"So long as we live among men, let us cherish humanity." Andre Gide 1869-1951

I read this email today about Sen. Obama and am baffled to say the least. Baffled, because we live in a country which was built upon certain principles including, freedoms of speech and religion, non-discrimination, and others which can be found in the handwriting of our forefathers. I find it difficult to believe that our nation, which has overcome so many hurdles since 1776, remains unable to transcend bigotry and intolerance on the basis of a person's name, upbringing, religious beliefs, and family history regardless of their patriotism, leadership, and desire to stand up for a nation in peril.

Our parents, and possibly some of you who are reading this, have seen times in our history that were so dark, it must have seemed like America would never recover. We are, unfortunately, experiencing one of those times. Why is it so difficult for some to look past things like i mentioned before, name, creed, etc., and see a man for who he is. This is not only my feeling toward Sen Oabma, but all who call themselves American. It saddens me to think that our nation has become not a haven for rights, freedom, and liberty, but for racism, sexism, and multiple other forms of discrimination.

I don't care who you are going to vote for. I don't care what you say. I don't care what you believe, who you sleep with, or who you pray to. What I do care about is the way we look at eachother. It is my desire that finally we can stand up and see an American for an American, human for a human, and nothing else.

below, you will find a copy of the email:

I FIND THIS INTERESTING INFORMATION. ONE PICTURE OF HIM SHOWED HE WAS NOT PLEDGING ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG. HMMMM !
Who is Barack Obama? Probable U. S. presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii , to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a black MUSLIM from Nyangoma-Kogel , Kenya and Ann Dunham, a white Athiest from Wichita , Kansas .
Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii . When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His father returned to Kenya . His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a RADICAL Muslim from Indonesia . When Obama was 6 years old, the family relocated to Indonesia . Obama attended a MUSLIM school in Jakarta He also spent two years in a Catholic school. Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim. He is quick to point out that, "He was once a Muslim, but that he also attended Catholic school." Obama's political handlers are attempting to make it appear that he is not a radical.
Obama's introduction to Islam came via his father, and that this influence was temporary at best. In reality, the senior Obama returned to Kenya soon after the divorce, and never again had any direct influence over his son's education. Lolo Soetoro, the second husband of Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, introduced his stepson to Islam. Obama was enrolled in a Wahabi school in Jakarta . Wahabism is the RADICAL ISLAMIC teaching that is followed by the Muslim Terrorists who are now waging Jihad against the western world. Since it is politically expedient to be a CHRISTIAN when seeking major public office in the United States , Barack Hussein Obama has joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background. ALSO, keep in mind that when he was sworn into office he DID NOT use the Holy Bible, but instead the Koran.
Barack Hussein Obama will NOT recite the Pledge of Allegience nor will he show any reverence for our flag. While others place their hands over their hearts, Obama turns his back to the flag and slouches.
Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential candidacy. The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the US from the inside out, what better way to start than at the highest level - through the President of the United States , one of their own!!!!
Please forward to everyone you know. Would you want this man leading our country?...... NOT ME!!!

'Redacted'

"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always evil and never good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children."
- Jimmy Carter.

i am back once again from yet another blogging hiatus, and i think this post is long overdue.

i just finished watching an indy film titled 'Redacted'. it's a fictional story that revolves around actual events. if you don't follow, stop reading. it is about a small unit of marines serving in iraq, one of which is creating a video war journal to use to get in to film school when he gets home.

spoiler alert! - he dies.

and he dies because this fictional story, and fictional group of soldiers revolves around the rape and murder of a 15 year old girl, along with her mother, grandfather, and baby sister (that's the true part). now, i haven't posted much about the war here (ha, like i've really posted much about anything here lately), and i can't say that this is what i had imagined to be my latest subject. i will post regardess, though, because it's better than staring at the wall.

it is not the movie that bothers me most. it's not the smaller stories intertwined there. what hit me was the pictures; the realism in the filming, the real pictures from the war in the slideshow before the credits.

now, don't get me wrong, i do support our troops. i wish for the safe return of each and every one. i understand their job is difficult and mentally draining. i know many of the ones who came back and told me of the things they saw. in addition, i have no interest in, how do the neocons put it(?), aiding the ememy? yeah i think i got that right. but i do have support for the innocent lives that are being taken, and taken advantage of, because some 19 year old with a big gun has a thought that he/she can do whatever he/she wants based on the patch on their sleeve. i would like to know how a toddler, not much older than my own children, must be slaughtered in front of the parents' bodies? i mean, my kids are really smart, but there is no way they could fathom why something as gruesome as what these pictures and stories reveal would happen. i don't understand seeing a woman mourning her daughter rendered lifeless because she 'looked suspicious'.

