The Scarlet Paper

2007-02-11T15:40:00.000-05:00

This bird has flown.

R.I.P.
The Scarlet Pimp
March 31st, 2004-May 15th, 2006

Viva La Rasa!

2006-05-15T11:29:00.000-04:00

vivalarasa
Originally uploaded by scarletpimp.

On CNN this weekend, their was a report that illegal immigrants are using the method of identity theft to obtain jobs in the U.S. of A. Apparently this is a growing problem in Utah where a small girl's social security number was stolen to by a car and get a job by an ALIEN. Yes, I said Utah where 13 year old girls marry 60 year old men to be a part of their brainwashed tribe of sex slaves. However, that is a story for another time.

The problem I have with that story is that it shows how the media is working hard to make us fear the people across the border and Xenophobia can only work well if you can identify your own social group. So American is becoming even more white colored because the border that we are looking to secure is the Mexican border and all the people that we see as illegal immigrants on the television are brown.

As a matter of fact, President Bush has decided to put some of our already stretched National Guard on detail at the Mexican Border. Bush Expected to Order Thousands of Troops to Border.

Apparently all the Native Americans lacked when the Europeans invaded were a National Guard. With them protecting our borders, it leaves the INS or whatever department handles that today time to catch the illegals.

So far with the Bush administration, we have gone after the Middle Eastern people or at least people that wear a turban and talk with an accent (Sikh people, I mean you). Next we went after gay people because they were undermining the moral fabric of our society by demanding civil rights.
Now we are going after latino people and anyone here without the correct papers. Its only a matter of time before abortion and medical rights are taken away from women as pharmacies turn them away and claim they have the right to decide what medicines to dispense based on their religion NOT ON MEDICAL NECESSITY.

Remember Hitler? He was elected too. Nazi Germany didn't happen overnight and the Jews weren't demonized by a few. It took mass hysteria and apathy.

Remember that when the government is listening into your phone calls and looking at what library books you read. Remember that when they read your emails or have syware on your computer to see what you have been looking at (Charlie Sheen, be afraid, be very afraid.)

Remember that when things get worse, when housing prices are higher, gas prices are higher, the poor are poorer and the rich get tax cuts. Remember that when you are standing in line for public aid and there is no more or it has been privatized to corporations like Halliburton. Corps like them run our prison, here and abroad, and it is a matter of time before Social Security is taken over to buy us out of the debt that grows as I type. Remember that when they take your home, your car, your job is lost, your children are taken away in a draft, college was a precious dream, and you walk down the aisles of a SuperWalMart the size of a small city filled with food and clothing you can't afford to buy.

Now, I ask you. Are the Mexicans the enemy? Or are we treating the people within these borders in the same way we have been treating the people outside of our borders for years?

We are a third world country with Playstations.

Enjoy the fantasy.

It's time for reality.

Insight

2006-01-03T11:02:00.000-05:00

Wiretaps fail to make a dent in terror war; Al Qaeda used messengers

Oh, the horror. More lies, W.? What would Jesus say?

I think we all new that spying on private civillians is not about the war on terror but about keeping the public under control, the same way needing medical records and abortion records when Ashcroft was running the show (and disturbingly singing about eagles soaring) was about making abortion legal. There is another agenda and it isn't about Al Qaeda. Bush said it himself he is not too concerned with Osama.

Also, something to read and think about: Alito Once Made the Case for Presidential Power.

Pay attention to the upcoming Supreme Court Justice hearings, especially the ladies. Our rights to our own bodies are at stake, yes, but so is our right to not live under a dictatorship. According to this article, A you Sam Alito wrote a memo that outlined the allowance of a more powerful executive branch with the president issuing "interpretive signing statements" before signing statutes into law. This means that the president can interpret the laws as he sees fit, giving the president equal or more power than the Senate. "Since the president's approval is just as important as that of the House or Senate, it seems to follow that the president's understanding of the bill should be just as important as that of Congress," Alito wrote. He later added that "by forcing some rethinking by courts, scholars, and litigants, it may help to curb some of the prevalent abuses of legislative history."

Two Crimes, One Impeachment

2005-12-20T13:01:00.000-05:00

The cry for impeachment is low for George W. Bush, despite the fact that he committed the same crime for which Richard Nixon was impeached.

In fact, W. has the nerve to hold a press conference to discuss why he was justified and why illegally wire-tapping and monitoring the conversations of over 500 American citizens was not a crime but a maneuver, if you will, because as Condaleeza Rice stated, the courts were too "cumbersome" for terrorism thwarting.

Why not try to change the process instead of disregarding it? A reporter asked. In his typical W. fashion he answered the voices in his head and talked about Iraq and the historical freedom-bringing that was going on.

Here is a great article calling for the impeachment by D. Ireland. A Time to Impeach.

intelligent-design

2005-12-20T12:47:00.000-05:00

I think we can do better than this, don't you?Read the memo sent home to parents regarding the matter. letter to parents regarding biology curriculum.

Can you imagine that there are parents that would want their children to be removed from the classroom while this memo is read aloud?

Grow up people. It is a cold cruel world out there. When your kids face new ideas you don't want them the have a meltdown, do you? Do you want them to not know how to process new or conflicting ideas?

Church-State Issues Full Coverage on Yahoo! News

2005-12-20T12:35:00.000-05:00

This is a great defeat for those of us who have an open mind on a wacky thing called science!

Judge Rules against Pa. Biology Curriculum"

Wal-Mart Memo Suggests Ways to Cut Employee Benefit Costs - New York Times

2005-10-26T15:35:00.000-04:00

Wal-Mart Memo Suggests Ways to Cut Employee Benefit Costs - New York Times

Is discrimination against sick people a civil rights violation? It's not so clearly defined. Leave it to those pioneers of human rights Wal-Mart to pose that question by making it a corporate policy to hire only healthy peopleby making sure "all jobs include some physical activity." That means if you are old, disabled, pregnant, or otherwise unable to collect carts, lift boxes or, I don't know, chase shoplifters, please don't apply.

The Wal-Mart memo in question states Wal-Mart workers "are getting sicker than the national population, particularly in obesity-related diseases," including diabetes and coronary artery disease. The memo said Wal-Mart workers tended to overuse emergency rooms and underuse prescriptions and doctor visits, perhaps from previous experience with Medicaid.

This is a commentary ont he economic class of people that are working at Wal-Mart. If you're poor it is alot easier to buy three boxes of Macaroni and Cheese than it is to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. "Previous experience with Medicaid" is code for ex-welfare recipients.

So what else is Wal-Mart proposing? Installing clinics in their stores "in part to reduce expensive employee visits to emergency rooms." What happens if the clinic doctor says that you don't need a specific treatment and you try to get a second opinion, will your Wal-Mart insurance pay for it? Will you lose your job if you sue a doctor in the clinic for malpractice? Will your coworkers or supervisors have access to your medical records or how many times you visit the clinic? (You know they will if you work in guns and ammunition and every day they see you hanging around the clinic!)

Interesting to note, less than 45 percent of Wal-Mart workers receive company health insurance, 5 percent of Wal-Mart's workers were on Medicaid, compared with 4 percent for other national employers, and 38 percent of Wal-Mart workers spent more than one-sixth of their Wal-Mart income on health care last year.

Important Reads for Sunday Morning

2005-09-11T11:18:00.000-04:00

Firms with Bush Ties Snag Katrina Contracts.

They are going to make so much money in the reconstruction of the gulf area and then all fo the displaced African Americans can stay in the cities that are "hosting" them because they won't be able to afford to live there.

Plan Envisions Using Nukes on Terrorists.

Here's the rundown, amidst chaos and distruction from Katrina, the Bush Administration is pushing forward with a doctrine of preemptive strike and the ability to use Nukes on terrorists and country's that support them. Also, Bush is pushing for more money to develop Bunker Busters, nuclear warheads that can go underground and fuck things up for the whole planet. If you have any questions, rent the horrible movie "The Core" and proceed to hide under your bed as your immagination meets reality.

And Finally:

Bush Observes Moment of Silence for 9/11.

W. observed a moment of silence at 8:46 am the time the first plane hit the WTC, kinda like he did when he was reading My Pet Goat with a classroom in Florida four years ago.

I Have A Dream...

2005-08-04T11:53:00.000-04:00

The great Rev. Jim Wallis, one of the founders of FaithfulAmerica.org and Sojourners magazine has written a great op-ed piece in the New York Times about how the Democrats can essentially get their act together. I am pasting it here because the NYTimes website asks you to join and if you aren't already a member (though its free) it might save you some time.

The Message Thing

By JIM WALLIS

Since the 2004 election, there has been much soul-searching and hand-wringing, especially among Democrats, about how to "frame" political messages. The loss to George W. Bush was painful enough, but the Republicans' post-election claims of mandate, and their triumphal promises to relegate the Democrats to permanent minority status, left political liberals in a state of panic.

So the minority party has been searching, some would say desperately, for the right "narrative": the best story line, metaphors, even magic words to bring back electoral success. The operative term among Democratic politicians and strategists has become "framing." How to tell the story has become more important than the story itself. And that could be a bigger mistake for the Democrats than the ones they made during the election.

Language is clearly important in politics, but the message remains more important than the messaging. In the interests of full disclosure, let me note that I have been talking to the Democrats about both. But I believe that first, you must get your message straight. What are your best ideas, and what are you for - as opposed to what you're against in the other party's message? Only when you answer those questions can you figure out how to present your message to the American people.

Because the Republicans, with the help of the religious right, have captured the language of values and religion (narrowly conceived as only abortion and gay marriage), the Democrats have also been asking how to "take back the faith." But that means far more than throwing a few Bible verses into policy discussions, offering candidates some good lines from famous hymns, or teaching them how to clap at the right times in black churches. Democrats need to focus on the content of religious convictions and the values that underlie them.

The discussion that shapes our political future should be one about moral values, but the questions to ask are these: Whose values? Which values? And how broadly and deeply will our political values be defined? Democrats must offer new ideas and a fresh agenda, rather than linguistic strategies to sell an old set of ideologies and interest group demands.

To be specific, I offer five areas in which the Democrats should change their message and then their messaging.

First, somebody must lead on the issue of poverty, and right now neither party is doing so. The Democrats assume the poverty issue belongs to them, but with the exception of John Edwards in his 2004 campaign, they haven't mustered the gumption to oppose a government that habitually favors the wealthy over everyone else. Democrats need new policies to offer the 36 million Americans, including 13 million children, who live below the poverty line, as well as the 9.8 million families one recent study identified as "working hard but falling short."

In fact, the Democrats should draw a line in the sand when it comes to wartime tax cuts for the wealthy, rising deficits, and the slashing of programs for low-income families and children. They need proposals that combine to create a "living family income" for wage-earners, as well as a platform of "fair trade," as opposed to just free trade, in the global economy. Such proposals would cause a break with many of the Democrats' powerful corporate sponsors, but they would open the way for a truly progressive economic agenda. Many Americans, including religious voters who see poverty as a compelling issue of conscience, desire such a platform.

Similarly, a growing number of American Christians speak of the environment as a religious concern - one of stewardship of God's creation. The National Association of Evangelicals recently called global warming a faith issue. But Republicans consistently choose oil and gas interests over a cleaner world. The Democrats need to call for the reversal of these priorities. They must insist that private interests should never obstruct our country's path to a cleaner and more efficient energy future, let alone hold our foreign policy hostage to the dictates of repressive regimes in the Middle East.

On the issues that Republicans have turned into election-winning "wedges," Democrats will win back "values voters" only with fresh ideas. Abortion is one such case. Democrats need to think past catchphrases, like "a woman's right to choose," or the alternative, "safe, legal and rare." More than 1 million abortions are performed every year in this country. The Democrats should set forth proposals that aim to reduce that number by at least half. Such a campaign could emphasize adoption reform, health care, and child care; combating teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse; improving poor and working women's incomes; and supporting reasonable restrictions on abortion, like parental notification for minors (with necessary legal protections against parental abuse). Such a program could help create some much-needed common ground.

As for "family values," the Democrats can become the truly pro-family party by supporting parents in doing the most important and difficult job in America: raising children. They need to adopt serious pro-family policies, including some that defend children against Hollywood sleaze and Internet pornography. That's an issue that has come to be identified with the religious right. But when I say in public lectures that being a parent is now a countercultural activity, I've found that liberal and conservative parents agree. Rather than fighting over gay marriage, the Democrats must show that it is indeed possible to be "pro-family" and in favor of gay civil rights at the same time.

Finally, on national security, Democrats should argue that the safety of the United States depends on the credibility of its international leadership. We can secure that credibility in Iraq only when we renounce any claim to oil or future military bases - something Democrats should advocate as the first step toward bringing other countries to our side. While Republicans have argued that international institutions are too weak to be relied upon in the age of terrorism, Democrats should suggest reforming them, creating a real International Criminal Court with an enforcement body, for example, as well as an international force capable of intervening in places like Darfur. Stronger American leadership in reducing global poverty would also go a long way toward improving the country's image around the world.

Until Democrats are willing to be honest about the need for new social policy and compelling political vision, they will never get the message right. Find the vision first, and the language will follow.

Jim Wallis, the editor of Sojourners magazine, is the author of "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It."

Share this story with your friends - go to this article on The New York Times Web site and click the "E-mail This" link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/04/opinion/04wallis.html

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Bush Endorses Teaching 'Intelligent Design' Theory in Schools

2005-08-03T10:47:00.000-04:00

Bush Endorses Teaching 'Intelligent Design' Theory in Schools

This is fucking scary!!! BUT SADLY PREDICTABLE.

I turn your attention to a superb website called Theocracywatch.org
that is run out of Princeton.

Read it until you are scared into a catatonic state...

Despite Protests, Bush Installs Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to U.N.

2005-08-01T13:18:00.000-04:00

Despite Protests, Bush Installs Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to U.N.: "Despite Protests, Bush Installs Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to U.N.

WASHINGTON - President Bush bypassed the Senate and appointed John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Monday over the protests of Senate Democrats who complained he was abusive and would hurt U.S. credibility. 'This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about U.N. reform. So today I've used my constitutional authority to appoint John Bolton as America's ambassador to the United Nations,' Bush said during a White House Roosevelt Room ceremony."

Well, hope y'all had a dandy weekend 'cause guess what? While Congress was on vacation, doing what Congress does best, President Bush used his constitutional authority to appoint John Bolton as the US Ambassador to the United Nations.

Problems I have with this:

1- He's a dick. Everyone knows it. He hates everything the UN stands for, he has made it obvious to everyone, he uses intimidation to get his way and he's a dick. Period.

2- Democratic Senators complained he would hurt US "credibility." Excuse me, newsflash to the dems, while your heads are stuck up your ass as you try to figure out how you lost control of the country and are now the redheaded stepchild to the Religious Right, our country has already LOST IT'S CREDIBILITY. We have rigged elections, we go to war based on fake evidence of WMD's, we torture prisoners and piss all over the Geneva Convention, we claim to be fighting a "war on terror" when we seem to be inspiring more terror in the world (hello London, my old friend) and we are being bought up and intimidated by China. We have no more credibility. Thanks for noticing, fuckers.

3- W. says the post needed to be filled because we are at war. Are we still at war? I thought he lived out his Top Gun fantasies and declared the mission accomplished? When do we actually know that the war is over? When terror is eradicated? Or when we get all the oil? Or when Jesus is reborn and all of the believers are taken to the Kingdom of Heaven while the rest of the world tries to figure out what to do with themselves without the Christian Right telling us what to do?

When you are finished reading this blurb, read the article on CAFTA I am copying and pasting for literary rubbernecking. It is by a fellow anthropologist and looks like she is just as pissed as me.

Published on Saturday, July 30,2005 by CommonDreams.org
In Their Own Words: The House Debate on CAFTA
by Liza Grandia

At almost midnight Wednesday, July 27, after holding the vote open forty-seven minutes past the official close, the Republican leadership arm-twisted out their 217th "aye" and the controversial Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) passed into law. Vice President Dick Cheney apparently spent his day in the shadows of House chambers offering pork deals in exchange for votes. It seems fitting that the astronomical sign on the Guatemalan Maya calendar for this ill-fated day was "Ajmaq," meaning a day of "sins" in which "the ancestors see your wrong-doings."

Thanks to C-Span, we citizens were able to witness live the late-night wrongdoings and dirty dealings of Tom DeLay and Company. Their manipulations of the CAFTA vote process made a mockery of our democracy. Contrary to their own Fast-Track legislation which designates 20 hours of debate on trade agreements, the Rules Committee limited debate for CAFTA to a mere two hours. That left exactly sixteen and a half seconds for each representative to voice his or her opinion on the most controversial trade agreement ever to pass before Congress.

The short debates were, indeed, great comedy-who needs reality TV when you can see it all on C-Span? My favorite moments of Republican ignorance, greed, evil, and sheer stupidity were (in that order):

* When Mike Pence from Indiana argued they should support CAFTA to help the "fledgling democracies" of Central America who have "send soldiers to stand with out soldiers in Operation Iraqi Freedom." Dear Mr. Pence, let me tell you that the reason why Central Americans are willing to die in Iraq is that they are bone poor and the U.S. offers them citizenship if they are lucky enough to live past their mercenary service.

* When Bill Thomas, a Republican from California, forthrightly admitted he was looking our for Big Business interests through CAFTA, saying: "Let us protect intellectual property rights, let us protect our exporters, let us protect the multinationals, let us protect the big farm corporations."

* Also amusing were the petulant calls for "fair trade" by Republicans bothered that agribusiness from their districts were not able to dump cheap corn (e.g. Rep. Ryan from Wisconsin) and factory-farmed chicken (e.g. Rep. Norwood of Georgia) on Central America. Haven't they a clue about the economic misery most Central Americans live in? "Breaking down barriers to trade" (their favorite mantra) between the richest country in the world and a region where most people make less than two dollars a day is not "fair trade" - it's economic slaughter. It's akin to Paris Hilton waltzing into a homeless shelter, stamping her foot and saying, "It's not fair they get free meals and I don't."

* Most hilarious were the multiple invocations of Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, the Sandinistas and even Che Guevara. Reps. Kolbe (Arizona), Everett (Alabama), Burton (Indiana), and Hoekstra (Michigan) reasoned that if these Commies were against CAFTA, then they should vote for it to save the U.S. from the red menace in Central America. Someone should explain to them the Cold War is long since over and take special care to inform Mr. Burton that Che Guevara was long ago assassinated by the CIA and can no longer pose a threat to U.S. trade.

Opposing CAFTA, there were the usual series of protectionist testimonies, for example, Mr. Howard Coble from North Carolina who pulled some tears about his textile-working mother. And there was, of course, Mr. Danny "Candyman" Davis of Illinois who used his precious minute to say, "I do not profess to know everything that CAFTA is going to do, but I do know thatŠ.[in my district[ we make candy. We make a lot of it. We used to be called the Candy Capital of the WorldŠ I was told and I was hoping that CAFTA would help reduce the price of sugar for my candy makers. It will not. Therefore, there is no reason for me to vote for CAFTA and I shall not." Fair enough, it's nice to see they are at least looking out for their constituents' interests over the pressures of corporate lobbyists. And, all that candy will definitely come in handy for Congressional representatives on their fact-finding missions to Central America to give out to the legions of new child beggars created by CAFTA.

It's hard to know whether to laugh or cry that our Congressional representatives had such a hasty and mistaken debate on a trade agreement that will have such great consequence for Central America. The evening became more grotesquely surreal when the Republican leadership moved merrily to the next order of business, a bill supporting the goals of "National Marina Day." Meanwhile, on CNN, "Larry King Live" was wasting yet more airtime on the 59-day search for the missing girl in Aruba.

Yet, despite general ignorance of what is really hidden in CAFTA's 2,400 pages, I did find a ray of hope in the very sophisticated speeches of a few representatives who have realized that these trade agreements are "outsourcing agreements" (Congresswoman Maxine Waters from California) and meant only to benefit "profit-hungry corporations." Mr. Dennis Kucinich rightly emphasized that "CAFTA is about institutionalizing cheap labor."

It was really Rep. Sam Farr from California, though, who stole the show with an insight from his Peace Corps days in South America: "The richest country in the world is about to enter into a trade agreement with the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere so that we can open up nontariff issues. They send us goods without tariffs. Yes, we do not grow bananas in the United States or guananaba or platano, but we want to send them our goods so that people who are earning $2 a day can buy Two Buck Chuck."

A decade after the Clinton administration began to spin the myths of "free trade" with NAFTA, we should be encouraged growing understanding among some of our Democratic lawmakers that these trade agreements are written by, of, and for the corporations. That is a welcome opening that must be deepened. In our fury at the Bush administration's underhanded tactics in passing CAFTA, let us not forget to mourn for the suffering the avalanche of CAFTA will wreck upon Central America. Then, let us get busy so that, never again, will a trade agreement vote be close enough to be stolen in broad moonlight.

Liza Grandia is an anthropologist who has lived and worked in Guatemala for more than six years. Her dissertation concerns the impacts of trade and globalization on the agrarian situation of the Q'eqchi' Maya people.

BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | India warns Pakistan over Kashmir

2005-07-21T09:50:00.000-04:00

BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | India warns Pakistan over Kashmir

Okay so maybe Pakistan and India are not getting along so well...

Herald.com | 07/21/2005 | Roberts gave GOP advice in 2000 recount

2005-07-21T09:44:00.000-04:00

Herald.com | 07/21/2005 | Roberts gave GOP advice in 2000 recount

I finally found some proof of the connection between Roberts (the Supreme Court Nominee) and President W. Bush. Apparently he did help in strategy for the 2000 election and the battle of Gore v. Bush for Presidential crown. I guess we have proof that he gets the job done! Look forward to more disenfranchisement in the future, America!

India, US Open Can of Nuclear Worms

2005-07-21T09:35:00.000-04:00

India, US Open Can of Nuclear Worms

Nowhere in this article does it mention Pakistan, which for the moment has called a truce with India (correct me if I am wrong, please) but don't you think they will get pissed at the US if we start being nuclear buddies with India? Especially if they are the ones we really need in the "war on terror" since all of the most successful training camps seem to be located there? Maybe this is part of the plan to take out Pakistan should they stop cooperating?

Roberts, oh Roberts...

2005-07-20T16:07:00.000-04:00

So the person that W. nominated for Supreme Court Justice is a conservative. Be still my beating heart. Judge John G. Roberts, Jr. is someone that mainstream media is making out to be mysterious, not much is known about him, etc. This is not true. If you go to the Progress for America web site you can see all of the endorsements of him from various senators and politicians on either side of the political divide. Don't let it fool you. This is nomination is not about finding someone neutral, its all about abortion. I think that's a major issue, but it shouldn't be THE ISSUE. As a woman, I find that hard to say, because its my uterus that will be affected by whatever the Supreme Court decides. First and foremost, the American people should be seeking a Supreme Court Justice that is dedicated to human rights issues. That means the rights of detainees in Guantanamo Bay, the war on terror, issues of discrimination and rights to healthcare and economic justice (foreign and domestic), gay rights and seperation of church and state.

If this guy is so mysterious then we shouldn't give him the job.

Or is he?

Another Activist Judge
Turkey Supreme
Judge Nominee Details/Biography
The Stakes in Roberts Nomination

This last link is from The Nation and contains this interesting tidbit:

"Whatever Judge Roberts's performance in his interview with the President, whatever his sterling report card as litigator and jurist, we can be sure there was only one acceptable answer to the Guantánamo essay question, and the judge gave it. He voted, along with his two appeals court colleagues, all three of them Reagan or Bush appointees, against Geneva Convention protections for Guantánamo captives, in scathing language ordering the military tribunals forward, empowering the President, and the President alone, to determine those prisoners' fate."

Got kids?? Well, read this:
"Perhaps most telling is Roberts's brief track record on the federal bench on individual rights, a threshold issue not just for the left but conservative libertarians. A few years back, Washington, DC, police arrested a child for eating a single french fry on the Metro, during a zero-tolerance crackdown on subway-rule violators: arrrested her, handcuffed her, fingerprinted her, threw her in the back of a squad car and held that 12-year-old in lockup for three hours. The child's mother sensibly pointed out in a lawsuit that an adult committing the same offense would have been issued a ticket, not treated like a dangerous felon. Judge Roberts rejected the mother's plea for sanity: Arresting a 12-year-old like a suspect on Cops for eating on the subway, Roberts wrote, advanced "the legitimate goal of promoting parental awareness and involvement with children who commit delinquent acts." Even in red states, parents may not spare much enthusiasm for a judge who would lock up their 12-year-old for public consumption of McDonald's fries. "

Nice, right? Do we want to be that kind of country that locks kids up for eating french fries on the subway? Is that the family values that everyone keeps talking about?

Also, is it a conflict of interest that this Judge has donated money to Presidential Bush's campaign? ALso, I have heard he was one of the lawyers that argued the case for Bush in Florida so that he could eventually become president. ( I have not been able to confirm this info, if you have, please forward the information to me).

If all of you ladies, children, homosexuals, minorities, etc. are feeling the fear that only President Bush can inspire, check out MoveOn.org for a place to contact your local senator to oppose his nomination. Also, NARAL has an online Supreme Court Action Kit.

Herald.com | 07/19/2005 | Latin Americans say si to learning Chinese

2005-07-19T19:31:00.000-04:00

Okay, first China wants to buy Unical. (That's a large American oil company for those that don't keep up on these things). Then they start saying stuff like, get involved with our beef with Taiwan and we will be forced to nuke you. Now, China is doing alll sorts of business with Latin America. Is anyone seeing a pattern here? I am not into conspiracy theories, but fuck, while we are busy killing 100,000 Iraqi women and children, China is going GLOBAL and North Korea is their ally. Things that make you go hmmmmmmm
........

Herald.com | 07/19/2005 | Latin Americans say si to learning Chinese

In London, uninjured singer seeks prayers - Yahoo! News

2005-07-09T12:54:00.000-04:00

This is America folks. We need to be cuddled and held and prayed for even when shit happens to other people. We are the spoiled brat in the playground throwing a temper tantrum, taking his ball and going home. In London, uninjured singer seeks prayers - Yahoo! News

U.S. Prison Population Tops 2 Million

2005-06-30T13:56:00.000-04:00

If anyone ever questioned the disenfranchisement of ex-cons that have paid their dues to society but still can't vote, check out alarming statistics from the government. 1 in 142 people in America currently reside in prison. If you want to make a serious change in the government, fight for the voting rights of people that are often affected the most.

Let me paint you a picture. You were arrested when you were 18 for armed robbery. You did 5 years in prison, 5 years parole ( I am making these figures up I have no idea what the prison sentences for this crime would be) and for the rest of your life you can't have any participation in what goes on in your neighborhood. You can't decide on the kind of education your kids will receive, you can't decide on tax cuts or increases, you can't decide on whether there are more fire departments, police personnel, emergency services and social programs to help your community. You can't decide on whether we go to war, whether abortion is overturned, whether your children are drafted, whether healthcare rates increase, etc. You can't vote for representatives that are going to fix the corruption in our cuurent government's ethics committees and election process. You pay your debt to society, the state says that you are rehabilitated, but not enough for them to trust you with a ballot.

Or maybe this is part of the progressive investment in keeping people of color and the economically disadvantaged of any race caught in a cycle for generations and generations.

We have surpassed China, a communist country, in inmate population. China!!!!!

And now China wants to buy Unical. So we can ask them nicely for oil to run our machines, and they will say fuck no, we have over a billion people here and are going through an industrial revolution. Get your oil somewhere else! But that's a story for another day.

This is something to think about however. You have a 1 in 142 chance of going to jail in your lifetime. Some would say that the direction we are headed in as a country will make it feel like everyone is living in a jail, the only difference will be the steel bars and the orange jump suits.

U.S. Prison Population Tops 2 Million

2005-06-29T13:26:00.000-04:00

Since I have been neglecting the blog ( I am almost done with school 5 more weeks and I am officially a graduate, unemployment here I come!!!) I decided to post some of my school work. This is an assignment I wrote for tonight's writing as remembrance class:

Tasting is One Thing, Swallowing is Another
We will stay the course, he repeats. A collection of misplaced words filter through: 9/11, terrorists, Iraqi people standing up, U.S. standing down, coalitions, blah blah blah. To serve in the army is a higher calling, he says and I swear he is getting off on all of this. He thinks he has done a superb job enunciating his words and not mumbling and I know he probably practiced before he sauntered across the stage. I wonder if the podium hides an erection. He ends with God Bless whoever he is talking to and I feel as if he didn’t use a condom, pulled out and splooged all over me.

“The war is noble in an abstract way,” says Tucker Carlson. He wears a bowtie and I am going to trust him to tell me what nobility is? Can nobility be abstract? I look up abstract in the dictionary. There are several definitions.

1. Not relating to concrete objects but expressing something that can only be appreciated intellectually. (This means that if I don’t understand how the war is noble its because I am not smart enough to appreciate it.)
2. Based on general principles or theories rather than on specific instances. (This becomes clearer as I think of the three-card Monty game of hide the reason for preemptive strike that all of us have been playing. Generally we think they were oppressed so we don’t need specifics to invade, therefore, yes the nobleness of this war is abstract).
3. Emotionally detached or distanced from something. Ah, yes. To be noble is to not feel anything for the cause you are fighting for. That makes this war very noble indeed. We don’t know what we’re fighting for so how can we feel a connection to it? How can feel a connection to a culture we know nothing about? How can we care about eradicating terrorists when we can’t even define what a terrorist is?

