Petition: 1 Million Against Amendment 1

Share on Twitter: Tweet

Change.org|Make Your Own Petition

This is why I [should] never watch the SOTU address.

Share on Twitter: Tweet

[grumbles] Another cross-post, by the way.

Maybe I’m just too cynical. I was not impressed. At all. There were tons of moments where I was like, yeah, I absolutely agree with that, but [yawn]. Then again I also know that SOTU addresses are just bullshit. All talk and no game. That’s all they’ve ever been, and all they’ll ever be. And it’s an election year, so of course it’s upped. It’s meaningless. What matters is what is actually attempted over the course of a year, not just what’s said.

Maybe my standards are just too high. “Lesser of two evils” just does not cut it for me anymore. I’m not even sure I believe it.

And the GOP response omfg what the fuck was that shit. Nothing less than expected, of course, delivered by a douchey robot, but ugh. This entire government is just… no.

Ok, the whole thing about offshore drilling - do not even fucking get me started. If you knew me before, you know the environment is a big fucking deal to me. THAT IS NOT FUCKING CLEAN ENERGY. WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU FUCKING OUT OF YOUR MIND?! IN THE ARCTIC TOO WHAT THE FUCK MAN WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

The “forced to stay in high school until 18 thing” — mixed feelings, mostly negative. Education means a lot to me, and a high school diploma is a necessity these days because practically every single employer in the country (yes that’s an exaggeration shut up I know) will judge you for it, but sometimes there are really good reasons to leave, and I don’t think all learning has to be in a classroom. Some of the most intelligent, most innovative, and most successful people in the world never graduated high school. The focus should be on real education and real education reform, real skill development, not forcing children to stay in sub-par schools just to say they were there and left with a meaningless piece of paper. Forcing people to stay in school means absolutely nothing— that does NOT guarantee that they will actually learn anything or be motivated to learn. I mean really, if you know you have to be in school until you’re 18 but you really don’t give a shit about it, don’t you think the easiest thing to do would be to fuck around and fail til your 18th birthday? You can’t force someone to learn. I’d rather my child drop out and enrich themselves via world experiences (if they so choose) and work than be forced to stay in a school system that doesn’t meet their needs — or expectations, my own included. I'd like to know that we can talk about options for the future, rather than a rigid set of obligations. I think we place far too much emphasis on classroom learning and college as a measure of intelligence and success.We really do. I’m glad I went to college because I truly enjoyed it and I enjoy learning in a structured environment. That said, it is NOT for everyone, and it does NOT guarantee success in life. (Many people are actually better off without college. Debt. Run away, it’s a trap. Even with more government support, it can be extremely difficult.)

While I think it would be FANTASTIC for young parents to have government support to return to school, including childcare services, is this even on the table? Or are you simply going to force them to juggle everything on their own?

Also, how does this affect homeschooling? Many children who are homeschooled are able to obtain a high school diploma before they turn 18. (I technically graduated high school before I was 18. What if I had skipped a grade or two?) Would they be forced to attend anyway, or enroll in college just because they’re underage? Just how literally are they going to take this?

It’s like… I understand the supposed good points of this, and the statistics supporting it, but… It’s just not that simple. You can say the words all you want, but it’s not that simple.

So I think on that particular line, the priorities are just… wrong. And ok, to be perfectly honest, it scares me. A lot. People under 18 pretty much don’t have any rights to begin with, including the right to vote. They’re not treated like autonomous persons, but like property in a way. And in many cases, minors would have a lot of trouble leaving the country on their own. (Not that I’m saying a 13 year old should expatriate, but 16 is old enough, and often mature enough, to make more of their own decisions. If you’re able to support yourself and live on your own, I don’t see why anyone should try to decide your life for you.) There’s no choice whatsoever. So it bothers me that any country spouting “freedom” should force any class of citizens to be detained for any capacity, against their will, simply for falling within a demographic. So on that level, yes, it actually scares me that this government would insist that all states enforce a law like that.

Skimming the rest of the transcript for things I likely missed while screaming at the TV:

• Merit pay, ok. All of that stuff about teachers, awesome. Standardized tests like those are not an accurate way to measure achievement or intelligence.
• Taxation. Yeah… oh look, he talked about the 98%, I remember hearing that. I wasn't surprised. Hm.
• Oh look, more American exceptionalism. That actually really bothers me.

Moving on because I have other things to do tonight.

Anyway, someone needs to compare this to last year. What’s just talk, what actually means something. Prove it’s all political bullshit. Just because.

So... Kelly Clarkson, huh... lmao

Share on Twitter: Tweet

I don't give a shit who she endorses. Whatever. I don't care. She can endorse Kim Jong Il for president for all I care. (Too soon? Well that was kind of the point. Nominate a deceased person. With "questionable" politics. Moving on...) But what I find EXTREMELY hilarious is the way people try to defend themselves... (and really, I was literally sobbing from laughing so hard at these comments. I'm not just being facetious when I say it's hilarious.)

Wait for it... "straight rights." Kelly, I love your music and I'm not ashamed to say that, but LMFAO @ STRAIGHT RIGHTS. Maybe you were just trying to show how "super-inclusive" you are (don't forget the air quotes!!), but I seriously fucking hate it when people think that listing random colors or talking about "straight people's rights" --which, by the way, is oh I don't know, all of 'em, if you were wondering-- somehow legitimizes their claims of being inclusive and supportive, when all it does is emphasize their privilege and erase actual minority groups. We are more than just the colors of our skin, and our struggles run deeper than your offhanded, defensive comments.

Your choice of a candidate is... questionable, at best. Not a Ron Paul fan, but again, whatever, that's your choice. Can't say I'm that surprised. (But yeah, technically speaking, others have a right to comment as well. They shouldn't be so rude, but "getting upset" as the media seems to put it is fair game.) But seriously, you should have stopped there, because now you actually sound stupid and mildly offensive. Straight rights my ass.

Oh, but the funniest thing I've heard tonight? "Ron Paul is the intellectual's choice for 2012." LOL NO.

So... yeah... Iraq...

