4.24.2010

Think Your Cell Phone Calls Are Private?

I had a neighbor tell me that, a few weeks ago, she was on the phone with her mother.  She owns a cell phone.  I do not know if her mother was on a land line or cell phone.  She told me that she and her mother were talking about the violence in the Middle East and were innocently talking about bombs - namely all of the bombs that were going off over there.  Not about making them.  Nothing conspiratorial at all. 

And yet, just using the terms middle east and bombs warranted an interruption with a computer-generated voice that said their phone call was illegal under code blah blah blah.

Still think you're safe from such monitoring?

"Frivilous" Lawsuits

Ok, I just had to write up a brief post about this topic as, upon reviewing my latest post on my blog's main page, I see where google had posted an add about ending frivilous medical lawsuits.

Give me a god damn break.

Want to know why medical lawsuits are soaring? 

Newsflash:  We have a gross shortage of doctors in this country (largely due to the cost of malpractice insurance) and this trend is showing no signs of reversing.  Having made contact/friends with those who are either still in the medical system or who once were and got the hell out, I have learned some very interesting tidbits, this shortage of doctors being one.  Doctors, especially those who are part of a medium size to large medical practice, have been pressured for years by money hungry, profit-driven administrators to take on more patients, spend less time with them.  Surgeons are pressured to pack in more surgeries.  This leads to burn out - extreme fatigue - doctors who are simply not capable of performing their duties in the careful, responsible manner in which is necessary.  The real outrage should not be aimed towards the patients themselves but towards the administrators whose sole concern is making money (then feigning "concern" when a patient complains) and towards the malpractice attorneys who get away with charging $450/hour and up and/or, who, upon winning their selected case, take over half of the patients winnings.  The patient, the victim, gets lost along the way in this very corrupt system.  And sometimes, the doctors themselves don't help, especially when they refuse to acknowledge the previous as well as their own ineptness which is by and large due to overworking themselves - sacrificing patient care for the almighty dollar.

I had a medical doctor last week tell me that the United States is becoming a 3rd world nation and much of this is evidenced in the health care system.  Yep.  And Obama Care is gonna fix all that.

Uh huh.

It Must Be Nice...

It Must Be Nice:

*to be a self-proclaimed teabagger and be so heartless as to be against authentically helping others (funding war good - funding welfare bad), to be so blinded to the Constitution as to believe America is a Christian nation (so much for brotherly love and helping those in need), to be so ignorant and downright fucking stupid to be so hateful towards gays...and hey - some spelling lessons are in order...correct spelling does make you appear to be, well, more believable...i'm available for $25/hour to proof your signs, press releases and such...however my overall support for your movement begins and ends there (although i do agree with you, overall, on the idea that we are over-taxed as individuals).  capiche?

*to be a self-proclaimed left-leaning progressive who is so blind as to the very fact that, at the CORE of sustainability is MONEY, namely the incomes of the people...the current economic/monetary system is NOT SUSTAINABLE...P E R I O D...one simply cannot proclaim to be progressive and supportive of sustainability until they address this very F A C T...

*to be one of those who are cheering the latest health care reform while BLINDLY REFUSING to acknowledge the VERY FACT that the government REQUIRING any individual to purchase health care (much less auto) insurance is blaringly, obviously unconstitutional not to mention downright outrageous...this is NOT a "good starting point" as many of these folks proclaim...it is a nightmare waiting to explode - burdening an already stressed health care system which is run solely FOR PROFIT ONLY (with decisions being made by "suits" who typically have zero medical training) and has ceased to be about true patient care...

*to be members of our family who are living a comfy life, for whom the system of the past worked beautifully, who have NO CLUE what it's really like to have to "tighten" ones belt.... judging us for our current $$ situation (pulling the typical capitalistic, rugged individualistic method of blaming the victim) while failing to see the GOD DAMN FUCKING TRUTH of the system...i was not joking when i said any further judgments, badgering or other such emotional abuse will warrant me throwing your ass out of our house....and my life.

