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Thursday, May 31, 2007

ROFLMFAO

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *Jalestra falls on the floor rolling, almost pissing her pants*

How many times have I said to just give the Christians what they wanted under the laws of our country? How many? And a place did it, and the Christians got back right what they asked for! TWICE!!! There's a link on the blog title too, don't miss it..it's where I got most of my info!

A group of Pagans in Albemarle County, Va., was recently given permission to advertise their multi-cultural holiday program to public school children – and they have the Rev. Jerry Falwell to thank for it.

The dispute started last summer when Gabriel and Joshua Rakoski, twins who attend Hollymead Elementary School, sought permission to distribute fliers about their church’s Vacation Bible School to their peers via “backpack mail.” Many public schools use special folders placed in student backpacks to distribute notices about schools events and sometimes extra-curricular activities to parents.

School officials originally denied the request from the twins’ father, Ray Rakoski, citing a school policy barring “distribution of literature that is for partisan, sectarian, religious or political purposes.”

A Charlottesville weekly newspaper, The Hook, reports that Rakoski “sicced the Liberty Counsel on the county,” and the policy was soon revised to allow religious groups to use the backpack mail system. Liberty Counsel is a Religious Right legal group founded by Mathew Staver and now affiliated with Falwell.

Some local Pagans who attend Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church, a Unitarian-Universalist congregation in Charlottesville, decided to take advantage of the new forum as well. They created a one-page flier advertising a Dec. 9 event celebrating the December holidays with a Pagan twist and used the backpack system to invite the entire school community. (There's more if you click the link)


So that was the first incident..then, as you gather from the link in the title, it happened again:

So, the Religious Right got want they wanted from the federal courts (the same federal courts they accuse of “kicking God out of the public schools”) and now they’re hopping mad…again.

World Net Daily reports
that the Albemarle School District is under attack by a Religious Right group for sending students home with flyers for Camp Quest, an overnight summer camp for young atheists, agnostics and freethinkers.

This time, however, the problem has been exacerbated by a handful of teachers who have refused to send the flyers home. The group assailing Albemarle School District, Rick Scarborough’s Vision America, says “it’s outrageous to force teachers to distribute these flyers.” He’s urging members to contact the district to protest its “establishment of disbelief.”

An anonymous spokesman for the rebelling teachers told World Net Daily some teachers refused to hand out the Camp Quest flyer because they were “disgusted” and were concerned parents would think the school was endorsing the camp. Even though there is a disclaimer distancing the school from all extra-curricular information sent home, “it’s still coming from me and my classroom,” he said.

Mr. Anonymous is partly right. Anything that comes home from a public school, no matter how strong the disclaimer is, may be perceived as having the school’s stamp of approval. But that’s water under the bridge. Religious Right activists, through the 4th Circuit ruling that they sought, have forced public schools to allow their religious messages in the “backpack mail” system
.

Now that they have opened the forum, they can’t close it to perspectives they don’t like. Although these religious conservatives demand people listen to them, they appear unwilling to listen to others.


I can only close with a comment from the blog:


Well, Cathy and Jeff, it’s a new day. Your pals Falwell and Staver have opened up this forum, and now everyone gets to use it. Isn’t that what you wanted all along – freedom of religion? That freedom means all religions – even ones you don’t happen to like.








Let's go after ME!ME! Roth again

Why not, she's made a target of herself. What a bitch....to look at a human being and see nothing but disease??? Not an individual but disease??? What a disgusting, sick INDIVIDUAL ME!ME! is. And what a mean little bitch. Yeah, I know,coming from me that's rich..pot meet kettle..HOWEVER, I would NEVER tell someone what a cow she is unless she ASKED me. And then at least I'd TRY to be nice, not saying I'd succeed, but I would TRY. Of course, ME!ME! is the type that would steal candy from a baby.

I repeat, what a sick, disgusting, lazy person ME!ME! is. To not see the good things about Jordan, but only to see what's bad, and not even THAT bad at that. To want to hold Jordan back for no other reason than Jordan is "fat". I'm sorry, but the girl ain't fat..chubby? Maybe. I hear her father is an NFL linebacker...that girl will NEVER be a size 2. Obviously the Jordan has SOME talent (apparently more than ME!ME! has) and that's what we should see. Look, it's none of my business how she eats or how she chooses to live. Quite frankly, she's a breath of fresh air. I'm really sick of the anorexic bitches. It's hard to find pictures of ME!ME! that haven't been doctored, but the head shots I saw aren't encouraging. You can "count her vertebrae from her neck" to quote someone else.

Look, with people like ME!ME! it's no wonder that we have two conflicting problems, NOT EPIDEMICS, problems: obesity and anorexia. If you harp on one to the extent ME!ME! does, you're going to have a problem with the other. She is entirely too skinny to try to tell fat gals to lose weight. She and the Olsen twins are poster kids for anorexia, I wouldn't be going and giving shit to folks who aren't THE perfect size. Especially when YOU can afford a personal trainer. Especially when I can count your rib bones when you're slouching.

Look, ok, so some people are fat, guess what, NOT YOUR BUSINESS. You need to be taking care of you and your family, not sticking your nose in other people's faces. This isn't just for ME!ME!, but for all you nosy bastards. And no, it's not FOR THE CHILDREN. The children are quite well protected, ever heard of the CPS and doctors? Well, if your kid gets obese, they can have your kid removed for that. There is NO reason for people to make new little laws and rag on other people. There is NO reason to stick your nose in another adult's business.

