I value the US Post Office for privacy. E-mail can't do that.

December 12, 2011

By John Nichols
 
Occupy Wall Street protesters (click title to entry - thank you) hit a bull's eye when they invaded a National Press Club briefing where Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe - who makes like a corporate executive and refers to himself as "Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Postal Service" - was giving a speech about the need to close post offices, lay off workers, and, though this was unspoken, take steps that will lead to the privatization one of the country's greatest public assets.


Postmasters general do not usually become targets of passionate opposition, but the protesters were chanting, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donahoe has got to go."


And rightly so. Last week, Donahoe laid out a plan that would destroy the Postal Service as most Americans know it. And the destruction would be not out of necessity, but to perpetuate an austerity lie. The supposed financial crisis facing the Postal Service is a fantasy.


The agency - which continues to provide vital services to 150 million households and business a day, sustains rural and urban communities across the country as a Main Street mainstay, employs hundreds of thousands of Americans, and has a history of being in the forefront of technological and societal progress - is not in trouble because of competition from the Internet or changing letter-writing patterns. It is in trouble because Congress forced it to pay roughly $5.5 billion a year into a trust fund for future retiree pensions....

There are all sorts of rants about online piracy, but, the invasion of privacy with email has been an issue, including problems like sexting of minors.  While the House bill is understandable, the misuse of this technology in our society has resulted in tragic results.  The innocense of children have been exploited as if a joke along with a media mogul that finds hacking into cell phones a marketable skill. 

I use the US Postal Service because I can write letters to friends and relatives.  They have something physical to hold in their hands to read and enjoy and cherish.  There is absolutely nothing endearing of an email print out. 

The rapid responses possible on the internet destroy lives.  The internet obviously has a purpose in my life, but, using it as the only means of communication is lax and dangeruous.  Compromising one's standards for personal safety and security means evaluating the use of 'online' services and realizing there is a purpose for the US Postal Service.  The US Postal Service employs people and does not eliminate jobs.

...A House Judiciary Committee (click here) markup for Stop Online Piracy, or SOPA, is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern Time Thursday. Representative Lamar Smith, the committee chairman and main sponsor of the bill, will offer a wide-ranging amendment to the bill,  his spokeswoman said.

Smith and the Judiciary Committee staff have been working closely with lawmakers and interested groups for the past few weeks "to strengthen the bill and address legitimate concerns from groups who are interested in working with Congress to combat foreign rogue websites," said the spokeswoman for Smith, a Texas Republican.

In a markup, lawmakers have the opportunity to debate and amend a bill. If the Judiciary Committee votes to approve SOPA, the next step would be for the full House to vote on it. Smith introduced SOPA on Oct. 26....

Speaker Boner is hiding today as the House votes on the hideous bill that won't be signed into law regarding the Payroll Tax Extention.

He excused himself from being Speaker Pro Tempore for the day.  He sincerely does not come across as a person endorsing another House folly.

Senator Jon Tester needs to pay attention to their constituents, including the #Occupy Montana members who recently paid Washington, DC a visit to let their representatives a visit to remind them whom they are working for rather than positioning them politically.

The video about the #Occupy Montana (click here) movement begins at time point 00:46 - 01:30.  The #Occupy Movement is not interested in pandering to Wall Street, but, finding sustainable jobs that are not harmful to the environment and the existing jobs that already exist.

The current unemployment rate in Montana is 7.6% (click here) which is below the national average.  The passage of the Payroll Tax Cut will insure the jobs currently existing are maintained with an expansion of the tax cut, it will create more jobs.  I sincerely doubt Montanans want jobs while endangering clean water and/or farm land.

Martin Dempsey needs to walk back his Air Force directives.

Fully armed MQ-9 Reaper (click title to entry - thank you)  unmanned aerial vehicle taxis down the runway (file photo) 

A U.S. drone aircraft has crashed at an airport in the Seychelles.

The U.S. Embassy in nearby Mauritius says the remote-controlled MQ-9 aircraft crashed Tuesday while trying to land at the Seychelles International airport on the island of Mahe.

An embassy statement says no one was injured....