I look that up in the dictionary too. It reads, “Someone who uses violence or the threat of violence, especially bombing, kidnapping, and assassination to intimidate, often for political purposes.” I think of watching the troops storm Iraq with bombs like fireworks lighting up the sky under the green night vision lens. I think of Muslim men and women rounded up and thrown in prisons to be sexually taunted and tortured; I think of Guantanamo Bay. I think of soccer fields filled with the carrions of Iraqi people and children! Children too traumatized to cry with blood soaked gauze wrapped stumps where their arms or legs used to be. I think of polluted drinking water, hospitals without medicine or electricity. I think of the soldiers that have been sacrificed like lambs to a slaughter. I think of my cousin driving a tank out in the desert and calling everyone in the family when a soldier in his platoon went crazy and killed his lieutenant and other soldiers. I think of him always talking about what he’ll do when he gets home and my mind won’t let itself doubt his words. I feel nauseas and close the dictionary.

Chris Matthews asks some white women how they feel with their husbands “over there” for possibly12 years. They smile sweetly into the camera as if they are posing for their prom photo and respond, “Well if that’s what it takes.” I throw crumpled up tissues at the television and shout at them to get angry. I yell at them to stop thinking in binary oppositions and oversimplifying the variables by categorizing. My husband looks at me like I just fell out of the sky, “binary oppositions?” “Yeah. Good versus evil, sin versus...whatever the opposite of sin is…” I swat my hand in his direction impatiently without removing my eyes from the screen and I realize as the women giggle and bat their eyelashes they are just happy to be on t. v. One woman holds upa picture of her husband for the passing camera and tells Chris Matthews that she will tell her daughter that her father is a hero. “Yes, we all are,” I throw crumpled tissues like darts, aiming for their eyes. Senator Biden talks about the difference in the terrorists – Al Qaeda, jihadists and others. The crowd is a gaggle of confusion, boredom and cynicism. One woman has her head bowed down and my husband suggests a producer stick a mirror under her nose to see if she’s still breathing. They are in Nashville and I bet they have never even seen a Muslim person. I feel righteous about my presumptuousness.

My friend’s brother writes from Baghdad. He is in the Air Force and flew in for the night. “It’s like ‘Nam. There are GI’s sprawled out all over the floor. It looks like Full Metal Jacket here. It’s a wasteland.” I’ve never seen that movie and I have the urge to rent it. I don’t though. Like the people in the studio audience in Nashville I am content with what I don’t know and accepting of the abstracts that I do.

Uninsured add $900 to health premiums-study - Yahoo! News

2005-06-08T13:28:00.000-04:00

The next time someone tells me that there shouldn't be a government-supported health care system, I will remind them why they are paying so much to go to the doctor.

Meanwhile, our government is spending money on adds to convince people that social security is bad, war, and building nuclear weapons that can go underground (just in case we want to blow up the earth's core so that the planet can shake us off like pesky fleas).

Uninsured add $900 to health premiums-study - Yahoo! News: "Uninsured add $900 to health premiums-study

Wed Jun 8, 9:36 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health insurance premiums will cost families and employers an extra $922 on average this year to cover the costs of caring for the uninsured, according to a report released on Wednesday.
ADVERTISEMENT

With the added cost, the yearly premiums for a family with coverage through an employer will average $10,979 in 2005, said the report from consumer group Families USA.

By 2010, the additional costs for the uninsured will be $1,502, and total premiums will hit $17,273. In 11 states, the costs of the uninsured will exceed $2,000 per family.

For individuals, the extra charge this year is estimated to be $341 on average, rising to $532 in 2010. Total premium charges for individuals will be $4,065 in 2005, and $6,115 in 2010.

'The stakes are high both for businesses and for workers who do have health insurance because they bear the brunt of costs for the uninsured,' said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.

Nearly 48 million Americans will lack health insurance for 2005, the report said.

Uninsured patients pay about one-third of the costs of their care provided by doctors and hospitals, the report said.

The remaining costs -- more $43 billion in 2005 -- are considered 'uncompensated care.' The government picks up part of the tab and most of the rest is added to insurance premiums for people with health coverage, the report said.

'Ironically, this increases the cost of health insurance and results in fewer people who can afford insurance - a vicious circle,' the report said.

The costs for people with insurance vary by state based on a number of variables, including the percentage of uninsured in a state and the amount local, state and federal governments contribute.

The report was based on data from the
Census Bureau, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Center for Health Statistics and other sources."

Yahoo! News - Mother Testifies Boy Stayed With Jackson

2005-04-11T17:44:00.000-04:00

Yahoo! News - Mother Testifies Boy Stayed With Jackson

What I find amazing is that criminal charges were never brought against the mother of the child who accused Michael Jackson of child molestation in the 1990's. If a man starts crying and trembling and begging you to allow your son to sleep in his bed that should be a clue that all is not right in the state of Denmark. In addition, if you give in to a man that appears in that kind of state for want of your son's hot little body curled up next to his in a "platonic" sleep over party, then you are not fit to be a parent. Finally, if you later accuse this man for molesting you (really with your blessings) then accept a multi-million dollar settlement for the pain and suffering of your child and then refuse to cooperate with the police investigation, you deserve to go to jail for wasting the time and money of the police department (because in essence what you were doing was pimping out your offspring to the highest bidder) and endangering the welfare of a minor by not cooperating with the police and/or lying about the incident in the first place. Also, if this happens to other children, that's on her head. They should be arresting her for not stopping the whole freak show when she had the chance.

As for Michael, there has to be a sick compulsion in him if he has not learned at this point -after shelling out millions of dollars in countless out of court settlements- to stop hanging out with little kids without witnesses and sleeping with them in your private quarters. You can still help little children by donating to charities and letting sick kids come and visit the zoo and rides at Neverland, but help them from a distance. He has children of his own to think about and if he is innocent he has risked their wellbeing by putting himself in danger of going to prison, not to mention the mental anguish they have to endure by hearing that their father is a pedophile.

What a world, what a world....

Doctor Doctor

2005-04-07T00:03:00.000-04:00

Physician of the year award -for a fee.

As if the republican party weren't scary enough, here is an interesting article on a fundraising method of ego-massaging trickery. Doctors of the nation, beware, that handsome plaque comes at a cost.

Moral Judgements on Birth Control Endangering Women's Lives.

This article poses an interesting question about the rise in Pharmacists that are denying women access to birth control because of moral objections. The author wonders:

My question back to these same pharmacists would be, who's guarding the condom aisle? Do their "consciences" prevent them from filling prescriptions for Viagra and other male sex drugs, especially when unmarried men want to buy them? If they're going to make moral judgments about prescription drugs, let them work at church-run hospitals, instead of in commercial pharmacies. Better yet, drop out of the profession entirely and become missionaries.

My friend is having a hysterectomy and I told her to be careful because she lives in Florida and they might try to have a congressional vote to insert a feeding tube in her uterus to keep it alive.

I don't know where this rise in evangelical conservative Christianity is coming from. I am surprised that the other religions in the United States, namely Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhs, Pagans, Wiccans, Athiests, etc. aren't screaming bloody murder over the oppressive blanket that we as a nation are being smothered with. Aren't they infuriated by the theocracy that is forming ( or at least the attempt at a theocracy?) Maybe they are too frightened because dissent=terrorism.

Here is another article on the healthcare system being bad, bad, bad, and getting worse, worse, worse.
Congress' Implicit Healthcare Rationing.

I am focusing on healthcare because I have been to the doctor every day that I am not in school. I have to have some surgery and I am concerned with the cap on my HMO policy. I think it is $300K and I wonder if anything unexpected happens what kind of financial burden this might put on me and my family. I read the other day that it is cheaper for a state to give a patient medicaid then it is for a company to offer HMO benefits, but that doesn't take in to consideration the number of people that go bankrupt from inadequate HMO benefits when true disaster strikes.

My birthdate, when calculated, corresponds to the tarot card "wheel of fortune." What this card means is outside, unseen, uneartly forces that are beyond human control are at play. For bad or worse, there are bigger forces moving around. That means that a theme in my life is letting go and trusting the universe is a just universe based on cause and effect. Karma, some might call it.

I have a problem with giving up control so obviously this is a big issue for me. Give up control to a higher power? Give me a break! But I think we can all agree that there are things in life -big or small- that we can't do anything about. So we have a choice. We can either frustrate ourselves into an early grave shaking our fists at the heavens and spitting in the wind or we can let it go and have faith in justice and our own ability to handle adversity.

What I am trying to say in my own meandering way is that I can let go and not try to fight useless battles like arguing idealogy and perspective with people that are fundamentalist, racist, or general haters OR I could focus my energy where I can actually create change. I can draw a line in the sand and tell a pharmacist not to deny me my right to birth control and take his or her ass all the way to the supreme court if I have to. I can write a blog that might awaken someone's passion for social justice. I can march in the streets for peace and equality. I can try to educate people that are interested in truth. I can live my life by an ethical code that doesn't infringe on any other persons civil rights. I can demand that same ethical code from my society and government without invoking a God or religion. I can hold corporations accountable for the lives they destroy or dismiss. I can demand a quality of life that is about more than abortion or euthanasia, but includes issues of poverty, violence, war, adequate healthcare and education.

I can stay strong and fight even when people insult me, curse at me, spit at me, question my character and threaten my life. I can rest assured that the angrier the offenders of equality are the closer I am at getting to the heart of darkness:fear.
I can die fighting for what I believe in instead of cowering in self-consciousness and keeping the status quo. This mission won't come with a huge salary. I won't gain material wealth, popularity or social status. It will take pain and sweat and I will want to quit but I will stare at the fork in the road and I will always chose the unbeaten path- the path of most resistance. I will grow strong and wise and connect to every soul on this planet until I am one of many drops in an churning ocean that will not be calmed; a tidal wave of humanity demanding justice, demanding retribution, demanding peace regardless of race, sexual preference, gender, nationality, or religion until we are all one organism that has learned that we are no more than the sum of our parts. This won't be easy and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Terri Schiavo if you only knew then....

2005-03-31T10:18:00.000-05:00

Terri Schiavo if you only knew then....
Originally uploaded by scarletpimp.

I hate to add to to the overwhelming amount of press the Terri Schiavo deathwatch is getting, but I do have a few things to say.

**As I am writing this, NBC is breaking the news that Terri Schiavo has died.May she finally rest in peace.***

First, why aren't we focusing on the fact that this woman had a severe eating disorder that caused the heart attack that led to the brain damage she suffers from today? We only hear about the political fight over "right to life" by the same people that pushed for a contradictory law in Texas in 1999 signed by then Governor George W. Bush. As Governor, Bush Signed Right-to Die Law.

Second, hasn't the opportunity to feed their daughter passed? What was the relationship like between Terri and her parents, and her husband? Her family has slandered him, his new girlfriend and children can not leave their house because of death threats, but who really has her best interest in mind? If she was starving herself and overdosing on laxatives then she had serious issues that we aren't aware of, and honestly, we don't need to know. Her privacy is what has been denied. If you were Terri, would you want the pictures that are on television of her all slackjawed and disabled viewed in public? She had an eating disorder, chances are she was a little sensitive about her appearance.

Third, Tom DeLay let his father die. He denied him life support. What are his intentions?

If human life is so important, why is George Bush such a big fan of the death penalty? Why does he care so little about the civilian casualties in the Iraq war? The casualties cannot even be estimated because of the destruction and the fact that the red cross and other organizations aren't allowed access to count heads.

If starvation is such a cruel way to die, then why has malnutrition doubled since the US occupation of Iraq for children under 5 years old?
If life is so precious why is George W. Bush the only president in history to give the green light for the use of nuclear weapons in war, namely Iraq?

Finally, why isn't the media telling us what is really important? Because The Media Panders to the Right, thats why. Because we don't get to hear the important stuff or see people protesting war or our government on television unless it gets violent or to show dissaproval. In fact, the people we see on television showing their "support for Terri" are creepy and scary.

"TV coverage of the protesters outside Terri Schiavo's hospice has tended toward the softball. Many viewers weren't told that the "proud father" repeatedly interviewed about his 10-year-old son arrested at the scene is a convicted sex offender. And many viewers may not realize that Randolph Terry, identified as a "family spokesman" for Schiavo's parents, is an extremist who advocated death for physicians who've performed abortions."

It turns my stomach to see people outside of Terri's hospice with signs like "Are the Jews Next?" and to see parents with their mentally retarded or disabled children propped up with signs that say "Would you kill me too?" Yes, if I had to, so stop asking.

The majority of the US approves of Euthanasia and maybe we should be focusing on ways that are not cruel, like removing a feeding tube and watching her slowly perish, but offering a more humane, dignified way of putting people down, so to speak. When I put my dog to sleep it was very gentle, very peaceful and his suffering ended quickly. Why should it be different for humans?

Either way, Terri has died, and now we can allow the media to focus our attention back to Michael Jackson and whatever sensational story they can come up with.

Condoleeza Rice...Constipated?

2005-03-20T12:45:00.000-05:00

Condoleeza Rice...Constipated?
Originally uploaded by scarletpimp.

I have been following Condoleeza Rice's travels across Asia as the new Secretary of State. I wonder how she handles the stress of her job. It can't be easy working in politics on such an international level. Long hours, travel. If it were me I would probably get sick. Most women suffer from some sort of somatic illness, whether it is an irritable bowel or migraines. We communicate through our bodies. It is something we taught, I think, through the generations of repression, women learned how to communicate all of their anger and sadness through sickness. It was acceptable for a woman to be sick and frail. Now in more modern times, women are still communicating with their bodies because we haven't learned how to behave any other way. We have the opportunity to share our feelings in so many different ways but we are still caught up in some emotional trap, for example, trying to be superwoman. We want it all- family, career, money, health, beauty and lots of material possessions. If we are sick we are weak and so we take lots of medicine and we work long hours and we suffer to be like a woman in a magazine staring at us, smiling, saying, "I do it, why can't you?"

I have a lot of respect for woman that can strike some kind of balance in their lives. I don't know if men feel that same pull as women do. We are not just partners in a committed relationship, we are daughters, sisters, friends. With that comes a lot of responsibility and pressure from the people that we love the most. Finding that balance is not easy.

So when I look at truly powerful women, I wonder if they have any kind of somatic illness. I wonder if they have migraines that make them crawl under the covers with the shades drawn. I wonder if they have TMJ or grind their teeth at night thinking of all of the things they left undone. In the case of Condoleeza Rice, I wonder if she is constipated. I wonder if she eats enough fiber, if she follows a specific diet, if she works out. I wonder if she really is stressed with her life or if she just remains focused on her career, working for President Bush, so that she doesn't have to think about meeting a nice man or woman to spend the rest of her life with. She doesn't have to worry about having children or hanging out with her friends because she is work. She is a well-trained machine of political power and all else is second or lower.

Women are born multi-taskers and it is only fitting that we feel so many things in so many different ways, not just emotional but physical too. I wonder though about the toll that the stress that comes with such a high profile life does to someones stomach. Maybe she has alot of assistance the way hollywood mothers always seem to have three on-call nannies for one child. Maybe its harder to be a regular jill-schmo who has to travel 2 hours on the subway every day, work nine hours, and come home and feed her cats/children/elderly relatives and still maintain a social life.

It makes you wonder what condition the assistant to the Secretary of State is in.

Links to Expensive healthcare discussion

2005-03-04T09:39:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,

Here are the links to the articles I mentioned in my audioblog posting.

Va. Cancer Patient Selling Flag on eBay to Cover Cancer Treatment.

Your Money or Your Life.

Here are some other interesting articles found on The Nation website.

Life Without Health Insurance is an article about the growing number of people between the ages of 18-25 without insurance. What do you do when you finish college or are no longer covered by your parents' insurance?

Desperately Seeking Health Insurancehas three examples of patients that waited so long to see a doctor and their health problems compounded. Also looks at the financial and emotional damage caused by expensive healthcare.

Medical Bills Figure in Personal Bankruptcy looks at people that file for bankruptcy to pay for medical bills despite having insurance because if high copayments and looks at the rise in bankruptcies for senior citizens that charge their prescriptions and can't afford to pay the bill.

Audio Blog Part 2

2005-03-04T09:28:00.000-05:00

This is Part 2 of my conversation on expensive healthcare.

audio blog Part 1

2005-03-04T09:26:00.000-05:00

Part 1 of my conversation on expensive healthcare.

Operation Irani Freedom

2005-02-16T18:08:00.000-05:00

Citizens of America, prepare yourself for Operation: Irani Freedom. Apparently, in a dejavu-performance in front of the senate, Porter Goss (doesn't his name sound like he should be a character on The O.C. or Dawson's Creek?) stated that Iran is our biggest enemy in the Middle East. Check it out:

CIA, FBI Warn Panel of Top Threats to U.S..

What I find very amusing in a sad and pathetic way is the fact that not only are we supposed to fear the Iranians and the Iraqi insurgents (Syria is on our shit list too) we must fear the Muslim people in our country as well. Even the ones that have been here for years and years. You know that family that lives next door to your for 20 years and your kids play together? They could be a sleeper cell!!!

"FBI (news - web sites) Director Robert Mueller cautioned of the risk posed by radicalized Muslim converts inside the United States and said he worries about a sleeper operative who may have been in place for years, awaiting orders launch an attack. "I remain very concerned about what we are not seeing," he said in his prepared remarks.

The phrase "radicalized Muslim converts" is very problematic to me. Does that mean that the Black Muslims that sell oils and incense in the subway are to be feared also? The Nation of Islam are terrorists also? This is getting into weird territory. If we go after anyone that is Muslim then we go after Black people, then Asian people, Latinos can't be far off (or will Bush keep them around to do the jobs the white people don't want to do? Like become Mrs. George W. Bush?) Also, how do we know which Muslims are radicalized? Who becomes the judge on the criteria for radical Islamic belief and behavior? Our government? Perhaps that might anger Muslim people a bit if we start putting out a list of characteristics for radical Muslim terrorists. Jeff Foxworthy could deliver the public service announcement on television. For example, "You might be a radical Muslim convert if...." or "You know you're a Muslim terrorist sleeper cell when..."

The choice of words the CIA and FBI use are very important. The fact that Robert Mueller said, "I remain very concerned about what we are not seeing" tells America and the Senate that we must live in fear. Tragedy is around every corner and no one Muslim (and all its stereotyped population) can not be trusted.

Damn you Larium

2005-02-14T17:20:00.000-05:00

Here is an unbelievably stomach-turning story regarding an anti-malaria drug called Larium that soldiers in Iraq have been taking. Apparently it makes you go crazy, gives you a brain disorder and turns you suicidal. What fun!

What makes me most nauseas is that when the soldiers ask for help, the are charged with "cowardice" or discharged from the army. Nice government. To think that Bush wouldn't accept Rumsfeld's resignation. I guess that means that Bush himself doesn't give a flying fuck about the condition of our soldiers (big shocker) even to the extent that he gave them medicine where these side effects are known to happen.

Worry Spreads Over GI Drug Side Effects.

Also, if you live in a blue state you are about to get less funding. Not because you didn't vote for Bush, but it just happens that most city folk, urban people are in blue states. Tough luck for us.
Bush Budget Cuts Targets Blue States.

Finally, surprise surprise, Corporations support Bush's agenda for Social Security and limiting medical malpractice lawsuits. The Democrats are planning on holding community events to get people riled up, but really, we need a Dr. King or a Gandhi to rally the masses. Where is that person?
Conservatives Join Forces for Bush Plans.

Smell ya later.

Ann Coulter - Spreading Wisdom Wherever She Goes

2005-02-07T11:20:00.000-05:00

Ann Coulter - Spreading Wisdom Wherever She Goes
Originally uploaded by scarletpimp.

I've been gone for a while, now I am back.

Ann Coulter is the best thing that could have happened to the conservative movement. Sure, she makes our country look bad and is the walking stereotype of a brassy, ignorant, obnoxious American, but the more she fucks up the better off the progressive movement is. Read this article: Ann Coulter Sticks Her Entire Leg in Her Mouth.

What's funny about this is that she is so adamant that Canada particpated in the Vietnam War, forgetting that Canada was the country where all of the drafted soldiers ran to to escape the war. Hello, McFly!!!!
Every time I see her on Real Time with Bill Maher, she makes my blood boil because she is so loud and ignorant and pigheaded. She is the epitomy of the conservative movement and I hate to be sexist against my own gender, but since she didn't get where she is on her intellect, she probably got there by getting gangbanged by anonymous conservative pundits. Fill in names here:___________.

In other more scary and important news, President Bush is taking away all the money from the poor and destitute, from children and education in his new trillion dollar budget. Meanwhile sounding the horns for the war on Social Security. Why are you making young people hate the elderly? Instead of creating a political divide like he did with the war on Iraq and red versus blue state, he is creating a generation gap that will hurt this country more than the color coded maps on election night. One day we will get old and we will need that check. I have an idea. If you are 65 and ready to retire and you are a millionaire, you should not be allowed to get social security and medicare. Period. If you are a wealthy person now and enjoying the tax break that W. gave you a few years ago, then you know that if we roll that sucker back we can solve this problem. If we stop spending money on war and building more weapons than our country would be in better shape. How about we give people a sandwich instead of invading their country? How about we go into these countries and talk to the people about their culture, their lives, their dreams and see what they want before we inflict useless, ridiculous elections on them? Here is a newsflash, if the candidates in your election have to hide their identities because they fear for their lives and the people voting don't know what the election is about, it is a worthless election. You don't know who or what you are voting for? Great stick your finger in this purple dye and stick it up your ass.

Despite VP Dick's assertions that religious fundamentalism is not going to be the law in Iraq, all media reports state otherwise.
Here are a few articles on the topic:

Iraq Shiite Leaders Demand Islam be the Source of Law.

Leading Shiite Clerics Pushing Islamic Constitution in Iraq.

I think the NY Times article requires you to log in before you can read it.

Thats it for today.

Scarlet Pimp. Out.

Rock-a-Martha

2004-12-22T17:18:00.000-05:00

Russell Simmons needs to contact Martha Stewart. According to Yahoo! she is calling for reforms in prison sentencing not just for nonviolent first time offenders but for reform in drug sentencing too.

I am done finally with this semester and I feel a little strange, without purpose. Now comes the mad rush to get holiday presents even though I tell myself every year that I won't get swept up into the consumerism, I still find myself at the mall looking for "just a little something" for my family members. The semester isn't even officially over and I find myself frantically checking for grade postings three times a day. I am such a nerd.

It's going to be a very hungry Christmas for starving children this year.
President Bush, in an effort to curb the outrageous deficit, is cutting $100 million from Food Aid programs. In my opinion, if you want to win the war on terrorism, if it is a winnable war, stop blowing up villages and hand the poor people a sandwich. If they are less hungry and desperate they will be able to think rationably about wearing strap-on explosives and walking into an army base.

There is a lot I have to say about the state of healthcare, pharmaceuticals companies, the NIH, the FDA, and HMO's, but that will have to wait until I can formulate a full, coherent blog posting. Until then, smell ya later.

Busy with School

2004-12-17T16:00:00.000-05:00

Hello All! I have been finishing up this semester and not taking the precious few moments to write in my blog because I am not the multitasker I have led all of you to believe I am. I just want to let everyone know that if they need to contact me I can be reached at thescarletpaper@hotmail.com. If you have any news you want me to post or thoughts you want to discuss feel free to contact me or post it in the comments section below. I am still in class and then there are the obligatory end of the year holidays so I don't think I will be back to post until next week.

If there is anythign groundbreaking I will let you know. Otherwise, toodles. I will be back next week.

Priests Giving Hitler Salute

2004-12-02T19:50:00.000-05:00

Priests Giving Hitler Salute
Originally uploaded by scarletpimp.

In a recent visit to a New York Synagogue, Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court Justice, stated that Jews are safer with Christians in charge. This is not the first time I have heard rightwing Christian Coalitions use Hitler in an argument for Christianity or even to use slavery and Martin Luther King Jr. to bash Democrats and progressive movements.

Read the Meet the Press transcripts from this Sunday and you will see what I mean. In the year 2004, we are still arguing over the legal right to slavery in this country. Skip the first segment and skip down to the end.

Back to the Jews, I can't believe there wasn't a riot in the synagogue. I would have taken off my shoe and aimed it straight for his head. Scalia's reasoning was " the reason Hitler was able to initiate the Holocaust was because of German separation of church and state." He later went on to say, "Did it turn out that," Scalia asked rhetorically, "by reason of the separation of church and state, the Jews were safer in Europe than they were in the United States of America?" He then answered himself, saying, "I don't think so."

Let me just set the record straight on where dictators, political parties, etc. sit on the left-right spectrum.

Extreme Right: Hitler
Extreme Left: Stalin

In the middle area is where you fing most moderates such as the major parties- Democrats and Republicans. To the left are the socialists, to the right are the conservatives.

For the Right- the Christian Coalition to use the examples of Hitler and the abolition of slavery against the left is to forgo all of history and essentially rewrite it. Whatever the case may be, Jews of the world need to be on guard. It is only a matter of time before they get sick of picking on the Muslims and the brown people. They are already playing the game and trying to make the Jewish people pick a side based on emotions.

If you would like to see more Nazi pics such as this, go to Nazi Pictures.

What We Can Learn From Britney Spears

2004-11-23T09:56:00.000-05:00

Recently Britney Spears has decided to take a much needed break ffrom her career to focus on her new marriage (It's lasted longer than 72 hours!) and starting a family. Well done. Really what Britney has done is taken a brief hiatus because she was badly overexposed and everything she did seemed trashy and a pathetic cry for help to the public. We can learn a lot from that Britney. She has written on her website that one of the reasons why she was so overexposed and made some bad choices was because she had people around her- her publicist, her manager, her mom and dad- that pushed her to focus on her career and told her what to do. Without that opposition, that grounding force, we got Britney the teenage temptress, a mixing of school girl innocence and lusty harlot that probably sent many middle aged men into premature ejaculation. Once she became an adult it was time to party and that meant sex, drugs, and bad business decisions. My point you ask?
Look at our government. W. has surrounded himself with yes people or people that will make the decisions for him. Bush forced Colin Powell out and now he has no one to tell him pre-emptive invasion is a bad idea. No one to tell him the pending wars with Iran and North Korea will probably not work out so well. No one to tell him that Social Security exists as a safety net so that old people are not littering the streets, living out of cardboard boxes and talking about the good old days when they had medicare and furniture covered in plastic. No one to tell him that you can only ignore the environment for so long before the polar ice caps melt and we are living in a Water World using dirt and "hydro" as currency. (Yes, I watched Waterworld with Kevin Costner last night, call me crazy but I like that movie.)
There is no one to tell him that if you bankrupt the government by increasing the deficit, you are setting America up. Up for what? Well China and Japan own one third of our debt, what if they called it in? What if they imposed sanctions on us? When was the last time we built our own Nintendo Game Boys? America has over 7 trillion dollars in debt, that is more than ALL of the third world countries. Pretty bad, huh? You think that other nations are going to go around asking for our debts to be erased and forgiven the way we just did for Iraq? And should Iraq have their debts erased if they have the potential to make all of that money from the oil fields? What about Saddam's money? did we get it and can we use it? I guess we know the answers to all of those questions. The Iraqi people are never going to see a dime of the oil money and the reason W. wants their debts erased so bad is so that all income generated will be profit in his pocket. Where does that leave America? And if our dollar falls, if the government goes bankrupt, where does that leave the rest of the world that relies on our financial success?
Maybe we need to learn from Britney, and take some time off from all of this warmongering and profiteering and take care of our homelife for now. We are overexposed, and anything we do or is done to us will face the ridicule and criticism of the rest of the world. But hey-
"We don't need permission to make our own decisions, that's our prerogative..."

Next Stop: Operation Disarm Iran

2004-11-19T16:32:00.000-05:00

For a good piece of progressive animation, check out What Barry Says.

I don't know if you have been listening to the news, but apparently Bush has signed a bill that will allow for an $800 Billion dollar deficit hike.
I don't know about you, but I can't grant myself a credit limit hike. I can't call up Discover Card and ask them to give me $800 billion dollars more this month because I am low on cash and I need to borrow more to get my life in order. They would laugh at me and hang up. Or berate me, because those Discover collections people are cold, unfeeling people that like to lower your self esteem. Of course the majority (Republicans) passed it without a blink because they are fearful and backwards thinking. I always laugh when I see the republicans get on the bandwagon thinking that they will get a piece of the pie once the neo-con train rolls in. Only a few will be selected and they took that vote years ago. Better luck with the next fascist movement.

Meanwhile in Iraq, U.S. Forces raided a Mosque and no one knows why. People were praying, PRAYING! and they were being killed. What have we accomplished with this raid? What damage have they done, as if we haven't already done enough killing of Iraqi citizens in Mosques? Would we ever have the nerve to go into a church and do this kind of raid or even into a synagogue? I don't think so. I think we would have waited until prayers were over and been more cautious about capturing the target. At this point, however, we do not know who the target is. The reports haven't said and according to the eyewitness accounts they weren't informed of the purpose of the raid.

In Iran, we have a dejavu situation going on. Are they making nuclear weapons, uh, yeah. Are we going to have Colin Powell stand in front of the world and claim to have "intelligence" that they are up to no good? yes, ma'am!
Are we going to go it alone, um I mean with a "coalition of the willing" to disarm them and take over their oil, I mean "spread democracy"? You betcha.
Keep an eye out. They don't say history repeats itself because it sounds so catchy.

Finallt, to get your weekend off to the right start, corpse desecration.Israeli troops are being investigated for reports that they positioned the head of a suicide bomber on a concrete barrier and took a picture with a cigrate hanging from the dead man's lips. A man was reported as saying that 'such acts were forbidden in an army that values human rights."
An army that values human rights? You have got to be kidding me. The same army that opens fire on little kids that throw rocks at tanks? Any military, no matter what nation, has a purpose and that purpose is not human rights. It is to follow the orders of your commander in chief and if his agenda is one based on human extermination, so be it. It's been a long while since we had any honorable leadership for any military organization.

