I completely agree with the message of Javonnie’s 2018 blog post ‘Should Birth Control Be Free Preventative Care?’ Birth control being covered would be more of a win for everyone involved, the only sacrifice would be lightening wallets that are already heavy. It’s sad and true that people aren’t valued as much as money is. This appears to be a growing problem in a number of ways. It’s known that global warming can easily be making progress if only a small group of 100 known companies found alternative practices. But those rich 100 people don’t care about people they care for their wallet. In another sphere, many of the people in office right now are anti-abortion and also anti-free healthcare. Reality is many people cannot afford having a child (and some of these people also didn’t choose to have sex which resulted in pregnancy). Taking away abortion is an inhumane thing to do-taking away a women's autonomy is wrong.

The NRA is very very wealthy and they’ve got their money pouring into politicians pockets, which is why the USA will probably continue to see violence such as school shootings; kids will keep being violently killed in the ‘‘land of dreams’’ because those in power are getting paid too well to care.  Do you ever wonder why Cigarettes are still being sold, even though it’s widely known how horrible they are for human health? There are absolutely no benefits to smoking cigarettes, but the Tobacco Companies are so incredibly powerful it doesn’t seem to matter.

Its very clear that too much money in the wrong pockets is a dangerous thing for many people. We live in a world in which many are convinced they have no power without a great amount of wealth, they forget that there is power in numbers and the great majority of people can undoubtedly fight against wealthy powerhouses and be victorious.

I think it comes down to this: if the people in power aren’t valuing you (as a human-being), value yourself and fight in anyway you can. Birth control should be free, and it’s 100% a possibility and unfortunately it’s one of the many needs people don’t yet have access to.

Are Women Just Crazy Liars?

I chose this particular topic because lately I keep hearing guys voicing a concern in reference to this and I’d like to address it. This comment usually goes along the lines of, “it makes me afraid to be successful because someone who doesn’t like me just has to accuse me of rape.” I worry the people around me have this view on the matter, because as ridiculous as this concern is, it appears much more common than it should be. The sad truth is that rape victims hardly receive due justice, and people who rape aren't likely to be impacted.

Firstly, women for centuries have been second to men, and undeniably haven’t been taken as seriously. This is everso evident in cases of sexual assault and rape. Women are greatly more likely to be the victim of such crimes and not only that but these crimes are incredibly common. There are many reasons women don’t come forth about their rape or sexual assault. Only recently have the tides begun to change; people are starting to realize rape, and sexual assault are serious problems that aren’t the victims fault. Women who come forth about such abuse are called liars and people grasp for reasons as to why they’re being deceitful. The reality is, there has long been a stigma behind coming out as a victim of such crimes even with evidence in hand to back it up. When a woman is brave enough to begin the discussion the attention of the topic shifts, and moves in a completely inappropriate and often embarrassing direction. This is a huge part of why the #metoo movement has come to fruition. It's not a joke or some lady scam. It’s a way of telling women or any victim of such acts, that its okay to come forth and you aren’t the only one.   

Abuse of power is not uncommon and it’s wonderful to see people standing up and calling it out. Calling out someone’s abuse of power/privilege isn't an ugly tactic, but a valid point in many cases. Unsurprisingly, in Trump's America, justice in such a case isn’t seen through. Mr.GrabHerByThePussy is running our country. The article I’m using is by Haley Sweetland Edwards titled,”The Kavanaugh hearing Showed Why the Myth Of Nice Girls and Tough Guys Persists”, it goes into the gender roles people have long been pressured to fulfill and how both Ford and Kavanaugh both perfectly demonstrated these roles. It's very telling because the date of the alleged rape would have been roughly in the early 1980’s. It’s almost 2019 and many dire issues are only now being widely acknowledged, not accepted. The pressure women have long felt to be accommodating; caving into pleasing everyone even if it results in a lifetime of suffering needs to end. Sexual assault victims are not always women but it greatly skews that way, and it’s not a surprising statistic. We need not behave as if it’s more likely that women are deceitful villains, than victims of horrific acts.

