I'm a Whore

Of course, I wonder if there are shadings to my whorishness. I have two issues that I think might affect my standing:

1. Do I have double whore-points for using birth control strictly for "family planning" purposes? After all, 58% of women on birth control use it, at least in part, for reasons that aren't just related to the prevention of having babies. Clearly, these women are whores. But, since I'm not someone using birth control for a medical reason as well, does that make me extra whore-y?
2. Does the fact that my husband condones the use of birth control actually make me less of a whore? I mean, we decided, together, as a married unit, to use birth control. So, since a man has approved my use of birth control, perhaps I'm not really a whore after all.

Deep and interesting questions that are especially important to the fate of our country right now. Certainly the way women address their reproduction and their reproductive health is, without a doubt, terribly important. And certainly not a true health issue. It's really a political and religious issue of vital importance in this election. 

Clearly, access to birth control through health insurance is the reason the country has struggled since 2001. This needs to stop. We can't have whores like me using birth control and ruining things for everyone else.

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Yep. It's a New Year.

Hooray for a New Year.

It's a shiny new beginning.

And, hopefully, it truly will be a new beginning for me. Things were a little rough in 2011, mostly due to my inability to say no, a few transitions, and some stupid, horrifying mistakes. Not to mention a shocking level of self-absorption that I hope not to repeat in 2012.

It's a good thing 2011 is over, and 2012 is underway.

Hopefully, your 2012 turns out better than your 2011. If your 2011 was great, may your 2012 be even better. And if your 2011 was crappy, perhaps things turn around for you.

Have You Had a Good Thanksgiving?

Hopefully, you've had a great Thanksgiving. I have thoroughly enjoyed my Thanksgiving, eating tasty food, and chilling. I did have to do a little work, but not much.

And, of course, I had time to reflect on my many blessings. I am grateful for many things, including:

• My family
• My faith
• My health
• My home business

I have plenty, and I have been blessed.

I hope you've had a good Thanksgiving, too.

SOPA/Protect IP: Are You Ready to Be Like China and Iran?

Right now, Congress is considering legislation that would all the government to block Americans from visiting web sites.

Please read the above again. Let it sink in.

It's supposed to be about preventing piracy, and stopping "rogue" sites. But it's a slippery slope. We've already got a horrifying potential privacy mess in the PATRIOT Act. Do we really need to continue chipping away at our rights with SOPA and/or Protect IP? CNET points out that, in order to effectively block a web site, consumer information and browsing habits might be part of the equation:

Deep packet inspection is the only way to block data from specific Web pages, or URLs. It also may raise new privacy concerns about SOPA because it relies on intercepting customers' Web browsing, analyzing the protocols to see what's going on, and reviewing the packets' contents. That looks a lot like wiretapping, and a bipartisan group of House members soundly condemned it when a company named NebuAd tried it in 2008.

Do you really think, though, that the government would stop at just blocking piracy and rogue sites? The problem, too, is that the requirements could actually lead to self-censorship on the web. Mashable recently published an infographic that provides the basic points of SOPA, and what some of the consequences would be:

If you are at all interested in maintaining some degree of privacy and freedom on the Internet, you need to contact your representatives. Seriously. This is something you need to take action on. Yes, there are budget issues that need to be solved, and health care is still an appalling mess. But it's going to be awhile before any sort of compromise can be made on these issues. SOPA/Protect IP legislation provides a chance for concerned citizens of all political persuasions to make their will known. Take a few minutes to contact your Congressional representatives. You can go to the Senate and House web sites and get the information you need to let your representatives know what you think. Fight for the Future offers the following video. Watch it. You should know what's on the line. 

#BAD11: What's the #Food Security Situation in Your Local Area?

Today is Blog Action Day. I've participated since the first Blog Action Day, and I'm squeaking in for this year. This year's theme is food. One of the items of interest lately in the news has been food inflation. The rising cost of food, along with the fact that many people are still struggling due to the economy, means that food security is increasingly becoming an issue.

While I do think it's important to pay attention to what is happening on the other side of the world in terms of hunger, and I do think that we should be aware of the fact that the food disparity around the world is more a result of distribution than it is a result of scarcity, I also believe that we should look in our own backyards to see what is happening in terms of food security.

You might be surprised at what you find in your own hometown. Consider the food security situation in your city. Could you donate more to the local food bank? Can you volunteer at the local soup kitchen? Sometimes, it seems as though the world's problems are too big for you to tackle. When you start thinking that way, look around in your own hometown. Chances are that you can make difference in the lives of families facing food insecurity, right in your own backyard.

There is always something you can do.

#FINCON11, Hard Choices and What's Next

I've had a week to absorb what I learned at the Financial Blogger Conference, and reflect on what I want to do next.  (If you are interested in the slides, you can find them on the FINCON web site.)

J.D. Roth asked us all to think about why we write.

Pat Flynn told us to be EPIC.

Adam Baker gave an energizing presentation on product launches. (Seriously. Woke me up after I had stayed up until 4 a.m. and ended up with three hours of sleep.)

Several people offered to partner with me on my own personal finance blog. (I really think I was the only attendee without a financial blog.)

So I began considering my future. Josh is teaching, so I don't need all the work I have. In fact, I came home to a whole bunch of stuff to do, and some of it seemed...seriously annoying. FINCON provided me with a great deal of food for thought. I need to decide what I want to do, where I want to write, and decide if I'm ready to get serious about my own personal finance blog. I never really wanted one before, but now I'm thinking about it.

I love writing about personal finance. I like to think that what I write helps people. But I'd also like to explore other opportunities -- and some are opening up for me.

And that means it's time to make hard choices. I love working with my clients, but I may have to let some of them go. I'm still trying to figure things out, but FINCON really helped galvanize my thought process, and I'm giving everything some serious thought, and re-evaluating what I want to do, and how I want to do it.

Occupy Wall Street: What Makes a Legitimate Protest?

Do I agree with some of the Tea Party stuff? No. But do I think they're anti-American, just because they disagree with me? Do I think that their protests from a couple years ago were wrong? Nope. If you have a grievance with the government, and with the way things are run, you should air it. Do I agree with everything in the "manifesto" put out by some of the Occupy Wall Street protestors? Sure don't. But I do agree that it is worth protesting the huge amount of influence that money and corporations have over politicians and policy. And, just because you don't agree with them doesn't make their concerns any less valid, nor does it make their protest any less legitimate, than something you do agree with.

I wanted more time to go into this, but my available ranting time is rather limited these days. So, since he's paid to do it, and he does a really great job, I defer to Jon Stewart: