Category: politics

get over it!, is it just me?, listen up!, politics, tragic, well?

just a return of little perspective…

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Mr Bush, stop sniveling that the Congress won’t do everything that you want them to do, in your way, and support the fucking bill already. You should know, that you can’t serve as president with the Congress that you want… you have to serve with the Congress you have… you can’t wait around for the Congress you wish to have at a later time.

I remember someone *cough* Rumsfeld *cough* saying that same thing about the military… interesting… that perspective totally applies here too! But, I am sure that things are too dark down there in the sand to actually see the parallel, and you know that these folks would never admit that they were careless, thoughtless, or disrespectful, you know?

Man, I love you Randi Rhodes.

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Rove vs. Crow and some music stuff to smooth out the stink

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Wow. I knew that Rove was an ass, but it is pretty interesting that he is such an ass in such a public way. Apparently, Sheryl Crow and Laurie David (the producer of An Inconvenient Truth) were at a dinner with Rove, and tried to talk with him about global warming. Rather than just have a talk with them, he got very defensive, and ended up telling them that he didn’t have to talk to them, because he didn’t work for them; he worked for the American people. To which Crow responded, “we ARE the American people”. Whoa. Harsh.

That just begs to question Rove’s, and frankly most of the top dogs of this administration, motives in what they do. If they don’t really think of some people as Americans because of the fact that they have popular positions in society, and have a voice to get out opinions that differ from the administration’s, then I wonder if they have anyones interest’s (other than their own, of course) in mind when they make decisions. I mean, if he gets this huffy over global warming (which apparently, he said that China isn’t doing anything, so neither should we), then one must speculate that he would act similarly to a current, more threatening, topic, right? That just bothers me to know that a representative of our government, especially one so high and influential, is unwilling to at least listen to what the American public has to say. Not only that, he gets belligerent and mean about the whole thing.

I think that it is a testament of his character that he is so nasty to people, especially in such a way that he is assured to get bad press from it; but yet, he does it anyway. Lots of people think that Rove is the devil, perhaps he is just more apt to show it to the rest of us, now. I can hope that he really isn’t this closed off to listening to the opinions and requests of the American people, but it appears to be another example of the “head in the sand” mentality that our government continues to portray. I just wish that the Bush administration would actually listen to what we think; this is supposed to be a democracy, right? Well, we have some say!! Don’t shoo us away!

Now, that story left a bad taste in my mouth, so I want to rinse it away with something sweet and refreshing. I have been listening to this magnificent group called Melee for the past several days, and with each listen, I love the CD even more. The lead’s voice does remind me a little of the lead singer of Snow Patrol, but they definitely have more of a Maroon 5 type of pop to their music. I really like every song on the CD, and look forward to enjoying it more and more.

Also, which is totally random, but totally awesome at the same time, I was asked to go see Aqualung by my good friends Barry and Rebekah tonight. I was all, “sure, that sounds fun”, mostly like “eh”, but only because I haven’t heard anything by Aqualung. But, once I found out that Sara Bareilles is opening, I got down right giddy. I LOVE her. I have seen her before, and I gushed about her then. She is amazing, and I can’t wait to see her tonight!!! Also (this is the random part… sorry for the delay), a very nice guy on flickr commented on one of my Mat Kearney photos, and a back and forth comment stream discovered that he is a concert photographer, and he is going to try and hook me up with a photo pass for the show tonight!(!!!!!!!!!!!) Um, wha? I really hope that it comes through, because that would be amazing. Keep your fingers crossed, and if I do get this amazing pass, I will have LOTS of pictures to boast about in the coming days. Stay tuned! Wish me luck!!!!

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why we need a national mental health system that works

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In light of the events that transpired this week, there is buzz on the internets about gun control and whatnot, and I was seriously thinking about chiming in, but I realized that there is something that is far more critical to focus on: mental health and the lack of support for those that need it. The man that committed these murders at VA Tech this week was suicidal and declared officially mentally ill and a harm to himself by a court and professional mental health professionals. So why didn’t he receive treatment? A teacher even threatened to quit if he wasn’t removed from her class because he was so disturbing; yet the system still failed him. If he would have had the support of a working mental health system, there might not have been an incident as awful as this one.

