Cell phones

Cell phones, those amazing little gadgets we’ve all become so dependent on, to the point that many of us no longer have a traditional land-line based telephone in our homes.

They are also something we’ve begun to get increasingly aggravated with, as carriers lock us into long term contracts with high financial penalties if we attempt to cancel the contracts for any reason.  Those contracts can look very attractive initially, but as time moves forward, and our lives change, they often become increasingly unwieldy monkeys riding on our backs.

Especially in the economy that has plagued us the last five years.

Faced with shifting fortunes, rising costs, and shrinking incomes, many people are desperate to reduce their monthly expenses, to get them to the point that their outgoing bills are less than their income.  That’s something our government isn’t very good at, not only for themselves, but for their constituents.  Corporations, however, seemed to have perfected the art of extracting blood from turnips.

With your cell phone carrier, they often have you over a barrel.  You can’t afford the monthly expense, but you certainly can’t afford the cancellation fee, or the negative notation on your credit history.  There aren’t a lot of options available, especially when you desperately need that cell phone, whether because it’s your sole connection with the outside world, or because you are searching for a job.

There are a few things, especially when faced with a temporary financial crunch, as well as some other things you can do to prevent being caught in the contract bind, while not causing undue financial hardship.

First, resist the urge to “upgrade” your phone at a reduced initial cost and renewing your contract.  This is where the cell phone companies are dangling a carrot out there, intending to keep you on THEIR treadmill.  Resist the temptation, and either continue using your old cell phone or buy another outright.  To keep costs down, you can often buy a used phone via Ebay or other outlets.  Do your research, make sure that the make and model is compatible with your carrier, as well as has some kind of guarantee from the seller that it will arrive in good condition.  You’ll still have to pay an activation fee.

If you don’t actually need a smart phone, skip the trend, stick with a basic function phone, which often can be used on a smaller data package.  These smaller plans without large data packages can save $10 or more per month, which can quickly add up.

Don’t add lines.  Each line comes with an additional contract, usually 24 months long.  If you have a need for additional phones, consider a prepaid option instead.  Then, if it turns out that it’s not needed anymore, you aren’t faced with an unnecessary bill.

If you are locked into a contract situation, and desperately need to cut your bills, there are a few options available.  Check to see if you can change the plan itself without altering your contract.  This option exists with many cell phone companies, and by switching to a basic phone with fewer bells and whistles, you can often cut your plan as much as a hundred dollars a  month.  Don’t cut it so short that you end up going over your limits however, overages are very expensive with many companies.

There is also the option of “suspending” your contract temporarily, usually up to 3 months.  This may have a monthly service charge, but it will allow you time to get your finances under control.

If you are not locked into a contract, you may want to explore other options, even if your finances and job situation looks bright and cheery.  By avoiding the contracts, you are free to explore other options as they become available, without having to wait.  That means everything from the latest iPhone to the different packages available.  It also means that if you are suddenly offered the perfect job in some exotic location, you won’t be biting off a chunk of that “early termination fee.”  Numerous companies offer prepaid plans, some even have iPhones and other smart phones available, complete with unlimited data and minute plans.  Straight Talk, available through Walmart, is one of them.  It is also serviced by the Big Three in cell phone providers: AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon, depending on your location.  If you move and your old phone isn’t served in the new area, the problem is solved by simply purchasing another phone, and you are never stuck with a two year contract that leaves all of the cards in the cell phone company’s hands.

Contracts, ranging from one to three years, have become the bane of the consumer’s life.  They are everywhere, increasingly restrictive, designed to reduce competition for our dollars for years at a time, and ultimately reducing the level of service we manage to choke out of the various corporations.  Once you are locked into their services, its virtually impossible to change suppliers, no matter how terrible their service becomes.  It’s not a good trend, especially in a world that has increasing numbers of monopolies to which the consumers are becoming enslaved.

We don’t really have a choice about our electric, natural gas, water, cable, or land based telephone service, yet these companies want to often lock us into contracts to continue receiving their services, and leave the consumer with early termination fees if they decide to move out of their service area.  Cell phone companies do the same thing, using the carrot of reduced cost cell phones to entice customers to their two year enslavement.

To make it even worse, a cell phone is locked to a specific carrier, preventing the consumer from going to another carrier and acquiring service for that phone.  That means even if you aren’t locked into a contract and have a $500 cell phone, you have to buy their service, or buy another cell phone.  Is this really fair?  After all, you bought the cell phone, not leased it.  The cost was not subsidized by the cell phone company.

Something has to be done about all of these corporate monopolies with their abilities to turn us into their indentured serfs for years at a time.  In the meantime, the only way we can avoid that trap ourselves is to carefully read the fine print, avoid contracts with penalties for early termination, and learn to pay as we go.  Prepaid cell phones are one option, and unlike the early days when their fees were outrageously high, they have become increasingly competitive.  Today, Straight Talk, one of the larger prepaid companies, is part of TracFone, and it is marketed through Walmart.  Their unlimited voice and data plans are $45 per month, with no contract and no penalties if you don’t like it, but you do have to purchase the phone, which range in cost from about $19 to nearly $500, depending on features, models, and brands.  Their customers seem to be about equally as satisfied as those who are paying $110 or more for the same service with a contract.

So what does a person really get with the additional $65?

You get a two  year contract, and a reduced price on your phone, plus a $35 activation fee.  That means that at $110 per month, you will pay an extra $1595 for that cell phone in lieu of just purchasing it and going with a cheaper prepaid plan.  Outside of that, there is little difference between companies.  Sure, there is “tech support” with your contract phone, but have you ever used it?  Did it offer you any help?

There’s another reason to consider the no-contract phone.  In the case of a Straight Talk phone, Walmart offers a protection plan that includes water & humidity damage, and costs from $6 on up, depending on the initial cost of your phone.  With most companies, the “insurance” on your phone is about $7 per month, and in the event of water or humidity damage, the replacement can cost you $100 or more, as well as has to be mailed to you anyhow.  With Walmart’s protection plan, there is apparently no deductible on the phone, which means that the difference (in 2 years) can be over $160 per month for better coverage.

Then there are the hidden charges on contract cell phone service, all of those mysterious taxes and service fees that really will surprise you, as they approach increasing the price 20-25% per month.  Without the contract, the fees are included, providing you with a manageable price per month that can be adapted to  your budget.

Sure, there are no “discounts” on the phones initially.  They have to be paid for, along with shipping (if you don’t pick it up in the store) and taxes.  But…in the first two years alone, assuming you don’t damage the phone or get a huge desire to have the latest iPhone or smart phone, you will save $1757, minus the cost of your phone.  Even the phone’s cost may not be as high as you think–it isn’t uncommon for the phone from the carrier to cost $100-300 more than your “discount”, leaving you with a big bill.  The same phone or a similar phone with similar features, may be available from a no-contract program at roughly the same price.

The no contract phones are also an excellent idea for parents with a child acquiring their first cell phone, a teen with a new cell phone, or even a college student’s cell phone needs.  It means no surprise overages resulting in bill shock.  An inexpensive phone for calls and simple texting can be a solution for a child, who is more likely to lose or damage a phone.  (Loss is not part of the coverage from Walmart’s protection plan.)  If a cell phone is lost, there are also no worries that there will be calls to Dubai and Hong Kong suddenly appearing on your bill either.  These cheap cell phones can also be considered a temporary or “throw away” solution to a short term cell phone need–if an additional phone is needed during an emergency or travel.  They also offer international plans, handy if calling out of the country, as well as plans for 3 months, 6 months, or a full  year.  Imagine trying to pay a year in advance on your contract phone!

I’ve talked to customers that have used Straight Talk, and they are generally happy with the service they have received, whether it was their first cell phone or a replacement for the contract cell phone.  I also know people with a number of other carriers, including Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, and C-Spire.  The ones with other carriers are usually not as happy, and often are chafing at the bit for their contract to end, whether for financial reasons or because another company offers a desirable service or phone that is not available with their current carrier.  Sometimes it is due to relocation, and the service available in their new area is not as good as it was in the old area, leaving them paying for substandard reception or perks such as a local store that repairs their phone.

With a no-contract service, you are still free to choose to use a traditional contracted service at any time, if it turns out that you aren’t happy with it.  The sole complaint that I have noticed with no-contract services is number portability–it can be expensive, not available, or a pain.  If this is not an issue, one way to test the waters is to buy an inexpensive phone from one of the companies and try it before terminating your contract.

