So a friend of mine posted a Jolly Roger on Facebook for Flag Day and a friend of his had this to say: "We have friends and family dying everyday, why don't you put up the flag that they all look at everyday to remind them why they are there? What you are doing seems very disrespectful."
After reading this response it got me thinking. Why should we have this blind pride for a flag. I understand having pride in your country and the symbols we use but what if you are as let down as I am by our country?
Keep in mind that there are many flags that have flown in the past that garnered such blind pride and later fell from grace. A perfect example is the Nazi flag. Don't get me wrong, I am not calling the US Nazi Germany but I am guessing that the Germans had as much pride as we are expected to.
Just because we are Americans doesn't mean our shit smells like roses. On this day of reflection over our flag we need to take a moment and ask our selves why we are proud of our country. Are you proud of the rampant consumerism that exploits anyone and everyone it can? How about the fact that we are sending our young men and women out to spill their blood for lies and oil? Maybe your proud of our corrupt political system and the religious stranglehold on our country.
Just remember that it is more patriotic to question the system for the betterment of the nation that it is to blindly goosestep with the crowd. We have seen where that patriotism leads. Granted I would guess that a concentration camp of gays would be wonderfully decorated. (Yes that was a joke)
Monday, June 14, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
I Feel Violated
The truth shall set you free, or so they say. Tonight the truth almost sent me to jail.
Our story starts 3 days ago when I was "fortunate" enough to witness a recently weaned kitten fall from an open second story window and land with a sickening crack on the concrete below. I rushed over to see if it was alive and carried it home for Jennifer to look after. As Jennifer looked after the kitten to make sure it didn't have any broken bones or a concussion when she noticed that half of it upper whiskers on one side and most of the lower whiskers on the opposite side had been burnt off.
Now keep in mind that the apartment that this kitten fell from is notorious in our complex for allowing their children to run free with no supervision, steal cigarette butts from tenants butt cans, try to bum smokes from other tenants "for their mom", loud music at all hours, constant traffic in and out of their apartment, physical fights in the parking lot an MUCH more. The main resident was even recently arrested for shoplifting from Burlington and 4 other active warrants and her children have been repeatedly witnessed dragging a small yelping puppy around and abusing other pets around the complex.
With all of this in mind many of you understand why I had no intentions of returning the kitten to its certain doom. The fact that they hadn't eve taken the time to look for the kitten just added more weight to my decision.
Well today after mentioning something about being careful not to let the neighbors see Lucky Lucy (as we called her) he then walked out the front door to take Daisy for a walk and let the kitten out. Well they saw her and came to my door.
When someone beats loudly on my back door I take a small metal bat with me because our friends know not to use that door and we are besieged by drunken bangers and crackheads on that side of our apartment. This was one of those times.
When I answered the door I was greeted by a teenage girl flanked by at least 10 other children and adults that demanded that I bring her the cat. So I told her that I have AN orange kitten but it wasn't hers she demanded again that I let her see the cat. I told her that it was bullshit for her to come onto my porch and demand anything from me. Well she gave me a scolding about using foul language in front of children so I slammed the door. Se then responded by calling me a mother fucker through my door.
I then thought I should put my bat back in the closet and not leave it by the door. As I picked up the bat there was another pounding on my door. I opened the door and told them to go away and slammed the door again. They then began shouting about me "threatening" them with a bat and proceeded to pound on my door again. As the pounding grew louder and more violent I decided it was time to call the police and put an end to the situation. My first call was made at 3:56pm with the pounding in the background.
Shortly after my first call the pounding shifted to kicking in an attempt to break down my door. A second call was placed (911 this time). During my call to 911 the kicking stopped (I assume because they heard me calling the cops).
3.5 hours after the first call an office showed up at my door. Apparently they need to wrap up the rush hour ticket bonanza before responding.
When I opened the door for the officer his first comments were about the cat which leads me to believe that he was not responding to my call but one made by the neighbors about their stolen cat.
As our conversation went on he asked if I was willing to go to jail for the safety of the cat. I told him I was more than willing. Hell, it would have made a great lawsuit for me.
With that said he made up his mind that he was going arrest me. As the conversation went on I asked if I was being arrested for the cat what would be done about people trying to break down my door. He informed me that he had no intentions of doing anything about that situation.
After all was said and done I wasn't arrested because I turned the cat over to Spokanimal who promptly returned the cat.
So the bottom line is that it is more important to the Spokane Police Department that a kitten be returned to an abusive home that a home invasion attempt.
Our story starts 3 days ago when I was "fortunate" enough to witness a recently weaned kitten fall from an open second story window and land with a sickening crack on the concrete below. I rushed over to see if it was alive and carried it home for Jennifer to look after. As Jennifer looked after the kitten to make sure it didn't have any broken bones or a concussion when she noticed that half of it upper whiskers on one side and most of the lower whiskers on the opposite side had been burnt off.
Now keep in mind that the apartment that this kitten fell from is notorious in our complex for allowing their children to run free with no supervision, steal cigarette butts from tenants butt cans, try to bum smokes from other tenants "for their mom", loud music at all hours, constant traffic in and out of their apartment, physical fights in the parking lot an MUCH more. The main resident was even recently arrested for shoplifting from Burlington and 4 other active warrants and her children have been repeatedly witnessed dragging a small yelping puppy around and abusing other pets around the complex.
With all of this in mind many of you understand why I had no intentions of returning the kitten to its certain doom. The fact that they hadn't eve taken the time to look for the kitten just added more weight to my decision.
Well today after mentioning something about being careful not to let the neighbors see Lucky Lucy (as we called her) he then walked out the front door to take Daisy for a walk and let the kitten out. Well they saw her and came to my door.
When someone beats loudly on my back door I take a small metal bat with me because our friends know not to use that door and we are besieged by drunken bangers and crackheads on that side of our apartment. This was one of those times.
When I answered the door I was greeted by a teenage girl flanked by at least 10 other children and adults that demanded that I bring her the cat. So I told her that I have AN orange kitten but it wasn't hers she demanded again that I let her see the cat. I told her that it was bullshit for her to come onto my porch and demand anything from me. Well she gave me a scolding about using foul language in front of children so I slammed the door. Se then responded by calling me a mother fucker through my door.
I then thought I should put my bat back in the closet and not leave it by the door. As I picked up the bat there was another pounding on my door. I opened the door and told them to go away and slammed the door again. They then began shouting about me "threatening" them with a bat and proceeded to pound on my door again. As the pounding grew louder and more violent I decided it was time to call the police and put an end to the situation. My first call was made at 3:56pm with the pounding in the background.
Shortly after my first call the pounding shifted to kicking in an attempt to break down my door. A second call was placed (911 this time). During my call to 911 the kicking stopped (I assume because they heard me calling the cops).
3.5 hours after the first call an office showed up at my door. Apparently they need to wrap up the rush hour ticket bonanza before responding.
When I opened the door for the officer his first comments were about the cat which leads me to believe that he was not responding to my call but one made by the neighbors about their stolen cat.
As our conversation went on he asked if I was willing to go to jail for the safety of the cat. I told him I was more than willing. Hell, it would have made a great lawsuit for me.
With that said he made up his mind that he was going arrest me. As the conversation went on I asked if I was being arrested for the cat what would be done about people trying to break down my door. He informed me that he had no intentions of doing anything about that situation.
After all was said and done I wasn't arrested because I turned the cat over to Spokanimal who promptly returned the cat.
So the bottom line is that it is more important to the Spokane Police Department that a kitten be returned to an abusive home that a home invasion attempt.
Monday, April 19, 2010
From the Mouths of Babes
Last night my 17 year old step-son wrote a blog on his myspace that thoroughly impressed me. It makes me proud as a father. This is a young man that gives me hope for the future. So without further ado or gilding the lily I bring you my guest blogger and his views of the world.
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Almost intellectual sounding blog about life, lol.
Today at 9:35pm
Well, I'm pretty much draining my brain here, so don't expect too much form or any semblance of control in this blog.
I have spent a while now thinking about how, for all of the world that I have seen, for the three states I have been in, that is a fraction of a fraction of a planet. This planet is also a fraction of a solar system. Which is in a galaxy consisting of millions of other solar systems. Which is merely one of millions of galaxies. For all these planets, all these solar systems, all of these anythings, how can any race be so ignorant and self-important to believe that they are completely alone in the infinity that is the universe? And for those that don't adamantly believe we are alone, how could any race possibly believe we are the most intelligent and advanced? I believe that the phrase "ignorance is bliss" fits perfectly here. The human race as a whole has done everything we possibly can to trick ourselves into shutting out the constellations and other stars as pretty twinkling things to look at at night. We find anything we can to distract us from the daunting realization that the universe is so unimaginably large that our lives and actions in comparison are meaningless. And it's easy to do that, it's easy to just pretend there is nothing past our atmosphere. But I've come to realize that maybe doing so isn't the best way to progress as a species. Maybe, in creating our own little realities, we're actually pushing back the intelligence and enlightenment we could possibly attain.
