For Sarah

A mother's dying wish,

no pain upon her daughter.

A mother's dying wish,

no grief within her daughter.

A mother's dying wish,

no burden upon her daughter.

A mother's dying wish,

life, love, joy for her daughter.

 

A daughter's prayer,

let her stay, let her live.

A daughter's prayer,

end her pain, let her live.

A daughter's prayer,

heal her disease, let her live.

A daughter's prayer,

don't let me alone, let her live.

 

A friend's worried plea,

from this pain, move forward

A friend's worried plea,

cherish her memory, move forward.

A friend's worried plea,

share her stories, move forward.

A friend's worried plea,

bring her lessons, move forward.

 

A daughter's appeal,

for my friends, understand I try.

A daughter's appeal,

for my children, understand I try.

A daughter's appeal,

for my husband, understand I try.

A daughter's appeal,

help me all who understand, I try.

 

 

Just Sayin'

The "Remember when's" of the youngest of the gettin' older crowd:

Remember when Vanilla Ice had a number one hit?

Remember when a quarter bag of weed was $25 no matter what the guy sellin' it to you wanted to name it?

Remember when you'd ask your friend to make a copy of a song on tape instead of texting it to you?

Remember when Testament, Slayer, Megadeth, and Metallica were the big four?

Remember when you bitched about gas prices being high at $1.60?

Remember when Nirvana changed how you felt about ALL grunge music?

Remember when I had long hair? (sneaky, sneaky....).

Remember when nerd was NOT synonymous with cool? (I am personally grateful for the change).

Remember when rock music um...rocked?

Remember when you couldn't pick up your favorite piece of modern technology that makes your life so much easier, funner, relaxing, etc. etc. because it hadn't been invented yet?  Yeah, it was cool and all back then and only seems more fun sometimes because we didn't have any remember when's and were livin' in the now with high hopes for the future. So, one could say livin' in the now is how to be happy, and maintaining high hopes for the future is how plan it (the future). Just sayin'....

Truth From a Hole.

Growing tired, ill with fatigue.
Fatigued by the indifference that
Lies in the hearts of a society which
Turns away from the responsibilities
It has. A society that grows indignant
Upon looking in the mirror I have spent
So long holding up, my spirit aches.

This painful burden is one I took upon
Myself. I was not asked, and never am
I thanked. For to show me gratitude
Would be to validate all that I have said,
All that I say, and all that I will say. To
Validate my claims, my accusations, is to
Admit failings and flaws too horrific.

Do I know more or better then all? Nay,
I surrender to the truth so that I may
See it. I kneel down before accountability
And reason and await for their instruction.
I do not pray, I do not ask for guidance. I
Do not give thanks. I do not do what I do
For the glory of anyone or anything.

I do not blame. Nor point fingers at others
For my own faults, failings, misdeeds, or
Pain. Yes, I did these things once, but have
Allowed cognizant evolution to do its work.
In my hubris I once thought myself beyond
Reachable heights for lesser mortals. Now, in
Humility I cry the echoes of truth from a hole.

The Letter of the Law vs. Your Opinion

The following is the exact wording of the 1^st Amendment in the US Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Let’s examine this in the light of whether or not homosexuals should be allowed to get married and take advantage of the over 1,500 federal rights and obligations provided to married couples.



“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion….” What this means is that our federal government is not allowed to make, create, pass, or allow any law that has a religious foundation. Based on this, the Defense of Marriage Act, enacted September 21, 1996 is constitutionally illegal. It defines marriage as between one man and one woman. Its purpose is to say that no state shall be forced to recognize the marriage, in this case same sex marriages, that may be legally recognized in another. It also says that the federal government will not recognize a same sex marriage. This law came to be due to pressure from religious groups.

“… or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….” This means that not only is congress not allowed to respect religious establishments through law; they are not allowed to create laws that prohibit the right of religious groups and individual from practicing their religion. This does not mean that religions are allowed to violate the rights of others; it just means they can, in their private lives, worship how they wish. They are allowed to believe how they want.

The remaining text of the 1^st Amendment is irrelevant to the issue, including freedom of speech. Some like to argue that freedom of speech is important to the issue because people have the right to voice their opposition or support of gay marriage. Being allowed to voice your opinion on the issue is irrelevant, because the US constitution does not allow your religiously motivated opinion to matter.

So, it looks like depriving homosexuals the right to take advantage of the over 1,500 federally granted rights and obligations given to married couples is unconstitutional. The ONLY way to make this untrue is for all governments, federal, state, and other local governments to abolish any rights they give to married couples.

The matter is simple. The question is not, “what do you believe, in regards to morality, as it pertains to same sex marriage?” The questions are: What do you believe in regards to depriving your fellow US citizens of the same rights and obligations you take advantage of? Do you think its right to use your religion to oppress your fellow Americans? Do you think its right to allow laws to be passed and enforced that violate the first Amendment?

Your religious beliefs, no matter what they are, are irrelevant to the issue. But, the divisive subject is littered with religious connotation and opinion. Why? Because most religions believe without their religion, there would be no morals.

