America's One Track Mind

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America's One Track Mind: Why I Haven't Been Covering Anything on the SOTU This Year.

Point in Case - Today's Headlines: Google's "Spotlighted" News as of 10:58pm today: And their list of Top Stories: (Click on photos to Enlarge)

Some (albeit few) of you may be wondering why I did not cover the SOTU address. You know when you hear about something so often that you get sick of it? That happened at about 10 pm, Tuesday night. I almost didn't even watch it. (Basically, I was over it before it even began. Thanks a bunch, media.) The highlight of it, for me, was hanging out on Twitter with Keith Olbermann and the other FOKkers, joking about salmon and trains and drinking games, and droopy, orange Boehner. Good times. And I spent about half an hour talking about Bachmann before I was over that too. So yes, America, I'm totally done. (And it's really annoying that every conversation I've had since Tuesday night somehow gets warped into an argument over what he said. At home, at work, online, on Tumblr, on Twitter, everywhere. Seriously? Is there ANYONE else who does not want to talk about it?) Let me put this in terms everyone can understand - I couldn't give a fuck. It's an annual speech. It doesn't mean anything. It's Congress - how much of what they say actually reflects what they do? That's all that matters: what eventually gets done. We have 24 hour news to tell us about the state of the union anyway - though they really don't do that great a job of it. So if you're that interested in opinions and news about the speech, check out the oversaturated media, America. You're not going find any of that here. Not this year. There are way more important things going on in the world right now than speeches we've heard before. And I don't want those things to fade into the background the way things tend to in this country. We're trying to raise awareness. I want action, not empty words. While the US is battling over stupid speeches and spending tons of money reporting on snow storms, brutal protests are being ignored, oppressive governments are violently suppressing discontent, people are being murdered in the streets-- and that's just from the past few days. Violence is escalating across the world, while we're sitting around quibbling about earmarks and immigration. I'm more than content to spend my days ranting about fighting racism and sexism and homophobia and hunger and other things that actually matter. So I'll be over on Twitter or IRC if you'd rather talk about something more important than high speed rail. (Don't get me wrong, it's cool and all, and would create a ton of jobs I'm sure, but seriously, things like that are not a top priority by any stretch of the imagination.) Come find me.

And if you're interested in what kinds of things I'm talking about, things that the MSM has utterly failed to properly report in the past few weeks (I'll add more links tomorrow, as well as a full post on the state of the world tomorrow.):

• Two more shootings in Arizona, one of which occurred in the middle of the night. A nine year old girl and her father were killed by a group of anti-immigrant militants who broke into their home in the middle of the night under the pretense of catching an escaped criminal. The girl's mother was also shot. Stories are just finally starting to circulate.
• The return of segregation in American schools
• Still more stories about people who think it's ok to hunt down other human beings for sport, simply because they don't have "the right papers," or they're LGBT. Like a gay activist in Uganda who was murdered, after Rolling Stone tabloid newspaper (no relation to Rolling Stone magazine) published a hit list of 100 gay Ugandans.
• Violent protests in Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Venezuela, and in other parts of the world. Interesting how none of the big networks really picked this up until the internet went down in Egypt...
  UPDATE: This is a great collection of links regarding the situation in Egypt. Today was Day 4 of...
  (WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO.)
  
• FBI raids on internet activists and anti-war activists
• Bradley Manning and whistle-blower protections

I also encourage all of you to participate in a Palin-Free February (or at least just for the last week of February, with LeftAction). Again, we have far more important things to think about.

DADT Repealed by Congress!!!

Ok, President Obama. Another promise kept. Thanks, man. (But I'm still going to pout in the corner over the tax "deal" thing, and Gitmo, and surges in Afghanistan, and [grumbles on...])

You'll have to forgive me for posting this so late. I had work, & then spent the rest of the night celebrating/getting distracted... After all the efforts we've put in over the years, all of the letters, the phone calls, the donations, the urgent pleas and cries for equality- The military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy has been REPEALED. All that's left is the President's signature. Granted, the repeal doesn't go into effect immediately-- the armed forces will have a period of time to make any necessary adjustments to ensure a smooth "transition" in openness. But they did it. I didn't think they would be able to do it in time, but they did. The Senate passed the stand-alone bill at about 3:02 pm, December 18th, 2010, after a successful cloture vote after 10AM this morning.

It's funny... it was only until this morning that I realized that DADT directly affects me as well. Just last year I had been looking into a job with the army. But being... Well, it occurred to me that I wouldn't be allowed to take the job. I would have been fired if anyone found out... (Though I wonder if I would have even figured it out, had I chosen that route...) And that brief moment of "omg I'm screwed," I feel like I could understand just a bit of what it feels like... To be forced to choose between hiding a part of yourself and lying (under oath) to everyone around you, or losing something you've worked towards your whole life. Though many of us do face smaller incidents like that throughout our lives. I'm "closeted" IRL because I choose to be. Not because of fear of backlash (anyone who matters pretty much knows anyway, or I'm working up to it, and thankfully, they don't seem to care), but because I dislike awkwardness. (Plus my family already treats me  So for all of that joking around that DADT was my last chance at legally dodging the draft [insert smirk], I'm so very thrilled that it's going to end. If the military is what you want, you should be allowed to serve openly, just the way you are. And if others can't accept that, can't/won't do their jobs because they have a problem with that, they shouldn't be alongside you. I certainly wouldn't want them to be. So if the paleos' fears of a "max exodus" should actually happen, I say this-- good riddance. Way to prove you're weak and can't hack a "hardship." (Yea, I'm just being a brat tonight because I'm so happ-eeeee!!!!)

But in less happy news... the DREAM Act failed. I'm waiting to process this info until morning, when all of this really starts to sink in. Tonight, I just want to celebrate. (That & listen to Dr. Rachel Maddow talk about it. ^^" she's totally my hero/girlcrush lol... Nerds r awesome. Oh, and if that wasn't enough... Is this getting creepy now? Lol, I was just curious, and one link lead to another...)

Just a quick, wine-induced shout-out-- to all of us who annoyed the hell out of our senators and reps, and President (especially regarding last week's flood of emails, "tweets," and calls regarding an Executive Order, should Congress have failed...)-- way to go, everyone! WE DID IT! To my awesome senators, Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez, & my super-awesome Rep Rush Holt-- Thanks, guys!!! Obviously wouldn't have been possible without you, seeing as you're the ones who actually get to vote & stuff lol... (Menendez- wtf was up with the tax deal, though?! Dude!) To the HRC for their tireless and continued efforts to ensure civil rights for all Americans. To the 8 Republicans who stood up against the rest of their party for the rights of LGBT servicepeople. Way to rock, everyone! 1 down, 3 more to go. DREAM, DOMA/Prop8, ENDA - you're next.

Sunday Updates -Tax Cuts, #Wikileaks, #Payback/#Leakspin, & #DADT

Ok, now that I've had a bit of time to process some of what's been going on lately (among other things), I think it's about time I get back to the weekly updates (and once the holidays are over, I'll finally be able to work on real posts again! Yay!)

