MUSINGS OF THE unAMUSED

Barry Goldwater...a useful blast from the past

2010-11-24T21:55:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRq-gelZFgg

Photo coutesy of: americafrom1865.blogspot.com

At the request of a self-proclaimed "Goldwater Republican" friend, I recently viewed Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. Although Senator Goldwater would probably (to paraphrase Walter Cronkite) roll over in his grave, I almost hesitatingly would categorize Goldwater as a liberal of his time and ours. He himself pointed out that years into the future, his views might be considered as such, but who knew just how right he was? Most "right-wing" Republicans of today would likely view Goldwater with distaste, as he was essentially pro-choice and pro-gay rights. But what I found Senator Goldwater to be--most of all--was principled. His views came from experience (as his own daughter had made the difficult choice to have an abortion) and from a strict interpretation of the The Constitution. He was against gays in the military for a time, but as he grew older and wiser, had the good sense and humility to change his mind on the matter and admit such publicly on Larry King's cable TV show. Goldwater was refreshing because he spoke his mind plainly, without reservation. Obviously some had a problem with his rhetoric, but many also found him to be a breath of fresh air in a political world of smog--which is likely why he excited the youth vote so much.

The one thing I couldn't get past, was his stance on the 1964 Civil Rights Act. I know that it was borne of his strict interpretation of The Constitution and state's rights, and I can see where he's coming from in that sense, but on the other hand, nothing in this life of ours is black and white--as much as we'd like to believe it is. There are simply times when it isn't. In the very manner in which Goldwater could change his mind on gay rights, I believe he could or should have changed it on civil rights for blacks.

All in all, Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater was a great documentary with a surprising amount of commentary from today's left-wingers. I can honestly say I didn't expect that! If you can, make the effort to watch it. It'll certainly make you think about the Republican party of today with a sense of wonder at how they've made a complete 180, if nothing else.

The joy of ready-made templates!

2010-10-19T06:10:00.003-04:00

Since I am apparently having trouble sleeping tonight (this night which is fast becoming morning), I got the bright idea to visit my long-forgotten blog. Lo and behold, there are lovely new templates available, customizable to the hilt! Well gee, what an excellent reason to screw around for hours and then write a completely pointless post about how I screwed around for hours! And you're reading it. Loser.

But really, it's great to see all of these gorgeous templates that are so easy for anyone to use, that literally, a child could do it. It's great in the sense that if you don't really want to learn about html coding, you don't have to. By all means, customize away! But, the possibility exists for you to modify the html of your own blog if you are so inclined. For kids who are just figuring out what they want to do when they're big grown-upz, this may pique a curiosity or two and lead them toward studying web design.

And I think that's neat-o.

Another random thought--since I'm unemployed now, I really have no reason to ignore my poor, lonely blog. If my blog were a human, it would be covered in hair and smell quite awful at this point from severe lack of attention.

Yeah, definitely time for some sleep now. G'night...

Time flies...

2010-02-02T23:14:00.002-05:00

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted since August. More to come soon, promise.

On the virtues of being well-rounded...

2009-08-11T12:12:00.001-04:00

Upon becoming politically 'awakened' (for lack of a better term) in my mid-twenties, I found myself beginning to care less and less about the trivial things of everyday life. Sure, I have hobbies as everyone else does, and normal daily responsibilities. I'm a working professional and I actually like my job, for now. But more and more, I find myself bored by and sometimes unwilling to engage in small talk. I fight these urges, because obviously one can't talk about "heavy" topics all day every day, but I am struck by how little people talk about matters of substance. I miss that which I found so easily in college--a life of the mind. Is that the cost of getting married and having children--trading in the life of the mind? If so, I'm not sure I want to be a patron. I digress.

I did a little experiment last week, just to change my perspective. I immerse myself in news and information every day. I crave policy debate. So, last week I tuned out from news and the political world in general for a few days to see what life must be like for so many Americans who don't read regularly or keep up with the goings-on at a federal, state, or local level. My observation? It was absolutely blissful! And at the same time, that fact in itself was bothersome to me, because this is exactly why the world is in its current state. Americans are easily lulled into complacency by the everyday responsibilities and entertainment of life, so we have no true idea of what's going on half a world away. And even for those who do, I have to wonder how much they really care. Because after all, if it's not directly your problem, how much responsibility are you going to take for it? We're also lulled into this complacency by the false sense of security we have as Americans. Our media is so full of propaganda that people don't recognize it as such anymore. It's become the norm. In my opinion, we as a nation think we're much more beloved in the world's eyes than we actually are. The fact is, we're beginning to be viewed as the oppressor--and of course this perspective was only reinforced throughout George W. Bush's child-like tenure.

Everything in American culture tells you that if you don't have money, you're worthless (which is contradictory to Biblical teachings). You are a non-contributor to society. It doesn't seem to matter whether you actually earned that money, just whether or not you have it. Even if you've worked and contributed your whole life and suddenly find yourself unemployed, that doesn't matter. Society has the collective memory of a gnat, and this is illustrated daily in the debate over national healthcare reform. If society didn't have the collective memory of a gnat, we wouldn't have spend 60 years hashing this out with still no real reform implemented. Here's hoping this time around will be different. I digress again.

So to sum up, Americans live in blissful ignorance except when it directly affects their wallets, and if they've fallen on hard times and have no wallet, it's "sorry about your luck, buddy." It's the land of the free, unless you don't have money. Democrats are constantly ridiculed for supposedly encouraging a welfare state by simply wanting to make sure that every citizen's basic needs are met, yet Republicans are supposedly the only ones fighting for the unborn? Does no one see the contradiction here? It's this paradox of American culture that confuses both Americans and the rest of the world. We go militarily into other countries to supposedly spread the cause of democracy, yet we also employ mercenaries for hire like Blackwater who have anti-Islamic, gun-smuggling, murderous agendas. Does no one see this contradiction?

Will Americans ever wake up and start paying attention? And what kind of future will we have in a world where parents don't teach their children why it's so important to know what's happening in other countries and what reasons our troops are really dying for? A world where mainstream America's main concerns seem to be shopping, TV, movies, video games, church, and more shopping? The future in that kind of world is kind of terrifying.

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The Valley Swim Club of Philadelphia should be SUED.

2009-07-08T15:19:00.001-04:00

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Pool-Boots-Kids-Who-Might-Change-the-Complexion.html

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Bye bye Sarah! Don't let the door hit you...

2009-07-06T19:12:00.005-04:00

Can I just say "thank you" from women everywhere? Well I am. THANK YOU Sarah Palin, for so graciously stepping out of the limelight--and by graciously I mean like a sow slicked with Crisco and motor oil. There she goes folks, squealing all the way as the door hits her in her curly little tail! Sarah Palin and her ilk (ahem, can we say Carrie Prejean?) represent much that is wrong with the female political voice in America today. Why is it, as I've said before, that the dumbest among us are always the most vocal? I know there are myriad brilliant women out there--but why are their voices not heard? I can think of one reason...not the only reason, but one little one: because little piggies like Sarah and Carrie are hogging the media spotlight while simultaneously bitching about being in said spotlight as if they don't chase it at every turn.

UGH! The only thing that frustrates me more is people who think she had any right to run as VP to begin with, as if she had any merit of her own. I am not a Hillary Clinton fan, but to compare Sarah Palin's intelligence to Hillary Clinton's is like comparing an aerospace engineer to the fry guy at McDonald's, seriously. We should expect more of ALL of our elected officials, male and female. ONE VAGINA IS NOT AS GOOD AS ANOTHER. *On a side note: I don't think Sarah Palin even deserves to have one. Ahem, thank you.

Dear Fry Girl:

Maybe now, with your newfound free time, you'll pick up a newspaper or perhaps even try that newfangled contraption they call "the internets!"

The Strength of Silence

2009-06-17T22:24:00.007-04:00

500,000 Iranians marched through the streets of Tehran today. It stretched for miles.

But the numbers were not the striking thing about this protest.
It was non-violent.
It was almost completely silent.

And it is growing.

Many average Americans don't follow mid-east events because frankly, it's complicated and they don't understand America's role. For those under 30, it's somewhat abstract.

All you need to understand is this, the basics:
In 1953 President Eisenhower was enticed by mutual interest to cooperate in a covert mission with the British government--Operation Ajax, which would effectively overthrow the then-current Shah and install one that was more receptive to Western interests, which was especially important considering America's Cold War problems with Russia. The then-current Shah didn't have a lot of support because he supported secular government, so he wasn't difficult to depose. However, the Shah that was then installed was particularly brutal, and ruled for the next 26 years. This isn't something many young Americans remember, but it's a living, breathing part of Iranian history not soon forgotten.

