When crafting laws..

Should laws reflect our values, facts or both? If they reflect only our values, we may share some, but not others. If they reflect facts, we have to agree on what those are. It might even be necessary to have a conversation about it and that's typically when the you-know-what hits the fan. We don't always discuss issues respectfully in this country.

I've been watching in horror as our reproductive rights are being stripped from us in conservative states. Constitutional protection be damned I guess. These legislators evidently are believers in a more patriarchal style of government than we currently have, and are doing whatever they can to bring that about. I thought we were a democracy, but they have a different idea about that. I live in Oregon where I think we have resolved this issue. But then, with the possibility of insane legislators in the most unlikely of places, who knows? What I do know is we need to leave religion out of this discussion..and no, right to life protesters at Planned Parenthood clinics aren't pregnancy coaches. They're interfering with and harassing women. I've seen what they do and it's disgusting.

Separation between church and state was necessary to prevent the federal government from establishing a national religion. It essentially preserved religious freedom, which also implies freedom from the religion of others. Governing by vested interest doesn't respect the diversity that our country represents. In spite of this, according to an article I read in Slate, although ruled unconstitutional, creationism is taught in various public schools around the country. I don't understand how this could even happen. It's interesting, considering they're funded by our tax dollars. Our religious beliefs, or lack thereof, may seem absolute to each of us, but to expect someone else to embrace and live by those views, let alone pay for them, seems ridiculously narrow minded. Religious views should be personal and govern individual behavior..and not be presented as fact in public school. 

Cannabis laws were created based upon the lie that it was dangerous to our health. At least that's what everyone was told..reefer madness and all. Cannabis treats so many diseases and conditions that to ban it makes no sense. Of course it was all about profits, and not our health, but that's way it always seems to go. It doesn't matter how many people are incarcerated, or how many families are destroyed as long as the pot smoking derelicts are locked away so that we are safe. Right. Doesn't matter that people, when high, are typically peaceful and happy. Hippies are scary; therefore, we must imprison them. The thing is, it's not only hippies anymore who use cannabis. A whole bunch of us use cannabis because we know it's safe...anathema, I know..

The stand your ground laws seem to reflect values over facts or sense. And I don't understand that. How can anyone believe that Florida's version doesn't result in horrible consequences? Seems to me that Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis were killed as a result. This is unacceptable. It gives too much leeway for interpretation. But then how people interpret our right to bear arms varies. I interpret it far more narrowly than others do so of course I think we need our gun control laws reformed. That's why I never supported the ending of the Assault Weapon's Ban. We've become an outlaw country and our children aren't safe here anymore. If our values truly reflected concern over safety, we would gladly give up our military style weapons in service of that value. But we don't. Instead, we live in fear and somehow believe we're safe if we have just one more gun. But we're not. Action often beats reaction and there's always going to be someone quicker on the draw. Just ask the families of the children who have died at their schools, where they should have been safe. I'm a gun owner and I believe we should have constitutional protections in place to defend ourselves. I just differ on what those should be. Guns don't make us safe in the long run..intelligent decisions, however, may.

To live in harmony, we have to understand that to do so involves possibly giving up something for the greater good. Most of us learn that concept in childhood. Sometimes it's disguised as sharing, but it's the same thing. There's nothing wrong with having freedom as long as it doesn't encroach on others in a negative way, but even the term "negative" needs an agreed upon definition. Some people don't understand that, so that's where laws come in. But they need to protect us when we need protecting..not when we don't. 

We don't, for example, need protection from cannabis. It's safe and we actually have receptors in our bodies just waiting to connect with cannabis molecules so that our bodies can heal. We also don't need religion taught in public schools. It's too personal and no one can agree on anything. So it makes sense to get that education from somewhere else. We don't need stand your ground laws because we already have the right to defend ourselves. Standing one's ground isn't always appropriate and when you throw in ego, people die.

Our civil liberties and our constitutionally protected rights need to be left alone unless it's to expand them. Blood was spilled fighting for and protecting our voting rights..and the penalties for violating or circumventing them should be severe. Legal medical cannabis dispensaries are another example of local areas circumventing state law by banning them. And the state/federal conflict puts all patients at risk for simply following their state laws. Surely everyone can understand the problem with this type of circumvention. It's cheating to get around the law at the expense of the people the law was enacted to protect.

The fact that we operate this way in this country shows that we're not ready to respect individual differences enough to find real solutions. Sometimes the answer is to respect the law. Basic, I know. The Senate Judiciary Committee just passed the Smarter Sentencing Act, which overhauls federal drug sentencing. We'll see if this goes anywhere, but it's certainly a positive start. Some US Attorneys aren't supportive of it, but that's not surprising. Several tend to ignore state medical cannabis laws all the time, despite being told to leave patients alone. This drives all of us crazy because all we want to do is to continue healing. We're not addicts or criminals, we're just ill and we don't want to be. Imagine that.. If Congress would legalize cannabis federally, and then release all the political prisoners imprisoned for cannabis, we'd actually get somewhere. I'm still hopeful that sanity will return..I mean if CVS Pharmacies can choose to stop selling cigarettes, then anything can happen!

Laws should be based upon facts. We need to fully understand the issue and then be honest about it so that laws enacted actually reflect that understanding, rather than what we have now. It would be nice if they also reflected our values, but that doesn't always happen, so in lieu of that, I would settle for laws based on facts or truth. I might not like them, but at least I would know that no one is doing an end run around my civil rights. And that's more than we can say now..

Oh, SCOTUS..Again?

It's fascinating to live in a country where we have the separation of church and state. Fascinating because every time I turn around, someone wants to live as if we don't. We have a Constitution and a Bill of Rights which are supposed to protect us from various and sundry nefarious things..yet someone somewhere always wants the Supreme Court to say they can get as nefarious as they want.

Justice Sotomayor granted the Catholics a stay regarding the birth control mandate in the Affordable Care Act. SCOTUS is going to hear a case in the near future on the issue, so I suppose that's why she granted it. But following that logic, then anyone sitting in jail awaiting trial should be released on zero bail. I mean, why not? If the Catholic Church and anyone else can discriminate against people while awaiting trial, why shouldn't criminals be let out to do whatever they want to do while they await their trials? It's true that no one is protected, but then who cares about that? Certainly not Justice Sotomayor.

Isn't it great that some people get to choose which laws they follow..and with the blessings of the highest court in the land no less! How about letting all the folks in prison for cannabis out? Most of us want legalization in this country anyway, so throw open the doors and let them all go home. So they want to get high. Who doesn't? Especially now when everything is such a mess in this country.

Look, we have separation of church and state for some pretty good reasons. Which religion wins the prize here? Christianity? Really? Two words..Duck People. You know who I'm talking about. The guy who thinks men should marry 15 year old girls..right. We really want his interpretation of the Bible running the country. Or how about the Westboro Baptist people? Do we want their interpretation of the Bible running the country?

Religion, as expressed by many of our more conservative lawmakers, has nearly brought this country to its knees. I believe their distorted religious ideology is at the very foundation of their lack of compassion for the American people..our brothers and sisters..illustrated by their draconian policies that leave everyone by the roadside. If that's not clear evidence that our founding fathers were on to something when they included this idea in the Constitution, then I don't know what is. And now the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has said that sequester cuts have a negative effect upon public safety. Well, lot's of things do, sir..like your Citizen's United decision, and your Voting Right's Act decision. You keep us safe by protecting our rights, not diminishing them.

We're the United States of America. It's the united part that matters here. Sometimes it means that we have a neutral way to co-exist. That's what the Constitution is, in a sense. There must be a way to respect the beliefs of some without infringing on the rights of others. So we all have to agree to give up something when in the public arena, if you will. If you want to do business out in the world, then you can't decide to discriminate while doing so in an effort to stay true to your belief system. It's your belief system. It might be shared by others in your immediate vicinity, but that's about it as far as it goes in terms of relevance. Beyond that, your beliefs should govern only your life. 

It may sound cliche, but we're better than this. Vote Blue next time..besides, our national conventions are more like love fests, and not an empty chair in sight! Just sayin'..

At the Portland VA yesterday...

