I just can't get over how adorable this is... love Love LOVE :)
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c2#/video/living/2012/10/20/orig-jtb-distractrion-slow-loris-rice-ball.cnn
Thursday, November 8, 2012
So much for that...
All I hear anymore from people about Obama is how he didn't take this economy and put it in the crapper. Bush did that and Obama in fact SAVED the country and pulled it out of recession.
Well... according to this video, we are quickly approaching what is known as the "Fiscal Cliff" and if we don't heed some warnings, yep... we are going to go into yet ANOTHER recession.
Awesome......
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/politics/2012/11/08/eitm-fiscal-cliff-explainer.cnn
Well... according to this video, we are quickly approaching what is known as the "Fiscal Cliff" and if we don't heed some warnings, yep... we are going to go into yet ANOTHER recession.
Awesome......
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/politics/2012/11/08/eitm-fiscal-cliff-explainer.cnn
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Sometimes
I wish I could just shut my brain off. I think about things way too much and worry way more than I need to.
I just posted on my "brother's" wall that I can't wait until he gets home. I call him my brother because we were born 12 days apart and our parents are best friends. We grew up together and pretty much are just like brother and sister.
He is over in Afghanistan right now, and whenever I look at his Facebook profile, I can't help but think the worst.
I hope and pray he comes home safely. He will come home for good after the first of the year, and I cannot wait to see him.
But seriously, my brain just needs to shut off right now.
I just posted on my "brother's" wall that I can't wait until he gets home. I call him my brother because we were born 12 days apart and our parents are best friends. We grew up together and pretty much are just like brother and sister.
He is over in Afghanistan right now, and whenever I look at his Facebook profile, I can't help but think the worst.
I hope and pray he comes home safely. He will come home for good after the first of the year, and I cannot wait to see him.
But seriously, my brain just needs to shut off right now.
Over and done with...
I am finally going to speak my peace about this election. As many of you may know, Mr. Obama won the election last night and so beginning his second term in office. I am happy for him and wish him all the best of luck in the next four years.
With that being said, I finally am going to say, yes, I voted for Mitt Romney.
My vote for Mitt Romney in no way dictates what kind of person I am, what my beliefs and morals are and where I stand on social and economic issues in this country. Nor does it label me as someone who is against equality.
I voted for Mitt because I wanted to give him a chance. I thought he would have been a great leader for this country. It is true, our nation and economy are in a state of limbo right now. It is not God awful, but it isn't great either. I very much appreciate all Barack has done over the passed four years to ensure there is equality among the people of this nation who deserve it, such as the LGBT Community and women.
I wanted to give Mitt a chance because I know he would have done a great job working to fix our economy and bring the USA back to where it should be... among the countries labeled as the Greatest Countries in the World.
However; I was very torn when I finally mailed in my absentee ballot. I voted for Barack in the last election because I appreciated everything he stood for in terms of equality and social issues. I knew that my vote for Mr. Romney was a vote against all of my gay friends and a vote that would put their dreams in jeopardy. Yet, I don't feel as though much would have changed in that aspect if Mitt was elected.
Yes, he said he would abolish Roe vs. Wade, put harsh regulations on birth control as well as change the current state of health care for women in this country. As a woman, that definitely scared me, but my thought process was Congress has already come this far to make equality and women's rights possible; they won't go back on it. Besides, Gay Marriage is more of an issue on a State level that would be regulated by individual states before it was completely regulated by the Federal Government.
I have to admit, I am a little nervous for what the next four years will bring in terms of economic issues. I am not sure is we can legitimately "afford" it, but it is over and done with and one can only hope for the best.
Of course, Facebook has been flooded with many posts about the election. It's about 50/50 on my news feed for those who support the results and those who are more than upset about it.
Many of the arguments used for disapproval of the results just make me mad. So, I am going to talk about them here...
#1: A vote for Obama means more baby killing.
Well, actually, no it doesn't. More than likely, there will be no more abortions in the next four years than there were in the last four years. Even though Mitt said he would overturn Roe vs. Wade, there was a slim chance that the House AND the Senate would come to a mutual agreement to abolish it. A vote for Obama is actually more important than most people realize. The Democratic party supports the use of Sex Education in schools, not just abstinence education. That type of education is detrimental to the young minds of our society since they are not taught how to properly deal with their sexual behaviors should they finally make the decision to become sexually active. Not only that, but the health care system offers cheap and even free birth control to those who need it. This will help reduce the amount of unwanted pregnancies and abortions due to the access to resources available.
