I'm Back

And mad. Yes in a dramatic return to my blog (it has been awhile. Sorry people I was trying to enjoy my summer vacation of working everyday) I will be posting an article on health care reform, or lack there of so far.

For now, since I just got done with homework, I will stick with a general rant. I have an issue with conservatives calling the the administration "communist" and "socialist." A lot of this rhetoric has to do with health care reform. All I want to say about that is "have you read the Patriot Act lately." The Patriot Act stripped Americans of basic civil rights and liberties. I personally cannot recall any amendment to the Constitution that states that congress shall not give the people health care! Furthermore, parts that were not in the original Patriot Act were added at late hours leading up to a hasty vote. President Obama, whether it was a good idea or not, opened up health care to bi-partisanship while the Patriot Act was almost purely a republican endeavor.

I agree that a public health care option is a socialist initiative, but so is social security, medicare, and public schools. But, it is a responsible and necessary socialist initiative. The public option in the health care reform bill does not violate our rights, indeed it grants the right to quality health care to 45 million Americans currently living without it.

SwedenIn

I don't know about anyone else out there but I am a little bit worried. Scandanavia is cheating, in particular, Sweden is cheating. Now, I am sure that everyone has heard that Sweden is a socialist country, something that we Americans know is bad and evil and Satanic and all that. Would you be shocked if I told you that Sweden is not actually a socialist nation? In fact, it is a capitalist, free market system. Aparently they are following a different model of capitalism. Allow me to explain.

In Europe a different way of practicing capitalism in one's economy has permiated. In the United States we are more accustom to adversarial trade policy, individualist political culture, and the magic of the "invisible hand" policy. Europe practices something very similar. However, in addition to adversarial trade policy, there is something called social marketing political culture. This means that there is a high level of freedom for individuals in combination with a commitment to social conscience. Meaning that you have freedom do what you want but there is a level of concern for people who need help, in other words, it may not be their fault that they are homeless or poor. Also, there is government intervention in the market in order to provide for planning and a social safety net.

This type of capitalism has brought success to the European continent. European nationalism in individual nations resulted in two world wars and an economy in shambles, thus leading the way for the United States to take its place as the top superpower. However, because of Europe uniting it has created an economy that can not only compete with the United States, may in the coming years surpass the economy of the U.S. Asia too practices a type of capitalism that focuses more on the social good rather than the individual good which has also resulting in a booming economy.

During the 1992 presidential election, incumbant Georgre Herbert Walker Bush, batted away the ideas of the Governor of Arkansas' ideas about taking a lesson from the markets of Europe and Asia to solve the financial downturn of the early 1990's. From this arrose the idea that Asia and Europe were cheating the idea of capitalism.But if their systems weren't working and ours was, then no one would say that they were cheating.

The American people automatically have a bad taste in their mouth when they hear the word "socialism." However, you can have some social aspects while maintaining a free market society. In the future I predict that the United States will have to practice a more European or Asian market type of system. I know that many Americans will not be willing to do this, if we are not willing, then we will have to relinquish our position as the global superpower. In order to compete with the markets of Europe and Asian means becoming more like the markets of Europe and Asia. I know it is scary.

Tea?

In light of the recent "grass roots" uprising of the Teabaggers (please go www.urbandictionary.com) I felt compelled to comment. I had the unique pleasure of listening to Fox News reporter, Glenn Beck, explain the purpose of the protest. He said something about standing up for a cause, the Alamo, and keeping your gun.

The people in the Alamo stood for something. Give me a break. Here is a little bit of Texas history for anyone who is unclear. When Texas was still Mexico it was vastly unsettled and experrienced many attacks from Native American tribes in the area. To curb this problem, the Mexican government decided to open up the area to white settlement. The government offered white American settlers land in Texas as long as they converted to Catholism and sworn and oath of alligance to Mexico. When white settlers took the land but refused to live up to the conditions on which they recieved it and turned to lawless rebellion. The Mexican army came to Texas to restore order, and hence, you get the Alamo, at which, the General Santa Ana offered the people in the Alamo a chance to surrender, instead, they basically committed suicide.

Now that we are clear on that, I can get back to my origional question: what the heck are the teabaggers protesting? Barack Obama has not made any changes to the tax code yet. His intention is to simplify it and cut taxes for 95% of Americans. Where were these "protesters" when the Bush administration was taxing the working class to death and allowing huge corporations to use off-shore tax shelters. Californians alone have had to pick $11,000,000,000 in tax dollors instead of corporations. Where was your damned tea party then? If there was a protest against this type of theft on the part of the corporations then I would march with you.

Victory in Iowa

Iowa's Supreme Court struck down a state law outlawing gay marriage. A unanimous court announced that the law violated equal protection and due process, upholding the lower court's holding.

“The Iowa statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution,” the justices said in the 69-page ruling.

Opponents and supportors of gay rights gathered outside of the courthouse to await the ruling. This ruling is a major victory for gay rights, especially in the midwest, far from the scary liberal coasts.

