There was much speculating and some hand wringing over oral arguments on Prop 8 yesterday. I remind us all of how certain we were the individual mandate would be found unconstitutional after oral arguments on The Affordable Care Act. June isn’t long. Some months fly by without me even having time to wonder about how fast they went.
Today’s oral arguments are about DOMA. Here’s a wiki article with some background of how this case started and how it got to SCOTUS —
It can’t be long before gays have marriage equality. Politicians all want to be elected and get reelected. This issue is already decided by public opinion and we’ll be choosing politicians who’ve listened. Maybe not in Kansas for long years after the rest of the world has left us sitting in the dirt. But it is Kansas, republicans are in complete control so we can’t expect much.
The saddest part for me to face is that even after issues are seemingly solved, laws made, SCOTUS upholds the laws, the battles have to be fought. The Civil Rights Act is established law yet we see republicans are still blatant bigots and working in the states they control to disenfranchise minority voters. We’re not only still having to protect women’s rights today but we’re back to talking about making women who use hormonal birth control criminals. I’m convinced we’ll see laws on the books that make gays equal under the law. What I’m not convinced about is that the republicans will ever stop trying to control everyone who isn’t an old white rich man.
There’s a lot of brainless sheeple in this country. “Gay marriage will destroy the sanctity of marriage.” Right, but divorce doesn’t. [commence eye-rolling] 50% of marriages fail, so there are plenty of us divorced people out there. Yet people (even those once divorced) continue to marry every day. Hey, I’m all for two people pledging their love and lives to each other. I celebrate it. But I’ve grown weary of the hypocrisy in which we live.
Here’s another instance of proof of the stupidity of some people. (Not meaning those who marry. 😉 ) A fairly large sign that says “Impeach NOBAMA” was erected in the yard of a house down the street from me. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or get some spray paint and write RACIST on it. Since it raised my blood pressure, each time I saw it, I decided ignoring the sign was the best choice. Of course, at the bottom in the corner and in small letters—they obviously didn’t plan well– it says “gun control.” Well, at least I knew why they wanted the President impeached. Would they use one of their guns if I opted for the spray paint? But that wasn’t all. Since I’ve lived here–10+ years–there’s been a small sign in their window. “Life is Sacred.” Just how effing stupid are these people? Obviously those guns they’re so proud of and need so badly don’t kill. Life is sacred only when it’s an embryo or fetus, but once that first breath is taken (“life,” according to “the Word of God”) any brainless, insane, [add your own identifier] can walk into a school and murder small children, while people shrug, make excuses, and boo hoo over any legislation to keep people–including them–safe.
I swear, if I’d let myself cry, I might never stop.
I’ve been MIA, but life has been crazy, and I do stop by when I can to read.
I was pleased to see that one of my conservative friends in Florida stated on FB that she was in favor of gay marriage, or what we all call MARRIAGE. Even within the radically small-minded, there is some sanity.
I spend far too much time reading articles posted on here, FB, and other places. The fun–if you want to call it that–is reading the comments. I wasn’t aware humans could be so stupid and am thankful there are those who have intelligent and compassion.
“but life has been crazy”, and here I thought maybe it was just me and my life. There is a book in there somewhere, often reality is such a great basis for fiction. My problem has became what ever I say might be taken as and dismissed as a symptom of a brain injury. But then who truly knows perhaps everything is a result of brain injuries and that is more the sane then logic.
My neighbor’s grandson has been through some trying times. He didn’t win the lottery when it comes to parents and sadly got in with a crowd that self medicates. It’s a tragic story we hear all too often. Anyway, he was picked up by police because he was in a public place acting strange according to someone (he was high as a kite actually), and taken to a psych ward at a local hospital where someone determined he needed to be watched and evaluated and maybe locked up.
Everything was dispensed to him in a small cup, and he had been given a small cup of shampoo and a meal about the same time. On a small hospital try he was making room and accidentally turned over the little cup of shampoo. There was a stuffed bear, a gift from his sister, that he kept nearby because it said someone loves me, someone is thinking about me and hoping the best for me. Well the bear got the brunt of the shampoo spill. The teenager quickly took the bear to a sink to wash off the shampoo.
