When the Bullets Flew, ‘They Didn’t Care That I Was a Woman’

Photo by Stacy Pearsall via the New York Times.

Women have been serving in the military officially since 1976 when Congress directed the Academy to accept women into its training program. But, women have served on the front-lines along with military personnel long before that – from Women’s Army Corps to nursing positions with the Red Cross.

Since 1994 though, women have technically been barred from serving in front-line combat. Today, the U.S. Defense Secretary, Leon E. Panetta and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin E. Dempsey, lifted this ban on female troops in combat. 

“Not everyone is going to be able to be a combat soldier, but everyone is entitled to a chance…They’re fighting and they’re dying together, and the time has come to our policies to reflect that reality.” -Defense Secretary Panetta

So what does this mean for young women today?

According to military officials, this now opens more than 200,000 potential jobs for women in elite Special Operations units like the Navy SEALs and Delta Force. The various military services have until May 15 to come up with plans to add in this policy.

This official statement is one thing, but in my opinion, it will take some time for adjustments in people’s mindsets and emotional acceptance of the thought both for men and women. It’s a work in progress.

Check out this great article that was on the front of the New York Times today – one woman’s experience on the front lines. The writing is superb and the story telling will keep your attention to the very end.

What are your thoughts on the topic?

-YB

 

Photo by Stacy Pearsall via the New York Times

Presidential Inauguration 2013

Photo via Getty Images.

Regardless if you’re a Democrat, Republican or any other political affiliation, this week’s events surrounding President Obama’s Inauguration remind us about how blessed we are to live in the United States. All the speeches, songs and actions are aimed to highlight the foundations of what this country was based on. So, as you follow the excitement online (or in person – lucky you!), take a minute to remember the brave men and women who have fought for our freedom and thank God for the opportunity to live in the greatest country in the world.

Beyonce’s performance of the National Anthem gave me shivers and inspired this post. She is one beautiful and talented woman. And I may or may not have watched this video at least half a dozen times. Maybe.

 

 

And the first dance? The sweetest thing I ever did see – Michelle stole the night in her red Jason Wu gown and a new hairstyle (those bangs have literally made national headlines!). And even the cynic in me was smitten with the couple’s obvious displays of affections through out the night - the little quips, smiles and glances.

 

 

And finally, President Obama’s speech goes back to basics:

“That is our generation’s task: to make these words, these rights, these values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness real for every American.”

 

 

Oh, how I wish I was in DC right now to witness all this firshand. Someday though, right?

-YB

A different kind of class photo

Photo via BuzzFeed.

Yesterday, was kind of an important day in U.S. politics. In the aftermath of the passing of a fiscal cliff bill, the 112th Congress commenced around 11:00 am yesterday. Traditionally, they would end the session before the Christmas holidays, but since our country was on the brink of financial disaster, they put in some overtime.

But, all is well – the 113th Congress held it’s official opening ceremony yesterday at noon, and of course, I watched it most of it streaming live as I worked (multi-tasking at it’s best!). It was the traditional proceedigs – the swearing in of the newly elected and re-elected U.S. Representatives, election and swearing in of the speaker (John Boehner), nomination and confirmation of each party’s House leadership and finally a whole lot of amendments and suggestions on how the 113th Congress should operate.

I think my favorite part though, was watching the women of the Democratic party take their class photo. The House of Representatives, as of January 3, has 80 women. Of them, 61 are Democrats. Plus, there are 20 women elected to the Senate – Those are record numbers for the U.S. Congress! USA Today publishe a cool interactive graphic of women in Congress over the years – check it out!  Of the nearly 2,000 senators in the history of Congress, only 44 have been female. We’re making progress, but women still have a long way to go to be truly represenative of the U.S. population in our country’s leadership!

