baptized Catholic...was baptized in the Baptist church when I was 17 (part of my my religious journey), and rededicated my baptism in a non-denominational Christian church in my late 20's before I married my second husband. Since splitting from my second husband 2 years ago, I've further explored my spirituality outside of the church, and what I found is that I don't need religion at all! My thoughts these days is that religion only serves to divide a people!! Do I still have faith in God...a higher power? Yes, because I know I have felt the presence of such. Do I believe the Bible as written? Not really, because I've grown to understand this is man's interpretation of what God has said to various people in history. Do I believe in Jesus? Well, there is historical references outside of the Bible to his existence, so yes. But I don't believe in religion...I believe in love. I guess you can say I'm now a non-practicing Catholic with a sprinkle of Buddhism (as I have started to study these principles in the last two years), if you really have to define things. I believe in energies and karma...which is not contrary to Christian belief. I mean, what is the spirit but an energy being. This can be shown through science...you can see the energy in the body through special machines, and when we die, that energy disappears. It is also safe to say if you believe that God created all, that all things have an energy having been touched by such an entity as God Himself!
Wow...that is a long introduction for this post...but all that said. The events of this past week have really stirred some thoughts in my mind about humanity...specifically...people who call themselves Christian. Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling out all Christians here, as I have seen several who actually get it. What "it" is, you may gather as you read further.
It seems to me, that so many of these people value symbols over actual lives! The people who are defending the flag so much are using arguments that there is no racism...that there is equality already, so what more do these people want. They are ignoring the fact that a black man doing the exact same thing as a white man is more likely to get shot AND KILLED by an officer, and that said officer is very rarely convicted of using excessive force, manslaughter, or even murder even when it is found that the officer's account of the situation was not true, and the perceived suspect was not armed. They are ignoring the fact that in most metros, neighborhoods are still very segregated with cities reluctant to put money into poor black or Latino neighborhoods, while they are revitalizing poor white neighborhoods...thus feeding the problem that people of color are more likely to live in poverty than whites, because all of their lives, all they see is desolation. They are ignoring that just within the last couple of months, White Supremacists marched in Charlottsville proving that racism is still very much alive and well in this country! No, they are focusing on a SYMBOL, instead of lives. That is all the flag is...a symbol. It is a symbol of what this country SHOULD be...the land of liberty and freedom. When a group of people say they can't stand to a symbol of a country that doesn't truly exist, we get backlash from a group of people that is made up mostly of self-proclaimed Christians...a group of people that you would think, by their very religious beliefs, should be concerned about the well-being of other people. However, what I see more and more from this group of people is that they only really care about themselves!!! Think about it...healthcare is a prime example. The Conservative Christians are over there saying they don't want to have to pay for coverage they don't use in order to make sure that said coverage is available to all people. They don't want to pay into a system that will help pay for people to cannot afford health insurance on their own to get subsidies to allow them to get coverage. They don't want to pay for the sick, or the elderly. Oh, and you know those veterans they are so concerned about in their national anthem arguments? When it comes to needing money for proper medical and mental health care for our veterans, again, they don't want to have to pay!! I feel like it is more pomp and circumstance for these folks! They can talk the talk, but not walk the walk.
Did you know that in the midst of all this NFL crap, that on Sunday, a gunman opened fire on a church? I saw ONE post yesterday that finally addressed this, and the complaint was that the media was trying to bury the story, because it didn't fit in with the liberal agenda. What I noticed is that the Christians themselves were more concerned about the NFL issue to even offer up prayer to their fellow Christians! Yeah...if you are thinking what I'm thinking, you are sitting there shaking and smacking your head right now! The media didn't bury it...I saw the reports on Sunday, and my heart went out to those poor people. I sat in wait for details on the shooter to see how the Conservatives were going to spin things based on the shooter's race and motive. Nope...not a peep...not even an offer of prayer. Nope! All week it has been "boycott the NFL...boycott all of their sponsors...disrespect for the flag"!
The other thing that had me pondering were the multiple videos of people burning their NFL gear. Really, a whole lot of these people have spent some serious money on this shit! Yes, I follow the NY Giants, and I have one shirt that I found at JCP that is not official NFL gear. I think I maybe spent $15 bucks on it, and bought it because I was like, "Oh, I could wear that to a football watching party to rep my team, since everyone there will be wearing jerseys." We are talking bomber jackets, jerseys, hats, coozies, etc. And it isn't like just one shirt! No, they could basically have a bonfire with the amount of NFL team gear they have! These people spent thousands! Talk about team worship! And then that REALLY got me pondering...all of this team gear they have spent all of this money on (probably more money than any of them have ever put in the collection plate or given to a humanitarian charity...and we already know they don't want to spend on sick, elderly, or vets). All this concern over the disrespect of a flag...a symbol. At that moment, I remember the Second Commandment...do not worship idols!!! MIND BLOWN! I mean, isn't that exactly what these proclaimed Christians are doing in their week long defense of the flag? In demanding boycotts against companies that if successful would destroy the US economy and put thousands, if not millions, of people out of work? The flag is an IDOL, and they are worshiping it!!!
I know this is long, and it took me some time to get to the major revelation. I felt it necessary to lead you down the path I followed through the week before this revelation. DO NOT WORSHIP IDOLS! Wake up Christians!
Wow...that is a long introduction for this post...but all that said. The events of this past week have really stirred some thoughts in my mind about humanity...specifically...people who call themselves Christian. Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling out all Christians here, as I have seen several who actually get it. What "it" is, you may gather as you read further.
It seems to me, that so many of these people value symbols over actual lives! The people who are defending the flag so much are using arguments that there is no racism...that there is equality already, so what more do these people want. They are ignoring the fact that a black man doing the exact same thing as a white man is more likely to get shot AND KILLED by an officer, and that said officer is very rarely convicted of using excessive force, manslaughter, or even murder even when it is found that the officer's account of the situation was not true, and the perceived suspect was not armed. They are ignoring the fact that in most metros, neighborhoods are still very segregated with cities reluctant to put money into poor black or Latino neighborhoods, while they are revitalizing poor white neighborhoods...thus feeding the problem that people of color are more likely to live in poverty than whites, because all of their lives, all they see is desolation. They are ignoring that just within the last couple of months, White Supremacists marched in Charlottsville proving that racism is still very much alive and well in this country! No, they are focusing on a SYMBOL, instead of lives. That is all the flag is...a symbol. It is a symbol of what this country SHOULD be...the land of liberty and freedom. When a group of people say they can't stand to a symbol of a country that doesn't truly exist, we get backlash from a group of people that is made up mostly of self-proclaimed Christians...a group of people that you would think, by their very religious beliefs, should be concerned about the well-being of other people. However, what I see more and more from this group of people is that they only really care about themselves!!! Think about it...healthcare is a prime example. The Conservative Christians are over there saying they don't want to have to pay for coverage they don't use in order to make sure that said coverage is available to all people. They don't want to pay into a system that will help pay for people to cannot afford health insurance on their own to get subsidies to allow them to get coverage. They don't want to pay for the sick, or the elderly. Oh, and you know those veterans they are so concerned about in their national anthem arguments? When it comes to needing money for proper medical and mental health care for our veterans, again, they don't want to have to pay!! I feel like it is more pomp and circumstance for these folks! They can talk the talk, but not walk the walk.
Did you know that in the midst of all this NFL crap, that on Sunday, a gunman opened fire on a church? I saw ONE post yesterday that finally addressed this, and the complaint was that the media was trying to bury the story, because it didn't fit in with the liberal agenda. What I noticed is that the Christians themselves were more concerned about the NFL issue to even offer up prayer to their fellow Christians! Yeah...if you are thinking what I'm thinking, you are sitting there shaking and smacking your head right now! The media didn't bury it...I saw the reports on Sunday, and my heart went out to those poor people. I sat in wait for details on the shooter to see how the Conservatives were going to spin things based on the shooter's race and motive. Nope...not a peep...not even an offer of prayer. Nope! All week it has been "boycott the NFL...boycott all of their sponsors...disrespect for the flag"!
