Category Archives: National

Lights Out, Legislation Passed.

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House Republicans decided that want to vote to repeal the act that placed restrictions on incandescent light bulbs starting in 2012.  The House of aRepresentatives was set to vote on it today, but its not expected to be repealed in the Democratically controlled Senate, and because the Obama administration strongly supports it.

It seems insignificant that we’re debating over the use of light bulbs when we have a huge issue with the debt ceiling lingering, among other serious issues, doesn’t it? But it really isn’t about light bulbs.  It’s about law makers and the outrage of the people.  Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) stated, “This is more than just energy consumption, it is about personal freedom”.  He has a point.

Who is Congress to say what kind of light bulbs we can and cannot use? And WHY?  In 2007, when the bill was introduced as the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, it was passed on the appeal of saving the country $6 billion in 2015 alone.  Law makers also charged that it would reduce household electric bills by $85 a year– whoop-de-doo!!! [But who are they kidding? The cost of the lightbulbs would go up since the restrictions from the law would be placed on manufacturers and how they do business, so the true savings, or maybe even costs, is not known.)

What is most frustrating is that Rep. Upton (R-Michigan), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, was the lead sponsor of the bill when it passed in 2007.  He has since retracted his support and says he’ll vote ‘yes’ to the repeal to ‘guard against government overreach’.  He also said that people’s outrage shows that free markets are what should control the pool from which consumers pull from.

So essentially, lawmakers are willing to pass anything and everything if it has the right ring to it and will do so quietly until people are outraged and take action.  Think of all the things that pass without us knowing that would probably enrage the hell out of us.  And you’d probably be surprised how many times people from your party vote a way you wouldn’t assume. This energy bill passed the first time in the House 264-163 and 65-27 in the Senate. I urge you to look into what is really going on. Because whether it be by light bulbs or due process, we are slowly losing freedoms.

 

You can track voting records for your representatives at http://www.govtrack.us/

Anger in Memory of Caylee

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If you have a Facebook, you’ve probably seen the Change.org petition for ‘Caylee’s Law’.  The federal law would charge parents with a felony if 1) they did not report a missing child within 24 hours; or 2) did not report the death of a child within one hour.  As of July 11th, the petition had more than 700,000 signatures and is the fastest growing petition on the website’s history. People are, rightfully, outraged after not receiving the anticipated GUILTY verdict in last weeks trial.  Petitioners believe that the movement for ‘Caylee’s Law’ will create new protective laws and prevent such atrocities from happening again.

All of this sounds logical, yes?

 

Yes, it does SOUND logical, but when we demand that our lawmakers take swift action, laws are created in an inappropriate and haphazard manner, subsequently making good intentions have bad repercussions on down the road.  Laws as a result of tragedy end up so vaguely constructed that they can actually set the bar higher for the next similar case when the incident may not be 100% applicable.  For example, what if a child died while sleeping? Would the 1 hour still apply? Or how about an issue with overcompliance? Parents may end up contacting authorities immediately in the case of a disappearance when it may not be necessary, draining resources and exhausting law enforcement.  Not to mention that there are still ways around these time restrictions, like lying.

Think about some other tragedy-induced laws:

  • The USA PATRIOT Act
  • The Brady Bill
  • Georgia HB101, now known as the Better Bicycling Act (Google this: It’s actually quite comical.  Law makers created this legislation in response to the death of a cyclist who was hit and killed by a passing car (not the comical part, obviously).  The law states that vehicles must leave 3 feet when passing a cyclist now. Among many shortcomings, most importantly, how will this be enforced unless another biker is hit?)
  • The threats of the Obama administration on gun laws after the tragedy in Tuscon.

These laws don’t PREVENT anything, they just punish the offender AFTER THE FACT, which I know people want after the Casey Anthony trial, as they wanted after all those Xarelto trials too (here is the class action lawsuit info about Xarelto – another “safe” thing that caused a lot of troubles).  But again, people wanted to see GUILTY pasted across Ms. Anthony’s forehead for murder.  Would ‘guilty’ on a formal failure to report a death verdict have satiated the anger of the trial followers? I don’t really think so.

