Parents on Politics

PoP Podcast: Women in Politics

2012-11-24T23:53:00.000-08:00

Hey there bloggy stalkers, I have a treat! No need to tire your undoubtedly exhausted eyes because today's edition of PoP is coming to you audio style. So sit back, relax, pull out the bong...err, I mean beer...err, no I don't, I definitely mean bong, and have a listen. Today's topic?

Women in politics...

For more information:

Women in Congress: http://womenincongress.house.gov/

Rutgers Center for Women and Politics: http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/

Women's Campaign Fund: http://www.wcfonline.org/

**Please note: The statistics given for number of women in political positions are based on the United States 112th Congress (currently in session). For numbers that reflect the coming 113th session please see Huffington Post's excellent article on the subject: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/women-in-politics-break-records-2012-election_n_2088954.html

Capital Punishment

2012-10-30T13:40:00.003-07:00

Question of the Week:

What is Capital Punishment?

https://www.lamodern.com/featured-artists/andy-warhol

What is capital punishment?

How can I explain this without basically saying it's our expression of being dicks to stop dicks from being dicks?

Haha - imagine the kids' faces if I dropped that one on them verbatim?

I know a lot of people justify this concept with the old adage of 'an eye for an eye' but man, how is electrocuting someone not a dickish way of eyeing them?

*Gross.

I just can't understand it - from Kindergarten up our noodles are stuffed with do unto others and and be kind to each others, and then we become adults and suddenly we're cool with our government shooting/electrocuting/gassing/hanging/euthanizing our citizens?

I get it - people who harm others need to be stopped. But will killing them undo the harm they already caused?

Retribution feels yucky to me.

Some people are just messed up. Some are rapists, some are killers, some are pedophiles...But what are we?

I don't want to be a killer.

I don't mind stopping one, but being one is just where I like to cross the line.

I'm also not a fan of my government telling me I'm not allowed to pop a cap in the bitty I found in bed with my man but when they see fit to pop a cap it's cool.

If the government wants to stop a person who is harming others I think that's an appropriate use of power because it protects us. For them to carry out retribution - that's just something else, and I don't like it.

So in the end, what would be the most appropriate response to a halfling? I think a smattering of the above along with a peek at this:

What do YOU think?

Death Penalty Information Center: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty: http://www.ncadp.org/

Gay Marriage

2012-10-20T11:14:00.001-07:00

Question of the Week:

Why Can't Gay People Get Married?

Why can't gay people get married?

Good question, kidlets!

Hmmmmm....

Because when others eat donuts while I'm on a diet it makes me gain weight?

What's that you say? That's preposterous?

How strange, I just assumed that's the way it works since the opposition to gay marriage seems to suggest that the marriages of homosexuals will somehow erode the legitimacy of their own.

In that case, perhaps it's because if we let gay people get married my neighbor might marry his alpaca?

What? That's still preposterous?

How come? Is it because an alpaca is not a consensual human adult?

Meh - what's that little point have to do with such a popular comparison model?

Seems to me that some people are just huge fans of standing on the wrong side of history...remember these folks?

Photo Credit: http://forpubliced.blogspot.com/2012/07/racist-roots-of-charter-schools.html

I dunno, in my opinion, the reason gay people can't get married is because a bunch of rich people who steal money out of our paychecks without asking and use it to blow up small brown children overseas are also in the business of telling us what we can and can't do in our personal lives. Considering the biggest argument against gay marriage is a religious one, I can't seem to swallow down why as a society we are still accepting such discrimination. I always thought there was a separation of church and state. I know the religious will often argue that allowing gay marriage is oppression of their religion by the state but I would argue that unless we're forcing religious people to marry others of the same gender no such oppression exists.

So, that there pretty much sums up my semi-inappropriate response to the chitlains. What would YOU say? Let a hetero know!

The way I see it?

NO H8 Campaign: http://www.noh8campaign.com/
Human Rights Campaign: http://www.hrc.org/?gclid=CIXB_I_EgLQCFQyk4Aodk3AA0w

Taxes

2012-10-12T12:47:00.001-07:00

Question of the Week:

Why Do We Have to Pay Taxes?

Why do we have to pay taxes?

I asked my kids to ask me some political questions to get the ball rolling here. This is the question that immediately rolled off the tongue of my oldest.

Thanks for starting me off with a non-partisan issue my little cherub.

*Yer mom.

The age old question, how shall I answer thee??

Because a bunch of rich old assholes want to take our cash and keep it for themselves?

Hahahaha, just kidding. Or am I? I suppose it depends on who you ask.

This is a multi-layered subject with multi-layered opportunity for perception. Here's mine:

We're taxed because we like driving on roads and teaching our kids and having the flames engulfing our houses extinguished. We pay taxes because we care about helping impoverished nations, impoverished children in our own nation, and about the elderly and their health.

Some of the reasons we're taxed are for things we don't always agree with, for instance I'm not a fan of war yet the majority of the United States budget is dedicated to funding the military industrial complex.

Basically what it boils down to is this: The Constitution's very first line:

"We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish..."

Taxes.

Okay, maybe the first line doesn't end on the word "taxes" but for the sake of answering this question I think we can pretend it does...

What do YOU guys think? Am I right? Or should I shove a boot in my mouth?