Tag: news

A New Age For Politics

by rhealitycheck

Now I am pretty upfront that I’m not exactly an Obama fan-girl (skeptic would probably be the best descriptor) but I’m starting to come around to actually liking the guy a little bit. In fact Obama fan-girls/boys still irritate me and bring out the “devil’s advocate” voice in me all the time. But I have to say I am a fan of some of the things that are happening. One very trivial example would be not wearing coats in the oval office. While it may be a trivial example I think it just shows a President who is a little more relaxed with formalities and more interested in doing what’s best for the country and you don’t have to be in a full suit & tie to do it. I’m not saying wear jeans to work but loosening up a bit is not a bad thing, in my opinion.

Not to mention there has been much progress in the past week or so. I am pleased.

Update:
So Thursday morning I was reading this lovely article about how Wall St has been freely giving away bonuses this year despite the fact that they cannot stay out of water without tax-payer dollars bailing them out. And I was just lamenting to a friend about how I wish someone would say something to those people in finance who believe they deserve a bonus for actually making their companies fail because quite frankly, I’d say the opposite is true. These are the same people that got unreasonably large bonuses for doing things that we have found to be completely unethical and made of naught. The money just wasn’t there and they made it up, so why should they be rewarded for this? I cannot explain how pleased I was to read this article later that afternoon which appeared in this morning’s paper. I am really glad that President Obama is actually taking a hard stance on this, granted I wanted a little more brimstone and fire a la Maureen Dowd but you know, I’m still happy that he is showing his displeasure.

Perhaps I will end up actually liking Obama I do really like some of the new moves that Obama is making even if I am not (and am determined never to be) a “fan-girl”. I certainly reserve that fundamentally American right to criticize our politicians but I have to say I think this is a great start to what I hope is a new era in politics.

The Hype About Maureen Dowd

by rhealitycheck

So I’ve noticed that a lot of people I know are just in love with Maureen Dowd. And I’ll admit, for a while I was a Maureen Dowd fan-girl but I was seriously disappointed with her after her extremely vicious attacks on Hillary. There is one blog that actually has a few very poignant examples of this that I like. (And I know, I have been an avid Hillary supporter so perhaps I took it more personally than I would have if it had been someone else). But what I noticed when I was reading her work is that her writing is just seething with venom for anyone she doesn’t particularly care for. I mean sure I’ve gotten a kick out of her depictions of W and Palin but I do think they are caricatured to a degree. I mean I feel that W and Palin leave themselves far more open to her attacks than any other figures out there. The part that I find amazing is that there are so many MD fan-girls but I rarely hear anyone speak of Gail Collins. Now I have recently discovered Collins while I have been on vacation and I have to say that I love her work. Personally, I think of her as wittier, funnier and less bitchy than Dowd, why wouldn’t I prefer her column? Or say Paul Krugman, his pieces are typically more thoughtful and substantive than hers. I mean sure MD is still interesting to read but I don’t quite get the hype that surrounds her. I just think there are other political writers that are far more put together and some are still somewhat biased but not so far out there that you no longer have a sense of what the truth is anymore.

Does Every Country Have To Have A War On Terror?

by rhealitycheck

In my personal opinion the “War on Terror” in the United States was possibly one of the stupidest things I had ever heard of. And now to hear things like that coming out of India. To hear about how the Mumbai bombings were India’s 9/11. Well, frankly, they were not. The circumstances were entirely different and certainly the impetus behind it were not even close to being the same. Surely there are radicals everywhere but a War on Terror and “trying to keep the country safe” by essentially creating hysteria within the people is dumb. I know that may be a bit much to take for some people but let’s face it how much has this “War on Terror” really done for us? We (the US) are successfully in the middle of two miserably failing wars and on the brink of starting something up with Pakistan that I have no doubt will be equally as ineffective if we try that route. These wars have caused the rest of the world to lose almost all their respect for us, if it weren’t for the fact that world has simply become too globally intertwined I do believe most of it would have turned it’s back on the mighty US a long time ago. In the modern world that is not possible so they simply whisper behind our backs about what fools we are.