We have learned time and time again that anger doesn’t create good public policy.  It creates laws that leave too much room for interpretation and judicial activism….and that is not what we need.

Undocumented & in the Limelight

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Earlier this week, Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist (and former senior contributor to the Huffington Post, among other publications) revealed that he is undocumented.  He stated that when he was 12 years old, his mother sent him from the Philippines with the intention of joining him, but she never did.  Vargas told ABC News that he never knew he was undocumented until someone at a local DMV told him his green card was fake.  Vargas is now arguing that he graduated high school and college, created a career as a journalist, interviewed some of the country’s most influential people and lived the American Dream…so why should him being an illegal alien matter?

Well Jose, let me tell you. It is no more complicated that you stated: it’s illegal.  In his statement to ABC, Jose said that he did things he knew were “wrong and unlawful” and used a “21st century underground railroad of supporters, people who took an interested in my future and took risks for me”.  Vargas said he is ‘coming out now’ to fight for immigrant rights and passage of the DREAM Act. He concluded his interview with, ‘Call me what you want, but I am an American.’

Actually, Jose, you’re not.  You weren’t born on American soil, you didn’t come here legally and once you discovered you did not have a legal status, you still did not make an effort to go through the proper channels to obtain citizenship. 3 Strikes, and you’re out, buddy! Deportation is the only option.

I would like to know why he thinks he should be allowed to stay?

And not only should Jose be held criminally responsible, but so should the people who aided him, allowed him to use their address, obtain a false social security card, kept his secret.  What’s more, how did he pay for college? and to live when he was younger? Has he paid taxes all these years? If so, how? Sure, he was a minor when he arrived, and sure, he probably had it pretty tough. But he isn’t a minor anymore and he doesn’t have it tough now, so he knowingly broke the law, and now he needs to pay the price.  Just because you didn’t become victim to the system doesn’t transform your status from illegal to legal.  And what is even more frustrating is that he is using his public status to gain support to rally around him to make this a high-profile case and use the publicity to his advantage.

Baby No Gender & Why It’s Blue or Pink and not Gray.

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It’s no longer new news.  By now, I’m sure most of you have heard about Baby Storm, the Canadian child born to parents David Stocker and Kathy Witterick who have chosen to keep the gender of Baby Storm a secret to all except their doctors and immediate family. They decided they would allow Storm to choose it’s own gender instead of giving in to the stereotypes of pink and blue, girl and boy.

I was surprised to see that when I googled “baby no gender” more results were generated than just those pertaining to Baby Storm.  Apparently, a Swedish family practiced the same notion in 2009 on Baby Pop.  Baby Pop had it’s gender concealed based on the idea that “was rooted in the feminist philosophy that gender is a social construction” (1).

This experiment completely contradicts the argument that homosexuality is “not a choice”.  While gender and sexual orientation are two very different things, people have made the argument that they feel they should have been born a male when they are actually a female, and vis versa.  These experiments make an utter mockery of the idea that people are born with inherent desires and inclinations.

Furthermore, this isn’t a choice.  The parents of Baby Storm stated that “parents make too many choice for their children” and it’s “obnoxious”.  Pardon me, but choosing a gender is not a choice.  God (or the universe, if you’re going to argue that route) gave us specific equipment to differentiate us from the opposite sex.  There is no changing that, it’s not up for debate, and it certainly isn’t something that can be chosen or determined later on in life. (Ya get what’cha get, and ya don’t pitch a fit!).

I also have to wonder at what point these parents thought it would be a good idea to experiment on their own child? And what happens when this child goes to day care or school? Are they going to ban preschool workers from changing diapers or helping with bathroom duties so as not to reveal the gender of Baby Storm? And who’s to say that a child won’t wonder what gender these children are “check” for themselves?  And at what point will they allow Baby Storm to outwardly be who he or she is going to be? I also have to wonder at what age will they demand this baby make a choice? Surely they cannot go through grade school without some sort of determination.

