New Mars photos!

So, NASA has released a new series of high-definitions from Mars!! (Yippee)

The Images from the Martian surface where taken by different cameras in NASA’s Rover over the past few weeks. The images show the landing site, various features of Gale Crater, Mount Sharp and the tracks that were created by the rover all over the surface of Mars.

NASA has been releasing pictures since the beginning of August, when Curiosity landed on Mars. The first color photo was released on August 7^th, but it was in poor quality and was coated with fine debris.  

The new high resolution images include 360 degree color photos as well as animated GIFS!. 

here is a link to see the other photos:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/29/new-hd-mars-pictures-curiosity_n_1840585.html?ir=Technology

Now there have been some people how have citizen the government for making use of billions of tax dollars on space exploration. They feel that the money could be used for other, more urgent, issues. But what I think they don’t realize is that space travel helps us with things on earth. study of meteorology, for instance, has received a major boost from our ability to launch satellites into orbit and monitor the earth’s atmosphere through them. We are, therefore, able to make better weather forecasts with the help of the eye in the sky.

The implementation of the GPS equipment in cars and trucks to guide drivers to their destination places. The system makes use of a group of satellites up in the sky to precisely monitor the position of the GPS-equipped vehicle anywhere on earth. Without the advancements in space exploration, we would not have been able to enjoy all these technological innovations that greatly increase the quality of our lives down here on earth.

CNN Politics: I'm voting!

I was just on Facebook and I had came across a like that CNN.com had put up. Its called "I'm voting" and it gives a tally of how many people have promised to vote in the upcoming election. But what it also has is sample questions about what you think are the most important issues in this election.

Example: How does Rep. Paul Ryan make you feel about the GOP ticket? You may answer by clicking More enthusiastic, Less enthusiastic, Doesn't change my opinion. On the side  of the webpage it shows the percentages of each option.  It really is a cool interaction and I will put the link here:

http://apps.facebook.com/cnnimvoting/index.html

But what shocked me was that on the top of the page it says 11, 359 people have pledged top vote in this election.  Um... we have 235,809,266 people of age to vote in the USA. Voter turnout is not something that The United states excels in, at all. In the 2008 election, the voter turn out rate was 57.37%  and in 2004 it was 56.69% so we only went up 0.68% ? So why is voter turnout so low? I say this because in my age group 18-24, we are the least likely to vote, which angers me.

I understand that certain elections seem to encourage the voters and get them out to the polls. For example, in the 2008 election there was an increase in the number of young people and ethnic minorities; but in the 2010 midterm elections, these groups did not turn out in large numbers. When there is a candidate that is seen to a be an outlet of change (Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama) people turnout because they do believe that this candidate will change the country direct ion for the better. Also,  research also has shown that many people believe politicians are corrupt and dishonest, (Those campaign adds don't help)  and there is no difference between them. While this is not always true, the belief that things are not going to change contributes to voter apathy, and keeps voter turnout low.

All I am saying is that we should all at least try to vote. Every election is an important one. You have the right, so use it! who cares if you have to get up early in the morning to get to the polling station, you are on your way to work anyway. It's quick and easy! Come on, we are Americans, we love things quick and easy, like Hotpockets, Netflix, and the always reliable McDonald's

Also, look up some of the issues on the "chopping block". Get to know what is going on in the world, and if it makes you mad, change it. In America, there is NOT enough people speaking out. If you think that marijuana should be legalized( which I do) DO SOMETHING!!! organize rallies, sign petitions, picket! take a page out of the occupy wall street book and MAKE SOME NOISE!!! If you think that abortion should be illegal( which I don't) but of you do, MAKE SOME NOISE!!! 

So do something for the greater good. If we don't challenge our leaders, we have no right to complain about how they lead. In the coming months we are going to hear the phrase "voice your choice" a lot! take this seriously. If you can call in 100 times to vote for the next American Idol. I am sure you can get off your butt and vote for the our next leader! No excuses!

You also have the right to ignore all of the above statements and do nothing! If so, you have no right to complain!