#2: A vote for Obama means more lazy people taking our hard-earned money.
I don't know if any of you know this, but the welfare system has been around for a LONG time, taking money out of yours and my paychecks to help those less fortunate. It's not a new development, so if you weren't complaining about it 4+ years ago while you were working a high school job, then I really don't want to hear you complain about it now. Unfortunately, like Mitt made the mistake of doing, everyone is lumping those on welfare into one big lump--a lump of lazy ass people who don't work because they want to feed off of government handouts and never do anything productive with their lives. Now, absolutely there ARE people out there who are like that. There are people who don't think they need to work and think they can mooch off of the government and the rest of America for the rest of their lives because they feel entitled to the things they haven't earned. But not everyone on welfare and other government assisted programs are like that. There are people who have just come upon hard times in their lives and need a little help here and there. Most people I know who are on welfare and food stamps are hard-working people. Please do not make the assumption that because someone is on welfare that they are a lazy, worthless piece of shit that doesn't want to work.
#3: A vote for Obama is detrimental to the Christian faith in our nation because he is Muslim.
First of all, I cannot believe that we are STILL stuck on this issue and the other issue of him "not being a US citizen." Before Kennedy was elected President way back when, there had been no Catholic Presidents. People were scared of what a Catholic might do with their religious beliefs while in office. Kennedy was the first. Had he had a longer presidency, I am sure he would have panned out to be one of the greatest Presidents this nation would have seen, besides his scandals behind closed doors in the White House. Our Founding Fathers specifically called for a separation between church and state because of the conflicting morals the Christian Church had and what the Founding Fathers wanted to do for this country. Not once in the last four years have I seen or heard of Obama trying to pass a bill or law into congress based on his religious beliefs. Most everyone is accepting of the fact that he is INDEED a Christian. But even if he WAS Muslim, what would it matter? Because of the 9/11 attacks? I really hope you are not still using that as a crutch either. The fact of the matter is, the Muslim faith is much like the Christian faith, calm and peaceful in nature, until it gets taken out of context by those who think they understand what the Holy Books are saying. The 9/11 attacks were conducted by Muslim extremists and radical Al Qaeda members. There is nothing wrong with the Muslim faith... but there is EVERYTHING wrong with extremist religious views. And, Muslims are not the only people who have extremists. Have you ever heard of the Westboro Baptist Church? Well, if you haven't, I would suggest looking them up. They are the crazies with the picket signs saying, "GOD HATES FAGS," and "THANK GOD FOR DEAD SOLDIERS." They haven't physically hurt anyone... yet, but I wouldn't put it passed them. Extremists can be found in any religion. Those who are members of the peaceful aspect of their religions are in no way a threat to this country.
Those are the three main issues I have come across and I know there are MANY more. But I would like to touch on the aspect of race when it came to this election, and the last. Yes, I am going to go there. Call me whatever you want, even if it's calling me "racist"... I don't care. Whenever there are candidates of a different race from each other, there is going to be some heat coming from both sides. The sad part is, there was a large number of voters who voted for one of the candidates in 2008 simply because of his race. I am not talking about Obama. I am talking about McCain. The issue of race in this country is far from dead. The gap between white and black voters in 2004 was nearly 7%, but dropped to under 1% for the 2008 election.
What frightens me the most is who people are voting for regardless of their political affiliations based on the color of one of the candidates. There is no doubt a large number of blacks voted for Obama in 2008 and this year simply because he is black. They could care less about what the political issues were, they just wanted to vote for someone who was black. Unfortunately, the same goes for those who voted for Romney simply because he is white. As I said before, racial issues are not dead in this country, and there are still a lot of white people out there who are racist against blacks, and vice versa.
Another sad aspect is the fact that it wasn't JUST black people who voted for Obama just because he was black. Many Latinos, Asians and even whites did so. I am sure some white voters voted for Obama simply so they wouldn't appear racist; then again I have no factual basis for that opinion. But nevertheless... Voting for or against one candidate simply based on their race is inherently racist, regardless of how you twist it.
I very much commend those who voted for or against Obama based on factual issues and political issues rather than the issue of race. It is time we no longer let that issue come in to play when we are considering who is the better leader of our country. Race has nothing to do with how good of a leader someone will be, it is all based on their political, economic and social stances that will determine their successes or failures as the one and only President of the United States.
