Friday, January 13, 2012
Monday, June 13, 2011
Marriage Equality in New York
New York's legislature has before it a marriage equality bill that supporters are confident will be passed by June 20th. We all know how fiercely the opposition works against such legislation, so it is up to us to let our friends in New York know that now is the time to contact their legislators!
I'm sharing with you today, a video featuring New Yorkers supporting this legislation in every day, no-nonsense terms. Please, enjoy and pass along!
I'm sharing with you today, a video featuring New Yorkers supporting this legislation in every day, no-nonsense terms. Please, enjoy and pass along!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
1/6th Complete
Okay, I have done it, I have completed one term of law school and am deep in the second week of my second term. In fact, right now, I should be briefing some boring property cases. I have learned some valuable lessons. There is a ton of drama and mystique associated with the first year of law school. I believe that this is pure subterfuge to make law students feel like they are perhaps just a bit smarter or better than they are. So, you run around your first term, chasing your tail and doing everything wrong. That's what takes up so much damn time. Now, I'm wiser, more focused, more confident (though we still have not received our first term grades yet - further adding to the mystique, they hold them until the fourth week of the second term [WTF?]) and actually ahead on all my reading, outlining and studying.
Perhaps I'll have some blog-worthy thoughts this summer.
Now, there has been some disappointment, I have been passed over again (for the sixth time) for promotion in the Navy. You'd think that my BA, Afghanistan and my Meritorious Service Medal would put me over the top but, I guess not. I can't change the quotas and I also cannot change the fact that at my pay-grade it has become extremely political and I may not be kissing enough male ass, or it may just be that I don't have a dick. Doesn't matter at all for advancement from E-1 to E-6 but once you start competing for E-7 to E-9, a board selects the candidates, most of the members are of course male and I do a very male-dominated job. You know they still don't want us bitches on their ships, bottom line. Anyway, just four more years left.
I'm old now. 40 and I feel every bit of it today. I had a two week break from classes and, of course, I spent the entire break sick as a dog so I did absolutely nothing. I mean, NOTHING. So when I started back running last week my left hip dissented. I've been taking it easy and alternating runs with walks and bike rides, going to start swimming again as soon as I get my hind end over to the YMCA for a membership. I suspect I'll be over it soon, but in the meantime, there is nothing quite like hip pain to make you feel old. Gray hair and wrinkles got nothing on my left hip. I've got three 5Ks and a triathlon planned for this summer, so I really need to get better soon!
So that's the mundane, tune in next time for the magical!
Perhaps I'll have some blog-worthy thoughts this summer.
Now, there has been some disappointment, I have been passed over again (for the sixth time) for promotion in the Navy. You'd think that my BA, Afghanistan and my Meritorious Service Medal would put me over the top but, I guess not. I can't change the quotas and I also cannot change the fact that at my pay-grade it has become extremely political and I may not be kissing enough male ass, or it may just be that I don't have a dick. Doesn't matter at all for advancement from E-1 to E-6 but once you start competing for E-7 to E-9, a board selects the candidates, most of the members are of course male and I do a very male-dominated job. You know they still don't want us bitches on their ships, bottom line. Anyway, just four more years left.
I'm old now. 40 and I feel every bit of it today. I had a two week break from classes and, of course, I spent the entire break sick as a dog so I did absolutely nothing. I mean, NOTHING. So when I started back running last week my left hip dissented. I've been taking it easy and alternating runs with walks and bike rides, going to start swimming again as soon as I get my hind end over to the YMCA for a membership. I suspect I'll be over it soon, but in the meantime, there is nothing quite like hip pain to make you feel old. Gray hair and wrinkles got nothing on my left hip. I've got three 5Ks and a triathlon planned for this summer, so I really need to get better soon!
So that's the mundane, tune in next time for the magical!
Friday, April 08, 2011
This Won't Be Nice
This won't be nice, simply because I am pissed.
I am pissed that the US Congress is tied up in a budget battle that is all about their own individual special interests and has nothing to do with the people they are elected to represent.
