Full Frontal Liberty

Postscript to the last entry...

Sat, 01 Jul 2006 23:33:17 GMT

I left off some things I thought I should address...

11. Hit me once, shame on you. Hit me twice, shame on me. Don't stick around if a relationship becomes violent. I make it explicitly clear that no man gets a second chance to hit me. Your apology may be accepted, but my bags won't be coming back to the house. I'm no one's victim, and once a man starts down that road, forget it, its over. Check, please. Men can be battered too, so vice versa. The same applies. I've never been hit a first time, btw.

12. Fight fair. Don't name-call, don't resort to ad-hominem remarks, avoid using attacks that start with absolutes like "You always..." It's an exaggeration and you know it. Don't compare a woman to her mother in a negative way, or a man to his father. It can be really below the belt, depending on the situation. Just argue when you are calm and rational and believe that your SO wants to work it out and understand your perspective. Thus, most of your statements should start with "I feel that..." because you are explaining your perspective. If they really don't give a crap about your perspective you're probably in the wrong relationship and screaming isn't going to make a difference.

13. Sex. This is one I really haven't figured out for myself, but I will tell you what I do know. And that is it is nearly impossible to perfectly match libidos. Most of the time, guys have a higher libido, but not always. People have to compromise. The higher libido partner needs to just have patience and the lower libido partner has to suck it up and put out more often than they might want to. But don't act bored or like you're not having fun. There are plenty of people out there who will have fun with your mate in your place. Both people have to compromise. You have to figure out what your partner wants and what you want. And its really hard to read people's minds, so figure it out, and then figure out how to get the message to them.

Rachel's Rules for a Happy Relationship

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 01:29:57 GMT

Having been in one miserable marriage and one happy one, here is what I have learned:

1. Say please and thank you. Just because you are intimate doesn't mean you don't need to give your significant other (SO) the respect of common courtesy. No one likes to be taken for granted or treated like a hired hand, or worse.

2. Pick your battles. Defer to your partner on the small things, and hope that they return the favor proportionately. But really, MOST things are not worth making your SO miserable over, and collectively they will kill the relationship, so think carefully before you make a mountain over a mole hill. Don't torture them. Just break up if you want out.

3. Do more than your share. Work in the home is never completely 50/50. Expecting it to be only creates an opportunity for tension. My rule is if you don't feel like you're doing 70f the work, you're probably not doing enough. Also, there should be an understanding that the person with the lowest tolerance of filth and clutter will be taking care of it sooner. Don't resent you making your home better for you. If you find a partner who will say "Thank you!" for it, you've hit the jackpot. Be that partner, which leads me to -

4. Be that partner. Strive to be the sort of partner you would want to be with. If you were your SO, would you like being with you?

5. Have your own money. At my house, we have his, hers and ours bank accounts. It may sound complicated, but it sure does make life simpler in many ways. Either one of us can splurge on a toy at any time if we have the money in our individual accounts. That's just the kind of freedom that should come with being a grown up. Don't get into a relationship that won't allow you that. Along with that comes

6. Pull your own weight. Its OK to depend on one another, but return the favor and don't be a burden. And be patient when its your turn to pull the weight. If its too one sided, you're not in a relationship of equals and you should get out if it bothers you. Children and stay-at-home mom/dad issues are something we haven't encountered yet. But that is something that should be exhaustively discussed beforehand.

7. Offer praise at every opportunity. Be very measured with criticism. It really helps when you notice your SO doing something good.

8. Your SO is not a project. Adults come As-Is. Your efforts to change someone into the perfect partner will only frustrate both of you. If they are not that person when you meet and as the relationship moves along, heed the red flags and stop wasting both of your lives and find someone who already is. Think about it - how eager are you to be shaped and molded into someone you're not just to please someone else? Wouldn't you rather have someone who loves you as you are? Return the favor, or move on. I'll say it again: Adults come As-Is.

9. Have a life. And let them have a life. Your SO is not your therapist, and not your everything. Yes, tell them your sorrows and your triumphs, but after 10 times, they get tired of it. Have outside friends to hang out with and talk to. Its good for you, good for your relationship.

10. Don't get fat. It's the most inconsiderate and selfish thing for you to do to your (expected) monogamous sexual partner. Take care of yourself, and they should do the same for you. Stay sexy, because sex is a healthy part of being human. If you let yourself go, you are only inviting them to temptation, and it comes to a point where its just cruel to expect them to continue to service your fat repulsive ass. If you insist on the KFC every day and you must have that to be fulfilled as a person, you need to discuss and be open to an open relationship. Be considerate and be the partner you would want if you were them. If not, you will soon find yourself with either an unexplainable STD or unexpected divorce papers. Believe it.

Playboy!!! (the virtues of,)

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 13:59:07 GMT

I did it! I subscribed. Under my own brazen name. Soon I will join the ranks of eagerly awaiting subscribers anticipating the mailman's delivery near the end of every month.

I freakin LOVE Playboy. I'm out of the closet about it. And I LOVE strip clubs. You know why? I'm a feminist, and there is power in femininininity. And why on earth are people complaining about women being exploited when its the men going broke and the women paying for night school and college? We all have our different gifts and tools given to us by God. The world works the way it works, and if you don't utilize what ya got and make the most of it, its only you gonna be sorry.

Tell me what's healthier? Next time you stand in line in the grocery store, you think about this - the last time you saw a Playboy, what did the cover model look like? Now look at that Cosmo or Vanity Fair, sold outside of plastic wrap in front of your 3 year old. Tell me which model is more likely to be doing lines of coke to look the way she looks? Which one is puking up her sushi in the bathroom? Flip through the articles of a Cosmo and a Playboy, side by side. While Cosmo will try with 90% of their print space to make you buy something for $2000 that you could get for $50 because of a label, Playboy will make you think. They, in the fine print of their company reports, consider themselves libertarian, small L. As a stockholder I know. :) I've even read most of Hef's 345 page philosophy statement. (I adore that man. And I touched his smoking jacket in LA and cried for about $150 worth of my party just out of awe.) Hef is a hero of liberty and has completely infiltrated society with his message. He fights the fight, and wins. The post office delivers his mail. That in itself is a victory no one appreciates 40 years later. You didn't know it took numerous court battles including the Supreme Court for that to happen, did you? I'm not even old enough to KNOW about the trouble this man has seen, and I can't get over it.

