Cognosco

Today, I got an email that said this:

You couldn’t get a job at McDonalds and become district manager after 143 days of experience.   
    You couldn’t become chief of surgery after 143 days of  experience of being a surgeon.
    You couldn’t get a job as a teacher and be the superintendent after 143 days of experience.
    You couldn’t join the military and become a colonel after a 143 days of experience.
    You couldn’t get a job as a reporter and become the nightly news anchor after 143 days of experience.
   
    BUT…  

    From the time Barack Obama was sworn in as a United State Senator, to the time he announced he was forming a Presidential exploratory committee, he logged 143 days of experience in the Senate. That’s how many days the Senate was actually in session and working. After 143 days of work experience, Obama believed he was ready to be Commander In Chief, Leader of the Free World…after 143 days.

    We all have to start somewhere. The senate is a good start, but after 143 days, that’s all it is - a  start.

    AND, strangely, a large sector of the American public is okay with this and campaigning for him. We wouldn’t accept this in our own line of work, yet some are okay with this for the President of the United States of America ? Come on folks, we are not voting for the next American Idol!

I replied (all) with this:

Hello all,

I think it is fair game to respond to emails I receive and speak my opinion, so here we go…

I believe I am one of the "large sector of the American public" that is campaigning for Obama. This email conveniently overlooked his seven years in the Illinois Senate, as well as other relevant experience, such as community organizing (I know many jokes have been made about this, but community organizing is hard work and an effective organizer MUST HAVE great leadership skills to be effective), being elected the first Black editor of the Harvard Law Review, and working as a constitutional law professor from 1992 to 2004. Furthermore, I don’t think that 20 years of experience automatically qualifies someone, and think it is a mistake to overlook a candidate just because he doesn’t have 20 years of experience in Washington DC. That’s what advisers are for.

He is clearly an intelligent man, a person who is experienced in organizing groups and mediating disagreements, a person with a wide range of political experience (from the grassroots up), and someone who is educated in constitutional law (lest we forget that the constitution is something that’s kind of important in this country).

I would much rather elect someone who is familiar with the needs and struggles of people like me, a person of the middle class, a student who is working her way through college even though it is difficult. I am impressed with the fact that a person who did not come from a wealthy or particularly educated family managed to be admitted to and be successful at Harvard. That is no small feat, and shows an ability to work hard as well as a good measure of intelligence. I, for one, would like to see someone intelligent in the White House.

I am very put off by McCain’s shapeshifting and flip-flopping over the last eight years. I am also disturbed by he and Palin’s abysmal records on women’s rights. They are both opposed to abortion, yet simultaneously opposed to programs that prevent unplanned pregnancy and STDs. We can all see how "abstinence-only education" worked out for her daughter, right? Palin also thinks that women who have been raped should have to PAY FOR THEIR OWN RAPE EXAMS. That’s like a cop charging you to investigate a burglery. She also thinks that women who have been raped or molested should be denied abortions. How compassionate. McCain has voted against legislation ensuring equal pay for women for equal work, as well as legislation designed to prevent violence against women and bolster victim’s rights. I cannot, in good conscience, vote for people who do not care about women’s rights, safety, and health. Just because a candidate is a woman doesn’t mean she speaks for me. I also find it creepy that in the debates, the only thing McCain could say about Palin was how "proud" he was of her…as if he were her father. I found that to be patronizing and demeaning and don’t think it’s an appropriate way to speak about one’s running mate. I am impressed with Obama’s record on women’s rights. In fact, I am impressed with his record on just about everything, and proud to be volunteering for his campaign.

Be well,
Heather

After which, I received this (from someone I do not know on the Reply All list):

 

DO NOT EVER EMAIL ME!!
 
I DID NOT EMAIL YOU!!.
 
I NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR PINKO COMMIE, LIBERAL VIEWS ON THAT SOCIALIST SWINE!!
 
YOU RESPONDED TO EVERYONE WHO WAS SENT THAT EMAIL YOU BLIND FOOL!
 
THIS EMAIL HAS BEEN SENT IN CAPS BECAUSE YOU PISSED ME OFF AND I AM YELLING!!

 

 

Yes folks. I was called a Pinko Commie Liberal. For real. In the year 2008. I once listed this as my political view on my Facebook page (Pinko Commie Liberal Whackjob, to be precise), because I thought it was funny. I was, needless to say, stunned, infuriated, frustrated, and…PROUD. 

 

 

 

 

 

I cannot help myself.

Every now and then I have to share something that makes me angry. I usually keep these things to myself in blogland because really, there are a lot of things that make me angry, and I don’t want to be an overall downer. I started this blog, mostly, to celebrate insights and precious moments.

But,

I read a lot of shit and am addicted to googlesearch. And there is a lot of rank mess in this world.

Once in awhile something makes me so angry that I want to smash my computer. I wish I could breathe fire, because there’s fire in my chest and it seems like it would feel good to exhale all of that fire and I have always wanted to be a dragon. Seriously. Dragons can fly and breathe fire and deliver destruction. They are also narcissistic and antisocial.

