News & Updates

In an interesting turn of events, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has requested that Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream no longer use cows for milk to make their famous ice cream. Rather, Ben & Jerry's should use human breast milk instead.

They should line up a herd of lactating women to a series of pumps, churn the milk into cream, and give Ben & Jerry's a much more 'mama made it' sort of taste.

I'm all for it. This idea would provide jobs for thousands of women. Of course, if the women eat peppers or chives for dinner.....eww. (please note the sarcasm).

In other news,
Democrat congressman from Florida Alcee Hastings said this about Sarah Palin, ""If Sarah Palin isn’t enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention," said Hastings. "Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through."

For those of you who are thinking, 'What the heck is this idiot talking about?' he clarified his comments a short time later. ""Just like Jews, blacks care about affordable health care, energy independence, and the separation of church and state," said Hastings. "And just like blacks, Jews care about equal pay for equal work, investment in alternative energy, and a woman's right to choose."

So whites hate jews and blacks. People with guns hate jews and blacks. And if you are white and have guns (like myself) you must be doubly racist. Like double mint gum. We could hire a pair of white twins to stand there, one holding a 45 ACP and the other a shotgun. They could be our poster childs of us white gun-toting haters.


Latinos aren't even mentioned, which means they either hate jews and blacks too, or they don't care about affordable health care, energy independence, and so forth.

But you can't blame Florida for having such an idiot pig racist as a congressman. They had problems voting. All that scary chad. Darn confusing. They thought they were voting for Ralph Nader.

Good news!
Jose Cruz, 34, from W. Virginia, was pulled over early Tuesday for driving without headlights, police said. According to the criminal complaint, Cruz smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and failed three field sobriety tests before he was handcuffed and taken to a police station.


According to a criminal complaint, Cruz passed gas and made a fanning motion toward patrolman T.E. Parsons after being taken for a breathalyzer test.
"The gas was very odorous and created contact of an insulting or provoking nature with Patrolman Parsons," the complaint alleged.

Wow.
The charges have since been dropped. After all, if you start arresting one person for gaseous fumes, then eventually they'd arrest everyone. It would start small with the most gassy of people. Then it would move on towards the rest of us like my brother-in-law Spencer. Where would it stop? I don't know. Hopefully with babies because they have no clue they are doing anything wrong.

Moral of the days stories?

We should all be scared. All these people vote.

September 11th, 2008

We don't forget.

Womens Liberation: Or Not.

I'd like to speak about something that has had me thinking the last
several weeks. If you have kept up at all with the 'election buzz'
then you know that Sarah Palin has been asked again and again whether she
can be a good mom and the vice president at the same time.

I kept thinking we would get a good show out of it. I expected the Womens Lib
groups to be up and arms and they don't seem to be. With the whole 'Lipstick on a Pig' comment, i expected fireworks. But not from the Womens groups I expected. So I am confused
about that. Where the heck is Ellen and Oprah?

Anyways,
I also watched the first three episodes of 'Mad Men' - a TV series
that takes place during the 60s. I had to stop watching the show
though. After every episode I became so depressed. I felt so bad for the women characters in the show. They are treated so badly. Seriously awful. Even the main character treats his wife like a nut-case while he has an ongoing affair with another
woman.

Awful.

If the show is true to how the treatment of women was back then, then I am totally appalled. I can't even imagine it. My sisters would beat me to a pulp if I treated them like that.

Which brings me to my topic. Womens Liberation.

But first, I must admit I am on thin ice here. So hold any hurt feelings for the end and then maybe you can blast me in the comments if you'd like.

The Women's Lib movement began (depending on who you ask) somewhere
between the 40's and 60's. The big issues on the table were:

Women's Rights: such as voting.
Women's Independence: such as working, shopping, living, and so forth
Women's Equality: Women should be considered equal with men in all
matters, work, home, country.
Women's Respect: This refers to overall treatment in all aspects of life.

While this doesn't nearly cover the whole scheme of what went on
between the 40's and (really) the 70's (even to today sometimes), I
think I could clump all the other things and issues into one of these
groups.


Now, to begin, lets face it. The men really missed the ball on this one from the beginning. But since I am a man, and since no other civilization had formerly beat us to the punch in this area, I wont bash men too much here. However, there is no doubt that women were not treated well in any of these areas during this time or before then.

In fact, most of the world still fails in these areas, but I will only touch on my thoughts towards the American Womens Lib movement.