I believe that people go through a few phases in their lives, not invariably, as some people are different than others, but as a whole. First, as a baby, they go through a phase of not knowing any language or symbols of any sort. Their thoughts are completely their own, and are altogether uninfluenced. Then, after learning language and being taught basic human being characteristics, their minds begin the process of blocking all things unknown out. They look at their lives as any child would. But then, after being educated and after fully comprehending the idea of things outside earth, things unknown, they block it out more. Eventually, some people go through a phase where they heavily practice religion. While this is not entirely bad or anything, some pledge that they have complete faith in their religion and believe it entirely, while most are merely afraid of what comes after life, so they find comfort in being told what happens. My thought is, you won't know after life until your life ceases, and it's pointless dwelling on what might happen while you're alive. In the end, whatever happens, happens. There's no stopping it, there's no predicting it. Getting back to the point at hand, later in life, they go through a phase where they accept death's grim reality. They accept the fact that their lives are coming to an end. And later on, they pass away, into whatever lies after death. While this is a very large fear and obsession of many people, there's no avoiding it, and there's no point in worrying about it.
People crave comfort. They seek endlessly to find anything they can to make their lives happy. They find ways to block out the infinity and eternity that is around us, and they look exclusively at their own lives. The thing is, who's to say that someday, in any amount of time, we won't finally find contact with another race of intelligent beings? And who's to say that we won't then discover that there is actually a whole galactic civilization that we didn't even know about? If this happens, then how will we block the infinity? How will we find our comfort that we so desperately crave? How will we explain religions and any education?
My belief is simple. I believe that we are all actually put here for a purpose, whatever it may be, and that there is an afterlife of some sort, but one that we cannot know of, being alive. I believe that it's important to block out the everything and find comfort, yet at the same time accept that the universe is an infinite thing, and that there are bound to be millions of billions of things that we don't know about. And lastly, I believe that life is too valuable of a thing to spend waging hatred and anger over petty and pointless things such as the unknown, religion, and material things. I think that the people of earth should actually work together to be the best we can be, rather than destroying ourselves over virtually nothing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Almost intellectual sounding blog about life, lol.
Today at 9:35pm
Well, I'm pretty much draining my brain here, so don't expect too much form or any semblance of control in this blog.
I have spent a while now thinking about how, for all of the world that I have seen, for the three states I have been in, that is a fraction of a fraction of a planet. This planet is also a fraction of a solar system. Which is in a galaxy consisting of millions of other solar systems. Which is merely one of millions of galaxies. For all these planets, all these solar systems, all of these anythings, how can any race be so ignorant and self-important to believe that they are completely alone in the infinity that is the universe? And for those that don't adamantly believe we are alone, how could any race possibly believe we are the most intelligent and advanced? I believe that the phrase "ignorance is bliss" fits perfectly here. The human race as a whole has done everything we possibly can to trick ourselves into shutting out the constellations and other stars as pretty twinkling things to look at at night. We find anything we can to distract us from the daunting realization that the universe is so unimaginably large that our lives and actions in comparison are meaningless. And it's easy to do that, it's easy to just pretend there is nothing past our atmosphere. But I've come to realize that maybe doing so isn't the best way to progress as a species. Maybe, in creating our own little realities, we're actually pushing back the intelligence and enlightenment we could possibly attain.
I believe that people go through a few phases in their lives, not invariably, as some people are different than others, but as a whole. First, as a baby, they go through a phase of not knowing any language or symbols of any sort. Their thoughts are completely their own, and are altogether uninfluenced. Then, after learning language and being taught basic human being characteristics, their minds begin the process of blocking all things unknown out. They look at their lives as any child would. But then, after being educated and after fully comprehending the idea of things outside earth, things unknown, they block it out more. Eventually, some people go through a phase where they heavily practice religion. While this is not entirely bad or anything, some pledge that they have complete faith in their religion and believe it entirely, while most are merely afraid of what comes after life, so they find comfort in being told what happens. My thought is, you won't know after life until your life ceases, and it's pointless dwelling on what might happen while you're alive. In the end, whatever happens, happens. There's no stopping it, there's no predicting it. Getting back to the point at hand, later in life, they go through a phase where they accept death's grim reality. They accept the fact that their lives are coming to an end. And later on, they pass away, into whatever lies after death. While this is a very large fear and obsession of many people, there's no avoiding it, and there's no point in worrying about it.
People crave comfort. They seek endlessly to find anything they can to make their lives happy. They find ways to block out the infinity and eternity that is around us, and they look exclusively at their own lives. The thing is, who's to say that someday, in any amount of time, we won't finally find contact with another race of intelligent beings? And who's to say that we won't then discover that there is actually a whole galactic civilization that we didn't even know about? If this happens, then how will we block the infinity? How will we find our comfort that we so desperately crave? How will we explain religions and any education?
My belief is simple. I believe that we are all actually put here for a purpose, whatever it may be, and that there is an afterlife of some sort, but one that we cannot know of, being alive. I believe that it's important to block out the everything and find comfort, yet at the same time accept that the universe is an infinite thing, and that there are bound to be millions of billions of things that we don't know about. And lastly, I believe that life is too valuable of a thing to spend waging hatred and anger over petty and pointless things such as the unknown, religion, and material things. I think that the people of earth should actually work together to be the best we can be, rather than destroying ourselves over virtually nothing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
I Thougt we were Adults
Recently the writing community has gotten a bit of a stir. The basic issue is this.
An agent recently received a submission from writer looking for representation that didn't follow the agent's "guidelines fr submission" and was greeted with a standard form rejection. This is a normal occurrence in the writing world. Where things started to turn south is when the writer responded with a nasty-gram to the agent which again is kinda common in this circle. The icing on the cake is when the agent then proceeds to attempt to defame the writer to the general public by inciting a hate haiku thread on Twitter (which seems be the meeting place for agents and writers).
Now normally this wouldn't be such a big deal but it has placed a spotlight on what I feel is a huge issue with the publication process for aspiring authors.
*note: There are still some that don't fall in this description and writers thank you for it.*
Agents are getting too powerful in the industry. They are the gatekeepers between the writer and publishers. Because of this many agents have adopted a high and mighty attitude. Many have said that if your book contains certain characters or character flaws that writers shouldn't even bother submitting or even go as far as attempting to blacklist writers that don't treat them with the respect they feel they are due.
This saddens me as an avid reader and and one that loves and supports an aspiring author. As a reader I think of all the wondrous stories that I will never have the chance to read because the right asses weren't kissed. I think of all of the Mark Twains and R. A. Salvatories that will never be published because they allowed the stress of constant rejection to get to them for just a moment.
Because of this incident there are 2 factions forming in this community. On one side we find the brave and honorable souls that have risked their own dreams and careers to speak out against this issue. The other faction are those that feel they need to kiss an agent's ass so the hop on the agent's bandwagon and bully a writer without pity in hopes of some favor in the future.
In my opinion I would say that those stepping up to defend this deplorable and unprofessional behavior are worse that the original offenders in what should have been a private conversation. They are the ones that cow to the inflated egos of the disreputable agents that help to further inflate them and reinforce their idea that they have some right to decide what is worthy and what is not.
So in short this is a salute to those that have the guts to stand up to bullies. Please take the time to read through their blogs.
A Roller Coaster Kinda Day
Can't Let It Go
This Makes Me Sad and Sick
Bullying is Bullying Period
An agent recently received a submission from writer looking for representation that didn't follow the agent's "guidelines fr submission" and was greeted with a standard form rejection. This is a normal occurrence in the writing world. Where things started to turn south is when the writer responded with a nasty-gram to the agent which again is kinda common in this circle. The icing on the cake is when the agent then proceeds to attempt to defame the writer to the general public by inciting a hate haiku thread on Twitter (which seems be the meeting place for agents and writers).
Now normally this wouldn't be such a big deal but it has placed a spotlight on what I feel is a huge issue with the publication process for aspiring authors.
*note: There are still some that don't fall in this description and writers thank you for it.*
Agents are getting too powerful in the industry. They are the gatekeepers between the writer and publishers. Because of this many agents have adopted a high and mighty attitude. Many have said that if your book contains certain characters or character flaws that writers shouldn't even bother submitting or even go as far as attempting to blacklist writers that don't treat them with the respect they feel they are due.
