As Seen On The Bathroom Wall

This goes out to every single resident of Hawai'i who heard the siren call of "native" son Barack Obama's presidential election and subsequent visit back "home" to Hawai'i this Holiday season. We're not Stalkarazzi. Hawai'i has always been a place where people with high profile names could come to relax because we locals don't let crap like that slide.

We don't like being shoved out of the way by paparazzi trying to get a picture of someone's ass. We don't like having sand kicked in our face because some idiot with a camera is trying to capture a shot of someone in a bikini. We don't do stuff like that here, so quit it. And shame on YOU, Honolulu Advertiser, for telling your readers to take pictures of Obama and send them in, all to boost revenue sales on your website. You've never done that for any past visiting president nor celebrity alike, even those born and raised here, or those that live here most of the year, and there are many.

My true cause for concern and ire here stems not from the treatment that the locals will receive by those clamoring to get that precious, potentially Pulitzer Prize winning (in your dreams) shot - it's an issue as to the safety of the future president and his family that worries me. The news has been riddled with stories of people and groups plotting to kill him for something as simple as the color of his skin... and we have people taking photos of him in front of his vacation home. This isn't the invited press taking these shots, let me remind you. Yes, Obama invited the usual group of press corps, as is the norm. However, that infamous shot of him without his shirt on didn't come from one of them. How difficult would it have been for that cameraman to have been a man with a grudge, and instead of a camera in his hands, something more dangerous?

Sure, there are going to be people who question why I feel so strongly about this, and let me make it quite clear that yes, I would have made the same comments about Bush had these things happened to him, but frankly, no one really gave a damn about him; Bush has no star power which didn't invite much in the way of public interest outside of the White House. The reality that he will be the least popular President in history will definitely not go unnoticed by both his detractors and his supporters, but let it be known that even he deserves to be safe and be left alone.

Obama and his family have been kept virtual prisoners of their home because of this intense media hounding, and I'm truly saddened by it. He couldn't even say farewell to his tutu in peace, which violates everything we here in Hawai'i stand for. Live Aloha; you see those damn bumper stickers on just about every car here. A'ole pilikia to everyone who forgot what that meant when they stood and took pictures of him saying Aloha to his tutu. Shame on you.

as long as you give them back their money, too.

Supporters of Proposition 8 are pushing for the more than 18k marriages to be dissolved/nullified, which is quite hypocritical when you think of it. Supporters of MARRIAGE want annulments for over 36k people.

Well, that's fine. Of course, in return, the state and counties need to refund all of these couples their marriage license fees, the tax dollars accrued for the event costs, etc... Seems pretty reasonable and fair, right?

What does that amount to again? From my understanding, over $18 million dollars were earned from the state from taxes and fees alone. That doesn't include what the businesses themselves made. That has to go back, too, I'm afraid. Refund it all.

If anyone has a problem with that, you can take it up with your local Prop8 supporter. Marriage may mean a governmental union between one man and one woman now in the State of California, but it wasn't when these individuals got married. If you want to say they couldn't do it at all, retroactively, then they need to be reimbursed.

I hope you enjoy paying up and out. Just think of this as a lesson in fiscal responsibility. Don't want to pay? Don't try and deny people the very same rights you would demand for yourself.

It's been raining something fierce these past couple of days, and though it's supposed to ease off by Monday, come Wednesday we'll be seeing more rain. I have mixed feelings about this, because though we need the rain, it's put damn kinks in my plans.

I was supposed to go to a play this evening with my family, but the rains caused our road to be closed - yay - and we had fifteen cars parked in front of our gate because the intersection just a few feet away from said gate had been overtaken by a fast flowing river that had overflowed its banks. Lovely, no? In the opposite direction was debris, more fast flowing water - though not as much - and a line of cars, a fire truck, and onlookers.

Had we left this evening, I would have been able to meet up with a dear friend of mine whom I haven't been able to see for years. Of course, had we left this evening, we wouldn't have been able to return. The way home has been closed off due to flooding. Fun.

Our neighbor's yard is completely decimated, our yard feels like a soaked sponge, and I feel like such a schmuck for telling my friends that I'd be at the play, and then didn't show up. There's not much I could have done about it, I know, but I still feel poorly about the whole thing. So, hopefully I'll be able to meet up with my friend tomorrow if the weather abates enough.

Oh, and why should you call me Noah? Because I'd be toting my two boys and two girls across the flood. Duh.

The following link takes you to a story of one of the families that lives on our street whose home was flooded just the other day because of all this rain.

http://www.khon2.com/news/local/36035159.html

This one is about the rain on my side of the island.

http://www.khon2.com/news/local/36028394.html

Because I love really odd and quirky crap.

Deep Fried Computer

On this day, four years ago, I gave birth to my youngest daughter, after a very difficult, and stress filled pregnancy. We were told early on that we should abort because of complications that could arise from my undergoing so many x-rays and being treated with certain medications that were detrimental to a growing fetus (we didn't know I was pregnant at the time), but I'm stubborn, but all tests that were taken later showed that my baby girl would be fine.

