November is not far from now, and this year’s mid-term election cycle, or whatever, has brought in a host of Republican Senate nominees with ideas that are so fucked up, I keep wondering, just how stupid would voters of Nevada (Angle), Kentucky (Paul), or Delaware (O’Donnell) would be if the Republican ends up winning the Senate seat for their state. They all agree on such radical ideas: women victims of rape should be forced to bear the rapist child should they become pregnant; privatize, well, everything, including what’s working such as Social Security and Medicare; and one thing that seems to be most uniform through all Republicans: no tax breaks for poorer people unless the rich have breaks too, despite the fact that they wipe their asses with hundred dollar bills.

If you make less than $250,000, which is a majority of this country, you’d benefit more with Democrats controlling the House and Senate, and in terms of the Senate, it’ll be better if Democrats could gain seats in order to be filibuster proof. Because, what the Republicans aren’t gonna admit: they purposely filibuster because they have to protect corporate interest, well, because, otherwise, they’ll lose those donations.

Let’s backtrack more. Think about this, Republicans run on moral high-grounds, sanctity of marriage and whatnot, yet have been caught with their pants down. These are the same ones that criticized Clinton. Honestly, I don’t care if politicians have affairs, it’s none of our business, but if they run campaigns on some “morality,” they should act so, meaning they should follow their own beliefs.

Furthermore, Republicans continue to think gay soldiers are bad. If there were more progressive Democrats in the Senate, ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ would’ve been no more. Plain and simple. McCain can say all the bullshit he wants that DADT doesn’t seek gay people in the military out, but the truth is, they have [Washington Post blog entry mentioning Mike Almy, a man who served 13 years before being discharged in 2006 after his PRIVATE emails were searched to find if he violated DADT]. They blocked a vote to move forward with repealing such a stupid law (along with the DREAM act); they have no problem removing talented people from the military because they (the Republicans) don’t agree with their sexual orientation.

Republicans being against gay marriage is another little ridiculous view. They claim it could harm regular marriage, but in reality, they are against it because they are homophobic; plain and simple. And, like with their hate towards stem cell research and abortion, most of it is stemmed because of their religious views, which means they are violating the Constitution.

Where did I get to that? In my views, religion should play no part in government. Any politician, whose political views stem with a religious view, is therefore, violating the Constitution’s freedom of Religion and Separation of Church and State policies that the Founding Fathers of this country established. There is no real reason behind banning gay marriage/abortions/gays in the military/stem cell research/etc. It’s just Republican bullshit. I will also note, yes, there are Democrats against gay marriage too (Obama himself has stated opposing gay marriage), but they at least propose a ‘compromise’ with civil unions, but to most, it’s not good enough.

Southern states are highly red states, and highly religious states. They have higher teen pregnancies, ’cause guess what? Most Republicans don’t approve of comprehensive sex education, along with being against Family Planning laws (which they argue their typical anti-abortion rants, but Family Planning is also about sex education, access to contraceptives, and the overall reproductive health of women).

Now, maybe as an Atheist, I tend to spot the worst of religion, but if it’s the only way for people to have morals, then I guess it serves some good (though, why can’t people be good for the sake of being good). I bring this up, because it happens that some Republican candidates would attack a Democratic candidate with religion. Remember, there are still people who think that Obama is a Muslim. And even if he was, why does it matter? Well, to them, the Republican/Conservative yahoos, well, they hate non-Christians, typically. You know, there are several states, that have it in their state constitutions that a politician can’t be without a god. But Democrats are more likely to hold the 1st Amendment, while Republicans care more about the 2nd one (probably, because they like to kill things, such as CIVIL RIGHTS).

So, if it is easy to pick one of the other, why did loonies (who the Republican Party weren’t endorsing, but the Tea Party were) become Republican nominees for this November’s election? And why could there be a chance they could win vs. a Democrat? The answer lies with the more extreme Republicans refusing to actually being interviewed by journalist in favor of have talks with friends in order to reach who they already have in their pocket in order to put more money in their pockets.