There's a hurricane a'commin'

Tropical storm Isaac is in full swing making its way to Florida, while destroying everything in its path.

UMMM this sounds a little like another storm to hit the Florida coastline, but this one is tall, salt and pepper hair, and his favorite toy is an etch-a-sketch!

Yes, the Republican National Convention is also in full swim with Mitt Romney as the leading tropical storm.  Paul Ryan, who is the wind and rain in Romney's tropical depression is said to have already "touchdown" in Florida and is scheduled  to speak on Wednesday night with a backdrop of high winds and storm surges pounding the Gulf coast, which is almost seven years to the day that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans

In a recent interview Paul Ryan said "We are not just picking the next president for a few years. we are picking the pathway for America for a generations. What Mitt and I pledge is to make sure that you get to choose, what kind of country do we ant to have? What kind of people do we want to be?

Does anyone else think that this GIANT coincidence that the Republicans choose Florida for their convention and a giant tropical storm hits????? talk about a sign from "God"

I guess we will have to see??

The water is tainted now...

There is nothing like a nice swim on a hot summer day! Especially in the Sea of Galilee. Jesus claimed in the new Testament that "one cannot live in showers alone, One must invite the Sea of Galilee onto their bodies to advert the devilish heat from piercing their bodies" 

I hope by now you noticed I was being schismatic with my wording, but this indeed happened this week.

According to Politico, a group of GOP officials and congressmen had taken a “late night dip” in the sea, while on junket last summer. They also reported that alcohol may have been a factor in this doing and one of the lawmakers Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.), swam naked and has recently apologized for his wrongdoing. Talk about a baptism. There have been no official charges, but the FBI and the house majority leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), have given a stern talking to, to the man involved. 

Can I ask, what were they thinking???Did they think that Jesus was going to come back and re-baptize them??? I don't think so, Jesus is busy with trying to fill the holes  in his hands so he can eat M&M's again! 

If they were looking for a religious experiences, they have come to the wrong place.  When I have my religious experiences I am usually getting stoned or having sex, not taking a giant bath. What if that is someone's dinrking water?? now your germs are up in there! UGH! I guess this gives a new meaning to "feel the spirit inside you"  I wonder if any of them peed in the water! DOUBLE UGH!! that is an enviormetal hazard and needs to be dealt with! 

 Maybe they were looking for a way to win elections in the upcoming months and they figured a little "divine intervention" was needed!  I am hoping that this re-baptism worked, but who knows!. I don't know I'm not a christian!!!  

I'll show the back of my hand to anyone who tries to force you into a defines benefit plan

In one of my earlier posts, I had written about the newest member of the republican campaign, Paul Ryan. The post was, for lack of better word, lighthearted. I had not even heard of this man until Mitt announced his running mate in the initial part of the week. So I did what any liberal democrat would do in this situation, I looked on the internet to see if there was any “dirt” on this guy.  Where my search took me was NOWHERE, but I did stumble upon his budget proposal, which is aptly named “The Path to Prosperity” here are some key components:

1.) This plan delivers a substantial tax cut to the richest Americans, while gutting programs and services the rest of the court depends on such as Medicare, Medicaid,  banking and clean water regulations, road repair and education assistance.  This would force cutbacks in food stamps, education and law enforcement services.

2.)  Ryan advocates cutting (yes I said cutting) the top income tax rate to 25% ( from 39.6%)

3.) Ryan would replace the existing Medicare system of GUARANTEED treatment, with one that provides vouchers, through private commercial insurance plans (that I am sure get back to the rich 1% in some way. Talk about privatized medicine) with this lovely idea the vouchers would NOT cover all the costs, so you would be paying out of pocket for the remaining , their value rise in accordance with a standard inflation rate and NOT with medical inflation, this would widen the gap even more between the middle class and the top 1 %.

4.)As a result, costs will keep rising and at a faster rate than before.( Of course Ryan would repeal the healthcare reform act, including its cost reducing requirements) less of the increase would show in the governments ledgers because it is showing up in the American family’s budgets which is already tight enough

.  

