Sunday, July 31, 2005
Readin
So I finally got my reading list how I wanted it. I started it over a week ago and never finished it. But now it is.
Friday, July 15, 2005
countdown
So in the AM, there's some sort of bug in my countdown, and it's always off by 10 days. That's really frustrating, but I don't feel like looking for the bug. So I decided to blog about it instead.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Me and Religion
Okay, so I've been harping on Evangelicals lately. Here's why. I have never met an evangelical that I like. I've never met an evangelical who's faith I respect. I've never met an evangelical who I think is a better person because of their beliefs. Now again, that's my personal experience. But being in the Bible belt, I've met my share of evangelicals. That being said, I know many Catholics, Jews, and Protestants whom I do respect, and think that religion is doing a good thing for them.
Also, someone in a comment mentioned me questioning my own beliefs. Let me say that I am more than willing to examine and question my beliefs. For example, if someone was able to offer real proof to me that their religion was correct (while not relying on the Bible), I would be more than willing to examine that religion and follow it's teachings, and try to spread it's teachings. The thing is, so far, I have no reason to believe on specific religion is more right than another. That's why I refuse to get caught up in the "my religion is right, you're going to hell" game. Contrary to popular beliefs, I am not an athiest. That would require me to adhere to something that I've already said I don't know about. If I was forced to call myself something, it would be agnostic. Which many people equate with athiesm, but it isn't at all. Agnostics admit that they don't know if there's a God or not. Religion is something that I'm not willing to judge someone else by, unless I think that it makes them a worse person.
All that being said, I do think religion can have alot to offer many people. I think it's something that everyone should consider and examine. For myself, I derive my morality from inside myself. I don't need a book or anything else to tell me what I think is right or wrong. Some people need that guidance. Finally, I think that religion does have more to offer than just that. I do plan on "shopping" churches once I move to Austin. First on my list is Unitarian, second is Methodist.
Okay, this was alot of ramblings.
Also, someone in a comment mentioned me questioning my own beliefs. Let me say that I am more than willing to examine and question my beliefs. For example, if someone was able to offer real proof to me that their religion was correct (while not relying on the Bible), I would be more than willing to examine that religion and follow it's teachings, and try to spread it's teachings. The thing is, so far, I have no reason to believe on specific religion is more right than another. That's why I refuse to get caught up in the "my religion is right, you're going to hell" game. Contrary to popular beliefs, I am not an athiest. That would require me to adhere to something that I've already said I don't know about. If I was forced to call myself something, it would be agnostic. Which many people equate with athiesm, but it isn't at all. Agnostics admit that they don't know if there's a God or not. Religion is something that I'm not willing to judge someone else by, unless I think that it makes them a worse person.
All that being said, I do think religion can have alot to offer many people. I think it's something that everyone should consider and examine. For myself, I derive my morality from inside myself. I don't need a book or anything else to tell me what I think is right or wrong. Some people need that guidance. Finally, I think that religion does have more to offer than just that. I do plan on "shopping" churches once I move to Austin. First on my list is Unitarian, second is Methodist.
Okay, this was alot of ramblings.
I think Christians are ruining the country
Haha. I love learning new things about myself. This is the newest thing I've learned. I think Christians are ruining the country. I love it when people who have never had a real conversation with me about my beliefs assume they know what I think. My beliefs are extremely complex and are based on all of my life experiences. No one sentence will ever sum them up. Well, except maybe "Damn Liberal" :)
Let me just say, I love Christians. I think Christianity has a lot to offer and can teach people great things. Now that I've said that, I'll say that the majority of Evangelical Christians (southern babtists, Bible church goers) that I've met aren't nice. They don't follow what I believe to be real Christianity (the following of Christ's teachings). I think most evangelicals (that I've met) simply blindly follow what their preachers tell them. Which are generally crazy rantings about abortion, war, and subservient women.
There's nothing I respect more than a person who has really questioned their faith, and still believes. If they can answer the tough questions, then I respect them. Most people I've met, though, can't actually answer the tough questions and simply hide behind what their ministers/preachers tell them to believe.
