Fucking Typical....

It look's like Baby Jesus' presidential pick is up to his old tricks again.....Bush has appointed as head of the Office of Population Affairs, a man who not only opposes abortion, but get this, opposes birth control!

Good job, jackass.... good job.

By the way.... Do you know what they call a man who lives by the pull-out method?








daddy.

haha!



Have I mentioned lately how much I hate fundies?

Thank You, Captain Obvious.....

Bill Gates announces on CNN.com that America's public schools need work and are not adaquatly educating our young people.

Is this really freekin' news?

I mean, no Shit, Sherlock.

You see, a problem just isn't really that big of a deal until Bill Gates says so.

A round of applause for the super rich philanthropist who has told us what we already know!!!

What, if Bill Gates says it, it must be true?

Shouldn't we get him working on something more controversial like global warming or evolution....

Put down the fork.....

Maybe it's easier for us not to think about where our meat comes from or the incredibly cruel and brutal ways in which animals are treated. I mean, hey, meat tastes good, right? I certainly think it does, anyway. I guess I could refuse to think about where meat comes from and close my eyes to what takes places so that I could continue to eat it, guilt free. But I can't. I think that information is power and that everyone's decisions should be based on the truth, no matter how hard or inconvenient that may be. One should not shut it out in order to continue living life in the same ignorant, comfortable way.

I challenge everyone to watch this. If it doesn't bother you, then great. Continue living life the way you always have. But, if it does bother you, then I challenge you to do something about, even if that something is just spending a little bit more at the grocery store to buy free range. I don't care what your politics are or what you think about the nature of man or the proper order of the universe. I am not even saying that animals should never be killed for food. BUT, I am saying that humans have no right to treat any other living being the way that we treat the animals we eat. It is cruel and it is wrong. But you know what, nothing will change unless we make it change. And who knows, maybe we don't have the heart to put aside our own gluttonous desires, put down the fork, and make it change, I don't know. I would certainly like to believe that we are all capable of more compassion than to just sit back and accept the torture of other innocent life forms because we Americans like the taste of meat and can't be bothered to ensure that animals are treated with just a little bit of compassion.

I want everyone to know that even though I am a vegetarian, I am talking to myself, too. I cheat sometimes because I am selfish and I like the taste of meat. And I eat fish, too. So, even though I know the truth, I still have trouble acting on it. I know it's hard to change how you live and It's hard to exercise self-control. But that doesn't mean that we should never try. Trying is better than just accepting the status quo! And just because it may be impossible for all of us to become full-fledged vegans tomorrow, it doesn't mean that we can't take little steps to make the world a better place.

Sobering Political Reality...

"It's amazing what a mere $2.6 billion can buy in a democracy. That's what the two parties will have spent in their campaigns leading up to these midterm elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And most of that money for Democrats and Republicans alike comes from corporate America. So what will be the outcome of this election? The only certainty is that corporate America will get what it's paid for, and that's more of the same."

from Dobbs: US is best Democracy $$ can Buy...

Far Right = Ignorant Assholes?

In the wake of the Mark Foley scandal, many conservatives have blamed Foley’s behavior on his homosexual orientation. Pat Buchanan suggested that once the Republicans knew Foley was gay they should have removed him as chairman of the Committee on Missing and Exploited Children, after repeatedly calling him a “flamer” on MSNBC. Gingrich has suggested that the Republicans could not investigate Foley’s inappropriate conduct towards minors because they might be accused of gay bashing. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council stated that “when we hold up tolerance and diversity as a guidepost for public life, this is what you end up getting, congressmen chasing 16 year old boys up and down the halls of congress.” Pat Robertson insists that Foley is just doing what gay people do. The right insists that gay men are all preoccupied with sex and that being gay is the same as being a pedophile.


These accusations are absolutely ridiculous. How can we blame Foley’s pedophilia on homosexuality and not blame the molestation of little girls on heterosexuality? If being attracted to men = want to molest little boys, then being attracted to women = want to molest little girls. Obviously, this does not compute. If a straight congressman had solicited female pages for sex, no one would be blaming his sexual orientation. Did the nation lash out at straight men when John Couey sexually battered and killed Jessica Lunsford? Did conservatives rally agasint heterosexuals when the Amish gunman wanted to molest and then killed those little Amish school girls? Of course not. Did conservatives lash out agasint all males because the overwhelming majority of violent, sexual predators are men? No. The idea of blaming an entire class of people for the individual choices and behaviors of a few individuals is generally not acceptable. At least, not unless you are doing it for political reasons to attack a group of people that, for some ridiculous and intolerant reason, you hate.

