Category: politics

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never satisfied!

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So I saw a blog theme that I liked earlier today, and all it did was put a bee in my bonnet about making changes to mine. Problem is, I only know enough CSS to do the basics, and as such, really don’t know how to edit an open source theme to do what K2 does for me. So that leads me to just being frustrated, and never satisfied with my current theme (which, as you may or may not have noticed, has changed a little over the past few weeks). What does everyone else think about this theme? I like the plaid, but I am not stuck on it. I want something that looks a little less simple; all while maintaining some simplicity. Wow, that sounded way more complicated than I wanted it to. Either way, advice would be welcome at this point.

Also, totally unrelated, but why are people even listening to Mike Huckabee? The man is clearly off his God-fearing rocker, so I can’t help but wonder why this man is constantly given the microphone and allowed to spread his ridiculous ideas. Apparently, he thinks that homosexuality and bestiality are the same thing, on top of his desire to change this country into a theocracy. So then, I ask, who believes this shit? Clearly, not anyone that I would want to run into in my lifetime. I guess he is “entitled” to speak as much as he wants, so long as he can keep coming up with the money to run for office; but it really makes you wonder how people that have this warped of a sense of reality, and this close-minded of a view of society can rise so far in the ranks, you know? Either way, I just wish he would shut up already; we’ve got it… you’re crazy. Thanks. Moving on. How about we pay attention to someone that actually will do something positive for all of us in this country, shall we?

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what to blog?

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What is there to blog about?

Not having the list to work on, I find that I am not very interested in blogging about the topics swirling in my head these days. Yet, for the sake of sparking possible conversation, let’s say I did blog these thoughts; what would they be?

  • I find myself wondering, if at some point in the (near) future, if we will have to explain to children what winter means. Seriously, in the South, we don’t really have one anymore, and if the climate keeps going the way that it is, it will be 90 in February at some point. Scary thought, really.
  • Does anyone really care that much about the caucus races? At least in the beginning? Neither party has actually come out and said, “we want X”, so I am just wondering why everyone is so “point happy” right now. It’s going to be a while before anything really worth paying attention to happens, so I guess this is going to be a long year. It really makes you wonder why people are encouraged and allowed to waste so much money on simply campaigning; when it could be used to actually solve the problems they talk incessantly about fixing.
  • Any good music out there lately? I feel like I have hit a wall, and I am not taking in anything right now. Perhaps it was because of the overload from last month’s list. Who knows, the hunger is still there, if anyone has something they want to suggest.
  • School started back this week. I am taking Anatomy II and Abnormal Psychology. I really hope that this semester goes better than the last one did. I got really good grades, but I was really stressed the whole time. Here’s hoping for a better time this time around.
  • Anything I’m missing?

What’s going out there in the internets? Hello? Is this thing on? Sometimes I just feel like no one is listening/reading, and people are just whizzing by, living their daily lives, while I inexplicably fall into the drab mundane routine I have found myself in for the past several years. Here’s to change in 2008… right?

Eh. Whatever…

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alright, my candidate for president is…

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Ha! I got you!

Just kidding… I said it was too early to “back a candidate”, and I couldn’t agree more, but I have to say, I can’t get over the optimism that I constantly and consistently see from Dennis Kucinich. I think that he has lofty goals, and falls on the side of extreme optimism when it comes to many of the issues; but that is why I like him so much. I would like to believe, as he does, that things REALLY can be good without all of the evil that we currently see. I would really like to believe that there is more to people than power and greed.

I mean, can you imagine having a president that actually cares about poverty; that is, ENDING it, and not creating it (like our current “leader”)? He’s got the right idea about the “gay agenda” too (the only one to be for gay marriage; which again, isn’t the issue, but nevertheless, we know where stands); equal rights for one and all. I just can’t help but think, that it could be a truly great society if we were all as optimistic, and really believed and strove for that which could make us the best society that we really could be. What would be so bad about having a nation of people that were all doing well, and thriving? That sounds like a good thing to me!

While I am going to stick to my “it’s too early” principle, and I am not going to say that I “back” him officially; I do hope in my heart that a man that believes that peace and equality are two fundamental principles for this world’s survival can have such an influential position someday. Maybe Dennis is that man? I for one think that would be pretty awesome.

All that, and his wife is hot! (Not to mention, really smart, and quite the optimistic sharer of great ideas).

Go Kucinich! (And those like him)!

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we regret that we must now interupt your regularly scheduled blogpost…

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For whatever reason, I have been “in it” again lately.

I actually stayed home sick from work yesterday, and slept until 5:30pm. It still blows my mind that I could sleep all night and all day. I feel like Rip Van Winkle, without the silly long beard. I feel better today, and I am glad that I took the sick time… but it is definitely reflective of how I feel lately.

