Obama lends support to Brazil and Norway

At the Copenhagen Climate Summit today, President Barack Obama backed a plan presented by Brazil and Norway which will protect rain forests. Deforestation accounts for approximately 16% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Countries are almost unanimously in support of developing a strategy to reduce deforestation. To put a cap on these emissions, the EU has proposed 50% cut in the rate of deforestation by 2020, and a complete halt by 2030. I believe that this unanimous commitment should be perceived as optimism for a global change, which is something that we should all aspire to.

Mental Health Break Down!?

Welcome to America.. I love how even in a comic mocking high our prices, the prices shown are STILL lower than the actual costs of these items! It's awesome! Movies now cost $11, gas is more than $3 a gallon, and these prices keep skyrocketing.

The Ever Growing National Debt

In a blog post entitled National Debt Hits Record $11 Trillion, Mark Knoller points out that with a national debt exceeding eleven trillion dollars, the United States of America owe more than $36,000 for every man, woman and child residing in our country. Our national debt has hit a record high, and it is estimated to continue to grow unchecked, with some estimates saying that the debt may continue to grow by a trillion dollars a year until at least 2020, if not longer. We are basically digging ourselves into a hole that will be very difficult to scramble out of, especially as more and more baby boomers retire and the demand for social security, medicare and medicaid increase. I for one am more than a little freaked out considering that I will not even be thirty in 2020, but oh well we can always keep borrowing more money from China... but wait! something about that sounds ominously familiar.

Climate Change Plan B

The Obama administration adopted it's climate change plan B today, which formally declares CO2 emissions a public danger and enables them to cap greenhouse gas emissions without the approval of the senate. The announcement declaring that CO2 is a hazard to public health came today during the Copenhagen climate change summit. This formal acknowledgement also allows the Environmental Protection Agency to cap carbon emissions from major sources like coal power plants and cars. Lisa Jackson, the head of the EPA said, "This administration will not ignore science or the law any longer, nor will we ignore the responsibility we owe to our children and our grandchildren".

The ambiguity surrounding the electric car

After watching the movie Who Killed the Electric Car? I was pretty frustrated with how the oil companies and the car companies had suppressed the electric car technology. I was especially mad because they had actually developed a fully functional electric car,but now people are not even aware that we had developed an electric car. In one recent article I read, the author asked "Are electric cars a possibility in the near future?" and I immediately wanted to say "Uhh well yes, but it's also part of our past too..". The American people need to be made aware that electric vehicle was applied and was functional, and hopefully more people will demand that these more eco-friendly cars are made available as soon as possible.

Well if we're gonna make gay marriage illegal..

I agree that we should ban other variations on marriage too. In my opinion it is ridiculous to ban gay marriage, and it makes my blood boil when ignorant people declare that gay marriage tarnishes the sanctity of marriage, because divorce does so in a much bigger way and half of marriages end in divorce. Californian John Marcotte wants to put a measure on the ballot next year to ban divorce. I am fully in support of this, in my opinion people should be able to end their marriages if they feel that they need to, however I feel that if we are going to ban certain types of marriages, then we should definitely ban the option of divorce. Don't you know there are millions of nice, gay couples who would kill to have the legal union you're just thowing away?

Health Bill passes in House

The House of Representatives passed a version of the health care bill on saturday night. As Cnn.com wrote, "The House Democrats needed 218 votes to ensure passage of the bill. On Saturday, it appeared the vote would come down to the wire, as the intentions of some conservative Democrats remained unknown." The bill was in fact down to the last few votes, passing 220-215, very close indeed. The first amendment to the bill bans using government provided health insurance from being used to pay for abortions, except in case of rape, danger to the mother's health etc.
I more or less agree with the first amendment, not because I am anti-abortion, but because I believe that in anything but the extreme cases (in which federal funds will be allowed to be used to pay for the operations), abortions are elective surgeries, so if women elect to have one it makes sense that they would have to provide funds for themselves.

Right To Live, Right to Die.

