Category Archives: Politics

Attention Washington

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I don’t give a flying [insert word] whose idea the debt ceiling plan is. In fact, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell had better not get too close to me because I will dopeslap both of them. (I would anyway if I came into contact with either, but those two are being especially stupid right now.) Pretend you like each other and come up with a plan. Mark my words: if a plan isn’t reached and we default, THE ENTIRE HOUSE and 1/3 of the Senate will be out of a job in 2012.

Why is it so freaking impossible for y’all to actually, like, WORK together?

7 Quick Takes: Admissions That Will Make Me Lose Readers

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7 Quick Takes

I’ve been pondering the idea of doing this for awhile. Here are seven admissions that will probably cause me to lose readers. None of these are open to debate — they’re things that are part of me or decisions I’ve made after careful consideration and consultation with professionals.

–1–

I take birth control pills. I can see the Catholic readers from Jen’s site fleeing as well as some of my readers who are staunchly anti-contraception. Before people start lecturing me on the state of my soul, I should probably explain a few things. Firstly, I mainly take them because my PMS is so severe that it can land me in bed during that week. After Daniel’s birth, I also started having hot flashes and dizzy spells. The pills moderate out my hormones so that I can be functional. Secondly, me pregnant is *NOT* a good thing. I would be on bed rest for 9 months and that’s not a viable option at the moment with Daniel needing so much of my time and care. I’m married to someone who works insane hours so I’m pretty much it as far as the person who can take care of him, arrange his therapies, and verbally abuse argue with insurance/SSA/Medicaid. Lastly, having a huge family is not a good choice for me with the fibromyalgia — the fatigue and pain make keeping up with Daniel hard enough. I know the risks of being on the Pill and with my (thoroughly Catholic) doctor’s help in Montana, we found one that had the fewest side effects for me. I also go in for my exams like clockwork so I’m at least being monitored.

–2–

I would rather pull my fingernails AND toenails out with pliers than vote for any current Republican candidate. The idea of Sarah Palin as president makes me want to repatriate myself to another country… like maybe Afghanistan. Michelle Bachmann is just as scary. None of the others are any better and because I live in California, I live in fear of almost putting the state up on eBay (Meg Whitman) or selling it to HP (Carly Fiorina). The only positive for the loser who represents my district in Congress (Dan Lungren) is that he’s put forth a bill to make it a felony to shine a laser at a plane.

–3–

I honestly want to vomit or throw something at the TV whenever John Boehner or Mitch McConnell (especially him) come on. Maybe it’s just me but I think that it’s positively ludicrous to have two white men who are independently wealthy and will have fat government pensions upon leaving Congress decide my healthcare needs and how important Medicare/Social Security are. I’m seriously praying that Obama wins in 2012 because it’s the only shot I feel like I have to get adequate medical coverage when companies stop being able to discriminate in 2014. I also have a kid who receives SSI and Medicaid and without those, we’d be up a creek without a paddle. All those therapies cost money and we couldn’t afford them if we didn’t have government help. I also just feel like Boehner and McConnell don’t give a rat’s butt about the people that actually *NEED* the services they want to cut and are just playing partisan games.

–4–

I hate summer. Where I live, it can be in the 90-100 degrees F range easily and I just don’t want to go outside when it’s that hot. Additionally, I’m fair-skinned and I burn if I even think about the sun. I’d be better suited to the Pacific Northwest than the part of northern California where I live. Unfortunately, this weather can stretch into October so I have at least another three months of hell before things hit a reasonable temperature.

–5–

I think that Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose-Driven Live is a piece of pop culture crap. Many people swear by it. I’d prefer to swear at it. It’s pop culture drivel like Joel Osteen and it does positively nothing for my faith. I tried reading it and had to stop at Day 32, by which point my copy was beaten to a pulp from me throwing it across the room multiple times a day.

–6–

I can’t stand the sound of kids crying or whining in church. This makes it doubly hard with Daniel because he’s at an age where he isn’t going to sit still and he wants to pick up everything, shred papers, and crawl down the aisle. I simply can’t keep up with him most of the time and I feel like people who tell me that they don’t mind the screaming are lying to make me feel better. Thus, I’m not making it to church much these days. (I’ve also had personal illness, family emergencies, and other things preventing me.) I’m going to talk to my church ladies this Wednesday to find a solution for this.

–7–

I have no desire to see the Harry Potter movies. I’ve read all seven books multiple times and seen the first three movies. It bugs me when the movie doesn’t follow the plot of the book which made movie #3 an annoyance to me.

(For more quick takes, go see Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.)

7 Quick Takes Friday — Seven People/Groups/Organizations That Are Incurring My Wrath

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7 Quick Takes

–1–

Social Security Administration: Get off your butts and process my son’s case. You’ve had the information for a month and a half already!!! If you’ve lost the paperwork, let me know so I can at least get copies to replace stuff.

–2–

Medi-Cal: Get off your butts and process my son’s case. I know you’ve had budget cuts and have sooooo many cases blah blah blah. Again, you’ve had the paperwork for a good long time. Get off your butts and do something!!!

