When I got home from work tonight, I was looking forward to tuning into Fox Soccer Channel and losing myself in coverage of the third round of the FA Cup, in which my club, Chelsea plays tomorrow.
However, like all Americans tonight, my attention was drawn elsewhere. It was drawn to Tuscon, Arizona, a place where I've visited many times and a place where one of my best friends lived and went to school. Today it was a place of violence, a place the United States of America will finally look at itself in the mirror and will hopefully recognize a historical crossroad.
Outside a supermarket today a crazy terrorist. Yes, terrorist, walked up to a political gathering being hosted by Arizona Congresswoman Gaby Giffords, pulled out a 9mm Glock, and started shooting. He shot the Congresswoman in the head, he also killed six people, including a Federal Judge and a 9 year old girl. Luckily, people got to this guy before he got to take the coward's way out, so he'll live to stand trial for his crimes.
Assassination. It's a word that people my age and younger are really only familiar with from school. We think of Lincoln, of JFK, of RFK, of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. It's a word we're all now more familiar with, as it happened outside a grocery store today.
What does that mean for America? How do we view ourselves and our political discourse? Surely there will be many folks (saw it quite a bit on Fox News tonight) that will be out to paint the shooter as a screw that came unhinged, as a madman with no political motive whatsoever. Do you really buy that? I'm not questioning whether the guy is crazy or not, I'm sure he is. Still, crazy people have motives too, and the plain fact of the matter is that this man sought out this gathering and the police in Arizona have confirmed that Giffords was the target. Now that we know that crazy people do this sort of thing, does that make us look irresponsible?
It sure does. Was it irresponsible for Sarah Palin to have a map on her website depicting Giffords district with a crosshair over it, urging people to "aim and reload" for democrats? Yes. You'll notice tonight that that particular graphic no longer appears on her site. Was it irresponsible for Giffords opponent in the last election to urge his followers to join him in firing a machine gun at her? Absolutely!
People who engage in this kind of politics need to be held responsible for this.
Can we please stop seeing each other as a devil and start seeing each other as all on the same team again?
Please watch this powerful special comment from Keith Olbermann.
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Spirit Day 2010--Gay bullying.
Time I did something else with my blog again except write about books. The issue of gay bullying and suicide is of particular interest to me for three reasons. First, growing up in the midst of a very conservative culture, I've heard the things people say about gay people and gay teens. Second, with my background in mental health, I want to see us pursue remedies for these kids, I want to see them get help. Finally, with my background in forensics, I've seen these suicide scenes first hand. I've seen what the families go through, I've seen what the investigators go through. It is all very sad and unnerving.
So what is this all about, and why all the attention being paid to it now? Well, you'd have to be living under a rock to have escaped mention of the recent story involving the gay student from Rutgers who committed suicide after his roommate put a hidden camera in his dorm room and broadcast his private moments on the internet. That coupled with several high profile stories involving teen suicide in general has focused attention on the issue.
Lets cut to the chase here. It's difficult to be a teenager, period. We've all been there, some had it worse than others. Personally, I had it pretty easy. I would get negative reactions once in awhile because my religion was different than that of most of the local population here in Utah, but it was never severe enough to call bullying. However, I did get to feel what it was like to be different than everybody else, and I even had a choice as to what faith to follow.
Presuming most of the folks who read this are straight, I'd like to ask you to put yourself in position of a gay or lesbian teenager these days. Put aside your religious beliefs on whether homosexuality is right, wrong, or whatever. That isn't the point here. For these kids, it's not something they really chose to do. Period. Believe what you want, but a great many of these kids don't feel that way. So how do they cope with the situation. Well, they can go ahead and come out, and risk the ridicule of their peers, which is surely heavy. I'm sure homosexuality is better accepted today than it was when I was a kid, but it's far from generally accepted. In the teenage years driven by hormones, there are definite consequences to coming out, and even the most staunch religious person can see that.
What if they decide not to risk it? So they keep this all pent up inside their heads. Maybe they think something like: "If I can just get through High School, it will get better." Hopefully it will, but these kids that keep this pent up inside them have to deal with it everyday of their lives. Everyday they go out into their social circles and have to deny who they really are. Hopefully, many kids will find someone they can trust to help them out and talk to them. However, what if they do talk, and someone finds out? Can you imagine the chagrin? It's one thing to encourage kids not to be ashamed of who they are, but to put the idea into practice is hard enough when you're an adult, let alone as a teenager.
I don't think it would be real difficult to think why these kids choose the permanent way out.
