On the virtues of being well-rounded...

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

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The Valley Swim Club of Philadelphia should be SUED.

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

 

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

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

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

Dear Fry Girl:

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

The Strength of Silence

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

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

And it is growing.

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

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

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

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

America's priorities are so f*cked up.






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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Women's rights take another two steps back

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

 

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

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

Dancing the fine line

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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Miss America: Making intelligent women inwardly cringe since 1921

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

 

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

 

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

 

Here's another fun little tidbit:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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Ahmadinejad's no saint, but...

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

 

 

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Have thoughts, will post!

No, I'm not dead, I swear.


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

Toodles!

An Open Letter to Gary Kiser, AUS Retired

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

-Gary Kiser
AUS Retired
www.trea.org

This was in response to my post.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See--Cindy Sheehan agrees with me!

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

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

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

Raping Social Security...again

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

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

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

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

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

(U.S. Air Force - Via Reuters)

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

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

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

Intelligent Design vs. Evolution

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

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

The truth shall set you free?

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

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

IS there an answer?

Watch CBS Videos Online

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

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

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

BBC & SKY NEWS: Run the ad!

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

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

Genocide.

Genocide.

Genocide.

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

Financial terrorism.

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

More of what American media does not tell you

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

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

Thank you, khany for this. Thank you.

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

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

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

America turns a blind eye to genocide

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

Boycott Fox News

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

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

What "hope" means to me

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

Hope.

It's such a loaded word.

Here's what it means to me.

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

Good read

If you have the time...

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

Just how effective was that 9/11 Commission Report?

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

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

Offshore? Try paying taxes like the rest of us.

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

Finally!

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

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

Eww, look! It's a liberal!

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

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

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

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

Any worse than it is right now?

I must rant. Humor me.

Tit for tat.

Tit for tat.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We reap what we sow.

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

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

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

I have hope for 2009.

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

Will it ever stop?

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

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

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