WTF Global Warming!!

The record breaking heat waves plowing through our country right now are causing some debates about “global warming.” I remember a few years ago the US had a particularly cold and snowy winter. All the people, mostly conservative republican types, who do not believe in “global warming”, touted the cold whether as “proof” that they were right. One can be quoted saying, “where are all the global warming freaks now?”

Now, this summer is the hottest our country has ever seen in its entire history. That’s right, it has never been hotter. Now, of course, all the “global warming” believers are doing the exact same nonsense that the nonbelievers did a few years ago. So, allow me to enlighten any who would use these two of years as examples or proof of anything.

Never will one particularly cold winter or particularly hot summer ever prove anyone’s beliefs to be accurate. To take either year as proof is committing logical fallacy. To put it in simpler terms; to do so would be like taking a survey of one person and giving that one answer a statistical value governing everyone. For example, if I asked you your favorite color and you said blue, and I went and said that everyone in the country likes the color blue I would be coming close to how ridiculous it would be to believe that one year of cold or heat means anything in the larger spectrum of millions of years.

As far as “global warming” is concerned, I really wish people would stop calling it that, it’s a misnomer. Call it climate change, because that is more accurate. During climate change the earth changes temperature, not always colder or hotter, but either, or. This depends on whether or not the earth is presently too hot or too cold. This is a naturally occurring phenomenon. This is how the earth maintains its ability to support life. This is scientific fact that cannot be disputed. To do so is either a stubborn refusal to accept reality, or just plain stupidity.

Now, does human activity affect climate change? That is what the real debate is about. Anyone who says no also refuses to accept reality. By this I mean they refuse to accept one of the principle rules of physics, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” What we do is the cause, and what happens as a result is the effect. We pollute on massive scales, cause; the upper atmosphere pays the price with damage or destruction, effect. Will the damage we do have a great enough effect to cause Hollywood style consequences? Who knows? I for one am not willing to find out the hard way.

Finally, there are other concerns you should have about pollution as well, more pressing and urgent. One of these concerns is the simple fact that the very air you are polluting is the same air you are breathing. This isn’t always the case, sometimes the pollution you breathe in was actually spawned elsewhere and the wind blew it into your neighborhood, and of course the pollution we produce also gets blown half way around the world. Do I really have to tell you what happens when you breathe in pollution your whole life? Well, ask the person or people you know (and I know you know someone) who has an upper respiratory illness. No, not all cases have been directly caused by pollution, but breathing in toxins, as any smoker can tell you, weakens the lungs. Weak lungs develop illnesses and diseases. It’s that simple.

My thoughts on "Obamacare"

Ok, everyone seems all up in arms about the “Obamacare” thing. So, here’s my shortly stated opinion. Anyone who thinks guaranteeing their children will be able to receive the medical treatment they need in spite of their own financial situation is a bad thing…. Well, let’s just say you really haven’t completely thought it through, have you? Oh, and let’s not forget that the government, which controls what drugs are legal, made, etc, and so on through the use of the FDA, is not about to pay “top dollar,” so the government paid for health care will drive the cost down of ALL healthcare in the country because those still independent industries that you seem to think actually don’t tell you what doctors to see or what pills to take (they do by the way…), because the “free market” must still compete with the government for customers. Here’s another kicker you did not think about. New government run healthcare (insurance really) will need staff, and a lot of it, in order to function. So, it will create jobs!!!!

Oh, you complain… “I don’t want my tax dollars paying for abortions!!” or “I don’t want to be forced to help pay for someone else’s medical bills!” To that I say, “Shut up, stupid!” First, tax dollars, or federally run health insurance would never cover elective procedures or surgeries, ever! Not even the hated “liberals” would want that, in spite of what Faux News tells you. Second, if you think of it as “your” tax dollars, then why the hell are the rest of us paying taxes?! Listen you arrogant shit, most who say this earn probably somewhere along the lines of $30k-$50k a year or so. You pay MAYBE $12k-$23k a year in taxes (and that’s a big maybe because I’m sure most of you earn less then $30k a year, I was just estimating high). Compare that to the near $1.3 TRILLION in tax money collected for 2011 federal tax year…so far (don’t forget those the IRS will go after)(Source: http://www.usgovernmentrevenue.com/year_revenue_2011USbn_13bs1n#usgs302). How the hell are you going to even assume 100% financial responsibility when you paid, at most, so little percentage wise that you most likely do not own the type of calculator needed to figure out what exact percentage you actually did pay!? (side note, neither do I…).

Finally, there is the argument that it will drive taxes up. Well, if it does, I’d be surprised if it was enough for us to even feel it. Why is that you say? Because my simple minded friend, YOUR NOT PAYING FOR INSURANCE FROM AN INSURANCE COMPANY ANYMORE! Well, if you take the government option anyway, you’ll save money there. You see, the pretax money you pay to the insurance company (pretax if you’re smart anyway) with every paycheck will no longer be needed. Now, even if you just break even, you are still better off because once again, you can now guarantee your children that they will be able to get healthcare treatment they may need in spite of global economic conditions. Can some of you say that now? I’m sure there are a few who are unemployed and/or uninsured with kids right now. Do you love them enough to put ignorance aside? Do you love them enough to say “I don’t care if the media labels it “socialism” because its good for my kids now, and in the future. It’ll be good for my grandkids, and great grandkids. Why? Because instead of listening to partisan rhetoric spawned from a need to kill anything that may threaten corporate profit, you chose to just stop and think about it for half a damn second.

