opinion

Fandom Friday – What to Expect in the New Year

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I, for one, am very excited for television in the New Year. Spoilers for everything in the tags follow. Read at your own discretion. Continue reading

Diet Coke vs. Coca-Cola Zero: What’s The Difference? | HuffPost

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Article
As I’m drinking Coke Zero, I thought I’d throw my two cents in. First, I only drink Coke Zero when Diet Coke is not an option. That should give you an indication of how much better Diet Coke is: it’s the one that runs out.

Yes, I can taste the difference.
I would put Coke Zero as closer to Diet Pepsi, although it’s better than Pepsi. (Yes, I can taste the difference. So much so that I won’t order Diet Pepsi anymore. I’d rather drink water for free. Sorry Pepsi fans.)
I will drink Coke Zero if it’s my only soda option, especially today when I have to go for bloodwork and can’t get a McD sweet tea (which I drink about once a year).
So, there you have my unscientific analysis.

March for Science – An Introduction

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​Tomorrow is the March for Science. As these important issues come up, I’m trying not to be political, but what we call political actually affects a number of people’s real lives. From crime to health care, immigration to women’s equality and civil rights for all, these are basic things that many of us deal with on a daily basis. I know people are tired of hearing about privilege, but if you’re not affected by these issues and simply see them as politics as usual, then more than likely you are in a privileged group.

That doesn’t mean that you are rich or have no troubles of your own; it is simply that from your perspective you can’t understand “the big deal”  or why some of us are so vocal. You may or may not take your rights for granted, but for some of us who live the day to day of having our civil rights violated, it has been very frustrating.

Whether or not you believe that our global climate is changing or whether or not you feel that it is a man-made problem, it is eveyrone’s responsibility to maintain adequate living conditions for everyone here now, and everyone to come.

This simply means taking care of our environment.

Conserve water.

Turn off the lights when you leave the room.

Adjust your thermostat.

Pick up litter.

In listing them, these should not be controversial. In fact, many of these should be common sense.

When a new White House Administration comes in, their priorities take precedence. They focus on what they feel is important. Looking back decades, we can see that. Even President George W. Bush, whose policies didn’t believe in climate change still did his part to protect the environment without compromising his capitalist values.

When the Trump Administration came in, on the very first day, they eliminated web pages from the official White House website. Ignoring what we would deem controversial like the justice department, immigration, LGBT+, and ethics policies, they also shuttered anything about climate and environmental protections as well as national parks, and food and drug safety. This included established and agreed upon science.

You can’t change facts.

You can disagree with them; you can have a differing viewpoint in how to address them, but facts are facts.

Our children need to know how to read and analyze data critically, objectively, and sadly, we are all being lied to when less than knowledgeable people are in charge of the various departments.

Tomorrow, as we have been doing since January on a variety of topics, we stand up for science.

We must broaden our minds, and think critically, and problem solve, and communicate with the best minds. We should encourage science education and questioning.

Science. Not silence.

This is the first of a series of posts for the March for Science and science resources. Please add your own suggestions in the comments. Now more than ever, we need to be here for each other and for our planet. We have one chance to get it right.

Stand up and be counted.

Election Reflection – Executive Orders

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Wow. Where do I begin?

Actually, I should begin with what’s got everyone up in an uproar at the airports.

Immigration.

Refugees.

Five Year Old Terrorists.

And seventy-five year old grandmothers who’ve had a green card since 1997.

One of the worst things I’ve noticed about this Administration isn’t the blatant racism, the showy signings of Executive Orders without regard to real people, it’s the lack of discussion and basic knowledge of how things get done. Legally.

I don’t even mean discussion with me or the rest of the American people, although that would be nice. I’m talking about discussion with the appropriate departments who oversee these issues. The President comes and goes. There’s a reason that the civil servants who serve all Administrations are called Lifers. They’re not appointees. They’re not political hacks. They’re experts in their field.

And the President and his people ignored them to make headlines; to give us a false sense of security while making our lives and our world more dangerous.

I have no words for Steve Bannon. He’s said himself that he wants chaos. He wants to see the world burn. And now, with him on the NSC, we’re halfway there. He has no place there, not to mention no place in the White House.

I can’t think of anyone in this Administration who President Trump listens to who is a professional. Not one.

They’re all defensive.

They’re all dismissive of the American people, especially those of us in the actual majority.

Representative Ryan is spineless. As is Senator Rubio. Senator McConnell wrote the playbook on obstruction. He won’t like that we were taking notes. Moderate Republicans need to stand up and speak out.

We’re relying on Senators McCain and Graham to take care of the Russians and the refugees. They need allies.