I am pissed that people blindly fall for stupid rhetoric. Example, military won't be paid. Boo fucking hoo. I am part of that military that won't be paid and not only am I responsible enough to adhere to the advice freely given by financial advisers to us military folk I am also not blind to the reality that DFAS does not need to have the accounting until the 12th for payment on the 15th. That being said, the military doesn't have to worry about not being paid for another, oh four days, so all you lovely ladies whining about your old man's paycheck on tv, shut your trap and get real, do you really, I mean REALLY think that your husband won't get his pay. I'll answer for you, NO, no you don't but you'd like to let the GOP take every opportunity to stick it to the Commander in Chief even thought it is Congress' DUTY to come up with a budget.
Okay, since I brought up the mere topic of military men let me move on to military women. I am sick and fucking tired of the inference that my service is somehow not enough because I'm "just a girl." Yeah, I didn't go to Afghanistan and spend a whole year away from my family, putting on flak vests at random times because we were being fired upon. Nope, that wasn't me with a weapon on my side, prepared to use it when necessary, because I AM JUST A GIRL. So, yeah, TSA agent, that's my boyfriend's backpack even after I just showed you my military ID to get through your freaking check point.
Okay, so I've now brought up the subject of women which leads me to Planned Parenthood. I really, really, really depended upon this organization when I was poor. They provided me with annual pap smears (cancer screenings) and even helped me get treatment when one of those pap smears turned up abnormal. Yeah, they may have saved my life and ensured that I had good working bits to actually give birth to my son. They also ensured that I didn't have any "unintended" pregnancies giving me the pleasure of assuring my son that he was planned, this means a lot (I should know, since I was one of the unplanned ones and I ruined my parents' lives). Since no federal funds go to abortion (Hyde Amendment) I don't know what the fucking problem is except that some assholes just want to be assholes.
Oh, so now that I've mentioned Planned Parenthood, let me just mention that Planned Parenthood is not contributing to our country's deficit. If you want to know what is doing that just look at GE's tax return (big on return) or even mine. Not only did I NOT pay any taxes this year, I actually got a REFUND. Yep, the government paid me. Multiply that by just about everyone and it's no surprise that the government's in debt. Laughing out loud, thanks to all those Republicans extending the Bush Tax Cuts. Awesome. Those did not contribute to the deficit at all. REALLY!
Hmm, what else is costing us big bucks? War contracts! There are more civilian contractors working in Afghanistan than there are military personnel. That is not a joke. Our government is handing out multimillion dollar contracts to perform duties that our military is trained and experienced at (such as fucking cooking and serving food to troops or driving trucks or building shit or...well, you get the point, there is really no need for civilian contracts, particularly when our military costs us much less since they tend to make less than their civilian counterpart statistically).
So, next time Congress wants you to join their bandwagon, no matter which party line they pretend to support, remember this: the people that were elected to represent US, the PEOPLE have been ASSIMILATED by the BORG. Sadly for us, the borg in our case just happens to be special interest groups with the money to buy our representatives.
We need statesmen not politicians!
My amusement now consists of wondering what would happen if everyone who had their head up their ass pulled it out at the same time...
Okay, I'm going back to studying for finals now, perhaps when I emerge the next time from my books I'll be a bit nicer.
I am pissed that the US Congress is tied up in a budget battle that is all about their own individual special interests and has nothing to do with the people they are elected to represent.
I am pissed that people blindly fall for stupid rhetoric. Example, military won't be paid. Boo fucking hoo. I am part of that military that won't be paid and not only am I responsible enough to adhere to the advice freely given by financial advisers to us military folk I am also not blind to the reality that DFAS does not need to have the accounting until the 12th for payment on the 15th. That being said, the military doesn't have to worry about not being paid for another, oh four days, so all you lovely ladies whining about your old man's paycheck on tv, shut your trap and get real, do you really, I mean REALLY think that your husband won't get his pay. I'll answer for you, NO, no you don't but you'd like to let the GOP take every opportunity to stick it to the Commander in Chief even thought it is Congress' DUTY to come up with a budget.
