So, we moved today... which was not so awesome. But, hey, it's done! However, my house has passed judgment on our boxspring and our couch--NONE SHALL PASS!!!! Or at least, not fit up the stairs... so, I guess that means we have to find new solutions... However, my house did accept (through open front doors while unpacking the truck) a crazy drunk lady who rudely demanded pizza, money from my friends, and called my husband an asshole because we wouldn't give her a second piece of pizza or thirty cents. She didn't have meth face or crack teeth and had really nice clothes on, so I'm hoping she was possessed by the pizza devil? At the very least, I hope she's not a regular. Though she did offer $3 a month to rent a room in the house and who can pass up that sweet of a deal?
Welcome to the neighborhood!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Rejection!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
I HATE MOVING!!!!!
... but can't wait to not have to share a house with people. Well, other than the boy, obviously.
We move all of our crap this weekend, but the house still isn't finished. There's painting to do, toilets to install, and we still have no heat. So, we'll be in the old place on an inflatable mattress next week, but all of our stuff (e.g. THE INTERNET!) will be at the new place. How will I ever survive?
Woe is me.
Okay, not really, since my house WILL be rockin'--it just needs some patience and tender, loving care. And some toilets to pee in.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Some people...
... are seriously deluded!!! This site, which fascinates and horrifies me, is STILL stuck on the groundless lawsuits attempting to "prove" that Obama wasn't born in Hawai'i and is therefore ineligible to be POTUS. What's crazy to me is that if this is true, and he was born in Indonesia or Kenya as some of the "lore" goes, it wouldn't matter that his mother was an American citizen, because she had him so young. Apparently, the law states something about how you have to have been a citizen for at least 10 years (which she was), but 6 or so of those years must be over the age of 16 (which, they weren't, since she was only 18 when she had Barack). I might have some of the dates/numbers a bit off, but essentially, if you are teenage mother overseas and have your child there, that child is not eligible for US citizenship. What these groups are conveniently forgetting is that McCain's birth was also questioned, since he was born at the Panama Canal... Clearly, constitutional lawyers have decided that it was not the intention of the founders that children born to military personnel serving their country overseas should be denied citizenship, so McCain passes. And I'm pretty sure that the intention of the US Constitution was not meant to deny the right of teenage mothers, if, in fact, this witch-hunt against Obama's birth somehow, magically yields true information. It's just a bunch of frightened, misinformed, and ignorant people desperately trying to fix something that they've been told is scary and wrong. The real issue here is that they believe that Barack Obama is a Islamic-Fascist and a Marxist who will destroy America. Seriously, just on that alone, I can't even begin to have a logical conversation with the people that buy into this site--those two belief systems are on polar opposite of one another and cannot exist in the same country or in the same brain!!! It's insane to think they can be equal goals... at least pick one or the other to be frightened of, people!! When you are cherry-picking anything and everything that could be wrong with Barack Obama, even if contradictory, it seems to me that the real issue is clearly one simple thing that I won't even bother to dignify.
One last bit before I get up and finish packing up my house and my life, here's another small piece of inanity--this site also claims that IF Obama is in fact an American citizen, his father is secretly Malcolm X and not Barack Hussein Obama. !!!!!! They prove this claim with the hard and fast facts that Obama LOOKS more like Malcolm X than his father and that he's a crazy Islamic-Marxist too! Wow... just, Wow! I mean, I guess we should be happy that the members on this site recognize that all black people DON'T look the same... although they don't understand genetics, so I guess partway into the 20th century is all we can ask. Though I can't believe I even need to clarify... First, Obama looks JUST like his mother's side of the family. Take a look at the ears as proof and how much Malia looks like her Kenyan grandfather. Second, Obama is biracial... Malcolm X was also biracial and a similar skin-tone to Obama... If Malcolm X were genetically Obama's father, Obama might be considerably lighter-skinned than he is, you dolts! Though, as genetic variation has shown, there is so much diversity even within families! Third, GET OVER IT! OBAMA IS GOING TO BE PRESIDENT! And, under him, despite all your crazy fears, you'll actually get to keep being crazy fools. Seriously, Obama will protect you and all your far-right, fake-logical, paranoia.
