Sasha's quick commentary for January 11, 2015: The "Closing Tabs" edition

Since I have almost no time to do jack shit these days, here goes...

• 200 colleges across the US are now asking for high school students' sex histories. How about this: leave sex for college when you're more mature? I don't think anyone under the age of 18 should be sleeping around.
• Gubernatorial historian Richard Norton Smith floated the idea of an office building named after the now late governor Mario Cuomo (who passed away on New Year's Day), reported Capital New York. In fact, one would be named after each of the three term leaders of the 20th Century. And apparently Nelson Rockefeller combined an Oedipus complex in regards to art, to put it inappropriately.
• Again, this article from late November proves the obvious: New York overdoes it with laws. Let kids be kids.
• Air travel in China is a f*cking nightmare. kthanx, I'll take the train.
• Except for me, no Millennial, not even myself, has money to save. How about helping us out, rich Americans? My demented and sick argument: with automization, we need less humans. An energy crisis and inability to use electricity might prove my point moot.
• It was Diane Ravitch who taught me Teach for America is nothing but garbage.
• I can understand the issues that Eliot Rodger dealt with in the world of dating and socializing, but still, going on a shooting spree doesn't solve your problems. However, I think I might be the upper hand thanks to by bubbilyness (or maybe not!).
• I tweeted a kudos reply to Shelby Swink's posting on how she mutilated her wedding dress. Taking heartbreak into triumph is wonderful. And apparently, it's art, if Edina Monsoon has anything to do with it.

Autism with a side of Whoppers (Sasha's commentary for November 13, 2014)

I love when the autism community argues about the most trivial of stuff. Last week, Jerry Seinfeld came out as being somewhere on the autism spectrum, which I found really surprising. Apparently, I'm now stuck with the "autistics can't be autistics unless they have serious mood swings or little things set them off" belief. Regardless, Seinfeld's "coming out of the closet" on autism will definitely prove to be a positive. He will be a great ally in the autism acceptance battle. Quoting the New York Post:

But some autism advocates said they were concerned by Seinfeld’s suggestion that what he suffers from is not an actual disorder.
“What frightens me with these kinds of statements and stories is that I don’t want people to think that autism isn’t a serious diagnosis, or that it’s not a struggle for individuals and their families,” said Wendy Fournier, president of the National Autism Association.
“What many people don’t understand is that on that lower-functioning end of the spectrum, we have individuals who are suffering and whose lives are at risk.”
“Autism is not a designer diagnosis,” Fournier added.

For the die-hard activistis, it's ALL ABOUT THE FAMILIES, how they're the ones that have to suffer. Listen here Wendy, I've struggled to date since leaving college. To me, I don't seem "typical", but I deal with things the best I can.

NEXT!

Despite 2014 being one of the bloodiest years politically, I will say this: some candidates, like Republican Dan Bongino, conceded graciously, and I wonder if positive, non-mudslinging conduct had a lot to do with that. North of the border, Canadians still are smacking their heads in disbelief.

And finally, Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald (Jessa is a member of the Duggar clan from TLC's [Insert number here] of Kids and Counting) got hitched, and apparently had sex in the church:

What exactly went down in that room, though, is up for discussion. Comments on a personal blog run by a wedding attendee allege that Duggar and Seewald did more than just kiss (*wink, wink*) in the room.
“Multiple people were discussing that when Jinger [Jessa's sister] opened the door to get Jess for the reception, she immediately closed the door with a look of shock on her face,” a commentor who identified herself as Mary wrote on a blog post. She later continued, “I am not sure why they would not wait for the evening to pray and then consummate God’s marriage.”
A commenter by the name of Gloryana West shared Mary’s speculations. “My daughter told me that [Duggar and Seewald] had been ‘feeling’ each other,” wrote West. “Some time later … my daughter informed me that Jessa was caressing Ben’s ‘area’ and Ben had his hands on her breasts and buttocks.”

