I'm BACK!

No, I didn't abandon my blog...blogger and I were not on "speaking" terms...finally back. Will have a couple of posts soon!
I'm working on politics, of course, but a greater understand of our relationship with our soldiers---not "the troops", not "the military", but soldiers--the men and women who serve.

SCOTUS, Makers of American Sharia Law, Part Two

So, after SCOTUS ruled that it's just fine to assault, intimidate, spit at, attack, even kill women walking into a Women's Health Center, they go on to make sure that more women may end up in that clinic.

First, I'd like to apologize for the next paragraph/rant...just that this really pisses me off.
Yep, I'm referring to the "Hobby Lobby" case. In this case, the plaintiffs make the argument that they should not have to offer certain types of birth control because its against their so called religious beliefs. The plaintiffs feel these are actually abortifacient, even though people with MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC degrees have proven that fairy tale a lie, and because of this LIE, they should not have to pay for them through insurance for their employees. Never mind that they've BEEN paying for these forms of birth control as EARNED benefits the employees have, never mind that the doctors and scientists have proven this is a fallacy, never mind that there is nowhere in the bible that states abortion is or isn't approved by their version of god(and we know that abortion has been around since at least the time of Socrates). Never mind that Hobby Lobby INVESTS in companies that MAKE actual abortifacients...OK for them to make money off of abortion, just not right for employees to receive medical attention for family planning which prevents abortion?????
OK, rant over. Maybe.

First, the batshit crazy rightwing law firm shopped Hobby Lobby to get the "name" status for the lawsuit. See, Hobby Lobby had offered all birth control without a second thought...until the black guy in the white house got a law passed saying that birth control would be covered under the Affordable Care Act. Their religious "crisis" didn't bother them until after the ACA, hmmmm, I smell a rat! Of course, their religious crisis doesn't include spending millions of $$ in China to buy cheap crap to sell either, even tho their money then can be used to pay for abortions in that country.

The case before the Supreme Court ended in its usual 5-4 decision with the catholic males on one side and the fair four on the side of constitutionality. The catholic males also said that this was a very narrow ruling, only dealing with 4 types of birth control and only applied to privately held corporations. Sure.

To begin with, the Affordable Care Act listed 20 types of contraception that must be covered by health insurance offered by businesses. The case that Hobby Lobby was involved in claimed that Plan B, Ella and two types of IUD's were abortifacients which violated their holier than thou religious rights. It didn't matter that all science proves this is not a fact, just cuz the HTT's(Holier Than Thou) believed it, the catholic geezers on SCOTUS went along with it since it gives them a hardon to screw over those that have less.

Justice Alito, who wrote the 5/4 opinion, tried, in the language, to say the scope of this ruling was limited, but then a series of orders released after the ruling show exactly the opposite of "narrow".

The first two dealt with 2 corporations (Autocam and Eden Foods), having catholic owners, by vacating the decisions of the US Appeals Court and said that the Appeals court must rehear the cases due to the Holly Lobby decision. Both of these cases centered around the Appeals Court decision that had rejected that these businesses wanted to eliminate offering any type of the 20 mandated forms of birth control. Even though over 90% of catholic women have used "real" (vs. the "rhythm method") birth control. 

And then, there was the decision that the Wheaton IL college doesn't even have to fill out the form to file a religious objection because it violates their frail religious beliefs to even think about icky birth control/private lady bits. Wheaton College did not want to fill out the form that the United States Government requires which then enables the insurance companies to take on the responsibility of paying for those types of birth control that can offend those of such strong, but frail belief system(cuz they have to think about icky lady bits) and have to be smacked with actual scientific facts that these forms of birth control do not cause abortion. All they have to do is write a letter to HHS, saying, "Bad voo doo for religious people" or something like that.

So, with these decisions, the so-called "narrow ruling" has been broadened considerably and SCOTUS has determined that its OK to discriminate against preventative health care for women. You know the old Dred Scott decision? Separate but equal? Yep, this decision feeds on that type of bad decision of the past.

There is an up side to this. The last time that the right wing treated women in this manner, that we didn't count as much as white males and didn't deserve the protection of laws, we came out and voted. Against them. Hard. So, I hope to see many many women using their voting rights(before they take THOSE away) this November and send a message to the old fogies on SCOTUS. We do MATTER and we're angry with your stupidity and bigotry.

