Birth of Crazy

When does life begin? That's been a question we've all been asking since we were told about chicken and eggs. Now in Mississippi, it's being put up for a vote in the matter of determining 'personhood'.

The group supporting the amendment, Personhood USA believes that life begins when an egg is fertilized by sperm and would like all threats to said personhood to be eliminated.  No more IUDs, Plan B, abortions or terminations of pregnancies at all. They want to govern people's ability to procreate or not. The other kicker, with this amendment, they would also stop all fertility treatments such as IVF since eggs would not be allowed to be fertilized outside of the womb.

Yes, a woman's right to choose is being threatened in more than a way of over turning Roe v. Wade but bringing the government into the bedroom and beyond.  Per this situation, why  have birth certificates because that is not when a human needs to declare their existence, but a conception certificate would need to be issued.

Would government require a woman track her cycles, so that a declarative test could be taken on a specific date past ovulation, that the status of her womb could be tracked?

Would every single miscarriage need to be investigated as a potential criminal act? What happens if the mother is not able to carry to term, would that be declared murder because her body wasn't able to sustain a full pregnancy?  What about when a child is born prematurely, is that attempted murder?

And if a person leaves the state of Mississippi to legally obtain an abortion, would they never be able to step foot back into the state, since the woman would have committed a crime?

Of course, there is no burden on the male party, in the sexual congress, because men can't bear the child and they are merely a fertilization station.  Is the state of Mississippi's government willing to take on the effort to enforce child support? Increase their pool of education funding? Or the responsibility for increase in the poverty population, because that is going to be the hardest hit group if this amendment was to past.

The final kicker, a woman would not be able to terminate a pregnancy in Mississippi that is deemed life threatening because there is no provision for the mother's health.  She's merely an incubator for the person that has yet to be born or formed.

If you live in Mississippi, vote no on this amendment.

Weighing In

Chris Christie is fat.  I know, such a profound statement. He's obviously has not let his weight stop him from having a successful political career and now there is talk of him being asked to lead the Republican ticket.

But can America accept a president that is over weight?  The media has always played up the healthiness, or lack there of - shall I mention the Clinton burger attacks - whenever the men in charge have played golf, had a penchant for running or riding on horseback. Especially with an obesity epidemic lazying all over the nation.

Chris Christie has been dismissive when politicians, reports or citizens question his lifestyle, the most infamous is when a constituent wanted to know why Christie didn't send his children to public school.  Christie released a force of words, that bottom line, that it was none of our, the public's, business.

And when it comes to his weight, if the question was asked, the questioner would get the same brusque response because no one wants have their personal choices questioned. But as the leader of United States of America your personal life becomes the property of every voter because that person is our representation to every country out there.  One thing that America doesn't want to show is our ugly side anymore and sully the reputation of our politicians even further.

Further, voters and Republican Party don't want have to plan contingencies of "What happens if the President's health is compromised to the point that the Vice President has to take office?"  With Christie's age and weight, his chances of having a life threatening episode increases dramatically.  The vetting process is a thorough one and I'm sure that there would be a full health exam completed but there is no guarantee that will catch everything that could cause someone to not be able to uphold the office of President.

Though to be honest, this would not be the nation's first President with a weight problem but now with the emphasis on health: Michelle Obama's garden and get moving campaign, Presidential Fitness Program and many other initiatives, can Christie be the face of these endeavors?

The argument of fatism has come up in many social situations such as social interactions with others, dating and getting a job, that people shouldn't be judged on their size.  And Christie does have a strong track record in his political dealings, leaning more middle of the road and is refreshing breath of fresh air when compared to the right wing Tea Partiers, allowing him to be a more palatable candidate for the Progressives that have been vacillating away from the Obama base.

He also is willing to stand up and lead when others have allowed minority groups to have power over the House, stymieing legislation that the American people need passed. Christie is his own force of nature, having a track record of cutting spending in New Jersey and isn't afraid of telling other politicians where they can take their pork and eat it.

But he's not the smooth talker like Perry and doesn't have the boyish charm of Romney. But when you're the size of mountain, not only are going to get seen, you'll be heard.

Oh Hermie...

Let's talk about a little quote that got Mr. Herman Cain a lot of press:

"Many African-Americans have been brainwashed into not being open-minded, not even considering a conservative point of view,"

You can hear many of the pundits discussing this little tidbit of fun all over the political airwaves because Cain claims all of his majority (because many is more than half, right?) of his own brethren zombies. Now, I'm not African-American but if someone who wanted my vote insulted my intelligence because of the color of my skin, I think that would give me pause to pull the lever for their opponent.

I could write about African-Americans  and their support for the Republican party after Lincolns signed the Emancipation Proclamation until Jim Crowe laws were enacted in the South. How Republicans want to cut a lot of social programs that African Americans rely on. How when you look at the red states in the South, they happen to have the largest population of African Americans in poverty. But Roland S. Martin wrote it much more eloquently than I ever could.

If Cain wants to be invited to the big dance, he might want to look at how he courts the voters.

Who picks up the check?