Okay, since I brought up the mere topic of military men let me move on to military women. I am sick and fucking tired of the inference that my service is somehow not enough because I'm "just a girl." Yeah, I didn't go to Afghanistan and spend a whole year away from my family, putting on flak vests at random times because we were being fired upon. Nope, that wasn't me with a weapon on my side, prepared to use it when necessary, because I AM JUST A GIRL. So, yeah, TSA agent, that's my boyfriend's backpack even after I just showed you my military ID to get through your freaking check point.
Okay, so I've now brought up the subject of women which leads me to Planned Parenthood. I really, really, really depended upon this organization when I was poor. They provided me with annual pap smears (cancer screenings) and even helped me get treatment when one of those pap smears turned up abnormal. Yeah, they may have saved my life and ensured that I had good working bits to actually give birth to my son. They also ensured that I didn't have any "unintended" pregnancies giving me the pleasure of assuring my son that he was planned, this means a lot (I should know, since I was one of the unplanned ones and I ruined my parents' lives). Since no federal funds go to abortion (Hyde Amendment) I don't know what the fucking problem is except that some assholes just want to be assholes.
Oh, so now that I've mentioned Planned Parenthood, let me just mention that Planned Parenthood is not contributing to our country's deficit. If you want to know what is doing that just look at GE's tax return (big on return) or even mine. Not only did I NOT pay any taxes this year, I actually got a REFUND. Yep, the government paid me. Multiply that by just about everyone and it's no surprise that the government's in debt. Laughing out loud, thanks to all those Republicans extending the Bush Tax Cuts. Awesome. Those did not contribute to the deficit at all. REALLY!
Hmm, what else is costing us big bucks? War contracts! There are more civilian contractors working in Afghanistan than there are military personnel. That is not a joke. Our government is handing out multimillion dollar contracts to perform duties that our military is trained and experienced at (such as fucking cooking and serving food to troops or driving trucks or building shit or...well, you get the point, there is really no need for civilian contracts, particularly when our military costs us much less since they tend to make less than their civilian counterpart statistically).
So, next time Congress wants you to join their bandwagon, no matter which party line they pretend to support, remember this: the people that were elected to represent US, the PEOPLE have been ASSIMILATED by the BORG. Sadly for us, the borg in our case just happens to be special interest groups with the money to buy our representatives.
We need statesmen not politicians!
My amusement now consists of wondering what would happen if everyone who had their head up their ass pulled it out at the same time...
Okay, I'm going back to studying for finals now, perhaps when I emerge the next time from my books I'll be a bit nicer.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Strange Things Afoot
I'm often struck by the ludicrousness of my fellow man. It sure feels like we are sinking into some deep, dark abyss reminiscent of "the good old days," more commonly known as the Dark Ages.
The Righteous are firmly exerting their control with deep grasping handfuls of our humanity, without regard for humanity. Pull out your old battered copy of The Handmaids Tale, ladies because the assault is full on. Big bad Congress and our newest crop of Governators are working hard to bring on the next Inquisition.
The tragic result of fanaticism, unspeakable pain such as the Deaver family experienced in Nebraska. 15 minutes of the most horrifying thing I can imagine, watching your child die.
Texas is working on the latest punishment for those floozies who find themselves in the family way, forcing them to have a sonogram, describe what they see and listen to the heartbeat. That'll cure those little hussies. Seriously, the Viagra-pumped sex fiend is never involved.
Okay, for real and more seriously, human sexuality is so freaking complex and the relationship diversity and disparity in just our "western" culture is staggering. Do a handful of old, fat, white dudes (generally) get to decide what is best for all of us? They've never been coerced to give in to the varsity football star. They've never yearned for love and attention so much that they freely and frequently get it the only way they know how. They've never been taken advantage of with the help of drugs or alcohol. They've never been told that they will submit to their husband, that he has rights and that he will not be denied. They've never been told to keep their mouth shut or something bad will happen. They've never felt the panic of realizing that their birth control failed them.
