Classic Sexism

We, as Americans want our top representative, the President to stand as an example of proper and dignified behavior. Currently, Donald Trump is our President and thus, we get none of that mess. 

He looks like a petulant child 

When this photo was taken a few days ago, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel asked Trump if he wanted to do a handshake for cameras and this is how he acted as she spoke to him... he did not even register that she spoke at all, nor did he respond to her. It was embarrassing to say the least... especially when he also brought up the faux wiretap claims at a dual press conference. 

There are days like this when I think to myself... I can't even.

That is pretty much it for today and maybe this weekend, I am under the weather and I have a book to finish, a paper to write, and another book to start.

Have a great weekend! 

What's the Goal

The news out of Washington seems bleak if you are someone who works in the Arts and Humanities or if you are old and poor. Apparently the Trump Administration's idea of a sound fiscal budget is....

-defunding the National Endowment for the Arts
-defunding the National Endowment for the Humanities
-slashing funds to the Environmental Protection Agency
and...

cutting programs like Meals on Wheels

oh... and have you seen the new healthcare bill that basically says if you are over 64... don't get sick.


And according to New York Magazine, Trump knows it...

Trump admits GOP health plan would hurt his voters, says it’s "going to be negotiated" https://t.co/EJUR10cZks

— New York Magazine (@NYMag) March 16, 2017

I have family and friends who benefit from many of these programs and to see them at risk upsets me. What is more, I have dedicated my entire academic career to the Humanities and I believe that these things are important to cultural development and social stability.

Now... speaking of being ignorant of culture and history...

Hoping @POTUS tells Hawaii judge what Andrew Jackson told overreaching court-"I'll ignore it and let the court enforce their order."

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) March 15, 2017

Former Governor Mike Huckabee takes the Steve King award for racist and insensitive comments of the week.... Holy Crap... he is talking about the Trail of Tears here...that is what Jackson ignored, the  Supreme Court Judgment that essentially stated that stealing the land from the Cherokee was illegal. 

Way to go Mike, way to adult today.


It is like 29 degrees outside and my allergies are killing me, I cannot handle the dumb today. 

Not the Best Day

So I do not talk about it a ton online, mostly because I think that many will feel as if I am complaining or bemoaning things I cannot change, but I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and there are days when it really just gets me down and causes me serious issues that restrict my actions. Today, well, the last few weeks really, I've had this issue where my joints have acted up or my medication has just made me ill.
I do not like this AT ALL.

We are experiencing a cold snap here in the south, as you do the week before Spring. 

It can truly be 70 one day and 40 the next.... which, for me is bad.

So today I have felt ill all day, been moody, stressed, and trying to finish a book and not fall behind.


I think Trump's Travel Banned got screwed over in court again.

and...

He thinks the media is mean, unfair, and fake news for reporting stuff he did.


Yep....
Normal Wednesday. 

So Easily Duped

It is already Tuesday, and my Spring Break is ebbing away faster than I would like it to. The chilling weather has, at least, kept me to my studies...apart from the random distractions of registering my child for pre-k and helping a friend with their taxes. 

But... lets talk about distractions....


(entering the political zone once again)


HEY EVERYBODY WE HAVE SOME OF TRUMPS TAXES FROM OVER A DECADE AGO AND THEY TELL US NOTHING BUT LOOK!!!!!!!

Is it that easy to be distracted people?? Tomorrow Comey is going to talk about whether or not there is a Russia election investigation and suddenly a few pages of a really old tax returns appears and everyone jumps at the bait.

Stop it!  Put down the shiny! Pay attention to what is important!


Lets talk about that for a second....

We have a healthcare bill going through the congress that is a complete disaster for most of the country unless you are wealthy....yay.

More ties to Russia are coming out on a daily basis.

Trump's spokespeople are completely terrifying and say insane things.

Oh and one congressman decides that he can be full on white supremacist and not even blink because we are used to it.

All in one day....

