McCain don’t you have anything REAL to say?
GOP’s celeb-Obama message gains traction
It’s only gaining traction because the media keeps reporting on it.
Now that that’s out of the way, here we go:
released a TV ad Wednesday describing Obama as the “biggest celebrity in the world,” comparable to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, stars who are famous for attitude rather than accomplishments.
You know, this crap just doesn’t fly with me. So McCain thinks Obama doesn’t have enough experience to lead the country. That’s fine, but apparently more than enough democrats think he does have that experience. So, here’s a fun message for the Republican party: Americans are PISSED off. Your party LIED to us about reasons for a WAR that seems to be never ending, which is underfunded, and our brothers, sisters, and children are DYING for what we perceive to be NOTHING. The economy is in the toilet. Unemployment is up, inflation is up, homelessness is up. Guess what? Americans blame the status quo in Washington. We blame lobbying and bipartisan fighting and all the crap that goes on up there. So here’s a guy, he’s young, he’s fresh, and he’s promising us CHANGE. And you know what? We are chomping at the bit for it!! So, McCain, these attack ads about how he doesn’t have the experience, how he’s all talk and no action, and all the other garbage that you’re spewing… it’s NOT changing our minds!! If you want me to vote for you, tell me how YOU are going to make things better! Tell me how YOU are going to change things. Don’t tell me how the guy who is promising me change is too inexperienced to do the job, because quite frankly, at this point, that’s a real selling point for me!
This just in: McCain campaign accuses Obama of playing race card
WHY DOES RACE MATTER?!!!!!!!! What is wrong with Americans that the COLOR OF SKIN is a factor in an election? What is wrong with the MEDIA for making skin color a factor in an election?
Oh I just love Ludacris
Obama doesn’t like Ludacris’s new song
Ludacris raps, “Hillary hated on you, so that bitch is irrelevant,” and, later, “Jesse talking slick and apologizing for what? If you said it then you meant it how you want it have a gut.”
You know at least Luda’s got some cajones. Ok, maybe the term bitch is derogatory or misogynist, but the gist of the lyric is not. I mean, it just wouldn’t have the same impact if he said the lady was irrelevant. And he’s right about this politically correct, super-apologetic world we live in. Dude, you said it. You meant it. Own it or don’t say it in the first place! Especially if you’re wearing a mic. “Oh, I didn’t know it was on…” Well, there’s always that chance, isn’t there?!
“McCain don’t belong in any chair unless he’s paralyzed…Yeah, I said it, ’cause Bush is mentally handicapped…You the worst of all 43 presidents.”
Insinuating that McCain should be paralyzed, that’s pretty bad. But he’s not being literal!! I’m not even going to comment on the Bush comment except .
AIDS and Black America
Commentary by Roland S. Martin Regarding AIDS and Black America
I’m going to start with the disclaimers that I am not black, nor am I trying to ruffle anyone’s feathers here. Please do not get offended with me in any way for trying to speak out regarding a part of the population of which I am not a member.
With that being said,
While Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain go back and forth over who didn’t visit troops in Germany; the impact of Obama’s overseas tour; and who is best positioned to deal with the crumbling economy, critical domestic issues like AIDS goes unnoticed… Obama and McCain should speak specifically to this issue when they attend the annual conference of the National Urban League conference next week in St. Louis
I agree. The epidemic should be talked about. The problem should be addressed. But the problem isn’t exactly that 50% of Americans with AIDS are black. It’s a lack of education. This is true of many issues that are experienced by mostly black Americans. For example, infant mortality rates are nearly double for black Americans than for white Americans (Census Data). There is ABSOLUTELY no reason for this! Teen pregnancy among black women is far higher than teen pregnancy for white women ( Teen Pregnancy Statisics). Again, no reason. So why are we NOT educating these black women how to care for themselves? A wide-reaching sex ed program that teaches the anatomy of sex, the various possible outcomes of sexual activity, precautions that you can take to prevent those outcomes, and a list of places you could turn to should one of those outcomes befall you would be invaluable in the black community (and, to be quite honest, in the white community as well).