I remember ten / fifteen years ago the term; 'The Ally McBeal' woman. Now, I always thought Ally McBeal looked sick, like a cancer patient with hair. I didn't think she was 'foxy' as Cosmo magazine seemed to think at the time.

But there's no denying it; Ally McBeal stood as a symbol of womens success. She was strong, independent, a woman with force in the workplace. (I didn't really watch the show. My parents didn't let me. I don't think I missed a whole lot though.) She was what women could now be in this 'new world' of womens freedoms and so forth.

She was one of the first shows banking on what women had been pushing for for a long long time. Women have been encouraged to 'get outside' of the home. Join the real world. Make money. Claim the success and respect you (women) so richly deserve.

And they poured out in droves entering every aspect of the American (and International) business world. Today, this is still the case (and I'm all for it) that women hold some of the highest positions in America; one being Condi Rice who I have always liked. And of course I
must bring up Palin and Hillary. They are symbols of how far women have come.



Currently, on most people's standards, women are more 'free' now than
ever before in the history of - well any country. But as I look back
over the list that I presented at the beginning I am not so sure women
are as well off as they might think.

First: Concerning Women's Rights: Women received the right to vote,
even to hold the office of the President.
Hillary 'valiantly and honestly' ran for the nomination.
Hillary was even shot at by snipers as she got off a plane, she said.

Sarah Palin is running for VP right now.

I think women have really made true progress in this area. They have been given the rights by their government to do and be anything that they so wish - just like the men. In fact, if women are not granted the rights to do anything that a man could do, then the women will sue faster than Obama can say 'Change' and 'Hope' and 'Stupendous.'

And they will win too. Easily. Like butter on bread.

Women have also made progress with 'Independence.' Shows like 30 Rock
capture the 'typical' working woman in Liz Lemon. However, the whole
first season is how she struggles with keeping her independence (her
tv show and job) while trying to find a home, boyfriend, kids - all
the things that will 'remove her independence.' I was driving home the
other day and I counted four daycare business within a coupe miles of
my house.

And I began to wonder if in the struggle for independence, women are
forced to detach themselves from other areas of life that they might
want. It seems to me that it is always presented, not as a both/and
situation, but as a one / or the other situation. It is very rare I
think to see a woman balancing both, independence/ home life, and doing
it well. It happens for sure. But it doesn't happen without a great
deal of work and effort. On the one hand, women are encouraged by our
society to get out there and do something. Be something. Make money.
Become empowered. Like Jan on 'The Office.'

On the other hand, they are told to be good mothers. To nurture their
children. To be a good wife. To get to the gym. To keep a perfect
figure like the Desperate Housewives.

And they must remain in perfect balance all the time or they are condemned for failing. Homelife / Executive Life.

We don't hold men to these standards. Do the men have to separate
home life / work life?' Do they balance it well? Are they supposed to?
Am I being sexist by even making this comparison?


The third area is Women's Equality: And this is the area that I want
to harp on the most. In order for Cassie (my awesome wife) to be
considered equal in my home - one thing must occur. She can say she is
equal - she may think she is equal - she may act like she is equal - the government can say she is equal -

But she will not be equal unless I look at Cassie and truly believe that she is my equal.

I have to tell her she's equal. Treat her like she's equal. And so on.
Only then is she truly equal. If I was a scumbag who thought she was
lower than dirt, then there is nothing in her power to make me ever
acknowledge that she is equal. And without my acknowledgment - she has
nothing really. Even if the entire world tells her that she is equal
to me - it doesn't mean that I will ever acknowledge it.

The country can say 'She's equal.' But the country can also say that
Racism is not allowed - and we still have a ton of it. Sad to say but
true. And on all sides by the way - which is concerning and we will
have to deal with it later.


So in this area, the Womens Lib movement is cornered in that: in order
for success - they have to have the acknowledgment from every male
that they will be treated as equals, and also be 'considered' equals.
And this 'consideration' is a lot harder to get. You can force a man
in his cubicle to treat Betsy who works next to him in a nice manner.
But even if you point a gun in his face - you can't make him
actually think she is equal. And how one thinks is a reflection of the
heart, and sooner or later, the heart will always make itself known
through its actions.

Equality is not tangible. It can only be judged by actions. So when
women wish to be treated equally - they are wanting something that
they cannot really have, but are forced to interpret the actions of
those around them, men and women, in order to see if they are
receiving what they are wishing for.