Being sexually attracted to children, and acting on that attraction, has nothing to so with one’s sexual orientation. It is perversion. When will the right stop demonizing homosexuals?

Keep fightin' the law, Mr. Dependable...

From a recent CNN article: The Supreme Court also refused to consider whether a Texas law making it a crime to promote sex toys shaped like sexual organs is unconstitutional. An adult bookstore employee in El Paso, Texas, sued the state after his arrest for showing two undercover officers a device shaped like a penis and telling the female officer the device would arouse and gratify her. The employee argued the law violates the right to sexual privacy.

Now, several questions emerge in my mind:

1) A man was seriously ARRESTED for promoting a vibrator?!?!?! Thank goodness I live in the state of FLorida where I can poudly encourage every woman who reads this to go buy The Rabbit. I can promise that you will be aroused and gratified. Repeatedly.

2) Are we supposed to be offended that he told the female officer that the device would arouse and gratify her? Dude was tryin' to help a girl out. God forbid we talk about female sexuality. God forbit we promote female sexual gratification.


3) Were the police really staking out a bookstore to catch dude promoting a sex toy shaped like a penis?!?!?! I am so glad that the police have eradicated El Paso of crime to the extent that the cops have nothing to do but bust people selling vibrators. Citizens of Texas, your tax dollars at work....

4) sex toys are ok as long as they are not shaped like sex organs? I mean, sure, the penis is not that attractive, I'll admit, but this seems ridiculous. So, would it be ok to promote a green sex toy that is shaped like a gint, vibrating cucumber or a baseball bat? Is that less offensive?

I m truly in shock, America. In shock.

ROcK yOu LikE A HuRRicAnE

My dreams have FINALLY come true!!!

Miriam Rebekkah - today is your day:

Tropical Depression MIRIAM!!!!

YES!!! Now granted, it's not the awe-inspiring, category 5 storm I was hoping for, but it'll do. Finally, the national weather service got it right!!! Just think, Yesterday I was just this sad little white girl from the south with this wierd, strangely Jewish sounding, grandma name, who could never find a tacky key chain with her name on it.... and now, I am a tropical depression. Where do I go from here?!?!?! I mean I really think the presidency is the only thing that could top this one.... :)

Heart-warming story of the year

Feshman Clemson football player, Ray Ray, is raising his 11 year old brother. Ray Ray plays football on schollarship and washes cars or mows lawns for extra money. If this doesn't restore your faith in humanity, try Zanex.

CNN strikes again....

a two-year old girl whose legs were accidentlly severed in a lwnmower accident received new legs today.

CNN headline reads - Girl gets a leg up

Dude.

Not funny.

Who proof-reads this shit?

Gloria, where did you put the keys to the Uhaul?

On Wednesday, Tara (the roommate) and I moved all of our shit (pardon the expletive, but after packing, moving and unloading everything I own, I am so sick of it all that shit seemed like the most fitting description) from the old apartment to the new one (about a quarter of a mile distance.)

I am never moving again.

Seriously.

Feminism was the order of the day. At 9am I picked up the 14 foot Uhaul. Had I ever driven anything that gigantic before? No. Was I sure that I could handle it? Hell fuckin’ yeah. The older lady who worked the counter at the Uhaul place took me outside to show me some things about the truck, since this my first time. She showed me the latch contraption in the back and said, “Don’t worry about this, honey; I am sure you’re husband or boyfriend will know how it works.” I just looked at her. Lady, if I had a husband and/or boyfriend overseeing this operation, do you think he would have sent the little woman to go pick up the freakin’ Uhaul? What about my lesbian lover? Will she know how it works? I was irritated, but not daunted. Today, feminism would win out. Today, we women would prove that we do not need men to unlatch our Uhauls. Period.

I did do a great job driving the Uhaul, if I don’t mind saying so myself. By about noon I had pretty much perfected the art of backing it up into a parking space perfectly straight. I am very proud of this little accomplishment, if you can’t tell. One comment about Uhauls – the mirrors are worthless. I’m not exactly sure what they are supposed to be used for, but you can’t see anything. Eh, I never really use the mirrors anyway. But ultimately, I felt very empowered by the whole experience.

For the most part, Tara and I did the move ourselves. Our friend Jordan came over and helped us in the morning with the three or four pieces of furniture that physically could not be moved without a third person. But then, for the next few hours Tara and I worked alone, loading box after box after random piece of furniture on the U-haul. We were soldiers. We were proving that we didn’t need men. We were independent and self-reliant. We were women, hear us roar. We were fucking exhausted.