The phones can be served by one of three carriers, and not all carriers are available in all areas, and even in the areas that they are available, they may not offer the same type of reception.  There are also many issues with both 3G and 4G service, especially in small towns and rural areas.  Read reviews, find out which phones are served by the company that offers the best service for your area, as well as the areas in which you frequently travel.  In my case, I know that Verizon does not service the area in which my daughter lives, and therefore, I would not consider using Verizon as a contract carrier OR via a prepaid program.  Unfortunately, both AT&T and Sprint have spotty coverage throughout the rural areas of my home state, so either one could also leave me without a signal while traveling elsewhere.  That problem is true for most of us in the United States–no carrier provides complete coverage anywhere.

In addition to prepaid plans from companies like TracFone, the cell phone companies often offer a prepaid plan.  Unfortunately, they often don’t let you use the same phone that you may have used with their contract service, requiring you to purchase a different phone (at full price, with limited choices.)  Even with that, for many people, their services may be a better option.

Avoid the contracts when possible, and keep your independence and freedom of choice–it’s the best choice for your financial future as well.  Never set yourself up to end up with a big bill by adding friends or relatives to  your contract service unless you truly are independently wealthy.  Instead, opt for the no-contract version, even if you purchase the phone and plan, you will protect yourself from unexpectedly large bills in the future.

Write your representatives and senators, asking them to offer the consumer relief from these unwieldy contracts that favor the corporations, as well as to legally unlock cell phones and make them able to work with any carrier, and removing the monopolies that plague us all.  It’s high time that corporations began being accountable for their services, rather than able to rape the consumer with high rates, poor service, and long contracts with large penalties.

Stupidity of Daylight Savings time and election mania?

I’ve ranted about it before, and I will rant about it again today…and twice a year for as long as the idiocy continues.  Daylight savings time is an idiotic concept, dreamed up and perpetuated by ridiculous propaganda that far too many people buy into.  If it saves so much energy…why don’t we just STAY on that time?  What do people really think they are saving?

But speaking about ridiculous propaganda, have  you paid much attention to the stuff circulating on the social media sites as people wave the figurative flag of their favored candidate?

It’s made me realize, with a two party system, we really are given a choice.

Between a rock and a hard place.

That’s about all the difference I really see between the parties.  The parties and their candidates are so far out of touch with what life is like for Average Joe and Average Jane that we may as well elect Brad Pitt for president.

Heck, he might even do a better job.  If not, well, at least he’d make interesting photo ops, right?

Neither party represents what we’ll call the “working man” of American society.  They don’t have a clue what our lives are like.

Like Mitt Romney’s wife, featured in an article about how she went shopping at Sam’s Club.  She was immensely proud of her ability to feed a large gathering of family for only $4.50 per person for the meal.  I don’t think she’d be too happy with my food budget, capped at $5 per person per day.  Some months, if there are extra bills to pay, well…the food budget gives up a portion of it’s funding to cover the deficit.  She’d even be more horrified to discover that if I’m serving guests, it comes out of the monthly budget, not an extra slush fund.  So does holiday cooking, as a matter of fact.  While the Romneys might not be concerned at the reports of higher prices for serving up the traditional turkey dinner later this month, for the rest of us, that IS a concern.  We can’t spend what we’re not earning, and there are still not enough jobs to get everyone back to work that has been looking for work since this recession started.  It’s unfortunate that with each passing year, we’ve seen more jobs going overseas too.

For those of us struggling to make ends meet, to pay our bills, and to just get by, while family members are unemployed or underemployed…having to deal with an English-is-a-second-language customer service rep in some foreign country is really a slap in the face.  It’s another reminder of how many jobs we’ve lost to countries with lower standards of living and more relaxed workplace laws.

In the stores, it’s hard to buy American made goods.  It’s harder yet to buy from companies that have American based customer service.  I don’t think it’s an unrealistic expectation that if I buy an item or service with American money while I am in the United States, that customer service will be provided in the United States as well.

Then, there is health care.  I’ll admit, I am not thrilled with the Obamacare package, but…I wasn’t thrilled with nothing either.  Do I think that it’s the best that our government could come up with?  No…and it shouldn’t be so long that nobody can possibly read it and understand what it says either.  That’s the problem with these bills–they are excessively complicated and too often contain unrelated stuff.  Each bill should be one thing, written in a manner that any average person can understand it, but they aren’t.  Washington has become a place of bureaucrats worried about perpetuating their own existence, whether elected or appointed or hired.

The part that I think stinks is the idea that people are to be forced to buy health insurance.  Seriously, I don’t know anyone who can afford health insurance and opts to just not buy it for some reason.  I’ve priced it, long before Obama was ever heard of, and there was no way I could afford it, even just major medical was about 30% of my monthly take home pay, and there wasn’t any way I could give up that much of my monthly income and survive.  Utilities, rent, and automobile insurance already took care of about 80% of my net pay!  That left very little for luxuries such as food, gasoline, clothing, medical expenses, and assorted sundries.  Taking a second job wasn’t an option, really–my job required extensive overtime already, and while I was paid for it…that extra overtime is what was used for those “luxuries” I bought.

So I read the things that the candidates say, I read the things that their opponents say about them.  I read the things their supporters say about them.  I read the “fact checker” articles.

I’ve concluded that I was right.  We do have a choice between a rock and a hard place.  It then comes down to specific issues that are…or are not…supported by the two parties.

What concerns me?