People who have this fear of success because someone might falsely accuse them, are either completely uneducated on the subject at hand or have a strong need to make everything about themselves. I implore any person to listen, and really step into the other person's shoes when discussing an issue that doesn’t affect you as much; if you aren’t in demographic that has a daily struggle or has to go about their lives jumping through hoops due to a certain issue, then listen very carefully to those that do especially if you find yourself disagreeing. So, men, when talking about rape, please be a lot more open and thoughtful than you normally would, especially if you tend to not believe the women who come forth.

Freed For the Love of Weed

I agree with Anna Flores in her 2018 blog post that for numerous reasons, a major one being health, Marijuana should be legalized. Something that I’d like to add to this topic is the important issue of those jailed for Marijuana charges. This demographic also skews black, unsurprisingly. Not because more black people smoke, but because the resources to punish every person caught, was not available so law enforcement had to be more selective. I agree weed should be legalized, but with that we ought to be diligent when it comes to getting those jailed for it -within reason- freed.

If it’s decided that marijuana is not a bad/harmful substance by lawmakers then those jailed for it even when it was illegal should have their sentences lifted. It is not as if when weed is legalized that the substance and its effects drastically change; it’s only that lawmakers changed their minds. People don’t deserve to be criminalized over something such as non-violent Pot related charges, especially if it becomes legal.

It is very bizarre to think that Tobacco/cigarettes are totally legal even though it is widely known how much of a killer it is. Versus Weed, which appears to do more good than harm. Supposedly, given how insanely rich tobacco companies are it gets less bizarre, and a bit more revealing of this society. Personally, I believe in several years, at least, Marijuana will likely become legal nationwide. Tobacco on the other-hand may take longer.

The health benefits of marijuana is something of worthwhile weight to be considered, but as should the recreational aspect of the drug as well. If people get to keep cigarettes for their aesthetic purposes and no health benefits, then it is hard see why Pot cannot be legal. Most importantly, when Marijuana gets legalized it is important not to forget those who were thrown into prison for it. Since, America won’t necessarily free people of their sentences, because of a law change, it’s important that those who are free try to help those in need. It seems some states are on the right track and are creating laws to ensure these people’s rights. It is important that as a country we stay on this track, and keep an eye out for states that legalize in the future, and what they do with those who had been criminalized for it.  

Is Taylor Swift Singled-Handedly Saving America?

No.

The Midterm Elections recently finished and an article that sort of spiked some interest for me was titled, “midterm elections 2018: Do Celebrities Really Influence Voters?” by Taylor-Dior Rumble, and Ian Youngs. Im fascinated by the media. I love movies, television, social media platforms and music. I love looking into when/how/why these things impact the societal psyche. Yes, Government and Politics impact this stuff too, but movies and even youtube videos or vines are the more ‘fun’ portion (for me).
In this article Rumble and Youngs look over the recent past of celebrities getting involved in politics, i.e. Kanye along with referencing a couple of studies surrounding voters and celebrity endorsement. It was concluded that family and friends are much more likely to have an impact than ones favorite celebrity. In my mind, that makes perfect sense given that as humans we have a need to belong, and typically that need isn’t satisfied through a celebrity crush. Not only that, but celebrities aren’t often people to people, they’re an image/ideal. Celebrities exist in people’s lives to entertain them. Family and friends are the foundation of ones life, and will commonly share the same core values, which are what impact one’s political outlook.
The article references Taylor Swifts failed political endorsement and Beyonce’s. (Although, i don't think Beyonce's was a failure, personally. BETO 2020). It was also noted that Taylor got more young people to register for voting, which this article predicted will impact the 2020 election. I think it’s possible celebrity endorsement is impactful, but I think more dire things will impact the polls come 2020.

