Yay Friday!!!!

Watch The Office: The Musical and more funny videos on CollegeHumor

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Babies IN the Brain

So, I just got back from visiting my sister and my newborn nephew, Matty, who is the cutest, most awesomest baby ever in the history of EVER!  Gah, I want to nom nom him all day long...

However, spending all week helping take care of him, failing (albeit trying valiantly) to get him to take a bottle, not really sleeping (also partially because sis has shotime on demand and I caught up on Weeds), and cooking FIVE MILLIONS POUNDS of food, I'm still in "faux-mommy" mode.  I swear, last night I had the insanest dream where I fell asleep on the baby.  I proceeded to wake up in a panic, frantically feeling around the bed for him and then flipped out because there was no baby... BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A BABY!!!

Anyhow, that's about all that's going on in my life... I've had tons of houseguests and will have many more over the next couple of months, even though the house isn't finished yet.  We are soooo close to being done but if feels like it won't ever happen and we'll never see our rehab loan check, but I guess the good news is we're actually living in the house instead of just occupying it. 

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In case of layoffs, try getting more education!

Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | More Video Clips

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Moving on...

So the "Purple Tunnel of Doom" has been getting some press and we're getting some apologies and some free pictures of Obama and Biden. I'm personally trying to keep it all in perspective: that Obama is president, that what could have been a dangerous situation wasn't due to the goodwill and spirit of those of us trapped down there, and, as a coworker pointed out, that we were still a part of history... not all history is good, sometimes it means being part of a huge organizational snafu, like the Purple Tunnel of Doom, but it's something that'll be remembered for a long time... 10 years from now I can tell my nephew that, "Hey, I was one of those 4-10 thousand people trapped underground who never got in that they always talk about! Isn't that awesome?!" Sure, I'll never get the moment back, nor will any of the people who never heard anything more than the canon shots, but for my own sanity, I have to reframe this in my mind or I'll never be able to enjoy the moment and all that it means. Am I still pissed? Hell, yeah. Would I turn down a redo? Hell, no. But, in the end, there's nothing I can do about it...

As I kept telling myself the four cold hours I was trapped on Tuesday, "Find your Zen, Elizabeth, find your Zen."

Zen being found...

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Elizabeth and the Tunnel of Doom

So, the boy and I were lucky enough to get purple tickets to the inauguration, got up at the ass-crack of dawn, walked from LeDroit Park, and patiently waited in line. In the 395 tunnel. For four hours.  AND NEVER MADE IT IN. 

Sufficed to say, I'm pissed. I'm sad. I'm angry.  And an apology is not enough.  I won't ever get this experience back... and I'm one of the lucky few who lives in DC, knew where to go when I finally got the fuck out of there, and got home just in time to see the speech.  Thousands of people (way more than the four thousand bullshit number they are throwing out) were in the tunnel behind me and thousands were in front of me and all of us were turned away, many of whom were black Americans who had waited years for this day, never dreaming that it would be possible.  And we couldn't hear a damn word from where we were crammed and jammed and standing.

I want a redo.  And I want it NOW.

PS I have to say, though, that I am still a fairly happy camper... Obama is president, his speech was lovely (loved the shout-out to us non-believers!), I got to go the Mayor's Inaugural Celebration and see T.I. and Wyclef (thanks Em and Paul!!!!!!!!!!!), and Jenn and Tish came into DC for the event, so, I had lots of love and lots of hope.  It's just my hope wasn't floating quite so high after I got out of that damn tunnel...

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First post of 1949...

erm... I mean 2009.

Oh man, that makes this "A Wife if A Personal Blow-Up Doll But With Sadder Eyes" Manifesto even more INSANE... Part One and Part Two (twice the anti-woman fun!!!) for your 21st century reading please!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

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Not Rape

I know that this is a bit heady for what is essentially my "end of the year" post, but I had to put this article up that I found on Jezebel.  It's about "not rape," those experiences of sexual assault, harassment or coercion that many women experience and don't know how (or have the power) to frame.  And that society continues to support by blaming the victim or making excuses because the individuals are otherwise "good" men or by teaching woman not to offend people and speak up.