SCOTUS: American Sharia Law

For the last 6 years, I've been listening to hysterics on the right screaming about stupid things they think President Obama will do: FEMA camps,government implants, taking everyone's guns away, Sharia Law. None of these things have happened due to President Obama, but now, the Supreme Court reactionary justices are enacting christian sharia law....
In at least 2 of the latest 5-4 decisions, the right wing men of the Supreme Court have ruled that women are less than men. We are not worth being treated the same as men, we deserve to be less than men because of the old catholic right wing guys majority.
First the Massachusetts case: The Supreme Court, in a 5/4 decision(like that's a surprise) declared the Massachusetts buffer zone of 35 feet at abortion clinics against the constitution because it did not allow the protesters their right of free speech. By the way, the Supreme Court is just fine with a 100 foot buffer zone at the Supreme Court...hmmm.....
The reason this law was enacted at 35 feet was due to murders that occurred at the hand of those people who allegedly value live fetuses, but have no problem killing live men and women who feel they have the ability to make decisions for themselves...or work at a clinic. So SCOTUS seems to feel that its more important for protesters to be able to scream and spit into the faces of women than the women's right to safety and LIFE. Oh I forget, only fetuses have a right to life. And, as I said before,  the Supreme Court buffer zone is almost 3 times that of MA abortion clinic, 100 feet. Guess if we have something to say to justices, we need a bullhorn...or maybe they have psychic, mind reading abilities.
Although the anti-abortion groups are having orgasms over this ruling, it does not take down every state's buffer rule(most are less than 35 feet), but they feel they're mowing them all down. Even tho the ruling does state that the Massachusetts zone was being found unconstitutional because of the length. Not like the groups understand nuance or anything after they hear "we win"....
So, after SCOTUS ruled that it's just fine to assault, intimidate, spit at, attack, even kill women walking into a Women's Health Center, they go on to make sure that more women may end up in that clinic.
But, remember those old guys who voted against a safety zone for women and workers? They feel that they still deserve a 100 foot safety zone from The People.

Robin Williams, Mental Illness and suicide shaming

"Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem."

I think we've all heard this quote and, to a point, agree. On the other hand, if you've never experienced the sheer black walls of the abyss known as severe depression, you can't understand how just ending the pain, even if it means ending your life, can be enough at that moment in time.

Luckily, many more people attempt suicide than succeed. Of course, if people know about the attempts, those survivors, many times, are shamed, laughed at, called names. So they, no WE, hide behind our secrets not allowing others behind the curtains that lead to the abyss.

I have attempted suicide at different times of my life, looking back, some were for attention(cola and aspirin when I was 14 and upset with my parents comes to mind), but others I had the full intention to finish the job, to stop the unending, debilitating, suffocating pain that surrounded me, no matter what I did.

I've also been luckier than many who suffer from depression because, although chronic, I have more good days than bad, unlike others who live with the suffocating weight on a daily basis. Yes, I've tried therapists, psychiatrists, even anti-depressants, without much help, anyway not for long periods of time. I come from a lineage that has been plagued with depression, anxiety, addiction--dating back to at least my grandparents' times. Red hair, green eyes-one from each side of my parents...and addiction on both sides, depression maybe only one. Yes, it's heredity, but like other diseases, the whole family will not suffer alike. And all learn from an early age that we don't talk about it in the open, only in hushed tones in the kitchen with sourful looks towards "the crazy one".

In my family, those looks were usually fostered towards my mother. She had always been considered "high-strung"--she grew up in the 30's and 40's...anxiety wasn't something people knew about in those days. In fact, the doctor had my grandmother giving my mother a glass of wine before she went to sleep in her teens! That was how anxiety was treated. In the 60's she developed panic attacks, depression  and later agoraphobia(fear of leaving the house). They gave her Librium, then Valium...and told her it was ok to have a cocktail in the evening to calm her nerves...they forgot to mention that it should only be ONE cocktail.

To be fair, my mother could be the life of the party; she loved to dance, sing, play piano. Her claim to fame was she auditioned and was accepted to the Chicago Opera, but she declined because "good girls and young women did not act like a trollop". It was the late 40's, early 50's and if you were on the stage, you obviously didn't have much of an upbringing. My mother, in the early 60's actually made more money than my father, she being an executive secretary(to a VP at a prestigious bank), he being a payroll/accounting clerk. But after the kids were born, her working role had to be closer to home. Then the panic attacks started(while she was taking Dexedrine to lose the baby fat because you must be slim and trim if you wanted to work in better places) and she had a blood vessel break in her nose when I was 9(I remember there was blood everywhere--still scary to this day when I think about it) and her world became smaller and smaller and smaller--until it was only her home. All drapes closed because she'd panic if she looked outside. And I began to grow up in the dark. With more monsters attacking on a daily basis.