And on a last note... It's time we stop blaming Bush for everything that has happened in the last four yes. Yes, he wasn't exactly the best president we have ever had, and Obama did come into office when the country was at a low place. But he has had the last four years to turn it around. And it the next four years, we will have no one else to blame if the country doesn't turn around the way we want it to. Obama has come into his own office and is inheriting his own issues. Let's leave it at that.
With that being said, I finally am going to say, yes, I voted for Mitt Romney.
My vote for Mitt Romney in no way dictates what kind of person I am, what my beliefs and morals are and where I stand on social and economic issues in this country. Nor does it label me as someone who is against equality.
I voted for Mitt because I wanted to give him a chance. I thought he would have been a great leader for this country. It is true, our nation and economy are in a state of limbo right now. It is not God awful, but it isn't great either. I very much appreciate all Barack has done over the passed four years to ensure there is equality among the people of this nation who deserve it, such as the LGBT Community and women.
I wanted to give Mitt a chance because I know he would have done a great job working to fix our economy and bring the USA back to where it should be... among the countries labeled as the Greatest Countries in the World.
However; I was very torn when I finally mailed in my absentee ballot. I voted for Barack in the last election because I appreciated everything he stood for in terms of equality and social issues. I knew that my vote for Mr. Romney was a vote against all of my gay friends and a vote that would put their dreams in jeopardy. Yet, I don't feel as though much would have changed in that aspect if Mitt was elected.
Yes, he said he would abolish Roe vs. Wade, put harsh regulations on birth control as well as change the current state of health care for women in this country. As a woman, that definitely scared me, but my thought process was Congress has already come this far to make equality and women's rights possible; they won't go back on it. Besides, Gay Marriage is more of an issue on a State level that would be regulated by individual states before it was completely regulated by the Federal Government.
I have to admit, I am a little nervous for what the next four years will bring in terms of economic issues. I am not sure is we can legitimately "afford" it, but it is over and done with and one can only hope for the best.
Of course, Facebook has been flooded with many posts about the election. It's about 50/50 on my news feed for those who support the results and those who are more than upset about it.
Many of the arguments used for disapproval of the results just make me mad. So, I am going to talk about them here...
#1: A vote for Obama means more baby killing.
Well, actually, no it doesn't. More than likely, there will be no more abortions in the next four years than there were in the last four years. Even though Mitt said he would overturn Roe vs. Wade, there was a slim chance that the House AND the Senate would come to a mutual agreement to abolish it. A vote for Obama is actually more important than most people realize. The Democratic party supports the use of Sex Education in schools, not just abstinence education. That type of education is detrimental to the young minds of our society since they are not taught how to properly deal with their sexual behaviors should they finally make the decision to become sexually active. Not only that, but the health care system offers cheap and even free birth control to those who need it. This will help reduce the amount of unwanted pregnancies and abortions due to the access to resources available.
#2: A vote for Obama means more lazy people taking our hard-earned money.
I don't know if any of you know this, but the welfare system has been around for a LONG time, taking money out of yours and my paychecks to help those less fortunate. It's not a new development, so if you weren't complaining about it 4+ years ago while you were working a high school job, then I really don't want to hear you complain about it now. Unfortunately, like Mitt made the mistake of doing, everyone is lumping those on welfare into one big lump--a lump of lazy ass people who don't work because they want to feed off of government handouts and never do anything productive with their lives. Now, absolutely there ARE people out there who are like that. There are people who don't think they need to work and think they can mooch off of the government and the rest of America for the rest of their lives because they feel entitled to the things they haven't earned. But not everyone on welfare and other government assisted programs are like that. There are people who have just come upon hard times in their lives and need a little help here and there. Most people I know who are on welfare and food stamps are hard-working people. Please do not make the assumption that because someone is on welfare that they are a lazy, worthless piece of shit that doesn't want to work.
#3: A vote for Obama is detrimental to the Christian faith in our nation because he is Muslim.
