Why I'm no fan of the Weinermobile: The Study of Politicial Marriages

Politics and marriage tend to be a VERY complex subject. Let me step into a sexist environment quickly: imagine you're a young woman and a mother and your partner/husband/fiancée/significant other tells you he's running for public office. Of course there's many reactions that can happen, but you shouldn't have to be in public office to find out the reaction.

Balancing a marriage and a political office is a very sensitive thing, especially if you have a significant other who is weary of the limelight. For instance, as someone who wants to run for office, not only would I need to marry someone accepting of my autistic tendencies but someone who doesn't mind be engaged, and later, the wife of a politician.

In other words, my chances of ever getting married are getting slimmer and slimmer.

But here's something I don't understand: how two high school sweethearts can see their marriage dissolve because of political office. That's what has happened to Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl recently (well, okay, two years ago), and the problems he's been facing has made Mike Bloomberg's problems look like nothing, or at least, silly.

Here's where I start asking questions: if I had to choose between my marriage and political career, my family would take precedent. First, I'm autistic, so remarriage for me is something not likely to happen, unless I happen to one day wake up and have the ability to attract women like Anthony "Carlos Danger" Weiner. Second, I have something called priorities and loyalty. 

Mayor Ravenstahl, I understand that you might love Pittsburgh a lot (like I love New York State), but you divorced your high school sweetheart (well, okay, she left you)? Isn't one of our man codes that we fight like hell to keep our high school flames going? And plus, Erin looks prettier/more attractive than many of today's top models. Well, my sympathies ended not much after that: he's under investigation for numerous scandals affecting his administration, and he's not going for a second term. For for the former Mrs, she might be dodging a bullet. This question asked by prosecutors is troublesome: From the Huffington Post:

-Whether the mayor instructed bodyguards to delete the actual times of day they worked from time cards, presumably to keep reporters from documenting the single mayor's nightlife that, otherwise, is chronicled only by rumors or cellphone pictures posted on gossipy blogs.

Mayor Ravenstahl, you should, if you have personal skeletons, work on those, and try to get your ex-wife back, if you still can. And if you're Weiner-land behavior bound, GET PROFESSIONAL HELP.

But for Weiner? Fuggedabouit!!!! His ship sailed back in 2011. Huma Abedin, divorce him. I sound like a gay relationship columnist, but still. You can only give someone so many chances. Some people will just keep effing up with no regard. What the former congressman did was psychologically disturbing, and AFTER leaving Congress he kept the whole thing going. I don't care that it's over, Mr. Weiner should have sought professional help, maybe from this wise old Jewish woman. But then again, Dr. Ruth isn't a psychotherapist, and you could REALLY use one of those. I don't care if Weiner and Abedin's marriage is a happy one, the man has serious issues. 

I come from the school of thought that believes that power corrupts good people. It's as if the atmosphere in public office is as addictive as recreational drugs. Politicker.com has a good link on 53 political sex scandals in American history. Make that 54 with Weiner, and there's a few since then that have happened. Heck, Wikipedia keeps running tabs on US political sex scandals at both the national level and the state/local level. Heck, in the last three years, there's been a number.

I have this feeling that the people who deserved to be married are the ones who aren't.

"Sarah Palin Poll Finds Her The Top Choice Of Alaska GOP, But Badly Trailing Mark Begich"

Quoting Huffington Post:

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) is Alaska Republicans' top choice to challenge Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) in 2014, even though she would perform poorly against him in a general election, a Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday found.

In other words Sarah, PLEASE RUN FOR THE SENATE so you can get defeated! But then again, PPP is Democratic leaning, so I wonder how much of that is sabotage. Once again, people want the popular candidate, not the most electable one.

Kate didn't choose to have a boy....

If ignorance and lack of science are what the The Daily Beast are promoting overseas in the UK, they sure have one heck of an editor in Tina Brown, who must have flunked her GCSEs in science. Quoting the nincompoop on the birth of the royal child (Kate and William's kid) :

“Once again, she does the perfect thing. Although there’s the constitutional change that we can now have a girl as the firstborn to be the monarch, nonetheless she does the traditional thing and she gives us a prince, she gives a king. Let’s face it, the queen will be thrilled. She and the duke of Edinburgh, much as they would have said they’d be fine with a girl as the firstborn, they really wanted a boy and they got one!”

I'm going to go all Keith Olbermann here: No, it wasn't their choice, no one chooses to have a child of the particular sex science has changed that, but still. it's rare and the father determines (through sperm) what the child's sex will be, and even he doesn't have control over that (although this link does say something about men having a different concentration of sperm that might lead to a family having all boys vs all girls). I kinda have to buy this, as my biological father had a brother (said uncle and I are having lunch next week, and he is also my godfather too), my paternal grandfather

On my paternal grandmother's side, it's fishy, same for my mom too. The grandchildren of Louis and Irene Baci (my maternal grandparents) are all male, and yet they had two daughters. My paternal great-grandfather (my paternal grandmother's father) father two sons and two daughters, and three of those four children had all sons, and the one child who didn't (my late-great uncle Paul) had only one daughter, Tanya.