Look guys, you wanna know where this shit leads? Here's some links for you:

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/05/medical-privacy-update-healthcare-for.html

Massachusetts: According to the CCHC, like all managed care plans, the MA state plan includes a provision for monitoring people’s lifestyles and their compliance with “wellness” goals established for them by the state

Minnesota: People would have no choice but to buy the health plans the state determines and these, again, are managed care programs, not true insurance plans. People would be forced to get the screening and preventive care, treatments and medications the state determines; lower their health indices to state-approved numbers; and their medical care would be managed by the state.

California: As the Los Angeles Times reported, “people who refuse to obtain health insurance could be tracked down by the state or a private contractor, enrolled in a plan and fined until they pay their premiums.”

U.S. Health Freedom on Verge of Collapse

This new bill panders to concerns of Americans regarding the safety of drugs. This legitimate worry is used by Kennedy and Enzi to garner support when in reality the bill does just the opposite - exposing Americans to almost unfathomable new drug risks and dangers while simultaneously making it possible to remove super safe, therapeutic, and helpful dietary supplements. The entire Critical Path initiative is a plan to race new and untested powerful biological drugs onto the market and experiment on patients all over the country – throwing caution to the wind as far as drug safety is concerned.

While S1082 also pretends to address the issues of drug safety, in reality all the needed Big Pharma loopholes are firmly in place. Additionally, the establishment of a clinical trial database as written in this proposed law will enable Big Pharma to hide experimental and undesirable side effects. Instead of full disclosure we will have a sterilized clinical trial database that will have the net effect of being used as a tool by Big Pharma to promote off label use of drugs. This is a far cry from disclosure that results in safety.


Be afraid, be very very afraid.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian

10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.

9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.

8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God.

7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees!

6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.

5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.

4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."

3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity.

2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.

1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian.

-----stolen from a craigslist thing

Friday, May 25, 2007

In all fairness

The national office of the ALA has seen the ad and pulled it from the air and YouTube. They apologized and expressed their disgust.

To quote Dr. Siegel (link on the right)

Apparently, the spot was produced by an ALA affiliate, and the national office was not aware of it until seeing my blog post this morning.

I will post a statement of regret from John Kirkwood, the president and CEO of the ALA, momentarily.

I applaud the American Lung Association for pulling the ad, expressing its thoughtful sentiments, and for its sincere apology.


ALA, John, this is called "damned if you do, damned if you don't". You're own fault however. You have spent so much time lying, I don't believe your sorry for your, albeit distant, involvement in this commercial. I think you're only sorry it wasn't the reaction you hoped for. I like this quote from a reader over at Doc's website:

The lies and frauds of the antismoking movement go beyond the damage to science: they hurt people and they hurt our society. The action of the ALA with regard to this ad is commendable, but I wouldn't give them an award any more than I'd pin a ribbon on a soldier who spared a month old newborn after gunning down its mother and a half dozen of its 1 to 8 year old siblings.


Michael J. McFadden
Author of Dissecting Antismokers' Brains"
http://pasan.TheTruthIsALie.com

Smoking commercial more offensive than you think smoking is

I have posted it elsewhere and repost it here. I can not link the video at the moment because it was taken down and I must find a new site. Suffice it to say that a anti-tobacco commercial was made (please read this first paragraph before you go view it, for your mental health) by Ramaa Mosley at Triofilms.com. It is a very emotional video and if you've ever been the victim of child abuse, please be warned that this video may be very...well offensive, but look, be sure you're ready to deal with a possible reliving of your childhood if you watch it. I'm so angry right now I can't hardly think straight. Her post to her right to air such a tasteless commercial is here as well as my own response.

Her post:

I directed this commercial because I believe that people who are complacent enough to continue smoking in front of their children need a huge jolt - something powerful to alter their way of seeing their actions.

People may be furious with the comparison between second hand smoke and child abuse - this is not a surprise. It is extremely disturbing to hear the sounds of the child in the spot being abused - as it should be. It's also extremely disturbing that there are still parents out there who know that smoking causes illness and possible death in children, yet they continue to smoke in front of them!

First off, the definition of abuse is "to treat in a harmful, injurious, or offensive way..." In webster's it's "a corrupt practice or custom".

What happens to babies when they are exposed to cigarette smoke?
--Babies and children who are exposed to cigarette smoke have a much higher incidence of pneumonia, asthma, ear infections, bronchitis, sinus infections, eye irritation, and croup.
--Colic occurs more often in babies whose mothers or fathers smoke or if
a breastfeeding mother smokes.
--Researchers believe that not only does the nicotine transferred into mother's milk upset baby but the passive smoke in the home acts as an irritant.
--Babies of smoking parents fuss more, and mothers who smoke may be less able to cope with a colicky
baby (due to lower levels of prolactin).
--Heavy smoking by breastfeeding moms occasionally causes symptoms in the breastfeeding baby such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea.
--Babies of smoking mothers and fathers have a seven times greater chance of dying from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
--Children of smoking parents have two to three times more visits to the doctor, usually from respiratory infections or allergy-related illnesses.
--Children who are exposed to passive smoke in the home have lower blood levels of HDL, the good cholesterol that helps protect against coronary artery disease.
--Children of smoking parents are more likely to become smokers themselves.
--A recent study found that growing up in a home in which two parents smoked could double the child's risk of lung cancer later in life.

I will confess that I grew up in an extremely abusive household - this commercial is tame in comparison to some of the things I experienced
and witnessed as a child. I also have have known a child raised in a family of smokers who died from cancer. Growing up I was friends with two other children who had terrible asthma and chronic respitory infections - all were raised in families where the parents smoked around the children.

Now that we're adults who is worse? I've gotten counseling, resolved most of the issues with my family and am living a productive life. My
friends still have constant asthma attacks and have had respitory infections that have lead to three bouts with pneumonia. Not to mention the fact that their father passed away ten years ago from lung cancer. So... who is worse off?

No one is is. That's the point. Child abuse is horrible. Smoking around your children is abuse.