10 Thing Men Wish Women Knew

This post is in response the the article posted here:
http://yahoo.match.com/y/article.aspxarticleid=11865&TrackingID=526103&BannerID=1338500

I found this article to be, well, stupid. So I responded to it with my own list. Best if you read the original first, then mine. That way you will see that each numbered one of mine, responds directly to the identically numbered one of the original article.

1. We play the “waiting game” because you send mixed messages. If we call too soon, you think us desperate, if we don’t call soon enough, you think we are uninterested or playing a game. Here’s the deal women, you play games, men usually just do what interests them at the time. You want us to think of you when you’re not around or want us to call you sooner, how about you call us? How about you stop playing the “waiting for him to call” game. We are not phone people in general, so when you call, don’t sit there and expect us to want to chat; make plans with us and we will chat when we are together.

2. If you want to date casually, or are looking for a relationship, don’t wait for us to tell you what we are looking for, we won’t do that. Like I said, if we are with you and spending time with you, that means we have interest in you. Stop blaming us every time YOU get a mixed message when half the time messages are NOT being sent by us. Most of the time, we mean what we say. We are logical human beings, so stop interpreting what we say to mean something other then what we have said, that’s just stupid.

3. We do not give two shits about fashion, for the most part. All we care about is if it comfortable or appropriate for the situation. The ONLY men who care are douche bags who dress up to go clubbing trying to get laid. Strangely enough, those are the men you go home with…wanna talk about sending mixed signals still?

4. We do not always want to spend our hard earned money on you. We like to spend it on ourselves too. So if you call us cheap because we don’t buy you things, get a job and buy your own crap. On a date, we will pay, which means ladies, you don’t get a say so on where we eat or what we do. Most of the time we will do ok, beside women, I thought you wanted to get to know us, not our wallets.

5. Women, we just want to be left alone if we are not doing something together. And we know that pisses you off. Here’s what you really need to know here: We think that if we do not spend every waking hour we can attending to your desires, you will go bat shit crazy on us with your over emotional nonsense. Here’s the kicker; a lot of the times, we are right about that. You want your independence, but for some reason get all pissy if we leave you alone for too long.

6. You are not as smart or intuitive as you think. Again, you read signals where there aren’t any. You think we are as emotionally complex as you. We are not. We lie because that is human nature, so get off your high horses and pedestals you have put yourself on and admit you lie just as much, if not more then men.

7. We don’t want you to be our mother. It is YOU who almost always wants to assume that role. You see flaws in us and start playing mother on your own. This is actually really annoying to men. It makes us wanna choke you. So stop doing it, especially seeing you claim you don’t want to.

8. We don’t give a shit about the little things. You want us to notice them, point them out at the time. We will remember them…hopefully, come time to “impress” you.

9. Men are not “quick” to end relationships. We actually think about it before we even show “signs” that we are considering it. Again, we do not “signal” the end, we just end it. Its practical and more efficient that way, and if it hurts your little ol’ feelings, get over it. That’s life. Do not lose respect for us for doing this, that’s stupid. Lose respect for the man who drags on relationships long after they lose interest, only to make it harder on you later when they actually do end it.

10. We think you live by a double standard, and we are just dealing with that as best we can. We know, “we need to talk” means you wanna bitch about us to us. We know that in order to make you feel loved by us, that we need to show it. We know all the crap on the article that spawned this blog. Unfortunately for you, you think that because we ignore some of your stupid “things to know” we do not know. Sometimes its just that we don’t care enough about the relationship to follow your standards.

A Stoner’s Guide to Politics.

A Stoner’s Guide to Politics. This is a short, bulleted guide to politics as a stoner might see it. I wrote it for fun; I hope you like it. Yes, it is supposed to be funny…. • Legalize it! o Of course this would have to be first. Any stoner would think it ideal to be able to purchase and smoke weed, to get high, legally. However their misguided motives might be, they do have a point. Hemp, used to be legal. The only reason it was made illegal is because when Mexican immigrants came up many, many, many years ago and showed that you can also smoke it and get high, the white folks found it distasteful… ‘cause the dirty Mexicans were doing it. So, to keep little white kids from doing it, they made the, oh so reactionary and stupid decision to make the entire plant illegal in the US. <<< that’s a fact, look it up.  Why it remains illegal is a mystery. I think its because the plant, that can be used for many things would quickly put out of business, many other whole industries because of its easily grown and processed nature. (It fricken grows anywhere!). The many reasons it should be legal are that very thing, as well as its medicinal and recreational uses. Yes, if it were legal…. No, it can’t single handedly save the economy, but it is the one thing that can even come close to that kind of economic potential! • Um……