Understanding The Political Machine

March 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

These days it appears that there is a shift in the political landscape. These days there seems to be a focus on what people want and the American people are starting to stand up for themselves. We often hear about what the politician is will to be for the people but rarely does that translate into anything relevant or worth while. The truth is that most of the politicians say they are there to help but they are more interested in keeping their job then they are about doing what’s right and what is in the best interest of the people. It’s the way the political system works that makes it tough for the newly appointed politician to do their job.

For instance once a politician gets into office they must think about some things as it relates to their job. There are usually in their office because their political party went to bat for them. Now their first day in office the idea of funding the new childrens hospital is coming up. There is a lot of money that could go to the hospital and it would help a lot of people. However there are people in the party who want that land to go to a commercial real estate developer because they have been generous to those in the party. So now while it would make more sense to have the hospital they have to now it would make sense to keep their party and it’s biggest supporters happy. This is how you keep your job. It’s the way the machine works and it’s a sad reality but a reality none the less.

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Sexual Harassment: Crossing The Line

March 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Is there still a problem with women in the workplace? Is there still a problem with sexual harassment? The truth is that there are plenty of cases that are still going on, but it’s hard to know when a line is crossed. Now, in the work place there are certainly times when it’s easy to tell when there is sexual harassment that has occurred, but there are plenty of times where a normal conversation between co-workers can be uncomfortable, so here are some of the things that you should keep in mind when it comes to co-workers at the work place.

The first thing is there are plenty of times when a conversation you have or you overhear can be sexual harassment. If you are someone around you is engaged in sexual suggestive conversation then you can bet there will be an issue with you violating or being violated by someone else. What you hear can be just as damaging as what you say. Don’t make the mistake of saying anything inappropriate. Even if you have a friend at work that you feel comfortable with, just keep the sexual talk outside of the work place.

The next thing to remember is a comment can be damaging too. You might think that a comment you make in passing, even if it is meant as a joke, is something that will get blown off, but more often than not it’s something that gets blown up. It’s rather unfortunate but people listen to everything you say and you can never be sure what is or is not offensive to someone else. The best thing you can do is to tr and remember that if it’s borderline at best than it’s just best not to say it. That is the key when it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace.

Filed Under: Feminism, Society Tagged With: , ,

The Balance of 9/11

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We are nearing the anniversary of 9/11. It’s certainly one of the most important days in the history of our country and one that we may never get over. The impact of that day might have been one of the most significant. There is an older generation that talks about the day of Pearl Harbor with such history and reverence for what it meant to the country, but how will we see 9/11?

The truth is that the view on the day is a little skewed. There are many who will see it as a horrible tragedy that our government should feel responsible for. They allowed a terrorist to get into the country and do unspeakable acts against the rest of the American people. There are those that will say it was the beginning of the end to the Bush administration, and there are others that will say it was more eye opening than anything else.

The truth is that in the midst of all that chaos there was a little bit of beauty that transpiring from the events of 9/11. While no one would ever want to see something so vile and so rude happen to their fellow countrymen, what it did do was brings the entire nation closer together. It’s part of the reason that there have been so many good people how did so many good things for others in that time. It’s one of the things that makes this country great and continues to make this country great. You cannot underestimate how people will ban together when the country truly needs them.

This is a time when the world will remember the bad, but it would do them well to remember the good. It’s part of what makes the country great and will continue to going forward.

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Teen Mom Gets It Wrong

March 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

These days there is an epidemic that is concealed from the public’s eyes. As we you can’t see it, but if you look close enough and see it for what it is you can start to see that there is a real problem going on. The issue is the MTV show Teen Mom. The other show 16 and Pregnant as well, but Teen Mom might be the worst offender of society.

The show centers around the lives of teenage mothers and what they must go through every single day as they try to raise their kids. The premise of the idea is that they are there to show young teenagers all the trappings of being a teen mom , but the truth is that it does more to promote teen pregnancy than it does to keep it away from children.

