{look upon my works, ye mighty}

1) Sarah Palin talks to "Sarkozy". For those of you not in the know, that's the French President. Except it's not -- it's two guys from a Canadian radio show who get Palin to embarrass herself by gushing with fangirl-like enthusiasm over Sarkozy, probably in hopes of getting an endorsement or some overseas support. She hangs up when she realizes she's been tricked, unsurprisingly, but what worries me is that she didn't even realize the voice was wrong! I can recognize his voice and I'm definitely not in the running for Vice President of a major country.

2) Check Your Bias Here. A test from Harvard that identifies if you have an hidden bias where white/black people are concerned and the two American Presidential candidates. My results were a slight automatic preference for Black people over White people and a strong automatic preference for Barack Obama over John McCain.

Amusing, considering that I was taking this test thinking, "Yeah... Black versus White again. No South Asians involved." And slightly pouty over that. The black preference surprises me a lot more than Obama, since that one's obvious. Maybe it's because I live in Austria and I've yet to deal with racism from black people but have had plenty of it from Austrians, argh.

3) There's No One As Irish As Barack O'Bama! It's a song. Be warned, it's catchy. I still have it stuck in my head, days later!

4) I've gotten hooked on YGO: 5D's despite having refused to watch YGO GX. I blame the motorbikes. Ever since I heard that there are duels which take place while people are on MOTORBIKES, I've been itching to watch this series. And yes, this isn't a link, but there's more detail on my latest shameful fandom addiction ( under the cut )

Governor Palin has a Down's syndrome kid.

I know, I know, that doesn't seem like a reason for me to hate her. After all, I grew up with a handicapped sister, taught special ed kids, and am generally highly in favor of rights for disabled people.

But the thing is, Palin doesn't just have a Down's kid. She chose to have one. Early screening meant that she was warned that her baby had Down's syndrome but due to her stance on abortion, she decided to go ahead and have the child anyway.

STUPID. Stupid, stupid, stupid and selfish. So you're pro-life and refuse to abort this kid on principle? Congratulations, you've doomed him to a lifetime of suffering. A short lifetime, mind you, because most Down's kids have shorter lifespans and are highly susceptible to anything going around, but it's still pretty much a given that they're going to suffer for as long as they live. They won't be able to keep up with the other kids, they'll be developmentally stunted both physically and mentally and it's all your fault for having brought said kid into the world, knowing what he'd have to face.

In the class I taught, one girl called Sandy had Down's syndrome and about a month after I finished with her class, she died of pneumonia. Before that, she had to wear diapers all the time, and the aides had to take her into the bathroom to change her and wipe her ass, because she couldn't even manage that on her own. She couldn't talk normally, she was short and highly obese and even in the classroom full of special needs kids, she stuck out as even more hopeless than most. Sandy was 22 when she died, but she was about at the developmental stage of a 2-year-old, if that.

And this is the sort of child that Governor Palin thinks is a gift from God. This is the sort of life that she's going to cause the boy to lead, because she's too selfish to put aside her own views and think about what's honestly best for the child.

Apart from which, you know what? She has no business running for VP if she has a disabled kid.

Nobody with a disabled kid should be taking on a public office job that has a huge time commitment, because there's no way that they can do that and take care of their child at the same time. My parents both worked full-time, had a live-in nurse, a live-in maid and an older daughter who took care of herself (me), and even they worked themselves to the bone to take care of my sister. I refuse to believe that Palin can juggle four kids, a Down's syndrome kid, and the job of being VP all at once; there's no way she can manage it and still give her kids the attention they need, especially the disabled one.

Obama's choice of VP is 'meh', because for a guy who talks about CHANGE all the time, he went with a really traditional Old White Male choice.

McCain's choice? Thoroughly despicable. Even putting aside the anti-abortion, anti-contraception (wtf, has she never heard of AIDS?) issues, I have no respect for anyone who would deliberately bring a child into the world, knowing that child's life will be filled with nothing but suffering. No respect AT ALL.