Finally, my friends know that I vehemently dislike Ayn Rand and Objectivism... however, I seriously think that even she would be appalled at the misuse of her beliefs and works like Atlas Shrugged by this site. At least Ayn Rand was a legitimate thinker and questioner of systems... I just don't think she came to the sorts of conclusion I agree with... this site is just balls to the walls absurdity and paranoia.
Okay, I feel better now. Can we all just move on, paranoid and bleeding hearts alike? And, I don't know, spend our time volunteering instead of digging up dirt on the "other" side?
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
An Open Letter to People Afraid of Obama
Dear McCain Voters,
Some of you are my friends. Some are my neighbors, coworkers, or childhood foils... All of you are fellow Americans who felt the desire yesterday to voice your opinion and vote. So, I applaud you. Democracy is not free, though it is a right... it is not something all of us can afford do, because of jobs or access, or something that all of us feel like we should do, because of disenfranchisement or apathy... But a lot of people yesterday DID vote, some of us despite of the many reasons why we had never or could never vote before. And that makes me really proud. See, I'm a very liberal, progressive person. I haven't been happy the past 8 years, seeing where our country has gone. In fact, growing up in the buckle of the Bible belt in Arkansas was also really difficult because I was made out as a villain, attempting to ruin the very fabric of America. But, though others have said otherwise, I am patriotic. I cry at the National Anthem and weep for our soldiers overseas. I am openly proud to be an American because of the humanist values written into our Constitution and because of what we COULD be. I am proud of the diversity in this country and the freedoms that we enjoy. It doesn't mean that I'm never disappointed in the people who run it or the policies it implements, but usually that's because I feel that we have strayed from the very beliefs that made our country so great. So, here's what I have to say to all of you who are asking "what's wrong with America for voting for Obama."
There's nothing wrong with America because we elected Obama. In fact, it means that a heck of a lot of stuff is going to be "right" now. Obama is a moderate--shocker--and not a democractic socialist, like I would prefer. The only reason he looks like a liberal is because he values certain inalienable truths, like human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, and community power. These things used to be taken for granted in this country--though we didn't always act on our pride in equality. I mean, that's clear by the very fact that Barack Obama is the first black President and there have certainly been many other Black Americans (or brown, or yellow, or green, or red, or gay, or female, or you get what I mean) that were as intelligent, qualified, and able. Hell, that were as willing. Unfortunately, over the past 8 years the dial has turned so far to the right, to a fascist view of the country, that the very idea of a President who values the health of all people, the value of diplomacy, and, I don't know, the Constitution, is a scary, out-of-touch, radical. Well, if Obama is a radical, then so was Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and George Washington. So, here is my attempt to help you understand why Obama being president is a GOOD thing, for you too, even when you can't begin to imagine how.
Under Obama, the freedom of religion will be protected. Now, I know some of you think that America is going into the crapper and that a secular society destroys our families. Perhaps so, based on your beliefs. But here's the thing--we don't all believe the same thing. And, if we ever lived in a country that favored one religion over the next in government, well, what would happen to those that didn't go along with it? I'm sure a lot of you are thinking, "So what? It's better if everybody's a Christian anyhow." But what if it wasn't a Christian religion? What if YOU were the minority, who wasn't allowed to practice your belief? What if YOU were the one that was persecuted? That wouldn't be so hot, would it? So, under McCain, my religious freedom would be chipped away, to your benefit. But what about the next administration? Or if we were occupied? Under Obama, BOTH of us get to believe what we want, keep the schools and government out of it, and live in peace together.
