Today I read that Osama Bin Laden has decided that if we execute Khalid Sheik Mohammed, considered the architect of 9/11, he will immediately kill everyone who is American who is currently being held by Al-Qaeda.
So, my questions begin:
1. Were people being detained by Al-Qaeda being treated with respect prior to this moment? I remember the beheading of Daniel Pearl and countless others, so I'm thinking no.
2. If we don't execute KSM, that rat bastard, will we all of a sudden have diplomacy with a terrorist organization? Again, no.
3. Al-Qaeda isn't currently holding any Americans, but its mutant sister group, the Taliban's Haqqani group, is. Does everything that goes for Al-Qaeda go for Haqqani? Secondarily, would Haqqani have any funding if it weren't for Al-Qaeda?
4. Do I actually need to pay attention to a guy who has been living in caves since 2001 and has been described on more than occasion as dead?
Sources, I got sources:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100325/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bin_laden
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Good Guys
So, all I ever read about when it comes to football players are the cretinous things they do when they're not on the field. They're drunk, they use drugs, they get in fights, they got shot, they shoot, etc. Which is why it's very refreshing to read about two football players who made some very kind gestures.
1. Keith Bulluck gave out 9 $1,000 scholarships to Tennessee kids in honor of his fallen teammate, Steve McNair (#9). He did so despite the fact that he'll almost certainly be leaving the Titans.
2. Scott Fujita, who is definitely leaving the Saints for the Browns, got $82,000 in playoff winnings, and donated half of it to coastal restoration of New Orleans.
Sadly, it's become clear that most people who are public figures are nothing to emulate. But it's nice to see examples of when people step up to do the right thing.
1. Keith Bulluck gave out 9 $1,000 scholarships to Tennessee kids in honor of his fallen teammate, Steve McNair (#9). He did so despite the fact that he'll almost certainly be leaving the Titans.
2. Scott Fujita, who is definitely leaving the Saints for the Browns, got $82,000 in playoff winnings, and donated half of it to coastal restoration of New Orleans.
Sadly, it's become clear that most people who are public figures are nothing to emulate. But it's nice to see examples of when people step up to do the right thing.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
To celebrate
It was 20 years ago today, Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play...
Well, OK, that's not really the point. 20 years ago today, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison. The day before, de Klerk had announced he'd go free the next day.
The thing is, when democracy happens, it happens quickly. Who knew the Wall would come down as quickly as it did in Berlin? It's people doing the right thing, despite the potential negative consequences.
I boycotted all South African products until everyone there could vote, and I felt good about that choice when Mr. Mandela walked. Now he's 92 years old, generally retired from political life. Still, he's been an inspiration to me while in prison and out.
So it's something to celebrate on a day of digging out.
And also, happy birthday, Auntie.
Well, OK, that's not really the point. 20 years ago today, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison. The day before, de Klerk had announced he'd go free the next day.
The thing is, when democracy happens, it happens quickly. Who knew the Wall would come down as quickly as it did in Berlin? It's people doing the right thing, despite the potential negative consequences.
I boycotted all South African products until everyone there could vote, and I felt good about that choice when Mr. Mandela walked. Now he's 92 years old, generally retired from political life. Still, he's been an inspiration to me while in prison and out.
So it's something to celebrate on a day of digging out.
And also, happy birthday, Auntie.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Ugh
Here's all I have to say on the matter:
Rush Limbaugh blows. Ditto Pat Robertson. They are each spectacular in their lack of compassion for the human condition, unless it applies to them.
Should I have prayed for Rush to have complete and total heart failure while he was rushed to the hospital for chest pains? Maybe. But I didn't. It's that darn liberal bias, making me think that everyone deserves compassion, even asshats like these.
Rush Limbaugh blows. Ditto Pat Robertson. They are each spectacular in their lack of compassion for the human condition, unless it applies to them.
Should I have prayed for Rush to have complete and total heart failure while he was rushed to the hospital for chest pains? Maybe. But I didn't. It's that darn liberal bias, making me think that everyone deserves compassion, even asshats like these.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Get out there, Ted!