If you haven't heard yet, the war in Iraq *officially* ended today, after 8 years... (fucking finally... though it's not the only war is it... We're still in Afghanistan. 10 fucking years of death and destruction. Ugh.) Though most of the news sites only care about the GOP debate. lol America... [sigh] Why do I live here again?

And still... after the war comes rebuilding... and trying to move on...

Edit: Tonight we say goodbye to Christopher Hitchens. Your intellect and eloquence will be sorely missed.

You Need to Watch This. TW for Police Brutality #Occupy

Share on Twitter: Tweet

These are students at UC Davis. Notice what they are doing - sitting there quietly.




What the bloody fucking hell is up with the militarization of the police in this country? What the bloody fucking hell is going on with this country??? Just a normal week in the the good ol' USA with laws that try to censor the internet under the "admirable" guise of curbing piracy (in which case obviously I'm still against it) and  protesting peacefully is practically illegal and a punishable offense.

LOL, welcome to America, where:

Good times. Oh, but in other #occupy news, check out this Bank of America ad campaign!

Today is American Censorship Day. Protest SOPA and the Internet Blacklist Bill!

Share on Twitter: Tweet

More petitions. There's so much opposition to these bills already, but we cannot afford to take any chances. You never know.

Sign | every | last | petition | you | can | find. Write letters, call your representatives.
 

(I'll be adding more as I see them.) I think, that there's also some miscommunication about what SOPA and the Protect IP acts actually do, though. It's not that little censorship bars will suddenly rain from the sky, or that only "illegal" content will be affected. Here's an infographic representation of why these 2 bills are so dangerous. (click to see larger image)

Let your voice be heard.

Petitions, and Messy Glee Feelings - SOPA and "Cure the Gay"

Share on Twitter: Tweet

I'm bringing this up for a very good reason, and it's related to some other things going on right now, some of them personal actually, so bear with me? I just need to rant. Ignore what's after the cut if you want. It's long and windy and unorganized and Glee related.

Real world shit that matters - there are petitions going around about "cure the gay" clinics in South America. Here's one - Please sign!!!

~ Tell Ecuadorian President @MashiRafael and @SantiagoACanton to shut down anti- #LGBTQ "Cure the gay" clinics NOW http://www.allout.org/en/actions/ecuadorclinics #p2

~ And another huge concern - the widely opposed Stop Online Piracy Act aka the Internet Blacklist Bill. Backlash from around the globe against this bill has been PHENOMENAL, but we need every netizen's support. Sign | every | fucking | petition you can find, write letters, call. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. If this bill goes through tomorrow, the Department of Justice gets to decide which sites you visit and who gets priority. All they have to do is claim that a site infringing upon a copyright, and it's blocked. This includes your blogs. This includes Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Amazon, Youtube, TPB, every forum that ever existed. The internet does NOT need to fucking be censored. No government or private agency has the right to control the internet. Tonight, we fight. Protect your freedom of speech.  Join Google, Facebook, eBay, Mozilla, AOL, and others in preventing an internet blacklist. (P1r4735 - HOIST THE COLORS. WE ATTACK AT DAWN.)


One little offhand comment like that can ruin someone's life.

I am really frustrated right now... Long story short, there's been an ongoing feud between two of the characters. If you remember from my older Glee posts, there was an episode about Santana Lopez coming to terms with her sexuality. And the other character is the step-brother of "token gay kid" Kurt Hummel. His name is Finn Hudson. So anyway, Santana's back to being a bully this season, and she's been giving Finn a hard time with a constant stream of nasty insults. They duked it out in a crowded hallway... She went to walk away, and he made a rather loud comment about how she should just come out of the closet already.


There's video of this.

Ok, now that you've seen it for yourself... I don't entirely mind that Finn said this to her, because while he could have said something else or been a little more discreet about disclosing someone's deep, dark personal secrets, it is rather true; and it's understandable that he snapped and probably wasn't thinking. In a different setting, I think she could have benefited from hearing this, actually. I do entirely mind, however, that he said this in public and pretty much shouted it down a hall full of students, one of which used it as campaign fodder against one of the teachers. And I do entirely mind that there are people who think that she deserved to be publicly outed just because she's a bitch. I think they were both in the wrong, but the consequences she has to face are a hell of a lot worse. No one ever deserves to be outed. Yes, Santana deserves to be held accountable for the things she's said and done, and she absolutely has to stop bullying people (though it makes for wonderful drama and I'm sorry but I do actually find the character to be incredibly funny sometimes. I like insult comedy. I'm a bitch. Sue me.), but you have got to be fucking kidding me if you think that being outed is an appropriate punishment for anyone. How can we all agree that it was wrong for Blaine to do the same exact thing if suddenly it's totally ok because it's Santana and everyone hates her? (She's one of my favorite characters, as a "villain" type, but sometimes I really hate her too. It's same with Draco, so don't even give me that...) Even if we take Finn out of the picture and say it was an accident -- this girl's life could be at risk. She could lose her home. They live in a small, homophobic little town, in a school where kids are regularly bullied for all matter of reasons. She was not the worst of the bullies there, as cruel as she may be. She wasn't ready yet. And there is no reason whatsoever that anyone, ever, should deserve to be outed against their will. The asshat running for  Congress or whatever, the guy running the ad ON NATIONAL TV that outs her to the entire fucking country? The true douchebag of the episode for sure.

If you don't feel like reading all of that - yeah, she deserved to be told off for being a bully, and for using bullying as a shield to hide her secrets. She DID NOT deserve to be outed, and Finn should not have even mentioned any fucking thing about closets or coming out. Because guess what?  NO ONE has the fucking right to call someone a coward because they're not ready to come out yet. I know I've already discussed this topic, so I don't want to take up too much time on it. But this... I just can't. I think it's so cute how people are dismissing it, though, as humiliation. Because that's all this is, right? Being outed is humiliating, nothing more. Never mind she might not have a house to go home to later that night. Never mind she might not even make it back there to begin with. I don't think Finn even realizes just what he's done, what's happening because of what he chose to say. I think his words in the scene and at the end are a perfect example of just how little he realizes how big a deal it actually is. "Everyone at school knows..." "The whole school already knows." He thinks because he thinks everyone already knows that it's ok to just say in the open, fuck consequences because (hey! straight privilege!) he doesn't have to think about them! As far as he's concerned, there are none! Forget the fact that his own brother went through hell because he's gay.