*to proudly wear one of the various labels...oooh i'm a greenie...oooh i'm a neocon....ooooh i'm a lefty....ooooh i'm a socialist....oooh i'm a ____fill in the blank.  get over yourself.  you're a human being--amazing, miraculous yet no more special or extraordinary than anyone else.  yes, you're a human being.  i'm a human being.  that's enough of a label, don't you think?  labels divide and blind us to the truths, realities and opinions of others.  this has been a hard one for me to accept.   

4.18.2010

I Wish...

Not that anyone but spammers will read this, much less read this blog anymore...but i wish the following:

~people would stop telling me how i am "glowing" and how "wonderful" i look.  I DO NOT FEEL WONDERFUL.  I am scared out of my frigging mind of becoming homeless with a baby.  I am stressed to the max.  I am not sleeping well and it isn't just due to late stage pregnancy symptoms.  I am overwhelmed at the idea of raising a child in this fucked up system.

~along those lines i wish people would stop telling me everything is going to be just fine when there is NO PROOF of this.  unless you have money and/or support from those who also have money and stability you will not be "just fine".  miracles and opportunities are few and far between and it doesn't matter how much you pray or ask for help or THINK IT TRUE - the bottom line is this world is for shit and true idealism and true emotional expression and the acknowledgement of how things TRULY are does not exist.

~i wish the basics needed to survive were not based on the amount of money one has but instead, were provided for all\ - no questions asked.

~along those lines, i wish more people believed the above as i do.

~if there are other universes in which i am living and experiencing, i wish i knew how to go to that reality (in so long it was a reality much more conducive to my needs and values).  if i did, i would be there immediately.  without question.

~i wish love is all you need was a true concept.

~i wish certain people would stop nagging me/us, badgering me/us and questioning me/us and instead ask that difficult but REAL phrase that is TRULY about helping:  "what do you need?"  ask and i will tell you!

~i wish i didn't feel so god damn alone.

~lastly, i wish i would win the lottery.  that would take away a lot of the unnecessary stress i am experiencing.

4.16.2010

President Signs Yet Another Pitiful Jobless Benes Bill

I must admit this is a great way to take advantage of a desperate populace.  Allow a much needed program to lapse, then give the thirsty, (unnecessarily) suffering masses a small glass of water to satisfy them for a couple of months (while, in their totally understandable desperation, these folks give high praise to our learless feaders), only to toss them out into the jungle again once those 2 months are over. 

"WASHINGTON — Just hours after Congress passed an $18 billion bill to restore unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed, President Barack Obama made it the law of the land.  The measure comes as welcome relief to hundreds of thousands of people who lost out on the additional weeks of compensation after exhausting their state-paid benefits. They now will be able to reapply for long-term unemployment benefits and receive those checks retroactively under the legislation."

Please note:  This bill does not include additional tiers, which would add more benefits - something the 99ers have been pushing for.  (The 99ers refers to the long-term unemployed who have exhausted all of their benefits - the maximum being 99 weeks.) 

When you've had over 8 million jobs lost; when the majority of created jobs are in the low-wage service industry; when we failed to have a full recovery from the last "recession"; when we have had decades of, overall, declining wages and outlandish increases in housing, food, education and health care; when you hear the talking media pundits give praise to jumps in the market (which simply means it is being controlled by the rich to give us the illusion that all is well/getting better); when foreclosures took another huge jump last month; when close to 20% of the country is on food stamps (and that does not include the millions who are eligible and either aren't aware they are or are too prideful to apply)...I mean come on now.  How can you possibly think that the economy is slowly improving let alone fantasize it is somehow going to return to the good 'ole days?  Blind wishful thinking that isn't grounded in reality doesn't serve anyone.  Not to say that such a wish isn't impossible as anything is always possible.  As long as the motivation, intention and the realization that things must change at the core are present. 

Oregon Supreme Court Says Employers Can Discriminate Against Employees Who Use Medical MJ

Yeah, that's right.  Discriminate

"SALEM, Ore.—In a long-awaited decision, the Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that employers are not required to accommodate employees who use medical marijuana.  The decision dated Wednesday and posted online Thursday in Emerald Steel Fabricators Inc. vs. Bureau of Labor and Industries involves an employer who refused to hire a temporary worker as a permanent employee after learning he was a medical marijuana user. The Oregon Supreme Court's 5-2 ruling overturned an appellate court ruling that had been based on technical grounds.  The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act authorizes individuals holding registry identification cards to use marijuana for medical purposes. However, “under Oregon's employment discrimination laws, (the) employer was not required to accommodate employee's use of medical marijuana,” the Oregon Supreme Court majority ruled."