Under Obama, civil liberties will be protected. Yours that allow you to protest family planning clinics, gays, etc., and mine that allow me to protest war, violation of civil rights, and anti-choice agendas. And BOTH of us are protected from unlawful search, from either of us perpetrating violence against one another, and, well, being put in jail for what we believe. Sure, this means that I still have my Constitutional right to privacy that allows me to have an abortion if I so choose, whether because of health, rape, or inability to support the life that would result... but you will also live in a country that guarantees your right to NOT have an abortion. Think about it, the flip of you taking away my choice, means that there might be a day where your choice is taken away and you would be forced to abort a special needs child, or a baby if you've already had more than 3, or whatever. Do you see? How protecting my right to choice protects ALL of our rights to choice? How protecting my right to believe something different than you, protects your right to believe something different than me?
Under Obama, the people who haven't mattered, will matter again. People who perhaps vote Republican because of moral issues, but have no money or access to clean water, or good schools, will become important again as more than consumers to make the rich richer. After all, Jesus himself believed that poverty was a moral issue and one that we were all called to alleviate. Part of the solution is taxing those that have more so that those that do not can have something, whether it be roads, schools, or food. We're not talking about someone who makes millions and millions being forced to live in a one bedroom apartment on the bad side of town... we're talking about the fact that someone not having HOUSING or FOOD is more important than a few measly more dollars for someone who already doesn't have to worry about basic stuff, like having to fly first class instead of in private jets. It's not only fair, it's Christian of us to do so. Furthermore, people that feel that they are looked down upon or have felt disenfranchised, will be protected and listened to. This includes African-Americans, gays, and women. But it also includes Christians, farmers, factory workers, white men, and straight people. Inclusivity is good for all of us because it guarantees that new voices are heard along with the old... and sometimes, you might find yourself being that new voice.
Now, I'm not saying that you should change your mind about capitalism or the Bible or homosexuality and jump on the Obama bandwagon. But I am asking you to consider that the rights that you don't want me or gays or other people to get under Obama are the counterparts to rights that you are taking for granted... and that these rights are only protected because you are lucky enough for them to be that way. One day, if we had continued to elect politicians that only cared about the rights and beliefs of some of us, you might have woken up some morning being on the wrong side of who was right... and therefore had rights.
If nobody's rights are denied, then all of us are free.
To freedom!!!
Sincerely,
Elizabeth
Monday, November 03, 2008
My Prayer
I'm not a God-fearing woman (though, I am humble enough to know that I might be wrong...), but I am someone who believes in the good in humanity, in our ability to rise above our biology and help one another instead of continuing the slow, constant march of natural selection, the strong over the weak... So, here is my "atheist prayer" for any that will listen, because, despite what anyone thinks, I love my country. With my whole heart.
For the love of fairness and equality over greed and wealth, please let Obama win.
For the sanctity of all love, no matter its package, please let Obama win.
For the protection of women's "health," despite the anger of Christian men, let Obama win.
For anyone who thinks that someone's skin is enough of a reason to not vote for someone, please let Obama win.
For the advancement of science, instead of the dark ages returning, let Obama win.
For those who are patriot enough to question their government, instead of standing idly by, let Obama win.
For the poor, the weak, and the sick, please let Obama win.
For the strong, the healthy, and those that have never had to worry about hard times, please let Obama win.
For anyone who has ever been told they aren't a "real" American, please let Obama win.
For all of the Muslims, and Jews, and "Godless," whose religions are now "dirty" words, let Obama win.
For me, and for you, and for your sister, and your brother, and your mother, grandmother, father, grandfather, friend, neighbor, coworker, boss, person passing on the street... Please let Obama win.
For everything that our founding fathers fought and died for, and every soldier after them, please, please, please let Obama win.
For America, the beautiful, please let Obama win.
Why are people so stupid???
So, the woman below is voting for McCain because she can't "afford" to redistribute the wealth under Obama. Seriously?!?! She doesn't realize that she's the person the wealth will be "distributed" to, as opposed to under McCain? Where richies will get richer and social services will be cut and roads will fall apart and she'll still be as poor as she is now? What is it with people who don't make the $250,000 per household that will get a tax increase (back to the levels of Clinton), yet think they are somehow affected negatively under Obama?!?! God, ignorant people like her make it harder for the stupid people that don't know better.
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