This saddens me as an avid reader and and one that loves and supports an aspiring author. As a reader I think of all the wondrous stories that I will never have the chance to read because the right asses weren't kissed. I think of all of the Mark Twains and R. A. Salvatories that will never be published because they allowed the stress of constant rejection to get to them for just a moment.
Because of this incident there are 2 factions forming in this community. On one side we find the brave and honorable souls that have risked their own dreams and careers to speak out against this issue. The other faction are those that feel they need to kiss an agent's ass so the hop on the agent's bandwagon and bully a writer without pity in hopes of some favor in the future.
In my opinion I would say that those stepping up to defend this deplorable and unprofessional behavior are worse that the original offenders in what should have been a private conversation. They are the ones that cow to the inflated egos of the disreputable agents that help to further inflate them and reinforce their idea that they have some right to decide what is worthy and what is not.
So in short this is a salute to those that have the guts to stand up to bullies. Please take the time to read through their blogs.
A Roller Coaster Kinda Day
Can't Let It Go
This Makes Me Sad and Sick
Bullying is Bullying Period
Friday, April 2, 2010
Sick of Being Sick
So here I sit having an asthma attack with no inhaler and no way to get one. Many may think "why not just call the doctor and get a refill". If you are thinking that then you are one of the ones that has no clue what is REALLY happening with our health care system.
So let me lay this out for you. I have medical through the state because I have been a student and cannot find a job in Spokane that provides enough hours to grant me the opportunity to get my own medical. So yes I am on state medical. Not by choice but by circumstance. I have also had the same doctor for the last 7 years.
Well actually it was only 6 years because last Fall I was informed by Dr. Mark Hart (his receptionist really) of the Hart Family Medical Center that he had dis-enrolled from state medical. In short he dumped all of his patients that had state medical because he didn't think he was making enough money off of each of us.
Because of this I have been managing mt asthma with a Primatene inhaler (it burns life fire but it works) and Pepto for my acid reflux. Again many of you are asking, "Why doesn't he just get a new doctor?" and again those people have no clue about the reality of US health care. I have tried for the last 6 months to find doctor that accepts state medical but because Chris Gregoire has allowed doctors to opt out of medical plans of their choosing there is no one that accepts my medical insurance.
So here I sit with insurance but no doctor so I am left with one place to go to seek minor medical treatment. THIS is why so many people are using emergency rooms as their primary care and why it takes people with REAL emergencies 3 hours to get a bleeding head wound stitched up.
All of this is caused by one thing. GREED. Insurance companies want to make more money so they cut what they are willing to pay doctors. Pharmaceutical companies want to increase profits so it costs $60 to refill an inhaler that only costs $0.05 to refill in Cuba (watch "Sicko") and over the counter drugs cost 10 times what hey should. Then you have the doctors that need to make tat payment on their new BMW so if they aren't making a big enough profit on you as a patient then you get dropped.
We have a "for profit" health care system that is actually killing us and we all seem to think it is a good thing. What in the 9 hells is wrong with us that we vote against our own best interests? We need Universal Health Care NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
So let me lay this out for you. I have medical through the state because I have been a student and cannot find a job in Spokane that provides enough hours to grant me the opportunity to get my own medical. So yes I am on state medical. Not by choice but by circumstance. I have also had the same doctor for the last 7 years.
Well actually it was only 6 years because last Fall I was informed by Dr. Mark Hart (his receptionist really) of the Hart Family Medical Center that he had dis-enrolled from state medical. In short he dumped all of his patients that had state medical because he didn't think he was making enough money off of each of us.
Because of this I have been managing mt asthma with a Primatene inhaler (it burns life fire but it works) and Pepto for my acid reflux. Again many of you are asking, "Why doesn't he just get a new doctor?" and again those people have no clue about the reality of US health care. I have tried for the last 6 months to find doctor that accepts state medical but because Chris Gregoire has allowed doctors to opt out of medical plans of their choosing there is no one that accepts my medical insurance.
So here I sit with insurance but no doctor so I am left with one place to go to seek minor medical treatment. THIS is why so many people are using emergency rooms as their primary care and why it takes people with REAL emergencies 3 hours to get a bleeding head wound stitched up.
All of this is caused by one thing. GREED. Insurance companies want to make more money so they cut what they are willing to pay doctors. Pharmaceutical companies want to increase profits so it costs $60 to refill an inhaler that only costs $0.05 to refill in Cuba (watch "Sicko") and over the counter drugs cost 10 times what hey should. Then you have the doctors that need to make tat payment on their new BMW so if they aren't making a big enough profit on you as a patient then you get dropped.
We have a "for profit" health care system that is actually killing us and we all seem to think it is a good thing. What in the 9 hells is wrong with us that we vote against our own best interests? We need Universal Health Care NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Smok'em If You Got'em
It is true I derive a majority of my topics from conversations I see happening over my Facebook. I find it the best way to talk about what people care about. This post will be no different.
Today a family member posted that smoking should be illegal because it annoys here that she can smell it when she goes outside. To this I ave to say, "Get over yourself". Too many things are being deemed illegal because a select few have an issue of some sort with it without REALLY thinking about what impact it may have.
Now keep in mind I am in no way advocating smoking. I am a smoker and have tried to quit many times. I council many people that they should never start in the first place but he fact remains that there are approx. 45 million Americans that smoke (as per CDC). Also statistics (not a fan of statistics but hey have their uses) show a decrease of approx. 65% (CDC) since 1997.
Now that those are out of the way lets get back to the meat and potatoes of this rant. I feel that non-smokers need to shut their yaps about smokers unless they want to foot the bill for a smoking rehab for every single of the 45 million Americans that currently use the single most addictive drug on the planet. There are those ex-smokers (they are the worst) that seem to think that any smoker can just up and quit like (*snaps fingers*) that. What they have forgotten is the hell they went through. I liken it to getting pierced or tattooed. Shortly after you are done we all seem to forget about what we went through and simply love the end result. Then you have the "half assed" smokers that smoke about a pack a week. You are not smokers therefore your success in quitting does not count. I liken it to a person that smoked a little pot in their teens telling a crackhead how easy it is to quit.
All of these people need to simply back the hell off. I am a respectful smoker. I stand down wind of non-smokers if I can. I don't smoke in the homes of non-smokers. Non-smokers come to my home I smoke outside an hour before their visit and through the duration of their stay. I do this in hopes that the non-smokers will give me the same respect by not hounding me constantly about it. But that never seems to be the case. Just like the current smoking laws in WA State.
We smokers have been steadily forced into hiding and taxed more than ANY other Americans. A law was passed that there is no smoking allowed restaurants, bowling alleys, and bars. Now the first 2 I can get behind but the bars has been a huge sticking point to me. Who goes into a bar thinking about their health? We go to bars to drink poison, dance to music that is louder than a jet engine, and try to take a stranger home to have sex with but god forbid we have to breath smoke too. Once that was passed they moved on to say we cant smoke withing 25 ft of a building. Now we have increased the taxes on tobacco by 300% making it the single most taxed product Americans consume.
So I sit here trying to be respectful that there are people that don't smoke while they repeatedly disrespect me.
Lets play with a slippery slope argument for a moment. Lets ban smoking because it is bad for you. Then shouldn't we ban other things because it is bad for you? Here is a proposed list.
Any Fast Food
Bacon
All Hostess and Little Debbie snacks
Sugar
Eggs
Internal combustion engines
Milk
Eggs
Microwave ovens
Cell phones
Cow farts
The Sun
etc...
The list goes on.
So non-smokers I will respectfully ask you to shut the hell up about the fact that I smoke. I do my best to not do it around you and all I ask for in exchange is the understanding that if I could quit I would and would rather not penalized for my addiction tat no one seems to want to help me cure. If you want us all to quit the pony up the dough to get us all patches because would you really want 45 million irrational angry Americans on your hands? That is what Republicans are for.
Today a family member posted that smoking should be illegal because it annoys here that she can smell it when she goes outside. To this I ave to say, "Get over yourself". Too many things are being deemed illegal because a select few have an issue of some sort with it without REALLY thinking about what impact it may have.
Now keep in mind I am in no way advocating smoking. I am a smoker and have tried to quit many times. I council many people that they should never start in the first place but he fact remains that there are approx. 45 million Americans that smoke (as per CDC). Also statistics (not a fan of statistics but hey have their uses) show a decrease of approx. 65% (CDC) since 1997.