Anyway, I need to go to bed. I might talk about this more tomorrow. We'll see if I'm in the mood.
Let me just say, I love Christians. I think Christianity has a lot to offer and can teach people great things. Now that I've said that, I'll say that the majority of Evangelical Christians (southern babtists, Bible church goers) that I've met aren't nice. They don't follow what I believe to be real Christianity (the following of Christ's teachings). I think most evangelicals (that I've met) simply blindly follow what their preachers tell them. Which are generally crazy rantings about abortion, war, and subservient women.
There's nothing I respect more than a person who has really questioned their faith, and still believes. If they can answer the tough questions, then I respect them. Most people I've met, though, can't actually answer the tough questions and simply hide behind what their ministers/preachers tell them to believe.
Anyway, I need to go to bed. I might talk about this more tomorrow. We'll see if I'm in the mood.
Monday, July 11, 2005
30 Days
I love this show. It's done by the Super-Size Me guy, Morgan Spurlock. It's a great show where Morgan gets people to challenge their beliefs and prejiduces.
In one show Muslim and America. A white, christina guy from West Virginia goes to live with a Muslim family. During his 30 days he gets to know the Muslim faith and what the belive and stand for. He talks with Muslim religious leaders and befriends his host family.
The one that really sealed the deal for me, though, was the one I saw last night, Gay/Straight. In this one, a "God-fearing 24-year old conservative homophobe" from rural Michigan was sent to live in San Francisco's Castro district that is known as being one of the gayest areas of the country. While there he joined a gay sports team, worked a job which caters to gay clientele, attends gay-friendly church services, and has a gay roomate. Through all of this he sticks with his idea that being gay according to the Bible is wrong. That is until day 28. That's when he starts to realize that these people aren't just gay. They are daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, friends. They are the same as him.
It was great to see his change. It was frustrating to see him stick by these specific Bible passages even as he ignored specific other ones when it came to him. (killing is a sin, he's in the military and thinks it's okay to kill for your country, etc.)
Throughout the whole thing he was adament that he doesn't think gays should be allowed in the military. Then at the end he realizes that he wouldn't mind having his roomate in his unit. So that's his real turning point I think where he starts to realize that these people aren't evil, and they're not any different than you and me.
Oh, I just love it! I wish everyone had to really examine their views like this. It's alot harder to stick by your hurtful ideas when you're personally involved and you have to tell your friend or family that you don't think they deserve to be happy or have the same things in life as you. (Although I know a few people who don't have a problem with this, but hopefully they're the exception, crazy evangelical Christians, and not the rule)
In one show Muslim and America. A white, christina guy from West Virginia goes to live with a Muslim family. During his 30 days he gets to know the Muslim faith and what the belive and stand for. He talks with Muslim religious leaders and befriends his host family.
The one that really sealed the deal for me, though, was the one I saw last night, Gay/Straight. In this one, a "God-fearing 24-year old conservative homophobe" from rural Michigan was sent to live in San Francisco's Castro district that is known as being one of the gayest areas of the country. While there he joined a gay sports team, worked a job which caters to gay clientele, attends gay-friendly church services, and has a gay roomate. Through all of this he sticks with his idea that being gay according to the Bible is wrong. That is until day 28. That's when he starts to realize that these people aren't just gay. They are daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, friends. They are the same as him.
It was great to see his change. It was frustrating to see him stick by these specific Bible passages even as he ignored specific other ones when it came to him. (killing is a sin, he's in the military and thinks it's okay to kill for your country, etc.)
Throughout the whole thing he was adament that he doesn't think gays should be allowed in the military. Then at the end he realizes that he wouldn't mind having his roomate in his unit. So that's his real turning point I think where he starts to realize that these people aren't evil, and they're not any different than you and me.