• Crazy weather all over the world, from massive blizzards in the Midwestern US, to torrential rain in the Middle East... This winter is going to be brutal. I hate winter. Stupid global warming/climate change... [grumbles]
• Haiti was tormented this weekend by the arrival of yet another disaster in their country, decked in cargo pants and giant designer sunglasses. Can't catch a break, can they? [sigh] Ms. Palin's "humanitarian" trip was marked by the quizzical stares of perplexed Haitians (None of the people interviewed had any idea who she was. They're so lucky... I wish America could say the same. Damn you, McCain staffers!!!)-- who promptly decided that any publicity was good publicity, amongst the cholera outbreak and continued post-earthquake rebuild.
• Anyway... In LGBT related news- 
• The Prop 8 trial is back in court for the appeal! And is certainly looking good for our side.
• Illinois passed a civil unions bill. Progress is progress.
• DADT repeal is currently somewhat stalled. While we're hoping for Obama to step up and sign an executive order (a move he has stated he does not want to take), the fight isn't quite over yet. The stand-alone bill has been introduced in the Senate, however odds are, we aren't going to see a successful vote on it (or the DREAM Act) until this tax-cut issue is resolved.
• Speaking of tax cuts... Obama's deal with the GOP. Wow. Um, no, no, that's not a good idea, Mr. President. Since this is a huge story overall, I'll break it up into parts:
• Backstory: GOP threatens to block everything (yea, what else is new) unless they get to continue or expand tax cuts for the uber-wealthy. Obama, in what I'm sure was supposed to initially be a friendly gesture to keep things moving, met with McConnell, and made a deal, and then announced it to everyone - Democrats would get their wish of 1 more year of unemployment benefits and tax cuts for the middle class, and Republicans would get... everything else. Tax cuts for the top 2%, including a reduced estate tax.
• Here's why it's a bad idea - it actually raises the tax burden on the lower and middle classes (primarily by replacing a current tax cut with a payroll tax cut. For anyone making less than $20,000, and $40,000 for families, the payroll tax cut is smaller, and will basically leave us with smaller paychecks... Trust me, $80-100 LESS a month adds up fast when you're poor. A day after I shared this info with Care2, I discovered that the White House admitted it was true. So yea, guys, apparently it is actually true.) while giving the upper classes (especially those making over $5million a year) a bunch of very huge breaks that last for 2 years-- while unemployment benefits will only get 13 months of extension. We know that the continued tax cuts have been estimated to add a staggering $700+ billion to the deficit, but the CBO recently announced that this plan will actually add $858 billion. It will cost almost $100 BILLION more than the stimulus plan, and we actually got something positive out of that. This, not so much. So, yea, dreadful idea. I mean, I have nothing against compromise, but dude, it's not a compromise when it's a sneaky, back-door deal in which the other side gets everything and you get the wimpy consolation prize. Totally lame. Create jobs? I fail to see how continuing the same tax cuts that failed to create this magical trickle-down job thing will somehow work now that the rich can continue get richer without doing a damn thing-- well, nothing but screwing over the rest of us. So you're going to have to explain this one to me. I've tried, and tried, but nothing. Supply-side simply doesn't work.
• So what's happened since? - Democrats in Congress have basically revolted. 54 Dems in the House signed a letter, rejecting the deal. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders staged an 8.5-hour-long filibuster explaining why he did not agree with the President's decision. (Mixed feelings. Awesome, epic speech, but I really hate filibusters. Total waste of time, which we are seriously running out of. In just 3 weeks, the so-called "Teabaggers" take over, remember? And that's not even taking into account the holiday recess. Then again, maybe wasting time is in our best interests here-- waste enough, and ALL of the tax cuts will expire. Which will suck for us, yes, but will probably do a lot more good for the budget than this deal ever could.) Speaking of the TP, this is one thing we SHOULD actually agree on, though apparently they're split on this. TP "Patriots" says no, FreedomWorks (you know, the corporate leaders of the TP) says yes.
•  As a result of all of this, there are rumors of a possible rival in the 2012 Democratic Primary... Good idea, or bad idea? I personally think it depends on who it is... but overall, probably a bad idea. I don't know if there are enough of us to get a strong progressive in the White House, nor do I want the GOP to have the satisfaction of having their dreams of a "one-term Obama presidency" come true. (Ok, that one might be a little petty, but c'mon!)
• I think now I should get around to the whole Wikileaks issue. I won't/can't talk about my own opinions of it all right now, or any involvement I may or may not have in anything other than blogging about it ;-), but if you know my past or what I stand for, you should know where I stand.
•  Well, we know now how the world feels. Less than 2 weeks later, we have this long, lovely list of the government leaders' reactions. Some are negative, some positive, some indifferent. Will it spark an international war? Other than what's already been started, it's unlikely, for the time being.
• The "sex by surprise" charges brought against Assange in Sweden might be dropped if the US decides to go ahead with the new plan-- charging him with espionage. I'm not even going to go into how silly that is, (or how ignorant a certain someone sounds when she calls him un-American-- lady, he's AUSTRALIAN, not American.) or how strange consensual "sex-by-surprise" sounds when in the US or the UK, it wouldn't even qualify as sexual harassment, let alone rape. I'm all for women's rights of course, and I do believe that rape allegations should always be taken very seriously; but based on what information I have right now, I think that in this case it's likely it's a specious argument. Well, very suspect, to say the least. (Btw, if you want someone to get tested for STDs, wouldn't it make far more sense to do that BEFORE you sleep with them? And then not try to sell the story to tabloids & get "caught" via text messages? Just sayin... It sounds a little weird. But maybe that's just how things go down in Sweden. I don't know.)
• Over the past few weeks, the gathering known as Anonymous has been launching cyberattacks on opponents of Wikileaks-- primarily against the companies that have been censoring information or trying to shut down or block aid to the whistle-blower organization: Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, etc. They will be switching tactics away from the DDoS attacks of Operation Payback to a flood of information known as Operation Leakspin. The media--well, one half of it, anyway-- is very wrong about the group, though-- they're not cyberterrorists. Most of them aren't even hackers and were not involved in the DDoSing attacks. Their objective, as they state, is not about damaging or destroying anything, but getting noticed, and getting a message out, which is why the tactics have been changed. So again, I'm still not "officially" announcing my position on any of this, but tonight, I'll recruit for them. If you're interested in getting involved, or just finding out more information, email me or find me on IRC, Care2, or AIM. I know they need hosts, writers, editors and graphic designers. (Official Info & sites are somewhat hidden and change frequently due to government/corporate intervention plus various attacks from "enemies," so unless you're already involved, it might be difficult to keep up with them. I've been trying to keep an eye on all sides of things, to say the very least, and it sometimes proves to be a challenge... There's a lot going on.)
• I love Love LOVE Dennis Kucinich. "Wikileaks ... gave us 92,000 reasons to end the wars. Pick one!"
• There are rumors of a new Patriot Act for the internet. I'm hoping it's just related to that horrific, supposed law that gives the President the power to effectively shut down the entire internet (good luck with that...), and it's not the new horrific supposed law that allows them to tap into our IMs and emails and webcams, and is a continuation/expansion of this crusade against the P2P community... Call us paranoid, but this is a netizen's worst nightmare.
• I finally found a much better organized database of all of the cables and their contents, at the Guardian. (Yea, trust the British media to do it right!) Or you could just find one of the mirrors at this point. Either way, seriously, go check it out. You'll find out some pretty wacky things.
• Like how Iran is hiring ninjas to take part in political assassinations. Yes, NINJAS. (Let the ninja-pirate wars begin!!) So if you're unemployed and have wicked nun-chuck skillz, I'd get on that. Probably your best bet at a job nowadays...
• Or how Sarkozy chased a dog chasing a rabbit chasing a... well, I don't remember what, but diplomats share some damn weird gossip...

And most importantly... this past week saw the passing of Elizabeth Edwards, a woman of great grace and courage who fought for our rights to proper, affordable healthcare. RIP.

And I thought 2010 was bad. 2011 is looking to be a whole new level of Hell...

State of the "Union," Early Edition!

Wow, ok, quite a bit has happened recently, and there's a lot to talk about, so I thought I would do this now rather than wait until Sunday. (Especially since I haven't been here due to NaNo! I would have been here sooner, but I haven't been home much today...)

- The DADT press conference was yesterday, along with the release of the final report (PDF, & suggest you skip ahead to Section VI. It's kind of interesting/depressing/infuriating, but then it gets better. And a bit sad.) -- to make a long story short, the Pentagon now officially endorses repealing DADT immediately, but Secretary of Defense Robert Gates wants Congress to allow the military some time to prepare. How long, he can't say, but I guess it's still good news that one way or another, it's going to end.