Later, when he spoke with his grandma he told her while trying to clean up that bear he realized his every move was being watched and here he was shampooing a stuffed animal. So he looks around to see who might be watching and making notes. His next thought was that he might be seen as paranoid now that he glanced around. You get the general gist. He had to think about his every move and wonder whether it was being evaluated as an indication of mental illness.
This young man was and is sane. rd, you are sane too! But I sure understand what you mean. Your circumstances have put you in a position most of us haven’t experienced. Logical actions can be made to look like insane actions if someone wants to interpret them in that way. Don’t you worry about whatever you want to say here. We all know you’ve always made more sense than most people, and that certainly hasn’t changed!
fnord – while reading your story about the young boy – I just wonder how many for-profit ‘mental health’ centers would love to get their hands on that boy – that is, if he has health insurance with good benefits.
Otherwise – all too often these kids end up on the treadmill of a vicious cycle that is very hard to break.
Don’t you just wish that these self-professing Pro-Life supporters were really Pro Life and not just Pro Birth?
For being the richest country in the world – and God’s favorite (by some folks’ view) – then why do we seem to not value everyone in our society?
wicked posted: But I’ve grown weary of the hypocrisy in which we live.
———-
I truly believe this hypocrisy is made even more blatant by all these corporate churches.
Let’s take a good look at all these social issues these CEOs of these churches have taken up as their mission from God.
1) Abortion – just imagine all the tax-free money that has flowed in to their coffers for years – and yet, I’ve never heard any of these Corporate Church CEOs offer up the best way to stop abortions – punish the MAN that got the woman pregnant. Where is his Hell and Damnation? Without his contribution, there would be no need for an abortion – would there?
2) Gay marriage – again – follow the tax-free money that has flowed into their coffers for years. And if marriage is so sacred – then why do these Corporate Church CEOs allow their people sitting in their pews every Sunday to be divorced, or married multiple times, or to be committing adultery like it is no big deal? Where is the punishment for those folks?
I have watched as these Corporate Churches have gotten bigger and bigger since I escaped from that Fundy Baptist Evangelical Movement – and these people put on a good Dog and Pony Show – but that’s all there is to it.
Beneath all their sanctimonius, pious, glorified and holified fake scenery lies the biggest motivation for all their Dog and Pony shows – it’s the M-O-N-E-Y
I’ve come to the conclusion that one can judge how much these churches really love God by the size of the golden cross in front of their building.
The bigger and more gawdy gold looking – means the more the folks inside that building worship the Golden God.
I’ve been to some churches – small and mid-size – and there is not even a big golden cross on their building. It’s in these churches where the true message of Christianity lives – and where good people truly do try to live by the golden rule.
There are not a lot of these good churches left – I will give you that.
It seems that the more we dumb down America – the more the Corporate Churches swallow up those who like the dazzle and sparkle of the Dog and Pony Show.
Remember that big debate when Sandra Fluke was barred from testifying before Congress about access to birth control?
Remember when the Catholics all had their panties in a bunch over being made to provide access to birth control?
Did I miss the news coverage where anyone protested that men are have access to Viagra?
As to the argument that folks don’t want their health insurance coverage to provide birth control due to its costs – then isn’t the same argument true for Viagra?
I work in the pharmacy field and I can tell you – Viagra is prescribed for all ages……and it is being covered by all kinds of plans.
And, yes, those costs are being passed down to everyone who buys health insurance.
So – where is the petition to stop all these men from getting their Viagra?
Where is Rush Limbaugh’s tirade over the fact that my health insurance costs are affected by men getting their Viagra fix?
But, alas, the only thing we hear from these Conservatives about is birth control – and legitimate rape.
And – even with rape – these Neanderthals are still blaming the woman….
What was it that wicked posted earlier about hypocrisy?
Blame Reagan. He shut down the mental hospitals where people could live and receive help, then enacted laws (with the help of Congress) to make it worse.
I know a mother who adopted several children as infants. One has grown into a boy with a lot of mental problems, and the family lives in fear of him. Because he attacked her recently and she insisted that something be done, the boy was allowed to be taken to the hospital “for evaluation” but could only be held 5 days. They know he’s a danger, but no one will help him or the mother. NOT ONE AGENCY WILL STEP IN AND DO ANYTHING. All they do is shrug their shoulders. If she doesn’t pick him up at the hospital, she’ll be charged with child abandonment, yet she needs to keep herself and her other children safe.