I'd be somewhat surprised if I don't have a son. That being said, anything's possible, and I wish carefully, as dreams do come true sometimes. Granted though, I can't find good news stories, but here's a scary (at one time a happy) dream come true: Katie Holmes' marriage to Tom Cruise.

Sorry to use you as an example, Katie Holmes.

Why Amtrak needs a little help...

Quoting CNN:

Amtrak Train 91 was way behind schedule. More than 13 hours behind schedule, thanks to a nearly half-day stranding just 2 miles from a train station. The Miami-bound Silver Star train had departed New York City on Sunday at 11:02 a.m. with 261 passengers aboard, and it was supposed to arrive just after 5 p.m. in the Richmond, Virginia, area. Instead it arrived there on Monday around 6:45 a.m., according to Amtrak's website. "The dining car developed axle problems that disabled the train 2 miles north of the Staples Mill Road Station in Richmond around 5:30 p.m. Sunday," said Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods, via e-mail. "The dining car couldn't be moved or cut out at the scene, because of the axle problems."

 If the outlet had respect and decency, they would have mentioned that Amtrak has an order for 130 new single level long distance cars, some of which will be diner cars. If only Congress could give Amtrak some more operating funds that could go for infrastructure, Amtrak could be break-even, if not profitable if it was using reliable equipment. 

How to fix New York's dysfunctional government

Salon Magazine has done a crapload of articles on the sorry state of the New York state government, and literally what kind of shit shape it really is in. In fact, the publication believes that New York's legislation (and by extension, it's legislators) will never be progressive. Here's how I think we can turn the ship around:

1) Cuomo's Moreland Act Commission investigations need to pick up steam. Heck, if it were me, I'd have some kind of litmus test out there to sniff out members of the state legislature who are truly corrupt, and have them banned from public office.

2) Set term limits in New York: I've said this before: a twelve year limit on ALL state elected officials. That means the top four jobs in New York (governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller) along with the entire Legislature would be on either a three or six term cycle. Exceptions would come if you're moving up or down a rung (e.g. going from Attorney General to Governor or Governor to a seat in the Assembly).

3) A new State Constitution. Sadly, ours here in New York hasn't aged as well as the Great One in Washington. It's so antiquated that it's scary. Many of our laws that other states have abolished are still on the books.

4) My message to Governor Cuomo: The SAFE Act, as much as it's a landmark piece of legislation, has made you the enemy of middle America. For the love of New York, please don't run for President. Work on bringing up the quality of life here first.

5) Senator Skelos, pipe down. Cuomo's not on a witch hunt, and even if he is, the Legislature needs a cleaned house. End of bloody story.

Why I #StandwithWendy

In the New York Times this morning I read an article that bothered me: maternity costs in the United States are some of the highest in the world. For the price of a used Lincoln MKZ, a car I hope to one day drive, a woman could, by herself, cover the costs of a Caesarian delivery. $15,000 for a procedure that is sometimes done on request, not as it should be, for medical emergencies.

I wonder if some of the issue here in the United States that drives up medical costs is the fact that we make medial procedures out of normal biological processes. Your household pets don't need an epidural to give birth to puppies/kittens/insert name of offspring of other household, so why should it almost be a no-nonsense decision that almost every woman has one? I partly digress, because as I support whatever choice a woman makes about her own medical decisions, all I can offer is input.

Any expectant mother should read A Midwive's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Back in the late 18th century, woman gave birth to children with almost ZERO modern medicine, and the outcomes were not much different than today, except more children survive today. But then again, I also think that our modern lifestyle could have something to do with premature births. And watch the documentary Pregnant in America. I saw the trailer and my jaw dropped.

I stand with female legislators across the nation, including Wendy Davis herself, as they fight male Republican colleagues who are on a mercy mission to shut down clinics, many of which don't perform a whole lot of abortions but instead prevent abortions in the first place: many of these male Republicans are also against birth control. I jokingly say this, of course, but does Texas governor Rick Perry know what a condom is?

The Democratic US Senator from North Carolina, Kay Hagan, is right when she notes that we need to spend more time on creating jobs and less with these distractions. Women, when their rights are endangered, get out and vote and are mobilized, so I have a word to my fellow males:

Don't mess with a lady. Or you might be out a political office.

Why I'm still not a fan of the Weinermobile

Here's my letter to Anthony Weiner, or at least, a short blurb. Quoting him:

"Every July 4th we should all think not only about the independence of our country, but we should think a little bit about the independence of New York City from the shackles of Albany...Perhaps 40 or 50 years ago when a lot of the constructs that we take for granted today were created, you might have been able to say that Albany was the place of the mature legislating, and here in New York City we needed some help. Well, we've clearly seen that that script is no longer apropos...So much of our lives in New York City are governed by legislators in Buffalo, legislators in Schenectady and legislators in Plattsburgh."

