Hi there. How's it going? This is just going to be a rambling rant. There's a lot on my mind and writing it out helps to clear it. I tried to write a longer post about some of this stuff, and I might still, but I just can't quite get it into a coherent form without ranting. So I'm going to rant. Are we all cool with that? So here we go.
Blogging like this is like having this tangled ball of string or wires. You can't untangle it until you find that one loose end and then it all comes unraveled, spilling out in your hands. So let's see, which tread should we pick at... hmmm....
Women. I love women. More specifically, I love the women in my life. With a wife and 5 daughters, I know more about women than a man wants to. I would love for them to live in a perfect world where they are treated equally with respect, love, and understanding.
So it stresses me that there is so much going on in the world that affects the women I love.Things that affect their health, their mental well being, and their dignity.
I know a lot of this is only in the news because it's an election year. However, that doesn't change the fact that these things are still an issue in the 21st century. I am worried about the coming election for this reason above all others. It's like women's rights are about to be set back 60 years and a lot of women are OK with it.
Speaking of the election... as I write this it looks like Romney will be the GOP candidate. I honestly don't know much about Romney, other than he's been blowing the trumpet about how he did the Salt Lake Olympics without federal money, only to have a video come out where he admits that not only did he take federal money, he took more federal money than any other Olympic committee in the past. I know all politicians lie, but seriously, this one is pretty big.
And if you read my stuff at all, either here or on Facebook, you know that over the years I have made the shift from feeling like I have to be conservative (because I was convinced Christian=conservative), to admitting that deep down inside my political beliefs are much closer to liberal. I know there are many that will want to fight. Many that will say "you can't be Christian and liberal". I don't care. Politics, when you are considering how your vote affects many people and not just yourself, has little to do with religion and vice versa. Voting your religion, when there are so many don't believe as you do, just seems wrong.
And honestly, I don't get why there is such hatred for Obama. There doesn't seem to be a precedent for this much hatred directed at the person and not the party or policy. Even Clinton, who finally admitted to being a sleezeball cheater, didn't generate this much vitriol. The only explanation I have is race. Sad, but that's the only way it makes sense. It's because he's African American. And don't tell me it's the healthcare thing. When conservatives presented the plan in 1989, it was a brilliant idea. Now that the Obama administration and Congress have made it reality, it's the worst thing ever.
Which brings me to that healthcare issue. I've ranted on this before and I will rant more. Currently I'm on Medicare because of my disability. My healthcare is covered. Yay. My wife and kids, though, have no covereage. At all. My wife is a student, working part time as a tutor. There are no benefits. There is no health plan. If we want coverage for them we have to pay for it. And for an adult and 5 kids under 18 (7 if include those still at home under 25) it would cost more than we bring in every month just for insurance. And that's just for the catastrophic stuff, we'd still be paying office visits and drugs out of pocket.
I've read the healthcare bill, every paragraph. The one that is currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court. Yes, it's 700 pages, but when you're talking about a bill, that really translates to about 2 paragraphs a page and once you cut out the summary, there's really not a whole lot to read. And for the record, there are parts of it that just suck. Like fining people for not having coverage. It would make more sense just to put them on a plan and use said "fine" to pay the premium. Also there should be a provision for people who for whatever reason (religion, independently wealthy, are their own doctor, etc.) don't want to be covered (on the condition that they never seek public aid for their healtcare). But overall the bill does amazingly awesome things. Things that if they had been in effect 6 years ago might have prevented, or at least curtailed the damage done to my body, brain, and wallet. I am still thousands of dollars in debt for care that should have been covered that my insurance company arbitrarily (or so it seemed) refused to cover. Tests that I could have had done earlier that I had to pass up because I wasn't covered. Medication that I could have started earlier that if I had might still allow me to work, but since it's $500 a month and wasn't covered, I couldn't take it.
Am I really angry about this? Yes. Yes I am. And I hope the Justices do the right thing and uphold the bill.
Enough on that. Debate with me if you want. But I'm not changing my mind and if you don't agree I probably won't change your's either.
Another thing that we probably won't change each other's minds on either is religion. I'm a Christian. I could give you the whole story of why, but I (think I) have written about it on other blog posts. I know that some of you who are reading this are atheist, and I'm cool with that. You, like me, have made your choice and I respect that. I'll happily talk and (in a friendly way) debate religion with you, but I know I'm not going to change your mind and you're not going to change mine. As long as we agree on that we're cool. If you're my friend then we pretty much have a mutual understanding, as mature adults should. If you ever catch me jamming Jesus down your throat, call me on it because I don't think Jesus would want me to do that.
Ok. I'm just about ranted out. I feel better. Talk to you later.