5.) Ryan calls for eradicating consumer-friendly financial reforms enacted after the 2008 crash. This means removing environmental oversight of oil and gas production, and taking away legal protection for unionized workers. In a recent interview and with a straight face, Ryan listed the “initiatives” under the heading “Ending Cronyism and Corporate Welfare." He originally had the quote by Ayn Randian “a hammock that lulls able-bodied citizens into lives of complacency and despondency” but later removed it from the 2012 version

6.) Repealing the Repealing the Affordable Care Act would remove funding for a Medicaid expansion that would have covered 17 million people. It would also replace the current open ended- federal subsidy to states with block grants to population growth and standard inflation. Basically, states will be able to relieve the resulting pressure on their budgets only by cutting Medicaid enrollments, providing enrollees with A LOT less services, raising taxes or covering the shortfall out of the budgets, which puts a strain on road repair, K-12 education and public safety

Paul Ryan and almost all of his fellow Congressmen and Senators have fat benefits and pension programs for themselves while they decide which crumbs we should be allowed to fight over.  These parasites have no credibility because they are not putting themselves on the programs they want for everyone else. They must lead by example and cut their own benefits, perks, privileges to be on par with other federal workers. If that is not good enough for them, there are millions who could take their place.

Me n' Mahk whento da movies in Hahvahd ta watch the Sax game wit Stacy n' Cahly

Some things you should know about Massachusetts: 

AH the spirit of Massachusetts, is the spirit of America, the spirit of the red, white and blue. We have a lot to be proud of like:

1.) the Movie Hocus Pocus was filed in Salem Ma.

2.) We have 4 Championship teams ( Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and the Celtics) 

3.) having g the best universities in the country, Harvard,  Brandis University, Bentley University. But we have our blind spots. I am going to talk about them now   

  We get a lot of criticism, being called “Massholes” “Taxachusetts” and our Universities have nicknames too: UMass is “ZooMass” and we don’t recognize the letter R in the English language.( examples like Car, yard, park, said in a Bostonian accent)

You can learn a lot by just visiting Massachusetts. One is Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as suggestions and are apparently do not apply during rush hour, Throwing litter on the roads adds variety to the landscape and gives Adopt-a-Highway crews something to clean up, So in Massachusetts we are also job creators to  State Police cars or ambulances passing at high speed may be followed in the event you need make up a few minutes in your travel time, and lastly the most important thing you can learn from us in Mass is, women in Massachusetts are wonderful multi-taskers. We can do anything. Let me tell you real Massachusetts female drivers can put on pantyhose, apply eye makeup and balance the checkbook at seventy-five miles per hour during a snowstorm in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Real Massachusetts male drivers can remove pantyhose and a bra (not their own) at seventy-five miles per hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic during daylight hours. Sounds like my first time, except I was the one driving and he was the one wearing the pantyhose.  Heavy snow, ice, fog, and rain are no reasons to change any of the previously listed rules. These weather conditions are nature's way of ensuring the economic survival of body shops, junkyards, and new vehicle dealers.

So even though we cannot talk, drive, and our Universities  are sometimes party schools. We have rich history that cannot be met. I really do love living in Massachusetts, but those taxes is something that we have to do something about!

Joseph Smith is turning over in his grave!

So, after a long wait ( especially on the republican side) presidential nominee Mitt Romney has chosen his chosen one, like when "God" chose Joseph Smith to create the religion of Mormonism.

Anyways....

Paul Ryan, Mitts "Joseph Smith" has represented the state of Wisconsin for 14 years. After college, Ryan worked briefly for the family business but was drawn to politics. He ran for Congress at 28. But on a lighter note here are a few facts you should know about Paul Ryan.

1.) Home Boy does p90X workout, which mean Obama has a lot more competition with those shirtless photos!!, what an erection, I mean election!

2.) While at Miami University Paul Ryan was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Oh!  My

3.) Before he was elected to Congress, served as a speechwriter for Jack Kemp’s and William Bennet’s “Empower America” organization, a conservative nonprofit. This is good for Mitt, he needs to stick to the script. Maybe he could do two jobs. Of elected Paul Ryan could be his speech writer and be VP!, think about it Mitt you can actually be that “job creator”  you call yourself.