- I just found out today that new offshore drilling off the East Coast has been BANNED for the next 7 years!!! But sadly, this news came after an offshore drilling rig exploded off the coast of New Orleans, injuring 3 people. Offshore drilling will be banned in certain sections of the Gulf until 2020. (So we have 10 years to stop it completely and create new alternatives!)

- Extended unemployment benefits were allowed to expire last night, several days after the most financially successful Black Friday we've had in a long time. Food banks are said to be preparing for a huge rush (so donate what you can!) My guess is this is going to be a very rough holiday season for many families (hence the rush to get the "best" deals last Friday), and this may very well be a bigger-than-anticipated hit to the economy, especially once holiday workers are let go. Job growth has been increasing, but it still isn't enough to bring us completely out of the red... But don't take my opinion for fact, I'm not an economist by any stretch of the imagination.

- Today is World AIDS Day. Get tested. (How do you know if you should be tested? Check out these general guidelines.)

- So I had this whole section on the Wikileaks thing, and it's gone. Don't ask where it went, I don't know. Point is,  [that's "telegrams" for all of us under 50, which, I've learned, are some sort of primeval communication method that existed prior to the invention of email and texting. Go figure ;-) ], revealing all sorts of state secrets and potentially straining our international relationships with... well... everyone.

- Here's something incredible - Texas (you know, that state that carries out close to one third of all capital punishment executions in the US?) might soon rule the death penalty to be unconstitutional. Yes, I said UNCONSTITUTIONAL. (Conservative red-state Texas wants to rule the death penalty unconstitutional. I think this may be the first -- and last-- time I'll ever say "Way to go, Texas!") Can you believe that?? It will be a huge victory for those of us who want to do away with the death penalty entirely, even if it's just a state thing
-- you know, provided it ever actually happens. I doubt it. But the argument being presented is that there are too many innocent people being killed-- "disproportionately high risk of wrongful convictions." (Haven't we also been telling them that for the longest time?) Hmm...

- What else is new? GOP threatens to filibuster forever unless they get their tax cuts for the rich. [yawn]  Have they done much else lately, or did I miss something between the "sticking up for the corporations?"

- Oh! I almost forgot. Remember I went off on a rant about how I got into a fight with all of those people on Care2 about the new food safety bill? It passed with bipartisan votes in the Senate. And people who aren't Tea Partiers (or hardcore hippies, apparently...) like it! (I'm off to go gloat in my room-- not really, it's totes bedtime.)


- NaNoWriMo is over!!! And I was a winner! Yay! Storyteller Knight was a winner! Yay! (Winning means writing over 50,000 words between November 1st-30th, by the way) So congrats to all of our fellow winners-- we did it! Way to go! (And I already have a story topic for next year... Sweet.)

- Wikileaks... Where do I even begin? I personally have mixed feelings about the whole affair, but let's take a look: On Monday, Nov 28th, Wikileaks  published almost 300 of over 250,000 leaked US diplomatic cables [that's "telegrams" to those of us under 50. Apparently telegrams are some kind of primeval communication method that existed before email and Facebook. Go figure ;-) ], revealing all sorts of confidential state secrets and potentially straining our international relationships with... well... everyone. Amazon has removed the Wikileaks sites from their servers today, though I was able to sneak a peek when it hit the net. Wikipedia has a long list of some of the contents. The director of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, is being considered for charges of espionage... you know, for leaking state secrets to the world. So... hmm. Again, mixed feelings on all of this.

I look forward to getting back to regular posts... though i do think I'm going to keep working on my novel for NaNo, if only because I left off during a very interesting argument, and I want to see where it goes... Goodnight!

P.S. - This is mostly a note to myself: Have a hilarious video link re: the TSA. I should find it.

State of the Union in 100 words or less!

Wow... Today's a pretty big day. First off, happy Sexual Freedom Day everyone! And a very special happy Celebrate Bisexuality Day!

So here's what's been going on in 100 words or less (& in no particular order):

The Defense Authorization Act was filibustered, the DREAM Act & DADT were put on hold. The ban on gay adoption was declared unconstitutional yesterday in FL. Major points of healthcare law, including Patients' Bill of Rights, go into effect TODAY! Sharron Angle wants to get rid of medical care for autism. I don't like her. Obama renews Middle East peace talks. FB founder Mark Zuckerberg plans to donate $100 milliion to struggling Newark school system. Chris Christie is pleased. It takes some heat away from his $400 million mistake. Caribou Barbie Palin announces her plan to plan to announce her run for president.



Only 86 words? Sweet. Stay tuned for Sunday updates (although my internet is shaky, so they may have to wait until Monday...)

Sunday Updates - What's going on out there?

Ok, let's try this. I still haven't finished that special post, because I've barely been home this weekend & haven't really been in the mood either. But I'm in such a great mood now, I figured hell why not see what's going on in the world. I'm going to try to make this a weekly Sunday thing. This way, we can recap last week and prepare for the new week all at the same time... Well, it sounded like a good idea before I said it :-D

Alright, here we go:

• Obligatory Sunday Anti-Tea-Party Op-Ed: Tea Party Talking Points, Translated Ok, enough silly fringe talk, let's get back to reality.
• Environmental News
• Gulf Oil Spill Update: BP well has officially been declared dead. Now if only we could get a proper cleanup going... The oil's still there, & the dispersants...
• Well this is just ridiculous - a Care2 blogger has issued a challenge, it seems. Wear only 6 items of clothing for an entire month. Buying less clothes is one thing, but simply wearing less is far more difficult for those of us who work, especially when we get dirty at work or have other obligations that require specific attire. And I DO pretty much wear the same outfit every day! (Uniform at work, though I do alternate between shirts & pants, & wash it all every few days or as needed.) Yes, life is easier when you don't have to think about what to wear in the morning, but for the majority of us, it's just not that practical or viable. I can only say that constantly doing tiny loads of laundry in order to have clean clothes & underwear for work is a bigger waste of energy than it's worth.
• Food & Diet: It seems that science continues to support what I've been saying about HFCS. (Which I guess makes sense, since my opinion is based on that science to begin with... I had this whole long rant on myspace regarding this, & myths surrounding soy...) Research regarding its effects on metabolism has been utterly inconclusive. As of right now, independent research it really is no worse for you than regular sugar. Sugar is sugar is sugar (though I would really suggest you go with more natural sugars, like beet or stevia or honey. Not because they're "better or you" or anything like that. Less random chemicals added, less refining, etc. But again, sugar is sugar. They're all pretty high in fructose, including honey and agave nectar, so seriously, just limit your sugar intake and you'll be fine.) It's not particularly good for you, like any other refined sugar product, but it's not going to kill you any faster than that other crap you're eating. It's the amount you're eating, not the product itself. But of course, it is in no way, shape, or form a "natural" product. Sorry, but it really pisses me off when items are marked "all natural" when they contain loads of artificial preservatives, flavorings, sweeteners, or colors. I'm so sick of green-washing -_-" but I'm also sick of the holier-than-thou attitudes of the Whole Foods/Trader Joes shoppers who snap at me for drinking a non-organic soda from Pathmark every once in a while. To each her own, ok? I may be a nature-loving eco-geek who screams at her mother for attempting to throw out an uncut 6-pack holder (that stupid plastic ring thing) on her birthday ("You're going to kill a dolphin !!!") & then fishes it out of the garbage & chops it up & then hides it with the recycling so it doesn't end up in the ocean, but jeez, lighten up a bit! :-P
• Also, you can check out this: Food Myths Busted. (most of it seems like old news, but still interesting.)
• What's Happening in Washington?
• w00t!! Elizabeth Warren has been appointed to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau! Sort of. We did it! (or rather, Obama realized that she really is the best candidate for some sort of advisory position regarding the bureau, & our incessant urging probably helped somewhat... maybe.) As the case may be, Warren is now a presidential economic advisor regarding the Bureau, and will be assisting the president in choosing a director... So... Looks like the job may not be hers. Harsh, man... Chins up, fellow liberals & progressives. It's not over yet.
• I'm starting to think that all politicians from Alaska are a little loopy. Unemployment benefits are unconstitutional?? I'm not even going to touch that, read it for yourself.
• It seems the GOP doesn't know what to do about the healthcare law. How about leave it alone. Or help us make it better.
• Between Palin & Angle & this O'Donnell character, I just really don't want to know. I don't care if she's dabbled in witchcraft or whatever she thinks she did (since Wicca has nothing to do with Satanism or Satanic altars...). So have I. I still have my Book of Shadows. (I wrote this really long spell/poem in calligraphy, I can't bear to throw it out!) Really, I just can't get past this whole "masturbation is adultery" thing. Last I checked, you had to be married to commit adultery. And she was a teenager when she said that, talking about other teenagers... who were probably not married. So what she's saying is you can't have sex with yourself, or someone of your own gender, or someone you're not married to, or allow yourself to ever feel or express any of your own 100% natural sexual urges even if you're not married because God gets angry & throws a tantrum when you're cheating on your non-existent spouse with your hand? And somehow it appears to make her feel like less of a person because her boyfriend doesn't need her in order to have an orgasm? And somehow that means she doesn't matter at all and might as well not be there? Hmm... Methinks her 1999 logic is a wee bit flawed, yes? News flash, honey: you can do it too, and I'm sure your boyfriend, or invisible husband, won't mind. Hopefully you've learned that by now. Plus I'm pretty sure the Monty Python gang had a go [video] at something like this too XD.
• P.S. - this woman is so damn annoying as a teen [video]. Typical nonsensical & religious crap. And the fact that she still seems to stand by a lot of it is pretty sad IMO. But Eddie Izzard was awesome, as he still is now.
• Tax Cuts: According to CNN, some economists believe we should extend the Bush Tax Cuts for everyone. I respectfully disagree. Middle class & lower class, fine, I've come to accept that as a necessary action, but the wealthy? Don't ever ask me to agree with you on that. I may not be a financial expert, but I'm not bad at math. Or logic. The government needs money to do good things for the country. The rich people have lots of money. Poor people don't. The poor people are great at spending money (because they have to in order to survive), and the rich people are great at saving money (because they have that luxury, among many others). Therefore, if you're going to take desperately needed money anyway, take it from the people who actually have it while either reducing or maintaining the burden on those who don't. Duh? We already know that "trickle-down" theory is complete and utter bullshit, so don't bother. Like I said, the rich are great at saving money. There's no reason why they should invest it in society voluntarily if they don't have to (other than the few altruists in the bunch). The top 2% will be just fine. A person doesn't need a $10 billion bonus in order to survive, but trust me, a $400 paycheck every few weeks is desperately needed if that's all you can get.
• Caribou Barbie: Does anyone care? I don't.
• Can't we All Just Get Along? Peace & Unity In the US: Check out One Nation Working Together.
• Immigration Reform: It would seem that we'll finally get a proper vote on the DREAM Act this week!!! If you missed my earlier posts on it, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act provides a conditional path to citizenship for undocumented minors who arrived in the US under the age of 16, provided they are accepted into college or join the military for at least 2 years.
• Stewart/Colbert: Huge rally on 10/30 in DC!!! Wish I could be there :-(
• Coffee Part USA: This upcoming Friday begins the Convention in Kentucky. If you can't make it (like me...), you can check out www.democracymeetup.com for information about what's going on, or watch the live stream of the conference here [video].
• LGBT rights: Well of course we'll always have bigots & homophobes who want to make homosexuality illegal, but those of us who actually give a fuck about equal rights for all can...
• TAKE ACTION: Via Care2 & the Human Rights Campaign, a Petition to pass ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees based on sexual orientation. Federal laws currently only prohibit discrimination based on age, ethnicity, religion, nationality, & gender (not including transsexuals/transgender people, however.) Though my lovely state has a pretty decent anti-discrimination policy, if I do say so myself... at least, compared to the federal laws. We all still have a long way to go regarding marriage rights, however. (We recognize same-sex domestic parnerships, or a civil union with almost all of the same exact rights as a marriage, but thanks to DOMA, well... "Nevermind." Now's the time when we should miss Corzine (as if there ever were a time when we shouldn't. I had nothing against the guy except his smear campaign during the election & the fact that not much major happened during his term, which is why I preferred the Independent...) If it had ever been put before him, he would've signed same-sex marriage into law... & our current moron said he'd veto it. But enough about us, let's get on with the rest of the country...
• DADT: In addition to the DREAM Act, Harry Reid has included a repeal of DADT in the Defense Authorization Bill (which authorizes more military spending -_-" A worthy trade off? I hope so.) With the recent court ruling that DADT is unconstitutional (!!!), there has been a significant push for repeal now. Let's hope it goes through! (Haha, though I have to say I'm a little disappointed that I no longer have a surefire excuse to get out of military service should I ever be drafted. But if it keeps soldiers safe within their own ranks, and protects them from unfair abuse and discrimination, I'd gladly give that up!)

So, look at that! I got through the whole week's news without getting depressed too! Not bad. Anyway, I'm off to tell yet another "I want a threesome with a black girl!" bastard to fuck off. Don't ask, I don't want to tell. Well, ok, it sounds like a nice policy at face value, in some areas. You know, when someone's job or safety isn't on the line. No one should ever be forced to reveal information about their private lives. However, as that isn't the case...

I read a story of this one woman... She was a sergeant, I believe, and several of the men under her found out that she was a lesbian. They raped her, repeatedly, over the course of a year, and forced her to do other kinds of demeaning, violent sexual acts, under threat of telling the commanders her secret and getting her fired . And then they told them anyway. She was discharged from the army. The men never received any sort of punishment whatsoever. This woman lost everything because of this horrible law... her privacy, her safety, her rights, her peace of mind, her body, her career, her life. And thousands of men and women are abused everyday and can't say a word for fear of losing the careers they've spend their entire lives working towards-- a career in which they have literally put their lives on the line for their fellow soldiers and citizens. Because of who they love. Because of hate and fear and bigotry and religious zealots forcing their misguided beliefs on others. Tell me how that's just.

If my fucking state can promise that no one will ever have to be subjected this kind of treatment because of their orientation, why can't my government? Why can't the military?!?!?  

REPEAL DADT NOW!

I guess I wanted to be upset tonight.

"Hypocrisy: If they’re a Terrorist, you’re a Racist "-- By Storyteller Knight

All Catholic priests are rapists.
All members of the Tea Party are violent racists.
All Southern Conservative Christians are too dumb to tie their own shoes.

I can hear you all yelling at me right now. Yes, I know that it is wrong and unfair to blame an entire group of people for the abhorrent actions of a few. I find the above words to be disgusting and anyone who utters them to be ignorant and foolish. And yet, if we know that you shouldn’t associate and blame the actions of a few on a whole group, why does this statement, this mindset continue to be okay?

All Muslims are terrorists.

Do you see the hypocrisy here? If it isn’t okay to blame the entire Tea Party for the few members who’ve attacked members of Congress or yelled racial slurs at them, then it isn’t okay to blame the entire Islam religion for 9/11. That was a violent extremist group, no different from the members of the Tea Party who severed the gas line at Bo Perriello’s house. And if you, non-violent Tea Party member, do not wish to be associated with the psychopath who did that, you don’t get to call all Muslims terrorists or blame the entire religion for 9/11. Because if you do that, I feel that is perfectly within my rights to blame you for the attempted murder of an innocent man and his family and call you a racist. You can’t have it both ways. YOU CAN’T!