Something tells me that this was NOT their first time...just saying! That or (and I wouldn't be surprised) that the story is BS. I'd like to believe that one of the Duggar kids is a bit rebellious. Sorry Jim Bob and Michelle, you two are WAY too strict!!!*

*Then again, I don't have much of a right to judge anyone's parenting style.

My Open Letter to the Grand Old Party

TO: Reince Priebus
Republican National Committee
310 First Street SE,
Washington, DC 20003

4 November 2014

Dear Chairman Priebus,

First, I as a registered Democrat swallow my pride and congratulate your party on whatever victories you achieve. But please don't gloat over your victories tonight. I try to be a gracious loser. At the same time, I am dismayed and seriously concerned. Your party has spent the last six years attacking a president and his party on their views. Yes, Obama's not the best and brightest (look at his appointees for many ambassador posts and some of the people in his administration), but he's trying his best.

Let's start with the social issues. I believe that families are families, no matter what form they take. I believe in marriage equality simply because it is the right thing. I don't care if a child has two moms or two dads. What matters is if that (those) child(ren) live in a stable, positive, nurturing environment. And marriage is no longer about procreation. In regards to my faith, I put humanity before my belief in God. America was not designed to be a theocracy. I am pro-choice because not all pregnancies are viable, and a woman shouldn't have to carry a miscarried fetus. I believe in the right to die with dignity because dying is already a challenge. Although I am fortunate to have never had a cancer diagnosis, there are millions of Americans who suffer from cancer, which takes me to my next subject.

Your party's attacks on Obamacare is unfortunate. Sure, it's not perfect (neither is our nation, thank you very much, and feel free to call me unpatriotic), but it allows me to work a menial job and still be on my parent's health insurance. I suffer from Asperger's disorder, and to be a fully functional human being I need medication to deal with the issues related to Asperger's: the anxiety, depression, mood issues. I believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. And don't blame Obama for not creating jobs that provide healthcare: we're competing against China, a nation known for currency manipulation. Your party has members guilty of outsourcing jobs overseas. I know I have what some might call a preexisting condition, and I strive to lead a normal life, whatever that is. If anything, we need to cut down on how much trade we do with China. America was a much better off nation a century ago because China was not an industrialized nation and we didn't have air conditioners.

Your party preaches fiscal restraint and yet is penny wise and dollar foolish. Cutting programs like NPR, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, Amtrak (a big one for me) and other programs is not my way of dealing with the deficit. We don't have a deficit issue, okay, we have a little bit of one but we also have a revenue issue. Corporations in this country are getting tax breaks up the wazoo, and if reforming the tax codes not only brings in more revenue but allows this tax dodging to stop, I'm all for it. I want to know that if I have children that they have access to a great public education and that I can travel on safe roads, or if I choose not to drive, have public transportation accessible. While I do understand the aspects of high labor and material costs in regards to major infrastructure projects, at the same time those labor costs provide men and women with living wages. What happened to America thinking big, the country that built the Hoover Dam, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Transcontinental Railroad?

And let's get to economics: while yes, most of the Obama administration's job growth has been low wage employment, you guys have made it difficult for his administration to launch efforts to allow for . And while we're at it, I believe in class warfare, albeit in a subtle form. There are more millionaires and billionaires in this country's history today than at any point in its history. Elderly Caucasian men are only a small percentage of this nation's population. And to promote causes that go against the rights of women, well here's something: women often have better outcomes compared to men when there are times of crisis. I hope our next president is a woman, whether it be Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton or even Olympia Snowe. Women are my equal, I don't see them as lesser beings. Heck, women reopened the government after men shut it down. Sure, we might have different gender biology, but I see the opposite sex as just as capable as I am to do anything, regardless of the task or role.

Many members of the Republican Party believe that climate change is a myth. I am glad that my congressional district is represented by a Republican who believes that climate change is real. We've lived the movie The Day After Tomorrow when Superstorm Sandy struck the Northeast, and I don't want to see it happen again. We only have a finite amount of energy reserves, and the alternatives (wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal) are not just near-limitless, they are also cleaner. I am mostly a water drinker, and if I were living near the Ogallala Aquifer, I would be scared right now. Building the Keystone pipeline is a risk we cannot take. If anything, we need more solar power and less hydrofracking. Until we find a safe way to extract natural gas and transport it, I am against further drilling. Potable drinking water comes first. Plus, what happened to research into using hydrogen as a fuel?

