Private what?!?!

Private. All in all it’s a good word. A word to describe something that is not our business. “I’m sorry, that’s private” is an acceptable, (good manners even) answer to a question you do not feel comfortable answering. Privacy is something we all enjoy; fences, curtains, window tinting and even clothes are purchases driven by our love of keeping things private. It is under the banner of “private” that an industry is growing, this industry is dangerous and counter-productive. It is the “private sector” business label given to industries that should NEVER be private.

Halliburton is a private sector contractor that has made billions going into war zones and paying their employees to set up military camps, wash uniforms and pay their workers more than the military to do it. And our government pays for it, Halliburton is contracted through the pentagon and our defense budget pays them to do these things. Making money off of war and becoming politically powerful in the process. I have not said anything so far that cannot be reasoned and argued logically, because doing what you do best and making money at it is the American way. It is fully within the rights for any American company to make money, hire employees and as long as they are treating their employees fairly and staying within the confines of the law they can just go right ahead and do that. But what happens when wars end? Does Halliburton go back to building swing sets instead of military camps? Washing nurse’s uniforms instead of fatigues? They are certainly capable of doing these things, but will they make billions doing it? No. It is in the corporation’s best interest to keep doing what they are doing now, contracting in war zones. This is where the corporate political power becomes scary.

America has roughly 5% of the total global population, and nearly 25% of the incarcerated population.

Can you imagine how many prisons we have had to build in the last 30 years to keep up with this? Prisons are expensive to build, expensive to maintain and in high demand. Solution? Private sector prisons. Wait…what? There is an industry that profits from the building, maintaining and managing American prisons? Yes. It would bankrupt the budgets of states to build, maintain and manage prison facilities. Well, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth but we have to do what we have to in order to keep our streets safe, right? Sure, except when you notice that the freedom of information act doesn’t apply to private companies. And then you add the political power corporations now have in our government, you realize we now have a “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” situation between our government and corporations that is leaving the interests of the people completely out of the decision making process.

Seems a little skeevy to me. Wonder why there are inflated sentences for simple possession charges? This is why. Wonder why we haven’t even looked at what other countries are doing to keep crime down and their citizens out of jail? This is why. The notion that there is an industry profiting from imprisoning our citizens is gross. What regulations are in place to hold private sector prisons to keep the constitutional rights of prisoners in mind? And how many of those regulations are they able to use their political power and money to sidestep?

This is not how developed nations conduct business. We are lucky to live in a society that can speak up about such things, we just need to become aware of them to have the opportunity.

31 things from 31 years.

The 31 things I have learned in 31 years:

1.    There is a blissful day where you wake up and stop giving a fuck about what others think of you. There are glimpses of this day when you are young, but somewhere between 26 and 29 you drop that load and throw your middle fingers in the air. It’s a great day.

2.    Just because you are a parent doesn’t mean you have to become YOUR parents. This is a lie parents tell their children so they don’t have to feel guilty for passing on their toxicity to you.

3.    When your kids get old enough to make their own toast you will have cinnamon flavored butter, forever.

4.    An education is expensive, but it pays for itself.

5.    Marriage is hard, dating is harder. Be nice to your spouse, you can’t expect them to be perfect and accept your faults simultaneously.

6.    There is no possible way to get the first piece of pie out in one piece or not burn the first pancake. Having a dog will help you discard the evidence of this.

7.    Grow as much of your own food as you can, factory food is an oxymoron. Google it.

8.    Watch one documentary a month, about something interesting. You will, in turn, be more interesting.

9.    Have pets, and care for them like family because chances are, they will treat you better than most of the people you know.

10. It takes too much effort to keep up a lie. Honesty is easy, and better in the long run.

11. “The Jones’s” don’t give a shit about you, stop trying to keep up.

12. Stay rebellious. Just because you have a 401k doesn’t mean you have to become a normal suburbanite dick.

13. Get fired up about a cause. Somewhere between job interviews you lost your passion to change the world. Get it back.

14. A great way to learn about another culture is through food, get cooking!

15. Teach your children about the wonder of life, how big the world is and how to speak fluent sarcasm.

16. Vegans are assholes, but they are on to something. Try it for a month and make your own decisions.

17. If the people around you all look like you, get out of your bubble and change it up.

18. Have enough respect for yourself to not go shopping in your pajamas.

19. Success is not what your bank account says; it is measured in how peacefully you fall asleep at night.

20. Ask “how are you?” honestly, while looking someone in the eye and listen intently to their response. Guaranteed you will be only person who has asked them that not in-passing today.

21. Laugh! For shits sake, life isn’t that hard!

22. Know how to take a compliment and give an insult, both without looking like a pompous ass.

23. Your heart will be broken at some point, but it’s ok because a mended heart is stronger than the original.

24. Sing loudly in your car. Especially when you’re in a bad mood.

25. Weird old-timey remedies really do work.

26. It’s easy to live cheaply: don’t buy stupid shit.

27. You are special and fantastic, but not better than anyone else.

28. Don’t be that driver everyone hates.

29. Ask for help when you need it (ok, so I am still learning this one).

30. Take your mascara off before you take a shower. Forgetting this will make your husband and children run in terror from the “weeping witch”.

31. Stand up for yourself. Not in a Jersey Shore style bar brawl way (have some class), but don’t let others steamroll you.

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, ENJOY IT!

The Temporary Orphanage

When did the notion begin that helping out someone in need was too financially or emotionally expensive? A little over a year ago our house/property had the population of: five adults, three kids, eight dogs, four cats, seven horses, four goats, one sheep and one turtle (RIP Tiny Tim).

A single mom friend of mine needed a place for her and her daughter to stay, this was a no-brainer. I won’t go into the reasons she was in need of a place, it’s not my story to tell.  She stayed for about eight months in our basement, gave us a few bucks when she could and since I cook as if I am feeding the fucking Brady Bunch no matter who is coming to dinner she and her daughter cost us nothing.

A few months after my friend moved into the basement our neighbors across the street lost everything. A middle aged couple who struggled most of their lives to make ends meet, the husband’s trade was seasonal and the wife was unable to work. When the husband lost his job they became instantly homeless and had no idea what to do with themselves and the only things they had acquired that gave them any joy: their animals. I had got to know the couple and all their animals because the wife and I were both housewives, smokers and talkative.

When our neighbors lost everything they said they would have to sell all the animals and live in a RV camper trailer on a campsite somewhere. They didn’t know how they were going to do it, but they had no choice. Our house sits on 20 acres that my city-born husband and my city-born self have no idea or no intention of doing anything with. We offered them a place to put their animals and the trailer. They plugged into our electricity and paid for what was used, and although the husband was sometimes headache-inducing and not my favorite person they cost us nothing. After almost a year they were able to save enough to find a place for them and their animals.

We literally didn’t do anything but offer, nothing.  Helping isn’t a burden. We were in the right place at the right time and knew what we could do. It is wrong to think that donating to charities is the only way to help someone in need. Charities are amazing, but our economy has made it impossible for the middle class to donate. We need to stop thinking that this is the only way, just know what you can do and be open to it. You will be amazed how easy it is!