Debates & Such

Yeah, so it's been a while. I've been a little busy... But I have been paying attention to the election. It's been hard not to. :)

The first debate was a couple of weeks ago. It was out in Denver, Colorado at the University of Denver. As fate had it, I was out in Denver for the debate night for a conference! Unfortunately, the debate wasn't open the public so I couldn't even try to go. It was a strange feeling to watch the debate knowing it was taking place literally just down the road! :) I also watched the debate at a pub full of people - the first time I've ever done something like that. And it was surprisingly quiet, so I could actually hear the debate! And not a lot of crowd reaction either, that was a little bit surprising.

For the debate itself: Mitt was rehearsed. He had his bullet points and he hit them hard. I give him credit that he was well-prepared. Doesn't change the fact I didn't like or agree with what he was saying... President Obama was disappointingly distant. He wasn't nearly as active as he should have been and wasn't make very clear points. However, none of this changed my mind on either candidate.

Last week, we had the Vice President Debates. If I'm going to completely honest here, when Romney first announced Paul Ryan has his running mate and after listening to him at the RNC (not that I agreed with him on ANYTHING!), I thought he would do much better in the VP debate than Biden. However, I was proven wrong! And thank goodness! Now, I will admit that there were times when I thought Biden was being a little bit of a ... prick. A lot of laughing and smirking. I read on facebook that someone thought he was laughing because he was scared, scared of what would happen under a Romney/Ryan administration! Ha! But after every laugh or smirk from Biden, he followed up with the hard cold facts! He was fact-checking on the spot and knocking Ryan down! It was an entertaining debate, at the very least!

Tonight was the second Presidential debate and I feel like it's been far more entertaining than the first one. This debate is also a town hall setting which is always more interesting. There were a couple times where I thought a fist fight was going to break out! Both men showed up to this debate but definitely President Obama. He was energetic and lively and was hitting some good points. He probably could have done better and really fired back at Romney on some of the things he said, but maybe next time. Romney on the other hand, wasn't as well prepared as last time, at least in my opinion. He said some things that will definitely be held against him in the future.
For me, I think President Obama definitely won this debate.

Another thing I just want to mention is that it's been really hard for me not to comment on some people's statuses on facebook and such. I'm all about having an open mind and allowing everyone to have their own opinion. What I don't like is people who are posting things and have no idea what they're talking about or nothing to back up what they're saying. This is frustrating. If you're going to have an opinion, do the research to back it up first.

And finally, the marriage amendment in Minnesota. I've been reading and seeing a lot of different things for this and I'm very nervous for my home state. I'm worried that Minnesotans are going to vote yes on this. I'm worried it's going to pass. And this is not okay. I don't care what your personal thoughts on gay marriages are, it is not our place to judge them and deny them their basic human rights! I have NEVER heard a logical argument for why someone is against gay marriage. If it's against your beliefs - that's fine! No one is forcing you to have a gay marriage! A gay marriage is not going to affect you or your marriage in any way! If you think you have a logical argument against gay marriage, I'd love to hear it. If not, vote no. It's that simple. This is a very personal issue for me and one I feel very strongly about. I pray that the people in Minnesota do the right thing and show the rest of the nation their "Minnesota Nice". 

Well, that's about it for now! I did already send in my ballot so I've officially voted! It's actually pretty ironic... I was scheduling my high school visits and I was trying to make sure I scheduled some fairly close to home on election day so that I would have time to come back and vote. That SAME night, a volunteer showed up at our door and asked if we wanted to sign up for early voting! Yes, please! So we got our ballots sent to us and we have both sent them back. I feel confident in my vote and I look forward to Election Night! :)  

Getting closer to November!

