Random thoughts…

Animal Abuse

Animals are abused by people.  Whether it be pets, circuses, the meat industry, fashion or by scientific research, people so lack compassion for animals.  What the hell makes them think they can just hurt a defenseless creature for gain and profit?  Animals have feelings.  Animals suffer.  It is truly one of the saddest things ever in my book.

Child Abuse
We live in a country where millions of children are abused.  Why anyone thinks they can ever lay a hand on a child, who is learning life through a long process, is beyond me.  Also, why do people have children only to bring them up around drugs, violence and in horrid poverty?  Not only are children abused in their homes, but abused by the system that supposedly protects them.  So many kids live in foster homes with no permanant place to go and often suffer the same abuses they suffered at home.

Alcohol

We live in a country where alcohol is abundant and perfectly legal – drunk drivers, addiction, aggressive, violent and depressive behaviors just don’t stop the State-run liquor stores that supply the problems that alcohol leaves on our society.

Psycho Drugs

We live in a country where drugs such as Prozac, Paxil and others will “fix” our problems rather than allow us our natural feeling and healing processes.  Why fix it and learn and grow when you can just cover it up with a happy pill?  Don’t call me naive on this one.  I know exactly what the hell I’m talking about here.

Police

We live in a country where I live in greater fear of the police than I do of the criminals.  I have personally faced abuses by them and been made aware, recently, of many of their practices around Spokane and in the country as a whole.  Police are just awful and I’m too tired to go into the whole diatribe right now and I’m sure you’ve heard it.  Maybe think about the Tazer or Otto Zehm and you’ll know what I’m talking about.  This is why I will stand beside ASAP.  You don’t have to agree 100% with a group, but you can sure find what matters to you on the human level.

Religion

Yes, I believe in God and Jesus and am a spiritual person.  Would I go to church?  HELL NO.  Organized religion is one of the single most effed up things I have ever participated in.  Never in my life have I seen people so judgemental and full of themselves and often just pain weird (speaking in tongues, Benny Hinn, etc.).  The example in mind that gets me… why does Planned Parenthood down the road from me have to recently put up a stone and iron fence and have a security guy with a metal detector at the door?  Because, those so-called religious protestors. Hypocrites.

Politics/War

Don’t even get me started here.  This is not a government “of the people, by the people, for the people”.  This is just another corporate whore.  It is completely self-serving and the war… oh, gosh… that is just wrong.  We’ve lost 3,793 Americans and can you imagine how many Iraqis have died?  Does anyone know what this war is about?  I think we need to bring home our troops and return them back to their human lives.  I support and pray for them.  THEM, my fellow human beings, not the war.

Religion blaming.

If there is any doubt as to why I do not actively practice Christianity, the e-mail I received (quoted below) should remove all doubt. Let me be clear… I do believe in God, have faith in Him and pray to Him whole-heartedly. There is no doubt. However, I am not a fundamentalist, nor do I go to church to “feel my God”. I don’t care if I’m doing it right or doing it wrong by Christian standards… I’m just doing it and I don’t think God has a problem with that. I’ll interject my own thoughts into this as I go (blue text).

This woman should run for president

Written by a housewife from New Jersey and sounds like it! This is one ticked off lady

“Are we fighting a war on terror or aren’t we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?
Okay, this one is almost funny. Yeah, they were Islamic. Boo-hoo. They could have been anyone. No one is calling our military a “Christian Army” and blaming Christians as a whole for the slaughtering we’re causing in Iraq. The so-called “terrorists” were simply independent individuals – independent from their religion as a whole. Their claims of religion do not justify us condemning Islamic people.

Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan , across the Potomac from our nation’s capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania?

I’d still like to know where the plane went in Pennsylvania. All I saw was a scorch, but that’s beside the point.

Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a ho rrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn’t they?

Yeah, but the bottom line is this: PEOPLE died. Yeah, that’s right kids! We are all the same! The people in those buildings were everyone – white, black, Asian, Misddle Eastern… you name it. They were Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, Atheist… you name it. Apparently we live in a country where people think that being an American is some birthright.

And I’m supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was “desecrated” when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?…Well, I don’t. I don’t care at all.

Well, people should have some respect for each other’s differences. It sounds like it was an accident, but obviously somebody cared.

I’ll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

If it was even him. Try some deep thinking.

I’ll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia .

Boo-hoo, again. You’re expecting another religion with another set of standards to adhere to OUR standards in OUR religion? Get a clue. It’s not like the radical, bible-thumping Christians gove a shit about the Quran and respect it just because “they told us to”.

