A True Eye Opener

November 30th 2012, Hill Country Politics wrote a touching post about Christmas shopping. The article was well presented and opened my eye to a reality I was completely unaware of this holiday season. The author writes in an unbias way and simply states if Americans bought their gifts from made in America shops then America would have 200,000 more jobs.

I know when I am Christmas, birthday, anniversary shopping I honestly do not look at the made in ... tag. The way the author of this post sheds light on the situation really makes you stop and think, hmm am I one of those shoppers. As Americans we sit here and complain that there are  not enough jobs and unemployment rates are so high. Yet how many people are even aware that this could be solved by buying products made by our own people.

I would give the author a grade of A, I have never been so intrigued by a simple article. As I continue my Christmas shopping I will be aware of the products I am buying and the people I am buying from. This article will make me stop and think could i find this product at a local shop. Maybe I can even make the gift more personal. I mean thats what Christmas is about right not the gift but the love and though t that goes into it.

Dollar Dollar Bill Y'all....Or Not

The first dollar bill was issued in 1862 over 100 years ago could the dollar bill eventually be non-existent. According to US News it could. The government is taking serious consideration into changing the dollar bill to a dollar coin. Claiming this could save 4.4 billion dollars over 30 years.

At first I thought that does not make sense, a dollar is still a dollar. None the less I continued reading the article. Switching the dollar bill to a dollar coin would save 4.4 billion due to life span of each piece. The dollar bills average life span is 4.7 years where as the coin last at least 30. This could change the economy. Imagine if the government did not have to reprint millions of dollars every 4.7 years. There are draw backs however; dollar bills are much more convenient to carry than coins. But, people tend to save change so the one dollar coin will go to a "piggy bank" rather than a soda, we do not need.

 Other draw backs would be the transition period, making all the coins to start circulating the economy would be very costly. But eventually, the savings would outweigh the transition costs. If the US did switch to one dollar coins we would have a currency system similar to Europe and Canada.

 I think it’s a great idea for the government to make the switch. President Obama did well at pulling us out of the recession; however it did put the US economy in some pretty high debt. I feel at this point in time we should try something new to stimulate some profit in the US banking systems.

Obamacare- and a personal opinion review

On Friday, November 2, 2012 Hill Country Politics wrote a personal story that expressed his/ her opinion on Obamacare.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion and they explain theirs in an unbiased way. The author of this article simply states I would rather pay for my healthcare with cash than be forced to see one specified doctor. The author is very clean with the statements they made. What backs up their argument is they are using personal reference. This topic is something that has affected him/her. I would give this post a grade of a B because though they referenced their opinion, there was lack of support. I work in the medical field and have amazing insurance, not that every body is offered this, I can see any doctor within the plan, which is a choice of like 500, and I pay minimum premium every other week. I am still unsure about Obamacare I would like to think that everyone can have insurance but at the same time should you be forced to have it? Most insurance companies have extremely high premiums that people just can not afford, so people do not hold it. Or people like the author who wish to have no insurance and do cash pay will. If Obamacare is passed they might not have this freedom anymore. Unfortunately, there are people who can not afford health insurance or cash pay for office visits so they go to the hospitals which is about 1000 for an ER visit. Then they leave the ER and the hospital gets stuck with a bill that nobody is going to pay. There is still work to be done on Obamacare and who knows what the future holds. I hope everyone can get affordable insurance but of their choice, not because there is a law that is forcing them to, maybe then the healthcare provided to the people will improve!

A Continued Rant

On Thursday, October 18th I wrote about an article talking about same sex marriage. The article mentions this year during election season same sex marriage will be some of the 50 states ballots including Maryland. If you would like to read more on that article you can find the link in my previous post. I will however go into more detail on my opinion for same sex marriage and the thoughts our government has toward it.

Same sex marriage seems to be a touchy subject here in the United States of America. In ways I understand why, especially for people who have strong religious affiliation. It is not in the bible, and it is not the way things are "supposed" to be. Marriage is "supposed" to be the joining of a male and female in holy matrimony. However, times have changed and if two people of the same sex want to marry they should have the freedom to do so. I understand why people might have a problem with this happening in a church, but there are other ways to get married. They can get married in a court house, justice of the peace, they can even have a wedding at a venue and have the justice of the peace marry them rather than and priest, father, or pastor.