Have you heard about or read the new Kansas gun law changes? Concealed Carry in government buildings without security and arming teachers?
So what happens when a confused kid finds a gun in the school that was unintentionally left unlocked? And who really believes that someone intent on doing harm in a school is going to think his plan might be foiled by a few busy teachers, who would have to unlock a drawer, closet, gun lock?
This video was posted in response to that tragic incident. I am so glad some young men do have the right moral compass and they are not afraid to speak up….
Oops…..that last link was to a different website…..and it was the video about that woman’s missing camera that was found 5 years later and about 6,000 miles away. (which is a way-too-cool story in itself)
Anyway – this video I thought I was posting was actually was the idea and filmed by a young woman who was horrified by the Steubenville rape case.
Seeing this video and knowing it has gotten 1.5 million hits gives me hope that not all the world is like those buffoons in Steubenville and the buffoons that still support these CONservative Republicans who promote the same sad story about rape is no big deal and it is always – ALWAYS -the woman’s fault.
Maureen Dowd isn’t a person you’ll see me agree with very often. But then on the issue of marriage equality most people agree it’s long overdue.
(from the link): “While Justice Alito can’t see into the future, most Americans can,” writes Op-Ed columnist Maureen Dowd after Tuesday’s Supreme Court hearings on same-sex marriage. “If this court doesn’t reject bigotry, history will reject this court.”
I do understand why people are upset – but I also have to ask, were these same people who are upset because the name Jesus was stomped on are also just as upset when one of the Florida’s Christian Evangelical preacher burned the Islam’s Holy Book – and then bragged about it?
The only difference is – this school is filled with students that might have felt pressured to go along with the group – whereas the preacher’s supporters were there of their own choosing.
And that one student is being punished for NOT participating – that is wrong – IMHO.
But – isn’t it very telling when people of faith get their righteous panties in a bunch when it is their sacred man’s name being stomped on and not the other guy’s sacred book being burned?
I think religion (in all its forms) has been used as an excuse and a justification for poor behavior, for persecution, for wars, and for hate as long as time has been. That’s why I think it best to let everyone choose their own way to worship, or not, and always remember personal accountability means we’re only going to answer for ourselves.
I could not really get what this instructor was trying to do – did you?
I remember during my Freshmen year in High School. This was in 1968. My English Teacher was a little red-headed rebel.
She was such a hoot.
One day, she locked the door after we all came inside the room and she wrote the words God Damn on the blackboard.
She then proceeded to talk about the reason these two words were seen as obscene, vulgar, inappropriate, insensitive, etc.
She was going on for about ten minutes….when all of a sudden a big booming voice came across the P.A. system into our room. It was the principal and he was H.O.T..
He demanded she stop that lesson at once and she was to report to his office when a substitute teacher showed up at her classroom door – which would be in a few minutes.
Suffice to say – everyone in the room was like -…WTH…….But this was in 1968. The Vietnam War was blaring away on our television sets. We were presented with pictures of violence. We were watching as the younger generation started to stage protests against the war.
So……I failed to see how one English teacher who chose to try to show us that those two words – by themselves – did not mean the same as when they were put together….got herself into a whole mess of trouble.
But the insane Vietnam War and all those deaths were nothing to be discussed?
The only lesson we learned that day was this:
if you’re going to do something provocative – make sure the P.S. system is not turned on. LOL
I would also like to add to the conversation above about corporations profiteering from health insurance……
Do some research into the long-term care industry and you will quickly learn that Medicare is the biggest player in how these corporations get their big slice of the government money pie ..
I’ve seen where many of the same patients are sent to the hospital, returned to facility just to be sent back to hospital for ‘something else’..
It’s a racket……IMHO
Just imagine if you’re in your 80’s or 90’s and nobody is left in your family to check in on you on a consistent basis. A lot of these elderly patients’ families live out of state.
So – these are easy pickings for corporate profiteers to keep ‘milking the Medicare cow’..
Don’t kid yourselves – the health care industry loves Medicare because they pay faster than any for-profit health insurance company…there is no wait time for the cash flow.
