Final say on contraception

Many fellow colleagues and myself have beaten the subject to death on contraception/abortion.  It is something I am passionate about and fail to see Jakes point of view.   In Jakefeelgood’s blog  he argues, “Don’t want to get pregnant don’t have sex”.  I cannot agree with his comments, maybe because I am older and watch my taxes go up each year.  I think my favorite comment is, “women who can’t keep their pants on,” I guess I am one of those women, who just cannot keep her pants on.  I am married.  Why should I have too?  I can afford the cost of contraceptives, but those who cannot do you know who pays the price?  You and I as taxpayers.

Another comment Jake makes, “it doesn't mean the government should support your decisions.”  The government is already supporting the decision.  We do have welfare and an absorbent amount of children on the system.  The system we pay for.

Jake gives an example, “let’s say I love to backyard wrestle and I am consistently getting hurt, should the government pay for my pain pills?”  Actually, they will.  Go to your Doctor tell him what happen and voila a prescription.  For those who have health insurance can painfully say birth control is not free and neither will the prescription for attaining an injury for wrestling.  As most participating in their companies heatlh insurance plan, every paycheck they take out a ridiculous amount and cover very little.

In my previous article, I stated.

"Is the pill beneficial to women’s health?"  These are some of the positive side effects as it “reduces excruciating menstrual cramps, offers some protection against pelvic inflammatory disease, which often leads to infertility when left untreated, acne reduction, decreases osteoporosis, decreases ectopic pregnancy , decreases cysts in the breasts and ovaries, reduction of anemia, decreases premenstrual symptoms, reduces headaches and depression. These all appear to be health issues.” 

Jake isolates women, “So why should they pay for contraceptives for women who choose to have sex.”  I did not realize women were the only ones involved in sex.  It seems the argument made is that the government is only aiding women who are promiscuous.  The argument is contraception, not only pills but also sterilization, free condoms, and later on the pill for men. Did you know that Viagra is covered? Why the double standard?  Contraceptives should not only be provided by women, but by both consenting adults. 

I fully agree with Jakes comment, “Maybe instead of just paying for the contraceptives maybe put the money to schools and fund better teen pregnancy awareness.  Seems like a much smarter idea.”  As I stated in my article and still stand by---prevention…we need to stop the ignorance.  Prevention today!  On the other hand, would you rather pay for children that are not your own.

US National Gov. The Big Scarey word --Taxes.

Tax day just went by on April 15 and this got me pondering.  Where do our tax dollars go?  Our money goes to defense and international security assistance, Social Security, safety net programs, interest on the national debt, benefits for federal retirees/veterans, transportation, education, federal prisons and scientific medical research.  Then I remembered seeing an article about celebrities who owe taxes, which ticked me off.  We are hurting as a nation yet the self-absorbed find the IRS as an inconvenience of their time.  This is a very small list of elitist who flaunt their wealth. They owe an exuberant amount in taxes.

·         Burt Reynolds he owed the state of California $225,000 back in 1996

·         Austin’s own Willie Nelson $16 million in back taxes.

·         Nicolas Cage is constantly on the top ten offenders.  I find this ironic, when the star of “National Treasure” owes $6 million.

·         Marc Anthony owes ‘$2.5 million in back tax bills.  Then in 2010, he received two additional bills totaling over $3 million for unpaid taxes on real estate.’ 

·         Say it isn’t so Prince owes $ 500,000

·         Rob Lowe literally forgot to pay $269,956 to the Feds.  Forgot!  Forgot!  Get with reality April 15 dude…

·         Oh Martha Stewart once again your hands are slapped with $220,000 on an East Hampton mansion claiming she hardly spent time there why should she pay taxes on it?

·         Seriously!  The one that shocked me was the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner. Uhh ...what is your job?

·         The IRS finally makes a stand with Wesley Snipes, which owes $17 million in back taxes.  The IRS finally shows celebrities they do not screw around.  Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison.  He began serving his sentence in December 2010.

       The lesson?  If you earn money from it, so should Uncle Sam.  These people do not realize who they are hurting.  We work, pay our taxes, and know the consequences of not paying the IRS.   So many celebrities wear a "humanitarian" guise portraying they want to do good for our society. By these “superior” Americans not paying taxes, we skimp on programs such as scientific research, helping the homeless vets, and social security benefits. 

