I’m venting

a few things in this country are really pissing me off and i just gotta say something. normally, i keep these kind of things to myself, but i just gotta. so, hang in there with me. 

The Auto-Industry and their looming bailout. It angers me that Ford and GM are in such dire trouble. It angers me that our government is about to bail them out in one way or another. GM is hanging on right now by a very thin thread. They are burning cash faster then you could ever put it in your pockets if it were free-flowing from an over zealous ATM. They need help. And we, the taxpayers, are about to pitch in. This is pissing me off more than anything else right now (in the whole bailout arena) because this didn’t just happen overnight. GM and Ford’s problems started many years ago. Those businesses and the people that ran them had opportunities to change…to look beyond a year or 2 and address some of the needs that could be foreseen. Rather than truly thinking about and addressing the global need for oil and it’s impact, they chose to keep building vehicles that are not efficient. They had opportunities to be leaders, to be bold and be daring. But, they didn’t and our congress has not helped. The businessmen and the congressional leaders, i believe, were in co-hoots together. They didn’t want to build smaller and/or more fuel efficient cars….because, “that is not what the consumer wants.” What blows me away is how business leaders can be so incredibly short-sighted. Again, if you have followed their companies, they are not NOW just experiencing problems…it’s gone on for quite some time. Congress could have helped. They could have mandated more efficiency a long time ago…but they didn’t. Maybe if the 2 parties would have put egos & politics aside years ago GM and Ford would not have had as many layoffs as they have had and would not be in the dire circumstances they now are in. Unbelievable. I feel for the many employees who work there, who have clocked in every day for years to earn their paycheck. I feel for those that have lost their jobs already. I’m sure they are worried about their pensions and that is truly awful. WHERE WERE THE LEADERS??? Unbelievable.

My second and last vent of they day: please explain to me how our country can elect a black president, but cannot allow gay marriage. wow. I’m especially astonished at the people of California, my place of birth. How does this happen? How is it that more than a majority of people believe that if 2 women or 2 men marry, that they are not entitled to the same rights as all other married folks? How is that not discrimination? How is that different than telling a woman she cannot vote because she is a woman? Where is the “right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”? This is absolutely unbelievable to me. I just don’t understand. I mean, I don’t have a partner and i don’t even really believe in marriage, per se. But, that is my thing and a whole separate issue. BUT, I am still angered by this because it is about rights. And it is about some people saying that unless you are committed in ceremony and by law to a PERSON of the opposite sex, YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED to certain rights. Just think about that for a second. I guess they should re-write the Constitution because we are not all created equal. Obviously.

As I write this, i am sad. Sad that the fucking country and the world is like this. Sad that because in the face of such hope and optimism, we still have a long way to go. 

I would never describe myself as a political person. I don’t even know too much about politics. Neverthess, these are the things on my mind.