By about 2pm, we had one last load of the u-haul to unload at the new apartment. By this time, morale was low. My feet hurt (flip flops = bad moving shoes). My back hurt. The roommates were getting on each others nerves. It was a thousand degrees outside. All we had the strength to carry was a toaster here and a throw pillow there. And then – our salvation. Out of nowhere swooped in two middle-aged gentlemen from across the street. Immediately, they began picking up bookcases and boxes and filing cabinets. At this point, the feminist in me was too tired to protest. We were saved. Thank goodness for men – big, strong, strapping men who can unload the entire contents of a U-haul in less than fifteen minutes.

It was an important lesson. As much as I wish to be free from the aid of men, I have to admit that there are times when they are needed. (Moving day, when the batteries in Mr. Dependable are dead, etc.) A friend of mine once told me that there is no “battle of the sexes.” There is no war. We are all on the same team and need to learn to work together. I am not sure if I buy this touchy-feely take on gender relations, but I see his point.

As for my feminist notions, I don’t feel they were compromised at all by allowing men to rescue us in our hour of need. We put in a valiant effort and managed to do about 75% of the work on our own. 75% is totally a passing grade. A bad grade, but passing nonetheless.

Goal for Fall....

Summer is almost over and as I sit here thinking about things that have happened to me in the past year, I realize that I need to set a few new goals for this year - goals that apply to every area of my life.

1) I will stop chasing after that which is unattainable.

2) I will be the best I am capable of being in everythng.

3) I will be content with my best.

Too Soon.

I keep seeing the previews for World Trade Center, and am continually disgusted. I don’t know; it just seems wrong to me. Honestly, for artists/movie producers, it’s cheating. It’s one thing to take an older historical event like WW2 or the Civil War about which most of us do not have strong emotional feelings, or to take a story most people are unfamiliar with and cause us to feel emotions about that event. That is art – a true accomplishment. But to just play off of the emotions already present in the national conscience surrounding a devastating event like 9-11 to sell your movie seems cheap. The movie won’t have to work to get us to feel – we already do. The wounds are still that deep and permeating. If World Trade Center were to come out in 50 years and cause audiences to cry and feel emotions that they didn’t have before, then it would be an accomplishment.

Your thoughts?

Nostalgia and Rantings about Free Speech...

*looking back over MySpace this morning, I ran across some of my first blog entries and decided to trasfer them to this blog. A sort of house-keeping chore, if you will. The following blog entries were the first three I wrote. This one was the first, written last June. Awww..... :)

Dare I blog after all the crap I've talked about bloggers? I think the CNN blog coverage initially turned me off to the whole notion. I mean why do we need cute, 20-something women searching the internet for normal people’s opinions about world events instead of actually covering real news? Perhaps journalists have just gotten that lazy...

On the other hand, Blogging is the epitome of free speech. Here I am, a virtual nobody who, through the wonders of modern technology, can have my views posted for all the world to see. Will anyone read this? No. But that’s not the point. The point is, I can bitch about whatever global injustice I desire and feel like I have been heard. If nothing else, free speech may prove therapeutic. The sad part is that there is no spell-check on this program so I’m forced to type this in word and then copy-paste it, or else look like a total idiot... and since I’m hopeful that at least one person will read my deranged rantings, I guess it’s worth the effort. Hmmm.... It apppears rantings is not a word... damn spellcheck....

Note: I should point out that I realize this is not what the founding fathers meant by free speech. They invisioned free speach for rich, white males not poor, white women.. or anyone else, for that matter. But fortunately, the founding fathers are all dead, and what's more, it doesnt matter what they intended. The miracle of the constitution is that somehow a group of somewhat well-meaning men, despite their intolorance, racism, sexism, and any other ism we can think of, managed to capture truths beyond themselves. Hopefully, in 200 years, people will be able to say the same of today's leaders...

Gloria - Let's work on mastering power tools. As for the bra burning, I'm rather fond of mine...

*origionally posted on My Space last summer.

I consider myself an intelligent woman. My new roommate, Tara, is also brilliant and independent. In this modern age, we have managed to carve out an existence, attend school, work, and take care of out basic, Maslow-ian needs without actually needing the help of a man. Gloria Steinem would be proud. Yet despite our seeming self-reliance, yesterday evening we found ourselves helplessly lost when it came to figuring out how to use the cordless drill. Surely it can’t be that complicated. Why is it that I, a liberated, lip-stick feminist who has tried and tried to shatter gender roles and stereotypes since my adolescence, was unable to figure out where to put the bits or comprehend the function of the little, round, hollow, silvery pieces. Do my twenty-something male counterparts call their daddies and little brothers when they need to hang curtains or when something goes wrong with their cars? I seriously doubt it. So then, why do women end up having to rely on men in their adulthood?