When I read some things, I feel like I’m on the verge of a panic attack. I’m not kidding. And then I just want to curl up under a comforter and hide in a small dark closet. Until my head explodes.

I am occasionally driven batshit nutty crazy by some current event or another. I have to take news vacations now and then. Until I come back. And I always come back. Because my #1 addiction (and there are many to choose from) is instant information.

So, I’ve decided to celebrate this compulsion of mine, and thus I have given it a name. Anger and all. It shall be called, "Random Minutes of Hate". Like in 1984, where the characters engaged in a daily, mandatory, two minutes of hate. Mine’s not mandatory. And there is no number of minutes specified. Swearing at your computer screen is not only allowed, but encouraged. You may also shake your fist at the sky. But please, no spitting. That’s just gross.

It should really be minutes of "anger", but "hate" just feels so much better. Admit it.

The only thing I have to say about this segment is that I can’t believe this is happening in 2008. That, and I am never living in Georgia. 

Here’s the link: 

http://feministing.com/archives/009206.html

but here’s the take-home message:

This was after the judge had dismissed the evidence: Ross could have received lacerations and redness documented in a rape kit from shaving, and “[b]ruises can come with a bump into furniture or from other causes.” As far as the claim that Day gave Ross a rape drug, defense counsel responded, “neither Day, nor anyone else for that matter, would have to use any type of drug to convince Plaintiff to participate in sexual conduct.”

The judge found that since Ross and Day had previously had a sexual relationship, Ross should have known her claims were “frivolous… there was no reasonable belief that a court would accept Plaintiff’s claims…”

The nightmare of this case, for Melanie Ross and for all future rape victims in Georgia, is that she was forced to discuss in elaborate detail her sexual past, and then she had her claims dismissed in part because she wasn’t a virgin. Moreover, not only did Ross lose her case, the judge fined her $150,000 for bringing it in the first place - a fee sure to dissuade other victims from coming forward with their own claims. This case is currently being appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia, which can choose to hear it or not - let’s hope they right this wrong before it hurts more victims.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, I totally missed Blog for Choice Day this year. Here’s my post from last year about why I’m pro choice. The topic this year was supposed to be why I vote pro-choice. Because I do. But I don’t know if I can articulate why I vote pro-choice. It’s just such a core value to me because it is related to so many other issues on so many other levels. Gender equality. Respect. Compassion. Trust in women. Trust in mothers. Commitment to help women in other countries with reproductive options. Deliverance from reproductive slavery and the body as a commodity. Access to birth control. Aid for impoverished women. Good prenatal care. Gentle birth. Informed choices. A rejection of Crisis Pregnancy Centers and their intimidation tactics and the lies they tell women about abortion. A rejection of the abstinence-only education that is putting our teenagers in danger. A rejection of all of the blantant lies fed to our children about their bodies.

It is no wonder that women give birth in a hospital completely uninformed. Many of them have been lied to about their bodies since they were preteens. I am of the mind that sexuality is pretty much the be all end all core of our beings in one way or another. If you can control someone’s sexuality and their reproductive potential, you have control over their entire life.

So for me, reproductive freedom must be protected because it is akin to freedom of one’s soul. And it is under constant attack. Even birth control is under attack because it is "anti-woman" and "anti-life" and preventing pregnancy is the same as saying you hate children and having sex for anything but procreation is equating women with whores. Read the article. I’m not kidding.

I vote pro-choice with the hope that the people I elect have the same passion for protecting my reproductive rights as those who oppose these rights. 

And because I am a pro-choice voter, I am voting for Barack Obama. I think this article sums up my justification for doing so. There are so many other reasons, but if I had to point to one, this is it.

Oh, and he also spoke out against this stupid war we’re involved in. Don’t tell me "we didn’t have all of the facts" at the time. I was one of the people who marched against us going to war because many of us knew, even then, that there weren’t enough facts to go to war, and that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. We had no business invading that country. It’s great that Saddam is dead. Fine. So let’s get the hell out and let those people have their country back.

Arizona primaries are Tuesday along with all of the other "Super Tuesday" states. To be honest, I am just giddy about the fact that we got to watch a debate last week and there was no white man on the stage. Pretty amazing. Both of the democratic candidates are great choices. I’ll happily vote for either in the general election. But I’d be just a little happier to vote for Obama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am in love with the Feministing blog. This weekly summary of stories is just a cornucopia of interesting tidbits…

Feministing.com 

I came across this website a few weeks ago via myspace. The basic idea is to have a "global orgasm" for peace. So, for folks who decide to participate, you basically have an orgasm on Winter Solstice, December 22nd, in the place of your choosing at the time of your choosing, and you should just take a few moments during and after to think about world peace. I like to think that our thoughts and energy can subtly influence the world, and that science has yet to create the tools necessary to measure such things, so I like to think that maybe, just maybe, this could have a teeny tiny effect on the energy of the world. And at the very least, it is an excuse for an orgasm. If you need one.