The embassy did not comment on the plane's mission and said the cause of the crash was unknown....

First is was the two military unites in Pakistan, then the drone crash in Iran and now another drone crash in Syechelles.  I don't think so!  The odds of all this occuring in such a short period of time doesn't exist.  The air strikes are too extreme and the military operating these missions are showing the extent at which it can control the outcomes.  There is something very wrong here and the new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Martin Dempsey needs to review the escalation is US LOSS that exists now that didn't before.

...Gen Dempsey (click here) said it was unclear the latest steps taken by EU leaders would be enough to hold the eurozone together, adding that a break-up could have consequences for the Pentagon.
Twenty-six of the 27 EU countries have agreed to forge a tighter fiscal union.
Only the UK refused to sign up to a new treaty, citing national interest.
Gen Dempsey, who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told an event hosted by the Atlantic Council, a Washington think-tank: "The eurozone is at great risk."...

Is this a NATO thing, because I thought Secretary Geithner was just in Europe to meet with EU leaders.

...The F-35 program (click here) is now feeling the threat of an issue from across the pond with European partner nations feeling the economic pinch that could result in reduced purchases of the F-35....

"Morning Papers" - Its Origins

The Rooster
"Okeydoke"

"Good Night, Moon"

Waning Gibbous

2.7 days after full moon

93.5% of full

Monday, December 12, 2011

Plan B needs an additional warning on the box.

Plan B^{® is an emergency contraceptive used to prevent pregnancy up to 72 hours after unprotected sex. A form of back up contraceptive, often known as the "morning after pill," Plan B® can be used in situations including when a woman is raped or sexually assaulted, had unexpected unprotected sex, missed two or more birth control pills or a condom broke or failed during sex. When taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, Plan B® is 95% effective at preventing pregnancy, and when taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, Plan B® is 89% effective. Plan B® contains levonorgestrel, a hormone that prevents ovulation and fertilization by thickening or changing the lining of the uterus. Plan B® is a preventative measure, and will not affect or terminate an already existing pregnancy. It also does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases. Any person 17 years of age and older has the right to access Plan B® over the counter (OTC) without a doctor's prescription.}
The additional warning needed is; following use of Plan B the woman needs to consider seeking birth control to prevent pregnancy.

It isn't enough a woman has emergency contraception, but, having used it once she needs to put her emergency need into a life context that will work for her in the future. Birth control doesn't cost $50.00 per pill.  

Teenage Growth & Development: 15-17 Years

There are problems for older teens.  The idea a 15 year old has 'come of age' begins with the knowledge they were successful in achieving growth and development of a young teen.  Life is tough enough, a society does not have to complicate it by parentralizing them to purchase their own emergency contraception.

Most teens navigate the developmental tasks of adolescence successfully.Teens ages 15-19 have much higher mortality rates than younger children.
The leading causes of death for teens are motor vehicle crashes, homicide, and suicide.

Physical growth (click title to entry - thank you)

Girls have usually reached full physical development. Many teenage girls are concerned with the way they look and are dissatisfied with their bodies and their weight. Nearly half of all high school girls diet to lose weight. Boys are close to completing their physical growth. Around 15 or 16 years of age, boys' voices will lower and facial hair will appear. Boys may continue to gain height and muscle.

Intellectual characteristics

Teens are better able to solve problems, think about their future, appreciate opinions of others and understand the long-term effects of their decisions. However, teens tend to use these skills inconsistently; as a result, they sometimes do things without thinking first.
Teens' organizational skills improve. Many successfully juggle school, outside activities, and work.

In an attempt to answer the questions "Who am I?" and "What should I be?" teens listen to new music, try out clothing fashions, and begin to explore jobs, religion, political issues, and social causes.
Teens frequently question and challenge school and parental rules.

Older Teens don't need babies, they need to have fun.  It is only at this age can appreciation of what emergency contraception will do to prevent a loss of quality of life be realized.  It is this age when autonomous decisions can be made about the prevention of pregnancy.  This age group needs to have means available to rescue themselves from their own short comings.  It is legal to make mistakes, it is quite something else to trap young people into a dilemma that will alter their life forever. 