The other thing that had me pondering were the multiple videos of people burning their NFL gear. Really, a whole lot of these people have spent some serious money on this shit! Yes, I follow the NY Giants, and I have one shirt that I found at JCP that is not official NFL gear. I think I maybe spent $15 bucks on it, and bought it because I was like, "Oh, I could wear that to a football watching party to rep my team, since everyone there will be wearing jerseys." We are talking bomber jackets, jerseys, hats, coozies, etc. And it isn't like just one shirt! No, they could basically have a bonfire with the amount of NFL team gear they have! These people spent thousands! Talk about team worship! And then that REALLY got me pondering...all of this team gear they have spent all of this money on (probably more money than any of them have ever put in the collection plate or given to a humanitarian charity...and we already know they don't want to spend on sick, elderly, or vets). All this concern over the disrespect of a flag...a symbol. At that moment, I remember the Second Commandment...do not worship idols!!! MIND BLOWN! I mean, isn't that exactly what these proclaimed Christians are doing in their week long defense of the flag? In demanding boycotts against companies that if successful would destroy the US economy and put thousands, if not millions, of people out of work? The flag is an IDOL, and they are worshiping it!!!
I know this is long, and it took me some time to get to the major revelation. I felt it necessary to lead you down the path I followed through the week before this revelation. DO NOT WORSHIP IDOLS! Wake up Christians!
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
So, you want to boycott the NFL and all of their sponsors!
I've seen the last few days people calling out for boycotts of the NFL and any of their sponsors who either stand in support of them, or who stay quiet on the issue at hand. I see this and I have to wonder a couple of things.
First of all, I have to wonder if these people are actually willing to throw the economy into the toilet over this protest by NFL players? How is that patriotic? Advocating for putting hard-working Americans out of work? That is all you are really going to do! The folks at the top of these organizations will be fine. They have money to float themselves until they can figure out their next venture. They won't close the companies right away...they will slowly lay off people trying to right the ship until there is no other option. These people are Americans who don't have money to float them, and if said boycotts WERE successful, jobs would be that much harder to find! Yeah, you want to stand up for the flag...you want to talk about respect for the men and women who have served...but how respectful is it to spit in the face of those very soldiers by advocating for killing this country?!
Second, all these patriotic folks, I have to ask you this. Where is the stuff made that you buy? I know a whole lot of you shop at Wal-Mart, and I also know half of that junks is manufactured in sweat shops where human rights are the last thing the slave drivers that run them are concerned about! You buy products that continue to support the very thing our men and women in the military are fighting against! Oh, but you are are good patriotic Americans!
Finally, I have to state again what has been stated for the last 3 days...every one in this country is protected by the First Amendment right to free speech! This doesn't mean we are only allowed to express our opinions publicly if they match up with your opinion...or even the President's opinion! This doesn't mean that if you are rich you have no right speaking up for people who are living in poorer conditions. This doesn't mean that if you are not oppressed, you are not allowed to speak against injustices you see against others. This means FREE SPEECH! Sadly, even hate speech is protected, as long as it isn't calling out for physical harm to other people (i.e., such as calling out for mass lynchings, etc.). One can be on YouTube all day spewing hate, and there is no law that says he cannot! If being interviewed on the news, I can say I hate flying purple people eaters, and as long as I'm not calling out for people to beat them down for no reason other than the fact they are purple, I'm still within my First Amendment rights! That is one of the amazing things about this country!
So, I say this...all of you who want to talk about disrespect for our flag, or our men and women in the military, and our country by taking a knee to call out an injustice they see, and to send a message to a President who has, on so many occasions, shown he truly does not line up with the values that this country was founded on, YOU, my friends, are the ones disrespecting these things by trying to deny people their Constitutional right to free speech! You support a man who is more outspoken against a group of mostly black Americans pointing out an injustice than he is against a group of White Supremacist haters! You want to support your right to fly the Confederate battle flag which is a symbol of treason against the United States, and protect statues of people who fought against the country you claim to love. You want to call those of us who don't side with you a bunch of snowflakes or libertards (yeah...basically calling us retarded for actually valuing other humans), while you just follow along like a bunch of sheep behind a man who will probably walk you right off of a cliff! Come to think of it, so many of you didn't even support him until he became the Republican nominee...you couldn't stand him! But you are so close mindedly following the Republican party line that you will end up standing behind whoever they throw at you to follow. No, no one could possibly offer this country anything if they are not Republican, right? I'm neither Republican nor Democrat...I'm for who I think will do what is best for this country. I'm not just going to follow someone because of party affiliation...I what to know where their heart is. I refuse to stand just because you tell me to, and I will always do what I feel is best for this country because I truly am an American!
First of all, I have to wonder if these people are actually willing to throw the economy into the toilet over this protest by NFL players? How is that patriotic? Advocating for putting hard-working Americans out of work? That is all you are really going to do! The folks at the top of these organizations will be fine. They have money to float themselves until they can figure out their next venture. They won't close the companies right away...they will slowly lay off people trying to right the ship until there is no other option. These people are Americans who don't have money to float them, and if said boycotts WERE successful, jobs would be that much harder to find! Yeah, you want to stand up for the flag...you want to talk about respect for the men and women who have served...but how respectful is it to spit in the face of those very soldiers by advocating for killing this country?!
Second, all these patriotic folks, I have to ask you this. Where is the stuff made that you buy? I know a whole lot of you shop at Wal-Mart, and I also know half of that junks is manufactured in sweat shops where human rights are the last thing the slave drivers that run them are concerned about! You buy products that continue to support the very thing our men and women in the military are fighting against! Oh, but you are are good patriotic Americans!
Finally, I have to state again what has been stated for the last 3 days...every one in this country is protected by the First Amendment right to free speech! This doesn't mean we are only allowed to express our opinions publicly if they match up with your opinion...or even the President's opinion! This doesn't mean that if you are rich you have no right speaking up for people who are living in poorer conditions. This doesn't mean that if you are not oppressed, you are not allowed to speak against injustices you see against others. This means FREE SPEECH! Sadly, even hate speech is protected, as long as it isn't calling out for physical harm to other people (i.e., such as calling out for mass lynchings, etc.). One can be on YouTube all day spewing hate, and there is no law that says he cannot! If being interviewed on the news, I can say I hate flying purple people eaters, and as long as I'm not calling out for people to beat them down for no reason other than the fact they are purple, I'm still within my First Amendment rights! That is one of the amazing things about this country!
So, I say this...all of you who want to talk about disrespect for our flag, or our men and women in the military, and our country by taking a knee to call out an injustice they see, and to send a message to a President who has, on so many occasions, shown he truly does not line up with the values that this country was founded on, YOU, my friends, are the ones disrespecting these things by trying to deny people their Constitutional right to free speech! You support a man who is more outspoken against a group of mostly black Americans pointing out an injustice than he is against a group of White Supremacist haters! You want to support your right to fly the Confederate battle flag which is a symbol of treason against the United States, and protect statues of people who fought against the country you claim to love. You want to call those of us who don't side with you a bunch of snowflakes or libertards (yeah...basically calling us retarded for actually valuing other humans), while you just follow along like a bunch of sheep behind a man who will probably walk you right off of a cliff! Come to think of it, so many of you didn't even support him until he became the Republican nominee...you couldn't stand him! But you are so close mindedly following the Republican party line that you will end up standing behind whoever they throw at you to follow. No, no one could possibly offer this country anything if they are not Republican, right? I'm neither Republican nor Democrat...I'm for who I think will do what is best for this country. I'm not just going to follow someone because of party affiliation...I what to know where their heart is. I refuse to stand just because you tell me to, and I will always do what I feel is best for this country because I truly am an American!
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
The real reason healthcare costs are so high.
While I agree that the ACA needs some tweaking, I do believe it did a lot of good. It allowed parents to keep children on their policies until age 26 regardless of if they were in school, which helped with the fact that young adults who aren't in college are typically doing jobs where employer-sponsored health insurance isn't offered. It mandated that people couldn't be turned down for pre-existing conditions, and that insurance companies couldn't jack up the prices on these folks. It also mandated that things such as pre- and post-natal care, birth control, etc. were covered, as these are typically things that get eliminated to cut corners and offer cheap policies while not making it clear up front...causing people to only find out when they need the coverage that what they need isn't covered.