Fast forward to December 11, 2008 and I'm amazed at how my family has grown, and how incomplete it would be without my precious Lotte's presence. She is a light, a joy, a sweet and precocious child who never leaves you without a smile.

Happy Birthday, mommy's Bebe.

I had Christmas down in Africa! Five golden rings!!!

Share!!

Hit Ctrl + A and then Ctrl + C to Select all and copy. Happy Christmas!

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Fighting Against Injustice Against Our Neighbors like looting from our neighbors.

Dec 9, 9:17 PM EST

Clashes, looting rock Greek cities for 4th night

By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS and ELENA BECATOROS
Associated Press Writer

ATHEN, Greece (AP) -- Masked youths and looters marauded through Greek cities for a fourth night Tuesday, in an explosion of rage triggered by the police shooting of a teenager that has unleashed the most violent riots in a quarter century.

The nightly scenes of burning street barricades, looted stores and overturned cars have threatened to topple the country's increasingly unpopular conservative government, which faces mounting calls for Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis to resign.

Police fired tear gas at protesters Tuesday following the funeral of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos, who was laid to rest in an Athens burial attended by about 6,000 people.

The rioting - which has engulfed cities from Thessaloniki in the north to the holiday island of Corfu and Crete in the south - threatens the 52-year-old Karamanlis, who already faced growing dissatisfaction over financial and social reforms at a time of deep anxiety over growing economic gloom.

Opposition Socialist leader George Papandreou called for early elections, charging the conservatives were incapable of defending the public from rioters.

"The government cannot handle this crisis and has lost the trust of the Greek people," Papandreou said. "The best thing it can do is resign and let the people find a solution ... We will protect the public."

The call was echoed by protesters, who, though they have not voiced any particular policy goals, say they want Karamanlis out.

"It's very simple - we want the government to fall. This boy's death was the last straw for us," Petros Constantinou, an organizer with the Socialist Workers Party, said in Athens. "This government wants the poor to pay for all the country's problems - never the rich - and they keep those who protest in line using police oppression."

Karamanlis, whose New Democracy party narrowly won re-election a year ago, has ignored the calls.

Greece was torn by years of civil war between communists and right-wing nationalists in the wake of World War II, and was ruled by a military dictatorship from 1967 to 1974.

Though a student uprising succeeded in ending military rule in 1974, it also left a legacy of activism and simmering tensions between the security establishment and a phalanx of deeply entrenched leftist groups that often protest against globalization and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and elsewhere.

The groups have now evolved into various mainly youth factions that claim to fight trends ranging from globalization to police surveillance cameras. Their impact is usually limited to graffiti and late-night firebomb attacks on targets such as stores and cash machines.

But the latest riots have moved far beyond the small antiestablishment groups to become a siege of Karamanlis' government. Teenagers and university students have joined self-styled anarchists in much of the rioting and destruction.

The fallout from the riots, which has seen police stations nationwide come under attack by rock- and Molotov cocktail-throwing youths, could be far-reaching.

"This reaction will register as major discontent in the next public opinion polls, which will hobble the government's effectiveness," political analyst Anthony Livanios told The Associated Press. Whenever the government tries to pass reforms, "Greek society will react - while the level of parliamentary opposition will increase."

The government is already facing public discontent over the state of the economy, the poor job prospects of students and a series of financial scandals that have badly rattled public confidence.

Greece is heavily dependent on tourism, which could decline as a result of the global economic crisis.

Karamanlis trails the Socialists in recent opinion polls and would struggle to win a general ballot now. His government clings to a single seat majority in the 300-member Parliament and could be brought down by a single defection, though it is unlikely any deputy would risk his political career to topple a government at a time of civil unrest.

A poll released Tuesday gave the Socialists a 4.8 percent lead over Karamanlis' conservatives. The poll gave no margin of error.

A senior Socialist party official, Christos Protopappas, blamed underlying social inequalities for the violence, saying the government's policies exacerbated the gap between rich and poor.

"If there is no change in policies, I fear that what will happen in six months or one year will be much worse," he said.

Analyst Livanios agreed. "This was an emotional reaction after public opinion was outraged by the unfortunate event of the teenager's killing," he said. "Clearly, during very negative economic conditions people with very low incomes and jobless people who can see no future for themselves became part of this social reaction."

On Tuesday, police fired tear gas to dispel dozens of youths throwing stones and sticks and setting trash cans on fire near the funeral for Grigoropoulos, whose death Saturday sparked the rioting. Dozens of local residents gathered on the streets, shouting at police to stop firing gas in the residential area.

Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis said "the winds of destruction are blowing through our city."

Schools and universities across Greece were closed for the funeral and hundreds of teachers, university lecturers and students rallied in central Athens, where hundreds of teenagers threw rocks and scuffled with officers.

Still, the clashes were less severe than the rioting over the past three nights.

Amnesty International accused Greek police of heavy-handed tactics against protesters, saying police "engaged in punitive violence against peaceful demonstrators" instead of focusing on rioters.