Edit: If you want to know more about the political stances that Palin has, check out ilyena_sylph's post here where she lays out on the line all the reasons why no liberal female should think that Palin's likely to be on their side.

Watch this.

It's one of the most fantastic speeches that I've ever heard, not just about everything that Bush has done, but also about how the American people chose to let him get away it. Context is that Alan Shore is an attorney whose secretary is on trial for tax evasion as a form of political protest.

Transcript of the speech.

Alan Shore: When the weapons of mass destruction thing turned out to be not true, I expected the American people to rise up. Ha! They didn’t.

Then, when the Abu Ghraib torture thing surfaced and it was revealed that our government participated in rendition, a practice where we kidnap people and turn them over to regimes who specialize in torture, I was sure then the American people would be heard from. We stood mute.

Then came the news that we jailed thousands of so-called terrorists suspects, locked them up without the right to a trial or even the right to confront their accusers. Certainly, we would never stand for that. We did.

And now, it’s been discovered the executive branch has been conducting massive, illegal, domestic surveillance on its own citizens. You and me. And I at least consoled myself that finally, finally the American people will have had enough. Evidentially, we haven’t.

In fact, if the people of this country have spoken, the message is we’re okay with it all. Torture, warrantless search and seizure, illegal wiretappings, prison without a fair trial - or any trial, war on false pretenses. We, as a citizenry, are apparently not offended.

There are no demonstrations on college campuses. In fact, there’s no clear indication that young people seem to notice.

Well, Melissa Hughes noticed. Now, you might think, instead of withholding her taxes, she could have protested the old fashioned way. Made a placard and demonstrated at a Presidential or Vice-Presidential appearance, but we’ve lost the right to that as well. The Secret Service can now declare free speech zones to contain, control and, in effect, criminalize protest.

Stop for a second and try to fathom that.

At a presidential rally, parade or appearance, if you have on a supportive t-shirt, you can be there. If you are wearing or carrying something in protest, you can be removed.

This, in the United States of America. This in the United States of America. Is Melissa Hughes the only one embarrassed?

( Continued transcript of the speech. )

[/transcript]

I adore that speech. I adore him. I have to admit, I've only watched one ep of the show but watching him soapbox on YouTube is FANTASTIC.

Apathy is not cool. Political apathy is even less cool. Yes, being indifferent and saying you don't give a damn might be easier, but this is your world. Either be part of the process that decides how it's run or -- there is no 'or'. Because you live here, you are subject to its laws, and you need to be part of the process that decides how you will live your life.

The other option is just letting yourself be herded and exploited, and as a free human being, that is not what you are meant for.

This journal is going to have a lot of public, political entries that urge you to sign petitions or fill out pre-written e-mail forms and send them off. I know it already does, but instead of just telling you what's going on, I'm now going to start telling you what you can do about it. To the people that don't live in the US, I'm sorry your flists are going to be clogged up with US politics, but let's face it, the US has an unprecedented level of impact on the rest of the world -- if the US is rotting, you can bet that other countries are being infected too.

Today's cause is Bush's Contempt of Congress, and how he urges his staff to defy Congress as well.

Harriet Miers, the former White House counsel, outright skipped a House Judiciary Committee hearing because they'd ordered her to testify about her role in the months-old U.S. Attorney mess. Likewise, Josh Bolton who is the current Chief of Staff, disobeyed a subpoena when he refused to give up White House documents that Congress had demanded by law. Bush, in the meantime, is the one who ordered them to do so and is trying to claim "executive privilege" so that the public won't have to know what he's doing in the White House.

This is wrong.

We have a right to know what he's doing. We have a right to know what his staff are doing.

And perhaps most importantly, we need to know that President Bush can be held accountable for his actions. The American people should be the jury, but apart from that, Congress needs to be respected. Bush cannot be allowed to run America any old way he feels like that; we have a system of checks and balances for a reason, and that reason is that America doesn't need a President with ultimate power -- or "executive power" -- over the whole country.

Sign the petition to have Congress fight executive privilege. Miers and Bolton have to be held in contempt. If this was a court, any judge would hold them in contempt for withholding evidence and refusing to show up. There is no reason for them to get special treatment just because Bush is scared that the truth will come out.