There are a lot of people blaming the ACA for price hikes. While the ACA may have played a SMALL role in rate hikes, this is only because it enabled more people to become enrolled on insurance policies, and thus revealed the TRUE reason that healthcare is so expensive!
1) Big Pharmaceutical. These folks have been jacking up the costs of prescriptions for some time. Slowly, the availability of generics had decreased (the cheaper options), leaving folks to have to purchase branded versions of their meds for often twice the cost of a generic counterpart. Pricing of said meds have also gone out of control...just look at the whole Epi-pen fiasco. The pharms are pushing doctors to prescribe the newer meds under the guise that they "work better" and are "more modern", when this isn't always the case. For example, when I get bronchitis maybe once every 6-8 years, the only antibiotic that works for me is amoxicillin. A full course of generic amoxicillin before insurance usually costs me around $5, meaning insurance never kicks in. What the doctors try to push on me...Z-Pak, or whatever new "miracle" antibiotic is out there that I'm not willing to experiment with because I actually want to feel better...has a copay of $40, and then insurance pays some amount that is unknown to me. I literally have to fight for the lower cost option!
2) Healthcare Providers. Have you ever had to visit the ER or stay in the hospital, and took a good look at the itemization? For the price of one band-aid or q-tip, you could buy an entire box or package...or even an entire case! Doctor comes in and talks to you for 15 minutes...you get charged $200+?! I get that he spent some 8+ years in school and has a vast amount of cool knowledge in his head, but really? For 15 minutes of his time?! Oh, and if he actually has to do something, that price per 15 minutes skyrockets! Okay...so part of that goes to the nurse who actually has to administer the shot or who takes your vitals before the doctor even comes in...but seriously, that nurse doesn't get all that much. I also get that there are overhead costs, but if you pay attention to that itemization, you will find they have charged you fees for all that crap, too. It's insane!
3) Insurance Companies. Okay...so if you take into account #1 and #2, and the fact that the insurance company still has to pay it's own employees and admin costs while still making some profit (because it IS business, not a non-profit), you will see how having to pay out for more people would cause them to have to raise their rates. However, the insurance companies are greedy as hell about their profits, so they don't just raise their rates, they jack that shit up! Rates on steroids! The insurance company CEOs really enjoy their big bonuses and salaries.
You see, the business of insurance is really a gamble on you not actually making a claim, so the more claims people make, the more they jack up the rates!
So, while I believe that work needs to done, the only way that we are truly going to make healthcare more affordable is to put some controls on these folks! One way to do that would be through a single payer, seeing as then the government could set the max amount they would be willing to pay for said meds and procedures, and everyone is just going to have to deal with it. Now, single payer also has it's flaws, so the trick is to look at all the options available, and try to put together a plan that helps the most people the most effectively. That is not an easy task! That will take cooperation and sharing of ideas from both sides of the isle, and the most recent failure moves us a bit closer to that. When the rules change after September 30th, and 62 votes will be needed in the Senate to pass a plan, both sides will have no choice but to work together for the people!
There are a lot of people blaming the ACA for price hikes. While the ACA may have played a SMALL role in rate hikes, this is only because it enabled more people to become enrolled on insurance policies, and thus revealed the TRUE reason that healthcare is so expensive!
1) Big Pharmaceutical. These folks have been jacking up the costs of prescriptions for some time. Slowly, the availability of generics had decreased (the cheaper options), leaving folks to have to purchase branded versions of their meds for often twice the cost of a generic counterpart. Pricing of said meds have also gone out of control...just look at the whole Epi-pen fiasco. The pharms are pushing doctors to prescribe the newer meds under the guise that they "work better" and are "more modern", when this isn't always the case. For example, when I get bronchitis maybe once every 6-8 years, the only antibiotic that works for me is amoxicillin. A full course of generic amoxicillin before insurance usually costs me around $5, meaning insurance never kicks in. What the doctors try to push on me...Z-Pak, or whatever new "miracle" antibiotic is out there that I'm not willing to experiment with because I actually want to feel better...has a copay of $40, and then insurance pays some amount that is unknown to me. I literally have to fight for the lower cost option!
2) Healthcare Providers. Have you ever had to visit the ER or stay in the hospital, and took a good look at the itemization? For the price of one band-aid or q-tip, you could buy an entire box or package...or even an entire case! Doctor comes in and talks to you for 15 minutes...you get charged $200+?! I get that he spent some 8+ years in school and has a vast amount of cool knowledge in his head, but really? For 15 minutes of his time?! Oh, and if he actually has to do something, that price per 15 minutes skyrockets! Okay...so part of that goes to the nurse who actually has to administer the shot or who takes your vitals before the doctor even comes in...but seriously, that nurse doesn't get all that much. I also get that there are overhead costs, but if you pay attention to that itemization, you will find they have charged you fees for all that crap, too. It's insane!
3) Insurance Companies. Okay...so if you take into account #1 and #2, and the fact that the insurance company still has to pay it's own employees and admin costs while still making some profit (because it IS business, not a non-profit), you will see how having to pay out for more people would cause them to have to raise their rates. However, the insurance companies are greedy as hell about their profits, so they don't just raise their rates, they jack that shit up! Rates on steroids! The insurance company CEOs really enjoy their big bonuses and salaries.
So, while I believe that work needs to done, the only way that we are truly going to make healthcare more affordable is to put some controls on these folks! One way to do that would be through a single payer, seeing as then the government could set the max amount they would be willing to pay for said meds and procedures, and everyone is just going to have to deal with it. Now, single payer also has it's flaws, so the trick is to look at all the options available, and try to put together a plan that helps the most people the most effectively. That is not an easy task! That will take cooperation and sharing of ideas from both sides of the isle, and the most recent failure moves us a bit closer to that. When the rules change after September 30th, and 62 votes will be needed in the Senate to pass a plan, both sides will have no choice but to work together for the people!
Monday, September 25, 2017
"But America voted for him!"
I've seen this statement floating around again today with regards to our POTUS with the itchy Twitter finger. I think I may have stated this somewhere before, but I think several people need a little refresher in the math.
Of those who voted:
46.09% voted for Trump
48.18% voted for Clinton
5.73% voted other or 3rd party
Trump only won due to electoral college distribution. If the same 65+ million people who voted for Clinton were distributed through the country slightly different, we would have a different President.
It is estimated that 138.8 million Americans cast a ballot in the 2016 election. It is also estimated that there are 230.6 million Americans who make up the eligible voting population. This means that 91.8 million eligible voters, or 39.8% of the population did not even vote.
Seeing as about 63 million voters cast a ballot for Trump, that leaves 167.6 million eligible voters that did not. In other words, 72.6% of the people did NOT vote for Trump, and only 27.4% of the population cast a ballot in his favor.
So, no...AMERICA did not vote this man in as President...27.4% of the population did. Me? I'm one of the 72.6% who didn't! I didn't vote for Clinton, either...but I DID vote!
Of those who voted:
46.09% voted for Trump
48.18% voted for Clinton
5.73% voted other or 3rd party
Trump only won due to electoral college distribution. If the same 65+ million people who voted for Clinton were distributed through the country slightly different, we would have a different President.
It is estimated that 138.8 million Americans cast a ballot in the 2016 election. It is also estimated that there are 230.6 million Americans who make up the eligible voting population. This means that 91.8 million eligible voters, or 39.8% of the population did not even vote.
Seeing as about 63 million voters cast a ballot for Trump, that leaves 167.6 million eligible voters that did not. In other words, 72.6% of the people did NOT vote for Trump, and only 27.4% of the population cast a ballot in his favor.
So, no...AMERICA did not vote this man in as President...27.4% of the population did. Me? I'm one of the 72.6% who didn't! I didn't vote for Clinton, either...but I DID vote!
How are veterans are REALLY disrespected!
The battle over the whole "kneel during the national anthem" controversy continues today. The major argument I see is that this is a disrespect to active military and veterans. Let's talk about the REAL disrespect, shall we?