So idiots like John McCain and Eric Cantor, who like to think they understand foreign policy and love that sweet ascent to their high-horses they stand so proudly on display their ignorance for all to see when they suggest that the U.S. should publicly condemn the bogus Iranian election and stand behind the Iranian people. They say Obama hasn't said enough, but the problem is, they need to take a lesson from him--he at least has a clue about when to keep his mouth shut. Even with what little, noncommittal language he has used thus far, the Iranian government is whining that the U.S. is meddling in Iranian affairs. If we are seen as meddling, it lends legitimacy to Ahmedinejad's government and strips it away from the Reformist movement (every one of the protesters you see pictured here). WHY would we want to sabotage the very thing we're saying we support?

Once again, this very dumbed-down, completely oversimplified, black and white, and frankly ignorant perception of mid-east affairs is part and parcel of how we ended up in Iraq in the first place. It's a symptom of disease, and that disease is lack of education paired with mediocre talent. These problems aren't so complex that we cannot grasp them. We have the ability, just no desire. We're too busy watching Speidi on "I'm a celebrity, get me out of here!" and sipping our Starbucks' lattes while texting our BFFs.

America's priorities are so f*cked up.

(Photos courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/fhashemi)

June 8, 2009 -- Cheney tied to cash theft and possible murder in Iraq

2009-06-08T13:46:00.001-04:00

From the Wayne Madsen Report today, June 8, 2009:

According to an informed source, Dick Cheney, while Vice President, amassed a fortune in cash stolen by U.S. occupation forces in Iraq from Saddam Hussein and some of his leading officials and advisers.

Sources report to WMR that U.S. troops confiscated "billions" in currency found stored in aluminum containers in various secret caches in Baghdad and elsewhere. Our sources report that the seized cash was transferred to accounts run by Cheney and the money is now being partly used to fund Cheney's growing political opposition movement to the Obama administration, including secretive payments to a "stay behind" group of Cheney loyalists who burrowed into senior civil service positions from political appointee jobs during the Bush administration. Cheney's loyalists are now in key positions to stymie Obama's programs and policies within a variety of Cabinet departments and federal agencies.

The recent intelligence about Iraqi cash ending up in the coffers of American officials is not the first time WMR has reported on the theft of Iraqi cash by U.S. forces.

On November 14, 2005, WMR reported: "In one of the worst intelligence fiascoes carried out by the neo-con administration of Iraq under Paul "Jerry' Bremer, Saddam Hussein's chief money mover and financial adviser was beaten to death by US interrogators in Tikrit after the U.S. invasion . . . As Saddam's chief financial adviser and money mover, Abu Seger [Sa'ad Hassan Ali], a man who was fluent in American-style English, knew where all the "financial skeletons" were buried -- details of Halliburton's involvement with the UN's Oil-for-Food program, the purchase by Iraq of VX nerve gas and other WMD components from US and British sources in the 1980s, and various counter-intelligence operations run by Saddam against the United States and Britain. Abu Seger was also one of Saddam's trusted counter-intelligence agents . . . After Samara was occupied by US forces, it was discovered that Abu Seger lived in a home on the Tigris River just 200 yards from the main U.S. military position in the city. It did not take long for U.S. troops to break down Seger's door and haul him off to a detention center. Seger's wife Sada, an English teacher, and U.S. military intelligence officers were witnesses to what soon transpired. U.S. forces discovered $30 million in plastic garbage bagsin an armoire in Seger's bedroom. Contained in the bags was $14 million in US currency, $28 million in convertible Iraqi dinars, and $12 million in euros. Although the money was counted, signed for by two U.S. military witnesses,and transported to U.S. military headquarters in Samara, it was never seen again. A knowledgeable source present at the time revealed that the $30 million was stolen by U.S. authorities in Iraq."

Amid the other scandals surrounding Cheney, including his countenance of torture, the theft of cash and his possible involvement in the murder of Abu Seger may be added to the former vice president's rap sheet of crimes perpetrated in Iraq and in the United States.

Cheney recently built a multi-million dollar home in McLean, Virginia, a stone's throw from the CIA headquarters. He also owns luxury houses in Jackson, Wyoming and St. Michael's, Maryland.

Corporate U.S. news media drastically downplayed the amount of cash stolen from Iraq by U.S. forces and that the maximum amount of cash discovered in "cottages" was around $760 million, when, in fact, it was much higher. A handful of U.S. troops were charged with stealing some bundles of $100 bills. According to the May 28, 2004, Los Angeles Times some of the troops who admitted to stealing Iraqi cash tried to tell Army Criminal Investigative Division (CID) investigators that "higher-ups" stole much more, but their information was ignored.

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Women's rights take another two steps back

2009-05-11T15:12:00.001-04:00

According to an AP report today, "A Saudi judge told a conference on domestic violence that a man has the right to slap a wife who spends money wastefully and said women were as much to blame as men for increased spousal abuse."

So by the judge's twisted logic, when a Saudi woman is sick of being beaten and abused, she has the right to shoot her husband because he is as much to blame for the spousal abuse too? Right? Hmm, somehow I don't think he'd see it that way.

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So apparently the way for the U.S. to win wars is to convert everyone to Christianity? At least in some people's minds.

2009-05-06T10:17:00.002-04:00

Dancing the fine line

2009-05-01T10:18:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, April 30th, was my best friend's 28th birthday.

Yesterday, April 30th, one of my coworkers got a call at work that her husband, age 39, had suffered a heart attack and died. Their son is 8.

Things like these always send me reeling. If I were a religious person I could just tell myself that when people die they're going to a better place, but I'm not, so it is what it is--painful.

My husband and I fight like cats and dogs, but at the end of every day, he's still my best friend. We can have a horrible fight and call each other names and various expletives, but I can also guarantee that within the hour we'll say 'I love you' and MEAN it.

Hug the people you love. Tell them you love them. While the unspoken may be understood and a given, hearing the words is still good too, even if the person looks at you as if to say, "What's up with you?" Just do it.

I'm a good hugger--this is known to all of my friends, though the reason why may not be understood. Every time, I hug them like I'll never see them again. I never want to regret not having done that.

What an amazing and torturous thing it is to be human.

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Miss America: Making intelligent women inwardly cringe since 1921

2009-04-30T13:15:00.000-04:00

http://www.hollyscoop.com/carrie-prejean/miss-california-to-launch-anti-gay-marriage-campaign_20088.aspx

Look out gays, she's "defending marriage!"

Nevermind the fact that the biggest defense marriage needs is against divorce, period. (Remember that pesky 50% divorce rate? It MUST be the gays' fault--everything else is.)

Here's another fun little tidbit:

Contestant Alicia-Monique Blanco of Phoenix, when asked if the US should enact universal healthcare, responded:

"I think this is an issue of integrity regardless of which end of the political spectrum that I stand on. I've been raised in a family to know right from wrong, and politics, whether or not you fall in the middle, the left or the right, it's an issue of integrity, whatever your opinion is and I say that with the upmost [sic] conviction."

How can it possibly require that many words to say NOTHING? That's a classic non-answer for the books, to be sure. Was she trained by former White House Press Secretary Dana Perrino?

Both of these examples are indicative of a trend that seems to grow and grow: the dumbest among us tend to be the most vocal. Meanwhile, feminists everywhere pound their heads against walls. But why should ignorant, purposeless women such as these be representative of any of the rest of us? I refuse to sit idly by while idiots such as Miss California spew hate speech and call it "just their opinion" as if her right to free speech makes her less of a bitch.

Alright, I've put in my two cents. (*exhale*)

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Ahmadinejad's no saint, but...

2009-04-30T10:18:00.001-04:00

It amazes me that UN officials think that putting the next UN conference on racism in a smaller venue is going to make a difference in the rhetoric that inevitably ensues about Israel when these events are held. It's so sadly laughable. WHY WHY WHY must Israel be so protected? They whine about being singled out, as if blameless in this scenario. There are great numbers of Israelis who do not agree with their own government's treatment of Palestinians and Israeli settlements within Palestine. Yet it seems none of these people matter to their government. It was wrong for the US to boycott the conference--while I understand it was to make a so-called point, it was the wrong point and sent the wrong message. I'm so tired of the US supporting Israel as if blind to the injustice of Israel's actions. The whole world knows Jews have been persecuted for eons, but that doesn't make it any more legitimate for them to persecute Palestinians. As Steve Crawshaw of Human Rights Watch in New York said, "Multilateral diplomacy is by its very nature a complicated business. But the way to make this better is to engage consistently, not to stamp your foot and walk out in a sulk."

