Just Noticing: “Observations of a Blogger”
Posted by Michelle Moquin on July 27th, 2014
Good morning!
So…what has everyone been up to this weekend? Having fun I HOPE. Since the weekend is HOPEfully all about relaxing and enjoying yourself – you know, giving yourself time to have a little fun after working all week, what did you do for fun this weekend?
Just noticing…
…”For those living on minimum wage, it is challenging enough to make ends meet, weekend activities of fun, are few and far between.”
From Think Progress:
Weekend On The Wage
Things Many Of Us Take For Granted Are Not Feasible For Those On A Minimum Wage Budget
Happy Friday! For most of us, the weekend means taking some time to relax and do something fun after a full week of work. Maybe it’s going out to dinner, seeing a movie, watching a child’s soccer game, or traveling to visit friends or family. But for full-time minimum wage workers, there’s little if any room to afford such activities. After housing and tax expenses, full-time workers earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour have just $77 per week on average left for other expenses. Take a look at some of the graphics below to see how many of the things we take for granted are simply not feasible on that budget. And ask yourself, where would you cut?
Workers who make the minimum wage have little, if any, leeway in how they spend their money each week. $7.25 an hour is not enough to live on—much less enough to invest back into the community. In solidarity with these workers, leaders and activists around the country are taking the #LiveTheWage challenge, attempting to live on $77 for one week in an effort to highlight the critical need to raise the federal minimum wage. Check out Governor Ted Strickland talking and tweeting about his experience so far.
BOTTOM LINE: It’s been over five years since the last increase to the federal minimum wage. If we raise the wage to $10.10, it would lift 4.6 million Americans out of poverty and would raise the wages of 28 million Americans by a total of $35 billion dollars. That means more than just a long-awaited paycheck increase — it means more people able to go to the state fair, watch their kid’s soccer game, or see a movie every once in a while.
*****
Readers: I can relate to this article. I have been there.
Most of us have been in the situation where we were making minimum wage or slightly more than minimum wage, sometime in our working lives. When you’re younger and just starting to work, it may not be that big of a deal. But when you are older, have more responsibilities, add rent/mortgage and children into your life, it is much more of a struggle making ends meet let alone having some cash just to spend on a few fun things, if you’re still only making minimum wage. Unfortunately many are still in this position.
But by voicing your opinion to raise the minimum wage, and voting in those who are in favor of raising the minimum wage, we can make a difference. Let’s get on it.
Happy Sunday everyone. I wish for all of you to be making oodles of money so that you can have loads of fun with your family and friends.
Blog me.
xox
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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July 27th, 2014 at 4:26 pm
Hi Michelle: Good topic, there are so many Americans living in poverty who cannot afford to do anything recreational. Restaurants, movies, and anything other than necessities are not in the budget for them period, many do not have any access to transportation other than the public bus system. Those people don’t leave their homes unless they need absolutely have to.
This type of existence is becoming more and more common, especially among the medically impaired and elderly. They stay at home and watch their basic cable re-runs.
7 Ways That You (Yes, You) Could End Up On A Terrorist Watch List:
Earlier this week, The Intercept published a 166-page document outlining the government’s guidelines for placing people on an expansive network of terror watch lists, including the no-fly list. In their report, Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Devereaux highlighted the extremely vague and loosely defined criteria developed by 19 federal agencies, supposedly to fight terrorism.
Using these criteria, government officials have secretly characterized an unknown number of individuals as threats or potential threats to national security. In 2013 alone, 468,749 watch-list nominations were submitted to the National Counterterrorism Center. It rejected only 1 percent of the recommendations.
Critics say the system is bloated and imprecise, needlessly sweeping up thousands of people while simultaneously failing to catch legitimate threats, like Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
While some individuals are surely placed on these watch lists for valid reasons, the murky language of the guidelines suggests that innocent people can get caught up in this web, too, and be subjected to the same possible restrictions on travel and other forms of monitoring. Here are several ways you could find yourself on a terror watch list, even if you aren’t a terrorist:
1. You could raise “reasonable suspicion” that you’re involved in terrorism. “Irrefutable evidence or concrete facts” are not required.
2. You could post something on Facebook or Twitter that raises “reasonable suspicion.”
3. Or somebody else could just think you’re a potential terror threat.
4. You could be a little terrorist-ish, at least according to someone.
5. Or you could just know someone terrorist-y, maybe.
6. And if you’re in a “category” of people determined to be a threat, your threat status could be “upgraded” at the snap of a finger.
7. Finally, you could just be unlucky.
Pretty crazy don’t you think, Homeland Security can have a very vivid imagination. And they just love to fuck with people.