Of course, there are still people out there pretending that gay marriage has something to with them and their lives. Assistant Polk County Attorney Roger Kuhle said that the lower court judge, Robert Hanson, overstepped his power when he first declared the law unconstitutional. Kuhle also said that if the states support gay marriage it will promote the idea that marriage is no longer about procreation. Ok, stop laughing. We all know that marriage is not about procreation. I don't know if anyone has noticed that more Unmarried people seem to be procreating than married ones, or that the old notion of the family is dissapearing.

Here is a history lesson. The reason that states in the past have fostered anti-sodomy, adultry, and fornication laws is because the "family" used to be an agent of economics. Before the modern conviences and industrialized society that we know today, the family had to work together in order to survive, and children were crucial to this system. Thus, it was in the states interest to have laws that protected the family. Basically, without the family there would be no money. It was all about the money. Today, and in the last 40 or so years since the Stonewall Riots(go to wikipedia if you don't know what those are)many people have used these old laws as a way of pointing that the Judeo-Christian morality that is present in our society and always has been there and should remain, when in actuality these laws are out of date and out of touch, and fourtunatly, many of them have been struck down. Of course it is unconstitutional for a state to try and ban these practices today.

Furthermore, on the point of marriage being for procreation. That is just stupid. I would like to get married, someday. That sure as hell doesn't mean I am having kids. Husbands understand that I have a career, babies don't.

Anyways, good for the Iowa Supreme Court. Now this begs the question, if Iowa can accept gay marriage. . .What the heck is the matter with California?

Kerry asks for Asylum

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), whom we all remember from the last presidential race, has asked the Obama administration to grant a gay Brazilian man asylum in the United States. Gay marriage is recognized in the state of Massachusetts, and the Brazilian man, Genesio Oliviera, is married to another man, Tim Coco. Typically, if a non-citizen marries a citizen of the United States they are able to stay in the country. However, because of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) gay marriage is not federally recognized.

One very important point. Asylum is not the same as being able to remain in the United States because you are married to a citizen. When one petitions for asylum one must prove that returning to their home country they are in grave danger of being harmed. Oliviera was raped by a doctor as a teenager and fears retaliation because of his sexuality. When petitioning for asylum Judge Francis Cramer, recognized that Oliviera was genuinly worried for his safty, however, ruled that his rape did not physically harm him.

Oliviera was given sixty days to leave the country. Meanwhile, Tim Coco contacted his senator in hopes of getting some help. Kerry approached the Obama administration using the human rights angle.

"Nobody's asking to overturn or change the federal law. This is really a humanitarian situation that deserves an appropriate focus," he said.

I am happy to see John Kerry petitioning the administration for this purpose. I would have voted for him if I wasn't 16 at the time. However, I would like to see this shine more light on DOMA, which basically makes it so that states don't have to recognize marriages entered into in other states. Sounds a little bit un-Constitutional to me... Maybe this will go futher. Like the Supreme Court maybe.

CNBC's Jim Cramer on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

I don't know how many in blogosphere watch The Daily Show. It comes on late, so sometimes I miss it on school nights. However, last night Jon Stewart's guest was Jim Cramer from CNBC's Mad Money. No words of mine can adequetly discribe the punishment that Jone Stewart delievers to Cramer for his comentary, or lack thereof, on the recent crash in the finacial market.

Luckily, I do not have to string together such words.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/index.jhtml

Please, I encourage anyone who believes in justice for the people who are unemployed and losing their homes while CEO made billions of dollars to watch this. All of the episodes are posted on this website. It is where I go when I fall asleep before 11 o' clock.

Obama Creates White House Women's Panel

Today I heard about the President's new panel that will work across all of the cabinets and focus on issues pertaining to women and girls. As a woman/girl I welcomed this news. My increasing knowledge of women's issue, both at home and abroad, have greatly broadened my awareness and I feel that there is a very real need for this type of panel.

Too often in this generation, many women, those who are my age of 21 or near, do not consider themselves feminists and do not seem to be concerned with women's issues. First off, anyone who believes that women should be able to seek opportunity the same way men do, are feminists. That being said, women's issues are still very important and also very ignored. I think that women in my age group are used to being encouraged to go to college, to follow their dreams, do what they want to do, etc. This type of encourage is positive and all young people deserve this during their upbringing, however, I think it has caused many young girls to forget the fight of the bra burners who made this type of encouragement possible decades ago.

Patriarchal Mentality. Simply put, this is what made me automatically do my boyfriends laundry without asking him if he wanted me to do so, nor did he ask me to do it. It is the idea, or the mindset, of gender roles. The reason that women automatically take their husband's name and then give it to their children as well. Even in our society where this type of mentality is under challenge, most women do not even think or consider keeping their maiden names. The main function of being female, childbirth, is itself inherently unfair to a woman. Don't get me wrong, I love children and I will have children some day, but as a future mother, I will always sacrifice more in my personal life and work life then my children's father. With the type of sacrifices made on the part of a mother, it is interesting that the mother is not the one honored by being able to give her child her name.

Whoa, slight tangent there, but anyways. I am happy that our new President has recognized that women's issues are still relevant even in a time when the Speaker of the House and the Secretary of State are both female. As long as patriarchal mentality exisists, women's issues will remain issues.