...All of which leaves us a little conflicted about the movement. We, like many modern women, are trapped between two fears: that having kids will make us unsexy, and that trying to stay sexy will make us ridiculous. Our inner feminist tells us that MILFdom is not a solution but rather a self-destructive form of female-chauvinist piggery, to borrow Ariel Levy’s term: Are today’s mothers really so afraid of seeming past their prime that they accept objectification as a compliment?
read more | digg story
**********************************************************
I guess I'm a little of two minds on the subject. I think it's great that women today are considered attractive and sexy at older ages, and even with kids. (Of course, I'd also hate to think that my romantic life would be a complete thing of the past as of this September, so I might be a bit biased.) It's empowering, for lack of a better word, and it's good for the women themselves in the sense that there IS life after baby. However, at some point this attraction went from considering these women still sexy and desirable to making them into sex objects. You can see this in the movie that's considered to be the turning point in the MILF phenomenon - American Pie - when the MILF of the movie, Stifler's mom, is never even given a name. She is simply "Stifler's mom", and is otherwise referred to as "MILF". I'm aware that it's funny and maybe I'm being a little uptight over it, but it also is kind of a problem, isn't it? This woman is such an object that she doesn't even have a name.
The problem with our society is that we always take things to an extreme. First, we have the attractive single mother. Partially this is caused by an increase in single mothers, and perhaps the fact that many women have children at a young age is a factor as well. It also helps that many women are using health and beauty products, exercises, and even surgeries to look younger than they actually are. It also has to do, I think, with single mothers being more accepted by society. We no longer look at them as criminals, but as capable, independent women, and as such, they don't have to hide like lepers anymore and can even *gasp* date. In addition, capable, independent women are hot. There's just something about a self-sufficient woman that's sexy. But at some point we get so caught up in the idea that moms can be hot too, and we take it to an extreme, turning it into sexual objectification, the polar opposite of the problem that single mothers USED to have, but just as bad of a problem. Some people even consider these women to be sluttier than a young, single, childless woman who really isn't any less sexually active. One male friend of mine states, "Well, you know she puts out," and then guffaws at his own crude wit (I guess because nobody else found that incredibly amusing). Women who walk around wearing MILF T-shirts (yes, that means you, Ms. Spears) don't help matters, either.
Perhaps the solution for a woman who doesn't really know if she should embrace the MILF stereotype (it's saying something good about her - that she's still attractive - right?) is: don't. Be attractive. Be sexy. But don't think of yourself in that way and don't allow yourself to fall into that stereotype, emulating Stifler's mom. And if a man ever, EVER refers to you as a MILF, read him the riot act and for the love of god, don't sleep with him.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Man Sues Library After His Sons Find Book On Lesbian Lovemaking
A man is seeking $20,000 after his sons found a book on lesbian sex at a public library. The library has since removed the book from circulation. In an e-mail, the father said that God was speaking to his heart and helped him find the words that removed it. He said the teenagers found it while looking for material on military academies.
read more | digg story
*************************************************************
... the fuck?!
This is outrageous. First of all, the library has books that appeal to diverse crowd. They're a public library. I can understand if he'd been upset finding this at a Christian bookstore, but he's in a public library. They have an entire section on sex. Besides, in the Dewey Decimal System, the Sex section is in the 600s and the Military section is in the 300s. Yeah, his teenage sons just accidentally wound up looking at books on lesbian sex in the middle of the sex section. I'm sure they MEANT to be over in the Military section, at the other end of the nonfiction section. Right. This guy better hope his kids don't get a hold of the internet. They might just "accidentally" run across a porn site while "trying to do research for school." Give me a break. Your kids were looking for graphic descriptions of sex. If you have some sort of problem with that, reprimand your children, don't sue the library. And don't give us that "they were traumatized" bullshit. I think we all know just why they had many sleepless nights over this.
I know that you want to pretend your kids are all innocent and everything, but a sixteen-year-old isn't going to pick up a book on lesbian sex, in the middle of the sex section of the library, thinking that it's about West Point. Come on. They looked at the book intentionally and just happened to get caught. If you have a problem with what they look at in the library, go with them to make sure they steer clear of that section. And besides, the public library doesn't just have to have books that are okay with Christians. They're a public library, and they have a very diverse crowd that walks through those doors. They try to have books that appeal to everyone because that's what they're there for.
As for the money thing, don't think that just because you're mad at the library for carrying a certain book, you can force them to buy you a new car. Your kids were not scarred for life, and I can guarantee you that they look at pictures of the exact same thing on the computers at school. They chose to look at the material, nobody made them. He keeps saying how God wanted him to do this... what, is he going to donate the $20,000 to the church? Doubt it. Greedy jackass.
read more | digg story
*************************************************************
... the fuck?!
This is outrageous. First of all, the library has books that appeal to diverse crowd. They're a public library. I can understand if he'd been upset finding this at a Christian bookstore, but he's in a public library. They have an entire section on sex. Besides, in the Dewey Decimal System, the Sex section is in the 600s and the Military section is in the 300s. Yeah, his teenage sons just accidentally wound up looking at books on lesbian sex in the middle of the sex section. I'm sure they MEANT to be over in the Military section, at the other end of the nonfiction section. Right. This guy better hope his kids don't get a hold of the internet. They might just "accidentally" run across a porn site while "trying to do research for school." Give me a break. Your kids were looking for graphic descriptions of sex. If you have some sort of problem with that, reprimand your children, don't sue the library. And don't give us that "they were traumatized" bullshit. I think we all know just why they had many sleepless nights over this.