Now that those are out of the way lets get back to the meat and potatoes of this rant. I feel that non-smokers need to shut their yaps about smokers unless they want to foot the bill for a smoking rehab for every single of the 45 million Americans that currently use the single most addictive drug on the planet. There are those ex-smokers (they are the worst) that seem to think that any smoker can just up and quit like (*snaps fingers*) that. What they have forgotten is the hell they went through. I liken it to getting pierced or tattooed. Shortly after you are done we all seem to forget about what we went through and simply love the end result. Then you have the "half assed" smokers that smoke about a pack a week. You are not smokers therefore your success in quitting does not count. I liken it to a person that smoked a little pot in their teens telling a crackhead how easy it is to quit.
All of these people need to simply back the hell off. I am a respectful smoker. I stand down wind of non-smokers if I can. I don't smoke in the homes of non-smokers. Non-smokers come to my home I smoke outside an hour before their visit and through the duration of their stay. I do this in hopes that the non-smokers will give me the same respect by not hounding me constantly about it. But that never seems to be the case. Just like the current smoking laws in WA State.
We smokers have been steadily forced into hiding and taxed more than ANY other Americans. A law was passed that there is no smoking allowed restaurants, bowling alleys, and bars. Now the first 2 I can get behind but the bars has been a huge sticking point to me. Who goes into a bar thinking about their health? We go to bars to drink poison, dance to music that is louder than a jet engine, and try to take a stranger home to have sex with but god forbid we have to breath smoke too. Once that was passed they moved on to say we cant smoke withing 25 ft of a building. Now we have increased the taxes on tobacco by 300% making it the single most taxed product Americans consume.
So I sit here trying to be respectful that there are people that don't smoke while they repeatedly disrespect me.
Lets play with a slippery slope argument for a moment. Lets ban smoking because it is bad for you. Then shouldn't we ban other things because it is bad for you? Here is a proposed list.
Any Fast Food
Bacon
All Hostess and Little Debbie snacks
Sugar
Eggs
Internal combustion engines
Milk
Eggs
Microwave ovens
Cell phones
Cow farts
The Sun
etc...
The list goes on.
So non-smokers I will respectfully ask you to shut the hell up about the fact that I smoke. I do my best to not do it around you and all I ask for in exchange is the understanding that if I could quit I would and would rather not penalized for my addiction tat no one seems to want to help me cure. If you want us all to quit the pony up the dough to get us all patches because would you really want 45 million irrational angry Americans on your hands? That is what Republicans are for.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
"We're Not Gonna Take it. No! We Aint Gonna Take it...Anymore"
This morning Jennifer woke me to a news story I felt needed to be shared with my audience. As we discussed it I realized there is a disturbing trend happening. On that note lets fist dive into the stories themselves.
1) Miss. prom canceled after lesbian's date request
In this story a Mississippi senior was informed she would not be allowed to bring he date to the prom because they were a same sex couple. After petitioning their decision the school board decided to cancel the prom all together.
2)6-Year-Old Boy Suspended From School
This 6 year old boy was suspended for playing guns on the playground. The gun in question was the child's fingers. He was suspended for 2 days.
3)Soldier suspended from school
A 17 year old Eagle Scout and recent graduate from Army Basic Training was suspended for 20 days for having a 2" blade in his locked car.
4) My 10 year old nephew, Dalton, was recently suspended from school for "spreading rumors". A friend had told Dalton about a crush he had on a girl. Later that day th boy claimed that Dalton had told others about the crush.
5) My son JR was suspended from school for the last day before winter break because he was sitting in the hall outside the cafeteria waiting for is lunch. JR is a Running Start student so the first half of his day is spent taking classes at the college. After that he goes to Rogers High School (so you all know the boobs that did this) to have lunch and finish his day at the HS. He wasn't suspended for skipping but instead he was suspended for showing up for class early.
These are prime examples of how our schools have allowed power to go to their heads. "Zero Tolerance" in school and "distractions to the educational process" have turned our schools into a minefield for our children. Any action that many would see as reasonable or normal for a child now holds the potential to drop our children into suspensions or even arrests (As was the case for Alexa Gonzalez).
Have our school administrators lost all contact with reality or is this just their way of feeling like they have some authority. These are basic civil servants that have so little in their lives that they are now taking out their frustrations on our children. I will be the first to say that a large reason I dropped out of school was due to the persecution I faced in school over the years and I would be a fool to think that these hapless middle managers hadn't done the same to countless other youths. So for those of you that have been suspended (or have children that have) for pointless infractions don't be afraid to stand up for yourselves.
I am all for working with the schools to better education but when we allow actions like this to go unanswered we help to perpetuate the system. Arresting a student for having a plastic butter knife has nothing to do with education. School administrators are nothing more than accountants and babysitters. They are not the police or law makers and hold no real power. If you think they are being unreasonable there is a good chance you are right. We are not slaves to authority as Milgram would have us believe but we must speak out when we (or our children) are wronged.
1) Miss. prom canceled after lesbian's date request
In this story a Mississippi senior was informed she would not be allowed to bring he date to the prom because they were a same sex couple. After petitioning their decision the school board decided to cancel the prom all together.
2)6-Year-Old Boy Suspended From School
This 6 year old boy was suspended for playing guns on the playground. The gun in question was the child's fingers. He was suspended for 2 days.
3)Soldier suspended from school
A 17 year old Eagle Scout and recent graduate from Army Basic Training was suspended for 20 days for having a 2" blade in his locked car.
4) My 10 year old nephew, Dalton, was recently suspended from school for "spreading rumors". A friend had told Dalton about a crush he had on a girl. Later that day th boy claimed that Dalton had told others about the crush.
5) My son JR was suspended from school for the last day before winter break because he was sitting in the hall outside the cafeteria waiting for is lunch. JR is a Running Start student so the first half of his day is spent taking classes at the college. After that he goes to Rogers High School (so you all know the boobs that did this) to have lunch and finish his day at the HS. He wasn't suspended for skipping but instead he was suspended for showing up for class early.
These are prime examples of how our schools have allowed power to go to their heads. "Zero Tolerance" in school and "distractions to the educational process" have turned our schools into a minefield for our children. Any action that many would see as reasonable or normal for a child now holds the potential to drop our children into suspensions or even arrests (As was the case for Alexa Gonzalez).
Have our school administrators lost all contact with reality or is this just their way of feeling like they have some authority. These are basic civil servants that have so little in their lives that they are now taking out their frustrations on our children. I will be the first to say that a large reason I dropped out of school was due to the persecution I faced in school over the years and I would be a fool to think that these hapless middle managers hadn't done the same to countless other youths. So for those of you that have been suspended (or have children that have) for pointless infractions don't be afraid to stand up for yourselves.
I am all for working with the schools to better education but when we allow actions like this to go unanswered we help to perpetuate the system. Arresting a student for having a plastic butter knife has nothing to do with education. School administrators are nothing more than accountants and babysitters. They are not the police or law makers and hold no real power. If you think they are being unreasonable there is a good chance you are right. We are not slaves to authority as Milgram would have us believe but we must speak out when we (or our children) are wronged.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Wren's Movie Review
So I just finished watching the newest Michael Moore film "Capitalism: A Love Story" and I have to say it was his best yet.
Now I understand that many people have issues with Mr. Moore and his films but I still feel this one s a must see. He has shifted from his high-minded (but enlightening) attacks that we all know from "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11" to presenting a sound argument.
In the film he takes on the American banking system and what it has turned this country into. More so he is calling the rally cry to all American to take back their country. The closing scene of the film says it all.
(Voice over on a black screen)Moore: I refuse to live in a country like this. And I'm not leaving.
(Fade to scene of Moore placing crime scene tape around Goldman Sachs, CitiBank, etc.)
(Fade to black with voice over by Moore)Moore: You know I cant really do this anymore unless those of you watching this in the theater want to join me... Speed it up.
JR watched some of the film with me and his responses spoke volumes about the common felling about this topic. It depressed him. He said it made him feel powerless and depressed because he is about to be forced into this bleak world where he too will be exploited for the riches of the top 1%.
It amazed me that a 17 year old would feel this way about the world around him. What legacy are we leaving for our children if this system of corruption and exploitation continues? It is time that we stop waiting for someone else to stand up first and fight for our future. If we all step forward then none of us will be alone. I am making my first efforts with this blog t take my country back. What will you do? We can either sit back and bitch that there are no jobs and the economy i in the shitter or we can do something.
I liken it to having your house on fire while you sit in your living room waiting for the fire department rather than getting out the garden hose and doing something. This country is on fire and being looted and we are sitting by thinking we are powerless. WE ARE THE "We The People"!!! It is OUR country not he bank's. The sad part is that we are now in a situation where any that we could vote for are just as corrupt as the banks themselves (cause they work for both). The time has come for us to take action. Now I know I only have a few readers but for every 1 person that reads this they know 10 more. Take to the streets in peaceful protest. Phone or email your elected officials and if they wont listen vote them out. If you are being forced out of your home by a bank DON'T LEAVE. If they are stealing your money quit using the bank.