In recent years, it seems that most of the wars that our military fight in are basically cleaning up the mistakes of our own government. For example, the US armed the Taliban against the invading Soviet Union, and look what mess that turned out to be. In return, these people are treated with:
1. Unless you are an officer, salaries that are considered barely above the poverty level! Who controls these salaries? Or government officials! And let us not forget, if the powers that be are having a bit of a "lover's quarrel" on the on the Congressional floor causing an effective shut down of the government, these very same people must show up to "work" every day knowing their pay will be delayed, but not knowing how long. All the while, their families need to eat, and they still have bills to be paid, but who cares until the special interest of a few committee members are met!
2. At any given time, it is estimated that there are about 30,000 homeless veterans on the streets. These people are there because they had difficulty assimilating back into civilian society, but the government did little to help them. We treat criminals better than we do our veterans! An ex-convict coming out of prison can get housing in a halfway house and services to help them find a job so that they can become a productive member of society. Why aren't we doing the same for these vets?
3. Inadequate mental health services. It is estimated that about 20% of soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD, but only about 50% of those receive any kind of treatment. We are talking 1 million plus veterans who are not receiving care for their PTSD with the aid of our government. Many of the reasons sited are things such as long wait times to receive treatment, lack of understanding of services offered. concerns about the services offered being adequate, not living close enough to facilities that offer services (which would further be helped by #1, especially if the only option these people have when they come home is to live with family members who do not live close to required facilities), etc.
4. Difficulty getting needed services from the VA. I've heard too many stories about the VA denying needed procedures for veterans...procedures they need to help them live better quality lives in less pain. Instead, these veterans are often just prescribed more pain pills, and told there is nothing that can be done.
5. Poor housing options state-side. Seriously, I've been on a few military bases, and military housing is terrible in so many places. Think...the projects! Sure, service member can rent or buy a home off of base with a housing stipend, but even with the stipend, most respectable housing is out of their budget. For this reason, many are relegated to housing that is no better than section 8 housing for people living in poverty. This is how we treat the families while their loved ones are sent to the front lines!
Oh, and let us not forget the big old slap in the face transgender soldiers recently received, when our own POTUS basically said, "Thanks for your service, but no thanks!" Let us also not forget some comments disrespectfully said by said POTUS toward military veterans such as John McCain, when he attacked McCain's status a war hero..."I like people who weren't captured!"
Wait, kneeling is disrespecting the flag? Well, 4 U.S. Code § 8 addresses this: 4 US Code Sec 8. Pay particular attention to part (c)...which was violated on many a football field this past Sunay...as well as parts (d), (i) and (j), all of which I see regularly violated by "patriotic" Americans!
In recent years, it seems that most of the wars that our military fight in are basically cleaning up the mistakes of our own government. For example, the US armed the Taliban against the invading Soviet Union, and look what mess that turned out to be. In return, these people are treated with:
1. Unless you are an officer, salaries that are considered barely above the poverty level! Who controls these salaries? Or government officials! And let us not forget, if the powers that be are having a bit of a "lover's quarrel" on the on the Congressional floor causing an effective shut down of the government, these very same people must show up to "work" every day knowing their pay will be delayed, but not knowing how long. All the while, their families need to eat, and they still have bills to be paid, but who cares until the special interest of a few committee members are met!
2. At any given time, it is estimated that there are about 30,000 homeless veterans on the streets. These people are there because they had difficulty assimilating back into civilian society, but the government did little to help them. We treat criminals better than we do our veterans! An ex-convict coming out of prison can get housing in a halfway house and services to help them find a job so that they can become a productive member of society. Why aren't we doing the same for these vets?
3. Inadequate mental health services. It is estimated that about 20% of soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD, but only about 50% of those receive any kind of treatment. We are talking 1 million plus veterans who are not receiving care for their PTSD with the aid of our government. Many of the reasons sited are things such as long wait times to receive treatment, lack of understanding of services offered. concerns about the services offered being adequate, not living close enough to facilities that offer services (which would further be helped by #1, especially if the only option these people have when they come home is to live with family members who do not live close to required facilities), etc.
4. Difficulty getting needed services from the VA. I've heard too many stories about the VA denying needed procedures for veterans...procedures they need to help them live better quality lives in less pain. Instead, these veterans are often just prescribed more pain pills, and told there is nothing that can be done.
5. Poor housing options state-side. Seriously, I've been on a few military bases, and military housing is terrible in so many places. Think...the projects! Sure, service member can rent or buy a home off of base with a housing stipend, but even with the stipend, most respectable housing is out of their budget. For this reason, many are relegated to housing that is no better than section 8 housing for people living in poverty. This is how we treat the families while their loved ones are sent to the front lines!
Oh, and let us not forget the big old slap in the face transgender soldiers recently received, when our own POTUS basically said, "Thanks for your service, but no thanks!" Let us also not forget some comments disrespectfully said by said POTUS toward military veterans such as John McCain, when he attacked McCain's status a war hero..."I like people who weren't captured!"
Wait, kneeling is disrespecting the flag? Well, 4 U.S. Code § 8 addresses this: 4 US Code Sec 8. Pay particular attention to part (c)...which was violated on many a football field this past Sunay...as well as parts (d), (i) and (j), all of which I see regularly violated by "patriotic" Americans!
Sunday, September 24, 2017
How is kneeling disrespectful?
I've seen many today (including our POTUS) going on and on and on about how disrespectful it is for NFL players to kneel during the national anthem. Remember, they are doing this, not because they do not respect the sacrifice of our soldiers and veterans for fighting for our freedoms, but because they are against the injustices in our own country that are contrary to exactly what those men and women fought for! Our military puts their lives on the line for freedom and equality...FOR EVERYONE! Unfortunately, we have seen a lot of backwards movement in this regard in the last several months. How is kneeling disrespectful? Don't we kneel when we pray? Don't players kneel out of respect when a fellow player is down on the field injured? Doesn't a man drop to one knee when he proposes to a woman? All these players are saying by taking a knee is that they cannot stand up for what is going on today in this country...much of which is being condoned by our own government! Racism is alive and well!! Hate is alive and well!!!
I will admit...there have been many violent protests, and these things I condemn. Violence for the sake of violence fixes nothing. But yet, when people protest peacefully, they are still persecuted! Our very Constitution allows for "peaceful assembly". As long as it is peaceful, our right to speak out against things that we see as injustices is protected. These people are not burning flags, they are not wiping their butts with or stomping on flags. No!!! They are taking a simple knee during the anthem to say, "We believe America in it's current state could use some work!" It is not anti-American to say that...to say, "You know what, we have some problems here, and something really needs to be done about it!" It isn't anti-American for us to point out that here we are sending in troops to other countries to help them overthrow regimes who try to force their beliefs on the people, while at the same time, our own administration is over here trying to force beliefs on us!
Just think about how people described Saddam Hussein when he was in power, and then take a close look at what is starting to happen here. Remember the stories about how no one was allowed to disagree with him. Think about reports of people going to jail, simply for not watching the presidential addresses on TV. Recall how he took over the media..only allowing them to report the things he wanted them to report...things that made him look good! I'm seriously worried about our current situation, and if you aren't, then you have some serious blinders on!! I've studied history, and read all the accounts from Holocaust survivors to survivors of the Hussein regime....and I have some real concerns for this country right now!! This man...our POTUS...right now finds himself more concerned with whether or not a bunch of NFL players are standing for the the national anthem...calling for their suspensions and firings...while we have a literal madman on the other side of the ocean pointing a very big gun at us and threatening to pull the trigger!! I don't know...I may be crazy...but I think our POTUS should be paying more attention to the madman with a gun!
I will admit...there have been many violent protests, and these things I condemn. Violence for the sake of violence fixes nothing. But yet, when people protest peacefully, they are still persecuted! Our very Constitution allows for "peaceful assembly". As long as it is peaceful, our right to speak out against things that we see as injustices is protected. These people are not burning flags, they are not wiping their butts with or stomping on flags. No!!! They are taking a simple knee during the anthem to say, "We believe America in it's current state could use some work!" It is not anti-American to say that...to say, "You know what, we have some problems here, and something really needs to be done about it!" It isn't anti-American for us to point out that here we are sending in troops to other countries to help them overthrow regimes who try to force their beliefs on the people, while at the same time, our own administration is over here trying to force beliefs on us!
