My Governor is a backwards idiot

If you've been reading my blog for a while, or if you're new, you may have noticed I don't talk about politics much. This doesn't mean I'm not interested in it, that I don't pay attention. I just don't usually want to get into any debates about it on my blog.

But this past week, Governor Butch Otter has made several mistakes, one of which has made Idaho a laughing stock. Not that we weren't already teased a little by other states, but this time he went too far. I'm sure you've at least seen something on Idaho's most recent gubernatorial debate as the primaries get started in Idaho. You can find some commentary on it here. I feel he only did it to humiliate the two fringe candidates and make himself look better, a feeling shared by several Idahoans.

Then there was the stay he put on the marriage equality ruling that was made earlier in the month. He's struggling against the tide here but he wants the appeals court to help uphold his desire to prevent same sex marriages in Idaho. Here is an article talking about the situation.

I am so angry at him right now. I have no idea how he keeps getting reelected. No, actually, I do know. This state is so full of backwards thinking people that it's not even funny. The Republican party dominates Idaho with an ultra conservative bend to their thoughts that it makes those of us who want a more open minded and less conservative way of doing things look small and insignificant.

If I could vote (I can't register due to some logistical issues), I'd be one of those who want a fairer and more liberal Idaho voting him out. I want him gone. I want Idaho to break free of the Republican choke hold and stop being the butt of jokes throughout the rest of the United States. I want to be something more than the “potato state”.

Is it ever going to happen? Probably not. But it's a nice dream.

Sunday 'fess up - Grrrrrrr

This week has not gone at all like I planned. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed myself immensely this week. But I didn't get as much done on the story as I hoped to. I've been distracted by running errands and getting out of the house with Himself most of this week. It's been pleasant, if a little busy.

The main reason I'm frustrated though is my clinician's office still hasn't called me back to help me fill out the paperwork I need to have filled out before I'm allowed to go back to work. They keep telling me they'll pass on the message but nothing has happened. I'm going to keep calling every day until I get a firm answer. It's not that difficult. Read my file, copy down the info from my file onto the paperwork, and let me get my ass back to work. It's that simple.

Of course, they apparently don't think it's that simple. I could fill out the paperwork myself, except that's kind of illegal. Medical fraud and all that. Don't think the thought didn't cross my mind though. But knowing my luck they'd call my clinician's office to verify the information and I'd get caught. I'd not only lose my job but I'd probably get criminal charges laid on me. I don't want to go through that so I'll just be the exceptionally annoying squeaky wheel.

As I said, writing this week didn't happen. I maybe got 2000 words this whole week. So I'm going to try to improve that number this coming week. It all depends on how things go with Himself and with my clinician's office.

Himself signed a rather nice contract to build some kind of web page for a client that's netting him a fair bit of money. I don't know all the details but it's nice to have a steady income coming in now from him. That's why we've been running every place this week. We've been taking care of some things we've neglected because of a lack of funds.

Well that's enough rambling from me today. Hope everyone has a great week!

Monday Maundering - Another political rant

Himself brought something to my attention this past week that irritated the crap out of me. President Obama made a speech about how the Republicans are focusing on "phony scandals" rather than on the economy like they should. He says he's trying to help the middle class.

The middle class is muddling along as best as it can right now. They aren't as eager to spend and they have to pay higher taxes. So do we all. But the middle class isn't hurting near as bad as those of us who don't fit into the middle class mold. We are the poor, and I say to Mr. Obama...what about us?

Medicaid is supposed to be there to help families in need. Yet I can't get it because I make $58 too much to qualify for it in my state. There are no "free medical programs" to help me. I'm not poor enough (aka homeless and living on the streets) for the medical programs that are set up for indigent people. But I can't afford insurance. What happens in January when there's a fine for those of us who don't purchase insurance. I say, Mr. Obama, how am I supposed to afford insurance when I can barely afford the bills I have now? And you're going to penalize me by fining me because I don't have the money for insurance?

What about those people who are self-employed and don't have insurance because they've got a small income coming in? Why are they going to be penalized and probably forced to give up their businesses to get a corporate job just to satisfy the law in the Affordable Care Act that says people need to purchase insurance or get on Medicaid? Why isn't there a provision in there for the working poor who make too much money to get on Medicaid but too little to afford insurance?

I've heard people say the economy is getting better. Not from where I'm sitting. The unemployment rates are down. Not because people are finding jobs. Unemployment rates are down because people are dropping off unemployment because they've been on it too long or they've given up on finding a job and had their unemployment cut. I'm sure there are those out there who've found jobs but where's the numbers on those that have given up finding work to either go into business for themselves (and aren't making any money yet) and those that have been cut off because they've given up or run out of time on their unemployment? Where's the numbers on those who aren't working but aren't collecting unemployment? I'd like to see that factored in as well into our so called economic uprise. I think we'd be surprised by just how many people there are who aren't collecting unemployment but also aren't making any money.

Where is the economic stimulus for the lower class? Or would it be better if we all quietly faded away into nothingness? But if we did that, who would there be to do the grunt labor, the nastiest of the jobs, the things no one else wants to do? Who would there be to pick up the slack when the middle and upper classes don't want to do things? That's what we do. And that's why it is our class, and not the middle class, that needs more support and help.