As a mother of two small children, I believe that no child should be subjected to abuse of any kind. I'm proud of this spot - I believe it is a powerful statement on the behalf of children. My sincere hope is that parents who are currently smoking around their children will see this spot and make the right decision to NEVER smoke around their child again. We're not telling people to quit smoking - just quit smoking around your child. Take that cigarette outside, don't smoke in the car...

Sincerely,
Ramaa Mosley
Triofilms.com


Ramaa, not all victims of abuse would agree with you at all. I know I don't. I WISH my parents had ONLY smoked around me. That never bothered me at all. It didn't bother my asthma, no one in our family or neighborhood died of lung cancer.

MY children and the children of my neighbors and the children I grew up with are just fine. I did know a girl way back that died of cancer, but she was in a non-smoking family, and even if she wasn't it was a brain tumor, something I have yet to see attributed to smoking. If we were going by anecdotal evidence alone, my evidence would be just as important as yours.

I am also highly offended at your trivialization of my childhood. While YOU may feel that you have some right to do something like this because you are a fellow sufferer does not make it true or even ethical. To think so would to also say that since I was abused I have the right to rob your house and you must acknowledge that right and NOT file charges. Your commercial did shock me into one reaction, reliving briefly my own childhood. What right did you feel you have to do that? Just because you have an agenda you'd like to push? Just because I have overcome my childhood does not mean I want to relive it EVER, especially not for your lies, not even for a few seconds. It takes a lot of work to put that behind you, which you OUGHT to know if your claims are true. Even if the information was factual, it was still in VERY poor taste.

Also, if you people would BOTHER to check the information you've been fed you'd find that many are inaccurate. The WHO found that children of smokers were 22% LESS likely to develop lung cancer. Link here: http://www.obscurious.co.uk/ comp...smoking1440.pdf

You would also find that "there are no documented allergens in cigarette smoke. An asthmatic is potentially allergic to thousands of things, the most common being dust, pollen and pet hair. If cigarette smoke contained allergens there is no possible way millions of asthmatics could possibly be smokers." I am a smoking asthmatic, and the man who wrote the quote is a 40 year smoker and asthmatic, Warren Klass.

You would also find information about SIDS, linked here:
1. a letter from the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Alliance to John Bazhaff http://www.forces.org/evidence/f...iles/ cohe01.htm in which it's stated very clearly:

"To date, no direct causal relationship has been established. " I encourage you to actually read and understand the whole thing.

2. http://www.data-yard.net/10p2/sids.htm

Brain Stem Abnormality Seen in SIDS Babies, Study Shows

Thank you very much for leaving your company name. I will be sure to include it and your name to every abuse victim who finds this a disgusting, tasteless act. And I can assure you there will be many. Unfortunately, not being as callous as you, I will be sure to let them know that the commercial is extreme and they may want to consider it before viewing it based on their own feelings and whether or not THEY have gotten over their childhood. Not everyone has you know.

Letter from a former student asshole

This is totally Sophisticat's fault. He linked, I read, I love it..however, some things I'd like to address...this might take a while:

To my college professor's:

My first English 2 class:

1. "In your attempt to be witty you failed utterly". Well, in your attempt to read my mind, you failed utterly. I was not attempting to be witty in the slightest. I was not thinking "clever" that day. I was thinking: a. Gotta write this English paper b. gotta dump our laundry in the bathtub and do the twist (hehe, no washer and dryer, no car, hey, you work with what you got) c. I have to walk to the nearest store, 3 miles away with a 1 year old to get her milk. JUST milk, and will I have time to go ahead and do a LITTLE shopping just to save myself some effort? d. How to do my computer homework with no computer and, possibly, no electricity e. Do you really, really think you did your best work on this book? I mean, I understand why you didn't entitle it Ode to My Ego, but it really would have saved us both some time and intense frustration. Or at least be prepared for my critique of your various misspellings, inaccurate "facts" (which was being polite), and complete disregard for the language that, not only we all have agreed on, but is also the SUBJECT YOU TEACH.

2. I didn't transfer out of your class and retake it the next semester because you gave me a bad grade. I transferred out because YOU CAN'T TEACH. My other instructor was much better. I know you are contemptuous of him because he's a hippie, however, he's a hippie that can TEACH and I'm glad I dropped your class for his. I actually learned something. Even if I did feel my grades were less than desirable. *sniffles*

To my computer instructor:

You are a doormat, but the sweetest doormat in creation. In the 4 years of attending a variety of your classes, I learned nothing. That's not your fault. I am a failed genius with no social skills. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I missed pretty much EVERY class. I think I proved with my work being turned in and the tests results that I knew the material. Did you know I could test out of those classes? I didn't. I was completely unprepared for college due to my own faults and the faults of public education. YOU are the only reason I made it through college at all with my amazing amount of issues. Yes, even in the classes that you weren't teaching. Thank you for the sheer amount of office hours you devoted to meeting me on the phone at my neighbor's house because I couldn't trudge the 6 miles to the college that day with a toddler in a stroller due to rain, intense heat, or later, due to the being so doped up on vicoden I don't even remember the last 2 years of college. I hope you felt vindicated when I underwent 2 surgeries. I always wanted you to know I wasn't just another BS'ing student, just one trying so hard to get through college. I hope I didn't cause you any frustration, but I'm sure I did and I'm heartily sorry.

To public school teachers:

1. To my high school English teacher (yes, for 3 years I had the same one), I'm still very sorry I said that your morning perkiness made me want to pick you up and shake you like the bell you were shaped. You were a good teacher and I was a shitty person. I still am a shitty person, but not nearly so much, thanks to you. Just because the biggest portion of my teachers up until then had been so stupid I'm surprised they could muster the effort to drool gave me no right to take it out on you.