The "Right to Die"question has been revived in the United Kingdom, by two cases. An infant whose mother wants to remove him from life support, and by an elderly couple who committed suicide together because they could no longer take care of themselves. The elderly couple sent a note to the BBC explaining their decision to end their lives. In it they said "To force the issue beyond this point would mean for us a living death; we have therefore chosen to peacefully end our lives." This is a truly powerful statement, and one that I know many people would second once they reach a certain point in their lives.
In my opinion people should be allowed to end their lives, or the lives of their loved ones who are not conscious to make the decisions for themselves, if they are in a terminal situation which can only possibly become more devastating. I do not believe that anyone should be trapped in a body which is slowly, and tortuously dying around them if they want to be done. I know that if I was being supported by a ventilator and would never, ever wake up or recover I would want my family and friends to make the choice to end my suffering, and theirs, and to let me go.
The only states in America which allow the so called "death with dignity acts" are Washington and Oregon. It is my belief that death, like life is a private choice, and I feel that Sarah Palin's condemnation of things like "death panels" are ignorant, and an attempt to inspire fear and overly dramtize a, for some people, logical response to life's tragedies. Assisted suicide is a hotly debated issue, I personally believe that if a person comes up against an irreversible tragedy which will inevitably cause their death, they should be allowed to choose to end their own suffering.

New Contender for Senator

Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard recently announced her campaign for California senator. she will be running as a buisness-oriented moderate Republican in the 2010 senator election. Fiorina was diagnosed with breast cancer nine months ago, but she has been quoted as saying "After surgery and chemotherapy, breast cancer is officially behind me. I feel absolutely great and I am raring to go." Also she has the most fabulous name ever :)

Another boost for our economy

Today Senate voted unanimously to pass a $24 billion bill which will extend the amount of time that jobless people can recieve unemployment benefits, by about twenty percent. The unemployed in states with the highest unemployment rates can recieve benefits for up to 99 weeks!

Killer toyotas?

In my government class today someone presented a news story about toyotas which had uncontrollably accelerated, I found an article on this scary phenomenon. Fortunately the problem is just caused by floor mats jamming up on the gas pedal. I'm glad there is such a simple answer for why the accidents occurred, I was getting concerned that we were having scary killer robot situations where machines try and kill humans, I-toyota maybe?

Pop or Poison?

Soda pop, soft drinks, cola's.. many different names for something that is basically just ridiculous amounts of sugar in some syrup artificially colored with caramel coloring, with caffeine as the cherry on top. Currently there is an ongoing debate about whether a tax should be placed on soft drinks, with the argument being that soda has much more in common with products like cigarettes and alcohol than with beverages like juice and milk.
A single soft drink can contain a lot more sugar than the alloted amount for an entire day. Consumption of soft drinks lead to issues like tooth decay, obesity type-2 diabetes and heart disease. The ramifications of excessive soft drink consumption put me on the side of those who argue that soft drinks should be taxed like other products.
I for one will still occasionally be paying that tax for my sugary fix.. Sprecher's root beer is unfortunately one of my vices.

Inmates first

There is another huge controversy brewing in relation to the H1N1 vaccine. Now the issue is that convicts who are at high risk for swine flu are recieving the flu vaccine before some members of the general public. I understand that people are upset because they have to wait in line with their kids for the vaccine, while prison inmates are getting the vaccine. However I don't believe that just because someone is incarcerated they should be denied a necessary vaccine, if someone is immuno-compromised it shouldn't matter that they're in jail, they should be vaccinated like any other high risk American so they don't get sick and die.

National Opinion or National Buzz Kill?

Recently Americans have been developing more pessimistic attitudes. According to a poll from the Wall Street Journal/NBC News, 29% of Americans feel that the economy has "pretty much hit rock bottom", thats more than a handful of fairly fatalistic opinions.