----

Associated Press writers Derek Gatopoulos and Menelaos Hadjicostis contributed to this report.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press

A lot of twihards are going to have a hard time accepting the sex scene between Robert Pattinson and Javier Beltran. Oh well.

No limit.

...People are living with AIDS in this world today.

Mothers, Fathers, Sons, Daughters, Brothers, Sisters, Friends, Lovers.

Today we stop to take a moment to remember everyone who has come into our lives and brought with them the painful, yet important lesson that AIDS is.

AIDS isn't a disease that affects just the victim. It affects us all. The butterfly effect has fluttered her wings on society, and unless we stop, think, and educate each other, we will continue to ride the rippling waves that AIDS is in this world.

Dear me, I am excited. How beautifully intriguing is the second clip, when Robert's Salvadore finds his muse in Javier's Federico?

I'm quite annoyed by the scripture used in the latter part of this interview with which the Pastor quotes that in Isaiah 3:22, the bible says that God is our Judge, God is our Lawgiver, and God is our King.

Okay, first of all, PASTOR, Isaiah 3:22 talks about removing from women their fancy garb and adornments as a means of punishing them for flaunting their wealth and sexuality amongst the poor and downtrodden whom have remained faithful. So, before you start throwing scripture in my face, at least make it RIGHT.

Second, how can ANYONE expect to believe you'd know what a muslim is when you can't even quote the book you would demand everyone be faithful to correctly?

Third, if Obama WERE Muslim, so what? Does it really matter when the past 8 years under a CHRISTIAN president have seen far worse times than we've had in the past 50?

Fourth, don't ignore the plain truths before you regarding our constitution and the words by which the forefathers of this nation bore so that we'd be able to demand equality with regards to our practicing of faith of OUR choosing, and not anyone else.

Fifth, you claim that Obama isn't a Christian because he says that there might be more than one path to God. In my first point, I made clear that your statement was incorrect. However, had you been correct, you're still insinuating that the President of this country would be King, which one, goes against the whole idea of Democracy, which our forefathers were fighting against in the first place, two, violates that pesky little commandment about thou shalt have no other Gods. What is a King but a man-god on a throne? You would have us label the President as King, and worship him? Hardly.

Lastly, you have not proven that Obama is a Muslim. His name isn't Muslim, the people that raised him aren't Muslim, and the way he lives his life definitely isn't Muslim, in ANY sense, so please... tell me how is Barack Hussein Obama a Muslim in anything other than your own imagination?

Lord, save me from your followers.

"She fucking named him Mowgli?"

The pop star has finally popped.

Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and her rocker hubby Pete Wentz welcomed son Bronx Mowgli Wentz, their first child together, Thursday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The baby boy weighed in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces and measure 20 1/2 inches long.

"Ashlee, Pete and baby Bronx are all healthy and happy, and thank everyone for their well wishes," a rep for the couple, who tied the knot back in May of this year, told People.

The birth itself comes almost three weeks after the 29-year-old Fall Out Boy frontman told Ryan Seacrest that his 24-year-old missus was "very pregnant…She's at the very end, and it could happen at any point."

New aunt Jessica Simpson, meanwhile, said during an Ellen DeGeneres Show taping on Monday that her sister was considering inducing labor.

"I think she's really just jumping around trying everything right now" to get the baby out, Simpson said.

It's already going to have a hell of a hard time having a dumbass for an aunt, a lip-syncher for a mom, and a guyliner wearing doofus for a dad... And now he gets to do it with the name MOWGLI.

Oh where the HELL is Bagira when you need him?

When you pay more attention to the only relevant part of your body and totally ignore the one that is empty of anything but wandering silicone.

From the Honolulu Advertiser:

Hawai'i's most prolific and beloved watercolor artist, Peggy Chun, succumbed today to ALS, known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
Advertisement

She was diagnosed with the disease in 2002.

As the disease took its toll, she did not allow it to stop her creativity. Always seeing the best in life, she said she was "living with, not dying of, ALS." She continued to paint.

In 2003, when she lost the use of her right hand, she painted with her left. In 2004 a weakened left hand sent the brush to her teeth. When she was fully paralyzed, a computer allowed her to paint with her eyes. "After all," she said, "you don't paint with your hands, you paint with your heart."

Born in Lawton, Okla., Peggy moved to Hawai'i in 1968. She taught school and owned a successful Christmas ornament company. When her twin sister and noted artist, Bobbie Segler, died of ALS, Peggy was inspired to paint. Her work is featured in fine art galleries in Hawai'i and in private and corporate collections across the globe.

Her husband, Elroy Chun, son Eric and a large, loving family have supported her through the years of building her career as an artist and the years of continuing her success against all odds. For six years Peggy was encouraged and assisted in her artistic endeavors by a now nationally famous group of friends and volunteers called the Peg's Legs.

Celebrating an early Thanksgiving with hundreds of friends, Peggy's husband Elroy, said, "Peggy, if we have become more tolerant and forgiving, we owe much of that change in ourselves to you. May Akua prepare your heavenly journey with blessings richly deserved upon taking residence in your new abode. We love and will dearly miss you."

