Monday, February 28, 2011

Patriotism is Not About Bumper Stickers

                                                                              
Patriotism-is defined as love and devotion to one’s country not frenzied outbursts of emotion. Is there love and devotion to one’s own people? This is the question. To me this is another, almost, paradox. Everybody supports our troops or they should, unconditionally, you don’t have to agree with what they are doing but you have to support them in what they are doing, since they’re not even permitted to question what they are doing. These are our fellow Americans fighting and dying for us. Now if you do oppose what an administration is using them for, a lot of people can call you unpatriotic, the administration itself will. On the contrary, I might be more patriotic because I don’t want to see these soldiers die in vain, they are not an expendable to me. Don’t make the mistake and criticize the distribution of wealth or corporations, now you are an unpatriotic anti-capitalist. Want affordable healthcare and regulation? You are now an unpatriotic, anti-capitalist socialist. It is the most prodigious affair when there is a national disaster or attack (foreign or domestic) or a tragedy of some kind, to see the outpouring of love and support, the slew of emotions and actions that transpires, after such event, from Americans…it is unmatched. We are an intensely compassionate country. However when it comes to caring about each other on a daily basis, when it comes to fundamental needs, there is a lapse and usually attached to some kind of ridicule, hostility or judgment. I’ll start with poverty; Americans incessantly campaign to help other impoverished nations. There are multitudes of American’s, children, adult and elderly…even veterans, that go without fundamental needs…shelter, food, water…healthcare. Roughly 13 to 17% of Americans living below the federal poverty line at any given point in time, and roughly 40% falling below the poverty line at some point within a 10-year time span. Overall, 5.6 percent of veterans lived in poverty in 1999.The youngest veterans, those who served in August 1990 or later, were among the most likely to be poor, with a poverty rate of 6.2 percent.
                                                                           
47 million Americans still have no health insurance and the proportion of children with no health insurance has risen, with the poorest children the most likely to be uninsured. What do we here from the patriotic uncompassionate? Get a job. If a person accepts assistance in anyway, there is a great out lash against it. President Reagan was an individual who greatly looked down on disadvantaged people and the same sentiment exists now tenfold, that the person is lazy or not trying hard enough. However, Reagan’s own family benefited from FDR’s New Deal, leaving to question where his family would have been without it. Was it ever considered that the playing field has become increasingly uneven? How about raising the minimum wage? Quality education is not available to a great number of children. The costs of healthcare are just too great for even members of the upper classes. How about all Americans having the same rights? Just to clarify I’m not talking about abuse of resources. If we are so patriotic, it begs to differ that this does not help our country as a whole on a global competitive level or even exhibit the morals and values that are perpetually preached. This hostility is also directly related to what is happening to unions in this country (See Class Warfare, Fazed and Not Amused). It’s an attack on the classes.
 If we are so patriotic, how can we stand by and see people die from lack of healthcare or going bankrupt as a result, losing their house or business or job, therefore ending up in a situation that we so “despise” needing assistance for food and shelter, if the Americans aren’t dead. A colossal amount of American’s identifies with this being a Christian country. Would Jesus approve? Over 2 billion dollars were given for Faith Based Initiatives under Pres. George W. Bush. The separation of church and state was noted as one of major issues with the Faith-Based Initiatives laws. Critics have claimed that millions in government grants have gone to ministries operated by political supporters of the Bush administration. But to what extent can they help? In fact they cannot provide any assistance, if say, a chemotherapeutic agent that a patient has to take if they have cancer and cannot afford, is almost nine thousand dollars a month. They won’t provide assistance if the medication is over a certain amount. Not to mention there is no regulation with the foods that churches provide to people. People who rely on nutritional assistance provided from a faith based venue, are given foods that are in unmarked packaging, beyond the expiration date, and are composed of highly refined carbohydrates. There in resulting in problems that lead to other problems. “Supporters had hoped the Faith-Based Initiative would be about solving problems of poverty and an over-burdened welfare system, while opponents feared rampant proselytizing with government funds. Instead, these initiatives by and large did not offer substantial new fiscal support to those in need. In the place of this hope and fear, and despite the good intentions of many, these initiatives became powerful political symbols in the fight to reshape church/state relationships and distribution of political power”-Rebecca Sager. I love my county, I love my Americans… It’s not about flying a flag, wearing a pin or decorating bumpers...