I don't think ANYONE  realizes the magnitude of what he said versus what she did. Contrary to what everyone is insisting, Santana never actually outed Kurt or Dave. She made gay jokes about Kurt before he came out and she threatened to out Dave if he didn't agree to be her beard. That is a fact.

And a lot of my LGBTQ+ interwebz friends and I have been sort of talking about this, what it's like to be forced out, to lose that control of something that is purely yours (and can be dangerous to you). Intentional or not, what happened in that hallway was really upsetting for a lot of us. And what happened because of it, even more so. What COULD happen now that it's been broadcast to the entire town. How easy it must be for someone who's never had to live with that fear to say there's nothing wrong with being outed in a homophobic environment as a justification for insulting someone. When someone even brings up your sexuality or your status (closeted or out), as an argument against you, as a punishment, they're taking away your agency, and more than that. It's an attack. They're taking away your right to come out when you're ready and willing, and your right to privacy. It can be so fucking scary... Your entire life can be at stake. You don't know what will happen to you. And so long as this country, this world treats you like a second-class citizen or a criminal, odds are the shit that happens to you from here on out is up to you to deal with on your own. People cay say "it gets better" all they want; but this is the present, and this is real, and this is what matters right now. Better doesn't just happen. The promise of someday doesn't keep parents from kicking their children out of their homes; it doesn't keep a jerk from beating the crap out of someone; it doesn't keep the priests and the fundamentalists from condemning us to hell, sometimes violently; it doesn't keep the "cure the gay" and "lesbian rape therapy" from destroying lives NOW. (See the top of this post for a petition.)

Santana is a 17 or 18 year old high school student. She obviously still depends on her family for food and clothes and shelter; probably for college too. All of that is now up in the air. Her private life is now being shared with the entire country, against her will, and she hasn't even come out to her parents yet. How the fuck do you say that she was justified after she has to go through something like that? She did some seriously fucked up things in this episode alone, including pelting the tiny new kid with balls until he bled. But I just cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would wish that kind of pain on someone. Why anyone thinks that's a fair punishment. The Straight While Male calls the little Latina Lesbian a coward for being closeted and outs her in a public place (after which the details of said conversation are broadcast nationwide) literally putting her safety and livelihood at risk; but she totally had it coming because she's a self-identified bitch, so it's cool. You must be so fucking privileged. Sincerely, a fat, queer, pangendered-but-female-presenting-whatever-that-means person of color who has been bullied and mocked for all of the above.

And for the record, no I don't think she should have hit him. (And Cory-- the actor who plays Finn-- says that slap was 100% real. Ouch. That was HARD. I mean. OUCH.) I try my best not to condone violence as well. But I have to say, if I were her, I know I would have done the same thing too.

TL;DR - I think they were both wrong. They both went too far. But if I absolutely had to pick a side, I'm taking Santana's. They both went too far, but Finn went WAY too far. The consequences of Finn's comments are far worse and far more damaging. And I think he could have chosen a better way to make the same point, while being just as effective in calling her out on the bullying.

Honestly, I am so fucking done with the drama of Glee. The fandom. I love my Pirates, but this show... It's a comedy and/or a drama or some shit like that, it's dropping viewers like flies and why? Because it makes jokes out of rape and foster families and abuse, as well as sexuality and other serious issues. It tries so hard to be serious and hard-hitting while simultaneously trying to pass itself off as a light-hearted, fun musical comedy, which really does not work with the subject matter. The writing is sloppy and inconsistent, and it's really fucking obvious that it's become all about the ratings and money and not about the stories. Almost no one but the diehard fans are left.

This is actually a srs bns post tho, I promise - Politics, Penn State, Racism, etc.

Share on Twitter: Tweet

Content warnings for heterosexism, sex abuse (Penn State), Sad McCain, police brutality, and racism.


Movie time! NaNoWriMo is on hiatus for me til my head is clear enough to think. And I ca So I thought I'd share a few short videos and news story that might be of interest. And even if they aren't, watch them. Maybe you'll learn something.

The Right to Love: An American Family"

Synopsis (from youtube):

While the passionate debate over the legitimacy of Marriage Equality in the United States rages on, the LGBT community continues to fight for their slice of the American dream. Powered by media, religion and influential anti-gay organizations, the civil right of marriage continues to be held just out of reach for many LGBT citizens.

"The Right To Love: An American Family" chronicles one story of courage born out of the highly mediatized and controversial Prop 8 2008 election results in California. A private Californian married gay couple and their two adopted children fight back against discrimination, ignorance and hate through home videos posted on their YouTube channel, 'Gay Family Values'. As they pursue their American Dream, the opposing political, social and religious opinions that pervade society attempts to strip it from them.

You have no idea how hard it is for me to not post the new Hunger Games trailer here right now. Anyway... Next order of business- Penn State. Yeah, this movie isn't as nice as the last one.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I haven't really been following this story (or anything in the news, to be perfectly honest) because thinking about it makes me nauseous, and I get enough of that from actually being sick... But it's pretty fucking awful.


News from the political world - John McCain's learned how to use twitter. And has said something we can agree with. He would know, anyway... But the GOP in this election... holy fuck. You know you've got a slew of asshats running when even McCain steps in to chastise (and half of Tumblr would rather vote for him than consider any of them...)

... i forgot what i was going to put here... so have this random amusing website instead wouldisurviveanuke.com. Apparently I'll survive with 1st degree burns but I'll get cancer. What is this and why does it exist? Well, click on it to find out what it is. (SFW, unless your boss has a thing against Google Maps) Why? You can never be too prepared in the event of a global thermonuclear war, that's why.