Oh, I just love it! I wish everyone had to really examine their views like this. It's alot harder to stick by your hurtful ideas when you're personally involved and you have to tell your friend or family that you don't think they deserve to be happy or have the same things in life as you. (Although I know a few people who don't have a problem with this, but hopefully they're the exception, crazy evangelical Christians, and not the rule)
Friday, July 08, 2005
Take that Biatches...
Finally people are coming out and telling the truth about DeLay and his fundraising tactics.
If you don't think that activities like this are a shot in the arm to democracy, and if you aren't outraged. Then there's a problem. We the people need to start standing up to these activities. Republican and Democratic. It's the only way that we're ever going to be represented instead of the companies being represented.
In court documents, Westar Energy of Kansas says that to meet with Mr. DeLay in 2002, company officials "were told they needed to write a check for $25,000" to Texans for a Republican Majority, known as TRMPAC.
If you don't think that activities like this are a shot in the arm to democracy, and if you aren't outraged. Then there's a problem. We the people need to start standing up to these activities. Republican and Democratic. It's the only way that we're ever going to be represented instead of the companies being represented.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Step up Texas
I found a really awesome website today. It's called Step up Texas. It's a website that encourages discussion about democratic candidates in texas. It shows all potential candidates and you can endorse them or comment on them. I think it's a great idea and it's going to be a great forum to make sure that only the best democratic candidates run for office.
See, this is why I love the democratic party. There's so much involvement.
See, this is why I love the democratic party. There's so much involvement.
Differences between the Republican and Democratic Parties
I've been wanting to discuss this for quite a while now. I'm finally getting around to it. I have to preface this by saying that I'm going to relate party politics to blogs, and you're going to have to hear me out. Danny about called me stupid the other night, but by the time I was done with my argument, he understood. So read on.
Okay, so if we look at the top liberal and conservative blogs we find major differences. The top liberal blogs (dailykos, etc) are community based sites. Readers can not only read posts but they can put comments and even post their own diaries. Discussion is encouraged and ideas are exchanged.
Now looking at the top conservative blogs (powerline, etc) we see that no discussion is allowed. Most of them don't even let you comment. You read, you agree, that's it. No differing opinion, no discussion.
So this brings me to the parties. The Democratic party is dependent on the people. It has been very reliant in the past few years on grass roots efforts. Democrats are more critical of their leaders. They hold them accountable for every decision they make. There is almost as much negativity about democrats on the daily kos as there is about republicans. We want people who will represent us and what we stand for. This is why democrats are more likely to go over to third parties such as the green party.
The republican party is the party of big business. But more than that, they tell you what to believe. It's a top down system. The top says what you should think, and then the talking heads are disbursed to convince you why you should think that. The republican party is part of a huge machine that tells you what to think. Republicans aren't held accountable for their decisions. Conservatives more often stick to that one important issue and ignore every other decision their representative makes.
So this brings me to how do the democrats win. How do you beat the machine without building a machine yourself? I don't ever want there to actually be a vast left wing conspiracy, but I want to win. In my opinion, though, if we win by building a machine, we've actually lost. So what to do. I just don't know.
Okay, so if we look at the top liberal and conservative blogs we find major differences. The top liberal blogs (dailykos, etc) are community based sites. Readers can not only read posts but they can put comments and even post their own diaries. Discussion is encouraged and ideas are exchanged.
Now looking at the top conservative blogs (powerline, etc) we see that no discussion is allowed. Most of them don't even let you comment. You read, you agree, that's it. No differing opinion, no discussion.
So this brings me to the parties. The Democratic party is dependent on the people. It has been very reliant in the past few years on grass roots efforts. Democrats are more critical of their leaders. They hold them accountable for every decision they make. There is almost as much negativity about democrats on the daily kos as there is about republicans. We want people who will represent us and what we stand for. This is why democrats are more likely to go over to third parties such as the green party.
The republican party is the party of big business. But more than that, they tell you what to believe. It's a top down system. The top says what you should think, and then the talking heads are disbursed to convince you why you should think that. The republican party is part of a huge machine that tells you what to think. Republicans aren't held accountable for their decisions. Conservatives more often stick to that one important issue and ignore every other decision their representative makes.