1. Women’s rights, including reproductive rights.  I’m pro-choice, and before anyone gets their underwear in a wad over that…let me clarify that statement.  I am pro-choice, not pro-abortion.  There is a very clear difference.  While I don’t think that abortion is the right choice for me, in any circumstances that I have actually faced, I also don’t think that it is the government’s job to make that decision for me…or any other woman.   I don’t think my boss should be able to decide if my insurance is going to cover birth control either.  There are many reasons and many circumstances for a woman’s choice, and few women are going to choose to use abortion as birth control if they have any conscience or concept of right and wrong.  If they don’t have those things, well, do we really want her reproducing anyhow?  Morality cannot be legislated, and there should not be an attempt to do so.  Laws are to protect society as a whole, and allow individuals to not have their personal rights infringed upon by others.  While that includes freedom of religion, it does not give anyone the right to impose their religious standards and expectations on others.  Period.
2. Right to bear arms.  Okay, these mass murders we’ve had at schools and theaters have been horrific and shouldn’t have happened.  Yes, I know many other civilized countries have banned weapons of all kinds.  That doesn’t mean I support weapons being banned in this country.  Regulated and restricted perhaps, but not banned.  Assault rifles aren’t needed for hunting or self-protection.  Automatic rifles and handguns aren’t either.  Armor penetrating ammunition and weapons are also not particularly appealing to think of my neighbor having and using for target practice.  I think we need to address the underlying causes of these incredible acts of violence more than act on restricting gun ownership excessively.  Do we ban bathtubs for the accidents they cause?  Have pools been banned due to the high numbers of children that have drowned in them?  Do we still allow downhill skiing after people die in skiing accidents?  How about cars and car accidents and their fatalities?
3. Same sex marriage.  I’m not gay, and I never was.  I’m not even bi-sexual.  I am in a traditional marriage, even if our wedding was far from traditional.  My parents weren’t gay, neither is my daughter.  That doesn’t mean that I can’t support the concept of equality among all Americans.  While I don’t deny that states can allow or forbid same sex marriage according to their citizens’ wishes, I don’t think that the federal government should be able to override those states’ rights to choose either.  Currently, federal law does not allow federal employees in a legal same sex marriage to enjoy the same benefits for their spouses that someone in a so-called traditional marriage enjoys.  I think this is wrong.  I have little hope of Mississippi, my current home state, is going to legalize same sex marriages anytime soon.  It’s got far too high of a percentage of ultra conservative citizens for that to happen.  But, if it was allowed…I don’t think the federal government should deny benefits to those people’s spouses because they don’t agree with it.
4. Education.  It wasn’t working, so they tried “No Child Left Behind.”  That’s working about as well as new math did.  It’s absolutely not working, instead of educating kids and preparing them for the real world, whether that includes college or a job, kids are spending the year prepping for their standardized test.  Something else needs to be done, and this ineffective method of measuring both school and teacher performance needs replaced with something a bit more effective.  Wouldn’t it be nice if you went to a fast food restaurant, local store, or other location with staff that needs nothing beyond high school to get a job…and they actually could SPEAK American Standard English?  How many high school students can actually write down a coherent telephone message that anyone could read and understand, let alone write an essay for a college class?
5. Jobs/Industry.  Face it.  We lack an industrial base and we’re importing too many goods.  We need jobs, we have willing workers.  We need to figure out how to get people back to work, back to creating the things that made America into what it was.  We need factories running, producing goods that are high quality and reliable.  We’ve all had enough of cheap, shoddy, imported garbage.
6. National Transit System.  We rebuilt Europe’s trains after World War II, or so I’m told, but we can’t get trains to cover the USA in anything resembling efficient and cost effective.  It costs more to ride a train than it does to take a plane or even drive, and Amtrak is subsidized by the federal government.  Few cities have train stations where passengers and small freight can be economically transported to the next city, county, state, or anywhere.  In addition, the transit times when trains are used are utterly ridiculous.  We need efficient mass transportation beyond the urban bus and subway systems.  We need it both within states and to other cities and states, providing efficient and low cost transportation coast to coast.  Putting such a rail system into place would employ thousands of people, from creating the infrastructure to service jobs when it is up and running.  It would appeal to foreign tourists as well, especially since most industrialized countries have train systems already.
7. Legalization of hemp & medical marijuana.  Hemp is a good crop, and it’s good for a lot of applications.  It can be used for making rope, paper, and clothing, as well as a host of other things.  It’s a good fiber, and more durable than cotton.  Medical marijuana is a good product too, when properly used.  Even recreational marijuana is less of a problem with the users than those people using alcohol.  Taxed and regulated, it would remove marijuana from the hands of drug cartels, reducing their income and clout not only in the United States, but in the countries where their supplies of marijuana are grown and prepared for smuggling into the United States.  The tax revenue would enhance the American budget, maybe even bringing the annual deficit down a notch, especially if recreational use was legalized.
8. Energy.  We’re going to have to bite the bullet and come up with alternative energy plans.  We’ve seen the disasters nuclear reactors can deliver.  We’re seeing the disaster of the oil industry, each and every day.  We need inexpensive and efficient energy to recreate a strong economy.  We don’t have it, therefore, we need to figure out how to get it.  If we got a man to the moon, not once, but several times, and did it with computers that had less power than the old Nintendo 64…surely we can figure this problem out.  Quit subsidizing the oil industry and let them struggle on their own, they’ve been milking America too long.  Devote attention to alternative energy that is less costly, both to the consumer and the environment, and put America at the forefront again.
9. Taxes.  Corporations.  Okay, taxes are something nobody wants to pay.  We’re all a bit tired of corporate entities making huge profits while paying little in terms of taxes, and then adding to the insult by outsourcing portions of their business to foreign countries.  We’re sick of them lobbying Congress for favoritism.  We’re tired of paying the bill, you might say.  It’s time to start taking a good hard look at how corporations are affecting the way we elect politicians, and how they affect the bills that go through Congress to become laws.  It’s a form of corruption, folks.  Plain and simple.  These corporations are doing nothing more than paying politicians for favors, no matter how it is sugar coated.
10. Foreign aid.  I really do not understand why we are borrowing money only to give it away to other countries.  That makes no sense to me.  If I am unable to pay my bills without borrowing money, it would be foolish to give my money to other people after I borrowed it.  Why is the federal government continuing to do something that any of us would look askance at a private individual doing?  I think it’s time that foreign aid is cut back, if not eliminated, and there should be more accountability as to why we’re giving it to anyone.

There are a lot more issues too, more than I could possibly put in here, but those are the top ten ones.  Neither party is very concerned about all of them.  None of the candidates are either.  So who do I vote for?

I’ll cast a vote in less than forty eight hours now.

I have no idea who I’m going to vote for right now.  Just when I think one candidate or another has trumped finally, they show signs of obviously reneging.  I was never a fan of Obama, so I have to admit that he has done better than I thought he would.  At the same time, the Romney/Ryan ticket isn’t exactly thrilling either.  I’m not a Romney fan, and the idea of something happening that would catapult Ryan into the Oval Office makes me gag.  Biden’s not a rocket scientist either though, and I actually had someone crack a joke about Biden being Obama’s “insurance policy” so that no one would assassinate him–they were afraid that Biden would then become president.

Once again, it seems that I’m faced with a choice of who I am going to vote against rather than who I am going to go vote for.  Which candidate has the most potential to cause harm?  Are we better off with the devil we know…or a new devil?

Oh will I be glad when Tuesday is over.  I’ll have my mind back, as well as cease to see the endless parade of pro-this candidate or anti-that candidate on my Facebook wall!

Marijuana, medical uses, and the pharmaceutical industry

Marijuana isn’t a legal substance to grow or possess in much of the United States.  Some states have legalized its medical use, but continue to face issues with the federal government disregarding their state laws.  In Mississippi, where I currently live, it is definitely not a legal substance.

In talking to various friends and acquaintances lately in regards to long term pain management, the differences between states became blatantly apparent in regards to the use of marijuana for this purpose.  Using it for pain management is in some ways far different than using it for recreational reasons.  Many people who had never experimented with it in their “younger days” use it in their middle age for pain management.  Even those who have used it for recreational reasons tell me that the type of  marijuana available in “medical grade” is far different from the street version, as well as more expensive.

The reasons people have for not supporting the legalization of marijuana are all things that they believe to be true.  But, when you really look at the reason, is it really true?

One reason is that people believe that many doctors will frivolously pass out prescriptions for marijuana.  This is true, otherwise we wouldn’t have any doctors ever disciplined for their prescribing habits through state medical boards.  On the other hand, is it really so common that it is going to be a wide spread problem?  How does frivolous marijuana prescriptions compare to the other types of frivolously prescribed medication compare?  I don’t think that it is going to be as big of a problem as many people fear, mostly because of the restrictions that are placed on when and where marijuana is used by the patient.  These typically are things like not using it before driving or while in a motor vehicle, not in public, etc.   Possessing it ceases to be a crime with the prescription, which allows them to take it with them while traveling, have it in their home, etc.

Other people believe that it will result in widespread addiction to marijuana.  Marijuana isn’t an addictive substance, this has been well documented in scientific research.  It is, however, like almost everything on earth, potentially psychologically addictive.  It’s a lot less addictive than most prescription painkillers, as well as having far fewer side effects.

Others fear that it will increase the number of people who use it as a recreational drug.  There isn’t anything to support this, and many people who currently indulge in marijuana use may stop using it entirely because of the loss of the thrill of escaping detection.  For those that already use it as a recreational drug, buying it through a legal source would mean that it is taxed, increasing revenue for local, state and federal programs of all kinds, from education to road construction.

Others believe that it is going to increase crime.  In reality, this has been proven incorrect by American history.  The Prohibition Era saw the rise of organized crime to unprecedented levels as the sale of alcohol funded their entire organization.  The same thing is true today with marijuana and other drugs.  By removing marijuana from their product offerings, we are removing one of their biggest income sources and turning it into a legitimate crop that both large and small farmers can raise and market legally.  These farmers, processing companies, and even marketing companies will then employ more people, pay more taxes, and help fuel a stagnating economy with a product that is legally produced and sold.  It is highly doubtful that we’ll see a sudden arrival of “marijuana booths” in local farmer’s markets any more than we see “tobacco booths” today, for largely the same reasons.

Others regard legalizing marijuana as tantamount to admitting defeat in the “War on Drugs” as marijuana has always been regarded as a drug.  Whether we admit defeat or not, it’s blatantly obvious that our “War on Drugs” has been a dismal failure as organized criminal gangs continue their home invasions, robberies, murders, assassinations, and kidnappings along the Mexican border, on both sides of that border.  Once again, by removing one of their primary sources of income, we will succeed in making business more difficult for them to conduct.  Besides, wouldn’t it be nice to have another legal “Made in America” product, in this case, raised in America product?