So what do we do about it? First, we all need to check our "moral compass" at the door sometimes. Yes, in the USA, you have every right to believe that homosexuality is wrong. Many of you do, and you have your reasons. I don't, and I have mine. Again, that's not what this is about though. Yes, you have the right to your belief. However, you don't have the right to treat other people like dirt because of your belief. You don't have the right to be hurtful to other human beings, or allow your kids to be hurtful to others.
We would all be better off if we stopped considering the divisions between us as humans. Like it or not, whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, or whatever...whether we're white, black, or whatever color...whether you're straight, gay, bisexual, transgender...we are all HUMAN BEINGS. We all deserve the right to live our lives and love who we love. We deserve the right to be free from ridicule about who we are. We are all, every single one of us, worthy of love.
Look around next time you're at work or out and about. Look over a large group of people and I pretty much guarantee at least one of them will be gay, and you won't know it. Most likely someone in your church is gay. Someone in your own family might even be gay. Shouldn't we all just be kind to each other?
If you are a Christian, I'd remind you of this: The words of Jesus as recorded in the Bible don't really waste anytime on homosexuality, but he does some up his ministry and law by citing two commandments:
"Love the Lord with all your heart, and the second is like it, Love your neighbor as you love yourself."
Can't we set aside the big list of things the ancient book says you're not supposed to do for a little while and just see each other as worth while human beings in the here and now? There's another thought in that book that people lose sight of. "Judge not, lest you be also judged." If there is a god, face it, he made gay people, so if there's going be someone to sit in judgment, let it be him.
In the meantime, let's try to make this world a better place for everybody.
It will get better.
So what is this all about, and why all the attention being paid to it now? Well, you'd have to be living under a rock to have escaped mention of the recent story involving the gay student from Rutgers who committed suicide after his roommate put a hidden camera in his dorm room and broadcast his private moments on the internet. That coupled with several high profile stories involving teen suicide in general has focused attention on the issue.
Lets cut to the chase here. It's difficult to be a teenager, period. We've all been there, some had it worse than others. Personally, I had it pretty easy. I would get negative reactions once in awhile because my religion was different than that of most of the local population here in Utah, but it was never severe enough to call bullying. However, I did get to feel what it was like to be different than everybody else, and I even had a choice as to what faith to follow.
Presuming most of the folks who read this are straight, I'd like to ask you to put yourself in position of a gay or lesbian teenager these days. Put aside your religious beliefs on whether homosexuality is right, wrong, or whatever. That isn't the point here. For these kids, it's not something they really chose to do. Period. Believe what you want, but a great many of these kids don't feel that way. So how do they cope with the situation. Well, they can go ahead and come out, and risk the ridicule of their peers, which is surely heavy. I'm sure homosexuality is better accepted today than it was when I was a kid, but it's far from generally accepted. In the teenage years driven by hormones, there are definite consequences to coming out, and even the most staunch religious person can see that.
What if they decide not to risk it? So they keep this all pent up inside their heads. Maybe they think something like: "If I can just get through High School, it will get better." Hopefully it will, but these kids that keep this pent up inside them have to deal with it everyday of their lives. Everyday they go out into their social circles and have to deny who they really are. Hopefully, many kids will find someone they can trust to help them out and talk to them. However, what if they do talk, and someone finds out? Can you imagine the chagrin? It's one thing to encourage kids not to be ashamed of who they are, but to put the idea into practice is hard enough when you're an adult, let alone as a teenager.
I don't think it would be real difficult to think why these kids choose the permanent way out.
So what do we do about it? First, we all need to check our "moral compass" at the door sometimes. Yes, in the USA, you have every right to believe that homosexuality is wrong. Many of you do, and you have your reasons. I don't, and I have mine. Again, that's not what this is about though. Yes, you have the right to your belief. However, you don't have the right to treat other people like dirt because of your belief. You don't have the right to be hurtful to other human beings, or allow your kids to be hurtful to others.
We would all be better off if we stopped considering the divisions between us as humans. Like it or not, whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, or whatever...whether we're white, black, or whatever color...whether you're straight, gay, bisexual, transgender...we are all HUMAN BEINGS. We all deserve the right to live our lives and love who we love. We deserve the right to be free from ridicule about who we are. We are all, every single one of us, worthy of love.
Look around next time you're at work or out and about. Look over a large group of people and I pretty much guarantee at least one of them will be gay, and you won't know it. Most likely someone in your church is gay. Someone in your own family might even be gay. Shouldn't we all just be kind to each other?
