A Sudanese female journalists faces 40 lashes for wearing pants in public which is against strict Islamic law.  She is also quiting her U.N. job that gives her immunity so that she can challenge the law.

A painful but powerful stand, detailed in this article.

The federal minimum wage increase took effect recently.  And, of course, the debate immediately began and still rages on as to whether it’s a good move for our economy.  One side says it will hurt businesses, as owners will be forced to lay off additional employees.  The other side says it will generate millions of dollars in consumer spending.  And there are others who say the wage increase still falls short for America’s lowest earners.

On the morning the increase took effect, ABC News Radio asked a few workers in North Carolina for their reaction.  Here’s a sampling we played on the Bellingham Morning News.

“That’s a haircut.”  “Maybe I could go to the club twice in a week.”  “That’s great!  My phone bill is unreal.  I’ve got to pay it.”

Are you kidding me!  Was that just a bad sampling of interviews?  Or, has this recession not hit us hard enough?  I thought in this down economy people were struggling to put food on the table, saving more, cutting back on over-consuming, and revaluating life’s priorities.

Are we so spoiled that someone’s biggest concern is that they can only go to the club once in a week?  If you’re phone bill is too much, stop sending so many texts or stop talking so much.

I can only imagine what my grandparents would have to say about our struggles, compared to what they went through during the Depression.

I know that there are families truly scraping by during this recession and that’s why it infuriates me to hear people complaining about such inconsequential things.

I expect us to examine and fawn over the First Lady’s choice of clothes on inauguration day but I was blown away by two recent headlines on the Huffington Post website.  “Michelle Obama, Family Changes Clothes Mid-Flight” and “Obama’s Fourth of July Fashion”.  The first article even included detailed photos of shoes, belts, sweaters, etc.!  Since when do we care?

Does our obsession with celebrities and material objects now include the office of the President of the United States?  What do you think?  It seems trivial and quite silly to me.