So this brings me to how do the democrats win. How do you beat the machine without building a machine yourself? I don't ever want there to actually be a vast left wing conspiracy, but I want to win. In my opinion, though, if we win by building a machine, we've actually lost. So what to do. I just don't know.
Supreme Court Judge
Okay, so I'm finally posting. I just wanted to make a point here. I was at a restaurant the other day that had fox news on (I know, why I was somewhere that would actually put on fox news is beyond me). But anyway, on fox news they said that the "religious" right (I put religious in quotes because these people are actually evil...more on that later) will push Bush to appoint an extremely conservative justice and the left will push for exactly the opposite.
Okay, so this is where I start laughing my ass off. ARE THEY STUPID?!?! (Yes, we already know that answer) Yes, the left might WANT the opposite, but given the president, they are not stupid. They are going to push for a moderate. Someone who's not extreme, and woin't legislate from the bench. The right keeps talking about "activist judges", but what they really want is an activist judge. They just want them to be activist and push their relgious views on the rest of the country.
There has been alot of talk about Gonzales which Focus on the Family is adamently against. I dont' think he's that bad (aside from his love affair with torture). I actually think he's as moderate as we're going to get, and I would be perfectly satisfied with him on the bench.
It'll be interesting to see how much power Dobson really has over Bush and how this all plays out. It's like a soap opera, really.
Okay, so this is where I start laughing my ass off. ARE THEY STUPID?!?! (Yes, we already know that answer) Yes, the left might WANT the opposite, but given the president, they are not stupid. They are going to push for a moderate. Someone who's not extreme, and woin't legislate from the bench. The right keeps talking about "activist judges", but what they really want is an activist judge. They just want them to be activist and push their relgious views on the rest of the country.
There has been alot of talk about Gonzales which Focus on the Family is adamently against. I dont' think he's that bad (aside from his love affair with torture). I actually think he's as moderate as we're going to get, and I would be perfectly satisfied with him on the bench.
It'll be interesting to see how much power Dobson really has over Bush and how this all plays out. It's like a soap opera, really.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
work, lily, lake, and more work...
As usual I have a ton of political stuff I want to blog about. But as usual, I don't have the time or the energy. So a personal post it is.
I only have 9 more days of work. Yay! That's very exciting. Then for a whole month, I can do whatever. It's gonna be great.
Lily got spayed last week. They said she was going to have her stitches in and have to wear an e-collar (cone) for 7 to 10 days. I took her in to the vet today and some of her stitches were coming out, so she has to wear her collar for 3 more days, and I've got to keep her in her kennel as much as possible. Poor baby. :( This weekend we're going to Austin, though, so that should be fun for her. Hopefully everything will be okay and they don't have to go in to sew her back up. Also, she's on antibiotics for 7 days. *sigh*
I went to the lake this weekend. It was tons of fun. I had a good time. I thought I was ready to get back to CS, but now that I'm back, I'm ready to get back to the lake.
I'm sick. It sucks. I should probably go ahead and get some work done so I can leave early today and get some rest. Later.
I only have 9 more days of work. Yay! That's very exciting. Then for a whole month, I can do whatever. It's gonna be great.
Lily got spayed last week. They said she was going to have her stitches in and have to wear an e-collar (cone) for 7 to 10 days. I took her in to the vet today and some of her stitches were coming out, so she has to wear her collar for 3 more days, and I've got to keep her in her kennel as much as possible. Poor baby. :( This weekend we're going to Austin, though, so that should be fun for her. Hopefully everything will be okay and they don't have to go in to sew her back up. Also, she's on antibiotics for 7 days. *sigh*
I went to the lake this weekend. It was tons of fun. I had a good time. I thought I was ready to get back to CS, but now that I'm back, I'm ready to get back to the lake.
I'm sick. It sucks. I should probably go ahead and get some work done so I can leave early today and get some rest. Later.
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