Other things going on:

• Hermain Cain. Why. Just... why.
• Michele Bachmann apparently thinks the ACLU runs the CIA...
• President Obama's healthcare law heads to the Supreme Court. (Seeing as yesterday's visit to the clinic was actually affordable for me for once and there's no way I would have been able to afford it if the law hadn't passed, I'm going to sit here and continue to hope that it stays in place or is improved. My prescription was $1.28 for antibiotics. $1.28!!! Can you even believe that???) This bill may not be even close to perfect; but for the 26 and under crowd, it's what many of us needed. So the way I see this... if it stays, great. We can focus on improving it. If it has to go... We get angry. We get enthused. We push for something bigger and better and we make it happen.
• latest PETA scandal (sometimes they really just... the fuck even... Can you focus on shit that matters and actually do it right for once? I'm not a fan of how they operate. Have I mentioned that? Well now I have.)
• Sinterklaas. Wait what.

What the bloody fucking hell is this, Netherlands? "Black Pete"??!! (Content Warning for Racism and Police Brutality) Maybe I don't want to live there anymore.


To summarize - as a part of the Sinterklaas celebration (a children's holiday in the Netherlands; similar to the American Santa Claus, which is based on Sinterklaas), people dress up as the equivalent of elves or gnomes -- Santa's helpers. Oh, you know, except Santa's helpers just happen to be North African slaves. They call it Zwarte Piet. We call it racist "black face."


Why yes, silly American girls, every year we participate in a racist caricature of the slave trade. Oh, what fun. And we even have candy and cookies with gratuitous usage of the n-word in their names! That's the holiday spirit! What? You want us to change? But think of the children! It's tradition!!!


Now if you'll excuse me... I just took some medicine and I feel like I'm dying a slow painful death. (... there's no way I'm allergic, am I? [nervous glance] I feel worse than I did before I took it...)

#S978, Elections, and Getting Back to Business

Share on Twitter: Tweet

I do my best thinking at about 3 AM, but I don't have the luxury of time for that tonight. Election season has begun, and with NaNo starting in a week (!!!), it's time to get serious. [starts singing Mulan... whoops...]

OK! 2 hours later. Yeah, I went on a singing spree... Anyway. Time to get serious. It's election season, half my neighborhood is campaigning for someone I definitely do not want to win, and my mind is stuck in Drarry-land where everything is Drarry and smut and nothing hurts. I need to remember how to be a snarky, cynical bitch again. Good luck with that.

So. Tumblr's all a buzz - apparently it really IS all the rage these days. Guess who's 2012 campaign just kicked off there today? Yeah, that's right - President Barack Obama now has a Tumblr. Well, his campaign people do. I still haven't decided if I'll be (unofficially) joining them this year. I'm utterly thrilled about some things, while disappointed about others... What else is new. Do I believe he has potential? Yes. So much of it. Do I adore the guy? Totally. He's awesome and funny and inspiring. The real question is can he do it... This has been an era of LGBTQ+ strides for sure. But we've taken some pretty big hits to immigration policy and obviously the improvement of economy over the past few years... I suppose now would be a fantastic time to do a political report card. Ok then. I'll get on that.

Til then - new petition - As if we didn't have enough reasons to hate the RIAA and MPAA, apparently there's a new bill on the table (Bill S.978) that would prohibit people from posting videos containing music they didn't make themselves. So that funny Youtube video of you singing along to Christina Aguilera? Fined. Want to do a play-through of Metal Gear Solid? Nope. Give a review of it? HA. Made up a dance to Party Rock Anthem and you want to show it off? Or perhaps you've finally learned that new song on the guitar? LOL NO BITCH. Want to watch anime or JDrama that doesn't air in your country? Whoops. Go directly to jail, do not pass go. (Well, it's probably not going to get THAT extreme, but I'm sure you get my point.) Maybe this isn't something that you think concerns you, but it's kind of a huge deal to many who make a living off of game reviews; or to the aspiring singer/actor looking to get signed to a record label or The Glee Project (true fact-- that's how they audition); or to the every day netizen who enjoys posting silly videos for their friends on Tumblr. If you care, please sign here and pass it on!

And don't forget to #Occupy!

"No one is immune from criticism." Especially not Dan Fucking Savage. #LGBT

Share on Twitter: Tweet

Yo. I know right, two posts in two days! What's the world coming to?? Anyway, I'm getting annoyed with myself for writing up all these ranty things and never publishing them, so for a while I'll queue up some things... starting with this. Long story short, I kind of got into a... an argument with someone I sort of considered a "friend" over something a prominent asshat said, and I needed to rage. And I couldn't share it here because that person would have seen it. So instead of publishing it anywhere, I talked it over with Wifey... Anyway, it's been a few months, I no longer give a shit what that person thinks of me (because they haven't the first clue about who I am), and what I said is still relevant. And probably angry, because this is a subject I talk about often...

I mentioned the Dan Savage thing already, right? That's what this is about. Or rather, that's what started this.

Here goes:

This is a rant. Just need/want to get it out. I would typically keep this to my regular blog, but due to various circumstances...

"Dan, when it comes to bisexuality, you are wrong. You are wrong about bisexuals, you are wrong to treat us the way you do and you are certainly wrong to treat our outrage as some sort of childish tantrum." -- [via afterelton.com]
"People who have a problem with bisexuals do not get to define whether or not their actions are biphobic. " [same article, same author,  from his comment here]

Now that I'm a little bit calmer than last night (and I say a little bit because the more I think about this, the more annoyed I get) -

This part is directed at a personal conversation. Not on Tumblr, but I just want to get it out instead of getting into a public fight about it. 

[Who the fucking hell are you to tell me how to live, or tell me who I can or can't dislike for the things they continue to say about "people like me"? If you agree with them, whatever, that's your deal, but I don't. And there are thousands more who agree with me. And I will continue to fucking fight their idiotic, bigoted ideas whenever the fucking hell I please. Stick up for them if you want to, it's always up for debate, but do NOT fucking tell me that my views are invalid because you think you know my life story. You know nothing about me or what I think or how I feel.

You do not get to dictate how I live, how any person gets to live their life. You are not the authority on LGBT issues, or bisexuality. Just because YOU can live a certain way does NOT mean we all have to "follow [your] shining example." And Dan Savage does not fucking know shit.]