Name calling has no place in the White House.

And a religous test goes against the tenets of our society and our Constitution.

No Muslim ban.

Block the actual terrrorists.

Ways You Can Help:

You can find resources on my page, We the People.

Follow the ACLU on Facebook.

Follow the Women’s March on Facebook.

They both have actionable recommendations that everyone can do regardless of their levels of involvement. Most importantly, speak out. Don’t get complacent. Rise up.

Election Reflection – The New Administration and Accountability

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​I know that for a long time I didn’t write about politics. I’ve always been a political junkie. I can’t get enough of the news shows. I was on a first name basis (in my mind) with the likes of Peter Jennings, David Brinkley, Brian Williams. I would shout out comments at the television, ask questions, and generally need to know everything.

That  changed at the end of 2012. I was tired of the stress, of the politics, of the partisanship that came from the GOP. I know that there are some who say that the Democrats are just as partisan, but that’s just not true. We compromise. We compromise because the prize that we eye is the greater good. We do what’s best for the country. Take a quick look at the last eight years and especially the last year of President Obama’s term and how disrespectful Senator Mitch McConnell was. Even today, as Democrats are taking pages from his playbook, he, and his cronies whine about how we need to respect and unify with the President, despite the way they treated President Obama. I wouldn’t treat my dog that way, and now they have the nerve to ask of us what they were unwilling to do?

I’m not an obstructionist, but I won’t sit idly by and watch those hypocrites tear this country apart.

That said, I hope everyone is watching this first week of President Trump’s Administration. His staff is parading him out like a circus animal and he’s letting them. I do understand that each new Administration has its own priorities and executive orders are the beginning. They certainly were with Presidents Bush and Obama, but I don’t recall there being multiple ones daily. His base is cheering, but it is us, the opposition who are rising up and protesting. We’re saying NO MORE.

And it’s working.

Somewhat.

They tried to gut the ethics committee. We said NO. We used our voices. We. The. People.

They tried to silence the science community in the government. We said NO. They rescinded the gag order.

Senator John McCain has said no torture. We’re with him on that.

Senator Schumer said no rubber stamps on the Supreme Court. If they’re not  bipartisan, they should vote no. Replacing Scalia isn’t the problem; it’s the rest of the retiring justices.

I am trying not to rant. I will continue to try not to rant. It’s not easy.

How many things has President Trump gone back on from his campaign so far this first week?

How can we let him reinstate DAPL when he’s an investor? This is a direct benefit to him. He is not divested in his business. That can’t go on.

Canceling the National Endowment for the Arts? It’s pennies.

Voter Fraud? The only voter fraud I’ve heard of was the Republican who tried to vote twice and the President’s advisor, Steve Bannon, who is registered in two states.

Banning Muslims when most of our terrorists recently are homegrown?

Forget causation; it’s not even correlation.

Scientists are planning on a protest at the nation’s capital. We’re arguing about science. Science.

There is no such thing as alternative facts. Facts are facts are facts are facts. The alternative is a lie. How can we teach our children right from wrong when this is the example they’re seeing.

My daughter asked me before the election about being forced to have a baby. She was ten. I told her the truth. No one would force her to have a baby if she doesn’t want one as long as I’m alive. Her response? What about when you’re gone?

She asked about World War III two nights ago.

My twelve-year-old son asked about 1984. I told him I think we have it in the basement, and he should check and read it. If not, we can get it for him to read. He’s not quite sure what it means, but he knows that people are talking about it and it is something to think about and ask about.

Last night, while we were getting ready for bed, watching Brian Williams’ The 11th Hour, she commented that she couldn’t understand or believe that girls were still fighting to be equal to boys. She doesn’t get it.

Frankly, neither do I.

We can’t belittle the President. We can’t pick on his spelling errors. We absolutely can’t disparage his youngest son who didn’t ask for this. We need to pick our battles. We need to pick the right ones, and we need to keep his feet to the fire.

We must hold him and his administration accountable. When they violate the Constitution as they’ve done this past week, we must call it out.

We must.

We will not go back. Not any of us.

Stand up. Speak out. Rise up.

This is everyone’s fight because it is everyone’s country.

If there are things happening that you simply do not understand, which I get; it’s a lot to ask for people to pay attention to the nitty-gritty of this daily, I would recommend Vox.com. They have a very good way of explaining what’s going on. Try them out. I find them fair.

Election Reflection – Mr. Trump’s Cabinet and Conflicts of Interest

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I had originally intended to post these two topics separately, but the more I read and the more I thought about it, I realized that just like President-Elect Trump and his conflicts, his Cabinet has their own conflicts. In addition, there are conflicts between his Cabinet and himself that are being ignored. One question that should be asked is why has he picked who he picked?
After spending the whole campaign touting how he’d hire the best of the best in their respective fields to run the departments they have the experience with to make the best difference, this is who he has come  up with.

