Thoughts from an American Female

I didn't get to post yesterday. My life is so damn busy and I hate even saying that. I feel like I need a vacation from everyday life, just for a couple of days. Hell, I'd even take solitary confinement and a book on a lumpy metal cot. At least I would be away from it all. In any case, Day 3 was Cardio Core. I hate cardio. I didn't always hate cardio, but I do now. I don't know what triggered the hatred but I suspect it has to do with P90X and P90X3. They are both excellent programs, but since I chose the Lean path they were super heavy with cardio in order to maximize weight loss rather than tone the muscles. I'm grateful that 80 Day Obsession, at least this week, only has two cardio days, and honestly, it wasn't THAT bad. It's just not as enjoyable to me as weight training and isometric exercises. Everyone has their favorites I guess. Today was better, it was AAA (Arms, Abs, Ass). I had to use sliders, which didn't come in the mail yet, so I used t...

I can't really believe I'm documenting this but I feel like I have to in order to stay motivated. Friday, I went to the doctor and was told that I am approaching "obese" by way of BMI. I am 5'6" and currently weigh, (I can't believe I'm typing this) 183 lbs. On August 14th, I will be 40 and I have set a goal to lose 40 (really 43 to make it even) pounds by the time I get there. Yes, this is an aggressive goal but I know from past experience that I can do it. In 2012, I lost 30 pounds in three months, it is possible. So what have I done to start this journey? Day 0 I ordered a subscription to Beachbody On Demand and chose a program: 80 Day Obsession. I read through the materials, ordered the portion containers, the resistance bands and the sliders. Since I don't have a Smart TV, I also ordered an Amazon Fire Stick so I could stream the Beachbody On Demand app on my television to work out. Day 1 The Fire Stick arrived so I plugged it int...

In Congressional Testimony the Cambridge Analytica whistle-blower said, "Data is the new electricity". Think about that statement for as long as you need to and then look at our current environment. Since World War I, Russia has been using disinformation campaigns to further their agenda. I have long said that the law is too slow to keep up with the advances in technology and I think that point has been proven. James Clapper said that Russia not only favored Trump but swayed the election to his favor. Meaning, Trump won because of Russian influence. In one of the final debates Trump said, "I'll accept the results of the election...if I win." Some media outlets that are right leaning have echoed Trump in saying that "Democrats are upset that they lost and that's why they are investigating Trump." This is a ridiculous statement. I have had people say that I'm a sore loser and I'm just mad that my person didn't win. Who is my per...

I'm annoyed and you should be too. Imagine this, what if the media just stopped covering Trump? Look, I know, I keep hearing this argument, "He's the president and we have to have respect for the office of the president." My counter argument is this: I have respect for the office of the president which is why we should stop covering him. Stop covering his tweets. Stop letting his lunatic rants drive the news cycle. Actually do some investigative journalism because, let's face it, we are here, in part, because of you. What are some things that could actually be broadcast across the airwaves that are newsworthy? @Amy_Siskind has the 411, so does @RVAWonk Here's a few noteworthy items: Yesterday Giuliani said he hadn’t spoken to Trump in 2 weeks.  (Siskind) "[Kushner's] startup is discussing an investment of at least $100 million from a private fund that receives much of its capital from the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab...

I used to think that the President of the United (I just accidentally typed that as "untied" and felt it sort of fitting) States of America had the absolute best and most complete information at his fingertips. I don't feel that way with the man occupying the Oval Office right now. This is my perception of Donald Trump: He wakes up, he turns on Fox News, he picks up his phone, he tweets. I believe he presides in a bubble listening only to the talking heads on his favorite television station. I believe he is a conspiracy theorist that keeps friends like Alex Jones and Sean Hannity. I believe that these men are dangerous and the fact that Trump only listens to them and the one news medium that caters to him, is frightening. We have the head of Homeland Security claiming they have yet to read the threat assessment that Russia favored Trump as a candidate and doesn't even think they tried to help him. How can 17 Intelligence Agencies be wrong but Fox News be rig...

Thomas Jefferson was vehemently against the Judicial branch being able to operate separately from the Executive branch. In a letter to Abigail Adams, he wrote, "Nothing in the Constitution has given them [the federal judges] a right to decide for the Executive, more than to the Executive to decide for them. . . . The opinion which gives to the judges the right to decide what laws are constitutional and what not, not only for themselves, in their own sphere of action, but for the Legislature and Executive also in their spheres, would make the Judiciary a despotic branch.” (September 11, 1804) Imagine if Jefferson had gotten his way? How would the landscape of our current political environment be different? I shudder at the thought. If we look at the evidence of what republicans in Congress have done we can see a clear motive for their desire for a republican president. Mitch McConnell leads the charge as being a partisan hack. His blocking of Merrick Garland to the Supreme ...

