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.

From TSA to T&A - The Right to NOT be Groped!

In light of this bullshit with the TSA, I thought it might be appropriate to re-post my comments from this summer- I went off on a mini rant regarding the Patriot Act and airport security following the September 11th attacks. And, at the risk of sounding like a crazy person, or worse, a "libertarian" TPer, I'm probably going to go off on a mini-rant right now, because I've had a ton of sugar from Poptart World and I should be sleeping. (Factual, well though out rant to follow later at some point when I'm not in an altered state of mind...)

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 [deleting this part, because it's irrelevant right now & takes up space] 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...

 So. All of that being said-- I came across a great article in the Trentonian Times, about how these new body scanners are a complete invasion of our privacy and our rights, and serve no real purpose except to humiliate us, etc. (Ok, so maybe I'm paraphrasing a bit...) It was nice, until I saw the comments- what a nightmare! Apparently there are in fact people who praise these scanners as the greatest thing to happen to airport security, because it makes them feel safe. I'm sorry, but no. I drew the line at taking off my fucking flip-flops that were supposedly carrying knives, or so I was told, and giving up a completely full, UNOPENED bottle of apple juice I had just purchased and forgotten about (because I do that). I was pissed off about the waste of perfectly good juice, and the money I had spent on it, and the fact that I was pretty freakin' thirsty and already running late and wouldn't have time to down the bottle right there, but whatever, I could deal with that. I am NOT giving anyone permission to molest me just so that you feel safe on a giant metal object careening through the sky. And my refusal does NOT give you permission to sue me or any other person who does not want to be sexually assaulted on their way to Disney World, if something should actually go wrong. A choice to fly? You know there are a lot of big open spaces between those things we call countries, right? And they're full of dihydrogen monoxide? Which kills people who can't swim 3,000 miles at a time? How the fuck, then, do you expect us to get overseas? Boat? Good luck finding one nowadays. Takes 3 days and 3 times the money of a plane ticket to get anywhere-- and despite what they tell you, those days in between are rarely "fun" once you realize that guy at the bar has been stalking you and plans to kill you in your bed-closet. My father travels often for work, all over the country, all over the world. What do you propose he do? All of the people from school who were planning to study abroad - tough luck? To the rape victims, to those of us who were abused and don't like to be touched by strangers- get over it, you're going to be groped whether you like it or not?? Yea, great, thanks. So glad you're concerned about our well-being. Never mind the fact that it's a trigger, and will probably cause us to collapse in a panic or fit of self-loathing depression, leading us to yet another suicide attempt. No, go right ahead. Grope away.

And Mr. President-- I'm especially pissed off that you're supporting this nonsense. If you're going to NOT be Bush, then dude, you have to actually NOT be Bush-like. We said we hated these things before. Why should now be any different? I understand that some people (oh yea, I'm using that phrase) feel that this is necessary, but let's be frank- it's not, and you know it. You wanted bipartisanship-- well, on this, you're certainly going to get it. But you're not going to like the results. This is a massive violation of our rights not to be publicly groped by government officials. Where is that in the Constitution? 4th Amendment- Unreasonable Search. Yes, I'm saying that patting down a 5 year old because you think she has a bomb hidden in her Dora the Explorer panties is pretty damn unreasonable. And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that yes, taking pictures of her nude body is pretty damn illegal, too. You're no Sally Mann. TSA, if I'm not horribly mistaken, I'm pretty sure you're required to have probable cause. So how about the guy with a violent criminal record? Not that I'm judging him, because he's repaid his "debt to society"and is probably now trying to be a very nice person and I don't want to take that away from him, but seriously? Between little Sally, or Tom (warning - I kind of think this borders on child pr0n, honestly. TSA strip search of a CHILD-- way to scar him for life, man!), and Jack the Ripper, don't you think that perhaps you're targeting the wrong person? Statistics, people!

You, TSA, fucked up with the racial profiling thing, and the religious profiling thing. That wasn't cool. So now you think it's fair if you just sexually abuse everyone? I don't think so. "The terrorists have won." Exactly. Whether they exist or not is irrelevant, because they have you in a corner shitting your pants every time some hack job with a couple of wires shows up claiming to be a terrorist mastermind hell bent on destroying the planet or whatever it is they're trying to do (and failing so horribly). So now we, the public, must choose - be subjected to potentially harmful xray photographs of ourselves naked, for anyone to see, or be publicly molested? (Unless you set off the scanners, because then you get molested anyway. Oh, but you get another choice! Aren't we lucky? Groped in public, or we can go find somewhere private and secluded...) Or, if we're brave enough, refuse completely and get slapped with a $10,000 fine and possible prison sentence. Hmm, decisions, decisions...