To quote the PEOTUS, “sad!”

What makes Ben Carson qualified to be the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development? The original pretense was that Dr. Carson lived in federal housing, commonly known as The Projects, but it’s been revealed and confirmed that he did not, in fact, live in low-income housing. He certainly grew up poorer than he is now, more than likely poorer than I was at the same age growing up in urban/suburbia, but it sounds like I’m more qualified. I mean, we’ve both lived in a house.

Betsy DeVos. Nominee for Secretary of Education. In this case, I actually am more qualified than Ms. DeVos, and should be considered for this Cabinet position. After all, I have a Master’s degree in Educational Issues, a Bachelor’s in elementary education, a graduate minor in medieval studies, and an undergraduate minor in political science. I am certified to teach in New York state from nursery/preschool through fifth grade, and from 7th to 12th grade in the subject of social studies. My certification in New York also makes me qualified to teach in several other states due to reciprocity. I was a teacher for a decade. I worked for the MWR department of the Department of the Navy and wrote the child development curriculums for their preschool aged program. How am I not a candidate for this Cabinet position? Could it be that I didn’t contribute exorbitant amounts of money to Mr. Trump’s campaign or to the RNC?

NSA Director nominee, Michael Flynn. A conspiracy theorist who recently tweeted about a Hillary Clinton connection to a pizza place, a false story that almost got someone killed when an armed gunman (are there any other kinds?) showed up looking for answers..

Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson who can’t answer a simple question about what Exxon/Mobil thought about climate change while he was there. Not now that he’s no longer with the company, but while he was there.

Do I really need to explain the objections to Senator Jeff Sessions? I think it might be different if over the past several years his attitude and opinions had changed, but they hadn’t. How can someone who doesn’t believe in civil rights for everyone be tasked with protecting everyone’s civil rights?

Winning the election partly on criticizing Clinton’s speeches at Goldman Sachs, cherry-picking her words to fit his narrative, as well as Ted Cruz’s wife’s association with them, and then hiring three, or is it four, former Goldman Sachs employees to run the economic aspect of his Administration.

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry for the Department of Energy, an area that when he was running for President said he would disband.

A head of the EPA that doesn’t believe that man contributes to global warming.

A head of Labor who was just described on Monday as not liking all of the blowback and “all the paperwork”. Being an employer, in fast food, no less doesn’t make you an expert in labor practices.

Searching for an Hispanic to run Agriculture. I guess because they know the most about farming because of crossing the border illegally to be migrant workers, right?

Mr. Trump declaring that jobs stay in the US but at the same time applying for a waiver for his companies to hire foreign labor as visiting workers.

The fiction of his transition team’s insistence that Mexico will pay for ‘the wall’. They won’t. They’ve said they won’t. Raising the import tariffs on Mexican goods will only negatively affect the poor people who the cost will be passed onto.

Chief of Staff Reince Preibus and incoming White House spokesman, Sean Spicer talking about moving the press corps away from the West Wing to accomodate more reporters. That is such a smokescreen. Have the main news groups stay there and rotate the other press passes. It’s really not that hard. And don’t threaten to throw out someone for simply doing their job. Watch some tapes of Josh Earnest, Robert Gibbs, and Ari Fleischer to get a feel for it if you’re that out of touch. Add Breitbart if you want. Just don’t let them sit in Helen Thomas’ seat. 

In addition, Mr. Preibus told news outlets that the ethics department needs to watch how they cover Mr. Trump and implied that there would be retaliation. It was basically reminiscent of The Incredible Hulk television series – you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry or unethical; whatever.

It’s not a Cabinet position, but bringing on Robert Kennedy Jr. as the head of his vaccine safety committee. Hiring someone already indisposed against vaccines instead of someone who has some kind of medical background just doesn’t make sense.

But what in this Cabinet does? It seems like Mr. Trump looked at a list of who is the most against this department and that’s who he picked to run it; the one person who will run it into the ground. Or they are the one person who will personally benefit from the changes they will implement in their department. Either way, it is not effective as a leadership role or reducing the conflicts of interest.

