Weiner: Keeping It Real

Just for the record, the man's got my vote until proven otherwise.

TREASON

Here is the Bing Dictionary definition of treason:

1. 

betrayal of country: a violation of the allegiance owed by somebody to his or her own country, e.g. by aiding an enemy.
See also  high treason

2. 

treachery: betrayal or disloyalty

3. 

act of betrayal: an act of betrayal or disloyalty

 

So at a townhall meeting (breeding grounds for hatemongering these days), when someone asked Rep. Paul Broun (R - GA) "Who is going to shoot Obama?", that person showed right there "an act of betrayal or disloyalty" to the United States.  The appropriate course of action for Rep. Broun would be to harshly condemn those words and even the thought of assassinating our President.  (And no one can say with a clean conscience that it was "only a joke" because killing is never a laughing matter.)  Therefore because Rep. Broun did not denounce this behavior, one could say he was "aiding an enemy," and would thus be guilty of treason as well.

 

I did not and do not like George W Bush.  I think his policies have ruined our economic status here at home, and our credibility around the world.  I think he got us into two unneeded wars, costing the lives of thousands of Americans and countless civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.  But I would never, ever suggest someone shoot him.  Ever.

 

People, we are American because we are better than this.  We have to grow up.  We have to stop breeding hate.  We need to stop all this treasonous talk and behavior.  And we need to do that now.

Marriage is Marriage

Former conservative Senator Rick Santorum just recently said that House Speaker John Boehner should do whatever he can to uphold DOMA, which is the Defense of Marriage Act.  This law, predictably and decidedly cliche, says that states and the federal government have the right to ignore same-sex marriages from other states if they so choose.  In other words, gays and lesbians have no right to be married.

Now Boehner was once quoted as saying this about marriage, "And that is why marriage and family law has emphasized the importance of marriage as the foundation of family, addressing the needs of children in the most positive way. "

So with that being said, do you know what's destroying this country?  What's causing our students to fail at alarming rates?  What's contributed to over 2 million people being behind bars?  To an alarming rate of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases?  (I'll give you a hint, it's not homosexuality.)  And God help me, for once I agree with John Boehner; what's destroying this country is a lack of a two-parent household - a lack of married couples.

But here's the deal: there is no definitive evidence that shows to address "the needs of children in the most positive way," that this marriage has to be between a man and a woman.  Kids are failing and dropping out not because their parents are gay, but because there is only one parent in the household.  Having two parents raising the children, whether it be two men, two women, or a man and a woman, is the only way to ensure our children have a fair shot at a successful future.

Homosexuality isn't destroying the "moral fabric" of America; sex, greed, materialism, consumerism, drugs, alcohol, and under-education are destroying America.  So before Boehner goes defending the Defense of Marriage Act, he should instead defend the institution of marriage itself - no matter who is involved.

Torture Case Dismissed (due to lack of backbone)

     If judges in the past refused to hear cases because they were worried about causing “an international spectacle,” evolution could not be taught in schools, criminals would have no right to legal counsel, and separate but equal would still be the norm.  But when faced with a case involving torture – an extremely important case – that is all U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel is concerned about.

     Jose Padilla, a man convicted of plotting terrorism, alleged that he was repeatedly tortured right here at the Charleston Naval Consolidated Brig, but Judge Gergel said the man had no constitutional right to sue, even though Padilla is a U.S. citizen.  Furthermore, he did not want to hear the case because it would mean “America’s present and former leaders” would have to testify.

     If no wrongdoing occurred, the judge should hear the case and only then should the case be dismissed.  However if there is evidence of criminal wrongdoing on the part of the brig, these issues must be addressed.  Judge Gergel, precedent is meant to be set in the courthouse, but by refusing to hear this case, you are setting the precedent that potential cases of significant importance will not be heard if they might damage the reputations of top government officials.

Let's Make Prison Work

Right now there are over two million U.S. citizens somewhere in our correctional system.  This is a profound waste of time, money, and human power.  Billions and billions of dollars are spent each year on detention center, and what is the end result?  Once released, many inmates find themselves right back in a cell a short time later.  So what can we do to fix this problem?