Just think about how people described Saddam Hussein when he was in power, and then take a close look at what is starting to happen here. Remember the stories about how no one was allowed to disagree with him. Think about reports of people going to jail, simply for not watching the presidential addresses on TV. Recall how he took over the media..only allowing them to report the things he wanted them to report...things that made him look good! I'm seriously worried about our current situation, and if you aren't, then you have some serious blinders on!! I've studied history, and read all the accounts from Holocaust survivors to survivors of the Hussein regime....and I have some real concerns for this country right now!! This man...our POTUS...right now finds himself more concerned with whether or not a bunch of NFL players are standing for the the national anthem...calling for their suspensions and firings...while we have a literal madman on the other side of the ocean pointing a very big gun at us and threatening to pull the trigger!! I don't know...I may be crazy...but I think our POTUS should be paying more attention to the madman with a gun!
Friday, September 8, 2017
The hypocrisy is strong, young Skywalker!
Part of me hates that my blog has taken such a political tone, but the stupidity I am smacked in the face with requires an outlet for me to discuss where I will not be jumped on by the masses that is the Facebook Conservative Right!
I've seen several posts from different people today trying to point out that DACA in itself was illegal, because the President cannot write policy via Executive Order. Here is the problem I have with this argument...these Trump supporters claiming this are the same ones who cheered Trump's "travel ban" and various other Executive Orders that he has signed while in office! So, what they are really still saying is that Obama is their real problem!! Let us not forget that they also embraced many instances of what could be considered "policy by tweet", and whenever the left tried to point out that the President can't simply tweet something and make it policy, they were beat down by the conservative right and called "snowflakes" for being offended...assuring that the President was simply stating what he was planning on signing yet another Executive Order for.
See, I can say this because when Trump signed his "orders", I didn't go whining about the technicalities, but I attacked the meat of the issue and how that in itself was unconstitutional...regardless of if it is legal for the President to set policy via Executive Order or not! You want to argue an issue, stick to the issue. I love how the right has been playing the game of diverting from the issue itself by simply saying things like, "Well, it shouldn't have even been treated as policy anyway because of a technicality!" Come back with a well thought out, and FACT-based argument, and I will be more inclined to listen.
Bottom line...we should not be punishing these DREAMERS for the actions of their parents. It would be dangerous to these individuals to send them back to a country they don't even know. These people are not criminals, as it specifically states in the DACA requirements that they stay out of trouble with the law. These are people who know the language very well due to their American education (I mean, I keep hearing the "they need to learn OUR language" argument), they are graduating high school (again, another requirement), and they are moving on to college or the US military (yet another requirement). They have legit social security numbers, and they are paying taxes like everyone else. They are NOT eligible for welfare programs (though the right loves to throw that one out there that they are a drain on the tax payers), and economists have submitted reports that say if these people are deported, it will actually HURT the US economy! I feel confident in saying that for every DREAMER we have in the system, we have a natural born American out there who doesn't even contribute half to this country what their DREAMER counterpart does! I mean, this graph should tell you something!
I've seen several posts from different people today trying to point out that DACA in itself was illegal, because the President cannot write policy via Executive Order. Here is the problem I have with this argument...these Trump supporters claiming this are the same ones who cheered Trump's "travel ban" and various other Executive Orders that he has signed while in office! So, what they are really still saying is that Obama is their real problem!! Let us not forget that they also embraced many instances of what could be considered "policy by tweet", and whenever the left tried to point out that the President can't simply tweet something and make it policy, they were beat down by the conservative right and called "snowflakes" for being offended...assuring that the President was simply stating what he was planning on signing yet another Executive Order for.
See, I can say this because when Trump signed his "orders", I didn't go whining about the technicalities, but I attacked the meat of the issue and how that in itself was unconstitutional...regardless of if it is legal for the President to set policy via Executive Order or not! You want to argue an issue, stick to the issue. I love how the right has been playing the game of diverting from the issue itself by simply saying things like, "Well, it shouldn't have even been treated as policy anyway because of a technicality!" Come back with a well thought out, and FACT-based argument, and I will be more inclined to listen.
Bottom line...we should not be punishing these DREAMERS for the actions of their parents. It would be dangerous to these individuals to send them back to a country they don't even know. These people are not criminals, as it specifically states in the DACA requirements that they stay out of trouble with the law. These are people who know the language very well due to their American education (I mean, I keep hearing the "they need to learn OUR language" argument), they are graduating high school (again, another requirement), and they are moving on to college or the US military (yet another requirement). They have legit social security numbers, and they are paying taxes like everyone else. They are NOT eligible for welfare programs (though the right loves to throw that one out there that they are a drain on the tax payers), and economists have submitted reports that say if these people are deported, it will actually HURT the US economy! I feel confident in saying that for every DREAMER we have in the system, we have a natural born American out there who doesn't even contribute half to this country what their DREAMER counterpart does! I mean, this graph should tell you something!
That can't be right...we have some 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country! Oh, yeah, that's right...you can't get benefits if you are undocumented!! That is the whole definition of undocumented...meaning you don't have a number to be taxed, and if you don't have that tax ID number, YOU CAN'T GET BENEFITS!
Thursday, September 7, 2017
I can't NOT address this!
I live in Texas, and as many know, we were recently hit with devastating Hurricane Harvey. I recall very well looking to see what our POTUS was going to say in reassurance or the like as this storm was making it's way to the Texas coast. What did Texas get? A thumbs up and "good luck" as POTUS boarded Marine One to head off to Camp David!!
Fast forward to now. Hurricane Irma is approaching the coast, and our POTUS is now saying how concerned he is about this storm days before it is to make land fall on US soil. Now, I'm posting this here, because I know many on my social media will get butt hurt by what I'm about to type, and will say that I'm only getting political in the face of our country facing another devastating storm. I can't help but wonder if the "concern" that POTUS suddenly has with Hurricane Irma has anything to do with the fact that POTUS has a property on St. Martin (one of the islands hit hard by this storm so far), and the storm appears to be making a bee-line for POTUS' treasured Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida!! I mean, I can't be the only one who has recognized this. "Oh, but he is concerned because we are still hurting after Hurricane Harvey!" I call BS on anyone who tries to feed me that!
Don't get me wrong...I'm sending any and all prayers I have to Florida in the Caribbean right now! I'm not trying to take away from the devastation and fear they are being faced with. In the same token, folks must understand how, as a Texan, this just royally pisses me off! I can't help feel that the sudden concern from POTUS with regards to approaching Hurricane Irma is directly linked to the fact that POTUS himself stands to be hit with great losses as a result of this storm...losses that will be more of an inconvenience to him and his corporations, and not the life altering devastation that will be faced by countless others! "Good luck" is easy to say when you aren't going to take a financial hit because your property is not threatened....it is quite different when you have multi-million dollar properties in the path of such storm...now isn't it, Mr. President!
Fast forward to now. Hurricane Irma is approaching the coast, and our POTUS is now saying how concerned he is about this storm days before it is to make land fall on US soil. Now, I'm posting this here, because I know many on my social media will get butt hurt by what I'm about to type, and will say that I'm only getting political in the face of our country facing another devastating storm. I can't help but wonder if the "concern" that POTUS suddenly has with Hurricane Irma has anything to do with the fact that POTUS has a property on St. Martin (one of the islands hit hard by this storm so far), and the storm appears to be making a bee-line for POTUS' treasured Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida!! I mean, I can't be the only one who has recognized this. "Oh, but he is concerned because we are still hurting after Hurricane Harvey!" I call BS on anyone who tries to feed me that!
Don't get me wrong...I'm sending any and all prayers I have to Florida in the Caribbean right now! I'm not trying to take away from the devastation and fear they are being faced with. In the same token, folks must understand how, as a Texan, this just royally pisses me off! I can't help feel that the sudden concern from POTUS with regards to approaching Hurricane Irma is directly linked to the fact that POTUS himself stands to be hit with great losses as a result of this storm...losses that will be more of an inconvenience to him and his corporations, and not the life altering devastation that will be faced by countless others! "Good luck" is easy to say when you aren't going to take a financial hit because your property is not threatened....it is quite different when you have multi-million dollar properties in the path of such storm...now isn't it, Mr. President!