On that note, have a great weekend!

War..What is it good for?

2004-11-17T13:09:00.000-05:00

For those of you who can respond to me and let me know why it is we are at war again, please do so. But do it after you go to Fallujah in Pictures. After seeing these pictures of bloody children and soldiers immortalized in their uniforms with youthful, hopeful faces and flies feasting on dead Iraqi "insurgents" I forget why we are there. I forget why we aren't storming the capital and demanding justice. All I can think of is what will we do when these children grow up? How hard will their hearts be? How can we explain to them if we can't understand it ourselves, if we justify it, if we are ambivalent to their suffering?

Let me know your thoughts.

Imbued with Blues

2004-11-17T10:47:00.000-05:00

Did you know that Belgium tried to prosecute George W. Bush for war crimes? Me neither!

The things you learn when you search out alternative press. Here is an article that was posted on Commondreams.org regarding the possibility that Canada could grow some balls and prosecute W. I kid Canada, because I love.
Should Canada Indict Bush?

Have you been watching all of the resignations for Bush's Administration and the CIA? Scary world we are living in. The thing that scares me most is that we are going back to an isolationist mentality of foreign policy only much more agressive and offensive. Condoleeza Rice is going to be our representative out there in the world and I personally don't think she is capable. She is shrewd, yes, but in terms of foreign affairs, she doesn't cut it. She stood before the 9/11 Commission and told them that we realized after 9/11 that the oceans wouldn't protect us from terrorism anymore. PLEASE. We figured that after Pearl Harbor, sweetheart. It is really easy for me to criticize her and call her stupid, right? Because underneath that we know she is not stupid. She has an agenda. The Bush Administration has an agenda and she is loyal to them. She is like that character Bennie in The Mummy when he says something like he would rather be a servant of the devil than feel his wrath, I am paraphrasing because its been a while, but you know what I mean. Or maybe I am giving her too much credit. Maybe she truly believes in W. and his agenda and that this agenda is in the best interest of the country or at least in her best interest.

Meanwhile, we have bigger fish to fry. Remember our old pals from the Cold War? They are back, and they are doing the same stuff America is doing. So how can we complain? No, I am really asking! How CAN we complain?
Arrested for Requesting Election Results and also Russia developing new Nuclear Missile.
the first article is pretty much about falsifying elections but the second one is about Russia, under the guise of fighting terrorism, is developing a new nuclear missile that can " carry up to 10 nuclear warheads weighing a total of 4.4 tons." Fun! It is also going to have a range of more than 6,000 miles and will be harder to detect. More Fun!
Can you tell me how this kind of weapon is going to be useful in fighting terrorism? Will this be used to blow up a bunker or basement apartment somewhere in the world where the terrorists meet to have a pot luck dinner? No. This kind of weapon will only be used for irradicating a country and terrorists don't have a nation, no matter what your evening news tells you, thats why they are so hard to fight. We are fighting and idealogy and so are they, not a land mass. And which country do you think that they are aiming those warheads at?
"Earlier this year, a senior Defense Ministry official was quoted as telling news agencies that Russia had developed a weapon that could make the United States' proposed missile-defense system useless. Details were not given, but military analysts said the claimed new weapon could be a hypersonic cruise missile or maneuverable ballistic missile warheads."

And what is the distance between Moscow and Washington? I am glad you asked, because I already found out. 4862.756827041068 miles. Courtesy of Great Circle Distances Between Capital Cities.

Also, KMart and Sears are merging. When Martha Stewart gets out of prison, do you think that she will do commercials with Ty the guy who used to be on Trading Spaces? Just a thought.

On a personal note, I feel there is no dignity in a B+. If you are an educator, why would you decide on such a self-esteem shattering grade? You are saying that a student is not good enough for an A-, but still slightly more intelligent than a B. Is the plus just pity? What's the point of even going to class? Just get a job delivering newspapers where you don't have to read or write, just count change and tell people to have a good day. So what if my sentences are awkward and convaluted? It's part of my charm!
Dick.

Fuck The South

2004-11-12T06:21:00.000-05:00

There is a great little website with a rant that warms my northern, liberal heart called Fuck The South. It is definitely worth checking out.

This is not the first time since the election that I am hearing talk of letting the south go their merry way. It has been in the air, a sort of revolutionary whisper campaign that Karl Rove would be proud of if he were on the side of progressives. I don't know how I would feel about a succession, but I know how I would feel about another civil war. I'm not fighting! I do think change is happening and we are living a very important period in history. These are the moments that children are going to be studying in school or the moments that teachers are going to be forced not to talk about to their students. With the kind of politics that are at play making our country's discourse hang in the balance, well, I never can tell. I think it is these moments that make you absolutely sure who you are as a person and what you believe in OR you resign yourself to letting other people think for you.

In other news, Yasser Arafat died. What did he die of? Reports vary from cancer to a brain aneurysm to poison. Who knows. It is still too early for me to comment on how I feel about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I fear a power vacuum because Arafat didn't name someone to take his place and that can only mean truly bad things. Look how well the power vacuum worked in Iraq? I worry what Sharon will do because I don't think he is the right man to represent and lead the Israeli people. He has been able to push his right wing agenda because of the fear of terrorism among his people, kind of like another president I know.

Tony Blair flew all the way from England and boy are his arms tired, just to discuss the Middle East with W.
Blair, Bush Meet to Discuss Mideast Peace. This seems to be a bit problematic for me. Two white men, leaders of major western nation states, get together to discuss what THEY are going to do with the Middle East situation. I know it is important to think of strategies but it just seems to me that talking about what you are going to do with other nations while they are not there reminds me of how parents talk about their children without acknowledging their presence. Is this some of what frustrates the other nations of the Middle East? The reason why there is so much trouble in Israel is because Britain abandoned ship and allowed an unfair division of land amongst the Palestinian and Jewish people after the Holocaust. People were displaced and things keep getting more and more ugly as the years go by. I am not saying that the two sides don't need a mediator, I am just wondering how effective the United States and Britain would be in doing the job. Especially with all of the other troubles they are facing both internally and externally.

Finally, if I hear one more newspaper or politician jubilantly call Alberto Gonzales a "Hispanic Success Story" I may scream. This is a very bad man that was appointed to be the next attorney general because Ashcroft resigned so that he could devote more time to his singing career. I don't understand how any decent person can call this man a success because in my opinion, he has failed at being a person. If you need proof, look at his resume. He was an attorney for Enron, a company that lied, cheated, and stole from their employees and helped to ruin California's economy, and he gave the okay to torture prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
Gonzales Nomination Draws Cautions, Concerns of Rights Groups.
What does that tell the rest of the world about our country when we go around bragging about our values and the president says how disgusted he is about the whole Iraqi prison mess. Why then appoint a man that has the nerve to call the Geneva Convention "quaint" and argue that it doesn't apply? Why? Because we are America, stop asking questions, that's why.
There are people that would love to take everything this country was founded on and reinterpret it, change it and in a Stalinistic way, rewrite history so that the truth never existed. This man is one of the bad guys. I don't give a flying fuck if he grew up in a two room house with no water as the son of migrant workers. Poverty doesn't make you a good person. Ethics and compassion do. He has none. He looks at pictures of the prisoners in Iraq and see the sexual, depraved torture as something that is allowable because he defines torture as "equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death”, so therefore sexual humiliation is not torture, it's okay, chill out. He sees laws on civil liberties and human rights and devotes his energy to finding ways around them. He doesn't represent what this country is about, no matter what the polls tell me, I know my country. He is just Bush's homeboy. This is not the man I want protecting my civil liberties. When did the position of Attorney General become about denying civil liberties instead of protecting them and the people of the United States of America?
This is bullshit.

Vote Pitt 2008

2004-11-10T06:53:00.000-05:00

Vote Pitt 2008
Originally uploaded by scarletpimp.

In much lighter news, Brad Pitt visited Ethiopia. Brad Pitt Visits Ethiopia to Study AIDS.

The most shocking part of that article...Brad Pitt is 40! Who knew?

I don't understand how his trip will make a huge difference in the lives of these people. It will draw much needed attention, yes for a minute, but unless he is going to be like Angelina Jolie and adopt some kids and set up house there, what's the point? He was just on Today arguing for stem cell research. Is this a midlife crisis or is he trying to pick a really deserving cause to focus his efforts on? Maybe he is thinking of a career in politics. Could you imagine the votes he might get if he ran for office? He would unify women and gay men across party lines! Commercials for his candidacy could show clips from Troy for the gay demographic because he is all tan and muscled, I think women like any movie he has been in but perhaps a sappy, one like A River Runs Through It. He could get the male vote by playing clips of Fight Club which will inspire young heterosexual males everywhere with pent up rage that Grand Theft Auto doesn't satisfy.

I'm just being bitter and playa hatin.' B-Rad is cool because he is at least trying to understand, trying to make a difference.

Scary New World

2004-11-10T05:48:00.000-05:00

Here is an article that might make blaring alarms go off in your head.
Senate Hopes to Get Intelligence Bill Passed.

Why must the intelligence budget remain a secret? I am all for getting more border guards and "banning from the United States aliens who participated in overseas torture or killings and foreign officials who ordered or participated in genocide or severe violations of religious freedoms" even if our own army has participated recently in overseas tortures and killings, it works in theory that everything is black and white, good and evil, you praticipate in genocide because you are bad and you participate in Abu Ghraib because...never mind. What national threat does knowing how much your government is spending on "intelligence" pose? I can't imagine some terrorist is sitting on the fence about whether to bomb an embassy or the Statue of Liberty and finding out that we spend a billion dollars is going to push him over the edge.
Once again I am dissapointed in the sheep known as the Senate that follow along with whatever the president says like when they voted for the patriot act without even reading it. I guess it's to be expected now. The democrats have lost their fight and there is no one left to represent the people effectively.

Remember John Kerry? Where the fuck is he now? He's been particularly quiet.

I fear that rallying cries for the people and the democratic party are falling on deaf ears. D is for Democracy, T is for...?

Other interesting news is the exodus from the Bush administration, Ashcroft, Evans... could Powell be far behind? Rumors have already begun and for his sake I hope so. I still have a weird soft spot for Colin Powell even though I know you don't get that high up on the Bush ladder without getting your hands dirty. However this administration really fucked over Powell's reputation. He was respected by the global community and after giving that WMD speech at the UN he's got nothing. Powell: U.S. Will Pursue Aggressive Foreign Policy
What is interesting in this article is the fact that Powell states:
"The president is not going to trim his sails or pull back," Powell told the newspaper. "It's a continuation of his principles, his policies, his beliefs."
Sounds like C-Rock is distancing himself from the Bush administration - "his principles, his policies, his beliefs." Get out while you can!
Read this on the exodus: Ashcroft, Evans first to resign from cabinet."
It says that not only is Colin Powell possibly leaving, but Condy Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Tommy Thompson. What does that mean for the Bush administration? One can only imagine.

The Book Democrats should have read

2004-11-10T04:43:00.000-05:00

Hello All.
I read the most interesting book the other day. It is something that really explains the republican party after Ronald Reagan and shows how Democrats just aren't fighting the way they should be because they are trying to be republicans, especially in the example that the author gives regarding Proposition 187 in California a few years back. Proposition 187 was an initiative voted on by Californians to deny illegal immigrants medical and educational benefits in order to help their failing economy.

I don't agree with everything in this book. I don't think the ills of society can be blamed on the investment in whiteness and nothing else. There comes a point where we must stop looking at all of the cultural reason for problems with society and force people to take responsibility for the structure and our own participation in it. It is good to know reason for actions if they change action. I do agree with the parts that explain why people are more likely to vote for men that embody the patriarchal, heterosexual patriotism that has only increased since 9/11. Do I think there is a culture war going on? Not really. I think people are scared and they are looking for something to cling to so they stick to the idealogy that brings up memories or famtasies of a simpler time, a time when God was king and mainstream society shared the same view on race, sex, and politics. By mainstream society I am mean white people. After the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movements things got all crazy, there was diversity and equality everywhere which can be very threatening to some people. The Reagan administration was very successful at exploiting that.

Check this book out:

It is called The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics. by George Lipsitz.

A Nation Divided

2004-11-03T10:12:00.000-05:00

A Nation Divided
Originally uploaded by scarletpimp.

Like many Americans that voted and supported John Kerry, I am stung by the polling numbers. I knew this was going to be a tough race but I harbored the hope that Kerry would win in a landslide. I saw the lines of people waiting to vote and that hope grew. I thought all of these people were plugged in to the same motivating force that I was. I was wrong for the most part. If you watched the election results as they came in last night you heard the words over and over again "too close to call." If you check the statistics, this is true for many of the states. In some states like Utah for example, Bush won by an overwhelming 71 percent.

Another thing I keep hearing on the television is the words "cultural differences and moral values" as well as differences in "idealogical alignments" as MSNBC is calling it. For a well written, informative article analyzing the statistics of the vote, check out Four years later, voters more deeply divided. Although I must say that I am VERY dissapointed with NBC for being the first to call Florida for Bush, which boggles my mind because there are still over 1 MILLION absentee ballots to be counted and Bush's lead was only by about 300,000, and for calling Ohio for Bush because as Tom Brokaw said this morning, "even if it went to John Kerry it wouldn't make a difference in the outcome anyways." Oh really, Mr Brokaw? It's hard to tell how many true electoral votes go where because the media is not on the same page, there are different counts done by different people. I briefly watched Fox News last night and one of the anchormen discounted the democratic voter registration drive in Florida saying that all of the people registered were probably just "inmates" who said sure I'll vote, I'll sign up. So then Florida has a population of 2 million inmates that couldn't vote? Disgraceful. But expected.

Getting back to the cultural differences in America, I am stunned that there is a country that is less like me and more like President Bush. 11 states voted against gay marriage. Is that what it comes down to? Hating gay people? I understand that there are a lot of people in this country that have religious beliefs and although I consider myself a very spiritual person, my "religion" is not defined by an institution that tells me what I should believe in a cookie cutter type of way. I don't have those same allegiances as many people do. I don't look down on them for having it, but it is hard for me to understand. If we are at such odds on moral issues, maybe it's time we start discussing what those moral issues are. So that I can have a clue where I stand. Because right now, it's lonely here. I look at this country and it feels foreign to me. I don't understand how people can see George W. Bush as a "moral" man.

On the website Mobilization 2004-The Prophetic Justice Principles it gives a list of moral values that were agreed upon by people of faith across different religions. It is worth looking at and then reflecting on, comparing to your own personal beliefs. If we are a nation of religious people than we really have to decide which religion that is and how much of it we want infiltrating our government. As it stands now I am frightened of the reaction fo the world. How will they see Americans now that Bush will be declared the winner? Is there hope? In what? In whom? If the American people have spoken and we are pretty much split down the middle, is civil war far away?

Maybe that big chunk of red in the middle believes in a Bush-Cheney election. Where does that leave the rest of us that find this administration stifling? I am looking at Canada, England, New Zealand, Australia. Maybe it is time for many of us to think of a mass exodus to a new promise land.

Or maybe it's time for a revolution, old school style, circa boston tea party era.

Vote or Die, pt. II

2004-11-02T13:50:00.000-05:00

Here is an article that was forwarded to me via email and I thought it was worth reading. Vote people!!

American Conservative Magazine

November 8, 2004 issue

"Kerry's the One"

By Scott McConnell

There is little in John Kerry's persona or platform that appeals to conservatives. The flip-flopper charge - the centerpiece of the Republican campaign against Kerry - seems overdone, as Kerry's contrasting votes are the sort of baggage any senator of long service is likely to pick up. (Bob Dole could tell you all about it.)

But Kerry is plainly a conventional liberal and no candidate for a future edition of Profiles in Courage. In my view, he will always deserve censure for his vote in favor of the Iraq War in 2002.

But this election is not about John Kerry. If he were to win, his dearth of charisma would likely ensure him a single term. He would face challenges from within his own party and a thwarting of his most expensive initiatives by a Republican Congress. Much of his presidency would be absorbed by trying to clean up the mess left to him in Iraq. He would be constrained by the swollen deficits and a ripe target for the next Republican nominee.

It is, instead, an election about the presidency of George W. Bush. To the surprise of virtually everyone, Bush has turned into the most radical American President we have had since the 19th century. Because he is the leader of America's conservative party, he has become the Left's perfect foil-its dream candidate. The libertarian writer Lew Rockwell has mischievously noted parallels between Bush and Russia's last tsar, Nicholas II: both gained office as a result of family connections, both initiated an unnecessary war that shattered their countries' budgets. Lenin needed the calamitous reign of Nicholas II to create an opening for the Bolsheviks.

Bush has behaved like a caricature of what a right-wing president is supposed to be, and his continuation in office will discredit any sort of conservatism for generations. The launching of an invasion against a country that posed no threat to the U.S., the doling out of war profits and concessions to politically favored corporations, the financing of the war by ballooning the deficit to be passed on to the nation's children, the ceaseless drive to cut taxes for those outside the middle class and working poor: it is as if Bush sought to resurrect every false 1960s-era left-wing cliché about predatory imperialism and turn it into administration policy. Add to this his nation-breaking immigration proposal-Bush has laid out a mad scheme to import immigrants to fill any job where the wage is so low that an American can't be found to do it-and you have a presidency that combines imperialist Right and open-borders Left in a uniquely noxious cocktail.

During the campaign, few have paid attention to how much the Bush presidency has degraded the image of the United States in the world. Of course there has always been "anti-Americanism." After the Second World War many European intellectuals argued for a "Third Way" between American-style capitalism and Soviet communism, and a generation later Europe's radicals embraced every ragged "anti-imperialist" cause that came along. In South America, defiance of "the Yanqui" always draws a crowd. But Bush has somehow managed to take all these sentiments and turbo-charge them. In Europe and indeed all over the world, he has made the United States despised by people who used to be its friends, by businessmen and the middle classes, by moderate and sensible liberals. Never before have democratic foreign governments needed to demonstrate disdain for Washington to their own electorates in order to survive in office. The poll numbers are shocking. In countries like Norway, Germany, France, and Spain, Bush is liked by about seven percent of the populace. In Egypt, recipient of huge piles of American aid in the past two decades, some 98 percent have an unfavorable view of the United States. It's the same throughout the Middle East.

Bush has accomplished this by giving the U.S. a novel foreign-policy doctrine under which it arrogates to itself the right to invade any country it wants if it feels threatened. It is an American version of the Brezhnev Doctrine, but the latter was at least confined to Eastern Europe. If the analogy seems extreme, what is an appropriate comparison when a country manufactures falsehoods about a foreign government, disseminates them widely, and invades the country on the basis of those falsehoods? It is not an action that any American president has ever taken before. It is not something that "good" countries do. It is the main reason that people all over the world who used to consider the United States a reliable and necessary bulwark of world stability now see us as a menace to their own peace and security.

These sentiments mean that as long as Bush is president, we have no real allies in the world, no friends to help us dig out from the Iraq quagmire. More tragically, they mean that if terrorists succeed in striking at the United States in another 9/11-type attack, many in the world will not only think of the American victims but also of the thousands and thousands of Iraqi civilians killed and maimed by American armed forces. The hatred Bush has generated has helped immeasurably those trying to recruit anti-American terrorists-indeed his policies are the gift to terrorism that keeps on giving, as the sons and brothers of slain Iraqis think how they may eventually take their own revenge. Only the seriously deluded could fail to see that a policy so central to America's survival as a free country as getting hold of loose nuclear materials and controlling nuclear proliferation requires the willingness of foreign countries to provide full, 100 percent co-operation. Making yourself into the world's most hated country is not an obvious way to secure that help.

I've heard people who have known George W. Bush for decades and served prominently in his father's administration say that he could not possibly have conceived of the doctrine of pre-emptive war by himself, that he was essentially taken for a ride by people with a pre-existing agenda to overturn Saddam Hussein. Bush's public performances plainly show him to be a man who has never read or thought much about foreign policy. So the inevitable questions are: who makes the key foreign-policy decisions in the Bush presidency, who controls the information flow to the president, how are various options are presented?

The record, from published administration memoirs and in-depth reporting, is one of an administration with a very small group of six or eight real decision-makers, who were set on war from the beginning and who took great pains to shut out arguments from professionals in the CIA and State Department and the U.S. armed forces that contradicted their rosy scenarios about easy victory. Much has been written about the neoconservative hand guiding the Bush presidency-and it is peculiar that one who was fired from the National Security Council in the Reagan administration for suspicion of passing classified material to the Israeli embassy and another who has written position papers for an Israeli Likud Party leader have become key players in the making of American foreign policy.

But neoconservatism now encompasses much more than Israel-obsessed intellectuals and policy insiders. The Bush foreign policy also surfs on deep currents within the Christian Right, some of which see unqualified support of Israel as part of a godly plan to bring about Armageddon and the future kingdom of Christ. These two strands of Jewish and Christian extremism build on one another in the Bush presidency-and President Bush has given not the slightest indication he would restrain either in a second term. With Colin Powell's departure from the State Department looming, Bush is more than ever the "neoconian candidate." The only way Americans will have a presidency in which neoconservatives and the Christian Armageddon set are not holding the reins of power is if Kerry is elected.

If Kerry wins, this magazine will be in opposition from Inauguration Day forward. But the most important battles will take place within the Republican Party and the conservative movement. A Bush defeat will ignite a huge soul-searching within the rank-and-file of Republicandom: a quest to find out how and where the Bush presidency went wrong. And it is then that more traditional conservatives will have an audience to argue for a conservatism informed by the lessons of history, based in prudence and a sense of continuity with the American past-and to make that case without a powerful White House pulling in the opposite direction.

George W. Bush has come to embody a politics that is antithetical to almost any kind of thoughtful conservatism. His international policies have been based on the hopelessly naïve belief that foreign peoples are eager to be liberated by American armies -a notion more grounded in Leon Trotsky's concept of global revolution than any sort of conservative statecraft. His immigration policies - temporarily put on hold while he runs for re-election - are just as extreme. A re-elected President Bush would be committed to bringing in millions of low-wage immigrants to do jobs Americans "won't do." This election is all about George W. Bush, and those issues are enough to render him unworthy of any conservative support.

Vote or Die

2004-11-01T10:36:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone,

Tomorrow is our opportunity to go out there and evict W. and his band of demonic trolls from the white house. If you have some free time a friend of mine let me know about this great organization that can really help to spread awareness and remind people that might easily be dissuaded from voting because of all the bullshit that the republicans are doing to intimidate and erradicate young, low-income and minority voters.

Here it is:

Change American Democracy With a Few Quick Phone Calls

The most important election of our lifetimes is just a few days away, and yet millions of Americans who are most affected by unjust government policies may not vote. Progressive non-partisan groups have registered over 2 million new low-income, minority, and young voters for the upcoming Presidential election. VoterCall.org offers you a fast and easy way to call these voters with a word of encouragement to go vote. Research shows that such calls increase turnout dramatically.
www.votercall.org

VoterCall is a project of Res Publica, supported by the National Council of Churches, TrueMajority, Rock the Vote, and National Voice (The November 2 Campaign)

Votercall.org

Thanks!

Bush and His Closed Mind

2004-10-28T14:27:00.000-04:00

Ooh, that John Kerry, he's on fire!

Kerry Uses Bush's Own Words to Call Him Unfit.

In this article, John Kerry discusses the fact that President Bush doesn't listen to the facts, he jumps to conclusions.

Bush on Wednesday accused Kerry of opportunism, saying: "A political candidate who jumps to conclusions without knowing the facts is not a person you want as commander in chief ... that is part of a pattern of a candidate who will say anything to get elected."

Kerry threw the words back at the president 24 hours later, announcing he was going "to apply the Bush standard" and declaring: "Mr. President, I agree with you."

"George Bush jumped to conclusions about 9/11 and Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)," he said. "George Bush jumped to conclusions about weapons of mass destruction and he rushed to war without a plan for the peace. George Bush jumped to conclusions about how the Iraqi people would receive our troops. He not only jumped to conclusions, he ignored the facts he was given."

Since I am studying Karl Marx for school, you know I am all high on The Communist Manifesto. I don't agree with everything Marx says but I think he makes several relevant points regarding the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, stuff that I find relevant given our current political circumstances with the elitist president and his unwavering support for his "base" as he called them in Fahrenheit 9/11"the haves and have-mores."

He discusses idealogy, not just as a system of beliefs on how we perceive the world, but in a negative sense. It is more about beliefs forming one's perception to the degree that a closed system evolves in which no amount of evidence or experience can change what you think or how you feel. That of course struck a very large chord with me. There is a reason that Preisdent Bush keeps saying that he will "stay the course" and that he can not think of a mistake he has made as president. That is because his mind is closed, he has his own idealogy (whether that is a fundamentalist Christian one or not, I couldn't tell you because I am not expert, but I do feel his religion has played a large part in forming his perception. I think that if you were to ask him he would agree with me, but I don't think he would mean it in the same way as me) but it does have a lot to do with his life of privilege, his experiences at never having to take full responsibility for himself, etc.

I know next week is the election and I think that many people just want it to be over and done with. I am tired of this whole electoral college thing. Who was the genius that invented that? It's time to get rid of it. There has to be a better way of making sure that what happened in Florida last year doesn't happen again. Here is an interesting article on voter "spoilage" that Karl Marx would appreciate because the author is coming from a perspective of critizing the class issue instead of race issue which of course are interrelated.
Florida's Computers have already counted thousands of votes for George W. Bush

Finally this article sounds funny but is very serious. Clueless People Love Bush

We Can Run, But We Can't Hide

2004-10-26T01:18:00.000-04:00

The Rapture
Originally uploaded by scarletpimp.

President Bush was fond of saying "he can run but he can't hide" about Osama Bin Laden and now he has used that slogan on the campaign trail about John Kerry in a subversive way of creating a subconscious link of fear in the hearts and minds of the American people.

Apparently, none of us can run or hide. It was leaked to the New York Times, and I say leaked because of course our government knew about it and said and did nothing, that 400 tons of explosives are missing from Iraq. Apparently while our president insured that the oil fields were well guarded, he forgot to look after the hazardous materials to make sure they didn't get into the wrong hands. U.N.: 400 Tons of Iraq Explosives Missing.

This comes on the heels of a bloody, horrendous massacre of 49 newly trained Iraqi soldiers that were going home on leave to visit their families. Now I want you to take a minute and think about this with me. Your country has been invaded by the Americans. They say they are here to help. Saddam is gone, happiness and joy. Then chaos ensues. There is no running water, no hospitals, everything around you is violent and miserable. You get a job to become a soldier to defend your own country, to take part in the reconstruction, to regain your dignity after all of the atrocities of war that have been inflicted on your people. You will have a paycheck and be able to give your family food and stability again. You are going home to see them and won't they be proud of you. You have so many stories to tell them about everything you have learned and all of your plans for the future. You get dressed in your civilian clothes, check in your weapon and head home, everyone laughing and talking on the bus. Then you are pulled over at a fake security point, you are held at gunpoint and told to take off your shoes. Then someone puts a bullet in the back of your skull. Worse, it was probably an inside job. One of the men you lived and trained with betrayed your whole unit.
Massacre at Baquba: 49 Iraqi Soldiers Executed in Attack Designed to Send Message to US.

The reason why all of this is getting to me is because I have a cousin going to Iraq tonight. I don't know where he is going to because he is not allowed to say. I worry that he will get hurt or worse. I worry that the sweet, wonderful person that I have watched grow into a dignified and compassionate man will return as someone else, someone broken. I worry that the insurgent problem which is becoming more confident and organized is going to continue to grow stronger and no one will do anything about it. Our president is lying to us. He tells us we are winning the war. He tells us things are getting better in Iraq and they are headed towards an election. They will get their election, but that won't change the violence of a nation in chaos. That won't change the fact that we have brothers, husbands, cousins, friends, fathers, wives, sisters, and daughters fighting for their lives for no good reason.

I spoke with a classmate the other night and she was still riding the fence about who she should vote for. I didn't slap her. I asked her calmly what was left to ponder. She said she has heard many people say that W. should have the opportunity to finish what he started. Can you imagine if we allow that man to finish what he started? Take a good look at that mushroom cloud, people. That is what our president considers the "rapture." If a man believes in the end of the world and the apocalypse, can we afford for him to finish what he started? All of the other issues- social security, no child left behind, gay marriage- all of those things pale in comparison to the reality of a nuclear holocaust.

Women Are Dying in America

2004-10-22T09:52:00.000-04:00

In my local paper, The New York Daily News, buried deep in the tiny article section between pictures of Fidel Castro breaking his knee and ads for CDs at Washington Mutual was an interesting piece on women in this city ( and I wouldn't be going out on a limb to say in the United States and the rest of the world as well) women are more likely to be killed by a boyfriend or husband than a complete and total stranger. This doesn't come as a complete shock to me. Look at the sensationalized cases of OJ Simpson and Scott Peterson. I would be more interested to know the conviction rates in these cases. The article states that more than half were foreign born women and 40 percent were in their twenties. How many were pregnant or mothers?

The reason why I ask this is because in the article Dr. Susan Wilt at the Health Department's Bureau of Epidemiology (that's the branch of medicine that deals with disease control) states that, "We have to look hard and long at what services we provide." I don't understand why domestic violence is being handled by disease control. Is it a disease? Possibly a social one and in that case it has to be treated on a societal level outside of the lab. I ask if the women had children or were pregnant because that is usually a reason why women stay in an abusive relationship. If there are small children to take care of or if the woman is pregnant, work and independence are hard to come by. You are trapped. The remedy for this kind of problem is to provide healthcare and child care options that are affordable or free. Some job training and self esteem workshops wouldn't hurt, either.