Mary Margaret "Peggy" Richard Chun is survived by:

Husband: Elroy Chun;

Son: Eric Keala Chun, daughter-in-law Jessica Kimi Chun, granddaughter Indiana Anuhea, grandson Sawyer Kumula'au;

Daughter: Leslie, son-in-law Stuart Streuli, granddaughter Hanalei of Newport, R.I.;

Step-son: Bruce Akoni Yong, wife Briar, step-granddaughter Makena of Santa Barbara, Calif.;

Nephew: (son of Peggy's twin sister) Jason Segler, wife Jennifer, grandnieces Jade and Cian, Honolulu;

Nephew: Damon Segler, wife Desiree, grand nephew Dillon;

Niece: (daughter of Peggy's twin sister) Tina Segler, grandniece Molly;

Father: Joseph Richard, stepmother Sara of Lawton, Okla.;

Brothers: Joseph Perry "J P" Richard, John Richard, Peter Richard of Oklahoma; Matthew "Matt" Richard of Tacoma, Wash.; Michael Richard of Colorado Springs, Colo.;

Sister: Camille Richard Fox, husband Joseph, son Silas of Lake City, Colo.;

Peggy is also survived by the famed Peg's Legs 'Ohana of caregivers who served for six years as Peggy's arms, legs and best friends.

One of her works, "Manoa Stream", is a place most people who live in Hawai'i have visited and hiked. I think it represents her spirit the best. Like Peggy, no storm could weather its beauty, and keep the essence from deep inside from flowing out and touching everything and everyone who ever comes across it in ways they'll never forget.

God Bless you, Peggy. Now you can paint the stars from up close. Aloha.

The unbelievable feeling of disgust I am feeling at the incompetent and irresponsible Senate that we have in this country.

They go against the people's wishes when they agree to a disgustingly exorbitant fourth home mortgage for the disgustingly wealthy bailout package, they push us further into debt than we already are, and now, when the auto industry, the nations LARGEST EMPLOYER (both directly, and indirectly by proxy) IN THE COUNTRY is floundering amid a recession that NO ONE wants to admit we're having except the people whose names AREN'T at the head of some government firm dealing with the economy, those very same Senators who said that the massively outrageous method of paying for breast jobs and face lifts for second wives to feel better about themselves because of their husbands' fourth mistresses bailout would help KEEP jobs in this country, KEEP the economy going, KEEP us from slipping into the "R" word, and subsequently the "D" word, are refusing to help.

Well here are sixteen words for you, Senators from every state that is against helping out the average Bobs, Michaels, Jills, and Janes of this country who pay for your Armani suits and Lobster dinners: If you're not going to do the fucking job you were paid for, you're fucking fired!

No, you can't take it back
What you said to me
There's more that you have done
that can be erased with
I'm Sorry
Your voice is ringing in my ears
but all I feel is the sting
of what I'm listening
to

No, you can't make it up
to me with
Flowers and tries of prose
I'm not that easily swayed
on it
Your face is centered in on mine
but all I taste is bitter truth
of hurt coming through
you

You can walk away and run away
and fly away and stalk away
and write away
and while away
but your words they stay
and the stain remains

Watch the following series of youtube videos that make up a special filmed by British Comedian Keith Allen (father of British Pop Star Lily Allen) about the Westboro Baptist Church and never again question whether or not there are fanatical Christian extremists out there.











How do you feel? Shirley Phelp's dismissal of her own sin while condemning everyone, mother, father, AND child for the very same one is indicative of what WBC is all about: Do as we say, not as we do. They're building their own little Utopia here. It consists of 2 families procreating with each other, producing illegitimate children, and screaming FAG FAG FAG FAG FAG as loud as they can while their children swallow up their bile and vitriol.

Here's scripture for you:

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs: 24:17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice

Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Never let it be said that the book that they take such vile hatred from is the same one that the majority of Christians read. It might contain the same text, it might contain the same quotes, but their eyes have tainted the message, and that message is to LOVE each other, for without the faith in each other, we can not have faith in God. These people have given up on humanity, and only believe in themselves. And no, I do NOT believe them to be human, animal, or mineral, for even a dog knows when to pick up its shit and leave.

Take a look at the following picture and tell me if it offends you or not.

That is the image that is seen on a shirt that was pulled from the Nordstrom stores across the country because a woman said it "offended" her.

Story:

"PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL – A Palm City woman says an Affliction t-shirt she saw in Nordstrom is offensive. The department store chain agreed with her and removed the shirt from all of its stores.

The famous Millennium painting has striking similarities and differences to a t-shirt made by Affliction.

Judy Carbo describes the t-shirt, which shows a skeleton holding Baby Jesus, as demonic. The Millennium painting shows Mary holding Jesus.

Judy was in disbelief when she saw the shirt for sale in Nordstrom.

"As a Catholic and a Christian, it was offensive all the way around. We consider her holy," says Judy.

Judy, who is a devout Catholic, says the image on the shirt was offensive enough to say, ‘enough.’ She asked the store at the Gardens Mall to pull the shirt. They did.