                                                                             
                                                                           
                                                                    
                                                                       

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Take Your Medicine...Actually, Don't

                                                                           

I’ve just finished reading Ancient Healing for Modern Women: Traditional Chinese Medicine for All Phases of a Woman's Life by Dr. Xiaolan Zhao. A surgeon from Canada and trained in TCM, she writes and explains in a way anybody can understand and gives you a deeper understanding of a centuries old tradition. She underwent psychotherapy to be able to understand her patients on an emotional level, which is not custom in China...Can you even get your doctor now to spend more than 5 minutes with you? Let alone do something of that extent. She explains why she decided to incorporate TCM into her western medical training, stories from her personal experiences (especially during the Cultural Revolution in China) as well as other women suffering with no apparent end in sight  until they decided to open their minds and hearts to a different realm of healing. She expressed the beauty of all the phases of a women’s life. She includes methods of performing trigger point therapy on yourself at home and recipes and advice that you can utilize immediately with whatever might be in your fridge and pantry. Having worked in medicine and having to rely on and ultimately become disappointed in Western medicine through my ordeals, I’ve discovered even more why I decided to explore other avenues. Of course I believe it to be beneficial to everyone, but I’ve decided to concentrate on women’s needs in particular. Why treat an ailment with pharmaceuticals and procedures that can cause other ailments? Such as taking an aspirin as prophylaxis against myocardial infarction and a good chance of inevitably causing or irritating ulcers. I believe in a healthy combination of Eastern and Western medical practices and treatments. Americans are facing multiple epidemics and it's hard for me to continue to take advice and be treated with-what and who-I believe are the causes of those epidemics, from genetically engineered food, animals given hormones and antibiotics, HFCS, pharmaceutical companys and major food corporations. I recommend this book in particular, because of Dr. Zhao’s approach and style. Give it a go.

                                                                         


Friday, February 25, 2011

Almond Milk, Sugar Cookie Tea and Snap Peas


In light of my recent education from a friend regarding Monsanto and bovine growth hormone ( I suggest you do some personal research on them), I’ve made the personal choice to only, for now, eat organic as much as I can, as well as eliminate milk completely. Until, we have the right and privilege in this country of adequate food labeling or until we demand that food be labeled genetically engineered and advised whether the animals were given hormones, I have to do the best I can as far as decisions.  Roughly Monsanto was responsible for Agent Orange and round up pesticide and now partakes in genetically engineering corn, soy, sugar beets, bovine growth hormones, cornering markets, aspartame, pharmaceuticals and causing Indian farmers to commit mass suicides and some other humanitarian endeavors. Enough testing has not been done to appease me that these products do no harm. Especially the bovine growth hormone, which is said to increase and cause cancer. Of note, former employees of Monsanto are heads of the FDA, USDA, and EPA…which means we are screwed in the A. Make what you will of that. So…I originally decided to switch to soy milk, but quickly decided against that due to the fact 95% of soy is Monsanto’s and I’ve heard it can throw off estrogen levels. I went with the almond milk, plain flavor, but the vanilla is out of this world, Blue Diamond- http://www.bluediamond.com/ -to be exact. It is delicious, I drink it straight from the carton, put it in cereal, make “milk” shakes with it…with only 60 calories and the abundance of protein, you can’t go wrong…except trying to use it in coffee in place of creamer, BIG MISTAKE. Here is a link for you to look up local harvests in your area. http://www.localharvest.org/search.jsp
I know it's not the holidays. I just want to give a shout out to Celestial Seasonings Sugar Cookie Herbal Tea, delicioso! I am an herbal tea fanatic; I already fully stock my house with the fruit flavor herbal teas. So, this was a treat indeed. Yes, it tastes just like a sugar cookie. It has the usual milk thistle, orange blossom, vanilla components except the added natural sugar cookie flavoring…whatever that is. I think I almost taste butter. It’s a possibility that you can find it, it may only come out during the holidays, I was fortunate enough to be given some. I am trying to conserve it, because it is that good, otherwise I will be up a creek without a cookie and have to wait until Christmas.
A bag of snap pea crisps have also found their way into my home. My overall opinion of them is a good one. However, I’m disappointed having expected a dehydrated vegetable, instead its involved with rice somehow and cooked into a “puff”.  I don’t want to speculate…So coincidently not that different from a cheese puff, in a sense it’s a carbohydrate ground up into a snack. These are a little healthier, not overly salty and have this nutty aftertaste that’s really good, if you like nuts. (That’s what she said)…and I do. http://www.snacksalad.com/products.html

