The righty response about the Supreme Court

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, thanks to conservatives, was ruled constitutional. 

Whether liberal or conservative, it is agreeable that the cost of health care was/is out of control for too many people in this country.  Too many folks are losing their homes and everything else just to see a doctor.  How can the health care system be fixed?  President Obama campaigned on fixing the health care system...getting universal health care passed.  This was no surprise...even though some were shocked by it.  Universal health care is alive and well in other countries around the globe.  BUT President Obama went to the state of Massachusetts to model Obamacare after something that was passed by Governor Willard Mitt Romney.  Yep.  THAT Mitt Romney, the guy Obama will face this fall in the election.  Yep.  THAT Romneycare, the stuff that led to heavy criticism from the Rick Santorum.

So with Romneycare as the model for Obamacare, I saw the Supreme Court decision as a no-win for Republicans.  If the high court ruled in favor of ACA (which they did), it's a win for the president.  If the high court ruled against it, the original architect of the health care law, Mitt Romney, and the state of Massachusetts loses.  Knowing this, as soon as Mitt Romney had his jeans cuffed and pressed, he stepped to the mic and offered up this reaction...

It's NOT good policy?  If Mitt can say that, how different is it from his own health care plan for his home state?  Differentiating Obamacare from Romneycare will be a stumbling block for the out of touch candidate with multiple homes, many cars, and several overseas bank accounts as he battles the incumbent this fall.

Reaction from folks on Facebook, especially conservatives, has been hilarious. 

Below are real posts from friends.  Here are two of my favorites....Enjoy. 

FACEBOOK COMMENT #1
"It should be illegal to enact a law that is over 2000 pages long..... ;)"

****My comment:  I know.  Crazy, right.  That's too much reading.  Echoing the criticism of Mitt Romney from the debate.  The law is too long.  2,000 pages!  Sure it's not 50 Shades of Grey but come on, it's the written law for universal health care for the country!  I had to reprogram my Universal Remote last night for my DVD player.  The English part of the directions for the remote is SEVEN PAGES LONG!!!!!  Holy crap.  That's ridiculous.  (sarcasm on the "ridiculous" part...but the remote instructions truly are seven pages) 

FACEBOOK COMMENT #2
"Today the Supreme Court took away one of our most cherished liberties... Doctor patient relationship. Now a government worker can decide if a procedure can be done not the doctor/patient. And we're to believe adding 30 million uninsured people ( half of which aren't even citizens) and making pay equal for doctors that the quality and quantity wil not drop! BULL !!!!"

****My comment:  

I don't know about this one.  Where exactly in the Constitution does it say the doctor/patient relationship is a liberty?  Oh no!  A government worker will decide if a procedure can be done and not the doctor/patient?!  Come on.  Let's be real.  No one can force you to undergo any procedure against your will.  It's not a like a mysterious Man In Black will come in and give you a prostate exam or ask you to turn your head and cough.  This is typical over the top fear-mongering from the right.  Remember Sarah Palin and her threat of "death panels"?????

And lastly, I have to add that I have another conservative friend on Facebook who said her husband doesn't have health insurance and they have to pay cash for everything...but they get a discount because of that.  As my friend wrote, "If he gets seriously sick, we'll figure it out. But I'm pissed that I'm going to have to pay that stupid "tax" because he doesn't have insurance."  Let's see...pay a tax or lose everything.  Hmmmmmmmm...I'll pay the tax.  Obviously, my friend doesn't understand that the ACA was meant for cases like this.  This is one of those deals where you have to swallow your political pride and accept the fact that a "liberal" idea will help. 
As Mitt Romney has said, if elected, he will begin the steps to appeal Obamacare on Day One.  As far as what his proposed alternative is, that's unknown. 

Facebook and dating

I grew up well before Facebook and often wonder how have people become so dependent on social media now. Since I have been divorced almost four years ago, I have been out on quite a few dates. There seems to be a trend of "friending" someone on Facebook before I go out with them as a way for that person to check me out before we go out on a date. At first, I didn't mind this...but recently, I have changed my mind. I have found that people will often post only "their best side" on their Facebook page so you don't really get a true sense of who they are. Or a couple times, the person I went out with was very different online as compared to who they were in real life. Whatever happened to just getting to know someone first?

My biggest pet peeve with "friending" someone on Facebook is simply the word "friend." To me, that word still holds value. It isn't cheapened because of an online presence. I can honestly say that the friends I have on Facebook are people I have gotten to know fairly well and have interacted with at some point. I have had friend requests from people I had a 30 minute meeting with a year ago and sure enough, I'll get a strange look or a question like "aren't we (Facebook) friends?" I consider my Facebook page a private look into my life. I don't accept everybody I come in contact with to have that access. But it seems that people believe that they should have that kind of access.

