John Legend's Oscar speech 2015 and why he's wrong.

     Many of us watched the Oscar's last night, and myself included mainly because there was nothing else on.  It was going ok, keep in mind award shows bore me to tears, until the performance of "Glory."  That was a beautiful song, minus some of the rapping by Common.  Once they went up to accept the award my opinion of Legend changed a bit; after all I was thrilled about his comments regarding Kayne West's remarks about Beck from the Grammy's.  Here is a transcript of his acceptance speech from this year's Oscars:
     Thank you. Nina Simone said it’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times in which we live. We wrote this song for a film that was based on events that were 50 years ago, but we say Selma is now, because the struggle for justice is right now. We know that the voting rights, the act that they fought for 50 years ago is being compromised right now in this country today. We know that right now the struggle for freedom and justice is real. We live in the most incarcerated country in the world. There are more black men under correctional control today than were under slavery in 1850. When people are marching with our song, we want to tell you that we are with you, we see you, we love you, and march on.
     I'm not going to comment about any kind of struggle, because there isn't one of the magnitude going on today that happened when MLK was alive and fighting the good fight for equal rights.  I'm sure that if MLK were alive to hear that, he would have been insulted beyond comprehension.  On a side note, however, were any of MLK's family in attendance last night?  I actually remember there being a little hustle and bustle because MLK's speeches were licensed to ANOTHER project and not this one.  Interesting, right?
     The sentence where he said that voting rights fought for in the past are now being compromised..... THAT had me seeing red.  Explain that to me Mr. Legend.  How is that even remotely possible when the past few presidential elections have seen RECORD breaking numbers of African Americans voting?  How is it even possible when there are, and were, people on both sides of the aisle setting up places in various locations to help aid in the registering of people to vote?  There were celebrities getting the word out as well to make sure people registered to vote.  I stood in lines for both elections and did not see anyone of any ethnicity being discouraged to vote.  I ask of you to not insult my intelligence and that of the American people in spreading those lies.  If requiring someone to hold an ID to vote is "compromising" the system, then I ask of you and other people who share your view points, to allow people into the White House with no ID or background check.  Allow people at your concerts to have alcohol just based on their good merit of saying they are of legal age.  Please, let's try that. 
     This whole thing about more African American people in jail today then there were slaves... well, now.  How do I even begin to say that there are choices we all make?  I, for example, choose to obey the law.  I choose to not speed, to pay my bills with legally obtained funds.  I choose to not dabble in drugs, I choose not to murder animals with illegal fighting rings, or any other kind of activity that is declared illegal by state and federal law.  I do this every single day because I do not want to have my freedom taken away from me and I want to be able to have the choice to lay out my destiny.  If people are in jail, more than likely they broke the law.  Please note that I do know our justice system is imperfect and there people in there who are innocent.  The vast majority of them in there though, they did it to themselves because they choose to act and/or do certain things that put them there. 
     If you really want to get to the heart of it, look at some of the other entertainers you associate yourself with.  Most allegedly do drugs, or have sold drugs, brag about it.  Most have expensive cars that they claim to drive after drinking and again brag about it through their music or random interviews. Some vandalize hotel rooms or other properties that are not their own and, yes, get away with it.  Why is this?  Well, these celebrities have highly paid defense attorneys that can get them off with lax community service or nothing at all.  Are these consequences rapped about to these young impressionable youths?  NO.  All these kids see are these celebrities wildly partying with all kinds of drugs at their disposal and being filthy rich for doing something that doesn't require any book smarts, or the most part, and they want to emulate what they see.  It's really that simple.  Everyone desires wealth and fame, and the entertainment field is seen as easy street for these kids who are their fans.
      What I think makes me most upset is that there are people who will blindly agree with him without knowing the facts of what is happening in this nation right now.  While these rappers and entertainers are calling for hands up, they have not once called on all of the violent protesters and rioters to stop.  I'm sure none of these entertainers would pass up the revenue of one of their concert tickets or album so their fans could study and/or buy a literary novel classic.  No, what was said was a response that would have been fitting during MLK's day.  Perhaps they never left the movie set in their minds and remained in the times of MLK. 