I know that you want to pretend your kids are all innocent and everything, but a sixteen-year-old isn't going to pick up a book on lesbian sex, in the middle of the sex section of the library, thinking that it's about West Point. Come on. They looked at the book intentionally and just happened to get caught. If you have a problem with what they look at in the library, go with them to make sure they steer clear of that section. And besides, the public library doesn't just have to have books that are okay with Christians. They're a public library, and they have a very diverse crowd that walks through those doors. They try to have books that appeal to everyone because that's what they're there for.
As for the money thing, don't think that just because you're mad at the library for carrying a certain book, you can force them to buy you a new car. Your kids were not scarred for life, and I can guarantee you that they look at pictures of the exact same thing on the computers at school. They chose to look at the material, nobody made them. He keeps saying how God wanted him to do this... what, is he going to donate the $20,000 to the church? Doubt it. Greedy jackass.
Ever Make an Earth Day Resolution?
We've all made resolutions for the new year, but how about trying to make a resolution for Earth Day this year? Try to make some changes in your daily life to help out the planet. Plus, many Earth Day resolutions you could make are good for you, too, like buying organic, local produce, cutting back on meat, and using an alternate form of transportation, such as your bicycle or feet.
1. Buy organic produce from a farmer's market. Find a farmer's market near you here. Benefits for the planet? Organic produce isn't sprayed with pesticides and other chemicals which are bad for the environment, and they weren't hauled in a truck a thousand miles to the grocery store, wasting fossil fuels and polluting the environment. Benefits for you? Organic produce is healthier for you, and the prices aren't what you might think. Besides, you can be proud of yourself for supporting independents instead of huge corporations like Wal-Mart.
2. Recycle your electronics. Recycling isn't just paper, aluminum cans, and glass. You can recycle unwanted electronics - that phone charger you happened to find in the back of your closet to a phone you got rid of eight months ago, empty cartriges for your printer, or videotapes if you've made the switch to DVDs. You can also recycle batteries, old computer monitors you're not using, or telephones (maybe the battery in that portable phone is shot or a couple of buttons are screwed up, but the rest of it is fine and can be recycled).
3. Don't buy disposable. Going on a camping trip? Consider buying plastic plates that can be washed and reused rather than buying paper or worse, styrofoam. The plastic utensils that people buy for trips such as this can also be rewashed and packed away for the next camping trip as well. Package leftovers or work/school lunches in tupperware that can be washed and reused rather than in baggies that are thrown away.
4. Buy in bulk. Not only will you save money, but you will cut down on packaging that is thrown out. Buy the box of cereal that's much larger so you're only throwing away one plastic bag instead of two for the same amount of cereal. Instead of buying the individual bags of chips for a dollar, buy a large bag and seal it with a chip clip until it's gone. Don't buy things that come in a large package but are individually wrapped.
5. Paper, not plastic. This is an easy and free change to make. At the grocery store, ask that your groceries be bagged in paper. Better yet, bring cloth shopping bags of your own that can be reused hundreds of times. They're inexpensive and cut down on your plastic and paper consumption.
6. Many people buy individual bottles of water. A more economical AND environmentally friendly way to drink clean water is to A. buy a water filter or B. buy gallons of water, rather than individual bottles. Both of these methods cut down on packaging and save money. If you want individual bottles for the convenience, reuse them. After you drink the water that came in them, refill them. A better way to do this is just to buy a water bottle to take to work or wherever that is more durable and can be washed more easily.
7. Done with the tub of butter or the huge tub of yogurt (you know, since you're buying in bulk now)? Turn them into tupperware instead of throwing them away. Not only do you get free tupperware out of the deal, but you also can cut down on how much garbage you're producing.
8. Use rechargeable batteries. This not only cuts down on the batteries you throw away, which are terrible for the environment, but it also cuts down on how much you spend on batteries in the long run.
9. Dispose of environmentally hazardous wastes properly. Find out how to do this in your area at Earth 911.
10. Recycle your motor oil. Oil is a very valuable resource, and motor oil that's disposed of improperly is horrible for the environment. Learn more about recycling motor oil here.
11. Join a carpool. Chances are, you commute to work every day or maybe you drive to school every day. Organize a carpool to work or school, which will save gas (and allow you to take the HOV lane). It's also more enjoyable than riding an hour into work alone every day. You can organize carpools on icarpool.com or any other carpool/vanpool website. Just do a Google search.
12. Take public transportation. Not only do you save on gas by riding a bus from a Park and Ride to work, but you're helping the environment out by helping to cut air pollution. Just ride your car to the Park and Ride, and then ride the bus to work.
13. Compost. Just about any biodegradable waste can be composted and used as fertilizer in flower beds and gardens. And if you don't want a huge unsightly pile in the corner of your yard, you can designate a large plastic garbage can as a compost bin. For more information on composting, click here. Take a good look at the list of composting materials they provide. You'd be amazed at the things you can recycle this way, from eggshells to dryer lint to used coffee filters. Try seeing how much you can cut down on the garbage you're putting out each week.