For someone who created the It Gets Better campaign, you would really think he'd know better. "It Gets Better - for everyone but you, whiny butthurt bisexuals. Until you come out as gay or straight." -- to paraphrase.

Yes, Dan does GREAT things for the LGBT community. Even if it's mostly the G part. No one is denying that. But the biggest problem is, he's supposed to be a high-profile "expert," the advocate, and "enlightened mentor." Prominent, influential LEADER. People refer to him as a LEADER in the LGBT community and rights movement. That's what he TRIES to be. He has authority, he has a voice. THIS is why these things piss me off so much. He is in a position of power - he has the audience, the means, the clout, the ability to reach a large audience and influence thousands (if not more). He is someone who speaks for the community. And for someone who claims to support equality to constantly belittle and mock and bastardize LGBT+ groups, especially in a public forum, is just plain hypocritical and wrong. As someone said about this issue, you're either for equality or you aren't.

tl;dr - Dan Savage is a condescending, privileged asshat with a history of ignorant, biphobic, trans-phobic, anti-asexual, fat-phobic, sexist, sometimes racist, bigoted, self-important remarks, who claims to be super supportive and all for equality and tolerance but clearly is not. Yeah, he's done a lot of good, but he does A LOT of harm as well. And I have every fucking right to call him out on it. He's taken a personal grudge against a bi ex and generalized it into a mini-vendetta against all multisexuals. And people believe he's right. It's exactly because of the crap he says that makes it so hard for people to accept us, and makes it harder for us to come out. Maybe I should reword that - he is perpetuating the harmful stereotypes and slurs that

I love the IGB project (even though I do also think that it's not entirely perfect either), but at this point it's pretty much all done by everyday people anyway, not him. So no, I will not fucking sing the praises of Dan Savage. I do not think he's someone to be unquestioningly admired or put up on a pedestal the way he has been. He's human and flawed just like the rest of us. He does NOT always know what he's talking about. His word is NOT law. He's a glorified advice columnist, not an actual expert. Again, I'm not denying that he's done quite a lot of good. But he's also been an unapologetic bully, and to deny that does just as much harm as the bullshit he says.  It's never too late to change. So Dan, I'll be waiting for the day when you realize just how wrong you are and how wrong you've been, and apologize to the many people you've truly hurt. Because unlike you apparently, I believe in forgiveness, and acceptance. Oh, and not assuming that my experiences and worldview are the center of the universe.

Dan - There's a huge fucking difference between being snarky and being an asshat. Learn it.

In addition to all of that -: Do you know who it is that benefits the most from Dan Savage and things like the It Gets Better Project? Do you have any idea who organizations like HRC and GLAAD, and their campaigns like marriage equality and adoption tout and promote and benefit the most? White cis monosexual upper middle class, for the most part. Privilege.

It's not as easy as they would like to think. Maybe some people can afford to move to neighborhoods where they'll be accepted. Maybe some people can afford to risk losing their job and livelihood by coming out. Maybe some people can risk being kicked out of their homes because they can support themselves or find help if they need it. Not everyone is that lucky, or privileged. To shrug it all of with an "It gets better, so just sit tight," or  is actually pretty awful advice that gives the pretense of caring without ever actually having to do anything. Are you REALLY that oblivious and self-centered that you don't or can't realize that not everyone's life will be like yours? Guess what - for some people, it DOESN'T get better. And for some people, being closeted is a sucky option but it's the best. Not everyone has a life of sunshine and rainbows and never-ending wealth to fall back on when everything falls to shit. Pressuring others to come out because YOU think it's the "cool" thing to do, because YOU think everything will be perfect in someone else's life, is utterly selfish, rude, presumptuous. You are not an authority on anyone's life but your own, so please shut the fuck up and mind your own business.

All I can say to those on the other side of this - when you're ready. Not when someone else is ready for you to be. Fuck them. This isn't about them and what they want; this is about YOU. No one knows your life better than you do.

So while we all fight for those marriage equality and other middle class issues, never forget the DREAM Act, and ENDA, and other things that, I'm sorry to say it [this way], matter so much more to so many more right now.

Fucking pigs... #OccupyWallStreet

Share on Twitter: Tweet

What the fucking hell. I would be remiss if I didn't at least briefly mention this -- Occupy Wall Street.
(Did I say brief? Cuz I meant it.)

For starters - Great list of news articles here.
And for personal stories: We are the 99 Percent
SUBMIT!!!

I seem to have misplaced my anger at the moment, due to an excruciating headache and lack of sleep (see next post for why), but OH MY FUCKING GOD WHAT THE HELL. NYPD. Attacking peaceful protesters in the middle of the street like they're some sort of fucking heroes saving New York from... from what exactly? A bunch of people standing around, doing nothing worth getting upset and arresting them let alone forcefully throwing them to the ground... Bullshit. It's fucking disgusting. (And it brings me back to my psych student days... As to why they acted that way... [smh]...)

Though can I also say... While I support this movement and what it stands for, I'm not sure that it will be effective. It's not enough. Not yet. But I think this will be the start of something big-- if we can build up momentum and KEEP it. Stretch across the entire country.

Anyway, I really need to get some sleep. I've had a really rough weekend, and yes, I do want to talk about it. So yeah, next post.

Share on Twitter: Tweet

So my Weiner post has been delayed... don't ask. But I have a livestream channel now. Yay! So I'll be around, trying to catch up on things [read: South Park and fanfics]. I'm wondering if it's even worth talking about Weiner... The media has fucked that whole thing up. I'm kind of pissed off about it still- it's been blown way out of proportion, and has hightlighted quite a bit of the hypocrisy in our government. And about the US government- I am SO far beyond caring. Fuck them all. I still plan on going into public policy... maybe. But i have very little hope for this country if this is the state of our politics... and I'm starting to believe that drastic change may be the only way to "fix" it. As in, "fixing" may no longer be an option. We need a total redesign. It's just a mess... I'm amazed we get anything done ever.

Anyway, just a few thoughts... I'll be around.

Random things, Updates...