 

    I ask myself is this who I want to support with my hard earned money?

I have made a choice.  If they do not care about us “lowly” Americans, well I do not care to partake in any movie, cd, or magazine they make. . .I have an idea.  Want to do good for our society--

 Pay your damn taxes!

 

Comment on Colleague post Capital Punishment

My fellow colleague Mark Conditt chose an opinion editorial written by Tod Robberson.  Mark stated Mr. Robberson lacked knowledge to evaluate the incident with The Texas Seven case.  I must agree with Mr. Conditt.  I found this case fascinating, so I will expound a little more on the case, and Capital Punishment.  The blog Defining my Stance already picked apart  Mr. Robberson’s article.

In this video, these individuals realize that they live in a place of lost hope and they are not rational men.  One can comprehend The Texas seven are suffering from many mental disabilities and grandiose ideas.  Watching this video, Joseph Garcia displays depression and bipolar symptoms.  Any person who has taken even one class in psychology can see this. Garcia states he sleeps most of the time and dreams he is not in prison.  He perceives himself as a ninety year old blowing out birthday candles.  His mind has to focus on the positive or he will become a psychological disaster.  He spends his day exposing how he copes with the reality of waiting for his last breath.  Watching this video one can see these men did contemplate a better life not by being book smart but street smart by planning a clever escape.    Garcia has a delusion that he did nothing wrong, but he states he did not back down killing his first victim because “he lost it.”  Joseph was not present when the police officer was shot, but he did consent to robbing the store and in Texas, if you are there, you are involved. 
Rivas made the choice to fulfill a Psychological egoism, being a "great actor" and "cased the joint". He refuse to (maybe because of pride) let go of “Tony Montana” mentality.  The words he uses are very calm and collected for a man being executed soon.  I do believe these individuals should not have been cleared of the murder, but they should have not slipped through the system without more psychological evaluation. The statement George Rivas makes does sound like an individual who has some remorse.  Rivas knows what he did was wrong and he cannot reverse what has been done. As Mr. Conditt stated, "Instead, for 11 years he chose life by surrendering, instead."

"I do apologize for everything that happened.  Not because I'm here, but for closure in your hearts," Rivas said Wednesday evening in a statement intended for Hawkins' family.  "I really do believe you deserve that.

The slain officer's relatives were absent, but four officers who worked with him and the district attorney who prosecuted the case attended on his family's behalf.  They stood in the death chamber watching through a window just a few feet from Rivas.

The inmate thanked his friends who were watching through another window and said he loved them.  A Canadian woman whom Rivas recently married by proxy, also looked on.  “I am grateful for everything in my life," Rivas said.  "To my wife, I will be waiting for you."

Ten minutes later, at 6:22 p.m. CST, he was pronounced dead.

Capital Punishment is an emotionally draining appeals process on both parties involved.  In the end, Capital punishment does not bring the victim back to life.

What is our goal for the death penalty? Is our goal to remove an individual from society?  We have not even tried to see if they are capable of rehabilitation.  Do we really need a purpose, which is to punish the criminal?  Punishment does not deter others from committing murder.  Do we need to take retribution on behalf of the victim?  It will not bring them back to life.  These goals are not very clear, but we still find it acceptable to murder a guilty human.

What are the negatives  aspects of Capital Punishment?

        First, the financial costs exceed rehabilitation.  In Texas, a death penalty case costs an average of $2.3 million, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years.  (Dallas Morning News, March 8, 1992).

           Mark stated, "Tod Robberson does a good job at making a argument against the death penalty without arguing that it's inhumane." I can't agree with the death penalty not being inhuman.

 Capital Punishment is barbaric and violates the "cruel and unusual" clause in the Bill of Rights.  The endless appeals and required additional procedures tie up the courts.  The constitution was written as a guidance of rules to follow by and the amendments help correct any problems that arise.  “For example, the story of slaves in America.  First the enslaved were not captives of a Pharaoh but of several Christian states operating a triangle trade.  This huge slave industry was blessed by churches and not protested; however, in the 18th century, a few free thinkers saw it as corrupt and brutal as well as exploited the masters who tortured slaves (Hitchens 175-176).”