And the pool of potential profit is huge……..which is why we’re seeing such a boom in the senior-housing industry.
Just take a good look around this city……how many new assisted living centers and/or memory care centers have popped up in the past few years?
ALOT of them…..
Whenever I see a Via Christi marketing ad on television and they end with their slogan – because your life matters – I always respond with – yeah, because they need you breathing in order to bill somewhere for your ass.
It’s about profit……..and health care is one area in life that I believe should NEVER be driven just by the bottom line of profits….
BTW – when you enter the Via Christi hospitals – what do you see in the lobby?
A big golden cross with Jesus on it and their mission statement.
But….you never see the part in that mission statement where they are there to make money off the sick and dying – do you?
You never see the part in their mission statement where their Billing Department harasses people on a consistent basis to ‘pay up’…..
Yeah…..all you see is the golden cross where Jesus is hanging and one might just get the impression that this is a place where Jesus’ lessons of treating the sick with dignity and respect is actually followed.
Yeah, I’ve been in that lobby too many times and I have to say – I am still waiting for a response from Via Christi about their follow-up letter they sent me last summer about my cancer follow-up.
All I want to know is this:
1) Who is paying them to gather this information?
2) Why were they not concerned about my cancer care when I complained to them while going through it?
3) What do they plan to do with this information if I give it to them?
4) And why would they need to know who my current doctor is and the last time I had a physical?
Hmmmm….interesting questions…..but I also know how this cancer racket works.
You see, any follow-up information is usually being tracked somewhere and those who track this info – often get paid for each response they receive.
Which brings me to my real reason for not wanting to participate in their follow-up program. Their ‘team’ did not help me during my cancer journey.
I went ‘outside the box’ and found a doctor that truly cared about me and proved to me that ‘my life matters’
.
And my current doctor is not associated with Via Christi…….
So – let’s give my current doctor the reward……and not those who seem to only know how to manipulate the system to make themselves more profitable …
I think Jesus would be proud of the doctor that actually helped me beat my cancer through all that chemotherapy. Even though my doctor is not American born and one might even say he is a Muslim ( but, that’s our little secret – huh?)
I recently learned that Kansas Surgery and Recovery is partly owned by Via Christi – who would have thought?
You’re right….where does one go?
It’s a sad commentary that doctors are nothing more than corporate employees (well paid, of course) .
But I remember a time when doctors were family doctors and they knew – actually knew all the family members. And these doctors usually were there when you were born into this world and when you left this world.
We may have advance medical technology to improve our lives – and certainly to prolong our lives – but have we given up what was the best of our health care when I was growing up – doctors that truly cared about being healers and their desire to help people?
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 
If you haven’t seen Jim Wright’s Stonekettle Stattion, posted yesterday, get thee over there. It’s long, but worth sticking with it until the end.
Inheritance
There was much speculating and some hand wringing over oral arguments on Prop 8 yesterday. I remind us all of how certain we were the individual mandate would be found unconstitutional after oral arguments on The Affordable Care Act. June isn’t long. Some months fly by without me even having time to wonder about how fast they went.
Today’s oral arguments are about DOMA. Here’s a wiki article with some background of how this case started and how it got to SCOTUS —
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Windsor
It can’t be long before gays have marriage equality. Politicians all want to be elected and get reelected. This issue is already decided by public opinion and we’ll be choosing politicians who’ve listened. Maybe not in Kansas for long years after the rest of the world has left us sitting in the dirt. But it is Kansas, republicans are in complete control so we can’t expect much.
The saddest part for me to face is that even after issues are seemingly solved, laws made, SCOTUS upholds the laws, the battles have to be fought. The Civil Rights Act is established law yet we see republicans are still blatant bigots and working in the states they control to disenfranchise minority voters. We’re not only still having to protect women’s rights today but we’re back to talking about making women who use hormonal birth control criminals. I’m convinced we’ll see laws on the books that make gays equal under the law. What I’m not convinced about is that the republicans will ever stop trying to control everyone who isn’t an old white rich man.