And while we're on the subject of invasive procedures, let's go with another little detail they forgot to mention - who's up for a prostate exam/anal weapons check? Anyone? C'mon, we'll kill two birds with one finger! (Or two, if you'd like... No judgment here!) By the way, who the hell are they hiring to do these "checks?" Because, I'm thinking here, if someone were you know, a sexual predator, they would probably want this job, where they are legally required to fondle people.Why are we not concerned about this??

Can I just say something? Of course I can, it's my blog. We have been dehumanized, humiliated, abused, deluded, lied to, and ignored far enough in this country, by too many. I'm all for National Opt-Out Day. Sounds like fun. (Well, not exactly. Don't touch me. I will hurt you if you touch me, and I don't like to hurt people.) I feel bad for the people who might be held up because of it, but hey, no lines on the scanners, right? Have fun being a (forced) exhibitionist for a day. I'll pass, thanks. Can I trade in my frequent flier miles for skipping this whole ordeal? I'll even get your stupid credit card, Continental!

And on another note, I REALLY want to talk about the Harry Potter movie & how it totally plays into this, because it soo does...

I'm all over the place today. But Vote for Rush Holt!

While I have sunken into the oblivion that is yaoi-fangirl-land, I hope that this message finds you well. Tis too late to save me from South Park slash, alas-- go on without me, I'll catch up with you in a few days! :-D

So anyway, this past week went by so quickly!  Yet I've been through so much, personally- freaking out over whether an old crush was even a crush at all (long story, don't ask), finally deciding on what grad school program I'm going to try for (social work. It was my original plan, way back when I was just starting to think about what I wanted to do with my life. The pay sucks and it takes a lot of work, but it's what I love... I'm resigning myself to a lifetime of debt & poverty, but I'll be helping people directly...), & of course I've been bouncing off the walls thinking about the Rally For Sanity/March to Keep Fear Alive. Yes, that's right  - I'M GOING!!! YAY!!! Former roomie & I got tickets for the HuffPost Sanity Bus. It's going to be awesome!!!

Though now I'm a little bit concerned about the upcoming elections. As I've previously mentioned, the incumbent representative for my district is up for re-election this year, against an independent, Kenneth Cody, and the poster-child for Wall Street, Scott Sipprelle. I didn't think there would be much of an issue this year, but now... With this rise in the TPers in my area, Sipprelle signs have been popping up everywhere. And just this morning as I was driving to the local farmers market, 2 women were walking down the side of the road with a giant "Sipprelle for Congress" banner between them. I'm sure they saw me frowning & shaking my head at the sign, because they just held it up even higher & waved their little flags at me... I'm not going to go into why I don't like Sipprelle, because a) I'm pretty sure that if you know what he stands for, it's easy to guess and b) it's really up to you to decide who you want (or don't want) to be your representative. But from my experiences, & from contacting him on issues I care about, Rush Holt is a great, progressive guy and I do truly hope he wins-- and not because I can't stand the alternative, but because I believe he really does a good job. I have yet to find a topic on which we disagree, and he's won so many awards for his work. And really, how many other districts can say they have a rocket scientist as their congressman?? Haha, to me that's like the coolest thing ever! I'm a geek/nerd and proud of it! :-D. I know I'm a "liberal elitist know-it-all," but I love smart people, especially when they support the same things I do and have gone above and beyond my expectations. So, in honor of a politician I will gladly support, I have put in a request for a Rush Holt bumper sticker. (Click to put in a request for your own! I wanted a lawn sign too, but my mother would've had a fit... -_-" I need my own place.) I can't/won't give money to politics, and I think political phone calls are annoying as hell & refuse to become a telemarketer, but I can do this...

Other news - I haven't checked twitter in days so I don't actually know much of what's going on in the world. Too obsessed with yaoi-land & reading AutoStraddle & Aarinfantasy to care :-P (& just remembered I have a phone... Haven't seen it in a few hours, where did it go?? [looks around] Ah, koko desu. Oh look 2 texts, 8 emails, & a missed call. Oops.)

I'm finishing up a few thoughts on that whole Pledge issue, on the Care2 site-- "I have refused to say the pledge since high school, because it feels like a mindless recitation of a lie. We do not have "liberty & justice for all." Those are empty words, & empty promises. And stories like this, and the fact that so many Americans are still oppressed and treated like second-class citizens, only confirm that for me :-("

I've said that before, yea? Many times. And have gotten a few angry comments all over the place for it, including here. (My Memorial Day post. Don't feel like linking to it, but it's here somewhere.)

