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Posts Tagged ‘Paul Ryan’

A Comedy of 2 Errors

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on August 21, 2012| 1 Comment »

Today we find out that Augusta National Golf Club in the great state of Georgia has admitted 2 women, Condoleeza Rice and Darla Moore. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/golf/19323577 This news fell like a thud at my feet. As someone who could not receive a credit card unless it was in my husband’s name, or could not obtain birth control pills until I was married, my reaction to this big golfing news was anti-climactic. What do you know, this private club actually thinks a woman’s money is just as green as a man’s…oh, and maybe they won’t be such a distraction on the links? Hey, If the Tiger can play there, why not Condi? I shrugged.

And, while smiling this sardonic smile, we find out that 2 other iconic women have made headlines today. The great Phyllis Diller died at the grand old age of 95. I remember watching her on TV, and thinking so, a woman can make a living in comedy. I didn’t necessarily like her rampages about “Fang” her husband, and I certainly didn’t like the smoking and the bouffant of teased hair. But I was young, I didn’t know this was part of her schicht! She was the female doppelgänger of “Take my wife, please.” And she was doing this when women were not allowed in many university and private clubs around the country, unless they were on the arm of some male member. The second female comedian making news is Rosie O’Donnell. She revealed that she had a heart attack, and how women need to pay attention to our particular signs and symptoms. I’ve always loved Rosie, but instead of calling 911, she googled her symptoms and took an aspirin – bad Rosie – not funny. http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/20/rosie-odonnell-happy-to-be-alive-after-heart-attack/?iref=allsearch

And for the last distinctly sad bit of doubledealing, we have a Republican Senate candidate from Missouri, Todd Akin, who thinks he misspoke about RAPE, and the Republican VP pick, Paul Ryan, who desperately wants to distance himself from him. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-todd-akins-rape-comments-abortion-is-back-in-the-campaign-spotlight/2012/08/20/c497bae4-eac7-11e1-a80b-9f898562d010_story.html

But can we separate the two? Not at all. Let’s put on our thinking caps – rejecting science and reason in many forms seems to be an extreme right agenda. And today, the GOP platform has called for a “Human Life Amendment” with absolutely no exception for rape, much in the same way Paul Ryan backed all those personhood bills that kept popping up all over the country. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/21/no-rape-exception-in-republican-platforms-constitutional-abortion-ban/

Are we witches? This must be the year of magical thinking, when a woman’s body can just kill off those rapist sperm and prevent pregnancy – oh yeah, party of the big spenders and free markets – tell us how that works! I’m supposed to feel better that Mitt believes in the rape exception? Like I’m supposed to be happy we can play golf at Augusta?

Smart, thinking women are not buying into this circus comedy of GOP clowns. Tell me the GOP is not waging a war on women. Put on your best Dan Draper smile, and make me believe you’ll still call me in the morning. http://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/gop-women-problem-2012-4/

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When is a Charity More Like a Tax?

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , on August 19, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Good rainy Sunday morning. Have you been bombarded by insulting, demeaning campaign ads yet? Well, I’m ready to throw in the towel, and we still have 3 months to go. I’m tired of hearing about Paul Ryan and his Mother in “The Villages,” which reminds me of an old BBC show that has been locked in the back of my mind for decades. I have an older brother, Dr Jim, who would stay up late with me and we’d watch a cult classic called “The Prisoner.” It was about a British spy, Patrick McGoohan, who finds himself living a lie captured in this beautiful seaside resort called “The Village” where he is monitored at all times by a bubble-like Rover, foreshadowing “The Truman Show.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zalndXdxriI&feature=fvwrel

“I am not a number, I’m a free man!” Hallucinogenic drugs and mind control mix to keep McGoohan’s character in line, to give evil Number 2 the information he so desperately desires. The Village’s population, hundreds of diverse people are all referred to by numbers, and go along with the pretense. Which is maybe why I thought that somehow Ryan was mesmerizing these FL Village people into believing that he really did have their best interests at heart? Just as Ryan has been backing away from his favorite author, Ayn Rand, he is bringing up themes from the great paradox of governments everywhere – individualism vs collectivism.

And just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I read an article in the Washington Post that inferred that Mitt’s selflessness, his philanthropy, his willingness to give so much to charity makes up for his puny tax returns. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romneys-equating-of-taxes-and-charitable-giving-sparks-debate/2012/08/18/63bea3e6-e891-11e1-936a-b801f1abab19_story.html?fb_ref=sm_btn_fb “Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney…responded to questions about how much he pays in taxes by suggesting that people should take into account his total contributions to the government and charities.” What do you think?

Well, I don’t know about you, but giving roughly half of your tax-exempt donations to a charity called the Mormon Church doesn’t cut it with me. So if you’re a single parent and all of a sudden, you’ve lost your job and you find yourself applying for food stamps, maybe you could stop for a minute, and just call up the church? Making a choice this November between a Republican and a Democrat could never be clearer. If half the American population thinks that entitlements like Medicare and Social Security and Pell Grants are hand-outs that will keep you from becoming your own best, prosperous self, then maybe we are all heading to The Villages?

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