I am not saying that a mental health program that truly works to treat those that need it will solve all of these problems, and I am certainly not suggesting that this was a simple solution that could have definitely prevented the attack at VA Tech. But, it is ignorant to think that it couldn’t have at least opened up the chance that it could have been prevented.

The key philosophy of public health is prevention. It is the foundation upon which all of our epistemological approaches to handling epidemics and pandemics is built. Preventing the disease, and preventing it from spreading is always more important than waiting for the fall out of what happens when people become infected, or in this case, if the disease is allowed to run its course without treatment.

Cho was mentally ill. Severely disturbed. He should have gotten the help he needed. There were at least three known incidents in which he was deemed unstable before this attack, and yet, he was never forced to get the treatment he needed; even though that forced treatment was recommended by a court. We need a system in this country that provides that level of service for people like Cho. We need a system in place that will work to help people like Cho, instead of letting them fall through the cracks.

When youth act out in ways that are characteristic of mental illness, what they need is treatment. This treatment can save them; and more importantly, it can save others. Currently, there is no such program, because if there were, there wouldn’t be mentally ill youth sitting in juvenile detention facilities instead of mental institutions getting the treatment they need.

This lack of services, and the lack of those getting the help they need when they need it is backed by this statement, taken from the National Institute of Mental Health’s website:

The study indicates that the U.S. mental health care system is not keeping up with the needs of consumers and that improvements are needed to speed initiation of treatment as well as enhance the quality and duration of treatment. For instance, over a 12-month period, 60 percent of those with a mental disorder got no treatment at all.

60% is a lot. We must do something about that. Our government must do something about that. Whether or not you agree with socialized medicine, I would hope that you can see how crucial this health service is to our society. It can not only save those that need the help directly, but it can save others. If only Cho would have been able to get the help he needed, things might be different. I personally hope that this sends a loud message to the government, that they immediately work to invigorate and revamp the current mental health services available in this country. I hope that action will be taken before another tragedy like this occurs; because apparently, it didn’t happen after Columbine, which happened under similar circumstances.

The time for mental health is NOW.

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say again?

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Um, apparently, the surge IS working!

That’s right! Alright, so, no, that isn’t right. I am glad, though, that they did report the many, many people that were killed this past weekend, instead of pretending that no one is dying in Iraq, and that things are actually getting better, when things are getting far worse; more people are dying everyday at rates higher than ever before. But the surge is working? Um, I don’t think so.

Also, Mr. Bush seems to think that this surge is working because, according to him, having a pull out timetable is exactly what the terrorists want:

President Bush said Saturday that a Democratic plan to set an end date for the war gives “our enemies the victory they desperately want.” (link)

Actually, Mr. Bush, what I think they want is exactly what they are getting; a bloodbath. Their victory is coming everyday in increments; ever soldier lost is a victory to them. We are dying, the citizens of Iraq are dying, and at a rate that is the highest rate since we invaded. And still climbing. But you are right, keep those troops in there so more can die. The surge is working! FOR THE TERRORISTS and for DEATH. Jeez.

Also, I am deeply saddened by the actions of one troubled person yesterday at VA Tech, but I don’t think that the sensationalistic way that the news is all over this thing is helping. It was a tragedy. Yes. I feel sorry for everyone that had to endure that awful situation, and I feel for each person lost and their families. But, more people than this die in Iraq everyday, and we don’t seem to be too concerned about that. Let’s not even mention the thousands and thousands of people dieing in Africa everyday; did someone say genocide in Darfur?