I’m sick and tired of this mentality that if a white man does something wrong, it’s an isolated incident of one psychopathic screwball and we shouldn’t blame all white men for what that one dude did. But if someone not-white does something wrong, it’s on that entire race or religion or sex/gender/orientation. It’s never just an isolated incident when the offender is not-white. It’s an epidemic. A problem we need harsher laws or new programs to try and correct or prevent.

So, with that in mind, I have to ask. Because one of the arguments that I’ve heard thrown out during the debate over the “Ground Zero Mosque” (which is actually more of a community center and two blocks away from Ground Zero, but whatever), is that the land around Ground Zero is Holy Ground. If a white guy wanted to build a strip club within a two block radius of Ground Zero, do you honestly believe it would have created the giant conflict this Mosque/Community center has caused? This is hallowed ground, after all. An area that is owed the utmost respect and highest honor from each person in America. Do you think Mama Grizzly Sarah Palin or Professor Glenn Beck would have rushed to rally the masses against such an establishment going on such hallowed ground?

Please.

As morally gray many Christians, especially conservatives Christians, find strip clubs, I haven’t heard mention from those who oppose the Park 51 project the ones that already exist within that two block radius. I’m sorry, but can you really refer to that two block radius as hallowed ground if no effort has really been made in the past decade to turn it into a more respectful, reverent community? But let’s just admit that it’s not really about the hallowed ground. Let’s just admit that the conflict over Park 51 has nothing to do with honoring Ground Zero and everything to do with what the white man thinks is okay. And strip clubs are in and a Mosque/Community Center is not. And this is not okay.


-- Storyteller Knight

My Final Comments on Park51

So much for civility. I suspect this is going to be an angry rant. You have been duly warned.

I woke up only to be seriously irritated by the comments on a video I had left open:



The comments I was reading are buried in there, close to the very beginning, but the bullshit continues. I am sooo sick and tired of this. I don't know what's gotten into the drinking water over the last few years, but it's like the angriest and most ignorant always feel the need to throw tantrums and spread fear and hatred, all the time, over things that for the rest of us should be non-issues. It's embarrassing. When someone is attacked when walking down the street on their way home from work and is accused of being violent and hateful, how is that not an injustice? Where do these bastards get off telling other people that their religions are hateful and violent, when these so-called "Christians" are the most hateful people I've ever had the misfortune to meet?

There is a point where understandable concern meets blind hatred. We've crossed that point a long time ago... Real Americans, Please Stand Up (NYTimes.com)



Before we are Americans; before we are Christians or Muslims or Atheists; before we are immigrants or citizens or Democrats or Republicans, we have to remember: we are human beings.
These lines that divide us are our own creation. We can break them down just as we built them up. At the end of the day, they mean nothing. Either we work together to make us stronger as a global society, or we work to break us down.

Whether or not you like Keith Olbermann, his comments on Park 51 the other night were spot on.



This is NOT a big deal, and I absolutely do not think that the developers of this community center should back down, give up their rights and "build somewhere else." I know this is modern-day America, where small groups of extremists think they speak for everybody [cough*teapartyfringe*cough] but the fact is, they don't. And for anyone even considering attacking someone or vandalizing the community center, or interfering with the personal lives of developers or construction workers or Muslims (or perceived Muslims, as the case was in the first video) in any way because of this community center-- I can't even say how I feel about you other than the fact that I'm truly disgusted. Because saying any more than that wouldn't be "polite."

Rights are being violated and ignored by the same people who claim to be strict constructionists (thank you, Shep). Those who complain that their constitutional rights are being restricted by people who are offended by something are walking all over the rights of these people because Those who argue to blindly follow laws refuse to follow the ones they don't like. It's an election year, and our sociopolitical world is engulfed in a hubbub of prefabricated discontent to shroud the legitimate concerns on legitimate issues. This is all just a distraction from the real issues- unemployment, poverty, homelessness, healthcare (still a long way to go on that...), food safety, education, clean energy... I could go on & on. (It's been argued that reducing unemployment would reduce the levels of pent up crazy and give more people something productive to do instead of screaming on the street corners. We should try it.) And that being said, I'm done trying to argue this. I'm going to treat it like the non-issue it is. (Though I'd say now it's the violent opponents who are the issue...) FTS. Peace out. I'll be with this guy -->

It's Not Over Yet -- What's Next for the Prop 8 Case?

[Don't forget to check out the links!]

Apparently, it did post (the second time). Anyway, so I just wanted to elaborate on this really fast. Not to put a damper on that last post (the guest post), but this is far from over...

There are still 2 more trials (well, appeal & then trial) to go regarding the California case, and many politicians are reluctant to make this the big issue we need it to be. We haven't heard all that much from proponents of Prop 8 since the first trial ended. Why? Speculators suggest that issues such as the economy and immigration are enough of a distraction for conservative voters. (In which case, maybe it'd be a good idea to get DOMA & DADT repealed now ;-) Quick, before they pay attention again!) All I've personally seen are comments from reporters and pundits that the judge is biased because he is gay. I don't know if that's true, and frankly, I don't know if we should care. I think it's probably just a The question is, does it matter if a gay judge rules on a gay rights trial? Does it make a difference? [EDIT: Turns out it is possibly true. but not proven (SFGate. Very Questionable source), but was considered a non-issue. We shall have to see if it matters in the appeal... supposedly the lawyers have not yet decided (HuffPost) whether it will be of concern.]

I don't believe that his orientation should have any bearing whatsoever on his ability to give an impartial ruling, especially if you were to consider it as any other characteristic - gender, ethnicity/race, age, etc. It's just another trait at the end of the day. (By that same logic, "people of color" (as we have been called, much to my dismay) shouldn't be allowed to rule on issues of "race." Since that's just as much of a bullshit argument as orientation, I think it's safe to say that this will play out in our favor...) And I do believe his record (what little I've read of it, I'll admit) does indeed show that he keeps his personal ideology outside of the courtroom. The "smear campaign" against him is pretty weak... However, we do have to consider that it's very possible that no matter how "liberal" the 9th Circuit court is assumed to be, they could very well throw out the ruling on the grounds of a (at this point assumed) conflict of interest or other bias. For all we know, it could all be true. Should it matter? Of course not. Will it? We don't know. And for that reason alone, perhaps we should keep this in the back of our minds...

All of that aside, I've seen some evidence that the Supreme Court is already reluctant to take on this case. If the appellate court somehow rules to overturn the verdict, then the case will never make it to the Supreme Court... And even if the court also deems it unconstitutional, the Supreme Court can refuse to take the case, regarding it as a "state problem" or simply a California issue.

In terms of the case itself-- it was a seriously crappy defense, & based on that alone, yes, the ruling makes sense. And Judge Walker did an amazing job-- to make a long story short, he went above and beyond the requirements. It is highly unlikely that new evidence will be admissible during the appeal. It's possible, but very rare. (There's a lot of legal jargon that I don't feel like trying to rewrite, but basically, I believe the defense will have to prove that they were unable to provide the evidence because of some unforeseeable circumstance.) Based on that alone, I think the ruling will likely hold, at least in California. That was a court case based on the California Constitution, if I'm not mistaken. What about the rest of the country? Again, that's just California, & it's not the only case regarding same-sex marriage. I think it's vital that this case get to the Supreme Court, if only in the hopes of setting some sort of legal precedent that trumps any state laws. We already know that most of the justices on the supreme court already think that a ban is constitutional, by their own "research," including Ms. Kagan. They argue that it's a "state thing." At least 30 states have already banned same-sex marriage, whether by statute or constitution (& several have had multiple court rulings that upheld the ban). So it's have the Supreme Court interpret the Constitution to mean that the ban is itself unconstitutional, and/or push ahead to try to get an amendment passed. (Scholars argue there isn't much of a difference. Either the interpretation changes, or we change the document itself...) And to change the federal Constitution itself with an amendment takes 2/3 of the states - 35 out of 50 need to agree, and as only 5 out of 50 so far have agreed... This case is just a first step towards equality. It's nowhere near over... whether or not that ruling will be considered/applied universally, or if it will be argued that the ruling can only be based on that particular defense and applied only to that particular state... or thrown out altogether. It can still be overturned before it gets to the Supreme Court... & then the Supreme never has to get involved. (Though I have no doubt whatsoever that we'll keep fighting until we've achieved equal rights for everyone, no matter how long it takes.)