The bottom line: These parents are using this experiment to make a mockery out of both science and beliefs and its’ at the expense of exploiting their own child.

Sources:
1)Article on Baby Pop of Sweden http://www.thelocal.se/20232/20090623/
2) Article on Baby Storm of Canada http://abcnews.go.com/Health/baby-storm-raised-genderless-gender-dangerous-experiment-child/story?id=13693760

Be Everything Michelle Obama Thinks You Should Be

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If you are my Facebook friend, you may remember my oh-so-controversial Facebook posting/thread a few months back regarding Michelle Obama’s visit to North Point Community Church to promote her “Let’s Move!” initiative against childhood obesity. (Did you know that during her ‘lunch break’ at this event she had Jim&Nicks BBQ catered in? Healthy choice, Lady O.)  Well, here we go again…

The Atlantic Wire recently published an article by Adam Clark Estes, “Signs America is Losing the War on Childhood Obesity”, discussing Michelle Obama’s recent initiatives:

  • recruiting chefs to speak about healthy eating
  • teaching school children ‘fun’ exercise routines
  • advocating for new regulations to keep junk food off of kid’s minds (We will get to this in a momemnt, but parents will do WHAT THEY WANT in their home.  If they want to serve their child icecream for dinner on a Friday night, then they certainly can and ‘advocating for new regulations’ serves a purpose for a different agenda than that of ‘keeping junk food off kid’s minds’.

Michelle Obama’s small program hardly bothered me like the proactivity taking place across the nation:

  • Texas: 5 San Antonio elementary schools will photograph lunch trays before and after the students eat.  They will track intake and how much each student is eating. (Can you say Big Brother?? Sure, the information will only be disclosed to parents and researchers, but at what point does photographing a child and their food choices PREVENT childhood obesity?? Photographs are only recording ‘evidence’. 
  • Illinois: a state Senator suggested parents of obese children lose their $2000 deduction for children. (Ok, ok, I am probably the biggest critic of this entire program and now you’re going to tell me that children who are deemed obese BY THE GOVERNMENT will be TAXED-or not taxed- differently??)
  • Georgia: The Stop Childhood Obesity organization is using slogans to talk to children in their own environments.  Their most favorite motto, If you continue eating junk food and overeating, “you will die before your parents’. (This entire program is spearheaded by liberals, the same group of people who come up with a mental health disorder for every issue and as an excuse for every action.  If they’re so concerned about mental health, they may want to consider the fact that statements like this will encourage eating disorders down the road.)
  • Michigan: A little less than 1/3 of parents stated that they were open to child gastric bypasses. Low-income and minorities were more open to them than anyone. (So now were going to fight childhood obesity through the EASY WAY OUT, a.k.a invasive surgical procedures.  Ahh, I get it.)
  • D.C.: Michelle Obama visited different schools to dance to Beyonce. (I actually think this may be the most effective means of fighting childhood obesity.  The sight of this alone will make anyone never want to eat again.)

Let us not forget the position of Michelle Obama and her own image.  Michelle Obama claims to be a size 10 and quite fit for here 5’11 figure, however, studies have shown that her declared measurements are not possible.  She is more like a 16 with a hip measurement of 46′.  Sure, her arms are cut which is why she chooses to wear sleeveless dress and tops all the time, but in all actually, Mrs. Obama ain’t that fit. (See below.) 5’11 or not, she is not a figure I would like to mimic.

All fat that aside, Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If that happiness is being overweight, than so be it.  Whether it is healthy or it is not, it is a CHOICE that we can make and it isn’t something that should be monitored, recorded or taxed! It is a CHOICE that parents make for their children and it isn’t a place for any figurehead or government leader.