Third, So many Americans have the revenge mentality of “eye for an eye,” which sends the wrong message.  It is an ineffective deterrent for anyone deciding to commit a crime. 
Finally, We are all-human and can make mistakes.  This story brought tears to my eyes about Greg Wilhoit.  He was been proven innocent of the crime, exonerated and freed almost two decades ago and is still suffering to this day.  In the case of Edward Lee Elmore, a black man sentenced to death in South Carolina in 1982.  Elmore, who was semi-literate with intellectual disabilities, but sent to death row for the murder and sexual assault of a white woman, even though there was little connection between him and the victim.

I too could have gone the “wrong” way, but had someone who loved me and guided me through life choices. This subject is discussed quite often in my house hold.   I grew up twenty minutes way from the Connally Unit.  Also, my father-in- law is a lawyer for the State of Texas in Huntsville. He signs the paperwork for executions. My mother-in-law is a psychologist dealing with many young individuals that are on the "wrong" path.  With many of our holiday dinners...I have learned that there are three sides to every story.

Ranting’s of an Angry Woman

          Because women's work is never done and is underpaid or unpaid or boring or repetitious and we're the first to get fired and what we look like is more important than what we do and if we get raped it's our fault and if we get beaten we must have provoked it and if we raise our voices we're nagging bitches and if we enjoy sex we're nymphos and if we don't we're frigid and if we love women it's because we can't get a "real" man and if we ask our doctor too many questions we're neurotic and/or pushy and if we expect childcare we're selfish and if we stand up for our rights we're aggressive and "unfeminine" and if we don't we're typical weak females and if we want to get married we're out to trap a man and if we don't we're unnatural and because we still can't get an adequate safe contraceptive but men can walk on the moon and if we can't cope or don't want a pregnancy we're made to feel guilty about abortion and...For lots of other reasons we are part of the women's liberation movement.  ~Author unknown, quoted in The Torch, 14 September 1987

After reading passage this I knew I would this blog would be very long….Should healthcare include contraception?

One must ask themself, "Is the pill beneficial to women’s health?"  These are some of the positive side effects I read about 'the pill'.  It “reduces excruciating menstrual cramps, offers some protection against pelvic inflammatory disease, which often leads to infertility when left untreated, acne reduction, decreases osteoporosis, decreases ectopic pregnancy , decreases cysts in the breasts and ovaries, reduction of anemia, decreases premenstrual symptoms, reduces headaches and depression.”  To me these all seem like health issues.  It is unfortunate that we will not cover contraception cost, but medical expenses will cover alcoholic drinkers and “weekend” smokers. 
         
Granted sipping on any chemical/ hormonal cocktail will come with positive and of course negative side effects.  Even over the counter aspirin comes with a warning and advices one to seek medical assistance, if anything listed on the warning label arises.  So why is this important?  A bill is being presented that if an employer does not like contraception they do not have to be involved or have the employee coverage.  “What makes the employer decide at they want to veto other health issues?”  The employer does pay for partial insurance, but to have a say in what an insurance company will or will not pay for seems a bit bias.
What happen to the HIPPA Laws?  Should not contraception be a private discussion between a patient and her Doctor not a boss and employee?  It is an invasion of privacy and rather discriminatory if an employer can choose what they deem moral to be covered under insurance.

To tell a woman everything she may not do is to tell her what she can do.

~Spanish Proverb

Any time you hear contraception you hear someone say it is against the Catholic Churches belief system.  The Catholic Church should be the last to judge after their scandalous issues and male based canonized texts.  There are so many mistakes in the bible written by man.  Any time I crack open the bible the phrase “too many hands in the kitchen” comes to mind.  The Catholic Church sees contraception as a sin, because of the phrase go forth and multiply.  Who is supposed to take care of the multitudes of children that cannot be cared for due to the parents having nine or ten children?  Oh, I know our government.  No, wait no it is the taxpayers.  Now, I can see a great separation here with church and state.  I do agree they should not be forced to pay for something against their beliefs, but it's time to stop hiding behind 'church separate from state'.  Obviously, abstinence is not working to your followers. So do something about it.  Take some responsibility. 

