Scully-Fu

It's my word o' the day.

Why Science Fiction matters.

As any reader of this blog has noticed. I’m a geek. A big one. Now I could blame my parents; Dad with his Cordwainer Smith fancy and Mom reading us all Tolkien at night and Star Trek being a family event, but there is more to it than that. Laying aside the wonderful fun of space operas such as Star Wars and bug hunts like Alien or Pitch Black, SciFi, real Science Fiction, such Minority Report (which started it’s life a book, BTW), is about exploring the possibilities of what may be, or in some cases, such as The Island, probably will be.

Science fiction allows the author and readers to take a topic such as cloning, pull it out of it modern context and examine all the possibilities unhampered by current social bias. Like taking a animal out of terrarium and setting it on a plexiglas stand so that we may look at all sides of it. It’s hard for someone today to discuss something like cloning and look at the possibilities objectively. Not only are their personal feelings about it (“We could have children!”, “I could keep transplanting organs and live practically forever”. ) wrapped up in the discussion, but the societal mores are as well. (“Oh, we would never do *that*!”, “Clones wouldn’t be real people…”). A science fiction film or novel, novels especially, takes that topic, pushes it to the extreme possibility and looks at all the ramifications, both to society and to ourselves as human beings, of that technology or technique or what have you might be.

May people hated Contact with Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey, mainly because “there were no aliens!”, but think about it. Think about how dangerous a society human beings are, how readily we hate, fear and kill. Would you, as an alien, just drop down here and pop open the hatch? I sure as hell wouldn’t. Less important than the aliens in the film, and much more so the book by Carl Sagan, is how we, as a human society and political body, would actually react to the real possibility of intelligent life beyond our planet beyond the dramatic imaginings of H.G. Wells.

(A wonderful book by the way! The film actually changed only by combing various characters into Palmer Joss and focusing on the Arroway character, so the story if much more straightforward. A totally understandable adaptation, though regretful as you miss out on some very interesting speculative science and philosophical conversations. The scene with the pendulum would have been highy entertaining to watch. Anyway…),

Not only does science fiction examine the possible, they examine the structure and mores of our society right now. People read about the Patriot Act and shrug their shoulders. No one making a huge deal out it, “so why should I care whether or not someone can listen to my cell phone conversations?” Read 1984* , and you realize how much privacy issues matter. Think TV is a great way to get all your factual info from? That reading is for the birds? Fahrenheit 451 will change your mind. It’s not that you have to be paranoid, believing that is how far these things will go, but just to examine how important things such as privacy and literature are in our lives today. It’s an example of “you only miss it when it is gone…” without actually losing it. In today’s vacuous self-centered meandering fiction (thank you Mr. Hemmingway), science fiction has taken the place of Dickens and Twain as our social conscience.

(*And then there Animal Farm, which while an excellent dissertation of why Communism is bad, is just harmful.)

Besides, one should never scoff at space ships and aliens. After all, was not the first nuclear powered submarine launched in 1955 named the Nautilus after Jules Vernes 1870 literary creation?

Disclaimer: I’m not saying I’m a full blown SciFi aficionado. Compared to folks like my sister & her husband and my eldest brother, I’m a tourist. Merely following in the paths they blaze through the stacks. But I will readily defend the importance of such work against the elitist snobbery of the benighted “literati”, who insist that such authors like Pratchett and Stephenson are not “lit-tri-CHA”.

(What is amusing is they will, however lay claim to Orwell and Bradbury. In a hot second. I’ve actually heard people saying that Fahrenheit 451 is not science fiction.)

Well, It All Sounds Nice…

Go away, please.

Well, it looks like everything is going well in the “As the Iraqis stand up, we’ll stand down” routine put out by Bush in his Ft. Bragg speech (though is it just me, or does this statement sound like he had a rolled up newspaper behind his back), but I have to keep my optimism in reserve as Rumsfeld seems ready to place the burden of responsibility on the Iraqui’s readiness to police itself.

According to who, I wonder.

And what about those 14 bases we were building?

Mind you, in all the yelling I do, I do not want to leave the Iraqi people flat footed. I do not think there is anyway to stop the Civil War that has been brewing in Iraq since the Ottoman Empire collapsed and it’s border were drawn by arbitrarily by Great Britain. However, I would like to see us do all we can to prepare them and rebuild what we have destroyed, conducting ourselves in an honorable manner.

This seems to be happening. I don’t think we would be letting them go making a deal for a pipeline to Iran is it wasn’t, However, the interim Oil Minster making these calls is the controversial Ahamd Chalabi, who has spent many years in bed with the CIA and been convicted of bank fraud In Jordan.

It just all sounds very iffy right now.

Add to all this I have to distrust the words of someone who withheld even worse pictures and video from Abu Gharib, in contempt of the court.

It’s not that I want to see such images, but I really want those “It’s just frat-boy pranks! It’s not as bad as beheading!” dickwads to shut up. As if as long as we are just slightly better than the insurgents, we're just greatest thing since sliced bread. No one can excuse what happened there. If we want the Islamic word to condem terrorism and fix problems from within, shouldn't be also be doing the same? BTW-The Blame Game in those trials goes on.

But in case you are wondering what the War on Terror in Iraq has done for the American people?

Not the rich folks mind you. Just us.

“McClellan said Bush depends on his commanders to say how many troops they need, "And they make decisions based on the conditions and the progress that's being made on the ground."

Oh, how nice of him to start doing this now…

Well, I guess it's better than him never listehing to the military period.

:P

Double :P

Detrimental Actions

Warning. I am grumpy today.

Section 12-4-A

This is the blanket rule in the ever changing NASCAR rulebook that reads “Any member who performs an act or participates in actions deemed as detrimental to stock car racing or to NASCAR. (subject to a) fine of at least $100.00, and the member may be suspended and/or lose championship points.”

I personally would like to rule that for the removal of 1” off the spoiler and the gear rule, Brain France is in violation of section 12-4-A. I am sick to death of races in which one guys gets out front he runs away from the field and it takes a caution for anyone to do anything with him. I am sick to death of all the cautions. It’s ridiculous, it’s boring and I am really, really sick of it.

And did you see how fast the field spread out yesterday? :(

Oh yeah. And Goodyear. They’ve sucked too.

~Rant Fini~

That being said, the race yesterday got exciting in the last 60 laps. Props to the Bud Crew from bringing the 8 in at last so that Dale could at least start to make up some of those laps. I won’t chide him for speeding on pit road. :D

Elliott hung in there and Mark finished 3rd, leaving them at 9th and 3rd in the standings.

Congrats the Kurt Busch et al. Well done.

Star Wars: The White Elephant.

Well, at long last I finally got to see Revenge of the Sith over the weekend.
Well.

The effects were very, very good. The worlds created were stunning. Visually, it's an amazing piece of work.

Though why nobody in sci-fi likes to think of space battles in 3 dimensions is beginning to trouble me. It took ST: The Next Generation seven seasons to finally come up with one spectacular shot of the Enterprise blowing upwards through another ship, why did Lucas no pick up on this? In the grand space battle the film opens up with, while the ships are positioned above each other, they are all fighting horizontally, nose to nose.