All I am saying, is I wish there were a little more levity when it comes to death and destruction, and the way it is used to stir up fear, as well as less sensationalism in the media. No wonder we are so afraid, the way the news portrays any violence would scare the bejesus out of anyone, as it does; and it is time to stop doing that. It is time to just report the news and do so without the sensationalism. It was a tragedy, but I think it is going a little far to say things like, “I think everyone will remember where they were when they heard the news”, like I heard on NBC last night. The sensationalism has to go if we are to ever exist without the culture of fear controlling us.

Also, as for those people out there saying things about the shooter being a terrorist (without evidence), and people like that moron Dr Phil saying that the problem is video games, SHUT THE FUCK UP idiots. Seriously, you are causing more problems, and contributing to the problem. Exploitation of this situation is deplorable and disrespectful.

Sidenote: I am not avoiding addressing the answers of the previous post; this was just the forefront of my thoughts, and it actually gives a little more time for more people to give their take on the state of HIV/AIDS today. I hope there will be more insight shared. A follow up post is something you can count on, so no need to worry about that.

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thinking on tuesday: the results

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See! Sexual orientation is not a choice! Science is doing what it can to prove what we “sexual deviants” have always known to be true. Now, getting people to accept it… that’s the tricky part.

I don’t see how an anti-American protest and a call for American forces to leave Iraq on the 4th anniversary of the fall of Baghdad shows “progress” in the “war on terror”. To me, that just gives us more and more face time with the reality that we shouldn’t be there at all. The progress will come when we stop occupying a country that we have no business occupying. Sure, they weren’t able to assemble like that under Saddam (which is why it was touted as progress), but, uh, can’t we see that WE are their enemy? We weren’t the enemy before the war, so apparently, the progress here is in creating new enemies for ourselves.

On another war related thought, why don’t we hear more about the American troops that are killed every day in Iraq? I mean, there were 30 some odd troops killed over the weekend, and I don’t see that article or that reference anywhere. Instead, you have idiots like Mccain saying that Iraq is actually safer, speaking from under his body armor and from inside his heavily guarded human border. If Iraq is getting safer, how come more than a hundred people are killed there almost every day? That doesn’t sound very safe to me, especially since violence is surging in other parts of Iraq. So I guess “saving” Baghdad is all we need to say that things are going great? Gah.

Who the fuck eats peeps? I mean, they are pretty and all, but they are fucking gross. I love marshmallows, and I wonder why they had to ruin them by coating them in sugar. Who even eats just sugar anyway? It is gross! I did get a bunch of them though, and have been, and will continue to, take pictures of them. Like I said, they are pretty.

I worried about Sydney. He is still not feeling well, and I am letting my emotions get the better of me. I hope that he is back to normal very soon. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to him. I pray that nothing will.

Drinking every day is not a bad thing. Nope, not at all. Would you like another glass of wine?

I am really looking forward to dinner and drinks with my friends tonight. I love spending time with good friends.

That’s about it.

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they are the poor and the homeless; not the lazy

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Do people really think that people are poor, live in poverty, or are homeless because they are too lazy to do anything about it? I ask, because I know that there are a few readers and commenters that have either hinted that they believe this, or have stated it repeatedly. While I do always welcome comments and opinions here on this blog, I also ask this question, because it upsets me that people over simplify serious issues in this manner, in order to justify their beliefs and make themselves feel better about the problem. I ask this, because I couldn’t just let it go without saying what I truly think and feel about this subject. And so, this blog post is born.

To begin, I will illusrate just a few of the real reasons why we have poverty and homelessness in this country:

  • mental illness
  • lack of affordable health care
  • lack of jobs that pay living wages
  • addiction
  • veterans that lack the support they require upon returning home wounded
  • domestic violence
  • bad luck (living paycheck to paycheck, and then something bad happens you can’t control)
  • accidents (which coincides with the lack of affordable health care, as well as bad luck)
  • lack of ability to compete for living wages (education, or more importantly, the lack thereof)
  • disability
  • decrease in public assistance for those that need it