2. To the first of my 9th grade English teachers: I am not sorry I wrote "Mrs. Smith is a bitch" in lipstick on the bathroom mirrors (yes, all of them). I am only sorry that a. I was too principled to do it anonymously b. that there wasn't enough room to write the reasons why you were such a tremendous cunt and c. That I felt it necessary to do it by graffiti instead of newspaper and causing the school janitor a obscene amount of work. I do not know why you felt it necessary to side with the "cool" kids in the daily harassment and abuse of myself and the exchange student. Your active participation begged for some kind of response, and unfortunately I was powerless to do more than what I did do. I'm not sorry I was so much smarter than you, I'm only sorry you were too intent on being the "smartest" than to appreciate the challenge that lay before you. I did not excel in the gifted English class they later placed because my teacher was "easygoing"...I succeeded because he was a wonderful teacher excited about what he taught. His excitement was catching. Estrella shouldn't have been degraded and abused for not knowing the language perfectly. There were Mexicans that grew up in our country in that class that didn't have the handle on the language she did. I tried to get her out of that class..but again, I was powerless. Which brings me to:

2. Mr Green...(yes, that's his real name). I am not sorry that while trying to figure out where to put me for my in school suspension for the above behavior that I told you that you were "a fucking drooling idiot who wouldn't know his asshole from a hole in the ground" and "a mean spirited dick head looking for a reason to shit in someone's hat". I am not sorry you decided on a complete suspension. I am sorry I took it the superintendent, not because she did such a good job of addressing most of my problems with yourself and the English teacher, but because she made you move on to another school. Why you chose to follow me and harass me at my next school is beyond my comprehension. Luckily that school quickly realized you were a drooling idiot as well. I am sure you were very dismayed when, in spite of your slander and harassment, I flourished under the tutelage of my Spanish teacher. I am also sure that you were highly pleased when you called my mother and made her come up to the school because I had "ripped the entire office to shreds and thrown an extremely large book at you and you were contemplating involving the police". My mother is NOT sorry she came up there, glanced around the office in which I sat utterly clueless, noted the perfect organization and calmness in the office, and proceeded to inform you that I was correct, you ARE a drooling idiot and a prick to boot. Why you thought my mother would side with you I have no idea. While the woman did not graduate high school, she was surely no idiot. Also, she was fully aware that if I decided to get in trouble I would not half ass it so badly that you would have the office completely organized and calm in the 15 minutes it took her to drive up there. I am aware that you were probably devastated to find that all adults did not share in the sheer stupidity you yourself flaunted so proudly. I am also not sorry for the multiple times I loudly informed you that looking at the legs of teenagers and up their short skirts was extremely inappropriate. I am very sorry I was not aware that this is one of the signs of a pedophile looking for a place to happen. If I had been, I may have found evidence that you had acted on your feelings and had you arrested, thus removing any ability to harass, and possibly sexually abuse, these kids in the future. I am also not the least bit sorry that drawing so much attention to your behavior that it did at least get you removed from my school. It wasn't my accusations that done you in, it was getting caught while being watched BECAUSE of my accusations.

To all those I wrong who should have been wronged: I'm not sorry, I never will be. You just happened to have a student that didn't give a shit. You made sure I didn't trust another teacher, even the good ones. So I had nothing to lose by proclaiming your faults as loud and offensively as I could. Most of you, admittedly with my help, had already made sure my record showed me as anti-authoritarian and anti-social as possible. While I will take full responsibility for choosing to live up to these characterizations, you are the ones who made sure my reputation proceeded me.

To all those I wronged and didn't deserve it: I'm sorry. I take the majority of the responsibility for my behavior. While those above may have done their part to make sure I viewed you all as shitty and incompetent as them, I am the one who chose the behavior I exhibited.

My problems started in the third grade because a teacher took an extreme disliking to me and decided I deserved to be punished, often, corporally. I always saw school as a great place up until then. It was the greatest place. I could read and learn all I wanted to and I escaped being home where I was beaten. When the beatings started at school, you betrayed me. I was nice once. It was downhill from there. I know that's where the rock started down the hill. I was a good student and never missed a day, and that turned the other kids against me. I was a genius in my element. I didn't like being picked on by anyone and well, I chose the route of an asshole. I chose to half ass most of school, I was encouraged in this half assed behavior by all but 2 of my teachers, and the sum made the student you saw before you.

So I read RYS and find myself nodding, and sometimes feeling a bit ashamed of myself.

And maybe tomorrow I'll go into the horridness of public schools today and myself on the parent end of it.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Ah look! A new toy!

My comments in red!

ASH: New Frontiers and Victories in the War For Nonsmokers' Rights (While we're discussing rights, while I may not have the right to pollute your air, you don't have the right to clean air. That's not covered anywhere. However, the right to the pursuit of happiness covers us both!)

by Public Interest Law Professor John F. Banzhaf III,
FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor Executive Director and Chief Counsel
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)

Presented at the Medical Symposium of FAMRI {Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute)
in Miami, Florida, May 2007

I’ve been asked to talk with you about the many new battlefronts which we at ASH have helped to open in the war to protect nonsmokers’ rights. (cuz nonsmokers have more rights than smokers, and white people have more rights than black people, bigotry is bigotry, no matter your target)
Here are more than a dozen – all in less than ten minutes.

