So I watched Chris Matthews turn into a foaming-at-the-mouth, rabid dog, screaming racism, because Republicans have referred to President Obama as the "Food Stamp President". And because Republicans have mentioned that maybe, President Obama has weakened the bi-partisan victory of welfare reform. I'm still scratching my head.
I don't understand how you accuse someone of racism, when they never injected race. It wasn't Republicans who said "they're gonna put y'all back in chains". They stated a fact. Under this President more people are on food stamps than have ever been on food stamps in the history of the country. He is, by all facts, the Food Stamp President. What does that have to do with race?
The only answer I can come up with, is that Chris Matthews believes that most of the food stamp recipients are.... black. This isn't something the Republicans have said. It's not something that President has said. it's something Chris Matthews has said. Who's the racist? Where is the outrage?
I remember back in the 2008 election, I was told, with no facts to back it up, that I wouldn't vote for Barck Obama, because I was scared of putting a "darkie in the whitehouse". This was coming from a liberal democrat. All I could think was no conservative that I knew would EVER use the term "darkie' and yet, this person used it like it was nothing. Who's the racist?
The idea espoused by Democrats, that Black People can't succeed without the help of the government, that Women can't succeed without the help of the government (Julia anyone?), to me, is the height of both racism and sexism. Liberal pundits scream racism over food stamps, and no one sees how racist their view is? They are the ones assuming that food stamps=black, not conservatives.
Where is the outrage?
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Fed Up
I saw a picture this morning on my facebook that put me over the edge. It compared defense spending to universal healthcare. It actually implied that funding our military is a form of imperialistic militarism, but that universal healthcare was not the government taking over our lives.
The two are not comparable. Funding the military is one of the very few things the constitution gives the federal government the right to do. You know, as opposed to education, arts, green energy, etc etc etc.
The comments made me even more angry. A lot of conservatives actually support cuts to defense spending, since the government is known for unnecessary spending in EVERY aspect of the budget. I have no problem with cutting defense spending. I do have a problem when those cuts come to the benefits of the men and women who risk their lives so people can make dumb comments on a facebook picture.
Telling me I have to purchase insurance, and that it has to conform to the standards set out by the Federal Government is intruding into my life. I'm stuck with a plan that covers in vitro fertilization and birth control, neither of which I need. But i don't have the option of purchasing insurance that covers what I need it to cover.
Please tell me how an unelected, unaccountable board of 15 people, who decide what treatment and medication I get is not an intrusion into the Doctor/Patient relationship. The sole purpose of the board is to keep costs down, and to keep costs down you have to limit what people can get. No different than the current insurance system, only now it's the government making the decisions, not the insurance company. And if costs spiral out of control, you'll still pay more, only now you don't have the option to just not pay for it. Now, you have to. You can't refuse to pay taxes unless moving to the nearest federal prison is on your list of things to do.
Here's the rub. I have no problem helping people who truly need it. But don't tell me you can't afford health insurance when you have a flat screen tv, a new computer, smart phones, a new haircut every other month, you get your nails done, you go out to eat.. Yes, you CAN afford it, you just choose other things over that. That is your choice. But I sure as heck shouldn't have to pay for the choices you make.
I don't have a flat screen tv, or a smart phone. I get my hair trimmed when It's necessary (twice a year). i don't get my nails done. The last time my husband and I went out to dinner was Valentine's Day. I make sacrifices so I can have the things i need. Health insurance is one of those things I need. We have to pay partially for it. And that means I give up other things I don't need.
So yeah, I'm fed up with the people who think they should be able to have those of us who make the hard choices ,fork over the money so they don't have to.
The two are not comparable. Funding the military is one of the very few things the constitution gives the federal government the right to do. You know, as opposed to education, arts, green energy, etc etc etc.
The comments made me even more angry. A lot of conservatives actually support cuts to defense spending, since the government is known for unnecessary spending in EVERY aspect of the budget. I have no problem with cutting defense spending. I do have a problem when those cuts come to the benefits of the men and women who risk their lives so people can make dumb comments on a facebook picture.
Telling me I have to purchase insurance, and that it has to conform to the standards set out by the Federal Government is intruding into my life. I'm stuck with a plan that covers in vitro fertilization and birth control, neither of which I need. But i don't have the option of purchasing insurance that covers what I need it to cover.
Please tell me how an unelected, unaccountable board of 15 people, who decide what treatment and medication I get is not an intrusion into the Doctor/Patient relationship. The sole purpose of the board is to keep costs down, and to keep costs down you have to limit what people can get. No different than the current insurance system, only now it's the government making the decisions, not the insurance company. And if costs spiral out of control, you'll still pay more, only now you don't have the option to just not pay for it. Now, you have to. You can't refuse to pay taxes unless moving to the nearest federal prison is on your list of things to do.
