Post 10-Immigration and the Devil's Highway

Hi all! Hope everyone has had a great summer! It's almost back to school time for me! I'm really excited about my classes too, especially my American Social Welfare Policy class! But anywho, my last topic for the summer is U.S. immigration policy.

Now to start off, the experience of immigrants has always been a difficult one, with one exception. Only one group of immigrants have ever had a positive experience with natives: the first Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 17th century. The natives in this case were Native Americans, and as we all know they didn't get the best end of the stick. When Anglo-Saxon Europeans settled, Native Americans were disrespectfully called Indians, murdered, and decimated by diseases brought to the "New World" by the Europeans. Since most of our textbooks are written with an Anglo-Saxon central viewpoint, the plight of the Native Americans is largely downplayed. As are the experiences of immigrant groups that came after the Anglo-Saxons. The Chinese, the Germans, the Irish (who were not considered white until later), and of course African Americans faced negative experiences that linger still today including discrimination in housing policy, forced, unpaid labor, and voter suppression. Although these groups are now seen as legitimate groups, as far as immigration policy goes, American society has another group of immigrants to scrutinize: Hispanics. And it is the plight of Hispanic immigrants that we will examine in this post.
Now some of you may wonder why there is renewed interest with immigration policy this year. The main reason is that the Republican party is looking to renew its image with Hispanic voters. After the 2012 presidential election, where Hispanics/Latinos voted for President Obama over Governor Romney in a 71% to 27% landslide. In an effort to push for immigration reform (which Democrats have supported for years because it was the right thing to do, not the thing to do to get votes) Republican Senators John McCain (a rare Republican who has been a long time immigration reformer), Jeff Flake, Marco Rubio, and Lindsey Graham worked with Democratic senators Dick Durbin, Michael Bennett, Bob Menendez, and Chuck Schumer to create a comprehensive bill to deal with our current immigration problem.
Now a lot of people criticize this bill because it contains "amnesty" and not enough "border security". Here's the thing, we do have a lot of undocumented immigrants, almost 12 million to be as precise as possible. Of those 12 million, the vast majority are contributing to their communities with hard work. Also, young adults who came here as children brought by their parents are facing roadblocks to jobs, driver's licenses, and college enrollment because they are not considered "legal" citizens, even though they have served in out military and pledged only to out flag. So why I ask, is it such a big deal to create a pathway to citizenship? These immigrants may be "taking jobs", but they are mostly the jobs that most white Americans look down on (roofing, landscaping, maid servicing, and working in fast food restaurants to name a few). Also, if the 12 million undocumented were to become citizens, they would contribute in the form of taxation, effectively cutting the deficit in half, something that Republicans against "amnesty" constantly push for.
As always, there is another side to the immigrant story. Like other immigrant groups, Latinos face extreme poverty in Mexico and other countries in the Caribbean and Latin America. The bight light of opportunity that is America provides a sense of hope that they will be able to provide for their family and offer a better life for their children. Legal immigration takes money and can take up to 20 years. Would you live in poverty and watch your children suffer this long? Most would not. The new immigration bill gives hard working undocumented immigrants a chance to become "legal". Along with a pathway to citizenship, the bill allows for permanent residence for international university students who have received science, technology, engineering, or math degrees at colleges in the U.S., cracking down on businesses who pay immigrants under the table, and improving e-verify systems that employers can use.
This bill offers a comprehensive solution to an important moral and economic issue. When the U.S. closes its doors to immigrant populations, we become worse off. It has been the ideas of immigrants who have propelled us forward for centuries. The economy of the colonies was built on the backs of African immigrant slave labor, our railroads were built by the Chinese, the Germans and Irish built our canals, bridges, and skyscrapers in the Northeast, Jewish immigrants helped to build our financial sector, and Hispanics are helping to maintain housing construction in the recovering housing markets of the Southwest. Difference and diversity are key drivers of innovation and we must continue the melting pot tradition that has always been. So I challenge my readers to contact their Representatives in the Republican controlled house and ask them to vote on the Immigration bill that the Senate passed.  Watch below for highlights of the immigration debate!