As our world progresses into the 21st century, capitalism is increasingly the economic system with which our country defines itself. In my opinion the "free market capitalism" that America applies economically has become the springboard from which corporations and individuals can sail towards corruption and selfishness.
The side effects of capitalism are numerous, as Paul Hawken the author of "Natural Capitalism" wrote, "Somewhere along the way to free-market capitalism, the United States became the most wasteful society on the planet". The waste accruing because of our flippancy and lack of concern for the ramifications of our actions, includes traffic jams, landfills, Styrofoam waste, and less tangible things like greenhouse gases, and radioactive waste. We have also developed a society of wasted souls, with issues like homelessness, drug addiction, and the neglect of the sick and the old, running rampant. In a society where individual success is all, and he who dies with the most toys actually does win, it should not even be surprising that a majority of people are basically incapable of looking a few years into the future and recognizing that the choices they make today have the potential to cause issues down the road. Another component of our system which should be completely obvious is the lack of regard that people have for one another. Unfortunately since it is not financially beneficial to care about others or help them, many just choose to live selfishly. In a society where there is less empathis on the individual's success and more empathis on living responsibly, there are less occasions of social waste.
Capitalism provides a strong perch for corporations like Wal-mart to create nests of corruption for themselves. Capitalism should be applied purely as an economic system, if at all, but it should most definitely not be invoked as a defense for greed and exploitation, which it all too frequently is. A society where the wealthiest members own businesses that do not provide particularly necessary services, and the economic bottom tier of the population is comprised of the employees of the aforementioned company, is obviously a very unbalanced, unhealthy society. I am not advocating pure Socialism, but I do believe that there should be more of equilibrium between the poor and the rich, and that everyone is entitled to the fulfillment of their basic needs. We are a nation of people whose lives are driven by attaining their wants, while a majority of people on earth live every day with the simple goal of fulfilling their basic needs. While there are people residing in our nation who do not have their needs fulfilled on a daily basis, the rest of us should be willing to sacrifice a few unnecessary luxuries to provide our fellow Americans with food and shelter.
America has always stood as a land of opportunity and a place where dreams could be achieved. Unfortunately we have become a society of selfish, greedy people who will run themselves into the ground working to provide themselves with any trivial consumer good that their heart alights upon, but they have absolutely no concern for their fellow man. In a nation where most people are much more concerned with buying a new car than with providing their fellow Americans with food and healthcare. In a society that unbalanced, I believe changes need to be made, and since Capitalism is the pillar which supports many of our nation's vices, I believe it should be the first thing to be knocked down.

Ageism?

Not exactly, but in a Florida retirement community, people are rallying together to evict a six year old girl. I totally understand why rules stating a minimum age for a resident of a community designated for retirees ( after me and my older brother had an adventure around my grandmother'
s community and we were shrieked at by every octogenarian in sight, I got the picture. They like their grandchildren, but not everyone else's).
However I think that it is ridiculous that the community members can't just be generous and drop their prosecution until the couple with the granddaughter in question is able to sell their home. Forcing a young girl to go live with foster parents because her grandparents can't sell their home strikes me as very cold-hearted.

Citations can be Issued for: Failure to stop, speeding, and.. not speaking English?

A Dallas, Texas police officer apparently gave a woman a ticket for not speaking English. This was not, however the only time this has happened! Over the past three years, 39 people have been issued citations for not speaking English, a completely invalid charge. There is a law stating that Taxi drivers and commercial drivers must be able to speak English, but no where does it state that private citizens must have a full command of the English language to drive a car in Texas..

Although considering that it is Texas, a law like that wouldn't surprise me. They do after all have a law stating that people are not allowed to eat their neighbors garbage without their permission. Doing so will result in Jail time!
hmmm.. ok Texas.
Also children in the city of Mesquite can not have unusual haircuts, namely mohawks.
I think it should be a law that no one anywhere can have a mullet.

The Zero Waste Movement

Delightfully individuals and corporations all through our country have upgraded from little waste policy to zero waste policy, Honda has become so efficiently zero waste that they no longer need dumpsters! Hopefully this will mean ZERO new landfills, and ZERO waste, I hope so, but the cynic in me won't be holding her breath.

