Recently by AstrosGirlKel

This is about 17 minutes long.  It is a lecture by Richard Wilkinson regarding income inequality and how it effects overall quality of life.  You'll be smarter for having watched it.I encourage you to watch and discuss....

You're all familiar with the libertarian leanings of Republican candidate, Ron Paul.  Lately, his followers have taken to claims that the media isn't treating him fairly.  Poor Mr. Paul, he can't even get asked a question about abortion at a debate, and he was an OB for years!I have this to say to Paul followers:The media doesn't have to play fair.  The media is made up of (mostly) for-profit corporations.  They are not out to...

I enjoyed the heck out of this snipped of the President singing Al Green's "Let's Stay Together." Enjoy....

This time of year, I love to see happy news stories.  Here's one from the Associated Press, via Huffington Post:VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- A Navy tradition caught up with the repeal of the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" rule on Wednesday when two women sailors became the first to share the coveted "first kiss" on the pier after one of them returned from 80 days at sea. Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta of...

For weeks, anti-abortion advocates and the religious right have poured millions into a campaign to give voters the power to give personhood to a fertilized egg.Giving personhood to a fertilized egg would, in effect, grant full legal rights to said egg.   Any egg fertilization not leading to a live birth could be criminally investigated and prosecuted.  This would, of course, outlaw abortion.  If you dig deeper, this would have outlawed any type of barrier between...

Chris Christie should not be subjected to multiple, baseless, cruel fat jokes.  He is a bad candidate based on his merits; weight has nothing to do with it.  Imagine his brash, crass style while negotiating with enemies holding nukes.  No, thanks! Michele Bachmann should not be constantly questioned about submission to her husband.  She's crazy enough to be dismissed based on what comes out of her mouth on a daily basis.  Her gender and religion...

From KHOU:A judge has ordered a former KBR Inc. employee to pay $145,000 of the company's court costs after she lost her lawsuit alleging she was drugged and raped while working in Iraq. A federal jury in Houston had ruled for KBR and against Jamie Leigh Jones after her civil trial in July. KBR had asked U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison to award $2 million in legal fees and court costs against Jones, but Ellison...

Well, I guess we all knew it was coming.<br />Gulp.True to form he announced after the Iowa debates.   Slick Rick knows he's no debater.  Real solutions and quick thinking aren't his forte.  We are talking about the incumbent Governor of Texas who lost a Republican primary debate to Debra Medina.This man has never done anything in his life except work for the big bad government he so disdains.  While doing so, he somehow garnered millions...

Our nation faces tough times.  We have a looming energy crisis - there is not enough oil on the planet to sustain us; there is not an infrastructure nor desire for the innovation required to create one.  We have an economic crisis that is looking more and more like the Great Depression (did you know that unemployment didn't reach 25% until 1933, although the original crash was in 1929?).  We have a gridlocked government that...

Congress did not pass a bill funding the FAA before leaving Washington for their paid summer vacation.  Republicans are trying to cut a program that subsidizes small, rural airports.  This cut would save American taxpayers $16 million per year.  Congress was unable to agree on cutting this program before they left for vacation, so now the FAA is shut down.  Here are the numbers:FAA employees working without pay or out of a job:    4,000FAA construction...

In 1946, my grandmother welcomed a healthy son into this world - with joy.  In 1950, she welcomed a healthy daughter -  my aunt - into this world.  In 1953, my grandmother fell pregnant with my mother.  She cried.  Pregnancy was hard on her; she did not have the money to feed three children.  In 1955, my grandmother fell pregnant again.  In 1957, once again.  All in all, she had five children.  She celebrated the...

Bill O'Reilly, never missing a chance to play the poor, persecuted Christian card, said on his show that the media is only reporting that the Norway terrorist, Anders Behring Breivik, is a Christian because they don't like Christians and want to diminish social conservatives.I'd like to show this segment to you.As you can see, O'Reilly is outraged that anyone could link this type of terror attack to an entire religion.  Obviously this was a man...

Patriotism is a unique emotion.  To me, it means love of country, love of our history, and love of our community.Patriotism, as of late, has been not more than a weapon yielded against one political party from another.  Republicans, in their American flag caps and t-shirts, wear their patriotism on their sleeves (literally).  The flag is meaningful, must be saluted, revered, and protected (unless you need to cut it up in order to give it...

First, I'd like to apologize for not being around much lately.  As most of you know, we added a third child to our family this year and I'm finding it increasingly difficult to blog regularly while keeping up with extremely active, wonderful children all day.That being said, I have a quick observation to share and discuss with all of you.As I watch coverage of Michele Bachmann perusing a presidential campaign, I'm baffled that she thinks...

Please watch this video.   You will see Texas Republicans voting on a bill, and then walking around and voting for other representatives who are absent.  It is a good thing they do not need to show voter I.D.  All Texas voters will now need to show I.D. at the polls.  I wonder if they did this when they passed the voter I.D. bill?  That would be ironic. ...

First, I'll start with this facebook 'repost' that several of my friends posted upon hearing of the death of Osama Bin Laden:Let's be clear on this: OBAMA did NOT kill Bin Laden. An American soldier, who Obama just a few weeks ago was debating on whether or not to PAY, did. Obama just happened to be the one in office when our soldiers finally found OBL and took him out. This is NOT an Obama...

Multiple news outlets are reporting that the President's surprise remarks this Sunday evening will reveal that one week ago, a U.S. Military operation killed Osama Bin Laden.  DNA tests prove that it is his body.The President will speak shortly. ...

Toyota announced the temporary halt of U.S. vehicle production due to supply chain delays caused by the recent devastation in Japan, Business Week Reports:Toyota, which estimates that North America generates about 60 percent of its operating profit, said last week it would suspend production at auto, engine and parts plants in the region for five days this month because of a shortage of Japan- made components. The company plans to restart all plants in Japan...

Well, we all knew they weren't genuine about really cutting spending, but this is textbook hypocrisy.From the Houston Chronicle:Reps. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, John Culberson, R-Houston, Michael McCaul, R-Austin, Pete Olson,  R-Sugar Land, and Ted Poe, R-Humble all voted recently for measures to eliminate federal dollars earmarked for National Public Radio and Planned Parenthood. But they just said no to slamming the brakes on the Defense Department's multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal with NASCAR racing teams.I found...