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This weeks short read is related to the comprehensive immigration bill mentioned above. "The Devil's Highway" by Luis Alberto Urrea is an interesting read about how backwards and broken immigration policy has been for the past few decades. In his book, Urrea explains the trials and tribulations faced by immigrants from Mexico to the U.S. in May 2001. The group became lost in the Southern U.S. desert and 14 of the men died from hyperthermia (the opposite of hypothermia). This book also does a great job at giving the immigrant's perspective on the dangerous crossing and the desperation that motivated their journey. I suggest this because it is a quick read, but also contains depth in human emotion and immigration policy. At 220 pages, you could probably finish in a week. So til next time, remember to think of our immigrants and the experiences that push or pull them to the U.S. And remember, investing in our immigrant populations will help us become a stronger and more structurally secure nation.

Post 9- The Implementation of the Affordable Care Act and The Meaning of Matthew

Hey friends! Now I hate to start off a good post with some bad news, but I'm afraid that I am going to have to hold off on blogging some when school gets here. I'm for sure not going to blog on Mondays anymore, but may update every other Tuesday. But we shall see. I will still share on Favebook when a new post becomes available.

Now on to some exciting news: the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act is almost here! Now for those of you who don't know, here are some of the landmark components of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" aka Obamacare:

• No lifetime limits on money for procedures
• Insurance companies have to use 80% of your premium payments on health procedures; if more than 20% is used otherwise, the extra is to be refunded.
• Employers with more than 50 employees are to provide coverage to their workers. 
• Young adults can stay on parents' insurance plan until age 26 (That's me!)
• Medicaid expansion to those below 138% of the Federal Poverty Line (about  $32,000 a year and under). 
• New online marketplaces, where premiums will be much cheaper because of competition for your business.
• Individual mandate that everyone have insurance, or face penalty tax. (If someone goes to the ER, they are not turned away. They are treated and the hospital loses money, so prices go up for everyone else. Same logic that applies to what happens when someone steals from the store and prices go up for everyone else, not to say that those two scenarios are comparable. This prevents that). 
• Tax incentives to individuals who purchase their own healthcare
• Women will no longer have to pay higher premiums. Having a uterus is no longer a pre-existing condition. 

All of these are major provisions of Obamacare. Now, to me, all of these sound pretty great! To me, healthcare is a basic human right. As I said earlier, in my SNAP post, food and healthcare are human rights that an industrialized nation such as the U.S. should invest in and provide to its citizens in a fiscally responsible way if they can not procure them for themselves. Now, there is a lot of political debate over Obamacare, but it may not be for reasons that you think. If you care to venture onto opensecrets.org, you can look and see who politicians get their money from. Now, if you care to venture over to my friend Mitch McConnell's page, you will see that he has received half a million dollars from insurance companies since 2010, when the Affordable Care Act passed. Coincidental that Senator McConnell is one of the chief voices against the ACA. Insurance companies exist to make profits, and this law is for affordable care. You do the math and figure out which side seems right.
In the latest news, we have a group of extremist senators who want to shut down the government in order to defund Obamacare. This thought comes after the 40th vote to repeal the bill. Now, we pay our politicians to work, yes? Is it not a waste of time and thus our tax dollars if the House of Representatives votes 40 TIMES to do something that will go nowhere in the Senate and the President would veto anyway? Now if the government were to be shutdown, Obamacare would remain funded because it is part of what's called "mandatory spending" which the government has to spend no matter what. However, social security payments and military paychecks would go unpaid. So basically those threatening a shutdown would hold seniors and soldiers hostage for nothing, because Obamacare is going to be funded no matter what. Hopefully the political gamesmanship can cease and the process of insuring the uninsured can begin. For example, there are 640,000 uninsured people in Kentucky. However, 308,000 will gain coverage through Medicaid expansion while the other 332,000 will buy healthcare in the online marketplaces where they will receive discounts and tax refunds for purchasing insurance.
So what do we do then? Well the first thing is to educate yourself, especially if you are one of the 640,000 uninsured Kentuckians I mentioned. Visit healthcare.gov and read up on some of the provisions that affect you. But, if you already have insurance, you don't have to do anything! The benefits of no lifetime limits and coverage of your children until age 26 will happen automatically. Also brush up on facts and avoid fear-mongering lies. You can keep your doctor, wait times won't go up, and it is not a government scheme. Premiums are going to go down and health insurance is rising at the slowest rate in years. Remember friends, Social Security and Medicare were once very unpopular, but are they going anywhere anytime soon? This is probably the most important post I have written, so be educated and find facts on this. Don't believe the scare tactics and if you know someone who is uninsured direct them to healthcare.gov. It will be the law of the land, so let's make sure that those who need it can use it effectively. Watch Ms. Karen Finney explain some more.Or, if you are pressed for time, watch the second video where an actual doctor explains healthcare.