32 new earths??

Now that would be exciting! Even though they are not earth like, the 32 new planets discovered by European Scientists are pretty cool. This record breaking discovery (32 at once!) brings the total of planets discovered outside of our solar system up past 400! Who knows when we'll find the next earth..

Balloon boy actually just a trickster?

Apparently the terrifying speculations of a six year old boy drifting skyward in a homemade balloon were a hoax concocted by his parents who knew he was safe all along. The family has been featured on the reality show "Wifeswap" more than once, and police speculate that the balloon event was developed in hopes of securing a reality TV show for themselves.. weird. I have no idea how this story would lead to a reality TV show.. maybe they could call it, "Ignoring our Children, and the Shenanigans it leads to!". Although thankfully each event of childhood neglect leading to scary/interesting situations would be staged..

Ahem! Ahem!

Smoking in public places is a proven health hazard. I think that smoking bans in public places are invaluable, there is no excuse for an obvious health hazard being imposed on the public while they eat in restaurants, or get drinks at bars. In my opinion such bans should be more widespread than they currently are, because they are only enforced in 21 states and the District of Columbia. Men, women and children should not be assaulted by smoke which can aggravate pulmonary and circulatory issues, in public places. While traveling in Japan, I was in a lot of restaurants where people were smoking, and I have pretty bad asthma so it was aggravating.

Big Scary Swine Flu Shots

Many Americans are expressing concerns about the swine flu vaccine, with less than half of Americans saying that they want the shot for their children. I think that while it is good to be protected from illnesses like swine flu, people are being whipped in to a frenzy over this particular bug, just because it is new. Whether or not people choose to get vaccinated should not be such a big deal. While the thought of children getting sick is scary to adults, there is nothing yet to suggest that this flu will be more dangerous than any other, it's not like small pox or scarlet fever is making a comeback!

Please sir, don't sic your dogs on our Blogs!

New federal regulations state that if a blogger or tweeter recieves a freebie from any corporation, like a free book from a publishing company, and then blogs/tweets about it without acknowledging it as a freebie, they become an endorser and incur an $11,000 fine, I find it interesting that the government is getting so involved in blogs and tweets, but in our modern world, these bursts of knowledge are becoming increasingly more important.

Gay and Lesbian Voters frustrated with Obama

Barack Obama will speak to a prominent gay advocacy group on Saturday, to address the fact that he had pledged some dramatic changes for gay and lesbians in America, although in the past year 5 states have recognized same-sex marriage, so some change is beginning.

Bombing the Moon

NASA plans to send a used-up space craft careening into the moon on Friday to kick up lunar dirt and check for ice and water. This is a very interesting idea, and it will apparently be very rapidly apparent whether or not there is water hiding on the moon.

Inappropriate Action

The Del Rio, Texas school district has taken a new step against Mexican students who are coming across the border to attend school in the United States. While this policy is understandable, children illegally coming across the border every morning to go to school is against the law, their method of setting up "border bridges" to screen students is inappropriate, instead they should request proof of residence from the parents, because of the 195 students they blocked, 150 promptly proved residency, showing that they had in fact made a mistake.

The Trouble with Afghanistan

Today the Taliban released a statement proclaiming that they will pose no threat to Western countries, but will continue violence against occupying foriegn forces. This statement coincides with President Obama's decision making over whether or not to continue fighting in Afghanistan, and whether or not he should commit more troops to the conflict there. My opinion is that we should be wary, considering that the Taliban obviously wants us to remove our forces, and that now would be an optimal time to persuade the United States that we should, but their lack of desire to harm Western countries remains to be proven.

Putting off on the Dalai Lama

President Obama has decided not to meet with the Dalai Lama who will be in Washington this week, having arrived today. The decision to put off meeting with the Dalai Lama on this visit (although he has met with a President on all ten of his visits since 1991) is majorly influenced by China's anti-Tibet sentiments, and the United States current need to placate China.