Some people might complain about who would pay for such a program, taxes would be increased, etc. But really if you knew that your tax dollars were effecting change in someone's life, that in fact you were saving a life, wouldn't you pay more taxes? I would. I think people don't like paying taxes because they know it doesn't do anything to make this country a better place to live. Women are still dying in America. Children are still starving to death and old people can't get their flu shots.

The article makes a relevant point that in many immigrant communities it is not accepted for a woman to discuss abuse or family matters with outsiders. I think that if a woman knew there were outside resources to help her, if there was a safe haven for her and her children, then she would talk. She would scream. She would run. That is human nature to preserve our own life. It's only when you think resistance is futile that you don't fight back.

More Slain by Beaus

I mentioned the flu shot, here is an article that lets you know where the government's priorities are: bioterror vaccines.

Vaccine Poker I heard on Air America Radio that Congress has gotten their flu shot. Even the young and healthy congresspeople.

For those of you that are stunned and left wondering, how could this have happened, well read this article:

Bless You, Oh Canada"

Most important part of the article to consider:

Administration Was Warned

The president continues to blame "a production flaw" for the vaccine shortage, but the Bush administration received warnings about the vaccination supply and could have taken steps to diminish the problem.

After Chiron Corp. informed British and American officials on Sept. 13 that there were unresolved contamination problems at its Liverpool, England, plant, the British government responded by contacting other manufacturers and securing alternative supplies. The Bush administration, on the other hand, failed to act before all doses of the flu vaccine had been purchased. The administration had already ignored two GAO reports which warned of impending production shortfalls.

So the president was warned about 9/11 and did nothing. Then he was warned about a flu shot shortage and did nothing. Interesting how history repeats itself.

I had mentioned earlier that women need to have free or low cost healthcare and child care options in order leave abusive relationships. Apparently, women in non-abusive relationships don't have it that easy either. Whoda thunkit?
Here is an interesting article that discusses the effects the Bush Administration is promising to have on women and the economy by making an "ownership class society" (which sounds like feudalism to me) and the reality of such a program.

Leaving Women Behind

Finally, if you were thinking of going to see Ben Affleck or Sarah Michelle Gellar at the movies this weekend, think again. There is a website that is showing a movie called "Outsource This!" with none other than Jason Alexander.

Check it and save yourself some money: OutSourceOutrage.com

Making Hard Choices

2004-10-21T13:34:00.000-04:00

As I have posted previously, I walked out (justifiably) on my job last week. I had turned my back on it and I started to think of the future with an optimism that I had never felt before. I was free and I was certain that I was taking a step in the right direction. I would focus on my writing, on school, on my family, all of those things I felt I had abandoned when I took this job.

Yesterday I was in the laundry room of my apartment building, reading The Communist Manifesto for school when I got a phone call from my old job asking me to come back. They would fire my old supervisor and things would be different. Things would be better. I was stunned into silence because I had gotten this call 5 months ago and I had gone back only to be repeatedly stomped on. I have to say I am not made of stone. I need money just like everyone else in this world. I am an American so you know I have tons of debt. But I was wary. I don't want to be caught in that corporate trap of demoralization. That is not who I am. That is not who I want to become.

So I told them I wanted more money. MORE MONEY. A financial incentive, I called it. I haven't heard back from them. I guess that is a no thanks.

I feel I am in this moment in my life that will seperate me from everyone else. I know who I am, hell, it took me 27 years to get here. I know what I want from my life and it is when we get these tests, these challenges to our resolve and our character that we confirm it, is it not? I am sure that many people would think there are worse challenges to a person's character than being offered a job, but when it is a job that does not allow you to be who you are but instead tells you, "this is who I think you are so therefore that is who you must be" then I believe it is a challenge and walking away is the only decision.

If I give someone else my voice than I have no right to sit here at my computer telling you my thoughts in the safety of my home, in an anonymous fashion. I have to walk the walk too.

It reminds me of this chapter of a book by Lisa Lowe called Immigrant Acts in which she writes the Asian Americans have been written out of history and in being colonized they have shared a violent history of oppression by the United States. It is this violent history that they are forced to forget when they become naturalized because when they become an American, the U.S. is always right, and there are parts of our history-the oppressive, empirialistic parts- that we choose not to remember.

That is what happens when an individual goes to work for a corporation. Some people can easily check there independence and their free will at the door between 9am and 5pm but for some others like myself it is too much to ask. I can not seperate my thoughts and my emotions from my body. I am not a machine that can go through the motions every day while doing my job. My intelligence and compassion, however righteous and quirky it may be is who I am. You get the whole package when you hire me and heaven help you if you try to change me or suppress a part of me that you feel is not appropriate for the workplace.

If I don't think those parts of me are work remembering or fighting for, who else will?

2004-10-21T13:12:00.000-04:00

Hey,

Here is an article that might be interesting to my readers of color or vague interest in racial issues. Bush is ignoring black people. BET:One Channel Left Behind

I am working on making the blog more available so I will be posting in and out all day long.

2004-10-18T13:52:00.000-04:00

Anti-war Sculpture in London

2004-10-18T12:41:00.000-04:00

Anti-war Sculpture in London
Originally uploaded by scarletpimp.

This goes in the 'things you won't see on your nightly news category.' I don't know about y'all, but Matt Lauer wasn't discussing this on the Today show. He was talking about Martha Stewart writing from prison. We are living in a serious bubble and the media is perpetuating that. Here is the link to the article on the protest in London.
Tens of Thousands Throng London to Protest Iraq.

Also worthy of attention is John Stewart of The Daily Show appearing on Crossfire and giving it to Tucker Carlson like he deserves. Tucker comes off really poorly because his audience laughs with John Stewart and that is never a good sign, is it?

Stewart on Crossfire.

I am off to study for school. Will write when I get home.

2004-10-17T19:14:00.000-04:00

Hey! The Scarlet Pimp is in full effect, all you sucka bloggers need to come correct!

I am in a super terrific mood because I have walked out on my job, yes I left in a blaze of glory, and I am committing myself to my my website which is still in design phase and my writing and school. There are subtle signs that pop up in your life that tell you that you are on the right path. I slept Friday night, the day of my liberation from indentured servitude, with out anxiety attacks, stomach spasms or any stress related symptoms. I am free!!! The Revolution has begun! I have a good sense fo who I am. I just turned 27 this week and I realized the crossroads I was standing in. I could let other people tell me who I am and impose their expectations on me or I can stand. STAND!

So I did. Here is another sign. A website called Yes Bush Can sent me an email this weekend. I assume they send one out to every person with a blog, which makes me wonder which blogging website directory has sold their address book, however I felt it necessary to respond to them. In my typical Scarlet Pimp way: ya tu sabe, punetas!

Here was their letter:

RatherGate proved that bloggers are the best fact checkers. That is
why we are writing to a few bloggers asking for help.

Yes Bush Can has collected several documents that are clearly suspect.
But we need your help to prove they are fake:
http://www.yesbushcan.com/falsedocs.shtml

Let's spring to action before these documents needlessly tarnish the
reputation of our Commander and Chief. You know the drill: analyze the
handwriting, search for factual errors, and post your discoveries.
And keep us posted by sending email to FakeDocs@yesbushcan.com.
Thanks in advance for your help.
YesBushCan

Now first I would like to say that yes, bloggers are amazing fact checkers and have the time on their hands to follow up on such tasks. However, how many bloggers are really going to analyze handwriting with the kind of expertise required for DUI arrest records for President Bush, Darth Cheney, and Bushes daughters tweedle drunk and tweendle drunker?

Here was my response:

Dear Mentally Challenged Bush Supporters:

In error, your team of Bushites have sent me an email asking me to prove the president's legal indescretions were false and somehow maliciously contrived by liberals. Had you done your homework and actually read my blog, you would have seen that I AM one of those blasphemous liberals. I look forward to the day when John Kerry is elected into office in order to restore America to its position as a global leader instead of being despised by all other nations because of the lies and deception of the Bush Administration. However, thanks for writing. Nothing reassures me more of who I am and what I stand for than to have ignorant people that don't do their homework e-mail me to support their "righteous" causes.

Yes Bush can -- lose gracefully on November 2nd to John Kerry.
Yes America can -- vote their values, not their fears.

Sincerely,

The Scarlet Pimp

2004-09-21T05:09:00.000-04:00

I am not going to lie to y'all. I have been lazy and neglectful. I don't mean to not write, I just have been having some trouble negotiating my free time now that I work and go to school full time. Also, Last week I wrote a wonderful, awe-inspiring essay that linked Africa and Russia and the decline in the intellectual capacityof most Americans and then I pressed delete by accident and it was all gone. I later retreated to my bed to lay in the fetal position, moaning that God has forsaken me.

I wanted to write a minute about Bush's visit to the UN. I am not really going to discuss John Kerry because I am less than thrilled with him at the moment. I think he is doing everything wrong with this campaign and I want to vote tomorrow. If he is going to lose, and I hope sincerely that he doesn't, I want to hurry up and do it already so that I can get on with my Canadian Citizenship application. W.'s visit to the UN reminded me though that even if I move up north, or even to some hacienda in South America, I will never be truly free of his new world order.

Check out the article on yahoo: Bush Emphasizes Humanitarian Issues at UN". Seems like a normal article giving the rundown on his visit and his proposed itinerary.

What struck me was this:

Also Tuesday, Bush meets with the leaders of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan (news - web sites), Japan and Iraq. Last year, Bush met with the heads of France and Germany — two of his harshest critics on Iraq. But there are no Europeans on this year's list, and aside from his host, Annan, no sharp critics of the Iraq war.
Finally, he sees Mother Teresa's successor, Sister Nirmala.
That final meeting could help Bush with American Roman Catholics, a powerful voting bloc. It is also intended to send a signal about Bush's compassion for the poor.
Bush promised last weekend that he would lay out "some additional proposals to expand prosperity and accelerate the march of freedom in our world." They include efforts to treat and curb AIDS (news - web sites), spread democracy and promote better agricultural methods and education overseas.
"I will talk about the great possibilities of our time to improve health, expand prosperity and extend freedom in our world," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

First, I don't think it is a smart thing to exclude France and Germany from your to do list. It would probably be wiser to discuss with your "harshest critics" of the Iraq war what is going on unless what you have been saying all along is a complete lie and you are not winning the war on terrorism. Are you afraid, Bushie, that they will criticize you to your face? That when the press gathers to take pictures of you posing together and shaking hands like old friends that some how they might stiff you? Make a face, refuse to shake your hand or insult you when the press asks how the meeting is going? It would be a terrible thing to break this bubble that you have been living in, this world that you have created in which you ARE winning the war on terror, the American people love you because everywhere you go the people at the rallies have signed a loyalty oath pledging their undying devotion to you, and the economy is doing great because, hell, all your friends and supporters are pleased as punch with the outsourcing and war profiteering. To have to face criticism now when you haven't faced any since...ever, might rock your world and force you to do something you regret, like snort cocaine off the presidential seal. Oh wait you already did that!

Secondly, meeting with Sister Narmala does not make Bush compassionate with poor people. Bush has always stated (as per his professors and fellow classmates at Yale) that poor people are lazy in his opinion. I might be wrong on this. He may actually really like poor people. That's why he keeps making more and more poor people by helping the rich suffocate the economy. Or perhaps he likes poor people, just not poor Americans. Isn't that why he is such a supporter of outsourcing and manufacturing in third world countries? By third world I mean countries that are paying eight year olds to cut sugar in El Salvador for pennies just so we can dring a Coca Cola.

Finally, while Bush is spreading his homespun version of democracy, he will also be "promoting better agricultural methods and education overseas." I am sure that is music to the ears of farmers in the States who are already suffering from fierce competition, not to mention the Southern Farmers that are suffering from the recent hurricane epidemic. As for education, I am sure that all those children that got left behind from Bush's "no child left behind" plan would love to know that our president's priorities are educating the children of the world that will eventually grow up to work for American companies while they are working the grill at Burger King.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have animosity towards these other nations or the people that reside in them. I just want the conditions for Americans to be realized for what they are and to improve before we start spreading our highly flawed policies to the rest of the world. Not everyone has to do things our way, especially if our way is the wrong way. We have people in our country that are living at or below the poverty level and the numbers are growing. There are children that are falling between the cracks or dropping out fo school all together and the numbers are growing. More and more people in this country can not afford healthcare, can not afford childcare or to raise their children without more than one income, and our environmental policies stink which is why we have been having so many hurricanes.

Your probably not going to win any friends W., with those ideas, but then again, you aren't really trying to. It's all about going through the motions and saying you are doing something so it saves you the trouble of actually having to do it in the first place.

2004-08-17T18:21:00.000-04:00

Rock on, soldiers! Even in anonymity. A soldier is suing the government for keeping him in Iraq.

Check it:

Soldier Sues Military Over Extended Service.

Even though he is named "John Doe" if you are feeling particularly sneaky you could try to hunt him down by a process of elimination. The article states:

"The San Francisco-area man, who filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for Northern California, fought during the invasion of Iraq. Married with two young daughters, he is seeking a release from service when his Army National Guard term ends in December.

The suit names the plaintiff's commander as Capt. Kincy Clark, who heads Bravo Company of the First Battalion, 184th Infantry regiment based in Dublin, California. The unit reported for duty on Monday and is expected to train for several months before going to Iraq in February or March."

So much for being anonymous.

2004-08-17T14:49:00.000-04:00

I read a really inspirational essay on Commondreams.org by Medea Benjamin, an organizer for Code Pink, which is in theory an exceptional idea for women activists but in reality is all about PR for themselves by making grandiose protests and trips to places like Iraq. A dear friend of mine, Kayhan Irani, is an actress/activist and she accompanied them to Iraq and she said that really it was just "feminist adventure tours." Regardless, I am hoping that what she says about Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela that just had an election recall where millions of people stood in lines for hours to cast a vote, is true. Check it out:
Why Hugo Chavez won a Lanslide Victory.

Also in the news, W. has decided to shake things up with the military a bit. He has made plans to move the global positioning of the Army because we are now in a post cold war era and we have to fight terrorism better. This sounds great because we hear that Russia is our ally, forget about its proximity to places like Serbia and other countries in the region which has had recent terrorist activities. Didn't Clinton just kick ass in Kosovo a few years back? I have to check my history and geography. What scares me is the fact that he is readying the troops to leave South Korea. Why? Because North Korea is no longer a threat? What happened to all of that Axis of Evil business? Do we forget about it now? "Mission Accomplished"?

I am not the only one that is worried about this. According to an article on Voice of America, Japan is none too happy either. Bush Troop Plan Vague on Movements in Asia, say Analysts
The article states: "Communist North Korea and capitalist South Korea are divided by a heavily armed border. The two countries are technically still at war, since they never signed a peace treaty at the end of the Korean War in 1953." Mission accomplished, indeed.

Meanwhile in South Korea many demonstrators marched recently to appose the government's decision to send more troops to Iraq. So America is telling South Korea that they should send more troops to Iraq because they are our allies and we are going to pull out on them while they are still technically at war with North Korea as N. Korea builds nuclear weapons. No wonder we have no international friends anymore. Look how hard we are working to alienate everyone. We have to buy our allies by hiring private security firms to protect our soldiers and our army bases because no one has our back.

Speak to y'all tomorrow.

The Iraq Soccer Team

2004-08-16T21:41:00.000-04:00

The Iraq Soccer Team
Originally uploaded by scarletpimp.

Oh, Mahmood, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind, hey Mahmood! *clap, clap, clap* Hey Mahmood! *clap, clap, clap*

I don't know if any of you are watching the Olympics like I am. It is a chance to see blind nationalism at its best. The shock and awe as the US basketball team got slaughtered by *gasp* Puerto Rico! I do have to say that is one sexy team! What I hated was the way in which the sports writers wrote things like: "Look at it this way, Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the U.S., so it wasn't a total loss!"

Excuse me, but the way in which Puerto Rico has been mistreated and abused by the US should then be called by the truest words to describe our relationship to Puerto Rico: colonizer and colonized. For over fifty years, Puerto Rico has been stuck in this limbo state in which they are not actually part of our country, but they are not an independent nation either. The way in which their economy and educational system has been raped by the US ensures that they will never have true autonomy. In short, these writers could say, he at least this team is our property.

I guess the Iraqi soccer team knows a little something about that condition, huh? Here is a team that no one thought was going to achieve anythin. The President is even taking credit for their success and presence. He has said in public that there are more countries participating in the Olympics this year due to the war on terror, so I guess it was all worth it, right? If you google Iraq and Olympics, chances are the first entry will lead you straight to the white house web page. It's great to be able to get all of your news in one place, thanks W. for the new sports page!

I love the nationalistic way in which the Olympics is being broadcast. Sure, its our country and we should have pride in the people that represent us. I don't watch it though to look at the athletes and judge their abilities by what uniform they are wearing and I think that it discredits them and all of the hard work that they have put into training for this event. I look at them and see their ability to play their sport and perform what drives them.

In this years Olympics I am cheering for the underdog. The Iraqi soccer team, the Puerto Rican basketball team, and any other team or athlete from an underdeveloped, oppressed country that no one believes in.

I'm just a girl in the world...

2004-08-12T11:16:00.000-04:00

I'm just a girl in the world...
Originally uploaded by scarletpimp.

The Following is a personal rant on my own emotional issues that are easily transferrable to the women of the world. The disease to please, as Oprah calls it, is apparently carried on our chromosome.

I have this problem that most women have. I try to help people. I try to save people. I try to lift them up when they are down. I try to make them smile. I try to make their lives a little easier. However, I realize over and over two things. I can't save anyone. You are the way you are because you have brought yourself to wherever it is you are for a reason and it is up to you to get yourself out of it. I can offer a suggestion, a shoulder, an ear, a hug, a smile, but that's about it. I need to cut the cord so to speak. The second thing I learned is that I am just using other people's problems as a distraction from the wasteland that is my life. Okay, I am being overly dramatic. I am very blessed to be alive, to have a roof over my head, to have a job, to have the opportunity to pursue an education. Yet I am not entirely happy and instead of spending energy on improving myself and my life I am spending it finding people jobs when they don't really want to work, giving motivational speeches that deserve AWARDS to people that really couldn't care less. WHY?

If I made other people happy, if I improved their lives would I be better off? What kind of a payoff am I hoping to receive here? Do I get a gold star? Does that mean that I am a good person? Does that mean somehow I am worthy of praise and adoration, that people can't love me until I have served them in someway? A pat on the head, perhaps? A fucking doggy biscuit?

When a woman is in a relationship she gives her all. That is a general statment, sure there are tons of crappy women out there. Most women spend a lot of time trying to improve their spouses. They do everything for that person. A friend of mine told me that your spouse is a reflection of who you are. But of course. As a woman, my identity lies soley in the success of my partner. If I want to climb the social ladder, then my partner needs to get a great job and earn a decent salary. We kill ourselves trying to make sure that spouse gets an education. Don't worry, we will stay at home and care for the children and the house. We will help you study and type your notes for you. We will cook you nutritious meals that will give you energy and strenght. We won't question you about your comings and goings, who you talk with, what you are doing when you come home late for work, why you don't want to talk anymore, why you are not studying anymore, why you aren't showering anymore, where all that weight is coming from or where it went, why you are dressing differently, where the money in the bank went, why the phone was turned off, why you are going to the gym all of the time, why you never spend time with the kids, why you bring up having more kids when we want to get a job or go back to school. No questions means no lies. But if a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound? If a lie is unspoken, does it exist?

The lie I speak of is the lie we tell ourselves as women. Somehow we are under the impression that it is our burden to bear this great weight and we are selfish for pursuing our own happiness. It's not. If we don't travel our own path we haven't been true to ourselves, if we even recognize who we are in the mirror.

It's hard to shake this feeling that we have been taught all our lives of being silent and subservient. When women are aggressive I feel myself shrinking. How dare they? This immediately follows with envy; I wish I could be so confident and aggressive to get what I want when I want it. To know what is right for me and follow my heart without reservation. I wish that I could live my life without all of those ever-tangling strings attaching me to people that in the end will just take care of themselves, forgoing loyalty or some feeling of obligation to return kindness.

In the movie Shrek, Shrek says ogres are like onions. They have layers. So does happiness, I imagine. You keep peeling back the layers looking for joy, even though it stinks, even though tears are flowing down your face and your eyes are blinded by the sting, you keep peeling until you find it.

2004-08-04T22:44:00.000-04:00

I haven't written for the longest time. I feel deep shame because even though I write about being strong and fighting the good fight, I haven't really gotten out in a while and the only fighting I have been doing is with my own personal demons. I feel shame for it because I feel what one might feel if they went on a diet with their friends and at night they go home and eat a dozen cupcakes. In order to not be a hypocritcal fraud, I stayed away from my own blog.

Now that I am back, I don't feel really compelled to talk about the world of politics or the democratic convention. I think Kerry did a great job and I think momentum is building. Good for him. I just worry if it will be enough. What more can we do if they might steal or postpone the election anyway? I don't want to be a defeatist, however, I do have to be realistic and prepare myself for what might be.

I watched this film on HBO tonight called, Capturing the Friedmans. It was a very bizarre mix of home movies and documentary about a father and son-The Friedmans-who are arrested and later plead guilty to sexual abuse of minors. Now this film was in no way impartial. You can tell the director was really trying to prove a case for their innocence and show their was misconduct by the lawyers and police officers involved. I agree that all of it was really mishandled. I don't know how much of it was truth and made up after the fact. For example, after the father pleads guilty, the younger son eventually cuts a deal as well on the advice of his lawyer and is convinced that if he tells the judge he too was abused by his father he would get off easy. It didn't work that way. He served 13 years. He blames the lawyer, the lawyer blames him. Who knows what is truth? Who knows what is fiction? The father was disturbed; there was no doubt about that. The son got fucked over. The mother was a looney and the oldest brother was in the deepest denial I have ever seen and totally blamed his mother for everything, completely forgetting that his father admitted to being a pedophile and eventually committed suicide, which the eldest son called a "surprise heart attack."

I recommend you watch this film and share your thoughts with me. I also saw The Village by M. Night Shamaylan.
(I really don't know if I spelled that right). I thought it was really awesome. Next up for me is The Manchurian Candidate.

I really must say how tired I am of mainstream media. I can't even watch the news or any of those smiling, empty vessels as they read in a monotone from a teleprompter. During the DNC you could tell just how mentally incapacitated these anchorpeople were because as stirring and emotional the speeches were, they could not think of anything intelligent to say regarding Al Sharpton except that he went over his time limit and other complaints about the steamers and balloons. I refuse to watch it anymore. These are not trained journalists. (Sorry Katie Couric, even you ask questions that are without merit and then you end up answering them for the guests so all they do is smile and nod back at you.) I only read the news now. If you have to string a sentence together, if you have to write out an article and put it in print you are immortalizing your claims in a very concrete way. You are promising the public that what you say is true because they can SEE it right there in front of them. It's a pact with your readers that you believe more fervently in a what you say and it is a challenge for them to challenge you on your investigations. There are some great websites to get your news from. I read them all with the same critical eye that I use to read mainstream newspapers such as the NY Times. Don't be afraid to write the papers with your opinions. The media is under the impression that they can go unchecked and that has made them lazy. They report sensational stories instead of searching for truth and reporting it with a neutral tone and disposition. If it happened, the public should know. End of story.

On Air America the other morning, one of the Marks on the morning show commented that there was no television personality like Walter Kronkite to turn to and just know that he spoke the truth. Really I have no words about Walt. He was great and I can't think of anyone my generation has that comes close to that. Except maybe Kurt Loder of MTV. He has matured along with the channel. He has gone head to head with Courtney Love and Madonna at their bitchiest and at the same time, thank you very much, and he has seen me through Kurt Cobain's suicide and the many legal troubles of Michael Jackson. If it happened, he lets us know. Thank you Kurt. Keep up the good work.

2004-07-19T17:01:00.000-04:00

I was reading an article on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his "girlie men" comment. Check it. Shwarzenegger's 'Girlie Men' LIne Under Fire.
What interested me is not that he said something in a failed attempt at being hilarious and endearing and ended up reinforcing the fact that he is a sexist pig, but the part that people aren't really talking about and it seems to be gaining popularity in the Republican Party.

" If they don't have the guts to come up here in front of you and say, 'I don't want to represent you, I want to represent those special interests, the unions, the trial lawyers ... if they don't have the guts, I call them girlie men," Schwarzenegger said to the cheering crowd at a mall food court in Ontario.
I love it that the Republicans are saying the same thing that the Democrats have been saying forever about catering to special interests. Is it such a bad thing to cater to the special interests? I guess it depends on the special interest. As Arnie states the horrible groups that the dems are giving into are unions and trial lawyers. the unions that are your policemen, your teachers, your hospital staff, your firefighters. Those democrats should be ashamed! Unions are the bastards that fight for fair wages and proper working conditions for the union members. Essentially, they fight for the right of the members not to be fired for asking for a better quality of life and for the public, thats you and me, to have civil service people like firefighters and teachers that are not overworked or understaffed.Trial lawyers are the guys who go after the major corporations like the tobacco companies or the HMO's that try to make or save a buck at our expense. Yeah, fuck them. It's better to cater to the special interests that the Republican Party caters to: the oil companies, the tobacco companies, the pharmaceutical companies. Fun party people.
The Republicans also have started to say that the democrats are trying to rewrite history. I know, I laughed too. After King Bush forced us to go to war on the notion that Iraq had WMD's. Now it is coming out through the 9/11 commission that Iran allowed several of the terrorists to pass through there, although it is not clear whether they had prior knowledge about the attacks. Does this mean we are going to go to war with Iran?
US Probes Possible Iran Links to 9/11.
Bush had this to say:
"I have long expressed my concerns about Iran. After all, it is a totalitarian society where free people are not allowed to exercise their rights as human beings."
I am having dejavu. First will come the reported link to 9/11. Then will come The Colin Powell Show live from United Nations Plaza. Then will come our president saying, fuck the UN, we have to invade preemptively. Then will come an invasion, a draft, and the deaths of thousands of people, American and Iranian. It will be great business from the Republican Party and their special interests. What I would like to know is how many terrorists that have caused a violent attack on a country have passed through our borders, have lived in our country, have had American educations or jobs. If anyone knows, please pass on that information to me.
Also the Federal Marriage Ammendment failed. Na-Na-Na-Na-Na. The Republicans also said that the Democrats are trying to fill the courts with "activist" judges. I personally prefer the kinds of judges that believe in civil rights then the kinds of judges that try to tell me what to do with my uterus, the kinds of judges that don't believe in evolution, the kinds of judges that believe women don't get pregnant from rape. (You can search my archives to read about that particular reference.)
I do believe that there are Democrats that cater to special interests and are just as bogus as there are Republican politicians. I said it. What gives me hope is that there is growing opposition within the Republican party and there is an interesting article on commondreams.org. A Penchant for Canceling Elections.

2004-07-12T13:28:00.000-04:00

Sign Tom's Petition!

Tom's Petition!

2004-07-12T12:44:00.000-04:00

Today I am home waiting for my bathroom ceiling to cave in because their is a horrible leak from the upstairs shower and the staff of my co-op apparently don't think it is as much of an emergency as I do. Is it bad when the ceiling starts dripping and gets mushy?

Anyway, I welcome the time off from my shitty job because I have to say, I hate it there with an intense passion I often reserve for Hitler or those OnStar radio commercials that make me bawl like a baby. There is only just so much one person can take. Since being a receptionist isn't my career, I feel that as a day job I should be able to come in, do my work and then leave with enough energy and time to do the things I really want to do with my life. This job doesn't permit that. I am surrounded by negative people that suck the positivity out of me. I don't want to say they are ignorant either because really they are not. They just choose the path of least resistance at that moment without foresight into the potential outcome from their actions or inactions. It then creates something to complain about and like Garbage sang, they are "Only happy when it rains."

that's not me. I wonder if the nature of this blog might make me seem like a negative person when really I am quite positive. I like to help people because it makes me feel good. I like to look for solutions and to do things in an organized way. This is not rewarded when you work for a corporation because then everyone wants to know who you are trying to impress, why you think you are better than everyone or they get you to do all of the work while they take all of the credit. It's utter bullshit.

This is not a long rant on how much I hate my job. I know I am lucky to have one to hate. I am actually perplexed on whether I should stay or if I should quit. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth and I have to work for a paycheck. But I don't want to be a person that drags their feet to work just to make a buck. I want to enjoy my life to. I don't know if that's possible. I don't know anyone who truly loves their job. It is work after all. There has to be a better way of looking back on these years and not feeling like I have wasted myself and my talents on a company that wasn't worthy of me in the first place. I know a lot of people in their twenties that are coming up against this brick wall. I have written previously about it. I am not afraid of working hard, I am afraid of hating my life and myself and becoming trapped. I am afraid of having low expectations. I am afraid that I will start to look at companies that offer health insurance that take up half of my paycheck and think that its okay. I am afraid that I will lose the fight that MAKES me hate this job because I have settled into the routine, into the monotony, into the depression. I am afraid that this life will have meant nothing to anybody including me.

I haven't decided if this fear is more comfortable than the fear of taking a chance and letting fate decide. It's easy to settle for the crappy jobs that one knows will be horrible because it is the path I know. To do what I love, to try to succeed and possibly fail even though success is scarier to me, it makes my head spin. Some might say, well with all that is going on in the world how can she possibly be so preoccupied with something so trivial. Well, because if I am not happy and confident in what I do, how can I possibly effect change in the world? How can I face people when I am miserable and tell them to rise up and break the chains that bind them when I am bound like a slave to an immovable boulder, trying to carry it up a mountain. How can I save others when I cannot save myself? The toxicity of my environment will kill my spirit and then I will become part of the apathetic masses that stare at their televisions simultaneously numbing themselves and praying to feel something, anything, just to remember what it felt like to be alive again.