The girls on the show have made a living these days of getting paid a lot of money to put their lives out there. Their salaries are over six figures and they are even feeling the pressure to move on and do other projects or get a spin off series. These ladies are not bad people but you have to wonder if what they are portraying helps anyone.

These women are telling young girls that it is ok to go ahead and get pregnant. This is nothing worse than a marketing ploy and Dr. Drew should be ashamed of himself that he would exploit these ladies for his own profit and pretend that he is attempting to help do it as part of customer service.

It’s important for a woman to talk to their own teen daughters and to let them know that these women are not reflective of what things are really like. That is nothing to be proud of and those women are making ends meet because they have the money from the show. You must teach them that things are not like that.

Filed Under: Feminism Tagged With: , ,

The Sloan Society

March 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If basketball is the true microcosm of the world then society is proving that the money you make is relative to the power you have. The recent news in the world of basketball centers around the recent departure of Jerry Sloan. He was the well respected Utah Jazz head coach for the last 23 years, but Sloan left his post mid way through the NBA season because of a difference of opinion with Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams.

Now, the reports have indicated that Deron didn’t push Sloan out but that after a heated debate Sloan went to management and asked that he be allowed to punish Williams for his behavior. The brass at the Jazz said no because Williams is their prize player and he is also a free agent after next season and so the idea is that if he is unhappy he will walk and walking will hurt the franchise. This certainly makes sense when you consider that after the Cleveland Cavaliers lost LeBron James the value of their franchise dipped about 25%.

So if basketball is the true microcosm of the world then we can say that there is plenty of reason to believe that money is what dictates power in the world. This is not a concept lost on the rest of the world, but it’s certainly something that is bleeding into areas of the world that were thought to have existed in a vacuum. Sports are making that known that it’s the money that rules the sport and it’s not the integrity of the coach or the integrity of the program. There are plenty of things that are no longer the way we thing they should be and the NBA coaching situation is one of them. It’s money that rules all and that’s a sad statement for a game that so many have loved.

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Credibility in the News

February 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Is our news false information. There are plenty of times that we all watch the news and wonder about the integrity of the news people and how they are reporting it, but we never really stop to wonder if those news people are telling the truth deep down. This might sound confusing but it’s not. See, we examine the news passively. We hear something and go “hmmm, I wonder how accurate that is” but we never take the time to test that it is or isn’t really accurate. The question is: how credible is the news these days anyway?

The initial thought is to check the source where a news report came from. For instance, and this happens a lot in the news these days. An outlet like Foxnews might report that in a study done by the (and we’ll just make this up) Keller Group that 89% percent of all American’s are not approving of the job that President Obama has done. While this could be the case one has to look deeper than just seeing that it’s the Keller group and look into exactly how that Keller Group is formed and who they are run by.

Now it would then interest you to know that the Keller group is a group owned by the Blighton Corporation and that it is owned by the same person or persons who owns Foxnews. This might give you pause when you consider that their political agenda is not usually in line with the President. Now this doesn’t prove that they are a dishonest group or that the poll isn’t valid, but it could lead us to want more answers as to how the poll was conducted.

These things are not done in order to create a sense of distrust but rather they are used to create questions. We count on the news for valuable information but if they are skewing that information that it should give use a reason for pause and a reason to question.

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The Ignorance of Comments

February 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Does the world these days have fake blog muscles? There are plenty of people out there who have heard of the term “beer muscles.” It’s the term used to describe the bravado of men and women when they have had a few too many in the bar and they think they are able to beat up the world. In the endless news cycle and where everyone has a voice and that voice is a million miles away from the rest of the world it’s easy to wonder if there such a thing as fake blog muscles.

Many writers and news critics have opinions and their take on different issues, but that is what they are paid for, but the issue is that those who are commenting are no longer attempting to be civilized or intelligent in what they are commenting on. Instead they are using the Internet as a platform to harrass and degrade their targets.