Theodore Olson and I agree about virtually nothing. He's a conservative. I'm anything but. He has argued in front of the Supremes many times. I have argued in front of family members, cashiers, and "customer service" reps. He argued in front of the Supremes for Bush, not Gore. And won.
But I have respect for this man who is very different from me. We're both lawyers, it's true. I respect him not just because he's arguing on behalf of the right of gay people to marry in California. But to listen to him speak, you realize that it's nothing more than an issue of civil rights.
People who don't believe that gay people are entitled to marriage should read both the US Tax Code and the 14th Amendment. There's simply no way to get equal protection, taxwise, if you can't marry. Domestic partnerships and civil unions simply don't qualify. The arguments used by conservatives to decry gay marriage as a slap to the institution of marriage should read Loving v. Virginia (cited below) because the same arguments were made about inter-racial marriage. We seem, as a nation, to have moved past that (Mr. Bardwell notwithstanding).
Another plus about Mr. Olson is that if it does manage to get to the Supremes to hear, as is seeming increasingly likely, he has a lot of experience there.
Now get out there, Ted. Score some points for We The People.
But I have respect for this man who is very different from me. We're both lawyers, it's true. I respect him not just because he's arguing on behalf of the right of gay people to marry in California. But to listen to him speak, you realize that it's nothing more than an issue of civil rights.
People who don't believe that gay people are entitled to marriage should read both the US Tax Code and the 14th Amendment. There's simply no way to get equal protection, taxwise, if you can't marry. Domestic partnerships and civil unions simply don't qualify. The arguments used by conservatives to decry gay marriage as a slap to the institution of marriage should read Loving v. Virginia (cited below) because the same arguments were made about inter-racial marriage. We seem, as a nation, to have moved past that (Mr. Bardwell notwithstanding).
Another plus about Mr. Olson is that if it does manage to get to the Supremes to hear, as is seeming increasingly likely, he has a lot of experience there.
Now get out there, Ted. Score some points for We The People.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Addendum
Mr. Bardwell has decided to resign. Hooray.
AP: La. justice quits after interracial wed flap
MELINDA DESLATTE
The Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. - A Louisiana justice of the peace who refused to marry a couple because the bride was white and groom was black resigned Tuesday, after weeks of refusing to step down despite calls for his ouster from officials including the governor.
Keith Bardwell quit with a one-sentence statement to Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne and no explanation of his decision: "I do hereby resign the office of Justice of the Peace for the Eighth Ward of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, effective November 3, 2009."
Gov. Bobby Jindal called Bardwell's resignation "long overdue."
Bardwell, who is white, refused to marry Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay.
When questioned, Bardwell acknowledged he routinely avoids marrying interracial couples because he believes children born to them end up suffering. In interviews, he said he refers the couples to other justices of the peace, who then perform the ceremony, which happened in this case.
"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said in an October interview with The Associated Press. "I think those children suffer, and I won't help put them through it."
Humphrey has said she and McKay received their marriage license from the parish clerk of court, where they also received a list of people qualified to perform the ceremony. When she called Bardwell's office on Oct. 6 to ask about the ceremony, Humphrey said Bardwell's wife told her that the justice wouldn't sign their marriage license because they were a "mixed couple."
Bardwell didn't immediately return a call for comment Tuesday about his resignation, which followed calls for his removal from civil rights groups and several public officials, including Jindal and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.
"This was the right decision by Mr. Bardwell. What he did was clearly wrong and this resignation was long overdue," Jindal said in a statement released by his office.
Humphrey and McKay have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Bardwell. The couple did not immediately return a call for comment.
Bardwell was elected in 1975 as justice of the peace in Ponchatoula, La., a town 55 miles north of New Orleans. His term was set to run through 2014, and he had said that even before the flap, he hadn't intended to run for re-election.
AP: La. justice quits after interracial wed flap
MELINDA DESLATTE
The Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. - A Louisiana justice of the peace who refused to marry a couple because the bride was white and groom was black resigned Tuesday, after weeks of refusing to step down despite calls for his ouster from officials including the governor.