An excerpt:

Entering our teenage years in the sex saturated '90s, my friends and I knew tons about rape. We knew to always be aware while walking, to hold your keys out as a possible weapon against an attack. We knew that we shouldn't walk alone at night, and if we absolutely had to, we were to avoid shortcuts, dark paths, or alleyways. We even learned ways to combat date rape, even though none of us were old enough to have friends that drove, or to be invited to parties with alcohol. We memorized the mantras, chanting them like a yogic sutra, crafting our words into a protective charm with which to ward off potential rapists: do not walk alone at night. Put a napkin over your drink at parties. Don't get into cars with strange men. If someone tries to abduct you, scream loudly and try to attack them because a rapist tries to pick women who are easy targets.

Yes, we learned a lot about rape.

What we were not prepared for was everything else. Rape was something we could identify, an act with a strict definition and two distinct scenarios. Not rape was something else entirely.

[...]

Not rape came in other many other forms as well. No one escaped - all my friends had some kind of experience with it during their teen years.

Not rape was being pressured into losing your virginity in a swimming pool pump room to keep your older boyfriend happy.

Not rape was waking up in the middle of the night to find a trusted family friend in bed with you - and having nightmares about something that you can't remember during the daylight hours.

Not rape was having your mother's boyfriends ask you for sexual favors.

Not rape was feeling the same group of boys grope you between classes, day after day after day.

Not rape was being twelve years old, having a "boyfriend" who was twenty-four and trading sex for free rides, pocket money, Reeboks, and a place to stay when your mother was tripping.

My friends and I confided in each other, swapping stories, sharing out pain, while keeping it all hidden from the adults in our lives. After all, who could we tell? This wasn't rape - it didn't fit the definitions. This was Not rape. We should have known better. We were the ones who would take the blame. We would be punished, and no one wanted that. So, these actions went on, aided by a cloak of silence.

Not rape was all those other little things that we experienced everyday and struggled to learn how to deal with those situations. In those days, my ears were filled with secrets that were not my own, the confessions of not rapes experienced by the girls I knew then and the women I know now.

So, not to be a party pooper, but I think this was good food for thought.  May all of us be harbingers of peace and kindness next year...  and have a great 2009!

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wtf, obama, wtf?

I mean, I get trying to meet in the middle--some of my best friends have opposite views than me on LGBT issues or abortion rights, but you know what??  I'm not getting sworn in by them to be President... and if I was, at least I could say I was FRIENDS with them...

Pick somebody else, dude! 

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/17/obama.warren/index.html


ps I know that Obama is smarter than me and probably has a plan...

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quick life update for those that care

we still don't have the heat in the house resolved, we're still sleeping on the floor, we still can't get the couch upstairs, and i'm still an anxiety monster. oo, and we're dogsitting an 80 lb boxer with a uti, i have bronchitis, and, did i mention, i'm still grumpy?

but soon (please GOD, soon!) i'll be able to start on the nuts and bolts of the house (the rest of the toilets, paint, unpacking) and i'll post some pictures.

okay, update over.

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also

i know that it's been a while since i posted and these last two seem like random items, but can i just say that i'm not happy that obama picked larry summers as his chief economic advisor??? i don't care how good you are with money, when you say that women just can't be as smart at science as men, i stop listening to everything you say and then the economy falls apart since i buy a lot of shit... or, am i really not listening because economics is math and math is science and I'M JUST TOO GENETICALLY STUPID TO GET IT?!?!?!?!?!? GAH!!!!

let me just say that i knew that obama would do lots of things to piss me off, even before i voted for him. i mean, he's a centrist and i'm a scary socialist commie feminazi... but, i still have hope because he is not his voters or his cabinet or even, all of his votes. the world is complicated and i'm willing to buy into that for a while longer. besides, michelle is AWESOME and if she likes him, well, perhaps i'll let him pass just this once. and on fisa. and on clinton. and on... crap, i'm sad now. look at pictures of him with kids again to make it alright!



whew, crisis of faith averted.

