Our Political System Sucks.. And here's why. 1 Man's Opinion.

I'm not a political pundit and I'm certainly no constitutional scholar, but here's what I think is the biggest flaw of our founding fathers- and their lack of foresight into what this country would become. They said (paraphrasing) that our government should be made up of representatives of the citizens (no taxation without representation and all). But, here's the thing. As a whole we're a society of selfish, greedy idiots. We don't need representatives of the common person. We need people better than the average. People who aren't running for political office, for ego, or money or power. People who know the difference between right and wrong and aren't interested in pandering to the lowest common denominator (lobbyists are tops of the crap pile). We need people who actually want to make the United States and the world a better place. Government should not be a place to appease the masses, but to better them.

Pro-Life and Republicans

Before I write this post, I want to be clear, I'm not "pro-abortion" of course and I'm not even "anti-pro-life" though I am admittedly very squarely in the pro-choice category.  That said, this post is about the relationship between Pro-Lifers and Republicans.

While not all Pro-Lifers are Republicans (I'm guessing, though all anecdotal evidence shows otherwise) there is an odd dichotomy here.

Of course Planned Parenthood has been a major source of debate over the last few weeks/years, and while the videos have been proven to be highly edited and misleading the organization is still under attack by the Republican party and Pro-Lifers alike.

But, here's the thing.  Do Pro-Lifers realize that IF abortion was to be criminalized across the US that a majority of those 300,000+ babies born would end up in the adoption system?

Do Pro-Lifers realize that beyond their Pro-Life stance the Republican party is also against taxes (at least on the wealthy) and so-called "hand-outs"?

What do Pro-Lifers think will happen to these 300,000+ babies (EACH YEAR) that end up in the U.S. adoption system?

If they think taxes are high now...

If they think welfare is a drain....

Just wait until there are 300,000 more babies every year burning through diapers and formula and clothes and housing and schooling on the government's (and thus taxpayer's) dime.

So, Pro-Lifers, are you ready to go Democrat?

I'm back-ish

Hello again. It's been a long time..

I guess I should forewarn my readers (if there are any left) but with the state of the world these days I feel obligated to speak up. I can't really do so on social media under my real name for various reasons (though my identify is certainly no secret) so I'm going to use this forum I created a while ago.

My biases will become pretty evident, but I will try to stay factual as opposed to opinion based whenever I can.

First up - this story:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/03/politics/bobby-jindal-sanctuary-cities-arrest-mayors/index.html

Louisiana Governor and Presidential hopeful (I hope not) Bobby Jindal believes Mayors of "Sanctuary Cities" should be held as accomplices for crimes of undocumented immigrants..

You can read the article, but I'll just ask this simple question: Shouldn't then Governors also be held culpable in States that don't issue same-sex marriage licenses after mandated by the federal government? 

Happy People

No one has ever accused me of being one of these so-called "Happy People", but I'm trying...

For all 3 people that still read this, don't worry, this blog won't turn into one of "those", but I thought this was a pretty good read.

http://www.purposefairy.com/4899/15-powerful-things-happy-people-do-differently

The BS Report

Well, it's been a long time since I've blogged.  So long in fact that Blogger went ahead and changed the whole blogging process.... My bad!  Sorry that I've slacked.  But, school is all but officially over and I'll get at least some of my life back...

I know I've talked about this one before, but this article and situation really fires me up.

I have no problem with the Minnesota Vikings, but why are citizens forced to pay for private stadiums??  Seriously.  Further, what does this have to do with cutting taxes on businesses?  "Republican leaders also have said they don't want to pass a stadium bill unless they can reach a larger deal with Dayton that includes tax cuts for businesses."

All around this is a sham. 

The NFL is a money making machine and NFL owners set ticket prices at exorbiteantly high rates.  They can easily afford their own stadiums. 

If I can't get tax money to pay for rent on my business why should an NFL owner??

Since I've been out of touch for a while I'll also add this related, but different note...

How is it that Ticketmaster is not a monopoly?  I tried to buy tickets for a show and the ticket price was $54.  For 2 tickets that should be $108.  Somehow after a "convenience fee" the price was $133.  Then Ticketmaster has the gal to try to charge me a "processing fee" off $5.50 on top of that.  What the hell???  Ticketmaster thought they deserved over a third of the total costs?!?!  For what exactly?  That didn't even include shipping cause of course I could just print my tickets...
And of course you can't just buy tickets from the venue online because they always direct you to Ticketmaster....
I call BS on the whole thing.

The Tax Man Cometh

This is a bit old, but it's been on my "to blog" list for a while... Of course there's been no consistency to my blogging, and such it's taken me a while to get here, but still..

An interesting read. 

100 (or 50+) Rules to Live By #3

-Don't be the embarrassing "old guy" inappropriately hitting on college girls at the bar.

-If you're going to be labelled make sure it's positive.

