As many of you might know fodder for my cannon comes from FaceBook. I love reconnecting with people and am friends with a wide variety of personalities. If you've read this blog at all you know I'm liberal and I constantly challenge people's belief systems. Not because I'm mean, but because I'm a highly logical person who believes that logical, sensible solutions should dictate my life and not irrational behavior.
One friend, yes he's a friend, one that I respect very much, posted this comment on Facebook today (and it's a direct quote): The Constitution of the United States of America IS NOT A "LIVING" DOCUMENT SUBJECT TO REVISION.
Now I will proceed. I feel mostly compelled to respond to this for many reasons. Being gay and yesterday being a voting day with gay marriage a major issue being played out on several ballots including one in my state (Ref 71, the Everything but Marriage law passed) I feel that the constitution is a matter for debate. I've been thinking about this all morning, so much so that on my run I missed when my iPod told me I was at the half-way point and to turn around. So I've had lots of opportunity to organize my thoughts.
First I want to start with the term marriage. Yes, it is used in the Bible and is considered to be a union between a man & a woman. Yes, it is derived from 12th Century Old English and 13th Century Old French to describe the union between a man & a woman. The derivision of the word is also masculine and was first used in a patriarchial society. Now last I checked we are in the 21st Century. We no longer are technically considered a patriarchial society, although sometimes I wonder. The Bible is no longer the legal basis for our residence, the laws of our countries are. Thankfully we live in a country that has learned the separation of Church & State. So I propose this. If conservatives, Christians, religious zealots and all inclusive that don't want gay marriage want to preserve the sanctity of what marriage is, that's fine. They are right, by definition, marriage is between a man & a woman (of course, let's not forget that the word "ain't" was not in the dictionary when I was a kid, and now is, so the dictionary is technically a living document subject to change and this definition could be altered). However, "marriage" is technically not a constitutional right for anyone...no where is it even mentioned. There are several rights that are protected by our Constitution and please bear with me as I'm going to re-post actual excerpts from the document to support my points.
Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights. Ratified 7/9/1868.
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Let's take a pause to comment on the above Amendment. Firstly there is no distinction about race, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, etc. No state shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property nor deny the equal protection of the laws. So nowhere does it state that marriage cannot be extended to all.
Now in my opinion, marriage should not be used to describe a legal union. This word was used for lack of a better word in a time when homosexuals were practically unheard of. It was used by the government to establish a legal resolution to a situation that supported monogamy, taxation and accounting. Ideally the government would have accepted a separation of church & state long ago and used different terminology to describe "civil unions". So now is the opportunity for the government to make that change. Preserve marriage as a religious symbol, a union performed within a church, chapel, etc by a minister, priest, etc. Allow unions for purposes of accounting, taxation and consensus taking. More and more gay couples are adopting. More and more gay couples are having children of their own. Not just from the standpoint of the couple but for the protection of the child and their rights, this should be legalized. For instance in some states the adoption of our son is not acceptable because we are both parents legally. In OK for instance we would likely not have been allowed to adopt period. If we'd been able to get past family services and one of us could have adopted then how would that have affected our son? Only one of us could make health decisions for him. Only one of us would be able to give him permission to do things. Only one of could act as a legal guardian. Therefore if the one of us who was declared the "legal" parent had something horrific happen where would that leave the child. Tied up in a legal mumbo jumbo...with no protection to the other who was acting as a parent all along. So for my take on this, marriage is a religious or societal institution utilized by the government to provide structural laws to partnerships between a man and a woman. Just let the gays have another word that is recognized equally. Problem solved. Everyone's happy within the eyes of the government.
Now to move on to my second topic. The Constitution not as a living document. Well, if it weren't then there would be no amendments. Thus technically it was designed to be just that, a living, revisable document. Our forefathers fortunately did have the foresight to see that our nation would not be stagnant. They acknowledged that our government would evolve. The realization that society would grow and blossom was addressed by allowing amendments. In my opinion the Constitution was meant to be the epitome of a living document. Originally it was set forth as the Bill of Rights. The original 10 "laws" of the land. Almost immediately amendments were added. And another example of it being a living document is the fact that when an amendment is attached, the amendment cannot be removed, but has to be amended itself. For instance, prohibition. Alcohol was completely outlawed in the country, the government realized that wasn't gonna work, so instead of removing the amendment, the amendment had to be amended.
I really had so much more to say, but over the course of the day I had to do things and thus lost my momentum before I could get everything written down...I'm sure more debate will be stirred up or at least I hope it will. This is good exercise for my brain.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Why I Don't Watch Awards Shows or Take Some Freakin' Responsibility
So yet another pet peeve has surfaced for me and this one I generally don't let get to me. I whine and rant about it for a few minutes then let it go...thought it eventually might be blog material and lo and behold here we go...would have left it alone, but I got "deleted" on FB because apparently it would seem someone must have taken my well wishes the wrong way and was offended. Of course that person should know that it was meant with good intent and meant to offer support but clearly that person doesn't know me as well as they should.