My childhood completely changed. I won't bore you with the details(and I've shared as much as I can without drinking already), but by the time I was 10, I was getting my brother up for school, then both of my siblings. I would do the "shopping" for the week at the neighborhood grocery store(to pick up items my dad forgot on the real shopping trip or we'd run out of during the week, including my mother's cigarettes...just wrote a note to the store so they knew I was getting them for her, too bad for her that didn't work for the alcohol). I'd also travel with her on the train during the summer so she could see her psychotherapist, who didn't accomplish too much. Of course, I'm not sure how truthful my mom was to him about what was going on at home. As I grew older, my sadness turned to anger--which many people who suffer from depression rely on--see, if you say you're depressed, people pick on you, they stay away from you. If you're angry alot? People are ok with that in many ways. And, of course, I discovered alcohol...on my own.

First time I had alcohol outside the home? 8th grade field trip--to a Cub's game. Fruit soaked in liquor. Sweet and made me feel better. Yes, that was that downward spiral. But I didn't succumb until some years later.

By now, I was angry most of the time I was stuck at home. I'd be fine, for the most part at other relatives' homes, I'd be fine at high school and with my friends, but the suffocating darkness was something I fought daily at home. Yes, I blamed my parents. It was their failures that caused me to be this way. I'd mouth that, but I'd never really believe it. I believed I was just a horrible creature that didn't belong.

I would say I've consciously attempted suicide at least 4 times since my 18th birthday, the last time being 2003 or 4. Very stressful time in my life, both home and job. I was driving on the highway, not particularly thinking about anything, when the tendrils of suicidal ideation began...whispering...all I'd have to do is speed and launch my car off the tollway overpass...it'd be quick, no one would be the wiser and I wouldn't be in pain. I didn't make a "choice" not to commit suicide, see, I was too afraid that I wouldn't end the paid, I'd live through the "accident" and end up without the use of limbs or in a vegetative state or somewhere in between. See, I never had enough self esteem to think I could actually complete the job since I was such a loser and failure. Oh, I was also on an anti-depressant at that time and quit that shit.l

This all began because on the same day that Robin Williams ended his pain, another women lost her battle with cancer and one of her friends, being in pain, said Robin had the "choice" to live and her friend didn't. I've battled both cancer and depression--the cancer was much easier. People understand physical illnesses, but mental illness? It's something scary for many and misunderstood for most of us. After I post this, I'm sure that people who've known me for the last 40 years or longer will wonder what the fuck? NOT KIM. She's so determined, strong, independent, smart...and funny...Yes, KIM...depression is easily hid, specially when people, even loved ones, family and close friends, aren't looking for it.

Since I've retired, I've not thought of suicide as an answer. Yes, there are times I've been depressed...and I'm not sure how I will feel after I post this. I've been tearing up/crying while I write it, but I felt it had to be written.

Robin, may those depths be lifted, may you finally find peace. May your family know that you dearly loved them and they had no fault in this matter and remember the bright, funny loving man that you were.
And before you shame someone for suicide or an attempt, please think about this post. 

I need to publish before I lose my nerve. Thank you.

Think You can't change what congress? Congressional Ethics Committee backs down after REAL LIBERAL media busts them

On July 2, the Congressional umm, Ethics Committee issued a small item about changes in what congress members had to report on their expense reports. See, the "Ethics" Committee(and I'm using that term very loosely) decided that those vacations that are paid for by corporations/private individuals? Well, its just redundancy to report those on the personal expense reports of congress members, let's just report those to the Clerk of the House and anyone who is really interested can find them there. Remember the saying, "needle in a haystack"? Oh, but it was done for EFFICIENCY. Not trying to hide anything, never!
Well. First CREW  wrote about this bullshit, since most people have no idea that we even have a clerk of the house, but they do know how to check their respective house member's financial sheet, if so inclined. 
Then we had a statement from Nancy Pelosi who agreed with those evil liberal folks that this should not be allowed. It had been done in the past and caused people to end up in jail, after we having to pay $$$ for the court cases. Most Liberal media posts picked it up and reported it, but I did not hear about it on the corporate media sites: ABC, NBC, CBS, of course FAUX NEWS, although Free Speech TV did cover it, along, again, with most liberal areas of the media.
So....on July 3rd? There was so much fall out(yes, we thinking people, aka, liberals know how to use our phones, email, twitter, etc.) that the Ethics Committee reversed their ruling and, now again, Congress members must report, in financial statements, any junket from private areas.
So, tell me again how it doesn't matter if you speak up? Don't vote? This shows that when we pay attention and do something, we make a difference.