Image. For women. Fact - women in this country tend to be overweight. In fact, according to www.obesityinamerica.org 62% of female Americans are considered overweight and obesity is the 2nd leading cause of preventable death in the US. We need a little pressure, and a fit, healthy ideal is probably a good thing for the American female psyche. As much as she may resent the high standard - which standard is something to aspire to, vs. which standard will only drive you to depression? Lindsay Lohan? Nicole Richie? Kate Moss? or Jenny McCarthy, Rachel Culkin, Tiffany Fallon? Healthy, curvy women, classic blushing beauties, not heroine chic.

I'm excited about my first official Playboy issue, and proud to join this healthy family.

Beginning to see the light...

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 00:10:01 GMT

I've always been on the fence about Iraq because I KNEW there was more to the story, and it usually has to do with money. This is from Feb '05 in my LJ

"I admit I don't know the whole story of Iraq and I don't know to what extent we were provoked by the treaty violations, WMD possibilities, oil prices yada yada yada. So I'm lukewarm on Iraq, lukewarm on our soldiers... "

I have received new information and theories that make oh so much sense and they have EVERYTHING to do with money, specifically the US dollar - VS. the Euro, AND oil. I knew Saddam was bad, but there are a lot of bad guys in the world. Why was he targetted? One reason, one action, one violation of terms that if left unanswered would have a devastating chain reaction ending with you standing in line to pay $100+ for a gallon of milk.

What action was this? Saddam took Euros instead of Dollars for oil.

Let's back up. Used to be our currency was backed by gold. Maybe some people don't know this, but that has not been the case since Nixon took us off the gold standard in the 70's. Our money is now worth what it is worth by decree, or by fiat. If you go to Fort Knox and ask for your dollar's worth in gold, you'll get laughed at. When Nixon did that, inflation began to ensue and to stave that off we had to somehow increase worldwide demand for the dollar. So Nixon brokered a deal with OPEC and the middle east, who have never been able to stabilize their political situations. Nixon says here's the deal - we'll use our military to keep things stable around there, police things if you will. In exchange, you will only sell your oil to people with dollars. Not yen. Not marks. Not francs. Dollars only. Got it? Now the rest of the world scurries to provide products to America, so they can get paid in dollars. They need those dollars to go to OPEC and get oil.

Thus when Saddam goes and invades Kuwait, the deal kicks in and we are obligated to go put him back in his place. That wasn't a favor. That was an obligation. The rest of OPEC sees that and is mollified.

Then in November of 2000, Saddam deliberately breaks the deal and accepts Euros for oil. The rest of the middle east looks on to see what happens to him for doing this. The next thing they know, he's dragged out of a rat hole and paraded in front of the world on TV looking completely mad and humiliated. This is our little warning to the rest of OPEC. OPEC sees this and is (hopefully) terrified.

And what if OPEC doesn't keep playing the dollar game? Economic meltdown. The demand for the dollar plummets and suddenly everything you have in your bank account is worthless.

I'm reading this
http://www.tacomapjh.org/petrodollartheories.htm for more information and the innerworkings.

But I KNEW there was more to the story. Its not so much that we need the middle east's oil. We get less than 20% of our oil from the middle east. It is that our dollar is backed by their oil, and secured by our military might.

So now how do I feel about the war? How do I feel picturing myself hungry and unable to buy things anymore? My benjamins not quite as valuable as toilet paper? It's a mess that's been brewing since the 70's and is coming to a head. It seems to matter little who gets elected to office next because this will haunt them.

No wonder Condie doesn't want to run.

It just doesn't work

Sat, 25 Mar 2006 14:52:03 GMT

http://www.localnewsleader.com/kindred/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=163751

http://www.katu.com/stories/84457.html

So hospitals in LA have been buying their indigent patients a one way taxi cab fare to skid row. And now apologizing because the missions who rescue them have raised the cash to surveille them and it looks really bad to kick grandma (nobody's grandma) to the curb ON FOX NEWS.

Scroll back to 1933 when FDR promised us a New Deal. A bright new day. When your retirement is secure because the government will take care of you. When the poor will not fear homelessness and destitution when they can no longer work because the government will take care of them. Secure futures and retirement with dignity - guaranteed to all US citizens, brought to you for the low low price of 12% of your paycheck.

Scroll a little forward to Johnson's Great Society when Medicare was going fix the health care problems of the aged. Now you don't have to get along with your son when he pisses you off. Now you don't have to suck up to that nasty little daughter-in-law. You don't have to play nice anymore with those brat ungrateful relatives of yours - because why? You don't want to live with them anyway. You will have options when the time comes. You'll have your independence. The government has been taking care of you your whole life with that 12% cut of every paycheck and you'll have sweet freedom when you're 55. Or 65. Or 72. Or 85. Or whatever the hell it is by the time you get there.

Yeah, the government will pay for my hospital bed when I need it, because its the right thing for them to do. If they don't, the hospital will just let me stay if I'm sick because they can't just turn someone out into the streets.

Who is supposed to take care of you? The hospital that's already socialized enough to be desperately overfull and wasting space on you that could be taken up by another billable chart? Do you want to go to the homeless shelter and be crammed into whatever they consider to be living conditions? Carol Ann Reyes and too many other trusting Americans say "Yes" to these questions, and this is how they live. Desperate, angry and confused because they trusted the faulty promises of politicians and governments, and yes, even other people. I bet Ms. Reyes had a nice husband once upon a time that worked hard and supported her. And as a woman of her era was expected to do, she stayed home and made the house nice for him to come home to. Trusting, trusting, trusting that their social security would maintain her one day. That even if her kids estranged themselves, she's done everything by the book and she'd be fine.