Oooh, I like this term
“We are in a psychological recession. People think times are really, really bad, but it is an amazing thing if you are out there among them: the hotels are full, the airlines are full, the high-end shops are full, the Wal-Mart is really, really, really full, the highways are full, the trains are full. But on the other hand, clearly some portions of the economy are suffering terribly.”
That’s what I think, too. Hey media, start reporting GOOD stuff, k?
Girls and Math
Schoolgirls’ math skills now measure up
Now, this is pretty good news for me because I’m female and an engineer. It’s nice to see that society is finally coming to the realization that a person can be both.
I have a couple of comments about the article, though.
The stereotype that boys are better at math has been fueled, at least in part, by suggestions of biological differences in the way little boys and little girls learn. This idea is hotly disputed; Lawrence Summers, then the president of Harvard, was castigated in 2005 when he questioned the “intrinsic aptitude” of women for top-level math and science.
What a bunch of BS. So glad that guy got fired. I don’t know what his field was, but I could probably out-calculus him any day! Not only that, but just because boys and girls learn DIFFERENTLY doesn’t mean that boys learn BETTER. Different just means different! Maybe we should change the way we teach instead of just saying that girls aren’t as good as boys? Just a thought.
Joy Lee, a rising senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., says she always felt confident about math, but remembers how it felt to walk into a science class full of boys. “Maybe I was a little bit apprehensive about being the only girl, but that didn’t last for very long,” said Lee
I honestly don’t remember ever once being overwhelmed walking into a class full of boys. I can guarantee that in Engineering School I was the only female in at least one, and probably several, classes. I won’t say I didn’t notice, because I obviously remember it, but I will say that it didn’t EVER bother me. I was never apprehensive or worried that I wouldn’t do as well.
In most states they reviewed, and at most grade levels, there weren’t any questions that involved complex problem-solving, an ability needed to succeed in high levels of science and math. If tests don’t assess these reasoning skills, they may not be taught, putting American students at a disadvantage to students in other countries with more challenging tests, the researchers said.
I think we are at a disadvantage mostly because we don’t put an emphasis on math and science. In the 50’s and 60’s, during the cold war, when the USSR sent the first manned mission into space, the government started really pushing math and science in school and it really did wonders for our technologies. Unfortunately, that push ended with the cold war and now we are back to our old ways and our technologies are going to be rapidly outpaced by other countries that stress these subjects.
So far, while her current career choices include baby doctor and veterinarian — and Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, too — Barbie has not branched out into technology or engineering.
Ooooh, I wonder what Barbie’s Engineer outfit would look like? Thick, coke-bottle glasses and a pocket protector? (pleased sigh here) Then she would look like me…
Banning plastic grocery bags
LA bans plastic bagging in stores
You know what, I think this is a really good thing and I wish that they would do it everywhere. Or charge for the bags (I think they do this in Seattle). At the very least make it less easy to use them.
I have to admit that I own green bags and it was less because of the environment than because I got frustrated going to the store and having the bagger put one item in each plastic bag then place it in the cart. We started with four green bags and all of our groceries (usually about $200 worth) fit into those four bags. I bought three more because I was always forgetting to return the first four to the car when we went shopping. Now we have them on rotation.
I convinced a coworker to get them because of their convenience and he loves them, too. He said, “They fit so much better in the trunk.” This is an especially important feature if you have small children and all the things that must be toted along with them (strollers, etc.).
So why not spend a few bucks and get yourself some green bags? Less trips to the house after a trip to the store, less landfill waste, and less oil being used. It’s a win-win!
You a crazy bit*h
Smith, president of the Shubert Organization, the largest theater owner on Broadway, must pay her $750,000…She accused Smith of “basically throwing me out on the street.”
Yeh, out on the street. If you can’t find a place to live for 3/4 of a million dollars, I’d be happy to take that pittance off your hands for you. I mean, that’s basically nothing, right?
I must give kudos to the judge in this case for pointing out how ridiculous the YouTube rant of this woman was and how trite she was. If I were her husband, I think I would be suing her for slander and maybe get my $750,000 back. Heehee.