I am fed up with my classes. My statistics professor apparently would rather trick us, rather than actually quiz us on what we are studying. That is the only explanation that I have for her behavior, and method of asking questions on information that is not covered. Additionally, my absent anatomy teacher is frustrating, but not something I am really complaining about… less fuss if you ask me. I just don’t want trickery on tests; which would be my complaint. Overall, my first semester back in college has been a weird one. It is going to be a long road. I have already registered for next semester, and I hope to god it is much better than this one was.

Speaking of God… apparently, praying for rain the night before the weather service calls for rain makes it rain. Cool. Perhaps I shall pray for the sky to be blue tomorrow, or for air to have oxygen in it. Maybe that’s how we should do all government things… just pray for what we already know is going to happen, and then be like, “See! God is listening! Pray some more, and everything will be right as rain!”. Gah… what a douche you are, Sonny. It is just frustrating that people like him have so much money and power.

Other than the rain, I would like to thank God for my ipod, and just music in general, because without it, I would truly be lost. That, and the fact that my new DVD player plays region 2 DVDs… I am loving Spaced so much right now. Also, I am really looking forward to my 31 days of music in December. I am really enjoying getting my 31 CDs ready for the list, and I hope that everyone will find at least something to enjoy.

Hope you are all well out there in blogland… I’ll see you tomorrow for your 5SF. Take care!

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some wins, a major worry, and a lack of perspective (yet again)

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I want to high-five Dennis Kucinich; it does take balls to put forward something like the impeachment of Cheney (especially when we have been calling for it for so long). While it may not actually happen (boo!), I hope that it does; and I won’t forget that Dennis is the guy that got the issue actually going, which is a welcome sign that there are some balls somewhere in the house of Dem.

ENDA passed; which is a great step forward in the protection against being fired simply for being gay or lesbian. I hope that this signals more good things in store for the equalization of rights for all of us. No one should be able to be fired because their boss is a bigot, and now, it seems like they are a little safer. Bravo.

I blogged about it before, but please, don’t forget that there is a gay youth in serious danger of being hanged for being gay in Iran. This cannot happen. I am glad to see that the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission is at least paying some attention now. This is a chilling reminder that gays and lesbians are NOT free in this world, and if one of us is at risk of being murdered because of who we are, we are all at risk. It cannot be allowed to happen, and Iran must not be allowed to conduct serious acts of murder and violence against any human. I certainly feel for this boy and his family. By keeping this topic in the news, we are keeping Iran under the microscope, and hopefully, it will lead to a stay of execution indefinitely.

Finally, I was amused when I read that this is what Bush had to say about the veto override the Senate exercised in the funding of projects to rebuild the areas affected by hurricane Katrina:

“American taxpayers should not be asked to support a pork-barrel system of federal authorization and funding where a project’s merit is an afterthought,” he said.

Wait, WHAT? All of a sudden, Mr. Bush is concerned what WE taxpayers are concerned with when it comes to government spending? Uh, Mr. Bush, you can’t have a blank check for your war on the middle east, and then get all pissy when we want money to rebuild parts of our own nation; it just shows how out of touch with the real situation he really is. Someone, please get this man a large does of perspective; stat. I love how it was “an afterthought”… uh, someone really needs to get him up to speed as to what is going on in the world right now; the man clearly has no idea.

Other than that… I am sure that there is a lot more SHIT going on in the world that is scary and evil, but it almost seems too overwhelming to deal with it all, doesn’t it? I mean, just look at the CRAPPER that the economy is in… we are seriously inching towards being TOTALLY fucked instead of just being fucked. When will the great America turn things around for herself? I just hope that we can.

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remember, remember…

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The fifth of November,
the gunpowder, treason, and plot,
I know of no reason
why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot…

The plot of Guy Fawkes is a good reminder that dissent may truly be the most ambitious, yet patriotic form of patriotism (which is paraphrasing the often thought to be Thomas Jefferson, but it actually wasn’t (?), quote). I believe, now more than ever, that it is imperative, given the circumstances of this country, this world, this existence, that we stand up and question what is being done. Things are out of control, and we can’t look the other way any longer.

We can’t let there be a time when recalling the events of this day include a time when no one stood up when they came for the others, and then, inevitably they finally came for us, and no one was left to stand up for us. All accounts of the events in the news indicate that in more ways than one, things are going from bad to worse, and I can’t help but think, “does it have to happen?”. Do we have to just follow? Why aren’t our representatives doing something about this? How bad does it have to get before we make it stop?

Remembering the bravery that it takes to stand up to the government isn’t enough, but it seems that it is all that there is right now. I hope that changes soon. I hope that our words and our actions can bring some accountability to where there is none. I hope that our pressure on our government can shed light on the theft that is occurring right before our eyes. I hope that we won’t be the ones that suffer for the blood money that those at the top are raking in.