Women's Respect is right up here with the previous. It is an
abstraction. It is not tangible. And the problem with abstractions is
that they can not be nailed down. You have to clarify the term before
you can measure it. I can't ask Cassie, 'are you respected?' Without
her answering me on some non-abstract term. (She thinks - Chason values my
opinion, he acts on my wishes, he treats me in an honoring fashion -
Yes, I feel respected.)

With that in mind:
Look around the country and see who the affluent women are. Who is
leading the Women's Lib? What women are valued and why? What women's
voices are being heard?

Mariah Carey - Miss 'touch my body.'
Hillary Clinton
Oprah
Brittany Spears
The Simpson Girls
Hillary Duff
Hanah Montana
Katie Couric
Lindsey Lohan
(insert movie star actress here - and then ask yourself why she's famous)
The Desperate Housewives
The Brokeback Anatomy Chicks
Beyonce

These are the handful of women I hear about on a weekly basis. Not
what I would call a bunch of earned-my-respect women. As you turn on
the radio or watch TV - you can't help but notice the amount of songs
about sex lately (more specifically - songs about scantily clad women
who are being told to do rated R things - but no one seems to notice).
Find me a song where women are viewed as something precious - and not as something with a rear end who wants to 'take me home.' Good luck.

You can't help but notice how the women on TV have digressed. Women used to be upset with the 'animalistic nature' of men. Now the women on TV have become the real 'Animals' -
driven by sexual urges that they can't control. The age of the
men=animals is over (they may still be animals: but the women are too.
So it levels out I guess).

Good women roll models are hard to find these days - these days when
it should be a lot easier right?


If the Womens Liberation movement has succeeded - then what should you
see? I am guessing a country filled with women who are not questioned
any differently then men. If someone says, 'Sarah Palin can you be a good VP
and mom at the same time?' Then someone should also ask, 'Obama, can
you be a good father and a good P at the same time?'

If the Womens Liberation movement has succeeded - then the role models
in the society would be those that are respected for who they are and
the things they have done as a women. Not for their looks. Not for what they can do in bed.

If the Womens Liberation movement has succeeded - then women should be
shown on TV in respectful manners. They should not be the animals that
the men were once condemned for being.

Since the women are rallying for things, some of which are not
tangible, then how can we know if women in America are really as free
as they would hope they are? How can we know how far the women really have come?

I think the Womens Liberation movement has somewhat failed. And while
it may not be as bad as it was in the 60's - I don't think it has
gotten much better.

I'll show you.

(till the next blog)

Cheers

McCain - 1. Obama - 0.

Well, I said I would make a quick comment on McCain's address to the RNC last night so here it goes.

McCain is not a great orator. I'm sorry he's not. His wife is even worse. Which is OK. Some people are not awesome when it comes to public speaking.

But how a person says what he/she says does not matter to me as much as 'what' the person says.

McCain won my vote last night for several reasons. But I only want to talk about one of them here.

When McCain spoke, he only mentioned Obama 6 times, and several of these times it was in a positive manner. McCain spoke with love for his country. He was positive. He was hopeful. He talked about uniting the country.

I didn't get the sense that he had a place for anger and hate in him.

He even (politely) addressed the shortcomings of his party. But he did it in a way that was hopeful. He has learned from those mistakes and he has great ambition for the future.

I didn't sense any anger.
I didn't sense any bitterness.
I did sense his love and admiration for the people of this country.

So for now, he has my vote.

He just has to keep it.

Obama & Palin

Well, two interesting people on the voting tickets this year. We have Barak Obama, the first Black man to receive the nomination. And we have Sarah Palin, the second woman (Geraldine Ferraro was the first) woman to receive the VP nomination.

Sarah Palin gave a speech to the Republican National Convention last night. I was very impressed with her overall. She doesn't come off as polished or finessed, but she does come across as honest.

There is very little to not like about her; her main flaw being her limited international experience and foreign policy.

How does she compare with Obama?

Short Bio's:

Obama: A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he served as president of the Harvard Law Review, Obama worked as a community organizer and practiced as a civil rights attorney before serving in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate in January 2003. After a primary victory in March 2004, Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He was elected to the Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, he helped create legislation to control conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds. He also made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. During the 110th Congress, he helped create legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for returned U.S. military personnel. After announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Obama emphasized withdrawing American troops from Iraq, energy independence, decreasing the influence of lobbyists, and promoting universal health care as top national priorities.


