Not Before Coffee

Dear Senator Lugar and Senator Coats:

I have been an Internet professional since 1999. Since that time, my life has been positively affected by the Internet. I have raised my twin boys, as a single parent since 1997 with no help from their father. The Internet made it possible for me to work from home while being a 24/7 hands-on mother to my kids. Not once did I have to rely on my fellow taxpayers to provide for my kids! Thanks to the Internet.

I was disappointed when Indiana adopted the “Amazon Tax” which I believe is our Government cutting off their nose to spite their face. Self employed Internet Marketers pay a much higher tax on their income than the 7% sales tax that will be collected. Now I have a personal stake in the passage of the SOPA bill and I refuse to set by quietly without making my voice heard. This bill poses a direct threat to the growing number of entrepreneurs, and people who’ve found ways to earn money online to help provide for their families; a pivotal option at a time when the jobless rates are consistently high.

Passing these types of laws only hurt our economy by destroying income options for individuals and small businesses that have sprung forth in the wake of economical downturn.

This new piece of legislation by powerful industry groups like the RIAA and the MPAA aim to stifle free exchange and flow of ideas that has allowed many people — myself included — to change the course of their lives. It is essentially unenforceable and dibilitates the spirit of collaboration that allowed creative and driven individuals to make the Internet the thriving, global, decentralized entity that it is today.

Media has discussed how large corporations are using their money to shape policy and legislation to their benefit. Their interest is greedy and selfish. This will stifle a growing business and economically fruitful trend among American’s.

Indiana politicians, you included, often talk about bringing jobs to Indiana – supporting small business – encouraging entrepreneurship. As you well know, Indianapolis is a growing hub for technology and innovation. Hoosier residents have developed technology that has helped mold the Internet into the super resource it is today. SOPA would literally kill the ability for thousands of small companies and individuals to express themselves freely and make their living on the web — all so greedy corporations could keep more money in their own pockets.

It’s common knowledge that lawmakers and leaders of our country receive sizeable amounts of funding from lobbying groups promoting bills such as this. People like me — and there are many (and growing) in the state of Indiana — will be watching closely to see how our local government votes on this issue.

If you truly support the best interest of American individuals, small businesses and entrepreneurs then you’ll vote against this type of censorship.

Sincerely,

Gayla Baer-Taylor – @Gayla

Note to Fellow Internet Professionals:

Let your voice be heard – AmericanCensorship.org

Before you begin reading the following opinion – I’d like to make it VERY clear that I take GREAT pride in my right to vote. I have not EVER voted a straight ticket. I am a TRUE middle-of-the-road kind of girl who actually DOES her homework by researching EVERY candidate during an election. My votes are cast for the person, not the party. If I don’t know a name on a ballot, I don’t vote in that category at all.

Frankly, I think anyone who casts a straight ticket that includes votes for names they don’t know is wasting their vote and taking a very lazy approach to their RIGHT as an American.

Point to Ponder:

How beautiful would the American Flag be if it were only Red OR Blue? It’s the perfect combination of RED, WHITE & BLUE that makes it so truly magnificent! ~ Gayla Baer-Taylor

No matter how you slice it, healthcare in the United States if broken – at least for the "average" American.

• Medical care costs WAY to much.
• Prescriptions cost WAY to much.
• Private Insurance costs WAY to much.

I’m not going to pretend to know everything about Obama Care. What I do know is IF it’s an option that prevents insurance companies from rejecting someone for a pre-existing condition – I‘m for it!

IF it makes it easier and more affordable for people to get and maintain coverage – I’m for it!

Insurance is the biggest racket on the planet! You know it. I know it!

In my case, I have recently been on BOTH sides of the coverage fence.

With insurance I go to the doctor for $70. This was the rate negotiated with my "IN Network" (that right there should be enough to tell everyone with a brain that docs and insurance companies are in bed together)

Without insurance I go to the doctor for the SAME visit and it costs $120.

Same doctor. Same service. Different price.

WTF is up with THAT?

If we’re not going to have FREE healthcare (which obviously Obama Care is NOT FREE) then the pricing schedules should be consistent. Having insurance coverage is NOT a freaking discount card, it’s supposed to be coverage.