Is abstinence only promoted by religious organizations? No. Below is a Planned Parenthood statement.

Special Advantages for Teens  (click here)Sexual relationships present risks. Abstinence is a very good way to postpone taking those risks until you are better able to handle them.
Women who abstain until their 20s — and who have fewer partners in their lifetimes — may have certain health advantages over women who do not. They are less likely to get STDs. Because they are less likely to get an STD, they are also less likely to become infertile or develop cervical cancer.

Teen pregnancy is a really bad idea.  It is dangerous to the mother as well as the child.  When teens are seeking abortion they should be given special consideration and not shown ultrasounds to change their minds.  Either we value an adult as a mother or we don't and to believe showing a young impressable teen an ultrasound is in her best interest is completely and utterly bizarre.  The subject of teen pregnancy is the issue, not the allowance of emergency contraception to hide the statistics and deny the problem and damage done to young women.

The pregnancy rate among 15-to-19-year-olds (click title to entry - thank you) increased 3 percent between 2005 and 2006 -- the first jump since 1990, according to an analysis of the most recent data collected by the federal government and the nation's leading reproductive-health think tank....

..."It could be a lot of things coming together," said Rebecca Maynard, a professor of economics and social policy at the University of Pennsylvania. "It could be we just bottomed out, and whenever you are at the bottom, it tends to wiggle around. This may or may not be a sustained rise."...

Abstinence is the absolute best venue for any person not inclined to start a family, however, is it realistic?  No.  Young people's desire is real and they will experiement with it.  Will they cause themselves hardship over the fact they have experimented with their sexuality?  Yes.  But, that hardship has to be mediated by a society intent on providing 'life skill' guidance to make well educated choices.  The USA should actively engage the topic of sexual maturity and how best to approach those decisions when they present themselves.  Deciding to carry a pregnancy to term is a monumental decision that is life changing and all options have to be before the individual at any age.  I do not approve of teen pregnancy and never will.  I don't find it 'simply darling' that a young woman decided to have a baby.  I sincerely believe it is the worst decision she could make.

FDA Advisory panels need to be an ally to parents. They really don't want their teens pregnant.

"Teens say that parents most influence their decisions about sex, love and relationships."  (click title to entry - thank you)

When a government agency comes out with recommendations as far reaching as allowing young teens to access over the counter emergency contraception it scares reasonable adults.

I raised two young men to adulthood while avoiding sexual trauma.  I remember an 17 year old woman actually chasing my 14 year old for attention.  She wanted to have sex, she wanted to be his girlfriend in every way.  He was very good looking and charasmatic and was a leader in his demeanor, but, when it came to having sex he ran the other way.  He didn't shrink from her approaches and would have allowed the abuse if I hadn't talked to him about his right to be sexually restrained.  His right to be innocent. 

Once by son and I came to terms of what was occurring I asked if he wanted me to speak to the woman's parents, would it help?  He said it would be helpful.  So, I did and much to my surprise the mother of this 17 year old women stated I was discriminating against her daughter because of age.  That she was married to her husband that was 5 years younger than she.  Never once did the mother appreciate the huge gap of emotional development existing between her daughter and my son.  My 14 year old was not ready for a relationship, he was ready for wrestling practice. 

The conversation with this mother was futile and I simply ended it by stating there would be criminal charges filed if this continued.  Those are all organic understandings about live and the character of a child.  That reality is overlooked by those that want to cerebralize the experience and provide better precedent.  Damn, the precedent if one can't protect children from abuse.

The FDA panel for Women is a bit antisepitc if they can't include growth and development as a priority.

Growth and development is more than physical development, it is emotional and psychological.  Certainly, the FDA Panel can see the folly of such decisions when exposing young teens to such adult concepts and emotional demands.

Children this age are suppose to have parents.  Those parents are suppose to be a real part of the picture included in growth and development.  A cardinal rule for treating a pediatric patient is recognizing the parent is as much a part of the treatment as the child and physician is.  Why then separate that dynamic when it comes to pre-mature sexual behavior? 

Why not just hand young teens birth control if there is going to be that much permission to allow over the counter access to emergency contraception?

