Why pet sbirds are awesome

Tags

birds, Pets

Ok, I know I haven’t written anything in ages. But life gets in the way and at times it can be difficult to find a reason to blog. I will try and do this more as a way to release stress. But I’ll get onto to the topic of the day.

While many people don’t realize it, birds can be very affectionate pets. Like Dogs and cats they have their own way of showing love and attachment to their human owner. There several things to consider and understand about a feathered companion.

1. Birds don’t attach themselves to humans like dogs do-Domestic dogs are instinctively are bred to people friendly. This comes from ages of selective breeding to obtain desirable qualities which explains why we so many different breeds of dogs with different personalities and appearance (same can be said with all domestic animals). However parrot like birds still retain the instincts of their wild counterparts (since they have a much of a genetic difference than their cousins in the wild). If a bird is raised from birth and a young age without a great deal of human interaction, they will not be hand friendly pets. However if a bird is raised from a young age with a lot of human interaction, they will become very attached to their human owner. This why I prefer to get a bird from an aviary, a breeder, or any store that specializes in hand reared birds.

2. Birds can very affectionate creatures Once a bird bonds and gets attached to their owner they have a way of showing their love for you. My cockatiel will rub her head against my cheek, lower her head to expose her head for a neck rub, nipping to give a “birdie kiss” and occasionally try to regurgitate food into my mouth. The fact that a bird lets you handle them is proof they trust you.

3. They are emotional creatures Many people don’t understand bird behavior because birds aren’t as common of pets as cats and dogs. Every understand a dog that wags its tail or a cat that purrs is in a happy mood. Birds have a way to showing this same emotions. When I’m out of the room my cockatiels will vocalize very loudly as a way of saying, “hey I miss you, come give me some love”. When she has her neck rubbed, her eyes are closed and she makes chirps indicating that she’s in a happy mood. Different birds have a different way of showing their moods since it’s important to make sure you do some reading on the emotional displays of a feathered companion.

4. There so many varieties and personalities Different bird species have different personalities and different needs. A bigger bird like an African Grey or a cockatoo has a lot more needs and may not be the best pet bird for someone who never been around pet birds. Cockatiels and parakeets are simpler to manage and still can be great pets. At the end of they day it all depends on the person. It’s important to do the research and understand that birds like any other pets require commitment and have their own needs.

From my personal experience, my cockatiel is an awesome pet. I find bird ownership to be unique and enjoyable experience. Bird owners are a happy bunch and we find that our feathered companions are lovable members of our family. My little Kora (my cockatiel’s name) has a huge personality in a small body. But it’s that unconditional she shows that can get me through after a bad day.

The argument for a living wage

Tags

Consumerism, current-events, Living Wage, Politics, Worker rights

Being a New Yorker, I’m see the beginnings of passing a living wage.  On September 29, 2014 Mayor DeBlasio issued an executive order raising the wages of commercial tenants getting more than $1 million or more in city subsidies to $13.13 or $11.90 with benefits. This is a big step as New York City is known for a high cost of living. It only makes sense that a living wage is paid in NY.

1. When people earn a living wage, those people do not need public assistance. You can either have people working for $7.15 an hour who survive with public assistance or pay people a living wage of $13-15 an hour and live without it. Try working a full time job on $7.15 an hour and pay the bills. Also having someone work 2 or more full time to make basic ends meet is inhuman.

2. The idea of people of getting an education and finding a good job is great in theory. However not everyone can afford an education and working a poverty wage doesn’t allow them to really save money to pay for school. Second issue is the fact that so many educated people are stuck in minimum wage jobs because of a supersaturated market of applicants and limited number of jobs. You have lawyers fresh out of 7 yrs of school barely finding a job that pays 40-50K (for 7 yrs of back breaking school and a bar exam+a mountain of student loans to pay off).

3. Cities that have living wage laws thrive. Seattle has made the commitment to have a $15 an hour minimum wage law. As per USA today June 3, 2014, Businesses employing more than 500 workers would be required to pay $15 an hour by 2017, or 2018 if health care is offered. Smaller businesses would have five to seven years to phase in the increase. Part of employees’ tips and benefits could be applied toward the higher minimum for as long as 11 years”. A similar plan would be a good idea. Washington already has the highest minimum wage of $9.32 and it’s doing better economically as a state than states with lower minimum wages.

4.A living wage not only improves the quality of life of the earners but improves the economy. A consumer economy requires that the majority have disposable income to spend. When Henry Ford opened up his plant, he revolutionized the auto industry by making cars available to the every man. He also paid his workers a living wage. Not only did he feel it was morally right, but he knew workers who had extra money after covering basic needs, could save that extra money and buy the very cars they made. So a good chunk the proud owners of a brand new Ford Model T were the very workers who put them together in Ford’s factory. My MMA gym owner makes a living because my job pays me enough so that I have the time and money to spend on his establishment.

