I'm so blind

I was out a nightclub this weekend and as I walked in, I heard some men arguing at the door. The bouncer was telling these men that their clothes were "too baggy". This sounded odd to me - their clothes were loose fitting - but in the style that is common for men, not ridiculously so. I was confused. And then I saw the enraged look in one man's eyes that he couldn't get in and I got it like a smack in the face. It wasn't because their clothes were baggy, it was because they were black. I couldn't believe it.

There is this scene in Knocked Up where the women are trying to get in an exclusive nightclub and the bouncer won't let them in because, "You old, she pregnant. Can't have a bunch of old pregnant bitches running around. That's crazy, I'm only allowed to let in five percent black people. He said that, that means if there's 25 people here I get to let in one and a quarter black people. So I gotta hope there's a black midget in the crowd."

The scene is meant to be funny. I didn't realize this was an actual policy. And I don't know what I can do about it but be angry.

No words

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

Things Sarah Palin Can Name

Since we know multiple Supreme Court cases she disagrees with and any news sources she regularly reads are not one of them; here is a fairly exhaustive list of things Sarah Palin can name.

That being said, I really worry about the debate. This seems like one of the places Clinton could've been really useful to the Obama campaign as a VP. Joe Biden has the ability to come across as incredibly sexist... it's all very strange seeing as how Palin may be the worst of the four on women's issues.

Amendment 2

We are all kind of preoccupied with the big thing on this year's ballot - the Presidential election and what not. Let's not forget other important things.

Amendment 2, the so-called Marriage Protection Amendment is dangerous. You should be doing all you can to educate your friends and family about it. It is not just calling for a moratorium on gay marriage (not that I would agree with that either). Rather, it is calling for gay marriage or anything that is functionally its equivalent (civil unions, for example) to be deemed unrecognizable under Florida Law.

This amendment runs the risk of making it impossible for gay and lesbian couples to be able to make critical end of life decisions for one another, to visit one another in the hospital, to obtain health insurance together, and the list goes on. As I said, it is dangerous, inhumane, and has a name that is an outright lie. Please dialog with those you influence about the importance of voting NO on 2!!

More info here

Offensive? Yes.

Condo "Before" Pics

As promised, here are the pictures. These are definitely the "before" ones, so I'll post new ones once we have painted and get moved in.

The view from our bed room window.

This gives you an idea of how open it feels.

The kitchen.

Living room looking away from the sun room.

The living room looking toward the sun room.

Down the staircase.

The courtyard of our condo complex. Our place is the top one in the front of the left hand side.

Child Activist

My dad told me the funniest story yesterday. He was telling me how when he married my mother, he threw away all his "girly magazines", except for one copy of the May 1966 issue of Playboy (his birth month/year). When I was like 10 or 11 years old he and I were in the basement, looking through his old stuff (most likely LPs) and I pulled out the copy of Playboy. "What is this?!" I exclaimed.

He said the page I opened it to was not in any way explicit; it had a woman wearing a very tight fitting, short sweater dress. I said, "You need to get rid of this." And he starts saying how it is a collectible, and his birth month, etc. I looked him in the eye and said, "If you keep this, I will not respect you." He said okay, took it from me, and threw it away.

I do not remember this at all, but it does not surprise me in the least. I have always been very forthright about the things I feel strongly about. Apparently I was a vocal feminist before I knew what a vocal feminist was.

Key Concepts

When I became the youth minister at my church there was a curriculum in place. It shall remain nameless. All of our youth activities sprang from it. The truth - it was the dumbest excuse for youth curriculum I'd ever seen... and I've seen terrible stuff.

The badness started with it's "key concepts" which were, 1) manhood and womanhood are gifts from God and 2) adulthood must be earned. First of all, I understand there are some gender politics issues with the concepts. Second, I have no idea what the hell they mean or how they connect with Christianity.

There is nothing revolutionary. Nothing about a deeper connection with God or those around you. Nothing about fighting against injustice. Nothing about anything that would make this in any way unique from something someone could teach at a damn etiquette class. It is precisely the kind of bullshit that makes people think Christianity is simply a system that makes people nice and very supportive of the status quo.

It's gone now.

Adventures in Homeownership

We closed (which means we signed about 1,000 pieces of paper - most of which we had no idea what they meant). It felt great. We were homeowners. We were in debt for the rest of our live, but what are you gonna do?

Last night, Shelly had planned a wedding shower for a friend that was getting married on Saturday. So I called my friend Tim, to meet me at the house and have a few beers in celebration. We get there, I put the key in the deadbolt... it sticks. Fortunately, we have a bottle opener with us, and use it to leverage the lock open. We get in the condo. I try to use the bottle opener to get the key out of the deadbolt. It snaps. The one key we have to our new house breaks on the first night we have the house!

We call Lowe's to see how late they were open, and realized we only had 15 minutes to get there. We make it, buy new knobs, change out everything. Not exactly the way I planned on spending the night, but I guess that's home ownership - no landlord to call when stuff breaks! That'll take some getting used to.

We love the place, I really will put pics up soon.

Am I Reading This Right?

Ok, I'm no economist. I don't understand this bailout thing. I know the experts say it's necessary. To me it sounds like we're saving greedy bankers (I found it interesting to hear this morning that the banks are lobbying for the bill to pass but against the provision that limits how much bank CEOs can make.... interesting).

I read Senator Obama's remarks here and thought, "Did he just say what I thought he said?" Because it sure sounded like he said screw the environment, the working class, the poor, the elderly, veterans, etc. We need to hold off on those proposals to save greedy bankers. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but a vote for Nader is sounding better than ever.