Quite the month this has been!

Been a busy month on the news & political front..........so without fanfare, let me say this about that!

Edward Snowden & the NSA affairs.

This story probably has evoked some opinion from almost everyone. Some are for it as "it keeps us safe"......some are against it as it's "way to much government intrusion".

My questions are:

1) How does a lower level person in a massive system like the NSA/Homeland Security come to have the supposed information and depth of clearance that Snowden is suspected of having?

2) Why is the US government farming out this type of work to private contractors who are paying inflated salaries & then billing the tax payer for probably two and a half times the salary of these employees?

3) Should private companies be allowed to maintain this type of information?

We all know that in this digital era we live in, that few "secrets" can be hidden from prying eyes. Corporations have mined the electronic data since the early days of the internet and this is just another set of eyes that have access to all the digital information flying through the wires and airwaves of modern society.

George Zimmerman trial.

The trial is finally underway in the shooting of Trayvon Martin and the media is all over it. Regardless of the outcome of this particular incident, the basic problem with these "Stand your Ground" laws, is that with few or no witnesses, you can basically get away with murder and call it self-defense.

Paula Deen comments.

The career meltdown of Paula Deen has been on the fast track since the public became aware of her use of the "N" word. Now I agree that the word is offensive, and she has done some apologizing, but the back lash against Deen has been overly swift and drastic, so much so that her empire is under full collapse. While I don't advocate her use of the term, the fallout has been extreme in my opinion.

Apparently society has reached a point that if a Caucasian person utters the word, it's a career ending mistake of epic proportions.........but just search Twitter for the use of "nigga" (the urban form of the N word) and you get an endless stream of tweets using that word by of all people, African American's?!?!

Supreme Court ruling #1 - The Voting Rights decision.

The court ruled on the 1965 Voting Rights Act & came down on the side of voter suppression. This ruling opens the door for republican led states to impose various voter restrictions. Look for the southern states and of course Texas to impose all kinds of hurdles that will be implemented to hinder people of color from voting.

Supreme Court ruling #2 - Overturning DOMA.

The court overturned the 1990's Defense of Marriage Act! This was a big step to same sex marriage equality in the US. The battles for full marriage equality will now be fought in each state, but this ruling opens the door for equality in federal laws. Expect the far right & religious right to counter with state regulations and perhaps even a try at a constitutional amendment......I think as more states approve and warm to marriage equality, there might not be enough states to ratify any constitutional push by the haters on the right.

The Texas sized filibuster.

Texas state legislator Wendy Davis took to the floor and went on a 13 hour filibuster to block Texas republicans from passing another (in endless GOP) abortion bills. The filibuster worked as the clock struck midnight before the republicans could get the vote in! The twitter-verse and Facebook were on fire last night as the epic showdown played out through the evening hours, with supporters following the proceedings and packing the capitol building in Austin.

So, is the battle finished for the assault against Texas women? Of course not! Dimwitted Texas Governor Rick Perry has (late today) called for yet another special session to try and ram rod the abortion bill through yet again.

If nothing else comes from this Texas showdown, it's the proof that the republican party is solely focused on abortion issues and anything else be damned.

Why any female of child bearing age, any person of ethnicity or culture and any THINKING person would cast a vote for a republican is beyond me.