Just one more bitty rant on the above topic, it kills me every time I hear some high-on-their-horse person talking about how some chicks just use abortion as birth control. Yeah, because there aren't cheaper, less invasive versions available. I can't wait until I hear someone say, "the pill makes me fat so every time I get pregnant I'm just going to spread my legs in some doctors office that I have to drive miles to get to, because the Righteous ones have made damn sure that there isn't one in this county, let him dilate my cervix, insert tools and vacuum me out, after I pay an arm and a leg, and then to top it all off I can't have sex again for weeks afterward because of the risk of infection, which really cramps my style because I'm a real slut, you know. But, really, this is the best form of birth control for me because I can afford it financially and mentally."
Then there's the downright crazy, elected officials who want to send New Hampshire's "crazy people" to Siberia.
The reactionary fall out of the midterms is out of control scary. Voting, it's a right and a responsibility.
The Righteous are firmly exerting their control with deep grasping handfuls of our humanity, without regard for humanity. Pull out your old battered copy of The Handmaids Tale, ladies because the assault is full on. Big bad Congress and our newest crop of Governators are working hard to bring on the next Inquisition.
The tragic result of fanaticism, unspeakable pain such as the Deaver family experienced in Nebraska. 15 minutes of the most horrifying thing I can imagine, watching your child die.
Texas is working on the latest punishment for those floozies who find themselves in the family way, forcing them to have a sonogram, describe what they see and listen to the heartbeat. That'll cure those little hussies. Seriously, the Viagra-pumped sex fiend is never involved.
Okay, for real and more seriously, human sexuality is so freaking complex and the relationship diversity and disparity in just our "western" culture is staggering. Do a handful of old, fat, white dudes (generally) get to decide what is best for all of us? They've never been coerced to give in to the varsity football star. They've never yearned for love and attention so much that they freely and frequently get it the only way they know how. They've never been taken advantage of with the help of drugs or alcohol. They've never been told that they will submit to their husband, that he has rights and that he will not be denied. They've never been told to keep their mouth shut or something bad will happen. They've never felt the panic of realizing that their birth control failed them.
Just one more bitty rant on the above topic, it kills me every time I hear some high-on-their-horse person talking about how some chicks just use abortion as birth control. Yeah, because there aren't cheaper, less invasive versions available. I can't wait until I hear someone say, "the pill makes me fat so every time I get pregnant I'm just going to spread my legs in some doctors office that I have to drive miles to get to, because the Righteous ones have made damn sure that there isn't one in this county, let him dilate my cervix, insert tools and vacuum me out, after I pay an arm and a leg, and then to top it all off I can't have sex again for weeks afterward because of the risk of infection, which really cramps my style because I'm a real slut, you know. But, really, this is the best form of birth control for me because I can afford it financially and mentally."
Then there's the downright crazy, elected officials who want to send New Hampshire's "crazy people" to Siberia.
The reactionary fall out of the midterms is out of control scary. Voting, it's a right and a responsibility.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Fairy Tales & Scary Monsters
Within the past five weeks I have been made to realize that I am not quite as brilliant as I once thought. Indeed I may have more in common with a box of rocks instead of just heaviness, which I will refer to as heft. I like that. Okay, it's not true and even if it is I won't know for several months, in the meantime I should take a look around me.
Holy shit! There is all this stuff going on and instead of slinging it at you in the form of random links I feel that I should try just a little bit harder to make a real connection. Today, I want to talk about fairy tale weddings.
When I was a little girl I fantasized about having a fairy tale wedding, I have a feeling that most girls do, I assume it is because we inhabit a society that expects and instills these desires in young girls (I'm having some disgusting and deranged Stepford Wife epiphany right now). Ugh, we are trained. My real wedding wasn't exactly fairy tale, the groom stayed out the night before gambling and cruising strip clubs (he calls them shoe stores [disclaimer: he does not frequent them, my dad took him and I'm sure they only went to one]). I would have been pissed, but this is the man that I cannot get mad at (well he did win $1200 playing Black Jack and one of those ladies managed to get his raggedy old ball cap that I'd been trying to sneak into the trash can for months prior [we ran into her a few weeks later in Target and she said she didn't know where the hat was, but I know, she knew that nasty thing needed to hit a trash can fast and I thank her]). I am absolutely unable to be mad at him no matter how hard I try. Powerless. Currently his power is his Deliverance-style missing tooth. All he has to do is smile to cause me fits of laughter, uncontrollable fits, no matter how pissy/prissy I am being at the time. I know (hope) the dentist will get around to fixing his grill real soon (golly, it's been a couple of months now). So, the wedding itself wasn't the fairy tale but the life I've had since then has been pretty damn good and I wouldn't trade it for anything (well, we could have skipped the whole Afghanistan thing and the missing teeth drama and...)!