5. Fast food and retail giants can afford paying a living wage with modest price increases at most. Theoretically, they wouldn’t need to raise prices and still make a profit. The problem is that these companies are overly greedy and don’t want make less than a %110 profit if they can avoid it. These companies wouldn’t go bankrupt if anything their profit margins would modestly shrink. Then again a modest price increase (pennies on the dollar increase) would get them to the same profit margins. And yes I’d buy a Big Mac more often if I knew I was helping support employees earning a living wage (even if I had to 50 cents for it) . Maybe I’d get fast food more often if the company was paying its workers a living wage.

With these points I present a case for a living wage.

The NY Times article about NY’s executive order

22 A Day

Tags

22 veterans a day, mental health, OIF/OEF veterans, suicide, suicide awareness month, Veteran

Veteran and military suicides is something very close to my heart. It is estimated that between 18-22 veterans a day commit suicide every day. While it is impossible to know each and every reason why veterans choose to end their lives, it is clearly become an epidemic. Since September is Suicide Awareness Month, I’m bring awareness to this issue.

1. One veteran ends his/her life every day. 22 Veterans end their lives everyday. On July 23, 2012 Time Magazine reported that one veteran every day was committing suicide. At the time this was a shocking and scary number. However the truth got even scarier when CNN reported on November 14, 2013 (Why suicide rate among veterans may be more than 22 a day)as many 22 veterans end their lives every day. That’s about 1 every 65 minutes. This number is still only an estimate since there is no uniform way of tracking suicides, it’s hard to get an official tally. As CNN reports “Part of the problem, she says [Luana Ritch, the veterans and military families coordinator in Nevada],is that there is no uniform reporting system for deaths in America. It’s usually up to a funeral director or a coroner to enter veteran status and suicide on a death certificate. Veteran status is a single question on the death report, and there is no verification of it from the Defense Department or the VA.” Part of the problem is that not every suicide is counted as a suicide (intentional drug overdoes, suicide by cop, intentional car crash).

2.Even though veterans account for only 10% of the population, they account for 20% of the suicides. One in five veterans is the guesstimate of how many veterans end up committing suicide. There’s no much that else that can be said about this.

3. 30% of veterans have considered suicide at some point. The IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) conducted a survey conducted a survey in which 30% of veterans admitted to have considered suicide.

4. 45% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans know a veteran who attempted suicide- That means that almost half of the Iraq and Afghanistan veteran community had first hand experience with military suicides. This proves that suicide amongst the veteran community is a very clear and present danger to the lives of veterans.

5. Military Sexual Trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Traumatic Brain Injury are significant risk factors in military suicides- According to the VA’s PTSD webpage The Relationship Between PTSD and Suicide, “A history of military sexual trauma (MST) also increases the risk for suicide and intentional self-harm, suggesting a need to screen for suicide risk in this population”. Also in regards to OIF/OEF veterans the page states, “With respect to OIF/OEF Veterans, PTSD has been found to be a risk factor for suicidal ideation (17). Subthreshold PTSD also carries risk. A recent study found that among OIF/OEF Veterans, those with subthreshold PTSD were 3 times more likely to report hopelessness or suicidal ideation than those without PTSD”

6. Military and veteran suicides outnumber combat fatalities- The scary reality more veterans end their own lives than by dying at the hands of enemy forces.

6. There is a certain stigma about getting help from a mental health professional for psychological wounds-  Common sense states if you’re sick with an infectious disease, you see a doctor for medication. If you get a bad cut that requires stitches or you break a bone, you go to a hospital. However because psychological wounds are not as observable, society generally doesn’t accept it as a real illness or a legitimate injury to get help for. In fact, most of the time veterans are told to “get over it” or “it’s only in your head”. Another stigma is that veteran who get diagnosed with PTSD is unbalanced or psychotic. Very rarely is there moral/emotional support for a veteran to get help. It is important to rid the stigma about seeking help from a mental health professional. Seeking help from a mental health professional could  end up save a veteran’s life. But to put into perspective:

So there you have it, some basics about military suicides. Thanks to CNN article “Why suicide rate among veterans may be more than 22 a day” byMoni Basu  on Thu November 14, 2013 for the info and graphics. If you know a veteran who is contemplating suicide, please don’t stand by and think they’ll get over it. If you need help call the Veteran’s Crisis Line:

Why I left the Democratic Party and my frustration with American Politics

Tags

Democrats, Politics, Republicans

It’s been a while since I blogged. But during this time I did some serious soul searching and realized I despise the Democratic Party about as much as I cannot stand Republicans. So this is the last time I’ll post about politics for a while. Although I see myself a progressive that swings more left than right, there are there are a lot of things that frustrates me about Democrats. Now before every liberal Democrat picks up the pitch forks and lights the torches and calls for me to be hung from a tree, hear me out. I’m not saying I supporting the other side of the spectrum (the far right), I’m saying the Democrats are no different than Republicans, in that both a puppets for corporate oligarchs. One is controlled by a right hand, the other from the lift. And now here are my grievances against the so called progressive Democrats and why American politics sicken me.

1. Democrats are soft on Wall St- When the most people pointed their fingers at Wall St as the reason for the 2008 economic crisis, Democratic law makers did little to put proper safe guards that would prevent another crisis. In fact the bailouts were a little more than a reward for banks and financial institutions to continue what they are doing. When HSBC was busted for money laundering for Mexican drug cartel, the Department of Justice only let them off with a slap on the wrist (using the too big to fail excuse). Isn’t this the party that’s support defend us from corporate oligarchs? The reality is that Democratic campaigns are funded by Wall St as much much as Republican campaigns are. Why would Democrats turn against their financiers.

2. Both parties are against any political reform that gives third parties a fair shot at elections- Democrats and Republicans have one thing in common: they want to keep the political game a two party system. Each party wants campaigns to be as easy as possible. Independent voters are difficult as is, so of course they want voters who are farther on a political spectrum in their fold. The more mainstream liberal and conservative parties, the tougher campaigns get. The solution is simple: use their finances to  keep third parties suppressed. Both parties are major corporations with the money to suppress third parties. Not to mention any national debates are organized by both Republicans and Democrats rather than an independent organizations so that they can keep third parties out. At one point organizations like The League of Women voters organized all debates but welcome all parties and this made elections tougher for the bigger parties. The solution was to cut deals with the major news media and keep the debate between Democrats and Republicans. Therefore they create an illusion between choice A and choice B.

3. The compromises Democrats make go against the constituents who voted for them on the issues they make compromises on- When Harry Reid had a chance to pass filibuster reform, he instead cut a deal with Republicans. This is just one example of where Democrats constantly compromise their values. Giving up a public option in Obamacare is another one. This is sickening, considering compared to their conservative counterparts Democrats rarely stand their ground. Come on!!!! As a voter I want a politician with some intestinal fortitude and not a total spineless worm.

4. Democrats somehow always manage to alienate veterans by making broad stereotypical remarks- I get some Democrats are former hippies and are anti-war, however alienating veterans is not the way to win them over. Calling us dangerous because of PTS (Nancy Pelosi), inferring we’re uneducated or dumb ( Secretary of State John Kerry who is a veteran) is not the way to win our support. While I applaud the Democratic lawmakers for supporting any legislation or proposed spending that assists veterans in need, I am annoyed when others make idiotic remarks that insult us.

5. Both Democrats and Republicans fail to address the issues of why mass shootings happen and play politics with the issue- When high profile mass shootings happen Democrats and Republicans make a political spectacle of the tragedy and once the smoke clears nothing happens. Democrats and liberals who have are gun-a-phobes are quick to blame easy access to guns as the problem. Meanwhile Republicans and ultra Conservatives clutch their guns fear monger that the government with be knocking on their door to take away all privately owned fire arms. Both fail to address the concern that the reason shootings happen is because there is no sensible gun control that keeps fire arms out the wrong people’s hands. They fail address that individuals who commit these acts are usually mentally unstable. There are no psychological exams when applying for a fire arms ownership license and very few states have background checks as a requirement for purchase of a firearm. The point is both parties make a lot of noise about the issue of mass shootings but do very little to fix the problem.

6. Democrats are about as much of corporate tools as Republicans are (they just won’t admit it)- Ever wonder why comprehensive a minimum wage increase wasn’t passed? Ever wonder why companies can ship manufacturing jobs overseas and Democrats don’t so much as pass a protective tariff since those goods are made in China? What about supporting NAFTA? Keystone Pipeline? Corporations and the top 3% pay pennies on the dollar in taxes while average Americans pay dollars and dollars? The point is Democrats and Republicans don’t pass the first two and support the rest is because of corporate interests. Oh sure Democrats talk tough and say how they support the average Joe and want to help grow the middle class. The reality is Democrats will support all the things they talk about as long as their Corporate Masters will allow it. In fact Democrats and Republicans alike are wined and dined by the same people. The only difference is Democrats use rhetoric to attract the progressives and minorities of the Northeast, Northwest  and any other Democrat heavy or possible swing states. Meanwhile Republicans use the their rhetoric to lure mostly white, bible hugging, NRA supporting, gay and minority hating conservatives. Both play to different crowds but answer to the same masters.

