Fox News is Losing Their Shit Because Chelsea Handler is Happily Child Free

Becoming a parent is a blessing. It is also a 24/7/365 job from birth until the child is self-sufficient. And yet, it is still forced on women, whether we want it or not.

Two weeks ago, Chelsea Handler guest hosted The Daily Show. One of the segments was about her decision to not have children.

As expected, the right and Fox News couldn’t handle it. In their “outrage”, the obvious (as was discussed on WNYC‘s All of It last week) is apparent to anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence. For all of human history, motherhood was foisted upon us. Adding insult to injury is the lack of free/affordable childcare, the extreme rise price of college tuition, and the uneven access to healthcare/parental leave.

Having a kid is not like playing with a baby doll that is thrown into the toy chest at the end of the day. It is an all-encompassing task that requires everything that the adult has to give.

Since last summer, I have been spending time with friends who have a toddler. She is at the age in which she goes for everything in sight and has to be watched like a hawk. The last time I was there, my friend had to step out for a minute. I was happy to distract the baby, but I can only imagine the finagling that would have had to be done if I was not there. Multiply that by a gazillion and that is what it is like to be responsible for a young life.

Which is why Fox News and the right can shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.

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Jon Stewart Spoke the Truth About the Republican’s Reactions to the PACT Act

When it comes to our veterans, the generally accepted response is to shake their hands and verbally thank them for putting their lives on the line. While that is well and good, we need to ensure that they have access to medical care that is unique to their experience.

Last week, many Republicans voted against the PACT act. The purpose of this legislation is to ensure that those who were exposed to burn pits can see a doctor when dealing with the adverse side effects of this exposure. Ironically, they voted for the bill last month.

The response from veterans and comedian/former The Daily Show host Jon Stewart was swift and loud.

Why does it take a famous comedian to shine the spotlight on what should be an obvious agreement? This is not a political issue that depends on one’s belief system. This bill and the money that is being put aside is for our fellow Americans who put their lives, their families, and their futures on hold to protect this nation and its values.

And how do we thank them for their service? Not by providing free treatment when they are living with cancer or another fatal disease? We tell them good night, good luck, and shove them out the figurative door. Let them die, let their families grieve, and deal with the multiple after-effects of that loss.

Like many men of their generation, both my grandfathers fought in World War II. When they came home, they were not kicked to the curb by the politicians of the era. They had the GI Bill. That gave them access to education, home ownership, etc. Where is the conscious of some of those in power today? I’d like to think that deep down, they have one. But I have yet to see it.

This was just another round of political “top that”. It’s not about serving the people, it is about their want to stay in power. Just another reason to vote them all out in November.

Trevor Noah is Right and Wrong about the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

Everyone has an opinion about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

During last night’s episode of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah shared his thoughts on the topic.

I agree with him and I don’t agree with him. I agree that this is a generations old argument that cannot be so easily solved. But if there is one point in which he is wrong about, it is power.

The issue is not the power itself, it is how it is used. In the 70+ years of Israel’s existence, the country has grown from a backwater desert to a thriving democracy with an solid economy and a drive to create. The list of inventions that have come out of the Jewish state are nothing to sneeze at.

If the Palestinian leadership would use their resources to build up their country and help the people, they wouldn’t need to blame Israel or anyone else. Instead, they focus their financial, physical, and people resources on building tunnels and putting their own children in harms way.

I’m going to end this post with a quote from the late and brilliant Golda Meir.

“We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us”

Do You Want a President Who Embraces Conspiracy Theories? I Don’t

One of the things that I have observed as I have voted over the last twenty years, is that the closer a Presidential election gets, the more intense it becomes.

In any other election year with any other Republican Presidential candidate, the fringe group QAnon would be dismissed for their completely out there conspiracies. But, because you know who has openly embraced this group, they have gained a new following and their theories are considered to be legit by some Americans.

His reasons for this welcome are purely egotistical.

“I don’t know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate,”

What is worse is that some Republicans running for Congress have not only not run on these ideas, but they have made inroads to winning their election.

I hate giving this group oxygen and attention. But this is the only way to stop them. We cannot let them win. We cannot give them an air of political respectability and a foothold in Washington D.C.

We MUST vote in November. We MUST vote for the Democrat ticket and ensure that these people go back to the dark fringes of the internet they belong. If we don’t, then the United States as we know it to be may cease to exist.

#BidenHarris2020

Trevor Noah Speaks of the Painful Truth of Racism in America

It has been said that until one has walked a mile in another’s shoes, one can never truly understand the other person. But that does not mean that we can’t at least try to understand another person’s perspective.

We live in a country in which one’s skin color is one of the factors that determines one’s fate. We also live in a country in which unconscious bias and white privilege also play a role in determining one’s fate. As a Caucasian woman of Eastern European Jewish descent, I’ve never thought about the privilege automatically assigned to me because of my skin color. The last few weeks have made it painfully clear that because of a twist of fate, I have access and a perception that is denied to Americans of color.