Did you know during the Reagan era that the rich paid more in taxes than what Obama is asking for in the American Jobs Act?  And by rich I mean…um…actually no one will define rich – not your accountant, not your mother and certainly not anyone in political office.   Thankfully, we have the tax code defines it by those lovely brackets that we all have to fall into.

During the Reagan Presidency (1981-1989) tax leveling/tax boohooing/tax magic, the highest income households grew 11% and the rate of growth for the poverty level was flat.  Even Reagan knew that to keep an economy healthy, coming off of the oil crisis of the late 1970’s and the Jimmy Carter administration, that tax increases were necessary.  Though, his wasn’t a perfect solution by any means because the government was still spending more than it earned and a balance/surplus wasn’t achieved until the Clinton presidency, the economy still grew at a rate that no one was injured by the tax increases but citizens of the U.S., in all brackets, personal wealth grew or stayed level.

Then George Bush (Twosies – personal nickname and go watch Scrubs) came into office and decided that the government should not hold a surplus because it wasn’t fair to the American people. No, we needed our money and we needed it right now.  I was in my early 20’s, in college, and that $300 check from the IRS was a God send to me. But I didn’t realize at the time that while I was getting the benefit of $300, that the people that make millions of dollars were reaping the benefit of a lower tax percentage than I was paying out of my meager salary that I earned so I could go to college.
 

I was oblivious to it because I wanted mine and I wanted it now.  And like a lot of other people, I didn’t do an analysis of government income and spending to determine if the U.S. budget had enough money stashed in the mattress to pay for two wars on a different continent, for natural disasters or in case the economy tanked.  Just like many Americans, it was sunny outside, not a cloud in site, why should I prepare for the day where it’s not only raining but it’s hailing, there is a tornado coming and I’m directly in its path.  (The credit crisis will be another post for another day.)

Currently, the Republican/Conservative political pundits are saying/writing/shouting that President Obama wants to increase taxes by three percent for those that make over a million dollars a year and corporations that are currently paying no taxes and it’s NOT FAIR.  The line of thought is that these people are ‘job creators’ and will take their money and go home if taxes increase.  If they can’t have their money, no one will. (Think of Daddy Warbucks pouting now.) And the corporations, are they going to move to Uganda? Sure, they could but where would the infrastructure be to get their goods to market, the military to make sure their employees get into the office or government officials that will negotiate a fair price to export to other countries.  

Elizabeth Warren, running for the U.S. Senate for the state of Massachusetts, put it best in regards to corporations having to pay taxes,

“You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear: you moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for; you hired workers the rest of us paid to educate; you were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn’t have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did.

“Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea? God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”

I don’t have a personal lobbyist to be my voice on Capitol Hill to make sure that elected officials look out for my best interest, nor do I have the funds to make significant campaign contributions so that I can get my hand shook at a campaign dinner.  But GE paid zero dollars in taxes last year.  Now go back and read Elizabeth Warren’s quote and see how you feel about a corporation not paying any income tax on the billions of dollars in profit that they made in 2010. 

The tax code needs to be changed so that the middle class, the ordinary citizens, isn’t bearing the entire burden. The ordinary citizen needs to figure out how to get the two parties in Washington D.C. to actually represent the people that elected them, not the corporations and top 1% who own them.

Finding a Voice

I'm a citizen of the United States of America.  I've voted in every election afforded to me, less one, since I turned eighteen. But I've been lackadaisical towards those that I was electing, giving my faith to the guy who had the least amount of dirt on his hands.

But now, as I watch the country that my forefathers worked so hard to build, I see people in the legislature grand standing and preening over who will win the battle of who has the most political clout and not focusing on doing what is right for the people that they represent. I appear to be minor player in this mess, a mess that was created by those that call themselves my representative, ultimately, I know that the government that is in office today is because of voters like me.  Voters who didn't do our homework about who we were electing. Voters who didn't think that one vote would make a difference.  Voters who won't discuss politics at the office, church or at home because it isn't proper, politics makes people uncomfortable or starts arguments.

Instead of taking the hard road, I sat back while my neighbors lost their houses, jobs, savings, hope. I watched on the sidelines as the Greatest Generation lost their retirement and the dream of taking their golden years easy.  The Baby Boomers have come to the realization that they won't ever retire because they didn't save, relying on the belief that the government would provide for them as a safety net.  Generation X is trying to keep the roof over their heads, a paycheck in their pocket and wanting jobs that would help them achieve the American Dream only to watch those jobs be sent overseas.  Generation Y, they get almost nothing: no job prospects, college that is too expensive, living at home with their parents because independence is not an option.  And Generation I, they have inherited uncertainty.

Apathetic. That is what the American people have been over the last two decades when it came to the running of our country. This allowed for the lobbyists and corporations to find ways to court Capital Hill, wining and dining the legislature so that at the end of their romantic evening, they could talk Capital Hill into inviting them up for a night cap. Now corporations are 'people' with large checkbooks who've broken up the marriage of citizen and government.

The Republicans, the Democrats, the Libertarians, the Tea Party, who do we trust?  Who do we count on to be our voice?  And how do we take way the shovel that most of Congress is using to shovel shit upon our heads and want to us ask, "May I have more, Sir?"

The Ordinary Citizen has been silent for too long.