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Johnson & Johnson’s birth control patch (click title to entry - thyank you) won the backing of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the second time in two days the group endorsed a contraceptive linked to a higher risk of blood clots.

The benefits of the Ortho Evra patch outweigh the clot dangers, FDA reproductive and drug safety advisory panels said today in a 19-5 vote. The agency should change the information label to better reflect the risk, the panels said at a meeting today in Adelphi, Maryland. The agency doesn’t have to follow the recommendations....

Teenage Growth & Development: 11-14 Years

• body fat increases
• breasts begin to enlarge
• pubic hair grows
• height and weight increase
• first menstrual period occurs
• hips widen
• underarm hair grows
• skin and hair become more oily
• pimples may appear

Girls start to develop secondary sex characteristics earlier than boys, so to believe firls are allowing concentual sex between herself and a boy is a bit off the mark. 

The physical changes that take place during puberty are caused by hormones.

A girl will usually get her first period around the same age that her mother did.

Because teens want to fit in, most choose friends whose interests, activities, and values are similar to their own.

Talking on the phone is one way teens develop their social skills.

I would expect young teens can be influenced by demands of older teens or family without a great deal of difficulty.  They are very vulnerable and society is not suppose to leave them allow a greater victimization, but, provide for their safety in all aspects, physically, socially and psychologically.  I don't see this age group and their growth and development placed on the shelf because they are insulting women's rights due to a new precedent.  That is victimization.  Women's rights belongs in this fight and it is more than appropriate advocates treat the 'age appropriate' happiness accordingly.

Incest is a crime, not a manageable dynamic young women and girls.

Incest is defined as sexual contact between persons who are so closely related that their marriage is illegal (e.g., parents and children, uncles/aunts and nieces/nephews, etc.). This usually takes the form of an older family member sexually abusing a child or adolescent. (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, RAINN, 2008)....

An under reported crime against a child should not be faciliated by a emergency contraceptive medication.  It was stated 1% of all eleven year olds are having sex.  That should not be a call for empowerment, although I understand the focus.  The nation needs to address this very real aspect of life without further victimizing the child or faciliatating the abuse.  An eleven year old child is not engaging in sexual intercourse by consent, but, only by intimidation or incentive.

...The study of a nationally representative sample of state prisoners serving time for violent crime in 1991 revealed that 20 percent (20%) of their crimes were committed against children, and three out of four prisoners who victimized a child reported the crime took place in their own home or in the victim's home (Greenfeld, 1996).

Estimates of the number of incest victims in the United States vary. These discrepancies can be attributed to the fact that incest remains an extremely under-reported crime. All too often, pressure from family members -- in addition to threats or pressure from the abuser -- results in extreme reluctance to reveal abuse and to subsequently obtain help (Matsakis, 1991).

Incest has been cited as the most common form of child abuse. Studies conclude that 43 percent (43%) of the children who are abused are abused by family members, 33 percent (33%) are abused by someone they know, and the remaining 24 percent (24%) are sexually abused by strangers (Hayes, 1990). Other research indicates that over 10 million Americans have been victims of incest....

7.6% of all child abuse is sexual. Another 7.6% is psychological maltreatment.

Children (click title to entry - thank you) are suffering from a hidden epidemic of child abuse and neglect. Over 3 million reports of child abuse are made every year in the United States; however, those reports can include multiple children. In 2009, approximately 3.3 million child abuse reports and allegations were made involving an estimated 6 million children.

I am fully aware of how the female gender at any age is a second class citizen in the USA, however, to empower the victimized is not a valid venue in the USA.  Allowing emergency birth control for young girls and young women is a form of abuse. 


As an ethical issue alone there has to be authority involved with such activity in a society.  I would rather see the Secretary of Health and Human Services along with the Justice Department start to shape protections for young women and girls with an understanding that rape and/or incest is a very viable reality when such pregnancies occur.  Providing 'an out' for the abuser is not a moral venue.

Morality when it comes to intimacy is important.

I was quite surprised to hear highly regarded women advocates actually compare this to children's aspirin.  There is a huge difference and the analogy does not carry weight.