-Everyone is someone's role model.  Own it.

-Cigarettes don't make you look cool.  They make you look ignorant.  (Did you know that cigarettes are bad for you AND those around you?)

-Always try things.  But never "just fitting in".

-The ultimate is dying with a smile on your face.  Since you can't know when that time will come make smiling a habit.

-Love means putting yourself second.  If that other person also puts you second rethink your stance.

-Turn off your TV, Facebook, and Twitter for a week.  See what you can do.  And don't worry, you've got DVR.

-Stepping out of your comfort zone is the only way to expand it.

-Reconnect with that old friend you still think about every now and then.

100 (or 50+) Rules to Live By #2

-You've spent a lifetime building a network.  Use it.

-He/She may be your best friend, but he/she is still not a mind reader.

-Don't be a douche.

-Don't live beyond your means.

-No one is out of your league.  Act accordingly.

-Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

-"So I just try, fail and try and try again.  Cause someday I swear I'm gonna get it, Cause I'm convinced giving in is the worst thing there is." - Straylight Run

-"Just so I can say I did it" is not a reason to do something.  “For the Story” (FTS) might be.

-Don't settle.

-"You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks or even months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could’ve, would’ve happened…or you can just leave the pieces of the floor and move the fuck on." -Tupac Shakur

-Help others… Don’t be used by them.

100 (or 50+) Rules to Live By

Previously I wrote some Rules To Live By.  It was inspired by another blog I read but my list was created pretty quickly.  Recently (probably inspired by the New Year) a lot of these lists have come to my attention.  Though many are good, I figured I'd take another shot.  And let's be honest, I have no idea who reads this blog, so this is really more for me than you.

A few notes:

1 - I'm doing this list in chunks.  1 so it looks like I'm posting more often and 2 because I want you to digest it.
2 - I couldn't come up with 100 "rules" without them starting to become just silly.  I hope you will submit yours to me and I can round out the list with those provided by my readers (all credit given to the submitter).
3 - I'm not going to pretend I do everything on this list, but this if I was the ideal version of myself, I would follow every one of these "rules"... in 2012 I'm going to try to follow them more closely.
4 - I tried to put this list in some "from most important to least important" order, but that didn't really seem feasible.  Feel free to create an order out of these and let me know.
5 - I apologize if there is a tilt towards the male centricity.  I am who I am and my perspective is thus. If my female readers wish to add their perspective please see note #6!
6 - Feedback and your additions are encouraged.. good or bad.


-See the world.

-Show your commitment to your country once every four years.  Vote.

-I don't know if laughter is an emotion, but no matter how bad my mood or how sad I feel, laughter is the easiest way to break out of the funk.  Find your laughter.

-Throughout your life you'll take steps backwards.  With diets, friends, family, jobs, whatever.  Make sure you rebound with 2 steps forward.  Whatever it takes.

-Read.

-Don't just think about it. Do it. 

-Whatever was the first thought you just had, GO!  Finish this list later.

-Be spontaneous.  Even if it's scary.

-"Serious" is a great place to visit, but it's no way to live.

-Speak up.

TMQ

If you're not reading ESPN's weekly TMQ then you're missing out.  And if you're thinking about starting now, you're pretty much out of luck - as this column/blog/content is only updated during football seaons.  And, sure, it's mostly football related but author Gregg Easterbrook almost always adds a piece about the state of the world or political corruption or just interesting stories.  This one for example, that I thought was worth passing on:

"Another Class-Action Swindle? TMQ has written items on class-action lawsuits that appear on paper to be victories for consumers, but mainly benefit lawyers. The settlements might pay huge sums to plaintiff's counsel and little or nothing to the supposed class of victims, while allowing a corporation to shed liability. (Presumably the offending behavior is stopped.) In some class-action suits, the corporation that appears to "lose" and the tort attorneys who say they are "standing up for the little guy" appear to be cooperating for the purpose of shafting the little guy.
The latest suspicious class-action settlement is noted by reader Sterling Crockett of Bothell, Wash. The proposed settlement appears to be a victory for anyone who bought a ticket from Ticketmaster using its website. As Crockett notes, the lawyers will receive up to $16.5 million and people who bought tickets get a $1.50 discount on a future Ticketmaster purchase. (Click on "settlement agreement.") So the lawyers receive a mere 11 million times as much as any one of the victims! Like many class-action suits, one must actively opt out. If a Ticketmaster customer does nothing -- or never hears the litigation occurred -- his or her standing to sue Ticketmaster is voided.
Basically the proposed settlement has the company paying some lawyers a tax-deductible $16.5 million to shed its own customers' rights, and the "award" to the victims requires them to make future purchases from the company."

Update:  As John mentioned a link to the article is probably appropriate.  Thank you for the feedback.  (As noted, this is an ongoing "column" and each new article will have a different link.)