Maybe the problem lies in childhood. Looking back, I do not remember being taught how to use an electric drill. My father, probably one of the least sexist men I know, did, however, involve me in “manly” projects around the house. I helped drain the brake fluid once, rotate tires, and build the screened-in porch. But these were special occasions and ones in which I did not play a major role. Maybe I just didn’t receive the same kind of experiences as a child that boys do. Maybe the toys I played with as a child, unlike my brother’s, failed to develop in me a love for electronics and power tools. Or maybe just the fact that my father was the only person in our family who tended to matters involving drills and tools and automotives led me to develop a mental set of duties for female that did not include such items. Perhaps many women are simply disadvantaged by well-intentioned family members who do not understand the psychological impact of their actions.

However, it has occurred to me that this explanation, while likely true to some extent, is an over-played copout. I have also considered the possibility that we women do this to ourselves because we are lazy. Case in point: instead of actually mowing the lawn, I would rather pay the neighbor boy 20 bucks to do it. Is it that I am incapable? No. As a teacher, I never did any heavy lifting and instead would ask some helpful, male student to do it for me. Was I too weak to do it myself? No. Why learn to mount my own curtain rods when I can just bat my eyelashes, play the helpless maiden and get some man to do it for me? We all know the dirty little trick men play – when asked to do something they deem unpleasant they intentionally fuck it up so as to never be asked again. This way, we deem them too incompetent to take care of menial tasks such as cooking, grocery shopping, packing the kids’ lunches, and folding laundry. But perhaps we, ladies, do the same detestable thing when we play too frail or too silly to work the drill, use a hammer, or lift a box, and too ditzy to learn how to change our own oil or to understand an automobile manual. Sure, it’s easier to let someone do it for us. But in the end, we are the ones who lose out. We throw away what could be true independence and equality because we are too lazy to fend for ourselves.

What am I going to do about this? I don’t know. The first thing I am going to do is sit back and enjoy the curtain rods I mounted, despite their many imperfections, reveling in the facts that I did it myself and that next time I won’t have to call my dad to figure out how to get the drywall anchor actually into the hole I just drilled in the wall. Then, I’m going to check out a book from the library on cars so that the next time I hear a funny noise, I can have a basic idea of what might be wrong instead of being at the total mercy of my mechanic. In the end, making the effort itself is half the battle.

The Truth Will Set You Free....

*this entry was origionally posted on MySpace last summer....

Prerequisite for this entry:

Bloggers Learn the Price of Telling Too Much

The above article is an interesting piece I found today on CNN. For those of you too lazy to actually read it, the overall message is that young people are irresponsibly fond of the truth, god forbid, and are shamelessly posting things about their personal lives online, for all to see, instead of being secretive and ashamed of everything they do. For example, Alan Keyes’ daughter dared to disclose her sexual orientation on her blog during her father’s political campaign! Gasp! Didn’t she realize that her right to be open about her sexuality was going to bite her conservative, homophobic father in the ass? These young people today… Not wanting to lie and hide the truth about themselves and what they think in order to save face and gain political power… how selfish…

"I would bet that in the 2016 election, somebody's Facebook entry will come back to bite them," the article quotes. Hmmm… that’s right. People talk about drinking and drugs and sexuality on their blogs. Gasp! And we all know that all politicians have the highest of moral standards. I mean I bet none of them have ever done anything like use drugs or have premarital sex or cheat on a spouse or have internet sex with an underage boy. Of course not.
Now obviously, posting your phone number or address or making libelous accusations about your ex-best friend is probably not a good idea. But when did honesty cease to be the best policy? Let’s take Bill Clinton as a case study (clearly an example of someone who was afraid to tell the truth.) Had he just come clean in the first place about his little White House romp, I think a lot of trouble could have been averted. Or better yet, what would have happened if he had come out in the beginning and said “So, me and Hil have an open marriage based on our work and political partnership. I schlep around with any young thing in a skirt I can get my hands on and she’s fine with it.”

Why couldn’t he have told the truth about smoking pot? I mean seriously, does anyone actually believe he didn’t inhale? What a gianourmous crock of shit. Even if that were true he should be lambasted for wasting weed! I hear that is a major party fowl. Why couldn’t he have said, “Yeah, like millions of other Americans I smoked pot during the sixties and seventies? This is what I did then and why. This is what I do now and why.”