Because I do not have the first person experience that a person of color has, I will not even try to speak of that experience. But Trevor Noah has that experience and it is heartbreaking.

I would say that I hope (which often springs eternal) that we, as Americans have finally learned our lesson about racism and racial inequality. But the last few weeks have reminded this nation, in a painful way, that both are still alive and well, even in 2020.

Obamagate is Nothing But a Cover-up

In a normal world, someone who lives and breathes conspiracy theories would be derided as a lunatic (for lack of a better word) and hopefully ignored. But we don’t live in a normal world.

The latest laughable statement to come out of the White House and you know who can be described in one word: Obamagate. In a nutshell, former President Obama is accused of doing the job the American people hired him to do.

As usual, you know who is vague in the details of the accusation, but rushes to judgement. In reality, this is nothing more than a cover-up. The cover-up is that he and his administration failed to protect the United States from Covid-19. Instead of fessing up that mistakes were made, he falsely accuses his predecessor of being at the head of a made up conspiracy.

The difference between a mature person and an immature person is how they respond when they make a mistake. The mature person recognizes their error and at the very least, promises to learn from said error. The immature person blames others and tries to bluff their way out of the error.

It’s not a stretch to guess who is the mature one and who is the immature one in this so called “Obamagate”. Add it to the list of reasons to vote Democrat in November.

Throwback Thursday-The Daily Show (1996-Present)

Let’s face it, the news can be dull at moment. But comedy has a way of elevating the news by making us laugh and making us think.

The Daily Show premiered in 1996 on Comedy Central and has been a staple of the channel since then. Originally hosted by Craig Kilborn, then by Jon Stewart and currently by Trevor Noah, The Daily Show is is part news program and part stand up comedy routine.

The thing that I love about The Daily Show is that it speaks to the viewer who is bored or turned off by traditional news outlets, but still wants to be in the know about what is happening in the world.

I recommend it.

No Kanye, Slavery Is Not A Choice

Kanye West is as much known for his music as much as he known for shooting his mouth off.

Recently, he was on TMZ Live and stated that slavery was a choice.

While he was on the air, he made the following statement:

“You hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years? That sounds like a choice. Like, you was there for 400 years, and it’s all of y’all?”

I’m not African-American. I cannot and will not claim to see the world from the perspective of someone who is African-American.

However, even I know enough to know that for the entirety of human existence, slavery has never been a choice. One does not choose to be torn away from their home and family, put in chains and taken to another land thousands of miles away to work. One does not choose to be treated as less than a full human being and be denied their rights as said human being. One does not choose to live with the legacy of slavery, even though the physical chains have long since disappeared.

I could continue, but I think the Daily Show summed it up best.

 

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood Book Review

Before Trevor Noah succeeded Jon Stewart as the host of The Daily Show, he was a biracial child growing up in  apartheid era South Africa.

Last year, he published a memoir of his very unique childhood entitled Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. Noah’s father, a white man of Swiss/German descent, was in his son’s life as much as the white father of a biracial child could be back then. His black mother, whose ancestry in South Africa went back generations, was his main parent. Loving, but strict (and perhaps a bit intense), she raised her son with a firm, but free-spirited hand. In the book, Noah talks about what it was like to grow in South Africa when the country was divided by very firm and enforceable social, racial and economic borders.

What I really loved about this book is that unlike other celebrity memoirs, it felt authentic. There was nothing forced or fake about his stories. It was as if he was sitting in front of me and we were having a conversation about his childhood. I also loved that there is a universal quality to this book when it comes to childhood, growing up and how our perceptions of us, our world and our parents change as we get older.

I absolutely recommend it.

 

 

When Is This Madness Going To Stop?

Last month, when 49 innocent people were murdered in the shooting at the Orlando night club, I had hoped that this country would finally come together and move forward from the tragedy.

The truth of the Orlando shooting is that hate, prejudice and discrimination had as much responsibility for the murders as much as the gunman did.

This week, two African-American men were killed by police officers. Alton Sterling from Louisiana and Philando Castile from Minnesota had their lives unnecessarily taken.

In response to the shooting of the two men, a rally in Dallas ended with the death of five police officers.

That brings the death count to 7.

The same hate, prejudice and discrimination that was partially to blame for the Orlando shooting is also responsible for the death of these 7 souls.

It’s no secret that racism still has an emotional foothold on America. While I am not African-American, I can understand the perspective of those who feel threatened and abused by a system that keeps them down.

The truth is that all lives matter. We are still all human beings at the end of the day.

I’m going to end this post with a video from The Daily Show. As usual, they hit the nail on the head.

We have seen too much blood spilled on American streets this week. It’s time to end the madness.

Happy Friday.