The fights were… well, nothing stands up to the sheer artistry of the Quin-gon/Obi Wan/Darth Maul fight in the first film. They were good, not outstanding, but good.

But…

Why is it that the man subtle enough to create the Machiavellian machine of the Clone War in order to consolidate power is so ham fisted at manipulating one kid? Good Lord, he’s two steps away from a evil cackle and a Fu-Manchu mustache. I guess it’s over the top is a grand operatic style and no expects miracles from Lucas dialogue, but it just came across as so clumsy. And why did Windu want to off Palpatine all of a sudden anyway? WTH? And since Anakin had whacked off Count Dooku’s head when he was a helpless prisoner, why does he react so extremely to Mace trying to do the same thing?

And the Granddaddy question of the all: Why hasn’t anyone close to Anakin noticed how off his rocker he is? I mean really, this seemed to have come as a great surprise to characters after the audience has been listening to this whiny punk talk about how powerful he is and how better than everyone else he is and murdering little kids and so on for two films. Someone was sparing the rod here. Why didn’t Kenobi notice this when it first manifested at puberty and threaten to dump is whiny punk ass back on Tattoine? When he come back from killing all the sand people in Attack of the Clones, why didn’t Padme start edging towards the door? “No, you rest honey…I’ll be right back….” *sound of speeder starting up and zooming off*

This is the problem: Lucas lacks subtlety. He’s great with archetypes, but he didn’t have it in him to write a Greek Tragedy, which is what the story of Darth Vader is. In a Greek Tragedy, we have to see the goodness, the potential in the hero to fully appreciate his downfall. Anakin could have been so much more powerful as a confused teen tottering on the edge rather than someone who, to the audience, is already arrogantly skipping half way down the road to evil. We saw no goodness in him. Lucas wrote Anakin, the pivotal character too dark, too arrogant, too violent and obnoxious for the audience to sympathize with and so in the end loses the full dramatic impact “losing” him to the Dark Side. There was nothing to be lost: he was there already.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret the 10 bucks to have seen this on the large screen. It was good enough for that, I’m just frustrated at how close it came to fulfilling it’s potential or true greatness. It’s one of those films that you shouldn’t think about after you walk out of the theatre.

Grump, Grump, Grump. ;)

...and Stuff

There’s No News…

While my head has been in the clouds and FAFSA applications, it’s been a busy week.

Working backwards:

Patriot Act as Law

While the public is in panic mode because of happenings in London (more father down) the House has just signed many of the key provisions of the Patriot Act into permanent law.

Land of the Paranoid, Home of the Hysterical.

I understand the Patriot Acts good intent in “allowing” more information to be shared between intelligence agencies but it doesn't actually solve the huge problem logistically as it has to be done by hardcopy. Nor it does not provide law enforcement agencies with any more tools than they already had to investigate and prosecute terrorists. It does however, give them much greater lattitude in investigating John Q. Citizen. In this amount of time, Congress couldn’t amend the provision 215 and 505, which allows the FBI to check into all of your personal records without a warrant? These are not only invasions of privacy designed not to spy on suspected terrorists, for whom the FBI already had the rights to do so, but any random American.

Here’s what the ACLU had to say on the matter:

“The government already has the authority to prosecute anyone whom it has probable cause to believe has committed or is planning to commit a crime. It also has the authority to engage in surveillance of anyone whom it has probable cause to believe is a foreign power or spy - whether or not the person is suspected of any crime.

Section 215 takes away a great deal of our liberty and privacy but isn't likely to get us any security in return.

There's a real possibility that setting the FBI loose on the American public will have a profound chilling effect on public discourse. If people think that their conversations and their e-mails are their reading habits are being monitored, people will inevitably feel less comfortable saying what they think, especially if what they think is not what the government wants them to think.”

As it is, no one has yet to tell me how the FBI looking at the results of my pelvic exams helps to capture or kill Osama bin Laden.

I actually have to say that I am o.k. with the random bag searches the NYPD are conducting on the subway, at least in the interim. For no other reason than I didn’t say boo when they instituted all the random bag checks on airlines post 9-11. Still, I am reminded….

“Those willing to give up a little liberty for a little security deserve neither security nor liberty.” ~ Ben Franklin

But where do you draw that line?

The Real Hunt of Terrorists Continues in London

London has been dealing with terrorism for much longer than the U.S. has, but it is extraordinarily easy in time of such heightened fear to move too quickly. I hope this is not the case in the shooting death of that man.

It is neat that the Brits have set up a portion of their website for witnesses to send in pictures taken from their cell phones and such.

It is odd that al Queda went after the U.K. twice in such a short time span when their main target should be the U.S. Perhaps their idea is to remove all support? Pressure Britain to pressure us into leaving? Gods what a vile situation this is. Hate and villainy on both side of the fence and the common man stuck in the middle.

“The mind is everything; what you think, you become.” – Buddha

But what if you don’t know what to think?

Conservative Nominee, What a Surprise.

That John Roberts Jr. is a conservative is no surprise . What is surprising is his lack of experience. This guy has only sat on a bench for 2 years. He also has long standing personal and professional ties to the Bush clan.

Read: Highly Malleable.

What is this? The Corelone family?

Rather amusing given how much Bushie and Company complains about “activist judges legislating form the bench”* when they are installing an activist judge to legislate.

“We trust the president, we trust the people who are speaking for him ... and we also believe that at the heart, this is about the Constitution, and if someone has the right judicial attitude about the Constitution, we will trust them with the issues that we care about," Ruse said.”

Guess neoconservatives are fine with legislating from the bench when it suits them.

*Doubly ironic given that THAT IS THEIR JOB FUCKWITS! Go back and take Poly Sci again, will you? The chapter that reads “Checks and Balances”: Legislative Branch makes the laws, the Executive Branch approves the laws and Judicial Branch interprets the laws against the Constitution.

Hello! You people have 100K plus educations, could you at least make it *look* like your parents money was well spent?

Anyway, Neo-Conservatism marches on.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." – Gandhi

On the Bright Side…

Bolton still hasn’t been confirmed.

Props to Congress!

And Then Of Course…

There’s Karl Rove.

Personally I think “American Dad” did the best profile when the portray him as Satan.

(I love the fact that so many neocons are so stupid and self involved that they don’t realize that Stan Smith is a caricature. Either that, or the very frightening prospect that they actually do think that way. *yeek*)

All political administrations are corrupt to some extent, that just the realities of power sadly, but I never thought I would see one so riddled with such blatant corruption in my lifetime. I thought the Grant administration was dead and buried, but this one is giving them a run for their money. What truly frightening is the lack of public outrage whenever new scandals and crime arise. Are we truly so apathetic that we don’t give a damn about the right conduct of the people we put in office anymore? Do we not care how their lack of ethics affects our lives and reflects on us as a nation? Do we not care how we are ruled?

It reminds me of when the Goths invaded Rome in 5th century. Did Rome rise up against the rule of a foreign barbarian? Well....Alaric wore a toga well and the aqueducts still worked so...*shrug*

I guess humans are more complacent than I thought.