Great reads: Why the Tea Party Candidates are so Afraid of the Media – Huffington Post
Remembering the Dark Side of the Tea Party Movement – Don’t Tea on Me

Remember, if you think that the richest 2% should get tax breaks to create those invisible jobs by putting their savings into banks to rot instead of keeping breaks for middle class who would actually spend money which would help businesses afford hiring people, (meaning it’ll create jobs), then, I guess you are a loss cause, but if you agree that those 2% don’t need anymore breaks, then speak up and spread the word. Democrats need to hold all their seats this mid-term (and with the Senate, they really need to gain some), then we can say bye-bye to DADT; healthcare reform that passed can stay in place, but maybe it could extend what it should’ve had (public option, anyone?); The rich won’t get richer while the poor stay, well, exactly like they are, poor; cap and trade; better safety regulations; clean energy; net neutrality; these all have a better chance of surviving or being created with Democrats behind the wheel. It’s not Rocket Science folks.

Coast Guard - April 21, 2010

Corporate Greed: The End of Us All

All religions have their ideas to the end of the world; and it’s some invisible supreme being of some sort that will decide when all will cease to exist (or whatever). They can’t comprehend that people can do the damage that can lead to the destruction of the world (or to our very livelihoods). And corporations are at the highest on a list of those that just don’t give a damn about hurting people or the environment.

You hear it. Pharmaceutical companies have a special drug, pay off the FDA in some way in order to get it to the market because it has some pretty serious side effects, such as liver failure (which can cause DEATH). From their own research they know the dangers, but when they see the potential to make billions, they don’t care about what it can do, (with the only downside is a few million bucks in lawsuits which would be just pocket change that they would normally have just wiped their ass with).

But this year is where it’s really starting to show, in terms of what happens when the government regulations that were in place are lessened because Republicans are lining their pockets with money from the Coal Mining industry or Big Oil. What Cheney did in terms of the energy policy is what caused the shit that has happened just this year. From the Coal Mine incident in West Virginia earlier this year to the largest environmental disaster in US history, the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Nearly 90 days into it and reports that show negligence on BP’s part continue to pile up.

The oil industry is one that continues to profit, even with the economy like it is. They make billions and billions each year, and whatever profits they have been making, they invest in research to drilling deeper, but not smarter. Last year, BP didn’t pay one time into safety research and response plan for worst case scenario. And BP isn’t the only culprit, they are just the ones in the spotlight now because it was their rig (well, Trans Ocean’s rig, but BP contracts out to them, therefore, responsible for it). The other oil companies could just as easily have had that happened to one of their deepwater rigs in the Gulf, as they are practice business the same way. They even put out the EXACT emergency response plan that promised they can clean up and deal with the situation (which clearly they can’t), listing the mystical walruses of the Gulf of Mexico as potential animals that would be affected, and all even listed the same expert to contact who has been dead for several years before those plans were submitted. It is clear as day that they don’t give a rats ass about what would happen with a major oil spill.

And you’d think now they would be on board with actually investing in making rigs safer, but I doubt it. Not if you have Republicans apologizing to BP. Not if those same politicians are against cap and trade and anything to do with moving forward with newer energy technologies, instead of standing still with polluting and OLD technology. They support BIG OIL as BIG OIL supports them, as they stroke each other and laugh at the livelihoods they destroy, the wetlands that have been impacted, the birds and fish coated with oil, the beaches smelling so bad that no tourist would go to them, destroying businesses that rely on tourism and the jobs in the fishing industry. More importantly, the loss of lives, the eleven workers that were killed in the explosion, must not be forgotten. These people are trying to make a living, but the companies don’t care one bit about the safety and lives of their own employees.

As I said, yes, there are people that depend on these dangerous jobs. These energy industries that are polluting the world, trapping heat on the planet causing weather extremes (on both sides). But, we need to move away from oil. It’s not just the whole move America away from foreign oil (which is a flawed statement, as all oil goes to the same place, so, in fact, we can put as many oil rigs as we want, we’ll still be getting oil from somewhere else (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)). WE need to get rid of our dependence on oil. Replace these outdated industries and move into the future, creating new jobs. It’s the only way to guarantee complete independence.

