War on Women

I first wanted to write a blog about a blog that I agree with. I found that a little too easy. I have decided to delve into seeing how the other half thinks and I stumbled on this guy who writes a blog named “Urban Ground.” I will try and keep my opinion to myself and just focus on this particular post and the arguments he makes and try to see if he backs it up with any evidence what-so-ever.

About the Author, I think he says it best.

“I’m a conservative, a biker, a Veteran, a professional writer, and a blogging enthusiast in the heart of uber-Liberal Austin, TX.

I’m an opinionated sonofabitch. I’m hardly ever politically correct — I won’t accept race, gender, age, religion, or political ideology as an excuse for stupidity, and I’ll call bullshit every time I see it.”
His intended audience is not people like me that is for sure. From the looks of it he is writing for others who share his beliefs. As a writer he really needs to learn to form better arguments with supporting evidence not just, “What I say is right and that is the way it is, America FUCK YEAH!” he sounds like most white privileged males I love to hate because of their ignorance of how the rest of the world lives, feels, and acts. He seems like someone who totally believes in the whole “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps” and "Work harder to obtain the American Dream!.”

What I have to say to him:

In his post titled “A Final Word onSandra Fluke (for now)” he talks about what he calls the supposed “War on Womyn,” in a mocking tone, not a war at all. He quotes some one named Laura who has summed up his argument for him as to why contraceptives should not be paid for using tax dollars. The first argument is, “Contraception…is a luxury item, like deodorant or marijuana. You do not actually need it to live. It does not facilitate your fundamental survival, except perhaps in very very rare cases. There are other people who lack actual necessities in this world, and the importance of their needs transcends your childish want for “free” coochiepills rather profoundly.” Although, in some cases it could be looked at as a “luxury item” I find this argument absurd. I can give an  example with evidence, which he is lacking, as to  why contraception is a need not a luxury item. There are many woman who suffer from diseases that affect their their menstruation cycle and the only way to regulate that safely is by prescribing contraception, such as, birthcontrol. Here are some statistics to support my argument against his argument, I see that he does not have the evidence to back up his claim.

“Percentage of American women taking birth control pills who use them, in part, for purposes other than pregnancy prevention, including reducing cramps or menstrual pain, regulating their periods, reducing acne and treating endometriosis. About 14% of pill users — or 1.5 million women — rely on the medication exclusively for non-contraceptive purposes. Among teens, the proportion is higher: girls aged 15 to 19 who use the pill are more likely to do so for non-contraceptive purposes (82%) than for birth control (67%), and 33% of teen pill users report using birth control pills solely for reasons other than contraception.” [via Guttmacher Institute]

That does not seem like a small number to me or how they put it “rare cases.” This is anything but rare. Also, another thing about their first argument is they say there are other “necessities in this world” you can not just say that without explaining what those are. I might think that chocolate cake on Friday is a necessity but that does not make it right or more important than the health of women around the country.

Now, on to the second argument they are making, “Contraception…is f*cking cheap. The Hell is wrong with you? Are you telling us that women are goddamn helpless infants, and should be proud of it?"

Ok, there is so much wrong with this statement. What the Hell is wrong with you and YOUR bullshit argument? Contraception is not cheap. Here are some prices per month a woman has to spend: Yasmin, one of the cheapest contraception pills on the market will run you around $80 for a months supply. This is not cheap. How many people are jobless in the US right now? Using the argument “It is cheap” can hold no ground. What might be cheap to you might be unattainable to me and could be the choice between eating or collapsing in pain and being bedridden once a month, like so many woman I know who suffer from these “rare” conditions that birthcontrol treats.

Argument three, “Contraception…is not free just because someone else- someone better at taking care of themselves and others than you are, you selfish twit- paid for it.” This one actually just seems like an insult to those of us who can not find a job or are students who support ourselves living paycheck to paycheck. The well-off and privileged need to check themselves mainly because those who make more actually pay less taxes. So, it appears the poor actually pay for their own “free” birthcontrol.This is another example of the "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps" logic that is plaguing America, turning it and its citizens into intolerant assholes who only look out for themselves and their bank accounts.

As for the the last little statement, “Helpful idiots from the left will lead us all into slavery” Once again I am a little confused. What does any of this have to do with slavery or leading us to that? Hmmm...

Now, at the end of the blog there is a video of Romney dealing with a heckler saying “You know what would make me happy free birthcontrol” Romney replies with “Vote for the other guy, that is not what I am about.” The video ends with Romney talking about how much the US has borrowed and how candidates offer free to stuff to get the vote but he says he is not going to do that. I just have one thing to say to that, cool Romney if you do not want to offer free stuff and stop the US from going further into debt, what do you think about the war? How about taxing the rich?

I know this particular blog post is not directly related to Texas but in a way it is. Currently, we have a governor named Rick Perry who thinks that stopping funding to Planned Parenthood is a good idea. This has caused Texas to lose its funding from the federal medicaid program. There is a war on women right now and it is coming from the right. This blog is just one example of its effects. 

This is for good old Rick Perry: 

  

Water, who owns it?

       Texas is running out of water and what can we do about it? This has been a reoccurring theme for some time now as cities in Texas have to ship water in because all of their resources have dried up. Our lakes, creeks, streams, rivers, and swamps are all owned and regulated by the state. But, what about our groundwater? Just because you own the property above the water, do you also own the water below? According to this Austin AmericanStatesman editorial the Texas Supreme Court has ruled in favor of landowners, deciding that they do own it and can do whatever they want with it. 

      The author, (who is unknown, or at least I can not find the name) speculates that this will only cause future litigation on this matter because, as water regulations become stricter, would those regulations be enforced on the property owner? Would it give cause for said property owners to sue because they feel that their property was stolen when a regulator issues a permit?  Would we, the users of the water, have to pay the landowner? These speculations and questions are indeed justified because we have not dealt with the matter yet and are just now asking who owns the water? The Author concludes that this will make the job of the regulators harder because the fear of being sued will keep them from trying to come up with future regulations for groundwater. Millions of people rely on groundwater, how will this affect them? This ruling by the supreme court opens the door for many more questions. I am inclined to agree with the author that groundwater should be regulated like all other water, not owned like oil or gas. I believe that natural resources should be part of the commons, we should all have a stake in them. They are what give us life and without them we will die. No one person should own all the water. This decision to give landowners ownership of the water is making way for that. Could you imagine having to pay five dollars every time you wanted a glass of water? Now that technology has improved, as this editorial points out, we know more about the 'magical' groundwater that gushes up in wells, at least for now until it is gone. It is time for the Legislators to get off their butts and do what is right and start to treat groundwater like other sources before it is gone. The author is trying to engage the reader in this matter pointing out how it will not only affect landowners, it will have a widespread effect on everyone who relies on groundwater.

One fish, two fish, no water no fish.

Blog Stage Two

What the frack is fracking? Hydraulic fracturing is a method using water and a mix of other chemicals to get oil and gas from deep within the earth. It is a very controversial method and many environmentalists are against it for some good reasons. If you like to drink water from the tap or take those long showers, then you will be interested to know what might be affecting your ability to do so. The Texas Tribune released an article about some interesting regulations that have now gone into effect as of February 1, 2012. Not only will drilling operators have to start reporting what kind of chemicals they are using in their water mixture, but they will also have to report how much water is being used. This is very important information in a state like Texas where we suffer from droughts and water can become scarce. Texas is not as strict as other states when it comes to these types of regulations, but having this information will help determine the long term effects of this method and its impact on our water sources and the environment.