So...MSNBC posted an article by the New York Times (found here) which pretty much sums up the reason I won't vote for Romney.

 

He will say Exactly what he thinks you want to hear to get elected. 

 

Take the tree examples listed in the article.  Romeny at one point claimed to be a lifelong hunter.  Later, he admitted to really only hunting twice in his life.  Next, he claimed that the NRA endosed him in his run for governor.  Later, he admitted this wasn't true, they just made some calls on his behalf.  Finally, and most recently, he claimed he watched his father march with Martin Luthor King only to admit later this was a figurative statement. 

 

This just points to other examples.  Like how he has always opposed abortion and gay marriage (contrary to his gubinotorial campaign). 

 

Look...I agree with some of Romeny's (supposed) positions and I disagree with some.  I am completely aware that I won't find a candidate that agrees with me 100% of the time...I am kind of weird like that.  Even my man, Johnny Mac, annoys me here and there. 

 

What I can't stand, however, is a flip-flopper and a potential liar.  I will not vote for someone that is only saying what he thinks will get him elected.  I will stand by a Barak Obama who makes a dumbass comment like "I'll negotiate with the President of Iran" before I will stand by a man who claims to be a lifelong hunter when really, he doesn't even own a gun (owning a gun is by no means a requirement to get my vote...FYI).  At least Obama is being honest with us.  At least you know where he stands. 

 

Primaries start very soon.  I think my man has a chance to pull this thing off! 

So...I'm on Facebook now, as well as MySpace and Spaces.  Anyway, interesting thing about Facebook are all their goofy applications.  One is the "US Politics" application.  I signed up for this one and have had a good time reading the answers posted under the "Debate" section.  The question a few days ago was, "Are we safer now then we were before 9/11?"

 

Remarkably, to me, some 55% of the people were saying No...we are not more safer.  The other options were, Yes, we are safer, We're just as safe or Not Sure. 

 

I am curious...where the heck are 55% of these contributing people getting their facts?  The US is clearly safer than we were people 9/11.  How many people have been caught Before they could pull something off?  How many attacks have there been on US soil? 

 

The real question isn't, "Are we safer."  The question should be, "Is our safety worth what we're giving up?"  I have no doubt that, here in the US, I am safer than I was.  I don't mind the longer security lines.  I don't mind having to wait for my parents at baggage claim instead of at the gate.  The inconveniences don't bother me. 

 

I do mind having my calls screened.  I do mind the goverment looking into what I check out from the library.  There are a lot of freedoms that we, as Americans, have been forced to give up to maintain our safety.

 

Now...granted...I am a white guy, born right here in the U. S. of A. to American parents who were born to American parents who were born to American parents.  Not a lot of 4th Generation White Americans have Uncle Sam breathing down their necks.  So, I can't speak to actual experience. 

 

However, there are a number of Muslim Americans who are also born to US Parents.  These people are being watched very closely, according to what I've read.   I think that sucks.  I don't think it's worth lessening the freedoms of any American.  At what point do we start losing freedoms promised to us by our Founding Fathers.  I don't think Free Speech, Free Religion and Free Assembly can be too far behind at the rate we're going.

 

But...still...we are safer.  The attacks are all happening overseas.  And, not to American civilians. 

 

Just my $.02. 

So...I have a new favorite show. 

 

Over the summer, I decided to check out Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica.  Thought it was awesome.  Then, I checked out Season 2.  Thought it was awesomer.  I just finished Season 3 and this show is officially Kick Ass.

 

I've even gotten my wife hooked, which is a plus.  We caught "Raptor" when it was on.  It was alright...good filler while people wait for Season 4 to start in March.  But, not nearly as good as the series. 

 

I love shows that have a mythalogical backstory.  A serial series that keeps you tied to the screen wondering what will happen next.  This is the reason I love LOST, and it was the reason I loved The X-Files (at least the first 5 seasons.) 

 

Battlestar Galactica has a great one.  First of all...the idea that they are searching for Earth.  This comes right out of the original series, but it's still a great premise.  The characters are looking for a place that my no exist.  They are relying on faith.  As the viewer, sitting on my comfy man chair on planet Earth, I know it exists...I know their faith is justified.  Moving on from that basic story...we begin to learn more and more about who the cylons really are, and what they're trying to do.  Season 3 introduces us to the idea of the Final 5 Cylons.  But, are they really Cylons?  They seem to be a part of the human mythology, as well.  Are they all worshiping the same God?  Who are the Final 5?  (I think we learn 4 of them in the Season 3 Finale, but I am not convinced (I won't give it away, because I encourage everyone to go out an catch up in time to watch the series live starting in March.)

 

That's really about it.  Go watch the show.  I can ramble on, but it won't make sense unless you're a fan.  But, I love this show!

 

Don't watch the Second Clip unless you've seen all three seasons.  It's the promo for Season 4, and it will spoil things if you haven't seen nthem all yet.