■ 1. More than a dozen states are virtually smokefree, with smoking banned in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants
almost a dozen more are effectively smokefree, but with smoking still permitted in bars
thousands of local jurisdictions have similar prohibitions
some now beginning to ban smoking even in gambling casinos (yay! you knocked how many of the people you're trying to protect out of work??? Dave Hitt guys, look it up...LOTS of job losses, but hey! no SHS...well, not at work anyhow)

■ 2. More than a dozen countries also are already virtually smokefree, with more on the way,
this occurred largely as a result of a new world antismoking and nonsmokers’ rights treaty known as the “Framework Convention on Tobacco Control”
which ASH helped to get adopted, and now – through the Framework Convention Alliance – has a major role in enforcement
Thus there are no more smokey Irish pubs, and, when you arrive at the main airport in Norway, you see the sign:
"THE ONLY THING WE SMOKE HERE ARE SALMON" (not many pubs in Ireland left from what I hear from someone who actually LIVES THERE)
NEW proposed guidelines under the FCTC to protect nonsmokers can be found at: http://ash.org/fctcguidelines

■ 3. Others people – including (Batty) Patty Young of FAMRI, Billy Williams, and Jack Cannon –
are now using the Americans With Disabilities Act [ADA] to obtain additional protection for persons with conditions which make them especially susceptible to tobacco smoke,
a concept ASH helped pioneer first with the predecessor Federal Rehabilitation Act, and then with the more expansive ADA
and one which will soon be extended oversees – as you will hear (wait, those motherfuckers get protected from the MAYBE RISK of SHS but you won't make them stop mowing their fuckin' lawns for me?? I can't even leave my fuckin' house in the summer because of my allergies...I HAVE THE RIGHT TO GO OUTSIDE AND NOT SUFFER!!! *whine whine whine* And another fuckin' thing, I'm going deaf, I INSIST everyone learn sign language so they can better take care of me whenever I finally CAN go outside....I have a disability, 2 of them actually!)

■ 4. More than 800 jurisdictions, including several states, now ban smoking in various outdoor areas
commonly on beaches, in parks or playgrounds, on lines, and near entrances to buildings
Calabasis, CA, with urging from ASH, banned smoking virtually everywhere outdoors – it’s now permitted only in “smokers’ outposts”
In Calif the Air Resources Board (ARB) has declared tobacco smoke outdoors to be a Toxic Air Contaminant because it can cause lung cancer, heart attacks, and even breast cancer in nonsmokers, and this ruling may ultimately force outdoor bans throughout state (it can't cause shit..there MAY be an increased RISK..notice how there are no numbers supporting this claim. No science studies referenced. He can't point you at one, you might read it and know he's lying through his fat teeth)

IMPORTANT: It is important to note that these various victories, in addition to their primary purpose of protecting nonsmokers, also are a major factor in discouraging smoking itself, in several ways;:
they make it more difficult, or at least inconvenient, to be a smoker;(but we don't hate smokers...just smoking..right ASH, isn't that what you said)
they also remind smoker that smoking makes them stinky and smelly, rather than suave, sexy, and sophisticated as the ads claim (so does sports...stinky smelly motherfuckers...oh, and that fuckin' shit you call cologne...that stinks too...wait, don't fat people stink too? Mmmmm..I know someone at ASH that needs their stomach stapled...and since when don't I have the right to stink if I so choose...*throws out the deodorant*)

■ 5. In almost two dozen states, judges have ruled that nonsmokers may have legal rights to be protected from toxic tobacco smoke which drifts into their apartment or condo – even in the absence of any statute. We have been successful in using three major legal theories
trespass by particles (fuckin' A...I got the lawn defense..fuckin' neighbors can't mow now, their particles are trespassing on MY property)
breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment (the anti-smokers screams don't fuckin' count??? here you are, quietly enjoying a cigarette and here comes some loud offensive jackass)
nuisance (unhealthy & offensive) (prove unhealthy..I also find Glantz offensive, why isn't he banned yet?)
In addition, Calabasas and Dublin California have by statute declared tobacco smoke to be a legal “nuisance” (California is full of nutballs...Ahnold is their GOVERNOR for fuck's sake)
thereby simplifying the problem of brings law suits. (yeah, don't want to make you actually WORK for it)
Thus, while a man’s home may still be his castle, he doesn’t have an unlimited right to smoke in it if the smoke drifts into other castles
OR HARMS OR PUTS CHILDREN AT RISK -- WHICH LEADS TO THE NEXT SEVERAL VICTORIES (oh yeah, not out to attack our homes at all..isn't that what you said? just public places)

■ 6. In about 35 states, courts have ruled that it is appropriate for judges deciding custody disputes to consider if a parent subjects a child to toxic tobacco smoke in the car or at home
thousands of court orders have banned smoking in cars, and even in homes, when children involved in custody disputes are involved, some 24-48 hrs before they arrive
and, in a few cases, parents have lost custody if, after being warned, they continued to subject their child to toxic tobacco smoke (yeah, because actual parenting has nothing to do with it...better to choose a bad nonsmoking dad than a good smoking mom...and hey, taking children from their loving parents doesn't hurt anyone at all)

■ 7. Largely as a result of a new movement ASH began two years ago, more than a dozen states, and many local jurisdictions, have ruled that smoking should be banned in cars and in homes when foster children are present
particularly in view of the very high concentrations of tobacco smoke to which the children are subjected in cars – much higher than in a typical home or office, or even in a smokey bar.
This, by the way, seems to be have opened the door to banning smoking in cars when any children are present – something which, prior to this development, could not be done through legislation.
Now legislators are beginning to realize that banning smoking in cars when only certain children are inside makes no sense, and that all children in cars should be entitled to the same protection from toxic tobacco smoke as those in foster care or involved in custody disputes.