And I agree we need government reform, but that also means things like term limits and limits on campaign donations. My belief in free speech is not just figurative, it's also literal. Every person's voice is important, no matter where they stand in our society. There should be respectable limits on campaign spending. In some areas, other nations are lightyears ahead of us.

I am glad that some issues are non-partisan, like autism treatment and research. We can all agree that finding effective treatments for autism is important. An assemblywoman from Upstate New York, Janet Duprey, is one of my political heroes. She is a Republican who votes her conscience. I don't agree with her on everything, but she has represented her constituents faithfully for the last eight years. Sure, she's a bit of a social liberal but she's in favor of sensible gun laws that don't punish responsible gun owners and is a fighter for taxpayers.

Listen, I have another eighty or so years to live, and I want to know that my planet will be able to sustain my footprint for that long (by the way, we're one of over 180 of them). I feel that the Republican Party has become too much a nationalist party in recent years. What happened to the Eisenhower Republicans?

No, I'm not rehashing what Michael Moore says. This is truly what I believe. Maybe it's my personality. I believe in a more just and equal world. But does what I say mean I don't want to work with Republicans? I agree with some on certain issues. Kevin Cramer, the Congressman from North Dakota has been a supporter of Amtrak during his tenure, winning the Golden Spike Award from NARP. I might be a partisan Democrat, but I'm willing to put aside those differences to make America a better place.

My dream for America is one where every adult has the right to vote (and if you're going to require voter ID, make it easier for voters to get ID), one where every American has a living wage, healthcare, savings for retirement. Call me a socialist, but when every American can achieve their dreams, we're much better off for it. Want to eradicate a huge aspect of why some individuals enter a life of crime?

America should always be moving forwards, not backwards. Extremism has no place in politics.

Sincerely,

Alexander Ivanoff

There's No Excuses Not to Vote Next Week

Even though the races here in New York and New Jersey are fairly set in stone, races across the country are still up in the air. And honestly, if you're a minority, a woman, any American who feels that voting counts, go vote on Tuesday!

The polls and whatnot have been driving me crazy. Sure, it's easy to get discouraged, but look at what Obama has had to deal with. The Republicans see him as an extremist, as "un-American". Maybe we need someone who is not so much as un-American, but And yes, I'm not entirely thrilled with a man who might be the reason why Jeb Bush becomes the 45th President. I'd rather take Hillary, even with her history, over another Bush. I don't want to bring the gender card into play, but we've had forty-four men run this country. I think it's time for a woman for a change. I am a man, and I say this strongly: I trust a woman's judgement over a man's. It's exactly why I consult my mom on issues from time to time.

All I know is this: I don't want my country turning into a libertarian's paradise, one that is coated in a theocracy. America needs to move forwards, not backwards. Sure, a few rotten eggs should not get back into office, but the good ones should get in.

And there's always 2016 if all goes wrong. Now to get my nerves back!

My response to "Malia Obama Attends Lollapalooza"

In early August, President Obama allowed his older daughter Malia to attend Lollapalooza. Kudos to the Commander-in-Chief to allow his daughters to lead somewhat normal lives. How she got to the event is beyond me, but that's besides the point.

I beg all eligible Americans...

...to go vote!!!!

If there is anything that concerns me more, it's the state of our union. Since taking hold of the House of Representatives in 2010, the Republicans in that body have brought any progress in this country to a standstill. The course that this country is on is self-destructive. I am not bashing all Republicans. There are many who are very reasonable and rational. But on the whole, the party has demonstrated that they are unwilling to work with a president because of false perceptions on the whole.