Marijuana production, especially for the medical trade, is perfectly suited to the small family farm as well, since it is a much more labor intensive crop than raising most current agricultural crops.  It would also yield higher profits per acre, making the family farm a profitable enterprise, and saving the family farms from extinction in the current climate of agribusiness and corporate farms.  Saving the family farm would preserve the same family values that our entire country was founded on, rather than destroying them, which is what many people’s fears of the legalization of marijuana are.    Creating more jobs in rural areas where it is produced by locating the plants to process and package the marijuana for sale would also help preserve this same traditional family value concept, as rural areas are always struggling to keep jobs and their economies alive.

People are not going to become marijuana addicts just because it is legal to buy, possess and use marijuana any more than everyone over 21 is an alcoholic or smokes tobacco, both of which are legal and have far more known side effects to their use than marijuana does.  Far fewer people, according to current research, are likely to become belligerent, aggressive, or violent when using marijuana when compared to using alcohol.  While most research indicates that marijuana does not contain carcinogens, even if it does, it contains far fewer than tobacco does, and tobacco is also addictive.

So why IS there so much opposition to the legalizing of marijuana?

I believe that the Big Pharma companies are one of the sources behind it.  If a simple solution such as marijuana use, which can also be grown at home by the patient and easily processed into the usable form without a laboratory, pharmaceutical companies will lose a substantial portion of their current giant-sized income on the sale and marketing of prescription pain killers and the drugs that are used to counteract their side effects.

These giant corporations can lobby Congress and state legislatures in opposition of the legalization process.  It’s simply good business to them, while thousands of people are left in a position to use other solutions to long term pain management, nausea, etc. that make them even more money while providing less effective relief and more side effects for the patient. It’s the same lobbying effect that makes herbal and wholistic treatment of medical conditions difficult, if not impossible, as these entities lean on the FDA for more regulations each year.  What better way to ensure that your company makes more money than by eliminating the competition from the scenario?

These same companies prey on the public, turning the issue from a  simple herbal solution to a loud protest about the idea, encouraging their opposition.  They paint pictures of derelict addicts neglecting their children, spouses, and jobs to smoke one joint after another.  They encourage the vision of drivers killing people because they are “high” on marijuana.  They lead the public to believe that every doctor will be on the street, hawking their prescriptions for marijuana like it’s the latest edition of the newspaper.

The complete legalizing of marijuana would move it from the jail house evidence room to liquor stores, where it would be available in a variety of brands and varieties.  There, it would be sold in packages of twenty like cigarettes with a hefty tax, just like cigarettes and alcohol.  Sure, some times, it might be your mechanic, co-worker, or doctor that buys a package to take home on a Friday night, and they may smoke the entire package over the weekend too.  But what does that mean on Monday when they come to work again?

It means a lot less than working with someone that has spent the weekend drinking currently legal alcohol.  There is no ‘hangover’ effect from marijuana, another research proven fact.  That means that they aren’t going to be inattentive and suffering from a headache and nausea.  They are less likely to call in “sick” to work on Monday, as well as less likely to make an error while on the job as a result of their weekend’s recreation.  Once the “high” effect of marijuana wears off, that is all that results from the previous use of alcohol.  There is also research indicating that it has far fewer long term effects than even occasional alcohol use.

So what does this mean for me personally?

Not a whole lot, other than advocating the legalization of marijuana.  It isn’t legal in Mississippi where I live, and I do believe in obeying the law.  I don’t know if it would be something that would work for me in terms of medical pain management or not.  I don’t really have an interest in using it recreationally, but I also don’t drink alcohol very often.  I personally don’t see it becoming something that is in widespread use by other people in terms of recreation either, although many people may buy a package just to see what it was all about, smoke one or two, and leave them on the shelf until the dust gathers on them.  I would far rather have my car repaired or see a doctor that used marijuana rather than one that was recovering from a weekend party.

What do you think?  Do you see marijuana as the downfall of our society, a good source of tax money, a potential “cash crop” or something else?

A conspiracy against women

I am Woman.  I am a woman.

I’m a daughter, a sister, a mother, a grandmother, a wife, a friend, an artist, a writer, a photographer, a cook, and many, many other things too.  I’ve ridden this planet around the sun for a few spins as well.  I’ve spent a lifetime learning, only to realize with each acquisition of new knowledge how little I really know.

Then, just when I think I’ve got it figured out, somehow, a curve ball comes my way.

I’ve had a lot of curve balls over the past year, but the one that I never saw coming was this recent attack on women by our own government.  Don’t these men have wives, mothers, sisters or daughters to help educate them?  Were they raised in some strange artificial male-only environment?  Are they really terrestrial humans?  Just exactly where did they get the idea that THEY needed to decide how a woman’s body is to be treated, especially in regards to her reproductive capabilities.

This is like something out of a bad sci fi flick, the sort that I’d switch off in disgust after about ten minutes.  Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy with this problem.

These MEN have decided that birth control is causing immorality.  I almost choke on the lack of logic.  That’s like saying that children cause sex.  Birth control, also referred to as contraceptives, don’t mean that anyone is engaged in an immoral or unlawful sexual encounter.  Assuming that they ARE is ridiculous.  Just because a woman is married or in a stable relationship does not mean she wishes to spend her entire life as a brood mare producing one child after another, especially in a shaky economy with an overcrowded planet.

How would they like it if women were behind those closed doors determining that they were going to castrate a certain segment of the population to prevent unwanted pregnancies?  Or maybe to prevent violent crime (never mind that the presence or lack of testicles doesn’t influence criminal activity–logic is not required in law making these days.)

Imagine a father talking to his son on the eve of his 18th birthday, “Sorry son, you scored too low on your college entrance exam and too high on your sperm count, and since we couldn’t afford to buy you an exemption, tomorrow is the big day, you are going to get your castration!”

It makes a lot more sense than putting a woman in prison because she had a miscarriage or still born infant, actually.

We need to put a stop to this nonsense before it goes any further, because women DO form a majority of the population now.  In addition, most of us have sons, husbands, brothers, fathers, uncles, and friends who could also be convinced to support the more realistic woman’s point of view on this bizarre debate.

You think I am kidding?

How long would this discussion go on if no man received any food cooked by a woman?

Add in that no woman did a man’s laundry either.

Oh, or waited on them…for any reason.

And then, there is the ultimate trump card women have held since the dawn of time…and the first cave.

An embargo on sex too.

How many men are willing to endure that for too terribly long before adjusting their point of view?  After all, that’s really what this is boiling down to…

Men want to control our vaginas.  

So…we remove that from the equation and let them resume the math problem.  I think most men will be fairly quick learners in that case.

Okay, maybe it isn’t fair, but who plays fair?  Washington D.C. certainly doesn’t.  They wouldn’t let the female lawmakers in on their discussion either.  So, we’ll take the situation in hand.  If we can’t control contraceptives, pregnancies, and the rest of our bodies, we certainly need to control the one aspect that they haven’t tried to legally take away from us.

Our sexual aspect.

We just need to get our act together, we need to be universal on this, because it has to be Average Joe screaming into the phone to his representative to stop that bill, not Average Jane.  They think they can ignore us…but we have our alternative methods of communication.  They like the idea of an aspirin between our knees?  We’ll deliver it.  With a glass of water.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it, boys.

Ron Paul–a real media black out or just a lot of whining?

I’ll confess.  We don’t have a television in our house.  We own one, technically, but after over a year in our storage unit, it was “loaned” to our granddaughter.  Therefore, I have to confess, I have no clue what is available on television.  I do read the local paper several times a week, but most of my news is found online, via Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus.

That means I find out about things in a haphazard manner, I suppose, and see the world through slightly distorted glasses as a result.  I don’t really know what the big networks are putting out in their news programs.  I also don’t think I’m missing much.  I was disgusted by television programming a long time ago.  I’m equally disgusted at the packaging of channels by cable and satellite companies.  I deeply resent being forced to buy channels that I will never watch just to obtain a handful that I may watch sometimes.  So…we opted out, a very long time ago.  Contrary to what some people think, I’m not a television snob…I’m just not interested in a non-stop parade of pseudo-news, sports, soap operas, silly sit coms, and game shows.  I don’t have the attention for “night time drama” either.  I refuse to schedule my life around television programs.  But…there are some programs I love…when I have the chance to see them.  Like “River Monsters”…or “Swamp People”…and even a lot of the cooking shows.  I think Ellen Degeneres is hilarious, and I like her talk/variety show.  I liked Oprah too, and I think she is an amazing woman.  There is a lot of great stuff on television…I just can’t be bothered with remembering when and where to find it.  On the other hand, the trashy stuff…is just trashy.  It encourages people who lean that way to indulge in progressively trashier behavior in my opinion, but they’d likely find an excuse anyhow.