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Goodbye Mollygood

Mollygood, my go-to for celebrity gossip, is going away and I'm sad. I know it might seem superficial to lament the end of a gossip blog, but in a cyberworld where so many websites either "tell the news" by ignoring pertinent information in lieu of brangelina gossip (ahem, I'm looking at you CNN.com) or, if focused solely on gossip, do so in a horribly misogynistic, crass, banal, and stupid way (e.g. Perez Hilton, yeeeah, tmz, idontlikeyouinthatway, etc., etc., etc.), Mollygood was refreshing.  It offered a daily dose of mindless distraction, but did so with respect and awareness for different lifestyles and diversity.  Its commentors were often above-par intelligence and funny as hell, its posts were refreshingly political, always fun and snarky, and, without fail, plain ole' smart. 

In a world where ignorance is lauded as a "traditional" value, I will be sad to no longer have a place to get my gossip without having to dumb myself down.

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Rejection!

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!

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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.

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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?

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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

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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.

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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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Let the Issues Be the Issue

source

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Life Changes

So, here's a quick update since I will probably be very quiet over the next couple of weeks, continuing the trend started earlier this month... The boy and I bought a house!  In DC!! In LeDroit Park!!!  We are wicked excited, nervous, scared, elated, anxious, exhausted, and a myriad of other emotions all happening at the same time, on any given day.  The house is a foreclosure and the owners took all of the fixtures, appliances, and environmental systems, so we have been filling our time at Home Depot and will soon be spending all of our time putting in toilets.  We will be out of our current apartment in Columbia Heights before Thanksgiving and then are making the trek back from family visits in Arkansas with a UHAUL of crap my parents have been dying for me to take since I moved out in '99. 

So, yay!  Pictures and the like once we get unpacked...

Oh yeah, and don't forget to vote! 

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I'm starting to crush on Campbell Brown

For a long time, she was just one of those many brunette newscasters on CNN.  But lately, she's been doing opinion pieces that I rally like... that are really asking good questions of us and the CNN-reading public.  First, there was the call to "Free Palin," calling out the McCain camp for its own sexism and kidglove handling of Palin.   Today, Brown has a great piece about something that has been bothering me the entire election--why it even matters if Obama is a Muslim (which he's not, not that it should matter), as apparently "Arab" and "Muslim" are bad words that mean terrorist and radical:

Woman at rally: I don't trust Obama. I have read about him and he's an Arab.

Sen. John McCain: No ma'am, no ma'am. He's a decent family man, citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. That's what this campaign is all about. He's not, thank you.

Now, I commend Sen. McCain for correcting that woman, for setting the record straight. But I do have one question -- so what if he was?

So what if Obama was Arab or Muslim? So what if John McCain was Arab or Muslim? Would it matter?

When did that become a disqualifier for higher office in our country? When did Arab and Muslim become dirty words? The equivalent of dishonorable or radical?

Whenever this gets raised, the implication is that there is something wrong with being an Arab-American or a Muslim. And the media is complicit here, too.



It's the same logic behind calling someone a "socialist" or a "communist" in order to incite McCarthyist fear.  The only difference is, unlike someone who is Arab or Muslim (or similar in "color" to or wearing traditional garb reminiscent of--sorry Sikhs!!), you can't assume someone is a communist or a socialist just by looking at them.  So, you can't act on your ignorant racism and prejudice towards your friendly neighborhood commie quite so easily as your fellow Arab-Americans or Arab immigrants or Muslim neighbors...  Bleck.

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Quantum Leap for President

So, the other night, I had this bizarre dream that the boy and I were in Quantum Leap (that beloved-laws of time travel ignoring-magic love and kittens show from the 80s) and that Sam kept leaping into Barack Obama and trying to undue things that future John McCain would use against him when running for President.  And, like the evil leaper from the last season of the show, McCain kept leaping into the same time period and trying to thwart Sam's and our attempts to make Obama an unbeatable candidate who would forever change the future of America for the better--to once make right what once went wrong...   Oh, you know you loved the show! Admit it!

Not to play psychologist or anything, but I think this means one of two things:

Either, I've been watching too much Quantum Leap on the computer before bed and have been finally had my fill of this Presidential season or I think Obama has the potential to be an amazing leader but is being thwarted by the lowball and unfair tactics of the GOP and the emotions of scared Americans.

Craaaaazzyyy....

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Could Republicans Please...

