Just a Thought

If corporations are people, why can they be owned?  And if corporations are people, then why don't people have the same rights as corporations?  You know, the tax breaks and so on. And if corporations are people, why is corporate criminal liability such a pain in the ass to figure out since you can't sentence corporations to jail time and it's really a conglomerate so punishing the right person or, as it may be, group of people, is a difficult decision to make that is often somewhat arbitrary and you definitely can't throw a corporation in jail or execute it, at least not in any meaningful sense...
Oh right, that's because CORPORATIONS AREN'T PEOPLE. People are people.  Once we give equal rights to all of our citizens, then we can start meting out rights to other entities.  Until then, let's focus on our own citizens, shall we???

Valentine's Day: Officially the Worst Holiday

Valentine's Day, aka Single's Awareness Day, aka Day of Guilt, aka Worst Holiday Ever.  It's here.   Not only is this the day that we all decry (but still secretly hope for a romantic surprise), it's a holiday celebrated only by happy couples.  Think about that.  Unhappy couples and bitter single people are reminded of the fact that their lives in no way resemble a romantic comedy and happy single people... well... I have no idea what they do.  Probably hang out with supermodels and drink champagne whilst discussing just how awesome their lives are.  I wouldn't know, but my guess is that this day passes them by without making much of an effect.
It's such a depressing holiday.  Jewelry is expensive and we're sorta in the middle of an economic crisis.  Chocolate is fattening and guilt inducing amongst all but the skinniest women (who probably don't eat much chocolate anyways).  There's something about a single rose that is simple and beautiful, perhaps emphasized by it's ephemeral nature.  Well guess what?  You can't even enjoy that now.  Turns out there is a 1 in 12 chance that your Valentine's Day flowers were cut by child laborers.  Did your Valentine go big for the dozen roses?  I think you can do the math on that one.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/02/theres-a-1-in-16-chance-your-v-day-flowers-were-cut-by-child-laborers/253084/

My Valentine's Day gift to the conservatives among us?  There used to be a significantly larger portion of flowers imported to the US that were cut by child laborers.  In 2006 Dubya began the process of a Free Trade Deal with Colombia that required a certain standard of worker's rights which included an end to child labor.  Congress has finally approved and the trade deal should go into effect sometime this year. Happy Valentine's Day.

Here's A Thought...

MILLIONS of dollars are spent every four years to fund political campaigns for presidential hopefuls.  Each and every one of them accepts money and encourages widespread fundraising in hopes of securing four years in the oval office, trying to fix the country’s many ills in the way they see fit. I’ve got a crazy thought…what if, rather than spending the money on mudslinging and prosthelytizing, we did something more useful with the money?  We could all receive a booklet that outlines each candidate’s platform and vote based off of that.  Then the money could be spent in one of a zillion ways… funding healthcare for 9/11 first responders, rebuilding after natural disasters, any number of non-partisan type actions.  

I’m sorry, not sure what I’ve been smoking.  Why would the roughly 20 people and corporations that essentially fund national elections have any interest in helping the nation?