Abstinence only leaves gaping holes in Education

After weeks of complaining about the price of health-care reform, Senate Republicans managed team and boost the budget for abstinence-only education. To me it seems like a waste of money to spend fifty million dollars teaching kids to just say no. Most of them have it down pretty well, and most kids who are saying NO to sex have had that two letter show stopper down for at least a decade. Studies have proven that these programs are not as successful as comprehensive sexual education and health classes, because chances are if a teenager wants to say no (which lets face it, most do not want to say no at all, but a very emphatic yes) they are capable of doing it without millions of dollars worth of tutorial, what would be justified was sex ed classes explaining consequences and safety with highschoolers, because many kids aren't recieving that information.

Majority yes, super heroes? No!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Democratic Super Majority
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Democratic 60 seat supermajority fails to succeed in many of their attempts, including health care reforms, which is ironic because they were thought to be "unstoppable"..But they did manage to get the finance comittee to put up fifty million dollars for abstinence only education.. Yay?
Basically they are the Majority yes, but a super steamrolling task force? No.

Iran Backs Down

Apparently Iran has backed down from its' nuclear confrontation with the west, conceding to admit inspectors to the recently announced nuclear plant and to give up some of its uranium to be processed abroad,this is good because it will complicate Iranian efforts to acquire a nuclear bomb. This crisis has broken the thirty year silence between Iran and the United States, which could be taken as a good first step on the road ahead of ou nations.

Less value for more money?

Seems like a raw deal right? Well that is what the California State University system is being forced to offer thanks to budget cuts. Although the CSU system is one of the,if not the cheapest set of four year institutions in the country, this set of cuts is unfortunate, because many programs will be cut or reduced, and class sizes will swell, while students will have to pay higher tuition.

Aiding Africa

My Dad is in Africa a lot. Usually about a third or a quarter of the year, he is in Zambia or Ghana, he's a doctor and he does a lot of clinic work there. I don't really have an article to back this up because it's my idea, but I think that since the government now handles student loans, they should cut medical students a giant break on paying back their loans if they agree to go to a country like Ghana and work for a year or two. This would enable medical students to pay off their loans much quicker,and it would also do worlds of good for developing countries. Right now my dad is in Kintampo, a small town in Ghana with a clinic. There is one other doctor there year-round who works incredibly long shifts and is passionately devoted to helping the people in his community. If upon their graduation, medical school students were given a powerful incentive to go into an outreach program, the benefits could be colossal, and it could change thousands, if not millions of lives. There are programs like this now, doctors without borders for example, but in many cases the appeal of getting a great high paying job immediately, outweighs the appeal of saving lives without a fat paycheck accompanying it.

Guns and Butter

Sounds slightly unappetizing doesn't it? Not exactly an entree I would serve to guests.
I decided to research the history of the economic term "Guns and Butter".
This term was coined when William Jennings Bryan resigned s President Wilson's secretary of state. At the outbreak of WWI Chile was the world's priniple exporter of nitrates for gun powder, Chile stayed neutral during the war and fufilled almost all of America's nitrate needs.
A substantial portion of the United States population was opposed to the war, and Bryan joined the anti-war campaigns. The national defense act of 1916 directed "the Secretary of Agriculture to manufacture nitrates for fertilizers in peace and munitions in war at water power sites designated by the President". This was presented by the news media as "guns and butter." Guns representing arms and buter as consumer goods.

Famous quotations using Guns and Butter include;

Joseph Goebbels -"We can do without butter, but, despite all our love of peace, not without arms. One cannot shoot with butter, but with guns."

Herman Göring -"Guns will make us powerful; butter will only make us fat"

Margaret Thatcher-"The Soviets put guns over butter, but we put almost everything over guns."