My question is: do Americans truly expect each other to maintain the standards that we are all lying to uphold? Would we have voted for (insert favorite politician here) if they hadn’t lied about whatever it is they lied about in order to get elected. Do we need the lie in order to give ourselves an out, to continue the facade we’ve created? I don’t think we truly believe that everyone lives the cookie-cutter life they pretend to live, and yet, maybe we can’t bare the truth of it all, and so we need them to lie.

My other, less complex theory is that the politicians do it to themselves. If they would just be honest from the beginning, it wouldn’t be a big deal. I mean, I think most Americans are sensible enough to realize that people are all the same and they should be straightforward. Perhaps they would even respect it. No one could blackmail you or expose your dirty secrets to the tabloids if you were honest about it in the first place. Maybe all the lying and covering up sensationalizes the issue, kind of like real-estate inflation. At first, the “indiscretion” would have cost around $80,000, a reasonable price considering… but because of all the hype and secrecy and attention, the public begins to think it’s worth more and more and more and then next thing you know your piece of shit “indiscretion” in the middle of nowhere is gonna cost you half a million dollars. If only you’d just paid the price in the beginning before letting things get out of hand. Get my point?

The rest of the world needs to stop telling us that who we are and what we do is wrong and shameful and unique to us and should be hidden from society. I refuse to lie about anything that I have done. It doesn’t define me. It won’t control me. Will I have to answer lots of questions about why my car was frequently parked at Pamela’s lingerie and porn shop between the years of 2003 and 2005 when I run for president? Probably. But when the American people hear the amazing deal I was getting on indoor tanning, I really think they will understand. The truth, after all, will set you free.

No Day But Today

There is no future
There is no past
I live this moment
As my last

There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret
or Life is yours to miss

No other road
no other way
No day but today

I love this song. I love RENT. A big thanks to Heather for sharing her love for it with me....

Mo - You Rocca My World!

Sigh.....


Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we met Mo Rocca. Granted, it was quite an ordeal, but we met him. Sigh. You wouldn't believe how out of place two crazed twenty-somethings wearing homemade t-shirts stick out in the up-tight, yuppie NPR crowd.

Mo, Rocca Me All Night!

At last, a moment to tirade about the state of the world….

1) CNN Headline – “Bat Attacker Sentenced to 15 years for Hate Crime”….

So… I think YAY for animal rights! It is about time the courts start recognizing the fact that animals should be protected. No one should be able to attack bats just because they hate them. Sure, they are creepy looking creatures, but still….. They should have rights too…. Turns out the article is about a guy who attacked a black man WITH a BASEBALL BAT… come-on CNN…. You’re killin’ me here…..

2) The SHIT heard round the world…. Ok, as you have probably figured out by now, I am not the biggest W fan in the world…. In fact, I pretty much hate the dude. “I’m the decider. I decide.” …“We’re workin’ hard….workin’ weekends….” … “Misunderestimate…” … But seriously folks, he said shit. What’s the big deal? Now granted, his entire sentence was pretty stupid: "See the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over." Riiiiiight…. Amazing grasp you have on the complexities of Middle Eastern relations, W…. That degree from Yale has really paid off. What was your major again? Oh, that’s right, you were too busy getting drunk and snorting cocaine to actually go to class… I forgot… While you're at it, why don't you just ask Iran and N.Korea to please stop making nuclear weapons. I mean, surely if you just ask nicely they will stop and it's over. That's the irony, right? While you're at it, why don't you clap your hands while chanting "I believe in faries" and sprinkling pixie dust over Darfur. It’s fucking amazing you and Condi haven’t been able to negotiate total world peace by now…. ANYWAY, where was I???? Oh yes, What I was trying to say is that despite W’s total lack of understanding on the issue, is the fact that he was overheard saying “shit” really that big of a deal? I mean, dude, when was the last time you went to the movies? Hell, I curse like a fucking sailor…and I don’t intend on toning it down when I become president of the United States of America. I doubt this guy would either....