I just found the most hilarious website ever - www.MarryAnAmerican.ca It's too bad the site's down, but should a Palinite ever attempt win a presidential election, I'm hoping it comes back ASAP. (And then my dreams of starting a [peaceful] underground rebellion can come true ^^" That does sound like such an adventure... I have such cool dreams-- when they don't include 8-legged monsters that is. [shudders]) I have no idea what I came here to say, but I suppose I've said all I should. Plus it would seem I have someone begging for my attention, ;-) lol... [sigh] Did I mention I'm considering giving up guys for a while? :-D What else is new. What was it I said before graduation? "Guys are stupid, I'm not attracted to women, so I'm going to be celibate." & "Will" said "it's never too late to be attracted to women!!!" Haha, maybe he's right? I always though Grace had a secret thing for Karen anyway lol... Bi pride! :-)  Ja, mata ashita!!

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.

Politics, as usual...

I'm Ba-ack! lol

Alright, that was a lovely little break, but what can I say, I love politics or something like that. This weekend is shaping up to be... interesting, to say the least. Why, you ask? Well, let's see. Beck & Palin are throwing themselves a little shindig in "honor" of 9/11-- you know, the same Glenn Beck who said he hated 9/11 families & widows because they complained too much? Yea, well apparently, for a "reasonable" price, starting as low as $65, you too can be a part of the hypocrisy!!! YAY! Not enough excitement for you? Meet up with the Westboro Baptist Church, or find the Dove World Outreach Center for a book-burning sure to enrage thousands, if not millions all over the world. Because only the Bible is worth reading-- but only certain lines. After all, Jesus must've been really high or something when he said to love everyone and be tolerant of others, right? The damned hippie. Can't have that, now can we? Woo-hoo.

Right, what was I saying? So we have the Bigot Parade on one end of the city, & Al Sharpton's little party/picnic a few blocks away... I don't see that going well, but then again, I'm pretty sure I'd believe one side to behave themselves more so than the other.

Oh, and by the way - Speaking of tolerant - Has someone sane actually hacked into Palin's Facebook account? Because seriously, that last comment sounds nothing like her-- well, her writer, I mean. (I don't think Palin can spell antithetical, let alone pronounce it.) She  might want to look into that... or get herself tested for dissociative identity disorder. Her sane side is still being smothered, but she's trying to get a message out to the rest of the world - "help!"

UPDATE:  This weekend's meeting of hateful Book-burning "Christians" has been "postponed"! Seems the leader is slightly delusional and thinks his agreement not to burn a Qu'ran on Saturday is a good enough reason to move Park51. (It is NOT being moved. And if someone tries, I swear, I will be there to protest, and I will be loud. Religious tolerance and freedom will not bow down to intimidation, fear and intolerance. Park51 stays where it is.) Seems he thinks first Amendment rights should only belong to him and his followers. "Now, we all have the constitutional right to freedom of religion here, so I won't do something offensive that will anger millions of people around the world and potentially cause international backlash and violence towards Americans, if you move your rec center a few blocks to the left-- no, a little further.... further... No, you're still too close, try the other side of that big salty puddle over there. You know what, on second thought, why don't you all just go back to the Middle East, because we don't want your kind over here and we just think you'd be so much more comfortable back where you belong."

Would it be so horribly depressing if I mentioned I honestly didn't actually make most of that up? (I'd say "big salty puddle" is mine... &... hmm... Oh, & that thing about angering people-- but not the second part of that sentence, that international backlash thing since that's actually pretty damn real. But yea, those 2 parts are mine.) Not from Terry Jones, for the most part, because I honestly don't feel he's worth listening to, but comments on news articles, and blogs, & youtube, & on the news... This is what "dialogue" in our country has been reduced to. Bullshit. And as much as I can't stand Palin, or her suddenly-sane writer, this time she's actually right (for once). Sort of. (The first part of her post, equating burning a Qu'ran to building Park 51, a community center with a prayer room, is complete and utter bullshit. What we've come to expect from her anyway.) "...mean-spirited religious intolerance"? Before I even get into all that's wrong with that (namely, the person it's supposedly coming from), I have to say, that's exactly what ALL of this has been-- from "bastard children," to sex education & abstinence, to the same-sex marriage, to abortion, to anti-Semitism, to anti-Islamic sentiment, to the supposed Al-Qaida members themselves. Is there anything I've mentioned that isn't in some way directly tied ro religious intolerance? Are any of these issues separate from "well, my God says..."? And can you say that none of the protests, or bickering, or violence directly connected to these issues are mean-spirited or intolerant? Of course not. Instead of building walls between ourselves, we should be working to break them down. But religion itself has become a bulwark for intolerance, when we're told it's what will make this world a better place... I'll believe that when I see it. Yes, religion plays a huge role in the development of morality and societal rules. But no one religion is more important than any other. We are NOT a Christian nation, but one of multiple, interconnected belief systems, multiple cultures and peoples. And we have to learn to respect that. I may not like what you have to say, or what you preach, or hell even how you practice, but as long as you're not hurting anyone, whether that pain be physical, emotional, symbolic, whatever, go right ahead, do what you like. Just stop pretending we have to believe in it too.