I know, it's been a very long time since I've posted anything on this blog. But let's be honest... has the election really been that exciting so far? Let's recap what's happened. Santorum dropped out.Gingrich dropped out. Paul I think is still hanging in there but won't be the Republican nomination. Which means Romney is left standing. Which also proves that you can buy an election. I mean really, does anyone really like Romney? He's really not the GOP's first choice. But there's no one else. And so the next question is who will be his running mate? I'm not sure anyone really wants the job... So here we are until the Republican convention this summer.

President Obama has already started his campaigning as well for the election. And while there hasn't been too much to say in this area, there was one major event that just happened recently that needs to be discussed.

President Obama came out in full support of same-sex marriages!!!

This is huge!! There was some talk about why this was such a huge deal though. Yes, it is true that Obama did have some support in the area before, but he was more in support of the idea of civil unions. The statement he gave recently stated, "I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married."

The reason, I believe, that this is so big is because this kind of support has never come from such a high office, like the President's. And since his announcement of support, many other powerful political figures have also expressed their support for this issue.

Let's hope this is a huge step in the right direction for equal rights for all! Thank you, Mr. President.

Perhaps a little bit of a rant...?

I know, I know. I've been way behind on this blog when it comes to all the events that have happened since my last post. We've had quite a few primaries/caucuses and a lot of other things I have comments on as well. :)

Last month, after the Iowa Caucuses, we had primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. I won't go into too much detail about these but what I found interesting was that each state picked a different winner. It came back that Santorum had actually won Iowa (after lost votes were counted). Romney took New Hampshire and Gingrich took South Carolina. So for the first three events, there were three different winners. Romney then took Florida as well. At that point, it seemed like the GOP couldn't yet agree on who should run against Obama. Perry and Huntsman had of course dropped out of the race after poor showings. 


February has already seen four votes as well. Romney took Nevada first (a strong Mormon showing). And then in a little bit of a surprise, Santorum swept the board most recently with three wins in a single night in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado. Again, all this shows me is that there's really no strong consensus in the GOP.

There are also things I just want to say about each candidate. I honestly try to keep an open mind about things and I feel like I stay informed. But I just can't agree with some of the things these Republican candidates are saying and I can't understand why everyone doesn't just agree with me?! :) Kidding. (Sorta!) haha Anyway, so I'm going to just take a little big of time writing out some of the things that I have opinions on. Because this is my blog so I have that right. 


Romney: Really, probably the most "liberal" conservative in the race but he's playing up that he's not liberal. But if you look at this record, you'll see otherwise. I feel like he's only had a lot of wins because he's the least hated out of all the candidates. But that's just me. One thing I really can't stand about Romney is the fact that he pays a lower tax rate than the average American. I understand that a lot of his money comes from investments or whatever and that he's following all the right laws, but how is this okay? The fact that his housekeeper probably pays a tax rate at 35% and Romney only pays 15%? Granted, I don't know a lot about tax rates and whatnot, but why can't everyone pay a flat rate? We all work hard for our money and the rate deserves to be fair. This needs to change. If anything, I'm glad he's running because it has really brought this issue into light and I really hope it can change.

Gingrich: I think he's a little crazy. I mean, a moon colony? Really? I think there are more important things to try and accomplish before sending people to live on the moon. But hey, that's just me. I also feel like he's just out of touch on a lot of issues. But the biggest thing I want to say about Gingrich is this: I'm personally torn on how much one's personal life should affect their run for office. I can see the arguments both ways. And normally, I'm not sure I would have a problem with Gingrich and his three wives. I don't know what happened in those marriages and I don't think it's any of my business. But what I do have a problem with, is Gingrich going on and on about the "sanctity of marriage", "traditional marriage" and how gays shouldn't be allowed to marry. Not cool. If anything is destroying traditional marriages, it's divorces, and Gingrich knows all about those. 


Santorum: Well frankly, there are a lot of things I don't like about Santorum. I feel that he is a radical conservative with a lot of radical ideas. Again, I go back to my point about how Republicans are all about not wanting a big government and to get the government out of our lives, but they have no problem pushing their religion at everyone. How is that not hypocritical? I believe that Santorum does this. He's also told people that kids are better off with a dad in prison than with two moms or that people born with cancer and thus a "pre-exisiting condition" are on there own when it comes to health care. I just can't agree with what he says and I honestly don't understand anyone who does. He is pushing his religious morals on to the American people - which is not okay. 


