Politics

Although I often share my political beliefs with close friends, I don't talk about it much around acquaintances because you never know when you'll offend someone.  And I always manage to offend, even without politics.  Don't want to shock & awe people with my offensive abilities!

This is a general rant, though.  Not a side-taking thing.  Which means:  I hope I don't offend anyone.

Why must politics be so difficult for politicians?  Why don't real people stand up and say, "Enough is enough, let's get shit done!"?
I'm all for the federal government taking care of the big things like the military and education and taxes.  I'm sure what I want done with those things are different from other people's wants, but overall, I think we all want the same thing:  a safe, healthy, stable place to live.
I'd like roads that don't crumble or destroy my car when I drive, and bridges that actually stay in one piece.
I want to know my taxes are working to educate kids in the best possible way, by the best possible teachers (though I definitely know that's not always the case).
I wish the homeless had warm, safe places to sleep, and options and help for getting back on their feet.

I WANT THE GOVERNMENT TO STAND UP FOR ME.
I mean, I want the government to make sure I have safe food for me to eat, clean air for me to breathe, and yes, ok, access to health care to make sure the food and air aren't doing me damage in case the government isn't keeping up with stuff.
I want the government to stand up, pull their big-boy pants on, and DO WORK.  Pass bills that MEAN something, not a silly thing that means "in god we trust" or "let's take 4 weeks off at Christmas instead of 3".  Make the country a better place to live, not a place that other nationalities look at with scorn.

Make paid maternity leave for at least 9 months MANDATORY, and 3 months of paid paternity leave, too.  Everyone preaches about how our nation's fundamentals are based on family.  Family this, family that, family shmamily.  But no one's making the first months of a child's rearing that important?  Giving a new family member a solid foundation?  Oh no, that's just not possible.
bite me.

Give equal rights to everyone.  I don't have kids--other people at work did.  The same with the Mister.  He was expected to work when others didn't because they had kids, families to be with--but he only had me.  We're still a family together.  Stop treating people unequally based on whether they reproduce or not.  And stop making it ok for businesses to do it.

Stop giving certain states priority over others.  Get rid of the electoral college--it's antiquated and useless.
Yes, the country has a good foundation from our founding fathers, but for the love of god, we're not living in the 1700's anymore--hence women's right to vote, people of different races not being slaves, and other minorities owning property.

Corporations are NOT people.  According to some people, a human only reaches personhood at conception.  Corporations aren't created from sperm and an egg.  Hard to believe, I know.

If a heinously rich woman can leave her fortune to her dog, let same sex unions exist in the eye of the government.  Surely a partnership that's existed for 3 decades between two people is just as important to the survivor as the few years a dog had with her human.
Family is family, love is love, you can't "cure" someone of homosexuality any more than you can "cure" them of being an introvert.  Marriage may be defined by religious people, but the country is ruled by law, not faith.  If we were ruled by faith, like some other countries, women would be "owned" by men and oppressed in numerous other ways.

I'm sure I have more ranting somewhere in my head, but that let some steam off anyway....whew