The sad fact is, that these are just a few of the reasons people are living in poverty, or are homeless. Are these all of the reasons? No. But, you have to realize and understand that not all people start out with the same opportunities in life. The American dream is not real for most people, and most will never truly see a rags to riches story written about their lives. Many people that live in this country live paycheck to paycheck, with little or no savings in the bank; barely making ends meet to feed their family, and themselves. If something happens, something unexpected, something that you cannot afford, you have to choose; what goes? Power? Food? Clothes? Home? Car? These are the real facts that many people face everyday. Working more isn’t going to solve this problem. If you are sick, you can’t work, and if you can’t work, you can’t get the medical attention you need to get better. It is a vicious cycle. The fact is, that these people aren’t lazy. They aren’t looking for a free hand out or a free ride. They are looking to survive.

Without decent wages, affordable housing, and a chance, they won’t. They can’t. The system, that is, our capitalistic system, is built to exploit and forget about them. But it doesn’t have to be that way. First we use them for jobs that we won’t do, and then we turn a blind eye to their troubles, all the while those at the top of those very exploitative corporations cash multi-million dollar annual paychecks. Again, many of these people aren’t lazy at all; working two jobs just to make ends meet and still, they can’t get a leg up. They work and try, but yet, they can’t seem to get out of debt, and are at a constant risk of losing their homes. If they get sick, it could result in a loss of everything.

Sure, there are people that are lazy out there that are looking for a hand out. In fact, there are many lazy people that lucked out, and got all the money and power that they could ever want or need from their families. They did absolutely no work for it, they just happened to be born to the right people at the right time. And there are those that are too lazy to do anything that live in poverty, too; but I refuse to allow people to classify all people suffering from the effects of poverty and homelessness as lazy. Lazy is not a cause of poverty, lazy is a choice, lazy can change. Blaming homelessness and poverty on laziness is sheltered and ignorant. Survival isn’t as easy as “don’t be lazy”.

I write this because I was upset at some comments that transpired on previous posts about homeless people and people that live in poverty in this country. Mainly, it really pisses me off that people don’t realize that there are any number of contextual factors that contribute to a person’s daily life, and they continue to deny these things to justify their own selfish beliefs. If you truly believe that all poverty-stricken people, and all homeless people are the cause of their own problems, and are all just looking for a hand out, you are not only out of touch with reality, you are obviously not cognizant of the fact that each and every one of us, given a shitty set of circumstances, could end up right where these people are.

I know that I don’t have tons of money in the bank, and if a myriad of problems were to suddenly occur, I could be facing many of these problems. In fact, we all could (at least, those of us not lucky enough to be born with a silver spoon in our mouths). But the reality that I could face poverty or homelessness isn’t because I am lazy, it is because this is the way the world works, and sometimes, it isn’t enough to just want to survive.

Sometimes, as a part of calling ourselves a society, we have to help those that cannot help themselves. We have to empower those that do not have the voice to empower themselves. If we don’t, we will never truly respect that delicate balance in which we too are a part of; you never know when you are going to be the one in need. You never know when you are going to need that hand to help you up, and hopefully, it won’t happen to you, but realizing that it does happen doesn’t have to go unnoticed and unaddressed. We can help, and we should. If for no other reason than because we can. Sure, there are those that will exploit the system, but they are not the majority. Turning your back on everyone because of them is cruel and merciless. I just can’t let it go that the richest nation in the world can turn a blind eye to these problems; the problems of its own people.

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funding vs. veto: where to really point your finger

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Mr. Bush, if you veto a FUNDING bill, then YOU are the one that is denying the troops funding. The bill is giving them money, and for that money to forward, YOU have to okay it. Since you haven’t come up with any plan other than “this is unacceptable” and “we aren’t leaving”, I suggest that you realize how hypocritical it is for you to continually say you support the troops when you take actions like this. The blame for the troops not getting the funding they need, and are being offered by the Congress, lies solely on your Mr. President. Your veto is a strong statement; it says loud and clear that you cannot accept responsibility for anything as complicated as rational thought and rational decision making, and that you, above all, do not support the troops, and do not want to give them the funding they need and deserve. Passing the buck here isn’t going to work. (link)