Sign the petition. Take a stand. Care. Do something!

Edit: YES! Citations! There IS justice in this world!

So, while most of the world is busy either reading HP7, wanking over HP7, watching the wank about HP7 or professing how much they do not care about HP7, Bush is now authorized to take the possessions of anyone accused of undermining the peace in Iraq, or who is even suspected of doing that. Wicked Socks' entry here has a good collection of links to get you up to speed.

This is probably the most important one.

Makes sense, I suppose. America is how far in debt now? This is a great solution to that! Forget the tax cuts for the wealthy, and the mass outrage that those caused. Let's just seize the property of those filthy liberals that cause despair and alarm instead!

I'd like to see Bush trying to figure out what to do with my Gravitation doujinshi. He'd probably burn them as soon as he figures out what's going on behind the transparent censor bars.

Many, many thanks to ceresi, who tipped me off to it (lack of Internet means that I'm a little news-deprived over here in Europe), and who also talked about the latest happenings in Strikethrough '07, which are basically highly depressing insofar as teen sexuality is made of evil according to lj, if the teenagers are under 18. Their logic is that since the servers are located in the US, they have to abide by the US age of consent.

Which doesn't really work for me because, again, I grew up in Europe. The age of consent that I'm used to is 16. I've RPed chars that are sixteen being in sexual relationships, and I wouldn't want their RP journals deleted because of that. Hell, I'm pretty sure that I've written fic about chars that are already in relationships where it's assumed they're having sex, even if I rather suck at actually writing sex scenes and just dodge out of it as much as possible.

Please, please, please go read lj_biz to find out what I'm talking about. Especially this and this

While discussing Obama vs. Clinton the other day with a guy, the man in question came forth with this pearl of wisdom:

"Women make laws when they can't make quiche."

Unsurprisingly, that infuriated me.

Politics is not something that women do because they're not good at cooking, or domestic arts. Running the country is in no way a consolation prize for being a bad cook or housewife!

If you want to get into politics, it means that you want to have a say in the direction that the country heads in. It means you want to influence the social system of the country, the international opinion of the country and the financial situation of the country.

If you're running a country like America, it means that you're affecting the whole damn world. The reprecussions of your decisions will be felt by countries so far across the globe that they're going to sleep when you're having lunch, or waking up when you're eating quiche for dinner.

Going into politics means that you have power.

Baking a quiche isn't especially empowering (unless you poison it, I suppose).

Being involved in American politics -- running for President, running for Senate, canvassing house-to-house, putting up posters, and hell, even just showing up voting -- means that you can change the world.

I think that's better than baking one lousy quiche.

The following has been snagged from rayemars.

The American Family Association has put up a new poll: Should corporations be promoting homosexuality?

Take our poll. We will send the results to the largest corporations in America.

Several corporations are now supporting the homosexual agenda. These companies have been convinced by homosexual activists and the mainstream media that in order to be "fair and tolerant", companies must make special rules for homosexuals and provide company money and resources to help promote their lifestyle. Many companies, including Ford Motor Company and Eli Lilly and Company, have begun to support same-sex marriage.

Click here to take the Poll

Please forward this poll to your friends and family. Corporations need to know how Americans feel about companies promoting homosexuality.

I agree wholeheartedly. Let's do let corporations know how Americans who aren't on a narrow religious mailing list feel about companies "promoting the homosexual agenda."

She's pro-choice and pro-sex ed.

Or, to lump it into one reason instead of two, she's pro-reproductive rights.

I found that out thanks to an article in this month's Time magazine where they were talking about the 'pregnancy crisis centers' that give you misleading information about abortions in order to try to stop you from having one. They also use emotional manipulation -- try taking a test there to see if you're pregnant and they'll hand you a pair of hand-knit, baby blue booties with the announcement, "Congratulations, you're going to be a mother."

According to the article, some states have more of those than they have actual abortion clinics.

Fantastic.