Keith Bardwell quit with a one-sentence statement to Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne and no explanation of his decision: "I do hereby resign the office of Justice of the Peace for the Eighth Ward of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, effective November 3, 2009."
Gov. Bobby Jindal called Bardwell's resignation "long overdue."
Bardwell, who is white, refused to marry Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay.
When questioned, Bardwell acknowledged he routinely avoids marrying interracial couples because he believes children born to them end up suffering. In interviews, he said he refers the couples to other justices of the peace, who then perform the ceremony, which happened in this case.
"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said in an October interview with The Associated Press. "I think those children suffer, and I won't help put them through it."
Humphrey has said she and McKay received their marriage license from the parish clerk of court, where they also received a list of people qualified to perform the ceremony. When she called Bardwell's office on Oct. 6 to ask about the ceremony, Humphrey said Bardwell's wife told her that the justice wouldn't sign their marriage license because they were a "mixed couple."
Bardwell didn't immediately return a call for comment Tuesday about his resignation, which followed calls for his removal from civil rights groups and several public officials, including Jindal and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.
"This was the right decision by Mr. Bardwell. What he did was clearly wrong and this resignation was long overdue," Jindal said in a statement released by his office.
Humphrey and McKay have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Bardwell. The couple did not immediately return a call for comment.
Bardwell was elected in 1975 as justice of the peace in Ponchatoula, La., a town 55 miles north of New Orleans. His term was set to run through 2014, and he had said that even before the flap, he hadn't intended to run for re-election.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Racist
Note to Keith Bardwell, aka Racist JP in Louisiana:
It's a little thing called Loving v. Virginia, and it means you don't get to decide whom to marry, if they're legally compliant, cretin. It means the choice of marrying interracial couples got taken out of your idiot hands 42 years ago. It means carrying out legal justice (ie your job). Do it or get out of the business. And by the way, you're not scoring any huge points for Louisiana, either.
Sources:
1.http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_212262447.shtml
2.http://www.4lawschool.com/conlaw/lov.shtml
It's a little thing called Loving v. Virginia, and it means you don't get to decide whom to marry, if they're legally compliant, cretin. It means the choice of marrying interracial couples got taken out of your idiot hands 42 years ago. It means carrying out legal justice (ie your job). Do it or get out of the business. And by the way, you're not scoring any huge points for Louisiana, either.
Sources:
1.http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_212262447.shtml
2.http://www.4lawschool.com/conlaw/lov.shtml
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Eunice
Eunice is gone, as of this morning. She was described by people in her family as the conscience of them all. I believe that Eunice Kennedy Shriver had an admirable view of people, which was that their spirit can't and shouldn't be limited. Doubtless part of her view came from having a sister who was mentally disabled, but I have read much on the topic of the Kennedys, and when she and her sister Kathleen were going to school in a convent in Europe, it was Eunice who wrote to the family about Kathleen's accomplishments.
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy didn't have as many choices as women today do, and raising nine children can't have been easy. But I believe if she were alive and had had the options women do today, she'd have been much like Eunice.
As a mother and a daughter, I think that's a wonderful tribute to both.
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy didn't have as many choices as women today do, and raising nine children can't have been easy. But I believe if she were alive and had had the options women do today, she'd have been much like Eunice.
As a mother and a daughter, I think that's a wonderful tribute to both.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Swine flu: Of course it had to get ridiculous
This article from yesterday's NYT details the politics behind naming of a flu. I get it. But the part that made me just shake my head in wonder is:
I know where in the Torah it says that my tribe shouldn't eat pork. (Leviticus and Deuteronomy, if you're bored spitless sometime.) Can someone point out the part in the Torah that describes the sin of...talking about pork?
Oooh, heresy.
Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/world/asia/29swine.html?_r=1
An Israeli deputy health minister — an ultra-Orthodox Jew — said his country would do the same (call it "Mexican flu"), to keep Jews from having to say the word “swine.” However, his call seemed to have been largely ignored.