14. Cut back on fast food. Not only is fast food bad for your arteries, but they buy from factory farms and use loads of chemicals in everything. Plus, you end up with a lot of packaging to throw in the garbage. And you might think to yourself that it's just paper packaging, and therefore not a big deal, but the paper and cardboard that fast food is packaged in is treated with chemicals so that the grease in the food won't soak through it. If you want to eat out, go to a restaurant. The price difference isn't that much. If you buy a large burger meal at Jack-In-The-Box, you could easily be looking at around six bucks. A burger with fries at Chili's is less than a dollar more. Not only is it enough food that you'll have leftovers for later, but it's better quality and more filling anyway. Besides, many restaurants will have lunch specials or daily specials that even beat fast food prices, and healthier options than a burger and fries anyway.
15. Shop and donate at second-hand stores; recycle your clothes. Exasperated because your five-year-old rips and stains everything you buy him or your ten-year-old grows out of new clothes in just a few months? Why pay full price, then? Kid's clothes are the best deals at thrift stores because many times they've just been outgrown before they get a lot of wear and tear. Hopefully all of you already donate clothing you don't want anymore; why don't you actually try shopping at Goodwill or the Salvation Army? You can save money, and besides, there are some really good deals at thrift stores. Take advantage of someone who's gotten too big or small for their clothes and take used stuff that's still in good condition.
1. Buy organic produce from a farmer's market. Find a farmer's market near you here. Benefits for the planet? Organic produce isn't sprayed with pesticides and other chemicals which are bad for the environment, and they weren't hauled in a truck a thousand miles to the grocery store, wasting fossil fuels and polluting the environment. Benefits for you? Organic produce is healthier for you, and the prices aren't what you might think. Besides, you can be proud of yourself for supporting independents instead of huge corporations like Wal-Mart.
2. Recycle your electronics. Recycling isn't just paper, aluminum cans, and glass. You can recycle unwanted electronics - that phone charger you happened to find in the back of your closet to a phone you got rid of eight months ago, empty cartriges for your printer, or videotapes if you've made the switch to DVDs. You can also recycle batteries, old computer monitors you're not using, or telephones (maybe the battery in that portable phone is shot or a couple of buttons are screwed up, but the rest of it is fine and can be recycled).
3. Don't buy disposable. Going on a camping trip? Consider buying plastic plates that can be washed and reused rather than buying paper or worse, styrofoam. The plastic utensils that people buy for trips such as this can also be rewashed and packed away for the next camping trip as well. Package leftovers or work/school lunches in tupperware that can be washed and reused rather than in baggies that are thrown away.
4. Buy in bulk. Not only will you save money, but you will cut down on packaging that is thrown out. Buy the box of cereal that's much larger so you're only throwing away one plastic bag instead of two for the same amount of cereal. Instead of buying the individual bags of chips for a dollar, buy a large bag and seal it with a chip clip until it's gone. Don't buy things that come in a large package but are individually wrapped.
5. Paper, not plastic. This is an easy and free change to make. At the grocery store, ask that your groceries be bagged in paper. Better yet, bring cloth shopping bags of your own that can be reused hundreds of times. They're inexpensive and cut down on your plastic and paper consumption.
6. Many people buy individual bottles of water. A more economical AND environmentally friendly way to drink clean water is to A. buy a water filter or B. buy gallons of water, rather than individual bottles. Both of these methods cut down on packaging and save money. If you want individual bottles for the convenience, reuse them. After you drink the water that came in them, refill them. A better way to do this is just to buy a water bottle to take to work or wherever that is more durable and can be washed more easily.
7. Done with the tub of butter or the huge tub of yogurt (you know, since you're buying in bulk now)? Turn them into tupperware instead of throwing them away. Not only do you get free tupperware out of the deal, but you also can cut down on how much garbage you're producing.
8. Use rechargeable batteries. This not only cuts down on the batteries you throw away, which are terrible for the environment, but it also cuts down on how much you spend on batteries in the long run.
9. Dispose of environmentally hazardous wastes properly. Find out how to do this in your area at Earth 911.
10. Recycle your motor oil. Oil is a very valuable resource, and motor oil that's disposed of improperly is horrible for the environment. Learn more about recycling motor oil here.
11. Join a carpool. Chances are, you commute to work every day or maybe you drive to school every day. Organize a carpool to work or school, which will save gas (and allow you to take the HOV lane). It's also more enjoyable than riding an hour into work alone every day. You can organize carpools on icarpool.com or any other carpool/vanpool website. Just do a Google search.
12. Take public transportation. Not only do you save on gas by riding a bus from a Park and Ride to work, but you're helping the environment out by helping to cut air pollution. Just ride your car to the Park and Ride, and then ride the bus to work.
13. Compost. Just about any biodegradable waste can be composted and used as fertilizer in flower beds and gardens. And if you don't want a huge unsightly pile in the corner of your yard, you can designate a large plastic garbage can as a compost bin. For more information on composting, click here. Take a good look at the list of composting materials they provide. You'd be amazed at the things you can recycle this way, from eggshells to dryer lint to used coffee filters. Try seeing how much you can cut down on the garbage you're putting out each week.
