My views on birth control

My views on birth control are strange but yet poignant. If Asperger's syndrome is a birth defect, then yes, I was born with one.

But had I been, in the womb, been found to have had a birth defect severe enough to have made my life way too difficult, or worse, a birth defect that would have caused me to be unable to live outside the womb, I would hope that I would have been aborted. Of course, no one should wish or ever think about abortion as an easy way out, but look at it this way: would you want a child you wished to bring into this world suffer a traumatic short life because of an eventual fatal health condition?

And there have been cases where children who were not allowed to be aborted by their parent(s) have gone on to lead horrid lives, lives I wouldn't wish on even my worst enemies.

And then there's Rick Santorum, a man whose a Class A, well, nut is too extreme a word, how about a Class A literal interpreter of the Bible and Catholic dogma? Quoting the New York Times:

What happened after the death is a kind of snapshot of a cultural divide. Some would find it discomforting, strange, even ghoulish -- others brave and deeply spiritual. Rick and Karen Santorum would not let the morgue take the corpse of their newborn; they slept that night in the hospital with their lifeless baby between them. The next day, they took him home. ''Your siblings could not have been more excited about you!'' Karen writes in the book, which takes the form of letters to Gabriel, mostly while he is in utero. ''Elizabeth and Johnny held you with so much love and tenderness. Elizabeth proudly announced to everyone as she cuddled you, 'This is my baby brother, Gabriel; he is an angel.' '' 

 I don't know if it is creepy or not to take home a deceased newborn, as I'm sort of one of those "to each his own" type of people, but it's at the least, well, unusual. But I guess if it gave the family comfort to say goodbye in that manner, how am I to disagree. I think it's nuts that Karen Santorum had another child at 48. Once my kids are old enough to have kids, it's condoms and quite possibly a vasectomy for sure. And my wife, well, I'll talk her into birth control as well. Or cutdown on the sex, or something.

UPDATE: Is it me or does Rick Santorum's kids all seem unhappy in photo ops?

Who Attacks Mr. Rogers?

Could Fox News get any lower? Honestly! Mr. Rogers was a Presbyterian minister. I don't think he had any interest in trying to turn American children into narcissists. WTF? We are all different, but I do slightly agree with Fox News about the problem with narcissism among the millennials, but don't blame Fred.

What a week indeed!

The Republicans have gotten spoiled....really spoiled!

But not for much longer. See, this week, despite the partial repeal of the Voting Rights Act, the progressive moment came back from the dead (or hibernation, I will note your mileage will vary on that one) with a vengeance. In fact, a governor in a southern state might have already lost reelection thanks to a filibuster.

First, came Wednesday, where the Supreme Court of the United States ruled not only that DOMA was unconstitutional, California's Proposition 8's unconstitutionality was upheld, because the plaintiffs had no standing in the case, meaning that they had no "personal stake" to bring the case to the federal level, quoting chief justice John Roberts and NBC. 

And then came what is probably one of the most daredevil YET brilliant manuevers in legislative history at the state level in our nation's history: how a once single teen mom turned state senator was able to pull a painful thirteen hour fillibuster to save a woman's right to choose in the Lone Star State. There's no doubt about it: Wendy Davis is the next Ann Richards. Making things more interesting was that Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, the daughter of the late governor, the last woman and Democrat to serve as Texas governor, was present. 

I have a good feeling that the Democrats' best chances of winning back the governor's office in Texas will be with Wendy Davis. My beef with Rick Perry is that 1) he is coming off as really fascist in trying to pass the bill and 2) making trips to New York to indirectly put New Yorkers out of work. If I was governor of New York, I wouldn't make trips to Texas to take jobs from Texans. 

I don't think that Texans are bad, I just think their politicians and air conditioning (air conditioning, as it allows people to live in extremely warm climates) are evil.

Sasha's commentary for June 13, 2013: Ridiculousness

If our world is going to hell in a handbasket, well, I'm a wee bit worried.

I admit that not only do I have a crush on a shall-remain nameless beauty queen from out West, I have a crush on a seventeen year old. I'm in a future blog going to discuss the ethics and legality on that one, but Ryan Phillippe and Maksim Chmerkovskiy have it made. 

Now here's where I get to (slightly) bash Miss Upton. Nope, wouldn't date her. She's got nice eyes, but her uncle is a REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN. Politics, not a turn-off. A Republican politician for an uncle? Kind of, especially since there's no room for me in the Grand Old Party. I jokingly say that I'm the Far Left of the GOP. 