Thursday Thoughts - Disabilities

I've posted a rant about this in the past. Not every disability is visible. I want to reiterate that fact.

I am permanently disabled. I am not on crutches or in a wheel chair. I am not blind nor am I deaf. I have no outward physical signs of a disability. Yet I have seizures and severe depression and anxiety. These things prevent me from leading a normal life, though I try to live as normally as possible. I am a woman with invisible disabilities.

My friend has Degenerative Disc Disorder. Walking for her is painful yet she walks without any additional help. No cane, no walker, no wheelchair. She also has severe depression and anxiety. These things prevent her from leading a normal life, though she tries to live as normally as possible. She is a woman with invisible disabilities.

We are the silent ones. The ones that take the ridicule, the scornful comments, the sneers. We are expected to silently ignore the comments of "You're not disabled." Or "You're just faking. There's nothing wrong with you." Except...we  aren't silent.

Too many people like us are silent because they're ashamed of being disabled. They're afraid of further ridicule if they talk about their disabilities. Yet just because we are not visibly disabled, that doesn't mean our problems are any less severe than those with visible disabilities. Those with visible disabilities are just more noticeable.

We are not faking it. We are not trying to garner sympathy. We don't want your sympathy. We want to be respected as human beings, even though we are not as able as you are. We want to be able to live our lives as best as we can without feeling like we're being judged every time we step outside our doors because people can't see what's wrong with us.

My friend and I, indeed many of us with invisible disabilities, we don't define ourselves by our disabilities. We define ourselves by our thoughts and actions. We just have to accommodate our disabilities in our daily lives so we can minimize their impact on us.

We are human beings. We aren't asking for you to treat us as fragile creatures. We're asking for you to accept we are less than perfect, make allowances for us when it's obvious our disabilities are making our lives difficult, and to deal with us like we are real people and not pariahs from the society of the "normal".

Even if someone is visibly disabled, I would hope that you would afford them the same respect. Accept they are less than perfect, make allowances for them when it's obvious their disabilities are making their lives difficult, and deal with them like they are real people and not the scum of the earth. They are as human as the rest of us, and they know when they are being treated differently.

WARNING! Political commentary ahead!

Hello lovely people~

Today I'm interrupting my (semi) regular blog posts to put my thoughts out there on the current state of affairs here the U.S.A.  I am not a political commentator.  I don't write political theses or spend hours pouring over newscasts and internet news sites looking for the most recent news.  But I read.  And I listen.  And I observe.  And right now, my observations frankly scare me.  This is not a normal post for me, and next week I'll go back to my usual ramblings about life and writing and miscellany.

But today...today is political.

Let's start with the economy.  Our economy sucks.  We're in a recession, and part of the problem is people living outside their means can no longer sustain their lifestyles.  Banks are Big Business, folks.  I know.  I work for one in the collections department for one of their many credit card divisions.  Banks are not out there to be nice to people - they're out there to make money.  They WANT you to use their credit cards, take out loans, have more than one mortgage.  That's part of what caused this issue in the first place.  A lot of people made some risky and ill-informed decisions, the banks supported them, and now no one has any money.

I keep hearing these reports on NPR and reading through various media outlets online that the economy "is improving".  Really?  Where?  Certainly not around here, where jobs are at a premium and there are thousands of people out of work.  Why don't we know more about these people?  Because some - like Himself - are ineligible for unemployment benefits either because they were self-employed, were small business owners who went bust, or (again, like Himself) are screwed out of unemployment because of legal loopholes.  Something that shouldn't be a newsflash...employers don't WANT to pay their laid off employees unemployment.  That's right, folks.  Unemployment comes from unemployment insurance purchased by companies and they will do ANYTHING to cut costs.  And if you're self-employed or a small business owner, chances are you don't have unemployment insurance to begin with so if you go bust you're screwed.

Something else I'd like to do is challenge those in power - the President, those Senators and Representatives who sit on their asses and moan about how bad things are but won't do anything, politicians and the 1%-ers in general, actually - I'd like to challenge them to live like we do.  Live from paycheck to paycheck, never knowing if they're going to have enough to buy gas and food, not being able to cover medical expenses because even with insurance it's too damned expensive.  Let's see THEM live like this for a year.  Let's see THEM get told "fuck off, we're not going to help you lazy people" when they try to get help to cover their expenses.  Let's see those billionaires and millionaires who refuse to pay equal taxes to the rest of us, let's see them lose their money and live like the rest of us for a while.  I bet things would change rapidly if we got past the "it's not me so why should I care" mentality they seem to have.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I do believe that those in power should be paid well for their work - assuming they actually work FOR the people and not for themselves.  I don't believe that corporations should have any say in how laws are written.  In fact, I feel that lobbyists and those who spend all their time paying for a Senator's vote are parasitical leeches and need to be excised from our government.  I also don't think the government should be on the payroll of big businesses regardless of how much money is "donated" to them.  Let's be honest here, folks.  Those aren't donations.  They're buying preferential treatment.