14. Cut back on fast food. Not only is fast food bad for your arteries, but they buy from factory farms and use loads of chemicals in everything. Plus, you end up with a lot of packaging to throw in the garbage. And you might think to yourself that it's just paper packaging, and therefore not a big deal, but the paper and cardboard that fast food is packaged in is treated with chemicals so that the grease in the food won't soak through it. If you want to eat out, go to a restaurant. The price difference isn't that much. If you buy a large burger meal at Jack-In-The-Box, you could easily be looking at around six bucks. A burger with fries at Chili's is less than a dollar more. Not only is it enough food that you'll have leftovers for later, but it's better quality and more filling anyway. Besides, many restaurants will have lunch specials or daily specials that even beat fast food prices, and healthier options than a burger and fries anyway.
15. Shop and donate at second-hand stores; recycle your clothes. Exasperated because your five-year-old rips and stains everything you buy him or your ten-year-old grows out of new clothes in just a few months? Why pay full price, then? Kid's clothes are the best deals at thrift stores because many times they've just been outgrown before they get a lot of wear and tear. Hopefully all of you already donate clothing you don't want anymore; why don't you actually try shopping at Goodwill or the Salvation Army? You can save money, and besides, there are some really good deals at thrift stores. Take advantage of someone who's gotten too big or small for their clothes and take used stuff that's still in good condition.
Friday, April 20, 2007
10 Reasons Bush Must Be Impeached
from 10 Things You Never Knew
"So George W. Bush doesn't have much time left on his term, and most of the below points aren't really impeachable offenses. But at the very least, here's 10 reasons why Bush will go down as the worst president in U.S. history..."
Read More | Digg It
*******************************************************
1. It is actually considered a crime for the President to lie to Congress, although it's rarely enforced. I do think, however, that it is more than justified in this case to act on that and use it as a reason for impeachment. And yes, tens of thousands. Many tens of thousands.
2. To be fair, most of the blame for the Katrina disaster can be spread around. The city's evacuation was started much too late to be successful, and the city was just unprepared in general. They should have been bussing people out of the city days before they started. Also, if the levies in the city had been kept up and well-maintained, a lot of the damage could have been prevented. Bush's team was a tiny bit responsible, but that was a failing of the system as a whole, from the President on down to the New Orleans mayor and his team.
3. This is deplorable in the person who is responsible for governing us, but unfortunately, it's not grounds for impeachment. However, we need to learn from this and be sure to elect people who are competent and informed from this point onward, because although it's not an impeachable offense, it IS a definite problem.
4. Bush's team has been a huge disappointment, but again, this isn't actually a crime on his part, so he can't be impeached for it. But yes, Bush and his team continued to lie about Iraq through their teeth from day one. First of all, the idea that the Iraqis would just welcome the Americans with open arms and offer no resistance whatsoever is ludicrous. Believe it or not, not everyone in the world wants to be an American. Not all of them want to be governed in the same way we are. Not all them of them want to live our way of life. And can you blame them, with the picture of America that is presented by Bush? It was also a huge failing on their part not to heed any of the advice or warnings of true experts.
5. Further proof that Bush is an idiot, but no grounds for impeachment. This list seems to be mainly complaints about Bush rather than reasons for impeachment, although they are valid complaints.
6. It is debatable as to whether this is a valid offense for impeachment. When this went so far as to intrude upon habeus corpus, I think that it might be reasonable to consider this grounds for impeachment. What I can't believe is that even with all the criticism of the Patriot Act and all the the furthering of the NSA's abilities to spy on American citizens after that, the Bush administration CONTINUES to push for more and more power.
7. Again, while deplorable, this unfortunately isn't grounds for impeachment. It's very true, though, and very unfortunate. Of course, when you elect a president who makes money off oil, and who is a Republican to boot, what else can you expect?
8. Not grounds for impeachment, but this offense IS a huge problem for America. And Bush refuses to pull out of Iraq, making the economy worse by the day.
9. Dear God. It's so horrible he does that, but again, not an impeachable offense.
10. While this again isn't an impeachable offense, it is very unfortunate. I mean, we complain that the world doesn't like us (we make that complaint a lot about France, but I don't think many other countries are any more fond of us than France is), but then we have this President who not only paints a very bad picture of Americans, but he also continuously thumbs his nose at the rest of the world. Furthermore, many countries around the Middle East are terrified right now that they'll be next. What do you expect?
Okay, so on the list we actually have two possible reasons for impeachment. We could add that he has completely ignored various treaties that the U.S. has signed. We could also add that he WENT AGAINST THE UNITED NATIONS when they told him NOT to go to war. The reason he kept giving for going to war? That Iraq was disobeying the United Nations! Now, THAT has to make your blood boil. How about the continuous lying to Congress and the American people about several issues? Or permitting torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo?
Perhaps a better name for this list would have been 10 Reasons Bush Should Never Have Been Elected, as many of these offenses date back to before his second term, and a few back even before his first term as President. If people looked at the history of Presidential candidates a bit more closely, mistakes like this one wouldn't make their way into the White House. If Bush was a horrible governor, why would he suddenly perform better in a higher office? You promote people who do well, not the ones who totally suck at their job.
"So George W. Bush doesn't have much time left on his term, and most of the below points aren't really impeachable offenses. But at the very least, here's 10 reasons why Bush will go down as the worst president in U.S. history..."