So Mitt, I guess this is a step in the right direction ( no pun intended) Can’t wait to see what’s next for these 2 “Job creators” 

Men are like Slinky's - Good for nothing, but you can't help but smile when one falls down a flight of stairs!

This ball park frank commercial has been all over the airways lately. If you have not seen it, take about 30 seconds now to click on the link above…I’ll wait……

So now that you have seen it doesn’t it make you angry?

Why you ask???

It’s not because I am jealous of the men in this commercial because they have a delicious hot dog in their hands, I am more upset because of the last line in the commercial which is “Men, easier fed than understood”

Really??? …………..Really????

Here is the source of my rage, We see commercials and television programs where the women is smart, sophisticated and the husband is a bumb f*** lucky to have found her.  Which she constantly reminds him of in all of the episodes.  This is made famous on one my favorite shows, The King of Queens, where Carrie Heffernan, a smart, sophisticated paralegal is constantly degraing her husband, Doug a lowly ISP worker, who seems to have some sort of mishap in almost every episode. Oh! and don't get me started on her father Arthur.....

I want to shout at the TV when I see men routinely portrayed as villains or idiots because honestly, I really do believe that men are smarter than women.

Before you start flaming me in the comment sections just hear me out.

First off, men don’t stress as much as women. This is one of the traits that I love about men. They have a devil mat care attitude which is a nice balance to the neurotic side of women.  The men that I know take each day as it comes and tries not to stress about the future. But… on the other hand, the women that I know constantly stress about the future, life, relationship, ect.  Second, men are not afraid to be just men. They show their true self and they are not afraid to be themselves. Women are constantly changing their appearance and  adapting to their surroundings ( Ladies, have you ever liked something that the man you were dating liked?) the majority of men that I know don’t do that. They have the attitude, either you like me or you don’t. 

I understand that women account for 85% of consumer purchases, But come on ladies, have we really become so narrow minded that we actually enjoy these commercials. Oh, the husbands in that commercial is like mine, DUMB.  The Theme and message in these commercials are not meant to offend, but they do. Think about it on the flip side, If they made fun of a women in these commercials there would outrage over the news ways, saying that those commercials are sexists and they don’t portray women in a good light???

But it’s ok to do it for men..

The main theme is that men are dumb, an airhead and incompetent – useless at almost everything while the woman is smarter, more intelligent, successful and more confident and skillful than the man and often she is getting him out of trouble. The women always appear happy, confident, quietly content or even smug that they have one over on the man. Note that you will only see the white man portrayed this way in TV commercials – never the black or Asian man, because we think of an Asian man as being “smart” and a black man as being “ghetto”

The real sign of intelligence is that consumers need to stop condoning these commercials and think of men and women as equals, because that is what we are and what we should be. It really is a double edge sward, and I guess big business has to sell a product somehow.  

But, have you seen the Old Spice commercials?? I will be putting that on my grocery list this week. 

Show me the MONEY

AHH the sweet smell of payday!

 But if you are anything like me you have your money in your hands for about 15 mins on Friday afternoon and then it’s gone faster than a Mexican on the Arizona border.

The word “budget” has become synonymous with money and with the American people. We all have to “tighten the purse strings” for different reasons, whether it be for monthly bills, gas money, school supplies, clothing, ect we all have to be “fiscally conservative” with our money these days, but where does it all go?

The average consumer has a budget that is split into a number of expenses monthly and yearly. “The average American spends $49,639 a year on a range of necessary and desired expenditures” (cnn.com) this comes out of an annual income of $63,091, before taxes. The average consumer owns 1.9 vehicles and 67% of them are homeowners. Housing in America is the largest expenditure of a household income. Housing takes up 31.4% of the yearly budget of households, which is around $16,920 spent on housing. Broken down its more like this:

                1.) Around $10,000 on shelter

                2.) $4,000 on utilities

                3.) $1,000 on household operations

                4.) $600 spent on housekeeping and 3.6 % of that is spent on furnishings and equipment.