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Have thoughts, will post!

2009-04-30T00:43:00.001-04:00

No, I'm not dead, I swear.

We had a downsizing which directly affected my department at work, so we're quite busy (be thankful to have a job, right?), which doesn't leave me much time to blog lately. But alas, things will settle down, and I'll post more regularly again. Promise.

Toodles!

An Open Letter to Gary Kiser, AUS Retired

2009-04-26T00:44:00.003-04:00

"What business is it of yours if a soldier or marine comes home under a draped coffin? When he or she dies, they are no longer yours to worry about. They are given back to the family...and if the family approves you can gawk at their mis-fortune all you want. What's the matter with you?"

-Gary Kiser
AUS Retired
www.trea.org
This was in response to my post.

Gary, how can you honestly ask what business it is of mine if a soldier comes home under a draped coffin? If you call yourself a human being, then it's your business, I don't care who you are. This isn't spurred by some twisted need for "reality entertainment" or to "gawk," as you called it. Besides, what I'm referring to is the footage of the fallen being unloaded at Dover, which is before they are delivered to their families. Their families grieve, and so should we. How can you as a fellow citizen of this great nation not want the severity of the situation understood by everyone? Because I can tell you, there is a very real disconnect between Joe Public and the soldiers who are out there putting their lives on the line, and their families praying for them at home. People truly take it for granted, and it makes me sick. I view the military with the utmost respect because I know I don't possess that level of courage, and we all should thank our lucky stars that they're willing to give up everything voluntarily to protect us. Valor and honor don't even begin to describe them aptly. So I say to you, what is the matter with you? How can you expect people not to CARE? This isn't just politics--the political decisions are made but we so often do not see the real cost. There are still so many people who can't even be bothered to VOTE! People need to understand that these bodies are the cost of political decisions, and we as American citizens have a responsibility to EACH OTHER and to our NATION to take it seriously and be educated about it--or at the very least, to pay attention.

I say again...what is this crap? Is this the new idiot trend?

2009-02-25T22:57:00.001-05:00

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=89941

Stop the madness! Or, continue to make yourselves look stupid. The latter, you say? Apparently.

When all else fails, falsely claim that Barack Obama is not a U.S. citizen, right?

2009-02-24T19:49:00.002-05:00

http://www.wnd.com/static/89837.html

What makes me sad about this story is the fact that a 40-year-old man who joined the military late in life to serve his country, is now simultaneously SHAMING it. It's almost hard to believe that these rumors are still flitting around the country, and are even gaining steam in some areas. Why? It doesn't seem to matter who disproves the rumor, or what case is (over and over again) thrown out of court, these people are still on their soapboxes instead of being in the trenches with the rest of us, as a unified country, trying to figure out how to dig ourselves out of the mess we're in. They're essentially still crying over spilled milk. If you're reading this and still (even now) are questioning our President's status as a U.S. citizen, try a simple search for 'obama's birth certificate' or check out snopes.com. Waaaa....

See--Cindy Sheehan agrees with me!

2009-02-24T19:32:00.001-05:00

http://cindysheehanssoapbox.blogspot.com/2009/02/open-letter-to-barack-obama-from-cindy.html

Recipe for a terrorist--and America is the chef in this analogy.

2009-02-23T22:49:00.000-05:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/22/AR2009022202384.html?nav=hcmodule&sub=AR&sid=ST2009022101238

Raping Social Security...again

2009-02-22T17:34:00.002-05:00

I'd be interested in checking into which administration(s) borrowed from the Social Security fund. Did both Democratic and Republican administrations borrow from it, or has this been an extremely drawn-out ploy to disable a system Republicans never wanted instituted in the first place? I shudder to think about what would happen under their brand of one-party-rule theocracy. Yikes.

What makes someone rich? It's too bad we've all been taught it's money.

2009-02-22T16:00:00.004-05:00

This is no major epiphany, but really just something that struck me today while working out at the gym--how ironic and sad it is that 'working out at the gym' is so necessary in America (though many of us don't do it anyway). America, the fattest society on the planet, utterly gluttonous, worries about getting fat while people in other countries across the ocean worry about being able to even eat one full meal per day. I'm decidedly lower-middle-class and my husband and I combined will probably never make more than 60K per year, but that's ok with me as long as all of my basic needs are met. We've ingrained in our brains that there are just some things we will never have, and while it would be nice to have those things, they are material things that don't equate to happiness. But even with our modest means (in regard to American socioeconomic status), we are positively RICH compared to many other people in the world.

It's good for the soul to put things in perspective once in a while. Just a thought.

Is it easier to contemplate war when the cost is censored?

2009-02-21T23:52:00.004-05:00

(U.S. Air Force - Via Reuters)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/16/AR2009021601480.html

It still boggles my mind that Bush Sr. had the gall to stop images of fallen soldiers' caskets from being disseminated in the media. And that we've allowed it to continue since he left office! While I understand the idea that families who've lost fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters in the war might not relish seeing flag-draped caskets on the front page of their local paper, I think we OWE it to them to print photos like this, to feel that sick pit of unease in our stomachs at the sight of these ultimate sacrifices. What they DON'T deserve is the weight of the situation being glossed over daily by people who just want to go on living their inane daily lives ignorant of the fact that we are in two wars right now. These are the same people who can't bear to turn on the news for fear of being 'bummed out'. Cry me a river. Literally--if some of my fellow countrymen in the U.S. contemplated the true weight and cost of war, instead of writing people off as casualties in the fight for freedom, maybe there would be a little less war. Just a little...

I know it sounds naive, but I can still dream.

Intelligent Design vs. Evolution

2009-02-14T12:46:00.001-05:00

Why aren't YOU a Hindu? Words from Richard Dawkins

2009-02-13T21:16:00.001-05:00

Flu shots and fluoride: Why isn't mainstream media really picking up on this?

2009-02-08T01:23:00.003-05:00

The truth shall set you free?

2009-01-30T19:39:00.002-05:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7861076.stm

Finally, finally Israel's true colors have been starting to show...it's even creeping into American media (i.e., the recent 60 Minutes piece on CBS). I still don't trust our media though.

IS there an answer?

2009-01-28T18:35:00.005-05:00

Watch CBS Videos Online

What is the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem? If there's no way a two-state solution will happen, why are they wasting time paying lip service to the negotiation of it?

Is there any possibility of a democratic solution? Of a single government with both Israelis and Palestinians represented? Where Israelis and Palestinians can go to Jerusalem with no problem and Palestinian's homes aren't being occupied? But is the idea of a democratic government just as naive? Israel is wrong to create lush green communities with nice roads and limitless water supply and then treat Palestinians as less than second class citizens, not allowing them to even use the roads, dealing with blockades literally everywhere they need to go, limiting their water supply, chastising them, abusing them, killing them. And this is all on what was supposed to be Palestinian land! How do those in power in Israel sleep at night? How can anyone call themselves a "good" person and rationalize this? This is why we are seeing anti-Zionist movements within the Jewish community in Israel, protesters holding signs screaming to end the settlements.

There is no easy way out of this. I don't think continuing to force people out of their homes, Israeli OR Palestinian, is the answer. It can only result in more bloodshed. No matter who they are or why, people are going to defend themselves. It would be unnatural not to. We all want to survive.

BBC & SKY NEWS: Run the ad!

2009-01-26T23:21:00.004-05:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7850407.stm

The innocent civillians that the DEC (Disaster Emergency Committee)'s advert concerns don't care about political affiliation right now. They care about not dying. THEY NEED HELP TO SURVIVE. The BBC and SKY News can't claim impartiality if in Burma (this year!!!) they did allow the same kind of broadcast once they were sure the aid would actually get to the victims it was specified for. How is this different? They are catering, yet again, to the Israelis. Whether BBC & SKY realize it or not, they are penalizing innocent Palestinian civilians--many more civilians than militants.

Genocide.

Genocide.

Genocide.

Calling it something else doesn't make the outcome any different.

Financial terrorism.

2009-01-25T03:14:00.000-05:00

President Obama, we are NOT going to war with Iran!