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In my short read this week, I refer you to "The Meaning of Matthew" by Judy Shepard. Now if you weren't a little guy or girl back in 1998 when Matthew Shepard was murdered, you probably remember the news story. However, this book provides insight into the story of Matthew and his family. It really is one of my favorite books. LGBT persons, their families, and allies all have a way to relate to this book. Seriously buy it here or if I know you personally, you can buy it. Til next time, give life, "The Meaning of Matthew", and Obamacare a deeper read. Good night and happy reading! :)

Post 8-McConnell and Weiner

Hi all! I hope you have been brushing up on some good summer reading! Sadly, it is almost over and students will be heading back to school and parents will be sending their kiddos off to new adventures. I'm actually kind of worried about the amount of time I will have to write when my classes start. I sure will try my best to deliver to you all, but on Mondays I have 7 hours of class, so I will probably publish new posts on Fridays starting in September. But we shall see!

Now this week's big post and quick read will be about two of my favorite people: Mitch McConnell and Anthony Weiner. Now this one will be hard to write for me. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE politics, public policy, and issues of governance, but these two are part of the reason that so many people are turned away from politics, but I WILL TRY MY BEST to state my case that these two are the exception, not the rule. 

First we will start with good old Mitch! To keep it short, I don't really agree with Mr. McConnell on anything. I love going to UofL, but knowing that he is the "most accomplished" academic to ever come out of UofL makes me kinda queasy. But I think my biggest qualm with him came in 2010, when he stated that his number one political goal was to "make Barack Obama a one term President". Now, besides being outright disrespectful, this statement shows a serious lack of leadership from someone who is supposed to be the head guy in the Republican senate caucus. McConnell's number one goal wasn't to provide cheap healthcare for seniors, to develop Kentucky's economy, or improve national education standards; it was to defeat a political opponent who had handily won an election 2 years before. Now whether or not you agree with the President (not even I do 100% of the time), we look for our political leaders to work together on common ground issues that we all can agree on. Unfortunately it looked like Senator McConnell looked unwilling to work with this President from the start, and this statement was only the beginning of Senator McConnell's grand obstruction plans, which are still continuing today. In fact, McConnell has filibustered 420 bills in the Senate, including one of his own
Now along with his lack of leadership, I disagree strongly with Senator McConnell on several other issues. Let's start with economics. Starting back in the late 90s, the seeds of the 2008 economic crisis were sown when the Republican controlled Congress pushed for repeal of the Depression-era Glass-Steagall act that kept banks from investing on their own assets (in the case of 2008, risky mortgages that brought huge profits until the mortgages went under). Mr. McConnell was part of this deregulation of banks that let them grow so big. Fast forward ten years when the banks were going under and he voted to give the failing banks a tax payer bailout. However, when General Motors was going under, Mr. McConnell voted against a tax payer loan to keep America's 2nd largest employer going afloat (maybe because it would have stripped the UAW of thousands of members but that's for another day). This is a case where Mr. McConnell chose to put Wall Street ahead of Main Street. McConnell is also notorious for providing favors for campaign donors. He hands out legislative gifts to insurance companies, banks, and oil and gas companies. Alison Grimes kicked off her campaign this year with everyday Americans, McConnell kicked off his reelection campaign with lobbyist friends. Also, just out today, one Political Action Committee that supports Senator McConnell received a $100,000 donation....from a dead guy! Now of course his supporters say there was a computer glitch, but this story is just another suspicious view on McConnell's finance machine.
On social issues, we grow farther apart. In 2004, McConnell wanted to write discrimination against gays and lesbians into the Constitution with a Federal Marriage Amendment, making marriage between one man and one woman. He also voted against the Matthew Shephard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which makes Hate Crime posecution against LGBT people and racial minority groups easier. His shoddy civil rights record continues with his participation in the war against women. He voted against  the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act both of which seek to end income inequality between men and women (women make 7 cents for every dollar that men make who do the same work). The routinely renewed Violence Against Women Act which funds programs against domestic violence such as the Center for Women and Families was rejected by McConnell.
It is this sort of do nothingness that has frustrated so many Kentuckians. Even many conservatives don't feel that he should be able to spend another 6 years in Washington. Only time will tell, but let's hope that the man who either wants to not do his job or take money for political favors will finally retire. Please search online for more of McConnell's votes at ontheissues.org and votesmart.org. I could go on for many more paragraphs, but these are the major objections I have with the Senator.