But enough on the whole television thing.  What has come across my screen in a gazillion posts, blogs, websites, etc. is how poor Ron Paul is being blacked out from the media.  Now I’ll admit, I have a bad taste in my mouth over Ron Paul courtesy of one fanatical supporter who spammed me to death last week with garbage about him.  That chip on my shoulder has already got me glaring at his name.  But I can’t help but wonder…

Is all of this hype about how he’s being shut out by the media and “powers that be” of GOP more publicity to gather attention than reality?  It’s starting to look like that perpetually tattling 5 year old on the kindergarten playground running to the teacher with 101 offenses by his classmates to get attention for himself.  I see something about Ron Paul on the average of once every five minutes.  How in the hell is that a media black out?

I will admit…fanatics also scare the dickens out of me.  Fanatics are the kind of people that make car bombs, that shoot doctors outside of abortion clinics, that try to hire a hit man to shoot someone wearing fur, or do any of the other 1001 acts of terrorism that occur each year.  Ron Paul has what seems like an inordinate number of fanatical supporters.

I wonder if these are the same kinds of supporters who think that same sex marriages are a hazard to our society, that think that personhood laws should protect fetuses and embryos even at the cost of the mother’s life, who think that those who think or act differently from them should be punished for the offense…or any one of the other really scary right-wing bills we’ve seen floating around the nation are good ideas.

Don’t get me wrong…I’m not a true liberal.  I’m a conservative liberal on even days, and odd days, I’m a liberal conservative.  I believe in balance and common sense.  I don’t like a government that is invasive into normal, law-abiding citizens’ daily lives.  I also don’t think the government has any business deciding whether or not I will have a baby, get my tubes tied, take birth control pills, who I should or should not marry, etc.  (I’m done on the marrying front, by the way…Greg and I did tie the legal knot last fall.)  I do think we should have universal health care, but I’m also not convinced that the current Obamacare plan is going to do anyone a favor, let alone make universal health care available to everyone.  I think our government is too big, that corporations and big business have gone too far in terms of our politics and their ability to influence laws and politicians too.  I believe in our constitution too.   I think we need some serious house cleaning in terms of Washington D.C.

But I’m questioning whether I want someone like Ron Paul doing it.

I’ll admit, I like some of the things he says, but I’m also old enough to know that a lot of what is said will never happen after the oath of office is taken.  His supporters are what scares me, as I wonder…how much of their ideology does he really support?  How many of these people will follow him into Washington if he is elected?  How many of these people are going to have the ability to influence how I live my life?

That is what scares me.

That and the whining about how he’s being picked on.  Is it real…or just an attention grabbing ploy?

I don’t know, and it’s still months until ballot time, but this upcoming race is depressing.  We have few choices, and most of it looks like a choice between a rock and a hard place.  Sometimes, I think that the GOP offerings are designed to ensure that President Obama has another four years in office.  They are doing their best to make him look good, middle-of-the-road, and far less frightening than what they are intending to see happen in the Oval Office.

What do you think?  Which of the Republicans do you see making the grade and ending up on the ballot?  My best guess is that it will be Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, or Newt Gingrich.  I can’t see any of them choosing their competition as their running mate either, so the VP candidate could be interesting too.

November doesn’t seem far away enough right now to suit me.

Ron Paul, Google Plus, and uncircling

Google Plus has become my new favorite place to hang out and find interesting people and ideas and even websites.  It’s amazing, it’s like Twitter, it’s like Facebook, but it is also its own kettle of fish.  It’s not as sentimental & sappy as Facebook can be sometimes with its syrupy sweet sayings and quotes, it has some meat to it.  It’s also not restricted to 140 characters like Twitter, so ideas aren’t left skeletal and requiring the reader to click on a link to get the whole thing.

I like it.  Greg isn’t as fond of it as I am, but I seriously think that it is a great place to go and share ideas.  I don’t know who said it first, but it has been said that Facebook is for the people you know, and Google Plus (shortened to G+ usually) is for the people you want to know.

For some reason, just like on Twitter, it has a popularity contest facet as well.  Some people think if you don’t circle them back, you aren’t worth listening to and keeping in a circle.  I guess I’m not into that game–I failed that class in junior high.  I circle people because I think they have something interesting to share with me.  I don’t circle people thinking we are now engaged in a lifelong joined-at-the-hip relationship.

For some people, they don’t get it.  They have an idea, they cling to it with every breath they take, and they are bound and determined to share it with you…twenty seven times a day, via a personal message.  The first day of this bombardment, I tuned it out, certain that the person would get over it.  After all, they only had been circled by a handful of people.

Before long, I understood WHY only a handful of people had circled the person in question.  I was bombarded more than once an hour with a personal message via G+ about Ron Paul.

Okay, technically, I am a Republican, but only because declaring a party of some sort is a habit, I never vote straight ticket, and really don’t agree with the mainline of Republican politics a lot.  I’m actually one of those peculiar species…on even days of the month, I am a devout conservative liberal.  On the odd days of the month, I am transformed into a devout liberal conservative.

So what does that mean, really?

Not much.  It means I like to see smaller government that isn’t in the daily lives of honest, hard working, law abiding citizens.  It means that I’m pro-choice and anti-abortion too.  It means I think that marijuana should be legalized.

It means I also rarely approve of anybody who sits in the Oval Office.  It’s nothing personal, they are just easy to dislike, even though I’m completely aware that most of the bills I see in the news are an issue of our Congress.  I dislike them too, it’s practically mandatory since my dislike is totally democratic.  I honestly don’t think we have a truly honest politician in Washington D.C.

But…I’m digressing.

Poor Ron Paul…he has this fanatical supporter on his side.  He really should pay this person to support someone else, because after less than 48 hours of the spamming…I hated Ron Paul.  The G-plusser also was becoming hated.  It was annoying, since a personal message also pops into my email.  I get notified its there…every time one was sent.  It was time to uncircle someone.

Now I didn’t have anything against Ron Paul before.  I wasn’t sure I liked him either–it was a typical case of I liked some things, and was really unhappy about some others.  I’m also that way about all of the other Republican runners still in the race.  Even so, for me, Ron Paul did seem SLIGHTLY better than the others.

Until the spam.

Will I get over it?

Well, I may not like Obama, but compared to the ones running against him, he looks like a much safer bet.  It won’t be a case of voting FOR anyone in this election…as usual.  It will be a case of voting against someone worse.

It’s funny though, how passionate people can get over their favorite candidates.  I wish someone inspired me to that level of support, but most aren’t even able to inspire me to write an x in favor of them versus the other guy.  Usually the x is chosen to vote against someone when I’m actually there with my ballot.  That is sad.

We need to get big business and corporations out of the business of politics somehow.  I’m tired of corporate sponsors decided who wins by donating more money so they have a better advertising campaign.  It smacks of buying votes to me, and it sure as heck hasn’t gotten “Average Joe” or “Average Jane” good representation in Washington.  Getting elected to public office shouldn’t mean that the winner has a free lunch ticket for life, and that’s what it has boiled down to these days.

Have you ever noticed, that when it’s time to do a budget crunch, who they choose to threaten with no check?

Social security, federal workers, and our military…

It’s never Congress that is going to miss out on that check.  It’s never Congress that is looking at a pay cut.  Social security wasn’t originally even in their hands…until they started dipping into their funds to fuel congressional spending.  Now, when it has to go back to pay out for the current recipients, they are screaming like three year olds who can’t have an ice cream cone.

They are also apparently exempt from the Obamacare plan.  They are probably also the only ones happy with it, as the current plan doesn’t seem to be doing what everyone hoped it would, which was provide universal health care, and instead is looking like a logistic nightmare more intent on punishing everyone than it is in making anyone healthier.