First of all, I cannot believe that we are STILL stuck on this issue and the other issue of him "not being a US citizen." Before Kennedy was elected President way back when, there had been no Catholic Presidents. People were scared of what a Catholic might do with their religious beliefs while in office. Kennedy was the first. Had he had a longer presidency, I am sure he would have panned out to be one of the greatest Presidents this nation would have seen, besides his scandals behind closed doors in the White House. Our Founding Fathers specifically called for a separation between church and state because of the conflicting morals the Christian Church had and what the Founding Fathers wanted to do for this country. Not once in the last four years have I seen or heard of Obama trying to pass a bill or law into congress based on his religious beliefs. Most everyone is accepting of the fact that he is INDEED a Christian. But even if he WAS Muslim, what would it matter? Because of the 9/11 attacks? I really hope you are not still using that as a crutch either. The fact of the matter is, the Muslim faith is much like the Christian faith, calm and peaceful in nature, until it gets taken out of context by those who think they understand what the Holy Books are saying. The 9/11 attacks were conducted by Muslim extremists and radical Al Qaeda members. There is nothing wrong with the Muslim faith... but there is EVERYTHING wrong with extremist religious views. And, Muslims are not the only people who have extremists. Have you ever heard of the Westboro Baptist Church? Well, if you haven't, I would suggest looking them up. They are the crazies with the picket signs saying, "GOD HATES FAGS," and "THANK GOD FOR DEAD SOLDIERS." They haven't physically hurt anyone... yet, but I wouldn't put it passed them. Extremists can be found in any religion. Those who are members of the peaceful aspect of their religions are in no way a threat to this country.
Those are the three main issues I have come across and I know there are MANY more. But I would like to touch on the aspect of race when it came to this election, and the last. Yes, I am going to go there. Call me whatever you want, even if it's calling me "racist"... I don't care. Whenever there are candidates of a different race from each other, there is going to be some heat coming from both sides. The sad part is, there was a large number of voters who voted for one of the candidates in 2008 simply because of his race. I am not talking about Obama. I am talking about McCain. The issue of race in this country is far from dead. The gap between white and black voters in 2004 was nearly 7%, but dropped to under 1% for the 2008 election.
What frightens me the most is who people are voting for regardless of their political affiliations based on the color of one of the candidates. There is no doubt a large number of blacks voted for Obama in 2008 and this year simply because he is black. They could care less about what the political issues were, they just wanted to vote for someone who was black. Unfortunately, the same goes for those who voted for Romney simply because he is white. As I said before, racial issues are not dead in this country, and there are still a lot of white people out there who are racist against blacks, and vice versa.
Another sad aspect is the fact that it wasn't JUST black people who voted for Obama just because he was black. Many Latinos, Asians and even whites did so. I am sure some white voters voted for Obama simply so they wouldn't appear racist; then again I have no factual basis for that opinion. But nevertheless... Voting for or against one candidate simply based on their race is inherently racist, regardless of how you twist it.
I very much commend those who voted for or against Obama based on factual issues and political issues rather than the issue of race. It is time we no longer let that issue come in to play when we are considering who is the better leader of our country. Race has nothing to do with how good of a leader someone will be, it is all based on their political, economic and social stances that will determine their successes or failures as the one and only President of the United States.
And on a last note... It's time we stop blaming Bush for everything that has happened in the last four yes. Yes, he wasn't exactly the best president we have ever had, and Obama did come into office when the country was at a low place. But he has had the last four years to turn it around. And it the next four years, we will have no one else to blame if the country doesn't turn around the way we want it to. Obama has come into his own office and is inheriting his own issues. Let's leave it at that.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Your vote matters! ... But wait...
I have always wondered what the point of the Electoral College was... and I finally found someone to explain it to me
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2_6#/video/politics/2012/11/02/pkg-cnn-explains-electoral-college.cnn
So, in a sense, yes. My vote, your vote and everyone else's votes DO matter. But only to a certain extent. The popular vote in a state determines the Democratic or Republican votes of the Electoral College. However; if the Electoral College doesn't agree with the popular vote in their state, they can choose to vote the other way. So, no matter what, the state of the election is in the hands of those are are part of the Electoral College... Period.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2_6#/video/politics/2012/11/02/pkg-cnn-explains-electoral-college.cnn
So, in a sense, yes. My vote, your vote and everyone else's votes DO matter. But only to a certain extent. The popular vote in a state determines the Democratic or Republican votes of the Electoral College. However; if the Electoral College doesn't agree with the popular vote in their state, they can choose to vote the other way. So, no matter what, the state of the election is in the hands of those are are part of the Electoral College... Period.
Why it's important...
Why is it important to vote? Well, it's pretty simple. It's important because we have the right to do so. Many people in many other countries do not have the luxury of voting for their national leaders. There are so many people from history who have sacrificed everything, including their lives for a Democracy-based government that is by the people and for the people.
It's election day today in the United States of America. I have already voted. I did so about a month ago since I am not registered to vote where I currently live. I ordered an absentee ballot from the county I used to live in.