Now of course despicable politicians come in all shapes, sizes, and ideology. That's where we get to New York Mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner who I'm sure needs no introduction. The worst part about this story is that I liked him while he was in Congress before he started to make bad decisions that involved his namesake. Now that there are new allegations, I am only able to sit and ruminate on what exactly Weiner's actions mean. Now America is a very forgiving society when it comes to our celebrities. Whether or not you agree, I think that our celebrities/politicians need to hold themselves up to high standards since they are in the public eye. Also, when they do make bad decisions, they need to apologize in an honest and open manner. These apologies shouldn't be DEFENSIVE against reporters who ask why you send your junk to multiple women, your apology shouldn't come AFTER the Food Network drops your show, and your apology should be SINCERE, not scripted. Weiner is just another person who has made bad decisions, but when decision making is a key part in his job, should we REALLY give him a second chance?

Post 7-What Rhymes With Alison Lundergan Grimes???

Hey all! So sorry I haven't posted about the event before now! But let's get right to it!

Needless to say, it was an amazing time! Eric, Ash, and I had a quick and easy car ride to the Carrick house in Lexington. Even had an easy time parking about a half a block from the event. When we walked in we were greeted by smiling volunteers who placed stickers on us (they gave me two without me asking, I guess I'm the obvious politico!). Now when we arrived, about an hour before event time, there weren't too terribly many people there, an obvious sign that you are at an early campaign event. So we meandered around for a bit between a couple of tents where we collected signs, signed up for campaign information, and I even bought some merchandise and donated (for the 3rd time, call me a sucker). So between the merch and donations, I have donated about $75. After all of that, we proceeded to take our seats, and began to play the waiting game.
After about 45 minutes of waiting, the crowd was greeted by KY House Speaker Greg Stumbo, who was the sort of unofficial "master of ceremonies". First the crowd got to watch, and if you haven't watched it yet please do, "The Campaign Begins". After it was over and I heard the RESOUNDING applause, I realized I was a part of something special. I turned and saw that the small group of a couple hundred supporters had turned into a mass that covered almost the entire front yard of the Carrick House. I saw coal workers in their uniforms, teachers (wearing shirts of their schools/districts), African Americans, Latinos, whites, seniors, college students, young children, men, women, and even a couple rainbow flags. It was the kind of sight that really represents Democratic politics. The Democratic coalition was united that day.
After watching a couple of endorsement videos by Representative Yarmuth and President Clinton, we got to hear from Grimes' family and political allies including a letter from Senator Wendell Ford, the last Democrat to be elected to the Senate from KY. After hearing from another sister, we got to hear from the woman that "Mitch should be most scared of": Grimes' Grandmother Elsie. Now, I love this woman first off. She is the woman who will speak her mind and take no nonsense! And yet, she spoke so proudly of her granddaughter. And was shaking with energy as she said Alison would be the first woman that KY will send to the Senate.
That's when the bus pulled up!!! And as a country singer from Eastern KY sang the song "Kentucky Woman" Alison got off the bus and walked through the crowd flanked by Governor Beshear and her husband. Now if you don't pay attention to KY politics (don't worry, I barely do. I'm more of a federal politics guy), then here is the significance in Beshear being there. Alison's father and Beshear are rivals within the Democratic party, but his presence at the event shows a united Democratic party. After a short introduction by Beshear, we got to hear from Grimes herself.