3) Would it be possible to get a little bit more objectivity in the media on the situation in the Middle East? First of all, yes, Hezbollah is bad. They are way radical. They kill innocent people. Bad. But, last time I checked, the Israeli army was doing the same thing. Note the death count in Lebanon is nearly 200 and the death count in Israel is 24. In fact, anyone who has been following the situation for the last decade or so can tell you that the number of Palestinian women and children killed has been much higher than the number of Israelis killed in bombings and suicide bomber attacks. Apparently, as long as it is a military engaging in bulldozing people’s houses and attacking “suspected terror targets” then an indefinite amount of “collateral damage” is ok. But back to my original point – could we get some objectivity? Hezbollah is bad, yes, but when you explain that Hezbollah wants to destroy Israel and the West, could you explain WHY? I mean, yes, Hezbollah and Hamas are both terrorist organizations with agendas that are probably too radical to be effective, but they are at least fighting for some kind of tangible, understandable reason. They aren’t AL Qaeda. I suggest anyone unfamiliar with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict research the issue from some unbiased source. This article looks pretty good http://www.merip.org/palestine-israel_primer/toc-pal-isr-primer.html

Ok, I totally wrote this last bit in hopes that the US government, which I am sure spies on my blog, will try to arrest me for being a terrorist lover.

4.) Iraq is now being overrun by Islamic fundamentalists.... good job, W.... oust the secular dude (Saddam) and allow him to be replaced by radical Islam. These radical muslims that are terrorizing schools, gays, and women throughout the country have a lot more in common with Osama then Saddam ever did. Way to go.

5.) Speaking of gays, I finally saw Brokeback mountain. Can I just say, I loved it. LOVED IT! What a sadly depressing and yet beautiful love story. Also, for anyone who just wants to get fucking pissed off at bible-beaters, check out www.godhatesfags.com. This cite is such a refreshing reminder of the love of Jesus and the compassion expressed by the christian church. If you ever wonder why I hate fundies, take a look.... and, I have said it once, I will say it again: Christian fundamentalists and Islamic fundamentalists are the same thing. They want to establish religious theocracies, they want everyone to believe like they do and they consider this a god-driven war agasint sinners/infadels. The only difference I would say is that secularization/westernization/prosperity in the West has deflated the fundies to some degree. But, put them in the same political and social enviornment that you find in the Middle East and they would do the same things. Bottom line: Religion kills.

6.) OK, on thursday, Heather, T-Nat and I are going to the live recording of NPR's Wait, Wait Don't Tell ME. And, Mo Rocca is going to be a panalist!!!! OHMYGOD! How excited am I???? Heather and I made t-shirts.... hers says "Mo you Rocca my world," and mine says "Mo, Rocca me all night!" Who wouldnt pick us to be contestants on a current events game show?

7.) Government Conspiracy Alert!!!! Not sure if I remembered to post this, but I came across this article several months ago. In case it never made it onto my blog, here it is: US Military Planned Terrorist Attacks Agasint Its Own People to Povoke War With Cuba. Folks, this is all true - straight out of the national archives! ENJOY! :)

8.) Funny.

9.) Who would have thought - not only do I actually agree with the man for a change, but, for once, Lou Dobbs isn's harping about illegal immigration! This article provides a short, but interesting commentary on US and the Middle East....

Please sir, can I have some more?

Announcer quote of the day:

“Security is very tight here for the US…there are 32 teams competing in this World Cup tournament and the United States is the only team whose name doesn’t appear on the side of the team bus…”

Thanks for the heads up, you moron….


Also, YAY GHANA...... never have I seen so many beautiful black men in one place.... god, I love soccer.... :)

Speaking of..... you just gotta love those Angolian short-shorts..... :)

My hope/prediction for Group E: USA and Ghana all the way!! :)

I just can't get enough of this futbal...

Testing, 1 2 3...

Q: What two things do H. H. Goddard, Francis Galton, Lewis Terman and Carl Brighan (father of the SAT) have in common?
A: 1) they were all members of the eugenics movement (made famous by Adolph Hitler)...and….
2) They all were all pioneers of the standardized testing industry that our society is so very fond of today!

Yes, the prominent developers of the IQ and other standardized tests advocated the selective breeding of “high grade” persons, believed that intelligence was genetically predetermined, and that it, along with characteristics like mental illness and criminality, are correlated with race. Hmmmm……

Meanwhile, standardized testing has become a multi-billion dollar a year industry. The state of Florida, for example, spends at least 27 million a year contracting its standardized test the FCAT, to a private company, McGraw-Hill to make and grade. Who knows how much all the test prep materials cost in addition to that “meager” fee (the test prep package you see to the left cost $300.). The SAT costs 41 dollars a person to take, not counting the study aids, test score reports, and PSATs etc. AP tests are pricy as well, and each school gets additional funds for every student they have enrolled in an AP class. Then there are the GREs, SAT and GRE subject tests, the MCAT and the LSAT.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I can personally speak for the amount of money I dumped into the LSAT. First there was the 200 bucks to join the LSDAS (Law School Data Assembly Service)…this was not optional. Plus, it cost about $114 each time I took it. Then, there was the $12 score report sent to each school to which I applied. Plus study aids. This is not to mention the many, many very expensive test prep courses that are out there, the cheapest ones around $500.