I don't approve of the price of the product, it is prohibitive. but until there is a generic people are stuck with the high price.

The idea that young women of the age of 11 years old should actually be able to access emergency contraception is irresponsible.  Not that it isn't safe, the FDA has already stated it would be safe enough for younger women/girls to take the medication.  The idea a society would consent to allow an eleven year old girl become pregnant without intervening is the issue.  These girls should not be pregnant, providing an emergency contraceptive without a perscription from a licensed medical doctor or a planned parenthood clinic should be illegal. 

While I value the women advocates for all they do there is a stark reality no one is facing.  The intervention by the Secretary of Health and Human Services is not a precedent that cannot be overcome when it is about women 'of age' or 'majority.'  This prohibition of "Plan B" for young girls/women carries a 'criminal' content.  To allow young women to believe they can and have to protect themselves from exploitation by using Plan B without supervision or knowledge is only a very viable venue for child abuse.

The Democrats, Liberals and Progressives don't use organic content in their appeal to the electorate.

Much of what can be organic content can be offensive, knowing the electorate and what they are looking for as people that understand them is important.  The word is important.  It is only right and moral that people can rely on others to care enough about their culture and/or their point of view to have it relayed to them in ways that matter. 

Politics is organic.  It also demands the best a populous has to give to insure the USA is on its best offensive both in achieving goals such as peace and nuclear disarmament, but, also to be able to direct activities of the government without devisive debate.  There is a healthy balance of organic content in politics and I wish those that participate would find it.

The electorate wants to be understood and their candidates should reflect the fact they do understand them and can relate to them.

This Rick Perry ad is named 'Strong.'

It has a great deal of organic content. The cowboy roughness, relating to God and physical movement. He is walking uphill and not downhill. Uphill is a struggle, a climb and it relates what a strong man he is.

This ad by Cain's campaign is organic. It is pure juice and nothing more.

It's Monday Night

Red Hot Chili Peppers (click title to entry - thank you) - Organic Anti-Beat Box Band (Buenos Aires 1999-10...

Welcome friends to my thoughts of when
the fax city 4 were four young men
time has come, now we jam
with the uplift mofo party plan
we're the organic anti-beat box band

One comes from the holy land
another was born an australian
me i'm from michigan
but hollywood is the land of lands
it's a hollywood jam

We represent the hollywood kids
hollywood is where we live
we represent the hollywood kids
organic anti-beat box band

Life is grand in the land of lands
the mind does boggle the mind expands
the anarchy 4 have manned their craft
get on your knees and shake your ass
to the jam that is, thats right

We don't ask we demand
that you and your clan
listem now to this jam
to the power of the drummers bad
it's a hollywood jam

Let's rock!

We represent the hollywood kids
hollywood is where we live
we represent the hollywood kids
organic anti-beat box band

There's a party in my town at 12:00
there's a party that's rockin down to the rock
I've got nothin' against hip hop
but there's a party in my town
and no beat box jam that is

The party's got girls the girls got hot
the party's got boys and the boys got socks
something popped the doors unlocked
house got up ran around the block
sit down house
take off your blouse

We represent the hollywood kids
hollywood is where we live
any good friend of the lollypop kids
over the rainbow with the wiz
we represent the hollywood kids
organic anti-beat box band

With the organic anti-beat box band
you just might slam dance that is
it's a hollywood jam

Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream have announced they are an ally of #Occupy.

They are planning a campaign against corporate donations in politics called, "Get the Dough (Cookie Dough) Out" of Politics.

They plan the beginning of this campaign in 2012 and recognize the need for an Constitutional Amendment to completely end the idea that a corporation is a person.

They have changed their corporate structure to reflect these values before this announcement and have spent time with the #Occupy movement to know there are wonderful people affiliated with it.

This is a major accomplishment for #Occupy and their success is gaining ground on venues the longer they continue.  The Co-Founders of Ben and Jerry's spent time at the encampments scooping ice cream to the protesters.   They stated it was then they were able to come to understand the people involved, their purpose, their vision and mission.  The encampments have been a vital link to growing a concensus for the movement.  It brought 'community' to the reality.