Read More | Digg It
*******************************************************
1. It is actually considered a crime for the President to lie to Congress, although it's rarely enforced. I do think, however, that it is more than justified in this case to act on that and use it as a reason for impeachment. And yes, tens of thousands. Many tens of thousands.
2. To be fair, most of the blame for the Katrina disaster can be spread around. The city's evacuation was started much too late to be successful, and the city was just unprepared in general. They should have been bussing people out of the city days before they started. Also, if the levies in the city had been kept up and well-maintained, a lot of the damage could have been prevented. Bush's team was a tiny bit responsible, but that was a failing of the system as a whole, from the President on down to the New Orleans mayor and his team.
3. This is deplorable in the person who is responsible for governing us, but unfortunately, it's not grounds for impeachment. However, we need to learn from this and be sure to elect people who are competent and informed from this point onward, because although it's not an impeachable offense, it IS a definite problem.
4. Bush's team has been a huge disappointment, but again, this isn't actually a crime on his part, so he can't be impeached for it. But yes, Bush and his team continued to lie about Iraq through their teeth from day one. First of all, the idea that the Iraqis would just welcome the Americans with open arms and offer no resistance whatsoever is ludicrous. Believe it or not, not everyone in the world wants to be an American. Not all of them want to be governed in the same way we are. Not all them of them want to live our way of life. And can you blame them, with the picture of America that is presented by Bush? It was also a huge failing on their part not to heed any of the advice or warnings of true experts.
5. Further proof that Bush is an idiot, but no grounds for impeachment. This list seems to be mainly complaints about Bush rather than reasons for impeachment, although they are valid complaints.
6. It is debatable as to whether this is a valid offense for impeachment. When this went so far as to intrude upon habeus corpus, I think that it might be reasonable to consider this grounds for impeachment. What I can't believe is that even with all the criticism of the Patriot Act and all the the furthering of the NSA's abilities to spy on American citizens after that, the Bush administration CONTINUES to push for more and more power.
7. Again, while deplorable, this unfortunately isn't grounds for impeachment. It's very true, though, and very unfortunate. Of course, when you elect a president who makes money off oil, and who is a Republican to boot, what else can you expect?
8. Not grounds for impeachment, but this offense IS a huge problem for America. And Bush refuses to pull out of Iraq, making the economy worse by the day.
9. Dear God. It's so horrible he does that, but again, not an impeachable offense.
10. While this again isn't an impeachable offense, it is very unfortunate. I mean, we complain that the world doesn't like us (we make that complaint a lot about France, but I don't think many other countries are any more fond of us than France is), but then we have this President who not only paints a very bad picture of Americans, but he also continuously thumbs his nose at the rest of the world. Furthermore, many countries around the Middle East are terrified right now that they'll be next. What do you expect?
Okay, so on the list we actually have two possible reasons for impeachment. We could add that he has completely ignored various treaties that the U.S. has signed. We could also add that he WENT AGAINST THE UNITED NATIONS when they told him NOT to go to war. The reason he kept giving for going to war? That Iraq was disobeying the United Nations! Now, THAT has to make your blood boil. How about the continuous lying to Congress and the American people about several issues? Or permitting torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo?
Perhaps a better name for this list would have been 10 Reasons Bush Should Never Have Been Elected, as many of these offenses date back to before his second term, and a few back even before his first term as President. If people looked at the history of Presidential candidates a bit more closely, mistakes like this one wouldn't make their way into the White House. If Bush was a horrible governor, why would he suddenly perform better in a higher office? You promote people who do well, not the ones who totally suck at their job.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Westboro Baptist to Picket Funerals of Virginia Tech Shooting Victims
from godhatesamerica.com, WBC's homepage
"Why did this happen, you ask? It's simple. Your military chose to shoot at the servants of God today, and all they got for their effort was terror. Then, the LORD your God sent a crazed madman to shoot at your children."
Read More | Digg Story
*******************************************************
These people are completely sick. When I first heard about them, on Louis Theroux's BBC special, I was absolutely apalled and enraged at what they were doing, and my opinion of them has just gone downhill from there every time I've heard about them. I mean, they're entitled to their religious beliefs just like everyone else. I understand that, and I don't begrudge them their right to religious freedom, even though I disagree with their hateful message. I don't agree with them, but everyone in America has the right to free speech and the freedom to think for themselves.
However, the funeral thing just goes too far. It's horrible enough that they demonstrate at the funerals of soldiers who've died in Iraq. I mean, imagine that you're a mother trying to bury her 18-year-old child. Hard enough. Then imagine that while you're trying to do that, you have these hateful people with their vulgar messages trying to demonstrate at the funeral. That's horrible. I mean, what right do they have to intrude upon that woman's grief? She didn't do anything wrong, and really, her child didn't either. I don't agree with the war in Iraq, but it's not the soldiers' fault, it's the fault of the politicians who sent the soldiers over there in the first place. Why don't they go demonstrate outside the White House like every other group of demonstrators? No, they have to go make these families' lives just that much more of a living hell. It's sickening.
It seems even worse to me for them to be doing this at the funerals of the victims of the recent Virginia Tech shooting. It's not that it's more sad that these students and faculty members died, but I would think that it would have to be just as difficult, if not more so, for their families. When your child is sent off to war in Iraq, their death is a possibility, and you are well aware of that fact. You know that there's the chance that they'll be coming home in a body bag. These families had no warning. They had no idea that this could ever happen to their child, who was only off at college, minding their own business. I can't believe they would think to use these funerals, intruding upon these families' time of mourning, just to get attention from the media to push their agenda.