Obama has used G+ hang outs to talk with people.  I find that amazing and somehow heart warming too.  Keep in mind, I have never been an Obama fan, but at the same time, I like seeing a president take use of modern technology to connect with the people of this country.  It’s a lot safer and less expensive than public appearances too, which makes sense in a cash strapped economy.  I don’t know about the rest of the world, but seeing national leaders spending money unnecessarily while their citizens are struggling to pay bills does not look good.  My biggest complaint about our political leaders is that they are out of touch with reality for most of us.  Granted, it’s probably a small slice of the nation that is using G+ hang outs at this point, but it IS a start.

Now if I can get up the time, energy, and motivation to try out using the hang outs.  It would be a start for me too.

If you want to circle me on G+, that’s fine…but remember, I do not automatically circle back.  It’s not out of snobbery, but out of sheer practicality.  I don’t have time to go through the list of who-has-circled-me and add them back.  I add people when they pop up when I’m searching on a topic.  I add people when I have time and they have commented on a post.  Sometimes, I’m busy or distracted…and it takes another comment or two before I get my “round tuit.”  I don’t post a LOT of stuff, especially compared to my spamming former circled person…but what I do post is mostly publicly available.  I’m not playing the popularity game…like I said…I failed that class in Junior High!

With that said…Happy Hump Day!  It’s Wednesday again, and Mardi Gras is over, and we’re officially in Lent.

The future…past and present

Once upon a time, when predictions were made about the future, it included things like clean cities, efficient transportation and communication, fast transportation, peace, good educations, healthy diets, good health care, and all the things that we still are striving towards obtaining for our society as a whole.

I’m serious.  Here’s an article that lists some of 1911′s predictions in Ladies Home Journal.  They aren’t particularly accurate, although they do have some intriguing ideas.  Just for the record, I am glad the horse isn’t “practically extinct.”  I like horses, even if my riding days are probably long gone.

That article has some predictions about the future, with everyone having implants that monitor our health conditions and allow electronic house calls.  I’m not sure about that.  I may be wrong, but I don’t see that in the crystal ball I’m using.  My crystal ball seems to b e similar to the ones used by many people I know.  It’s a lot more gloomy than I like.

We see war, and we’ve seen war.  It seems to be an unending series of conflicts to me, punctuated with periodic “cease fires” and a change of venue, but it’s like a rock band that never stops touring.  It goes on and on…and on.  I’ve never been in the military myself, although other family members and friends have been.  A young man, sort of our adopted “god son” in a fashion, is leaving soon for boot camp, mostly spurred by the lack of jobs and ability to attend college because of money.  We worry about him, he’s newly married and a bright young star in our world.  He’s just a little bit younger than my son would have been now, and maybe that’s part of my attachment to him.  I understand the worry of a parent with a child going off to join the military.  There isn’t really any glory in death, just the loss of a bright young star in your life.  I don’t think politicians see it that way either.  Their kids aren’t going into the military as a way to escape grinding struggle and impending poverty, they are going to Harvard or Yale or Southern Cal…or anywhere but the US Army.

As for health care for the future, well, it’s obvious that something has to change.  I was talking to someone this week, they are having a health crisis with a serious disease, and the latest medication to treat it costs $30,000 per month.  It is hoped that this treatment will allow them to avoid chemotherapy in an attempt to control it.  What kind of medicine can justify a price of $30,000 per month for its use?  What can it be made out of?  I know research is expensive…but $30K a month?  No wonder the insurance company in question is refusing to pay for it.  No wonder no other insurance company would pick up a patient with a pre-existing condition like this either!  It’s as though the pharmaceutical companies are  blackmailing sick people and their families with “Either you pay us or you are going to die.”

What kind of a situation is that?

We’re seeing the middle class of America begin to vanish.  The jobs that once fueled the economy and put that vast middle class to work are disappearing into foreign countries, and the goods they once manufactured are being manufactured overseas.  Unfortunately, that also means that the people that once bought all of these manufactured goods are now suffering from “fiscal problems” and there are fewer buyers for everything from houses to cars to toy cars.  I wanted to buy an American made bicycle.  Unfortunately, there are very few of them anymore, and they are all very expensive, at least by my standards.  Many of those bicycles cost as much as the 1999 Chevy Venture Mini-van cost when we bought it several years ago.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford to “buy American”.  Even on our mini-van, from an American manufacturer, probably contains a large number of parts and other components that were manufactured in some other country.  You don’t get a list of where those parts came from either.

So, in 100 years, where will the American middle class be?  Nearly extinct, I suspect.  That shrinking middle class will mean a lot of other things, once fueled by that vast middle class, will also shrink.  That will include things like government services, universities and colleges, school systems, sports, health care facilities, and parks.  Few people will get an education beyond the 12th grade, and we may see more drop outs, as the high school diploma doesn’t mean much either if there are no jobs to be had that require it.  Poverty, crime, and disease will spread rampantly through the country.  More facilities will employ both security guards and physical security structures to keep intruders out, including private residences.  Corruption in public offices will increase as well.

It’s a pretty gloomy picture, and while these dark scenes will play out in a large portion of the country, I believe there will be regions that remain somewhat ‘bright spots’ on the map.  These communities will pool their efforts to maintain peace and a semblance of prosperity, although probably a different model than the towns of today use.  These may be more along the lines of a “planned community” crossed with a corporation, designed to benefit the “shareholders” or residents of the community with everything from cooperative commerce to farming/agriculture and education.  Just like medieval times, they may employ features like walls to protect the town itself, along with armed guards at the city gates and patrolling the streets.  So much for those who advocate gun control–it’s the guns that make communities such as this somewhat safe from roving gangs.

I guess I don’t see our federal government as being capable of maintaining order any better than it has managed its war on terrorism or the war on drugs.  It’s invested too much in foreign aid and ignored too many problems here for too long.  We see too many cities and towns with too many streets that are not safe to walk down, too many schools that need armed security guards on duty, and too little learning going on within their walls.  We’ve had our head stuck in the sand as a nation for so long that I don’t see it changing anytime soon.  Apathy is rampant.

Then, there are the GMOs.  I don’t know if they are safe or  not.  The problem is…neither do they.  Genetic diversity and crop diversity are two features agriculture has employed to prevent a repeat of Ireland’s infamous Potato Famine.  We seem to have let that lesson get forgotten now though, and it may come back to bite us.  We need labeling and we need testing…and we need an FDA that is mandated to protect the consumer, not the corporation.  Right now, we don’t have any of that, and a famine or other biological disaster hitting these experimental crops could be a disaster unlike any we’ve ever seen before.  That would destroy this nation in a way that the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl failed to.  What if these foods cause a mutation in human genes resulting in some weird birth defects?  What if it isn’t in the first generation, but the second or third, that it hits?  What then?

I want a nice sunny future where my granddaughter lives in the Land of Milk and Honey…and it isn’t toxic.  I want her safe, happy, and reasonably prosperous.  I want her to be healthy.  The reality is that I’m not seeing these things as being commonly available to the masses in the future.  I’m seeing poverty, disease, despair, struggles, conflicts…and I don’t like it.  There is only one way to deal with such a future though.

Start working to change it.

Sitting around and singing the blues won’t fix it.  Neither will ignoring it.  We have to work now to ensure a safe environment and reasonable society for our grandchildren…and their grandchildren.  Do something.  Vote.  Write to your congressmen and women.  Be part of the change for the future, don’t wait for “them” to do it for you.

 

Investment or expense?

Once upon a time, a good employee was regarded as an asset.  Training, stability, pay, and benefits were all considered to be investments in a company’s future, for no company is any better than its poorest employee.  A solid team of workers ensured that a business ran smoothly and accomplished its goals.  A worker was expected to be loyal, and companies preferred workers that stayed for their entire career.  In return, companies were loyal, and worked to ensure that their employees were well compensated for their labor and loyalty.  That’s also how they attracted and held those desirable employees too.

Then there was a change in the business world.  Employees became mere expenses.  No longer were they regarded as an investment, but rather a necessary evil.  They were replaced like paper cups, and regarded to have about as much importance.  Employees no longer felt loyalty to their employers either.

We saw a lot of other changes happen too.  Product quality deteriorated, customer service became a joke, and jobs were outsourced to foreign countries.  Not only were the people employed now disposable, so were the products and services they were paid to deliver.

How many companies have any real customer loyalty these days?  How many have CEOs who make many hundreds times the wages and benefits paid to workers?  How does this compare to past eras worker wages versus executive wages?