And a couple of other events... I thought it was pretty crazy when the Susan G. Komen Foundation decided to pull their funds from Planned Parenthood. For an organization trying to find a cure to fight breast cancer, it makes sense to not support another organization that provides thousands of free breast exams to women every year. I was glad when they reversed their decision but now they have a PR nightmare on their hands.

Another is the issue about birth control, which is getting a lot of press and I don't understand why. President Obama has made it so that women should get provided free birth control by their employers - this means everyone. But the Catholic Church has made a big fuss about it because they don't believe in birth control. The Republicans have of course started to claim that the President has waged war against religion - which is so not the case. He's not saying that every women needs to be on birth control. He's simply stating that all women should have the opportunity to receive free birth control from their employers. There are so many women that maybe work at a Catholic institution but aren't Catholic - why shouldn't they receive the benefits of everyone else? And why is anyone arguing against free birth control? Aren't the Republicans the ones that are so against abortions? You know, if more people had access to free birth control, I'd bet there would be fewer abortions. I'm just saying.

And of course, perhaps some of the most exciting news lately - Prop 8 in California was official overturned and has been ruled unconstitutional! This is a huge victory but there is still a long ways to go. People need to understand that marriage in the governments' eyes has nothing to do with religion or belief. It's about the benefits that all married couples should get. I was really excited to hear this and I hope this great momentum keeps going!

Most of this post was a rant and I apologize for that. I get a little frustrated sometimes. :) But if you have any different opinions from mine, I would honestly love to hear them. I'm always open for some good conversation and maybe a little debate. :)

Gay Marriage

I've talked about this issues many times before, but it was that is very personal to me. No, I'm not a closeted gay, but I know a lot of people that are gay - many who are close to my heart. And this post isn't just about gay marriage, but just being accepting of people who are gay. But let's start with the gay marriage thing.

I ran across this picture the other day. It takes a shot at explaining gay marriage. And I think it does a pretty darn good job. It's simple to understand. And it's completely true. I would like to try and see someone argue against this. Here it is.

How simple is this to understand? The church isn't involved in anyway when it comes to being recognized by the government and being allowed those benefits as a married couple. I don't care if your personal beliefs think that gay marriage is wrong. That's not really for any of us to decide anyway - it's God who is the ultimate judge. (I personally belief that God doesn't judge gays and that He created everyone just the way they are - gay or straight) But again - you can believe whatever you want. And I think it's up to each church to determine what they believe and churches are doing that. But when it comes to the government, there should be NO question. Gay couples are being denied rights they deserve. And that is unconstitutional. And sad. How is it, in a great country like America, not everyone has the same rights? Can you argue against that? I didn't think so.

Not only do gays not get to marry the person they love and be denied rights and benefits they deserve, they are very much persecuted against. I recently read a very powerful message online. The title of the article is "I'm Christian, unless you're gay". It really is one of the best articles I've read when it comes to the issue of being a Christian but not being okay with gay people. You can - and should! - read the full article here. To sum it up, it talks about Christians and what Christians believe. And what one of the main things that Christians believe is that you should love everyone. But many Christians don't. They look down on people if they're not like them. They judge people. They won't admit it, but they do. And I'll admit here that I know I'm just as guilty about this as the next person. It mentions that many people think it's okay to judge other people because their "actions were somehow justified because of my beliefs at the time". But the author takes a look at not only Christianity, but other religions as well. And do you know what the main theme was in all of these religions? Love.