War on Women Part 2

                                                                             
This is continuing with the overwhelming reality of this War on Women that is taking place in the country at this time. Some members of the GOP are pushing for Planned Parenthood (Planned Parenthood Federation of America) to not receive any federal funding under the notion that those finances will be “secretly” funding abortion, except that it won’t because it is ILLEGAL for federal money to do so. What they are deciding not to fund is all of the wonderful services that they provide to women especially from low to no incomes. PPFA provides reproductive health and maternal and child health services. From birth control, education, disease screening, cancer screening to counseling, they provide what women have fought and DIED for decades ago. They were soldiers for a cause. Some facts- Planned Parenthood is the nation's leading sexual and reproductive health care advocate and provider. In 2008, they reported that contraception constituted 35% of total services, STI/STD testing and treatment constituted 34%, cancer testing and screening constituted 17%; and other women's health procedures, including pregnancy, prenatal, midlife, and infertility were 10%. Only 2% to 3% of visits involve abortions.     
As racist as I believe this country is and admits, it’s even more sexist. Black men could vote before women and a black man held the position of President of the United States before a woman. If a female senator had done a photo "spread" in a magazine modeling to earn money for law school as Scott Brown had done, I hardly think she would have won the seat let alone not recieved any ridicule. It took an abnormal amount of time for equal pay for women to be instituted, but hardly completely equal to this day. Fact- in 2005 women in Minnesota state government made 97 cents to the dollar, ranking Minnesota as one of the most equal for female state workers in the country. Harassment suits are now taken seriously, sexual or others, as well as wrongful termination if women went on maternity leave. There is still a battle for woman in the military. There are two paradoxes here, one being the GOP incessantly stresses the right to privacy…clearly what a woman does with her body under the supervision of her doctor is a private and LEGAL matter. Two, the GOP and the Tea Party stands on the platform of deregulation, while lusting to regulate the relationship between a woman and her doctor. No surprise, look how they ache to be involved with same sex relationships…(pun intended, research the higher percentage of Republican sex scandals, homosexual or otherwise) maybe we all need a refresher course on modern feminism and a copy of Betty Friedan's 1963 book The Feminine Mystique…Bra burning anyone? 
                                                                        

Class and Union Warfare-Fazed and Not Amused

                                                                              
The class warfare paradox, the top upper echelon…tippy-tippy top 1% of America procures 95% of allll its dollars and cents…BLING…MONEY. However, and this is the part that keeps me up at night, the people who work on the bottom rung of the ladder…if they are lucky to have a rung and just not sweep up the manure that falls from the upper rungs…BLAZINGLY defend policies that are not in their best interest economically, usher them into debt and could care less if they have enough to retire (if they don’t go bankrupt from their healthcare first). I don’t get it; I have to laugh at it that’s how absurd it is! In the state of Wisconsin the Union obliteration is being sponsored by, none other, than huge private corporations to take away worker’s rights to bargain, that have been an installation in this country since the 19th century and become a part of its fabric and moral fiber. So I thought.
Gov. Walker, like most of the GOP are fueled and funded by billionaire’s and corporations, to be fair almost everyone is, except this is so far from being in the interest of the people. The Tea Party and Republicans are trying to pay for the current deficit, which they caused (See My “Recap of The Worst Moments of The Decade”), stemming from Reagan’s Trickle-Down-Voodoo-That-He-Did-Economics, tax cuts for the wealthy and increased domestic and foreign spending (spending!!), by cutting the working and middle class. Inevitably, asking the lower classes to sacrifice, while trying to give cuts to the Big Fish…Which does not stimulate the economy it just stimulates them (See Republican sex scandals and yearning to be involved with same sex relationships).… Unions have already said they would sacrifice, hence bargaining and will pay more into whatever they need to, their healthcare and pensions. This is not good enough for a Party that wants to see the annihilation of the working man, someone who makes 35K a year and will have a pension less than that. Wake up people and stop voting against your interest. I know its hard for you to pay enormous taxes on your imaginary company when you fantasize about becoming a millionaire in a country that is not really set up for you to become any longer.
                                                             