       Another religious affiliation I found that shocked me on their contraception views was Satanism.  A well-known Satanist, Marilyn Manson was asked the following:

"...what are your thoughts on abortion?", to which he replied: "I think the problem that always arises with issues like abortion, between Pro-Choice and Pro-Life, nobody really wants to deal with the problem, and that's birth control.  I think if more people concentrated on dealing with that - making birth control more of an issue - then you wouldn't have to deal with the idea of abortion.”

        This intrigued me so I read a couple more articles on their ideas of contraception.  One blog stated, "Responsibility to the responsible.   What  refreshing insight! A Satanist should likely not come across this problem of unwanted pregnancy due to use of contraception.”  They see abortion as careless and stupid.  The first cardinal sin in Satanism is stupidity and they would not put themselves in irresponsible actions.  I found the other beliefs a bit odd, but they are responsible for themself--what a concept!

Ah... that reminds me.  --   Yes, the vain, "mean-spirited, bigoted conservative" Ms.  Ann Coulter.   She constantly spews sarcastic remarks, before filtering her thoughts through her highly educated mind.  Ann tries to one up Rush Limbaugh and verbally attacks Sandra Fluke (a law student who took a stance, in front of an all-male court, for free contraception) .  Coulter slanders Fluke stating, “Not only is Fluke a slut, but she’s a “hysterical drama queen,” too.  Just like the rest of the liberals in the country.” Then there is her comment “Fluke belongs to a college club on ‘reproductive justice.’”  Finally, she shows her immaturity by name-calling the woman, “Fl-uck” and childishly teasing Fluke about appearance, “as if her haircut isn’t birth control enough.”
I refuse to step down to your level Ms. Coulter. I have only two things to say. One--Indoctrination... Two, I am sorry Ms. Coulter, but I do consider contraception preventative healthcare not some random pill to be promiscuous.  I do not agree with all of Sandra Flukes views, but many Americans would agree with me, we do not want to pay for additional children on welfare.  Our system is broken let us not encourage more welfare candidates.  Ann Coulter, please do this world a favor…think before you speak.

The more I read the more foolishness I find.  There was an entire panel of all males trying to fix a contraception issue about women!  As I Googled the panel of male judges, up pops the comical and offensive group The Partisans.  They did a couple of videos that were entertaining and a bit crass about an all-male panel.  Even Jon Stewart finds an all-male panel to fix women’s issues a joke!

The more I read the more idiocy I find.  Reason number five hundred, why I think Rick Santorum should not be President, because of the company he keeps-- Foster Stephen Friess.  Friess is brainwashed and ignorant by suggesting, “Women should keep an aspirin between their knees in order to ensure their legs stay closed to prevent having sex.”  One question for you Mr. Friess, back in the day how many of those women had back alley abortions?  Were you not the one who is distant with your own children and spouse almost leading to a divorce?  You may be a born again Christian, but how much of your "good Christian" causes are written off as charity?

Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.  ~Timothy Leary

The biggest issues in the world are semantics of definitions.  What is the definition of life?  How about the definitions of Capital Punishment, Ethics, or the ideas of Nudity/Pornography/Art?  Brilliant Scientists cannot agree when life exactly begins.  This issue of when does life begin will always be an issue until the end of time.  I do agree that birth control is more for assurance, not insurance; however, what happens when these women fail to get contraception? Well…insurance goes up even more to pay for the neglected ambulance bills, the welfare of that pregnant mother and then we pay for the child until it is grown .  So who does this healthcare benefit?  Not the poor they have welfare, and not the rich they have the means to buy private insurance, but it affects the middle class.

The Health Care Industry needs a flushing.  As a society, we should have more options, just as we can choose our car insurance.  The more you want covered the more you pay, but if you just want liability pay for only liability.  Before the Obama care, my insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield was affordable.  Currently, my company had to change offering only one insurance company with various amounts of terrible coverage and extremely high cost with a high deductible.  Not everyone is privilege enough to have Kaiser Health Insurance, which Obama regards as “good” insurance.  The 'Obama' health care plan is not beneficial to my family at all, with the ridiculous rates going through the roof!


I am Pro-choice, and I believe in educating women.   Oh and contraceptives I do not have to use...my husband has a vasectomy. We highly recommend it!   So the moral of this story...  Should healthcare include contraception?  HELL YES! Prevention today! Or would you rather pay for children that are not your own.

Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels.  ~Faith Whittlesey

Again...Spoiled Americans. Is Fannie or Freddie to blame

Joel Sucher is working on "Foreclosure Diaries," a documentary about the financial crisis.  He  wrote a blog titled “Fannie, Freddie, and the FHFA Holding The Line On Foreclosure Policies.”    Joel captures a story about one individual Arturo de los Santos.  Sucher tugs at the audience’s strings by conveying to the reader a despairing story as any filmmaker should do.  Sucher starts of by describing Santos as a former soldier, the father of four children and a supervisor trying to provide for his family.  He then finishes the tale by telling the reader about Arturo losing his house to foreclosure due to the reduction of hours at work. 

     Joel Sucher makes a statement, “Freddie sees the home as simply an investment property to be sold for top dollar.”  The only response I have for this is…yes it is an investment property.  They are not running a daycare but a business.  One thing the buyer needs to understand is that --buying a house is not an investment but a debt.

Sucher also expresses, “Greed again rears its ugly head.”  This statement should not be geared toward the "bad guy" corporations, but the individual trying to live up to "the Jones”.   Many of us strive for better things, but do we have to max out credit cards, buy the biggest houses and purchase a new car every other year?  As a society, we are taught greed and are marketed to buy, buy, and buy, regardless of the cost.

Here is a different story on NPR about a fourteen-year-old girl named Willow who lives in Florida.  This young lady owns her own house!  Yes unusual, but it can be done.  Willow has found a way to make money successfully without fully depending on government programs. Instead,  she has taken advantage of the foreclosures and is now renting out the house to a young couple.

I do not agree with the  filmmaking Joel Sucher's bias side that these conglomerates should be lenient with the individuals borrowing cash.  Joel is out to make money for a movie of course there is a bad guy good guy.  Unfortunately, some people need to realize that they are living beyond their means.  It is not the responsibility of FHFA, Fannie, or Freddie to adjust the loan each time due to hardships. These companies are not ones I would put any faith or trust in.   I can’t judge Arturo de los Santos for not trying to better his life, but I can’t help think …so if they cut his hours at his current job did he try to get a part time job at the local Wal-Mart?  Did they ever think four children would not be expensive and they might have to depend on the govenment?  Did Arturo come up with an inventive idea like the one Willow had? Many questions run through my mind, but mostly pessimistic.

  I see it every day, people not accepting a job because thier mindset that they are worth more.  Many individuals will not work for $7.25 an hour because they have a degree, or they have held some sort of authoritative position previously.  God forbid they have to work more than forty-hour weeks at intensive laborious job.  I am not by any means wealthy nor am I in debt to anyone.   I have taken jobs for the minimum amount and worked my way up.  Americans should realize an associate’s degree (you can now get online) or title means nothing these days.  Receiving a Doctorate from a prestigious college may alleviate some stress allocating a job.  Then one must ask how much debt do you have to accrue to be happy?  We are becoming an overpopulated, somewhat educated, spoiled society.  Many individuals are out of work, including those graduating from college.  I continue going to college not because it will make me wealthy, but I enjoy learning and I found what makes me happy. 

Can your Government tell you what to eat?

         Kathleen Parker is a right-leaning Washington Post commentator, who received the Pulitzer Prize in 2010.  Parker contributes several columns on politics and culture. Her cultural articles typically take on a nature vs. nutrure approach.  Her political critiques support preserving the wealth and power of upper class, elites and social hierarchy.        
         In Parker’s article, “Health reform and obesity: Eat, drink and watch out!”  Her  argument pontificates  a compelling approach to this question-- Do we really need a new food pyramid or chart for persuading Americans to shift to a healthier lifestyle?

Kathleen Parker speculates as a culture we are too busy to worry about a food chart/ pyramid, and relationships with her rounded statements, “listen to your parents — if you can find them… Our drive-through culture, which applies to relationships as well as mealtimes, is the real enemy of fitness and health.”  She has the reader left asking themselves three questions; One is it our fault we are obese? Second, who is the real enemy? Finally, why are we failing in parental relationships?  Parker blames the parents.  She expresses adults make daily nutritional food choices and those individuals are considered consciously responsible.