According to Christians, Jesus taught a couple of interesting things. First, “love one another.” Second, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (“Her” being a woman who cheated on her man.)
According to Buddhists, Buddha taught a couple of thought-provoking things. First, “Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.” Second, “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”
According to Hindus, a couple of fascinating teachings come to mind. First, “Do not get angry or harm any living creature, but be compassionate and gentle; show good will to all.” (Krishna) Second, “Love means giving selflessly, excluding none and including all.” (Rama)
According to Muslims, Muhammad taught a couple interesting things as well. First, “A true Muslim is the one who does not defame or abuse others; but the truly righteous becomes a refuge for humankind, their lives and their properties.” Second, “Do you love your creator? Love  your fellow-beings first.”
According to Judaism, their scriptures teach a couple remarkable things. First, “Love your neighbor like yourself.” Second, “Examine the contents, not the bottle.”

Love. That's the theme here. Love above all else. But do we do that? Sadly, no. The author does mention, and I agree here, that not all Christians don't put love first - many do. But we all should be doing this, there should be no exceptions.
The article goes on to say that it doesn't matter what your religion is or if you have no religion at all. We should all just be good people. We don't have to accept or enable anyone. But we should care that they are a human being above all else, just like you. 

In truth, having a religion doesn’t make a person love or not love others. It doesn’t make a person accept or not accept others. It doesn’t make a person befriend or not befriend others.
Being without a religion doesn’t make somebody do or be any of that either.
No, what makes somebody love, accept, and befriend their fellow man is letting go of a need to be better than others.
Nothing else.
I know there are many here who believe that living a homosexual life is a sin. Okay.
But, what does that have to do with love?
Come on. Don’t we understand? Don’t we get it? To put our arm around someone who is gay, someone who has an addiction, somebody who lives a different lifestyle, someone who is not what we think they should be… doing that has nothing to do with enabling them or accepting what they do as okay by us. It has nothing to do with encouraging them in their practice of what you or I might feel or believe is wrong vs right.
It has everything to do with being a good human being. A good person. A good friend.
That’s all.

How powerful is that? Why can't we just strive to be a good human being? A good person? A good friend? Everyone deserves to have a good friend in life. Let the rest go. Don't let your thoughts or beliefs stop you from caring for another person who is different from you? Everyone needs love. Because here's the thing: nobody is perfect.

So read the article. It's worth your time. Think about what is says. Think about the next time you meet or see someone who is different from you. What will you do? Are you going to judge them? Or will you open your arms and love them? After all, the greatest thing is love.

Politics and Iowa

As the Iowa Caucuses get closer, I'm starting to pay more and more attention to the candidates. Even though we're not caucusing for a Democratic candidate, only the Republican side, I'm still paying attention. (As a registered Democrat, I can't participate in the Republican caucus) This is one thing I love about living in Iowa - they really pay attention to their politics.

I recently read an article - written by a professor at the University of Iowa, but not originally from Iowa. (read the article here if you want) Parts of it were pretty offensive, even to me - someone also not originally from Iowa. And while I do agree that he made some good points about how Iowa is not a fair representation of the rest of the nation, you have to give Iowa credit. Iowans take their role as a First in the Nation state very seriously. They listen to all the candidates. They take the time to go to those town hall meetings. They want their questions answered. They know a lot about each candidate running. They're very informed. And while sometimes I think some Iowans might get a little "big-headed" about their First in the Nation status, they can tell you a lot about where each candidate stands. They're confident about who they'll be caucusing for.

With Iowa being first in the nation, we get a lot of attention - from the candidates and the media. We hear and watch a lot of debates. We watch a lot of video clips from those town hall meetings across the states. We get a lot of TV and radio ads from the candidates. And we have opinions about all of those. One nice thing about all the attention is that is does keep us informed. We get to hear how the candidates feel about many topics. And I'm going to touch on just a couple of issues that have been in the news recently.