I particularly enjoyed seeing all the color and diversity that they brought to the floor – their hot pink and red suits and even fabulous hair accessories stood out in a sea of black suits. It sounds shallow, I know, but I think I hope that it is representative of their work in this session of Congress. You can read some of their bios here or read the first hand recollections of their swearing in yesteday. Reading their swearing-in accounts and watching some of it live on C-Span literally gave me the chills – it was absolutely amazing.

Who knows, maybe, God willing  that will be me someday? :)

Check out more photos here!

Watch Diane Sawyer sit down and chat with twenty of the female Congresswomen.

-YB

The Fiscal Cliff explained in 70 words

Photo via of house.gov.

Fiscal Cliff – sounds ominous, doesn’t it? Personally, I haven’t been following the recent discussions as closely as I usually do, because the back and forth between Congress and the White House and Democrats and Republicans has been a lot of pointing fingers, disagreement and overall stubbornness.  I imagine this whole scene as a bunch of children doing a whole lot of arguing debating back and forth, with bouts of plugging ears and shouting, “Na, na, na! I can’t hear you!” But then, I am told I have a vivid imagination, so who knows?

Anyhow, short of dedicating an entire post to the leadership’s incompetence, I’d like to address the more pressing concern – the much discussed Fiscal Cliff. I’ve been asked several times what it was exactly, so I thought a short post is in order before the U.S. either plummets to its fiscal death at midnight tonight or (fingers crossed and prayers issued) finds its wings and soars to astounding heights.

Fiscal = monetary, economic and financial policy. Cliff = the end of everything. Put those together and you get the U.S. at a place where some tough decisions must be made.

The U.S. is reaching its credit limit. For years, we’ve been spending more than we’re taking in, putting us deeper in debt. Think double, even triple, spending for every dollar in revenue. Now, Congress and President Obama have to agree where to cut spending and where to increase revenue. In simple terms, we need money and it has to come from either spending less, making more, or combination of both.

Here are some of the issues on the table:

• Taxes:
  • A lot of our country’s income comes from taxes: payroll, income, estate, etc… In 2001, and later in 2003, President Bush enacted temporary tax cuts to help Americans weather the recession. These “Bush-era tax cuts” are set to expire in a few hours, meaning if Congress doesn’t decided otherwise, every household in the U.S. will see some sort of tax increase at home and/or at work. President Obama has called for an extension of these cuts for households making under $250,000, but this threshold is a hot topic of discussion, as some Congress members (particularly Republicans) demand a higher threshold of $450,000 for individuals and $550,000 for couples. Also in discussion is taxing inherited estates – proposal is to increase rates slightly.
  • What does this mean for me?
    • As of right now, it looks like most of the tax cuts may be extended in some form, particularly the above mentioned income tax cuts.
• Spending:
  • The hottest spending cuts discussed include: Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, defense spending, and unemployment insurance. Pretty much, Congress has to determine which of these budgets to decrease in the coming years. Cuts will be made though, so stay tuned!
    • Update: GOP gave in on Social Security cuts – the formula calculating the increase in SSI each year according to increases in cost of living is being adjusted – limiting the impact inflation has on any adjustments. This means that if you receive SSI benefits, your annual increase will be a bit smaller in the future.

Regardless of the outcome, someone will end up hurt, disadvantaged, angry, etc. But, isn’t that the point of leadership, to make the tough calls and weather the consequences?   

Congress and the White House must reach some type of agreement today – they are starting yet another session today at 11 a.m., so updates are expected throughout the day as voting ensues on proposed amendements (If you’re a political nerd like me, you can Watch the proceedings live here).

But, even if any decisions are made today, the Fiscal Cliff won’t go away any time soon. The problem seems simple enough, but working out the intricacies of the solution will take some time. I’ll be tweeting adn RT’s updates as they come in so follow along!

Happy New Year’s Eve!

-Y

UPDATE:

The Fiscal Bill passed by Congress earlier this month calls for some tax raises. You can calculate your 2013 tax bill using this handy dandy calculator courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.