Who killed Caylee Anthony? The Anthony Case has once again made a mockery of the so-called justice system. Lindsay Lohan should play Casey Anthony in a biopic. They share the same disregard for laws and decency and they both have a tattoo that states "the good life" in Italian. Criminals that operate with impunity is good to some, but their complete lack of integrity I find, personally, disgusting.
I have strong moral convictions. I would like to think that they came from growing up in the Military community, but I believe that it has a lot to do with the journey that I have taken in becoming self-educated. I recently discovered that a friend's parents--retired military, are strongly opposed to their daughter's homosexuality. At first, I found this hard to believe, but then, I postulated that some retired military in my parents' generation share that same attitude towards homosexuals. Some people in the contemporary do, too, but thankfully there are laws being passed that will educate us all as to what it is like to be a member of humanity.
I must reiterate that it is inhumane to not consider someone's feelings. Being that we are sentient beings, how can we not find empathy in the plight of homosexuals wanting the same love and access to their government that we want for ourselves? I learned from the book, "Happy at Last: The Thinking Person's Guide to Finding Joy," by Richard O'Conner, that rats laughed. As soon as I discovered this, I felt bad. Rats are used for experimentation; rats are regarded as being lowly, disgusting creatures, but that they share this positive trait with me (their DNA is very close to humans, but this didn't have the same impact as laughing on me) made me relate to them on a level that I did not imagine possible. We need to exploit our similarities in order to appreciate our differences.
I believe that we all know someone who is gay, but they have not come out yet. I think that is the attitude that we must have when lending empathetic ears and conversing with others. Everyone deserves love and laughter. To silence the laughter of a rat still pains me. To finally have New York legalize gay marriage and the United Nations pass laws regarding homosexuals demonstrates that we are able to exercise the neuroplasticity of our brains and increasing the love in our hearts.
Showing posts with label Lindsay Lohan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lindsay Lohan. Show all posts
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Save the banks, kill the schools.
I sometimes forget where I am. I am in the system: capitalism, and I am probably the worst capitalist. I grew up in a lot of different countries with different systems and I was able to understand their systems, for the most part, a lot better than I understand capitalism. This is the reason behind the military member and their families moving so frequently because supposedly, if not moved, their loyalty will remain with that specific general, country, etc and they will adopt that ideology. Once again, it is rooted in history. I love being American. The Americans that I know are very tolerant of different cultures, religions and ideas. The best part about capitalism is that artists can profit from their work. I cannot stress the importance of the arts. I think critically about most song lyrics, visual arts--television and advertisements, and musical compositions. One thing that I fail to understand, however, is how to think like a true capitalist--money-centric. I am still building on that.
Being in a capitalistic society, it should have been immediately apparent that the bail out money would go to the banks, instead of the schools, but I have always believed in doing the right thing, and that seemed very wrong to me.
Kanye West, who obviously gets it, wrote in his song, "Power": "the system's broken, the schools closed, the prisons open," and that is the most succinct way to describe what is happening. America's incarceration rate is so high that we have private prisons. That, in my opinion, is probably one of the worst ideas in the history of this country because it is an incentive to incarcerate people. How else would the prison profit? Whenever "overcrowding" is stated as the reason for Lindsay Lohan and other celebrities' reduced sentence time, I have a suggestion: utilize the private prisons! In a private prison, "the more the merrier!" Imagine if those private prisons were instead homeless shelters, orphanages, or shelters for victims of domestic violence. That is how I imagine things, but this is capitalism and private prisons are good for business. I still believe that criminals should receive a reasonable sentence and rehabilitation services, but profiting from prisoners seems like a conflict of interest.
Congratulations, Lindsay! I dedicate so many blog entries to you. I do truly hope that she gets help, though, and every other addict in the world because it is the rehabilitated that can help the current and future addicts. I do believe that she received special treatment and that is my major disagreement. A wrong will always be a wrong. There is no justifiable reason that some have been prosecuted for lesser crimes and she has received such lenient sentencing.
I have known people that have been to prison. I used to be very closed-minded about a lot of issues, and then, through a self-imposed exposure therapy, I opened myself to many different ideas and people. What I learned was that the only way that most people discover someone has been to prison is through a background check, job application, or disclosure. The better looking someone is, e.g., Lindsay Lohan, the less likely it is that one will suspect that they have been to prison. Hollywood employs known prisoners regularly and it is one of the best paying industries in the country. I wonder if their applications ever have a check box for if the applicant has been to prison or been found guilty of a misdemeanor. . . Save the arts, or the arts may save a prisoner. Ironic.
Being in a capitalistic society, it should have been immediately apparent that the bail out money would go to the banks, instead of the schools, but I have always believed in doing the right thing, and that seemed very wrong to me.
