And oh… do you mind not flagging my post? I spent forever putting this together. If you don’t like it, could you just go on to another post? I’m sorry I’m not writing as creatively anymore, but I’m HELLA busy working a job, keeping my websites running and maintaining a Tinychat social life!
The Case of Trayvon Martin vs George Zimmerman
Rightwing extremists are trying to paint this as a political issue, while emotional black people are trying to paint it as a racial one. I believe it is neither. It is, in my opinion, a simple case of nepotism. The Sanford police foolishly felt it prudent to allow George Zimmerman to go free, lest they offend his father, the former Virginia Supreme Court Magistrate Judge Robert Zimmerman.
Radio host Michael Baisden said it best earlier today when he decreed that this is neither a racial issue nor a political issue, but rather an American issue that deserves the attention of every one of us. He continued by noting that such miscarriages of justice occur to more than just black kids; they occur to white kids, Asian kids, Hispanic kids and more. It’s a national epidemic that must be curbed.
That said, such miscarriages occur most frequently among black people because crime is most prevalent among their communities. So while I fervently support justice for Trayvon Martin, I also sincerely hope that black folks in general wake up and start taking a stand for the sake of both their children and their own futures. If they themselves won’t fight for change, who will?
As for Zimmerman, though I possess no official training in law, my love for ‘law and order’ type shows leads me to believe that there is more than enough evidence to convince a Grand Jury to indict the bastard. Perhaps the introduction of new evidence will eventually absolve him, or perhaps it’ll provide definitive proof that he did indeed murder Trayvon. Regardless, it’s time for the courts to decide!
//
I’m sorry if I offended any black folk out there. The racist garbage being written about Trayvon disgusts me as well. However, the issue still boils due to nepotism. FYI... I too have been pulled over for being outside in a hoodie at night. It happened about 1.5 years ago, in fact, when I was running along Buffaloe Road in NE Raleigh. Point being that I’m not talking out of my ass.
Sorry regardless, but … this is how I feel :-(.
Thoughts Galore
I have had a terrific week. I got a lot of work done, I feel lean and good (tho I need to quit smoking and take more supplements) and I’m not worried about being single, though I am still lonely AF… lonely AF for a woman who’s a lawyer! SWAGG!
// Obamacare Benefits
Interesting. So oral arguments are being given to the Supreme Court this week regarding Obamacare. The decision, however, won't be made until summer. That's unfortunate. I'd rather know now.
#1. Easier to track if doctors are prescribing medications because they're best for you or because of a pharmaceutical company's influence.
#2. Employers must provide a room for breastfeeding.
#3. Calories will be listed under fast-food menu items. (I love this one.)
#4. $50 million / year for abstinence-only education. (kind of useless)
#5. A limit to flexible spending accounts.
#6. Higher taxes on tanning. (GOOD)
#7. Incentives to small businesses that start wellness initiatives.
#8. Full coverage for preventative care. (EXCELLENT)
#9. Funding to support childhood home visitation in the hope of reduce child abuse/neglect and promoting the health of mothers and their children.
#10. More easily readable health plans.
\\ Negativity Deserves Compassion, Not Disregard
[Researchers even looked at actual Facebook friends because, Forest says, "you might think that a real friend would care if you're expressing negativity." It turned out actual friends didn't like the negative posts, either. The posts actually backfired, neither winning the author new friends nor generating good feelings.]
That's a damn shame. When I encounter someone who feels troubled for whatever reason, I tend to reach out and offer a comforting hand. Unfortunately, society has become so bloody indifferent to the problems of others that they just don't care anymore. What a pity.
What I despise most are those who refuse to take a stand for anything -- individuals who lack core principles/convictions and then have the audacity to look down at those who do possess the aforementioned. Being expressive, opinionated and willing to fight for what you believe in is a positive trait, regardless of the spin.
// Corporations Aren’t People
Reform groups are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require that publicly traded companies disclose contributions/donations that they make to politically engaged parties like super PACs. They're currently able to hide such information because of the damn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision in 2012, which, for clarification, designated corporations as people.
[Reformers targeting the SEC are concerned about a specific type of political spending: contributions to nonprofits and trade groups engaged in direct electoral efforts that do not have to disclose their funders. Such groups, both right- and left-wing, include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Crossroads GPS, Americans for Prosperity and Priorities USA.]