"We all must work to make this world worthy of its children." - Pablo Casals

On the lighter side…

CSM and Ratboy Rejoice!

I finally have gotten my hands on Season 5 of the X-Files.

Thank you amazon sales prices.

The X-Files, the finest flower of the budding Fox network, will go down in TV history as one of the best, most imaginative shows ever created along side the Twilight Zone. Stroking the thin grey line between reality and imagination that is the creative basis for out folklore and urban legends..and sometimes whacking it with a 2x4, The X-Files enthralled the nation with the weird, the gritty and the tragic swirling around one of the most profound and respectful friendships ever created for TV.

Not to mention being just a hell of fun to watch. The writing could switch to terrifying “Shadows” the surreally funny in “Humbug” to the elegantly tragic “Clyde Buckman’s Final Repose” to one of the most poetic monologues ever written in “Anazasi”….

“I have been on the bridge that spans two worlds, the link between all souls by which we cross into our own true nature. You were here today, looking for truth that was taken from you, a truth that was never to be spoken but which now binds us together in dangerous purpose. I have returned from the dead to continue with you... but I fear that this danger is now close at hand... that I may be too late.”

and Memento Mori…

“I feel time like a heartbeat, the seconds pumping in my breast like a reckoning. The numinous mysteries that once seemed so distant and unreal, threatening clarity in the presence of a truth entertained not in youth, but only in its passage. I feel these words as if their meaning were weight being lifted from me, knowing that you will read them and share my burden, as I have come to trust no other. That you should know my heart, look into it, finding there the memory and experience that belong to you, that are you, is a comfort to me now as I feel the tethers loose and the prospects darken for the continuance of a journey that began not so long ago, and which began again with a faith shaken and strengthened by your convictions. If not for which I might never have been so strong now as I cross to face you and look at you incomplete, hoping that you will forgive me for not making the rest of the journey with you.”

Simply beautiful writing as well as intelligent and witty, both plot and dialogue. What other show would you find this exchange?

SCULLY: No, I don't think it's witchcraft, Mulder, or sorcery. I've had a look around and I don't see any evidence that warrants that kind of suspicion.
MULDER: Maybe you don't know what you're looking for.
SCULLY: Like evidence of conjury or the black arts or shamanism, divination, Wicca or any kind of pagan or neo-Pagan practice. Charms, cards… familiars, bloodstones, or hex signs or any of the ritual tableaux associated with the occult, Santeria, Voudoun, Macumba, or any high or low magic?
MULDER: Scully…
SCULLY: Yes?
MULDER: Marry me.
SCULLY: I was hoping for something a little more helpful.

The first time I saw an X-File episode, it was “2Shy” and when Scully pulls a body out of the cooler, all of the soft tissues has liquefied.

“I’ve never seen autolysis work this fast…”

I proceeded to get up and head for the kitchen while Scully explained what autolysis was.

Nope, they just kept going. If you didn’t know and couldn’t figure out contextually what it was, tough luck. Scully would use that word but it wasn’t required for the plot, so they weren’t going to waste time telling you what it meant.

I like a show that doesn’t talk down to the audience.

X-Files lasted 9 seasons, but as far as I am concerned, it ended with the film in between season 5 and 6. After that “grand conspiracy” became the focus of the show rather then the paranormal in general and things began to get soap operatic with Cancer Man being Mulder’ Dad and Scully becoming inexplicably pregnant and..

It just got silly.

It didn’t help matters that in order to keep the “grand conspiracy” hidden, Chris Carter had to resort to playing bait-and-switch with the audience and essentially going back on his word. When you have a fan base like that, you don’t abuse their trust. Actually, you shouldn’t abuse the trust of any fan base like that.

So as far as I am concerned Scully put the bee on the table, the bee is studied, revealed to have the alien DNA, the plot is uncovered, the Syndicate collapses and it’s Iced Teas and Jersey Devils into the sunset.

Without Well-Manicured-Man it wasn’t that interesting anyway. ;)

What is extra fun about watching this show now is the number of now familiar faces that did a turn on it. Luke Wilson showed up and a charming country sherrif who happens to be a vampire in “Bad Blood”, John O’Huley as the modern Frankenstein in “Post Modern Prometheus”, Lili Taylor as a bad ass blind girl in “Mind’s Eye”, Jack Black and Giovanni Ribisi as stoner teens in “D.P.O.”, Peter Boyle (O.K. he was big before, but still…) in an Emmy Winning turn as the loser psychic in “Clyde Buckman’s Final Repose”, Lucy Liu as an obedient daughter of Chinatown in “Hell Money” and so on. Nicolas Lea who played the recurring character Kyceck, more commonly known amoung the fan base as "Ratboy", did some time on C.S.I. as Catherine Willow's boyfriend.

Great stuff. Best show Fox ever produced and one of the greatest in television history.

Just Finished...

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Chevalier. Though I am not a portrait enthusiast, I did enojy this starkly evocative tale of Vermeer's most famous work. It's nothing demanding, but it was an enjoyable read that doesn't twist the screw too hard to gain the readers sympathy for the character, who was well rendered. As a historial novel it seems well researched (though that's not my period so I can't say for sure) and it is refreshing to read a romance for which the most erotic moment is the man seeing the woman with her hair down (not that I mind a good sweaty romp in a novel, it just thay're always written so badly).

So...it's not a "WOW!', but it's good.

Back to Pocono.

Best of luck to the Dale and the 8 Team, Elliott and the 38 team and Mark Martin and the 6 Team this weekend. Everyone have a fun and safe race!

“Mulder, explain to me the scientific principle of “the Whammy”…"

Fluff....

Yay Me!

“Dear Ms. Kip,

Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that I offer you admission to Kip’s College of Choice for the Spring 2006 Semester. I know that this will be the beginning of a challenging and rewarding experience for you. Kip’s College of Choice is proud of it’s stimulating academic programs, it’s faculty committed to excellence in teaching, and it’s enthusiastic students. Your enrollment date will be January 6, 2006.

In order to make your transition to the University as ….yada yada yada…”

I’ll be coming in as a Jr. with 65 credit hours and a 3.22 GPA (they didn’t take all my classes)

Wow…

I mean WOW!

I spent the rest of this week filling out my student aid application, which because I will work through this year, I probably won’t get much, if anything.

But still…

I RULE!

This is going to be very interesting as I will be quitting work to attend college full time, as well as moving across country to live in a completely new region of the country. I want to run around take care of everything nownownow. But, they’re still processing stuff for the Fall semester, so I have to be patient.

Not good with patient.

But I have been looking at cost of living there, cost of moving, cost of tuition, etc (which first year before I get residency is going to be a bear) and drawing up a budget as well as looking at apartments online.

WOW!

Big life step. And a University is going to be a lot more challenging than a Community College.

But WOW! I made it!

Of Course

I then promptly lost all my keys on my morning run and had to miss work to change the locks out. :(

Such is my life. *sigh*

…..

Yay me!

New Hampshire in The Summer Time.