This brings me to India. Now why on earth would anyone want to follow such a failing model? I recently read a beautiful article by Arundhati Roy on her thoughts about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. It is truly a well thought out and eloquent piece on the complications of naming the Mumbai bombings “India’s 9/11”. And if anyone needs some historical background on the complexities of India it also illuminates many of the reasons why it can never be “India’s 9/11”. It saddens me to think that such a great democracy is leaning towards becoming a police state.

And I find it atrocious that we only seem to be able to blame Muslims for acts of terror. Wake up, world, there are terrorists of every nationality, religion, race, ethnicity, you name it there is probably one out there. The scale may be different in what they have been able to accomplish but they are out there. I do not think any people should be persecuted simply because of their beliefs. Perhaps we should try to understand the context, understand why they are so angry and try to fix the problem diplomatically instead of by creating more war, more terror, more hurt, more pain and more anger. Perhaps creating a little understanding might be a better way than to keep on increasing radical beliefs.

Is America Becoming Socialist?

by rhealitycheck

Because that’s certainly what it feels like at least from *all* the socialized losses that we seem to be picking up these days. What I want to know is where are the benefits for the majority of Americans? Surely there has to be something more in it for the average person to be picking up over a trillion dollars worth of bad business. At the rate that we are handing out money to corporations I really do hope that someone is going to be held accountable because I find it absolutely unacceptable that there are many executives that have truly made a giant mess of things and yet are still being paid in the millions.

Perhaps I just don’t understand capitalism but I was always under the impression that should you run your business poorly, it will go under and you will “lose your shirt”, but clearly we no longer believe in that. As it is being proven by the fact that we are now bailing out the automakers along with Wall St. Who else are we going to take on as charity cases? I’m just waiting for the next shoe to drop. For all these years we have criticized and absolutely down-played the need for any socialist tendencies, yet now, now we are essentially taking from the poor and giving handouts to the rich who have managed to mismanage their money. (Sure, I know I’m exaggerating a bit but if you really do take an overly simplistic view that is exactly what is going on.)

So I hope that the new administration does not forget that this is not a socialist country. And until the base standard of living can come up to some sort of reasonable standard, such as universal health care and an appropriate minimum wage and appropriate taxes on the wealthy to compensate for such things, I would hope that the government can control themselves as to just how sorry they feel for those poor, poor corporations that have managed to go astray.

Being a “Skinny Bitch”…

by rhealitycheck

seems to be a tall order. At least if you read the book Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. I never truly intended on reading this book, I had read a review in the New York Times and aside from the catchy title I didn’t really have much interest in it. But recently I’ve been a little more into health and being more proactive about getting healthy and well I ended up with a 3 hour delay on my flight back to Chicago after Thanksgiving. So what’s a girl to do other than go pick up the first relatively interesting book she finds at the airport bookstore.

I inteded this to be an amusing, interesting read. Considering I had already read the Times review on it I had a vague idea what the book was supposed to be about and I had no intention of changing my eating habits to become a vegan. Little did I know that they took excerpts from a book slaughterhouses when I first cracked that book open. The most interesting part of the whole thing was that this little book does not look like it can change your life. Quite frankly, it looks like a fabulous piece of fluff to put on your bookshelf for shock value – much like this book Queer that I own which just has fabulous pictures and some historical content but mostly fabulous pictures.

Yet I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I read it on the plane and then the train and in the cab and even in bed once I got home. I haven’t gotten through the entire book yet but I am about 3/4 of the way through and I think it is great. I also had no intention of becoming vegan yet I can’t seem to look at meat the same way. Those passages about the slaughterhouse just changed something in my psyche. I can’t say that this will be a lasting change just yet since it has only been 2 days of relatively vegetarian eating (I am stubbornly trying to hold on to my carnivorous roots, it’s not working out so well for me – I rebelled when all my friends became vegetarian and I have a hard time eating my words).

It’s amazing how without even intending to make a huge change in my life, I have done so anyway. And I actually feel really good about it. Partially because, well if even a fraction of what they said was true about the slaughterhouses I can’t eat meat in good conscience. I was happy being blissfully unaware but now that I know I do think it may just be time to make that change in my life. I don’t know how I feel about being vegan because well, I haven’t cooked in about a year and it is hard to find easily available vegan food. I will try to be as vegan as possible but I don’t know that I can go the whole 9 yards that the girls tell ya to go.