This morning I tweeted the below thread: The 2nd Amendment: -Doesn’t grant anyone the right to sell arms. -Doesn’t authorize unrestricted access to guns.  -Demands regulation. -Refers specifically to a Militia (note the capital “M”) Here’s where common sense comes in: Gun manufacturers are the only industry that produces a product without a warning label.  Gun manufacturers and sellers are the only industry that is not he’s responsible if their product is used to kill or maim.  Here’s my proposal: Assess the need for each individual purchasing a gun How many guns do they already own? How much ammunition do they have? What do they need all the weapons and ammunition for? Register the bullets. Restrict ammunition amounts  Require a reason for the purchase  Stop selling high capacity weapons of war.  Universal background checks.  Penalties for not properly securing weapons.  Annual inspections to ensure proper stor...

I hopped on Linkedin a little bit ago to look at job postings. One of the sidebars said "Generous Maternity Leave" and spoke about how most civilized nations offer at least 18 weeks of maternity leave. One man commented: "You libs love to spend other people's money. If you're going to have a kid save up for it or use vacation time. Why should I have to pay for your kid?" This is the same exact demographic that says: "PRO LIFE" Why is the life of the female degraded to be less important than the life of the fetus??? I am a hard working female. I work full time in the office, I work full time at home, I go to school part time and still have to commute here and there. I'm not an anomaly. There are literally thousands of women like me across the country. Why should any man feel entitled to opine on maternity leave, women's reproductive rights, or women's rights in general? Newsflash, THEY SHOULDN'T! We deserve generous mate...

<<>> Boss: Email these forms to this email address. Me: Okay. <<sends forms to email address.>> <<person responds with a question.>> Me to Boss: Can you please help me to answer this question? Boss to me: Here is the answer... Boss to me in another email: Hi. Just reading down the email chain, it looks like you didn’t include any message in the original email. Is that the case? Me: I did not as I was under the impression the forms we submitted had the necessary information. Boss: That seems like a strange choice to me. Maybe rethink that kind of decision. You were communicating with a federal agency on behalf of our agency. <<>> This has bothered me more than I care to let on. I started to analyze things as I tend to do. I've managed large groups of people before and I can honestly tell you that I would NEVER have honed in on such minutiae and wasted the time writing an email about it. So what propelled him to think it ...

I'm tired, and I'm not the only one. I'm tired of the Legislative Branch not holding the Executive Branch accountable. I'm tired of the Executive Branch violating their oaths of office on the daily. I'm tired of the constant scandals that are released rapid fire. I'm just tired. My boss has three employees. Two of them, myself and my subordinate, were inherited from another department when there was a restructure. Upon restructure, I lost my office to him, and lost my subordinate to him. He hired another person, who is clearly his favorite. I have rated Exceptional and Highly Effective on my prior reviews. He comes along and suddenly I'm "Adequate". I'm a high performer, but he nitpicks me, tells me I rush, tells me I don't problem solve the right way. My former subordinate? Let me tell you, I was happy when he took her. I have managed a great number of people and let me tell you, she is one of, if not the most, difficult person I...

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it , and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such for...

In 1996, the band Dishwalla released an album that was later deemed “most politically correct” album of the year. Whether this was official or unofficial, a commendation or an insult, I don’t know. To me, it was accurate. The song “Pretty Babies” comes to mind every time I see the most marginalized group in our nation objectified and sexualized. These are the lyrics: "Everything about the world is sex And it's a message of popular culture Telling all our children how to do it right And all through their innocence you may ask yourself why? Why the need? Why the need to eroticize our children? Oh our pretty babies Oh how they're not ready? Oh our pretty babies Oh how they're not ready? Just down the street in beautiful There is tension for a popular child And it doesn't get much worse than that In little beds in little rooms Are the lost things, are the silver spoons? Why the need? Can't you see all the damage that it's doing? Oh our pretty babi...

It's weird to me that Rudy Giuliani is flapping his yap on national television about the President of the United States. It's weird to me that virtually every professional in the field of law is disturbed by his comments. It's weird that Trump is proud of Giuliani's comments. I suppose "weird" is par for the course in 2018. Deaths related to gun violence are on the rise and the party that claims to be "pro-life" is continuously advocating for more guns. It's important to note that they simply don't understand that people who are "pro-choice" don't want the government making the decision on women's rights. It's between the doctor and patient...just like Viagra is none of my business...although doesn't that contribute to the abortion argument whereas birth control helps to mitigate necessary abortions? Ah, right, logic need not apply to these Republican men. As long as they can get off and pay off, who cares? Am I ...

Today, May 2nd, 2018, begins like every other since Donald Trump decided to run for president. He tweets, the media reacts, it occupies the headlines until he tweets again. It has become a vicious cycle that has done nothing but exacerbate an already dangerous threat to our democracy. Yesterday, news broke that the President of the United States ordered his personal attorney and a couple of body guards to steal his medical records from his previous doctor. News also broke, from the mouth of the former doctor, that Trump faked a doctor's note that claimed he was the healthiest person to ever be elected president. Let's put aside the complete audaciousness of what I wrote above and ask a few questions. Why did Donald Trump need to fake a doctor's note about his health? What would the truth reveal? Why did he order people barge into a medical office to steal his medical records? Why did Donald Trump use pseudonyms at the doctor? Was the order to raid the doctor...