So what the hell is it you ask? Take some damn responsibility for where you are in life. I recently did a triathlon and if I never hear the phrase,"On your left" again it'll be too soon, but another phrase that has been whittled to a nub is,"I first want to Thank God for giving me this gift that put this award in my hands." Or "I'm praying for such & such to happen". Or "pray that I get what I want."
Okay first of all that talent you got was from your genetic make-up. You got the right combination of genes that made your voice box perform at the perfect pitch, you got the right genes that effortlessly shaped your ear canal during gestation that allows you such great balance while you're dancing or doing gymnastics or singing. You have a great genetic makeup that allows you to pack on the muscle you need to run the 100m at lightning speed. And your dedication and endless hours of practice, sweat and tears to put that gift to work. That gift was from your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc and passed along to you through generations, not from some mythological being with a big white beard and staff looking down on you (and by the way does he not remind you of someone? Like Neptune with his trident, or Zeus with his lightning bolt throwing staff?)
Secondly, really if there was this mythological beast, do you really think he cares about the minutiae of your life when there are little kids being tortured and abused by their parents? I mean he doesn't bestow things on you because you're worthy. If that was the case there would be very few people worthy of anything. You made your choices that set your life in motion and no one but you were in charge of those choices. I know I'm at the place I am in my life because of my choices. I choose to accept that I don't own a house because my credit sucks because I made bad decisions, but I also know that I have a home to live in and a happy family to support because I made the sacrifice and effort to get my college degree and provide for my family. None of that was God's will and I take full responsibility for it all. Was I helped? You bet, but not by some damn ethereal being, but by my family, friends, partner that supported me emotionally, mentally and financially. Through good & bad.
I hate watching awards shows cuz every dang speech starts the same way. I mean if there's a God why would he continuously heap rewards upon these people as they clearly don't need our help, they are all beautiful, talented, smart and God gave it all to them...what did we ever do wrong that we don't get such showered on us? I'm guaranteeing I'm smarter than Jessica Simpson but I'm not making millions. I can't throw a football more than two feet but I can help fight cancer, again not making hundreds of thousands even. So if I pray that I should make more money than a baseball player or Mariah Carey, will my prayer be answered? Uh no, because there's no way that I will take the actions necessary to do that, because I don't have the MOTIVATION to get a PhD and force my way through the circuits that would eventually yield me a job that pays like those.
IF YOU GET AN A ON TEST YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU WOULD, PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK FOR LEARNING AND MAYBE THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS THAT THEY SPRINKLED A LITTLE FAIRY DUST OVER YOU. NEXT TIME YOU HIT ONE OVER THE GREEN MONSTER, PAT YOURSELF ON YOUR BACK, LIKE YOUR TEAMMATES WILL DO, THANK YOUR TRAINER, YOUR COACH, YOUR AGENT. WHEN YOU GET THAT HOUSE YOU WANTED, CELEBRATE THAT YOU DID WHAT YOU NEEDED TO DO TO GET THE BANKS TO APPROVE YOU. APPLAUD THE EFFORTS YOU MADE TO GET YOUR CREDIT IN ORDER, CONGRATULATE YOURSELF ON SAVING THE DOWN PAYMENT AND SHARE THE MOMENT WITH YOUR PARTNER/FRIEND/LOVER/FAMILY THAT SUPPORTED YOU ON YOUR JOURNEY.
Show some confidence and be proud of yourself. Have a little self-respect that you accomplished something because of your choices. And when things don't go your way, recognize that it wasn't God's will, reflect on what you could have done differently and learn from the mistake, cuz otherwise the mistake will just keep happening. Why? Because you didn't make any effort to change yourself. If the loser guy keeps calling you, why is that? Maybe if you changed your outlook and attitude, the positive energy will attract the "right" guy. The positive energy will provide an aura that losers won't gravitate toward. When you get an "F" acknowledge that you could have passed that test if you'd spent your night studying instead of smoking weed or drinking with your buddies or channel surfing in your pjs. When you don't get that promotion, figure out what it is that you need to change to affect the perception surrounding you. Accept change and change will accept you.
So what the hell is it you ask? Take some damn responsibility for where you are in life. I recently did a triathlon and if I never hear the phrase,"On your left" again it'll be too soon, but another phrase that has been whittled to a nub is,"I first want to Thank God for giving me this gift that put this award in my hands." Or "I'm praying for such & such to happen". Or "pray that I get what I want."