And I would truly recommend this book to anyone. I mean you don’t have to believe what these women believe to find this to be an interesting read. If nothing else it makes you well informed. I may not stay vegetarian or vegan for long but the information that I have gathered here has certainly changed me and will stay with me for the rest of my life. I think that just changing your mindset and your outlook on life can be helpful and these women just put it so well in the book. I think one of my favourite passages was one about carbs when they start ranting about how only idiots don’t eat carbs. Having been an athlete, I have known about the virtue of carbs for years – trust me crew coaches don’t let you get away with not eating carbs.

The other thing I really love about the book is that it gives you a place to put all that energy most women spend about obsessing about being skinny. It gives you so many things to think about that are truly interesting and ways to change your life that are not difficult. Most of all it uses common sense that people can relate to easily. I mean what’s better than a book that tells you, come on idiot just use your brain, think about what you’re doing and you’ll be fine. It’s pretty awesome, at least I certainly think so.

Is Dark Matter For Real!?

by rhealitycheck

Because that would be awesome. It gives me hope for String Theory after all. Now I know I rarely get to let my nerdy science side out on this blog but secretly I am a pseudo theoretical physicist. I say pseudo because I was really into it in college but have left the realms of amazing academic science for corporate America. Yes, it is rather disappointing but I do like to keep up with what’s going on in the world of physics and I have a special place in my heart for the articles that make it to places like the New York Times Science section because it gives me hope that maybe some day more people will think it’s cool too! (Because really it is the coolest thing EVER!)

Anyway, I was super excited to open up my Science Times this morning and find this article talking about dark matter. Now I’m not sure how this will all pan out, I mean people have been talking about dark matter for years and it really only seems to come in bursts. But boy would it be exciting if we could actually prove that there are particles interacting in another dimension that has some sort of effect here! Also I happen to be a little partial to this because I am a bit partial to string theory and if they can prove that dark matter exists in another dimension this is just one small step in proving that string theory is *actually* the theory of everything! I am *so excited*.

Should Hillary Be Secretary Of State?

by rhealitycheck

I actually think that’s a very tough question. Obviously I’m no political expert but for a woman of her stature, especially with the manpower she has behind her right now that’s a big question. I know nothing is formal and that most speculate that the offer will be formally made and that she will formally accept it but I wonder if it is the right choice.

Now, when I first heard that Hillary might be Secretary of State, I’m not gonna lie, I was pretty excited. But then I discussed it with my mother and I read a few articles by some pretty intelligent older women about the reasons why she shouldn’t and I have to say I am torn. Right now Hillary Clinton is a power house in the senate. She is the woman that has 18 million votes. She is the woman that everyone wants on their team. She may be the junior senator from New York but she will never be just another senator. Everyone wants her on their committee, everyone wants her to be their friend because Hillary Clinton wields a lot of power with her 18 million votes.

So why would she want to move over to being Secretary of State. It’s true being the head of the state department is extraordinarily prestigious but it isn’t quite the same sort of change as being the party leader in the Senate or heading up as many committees in the Senate. At the same time being Secretary of State she gets to make her own rules in her own department and there is far less clawing for position. The part that I find interesting is that as Secretary of State, she is officially Obama’s face to the International World and that is what would given me pause (you know, if I were cool enough to be Hillary Clinton).

As Secretary of State you are not quite your own woman anymore, which I find interesting. I just wonder what this step means should she choose it. I am sure she will do a fabulous job no matter what she decides but would it be better to be your own voice, your own power house in the senate or to be the president’s voice to the world?

Yes To Bailouts, No To Thinking

by rhealitycheck

Sometimes I truly believe that is what is going on in our government. Has everyone just decided to leave logic and reason at home for the past few weeks? Because I surely don’t see many good decisions being made. Not that a lot of good decisions have been made in the last 8 years but nothing quite so drastic as what seems to be happening with the economy and our lovely tax-payer dollars today. I was having a lovely ride to work today on the bus until I happened upon this article in the New York Times.