Still celebrating, in my own way. (I'll be waiting for that wedding invite someday!!!)

The appeal has yet to be scheduled. In the meantime, let's whisper amongst ourselves... :-D

• Mother Jones - Does Prop 8 Judge's Personal Life Matter?
  
• Yahoo News-What's Next for the Prop 8 Case?
  
• Media Matters-Another Prop 8 case smear: Plaintiffs' experts are dubious because "many or most are in same-sex relationships"
• This was also shared with me: Autostraddle.com - How the Gays Beat Prop 8
  

Prop 8 Ruling - Guest Post by Storyteller Knight

So we're all thrilled about the Prop 8 ruling, and I am SOOOO very excited to present the first ever guest post, written by my awesome friend (and La Campanella Award winner) Storyteller Knight!! So, without further ado, Storyteller Knight!!
--D.A.K.

Okay, really?
by Storyteller Knight

Happy happy happy that Prop 8 was ruled unconstitutional. But, I'm reading up right now on how the case went down and my reaction is somewhere between O.o and -.-'

So basically the defenders of Prop 8 were like 'God the dictionary* says we're right, so you have to rule based on that'. And the opponents of Prop 8 were like 'here's a mountain of evidence as to why Prop 8 is unconstitutional and discriminatory'. And the judge was like 'defenders of Prop 8, I feel really silly ruling on this case because you really haven't presented one, please give me something.' And the defenders of Prop 8 were like "We don't have to prove anything" (that would be a direct quote, not me paraphrasing).

::sigh:: No longer surprised that Prop 8 was ruled unconstitutional.

Going forward, my gut instinct is that this ruling will hold. Because really? The dictionary? And even if it doesn't, I don't think neither the Appellate Court nor the Supreme Court will be able to rule against Judge Walker's verdict (even if they wanted to) without ordering a new trial, simply because the defenders of Prop 8 did such a piss poor job of presenting their case. They only called two witnesses and one of them was deemed inadmissible because his testimony was inept and contradictory (This guy argued that polygamy fit within his (note- his, not mine, not the judge's, not society's, his) definition of marriage (opposite sex, two people and sexual) because a man only had one ceremony at a time and since he didn't marry all five wives in one ceremony, each marriage is distinct and okay. He also agreed with the opponents of Prop 8 that same sex marriage would reduce prejudice and hate crimes, increase the standard of living and benefit the couples and their children but we shouldn't do it because God the dictionary the institution of marriage wouldn't like it)

It's like a murder trial where the defendant swears up and down that he wasn't at the scene of the crime and he says he's got a million witnesses that place him somewhere else. But he only calls two witnesses. And one of the witnesses testifies that the defendant wasn't actually at this somewhere else. He doesn't know where the defendant was, but he's sure it wasn't at the murder scene. Oh, and defendant totally had motive, means and opportunity to commit the murder, but he didn't do it. Probably. Meanwhile, the prosecution brings forth witnesses who saw the defendant commit the murder, evidence that the gun was his, his fingerprints are on it and present a pretty impressive motive. And then, in closing arguments, the defendant's lawyer says that the judge can't possibly find his client guilty because his picture is in the dictionary next to the definition of 'model citizen.'

No judge, along any step of the appeals can rule this guy not guilty without ordering a new trial demanding that the million people who the defendant claims saw him somewhere else testify. I feel like it's the same thing with the Prop 8 case. Judge Walker did the only thing he could do in ruling Prop 8 unconstitutional, because only one set of evidence was presented to him. Maybe he really believes that Prop 8 was constitutional and maybe he thinks there's mountains of case work and precedent that supports the ban. But he can't rule on any of that, he can only rule on what was presented during the case. And what was presented was the dictionary. And his ruling probably can't be overturned without the stipulation that evidence beyond the dictionary's definition of marriage being between a man and a woman actually be presented.

If I'm wrong here, someone please correct me. But if I am wrong, that's stupid. Because you shouldn't win a case like this simply because God the dictionary the institution of marriage you think you should without ever presenting any evidence as you why you are legally in the right. And the defenders of Prop 8 have yet to do that. And until they do, there is no judge out there (I hope) who will rule in their favor. Even if that judge wrongly believes on a personal level that Prop 8 is legal and constitutional.

So today we should celebrate all the stupid bigots of the world. Cause they actually make progress so much easier. :D

* "You only need to go back to your chambers and pull down any dictionary or book that defines marriage," Cooper told the judge. "You won't find it had anything to do with homosexuality."

Right, dude. Cause the dictionary never changes. -.-'

Mini Review/Analysis of "Get a Brain, Morons: Why Being Liberal Really Is Better Than Being Conservative"

Article: Get a Brain, Morons: Why Being Liberal Really Is Better Than Being Conservative | Belief | AlterNet

I'm not going to come right out and say one is better than the other - I know what I believe, and I can't say that my beliefs are better or more important than someone else's. I don't think that's right or fair. However, that being said, the author does bring up some valid points about why liberals and conservatives disagree on many things - ethics. (Haven't I talked about this before? Several times...) So if you want, you can ignore the whole liberal vs. conservative views on issues whatever like I did (^^" I'm tired, and I don't care) & just focus on the stuff about debating the differences in our core values. We can argue til we're dead about the issues, but getting to the root of the matter is more interesting and more effective. Even just take it down a notch, away from the issue & down to the logic behind why it matters. For example, part of the Republican dogma is about being self-reliant -- you take care of yourself. Liberals generally believe that, while being self-reliant is a wonderful thing and should be encouraged, not everyone has the ability or opportunity to do so and therefore part of being a good citizen is helping those who cannot help themselves. (As this is a Christian value, it's weird that a lot of the religious right disagrees with this idea on a larger scale... They say individuals can do charitable things if they want to, but I don't think it can ever really be enough... Plus we need to orchestrate job training, create more jobs instead of automating everything, start creating new things instead of "improving" on the old. HD may be nice, but is it really that spectacular? No. How about let's spend more time on curing cancer, eh?) Liberals believe in maximizing human and civil rights, fairness, and individual liberties- thus the name Liberal (from liberty? Hi? Yea.) which, generally, we believe are often infringed upon by corporate interests, as well as government -- whereas Republicans and a lot of other conservatives are more likely to emphasize morality/purity and authority. Many may prefer to let corporations do what they want in the name of capitalism and the free market, because that's part of how they define liberty. Many liberals would likely agree that it's more important that we all have the right to clean, non-polluted air, whereas some conservatives might think that it's more important that we all have the right to pollute if we so choose to... (Think non-smokers vs. smokers, in public places... Sorry, but your rights end when they infringe on mine! I choose not to pollute my body with crap like that, therefore keep your chemicals and tar to yourself, thanks.) So at the end of the day, we're both trying to increase individual freedoms (um, with the notable exceptions of those who advocate for keeping DADT, banning abortion & gay marriage... No one is infringing on your "right" not to see guys making out with each other. Mostly because that's not a "right." Nor is it any of your business... [unless of course you make it your business by joining Aarin and checking out all of the g-pg-13 yaoi you want... as the hardcore or uncensored stuff is a little more than I'm interested in, unless there's a really really good storyline or it's just plain hilarious. Then we just fast forward during... Right, ok, I'll shut up now ^^"])... We just tend to "bump heads" a little often trying to do it. We disagree because we simply value different things. Like when I was arguing with someone about the Patriot Act. I am against it, as I find it to be intrusive and unnecessary, whereas the other person thought it was a good idea because they felt it increased their safety.