Judy says, "If you were Jewish, you wouldn’t want to see a swastika on a shirt. If you were African-American, you wouldn't want to see anything desecrating you."

The Affliction brand is sold at department stores and small trendy shops. We visited several. The t-shirt was either not on shelves or sold-out. So, we brought a picture of it to find out what people thought.

Regardless of their faith, people we talked to in downtown West Palm Beach overwhelming were offended by the shirt. Here are a few statements from people we ran into:

"I would complain. I'm religious and I don't find it interesting."

"I don't like the looks of it."

"I think its more taste. The way they have the halo is offensive to me."

A group of teens did think the shirt was "cool."

In response to Judy’s complaint, Nordstrom looked at their entire Affliction selection. The chain pulled the shirt and two others – nationwide. A spokesperson for Nordstrom says, "The Company empowers its buyers and clearly someone made a bad choice. A mistake was made and fixed."

Judy does not want the shirt sold anywhere. She would also like to talk to the head of Affliction.

Affliction did not return calls for comment."

Now, I'm not exactly all for the desecration of religious symbols solely for the purpose of desecration. Art, on the other hand, is something that is very subjective. To me, the fact that you can use a religious figure like Mary and turn her into a deadhead says a lot about the freedom we have in this country to express ourselves. Personally, the image tells me that religion and faith is dying, and that faith in innocence is dead. And yes, I do believe in Christ, I do have faith in his word and in God. What I don't have faith in, however, is any one person or entity telling someone that they cannot show an image simply because it OFFENDS them.

Listen, lady, bigotry and ignorance offend me. Usually, it's kept to each individual's self, private and away from children and small animals. Sometimes though, people like this woman come out of the woodwork to demand that everyone suffer for her being offended, just for the sake of making HER feel better.

I'm sure that there are millions of people whom believe that she's right in her assumption, and there are others who agree that this shirt is as offensive as a swastika would be to a Jew. It doesn't matter that the "swastika" was an ancient Buddhist symbol long before it was raped for the evil purpose of one crazed self-hating man. Those who've chosen to enlighten themselves, however, can see differently. I, for one, would be more offended if a shirt had an image of the serial tattoos that concentration camp prisoners were forced to receive. THAT is offensive. BUT, that doesn't mean that I'd demand a store remove it from their shelves.

I hate cigarettes, beer, and tempeh. I hate Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter books. I despise Britney Spears and Paris Hilton music. But I won't demand that no one be able to make the choice of listening, reading, eating, drinking, or smoking just because it offends me. This IS America, after all, the land where your rights end where mine begin.

Our country isn't perfect, but damnit, if we keep on trying to pretend that we are, the least we can do is make sure that stupid people like this person at least help keep the facade up, instead of trying to peel it away piece by skeletal Madonna covered piece simply because she's OFFENDED.

Okay, while I'm definitely excited to watch the Twilight movie, I'm posting this video because Robert speaks, albeit briefly, about Little Ashes, which is one movie I definitely want to see. But, for the rest of you, ~OME~, it's Spunk Ransom.

Something other than what it felt like to have an STD...



Holy hell, I missed this song! Enjoy,

Self-hate
Self-hate
Self-hate
Looking in the mirror
Loathing what you see
Unable to find the purpose that you're meant to fulfill
Following in footsteps
Unable to relate
You've got a lot of time left to kill

So follow your ambitions
to be nothing but sorry
and follow your traditions
of losing just more than faith
You've got a long way, baby
to fall before you
hit
the
ground

Look around
no one is watching
look and see
no one is paying any attention
to you
and you're all alone because your self-hate
is
showing through

Will yourself away
keep on taking chances
on your soul
you'll never realize how
on your own you are
and when you do
you'll se
your self-hate is showing through

When God creates something/someone to tempt me beyond redemption and remind me that he gave me a vagina for a purpose: hunting down and "devouring" my prey.

Proposition 8 passed in California on Nov.5, 2008.

Gay marriage has, for now, been put to a halt and the 15,000 some odd marriages that occurred between May and up until the election are now in limbo.

That's over 30,000 people whose lives are being used as pawns in some ridiculous game of keep-away that I, for one, do not understand.

What exactly is gay marriage to those whom oppose it? What does it prevent them from doing? What right does it strip away from them?

The answer is simple: Nothing.

Oh sure, the arguments that line up might sound compelling-even humorous. If two men can marry each other, why can't I marry my cat? God hates fags, he says so in Deuteronomy. It's an abomination.

And yes, these ARE the standard responses that you get from those opposed to gay-rights. I'm not pulling them out of my ass. Go and take a gander at youtube and watch all of the speeches, the protests, the rants by those whom supported Prop-8. Read the blogs, the forums, the chatroom excerpts. It would be much better if this were fiction, and simply a novel we were reading, but the sad truth is that it's not.

Yes, the people whom would tell you that animals are not people-they're food-are the ones equating human beings to cats, dogs, and so on. Mighty convenient for them, don't you think?