it makes me question: what ever happened to the 'rules of engagement'? didn't these principles talk about things like not shooting until shot at yourself? weren't they about helping to make sure the life you are taking is actually a threat before you decide to blow their brains out? maybe i'm wrong. maybe things have changed in the way our military practices its duties. but if i am wrong, and this kind of savagery is presently acceptable by our leaders, i am left with nothing but to be ashamed that we live in a place in which people can get away with terrible things under executive order. again, i support our troops. the vast majority of them are simply following orders rather than be locked up in military prison, or killed accidentally. what i am against are the ones who know that these acts have gone on, and are still going on; yet, they do nothing. i blame our leaders. on both sides of the aisle who have done nothing for a bit of political gain.

but most of all, i blame us. we, who allowed this so called administration to be reelected so that they may continue to desecrate eveything that makes this country great. we, who have not made our voices heard. we, who stare blankly at our television and hear reports of nothing but death. we, who have the power to stand up to make a change. i can only hope that one day we will finally be great once more. we have the potential, and the means. now, we need the minds.

"Health is not simply the absence of sickness." - Hannah Green.

I read today, on the Huffington Post, that many members of the GOP, who are ridiculously pro-life, voted against the SCHIP Health Plan for children. here's what i don't get:

how can someone who is devoutly pro-life be against healthcare for children? if they want women to have all these kids, their status moved to below the poverty line (if they aren't already), and not afford healthcare, how do they suspect we keep them healthy? not that being pro-life (as i'm not) or pro-choice (as i am) has anything to do with healthcare, but you can see where i'm coming from. if you can't You, as usual, Lose.

i am simply sick and tired of hearing about countless patients, including children, who are turned away from definitive medical care which they need because they can't afford coverage.

Barak, PLEASE DO SOMETHING!

FOX News needs F'd in the A...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouKJixL--ms i was sent this video by moms as we support Sen Obama's campaign in our household. it's quite disturbing i must say, the coverage he is getting on the FOX News Network (keep in mind that i do not tune in to FOX... EVER. for the specific reasons which i will lay out later in this post). i suggest you hit the link and watch this short video before going further as you will wish you had when you realize that you are lost and have absolutly no idea what i'm talking about... ok, so you were too damn lazy to watch a three and a half minute video which sets the stage for my rant. normally i'd tell you that You Lose and would have to work your carpal tunnelled hand over to the scroll bar or employ your index finger for something better than picking your nose to use your scroll wheel to get back to the link i provided. but i'm in a good mood and will give you this: the video presents various clips from FOX News bashing Sen Obama for anything from the way he ties his shoes to his enjoyment of a nice cigarette now and again. they actually use the line (with referance to smoking cigarettes) "do we really want 'that kind of person' in the white house?" what do they mean 'that kind of person'? that like saying 'you people' to a group of african americans... give me a fucking break. not only do i smoke, but most of my friends and aquaintances smoke and there's nothing morally wrong with us. but hey, we're not televised on FOX News. - not to mention that they harp on about the ELEMENTARY school he attended for 4 years, called him a muslim in a blatantly pedjudiced manner, and damn near said that he has no business in d.c. bacause of his middle name. and then they state NUMEROUS times that the FOX News Network reports fair and unbiased news. WTF!? they also go on to mention that the FOX News Network will be the "home" of the '08 presidential election. i watched the video, and went to the site advertised in the end (www.foxattacks.com) and signed the petition. as you all should as well. i suggest you also do as i did and utilize the little message box on the petition to add your own little FU to these people. here's what i said: "Why would anyone in their right mind allow a DEMOCRATIC PARTY debate to air on a network which BLATANTLY supports the ultra-conservative right wing, and in the past has televised that they are REPUBLICAN PARTY ORIENTED. not to mention they're UNFAIR and BIASED coverage of Sen Barak Obama's campaign. The FOX network is not only politically biased, but biased when it comes to the race, religion, and off-record practices of today's top newsmakers."

some things never change...

ok, once again and as usual, i've not been back for a hot minute. but that's beside the point. what i was planning to do was to lay out my views on what our world has become with all that has happened since my last post. so, take a leak, grab a snack, and get comfortable....