Love IS sacred

"Marriage is Sacred", is the main anti-gay marriage argument that I have heard. This infuriates me, especially when people say things like, "marriage is a sacred union, and gay marriage would make a mockery of that..".
In a nation where nearly half of marriages end in divorce, I find it ironic that anyone is making accusations about tarnishing the sanctity of marriage.
I am a firm believer that marriages can work 'til death do us part, and I am in no way condemning the entire institution of marriage.What I am arguing, however, is that if two men, or two women, who love each other getting legally joined, just as any heterosexual couple could be, and acknowledging their love, is a violation of the sacredness of marriage, then what are the millions of marriages that end in ugly divorces? If two people of the same gender getting married is a violation, then the marriages that end in years of hurt for both partners and their children are massacres of the sanctity of marriage. It truly upsets me when the main argument that anti-gay marriage protesters have is that marriage is sacred. Marriage hasn't been treated as sacred by the majority of our population for decades, and if we are going to uphold marriage as a sacred joining of two people in love, it should not matter what gender either partner is, or what their sexual orientation is. What should matter is that they love each other and have promised to respect and treasure their spouse, and treat their own individual union as sacred.

Please Pay Attention!

When speaking to the United Nations, most world leaders are limited to about fifteen minutes.
In his first speech in forty years of leadership, Libya's Gadhafi spoke for one hour and 36 minutes. People began to lose interest in his marathon reprimand, charging the UN with inequality (because it has 5 permament members, the US, China, Russia, Britain and France holding veto power, and apparently 'treating other nations as "second-class, despised" countries.')and failure to prevent dozens of wars. As delegates became distracted or disinterested Gadhafi admonished them with a cry of "Please Pay Attention!". At one point during his speech he held up the U.N charter and made a small tear in its corner to express his disdain for the United Nations' decisons. Although I don't agree with Gadhafi, I find his fervor and lung capacity impressive.

By thew way, despite the impressive length of his speech, Gadhafi did not come even remotely close to Fidel Castro's record speech of 4 hours and 29 minutes.

Oh hey,Obama WAS black before the election!

As President Obama pointed out during an interview with David Letterman, "I think it's important to realize I was actually black before the election,",this as a response to ex-President Jimmy Carter's speculation that the recent anti-Obama sentiment was fueled by racism.I agree with Obama,if racism is an issue it has been since he announced his canidacy. The anti-Obama sentiment is typical of any president attempting to bring about change during economic (or any other kind) struggles. I commend Obama for his ability to have a sense of humor in the face of animosity directed at him.

How many people by 2050??

In Thomas Friedman's book Hot, Flat and Crowded, he speculates that there will be more than 9 billion people on our planet by 2050. That is shocking to me. Especially because a majority of that growth will be in areas that are of yet undeveloped, areas which already have incredibly concentrated populations.

The Most Scary Thing I've Seen in a While..

was not Halloween II, although Rob Zombie did go all out and I was fairly horrified. No, even though the thought of Michael Myers busting through my front door with a mask and a knife has been troubling me for the past few days, even scarier still is that before I even hit my forties, the world will be an impacted crowded mess. Well, even more so than it is now. Fantastic, sometime before a massive typhus outbreak wipes out the condensed population of California, I'll be packing up my kids and husband and moving us to the Australian outback, or to Alaska, assuming that our northernmost state is not a god forsaken oil well by then. Needless to say this video didn't quite put me in a positive mood.

All the President's School Children..

As most are aware, President Obama will deliver a speech to be shown to school children tommorow, Tuesday September 8th. What I did not realize about this speech an event which seems to be a positve thing to me, is that many view this speech as Obama trying to brain wash their children.. To me this is kind of ridiculous, that a Presidential speech to elementary school kids would be interpreted as brain washing, or even a negative thing at all. Sure if the children are subliminally asked to join an Obama worshipping cult by puppets I can see how people could be shaken up, and as far as I can tell his speeches will be puppet free. Assuming that Obama sticks to the basic, "Stay in School, Do your best.." it should be a really great thing, and also it will be really exciting for the kids! If we'd had a presidential speech in on TV in one of my elementary school classes, I would have been stoked! I think people need to recognize that this is for the children, and that they need to stop constantly looking for something to be upset about.