Now, her 17 minute speech said many things and I really hope you will watch, but her speech had two memorable features. First, she presented herself as a fresh face that will work in a bipartisan fashion to get work done for KY. She presented McConnell as the opposite, someone who has been in the Senate for 30 years and become wrapped up in special interests. Second, she presented herself as a Clinton Democrat. She is a more moderate Democratic candidate, who disagrees with both President Obama and Senator McConnell, but that is to be expected since she is between them politically. However, she stated plainly that we should continue to invest in the middle class and grow our economy and energy production from the middle out. Please watch the video. It really will give great information on her views. All in all, the event was Pro-Grimes, not Anti-McConnell, which is a great, positive start to a campaign that will be going to experience a hard and potentially nasty opposition. It was seriously one of the greatest times I've had and proud that my first political event was for such a great candidate. Also, I'm working on introducing Eric to political jargon and proceedings, and it has been so easy with a candidate like Grimes. She has him, a political newcomer, energized about her campaign I hope you all read up on her! I've posted some more interesting links below and there will be no short read this week because I really do want you all to explore her website and visit the other links. Also, if you live in other states, check out moderate Democrats who may be running for Senate. Especially the aunt Diane and her family down in Georgia! I hope Michelle Nunn gets four votes from that household! ;) As for the rest of you here in KY, until next time, give life, and DEFINITEY ALISON LUNDERGAN GRIMES a deeper read.
Full speech
Clinton's Message (I really like this one!)
Yarmuth message
WHAS coverage (Watch for Grandma Elsie!!!! <3)
WDRB coverage
Campaign Website (Donate or buy some merch! Any little bit matters!)

Post 6- Special Segment on Alison Lundergan Grimes

Hi all! So if you are a Facebook friend of mine, you know that I am super excited for Tuesday when my boyfriend Eric, my sister Ashley, and myself will be traveling to Lexington to join KY Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes in her campaign kick off celebration! Now why am I so excited about her you may ask? Well besides being the most likely Democrat to beat Mitch McConnell, Grimes is a moderate and honest candidate. Here are my top reasons that you should check Grimes out.

1. This video. It's almost 4 minutes, but it is literally worth every second. My favorite political ad ever.

2. She can match Mitch's money train. As we all know, McConnell is a corporate fundraiser like no other. Because of his tax breaks to certain companies in exchange for legislative favors, he often gets large sums for campaign financing. Grimes has done no such thing as Secretary of State, but her father was a former head of KY's Democratic Party and is good friends with Bill Clinton, the last Democrat presidential candidate to win KY and also a great fundraiser in Democratic politics.

3. She is a moderate. Obama lost KY by almost 20 points in the 2012 election. If Grimes runs as an Obama Democrat, she WILL lose. Now even though I do not agree with everything Grimes is for (she is coal friendly for example), I can remain sure that she will work WITH the President. Liberals will be mad that she may not work FOR the President's agenda on every issue, but it is better than McConnell working AGAINST them. She is a good moderate, and I have already talked to some conservatives who are thinking of voting for her if McConnell survives his Republican challenger Matt Bevin.