2009-01-25T02:48:00.000-05:00

More of what American media does not tell you

2009-01-25T02:32:00.002-05:00

Bravo to the courageous people who search for the truth. Alison Weir researched media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the years and was flabbergasted at what she found--a frighteningly disparate portrait of what we thought we knew. The video above explains her research; the video below reports the death threat she received afterward.

If this doesn't completely break your heart, you don't have one.

2009-01-24T02:03:00.005-05:00

Thank you, khany for this. Thank you.

To everyone else, if you're an American citizen, you have an obligation to educate yourself. Our government really is representative of us, whether we like it or not, and whether or not we are too complacent to be involved in it. Our complacency doesn't change the precarious position our nation's foreign policy has put us in from the perspective of the rest of the world. We are complicit in our silence. I am refusing to be silent. It's the least I can do for my country and for innocent Palestinians being slaughtered daily.

Watch this and think about the media you take in on a daily basis. Think about the importance of semantics and narrative in shaping the majority of American citizenry's opinion of the conflict in Gaza, and of the greater Israeli-Palestinian conflict itself. Get your news from broader sources, outside the U.S. The web is our greatest resource now in the face of a spineless and corrupt mainstream American media.

Take this video. Embed it. Post it to Facebook, Myspace, write to your local and state representatives, write to President Obama. Just do something.

America turns a blind eye to genocide

2009-01-24T00:13:00.002-05:00

How can so many American citizens, including our new President, turn a blind eye to what we've enabled Israel to do to innocent Palestinians? The cycle of abuse continues. You want an answer to why so many Muslims have a bad opinion of the U.S.? Here's a start.

Boycott Fox News

2009-01-23T01:31:00.002-05:00

This is such horse crap. No matter what Obama does during the duration of his administration, they will find a way to tear it down. So what if HBO got the rights to broadcast the Lincoln Memorial Concert? The money HBO paid went to paying policemen working the inauguration overtime and to cleaning up the 130 tons of trash left over afterward. Otherwise these little tidbits would have been at taxpayer expense and Fox would ream his administration for that too. The inauguration was viewable for anyone who wanted to see it, whether on tv or the web. Some stupid concert two days before is really irrelevant. Petty, petty Fox with their cute little bleach blonde wannabe news anchors pretending to be journalists.

The irony is that in the end, this HISTORIC inauguration STILL cost $10,000 less than Bush's.

What "hope" means to me

2009-01-23T00:53:00.006-05:00

(Photo courtesy of Jae C. Hong/Associated Press)

Hope.

It's such a loaded word.

Here's what it means to me.

I hope that President Obama will be true to his own words, meaning that he will shape a government that respects the idea of remaining secular and tolerant, not theocratic. As parts of our country grow alarmingly dependent on religion, we who are not religious are that much more dependent on the rule of law to mediate. If the law abandons us, we have little hope. Theocracy has stolen our government for the last 8 years, and I hope that January 20, 2009 marked the beginning of a new way of thinking and practicing foreign policy that is actually very much rooted in our past. Yes, our country was born in the flight from religious persecution, and yes, two-thirds of the delegates dubbed the "founding fathers" were of various (mostly Christian) denominations, but one-third of them were not. One third of them were either non-practicing, agnostic, or atheist. But all of them recognized the importance of protecting and preserving religious tolerance with the rule of law. There is no other way. Man is an emotional creature by nature, and passion is one of the great forces of humanity. But passions are all too often misguided, and when it goes too far we have little but the law to protect us. This must be guarded at all costs.

Good read

2009-01-23T00:49:00.003-05:00

If you have the time...

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/09/09/palin_fundamentalist/

Just how effective was that 9/11 Commission Report?

2009-01-10T01:17:00.003-05:00

The concession that U.S. foreign policy toward Israel was a direct influence on the motivations of the 9/11 terrorists to attack, and the fact that this concession was LEFT OUT of the 9/11 Commission Report should chill you to the bone.

If it doesn't, you're still not paying attention.

Offshore? Try paying taxes like the rest of us.

2009-01-10T00:30:00.004-05:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090109/bs_nm/us_ubs_1

Finally!

Any American holding an offshore bank account with untaxed money gets no sympathy from me. They're finally starting to get what they deserve. Joe Public doesn't have the funds to hire a broker or to have their money tucked safely away in offshore accounts--Joe is using whatever funds he has to buy GROCERIES, GASOLINE, pay DOCTOR'S BILLS...you know, those luxuries we all love so much.

The rich have screwed this country over from its inception, and globalization is their newest scapegoat. And then they wonder how the economic crisis happened. They have themselves to thank for that--oh but wait, it was the fault of the poor for wanting to own houses they couldn't afford, right? For stupidly believing there was no such thing as 'predatory lending'? Right, right.

Eww, look! It's a liberal!

2009-01-09T22:30:00.003-05:00

Why is the term "self-loathing" so often paired with the term "liberal"?

Is this really what people believe? I think liberals are in fact very much the oppposite of self-loathing. Find me a liberal who doesn't love their fellow man. A prerequisite for loving your fellow man is, of course, loving yourself. Now, not every liberal is going to be a people person (not everyone is) but we do share a common belief (I think): by looking out for each other with the best intentions, we look out for ourselves. But it's not about selfishness, it's about understanding what the GREATER GOOD really is. And that is: the survival of mankind. You may say, "geez, it's not THAT serious!" But it really is. How can people continue to oppress each other and call it "moral?" What is this kind of morality you speak of? It doesn't sound very moral to me. It's moral to treat others as you would want to be treated, so why is it okay to ignore that when it comes to civil rights of any kind?

I'm registered as a Democrat, but I feel like an Independent. However, I wanted to be able to vote in the primaries of my antiquated state, so there you have it. It really irritates me when I hear/read people lumping each other into neat little categories like conservative and liberal, but I understand why they do it, and it does serve a purpose. And of course I'm guilty of doing it myself. Personally, I consider myself a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. But it seems so many people feel you cannot be both. Actually, I think most people in this country are fiscal conservatives--especially right now in light of our economic crisis. So what this leaves me with is that we are a country divided by social liberty issues. The so-called "moral" issues like gay marriage, abortion, drugs, etc.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if we agreed to disagree on those social issues, just for the sake of experiment? Does anyone truly think society would fall to pieces?

Any worse than it is right now?

I must rant. Humor me.

2009-01-09T21:38:00.002-05:00

Tit for tat.

Tit for tat is going to be the death of us all.

Christianity, Judaism, Islam--more blood has been spilled in the name of religion than for ANY. OTHER. REASON. Will humanity ever see the light? The principle of 'an eye for an eye' is the most imbecilic, juvenile, and ignorant tenet of scripture that I can think of. Even in the few painful experiences I've gone through in my life (which are nothing compared to what's going on in Gaza right now), my natural inclination was retribution, yes, revenge. And according to what's beginning to seem like the majority's view of the Bible's teachings, I would've been right to take that righteous revenge. But LOGICALLY I knew that reacting on emotion would only make whatever situation worse, and would, worse yet, bring pain to my loved ones. Unacceptable.

I'm short on sympathy for the idiots on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians were displaced = wrong. The Jews long before that were displaced by various other faiths/races/regions = wrong. People have died on both sides, and both sides have broken their word. ALL HAVE BEEN WRONGED BY EACH OTHER. Let's not pick and choose reality here.

So if Israel, as a nation, apologized to Palestinians, as a nation, would that fix it? No. Will both sides agree to a bi-national state and sharing the land? No. Are they willing to agree to having two separate states? No. So what's the answer? Oh, well of course it's to BLOW EACH OTHER TO SMITHEREENS! Because we see how well that fixes everything. Imbeciles. Grow up.

It's just lovely to see that the religious/racial intolerance going on in the middle east existed long before black/white enmity in the west. Is this built into our DNA or what? Is this part of humankind's innate ability to destroy itself? The only species bent on its own destruction?

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D95HN1H02&show_article=1

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE50544520090106

In 2002, 2300 Jews fled France and went to Israel because they felt unsafe. This is going to be so much worse, mark my words.

THOSE WHO TRULY SUFFER AND DIE ARE NOT EVEN MILITANTS. They are civilians. You should ask yourselves why any group of people's ideals are enough to take another group of people's lives. Why? Who really determined that this was righteous? Everything is based on subjective perception, and everyone's perception of scripture and of history is different, depending on your viewpoint. So how can people be made to DIE for something everyone doesn't even AGREE on???

We reap what we sow.