Sunday was another great day for the #20, with Tony Stewart climbing to flag stand yet again, proving that even if those guys are a bit soft in the middle, they’re still athletes.

Though we almost lost Tony this last time. :)

Dale struggled all day to a ninth place finish, but this is Loudon, a track they have had a lot of trouble with so while it’s not quite the momentum that Dale had hoped for after his win at Chicago, it’s still pretty good.

One race at a time guys.

Elliott! Man oh man! Running in the top 5 all day only to get spun out and wrecked by….

Mark Martin?

It’s wasn’t intentional, just hard racing in the corners. Still…Ouch. Mark’s a class act, if Elliott wasn’t around after the race was over, I’m sure he got phone call this morning. Actually, considering they never did talk to Elliott after he cleared the infield car center, Mark might have been wise to wait a few hours until that bear cooled off some.

Great finish for Bobby LaBonte too! I like the LaB. man, he’s cool.

And, it was quite entertaining to see some guys getting heated and trading paint, like Kennseth & MacMurray and

Found On Road Driving-Really-Fast?

Looks like Elliott and Co. will be trading in their Taurus’s (yeah, don’t you wish your Taurus went that fast?) for the new Ford Fusion.

Sic Transit Dylithium.

R.I.P. Jimmy Doohan.

Not only on one of the most down to earth character son the show, but a WWII veteran and just a genuinely nice guy.

Thank You

Well, scratch that.

Make that 6 vocal, if not hard-core, racists in the Jr. Nation.

Y’know, once upon a time, a bunch of people leaped on me and called me a “racist” for observing that the Latino cultures seemed fond of cars, much like I would say Race Car drivers don’t like funerals (for non-race people, drivers almost never attend funerals) or Navajos feel awkward about handshakes, which are not part of their native culture.

This, folks, is the real deal.

Yestrday on the Iraq War Board at Dale Jr. Central, I reposted the Newsweek article I put up yesterday about the greater Islamic community spiritual leaders coming together in Jordan and making serious strides to remove religious authority form the hand of extremists, isolating them from the mainstream Islamic community. Assistance from not just a country or a sect, but all of Islam.

This is what people wrote:

“If you actually believe that those islamic murdering terrorist in any country are trying to stop the terrorism, then you miss-ter have been deluded by the lie that they fabricate into so called truth everytime a bomb goes off.” – E8GL3 (DJC)

Miss-ter? Did he just call me a gay man, a lesbian, or a terrorist?

"You can't even imagine the muslim next door could be the next bomber no matter where he\she might live. That's not paranoia, that's solid fact that they have proven over and over that they are everywhere and at the drop of a hat will become what they must for thier so called cause. Can you look at any of them and say for sure that that paricular one is or isn't the next suicidal murderer sleeper in your own backyard.

Don't condemn me for using facts based on thier actions to be aware of that type of people and the possibility that they could be the next bomber anywhere......"

So short answer is "Yes", all Muslims are potential violent dangerous killers.

....like Timothy McVeigh.

Or the Unibomber.

Basque Separatists.

The IRA.

So we'll be invading Ireland and Spain, locking up all the Irish Catholics, Basque people with all the odd loners from in the U.S. at Gitmo?

He then went on to accuse me of being a potential terrorist. Yeah, this one was also talking about “I know the Truth when I hear it”.

You know when they trot out the Capital “T” in “Truth”, you’re dealing with a Fox News sheep, because y’know the "Truth" is all Muslims are “murdering Islamic terrorists”, just like the "Truth" used to be that that all African Americans were mentally inferior and inclined to crime. But that's passe' now, so on to new "Truth" that "all Muslims are eeeeevil!". *rolls eyes*

And they get so shocked and offended when I call them "bigots".

Thank you Mr. Murdoch.

Jackass.

“do you know what a "facade" is? islam/muslims are NOT trying to "fix" things...why do you choose to be blinded by the rhetoric.
are you by any chance a practicing muslim? do you follow the teachings of islam? nothing wrong with that if you do...just curious. you seem to draw a great sword of defense on their behalf.” - Treman (DJC)

Right. Because I couldn’t jut be fighting against racism, bigotry and injustice in general. The only way I could possibly not agree with these people is if I was a Muslim.

Oh, and they’ve called the Office of Homeland Security on me.
Like I’m not on a list already. *rolls eyes*

So. The community of Islam finally does what people in the West have been asking of them…and they get their hands spat on.

Peachy.

Thank you neo-conservative Right, for encouraging the rebirth of racial hatred within these United States, Land of the Paranoid, Home of the Hysterical.

Bigots.

And you know who was in there fighting the good fight with me?

No one.

Not a single person came forward to argue against such a standpoint that “When you ask how I'd feel if someone spoke of me in this manner (I asked him to consider if all America should be judged by the actions of the guards at Abu Gharib prison), did you stop to think (apparently not!) that it's being done by the murderous islamist psychopaths everyday against America and it's citizens…You just watch, after all your simpathy towards the extremists (I guess all Muslims are extremists, because I never even mentioned al Queda, Hamas or any other terrorist group in this discussion, much less defended such cowards whose racism and hatred exceeds what I found on these boards this last week. But not by much), it will come to pass that what you will witness is those same murderous people will want more and more….” (Y’know, it’s still bigotry, even when the group in question is unpopular.)

Not one.

Not one person to say, "Yea! Some solid help from the greater Islamic community at last!"

None.

Thanks. Much appreciated. I’ll remember this.

You all remember this:

I'm a practicing American, so I happen to be big on religious and ethnic tolerance that this country was founded on. I refuse to belong to a generation and nation that is responsible for perverting the First Amendment to read:

“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.....except members of Islam"

I refuse to allow my nation to give into the worst side of humanity, to degrade itself by exchanging and dealing in hate with terrorists. I refuse to be the generation whose fear sparks another set of interment camps, another holocaust. I won't have it. This is the greatest nation on earth and I will not have the dreams of our founding fathers twisted and used this way, their courage and vision defiled by fear and hatred.

And With That

I have to officially withdraw from the Jr. Nation. While it is impossible for me to stand idly by and allow hatred to flourish, to let injustice and bigotry go unanswered, I cannot allow this to rule my life and ruin my time of relaxation and enjoyment. I work. I’m trying to get everything together to go to college full time. I have friends that I respect and admire that my time is much more fulfilling with. I’m never going to change the mind of a bigot, I can only counter his/her misinformation. These kind of people, with their hate rhetoric, truly upset me and I have spent the last week or so being very, very upset. Besides, it’s been made abundantly clear that I simply do not fit into the NASCAR world. I will still watch races, I will still cheer for Dale and Elliott and Mark and all the guys that put it out there in those beautiful monsters every week, but I have to withdraw form the fan community because I simply cannot be around people like this, fighting against the bigoted tide everyday. I’m not Martin Luther King Jr., I don’t have that kind of emotional stamina. I’ll counter it when I encounter it, but I’m not going to hang out where I know it lives.

