Mon221B

Wow, everyone on FB seems intent on raising my blood pressure tonight. Someone posted that 2007 photo of President Obama where he doesn't have his hand over his heart during the National Anthem, and a person I have known previously as gentle and kind called him a pig. Someone else called Spike Lee a terrorist for tweeting the (incorrect) George Zimmerman address and insinuated that the President speaking out about Trevon Martin is "supporting terrorism." Someone else posted a picture of President Obama with...I don't even remember except there was a tall stack of Legos involved and he was supposed to be saying that he was going to take half of them and give them to kids who had been napping all afternoon.

I just closed that tab and have intentions of staying away until I can bear it again.

From dailykos, via piratesorka

The Teabagger Socialist-Free Purity Pledge

Daily Kos readers are awesome and send awesome emails:

I, ________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:

I will complain about the destruction of 1st Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Rights.

I will complain about the destruction of my 2nd Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights by legally by brazenly brandishing unconcealed firearms in public.

I will foreswear the time-honored principles of fairness, decency, and respect by screaming unintelligible platitudes regarding tyranny, Nazi-ism, and socialism at public town halls. Also.

I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:

Social Security

Medicare/Medicaid

State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)

Police, Fire, and Emergency Services

US Postal Service

Roads and Highways

Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)

The US Railway System

Public Subways and Metro Systems

Public Bus and Lightrail Systems

Rest Areas on Highways

Sidewalks

All Government-Funded Local/State Projects (e.g., see Iowa 2009 federal senate appropriations)

Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)

Public and State Universities and Colleges

Public Primary and Secondary Schools

Sesame Street

Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children

Public Museums

Libraries

Public Parks and Beaches

State and National Parks

Public Zoos

Unemployment Insurance

Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services

Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them)

Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them)

Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)

Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD's ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking

Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies

Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies.

If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forego my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care

I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of socialist locations, including but not limited to:

Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History

The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments

The government-operated Statue of Liberty

The Grand Canyon

The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials

The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery

All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC.

I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their government salary and government-provided healthcare.

I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore socialist military of the United States of America.

I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for our socialist army.

I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice and their socialist employees.

Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist Social Security checks.

Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own private health insurance until I die.

SWORN ON A BIBLE AND SIGNED THIS DAY OF __________ IN THE YEAR ___.

_____________ _________________________

Signed Printed Name/Town and State

I finally found exactly the Obama bumper sticker I wanted. :D



Now I just need an Obama icon I love. For now, this one will do. :D

Pee ess, I've been offline all weekend due to work/homework. (Hooray for fall break and no homework this week!) Did I miss anything earth-shaking while I was gone? Ooh, maybe I'll actually get to write up the Misha Collins interview this week.

Randomly, Hannah is re-reading "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret", and it's making me snarfle.

I am not really sure what I think about Bristol Palin, except that I really love her first name.  I think it's classy of everyone (including John McCain) to insist that Sarah Palin's daughter's pregnancy doesn't say anything about her ability to run a country. I am kind of struggling, though, with the idea that politicians' family lives aren't any of our business. I kind of feel like, if they get to make judgements and decisions and laws about MY family life - who I get to marry, what I get to do with my uterus, what my children are or aren't allowed to see or hear - then I should damn well be allowed to make judgements about theirs.  In my opinion, a politician's family life will stop being relevant when said politician takes his or her hands out of our families.

--dontyouwaitup, QWP

August 26, 2008 is the 88th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, granting women the right to vote.

"It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union."

-Susan B. Anthony

"That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?"

-Sojourner Truth

"I am strong
I am invincible
I am woman."

-Helen Reddy

"Those pilgrim women who ...
Who braved the boat
Could cook the turkey, but they ...
They could not vote.
Even Betsy Ross who sewed the flag was left behind that first election day.

(What a shame, Sisters!)

Then Susan B. Anthony (Yeah!) and Julia Howe,
(Lucretia!) Lucretia Mott, (and others!) they showed us how;
They carried signs and marched in lines
Until at long last the law was passed.

Oh, we were suffering until suffrage,
Not a woman here could vote, no matter what age,
Then the 19th Amendment struck down that restrictive rule. (Oh yeah!)"