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Drawings of Mine

War on Women Part 1

                                                                                                                               
On February 18, 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to bar Planned Parenthood health centers from all federal funding for birth control, cancer screenings, HIV testing, and other lifesaving care.
It is the most dangerous legislative assault in our history, and it cannot go unanswered. We — Planned Parenthood and the three million women, men, and teens who are at risk of losing access to basic care — need you to stand united with us now.

Sign our open letter to every single representative in the House who voted for this cruel, unconscionable, unthinkable law, and to every senator who still has a chance to stop it.   https://secure.ppaction.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=pp_ppol_ws_I_Stand_with_PP&s_src=standwithppfeb2011_taf

                                                                 

Sarah Palin Gives Me Hypothermia

                                                                
There is no one that causes me to have a reaction that I do, than that of Sarah Palin. I disagree with Sarah Palin 98.999% of the time. This was provoked in 2008 when she was unleashed, and my reading one of her books. Someone had posted a picture of the former governor of Alaska, it had a caption that read “Does this make you feel cold and lonely”… that and emphatically irritated and filled with an inferno like rage.  People questioned whether President Obama was an American, what qualifications he had... I don’t necessarily believe holding a degree is a measure of one’s intelligence, but if you want to compare Palin’s and Pres. Obama’s…OK, done! What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander if you want to talk turkey in politics.
                                                                                                                                          
  In her book she states “It was the mid 1960’s before divorce and single mother hood really began to take off in the U.S. And it was another 20yrs before the country really began to feel the effects of the decline of the family in rising crime rates, drug abuse, and long-term welfare dependency…Granted there was an undisputed rise in some but disputed causes. The crime rates have gone done since the 1990's. The drug abuse rise is connected to the crime wave that both occured in the 1980's and there are actually more white people on welfare than any other race. I do not think it is fair to put that responsibility on people getting divorced, and solely on the decline of the nuclear family. Again, with this 1950’s ideal of womanhood and family, a woman couldn’t be the CEO of a company, women stayed with husbands that beat them; people didn’t have the socially acceptable option of being with a partner that was different than the norm. Women chose education and postponed marriage, but a good percentage still married and had children.  She also states “I thought of this as I, along with so many Americans watched the horrific images of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina”. First to assume, that Americans thought the same, that watching the aftermath of a national disaster, automatically triggered notions in our heads of how the supposed breakdown of the American nuclear family has lead to all that is wrong with the country. That’s like watching the freeway collapse in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and thinking about free trade.
                                                                       
 Mrs. Palin criticized Murphy Brown for a “lifestyle” choice, by having a baby unwed and quoted Dan Qualye...Dan Qualye as in “What a waste it is to lose one's mind or not to have a mind is being very wasteful”, or as in "The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history.… No, not our nation's, but in WWII. I mean, we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century, but in this century's history"…Okay, Mr. Qualye. She also stated “When it comes to raising good citizens, all “lifestyle choices” are not equal”, number one, there is a difference between someone choosing to lead a non-traditional lifestyle such as a successful, independent woman choosing to have a child on her own, or man,  or two loving people of the same sex wanting to have a family and providing a secure, and loving home, or an older couple wanting to take in foster kids…people who make conscious choices; as opposed to a parent who has had a spouse or partner pass away, or the spouse or partner leaves or the parent chooses not to be a part of the child’s life… I feel for Americans, These Americans so callously spoken of, American’s whose “lifestyle” choices are of different sexual orientation or whatever other circumstance under the rainbow, those Americans who are teachers, doctors, cops, and soldiers. There are many, not ideal, situations but that is not to assume it would result in not raising a good citizen. There are many a child that come from a wealthy, two parent home, that turns out to be all of the things this country looks down on, like for instance a teenage daughter getting pregnant out of wedlock. Those that live in glass houses… And many from a non-traditional situations that turn out to be pretty incredible people.
The part that will no longer enable me to continue reading out of fear that I will be stricken with a stroke; more so than her warped, antiquated view on feminism, sexuality, privacy, the need for the government to favor and dictate it’s laws through one religion over another or any religion for that matter and the killing of animals for political gain, is… “Although New Orleans was impacted the most, Americans along the Gulf Coast were all victimized by Hurricane Katrina. And yet those in New Orleans seemed to be the most vulnerable. They all had the same federal government and the same president. What was the difference? The difference was strong, intact families.”  What was the difference?
                                                                        