Here's the rub. I have no problem helping people who truly need it. But don't tell me you can't afford health insurance when you have a flat screen tv, a new computer, smart phones, a new haircut every other month, you get your nails done, you go out to eat.. Yes, you CAN afford it, you just choose other things over that. That is your choice. But I sure as heck shouldn't have to pay for the choices you make.
I don't have a flat screen tv, or a smart phone. I get my hair trimmed when It's necessary (twice a year). i don't get my nails done. The last time my husband and I went out to dinner was Valentine's Day. I make sacrifices so I can have the things i need. Health insurance is one of those things I need. We have to pay partially for it. And that means I give up other things I don't need.
So yeah, I'm fed up with the people who think they should be able to have those of us who make the hard choices ,fork over the money so they don't have to.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
In Which I Am Informed I Am Probably A Bigot
I'm so tired of that word. It's become a catch all word to describe anyone who doesn't agree with a certain viewpoint. But it's even better when someone assumes that because you eat a chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A you are probably a bigot.
Dare to criticize the President of the United States? Bigot.
Dare to stand up for your value system? Bigot.
Dare to actually believe in something that disagrees with the left? Bigot.
The word begins to lose meaning the more we use it. You know it's true. We've been saying it about love for years. The charge of racism and bigotry is tossed out so frequently, that it's becoming increasingly more difficult to take it seriously.
I never imagined after this country elected a black man to the highest office, that any disagreement with him would mean we must all be closet racists. That's what our society is being turned into. And people are less careful every day about who they attach the term "bigot" to. It's so darn easy to use. If you challenge it, they just assume you are protesting because it's true. So we don't protest. We don't stand up and point out how wrong it truly is.
Hitler was a bigot. He hated blacks, jews, and the slavic races. So much so that he made it legal to use them in medical experiments, throw them in jail, and kill them, all because they weren't born "white" enough for him.
Treating black people as 3/5ths of a person, refusing them to right to vote, or the right to attend the schools of their choice, or to sit in the front of the bus? That's bigotry.
Eating a sandwich at a restaurant whose owner supports traditional marriage? Not bigotry. Criticizing the policies of the President, or the increasingly dirty campaign he is running? Not bigotry.
We must be so far removed from the days of Civil Rights and Martin Luther King, Jr. We have no idea what real bigotry is.
In a state sponsored rally in Iran today, people yelled "Death to the Jews". That's bigotry. That's hate. And here, in this country, we have no idea anymore what it really means to use the word. If we did, we wouldn't throw it around in such a cavalier way.
Dare to criticize the President of the United States? Bigot.
Dare to stand up for your value system? Bigot.
Dare to actually believe in something that disagrees with the left? Bigot.
The word begins to lose meaning the more we use it. You know it's true. We've been saying it about love for years. The charge of racism and bigotry is tossed out so frequently, that it's becoming increasingly more difficult to take it seriously.
I never imagined after this country elected a black man to the highest office, that any disagreement with him would mean we must all be closet racists. That's what our society is being turned into. And people are less careful every day about who they attach the term "bigot" to. It's so darn easy to use. If you challenge it, they just assume you are protesting because it's true. So we don't protest. We don't stand up and point out how wrong it truly is.
Hitler was a bigot. He hated blacks, jews, and the slavic races. So much so that he made it legal to use them in medical experiments, throw them in jail, and kill them, all because they weren't born "white" enough for him.
Treating black people as 3/5ths of a person, refusing them to right to vote, or the right to attend the schools of their choice, or to sit in the front of the bus? That's bigotry.
Eating a sandwich at a restaurant whose owner supports traditional marriage? Not bigotry. Criticizing the policies of the President, or the increasingly dirty campaign he is running? Not bigotry.
We must be so far removed from the days of Civil Rights and Martin Luther King, Jr. We have no idea what real bigotry is.
In a state sponsored rally in Iran today, people yelled "Death to the Jews". That's bigotry. That's hate. And here, in this country, we have no idea anymore what it really means to use the word. If we did, we wouldn't throw it around in such a cavalier way.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
No, I'm Sorry, We Didn't Lose
Someone asked the owner of a business what his stance was on Gay Marriage. The owner of this restaurant is clearly an Evangelical Christian and everyone knows it. He answered the question. All hell broke loose. Mayors in certain cities across the country, threatened to deny this business permits to build new branches, because he was asked and answered a question. He didn't bring it up, he only answered, honestly.