Basically, you got rich people funding political campaigns to have their own laws put into place or laws with which they disagree thrown out. And this is all being done behind closed doors without any transparency whatsoever.
The Wall Street Journal and similar like=minded "business allies" are throwing Unions under the bus, painting these "efforts as part of a multi-year campaign by unions, left-wing activists and their factotums to expose and then vilify companies that disagree with them."
Um... sorry to bust their bubbles, but Unions are required to disclose WTF they do regarding political spending.
\\ The Dictator
I'm disgusted. God forbid the government intervene to try to make things better. It all stems down to people's refusal to have the government regulate a bit of their lives. I'm sorry, but considering the current state of society, I'm all up for government regulation. Endless murders, kids & adults alike acting like mindless fools and a society devoid of compassion but brimming with greed and superficiality lead me to believe what this country needs more than ever is more government regulation and control, especially in the healthcare department.
Somebody once said I must have been a dictator or king a former life. I'm apt to agree, LOL.
// My Selflessness Makes Me Want To Cry
Another great Obamacare argument, courtesy of the Washington Post.
The average family pays an extra $1,000 annually in premiums to subsidize the costs of those who don't have insurance. If you currently have insurance, you're basically paying for my coverage. Thank you!
If the mandate is allowed to come to fruition, douchebags like me will be forced to allocate beer/cigarette money towards actually being responsible and acquiring insurance, which in turn will lower ya'lls bloody premiums.
So in effect, I should be against the mandate, shouldn't I? It's going to cost ME money. I won't be able to just ignore healthcare anymore. Did you know, for instance, that I owe about 20K in healthcare-related expenses? I'm not paying any of it, though, so who do you think is paying for it? BINGO!
The reason I'm in favor of the mandate, though it will make my own life harder, is because it's for my and the country's betterment.
Ahhh.. my selflessness never ceases to amaze me, hahaha.
SWAG, bitches!
\\ The Zoo Hypothesis / Prime Directive
Morning everybody! I just stumbled on this piece and had to share it. It's fascinating, as is the discussion that follows.
Many ask why, if they exist, other civilizations haven't contacted us yet. I subscribe to the 'zoo hypothesis,' which states that alien life forms capable of interstellar travel purposefully avoid contact to allow for our natural evolution and deployment.
Basically, despite our great accomplishments, we humans are still a very culturally, ethically, politically and technologically primitive species. We can barely get along among ourselves; now imagine us trying to get along among hundreds or more equal (if not superior) life forms?
// Irrelevant
Hmm. The Nation argues that the fate of 'Obamacare' is somewhat irrelevant, because without a single-payer "Medicare for All" public option, "we will not have universal coverage, medical bills will still push too many Americans into bankruptcy or prompt them to self-ration care, and insurance companies will continue to have a choke hold on our health."
//
Premiums have risen 50% in the last 7 years.
Premiums represent 20% of 6 out of 10 Americans' median earnings.
Approximately 30 million Americans were contacted in 2010 by collection agencies because of medical bills.
More people are using emergency rooms for routine problems "at a cost of 10 times more than preventive care with fewer treatment options."
The number of uninsured Americans is at an all-time high, as is the number of insured Americans who "massive holes int heir health plans."
US life expectancy rates trail those of countries with better healthcare, e.g., Canada.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
"The consequences of the denial of care en masse—now and in the future, with or without the ACA—could not be more ominous. Only more comprehensive reform, Medicare for Life, for all Americans, will finally produce real healthcare security for our country."
Basically, 'Obamacare' is only the first step toward real reform.
\\ Conservative Swagg
Courtesy The Colbert Report. Conservatives aren't faring well with the youth, so conservatives have launched this magazine (available as a 52-page PDF download), and it's quite entertaining!
Here are some sample titles:
RONALD REAGAN: Our First Black President? (ROFLOL)
GLEE: Songs, Sex & Sleaze
How to Draw Obama (ROFLOL)
Understanding Liberals
Government Creates Poverty
I sooooooooo WANT A COPY OF THIS!
// Pink Slime
Unreal. Republicans (or at least their governors) support the production and distribution of 'pink slime,' which refers to "ammoniated and heat treated highly processed low-quality beef tallow byproduct meat trimmings." (Wiki)
Sighs...
These are the same people who are rallying around George Zimmerman while complaining that Trayvon Martin was just a "hood rat thug" and that Sharpton and Jackson are just "race baiters."
