Affordable Care Act

Obama's signature Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, has been upheld by the Supreme Court with a 5-4 ruling as constitutional, thus allowing it to be a legitimate mandate.


This is a monumental achievement for the Obama administration, and a historic moment in general.
Inevitably, it has caused an uproar on both sides of the political spectrum: jubilation for liberals, vehement disapproval for conservatives.

This law will require all US citizens to have health care insurance, including employers for their employees, and if not followed, a tax will be imposed. This tax portion of the act is by the way, what deemed it constitutional: The constitution does allow the federal government to exercise taxing authority. This tax is enough to insure people will follow the individual mandate.

Although this will benefit many who cannot afford to be insured, continue coverage for woman's contraception health, and outlaw denial of those with pre-existing conditions, it also brings complications for states that have the option of whether or not they want to expand medicaid to the poor in their states,  the raise in various taxes on certain Americans above an income level, and overall increases in health care.

image from barackobama.com

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Word of the Day

gallivantingpresent participle of gal·li·vant

Verb:

Go around from one place to another in the pursuit of pleasure or entertainment. Used in a sentence: I had planned to go about this summer gallivanting and whatnot, but this is hard to do when you're currently broke. I should get used to being a broke-ass college student anyway, since I'm starting school soon and have student loans to look forward to, woooo.

Jimmy Carter on Human Rights

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/25/opinion/americas-shameful-human-rights-record.html?smid=pl-share

Excellent article by the 39th US president

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What's all this Fuss about "Fifty Shades of Grey"?

The first time I heard about this book was when my friend casually pointed to her copy on the coffee table at her house and said with a smirk, "It's like the porno of books". 
I chuckled, and brushed the book off as just another over the top, unrealistic, erotic romance novel. 


But it wasn't the last time I would hear about it. In fact, I hear about it everywhere, people reference it all the time, and now I'm wondering, jeez, what is with this book? 


My first impression of the book still stands despite me not reading it, which I will probably have to at some point since curiosity will most likely prevail. 

I looked up reviews of the book and found this great article on the nytimes website. According to several sources in the article, the series is "'just another conventional depiction of female submission. And more off-putting than most. Same old same old.'"


Interestingly, quoted from the article,  " Helen Fisher, the anthropologist and Rutgers professor, warns keening feminists: “Let’s not confuse the bedroom and the boardroom. This is the world of fantasy and play." "

You got me Helen Fisher.

I can't seem to make a decisive opinion on this wildly talked about trilogy so maybe I should stop being a smart ass and just read it? 
Oh, but I hate submitting to popular culture...just kidding...sort of. 


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Amy Winehouse

Reminiscing of those Amy Winehouse songs


Here's a good one for ya:





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The Kooks-Killing Me

One of my favorite bands ever.

summersummersummer

This morning, I awoke in a sweaty, tangled, mess of sheets. Cracking the window open, fierce sunshine poured in. The day's temperature read: 96 degrees.

It's officially summertime.
This calls for a beach day tomorrow.

I had refrained from using pictures on my blog, until now. Happy?