Share on Twitter: Tweet

It's been a while, huh... Sorry. Life continues to be utterly insane/depressing, and I'm trying to focus less on the rest of the world and more on me. But I suppose we can take a look now... (It's 8 am, I haven't slept or eaten in at least a day, and I'm pissed off. So I doubt this will be entirely coherent. But is it ever?)

So we're nearing a big election year again, and already things are heating up. I don't know if you've noticed, but HRC endorsed President Obama again... I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this. I think Obama is an awesome guy, but his politics... fall flat, to put it nicely. He tried, and I'll give him that. We've had some huge victories in the past few years - progress on healthcare and insurance laws, the [gradual, but getting-there] end of DADT... but we've also been taking some major steps backwards on environmental issues, and taxes. Democrats are still Republican Lite, and that simply won't do.

Many more this year are looking for a strong Socialist candidate to run, or at least a more progressive leftist. I don't see it happening. I think with this whole sexting "scandal" Weiner's in, he's probably out. (For the record, I seriously hate when  people make a fuss over "sex scandals" like they're some sort of horror. And I guess for a society as uptight as ours, it seems to be. People fuck. Or they don't. Get over it.) A bunch of us are still hoping for Nader, or Bernie Sanders to step up. Who knows...

That's about as much as I'm aware of at the moment... And I have to leave anyway.

And I'm off to do yet another rant on defining other people's orientations tonight, because some people just don't seem to get it >_< (Not personal this time. It's a Glee thing that's spun out of control. But really, what doesn't in this fandom? Even the HP fandom is crazy now... There were NEVER massive ship wars like this back in the day. Or maybe I just hung out in the right circles... Ugh... I blame Twilight for this.)

"TROLL IN THE WHITE HOUSE!" #WHCD

Share on Twitter: Tweet

It's 2 AM and I'm laughing my ass off at this video... Regardless of how you (or I) feel about his politics, come on, this guy is just fucking awesome, ok? (And his writers? FLAWLESS.)

Troll-bama anyone?

Meh. & Birth Certificates #Obama

Share on Twitter: Tweet

So I'm scrolling Tumblr, & in the midst of all of the Glee, there's a politics post... Apparently President Obama released his long form birth certificate to shut up the Birthers.

[sigh] You don't have to prove anything to them. Besides, I doubt even this will shut them up. On the other hand, I kind of enjoy this "IN YOUR FACE!!!" attitude all of a sudden... Do I dare read the comments? Oh boy... Let's...

Oh dear god what the fuck is wrong with these people?! "When you run for office, sign me up. I want to be the staffer who goes nuts and shoots you."  WTF?!?!?! SERIOUSLY!!!

But otherwise I'm quite impressed by the maturity of a few of these commenters, for once... "He's already president. If you're upset about it, do something next election." And so on. Whoops, spoke too soon. Look, a FOX parrot! Oh look, another one!

Alright, I think that's enough politics for one day... I'm going to go make a new Kindle case and rewatch Glee (while recording my reactions... I tend to rant out loud anyway and talk to myself, so doing this actually works a million times better than just trying to write it down.)

Oh look Tumblr is about to crash for me... Seriously, wtf... [sigh] I don't feel like doing anything.

This Week's Updates - #Glee, #Libya, #WiUnion, #Bahrain, #ProChoice

Share on Twitter: Tweet

Can I share a secret or two?

Wow. Ok, I NEVER expected the kind of turnout I got on that last post... That was a huge first for me. So I'm sorry if anything that comes next is a letdown... Honestly I'm a little intimidated! (And really busy. Lawyers and things... Turns out my father owes my mother a TON of money, so... It's going to be messy and expensive in the short term, but things might work out.)

I just have a few more thoughts on Glee and bisexuality before I get around to my usual topics. (There's a lot going on in the world right now. It's been a little overwhelming, especially considering family drama, but I'll try to get caught up this week.)

• So Glee, bisexuality, & biphobia... 
• Tomorrow night is the Blaine/bi episode, and next week is the Brittana bisexuality episode. It's all but completely confirmed that Santana will come out as bisexual and will begin dating Brittany (who is still dating Artie?). Taking this into account, it's likely that this Blaine controversy is all just a segue into Britanna. Including the "does bisexuality even exist?" thing. It doesn't take away from the appalling insensitivity of RM's comments, nor have I been able to hang out on Tumblr without flying into a silent, seething rage every time someone makes a stupidly offensive comment... It hurts. Really, it just does... Every time someone says something like "he's a liar, he lied about who he really is," or "Blaine's questioning is so offensive to the gay community," I just... Ugh. Why is it that "I don't mean to offend anyone, but..." is always followed by the most offensive thing ever? I've kept my mouth shut about my own sexuality for so long, because of things like this, that it's hard not to take this personally. But I still want to see how this all plays out. So I'll probably make a note of what happens this week and next and will share either here or on Tumblr.
• A few days ago the House voted to defund Planned Parenthood, which would drastically cut back vital reproductive healthcare for thousands of men and women all over the country. If this measure, a part of the Pence Amendment, passes in the Senate, over 60% of Planned Parenthood facilities would have to close. 48 percent of PP patients-- about 1.4 million people -- would be without health care. (Planned Parenthood press statement)
• What PP opponents consistently fail to realize is that without funding for family planning, abortion rates are more likely to increase than decrease-- whether legal and safe or not. On top of that, they seem to ignore the laws that state that federal funding cannot be used to provide an abortion. PP uses private funding, as well as direct payments from patients to provide those services. And without the federal funding that covers their cancer screenings, and routine tests, and HIV testing and STD panels, and birth control, and pre-natal checkups, and pamphlets and seminars and everything else they provide, they will be very much hard-pressed to keep up with patients' needs. In fact, it would be nearly impossible.
• So this new bill, this Pence Amendment... Guess what else passed? PBS will also lose funding, but guess what really mattered to Republicans-- continuing to give a measly sum of 6 MILLION TAXPAYER DOLLARS FOR NASCAR. Not even joking. The GOP voted to keep $6 million in funds for sponsoring NASCAR racers, but cut "wasteful" spending on PBS and the biggest reproductive healthcare organization in the entire country. So for the past few weeks, the GOP has been cutting thousands of jobs, cutting healthcare and benefits, wasting money on people who waste tons of gas driving in circles for entertainment... Why the hell do people vote for them?!
• THIS pretty much explains how insane everything is, in a short version. Despite the fact that I am a staunch believer that "pro-life" has nothing to do with actually being pro-life.
• If it didn't mean digging up an old fight with someone I don't want to discuss anymore, I would go find my arguments from the healthcare debate re: birth control and reproductive healthcare. Point is, it's already an underfunded and often ignored area, especially when it comes to women's insurance coverage. That is where Planned Parenthood steps in. And we can't afford to lose that.
• Do everything you can to keep the Pence Amendment from passing in the Senate. Call your senators, sign a petition, email, tweet-- anything.
• Wisconsin
• Governor Walker is trying to pass a bill that would destroy employees' collective bargaining rights and is claiming that it has to do with fixing Wisconsin's budget gap. 
• Technically this part is all still just speculation, but... it doesn't. What many, including Dr. Rachel Maddow, actually suspect is that Walker is trying to undercut political opponents' campaign funding, since unions are the only groups with enough money to counter corporate donations, and they tend to support Democrats. The only people exempt are those who financially support Walker and other Republicans.
• Either way, this is a blatant attack on state workers and unions, and we will not stand for it!
• 14 of WI's Democratic state senators fled the state to block a vote on the bill. Most are hiding in undisclosed locations within northern Illinois... Meanwhile, tens of thousands of pro-union protesters, as well as FOX buses full of anti-union Tea Party members have been gathering in the streets of Wisconsin... Or inside that yellow-orange building I keep seeing.
• Check out Storyteller Knight's post on Wisconsin here.
  
