About Christmas. ...

I've lately been seeing some advertising, though I'm sure it's been around for awhile, that proclaims "Jesus is the reason for the season."

Okay, so here's where I am going to rant.

I don't agree--at all.

To begin with, historically, the holiday being celebrated at this time of year was NOT the birth of someone named Jesus, it was a mesh of druid/wiccan/pagan holidays for the Winter Solstice, Saturnalia, and who knows-what-else-was-thrown-in. Christians turned to those festivities to reel in the pagans and convert them.

There are a lot more non-Xtians in the country now that don't view Xmas as anything other than a celebratory time to get together with friends and family, and have a good time. And it is offensive to most of those people that Xtians try to make it into "their" holiday.

Children of people who follow no religion shouldn't have to be left out. AFAIC, Xmas stopped being about religion even before I was born, and we're talking over 50 years ago now.

The point is, Xmas is NOT just about the Xtian religious traditions. Hell, if they wanted to truly celebrate the exact day during the year that their savior was born, they would do the research and figure it out.

Let the REST of us have our own reasons to enjoy the last week in December, for whatever reason we decide to celebrate. And for those who would bitterly complain, too bad. It's not your "holy day," and in fact, never really has been.

We've all heard of racism

tourism, escapism, ageism and the like, but I have a new one: weightism.

I'm sick and tired of having doctors tell me that all my medical problems are connected to my weight. While I know some things are directly related, I also know that nothing is ever so clearly cut and dried.

There are thousands of people who are overweight that are in perfectly healthy condition, and there are thinner people who have horrible health.

I'm tired of going to doctors who like to point out my weight is the chief obstacle in front (and back) of me, and not consider any further discussion on the subject.

A long time ago, a thin friend and I had the same problem with our knees. We both ended up seeing a doctor for it.

I got an earful from an asshole who did nothing for me other than yelling at me for being overweight, and she got a knee brace, attention and a follow-up plan.

If that isn't "weightism," I don't know what it is.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World

So. Somehow or another, you've become ruler of the world. It's been pretty much bloodless, and you can do anything you want with these new found powers.

For myself, I would do away with certain people in some way or another--the main ones being Norquist, Cheney, and Rove in the political arena, with Dobson and Tony Perkins on the religious side. I wouldn't kill them, just completely make them irrelevant somehow.

I would also get rid of some people like the Koch brothers by putting them into epic bankruptcy, taking away their money and influence. I'd make them poor enough to even perhaps apply for welfare!!

I'd punish poachers by meting out to them the same fate that they plan for animals.

I'd reduce war to a point where there is one individual against another, in a boxing ring. Winner surrenders, no one killed.

I'd cut down the overpopulation of cats, dogs and other pets, eventually doing away with the euthanasia of animals for this and other reasons. Animals that are born will get loving and forever homes, and all lost pets would find homes with loving and responsible owners. For those poor animals that have no homes and no hope, I would make sure that they found homes or shelter and food. I'd also make sure that those who harmed animals deliberately would be given stiff sentences, to the point where torturing and killing an animal would result in punishment nearly comparable with the same sentence as for harming a human. No animals of any kind would be used in labs for any reason--new computer tools would be able to do even more for any kind of testing needed.

People in third world countries would be educated, and learn how to deal with such things with engineering, chemistry, physics, etc., so that they could help themselves. Outlaws and dictators would be defeated, and honest people would be elected to democratic governments.

Banks would be nationalized, and the financial institutions would be strictly regulated. No multi-million dollar bonuses for executives ever again. No tax breaks for anyone, especially those making over $250,000. They would pay a very strict 39%, with no loopholes at all. The same as everyone else. Anyone making under $25,000 would not pay taxes at all.

I get very upset with some things which some people might consider irrelevant, like those commercials on TV for reverse mortgages. These commercials never say during the commercials anything about your home being owned by the bank when you get the money. For this reason, I want ALL commercials to make sure the public knows EVERYTHING about the product, including revealing things which will ensure complete discovery of the fine print.

Corporations will lose their "person-hood" and will have some restrictions on them. If they are incorporated outside the US, they will be forced to pay a tariff tax equal to the amount (or more) they would be paying as a tax as if they were a US company. In addition, new laws will make it impossible to contribute more than $2500 to ANY candidate, and all PACs and lobbyists will have the same restrictions, making it nearly impossible for anyone to influence members of Congress with gifts or money.


I've been thinking about this stuff for a long time, notes for a potential novel down the line. But I'd love to hear what others have to add as well--it's always a great way to discuss points of view that way!

More on my megalomania ideas will come.

Karl Rove--asshole

This is in respoinse to a Huffpost article on Karl Rove. What a miserable bastard he is. As usual, he pretends to know the "mood" of the country better than most, when in fact, he is a nastys asshole who should be put in Gitmo, as an enemy of this country. What I wouldn't do to see that happen.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/karl-rove-barack-obama-2012-election_n_1118531.html


Karl Rove needs to get lost--perm­anently. He's a vicious provocateu­r who is willing to slander anyone who gets in his way--we've seen his repeated influence over and over again, and he needs to stop meddling in the politics of this country. What an ass.