Anyway, in the article, Hillary was paraphased as saying that she supports reproductive rights, including proper education about prevention and sex so as to decrease the need for abortions.

THANK YOU.

Something that drives me absolutely insane to read about is the apparent horror America has of sex education. Every time I see an article about how some parent complained to a school that oh noes, their child is being told how babies are made, I end up wondering what the hell is wrong with people.

The odds are that your child is eventually going to have sex. Assuming you don't want them taught about sex ed because you're scared it'll encourage them to have pre-marital sex, what about after they get married? What if they don't want to have babies straight away because it'll derail their career or because they can't afford a baby or because they just think that they're too young? For some reason, I seriously doubt that there are courses on sex ed offered for 'Young Yuppies Not Prepared For Pregnancy', and it's not exactly like they can just go back to a school that does provide that sort of information.

Of course, there's always the Internet but anyone who'd trust the Internet to teach their kid how sex happens is an absolute idiot and shouldn't be having sex in the first place. There are probably great guides out there on how to please your wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend/android fucktoy. They're just buried under all the really, really, really bad smut and porn. And porn is definitely not something anyone should be taking tips from, especially if it's the issue of long fingernails in girl/girl sex. Ow. Seriously.

Conclusion? Sex education is good. In fact, people in general being informed is good. If you're not informed, you can't make informed choices and while guessing blindly might be a working tactic for, say, playing Minesweeper (does anyone out there still play it or is that a dated culture reference?), it's a little less practical if you're risking your life because nobody told you how STDs are transmitted, to take a random example.

Sex ed isn't just about not getting pregnant. It's about not getting diseases, about not going through unnecessary pain, about knowing what's happening to your body during sex -- sex ed is basically supposed to set you up so that when you do have sex, you have a smaller chance of anything bad happen and a better chance of you enjoying it.

Since I'm asexual, I ended up ducking out of a lot of the school sex ed courses, including hiding in the changing room to avoid watching the tapes, but I'm still glad that they were offered. I think abstinence-only sex ed is an incredibly bad idea and just setting teens up to be unable to even have a responsible adult figure to question about their worries, as well as make them feel more guilt-ridden if they do have sex and personally, the chances of me voting for Hillary went waaaaaaay up when I read that she openly supports sex ed.

Go Hillary!

...Maybe I'll even make an icon in her favor.

Apparently the 22nd of January was Blog For Choice Day and I missed it. Much ♥ to harmonybunny114 for informing me of it.

Of course, pretty much anyone who reads this journal already knows that I'm very definitely pro-choice. I believe that what a woman does with her body is her own business, and that nobody else, not the government or her husband, should be able to make that decision for her.

Of course, what most of you probably don't know is that I used to be anti-choice as a kid. I thought of myself as one of those babies that could have been killed, and I read Tom Clancy. I liked Tom Clancy, he of Red October fame.

Why is Tom Clancy relevant to a discussion on choice?

There's one book he read, I can't even remember the title any longer, but it was about Jack Ryan, a Marine-CIA hero, being elected the President and how he was going to overthrow Roe vs. Wade. I remember very clearly reading the discussion he had with his wife, knowing that Jack was the hero of the book and that I was expected to sympathize with him, and thinking to myself, "Wait. That's wrong."

His wife was a doctor, but she agreed anyway. That only set off more of my "That's wrong." sensors.

The more of Clancy's books I read, the more I found myself disagreeing with the way he used his books to push his political views, but the key realization I had was that first one, where I couldn't believe that his supposed hero would take away the right of women to choose.

I can't pinpoint when exactly in my teenage years I changed from empathizing with the babies to empathizing with the women. I just know that Tom Clancy, ironically enough, is the one who made me realize that my views on abortion had switched from pro-life to pro-choice.

Edit: Best list of reasons to be pro-choice ever.

Link of the Day: God Gap Narrows.

The above link'll take you an article on the recent voting trends and an analysis of it.

I'm not going to say too much about it because my inbox is flooded with comments I should be answering instead of making posts but basically, this last election was like Xmas coming early for me. Especially the abortion ban in South Dakota being overturned.