My response: 

It's one New York, Mr. Former Congressman. Not NYC vs Upstate. If you want to change state government, run for statewide office. This is why I want to run for statewide office in New York so badly, whether it be lieutenant governor or governor. The problem is the state government itself, not the city government. How about this one? Let the governor get his Moreland Act commission off the ground. If I was Cuomo, I'd shove a term-limits bill down the throat of the legislature. Governor/statewide offices are three term jobs (four years), six terms for state legislators (traditionally two year terms). You get twelve years, and you're out. And maybe background checks before you can even be on the ballot (some kind of ethics checks!)

Tough? Yes. But why? I love my state and I hate seeing it run by people who have the wrong interests at heart.

P.S. Happy Fourth of July, even though I really disagree with you.

The Color Blue, Autism and the Democrats

"I think anyone who believes in advancing the quality of life for those with autism and those themselves with an autism spectrum disorder should vote Democrat. They are the party that tends to recognize the needs of the autism community and not to mention that the Dems and the autism community share the color blue"- Yours truly (Alexander Ivanoff)

(Of course that's partly false, as there are plenty of autism-friendly Republicans, but still, the color of autism is blue [it should be a blue-pink combo] and the Democrats are the party of blue)

Sasha's commentary for July 3 2013: 2013, Part II

Blogging is ACTUALLY hard work, but it's nicer as people who want to read what you have to say don't feel forced to read it. (*cough* Facebook *cough*) Especially on a happy day like this: Morsi's out in Egypt.

I don't like Tim Huelskamp. The Republican Kansas congressman introduced a constitutional amendment that would outlaw marriage equality, even in the states that already have it. Please, I'm already slightly embarrassed to be a Ukrainian-American. Ukraine already has a same sex marriage ban on the books, and I already have an issue with the worldwide Orthodox Christian community on LGBT rights.

I am a liberal because I know that the world is changing every day, and for us all to function as not only a society, but as a species, we need to change and adapt. Furthermore, I believe that although the Bible is the word of God, because that humans have transcribed the Bible, it isn't perfect and thus some of our laws shouldn't be based on it. If Jesus were in the flesh I don't think he'd have a problem with marriage equality. Sure, He'd probably look down upon abortion, but in regards to birth control in general, I think he'd say go for it. After all, He did have a sense of humor.

I make no secret of my dismay of the Southern Baptist Convention. Jim Standridge should retire if he's putting people to sleep.

I have an email out to the Global Gateway Alliance, a group advocating for the teardown of the former Pan Am Worldport. My belief has always been that Stewart International Airport is the solution to New York's aviation woes. That or even go farther: high speed rail to Dulles and Pittsburgh, both airports built for high volumes of traffic. Tearing down the Worldport is not only an assassination on history, but if done, a tragic loss.

"Jennifer Lopez sang Happy Birthday to the leader of Turkmenistan during a show, but her representative said she wouldn't have performed there at all if she had known there were human rights issues in the country."-US Today. WABOBS. I bet you she didn't give two hoots on the issue. I believe that celebrities can do research as well. I don't buy J-Lo's excuse.

I hope the GOP does pay the price for gerrymandering, just by pissing off enough people. And they might. In the end, making districts more far-right is only going to backfire.


May Mitch McConnell lose reelection. And let a Democratic woman take his place. Better yet, make her an attorney general (She's secretary of state). Shame though she's not as kick-ass as Eliot Spitzer. And with 34 percent of respondents in a poll done by January Courier-Journal/SurveyUSA saying they would vote against McConnell regardless of his opponent, Alison Lundergan Grimes has a good shot. Get another 16+ percent of people on her side, and she'll clean up nicely, especially if the GOP ignores their autopsy from earlier this year. Yeah, they're losing woman supporters FAST. Polls show the Kentucky Secretary of State and the US Senate Minority Leader tied in a matchup.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/01/technology/mobile/cheap-nokia-cell-phone/index.html?sr=fb070213nokiacellphonetwenty12p A $20 cell phone. I see smartphones in barely a few years in the same boat. But I do fear that traditional computers will one day be obsolete. You can't play flight simulator with addons on an iPad. Nor would I want to use a flight simulator on an iPad.

I refuse to rent software. If I do need to have a software license, let it have no time restrictions. But then again, Adobe is one of those companies that I believe is evil. Flash Player sucks. Steve Jobs was a jerk, but he was right on Flash. But not being allowed to buy Photoshop? I'm not surprised one bit!

To sum things up on the politics side: the Republican Party has left me behind on the side of the road. And on business? More unethical as ever.

From Facebook: "To those shooting off fireworks in Brushton: Please save it for tomorrow. My dog, who smells like dog (I love dogs, don't give me wrong, but they give off a nasty odor) is taking refuge in my room. The Fourth of July is just ONE day, not MORE than one day. And I'm sorry if I sound unpatriotic."