Although I am all for exercising my right to vote and get excited about doing so, I can say in all honesty I cannot wait for this day to be over. I have fought and fought with myself over who I was going to vote for, and I cannot say whether or not I have made the right decision. I have a feeling, deep down, that I did make the right decision. And maybe it was for all the right reasons, but at the same time, my vote went against a lot of the morals I uphold.
I am tired of a two-party political system that constantly bickers back and forth about issues. I would be much happier if there were a candidate that encompassed all I could ask for. I would want them to push for equality among the people of this country (in terms of gay rights, women's rights, etc) all the while making sure they are doing what they need to do to keep this country out of dire straights and on top of the economic food chain. We used to be up there, but in recent years, we have fallen short of that and have since been struggling to keep our heads above water.
I actually found all of that in Gary Johnson. If he would come and run for Governor of Iowa, heck yeah, I would vote for him. He was one of the candidates for President as well, but as much as I wanted to vote for him, it wouldn't necessarily be a wasted vote, but if I wanted someone in particular to win, I needed to vote for one of the front runners. Maybe in 2016, he will run again, and I will be able to vote for him.
However; I find it very troubling when people uphold their political beliefs so much, they are willing to get verbally and physically violent with others. Do you really think you are going to change someones mind through your harsh words? Probably not. I have been keeping my vote a secret because, first of all, it is no one's business who I voted for, and secondly I don't want to get into any political arguments with anyone as of right now. I told a friend and my mother that I would tell them who I voted for after the election was all said and done and the next President of the United States was revealed. So, I hope they are ready to hear it.
I also don't feel I need to justify who I voted for. I made the decision myself, and if that is what I want, then so be it. If my candidate wins, then all that happens afterwards is what I deserve for voting for them. If my candidate doesn't win, then I have all the right in the world to complain when the candidate who did win starts to disappoint the country.
I will not reveal too much more right now. I have been on a few-day hiatus since I don't have access to internet at my house yet and we have actually been busy at work. Hopefully, tomorrow after our next leader is decided, I will write a short blog about who I voted for and give a little of an explanation. Until then, I shall leave you all in the dark.
It's election day today in the United States of America. I have already voted. I did so about a month ago since I am not registered to vote where I currently live. I ordered an absentee ballot from the county I used to live in.
Although I am all for exercising my right to vote and get excited about doing so, I can say in all honesty I cannot wait for this day to be over. I have fought and fought with myself over who I was going to vote for, and I cannot say whether or not I have made the right decision. I have a feeling, deep down, that I did make the right decision. And maybe it was for all the right reasons, but at the same time, my vote went against a lot of the morals I uphold.
I am tired of a two-party political system that constantly bickers back and forth about issues. I would be much happier if there were a candidate that encompassed all I could ask for. I would want them to push for equality among the people of this country (in terms of gay rights, women's rights, etc) all the while making sure they are doing what they need to do to keep this country out of dire straights and on top of the economic food chain. We used to be up there, but in recent years, we have fallen short of that and have since been struggling to keep our heads above water.
I actually found all of that in Gary Johnson. If he would come and run for Governor of Iowa, heck yeah, I would vote for him. He was one of the candidates for President as well, but as much as I wanted to vote for him, it wouldn't necessarily be a wasted vote, but if I wanted someone in particular to win, I needed to vote for one of the front runners. Maybe in 2016, he will run again, and I will be able to vote for him.
However; I find it very troubling when people uphold their political beliefs so much, they are willing to get verbally and physically violent with others. Do you really think you are going to change someones mind through your harsh words? Probably not. I have been keeping my vote a secret because, first of all, it is no one's business who I voted for, and secondly I don't want to get into any political arguments with anyone as of right now. I told a friend and my mother that I would tell them who I voted for after the election was all said and done and the next President of the United States was revealed. So, I hope they are ready to hear it.
I also don't feel I need to justify who I voted for. I made the decision myself, and if that is what I want, then so be it. If my candidate wins, then all that happens afterwards is what I deserve for voting for them. If my candidate doesn't win, then I have all the right in the world to complain when the candidate who did win starts to disappoint the country.
I will not reveal too much more right now. I have been on a few-day hiatus since I don't have access to internet at my house yet and we have actually been busy at work. Hopefully, tomorrow after our next leader is decided, I will write a short blog about who I voted for and give a little of an explanation. Until then, I shall leave you all in the dark.
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