The second and third largest is transportation and healthcare, (no surprise to me) “the cost of vehicles purchased is an average of $3,244 per year, making it 6.5 percent of the average budget” (cnn.com) with the cost of maintenance for a car, the average is $9,000 a year! This is around 17% of a yearly budget.

Healthcare, where Americans spend on average $3,000 a year, is “expenditure for an American family, granted this is an average for a family making about $65,000 a year. Food on average is about $3,000 on food a year.

 

With an American family living on a fixed income, where do you cut? The average low income family makes $24,000 a year before taxes (this includes a married couple and their 2 children)   If the above family making $65,000 cab barley make it, what gives the family who makes $24,000 a chance. Being a college student, I do still live at home, but I pay rent, I pay for books, I pay fees, a car, gas, clothing, food, Netflix, gym membership. And working in retail is not much for “making a living” I make $8.23 an hour and I have to work at least 35 hours a week to make my bills each month. Did I mention I don’t get 35 hours a week because I was not hired for full time?

Yeah I have a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, but it’s hard to find a job, I have applied for at least 50 jobs! I got two call backs! There is no way that anyone working in retail or in the minimum wage industry can even survive in the world today! I see so many people working 2-3 jobs just to make rent! This cannot and should not be happening. These people ( like me) making less than $24,000 a year cannot and will not survive much longer in this economy.

(information and figure 1: "Where does the money go" taken from CNN.com) 

Tell me when you are off your man period...

We  haven't posted in a while..vacation, working...ECT but we are back!

I ( Amanda)  have be a fan of Bill Maher for many of years now!  ( I cannot say the same for my co-author Chelsea, I don't know if she is a fan) But I do enjoy his show "Real Time, with Bill Maher and I thoroughly enjoy his movie "Religulous". I have come up with a the top 6 New rules on Bill Maher's show!

If you have not seen the show, Host Bill Maher tackles political issues and embarks on a journey of self discovery. No, he tackles every political issue under the sun! but with a light hearted feel, ending with the "New Rules" segments which are, to be frank, ARE AWESOME!!!!

Bill Maher isn't for everyone but his monologue and his new Rules segment are probably two of the funniest things on television. He has a very brash style and I like that a lot. Nowadays a lot of people on TV try to act nice and sweet to try and not say something controversial, Bill Maher doesn't care he's willing to go out on a limb and say what he feels. He also allows his guests to speak. All in all Bill Maher's series  is very entertaining  and he  speaks the truth, love him or hate him.

here is the website to the show: http://www.hbo.com/real-time-with-bill-maher/index.html


Top 6 New Rules:

1.) If an actor gets so much plastic surgery that they're not quite the same person, they have to change their name so it's not quite the same name. Example: "Did you see Lindsey Lowland on SNL last night?" "No, I was watching an Arthur Schwarzegger movie." "Which one was that?" "You know, that one with Dickie Rourke and Sylvester Scallion.

2.) Since Oscar voters are 77 percent male, 94 percent white and 86 percent over 50, the Academy must change its name to The Tea Party.

3.) Instead of going on TV and rambling on and on about how Hollywood is a cesspool that has no values, right-wing TV personalities must come to one of our cocaine orgies and say it to our face.

4.) I'm against quotas, but Hollywood must voluntarily agree to make only half of all movies and TV shows out of the premise: "What if a superhero had everyday problems?" This would leave 51 percent of films free for "I'm Freaked Out About a Wedding," "I'm So Sad About My Dead Child, I'm Not Even Wearing Make Up" and "Oh My God! I'm on Vacation With Zach Galifianakis."

5.) All Hollywood agents must disclose what they really wanted to be before they gave up and became a Hollywood agent. Come on. Get it out. This way we can make sure your neuroses don't get mixed up with your client's neuroses. And no, we're not reading your script.

6.) Stop making movies where grown men are handed a baby and completely lose their mind. Even I know how to handle an infant. You support his head when you hold him, and if he's fussy, you have him suck on a rag soaked in Jack Daniels.