Yes, the people whom would tell you that God calls lying with a man as one would lie with a woman an abomination in Deuteronomy are the exact same ones who tell you that they can eat pork and lobster and wear poly-cotton blends because Jesus got rid of all of the old rules.

The individuals whom would tell you that they are trying to protect the "sanctity" of marriage are the ones whose second wives just found out about the third mistress.

The individuals whom would take away the rights of others are the very ones who were themselves prosecuted not to long ago after having their rights denied them. And I'm not just talking about Jim Crow laws that prevented interracial couples from marrying. I'm also talking about groups like the Mormons, who were chased from state to state and persecuted for practicing their religious beliefs, and who had to alter their way of faith in order to be able to practice at all. Those two groups were some of the largest backers of Prop-8, which seems hypocritical, if only the irony weren't so palpable.

Love doesn't have a color. It doesn't have a sex. It exists because it is one of the few emotions that we're all capable of feeling, all capable of receiving, and all capable of expressing. We might not do it in the same way, we might not feel it for the same people, but it is there nonetheless, and we cannot deny others of it simply because we may not understand it.

For those that claim that pedophiles will be fighting to marry children now as a result of this push for gays to marry, let me remind you that states such as California and Kentucky, two polar opposites on the political and religious playing field of life, both had laws on their books that had NO minimum age requirement to get married. Pedophiles didn't write those laws.

For those that claim that their heterosexual marriages won't mean anything if homosexuals are allowed to marry, I suggest you question what your marriage was based on if the structure of some stranger's marriage can affect yours so profoundly in such a negative way.

For those that claim that marriage is only for procreation, perhaps it is for people like the Duggars, but for those whom suffer from fertility problems, or who simply don't want children, you invalidate their marriages, many of which have lasted far longer than those with children.

And finally, though it probably shouldn't need to be stated, how a government views marriage is different than how a church, synagogue, or anything along the religious order views a marriage. Marriage is a legal contract between two people as far as the government is concerned. Any and all legal responsibilities that are created during said marriage fall upon the married parties. Religion should play no part in who can and cannot get married with regards to the law. If they choose to not allow homosexual marriages in their churches and so on, so be it. I refused to get married in a church myself for all of the hypocrisy and bigotry that can be found beneath its roof, and I'm fairly certain that many of the people that I know whom are gay, and whom would like to get married, would agree that they'd rather not taint the beginning of their marital union with such negativity.

A man and a woman can get married in this country after following strict rules in each state. A man and a man should as well, as should a woman and another woman. Their being allowed to marry doesn't weaken my union with my husband, but rather strengthens it, because the sacrifices that some have had to make just to be able to say "I DO" is not something that I should, or would take for granted. I had the luxury of getting married because I happen to have been born attracted to men. Had it been the other way around, I'd be left where so many individuals in California are now: In limbo.

The Catholics, after all their centuries of stodginess, are doing away with such an archaic notion. Why can't we?

I look forward to having many grandchildren one day... but holy mother of God and Dove Chocolates!

I love Helen Mirren, the ACTRESS. You know, the career where you're paid to shove someone else's words into your mouth and then spit them out on cue? She's not supposed to have an opinion while she's reading lines, filming a scene, or posing on the red carpet and looking glamorous to promote a film. We, the consumer of her films, like the vapid world of celebrity if it means we, too, don't have to think about anything for a while. Television and movies are a form of escapism for most of us. We don't want to have to work for our entertainment. That's why we pay to watch you. It's why you have that mansion, those cars, and that Harry Winston necklace.

So, why, WHY does Helen feel the need to ruin that perfect set up by opening her mouth and spewing the kind of crap you'd hear from some redneck Joe the Plumber, non-job having asshole half-drunk off his ass in Podunk, USA?

A quote from her recent interview in TimesOnline - UK:

"In a rape case the courts in defence of a man would select as many women as they could for the jury, because women go against women. Whether in a deep-seated animalistic way, going back billions of years, or from a sense of tribal jealousy or just antagonism, I don’t know. But other women on a rape case would say she was asking for it. The only reason I can think of is that they’re sexually jealous."

You know, being a woman who's experienced that whole "jealousy" inducing crime of Rape, I'm not sure how exactly I would be able to sit on a jury panel and think "You know what? Bitch deserved to have her rights to say no taken away from her, have her legs spread open, and have some nasty, grimy cock shoved into her until it physically alters her vagina so badly, she'll need surgery and years of counseling to fix it" and then excuse it as me just not getting any.

Helen claims to have been raped a couple of times. She brushes it off nonchalantly, and that's fine. She dealt with it her way. Unfortunately, it looks like dealing with it includes treating other rape victims worse than the actual rapists. She's got it backwards, though. In most cases, it's the male jurists who will believe that a woman was asking for it. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that perhaps Helen, in all her feminist mystique, might be a bearer of a little penis envy. Perhaps if more women felt the same way that SHE did, she might not feel so badly. Why can the guys do it, but not her, eh?