Monday, August 14, 2017
Stop the Hate!!!
I know...another political...I but I cannot say quiet on this issue!!!
The events of this weekend are a disgrace to this country! How did the alt-right even get a permit to hold the rally?! I don't need to hear about free speech, and freedom of assembly. First of all, these people are extremists. And second, the thing they are extreme at is hate! Sure...in this country we have freedom of speech. That simply means that you can say what you want, even if it is is in disdain for our current government, and not get arrested. It is what protects these posts. We also have freedom of PEACEFUL assembly...notice that word PEACEFUL. Anyone in their right mind would know that things were going to turn bad with these folks!
Okay, so they did manage to get a permit, and they held their "rally". The night before, they come out with torches (okay, really they were tiki lamps from Home Depot). What image does that put into your head? Me? All I see when I see a group of people holding "torches" and yelling is an old school lynch mob! That scene alone screams "strike fear into all around"...but these people were going to have a PEACEFUL rally the following day...showing up a night early in full lynch mob form!
And then, we have our "illustrious leader"...you know, the one that only says he condemns the violence, but says nothing about the hate that fueled it! The man who should be partly to blame for these events with his travel bans that target Muslims, his military bans that target the trans community, the many hateful remarks he has made to various groups that were not "white male" during the elections! With this person the "leader" of our country, it is no wonder that there is such hate surfacing right now!! They have a role model in the "leader" of our country...a "leader" who stands for the very hate they are spewing! As the "leader" of this country, he should have IMMEDIATELY come out and condemned the hate that fueled the violence, but I guess it really is hard to condemn something you believe in.
I have never before been ashamed of my country or the color of my skin, but I am today. I watched in my adult years how we were finally making advancements against hate and racism, only to see two decades of work wiped out in just the last year! What disturbs me even more is knowing that hate is not natural...taught! These young people on these college campuses are the products of people who grew up in my generation...the first one to grow up in a country that did not segregate whites and people of color. It is sad that we didn't overcome the hate of our parents and grandparents. We Gen Xers were such an independent generation. You would have thought we would be able to think past the hate of our parents and grandparents, and see the world completely differently. For the most part, we were....at least I thought we were. But then I see all of these 20-somethings spewing this white supremacist bullshit, and I wonder what the hell happened!! These are the kids of the Gen Xers spewing this hate, and it disturbs me that so many from my generation taught this way of thinking to their kids...behind closed doors...while I was explaining to my mixed-race children why racism and hate were bad things!
We need to stop with all this hate, people! When will we learn to accept each other's differences with compassion and understanding?!
The events of this weekend are a disgrace to this country! How did the alt-right even get a permit to hold the rally?! I don't need to hear about free speech, and freedom of assembly. First of all, these people are extremists. And second, the thing they are extreme at is hate! Sure...in this country we have freedom of speech. That simply means that you can say what you want, even if it is is in disdain for our current government, and not get arrested. It is what protects these posts. We also have freedom of PEACEFUL assembly...notice that word PEACEFUL. Anyone in their right mind would know that things were going to turn bad with these folks!
Okay, so they did manage to get a permit, and they held their "rally". The night before, they come out with torches (okay, really they were tiki lamps from Home Depot). What image does that put into your head? Me? All I see when I see a group of people holding "torches" and yelling is an old school lynch mob! That scene alone screams "strike fear into all around"...but these people were going to have a PEACEFUL rally the following day...showing up a night early in full lynch mob form!
And then, we have our "illustrious leader"...you know, the one that only says he condemns the violence, but says nothing about the hate that fueled it! The man who should be partly to blame for these events with his travel bans that target Muslims, his military bans that target the trans community, the many hateful remarks he has made to various groups that were not "white male" during the elections! With this person the "leader" of our country, it is no wonder that there is such hate surfacing right now!! They have a role model in the "leader" of our country...a "leader" who stands for the very hate they are spewing! As the "leader" of this country, he should have IMMEDIATELY come out and condemned the hate that fueled the violence, but I guess it really is hard to condemn something you believe in.
I have never before been ashamed of my country or the color of my skin, but I am today. I watched in my adult years how we were finally making advancements against hate and racism, only to see two decades of work wiped out in just the last year! What disturbs me even more is knowing that hate is not natural...taught! These young people on these college campuses are the products of people who grew up in my generation...the first one to grow up in a country that did not segregate whites and people of color. It is sad that we didn't overcome the hate of our parents and grandparents. We Gen Xers were such an independent generation. You would have thought we would be able to think past the hate of our parents and grandparents, and see the world completely differently. For the most part, we were....at least I thought we were. But then I see all of these 20-somethings spewing this white supremacist bullshit, and I wonder what the hell happened!! These are the kids of the Gen Xers spewing this hate, and it disturbs me that so many from my generation taught this way of thinking to their kids...behind closed doors...while I was explaining to my mixed-race children why racism and hate were bad things!
We need to stop with all this hate, people! When will we learn to accept each other's differences with compassion and understanding?!
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Let's see what you are really asking for!
Meet Ben....
Isn't Ben a good-looking guy? Did you know he was featured on the cover Men's Health magazine in Europe! Yup. But did you also know that Ben was born...A WOMAN!! This handsome, fit man you see here was not born with his manly bits, but they came to be part of him later in life. Why do I share about Ben? Because there is a bathroom bill currently set to be voted on in the Texas Senate that says that Ben here, should he visit our state, will need to use the ladies' room, because he wasn't born a man! That is, if he hasn't been able to get his birth certificate altered yet...which here in Texas, even if you have completed the required reassignment surgeries, is still quite a task to undertake.
When you see all the talk about bathroom bills, you think of someone like Ashley...seen here in a picture with a totally unsuspecting Governor of Texas, Gregg Abbott...
Many forget that transgender doesn't only go one way. How many people do you think will really feel comfortable seeing Ben walking in and out of the ladies' room? I'm going to say MANY people will flip their wigs the day that this happens! I've seen the arguments..."It's about women's privacy!"..."What about the safety of our children?" Please!!!! People like Ashley have been in stalls next to us natural-born women for years...decades even...and we never noticed and never cared!! Answer me this, how many headlines have you read about a woman being raped in a ladies' room by a man dressed as a woman? I don't recall any. Why? Because is it more likely that someone like Ashley here will get beat down in a men's room by homophobic men than it is for ANY man to rape a woman in a ladies' room!! The ladies' room is too public! Anyone can walk in at any time and catch you! Most rapes happen when women are...wait for it...ALONE! This is why we are told to go places in groups, because it is less likely a woman will be raped if there are witnesses...of course, unless her drink is spiked and it is a group of frat guys.
This was never an issue until someone realized that all this time, transgender women were in the ladies' room. Everyone lost their freakin' minds! Well, if this bill passes, let's see who loses their freakin' mind when Ben comes walking out of a ladies' room!
Isn't Ben a good-looking guy? Did you know he was featured on the cover Men's Health magazine in Europe! Yup. But did you also know that Ben was born...A WOMAN!! This handsome, fit man you see here was not born with his manly bits, but they came to be part of him later in life. Why do I share about Ben? Because there is a bathroom bill currently set to be voted on in the Texas Senate that says that Ben here, should he visit our state, will need to use the ladies' room, because he wasn't born a man! That is, if he hasn't been able to get his birth certificate altered yet...which here in Texas, even if you have completed the required reassignment surgeries, is still quite a task to undertake.
When you see all the talk about bathroom bills, you think of someone like Ashley...seen here in a picture with a totally unsuspecting Governor of Texas, Gregg Abbott...