Just like the commercials say: "ITS MY MONEY AND I WANT IT NOW!!!" More so: IT IS MY COUNTRY AND I WANT IT NOW!!!"
Now I understand that many people have issues with Mr. Moore and his films but I still feel this one s a must see. He has shifted from his high-minded (but enlightening) attacks that we all know from "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11" to presenting a sound argument.
In the film he takes on the American banking system and what it has turned this country into. More so he is calling the rally cry to all American to take back their country. The closing scene of the film says it all.
(Voice over on a black screen)Moore: I refuse to live in a country like this. And I'm not leaving.
(Fade to scene of Moore placing crime scene tape around Goldman Sachs, CitiBank, etc.)
(Fade to black with voice over by Moore)Moore: You know I cant really do this anymore unless those of you watching this in the theater want to join me... Speed it up.
JR watched some of the film with me and his responses spoke volumes about the common felling about this topic. It depressed him. He said it made him feel powerless and depressed because he is about to be forced into this bleak world where he too will be exploited for the riches of the top 1%.
It amazed me that a 17 year old would feel this way about the world around him. What legacy are we leaving for our children if this system of corruption and exploitation continues? It is time that we stop waiting for someone else to stand up first and fight for our future. If we all step forward then none of us will be alone. I am making my first efforts with this blog t take my country back. What will you do? We can either sit back and bitch that there are no jobs and the economy i in the shitter or we can do something.
I liken it to having your house on fire while you sit in your living room waiting for the fire department rather than getting out the garden hose and doing something. This country is on fire and being looted and we are sitting by thinking we are powerless. WE ARE THE "We The People"!!! It is OUR country not he bank's. The sad part is that we are now in a situation where any that we could vote for are just as corrupt as the banks themselves (cause they work for both). The time has come for us to take action. Now I know I only have a few readers but for every 1 person that reads this they know 10 more. Take to the streets in peaceful protest. Phone or email your elected officials and if they wont listen vote them out. If you are being forced out of your home by a bank DON'T LEAVE. If they are stealing your money quit using the bank.
Just like the commercials say: "ITS MY MONEY AND I WANT IT NOW!!!" More so: IT IS MY COUNTRY AND I WANT IT NOW!!!"
Friday, March 5, 2010
Where Has the News Gone
Have I gone insane or is the news gone?
The last few times I have tried to sit ad watch the News I have noticed a disturbing trend. The don't actually show news on the News anymore. Last night was a perfect example of this new trend.
I sat and watched the segments of the KXLY News cast at 11pm and this is what I found. 10 minutes were spent covering local and national news and local weather. The next 20 minute of the broadcast were spent on state basketball tournaments. That was promptly followed with about 5-10 minutes of fires and car accidents from Virginia, Florida, and other parts of the country.
Not once was there any mention of the wars we are waging around the globe, our financial crisis, lack of jobs, or the natural disaster in Chile (guess Haitians are more important to Americans). I guess the flaming shit storm this country doesn't rank high enough on our agendas.
I must be strange because I seem to be more concerned with why there was a SWAT team less than a mile from my home conducting a raid and how many more Americans lost their lives in a war for oil than if Gonzaga Prep. beat Enumclaw.
It is pathetic that a van rolling over on a freeway in Virginia and a monkey loose in Tampa get more coverage than the fight for a national health care plan.
Here are the current (2-5-10 6:56p PST) stories on the front page of AOL.
1)'Details Emerge About Pentagon Shooter'
Internet posts reveal John Bedell, who
opened fire on police, believed the
government was behind 9/11 attacks.
2)'I'm Very Open in Talking About My Wife'
America learned about Danny Gokey's
loss on last year's 'Idol' -- but what he
said on stage is hardly the entire tale.
3)'I Had a One-Night Stand When I Was 39'
Mary Pols isn't proud of that, but she
is proud of the beautiful baby boy she
ended up conceiving that night.
4)'He Holds Porsche's Future in His Hands'
Michael Mauer heads the automaker's
design department. He sat down with
us to talk trends & what inspires him.
The car he wants in his garage
5)'You're So Vain' Isn't About Who You Think'
Denying it's David Geffen, Carly Simon
says it could be about Jesus or Mozart,
keeping fans guessing for a bit longer.
6)'Apple, Meet Your Latest Competition'
Its name, JooJoo, means 'magical' in
an unspecified African language, but
its capabilities are quite specific.
7)'He Survived for 7 Months in a 'Torture Box'
Released from his captors, Eduardo
tells Matt Lauer about living conditions
that were 'enough to make you crazy.'
8)'Dan Solomon Probably Isn't Great at Poker'
He'd never really played before joining
a tournament in Vegas. He had one
goal: Outlast the editors of Maxim.
9)'Meryl Streep's 26-Year Oscar Losing Streak'
How could the superb actress win only
2 of 15 nominations? A closer look at
ballots revealed source of her bad luck.
So that makes 1 out of 9 stories that have ANYTHING to do with REAL news!!!!!!!!!
With all of this in mind I would like to say to any hack that claims to be a reporter or in the "news" business that this is NOT news!!! This is garbage that should be reserved for E! and FoxNews. The news is a place for the world to get caught up on world and local (that are actually local) events. We don't care if Paris Hilton showed off her cooter, or tat the octo-mom is still a whore. We care if we are going to wake up to a mushroom cloud over downtown, a crackhead at our door, or a pink slip at work. Pull your collective heads out of one another's asses and report the effing news or go home because I would be more than happy to do your job correctly for half what you make.
The last few times I have tried to sit ad watch the News I have noticed a disturbing trend. The don't actually show news on the News anymore. Last night was a perfect example of this new trend.
I sat and watched the segments of the KXLY News cast at 11pm and this is what I found. 10 minutes were spent covering local and national news and local weather. The next 20 minute of the broadcast were spent on state basketball tournaments. That was promptly followed with about 5-10 minutes of fires and car accidents from Virginia, Florida, and other parts of the country.
Not once was there any mention of the wars we are waging around the globe, our financial crisis, lack of jobs, or the natural disaster in Chile (guess Haitians are more important to Americans). I guess the flaming shit storm this country doesn't rank high enough on our agendas.
I must be strange because I seem to be more concerned with why there was a SWAT team less than a mile from my home conducting a raid and how many more Americans lost their lives in a war for oil than if Gonzaga Prep. beat Enumclaw.
It is pathetic that a van rolling over on a freeway in Virginia and a monkey loose in Tampa get more coverage than the fight for a national health care plan.
Here are the current (2-5-10 6:56p PST) stories on the front page of AOL.
1)'Details Emerge About Pentagon Shooter'
Internet posts reveal John Bedell, who
opened fire on police, believed the
government was behind 9/11 attacks.
2)'I'm Very Open in Talking About My Wife'
America learned about Danny Gokey's
loss on last year's 'Idol' -- but what he
said on stage is hardly the entire tale.
3)'I Had a One-Night Stand When I Was 39'
Mary Pols isn't proud of that, but she
is proud of the beautiful baby boy she
ended up conceiving that night.
4)'He Holds Porsche's Future in His Hands'
Michael Mauer heads the automaker's
design department. He sat down with
us to talk trends & what inspires him.
The car he wants in his garage
5)'You're So Vain' Isn't About Who You Think'
Denying it's David Geffen, Carly Simon
says it could be about Jesus or Mozart,
keeping fans guessing for a bit longer.
6)'Apple, Meet Your Latest Competition'
Its name, JooJoo, means 'magical' in
an unspecified African language, but
its capabilities are quite specific.
7)'He Survived for 7 Months in a 'Torture Box'
Released from his captors, Eduardo
tells Matt Lauer about living conditions
that were 'enough to make you crazy.'
8)'Dan Solomon Probably Isn't Great at Poker'
He'd never really played before joining
a tournament in Vegas. He had one
goal: Outlast the editors of Maxim.
9)'Meryl Streep's 26-Year Oscar Losing Streak'
How could the superb actress win only
2 of 15 nominations? A closer look at
ballots revealed source of her bad luck.
So that makes 1 out of 9 stories that have ANYTHING to do with REAL news!!!!!!!!!