4. She is open and honest. How do you describe a Southern lady? "Soft spoken and steely spined" to quote political commentator Sarah Jones' article. She will run a mostly issues based campaign as far as I can tell from early on. Attorney General Jack Conway lost to now Senator Rand Paul back in 2010 because he attempted a personal attack on Paul's past. Grimes needs to stay focused on the issues and stay above McConnell's petty attacks, and I think she will let the voters make an informed decision.

5. Also, in her first campaign for job as Secretary of State, Grimes defeated her opponent 61% to 39%. This is an absolute trouncing, and she remains popular among the folks who already know her. I feel she can easily win over some of those who are disappointed in MConnell.

6. She is a woman. It will be very hard for McConnell to attack a woman and not come off looking like a bully. He will have to run an issue based campaign or tell flat out lies and hope that they work (saying Grimes is linked to Obama and perpetrating a war on coal for example), neither of which would look good to voters. Also, Grimes would be the first woman KY has EVER sent to the Senate.

7. And lastly, she is a true fighter for the middle class. If you read about her past, she has provided free legal help to victims of domestic violence, volunteered for the Salvation Army, and worked for the National Kidney Foundation. Also during her time as Secretary of State, she has opposed voter suppression, tried to extend the vote to veterans and active service members who previously had barriers to casting a ballot, helped to promote small businesses by using different mechanisms of government incentives and  is fighting for job creation and protection of retirement benefits in KY.

So needless to say I can't wait to volunteer and vote. And, if you agree with her on the issues, I REALLY hope you do the same. I know life is busy, but take the time to make a real difference. Remember it is your duty as a citizen to stay informed on issues and vote responsibly. Just to help link you up to her, her Facebook page is facebook.com/AlisonForKentucky and her campaign website is AlisonForKy.com. Thanks for reading and I hope you all read about the campaign kick off event. I will post it either Tuesday or Wednesday. Thanks again! AND REMEMBER TO READ UP ON HER AND HELP OUT IF YOU AGREE WITH HER! PLEASE! It's gonna be a hard fought race!

Post 5- Wombs and Race Wars

Hey readers! It's Monday and you know what that means!!! So this week I decided I would talk about an issue that is very divisive. So for all of you who disagree with me, I respect your dissenting opinions, but let's keep things tasteful yeah?