Many forget that transgender doesn't only go one way. How many people do you think will really feel comfortable seeing Ben walking in and out of the ladies' room? I'm going to say MANY people will flip their wigs the day that this happens! I've seen the arguments..."It's about women's privacy!"..."What about the safety of our children?" Please!!!! People like Ashley have been in stalls next to us natural-born women for years...decades even...and we never noticed and never cared!! Answer me this, how many headlines have you read about a woman being raped in a ladies' room by a man dressed as a woman? I don't recall any. Why? Because is it more likely that someone like Ashley here will get beat down in a men's room by homophobic men than it is for ANY man to rape a woman in a ladies' room!! The ladies' room is too public! Anyone can walk in at any time and catch you! Most rapes happen when women are...wait for it...ALONE! This is why we are told to go places in groups, because it is less likely a woman will be raped if there are witnesses...of course, unless her drink is spiked and it is a group of frat guys.
This was never an issue until someone realized that all this time, transgender women were in the ladies' room. Everyone lost their freakin' minds! Well, if this bill passes, let's see who loses their freakin' mind when Ben comes walking out of a ladies' room!
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Where is the outcry?!
I was reading today about the woman who was shot dead in her PJs by an officer in the passenger seat of a squad car, while she was talking to the driver about a call she put in about a ruckus in the alley. I read today that the officer supposedly shot her, because he was startled by a loud noise!! The officers' body cameras and car camera were off. They didn't turn their body cameras on until after the shooting, as they attempted CPR on the woman.
I have to ask: where is the outcry for this woman?! This is another case of either lack of training, or an officer being too jumpy, etc.! I bet if she were a woman of color, there would be screaming and riots! But this was a white woman, and everyone is on radio silence. Why? This woman was unarmed in her PJs! She was the one that made the call, because she hard concerning noises in the alley. Heard a loud noise? That is why the officer shot her?
I get that officers have reason to be scared, but this quick jump to fire their guns has got to stop! I guess the radio silence is because this doesn't support claims that previous shootings were racially motivated. Does race have to be a factor to make it wrong? We have too many officers out there these days that are too quick to shoot first, and ask questions later. The defense we hear more and more is "I was scared for my life." Yeah, part of that has probably been because police were made targets by certain groups of people. However, they would have not really been made target had it not been for the few bad apples that abused their power and got away with it! The good 'ol boys network needs to stop! Cops need to start calling out bad cops! They need to start recognizing signs of officers who may be a little too jumpy to be out in the field, and find alternate positions for them in the department. Something needs to be done, before more innocent lives are lost!
I have to ask: where is the outcry for this woman?! This is another case of either lack of training, or an officer being too jumpy, etc.! I bet if she were a woman of color, there would be screaming and riots! But this was a white woman, and everyone is on radio silence. Why? This woman was unarmed in her PJs! She was the one that made the call, because she hard concerning noises in the alley. Heard a loud noise? That is why the officer shot her?
I get that officers have reason to be scared, but this quick jump to fire their guns has got to stop! I guess the radio silence is because this doesn't support claims that previous shootings were racially motivated. Does race have to be a factor to make it wrong? We have too many officers out there these days that are too quick to shoot first, and ask questions later. The defense we hear more and more is "I was scared for my life." Yeah, part of that has probably been because police were made targets by certain groups of people. However, they would have not really been made target had it not been for the few bad apples that abused their power and got away with it! The good 'ol boys network needs to stop! Cops need to start calling out bad cops! They need to start recognizing signs of officers who may be a little too jumpy to be out in the field, and find alternate positions for them in the department. Something needs to be done, before more innocent lives are lost!
Friday, July 7, 2017
Sad state of things...
I was in an online discussion today that actually saddened me a little with regards of the state of humanity in this country right now. The topic was....people who are saying that we need a heterosexual "pride" day.
My stance is this, no, we do NOT need a heterosexual pride day! The whole thing feels to me like "they got one, I want one, too"! The people calling for this do not understand...the day/month is NOT about the LGBT community saying, "Hey...look at me...I'm proud to be gay" or whatever. No!! The whole purpose of gay pride is to celebrate the obstacles that the LGBT community have conquered, while at the same time bringing to attention that there is still a very long way to go! I mean seriously...same-sex marriage is now legal in this country; however, there are still states passing local laws that continue to allow discrimination against LGBT. Texas, for example, passed a bill that will all a same-sex couple to be discriminated against when trying to adopt a child SIMPLY for being gay! Yes...this is a real thing! Sure, the bill also allows for discrimination in adoptions if you are Muslim or Atheist. Yeah...way to go, Texas!! I pointed this out, and well, as one would expect, there are people out there who really seemed to be offended by it.
The discussion took so many directions with regards to oppressed and persecuted groups. I can't tell you how many times I heard today about how Christian, white, straight males are persecuted! Let's see...heterosexuals have ALWAYS been persecuted was one argument. I had to point out that I did not know of any laws against being heterosexual, though there are still many countries where being LGBT is illegal, and some where you are killed for such. Also, pointed out how historically, no matter where you look, it has always been stressed that it was wrong or evil to be gay (even the Bible says that if a man lays with another man, they are to be stoned to death).
Oh, and there is always those anti-feminists that pop up!!! Yeah, I had those guys try to say that I'm not denied anything simply because I'm a woman. I had to go into how I was passed over for a promotion at one point to a man who I was more qualified than. Oh, and how if the ACA is repealed (because, sadly enough it was happening before the ACA, so they had to specifically put a provision in there for it), I can be charged higher rates on my health insurance...simply for being a woman! I had to point out that outside of bearing a child (which is simply just the choice of biology, but that men do have a part in said pregnancy, too), woman really don't have any more health issues than men. We can both get breast cancer, just so happens that more of us women get it, because more of us have actual breasts. We can both get reproductive cancers...testicular and uterine or ovarian cancer is just as deadly. So why should I pay more for my insurance when I hardly require medical care just because I'm a woman, when a man who has chronic medical issues pays less? We should pay the same regardless! Oh...and I also had to bring up that society in general still obviously does not see men and women as equals, as I can promise you if I walk into a car dealership with my boyfriend to buy a car with MY money, and I try to initiate a conversation or a deal with the sales guy, he will still direct my boyfriend over me when talking about the car features and what not. What? Because I'm a woman, I'm not supposed to know about cars?! I know more than my boyfriend does!
I've had to pull out all the stops today to teach these youngsters...yes, many of them were easily under 30 when I looked up their FB profiles. Seriously, what are they teaching in school these days?! I pointed out that women didn't get to vote until 1920, while men have been voting since the founding of our country. Not to mention, men of color got to vote in the late 1800's, way before any woman could vote!! Desegregation didn't happen until the 1960's, and up to that point, white males were seen as the most prominent demographic, seeing as women were just starting to emerge into the work force in fields that weren't secretaries or in the service industry, such as maids and waitresses. I was born in the 1970's, and women were at the height of their struggle in the work place in male dominated fields! I still felt some of it when I went into the job market in the 1990's. When I was in high school, there was still so much racism, that if something went missing in the school...like money out of someone's locker or something...you can BET that a person of color was blamed before anyone else...even if the actual thief was white! And when the actual thief was finally caught, there were no apologies to the one falsely accused. And let's not forget that all the girls in my school had to take typing and home economics! Yeah, we were all filtered through those two classes, regardless of what we signed up to take. I knew then I wanted a career in computers, and I had to actually change schools to a more progressive one to get the classes I wanted. See, I think the problems with the younger generation is that they only know what they have seen in their time. Mom and dad always worked, so mom must not have had any issues in the workplace. No, mom just didn't have any that you knew about, because she never said anything. See, that is what we often did...we didn't say anything, just got a job elsewhere. There was no guarantee you could win your complaint, and if you did or didn't, you could get labeled a trouble-maker and that would affect the rest of your career! Kids in their high school were openly gay, while when I was in high school...yeah, I knew about a few of my friends, but it was NEVER something you ever talked about! Oh no! Without seeing how things were before the little bit of progress we have made, this generation has a hard time grasping that anything is really all that wrong. On the other hand, those of us who have been there are picking up on those little hints that things are taking a shift backwards, and we are trying to so hard to keep moving forward with the progress we have made thus far!
We are in such a sad state of misinformation, media overload, and closed-mindedness that...I don't know! Some days I feel helpless, and others it angers me into wanting to do so much more!