If you are a Christian, I'd remind you of this: The words of Jesus as recorded in the Bible don't really waste anytime on homosexuality, but he does some up his ministry and law by citing two commandments:
"Love the Lord with all your heart, and the second is like it, Love your neighbor as you love yourself."
Can't we set aside the big list of things the ancient book says you're not supposed to do for a little while and just see each other as worth while human beings in the here and now? There's another thought in that book that people lose sight of. "Judge not, lest you be also judged." If there is a god, face it, he made gay people, so if there's going be someone to sit in judgment, let it be him.
In the meantime, let's try to make this world a better place for everybody.
It will get better.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Haiti, disaster, and religion.
First off, your heart has to go out to the people of Haiti. This is most likely going to go down as one of the major disasters in recent years up there with Katrina and the Asian Tsunami. In fact, as I've watched the photos stream out of the affected area this evening, it's reminded me a bit of the pictures that came out of New Orleans after Katrina: people wandering aimlessly, structures damaged, and human bodies piled up in the streets. Of course, the death toll will most likely dwarf Katrina, largely because for all of our failures during Katrina, the rest of the nation had the means to deal with the aftermath. It took longer than it should have, but we were able to get food and water in and we were able to go in and try to rescue survivors.
Not much of that is going in Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. After the quake people are dying from lack of water, food, and basic medical care in a nation that was barely managing in the best of times.
When we see things like this, it's human nature to wonder why....why do these disasters happen? Before the founding of modern science, the best way we humans had to explain this was through religion. Perhaps God was judging the affected area. Perhaps God is trying to teach the rest of us to value what we have. There are many justifications.
The "Reverend" Pat Robertson put forth his theory today. In his deluded brain, the nation of Haiti is cursed because they made a "pact with devil" saying they would serve him if he helped them win independence from the French.
Yes that's right folks. This crank thinks he gets that on a direct line from God himself. This is the same guy who said 9-11 was a judgment on the USA because we're so tolerant of homosexuals.
Put your religious views aside for a second. Aren't we past this as a society? This is the equivalent of drilling holes in people's heads to cure mental illness by letting the evil spirits out. To actually suggest that some supposedly loving deity is sitting up there and deciding to smite some of the poorest people on earth like this is pure foolishness. If this is the way your God acts, I want no part of him. This wouldn't be such a big deal, except that there a lot of really deluded people in this country who buy all of this hook, line, and sinker. They will sit in judgment of these poor people. If you're really gonna follow the bible, I think there's a bit in there about judging not.
What this actually betrays is the fact that many of us, including a lot of us who hold to the more conservative and religious ideologies, are scared. Scared of change, scared of progress, scared of people and cultures who are different than us. When you think Haiti, most think of voodoo. Voodoo is one of many faiths that permeate the Caribbean and Latin America. Native religions and traditions that have grown to incorporate ideas and symbols of Christianity as they have evolved. That's WEIRD, though, right? It's weird because it's different. They may sacrifice a chicken or do whatever it is you think they might do, whether you're right or not, but in the final analysis it's no stranger than consuming bread and wine that's been transformed into the flesh of a 2,000 year old dead god. It's also no stranger than believing a boy from upstate New York was given the one true revelation of the word of the 2,000 year old dead god, especially given that there many of those types running around at that time. Folks, all of your religions seem weird to an outsider. Deal with it.
We shouldn't even be bringing religion into this. You want to know what caused the quake? Read it here. Science has this figured out folks. Hopefully through the continuation of geosciences, someday we'll be able to predict these kinds of things. When that day comes, it will be the result of scientific inquiry and discovery, NOT divine revelation.
If you're a religious person, put your faith to the good, as most people do during these times. Pray for those affected, give to your church groups that will be sending supplies. Don't get involved in the blame game of the whacko Christian right.
If you're not religious, we can certainly direct our thoughts in their direction, and there are plenty of charities that we can get involved with that don't fly under the flag of a religion, including the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.
In times like these, everyone needs to come together from all around the world, regardless of faith or lack of faith. We need to work together as human beings to help those who desperately need it.
Not much of that is going in Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. After the quake people are dying from lack of water, food, and basic medical care in a nation that was barely managing in the best of times.
When we see things like this, it's human nature to wonder why....why do these disasters happen? Before the founding of modern science, the best way we humans had to explain this was through religion. Perhaps God was judging the affected area. Perhaps God is trying to teach the rest of us to value what we have. There are many justifications.