July 27th, 2014 at 4:40 pm
Michelle, I am afraid to say that an increase to $10.10/hour would do little to allow low wage earners to do have all that recreational fun mentioned in your Post. They still wouldn’t be able to go to the state fair or their kid’s soccer game, or to see a movie once in a while because it just is not enough to stretch. People earning this wage would still be in poverty and be able to scrape up rent and utility money plus barely have enough left over for transportation and god forbid an emergency such as the A/C or fridge going out. Then there is insurance for Health and even the Car if they are fortunate enough to own one.
Low income earners in the U.S. are living in hell and the nation goes on advertising to its Capitalist residents who love to buy the latest and most expensive gadgets and cars to keep up with the Super Joneses who earn a lot more than minimum wage.
These many working poor are constantly reminded of the fact that they may be out on the street in a week or a month if anything changes for the worse.
It is a terrible way to live and there are far too many working poor in this once-bountiful Nation.
The Billionaire Corporations have moved and taken their tax dollars out of the country and do not contribute to the economy of the United States. They wish the poor and sick would drop dead so they would not have to waste time and energy thinking about them since they do not count in their minds.
It is a sad, sad situation and will only end in disaster for the lower classes of Americans.
This is what I have seen as a blogger and wish to contribute.
The next time you are spending $150 on Dinner, remember the poor and hungry in your city who can not partake of the same.
HOWIE
July 27th, 2014 at 5:06 pm
Howie: I agree with you $10.10 an hour minimum wage is not going to take a single person without children out of poverty. It will help with the necessities, but minimum wage will only provide adequately for someone in high school still living at home with Mom & Dad.
July 27th, 2014 at 5:24 pm
I only the rest of the country would come to the common sense you two have.
July 27th, 2014 at 9:15 pm
I saw the movie Noah today. What thinking woman would take her daughter to see that misogynistic thinly disguised racist garbage?
In the end at the top of the ark was 4 unarmed women at the mercy of one crazy man. Waiting on his decision to kill two blond twin girls because females were against all gods wishes.
The one woman other than Noah’s wife is useless as a human being because she is barren until Mathusla gives her the ability to be a mother again.
This is some truly sick shit even for this white man. I am married to a wonderful black woman. I went to see this movie alone because she is not a catholic like I am and I wanted to see it.
She was right. The preachings of my church is misogynistic. I am so happy I did not sneak our son here to see it with me against her wishes.
He like our two daughters should not be exposed to this propaganda at so tender an age. Next year they will not attend catholic school.
I will find another private school for them.
July 28th, 2014 at 1:45 am
The wealthy couldn’t care less about the middle class or the poor. They continue to look for more profits for themselves.
July 28th, 2014 at 1:50 am
Fake Cosmetics Could Pose Risks to Your Health
Counterfeit cosmetics, designed to look like top-name brands, trick thousands of shoppers into buying what seems like a great bargain.
But as well as being fooled into paying money for rubbish, buyers could also be placing themselves at risk. It turns out that some of these fakes are downright dangerous.
Just to make things worse, some of these bogus products that are sold online, at flea markets and even mall kiosks, are actually priced near the level of the genuine item, making it less likely that buyers will get suspicious.
The fakes include not only makeup but also hair-styling products and accessories like makeup brushes.
According to the FBI, counterfeit products have been found to contain known cancer-causing chemicals such as arsenic, beryllium and cadmium.
They may also be infected with bacteria and contain unacceptably high levels of normally non-dangerous metals like aluminum.
“Counterfeit fragrances have been found to contain something called DEHP, classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a probable human carcinogen,” the FBI said in a statement.
“These phony perfumes and colognes, which sometimes contain urine as well, have been known to cause serious skin rashes.”
A dermatologist recently told the Fox broadcasting network: “The skin on your face absorbs things differently than anywhere else on your body. Especially the skin around your eyes, it’s the thinnest skin on our body.
“(Fakes) could cause acne on your face, dermatitis or eczema or scaling. Theoretically, you can absorb (them) through your skin too. There could be bacteria because there is no quality control. Anything could be in there.”
An anti-fraud group, the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Center, says the volume of counterfeit cosmetics flooding into the US, mainly from China, is rising at an alarming rate.
The products are sometimes part of larger-scale organized crime and can sometimes find their way into the hands of traders and entrepreneurs who may not even know they’re phony, selling them in good faith.
How to Spot Fakes
So, what can you do to avoid these potentially dangerous, or even lethal, fakes?
Here are 7 warning signs to look out for:
Bargain prices are by far the most important red flag. Products discounted by a quarter or third — or even more — of their regular price are highly suspect.
You should also be dubious about expensive, top-name products that appear to come from China.
The product packaging is not an exact match for what you’re used to seeing. Maybe the color is slightly different, the wrapping is scrappy or the lettering is different.
The packaging suggests that it’s a new variation or “limited edition” of an existing product. Check the authenticity of this on the manufacturer’s website.
