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Be The Change Friday- New Year’s Resolutions
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Every year, we like to take the time to reflect on the things that we did poorly, and make the commitment to somehow improve ourselves.
This year, take the time to commit to a few things that will not only help you, but help your community as well.
Make a resolution to vote. This is the most important act that you as a citizen can perform. Commit to voting in every election,local, state, and federal. Vote in your school board elections. Participate in your democracy.
Make a resolution to fight for a just cause, to helping the poor or fighting pollution. Become involved in working for a better world, or a better community.
Resolve to live a greener life. Cut out what you don’t need. Walk instead of driving if you can. Eat local foods, support local agriculture.
Resolve to be kind. Kindness goes so far, and so often we forget it entirely. Were we always kind to each other, to people present and far away, we would find ourselves much more often in agreement and peace. Resolve not to use the anonymity of our modern age to attack, and instead remember that all of us are human beings deserving of a little kindness.
Happy New Year!
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December 29, 2011
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Mitt Romney and the Importance of Voting
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Republicans know how important it is to get out the vote. Republicans are a get out the vote machine- they pick a candidate, and they support them all the way through election day.
Democrats are, historically, not quite so good at mobilizing their base to actually cast a ballot. Perhaps it’s the fact that so much of the youth vote is Democrat, maybe it’s that so much of the Democratic base is urban, and city dwellers have a harder time getting to their polling places. Whatever the case might be, Republicans put their money where their mouths are when it comes to voting. And as they have a lot of both mouth and money, that’s saying something.
Just take Mitt Romney, for example. There is a man who knows how important it is to vote. So important, in fact, that he fraudulently votes in states where he isn’t a legal resident.
That’s right, Mitt Romney uses his son’s address in California to vote in special elections, like primaries. And the Republican California authorities are aware of this fraud, they’ve just chosen not to press charges.
So Mitt Romney gets to vote on both coasts, while all over the country Republicans are finding new ways to keep minorities, students, and the elderly from voting. Particularly, from voting for Democrats.
It sure is a good time to be a Republican.
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December 28, 2011
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And End to Photoshopped Beauty Ads?
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This day is long overdue.
If you were paying very, VERY close attention to beauty ads a few weeks ago, you might have noticed some CoverGirl mascara ads featuring Taylor Swift.
Yes, her eyelashes looked quite full and luscious. But at the bottom of the ad in tiny tiny prints was the note that this picture had been photoshopped.
Which leads somebody to wonder… ARE those eyelashes full and luscious? Is that even really Taylor Swift?
The National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau has, thanks to this ad, finally taken a stance of photoshop in advertisement. They have made Proctor and Gamble pull the ad, and furthermore agree never to run photoshopped mascara ads again.
It’s a start. Finally, a precedent is being set- advertisers can’t claim to have a product to make you look “like this” when the image in question is not capable of existing in the first place. Photoshopping models thinner, eyelashes thicker, and skin smoother (or another color entirely) may soon be a thing of the past.
Well… we can certainly hope.
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December 27, 2011
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No Justice for Rape and Incest Victim
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There are so many reasons that victims of sexual assault decide not to report crimes. There is fear of ostracism, fear of confronting the attacker, shame at becoming a victim, and confusion and feeling of having “deserved it,” and the belief that it just won’t matter what you say- nothing can help.
As much as I always want to tell the girls and women that coming forward DOES help, and that silence assists only your attacker, the fact is that sometimes… it just doesn’t.
Take the case of Adolph Bergbaur, aged 69. He was recently convicted of incest, and sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in prison in Germany. His crime? Raping his daughter for 34 years. He terrorized her, threatening her with a knife and raping her repeatedly, while forcing her to continue living in his house. From the time she was 12 until she was 46, she suffered her father’s abuse- even birthing three of his children, two of whom died in infancy.
His claim is that she was a willing participant, and for that reason he was only convicted of the incest. Although in a nod to the absurdity of the conviction, she was not tried for the same crime.
2 years and 8 months is a joke. We need to stand together to protect the rights of women everywhere, and to truly make their abusers pay for their crimes.
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December 26, 2011
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The GOP Eating Its Own
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Now that the holidays are pretty much over, you’ll probably notice fewer and fewer Salvation Army bell ringers around. In fact, there are a lot of places you’ll find fewer Salvation Army supporters.
Like GOP rallies.
The Salvation Army bell ringers have been, for the last several years, personas non grata at many liberal events because of the organizations stance on gay rights. But now, the GOP is turning on the religious organization. Specifically, the extreme pro-life fringe of the party that has taken over so much of the public debate.
You see, the Salvation Army has many times expressed its support of abortion in the instance of rape.
And as far as many Republicans are concerned, that’s a liberal, pro-abortion bias.
In its defense, the Salvation Army said, “A number of biblical and theological principles underpin The Salvation Army’s position on abortion,” but that isn’t enough for the extreme GOP.
If the GOP keeps alienating even these anti-gay Christian groups, soon they will have nobody left.
So I guess we can keep our fingers crossed for that.
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December 23, 2011
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For Christmas, Don’t Give the Gift of Child Labor
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Thinking of giving yourself or somebody else goods from Victoria’s Secret for Christmas?