There’s a lot of brainless sheeple in this country. “Gay marriage will destroy the sanctity of marriage.” Right, but divorce doesn’t. [commence eye-rolling] 50% of marriages fail, so there are plenty of us divorced people out there. Yet people (even those once divorced) continue to marry every day. Hey, I’m all for two people pledging their love and lives to each other. I celebrate it. But I’ve grown weary of the hypocrisy in which we live.
Here’s another instance of proof of the stupidity of some people. (Not meaning those who marry. 😉 ) A fairly large sign that says “Impeach NOBAMA” was erected in the yard of a house down the street from me. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or get some spray paint and write RACIST on it. Since it raised my blood pressure, each time I saw it, I decided ignoring the sign was the best choice. Of course, at the bottom in the corner and in small letters—they obviously didn’t plan well– it says “gun control.” Well, at least I knew why they wanted the President impeached. Would they use one of their guns if I opted for the spray paint? But that wasn’t all. Since I’ve lived here–10+ years–there’s been a small sign in their window. “Life is Sacred.” Just how effing stupid are these people? Obviously those guns they’re so proud of and need so badly don’t kill. Life is sacred only when it’s an embryo or fetus, but once that first breath is taken (“life,” according to “the Word of God”) any brainless, insane, [add your own identifier] can walk into a school and murder small children, while people shrug, make excuses, and boo hoo over any legislation to keep people–including them–safe.
I swear, if I’d let myself cry, I might never stop.
I’ve been MIA, but life has been crazy, and I do stop by when I can to read.
I was pleased to see that one of my conservative friends in Florida stated on FB that she was in favor of gay marriage, or what we all call MARRIAGE. Even within the radically small-minded, there is some sanity.
I spend far too much time reading articles posted on here, FB, and other places. The fun–if you want to call it that–is reading the comments. I wasn’t aware humans could be so stupid and am thankful there are those who have intelligent and compassion.
Enough “I’s.” You all have a magnificent day!
“but life has been crazy”, and here I thought maybe it was just me and my life. There is a book in there somewhere, often reality is such a great basis for fiction. My problem has became what ever I say might be taken as and dismissed as a symptom of a brain injury. But then who truly knows perhaps everything is a result of brain injuries and that is more the sane then logic.
My neighbor’s grandson has been through some trying times. He didn’t win the lottery when it comes to parents and sadly got in with a crowd that self medicates. It’s a tragic story we hear all too often. Anyway, he was picked up by police because he was in a public place acting strange according to someone (he was high as a kite actually), and taken to a psych ward at a local hospital where someone determined he needed to be watched and evaluated and maybe locked up.
Everything was dispensed to him in a small cup, and he had been given a small cup of shampoo and a meal about the same time. On a small hospital try he was making room and accidentally turned over the little cup of shampoo. There was a stuffed bear, a gift from his sister, that he kept nearby because it said someone loves me, someone is thinking about me and hoping the best for me. Well the bear got the brunt of the shampoo spill. The teenager quickly took the bear to a sink to wash off the shampoo.
Later, when he spoke with his grandma he told her while trying to clean up that bear he realized his every move was being watched and here he was shampooing a stuffed animal. So he looks around to see who might be watching and making notes. His next thought was that he might be seen as paranoid now that he glanced around. You get the general gist. He had to think about his every move and wonder whether it was being evaluated as an indication of mental illness.
This young man was and is sane. rd, you are sane too! But I sure understand what you mean. Your circumstances have put you in a position most of us haven’t experienced. Logical actions can be made to look like insane actions if someone wants to interpret them in that way. Don’t you worry about whatever you want to say here. We all know you’ve always made more sense than most people, and that certainly hasn’t changed!
rd, you’re insanely sane. 😉 We love ya!
Ditto from me….RD
fnord – while reading your story about the young boy – I just wonder how many for-profit ‘mental health’ centers would love to get their hands on that boy – that is, if he has health insurance with good benefits.
Otherwise – all too often these kids end up on the treadmill of a vicious cycle that is very hard to break.
Don’t you just wish that these self-professing Pro-Life supporters were really Pro Life and not just Pro Birth?
For being the richest country in the world – and God’s favorite (by some folks’ view) – then why do we seem to not value everyone in our society?
Indy, THAT added to the problem — he was covered by a good insurance plan and there was money to be made.
fnord – that was what I was afraid of…….this boy is easy pickings then….for the profiteers ….
and that is the biggest crime of all – IMHO
Did you see my post to the link below about Rick Santorum on the Board of UHS ????