She's alive, but she's not fine. Not by my standards. Where is her family? Where are her savings? What has she done her whole life to end up here?

The media's upset with the hospital, but I'm more interested in her.

If you think your family is a bitch to get along with, try Uncle Sam as a guardian. Don't let that 12% tempt you to play fast and loose with those that may be your only hope one day. Be nice to them. And save 10% in your own account - for YOU.

What would make the world a better place...

Sat, 28 Jan 2006 00:38:50 GMT

Watching the news tonight, and I see stories on the suffering around the world and New Orleans... I see people volunteering energy building playgrounds when people are homeless and destitute... I hear Nagin crying about how Uncle Sam is not doing enough to put his voters back in the "chocolate" factory... Brangelina's been to Haiti and now some world economic summit. What I wouldn't do to be in their heads and know what they hear and what they think about it...

Democracy, that sainted god of the west, has wrought in Palestine a terrorist government, and now we are stuck in the position of cutting off aid in protest and watching them starve. Oh, we can't let them starve... How will it be a fair fight if our enemy is weak from hunger?

And I'm thinking - you know what would make this world a better place? Stop the lobbying. Stop the guilt tripping. Stop accusing the rest of the world of not caring about your plight, because you know what? Assume its a moot point. They don't care. You are right - in 100% of your accusations. We're not that Christian, and we're not that morally good. We ARE desperately greedy and don't want to give you squat, to rebuild your city beneath the sea, to fight a disease you've determined is cured by infecting a virgin, to fight a war you're fighting with our allies, to eat for free when you should be building an economy, to sit on your duff when you should be figuring it out on your own, like our forefathers did.

Just assume nobody cares. Take that to heart. Take that as your first assumption. No one cares about you, but you. You figure out how to improve your situation. If you wait for someone to argue with you when you accuse them of being heartless and greedy, maybe you'll wait your whole life. Maybe you'll be proven right, and what a shallow victory that will be.

I learned this lesson when I was unemployed for a year and went back to my alma mater, and they didn't care. I went to the LP and my friends who I'd helped before and they didn't particularly care either. Who pulled me up? Myself and my partner. Nobody else, but the employer who finally believed in me and gave me a shot.

Nobody cares about you. Nobody gives a shit. But you. Figure it out. The sooner you figure this out, the sooner you stop whining about this sad fact and the sooner you figure out what you need to do to be valuable, to get ahead, to help your fellow man so they will give you something back, to you get a leg up, so you get somewhere.

This is my message to Palestine, to New Orleans, to Africa - even as my own parents are en route to a hospital in Kenya as I write this to work at a mission hospital there, in defiance of all I just said - don't take the world's good graces for granted. You're not entitled. The second you feel entitled, is the second you begin the long miserable wait that lasts the rest of your putrid and worthless life.

Like Simon Cowell, just giving you the cold hard news that will save you years wasted in the wrongest direction.

Misunderstandings of Religion and Socialism...

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 04:21:05 GMT

I've been reading Hugh M. Hefner's 345 page editorial from 1962 on his empire's philosophy and came across this excerpt:

"If what many of us profess to believe religiously were actually applied to American social, political and economic life, we would have a system more nearly socialist than capitalist.

I have to disagree, and this is partly the reason Gnosticism interests me so. Gnosticism, to me, looks at the boiled-down teachings of Jesus, without the input of the power hungry that have muddied the message througout history.

If one looks on the reported actions and sayings of Jesus in the gospels, I don't think you could at all argue that a follower of His could be Socialist, at least not politically. Yet I've heard the claim Hefner makes over and over, almost as a slight against Christianity, perhaps especially against the notoriously Republican Religious Right. "If you are so Christian, why are you so Capitalist?" As if to be a Capitalist is to not care about one's fellow man. Rather, they should vote Democrat. It's the religious right thing to do.

On the contrary, to be Capitalist, you must ESPECIALLY care about your fellow man. If you don't, your fellow man will not reward you by buying what you're selling. Then how can you employ others of your fellow man to make more widgets to sell, in turn allowing them to support a family and prosper? No. Success just equals greed plus adequately guaging the desires of your fellow man. A lovely combination of self-interest and servanthood.

So what is Socialism and what did Jesus teach? Socialism is "to each according to his need, from each according to his ability" by decree of an all-powerful state. In other words, do what you can for the collective and the collective will give you what you need to survive.

Problem is, the individual underestimates what they should give to the collective, and the collective underestimates what the individual should get. Result: poverty for all, productivity for none.

Bigger problem: the giving to the collective is done at gun point and threat of imprisonment and force. This "compassionate" form of government, and its sister Communism is responsible for more misery, imprisonment and democide than any other. You put Jesus right in the middle of this nasty little mess and you got yourself an excellent straw man.

What did Jesus teach, then? Giving? Yes. Force? Imprisonment? Jack-booted-ness? No, emphatically. In fact, Jesus was not at all concerned with the power of the state, which was the major reasons the Jews did not accept Him as their Messiah. He was not what they were looking for. They are still looking for a great political leader who will overthrow their enemies, but that's another subject. Jesus taught compassion and concern, empathy for your fellow man, but through free-will. Jesus asked a lot from a lot of people, but it was always their decision. It is only through your own volition that a good deed has spiritual value. Man looks at the outside, but God looks on the heart. The Pharisees praying openly and loudly on the streets did not impress Jesus for this reason. The nearly unnoticed widow's mite did.

Even the Virtuous Woman of Proverbs was so obviously a Capitalist for the good of her family (though a lot of modern devotionals turn her into a housewife who fastidiously cleans all day). She was a business woman who earned money and made investments for the security of her family and employees. She also gave to charity of her own free will and excess. Her hard work enabled her to give to others.