Helen, stick to making movies. You're good at that. It's your niche. Then again, talking out of your ass is, too. I just hope you don't mind reciting your lines out of there, because your head has been shoved up there so far, they'll need to surgically implant an lavaliere just to hear you.

The following is a myspace bulletin post I have received a few times already by several people, and while I know they mean no harm by it, it still gets on my last nerve. Look, it's not that difficult for people to read words that are misspelled. We get the gist of things quite easily because we're human - incomplete in all things - it's why we're not perfect.

That being said, you're not a fucking genius if you're just like everyone else and can read this. Moreover, you're also not proving your intelligence by pissing people like myself off who have to struggle every day with dyslexia with this intolerable and juvenile bullshit just to feel superior in some asinine and banal way.

You can read it. Whoopdeefuckingdoo. 5 people can read this, 20 people can read this, 500 million people can read this. Congratufuckinglations, you're just like everyone else. Welcome to mediocrity. Now get the fuck out of my inbox.

"
Cdnuo​lt blvei​ee taht I cluod​ aulac​lty uesdn​atnrd​ waht I was rdani​eg.​ The phaon​mneal​ pweor​ of the hmuan​ mnid,​ aoccd​rnig to a rsche​earch​ at Cmabr​igde Uiner​vtisy​,​ it dseno​’t mtaet​r in waht oerdr​ the ltter​es in a wrod are, the olny iproa​mtnt tihng​ is taht the frsit​ and lsat lttee​r are in the rghit​ pclae​.​ The rset can be a taotl​ mses and you can sitll​ raed it whotu​it a pboer​lm.​ Tihs is bcuse​ae the huamn​ mnid deos not raed ervey​ ltete​r by istle​f,​ but the wrod as a wlohe​.​ Azanm​ig huh? Yaeh and I awlya​s tghuh​ot slpel​ing was ipmor​antt!​ If you can raed tihs rpsoe​t it. OLNY RSEPO​T IF YOU CAN RAED TIHS.​ CNAHG​E THE NMUER​BR AT TOP TGOHU​H,​ "​ONLY __ PEOPL​E IN THE WORLD​ CAN READ THIS.​.​.​CAN YOU?​"​ Go up a nmube​r if you can raed it.​.​."

Not.

The above is a lovely gift/award from the fabulous Susie the Knitting Knoobie, who has graciously chosen me as one of four individuals whom she thinks is a Kreativ Blogger.

So, in order to fulfill the requirements set in order to receive this prestigious and meaningful award, I shall repeat what must be done:

List six things that make you happy.
Pass the award on to 6 more Kreativ bloggers.
Link back to the person who gave you the award.
Link to the people you are passing it on to and leave them a comment to let them know.

For myself, the six things that make me happy are as follows:

1. My family. Four children and one husband keep be very busy. Each one of them are so different - unique in their own way - and I cannot help but feel blessed that they are in my life, and that I have been blessed to be a part of theirs. There is nothing more special than being included in the growth of a person, and I am truly thankful that I am allowed such a gift with my family.

2. My friends. I have many acquaintances, but the people whom matter to me enough where I can call them my friends are those whom I feel a special bond with that transcends distance, culture, age, and beliefs. A beautiful friend of mine has a favorite quote that applies to this particular happiness: "Friends are the family you choose for yourself."

3. Reading. Nothing allows you to escape quite like a good book. Whether it's off to a different time, or to a different world, the mind of a child, or that of some alien creature, the words that jump off of a page and transports you to a different reality are priceless indeed. You can glean hope, humor, and perhaps a lesson or two about life from a few pages in a book, or you can have a completely life-altering experience in just a few hundred pages because books allow you to become someone different in just a matter of seconds like nothing else could. The pen is mightier than the sword; no sword ever left a girl lusting after vampires, or boys flying on dragons, and that, my friends, is true magic indeed.

4. Writing. If you cannot find what it is you want to read, that's what writing is for. The worlds that you would love to live in are there in your head, and all you need do to step into them is to put them down on paper, even if only for your own eyes. The written word doesn't just belong to the author from some faraway place. It also belongs to you.

5. Chocolate. No woman should ever live without it. Wars would be fought if chocolate became so scarce, there'd be a shortage. I'm quite cranky when I don't get my fix, and as the husband knows, a cranky korean is far more deadly than an pissed off potogee.

6. Sleep. I don't get enough of it. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that has nothing on me and my sleep. If I could, I'd spend an entire week sleeping. As it is, I get to spend a couple of hours in slumber, and those hours are so precious, you... my precious... my PRECIOUS!!!


Okay, back to the requirements. Yeah.

Here are four friend blogs, and one non-friend related blogs that I have chosen for this award. Visit them - or else I won't eat chocolate, and I won't sleep, and I'll hunt you down.

It's a Prozac Life belongs to my partner in forum crime.

A Hippie Liberal Mom Chronicle is the lovechild of Cheech & Chong and Hillary Clinton's Hair Dresser all rolled up into one neat and tidy package of sarcasm. She's a gem, this one.

Overdosing on Nostalgia is the blog maintained by the internet's resident vegan who does what I wish I could if I didn't like the taste of dead flesh so much.