So you can call those that want regulations on such companies that can cause these HUGE disasters a bunch of treehuggers all you want. It’s not gonna change that this is more than just polluted water (we drink, bathe, swim in) or smog covering the landscapes of major cities (hey, we have to breathe too). The spill proves that when it comes to drilling for oil, if something goes wrong, it’s not just the fish that pay, the people in Gulf states pay too. When either disaster occurs, there is loss of life (coal mining is still among the most dangerous jobs). But as long as big companies can keep getting by (when fines for not having a certain safety device is cheaper than said safety device), they’ll continue to say “screw safety” in order to maximize profits.

And Corporate greed is not just in energy, as stated earlier, drug companies put profits ahead of safety; Insurance companies turned down people with pre-existing conditions; car companies, if they were regulated like they should be, the whole Toyota brake thing probably wouldn’t have happened; Wall Street (don’t think I need to say more on that).

The more recent political news is the extension of unemployment (which I am now unemployed), where Republicans are going on say that can’t be done unless it’s paid for, but then turn around and say tax cuts don’t need to be paid for (Washington Post). They say we need to reduce the deficit, but support tax cuts on rich people, without PAYING for it. Rich people can afford to pay their normal taxes, they shouldn’t get a cut. This trickling down thing is bullshit, ’cause we all know when the rich get a tax cut, they don’t spend it and help stimulate, no, they pocket it, save it, hell, hide it in the Caymons. As for big businesses, they don’t create jobs. Seems more like their CEOs enjoy having jets and stuff. Give executives big ass bonuses, while the hard working Americans see nothing. In a perfect world, if a big company sees major profits, it should trickle down, but it don’t.

These are the things that need to be changed. This is what Obama wants, but the Republicans, the minority party, are blocking things that need to be done. So, stop deep water drilling, completely; extend unemployment; don’t bring back the Bush era tax cuts that helped turn a surplus to a deficit; push for cleaner energy; regulation is in order; oh, and can someone just dismantle Fox News, or at least duct tape their mouths shut?

Thank you for actually reading down this far, and I apologize as I’m not a professional writer in any sense.

[NEWS: as I was finishing typing, I went to MSNBC.com and saw that there is initially no leaking oil in during test of new cap. So if pressure holds, it should contain the oil 'til plugged. This would mean no more NEW oil in the water, but there is still TONS of it already out there, but if this does stick, then maybe there can be more focus now on cleanup. MSNBC.com Oil Coverage]

[EDIT AGAIN: thank you Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine for being Republicans with brains. They helped secure a 60-vote pass in the Senate for a Financial Overhaul bill. One Democrat opposed, saying it didn't go far enough (which would be the case just to get 3 Rep. in on it). The Dodd-Frank bill will make independent consumer bureau within the Federal Reserve to protect borrowers from lending abuses, establishes oversight of the vast derivatives market and gives the government power to seize and wind down large, troubled financial firms Washington Post article]

Health care reform has passed, and signed into law. But those pesky Republicans want to repeal it (or at least try to). But why? Sure, I wouldn’t mind that one provision requiring all citizens to have insurance (of course, if that public option were in there, maybe it would be easier to do, or if it was more like a tax credit to those that do, then it’ll be okay), but everything else is badly needed. Insurance companies have completely lost their purpose. Insurance is there so when a person gets sick, they can get treated, not DROPPED. It’s sad that Republicans don’t like for kids who had cancer, got treated and now as adults, can’t get their own insurance, b/c of the RISK factor involved.

It pains me, there are people who support Republicans who actually want old people to die, since they don’t want to help seniors pay for their medication (this whole Donut Hole thing). Simply put, senior citizens, once they fell into this hole, felt the need to cut their pills a make a refill last, since it was simply too costly to take their meds as prescribed and refill when needed.

Do Republicans want our children to die? Because, if they are against this, then they do, as this reform is there to help cover children and make it illegal for insurance companies to not cover treatment for a pre-existing condition. (That has been said a lot, pre-existing condition). Now, it’s not a perfect law (Gap in health care law’s protection for children), but that’s what amendments are made for.