Sea level, first off. Highly advanced, updated levees in great condition by the Army Corp. of Engineers, NOT. I wasn’t questioning why these people were poor. Why were these people stuck on their roof, or a highway with no assistance, and by that I mean dropping provisions and rescue missions with helicopters that would normally be provided to ANY OTHER COUNTRY that we go to “nurture”. I find it outrageous that she chose this example to bring light how, yes, we need for fathers and mothers to take responsibility... there is an overwhelming, chronic abuse of government resources that are set in place for emergencies, not lifestyles. Are you also trying to suggest that Americans don’t have enough survival skills when the Gulf of Mexico ends up in our living room? I can’t imagine having been in that situation with a hurricane, on my roof, for days, without a bottle of water being dropped, and having someone insinuate that I was overreacting. Had it been the middle class, who had been the predominate makeup of the population in that particular area, would Palin be so apt to use that example? Did Mrs. Palin say anything of the such, when Nashville was flooded.  This country needs leaders of all parties, to differ in ideas yes, that’s the foundation of our greatness to come up with the best solution and to find common ground, but always preach unity. Politics is the art of compromise. We are a whole made up of the sum of its parts.
  I was left feeling “cold and lonely inside” as usual, and emphatically irritated and filled with an inferno like rage. I’m concerned, because I believe Palin WILL stand by her promises, WHEN she runs for a higher office. I hope that I, Democrats and anybody else that tries to incessantly demonize Palin will remember that doing so will ironically propel her into more popularity. A cruel, cruel paradox. So we must not become overzealous to do so. This is America, the land of the ugly dog contest, and I don’t want to suffer from hypothermia in 2012.
                                                                            

Recap of My Worst Moments of The Past Decade


                                                           September 11, 2001

This is a little late in the year, but a friend had asked me to recap what my worst moments were in the last decade. I do believe this was a corporate interview question, so I decided to leave out the banking crisis. My worst moments of the last decade by far were 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Gulf oil spill; having these happen when they did at the age I was, has made such an impact on me, both devastating and disappointing. Of course it didn’t just stop there, oh no, the Bush presidency. W. gave  $1.35 trillion dollars in tax cuts to the wealthiest of the land, while being involved with two wars, along with increased national defense, domestic and foreign spending. Our deficit rose; which in conjunction with the housing, mortgage, and oil crisis; led to the largest post WWII recession in history. Which led to billions of dollars in economic stimulus in the name of rebate checks, that did not stimulate the economy, and job growth remained stagnate. Besides the above stated, my other worst moments of the decade had to be the racism and violent political rhetoric attached to one of the most historic presidencies in history when it went into effect. Another would be the UNLEASHING of a former vice presidential candidate monstrosity that kills caribou for political gain.                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
A positive aspect more recently has been the attention to wildlife and the environment that is all too well overdue and deserved. Alternative energy, science research and healthcare breakthroughs are allowed to be perused again. The negative impacts on the country have allowed Americans to have a different perspective and approach to life, to discover the simplicities of life that have been lost for at least 50 years, all the while advancing to our most technical age yet. People are tweeting, texting, constantly in front of their touch screens all while learning the frugal ways of just eating potatoes and pasta for dinner to budget more efficiently and making homemade crafts of burlap and twine. Leading to a “green revolution” while continuing a technological evolution… for eternity hopefully.