Certainly not everyone will agree with a writers opinion on something. It’s within their right to question the integrity of that writer if they wish, but when it is taken to the point of hurling slurs or making blind and ignorant statements about someone’s family then it is taking it too far. So what are these bloggers to do with opinions they don’t like and why has it come to this?

Part of the problem is that there is a culture that exists where we are taught to be loud and be frank, but that should mean to be offesnive. However, there are plenty of men and women who are just that. It’s a shame because there are very good minded and intelligent responses to some of the opinions and news pieces that are posted but those pieces end up getting buried by bloggers who don’t know how to make a case for their argument without hurting someone. The sad part is that the situation will get worse before it ever gets better.

Filed Under: Feminism, Society Tagged With: , , , ,

The Ills of New Health Care

February 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The government is in a tense battle when it comes to the health care reform that has been passed by the Obama administration. While there are many that believe that the new health care reform is a necessary step towards getting more Americans insured, it’s only a microcosm of what needs to be done and it’s a poor step at that.

Of course there are those that are in complete support of the president and what he has tried to do, however, that doesn’t mean it works on all levels, or fails on all levels either. The key to the bill has been that it will no longer allow insurance companies to refuse service to those with preexisting health care conditions. Now, this is a welcome idea to those who have conditions, but those who are concerned about the health care plan are not sure that this is the way to make the situation better for everyone.

Those detractors will tell you that there are plenty of people out there who don’t have those conditions that will see their deductibles and premiums go up because they have to cover the expenses of those high risk, high cost patients.

So there are plenty of people who are happy that change is being inacted but are very upset about the change in and of itself. There are not going to be any quick solutions to the problem. The best that we can hope for is that there is a relatively happy medium reached and the people who need health care from the government can go out and get it.

Filed Under: Feminism, Society Tagged With: ,

Sarah Palin’s Success

February 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

How much does the world want Sarah Palin to succeed? The former beauty queen has risen to become one of the most prominent female figures in the political world. She has taken the Republican party and has made it a tea party that is harkening back to the days of the political activism of the revolutionary period. She’s been much maligned in the press for having the looks and the swagger, but not having the substance it takes to be a powerful and well respected political leader.

The question of how much a woman wants her to succeed extends far beyond her political agenda. There are plenty of people who don’t align their political beliefs with Sarah Palin, and there are plenty more who do not deem her kind of hard lines political stance to be to their liking, but there is an even bigger number of people who respect what she has done and how far she has come in the last two years to be one of the biggest political figures of her party.

The question does come back somewhat to her education. There are a number of people who don’t believe she has the necessary smarts to hold a high political office. If she gets in then what does that say about women as a whole? It’s an important question to ask considering there are those that will believe she gets to where she is because of the way that she looks and not because of the kind of political leader she has been. So when it comes down to what women want it’s more important that Palin does a good job and that she is respected by her peers. That is really what women all over the world want of her. Only time will tell if she can live up to their wishes.

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Can We Forgive Ben?

February 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

With the Super Bowl being played between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers there is something that women have to wonder after all this time? Is it ok to forgive the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. This Steelers quarterback is a lot of things, but popular with women is not one of them.

Over the course of the last two seasons he has been accused of sexual assault on not one but rather two occasions. This last time, the incident occurring at a bar in Georgia, was enough to almost have him brought up on charges. It was clear that his judgement was not good, but it is also clear that Ben has seemed to be on the straight and narrow and will certainly take a step up in the likable department, but is it enough for the ladies to forgive him.

The truth is that Ben is a person who is symptomatic of the professional athlete in today’s society. With the exlusive coverage of athletes on ESPN, Facebook and Twitter there are a lot of people out there who put the athletes on a throne and therefore it’s easy for these athletes to believe they are one of a kind and that they should never hear the words “no.” It might not be the right way to behave but it is the way that they do decide to conduct themselves.

The key may be whether or not Ben was guilty in the first place. It’s not necessarily that he was guilty. As a matter of fact it appears that he may not have been guilty at all.


Filed Under: Feminism, Society Tagged With: , , , ,
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