My point? This is all a huge, money-making racket, with a sinister past and an inequitable result. I for one am a strong believer that a person’s ability cannot be determined by their performance on a standardized test. There is a lot to be said for hard-work and determination. What’s more, as a former educator, I am convinced that learning cannot be adequately assessed by some generic, timed, bubble-sheet test that contains tricky questions and unfamiliar language. Children today are over-tested and have lost their appreciation for learning. Education has become another chore, another forced performance in which they are judged, ranked and labeled beginning at very young ages. I am convinced that nothing psychologically harms young people more than labels.

Standardized testing will not solve educational problems, nor is it, in my humble opinion, an adequate measure of future academic performance, despite what the industry-funded studies might say. How many teary-eyed straight-A students, did I console during my time as a teacher who came to me crying about their mediocre SAT scores? Would those same students go on to make fine grades in college? Yes. How sad am I that after their SAT scores came in, their perception of their own intelligence was forever changed. They were now officially average. Mediocre. The test had spoken. This number would now follow them, and define them and their potential forever. Certain opportunities would not be available to them because of this number. Doors would close, either actually or in the child’s mind. How much of standardized testings’ “predictive ability” is merely just a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Today, many teachers have no choice but to teach tests instead of passing on a love for learning. Instead of teaching young people HOW to learn and HOW to truly THINK, analyze, and process ideas for themselves, we teach them to memorize the facts the system says are important so they can pass a test, boost school scores and then forget the information a few weeks later. We stifle creativity and independent thought because it doesn’t fit into our state-mandated curriculum guide. We reject the idea that not every kind of “smart” can be measured in an hour and a half with a number two pencil. We are failing our children.

GOL!

Although I am not a huge sports fan (mostly I like to watch American football), I must admit that I too have been swept away in World Cup mania. At this point, I have seen almost every game, I know that Ranoldo is “fat”, what off-sides means, and I watch on Univision because the Spanish announcers have more passion (GOL! GOL! GOL! GOL!) Aside from the fact that soccer is an awesome sport to watch, there is just something chilling about the whole World Cup thing. Each nation is represented by its team of citizens. Each team embodies our notions about the history, culture and political climate of that country. There is so much baggage and political turmoil surrounding some of the teams.…. Iran and its nuclear weapons and tensions with Israel. Mexico with its illegal immigrants. The Ivory Coast with its civil war between the Muslims and Christians. America and its war on terror. And yet despite all of the political and ideological differences, the human emotions exhibited by the players are all the same. It’s like the game surpasses everything else and we completely identify with those who are so seemingly different from us... It’s a beautiful reminder that the human condition should transcend what divides us because deep down, we are really all the same…..

(We are the world…we are the children…we are the ones who make a better place, so lets start livin….)

Ok, Ok…. Here’s the real reason I love soccer -

We all got needs....

I love the way the church makes an ass of itself. Dude. The Da Vinci Code is fiction. They sell it in the fiction department. It is for fun. No one is saying you should worhsip the Da Vinci Code or listen to Satan or try to venture outside the box or learn think for yourself. Sure, it's fun to play with history and myth. I love a good conspiracy theory, as you all know, and there are elements of the whole Mary-Magdaline-was-the-real-head-of-the-church theory that I like. Sex, lies, murder, cover-up, girl power... It would explain a lot of the persecution women endured from the church with the witch hunts and what-not. What more could I ask for in a conspiracy theory?? But dude, it isn't any closer to being true than any of the other crazy, unverified bullshit in the Bible. (ohhh.... burn).... Besides, I dont see what the big deal is. What if Jesus was gettin' some? He was 33. I'm guessin' he was gettin in on with one of the Marys or Martha or dude was gay. Let's be real here. We all got needs.

Speaking of needs, how about this case I learned about in Constitutional Law. Apparently, the state of Alabama outlawed the sale of "sexually stimulating contraband"... aka sex toys. For real. The state argued that it had a legitimate interest in prohibiting the detrimental effects that persuing orgasms for the sake of orgams would have on the health and morality of the citizens of Alabama. AND, the 11th circuit upheld the decision (because, as you probably know, the states of Georgia, Florida and Alabama are located in the fucking twillight zone.) !!!!! Personally, I see this as a flagant attack on female sexuality, and I cannot believe that states, even Alabama, would be allowed to do something this ridiculous. For shame. Does Alabama not know that the 70's brought us sexual liberation, complete with free love, the birth control pill, and sex toys??? Dude. This is a travesty!!!!!!!! To think that Alabama would try to destroy the beautiful, sweet love that Mr. Dependable and I share..... for shame, Alabama...for shame...



