Riots at the RNC

I know that every blogger and their sister has something to say about the arrests on Monday at the excel center where the Republican National Convention was being held, but I most certainly had to put my two cents in and, hopefully, spread the word to a few friends and family reading my blog who otherwise might not know.

10,000 gathered on the first night of the convention to protest the Iraq war, th republican party, and McCain's campaign. McCain has repeatedly voiced his approval of the war and a plan to keep our loved ones there. The protest was peaceful until a group of gestapo showed up trying to stop the protests without any cause, thereby infringing on our constitutional right to freedom of speech and the freedom to gather peacefully.

After stopping a march held by some 300 college students by blocking their path, the students began playing "freedom" music and dancing in the streets. A barrier was formed around the students and, without warning, the gestapo suddenly started firing pepper spray. Several students were burned.

In front of the convention site a barricade of police with megaphones announced that everyone was under arrest, not even attempting to weed out the supposed trouble causers from those who were standing quietly by. Several news teams nearby rushed over to cover the arrests and were then also told that they would be arrested. They were forced to kneel on the ground with their hands on their heads- an uncomfortable and unjust position to have to hold for an extended period of time. Over 250 protesters were arrested and charged with "conspiracy to incite a riot".

Our rights, as Americans, are slowly being taken away. Some may call me unpatriotic, but we are a nation known for challenging those in power. The constitution guarantees us freedom from tyranny. The second amendment, the right to bare arms, was not put there for rednecks to shoot deer and squirrels or for paranoid creationists to protect themselves from the homosexuals. It was put in place so that we had a way to protect ourselves from the government! Of course, with the invention of more powerful weapons the need for guns in the hands of th people is no longer valid since a musket won't going to hold a flame to a tank, but that's a discussion for another post. Our government is one of checks and balances for a reason! To ensure that no one has too much power!

But what power do the people have left? Do we have the power to vote into office our leaders? Obviously not since Bush was not the elected president. The popular vote did not go to him, meaning that more people didn't want him than did. And yet he was placed in power. Why? What kind of system do we have that a candidate can so easily cheat to win, not win, and still be placed as the commander and chief of our country?

MLK made great changes to this country because of his peaceful protests. He was also stopped many times the the police. Protesters were unjustly attacked, arrested, or even killed. And we look back at that time now and how do we see the people who worked so hard against him? Bigots, racists, ignorants, hate mongers.

We look back at the women's right movement and how do we see those who stood against it? Bigots, sexists, ignorants, hate mongers. Controlling men who thought they were better and smarter.

We look back at Vietnam and the hippies and how do we see them? Thy are the heroes who stood against an unjust war and spoke out against war crimes and hate. Though they were hated in their time, they are now a symbol of goodness and morality.

And what do these bigots and hate mongers have in common? They all com from the political right. The left has always fought, throughout history, for human rights, for freedom, for most of the things that are taken for granted today.

I've often wondered if the conservatives of yesterday who protested equal rights now feel ashamed. And I think, in 20, 30, or 40 years how will the political left be remembered? I am certain they will be seen as they always have in our history books, as those who fought for what was right. When gay marriage is as commonly accepted as interracial marriage or as women's right to vote, those who stand against it today will be seen as wrong, immoral, and hateful.

Those protesters are the heroes of tomorrow. Hopefully, one day, I'll be able to look back on what's happening now and say "I protested. I fought for what was right. I helped stand against corruption and hate".

I also want to note that there were also several arrests during the DNC (about half as the RNC) although they were 90% people who were actually causing trouble, unlike at the RNC where people were arrested with no cause. However, regardless of whether I agreed with these protesters (and they can be compared to the anti-negro protesters of th 60's, meaning that they are protesting for restricting rights and creating a religiously controlled government) they have rights as well. These gestapo techniques are unacceptable, no matter how bigoted and intolerant the protesters are.

I'm sorry blog,I still love you

This poor blog has been pretty neglected. Tsk, tsk. That's because I've been incredibly busy. To read about what I've been so busy with visit my other blog: http://please-dont-feed-the-maniac.blogspot.com

A Spiritual Walk

As you may remember, in my previous blog I had taken notice of the fact that I no longer notice the world that I am living in. All of my passion for life or for living has ebbed away as I reached the ripe old age of 22.