One was a video/news article about Michele Bachmann. This event took place at a Town Hall meeting in Waverly and during the event, a high school student questioned Bachmann on her views on same-sex marriage. You can read the article and watch the video here. The thing I can't stand about Bachmann is that she talks in circles, avoiding questions and contraindicating herself. Well that, and I think she's just kind of an idiot. I have to give the student props for not letting up as she continued to push Bachmann for an answer. But let's go over some of Bachmann's answers. Her first answer is: 

JANE SCHMIDT: One of my main concerns is government support for the LGBT community. So my question is what would you do to protect GSAs in high school and support the LGBT community.

BACHMANN: Well, No. 1, all of us as Americans have the same rights. The same civil rights. And so that’s really what government’s role is, to protect our civil rights. There shouldn’t be any special rights or special set of criteria based upon people’s preferences. We all have the same civil rights.

Great! We all have the same rights! But wait...

JANE SCHMIDT: Then, why can't same-sex couples get married?
BACHMANN: They can get married, but they abide by the same law as everyone else. They can marry a man if they’re a woman. Or they can marry a woman if they’re a man.

JANE SCHMIDT: Why can’t a man marry a man?

BACHMANN: Because that’s not the law of the land.

JANE SCHMIDT: So heterosexual couples have a privilege.

BACHMANN: No, they have the same opportunity under the law. There is no right to same-sex marriage.

JANE SCHMIDT: So you won’t support the LGBT community?

BACHMANN: No, I said that there are no special rights for people based upon your sex practices. There’s no special rights based upon what you do in your sex life. You’re an American citizen first and foremost and that’s it.

So... we don't all have the same rights... And as Bachmann states, we're all American citizens first and foremost. That's it. And she also said that all Americans have the same civil rights. But a man still can't marry a man... Something's not right. This article did get national attention and I'm glad it did. I'm glad to see a high school student standing up for what she believes - equal rights for everyone. Bachmann just doesn't say the smartest things... like at the last debate when she said, "I'm 55 years old. And for the last 50 years, I've been involved in the private business sector." ....right. Anyway, enough about her. I'm just praying that they're are not enough crazy Tea Party people in Iowa to vote for her in January...

Rick Perry is another candidate who is really getting some attention... but it's not necessarily all good attention. Perry has caused quite a stir with one of his recent TV ads that has aired in Iowa... Here it is below.

There is nothing okay about this entire commercial. Okay, I take that back, there is one okay thing about this commercial - out of the 6,345,835 people who have viewed this on YouTube, there are 663,586 dislikes. I recently read that this means Rick Perry's video is now officially the most hated video to ever be posted on YouTube. I'm glad to know there are a lot of people who don't think this okay. There is nothing okay about being ignorant and hateful - especially to a group of people who lay down their life to protect and serve you. It actually scares me that there are people like this that are in office. He talks about ending Obama's "War on Religion" - what war is he talking about? There is no war. America is NOT a Christian nation! Ronald Regan once had a great quote about this:

"We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief. Nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate. All are free to believe or not believe, all are free to practice a faith or not, and those who believe are free and should be free, to speak of and act on their belief. At the same time as our constitution prohibits state religion, establishment of it protects the free exercise of all religions. And walking this fine line requires government to be strictly neutral."

This is how it needs to be. This is what America stands for - religious freedom! (I got the quote from this article, which is also a great read!) Which brings me to my next point.

There is a great show on TLC called All-American Muslim. It chronicles the lives of Muslims living in Michigan as they life their life as normal as possible - as Muslims in America. Seems like a great show, right? I love shows like this because it gives you a look at a different perspective and a different culture. When I think about America, I think about how it's a great country because people here have the freedom to be whoever they are and practice any religion! I mean, it is the first amendment! But a news story broke recently that Lowe's - the home improvement store - has decided to pull all their ads from the air on TLC during that show. Seriously?! Apparently there is a conservative Christian group in Florida called the Florida Family Association that has been pressuring businesses to pull their ads because the show is showing "the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values." What?! It's things like this that continues to make people so ignorant. We need to learn about other cultures and religions, we need to be open to them. You don't have to convert, but you shouldn't try and silence them. Apparently this group is also trying to get businesses to pull ads from other shows that "attempt to normalize homosexuality". Sometimes I really worry about the future of our country...