This is where you see my "left libertarian" side come out - if you feel the need to go through excessive "security" measures and have your every move tracked in the name of "fighting terrorism" to feel safe, then go right ahead. That's your business.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin

I can't say that I'm comfortable with losing civil rights and privacy in favor of allowing the government to see what I'm reading today, or watch my IMs or phone calls because I've had a copy of a shorter version of the Anarchist Cookbook "hidden" on one of my laptops (sheer curiosity about a "banned" book... It's not illegal to own in the US, and you can buy it on Amazon new, but it's often frowned upon, as more than half the things in it are felonies if acted out-- aside from the fact that most of the "recipes" are wrong and will get you killed before you can be arrested. It's a very interesting read nonetheless... I just honestly hope no one's stupid enough to take it seriously...) even if I have no plans whatsoever to ever try anything in it (except picking an old Masterlock, because I totally forgot the combo ^^") and I've said that many times now. (In fact, friends and I used to purposely start throwing in trigger words and make up the most random conversations just to mess with anyone who could be reading our messages. It's even more amusing on the phone, because of random wiretapping... You never know. Yay for instilling paranoia in the people!!!) And some new security rules are just...???. Like having to take off flip-flops at the airport. It's all out there in the open, what the hell else is there to see? A microchip implanted in the bottom of someone's foot??? Trust me, if someone were trying to sneak a bomb onto a plane in their flip-flops, 1. they're about as bright as a burnt out light-bulb, and 2. you'd probably notice, unless you were too. A knife, maybe, but there's really only so much you can do with a knife that small... I wouldn't really consider them to be a threat. Don't get me wrong here, safety is absolutely a priority, right down there at the base of Maslow's hierarchy, between sleep and friendship... It's just that sometimes you really have to wonder how effective these things are, and just how far we have to go to stop feeling so scared about everything. What will it take for us to feel secure as a people? An authoritarian nanny-state (which is NOT true socialism, no matter how much the ignoramuses think it is [rolls eyes] sorry, in a combative mood after dealing with Murphy's Law for an entire day.) where we're told how to feel in the morning? I don't think so. I have a big problem with laws that are meant to target criminal behavior but affect more innocent people than "guilty." I've been searching high and low for evidence that the Patriot Act has actually been effective. I haven't found any, friends haven't found any, because there apparently really isn't any... Why our government officials felt a need to renew this bullshit, well who really knows. Other countries have passed laws to intentionally block the Act from affecting their own citizens' civil rights and privacy - that's how broad this is. There are necessary safety rules, and then there are paranoid delusions-- and sometimes I really wonder if we too often cross that line...

And again I've forgotten why I'm here :-D. Oh well. Anyway, I'm exhausted & I have a long, painful week ahead of me again-- staying overnight at work for inventory... should be fun, I guess. We're all coming in wearing pajamas, and I'm going to bake brownies & muffins & stuff... If I'm not too exhausted from the long day before...
'night.

And Now, for Something Completely Different... But not really. Pictures!

Every week I like to check out this gallery of the top political cartoons. Some are eh, but others... hilarious. Thought today maybe I'd share a few, maybe comment every now and then, just to mix things up. (And if I'm not horribly mistaken, clicking on the picture should enlarge it... maybe.)

Remember way back when I was joking about splitting the US down the middle and we each take a side? If you haven't noticed yet, in the bottom corner it says "I didn't notice anyone trying to sneak across." And you wouldn't! Maybe we'd be sitting on the fence, as I would from time to time... Mostly to see what's going on on the other side, I suppose. But just think how different each side would be... And yet, how similar. We're all human. We're all Americans. We do what we do because we love our country despite it's problems, and we want to see it flourish. We all have the same problems, just different ways of solving them.... And I see a social experiment coming on... Think the APA review board would let me get away with it??? I'm totally serious :-D
And obviously this whole border with Mexico thing too has people pretty divided (regarding immigrants crossing over it, I mean... Though frankly, and I know this wouldn't sit well with many Mexicans, I wonder if we could work out some sort of deal that kind of combines us in some way... After all, technically speaking the we're the ones who invaded Mexico by annexing Texas. Texas had claimed independence from Mexico, but they were the only ones who believed that... [Texans had an annoying habit of seceding from whatever country they belonged to. So I say let's just let them be independent & see how that works out. Good luck.] Then the Texans decided they didn't like the boundaries, & claimed that the borders included land & a river that they absolutely did not, including huge parts of (what became) 3 other states. (There's all this junk about saving Texas from a Mexican invasion, but it's not invading when it's yours, so...) Polk was an idiot who thought it would be a good idea to steal Texas, thereby declaring war on Mexico (even though Mexico flat out told him to butt out), stealing the land, killing everyone in the area. Somewhere in this Cali declared independence from Mexico, The Americas forced whoever was alive to sign a treaty (somehow I don't think gunpoint counts...) giving them and called it a day. To put it simply, the US invaded Mexico, stole their land, and made them give us more. All the future war heroes were there - Grant, Lee (another idiot... He didn't like them, but I miss the old Radical Republicans, back when Republicans stood for civil/human rights... So much nicer than our modern ones, IMO...), Stonewall... We eventually gave Mexico a few million dollars to shut them up (despite the fact that the land they gave up was worth far more than that - Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Cali, New Mexico, Texas-- and we shoved them back to the Rio Grande. The southern border of the US is all stolen property... I couldn't blame them if they started shouting "Take Our Country Back!" like those silly tea party signs. At least then it'd make some sense. Speaking of which...

Even though we've seen a drop in private hiring, and a surge in government hiring due to the census, we're still in a MUCH better situation than we were before... And I've seen recent evidence that this was not due to the "natural" ebb and flow of the market, but had a huge boost from the stimulus bills-- and as a result (as most provisions are about to expire), we're going to see a drop this summer... Housing is down, construction is down, wages went up a smidge but private sales aren't going up anymore, so... There's a bit of a hiring freeze. Unemployment will take a hit once the census people are done (though I'm thinking a lot of them are probably around my age, since that's a huge hiring target group for that type of job). Teachers are going to see a plunge as well, I'm sure. But despite all of this hardship, and the fact that the country is breaking down on the political front so to speak, things are still better than they used to be... We are still progressing, as slow as the process may be.

This one's a bit older, I believe... And kind of creeps me out, because I was in some forum a few weeks ago and a few cops were there talking about this exact thing and how they do actually have a scale (these particular cops, not all cops in general)...(Granted, in November I had spent a little too much time following related conversations on Stormfront -- a "white nationalist/supremacist & neo-Nazi/KKK" site-- & the Nation of Islam - a "black supremacist/separatist/nationalist" website for a Social Theory paper on hate groups. Scariest 3 hours of my life. I'd like to not run into these kinds of people IRL. One group from one of the sites would call me names & try to kill me, the other would call me names & probably let me live but kill someone while dragging me around with them, & I'd really rather not ever get involved... Ack. Instead of writing my paper, I instead wrote a list/article about why both were absolutely insane. [One group had 2,000 members join immediately after Obama won, which crashed the server. They panicked that the "white rule" was going to end - their words, not mine. Even Fox's "Papa Bear O'Reilly" called them out on their hateful spamming of his polls. The other group is basically the same, except they're also much more homophobic, & most of their hateful speech is offline and their skin tone is a bit darker. Both groups pretty much worship Hitler and blame the Jews for ruining the world... so... ye-a... Fucked up.] That part was fun, but writing my paper at 5 am before class wasn't so much...)

"100% Natural, for that Naturalized U.S. Citizen Look. Protects Against Police Harassment"-- Someone needs to give this to Boehner, 'cuz he doesn't even look human anymore... Most humans aren't naturally orange.