Recently, Bloomberg Markets published a report on the cotton that Victoria Secret uses for its lingerie. 12 and 13 years olds labor in the cotton fields all day, being whipped and beaten, to harvest the cotton that becomes Victoria Secret bras and panties.
These children are essentially slaves. They live on the farms, sleeping on plastic mats instead of beds, toiling all day long. All so that Victoria Secret can bring you the newest “Pink” products.
If you have purchased any Victoria’s Secret lingerie for Christmas, take it back! Let them know that you don’t support child labor, and that until Victoria’s Secret stops doing business with farms that abuse children, your pantie pennies are going elsewhere.
And instead, give a charitable donation in the name of the would-be recipient for a cause that supports either children OR women. Because, it seems, Victoria’s Secret doesn’t support either.
While it might not be very sexy to give somebody a charitable donation in their name, it IS sexy to know when your holiday dollars are going to support good will towards men and peace on earth, or child slave labor. And whoever you were getting that bra from, they’ll be honored that you’re doing good in their name for Christmas.
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December 22, 2011
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Marvel Heroines and Breast Cancer Awareness
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A new ad campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness has hit Mozambique, and already other countries the world over- including this one- are hoping to get in on it.
Marvel artists drew their most famous heroines performing self exams, with the warning that nobody is immune to breast cancer.
The message is double- First, that breast cancer can affect anyone- regardless of their personal strength. The second message is that superheroines are proactive about educating themselves and defending themselves against cancer.
While self breast checks are not the best way to detect breast cancer (they are likely to turn up benign but palpable cysts, while not showing small but cancerous ones), taking the initiative to educate yourself is important. Becoming familiar with your body, in order to be aware of any potentially dangerous changes in it is important.
Most important of all in the fight against breast cancer is regular mammograms. While more public and invasive then the self breast exam, mammograms can detect cancer early. And that is vital.
Still, superheroines raising awareness for breast health? Let’s hope we start seeing these ads here!
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December 21, 2011
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Witchcraft in the 21st Century
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Last Monday, Saudi Arabia executed a woman- Amina bin Abdul Halim bin Salem Nasser- for witchcraft and sorcery.
It sounds too insane to be true, but it is. She is the second person to be executed for those crimes in Saudi Arabia in recent months. No details have been released about what they are alleged to have done, but it’s pretty easy to speculate.
For example, I speculate that neither of these people were actually practicing sorcery.
Instead, it is likely that they were speaking out against the Saudi regime. Or that they were somehow undermining Saudi authority. That seems much more likely that that they were somehow conjuring spirits or something like that.
But the most bizarre and ominous element of the story is this- witchcraft and sorcery are not defined as crimes in Saudi Arabia. That means that the Saudi Arabian government actually beheaded people on trumped up nonsense charges that have nothing to do with actual laws.
They could have accused these people of some real crime- murder or treason or something of the like- but instead they invented a charge to depict them as fundamentally evil and wrong- and then cut off their heads.
I’ll leave you to ponder that.
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December 20, 2011
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Soldiers Speak Out About Sexual Assault
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Earlier this month, The Guardian published the stories of three soldiers who were raped while on active duty. But these are not simply written stories, words on a page or a screen, they are video testimonies.
One woman confided the brutal details of her rape to a fellow woman and soldier, and that woman accused her of being a “little slut” and denied that it could have happened.
Another woman was raped by her superior officer, who after the course of the rape told her that if she told anyone he would tell them that she was “a dyke,” a crime for which she could have been dismissed under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, regardless of its truth.
The third story is from a man, who was gang raped by his own squad during the first few weeks of his training.
Each story is different, as every rape is different, but they share some similar aspects that together paint a picture of the system of victimization in our military. Most painful of all, they tell the tales of victims who live in constant fear, without hope of justice, because their dedication to serve their country keeps them working side by side with their attackers.
We must do more to protect our brave servicemen and servicewomen. Not only from the horrors of war, but from the evils of their brothers in arms.
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December 19, 2011
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Kim Jong-il Dead at 69
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The long time dictator of North Korea passed away yesterday.
According to state-run media, Kim Jon-il died of “exhaustion” while on a train to give “field guidance” to the workers of North Korea.
All indications, based on what is known of this incredibly secretive country and its notoriously unbalanced ruler, suggest that this story is utter rubbish. Kim Jong-il lived a life of notorious luxury, while constantly releasing statements about the strength and wealth of his people who were known to be oppressed and frequently starving. He leaves behind a successor- his youngest son, Kim Jong-un. Hebegan his son’s career last year at the rank of 4 star general. Kim Jong-un is probably 28 years old, and his only experience is that since his appointment to his military rank, he has been constantly with his father, learning under his wing.
Shortly after announcing the death of Kim Jong-il, North Korea tested a short range missile, making it clear that Kim Jong-un will not hesitate to prove his dedication to the reckless and aggressive tactics of his father.
North Korea has been threatening a military action of South Korea lights Christmas trees near the border. South Korea has for the time being canceled its plans to light the trees, but under the leadership of Kim Jong-un there is no telling what might come in the new year.
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