Let's Chip Away

     Social program spending in the US are out of control.  Our large deficit, currently, is due to social programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, food stamps, welfare, and with the growing amount of people unable to find work in today's economy, it's likely to continue to rise.  Nearly 50% of our federal budget goes to entitlement programs, and that's not counting all of the wasteful spending we know happens on Capitol Hill.  These are very scary times right now, in terms of everything going on and outside of our boarders.  One would think the easiest thing to do would be to come up with a balanced budget, after-all it's what we do at our homes every single day.  I have heard of states doing so and some even being able to carry surpluses, so why is it such a novel idea to ask congress to do the same is beyond my comprehension.      
     With taxes having been increased since Obama took office, since that is Democratic answer to every monetary problem we face nationally, we are facing a challenging road ahead.  We are spending more than we are bringing in, and there has not been any evidence showing any improvement in the near future.  Should we not demand that congress take this just as seriously as they do baseball players taking steroids? My rational thought would be to take a closer look at social programs and see where we can slim down the unnecessary spending.  In today's modern times we are becoming a nation built around a mentality of, "what have you given me lately" kind of crowd or "I shouldn't have to pay for this" kind of people.  There is a huge lack of responsibility not being taught to our youth.  For every action you make, there are going to be consequences.  Some of those consequences will be rewarding, while others will be costly.  Those that are costly should not be placed on the burden of other American's trying to make their own way.  
     I'm sure you've seen the countless videos online of welfare recipients who we saying that they have never worked a day in their life, and they don't plan to, because they are having all of their needs taken care of by the government.  Day after day you hear from families in your neighborhood who need to go on food stamps because they have lost their jobs due to businesses bringing job forces oversees due to the ObamaCare law.  As one of the more advanced nations on this planet, we have more people on food stamps than North Korea, Canada and Kenya.  What's more upsetting is that if we continue down this path, there will be more people becoming wholly dependent on government to supply them with their day to day needs.  Welfare and food stamps were originated due to the Great Depression and were not ever intended to be a means by which people live, only something to use as a stepping stone.  Sadly that is not what is happening, and what's more is the current administration is proud of the levels of people becoming more dependent on government handouts. As someone who wakes up 5 days out of the week, and leaves their family for 8 hours or more a day, why not require nation wide drug testing?  Why this is even a hotly debated topic is beyond me.  IF the people on this government program cannot find a job, then let's find something for them to do.  Community service would be a place to start, should they not be able to find a job in a given period of time.  This attitude of some that have been living on welfare for an extended period of time need to be required to do something to earn the money that others are taxed.
     We need to examine all government programs and our ever increasing spending debt ceiling in the upcoming years, as more of the baby boomer generation is set to retire.  While finding a real solution to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is more difficult than it appears, it is really important for those of us paying into the system to have it fully available once we reach retirement.  There needs to be a discussion on the lawmakers on Capitol Hill and their earnings, and those who are in the government sector that make unnecessary bonuses.  Perhaps if we chip away at the over used stepping stone programs, and over paid Congressmen, then we could perhaps rid the economy of the ever present weight to our nation's debt. 
    
    

The War on Men

     For months now there has been a lie circulating that there is a war on women.  This supposed "war" mainly circles around abortions, abortion funding and contraception.  To which I say, please stop insulting me as a woman and think that these things are the only issues I care about.  As far as I am concerned, women need to care more about the economy and/
or education than whether or not they will be able to have access to an abortion clinic.  No, I think it is time to acknowledge what is really happening with this war on women, it's really masking a national war on men.
     The news broke that Columbia University is now requiring all students to attend a rape workshop in order to graduate or to be able to register for classes.  While maybe some need a reminder that non-consensual sex is deplorable act, it's odd that the all women's college affiliated with Columbia, Barnard College, is not required to take part in the same classes.  Now why would that be?  Any time an affiliated business should have a new policy, it is usually implicated across the board.  Even business franchise's aren't exempt from a new policy, so what can we gather from this?  I gather that this policy is implemented on Columbia's campus in order to target the male students because their administration gathers that their male students do not know any self control and think that rape is on the fore front of their minds every day.  Perhaps Columbia would like to have all of its campuses and affiliates to have nothing but females students to lessen the risk of rape?  Another story from the UVA campus where female sorority students were asked to shy away from frat parties during the "men's bid night" for their safety and well-being.  These stories show that college males are biologically inclined to rape at any given time because they have no sense of knowing right or wrong.  It also shows that women need to lock themselves in a safe house and arm themselves with poetry to be protected from the dangers of a society breeding rapists. 
     Body acceptance now is a big topic that is being thrown around women.  Self-esteem building of knowing that no matter your shape and size you're perfect, and not to compare yourself to super models or to those on the big screen.  Again, a great point that needs to be said, but what about when it comes to men?  I think that the emergence of the "metro-sexual" male is where we need to examine the beginning of the trend to empower men to not only embrace their femininity but to ditch the things that traditionally made them men.  There seems to be more of a push to forget the traditional male role models of men like John Wayne for a man who has an intensive moisturizing regime and no body hair.  And it's this type of body image that is being accepted and prided.  Women wanting men to be female versions of themselves, trying to change a man to fit into the mold they want.  Why can't we as a society want a man to be a man?  Why are we all about a woman being natural, but men have to change themselves?  Now the new trend is for a man to have a beard.  Ugh, insert eye roll here.  If we are preaching body acceptance for women, we should do the same for men.  After all feminism is all about equality, right?
     There is no doubt that there was a time in which men were abusive and all authoritative of power.  Women were without question viewed as a subservient piece of property, and women like Susan B. Anthony were a huge part in women's suffrage, but I challenge anyone to tell me that she would approve of today's anti-male feminist.  It's ok for a woman to want to cook for her husband or significant other, just because a woman does that does not mean she has thrown away all the rights others have fought for.  It's that kind of mentality that has women across the country saying they do not adhere to the feminist ideology.  Cooking and cleaning, whether it be for a man or not, does not ruin progress nor does it show a lack of strength in the woman.
     Instead of seeking equality, we are witnessing a movement where men are being demonized.  Television commercials consistently portray men as morons who could not function unless there were women around to rescue them.  Just because there is testosterone flowing throughout their bodies does not mean men are seeking to rape and subjugate a woman.  This type of mentality is damning.  There is nothing wrong with letting men be men, most of whom are an intelligent species, and just because men are men does not mean they are wired to rape. 
      