As a voter I feel I’m stuck choosing between the lesser of evils but I feel there is no real good choice. I feel it’s best to stay informed and if anything pick the third party candidates. In my home state New York, I’m sure 90% of the time a Democrat will take the electoral votes in the Presidential Election. I’m concerned about local elections since I feel my vote has greater impact. As for Federal politics, it’s a fool’s game since big money lobbyists win anyway. At this point I rather worry about geekish entrainment like comic books, comic book movies and TV, Magic the Gathering, scifi, fantasy, etc…or any randomness for that matter (but veteran issues will be my pet cause since I’m a veteran). I’ll live my life knowing that politics suck and read the occasional headline. Let the political nerds worry about the other BS.

Giving Thanks

Tags

Count your blessings, Giving Thanks, Thanksgiving

With so much going on in the world and so many things wrong, it’s easy to forget to count one’s blessing. Today I took it upon myself to embrace the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Having spent the day celebrating with my girlfriend and her awesome family, I realized there are many things I have to be thankful for. Yes I know there are many things wrong and there is always some problem that needs fixing; but for once let me thankful for what is right.

I have a great job that allows me to be self sustaining. While I don’t have make a salary that lets me own a Benz or the latest iPhone, I can have a decent life and I have great benefits. With few employers offering health benefits with very little out of pocket costs and a pension, I can be happy with my job. Also being in a position where opportunity and growth are within my reach. With that I can ssay I’m glad to work for the city.

I have a family that is extremely supportive of me and was willing to help out. “Hey mom, I need a new mattress for the apartment I’m moving into. I’ll do my best to pay you back soon” Not only did she buy it, she added a 40 inch flat screen and bought it as a gift. That just makes me feel thankful thankful that I have that kind of family support. This is just one of many times my family came through when it’s crunch time.

My friends are another thing. My closest friends have always come through for me and are the very reason why I always can rest easy when they said “I’m here for you Mike.” Having the friends I have make them an extended family of brothers and sisters.That is truly something to give thanks for

My girlfriend is one of the greatest blessings that I received this year. She is someone who has always been an amazing friend and the kind of woman that truly enriches and completes my life. There isn’t much I can say other than I’m thankful to have her in my life and being the balance I need.

With that I give thanks to everything I have. I’m so thankful for having food on the table, a home, and fellow veterans for their service. God Bless and good night .

My holiday naughty list

Tags

Black Friday, Boycott Walmart, Consumerism, Holiday Grinches, Holidays, Politics, retail, Santa's naughty list, Scrooges, Walmart

So with Thanksgiving being tomorrow, hanukah being tonight, and Christmas right behind everyone is getting into the festive spirit. You start thinking about gift giving, merry making, and doing all the special things that make it the most jolly time of the year. However for some people the holiday season is the time to show how much more of assholes can they be. With that I give my holiday naughty list. Santa, you can drop an extra large piece of coal for these people (preferably on their heads[with full force]).

1. Evangelicals who are preaching “Convert or burn in hell”- While I know Jesus would love the birthday gift of more Christian converts; I doubt he would want them joining out of fear. God is to be fear, not loved. Let’s face it, at a time where everyone is supposed to be making merry; no one wants a Debbie Downer. Evangelicals, first brick of coal is aimed at you

2. House Republicans- Nothing like getting into the holiday spirit than by starving and shaking down the needy while giving your corporate crony capitalist buddies more subsidies. House Republicans are providing how much of Grinches they are by doing just that. More needy families are being starved more and more while being left out in the cold. Amongst them are our veterans who put their lives on the line. The ironic thing The GOP and their Tea Party fun friends are supposed to be the good Christian Party. With their version Christianity who needs Satan? Please let in rain Coal bricks on the Teepublican heads…

3. McDonalds- While I have issues with all the fast food giants paying substandard wages, I have to hand it to McDonalds for their blatant disregard for their employee needs. Rather than spend money to pay fair wages, they put up a site that pretty much says in a nutshell: Quit bitching about being underpaid and accept the fact you will be our dirt poor wage slaves. When they suggest to employees to eat less and sell Christmas gifts on eBay to get more funds, it shows they have no human compassion whatsoever. Here’s a McCoal served to your face Ronald!!!