Okay first of all that talent you got was from your genetic make-up. You got the right combination of genes that made your voice box perform at the perfect pitch, you got the right genes that effortlessly shaped your ear canal during gestation that allows you such great balance while you're dancing or doing gymnastics or singing. You have a great genetic makeup that allows you to pack on the muscle you need to run the 100m at lightning speed. And your dedication and endless hours of practice, sweat and tears to put that gift to work. That gift was from your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc and passed along to you through generations, not from some mythological being with a big white beard and staff looking down on you (and by the way does he not remind you of someone? Like Neptune with his trident, or Zeus with his lightning bolt throwing staff?)
Secondly, really if there was this mythological beast, do you really think he cares about the minutiae of your life when there are little kids being tortured and abused by their parents? I mean he doesn't bestow things on you because you're worthy. If that was the case there would be very few people worthy of anything. You made your choices that set your life in motion and no one but you were in charge of those choices. I know I'm at the place I am in my life because of my choices. I choose to accept that I don't own a house because my credit sucks because I made bad decisions, but I also know that I have a home to live in and a happy family to support because I made the sacrifice and effort to get my college degree and provide for my family. None of that was God's will and I take full responsibility for it all. Was I helped? You bet, but not by some damn ethereal being, but by my family, friends, partner that supported me emotionally, mentally and financially. Through good & bad.
I hate watching awards shows cuz every dang speech starts the same way. I mean if there's a God why would he continuously heap rewards upon these people as they clearly don't need our help, they are all beautiful, talented, smart and God gave it all to them...what did we ever do wrong that we don't get such showered on us? I'm guaranteeing I'm smarter than Jessica Simpson but I'm not making millions. I can't throw a football more than two feet but I can help fight cancer, again not making hundreds of thousands even. So if I pray that I should make more money than a baseball player or Mariah Carey, will my prayer be answered? Uh no, because there's no way that I will take the actions necessary to do that, because I don't have the MOTIVATION to get a PhD and force my way through the circuits that would eventually yield me a job that pays like those.
IF YOU GET AN A ON TEST YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU WOULD, PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK FOR LEARNING AND MAYBE THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS THAT THEY SPRINKLED A LITTLE FAIRY DUST OVER YOU. NEXT TIME YOU HIT ONE OVER THE GREEN MONSTER, PAT YOURSELF ON YOUR BACK, LIKE YOUR TEAMMATES WILL DO, THANK YOUR TRAINER, YOUR COACH, YOUR AGENT. WHEN YOU GET THAT HOUSE YOU WANTED, CELEBRATE THAT YOU DID WHAT YOU NEEDED TO DO TO GET THE BANKS TO APPROVE YOU. APPLAUD THE EFFORTS YOU MADE TO GET YOUR CREDIT IN ORDER, CONGRATULATE YOURSELF ON SAVING THE DOWN PAYMENT AND SHARE THE MOMENT WITH YOUR PARTNER/FRIEND/LOVER/FAMILY THAT SUPPORTED YOU ON YOUR JOURNEY.
Show some confidence and be proud of yourself. Have a little self-respect that you accomplished something because of your choices. And when things don't go your way, recognize that it wasn't God's will, reflect on what you could have done differently and learn from the mistake, cuz otherwise the mistake will just keep happening. Why? Because you didn't make any effort to change yourself. If the loser guy keeps calling you, why is that? Maybe if you changed your outlook and attitude, the positive energy will attract the "right" guy. The positive energy will provide an aura that losers won't gravitate toward. When you get an "F" acknowledge that you could have passed that test if you'd spent your night studying instead of smoking weed or drinking with your buddies or channel surfing in your pjs. When you don't get that promotion, figure out what it is that you need to change to affect the perception surrounding you. Accept change and change will accept you.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
President Obama's Speech
So it's been awhile since I've gotten on my soapbox about something and traffic is slowing to a halt on my blog so I figured I'd tackle the latest current issue: "The Speech".
Maybe my memory is a bit foggy, but I'm pretty sure other presidents have spoken to students in the past. I seem to recall Reagan forcing us into a physical fitness test. I also seem to recall how horrible it was and how patently obvious it was I was completely un-athletic, as I couldn't climb the rope or the wall. Then everyone seems to be forgetting Bush was reading in the classroom when the 9/11 incident occurred (convenient I think, as I'm sure he was part of the whole planning in that deal, but I digress with my conspiracy theories).
I've seen the questions that the White House has forwarded to schools to engage students after the speech and wow, I can totally see how the indoctrination thing has taken hold. I mean there's all kinds of stuff about killing your parents if they speak out against the government or turning them in if they overstep the bounds that might threaten the government...oh wait, never mind that was Hitler and there is absolutely no freaking comparison to what Obama intends. NOTHING WHAT SO EVER!