I for one hope that Congress doesn’t back down. I say, that if Bush does veto it, then that’s fine, just make sure that people realize that he had a funding bill sitting in front of him, one that would have given the troops the funding they needed, and he turned it down. HE turned it down. Ridiculous. But then, so too is the logic these people use, right? I for one am sick of this mess. Either give them the funding they need, and be realistic and realize that the American people want to actually get out of Iraq, or be your usual “head in the sand”-self, and pretend that you are the “decider”. I just hope that this time, credit is given where credit is due, and this isn’t blamed on the Democrats (who, again, are offering funding). Offering a funding mechanism that the President turns up his nose to and refuses is NOT taking money away from the troops, at least, not on the part of those offering up the dough. THIS JUST IN… Apparently, Bill O’Reilly is the voice of those idiots I was speaking of, that think that this has anything to do with the Democrats “holding up funding”:

Americans fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are caught in the middle of a nasty political brawl between President Bush and the Democratic party. Democrats led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi want a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. The president says that’s a foolish military strategy and will not do it, so the Democrats are holding up military funding. (source… I know it is hard to link fauxnews, but that’s where the idiocracy is…)

Hey Bill, sweetness, um, Bush is holding up the funding, the Democrats are trying to give them the money. And it isn’t just the Democrats, it is the Congress. Be a peach and gain some perspective, mmmkay?
Also, this is hilarious how completely daft these people are:

Harry Reid is wrong to force a timetable and try to cut funding at this moment. He and Speaker Pelosi are putting American troops in a very bad position.

Can anyone explain to me how PROPOSING FUNDING is CUTTING IT? Or better yet, how it is DENYING funds??? Wow. Can’t. See. Past. Own. Bullshit. Wow, we really do have a long way to go if these are the people that are running the world. Perhaps there needs to be another “i” and one less “n” in running… (ruining anyone)?

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can’t there be some sort of happy medium?

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NYC condomsRight now, there is a debate going on over at my flickr page, on a specific photo that I posted of the new NYC sponsored condoms. While I know that there are varying opinions on whether or not the government has a stake in providing either health care or public health services to the people of this country, I honestly wonder; why can’t there be a happy medium? I mean, seriously, if you think government sponsored prevention programs are a bad idea, then you obviously don’t understand the impact that they have on health care. If you can prevent disease, you don’t have to treat it! (hence why I think the NYC condoms are such an amazing and awesome idea and execution of that idea!)

Most of the people that argue against public sponsored health care and public health services don’t believe that there should be any government support. A lot of people that are in the opposite camp, who are for those services, think that they should be available to everyone. I want to ask, why can’t there be a solution that falls somewhere between all and nothing? Sure, socialized medicine in theory is a great idea; everyone is taken care of. But, as dave, and others that believe what he believes about socialized medicine correctly point out, there are inherent problems when the government tries to take over and control something that it doesn’t really know how to do. Case and point: medical services for troops and veterans. Talk about a huge fuck up. And that is not what we want for everyone in the country.

Unfortunately, those fuck ups are then used to smear the idea of having any assistance from the government for public health services, and that is something I don’t understand. The main reason I don’t understand it, is because if you look at the countries that have socialized medicine, while it may not be the best possible solution, they far exceed our mortality rates, infant deaths, life expectancies and so on. It is obvious, that overall, government involvement in providing public health services does have a net benefit. So why can’t we take what we know (the government can fuck it up) and use that to come up with a happy medium that isn’t all (everyone must use government sponsored health care), or nothing (fuck em if they can’t afford it on their own)?

I wonder this, because my own personal views of public health and government supported health care come from a place of extensive education and research. I work for the top government public health organization, and have a masters degree of study that was mainly focused on public health. In addition to that focus, my masters degree focuses even more on what happens when the application of that public health means well, but goes wrong, or, in even worse situations, when it is ignored, and not provided at all. Speaking as someone who is very well educated in the subject, I think that it is ignorant to think that the government does not have any stake in providing people with some public health and health care services. Currently, the services that are provided are good in many respects, but are really awful in other areas. I think that it wouldn’t be very difficult to have governmental support in the areas that are bad, and that would provide for those that need the support. This does not equal total government support in the least; what it does do, is it helps those that need it get it.