  

Nazis Not Welcome

70 year old white man has expressed concern for he believes lefts are about ready to start the (violent) civil war against conservatives. In his article  “If we’re Nazis Expect More Violence”,  he hones in only on his own group, and dismisses the Nazi title as an over the top Left label, not at all willing to bring up why this exact title is resurfacing. When in reality after Trump got into office, we’ve seen a rise  in Neo-Nazi’s  and frequently they’re Trump supporters. That alone says so much. Conservatives dominating demographic is old white men, not to say other groups aren’t also conservative. The article was certainly written for conservatives, and potentially those in the middle. But the examples of “Lefts violence against Conservatives” that he provided, and is so concerned about isn’t much compared to the violence other groups have suffered due to Trump's reign.

I- a 19 year old gal- am struggling to take it seriously when a 70 year old guy is talking about Lefts being violent, as if killing the planet, knowingly isn’t a violent act, ripping families apart, forcing children to be separate from their parents isn't a violent act. To be fair, Dennis Prager has one foot in the grave so why would he care about the planet dying? With age in mind he is so distant from childhood he probably has a difficult time sympathizing, not to mention his multiple divorces, so he obviously doesn’t have any issue with separation.

Young people are afraid but determined. It’s frustrating looking at the state of the world that is being left to us. I completely understand the fierceness that is coming out of people now. I’d generally say i'm against violence, especially the examples the article provided, but lately i’ve been finding myself even challenging some of that outlook..

If It Ain't Male &nWhite, It Ain't Right

Recently a piece published by USA today, written by Andrew L Yarrow, and titled, Democrats Are Giving Up On White Men. That’s a Big Mistake. Caught my eye. The author here argues that since Hillary had Michelle Obama, a black female, give a speech alongside having a transgender women speaker, this was a message from the democratic party to white men that they’re “not on our radar”. The entire piece really leans into the idea that white men must be directly acknowledged at every chance or they’ll feel forgotten. Yarrow makes note of the Women's March after Trump and how it wasn’t called ‘a People’s March’. The argument seems to suggest that white men can't care about something if it isn’t glaringly clear it’s about them. Firstly, I’d hope we can afford white men some more credit, and if not that we should at least hold them to a higher expectation. White guys can take a backseat for a second while the long ignored groups can finally receive some attention for some much more dire issues. For many years other groups have had to listen carefully to campaigns with white men as the face of every speaker/speech giver. Yarrow, a white man, argues that the democratic party needs to be the voice of all people especially including white men. What he seems to be missing is that the democratic party is finally handing the mic to other groups, and white men need not get so angry over it, and instead try to understand how simply shining light on another group isn’t the same as taking away your groups voice.  

    

A bright Spot in a Seemingly Never Ending Storm

 There’s been a lot of doom and gloom in the news lately, and there hasn’t been signs of it slowing down anytime soon. On October 10th 2018 the Los Angeles Times published an article by Colleen Shalby titled, A Record Number of Women Are Running for Office This Election Cycle They Didn’t Wait For An Invite . This is a great and informative piece that reveals a small bright spot opening up within these rather stormy current events.

It’s a revitalizing read that details how women are breaking the traditional campaign model where political parties seek out their (typically male) candidates, by simply running without having to be asked. As a result we are seeing record numbers of women running for office, and succeeding. This historical change gained substantial momentum in 2016 and the greatest numbers thus far, have been reported this year.

About Me

Online Quiz 1 Result: I got Disaffected Democrat.
Civic Literacy Quiz: I got 7/10, so it ranked me as a Tribune
Current Events Quiz: I got 6/10

My view of politics is probably undergoing a transformation at the moment. I'm unsure if it's big or small. I used to go through life avoiding politics. Many people around me growing up sounded uninterested, so I followed their course of action -none. Looking back, I know I had interest in politics and government, but much of what I'd found was incredibly disheartening, and frankly made me sad. Ignorance is bliss, so that has somewhat been my approach to politics. I'd say I'm vaguely aware of a few things, but for the most part I've avoided political matters. Im taking this class for credit, but these are interesting times we are in and I'm ready to learn a thing or two that may help me understand it all better.

WELCOME TO MY GOVERNMENT BLOG!