The "Reverend" Pat Robertson put forth his theory today. In his deluded brain, the nation of Haiti is cursed because they made a "pact with devil" saying they would serve him if he helped them win independence from the French.
Yes that's right folks. This crank thinks he gets that on a direct line from God himself. This is the same guy who said 9-11 was a judgment on the USA because we're so tolerant of homosexuals.
Put your religious views aside for a second. Aren't we past this as a society? This is the equivalent of drilling holes in people's heads to cure mental illness by letting the evil spirits out. To actually suggest that some supposedly loving deity is sitting up there and deciding to smite some of the poorest people on earth like this is pure foolishness. If this is the way your God acts, I want no part of him. This wouldn't be such a big deal, except that there a lot of really deluded people in this country who buy all of this hook, line, and sinker. They will sit in judgment of these poor people. If you're really gonna follow the bible, I think there's a bit in there about judging not.
What this actually betrays is the fact that many of us, including a lot of us who hold to the more conservative and religious ideologies, are scared. Scared of change, scared of progress, scared of people and cultures who are different than us. When you think Haiti, most think of voodoo. Voodoo is one of many faiths that permeate the Caribbean and Latin America. Native religions and traditions that have grown to incorporate ideas and symbols of Christianity as they have evolved. That's WEIRD, though, right? It's weird because it's different. They may sacrifice a chicken or do whatever it is you think they might do, whether you're right or not, but in the final analysis it's no stranger than consuming bread and wine that's been transformed into the flesh of a 2,000 year old dead god. It's also no stranger than believing a boy from upstate New York was given the one true revelation of the word of the 2,000 year old dead god, especially given that there many of those types running around at that time. Folks, all of your religions seem weird to an outsider. Deal with it.
We shouldn't even be bringing religion into this. You want to know what caused the quake? Read it here. Science has this figured out folks. Hopefully through the continuation of geosciences, someday we'll be able to predict these kinds of things. When that day comes, it will be the result of scientific inquiry and discovery, NOT divine revelation.
If you're a religious person, put your faith to the good, as most people do during these times. Pray for those affected, give to your church groups that will be sending supplies. Don't get involved in the blame game of the whacko Christian right.
If you're not religious, we can certainly direct our thoughts in their direction, and there are plenty of charities that we can get involved with that don't fly under the flag of a religion, including the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.
In times like these, everyone needs to come together from all around the world, regardless of faith or lack of faith. We need to work together as human beings to help those who desperately need it.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Are we done with 9-11?
I realize I may get flamed into the pit of hell for even bothering to posit this, but I'm interested in what people think.
Are we done with 9-11?
I'm not being crass, I'm just observing. For the first few years after 9-11-01, the anniversary remembrances were always quite poignant, and always televised, usually taking up the entire morning block on most TV channels.
Now, not so much. It seems as a nation we've moved on a bit. I saw a couple of little blurbs on TV and the net today, but honestly, had I not looked at the calendar I probably wouldn't have known it was 9-11.
Now of course, the previous administration barely let a day go by without a mention of 9-11, Code Orange, or "The war on terror." Honestly when I think back on that era, it creeps me out a bit. It's a little weird to remember my heart going into my throat just a little bit the first time they raised the threat level to Code Orange. I even remember finding an abandoned backpack at work and everybody freaking out because they were convinced it was dirty bomb.
It's obvious that the most positive days of the Bush years will be remembered as those weeks and months immediately after 9-11 when he stood on the rubble of the twin towers with his bullhorn and championed the American resolve from the halls of Congress. These are moments that, love Bush or hate him, will be forever etched in American History, up there with Pearl Harbor, JFK in Dallas, Gettysburg, and Yorktown.
But what about now? We remember in passing, most of us. I saw a few mentions on Facebook today, but obviously we're not in the same wrist-slashing sorrowful mood we were in 5 or 6 years back.
So what should we do with this day, September 11? Should we make it a Federal Holiday like Memorial Day? Or does that trivialize it, just giving people across the country one more excuse to have a late summer BBQ? Should we just let it ebb throughout the coming years?
Personally, I think we have to move on. The best way to show American resolve is keep up our day to day lives. Let people remember 9-11 in their own way, let people go out and do service projects, let them go on Youtube and find the original news footage. Don't make it a holiday though. Don't let these people's deaths become another excuse for the kids to be out of school. Don't let the sacredness of that original memory become an excuse for moving the observance to the closest Friday or Monday so that Federal workers get a 3 day weekend. To me, that's not proper.
I'll never forget, most people won't, but let's not let those poignant memories keep us from dealing with the present and looking to the future.
