Queries On the Subject of Equality...

Look, speaking of the Oscars, a certain winner mentioned equality.  Now, I know I should not have glanced at the comments below it, but it happened.  So, I want to ask a question...

Of the commentators who said things along the lines of "Oh yeah, a rich white lady telling other minorities how to treat rich white ladies."

Wait, Did you hear the part where she acknowledged women helping to fight the causes of minorities?  I'm pretty sure that's what she was getting at.  Do women not deserve equality because some minorities are still fighting for their equality?  No, we ALL get to fight.  Why should women continue to put their needs aside waiting for all the minorities to get equality BEFORE she gets her turn?  They are ALL valid arguments.  Women should not continue to be put last on the list just because you want your rights FIRST.

And number two, Who else is going to speak up in a forum where people will listen other than rich white ladies?  I'm a lower-middle class white lady.  Who is listening?  No one, that's who.

I remember one year there was an argument because Julia Roberts starred in a film and in the same year Tom Hanks starred in a film.  She was paid several million less, but her movie brought in several million more.  Now, I realize the amount they get paid is based on a contract signed before the success of the film, but the article I read pointed out that the following year, they both starred in films and their wages both increased, but Roberts' was still substantially lower.  While it's hard for us who struggle to make $50,000 a year to understand complaints by people making MILLIONS a year, the point is still the same.  

Is the pay equal for equal work?  (I apologize.  I read this article years ago so I can't even begin to think where to find the information.  The celebs might not even be right, but I am pretty sure it was those two.)

Of those people who said things along the lines of "Women get paid less because of life choices" ie, having babies.  

Hey, fucker, are you going to have the babies?  Please.  You'd have one cramp and kill yourself.  Allowances need to be made.  I don't know any guy whose wages would be lowered in expectation that he might have to take time off work for heart surgery or cancer treatments - both of which could easily be a result of YOUR life choices and don't provide the only thing to continue human life on earth.  Unless you want there to be NO MORE generations of children AT ALL, then women should not be punished for having wombs.

Of those who use the arguments that women don't get paid less, there is so much incredible evidence proving you wrong, I don't know where to begin.  Just because you listen to colloquial stories of OTHER RICH WHITE MEN, doesn't make you right.

What exactly are these men / non-"female equality advocates" afraid of?  That somehow if women get paid more, you will get paid less?  In the long run, it's possible your raises will be slightly less in order to budget women getting equal pay, but how do you prove that?  The fact is, no one is going to come in and say "Well, Sally does the same job as Sam, but he's getting $6,000 more a year so let's give Sally a $3,000 raise and cut Sam's wages by $3,000," are they?  

So why are you so incredibly defensive?  Why is it so important to make sure you think women are not worth as much as men?  It only make YOU look bad, not women.  Good job!

Who *Are* You Wearing?

I don't watch the Oscars.  It's just not for me.  I can't help an occasional glance at the dresses, though, partly because from a young age I remember seeing "Worst Dressed" collages on the fronts of magazines when Mom took me to the grocery store where half the time I would think "hey, that's kind of cool!" because it was creative or unique.

Today, Facebook is ablaze with all the Oscar hype.  I scroll past most of it, but then something caught my eye... This #askhermore campaign.  It's about asking women about more than their dress on the red carpet.  They had clips of women asking "Is that what you ask the men?" and a particular celeb looking annoyed that they panned up her dress before getting to her face.

Yeah, it's degrading.  From a feminist viewpoint, it's outright sexist.

But let me ask you a question.  What are the men wearing?  Tuxedos - all of them similar.  What are the women wearing?  Unique pieces of art.

What questions are they going to ask the guys?  "Why did you go with the blue bow tie look instead of the red lanyard this year?"

The women wear stunning gowns.  Of course that's going to be the topic of conversation.

Someone else said they could be asked about politics or their views on global warming.  Uhm, unless they're talking to Bill Nye, I doubt they ask the men such pressing questions, either.  It's fluff, kids.  IT'S ALL FLUFF!  From the nominations to the red carpet, it's about entertainment.

So while there should be some equality in the types of questions between men and women, unless all the women are hoping to show up in tuxedos next year, they probably better get used to the idea that their gowns will make the news.

ETA: Additionally, celebrities are handed gowns worth thousands of dollars (as well as jewelry) either as a loan or a gift for the purpose of mentioning the designers.  If these female celebrities keep responding to "Who are you wearing?" with the equivalent response to "It doesn't matter.  What matters is my mind!" they will be shopping off the rack for next year's gowns.  It may be a privilege of your status to get that masterpiece of dress design on your back, but it's a privilege that will be removed if the designers feel celebrities think their dresses are not worth mentioning at all.

Good luck with that!

Religion vs What's Right

Heavy topic today.

The LDS church, a few days ago, released a statement denouncing discrimination of individuals based on sexual orientation, etc, LGBT... for short.

In one statement, it is mentioned that "The Western democracies are based on religious principles, and people who've lost sight of that and who can't credit the importance of individual religious conscience or the free exercise of what our conscience leads us to believe, they are poorer in understanding our civilization and in understanding people of religious faith."

Which sounds great except I'd like to argue that point just a little.

I believe that freedom of religion is designed to allow you to practice your religion. It entitles you to go to church on Sunday and/or put a cross on your front door. It was created to give you the freedom to practice your religion in your home or your place of worship.

