Commentary

491 posts

Move Your Moola

Despite my obvious conservative leanings, I support the idea of moving your money out of the big banks. My reasons for supporting this has more to do with the fact that Americans need to support their local businesses now more than ever. The ‘too big to fail’ idea has taken this country down a slippery slope.

A non-profit campaign called Move Your Money makes it extremely easy to find a local bank or credit union to put those hard-earned dollars.  Funny enough, by moving your money you will not only be sending a message to the big banks and those in government who support them, but you will actually incur less fees and get better customer service, according to JD Power and Associates.  Who knew that being a capitalist could stick it to the big companies? Continue reading →

Is Absolved the Most Dangerous Book in America?

1 comment

On Tuesday of this week Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested four Georgia men in connection with a plot to unleash a terrorist attack on residents of Atlanta and several other US cities. The four men, all from Toccoa, Ga. and all over the age of 65, planned to unleash the biotoxin Ricin as part of a larger campaign to strike out at the federal government. The four men were fringe players in the right-wing militia movement.

The plot was well into the development stage by the time federal authorities stepped in after being tipped off by an informant in March. Lab equipment seized from one of the defendant’s homes tested positive for Ricin. The four men also had discussed assassinating government officials and blowing up government buildings. According to government affidavits defendant Frederick Thomas was recorded saying, “There’s no way for us, as militiamen, to save this country, to save Georgia, without doing something that’s highly illegal — murder. (…) When it comes to saving the Constitution, that means some people gotta die.”

Continue reading →

In Today’s Job Market Everything Old Is New Again

Hey, remember the 90’s and Bill Clinton signing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)? Remember how offshoring and outsourcing were going to lift all our boats and send all the grungy no good very bad jobs somewhere else, so we would all end up as total glam rock stars lounging about in Herman Miller office chairs at ergonomic workstations, taking Very Important calls and meetings, becoming the information workers of the future?

Yeah, me neither. Offshoring (moving jobs to another country) and outsourcing (moving business functions like Information Technology to another company, because they are deemed not critical to a company’s core business) had the spiffy side effect of creating a poorly received sitcom on NBC which featured thinly veiled racism, as well as knocking the bottom rung off the ladder of the American workplace. Continue reading →

I Was Bullied

I was bullied horribly and it was terrible. It’s not something I talk about. I turn forty this month and I still have not talked about this to anyone other than my mother and sister. My mother’s gone and my sister generously does not bring it up. I buried it in the back of my mind and deliberately didn’t think of it until I had children of my own and watched the social game begin. Continue reading →

Mitt Romney Needn’t Say a Word

If we were to all give Mitt Romney advice right now, it would certainly be to just keep his mouth shut. Yawr, seriously. The last seventy-two hours have been a doozy for fellow presidential hopefuls Herman Cain and Rick Perry. And the one guy who’s probably the most happy about it all has got to be Mittens. Can you say “sitting in the catbird seat?”

Let’s find out why.

Continue reading →

Are Sing-a-ma-jigs Cute, Cuddly Fun or Something Else Entirely?

I’m left a little baffled by this toy. On one hand I get what it’s supposed to be. It’s some sort of Elmo-esque plush toy that does what plush toys of the new millennium do. They sing and dance, or shake, and tremble, or whatever else palsy-ridden toys should do nowadays. Why? I have no idea. I’m from the world of soft teddy bears and Raggedy Ann dolls. I never got the appeal of the singing/talking stuffed toy, the Teddy Ruxpins of the toy world. In fact that thing was downright scary! It was like it could read your mind and then rat you out to adults. Sheesh. It was a monster. Now then…the Sing-a-ma-jigs by Fisher Price? Singing flesh eaters? Beloved best toy ever? I dunno.

There is also something about it that may be a bit unsettling. Continue reading →

The Human Fund

Earlier today, Sean Parker, the founder of Napster and one of Facebook’s earliest partners, as well as a partner in Spotify, tweeted “You guys are really attacking me for being the 1%? I was broke and couch surfing just a few years ago. […] I have a whole new set of problems to deal with now: security, extortion attempts, kidnapping threats, death threats, etc. Life better b4?”

Mr. Parker is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.1 billion. That got me thinking: why can’t we help relieve this nation’s billionaires of the terrible burden of their wealth, while helping ordinary Americans make their dreams come true? Continue reading →

The GOP Presidential Candidates Walk Into A Bar…

One Friday night, sometime soon, you find yourself in Iowa. Don’t ask how or why; you’re just in Iowa. Now, as anyone that’s ever been to Iowa, or read about Iowa, or is even vaguely familiar with Iowa knows, the only thing to do in Iowa is drink. You leave your hotel and cross the street, wandering your way to a local bar. The bouncer checks your ID and lets you in, and you discover all the GOP Presidential Candidates are drinking there. You sidle up to the bar, order a drink from the bartender, and start checking out the crowd. Continue reading →