Good JOB! Keep it UP!

Mitt Rauner(oops, Bruce), trying to talk to real people(yep, another version of deer in headlights)

As many of you may have figured out, I am a union activist, otherwise known as a union thug...or whatever the media likes to call me and, because of that I also have "union thug" friends, even some "union bosses" friends. One of those union boss friends that I'd like to introduce is my President, Larry Brown.

Larry worked at the max prison in the southern part of the state to earn his retirement benefits and he takes his benefits seriously. He also takes seriously how Mr. Rauner has been demeaning us in the press and receiving little to no push back. Don't worry, Larry can push back. Hard. With those silly little things called facts.

So...Mitt, er, Bruce Rauner decided to go to southwestern Illinois to speak to state employees and retirees about how he wants to "help" them. Larry was present at the meeting.

Mr. Rauner came out with a prepared statement, he was trying to garner some grassroots troops. The question and answer session lasted about 90 minutes and to his credit, did try to answer questions from the audience. He did say that he thought that SB 1(the pension theft bill) was "unconstitutional"; that doesn't mean he wouldn't support cutting our benefits, he actually thought it didn't go far enough, considering some of his comments in the media and his calls to Republican leaders in the General Assembly to vote against the bill, partially because he wants larger cuts and partially just as a black eye to the Dems.
Larry asked about SB1313, which AFSCME is also litigating and was signed into law in 2012. For those of you who don't know or remember, this is the bill that attacked retirees' health care. Now, I don't expect everyone to know this, but...if you're running for governor....Mr. Rauner had that deer in headlights look and told Larry(after Larry explained the law to him), "You gotta be kidding me, I'll have to check it out." Maybe we all need to start carrying fact sheets with us, eh? Help out Mr. Rauner's knowledge base?
So, more about pensions. Mr. Rauner stated he wanted a "Two-Tier" pension...Larry, again, informed him that Illinois has a two tier pension, since January of 2011. Mr. Rauner, "We do?" Yes, we do. So, we now know that what Mitt's talking about is a Three tier system; his idea is that those that are retired, their defined benefit pensions aren't changed. If you're still working, the defined benefit stops the day he takes office--for all, whether you are coordinated with Social Security or not. And from that day forward? Employees will be expected to figure out the stock market and use a (private) financial planner to get a 401K. You know the type, the hedge fund managers charge their fees and make $$$$ while the small investor watches his/her ability to retire get smaller and smaller because of "market forces". The other part of this silly idea that Mr. Rauner didn't address is if we have no funding from our working brothers and sisters(State and University employees pay up to 14% of their salary into the pension fund), if they are now playing on the market, how do you keep the pension fund solvent for the older retirees?
Mr. Rauner also wanted to assure the retirees and employees he was speaking to that he didn't have any problem with them, it was those corrupt "union bosses". So, Larry asks him, "Why are you mad at me?" Mr. Rauner stated he wasn't, he was against the bosses. They make the decision to fund corrupt politicians with your union dues. Larry informed him that he was a union boss, he was democratically elected and represents over 27,000 retirees in the state of Illinois and that the dues, by law, cannot be used as political contributions. Larry went on to tell Mr. Rauner that AFSCME does have a voluntary deduction for our Political Action Committee, called PEOPLE, but we also vote democratically, both the active and retired employees, on who we will or will not support. Larry asked Mr. Rauner if his company gave political contributions. Mr. Rauner answered yes. Larry asked him if those contributions were voted on by all of the workers in a democratic fashion. We all know the answer to that question, don't we?
So, it seems that Mr. Rauner has very little knowledge of what is law, what is being litigated in the state of Illinois, and very little knowledge on how unions function. And he's being touted as the front runner? He can't even figure out his own taxes(he took 3 property tax exemptions instead of just one), doesn't know that "union bosses" are democratically elected, doesn't know about litigation that will affect his governance, if elected, doesn't know that there are laws that make it illegal for his idea of "union bosses" handing money to politicians.
Can we really want someone who is so stupid about how the government is run...to run our government?????
I do understand, Quinn ain't the public's savior, but he's not trying to sell off Illinois. No one spends as much money as Mr. Rauner has on his campaign and expects nothing from it.