■ 8. So now at least two states – Louisiana, Arkansas – and several local jurisdictions, including Bangor Maine – have banned smoking when children are present in a car,
and California is considering a similar measure

IMPORTANT: In addition to protecting children, who are the most vulnerable and helpless victims of toxic tobacco smoke, these bans discourage smoking:
by making it more difficult to continue being a smoker (but remember ASH does not hate SMOKERS, just the smoke...and the KKK doesn't hate black PEOPLE, just the color black)
and by forcefully reminding smokers that their smoking is putting their families at risk (prove it....again, no references here...in fact, the WHO found children of smokers 22% LESS LIKELY to get lung cancer..guess who has references? ME! The only statistically significant number was a decrease in the risk of lung cancer among the children of smokers. PDF here)

■ 9. Tobacco smoke itself is hazardous, but even the residue of tobacco smoke which remains on a smokers’ clothing and hair after smoking can be dangerous, at least to people who are particularly susceptible. (prove it)
So ASH, opening up still another new front in the battle to protect nonsmokers, threatened to take legal action against a university when they forced a sensitive pregnant nonsmoker to work in the same office as a person who smoked – even though not in the office.
We cited letters from her physician that these tobacco residues endangered not only the health of the nonsmoking woman but also her fetus, and legal precedent that she was entitled to special protection.
The university backed down immediately – and we hope that this new movement attacking tobacco smoke residue,
as well as tobacco smoke itself, will likewise continue to spread. (notice the uni BACKED DOWN, it never went to court...with REAL scientists...rare these days I know...but I'm sure we can find ONE..anyhow, it probably NEVER would have won)

■ 10. At ASH we think nonsmokers’ rights extends beyond protection from tobacco smoke, and that nonsmokers and their families should have the right NOT to be killed or injured in fires caused by cigarettes –
cigarettes the major cause of residential fire deaths (prove it)
At this moment, more than half a dozen states – including California – and all of Canada, have laws in place which require that only cigarettes which have been demonstrated NOT to cause fires when carelessly dropped by a smoker can be sold.
These so-called “fire safe” cigarettes, also called RIP for “reduced ignition propensity,” do not continue to burn as most US cigarettes do,
Rather, they generally self-extinguish quickly. (ahhh..and what about YOU poisoning me with more chemicals...oh yeah, only non-smokers have any rights)
And, one possible additional advantage is that the annoyance of having to relight such cigarettes is that it may discourage consumption. (FWIW, I'm gonna keep smoking JUST to piss you off)

ECONOMIC: As you may know, the US Surgeon General has estimated that smoking costs the American Economy about $140 BILLION a year,
and that most of it is paid by nonsmokers in the form of higher taxes and bloated insurance premiums. (Harvard University professor Kip Viscusi has repeatedly demonstrated that smokers paid more in excise taxes than the social costs of their habits even before the 1999 Master Settlement Agreement raised the price of a pack of cigarettes)
Well, that’s beginning to change, because of several new frontiers in the battle to protect nonsmokers' rights"

■ 11. I recently obtained a governmental ruling re-establishing the right of health insurance companies to charge smokers more –
or nonsmokers less, which is really the same thing,
for health insurance, because smoking adds thousands of dollars to the costs of providing medical care to people who smoke. (see the link I made above)
More and more companies are moving to do this.
There are at least THREE Reasons Why Charging Smokers More Reduces Smoking:
1. For many smokers, it provides for the first time an immediate and very concrete incentive for them to quit (no it doesn't...not one smoker I know has quit over that...not ONE)
2. Strong reminder that the dangers of smoking are very real (no it doesn't...we kind of knew there was some danger before..nothing has changed except your hand in my pocket)
3. Monthly bills serve as a constant reminder and reinforcer (nope, sure doesn't...just makes us really really hate anti's)

■ 12. In a related move, ASH is pressing states to begin charging smokers more for health insurance services under Medicaid, and Tennessee has now become the first state to do so. Such charges will also help to reduce smoking, for the same three reasons. (nope...it won't)

■ 13. Finally, some companies are going even further, insisting upon a workforce which is both smoke free as well as drug free –(oooo...more discrimination! can't kick out the niggers and wops, but can the smokers! Don't jump my ass...I'm not the one who coined the term "nico-nigger")
and refusing to employ or promote workers who smoke, even off the job – since the dramatically-increased health care costs are the same whether they smoke on or off the job. (and telling us what we can and cannot do on our own time...wow..who knew the company ran my life...apparently fetuses have more rights than us too)
ASH is defending that practice, one which has now been adopted by many leading companies, as well as by the World Health Organization. (yeah, because denying smokers a living will definitely make them quit smoking..let me come to your house and tell you that you will either stop doing something legal or I'll fire you....yay bullying tactics! ooo..I got an idea..let's burn crosses on their lawns...it won't HURT them..only make it more clear that being black is bad for them...doh...wrong discrimination..sorry)

AND now a quick look at some possible new frontiers in the war to protect nonsmokers’ rights

■ A. ADOPTION: We are considering asking or even requiring adoption agencies to consider if an adoptive parent is a smoker who will be subjecting the child to toxic tobacco smoke, and perhaps permitting the mother putting up a child for adoption to insist that the adoptive parents be nonsmokers (also make sure they are christians and rich...don't worry about anything else, that's all that matters)

■ B. AUTO ACCIDENTS; Banning all smoking while driving, as New Delhi has just done, and as England and several other countries are now considering, not to protect children, but rather to help reduce automobile accidents (sure, as soon as you ban eating, talking on cellphones, televisions in the front seats, GPS trackers that require you to look at them, anyone think of more?)