Consider Proverbs 31:
10 [c] A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.

14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.

15 She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.

16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.

18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.

19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.

21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

This is the Bible presenting an ideal. Is she a Capitalist? Or is she a Socialist waiting for a hand-out and wondering when its her turn in the gulag? She is bright, optimistic, clever and industrious. She is also compassionate, light-hearted, and loving. She loves life and makes the most of it. Is she the suppressed 1950's housewife waiting at home for her man to provide everything while she waits obediantly? (desperately) No.

Ok, so this is not about woman's place in society and the Bible, but the point is people misconstrue the Bible's actual teaching with what religious people SAY it teaches. The Bible does not teach Communism/Socialism, it teaches free-will and individualism. Charity, in the Biblical sense, does not extend to extracting it from others at gunpoint or government coercion. It might involve instead, rational discussion to convince your fellow man to be charitable, (findraising) but the use of force is patently un-Christian, and so is Communism/Socialism.

That's right, kiddies. Jesus was a Libertarian.

Playboy, here I come!

Mon, 16 Jan 2006 22:27:44 GMT

Wow. It is official! I am going to a party at the Playboy Mansion end of March. Can you believe it! I donated $500 to MPP to get my ticket, but I am THERE. I am jumping out of my skin excited about this!

https://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=153214&lis=1&kntae153214=28E8E6D9CE334576B3BD18564E07A3A0

Narnia

Sat, 10 Dec 2005 16:26:12 GMT

We went to see Narnia last night and it was overwhelmingly good. I've never seen anything like it. It's going to have such mass appeal and its going to make sooo much money. Kids are going to LOVE this movie! And adults will love it too. The effects don't look like effects at all. The creatures in Narnia are so cool. And the allegory is not too preachy. The storyline is sweet and innocent with the 4 young siblings and how they relate to eachother.

Mike and I hated the Lord of the Rings movies. Just found them completely boring, repetitive and episodic, none of the characters particularly likeable or relatable. Narnia is the polar opposite. The story is exciting, and starts out with characters everyone can relate to, and in the real world - crossing over to a fantasy world, a better one than Tolkien created. Unicorns and flying lion-bird things, animals that talk, little goat men and centaurs. Very cool.

Go see it. I can't imagine a bad review of this movie. I think it might leave Titanic in the dust.

Calendar for 2009?

Tue, 29 Nov 2005 18:04:38 GMT

I had an idea for a calendar for 2009 - for sale in 2008. It might be time for a fun little resurgeance.

I was really frustrated by the recent elections. Notably my friend Richard Norman in Winston-Salem who tried soooo hard to get on the lousy city freakin council. He knocked on doors and pounded pavement and outraised his opponents and worked harder than anyone should have to get a city council seat for almost no pay and no love. And it wasn't even close. He got like 30-something percent. I just sighed and said, they're just not ready to look behind door #3. The devil you know is less scary than the devil you don't. That's what Americans are still thinking. What they don't understand is that they already know this devil. Our country became great on this devil called freedom. They just need to be re-introduced.

So what about a high-concept calendar based on Ladies of Liberty behind door #3? Each month deals with one issue and we have the conservative position, the liberal position - both problematic and with lot of mixed media art and captions explaining why. Then there is a paper flap labeled door #3 and the Lady of Liberty is behind that on stark white representing the views of freedom.

Each month would be a lot to look at, a lot to absorb, very different from the last 2.

Production would be a pain. Have to print double the sheets and might have to assemble them myself for that little cutout feature to work... It would be a fun artsy project tho and I have 2 years....

Feedback?

Private Property Rights...

Sat, 05 Nov 2005 18:20:44 GMT

It sounds like Congress did something nice for private property rights. http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=3519

They barred the Federal Government from taking private property for "Walmart" (ie any private organization that would pay a bigger tax bill, thereby providing more gov't revenue, thereby providing resources for more public "services" or bureaucratic salaries, or whatever)

US Congress can't really tell localities what they can and can't do, but they can cut off funding if they misbehave. If your state or city is dependent on feeding off the teat of Momma Fed, then if Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody fed. So that's what they did in this bill.

I just wonder what unintended consequences will come from however they worded it, what else is slipped into the bill and how much of a dog and pony show it really is. I guess we'll see. I'm cautiously hopeful.

Real estate is slow these days, but I may have a small second wind this year to make Christmas merry. I'm enjoying a lot of time at home in my PJs watching bad TV. I'm learning a lot about investment properties though.

More...

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 03:05:43 GMT

I'm trapped. My cell phone doesn't work in my house. I can have a conversation (periodically garbled) outside on my driveway, but if I try to talk in the house it will drop. ergh. I've been in this house for 5 years with no cell problems and this started a month ago. If I drive a mile away, its fine. This started a month ago and there is no resolution. This is apparently just the way its going to be. I don't know what changed on Sept 20, but they are not going to change it back. I work out of home and my cell is my life line. I have an Alltel phone on a trial period and it works in the house but the service is more expensive and more staticky in the area in general... and doesn't come with 7000 rollover minutes that I lose if I leave Cingular. And Cingular would want $290 in early termination fees right now.

I guess I have to put up and shut up and reconnect my home phone. I will not renew my contract tho. I have to wait until 2007 to get my revenge tho. So unsatisfying.

A friend of ours suggests just porting the numbers to Alltel and telling them to go screw. But Clark Howard says if you don't pay the ETF the numbers won't transfer. So they are basically holding my business number hostage out of evilness, because they can, because they don't give a crap about me.

The BBB knows about them. They are a proud #1 in FCC complaints. There is nothing to be done. Except maybe call 611 everyday and make whoever answers regret their job choice. Tell them I have a voodoo doll fashioned in the likeness of them. And am not afraid to use it.

Please send me your other creative ideas of how to exact revenge on a cell phone company.

Cell Hell

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 02:12:27 GMT

Cingular sucks.