"Why did this happen, you ask? It's simple. Your military chose to shoot at the servants of God today, and all they got for their effort was terror. Then, the LORD your God sent a crazed madman to shoot at your children."
Read More | Digg Story
*******************************************************
These people are completely sick. When I first heard about them, on Louis Theroux's BBC special, I was absolutely apalled and enraged at what they were doing, and my opinion of them has just gone downhill from there every time I've heard about them. I mean, they're entitled to their religious beliefs just like everyone else. I understand that, and I don't begrudge them their right to religious freedom, even though I disagree with their hateful message. I don't agree with them, but everyone in America has the right to free speech and the freedom to think for themselves.
However, the funeral thing just goes too far. It's horrible enough that they demonstrate at the funerals of soldiers who've died in Iraq. I mean, imagine that you're a mother trying to bury her 18-year-old child. Hard enough. Then imagine that while you're trying to do that, you have these hateful people with their vulgar messages trying to demonstrate at the funeral. That's horrible. I mean, what right do they have to intrude upon that woman's grief? She didn't do anything wrong, and really, her child didn't either. I don't agree with the war in Iraq, but it's not the soldiers' fault, it's the fault of the politicians who sent the soldiers over there in the first place. Why don't they go demonstrate outside the White House like every other group of demonstrators? No, they have to go make these families' lives just that much more of a living hell. It's sickening.
It seems even worse to me for them to be doing this at the funerals of the victims of the recent Virginia Tech shooting. It's not that it's more sad that these students and faculty members died, but I would think that it would have to be just as difficult, if not more so, for their families. When your child is sent off to war in Iraq, their death is a possibility, and you are well aware of that fact. You know that there's the chance that they'll be coming home in a body bag. These families had no warning. They had no idea that this could ever happen to their child, who was only off at college, minding their own business. I can't believe they would think to use these funerals, intruding upon these families' time of mourning, just to get attention from the media to push their agenda.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Girl, 14, Nabbed In Student Bus Beating
From The New York Post
"A 14-year-old girl was busted yesterday in the beating of a high-school student by a pack of kids who taunted her for being "Chinese" as she rode a city bus to her Brooklyn home, police sources said."
Read More | Digg Story
*******************************************************
This is horrible. I can't believe that a girl got jumped on the school bus for being
Filipino. And it's all well and good that they're finding the students who jumped her, but what I want to know is: What are they doing about the bus driver? The adult who was there didn't lift a finger to stop the students from beating this girl up because of her race, and then when the girl left the bus, had the nerve to tell her to go to a priest. As if she'd done something wrong by being born into her ethnicity. My god. That woman's the one they need to be pressing charges on, more than the other students, anyway. It's so sad that even in 2007, there are still hate crimes being committed.
"A 14-year-old girl was busted yesterday in the beating of a high-school student by a pack of kids who taunted her for being "Chinese" as she rode a city bus to her Brooklyn home, police sources said."
Read More | Digg Story
*******************************************************
This is horrible. I can't believe that a girl got jumped on the school bus for being
Filipino. And it's all well and good that they're finding the students who jumped her, but what I want to know is: What are they doing about the bus driver? The adult who was there didn't lift a finger to stop the students from beating this girl up because of her race, and then when the girl left the bus, had the nerve to tell her to go to a priest. As if she'd done something wrong by being born into her ethnicity. My god. That woman's the one they need to be pressing charges on, more than the other students, anyway. It's so sad that even in 2007, there are still hate crimes being committed.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Get The Kiddie-Cuffs, or Police State Pedagogy
From The Pro Libertate Blog
“Do you think this is the first 6-year-old we've arrested?”
This comment by Avon Park, Florida Police Chief Frank Mercurio to New York Times columnist Bob Herbert easily qualifies as the pull-quote of the day, perhaps of the month. Chief Mercurio was justifying the arrest -- complete with handcuffing, fingerprinting, and a mug-shot – of Desre'e Watson, who was eventually charged with a felony (as well as a few misdemeanors) after disturbing her kindergarten class.
Read More | Digg It
*******************************************************
Hm. So they arrested a six-year-old and charged her with a felony for "yelling, screaming - just being uncontrollable. Defiant." No six-year-old is safe. Do you know why? BECAUSE THEY ALL DO THAT! My god! You're going to charge a kindergartener with a felony for yelling in class? Yes, she should not be throwing temper tantrums in class. So send her to the principal's office. Send a note home or give Mommy a phone call. You alert the parents when a six-year-old is acting up, not the police.
Then we move onto the case of Chelsea Fraser. Okay. You know what you do when you catch a thirteen-year-old girl writing on her desk? You give her detention and make her clean all the desks during that detention. That's all you have to do. There's no need to call the police, there's no need to press charges over two letters written on a freaking desk. She wasn't writing obscenities. She wasn't drawing crude pictures of genitals. She wasn't stashing a gun in the desk. She wrote "OK". Oh my god, call the cops. We have two letters written on a desk. And just for the record, handcuffing a child to a pole for three hours does not constitute an acceptable substitute for detention.