  We Stand With Wisconsin.
• Petitions - CredoAction, Change.org
• Libya - Think Egypt only one country to the west. Repressive, delusional eccentric jerk of a dictator for 42 years. We know him as Qaddafi (or or Gaddaffi, or Khaddafi, apparently... Arabic is hard to transliterate).
• Keep an eye on this. From what I've been hearing, it's getting really, really bad out there, bordering on genocidal massacre. Al Jazeera is covering it, of course, as well as MJ, but other than that, few of the big name news organizations seem to have as much TV coverage. As far as I've seen, it's a lot of Wisconsin...
• Petitions - Care2, Petitions Online, Change.org, Change.org to BP
• Bahrain - Protests are continuing. And horrifying - video has surfaced of the army deliberately killing peaceful protesters. (WARNING - GRAPHIC. I haven't even watched it yet...)
• There is close to no major coverage of what's going here on right now.

I'm still trying to collect all of the links I've shared/read about all of this, so for right now, you're better off checking my Twitter account or Google shared articles (in that big white box on the right-hand side...) for updates and news. And when in doubt, Mother Jones and Al Jazeera! Like I said, life has been kind of crazy lately and I'm struggling to catch up at the moment...

Can I do this without getting sick? Maybe? #DearJohn, #trafficking, and the Super Bowl

Share on Twitter: Tweet

Storyteller Knight, it would seem that our Republican state reps are competing with each other over who can destroy women's rights faster. Yours introduced a bill that would strip away equal pay. Mine is the lead sponsor of the latest anti-abortion bill. I think NJ "wins" :-(

Ok, seeing as I am FINALLY in a better mood (my car is fixed! And my mother is officially declaring war on my abusive, deadbeat bastard father! Somehow this makes me happy. I don't know why. I think I'm just glad to have my car back... despite having to miss work because I couldn't get out of the driveway, as it had been blocked by fallen power lines...) I think I can attempt to tackle this HR3 bullshit without throwing up. Every time I hear about it, I want to. Oooh, and there's more. So yes, today we're talking about women's rights, abortion, and rape & sexual assault (which is not solely a women's issue. I wrote that 5000 word essay for a reason... But in this particular instance, I am focusing on women since bio men physically cannot have abortions...yet?).

So what is HR3? It's the GOP's way of prohibiting taxpayer funded abortions. Guess how? By redefining what constitutes as rape, and denying rape victims survivors the right to an abortion. Let me clarify - a bunch of men, and 2 women, want to A) tell women exactly what they can and can't do to their bodies, and B) redefine violent acts by (the congresspeople's) perceived level of violence.


(Ok, seeing as how that was written earlier in the week... The rape redefinition part has been taken out due to all of the backlash. And pro-choice NJ will be hanging our heads in shame of Rep. Chris Smith. Sponsored an anti-human trafficking bill, the nation's first ever, and now this. He went from helping rape victims survivors, to... I don't even know what this is anymore.)

I'll be compiling a bunch of petitions here for the time being (you may have seen some of these from Twitter). Next break I take from #Egypt (which will likely be Sunday), I'll be back to actually discuss this, and human trafficking (did you know that that Super Bowl is a magnet for child sex trafficking and prostitution? Now you do. So help us fight it, and protect and defend children during the Super Bowl.), and about what it really means to be pro-life. Hint: all of these war-mongering, guns-in-schools-loving, anti-abortion peeps? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say ultimately not pro-life. Details to follow.

ACLU - Tell your representative: "Don't play politics with women's health."
via Change.org - Stop Anti-Women Groups from Shaping Reproductive Health Policy
MoveOn.org - Redefining Rape?
Credo Action - Stop the radical rightwing's assault on choice

Sunday Updates - BP Spill, #LGBT & #DADT, Prison Geeks, etc.

Share on Twitter: Tweet

Did you think I was going to totally ignore the US just because I skipped the SOTU? Nah, I can totally do both! It's just going to be kind of low key this week, you know, laid back. Maybe even a bit silly at times. And I just need to actually find out what's going on in the US... (I needed to take a break for a while. America really pisses me off sometimes...)