We spend so much money on foreign policy, where we go in with military force and try to establish our way of thinking on other nations, that we're cutting spending to families, the elderly, education.  Veterans are coming home from these wars and are being told that they now could risk being evicted, losing their homes, etc. because no one is hiring.  People who should be retired are being forced back into a workplace that doesn't want them just to survive.  People can't live on their pensions and Social Security anymore.  The cost of living is too high and the benefits that so many people rely on keep being cut back.

Another thing I find hard to accept is how much we pay the President, the Senators, and the Representatives AFTER they're out of office.  Pay them while their in office.  All well and good.  But STOP giving them the benefits once they're out of office.  They're not working for the people anymore, if they ever were to begin with.  Make them get jobs, pay for their own insurance, take care of their own expenses without relying on tax payer money to subsidize them.  In short, treat them like the rest of us.  No one gives regular people a break on anything.  Once they're out of office, they're regular people again.  Make them live that way.

Another sore point with me is education.  Our teachers are paid substandard wages, expected to maintain discipline over 30+ students, expected to teach with sometimes outdated materials, and suddenly we're supposed to be a well educated country?  When so many children get through HIGH SCHOOL without being able to do simple math or English?  When hearing someone ask "Oh, where's that?" about a state in the U.S. isn't shocking...when they're asking as an adult?  I've had adults who asked me in all seriousness "Is Idaho in Canada?"  What the fuck?  How the hell do you get to be 20+ years old and not at least have a vague idea of the country you live in?

And higher education costs are going up, while loans and grants are going down.  It's getting to the point where only the wealthy can go to college.  How does that help the job market?  I don't have a college degree.  I can't afford to go to school to get one.  Himself doesn't have a degree either, although he's desperately trying to get loans and grants so he can go.  We can't afford anything out of pocket for him if his applications are denied.  Yet people are telling the both of us they won't hire us because we don't have that stupid piece of paper that says we spent tens of thousands of dollars to get an education.  Honey, I've got more life experience and more job experience than some of those college graduates do.  Yet I'm passed over time and time again for jobs, promotions, etc. because I don't have that piece of paper.

Another hot button these days is gay marriage.  Honestly, WHO GIVES A FUCK?  Give them equal rights under the law and let them get married.  Marriage should be between those who love each other, not strictly defined as being between a man and a woman.  Domestic partnerships are recognized in some states, and those can be between same sex pairings or a man and a woman.  If we recognize domestic partnerships as being allowable for all genders, then why not marriage?  Let a same sex couple cover each other on their insurance.  Let them adopt.  There are tons of children in this country going without a decent home life because "normal families" can't be found.  Who defines a normal family anyway?  Personally I believe a "normal" family is parents who love their children - whether or not those parents are both men, both women, or a man and a woman.  Or even a single man or a single woman.  No one should have the right to say that a person is an unfit parent unless that parent is seriously causing harm to a child.  And no, seeing a gay/lesbian/bi/transgender person or persons together does NOT constitute causing harm to a child.

Legalization of marijuana - I don't use it.  I've tried it twice in my life and will never touch the stuff again.  I didn't care for the feeling I got from it.  But for heaven's sake, people, legalize the shit and tax the hell out of it like you do cigarettes.  Put an age restriction on it like you do alcohol and cigarettes.  At least marijuana is less detrimental to the body than alcohol is.  (Yes, I know all of the propaganda out there.  Believe me, I wouldn't be making these statement if I hadn't done the research.)

This fall, I have to pick between two politicians I neither trust nor want to see as leader of this country when it comes to the Presidential election.  I did that four years ago.  I voted for Obama.  Not because I thought Obama would be an awesome president - because I didn't - but because I didn't trust McCain to do the job.  Now I have to choose between Obama and Romney, and while Romney will never get my vote I'm not sure I want to vote for Obama again either.  But I will do what I can with my vote to keep Romney out of office.  That man scares me more than McCain and Palin did combined.  He'd set this country back 50 years, destroy the rights that we women have fought for, and do it all in the name of "good Christian values". Fuck off.  I'm NOT a "good Christian woman".  I don't want your values imposed on my life.  There are many in this country who are not Christian.  Whatever happened to religious freedom and the rights of those of us who live here to worship as we desire, so long as we don't kill people?

I won't voice my opinion on the abortion debate.  I just won't.

I am neither Republican nor am I a Democrat.  I am a U.S. citizen and a woman who demands fair and equal treatment.  I do NOT want men telling me I can't take birth control because it's "immoral" when I use it to keep me from dying every month from the cramps caused by my menstrual cycle.  I also don't want politicians telling my friends who do not want/are not in a financial position to afford/are at risk with their health so a pregnancy would be a BAD IDEA that they can't take birth control.  Don't tell us we can't possibly know what is good for our bodies.  We know them better than anyone because we live in them.

To sum this up - our economy is shit, I want fair taxation for all people and no exclusions, legalize gay marriage and marijuana, and for the love of little green apples stop fucking up our nation.  We used to be great.  We can be great again.  But only if we destroy party lines, work together, and push past the blockage that happened when politicians lost sight of the "government by the people and FOR THE PEOPLE" and started looking at it as "government by the rich to screw the poor".

/end rant