Hmm... Lesser of 2 evils?

Now this one is just too true...

Someone on FB/Care2 suggested plugging the leak with Beck & Palin so they'd be useful for something other than humor, but Limbaugh's mouth is just too big... (Plus I think that probably counts as physical violence, so I can't condone it...) But the good news is, recent attempts have been working to at least lessen the flow and contain some of the oil... Once we get it stopped, we can get to cleaning up (trying to see if somehow GP or Environment America would sponsor a trip down there... I think I could take off from work, I just don't know about plane tickets, HAZMAT suits or sleeping arrangements...) Also, while it's wonderful that so many organizations and businesses are chipping in hundreds of thousands of dollars towards cleanup costs, BP MUST BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERY DAMN PENNY!!! ^^" Sorry for yelling. (Poor Australia, too, lol. They keep looking forward to Obama's visit, & he keeps canceling at the last minute to fix massive problems here and get shit done...)

Another friend was talking about how other countries and indigenous peoples are forced to abide by the boundaries set by European invaders. (Reminds me of that whole "might makes right" argument. Right and wrong are determined by whoever is currently in power, the strongest and loudest are the ones who will make the rules, etc... The strongest bully determines the legitimacy of everything...) I really want to quote this all, but if my ping.fm post ever shows up you can read it all for yourself... (But until then, here's the link to the article - Arizona One-Ups Itself: Public School Has Black, Hispanic Faces On Mural Changed to White « SpeakEasy. Look for BulletProofAir's comments. Article is sad, but the comments are lovely if you ignore the stuff about old people. I think they meant our grandparents, whatever category they fall into and not Baby Boomers (our parents) or even Gen X (today's young parents). Funny though that kids born after mid-1990s are Generation Z, the "New Silent Generation." We're breeding media-obsessed introverts... How weird is that? P.S. - What happens after them anyway --after generation Z??... Oh... Wikipedia says our kids will probably called Alpha.) What was I talking about again? lol...

[UPDATE- Principal apologizes, admits mistake, plans to go back to how it was. ]

So... let's try one last pic, cuz I'm getting bored...

I assume most people have heard about what's happening to text books...again. This happens every once in a while. I can't remember exactly when the last time was, but I remember talking about it in school when I was about 11 or 12... and again in high school. California is boycotting the textbooks. I believe every state should. Private schools can do what they want-- that's their prerogative. Christianity and it's "family values" have had a massive effect on history, but this is just overstepping boundaries. History is always rewritten to suit society, but a small minority should not dictate everything.

You should see what Fox wrote on this. (I'm not going to show you, it's just too embarrassing... for them. At least, it should be. I also just skimmed the list of articles on the page... So sad, really. I think some of their writers are in denial...) Though I trust PBS and college students  far more then I'll ever trust Fox again. I know that HuffPost may have wildly exaggerated some claims, but I found one blogger's play by play of the radio broadcast of the meeting, and a neutral college student's list of the biggest changes, as well as several other neutral sources including Politifact (which claims that some of the really-liberal sites' extreme accusations are half-true). (Even found a conservative Texas education site that refutes Fox's ludicrous claims... What a nice find... Though Fox wasn't entirely off on one point - these textbooks could verily end up anywhere in the country. It does depend on individual states, as the agency says, but that doesn't invalidate Fox's claim. So hey, Fox finally got something right!) While I think some of the changes could be great if the publishers could manage to be non-partisan about it ( for example, discussing the pros and cons of government regulation), others are so blatantly biased that it's actually offensive. Like how publishers now have to stress how awesome capitalism is compared to socialism/communism (which, btw, are NOT the same thing). Like taking out how race/ethnicities, religions, and genders have shaped society and history-- right there you're already taking out the history of music, which is HUGELY tied into so much of history... Women's rights, including suffrage, careers, and marriage... Gay rights, the Civil Rights Movement... Hell, we can even go waaay back to the Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening which led to the abolitionist movement! The Quakers too! How can you downplay that or cut it out? Also, I fail to see how they plan to take religion out while promoting "Christian values and the influence of Christianity on our Founding Fathers"? We as a "nation" (for lack of a better word at the moment) began as a group of settlers seeking religious freedom. Granted the whole witch hunt thing kind of fucked that up, and the pushy religious people who insisted on converting everyone to "save them from hell" kind of fucked that up a bit too, but the whole point was that the ideology of certain religious groups was not supposed to be forced on anyone, and a person should be allowed to believe in whatever he or she wants. Again, I'm not saying that religion isn't a huge part of our history, and that Christianity hasn't had an effect. But it's not the only religion that's influenced us, and I believe it's modern ideology and corresponding political agenda do not even remotely resemble the influences or teachings of our Deist Founding Fathers. In fact, Deism conflicts with most of Christian teachings... (google it.) Plus back then, the vast majority of those religious movements served as a progressive, liberal force for good, helping to free cultural groups from unfair social restraints. (Remember, the current group is only considered "conservative" in present times because it seeks to maintain or preserve how things were...) I also love how anti-miscegenation laws for "Caucasians and Mongolians," and the Oriental Exclusion Law, etc are being written off as not being racist towards Japanese people during the internment camp period of WWII... Because "Italians and Germans were there too!" Yes, that should absolutely be mentioned. It's not something we really learned much about in school growing up. I'm learning more about it as I type this and research... But I wouldn't exactly market it as proof that internment had nothing to do with racism. The Japanese were the first to go, for the aforementioned reasons. FDR and the newspapers said some pretty nasty things about Japanese-Americans, but I can't find anything about the Italians from that period... The German-Americans had a bad rep of course, and apparently 10-15% had a Nazi affiliation so it's hard to be surprised that people were freaked out and angry. But for the most part, they and the Italian-Americans were just "enemy aliens." (Not to mention the fact that even with anti-Italian sentiment back then, a lot of people regarded Italians and Germans as Caucasian and not a minority "race" as they are of European descent, so...) The Japanese were the only ones to have racial epithets added to the "war crime" of being of the same ethnicity as the enemy.

And now for something completely different. Since I sort of changed topic. On a completely hilarious note, apparently some extremist conservatives started freaking out that Christmas and the Constitution were going to be written out of textbooks... Best April Fool's joke ever? lol... (Followed by some crap about how liberals hate America and the Constitution -_-" Seriously, what the hell are these people on??) And guess who started those rumors? Turns out to be the very same Fox anchor from above ^, Gretchen Carlson-- the one with the ludicrous claims. Turns out those claims weren't even the crazy ones... And like a true Fox-er, she didn't bother to say anything when someone proved that she was wrong.

From Politifact.org -
Addressing Jason Moore, a Texas parent who planned to speak at Wednesday's hearing, Carlson said: "So, one of the proposed changes, Jason, is actually to start history class in the year 1877, which would be a big problem for a lot of people, would it not? And eliminate references to certain holidays, Founding Fathers, the Constitution! I mean, no surprise that Christmas, they want to get rid of that because they've been doing that for the last couple of years, but c'mon, the Constitution?"

Which brings us to today's moral - it's not technically a lie if you really believe it's true when you say it, but if you're going to stick with your story when you're proven to be wrong... (Speaking of which, great news - a lot of alarm bells can go away now, we finally have evidence that it was a huge misunderstanding that wasn't immediately rectified... If you don't know what I'm talking about, good for you.)

Alright, I'm sure if you're still reading you really must be bored today... (I was. I'm sure I've infected enough people today, so spent the rest of the day in my room alone, writing and playing video games... I have yet to see a doctor, but I know I have strep -_-" Ugh. There are some things sisters should never share, and an infection is certainly one of them.)

(All cartoons copyright of their respective artist and/or publication. I'm just using them here for "educational purposes," under Fair Use law or whatever it's called ^^")