So my husband had a root canal scheduled yesterday at the Portland VA Hospital. He's a disabled VietNam vet and the VA takes care of him. I know all the problems that exist with the Veteran's Administration, particularly now, but in my husband's case, his care has been pretty good. We left before we were supposed to one time, and the eye doctor he was seeing actually called us while we were driving down I5 (we were taking our youngest son at OSU out to lunch). Although we really felt foolish, we didn't go back that day. But the doctor was concerned, so he called. I thought that was really nice of him. Now there's an eye clinic in Bend so we don't have to drive all the way to Portland for that. We only do it for the dentist. But that wasn't always the case. In the beginning, he had to go there for everything. Then, the VA decided that they would pay private doctors over in our area to treat disabled vets. That worked okay, but the payment was less than doctors typically charged and not all would take a vet as a patient. Then a miracle happened! The VA opened a clinic in Bend.

Awesome! Except it doesn't have dental yet. But we're hopeful. And recently, they moved to a larger space which is really nice. The staff is really great and I know Jerry appreciates everything they do for him there.

So back to the Portland VA Hospital. It has become such a welcoming place. I have to say that years ago, like in the 80's, I didn't have that feeling. I think it was last year or so that we walked in the front door and were greeted by some delightful nursing students who asked if Jerry had had his flu shot yet. He said no, and they took him over to the flu shot table and he got his flu shot. Everyone in the lobby was in such a great mood. People were visiting with one another, smiling and laughing. It was wonderful there that day.

But then, other than parking, we usually have a positive experience at the VA hospital. The food in the hospital cafeteria is basically okay, because after all it is cafeteria food. The hospital staff treat everyone with respect and dignity. The dental folks are awesome. The eye doctors he has seen there are also great. 

But I do know "nightmare" and "VA" go hand in hand. It took years for us to have medical insurance for me and the boys - not because it wasn't available, but because no one at the time could figure out which section we belonged in. Finally a very nice woman in Salem took care of everything and we finally had insurance. But we didn't when my youngest was born and since both boys were C-sections, we had to pay out of pocket for him. We sold the truck to pay off the last $400 we owed on our beloved child. Of course, had we had insurance then, we'd probably still have that damn truck. It was an International. I hated it. So there's that. 

The VA has a backlog that is ridiculous and destructive. And shameful (thank you, Bush administration). It's taking far too long to get benefits established and care given. Every time I hear about a veteran not getting the care that he or she deserves and needs, I know that it's happening because our government has made that choice. I've seen the VA work the way it's supposed to work. These people work hard and care about the veterans they serve. Given the opportunity, they would gladly meet and/or exceed the needs of our veterans. But they can't do it without funding.

Our government has some interesting priorities. They take us into war on a lie. They don't give our troops the equipment or body armor that they need to stay safe. In a cavalier fashion, they take away our civil rights in order that our "freedom" is preserved. That's hilarious. And then they don't take proper care of our veterans when they return home. And this time, we didn't even have a draft. These people defended our country without being forced to do so. Our first priority should be their care. They risked everything. Everything. 

And to our government: please don't go to war again. You clearly don't understand your responsibility for those who do your bidding. And I'll just bet that when you finally do, we'll never go to war again. And pull your collective heads out of your collective asses and fix the backlog. Don't leave these people hanging while you try to repeal Obamacare one more time. Or whatever it is you idiots do to not earn your paychecks.

And now the DEA's involved in spying..

Here we go again..only now it's the DEA who is spying on us. So much is making sense now. The deck has been stacked against us for so long now that they think nothing of trampling on our civil rights. We've been lied to and manipulated by pros. Huffington Post has a great article from Reuters on the antics of the DEA. Shiffman and Cooke explain in great detail what this special operations group within the DEA is doing to compromise our rights. What I found most remarkable was the idea that they are trained to create alternate reasons for what they do, effectively eliminating the accused's right to know just how they got arrested in the first place. The article suggested that this deception is not only directed at the accused and their attorneys but also to judges as well. Why do we even bother then with trials? Might as well just arrest whomever, lock them up and throw away the key.

Here's the link to the Reuters article on HuffPo: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/05/dea-surveillance-cover-up_n_3706207.html