Are we done with 9-11?
I'm not being crass, I'm just observing. For the first few years after 9-11-01, the anniversary remembrances were always quite poignant, and always televised, usually taking up the entire morning block on most TV channels.
Now, not so much. It seems as a nation we've moved on a bit. I saw a couple of little blurbs on TV and the net today, but honestly, had I not looked at the calendar I probably wouldn't have known it was 9-11.
Now of course, the previous administration barely let a day go by without a mention of 9-11, Code Orange, or "The war on terror." Honestly when I think back on that era, it creeps me out a bit. It's a little weird to remember my heart going into my throat just a little bit the first time they raised the threat level to Code Orange. I even remember finding an abandoned backpack at work and everybody freaking out because they were convinced it was dirty bomb.
It's obvious that the most positive days of the Bush years will be remembered as those weeks and months immediately after 9-11 when he stood on the rubble of the twin towers with his bullhorn and championed the American resolve from the halls of Congress. These are moments that, love Bush or hate him, will be forever etched in American History, up there with Pearl Harbor, JFK in Dallas, Gettysburg, and Yorktown.
But what about now? We remember in passing, most of us. I saw a few mentions on Facebook today, but obviously we're not in the same wrist-slashing sorrowful mood we were in 5 or 6 years back.
So what should we do with this day, September 11? Should we make it a Federal Holiday like Memorial Day? Or does that trivialize it, just giving people across the country one more excuse to have a late summer BBQ? Should we just let it ebb throughout the coming years?
Personally, I think we have to move on. The best way to show American resolve is keep up our day to day lives. Let people remember 9-11 in their own way, let people go out and do service projects, let them go on Youtube and find the original news footage. Don't make it a holiday though. Don't let these people's deaths become another excuse for the kids to be out of school. Don't let the sacredness of that original memory become an excuse for moving the observance to the closest Friday or Monday so that Federal workers get a 3 day weekend. To me, that's not proper.
I'll never forget, most people won't, but let's not let those poignant memories keep us from dealing with the present and looking to the future.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
The tropics wake up.
So if you know me, you know one of my interests is weather, specifically severe weather and tropical weather. Well basically I don't have any more than a layman's understanding of it, but it does fascinate me and I enjoy learning about it.
Obviously, Mariel and I have a vested interest in Florida, with her family being there, and hell, a lot of our stuff is still there. We'll probably end up back there too someday, so I really keep an eye on it.
Well, June and July of this year have passed with nothing in the Atlantic. Well, the dead time is over folks. Right now we have two systems in the tropical Atlantic that will have the potential to threaten the USA in the next 10 days or so, and the Caribbean even sooner than that.
First off, Tropical Storm Ana is the first named storm of the season. As of the Saturday morning advisories, it's a minimal storm and really isn't expected to gain hurricane strength. The 5 day track from NHC takes it either into South Florida or the Gulf by Wednesday night or Thursday.
Secondly. Tropical Depression 3 is churning off the coast of Africa. This is expected to progress to PERHAPS major hurricane strength, but it's still too far off to really track. Look for this to perhaps become a named storm tonight or tomorrow.
If you live on the East Coast or the Gulf Coast, this is always a concern this time of year. Here are some links that either you, or even just a casual tropical observer like myself can use.
National Hurricane Center
Hamweather Tropics page
Hurricane Hollow Weather and Barometer Bob
Barometer Bob's Blog
Storm Carib--The Caribbean Hurricane Network
Check these links out for great info on the tropics, Barometer Bob's sites and Storm Carib are particularly good reads.
Obviously, Mariel and I have a vested interest in Florida, with her family being there, and hell, a lot of our stuff is still there. We'll probably end up back there too someday, so I really keep an eye on it.
Well, June and July of this year have passed with nothing in the Atlantic. Well, the dead time is over folks. Right now we have two systems in the tropical Atlantic that will have the potential to threaten the USA in the next 10 days or so, and the Caribbean even sooner than that.
First off, Tropical Storm Ana is the first named storm of the season. As of the Saturday morning advisories, it's a minimal storm and really isn't expected to gain hurricane strength. The 5 day track from NHC takes it either into South Florida or the Gulf by Wednesday night or Thursday.
Secondly. Tropical Depression 3 is churning off the coast of Africa. This is expected to progress to PERHAPS major hurricane strength, but it's still too far off to really track. Look for this to perhaps become a named storm tonight or tomorrow.
If you live on the East Coast or the Gulf Coast, this is always a concern this time of year. Here are some links that either you, or even just a casual tropical observer like myself can use.