1)  Obviously the first step to empty out the prisons and detention centers is to stop sending people there.  How do we do this?  It is necessary to thinks of the top factors that may lead to someone being incarcerated.  Undoubtedly education level and socioeconomic status would be near the top of that list.  This may seem like a no-brainer, but Americans are terribly under-educated right now.  More focus needs to be put on good quality education by parents, the community, and the government.  Parents need to be #1 though.  Budget cuts that target education would be a terrible mistake right now; in fact education needs a raise.  Socioeconomic status may also seem obvious, but when someone has no choice but to tearn to crime in order to survive, that's what they will do.  More job opportunities need to be given to minorities, urban areas, and lower-income Americans.  And of course this goes right back to education.  On a related note: winning a war on drugs is just about as feasible as winning a war in Vietnam or Afghanistan, but the focus should always be to give Americans more reasons NOT to use drugs.
2)  People are spending too long incarcerated.  Surely those convicted of violent crimes are right where they belong, so not much can be done about that population.  However, those convicted of non-violent crimes are wasting too much of their lives and too much of our money sitting in prison.  Programs need to be set up to get these folks back out into the community much sooner.  "Good behavior," in my opinion however is not enough.  Those convicted of non-violent crimes need to be out in the communities helping to revitalize those communities.  I am talking way more than highway cleanup here.  Those convicted of non-violent crimes need to be painting buildings, cleaning graffiti, cleaning the streets - things that will make the community look good again.  This will have a two-fold effect: not only will it give the inmates a sense of purpose and community involvement, but it will help to raise land values in these areas, bring businesses back to these areas, and reduce the crime rate.  And this goes back to improving our socioeconomic status as mentioned in paragraph one.
3)  Stop sending people back to prison.  Recidivism is unusually high in this country, at that is because when someone gets out of prison, they usually don't have much choice but to go back to their former life.  While in prison, much more focus needs to be put on rehabilitation and counseling, and along with that, job skills.  I would also be very much in favor of giving tax breaks to companies who are willing to partner with the correctional system to hire these folks after they are released.  In fact, I would be in favor of companies letting the prisons know exactly what skills they require, and helping the inmates to learn these skills.  This will help ensure that they see that there is something better than a life of crime when they get back to the real world.

I believe these are just some of the steps needed to help make prisons an asset, not a burden.

FDR's Second Bill of Rights

Just came across this.  You think maybe this idea has merit?

FDR's Second Bill of Rights

Alternate Realities: My Federal Budget

As a huge comic book and science fiction fan, one of the greatest storylines I enjoy is that of an alternate reality, a "What If?" story, if you will.  These stories are designed to make you think about how things might be if just one event in history was changed.  For example, what if Hitler was killed as a child?  What if JFK had not been assassinated?  You get the idea.

So for my first trek into alternate realities, I am going to write the federal budget.  And I am only going to make one small change.  I am going to take my pencil, erase where it says "national defense," and write in "education," and I'll do the same for "education," and write in "national defense."  Just one small adjustment right?  To see what kind of an impact that might have, first you need to see the way the budget is now:

2011 Federal Budget Proposal

As you can see, before my small change, national defense racked up $738 BILLION.  Education racked up an impressive $122 billion.  But not things are different.  Now education will be getting the big bucks.  So what do you think would happen with $738 billion a year?  (Please feel free to post and add on to this list if I forget something:

1) Teachers would get paid what they DESERVE
2) Classes would not be oversized
3) Computers with internet access would be in every classroom
4) Every child would be afforded the opportunity of higher education, regardless of race, gender, or socio-economic status
5) Schools would not be falling apart
6) Americans would once again fall in love with science, art, theater
7) America would once again be competitive around the world economically and technologically
8) Prisons would be much emptier, and small businesses would be much more abundant
9) Inner-city communities would be revitalized like never before
10-250) I'm sure I'm missing - please help me out here

Now the flip side.  This world would be unrealistic because now we are only spending a fraction of what we were on national defense.  What would happen to our military?

1) The size of our military would only be a fraction of its current sizes
2) Many good people would not be able to get a job in the military
3) Bases would have to close around the world
4) We would have many less ships, planes, and tanks
5) We could not afford to keep fighting the War on Terror

But wait, I guess I can think of a few more benefits.

1) We wouldn't need as many jobs in the military because of how many private sector jobs would be available
2) We wouldn't need to fight in so many wars because we would have much smarter diplomats
3) We wouldn't need to worry about so many attacks from other countries because we would have destroyed ignorance

So, do I really think this is possible?  Not any time soon, but hey, food for thought right?