jen and i were discussing the whole "how'd we get into this mess with the middle east" thing last week. i made a couple of great points, and she said it would sound really good if it was read by you all here. the epiphany goes like this: we now live in a country who's government believes it's ok to go into another country (who's leader really hasn't done anything to us directly) under false pretense, kidnap said leader, go against everything this country stands for with regard to the judicial system, have him tried, and killed, by his own people who were convinced (again under false pretense) that doing so would solve all their problems. not to mention overthrowing the standing government of this country, and instill a governing system they don't understand simply because we (you know who i really mean) said it would be better this way. now that all is said and done (sort of), the situation is much, much worse that it was in the first place. but hey, at least they still get the seventy-two virgins... when they die.

now, i'm not saying dude wasn't a bad person... or that he didn't do anything wrong... but it could have been done much cleaner, and with less death and destruction. i mean, i always see these shows on discovery and the history channel about these elite forces we have with all their high-tech toys, which can supposidly perform horrible acts with such precision and silence that we don't even know it happened... i guess they were off that day.

not only that, but while this is all going on, we have a disaster of biblical proportions in ONE OF OUR OWN STATES!; most of which has not seen much more than a "wow, that sucks" from the suits in dc.

my question now is: where are all the fucking people i hear saying things like: "something should be done", and "lets get an impeachment", oh, and "there must be something we can do?" not that i'm some type of ghandi wannabe, but at least i do what i can within my ability. c'mon people, join moveon.org and sign a petition, write a letter, make a phone call. every little bit counts. unless we're voting. then we're all pretty much fucked. that shit has been rigged the last two elections, and probably will be until the pay-offs and blackmailings lean our way.

on top of all this, we have the recent death of a celebrity, who no one really cares about anyway (i shouldn't even be talking about this...this recockulous ish isn't in my nature), get more news coverage than things that really matter, because she's dead now. like i said to eveyone who's brought this up to me: 'i guess that's how it goes when you slam six bottles of trimspa every day while sucking blow up one nostril and mdma up the other.' get over it. her show sucked anyway.

i had a lot more to say, but a bad workday has put me in a shitty mood, and thinking about all this crap is only making it worse. i'll continue this rant later. probably much later... we all know how that goes.

cloned meats safe for consumption...

"The government declared Thursday that food from cloned animals is safe to eat. After more than five years of study, the Food and Drug Administration concluded that cloned livestock is "virtually indistinguishable" from conventional livestock.

FDA believes "that meat and milk from cattle, swine and goat clones is as safe to eat as the food we eat every day," said Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine." - The Huffington Post, 12/28/2006.

well then, that makes me feel so much better that i won't be on the can with a 5-gal bucket in front of me because some idiot in the lab screwed with the DNA and mixed cow with the racoon i ran over last week. my only question is how the grocery stores will handle this ish. the 'free range' and 'organic' sections already take away from the overall space for produce and all that tainted meat we americans love so much. i can only imagine the "cloned meats" section right next to the "mad cow meats" section. i hope you know what to look for when picking that perfect steak.

Truth.com and its followers can bite one as the monoxide fills their pure little souls...

for all of you smokers in OH who haven't heard:

an injunction has been filed with the state legislature about the new smoking ban. there are a multitude of websites that are posting the info, and i'm too lazy to put a link here so google it.

from what i've gotten so far, this is what it entails:

the ban still remains, however, any complaints or violations reported to the 866-559-OHIO anti-smoking RAT-LINE will only go as far as being noted. no violators will be fined, nor will any adverse effects to the lifestyle occur. simply put, YOU CAN BREAK THE LAW WITHOUT ANY REPERCUSSIONS.

the state legislature has until June 7, 2007 to get their shit straight for them to be able to legally enforce any violation of the ban. if, or when, they do get things together any violations or complaints prior to the ban being finalized cannot be pursued and nothing can be done about them. it is only after the ban is finalized that the anti-smoke anti-rights rat squad can take any action in legal form.

the down side is that word is not getting out about the injunction in as widespread a manner as many of my constituents' would hope. on top of that, we can still be kicked out of establishments in which the proprietor has inacted a full-on no smoking policy regardless of said injunction. on the other hand, the Ohio State Legislature has never been remotely swift about much of anything, so here's hoping there's still a few smokers in Columbus who can drag this out past June 7 and cause this bullshit to be abolished.

in the meantime, i say smoke 'em if ya got 'em Ohio, cuz dippin' snuff just isn't the same...