Besides, if we weren’t offering to pay for everyone’s healthcare, it wouldn’t really matter what diseases people developed because the government wouldn’t be footing the bill.  People would be held accountable for their own decisions and if they suffered complications from being obese, they would pay for it.

Bro’s, Hoe’s and Common at the White House.

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Let us start this blog with a small (mental) poll….

-Raise your hand if you think The White House should be a place for leaders, diplomats and politicians. (Partisanship aside, we’re talking about what it SHOULD represent)
-Raise your hand if you think meetings with the President of the United States (POTUS) should serve some greater purpose, not to exclude honoring troops and heroes.
-Raise your hand if you think The White House and the people, meetings and activities within it represent the United States as a whole.

If you raised your hand (or would have) to any of the above questions, you might will be disgusted by what Michelle Obama did this time.

A recent article in the Huffington Post mocking the conservative discord for Michelle Obama extending an invitation to the rapper Common, really irritated me. (You can read it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/10/outrage-common-white-house-poetry-michelle-obama_n_859945.html)

The author of the article repeatedly referred to the rapper as “a poet” being invited to the White House– just a ‘poet’ that recites aboout violence.

The author paraphrases one of the songs: “a “letter” to the source of moral authority written from the perspective of inner city black youths who feel that the police don’t protect them, that the media loves to blow up and then tear down their community’s celebrities and that the government has been acting more gangsta — in terms of their invasion/occupation of Iraq — than they could ever hope”.

On the other hand, conservatives are outraged not only because Common has done nothing for this country or society, but also because he rapped some inappropriate lyrics about former President George W. Bush, with a push to bring violence against him.

Liberals and supporters of Common claim that his work is not violence and he is just like any other poet, expressing his feelings and leaving his words for interpretation by many for many years to come. Well, that very well may be true…but…

Aside from the fact that Barack Obama is leading us through multiple wars and occupancy in other countries, we have a failing economy, a crashing dollar, high unemployment and a lingering immigration problem across our nation, I have to wonder where the **** he finds time to have a rapper (who cannot disentangle any of these issues) over for dinner??

Thumbs up, Geraldo!!

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I had originally planned to discuss the recent fabrication by Senator John Albers (R-56) that he had something to do with the implementation of child identification kits in the community (Falsely, seeing as though they were not his idea, nor did he have any larger role in implementing them than any other member of the Alpharetta Public Safety Foundation), but given the events of the last 3 hours (and the fact that Senator Albers needs minimal press due to the fact that he galavants around town tooting his own horn anyways), I felt it was necessary to address the Osama Bin Laden “victory” instead.

I had just finished watching The Real Housewives of Orange County when Andy Cohen started his show ‘Watch What Happens Live!’ with “Where were you when you found out Osama bin Laden was dead?” Hmm, I don’t know. I didn’t think it happend yet?? Oh, but it had! Curious, I changed the channel to Fox News. I don’t always particularly care for them but, hey-it was better than CNN or CBS. Geraldo was on. He always adds a painfully, yet usually unnecesary, emotional spin to things. Multitasking, I thought I heard him say “Obama is dead.” No way. Rewind. Yep, he said it. If you YouTube “Geraldo Obama Osama slip up” you will see not only the nice footage but that this isn’t Geraldos first Obama/Osama slip up.

Irritated with the nonsense, I switched to my Facebook to see what others were saying…sadly, I was met with more nonsense. “Yes we can! Change is here y’all!!”, “It took a Democrat to do it!” and complaints of Obama being referred to as “Mr Obama” instead of “President Obama” flooded my News Feed. Is this really happening??

It may sound extreme, but seeing all the outrageous postings, media and text messages, I really considered throwing my TV, computer and cell phone right off my balcony.

The fact of the matter is….right now our country is more vulnerable than before. Killing Osama bin Laden is not the end of the road, merely a fork. While a figure head, OBL really is no more than that. It seems like a bold statement, but did OBL personally carry out any of the attacks? In fact, he personally never took credit for any of them…Who did? His followers. The intricate web of al-Qaeda ties spread throughout the world is no different than deciphering how you know friend #646 on Facebook. Worried yet?