In closing, I would like to leave you with the warning that the elections might be postponed in case of another terrorist attack. What this tells you is that President Bush is planning to go on vacation around October/November and hope for the best. US Mulls How To Delay November Vote In Case Of Attack

P.S. I am going to see Prince in concert tonight!

2004-07-07T21:18:00.000-04:00

Democrats were dancing in the streets because John Edwards could potentially be our new vice president. I have to be honest with all of you. The thought of John Edwards as vice president gets me more excited than the thought of John Kerry. He reminds me of the tree that helped Merry and Pippin in the Lord of the Rings. He made the right decision because a Kerry-Gephart ticket would have made me lose hope that we can take back the white house this election. The New York Post reported that Gephart was going to be the vice presidential choice, which leads me to believe one of two things. Either they guessed at what Kerry's decision would be and they were unlucky or they were trying to throw the public off. They are a right wing newspaper, so you never know what they were thinking.

According to the New York Newsday, President Dubya said upon hearing of the nomination, 'Dick Cheney can be president.' This apparently was his way of dismissing Senator Edwards' skills and experience. Okay, what does that mean? I pondered on it for more time than I would like to admit. I think it means that Dick Cheney has so much experience and skills that he could be president, he is just that gifted. Does that mean that somehow he feels his own skills and experience are superior to Dick Cheney and that is why he is president right now? He might, he talks to God you know. Maybe he just meant to prove that the amount of experience that Dick Cheney has in politics is vastly greater than Senator Edwards and on that I have to agree. What we have to ask ourselves come election day is which matters more- quantity or quality? Sure Sen. Edwards has only had six years in the Senate, but he has done great things for North Carolina. Dick Cheney has managed to continually fuck us over. He has spent many years perfecting ways in which he can make himself richer and set up a system so that the divide between the haves and the "have nots grows into the Grand Canyon. As President Bush stated in the film Fahrenheit 911, the have-mores are his base. He and Cheney have been very loyal to them, especially since the beginning of the war on Iraq. In fact, so loyal that this is the first war time era in which there was a tax CUT, not an increase in American History.

Some of the great things that Senator Edwards has done for North Carolina are what irks President Bush the most. He has continually blocked conservative judges from being appointed to the federal judiciary. Listen, I am all for freedom of speech, obviously, but some of the people that Bush appoints say things like:
"Women should be subservient to men" and "Pregnancy results from Rape about as often as it snows in Miami." I’ll give you a moment to process that. While you do, please process the fact that President Bush has stated repeatedly that the jury is still out on evolution.

In this article in the New York Newsday, Bush Dismisses Edwards in South Carolina Speech, Bush states, "I'm going to carry the South because the people understand that they share—we share values." One must wonder exactly what values they are sharing, given Bush's track record of oppression and appealing to his base. The values of being on vacation forty percent of your presidency when we are supposedly fighting a war on terrorism. I also love when Republicans call Kerry and Edwards liberals, like that is supposed to be some kind of insult. Maybe I am too much of a liberal myself to realize what a blow to someone's reputation this might be. I personally think that they need to go ultraliberal. They need to motivate the masses and pick people up again the way that Kennedy did and the way the current president of Brazil does, despite the fact that he hasn't produced any quick results to end the poverty.

I have heard that Edwards is a great orator and I look forward to any debates he may have with Dick Cheney. Although I have heard a rumor that Bush might drop Cheney and call McCain as his VP. That explains why he is doing the campaign trail for Bush, doesn’t it? He is probably hoping that 4 years of washing the devils back will turn out in a Presidential race of his own in 2008, one that would be backed by the Bush family and the CCC- Corporate Christian Crusaders. I am not saying that McCain is a card carrying member. I just think he is playing his cards right in this game, this silly political game. I happen to like McCain, despite his being a Republican. Just saying that makes me cringe at my own partisanship. However, I loved the way he went after the truth like a ravenous wolf for the 9/11 committee. I like the way he speaks the truth. I am just expecting all of that to end now that he has hopped in to bed with King Bush.

I finally have stepped into the year 2004 and I now get Internet access at work. Expect more postings now that I can write while I shuffle paper and fake enthusiasm.

2004-07-01T15:53:00.000-04:00

By now I hope all of you have seen Fahrenheit 9/11. I saw it opening weekend and I was overwhelmed by how many of the shows were sold out or filled to near capacity. I was also shocked to see how many elderly people had come to see the film. When I think of revolution, I don't necessarily think of this generation. However this is the group of people most likely to vote. This is the same group that worries about things that my generation is yet to ponder, Medicare, prescription drugs, social security benefits, etc. This is a group that lived before cable t.v. and video games rotted our brains. They (gasp) read books and walked and went outside to play. They weren't all fat and lazy the way we are now. I don't really want to come down on my generation. But there is something that happens to you when you raise a family through two world wars and when you grow up in the depression that strengthens you, makes you not shy away from hard work and choose the path of least resistance. It's the children of this generation, the baby boomers that fucked us all up.

Moving on, I think that the film was very skillfully filmed from an aesthetic point of view, politics aside. I especially loved the music and the beginning where the credits rolled and we see various sunshine makers of the Bush Administration getting prepped for television. I cried during the parts on 9/11, as did many in the theater with me. I wondered if it was because we were all New Yorkers. I wonder still if anyone can feel what we felt that day, to be locked down and trapped here with all tunnels, bridges and roadways closed for better or worse. I wonder if people could feel the emptiness that we felt as we watched the pillars of smoke billowing from where the two towers had once stood. The fear. The shock. The grief. This movie made me feel that in a way that I had not remembered for quite some time. Then to see the mother that lost her son in Iraq, it was difficult. Not as difficult as the scariest moment of the film: seeing John Ashcroft sing a song about soaring eagles that he had written himself.

When I see Ashcroft, I feel sorry for him. I used to feel nothing but anger but now I feel almost a sadness for him. Look into his eyes. He is terrified. He is the most terrified man I have ever seen in my life. I bet if I jumped out of a closet and screamed "Boo!" he would shit himself and then die. His eyes are slightly glassy and they dart back and forth too often like he is scanning the room for the enemy. Since he is our chief justice guy, he dictates according to his own psychosis. Fear of women, deny them rights. Get their medical records, see what they've been hiding from us. He had a gallbladder operation, which I have written about previously, and I think all of that bile that couldn't be processed by his body was not only from hatred but from an inproportionate amount of fear. This is what happens to you if you are filled with hate and fear. You get an infected gallbladder. Watch out, America. Whereas if you are just filled with hate, like Dick Cheney, your own heart refuses to support your body and you get a pacemaker. If you TALK a lot of hatred, like Farakkhan you get cancer. Look out Bill O'Reilly, next time you call for the assassination of Michael Moore (Hello, FCC, are you listening?) you should go for a prostate exam, get your PSA checked out. If you are a special kind of duplicitous evil, you get Alzheimer's Disease ala Ronald Reagan and Charlton Heston. Soon, he will be just lucid enough to be standing in the 7-11 in his pajamas threatening the clerks to try to pry a slushie from his cold, dead hands.

Today, the super of my building told me the Iraq war started because of the Jews. The other day a woman that I worked with was shocked to find out that the US trained Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan to fight the Russians. The look on her face was insane. Like I just told her there was no tooth fairy. ( I will try to keep my personal traumatic experiences out of this blog, but I had to find the cold hard truth when I was in the first grade, which prompted me to go into school and tell everyone the awful news.) Another woman told me this weekend that welfare started because of all of the Puerto Ricans that came to this country and that made them lazy. She was Puerto Rican herself. When people talk to me like this, I have decided to stop yelling, to stop trying to be heard, and to really start listening. I have found that the best way to deal with these situations is to quietly ask why. Keep asking why. If you do then they will be forced to face the fact that either one, they are just repeating something they have been taught or heard on tv, or two that they are making assumptions and have no fact. Revelation ain't easy, so be prepared for more anger then you would have gotten had you just yelled right back at them.

I have been doing extra work this week. My company has started their India Transcription program. Look, I'm not made of stone people. I love new technology. I love the way I can upload the transcription recordings before I go home at night and the letters are in my email when I arrive at work because of the 12 hour time difference. I do feel a line has been crossed however. I don't like being all nationalistic and saying they are taking away American jobs. I just feel that the more private corporations outsource, the more we are becoming a country that just lives here, we don't work here. They sent the manufacturing jobs away, then the white collar tech jobs, now they send transcription away. But why stop there? I work in healthcare and there are alot of jobs that can easily be outsourced. Think long and hard about your job and see if it is really necessary to this country. For example:

1- 911 Service. This is a giant call center. Why do we need to have this service provided in this country? They can do this from India too. And like at Dell or other tech companies, the Indian call center operators can give themselves fake Americanized names so you think that the help is coming from your local precinct.

2- Medical Receptionist- I am a receptionist at a large doctors office. With the new e-voting technology all we really need are ATM-like machines that can take all of your information on entering the office and a giant sign that says now serving number etc., can flash so you know its your time to see the doctor. Not quite outsourcing, but it sorta falls into the category of fucking people over.

3- HMO Nurses and Doctors. Do you have an HMO? When you go to the doctor, they have to precertify CT Scans, MRI's and other tests of that nature. Why have these call centers in America? They have educated people in other countries, I know the accents throw people off, but all of that can be done outside this country.

4-College Professors. Online classes, baby. Who needs to leave their house and go to school? Grade me by e-mail, The OC is on.

5- Pharmacies. Who really needs an Eckerd or CVS so that we can by the latest harlequin romance when we pick up our prescription of Valtrex? Not me. It's cheaper to get your drugs in Mexico or Canada anyway. If it is an emergency and they can't FedEx it to ya, ask the doctor for samples, you know they have them, the drug reps bring it to them when they are stuffing them with free lunches and handing them free pens and post it notes. It's such a racket you would think the mob was involved.

6- IRS worker. Okay, maybe that crosses the line. But I guarantee you that the people in India and Russia can add, and if we are outsourcing for the Iraq war, why not the IRS? The second largest "allied force" in Iraq are private contractors, a.k.a. mercenaries. Can you just imagine accountant mercenaries? Dressed all in black with a pocket protector filled with pencils? A holster with a calculator on the left and a bottle of white out and a stapler on the right?

If you have any other suggestions, send them to me and I will post it for the world to read.

There is one job that the US is providing for in abundance. That is the US Army. They need people so badly, that they are calling up RETIRED and DISCHARGED SOLDIERS to come back and fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Army to recall former military members. According to CNN, "Any former enlisted soldier who did not serve at least eight years on active duty is in the Individual Ready Reserve pool, as are all officers who have not resigned their commission. The Army has been reviewing its list of 118,000 eligible individual reservists for several weeks in search of qualified people in certain high-priority skill areas like civil affairs."

Can you imagine if you resigned from the army, you have a life and a family, and all of a sudden you get a call that you have to go to Iraq? Are you fucking kidding me? This is a draft in sheep's clothing! For anyone who didn't believe me that 4 more years of Bush meant a draft of your sons and daughters, look at what is happening now! They will take away your husband or wife and next year they are coming for your kids. Fuck you very much.

Finally, I am sorry it has taken me this long to write. It's not that I don't want to write and relieve me mental constipation and frustration, I just have a job that sucks the life out of me and sometimes all I can do is come home, eat dinner and watch Teen Titans.

2004-06-14T19:16:00.000-04:00

I may be going out on a limb here, but has anyone else noticed how we are unifying the crazy Muslims in this world that hate us? By doing so, does that make it easier for the crazy Christians to point to a target on the map to drop bombs on? We had it relatively easy with the cold war, Russia was a giant bloc that was easily identifiable on a map. As Condy Rice was happy to state in her 9/11 testimony, the United States was no longer separated by oceans (which is something that we realized after WWII I believe, not after 9/11 and if she just figured it out on 9/11 then she's got bigger problems). We had an "evil empire" to point to, something identifiable. Not this weird ideology or emotion-driven collection of warriors. I wonder if Bush in all of his comic book lingo and religious delusion is trying to make it so that we can have an easily identifiable enemy once again. We had Iraq, now Syria and Iran. Saudi Arabia, despite having our precious, bubbling crude, is no longer safe for Americans and our government has issued a warning for all American citizens to leave that country. So now what? Bush said he was a unifier and he was right. I just wish that he could channel all of his energy into something more positive. In a way that will not bring on some horrible nuclear apocalypse.

In other news, Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore is coming out next week. I will be there and I will write a full review of the film. I am trying to be partial, but I am already giddy with anticipation after seeing the preview. Check it out for yourself. Fahrenheit 9/11

Luckily I am old enough to see the film. Apparently if you are under 17, good luck sneaking in. US film Board Rules 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Unsuitable for Teens, Sparks Protest

It's nice also to see that some diplomats and government officials are jumping on the "Down with Bush" bandwagon. Retired Officials Say Bush Must Go
Hearing their opposition is great, but really what good does it do in the long run? These are retired officials! They can afford to speak out. What I really want to see, what would really fill me with the spirit of the great pumpkin, would be to see Colin Powell come out. I was a little naive. I didn't realize how deeply embedded he was in the evil system. It hurts me to see what a prick his son Michael is now that he is in charge of the FCC. Very convenient since Mr. Secretary of State used to work for AOL and made $4 million dollars on the AOL/Time Warner merger. Funny how there was no opposition from his son at the FCC over that monopolizing merger, but what can you do, family sticks together.

This week though on Meet the Press he called some terrorist statistics wrong, even though he did oddly admit, you "can't cook the books now." Now. Great. You are giving me such confidence in your character, Colin. He has been teetering on the edge of dissent for quite some time. So here is an open letter to Mr. Colin Powell:

Dear Colin,

Jump, Colin, Jump. Fall into the warm embrace of the American People that would forgive you if you would just give us the sweet truth we desire. Implicate yourself, come clean, wash away the stench of conservative republicans that clings to you like the smell of vomit on a mid-summer subway car. Tell us everything you know, bring down the president, his goonies, the whole shebang. Ride into Iraq on a great white stallion of justice and save the soldiers you once thought of as your family. Swim in a tide of overwhelming pride for our armed forces, in compassion for their plight and their families, in sorrow for their wounds and losses.

Remember the boy who clawed his way out of the Bronx, who had a community of aunts and uncles and extended family that watched out for him, the way they used to in the good old days. Remember too, the children of today who have none of those wonderful people to make sure they did better and worked harder to stay on the straight and narrow. Think of the children, that's right children, that joined the army to escape the same ghetto that you escaped from, to pay for college, to find a better life for their families instead of being in a senseless, imperialistic war that lines the pockets of white men that keep you around in order to gain some kind of affirmative action street credibility. They have wealth that you will never see in this lifetime, a blue that pumps through their veins that you or your children will never acquire because you were not born with the birthright of a silver spoon in your mouth.

Remember the American citizens who had faith in you, people like myself that stood dumbfounded as we watched you remain silent when this court appointed president waged a war you knew was wrong. Remember us, gain inspiration from us and for us.

Sincerely,

The Scarlet Pimp

2004-06-10T11:32:00.000-04:00

I am fond of ranting on my blog how we are not doing enough as a global community to eradicate the cancer of the Christian Capitalist Crusaders, but I don't really get in to specifics. So when people write me and ask me what they can do, I think long and hard and then I google.

There is a great list on Stop Bush in 2004, that gives 10 things a single person can do to make a difference. 10 Preliminary Actions to Defeat Bush in 2004. In addition to providing us with a detailed list of how every part of our lives is effected by companies that support Bush- even banks which brought forth flashbacks of the scene from Mary Poppins when there was a run on the bank because little Michael kept shouting, "give me back my tuppence!"- it brings up the point of swing states. I am not as politically savvy as I may seem. This whole idea of swing states is just as weird as the electoral college. But here is what Stop Bushers had to say:

"Choose Your STATE of Action. We must emphasize the importance of taking action in Swing States and take action in them. If you live in one of the following swing states, you will likely focus all of your efforts on your state.

Swing States: Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Potential Swing States: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, and Virginia.

If you don't live in a Swing State, split time between taking action in your state and a neighboring swing state. Determine which swing states are good for you."

Now take a moment and determine if you are a swing state or a potential swing state. I am not. I live in New York. Which means I must locate my nearest swing state, probably Pennsylvania if my public school geography education was accurate, and flock there with flyers and pamphlets and voter registration cards. You can also check out www.swingstateproject.com for a wonderfully informative map of all of states and where they stand, to the left or to the right, and you know who you are, the ones swinging in the middle.

I can tell you what I have started to do and what I plan to start doing to inform people of the election and their choices. I don't try to tell people how to vote, because voting is about choice. So I present them with as many facts as I possibly can about where the candidates stand. At work, I provided many of my coworkers with a packet of information on Bush, Kerry, and Nader and where they stand on ALL of the issues. Military, Social Security, Education, etc.. One coworker admitted she didn't vote and even though she was 30 she had never registered. After I recovered from this confession I downloaded an application for her from RockTheVote.com and gave one to her fiance too so that he could re-register after moving from another state. I am also in the process of compiling more flyers and I am going to put together a packet to leave at local businesses, in the ATM area at the bank, scattered with the free newspapers at Barnes and Nobles, in the laundromat, on the subway. When I have everything assembled I will even offer it here, so everyone can send in for it and I will mail it out at my own expense. So stay tuned for more info.

Back to swing states and what we can each do. Get your friends together. Make this a community affair. You don't have to be scary and confrontational, you are just informing the public, registering them to vote and answering any questions they might have. That is definitely something each of us can do in our lives. If you carry the flyers or a few voter registration cards in your purse or briefcase it's not really going to break you. You might even think of going into the less fortunate areas of your community. See if the poor people have registered. If you speak another language, help them fill out the form. Organize a field trip on November 4th, so that the English impaired can have a buddy that speaks and reads the language in order to help them vote. We can do it!

In other news:

Here are some great stuff that you should be reading. Now that Reagan is dead and the President has told us that we have to be a nation in mourning, it is important to remember the REAL Reagan: what he did and what he left for future generations. Check this out on Redefeatbush.org, What Reagan Taught Bush:Lessons for Counterrevolutionaries

Also, Check out Common Dreams: Amid Tributes, Activists Lament Reagan's Failures on Homelessness

Finally, all I have to say to the Iraqi Detainees that suffered abuse at Abu Ghraib is: Welcome to Democracy. Following the American tradition of suing when you have been wronged, Ex-Detainees Sue 2 U.S. Contractors

It seems only fair that if our president is hanging the soldiers involved out to dry for the abuse, saying they worked alone, etc., then why shouldn't these detainees seek justice in a civil court? It reminds me of the OJ Simpson case where the parents of the man that was killed sued him for lots of money and won despite his not guilty verdict. If you read the article you can see just how shitty these prisoners were treated and the companies should pay. PAY PAY PAY!!!! That is the only form of punishment the CCC's understand. (The Christian Capitalist Crusaders for those who are just joining me)

I am going to be working on an updated version, more elaborate, bells, whistles, the whole shebang, of this website. So if my postings don't come as often as they used to, bear with me. Keep spreading the love and write me back to let me know how you are fighting the good fight!

2004-06-04T22:08:00.000-04:00

There is a man I work with named Andrew that asked me to write about him in my blog. I asked him what I should write about and he kept repeating that there was lots of stuff that was interesting about him but he did not elaborate. So I will write what I know and what I think about him.

Andrew has a B.S. in Sports Medicine and he works as a file clerk for the large healthcare corporation where I am the receptionist for the urology division. So if you are looking for penile implants or vasectomies, you know who to come to. He is a very friendly, personable gentleman in the truest sense of the word but he is a lousy file clerk. He is a lousy file clerk because he does not possess a passion for alphabetizing charts and making photocopies all day long. Why should he? The man has a degree in Sports Medicine for God's sake! I harass him as often as I can about finding a job that is more suited for him, something that will make him happy and give him a reason to wake up in the morning. But like many Generation X-ers (remember that term?) he is doing a job that gives him very little pleasure and I am sure very little money. I suffer from the same affliction to some extent. I work for the same white-collar sweatshop for less money than I am worth because I was too chicken shit to ask for more money at the bargaining table.

So what is it that has affected my generation? We had high hopes, we had dreams! We had degrees in Art history and Creative Writing because we loved to look at and write pretty things and now we are temping, driving trucks or working at blockbuster. I did some research on the internet to try to come to some kind of conclusion. Some call it a midlife crisis or a quarterlife crisis. We get to our mid-twenties to about thirty and we realize we know absolutely nothing. Funny how that sense of confidence a person possesses in their early twenties, that sense of intention and ability to make a difference changes almost overnight into the fears of our parents. There are car payments, the need for health insurance and school loans to repay. We also develop a need for material possessions that replaces our idealistic preference for minimalist furnishings and casual clothing.

Apparently our generation suffers from low expectations. A Promising Generation discusses this affliction which sounds all too familiar to me.

The author, Mike Bellah, writes:

"The greatest strength of this generation may lie in what many see as its greatest weakness, low expectations. According to a Roper poll, only 21% of Xers rate their future as very good. In this they are more like their Depression-era grandparents than their boomer parents.
Yet, like their grandparents, Xers are more likely to find a way to endure tough times. They will accept low-paying entry-level jobs. They will live at home in order to afford college. They will delay marriage and child-bearing. In short, they will do what it takes to survive."

Sadly, the author goes on to say this will lead us into happiness because all of our hard work will result in success which will exceed anything we ever expected. Yippy for us. I disagree. I think our low expectations are leading us right into a rut. Will we recover? Maybe, when we are mad as hell and not going to take anymore. But will our rut of low expectations leave us in a place that we can make effective change? And if yes, when? If Andrew stays in his job as a file clerk for very much longer, the space between his potential as a graduate of a Sports Medicine degree program and his extensive career as a file clerk will grow. He tells me, "it's not what you know, it's who you know." Perhaps there are not so many people in our generation that have that charmed a life. His low expectations are reinforced by his belief that should he want to work for the NY Jets rubbing mineral ice into sore muscles, it would be provided for him by someone other than himself. Would it be luck or chance? A happy coincidence? Perhaps, but it would be something unexpected I imagine if he were to just submit his resume or reply to a job posting in the newspaper. A dream job received simply because of one's own credentials and merit? Yeah, and I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell ya.

The average person is so disenchanted by the economy, the internet bust, corporate accounting fraud, stocks plummeting, unavailable jobs, outsourcing, the rising cost of living, the increase in gas prices, and so on that they have pretty much fucked themselves into a corner. Generation X was unfairly labeled as "slackers" but we are working very hard. We are hamsters running in a wheel and getting nowhere. But we never really expected to get anywhere, did we? All we want to do is make it to payday. To survive.

Maybe it is this notion of low expectations that makes us so reluctant to vote, to act out, to protest our government. So I ask all of you if there is a chance that we will recover from this depression across a generation. We can't seem to motive ourselves out of our jobs as file clerks, receptionists, starbucks coffee pushers, and blockbuster movie slingers, so how can we hope to motivate our country out of war and imperialist pursuits and into a global community based on compassion and equality?

2004-06-03T15:50:00.000-04:00

There is a must read essay by Arianna Huffington on Commondreams. org. Everyone should check it out - Shakespeare Turns A Spotlight On Bush And Iraq.

This week I saw another horrendous commercial for the United States Army. I have previously written about the radio commercial that I had listened to which stated something like:

"After college, Jenny applied to all of the companies in her town, neither of them were hiring. Join the Army!"

This weekend there was a commercial shot through the lens of a target-periscope type thing. It takes place in the desert and middle eastern turban-wearing men are pacing back and forth in front of your generic, terrorist, compound-like structure with a gun slung over the shoulder as terrorists are known to carry. At first I thought this is a commercial for a tacky video game. Then words are typed across the screen as it narrows in on a couple of soldiers hiding in the hills disguised as bushes. It states:

"You have your orders and enough supplies to last for 5 days. Its day 12. Think you can handle it?"

It appears the marketing geniuses that work for the US Army have decided that the desperate graduating college student demographic wasn't paying off so now they should work on the macho, thrill seekers. You're not a real man if you can't survive in 100 degree weather without food or water for 7 days! Or are they trying to make lemonade out of the rotted lemons they have because our soldiers aren't taken care of, are not provided for, and everyone knows. I can just imagine a Madison Avenue Asshole saying, 'hey maybe we can use that bad publicity and make it work for us!'

Here are a few samples of future commercials for the US Army:

Commercial #1

It takes place in a dark, dingy prison cell somewhere in the heart of Iraq. Dozens of starving, oily, young men are standing around in the cells, hanging off of the bars and staring lustily into the camera. Suddenly the camera pans to a spiked dog collar and leash hanging from a hook on the wall and a riding crop with US ARMY inscribed in gold letters. The words, "They've been so very naughty" flash across the screen and then cuts to the men again. The announcer says, "Are you a MASTER of Organization? Do you have a PASSION for bringing order from chaos? Join the Army!"

Commercial #2

It takes place on an Army base somewhere in Iraq. We see shots of all of the exits heavily guarded from the inside, not the outside. It becomes apparent that the guards are making sure no one escapes. We see soldiers in their barracks writing home to their families, calling them on the phone, and telling them they can't come home on leave. Only these soldiers are happy! One says to the camera, "With the factory closing in my home town, I probably won't be able to find another job. I was happy when they told me I would be rejected for retirement this year!" Another younger soldier says, "When I go home my wife is going to want me to help her take care of the children and help around the house. I can't stand to hear her nag. I know I've been here over a year, but six more months is a breeze." The last soldier comes on and says, "I don't have a family or any friends to return to. If I go home I will just spend all my money on liquor and strippers!" The Announcer comes on and says, "AN ARMY OF ONE!" Join the Army!

The Army needs new recruits. They are trying very hard to keep the soldiers they have by not letting them go home or retire and now we have to worry about the Draft. No longer a rumor, the Draft is coming for ya.

The Universal National Service Act of 2003 is at this moment waiting for the Armed Services Committee to give it the thumbs up. Here is a breakdown of the things you need to know about this important piece of legislation:

-if you are 18-26 you must complete 2 years in the armed forces, MALE OR FEMALE, and college cannot buy you a ticket out. Sorry future Cheneys and Rumsfelds, the only way out is to enroll in the Naval Academy or something like it, or by volunteering, or by order of the President. Here is what the hslda.org says:

"Official purpose: A bill to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes.
The language of this bill mandates a national service obligation for every U.S. citizen and permanent resident, aged 18-26. It authorizes the President to establish both the number of people to be selected for military service, and the means of selection. Additionally, the measure requires those not selected specifically for military service to perform their national service obligation in a civilian capacity for at least two years.
S. 89 language permits:
Deferments for education only through high school graduation, or until the age of 20.
Exceptions are made for those with 1) extreme hardship, or 2) physical or mental disability.
Conscientious objectors are defined and directed by the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. 456(j))."

In fact, many things are by order of the President in this bill. He gets to say which of the drafted population is allowed to go to war and who is to stay home with their loved ones. Now check it, if we amend the constitution to discriminate against gay marriage, please follow me on this, who is to say our president, having set a precedent of discrimination, won't say "All black and spanish people should go to war because god told me that they would like it better in the hotter climates because they were born with more melanin in their skin whereas white people burn easier."

This is something that we should be outraged over and everyone should write to their representatives to vote against this bill. I understand the need for military service and I believe serving in the military is necessary when we have been threatened. Not this war. NOT THIS WAR! It is expected that this particular draft should be starting in June 2005. I think a draft might be necessary if people were coming to the US like the scene from the Brad Pitt movie TROY that I had no desire to see. If we see thousands of boats coming towards New York, then by all means hand me a gun and I will start fighting. What is important is domestic security. Our national guard is in another country and not defending us here where we need them. If they were here, we wouldn't need to say to men and women of 18, put that book down and pick up that gun! It's time to defend the country that didn't give you an appropriate healthcare or educational system, that didn't make your neighborhood safe, that didn't make your vote count because of faulty e-voting and a weird electoral system. During the civil war, rich people were allowed to buy their sons out of military service. Even the great Abraham Lincoln was shitty at times. Who says W. wouldn't bring that back? Remember GANGS OF NEW YORK? As soon as the new immigrants come to this country we can sign them up for military service so that way when we mistreat the soldiers it won't matter because they aren't "real" Americans anyway.

This is bad, people. We need to start writing, shouting, marching in the streets. Get to work.

2004-05-30T23:29:00.000-04:00

Someone wrote a comment on one of my postings that I should not allow the Christian Right to form my impressions of all Christians because there is a difference between them. Okay. I agree wholeheartedly. One of my favorite people was Martin Luther King, Jr. and he was a Christian on the left and what really gets my goat (is that a saying or did I just make that up?) is that the Christian left is SILENT. I believe I can hear crickets chirping in the space where the voice of the Christian left should be. Where are the Martin Luther King Jr.s out there? Why are they not taking to the streets, boycotting oil, holding press conferences, organizing and protesting?

I personally feel that there are a lot of Christians out there that don't have anyone they can identify with. They look to the television and all they have are George W. Bush and Ned Flanders from The Simpsons. Without having another person they can look to for confirmation on their own identity they are getting stuck with this representative of Christianity that doesn't necessarily stand for who they are but is their only alternative to turn towards. If there was a Martin Luther King, Jr. or some other spiritually Christian person that was anti-violence and pro-community, then perhaps the polls wouldn't appear the way they do. Perhaps the large percentage of the country that is hanging on to a Bush Administration because of an overblown fear in a Muslim takeover might turn towards sharing and compassion instead of fear and hatred.