Thats Right.. A Pot Blog.

I personally don't get the big deal about legalizing marijuana. To me it seems like a no brainer.. a decision even a stoner could make.. how high are they that they haven't leglized it already? I could keep going but I won't.
I recently read an article discussing marijuana and its rise. Its rise and seeming popularity are exemplified in movies like Pineapple Express, however there are currently serious reprecussions for marijuana posession, as the 872,721 people arrested for marijuana possesion in 2007 could attest to. Many experts have compared marijuana use to alcoholic inbreation, not exactly admirable, but hardly intolerable in society, at least not nearly as bas as the marijuana mania depicted in old films like reefer madness.
Marjuana is a $35.8-billion domestic cash crop. Thats alot of money that the government is letting slide by them without any cut being taken out. In California alone an estmated 3 million people have smoked pot at least once in the past year, that is alot of use and expenditure that the government could be cashing in on. According to one poll, 56% of Californians were in support of legalizing marijuana, and it makes sense! If one considers how heavily the government is able to tax products like cigarettes, with people still smoking muliple packs a day, and then applies that heavy taxation to the billion dollar cash crop that weed has become, that is some serious change the government could be raking in.
Plus keeping marijuana illegal is not keeping people from enjoying it apparently as almost ten percent of California's population is estimated to have smoked at some point in the past year.

That's just some munchies for thought America.

As Dumb as we Wanna be?

Or as dumb as we can be without inconveniencing ourselves?
Either way is no good. As Thomas L. Friedman writes in his book Hot, Flat and Crowded, Americans are the proud owners of the right to be as dumb as we wanna be.
As a nation we are so content with doing the bare minimum to get results, that we have developed a national inclination to take the easy way out, to allow news shows to supply us with opinions as readily as we are supplied with Big Mac's at Mc Donalds, we've become a country populated by people with "drive-through" opinions, mass produced to tell us what to think.
Millions and Millions served, no one particularly fufilled.
People are no longer required to be intelligent or intellectual, or to think for themselves, so they don't. To me it is disquieting that people with the ability to have opinions, don't have anything to say, because they are not required to have anything intelligent to say, they don't get points for knowing what they think, it is as if an opinion and the right to say what you think and feel, was an extra credit assignment, instead of a basic human right.
The real go getters go for it, but the majority are content to slide by.

Biggest Abortion Bill since Roe V. Wade

A new House Bill would allow allow publicly operated insurance plans to cover abortion, if passed it will ignite alot of controversy with anti-abortion types.

I find this interesting because abortion is one of the issues I have a very solid opinion on. A majority of women who have abortions are in their teens a I am, so it is a debate and topic which is relevant to me in that way. I am from an Irish Catholic family, we go to church most sundays, and I've been confirmed and all that good stuff, I am however, Pro-Choice. I personally would probably not choose to get an abortion if I had to make that decision, but i am fully in support of people having that option available to them. I can understand in some way the reason that people are pro-life, I however think that it is a personal, private issue. The weakest argumet that i have heard in favor of pro-life is that abortions are unnatural. Thats true, however breast augmentation, botox and other forms of plastic surgery are unnatural and there is no pro-cosmetic sugery/pro-"keeping what you were born with" debate. Needless to say that is just one pro-life argument,and that not all are that easily dimissed, I just felt that I should comment.

An Introduction to my mandatory blog

So this blog is required for my Senior Government and Econ Class, however even though it is mandatory, I actually think this will be an interesting opportunity to express whatever political opinions I may have as well as my opinions of the world. The reason I have titled my blog "Let's not sugarcoat it.." is because I have no intention of doing so. Any opinions or beliefs I have will be bluntly put, because diplomacy is not one of my strong suits. This lack of diplomacy can also be called brutal honesty and is something I intend to curtail before I exit high school and become a part of the real world, because a trait which is now occasionally viewed as refreshing in a teenager, could very easily be interpreted as misanthropic in an adult, so hopefully I'll develop some sensitivity by the end of this year and this blog.