National Hurricane Center
Hamweather Tropics page
Hurricane Hollow Weather and Barometer Bob
Barometer Bob's Blog
Storm Carib--The Caribbean Hurricane Network
Check these links out for great info on the tropics, Barometer Bob's sites and Storm Carib are particularly good reads.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thoughts on Michael Jackson
Ok, I'm sure everyone on the Earth, from the cold of Alaska to the heat of the Sahara knows MJ died. Opinions on MJ have as varied a range as the all the spices in Martha Stewart's spice rack.
Here's mine, if anybody cares....
Music wise, it's hard to deny MJ his place in the spotlight. The guy had an unbelievable career from like age 5. Many of his songs are in fact near perfect, if not totally perfect pop songs. They don't make them like that anymore. I dare anyone to come up with a pop hook better than those in Beat It or Smooth Criminal (My personal favorite MJ song). I mean come on, the guy did Thriller, which is by far and away the best selling album ever. With the state of the music industry today, it's likely it will never be touched. Love MJ or hate him, you can't take that away from him.
It's funny. If you know me, you know that when I was a kid my parents were on a bit of a fundy kick and didn't let me listen to secular music in the house, largely thanks to a dumb lecture they attended put on my this douche-nozzle. Anyways, what my parents didn't know, and why this type of parenting doesn't work, is that I often went over to my friends' houses and still got my fix of all things MJ...Thriller, Bad, you name it. I loved Beat It, damn it! So even the child of religious fundies in the 80's wasn't immune from Jackson mania. In that way, MJ and his music will always be part of the fabric of my childhood. It's great stuff, at least up until Bad, and will always carry a heavily nostalgic effect on me.
What about his weirdo personal life? Well this is difficult for me. As far as the child molestation stuff goes, it's hard not think that where's there's smoke there's fire, but the guy was never convicted or found liable in any court of law. Innocent until proven guilty I guess. Personally I like to give him the benefit of the doubt. I watched a lot of the trial, and though I wasn't convinced he was guilty, I was surprised when he was acquitted.
I guess I think the guy had a pretty mixed up childhood. Even Lisa Marie Presley said being married to him was like being married to a ten year old. I sometimes wonder if having to lead so much of a public life kind of stuck MJ as a child mentally. Now I'm not excusing anything he did wrong. Dangling your kid out of a window is kind of a dick move, and a non celeb parent probably wouldn't get away with it. However, to criticize MJ for bad parenting...well it's not exactly the first time in the world someone's been a bad parent.
Bottom line for me is this. He is a music and pop culture icon, and rightly so. A lot of bizzare crap went on in his personal life, we'll probably never know the truth about a lot of it, but for me, his music will be what I remember about him. I'm also sure that's what most of the world will remember as well. I'll let God judge him and his soul.
RIP MJ.
Here's mine, if anybody cares....
Music wise, it's hard to deny MJ his place in the spotlight. The guy had an unbelievable career from like age 5. Many of his songs are in fact near perfect, if not totally perfect pop songs. They don't make them like that anymore. I dare anyone to come up with a pop hook better than those in Beat It or Smooth Criminal (My personal favorite MJ song). I mean come on, the guy did Thriller, which is by far and away the best selling album ever. With the state of the music industry today, it's likely it will never be touched. Love MJ or hate him, you can't take that away from him.
It's funny. If you know me, you know that when I was a kid my parents were on a bit of a fundy kick and didn't let me listen to secular music in the house, largely thanks to a dumb lecture they attended put on my this douche-nozzle. Anyways, what my parents didn't know, and why this type of parenting doesn't work, is that I often went over to my friends' houses and still got my fix of all things MJ...Thriller, Bad, you name it. I loved Beat It, damn it! So even the child of religious fundies in the 80's wasn't immune from Jackson mania. In that way, MJ and his music will always be part of the fabric of my childhood. It's great stuff, at least up until Bad, and will always carry a heavily nostalgic effect on me.
What about his weirdo personal life? Well this is difficult for me. As far as the child molestation stuff goes, it's hard not think that where's there's smoke there's fire, but the guy was never convicted or found liable in any court of law. Innocent until proven guilty I guess. Personally I like to give him the benefit of the doubt. I watched a lot of the trial, and though I wasn't convinced he was guilty, I was surprised when he was acquitted.