I’ll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off Nick Berg’s head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat I’ll care when the cowardly so-called “insurgents” in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

Again, grouping the religion and not the individuals.

I’ll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

Wow! Nirvana is a Buddhist belief. I thought we were talking about Islamic people. Boy, are you uneducated.

I’ll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

Hey, genius! Guess what? You’ve obviously never heard of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was adopted by the U.N. in 1948. Here… I’ll give ya a little something to read from it:

Article 19.

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Eat me. Now.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don’t care.

When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college- hazing inci dent, rest assured: I don’t care.

Well, then you won’t mind if we do it to you while you’re awaiting prosecution for being a fucking moron.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank: I don’t care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed “special” food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being “mishandled,” you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don’t care.

I didn’t know that they gave the prisoners religious freedom. That’s actually very thoughtful. However, if they are going to give it, they might need to brush up on respect because in this country, we have freedom of religion. Educating yourself on how to handle a Quran will not take anything away from your life. Get off your arse.

And oh, by the way, I’ve noticed that sometimes it’s spelled “Koran” and other times “Quran.” Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and-you guessed it-I don’t care !!

I don’t honestly know how to spell it. Jimmy Crack Corn and you must be from Alabama.

If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on to all your E-mail friends. Sooner or later, it’ll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior!

If you don’t agree, then by all means hit the delete button. Should you choose the latter, then please don’t complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country!

YAAAWWWWNNNNNN, your meaningless and obvious attempt at manipulation suck.

And may I add:

“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don’t have that problem.” — Ronald Reagan

I have another quote that I would like to add AND…….I hope you forward all this

“If we ever forget that we’re One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” Also by.. Ronald Reagan

One last thought for the day:

In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England ‘s Prime Minister Tony Blair’s words during a recent interview. When asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America, he said: “A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in… And how many want out.”

I WANT OUT!!!!!

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.

And they were given a choice when?

One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON, AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET BOTH OF THEM.
AMEN!

H’yuck!

Spokane has heart… (bridge jumper)

…an icky, black one.

So, I was reading the “Rants & Raves” section of Craigslist, getting my daily dose of bullshit this evening, only to learn that the people there are just so feeble and lack any compassion whatsoever. Call me a softy, but I do have compassion for a man, who is obviously very distraught, who is sitting on the side of a bridge, ready to end his life. The people on Craigslist’s only concern: “Oh, no! He’s screwing up the traffic because the bridge is closed!!” If you ask me, I think trying to save a man’s life is worth driving east 7 blocks to go down Washington instead. For crying out loud…

There was also some opinions shared regarding the use of the almighty Tazer. Well, I’m kind of on-the-fence about that one. While I think the Tazer is a horrible and barbaric “weapon” (yes, it is a weapon, kids!), I think it was used as a last means to subdue the guy to save his life. However, I think that by screwing up while using it, they only managed to scare the guy and give him the adrenaline rush he needed to jump. Very sad. Very disappointing.

I felt horribly for the man when I saw the news tonight. Horrible that he will not have the chance to find the comfort and happiness that was lacking in his life last night. Was he really mentally ill, though? I didn’t hear that part in the news, but I always end up hearing it in instances like this and wonder if that is the case.

My heart goes out to his parents, who were present at the time they watched their son plummet to his death on the rocks below. I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been. The whole situation was sad and it was unfortunate that he was unable to be saved.

I hope that the heartless people who were so “inconvenienced” by this and had to drive their whiny asses 7 blocks out of their way will someday wake up and realize how terribly wrong they were to have that kind of thinking. Same with those who just sat at home, on their computers and bitched about it even though it didn’t affect them in the least. Get a life. And to those who were at the scene shouting at the man to jump – there’s a special place in Hell for you.

Is Nike profiting?

I was reading an e-mail today regarding Nike’s continued intent to sell Michael Vick’s line of shoes in spite of the fact that he is under federal indictment on some serious animal cruelty and dog fighting charges stemming from the exposure of his dog fighting ring.  While they did pull his line off of their website, the line is still available for purchase in retail outlets.  Nike is only backing off slightly until the dust settles.  But still, with all of this media attention, comes a higher demand for the line of products.  Blood money considering that Michael Vick probably receives a royalty from the sales.

Vick’s dogs were not only brutally killed in the dogfights he held for entertainment, but by strangulation, electrocution, hanging and shooting.  Female dogs were also tied down to a contraption called a “rape stand” in order to cruelly breed these dogs.  Most of the details of all of the cruelty are unspeakable.

Although I may not totally agree with PETA’s radical ways, they do provide a form that is already filled out to send a letter to Nike at here.

Pull up your pants, asshat.