I know where in the Torah it says that my tribe shouldn't eat pork. (Leviticus and Deuteronomy, if you're bored spitless sometime.) Can someone point out the part in the Torah that describes the sin of...talking about pork?
Oooh, heresy.
Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/world/asia/29swine.html?_r=1
Friday, April 24, 2009
Hmmm
This story is from www.philly.com. It's about a German couple who abandoned their three children in Italy. Maybe you heard about it. The youngest child is 6 months old. The oldest child is 6 years old. They were having some financial difficulties and so took a trip to Italy (as a cost-savings measure, I suppose) and then while at a restaurant for dinner, went outside to smoke and...never came back. They were found by the authorities and now Italian prosecutors are investigating the couple for abandoning minors, and the German prosecutors are considering whether to open a probe against the mother. Below is a picture of the man of the couple. This is very sad, and highly irresponsible and so forth. But what I'd really like to know is: Will no one say anything about the lipstick this guy is wearing?
Source:
http://www.philly.com/philly/gallery/20090423_ap_policecouplewhoabandonedkidsfoundinitaly.html
Source:
http://www.philly.com/philly/gallery/20090423_ap_policecouplewhoabandonedkidsfoundinitaly.html
Friday, April 03, 2009
K
What does K mean to you? In law, it's shorthand for "contract." In common parlance (one could never accuse the law of being anything remotely close to common parlance), it has come to mean "thousand."
Dipsticks of the world, I invite you to consider the following: We have m, which is shorthand for mille, the Latin word for "thousand." We also have M, which means mille mille or "million."
K is metric, and it signifies distance, such as a 5K, or a 5,000-meter race. When I see that 663K jobs have been lost, it worries me that someone so cretinous is writing about something so important. What other facts may be subject to only nominal scrutiny? It's a question of credibility, and K, when used for something other than distance, strains that credibility.
The Trog will now step off her soapbox and resume her day.
Source:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Jobless-rate-bolts-to-85-apf-14841814.html
Dipsticks of the world, I invite you to consider the following: We have m, which is shorthand for mille, the Latin word for "thousand." We also have M, which means mille mille or "million."
K is metric, and it signifies distance, such as a 5K, or a 5,000-meter race. When I see that 663K jobs have been lost, it worries me that someone so cretinous is writing about something so important. What other facts may be subject to only nominal scrutiny? It's a question of credibility, and K, when used for something other than distance, strains that credibility.
The Trog will now step off her soapbox and resume her day.
Source:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Jobless-rate-bolts-to-85-apf-14841814.html
Friday, March 20, 2009
Separated at Birth
This is former Afghan warlord Gul Agha Shirzai.
This is Mr. Spock.
I'm just sayin'...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Go Andrew
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo rocks. He's always stood for the right side of things, and now has managed to unearth (via subpoena) that 73 AIG people stand to get at least $1 million.
Is it fraud if a company demands a bailout and then pays bonuses to boneheads? Does an employee have to actually *earn* a bonus these days?
I would also like for Mr. Cuomo to check into Countrywide. I find it galling that the people who largely got us into this mess are now making money hand over fist from it. Yes, they're helping some distressed homeowners, but let's tally up the "we screwed you" v. the "we helped you" list and see where things land. My guess is List One is miles long. Since New York's comptroller has filed a suit against Countrywide, it might not be out of Cuomo's jurisdiction.
Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/aig_cuomo
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/business/04penny.html
Is it fraud if a company demands a bailout and then pays bonuses to boneheads? Does an employee have to actually *earn* a bonus these days?
I would also like for Mr. Cuomo to check into Countrywide. I find it galling that the people who largely got us into this mess are now making money hand over fist from it. Yes, they're helping some distressed homeowners, but let's tally up the "we screwed you" v. the "we helped you" list and see where things land. My guess is List One is miles long. Since New York's comptroller has filed a suit against Countrywide, it might not be out of Cuomo's jurisdiction.
Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/aig_cuomo
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/business/04penny.html
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Let's
Let's be sure to equate one day of trolling at the U.N. with foreign-policy experience, even though so many supporters of the troll's party believe the U.N. is pointless.