4. Retailers opening up on midnight for Black Friday- What’s a better way to show thanks for what you have than to open stores on midnight of Black Friday? The fact that workers have to cut spending time with their families to start work on midnight of the next day is sickening. Once again this is dehumanizing the worker as a profit making machine. Even worse are the idiots who facilitate thisby coming to malls at midnight. How about we show each other some holiday decency.

5. Walmart- If you add pre Christmas ghosts visit Scrooge, added the Grinch, and put into a corporate retailer: You’d get Walmart. Not only do they pay such low wages that their workers are on public assistance, and the company holds a food drive for them; they get ready extra early from Black Friday by making their workers have to come during Thanksgiving to open the store at 6PM.This is just insult to injury. Walmart is about as inhumane as the USSR under Stalin regime. What’s next, employees working on Christmas? Can this company get any more sickening? I’m proud boycott such a filth bag of a company. I hope Walmart goes bankrupt and broke because they have no humanity and only value profits.

There you have it my Scrooges and Grinches that only deserve coal crushing their heads. To everyone else: Happy whateveritisyoucelebrate (whatever-it-is-you-celebrate)!!!!!

Knockout Game

Tags

Knockout Game, News

It appears teens who have nothing better to do decided to play a new “game” shown that spread thanks to Youtube. It’s called the Knockout Game and it can end with bad consequences. The game is played by randomly selecting a person and then assaulting them. This is usually done out of boredom and apparently kids can get away with it. In the past incidents involving this game have caused the death of the victims and in a state where concealed carry permits are allowed, the perpetrator ended up getting shot. So here are things to keep in mind about why this “game” shouldn’t be played.

1. It can lead to serious injury and death- Hitting a person that is sensitive to trauma can cause serious trauma. This is not a harmless prank. I don’t need to expand there.

2. It is a felony- Randomly assaulting a person is against the law and there could be serious punitive consequences. In fact a conviction can lead to a year in prison and more if serious bodily harm or death is caused from the incident. In other words, a harmless prank can be the reason a teen can have a criminal record.

3. You never know who you are dealing with-Sometimes the random person picked for the knockout game could be the last person you want to deal with. Sometimes the person being attacked can be a batshit crazy person who will beat a kid to near death over this stunt.  You could be dealing with a professional fighter (MMA, boxing, martial arts) who will unleash unholy hell of a beating, an off duty law enforcement officer who will bust you, a person with anger issues who needs that one thing to make them snap, or someone who has a concealed carry permit who will pull out and use their firearm in self defense. In a state where concealed carries are easily accessible, a teen playing the knock out game got shot when he attacked someone with a concealed weapon.

So for those stupid teenagers considering a rousing round of the “Knockout Game” prepare to deal with consequences of jail time or taking a beating by person you shouldn’t have played with. The best thing of all is not to play period…

Republican/Teapublican myths that annoy me

Tags

Politics

Ok, I’ve been needing to write this one for a while and I finally have a chance to. As it is well aware I am a progressive and I have serious issue with the Far Right. So today I will share some of my “favorite” myths and why they annoy me.

1.Government spending on entitlement programs is destroying the nation- First off, considering I pay taxes into these programs means they are earned benefits I earned when I need them. Honestly very little tax dollars are spent on the social safety net. In fact a huge chunk of our taxes goes into the military industrial complex and subsidies to Corporate America. Considering we have been at war for about 12 years, it’s not exactly helping our national debt in addition to the massive tax breaks the top 3% of America’s wealthiest people have been receiving. Let’s be real here…

2.People who need public assistance are moochers and need to get to work- People who receive public assistance are either struggling to find work or working at poverty wages. If Teapublicans want less people on public assistance how about raising minimum wage. Let’s address the real welfare queens: Walmart, Yum Brands, McDonalds, Sears and the rest of Corporate America that takes our tax dollars.

3. Liberals are constantly pitting rich against war and creating “class war”- The fact that average Americans are struggling to pay the bills while the top 3% are gaining more wealth by sucking every dollar they can out of every American is the real issue. This whole “class war” started when Wall St got a bailout and things got worse for average Americans. This isn’t anger against the rich for being rich, it’s about the rich exploiting everyone else to get richer.

4. Universal Healthcare is a disaster- Maybe for insurance companies who profiteer by denying people with pre-existing conditions, racking up costs, etc…But not for anyone else. Every other country with universal healthcare seems to be doing just fine. Besides it’s a universal right.