With all of this in mind I would like to say to any hack that claims to be a reporter or in the "news" business that this is NOT news!!! This is garbage that should be reserved for E! and FoxNews. The news is a place for the world to get caught up on world and local (that are actually local) events. We don't care if Paris Hilton showed off her cooter, or tat the octo-mom is still a whore. We care if we are going to wake up to a mushroom cloud over downtown, a crackhead at our door, or a pink slip at work. Pull your collective heads out of one another's asses and report the effing news or go home because I would be more than happy to do your job correctly for half what you make.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Get Your Peanut Butter Out of My Choclate
I have had an issue over the past few years (since I opened my eyes to the world around me) with the involvement of religious views in our legislation.
More and more we are seeing religious views and moralities being pushed through and turned into the laws we must all live by and it is frankly beginning to make me sick. One of the founding ideals of the United States is the separation of Church and State.
To me and the founding fathers (and many of the free-thinkers of the US) this means that our government shall not institute any form of "State Religion" nor shall it infringe on the rights of religious doctrine. In layman's terms it is stating that our government will not take on religious views and enforce them as laws of the land by creating a "State Religion" and in turn they will allow religions to operate freely with out interference (ie. outlawing a religion such as Mormonism, Wicca, etc.). Granted some practices of a religion that act direct conflict with base laws (ie, human sacrifice, child exploitation, animal cruelty, etc.) are granted a reasonable exception from this and deemed unacceptable.
The problem is that there are now religious views that are now being pushed through and turned into law. A perfect example is the official outlawing of gay marriage. It directly infringes on one of the core values this country was founded on.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ~US Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
It doesn't have an exception anywhere that states "except gays". The bases for the argument against it is that homosexuality is an abomination in the eyes of god. Now I am not here to argue who is right (saving that for another blog) I am simply asserting that it is a religious view that has now been put into law. If Christianity is not the "State Religion" then why are we enforcing their doctrine?
More and more we are seeing the same thing popping up. Schools are being forced by the state to teach Creationism; women are jailed for abortions because a fetus has a soul at the time of conception; our children are forced to pledge heir allegiance to not only our country but to God. There is even a push to have the 3rd law of thermodynamics (I know this isn't legislation) repealed because it is counter to Christian beliefs.
How would Christians feel if other religious groups made their precepts into laws. What if the US outlawed pork? What if everyone was required to wear Mormon "garments", or we outlawed blood transfusion?
As much as these people like to use the slippery slope fallacy to support their arguments (Arguments against gay marriage) I think I will throw out my own (I know arguing from a fallacy is a failed argument before it starts but meh).
If we continue too allow Christians to dictate our laws and social morals how soon until be begin burning witches? (King James)Exodus 22:18, Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Bottom line is that Christians would have a hissy fit if the US government stepped in and started dictating to them their practices so in turn they have no right to dictate to the government how they should operate. A Muslim has no right to tell a Jew how to live and a Wiccan has no right to dictate how a Mormon should practice, but for some reason we as Americans are allowing Christians to dictate to us all how we should live.
More and more we are seeing religious views and moralities being pushed through and turned into the laws we must all live by and it is frankly beginning to make me sick. One of the founding ideals of the United States is the separation of Church and State.
To me and the founding fathers (and many of the free-thinkers of the US) this means that our government shall not institute any form of "State Religion" nor shall it infringe on the rights of religious doctrine. In layman's terms it is stating that our government will not take on religious views and enforce them as laws of the land by creating a "State Religion" and in turn they will allow religions to operate freely with out interference (ie. outlawing a religion such as Mormonism, Wicca, etc.). Granted some practices of a religion that act direct conflict with base laws (ie, human sacrifice, child exploitation, animal cruelty, etc.) are granted a reasonable exception from this and deemed unacceptable.
The problem is that there are now religious views that are now being pushed through and turned into law. A perfect example is the official outlawing of gay marriage. It directly infringes on one of the core values this country was founded on.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ~US Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
It doesn't have an exception anywhere that states "except gays". The bases for the argument against it is that homosexuality is an abomination in the eyes of god. Now I am not here to argue who is right (saving that for another blog) I am simply asserting that it is a religious view that has now been put into law. If Christianity is not the "State Religion" then why are we enforcing their doctrine?
More and more we are seeing the same thing popping up. Schools are being forced by the state to teach Creationism; women are jailed for abortions because a fetus has a soul at the time of conception; our children are forced to pledge heir allegiance to not only our country but to God. There is even a push to have the 3rd law of thermodynamics (I know this isn't legislation) repealed because it is counter to Christian beliefs.
How would Christians feel if other religious groups made their precepts into laws. What if the US outlawed pork? What if everyone was required to wear Mormon "garments", or we outlawed blood transfusion?
As much as these people like to use the slippery slope fallacy to support their arguments (Arguments against gay marriage) I think I will throw out my own (I know arguing from a fallacy is a failed argument before it starts but meh).
If we continue too allow Christians to dictate our laws and social morals how soon until be begin burning witches? (King James)Exodus 22:18, Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Bottom line is that Christians would have a hissy fit if the US government stepped in and started dictating to them their practices so in turn they have no right to dictate to the government how they should operate. A Muslim has no right to tell a Jew how to live and a Wiccan has no right to dictate how a Mormon should practice, but for some reason we as Americans are allowing Christians to dictate to us all how we should live.
Gotta Love Mormons
Today Jennifer posted an article about a new (and not talked about) law in the great moral beacon state of Utah which would criminalize miscarriages. That's right ladies, at one of the lowest points in a woman's life they reserve the right to arrest you. Granted the prosecutors are using the legal definition of "Reckless Behavior" to base their charges. However that is a very broad brush to use. LawGlossery.net defines Reckless Behavior as; activity which increases the risk of harm. But the application of that is left to the prosecutor's discretion.
Sadly any stress inducing activity can cause harm to a fetus so where will the line be drawn? Will it only include activities that an individual decides is morally objectionable (smoking a cigarette, a glass of red wine a week) or will it be blanket application. If the latter is the case then what is to stop them from arresting you for having a miscarriage because you had a fight with your husband, got fired from your job, or any other activity that induces stress and inadvertently leads to a miscarriage?
In this desperate fight to protect the unborn we are now moving into a realm where women's bodies and lives are being put on lockdown while they are pregnant.
In Iowa Christine Taylor was arrested and charged under a feticide law because she discussed with a nurse her reservations about having a 3rd child after a phone argument with her estranged husband which resulted in her blacking out and falling down a set of stairs. Keep in mind that her and the fetus were fine and the conversation happened when she insisted to the paramedics take her to the hospital to insure that her fetus was unharmed by the fall. She expressed her apprehension and her doctor promptly called authorities. I remind you the fetus was fine and so was she but she was charged with a crime because had doubts. Thought crime? Breech of doctor/patient confidentiality? The only reason the charges were dropped and Ms. Taylor was released is because they determined that the fetus was still in the 2nd trimester and not the 3rd.
The bottom line is that this is a way to kick women while they are down and a revocation of a woman's right to govern her life. There are those that feel that the unborn have more rights than the born. Honestly it all comes back to religious views of some being forced on all. But I will blog about that next.
Sadly any stress inducing activity can cause harm to a fetus so where will the line be drawn? Will it only include activities that an individual decides is morally objectionable (smoking a cigarette, a glass of red wine a week) or will it be blanket application. If the latter is the case then what is to stop them from arresting you for having a miscarriage because you had a fight with your husband, got fired from your job, or any other activity that induces stress and inadvertently leads to a miscarriage?
In this desperate fight to protect the unborn we are now moving into a realm where women's bodies and lives are being put on lockdown while they are pregnant.
In Iowa Christine Taylor was arrested and charged under a feticide law because she discussed with a nurse her reservations about having a 3rd child after a phone argument with her estranged husband which resulted in her blacking out and falling down a set of stairs. Keep in mind that her and the fetus were fine and the conversation happened when she insisted to the paramedics take her to the hospital to insure that her fetus was unharmed by the fall. She expressed her apprehension and her doctor promptly called authorities. I remind you the fetus was fine and so was she but she was charged with a crime because had doubts. Thought crime? Breech of doctor/patient confidentiality? The only reason the charges were dropped and Ms. Taylor was released is because they determined that the fetus was still in the 2nd trimester and not the 3rd.
The bottom line is that this is a way to kick women while they are down and a revocation of a woman's right to govern her life. There are those that feel that the unborn have more rights than the born. Honestly it all comes back to religious views of some being forced on all. But I will blog about that next.
Are You Fucking Kidding Me?
So I have had this issue lately that every time I have something to blog about I have either just woken up or am about to go to bed. Because of this I haven't blogged much lately but have at least 2 for today and maybe a 3rd if I can organize my thoughts and sources more. The first should be kinda short so here be go.