Kanye West, who obviously gets it, wrote in his song, "Power": "the system's broken, the schools closed, the prisons open," and that is the most succinct way to describe what is happening. America's incarceration rate is so high that we have private prisons. That, in my opinion, is probably one of the worst ideas in the history of this country because it is an incentive to incarcerate people. How else would the prison profit? Whenever "overcrowding" is stated as the reason for Lindsay Lohan and other celebrities' reduced sentence time, I have a suggestion: utilize the private prisons! In a private prison, "the more the merrier!" Imagine if those private prisons were instead homeless shelters, orphanages, or shelters for victims of domestic violence. That is how I imagine things, but this is capitalism and private prisons are good for business. I still believe that criminals should receive a reasonable sentence and rehabilitation services, but profiting from prisoners seems like a conflict of interest.
Congratulations, Lindsay! I dedicate so many blog entries to you. I do truly hope that she gets help, though, and every other addict in the world because it is the rehabilitated that can help the current and future addicts. I do believe that she received special treatment and that is my major disagreement. A wrong will always be a wrong. There is no justifiable reason that some have been prosecuted for lesser crimes and she has received such lenient sentencing.
I have known people that have been to prison. I used to be very closed-minded about a lot of issues, and then, through a self-imposed exposure therapy, I opened myself to many different ideas and people. What I learned was that the only way that most people discover someone has been to prison is through a background check, job application, or disclosure. The better looking someone is, e.g., Lindsay Lohan, the less likely it is that one will suspect that they have been to prison. Hollywood employs known prisoners regularly and it is one of the best paying industries in the country. I wonder if their applications ever have a check box for if the applicant has been to prison or been found guilty of a misdemeanor. . . Save the arts, or the arts may save a prisoner. Ironic.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Bread and Circus
Study History. That is one subject that I feel strongly about because of the trite saying, "History repeats itself". History may not repeat itself in the contemporary in the same manner as it occurred in the past, but there will be certain recognizable themes: the classics.
The Bread and Circus refers to my least favorite celebrity: Lindsay Lohan. Sadly, Lindsay Lohan has become a classic. Let us forget about poverty, health care, unemployment, war and every other international and domestic issue in order to focus our attention on Lindsay Lohan and the Prince's wedding.
Ancient Romans were mesmerized by the welfare system that provided them with food and entertainment in order to divert their attention from the circumstances that would eventually topple their empire. Entertainment has sold many things--including death.
As a child, I used to watch cigarette advertisements on t.v. granted, this was before the counterarguments about cigarettes were introduced, but there were fewer anti-smoking campaigns than pro-smoking ones. Cigarettes looked like fun. I wanted candy cigarettes until I could get the real thing. There is a lawsuit against the mass killer: Phillip Morris and the corporation of death is deciding to defend themselves.
Cigarettes should be classified as an accessory to murder. I smoked for half of my life. I started overseas at a very young age. My hatred of cigarettes crossed over that thin line to a love of them. I was under the impression that it would be fun and relieve stress. It only created stress. I lost a friend of mine in her 20s due to a smoking-related illness and that made me realize that I was willingly killing myself for cigarettes.
Smokers often speak about the psychological aspects of smoking: associated with good times, certain people, memories and so forth. President Obama has quit smoking and has publicized it because he mentioned his struggle to quit for good while he was still bumming cigarettes. To think that cancer is not a strong enough reason for some to quit shows the power of the addiction. However, because there is not a formal intervention or rehabilitation center for smoking and it remains legal and despite the risk of death and the social stigma, people continue to smoke. I told a friend that she was choosing her addiction over me when she went outside to smoke a cigarette because I treat cigarette and alcohol addiction as serious as an opiate or prescription drug addiction.
Death is also sold in the form of synthetic medicines aka prescription drugs. I grew up overseas and for the majority of my life, I had only 3 channels and no commercials. The commercials were replaced with information about the military, history and other related topics: "Practice good OPSEC" how to conduct oneself in a foreign country and as a representative of the U.S. country and military. I was shocked when I saw one genre of commercials: Drug commercials; once illegal, are now ubiquitous.
The drug trend is sleeping pills. I have friends in the U.S. military who have been to war zones. They have developed severe PTSD--post traumatic stress disorder, alcohol issues and other forms of anxiety. The cure-all is sleeping pills--it used to be motrin. I grew up under the "care" of military hospitals. I believe the military does not care at all about dependents--I even heard that the pentagon does not keep numbers of dependents--but I was fortunate enough to have health care, which is a luxury today. Anything that ailed me, was supposedly curable with Motrin. I was cured so well that I continue to have stomach problems because I was administered Motrin for everything. Years later, sleeping pills is the trend.
Sleep away everything. Sleep away PTSD because you may be teased if you express that you have it. Mental health is ignored and numbed with sleeping pills. There are too many young people that I have seen return from a war with the war zone thousands of miles away but still at war in their mind. In military culture, stoicism is regarded as strength. PTSD is supposedly for weaklings because it is in the title, "The Departement of War," that your job--your mission-- is to be the war hero. Sad, but as a perpetual optimist, I think that the government will add more jobs that will help military members and families that suffer from such mental anguish. I think there will be more anonymity, so that the sufferer does not become a social pariah or teased by their superiors and co-workers. I think that there will be more scholarships and grants given to those who would dedicate themselves to helping rehabilitate these indispensable members of society.
