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A Shorter, Short Story About Me
I briefly mentioned it in the first part of this story. Music has always been important to me. I remember as a young child, I would listen to whatever my parents enjoyed, which was mostly country music and some 80s pop. Music has a therapeutic effect on me. I tend to listen to music that resonates with me, usually, because the subject matter matches my mood.
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Stand Your Ground… and stop this nonsense
So at first I didn’t want to mention this George Zimmerman case because it seemed too obvious. Instead let’s talk about the Stand Your Ground law in general, and Marissa Alexander in particular. In case you missed it, Ms. Alexander, like Zimmerman, lives in Florida. Also like Zimmerman, she felt threatened and took action. And… that’s where the similarities end.
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Elitists and Mediocrity
It amazes and saddens me that our country has such contempt for the elite. We embrace and even brag about our mediocrity and ineptitude. I remember during the most recent presidential election, Republican Candidate and Crazy Person, Rick Santorum derided President Obama for wanting everyone to go to college, calling him an “elitist”. As if that is a negative term. That’s like calling someone you don’t like a “nice person” and expecting them to get hurt.
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Gun Control
Ah the fun times of the gun debate. One side says that owning a gun is their god given right. The other says that limiting guns will limit gun related crimes. Each year 6000 gun related homicides go unsolved. This doesn’t include other crimes where a gun is used but no one dies, such as assaults or robberies. The percentage of solved homicides has dropped from 90% solved to 65% solved since the 1960s. But I think that during this debate over guns, we’re missing an essential truth. Sure if guns are limited, violent criminals will just find a different way to kill people. And sure criminals will just find…
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Bullies
Lately, I’ve been getting tired of hearing myself type about religion. So I asked people for ideas for rant topics. One person mentioned bullying in school. Another mentioned Mike Jeffries, the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, who said he didn’t want fat people wearing his clothes. Now at first, I was going to do separate posts, but I realized that Jeffries is kind of a bully.
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Free Speech
Free speech is a very tricky thing when you think about it. Like, I can call someone an asshole. But if I call them a rapist, then it’s libel. It’s like if you make it up, it’s fine. If it’s fact, it’s fine. But if there’s the possibility that it’s true without any proof, then it’s not acceptable. Does that make any sense to anyone? I am a huge supporter of free speech. I mean, I want to make a living exploiting it, after all.
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Religious Duties
Hey religious people: You know how you’re paranoid and worried that people like me are going to come into your homes, take your children and undo your brainwashing by taking them to our science camps, turn your churches into brothels, and forbid you from worshiping your sky faerie? Well if you don’t want that to happen, you kind of have to earn it by proving that you’re not dangerous. The first step is to control your crazies and stupids.
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Yet Another Reason Washington Isn’t A Real State
Every once in a while, I read a news story that is totally silly and stupid. Then I notice it happened in Washington State, and I’m not at all surprised.
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Our Founding Principles
I’m often puzzled by the opinion on the right, that we need to steer our country back to our founding principles. One of my biggest complaints about our country is that it is too similar to the 1780s version of the US. I want change. I want a progressive future. I want the US to be BETTER, not the SAME. I mean, what has changed?
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Indoctrination vs Free Will
I was recently talking to a friend of mine. She is Christian and wants to raise her children to be Christian also. She sees it as her duty. She is “accountable to god” for her children, as she said. I have a few things to say about this. First, as an atheist, I don’t force other people to see the world the way I do. I encourage them to, but if someone insists on believing in a god, so be it.
Expecta et Sperare