So, I know that these tax returns sparkle and grab your attention like a 1/2 off sale at Krispy Kreme when the Warm sign is on... but do not lose focus.
Keep paying attention to what this administration is doing every day.

Some of it is really problematic and warrants the public's attention. 

OMG What is Happening??!!

Not a ton to cover today but.... first... let's go to twitter and crazy people in government saying horrific things that should get them immediately removed from their jobs...

Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies. https://t.co/4nxLipafWO

— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) March 12, 2017

Yea and then... this guy doubled down....

CNN - King says he meant exactly what he said....

That is a link to the video, its... well yea.

Here is the thing, when did it become totally OK to support racist ideas in America, the place that is made up of people from all over the world? Is America white to him, what does he mean?

I know what he means really and the fact that he has no problem saying it in public is a problem.
This used to be stuff guys said off the cuff, in the back room, where no one heard it and I understand, well it is good that we know what kind of person King is, but at the same time, he says it on TV because he feels it is now culturally acceptable to do so... and that is dangerous.

It is so crazy that I am reading a book about the progressive South right now and racism... everything is so connected.

Spring Break has turned into last gasp of winter. I am sitting at my desk in a scarf, a hat, and gloves...because my RA is making my joints go nuts.

Yep I am bundled up so I wont ache too much lol

Anyone in the South right now, I feel you. 

Spring Break!!!!

So technically I am on Spring Break this coming week, meaning I will spend my time working on some papers I have due at the end of the semester, cleaning the house, registering my child for Pre-K, and at least trying to take a few minutes and relax. I have been on a bit of a news break the last few days, I find it keeps me not wanting to run away screaming into the night.

So what have I done that is fun, exciting, and non-school related??

1. I organized my jewelry and put up new necklace hangers. Yes, this is how I enjoy myself.

2. I cleared out the brush in my side-yard before the temperatures dropped again to winter levels.  

3. I bought myself a lavish cupcake.

4. I have played more WoW than usual.


I know, I am a wild child to the 1000000th degree. 

Lots of academic/school related things coming up that make me feel like the 2nd owl here:

Conference
lecture
papers
end of semester rush


I need to buy myself a giant bottle of wine and just do this.

That being said, a week to get caught up is nice, and the weather that hates my RA motivates me to stay inside. 

So... I've Lost My Mind

Politicians say stupid things all the time and do stupid things all the time... but the repeal and replacement of the ACA is a disaster the day it gets announced and the way politicians have handled it... is what I call, really dangerous. 


My Choice for Fail of the Day is:

U.S. Congressman Jason Chaffetz (Visit his site of pain here)

Chaffetz decided to say, on CNN that people should buy healthcare instead of iphones, that they should make tough choices and be self sufficient.  


This was my Response...

@jasoninthehouse One of my medications is 1200 a month before insurance, thats two iphones for one 30 day supply. #themoreyouknow

— lucindawst (@Lucindawst) March 7, 2017

Now I will be honest, I tweeted like four or five more that broke down a year of my family's health plan was only about 26 iphones, that a visit to a specialist was only about one iphone, and that you too could go to the ER for the cost of simply 3-5 iphones.

Healthcare is not that simple, its not simply 700.00 you drop once every few years, its a consistent cost, an extra burden for millions of people who cannot afford it. Unlike an iphone though, unlike spending 700 on something you don't need.... if you don't have the money to go to the hospital or the doctor or to pay for your medication... you could die.

Its not that trivial and for an elected representative to be so callous and disjointed.... unattached or unknowing about what it is like to live in poverty or live with a disease is not stupid, its dangerous.

Makes You Think

Sometimes our own political outrage and shock at the behavior of those in power makes us forget about the people who live without any. Most of the time I live in a relatively quiet neighborhood in a small Georgia town. Most of the time the loudest noise I hear is someone's car going by or one of my odd neighbors who owns a Harley and blasts his 1980 hair rock when he goes on a daily ride. I live on the corner of two streets with a nice yard, a quaint little house with ivy on the front, and a garden and blooming peach tree... we won't even talk about the fact that it is blooming and February....