Work or stay home, a modern mom’s dilemma
Working moms look back with mixed emotions
I believe that the feminists had this great plan — they wanted to be equal to men! What a great concept. Women can work and earn their own money and buy their own things and not be kept under the “thumb” of their fathers or husbands. We wouldn’t be traded as a commodity or sold for a dowry. We could be independent and make our own decisions! We could choose to work or choose to stay home. What a fantastic concept.
The problem that happened was that when women started working full time the cost of living increased dramatically (granted the American dream probably did, too — bigger houses, bigger cars all that). Now it’s nearly impossible for a family to subsist on one income, and women are required to work to maintain the status quo. An even bigger problem was that while women attacked the workplace with fervor and started going to college not just to land a man but to get an education and work as something other than a secretary, teacher, or seamstress, men didn’t pick up the slack at home. So now we have women who are forced to work full time to make ends meet and still clean the house, make the dinner, and take care of the children like we did in the ’50s.
The news tells me that men are slowly picking up the slack and helping more at home, but it still lags far behind what women do. There was actually an article about how men “helping” at home actually creates seven additional hours of housework per week for the woman.
All this is not to mention that women miss their children tremendously while working away from them. There is a tremendous amount of guilt that goes along with leaving your child in the hands of a stranger for a humongous chunk of their lives. By the time you factor in transit, children probably spend 50 to 60 hours per week in daycare. Assuming that the child sleeps 10 hours per day and two hour naps, mothers spend only about 35 hours per week with their child. That certainly seems extreme. I know I’d like to spend more time at home with my little girl.
I think society as a whole suffers when neither parent can stay home with the children. I don’t think it needs to be the mother necessarily, although men do tend to feel emasculated when the woman is holding the purse-strings.
I think that women have it particularly rough because we are hard-wired to be the caregivers and cooks/maids/launderers. I believe this to be completely true through my own feelings and experiences and through frank chats with friends about how they interact with their husbands. Most men I have talked to, and wives, say that men just don’t SEE what needs to be done. They aren’t being thoughtless or expecting you to clean the house/dishes/bathroom/laundry it’s just that it doesn’t cross their mind that it needs to be done. But women do (and, boy, does it drive us nuts that men don’t). We’re pre-programmed to see those messes and take care of it. Men are pre-programmed to make sure that the family unit is taken care of. And this is where I think that women’s lib was lacking. They intended to give us equality, but you can’t make apples equal oranges. Men and women are DIFFERENT. Neither is better than the other, both sexes deserve a mutual respect, but we are DIFFERENT.
So how do we change society? I honestly think that the answers are relatively simple. First of all we have to become a society in which working part-time is acceptable and normal. I think that it’s important for mothers to have time away from their children and interact with adults. I think that women who make their own money are more satisfied and not as afraid to spend money as one who does not. I think keeping educated and purposeful is important to everyone, especially important in the case of professional women who, if they entirely leave their profession, would lose valuable training or licenses and be at a loss if/when they return to work full-time.
Second, I think we need to embrace family the way that we used to. Not only do we not live with our families anymore, we likely don’t even live in the same STATE as our family. This means that if the mother does choose to work full-time, it’s likely that her only child-care option is a child-care professional. If we lived in tight-knit family units, this could easily be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin.
Third, I think we need to reclaim a sense of society that we used to have in neighborhoods. How many people know their neighbors anymore, other than a friendly wave on the street? Knowing one’s neighbors would certainly be good in the “it takes a village” sense. How great would it be if we could get to know our neighbors and create alternating work schedules, barring familial caregivers, that is?
Well, that’s what I think about the matter, anyway.
Guns!
Supreme Court to issue decision on DC gun case
I think that if you own a gun legally and use it for something which does not intend any harm to other human beings, such as hunting, then this really shouldn’t be an issue. Although, I can see problems with not allowing guns in people’s private residences. This would be an issue because if you DO hunt and live in DC you wouldn’t be able to keep your hunting rifles in your home.
Hmmm… I’m torn on this one. And I’m pro-gun-control (that does NOT mean pro-gun-gettin’-rid-of).
College Prep
All schools should be like this. Screw the Pledge to the Flag, let’s pledge to ourSELVES.