A friend of a friend of mine is actually working on a commercial to air on Arab television that shows different preachers denouncing the actions of our government towards the Iraqi people. This a great idea because it is an alternative to the image that W. Is putting out there of "bring it on" and "mission accomplished." I think that image needs to be broadcast here in the states as well. But despite our democracy spewing propaganda, we do not have a free media and I doubt it would be allowed on the air. Besides, the cost for air time is too high. Still, the damage that the silence of the Christian Left is doing continues to grow. Remember we are all accountable. It is easy to say to me and the world that we shouldn't judge one group of Christians as representative of the whole religion, but what have you done to represent your religion? What have we all done as Americans lately besides a little armchair activism and listening to liberal radio? We should be talking candidly about the issues and think hard and long about what we believe in. We need to understand what is good for our communities and our world. We need to start talking again. We need to be heard.

2004-05-27T20:09:00.001-04:00

Today I got into a heated argument with two women at work. One woman started to kvetch how America was a poor innocent victim and the terrorists were picking on us and we needed to stop being walked all over. We should be more forceful. This, of course, was incredibly offensive and a violation to my liberal ears. As we argued, I noticed that she was verbally dancing, she was Mohammed Ali, floating like a butterfly but failing to sting me like a bee. That's not quite true, she did sting me with her bigotry. Her bigotry against brown people. This was not the first conversation that she and I had engaged in where she was a bigot. She has said hateful things against South Asian people "I feel like a foreigner on my own country", things against the American Idol Fantasia "All of Africa must have voted for her" and against Jews, a group of which she is part of. This was the first time that the curtains of naivete parted and I saw the maliciousness behind her words. It wasn't just a generational gap, the archie bunker generation as I like to think of them. They are offensive but goodhearted underneath. This was mean. And scared. Fear of a brown planet.

The second woman tried to explain it to me. "You don't understand," She said simply, "If the Muslims take over, you won't have the priviledges that you have now." I wondered how it was that she thought the Muslims might take over, when the Christian Right Wing is doing such a fabulous job already in taking away my priviledges. What I realized was that as a white person, I am able to sneak undetected into these impromptu Klan rallies because it is assumed that because of the color of my skin I feel the same way that they do about the "other."

I was completely stumped as to how I am supposed to respond in these situations. I either fly into a rage and then storm off feeling nauseas or I remain quiet and feel guilty and sick that I didn't defend the oppressed. I spoke to a friend that does a bunch of work with the Theatre of the Oppressed, and she told me to do this for example:

A Sikh man leaves the office.

"Oh, I feel like I was in a taxi cab," Person A.

"Yeah, I feel like a foreigner in my own country," Person B.

Me: (Laughs) I don't get it. What do you mean?

By forcing them to explain it they will then be forced to admit their own prejudice out loud.

Person B: "Well, he was Indian. A lot of Taxi Drivers are Indian, get it?"

Me: No, but that seems kind of mean. It wouldn't be fair to say 'Wow, I suddenly felt like I was in Auschwitz' when a Jewish person leaves the office, would it?"

I think that would be a very different and effective way to turn a situation around without yelling "RACIST!" and running to the bathroom which has been my personal approach.

If any one has any other suggestions, please write me --- thescarletpaper@hotmail.com

2004-05-25T21:13:00.000-04:00

Like many I work for a large corporation. My company happens to be in the healthcare industry, so you might think that people are important to them. This is not so. Today we received word that the company was planning to transfer its transcription services over to another company. To be exact, they are outsourcing to India. I never thought that as a freedom loving, liberal hippie I would feel so strongly against outsourcing. My feelings have grown recently as the economy continues to take a dive despite what my faithful television tells me and every family that I know has an unemployed adult in it. These are people that have dedicated years of their lives to unions like the UFT or Fire Department and now they are getting fucked up the ass with a splintered broomstick.

I was personally disgusted as my office manager gave the well dressed Indian men a tour of our office and introduced them to the doctors and staff. I didn't want to put a smiling friendly face on the company that was forcing a delightful department of women into unemployment. I don't care that these are Indian people. They could be any other country, and I would not like the idea of outsourcing the service that is provided by the transcription department. There is a language barrier there that is a constant problem in terms of understanding the usage of words in English in a conversational way. For example, a letter might state, " I prescribed Flomax for three week's and instructed the patient to follow up with appointment." Do you see the errors there? Then there is the mad scramble to correct the work and send it back. This isn't an occasional problem but a recurring one. I also have a problem with the fact that if I have to discuss something with the transcription department all I have to do is walk down the hall. Yes, I could call this company on the phone in theory, but its not the same. I guess I am spoiled by the convenience. But I am also friends with these women. If they lose their jobs, their kids don't eat, they lose their homes, lives are devastated.

This is a problem that is growing all over the country. Think about your own circle of family and friends and the people in your community. How many people do you know that have been laid off due to budget cuts and outsourcing? I feel bad for the poverty in other countries like India because as they get more and more jobs that are coming into their company from large corporations, are their lives improving? Is the poverty level rising? Are they getting decent wages and health care? I don't really have answers to those questions until I do some research. I think of all the manufacturing plants that have moved to Mexico and Latin America. The lives of those people haven't improved. They don't call 'em sweat shops for nothin'. In Columbia the Coca Cola Company hired mercenaries to kill the workers that were trying to unionize. Nice, right?

The only way to change this is to make sure to vote in November. I was talking to a coworker who was ranting about the outsourcing scandal and I told her point blank, you said you weren't going to vote this year, but if you are so upset about this problem than it is up to you to vote for a candidate that will fix this outsourcing problem that has intensified under the current administration. Put your money where your mouth is so to speak. That convinced her enough to do the right thing. I am tired of people complaining about the state of affairs and yet they don't vote. They don't protest. They don't rise up and fight the power. If we talk about accountability we must all point the finger at ourselves. What have we been doing to be more politically responsible and how can make more of a contribution? It's time for some soul searching, people.

2004-05-24T20:47:00.000-04:00

It has been a long time since I last wrote and I have to say that my fingers feel rusty. I kicked ass this semester and now I return to work for the summer full time fighting the male oppressor. I am trying to avoid conversations that argue who will win this season's American Idol, whether Martha Stewart deserves another trial or why on earth Jessica Simpson's sister is getting her own record deal. Although I do have to say that this is the lowest form of nepotism I have ever encountered. One Simpson was enough, thank you.

I am focusing my summer on personal empowerment. Taking my life back. Taking my country back. Taking it all and making it mine. Becoming whole again. As a person and as a country. It is something that we don't think about a lot. We see the government or even our relationships as something we don't have to take a full active participation in. I have to be honest. I was more than content for much of my life to flip a coin or let someone else make the decisions for me. It was easier not to have to be responsible and to make the hard choices. I am not alone. Many people are ambivalent about voting and about protesting the government. Let someone else take care of it and we can worry about our mortgage and buying a hummer. Then we are at war. The environment is for shit, the economy is the worst its been since the depression and we look at the t.v. and wonder what country they are talking about, this isn't the America that we love, that we celebrate the birth of on the fourth of July.

But it is. Now is the time for waking up on a grand scale. It has to start with baby steps though. There will be more to come...

2004-04-28T23:35:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a psuedo-vacation while I finish up the semester. I should be back by next Monday.

Feel free to read the archives and catch up on postings past.

Smell ya later,

Scarlet Pimp

2004-04-27T00:05:00.000-04:00

I am really busy finishing up my schoolwork for the end of the semester. I will say a few words about how disgusted I am with the Bushies and how they are trying to knock John Kerry's military record.

Dubya- was he in the national guard? Did he show up? His military record still remains a mystery. Do I care? Not really. I would not expect a man of his feeble intelligence and quivering smirk to be in the army, let alone go and fight in a brutal war.

John Kerry- super soldier with eighteen million awards. Not really, but he does have an admirable record besides coming home from fighting and protesting the war. Good for him.

If you want to see the list of records for each side by side, check out Military Service Records - Bush & Kerry

Another website of extremely great importance is theocracywatch.org It is a really inciteful site that discusses the Religious Right and how they are taking over our country. Sounds like fun, huh?

Go forth and read!

2004-04-23T20:09:00.000-04:00

Okay. I am having a REALLY hard time with this whole separation of church and state thing and politicians that just don't get it. If you are a Congressperson or Senator, chances are you have heard that this is a democracy. What that means is that you can pray to any god you want, but when you go to school (if it's public) or work (if it's not as a missionary or some religious affiliated position) then you check your religion at the door. This comes from the history of religious persecution with the Puritans and all that other stuff that happened very long ago. Remember the Pilgrims? Plymouth Rock? Ah, forget it.

The reason I bring this up is because I just read a very disturbing article- Kerry Affirms Support for Abortion Rights. I was not disturbed that John Kerry is pro-choice. I am extremely happy to see that he is moving towards more of a proactive campaign in which he is discussing his position on issues instead of lambasting Dubya. His timing is perfect too, considering there will be a huge March for Women's Lives this Sunday in Washington. Where will our president be? Camp David. He is taking a vacation from his family home in Maine where he was taking a vacation from his job in Washington D.C. Cue JayZ's "Big Pimpin" right about now.

What I was disturbed to read were quotes like this:

Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt countered that Kerry's views on abortion were "outside the mainstream" and said the president "supports a culture of life."

What mainstream is he talking about? What culture of life is the president supporting? If it is a question of Christian culture and the Christian mainstream that the Bushies have been so fond of then check this stat out from later in the article:

"Among American Catholics, 56 percent of non-Hispanic Catholics and 59 percent of Hispanic Catholics oppose making it harder for a woman to get an abortion, according to the Pew Research Center."

But those are catholic statistics. Is there still a cat fight between Catholicism and protestants? I haven't a clue. You are entitled to have your religious beliefs as long as you keep it out of our government. We are not a theocracy, last time I checked, and if we are then who voted on Christianity? I would much prefer a religion that is not so involved in what's going on in my uterus. I have nothing to worry about because we are a democracy. Right???

Read further:

Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Texas, was criticized by Republicans recently for keeping track of the votes of Catholic members of Congress and whether they are in keeping with church doctrine. He said the vote tallies grew out of meetings by a group of lawmakers exploring their own beliefs, "knowing many of us want to bring as much of our faith as we can to our action in Congress. We are trying to live the teachings of our church and we try to bring that to work," he said. At the same time, he added, Catholic congressional members struggle with adhering to their faith while representing people of many religions. "I am not here to represent the Catholic church," he said.

Number one, if you are a democrat and you are doing this Nixon-like score keeping, then you need to get your membership card revoked. Number two, if you turn to your faith as a way of finding a moral center in order to deal with a multifaceted constituency, then that is not a problem. If you are trying to take away a woman's right to choose what happens to her own body because God told you to, then you must step down immediately. If many of you want to bring as much of your faith as you can to your actions in Congress, then you are more of a danger to the fabric of our nation than any amount of abortions ever will be. If it is such a struggle to stay Christian and still make sure your fellow man and woman have equal rights and opportunities than maybe there is something wrong with your faith. If your religion is telling you that by oppressing your fellow man and woman you will be in his grace and have a position in heaven or at least your fair share of virgins, then maybe its time to find another religion. Chances are though, it's just your interpretation and the way you are practicing your religion. In situations like this, as a Christian, you may want to ask yourself: What Would Jesus Do? Would he stand outside an abortion clinic cursing and harassing (or killing) the doctors? Hmm, maybe not. Would he send men and women off to war "pre-emptively"? Probably not. If Jesus believed in preemption, I think with his psychic abilities he would have kicked Pontius Pilot's ass way before he had a chance to crucify him. Would Jesus destroy the environment, deny AIDS medication to places like Africa and Brazil because of patents and legal issues? Would Jesus support the NRA? Would Jesus support our current Fuck All foreign policy? Would Jesus give tax cuts to the rich while children are starving in this country and all over the world? Would Jesus want to live in this country where there is a need for affirmative action because of all of the institutionalized racism, where there is so much consumerism and greed, where there is such a lack of spirituality and compassion for people that look and sound and smell different from each other but share the same hopes and fears and desires?

NO. He wouldn't. So, Rep. Nick Lampson of Texas, I just solved your fucking moral crisis. Ask yourself what Jesus would do next time you want to thump your bible when discussing legislature. And if you come up with answers that tell you Jesus would support any of the above, then you need to go back to church.

I get really pissed off at the arrogance and privilege associated with this kind of thinking. You don't see any Muslim or Jewish representatives or congressman calling for a ban on pork and shrimp products. You don't see them introducing "partial-crustacean" laws. You don't see Joe Lieberman keeping score of who has a ham sandwich in the cafeteria. You never hear him complain about how difficult it is for him to be a Jewish Senator while representing non-Jewish people.

You know why you don't hear that? Because Jews have been persecuted enough to know that there is a time and place for temple talk and it is not the time when you are making your campaign speeches. Why? BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE IS JEWISH. I don't even know if there are any Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Pagan, or Atheist politicians. The fact that I don't know shows you how well they are separating church and state. There is this Christian privilege in this country that assumes everyone would want to take off December 25th each year. That their holidays are everyone's and that their opinions SHOULD BE everyone's and they have a right to speak these opinions whenever they want to whomever they want. It's just not so. That is part of the brilliance of the constitution and the insight that went into writing:

"..(P)roscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which, in common with his fellow citizens, he has a natural right; that it tends also to corrupt the principles of that very religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing, with a monopoly of worldly honors and emoluments, those who will externally profess and conform to it" (Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, 1789).

That was Thomas Jefferson. AMEN! People that have been persecuted for religious reasons can appreciate their freedom to worship more than people that have lived their entire lives with that privlege. It's easy to forget why we have this separation but we should never forget how important it is. For more great quotes on the separation of church and state by founders of this country, check out Separation of Church and State Homepage.

2004-04-22T22:41:00.000-04:00

Happy Earth Day! If you treated this day like any normal, ordinary day then join the club! I remember when I was a young, idealistic teenager I loved Earth Day! It was a chance for me to get in touch with Mother Earth and nurture her as she has nurtured me. Earth Day was similar to New Year's Eve for me. I would start off being militant about recycling and using public transportation, but after a few months I was chucking empty cat food cans in with the regular trash and taking a taxi home from the subway.

But those were the good old days of the Clinton Administration when there wasn't much going on except summer music festivals, grunge music and caring about the environment. If you want to know what you can do now in 2004, since you have nothing else to worry about, check out Yahoo for a few simple tips on how you can make little lifestyle adjustments that might make a difference. Yahoo Celebrates Earth Day.

If you were wondering how President Dubya is doing on environmental issues than take a moment to read the website of the Natural Resources Defense Council, where you can find a yearly guide to his term in office that breaks down his record on environmental issues. Warning: Do Not Read On A Full Stomach. It May Induce Vomiting.

Don't tell that to Dubya, he thinks he has done great things for the environment. After seeing his deer in headlights performance last week at his press conference, I have come to the conclusion that his administration hasn't told him what he does everyday to destroy the planet and its inhabitants. I get the feeling that he is like Rick Moranis' character in Space Balls, he plays with his action figures all day in his office and gets to take vacations 40% of the time. Guess where Dubya is now? ON VACATION. Here is an article that discusses the crap that Bush has done, including altering scientific fact in order to "further its political aims."
Bush Hails His Environmental Record on Earth Day

So enjoy the last few moments of this Earth Day. Hug a tree, lick a toad, and enjoy the declining quality of your atmosphere. Peace y'all.

2004-04-21T23:09:00.000-04:00

At 6:40 this morning the adjuncts and the administration of NYU came to a contract agreement and there was no strike. Selfish bastards. Now I have to finish writing my term papers and studying for finals.

I have come to a decision that in order to be a president of a large nation, like the US for example, one must learn how to be a prisoner of war. I think it would humble a leader and make him that more compassionate if he knew how it felt to be locked in cell with no contact to his/her family, the council of a lawyer, and no bathroom facilities. I think that one would be more thoughtful about waging wars if one knew what a soldier might encounter, a fate worse than death, the seemingly endless nightmare of captivity. But maybe that's just what its like to be a prisoner of the Unites States.

There was an interesting yet incredibly sickening and heartwrenching article on commondreams.org regarding the 20,000 Iraqi prisoners of war that the US has taken, dare I say stolen from their families. Read: Iraq: Think of Those the US Has Detained

Yes, the Iraqi "insurgents" have taken hostages and one US soldier as a POW. According to the released hostages from Japan and previous reports from American soldiers that were captured early in the war and now can be seen on Oprah, prisoners are treated decently. They are given medical care and decent food and are treated with respect. What really disturbs me is the cruelty of the American soldiers that this story details. I believe its true. I have written here in a previous entry that I had spoken with a friend, part of the National Guard, that is getting ready to go to Iraq, and he had discussed that in his training if he had to choose between stopping to help a bleeding child in the road or running over the child with his tank, then he should run over the child in order to avert an ambush. I can ALMOST understand that kind of thinking, believe it or not. I can't, however, stand behind the cruelty of leaving 20,000 Iraqi men and BOYS in a yard like a pack of dogs to piss themselves in the rain and in the burning sun. I can't stand behind a soldier that taunts these prisoners by throwing pebbles at them, like they were animals in a petting zoo. Another friend of mine visited Iraq with Code Pink and she recanted a story to me of a woman whose daughter had been shot and instead of trying to help the injured girl, a soldier reached down and stole the earrings off of her body and left her for dead. Luckily, the child lived. I can't stand behind an army that is showing repeatedly in Iraq to be institutionalizing cruelty. I am ashamed and I am left to wonder if this is just another American policy of Fuck ALL, if another truth is being revealed to my naive self as I still believe what I have been told my whole life America stands for, or if this is just an example of the leadership of our military forces, the Fuck All policy is that of our Commander in Chief, not a representative of the entire nation or armed forces. If the latter is the case then why is it so easy for these soldiers to turn so cruel? Part of it is the training, I am sure. I don't know what goes into the making of a soldier, but I can only guess it is a lot easier to point a gun at a human being if you believe they are somehow less human than you are. It is that much easier to fall into sadistic behavior when you see these prisoners surrounded by barbed wire, forced to urinate wherever they can find a space, when these people speak a different language, maybe pray to a different god.

It may be easier when you are under the pressure of war to learn to hate, to be vicious, to kill the humanity in yourself when you are forced to kill others. I don't buy it though. I think that's just a cop out. If the army is supposed to teach a soldier "to be all that you can be" then I think we should expect them to be more then what they are right now. Remember the lie, we were there to liberate them, not treat them like a country of criminal deviants.

I don't like to criticize the soldiers in Iraq because I wouldn't want to trade places with them myself, but I am ashamed that they are allowed to act this way, that this kind of activity is probably encouraged, and that a culture with so many technological advances has made so few advances in humanity. They are just following orders, but so were the Nazis. So where the Hutus that killed their neighbors in Rwanda. Where does all of this violence and hatred end? When will it be enough? If you are a soldier, how do you go back to being an ordinary guy or girl, living with your children and trying to lead a normal life after participating and witnessing such atrocities? I don't have answers, just more and more questions.

2004-04-20T16:41:00.000-04:00

I am a student at New York University. Sadly, they won't except some of my internal organs as payment in full for my tuition, so I take out student loans, get a few bucks from financial aid and whatever's left over I pay out of my pocket. NYU is a good school I guess, but they are greedy bloodsuckers that not only drain the pockets of students (and their parents) but the pockets of their professors as well. According to the website for the NYU Adjunct Fan Club, a website sponsored by students in support of their professors, the average amount of tuition collected per course (all of NYU): $33,750. The average amount of tuition paid to adjunct per course (all of NYU): $2,700. Nice, right? On their website you can also see a side by side comparison of the adjuncts are demanding and what the university is prepared to offer them. There are HUGE differences. Check them out: www.nyuadjunctfanclub.org
If they don't come to an agreement by Wednesday, they will strike! I hope the adjuncts give them hell. I think it is disgraceful that NYU uses 70% of their teaching staff on a part-time basis.

Have you ever been a temp worker? It sucks. You are human capital and you are treated as such. The only reason that it doesn't progress to slavery is because slavery is now illegal and because most huge corporations wouldn't want to make that kind of a commitment. When you own slaves you have to see to it that their welfare is provided for. With temps, they are on their own. Hiring part time workers has become very popular in the last few years. I know plenty of people that are working multiple part time jobs or are registered with several temp agencies. It is a shitty way to start your day by calling a list of agencies that can never remember your name and asking for work. My own personal experiences have left me needing a hot, sterilizing shower. For example, I decide to be proactive with one agency and call them to see if they had any work for me for the following week. I had just finished working on a two month assignment which brought them much money and I figured we were on good terms. This lady answers the phone and as I repeat my name three times she finally says, "well what do you want?" "Well," I reply, maintaining my composure although I realized what a huge mistake it was calling but it was too late to hang up,"I wanted to see if you had any work for me for next week." "Well did I call you?" She replied like I just cleaned her toilet with her toothbrush. "No," I said. "Well then I don't have any work for you," and with that she hung up the phone. A few days later, one of her clients requested me and she called me up. "Hi, Sweetie. It's *****. Are you available tomorrow?" I, the Scarlet Pimp, had never felt so pimped out in my life.

Temporary staff are treated that way because they are a dime a dozen. Then you have big retail companies like Walmart and Eckerd's and all they do is hire part time workers with a salary cap of around $6 per hour depending on your local minimum wage requirements. How are you supposed to feed a family like that? There is a woman that works in the Eckerd's pharmacy in my neighborhood. She also works in Wendy's and I think I saw her working in this large crafts store before they closed down. Of course part time means no benefits and without having to provide some kind of health plan these companies save TONS of money. Its not illegal what they are doing, but it is SUPER SLEAZY.

So I must ask what kind of message is NYU sending to its students? Well, they aren't teaching us anything we haven't figured out on our own. Huge corporations and institutions care more about the dollar than anything else. So why the hell are we bothering to get a degree at all? So that we can be the manager of WalMart instead of the check out girl? We already know that the economy sucks and there are no new jobs being created. Excuse me if I'm not elated about the 308,000 jobs that were supposedly created last month. How much do you want to bet they were mostly part-time or temporary positions and don't offer anything in terms of benefits?

I am also sick of every other commercial on the TV and radio telling me to join the army, air force or navy. My favorite goes something like, "After graduation, Mary sent her resume to every business in town. Neither of them replied." Join the Army!

So if the economy sucks and I have just spent 4-6 years in college to get a degree in Accounting and my only other alternative is working in McDonald's I should run off and join the army in the middle of a gruesome war that I oppose for ethical reasons? So that I can risk my life for the Holy Trinity of Dick Cheney, George W., and Donald Rumsfeld? So that I can survive after a year and expect to go home to the loving arms of my family and then be told I can't but they will get back to me when they decide? No, I think not. Pass me the hamburger flipper and point me towards the fry basket. Maybe Bush is ruining the economy so that more people will be forced to join the military as a way of feeding their families. We need more soldiers and a draft will be a hard sell to Congress. If people are forced into military service for economic reasons then you have killed two birds with one stone. You have created jobs and you have the personnel required to invade the rest of the Third World.

I hope the adjuncts at NYU kick ass because this is not just a fight for more wages and benefits and whatever else. This is a lesson to all of their students that there is still the possibility for change. The little people can make a stand. If they lose and NYU fires all 2700 of them, then they can still find some solace in knowing that the world sees that NYU is a trader in the false commodity of temporary employees. Soon parents and students will have to decide if NYU is the best place they could spend $30K.

2004-04-15T17:53:00.000-04:00

McDonald's is launching an "Anti-Obesity Campaign" to promote exercise and a healthy lifestyle because of all of the criticism they have received. It's true. I went into a McDonald's the other day to use the bathroom-okay and I ordered mozzarella sticks- and they had these pamphlets on how to pick a healthy meal from their menu based on what kind of diet you were following-low carb, low fat, or low calorie. I thought it was brilliant. Finally, someone's figured out a way to help the people figure out a way to incorporate moderate levels of junk food into their diet. See there is a place in the sun for everyone after all.

You have to wonder how effective this campaign will be. A pamphlet on a countertop next to coupons for Great Adventure is not going to sweep the nation with a desire to order their chicken sandwiches without the mayo. This method of advertising healthy alternatives to the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese assumes that people will be lingering around the counters over the garbage bins. How many people actually walk into the McDonald's? The drivethru is so convenient and easy that we put them everywhere now. They have them at the pharmacies and the ATM machines. If you want real changes you need to put the information where the people can see it. Or change the menu. McDonald's has decided to do just that. They are now offering adult Happy Meals called Go Meals that will include salad, bottled water and a pedometer. A pedometer that you can get at a drive thru? How will that come in handy? If I am in a car it is safe to assume that I have an aversion to walking or else I would have parked and actually entered the building instead of waiting in the drive thru line for fifteen minutes. That doesn't seems very logical. What happens if you get a Go Meal everyday? How many pedometers does one person really need? I don't think adults need to get prizes but if they do they should change the prizes frequently like they do with the kids' Happy Meals and there should be a variety of prizes. Maybe McDonald's could offer a yoga mat or resistance bands. Maybe they could give those tai chi weight balls or a CD of music that you can really move to. Or maybe more food! Salad and water is great, but if you are trying to appeal to people that came with a Double Quarter Pounder in mind, you're going to have to give us more food.

Sadly, McDonald's giveth and McDonald's taketh away. Say goodbye to super sizing your drinks and fries. McDonald's is pulling out all the stops to appeal to health conscious people after spending so many years appealing to poor people. Great timing since the economy is doing so well! Extra Value meals and Dollar menus have gotten the financially challenged like myself through a few rough spots. We always knew that fast food was bad for us but now we have to choose between our healthy appetites and tight wallets and healthy food and tight wallets. If you are going to offer alternatives like the yogurt fruit parfait and the upcoming alternative for kids of apple slices and caramel sauce instead of fries in a Happy Meal, then you are going to have to appeal to our wallets as well. There is a reason those dollar menus and super sizing was so popular. We are a nation with a whole lot of poor people. I don't want to spend my hard earned dollars on lunch for myself and be hungry a half an hour later. We are a nation of consumers and McDonald's may try to jump start a physical fitness movement but it will never work if we feel like we are being gypped. I wonder if this is a ploy to get people to order more. More salads, more yogurts, more anything to make us feel full. It takes more now that we are used to Bic Macs and the seasonal McRib sandwich. If it doesn't no one is going to order the Go Meal and McDonald's can sit back and say, "Well folks, we tried but you're just a bunch of gluttons!" Brilliant public relations move by a multinational corporation. It's the same technique that the Bush Administration is using in Iraq. When the handover to the Iraqi people fails, we can go back in and tell the world, "Sorry folks, but they just aren't capable of governing themselves!"

As consumers and citizens the ultimate responsibility of our own well being lies with us. Putting a label on a carton of cigarettes doesn't deter a smoker from smoking and it doesn't make the cigarette companies socially responsible corporations. McDonald's doesn't get any humanitarian awards for repackaging a salad and offering apple slices. We wouldn't stop arresting drug dealers or give them the ability to call themselves a nonprofit organization if they started an anti-drug campaign in elementary schools would we?

2004-04-14T21:45:00.000-04:00

There is a really great article on Commondreams.org that discusses the President's press conference in a realistic way without all of the emotion of liberals v.s. the CCC (Christian Capitalist Crusaders) of which W. is their big-haired, smirking, deer-caught-in-headlights, posterboy. I think everyone should check it out : A Scary Performance and A Signal for Slaughter

I, of course, watched the press conference and screamed angry retorts at the television while my neighbors probably cursed the day I moved in. What I think was one of the most important facts to come out of the press conference was the fact that mercenary forces, or "private security contractors," are the third largest forces outside of the US and Britain in Iraq. That makes it seem like less of a coalition, doesn't it? The coalition is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Japan, Italy, Russia, Spain, The Philippines, Korea-they don't want to be there. They want to pull out but now they can't because of all the hostages that are being taken. Now they can't pull out because they will look weak and they can't have let terrorists dictate to them and blah blah blah.

I understand it. I just wish the rest of the world would be more vocal in their opposition to the way the occupation is being handled. As W. put it last night in his press conference, "I wouldn't want to be occupied either!" With his trademark smirk and the stunned silence of the journalists because as we all noticed, there was no red brick wall behind him, this was not The Improv, and he was not Jerry Seinfeld. I think the entire press conference was a joke. It was obvious that W. had a selected list of reporters he could ask questions from. They asked him relatively neutral questions except for the last reporter who basically asked him if he failed at communicating to the American people or in other words, do you think you are a fucking moron and don't know how to speak English? W. appeared to me to get angry at this and then proceeded to contradict himself and not answer the question. I wonder if Cheney was in a room somewhere with a technician waiting to defibrillate and jump start his pacemaker as soon as W. started to mention "The Almighty."

He also said there were people in the world that didn't believe that "brown people" could accept democracy and he didn't believe that was right. Um, W. those are your people. In the same evening he proceeded to knock the "false ideology" of the fighters in Iraq. Would that be the nationalism they are exhibiting or Islam? It is incredibly frustrating to have a president for my country that confirms to the world that he should be running the relay race in the Special Olympics. He couldn't even name one thing, ONE THING, that he did wrong in his presidency. The Center for American Progress has a poll where you can vote to help President Bush decide what his biggest mistake was.
President Bush Needs Your Help

Also, Human Rights Watch is actually performing an investigation into the amount of force being used in Fallujah with all of the Iraqi civilians killed this week, and since most reports state that it was women, children and the elderly being killed, there was probably a lot of excessive violence used. Good for Human Rights Watch! They will of course face heavy opposition from our government but I hope it doesn't deter them from this incredibly important task. This government is all about accountability, as we have seen.