Not in Congress.

It does NOT entitle you to sanctify laws restricting the freedom of gays to marry or asking the Supreme Court to give you an exception to providing birth control.

While the LDS church is saying they supported passing laws that did not allow gays to marry because it goes against their beliefs and are now saying that does not excuse discrimination, they are creating a double standard.  Is it not discrimination to support laws that give you different rights than someone else?  On a base level, not supporting gay marriage IS discrimination!

I don't feel that a church should be required by law to perform a gay marriage, but I also don't think any religious figures have the right to tell their constituents how to vote - to make them think God somehow spoke to them and told them to take away rights of others  -  which, by action - gives those church members permission to condemn another's lifestyle.

You can't have it both ways.

As for the birth control issue, that made me angry because if you are a publicly traded company, you should not be treated with religious freedom.  Hobby Lobby is not a church.  You might go to church on Sunday, but you are not God's Employers when you hire people to work at your company.

Again, you can't have it both ways!  You want to be publicly traded?  You have to follow the laws of the land.  Frankly, it was completely ignorant.  I get the idea of not wanting to condone birth control, but do they have ANY CONCEPT of how often it is prescribed for health reasons?  I almost bled to death because od issues with my uterus.  The birth control helped, but did not solve it in my situation, but hundreds of thousands of women who don't have sex, let alone those who are married and don't want another kid right away, use it to control pain, bleeding that can lead to anemia and a plethora of other health problems, and all kind of other issues.

The Inevitable. Death and Taxes!

I had most of our paperwork so I figured why not start our taxes?  I put it all together, got calculations, figures... I own my own business (Avon) and have to fill out a lot for that, then there are the simpler things; husband's W-2, Student Loan, deductions, etc.  All finished except my last W-2 from my temp agency job.

It finally came.  I input the info.  I made a whopping $2800 and paid $55 taxes withheld.  It reduced our refund by $400.

Yeah, that makes sense.  We are a  less than $50,000 a year household (by a hair), so $2800 should totally reduce our refund by $400.  Keep in mind, this means if I had not worked that job at all, we would be getting a $1600 refund.  That kind of pisses me off.

Outlines

Like query letters, outlines are a necessary evil of writing. Frankly, I still don't have the hang of it.  I know I was supposed to learn it in school, but I always just researched the information, then wrote my essays, checked spelling and grammar, and turned it in.  I didn't have bad grades.  What was my incentive to waste time on an outline?

Now I find I write myself into corners all the time.  Why?  Because I hate to outline.

Can you blame me?  I sat down to start an outline on a new novel which is not completely conceived at this point.  I thought starting an outline might help me fill out the rest of the idea.

Instead I typed this:

Reading Tarot in a Cabaret

The filthy club’s lights danced brightly off their targets leaving the rest of the room dark.  The only sign of other humans came from their laughter, clapping, and boisterous cheers, yet she could see him and knew instantly that her life would change drastically.

When a tarot reader turns the card of death, it does necessarily mean a physically death.  Despite the ominous, demonic image which stared through the soul of the person whose card were being read, it indicates a deep transformation of soul, love, employment, or spirit.

No, the card with the foreboding word Death written across the top of it did not mean someone had to die.  Perhaps it was the Emperor or the Priestess that had been turned who were actually responsible for the fact that someone had to die in order for someone else to live.

And I would frankly rather explore that than to write a stinky old outline.

Outlines SUCK.

That is all.

Things I Don't Understand about Web Hosting...

1. They have no interest in loyalty - Pretty much all web hosts offer a great introductory rate.  You can get a year for $1 a month, but after 12 months, you pay full price.  That means every year, it's much cheaper to change your host than to stay where you are.  Even with transfer fees it has saved me hundreds.  It's just a big pain in the ass.

2. Their discounts are not useful - Let's say you want to pay for 36 months.  Hey, we'll still give you a deal!  Do 36 month commitment and we'll only charge $3.49 a month.  Yes, but that means paying 2.49 a month more than I have to for the first year because they don't let you do 1 year at $1/mo, then the next 2 years at $3.49 a month.

3. Their comparisons are ridiculous - Several hosts will put up a comparison chart of why they are better than comparable hosts.  The thing is, if you excel in one area, you fail somewhere else and the same goes for your competitors.  The only people who care about some of the things you offer are web developers and corporate web gurus who actually run web pages from their own servers and don't need your hosting limitations.  The only people who care about your other features are the ones who can get them free through weebly and wordpress.  If I just want to build web pages for indie artists, small charities with tiny budgets, and personal web pages, you're all the damn same.  

I might as well save my pennies, pay the $1 a year, and then switch service next year because none of you want me to stick around.  If you did, you would offer discounts every year or give me a deal for purchasing more right now rather than offering me small amounts for a year of service and then hiking the prices to what others might consider "cheap", but I consider a lot because these pages are not making enough money to support $150 investments.

If it was $3.49 a month for one year, $2 for a 2 year, and $1 a month for a three year commitment, that would make sense.  Or even if you gave me $7 for one year, $5 for 2 and $3.49 for three, I would take it.  I will not take $3.49 for 36 months when $1 a month for the first year is available.  Frankly, it's the principle of the thing.  You want my $$ to keep coming in?  You reward me for loyalty!