My solution? Cleaning house across the nation. On Election Day, it is critical that EVERY American vote. It's no secret that Republicans haven't put Americans best interests at heart. The belief of the trickle down theory has not worked, more and more Americans are working minimum wage jobs while the wealthiest Americans pay the least in taxes probably in our nation's history. But one of my biggest concerns is the world that we are leaving to our children and grandchildren. While an overwhelming majority of Chinese believe in climate change, barely 55% of Americans do. I want to live in a world where New York City isn't under ten feet of water. I don't want to live in an apocalyptic world, and I want there to still be a world left when my grandchildren are born. Time to get our heads out of the gutters.

Also, it's not good to be penny-wise and dollar-foolish. Our nation's roads and airports are suffering from neglect American airports are consistently ranked as some of the worst in the world. And let's not forget Amtrak, which is much more beneficial than many want to admit, and it plays a vital role for commuters on the Northeast Corridor. My complaint with Amtrak is that it is not allowed to better compete with discount bus carriers. Railroads should not have to live with a double standard in comparison with road and air traffic. Hawaiians made that clear when they ousted their unpopular governor in a party primary over the weekend. We've been living in a country struggling to get by. What happened to the America that my grandparents gave birth to their children in, where labor unions were strong, where Americans had much better access to public transportation? Every American should have the RIGHT to a living wage. You hear all these conservatives wanting to turn back the clock? I'm not sure if they have the right clock. The 1950s were only better in that the economy was much better.

Republicans have proposed cutting funding for our basic infrastructure. And while President Obama is no saint, Republicans have made the job near impossible for him. I give the man credit, because I would have resigned already and would have already lost my cool. If it were up to me, the White House and Congress would be meeting daily to discuss arguments. In this era, and with the world in the state of crisis it is in, it is crucial that all parties work together and make concessions. As I once said as a youngster, "compromise is a [strong] spice of life". I've finally found out why I was put on this planet: to save my state (and to a lesser extent, my country) from it's self-destructive behavior. I'm not comparing myself to Jesus Christ. I'm not here to pay for the sins of humanity. I'm here to be a voice of rationality, a voice of "instead of sitting around, let's get to work and bring America back to where it once was".

To the people who don't vote: YOU MUST. The direction that this nation takes is in your hands. This election is too crucial. The reason our country is in the sad state of affairs it is in because people are too blinded to know what is going on around them. Instead of watching American Idol, go read the news online. Grab a newspaper. Listen to news radio. Be informed. Your country needs you to not be ignorant.

Vote the way you want to. But remember this on Election Day: the statistics don't lie in that Democrats have done more positive to this country's economy than Republicans have. Heck, all of our rights are in danger because some Republicans feel it is good to deny people the right to vote.

My response to "Katy Perry Says She Doesn't Need a Man to Become a Mom"

From Woman's Health:

Katy Perry's been a poster child for girl power her entire career, which is why we're not surprised to hear the entertainer say she's more than willing to tackle motherhood—with or without a partner at her side.
"I want to be doing that in the right time," the singer shares in the latest issue of Rolling Stone. "And that's not in the next two years, you know? Maybe it's in a five-year plan, but I need to really be able to focus 100 percent of my attention on it. I don't really want to take the child on tour. Not until, like, birth through five is over."
We like her perspective on motherhood—and the fact that she's so honest and unapologetic about it. There's no shame in wanting to focus as much love and attention on a kid as you possibly can (and waiting to have children until you can do that).
Katy's also got great perspective on 21st-century options when it comes to wanting and caring for children. "I don't think I'll have to [have a guy], but we'll see," she says. "I'm not anti-men. I love men. But there is an option if someone doesn't present himself."

Katy, do us all a favor. Find the right guy first, don't be the celebrity who finds a donor. I obviously don't know this first hand, but gosh darn it, if I was a woman wanting to have a kid, I'd want a guy in my life. And this is my double standard: Katy Perry knows better. She's from a good home of all things.

ON THE OTHER HAND....

The redneck in me is screaming "Don't she need a guy to make a kid with????"

UPDATE 1/24/15: Katy Perry and John Mayer MIGHT be getting back together. Let me say this: they're cute together!