I may not know much into this, I do watch Rachel Maddow almost everyday though, and I have got to say, Republicans look pretty dumb on this. Do they really want to be known as those opposing HEALTH CARE reform? You have those that say there are Americans that don’t deserve help because they are obese. Sure, people who eat at Burger King everyday are a heart attack waiting to happen, but that doesn’t mean they deserve to die from a lack of care. (Maybe there should be laws on food companies to lower use of ‘bad stuff’ and help make food that’s actually good for you a little more affordable (seriously, those little Healthy Choice frozen dinners are tiny and cost more than those Hungry Man dinners, which I eat).

Now, I don’t have insurance, so again, maybe my opinion doesn’t really matter. I simply can’t afford it, haven’t been to a doctor, in, well, about 18 years (yeah, before I went into Kindergarten, seriously). I have had some dental stuff done, which has always been out of pocket, because as I was in 12th grade I was under my dad’s plan, but it didn’t cover dental. But, December I stopped going in for teeth cleanings, and can no longer think of getting some partial crown. It doesn’t help that where I work now is going out of business, and there aren’t many job openings (believe me, I look). I blame the shitty high school I went to. There wasn’t one career counselor, and never a career day. They only thing they were concerned: getting kids into college, not necessarily what the fuck they were gonna do when they got out. That’s how people with four-year degrees are probably flippin’ burgers. I have another beef. I was an honor student (BTW) yet only went to a Community College, whereas a bitch (spoiled rotten) cheated off everyone and managed to get into a 4-yr University. And, BTW, she weren’t too bright, she just had a rich dad. Is it my fault the rich are favored over people with brains?

I know I’m not the only one who feels the same (or similar).

Now, if only the Republicans can do what they were elected to do, and work with the Democrats, on a jobs bill. No more shouting “Baby killer” during a session, or obviously pushing people who favor you to through bricks into Democrat offices, or to ‘RELOAD.’ All this hate (let’s not forget the racial and homophobic slurs protesters shouted during the whole health care session on Sunday (well, outside the building), and no Republican saying anything about how distasteful that is. (The ‘baby killer’ thing is like the ‘you lie’ thing, it’s childish, and can only hurt your chances for re-election if up for it, the ‘Reload’ thing: Palin hunts people, figuratively – MSNBC, is just Sarah Palin being, well, Sarah Palin.)

And what is wrong with a near Universal Health Care system? The US has the most costly health care system, yet it underperforms that of countries that do have such a system. Hmmm? Mirror, Mirror on the wall: International Comparative Performance of American Health Care

I don’t do many political posts, but I have taken in interest from all the stupid crap that has been fed to the public when it comes to this whole health care issue. I myself do NOT have insurance, simply because I can’t afford it. So I’m taking my vitamins and brushing my teeth better than before to keep myself from doctors and dentists, because without insurance, it’s also expensive. Therefore, I am in favor of a public option that can create competitive rates and could, therefore, increase the chances of affordable health care. I also am in favor of family planning and reproductive rights, especially since I don’t think teenagers should have kids (they should be teenagers, not bogged by a life changing event).

[Warning, I can tend to be considered offensive to people (for some reason). You can dislike it, it's your right, just as its my right to read articles and point them out and point out my opinion on current situations; Oh, and it's long and lengthy, I googled many, many times over a few hours, and didn't really organize it well, so it's kind of a bunch of notes and stuff with some commentary]

Yet, the scary Republicans of the South (a red state/blue state map shows southern states primarily Republican) want the general public to think that this whole health care reform thing is a plot to kill old people and another means of government control (as seen in many clips of the current Town Hall meetings, lots of elderly want the government to keep out of health care, hmmm, okay, then I guess maybe we should discontinue Medicare). But how is it that these people are buying this crap?