And not everyone in the NASCAR nation is like that, there are some very nice, very intelligent, thoughtful folks who exemplify the best of mankind, but it’s obvious that there are enough people, at least on Dale Jr. Central, who are not that allow bigots like these to feel free to spread their hatred and I can’t be a part of that kind of community.

I do recognize that I have an anger problem (Sarcastic gasping of “No!.” in 3…2…) *chuckle* and am frequently drawn to conflict to express that anger, but I have tied to use my powers for good not evil. I think I have come to the source of that problem, and need some time and space to deal with that. I will always be a passionate person, that’s just who I am, and I will always stand up for what is right but hopefully I can stop being such an angry person who wastes so much time tilting at windmills.

So…

Best of luck to Dale Jr. this weekend. I forgot to mention yesterday that I was also impressed by Dale’s patiently applied skill, starting in the 25th position to win the race. He’s damn good at that. I never worry about where Dale Jr. starts, only where he ends up.

So best of luck to the Bud Crew, Elliot and the 38 gang and Mark and the Viagra team. Have a fun and safe race!

And have a great weekend all!

Now On A More Pleasent Note

Well Yea!

It would figure that Dale Jr. would win a race this year when I was unable to watch it. :( (There was a memorial service that afternoon and that kind of take precedence.) But Great Job Dale Jr. and the Bud Crew! And Props to Steve Hmiel for making the right calls in the pits. Well done and well deserved!

*applause!*

One race at a time guys, just focus on getting everything right and take it one race at a time.

:( for Elliott’s bad day and :) to Mark Martins drive for consistency, now lets get a win guys!

King Tut

Well, with my folks in town, we got some tickets to see this last Thursday afternoon. My Mom knows far more about Egypt than I, so having her along was quite helpful to us and anyone standing within 5 feet of us.

The exhibit is good in that it is very educational about the 18th Dynasty, covering not only Tutankhamen, but his father “The Great Heretic” Akhenaten, as well as his grandparents: Amunhotep II, who is considered one of Egypt better Pharaohs, and Amunhotep’s in laws, who had the most intact tombs found in the Valley of the Kings before Tut was found. (Though they missed out one Tut’s most interesting ancestors: Hatchepsut.) So you learn a great deal more then simply Tutankhamen (which kind of makes sense as there isn’t much info about a Pharaoh that only ruled 10 years and really had only just reached the age where he was taking things into his own hands when he died.)

But it is a little frustrating because after all the advertising, there is very little Tut in the exhibit. There are plenty of artifacts, many of the them simply stunning and some, like the great stone head of Akenaten, very dramatic and evocative, but the majority are from other Pharaohs. The famous funereal mask, apparently, is too fragile to travel and they had none of his 3 sarcophagi. Nor, for that matter, the mummy itself, though much has been made of the fact that they recently CT scanned it and discovered that the piece of bone in his skull, which many thought pointed to murder, was probably left there by careless mummification process and that the leading theory is now that it was due to a serious break of the thigh just above the knee that probably went gangrenous. Nor any of the famous gilded statues that we are all so familiar with were present and only 4 of the items that were found in Tutankhamen’s wrappings. So you kind of left the exhibit with the feeling of…”Wait a minute. That’s it?”.

I also must warn folks, at least in LA (because I don’t know if other cities will handle it differently), to wait to go later on in the shows stay. It was CROWDED AS H*LL! 60 or 70 people in gallery that was maybe meant for 30. And because the cases were set at waist height, and for the most parts there cards were as well, it too forever to make your way through. (Which is why it got so crowded: They tried to let groups in with 8 to 10 minutes in between, but by the 2nd gallery they were stacking up on top of one another.)

So, it’s definitely worth going, if you wait a while and if you go looking for a cool exhibit on Egypt.

The exhibit will be in LA until Nov. 15th and then is headed for Ft. Lauderdale (Dec. 15 to April 23 2006), Chicago (May 26th to Jan 1st, 2007) and Philadelphia (Feb. 3rd - Sept. 30th 2007). You can purchase advance tickets at TicketMaster (or TicketBastard as an Irish friend of mine calls it *chuckle*).

Must See TV

I know it sounds very cheesy for someone to say that a television show changed their life, but that’s the truth here. It didn’t change how I lived my life, but it changed how I looked at the world.

Michael Wood is a historian and journalist who not only has published many works in very dense, but readable, books and newsprint, but has produced several series for PBS, including this one in 1991: Legacy.

Legacy is a six part series that takes six of the major civilizations of the world, or I should say now, six of what are the commonly accepted civilizations of the world, and looks at how they formed; the historical events, theological and philosophical movements, the cultural interactions and influences that makes them what they are today. In one hour, you gain a far greater understanding for the cultures of Iraq (they were allowed into Iraq before the Gulf War), India, China, Egypt, Central America and The West than you could get out of most college courses because by understanding where they are coming from, you understand how those societies react to various events of different scales and why. And you guide through these different times and worlds, is both eloquent and entertaining.

"India was one of the earliest of the great civilizations and it defined the goals of civilized life very differently from the West. The West raised individualism, materialism, rationality, masculinity as it ideals. India's great tradition insisted on non violence, renunciation, the inner life, the female as pillars of civilization. And through all the triumphs and disasters of her history she hung on to that ideal, an eternal quest to identify humanity with the whole of creation, a unity in diversity ... History is full of empires of the sword but India alone created an empire of the spirit."

About my only complaint with Michael Wood, ever, is he does white wash Alexander the Great a bit, but the rest of the work is so remarkable, I will forgive him a little biased hero worship.

“Eye opening” is an understatement. If you have an opportunity to see this, either through a local library or if they are rebroadcasting it on PBS, make plans to sit down and watch. I will guarantee you will not regret those 6 hours in front of the TV.

Catching Up From Vacay...

Whew.

Not only was my family in town for my vacation, but when I got back I not only had to clear my desk, but get my boss ready for a manager’s off site. But since she, and all the managers, are all on their way, back to blogging.

First thing I need to address, of course, is the bombings in London.

This was a heinous act and my deepest sympathies go out to those harmed and those who lost in these attacks. Nothing I say next ameliorates or removes blame from the sociopathic jackasses that planed and triggered such an attack. Guerilla warfare I have much respect for, but never the harming of innocents. It is cowardly and unnecessarily cruel. Not to mention moronic. Of all the terrorist events that have happened in my lifetime, I can’t think of a one that produced the results the terrorists wanted and most only strengthened their enemies resolve. Terrorism is a simply act of pure irrational hatred and nothing more.

Now to quote someone on one of the international boards I visit

"London will carry on as it has done for centuries, smiling happily when the rubble is cleared and giving the terrorists responsible a big finger. That is how they did it when the IRA was bombing parts of England every month, and they will not act any differently in spite of the perps having changed a bit.” ~ Mental Critic (Australia)

And he’s right, England and most European nations are far more used to handling these tragedies of terrorism than the U.S. was when we were attacked on 9-11. We may tease the Limeys about their stiff upper lip, but it sure does come in handy sometimes.