I guess I think the guy had a pretty mixed up childhood. Even Lisa Marie Presley said being married to him was like being married to a ten year old. I sometimes wonder if having to lead so much of a public life kind of stuck MJ as a child mentally. Now I'm not excusing anything he did wrong. Dangling your kid out of a window is kind of a dick move, and a non celeb parent probably wouldn't get away with it. However, to criticize MJ for bad parenting...well it's not exactly the first time in the world someone's been a bad parent.
Bottom line for me is this. He is a music and pop culture icon, and rightly so. A lot of bizzare crap went on in his personal life, we'll probably never know the truth about a lot of it, but for me, his music will be what I remember about him. I'm also sure that's what most of the world will remember as well. I'll let God judge him and his soul.
RIP MJ.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Does your God Sanction murder in his own house?
Women's Clinic Doctor murdered in the Lobby of his own church.
So, just a little shout out to all you religious "Christian" whacko fundies out there...
Does your God sanction the cold blooded murder of a man on the Sabbath in a House of Worship? Because that's what happened this morning. A man walked into the lobby of a Lutheran church in Kansas and blew away 67 year old George Tiller, who coincidentally had been shot once before, 16 years ago, and survived. Why, you ask? Was it because Tiller was an "Abortion Doctor?" The police haven't said yet, but probably.
Of course this is all after Bill O'RLLY? and Fixed news did a hit piece on the doctor, calling him "Tiller The Baby-Killer" and calling his clinic a "Death Mill." God forbid we hold Bill and Fox Noise Accountable for this. He'll shrug his shoulders and move on to the next hit piece, and we'll all be left to wonder if some other brainless conservative whacko that tunes in to such garbage will decide to do Bill a favor and the snuff the guy out.
How...please tell me how your religion justifies this? I'm tired of this bullshit from the "Christian" right. Reading the comments on this story on the KSL website here in Utah seriously made me want to throw up. So many people saying..."I'm glad he's dead." There are at LEAST 7 different passages in the Bible that say to the effect: "Vengence in Mine, Saith the Lord." From Deuteronomy to Hebrews. Yet this is once again something the "Christians" fail to abide by in the Good Book. Here's the deal, and I'll explain it so even the most brain-dead of you idiots can understand it.....
If God thinks what someone is doing is bad enough, he'll take care of it. Period. You are not appointed to be judge, jury, and executioner in this life or any other. However, this is just another instance of the "religious" folk doing what they think is right at ANY measure.
Luckily, they caught the guy, and he hadn't killed himself yet. I hope the State of Kansas sends him to meet his maker fairly soon. I wonder if he'll be surprised at where he spends eternity.
So how is this any different than Muslim terrorism? It's not. Plain and simple. This guy should be charged as a terrorist. This is nothing more than domestic terror fuled by the radical right wing agenda. When are we going to start making people pay for this? Please read this article at Huffpost for more views on this.
Folks, abortion is legal in this country and that isn't going to change. The death of this doctor will not prevent any abortions and it will not prevent more unwanted pregnancies. That's something we need to come together to work on, unless of course the "Pro Life" folks would like to just continue to sit by and let cold blooded murder be committed in the name of God, but that's nothing really new to the Christians, is it now?
A pity. Jesus said to turn the other cheek, love your neighbor, etc. I don't believe anywhere in the Bible he said it was ok to murder people who don't agree with you.
My prayers and sympathy for the family of Dr. Tiller. Hopefully some new laws can be passed making this officially terrorism, and then just maybe this man's death won't be in vain.
So, just a little shout out to all you religious "Christian" whacko fundies out there...
Does your God sanction the cold blooded murder of a man on the Sabbath in a House of Worship? Because that's what happened this morning. A man walked into the lobby of a Lutheran church in Kansas and blew away 67 year old George Tiller, who coincidentally had been shot once before, 16 years ago, and survived. Why, you ask? Was it because Tiller was an "Abortion Doctor?" The police haven't said yet, but probably.
Of course this is all after Bill O'RLLY? and Fixed news did a hit piece on the doctor, calling him "Tiller The Baby-Killer" and calling his clinic a "Death Mill." God forbid we hold Bill and Fox Noise Accountable for this. He'll shrug his shoulders and move on to the next hit piece, and we'll all be left to wonder if some other brainless conservative whacko that tunes in to such garbage will decide to do Bill a favor and the snuff the guy out.
How...please tell me how your religion justifies this? I'm tired of this bullshit from the "Christian" right. Reading the comments on this story on the KSL website here in Utah seriously made me want to throw up. So many people saying..."I'm glad he's dead." There are at LEAST 7 different passages in the Bible that say to the effect: "Vengence in Mine, Saith the Lord." From Deuteronomy to Hebrews. Yet this is once again something the "Christians" fail to abide by in the Good Book. Here's the deal, and I'll explain it so even the most brain-dead of you idiots can understand it.....