That is what I fear the most in our country – these corporate profiteers that do NOT care……just as long as the money keeps rolling in….
wicked posted: But I’ve grown weary of the hypocrisy in which we live.
———-
I truly believe this hypocrisy is made even more blatant by all these corporate churches.
Let’s take a good look at all these social issues these CEOs of these churches have taken up as their mission from God.
1) Abortion – just imagine all the tax-free money that has flowed in to their coffers for years – and yet, I’ve never heard any of these Corporate Church CEOs offer up the best way to stop abortions – punish the MAN that got the woman pregnant. Where is his Hell and Damnation? Without his contribution, there would be no need for an abortion – would there?
2) Gay marriage – again – follow the tax-free money that has flowed into their coffers for years. And if marriage is so sacred – then why do these Corporate Church CEOs allow their people sitting in their pews every Sunday to be divorced, or married multiple times, or to be committing adultery like it is no big deal? Where is the punishment for those folks?
I have watched as these Corporate Churches have gotten bigger and bigger since I escaped from that Fundy Baptist Evangelical Movement – and these people put on a good Dog and Pony Show – but that’s all there is to it.
Beneath all their sanctimonius, pious, glorified and holified fake scenery lies the biggest motivation for all their Dog and Pony shows – it’s the M-O-N-E-Y
I’ve come to the conclusion that one can judge how much these churches really love God by the size of the golden cross in front of their building.
The bigger and more gawdy gold looking – means the more the folks inside that building worship the Golden God.
I’ve been to some churches – small and mid-size – and there is not even a big golden cross on their building. It’s in these churches where the true message of Christianity lives – and where good people truly do try to live by the golden rule.
There are not a lot of these good churches left – I will give you that.
It seems that the more we dumb down America – the more the Corporate Churches swallow up those who like the dazzle and sparkle of the Dog and Pony Show.
Wow – Viagra turns 15 yrs old today……
Remember that big debate when Sandra Fluke was barred from testifying before Congress about access to birth control?
Remember when the Catholics all had their panties in a bunch over being made to provide access to birth control?
Did I miss the news coverage where anyone protested that men are have access to Viagra?
As to the argument that folks don’t want their health insurance coverage to provide birth control due to its costs – then isn’t the same argument true for Viagra?
I work in the pharmacy field and I can tell you – Viagra is prescribed for all ages……and it is being covered by all kinds of plans.
And, yes, those costs are being passed down to everyone who buys health insurance.
So – where is the petition to stop all these men from getting their Viagra?
Where is Rush Limbaugh’s tirade over the fact that my health insurance costs are affected by men getting their Viagra fix?
But, alas, the only thing we hear from these Conservatives about is birth control – and legitimate rape.
And – even with rape – these Neanderthals are still blaming the woman….
What was it that wicked posted earlier about hypocrisy?
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/27/health/viagra-anniversary-timeline/index.html?iid=article_sidebar
Too many times – young people like the one fnord described above – end up in a place like this for-profit hospital chain.
Hmmmmm……Rick Santorum was on the board at this particular for-profit hospital company..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/07/rick-santorum-universal-health-services_n_872803.html
Blame Reagan. He shut down the mental hospitals where people could live and receive help, then enacted laws (with the help of Congress) to make it worse.
I know a mother who adopted several children as infants. One has grown into a boy with a lot of mental problems, and the family lives in fear of him. Because he attacked her recently and she insisted that something be done, the boy was allowed to be taken to the hospital “for evaluation” but could only be held 5 days. They know he’s a danger, but no one will help him or the mother. NOT ONE AGENCY WILL STEP IN AND DO ANYTHING. All they do is shrug their shoulders. If she doesn’t pick him up at the hospital, she’ll be charged with child abandonment, yet she needs to keep herself and her other children safe.
I’ve heard of cases like this – does it make a difference as to his age?
So – just imagine what this kid’s future is going to be – and that family’s future.
Things like this should just not be pushed aside – like apparently everyone has decided to do – until this kid does something really big….
And then that brings in the issue of when this troubled kid finds his first gun….