Let's also be sure to keep a lid on the investigation going on about how a public official canned someone who wouldn't can her ex-BIL, who may well have mean to her sister but who nevertheless didn't do anything wrong in his job.
Let's play a game called "I'll trot my children out for my own benefit but don't you dare bring them into it" so that every angle will be the public official's to play. Yes, her party had trouble with the out-of-wedlock baby of a fictional character named Murphy Brown who, some have pointed out, was not a minor, had a job and was independent and successful. It's true Murphy didn't have a husband, but she also didn't have to wash any "Redneck Pride" t-shirts. Some things, you just can't put a price on.
Let's play a game called "Family Values doesn't mean the public official won't go back to work three days after her special-needs child is born and it also doesn't mean she'll be disappointed when her 17-year-old gets knocked up and limits all the high hopes she had for her." It's so much fun to keep changing all the rules to suit the needs of the party.
And let's say maverick when we mean liar and/or simp.
Let's also be sure to keep a lid on the investigation going on about how a public official canned someone who wouldn't can her ex-BIL, who may well have mean to her sister but who nevertheless didn't do anything wrong in his job.
Let's play a game called "I'll trot my children out for my own benefit but don't you dare bring them into it" so that every angle will be the public official's to play. Yes, her party had trouble with the out-of-wedlock baby of a fictional character named Murphy Brown who, some have pointed out, was not a minor, had a job and was independent and successful. It's true Murphy didn't have a husband, but she also didn't have to wash any "Redneck Pride" t-shirts. Some things, you just can't put a price on.
Let's play a game called "Family Values doesn't mean the public official won't go back to work three days after her special-needs child is born and it also doesn't mean she'll be disappointed when her 17-year-old gets knocked up and limits all the high hopes she had for her." It's so much fun to keep changing all the rules to suit the needs of the party.
And let's say maverick when we mean liar and/or simp.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Smear this on your puppy's lips
So the only difference between pitbulls and hockey moms is lipstick? Hmm. Let me play that game, too.
Here are the differences b/w Joe Biden and Sarah Palin:
1. The former didn't take 5 years to get through 6 schools. He got through U of Delaware and Syracuse Law in normal time.
2. The former didn't go back to work 3 days after a special-needs child was born. In fact, when the former was made a senator, he was sworn in from his son's hospital room, where he was after a horrific accident that killed his wife and baby daughter.
3. The latter said she was proud of her 17-year-old's decision to raise a child. You can be pro-life, you can accept life's realities. It doesn't mean you're proud of the situation. Being proud of an oncoming trainwreck just means your judgment is dreadful.
4. The former isn't governor of a state that functions unlike any other. Moreoever, he's worked in Washington. Just like McCain. Just like Obama.
5. The former actually has foreign-policy experience.
6. The former isn't being investigated for having a government employee canned for his unwillingness to fire someone the former didn't like. And the former isn't trying to withhold the investigation until nanoseconds before the election.
7. The latter dissed Washington's elite, but never once had the cajones to admit it's her party that's been running the shoddy show for the last eight years.
Nothing to see here, folks. It's just more of the same, from the party who taught you (courtesy the Karl Rove playbook), "When you have nothing to offer, hurl invective at the other side."
Face it: Palin's a hillbilly in go-go boots who supports drilling and guns, and has no new ideas. I can't imagine what drove McCain against choosing an actual qualified Republican female, like Olympia Snowe, or Kay Bailey Hutchison, but it makes me question his judgment (not to mention his campaign's vetting process.) And it makes me wonder how much closer the glass ceiling falls on all women's heads when public women's personal lives get in the way of their jobs in a way they simply don't for public men.
(Let me save my rant against the insulting idea that as a woman, I'd have to vote for a woman on the basis of her being a woman, never mind that she's completely counter to all I hold dear, for another day.)