          Parker’s editorial is filled with entertaining phrases such as, “Fat is the new nicotine,  I wouldn’t touch a trans fat if you wrapped it in gold and sprinkled it with diamonds and married parents who torture their kids with rules — probably would do the trick as well.”

She keeps the audience engaged by personalizing and showing her own shortcomings as a parent declaring, “I told my son when he left for college: “You’re gonna miss my takeout.” That being said, her key audience is women—that is, identifying with hard working, married women about the ages thirty five and older who maintain the family.  These women strive to be “Martha Stewart’s” and instantly recognize Martha’s key phrase “good things.”  She chooses these women because they do not want to fail as mothers.  For example in her expression, “you can be sure that not-such-good-things will come your way.”  Kathleen Parker shows the  reality of our inadequacies failing to grasp the stereotypical “perfect” parent. Parker obscures her conservative opionion by keeping with tradition like a 1950’s perfect mother.  She hides her intentions under the guise of motherhood. Parker wants those women who have slender children to trust they are doing “good things” and those mothers who have obese children as substandard mothers. 

            The political significance of this argument was to keep government out of personal life.

As a right leaning journalist she scrutinized MichelleObama trying get kids to eat thier vegetables by stating “Who better than the mother in chief?”  She hids behind banters poking fun at the first lady by comparing her to a ‘stepford housewife’ or a ‘Martha Stewart’.  You can almost hear the sarcasim, If you can’t listen to Michelle… God forbid! 
            Kathleen Parker also throws in a jab at the health care bill expressing,  “as inevitably will be the case under the Affordable Care Act, government necessarily will become more involved in personal nutrition issues.” Her attitude of oh you just wait until Affordable Care Act and ffood should not be the government’s responsibility but the obligation of each individual.  Unfortunately, her opinion does more harm than good. Her approach ignores the root cause of the obesity issue with an attitude that the problem will simply fix itself.  She portrays the stance if we are not careful; the government will be in charge of what, when and how we eat.

Kathleen Parker’s argument was unsuccessful and she lost credibility supporting Corporate America exercise healthy weight commitment  this site is sponsored by companies such as Delmonte, Sara Lee, Coke, Pepsi, and Campbell’s, Mars Inc. & Nestles, but are they not the problem?  I do not know of any candy bar making individuals thinner.  These corporations thrive with salt, sugar, and cash flow.  That being said I do agree with her two statements, “These family values should be taught at home and the solution is family.”  

Lost children...

Recently Obama has freed ten states from no child left behind.  He suggests that we need to measure the students by other means due to an ineffective system.  The article depicts that unfortunately by 2014 the children are not and will not meet the standards set forth.

He asked the schools to come up with a plan to reach all children, not just the unsuccessful students.  Obama also requests that the effective schools aid those less fortunate schools.

Why should you read this?  We are all effected by this.  I chose this article, because it hits home.  I have two children currently in our school system and watch my oldest daughter occasionally struggle with her courses.  The current system has programed many teachers to teach toward this damn test.  This infuriates me!  She has never read Nathaniel Hawthorne or even Edgar Allen Poe!  This is discouraging, as a parent to know that, she has missed an education that should cultivate our children.  Instead, this system trains them to be on an assembly line.  Teachers taught because they loved their careers now it appears this is just another job.  Shame on Americans for watching our children fail.

 

Who are you and why are you here?

My name is Ingrid. I am finishing an Associate of Arts in Art and continuing forward for a B.F.A. I live the epitome of a suburban life with a husband, two kids, cats, dog, house, and picket fence. I also assist with a thriving beer department at Specs Liquor store.

Why am I taking this Government class? Knowledge is power and unfortunately like many fellow Americans I know little about what is going on.  What would you like to learn in the class? So much more than high school memorization (memorize this then dump and purge). What do I hope to get out of the class?   Find my political stance.

Currently, I believe people adapt every day to decisions they make.  As for my current political view it is inconsistent and often erratic when voting for a specific political party .   I am trying to not be cynical about our government, but “trust in our government” sounds like an oxymoron. I have more faith in my dog than I have in our political leadership.  Vote for Marty.  Uncaged since 2008 :)