 

But, you can watch the first one.  "I love your bluish glow and your drunk XO"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, this is somewhat old news, but I have been dying to blog on it since I first heard the article on KIRO.  Apparently, there was some Federal subsidy that made birth control cheap for college students.  $10/month instead of $25 or more.  The posted article really doesn't talk about why this subsidy ended, but if I remember correctly, the Feds felt that drug companies were taking advantage of it, or something.  Don't quote me on that. 

 

But, that's not really what this post is about.  I am wondering if, as Americans, as humans, whatever...do we have a "Right" to Birth control?  I missed the Paragraph about it in the Constitution and I don't remember good ol' T. Jefferson mentioning it in the Declaration of Independence. 

 

In the article I heard on KIRO, they interviewed a college student who said, and I remember this line almost verbatim, "I was forced to make a choice I should never have to make.  I had to choose between buying my birth control or buying groceries."

 

Now...a disclaimer before my rant.  While I am Catholic, I have no problems with the use of Birth Control.  Zero (unless you want to define abortion as a means of birth control in which case you will send me on a separate rant).  I think Birth Control is 100% A-Oh-Kay.  I mean, there is a reason I have been married for over 5 years and don't have any children.  And, I will continue to tell people (and myself) that it is solely due to birth control and NOT lack of sex.

 

Anyway...this poor girl had to choose between her birth control and her groceries.  In the posted article, a group of college students put a sign up next to Ramen and pills that reads, ""Which would you choose? Birth control or food."

 

So, let's address what birth control is, for a moment.  Birth control is a preventative drug.  It's designed to allow people to do the nas-tay and not get knocked up.  There are other advantages to it, which will always be the first things out of the mouths of people who disagree with me (regulates periods, prevents certain cancers), but these are supplemental bonus features.  Not the purpose for the drug. 

 

So...point 1)  If you can't afford your birth control, find another way to keep from getting pregnant.  Like...tell the dude to use a condom.  If he doesn't want to, be the liberated woman you should be in the 21st century and tell him to take a hike.  Or, how about this idea...don't have sex!  DAMN!  It's revolutionary.

 

But, maybe you will argue that humans are sexual creatures.  Better to be safe than to have a bunch of unwanted kids running around or, worse, aborted.  Okay...fair argument (maybe...because really, I see it as an excuse to be weak).  Fine...you're going to have sex and you don't want to make him wear a condom (and he's a butt munch for not agreeing to).  Then, why don't you get some insurance?  I mean, I was on my parents insurance until I graduated.  Even if I weren't, the college offered a cheap(er than normal) insurance plan that I could have bought into.  There you go...cheap pills again.

 

Look, again...I don't have a problem with birth control.  Heck, I really don't even mind (too much) that the government helps women get it when they can't afford it.  But...this is not a benefit that people should expect forever.  This is a privilege.  It's an assistance that you must accept will go away someday.  Because, no matter how much you want to think you have this, you do NOT have a right to have sex and not get pregnant.  In fact, that's pretty much what sex does.  If feels good, and it gets you pregnant.  Although, it doesn't get me pregnant...Suckers. 

 

Solve your own problems instead of relying on the government to solve them for you.  How about this...choose the groceries over the pills, and spend $15 on a 12 pack of rubbers.  If you're like me, this will last you all year.  I mean...all week.  All week.   

So...a coworker is pregnant.  Actually, about 12 coworkers are pregnant, but we're only talking about 1 today.  The team is throwing a baby shower for her this afternoon.  The ladies organizing the event decided to order cupcakes from Cupcake Royale in good ol' West Seattle.  Since I live in good ol' West Seattle, I was asked to pick them up at 7:30 this morning. 

 

Now, by having to wait until 7:30 to leave, this automatically puts me in the "drive myself" category because the vanpool leaves WS by 7:20, and the bus would take too long, making me late for morning appointments.  But, I am a nice guy, so I said, "Sure."

 

I arrive at Cupcake Royale at 7:30 to pick up the order.  Apparently the "Froster" has slept in or something, because the order is not ready.  Ugh...I notice on my phone that traffic is already starting to look horrible. 

 

45 minutes later, the Froster shows up.  30 minutes after that, the cupcakes are ready. 

 

Now, it's early in the morning, when I am always cranky.  I have to drive myself to work, which makes me crankier, I have been waiting for over an hour, which pushes me right into grouchy and traffic is black on my traffic map, which is downright almost making me angry.

 

But, then the owner came up and said, "We're going to credit your account for this order."  I was like, "All of them?"  And, she said, "Yes." 

 

I wasn't even the one paying for the cupcakes, but this made me feel better.  That's good customer service.  Another place would have given me a coupon for a free cupcake and left it at that (oh, I also got a coupon for a free cupcake).  But, Cupcake Royale went out of the way to compensate me for my time, and the scolding I will probably get from one of my client groups for missing their All Hands. 

 

Props.  http://www.cupcakeroyale.com/

 

 

 

 

So...again, I apologize for the lack of blogging.  One night, I will just sit down and blog on some stuff.  In the meantime, I leave you with this Blast from the Past.  One of my favorite postings to Jason's Page of Love and Hate.  And, an appropriate one, I believe, as, tomorrow, the #19 Gonzaga Bulldogs face off against Interstate rival #6 Washington State University. 

 

 

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October 07