I'll be lucky if I have even one child. But being an only child isn't always a bad thing, in fact not much different than having siblings. I hope to one day read Sandler's book and see more of her take on raising an only child. I have a feeling that in developed nations, having only children will become the norm. Raising a child costs over $250,000 over the course of a child's life, so having only one child isn't a bad move.

More deregulation. Over regulation doesn't work, but neither does no regulation. I love how despite the fact that the fact we're getting out of a near depression, Congress is apt to deregulate some more. If I was in Congress, I'd propose to abolish the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and replace it with a stronger organization. It's caused more trouble than it's worth. Let's deregulate more derivatives trading, we'll see how that works out. On some days I feel I should run for Congress just to tick off the rest to body.

A high schooler with autism is America's Carly Fleischmann. Once again, autistic youth are doing unbelievable things.

Salon magazine really likes to bring up Andrew Cuomo, and they have a beef, and an alarming one. The campaign finance reform bill in the state legislature might be a farce. And why is Cuomo palling around with the Koch Brothers. Sure, they might be generous, but at the same time, the brothers are somewhat monsters.

(This is published on 2 June, as it takes me forever to work on these things. I need to keep them shorter!!!)

Running With Pens and Pencils and Word Processors

People who know me well know that I am a forum member of a website known as Wrong Planet, which is a hub for individuals on the autism spectrum, including Asperger's.

While posting a topic,

RELAX!!!! It's understandable to be nervous. Heck, I was so nervous that I nearly puked while sleeping over at the house of a girl I liked (no less my first kiss!!!) But that might have been a combination of caffeine and kelbasa and my mono-ruined stomach. But at least you're not driving 100 miles to meet a girl!

 The responses went like this:

 I wish we could hear THIS story! =)

And:

Yes, I second this! 

 Well, I'd like to believe that I am a naturally born storyteller. I've been working on a novel now for the last four years and I want to get it published this summer. Of course, it might mean sidelining a flight simulation hobby for a while, but if it means I become a minor celebrity/major autism celebrity, it's all worth it.

Anyways, the story goes like this (from Wrong Planet)

I'm from Upstate New York, and I was transferring to a new SUNY school and this girl was an incoming freshman. Anyways, we started chatting it up on Facebook, and before I know it, we were skyping and IM'ing like crazy and the like. She lived a hundred miles away from where I did, about an hour from Syracuse. So we set a date for a Saturday, and I headed down to where she lived, and we swung by the Carousel Mall (now Destiny USA) and had a blast. Held hands, had Taco Bell and we just couldn't stop holding hands. Her dad, a really chill guy, allowed me to spend the night and have barbecue with her extended family. Back at her dad's we made out on her bed. Strike one. A caffeinated first kiss. Then came meeting her family, and that was okay. But I downed enough kielbasa and macaroni salad to make my poor stomach say "HELP ME"!!! Between being nervous, eating fast food and stomach-upsetting food, I had a recipe for disaster. I spent nearly an hour crouched over at a really dirty toilet. Thankfully, my stomach contents stayed in my stomach. A fun weekend, but I learned something: stay away from girls who are obsessive ice coffee drinkers if you have an intolerance to caffeine like I have!!!

I think in the end I not only upset my stomach lining, I also was a nervous wreck. I went home the following day with a hickie on my neck.

The longer story is even funnier, but I'll leave that for the imagination.

Two weeks later I made another trip down. Bad decision., Needless to say I left early, and well, it was a nasty end. No cops, but tons of emotion. Turns out her heart turned on me, and whatever interest she had fled the coop. I might have been a little too clingy, but understand this was my first romantic relationship.

Since then, I've dated a best friend's younger sister (the only person I can consider even remotely an ex that I still on occasion chat with, but even that's awkward) and my most recent ex (who I no longer talk to on any basis).

My last ex was the one I had the longest romantic relationship with. The one before I've known her since elementary or middle school. My most recent ex is the one I almost lost my v-card to, and surprisingly, the relationship I was the most comfortable in, even though her parents and sister didn't really like me.

I hope I have a future as an author. Maybe keeping a journal for almost nine years is paying off. Of course, the stuff I would write, except for non-fiction work and my autobiography would be almost completely fictional. That story just happens to be a real life case that I didn't even bother exaggerating. Stories about my life are fresh and unadulterated. But I'll put it out there: a born storyteller is something I am.

Things NOT to say on Facebook on Father's Day

...if you live in a small town like mine!

"Father's Day has made me realize how many teens in my town have kids. You're in high school, you're married and you have kids. What the heck?"

Fixing Buffalo (Again)

 Driving through the City of Buffalo you will see houses with cracked windows, boarded up doors, and sagging or collapses roofs.