■ C. PETS - Since there appears to be a growing body of evidence that secondhand tobacco smoke can affect the health of pets as well as people,
we may want to consider using that as a argument for smokers to quit, OR
even seeking to use animal protection laws to limit smoking around pets (Pets have more rights than human smokers)

■ D. ENVIRONMENTAL: With all the recent and apparently growing concern about Global Warming and Environmental Harm, we might want to take advantage of that movement to stress how much smoking contributes to both:
obviously not just the heat generated by smoking, but by the deforestation it contributes to, the fossil fuel used to grow, transport, and even cure tobacco and to make cigarettes, etc. (first you have to explain why, if global warming is peoples fault, the other planets had the EXACT same reaction...clue: there's no people on other planets)

■ E. LITTER: A closely related problem which also adversely affects nonsmokers is that of tobacco-related litter
in many areas, such as beaches, cigs are the major cause of litter (but NOT fast food and drink containers)
Not only can we use this as an additional argument for banning smoking in many outdoor areas, (but NOT fast food and drink containers)
but perhaps even move towards requiring a deposit on cigarette filters such as many states have for soft-drink soda bottles. (but DON'T ban fast food and drink containers)

And before you jump my shit on using the race card...I got a little newsflash for you...you don't HAVE to be black. I think Micheal Jackson has proven that. You CHOOSE to stay black. Now, there is NOTHING wrong with that. I don't have a problem with anyone based on race. I think people are all idiots equally..color has nothing to do with it...however, you can CHOOSE to turn white. Don't give me that "black people don't have a choice" shit..because technically speaking, yeah they do. Look, you want to be a bigot, fine, just be honest...race/lifestyle, it doesn't matter how you split them up, you're still a bigot.

And before you tell me how smokers should die and be killed, tell me why pedophiles aren't castrated? You wanna talk about a sick, disgusting disturbing motherfucker...legalize castration of pedophiles on their first offense...then you have a right to talk shit about anything less...and if you think pedophiles are less offensive than smokers, you're a sick motherfucker.

Deafness

We may have two posts today, I have a rant going but well, I think I just lost another chunk of my hearing and well, I gotta "think out loud" so to speak.

I'm going deaf. I haven't been to an audiologist, though it's in the works finally. But I've steadily lost hearing for about 5 years now. I had some serious ear infections, led to a vicoden problem and 2 surgeries. One to put tubes in, another to remove scar tissue and replace a tube in my right ear. I lose more hearing from my right ear than my left, though the left is going too. I say lost a chunk of my hearing because while my hearing does decline fairly steadily, there have been 2 times, this will make 3, where I noticed a severe and sudden loss of hearing. I know it's permanent because, well, the "chunk" never returned. The tube in my left ear has been gone for about 2 years now, at least...the right ear tube is still there. I'm not sure if this chunk is permanent or not, right now my ear is draining like a sieve (that's good though), so it could be a result of fluid trying to get out.

I'm losing my hearing in a fairly common way: failure to differentiate between sounds. Increasingly it is harder it sift out sounds. Used to I could sift out all sounds and listen solely for my children crying. Convenient when you have them all screaming through the house and playing. I could easily differentiate, subconsciously, if that was a pain cry or a play cry or if it was just fighting amongst themselves. Now I do good to hear them crying at all from the next room. Watching tv? Very carefully. I have to be able to hear the baby and the toddler and hear the tv. I can't hear the tv unless it's at full volume...makes it extremely difficult. Thank goodness for live tv you can pause or I'd never be able to watch a full show the few times I bother to.

My hearing loss very much upsets my husband. It doesn't upset me too much really. I mean, out of all the senses to lose, I'm of the opinion that hearing is the best for me. I will miss music and hearing my children's voices and the ease of just speaking to someone rather than signing (a skill we will be learning this summer as a family), but am I upset about it? Nah. I'd rather see, and move, and feel, and smell...things could be MUCH worse. And hey, if it's reversible..well, signing is a good ability to have regardless.

Being deaf will not be the end of my life. It might be the close of some parts of it..but all in all, as long as I can SEE the world...I don't mind not hearing it...in some cases, that might even be a good thing. LOL

But I will miss the music...

Friday, May 18, 2007

Don't you hate it when a really awesome idea gets shot to hell?

So I got some scam religious thing in the mail. My first thought was "Shit, get them away from my door and they start sending me junk mail." So I open it up to see what it is, my curiosity ALWAYS gets the best of me. It's got some little prayer rug or some shit, pages of praise Jesus...blah blah blah..the obligatory donation. And I got to thinking, how do I make these guys SERIOUSLY regret sending me this shit?

1. pee on it...oh yeah, I was tempted, but you can't transfer bodily fluids in the mail.
2. tear it up and send the trash back in their prepaid envelope...not near as much fun.
3. Send them a copy of the Satanic bible....except I don't know where to get one.
4. My fave: Steep it in sulfur and send it back with a letter from Satan on the "prayer rug". Damn...I'm not sure if it's illegal or not to send something reeking of sulfur through the mail. But it's an awesome idea....*cries* And it was RUINED!!!!

It's a scam...not near as much fun to screw with a scammer like that. If it was a real church, yeah, but the scammers won't be bothered. They'd probably think it was funny too.

I settled for a letter on the "prayer rug"...but I'm still feeling a bit let down over it....

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

One less fundie nutjob

One week before his death, Falwell told CNN's Christiane Amanpour he needed at least 20 more years to accomplish his vision for Liberty University.
Apparently god answered his prayer with a big resounding NO.

Look don't get pissed just because I had the balls to say it "Ding dong the witch is dead". What part of "I'm an asshole" did you not understand? Now, if only god will answer Pat Robertson's prayers with a big resounding NO as well. I never wished the man dead...but I'm not above taking pleasure in it. I know, I'm so mean, but hey, just because someone died, it doesn't make him a good person. And Falwell has spent his whole life making sure you knew, no matter what claims toward following a loving Jesus he made, he was NOT a good person. Let's remember him as he was:

"AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals."
"I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America," he said. "I point the finger in their face and say 'You helped this happen.' "

If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being.

God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve.

AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.