Once, it was common for a worker to spend twenty or more years working for the same employer.  Today, the average worker has three different CAREERS during their working life.  That’s not just changing employers, that’s leaving a field entirely!  Many companies have a long established policy to discourage workers from staying beyond the ten year mark and even more discourage/prevent employees from staying long enough to retire.  Few employers are actually concerned about employee well being beyond the bottom line in the accounting office either.

It seems that Scrooge has taken over the business world, and maybe the recent economic woes are the visits of the ghosts of the past, present, and future.  It might be time for all of the “Bob Cratchetts” of the world to take notice and start voting with their dollars too, few they may be.

There ARE a few companies out there who try to attract, hold, and even retire the best employees.  Granted, not many of them are major manufacturers of anything.  Some are mom and pop shops, some are small retailers and distributors, but whatever they are…it’s a quarter past time to start supporting the businesses that deliver, both in terms of their employees and in terms of services/products.

It’s simple.  Happy, contented workers deliver better work.  That means that they care about their jobs, they care about the tasks they are assigned to do, and want to do the best job possible, each and every day.  Yes, it’s partly about the money, but it is also more than that.  It’s about knowing that your efforts are appreciated, that your needs are considered, and that at the end of the day, you have a name.  It’s about silly things like a birthday cake in the lunch room on your birthday, about the  boss dropping by when you have an open house when you buy your first home, it’s about someone playing Santa Claus for the kids at the company Christmas party.  It’s about realizing that those employees are not automated machines that deliver on demand, but people with real lives, problems, joys, and sorrows…and accepting them.

It’s also about employees being encouraged to give their best each and every day too, about how to improve their job performance with training and education, about how much more valuable an employee is after a decade of work.  It’s about not calling in sick because you drank too much over the weekend or want to go skiing with your buddies too, because not showing up means  your coworker has to do your job for the day.  It’s about caring about your job performance, because it’s more than just a job to get a paycheck because you get a lot more than just the paycheck from the job.  You get appreciation, respect, consideration, camaraderie, satisfaction, health care, dental care, vision care, child care, education, training, physical fitness…and you like it.

We hear all the fussing about Obamacare, about the health care industry crisis, about the economy, about our lack of a manufacturing base, about how everything is being outsourced, but what are we doing about it?

When I was a child, vacations were a big deal.  Most employers offered health insurance.  There were sick days.  And, you could buy American made products.  Yeah, we didn’t have as much “stuff” and it cost more to buy what we had, but it lasted…a long time.  It worked.  When it broke, it could be fixed.  Warranties were worth more than merely being a piece of paper.

Today, if it breaks, we throw it out.  Warranties require consumers to jump through hoops and beg and plead with some foreign customer service agent.  Our products are made in countries we can’t even find on a globe half the time.  Technical support, even from American based companies, requires us to be able to decipher thick accents and dense mindsets to understand what we are trying to convey to them…as they sit in a foreign country that doesn’t have the same worker protection as American laws provide.

We have products we don’t want shoved down our throats, and can’t buy things we want to and used to be able to legally purchase.  The economy is going down the tubes, unemployment plagues most regions, and consumers are pinching each and every penny.  We’re looking at an election year, and the candidates are causing national disgust and aggravation at the choices between rocks and hard places.  The Occupy Movement is losing steam, due to a lack of leadership and centralized spokesman.

We know there is a growing problem with the so-called middle class.  It’s poorer than ever, and increasingly unable to maintain the status quo.  Owning a home is a dream that has been shattered for many people.  The richer have grown richer but the middle class is sliding further towards poverty than ever before.  We look at our politicians and realize that they are coming from the uppermost reaches of economic class in the United States.  How can we honestly expect any of them to actually represent Middle America?

It’s time to start voting with  your dollars.  Buy from companies that support their employees and communities, and boycott those who merely skim off the cream to pay their CEOs and shareholders, with no regard for the environment, the economy, the community, or their employees.  Demand customer service, and don’t stop demanding it when it becomes a bit inconvenient.  Start demanding better representation for Middle America from the politicians who have made representing us their career too, and vote out of office those who fail to hear their constituents.  Change doesn’t happen by merely waiting for it to happen unless you want the weather to change!

A real presidential candidate

I look at the upcoming presidential election and just sigh.  Once again, we don’t have anyone to vote FOR–they are all wolves in sheep’s clothing.  How can we seriously believe that the president or any federal politician is going to represent us, the 99%, the common man?  They are all wealthy people, far wealthier than the average, and they are all elected after using vast sums of money donated by their corporate sponsors.  Is it any wonder that they are primarily concerned about protecting corporations and the wealthy when that’s who funds their campaigns?

So…I have a fantasy solution, probably no more viable than fantasy football, but nonetheless, it’s a great fantasy.

First, it would be a woman, and a former single parent at that.  Who else is going to be able to balance this incredibly out of whack federal budget than someone who is used to taking practically nothing and making it stretch to cover all of the essentials?

That former single mom is used to wearing a lot of hats and being efficient at managing time too.  She’s got years of experience at figuring out how to cope with a sick kid, a job, shopping, laundry, doctor appointments, school activities, and everything else that a single mother has to juggle.  She’s also skilled at preserving peace, because the Congress acts a lot like a bunch of kids who all want the same piece of cake.

She’d have to be firm and decisive, with a streak of pure iron.  For that reason, we’d be looking for a menopausal former single mom.  Nobody has the kind of decisive ability to just make things happen with a sheer fury than a menopausal woman.  Wars would last a single day, because nothing can stop the fury of a menopausal woman either, and she won’t play namby pamby games about it once its deemed necessary.  Don’t mess with Uncle Sam when it’s Aunt Sam in the suit, ya know?

All those bureaucrats with their cushy jobs that don’t do anything?  They’ll be booted out of their offices so fast they won’t even remember their own names.  Our dysfunctional departments?  Gone…with the wind.  Forget Obama Care–she’ll have a decent and workable health care plan ready for Congress to sign so fast that they won’t be able to call their corporate sponsors in time to get advice.

The ridiculous “No Child Left Behind” program will be dumped in the trash where it belongs, and real education will start to be readily available, nation wide, as she put a workable and modern system into practice.  No more spending all year preparing for that single test that determines a school’s fate at the detriment of educating children.  For the first time, real interactive educations could be obtained using the internet, letting kids from rural Minnesota participate in classes taught in sunny Florida, and kids in rural Alaska taking classes alongside kids from New York City.  Any adult who wished to get an education would be able to get a grant to cover tuition and books at a government supported college or university, as long as their grade point average was high enough.  Community colleges would offer community education classes again, allowing everyone to learn local arts, crafts, and skills that would entertain and interest them again for low fees.

The FDA would be reined in, no longer at the beck and call of pharmaceutical companies.  Rules and regulations would be revamped and made both understandable and reasonable.  Medications for the average person would be made more affordable, lowering health care costs, without discouraging the development of new medications.

A new program encouraging the consumption of local foods would be put into place, and farmers markets would be doing a booming business too.  People would be able to buy these locally produced foods directly from the growers, including things such as meat, raw milk, and eggs, without a long list of regulations making it impossible for small producers to meet them, and allowing the consumer to make an educated choice about who they purchased these potentially risky foods from without Uncle Sam interfering.

Oh, and the war on drugs?

President Menopausal Mom may not be crazy about drugs, but she isn’t stupid.  We’re dropping, as a nation, an immense amount of money down a rat hole with no end in sight.  In the meantime, drug gangs and other organized criminal elements are collecting huge paychecks, just like they did in the days of Prohibition.  This isn’t rocket science–this is pure economics and actual American history here.  If we make it legal, we can regulate it and tax it, turning it into a source of revenue and reducing the strain on our states’ correctional systems as they deal with the aftermath of this war on drugs.  After all, we have the largest prison population IN THE WORLD!  Let’s let some totalitarian nation have that title, it’s not one we need anymore and we sure can’t afford it.  Besides, raising hemp and cannabis (the same plants, but with different end purposes, sort of like comparing sweet corn and flint corn) will give farmers another crop, and processing plants can employ other people, as the products are turned from their raw state to their marketable state.  We could quit fighting in Afghanistan if we produced our own opium too.  Why not?  We import a substantial amoun t in terms of pharmaceutical products, and a much larger amount as illegal drugs.  All of those so-called “FEMA Camps” can become “Addict Camps” where addicts can live and work, sparing the rest of us the crime we see today, and allowing their families to quit worrying about them as much.  If they want to get “clean” and resume their lives…well, we are already paying for that to happen in jails and institutions around the country, we could have a program to allow them to do that too.

