I just got back from spending quality time with my mom's side of the family during my cousin's wedding, then a week of mother-daughter bonding in Mazatlan, Mexico. My mom greeted some family members whom we haven't seen since the last family reunion in 2005, by asking the rhetorical question, "Who are you going to vote for?

Maybe I am the only one that will find this disturbing, but a recent Time article really threw me for a loop.

Background: A man in Tallahassee went to court to fight for rights to see his son. He had DNA tests to prove that he was biologically the father and had pictures of himself and his son together. The child was the result of an affair the man had while the husband of the child's mother was stationed at a nearby naval base.

The case sounds pretty straightforward. The man can prove paternity and there is no mention in the article of any sort of criminal background or other problem that would prevent him from having his rights as the father.

He lost. Not only was he denied any sort of custody, he was denied any interaction with his son.

Or better yet... blame me! I was born a taxburden, and you can't even claim me as a deductible!

I was born to unwed mother... a widowed, immigrant mother of two to be exact. And we, along with millions of people like us, should have apologized for creating unnecessary burdens on the rest of society. Even if it comes twenty-something years late.

Politics

Strapped: Why America's 20 and 30 somethings can't get ahead.

Great book; I read it in about 3 days. And I'd recommend it to anyone, so for this blog post, it is my recommendation to you.

Read a free excerpt over at www.StrappedTheBook.com and then go buy it.

Everything everywhere can basically fit into one of two categories: the bottom 50% of things in the world (1) or the top 50% of things in the world (2). I got this idea from the boyfriend of a friend of a friend and it has completely taken over my life. As I reflect on my daily interactions, I spend time figuring out if that was a (1) or a (2)

A few Sunday nights ago, my Dad and I were watching a program on channel 13 about Iwo Jima which, presumably as intended, sparked me to think about war. The aged military man in his button shirt and typical old man khakis recalled how he had, more than once, seen a dead Japanese soldier on the ground at Iwo Jima. Looking for a souvenir of sorts on this particular occasion, the younger version of this man approached the body and upon seeing the soldier's wallet falling out of his pocket, bent down and opened it. He immediately found a photo of this now dead man with his wife and two boys. The American soldier says he paused, prayed and then proceeded to close the wallet, putting it back deep inside the other's pocket.

I say again, war is so f stupid. And here's a few reasons why.

The revolution has come at last!! So many women are currently employed and happy with the experiences that they have had that they are now opting out of working and returning to the home!!! Yay right, but that's what a number of major newspapers and any supporter of putting women back in the kitchen would have you believe.