Lindsey Graham, our very own Queen of Hearts, screams "OFF WITH HIS HEAD!", AKA: "IMPEACH! IMPEACH!"

So, to continue with this hysteria about President Obama and the Taliban loving Bergdahl, as the basthit crazy bigots on the right like to scream, ranting frantically until they finally fall in a heap, grabbing their pearls, on the fainting couch(Yep, I'm talking to you, Lindsey!), now starts the "IMPEACH! IMPEACH! IMPEACH!" wave of all good cooked up conspiracies that the right love to lie about.
We have the ex-congressman Allen West who demands, yes DEMANDS! that President Obama be impeached for prisoner exchange! He did it all wrong, didn't ask permission from congress...cuz he's supposed to cuz congress said so. We have John McCain saying that these prisoners were the worst of the worst! He'd never agree to this! Except that he had before he hadn't. That Obama was, again, shown weak in negotiating and knowing about terrorism! Oh, and let's not forget the real batshit rightwing crazies, aka, the "religious right". There's Bryan Fischer, of the Focus(as in target?) on the Family getting all apoplectic about the Taliban prisoners, Bergdahl and impeachment. OH! And let's not forget that "great patriot"(she says with an eye roll), Oliver North, who said that President Obama is financing the terrorists(he means the Taliban)! Yes, the Oliver North who was convicted of the Iran Contra Affair--you know actually financing terrorists! Yes, I know the conviction was overturned, but not because he wasn't guilty, but because of a technicality.

So, all this hand wringing, pearl clutching and fainting, there must be some truth in it, right? Ahh, not really.
Let's take all of these lies separately.
1. The Taliban are terrorists!
The Taliban have never been added to the list of Terrorists by Homeland Security. Although I would agree the Taliban are one of the worst groups to rule a country, they have never attacked America, that was Al Queda and those men were from Saudi Arabia, not Afghanistan or Iraq. Am I the only one who paid attention to geography in school? And on to the next silly hysterics:
2. These five were the worst of the WORST!!
Do we have to have all of the hyperbole? Really? Of the five that were released, only one could be actually considered a strategist who could be used within a terrorist organization. Three were involved in the Afghan government, including one that was in the police department. Check the link above for evul librul fact thingies.
3. It's against the law cuz Obama didn't report to the congress 30 days in advance.
Yes, there is a law, its tied to the funding of the military, that says that Obama must notify the congress. This "law" came into fruition right around the time that Obama became president...hmmm.....and every time it comes through, President Obama issues a statement saying that he will not abide by this law since he feels its unconstitutional and every time Congress attached this to a Defense funding bill, he'd attached the signing statement. Oh, and since Congress did not take it to court when he issued the signing statement, they, in effect, said he was correct and they agreed with him. This means that not only did he not break the law, Congress agreed that they, also thought it was beyond their reach and they knew it.
On the other hand, during this administration, Republicons has leaked more information to the press just to stop the President from getting something accomplished, so why would he trust them with a matter like this? In fact, Senator Saxby Chambliss has already said that if he had known about the exchange before it happened he would have told the press, even knowing that would jeopardize an American soldier(why should he care about soldiers?). In fact when there was a meeting on the trade, the majority of congress members didn't attend! So how upset or worried about this are they? Me thinks dost thou protest too much.
4. He negotiated with terrorists and we never do that!
Umm, check #1, Taliban are not on the terrorist watch list, have never been considered a terrorist organization. On the other hand, we've never done it is an outright lie. Ain't that right Ollie?
5. They will come back and attack us!
Under George Bush, Bush let go 500 Guantanamo bay prisoners, with a 30% recidivism rate. President Obama has released 80(yep, these 5 weren't the first, you must have been sleeping on a park bench for the other 75) with a recidivism rate of only 5%. So who is it that doesn't understand how people attack us and why? The same president who allowed 9/11 to happen in the first place. The White guy.
5. The Right object to this based on principle, not on Obama Derangement Syndrome.
I cannot believe you can tell that lie with a straight face. Or maybe you've said it so much you now believe that it has nothing to do with the color of his skin, but anyone who looks at the facts knows you are lying. We, in all of our history, have never left a soldier behind, no matter the reason for his capture, otherwise, we'd have left John McCain to rot in a Vietnamese forest. We'd have left Jessica Lynch behind since, obviously her convoy did not follow orders.
And, we, as a country, and as many if not all countries, have always released prisoners of war when a war in ending. It's just the right thing to do.