5. Republicans are true fiscal conservatives- Look at records of spending under Republican Presidents after Dwight Eisenhower. The records do not lie. In fact look at how much the national debt went up under Ronald Reagan…

6. Republicans are America’s party- The majority of the GOP are white, straight, male, Christians. The party constantly attacks minority, LGBTQ, and women’s rights. There is a reason more average Americans are getting sickened by Teapublicans…

7. The GOP is the friend of veterans- One of the biggest lies I ever heard. All the GOP ever did was underfund the VA, (more recently) cut benefits for struggling vets (even veterans need food stamps), and look to kill any programs that help veterans but save their billionaire friends a few bucks. Yet the GOP is shameless to take photos with veterans, say how much they love us, and then quietly bend us over and FUCK US. That’s the Teapublican “love’ of veterans…

8. Liberals and Progressives are the Neo Marxists-Most of these people who make such accusations can’t even properly define them. Teapublicans seem to not have any understanding of what is Communism, socialism, Marxism, etc… All they believe is someone will come take their guns and their stuff. It’s straight up idiocracy…

9. Gay marriage and Gay rights will allow sodomy in the streets, create a gateway bestiality, etc…-More and more states are legalizing gay marriage, and LGBTQ rights and it’s still business is usual. New York has gay marriage and we are doing fine. My point? Who carries if LGTQ couples marry? If you don’t want a gay marriage, don’t get one. Stop covering up the fact that the real reason Conservanuts are against gay marriage is because of their bible bullshit… 

10. The US government is funded on Christian values- Considering our founding fathers were some of the most ant-religious men, I highly doubt that. How do I know that? Here’s some proof…

Historian Barry Schwartz writes: “George Washington’s practice of Christianity was limited and superficial because he was not himself a Christian…  He repeatedly declined the church’s sacraments.  Never did he take communion, and when his wife, Martha, did, he waited for her outside the sanctuary…  Even on his deathbed, Washington asked for no ritual, uttered no prayer to Christ, and expressed no wish to be attended by His representative.” [New York Press, 1987, pp. 174-175],  

“Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law.”-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814,   

“The civil government functions with complete success by the total separation of the Church from the State.”-James Madison, 1819, Writings, 8:432, quoted from Gene Garman, “Essays In Addition to America’s Real Religion”, “What is it the New Testament teaches us?  To believe that the Almighty committed debauchery with a woman engaged to be married; and the belief of this debauchery is called faith.”-Thomas Paine.

As the evidence shows our Founding Fathers objected to religion; therefore they created a government far away from Christian values and based more on secular Enlightenment values. God wasn’t associate with US until the Cold War when we wanted to differentiate ourselves from “Godless” Commies. That was the beginning of historical revisionism and trying link together church and state, the very thing our Founding Fathers preached against…

 

So I managed to give you 10 Teapublican myths. Of course more and more are coming out daily since Republicans and Tea Partiers have become the source for all that is illogical and imbecilic. So I may be sharing more soon. Until then I’ll watch Fox News when I need a good laugh…

It’s bullshit (religion)

Tags

Religion, Religious hypocrisy, secularism

Ok, I normally try and ignore the conversation of religion because I feel like other life choices it’s up to the individual. But since my superstitious family has gone hillbilly stupid about this, I have to say: FUCK THIS GARBAGE!!!!!! I’m not saying I’m an atheist (I have the believe in some form of a higher power, so I cannot deny the existence of a “God”). But I will say most religious dogma is a whole bunch of BULLSHIT!!!! I think some morals taught in the holy books are great but the vast majority of the texts are pure fairytales. My other issue with religion is the actions of those who follow it and their constant hypocrisy.

Even though I was raised between Judaism, Islam, and a little bit of Christianity around me, I managed to liberate myself from these ancient fairytales and the backwards thinking that goes along with it. My first major influence is Bill Maher and his documentary “Religilous.” While there are noticeable inaccuracies in the film and I did find Maher unequally harsh of Muslims as compared to the Jews, I will say that the message is what made me think. It is what made me dwell more into the idiocracy that faith has the ability to propagate rational thought. The other major influence came George Carlin: a firm atheist and someone who made more logical sense than any wackadoodles that preach “God is always right and don’t question him and obey your government as long as it follows bomb the fuck outta the third world good God Christian Conservatism”. Add science and logical thought and I realized that the only thing a “holy” book is good for is toilet paper when you’re out of the good stuff like Charmin. So for the believers here are my list of grievances against religion and dickheads who insist I follow it.

1 . God created the world in 7 days- BULLSHIT!!!!!! How the fuck does any idiot believe that the Earth is only a couple of thousands of years old when geological evidence says otherwise? When modern science proves the Earth is 45 billion years old, how can anyone be brain dead enough to believe an ancient fairytale? Science is not magic, it’s based on repeated experimentation, and observation!!!!

