Savage Hippy

I hope I am not the only person who sees the irony in NeverFindOut.org’s pro-freedom, anti-abortion messaging.  Freedom is the ability to make a choice without having to sacrifice your health, body, or social views to illegitimate clinics and black market economics.  Well, at least that’s part of my definition.

timesonline.co.uk

Is this what we’ve come to??  Poorly faking attacks in attempts to smear the opposing candidate?  Look, if you’re gonna fake it, at least fake it well…Backwards B here learned that lesson the hard way.

Yet another reason why no one should ever try to hide the truth, because in the end, it ALWAYS comes out.

And yes, Washington, that applies to you as well.

(Photo credit: Wired.com)

As a change of pace from election stalking, I thought I’d write a piece about the predicted earthquake in San Francisco, but as I was clicking through Wired.com I came across an article about the Los Angeles Auto Show Design Challenge, a super awesome alternatively-fueled racecar competition.  While I ogled BMW’s hydrogen car built out of oil barrels and other scrap materials, I couldn’t help but wonder – what else have I not been paying attention to since the official party nominations?

SarahFobes.com

The Large Hadron Collider – Although CERN’s experiments in particle collision began last month, the 27 km supertube was unveiled Tuesday.  Some people have been freaking out that we might get sucked into a microscopic black hole – sadly, one girl even killed herself.  BUT hey, the good news?  We’re still here!  Go, Science!

Fashion Week New York 2008 – Whether you like it or not, fashion is a reflection of our social patterns and mores, not to mention one of the few truly practical art forms.  I’m not saying I have a practical amount of shoes in my closet, nor am I justifying the addiction to immediate gratification found in many a fashionista’s psyche, but truth be told, no one can leave the house nakey.  At the end of the day, unfortunately, it’s mostly an evil industry, and I should be flogged for loving it so much.  Wait, I missed LA Fashion Week, too?  Damn.

TVguide.com

SNL: Thursday Edition: Tonight they brought back Will Ferrell and Tina Fey for their classic depictions of President G.W. and Governer Sarah Palin.  The last 3 weeks have been full of classic SNL-ness (as well as John Stewart-ness and Steven Colbert-ness).  That’s one great thing about our current political and economic atmosphere: the great writers and performers of our time have ample supply of material.

But on the flip side, no matter how hard we try to distract ourselves, we’re all the way back to politics. No escaping it, I mean really.

(photo credit: JewsOnFirst.org)

We’re 2 weeks out from the election, and those of us who staunchly support one of the candidates aren’t going to sway.  Why should we?   Between now and November 4 we’re not going to learn anything new from either Barack Obama or John McCain – both are so decidedly focused on justifying their attack politics and attempting to lure undecided voters, it’s not in their best interest to say anything new anyway.  It’s a sucky part of the game, but it is what it is.  So with all that I know and am probably going to know about both candidates, I have something to say to the undecided voters out there: for the love of all that is good, please vote for Barack Obama!

Now, I’m not going to go through each an every issue listed on his website to explain why, namely because it’s too gorgeous a day to sit in my office and compile a diatribe that massive.  Plus, issues like defense, education, social security, and health care can’t be addressed until we unhalt our economy.  We absolutely can do it, even with the $700 billion debt, by investing in and regulating alternative energy, as discussed in the plan proposed by Obama/Biden.  In doing so, we give the US the chance to turn itself into the haven for freedom, innovation, and prosperity once conceived by our founding fathers.  Yes, I love my country, so sue me.

So what do I mean by alternative energy?  I mean investment in solar, wind, sugarcane-based methane (NOT CORN, that’s food), and nuclear (with the appropriate international nuclear policy and perhaps total elimination of nuclear weapons).  Some people don’t believe in global warming and therefore write off renewable energy as entirely unnecessary.  I couldn’t disagree more: whether or not you believe in global warming, those investments could reduce our spending on foreign oil (and everything that represents) while refueling our economy (no pun intended): the US creates its own energy supply, decreasing our spending overseas and increasing it in the US.  In doing so, jobs and the appropriate training programs are created, not only in building and operating the necessary facilities and farms, but also through sales, marketing, training, product development, consulting, and more.  And for those of us who actually believe humans have had a hand in destroying the earth, the added environmental bonus cannot be topped.

While our “free market” has done what it can to start implementing and testing these sorts of ideas, it takes government regulation to align the public and private sectors to make this dream a reality.  Although the highlights of the Obama/Biden plan are wrought with buzz-phrases like “pain at the pump” and “clean energy future,” the full plan provides some pretty compelling guidelines for actually making the change happen: mandating flex-fuel vehicle production, setting national building efficiency codes, and converting manufacturing plants into innovators in clean technology.  Mandates like these create a framework for existing businesses and venture capitalists alike to make the necessary investments and changes, which in turn will help to create jobs, revenue, and international competition.

If we can pull this off, we actually have a chance to afford the other pieces of the puzzle: better teachers and education programs, effective health care, working social security, and improved defense spending.  For that last one, imagine a world where we weren’t fighting to gain control over oil because we were either getting it at home or, better yet, not using it at all.  The money we spent, then, would be on the development of more effective military technology, rather than on more oil to ship more troops overseas so we can ineffectively fight for more oil.  What a waste of time, money, and, most importantly, lives.

I want to see our troops come home safely and to have jobs when they come back.  I want our children to have a worthwhile education that doesn’t put them in debt for the rest of their lives.  I want our grandmothers and grandfathers – and mothers and fathers – to retire without worry.  And I want EVERYONE to be able to go to the doctor.  The first step to achieving these essentials is to revitalize our economy, which can be done through a solid investment in alternative energy, as supported in Obama’s plan.  If you are undecided but want to see the US prosper in the ways that it should, then please do as I will November 4 and vote for Barack Obama!

(Photo credit: saharanvibe.blogspot.com)

As you may or may not know, today is Blog Action Day! As a new blogger with some level of ethos, I feel compelled to devote today’s entry to this year’s theme, which is poverty. To give us some perspective on what it means to live in impoverished conditions, let’s take a look at some numbers.

According to the World Bank, extreme poverty is defined as living off $1 a day and moderate poverty as living off $2 a day. $2 a day translates to about $720 a year, less than what most full-time adults make take home in a month. Living within these monetary restrictions means not being able to afford rent and meals. It means not going to the doctor. Not sending your children to school.

One is left to ask, then, what can be done to help people living in these conditions? Sometimes the answer is giving money, but let’s face it: pouring money into an area impoverished because of its inability to participate in larger markets doesn’t actually fix the problem. It’s like putting lipstick on a pig, if you will.

More sustainable solutions do exist, however, like providing wells in areas where there is no water, or cattle in areas where hunting is limited. If you are interested in helping people overcome poverty through solutions like these, check out Charity: Water and Heifer International – they both promote positive, sustainable solutions to help individuals in even the most impoverished regions.