"Theaters had not gone dark, and the pubs were full. The music on the playlists was upbeat. "We're just fine," said Graham Fallowes, 26, an Oxford-educated book dealer. "And that's how we'll show them that they can't win." Churchill might have said it more eloquently, but not more plainly or clearly.” ~ Newsweek

On a positive note, the Islamic Community is doing what they should have done ages ago: Not only condemning the terrorism outright, but also isolating the terrorists from wielding any religious power.

"Now things are changing. The day before the London bombs, a conference of 180 top Muslim sheiks and imams, brought together under the auspices of Jordan's King Abdullah, issued a statement forbidding that any Muslim be declared takfir—an apostate. This is a frontal attack on Al Qaeda's theological methods. Declaring someone takfir—and thus sanctioning his or her death—is a favorite tactic of bin Laden and his ally in Iraq, Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi. The conference's statement was endorsed by 10 fatwas from such big conservative scholars as Tantawi; Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani; Egypt's mufti, Ali Jumaa, and the influential Al-Jazeera TV-sheik, Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Signed by adherents of all schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), it also allows only qualified Muslim scholars to issue edicts. The Islamic Conference's statement, the first of its kind, is a rare show of unity among the religious establishment against terrorists and their scholarly allies.”

An excellent article. Folks should read the entire thing.

Hate Breeding Hate

Unfortunately, as with all terrorist acts, the London bombings have brought out the best and unfortunatally, the worst in people. Many bigots are using this as an excuse to spread their messages of hate.

Someone signed onto one of the Dale Jr. boards and posted: “WWIII is now. You should be praying that a Charles Martel appears soon and saves Western civilization from its multiculturalistic suicide.”

You know who talks like that? White Spuremacists.

But, she’s wasn’t racist…oh no. How dare we make such an accusation.

(I would like to point out that it only totalled up as four jerks out of a population of three dozen or so. There are some in every barrel I guess, and salted a little heavier in the read states, but there were many more voices that spoke against such malignant attitudes.)

As my sister put it, if you ever have to preface a statement with “I’m not a racist, but…” yes you are.

Today it was the anti-Palestinian brigade, posting copies of artcles from the Jewish World Review:

“Islamists, as do most Muslims, deeply resent the ability of a despised minority like the Jews — in Islamic terminology, a dhimmi people — to establish a non-Islamic sovereign state in the Middle East. But what they really resent, and what their jihadist ideology is bent on reversing is the change in the balance of power between the Muslim world and the West, which dates back hundreds of years.

Isn't terror directed at Israeli targets — such as this week's bombing in Netanya — fundamentally different from those in New York, Madrid and London? The reluctance of many media outlets to include Arab attacks directed at Israel in lists of international terror incidents attempts to create a false dichotomy between the American and British or Spanish blood shed by terrorists and the Jewish blood spilled in Israel. To maintain such a distinction is to assert that Israelis are somehow guilty while others are innocent. But those murdered on Israeli buses are just as innocent as those slain in London.”

I’m sorry, I thought all those picture on the nightly news of bloody street corners in Jerusalem for the last decade or so were real. I guess I was watching a soap opera by mistake. *smacks forehead* Silly me.

(I don’t believe anyone is innocent in that conflict: Palestinian suicide bombers versus Israeli tanks rolling through refugee camps. The most Unholy Land of them all.)

Oh, it gets worse…"In steering America through September 11, President Bush famously drew courage and inspiration from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. One can only hope that Tony Blair will now show the same resolve. He can start by acknowledging the obvious: This attack was about bigger things than just Iraq.”

Basically, the article was trying to incite the U.K. to attack the entire Islamic Middle East. Y’know, like a Holocaust.

Personally, my favorite was the article were they accused Tony Blair of not only appeasing terrorists but harboring them. So...we'll be invading Great Britian then?

I wonder at people who are members of a group that have faced one of the most heinous persecutions in living memory would have the chutzpah to walk lockstep in Hitler’s methodology for spreading hatred without blushing for shame.

Anyway, that’s the crap that’s running around the net. Before people go off on how Islam is an inherently violent religion teaching it’s adherents to kill unbelievers, I think they need to read through some things.

Numbers 21: "21:34 And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon."
21:35 "So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land."

Numbers 31:1 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying," 31:2 "Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people." 31:3 "And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian." 31:4 "Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war." 31:5 "So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war." 31:6 "And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand." 31:7 "And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males."

Deuteronomy “So the LORD our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining."

Deuteronomy 3:6 "And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city."

Deuteronomy 7:16 "And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them : neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee."

Deuteronomy 13:5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. 13:6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; thou shalt surely kill him, thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death. 13:7 "Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;" 13:8 "Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:" 13:9 "But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people." 13:10 "And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."

Yeah, really a religion of peace.

Oh, and for those Christians who suddenly remember Christ rather than dwelling in the Old Testament all the time:

Luke 19:23 Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? 19:24 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. 19:25 (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) 19:26 For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. 19:27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Matthew 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.

Matthew 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 13:50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 11:23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 11:24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

John 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned

Acts 3:23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

Romans 1:32 (Referring to Homosexuals) Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Thessalonians 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Hebrews 1010:28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

As much violence as is contained within the Qu’ran as is contained with the Torah and the Bible, and as much understanding and tolerance.

"God does not forbid you from being good to those who have not fought you in the religion or driven you from your homes, or from being just towards them. God loves those who are just." (Qur'an, 60:8)

"Only argue with the People of the Book in the kindest way - except in the case of those of them who do wrong - saying, "We believe in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you. Our God and your God are one and we submit to Him." (Qur'an, 29:46)

"Among the People of the Book there are some who believe in God and in what has been sent down to you and what was sent down to them, and who are humble before God. They do not sell God's signs for a paltry price. Such people will have their reward with their Lord. And God is swift at reckoning." (Qur'an, 3:199)

"... There is a community among the People of the Book who are upright. They recite God's signs throughout the night, and they prostrate. They believe in God and the Last Day, and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and compete in doing good. They are among the righteous. You will not be denied the reward for any good thing you do. God knows those who guard against evil."(Qur'an, 3:113-115)

"Those who believe and those who are Jews and the Sabaeans and the Christians, all who believe in God and the Last Day and act rightly will feel no fear and will know no sorrow."(Qur'an, 5:69)

"We sent down the Torah containing guidance and light, and the prophets who had submitted themselves gave judgment by it for the Jews - as did their scholars and their rabbis - by what they had been allowed to preserve of God's Book to which they were witnesses..." (Qur'an, 5:44)

Anyone can take any holy text, pull scripture out of context and make it fit whatever their personal or political purposes are. Islam’s only fault is in not acting sooner to pinch off the buds of terrorism within their own community. However, it took the West 250 years to stop the Crusades, and even longer to stop burning heretics. Should we really be the ones to judge them?

Keep human law, but have faith in God that he can do his own job of dealing out judgment.

Freedom, Civilization and Dancing Cars...

Daytona

Well, rain delays maybe be boring as hell for the fans in the stands, but you’re the folks at home you learn some interesting stuff.