I listen to feminists and all these radical gals - most of them are failures. They've blown it. Some of them have been married, but they married some Casper Milquetoast who asked permission to go to the bathroom. These women just need a man in the house. That's all they need. Most of the feminists need a man to tell them what time of day it is and to lead them home. And they blew it and they're mad at all men. Feminists hate men. They're sexist. They hate men - that's their problem.

"Someone must not be afraid to say, 'moral perversion is wrong.' If we do not act now, homosexuals will 'own' America!...If you and I do not speak up now, this homosexual steamroller will literally crush all decent men, women, and children who get in its way...and our nation will pay a terrible price!"



Yeah, I'm not the asshole for noticing he was one too...just for pointing it out. Goodbye to one of the great hatemongers of the 20th and 21st century.

And before some of you start in about how hate shouldn't follow hate or some other shit, get over it.
1. Don't throw shit if you aren't ready to have it thrown back. Falwell has thrown more than his fair share of shit, I'm not saying anything I hadn't already said when he was alive. I'm just reminding people before they get off in "well he's dead now, let's be nice" bullshit. I don't see anyone saying that about Hitler.

2. I. Don't. Care. One of these days you'll realize I don't say this shit to be cool...I say it because I. Don't. Care. The neat thing about not caring is that I can say whatever I want without worrying about whose feelings it hurts.

3. Don't give me shit about enjoying the loss of an asshole, ESPECIALLY if you enjoyed the loss of Saddam Hussein...



Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Various things

I got a bit upset at the Doc (Doctor Seigal.linked), so haven't been hanging out at his site here lately. I'm sure he saw it as an overreaction...but y'know...when you start bringing words like "normal' into, that means someone that's not following your guidelines is "not normal". Let me at least put the comment:

With that said, I do not suggest that people will get used to it overnight. But over time, they will. I remember a time when people would have said that smoking in a restaurant was inherent to dining. Or inherent to flying in an airplane. People are able to adapt to these changes. Over time, yes. But social norms can and do change.

Social norms...yes they can and do change, but to put it like this change is "good" and "welcome" is beyond the pale. It's neither. For one, it appears with such a comment that society's idea of normalcy wins. But you can't get two people to agree on WTF normal is. And for society as a whole to be identified as "normal" then there must be those opposed to societal norms and therefore "not normal". By showing agreement with this, you are showing that there are folks you consider "not normal". And well, I got a bit annoyed....in fact, I said, and believe, it's the most hateful thing Doc has written. Actually, considering THIS is the most hateful thing I think he's written shows how nonoffensive he actually is. However, I suppose I expected more of him. It's so easy to label those who don't agree with "society" as the outcasts, the freaks, the wierdos. Howeve,r while society occasionally does do something right when the social norm NATURALLY changes, for the most part its just a bunch of idiots who are being led around by the nose, yet again. While for the good you have elimination of slavery, you also have Prohibition for the bad. Social norms are no indication of anything except how far you can manipulate society. And one's person's "normal" is another person's "FUREAK!".

Which moves us right along...be sure to read the recent Fundie Watch about the Hate Crimes bill. I won't try to go into it, because Watcher has, as usual, addressed it in his much more pointed fashion...but I do encourage you to read it...well. As I said, one person's "normal" is another person's "FUREAK" and well, I found one of my freaks at Faith 2 Action. Just go read it...

In other news, the Disney channel is pushing it's own brainwashing...yeah, it has been really, but this one really pisses me off. My kids like Little Einsteins and the Mickey Mouse show...then we flip it over to Nickolodean. However, I noticed the two little shits doing a "for your own good" clip and stopped to watch. Most of this stuff you roll your eyes and move along. I think my teachings will go much further than Disney's in my house. It wasn't WHAT they were saying, because I happen to agree with a good portion of it, it's HOW they go about doing it. I have a huge objection to my children getting the idea that it's ok to dress me down like they are the parent because some cartoon shows it's ok if it's for the "right" reasons. Encouraging children to, even politely, chew their parent out is, to me, a very bad idea. Like we as parents don't have enough trouble getting around their peers, now we have cartoons with what appears to be two 4 year olds telling dear old dad that he's breaking the rules and that they have *every* right in the world to jump his ass. Newsflash, they don't. I'm an adult, if I choose to break a rule, then I will be living with the consequences. This whole thing about adulthood is supposed to be the idea that you don't *need* parents anymore (hear that you busybodies?). We're supposed to be able to make our decisions and live with the consequences (hear that you wienies?). While it is one thing for my child to bring something to my attention, it's a whole 'nother for them to TELL me what I can and cannot, should and should not, do. Last I checked, I was the parent. I get to tell YOU what to do. I try to raise my kids with a mutual respect for the most part...but there are limits. My job is to guide my childrento become productive adults that can live with THEIR own choices. And hopefully impart a basic guideline of what "good" is. Me, the one with more experience in how the world works and what it requires to live in it. To fill them with these ideals, and not with the whole story is ridiculous. Yeah yeah, don't litter is a fine lesson to teach. But don't have children chewing out their parents, and tell them they don't need NEW laws, just folks with the balls to enforce the old ones. And don't fuckin' tell my kids to tell me how to vote. If I'm not going to listen to George Clooney, I'm damn sure not going to listen to my 11 year old who's only seeing half the story. Y'know, there should be laws against you type of people....if you can't appeal to the public with honesty and truth and let us make our own decisions, then you probably don't have a legitimate fact to stand on.

As far as society, well, if you act stupid, they treat you stupid. So quit acting stupid. You know why we're suffering from all the things we are now? Because YOU'RE an idiot. The government and the media have seen how you let yourself be manipulated...Don't get mad at them because they USE that knowledge. You've been so stupid in the last 12 years that well, they believe your stupid. And apparently, you are.

That goes for the anti-smokers too!