If God thinks what someone is doing is bad enough, he'll take care of it. Period. You are not appointed to be judge, jury, and executioner in this life or any other. However, this is just another instance of the "religious" folk doing what they think is right at ANY measure.
Luckily, they caught the guy, and he hadn't killed himself yet. I hope the State of Kansas sends him to meet his maker fairly soon. I wonder if he'll be surprised at where he spends eternity.
So how is this any different than Muslim terrorism? It's not. Plain and simple. This guy should be charged as a terrorist. This is nothing more than domestic terror fuled by the radical right wing agenda. When are we going to start making people pay for this? Please read this article at Huffpost for more views on this.
Folks, abortion is legal in this country and that isn't going to change. The death of this doctor will not prevent any abortions and it will not prevent more unwanted pregnancies. That's something we need to come together to work on, unless of course the "Pro Life" folks would like to just continue to sit by and let cold blooded murder be committed in the name of God, but that's nothing really new to the Christians, is it now?
A pity. Jesus said to turn the other cheek, love your neighbor, etc. I don't believe anywhere in the Bible he said it was ok to murder people who don't agree with you.
My prayers and sympathy for the family of Dr. Tiller. Hopefully some new laws can be passed making this officially terrorism, and then just maybe this man's death won't be in vain.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Hurricane Ike
Well, if you read my interests, you'll know one of them is weather. Despite the fact that I no longer live in Florida, I follow the Tropical weather with great interest, and right now Hurricane Ike is the big game in town on a collision course with the Texas coast.
While moving back here to Utah this summer, my wife and I drove through the Texas Gulf coast. Honestly, it wasn't our box of rocks. I think we both enjoyed the lush green of Louisiana more, and the ride through Houston was less than fun.
So it looks like Ike is gonna hit as a category 2, not a major hurricane, but hey, I'm glad I'm not in the way right now. Let's hope everybody that needed to get out got out, and hope for the best for the folks still there. The National Weather Service issued an advisory this evening saying people in single family homes "face certain death" if they don't evacuate the coastal areas. Rather strong wording from that agency, so even though it's only 2, looks like it's still a big time player. The NWS is also calling for a 15-22 foot storm surge in Galveston, that could be heavy duty.
Latest CNN Story on Ike
Here's hoping for the folks in Texas.
Also if you're a tropical weather enthusiast such as myself I strongly recommend checking out Hurricane Hollow Weather
Barometer Bob does a great job of putting together a great clearinghouse of information of all things tropical weather related, including an award winning podcast that I listen to on a regular basis.
No matter where you live I recommend getting a NOAA weather radio. They're almost an essential in Florida, and my wife and I picked up this one, endorsed by weatherman extraordinaire Tom Terry from Channel 9 in Orlando, while living there:
The NOAA radio will let you hear all the weather related watches and warnings for the area in which you live, and is especially helpful in waking you up at night if there is a warning. Trust me, you won't sleep through this alarm!
While moving back here to Utah this summer, my wife and I drove through the Texas Gulf coast. Honestly, it wasn't our box of rocks. I think we both enjoyed the lush green of Louisiana more, and the ride through Houston was less than fun.
So it looks like Ike is gonna hit as a category 2, not a major hurricane, but hey, I'm glad I'm not in the way right now. Let's hope everybody that needed to get out got out, and hope for the best for the folks still there. The National Weather Service issued an advisory this evening saying people in single family homes "face certain death" if they don't evacuate the coastal areas. Rather strong wording from that agency, so even though it's only 2, looks like it's still a big time player. The NWS is also calling for a 15-22 foot storm surge in Galveston, that could be heavy duty.
Latest CNN Story on Ike
Here's hoping for the folks in Texas.
Also if you're a tropical weather enthusiast such as myself I strongly recommend checking out Hurricane Hollow Weather
Barometer Bob does a great job of putting together a great clearinghouse of information of all things tropical weather related, including an award winning podcast that I listen to on a regular basis.
No matter where you live I recommend getting a NOAA weather radio. They're almost an essential in Florida, and my wife and I picked up this one, endorsed by weatherman extraordinaire Tom Terry from Channel 9 in Orlando, while living there:
The NOAA radio will let you hear all the weather related watches and warnings for the area in which you live, and is especially helpful in waking you up at night if there is a warning. Trust me, you won't sleep through this alarm!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