2009-01-03T15:03:00.003-05:00

Do a little digging after you watch this video. The U.S. has thrown its money behind the likes of terrorists for eons. They're just usually mislabled as "governments." It's this kind of hypocrisy that fuels the fire and continues to breed contempt for Americans--who cannot be bothered to find out what atrocities their own government is and has been involved in. It's got to be hard for Middle Easterners to believe that we as a culture are as far-removed as we are, one might even say oblivious--because for them, there is no escape. Not even in dreams.

Well, thank God (?) for Pat Robertson's sage advice...ugh.

2009-01-02T16:46:00.004-05:00

Robertson makes predictions every year, and this year he says the economy is going to improve, despite what the collective of world economists are saying. He also thinks the U.S. will not be looked upon in the world (financially) as it once was, and that we will no longer be a great superpower and will find various dangerous dictators popping up. To this I say: a surprise it is not. At the end of the video he says "Obama will be able to get anything he wants" because people's fears will naturally drive them to socialism. He posits that we will see a greater expansion of governmental power than at any time since the New Deal. Newsflash: it was thanks to the New Deal that many of the great social programs we appreciate in this country even exist. It becomes so easy to take these things for granted after you've enjoyed the benefits for a few decades. If the country repeatedly lurches toward socialism in whatever form, is it not logical to posit that it is an evolutionary shift? We can all see how well capitalism works--ha. But, if socialism is such a scare to everyone, why can't we have a system which combines the best traits of both capitalism and socialism? Why must everything be painted in extremes? Capitalism fails when left to wanton human greed which derives from the natural inclination of self-preservation. Why continue to fight that which is natural? Instead, why not regulate its weaknesses? This is where some of the tenets of socialism apply. This is not to say, "yay--let's turn EVERYTHING over to the government!" But, the argument that this will be the largest expansion of government since the New Deal just doesn't hold water when the truth is that that expansion has slowly been taking place ever since 2001 under George W. Bush and our national reaction to being on the receiving end of terrorism for once. It's so scary to think that the U.S. may not be a world superpower any longer, but by the same token, the U.S. has been an oppressor to many nations and a catalyst in many foreign disputes ever since the birth of this country. We have to accept the history of our own country if we're ever going to make progress in an ever-changing future. And by the way, there have always been dictators. There are always disputes halfway around the world. We have to stop allowing ourselves to be controlled by fear.

I have hope for 2009.

2009-01-01T16:12:00.010-05:00

Snapshot: latter half of 2008. War continues in Iraq, spreads in Afghanistan, Russian forces march into Georgia, Syria sits on the fence, Pakistan and India level threats after terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Israel fires on Hamas in Gaza, and the death knell rings louder and louder.

Will it ever stop?

I don't believe in God per se, so I don't have a prayer for 2009, but I do have hopes. I hope that President Obama's idea of diplomacy will not be at the end of a gun, as Cowboy Bush's has been, and in all likelihood, things are going to change substantially. Let's just hope relations in the Middle East aren't so far gone that there's no turning back--that with a President leading America who wants a more open worldwide dialogue between countries, we can make true progress. But these are big dreams, and right now it's hard to see that far into the future. But we keep squinting, peering into that more hopeful horizon. I hope we never stop doing that. It's what makes us human.
On a more personal note, I hope that my lazy ass will go to the gym on a regular basis, since I'm paying for it anyway!! And, I'd like to learn a lot more about digital photography. I had 2 years of photography waaaay back in high school, but none in college, and this was of course only in the beginning of the digital camera era, so of course my school had us using old Pentax cameras. But the same rules of aperture still apply, only you have no true depth of field with a digital camera...but I digress. Regardless, my husband is into photography as well, so we we will embark on 2009's planned vacations with cameras in hand, ready to explore. :)

I hope that the quality of everyone's lives improve, even in these trying times. There has to be light at the end of our very dark economic tunnel somewhere, and here's hoping the best economic minds collected in Obama's cabinet can pool their resources with the humblest of motives: to save us.

May everyone have a prosperous, healthy,
and exciting 2009!

The NY Fat Tax--hope you like water!

2008-12-30T22:40:00.004-05:00

So the New York Fat Tax: it has its good points. But I know this is where people start screaming about their personal freedoms, yada yada yada. I'm all about personal freedoms when it comes to our basic civil rights, but (and I can say this as a bona fide baby with back) it's not right for people's personal freedom to eat themselves to death to infringe on EVERYONE financially--i.e., through the diseases and health problems obesity causes which eventually land the freedomlover in a hospital bed. Where I work, they actually implemented a semi-fat-tax by increasing the prices of the sugared drinks in the machine, and decreasing the prices of the diet drinks and water. Yes, people were pissed, and yes I was one of them. But, you can bet my cheap ass won't pay the extra 50 cents for a kidney-stone-causing Turkey Hill Iced Tea and will opt for the 75-cent diet version instead. And of course, there are many other cheapskates like myself.

But, it's another one of those gray areas--much like the debate about socialism vs. capitalism. How far do you take it? At what point in trying to act in people's best interests do you begin to deprive them of freedoms which are their birthright? Now we come full circle, back to the argument that it is unfortunately NOT people's birthright to eat themselves to death, myself included. We're like bad little toddlers that have to be disciplined, nutritionally. There's not nearly enough nutritional education in this country's schools, and we put McDonald's in school cafeterias and wonder why kids are fat. Portion sizes across the board are out of control as well. When going to your average restaurant, you can almost always guarantee cutting your serving size in half and taking it home. But if you're anything like me, you'll forget the other half is in the fridge and find it covered with something interesting but definitely not edible weeks later in the back of the fridge. What a waste! There are people starving all over the world, and Americans have to make mental notes while at restaurants to halve their serving sizes so they can fit in their jeans. What an astronomical and almost unfathomable difference. Makes you think.

On Woman's Best Friend

2008-12-30T22:15:00.010-05:00

It's ridiculous how much a person can love an animal! But I've always been that way--I guess it was growing up with dogs all my life. I'd be perfectly happy to play with dogs, take care of dogs, even clean up dog poop (okay maybe not so much with the poop) all day instead of sit in an office--maybe I should think about an eventual career change! But since my husband and I don't have kids yet, our animals are our kids, as I'm sure many other pet owners can understand.

But seriously, look at that face. You bring them home, watch them grow, teach them, train them, get to know their personalities, find your inner child in romping around with them, and if you're lucky like our huge mammal Tucker, you snuggle up with them at night too. Oh, the snoring.

Tucker had a hard time learning to shake hands. Granted, he trained pretty well in everything else (except jumping up on visitors upon arrival! Grr.), but I knew he could learn it with repetition. I think part of his problem was that the awkward, lurching, cuteness of puppyhood carried into adulthood, so when he'd try to sit and I began by slowly picking up his paw, he'd literally fall over and look at me like, "why'd you do that and why am I on the floor?"
But, when he finally got it three times in a row, I knew he had it for good. Now, when he gets a doggy treat, he patiently sits, waits, shakes hand/paw, and politely accepts his reward! My boy's all grown up! *tear*

Tips for owners of large dogs:

If the dog is so large that you cannot pick him up yourself, you'd better demonstrate who's boss from day one. This requires getting creative with discipline. My dog has responded best to small spray bottles placed around the house (1 for each floor--there used to be more). We don't even have to actually squirt him for the most part. Just picking up the bottle is enough to make him look at you like you killed his best friend, or ate his ham sandwich.
A coffee can filled with some coins also works well. Anything (within reason!) that jars the dog's attention from whatever bad act they're doing and makes them focus on you as the leader is key.
For walks, I found that Tucker was a real puller when he was a puppy. You literally had to be a STRONG person to walk him, even at 8 months old. He could rip your arm out of its socket! But I discovered something made by the Halti® Co. that basically acts as a bridle would to a horse, but without the bit in the animal's mouth. It places one strap over the muzzle, and a modified strap underneath the mouth, and both straps connect with the strap that goes around the head, with an attachment to the collar. It's really very simple, but the effect is that when the dog pulls, it also pulls on its own collar, which is slightly uncomfortable for the dog, but not in the least bit painful. It gives you full control over their head, as opposed to the minimal control you get from a leash just attached to a regular collar. The Halti® retails for about $15-20, depending on your dog's size and can be found in most pet stores. Tucker still tries to rub his face into the ground to get it off for the first 5 minutes of the walk, but he does not pull anymore in the least. It's wonderful to be able to walk with a completely slack leash with the dog walking lock-step next to you, on best behavior.