Sarah Palin:
Palin served two terms on the Wasilla, Alaska, city council from 1992 to 1996, then won two terms as mayor of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002. After an unsuccessful campaign for lieutenant governor of Alaska in 2002, she chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004 while also serving as Ethics Supervisor of the commission.

In November 2006, Palin was elected the governor of Alaska, becoming the first woman and youngest person to hold the office. She defeated incumbent Republican governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary and former Democratic governor Tony Knowles in the general election, garnering 48.3% of the vote.



Thoughts:
First, I don't want to get super political here on my blog. I enjoy talking politics. However, I don't want a zillion people leaving me comments about something I said about their candidate. So, just a few thoughts.

I watched both Palin's speech last night as well as Obama's speech at the DNC. I tried to be good of course (I have already mentioned how I lost the wager against Cassie when Obama let me down by not saying 'change' enough).

But what impacted me most about Obama was his bitterness towards his opponent, bitterness towards President Bush, bitterness in general. He was very finessed and poised. He is a great speaker, hands down. But I wasn't encouraged. And I felt like he didn't reveal much about himself. He just addressed lots of things he was upset about. Sure, he easily riled the crowd. But there wasn't a whole lot of substance. I couldn't grab onto anything. I just remember he was unhappy with the way things are currently, and he is going to do a whole lot of stuff opposite Bush. Which Bush isn't running and McCain is certainly not Bush. And they have disagreed many times. So I am confused why Obama talked about Bush so much.

At least that is how I felt. Watch it for yourself it you would like.


Palin's speech was much different. I did feel encouraged. She filled her speech with her political accomplishments, she encouraged people without being mean or critical. She did have a few 'aimed comments' towards Obama. But I felt like they may have been deserved since she has been attacked all week by the left-wing media over whether she could be both VP and a mom.

Very sexist. Where the heck is Ellen Degeneres when you need her? Oprah? I really thought the ladies would be angry but...whatever.

Anyways, she said lots of positive things about John McCain. She made some promises I believe she should keep. And she allowed her achievements to speak for herself.


The Republicans don't know how, as a crowd, to rile properly. They look like a bunch of awkward people who have never been to a football game before. But oh well. Not everybody can cheer like I can. I almost felt bad for poor Sarah. The crowd always starting cheers mid sentence - cheering to long or short. Or most I think where unsure when they should or should not cheer. Thank goodness for Palin's cute baby. Without him, the media cameras would have had a bunch of awkward people to look at.

Anyway,



Final note: I realize of course that Palin is running for VP and Obama for P. And they are not the same. But either way, I think Palin stacks up well against Obama and she should help John McCain tremendously. (I will comment on John McCain's speech when he gives it).

I also want to be as unbiased here as possible - but everyone is biased. So get over it.
May the best woman win.


Thats a joke people. Cool down please...

The Desert Ramada

For those of you who don't know, Cassie and I are in the process of getting our house built. During this time, we made a critical error and moved into a smallish apartment only slightly bigger than a jail cell - with a smaller head clearance.

And I have hated it. We don't even clean it well because it doesn't feel like home. It feels like some horrible place we have to sleep with the local gangsta thugs throwing parties below us.

It's not just that the place isn't clean. Cassie and I have found neither of us have the motivation to clean it. We simply don't care.

Example: If you had an old ugly beat up car - a Buick Riviera per say - an 80's model - you wouldn't spend days detailing the car so your friends could see you driving the polished clunker around. In fact, you try to avoid the clunker and slump down in your seat every time you drive it so that people wont know that you are the owner of the car that is fuming up the parking lot.

Anyways,
The confinement of the apartment has done some weird things to me. To us.

Did I mention we have a three month old in there with us?

And a Labrador?

And Kitty Master?

Chaos I tell you.
But I seem to be learning some things. Which is almost always the point of hard situations. You must learn something from them or the hard situation is just painful and worthless.

Marriage is hard (I don't mean it's not good. Its great. But you are living with another person all day every day. Its not easy. Great. But not easy). Harder when you live in a confined space. You have to really work on the whole 'patience and love' thing. You realize you have more sharp edges than you previously thought. And those sharp edges are bringing your spouse to tears. So you work on chiseling those edges down and making them smoother - more patient. More kind.

And the architectural plans keep getting delayed or put off. And the City of Arlington is super snobbish and nobody seems to know anything helpful - and they become a delay to themselves.

And Cassie holding my screaming child who is upset because he's crampy, comes to me in frustrated tears wondering when we are going to have a home. Because this tiny prison-like place isn't home. This isn't the place where we relax. This dump of an apartment is like an annoying extended-family member you put up with because you have to.