He intends to say things like, wait for it...stay in school. *GASP* Not that...please Julius disobey the president because he's giving horrible advice about school. And he intends to say things like, unbelievably, help your community. Not that, cuz charity in our house is completely ignored (I mean in 2009 alone we really stuck it to charity when we donated to Breast Cancer, the Veteran's Administration, raised over $1000 for LLS and bought 2 backpacks full of school supplies for under privileged children). Yes Jules, please go against what the president says and don't help your community at all, please make fun of those poor kids in your class that couldn't afford school supplies and since every one was convinced what the president was going to say was bad told their kids to ignore him. So luckily all those kids will be ignored.
The right is supposed to be the side of religion and Christian charity and maybe I'm mistaken, but I'm pretty sure Jesus preached love thy neighbor and all that mushy stuff. The GOP is seriously acting very un-Christian lately.
If someone had shown up at a presidential gathering that Bush was at with an AK-47 they would have been strong-armed to the ground and put in prison so deep he'd never see the light of day and I don't want anyone to say otherwise cuz we all know that would just be a lie.
Some people are saying: He's a horrible president. By what standard? I mean he hasn't even been in office a year. He hasn't decimated any countries he shouldn't be in, ahem. He hasn't obliterated the economy, ahem. Maybe the Republicans are responding the same way that the Democrats did when Bush was re-elected, we just weren't so vociferous or mean about it. I mean he hadn't done anything to earn our respect. Just as Obama hasn't done anything yet to not have our respect. I think it's ridiculous that people say I don't agree with him (when he hasn't even said anything yet) so I'm not going to let my kids listen.
GROW UP PEOPLE, WE'RE ALL ADULTS AND WE SHOULD BE MAKING DECISIONS WITH OUR HEADS AND NOT OUR DUMBASSES.
Maybe my memory is a bit foggy, but I'm pretty sure other presidents have spoken to students in the past. I seem to recall Reagan forcing us into a physical fitness test. I also seem to recall how horrible it was and how patently obvious it was I was completely un-athletic, as I couldn't climb the rope or the wall. Then everyone seems to be forgetting Bush was reading in the classroom when the 9/11 incident occurred (convenient I think, as I'm sure he was part of the whole planning in that deal, but I digress with my conspiracy theories).
I've seen the questions that the White House has forwarded to schools to engage students after the speech and wow, I can totally see how the indoctrination thing has taken hold. I mean there's all kinds of stuff about killing your parents if they speak out against the government or turning them in if they overstep the bounds that might threaten the government...oh wait, never mind that was Hitler and there is absolutely no freaking comparison to what Obama intends. NOTHING WHAT SO EVER!
He intends to say things like, wait for it...stay in school. *GASP* Not that...please Julius disobey the president because he's giving horrible advice about school. And he intends to say things like, unbelievably, help your community. Not that, cuz charity in our house is completely ignored (I mean in 2009 alone we really stuck it to charity when we donated to Breast Cancer, the Veteran's Administration, raised over $1000 for LLS and bought 2 backpacks full of school supplies for under privileged children). Yes Jules, please go against what the president says and don't help your community at all, please make fun of those poor kids in your class that couldn't afford school supplies and since every one was convinced what the president was going to say was bad told their kids to ignore him. So luckily all those kids will be ignored.
The right is supposed to be the side of religion and Christian charity and maybe I'm mistaken, but I'm pretty sure Jesus preached love thy neighbor and all that mushy stuff. The GOP is seriously acting very un-Christian lately.
If someone had shown up at a presidential gathering that Bush was at with an AK-47 they would have been strong-armed to the ground and put in prison so deep he'd never see the light of day and I don't want anyone to say otherwise cuz we all know that would just be a lie.
Some people are saying: He's a horrible president. By what standard? I mean he hasn't even been in office a year. He hasn't decimated any countries he shouldn't be in, ahem. He hasn't obliterated the economy, ahem. Maybe the Republicans are responding the same way that the Democrats did when Bush was re-elected, we just weren't so vociferous or mean about it. I mean he hadn't done anything to earn our respect. Just as Obama hasn't done anything yet to not have our respect. I think it's ridiculous that people say I don't agree with him (when he hasn't even said anything yet) so I'm not going to let my kids listen.
GROW UP PEOPLE, WE'RE ALL ADULTS AND WE SHOULD BE MAKING DECISIONS WITH OUR HEADS AND NOT OUR DUMBASSES.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Why isn't this called a cult?
Okay so I've ranted against organized Christian religion, let's do a focus today on the "Church" of Scientology. I really love PZ Myers, he often provides some really good ammo (here's his blog: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/).