The texture or consistency of the makeup seems wrong or different than usual. Just because you bought the item and are out of pocket, don’t be tempted to use it. The product may not be safe.
The same goes for fragrances — does it smell slightly different than how it should? Genuine manufacturers control fragrance production so closely that it should always smell the same.
The product is being sold at flea markets or other unauthorized retailers. Again, most genuine manufacturers carefully control who is allowed to sell their products.
For what it’s worth, you can also ask sellers if they know for sure that the product is genuine and whether they’re able to provide proof.
This approach has been known to prompt some sellers to admit they’re selling “replicas.”
The FBI and the IPR say they need the public’s help in their efforts to stamp out this trade.
Educating yourself is an important first step. If you’re not sure whether a product is genuine, don’t buy it, they say.
And if you suspect someone of selling fakes, they urge you to submit a tip to the National IPR Center.
“The more information law enforcement has, the more effective we can be,” they add.
“With the proliferation of counterfeit goods increasing at an alarming rate, the National IPR Center focuses on keeping these bogus and often unsafe products off US streets… while dismantling the criminal organizations behind this activity.”
What’s In Them?
By the way, it’s not only the chemicals in counterfeit cosmetics that could pose a risk.
Sometimes, genuine products can also cause an adverse reaction in people whose skin is sensitive to certain chemicals.
A health research and advocacy organization known as the Environmental Working Group (EWG) says 168 different chemicals are used across the whole range of cosmetics — and you can’t always tell what’s in them from the label.
If you use an Apple or Android mobile device, you can download SkinDeep, a free app from EWG that lets you scan the barcode on a product to learn about its contents.
And, of course, if you suffer a reaction after using cosmetics — genuine or fake — you should seek medical advice as quickly as possible.
Tip of the Week: We’ve reported previously on the security scare over a bug in the Internet structure nicknamed Heartbleed.
It can really only be fixed by companies using a particular part of the Internet, not by you, but that hasn’t stopped crooks launching a “Heartbleed removal tool” for consumers to download.
What you’d really be downloading is a virus — so don’t be tempted.
It’s much better to use Heartbleed as a nudge to change your passwords, which you should do periodically.
July 28th, 2014 at 1:53 am
The republican party is so bought out by business interests that they feel they will never be challenged successfully. Most of the republican party is busy telling any who listen lies about how they will lose their jobs if small business owners are forced to pay minimum wages.
July 28th, 2014 at 2:06 am
Most of humanity have testicle sized brains anyway. Nerve-enthralling Sidney Sheldon novels have never been published into a big movie franchise till date(who can forget Rage of Angels, The Sky is Falling, Master of the Game, The Sands of Time etc.etc.), but”Fifty Shads of Gray”gets to have a movie adaptation??!!
Wow, what fine writing, “oh Christian, please fuck me, please hit me, make me come.” ???What the hell. It feels tragic, I feel sorry for all prodigious authors out there.
Show less
July 28th, 2014 at 2:12 am
Women have their sexual fantasies, mostly they keep them safely in their heads. If they present themselves in a safe way in the real world, those women may be turned on by them.
But they don’t force others to be a part of their fantasies against their will, men invariably do. Men are about themselves. For the most part they see nothing wrong (or don’t care) with using psychological or physical force get the other person to act out their sexual fantasies.
July 28th, 2014 at 2:19 am
Men if only you could learn the difference between Kinky sex and rape. Here’s a clue: Kinky sex is the thing(s) two or more people do to/with each other with everyone’s consent.
Rape is something that is done without that consent.
July 28th, 2014 at 2:37 am
Prevent Glaucoma with a Folate Supplement
Glaucoma is an insidious disease—literally happening before your very eyes undetected, having virtually no symptoms until, in a blink, you’ve got eye surgery on your plate and you may even be going blind.
You may think that, nowadays, glaucoma is easily treatable, but one form of glaucoma, pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (called “PEX” or sometimes just exfoliation glaucoma) is much harder to fix than others. Research from Harvard Medical School, though, is showing that the more folate you get each day, the less likely PEX will develop.
ARE YOU AT RISK?
PEX is caused by pressurized buildup of debris that clogs the eye’s ability to drain, and it can lead to cataract formation, destruction of the optic nerve and blindness. PEX can happen because it’s in your genes or because your eyes have been exposed to too much of the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) light.
People who live in some northern parts of the world, such as Scandinavia (possibly because of genes) and higher altitudes (where the thin air encourages more UV-radiation exposure) are also more at risk for this eye disease.
People with PEX also have high levels of an amino acid called homocysteine in their blood, tears and eye fluid. Because B vitamins can help keep homocysteine levels in check, some researchers thought that getting enough B vitamins was the key, but the team from Harvard Medical School discovered that it’s not quite that simple—it appears that you must get a certain B vitamin in a certain specific way.