Desperately Seeking Sanity is what happens when a mom of three turns into the coupon clipping maniac who also happens to have a pretty keen sense of humor.

Little Ashes is the unofficial blog for the fictional-account-turned-art-house-film about Salvadore Dali's sensual relationship with close friend, Federico Garcia Lorca. I'm a diehard Dali fan, and am looking incredibly forward to seeing this movie!

When you use way too much false eyelash glue.

When you join a psychotic cult and play dress up.

And you'll cry if you want to.

How high they were - so confident in their own bigotry winning - and now how low they must feel.

Why do I not feel sorry for them at all?

Hello, Chicago.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day. VideoWatch Obama's speech in its entirety »

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.

A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Sen. McCain.

Sen. McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

I congratulate him; I congratulate Gov. Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady Michelle Obama.

Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the new White House.

And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.

And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best -- the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.

To my chief strategist David Axelrod who's been a partner with me every step of the way.

To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.

It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

This is your victory.

And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me.

You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.

There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those -- to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

He's done it!

The US has its first ever african-american President. I am glad that I and my children were around to witness history being made before our eyes. A glorious day this is for our country and for our future.

God Bless the USA!!

Because it's Monday and I like the song.

My precious. My precioussssss.

The husband has taken my phone. No. The husband has taken my berry. Yes. He dared to breach the sacred wall of crackberry trust and has absconded with my Curve.

I am at a loss. I feel bereft. I feel...

Freaking naked.

There are few punishments that equal the total level of devastation that I feel without my precious.

The rack?

Boiling hot oil?

Root canal?

ANTM Marathon?

I shall exact my revenge on the knave for this betrayal. Mark my words!

The foundation of marriage is under attack.

I'm not talking about one man and one woman. I'm talking about the interference from governmental entities, egged on by religious groups and political parties whom feel that, while the government should stay out of THEIR business, they have every right to force their beliefs and their opinions down our throats and into our lives via that very same government.

Sure, one can argue that the foundation of marriage consists of two people who love each other and want to swear before anyone who will listen, God, country, Elvis, that they are committed to spend the rest of their lives with each other. I won't argue against that. But, for many people, ESPECIALLY of the heterosexual variety, marriage can simply be a way of making sure that they don't give birth to a "bastard", or ensuring the citizenship of someone, getting tax benefits that they otherwise wouldn't have, etc...

You know. All of the things that those whom support Proposition 8 accuse those against of doing.

They claim that marriage is under attack. I suppose when Elizabeth Taylor was marrying and divorcing her first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh husband, the state of matrimony was perfectly safe.

I guess when Britney Spears had her 55 hour marriage, that was perfectly acceptable. Didn't do anything to sully the institution.

The failed marriages of Republican paragons Ronald Regan (divorced first wife), Newt Gingrich (divorced 2 wives, now on his third marriage with his second mistress), John McCain (cheated on first wife with his now second), Fred Thompson (on his second marriage with his "trophy wife"), and Rudy Giuliani (third marriage) should definitely not have any affect what-so-ever on the foundation of marriage, should it? Maybe they strengthened the foundation of marriage by simply liking it so much, they did it many times over!

And as far as teaching about homosexual marriages in schools go, I might be a few years removed from the elementary age (okay, so I'm almost 30, whaddyagunnadonboutit, punk?) but I don't ever recall a discussion about marriage, period, until I was in high school when we had to plan a wedding for my sociology class. By then, of course, most of my political leanings had been set in stone, as is, I'm sure, most teenagers that are in school today.

But, let's say that marriage is being discussed in elementary schools right now. What exactly are they learning about heterosexual marriage? Is it a religious union or a governmental one? Does it occur with or without a dowry? First, second, third marriages - who exactly is the step-step parent? You know, these things are all questions that I'm sure must be addressed when speaking about heterosexual marriages, right?

Or is the whole "A man and woman get married to have a family" line still being tossed around? I know many a man and woman marriages that will NEVER result in a "family" of anything other than the four legged kind. Does that mean their marriage isn't a "real" marriage?

We can talk about religion, if you want, but if let's face it. Government and religion shouldn't be bedfellows. I'm sure a lot of Christians would feel quite miffed if the Jewish and Islamic laws of Halal and Kosher eating were instilled, preventing them from enjoying their bacon and eggs every morning as a governmental edict. If you're not willing to allow all religious laws (including the Christian ones, for all of you PC (pick and choose) Christians out there) then please, don't bring religion into the forming of laws AT ALL. It only makes you look like a bigot, and we know how much you hate THAT word.

Vote no on Prop 8. It's not about God, or Sex, or Children. It's about equality.

As you probably are well aware of by now, I have very liberal leanings in certain areas. Gay rights happens to be one of them. So, imagine how absolutely floored with glee was I when I saw this image posted on www.towleroad.com!

And yes, that poor child is probably going to end up married to his first cousin and have cousin-children who will take his place holding signs just like he did at that age. America is definitely doomed... inbreeding will wipe us out.