As explained by Michel Thomas in one of his Spanish language cds: in Spanish, an apology is given as, "lo siento," from the verb, 'sentir, to feel'. We must begin to feel instead of simply offering an apology.
The Bread and Circus refers to my least favorite celebrity: Lindsay Lohan. Sadly, Lindsay Lohan has become a classic. Let us forget about poverty, health care, unemployment, war and every other international and domestic issue in order to focus our attention on Lindsay Lohan and the Prince's wedding.
Ancient Romans were mesmerized by the welfare system that provided them with food and entertainment in order to divert their attention from the circumstances that would eventually topple their empire. Entertainment has sold many things--including death.
As a child, I used to watch cigarette advertisements on t.v. granted, this was before the counterarguments about cigarettes were introduced, but there were fewer anti-smoking campaigns than pro-smoking ones. Cigarettes looked like fun. I wanted candy cigarettes until I could get the real thing. There is a lawsuit against the mass killer: Phillip Morris and the corporation of death is deciding to defend themselves.
Cigarettes should be classified as an accessory to murder. I smoked for half of my life. I started overseas at a very young age. My hatred of cigarettes crossed over that thin line to a love of them. I was under the impression that it would be fun and relieve stress. It only created stress. I lost a friend of mine in her 20s due to a smoking-related illness and that made me realize that I was willingly killing myself for cigarettes.
Smokers often speak about the psychological aspects of smoking: associated with good times, certain people, memories and so forth. President Obama has quit smoking and has publicized it because he mentioned his struggle to quit for good while he was still bumming cigarettes. To think that cancer is not a strong enough reason for some to quit shows the power of the addiction. However, because there is not a formal intervention or rehabilitation center for smoking and it remains legal and despite the risk of death and the social stigma, people continue to smoke. I told a friend that she was choosing her addiction over me when she went outside to smoke a cigarette because I treat cigarette and alcohol addiction as serious as an opiate or prescription drug addiction.
Death is also sold in the form of synthetic medicines aka prescription drugs. I grew up overseas and for the majority of my life, I had only 3 channels and no commercials. The commercials were replaced with information about the military, history and other related topics: "Practice good OPSEC" how to conduct oneself in a foreign country and as a representative of the U.S. country and military. I was shocked when I saw one genre of commercials: Drug commercials; once illegal, are now ubiquitous.
The drug trend is sleeping pills. I have friends in the U.S. military who have been to war zones. They have developed severe PTSD--post traumatic stress disorder, alcohol issues and other forms of anxiety. The cure-all is sleeping pills--it used to be motrin. I grew up under the "care" of military hospitals. I believe the military does not care at all about dependents--I even heard that the pentagon does not keep numbers of dependents--but I was fortunate enough to have health care, which is a luxury today. Anything that ailed me, was supposedly curable with Motrin. I was cured so well that I continue to have stomach problems because I was administered Motrin for everything. Years later, sleeping pills is the trend.
Sleep away everything. Sleep away PTSD because you may be teased if you express that you have it. Mental health is ignored and numbed with sleeping pills. There are too many young people that I have seen return from a war with the war zone thousands of miles away but still at war in their mind. In military culture, stoicism is regarded as strength. PTSD is supposedly for weaklings because it is in the title, "The Departement of War," that your job--your mission-- is to be the war hero. Sad, but as a perpetual optimist, I think that the government will add more jobs that will help military members and families that suffer from such mental anguish. I think there will be more anonymity, so that the sufferer does not become a social pariah or teased by their superiors and co-workers. I think that there will be more scholarships and grants given to those who would dedicate themselves to helping rehabilitate these indispensable members of society.
As explained by Michel Thomas in one of his Spanish language cds: in Spanish, an apology is given as, "lo siento," from the verb, 'sentir, to feel'. We must begin to feel instead of simply offering an apology.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Unemployment Files
I have started to think that people are saving jobs for each other. I do not have a criminal record, I have a (worthless) bachelor's degree; I have many competencies, I have excellent phone etiquette, a very high social intelligence quotient, yet, I have no employment offers and no return calls. The irony of it is that celebrities are allowed to have criminal records and, in some cases, have been offered employment as soon as their time is served. If there is one segment of society where criminals are forgiven and loved unconditionally, it is in the entertainment industry. The stars--placed so high above the layman--can elicit sympathy with drug addiction, eating disorders, allegations of sexual assault and other criminal acts that would deem the average offender a pariah or one who cannot be rehabilitated. How easily forgiven is Lindsay Lohan? She was unable to serve her full jail sentence due to "overcrowding", she was entered into a Rehab facility where she supposedly violated the rules, she was on probation and violated that, too, but she was offered million dollar interviews from the media. I would almost volunteer to go to jail for the same amount of time and with the same amount of star privileges as Ms. Lohan if when I got out I could receive million dollar interviews, employment offers and expensive cars gifted to me. However, I have integrity. I am proud to say that I am unwilling to receive anything as a reward for bad behavior. Even though good deeds often go overlooked, I remain optimistic that one day they, too, will receive compensation.
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