Sure, there are things I really don’t like about Obama Care – like the fact that illegal immigrants have access to better healthcare than many American’s WITH JOBS – Who PAY taxes and who are raising the next generation of taxpayers. And I REALLY dislike people who see making babies as a viable career option making use of MY hard earned money to account for their welfare paycheck. But there’s bloodsuckers everywhere you go.

Prime example – Big Wall Street bonuses in a time of economic turmoil. *insert vomiting/gagging noise here*

BUT have we ever seen a system that is 100% effective? Really?

Doesn’t it make MORE sense to err on the side of saving AMERICAN lives than on the side of shunning our fellow American and condemning them to a life of pain, suffering, and sometimes death just because their condition is considered PRE-Existing?

Instead of fighting so hard to overturn Obama Care –

Why not stand behind the movement to boycott companies who employ illegal’s for slave wages?

Why not stand behind the movement to rid our companies of shady union practices? Not so much unions as a whole, but the shady practices have got to go!

Why not stand behind a movement that boycotts businesses where the CEO gets a hefty bonus when he’s just laid off 10,000 workers?

Why not stand behind a movement that holds people accountable for their own choices and decisions instead of letting them flood our court systems with frivolous lawsuits?

Coffee is HOT people! Handle with care! If you don’t want to risk getting burned, Don’t. Drink. Coffee!

And to get a lot more local here – Ah hem – Hello, Knightstown Indiana!

Why not stand behind a movement that would prevent school systems from building bigger better schools, brand new, fancy-schmancy superintendents office and posh multi-million dollar football field when the sizes of classes are SHRINKING instead of growing (i.e. people moving out of district because of the ever increasing taxes). When I lived in the opposite corner of this SAME county, my taxes were HALF what they are here – and the area was much more populated. Hmmm makes one think!

If the heads of communities want bigger and better "things" then the focus MUST be on being a community that attracts members, not drives them away because of higher taxes and leaders with Champagne taste!

/climbing off my soapbox 

Please do leave a comment expressing your opinion. NO name calling – NO flaming – just a coming together of minds with a focus on a greater good – not on attacking one another.

Earlier today I posed the question to my friends on Facebook and Twitter – asking for views on Right to Work in hopes of helping me establish my own opinion based on a mix of feedback. What I have established thus far is:

I’m a big believer in everything and everyone – NO MATTER Who ya are – having checks, balances and accountability!

I do believe unions, for their TRUE and intended purposes have (or did have) value. However, the world we live in, where so many are looking for an excuse – looking to place blame someplace besides the mirror – and looking for a $25 an hour job for $2 quality work make it damn near impossible for those who DESERVE unions to benefit from them.

If we had politicians, corporations, lawyers and judges with moral fiber greater than that of a mushroom we wouldn’t have to worry about who’s getting bought – who is playing "blow job for votes" and be able to actually trust that decisions were being made in the best interest of people, for the right reasons and not because someone’s ego needs polished.

I have heard stories from my dad of unions keeping jobs for drunkards, wife beaters, whore chasers, cheaters, etc. In fact, someone I knew very well was a chairman of a UAW – he drank himself to death. Unions keeping jobs for those kinds of people when there are 10 hard working men and women eager to take their place is WRONG!

That I do NOT agree with.

I’m still on the fence with this one – perhaps if unions would adjust with the times and fight for those WORTH fighting for, I might be a little more supportive. But then again, I’m one who thinks they should put a CAP on the number of pregnancies that can be covered by welfare so being a baby machine wouldn’t be such an appealing career option.

I’m such a "Three Strikes You’re F*cked" kinda girl!

As the 2012 elections and debates heat up, I’m hearing more and more on this “Right to Work” thing.

I’ve never claimed to be overly knowledgeable when it comes to politics – I just know what’s important to me.

When I don’t know something, I seek to learn. I don’t want to read about it through websites that are pushing or pulling in the interest of political gain. I want to hear about it from real people!

Enlighten me. Give me your views on what it is – what is good or bad about it – help me develop an opinion.

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. 

These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassions, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”

~ Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Thanks to my friend Dom for sharing this on Facebook