UNCOVERING THE PRECISE NUTRITIONAL LINK
To get a clearer picture, the Harvard researchers analyzed information from about 120,000 people from two very large, long-term health study databases, the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, with a specific focus on people who were 40 years old or older, were free of glaucoma at the start of the study, had had eye exams within a certain two-year period and had provided information about their dietary habits.
They discovered that people who ultimately got PEX were deficient in one particular B vitamin, folate. They also found that, although the amount of folate gotten only from food had little impact on prevention of PEX, getting enough from a supplement made a big difference.
FOLATE IS AN EYE-SAVER
People with the highest intake of folate—at least 335 micrograms (mcg) per day for women and 434 mcg for men—from vitamin supplements had an 83% reduced risk of PEX compared with people who did not take such supplements.
The good news is that any high-quality B complex vitamin supplement, which will generally contain 400 mcg of folate, together with a diet rich in green leafy vegetables, fortified whole grains, beans and peas and especially beef liver (if you have a taste for it) will supply you with enough folate to protect you from PEX.
You can even find folate supplements that contain 800 mcg or more, but be aware that the daily tolerable upper limit of supplemental folate for adults, according to the Institute of Medicine, is 1,000 mcg.
Also, be aware that folate supplements can interfere with the anticancer effectiveness of the drug methotrexate. Speak with your doctor if you take that drug. Folate supplements also aren’t well absorbed in people taking antiepileptic drugs or sulfasalazine (Azulfidine, used to treat ulcerative colitis), so guidance about folate supplement dosage, in these instances, also should be discussed with a doctor.
We’re increasingly being told by medical experts to ditch vitamin supplements and get our nutrients from whole foods. Although I think this is generally sound advice over pill-popping, even if those pills are vitamins, I also think it’s important to pay heed to studies like this one that show that a supplement is exactly what’s needed to stave off a serious condition. And sight-robbing glaucoma is serious enough in anyone’s book!
Source: Study titled “A Prospective Study of Folate, Vitamin B-6, and Vitamin B-12 Intake in Relation to Exfoliation Glaucoma or Suspected Exfoliation Glaucoma,” published in JAMA Ophthalmology.
July 28th, 2014 at 2:52 am
Michelle, I have seen you so many times in public. The last few years I have seen you with this one guy a lot. I haven’t seen a public display of affection towards him from you or him towards you so I am wondering if I have a chance.
I want to come up and introduce myself. But, from what I know of you, you are not the type to cheat on someone you are serious about. I talked to a few of your school chums (although from their candidness to go hateful, chums may not be the best choice of a word) you are basically a one man woman.
Albeit you do have your kinky side. I would venture to guess it is reserved for that lucky guy. How I wish I could make that me. So are you taken or not?
July 28th, 2014 at 3:09 am
Whoa buddy, Barry#13, I’ve seen her a few times in public also. What makes your sightings so special?
Michelle, I saw you Friday in this short, short, white skirt. You were with a white male. I was too occupied with checking you out to notice any relationship between you and the guy.
The next time I see you, I will tell you I am a fan. I’m telling you here so you won’t think I am some perv.
July 28th, 2014 at 4:44 am
Yes, Michelle. Beautiful legs, that compliment the way you walk with them in so many imaginative ways.
July 28th, 2014 at 4:56 am
Suffice it to say, if you are not one of them, they want to keep it that way.
July 28th, 2014 at 8:49 am
#5 Robert, good idea … I switched my girl from religious based private school (this year at her request) I only had her there for the sccholastic curriculum and small group, and of course let me give a disclaimer – I have always given her the life drift in a way that would be enlightening with out making her a total man hater and her observations back to me about boyz/men/religion has made me proud, not only did she listen but her own observations are acutely tuned to other BS regarding others, possibly bc many of her friends are mixed, she has seen firsthand the deference to her tall blonde blue-eyedness (fek, she just surpassed me in height and has the makings of a model), so test your daughters take on the background they’ve already taken in and assist in reframing NOW otherwise you will have the building a new worldview on a shaky foundation.
Do it now … it would be, by far, the best thing a thinking man could ever do for his daughters, and that’s real love, my friend.
Wishing you the best with it.
Mischa, sounds like you’ve got groupies ; ) and I say: right on, woman! I’m glad you’ve got their attention visually and they’re obviously reading here, it’s a start … the more they read the more they’ll ratchet up their personal game in every way (one would hope)
Luv, Zen Lill
July 29th, 2014 at 9:02 am
[…] Robert: Too bad. I was looking forward to seeing it. I just might out of curiosity, even though you gave it a thumbs down for some very good reasons. Thanks for the review. I wish more men would see what you are seeing, voice their thoughts, and take action. […]