The Same Old Culture War

2008-12-29T18:56:00.009-05:00

Re: The New Culture War http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/12/the_new_culture_war.html

The very last lines of Mr. Lowry's trashy prose say it all:

Ah, yes, "gracefully step aside." That's essentially what the cultural left has been asking traditionalists to do for 30 years now, to politely shut up while it goes about redefining the country's mores. The answer must now be, as it has always been, "No way, no how."

This is how a bigot rationalizes hate. Read it again. See how it's done.

While Mr. Lowry clearly thinks his sarcastic wit is oh-so-charming, let's unveil it for what it really is: discrimination, bigotry, hate, and an elementary-level understanding of the world.

As far as I'm concerned, the cultural left has put up with way more shit than it should have to for the past 30 years while hate mongers hide behind their bibles, pounding away at scripture, hoping it will make their fallacies true. It won't.

Someone, PLEASE, PLEASE explain to me how allowing gay couples to marry and raise their families under recognition of law impairs any straight person's marriage? I have yet to hear a response to that question, and I've heard it posed a hundred ways. Never is a straight answer returned. Because there isn't one.

Why are people so unbelievably determined to not question the validity or applicability of their Holy Books? These books, whether the Bible, the Q'uran, etc, have multiple versions, translations, and misconstruable meanings, yet so many are so willing to take every word at face value. I'll never understand that. The Bible, for instance, was translated before you or I were even a part of the earth, by men who were primitive in their thinking compared to now, if only for lack of education (i.e., no one other than clergy could really read, and any clergyman's reading abilities even then were questionable), and complete lack of mass communication. This was not anyone's fault, it was just how things were at that point in time. The Bible was a useful tool for controlling wanton masses, and I'm sure that in that age, desperate times called for such desperate measures. But let us not forget that the words of the Bible still came through the interpretation of man, with all of his faults, fears, and ill-education.

So how can we now, all of these years later, still follow it word for word? If that were true we'd still be selling our daughters into slavery, and stoning people for working on Sundays. That's insane. Yet when it comes to so-called "moral" issues, cling tightly to that Bible, because it's going to "SAVE" you and your children from "THE GAYS!"

Sure, I'm biased. My best friend is gay, and he and his partner rent a room from myself and my husband in our house. And I love them both like family. When they get married, I'll be the one leading them through their vows, whether a government or a church recognizes it or not. I didn't always feel this way. I grew up believing in the Bible, that "man lying with man" was wrong. But then comes exposure. The more you're around it, the more comfortable you become over time. And then you start researching. And you find out there have been gay men and women in public life forever--it was just never mentioned or was hush-hush. And you put yourself in their shoes. When you do that, and I mean REALLY do that, you think "why would anyone want to subject themselves to such persecution and misery if they really could choose?" If you look deep inside yourself I think you know the answer to that. There is no choice. The choice is yours and mine, as heterosexuals, to stop being so goddamn afraid of everything we don't understand, and try to understand it.

I feel truly sorry for these people who continually say 'oh I don't have anything against the gays, but I don't think they should be able to get married.' That is such BS. Who says that with a straight face? If you can, you are kidding yourself. Another word for this would be DELUSION.

You cannot say you have nothing against someone and in the same breath deem it unacceptable to legally spend their lives with the person they love and have decided to become a family with. None of this bullshit about equating homosexuality with incest or polygamy or pedophilia either--everyone knows that's not what this is about. Stop lying. No one believes it but the liars themselves.

I love my husband. Marrying him, to me, meant marrying my best friend and having some small possiblity of living out the remainder of my life with the one person I'd give my own life for. If someone stood in front of me with a Bible or any other Holy Book and said their beliefs can't allow me to do that, I'd say "look the other way then." But this is all just conjecture, I know. Regardless, it still makes me SICK to watch people rationalize what is, to me, irrational if you look at it outside of emotion and tradition, without the lenses of fear, misplaced self-righteousness and hypocrisy.

what right do these people have to play the VICTIM? oh waaaaa, they're villified for publicly coming out as homophobes--good! I'm so glad. They deserve it. Do not expect pity from those who've been villified EONS longer than you, poor little Rick Warren.

Also, how is it that those who would legalize gay marriage are telling conservatives to shut up while we "redefine the country's mores"? Hasn't it been the other way around for...oh I don't know...FOREVER?

You actually think there weren't homosexuals in Jesus' time? And that it didn't seem convenient and productive to the clergy's cause to insert a few choice lines to make the homosexual lifestyle seem "wrong"? Why is that so hard to believe? Because these people were perfect? Yeah, they were perfect enough to string Jesus up on the cross. Maybe they were just confused and thought Jesus was homosexual. Hmmm.

What I also find funny...

2008-12-29T01:20:00.003-05:00

These both tickled me in very, very different ways. Also a cockapoo is neither fowl, nor feces. Discuss.

What I find funny

2008-12-28T23:47:00.003-05:00

I'll openly admit that I was OBSESSED with the Democratic Primary before it even began. Remember Obama's 2004 speech at the DNC at Kerry's behest? I remember sitting there that night, listening to this bright young man (though he was older than I) and thinking, "he's the one to watch." And all through the year leading up to Obama's declaration of a Presidential Exploratory Committee being formed...I was watching and listening. Then, the Primaries began. In our house, (which consists of myself, my husband, my best friend Bob and his boyfriend Steve, our dog and two cats) one could always count on coming home to the sound of CNN or MSNBC blaring in the kitchen, living room, and downstairs, spouting the latest poll numbers or gossip.

We watched every single speech.

I mean EVERY. SINGLE. SPEECH.

So much that you really began to memorize their platforms, talking points, points to avoid, canned jokes, and anything in between. If you saw it on one station, you saw it rehashed on the next.

But through watching all of this (and reading his books), I personally thought I'd come to quite a multi-faceted understanding of Barack Obama. As much as the right painted him as an extreme liberal, I knew this was not true. Even as much as Hillary painted him as a liberal (HA!) when it was to her advantage, I knew this was not true.

I'm no political savant, nor a sheep (I'd like to think). But one thing I'd like to say I have is an affinity for attention to detail. And Obama's devil was in his details. He never tried to hide just how conservative he could be (I'm sure many conservatives would find that thought laughable, but pffft to them) but he did try to downplay how liberal he was. Some on the right thought it was intentional for the benefit of the election--I, however, saw it as preparation. Preparation=warning for those who so wholeheartedly supported the first black Democratic nominee for President for only those reasons--that he was black and/or a Democrat. I think those in this country who fit into that category wanted to believe that a President Obama would mean social/civil freedoms as far as the eye could see--and they may be right--eventually. But make no mistake, the changes will not be automatic nor easy. Obama's essential understanding is that no progress has ever been made without compromise. No compromise has ever been reached without hard-fought idealism and more than a little pain. So while he may well agree with many of America's liberal leanings, he is nowhere near stupid enough to voice it, even if it is true. There are a lot of people in this country still who are not ready for the America that we're going to be. It doesn't make them any less American than we are. But it does make for slow progress--though it is progress nonetheless. And so Obama will continue to appoint Republicans to his cabinet, and he well should. Because no one side has all the answers, although both would like to think they do. It doesn't have to be only socialism v. capitalism, or liberal v. conservative, Democrat v. Republican. We CAN take the best of both worlds on all fronts--we just have to get out of our own way long enough to do so.

This is what I find funny--that Obama continually told the electorate what they could expect from him, yet now they keep expecting different results--that he's going to be the magical liberal they'd hoped he would be, and the first black President to boot!

Sorry guys, but I'll take a President who at least attempts to be honest (even when it's hugely unpopular) any day. If it moves us further toward that promised land in The Glorious Center, I'm there.

OMG

2008-12-16T21:29:00.002-05:00

So how much does it suck to lock your keys in your car accidentally...

...while it's running?

And then have to wait...and wait...and wait...for someone to come and unlock it?

Done at work @ 6----->home @ 8.

Yeah, it sucks A LOT.

Sigh.

So my coworker, who's a bigot, continues to try to brainwash me...

2008-12-07T13:27:00.008-05:00

Below is an email this coworker sent--my reponse it posted first.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: xxxxx
From: xxxxx@comcast.net

The writer says:

"I am proud...But you call me a racist.

Why is it that only whites can be racists??

There is nothing improper about this e-mail...Let's see which of you are proud enough to send it on.

I sadly don't think many will. That's why we have lost most of OUR RIGHTS in this country. We won't stand up for ourselves !
BE PROUD TO BE WHITE!
It's not a crime yet, but getting real close!"

