Speak Up. Speak Out. Speak LOUDLY.

‎”But this new scheme someone came up with—where we prove we’re not racist by acting as casually racist as possible? Not our best, white people. Not our best.”

http://jezebel.com/5905291/a-complete-guide-to-hipster-racism

When was the last time you had a civil discussion with someone who disagrees with you?  Most of us, myself included, are isolated in our own little lifestyle enclaves where everyone looks and behaves just like us.  But even surrounded by similar people, we rarely spend much time engaged with others - maybe a barbecue every once in a while, but rarely any deep meaningful discussions.  Often the result is mud-slinging by everyone (which is promoted by our corporate media). Robert Reich (see link below) has it right and so did Robert Putnam (in his book Bowling Alone).  Our broken bonds continue to wreak havoc on our physical, mental and civic health until we make a change.  Get involved!

http://robertreich.org/post/21670907549

“I’m not sure there’s a name for what I am,” says Dillon, a college hockey player. Welcome to the world of the mostly straights.

http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/mostly-straight/

Oh, what the U.S. military will do to protect itself.  It’s abhorrent and disgusting.  Women who were sexually assaulted were more likely to be discharged for having personality disorders.  This meant they lost all benefits and in some cases had to pay back the military.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/14/health/military-sexual-assaults-personality-disorder/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Thank you bell hooks for that expression because that is what I am feeling right now thanks to Arizona’s new abortion restrictions (and the latest state to throw women under the bus).  A newly passed law would allow doctors to PURPOSEFULLY withhold information from women about their pregnancy. SERIOUSLY?  It also redefines when a pregnancy begins.  Why are Republicans waging a war on women’s health?  Am I in America any longer or did we get taken over by tyrants while I was sleeping? 

If we want to end abortions we MUST provide comprehensive age-appropriate sex education.  We must provide quality pre-and post-natal care for women who WANT to carry their pregnancy to term, and we MUST fight poverty.  Every child born should be wanted, loved and cared for.  Absolutely no one hopes to get an abortion someday or goes through the process with glee, but restricting them is not the answer.

Women are not imbeciles. 

Women are not children.  They don’t need lawmakers to take care of them. Please take your paternalistic bullshit and shove it where the sun don’t shine.

Women are responsible, caring, thoughtful individuals who can make decisions about their own lives!

STOP trying to tell women what they can and can’t do with their own bodies!!  

TRUST WOMEN!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/az-abortion-bills-arizona-gestational-age_n_1415715.html

Healthcare is a right. We need to focus on keeping people healthy and lowering our healthcare costs by demanding Single-Payer Universal Healthcare

Healthcare should NOT be tied to a place of employment. This is a burden to business (particularly small business), and a person should not have to stay at a horrible job (damaging their mental health) just because they need healthcare.

Catastrophe care is NOT healthcare. Some people currently have plans with a $10,000 deductible. I mean, seriously, who is going to go to the doctor with that kind of deductible?

People who are injured should not have to wait -sometimes weeks- for charity care just because they don’t have money to go to the emergency room. This costs us all money in the form of higher insurance premiums.

Doctor’s should be paid to keep their patients healthy, not the opposite. If their patients get healthier, they get more money.

Keeping people healthy will lower the cost for everyone! If our taxes pay for healthcare (cheaper than paying out of pocket after taxes!!) Tax credits could be given to help people trying to lose weight or get fit. If you lose 50lbs - tax credit! If you get a physical - tax credit. If you’re already healthy and you exercise regularly - tax credit.

http://truth-out.org/news/item/8407-the-real-health-care-debate

“Other things being equal, people who trust their fellow citizens volunteer more often, contribute more to charity, participate more often in politics and community organizations, serve more readily on juries, give blood more frequently, comply more fully with their tax obligations, are more tolerant of minority views, and display many other forms of civic virtue.”

—Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone