In Mother Russia Blogs Write You!

So Russia...Ukraine...America...good final topic is a good topic right? Personally I think it is.

What the Hell is going on with Russia? They're starting to back their lost land, and Ukraine does not want that to happen. Why does that matter to us? Because that means Russia is trying to take over the world again. Is that a bad thing? Maybe. With the historical connotation of the word "Communism" it may as well be synonymous for "Anarchy" in America.

In my eyes though, equality doesn't sound like a bad thing as long as no one is corrupted by power or money. Is that realistic? I don't think so. Not right now because America is too absorbed in the concept of money because America is still large in the international eye because of our past glory. Unless money goes away corruption will still be prominent.

Cut Welfare..? Well Maybe...

So Paul Ryan wants to cut welfare, repeal the Affordable Health Care Act while cutting Medicaid, turn food stamps into block grant program and cap spending, cut education spending, charging university students interest WHILE THEY'RE IN SCHOOL, and significantly reduce the amount of Pell grants available to students to spend on military aid and block grants for the states.

This sexy man wants to what? You know...he was so much cuter before he opened up his mouth and learned how to use the English language.

I agree that we should repeal the Affordable Health Care Act. It's financially impossible for us right now to have required health care and still be money happy. We're just not financially there yet as a country. I also agree that we need to cut down on fucking food stamps. Let me tell you something...I am/was a food stamp baby. My family and I have been on food stamps on and off for 16 years. They give you way too much money to spend on food. It's disgusting. I have noticed that I have struggled with weight gain when my family and I were on food stamps when comparing the times where we weren't on food stamps. I'm not saying that I'm ungrateful for the program, but they simply give way too much money for food. They shouldn't regulate food stamps either. That's like refusing a PMSing woman trying to buy chocolate at the grocery store. You just don't do that. 

What I DON'T agree with is cutting Medicaid or education spending. Like what the Hell Paul Ryan? Not everyone can afford health insurance or sending their children to private schools, so why the HELL would deprive people who aren't as fortunate do so? Why should YOU say I have to pay full price for my gynecologist appointments about MY birth control methods. I don't want babies right now. I don't have the money to have babies, but I still like to have fun. Also, why should YOU make it harder for me, my baby brother, my friends, family, and future family to make a living for ourselves. We're trying to survive in this world too you know. I'm not saying you should throw $1 million our way, but you could at least give a chance to absorb all the knowledge we can from our teachers and do something with ourselves before you try to tie a bricks around all of our ankles and throw us where the Malaysian Flight MH370 is.

All that damn money you would save? Spend it on something nice like education or...GETTING OUR COUNTRY OUT OF DEBT YOU MORON.   

Miss Haley Van Horn's "Corporate Welfare"

Oh Wal-Mart...I have had a couple of friends and coworkers who have worked at Wally World, and let me tell ya something. They treat their employees like COMPLETE SHIT. I had one friend/coworker who got chemical burn from washing their dishes, and management WOULD NOT file a medical report when they were supposed to. Her manager at the time told to "just put Aquaphor on it." The same friend told me that Wal-Mart purposefully pushes the "good" managers out of the business and keeps all the "bad" ones.

Another friend told me that his manager was NOT allowed to give him a maximum score, even though he deserved it, on his annual evaluation or else she would get written up HERSELF.

The Wal-Mart stories I have just go on and on.

The whole company is almost completely rotten to the core, and I bet Sam Walton is rolling in his grave because of what his family has done with his company. This company needs to get of their greedy and lazy asses and support themselves because they're fully capable of doing so. The current Waltons and Wal-Mart in general are perhaps part of the reason why this country has gotten so damn greedy.

So on another note, Haley did a good job writing her post. I could see her improving by making defined paragraphs. If she feels that her paragraphs would be too short, then she should elaborate on her opinion a little bit more or just settle with the short paragraphs. Other than that she did a great job!

Mr. Ivans Buckley's "I Always Feel Like Sombodies Watching..." Post

Today I looked at Ivans' blog "We The People" and I enjoyed the fact that he talked about the Patriot Act, and the lack of freaking privacy Americans have nowadays. It seems to me as though that "America the Free" is turning into the 1950's nightmare of Communist Russia when they were at their peak. I agree with his views on the topic, and I wish that we as citizens of the U.S. would see the Act how it is on paper. I wish we could see what congress(wo)men, the president, and what the Supreme Court WOULD see if this Act came up to legitimate questioning. I wish the politicians would stop brushing the Act under the rug in OUR living room. I mean it's just ridiculous what our government gets away with. 

Everyday people like you and I get criticized, judged, and dealt with (one way or another) when we believe and act like we're above the law. But our nation's leaders? No, they can pay off the public, the media, whoever to keep their mouths shut! Our nation has so much potential to use for improvement, but yet we, the citizens, choose to ignore it because it seems impossible. 

I sincerely believe that we as citizens have the right to all this information, and can change our country for the better with this knowledge. I feel if we try to do something we CAN achieve it. 

On a different note, I think Ivans' post could be improved with links to some more information about the lack of privacy. For example, what privacy levels other countries have, any statistics on our privacy, FBI links to the Patriot Act, Wikipedia links, news reports, etc. Other than that I think he did a great job! 

Unpaid Washington Interns?