But there are also people in my neighborhood and area that live very different lives, wrought with difficulty and hard choices and sometimes that difficulty can lead to violence. Today, as my son and I played out in the backyard... in my neighborhood that was so quiet...that I heard a car stop at the three way stop down the street.... I looked up to see a drive-by shooting. Thankfully no one was hurt, but I wasn't aware as I heard the shots echo down my street and immediately find myself terrified for myself and my son...we had to hide behind our house, I had to explain to my four year old why there were over a dozen police working down the street all day and why one came and took my statement. 
It was...just a bad experience. 

----
It has been almost a week since I wrote the above, the street has been commonly quiet since Monday, nothing has happened and everything is as it was, but I find myself a bit more aware and a bit more careful when going outside. My son is four, he loves to be outside and to run through the yard, playing with the dogs and his toys... but I found myself a great deal more cautious and observant the entire time we've been out this week.

In Politics...

Well, first the President displayed the ability to read a speech and half the country breathed a sigh of relief that I will admit, I have no earthly idea why.

This should not be the standard people...

Just because a speech was measured, does not mean it wasn't riddled with dangerous rhetoric and the same pushy xenophobic logic he has been pushing this entire time. His immigration stance has not changed, he lauded it in his speech and continued to paint enemies of the state with a wide brush... this is not toned down, this is scary. 
Thankfully, well not really, because this is the world we have to live in...
The Jeff Sessions chaos has overshadowed the fact that when pressed Trump can give a speech without flailing.
How many people have to have met with Russian officials and then lied about it to cause those who voted for Trump to ponder whether or not this is a problem? I say all of them... I know some pretty staunch Trump supporters and they either 1. do not care 2. think its all lies. 
Meanwhile, dreamers are being deported for speaking out and the immigration push to get "bad hombres" off the street have removed fathers, grandmothers, and people who have lived in this country since they were 7... with no felonies or anything dangerous in their records and Boeing, is getting rid of 1800 jobs. 


Healthcare:

I want to say something about Healthcare because it affects members of my family very differently and it infuriates me to no end.
First, I support the original reach of the ACA and the goals that program entailed. Through it (implemented properly without the interference and destruction of it in the states), most people had the opportunity to get affordable care and the insurance pools should have made coverage overall cheaper... but business and state interest got involved and things went off track quickly and I will be honest, the ACA is not functioning the way it was meant to or should have.

Right now, my husband...through his paycheck, pays almost a grand a month for our family's healthcare. That being said, we have no deductible, we can go to the doctor whenever we want, and a stay in the hospital will not leave us destitute. But, I remember, before he had this job, how often we would linger in sickness because we had no or bad coverage and it was not worth it to risk spending a ton of money just to see a doctor. It was horrific and I never want to go back to that, our insurance is expensive, but its worth it.  That being said, my mother-in-law has NO insurance at all. Her husband makes too much to have them qualify for medicare, his employee insurance premiums to cover her are outlandish, and she also cannot qualify for any ACA program... she is stuck, without insurance, and at the will of a doctor whether or not she can get care she needs without putting herself in debt to do so... its criminal to me to see that. Why is this though? IS this the ACA, kind of... not really.  The State they live in makes it very difficult for the ACA to work, there are provisions in that state's law that did not take the medicare expansion and thus did not take monies that would help people like her get insurance....at the same time, this is the ACA's fault.... and if we are going to change it, which I have no problem with, we need to replace it with something that will take care of people because healthcare should not depend on people's income.... if you are sick, you deserve treatment.   Simple.

I want universal coverage or a single payer option, I think that is the only way healthcare can work and I think these profit-monger companies need to get out of the process.  We have too many people dying because of finance not care available and that is completely disgusting in one of the richest nations on earth. 

If you are sick you should get to see a doctor and not worry about whether or not you can afford the care you need to survive... that is a right I think that is covered by our constitution and the bill of rights we so love.