This kind of crap going around doesn't help anybody, although I'm sure it helps assuage your little bit of "white guilt" that you feel when a black person passes you on the street and you inwardly try to remind yourself that not every person of color wants to shoot or rape you.

I agree that affirmative action has spawned some strange bedfellows, but you can't pretend that there was no reason for these organizations (such as the Black and Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, etc.) to exist to begin with. They were created in a time where the interests of minorities were not as equally represented as they are now. This same logic applies to colleges, cable TV stations, and the like. Not a single one of those black colleges denies entrance to white applicants. I just read an article about a white student (the ONLY white student) attending a black college in the DC area. He said he feels absolutely no racism, prejudice, no discomfort. He was completely welcomed. They also do not deny scholarships to whites--it is simply that whites do not apply for them. Funny how intellectuals can rise above this kind of crap, huh? And yet you and your brethren cannot.

Your slanted view of the history of this country amazes me still. Why don't you go talk to some Native Americans whose heritage was indigenous to the Georgia area, whose relatives died on the Trail of Tears so more "entrepreneurial" white men could have the gold from land that wasn't theirs to begin with, and then tell me how perfect white history is.

It is the denial of OUR shared history that perpetuates racism. Anyone who spits racial epithets at ANYONE ELSE on the street is a racist, whether they're black, white or brown. They are all less for having done it. It has nothing to do with color of skin--it has to do with fear. OF COURSE some people are "black, brown, yellow, and orange" and "not afraid to announce it"--because they can do that now without fear of attack or retribution, but we are not far from the days when this was not so. Do you really expect people not to be exuberant about this freedom? If it were you, you would be. It's a natural human reaction. Why is it not your natural reaction to celebrate it WITH them? Joy is not exclusive.

I'm proud to be a human being--I just happen to be white. It's important to know our history, the good and bad of all sides, in order to accept it and build a lucrative future for everyone. That's why America, even despite the wars we're in right now, still stands for liberty across the globe. We are the ONLY COUNTRY built on an idea--freedom and liberty for all of its citizens. That's what we should be proud of--that despite continued attacks on that premise from people of your way of thinking, we've still prevailed. And future generations will prevail as well, because the sad, tired rhetoric of older generations who grew up learning fear is passing, to be replaced by generations who learned and will learn acceptance.

I pity you for the wealth of knowledge that you continue to deny yourself. Good luck with that.

----- Original Message -----
From: xxxxx
To: xxxxx@comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2008 8:18:30 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Fwd: Proud To Be White

ha ha - sorry, but this is true - glad you are there

Kramer of Seinfeld:

I have been wondering about why Whites are racists, and no other race is.

Proud to be White Michael Richards makes his point...

Michael Richards, better known as Kramer from TVs Seinfeld, does make a good point.

This was his defense speech in court after making racial comments in his comedy act. He makes some very interesting points...

Someone finally said it... How many are actually paying attention to this?

There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc. And then there are just Americans. You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,' 'Whitey,' Caveman' and that's OK.

But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink ... You call me a racist. You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you...so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?

You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Black History Month. You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah.
You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi.
You have the NAACP.
You have BET...

If we had WET (White Entertainment Television), we'd be racists.
If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.
If we had White History Month, we'd be racists.
If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance' OUR lives we'd be racists.

We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce.
Wonder who pays for that??

A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any color can be in the Miss America pageant.

If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships...You know we'd be racists.

There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the U.S.

Yet if there were 'White colleges' That would be a racist college.
In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights.

If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.

You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it.

But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.
You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us.
But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you
call him a racist.

I am proud...But you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists??
There is nothing improper about this e-mail...Let's see which of you are proud enough to send it on.

I sadly don't think many will. That's why we have lost most of OUR RIGHTS in this country. We won't stand up for ourselves !

BE PROUD TO BE WHITE!
It's not a crime yet, but getting real close!

So I've been learning about Islam...

2008-12-04T20:57:00.006-05:00

I love to learn about everything, especially things that others are afraid to even try to understand. This brings me to Islam. I've long thought that, as is with any war, there are always two sides who equally think they're fighting a righteous fight. I had been led to believe that Islam was basically a religion of peace that has of late been characterized more by its marginal fundamental extremists than by the majority of peace-loving Muslims. The letter I'm posting below from www.faithfreedom.org made me rethink a few things...It's not as if I'm saying all Muslims are extremists--obviously they're not. What I am saying is that I think just as many Muslims have been misled about Islam as Christians have been misled about Christianity. There are so many parallels. If you have the time to read it, you should. We as Americans should be learning as much as we can about why we're fighting terrorism, instead of just accepting it at face value.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear brothers and sisters in humanity. Dear fellow Muslims.

What the Qur'an Teaches:

The Quran tells us to: "not to make friends with Jews and Christians" (5:51), fight them "until they pay the Jizya (a penalty tax for the non-Muslims living under Islamic rules) with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued" ( 9:29). "kill the disbelievers wherever we find them" (2:191), "murder them and treat them harshly" (9:123), "fight and slay the Pagans, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem" ( 9:5).

The Quran says that all those who disbelieve are najis (filthy, untouchable, impure) (9:28), and orders us to fight the unbelievers until no other religion except Islam is left (2:193). It prohibits a Muslim to befriend a non-believer even if that non-believer is the father or the brother of that Muslim (9:23), (3:28).

It asks the Muslims to "slay or crucify or cut the hands and feet of the unbelievers, that they be expelled from the land with disgrace and that they shall have great punishment in the world hereafter" (5:34).

The holy Prophet prescribes fighting for us and tells us that "it is good for us even if we dislike it" (2:216). Then he advises us to "strike off the heads of the disbelievers"; and after making a "wide slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives" (47:4). Our God has promised to "instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers" and has ordered us to "smite above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them" (8:12). and "to strike terror into (the hearts of the enemies" (8:60).

He has made the Jihad mandatory and warns us that "Unless we go forth, (for Jihad) He will punish us with a grievous penalty, and put others in our place" (9:39). Allah speaks to our Holy Prophet and says "O Prophet! strive hard against the unbelievers and the Hypocrites, and be stern against them. Their abode is Hell,- an evil refuge indeed" (9:73).

He promises us that in the fight for His cause whether we slay or are slain we return to the garden of Paradise (9:111). In Paradise he will "wed us with Houris (celestial virgins) pure beautiful ones" (56:54), and unite us with large-eyed beautiful ones while we recline on our thrones set in lines (56:20). There we are promised to eat and drink pleasantly for what we did (56:19). And have sex with "boys like hidden pearls" (56:24) and "youth never altering in age like scattered pearls" (76:19)

In the West we enjoy freedom of belief but we are not supposed to give such freedom to anyone else because it is written "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good) (3:85).

As for women, the book of Allah says that they are inferior to men and their husbands have the right to scourge them if they are found disobedient (4:34). It advises men to take a green branch and beat their wives, because a green branch is more flexible and hurts more. (38:44). It teaches that women will go to hell if they are disobedient to their husbands (66:10). It maintains that men have an advantage over the women (2:228). It not only denies the women's equal rights, it decrees that their witness is not admissible in the courts of law (2:282). This means that a woman who is raped cannot accuse her rapist unless she can produce a male witness. Our Holy Prophet allows us to marry up to four wives and he licensed us to sleep with our slave maids and as many 'captive' women as we may have (4:3) even if those women are already married. He himself did just that.

[A word of warning for those who may find their version of Quran is translated differently from those appearing in this article: Almost all the translators of Quran have deliberately tried to soften the harsh verses of Quran. Yusufali especially goes out of his way to twists the meaning of the words and hide the harshness of Quran. For example he translates the verse (38:44) that says "take a green branch and beat your wife" as "take a little green grass and strike therewith". Or when he translates the verse (4:34) that says "beat your wife" he cannot help it but to add the word (lightly) in parenthesis.]

When the Prophet was in Mecca and he was still not powerful enough he called for tolerance. He said "To you be your religion, and to me my religion" (109:6). This famous quote is often misused to prove that the general principle of Quran is tolerance. He advised his follower to speak good to their enemies (2:83), exhorted them to be patient (Q. 20:103) and said that "there is no compulsion in religion" (2:256). But all that changed drastically when he came to power. Then killing and slaying the unbelievers was justified in innumerable verses with harshness and without mercy. The verses quoted to prove Islam's tolerance ignore many other verses that bear no trace of tolerance or forgiveness. Is it normal that a book revealed by God should have so many serious contradictions?

