Donkeys vs. Elephants

Hundreds of detained immigrants in the United States were released from detention centers due to the current budget sequestration crisis.  The detainees are under supervised release, similar to a parolee or Martha Stewart.  However, the Obama Administration’s decision to release hundreds of immigrants has angered some on the other side of the aisle.  Republicans feel that the Obama Administration is using the sequestration as a political tactic to assist amnesty groups and also widen the divide between the parties, manifesting into a sort of Donkey-Elephant Mexican standoff.

This sequestration frustration only further solidifies my beliefs that the bipartisan approach to civil issues will never be resolved, even with an “or else” clause such as our current sequestration.  Thousands of undocumented day laborers work for the right and the left elitists.  I strongly support an agenda that seeks to give credit and citizenship to those whom the Republicans deem as “criminal” simply for being of foreign descent.  In fact, those who are on supervised release are “noncriminals or other low-risk offenders…”  The “socialist” agenda of the Obama Administration is less scary to me than the post 9-11 Bush Regime, where one was afraid to even outwardly question the administration out of fear for family, life, and limb.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/27/us/immigrants-released-ahead-of-automatic-budget-cuts.html?pagewanted=all

Boobie Blunder?

North Carolina Republican Rep. Rayne Brown wants to criminalize female breasts, considering it a Class H felony if they are exposed in public.  If a woman is caught exposing her breasts in public, she can expect to spend thirty days to six months in the slammer.  Rep. Rayne Brown and other Republicans initiated a proposal of breast banning because of an annual Asheville, NC women’s rights topless protest.  An earlier law from the seventies prohibited exposure of private parts in public, but the law only banned exposure of sex organs. Women’s rights groups swam through the loophole, exposing areolas and breasts as a way to draw notice to their causes.  Nursing mothers are excluded from Bill 34.  The article also notes that “no one questions the nipple-exposure of Abercrombie and Fitch gentlemen who stand bare-chested in a place where minors frequent.”

Ladies in protest?  Really?  The really obscene boobs, such as Rep. Rayne Brown, need to get their priorities straight.  For thousands of years, women have suffered oppression under a man’s iron fist.  Women have been banned from anything that seems to distract men, from wrists, to ankles, and good ol’ female breasts.  By sexualizing the female breast and areola, I believe that Rep. Brown has parted from any sense of gender equality that she could bring to her platform, and is trying to send the South backward into a culture of obligatory female domestic servitude and sexism.  

http://www.mndaily.com/2013/02/21/let-them-hang

Which Amendment?

From my American Government class.  Short and to the point.

Honestly, I had a very difficult time deciding which Amendment is the most important and why.  There are so many very important aspects to our societal structure that are completely reliant on these amendments.  Where to start?  After much consideration, I finally decided that all of this – my life as an individual in this country, my education, my choices (good and bad) – were all possible because someone was given the right to verbal ammunition to make change.  That is why I decided that the First Amendment regarding Freedom of Speech is so important. 

Not just important to me, but important to all who live in this country.  My husband and I watch a lot of documentaries from or about other countries, and it is horrifying to watch other countries and the actions of their militant governments and how they respond to civilian outcries.  I believe that the freedom of speech is freedom of information. It is access to education.  State schools are not limited in their textbook selection, mandated by a central government.  Unfettered access to information allows people to learn whatever they want, practically whenever they want. 

My voice as an individual can be heard, no religion can control me, and I can choose my own path.  I also appreciate the First Amendment because I can, at any time, march up the stairs of local, state, or federal government offices and let my voice be heard.  Now that you know how I feel about the First Amendment, I would like to say that the trail to Mount Lukens has some of the most amazing wildflowers in the spring, but that’s just my opinion.

The Fizzy Files

     Soda lovers in New York City can breathe a sigh of relief this week as a judge blocked a ban on placing a cap on super-sized sodas.  Mayor Bloomberg’s attempts to limit soda consumption within the city sparked a 50-1 vote on a bill in Mississippi, referred to as the ‘Anti-Bloomberg’ bill.  Mississippi legislators believe that there are already enough Food & Beverage regulations, and that soda lovers everywhere have the right, the liberty to take a huge gulp of that delicious sweet stuff.  The Anti-Bloomberg bill will prevent any State regulations that limit or ban consumables based on their nutritional value. The article also states that, according to a report by Trust for America’s Health, Mississippi has the highest rate of obesity in the country with a whopping 34.9%. 

          The libertarian in me supports Mississippi for initiating a no-regulation bill, but the suspicious person in me really wonders why Mississippi legislators were so quick to turn this bill around. With the staggering number of adult obesity that is nearly forty percent, could it be possible that their market could crash if caps were placed on Big Gulps?  Also, food & beverage is big business, so it seems to me that by preventing limitations on non-nutritious food items they are only saving their pocketbooks and not what is best for the consumer. 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/12/us/mississippi-anti-bloomberg-bill

Harpies On The Loose!

My newest composition:

Harpies begin an epic adventure, pillaging farmland, taking to the open sea, and making their journey back home. I hope you enjoy it! 
♥

I like whipped cream.