Just spend a little bit of time imagining what Menopausal Mom would do for this country, and then compare it with the politicians of the past and present.  We haven’t seen this much action in office since the days of the “New Deal,” and maybe not even then.  Each politician that has taken the oath and filled the Oval Office has failed to live up to their campaign promises, and they also always have an excuse.  She wouldn’t take excuses, she’d be busy DOING something because that’s what a single mom has always had to do.

Fantasies…

But, if something is never imagined, it will never happen.  From our cell phones to space travel and even to the political machine of today, they are all born from someone’s imagination.  If we all imagine a better world, with real change instead of lip service change, then we’ll get it.  If we just sit around and whine, or stand on street corners shouting angry words and waving signs, nothing real happens.

We need to quit demanding politicians who can produce the illusion of having lived a perfect life without error and start looking for people to elect who have lived real lives, made real mistakes, and really learned from them.  We need someone to believe in, not a story to believe in.

Right now, neither the Democrats or the Republicans are delivering that.  Instead, they are delivering more rhetoric and illusions.  I don’t want the man behind the curtain anymore, he has not done us any good.  Give me Dorothy instead!

Terrorism and me

I’m concerned about a lot of things, especially anything that either smacks of anarchy or of the impingement of our rights as American citizens.  I’ve always felt very fortunate to have been born in America.  I like my country, but I don’t like some things I see happening.

For the very first time in my life, I have heard the words “civil war” in terms of what is potentially ahead in this country.

What does that mean?

That means there are a lot of people who think that civil war is potentially a very real event in the coming years.

Why would I care about that?

Because I live here, and in a civil war situation, each and every one of us would be affected, either by actual armed combat occurring in our own communities, but by the complete disruption of the national economy, shipping of supplies, etc.  In other words, it’s going to seriously impinge on our ability to live a “normal” life in any sense of the word.  In addition to that, every man and woman would be involved in the combat, leaving only the disabled, elderly, and very young to “hold down the home fort.”

Can we say starving, children?

How about freezing to death in winter?

Fuel for the car? Not likely.

Even more concerning immediately is issues that can potentially shift the scales even faster towards the anarchy of civil war, such as the idea that any American citizen, without due process of law, could be detained indefinitely by the military without recourse.  This is a civilian nightmare, and looking at it, it is almost as though the current Congress is preparing this nation to crush the idea of freedom and push everyone towards falling into line with whatever orders the government issues.

I’m an independent soul, and that’s just not right.  It’s seriously not right, and to take a line from a Willie Nelson song, “that shit ain’t right.”

We need all three branches of our government to remain separated and intact.  The military is not a branch of our government–it is merely an enforcing arm, and its actual intention is not to be used against law abiding citizens, but rather against foreign insurgents.

America is losing faith in our federal government.  Most people are now somewhat fearful of it–especially as the news of these long lists of organizations that have been designated as “terrorists” are growing ever longer.  Some of the groups on the list?  Local militias, Oath Keepers, Tea Party…and the Occupy Movement.  Basically, anybody who has voiced an opinion that does not agree with the federal government is now a “terrorist” organization.

Add in those who advocate for gun rights, those who advocate for emergency preparedness, those who keep food stored on hand, survivalists, homesteaders, home schoolers, environmentalists, alternative energy advocates…the list just goes on and on.  Basically, 99% of our nation is not only in the same economic groups as the Occupy Movement’s, but we’re all also on the “terrorist” list.

I don’t know if those who claim that massive concentration camps have been erected and staffed with a skeleton staff are right or not.  The idea that they might be right even 10% of the time with the number of locations that have been identified as such is bone chilling.  Why would our government think of sending large numbers of people, including families with children, to these “camps” that are really nothing more than large prisons?  They have never shown any signs of making anything resembling a sincere effort at rounding up illegal foreign nationals, and if they did…they should be deported, not housed long term in massive camps, so the only other possibility is that it is intended for American citizens.

Who would they round up first?  Which group would they target?  Would they really try to round up every member of every group identified as a “terrorist” group?

I’m not a terrorist.  I don’t like violence, and don’t regard it as a real viable solution.  I would never either advocate or support any bombing or anything else that damaged property or caused death or injury to others.  I’m a mother and grandmother, and I always remember that everyone is someone’s child and grandchild.  I believe in using the system to cause change, and our forefathers put a system into place to do just that.  Through apathy and at the hands of misinformation, we have allowed ourselves to lose many rights and have the federal government monitoring and dictating more facets of our lives than ever before.  It’s time for citizens to stand up and demand action from the politicians that are supposed to represent us.

I don’t advocate anarchy–it’s my worst nightmare.  I like having a “normal” life.  I like the security of going to buy gas, food, or anything else any day of the week, without worries about supplies being available.  I like electricity, sewer systems, water, cable, internet, telephone…and all of the other conveniences that are a result of a stable infrastructure that would be disrupted by anarchy.  Anarchy is the inevitable result of a civil war.  I strongly support solving problems before somebody gets trigger happy and angry, and we have bitten off something that will tear this country, families, and our entire world apart.

But never forget, I do believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  I am especially passionate about free speech, the right to peacefully assemble, and the right to bear arms.  I have tried to do the right thing my entire life, even when it wasn’t so easy to do it.  I’ve paid the price over and over again, because doing the right thing is not financially lucrative.  It would be so much easier to fudge on my own code of conduct, but I haven’t.

Am I perfect? Obviously not.  Am I a law abiding citizen?  I try very hard to stay within the letter of the law, and more importantly, within the spirit of the law.

Do I agree with all of them? No.  Some of them I think are actually wrong, but until we can get them changed, we’re stuck living within that rule.  These laws, and the citizens abiding by them, is what makes us manage to be “civilized”.  The laws are a code of conduct, a guideline to ensure that everyone is allowed to live their lives without having excessive interference from others, be they a neighbor or the federal government.

I think those days are done.  If we don’t stand up and demand the right to choose our own food, our own property rights, our own rights to live our lives in “the pursuit of happiness”, we’re not going to have them.

Very few of us are terrorists.  Very few of us would deliberately cause harm to anyone else.  Yes, there are some who would, and those people should be identified and monitored, but at the same time, how can any of us justify some federal agency deciding who is or isn’t dangerous?  The feds have failed us over  and over in this, we’ve seen it in Oklahoma City, New York, and countless other places.  We know they lie to us…for “national security” reasons, right?

I’ve paid attention to the Occupy Movement.  I haven’t shown up to an Occupy Movement demonstration, nor have I donated money.  I’m not in the position in which I can do either one.  But, I have “shared” information in public forums, I’ve made comments about them, and I’m undoubtedly perceived as at least a sympathizer.  They are right.  I do sympathize with their goals, I do see how they are being managed in terms of how they are being reported in the news.  I’ve seen the passage of misinformation and disinformation.  Am I certain that this is what this country needs? No.  I am concerned about a movement that has no leaders, no spokesmen or women, and lacks well defined goals that are publicly stated.  At the same time, I can understand the reasons for a leaderless movement.

I advocate for the right to bear arms, to be prepared, and to be pro-active in terms of working to get laws changed to meet the will of the people.  I believe in standing up for what we believe in.  I believe in fighting within the system.

I’m also appalled at the lack of concern from the federal government in terms of the Mexican drug gangs and their invasion of the United States.  I’m disgusted at the lack of enforcement in regards to illegal foreign nationals from the federal government.  I deplore a government that can’t stay within its budget while we’re still passing out aid to foreign countries.  I hate the lingering unemployment and lack of industry within the USA.

I’m a little uncertain about the idea that anyone would regard me, a liberal-conservative on even numbered days, and a conservative-liberal on odd numbered days, as a potential terrorist.  It’s laughable on one hand, but on the other, it’s horrifying.  What a waste of effort and attention…and how many others are like me, no more a threat to the federal government than falling leaves from a tree in fall.

But maybe that’s the key too.

ONE falling leaf isn’t a big deal.

Neither is a hundred.

But…if there are enough falling leaves, then they can actually block a road and choke a river.