The Prophet himself set the example of unleashing violence by invading the Jewish settlements breaking the treaties he had signed with them and banished some of them after confiscating their belongings massacring others and taking their wives and children as slaves. He inspected the youngsters and massacred all those who had pubic hair along with the men and those who were younger he kept as slaves. He distributed the women captured in his raids among his soldiers keeping the prettiest for himself (33:50). He made sexual advances on Safiyah a Jewish girl in the same day he captured her town, Kheibar, and killed her father, husband and many of her relatives. Reyhana was another Jewish girl of Bani Quraiza whom he used as sex slave after killing all her male relatives. In the last ten years of his life he accumulated a score of wives, concubines and sex slaves including the 9 year old Ayesha.

These are not stories but records from authentic Islamic history and the Hadiths. It can be argued that these behaviors were not unknown or unusual for the conquerors and leaders of the mediaeval world but these are not the activities befitting of a peaceful saint and certainly not of someone who claimed to be the Mercy of God for all the creation.

There were known assassinations of adversaries during the Prophet's time, that took place at his behest. Among them there was a 120 year old man, Abu 'Afak whose only crime was to compose a lyric satirical of the Prophet. (Kitab al Tabaqat al Kabir, Volume 2, by Bin Sa'd, page 32) Then when a poetess, a mother of 5 small children, 'Asma' Bint Marwan, wrote a poetry cursing the Arabs for letting Muhammad assassinate an old man, our Holy Prophet ordered her to be assassinated too in the middle of the night, which was carried out while her youngest child was suckling from her breast. (Sirat Rasul Allah (A. Guilaume's translation "The Life of Muhammad") page 675, 676).

Dear conscientious Muslims: Question yourselves- isn't this compulsive dogma of following a man who lived 1400 years ago, leading us to doom in this changing world? Who are we deceiving? See how our Umma (people) have sunk into poverty and how we lag behind the rest of the world? Isn't it because we are following a religion that is outdated and impractical? In this crucial moment of history, when a great catastrophe has befallen us and a much bigger one is lying ahead, should not we wake up from our 1400 years of slumber and see where things have gone wrong?

The hatred has filled the air and the world is bracing itself for its doomsday. Should we not ask ourselves whether we have contributed, unwittingly, to this tragedy and whether we can stop the great disaster from happening?

Unfortunately the answer to the first question is yes. Yes, we have contributed to the rise of fundamentalism by merely claiming Islam is a religion of peace. We are responsible because we endorsed Islam and hailed it as a religion of God. And we are as guilty as those who put into practice what Quran preaches and ironically we are the main victims too.

If we are not terrorists, if we love peace, if we cried with the rest of the world for what happened in NYC, then why are we supporting Quran that preaches killing, that advocates holy war, that calls for murder of non-Muslims? It is not the extremists who have misunderstood Islam. They do literally what Quran ask them to do. It is we who misunderstand Islam. We are the ones who are confused. We are the ones who wrongly assume that Islam is the religion of peace. Islam is not a religion of peace. In its so-called pure form it can very well be interpreted as a doctrine of hate. Terrorists are simply doing that and we the intellectual apologists of Islam are justifying it.

We can stop this madness. Yes we can avert the disaster that is hovering over our heads.

Dear friends, there is no time to waste. Let us put an end to this lie. Let us not fool ourselves. Islam is not a religion of peace, of tolerance, of equality or of unity of humankind. Let us read the Quran. Let us face the truth even if it is painful. As long as we keep this lie alive, as long as we hide our head in the sands of Arabia we are feeding terrorism. As long as you and I keep calling Quran the unchangeable book of God, we cannot blame those who follow the teachings therein. As long as we pay our Khums and Zakat our money goes to promote Islamic expansionism and that means terrorism, Jihad and war.

Islam divides the world in two parts: Darul Harb (land of war) and Darul Islam (land of Islam). Darul Harb is the land of the infidels, Muslims are required to infiltrate those lands, proselytize and procreate until their number increase and then start the war and fight and kill the people and impose the religion of Islam on them and convert that land into Darul Islam.

Conclusion:

We know too well that it is not easy to denounce our faith as it means denouncing a part of ourselves. We are a group of freethinkers and humanists with Islamic roots. Discovering the truth and leaving the religion of our fathers and forefathers was a painful experience. But after learning what Islam stands for, we had no choice but to leave it. After becoming familiar with the Quran, the choice became clear: it is either Islam or it is humanity. If Islam is to thrive, humanity has to die. We decided to side with humanity.

Regards,
On behalf of Faith Freedom Foundation
Ibn Warraq
Ali Sina
Taslima Nasrin
fatemolla
Abul Kasem
Anwar Jamal
Syed Kamran Mirza
Hashan Chowdhury
R J Akash
Shabbir Ahmed
Robin Khundokar
Eshon Waheed
Shabnam Nadiya
Mohammad Nawaz Khan
Habib Sarwar
Adnan
S. Smith
H. B. Tharle (Audrey)
Kausik Sen
Avijit Roy
Sandip Dasverma
Paramanab
Bishnu Dey

[www.faithfreedom.org]

school children.

2008-11-20T01:23:00.001-05:00

Schoolchildren chanting "Assassinate Obama!" on a school bus, in a county that went 85% for McCain in Idaho, the great home of all that is potato.

The district superintendent writes a letter to parents saying that the "hyperactive media" took the story and ran with it.

The mayor of the small town wrote a public apology in the local newspaper and expressed regret that this one act put their town on the national stage.

I think the mayor is on the right track, obviously, but the superintendent...why the double standard? If this were any other candidate, any other President-to-be, the same people who express disgust with the so-called liberal media's handling of the event would be the first ones screaming bloody murder (pardon the pun) if they'd been chanting "Assassinate Bush!" Hmm.

Why CAN'T we all just get along? No really, why can't we?

2008-11-20T00:42:00.000-05:00

Oh that's right, I forgot--we're too busy killing each other.

The human race is nothing if not persistent in erasing its own existence. I watched a good movie the other day, Traitor. I was glad that its director approached it from a realistic point of view, and not just that of your typical American. They actually helped the film's audience see terrorism from the point of view of the terrorists. It sounds insane, I know, but hear me out. Muslims believe in peace until there are no other options left on the table. The terrorists we hear so much about are extremists of that culture, just as the crazy fundamentalist Christians are the extremists of American Christian culture, but somehow on this side of the fence, we see that as okay or somehow moderately acceptable. But is it really that different?

In terms of the Iraq war and terrorism, for so many Americans, it seems easier for them to justify this war if they think of the entire nation as terrorists, conveniently forgetting about the majority of the population which has been driven out of Iraq and into Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, etc. The majority of those hurt the most in this war are not extremists. Though cultural beliefs may differ, a lot of them are much like us: just trying to get by.

If you're an American and you voice dissent on your government's political and military actions, you're suddenly unpatriotic and decidedly un-American. Nevermind the fact that most of the people who are passionately outraged at the direction this country is taking are the people paying the most ATTENTION to it. Those hurling the insults like "if you don't like it you're free to get the hell out" are so often those who can't be bothered to read a book on political history or watch more than 5 minutes worth of political discourse on the evening news (which doesn't even count as political discourse). It's aggravating to those who can't focus on trivial bullshit like "Oh my god, did you see what Lauren did on The Hills?!" or "Did you see Dancing with the Stars last night?" Who cares? Really, do you care about this stuff? It's honestly no wonder that Americans are seen as fat, lazy, and uninvolved in the eyes of many Europeans. We're so much more than this.

alright...

2008-11-18T20:22:00.000-05:00

I kind of forgot about my blog didn't I? Well I'm turning over a new leaf, damn it! But for right now, this is it. Haha...till I'm so aggravated about something that I have no choice but to vent all over this page!

Step outside yourself, or at least get over yourself--and think.

2008-05-03T01:54:00.000-04:00

If we could read the secret history of our enemies, We would find in each persons life sorrow and suffering, enough to disarm all hostility.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

So why is it so unbelievable to people...

...the concept that the wars our country has fought are not always viewed as righteous from the other side of the fence?

Some in this country say we have a lack of patriots, that the youth of America don't care or don't have a clue, but they're wrong. The youth have all of the clues. They've amassed many by watching foolish boomers fumble their way to an understanding that today's youth were simply born with. So we bide our time and wait...and vote our beliefs--
not theirs.