There’s a beautiful little chart that shows the average I.Q. of each state and what president won for that state back in the 2004 election. Red Vs. Blue/Bush Vs. Kerry. Check out the I.Q. and Politics chart. What it basically shows, smarter people live in the blue-states, and the bulk of the south (Red States) are the reason we got stuck with Bush for another 4 years, turns out, they are the dumbest. I’m not saying everyone in those areas are dumb, this is nothing but a chart pointing out the average (meaning there are smart people, and then there are the REALLY dumb that bring their average down). I picked out that chart only to show what the dumbest states are, and the fact they are Republican States. Therefore, they fall for these stupid Republican tactics, because, as it turns out, they don’t know any better. Side note, apparently Red States are also the fattest: TIME.

Of course, part of the reason could be less money being spent in Southern States on education, and because of that, the food, which school food is supposed to be bad, [being from a southern state myself, and dealing with a terrible school (which has gotten worse as the state is now one of those dumb abstinence-only bullshit schools, luckily I graduated five years ago before that happened)], I should know, the food is TERRIBLE. Less money should be spent into Abstinence-Only programs, in favor of medically accurate sex-ed (and mention Abstinence, since it does work, when practiced, which in teenagers, least likely); less money should be spent trying to teach creationism, in favor of scientifically accepted evolution; less money should be spent on unnecessary building (When I was in Elementary School, they started on a new cafeteria, ran out of money, it remained a pile of sand for so long, eventually got done, only for them to decide to build a whole new school. They should’ve just waited for the new school, what a waste); more money should really go into nutrition, teachers (looking back, they really had to put up with a lot of shit, so I don’t think they get paid enough for it), and for better programs themselves (look at smarter countries, there’s about dozen that perform better than the U.S. itself). When it comes down to it, it’s not just the southern states, the entire country really needs a reboot.

Related/Source Articles: What U.S. can Learn from European Countries | Different List of Smartest to Dumbest States | IQ and the Wealth of the Nations – Wikipedia

To give an idea of how stupid us Americans are, here are some fancy numbers and percentages to illustrate the point. Only half can name the three branches of government (Civics 101: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial). Less than 10% (small percentage, yeah, but it really should be 0%) believe Astrology to by scientifically right. More than half of about 2,000 surveyed (in 2000) thought humans co-existed with dinosaurs. [Americans Don't Know Much About History or Science - by Stephen Goode].

Here’s a great little article, as well as a 5-question sample of a civics test (BTW, I got 5 out of 5): Americans don’t know civics – USATODAY.com, and here’s the full 33-question on (BTW, I got 24 right, about 72.73%): Civil Literacy Quiz. While I’m mentioning quizzes, how about an I.Q. Test: www.iqtest.com (BTW, I scored a 114).

Most Religious States

18% think the Sun revolves around the Earth. Yeah, you heard me, nearly one in five Americans. That’s scary. Another ludicrous belief: those that think the Earth is 6,000 years old, despite scientific EVIDENCE that places Earth in the 4.3 BILLION year range. The Bottom 10 States, Intellectually:

40. Oregon
41. Georgia
42. Hawaii
43. New Mexico
44. Louisiana
45. Alabama
46. Alaska
47. California
48. Mississippi
49. Nevada
50. Arizona

Less Religious States

This comparison shows four of the more Religious states, appear in the list of the dumbest states. This means nothing, since that’s less than half, however, if we look at the Less Religious, and then the Smartest states:
1. Vermont
2. Massachusetts
3. Connecticut
4. New Jersey
5. Maine
6. Virginia
7. Montana
8. Wisconsin
9. Iowa
10. Pennsylvania

Right off the bat, none of these states are among the top 10 Most Religious, and four of these are among the Smartest, including the Least Religious State, Vermont, is also the Smartest. The one thing this does show, the Smartest states, are mostly in the Northeast, which is generally less religious.

Now, back to the current issue of Health Care. I’m pointing stupidity out, because Republicans have been twisting the idea of Living Wills into Murder. Let me point this out, plain and simple. There are no death panels. A Living Will is nothing more than an advance directive to patient treatment to be followed by the doctors, this includes forbidding use of certain treatments, should the patient be at a point where they can’t speak to themselves. A person can disclose that if they get an incurable, terminal disease of some sort, that they don’t want to prolong their life with ventilators and the like (prolonging their suffering). Living Wills are documents made by an individual to express what THEY (not the government) want done to them shall they become extremely ill. (Advance health care directive – Wikipedia).