Looking out my window this morning I see some jackass whiteboy walking by holding up his dumbass saggy drawers. Never mind that his pants were 3 sizes too large and poorly belted just below his ass, it’s the fact that he has to put all of that effort into walking all crooked and leaning to hold them up by the crotch. Basically, he looked like some kid with cerebral palsy walking down the street after shitting his pants.

Why, God, why?? No answers there, so I hit Google.

Apparently, in prison, according to a judge, sagging pants were worn to represent an invitation for some “special lovin” in the prison community – the lower they are worn, the more they would say “yes”. Mmm-hmm. Well, it eventually just became a prison trend and only the older prisoners remember it under that connotation.

Personally, I don’t think it should be forgotten. I think these guys should be gawked upon like some sexy piece of prey to Bubba the ass-raping prison ape. I mean… if you’re going to advertise… let’s not be a tease now.

It’s always good to see our youth taking on the lifestyle of the criminal community and thinking it is cool. You have your completely devoid paragons like Tupac and Eminem. You look up to your gunned-down-for-being-a-gang-banger idol and you misogynistic, full-of-hate white boy wanna-be-a-brutha idol. The general population then has a great disdain for you and then you get to cry about how you oppressed you are and how got the hard life in the street. Gee, I wonder how that works.

Pull up your freakin’ pants, man. Can’t we just bring back Hammer pants? At least those had elastic at the top.

Also… who do you fear more, Spokane?  A bunch of kids wearing Tripp pants and carrying signs defending your rights while devouring vegan foods or some wanna be gang banger who models themselves after violent criminals and actually lives the lifestyle with no regard for your rights?  Think.

Repost of an interesting blog regarding ASAP

This is the impression I have gotten from the members of ASAP that I have either talked to, or marched with.

Good morning,

Four members of ASAP, the loosely formed coalition of activists at the center of the July 4 Riverfront Park protest that ended with 17 arrests, met with Spokesman-Review staff Thursday evening for an informal conversation about the group, its members and their political and social goals.

For many of us, the conversation was something of a nostalgic experience. I’m not sure how many of the people offended by the group on July 4th were themselves radical hippie anti-war protesters during the ‘60s and ‘70s. Maybe too many of the boomer generation have forgotten our own activist roots and how our anti-war, anti-establishment protests were received by our parents’ generation.

My own parents, blithely disregarding my own politics, shoulder-length hair and bushy black beard, complained about smelly long hairs in ragged clothes promoting Communism, insulting the military and scaring the wits out of friends and neighbors.

If folks in Riverfront Park were outraged at the American flag being used as a picnic blanket, perhaps they’ve forgotten the far worse abuse Old Glory took in the Vietnam era when flag burning was among the more genteel forms of protest.

The fact is, every generation produces its own anti-establishment radicals. The group we met with last night seems relatively representative of that truth.

They were smart, well-read, articulate. They have a political philosophy. I wouldn’t want to live in the world they hope to create, but it is a world view based on the political and social philosophies of some of the world’s great social critics and political theorists. They aren’t seeking attention for the sake of publicity or because they’re bored. They are committed. And they believe direct political action is the best way to achieve change.

Trust me, if I had access to the way-back machine to return to my own radical roots, I could probably deliver a fine ASAP speech. I know and understand the language though my own political views have matured.

But this group of young activists doesn’t strike me as dangerous. They certainly are less dangerous than the radicals with whom I was familiar way back when. The Weathermen – now those were radicals. The Chicago 7 – mean SOBs.

I don’t want to come across as the least bit patronizing, but these young people seemed to me to be activist-lite, typical of Spokane in so many ways. Not as flashy as you might find in Seattle., but radical enough to offend Spokane moms and dads, and maybe the police.

They are only as dangerous as we make them. In the ‘60s, I saw philosophical radicals turned into real, honest-to-God hard-ass violent radicals as they were harassed and intimidated by local police, the FBI and who knows who else. I’d hate to see that happen here.

We have posted audio of our discussion, links below. I think it’s worth your time.

Steve

[backdated entry] 7.8.07 – Police harass my son.

This is a bulletin posted on MySpace by my son on 7/8/07:

So i went to Yoke’s to get some Little Debbie’s, right? Well, right behind Yoke’s, the road goes into a T, and all i have to do is walk on the side of the store to get to the front. Well, on my way there, i get to the T only to have a police vehicle honk and pull up to me. The cop didn’t get out of the car, but he stopped and asked where i was heading. I said to Yoke’s to get a snack. He then stared me down then asked; “Were you at that protest on the 4th?”. Without fear, i told him i was. He then glared at me and said; “It’s about time you retards get your asses beat!”. Being angered, i told him i didn’t like his language toward me, i then demanded his badge number. He told me i didn’t have that right, and he told me to have a good night and he drove off. I wish i had a fucking pen to copy the license plate number.