That is all.

Louisiana politicians...

Sat, 03 Sep 2005 22:50:41 GMT

...have widespread notoriety as being especially corrupt, incompetent extorters - even among politicians they have this reputation! They are the worst of the worst. Yet people in LA keep electing them, doggedly submitting to them, feeding them, and trusting them.

They've known all along they were ruled by incompetence. This really was no surprise before, just outrageous now when they actually needed some sort of organization and leadership and *surprise (not a) surprise* an idiot is at the helm and all the school busses are in a parking lot.

http://junkyardblog.net/archives/week_2005_08_28.html#004749

We should all take a lesson in this - to elect better people, and to fight for the right of better people to actually run so we can have the leaders we need in place when we need them.

And not interfering with us when we don't.

Mess-o-potamia

Mon, 15 Aug 2005 04:33:02 GMT

So this is what I understand about Israel, and I could be completely off, but I count on you to set me straight.

So after the whole Hitler, WWII thing the Jews are like "Dude, we need to find a place where people will leave us the f*&% alone" and they look around and hey, what do you know, the sacred lands of the torrah are pretty much vacant and wasting desert, so they're like "Let's go there" and a bunch of them were like, OK! And then a bunch of Muslims saw them turning the barren wasteland into a profitable society, because everyone knows Jews work hard and are pretty savvy businessmen, and they were like "We need a piece of that! We're living in squalor! Besides, uh, that's sacred land for us. Uhhh, that's it! We have a right to it because its sacred land where Abraham did stuff. Yeah." So they thought that if they could just get the Jews off the land, they could take it over and the profits and lifestyle would be theirs, and PS because they are Abraham's children they are entitled.

And so pretty much ever since then they have been trying to oust Jews from the Holy Lands, basically for economic reasons because they mistakenly believe that prosperity comes from Divine sources (OK, maybe somewhat true) but not in the sense of hard work and smarts - God helps those who help themselves, kind of thing. They believe prosperity is from the land which they are entitled to, nevermind that for centuries when they had it, they did nothing with it, and therefore got nothing out of it. The Palestinians don't want to live peaceably with Jews. They want the Jews to die and take all their stuff, kind of like Hitler did.

So there is this conflict which is basically Palestinians trying to spook Jews away with terrorism, and Jews fighting back the best they know how. Palestinians have jobs and things in Israel, in Jewish businesses, but that's not enough. They want to own all the businesses, because again, business acumen doesn't come from Harvard, it comes from Allah, and Allah has done so well for Muslims, taking a completely advanced civilization at the time of Muhammed to a complete and utter standstill.

So today Jews evacuated Gaza as a concession to Palestine. And I heard them talking today on NPR about it. The Jewish side saying Stop with the terrorism and we'll talk further, and the Palestinian side saying, No, we're completely disorganized and can't tell our side what to do... what we really need now is more stuff especially financial concessions and then we'll see about kindly not bombing busses. And the Jews throwing their hands up saying You see what we have to deal with? Ay-yi-yi.

F%&(ing build your own businesses, farms and economy then. What do you need the Jews for? Create, build, educate, THINK for yourselves. Oh, right, Allah doesn't teach that, does he? Apparently Allah teaches bus bombings and destruction. Nice. Let me come right over and convert.

Anyway... I'm probably waaaay off base here, so please help me understand, cause really I don't. This is my Jay-walking synopsis, my very casual gleanings. Enlighten me. But please leave the political correctness at the door. I'm not racist myself but I'm not naive enough to not realize other cultures (especially middle eastern ones) very much are.

Fire at will... Please begin commentary with your rating from 1-10 of how well I understand the situation, 10 being the best, then follow with explanation.

Radio

Fri, 12 Aug 2005 03:37:57 GMT

I tuned in to Bill Lumaye long enough to hear someone call about minimum wage and him mention union lobbying 0 just the point I mentioned to him a few weeks ago. He said "I believe unions are heavily involved in the minimum wage issue because their wage scale is based on multipliers of the minimum wage and that's just based on my understanding from a very knowledgable caller, HE seemed to know what he was talking about." HA! That was ME. And the week earlier he called me a complete moron because I thought there should be an exit strategy for not only Iraq, but Germany. I hate that guy. I shouldn't be flattered or insulted. If they had picked Mike to fill Agar's spot it would be a much better show. But Mike's not as smooth, generic and vanilla as this awful Lumaye dude.

It's like they are afraid to offend people by having someone too controversial or thought-provoking or intelligent. It might alienate people. They didn't learn the lesson Jerry Agar so blatantly laid out in front of them. People tune in because the host gets them steamed. They want to hear what comes out of the jerk's mouth next.

So bored with talk radio here. I've gotten more entertainment out of NPR lately and that's sad. I'm getting sattelite radio installed.

What I've been up to...

Sat, 06 Aug 2005 05:34:11 GMT

I've had some complaints that I've been silent way too long. And its true. I should be running my mouth more. I'm just at a loss I guess. I keep listening for stuff to run my mouth about.

Let's see... terrorists are bad, and the Muslim community is strangely quiet about the whole thing. The recent fatwa with no real teeth almost impressed me, but upon further review did not.

Asset forfeiture is really bad, but 94% of Americans both sides of the aisle agree. So much so that I wonder if politicians feel they are a pitchforked mob away from losing an election should they "go there"... I really enjoyed the notion of seizing the property of the justices that ruled in favor of that. I'd buy plane tickets to shop at that mall all day long.

Speaking of asset forfeiture, Dukes of Hazzard is a lite little flick about asset forfeiture ya'll will enjoy. We just got back from seeing it.