So today I took action. I walked a path I've walked a hundred times before. In high school I used to walk, every morning, twenty minutes to my best friend's house just so that we could ride the same bus. My bus would have picked me up right in front of my driveway, but then I wouldn't have memories of nirvana, love spell body spray, and Jean's giggle while Beth applied foundation to her lips.

It was cold out, so I wore a tank top. I wanted to be able to feel the bite of the cold. I walked quickly, as I used to do, with my head down, glancing up occasionally to see kids on bikes or a lady walking her dog. I had my camera. I took pictures of plants and the street and my path. It didn't take as long as I thought it would to get there. It didn't take as long as I remembered. Maybe it was the lack of a 30 pound backpack.

At the end of a gravel road I saw a field. It was a corn field, though In February there was no corn , but rather lumpy rows of dirt and grass. I'd walked across that field a hundred times. More. I'd walked through it when it was only dirt, when it was grass and when the corn reached towards the sky. We had played hide and seek in that corn. In that field. I stepped onto it, afraid someone would see and yell at me for trespassing. The sun was sinking low in the sky. I laid on my belly to take a picture of the grass, green and tinted yellow at the tops from lack of rain.

I looked around. A car passed me, and then all was still. No one around. I double checked to make sure. And then I spread my arms wide, face upturned and I spun. I twirled in that field full of memories like a five year old. I felt like a five year old. I felt free and I felt connected. A single star shone above the tree tops and I did something I hadn't done in years. I made a wish.

I walked back home, the sun barely a streak of red in the sky. The world seemed to hold new meaning. I heard every sound, saw every flicker of light, smelled every scent. The world was more vivid and I was more alive.

Wishing on stars

"Star light,
Star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may,
I wish I might,
May I have this wish I wish tonight?"




When did I get too old to wish on stars? When did I become so pessimistic and cynical about the world? Even into high school my romantic heart fluttered at the thought of knights in armor, castles, faeries and true love. I used to lie on my bed, in my rose pink room, staring out the window at the miniature roses that bloomed there and think of of the wonderful things the world held for me. I imagined a world full of possibilities where people loved and helped each other. A world full of passion and grace and kindness.

Was it the death of my dreams that prompted my cynical view of the world? When I hurt my ankle in 2004 I not only came to the realization that I could not finish school for musical theater, but I realized that I wasn't good enough to sing professionally and I likely never will be. My love of and passion for music and the entire musical world was damaged knowing that I could not be a part of it.

Was it my broken heart? Realizing that the kind of love that existed in my head did not really exist in real life? Shortly after high school I found myself believing in knights in shining armor. Dark, mysterious, and passion filled relationships where everything always worked out. I wanted to be swept off of my feet with lavish and reckless abandon. I thought I had found that and my heart was shattered. Was this the beginning of my downfall?

Maybe it was simply the act of growing up and realizing that the world is a cold and cruel place most of the time. Yes, there are pockets of compassion, kindness, love, and passion. But no longer did I dance in the moonlight or twirl in fields of flowers. I no longer stood in the rain and shivered in pleasure at the feel of the heavy drops on my skin. These things now seem frivolous next to making sure the power doesn't get cut off or making sure the baby is fed. Maybe I'm simply too exhausted from just living to really enjoy things the way I used to.

Somehow I feel hollow. I have love, I have enough money for semi-comfort, I have family.. and yet I don't feel like I'm feeling love or happiness to it's fullest extent because I've managed to block out my passion and my sensitivity to the world around me. I'm numb to the world. Sure, I get hurt less, but I also live less.

Today is blog for choice day, so if you're pro choice, do your part and let people know.

Pro choice. Pro life. These terms are very misleading.. No one who's pro life is actually saying that people never deserve to have choices and, obviously, people who are pro choice still respect life.