2. Creationism taught is a science- While I do somewhat believe in intelligent design (I do still believe in God), I believe the theory of evolution should be taught as a feasible scientific theory until it’s disproven. Intelligent design and creationism require some sort of believe, the theory of evolution is more scientific and a more sound in explaining the propagation of life.

3. The Ten Commandments- Honestly, 10 fucking suggestions that mostly deal with how to worship God. Forbidding stealing, murder, and not coveting your neighbor’s stuff are great ones. How about thou shall not rape, or thou shall not wage war to take someone’s stuff. Those would be good ones since rape and bombing countries for their oil is a pastime in this country. How about thou shall not be religious and contradict yourself. Hey dad (to my Muslim father): after you’re done yelling at me about how I’m going to hell for speaking  blasphemy. I want to ask you: is the heineken you’re drinking halal? (halal means allowed by God and Muslims can’t drink by religious law)

4. Jesus is be born from a virgin (Mary)-Christians will wage jihad on me for this. I’ll give this credit to Mary: she came up with the best excuses for cheating on her husband at a time a paternity test could not be determined. “God impregnated me. I swear Joseph I have not been fucking any other guys in the village, especially not the African slave boy with the giant black snake. I was a virgin until God stuck his mighty “will” into my cunt.” I’m sure Joseph thought about this long and hard and realized his wife did cheat on him. But rather than lose face; he would go with the story, have some prophetic dream about this child to be named Jesus and he would be the messiah and we’d all be save by him. Who could disprove him? They didn’t have paternity tests back then. That sounds more like a likely story. If it was true, why did God not drop his holy seed elsewhere when man needed more “messiahs”? We could have used them quite a few times during human history. You know why? Because it’s all bullshit, just like like Zeus impregnating all these mortal women and creating all these demigod heroes. Remember Hercules? As for the case of little baby Jesus “God you are not the father”

5. Religion is the source of all morality-Funny!!! To do good just to get into heaven: is it really good for the sake of good, or is good because one is afraid of the other place? I seen more non religious people do more good out of human compassion than in the name of God. Let’s straighten the fuckin record straight: you don’t need religion to learn morals. All that is required for morality is human compassion. You can learn it from good natured religious people and good natured nonreligious people. There are other examples of morality besides a church. Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Robert Wilson, and  Barry Greenstein are some names when you think of nonreligious philanthropists.

6. Religious “Logic”-When I challenged my mother with question “If God wants us to do something, and he has all this power, why doesn’t he just come to Earth, hold a press conference, and tell us all this stuff?” Her response was “That’s not how God works.” To me that’s just a whole load of horse semen, because if God wants something out of us, he can just appear in front of us and then everyone will believe and everyone will be on the same fucking page. That makes logical sense!!!! Religion has none of that. Miracle is another one: God intervenes and subtly influences things so a woman survives a car crash. Now she believes in Christ’s power. If God can do all these great things; why not just end hunger, or make enough of a clean cheap energy source that would make bombing a third world country over it completely useless. That would be a great fucking miracle right there. Once again, no fucking logic on that one either. Why? Because it’s religion: Rules of Logic non applicable here motherfuckers!!!!

7. Hypocrisy of the religious community: Ok this is my biggest peeve and will be longest fucking rant of my points. God is supposed to be an all loving and all merciful. Yet more people have done some fucked up shit in the name of God and other reasons. Does anybody remember the crusades or the Spanish Inquisition? How about the colonization the Western Hemisphere? It was does done by Catholics to spread Jesus’s of love and peace. You know how that fucking went? Shoot, stab, rape, pillage, take gold, take land, and wipeout natives!!! Yeah “how Christian” is that? The other “religious” group decided to ram two planes into the twin powers, and one into the Pentagon. Killing in the name of God is like making war in the name of peace or fucking for virginity. And as if the killing isn’t enough, persecution of “heretics” and the non believers. Whatever happened to Jesus’s message of unconditional love, peace, and tolerance? Look at American Republican politicians: “I’m against gay marriage because it’s against the bible” But Senator what about healing the sick with universal healthcare and feeding the hungry and homeless with the social safety net? That’s something Jesus would do. “Oh fuck those moochers, let them get a job and buy health insurance. If they can’t? Fuck them and let them die.” That’s not very Christian at all, in fact it’s picking and fucking choosing. It is hypocrisy in the worst form. For every Christian against gay marriage: read all of Leviticus and see if you’re following all of it to the letter before you decide Gay bashing is the “good” Christian thing to do. I’m willing to bet, most of you aren’t. It is like Muslim whose bitching about how his son is not being a good by the book Muslim while he drinks a gin and tonic bitching to his hindu friend whose having a hamburger and his Jewish friend having triple bacon cheeseburger on Passover while a Catholic Priest is getting blown by a nun in the next table over.

