Insurance/Gov Big Bro?

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/06/27/INSURANCE.ART_ART_06-27-09_B1_PMEA9TH.html?sid=101

Man, is this a Big Brother scenerio? While I realize and agree that uninsured drivers (who, for some insane reason, are particularly bad drivers) are a threat to us all - does this go a bit far? Obviously, if they're uninsured and run a red light, they've just broken two laws.

But how much more power do we want to give our government OR the insurance companies?

I see both sides of the coin on this one, pros and cons, but have no idea which side I fall on. I'm interested in your opinions...

Pakistan villagers kick Taliban butt

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/06/08/pakistan.taliban.mosque/index.html

I'm a pacifist, and as such think violence should be a last ditch effort, if even then, but I APPLAUD these villagers for taking a stand! Bravo!

Boo Obama Adminstration

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/08/scotus.gays.military/index.html

I can't believe that "Don't Ask Dont' Tell" crap passed during the Clinton years (and seen as progressive then) isn't being repealed. It's completely unrealistic and unconstitutional. We've been embroiled in a nasty war for years, and will probably be tackling Afghanistan and Pakistan at a higher level before long, trying to root out bin Laden and the Taliban. We NEED all the able bodies in our Armed Forces we can get, not to be tossing folks out on their head and dismissing years of training and service just because an individual has romantic relations w/someone of the same sex.

Our soldiers fighting put themselves at death's door everyday, and as one soldier said, how can you trust your fellow soldiers if they have to lie about their sexual orientation? Is that honorable, to be closeted and secretive?

This law is a massive civil rights violation, and completely unconstitutional. I thought Obama and his minions would take a more pro-active stance on this. Perhaps they have some good reasons they're not sharing, but....

Makeup?

Why do human females alter their bodies superficially or otherwise, all in the name of beauty? In the animal kingdom, it's typically the male of the species that puts on the extra feathers or colors or bravado. But with humans, it's the women that get fancied up like cheap cupie dolls, especially on a Friday or Saturday night when prowling for a husband. We use potions and lotions and sprays and creams and shades of this and tints of that and false eyelashes and don't even get me started on the facelifts and boob jobs! And the fact that we scrape hair off every surface except our heads (and that hair we start coloring before we hit our 2nd decade)!

I rarely wear makeup anymore - it feels almost hypocritical, since most of the time I'm just plain ol' me, more out of necessity than anything else (sweating in massage or onstage are not conducive to heavy makeup). Those few times, though, on those rare occasions, I'll have someone (always a woman) come up and say, Wow! You look gorgeous! Why don't you wear makeup more often! or my personal fave - You look so beautiful with makeup on!

Why why why why? Why do we have to paint ourselves and be something we aren't? Why do we have to "doll" ourselves up to be accepted in the world-at-large? In my humble opinion - men don't care. They're more interested in cleavage than makeup (well, the straight guys are, anyway).  And if you're a hetero female lookin' to score a hetero male, how fake do you want to be to "hook" him, really? 

I just got my new Avon book, and the first third of it is competely devoted to painting oneself or hiding the cellulite/wrinkles/sags/stretch marks/facial hair/etc etc. Are we as women that awful that we need multi-billion dollar businesses selling us crap to look like something we're not? Are we saying God (be that who/whatever in your mind) created us so less than perfect that if Avon or Revlon hadn't come along...well, let's just not even think of that horror! Are we really so much "less than" that we must pretend every day, day in, day out, to be something we aren't? We consider ourselves lucky if our fellas shower, shave and get their hair cut occasionally!

So next time you're putting on peuce eyeshadow or driving while you splash mascara on your face, ask yourself - can I be ok with myself just as I am? Could I be ok w/my female friends if they all stopped piling on potions, lotions, hair color, or anything other body-altering thing we can think of?

I challenge you - TAKE IT OFF! LEAVE IT OFF! Be real. Be the beauty you are, naturally. The more of us that do this, the simpler - and more real - we all become.

And the re"butt"als begin

Hardline Republicans are reacting to Obama's speech much as I expected them to react, though for pity's sake - have an original and helpful idea at some point. You're boring me, fellas. However, Andrew Sullivan had this to say, from a CNN story:

Andrew Sullivan, a conservative who supports many of Obama's policies, said the speech touched on spiritual and human differences.

"At its heart, the speech sprang, it seemed to me, a spiritual conviction that human differences, if openly acknowledged, need not remain crippling," he wrote on his Atlantic.com blog. "It was a deeply Christian -- and not Christianist -- address; seeking to lead by example and patience rather than seeking to impose from certainty."

---------

I found that fascinating. Have many of us have become so superficial and 2-dimensional that we're not capable of really hearing what Obama is trying to say? He clearly has a new vision not only for America, but for the world, and one based on mutuality instead of exclusivity. He wants to explore new possiblities of moving forward, not rehashing worn-out ways that most obviously have begun to break down. Why is this a bad thing? Is it because he's black? Because he's young? Because he's a Democrat? Because he's a lawyer? A politician? A liberal?

Can we begin to let the labels slip away and actually LISTEN to what he has to say, to respect that he's smarter than most of us by a mile, to lay down our prejudices and Old World views JUST FOR A MOMENT and listen? Can we put aside our politics and bullshit and open to his words, then discuss with an eye towards a unified, healthy and productive future?

As he quoted from the Koran today, "Be conscious of God and speak only the truth." Let us move forward together, even if we disagree, but please in the name of any and every God of all religions - let us move forward.

And if you're interested in reading some really scary conservative crap, check out this link:

http://antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com/2009/06/obama-declares-war-on-israel-quotes.html

Newt and Rush - grow a pair, or shut up!

Both NewtGingrich and Rush Limbaugh have retracted their heinous, hate-based comments that the Supreme Court elect Sotomayor is racist.

Does this mean:

a) They really DIDN'T mean that she was a racist but were just saying it to stir the already-simmering ire in our country? or...

b) They really DID mean it, but the backlash from their own Republican Party made them retract their statements out of fear?

Either way - mean what you say, and say what you mean! This whole trend of spewing hatred, derisiveness and angst because you can is just old, guys. C'mon - be real men. If you think she's a racist, have the balls to stand by the statement. Don't cave like  a little girl when your party comes down on you.

Or, better yet - open your hearts and minds and look for real Truth, not some GOP rhetorical sound bites that will fire up your constituents.

Oh wait - you don't have constituents! Neither of you are elected officials! So - why the hell do I even care what you're saying?