As I scanned my Facebook updates today a fiend had posted a link to this article:
http://tomandlorenzo2.blogspot.com/2010/02/isabel-mastache-fall-2010-collection.html
Am I that out of touch or are designers just full till bozo? What self respecting human would wear 90% of this garbage. If this is "High Fashion" maybe I should become a designer, and I can't even sew. I find it sad that ANYONE would consider this to be anything more than a joke. But then again humans tend to be completely stupid especially if someone tells them what to think.
It is the Milgram Effect in action. The fashion world tells us THIS is what's hot and we eat it up like a fat kid in a bakery. What will these designers have to do for us to wake up and realize they are playing a joke on us and we have been nothing more than sheep? I agree with the blogger that posted this that someone has officially broken the WTF wall and bought us to a new level of buffoonery.
The sad thing is that this fashion show WILL effect what becomes popular in the states and the rest of the world to some degree. This proving even further that the majority of mankind are lemmings just looking for their cliff.
As I scanned my Facebook updates today a fiend had posted a link to this article:
http://tomandlorenzo2.blogspot.com/2010/02/isabel-mastache-fall-2010-collection.html
Am I that out of touch or are designers just full till bozo? What self respecting human would wear 90% of this garbage. If this is "High Fashion" maybe I should become a designer, and I can't even sew. I find it sad that ANYONE would consider this to be anything more than a joke. But then again humans tend to be completely stupid especially if someone tells them what to think.
It is the Milgram Effect in action. The fashion world tells us THIS is what's hot and we eat it up like a fat kid in a bakery. What will these designers have to do for us to wake up and realize they are playing a joke on us and we have been nothing more than sheep? I agree with the blogger that posted this that someone has officially broken the WTF wall and bought us to a new level of buffoonery.
The sad thing is that this fashion show WILL effect what becomes popular in the states and the rest of the world to some degree. This proving even further that the majority of mankind are lemmings just looking for their cliff.
Friday, February 5, 2010
No Right or Wrong Answer
This blog has been spurned by a conversation between a few of my friends over Facebook. It all started with a survey an Atheist friend posted that asked if Atheists are smarter than Christians.
He asserts that that a choice in religion dictates ones level of intellect (or vice versa, he never really explained that part). His proof he is using to back his concept is that most scientists are Atheists. He claims that because they are more educated they are drawn to a refusal of the existence of a higher power. Indirectly he is saying that anyone that is spiritual in any way is simply too stupid to know better.
A lack of proof of something can neither disprove or prove a theory. Until recently it was believed that there was no way any creature could survive the environment around the volcanic vents of our deep oceans. It was once said that NOTHING could live there because of the heat, pressure, and chemicals present. Keep in mind this assertion was made without ever taking a direct look. It was an assumption based on the knowledge and technology we had at the time much like the Flat Earth belief. Now that our knowledge and technology has progressed we are able to prove those ideas wrong.
Just because we have no proof that something exists doesn't mean that it CANNOT exist (or as Christians would believe DOES exist). It simply means we do not know. Both sides are trying to use the same LACK of evidence to "prove" they are right and in my opinion both are idiots for arguing from logical fallacies. Let me show you what I mean.
1)There is no proof of God therefore there is no God.
a)Burden of Proof:
Claim X is presented by side A and the burden of proof actually rests on side B.
Side B claims that X is false because there is no proof for X.
b)Appeal to Belief:
wherein because "most" people believe x to be true therefore x must be true.
2)There is no proof God doesn't exist therefore he does exist.
a)Burden of Proof:
Claim X is presented by side A and the burden of proof actually rests on side B.
Side B claims that X is false because there is no proof for X.
b)Appeal to Belief:
wherein because "most" people believe x to be true therefore x must be true.
3)X poll shows that Atheists are smarter than Christians.
a)Appeal to Belief:
wherein because "most" people believe x to be true therefore x must be true.
b)Biased Sample:
X% of all observed A's are B''s.
Therefore X% of all A's are Bs.
c)Composition:
Individual F things have characteristics A, B, C, etc.
Therefore, the (whole) class of F things has characteristics A, B, C, etc.
d)Questionable Cause:
A and B regularly occur together.
Therefore A is the cause of B.
I could go on but I will spare you that but feel free to look through the rest of the 42 possible fallacies at .
The bottom line is that neither side of the argument is correct. Because God cannot be proved creates only one logical answer. We don't know. To assert any other answer is were we begin to go astray. For anyone to claim they are "right" on this subject is noting short of ignorant and arrogant. But we as humans have this need to be correct and sadly most of us insist that we are even after we are proven wrong or have no real proof we are right. Why can't we simply admit that we know nothing in the grand scheme of things. Once we are able to do that we mat then be able to actually learn something.
He asserts that that a choice in religion dictates ones level of intellect (or vice versa, he never really explained that part). His proof he is using to back his concept is that most scientists are Atheists. He claims that because they are more educated they are drawn to a refusal of the existence of a higher power. Indirectly he is saying that anyone that is spiritual in any way is simply too stupid to know better.
A lack of proof of something can neither disprove or prove a theory. Until recently it was believed that there was no way any creature could survive the environment around the volcanic vents of our deep oceans. It was once said that NOTHING could live there because of the heat, pressure, and chemicals present. Keep in mind this assertion was made without ever taking a direct look. It was an assumption based on the knowledge and technology we had at the time much like the Flat Earth belief. Now that our knowledge and technology has progressed we are able to prove those ideas wrong.
Just because we have no proof that something exists doesn't mean that it CANNOT exist (or as Christians would believe DOES exist). It simply means we do not know. Both sides are trying to use the same LACK of evidence to "prove" they are right and in my opinion both are idiots for arguing from logical fallacies. Let me show you what I mean.
1)There is no proof of God therefore there is no God.
a)Burden of Proof:
Claim X is presented by side A and the burden of proof actually rests on side B.
Side B claims that X is false because there is no proof for X.
b)Appeal to Belief:
wherein because "most" people believe x to be true therefore x must be true.
2)There is no proof God doesn't exist therefore he does exist.
a)Burden of Proof:
Claim X is presented by side A and the burden of proof actually rests on side B.
Side B claims that X is false because there is no proof for X.
b)Appeal to Belief:
wherein because "most" people believe x to be true therefore x must be true.
3)X poll shows that Atheists are smarter than Christians.
a)Appeal to Belief:
wherein because "most" people believe x to be true therefore x must be true.
b)Biased Sample:
X% of all observed A's are B''s.
Therefore X% of all A's are Bs.
c)Composition:
Individual F things have characteristics A, B, C, etc.
Therefore, the (whole) class of F things has characteristics A, B, C, etc.
d)Questionable Cause:
A and B regularly occur together.
Therefore A is the cause of B.
I could go on but I will spare you that but feel free to look through the rest of the 42 possible fallacies at .
The bottom line is that neither side of the argument is correct. Because God cannot be proved creates only one logical answer. We don't know. To assert any other answer is were we begin to go astray. For anyone to claim they are "right" on this subject is noting short of ignorant and arrogant. But we as humans have this need to be correct and sadly most of us insist that we are even after we are proven wrong or have no real proof we are right. Why can't we simply admit that we know nothing in the grand scheme of things. Once we are able to do that we mat then be able to actually learn something.
Fall of American Society As We Know It
I know it has been a bit since I have written but due to a lack of internet it couldn't be helped. Which leads me to my newest rant.
We have all noticed the lack of jobs in America as of late but what many of us fail to realize is the larger picture here. I really began thinking on this during a conversation I had with my oldest daughter about what she is learning in her History class right now.
She has been studying the French Revolution. Anyone connecting the dots yet? Well if not let me draw the picture for you.
If we go back to our High School we remember that the French Revolution came about when the lower classes (Proletariat) became so enraged by their stations in life and the division of wealth that they rose up against the ruling class (Bourgeoisie). Because of the soaring price of staple items and the lack of pay for the common person starvation and disease was rampant and those that owned the jobs refused to aid the worker in giving them a living wage so that they could afford the necessities for survival. Once the people were driven to desperation they turned on their masters and lead a revolt to take back what was theirs on forge a better life.
The same was seen here in the states during the dark days of slavery. The slave owners wold keep their slaves in squalor so that even if they tried to run they could never make it far because of a lack of resources.
We as average Americans are now finding our selves in the same situations. Our bourgeoisie class has taken to sending our work over seas so that they can increase their profit margin. The lack of available jobs has created a mentality in employers wherein we are all disposable and they have no need pay more when there are 40 other people waiting to take that job for a dollar less an hour. And to top it off the prices of staples of survival like fuel, power, health care and food have increased.
This series of events now has many of us finding ourselves short on bills, eating Raman Noddles, and pirating our internet from the neighbor that paid their cable this month. More and more we are all seeing news stories like this one from November of 2009 and the situation isn't getting any better.