That's right folks, according to YNN, Buffalo is a disaster zone. Come to think about it, the (nutcase) Paladino was right on this one: Cuomo should have declared Buffalo and the surrounding area in an economic state of emergency. I would of. If you fix Buffalo, the rest will come.

I agree with Tolbert: something needs to be done. People should be living in those home, and not letting them fall into that shape. Buffalo needs companies, employers and thriving businesses and they should be able to come, whatever it takes.

I try not to drink the GOP kool-aid, but if unfunded mandates and other taxes are not only brought under control, etc, there won't be an upstate New York left for our kids.

I hate saying this, but Cuomo should be focused on getting upstate New York back on its feet and less time with gun control.

If elected to public office, I might be the only politician who will work under Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The hierarchy of needs should also apply to politics and what people want. As much as I'm for social reforms and the like, the economy, jobs and making sure people's basic needs are attended to is the first thing.

I can't believe I'm actually going to have to write to the governor about how the economy stinks in New York.

Something I thought of this morning:

As a person, I'm willing to take risks because there's something I enjoy doing: pushing the human race forward, even if it is kicking and screaming along the way. Progress has become quite stale to the point kicking and screaming is necessary.

Sasha's Commentary for May 11, 2013 (OLD NEWS)

Old news, but...

Southwest is indeed no longer about cheap flights as much as a flight where you'll get fare service. But the day Southwest starts charging for bags is the day I will lose near complete faith in the airline industry. I have a feeling that for the majority of Americans, bus and rail travel will be making a comeback. I think my generation will be the first in where air travel is a luxury. At the same time, I do see Southwest losing big time when they start charging for bags. There will be customer backlash, and at Southwest, it tends to work.

I would like to see some airline re-regulation occur, to protect passengers, smaller airlines and large airlines from making stupid business decisions. And sadly, the airlines that make stupid business decisions still manage to stay afloat. Sir Richard Branson, keep Virgin America alive for as long as you can. We need choice, and we're running out of them. If I was flying cross-country, I'd probably fly Virgin America.

In general, our nation is going through a rough time. And of course, our elected officials aren't helping. All crappy service from the airlines can do is help Amtrak and bus operators. And a big issue I have with the airlines is the pricing schemes. Book months in advance and you can get a cheap fare, but if you book a few days in advance, be prepared to pay an arm and a leg. The pay by the pound thing makes sense, because as an airline you want as light of a plane as possible. That being said, if you're going to spend more than a few weeks somewhere (let's say more than a week; an extended vacation), best bet is to take Amtrak, the bus or drive. There are some situations you can't help, like going to the Caribbean and overseas. But within America, forget about a nice quick trip. I'd say, it's time the industry figure out how to operate in this "new economy". The airlines change their business models more than I change my underwear (which is daily, if you care about the TMI fact).

A survey done by Farleigh Dickinson University showed that 44% of Republicans they surveyed believed that armed rebellion might be necessary to maintain civil liberties (TRANSLATE: to get a point across to our elected officials that we don't want our guns taken away, that we are suspicious of our current President) I believe that many Republicans outside the liberal areas of the nation are paranoid of President Obama. I think it stems from the GOP's inherent racism (not all GOPers are racists, thankfully), but I think that it's a matter of that many Americans are uncomfortable with having a president that is non-100% European-American, who is an intellectual, well-spoken, doesn't come off as arrogant and cold (I'll debate the coldness factor), someone who is not your ordinary American. I also think it comes down to this: Mainstream America sees nationalism and patriotism extremely important, and I bet that most Americans see the Democrats as the less patriotic party.

Do I think it's time for a woman as President? Yes, even if it is (GASP), Hillary Clinton. Maybe it's me, but I don't see (in a majority of cases, there are exceptions) a woman so quick to launch nukes. Get the testosterone out of politics. If Hillary's elected, I'd imagine shit getting done. Just, for God's sake, leave Bill in Chappaqua.

A quick blurb on copyright and YouTube

People wouldn't post episodes of TV shows on YouTube if the companies made them available for streaming. The wonderful folks at South Park have made almost every episode of the series available for viewing whenever you are in front of a computer. How to make fans happy? Simple things like those.





That's the reason I find it funny that people who upload episodes of TV shows to YouTube not quite violating copyright law, especially if there is no other way to stream the episode (Netflix, Hulu, etc).

If it means I can watch on demand, heck, I can deal with the ads, especially since it's free.



But then again, I have a serious disdain for the entertainment and multimedia industry right now. It's run by people with arrogance, at least that's my perception.

*This means you won't see a reality show on my life anytime soon, because the demand that I have complete control over distribution would kill the idea faster than you can say "Action". And not to mention that my life doesn't need a reality show, nor does anyone's.