Furthermore, other Republican bullshit is the gay-marriage “storm” scare tactic ad from earlier this year. Again, only the dumbest of dumb fall for this shit, which is why there is so much turmoil and chaos that exists. I support gay-marriage, because I think they have a right to happiness, plus the opposition towards it is mostly religious, and therefore, there’s no reason for it to be such an issue, as, as our Founding Fathers wanted, this country is a place of freedom, and religion plays no part in government. Then there’s the death of an abortionist earlier this summer (I think) which is an act of terrorism by a so-called “pro-lifer” (hm, pro-lifer kills someone, there’s a headline). The sheer stupidity of this. BTW, the fetus stage begins at the 11th week, (~3 months), before that, there’s only an embryo (group of cells). Roe V Wade make abortion legal, and most abortionists rarely perform late-term abortions (or even third-trimester), unless health of the mother is at risk. Other than that, first 3 months, shouldn’t be an issue. Then again, the whole thing wouldn’t be an issue if schools taught medically accurate sex-ed, minimizing teen pregnancies, who get pregnant b/c they are extremely misinformed about sex (many may believe they can’t get pregnant the first time, which they can). Birth control should be covered by insurance as well, and any female teenager should really be on it, especially if sexually active. This whole thing is also got religious backing, as more religious men think women are supposed to have babies, and lots of them. [What's wrong with just two kids, at least then, maybe overcrowded schools wouldn't be a problem, and then people may actually learn something.]

For the most part, if men were the ones that got pregnant, there wouldn’t be any issues.

Sorry for all possible mixed up, incoherent ideas and comments. But thank you if you made it all the way through that mess and made some sense of it. I applaud you, and if you are like me, and was born and raised in a southern state, remember, we are the exceptional ones. We get it (or at least try to).

Warning: Explicit Language Used in Anger

How annoying is it that programming gets fucked up by Presidential Addresses. I know they have something to say, blah blah, and it doesn’t seem to matter who it is. Here’s an idea, Instead of screwing with my Chuck, and it seems to be later this month as well, screwing Bones up even more, why not just fuck syndication and come on at 7PM. Would it be so bad?

More on the screw-ups: the futon critic

It’s bad enough FOX likes doing shit because they can (I Hate American Idol, and wish people will wake up and stop watching it).

Last week I applauded the House for voting against the DTV transition, after the Senate supported it. But what I feared happen, they who supported it (the one time I can honestly say I agree with Republicans that delaying is stupid) went for it a second time around, and this time, the dumbasses were more convincing.

I find this to be stupid because A) its costly (broadcasters would waste a shit load more to continue operating analog signals, and us the taxpayers, will once again have our money flushed down the toilet as more money (I think I read, billions) are spent for re-education on the matter, and more ads, and continuation of the coupon program, and blah blah blah), B) it’s unfair to those that bid on the analog spectrum, won, and had plans to implementing services right after analog shut-off (in turn, that’s money lost on them), C) it’s confusing. Obviously people are too stupid enough as it is to allow their coupons to expire, or putting things off to last minute, or for in general not understanding they’ll lose the signal if they don’t have cable or satellite and have an older TV set. But hey, who has to pay for it? Who has to somehow accept the consequences? We do. After all, it’s our tax dollars at work.

Oh, I just have to mention this quote:

Interim FCC chairman Michael J. Copps said: “The additional four months provided by the law affords urgently needed time for a more phased transition.”

Okay, we knew about this shit for fours years at least, with all the TVs being made with the tuners for two years now, but that wasn’t enough, add 4 months and it’ll be smoother. Yeah, sure, right. Listen up, if people don’t get it by now, they never will, so SCREW THEM!!! Sorry if that sounds harsh, but there is NO reason for this.

House backs digital TV delay | Variety