Sources, I got your sources:
1. http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/2008/view.bg?articleid=1116906&srvc=home&position=comment
2. http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10382124
3. http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/382560.html
4. http://lookinginatiowa.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/1972-article-about-fatal-crash-which-took-life-of-bidens-wife-daughter/
5. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2069707/posts
6. http://politics.nashvillepost.com/2008/09/01/sarah-palins-17-year-old-daughter-bristol-palin-is-pregnant/
7. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-guttman/bidens-foreign-policy-cr_b_38144.html
8. http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=5702697&page=2
9. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/us/politics/04assess.html?_r=1&scp=8&sq=palin%20washington&st=cse&oref=slogin
Here are the differences b/w Joe Biden and Sarah Palin:
1. The former didn't take 5 years to get through 6 schools. He got through U of Delaware and Syracuse Law in normal time.
2. The former didn't go back to work 3 days after a special-needs child was born. In fact, when the former was made a senator, he was sworn in from his son's hospital room, where he was after a horrific accident that killed his wife and baby daughter.
3. The latter said she was proud of her 17-year-old's decision to raise a child. You can be pro-life, you can accept life's realities. It doesn't mean you're proud of the situation. Being proud of an oncoming trainwreck just means your judgment is dreadful.
4. The former isn't governor of a state that functions unlike any other. Moreoever, he's worked in Washington. Just like McCain. Just like Obama.
5. The former actually has foreign-policy experience.
6. The former isn't being investigated for having a government employee canned for his unwillingness to fire someone the former didn't like. And the former isn't trying to withhold the investigation until nanoseconds before the election.
7. The latter dissed Washington's elite, but never once had the cajones to admit it's her party that's been running the shoddy show for the last eight years.
Nothing to see here, folks. It's just more of the same, from the party who taught you (courtesy the Karl Rove playbook), "When you have nothing to offer, hurl invective at the other side."
Face it: Palin's a hillbilly in go-go boots who supports drilling and guns, and has no new ideas. I can't imagine what drove McCain against choosing an actual qualified Republican female, like Olympia Snowe, or Kay Bailey Hutchison, but it makes me question his judgment (not to mention his campaign's vetting process.) And it makes me wonder how much closer the glass ceiling falls on all women's heads when public women's personal lives get in the way of their jobs in a way they simply don't for public men.
(Let me save my rant against the insulting idea that as a woman, I'd have to vote for a woman on the basis of her being a woman, never mind that she's completely counter to all I hold dear, for another day.)
Sources, I got your sources:
1. http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/2008/view.bg?articleid=1116906&srvc=home&position=comment
2. http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10382124
3. http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/382560.html
4. http://lookinginatiowa.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/1972-article-about-fatal-crash-which-took-life-of-bidens-wife-daughter/
5. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2069707/posts
6. http://politics.nashvillepost.com/2008/09/01/sarah-palins-17-year-old-daughter-bristol-palin-is-pregnant/
7. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-guttman/bidens-foreign-policy-cr_b_38144.html
8. http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=5702697&page=2
9. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/us/politics/04assess.html?_r=1&scp=8&sq=palin%20washington&st=cse&oref=slogin
Saturday, August 09, 2008
L'affaire Edwards
I said I didn't trust the man. I said he looked amphibian. I said I didn't believe his ripoff of Robert Kennedy's War on Poverty was anything more than an opportunistic grab.
But even I didn't think the man couldn't keep it zipped. Why can so few men in power keep it zipped? But this time it's particularly odious, because the woman to whom he did this is dying, and chose to live out the rest of her days largely on a campaign bus for him.
The thought of this
hitting this
just doesn't feel too bad.
It's very simple, men. If you want to screw around, divorce your wife first. If you want to stay married, keep it zipped. How you got to be in power when you're too stupid to know this in the first place is truly a mystery.
But even I didn't think the man couldn't keep it zipped. Why can so few men in power keep it zipped? But this time it's particularly odious, because the woman to whom he did this is dying, and chose to live out the rest of her days largely on a campaign bus for him.
The thought of this
hitting this
just doesn't feel too bad.
It's very simple, men. If you want to screw around, divorce your wife first. If you want to stay married, keep it zipped. How you got to be in power when you're too stupid to know this in the first place is truly a mystery.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
It Ain't Me You're Lookin' For
The headline says Rice: Jewish housing plan undermines peace talks . The article means Condi thinks there's an issue with housing as part of the ongoing dilemma between Israelis and Palestinians.