...open a dictionary or take a history lesson?  McCain's brother (and, ipso facto, the McCain campaign) has been calling Arlington (where I lived for 2 years) and Alexandria Counties in NoVa "communist counties."  Which is funny because a lot of people in DC think that those counties are where all the Young Republicans live... but that's another story for another time.   I also recently saw someone ask on a CNN comment log what "socialist" countries have ever been successful and claiming that Obama was a socialist and going to ruin us...

This has gotten me thinking about erroneous understandings (or, in the case of McCain, blatant use of erroneous understandings to strike fear and hatred in the hearts of those who, apparently, just don't know better), so I think it's time for a little educational time*:

1st:  Being a liberal Democrat is NOT the same as being a Communist.  Most liberal Democrats fully embrace capitalism and a (mostly) free market, but do think that certain social and civil rights should be protected and enforced by the government when bigots out there refuse to get with the times.  Also, at most, people who vote Democrat and are really, really far to the left are Democrat Socialists... which brings me to my second point

2nd:  Socialism is NOT necessarily the same thing as Communism.  In fact, there are several thriving and successful democratic-socialist countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, England, France, Germany, ANYBODY WHOSE DOLLAR IS WORTH MORE THAN OURS AND HAS HEALTHCARE AND EDUCATION FOR EVERYONE!!!!  Socialism doesn't always mean a loss of personal freedoms or individual voice... and it also doesn't mean that there aren't stores with pretty things for us to go chose to buy.  It just means that workers are protected, certain rights are protected, and the market is regulated.  Now, there are varying degrees of this and some examples of socialist governments that abuse their people, but in practice, socialism hasn't equaled communism and might have a lot to offer the world as an economic system... which leads me to my final point.

3rd:  Blaming Socialism for the actions of Communist countries does no justice to socialism as an economic system.  In fact, most communist countries have failed, by and large, because they weren't, in fact, communist.  They were totalitarian regimes built on horrible human rights injustices.  Furthermore, they were often countries that never even had a proletariat/working class, but instead were, and are, peasant countries!  Personally, I don't think that there has ever really been a true socialist/communist country as Marx laid out for these very reasons...plus the fact that there have been several countries where communism was chosen by the people and might have worked, but we (the US) have gone in and nipped that in the bud. 'Cause Democracy really only means pro-US, right?  Sure, there was probably a good chance that the leaders were all Stalins in happy commune clothing, but we'll never (let anyone) know, will we?

So, basically, all I'm saying is that this rhetoric is McCarthyism all over again and just like then, not based in any understanding of the concepts or how they've been manipulated or misused... or, please for the sake of all that is good in this world and will keep us from blowing each other up, successfully adapted and mixed with capitalism.

Amen.


*Please note, that I realized that I am glossing over a lot of economic nuances here... but I felt the need to break this down hard and fast, without going back and rereading Marx again.

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It's true...

White Guilt does decide everything in my life!  Who I vote for, where I live (Ward 1 REPRESENT!), what I choose to cry myself to sleep about at night...

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I love Tina Fey...

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Out of Context

So, the Washington Post Express quoted me on their "we need to fill space" page of the free daily today, but, after showing it to several people, I feel the need to clarify in case someone wanders over here due to that quote...

The quote:
"I find it very interesting that people who want equality in this country are often the biggest losers." kittenswithmittens.blogspot.com reacts to a recent study that shows that men who value traditional gender roles tend to make more money than men who do not.

The meaning:
Okay, so my quote could be read as "people who want equality are lam-O."  Which is not what it meant, clearly, when taken in context (or even if you read the little bit of caption the Express provided)... I meant that our country doesn't equally value those who value equality.  In fact, such people (feminists, humanists, socialists, social justice activists, whatever), are often not only ignored, but also, apparently, underpaid.  It was a play on the words "equal" and "loss" and not meant to in any way support the rewarding of traditional gender roles.

Perhaps I'm being a bit sensitive about being misread, but, well, when it comes to my fight for equality, I want it known that I am 100% unequivocally a feminist, socialist, bleeding-heart liberal.  And I should be treated fairly whether you like that or not.*

*Not that the Express treated me unfairly, just the world in general... J-E-S-U-S, I'm myopically sensitive today...

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