So what is on the table this week you may ask? Reproductive rights and women's rights in general. Now to add some historical perspective, does anyone remember from their high school American history class when women gained the right to vote and hold office? The 19th amendment for women's suffrage was passed in 1920. Since then, we have seen several other women's issues come and go, but the issue of abortion remains a wedge issue in American politics even to this day. There are two sides, the Pro-Choice crowd and the Pro-Lifers. I would label myself as Pro-Choice, because I feel that I am exactly that. I am for a woman's right to choose what she does with her body. After thousands of years living under the societal rule of men, we are able to afford much more opportunities to women now, and allowing freedom in regards to medical decisions is one of the most important rights a person can have.
So why is this a medical decision and not "killing a baby"? Well, to me, a fetus does not represent a person until it has passed into the world. It is my view that until it is born and separated from its mother's body, a fetus remains a PART of the woman. Therefore, a woman has the right to decide what to do with that part of her, and sorry baby daddy's, but because you aren't carrying that baby, the mom's decision (whether it is to keep or abort the pregnancy) will trump your decision. With that said, I feel like a lot of the Pro-Life camp looks at Pro-Choicers as eager to kill babies or something. That isn't necessarily true. If I were a woman, I'm not so confident that I would ever get an abortion, but the crux of the problem is...I'M NOT A WOMAN so I can't be too confident in that statement. Also, women who walk into abortion clinics don't go in (at least in my experience) with a big smile on their faces. The decision to go forward with an abortion is one of the most difficult decisions a woman can make. But as well as being a powerful social mechanism for independence from patriarchy, reproductive rights is also an important political issue.
Now the biggest objection I have to the conservative Pro-Life language in regards to abortion lies in the whole "small government" talk that the right espouses. Now if the right wants small government, then why do they want a government big enough to monitor every pregnancy in the country? That never made sense to me. Also, the "religious and moral" objections to abortion are all fine and good, but not every one may have the same morals and religion as you. Just like gay marriage, if you don't want an abortion, then DON'T GET ONE! If something is legal, those who disagree with it can choose not to partake, but if it is illegal, then everyone is forced to abide by the same rules. And besides, you may seek to outlaw abortion, but they won't stop. Just as African slaves rebelled to their domination under the social structure of slavery, women will also use resistance against laws that oppress them. We as a country will go back to back alley abortions with wire hangers if we choose to outlaw abortions. And not only will there be aborted fetuses, there will also be dead women.
So all in all, I do respect the Pro-Life side for their commitment to life on this issue. But I challenge them to feel the same way on capital punishment. Yet again, the right seems to want a small government, except they want it big enough to decide who should live and who should die. Also, once those fetuses are born, the conservative right seeks to cut the head start, food stamps, housing assistance, and school funding that those children will need to have a quality life. Let's So although you all may not agree with me, I hope that you will at least look at this issue in a different light. That is my ultimate goal in this piece. Since feelings on this issue run passionately, I seek not to inflame the opposite side, but to offer my perspective. Thanks in advance for comments that are tasteful to me and your fellow reader.

And in our "Short Read" this week, I would also just like to invoke more thought on race. Let's look at a couple of events that have taken place this year. Paula Deen's lawsuit (be sure to read the FULL story, not that she just said the N word, but what went on in her restaurant). The striking down of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court. Trayvon Martin. 2013 has been a HORRIBLE year so far for African Americans and their rights. Talk to your friends of different races, try to empathize with their communities, and try as hard as you can to see the other side's experience with race issues. Research white privilege and the advantages of being white in the US. The unemployment rate of blacks is higher, incarceration due to drugs is much higher among Blacks although their drug use is equal to that of Whites, and in New York, 90% of "stop and frisk" searches (that occur without a warrant) are performed on Blacks and Hispanics. And as I've asked before, learn to see race, understand its differences, and celebrate these differences. Doing so will undoubtedly help to ease our racial tensions.

(By the way, sorry for any grammatical/spelling errors, I'm trying to finish in time to go see The Conjuring. But I promise I will proofread later!!!!)
Till next time, give life a deeper read!
JM

Post 4-SNAP and Sexual Assault in the Military

Hello all! I know everyone is probably thinking "Wow, I thought that Jeremy was only going to do his blog posts on Mondays?". Well that would be correct except it's hot outside and I'm bored. So I just thought that I would give you guys something to read while you are also hot and sitting inside with nothing to do!