• BP Oil Spill - Surprise, surprise, the oil's still down there. And guess what? So are the dispersants. (Warning - high science content! Yay!)
• 63 year old Roger Stockham was arrested today outside one of the largest mosques in the country, in Dearborn, Michigan. He carried with him a large quantity of explosives.
• While I don't particularly want to draw attention to certain people right now, I thought this was worth sharing today: out of all the Rush Limbaugh boycotts we've seen over the years, I don't think any of them have been as widespread and fast-moving as this one. His racist comments and derogatory imitations following Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the US have spurred a national backlash among activists and Asian-Americans. California state senator Leland Yee (D, from San Francisco) is at the forefront of this movement demanding an apology from Limbaugh, as well as a withdrawal from his sponsors. And in related news, Glenn Beck's ratings have dropped to an all time low and are continuing to fall. So low he has apparently already been dropped by NY's WOR station. See, I thought we could use a bit of good news...
• Have I mentioned what's been going on with DADT lately? We might see some action on the implementation of repeal as soon as February 4th. Hey, it's a start. We're getting there.
• In other LGBT news, Brenda Namigadde, a lesbian woman from Uganda, won temporary reprieve from deportation back to Uganda (where she would very, very likely be killed...). A British High Court judge granted an injunction.
• Also Re: Uganda - on that same day, David Kato, the gay rights leader who was recently murdered, was buried. Many believe that his death occurred as a result of the American evangelicals who had increased anti-gay sentiments (Maddow video) and influenced Uganda's "Kill the Gays" law, as well as the Rolling Stone tabloid's vicious hit list.
• And on a semi-related note, it seems that gay people seeking asylum in America are being faced with a new and appalling challenge. In the Czech Republic, gay asylum seekers were forced to undergo arousal testing (fellow psych geeks should know how this works... It used to be done on prisoners, if they were gay or sexual offenders, in America, for "rehabilitation" research. For everyone else - imagine being forced to watch porn while a scientist stares at, pokes, and measures the responses of your nether-regions... And if it's just not doing it for you, you're labeled "sick.") Men are given two options - get measured, or get deported. While I could rant about about all of the problems with mandatory arousal testing (especially how it discriminates against asexuals), I'll let you research that for yourself. In the US today, asylum seekers are forced to conform to an immigration officer's idea of what a LGBT person should look or act like. LGBT people are being forced to "prove" their gayness by representing stereotypes and submitting to humiliating "tests," just to be taken seriously.
• This just cracks me up. Apparently even geeks in prison want the right to play D&D (that's Dungeons & Dragons for all of you non-geeks out there. I'm a proud nerd and tech/art/book geek. D&D is much lower on the hierarchy of geekdom, so my knowledge on the subject is very limited. But I know the name and that it involves role-playing of some sort and dice with many sides... I dunno, google it.) Apparently some prison officials have banned the game because they believe it could lead to gang behavior. Gang behavior. And escape fantasies. (Well, I'm sure there is some sort of fantasy involved in playing the game, and I'm sure many prisoners already have "escape fantasies." But I suspect the point they're talking about, or anything worth worrying about, is actually not so much a fantasy but a psychological disorder... Extreme delusions?) And like I said, the image that popped into my head... A gang of this:
  

That's a hardcore gang member alright! The death penalty will never be a deterrent - but mandatory D&D games? Ack.

• Boehner felt a need to comment on his crying... Honestly, it's not a big deal. Men can cry. It's allowed. In fact, it's encouraged. It's ok, dude, let your feelings out. You're allowed to have them. You're human. Just don't ever diss a woman for being "too emotional" either. And please, for the love of ____, stop tanning!!!
• Remember the Rent is Too Damn High guy who was trying to run for NY governor? Jimmy McMillan? Apparently now he's running for president in 2012. As a Republican-- so that he doesn't have to face Obama in a primary. 
• On a side note, he has interesting views... I'd say he might actually be sort of moderate. Admires a certain Alaskan's political views, wants to essentially force one parent to stay home and raise the children, supports allowing Christianity to dictate/influence laws, doesn't believe in global warming... But also completely supports LGBT rights and gives full support for marriage equality, believes in free (in state?) college tuition, social justice, federal education programs and social programs for senior citizens. At least he did, when he was running for governor. Yet somehow he plans to do all of this by cutting taxes (for property owners). I'm not entirely sure how lowering taxes will "raise tax revenue," but good luck with that.
• There was a protest in California today, against the Koch brothers
• Whatever happened to rules reform in the Senate? All I've seen is this - it failed?
• This just in in World News - Sudan suceded?!

I'll try to update this a little more, later. There are few really interesting things in my news feed right now... I need to slough through it some more.

America's One Track Mind

Share on Twitter: Tweet

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.

"Crosshairs," Correlations, & Consequences: Dealing with What Happened in Tucson

Share on Twitter: Tweet

"We are again dealing with difficulties in a contentious, partisan time. We are more connected than ever before, more able to spread our ideas and beliefs, our anger and fears. As we exercise the right to advocate our views, and as we animate our supporters, we must all assume responsibility for our words and actions before they enter a vast echo chamber and reach those both serious and delirious, connected and unhinged." -- Bill Clinton, following the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing

I'm still a bit shaken after what happened... but I wanted to say this. I'll try to be coherent, but as usual, my thoughts are all over the place. It's taken me 4 days to even get to a point where I feel like I can speak again. I keep trying to process all that's going on, and make some sense of it, but... There are global moments of insanity, and disbelief, and anger, all rolled into a week-long fit of depression. Good times, Not so much...

EDIT: As usual, President Obama says it best. (Eulogy from tonight's memorial service in Tucson).

And when my boss says to me (while pointing at a neatly packed but apparently-not-the-way-she-wanted-it box of merchandise), "Who did this? They deserve to get shot!" and I'm left standing there, shaking, disgusted that even after everything that's happened in the past year, let alone the past 4 days, no one seems to understand how horrifying it is to hear that. (I once had a roommate who would declare that she would like to “shoot him/her in the face” every time she got angry at someone. I also had a roommate who would tell people “I’ll cut you!” It was uncomfortable then, and it’s still uncomfortable now. Nothing ever changes…) For something that is "just an expression" - do we really have to use such violent language just to express dissatisfaction? Saying that someone deserves to be shot because they did something you didn't like? Not cool.