What have I been up to? Kind of you to ask. I got back into real estate and am selling like crazy right now. I have been so busy, and have been working with so many great and interesting people. I get to work all the time, but not too early in the morning and a lot from home - from bed if I want. Out and about on the road, on the cell phone, negotiating, wheeling and dealing, putting things together and working hard to do it right. It's all thanks to a great broker who put me on her team and sends me a lot of great leads - warm leads, so I don't have to annoy family and friends just to eat. I love to be able to help family and friends tho - don't get me wrong. But I can still go to a party or get-together without thinking who my next client is going to be. I have plenty on my plate. I never thought it could be this way. It certainly never was before.

But I was with the Sotheby's affiliate here trying to break into luxury real estate. You watching the new reality series "Million Dollar Agents"? The recent episode on Techrin the new agent? That was me before, working and working and working just to get one client and getting nowhere because at the end of the day, they don't want a change, and they want it even less from some desperate rookie. I sold some... but nothing respectable really. I never got much of a chance to prove myself. But now... Now I get to rock and roll. This past week -I got an offer accepted on Monday, I closed on a house on Wednesday, I wrote an offer today... and I've got at least 3 more closings this month I'm working on. Life is beyond good. Complicated, busy, at times trying, but really engrossing and good. I hope it continues this way. But its unpredictable. All I can do is my best.

I said I wanted to focus on making money for awhile. And right now, its coming to fruition. And I don't need much, just as much as I can get. And now I get my first trip to Las Vegas at the end of this month as a little present to myself. I'm so excited about that. Maybe I'll even be able to convince myself its time for the Manolos... but its like living through the Depression. You can never stop clipping coupons and scrimping. Its a good way to be.

But I did finally get the car I wanted. I traded in my PT Cruiser for a Chrysler 300. Satin Jade with leather and walnut interior trim, adjustable pedals for the short, Boston premium sound, *Navigation system*, V6 engine, 1 year used with 15,000 miles on it so I got a good price on it. I don't know how I ever lived without GPS. That in itself saves me so much money on gas - even if I'm going home, I'll punch in my destination to make sure I go the most efficient way. Real Estate agents should not go without. We need 3 major tools to do our job - good phone, good laptop, good car. Tools of the trade. And now I'm happy with all 3 of my tools. Don't have to be embarrassed about my ride. At all.

Enough for now. zzzzzzz

Medical Marijuana Vote

Wed, 15 Jun 2005 03:05:18 GMT

Congress is expected to vote Wednesday morning on a medical marijuana amendment -- introduced by U.S. Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) -- that would bar the U.S. Department of Justice from raiding, arresting, and prosecuting patients who are using medical marijuana in the 10 states where it's legal under state law.

MPP has last-minute intelligence that many members of Congress are on the fence and need to hear from their constituents. This is where you come in.

We are asking elite activists like you to call five of your friends or family members on Wednesday morning and ask them to call their U.S. representative. Even messages right up to the time of the vote could impact the swing votes in Congress.

It's easy, and you can spend as much or as little time as you want before the vote on Wednesday. Here's how to help:

(1) Call through your friends who you think are most likely to support e issue now and see if they are willing to help.

(2) Tell them to call the capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121, give the operator their zip code, and ask to be connected to their representative; they don't even need to know the representative's name to do this.

If you're not sure what to tell your friends who are willing to call, here's some guidance. When the receptionist for the congressperson -- not the capitol receptionist -- answers the phone, your friends should say: "Hi, this is [name]. I live in [city], and I understand that my representative needs to decide today how to vote on the Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment to the Science-State-Justice-Commerce bill. I'm calling to ask for a vote in favor of the amendment."

Haiti - Killing with Kindness

Mon, 06 Jun 2005 18:35:43 GMT

Haiti is a favorite pet subject of mine largely because I spent 3 years of my adolescence there and have somewhat of a grasp of the culture and climate. It has changed a lot.

When I was there, it was pretty safe, at least at first. Poor, but safe. My mother and I could drive and walk in most areas of Port-au-Prince without fear of being robbed or kidnapped. Haitians were poor, but they were not starving. You never heard of Haitians starving.

Then Aristide rose to power on a message of class warfare and socialism. The message was equality. Much like you hear liberals with letters behind their names spouting today. In a country that is largely illiterate, the message you heard blaring on the radio was basically this - "We are going to be a nation of equals. If your neighbor has more than you, it is your right and duty to correct the situation, so you have an equal amount, for the good of the country."

This message went over like gangbusters. With the most dangerous and angry element of the Haitian populace.

Now there are 2 major problems in Haiti - 1) There is about 70% unemployment and 2) Violence and crime is out of control.

People started to get carjacked at gunpoint. Now they are being kidnapped for ransom. Not just wealthy banktellers, anymore, but also vegetable farmers by thugs asking a ransom of $30 - probably a month's sales. Now you hear of people starving. Its not worth even bothering to farm anymore. But not just because thugs might extort your earnings. In a 70% agrarian economy, we've dumped subsidized ultra cheap American rice on them as "aid" and forced small farmers into Port-au-Prince slums out of desperation. I'm sorry, but our economy is now 2% agrarian. Which means 98% of it is other opportunities for displaced farmers. But instead of inconveniencing them, we tax America, subsidize them and send their surpluses to Haiti, where when you put a Haitian farmer out of a job - they are F*%#ED. That kind of "aid" is not really aid.

But we do it all the time so we can feel better, much like the misguided efforts of Barbara Vogel, the much lauded school teacher who guilts her students into bringing in pennies to buy back slaves in the Sudan. Barbara, I think, qualifies for bulk discounts with Slave-Traders-R-Us. You should see the educator awards and glowing articles their best customer has here in the US. She makes everyone happy doesn't she?

