Jibjab the news

I tried to read the news yesterday, and I almost threw up.

MSN, Yahoo, Fox, Huffington Post, and even local news was a complete wash! All the stories were about storms, drama in basketball, celebrity babies, new cooking fads, and Sara Palin. It was almost like the real world didn't exist!

Does everyone know that we have had troops deployed to Jordan for the past year? Originally sent to bolster Jordan's troops against the conflict in Syria, they are now also training Iraqi soldiers in counter terrorism and we are supplying them with weaponry. Didn't the US do that once before? And didn't that lead to our soldiers getting shot by weapons the we sold to the other side?

What about Ukraine? Did anyone keep following that after Crimea voted to be part of Russia...not that I have found. I have to go to BBC.com and guess what? It is always one of their top stories! But nowhere to be found in our news media except in the other news sections at the bottom of the pages! The entire eastern region of Ukraine is in turmoil between pro-Russian factions and pro-Ukranian demonstrators, and getting more mand more dangerous by the day because of Russian propaganda, and militant groups. By the way, did you know that we sent troops to Europe too?

And then there's good old Korea. The south is experiencing the resignation of the PM over a sunken ferry that killed many of the 476 students and teachers on board. And the north is conducting live fire drills, and may be ramping up to a nuclear test despite UN objections!

And yet none of this is in news media rotation.

In talking to friends about the lack of news reported on "the news", I was referred to this video on YouTube:

At first I was amused, as it pretty much coincided with what I had found in the news. Then I realized that it wasn't really all that funny. Someone actually put this together, admittedly as a jab to mostly conservative media stations, and it has thousands of views. People are openly mocking our news circuits.

Do people realize, I wonder, how much of a laughing stock we must appear to other countries when what a bigoted man said to his girlfriend is top billing on our news programs? Or when we are more concerned with the release of the cast information for the new Star Wars film, than we are about our President saying we have an "ironclad" agreement with the Phillipines to defend them and their sovereignty from Chinese interest in outlying islands?

How foolish we must look. How sad.

...Nature girl

A Dynasty of Crafts

Duck Dynasty and Hobby Lobby...that is supposedly current events...so sad.

That being said, the fact that everyone seems to be talking about one or the other (sometimes both), made me actually go and read multiple articles on both topics.

Hobby Lobby vs Obamacare (this has been going on for a while)

I am very split on this issue, but if I am objective it isn't really an issue, there is a very simple solution. Can a corporation entity claim the rights of an individual? Even from my hands off Libertarian stance I can't make that one work. Corporations employ thousands, and sometimes hundreds of thousands of people of different creeds.  Religion cannot dictate hiring OR firing practices so why should it be able to dictate health care...even poorly designed government health care.

Companies can be founded and run on deeply religious ethics (Chick fil A, In and Out, and Hobby Lobby) but you cannot affect the employees choices because of the founding ethics of the company. It infringes on the personal liberties of the individual and their ability to determine their own plan of care.

I am deeply faithful, and happen to support the Green's (Hobby Lobby's founding family) assessment that the morning after pill and some kinds of IUD's are actually abortion methods, but that is a personal belief. I would never propose a mandate that would define another person's right to make decisions about their care.

There are a few good articles about this issue if you want to read up on it, here are the links
CNN
Huffington Post
LA times

Moving on...

Duck Dynasty...really?!

In this day of reality TV, are we really surprised that some old redneck said something racial or inappropriate? That's what you get A&E! If you put opinionated people out there, they are going to spew their opinions...whatever they may be...all over the screen or page.

This isn't an important political figure, royalty, or even a charity worker! He's an old man, with old school values and no filter on his speech. He has a right to say whatever he wants to whoever he wants. And they have a choice to print it, film it, agree with it, or disagree with it! GQ printed an article, because they knew it would cause a stir, or because they agreed with it, doesn't matter what the reason they printed it...and yet Phil is getting lambasted.

This is not a story, get over it and move on, the man's too old to change now, and he's just living his life....agree or disagree and get on with life.

I am continually surprised by what gets the focus in social media and the news, you want to know what is really going on in the world around us? Check these two out, and tell me what is REALLY important.

BBC- Human species find
CNN- Surveillance program

...Nature girl

Current events

Sept. 07, 2013

Today I have a lot of writing to do, which is a little funny to me because I had paperwork up the wazoo yesterday!  It seems that this is my lot right now.

Settling in to my new job has been stressful, it is completely different that what my heart tells me to do! It is meticulous, repetitive and rigid.  Saying that, it also gives me a time to research, take care of things from the move and get us a little closer to being settled in this new environment. It also let's me write.

Right now I find that I am very distressed about our political foreign policies.  If you know me, you know I am NOT a politico.  I want to be left alone in my garden, loving people the way I was taught to, and enjoying life...barefoot if possible.  But I firmly believe that we the people of this great country are being voted in to a war that the populace wants no part of.

Today I decided, after reading a message from a friend, that I would drag myself away from my hippie non-involvement and try to frame what has upset me so much.  I sincerely feel that you cannot judge another for ANYTHING, before you are above reproach.  Since that is an impossibility, no one person is perfect, and certainly no government is either, we need to "take care of our own house" before laying waste to someone else's.

The US has been at war since Sept. 11th, 2001, I was 21.  I am now 32 and think of Sept. 11th like many may think of Pearl Harbor Day.  It was the start of a  change from peacetime to war, a total shift from how life had been the day before to how life will be going forward.  I deeply and intrinsically object to the idea that war will be a part of my life that I cannot change going forward.  

I reject the idea that in this great nation I can't say NO to a decision to start a new conflict on a passionate appeal with little factual evidence of responsibility.  I will not blithely accept that my one day children will be born into a citizenship of war.  What I want for my children, my nieces and nephews, and my friend's children is not to grow up hearing about a new conflict, a new obligation for our troops, or status on the current deployments!

My young life was peaceful with shocking points of tragedy; the Challenger disaster, Desert Storm, 9/11 - and removed tragedies like hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. Up until 9/11 life went back to normal after each shock. 

I don't want my life and the lives of our children to have a lifetime of battle with moments of peace.

The pattern our government is developing is a dangerous one.  One where instead of the security and prosperity of it's own people, it is more concerned with the "rightness", and responsibility of other nations.  The government has a duty to it's people, to keep them safe and secure, and to uphold international laws with that same thought in mind.  

I guess that means that I don't feel safe, I don't feel secure, I don't feel obligated to go charging in to a situation without the support of allies and without the assurances of who is responsible for this atrocity on civilian life.  We are not, as a nation, obligated to be the "bad guy" and "discipline" another country for how it cares for OR abuses it's people.

People are tired, over-extended, out of work, and emotionally beat down... I see it every day.  A new conflict out in the world will not help that, but staying out of it, CARING for each other, nurturing OUR economy, and cutting waste from government as a gardener pulls weeds (no matter how pretty) from the earth... that just might help.

...Nature girl