I will say this, these are my thoughts and opinions. If anyone disagrees with me, that’s their right and I won’t deny them of that right. However, I give zero fucks if anyone feels insulted by my opinion.This is my personal experience, and I have my reasons for skepticism. I’m fine with saying I don’t know or I don’t have all the answers. Once again I believe that there is some higher power, I very much doubt he/she/it  wrote any of the crap people take as dogma. As George Carlin said, “It’s all bullshit folks and it’s bad for you.”

Standing by the worker

Tags

current-events, Politics

Today, the issue of an acceptable treatment of workers is a hot button topic for New Yorker. The idea that minimum wage workers deserving sick days, and a wage that allows them to work one job is an issue at hand. The current state of today’s economy has more and more adults relying on minimum wage labor to pay the bills and provide for their families. However employers are having the same song and dance arguments about paying a living wage (approximately $15-$18 an hour), giving every employee sick days, and a chance to organize into labor unions that they have throughout history. The argument was that any mandatory (insert labor law) would cause businesses to raise prices that would kill business and destroy the economy. Any rational minded individual knows this is in fact a bold faced lie. But to understand this endless battle between worker and employer we have understand where it comes from.

The industrial area brought about modernization and automation. It also brought about the end of apprenticeship and tradesmen. Industrialization let to the creation of the unskilled laborer who worked long hours, for little pay, and under unsafe working conditions. Unions were formed and the fight for workers’ rights and the battle began. The fight began in the US around the 1880s with the birth Knights of Labor, but it was the American Federation of Labor that emerged in 1886 as a union that would last. In the beginning the demands of unions were met with hostility by companies and government. Cops were called to break up strikes, and employers refused to yield to workers’ demands. The 1930s’ New Deal policies favored unions and protected their right to exist. However since 1950s the labor movement decline with the vast majority of the workforce being un-unionized.

As we see the US economy barely recovering, inflation constantly on the rise, everything becoming more expensive, wages staying stagnant, and good jobs becoming hard to come by; we see the demand for fairness and a rebirth in the demand for workers’ rights. As the planned walkout on August 29th is coming close I want to point out a few things for everyone to consider.

Myth: Minimum wage jobs are meant only for teenagers and college students for pocket money, and they are not mean to serve as a wage to live of on.

Fact: Minimum wage was originally meant to be a minimum amount a worker can sell their labor for. It was meant to be a living wage for the bare minimums. It was supposed to be an income that allowed one to support themselves on.

Myth: A living wage law would hurt business by making them increase costs, decrease profits, and would cause the market economy to collapse because business will close their doors.

Fact: These arguments have been before when laws about work place safety laws were proposed, the 40 hour work week, and child safety laws. When people earn enough to buy stuff, businesses prospers. While profit margins may decrease and price rise; these changes would be very minor. The perfect study to prove a good wage does is to compare the workers at Costco vs the Walmart employee. Walmart may pay less and save money by not investing their workers, but Walmart gets a lot less out of their workers. However, Costco invests in their workers and gets more out of them (see chart below. The point is there is nothing but good that would come out of a living wage. It’s not only good for the market economy but also the fair for the worker.

Myth: Anyone who works and has a job (regardless of wage) doesn’t need public assistance.

Fact: While there are very cases of fraud, people who go on public assistance NEED IT. A  good paying job is what gets people of public assistance. Case and point!!!!

 

Myth: Unions destroy business and cause nothing but trouble

Fact: We can thank unions for the 40 hour work week, child labor laws, safe working conditions, and child labor laws. Unions are there to defend workers. Unions were formed because employers exploited employees. Unions are a check on employers and allow fairness in the work place.

Myth: Right to Work Laws bring jobs back to the US and improve the market economy. Right to Work Laws are good for the country

Fact: If this was true; states that have Right to Work Laws would not be in a state of poverty and have record number of people on public assistance. Add in disregard of safety laws and we’re back to the 1800s.  The only beneficiaries of Right to Work laws are companies that make a profit off paying less than minimum wage (which is already pathetic). Point is right to work laws suck!!!

So there you have it. The myths debunked and proof that real bad guys are the greedy businesses that want maximize profits on the backs of underpaid workers. Let’s not fall for the shameless lies of Corporate America and support our fellow workers. We all deserve the same chance to make a reasonable living and human dignity. With that I’ll end this post by urging workers to unite and stand together!!!