Yet, the campaign to stop the violence in Haiti is directed at the flash and noise - the guns - without calming down and really understanding the root of the problem. The UN group MINUSTAH (Stabilization Mission in Haiti) is now providing voter registration and "economic incentives" (I've heard on NPR that means help setting up a business) for Haitians who turn in guns. Ah. Incentives for the good guys to be turned into sitting ducks - now with business profits - and the bad guys to steal more guns. Yes, there is too much violence in Haiti. Guns are clearly the problem. Even Colin Powell said - "Without disarmament, Haiti's democracy will be at risk," Kind of reminds me of when Hitler said "History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so." -Adolph Hitler 1938

This solution to violence is like trying to solve the smell problem of Cite Soleil, the largest slum in Haiti, right next to the port. I've ridden by it many times. Its about 5 acres of solid squalor, hundreds of people packed in, living in their own excrement and garbage, literally. You hold your breath as you drive by because the smell is incredible. Send in the same UN problem solvers, and they would see all the flies and rodents as a big problem, bug bomb the place, set rat traps and wonder why it still smells so bad.

It's like the bumper sticker I used to have - "Guns cause crime like flies cause garbage."

To fix Cite Soleil, you have to basically bulldoze, build a massive sewer and water system, and come up with a trash collection mechanism... and that's just so hard.

To fix Haiti, you have to unteach what Aristide taught them about property rights, you have to convince the Haitian people that all their problems can and need to be solved from within, because any outside help is perceived, rightly, with suspicion. No wonder - the rest of the world usually only makes things worse! Because we don't understand what we're doing by trying to take their guns in exchange for business help or citizenship, or accept international food aid. We're asking them to commit suicide by proxy so we can go on NPR and FEEEEEEL helpful.

Oh, it pisses me off.

We even do this on a smaller scale. I saw it all the time with church youth groups raising money all year to take a summer mission trip to a place like Haiti so the pampered Baptists-in-training could get their hands dirty digging a well or building a school for the Lord. What does Haiti have? A virtually endless supply of able-bodied unemployed people. What do we send them? Free labor. Haiti: "Wow. Thanks."

http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?Id=1715
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=28944
http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=28927
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=3156
http://hir.harvard.edu/articles/951/2/
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-04-05-powell-haiti_x.htm
http://www.haiti-info.com/article.php3?id_article=3721
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=3485

Madagascar

Thu, 02 Jun 2005 02:09:52 GMT

We saw it last night on a whim. We had to see it for the penguins, really.

I was a little concerned it would be some drippy animal rights piece hating on the unnatural confinment of zoos, but I was pleasantly surprised at its lack of preachiness. They didn't let agendas get in the way of just a really cute story.

I'm not going to spoil it with a synopsis tho. Its really the characters that are super adorable. Especially David Schwimmer's hypochodriac giraffe, the para-military operative type penguins (LOVED them!) and the dancing lemur king. (He likes to move it, move it.)

Very good animation, constant laughs. The kids behind us didn't stop giggling, and that is sooo much better than whining. It would be easy to watch again.

OK, so I couldn't find anything worth writing about in the news and I felt like updating my journal. I'm certainly not interested in the Deep Throat thing. And I honestly don't think 90% of America is either.

I'm almost done with Vin Suprynowicz's first novel "The Black Arrow" and will write a review of that soon. A very thorough one. It's a great book. Needs to be a movie.

Random thoughts on things in the news...

Fri, 25 Mar 2005 14:31:54 GMT

Re: Michael Jackson and the hoopla if his adult materials are admissable -

Excuse me, what kind of materials? Adult? With the possible exception of some magazine called "Barely Legal" featuring WHAT? Young WOMEN? He's on trial for pedophilia, little boys. I think the defense should submit them as evidence that he's into adult women... although, THAT might be a diffifult case to make, but the point is, where is the kiddy porn?

Re: The deserters seeking asylum in Canada -

You know how I feel about this. If you can't sell the war, you don't deserve the soldiers. You know what? Military service should be voluntary. You should be able to quit the military like you quit a job. Do away with those indentured servanthood contracts. For some reason its OK not to fight if you are a Quaker, but not OK if you are just a coward. And we want cowards in our military, why...? Or people who don't believe in our country anymore, why...? Let them go. We need people who fight for the right reasons, and I always get nervous when people's MOTIVATION not their ACTION is on trial. If not enough people think our country is worth fighting for, or that our actions are just - in other words they are trying to have a war and not enough people are showing up - then the powers that be need to take a long hard look at the country and the situation and their actions.

My last wishes...

Tue, 22 Mar 2005 02:28:43 GMT

All this talk of Terry Schiavo, and how squirelly husbands can be, has prompted me to want to declare publicly my wishes regarding life support should something awful happen to me.

I have no interest in donating my organs. Please do not desecrate my body. God made it. It is sacred the way it is. Hands OFF!

I wish to be resuscitated as many times as it takes. If I am injured or in a coma, please be patient with me. I will come around. I am trying hard and fighting. I am a survivor. Please respect that and keep trying.

Should I be incapacitated for an extended period of time, I want the most advanced forms of life support available from modern medicine. I don't care how hopeless the diagnosis is, or my quality of life. Life is sacred, in any way, shape or form that God chooses to bless me with it.

Spare no expense to keep me here. Mortgage the house, mortgage my parents house, my brothers' houses where they raise their children, my aunts and uncles should all sacrifice and pull together. And when my entire extended family's wealth is completely tapped, I want whatever legal remedies are due me. Sue everyone, the doctors who tried to help me, the ambulance people, the nurses who were on duty if you have to. The manufacturers of whatever drug they tried that failed me. Somewhere someone forgot to cross an I or dot a T and THEY SHOULD PAY. This is my LIFE we're talking about here. Save me. Save precious, priceless me. The world will be a bit sadder, a bit greyer, a bit *less* for the loss of me. Even if I'm just crapping my pants and grimacing like a retard, I guarantee, the magic of me touches all around me. Especially those that give me sponge baths, lucky them.