These are the same people who are for insider trading, reduced taxes on the rich and an insurance company's right to deny coverage because of preexisting conditions.
These are the same people who are against cutting subsidies to oil companies that are already making billions of dollars, but who are for cutting aid to the indigent, handicapped and elderly.
These are the same people who mock the Green movement's attempt to reduce pollution, protect endangered species and safeguard this planet for future generations.
I just don't get it anymore; I give up! Verily, I do! Everything about modern conservatism is completely ass backwards.
\\ Moral Crisis
Brilliant op-ed by Katrina vanden Heuvel.
This starts by noting that GOP candidates feel there is a moral crisis in America regarding abortion, gay marriage an contraception, to name a few.
She then asserts that they're right: there is a moral crisis. But they themselves (the conservatives) are the ones behind it.
Paul Ryan's "Path to Prosperity" plan is a perfect example:
[It’s a plan that says that increases in defense spending are so essential, that massive tax cuts for the wealthy are so necessary, that we must pay for them by ripping a hole in the social safety net. The poor need Medicaid to pay for medicine and treatment for their families? We care, we really do, but the wealthy need tax cuts more. Food stamps the only thing standing between your children and starvation? Listen, we feel your pain. We get it. But we’ve got more important things to spend money on. Like a new yacht for that guy who only has one yacht.]
They don't care about damage being done to the environment.
They don't care about corporate lobbyists controlling the political system.
They don't care about Wall Street benefiting from destroying people's lives and livelihoods.
They don't care about people who are laid off from work and subsequently lose their healthcare.
They don't care about women's right to affordable healthcare and privacy from intrusion into their uterus.
All they care about is freedom, liberty and the endless pursuit of wealth no matter what or who it hurts.
// Grow Up Part 1
Sighs @ Jason Lewis trying to turn the Trayvon Martin incident into one about race and politics, when it's in fact one about race and JUSTICE. According to him, the incident has inspired a 'racial divide' or 'war' unlike anything he's ever seen before. Dude, just because a few num-nut dummies like Spike Lee and Roseanne Barr are acting a fool doesn't mean every got damn black person wants to go cracker huntin', you big, giant dummy!
I mean shit... how do you think Valerie Plume felt when, after being outed by the Washington Post as one of the spies who discovered there were in fact no WMDs in Iraq, she faced death threats galore from pro-Bush extremists?
At least that situation was actually about politics. This situation is about race and justice. The dynamics are obviously far more complex than those mere two words can accurately depict, but they do not in any way, shape or form include politics.
I'm sorry Obama didn't apologize to the parents of James Cooper and James Kouzaris for their ruthless murder by a black teenager, but the difference is, you fucking moron, that the murderer was ARRESTED, TRIED and SENTENCED TO PRISON, while Zimmerman is still free due to either a piss-poor police department, nepotism or good ol' fashioned racism. Think on THAT, JACK!
\\ Grow Up Part 2
Joe Scarborough (my most-favorite ever conservative) on Trayvon Martin:
[Why is it that some on the right are actually taking this up as a cause? When, as the National Review said almost immediately after it happened, this has nothing to do with gun rights; this has nothing to do with the second amendment; this has nothing to do with “Stand Your Ground laws; this has nothing to do with the NRA. This has everything to do with a guy that’s trying to play security cop, who is unhinged, who chased down and shot a 17-year-old kid armed with Skittles and iced tea…Some of these guys on the right are jumping in with both feet on the far right. They should listen to the National Review and wise conservative thinkers and not take this up as a cause, but they are. And they're trashing Trayvon Martin. It’s disgusting.
Some websites, including some racist websites, but also sadly some fairly mainstream websites are actually going in to Trayvon Martin's social media pages -- be it Twitter or Myspace -- and they're trying to find ominous-looking pictures while skipping over pictures of him holding up a birthday cake smiling, him fishing with his dad, him standing outside proudly at his home dressed in a tux ready to go to the prom. But they're trying to cherry pick pictures, trying to make him look ominous, somehow suggesting that he deserved getting shot in the chest with a 9mm because they find a picture that may make him look like that.]
It's right-wing extremists taking advantage of a situation to dismiss black people, black culture and liberals in general. I wear my hat sideways, I use a shitload of curse words and I love rap music. Do I therefore deserve to die? Am I a 'thug'?