All of this is driving more and more of our population to desperation and depression. Because of our desperation we are willing to take jobs that can't support us and our families because it is all that we can get and then we are forced to leave our children alone so that we can work more. Then our children begin to fail in school, act out in class, and turn to crime and mischief. It is a complete breakdown of our society all because a few people want to make $21 million this year instead of the $20 million they made last year.
Sadly the time is coming that our nation will rise up or completely disintegrate. We are on the cusp of our own "French Revolution". It is up to us to find the way to take our lives back or start learning a new national anthem because if we don't change things soon we will lose our flag.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." ~Declaration of Independence 1776
We have all noticed the lack of jobs in America as of late but what many of us fail to realize is the larger picture here. I really began thinking on this during a conversation I had with my oldest daughter about what she is learning in her History class right now.
She has been studying the French Revolution. Anyone connecting the dots yet? Well if not let me draw the picture for you.
If we go back to our High School we remember that the French Revolution came about when the lower classes (Proletariat) became so enraged by their stations in life and the division of wealth that they rose up against the ruling class (Bourgeoisie). Because of the soaring price of staple items and the lack of pay for the common person starvation and disease was rampant and those that owned the jobs refused to aid the worker in giving them a living wage so that they could afford the necessities for survival. Once the people were driven to desperation they turned on their masters and lead a revolt to take back what was theirs on forge a better life.
The same was seen here in the states during the dark days of slavery. The slave owners wold keep their slaves in squalor so that even if they tried to run they could never make it far because of a lack of resources.
We as average Americans are now finding our selves in the same situations. Our bourgeoisie class has taken to sending our work over seas so that they can increase their profit margin. The lack of available jobs has created a mentality in employers wherein we are all disposable and they have no need pay more when there are 40 other people waiting to take that job for a dollar less an hour. And to top it off the prices of staples of survival like fuel, power, health care and food have increased.
This series of events now has many of us finding ourselves short on bills, eating Raman Noddles, and pirating our internet from the neighbor that paid their cable this month. More and more we are all seeing news stories like this one from November of 2009 and the situation isn't getting any better.
All of this is driving more and more of our population to desperation and depression. Because of our desperation we are willing to take jobs that can't support us and our families because it is all that we can get and then we are forced to leave our children alone so that we can work more. Then our children begin to fail in school, act out in class, and turn to crime and mischief. It is a complete breakdown of our society all because a few people want to make $21 million this year instead of the $20 million they made last year.
Sadly the time is coming that our nation will rise up or completely disintegrate. We are on the cusp of our own "French Revolution". It is up to us to find the way to take our lives back or start learning a new national anthem because if we don't change things soon we will lose our flag.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." ~Declaration of Independence 1776
Friday, January 29, 2010
Don't Buy The Bullshit
For my first blog I have decided to get right into the meat and potatoes of things rather than waste time introducing myself because something has come to my attention that needs to be addressed more than how many kids I have.
So as I was going through my morning routine of Code Red Mt. Dew, a cigarette, and a skim through Facebook I was drawn to a posting from one of my narrow minded* Neo-Con family members that drove me to start digging a bit. (*I don't mean to say that all Neo-Cons are narrow minded but or that Liberals aren't also narrow minded)
I was presented with this picture of President Obama and the First Lady saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
The caption this family member posted read: "When you never pledge allegiance, you don't know what to do. Are both of them as dumb as they appear? Note both have rings on their left hand ring finger. His suit coat is buttoned correctly, his lapel pin is correctlyon his left side, so it is not a mirror image picture. Have they never put their hand over their heart toPledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America??! Absolutely unbelievable ..."
Now we will take a look and see the many things I found that set off my ever so sensitive bullshit sensor.
So as we can see this image was not just flipped to create an illusion but was knowingly PhotoShopped so that it was more believable. Sadly so many people actually believed it too. SO lets take a look at whats wrong here. It will be kinda like those seak and finds we all loved from Highlights Magazine when we were kids.
1) We can see from the dark line to the left of the rings that they would have o be about 6 inches thick to cast a shadow that far up each of their fingers.
2) Michelle has her hair parted on the wrong side.
3) The Marine in the background of the PhotoShopped image has his medals on his right breast not his left as per regulation.
What truly astounds me is that people are so desperate to discredit this man as to go and make up fake pictures of him. Hell if you want to take the time to make the man look bad in the public eye and have some skill with PhotoShop why not go the full 9 yards and play with some gay porn and the president. Do they not have enough problems in their own lives? Are they just mad because this time they lost? Does it really matter either way? The bottom line is that Americans have become so angry and ignorant that we buy into this garbage hook, line and sinker without ever doing 3 minutes of research before we state our "facts".
What angered me more was that my wonderful counterpart pointed out the mistake to the family member that posted the picture and they had the nerve to claim they DID research this and found the article on Snopes that proved it was a PhotoShopped image. Keep in mind that if she did what she claims then her caption to the picture she posted was nothing more than an attempt to perpetuate the lie. I think it is more of a cast that she didn't want to admit her laziness and ignorance.
And this children is the problem with America today. We are bombarded from all sides with ignorance and because we have been taught not to ask questions we swallow the piles of manure with a smile and proceed to regurgitate it to any that will listen. Be a free-thinker. Question authority. Check facts!!! Because the moment you become a mindless drone that steps to because your party says this is the "truth" is the moment we accept the path to the nightmare Orwell showed us in "1984".
On that note I would like to welcome you all to my blog. Feel free to comment and discuss because this is a haven for Free-Thinkers but be warned, If you chose to attack and berate I reserve the right to respond in kind. I would simply ask that if you chose to comment please make it thoughtful and accurate. My greatest pet peeve (aside from the elderly) is ignorance. Speak from your heart and you intellect not from your party line.
So as I was going through my morning routine of Code Red Mt. Dew, a cigarette, and a skim through Facebook I was drawn to a posting from one of my narrow minded* Neo-Con family members that drove me to start digging a bit. (*I don't mean to say that all Neo-Cons are narrow minded but or that Liberals aren't also narrow minded)
I was presented with this picture of President Obama and the First Lady saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
The caption this family member posted read: "When you never pledge allegiance, you don't know what to do. Are both of them as dumb as they appear? Note both have rings on their left hand ring finger. His suit coat is buttoned correctly, his lapel pin is correctlyon his left side, so it is not a mirror image picture. Have they never put their hand over their heart toPledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America??! Absolutely unbelievable ..."
Now we will take a look and see the many things I found that set off my ever so sensitive bullshit sensor.
So as we can see this image was not just flipped to create an illusion but was knowingly PhotoShopped so that it was more believable. Sadly so many people actually believed it too. SO lets take a look at whats wrong here. It will be kinda like those seak and finds we all loved from Highlights Magazine when we were kids.
1) We can see from the dark line to the left of the rings that they would have o be about 6 inches thick to cast a shadow that far up each of their fingers.
2) Michelle has her hair parted on the wrong side.
3) The Marine in the background of the PhotoShopped image has his medals on his right breast not his left as per regulation.
What truly astounds me is that people are so desperate to discredit this man as to go and make up fake pictures of him. Hell if you want to take the time to make the man look bad in the public eye and have some skill with PhotoShop why not go the full 9 yards and play with some gay porn and the president. Do they not have enough problems in their own lives? Are they just mad because this time they lost? Does it really matter either way? The bottom line is that Americans have become so angry and ignorant that we buy into this garbage hook, line and sinker without ever doing 3 minutes of research before we state our "facts".
What angered me more was that my wonderful counterpart pointed out the mistake to the family member that posted the picture and they had the nerve to claim they DID research this and found the article on Snopes that proved it was a PhotoShopped image. Keep in mind that if she did what she claims then her caption to the picture she posted was nothing more than an attempt to perpetuate the lie. I think it is more of a cast that she didn't want to admit her laziness and ignorance.
And this children is the problem with America today. We are bombarded from all sides with ignorance and because we have been taught not to ask questions we swallow the piles of manure with a smile and proceed to regurgitate it to any that will listen. Be a free-thinker. Question authority. Check facts!!! Because the moment you become a mindless drone that steps to because your party says this is the "truth" is the moment we accept the path to the nightmare Orwell showed us in "1984".
On that note I would like to welcome you all to my blog. Feel free to comment and discuss because this is a haven for Free-Thinkers but be warned, If you chose to attack and berate I reserve the right to respond in kind. I would simply ask that if you chose to comment please make it thoughtful and accurate. My greatest pet peeve (aside from the elderly) is ignorance. Speak from your heart and you intellect not from your party line.
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