My stance is this, no, we do NOT need a heterosexual pride day! The whole thing feels to me like "they got one, I want one, too"! The people calling for this do not understand...the day/month is NOT about the LGBT community saying, "Hey...look at me...I'm proud to be gay" or whatever. No!! The whole purpose of gay pride is to celebrate the obstacles that the LGBT community have conquered, while at the same time bringing to attention that there is still a very long way to go! I mean seriously...same-sex marriage is now legal in this country; however, there are still states passing local laws that continue to allow discrimination against LGBT. Texas, for example, passed a bill that will all a same-sex couple to be discriminated against when trying to adopt a child SIMPLY for being gay! Yes...this is a real thing! Sure, the bill also allows for discrimination in adoptions if you are Muslim or Atheist. Yeah...way to go, Texas!! I pointed this out, and well, as one would expect, there are people out there who really seemed to be offended by it.
The discussion took so many directions with regards to oppressed and persecuted groups. I can't tell you how many times I heard today about how Christian, white, straight males are persecuted! Let's see...heterosexuals have ALWAYS been persecuted was one argument. I had to point out that I did not know of any laws against being heterosexual, though there are still many countries where being LGBT is illegal, and some where you are killed for such. Also, pointed out how historically, no matter where you look, it has always been stressed that it was wrong or evil to be gay (even the Bible says that if a man lays with another man, they are to be stoned to death).
Oh, and there is always those anti-feminists that pop up!!! Yeah, I had those guys try to say that I'm not denied anything simply because I'm a woman. I had to go into how I was passed over for a promotion at one point to a man who I was more qualified than. Oh, and how if the ACA is repealed (because, sadly enough it was happening before the ACA, so they had to specifically put a provision in there for it), I can be charged higher rates on my health insurance...simply for being a woman! I had to point out that outside of bearing a child (which is simply just the choice of biology, but that men do have a part in said pregnancy, too), woman really don't have any more health issues than men. We can both get breast cancer, just so happens that more of us women get it, because more of us have actual breasts. We can both get reproductive cancers...testicular and uterine or ovarian cancer is just as deadly. So why should I pay more for my insurance when I hardly require medical care just because I'm a woman, when a man who has chronic medical issues pays less? We should pay the same regardless! Oh...and I also had to bring up that society in general still obviously does not see men and women as equals, as I can promise you if I walk into a car dealership with my boyfriend to buy a car with MY money, and I try to initiate a conversation or a deal with the sales guy, he will still direct my boyfriend over me when talking about the car features and what not. What? Because I'm a woman, I'm not supposed to know about cars?! I know more than my boyfriend does!
I've had to pull out all the stops today to teach these youngsters...yes, many of them were easily under 30 when I looked up their FB profiles. Seriously, what are they teaching in school these days?! I pointed out that women didn't get to vote until 1920, while men have been voting since the founding of our country. Not to mention, men of color got to vote in the late 1800's, way before any woman could vote!! Desegregation didn't happen until the 1960's, and up to that point, white males were seen as the most prominent demographic, seeing as women were just starting to emerge into the work force in fields that weren't secretaries or in the service industry, such as maids and waitresses. I was born in the 1970's, and women were at the height of their struggle in the work place in male dominated fields! I still felt some of it when I went into the job market in the 1990's. When I was in high school, there was still so much racism, that if something went missing in the school...like money out of someone's locker or something...you can BET that a person of color was blamed before anyone else...even if the actual thief was white! And when the actual thief was finally caught, there were no apologies to the one falsely accused. And let's not forget that all the girls in my school had to take typing and home economics! Yeah, we were all filtered through those two classes, regardless of what we signed up to take. I knew then I wanted a career in computers, and I had to actually change schools to a more progressive one to get the classes I wanted. See, I think the problems with the younger generation is that they only know what they have seen in their time. Mom and dad always worked, so mom must not have had any issues in the workplace. No, mom just didn't have any that you knew about, because she never said anything. See, that is what we often did...we didn't say anything, just got a job elsewhere. There was no guarantee you could win your complaint, and if you did or didn't, you could get labeled a trouble-maker and that would affect the rest of your career! Kids in their high school were openly gay, while when I was in high school...yeah, I knew about a few of my friends, but it was NEVER something you ever talked about! Oh no! Without seeing how things were before the little bit of progress we have made, this generation has a hard time grasping that anything is really all that wrong. On the other hand, those of us who have been there are picking up on those little hints that things are taking a shift backwards, and we are trying to so hard to keep moving forward with the progress we have made thus far!
We are in such a sad state of misinformation, media overload, and closed-mindedness that...I don't know! Some days I feel helpless, and others it angers me into wanting to do so much more!
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Do you operate in your physical self or your spiritual self?
Was in a discussion today that got me thinking I wanted to address this in my blog. The topic of that post asked about monogamy...and questions if we humans are actually "wired" for monogamy. I immediately had to respond that it depends on which "self" the person operates is...the physical or the spiritual. Most faiths and religions recognize that there are these two selves, so to speak, with our physical body merely being containers for a spirit or energy that we may never really understand, but we can get a glimpse of.
In answer to the original question, I pointed out that those who operate in their physical selves, are more likely to not be "wired" for monogamy. The reason for this being, that they want physical connection, view people physically, and let's face it, the physical really lacks a conscience, as the conscience is part of one's spiritual self. If you silence the conscience, you can basically do whatever you want, right?
On the other hand, those who operate in the spiritual self are more open to monogamy. This is because they long for deep connection of energies, and this can only truly be accomplished when you spend some amount of time with a person. When a person operates in their spiritual self, they tend to not see their mate or potential mate for their physical attributes, but they are looking for their Aura, and not just any will do! The other person's energy has to meld well with your own...like two magnets. If you turn magnets one way, they attract each other, but turn them a different way, and it produces a different energy that repels.
Personally, I operate in my spiritual self. I want that long term commitment to one person! I want to take the time to get past all the awkwardness of initial encounters...the point where you are figuring out what each other likes and doesn't like. I crave the point in the relationship where you can just enjoy each other, and connect at that intimate spiritual level...not worried that you ate too much and your belly is a little bloated, or what position is most comfortable for the both of you...where you can just forget that your physical body is there, and truly enjoy each other! I find that once I get to that point with a person, I really don't see anyone else...like our energies are constantly connected, and even when we aren't together, I can still feel them there, and I never feel alone. I know it sounds crazy, but those who operate in this self know exactly what I'm talking about.
On the other hand, my ex very much operated in the physical self. How did I know this? My first clue was how he would comment about my appearance. For example, always bringing up that my boobs were small, and how nice it would be if I got a boob job! Now, had he operated in the spiritual, he wouldn't have even noticed, because that is not what he would be seeing! Those who operate in the physical are also more prone to cheating...which he did 3 times during the marriage. They do this to satisfy the physical self, and it isn't always because they aren't getting enough at home. No...quite the contrary! See, the physical self CRAVES attention and physical satisfaction. These are the people who are more likely to become addicts of some sort...especially sex addicts! They see a physically attractive person walking down the street, and they will ALWAYS notice! Because they aren't in check by their conscience as much, they may even be crude about it!
You also see this difference just in general life...not just in intimate relationships. If a person is racist, is prone to body shame someone, etc., chances are very high that they operate in the physical self, because when they look at a person they see appearance FIRST! Skin color, gender, body shape. On the other hand, a person operating in their spiritual self will see their aura, or energies, first. These are the people who you usually find saying things like, "I don't know what it is! There is just SOMETHING about that person I don't like...that gives me the heebies!" In general, they tend to be more loving and compassionate, and are probably more likely to be LGBT, because they fall in love with someone because of their energy, not because of their gender...and they look at people seeing their energy before they see the physical at all! I'm not saying all LGBT operate in their spiritual selves, but it is probably a contributing factor. Personally, I have found my LGBT friends to be the most real and compassionate people I know, which leads me to believe that many do operate in the spiritual self!
Can one change from which self they operate? Well, considering both exist, YES! I mean, is that part of what "enlightenment" is? Realizing that you are far more than your physical self, and operating more in the spiritual? And it is very possible for one to go the other way, too. Maybe they have been hurt so many times that they close themselves off, and thus believe that the physical self can't be hurt as deeply!
Just some stuff to ponder....
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