A News Talk Show host suggested a "Support this business" day. That day was Wednesday, August 1.
By now, I'm sure you know I'm talking about Dan Cathy, Chick-Fil-A, and the Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day. I went to Chick-Fil-A on Wednesday. I posted a facebook status. Yesterday, a friend wrote a post that made me delete him on facebook because it was so highly offensive. He told us that whether we supported or protested we all lost. Why? Because in the time we were protesting or supporting we could have been doing something better with our time. Like working in a soup kitchen.
The implication was we should have stayed home and written letters to our Congressman and then done something for the poor and needy and destitute. I left a comment, but what I really should have done was said "are you?".
The first amendment to the Constitution gives us the right to Free Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Religion and Freedom to Peacefully Protest. Many people who went to Chick-Fil-A did so because they support traditional marriage. A whole bunch more went because we believe we have the right to state our opinions without blowback from the government. When mayors of cities threaten to shut a business down or refuse to allow them to build new branches based on the beliefs of the owner? Free Speech is in jeopardy. I have always said, if you don't like what a business stands for or where it puts its money, don't shop there. That's your right. But the Government does not have the right to regulate business based on the beliefs of the owners. Period. So I went to Chick-Fil-A. Some protesters when to Chick-Fil-A. And no, we did NOT lose. We won, because we were exercising our freedoms.
My family gives money away to the poor and needy. We support organizations that help the depressed and suicidal. I've sat by the bedside of a friend who died of cancer. And my hour long excursion into Chick-Fil-A didn't take away from any of that, thank you very much. I'd like to ask my friend when he's going to see a movie or doing Karaoke every week, or hanging out in a bar, isn't that more of a waste of time when he could be doing all those things he told us we should have been doing? Protesting/Supporting something you believe strongly in is NOT a waste of time. It's a right our founding fathers felt so strongly about, they put it in the Constitution.
But here's the other rub. He says if we really cared about free speech, how could we be supporting a business who supports denying citizens a basic inalienable right? Because if you can't speak out without fear of reprisal, who's going to speak out for those people? If you take away our freedom to speak our opinions, every other freedom we have falls away. That freedom is the benchmark of our continued Republic. And when we come to together to stand up for that, we are NEVER losing.
Until Next Time....
A News Talk Show host suggested a "Support this business" day. That day was Wednesday, August 1.
By now, I'm sure you know I'm talking about Dan Cathy, Chick-Fil-A, and the Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day. I went to Chick-Fil-A on Wednesday. I posted a facebook status. Yesterday, a friend wrote a post that made me delete him on facebook because it was so highly offensive. He told us that whether we supported or protested we all lost. Why? Because in the time we were protesting or supporting we could have been doing something better with our time. Like working in a soup kitchen.
The implication was we should have stayed home and written letters to our Congressman and then done something for the poor and needy and destitute. I left a comment, but what I really should have done was said "are you?".
The first amendment to the Constitution gives us the right to Free Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Religion and Freedom to Peacefully Protest. Many people who went to Chick-Fil-A did so because they support traditional marriage. A whole bunch more went because we believe we have the right to state our opinions without blowback from the government. When mayors of cities threaten to shut a business down or refuse to allow them to build new branches based on the beliefs of the owner? Free Speech is in jeopardy. I have always said, if you don't like what a business stands for or where it puts its money, don't shop there. That's your right. But the Government does not have the right to regulate business based on the beliefs of the owners. Period. So I went to Chick-Fil-A. Some protesters when to Chick-Fil-A. And no, we did NOT lose. We won, because we were exercising our freedoms.
My family gives money away to the poor and needy. We support organizations that help the depressed and suicidal. I've sat by the bedside of a friend who died of cancer. And my hour long excursion into Chick-Fil-A didn't take away from any of that, thank you very much. I'd like to ask my friend when he's going to see a movie or doing Karaoke every week, or hanging out in a bar, isn't that more of a waste of time when he could be doing all those things he told us we should have been doing? Protesting/Supporting something you believe strongly in is NOT a waste of time. It's a right our founding fathers felt so strongly about, they put it in the Constitution.
But here's the other rub. He says if we really cared about free speech, how could we be supporting a business who supports denying citizens a basic inalienable right? Because if you can't speak out without fear of reprisal, who's going to speak out for those people? If you take away our freedom to speak our opinions, every other freedom we have falls away. That freedom is the benchmark of our continued Republic. And when we come to together to stand up for that, we are NEVER losing.
Until Next Time....
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