Isn’t that what society is for? If everyone went around with the attitude of, “me, me, me, me!”, then we wouldn’t be able to function as a society. With specific regards to public health and health care services, the government does provide some services, and SHOULD, because if you want to support and maintain a society with a thriving economy, you must consider and support the health of the people that a part of that system. If you rely solely on charitable support for your health care, you will never get anywhere near what people truly need, as most of the people that have the money to give large charitable donations will never give enough to adequately cover what tax dollars can cover. Everyone can benefit from a government sponsored public health and health care services plan, which would include things like insurance changes, regulations on doctor fees, lowering of prescription prices, and so on. I just don’t see why a happy medium is such a bad thing.

The only people that I can see that would be so against this happy medium that I am suggesting (which again, does NOT include forcing everyone to have government sponsored health care), are people that don’t care about anyone other than themselves. It is interesting to me that these are the people that usually tout charitable donations as the solution (sorry to call you out dave), because being so selfish obviously means you wouldn’t be giving charitable donations. It is like saying, the solution would be to color it red, and you are the only one in the room with a red crayon, and you are unwilling to share it, or color it red yourself. That is not only selfish, it is undeserving of being a member of society in my opinion. We have to sacrifice things to be a part of society, sacrifice things to the one body that can govern and protect us. That body is the government, and while I too don’t agree with what all of our tax dollars go to, I think that public health is one of the most critical and substantially important places that money should be going to, and some sort of government involvement in that is not only required, but expected. To suggest otherwise is negligent, in my opinion.

Now, I know you are itching to, so go ahead and rip me a new one. I know that you may disagree, and that is fine, these are our opinions after all. We are entitled to them. This is mine. It isn’t like what is said here will become the policy of the government, even though I hope that some form of what I have stated could eventually find its way into our current policies. To be quite frank, I also think that it is a good thing that these opinions will not become policy, with specific regard to the thought that government has no place in providing public health services! I write this, because I truly don’t understand how the richest and most powerful nation in the country can turn its back on the citizens that live here. Those people are not entitled to anything more than anyone else, but they are also not to be denied anything that everyone else may have (and do have) a better chance at receiving. If you believe that everyone has the ability to get whatever they want (the “American dream”), then this argument is falling on deaf ears, because you have decided to tune out what is really going on in this country (and throughout the world) long ago. I only hope that one day, each side of this argument can find a way to come together and simply provide what is needed. THAT is what will make for stronger society. That is what will make for better and more robust economy. And that is what will make us stronger and better as a nation.

Continuing to go in the direction of wealth, power, and destruction at all costs, even the cost of our own citizens, will ultimately be our own demise. We will not need terrorists to destroy us, we will destroy ourselves. We are already doing it. And that is scary, but real.

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and how is that any different from the last 4 years?

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Bush is getting all prissy pants, and saying that he will definitely veto the bill that Congress is putting forward, because, wait for it, it has conditions that he doesn’t like. He demands that the bill have no strings or he will certainly veto it. Um, listen you little cry baby, you don’t get to make all of the decisions! Congress and the Senate were also elected BY US, and they represent us when you get all high and mighty. Don’t forget that.

Also, I love that he is all,

The secretary of defense has warned that if Congress does not approve the emergency funding for our troops by April 15, our men and women in uniform will face significant disruptions — and so will their families. (source)

So, Mr. Bush, can you please explain to me how their lives haven’t faced significant disruptions up until now? How is this any different? Sending your son or daughter into a war zone is a significant disruption. Telling a troop that they are going into battle when they have not received proper military combat training is not only amazingly like a death sentence, I would beg to use rationality to realize that it is at least disruptive to that troop.