-Schoolhouse Rock!

I'm home, whoot! Had a great time, but oh my GOD, I'm glad to be back. More about the work conference/vacation later. I missed you guys! I'm still pissed at the hotel for charging $10 a DAY for internet access, which basically meant no net for me for the past six days. I did sneak onto the guest computer in the lobby a couple of times to see if anything drastic showed up in email (and to sign into the internet class), but I have NO clue what's going on in the world beyond that.

Please, please, PLEASE, someone summarize anything important that happened while I was gone. LJ, news, fandom, entertainment, ANYTHING. I feel so out of the loop. *puppydog eyes*

I did hear this morning that Obama picked Joe Biden as his running mate. Obviously, I'm disappointed it's not Clinton, but to be honest, it's not surprising. There's some apalling (and undeserved) hatred for Hillary in this country, and from a strictly political point of view, she could've been a detriment to the Democratic ticket. Plus, Biden has the experience to balance out Obama's relative inexperience. On a purely personal note, Joe Biden lectured during a government class of mine back at USC about 20 years ago, and he impressed me a lot. So, I'm trying to move on from the disappointments of the Democratic race (Edwards dropping out, Hillary conceding defeat, Edwards' indescretions and the infuriating media frenzy over what should've been between Edwards and Elizabeth) and get excited about the Obama/Biden ticket.

Speaking of being excited, I can't even explain how happy I am to be taking classes again and working towards teacher licensure. That may change as the semester goes on, but for now, WHEEE, I'm a student again. :D Taking classes online is a whole new world, y'all; it's gonna take some getting used to. I've also gotta get my hands on a copy of Word, because assignments have to be Word docs. The copy on my laptop is the trial version, plus it's the 2007 version, which seems unnecessarily complicated. Anyone know where I can get a *cough*free*cough* copy of Word 2003?

I dunno what's going on with me; all of a sudden I'm wanting to spruce things up -- the house, my blogs, myself. I swear, it's like I'm nesting (first person who asks if I'm pregnant gets whacked over the head with a dead fish).

Anyway, I'm gonna dive into the flist and see how far back I can get. Later, classwork! Bwee!

Edit: Has anyone procured the SPN season 3 DVDs yet?

Edit II: What's this I hear about SGA getting cancelled?!

Edit III: Did I mention how grateful I am to my job for the mostly-free beach vacation? No? OMG SO GRATEFUL. What job pays for you and your family to go to the beach, and then only expects you to go to interesting workshops in return? THIS IS SUCH AN AWESOME JOB.

Former US Senator Jesse Helms has died at 86.

Helms was known as "Senator No" for his staunch opposition to an array of liberal causes, including affirmative action, funding for the arts, gay rights, and a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

And that's all I have to say about that.

I want to apologize to anyone I offended with my politics-fueled tantrum on Tuesday. It wasn't directed towards 99 percent of my flist, and I would've been much better off directing it just to the few I meant to snark at.

For the record, I will certainly vote for Barack Obama. The fact that I'm a lifelong Yellow Dog Democrat doesn't actually have much to do with it -- I do, by and large, agree with Obama's positions on most things, so I will not hesitate to vote for him. What set me off was not people celebrating that their preferred candidate effectively secured the nomination; it was people who felt the need to denigrate and belittle not just Clinton, but Clinton supporters as well, as a part of the celebrating. Some of the outright misogyny I saw (not just at Clinton, remember, but at me, as a Clinton supporter) was pretty horrifying. And last time I checked, we were all on the same side, here. To suddenly have the feeling that my side is not my side anymore is a deeply disturbing thing.

Also for the record, I'm not wild about how the campaigns have been conducted, and I thought Clinton should have dropped out awhile back. I still regret that my first choice, John Edwards, didn't do better than he did. After he dropped out, I struggled for quite some time to choose between voting for Clinton or Obama, because I like both of them pretty much equally.

At any rate, I apologize to any who were offended.

On a happier note, gramina is taking part in the Memory Walk to raise money for Alzheimer's disease research. If you'd like to donate, click here. :)

Looks like John Edwards has decided to officially endorse Obama. I think this is probably the final nail in Clinton's campaign's coffin. Not sure how I feel about that.