I'll get off my soap-box now. I know that these are just my opinions. You might not agree with me and that's fine. The thing about America is that you don't have to agree with me. We can all have our own opinions and beliefs. And I would love to hear yours. :)

News & Money

TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011

PB&J: News & Money

There have been a couple of things that have happened in the news recently that I thought I would talk about...

The biggest and most exciting (I think) is the news that came out of New York a couple of weeks ago! So much to celebrate as New York became the largest state to recognize same-sex marriages. Hopefully this will keep the ball rolling in other parts of the country.

Maybe more of a serious issue and one that is running on a deadline is the Debt Ceiling talks and the budget crisis. Now I will admit, that there is not a lot I don't understand about the economy, the debt ceiling or how the government's budget works. In fact, I know very little. However, when the President addressed the nation last night (6.25.11), I listened. And what I heard was that Congress was not working together - like they should - to reach a compromise in time. And if that isn't done, a lot of damage could be done to the United States. I heard that in the past 8+ years, things were not done correctly to help our deficit. I heard that some in Congress (specifically Republicans, it seemed) were not willing to compromise but instead were putting their own political agendas in front of the need of this country.

When I heard this, I thought of what has happened recently in Minnesota and their state shutdown. That lasted more than a week. And, when I look at it, the same thing was happening in Minnesota that is right now in the capital. Members of Congress (again, mostly Republicans) are not willing to work together and find a compromise. And because of this, in Minnesota, the state shutdown lasted for days and was devastating to the entire state. Finally, Governor Dayton decided to go with the proposal from the Republicans - not because he agreed with it, but because he knew it would be for the better for the state of Minnesota. But in my opinion, it shouldn't have ever reached that point. The Republicans and the Democrats should have worked together from the beginning so that the state never needed to shut down. This is their job - the job they are elected to do. And if they can't do it, then they shouldn't have that job. 

I think the same is true for our elective officials in Washington. If the budget doesn't get balanced in a fair way, there could be serious consequences for years to come. And the American people shouldn't have to pay those consequences because our elected officials couldn't work together. 

I don't do this a lot and maybe I should, but today I took the time to write my elected officials. Right now they are Rep. King, Senator Grassley and Senator Harkin. You too can contact your representatives and ways to find out who they are and how to contact them can be found here. This was my letter. 

I listened to President Obama address the nation last night about our financial crisis. I also listened to House Speaker John Boehner give his response. After listening to both speeches, I agree with what President Obama stated. There needs to be a balanced compromise. Cuts do need to be made. But we should also stop the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and ask them to contribute to this problem.

I ask you to work together, find a compromise. No one will ever be completely happy - but we can find a happy medium. That is your job as our elective official. Put politics aside and help this country.

Thank you.

While I was searching for the sites to contact my elected officials, I came across another website. This website is called Votizen and it is a place where you can contact your representatives, sign open letters that other people have written or write your own letter and get support. There was one letter that caught my attention on this same subject. I thought it was well written and straight to the point. I added my signature. I've included the link to that letter here. I encourage you to read that letter and if you feel the same way, to join the site and sign your name too.

To be completely honest, who knows if our elected officials ever even see these letters or notes that we send them. But somebody must be reading them. And sending nothing - especially if you feel so strong about something - is worse.

With the Iowa Straw poll just around the corner and caucuses and primaries not long after, the debates have started for the next Presidential election. It's our right and our duty as Americans to listen to what the candidates are saying and then voting in these elections. That is how we can make a difference. But, if you're still a skeptic about our democracy, I'll leave you with this quote I heard while out in Colorado for the DNC back in 2008. "Voting is a lot like peeing in the ocean. It might not make much of a difference, but it sure feels good once you've done it."