And finally we get to Gerard Mungo, Jr., which is, in my opinion, the worst of the three. The little boy is on his dirt bike, on the sidewalk, but the motor is turned off. That means he's not breaking the law, which states that you can't OPERATE a dirt bike on the sidewalk. That is not justification for a police officer to arrest him at all, much less grab him by the throat and lift him off the ground, choking him. A seven-year-old little boy! My god! And then you leave him handcuffed to a bench. For two hours. Great. These cops are just doing wonders for this first-grader's emotional health, aren't they? Jackasses. And then it gets worse. What the police did then in the Mungo drama is just horrible and sickening, but the point I wanted to address here was the one with the children, and the rest of that story involves that boy's mother (as if she wasn't in bad enough shape as it was, with the treatment her little boy received). I do encourage you guys to read it, though.
Since when is this all right? Why is it all of a sudden acceptable for the police to grab a seven-year-old little boy by the throat and lift him up off the ground, choking him? I don't care what he did. And wouldn't it count as child abuse to fasten a child to a pole and then leave her there for three hours? And what kind of a country do we live in when teachers are calling the police offices as a way to discipline their students? It's one thing when you have children who are threatening your and the other students' safety, but if that's not an issue, then don't have a child from your class arrested. Good god. And... is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that all three of these children are minorities? I wonder a white child has ever been arrested for the same things? I doubt it. I really hate that this stuff has happened, and I hate even more the fact that it wasn't front-page, national news. This should have been alarming. People should have been enraged. People should have called for the officers to resign. People should care about this sort of thing.
“Do you think this is the first 6-year-old we've arrested?”
This comment by Avon Park, Florida Police Chief Frank Mercurio to New York Times columnist Bob Herbert easily qualifies as the pull-quote of the day, perhaps of the month. Chief Mercurio was justifying the arrest -- complete with handcuffing, fingerprinting, and a mug-shot – of Desre'e Watson, who was eventually charged with a felony (as well as a few misdemeanors) after disturbing her kindergarten class.
Read More | Digg It
*******************************************************
Hm. So they arrested a six-year-old and charged her with a felony for "yelling, screaming - just being uncontrollable. Defiant." No six-year-old is safe. Do you know why? BECAUSE THEY ALL DO THAT! My god! You're going to charge a kindergartener with a felony for yelling in class? Yes, she should not be throwing temper tantrums in class. So send her to the principal's office. Send a note home or give Mommy a phone call. You alert the parents when a six-year-old is acting up, not the police.
Then we move onto the case of Chelsea Fraser. Okay. You know what you do when you catch a thirteen-year-old girl writing on her desk? You give her detention and make her clean all the desks during that detention. That's all you have to do. There's no need to call the police, there's no need to press charges over two letters written on a freaking desk. She wasn't writing obscenities. She wasn't drawing crude pictures of genitals. She wasn't stashing a gun in the desk. She wrote "OK". Oh my god, call the cops. We have two letters written on a desk. And just for the record, handcuffing a child to a pole for three hours does not constitute an acceptable substitute for detention.
And finally we get to Gerard Mungo, Jr., which is, in my opinion, the worst of the three. The little boy is on his dirt bike, on the sidewalk, but the motor is turned off. That means he's not breaking the law, which states that you can't OPERATE a dirt bike on the sidewalk. That is not justification for a police officer to arrest him at all, much less grab him by the throat and lift him off the ground, choking him. A seven-year-old little boy! My god! And then you leave him handcuffed to a bench. For two hours. Great. These cops are just doing wonders for this first-grader's emotional health, aren't they? Jackasses. And then it gets worse. What the police did then in the Mungo drama is just horrible and sickening, but the point I wanted to address here was the one with the children, and the rest of that story involves that boy's mother (as if she wasn't in bad enough shape as it was, with the treatment her little boy received). I do encourage you guys to read it, though.
Since when is this all right? Why is it all of a sudden acceptable for the police to grab a seven-year-old little boy by the throat and lift him up off the ground, choking him? I don't care what he did. And wouldn't it count as child abuse to fasten a child to a pole and then leave her there for three hours? And what kind of a country do we live in when teachers are calling the police offices as a way to discipline their students? It's one thing when you have children who are threatening your and the other students' safety, but if that's not an issue, then don't have a child from your class arrested. Good god. And... is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that all three of these children are minorities? I wonder a white child has ever been arrested for the same things? I doubt it. I really hate that this stuff has happened, and I hate even more the fact that it wasn't front-page, national news. This should have been alarming. People should have been enraged. People should have called for the officers to resign. People should care about this sort of thing.
Friday, April 13, 2007
"I am Plotting a New Russian Revolution"
From The Guardian
"The Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky has told the Guardian he is plotting the violent overthrow of President Putin from his base in Britain after forging close contacts with members of Russia's ruling elite.
In comments which appear calculated to enrage the Kremlin, and which will further inflame relations between London and Moscow, the multimillionaire claimed he was already bankrolling people close to the president who are conspiring to mount a palace coup."
read more | digg it
*******************************************************
Okay, first off, I don't think it's the most intelligent thing on earth to announce to the world that you're preparing to mount a palace coup. Unless what he's trying to do is to introduce McCarthyism-like paranoia into the Russian government by making a completely false claim about paying off members of the Russian political elite. It also might be worth mentioning Russia's habit of dealing harshly with people who push them. This could be rather hazardous for Berezovsky's health.