And there are guns everywhere in our society. Isn’t that a good combination – troubled kids throughout their childhood and then they get a gun.
Hey – kinda sounds like that Newtown shooter – huh?
This is no way a civilized country should operate..
Have you heard about or read the new Kansas gun law changes? Concealed Carry in government buildings without security and arming teachers?
So what happens when a confused kid finds a gun in the school that was unintentionally left unlocked? And who really believes that someone intent on doing harm in a school is going to think his plan might be foiled by a few busy teachers, who would have to unlock a drawer, closet, gun lock?
I’m speechless over this.
More rights for gun owners likely as a bill clears Senate
Remember the Steubenville rape case?
This video was posted in response to that tragic incident. I am so glad some young men do have the right moral compass and they are not afraid to speak up….
http://msnvideo.msn.com/?channelindex=3&from=en-us_msnhp#/video/15a15d44-4e66-775b-e179-5ed32a2cb034
Oops…..that last link was to a different website…..and it was the video about that woman’s missing camera that was found 5 years later and about 6,000 miles away. (which is a way-too-cool story in itself)
Anyway – this video I thought I was posting was actually was the idea and filmed by a young woman who was horrified by the Steubenville rape case.
Seeing this video and knowing it has gotten 1.5 million hits gives me hope that not all the world is like those buffoons in Steubenville and the buffoons that still support these CONservative Republicans who promote the same sad story about rape is no big deal and it is always – ALWAYS -the woman’s fault.
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/26/17477400-anti-rape-video-in-response-to-steubenville-trial-coverage-goes-viral?lite
As one of the people commenting on this video said, it needs to be run on TV as a public service announcement.
If America is all about equal rights for all……then DOMA has to go bye-bye, doesn’t it?
http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/27/17485760-justices-signal-they-might-strike-down-federal-marriage-law?lite
Maureen Dowd isn’t a person you’ll see me agree with very often. But then on the issue of marriage equality most people agree it’s long overdue.
(from the link): “While Justice Alito can’t see into the future, most Americans can,” writes Op-Ed columnist Maureen Dowd after Tuesday’s Supreme Court hearings on same-sex marriage. “If this court doesn’t reject bigotry, history will reject this court.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/opinion/dowd-courting-cowardice.html?_r=0
What are your thoughts about this incident?
I do understand why people are upset – but I also have to ask, were these same people who are upset because the name Jesus was stomped on are also just as upset when one of the Florida’s Christian Evangelical preacher burned the Islam’s Holy Book – and then bragged about it?
The only difference is – this school is filled with students that might have felt pressured to go along with the group – whereas the preacher’s supporters were there of their own choosing.
And that one student is being punished for NOT participating – that is wrong – IMHO.
But – isn’t it very telling when people of faith get their righteous panties in a bunch when it is their sacred man’s name being stomped on and not the other guy’s sacred book being burned?
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/27/17485007-florida-school-apologizes-after-students-stomp-on-jesus?lite=
And – God knows – the Atheists get demonized all the time – but where is the concern for that going on?
I think religion (in all its forms) has been used as an excuse and a justification for poor behavior, for persecution, for wars, and for hate as long as time has been. That’s why I think it best to let everyone choose their own way to worship, or not, and always remember personal accountability means we’re only going to answer for ourselves.
I could not really get what this instructor was trying to do – did you?
I remember during my Freshmen year in High School. This was in 1968. My English Teacher was a little red-headed rebel.
She was such a hoot.
One day, she locked the door after we all came inside the room and she wrote the words God Damn on the blackboard.
She then proceeded to talk about the reason these two words were seen as obscene, vulgar, inappropriate, insensitive, etc.
She was going on for about ten minutes….when all of a sudden a big booming voice came across the P.A. system into our room. It was the principal and he was H.O.T..
He demanded she stop that lesson at once and she was to report to his office when a substitute teacher showed up at her classroom door – which would be in a few minutes.
Suffice to say – everyone in the room was like -…WTH…….But this was in 1968. The Vietnam War was blaring away on our television sets. We were presented with pictures of violence. We were watching as the younger generation started to stage protests against the war.
So……I failed to see how one English teacher who chose to try to show us that those two words – by themselves – did not mean the same as when they were put together….got herself into a whole mess of trouble.