    

Global Warming, NO wait! Climate Change. What DO We Do?

     Being a member of the human species in today's world is hard.  You're being pulled in every different direction: from your health, to work, to education, money woes, safety.... Yikes.  It's a wonder we're all still here with all the stresses we put on ourselves daily.  Now comes reports about Global Warming... no, now it's climate change and how it's all our fault and we're just bad, evil people.  NO stress there, right?
     Al Gore was one of the first "whistle blowers" on this subject.  His documentary,  An Inconvenient Truth, is a bible to those who tout the undeniable "evidence" of global warming/climate change.  In this documentary, Gore presents that CO2 levels have a direct correlation with the rising of sea levels, hotter summers, and decline in the arctic ice.  Scary, scary stuff.   One of his pet projects to come from this documentary was the Kyoto Protocol.  This called for nations to reduce their carbon imprint by reducing green house gases, but died under Clinton's presidency because it was too lenient on China and India.  According to an article written by Seth Borenstein in 2014, the carbon emissions increased in India by 5.1%, China by 4.2%, and America by 2.4%.  According to the same article, 200 countries reduced their emissions, mainly European, with Spain leading the way.  How is it that the U.S., with all of this information being thrown at us scientifically showing global warming.climate change is a real thing STILL increasing their emissions?  More importantly I ask how is this still happening when we have the most liberal administration in history?  Especially since Obama stated in his 2015 SOTU address that climate change was the number one issue that threatens our national security.   
     Do you remember that this same thing was happening with eggs.  First it was the research that lead us all to NOT EAT THEM!!!  Then came the research that said, no it's ok, no jokes this time, it's ok to eat eggs again.  NO NO NO! Eat the egg WHITES, not the yolk!  This information was scientifically founded, then unfounded, and then partially founded again.  You have to begin to wonder why most are skeptic of information being passed down. 
     We're in this same boat with climate change.  Gore stated in 2007, and his statements are backed by researchers, that the polar ice caps were supposed to melt completely in 22 years.  However, NASA photographs comparing the ice caps in 2012 to 2013 clearly shows the ice caps not only maintaining but increasing in size! How is that even possible with the doom and gloom forecast and guilt trips being given to us daily?  In Matt Walsh's blog referring to climate change, he argues that when the people in support of man made climate change changed the terminology from global warming to climate change, they did so because no matter what they said, if they referred to it as climate change instead of global warming, they could not ever be wrong because the climate is in a forever loop of changing.   During the Cryogenian period, about 850 to 650 million years ago, ice covered almost all the way to the equator.  There weren't any humans then, so why can't we believe that the Earth was undergoing normal planetary changes that shift the climate?   
      I support a theory that maybe, just maybe, this whole idea of climate change/global warming is a way to not only scare populations into submission (believing whatever government throws at us), but also another way to collect tax and make money.  Look at recycled products.  I have yet to go ANYWHERE to find any recycled products to be cheaper than non-recycled goods.  What's more is that Gore and fellow proponents truly believed what they are preaching.  They would be leading the way with how they travel and how their homes are powered.  Don't act like any of you forget the reports that showed that his home was a huge energy waster.  Not only is he profiting from his books and tours describing the end of days with climate change, but he sold his television network.  Yes, he did indeed have a network, Al Jazeera where he made a $100 million profit.  Let's not overlook the fact that Al Jazeera, who is funded by Qatar, is a nation whose wealth depends on the same fossil fuels he claims is killing the planet.  This is hypocrisy at its finest. Furthermore can we also stop, really just stop, being surprised that summers are hot and winters are cold?  Winters bring snow, and sometimes they bring a LOT of snow.  It happens, it's he changing of seasons.  
     How about those who are advocating climate change do one of two things.  Either go "off the grid" or quit acting like environmental extremists.  You cannot spew out research showing that we're quickly and with 100% certainty destroying our planet if you're not willing to pave the way and show the world how to live with a minimal CO2 footprint.  Can we also stop acting like the U.S. is the only cause of CO2, and overall pollution?  Have you ever wondered WHY a lot of the pictures you see of people in China wear surgical masks?  The air quality there is dismal, but not nearly as bad as that of New Delhi.  Yet all we hear is how Americans are leading the way in the destruction of our planet because it's easy to blame the U.S. for all the world's woes.  
     If we're really going to be serious about this topic, let's fund research not backed by those who would profit one way or another from viable research.  Stop being so meek and mild about the pollution issues and call out the nations that have enough money to get up to modern environmental standards.  Those of you who really do believe in this, quit ridiculing the rest of us whom you label as non-believers of scientific fact.  This, you either believe us or you're a moron mentality sounds like some, well, some religions I know.