Ironically, as good as a night Dale Jr. had (finishing 3rd), before the race he spoke about spending the rest of the year just trying to get things right (with the organization and the cars) rather than racing for points. GOOD! Very smart. Strip all the B.S. away and focus on what truly matters.

And congrats to Dale and the entire Bud crew on a great race! Good run guys!

Re: Quitting at 40. Dale said at the beginning of his cup career he didn’t want to be racing into his forties, yet as time goes on he still keeps pushing it back *chuckle*. I suspect that he maybe bald, deaf and blind before they pry him out from behind the wheel.

Of course it didn’t touch on the “Sterling Marlin” issue, which is being dumped by the sponsors who believe that only young=marketable.

Tony has a great attitude: There’s always racing somewhere. That’s a driver. Congrats to Tony, Zippy and the #20 on their first restrictor plate win.

EDIT: Hrm. With Tony's two wins at wildly divergent tracks, it seems as if the Hendricks/Roush model is not the only sucessful one.

Dale Jarrett talked about what racing is like now, how close and competitive it is. So maybe it is isn’t as “exciting” to the traditional fans, who are constantly bitching about how “boring” racing has become (“And get offa my lawn!”), but it proves my point that it requires more skill. Like tonight. Damn! There were some seriously hairy moments caused by some guys making some seriously hairy moves. Great race guys!

Though not for Mark Martin, who got caught in someone else’s mess. How frustrating did that have to be? Elliott was having a great night until the end, when he spun out trying to “whoa up” behind not just one, but two wrecks. I know Elliott’s struggles with restrictor plate tracks, but he has shown a steady improvement and tonight took a big step. Good on ya Elliott!

All the spins in the grass looked so elegant, I wanted to play a waltz over them. *chuckle*

And is it just me, or does the picture NBC uses of Bobby Labonte look like George Eads from CSI?

Civilizations

Check it out...

“We are so obsessed with our conventional, misleading models of technological development that we cannot imagine an impressive technology, such as the bow and arrow, being abandoned, except by retroactive savages. But it takes ingenuity to live on the ice, and the hunters never discarded anything useful. Nor, to judge the range of their meticulous carvings in soapstone and ivory, was there much beyond the range of their imaginations.

The bow was a useful instrument for the small game of the forest edge, not – except for warfare between human groups – in the big (and may Kip add, well insulated) game world of the ice lands.…Most aboriginal Australian peoples abandoned the bow when they found they could hunt more efficiently with simpler technology. The Tasmnaians abandoned bone tools of all kinds when they could manage without the bother if making them...The pre-Hispanic Canary Islanders were not the only people in the world to renounce navigation. Reversals in technology are part of the universal flow of change and are usually undertaken consciously and with good reason.”

I guess it depends on how one defines “success” as a civilization. If one counts material success, standard of living, area of dominance, etc. as the measure of a culture’s success, then by all means, the western technology forward model is the most successful. But if continuity of culture, stability of society, is the measure, then the picture changes doesn’t it?

What are other measures of “success” for a society? The first one that springs to mind is universal literacy, but there must be others. I’ll have to think about his.

Well, even literacy is deceptive, because someone can be literate, yet not have as well trained a mind as someone from an oral tradition, who relies on memory far more than the literate person does to retain information. As someone who regularly loses her car keys, I can attest to this. ;) The only difference is people in the literate cultures are exposed to more pure information than those from an oral tradition because of the wealth of it readily availble in stored form.

Independence Day.

Let me just say that I love this holiday. Next to Thanksgiving, it is my favorite of the “Official” holidays. I suppose the memories of the big parade that the entire town put together with crepe paper and wire and flat bed trucks and hay trailers, spending all day swimming around watching the boat parade, combined with the big fireworks display right over our heads on my grandparents dock has a lot to do with it. But also because, no matter objectively I try to look at our culture and what faults I may find with the current administration, I love being American. I love the fact that we a hopeful, optimistic people. That we look forward, rather than back. I love the fact that we’re an “in your face” kind of people. I love that we have so many regional cultures that all count themselves as Americans. I love the fact that there are so many beautiful places in the country that you can go and feel like you’ve just discovered it. I love the fact anyone can grow up to be president, that we have a society that is socially permeable...even if that permeability is dependant on money. I love the fact that this nation does not simply grow in numbers, but in ideals. That less than a hundred years after it was founded we had a major war not over who would take a throne, but over an ideology. What I love the most of all is the fact that we are a nation founded on ideologies and, though sometimes imperfect in their execution, what those ideologies were: Freedom, equality, rationality, justice, enfranchisement, self sovereignty & determination for all.

In short, WE ROCK!

“I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

So Happy Independence Day everyone! Have a great (and safe) holiday!

Florida Tag

Candygram….

Well, I see Sharks are the trendy “danger of choice” for the summer. So much more exciting than West Nile Virus. I guess we should expect a lot of shark films next summer and Hollywood rushes to cash in on the fear.

Why do Americans need to be scared all the time?

“THERE’S SOMETHING IN YOUR HOUSE THAT COULD KILL YOU!!!

Film at eleven.”

Let’s just call It Being “Roved”

Is Neo-Conservatism, the new McCarthyism?

It certainly seems so.

While it may sound like a terribly slippery slope, how often are people who openly criticize the administrations policies accused of being traitors or “not supporting the troops”, as if saying Bush is a greedy incompetent dinkwad somehow jams up military supply lines or attempts to cut the benefits to military families.

I mean, like that damned Liberal Garry Trudeau, he’s so against the troops.

I’m sure I’m on a list somewhere. They’re just waiting for the Alien and Sedition Acts to come back.

The neo-conservatives have their backs against a wall. They have not caught Osma bin Laden, there were no weapons of mass destruction, Iraq did not simply blossom into a flowerbed of democracy, there has been a marked increase in terrorism against Americans abroad, the economy is not bouncing back into the military-industrial boom of the cold war. Nothing they believe in has panned out. So this is their only recourse: Yelling “We’re right and everyone else is a traitor!”, or in this particular case "a pussy", loudly enough in the hopes that someone will believe them, like a child that keeps repeating and obvious lie over and over in order that it may somehow become true. Thing is while every parent on the planet knows that the no matter how loudly a child keeps repeating that it was his “imaginary friend” that broke the cookie jar it was the child that did so, the neo-con lies seem to have been looud and enough for a great deal of Americans to believe them. Such as people who believe that Iraq had something to do with 9-11, even when the CIA, congress and McCain himself tell them it is simply a lie.

Why Politicians Annoy Me in General

House Votes Itself a Pay Raise.

For what, may I ask? Congressional hearing on drug use in a private sports organizations? Emergency sessions to politically grandstand while violating a citizens private rights?

I’m telling you folks: These people need to work on commission only. The legislation they passed X number of American citizens it benefits.

Daytona

Weather permitting, we should have some real fun this weekend. I love super speedway races because I love strategy races and most of all, I love areo. I just think it’s the neatest damn thing, so I always look forward to Talladega and Daytona races.