Like the use of the term "accomodate"?  What that really means is if you are a patient legally holding a card that gives you the legal right under state law (which the Oregon Supreme Court is supposed to uphold) to use mj for recognized medical conditions, your employer or future employer can refuse to hire you or fire you simply because you hold the card.  Said employer doesn't even need to show you are showing up high on the job.  The card enough is alone to get you axed.  Hence, this is nothing short of discriminatory. 

And why in the hell does the fact that in the State of Oregon, being it is legal to use marijuana for medicinal purposes as long as it's prescribed by a medical doctor and therefore, patients can be discriminated by employers for following state law?
"The court also concludes that even though the state law authorizes the use of medical marijuana, the federal Controlled Substances Act pre-empts the state law."


Ah yes, the usual trump card played by mindless goons who wouldn't know the terms logic and open-mindedness (Truth) if they were to bite them in their ass.  As I often say these days to people who look at such situations and ask Huh?: "You can't make sense out of crazy."  And such laws, backed with mindless unsubstantiated dribble are the epitomy of crazy. 

Anyone else thinking about the millions of people hooked on legal prescription narcotics?  Or sleeping pills?  Or the millions who take OTC antihistamines which make many people extremely drowsy?  Or what about people who drive for a living and text and/or talk on their cell phones which has been proven to be as deadly (more deadly if you're a driver-texter) as driving drunk? 

And yet here we have a case where someone simply has a prescription card for a legal substance, has not been shown to be impaired on the job present or past and yet, the employer has the right to discriminate against them anyway?

Yep.  This "crazy" disease just continues the longer the system keeps on plugging away while the majority of the people engage in childish political battles instead of coming together and realizing BOTH SIDES ARE GETTING SCREWED IN THE ASS.

4.13.2010

I want my mommy....and a foot massage...and a chauffeur....and a maid....and cook...and oh yeah a bank account with lots of zeros

The return of my mind would be good.  And my body, too.  And oh yeah - a good night sleep would be WONDERFUL.

I don't know how much longer I'll be able to do this blog (it took me 5 times just to type "i'll").  I can't sit in front of this thing for long these days.  I'm (nearly) constantly tired.  Heartburn occurs regardless of whether I am sitting, standing or lying down.  Walking normally left me 3 weeks ago.  And we still have things to take care of before this little angel of ours makes her appearance.  Of course none of it (with the exception of getting diapers which good lord did any of you know cloth diapers has turned into a science??) matters to her - just her mama and daddy. 

Once she arrives, I will be in mama and rest mode 24/7 for some time.  Even today, when Mr. N wants to tell me about the latest world happenings, I just kinda space it out, wave my hand and go "uh huh".  Not like I don't care.  Just cannot process. 

Want to hear my latest pregnancy brain fart snafu?  I backed the car into our carport post.  I haven't hit anything with my car, well, with this particular car, EVER.  And I have had it for 20 years, too.  But here I was, driving half awake, having come from taking a snooze at the park, attempting to back up the car into our driveway (a definite no-no for me these days as the baby/my belly won't allow me to turn much) - something I've done regularly for years.  And yet this time, for some reason, someone moved that damn post without telling me and it had a meeting of the minds with my bumper.  Who won?  Judging from the bumper and the post, I'd say it was a draw. 

Well, Mr. N was so pleased with this.  Even my tears didn't persuade him from showing me sympathy (well, for a little while that is).  Instead he said that was it.  My driving days were over until I give birth.

Yes, that is a thought that pisses me off.  Royally.  And while he doesn't control what I do - E V E R - he's right.  Unless I am driving forward, I shouldn't be behind the wheel of our car.  And being I am so tired so much of the time, that only adds to my inability to fully operate anything of the mechanical or moving nature responsibly and safely. 