First of all I am absolutely incensed that Paulson believes that the money from the bailout should only go to “investment” in financial institutions rather than “spending” on rescue efforts.” Well quite frankly Mr. Paulson, you and your Wall St cronies fucked up big time, pardon my french. Why should we allow you to fritter out tax dollars away giving these guys golden parachutes and money to “invest”? I’m sorry, I think you’ve done a lousy enough job screwing up our economy thoroughly, I think it’s about time we gave back to the people who are losing their homes. Sure, I believe that one should not invest in something one cannot afford but let’s be realistic, we bailed out Wall St for making poor investment choices, which I would like to mention were based on these same mortgages that we are not allowing to be refinanced. So basically what Hank is telling us is that it is ok for banks to make stupid decisions, let’s not hold them accountable but average people who make those same stupid decisions should be held accountable. Right, I’m glad that we’re all on board with this privatized profits and socialized losses system. I love it. Perhaps I am a little too jaded on this topic but I have to say that this editorial did make me happy that at least someone else thinks Paulson’s thinking is flawed.

Although I have to say I was at least happy to note that Paulson does not want to bailout the auto industry. While I don’t like most of what he has done, in this is one instance I do agree that bailing out the auto industry is a bad idea. I actually think the op-ed by Mitt Romney was a really good take on Detroit. I certainly think he made a really great argument for what should actually be done that would be effective.

Keeping An Eye On Palin

by rhealitycheck

I believe that Sarah Palin may have learned something in her disastrous run for VP. When I was reading the article about the Republican Governor’s meeting in the Times I was thoroughly shocked by many of the Palin quotes. I do believe she is one that the Dems should keep their eyes on because she is charismatic, attractive and if she learns how to actually speak well she could become a thorn in the side of liberals everywhere.

I mean just the simple fact that she didn’t want to talk about 2012 and instead redirected the conversation to what the governors should be focusing on now are their budgets and giving Republicans all around a better name, well that actually shows some vision. If she continues to make statements like that and thinks before she speaks, well, colour me concerned.

And it’s not just her, I know many people may have forgotten about Mike Huckabee but he is yet another Republican with amazing charisma. I generally don’t agree with anything he says but what I will give him credit for is actually making sense when speaking about what the middle class needs. With someone as grounded as he is and Palin starting to get her act together, I’m a little concerned about our future.

The Dems really need to get it together and fast because I can see some major competition coming up in our future. And I think it would be nice to have a more moderate government for a while, I mean idealistically I’d like it to lean left but you know I’ll settle for moderate. I just don’t want to think of what could happen should the likes of Palin and Huckabee get to be more significant National figures for the Republican party.

Ok Forget Prop 8, Let’s Talk About Arkansas

by rhealitycheck

While the rest of the country is bemoaning California passing Proposition 8, which I still find extremely depressing, let’s discuss what just happened in Arkansas. What you may not have known and what I did not know until very recently was that they just passed a motion to ban people who are “cohabitating outside a valid marriage” from serving as foster parents or adopting children. I have to say I was horrified to see that in my op-ed page of the Times!

I find it quite disturbing that there are now laws being passed about the marital status of an individual’s ability to raise a child. I was raised by a single parent and in our case it was because she was widowed rather early in life but what if someone had deemed her unfit. I don’t believe the state can determine what is best for the child simply by the marital status of an individual. For example, in college one of the religious advisers at the school refused to marry her “partner” (who is a man) because she is morally opposed to marriage if it isn’t equal for all people. What would Arkansas say about her children, would they be taken away simply because she opposes the institution of marriage?

Anyway reading that just horrified me. First California goes and passes a law that protects the rights of chickens over the rights of their gay residents and now this. Really, what is this country coming to? And since when did we want the government to come knock down our doors and take a peek into our bedrooms? I thought America was all about freedom, what ever happened to that? I thought conservatives were really about small government, somehow this does not sound like small government to me. And Little Cog made a fabulous point in this article about how there should be “Marriage for none, Civil Unions for all” and I completely agree with that sentiment.

And to throw a little amusement your way watch this video about a counter proposition banning divorce in California.

I will end this with a happy thought, CT just legalized gay marriage. Yay!