So documents were leaked (hopefully by someone smart enough to realize how bogus this "Church" really is) and the application for getting into the cult, ahem Church was one of them...here's a link to that document: http://88.80.13.160.nyud.net/leak/scientology-class-v-org-contract.pdf
So some things to discuss:
1. Isn't the idea of a religious order to motivate you to become a life-time member of their established organization so that you can avoid eternal damnation? How many religions ask you for the term of your membership?
"hereinafter referred to as the "Church" for a period of
five (5) years / two and one-half (2 1/2) years (circle appropriate period).
Acceptance of my application is based on the following information"
2. Now I know that Scientology doesn't exactly adhere to God & Jesus theories but as far as Christianity goes, I'm pretty sure anyone can become a member of a church as long as you believe in God & Jesus and yada, yada that they spout, but when you go to one of these churches do they really ever ask this and then send you away if you answer yes?
"2. I have never been convicted of the commission of any criminal felony under the laws of any
jurisdiction."
3. This next one really gets me...I mean did anyone ask the founder this question cuz I'm pretty sure that is why this "religion" was founded:
"3. I have no institutional history of psychosis. "
4. I'm beginning to think I should just post the whole document cuz it just gets better, I mean number 3 kinda covers this I think, but I guess they want to be really specific and paranoid that you have not been psycho.
"4. I have no electric, insulin or other shock or psychiatric brain operation history."
5. From the next apparently you can be a drug user but they do not want you to be a drug pusher.
6. So no govt secret organization members can be apply, I wonder if that includes the Free Masons, MI6, MI5
"8. I am not related to or connected with any intelligence agency, either by past history or
immediate familial connection."
7. So the next few seem a bit redundant. more questions about mental history, and government organizations
8. Nope you can't use drugs either
Now I acknowledge that to become just a member you might not necessarily have to follow these tenets, but you can't imagine they are far off as any member of the church is a voice of the church, this is an application to join the church and become a staff member, cuz you know if you're gonna join the church you might as well go all out work for them too.
I really want to know why the media insists upon referring to this as a religion, they more than anyone have the power to call it like it is. From wikipedia the definition of a cult is:
"Cult definitions coined from 1920 onward refer to a cohesive social group and their devotional beliefs or practices, which the surrounding population considers to be outside of mainstream cultures. The surrounding population may be as small as a neighborhood, or as large as the community of nations. They gratify curiosity about, take action against, or ignore a group, depending on its reputed similarity to cults previously reported by mass media."
So documents were leaked (hopefully by someone smart enough to realize how bogus this "Church" really is) and the application for getting into the cult, ahem Church was one of them...here's a link to that document: http://88.80.13.160.nyud.net/leak/scientology-class-v-org-contract.pdf
So some things to discuss:
1. Isn't the idea of a religious order to motivate you to become a life-time member of their established organization so that you can avoid eternal damnation? How many religions ask you for the term of your membership?
"hereinafter referred to as the "Church" for a period of
five (5) years / two and one-half (2 1/2) years (circle appropriate period).
Acceptance of my application is based on the following information"
2. Now I know that Scientology doesn't exactly adhere to God & Jesus theories but as far as Christianity goes, I'm pretty sure anyone can become a member of a church as long as you believe in God & Jesus and yada, yada that they spout, but when you go to one of these churches do they really ever ask this and then send you away if you answer yes?
"2. I have never been convicted of the commission of any criminal felony under the laws of any
jurisdiction."
3. This next one really gets me...I mean did anyone ask the founder this question cuz I'm pretty sure that is why this "religion" was founded:
"3. I have no institutional history of psychosis. "
4. I'm beginning to think I should just post the whole document cuz it just gets better, I mean number 3 kinda covers this I think, but I guess they want to be really specific and paranoid that you have not been psycho.
"4. I have no electric, insulin or other shock or psychiatric brain operation history."
5. From the next apparently you can be a drug user but they do not want you to be a drug pusher.
6. So no govt secret organization members can be apply, I wonder if that includes the Free Masons, MI6, MI5
"8. I am not related to or connected with any intelligence agency, either by past history or
immediate familial connection."
7. So the next few seem a bit redundant. more questions about mental history, and government organizations
8. Nope you can't use drugs either
Now I acknowledge that to become just a member you might not necessarily have to follow these tenets, but you can't imagine they are far off as any member of the church is a voice of the church, this is an application to join the church and become a staff member, cuz you know if you're gonna join the church you might as well go all out work for them too.
I really want to know why the media insists upon referring to this as a religion, they more than anyone have the power to call it like it is. From wikipedia the definition of a cult is:
"Cult definitions coined from 1920 onward refer to a cohesive social group and their devotional beliefs or practices, which the surrounding population considers to be outside of mainstream cultures. The surrounding population may be as small as a neighborhood, or as large as the community of nations. They gratify curiosity about, take action against, or ignore a group, depending on its reputed similarity to cults previously reported by mass media."
