All in one easy blog post!
Let's get this first topic out of the way. According to a Spanish study, red wine is the new sunblock! Okay so it's not as foolproof as slathering yourself in SPF 30, but apparently chemicals found in red wine (and the grapes from which it is made) prevent some of the chemical changes in the body that cause sun damage. This has the potential to turn a family vacation at the beach into one of two things: a really great time or a complete disaster.
Moving right along, let's get to the surprisingly controversial topic of birth control. This week, the Obama administration declared that private insurers will be required to cover the cost of women's health screenings and birth control starting January 2013. Personally, I think this is a great idea. We all know that there are a lot of unwanted pregnancies occurring every year, many of which could be prevented if women (and families) were able to afford a monthly dose of birth control.
Now, of course there are people and organizations who are against the idea of no-cost birth control. But as with most situations similar to this one, the arguments that these antagonists are putting forth make almost no sense. Let me lay them out for you (let's use Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah as an example):
1) "Pregnancy is not a disease to be treated."
2) "These mandates are an affront to the constitutionally guaranteed rights to free exercise of religion and personal conscience."
First of all, birth control does not treat pregnancy. It prevents it. Not even the morning-after pill (which will
also be covered by private insurers) treats pregnancy. It is merely a dose of hormones which, frankly, does not work at all if you are already pregnant. The abortion pill will not be covered.
Second of all, giving women the opportunity to obtain no-cost birth control is not an affront to the freedom of religion and conscience! Women who were uncomfortable with using birth control or who were against birth control for religious reasons are not going to go out and obtain a prescription for it just because it is now completely covered by their insurance policy. I know it sounds crazy, but people will still be able to practice whatever religion they want, despite this new mandate. It's birth control, not the anti-Christ!
Why is it so awful for women who do not want a child to prevent pregnancy? Would these protesters prefer that these unwanted children be aborted, put into a foster home, or raised by parents who did not want children?
As a result, there is a provision of this mandate that says that religious organizations that provide insurance to their employees will be able to opt out of the mandate that covers birth control. So, wait, are those religious organizations going to pay to support those unwanted children, or will that burden fall on the government, the organization that wanted to cover preventative drugs in the first place? Hmm. Something to think about.
Speaking of the government paying for things, the government finally reached a decision about the national debt! Obama said that he promises to cut government spending by $2.1 trillion over the next 10 years if Congress agrees to raise the national debt ceiling by about that same amount for the next 2 years. First, let me help you wrap your head around $2.1 trillion. Let's say you make $40,000 per year. Now let's say you save every single penny and never have to pay taxes. Every year, you put exactly $40,000 in your savings account. Not accounting for interest you would earn on that money, how long will it take you to save $2.1 trillion?
52,500,000 years. Yes, you're reading correctly. That's fifty-two million years. So that's how much $2.1 trillion is.
So Obama has promised to cut spending by that much over the next 10 years. Which I find fascinating because at the very most he will be president for only 4 more years. Is he planning to cut spending from his basement after his potential second term is up? Does he plan to somehow still have control over our government and its spending for the next decade? Because he sure hasn't had any visible control over it for the past 4 years.
Not to mention, what's our national debt at right now? About 14 trillion? So Congress raises the debt ceiling by 2.1 trillion. So we're up to a whopping $16.1 trillion. But Obama cuts spending by $2.1 trillion. Which leaves us...oh. Back at $14 trillion. Is this progress?!
I give up. Get the red wine. I'll meet you at the beach.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20086913-10391704.html http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/190484/20110801/insurers-to-pay-for-women-s-health-screenings-and-birth-control.htm
http://www.montrealgazette.com/Opinion+debt+situation+defines+dysfunctional+government/5195497/story.html