Imagine, if you will, it's a hot, heavy summer night. Crickets sing in the fields just past your house where the grass is knee high and brown from the intensity of the sun. You're sitting on your back porch, thinking about your birthday party. You just turned thirteen and now, you feel, the world is at your fingertips.. you're finally growing up! You hear the screen door creek open as your mom's brother steps out onto the porch. You barely know him, but he's very friendly and likes to laugh. He starts talking to you about growing up, becoming an adult. Maybe you'll want a boyfriend soon. He asks, do you ever look at boys like that? He's touching your knee and suggests a walk in the field. You feel a bond with him.. like your dad maybe.

Congratulations. Two weeks later you find out you're pregnant. Fear, shame, horror. You never told anyone that he raped you, but you have to do something now. Not only do you fear the emotional and psychological pain from carrying a baby that was forced upon you so harshly, but you know there's a risk of deformities and a risk to your own life since you are so young.

This is why I am pro choice. Because I know how emotional carrying a baby is. I know the fear and the anxiety.. and I was actually trying to get pregnant! Yet I spent night after night in tears, wondering how I was going to do this. Can you imagine being raped? Can you imagine fearing for your life because of your age or other physical factors?

I consider myself a moderate pro choice because I don't believe in casual abortion. I think it should be a last resort, depending on circumstances. Rape, incest, danger to mother, or severe physical or mental deformities are all good and valid reasons for terminating a pregnancy. Do I think you should have it done because you just don't feel like it right now? Even if you're otherwise able to carry the child full term? No. I'm a huge supporter of adoption and I hope to adopt or foster someday even though I do want my own children (and already have one).

It's not black and white. It's not all or nothing. It's a complicated issue and a morally heavy one. Abortion isn't anything new.. it's been performed for thousands of years. In ancient greece there was an herb that worked so well for "casting out" children that the plant became extinct. A woman has power over her own body. We carry the child, we experience the pain, we get sick, we hurt, and we give birth... the whole experience is traumatic and painful, not even factoring in depression due to hormone changes or other outside psychological forces.

It's a shame that personal choices and freedoms and, indeed, basic human rights, should be anywhere near the slimy underbelly of the world that is politics, but here in the US it's a common issue and a hot topic for our elected officials. It's important to vote for officials that will uphold human rights because, let's face it, if a woman's freedom over her own body is compromised we will start a heinous backslide. How would you like to be arrested for being gay? Or for having sex in any position except the missionary one? (Oh, please, no!) . Most of society's so called "traditional values" are nothing but hatred and bigotry wrapped in a cross and a pretty bow.

Are you pro choice or pro life? Let me know what you think and why.

If you light one up, santa will bring you toys

I have to say.. I'm dumbfounded, outraged and disgusted at this Virginia mother who was arrested after posting a video to Myspace of her two year old daughter being forced to smoke a cigarette. What words could I possibly use to express my anger? If you know me, you know I'm not a violent person. I'm non confrontational and fights give me panic attacks. If I saw this bitch on the street I would knock her fucking block off. (if you know me, you also know I don't curse)

What was this woman thinking?! Did she think it was cute? Perhaps she saw one of Will Ferrell's videos with his little girl cursing and holding a beer bottle, pretending to be drunk. I'm sure most of you have seen those videos and maybe I seem up tight, but they weren't funny.
Obviously this idiot took it a step further by giving her child an actual cigarette (at least Ferrell didn't actually get his daughter drunk). The video showed her daughter, trying to light a cigarette with her mother using foul language and encourging her to get it lit and smoke it. I don't know why she thought it was a good idea or why she didn't think anyone would see it and call the authorities, unless she genuinely thought there was nothing wrong with it.

This is why I HATE smokers! They piss me off on a daily basis.. today they just piss me off more. Smoking should just be banned and be done with. It's not your god given right to pollute my fucking air or slowly kill your own child with second hand smoke (and later, probably first hand).

Perhaps the worst part is that she was NOT arrested for child abuse, bur rather for her excessive use of foul language and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She probably won't have her child taken away, as she should and her child will probably begin smoking at the age of eight, ensuring her early death and lower quality of life.

Smokers beware. Today I am on a rampage.