But the insane Vietnam War and all those deaths were nothing to be discussed?
The only lesson we learned that day was this:
if you’re going to do something provocative – make sure the P.S. system is not turned on. LOL
I would also like to add to the conversation above about corporations profiteering from health insurance……
Do some research into the long-term care industry and you will quickly learn that Medicare is the biggest player in how these corporations get their big slice of the government money pie ..
I’ve seen where many of the same patients are sent to the hospital, returned to facility just to be sent back to hospital for ‘something else’..
It’s a racket……IMHO
Just imagine if you’re in your 80’s or 90’s and nobody is left in your family to check in on you on a consistent basis. A lot of these elderly patients’ families live out of state.
So – these are easy pickings for corporate profiteers to keep ‘milking the Medicare cow’..
Don’t kid yourselves – the health care industry loves Medicare because they pay faster than any for-profit health insurance company…there is no wait time for the cash flow.
And the pool of potential profit is huge……..which is why we’re seeing such a boom in the senior-housing industry.
Just take a good look around this city……how many new assisted living centers and/or memory care centers have popped up in the past few years?
ALOT of them…..
Whenever I see a Via Christi marketing ad on television and they end with their slogan – because your life matters – I always respond with – yeah, because they need you breathing in order to bill somewhere for your ass.
It’s about profit……..and health care is one area in life that I believe should NEVER be driven just by the bottom line of profits….
BTW – when you enter the Via Christi hospitals – what do you see in the lobby?
A big golden cross with Jesus on it and their mission statement.
But….you never see the part in that mission statement where they are there to make money off the sick and dying – do you?
You never see the part in their mission statement where their Billing Department harasses people on a consistent basis to ‘pay up’…..
Yeah…..all you see is the golden cross where Jesus is hanging and one might just get the impression that this is a place where Jesus’ lessons of treating the sick with dignity and respect is actually followed.
Yeah, I’ve been in that lobby too many times and I have to say – I am still waiting for a response from Via Christi about their follow-up letter they sent me last summer about my cancer follow-up.
All I want to know is this:
1) Who is paying them to gather this information?
2) Why were they not concerned about my cancer care when I complained to them while going through it?
3) What do they plan to do with this information if I give it to them?
4) And why would they need to know who my current doctor is and the last time I had a physical?
Hmmmm….interesting questions…..but I also know how this cancer racket works.
You see, any follow-up information is usually being tracked somewhere and those who track this info – often get paid for each response they receive.
Which brings me to my real reason for not wanting to participate in their follow-up program. Their ‘team’ did not help me during my cancer journey.
I went ‘outside the box’ and found a doctor that truly cared about me and proved to me that ‘my life matters’
.
And my current doctor is not associated with Via Christi…….
So – let’s give my current doctor the reward……and not those who seem to only know how to manipulate the system to make themselves more profitable …
I think Jesus would be proud of the doctor that actually helped me beat my cancer through all that chemotherapy. Even though my doctor is not American born and one might even say he is a Muslim ( but, that’s our little secret – huh?)
But where to go in this city? Wesley is part of HCA, connected to people like Rick Santorum. We’re screwed.
We’ve certainly come a long way when doctors tended to the sick, instead of corporations.
I recently learned that Kansas Surgery and Recovery is partly owned by Via Christi – who would have thought?
You’re right….where does one go?
It’s a sad commentary that doctors are nothing more than corporate employees (well paid, of course) .
But I remember a time when doctors were family doctors and they knew – actually knew all the family members. And these doctors usually were there when you were born into this world and when you left this world.
We may have advance medical technology to improve our lives – and certainly to prolong our lives – but have we given up what was the best of our health care when I was growing up – doctors that truly cared about being healers and their desire to help people?
Money ruins a lot of things – doesn’t it?
An Apology to Senator Robert Portman of Ohio
Because you changed your position on gay marriage
only after you found out your son was gay,
I am sorry for briefly wishing you had
another son with no health insurance,
and another with PTSD, and a daughter
battered by her husband, and another raped,
in need of an abortion, and a black son,
and an immigrant son, and a poor son,
and a grandchild at Sandy Hook.
Taylor Mali (the poet)
Powerful and to the point..