Note to world: Stop saying Jews when you mean Israelis. It doesn't do my tribe any good. And stop thinking every Jew agrees with everything Israel ever does, did or will do.
Yes, American Jews have historically had an "Is it good for Israel?" approach on things like voting. But we also have a strong sense of human rights, and we know about being on the cruddy end of the stick, and realize that abuse is abuse, and it's still wrong even when you're on the power end of the stick.
/End rant here./
Note to world: Stop saying Jews when you mean Israelis. It doesn't do my tribe any good. And stop thinking every Jew agrees with everything Israel ever does, did or will do.
Yes, American Jews have historically had an "Is it good for Israel?" approach on things like voting. But we also have a strong sense of human rights, and we know about being on the cruddy end of the stick, and realize that abuse is abuse, and it's still wrong even when you're on the power end of the stick.
/End rant here./
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Compare and Contrast
Compare: Both the one on the left and the one on the right are wearing pearls.
Contrast: The one on the left looks normal, like she could be my neighbor. She looks like I would want her to be my neighbor. The one on the right doesn't look trustworthy. I don't want her as my neighbor, and it's got nothing to do with that funky rash all over her neck and hairline.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Godspeed
I am just learning what others have known for months: A* is gone.
A* was a friend of my aunt whom I've known almost all of my life. A warm and compassionate spirit, she was a nurse. A really kind person. She came from an extremely dysfunctional background, one that involved mental-health issues with which A* struggled, too. She moved to a different state, and lived there. I don't think she worked, or had insurance. Sometimes she would be erratic, hard to find, and my aunt would worry about her. But there were certain things my aunt could count on, like a birthday card. This past year, no card. And when my aunt sent mail to A*'s PO Box, it came back.
What apparently happened is that A* wasn't doing very well, and eventually she just stepped in front of a train and ended her life.
To have known a person when she was whole, when she was giving and kind and had good days, and then to consider what it must have been like inside her brain is very difficult. I'm pained by what she must have gone through, believing that tomorrow would not be better than today, feeling desperate enough to silence that pain once and for all, but also she might have felt bravery or pride for refusing to let it take control of her life, of her mind, finally and forever.
I'm pained when I wonder whether A* would be alive if she had been insured and medicated, if she'd had some community or family where she lived. I'm pained that in finding out what happened well after everyone else, her death is somehow less significant, less tragic. A* was a beautiful person, inside and out, who lived and died all alone. This is a lesser place for her absence.
A* was a friend of my aunt whom I've known almost all of my life. A warm and compassionate spirit, she was a nurse. A really kind person. She came from an extremely dysfunctional background, one that involved mental-health issues with which A* struggled, too. She moved to a different state, and lived there. I don't think she worked, or had insurance. Sometimes she would be erratic, hard to find, and my aunt would worry about her. But there were certain things my aunt could count on, like a birthday card. This past year, no card. And when my aunt sent mail to A*'s PO Box, it came back.
What apparently happened is that A* wasn't doing very well, and eventually she just stepped in front of a train and ended her life.
To have known a person when she was whole, when she was giving and kind and had good days, and then to consider what it must have been like inside her brain is very difficult. I'm pained by what she must have gone through, believing that tomorrow would not be better than today, feeling desperate enough to silence that pain once and for all, but also she might have felt bravery or pride for refusing to let it take control of her life, of her mind, finally and forever.
I'm pained when I wonder whether A* would be alive if she had been insured and medicated, if she'd had some community or family where she lived. I'm pained that in finding out what happened well after everyone else, her death is somehow less significant, less tragic. A* was a beautiful person, inside and out, who lived and died all alone. This is a lesser place for her absence.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Wanted: A Graceful Exit
Obama's next task: Heal rift with female voters
This article discusses why white female voters are so distressed with Obama. "'Obama himself must heal the rift with women,' said Clinton fundraiser Susie Buell of San Francisco, 'or a new brand of "stay-at-home moms" might sit out the election.'"