President Obama seems to be open to the idea that "gay is ok". According to the Washington post in 2012 Obama pushed to lift the ban on gays serving openly in the military, undoing the don't ask/ don't tell policy put in place by the last democratic president. President Obama had a slow evolution to same sex marriage and came out in support. He encouraged Maryland, Maine and Washington to allow same-sex marriage and this year it will be on the ballots. He also urged some states to vote against marriage prohibition.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney according the Washington Post has not brought up the topic in his conventions, campaign trail or debates. However, according to 2012 Republican Candidates Romney is not open to the idea of same sex marriage. He states marriage is an institution between a man and woman. He does say though that basic civil rights and appropriate benefit should be available to people in non-traditional relationships.

I have a feeling that over the next few years same sex marriage will become a popular topic of discussion and that more states will be allowing same sex marriage. Though I am typically very conservative in my ideology same sex marriage is a topic where I swing the other way and look forward to living in place where people can marry no matter who their partner is.

Same sex marriage yay, ne, or no say?

Thursaday, October 18th, 2012, Jon Walker wrote an article on marriage equality in Maryland. This year same sex marriage is going to be on many states' ballots.Washington state who had a preliminary poll with 55 percent states yes to same sex marriage and only 40 percent say no. And also Maine was mentioned in the article 52% yes and 44% said no Jon writes about how Washington Post asks people "Q: (AMONG LIKELY VOTERS) As you may know, Question 6 on the state ballot is the ‘Civil Marriage Protection Act’. If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no on Question 6?  Yes 52% No 43% No opinion 5%." Jon then goes on to say though the prelimanary poll is in the favor of same-sex marriage it means nothing, other polls have been suggested to lose and in the actual time of vote they win!

Though, the article is not very detailed the writer seems unbias on the topic which is very professional. I am however, going to go a little more into the gut of the topic. I think it is a great step for our country that same sex marriage is now becoming a semi acceptable topic. The topic reminds  me of President Wilson's term when he discusses womens right to vote. He refused to support a bill for womens right to vote and claimed it was a state matter not a federal one. I saw a photo once that said what would happen if same sex people were to marry...it was a pie chart and the whole chart was blue and below it said blue- gay people will be married, grey- a third world war would break out, pink- we would have an eruption of plagues...but the graph was all blue so truth is would anything change? More and more states are adding same sex marriage to the ballots this year. Including, . If the same question showed up on your ballot what would you check yay, ne, or no say?

A Matter of Religion

October 2, 2012, Ben Stein writes Mitt Romney’s Mormonism is a ‘worry’. Ben Stein argues Mitt Romney is a mystery man that we know nothing about. He expresses his concerns with GOP presidential candidate that we do not know where he stands as far as being liberal, conservative, what he stands for. Although, in this article Stein's  biggest concern is what does it mean that Mitt Romney is a mormon. In the article he states that last thing is a concern for me "I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormons are honest and fantastically patriotic and hard working. But what does it mean to believe in Mormonism? A close friend said she could not vote for him although she is a Republican because, she said, ‘Mormons are not Christians. …’” At the end of the article Stein writes a strong remark if Mitt Romney "can not define what he believes in maybe he should not have been a nominee in the first place."

Maybe it is my lack of political knowledge, or understanding, but to judge someone based on their religion is unethical. His religion does not represent what kind of candidate he is. As Americans we are granted many freedoms. Freedom of religion is included in those rights. There is no "right" religion in America. We are the melting pot culture of the world. Stein has a right to not vote for Romney due to his religion as that is something he believes in. But, to say that Romney should not have been nominated since he has not defined his mormonism seems unfair and has nothing to do with his political standings. So unless Romney is bringing religion into is political debates, his religion should not have to be defined to become President of the U.S.A.

"Move Over"

Tuesday, September 19th, 2012 Kxan reports law enforcement is going to become stricter with the "move over law" that was passed in 2003. This law requires people to slow down 20mph below posted speed limit or to move to over into the next lane. The article states that many people just drive by thinking that the cop will not be able to pull them over since he is occupied writing a citation, but those people need to think again! Law enforcement officials are going to buddy up and catch the culprits breaking this law.

In my opinion, why wouldn't you slow down or slip into the next lane. It's dangerous speeding past  someone, especially since the shoulders are not very wide to begin with. People are claiming they did not know about the law, but even so if you did not know about it it is still a common courtesy to slow down. How would they feel if they were standing next to their car and all of a sudden someone drives past them going 70mph. I can only imagine it is a very scary feeling.

As someone who always slows down, I do hope that the law enforcement officials get stricter with pulling people over who break this law. It will make it a safer driving journey for everyone.

The article can be found at: http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/austin/apd-to-target-move-over-law-violators