Right winger, liberal progressive, anti-government tyrant or conspiracy theorist, it really doesn’t matter. You should be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed enough to understand that al-Qaeda is not done. Sleeper cells will wake. Our people have taken to the streets to celebrate. Our leaderS are thrilled. But soon this will fizzle some. The US government will in turn make suggestions about what we should do next. And with suggestions, come legislation. (**It would behoove the American people to pay close attention to legislation in the coming months. The US has a tendancy to lose liberties in times of tragedy, urgency and most importantly, when people are “rallying ’round the flag”, so to speak. The greatest example: the USA PATRIOT Act**)

All of this leaves me with some pretty deep questions. In terms of power plays, this is a victory for the US, a ‘plus one’ on the scoreboard, but at what cost? If you so believe everything the government has told you in the last 10 years (without doing any independent research on your own) then why are you making this political? And why are you not thanking the troops? Why are you sleeping more soundly tonight than you did last night? And most importantly, do you really understand what’s next for our country?

“Our Time” Our Way

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It’s pretty difficult to find objective news on the go- especially with iPhone apps.  Unfortunately, I am often times reduced to reading the Huffington Post.  As painful as it is, I power through and remind myself of the source.  (I also just tell myself that it’s a nice way to stay up-to-date with what liberals are learning.)

That being said, I recently came across an article the other day that was truly disturbing.  “AARP For Under 30 Set Aims to Get Fair Share for Millennial Generation”.  Here is the general gist:
-The article complains of an average $24,000 in debt from student loans
-1/10 of people under 30 are “forced” to move back in with their parents
-1/6 of people under 30 are unemployed
The proposed solution is an organization called “Our Time”.  This organization “seeks to change corporate practice, create exclusive deals and spark a national conversation”.  It also seeks bargaining deals on health insurance and credit cards.  The president of this organization is 25.  He claims that it’s a “civil rights issue for our generation” and that we are simply “pawns” for lawmakers to leverage their legislation but nothing is actually happening.  Our Time uses humor in their advertising claiming “Living at Home Sucks!” as one of their many slogans.  The organization also claims that they were not able to vote in the 2010 election because they were too busy looking for a job.

Let me start by asking a few questions:
1) Why are you waiting for that big break? You don’t want to live at home, you want to be independent, wouldn’t you take the opportunity to do by taking any job you were offered, whether it be a grocery clerk or a Chick-fil-a janitor? There actually is a term for that…it’s called being underemployed.  You may have a college degree, a truck load of experience and an impressive resume, but you are forced to take a job that you are more than qualified for. Thousands of American’s are doing just this simply to make ends meet. Why are you above this?
2) Where does this sense of entitlement come from? Oh yes, the track record of our government allocating funds and incentives to certain demographics because they are in some way unequal or disadvantaged. The organization claims that they are NOT looking for a handout, but the direct mission statement says otherwise.  At a minimum, they are looking for special treatment with their request for breaks in health insurance and credit cards.
3) What happend to starting at the bottom and working your way to the top? Sure budgeting isn’t always fun and I’m certainly guilty of overextending myself every now and again, but who’s fault is that? Mine.  I know how much money I make and what my monthly expenses are.  It’s MY responsibility to make that work.

With a society that is obsessed with image, cars, the size of your home and the amount of money in your bank account, we’re not in a position to offer hand outs.  We are teaching society that they DESERVE things, and then we give it to them.  There is no motivation, no drive, no accountability.   People want a certain sandard of living but they are not willing to work for it, at least not without a little help.

The most frightening part of it all is that the government continues to grant different handouts to different demographics.  Before you know it, everyone will be entitled to something…But at what cost? Aside from taking from those who actually work for their money, we are teaching this generation, my generation, to be lazy and dependent upon the government. What good can come from this??