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Bigotry & Racism in the 21st Century
I usually confine my ranting to religious causes but this really follows the same path so I'm going to post this video and rant. It's me exercising my freedom of speech. Don't worry CIA or FBI, I'm an Obama lover so no threats to the president on this page, the public official that has me up in arms is Sally Kern, a Representative in the state of Oklahoma.
A person on Facebook said I shouldn't compare her to a Klansman because doing so just turns people away from my opinions. The homosexual agenda is dangerous because we're the ones calling people names. Did he really watch the video? So here I won't attack this person but instead the person drawing the ire. His ignorance and condescending views on the topic are just symptoms of the larger problem. That people continue to try to use religion to support their views of bigotry and racism, and because the Bible says something that is subjectively construed as agreeing with their dislikes they are allowed a podium to speak on. To claim that the homosexual "agenda" is more dangerous than terrorism or Islam is just ignorant & irresponsible.
First of all, Islam is not responsible for terrorism, the extremists are. That would be like saying the Mormons are terrorists because they believe in polygamy. Only their extremists do and only their extremists are dangerous. Was McVeigh an Islamist, quite the contrary, he was a, dare I say it? A Christian...but a terrorist. Nowhere in the definition of terrorism are Islamists even mentioned so I guess if you aren't Judeo-Christian you are ruining our world, you are a terrorist or more dangerous than them.
So I've stayed on that topic long enough...moving on. To say that I'm indoctrinating children because I'm gay is also irresponsible. I'm not making my son sit on a pillow for an hour a day meditating while I play over & over in the background that being gay is all knowing...being gay is the way...etc. I'm educating him and his school system so that they don't turn into Sally Kern. I'm an average tax-payer who goes to work every day and provides for my family like every other "average" American. Our economy is not in the shitter because my "agenda" has been poisoning the mind of America's youth. Our economy is in the shitter because George W Bush's puppet strings were pulled for 8 years by Dick Cheney and big money. Our economy is suffering because we paid massive amounts of money to start a war we had no business being in. Our economy is suffering because the Republicans had control of our political system for 4 years and had no checks & balances. I'm really tired of people saying lack of faith is what caused our economy to fall. Look at Israel. One of the countries on our planet where faith is the way of life. You're telling me that country is better off than ours? Please people use your brain when you decide you don't agree with the way a person is living. Fine, you think it's gross that I like to kiss girls (believe or not, at one time I agreed with you) but don't be ignorant and say that makes me a bad person or I'm the reason our economy sucks or I'm poisoning children's minds.
A person on Facebook said I shouldn't compare her to a Klansman because doing so just turns people away from my opinions. The homosexual agenda is dangerous because we're the ones calling people names. Did he really watch the video? So here I won't attack this person but instead the person drawing the ire. His ignorance and condescending views on the topic are just symptoms of the larger problem. That people continue to try to use religion to support their views of bigotry and racism, and because the Bible says something that is subjectively construed as agreeing with their dislikes they are allowed a podium to speak on. To claim that the homosexual "agenda" is more dangerous than terrorism or Islam is just ignorant & irresponsible.
First of all, Islam is not responsible for terrorism, the extremists are. That would be like saying the Mormons are terrorists because they believe in polygamy. Only their extremists do and only their extremists are dangerous. Was McVeigh an Islamist, quite the contrary, he was a, dare I say it? A Christian...but a terrorist. Nowhere in the definition of terrorism are Islamists even mentioned so I guess if you aren't Judeo-Christian you are ruining our world, you are a terrorist or more dangerous than them.
So I've stayed on that topic long enough...moving on. To say that I'm indoctrinating children because I'm gay is also irresponsible. I'm not making my son sit on a pillow for an hour a day meditating while I play over & over in the background that being gay is all knowing...being gay is the way...etc. I'm educating him and his school system so that they don't turn into Sally Kern. I'm an average tax-payer who goes to work every day and provides for my family like every other "average" American. Our economy is not in the shitter because my "agenda" has been poisoning the mind of America's youth. Our economy is in the shitter because George W Bush's puppet strings were pulled for 8 years by Dick Cheney and big money. Our economy is suffering because we paid massive amounts of money to start a war we had no business being in. Our economy is suffering because the Republicans had control of our political system for 4 years and had no checks & balances. I'm really tired of people saying lack of faith is what caused our economy to fall. Look at Israel. One of the countries on our planet where faith is the way of life. You're telling me that country is better off than ours? Please people use your brain when you decide you don't agree with the way a person is living. Fine, you think it's gross that I like to kiss girls (believe or not, at one time I agreed with you) but don't be ignorant and say that makes me a bad person or I'm the reason our economy sucks or I'm poisoning children's minds.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Drawing to a Close
Wow, what an amazingly successful summer of fundraising! My event, the Seattle Rock N Roll Marathon is just a little over a week away and now I'm tapering and preparing mentally as well as physically, trying to stay low key and get my massages in.