So I presumed that our federal government paid their interns with not just sex, but money too. Stephen Lurie from Washington Post has written an opinion piece about how the Federal government does not pay their interns a dime, yet plans on paying employees overtime.  The criticism is that because the government doesn’t pay the interns it makes it harder for students that come from high-middle and down classes thus making today’s interns and tomorrow’s politicians more likely to be richer and put more distance between the public and politicians in the aspect of relatability.

I couldn't resist...

In class we talked about how one of the main issues with Congress is that the demographics there do not accurately represent the demographics in the nation thus causing a lot of misunderstanding and misrepresenting in our country. I feel like unpaid government interns is one of the main sources of this issue because it really makes sense. I mean I know that Ivy League schools will let lower income students attend school practically for free as long as they meet grade requirements and show that they need financial aid like everybody else. But I guess when it comes to political internships the government gives them a rough time to get in as an intern and stay in. This furthers the whole “inner circle” of the government.

Think about it.  A lot of people who get pretty good jobs is because they know someone already there, and if the person that is already there is in good standing with the boss then they can easily get their friend into that company. Another scenario would be a circle of friends meet and come together in college, they all graduate going their separate ways, they get married, have kids…one kid wants to be a congressman and his dad remembers that his best friend from college is a congressman. Dad calls the college best friend, the best friend pulls some strings, and then the kid miraculously get an internship with minimal to no expenses. Then the whole cycle repeats when the son is put in the same situation twenty years down the road. Third and final example: Because a lot of the people went to similar or same Ivy League schools and they’re family has been at the school for years because of school pride everyone knows everyone else with the exceptions of foreign exchange students and the few students who advance in the social and economic classes.

I see Laurie’s point and I actually agree with him. Instead of paying your current employees overtime, they’re already well off I mean c’mon, give paid internships so we can improve the quality of our government and reduce the misrepresentation. It’s getting ridiculous. The government’s employees are pretty well off, and I’m not saying that they don’t work hard or don’t get stressed out about their job. But students have the hardest times getting themselves out there in the real world. The government’s employees already made it. Give the kids a chance.

Guns, Guns, Guns

What do we do with them? Why would we need them? Aren’t we all supposed to be “peaceful”? To me, we use guns for entertainment, defense, and a tool for food. We would need them to practice shooting, to hurt predators (human and non-human), and to get dinner a little faster. Through observation I’ve seen that peace seems achieved when everyone is happy. If everyone isn’t happy then some people become diplomatic about changing things through negotiation in order for people to be happy, and others just kills off anyone who doesn’t agree with them. Their way or the grave way I suppose.

His way or the grave way.

NPR reports that Georgia just passed a law saying that it’s cool to bring concealed guns to church, bars, and schools, AND the police kind of can’t ask a gunman for their gun license. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of having a gun license, and potentially puts the public in danger?

I wasn’t raised in a gun friendly household partially because my mother was scared of the damage they could do to our family when my dad threw hissy fits. She was also scared at the possibility of my brother and I’s curiosity with a gun. But I’ve had friends who have lived in the opposite environment and I've listened to what they have to say...I just get confused as to how I feel about gun rights. Hopefully someone can get a less frazzled opinion from this article.

What's the Brady Campaign..?

Alright I've Been Bad...

First off I want to say that I've been a bad student by not doing my blogs and other assignments like I'm supposed to. I'm sorry. I know that the only person I should really be apologizing to is I.

At least you know I have a school conscious somewhere telling me something in this robot brain lol.

So now I'm moving on to the actual assignment.

I've decided to discuss the a blog entry from National Review Online about medical professionals having the ability to pull the plug on life-supported patients instead of close friends/relatives having the choice which is called the Futile Care Theory. 

Look they even have a magazine for their blog! 

http://www.nationalreview.com/human-exceptionalism/372714/judge-says-no-hospital-pull-plug-demand-wesley-j-smith

This blog is considered a right-wing, and to be honest I had no idea where right-winged people stood on the subject of the Futile Care Theory. My guess was something along the lines of "If they're not contributing to society then pull it!" because a large part of my family is conservative and that seems to be their motto when it comes to any type of welfare.

I was half-expecting the author Wesley J. Smith to have his thesis along the line of "Move it or lose Grandma!" But I was surprised, intrigued, and kind of confused. To paraphrase and summarize Smith's argument is life is the most important thing we have in the world so we must do anything and everything to preserve it even in extreme cases, especially for Grandma. 

Because Grandma made us cookies.

I'm kidding about that last part by the way.

 He argues that it is wrong for the government to allow "strangers...to overrule a patients directive or decisions by family" to pull the plug on any patient because the decision "is a value judgment that properly belongs with patient/family/surrogate." and by "Allowing doctors/bioethicists to decide that a wanted life is not worth living would turn the fundamental purpose of medicine on its head." because it would essentially give doctor's the power to decide who lives and who dies which cause even more distrust between the American public and the medical field. 

Interesting huh?

I see his point through heavy Pathos and his own Ethos, but at the same time I think that there are way too many people in this world, let alone in this country. Don't even get me started on China...This incredibly humble, intelligent, and seemingly kind man is talking to an audience that agrees 110% with him and his tone is the almost the same as my dad's when he read me bedtime stories. Telling his audience that everybody should live is like telling me everyone on this Earth is immortal and it's possible to sustain all that life. I understand his concern and dedication to saving lives...trust me I watch Doctor Who, I want to help people when they fall for a living, and I'm a vegetarian for Pete's sake! But sometimes you just have to let people go. Even Grandma.

Grandma had a good long life okay? We can all let go together.