Under each of my postings is a space where you can provide comments or you can e-mail me at Scarlet Pimp.

Someone submitted a comment:
"I would just like to say- that I applaud you voicing your opinion- however, it would be better if you were to educate yourself further on the topics in which you speak of. Depending on a radio show which is in many ways a biased one is not the way in which you should form opinions. I myself am an independent who tends to vote for democrats. So please don't get the impression I have an agenda- I don't. Just don't depend on one side of the spectrum to inform you-- look at both and use your OWN mind."

First, thank you very much for leaving a comment. I love the feedback whether it is positive or negative. I do have to say that I am educating myself before I speak and I do take in as many sources as I can. I will read many versions of a story before I comment about it. If I happen to quote Air America, that doesn't mean they are my only source of information. I do listen to them frequently, as I have written, because I find that they confirm what I have already discovered for myself. Are they biased? Of course. They have a specific agenda and that is to get W. out of office. However, I happen to agree with that agenda!

I have actually watched The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity and Colmes, and other shows that portray the views of "the right" and I find that not a lot of it is based in fact. It is based in opinion without allowing for the opportunity for the token guest from "the left" to have a chance at rebuttal. On Air America, only on the O'Franken Factor have they given someone from the right a chance to back up some of the information that is discussed on conservative shows like Rush Limbaugh's show. That can be a problem and I do feel there should be more of a forum where all views can come together to discuss issues in a civilized and respectful way. Maybe that is too much to ask for from either side.

At all times I am using my OWN mind, (Your use of capitals, not mine) even if it might not seem that way because at the moment there are a lot of people voicing the same anti-bush, anti-war statement. That is significant in an era where freedom of speech is such an issue. I appreciate your encouragement of my voicing my opinion and I encourage you to keep doing the same.

2004-04-13T16:27:00.000-04:00

Also, come see this scary Family Tree!

Are Bush and Kerry Cousins?

2004-04-13T13:37:00.000-04:00

L. Paul Bremer, the Administrator to Iraq shut down the al-Hawza, the newspaper run by al-Sadr's movement, for "false articles" that "incited violence." Why are we not shutting down the National Inquirer (or the New York Times) for false articles that incite stupidity?

That is just one thing that is going through my head on this rainy, Tuesday afternoon. I am tired of the war. Not as tired as the soldiers in Iraq who are forced to stay there when they should be returning to their families on leave, but I am tired of pro- and anti-war rhetoric. I am tired of the whole damn thing. Whether this war is officially over or not in the eyes of W., we need to accept where we are and move towards finding a solution to get this country and Iraq on the right track.

I think we can all say that no matter what the outcome is from the 9/11 commission, we as a nation will not be able to gain credibility unless we elect a new president. If we do not, then we have affirmed what every other country on this planet thinks of us, primarily that we are all like W., and we do not care about anything but feeding our growing consumerist/capitalist machine. That would probably be the first step in making progress. The other day I was listening to Air America (what else is new!) and they played an interview with Sen. John McCain in which he said definitely after the election there will be call for more money towards the war (bigger deficit) and they would also DEFINITELY have to expand the military. DRAFT!

Of course they would have to draft because no one is going to sign up for the military now unless they have a death wish or serious psychological problems, and honestly, do we really want crazy people defending us? Those people deserve positions in government, not on the front lines! I kid. How many young men have stopped filling out financial aid papers? You can't get financial aid unless you register for a potential draft. I had a friend who paid in cash, his mom could afford it, because he didn't want to have to be caught out there, having to go to war when he was a lover, not a fighter. At the time I said, After Vietnam they will NEVER draft again, but never say never, right?

Instead of arguing about the war, whether we should pull out or not, we have no choice but to stay. What we need to do is thinking about how we can fix all of the horrible damage we have done, especially in Fallujah, where innocent people were killed - about 600 to be exact, mostly women, children and the elderly- in response to the deaths of 4 security contractors, otherwise known as mercenaries. I guess we showed them, huh?

We need to figure out a way to put down the weapons and they won't do it first. You know why? Because they have nothing left to lose and a strong belief in a heavenly afterlife. 72 virgins ain't so bad for a millisecond with a bomb or bullet when you have nothing left to live for! It's hard for the knuckleheads in Washington to realize this, because they have such a low opinion of non-white people, but their nationalism is just as strong as ours. Would it be so bad if we called a truce and said you know what Iraq? We are sorry we fucked this up so bad. We want to make it up to you. Lets start over, this time, you tell us what you want and we will follow your lead. After all, this is your country. And you are intelligent, educated people, regardless of what the media images have portrayed and how our government calls you THUGS. If they only knew the origin of the word-in India, thank you history channel- for a band of thieves, rapists, and pillagers, they would see how it applies to what they have done to your country.

Like I said, I am tired of all of the talk. Now is the time for planning and our first goal should be to get W. and his posse out of office. I hope John Kerry has a good plan for what to do next, since he has become our posterboy for progressive change. I haven't heard it yet. I can only hope it doesn't include the words, draft, deficit and higher mortality rate.

2004-04-12T09:31:00.000-04:00

I am listening to Air America, it has become an addiction for me, I must confess, and the show is Unfiltered with Chuck D. (who doesn't talk as much as I would like him to) and two other ladies. They brought up a good point about W. and all of the vacation days he has taken since being in office. First they show how Roosevelt had polio and was receiving treatments and being sickly and in 12 years he was absent about 150 days. W. has been out 150 and his 4 year term is not even up. They also said that we pay his salary, so imagine you owned a business and hired an employee and they were absent forty percent of the year. That is insane! This truly is bizarro world. Our tax dollars don't wield the power that they should. In this country you can be a gay or lesbian person and pay your taxes like a good little citizen and your government can decide on your dime that you will be discriminated against and they are even going to go one step farther and write it into the constitution, a document that states "all men are created equal." In my mind I imagine W. sneaking up to the constitution, removing the glass that protects it, and writing "except for fags and dykes" in red crayon. Then giggling wildly as he speeds off in his fully customized golf cart, with a rifle over one shoulder and Laura smiling adoringly at her man.

I saw a really great documentary this weekend called "An Injury to One" on the Sundance Channel, for those of you with cable, and it was so very much worth the 45 minutes I took to watch it. Here's a link to a description of the movie, An Injury to One. The film shows how large companies like the Anaconda Mining Company in the WWI-era were horribly repressive to their workers, engaged in war profiteering, and called for the lynching of Frank Little, a unionizer. What really grabbed me was the fact that this company owned the police, owned the newspapers so, as the film stated, the only news we have available is company news, and they were able to change the laws in Montana, and then THE NATION, that if you strike during a time of war, you can be charged with espionage and deported or put in jail for lengthy sentences. The film also traces how this event gave roots to the McCarthy era.

I have stated before, I am young, possibly naive to an extent, and I believed whole heartedly in all of the flag waving, America the Beautiful stuff that they teach in school. So when I learn about our countries sordid history of violence and disgraceful acts against humanity, its like finding out there is no Santa Clause and Tooth Fairy all over again. If this country has a history of giving in to large corporations and stepping on the little guy, is it really so hard to see the Tyco trials and Enron crap displayed on television? Are we really that surprised to see all of the pollution in this world caused by corporate pollution? Not really.

Oh yeah, the Easter Bunny is dead too.

2004-04-08T11:27:00.000-04:00

Dear Joe:

I want to thank you for taking the time to read my blog and to write me with your opinions. I love to get feedback, positive or negative, because either way it reinforces my beliefs. You wrote me:

"GREAT writing but kind of "Trite" as if there is anything YOU can really do about the "War"
We tried in the Sixties and Seventies with Vietnam and you know what? Whatever you do it will end when those in power WANT IT TO END, other than that youd proberbly get more attention writing about J-LOS Butt or the fact that NYC subways arent carpeted.
Sorry.
"Pigs return to thier own vomit to feast"..... me
Joseph

I understand that there are several (okay, thousands of people) that are rallying others to do something to end the war, so to you my writing is "trite." You are entitled to that opinion. But I have to disagree with you on your statement that there is nothing that I can actually do about the war as an individual because there are those that are in power and they alone hold all the cards. No. There are many examples of individuals taking on huge governments and making social change. In this country alone there was the suffragist movement where women took on the great President Woodrow Wilson (pre-manifest destiny delirium) in a time of war, much to the horror of the nation, and they stood their ground until women were granted the right to vote. Martin Luther King, Jr., I think we are all familiar with the work he did for civil rights. Ghandi took on the British empire for India. Here were individuals that made a difference through peaceful methods. I believe it can happen again.

Secondly, you say that the Vietnam War is proof that those in power will decide when this war is over. There are inherent differences in The Vietnam War and this war, Operation: Resistance is Futile, or whatever it is called. This war was created on lies, lies, lies, on the greed of a select few without care to the men and women they are sending off like lambs to slaughter, and this war is moving much faster than the Vietnam War. It took years for civilians to start carrying guns to the market place and fighting against US occupation in Vietnam. In Iraq, it has only taken one year. One year for a whole country with their own civil unrest between sunnis and shiites to turn against us! The protests during the Vietnam War was also very much anti-soldier, with vets coming home and being spit upon in the streets. This time around we have learned from past mistakes. We support our troops and are fighting domestically to bring them home rather than scorn them for being drafted into a senseless war. ( I know we have not begun to officially draft soldiers, but give me a break, if you are in the National Guard to make money for college and they send you to Iraq and then they won't let you come home by extending your tour of duty, then you have been drafted!) As a country, I believe we have learned from the casualties and the economic waste of Vietnam and that's what makes it so much more possible for us to change events now. We have a more realistic interpretation of what war is and since the Nixon impeachment and the Clinton madness, we can understand the fallibility of our nations leaders, another reason why the protesting against Vietnam was not as successful. People were not ready and able to think that their leaders had made such a huge, costly error and so many of our nations youth were dying without purpose. We were a much more innocent country. The protests of the sixties and seventies enabled people to question their government and to use their voice in a cry for social justice. That has left its mark on our society, despite any doubts that our current national apathy might invoke.

Finally, I think that if I were to write about J-Lo's butt THAT would be trite. We as a nation have had every outlet oversaturated with meaningless gossip in an effort to distract us from the problems of our nation in a well played game of three card monty. Don't think of the economy, think of the hunt for Osama. Don't think of Osama think of Iraq, Don't think of Iraq think of the break up of Bennifer. I have stated before, thinking critically is not encouraged here in America. The focus on Jennifer Lopez's life is. I could maybe "get more attention" talking about her but I would just be adding to the meaningless noise in everyone's head that distracts them from more important issues. What's the point of that? As much as there might be a growth in anti-war rhetoric, it never will get old until changes are made. I believe wholeheartedly that an individual can make a difference. Especially now in this political climate when action is so critical.

Feel free to write me again, I appreciate it!

For other readers, you can also leave comments below this posting.

2004-04-07T01:10:00.000-04:00

I watched Oprah yesterday. I had heard that she was having a tour of a veteran's hospital to visit soldiers that have come back from the war. My heart quickened. If Oprah jumped on the anti-war bandwagon, soon America would follow and then there would be a way out of this war!

I was wrong of course. Yes, Oprah did have a tour of the veteran's hospital in San Antonio, Texas and there was the parade of injured soldiers that were happy to have given their arms and legs and to have partially burned alive for their country. She asked them over and over would they do it again and they said they would. I appreciate her dedicating a show to the sacrifice that these soldiers made and they should be honored. Its not me over their risking my neck. I am sitting here in the relative safety of my living room, blogging about what I think is wrong with the world and the appropriate changes that I feel should be made. However, this show glorified the violence, the war heroes and their selfless sacrifice, and they would do it all over again to protect our freedom! Yay!!!

But No! There was no mention of the fact that this war was NOT FOR OUR FREEDOM! Ask them a question, a deep question, about how they would feel if they were losing their limbs for a war that was lining the pockets of a select few. Ask the widow how she would feel losing her husband and if they would do that all over again knowing that. There was only one soldier, I believe her name was Jenny, who told in detail how crappy her life is now. She was also featured in a New York Times Magazine article some months back and I really think that the article in the NYTM was a way more realistic view of what these soldiers are going through. Its not enough to ask a soldier how they are adjusting. Its forcing America to see just how hard it is for them to live their lives post-war. Do we really want these men and women that we can see are brave and love our country so much to have to go through this? Yes we know they will be tough while Oprah is there and it will be really fucking inspirational. But that makes it seem like war is okay because they are okay to participate in it. Well its not.

I tried to step outside myself and think what a housewife in Idaho would think after watching this episode. All I can take away from it is that these soldiers are brave and if they would do it all over again then that means we are there for a reason, and that reason is to fight for America's freedom. I think Oprah had a chance to do a world of good and she fumbled and instead, sent the wrong message. I am not surprised, she had President Bush on her show when he was first campaigning for office and she made him look witty and like a good country boy. I understand that she is not a liberal talkshow, her purpose is to provide some fluff to our lives. If you are only going to do fluff stories, stick to them. Stick to Wynonna Judd's weight problem and the alcohol addiction of a backstreet boy. Don't do a half-assed job of interviewing presidential candidates and reporting on soldiers lives post-war.

She has the ear of the nation's women and she could be doing so much more than she is doing. It saddens me because she has done a lot to make women aware of their own needs, to take control of their lives and to be more conscientious people. She has created the Angel Network which raises millions and although I don't know what the actual numbers are, I think they have helped to put many children through college. She created the Oprah book club which got the housewives reading something other than Good Housekeeping, and then asked them to think critically about what they've read, which is wonderful in a country that has encouraged the suppression of critical thought even if all of the books she picks are thematically the same.

That's not enough. We are at war. We have a corrupt government. What is she doing about that with the incredible power of resources she has at her disposal? If you are going to show the atrocities of war, don't try to put a positive spin on it, Oprah. You are doing more harm than good. Show how horrible it is without the patriotic music playing in the background. Give the background information on the war, put it into the true context because a lot of your viewers don't have the opportunity to become informed by alternative sources of media. Don't take the safe road because, let's face it, you can afford a little controversy. You won't be standing on the bread line anytime soon. If you keep silent about the truth for much longer, the rest of the nation will be.

2004-04-05T15:13:00.000-04:00

It's really funny how my government has shut down the Al Hawza press in Iraq, throwing the country into more chaos, because they believed that they were writing lies that would incite violence. Now, give me a break. I can't stand the way Rumsfeld stood in front of the press and said something like, "you don't understand, these people are willing to lie to the press to get what they want!" With a straight face, too! I actually tried to find that quote so I could link it to my blog and it has mysteriously disappeared. Ho hum.

This is coming from a government that this weekend alone has released information that they were investigating the former president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his wife for possible drug connections. They have no proof!!! But they are informing us that they are investigating him because we all know that the mere IDEA that he MIGHT be connected to drug dealers is enough to pull his name through the mud.

This is also coming from a government that lied to the ENTIRE WORLD about weapons of mass destruction so that they could start a war. How's that for inciting violence! It is showing the world also that we believe in freedom of speech as long as the right-wings agree with it. Welcome to our hell, Iraq. See we are treating you like Americans! You have high unemployment, so do we! You have a lack of viable social programs, so do we! You have violence in the streets and people dying, starving, and miserable, so do we! You have your newspapers shut down because you are anti-American, we have our protesters arrested and considered terrorists when we are anti-war! So much in common, we should get together and discuss this. We have a mutual problem and that is...drum roll please...:
The Bush Administration! I never think violence is an answer, I think its pretty uncreative and at this point in human evolution we should probably understand by now that if you stick your hand in fire it fucking burns. In this country we have been put to sleep, given a substandard education and kept numb by this overwhelming consumerism and standard of living that makes it harder for us to organize, to think critically, to rise up. I guess we are at the point where we are fearful of losing everything as we lose everything. In Iraq, they have nothing left to lose and we have given them nothing to have faith in. We have plunged them into chaos and ignored them as they try to tell us what they need. Then we shut down their voice, their press, after being repressed by Sadam's rule and not having a voice or an outlet to tell the truth as they feel and know it, we come in with our flag and our "land of the free, home of the brave" propaganda and we take their voice away again! Good job! If they weren't ready to go on deadly riots we did a good job of motivating them.

I am torn between where I should focus my energy. I am incensed at the war in Iraq and at the same time I realize that here in America we need people to fight to take our country back and restore it's dignity. Help me with this dilemma! I would love to hear from all of you and see where it is you are focusing your energy. If you have questions, comments, or thoughts than feel free to write me at thescarletpaper@hotmail.com. I will post them here and respond to them.

2004-04-02T14:58:00.000-05:00

This is a letter that I wrote to Lyn Brown, an anchor on Good Day New York, a morning show here in New York that is similar to the Today Show or Good Morning America.

Dear Lyn Brown:

I am writing to you because there was no e-mail address for Ernabel Demillo on the Good Day New York website. This morning during the broadcast, Ernabel referred to the people that killed the contractors in Fallujah as "the barbarians." Now, I know that the show is scripted and I don't hold anything against any anchor person for doing her job. I do feel that referring to the Iraqi people as "the barbarians" is racist and irresponsible of Good Day New York.

I would like to express how much I enjoyed watching this show in the morning. The chemistry between everyone is infectious and I start my day off with a smile. Unfortunately I feel so offended, I don't think I will be able to watch the show anymore.

To say the words, "the barbarians" invokes the same sentiment that the European colonizers believed about the Native Americans. It means that the Iraqi people are not civilized, they are less than, and they are "the other" in the way expressed by Albert Memmi and Edward Said in their numerous works. Given the unraveling events surrounding our invasion of Iraq, I think that oppressive commentary on an oppressed people should be left out of the dissemination of world news. If these Iraqi people are not as civilized and human as we are, then their lives are not as valuable as Americans. It makes it that much easier for us to take revenge and not try to understand the social and political circumstances that welcomed this atrocity. It is irresponsible of the media to promote hatred and racism, however subtle it might be. Instead of calling the Iraqi people names, why don't we discuss the truth about what is going on in that country? Where is the outrage at the deaths of Iraqi civilians? There is none because apparently to the world of Fox News these "barbarians" are just sand savages. Good Day New York should focus more on spreading tolerance and to have a little bit of cultural sensitivity. What we consider to be civilized may not be in the eyes of the rest of the world. The Native Americans practiced guerilla warfare too, and look how sympathetic history looks upon them now. I would like to state that I am in no way in support of violence or warfare of any kind. What happened to those men was a nightmare and my hear goes out to their family. I would hate for their deaths to be used as fuel for the fire of hatred, racism, and war.

As an anchorperson, maybe it would be wise to censor the writers of the show and refuse to say things that are inflammatory and offensive. I am sure that you and the rest of the talent on the show have a strong ethical foundation. You do seem like decent people and would understand my perspective.

In conclusion, I am greatly disappointed in Good Day New York. I am aware that dealing with viewer complaints is not part of your job, but I am hoping that you will forward this to the appropriate person.

***************************************************************

Yesterday I wrote that the U.S. was not listening to the Iraqi people to see what they wanted to do with their country. Here is a great essay that is on Commondreams.org and is printed in The Nation regarding this point. Let's Make Enemies: Paul Bremer has Unveiled a Slew of Tricks That Allow the US to Hold on to Power in Iraq After June 30.
It has a lot of interesting points that I alluded to yesterday, but most importantly it shows that the pro-US Iraqi's are disappointed in the United States and heart broken over the world we have plunged them into after they cheered in the streets upon our arrival. Remember how happy they were when we arrived last year? It's time to ask ourselves why there was such a complete turn around in their feelings towards Americans.

It also shows that the person doing the crappy job is Paul Bremer. If there is anyone who is responsible for the deaths of the 4 security contractors it is that man. He has failed to do an adequate job of securing the country and providing a viable means of restoring order to society after the fall of the Hussein-orship. In addition, he has made economic gain of foreign corporations his priority instead of the safety of the people he was assigned to protect and care for. He created a desperation in Iraq and desperation lead to a lynch mob.

[In a small side note, yesterday I wrote how Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said troops didn't respond for fear of ambushes and the possibility that insurgents would use civilians as human shields. "A pre-emptive attack into the city could have taken a bad situation and made it even worse," he said. Before we come down on the Iraqi police for not stopping the mutilation and burning of the corpses, lets remember that the US Marines were outside the city and did nothing also. They were afraid just like the Iraqi police. Also, I have one question for the public, is it really considered a "pre-emptive attack" if you are responding to an assault on civilians? Isn't that considered a defensive action?]

In this brilliant article, Naomi Klein also explains how the US occupation is going to be a never ending process due to a loophole in a UN Security Council Resolution and how "the Iraqis can deal with their decrepit hospitals all by themselves, complete with their chronic drug shortages and lack of the most basic sanitation capacity. (US Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson revealed just how low a priority this was when he commented that Iraq's hospitals would be fixed if the Iraqis "just washed their hands and cleaned the crap off the walls.")" Please check out this article, it is worth the five minutes it will take for you to read.

I resist feeling like things are becoming hopeless and we are all just bricks in a wall. I know by reading this you will discuss it with people, you will spread your outrage and that outrage will turn into action. It's a long, painful process but it can be fixed if we just wash our hands and clean the crap off the walls.

2004-04-01T23:33:00.000-05:00

Bremer: Iraq Deaths Won't Go Unpunished

You know what is really sad? I was thinking about the contractors that were killed in Fallujah, partly because it was a hot topic of discussion on the news and internet, and partly because the idea of the violent mob that killed these people kept rotating in my head. I actually started to think that maybe our government was behind the murders. If American sentiment, which has been turning against the war, were to be solidified in a hateful mode, then they could gain control back of the spin. Yes, we are all angry and horrified to see these burned and dismembered bodies being kicked around and the cheering of young men for the cameras, but what are we going to do about it? We have to stay in Iraq and end their lawlessness that's what! Long Live America and Democracy! Yeeehaaa! In reality, I think people are sickened at the thought of what is going on in Iraq and just want to be done with the whole mess. It's sad that I would think something like that of my government, because we finance Coups all the time (Haiti!) and we have by far proven that we have no problem being the voice at the back of the lynch mob saying "Let's get those Mother Fuckers!" I love my country and I feel horribly betrayed that the dream of democracy and the belief that all should have the pursuit of happiness has been stolen from me, if it was ever really there. I want to restore the idea of what America is, what we say we are, not the bullshit that we do when the lights go out. The Bush Administration has tarnished our image, America used to mean something-the land of the free and the home of the brave- but we are not free in this country. The Christian Capitalist Crusaders have taken away our freedom with the Patriot Act, the FCC tells us what we can say and do in a public forum, and we are heading towards a course of action that would amend our Constitution so that Homosexuals (tax paying citizens) would have less rights than the rest of the population. Have we all gone mad?

It is my belief that what happened in Fallujah has to be understood before we react. This is something that the Bush people have neglected to do. By keeping America outraged (lets color code our outrage like we do our security alerts, right now I am at fuschia, yesterday I was at chartreuse) the Iraqi people will always be the "other." Its us against them, you are with us or against us. We are dividing, not uniting people! This racism is radiating from the Iraqi Administrators comments:

Iraq's administrator, L. Paul Bremer, condemned the killings as well as the combat deaths of five American soldiers on the same day, and said "their deaths will not go unpunished."

"Yesterday's events in Fallujah are dramatic examples of the ongoing struggle between human dignity and barbarism," Bremer said at a ceremony for police cadets in Baghdad. "The acts we have seen were despicable and inexcusable. ... They violate the tenets of all religions, including Islam."

First let me just say, Bremer, when did you become an expert on Islam? This statement is dripping with the oppressiveness of a colonizer. We will punish, they are despicable and inexcusable. My favorite is his statement that they were "dramatic examples of the ongoing struggle [of the Iraqi people? Of Middle Eastern people? Who are you talking about?] between human dignity and barbarism." Does that make these people less than human? Why not just call them Sand Savages? This reminds me of the sentiment that the Europeans had about the Native Americans when they were being colonized. The Native Americans used guerilla warfare which we thought lacked "human dignity." The European style of fighting was to stand in a line across from each other and shoot. The team with the most alive people wins. Yippee! Do you see the same similarities here? Let me make myself clear, I am not in any way saying that these murders were justified. Violence very rarely is. What we need to ask ourselves is: How can we try to understand the Iraqi people in order to help them if we don't quite see them as human? If we seem them as teetering on the edge of human and barbaric?

Instead of bringing the wrath of god on an entire city, lets try and understand why this happened. What circumstances brought about this level of violence? Why do these people hate us so much? Why did the police do nothing? Instead of telling them what they should be doing with their country, shouldn't we ask them what they would like? Maybe their version of democracy is different from ours. Considering that our country is largely based on Christian ideology, for example, our federal holidays revolve around the Christian calendar and at Bush's inaugeration it was stated bluntly that Jesus was the one true God of the USA. Not only is their belief system is different from ours, but the history of their country and the way their society has developed is also different from ours. How can we presume that we know what is best for them? Maybe they just want an end to the chaos that we plunged them into. People are rioting because they want work, water, food, and an end to violence. War hasn't worked so far, lets try the democratic behavior of diplomacy. Lets not allow these contractors to have died in vain. Lets make it so that this was the act that opened up our eyes and changed our point of view.

Lastly, remember when pre-emptive military action wasin style? Not anymore! Put away those "Pre-emptive Strike Rules!" t-shirts and bumper stickers. Read this:

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said troops didn't respond for fear of ambushes and the possibility that insurgents would use civilians as human shields. "A pre-emptive attack into the city could have taken a bad situation and made it even worse," he said.

Wow! Imagine the logic it took to figure that out! What modern thinking, too radical!

2004-03-31T23:28:00.000-05:00

Today was the first day of Air America Radio and they had amazing guests, Michael Moore, Al Gore, Ben of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and the founder of True Majority. Although they are only available on a few stations nationwide, you can listen to them on their website and on satellite radio, well worth giving them a listen.

The news was filled with tales of the contractors that were killed in Fallujah, Iraq and whose bodies were dragged through the streets. Iraqis Drag 4 US Bodies Through Streets
I was horrified as I believe the nation was to see civilians treated this way. I guess it was naive of me to think that people could go to work in Iraq as Americans and be able to separate themselves from our military forces. I heard on the news that over thirty American civilians have been killed in Iraq thus far, but we haven't heard about them. We haven't heard of the dozens of soldiers that have committed suicide in Iraq or the soldiers that have "fragged" as a friend of mine told me this week, which is when a soldier snaps and tries to kill his fellow or commanding officers. It happened a lot in Vietnam also. We don't hear about those soldiers. We don't hear about the soldiers that joined the army in order to get the Montgomery G.I. Bill so they can go to college and escape poverty, we aren't allowed to know who these soldiers are as people. We only get to stand by the sidelines and wave as they march off to war.

As a civilian, maybe you go into Iraq because there is a ridiculous amount of money to be made, hazard pay is a wonderful blessing if you can come out alive, or maybe you are intent on making a difference and spreading the brilliance that is democracy. You don't expect to be killed in such a way as the contractors in Iraq. My heart goes out to their families. This is their worst nightmare realized. How many civilians, American and Iraqi, have died in this war? When will it end? Where is our president while people are dying in the streets?

W. is mocking the lack of WMD's at fundraisers. He is orchestrating the sham that is the 9/11 commission so that Condaleeza Rice will get to testify on the condition that he and Cheney get to testify off the records and behind closed doors. (Can you feel the noose around your neck Condy as they hang you out to dry? I guess that PhD is really paying off now!)Tag Team testimony from Bush-Cheney will Limit Divergent Answers

Our president is sitting back as the Islamic fundamentalist movement is uniting in their hatred for our imperialism. He is sitting back, shaking a disapproving finger at OPEC while they cut back on oil production and does absolutely nothing while we may be heading for a potential oil crisis. OPEC to Cut Oil Output Despite Demand

My heart is with all of the people- American, Iraqi, British, Polish- and their families that are praying for safety and a way out of this mess in a peaceful way. Finally, there is someone else calling for the president's impeachment, its not just me! (You can read through the archives for my feelings on impeaching the president) and you can click here for this great essay Impeachable Offenses

2004-03-30T12:15:00.000-05:00

I received a great letter from a reader yesterday. His name was Lopez and he told me to write about the wonders of soccer and not to forget about its healing powers. You see, Lopez was in Kigali after what he called 'a nasty civil war' and he noticed how much the women there loved to play soccer. I thought this was incredibly poignant for several reasons. First, for those of you who aren't up on geography and world history, Kigali is the capital of Rwanda, where in 1994 "the Hutu majority of Rwanda murdered an estimated 800,000 of their Tutsi countrymen--a rate of killing that was faster than the Nazis." For more information on how the US and UN stood by and did nothing, even refusing to call it genocide so they wouldn't have to get involved: Frontline: The Triumph of Evil
Secondly, team sports are not historically taught to women. Look at our present day array of sports that are available to women and compare them in popularity and economically to male sports. See the difference? The ability of a country of people that have been let down ( a gross understatement on my part) by their global teammates to reinforce the notion of unity through team sports, even on a backyard level, is profound. The fact that they were women playing shows you that women are the heart and soul of a culture, we are its purveyors, and if we can teach the lessons to our daughters that soccer inspires - unity, endurance, strength, and the desire to succeed- then there is hope for this world. Lastly, playing soccer is evidence that there is still a fire in the ashes. When you can stand among the bodies of your family and neighbors and reject it as your reality and take control of your own existence by infusing it with levity, with playfulness, with happiness, with positivity, with your own spirit, when you can refuse your oppressors; those girls are my heroes! To be able to fight against your own sorrow and fear is a strength I hope is present in my own spirit and in all of our souls! Thanks for the letter, Lopez!