Could they have quoted someone perhaps slightly less partisan?
Truly, I just don’t see it. First of all, polling right now on this topic is a waste of time, as it doesn’t allow for all that Mr. McCain can do to enrage white female Democratic voters (or for that matter, white female Republican voters) in the next five months. My guess: plenty.
Second, the whole premise of this article assumes that women would vote solely based on gender, the very obstacle they’ve been up against for, oh, ever. (The 15th Amendment, which allowed nonwhite men to vote, was ratified February 3, 1850. The 19th Amendment, which allowed women to vote, was ratified August 18, 1920, 70 years later. I’d like to think we’ve progressed in the 158 years since we thought leaving it to someone else to give us rights and ensure our empowerment was a good idea.)
This white female voter had a hard time listening to Hillary talk about things like job creation in the 90s during her hubby’s Administration. Know why? Because I lived through it. I can tell you right now that my newspaper is delivered by a grownup in a car, instead of a 12-year-old on a bike, b/c on Bill’s watch, people had to take two and three jobs to get the income they’d had before getting laid off. (And just an aside, two or three less-than-fulltime jobs means you don’t score any benefits, Starbucks notwithstanding.)
I don’t care who wore a pantsuit or a lapel pin. Hillary’s a bright woman with some sound policy objectives but she appeared opportunistic and insincere. In a weird irony, Hillary was empowered because she essentially screwed herself, and frankly, I think more of my fellow Caucasian female voters than to assume they’re as one-dimensional as this article suggests.
But just to argue the other side, assuming we were truly that one-dimensional, we’d merely have the memory and attention span of so many other citizens of this nation, and thus come November it wouldn’t be an issue anyway. Take your pick, either way it’s a moot point.
Note to any female white voters who will only vote based on gender: none of your choices come November will be women. If that's enough to keep you home, you suck.
Sources:
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am14
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080604/ap_on_el_pr/obama_angry_women
This article discusses why white female voters are so distressed with Obama. "'Obama himself must heal the rift with women,' said Clinton fundraiser Susie Buell of San Francisco, 'or a new brand of "stay-at-home moms" might sit out the election.'"
Could they have quoted someone perhaps slightly less partisan?
Truly, I just don’t see it. First of all, polling right now on this topic is a waste of time, as it doesn’t allow for all that Mr. McCain can do to enrage white female Democratic voters (or for that matter, white female Republican voters) in the next five months. My guess: plenty.
Second, the whole premise of this article assumes that women would vote solely based on gender, the very obstacle they’ve been up against for, oh, ever. (The 15th Amendment, which allowed nonwhite men to vote, was ratified February 3, 1850. The 19th Amendment, which allowed women to vote, was ratified August 18, 1920, 70 years later. I’d like to think we’ve progressed in the 158 years since we thought leaving it to someone else to give us rights and ensure our empowerment was a good idea.)
This white female voter had a hard time listening to Hillary talk about things like job creation in the 90s during her hubby’s Administration. Know why? Because I lived through it. I can tell you right now that my newspaper is delivered by a grownup in a car, instead of a 12-year-old on a bike, b/c on Bill’s watch, people had to take two and three jobs to get the income they’d had before getting laid off. (And just an aside, two or three less-than-fulltime jobs means you don’t score any benefits, Starbucks notwithstanding.)
I don’t care who wore a pantsuit or a lapel pin. Hillary’s a bright woman with some sound policy objectives but she appeared opportunistic and insincere. In a weird irony, Hillary was empowered because she essentially screwed herself, and frankly, I think more of my fellow Caucasian female voters than to assume they’re as one-dimensional as this article suggests.
But just to argue the other side, assuming we were truly that one-dimensional, we’d merely have the memory and attention span of so many other citizens of this nation, and thus come November it wouldn’t be an issue anyway. Take your pick, either way it’s a moot point.
Note to any female white voters who will only vote based on gender: none of your choices come November will be women. If that's enough to keep you home, you suck.
Sources:
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am14
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080604/ap_on_el_pr/obama_angry_women
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