So, my thought is this, I am so lucky to have this, I have so much love in my life, what kind of monster would I be if I advocated to keep the opportunity to have something just as special from other people? Well, I'd be a big-fat-head-jackassholio! That's what I'd be and that's basically what kind of jackassholios we have running around trying to amend state constitutions to disallow civil unions, voting on stinky propositions to il-legalize same sex marriage, defending "marriage" through federal acts. It leads me to the conclusion, the only logical conclusion, really. The jackassholios aren't trying to deny the benefits of marriage to same sex couples because they are greedy and want to keep their love to themselves, they are doing it because they are scared that someone else might actually be blessed with the love that they have not found themselves (probably because they are so freaking worried about what everybody else is doing).
Oh, and I also hope that all little girls and boys who dream of fairy tale weddings have the opportunity to create memories that they will cherish no matter how far from their fantasy it may be.
I leave you with Zach Wahls as he describes his family during a public forum on House Joint Resolution 6 in the Iowa House of Representatives (House Joint Resolution 6 would end civil unions in Iowa).
Holy shit! There is all this stuff going on and instead of slinging it at you in the form of random links I feel that I should try just a little bit harder to make a real connection. Today, I want to talk about fairy tale weddings.
When I was a little girl I fantasized about having a fairy tale wedding, I have a feeling that most girls do, I assume it is because we inhabit a society that expects and instills these desires in young girls (I'm having some disgusting and deranged Stepford Wife epiphany right now). Ugh, we are trained. My real wedding wasn't exactly fairy tale, the groom stayed out the night before gambling and cruising strip clubs (he calls them shoe stores [disclaimer: he does not frequent them, my dad took him and I'm sure they only went to one]). I would have been pissed, but this is the man that I cannot get mad at (well he did win $1200 playing Black Jack and one of those ladies managed to get his raggedy old ball cap that I'd been trying to sneak into the trash can for months prior [we ran into her a few weeks later in Target and she said she didn't know where the hat was, but I know, she knew that nasty thing needed to hit a trash can fast and I thank her]). I am absolutely unable to be mad at him no matter how hard I try. Powerless. Currently his power is his Deliverance-style missing tooth. All he has to do is smile to cause me fits of laughter, uncontrollable fits, no matter how pissy/prissy I am being at the time. I know (hope) the dentist will get around to fixing his grill real soon (golly, it's been a couple of months now). So, the wedding itself wasn't the fairy tale but the life I've had since then has been pretty damn good and I wouldn't trade it for anything (well, we could have skipped the whole Afghanistan thing and the missing teeth drama and...)!
So, my thought is this, I am so lucky to have this, I have so much love in my life, what kind of monster would I be if I advocated to keep the opportunity to have something just as special from other people? Well, I'd be a big-fat-head-jackassholio! That's what I'd be and that's basically what kind of jackassholios we have running around trying to amend state constitutions to disallow civil unions, voting on stinky propositions to il-legalize same sex marriage, defending "marriage" through federal acts. It leads me to the conclusion, the only logical conclusion, really. The jackassholios aren't trying to deny the benefits of marriage to same sex couples because they are greedy and want to keep their love to themselves, they are doing it because they are scared that someone else might actually be blessed with the love that they have not found themselves (probably because they are so freaking worried about what everybody else is doing).
Oh, and I also hope that all little girls and boys who dream of fairy tale weddings have the opportunity to create memories that they will cherish no matter how far from their fantasy it may be.
I leave you with Zach Wahls as he describes his family during a public forum on House Joint Resolution 6 in the Iowa House of Representatives (House Joint Resolution 6 would end civil unions in Iowa).
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