When congress ignored the first amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
And yet, consider the history of the Natives of our country. Rounded up, placed on reservations and punished for practicing their religion, speaking their native tongue and embracing their own culture. Even today, the rights of our native brothers and sisters are being violated by rules and laws that should never have applied.

God in School

Alright, I have been fussing for weeks now about this blog and Spacetrucker's negligence (You hear that, Spacetrucker?) so I guess it is up to me to get back to it.

There is a constant uproar by the Christians about putting God back in school and a muted fight by Atheists to keep that from happening. While I am an atheist, I see nothing wrong with teaching Judeo-Christian history in school, as long as it is taught in the framework of history and not dogma, and as long as equal time is given to other faiths and their contributions to history. However, I do not believe that teachers who put illustrations up on their walls purporting to teach American history and the history of our founding fathers, with the various mentions of God are doing so to teach history. Judge for yourself, but what I see is a calculated effort to push their faith and make a political statement with American history as a veil of legitimacy.



CitizenLink: Poster Child - You won't believe what California school officials found on a classroom wall.

Touching Lives in 140 characters or less

Today has been a quiet day on Twitter, at least for a group of Tweeps I, @warriorblue, am privileged to call friends @spacetrucker @babykk09 @kritner @Asimov7 @sherriwilson @lilbughi. Someone who had only recently become a friend to most of us, @BamaRock28 passed away last weekend and we are missing him.

While some of the group have met each other, I had never met @BamaRock28 in person or even heard his voice. It seems strange that you can miss the presence of someone who you have never laid eyes on, but I suppose this is the new reality of life. You can now touch people's lives in 140 characters or less.

@BamaRock 28 - Peace to you, my friend.

Fear of Socialism

I am not sure how it is that the populace of the United States has been scared into believing that socialism in any form is a bad thing. Perhaps the propagation of this notion serves the purpose of the right wing, and in furtherance of that purpose they incite righteous indignation, creating mobs, who protest the loudest and understand the least. Perhaps if they spent less time worshiping Ronald Reagan, and more time researching history and facts, they would realize that socialism plays a role in our society. Social Security and Medicare, as examples of "socialist" programs, provide bare minimum protection against homelessness, disease and hunger in the elderly, and were put into place in the decades following the despair of the Great Depression. So called "socialist programs" are not about the expectations referred to in the blog linked below.



http://maybeitisrocketscience.blogspot.com/2009/12/feed-body-starve-soul.html

What will we leave?

Can G.W. Bush be prosecuted?

Gender/age discrimination

I have been reading a lot about the blatant discrimination against women by Health Insurance providers. Pregnancy, C-Sections, even domestic abuse and rape have been called "pre-existing" conditions. I have Osteo Porosis, a condition common in small boned women my age. I pay full price for the medications that treat that condition because Insurance will not pay for it. When my income dropped due to a divorce, I couldn't afford to pay for it. After a few months, I broke my hip. It could have been prevented had I been able to take the once a month medication that builds bones weakened by Osteo penia and Osteo Porosis.
But health insurance is not the only insurance that discriminates. When my divorce was final, my auto insurance went up. Now I should tell you, I have had a pristine driving record for 20 years, and have never had an accident. In fact, in 35 years of driving I have only had one moving violation.
Not too long ago I learned that I pay nearly double the auto insurance premiums as my ex husband. We use the same insurance company and have the amount of coverage. This alone isn't so bad, but the man has had a wreck and 3 tickets in the last year alone.
The reason my insurance is so much higher? Divorced, menopausal woman are considered as high a risk as TEEN AGERS. Me pristine driving record should speak for itself. I've been divorced for over a year, drive several times a week and am a safe, responsible driver. Talk about blatant age and gender discrimination!