I don't know, I agree that Putin is a power-hungry man who has more power than the President should and only cares about himself. However, Berezovsky is also a power-hungry, money-hungry idiot who only cares about himself. I don't really see where one is really any different from the other, except that one of them WAS elected to office through democratic means. Yes, I think the Russian President currently has too much power. But did he get that power through illegal means, or is the Russian public voting to amend the law to legally give him more power than he's supposed to have? Berezovsky complains that there is no democratic way to change the regime. Guess what? The regime is in place using democratic means. And I don't think that a mafioso at the head of the Russian government would be any better. (Not that Putin isn't/wasn't, but removing one and replacing it with another just seems kind of pointless.) In my opinion, whether the political power rests with a single corrupt individual or in the hands of a small handful of corrupt business tycoons, the government is in bad shape.
Of course, Berezovsky's pretty much uniformly hated in Russia, and Putin's approval ratings have stayed in the 70-85% range. I don't think he'd have much luck in converting people to his cause in the first place. As of last month, Putin had an approval rating of 81%. Can you imagine 81% of the country supporting the elected leader? And I doubt we'd ever dream of joining a revolution to remove an elected official by force, even with our current opinion of the Bush regime.
Anyway. I give Berezovsky a week to live. Idiot.
"The Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky has told the Guardian he is plotting the violent overthrow of President Putin from his base in Britain after forging close contacts with members of Russia's ruling elite.
In comments which appear calculated to enrage the Kremlin, and which will further inflame relations between London and Moscow, the multimillionaire claimed he was already bankrolling people close to the president who are conspiring to mount a palace coup."
read more | digg it
*******************************************************
Okay, first off, I don't think it's the most intelligent thing on earth to announce to the world that you're preparing to mount a palace coup. Unless what he's trying to do is to introduce McCarthyism-like paranoia into the Russian government by making a completely false claim about paying off members of the Russian political elite. It also might be worth mentioning Russia's habit of dealing harshly with people who push them. This could be rather hazardous for Berezovsky's health.
I don't know, I agree that Putin is a power-hungry man who has more power than the President should and only cares about himself. However, Berezovsky is also a power-hungry, money-hungry idiot who only cares about himself. I don't really see where one is really any different from the other, except that one of them WAS elected to office through democratic means. Yes, I think the Russian President currently has too much power. But did he get that power through illegal means, or is the Russian public voting to amend the law to legally give him more power than he's supposed to have? Berezovsky complains that there is no democratic way to change the regime. Guess what? The regime is in place using democratic means. And I don't think that a mafioso at the head of the Russian government would be any better. (Not that Putin isn't/wasn't, but removing one and replacing it with another just seems kind of pointless.) In my opinion, whether the political power rests with a single corrupt individual or in the hands of a small handful of corrupt business tycoons, the government is in bad shape.
Of course, Berezovsky's pretty much uniformly hated in Russia, and Putin's approval ratings have stayed in the 70-85% range. I don't think he'd have much luck in converting people to his cause in the first place. As of last month, Putin had an approval rating of 81%. Can you imagine 81% of the country supporting the elected leader? And I doubt we'd ever dream of joining a revolution to remove an elected official by force, even with our current opinion of the Bush regime.
Anyway. I give Berezovsky a week to live. Idiot.
What the @#%! is Brazenness?
bra-zen-ness [brey-zuhn-ness]
noun.
1.
shamelessness or impudence: brazen presumption.
2.
boldness.
3.
brazen out or through, to face boldly or shamelessly: He prefers to brazen it out rather than admit defeat.
Related forms:
bra-zen, adjective
bra-zen-ly, adverb
—Synonyms: insolent, defiant. See bold.
Brazenness is a new blog by tree.hugger.chick, in which I will write my opinions on various topics I find in the news; I have to warn you, most of these will be political, since other articles I'm interested in commenting on will probably be on another blog that I contribute to. I'd like to ask that everyone who reads comments with their thoughts. As long as they agree with me, anyway.
If you like this blog, and even if you don't, I'd like to encourage you to visit another blog that I contribute to, The Opinionated Nation. The Opinionated Nation blog is very similar to this one, with one major difference: there are two writers, The Randomized Guy and myself. Also, it doesn't have the same focus on politics that most of the articles I look at on here will probably have. It's great. It's fabulous. Go visit it.
noun.
1.
shamelessness or impudence: brazen presumption.
2.
boldness.
3.
brazen out or through, to face boldly or shamelessly: He prefers to brazen it out rather than admit defeat.
Related forms:
bra-zen, adjective
bra-zen-ly, adverb
—Synonyms: insolent, defiant. See bold.
Brazenness is a new blog by tree.hugger.chick, in which I will write my opinions on various topics I find in the news; I have to warn you, most of these will be political, since other articles I'm interested in commenting on will probably be on another blog that I contribute to. I'd like to ask that everyone who reads comments with their thoughts. As long as they agree with me, anyway.
If you like this blog, and even if you don't, I'd like to encourage you to visit another blog that I contribute to, The Opinionated Nation. The Opinionated Nation blog is very similar to this one, with one major difference: there are two writers, The Randomized Guy and myself. Also, it doesn't have the same focus on politics that most of the articles I look at on here will probably have. It's great. It's fabulous. Go visit it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