On the fundraising front, a shout out to all that made such generous donations in this time of economic hardship. I know from my own financial situation it couldn't have been easy and thus it is appreciated with much ardor. If you haven't had a chance to donate, my website is still open and donations can be accepted until mid-July (http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/rnrseatl09/awestwood).
Here's a little tidbit to tell what your donations can accomplish:
-$50 will register 1 person to be a bone marrow donor.
-$100 will pay for the cost of 4 patient's chemotherapy drug prescription co-payments.
-$300 will train 25 peer volunteers who can provide emotional support to newly diagnosed patients.
-$500 will provide patient aid to a person with Leukemia, Lymphoma, Myeloma or Hodgkin's disease for a year.
-$1000 allows patients to meet with health care specialists to design and discuss their disease, treatment plan and prepare them with the info they will need during the treatment process
And even $5 can make a difference! Next time you feel you need Starbuck's, remember what that one day's latte can provide! So many children and adults have been saved by even the smallest donation!
As far as the Washington/Alaska Chapter of TNT, for the summer season (which runs January to June) as of two weeks ago we had raised $770,000. The Seattle group alone running the Seattle RNR has raised a half a million dollars...yes $500,000!
And now I have a request for each of you! Cuz I haven't asked enough already, but this is super easy. Each season on my jersey I tack on ribbons for those that have been afflicted by blood cancers! My goal this year is at least 50 ribbons. So if you have a loved one that has been touched by blood cancer, whether it be directly or indirectly, please let me know so that I can wear a ribbon for them.
You are all amazing and I am so honored to be running for your friends, family and loved ones! Thanks for supporting this cause and know that many lives are being saved due to your generosity!
GO TEAM!
On the fundraising front, a shout out to all that made such generous donations in this time of economic hardship. I know from my own financial situation it couldn't have been easy and thus it is appreciated with much ardor. If you haven't had a chance to donate, my website is still open and donations can be accepted until mid-July (http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/rnrseatl09/awestwood).
Here's a little tidbit to tell what your donations can accomplish:
-$50 will register 1 person to be a bone marrow donor.
-$100 will pay for the cost of 4 patient's chemotherapy drug prescription co-payments.
-$300 will train 25 peer volunteers who can provide emotional support to newly diagnosed patients.
-$500 will provide patient aid to a person with Leukemia, Lymphoma, Myeloma or Hodgkin's disease for a year.
-$1000 allows patients to meet with health care specialists to design and discuss their disease, treatment plan and prepare them with the info they will need during the treatment process
And even $5 can make a difference! Next time you feel you need Starbuck's, remember what that one day's latte can provide! So many children and adults have been saved by even the smallest donation!
As far as the Washington/Alaska Chapter of TNT, for the summer season (which runs January to June) as of two weeks ago we had raised $770,000. The Seattle group alone running the Seattle RNR has raised a half a million dollars...yes $500,000!
And now I have a request for each of you! Cuz I haven't asked enough already, but this is super easy. Each season on my jersey I tack on ribbons for those that have been afflicted by blood cancers! My goal this year is at least 50 ribbons. So if you have a loved one that has been touched by blood cancer, whether it be directly or indirectly, please let me know so that I can wear a ribbon for them.
You are all amazing and I am so honored to be running for your friends, family and loved ones! Thanks for supporting this cause and know that many lives are being saved due to your generosity!
GO TEAM!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Book Review & Reflections Take 1
Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer
So I've been eyeballing this book for about a year but wouldn't let myself buy it until it came out in paperback. It was worth the wait and the purchase. Even if you're not a runner or running doesn't interest you in the least the historic perspective alone and her drive are inspiring. I've been reading a lot of historical non-fiction lately, as well as autobiography's and biography's. They've all been interesting from the historical context but also in the how they relate to each other. The middle age history versus the current event type books.
I'm digressing and venturing further from my point, so I'll reel back in. To put this story in perspective, the ancient Egyptians "discovered" electricity and made precursors to batteries. Ben Franklin rediscovered electricity and we began to see things like light bulbs and other inventions that could then harness the power. See the disparity? DNA wasn't discovered until the 1950's although many early scientists knew something was there, they just couldn't identify it because they lacked the necessary tools to prove it. I mean, if X-ray crystallography had been around in the middle ages someone like Koch or Pasteur probably would have discovered genetic material. The point is we've only really understood DNA in the last half century. Now to relate this to the book. Women have been around as long as men, who knows which came first? I'm not even going to make that debate a part of this discussion. In some cultures women were revered, until Christianity put them in their place...so from then on women have tried to find their niche in society and earn the ability to be considered equal. Suffrage in the US ended with the amendment giving women "equal rights" but the rights even to this day aren't really equal.
Kathrine Switzer had no desire to be a champion of women's rights, she just wanted to run. And she started a firestorm in the 1970's when she decided to run the Boston Marathon. She had no idea the pot she was about to stir because who would imagine in the 1970's women couldn't run more than 800 meters? Who could imagine that in the 1970's men thought women's uterus would fall out if they ran a distance such as the marathon? That's why women played half court basketball too. They didn't have the stamina to go the full court. I mean women only birthed 15 children to one man and then spent the next 40 years of their lives getting them to school, social activities, sports, and everything else until they moved out of the house. That certainly doesn't require stamina. It's not like they had to get up at 530am to get the house going and didn't go to bed until 10pm when everyone else was in bed.
When Ms. Switzer entered the Boston Marathon she was actually accosted by one of the race directors demanding she remove her number. She was running with men she had more endurance than. One of them, her boyfriend, later first husband, actually wanted to drop out of the race and get a ride to the finish but when the sweeper trucks never came he just completed the distance, finishing well after her. Let's not forget too that this is all before "the running shoe". Not even the Nike Waffle shoe was mainstream yet. And after she successfully completed the race, although not officially because of the ridiculous 4 hour cut-off imposed, women still weren't allowed to run for years after that. They had to sneak into the race.
This issue set her on a path she never expected. This woman was so passionate about women's running that she started an all female race organization through Avon. She was instrumental in getting the women's marathon included in the Olympics so that Joan Benoit Samuelson could win the first one in LA in 1984. She has brought running to countries where women were still not considered strong enough to run such races. She has helped women shed the limitations that the men of their culture has placed on them. And for all of these things she's a true hero for running and for women!
So I've been eyeballing this book for about a year but wouldn't let myself buy it until it came out in paperback. It was worth the wait and the purchase. Even if you're not a runner or running doesn't interest you in the least the historic perspective alone and her drive are inspiring. I've been reading a lot of historical non-fiction lately, as well as autobiography's and biography's. They've all been interesting from the historical context but also in the how they relate to each other. The middle age history versus the current event type books.
I'm digressing and venturing further from my point, so I'll reel back in. To put this story in perspective, the ancient Egyptians "discovered" electricity and made precursors to batteries. Ben Franklin rediscovered electricity and we began to see things like light bulbs and other inventions that could then harness the power. See the disparity? DNA wasn't discovered until the 1950's although many early scientists knew something was there, they just couldn't identify it because they lacked the necessary tools to prove it. I mean, if X-ray crystallography had been around in the middle ages someone like Koch or Pasteur probably would have discovered genetic material. The point is we've only really understood DNA in the last half century. Now to relate this to the book. Women have been around as long as men, who knows which came first? I'm not even going to make that debate a part of this discussion. In some cultures women were revered, until Christianity put them in their place...so from then on women have tried to find their niche in society and earn the ability to be considered equal. Suffrage in the US ended with the amendment giving women "equal rights" but the rights even to this day aren't really equal.
Kathrine Switzer had no desire to be a champion of women's rights, she just wanted to run. And she started a firestorm in the 1970's when she decided to run the Boston Marathon. She had no idea the pot she was about to stir because who would imagine in the 1970's women couldn't run more than 800 meters? Who could imagine that in the 1970's men thought women's uterus would fall out if they ran a distance such as the marathon? That's why women played half court basketball too. They didn't have the stamina to go the full court. I mean women only birthed 15 children to one man and then spent the next 40 years of their lives getting them to school, social activities, sports, and everything else until they moved out of the house. That certainly doesn't require stamina. It's not like they had to get up at 530am to get the house going and didn't go to bed until 10pm when everyone else was in bed.
When Ms. Switzer entered the Boston Marathon she was actually accosted by one of the race directors demanding she remove her number. She was running with men she had more endurance than. One of them, her boyfriend, later first husband, actually wanted to drop out of the race and get a ride to the finish but when the sweeper trucks never came he just completed the distance, finishing well after her. Let's not forget too that this is all before "the running shoe". Not even the Nike Waffle shoe was mainstream yet. And after she successfully completed the race, although not officially because of the ridiculous 4 hour cut-off imposed, women still weren't allowed to run for years after that. They had to sneak into the race.
This issue set her on a path she never expected. This woman was so passionate about women's running that she started an all female race organization through Avon. She was instrumental in getting the women's marathon included in the Olympics so that Joan Benoit Samuelson could win the first one in LA in 1984. She has brought running to countries where women were still not considered strong enough to run such races. She has helped women shed the limitations that the men of their culture has placed on them. And for all of these things she's a true hero for running and for women!
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