Damn, what did this post start off being?  Oh well, who knows!  We're at 36 weeks and counting.  No signs yet.  She could come next week or anytime after that through the middle to end of May.  While the idea of birth (ok, pain) kinda freaks me out now and then, an even stronger emotion is the desire to birth her out of my body so I can not only experience being her mama, but so I can GET  MY  BODY  BACK.  Sleep on my back.  On my belly.  Eat a meal or drink a glass of water without experiencing acid reflux.  Be able to carry around a little bit of gas without feeling like I want to explode inside.  Jump off a park bench.  Ride my bike.  Drive.  Get up without grunting.  Walk normally with my hands by my side instead of one instinctively placed on the small of my back.  And run.  Oh god yes - me the non-runner suddenly wants to RUN.  Everywhere.  With my arms spread out wide by my sides.  Giggling like a school girl while the warrior woman within says "YES.  FREEDOM."

Screw all of the other freedoms at the moment.  This girl wants to R U N.  THAT, to me, as of today, is freedom. 

4.04.2010

Unemployment Stats: The Truth

Don't listen to the bullshit being spewed on television by Obama over how the economy is showing signs of improving.  Don't listen to any of these DC insiders talk about how we saw an increase of jobs last month (whereby approximately 50,000 are for TEMPORARY census workers and thereby cannot be viewed as real job gains).  Don't listen as they blather on about job loss declining (when in reality how many more jobs can this country lose before showing SOME signs of slowing down - that slowing down simply being the result of nothing much less TO lose).  And please don't fall victim to those who say "well at least many people are working part-time or temporary and that's better than nothing", as though a nation of part-timers and temporary workers leads to economic prosperity and recovery.

Instead, look at stats like this for The Truth. 

The days of working your ass off, fierce competiting, rugged individualism and busting your hump every day to make enough to pay the banks to provide a roof for yourself (whether you are a "homeowner" or renter you are working to make the banks rich) must end.  It begins with stopping such mindless chanting and instead, exploring other means of living, where life is truly about living instead of struggling to survive and get by. 

Young Girl Doodles On Desk. Gets Hauled Off To Jail.

More evidence of the Nanny State. 

"(April 3) -- When 12-year-old Alexa Gonzalez was caught doodling on her desk at Junior High School 190 in Queens, New York, she expected detention and an afternoon on desk-cleaning duty. Instead, she was arrested, led out of her school in handcuffs and detained at a local police precinct for hours, she said.  Two months after the incident, Gonzalez and her mother, Maraima Comacho, are suing the New York City Education Department and the New York Police Department for $1 million in damages, claiming excessive use of force and violation of the girl's rights in the ordeal, which Comacho has called a "nightmare."  Gonzalez describes the ordeal as traumatizing and excessive, saying that after her Spanish teacher caught her doodling on her desk with erasable green marker, she was "physically dragged by a teacher and an assistant principal" to the dean's office, where school safety officials searched her by placing "their hands inside the rear and front pockets of her jeans." Police were then summoned to arrest her...  The legal papers filed by Rosenthal [whereby the family is seeking $1 million in damages] said Comacho was not permitted to accompany her daughter to the precinct and was instead told to go home and wait for a call. The documents also said that Gonzalez was detained in "an enclosed room" at the precinct and handcuffed to a pole for more than two hours."

And what "horrible" thing did this young girl doodle on her desk?

'"I love my friends Abby and Faith," Gonzalez said she wrote, adding "Lex was here. 2/1/10" and a smiley face."


Her punishment?  (As if being traumatized and restrained by a bunch of fascists wasn't enough.)

"...Gonzalez was given eight hours of community service and ordered to write a book report and an essay about what she learned from the experience."

Oh how I hope this beautiful young girls says she has learned we live in a fascist, nanny state where writing cute little loving doodles on our school desks, as all young girls do, can result in being dragged away from school, hauled to the police station for hours, whereby your own mother is not "allowed" to come see you and yet Big Bankers and Corporate America Criminals can steal our money, pollute our waterways, soil and bodies with hosts of toxic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, etc. and get away with it all while puppets like Obama et. al orate verbal wet dreams for hours on television feigning "anger" over these real criminals (while his blind supporters point and say "see?  he's on our side!") all the while doing nothing about any of it to truly put an end to the nightmare. 

Just one more in a myriad of reasons to HOME SCHOOL.