P.S. Is it wrong to have a picture of the last supper and a giant pink dildo in the same post??

And so it goes....

Well, I should be updating with some new political rant. But, alas, I am too exausted. Finals wore me out. We finished exams on thursday and then summer school started monday. I must admit, I am feeling a bit burnt out. But, so it goes.... I just wanted all of my faithful readers to know that I am alive and well, and that I have not completely forgotten about my blog. Sadly, I just don't have any thoughts on anything at present.

My roommate and I did get an abused puppy. Really, it is hers, but it hates us both. By puppy, I mean he is two and hates everyone. I think he wants to die, he is literally that depressed. I feel bad for the little guy. Sometimes I just want to lash out at the cold, cruel world too. Feel free to check out the whole story on Tara's blog
(here we are celebrating after exams.)

Random Rants and Legal Humor...

Newsflash: CNN's headline this evening reveals sensational news!!! On his deathbed, Pope John Paul asked people to read him the Bible!!! Shocking! I am so glad CNN covered this groundbreaking story!!! The Bible...who would have thought.... I was figuring he'd ask for strippers or 12 year old boys or something.....

ummm... and on a side note, what is going on in this picture? Is he striking a pose, or what? The photographer was like, "Ok, John, I just want to catch a glimpse of the real you...just act natural.... "


This reminds me of the Law Review articles I had to read yesterday. One, by a law professor was entitled "Man and his 5000 year old relationship with the cannibus plant." Can I just say AWSOME???? One section dicussed the merits of weed as a treatment for anorexia.... I mean, that makes so much sense... being a pothead is way less dangerous than being anorexic... If CNN wanted to do something worthwhile they'd investigate that....

another article was entitled "aliens with guns" and was about letting illegal aliens serve in the military and own weapons. The article then went on to say how no federal court had ever even discussed this issue....and some concluded the author was an idiot. My theory is that this author also wrote the cannibus article. He was just sitting around one evening and the idea came to him...."aliens with guns, man....woah... that's heavy...."

another article about the clergy sex abuse litigation of the 80's stated: "they [church officials] failed to warn parishioners of his "tendency to rape children." Hmmm.... his tendency? Like, I have a tendency to get drunk and boottie dance? Don't be alarmed, ladies and genteman, it's only a tendency....

Disturbing...

As a law student, I hear many, many, many disturbing cases. However, this is one of the most disturbing stories I have heard in awhile. Apparently, a mother let a man molest her 7 year old son in exchange for money. People are fucking scum.

This gets me thinking about the death penalty. I may be a bleeding heart liberal when it comes to a lot of things, but punishing scum-bags is not one of them. My theory is that victimless crimes (drugs, theft, etc.) do not warrent outrageous sentences. Here, utilitarian principles of deterrence and societal benefit should drive punishmen. But when someone hurts another person, particularly a child, then all bets are off. Retributive, eye for an eye, the avenging arm of the law kind of reasoning kicks in. Someone rapes and kills a child? Fry that sorry ass son of a bitch up. In fact, as far as I am concerned, the death penalty is too humane for people like that. Too bad torture has been deemed unconstitutional becasue I think a person deserves to have whatever they perpetrated committed agasint them. Why should the guilty be afforded more rights and better treatment than their victims? Life is about conseqences. If you choose to hurt others, then you should deal with the consequences. And in my book, the consequences should be severe.

Oh, and my cure for the legal system when it comes to executing the innocent? Create a higher evidentiary standard for cases in which the prosecuter is seeking the death penalty.

Give you something to cry about....

Well, here I am posting when I should be writing the most important paper of my academic career - my appellate brief on RLUIPA....sigh.....

Apparently, a California lawyer is suing e-harmony for discrimination because the site will not allow him to register and get a date until his divorce is final. He says this violates a California status that prohibits discrimination based on marital status. Did I mention that he is suing for like 12,000 dollars? He was apparently very upset by this whole traumatic ordeal.... Personally, I think he needs to find something real to complain about. How about the fact that when you go to the e-Harmony starter webpage, you can only choose man seeking woman or woman seeking man. This sounds like discrimination based on sexual orientation and I for one have a much bigger problem with this kind of discrimination than with the website trying to respect both parties in a marriage. I wonder if dude's marital problems originated with him screwing around on his wife in the first place??? Men.... *rolling my eyes*.... Worse yet, male lawyers..... Why don't you find some real discrimination to bitch about....