–3–

People who park at the library on flea market days: I’ve mentioned this one before. It’s still pissing me off. The sign is in English and Spanish. I know you can read at least ONE of those languages. PARK ELSEWHERE. You’re preventing people from accessing the library because you’re clogging the parking lot and the access road to the book drop.

–4–

Congresscritters trying to gut Medicare: Is it just me or does anyone else find it “amusing” that the ones trying to get Medicare cut apart are the ones who HAVE government pensions (and huge salaries) and aren’t going to be screwed in their old age by lack of access to affordable medical care? Yeah, I thought so.

–5–

People who cut into congested traffic without using their turn signals: Seriously, this is dangerous. I can’t read your mind and suddenly careening in front of me is not the best idea, especially at 70 mph. (The speed limit may be 65 mph but the flow of traffic is at 70.) Be thankful that I’m alert and not one of the people jawing away on their cell phones (HOLDING THEM) while they drive. Otherwise, things would really suck.

–6–

People who park their *MASSIVE* SUV’s in “compact” parking spaces: You must be blind because there is no other compelling reason for thinking that you can fit your Suburban in that parking space. Then again, they granted you a driver’s license so you must be able to see and read the word in that parking space — you know… “COMPACT”. You also must think I’m made of paper and can squeeze in there to get into the car or that I *LOVE* getting into the car through the passenger side. Guess what… I don’t! Park your gas guzzler elsewhere please.

–7–

Sarah Palin: Ahem… could you stop grandstanding and claiming that you’re “not running for President” when in fact, you’re trying to drum up popular support for a run by your “tour of American sites”. I wish the media would stop trying to chase you and focus on something else more constructive. You’re a freaking moron and God help us if the Republican party picks you as their candidate in 2012. And really… since when is Trump’s condo an “American site”?

(For more of this, head to Conversion Diary.)

Reflections on Atheism (VII)

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I reading my Twitter feed a few days ago and saw some tweets from Jen McCreight of BlagHag who was frothing at the mouth with anger. Why pray tell? (No pun intended. Seriously.) A student at a Louisiana high school had protested against a school-sponsored prayer being offered at graduation and was receiving death threats. (Hemant Mehta of Friendly Atheist has a timeline of the events.) His parents have disowned him and he has moved to be with his brother in Texas.

Oh boy…

As I’m all about providing fair and balanced commentary on this blog, let’s look at both sides of the coin.

HEADS!
As irritating as it might be for Damon Fowler to have to sit through a prayer to a deity in which he doesn’t believe, his classmates’ wishes for their graduation ceremony got ignored because one person felt their rights were violated. It sounds like those students who planned the graduation and chose the speakers *WANTED* this prayer to be part of it and the majority of their classmates agreed. It’s unfair that the desires of many got ignored to appease one person and I understand people being upset over it.

TAILS!
This is a *PUBLIC* school and having a prayer at graduation is a violation of Lousiana state law and a violation of the First Amendment. Yes, this is the Bible Belt and yes, the vast majority of people are Christian but it’s a public ceremony and Damon should not have had to participate in something that violated his right to freedom of religion.

My Take
Neither side is in the right here. Damon should not have reacted as he did but… he also didn’t deserve to receive death threats, his family disowning him, one of the teachers from the school making some really nasty comments about him and how he “hasn’t contributed anything to graduation or to [his] classmates”, or any of the bad things that have happened to him. It is really tragic that these things had to happen.

Update and a Compromise
Hemant put up a ChipIn widget on his blog to create a scholarship for Damon and as I’m blogging this, people have donated $6,657 toward Damon’s education. Duuuuuude… The Freedom From Religion Foundation has also given him a $1000 scholarship. In other words, people are making sure he’s being taken care of during all of this. His sister and older brother have gotten (or are getting him) to Texas to live with his older brother.

OK… so here’s the compromise that could theoretically have happened if all parties had reacted rationally and not emotionally: the prayer could have been replaced with an invocation that was some other creative form like a poem, a song, or even a reading from a famous speech. For example, the San Jose City Council has an invocation before every meeting and I’ve never seen it actually be a prayer given by a clergy person. Then again, this is northern California and hardly a stop on the Bible Belt so people would probably not tolerate a prayer being given. (I live in a rural community here so it could theoretically happen.) Another alternative would be to have a baccalaureate service separate from the graduation where the student giving the prayer was invited to participate in the service.

As I said before, it is tragic that things had to turn out this way.

7 Quick Takes Friday — Positives If Apocalypse Happens Tomorrow

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7 Quick Takes

According to Harold Camping at Family Radio, the world is ending tomorrow. With my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, here are the positives of the apocalypse if it does indeed happen tomorrow.

–1–

No campaigning for the Republican ticket in 2012. The election isn’t until next November. I don’t give a rat’s butt about who is running and who isn’t. And seriously, I don’t think the Republican Party can put forth a candidate that I’ll actually *like*.

