Please Take the Opportunity To Not Miss The Point...

I was on the CNN site this morning.  It's something I do.  Wake up.  Check my e-mail.  Check facebook. Check the news.  Take a shower.  I've actually had to add an extra half hour into my morning routine to fit in my morning iPhone check.  Today's top stories.

Rockets rain down on Israel and Gaza.  This situation is a little crazy although I don't think this is a big surprise to anyone.  Still prayers people that peace can be found.  A war in Gaza will be good for no one.

Petraeus: I did not pass classified info and story two Broadwell loses security clearance.
Oh my, this story just keeps going and going.  The regular news has it.  CNN has it.  NPR has it.  Fox news is using it to drum up a conspiracy theory.  It is a train wreck.  I used this opportunity to remind Dr. J that I have a zero policy on cheating.  My exact words were, "Don't forget if you ever cheat I will kill you."  "I know sweetie," he says, "I know."  I hate cheating.  I also hate that this thing keeps going in the news.  He has resigned.  It looks like general Allen might have to as well.  He will still have to testify before congress.  In the words of Jon Stewart, "It's not like he's dead."  He will need to make good with his children and wife.  He may never be able to do this.  It looks like some other marriage are going to go down.  I think it would be beneficial for everyone if we stepped away from these families so they could figure it out and we started vetting new people because it looks like two of the biggest jobs in the land are now open.

Story Four.  Death in Syria's civil war: 37,000 people.  I've never been to Syria.  I one time stood on the top of a mountain looking out at the Sea of Galilee as the sun went down.  "That's Syria" the guide said as they pointed out toward the far distances.  It looked beautiful, after the desert of Amman very picturesque, the kind of place one might like to visit.  I've heard stories about Syria.  My friend Bridget lived there at one point and on more than one occasion has reminisced about the places and the people.  Today she posted a collection of pictures The Atlantic had posted.  Heartbreaking.  Bashar please step down.

And Story Three: Romney: Obama 'gifts' won voters.  I had to click over to Fox news to see if this story was being covered there as well.  Story number four: MITT: WHY I LOST Romney Says Obama Gave 'Big Gift' to Key Groups.  This story bothered me, sort of the same way Bill O' Riley's and Fox News post election coverage bothered me and the way Facebook comments of a lot of my friends bothered me.  I read this fabulous article just a few days after the election, Conservatives, don't despair.  My favorite line was, "America is not a society divided between "makers" and "takers."  Instead, almost all of us proceed through a life cycle where we sometimes make and sometimes take as we pass from schooling to employment to retirement."  Look, here is the deal, my vote had nothing to do with special gifts.  I didn't vote for the Republican party because I don't believe in trickle down economics and I'm far from being the only one.  Second I like Obama care.  I have a sister who when her husband lost his job found herself seven months pregnant and un-insurable because she has Crohns disease.  Her husbands old company refused to put the paperwork in so they could get Cobra, and even though her husband got a new job within two months they ended up having to pay for the whole birth out of pocket.  It was insanity.  They called everyone, they begged their former insurance to keep them on at any rate, they begged Cobra, they begged private insurance companies.  They were actually laughed at by several of the companies they called.  They weren't trying to get out of paying the money, they were just trying to keep her coverage constant to prevent any company who wanted to in the future from denying her because of her preexisting condition and the fact that she hadn't had continuous coverage.  She didn't want a special gift, she just wanted to be treated fairly.  Meanwhile the majority of the people I know who were bashing Obamacare had some to all of their kids on medicaid.  Here is a big Mormon grad school secret: Having kids and a stay at home wife while going to school is made possible by: parents who give you money/a minivan/buy you a house/pay for school/give you a down payment, a wife who actually has to work, lots and lots of student loans, a little money from the school in the way of scholarships or paying you to teach, grants, possibly a low paying job, government help in the form of medicaid, food stamps, earned income/child tax credit, some combination of some or all of these.  Then there are those people who either are living on or are planning on having social security and medicare, a huge percentage of the so called entitlement programs are going to take care of the elderly.  And here is the thing, end of life care is expensive and there is a great chance that you are taking more from the system then you ever put in.  In fact my experience has been that with most people they greatly overestimate the amount they put in while underestimating the amount they take out.  It happens everywhere, group projects, friendships, marriages, the government.  So, I just choose to not heavily weigh your voices.  Instead I saw my sister being unfairly treated.  I'm married to a man who deals with this everyday and wants Obamacare, and I saw a Presidential candidate who authored the program while a Governor, something I actually respected in his term, then try and step away from it to appease his party.  It just didn't work for me.  I didn't vote for you because of abortion.  You can't say you are against it 100% but then be in denial of the help that you will need to provide in prevention and support.  If this is an issue you feel strongly about then get on the support side.  There is lots of evidence that abortion numbers decrease as support increases.  We have a great group here, Teen MOPs that is all about that.  If you want to help, find a place you can do your part.  I didn't vote for you because of your stance on gay marriage.  Look I know how my religion feels about this but I'm a scientist and the support is there that this is biological, even from teachers I learned from at Brigham Young University (of course this is since I've left the college but people I stay informed and I stay current).  I have family who almost my whole life I've known to be gay.  I have friends who since college have come out.  I've spent a lifetime watching their relationships. I don't know how Abrahamic based religions will come to deal with this issue in the future.  Frankly I personally have my own questions for God on it, but I do know that when it comes to the recognition of a union of two adults for the purposes of being eligible for the sames rights to kinship for medical reasons, for monetary reasons, for tax reasons, for family reasons, for personal reasons, I just support the right of my family and friends to have their relationships recognized by the government in the same way mine has been.  I hate the Hawkish way you approach World issues. We already spend 26.3% of our income tax toward national defense.  If we are trying to dig ourselves out of debt why would we increase that.  And then you just don't make any sense.  You want to pull out immediately from the middle east because they are unpopular wars but you simultaneously want to be the main power in the world?  Then we have climate change.  Almost a unanimous agreement there is change from scientist with 9 out of 10 scientist in agreement it is due to humans.  It's one thing to say we aren't going to do anything about this because it will cost too much money.  It is something entirely different to say, we just don't believe it is happening.  GOP I don't like the way you see my Hispanic background.  It's like my country of origin are a problem for you and you just can't get past it when you talk.  You can talk about securing the boarders and immigration reform without making me feel like my skin is something I should be ashamed of.  It is more than just putting up candidates with Hispanic backgrounds or "giving us gifts".  It's about really trying to understand who we are and seeing us as an asset rather then a problem to be dealt with.  The point is, you have to connect with the people again.  It isn't about targeting people with gifts it is about truly understanding them, taking up their causes, and building cohesiveness within your party.  That's what you have to do if you want to gain votes.  And look the truth is you probably are never going to gain my vote, because let's be honest we are just a little too far from each other, but please realize that trying to cheapen my vote by saying it is only based on "gifts" doesn't do either of us any favors, and also lets not pretend that deregulation and low capital gains tax isn't a gift as well.