Additionally, Bush said that he was worried that this spending bill would deflect funds away from providing the troops with the supplies that they need.

UH, seriously? So you are telling me, that for the last 4 years we have been providing the troops with everything they need? Wow. You are way more in the dark than I had previously thought. Why not, instead of keeping your head so firmly buried in the sand, listen to the many men and women that are screaming at the top of their lungs about this war. Listen to the troops that you say you are so concerned about. LISTEN! (Where’s Beyonce when you need her?!) Stop your namby-pamby priss priss crap, and be a real man. A real man doesn’t pout when he doesn’t get his way, and stomp his foot saying that he will veto a bill because “it’s not fair!”. That is so 3rd grade, Mr. Bush, and it is scary enough that you run the country, but to think that you are acting like a 3rd grader is even more frightening.

For the sake of the troops and their families… LISTEN!!!!

Also, for anyone of the Republicans and conservatives that are saying the most awful and slanderous things about Edwards and his wife, you should be supremely ashamed of yourself. If this is an example of what it means to show compassion the Christian way, I want nothing to do with Christianity. I thought Christianity was supposed to be there for your neighbor, and show love and compassion when someone is in a time of need, NOT go around making fun of a woman that is in the 4th stage of metastasized cancer. That is not only heartless, it is disgusting. Edwards deserves a break on this one, because I know that if my partner was going through what his wife is going through, there is no way that I would even be able to operate properly from day to day, and he and his wife have decided to still campaign. If you were really Christians, you would feel sympathy for his wife, and have nothing but the utmost respect and support for their family. Because they are truly in a time of need. Shame on you.

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ways to make yourself extremely frustrated

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Update: Good grief. More frustration just in: Here’s another way to get frustrated; you realize that these are the people that are leading the country, and that they probably think that this is true. Tony Snow says that the Congress doesn’t have oversight of what the White House does. Hmm… I’m pretty sure that is the point of having a Congress, but then again, I’m not the press secretary, so maybe I got it wrong. Frustrating indeed. I guess we could just get rid of Congress you know, and then Bush could be the dictator he always wanted to be. That way, no one would be able to weigh in on any decisions that he makes, and he could just do whatever he wanted! Geez… what tyrants these boys keep proving themselves to be!

Right now, the number one way I am making myself frustrated, is trying to figure out how to change some of the things on my blog template. I feel like the side bar is extremely cluttered, and I wanted to get a drop down menu thing going on for the categories and the archives. But it doesn’t seem to be a solution out there that doesn’t require me to be an expert at PHP. I have toyed around with all of the suggestions I could find, and ended up more frustrated than anything, because nothing worked. Also, I don’t know if you have seen the files for the wordpress theme K2 or not, but when I click on edit, and it displays the code, I start to have the shakes and go into a pre-convulsive state.

I managed to learn quite a lot when I first started blogging, mainly, updating my HTML skills to moderate from easy, and learning all I could about CSS. The result was that I was able to edit and develop the template that I liked the most, and I was even lucky enough to stumble onto helpful solutions (the same drop down menu problem as now, was solved before). But I just feel lost right now. I mean, PHP seems SOOO confusing to me, mainly because it is this completely foreign code. I totally get CSS, but PHP is miles above my head.

Is there anyone out there that feels my frustration and wants to lend a helpful hint as to how I can A) learn some PHP so that I can do this myself, and B) point me in a direction where I will be able to find the solution? I am tired of going around in circles on the forums trying to see if anyone else has the same issue, only to see that they too never got it resolved.

I am also interested in maybe designing my own template, not because I don’t like K2 (because I really do), but because I don’t want to be limited in the future because of this template.

And that’s where I am sitting at this Friday afternoon. I hope everyone else is have a good day. One final note, yesterday, James and I met some old friends for beers after work, and it was definitely a great time. All of us haven’t gotten together in quite a while, and it was really nice to reconnect, and it made me realize that it has been too long. I hope that this is a sign that we will all start doing more things together, because good friends are certainly hard to come by, and when you have them, life is good.