Facebook posting

I love Facebook...maybe too much but even I have set my limits and mentally stop myself from getting carried away. I like it because I post what's going on in my life...mostly good. I don't want to post negative or bad stuff because I feel like it is drawing too much attention. But that is a symptom of how conscious people have become of posting things on Facebook.

The real reason I am writing this is because of people who post too much information on Facebook. I just want to list three examples.

1. Do not post details that should be private about your job. Another person who I know is a grad student and teacher. He has openly posted his gripes about students multiple times and other times, he will blast the school he teaches/studies at. NEVER blast students on social media...and especially if you do not have a full-time job yet and hope to graduate in a couple years.

2. A friend of mine went through a tough divorce last year...as the break up and divorce was proceding, he posted gripes about his soon-to-be ex as well as her parenting abilities and things she supposedly did. If a divorce is pending in court, this was probably not a smart move.

3. I get that sometimes it is important to let others know how a loved one is doing if they are sick or in the hospital. I understand that. BUT I do not get people who post pictures of injuries or grotesque photos of injuries. I don't want to see that!

Please feel free to add your "do not post" or what you cannot stand that people post on Facebook comment. What are your thoughts?

Jobs and Relationships

It's been so long since my last blog post. I feel the need to write. For a long time, I have compared jobs to relationships and vice versa. We are looking for "the one"...whether it's a job or the signficant other. I strongly believe the two have a lot in common.

For both...
You want to make a great first impression.
You want growth in both.
You don't want to cheat on either. If you are cheating, what you have currently going on is not satisfying you. Or it is not giving you something you need or deserve.
You want good, open communication.
You want to have input in your future.
You want "the one" you find to be your last one.
If there's bad news, you would like to be treated as an adult and treated with respect. Meaning, you should be talked to in person and not in a memo or e-mail.
And vice versa, if you have to leave, do it respectfully. Be a good person. Show that you have class.
The transition process from one to another can be awkward and requires time.

In the Business Communication class I teach, I say to my students all the time to treat people like how you would like to be treated. The Golden Rule. Even if you have to fire an employee and it is unpleasant, do them the favor and tell them in person. It could be a learning experience for them as well as for you. I am such a huge believer in this. I try to treat students and colleagues with a positive attitude and support them.

Over my career in which I have worked numerous jobs, I have noticed that the "rules" I have listed in my comparison to relationships, usually hold true.

A bad audition that brings fame and laughs

So I got a call from a longtime friend last Wednesday night and as soon as I said, "hello?", my friend was cackling like a hyena. My friend was laughing hysterically at Joe Repka, the American Idol contestant. Joe was a student of mine last year. Good to hear he mentioned Toledo. The day after the audition aired, Joe was on Kaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy----100! And he has been flooded with media requests.
And then there was this posted on YouTube...

Newswriting issue

Sorry it's been so long between posts but I had to write something after seeing this story on the local news.

TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Anferney Fontenet, 16, has been sentenced for raping a woman with Asperger's syndrome alongside a Toledo road.

As the judge handed down the punishment of 18 years in prison, the victim watched from a monitor in another part of the courthouse and Fontenet shed tears.
Judge Stacy Cook says Fontenet has no control over his impulses and that makes him a danger to the community.

The victim's mom read a letter her daughter wrote saying how the rape and robbery changed her life forever.

Fontenet had a few words to say in court too.
"I'd like to apologize to the victim and her family. I didn't intend for any of this to happen, but I'm not going to make an excuse for it, but what I did was not right. What I did was wrong."

The victim's family is glad this boy is off the streets.
"I don't feel satisfied. I don't feel dissatisfied. I am happy he's off the streets so he doesn't hurt anyone else, but I'm not in for revenge," the victim's mother said.

Fontenet will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He says he plans on appealing the sentence.


****My only question with this story is why is it relevant that the victim had Asperger's syndrome? Why is she identified by her illness?

The BIG 4-0

So, here I am with a little more than a week left of the 30s. I am definitely thinking more about hitting 40 than what I did when I hit 30. 40 is middle aged. The 30s decade was a crazy one. I worked four jobs with hopefully, the one I'm at...being the one I can stay at the longest. I also started work on a Ph.D....first at Kent State and then on to BG to finish up some day.

I was married for four years and divorced. Enough said.

I'm just happy to be physically and mentally healthy. I wish I had the energy I had when I was younger but I still stay active enough to not become a total slob as I hit 40.

If you are over 40, please leave me some advice for hitting 40 and moving beyond. Also, how did you feel when you hit 40? Was it a big deal?