Asses Vs. Elephants

        Should women have the personal right to choose her own health decisions?  Should we tax the 1%?  Should we eliminate tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs overseas instead of creating jobs in America? The differences between Republicans and Democrats are as clear as the difference between Red vs. Blue.    

Romney believes that women do not have the right to decide their personal medical assistance and the government should decide those actions for her.  He wants to cut government funding from Planned Parenthood and birth control in order to make abortion illegal.  Romney believes that we should relieve the 1% of higher taxes and shower them in tax breaks. This economic strategy is a lot like Reaganomics, don’t you think?  Romney also believes that creating thousands of jobs overseas will help America and increase trade.  This might increase trade, but what about the creation of jobs here?  Last time I checked I lived in America and not in Switzerland. 

Obama insists that women choose their own path when deciding her plan of action for health care.  Obama does not want to cut Planned Parenthood or birth control and even fought back against the Republican attempts to defund it.  Obama wants to make sure that millionaires aren’t paying less in taxes than middle class families are paying right now.  Under President Obama we’ve seen thirty one straight months of job growth in the U.S.A. which is the most growth of job creation since 1997.  Unlike Governor Romney’s strategy, President Obama wants to create jobs in the U.S.A. and will eliminate tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs overseas, hopefully sparking obligations to the American people to create more jobs here.  

Asses vs. Elephants; plain and simple.  Where Romney wants to take away women’s rights, Obama wants to keep them because he knows that women have equal rights to men.  Where Romney wants to cut funding for many medical options a woman could pursue, Obama wants to keep them and let women choose their own path instead of the government choosing for them.  Where Romney wants to cut taxes for the 1% and tax more on the people who struggle to survive, Obama wants to decrease taxes for the middle class and those struggling on the streets and increase the taxes who have enough money to afford a car, a house, support their family, and stay alive.  Where Romney is focused on creating jobs overseas, Obama’s focus is here in the U.S.A.  

If you compare these two candidates, you see that President Obama’s plan is more logical and better for everyone and not a specific group of people.  His plan looks at the big picture and not just a megapixel of the image.  Romney narrows it down to helping the 1% keep more money instead of letting it go to the government for it to be shared throughout our nation.  One dollar in government expenditures creates seven dollars worth of businesses and activity; which is what Obama wants to have happen by raising taxes on those who have money and let those who need to earn more money save as much as possible.  Romney doesn’t realize that.  Obama is aware that a woman is capable to make her own decision and to not get into the way.  That is her own personal decision and it has nothing to do with what the community thinks.  Obama also notices that there are few jobs in America and understands that the President of the U.S.A. needs to keep the job creation growing and not growing in other countries, unlike Governor Romney.  There are approximately six million people who are without jobs and homeless.  Making jobs in other countries will do nothing for those six million, just help them not survive and make them suffer more.  Obama has created 5.2 million private sector jobs, including nearly 500,000 manufacturing jobs over his presidency.  Governor Romney is focused on companies’ foreign profits and job creation; but his mind set is on the other side of the world.  That isn’t going to help the U.S.A. recover from this economic crisis. 

Women’s rights, more jobs, equal pay of taxes -- vote for Obama.  No choice/No women’s rights, more jobs overseas, 1% pay less in taxes and everyone else pay more in taxes -- vote for Romney.  But when you have no more money and go homeless, do me a favor: don’t call me when you start complaining about how you should have voted for Barak Obama for the president of 2012-2016.  Besides, who likes being an ass?  

Earth Abides

Have you ever come home from a vacation and saw things that once were not there?  It takes you a moment to realize that something does not feel right; but when you finally discover what it is, there is a sense of relief that blankets you: Because now you aren't worried what it is that was different. But, what if you don't know what happened? You don't know why things are different. Can you imagine coming home after a camping trip and no one else is there? All of humanity, except for some special few, have disappeared for unknown reasons.  There are only a couple people left on the earth; and that includes you. You don't know what catastrophe occurred to wipe out your peers, your acquaintances, your friends, your pets, or your family.  All you know is that they're gone.  All of the people who used to live next to you have died off.  Can you imagine that?

Isherwood Williams, or Ish, doesn't have to.  The feeling of no one being there has actually come true for him.  After a strenuous camping trip out in the middle of nowhere, Ish comes home to discover that he and a few others are the only people left to fend for themselves.  Losing hope for the future, he comes upon a women named Em who brings hope back into his life.  Once Em came into the picture was my favorite part.  The way that she was able to help Ish become a little more comfortable with where the situation stands and how she made him feel.  Not just by bringing back bits of hope for humanity, but by giving him a friend.

George R. Stewart wrote the book to change how you perceive what you are lucky enough to have.  We, as a pretty wealthy society compared to some, take for granted what we have.  We don't think about how life would be different if we didn't have all that we own today.  Ish used to have it -- and then, he doesn't.  It made me question what I would do in that situation.  Where would I go if suddenly to human race had just disappeared?  Would I go to other countries and seek life there?  How do you imagine life without the things that make up your life?

As one who likes to think outside of the box and try and make the "impossibles" into the "possibles," this story intrigued me and inspired me to enjoy what I have while I have it.  Ish's journey and experiences throughout the novel made the unreal, real.  It's difficult to picture coming home to no family or friends or even next door neighbors.  But it sure is fun, and quite fascinating, to take Ish's situation and put yourself in his shoes.  Exploring this nation in order to find another person who survived a catastrophe so large to take out the human race, and then luckily meeting Em to change your thoughts about the future into positives instead of negatives takes more courage and strength to embrace than most people would think of embracing.

Earth Abides is a story that challenges the mind to think beyond the breaking point.  It challenges your fears to dare and to be fearless.  It encourages you to be the optimist instead of the pessimist.  "In spite of recurrent discouragement, Ish still kept trying ..."  

To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird is a thrilling adventure set in the deep South with two young children and their public defender father in the battle to restore peace in the life of Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of sexually assaulting Bob Ewell's daughter, Mayella.  Harper Lee creates dynamic characters using creative imagery and captivating dialect; therefore producing a strong emotional attachment to the characters from the reader's point of view.  I am able to easily connect with Scout and Jem because I have always been an outlier in some way.  For them, their dad is defending a black man during a very racist time period; and like them, I have always been judged upon what happens with me personally or within my family.  I associate with Scout when it comes to becoming defensive with people making crude judgments towards me or a loved one.  Instead of telling us how Scout reacts towards the violent judgments of her peers, Harper Lee builds a story within the minds of her audience and shows us how difficult it is for Scout in trying to defend her father's image within the community.

To Kill A Mockingbird depicts the strong racial biases of the 1930s South.  Living with very liberal parents, I've been raised to never judge someone by their skin color; but, to evaluate a person based on their character.  Scout was brought up by a man who believed that skin color meant nothing when it came to social status.  To Kill A Mockingbird was Harper Lee's first and only novel.