So this week I think we should take a little look into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) also known as food stamps. Now in Kentucky there are quite a few people who do not look kindly upon SNAP. Although this program is one of the most successful social welfare programs in the country, there are still debates in cities around the country and Washington D.C. about whether or not SNAP is a good use of our tax dollars. So our deep read this week is going to take a look at facts and stats about SNAP that many do not know, the reason why as a society we should invest in social welfare programs, and how conservative arguments against SNAP and other forms of social welfare are inaccurate and .
So let's start by making sure we are all on the same page with FACTS. First off, many people seem to think of SNAP as a program that disproportionately helps minority groups such as the Black and Latino communities. However, this is simply not true. As the Louisville Courier-Journal reports that food stamp aid is not only used by people of color. Also, 94% of households in Louisville that receive food stamps have either 2 working adults, 1 working adult, or a retired senior. So we can safely say that very very few are collecting hard earned tax dollars of others, since working households and retired seniors pay taxes that go towards SNAP. Second, there is a myth that welfare fraud is rampant. Also, not true. There is an estimated 2% of welfare cases that contain fraud in the U.S. Now stick with me because this may get confusing. The entire spending budget of the U.S. is $3.685 trillion. Now 11% of that is welfare spending, totaling just over $405 billion. Now of this $405 billion, 2% is "wasted" because of fraud, totaling $8.1 billion. So out of the $3.685 trillion U.S. spending budget, $8.1 billion is wasted on welfare fraud. This results in .22% of the U.S. budget. Not as high as you thought eh? That $8.1 billion sounds like a lot, but in the defense realm, it would only buy ONE M1A2 Abrams tank, and have a little money left over to maybe arm it with a couple soldiers and artillery.
So why am I writing about this right now you may ask. The answer lies in the actions that the Republican House of Representatives has taken with the recent farm bill, which allocates money for SNAP. However, this bill, which passed the House on mostly partisan lines (Repubs voting yay and Dems voting nay) completely cuts out the nutrition benefit. This is an absolute travesty. Our country routinely decides to give tax breaks and tax loopholes to the wealthiest individuals in hopes that they will create jobs (because hedge fund managers create so many jobs), meanwhile the working class and poor must bear the brunt of austerity (more on that another day). We have to go all the way back to President Franklin Roosevelt to see the major foundations of our American social contract. Under FDR (the creation of Social Security), LBJ (creation of Medicare), and Obama (Obamacare), we see a greatly expanding network of medical safety net. In this fashion, health care becomes less a commodity and more of a human right. I argue that health care, nutrition, and housing are human rights. Not only those with money should have such things. After all you can best judge a society by how it treats its poor.
As I stated earlier, the Conservative media machine has done a great job at creating myths around social welfare programs. Even though no one likes the idea of welfare fraud or waste of tax money, we have to realize that it is not the widespread problem that they would have you believe. In fact, the myth of the Welfare Queen, invented by the Reagan team while running for President, still exists today, even among liberals and Democrats. This myth was created for the sole reason of manufacturing racism and turning white middle class voters against low and middle income African Americans (even though the two groups share similar voting interests). And Reagan and his conservative allies have been able to capitalize on this (until Romney may have messed it up with his 47% remark).
So remember friends, think of SNAP and other programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Women, Infants, Children (WIC), and Section 8 housing as programs that ARE serving their purposes. When we see numbers of people on these programs go up during a recession, we should be encouraged to lower them by creating jobs and opportunity, but we should also feel proud that we live in a society where the middle and lower classes have a safety net to fall back on when those families fall on hard times. I for one would rather pay taxes for someone to eat, than for companies like Exxon to make record profits as gas prices go up AND receive tax breaks at the same time. While you complain about seeing a woman buy a candy bar with her EBT card, remember that companies such as Exxon are receiving huge tax breaks. For example, in 2009, Exxon made 45.2 billion and paid a whopping $0.00 in taxes. Gas was an inflation adjusted $3.37 a gallon, Clearly savings were not passed to the consumer.

Another topic of interest this week is the emotionally draining cases of sexual assault in the military. Although our soldiers do a lot for our country, the military is a HUMAN institution composed of thousands of every day people. It is estimated that around 26,000 service men and women have been sexually assaulted within the last year. This of course shouldn't be a problem if the service man or (more often) woman reports it to his or her senior officer. However, since the military is still a male dominated sphere, women are often hushed, shunned, or ignored by the chain of command. That is why New York senator (and former Hillary Clinton staffer) Kirsten Gillibrand has introduced a bill to remove the chain of command and introduce special counsels to deal with the rising epidemic. In a show of true bipartisanship, Texas and Kentucky senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have stepped up to support Gillibrand's bill. Two of the most conservative senators backing a New York Democrat is very puzzling, but it shows that action must be taken on this issue and that there are still areas of life where political party doesn't hinder progress. So please, write your Senator/Representative on this issue to give extra support to the bill. And, until next time, give life (and Senator Gillibrand's bill!) a deeper read.