More drama out of the DEI camp. I’m just sitting with my fingers in my ears and yelling “LALALALALALA! I’M NOT LISTENING!” until they work out their problems. I’ve known royal families that have less issues. Geez! ;) This is waaay too much drama for something that is supposed to be fun, recreational, the dream of every eight year old boy…

If I wanted soap opera I would have watched Day of Our Lives guys.:D

Of course the net is rampant with rumors of and recommendations that Dale Jr. go to the #3, the Intimidator’s car at RCR. Why, I wonder, not Joe Gibbs who has actually won championship lately? (Other than the fact that having Tony Stewart and Dale Jr. under the same roof might drive the entire shop to quit en-masse. Both of them have similar, or at least complimentary, senses of humor and have a history of practical jokes.)

Mind you, I don't know how much credence to give it, but this rumor is so constant it's like the K-Mart musak of the "Jr. Nation" so I will address it.

Every year there are rumors of Dale Jr. following in his Dad’s footsteps in the #3, something I have very “mixed feelings” about, meaning my gut reaction is not a good one. Dale Jr. is so much more than just his father’s son, even if they both drive stock cars for a living, and I hate to see Dale Jr. living in his Dad’s shadow not getting the props he deserves for being a damn good driver and a good, if rather waffle-ly ;), guy in his own right. Maybe I’m preaching to the choir here but: I love my parents and am deeply proud of them and the families from which I come, and even though I am a History major just as they both were, I know that if I were to try to follow in their exact footsteps I would fail because I am not either one of them. We’re all different people with our own rows to how and our own challenges. I want to see Dale Jr. be happy as Dale….or Dale Jr. or Junior or whatever it is he prefers. Spike, whatever.

Then again, the number 8 itself is a “family heirloom” as it was Dale grandfather’s and, briefly, his Dad’s and Dale Jr. has definitely made it his own. And if down the line RCR is the best option for Dale why should he deny himself that opportunity just to make a statement? In the end I have faith that Dale Jr. is a big boy ;) who knows who he is, no matter what the press or his fans trying to pigeon-hole him into, that will make the right decisions for himself and if that decision is run the 3, I have faith that he will make it his own.

(Yes, it is run-on sentence day.)

And while Dale Earnhardt Inc. has had one hell of a year, it is still a bit to early to be predicting their ultimate demise. If they are smart, and it sounds like some folks there are finally getting smart, they will take every lesson they can from this experience and really run and grow with it.

If they are smart.

So best of luck to everyone this weekend. I understand Dale Jr. is still feeling under the weather. Hope he can get some rest and feel better and that things really come together for the team. They really could use something to smile about. Hope Elliott continues his drive of consistency and that Mark can make up for "lost time" at Sonoma. I adore Dale and Elliott, but I am really hoping Mark finally wins his championship. :) So have a safe and fun race guys!

P.S. I will be on vacation next week, so I won't be on much.

More Than Simply Female

As anyone who regularly reads this blog can tell, I have issues with the way many women are being portrayed/acting in today's popular media and how many young women who buy into the media package: "Sex Sells You!" Now, I have been called a femi-nazi and a dike and a man hater and so on. By men. Exclusively. Even though lesbians can tell I'm straight from 50 yards out. Just for pointing out that there's a lot more to being a woman than jiggling your tits and making babies. For example, pointing out to an idolizing teenage girl that Jessica Simpson does not manage her career, is not all that bright and not admirable in any way really means I’m a “feminazi”. Don’t ask me why. I don't care if men look at pretty girls, just don't put Kraft mac n' cheese up and call it a steak, y'know what I'm sayin'?

Such a killjoy I am.

Wanna know why? There a lot of little events, but the watershed happened when I was 24.

I discovered a lump in my right breast. It felt like someone had jammed a granite pebble in there. The mammogram revealed a tumor the size of an entire pecan. 24. Now, lying in bed that night I went through only 15 minutes of "I'm going to die.", but the "I'm going to lose my right breast." lasted much longer.

Think about the emphasis society puts on a woman's breasts. They are taken the ultimate outward sign of womanhood. Women with small breasts are seen as boyish and underdeveloped. Breasts are the physical expression of the female ability to nurture. And as the things that men don't have, the part if women's bodies that fascinate them the most (at least the younger ones, when most guys get a little older, their attention seems drift southward and to the posterior), hence the reason they end up so prominently in so much advertising. Breasts are so important in our culture that high school graduates under the age of 18 are turning down cars to get fake tits.

We look back on the Victorian women who had ribs removed to get that extreme hourglass figure with pity and disgust. How different is that from stuffing two plastic bags of silicone or saline in your chest? Add that to the bulimia and annorexia rampant in this country and what the hell are we teaching our daughters?

The only analogy I can give to a man is to say what if you had to face castration? While it personal attachment is not as quite as strong, the societal image is. Women are as defined as women by their breasts as men as defined as men by their phalluses, but in a much more public manner. We can't usually tell how big you guys are fully clothed.

So how does a woman define herself as such without them? How does a woman define herself without her body? That's the question that I, and any woman who has faced a mastectomy, has had to answer. Each of us probably came up with something different…

Being a woman is giggling. Being a woman is shrieking in surprise. Being a woman is wanting to know all the details. Being a woman is being drawn to drama. Being a woman is having an inner child between the ages of four and seven. (Men’s inner children are about 11 to 13.) Being a woman is committing yourself wholly, body and soul, even when it sometimes it to your detriment. Being a woman is loving the rain and the moonlight. Being a woman is having instant sympathy and kindness for beings weaker than yourself and caring for those in need. It is loving to dance, even if only in your soul. Being a woman is being the secret princess, the changeling fairy, eventually taking flight. It is tears of laughter and of pain. It’s inner grace even when the outter shell is a clutz. Being a woman is being a cheerleader, even if you never waved a pom pom in your life. It is listening, encouraging and advising. It can also be over analytical and judgemental. Being a woman is thinking too much. Being a woman is being unpredictable and at times, flat-out crazy. It’s hysteria for your own troubles and being a rock for someone else. Being a woman is being the stillness of a refuge and the passion of a hurricane. Being a woman is listening to instinct. It’s a tenderness that flows as easily as water and temper that strikes like lightening. Being a woman is living from the heart while trying to act with your head, highly aware that they don’t always agree. Being a woman is being lead on the dance floor, while being perfectly capable paying your tab and hailing yourself a cab home. It is to be a lioness of strength, both nurturer and protector, yet it is also being able to put yourself in the hands of those you love and trust as easy as and light as a feather. Being a woman is to be soft and receiving with a wild heat that can burn. It is being the sunlight in the daytime and a fire that glows deep into the night. Being a woman is to be a guardian of mysteries, of the world, of the body, of the spirit and the heart. It is having a heart that overflows, yet a secret treasure never touched that glows from within.

And that’s just scratching the surface, but as you can see a woman is defined as a woman by far more than just the outer trappings. Most people at some point in their lives go through a time when they are forced to strip away all the bullshit, and come to what is truly real about life and themselves. If they are smart they keep what is learned from those times close. I dodged the bullet, the tumor was benign, but I walked away from that experience with a far greater understanding and appreciation of everything a woman is and can be far beyond the physical definitions of “feminine”.