Now, about this Palin comment... o boy... I'll be nice and not say anything... here. You can check out my rants page for that (look over at the top of the side panel). Latest comments are always at the bottom...

And last but not least, let's throw in a promotion - Check out StopBeck.com.

"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
  

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 ^^")

Proud to be an American...???

Trying to control my rage right now. Some people seriously need to learn to fuck off -_-" but aside from that... I've been shopping for bumper stickers. No reason in particular I guess, because I haven't a clue what I would actually do with them, but mostly liberal things to counter the lame "W '04!!!" shit I see on all the hummers. And I'm sick and tired of being called "un-American" because I think a national healthcare system is a great thing, or because I refuse to say the pledge of allegiance until the words actually mean something (see my post on Will Phillips too btw, Nov. 2009. My reasons go a quite a bit farther than just gay rights, but they're valid just the same. We do NOT have liberty and justice for all, and until we do, those are empty words and empty promises!!!) & I haven't said it since high school; or because I am for allowing people to become citizens, & I think most "terrorism" in this country is either misguided "patriots" (for whatever cause) or complete bullshit designed to scare us into submission (or false wars for oil... just sayin'...), & we should get the fuck out of Iraq/Afghanistan because we're killing innocent people for no reason, inciting them to anger against us, and therefore creating more extremists and "terrorists."

I could go on, but I'm sure you get the picture. I'm sick and tired of people saying that only those with conservative values are true patriots, or true Christians, or whatever, because it's all complete and utter bullshit. So I found the perfect bumper sticker - I don't hate America. I hate the people who do hateful things in the name of America. Hunting "illegals" is NOT American. Denying citizenship to people born here is NOT American. Using your religion as an excuse for pushing your views on others is NOT American. Picking and choosing what parts of the Constitution you like is NOT the American way! Discrimination is NOT the American way! (However hypocrisy seems to be... -_-") This is NOT the home of the free-- I'll say it again, we don't have a fucking clue what freedom is in this country. And we won't, until we can as a collective group get our act together and actually follow what we preach, live what we stand for - Freedom, Justice, Peace, Fairness, Safety, Solidarity, Strength, Prosperity-- FOR ALL. Protecting our fellow citizen, as well as those who need our help. We're not some exclusive club, where a small majority get to decide who belongs, and who's a "real" member. I truly believe the founding fathers would be embarrassed and horrified to see what we've become... (Granted, they were fully aware the general populous were complete morons, and they weren't perfect in the least bit either-- in fact they were narrow-minded and downright racist-- but that's why they made the Constitution a living document, which is meant to change with the times... So that we could evolve into something greater. But let's face it- our way of life is dying... Our country is falling apart. All the more reason to change...)

If we're going to be the Protector of the world, then let's actually protect - end war and violence, end hatred, instill peace and stability. We're supposed to be the Land of Opportunity, but we can't forget that opportunity isn't just for the people already here. It's for ALL people of the world. Yes, that includes the people scrambling across the border. (Clearly we're doing something right if people still want to come here... What, I haven't a clue, but think about how much their countries must suck if this is better - a land built on institutionalized hatred and discrimination, where friends and neighbors turn their backs and/or guns on each other over political opinion, religion, little issues devoid of the big picture... We are a sad, sorry state.) If we are the Land of Freedom, then let's actually be the Land of Freedom! We're Americans! We're arrogant and rude and think we're better than everyone else! So c'mon, let's show them why we're here! Our army's slogan was "Be All You Can Be." So let's do that. If we're going to call ourselves the best, we have to actually BE the best. So let's make them all jealous , k? There's no point in being proud of being American if it doesn't actually mean anything, let alone what we pretend it does.

Happy Memorial Day... Keep in mind the millions who live and die to keep us safe-- our soldiers, our vets, their victims... and hope that someday there won't be a "need" for this pain...