Chanclasos:
You knew when states like Idaho, Texas, and Virginia, decide to do their part to continue the War on Women, the most hateful state in the union, Arizona, isn't far behind. I'm throwing a flying chancla at State Rep. Debbe Lesko and to the Arizona legislators who pass legislation to "protect" religious freedom at the expense of women's privacy rights. Rep. Lesko is the lead sponsor of HB 2625, which would let any employer deny health insurance coverage for birth control if the employer has a religious objection to the use of birth control. Essentially, women could be required to reveal their medical information to their employer. Who in their right mind could possibly think HB 2625 is good legislation? Of course this bill already passed the House and is now being considered in the State Senate. The most ridiculous aspect of this whole situation is that Rep. Lesko herself has "no moral objections to contraceptives." She doesn't believe that the government should be telling employers what type of health insurance they should offer but yet, she believes employers should tell employees what kind of birth control they should be on.
When several amigos email me to hand out chanclasos to the same individuals, you know the culprit is well-deserving, and I'm only too happy to oblige. March Madness is upon us and a number of you have filled out office brackets, but leave it to fans of Southern Mississippi University to put a damper on the excitement of the tournament with their xenophobic chants. During Thursday's basketball game between Southern Miss and Kansas State, members of the Southern Miss. band directed "Where's your green card?" chants at Kansas State point guard Angel Rodriguez. Now, I'm a big fan of sports and trash talking is part of the game, but racist and xenophobic comments always crosses the line of common decency. It just so happens that Rodriguez is Puerto Rican and a U.S. citizen. The fans making these chants should be aware that many individuals with Spanish surnames are indeed U.S. citizens whether they like it or not. In the end, karma won out, with Kansas State defeating Southern Miss 70-64.
Aplausos:
I'm giving an aplauso to The Hunger Games which will finally open next week, March 23. The movie, adapted from the wildly popular series by Suzanne Collins, is receiving rave reviews. If you haven't read them already, I highly recommend you go out and read all three books before next Thursday. Katniss Everdeen will be your new best friend.