Wal-Mart

don't ask me why, but i turned on the FOX News Network late the other night when the baby woke up. actually, i did it because a man can only take so many minutes of 'enlarge your cock and balls' infomercials. anyhoo, what caught my attention was this relativly unattractive blonde who was (per the scroll on the screen) one of their corperate directors, saying some of the most ludacris shit i've heard in a while. i actually had to pinch myself to be sure i wasn't dreaming.

as it goes, wal-mart will be starting a new trend in the retail marketplace this year. no longer will you get a nice 'appy oliday's' from the old gentleman at the door. beginning this winter season, wal-mart will now be using but one phrase to celebrate the winter days of all religions: "Merry Christmas!"

you have got to be kidding. how on earth can they decide that merry christmas could possibly sum up all wishes of good tidings for the holiday season for so many religions? how many muslims have ever told you merry christmas, or anything with christ in the phrase for that matter. and, last time i checked, jews, bhuddists, and hindus didn't celebrate it either. not that christmas sucks, but isn't there any other way to inject christianity into the lives of those who retain other beliefs than this. i will now begin yet another boycot on that godforsaken store. i see this all as another way for the religious right to infect my life (like i shop there anyway).

funny thing is, the conservative religious prick doing the interview didn't even agree with this bitch...

ok, enough hurried typing with no sense of real direction, i gotta drop a deuce.

punctuality was never a quality of mine...

ok, you all obviously know what happened on tuesday. yet, i think it's only fair to post my views on the whole thing (actually, only the parts i really care to at the moment).

so, the dems owned all over the nation, and won back the house and senate. good things. also a good thing, ohio is now blue, which provides less cause for concern about where else i'd like to live. i'm pissed about the gambling getting tossed again, but it's kinda nice to have to take that weekend road trip to give my hard-earned cash to someone in a shiny vest and tux shirt with little hope of walking out with enough left for gas on the way back home. nah, i'm pretty good at being a jew with my winnings and usually have a bit left over in my shoe (don't tell jen!). another thing i'm pissed about is the smoking ban. yup, starting dec 8th, we will no longer be able to smoke in (how'd they put it?) public places of gathering. like we really get out that much anyhow. it's much nicer to get embarrasingly half-shaved knowing that your bed is only 15 stairs away, and the only one's who'll see you are family. and they don't seem to mind all that much. they've seen the worst, and usually know what to expect. regardess, i'd like to begin my peacefull protest of said ban, simply to see how much my charming demeanor will let me get away with. F 'em anyway. it's just another reason for someone to lose. and so what if i get kicked out of an establishment: if they really wanted my business, they'd say nothing as i exhale under the sneeze guards.

alrighty, must do something productive now.... late.

monday...

another monday working, another weekend gone. did a lot of work at moms' crib this weekend so i feel pretty good about that. outside of the aching back and arthritic knees... but i'm sure i'll get over it (when the weather warms up or we move to a more temerate climate). i once again amazed myself with the wealth of knowledge i retain about removing counters, cabinets, and plumbing. i owe this all to my pops for all the times i couldn't leave the house until i helped with the ongoing "project" for at least an hour or two. it's actually kinda interesting the information one person can retain about a particular subject... and i thought i wouldn't learn anything useful from it. i guess he told me so, and i now have the ability to dismantle most household workings. we'll discover intallations next week. i'm sure i'll find a way to impress myself again.

on to monday...

i had my prbationary evaluation at the job. it went well. actually, it only took about five minutes or so. got a raise, found out i'm getting a bonus at the end of the year, and was told that i never cease to impress... god i enjoy gloating. and gloat i will as you all lose and will have to put up with it. hahahahaha!

voting day is tomorrow, and i hope you all have learned how to use the eltronic booths. not for your benefit, it's just that i haven't yet and will probably need some assistance. you are voting aren't you? like i can even ask that. i still haven't decided myself if i should participate in making our world a more difficult place to live. unless things should go my way. like i said before, i haven't given up on the issues, only the candidates for office. then again, it pains me to hear issues from some asshole on the news using them for political gain. the candidates should use their campaigns and their personal views to get the office in my mind. and, the issues should only be used for the issue alone. i personally don't care if the candidate dislikes gambling (he's obviously never won anything), but i'd like to hear what he thinks about the proceeds going toward a college education for the less fortunate kids in our area. they are the ffuture too, and i don't want some yuppie idiot privatizing my social security when i'm 60 just because his daddy could afford to get him an education from some yuppie-ass school... i could embelish my views a bit more, but i won't because i really just don't feel like it.