Do you ever get to the point where you say, but what can I do to change this world and make it a better place? Well here is another inspiring person, Kiyoshi Amemiya.
Japanese businessman builds own machine to make world landmine-free
Kiyoshi saw the atrocities of Cambodia and what land-mines were doing to the women and children of that nation and he used what resources he had as the owner of a construction machinery distribution company to create an "anti-personnel landmine disposal machine" which basically means the machine can locate and destroy landmines. He has used them for Cambodia,Thailand, Vietnam, Nicaragua, and Afghanistan, and they are distributed through the United Nations. What makes it even more wonderful is he has decided to NOT sell to governments for military purposes, (can you imagine how they would sit on this technology or use it for their own purposes in a war?) simply because "I have no business with the military," he said. Mr. Amemiya, I thank you for your generosity and compassion. The people of all of these countries that suffer under the threat of landmines thank you and I applaud your decision to keep your invention on a humanitarian level and not sell to any military agencies. You have inspired me to search into my own life for ways in which I can make a difference and I know, as people read about you, they will reflect upon their own lives as well.

One person can make a difference!

2004-03-29T11:43:00.000-05:00

It's been a few days since my last posting because I needed some time to gather my thoughts. I was deeply troubled by an article I read in the New York Daily News on Friday. I was walking home, it was beautiful out, and I opened the newspaper to an article that showed a smirking George W. Bush on the floor, searching for something underneath a chair. That was a picture of W. mocking the nation and also the world. See for yourself another article at CNN.com:
Bush's WMD jokes draw criticism

I couldn't walk for a few moments. I just stood on the busy street with my hand outstretched to the sky in disbelief. After I recovered, I came home and turned on the television. The president refused to testify for the 9/11 committee and Condaleeza Rice refuses to go on the record. Rice Asserts She Can't Testify
What is the point of testifying off the record? You do that on the television news, in interviews, what are you so afraid of? This administration is looking more and more guilty to the WORLD and I would love to be happy and to say, now is where the tides turn, but they aren't scared. They have that much arrogance that they can allow themselves to look as if they have done something criminal, something to be ashamed of, by virtue of not testifying and its all good. What does that tell us? That there is more to come. That there can be as many committees and panels and investigations as we want to get to the truth but really, in our hearts, we know the truth. And the truth doesn't matter. That's why it is possible for W. to make fun of not finding WMD's at a fund raiser. Because he feels he is untouchable. They, the Corporate Capitalist Crusaders, as I like to call them, if I may be so bold as to talk in comic book language as our president does, they have rigged the country in a way so that we can organize and protest and vote, but what does it really amount to? Unless we have a unified public that says NO MORE! They can continue to pander to those who donate to their re-election. Imagine it, coming soon to a headline near you: US Invades Thailand! It could happen. According to this article from the Manila Times (an article similar to this was on Yahoo but mysteriously disappeared):

A question on the National Republican Congressional Committee's Ask America 2004 Nationwide Policy Survey asks: "Should America broaden the war on terrorism into other countries that harbor terrorists such as Thailand, Somalia, the Philippines, etc.?"
Accompanying the committee's survey, which also poses questions about health care, the economy and other issues, was a four-page letter signed by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a Republican, that seeks money to help "keep the Republican Party in control of the US House."

You can read the entire thing at RP, Thailand Blast Terror Tag

So just imagine a world where the rich, those that can afford to pay handsomely to the Republicans, can wage war on any country of their choosing! That was pretty brilliant to hand out a questionnaire to your target demographic so you know where the high rollers stand on important issues, allowing you to plan your malicious and deceptive deeds accordingly! Right On!

The truth comes out at these fundraisers, folks. Its a place where W. can be the real W. and make fun of the war he created with lies, bullying, and manipulation. Its funny to think of the billions we have spent on this war while people are unemployed and disenfranchised and American society is rotting FROM the core.
It's hilarious to make fun while elections are being rigged, futures being sealed, and families are kissing their loved ones goodbye for what might be the last time. It's funny if you are George W. Bush.

Well, Mr. President, I would like to introduce you to 692 people that aren't laughing. US/Coalition Casualties That is not to mention their families, the 3,383 soldiers that were injured and have to live the rest of their lives without limbs, hearing, etc. and with post-traumatic stress, and the families of those soldiers that are forced to see their husbands and wives, their children, come back as different, shells of the people they used to be. Also, the victims and their families of 9/11 who had their deaths used as tool of manipulation for war and now, re-election. And the millions of other citizens of this country who aren't laughing. The time has come for you to explain yourself and we are waiting.

2004-03-24T17:13:00.000-05:00

I am trying to understand George Tenet, the man in charge of the CIA. I am reading an article on Yahoo regarding the 9/11 hearings Ex-Advisor:Terrorism not urgent for Bush, and it has come out that there was some confusion regarding the orders that President Clinton gave authorizing the killing of bin Laden. Ho Hum. Strange how we are having these intelligence problems and now it comes out that the CIA had the okay from the Clinton administration to begin to handle this problem and they sat on their asses? Am I the only one that feels like we are living in bizarro world? Why, oh why is this man still head of the CIA? He has exposed himself as an incompetent buffoon regardless of what administration he works for. Maybe it was that much easier for the Bush people to twist his intelligence reports because he is a dullard. He has stated they twisted the CIA intelligence and my question is, why is he only saying it now that there is an investigation? Where was he before we started to invade Iraq, before hundreds of soldiers gave their lives to an unjust cause, before the Top Gun public relations disgrace that had our president flying onto an aircraft carrier and reliving moments he never actually experienced before? Where was he then? If he has been sitting with his thumb up his butt all of this time then this country should be demanding his resignation!

It is apparent from Clarke's testimony, and the testimony of others, that the Bush Administration was intent on searching for a reason to bomb Iraq. As Donald Rumsfeld put it, "There are good targets in Iraq." This administration is so shady. I am tired of procedure! I am tired of hearings that will eventually be delayed because Condaleeza and W. don't want to testify to their ignorance and/or malicious intentions. The minute that the Enron scandal broke, and the Halliburton-Bush connection to the Enron debacle, his candidacy should have been questioned. It wasn't, people are busy and apathetic to what happens. I totally understand. What gets me is the constant lying, outright lying that this administration is doing and we are sitting back waiting for this next election. The election means nothing! They screwed one election, they can do it again! It wasn't that hard and now with new voting technology it will be that much easier. No hanging chads, just the dedication of a republican with a technology firm that campaigns on behalf of Bush.

Every day, I am going to post one more Bush Lie. Here is an article from commondreams.org. that won't shock you, because aren't we used to the lying?, but it might motivate you to do something. Anything. Feel free to write me with more evidence of Bush Lies and/or ways in which you and I can make a difference.
Bush Medicare Report Misleads; 'Bush Administration Simply Changed the Numbers,' Says Co-Director of Campaign for Americas Future

Also, keep your letters, thoughts and opinions on my blog coming. If you give permission, I might publish it here.

2004-03-23T19:00:00.001-05:00

I watched Oprah today. She had a segment on the polygamy disaster that is Colorado City, Arizona.

Check out this link for an interesting history of this town.
Colorado City

Forget gay people, how the fuck can men in this town have 100's of children and 37 wives? Plus they marry these women when they are 15? That is abominable. Oprah said in between footage of Amish-looking men and women and children walking hand in hand, "Scary. Like the Taliban is it not?" I am not sure the Taliban has a polygamy problem. What really pisses me off is the drain on the welfare system as these men use their perverted religion to get laid with innocent young girls. But they are straight, right? So they can do whatever the fuck they want! This government stands aside while young girls are abused and smuggled from Canada so that there is not rampant inbreeding. If this was religious based, there would be no way that they would need to worry about inbreeding. Wouldn't that be considered "God's Will"? The amount of calculation that goes in to maintaining this cult proves that there is a perversion there.

Reasons why it bothers me:

-There is no equality. Why can't Women have multiple husbands? Why is it always the man that gets to have multiple sexual partners, a bunch of kids that he doesn't have to do the work of caring for, and being able to secure his place in heaven by polygamy. Does a woman not have the opportunity to go to heaven?

- I am the most liberal person I know. But these are children. Their education is cut off at 10th grade if they get it, there is no connection to the outside world, these marriages are arranged before they can even understand what it means to be a woman, to understand sexuality. All of a sudden a MUCH OLDER man is fucking them and they are having children.

Maybe we should spend billions of dollars targeting these sick mother fuckers instead of denying nice homosexual couples that have been together for 40 years a chance to marry. If the Christian Right believes homosexuality is a choice (which is disputable) then Mormon Fundamentalism most certainly is a choice as well. I know religion is a hot topic people don't really want to discuss. But this is my theory, if you are involved in a religion where you have to hurt children or animals, or deny a person (woman) her civil rights, then it's wrong! Go ask Jesus, he will tell you! Isn't polygamy illegal? Why aren't these sick child molesters in jail? What someone needs to do is Get these women a t.v. set and make them watch episode after episode of Oprah and the discovery channel. Get them a copy of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own .There is an entire universe out there. I'm for liberating the whole town, who's coming with me?

2004-03-23T19:00:00.000-05:00

I watched Oprah today. She had a segment on the polygamy disaster that is Colorado City, Arizona.

Check out this link for an interesting history of this town.
Colorado City

2004-03-22T23:19:00.000-05:00

I almost didn't know what to write today. I have been so busy with school and my leg is killing me. I think I have arthritis because it hurts every time the weather drops below forty degrees. I was in class tonight, cultural anthropology, and we watched Paris is Burning a documentary on the whole ball-vogue-gay scene in the 1980's. It was sad and beautiful and funny and made me think how these men are so representative of the human condition. The need for approval and love and family and the desire for prestige and status. I was actually a bit jealous of them, they created families where there was nothing, just loneliness. They took the image of masculinity that was being forced on them and empowered themselves by competing on who could not only pass as a woman, but competing on who could be the best. It is so rare that in this world of disconnection and distance we are able to find people that we can relate to and that accept us for who we are. These men, who complain about not having money or power, of not having fame and fortune, have it all. Love.

Margaret Cho has a really great, informative website that she has dedicated to love. Its called
Love is Love is Love click here. It has a lot of information on gay marriage and stuff. I have to get some rest, so I apologize if tonight's posting is short. Take whatever time was spared to read this to be thankful for whatever love you are receiving. If you aren't then think about how you can open yourself up to love. Its like in Field of Dreams, "if you build it, they will come."

2004-03-21T12:25:00.000-05:00

I don't know what John Kerry stands for. I know what he doesn't stand for: four more years of Bush. The actual issues that he feels strongly about, I have no idea. He seems like a nice guy, but I don't have a feel for who he is as a person. President Bush is pretty straight forward. We know who he supports, special interest, corporate, Christian, white men who are very, very rich. Ralph Nader is extremely straightforward about what he believes in, protecting the environment and the little people like us. But Kerry has pretty much been riding the coat tails of the Anti-Bush/Anti-War movement. Howard Dean had an innovative, grassroots campaign and as soon as he showed a little enthusiasm, we as a nation got very uncomfortable. I want Kerry to win, I feel he has military experience which serves a purpose, I suppose, in at least giving him the knowledge of how to deal with military types. I want an end to the Bush administration. But that is not enough for me to fully stand behind this candidate.

I am looking for a Ghandi/Martin Luther King type of president. One that will be radical and think out of the political-polling box. Stop selling me a product, what you think I might want based on the opinions of people that answer your surveys. These are lonely people that are looking for a friend. What they really want is a hug but instead they will tell you that they want a president that will cut taxes and strengthen the institution of marriage by denying homosexuals the right to marry. Why should there be more happiness in the world when they have nothing but telemarketers, door to door Jehovah's witnesses, and political surveys to look forward to?

I want a president that is spiritual, but not religious in the sense that his god is better than any other god. I want him to have deep, unwavering moral convictions. He knows compassion and understands suffering so he views the position of President of the United States as a means of alleviating the pain and suffering of his nation and also other nations. I want a president that will care about the healthcare of all people. There should be a national program of free healthcare, I don't care what anyone tells me. A country as rich as ours that has half-assed social service programs is revolting. Social service programs such as welfare and medical programs should be uplifting people not trapping them in the system. How many times have you heard someone complain that "the people that really need the help don't get it"? There needs to be less paper work, less red tape. If a battered woman wants to take a computer class so that she can get a job to support her children and she can't afford childcare or whatever else is standing in her way from breaking free of violence, for the love of god, give it to her. Don't tell her she needs to get a job first, or she needs to verify income, or she needs to have a home address even if she is living in a temporary homeless shelter. Its all bullshit. Its a free pass to turn the other cheek.

I want a president that is creative and can think of alternatives to war. When was the last time that happened? I want a president that understands fighting fire with fire will burn us all, and the war on terrorism is the equivalent to spitting in the wind. What if we took all of that money and spent it on caring for people? How many people could we win over to a democratic idealogy if we showed them democracy does not mean invading another country and bombing the crap out of it, injurying or killing children (because they might be terrorists setting you up for an ambush, one soldier told me) and leaving them with no food, work, hospitals, just trauma day in and day out. What if we started to reestablish schools and hospitals. We might help people in finding jobs with all of the foreign countries that have "contracts" in their lands instead of bringing in their own workers. This is a newsflash for those that don't know it: The Middle East has an educated population. They are not all cabdrivers.

I want a president that has cultural sensitivity. Please do not call Jesus the one true god of a democracy, for example, the USA. Raise your hand if you felt a shiver of fear through your body during Bush's inauguration. Understand that just as there are many sects of Christianity and Judaism, there are many different types of Muslim people as well. And although they don't get as much media attention, there are Buddhists, Zorastrians, Sikhs, Pagans, Atheists, etc.. that live here too.They don't like it when they are excluded so its better to just keep religion out of all political discourse.

I want a president that knows what its like to be dirt poor and make Tang sandwiches so that your children have something to eat. Granted, Roosevelt was never poor and he got us out of the depression, but I don't really have faith that they make 'em like Roosevelt anymore. if you can understand true poverty, you will know how important maintaining and generating jobs in this country is. You will work hard at making sure workers get proper benefits and work conditions. You will work even harder at wooing corporations to bring work back to the States in addition to trying to stop outsourcing to foreign countries. Even if that means you might lose a few campaign donations and golfing buddies.

Finally, I want a president that doesn't speak like he has been watching the cartoon network. Lines like "Axis of Evil" and "Evildoers" makes me think that Bush is wearing tights under his suit and carries a cape in his briefcase. I cannot respect someone that throws around the term 'evil' so lightly because evil is really all about perspective. Tricking us into a senseless war might be considered evil by some, roadside bombs created by people that are trying to defend their homeland might be considered evil by others. Only time will tell who will win and get to write history. To me, evil is a relative concept. Unless we are all putting down weapons and working towards peace we are just fueling the fire.

My faith in peace as an attainable goal waivers sometimes. There are so many people that don't see the agony of others, how do you explain to them what's going on? How do you help them understand? If anyone has any ideas, please write me and let me know. I guess that being able to lead people towards a better tomorrow is the mark of a true leader, such as Ghandi or Martin Luther King, Jr. Finding peaceful ways of changing the social structure, giving people hope and faith that they can make a difference and that a better day is around the corner is a gift. A blessing from whatever powers of the Universe one might believe in. Who will be that leader for the American people?

2004-03-18T19:59:00.000-05:00

There are days like today I wish that I knew more about the law. I see Martha Stewart going to jail for lying about a crime she legally did not commit, I see Tyco and WorldCom and Enron (Oh, my!) and then I see our president lying about WMDs along with the rest of his administration and I wonder why he is not being charged with a crime. Is there no law against all that he has done? He is bankrupting our country and using the events of September 11th to launch a capitalist crusade. Why is the FBI not going after him the way they went after Martha Stewart? Simply put, she is a woman. We are still waiting for all of the executives of corporate scandals past to be tried and convicted and that happened years ago. The president may never be forced to face the music. Meanwhile, people are dying. It's that simple. We are in more danger now then we ever were. Why you ask?

1. The Bush Administration is trying to re-write history. Apparently they think the public has a short term memory problem. We are too lazy to do our homework, like pick up a paper or watch past speeches and question them on it. Check out Donald Rumsfeld in a highlight of his career, right up there with pictures of him shaking hands with Saddam Hussein from eons ago.
Donald Rumsfeld Caught on Video.

2. The Bush Administration is blatantly trying to fool the public by sending out false newsreports to the media regarding Medicare with ACTORS playing reporters and other roles. Say it with me, PROPAGANDA. Check this article out to read more US Government Faked Bush News Reports.

3. I think we all know the environment is being raped, schools are constantly leaving children behind, and unemployment is soaring, despite the "optimistic" reports I keep hearing about. Oh, and our President supports millions of jobs being outsourced to other countries. Nice, right?
Powell Admits Bush Supports Outsourcing. Apparently, Bush has "deployed" Powell to assure the Indian Government that he will not try to halt outsourcing. And some of the major companies that are supporting his campaign will be participating in this endeavor. I would now like to take a moment to tell Colin Powell something. I am very disappointed in you. You know you were better than this and they fucked you like you were fresh meat on Oz. They are screwing up all of the hardwork that you did to earn respect and a reputation of integrity. It's not too late to come clean.

4. Spain wants to pull out of Iraq. I don't blame any country for wanting to pull their troops out because they were lied to just like us. What scares me is the domino effect that the pulling out of Spanish troops will have. Poland has said they were lied to and they are "considering" pulling out of Iraq. Poland is one of our key allies along side Britain. If Poland pulls out, then our other allies may pull out, Blair might buckle under public pressure and we are left to clean up the mess we made. Which seems fair, except I think of the financial burden it would put on this country (more than it has already) besides having to provide more soldiers then we have already (might we draft?) and ultimately more deaths on our hands. It truly will be a Vietnam for the 21st Century.
Poland Misled on Iraq, President Says

5. Everyone hates us. We are an island unto ourselves and there is growing hostility in the countries that are our allies as well as in countries that we have oppressed. We have lost credibility in the global community and it is a dangerous path we are forging where we have turned sympathy for September 11th into lies and manipulation in order to dominate and tear through countries that just happen to have large oil reserves. Before there was an Osama bin Laden, he was our ally. Remember that. We abandoned him and his people after training them to fight our battles and then we left them to starve. May that be a lesson to us on how we treat our allies. History often repeats itself and terrorism breads terrorism. Think of that next time you turn on your television and see children with their legs blown off and mothers crying because there children are dead or starving, and their husbands have been dragged off and they don't know if they will ever see them again. Think of that the next time you hear about the coups in Haiti that we are financing in order to kick out a president that was legally voted in. Now we are asking them to turn in their weapons, the only thing that made them feel safe, and we are offering no reassurance or incentive. You know who is? The French. Their troops are working with the existing police to talk to "gang leaders" and using military doctors to staff clinics. Not such a bad idea from a country that wouldn't back our fake war. Maybe its time to stop calling french fries freedom fries. Haitians Hesitant to Surrender Weapons

The world is a different place now. In one administration, our lives have been challenged in a way that I didn't think was possible. We see the great power that the United States has and realize the old saying, "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility." The Bush Administration misused that power, they violated the people of this country at a vulnerable time when a stronger president with no ulterior motives might have brought us together as a nation and then unite the global community by renouncing violence, not waging war. I still believe that is possible. It is a dream worth fighting for. It is worth seeking justice and making sure justice is served by censuring and impeaching our president. Let him leave with the shame that he has brought on our country, our military, and our dead.

2004-03-17T20:09:00.000-05:00

Very Important Story in the News Today:
Chanukah-By Mel

Apparently now that Mel Gibson has immortalized Jesus on film (because that guy really needed the press for his career) he wants to bring the heartwarming Jewish tale of Chanukah to the big screen. The funnies part of this article is when the "Anti-Defamation League Executive Director Abe Foxman told the Orlando Sentinel recently that if Gibson dramatizes the rebellion, "we'll lose.""

I am not fearful that the Jews will come off badly in this film because then Mel would have to rewrite the bible and I think its a little too soon for the public to accept the King Mel version of the bible. What I fear is that he will make the story of the Maccabees look like Saving Private Ryan. After The Passion of the Christ focused so intently on the violence and suffering of the last hours of Jesus, not on his message, not leaving the viewers with any redeeming notion accept that humanity is and always has been cruel, I wonder if Mr. Gibson is capable of showing the inspiring tale of faith that Chanukah represents. Mel has said "The Maccabees family stood up, and they made war, they stuck by their guns, and they came out winning," he continued. "It's like a Western." Around the world I think Rabbis are getting ulcers and they don't know why. It is apparent in that quote that he already is focusing on the war and violence, not on the meaning of the holiday, the miracle of the oil lasting eight days or the sacrifice that the Maccabees made.

Or you could speculate that Mel is doing this to make up for the way the Jews are portrayed in The Passion. That was one of the first things that came to mind when I read this article. Either way, Mel's vision of biblical events is a violent one and I believe he misses the point of it all. By focusing on the literal, he misses the dramatic moral and spiritual themes.

There is another really great article that asks what Jesus would say if he saw The Passion of the Christ. No Time for Christian Tenets in 'Passion'. If he makes a movie about Chanukah there will be serious repercussions if he disrespects a story that has such great importance to Jews. I don't know how the Jewish people will feel about an accused anti-Semite making a film about Chanukah. That's like asking an accused Klansman to make a movie about Martin Luther King, Jr. and then expecting African-Americans to be okay with his interpretation of events.

Moreover, if you are going to make a film about a bible event or person, please show what these people stood for. There is no sense in showing the fight and suffering if you don't explain what the fight was for. If you don't show what the actual "passion" of these people is, then all that passion was for nothing. The message is lost, and wasn't that what the good book was for? To pass the message on and inspire people?

2004-03-16T22:32:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite episodes of The Cosby Show was the one were Heathcliff and the Mrs. decide to teach Theo a lesson about survival in the real world by cleaning out his room and pretending to rent it to him, and little Rudy was the owner of the bank, refusing to give him a loan, because, as she emphatically yelled, "You got nothing!" So this was stewing on the backburner of my mind as I watched the Newlyweds show with Jessica Simpson.

It's amazing to me how this woman, if she can be called that, has survived this far. She has risen in popularity because of her stupidity. Unlike the rest of America, I don't think its cute. I think its incredibly sad that she has grown into a woman that is completely unable to care for herself, that has amassed so little life experience she is unable to tell the difference between tuna and chicken and she is unaware that buffalos don't have wings.

So I put two and two together and decided that the reality t.v.show I would love to watch is a show where Jessica Simpson is forced to get a job, find an apartment and live within a budget. It may not seem like much but all I get from watching the show is that her parents did a horrible job of making sure she had the proper survival skills to exist on her own. She can't cook, clean, or make decisions without assistance. She lives in a bubble where her parents fawned over her for her entire life and now its her poor husbands job to keep her. And she has never been more popular.

That's how America likes it's women. Silly and Helpless. When we have a truly self sufficient woman, like Martha Stewart, we can't wait to knock her down. I think she went too far when she took her company public. Here is a woman that came from nothing and became a billionaire, what nerve! She took the image of domestic perfection and pimped it out, you go girl! A lot of people like to say she put undue pressure on other woman by setting unattainable goals, but give me a break. Any woman who looked to Martha Stewart's media empire for her own self worth has bigger fish to fry. Once she took her company public she entered a place that had been previously reserved for men. She crossed the line. And so they waited for her to slip up. What did she do? She heard that her stock was going to crash and she sold. What person wouldn't? If you know someone like that, let them know that I have a bridge with a gorgeous view of Brooklyn I would like to sell them. And for the record, she was convicted of perjury for a crime she was not convicted of. In other words, she is guilty of lying about a crime she didn't commit. The papers are now filled with headlines about her having to quit her own company which she created with her own blood, sweat and tears. Take that you dirty, nasty little girl. That will teach you to know your place, in the kitchen. Period.

I don't get a kick out of Martha in prison jokes. I get disgusted. I have an immense respect with what she has created professionally. She may have been a bitch, but sometimes you have to be. I would however love to see Jessica Simpson in that reality show I proposed. Or in boot camp. With that Drill Sergeant from Full Metal Jacket. It will never happen, I know. Once Jessica Simpson becomes intelligent and independent, America will just look for a way for her to fall down. The moral of this story is you're only popular when you are non-threatening. The big question is...non-threatening to whom?

2004-03-15T12:19:00.000-05:00

I have launched my own battle against a vile cell of terrorism called ovarian cysts. I call this OPERATION PUNNANI FREEDOM. Despite the fear of Birth Control that I have been harboring for some time, I have decided to do my part. If I continue to live with ovulation pain, then the terrorcysts have won. So my fellow Americans, I have just one question for you...

Why the fuck can't they invent a birth control product for women that doesn't have blood clots, nausea, mood swings, etc. As a possible side effect? Why, after at least a gillion years of studies and doctors handing out little compacts containing tiny color coded pills, are there still so many side effects? Is it because its for women and we are often over looked in terms of medical research? Why are our bodies constantly forgotten?

Lets take a look at the male version of birth control. Are there any side effects? Hell no. Slight weight gain, maybe, but really fat boys, you needed to get your butts off the couch anyway. Put the game boy down! If you want to read an interesting link on the Male Pill, click here.
It states clear and simple:

"In clinical trials, no major side effects were noted aside from weight gain in a small percentage of men, similar to what most women experience when on the pill. But this pales in comparison to the more serious complications women expose themselves to when taking the pill, such as blood clotting, nausea, headaches, and dizziness. However, we must wait for the results of the current study in order to be certain that there are no other side effects."

Heart Disease is also a major killer of woman, but it was only recently that this disease was being publicized. There are also several types of cancers other than breast cancer that woman need to be made aware of such as colorectal. Think of Katie Couric. She is doing her part by getting a colonoscopy on the Today Show.

Do you know if your doctor is knowledgeable to the ailments that plague your gender? How can you be sure? I always feel better with a woman doctor. I have very rarely felt like I wasn't getting their complete attention and that they were giving me a generic, one sex fits all analysis of my complaints.

Then if you are a minority, or low-income, that is a whole other issue. Your healthcare provider has to take into account other sets of circumstances. You have to find a doctor who is sensitive to your gender, culture, and your ethnicity. Certain diseases such as sickle cell anemia are prevalent in African-Americans. Asian people are often lactose intolerant. If you eat Ben & Jerry's every day and wonder why your tummy hurts, your doctor should be able to deduce your condition. If you are a low-income woman, then your doctor needs to be made aware of your diet- fast food is cheap and is killing millions of poor people even if the government doesn't feel the need to force the fast food industry to take responsibility for the waste they are feeding us. A lot of times poor diets revolve around stuff that is cheap and can be cooked quickly. That means salt and preservatives. Also your doctor needs to know if you live in an apartment that was cheap and the landlord doesn't fix the heat so you are frozen all of the time, doesn't fix the leak in the ceiling so you have a weird mold growing and you wonder why you have all of a sudden developed symptoms of asthma, or if you live in a factory/urban area, where I have noticed, the produce in the supermarket is never fresh and the meats are always out past their expiration date. Your doctor can check your for diseases/conditions that occur do to those situations.

What is important is that you know you have a doctor that is aware that he or she NEEDS to know this information in order to treat you correctly. If you have a doctor that brushes off your questions or requests to consider your lifestyle, then its time for a new doctor. Be adamant about it. You can change the healthcare system if you force people to listen to your voice! Do it! In the name of Operation Punnani Freedom. Your country thanks you.

2004-03-14T16:40:00.000-05:00

Today I had an argument with someone and I found myself in a moment of clarity. I was arguing about what this person wasn't doing for me, how I fucking hate New York because I can't walk a block without my lungs hurting from smokers, the cold, and shit that I am forced to breathe while in the subway. (Ride the subway and then blow your nose, you will see what I mean), I was pissed at how I couldn't just live the life that I want to live and I was blaming this person, who does act selfishly and lacks respect for others in a nutty professor kind of way. Then I realized I was totally projecting everything I hated about myself onto him. I was highlighting all the qualities that he had that drove me crazy and I realized all of these things were present in me.

I started to think why I didn't just get up and do what I need to do for myself. Why I let myself fall into the trap as seen on Oprah of putting others first in order to not take responsibility for my own life in order to most certainly promise myself that I will have the moment that I dread where I am 40 and wake up hysterically crying in my sleep because I have wasted my life. I have become a bitter, miserable mess of a woman that is emotionally, financially, and spiritually dependent on everyone around her in order to feel some kind of fulfillment or self worth. I will be angry all of the time and everyone I come in contact with will hate me or at least feel slightly dirty from all of the negative vibes that I exude.

The truth is I have built a cage for myself. I could probably blame society for telling me what I should be, for setting unequivocally high expectations which I can never achieve. But that only gets you so far. Once you realize the fucked-upedness of society you are on your own. It's up to you to take the wheel and handle your business. I built a cage of negative thought patterns and excuses and now, even if the cage door swung open, I doubt I would fly away. Where would I go? What would I do? The thought of soaring through the skies solo is a beautiful dream, but in reality it is way too scary. I could fail, but worse, I could succeed. And then what? That would disappoint a lot of people and I would never hear the end of it. I have this neat little negative cocoon built around me, filled with the voices of people that stand around and wait to knock me down to size. I could break through that barrier and tell my cocoon to go fuck itself, but like any addictive force they keep me from really having to try. Its a reciprocal arrangement. They feed me and I feed them. And nobody is every truly satisfied.

What if there is no "over the rainbow" just more rain clouds? Do you settle for the storms you know or charter new waters and hope for the best?