My husband promised himself to me in sickness and in health. I expect that to be honored indefinitely. I would expect a PI to be hired to occasionally check up on him and if he attempts in any way to move on with his life, even if my brain has died, been re-absorbed by my body and replaced with puss, leaving no hope for any chance of recovery, sue him too. Enlist Congress if you have to. The fact that he doesn't honor his sacred vows which he took before God and our loved ones all but PROVES it was probably him that put me in the condition I am in. Nothing to do with my own bulemia and the potassium imbalance or anything else that could explain it. He's lost his wife and a mere 10 years later he has the audacity to want normalcy and a family? Nail him to the wall. I could NEVER be replaced! Once he married me, he is committed for life! Committed, even in the institutional sense, if appropriate. Even if it makes him absolutely freaking miserable and taps all his financial resources. That is what I demand. I told him that as a condition of our engagement and he agreed!

...at least I THINK I mentioned it. I could've sworn.

Anyway, that's what I want should I become a drooling, bed-crapping, grimacing vegetable. I want Acts of Congress, my family at war, and my husband utterly miserable and his life totally at a stand still.

Because life is sacred and I'm worth it. World, take note.

If Terry Schiavo was such a great person, is this what she would say if she could have predicted her future? Her parents view of her is certainly offensive, in my opinion.

Supporting Soldiers, but not the War...

Sat, 12 Mar 2005 01:50:34 GMT

This is something I've never really quite subscribed to.

You think the war is lousy and evil and counter-productive, yet you support the brave men and women in uniform fighting it. It's a mantra these days. You have to add that caveat to any anti-war sentiment, lest you be declared unAmerican, and invoke imagery of the boys returning from tours of duty in Vietnam to spitting crowds of hippies.

I'm sorry. But I can't conjure up any sense of comprehension for a theoretic 1942 German housefrau righteously declaring "I'm not for gassing Jews or anything, but I sure do support our handsome Gestapo running around making it possible!" Even if she's stowing the Goldsteins up in her attic.

It does not logically follow. Make up your mind. (I still haven't, as far as Iraq)

If a cause is evil, how can the enablers of it be good? How? If your country calls on you to gass Jews, or bayonet children, or break up families needlessly, how can you really excuse yourself from Neuremburg with "Just following orders..." Does God excuse you? Does posterity?

If we have no one willing to take evil orders, we have very little evil left in the world. Lonely evil is weak evil. Evil en masse, well, that's what makes the history books. Yes, there is individual evil, but an individual has a tough time killing 20 million single-handedly. That is the stuff of teamwork, of ant-like cooperation.

I'm tired of hearing how great the troops are in spite of what they are fighting for, according to some people. I admit I don't know the whole story of Iraq and I don't know to what extent we were provoked by the treaty violations, WMD possibilities, oil prices yada yada yada. So I'm lukewarm on Iraq, lukewarm on our soldiers... At least I'm consistent.

But I do know this - if any American soldier, officer, official, or agent of any kind ever at any point comes to realize that his or her orders are perpetuating evil, I expect them to leave their post, desert, quit, or in some way physically remove themselves from that situation, no matter the consequences. Run to Canada, type a letter to your boss, update your resume, search on Monster, whatever. To be part of something evil is evil. Divorce yourself from it, at pain of death.

I do not support anything less.

Save Toby

Wed, 23 Feb 2005 17:01:03 GMT

Now, I don't usually get involved in animal rights issues, but this really must be stopped.

www.savetoby.com

I sent in a dollar. I did it for Toby.

Immigration

Thu, 17 Feb 2005 03:39:51 GMT

OK, let's talk about those pesky illegal immigrants, taking our jobs (cleaning hotel toilets) taking our welfare, taking our education, our healthcare, our sacred social services that make this free, capitalist country great...

But first let's read this dedication poem on the foot of the Colossus, a gift from ever increasingly (and unemployed) socialist France in the name of Freedom, which stands in New York Harbor...

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I, like the Libertarian nerd-tastic goddess that I am, dressed up in the most gawdawfulest Lady Liberty statue costume one year for the state fair, and stomped around the grounds reciting this poem. I swear, I must have been the most ridiculous spectacle, but I choked up when the meaning of these words hit me, over and over again and I trudged on. The symbol of this country, what made us great, is encapsulated here.

We don't look at people as castes, as scum, as filth, as moochers. At least we didn't in those days. Even if they didn't know their ABC's and 123's they were still human beings capable of doing an honest day's work and contributing in this country. In those days we didn't have socialism in the land of the free and the home of the independent. In those days they were welcome to come on over and clean up after us and deliver our milk. People supported themselves. And the country was happy for them to do it.

Today we have benevolent services to keep our noble citizenry from falling through the cracks. And we HATE to see that system taxed by more scum, more human filth, more riffraff dragging us down. Especially no more melanin in this country. Why, those uneducated wetbacks will never become engineers and scientists in THIS competitive market. By all means, keep them out, LEST THEY TRY... Guess what? They aren't trying for those jobs. Those that weren't privy to socialist education in their own countries are not trying to play catch up here. They just want to clean your motel rooms and build your highways, landscape your cities, construct your homes, wait on your tables, live 12 in a 2 bedroom house, and feel lucky to do it.

You know what? WE invited them. Emma Lazarus STILL invites them. And she did not promise free anything - shelter, food, medicine, money, education - nothing. She did not promise anything, it was a strictly BYOB invite, and by the scads they filled Ellis Island, until we shut it down, long about the time FDR made us real considerate of our fellow man. Geez. Thanks.

If we were really the land of the free, as our forefathers intended, we would welcome them with open arms still. We'd still check their health and the spelling of their names as they came through. We'd keep tuberculosis out, but dadgummit, productivity in. You wouldn't come here for the free ride - that's reserved for those born to privilege here - America's own trust fund kids, her citizens. But you'd be welcome to come here and make the most of our opportunities, non-opportunistically.

And if that's not true, well then let's just stop the hypocrisy and rip that lady of liberty down, because she has become a mockery. We no longer deserve her hopeful image towering over our big apple when not so deep below the surface we're xenophobic assholes.

Look at that statue, and ask yourself what it really means to you.

And go hug a Mexican. That's what it means to me.