Most of these nominees haven’t undergone the required ethics committee clearance and haven’t completed the paperwork for the ethics committee. Senator Mitch McConnell is the biggest hypocrite of them all, suggesting that the ethics requirements can come later when he said the exact opposite in 2008/09 for President Obama’s nominees, who did not have any problem meeting the ethics guidelines

And let’s not forget the transition team’s request for the names of people in the energy department working on climate change/global warming issues and those civil servants working on women’s issues including family planning and contraception. The Trump transition team requested of Congress, and received a revival of an 1876 rule, the Holman Rule, gone since 1983, that will allow the new Administration to reduce federal workers pay to $1, thereby eliminating the need to actually fire people illegally, but force them to quit if they want to continue to support their families.

This is a Cabinet and an Administration starting things on the wrong foot, trying to swindle the people of the United States through showmanship and rhetoric and Twitter into creating a windfall for themselves.

We the people are the only ones to stand in their way, and we must act. We must Resist and use our First Amendment rights through speech, assembly and supporting the Free and Independent Press while we still can. Anyone who thinks this is hyperbole, please go look and see what the transition team has already done to benefit themselves. Follow Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary, Dan Rather, and Connie Schultz as well as the political team at Vox. Visit my new page for links and suggestions on places to read about what’s going on.

It’s up to us.

My Top 5 Moments of The Walking Dead

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I thought I would share my top 5s over the course of the next few weeks. Choosing a top five of anything can be very subjective, Whatever five I pick, I’m leaving out ten more things that I really loved, not o mention that anyone reading this will have their own five moments that they think are the top.

This Sunday marks the AMC Marathon of Season 6 of The Walking Dead which leads us into the Season 7 Preview Show with Chris Hardwick and whoever else he has planned to tease us with information and non-information. I had already noticed that in the season 7 trailer, we don’t see hide nor hair or any characters that were in Negan’s lineup to meet Lucille.

There are so many more moments that I could have included, but these five popped into my head first. It was funny that three of the five were from season 5. I know many people felt hat season 5 was their best season so I guess I kind of feel that way, although each season has a special place in my heart.

And let’s be honest, I could probably write a Top 5 Moments for each character!

As they continue on with season 7 and beyond, we’ll see how they continue to fare.

[Note: Each moment is labeled with the Season. Episode #. Episode Title. There are spoilers included for other episodes and for all six seasons.
SPOILERS]

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Clinton-Kaine 2016

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Today was a big news day on all fronts. The Republican National Convention concluded last night with its nomination of Donald J. Trump.

Jon Stewart returned to political television with a no-holds barred commentary, not just on Donald Trump but on the Republican establishment who relished in their hypocrisy and fear-mongering.

The Walking Dead dropped its season 7 teaser trailer at the San Diego Comic Con, and while of course, the trailer and the panel told us nothing of who died at the end of season 6 and Negan’s bat, it gave us so much to ponder for the next three months and one day that I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us, not to mention the horrifying new walkers previewed on Greg Nicotero’s Instagram.

Last but not least, Hillary Clinton chose Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia to run as her Vice President on the Democratic ticket.

I’ve been a fan of Tim Kaine for a long time. For some weird unknown reason, several of the Virginia politicians followed me for a short time on Twitter including the lieutenant governor under Sen. Kaine and the now governor, Terry McAuliffe.

Choosing Sen. Kaine was a good choice. He looks like a safe choice, but the reality was that Hillary Clinton had an overabundance of good choices and he may appeal to some of the moderate Republicans that were lukewarm at a Mike Pence VP.

When I heard Tom Vilsack’s name earlier this week, I knew immediately he was a red herring. Iowa. is not a state that Dems desperately need, although all states are important. He’s also too conservative for the Bernie Sanders’ supporters. WHile Tim Kaine isn’t as liberal as they might like, he appeals to several demographics across the board.

Personally, I was on Team Castro. I’ve been following Julian Castro’s career after hearing him speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2012, I believe it was.

Cory Booker and Sherrod Brown were great Progressive choices, and I’m a big fan of both, but in relinquishing their senate seats, the Republican governors in New Jersey and Ohio, respectively would have appointed someone of their own party, and we need them in the Senate.

The Senate also needs Elizabeth Warren to stay there and keep a fire lit under the Republicans.

Tim Kaine is a family man, more conservative than the rest of this list (with the exception of Vilsack), but is also progressive on issues of equal rights (LGBT+) and equal access (women’s reproduction). He speaks his mind, but does so without insults or hyperbole. He’s an optimist, which is something this country needs right now. He’s from Virginia, a southern swing state that has both liberal and conservative citizens, urban and rural areas, military and private sector and a variety of socio-economic people. It is a good state to look to for a microcosm of the country as a whole.

The most important qualification, however is would he make a good president if the need arose? Absolutely, yes.

Let. me know your thoughts on this team that really is Stronger Together. I have no qualms whatsoever at supporting them 100%.

Clinton-Kaine, 2016