"This is beneath contempt. And these people on the far-right are being fools to try to make this a political issue."
\\ Continuation
I gotta say, while I have many issues with hiphop culture, I vehemently believe that a thuggish demeanor does not necessarily make one a thug. Plus, there's a tremendous difference between a 17-year-old boy and a grown man. I meet a lot of kids in TinyChat who possess a gangsterish nature to them, but many of them are pursuing positive things: they're studying, designing graphics, producing music, etc. To blatantly assume that anyone who steers from the status quo is therefore a violent and dangerous thug is not only intolerant, but it's also quite foolhardy.
Furthermore, kids will be kids. There's no difference between a 17-year-old guy who likes hiphop and a 17-year-old guy who likes heavy metal. Believe me. I've dealt with both types of cats in my life, and they're practically equivalent, save for the color of their skin.
// My New Job
Though the work shall remain a tad limited until I get upgraded from a novice and accepted into more channels, I’m starting to really love my new job with ***** (I don't plan on changing my listed job because I don't want to make them look bad with my very unprofessional FB page). Let me tell you why:
#1. Consistency: I have ONE editor. Over at DMS, I had a 1000+ editors with differing styles and preferences. One editor would tell me to do something, and then another editor would tell me NOT to do that very same thing.
#2. Respect: My editor and supervisor respect my feedback. As an example, my supervisor just upped a $15 assignment to $35 because I mentioned how I put a lot more work into it than had been expected of me.
#3. Intimacy: Whereas I felt like an assembly line worker at DMS, at LoveToKnow I feel like an important part of a team. I didn't give a shit about my work at DMS, but with L2K, I feel compelled to do my best every time!
Last Reason: WOMEN! My editor and supervisor are both women, and I gotta tell you, it's so much easier working for women than it is working for men! They're more patient, they're better listeners and they're just better, period!
// I like dealing with women on a professional level. The personal stuff is what brings out my misogynist side. For example, I once heard a few sluts at a former job talking about dick sizes, and it really irritated me.
\\ S01E11 of The Firm! || Modern Folklore!
This episode is about a real-life case in Oregon where death-row inmates were denied the right to donate their organs to people who needed them. Below is an op-ed pieced by inmate Christian Longo written sometime in 2011. What a travesty it is that the bodies of prisoners are just discarded, when instead they could be put to greater use. The EGO of some in 'law n order' field!
/
Ugh. The argument against this is that it gives the inmate power. WHO CARES? So long as it saves the life of an innocent, who cares? Are we so damn desperate for punishment that we'll just wantonly condemn innocents to death because the doner may perhaps take some pleasure in it!?
\
Excuse the chess slang, but CHECK from the Fourth Circuit court of appeals: "Wouldn't allowing targeted donations create the possibility of pay-offs to inmates' families by people desperate for vital organs?"
That is a damn fair and thought-provoking argument, though I don't see why the slim chance an inmate's family might benefit justifies denying an organ to a needy person.
/
Oooh another theme in this episode. Imagine saving life after life while at war, only to discover most of them resent you because they would have rather died than return home severely damaged/burned and lose everything they ever had. Mmm...
\
What a BRILLIANT episode. It's thought-provoking episodes like this that keep me coming back to this show. It's not always on point, but when it is, it's absolutely amazing! There truly is no greater way to challenge the mind and teach a lesson than through FICTION! Real f**king talk! It's why tall tales and folklore exist! Except this is MODERN folklore!
// Final Thoughts
PS #1 – Thank you Seth MacFarlane for putting me onto Fringe!
PS #2 – Stop being lazy and set up a PODCAST so I can watch your show Saturday mornings, Bill Maher!
PS #3 – I’m so glad my dog is gone. There’s SOOO much less hair in my room. It’s unreal!
PS #4 – Would you ladies who post in Craigslist Women 4 Men please include a photo? You ain’t gotta be a supermodel, but you gotta at least weigh my weight (170) or less. I’m sorry, but I’m not attracted to fat women. If it makes you feel better, there are far more men attracted to fat women than there are women attracted to me.
PS #5 – Stay SWAGGed out. And excuse any rap videos that appear either 2nite or tomorrow night. Alcohol and other stuff do weird things to me.
O-GOD / SODMG
IDK how DF it happened, but I somehow became a dick-ridin' Soulja Boy fan. SMDH @ what a mid-life crisis can do to a nugga!
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