–2–

No more “Real Housewives of ______”. The mere teasers for the shows make me turn off the TV and run screaming. I’m looking forward to less botox, less hair-pulling, and less DRAMA in heaven.

–3–

Getting to see my deceased loved ones again. I am missing my grandfather (who is in the picture in the frame holding my hand when I was five years old) a lot and the Rapture would mean that I’d get to see him. There are some other people I’d be excited to see as well.

–4–

No more fibromyalgia pain. I’m not going to lie — Revelation 22 describing no more pain and suffering is really tempting when random parts of your body start hurting at bizarre times.

–5–

No more church politics. I’m getting kind of sick of churches splitting left and right and hearing how ________ aren’t Christians or how ________ are deluded. C’mon people! We love Jesus. Let’s focus on that!

–6–

No more Fox News and Bill O’Reilly and all the talking heads. Enough said.

–7–

It’s giving Christians a chance to laugh at ourselves and joke about things. I can’t think of anyone in my Christian circle of friends who believes that the world is going to end tomorrow. However, it doesn’t mean that we’re not enjoying the opportunity to laugh at ourselves a bit while feeling embarrassed about being associated with the Family Radio crowd. It was actually one of my pastor friends who alerted me to the post-Rapture looting plans on Facebook. 🙂

(For more of this, head to Conversion Diary.)

On Osama bin Laden’s Death (III)

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CNN.Com: Obama won’t release photos

I saw in the news story that 56% of the people in the CNN Opinion poll want the death photos released.

Ummm… no.

(By the way, the death photo that was on the cover of newspapers around the world is a fake.)

There is the question of what the release of the death photos would solve. The answer: nothing really at all. The U.S. has already identified him in a number of ways (DNA, biometrics, etc.) and the photos were taken for the purpose of proving all this to those who are in control (i.e. the President, Secretary of State, military officials). Releasing them isn’t going to bring back any one of the 9/11 victims, those killed in the bombings of the embassies, those killed the bombing of the barracks in Saudi Arabia, or any of the thousands whose blood is on the hands of bin Laden and his Al Qaeda operatives.

Conspiracy theorists aren’t going to believe them and would probably demand to see his body (which is at the bottom of the Arabian Sea) and releasing them would only serve to fan the flames of the anger of the jihadists who believe that America is the Great Satan. Do we really want to do this?

An added reason: the pictures of bin Laden are apparently pretty gruesome and not fit for publication in a newspaper. If the photos were released, who’s to say that someone wouldn’t plaster them on the front page of a paper?

I believe that we need to let this go. Osama is dead. He isn’t coming back and God willing, the documents and computers recovered at his compound are going to help the authorities stop Al Qaeda from doing anything else dastardly in the world.

On Osama bin Laden’s Death (II)

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Now that I’m slightly more rested…

One thing for which I’m grateful is that I have friends who help me keep perspective. Last night, I saw all the rejoicing and everything in New York and elsewhere and all I could feel was “ummm… someone just died.” I’m not in any way begrudging New Yorkers their right to rejoice and be happy because the 9/11 were a horrific event in their city from which many still bear physical, mental, and emotional scars. However, OBL was a human being, someone’s child, and someone’s friend — I cannot divorce those aspects of his life from the embodiment of evil that he became.

A passage that people shared today:

Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? — Ezekiel 18:23

I read a piece about the response to his death in Saudi Arabia. One person who knew him and fought alongside him in Afghanistan against the Soviets talked about his sadness at losing his friend and also sadness at the person he became. (I’m trying to find the link and am failing.)

One thing that has been particularly interesting to me today is that they made the decision to bury him at sea so that they could be in accordance with the Islamic custom of burial within 24 hours. (CNN.Com has a pretty decent collection of opinions on this.) There were several reasons for this:

1.) No country wanted him. I don’t know if this was one of those things where they asked around ahead of time as a contingency plan but they didn’t have a spot on land to put him at the time he was killed. Usually, the rule is that you’re buried with your head facing Mecca.

2.) There was the risk of his grave being desecrated. This guy was responsible for the deaths of THOUSANDS of people and it’s fair to assert that there would have been someone who would have done something to his grave or his body if he had been buried on land. Even if the U.S. had buried him secretly in an out-of-the-way place, someone would eventually find him.

3.) There was the risk of his grave being made into a martyr’s shrine. Even though he had lost a great deal of popularity in the Muslim world, there are still the diehard followers who view his death as a martyrdom rather than an assassination. The last thing we (or Pakistan or Afghanistan or any country) need is for his grave to become a rallying place.

The way they actually carried out the burial was also very carefully done. His body was washed, wrapped in a white sheet, remarks were read in Arabic, and he was gently tipped off a board into the water. That it was done on a ship was also very intentional — there had been false reports that he was tossed out of a helicopter which would have been a disrespectful way to do it. I’m thankful that our government and its armed forces *DID* make the effort to give him a respectful burial for no other reason than it shows that he did deserve to be treated with dignity in the end.