Is he right? I don't know. What I DO know, is that it's plainly obvious that not one single candidate on the right is made of presidenti­al "stuff" and shows the complete lack of crednetial­s, trustwirth­iness and ability to run this country. This has been the case since the neginning of the millennia-­-if anyone wants to say GWB possessed the skills needed to run the United States, they need only look at the godawful mess this country was in before President Obama assumed office.Onl­y a deaf, dumb or blind man would think that this country has benefitted from a Repub president.

Karl needs to get the hell out of the kingmaking business--­he just doesn't belong there, and should reture to some island with no phones, no PDA, no computer and no political apparatus. He can have a pencil and paper so he can write up his political manifesto for the world to read--no sane person would ever give him the time of day anymore.

Go away, Karl Rove. You're a menace to society.

Class struggle: the 1%

I grew up poor. It was okay, as we got out of the house and went to parks (free), the beach (free), the country (my grandparents) and stores (window shopping). Things weren't perfect, of course, and sometimes things got scrappy, but it never stopped us from enjoying life. Nevertheless, we learned a code of ethics as we grew up, based mostly on common sense, decency and conscience. We learned to share. Even if we didn't want to, we had to. While there was always something we preferred to keep to ourselves, after awhile, we found we couldn't hoard something while someone else went without. Many rich kids don't understand that--what's theirs is theirs, and what's yours is also theirs. We learned to be kind. Too often, some other living being is in a worse off position than our own, and it doesn't hurt to offer them a hand, and be good to them. It helps your karmic destiny, and it helps a fellow being. Kindness is underrated for so many people above a certain station. They never really understand why they need to be kind to anyone. We learned to be polite. Good manners aside, it's always right to respect your elders, say "please" and "thank you" and "have a good day." Sometimes your politeness might be the only spirit of goodwill someone receives all day. Politeness to anyone under their class level is ludicrous. Why should they be polite to their servants and other workers? We learned to be hopeful. We knew that hard work and persistence could create a world we would be comfortable in--nothing fancy, but a home and a lack of worry about basics. We might not have a mansion and a fleet of Ferraris, but the world we knew held promise, and we wanted to get that promise. Comfort is something many rich people don't have. The comfort many of us look for is beyond their comprehension. They are never comfortable. They are always filled with dissatisfaction, wanting, more, more more. They fall in love with their things and the power they hold, and forget about the small things which make most of us happy. We learned to find happiness when and where we could. It meant that it wasn't the big things which kept us going, it was the small things. A hug. Stroking the fur on a pet. Watching a TV show that made us think, or laugh, or invigorated us. Smiles. Memories. A sea shell on the beach. A box of crayons. A Thanksgiving turkey. A Christmas present just for us. I guess after a while, happiness becomes irrelevant when you no longer know what makes you happy. Too much of a good thing, and all that. A person becomes quite jaded living in a world where you are lost, and don't know what you are looking for. There is a scene in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, near the end when Voldemort and Dumbledore are combating each other in the Ministry of Magic, and Voldemort is trying to get Harry to go over to the dark side. Harry, in the throes of being possessed, tells Voldemort that he feels sorry for Voldemort, because he will never know love, or friendship or any other "feel good" emotion. THIS is the 1%. They are frightened little children. They need power because they have nothing else at all. They will never learn what it's like to be excited over a day at the public beach, or putting a sea shell up to your ear and listen to the ocean. They will never know what it's like to get a bicycle only half put together on Christmas morning. They will never know what it feels like to excited about their first real paycheck. They will never understand all the joys of being be happy over the small things as much as the big things. They end up being aimless, only living to acquire more--more money, more power, more influence, more danger and anything else that can pierce the thick skin of their indifference. With privilege comes boredom. With privilege comes an inescapable apathy over the human condition. Sometimes, we have to feel sorry for them, but sometimes, we need to make them see whose red blood keeps this country--and all the others in the world--running, and who is really in charge. Perhaps we can teach them some humility along the way, and show that money isn't everything.

I've gotta tell you

I realize I haven't kept up with this as well as I should be, but real life intervenes, and I can't summon a whole lot of enthusiasm about writing sometimes. I think this is a good example of the writing I do online, and while I'm outspoken on the subject, some people might find it enjoyable. "A point for debating, I hope. If someone doesn't believe in evolution, how come they're eager enough to access all the benefits of it, like anti-biotics, fertility aids, DNA testing, general medicine, et al. All things being equal, I think there needs to be an argument that if you don't believe in the foundation, you shouldn't be entitled to those things created out of the science of evolution. I think there would be a lot less fundies around if something like this was enacted at some level." Original article here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=214x317134

My latest HuffPost comment

I have this problem with shallow people, the Kardashians, especially. I found this article amusing, and commented on it. Enjoy! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Mary_Hartery/michael-buble-calls-kim-kardashian-a-bitch-in-concert-_n_1092393_118351143.html