We drove by our old nice apartment last week and as we passed it on the freeway I casually noted to Cassie, 'Is it bad that our old apartment still feels like home? And I miss it?'

She agreed.

Wandering around in a desert isn't fun. Even when you didn't doubt God and your being there isn't some punishment. You know the Israelites doubted God and ended up in the desert for 40 years. Which is remarkable when you think about it.

I figure - if I was in the desert and I started walking to the west - eventually, before 40 years, I would end up somewhere with a beach. Say I walked 7 miles a day, every day for a year : that's 2,555 miles. That distance should get you somewhere right? Somewhere with a beach? And fun drinks with little straw hats?

But the Israelites were in the desert 40 years. Walking around in the sand. And sand works the edges off everything. You take a car (the dumpy 80's Riviera for example) and put it in the desert for a week. You'll come back and find the paint chiseled off, the rubber worn down, the windows scratched and the engine wont start.

Now imagine the look of people in the desert for 40 years. Hard core bunch of people I think. Skin like leather. Tough as nails. Wrinkly. Tan like cinnamon bread.

But these people know hardship. They have had the time to think about their decisions. To wonder what got them there. To wonder about what other things they should have done. They have learned to live with the annoying extended-family member and to do it with patience and kindness. They have learned mercy and forgiveness during their lengthy stay at the desert Ramada.

Sometimes going through a desert period of your life can be a good thing. A chance to become a better person. A chance to chisel your hard edges away. A chance to get to know your wife in a new way. A chance to love her better. A chance to discover the crazy little things you learn about a person living in a confined space for a time.

Maybe the desert isn't so bad. Maybe the limbo of being there is an opportunity to see who you really are. To see how you respond and react in certain situations.

To see how patient you are with God. Your vocabulary changes in a confined space. You become turk. Not like the Turkish people.
Maybe I mean curt. Yeah, Curt.
Very tart. Straightforward. No messing around. No adjectives. Unless they are colorful and attached to four and five letter words.
The real you comes out. No doubt about it. And Gods place in your life, the real place he sits - not just the place you tell others God sits, becomes rapidly apparent and obvious.

It might not be easy or fun. But then, even Jesus went into the desert for a while. And nobody will say his trip wasn't eventful. It wasn't easy. But it was eventful.

Maybe rather than complaining about the desert, the heat and the sand gathering in strange orifices... maybe you should just embrace it.

I said before - if you go through a hard time and learn nothing, than the experience was worthless. I think that's true.


So, may you find the sand not quite as bitter as you thought.

Obama & The Woman

Final Count:

Change: 15 times.
Hope: 6 times
Thank You: Lost count
Promise: 30+

While we watched the Obama speech the other night, the only way we could make it interesting was to play a sort-of drinking game minus the drink.

We all took bets. I bet that Obama would say 'change' 23 times and 'hope' 11 times. I lost the bet.

Obama fails me again. And he didn't even say 'Martin Luther King.' Which I had bet on as well. How can you not mention Martin Luther King? Obamas black. It was Kings anniversary.
He totally blew it there. And I probably wouldn't care as much except that I had bet on it and now I have to buy Cassie something nice.

Cassie in some sad turn of events beat me on all counts. Sometimes she is hard to live with.

Overall the speech was boring. It was proof that people can get themselves al worked up as long as you promise them things that are not tangible.

And just when I thought I couldn't be less interested in the current state of politics -



McCain chooses a woman as his running mate.
My thoughts:

Hillary must be ticked off - a hellish inferno of rage that the blasted Republicans chose a woman after her astonishing and close campaign against the current savior of the world Obama.

Hillary must also be laughing a little bit that Obama's thunder was stolen when he had a prime oppertunity to choose a woman himself and he blew it.

Sure, McCain is after some of the Hillary vote - no doubt about it.

But so far this woman - Mrs. Sarah Palin - is the best thing since sliced bread.



First of all - she rocks.
A mother of 5 including a downs baby. How totally awesome. She hunts moose. She knows how to use a gun. She was previously Mrs. Alaska. She lives in Alaska. Her husband works in the oil industry. And when she speaks, she isn't polished. She's like a mother teling her children how its gonna be.

She is such a fresh breath of air.

The only sad thing is I still have to listen to McCain, Obama drone on and on without substance, and watch Bidens overly-polished politicians face.

Is there anyway I can just vote for her?