monkeybard: (annoyedeph)
Sometimes the internet makes me angry.  Not in and of itself, of coure.  It is, after all, nothing but a neutral mechanism.  It has no control over the metric buttloads of bullshit people pour out into it.  Yes, there is shiny goodness out there, too.  And as a rule I try to stick to that stuff because, frankly, I don't want to read other people's bullshit opinions/beliefs/hatefulness.  Sometimes it's unavoidable.  An off-putting post on someone's facebook page, for example, like the one I just ran across.  I have now hidden that person.  He's not a close friend or anything, and until now I hadn't realised he was stupid in that particular way.  So "hide" it is and pretty soon I'll forget he's even there.
monkeybard: (dark goddess)
I'm actually feeling vaguely positive about politics at the moment.  (Shhhhhh!  Don't tell anyone or I'm sure it'll all come crashing down.)  Locally, we got the mayor I wanted (well, who I didn't want less than I didn't want the other possiblities); the county exec I wanted (the competition was not only completely unqualified but, IMO, underhanded and untrustworthy based on prior and current actions); an assinine anti-tax initiative that would, in the long term, have destroyed things like education funding got soundly beaten down ("First: Fuck Tim Eyman." - The Stranger); the same-sex domestic partnership referendum was approved (maintaining the everything-but-marriage civil partnership law that was already on the books - take that you bigots and haters!); and even the county assessor job went to the person I was hoping for.

And, on a national level, the house passed the huge health care reform bill::happy dances::  I don't understand why people keep arguing against reforming the health care system in the US.  I don't know anyone who doesn't agree that the current system of insurance and HMOs is broken.  Thank all the representatives who voted to pass this. May our elected Senators have the same good sense and get this thing into law A.S.A.P.  Things need to change, and if it means I have to pay a little more on my taxes to know that my neighbor is covered, I'm perfectly okay with that.  That's called social responsibility, and this left-wing liberal is happy to see a trend back this way after all the industry-before-individuals bullshit of the Bush-Cheney years.  There's a dark patch in American history that needs to never happen again!

So I start this week feeling cautiously optimistic, and for cynic like me, that's something to blog about.

monkeybard: (autumn blessings)
I'm tired. It's tech week, and I'm tired. I have little right to complain, as I am undoubtedly less tired than most everyone else who's been teching with me this week, but I'm complaining anyway. I don't know why this tech week is so much more wearing than any I can remember. Maybe it just seems that way because it's going on *right now*, but I don't think that's it.

I'm feeling worn down by the world (health care reform; same-sex marriage; arial wolf hunting; the mayoral race; and every other thing I get hit with when I dare to turn on the radio/tv/computer, or that comes OVER MY HOME PHONE ::grr!:: ), frankly, and tech week is just one layer of icing on the flattened cake that is me.

And on top of it, I feel like I really have no right to bitch about it, and yet I want to and I am. It's an ugly spiral that will sort itself out (to some degree) come next week. Until then...I'm tired.

monkeybard: (don'tthinkso)
I'm going political today.  You've been warned.

I received this email from my friend LauraG yesterday, and I felt it needed to be shared with a wider audience than those of use who received the email.  She said it was all right for me to share it, so I am.

***

My two cents worth! This is my response to two women on my message board: one was referring to those people who are so verbally opposing Obama's health plan (Hate mongers)  and the other who is defending them because the democrats did "it" to G.W.
 
BTW I was interested to hear that Cheney is "Putting down" G.W. because in his second term he quit listening to Cheney exclusively and began listening to the American public. G.W. how could you!?!
 
It seems to me in this day and age that if one wants information, one should go to the source.  If you want to know about Obama’s Health Plan go to the whitehouse.gov site and read what it has to say. Don’t rely on the media or your political party to filter the information down to you.
 
Stop passing on emails that tell you how terrible/good something is before you check the facts yourself.  I recently let my own sister “have it” for passing on an email (which I hate by the way) loaded with false information. Again, it is quite simple to check out the facts first.
 
Ask yourself a few questions:
Did I have any intention of listening to our new president or did I make up my mind to distrust him before I even knew how he stood on an issue?
Do I vote along party lines as general principle or do I explore both sides of an issue?
Do I generally get my information from a single source whose views generally are the same as my own or do I try to vary my sources?
Do all the people on one side of an issue look and sound alike? Why?
Have I ever in your life, had to go without health coverage?
 
Buck up folks! I’m on a tear! Are there such people as “hate mongers?”  Yes, but in general, it is the ones who listen without thinking that frighten me the most.  “Hate mongers” given time usually expose themselves for what they are and most people will walk away from such ugly talk.  People that only speak out when they are afraid that they, themselves are going to lose something scare me. Many of them call themselves “Good Christians” and that frightens me even more. I’d like to see them ask themselves “On what side of Health Care Reform you would probably find Jesus?” What I see on the news night after night are “good” people, most of whom are white and affluent becoming over emotional over an issue not designed to take anything away from them, but designed to cover the medical costs of those who until now have had no coverage, no voice, no options.  Most of those are people of color.

I grew up in a household not always covered by health insurance.  I know what it is like to go to a dentist who would rather pull a tooth than fill it because he could attend to more patients in a day that way. I’ve seen people live with a mouthful of snags because their health insurance does not cover dental and they have no spare money at the end of a month.  I’ve seen people walk through life in pain, day after day, because they simply can’t afford a doctor visit or to take a day off work. 

You won’t see those people “out there” stumping for or against Obama and his health care plan. Because of their poverty, they are without voices. Our country has taught them that money IS power. No money – NO power.  You will never hear from those people for whom  universal healthcare is essential. They lack the language, the education and the time to let you know what it is like to go without.

***

For those of you doing your own research, checking your facts, and coming to your own conclusions, whether I agree with you or not, I applaud you.

I can only add to this that both my parents are over 70, on Medicare/Medicaid (I get them confused) with little other insurance available to them. And NONE of that covers the several thousands of dollars worth of dental work they currently need.  I'm not talking cosmetic; I'm talking down and dirty work that needs doing.

I cry BULLSHIT on HMOs and demand UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE FOR ALL AMERICANS RIGHT FUCKING NOW!

monkeybard: (Default)
You might as well go to this MSNBC poll and cast your vote.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29493093/
monkeybard: (Game on)
  Last time.

This time.


I just feel so much better!  I've been ashamed of our country for nearly 10 years.  Genuinely embarrassed by our idiocy and childishness.  I've felt marginalized and disenfranchised by an administration I could not in good conscience ever support.  For eight years America has been well and truly fucked up by partisanship, ignorance, and fear.  I prefer hope, education, and unity.  That is my America and I look forward to its rebuilding.

August 2019

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