Here’s CPS at work for kids again.

Carole Ann DeLeon tortured her adopted son for most of his life and apparently it was pretty well know to a lot of ignorant so-called professionals. I think that they should join DeLeon in her 6 year sentence. Six years… that’s all ya get for starving your child to death. I’ll write more on that later, but here’s a timeline that was published in the Spokesman-Review (under the cut).

My own experiences with police harassment.

Please keep in mind, when reading this, that I have no criminal history nor a single traffic infraction on my record.

In 1996, I had purchased a car and was driving it to the Valley, where I was living at the time.  I was taking Sprague home when I was pulled over because my husband was not wearing his seatbelt.  My husband, who is a large man, was unable to fit in the seatbelt in this particular car.  We explained this to the officers who had pulled us over and taken our IDs back to their car.  Since the car was new, they found that the car was not registered to me and returned asking for the registration.  I hadn’t gotten the registration yet, nor insurance for the car yet.  Well, I was cited for the lack of registration and for not having the car insured even though I had JUST purchased the car.  Well, that wasn’t the issue I have.

It was broad daylight outside and the officers asked me to turn on the lights to my car (huh?), so I did.  The officers then proceeded to inspect the lights of my car.  He returned and told me that the light was burned out in the license plate frame.  Okay, but it’s daylight and the license plate is clearly visible.  Well, they cited me for that.  Then they continued inspecting my car and found a crack in my tailpipe.  Yep! Another ticket.  So, by the time they were done, I had $1200 in tickets, none of them being for the lack-of-seatbelt.  So, I ended up losing my license being unable to pay off the numerous tickets that the traffic court would not reduce.

In 1998, my father passed away, leaving me his car.  A few months later, I ended up having to move and the last thing I moved was my father’s car.  Sure, my license was still suspended, but I had to move the car because it was too late at night to call someone else to do it.  The tabs were good and it was insured, but a lone male police officer decided to follow me for over a mile, then pulled me over when I turned onto a dark, less populated road.  He asked for my license which I gave to him.  My husband was, once again my passenger, and was asked for his ID.  The officer came back and asked me to step out of my car.  He told me my license was suspended and that he was going to have to arrest me.  Great.  So he made me stand, facing his car.  My husband tried to get out of my car to see what was going on and was ordered to stay in the car.  The officer told me to put my hands above my head, where he proceeded to FRISK ME.  He ran his hands up and down the length of my body, my legs and he reached around and his hands ran over the bottom of my breasts.  I then jerked away saying “What the hell?” and he grabbed me and slammed me face down onto the hood of the police car.  He twisted my arms painfully behind my back and cuffed me.  He then shoved me into the back of the police car and went back to my car.  I saw that he had made my husband get out and stand on the curb and was going through my backpack and my car.   I wasn’t really sure why he was doing that but what could I do as I sat in the back of his car, painfully cuffed and crying because I was scared and violated.  He eventually returned and said that I could get my things out of my car and that it was being impounded.  My heart sank in my chest because this was my dad’s car and I had just lost him.  I went to my car to get my backpack and found the contents of it scattered all over my back seat.  As I collected everything, I noticed that he had literally torn every single thing apart.  The biggest thing that I noticed was that he had even opened the wrappers to the tampons I had in my backpack and pushed them out of the applicators.  WTF?

I wish I’d known back then what I know now.  I wish I’d had the fight in me to call them on their bullshit and to pursue them in their wrongdoings.

Domestic Partnership Law

Hallelujah! The Domestic Partnership law went into affect today allowing same-sex couples some of the basic rights as married couples in Washington State. They include hospital visitation, making medical decisions and funeral arrangements and beneficiary rights.

These rights are so much deserved.

Why?

“Erecting the ‘wall of separation between church and state’…is absolutely essential in a free society.” – Thomas Jefferson

I believe that withholding and denying the rights of gay and lesbian couples through our legislative system is a direct violation of the “separation of church and State.” The so-called fact that being gay is immoral is a fundamentally Christian belief. While I, myself, am one of these so-called Christians, I certainly have the mind to love others and to believe we are all created equal (well, except for horrific criminals, but I won’t go there). Is this an offense to my belief system? No. I do not feel that God made us all so dumb and narrow-minded that we cannot love others. We are intelligent creatures and most of us forget to use our brains and reasoning. Besides, in the end, we are not the judges.

Anyway, I’m glad to see that these rights have been established.