This really makes me think; where is V when you need him? I think that I will be watching V for Vendetta tonight… and hoping for some bravery to stand against our ever-increasingly-oppressive government. Want more? Check out this remembering article.

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why is gay marriage an issue?

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I keep hearing all of this stuff about trying to find each presidential candidate’s position on gay marriage, and I have ask… why is gay marriage an issue that should be the concern of a president? Seriously? The issue is not gay marriage; it is civil rights. Marriage is the word that the use to describe the religious procedure of getting bound to another person for life. The only thing that could make it an issue, is that it is currently recognized by the government as a legal union, and there are privileges that come with its status. However, it is not the issue, and I don’t get why we are so concerned with that word; marriage.

I would happily take a civil union any day; so long as it afforded me EQUAL rights. I don’t give two shits about calling my partnership a “marriage” vs. calling it a “civil union”; so long as we are treated equally under the law of our government. I personally think that should be more of the focus, as this issue will always be used as more of a wedge than anything, and no person in their right mind is going to go up against the juggernaut that is the Christian church. Also, isn’t there supposed to be a separation of church and state? So again, why not stop calling it “gay marriage” as an issue?

I think that if you get married, good for you; you should also have to file for a civil union, which should be the only union the government officially recognizes. Make it standard for everyone, and make it available for gays and lesbians as well. Keep marriage in the churches, take religion out of the equation, and things can be more acceptable for everyone, right? Perhaps this is too simple of a concept, but it boggles my mind that gay marriage is all anyone ever asks about when it comes to gay and lesbian rights and a presidential candidate. (what about gay civil rights of other people throughout the world? I think that should be a huge concern of ours as well; but that is a more lengthy conversation).

I realized this more fully when I was reading what Obama said, and the “reaction” from some of the gays that he was against gay marriage. We don’t need to fight for religious justification; we need to fight for equality. Sure, the fight for gay marriage is a fight for equality, but it isn’t necessarily the same thing; take religious practice out of the picture officially. These church driven people are NEVER going to give us the “right” to take their “sacred” practice (now with a 50+% failure-rate!) for ourselves, so we should just drop the shit already. I am tired of continually giving it back to them so they can wedge it between what’s really important and this dance that we have been stuck in forever. I am for equality; nothing less, nothing more. Doesn’t that sound like a more fruitful fight?

Unrelated link: This is quite fascinating if it is true; apparently, the first AIDS case was in 1969 in the US. This makes me wonder; why didn’t it spread to the epic proportions that it has today? What was the factor that caused it to spread so rapidly in the 1980s that was different 11 years earlier? If this man was the first documented case of AIDS, how many people had it before him; and who infected him? It really turns the notion of epidemiology on its head, because it really did occur in a seemingly singular incident. Weird.

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contraception to be offered to middle school students; and?

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So apparently, there is a slight hub-bub about kids being offered contraceptives after an “outbreak” of pregnancies among middle school kids. AND?

Now, regardless of any objection about providing contraceptives for any reason, I want to know why we are not providing them with sex education that is the most effective? Wouldn’t that eliminate the need for this “controversial” take on preventing teenage pregnancy? How come our government still clings to the utter nonsense that is abstinence only education?

If people still think that kids are not having sex, and want to continue with the utter and complete BULLSHIT that is abstinence only education, I seriously think they need to be beaten about the head and shoulders; in hopes that it would knock some fucking sense into them. The time to reform sex education is BEFORE a string of pregnancies; which I might need to remind people that focus on abstinence only education, is caused by having sex. That’s right! Kids are totally doing it, no matter how far you want to go in convincing yourself that they are not.

What really got me worked up in reading this article, is that it mentions that condoms are available, but it doesn’t say to what capacity that they are recommended. Under federal guidelines for sex education, it is my knowledge that they would not be recommended at all, and in some cases, even discouraged, and represented as an ineffective means of preventing pregnancy and STDs. To piggyback on that thought, it really frustrates me that they are so willing to try and prevent pregnancy, without any thought or stance on preventing STD transmission. Sure, having a baby is a big deal, but so is getting HIV! Where’s the concern? (did someone say, love the fetus, hate the child? oh…)

For me, this totally relates to whether girls getting a vaccine for cervical cancer, and how it could be seen as “controversial”. If you can PREVENT a disease by practicing certain things, why wouldn’t you want to encourage those things among the greater population? In all seriousness, to continue to follow this “bury your head in the sand and it will go away” method of treating our nation’s children and their “non” behaviors, is about as backward thinking as it can get. The whole take our government has on childhood sexual education makes me want to fucking scream. Grrrr….