tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57802169052240688352024-02-21T03:36:17.362-05:00Lost in the UndergroundRants, Rambles, and Ruminations on Religion
(and lots of other things)WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.comBlogger279125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-85345567781901005792010-04-08T01:08:00.004-05:002010-04-08T01:34:19.068-05:00Prayer, Forgiveness, and PainI am angry with one of my closest friends. He has hurt me, cut me to the bone and left me bleeding on the ground. All perhaps without knowing but that doesn't undo the pain, and doesn't negate the callousness with which I've been treated. It is times like these when I want to invoke the Russian. My dear, my close друг. Literally, my other.<br /><br />This scenario came to head in the middle of last week, in the middle of Holy Week. Afternoon of Holy Thursday, I find myself trying to explain my hurt to my friend. And then speaking to him in dark hissed tones as he throws on his mask of the great pastoral one, casting me in the role of the supplicate seeking mercy and succor.<br /><br />I don't want mercy. I don't an apprentice's attempt at pastoral care, dammit. I want you to recognize that you have hurt me.<br /><br />Holy Thursday evening, the first of about twenty hours I will spend in services over the next week. I have ceased to shake with rage somehow. I don't know how. Should I be in church right now? Can I give the service the attention it deserves? And seriously, how petty does this betrayal appear in the one that is recalled here?<br /><br />Oh, Judas, my friend, my other, will you really betray me with a kiss?<br /><br />I made a resolution at New Years to learn how to pray, and have certainly not done as well with it as I may have liked. But sitting in that pew, I found myself praying. Give me the strength to cope. Please, guide me through what I must do to come out of this. (This was not the first time I have prayed in this crisis, but my ex-Protestant mind has a little trouble understanding curling up prostrate on the floor of the chapel before the icon of the Theotokos and literally sobbing as prayer.) I left the service still quite upset. <br /><br />Wake the next morning for the marathon of Holy Friday. Three services. Eight hours or more worth. Bow before the icon of the Theotokos in the narthex, and light a slender votive candle for myself. Give me strength. Give me guidance. Give me some peace of mind.<br /><br />And as the services progress, gradually I find that. I must forgive him. It is not an option. But forgiveness doesn't have to be immediate and forgiveness doesn't overlook or trivial the hurt he caused me. My pain is real, and forgiving him is going to require acknowledging and honoring it. And I will.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-56097930838758569342010-03-12T09:36:00.002-06:002010-03-12T09:37:48.749-06:00I would like to state for the record that I'm a social justice loving Christian.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-22351589346453064872010-03-05T17:29:00.003-06:002010-03-05T17:59:08.700-06:00Paradigms shift like tectonic plates...another post on much the same thing...<br /><br />I tried to explain to my ex about paradigms, used hear to refer to metaphors I use to understand my self and the world around me. How shifting them around was so disquieting to me, and while he was the locus a major paradigm shift, the dis-ease on my part was largely from interior sources -- much bigger than him. <br /><br />I adopted a rather ascetic, Hellenistic, and disembodied paradigm in late high school, because it gave me some space to breath and be myself. It completely removed me from the CofC paradigm of reproduction of the church in which women are "saved through child-bearing." This ascetic idea gave me some degree of spiritual independence and freedom to use my mind and my logic, and damned be the person who would tell me a I couldn't because I had a particular body.<br /><br />It was also simply replacing one extreme with the other and ultimately left me with some strong mind/body integration issues that I'm still chipping away at, but largely fell apart over the past year. I am much more at home in my body these days.<br /><br />I've been operating in another paradigm of being a scholar of theology, but not a believer. Again, largely a matter of overcompensation. No, no, I'm not a prudish Christian. I curse. I drink. I commit other various "sins." I am not going to tell you that you're going to hell. I study faith, dammit, don't confuse that with person of.<br /><br />And once again, the paradigm I was using to understand my self is falling apart. Not in a way that is bad, but in a way that is certainly disquieting.<br /><br />I don't know if I'm a different person per se. I'm not a prudish Christian. I curse. I drink. I commit various other "sins," and am not particularly repentant about it. And I have little to no interest in telling you that you're going to hell or in bringing you to Jesus.<br /><br />But I also can't deny at this point some deep seated belief in a transcendent something which may be properly referred to as God. Is this what they call faith? And slowly, slowly I've been developing a need for religious structure and community. A system that is something more than myself. At the same time, I've found a structure than meets my needs, and gives me room to breath and be my self. The prospect of letting go of the paradigm of "exile" and "refugee" and applying for citizenship still overwhelmes me.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-55057896782023159582010-03-03T00:14:00.003-06:002010-03-03T00:50:28.017-06:00Theological RefugeeIt has been a strange year. For now, I'll leave it at that.<br /><br />I've written in the past on doing theology from <a href="http://lostintheunderground.blogspot.com/2008/04/theologizing-in-exile.html">a place of exile</a>. I walked away from my religious homeland. For the past year, perhaps two, I've been doing theology as a sort of refugee in the Orthodox Church. Moving in a theological world where I am a foreigner, day by day improving my command of the language and learning to pass in the culture.<br /><br />I am once again faced with the task of <a href="http://lostintheunderground.blogspot.com/2008/06/discernment-is-big-word.html">discernment</a>. Do I become a citizen of this world? This world that has welcomed me in such surprising ways? This rich, beautiful theological tradition that gives me air to breath and food to eat? This highly conservative, androcentric church?<br /><br />The Orthodox Church is not a perfect fit for me. But there isn't a church or religion that would be a "perfect" fit for me.<br /><br />I was recently assigned Augustine's <span style="font-style: italic;">Confessions</span> for a class, the three chapters leading up to his conversion in the garden. This is at least the third time I have read this particular section of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Confessions</span>, but this time, I found myself copying sections out into my journal and identifying so strongly with Augustine. Almost, I'm almost resolved, but not quite.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-14465746708907739352009-12-20T17:11:00.002-06:002009-12-20T17:16:14.131-06:00He who Loses Himself will Save HimselfIt started out as basic work chatter.<span style=""> </span>“How’s life?”<span style=""> </span>My co-worker looks at me and nods in his uber-chill manner.<span style=""> </span>“Life.<span style=""> </span>Life is precious.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Me being rambling me, I can’t leave it at that.<span style=""> </span>“A precious human life.<span style=""> </span>The most auspicious according to the Buddhists, because you see if you’re a god, it’s too easy, so you won’t work to escape samsara, and better than being born in one of the lower states of existence, because then you’re too miserable to be able to make your way out, but it’s auspicious to be human.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">He nods again.<span style=""> </span><span style=""></span>Buddha-like.<span style=""> </span>“Hey, do you ever think religion is just egotism?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Um.<span style=""> </span>Yeah.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And then a rush hits.</p> <!--EndFragment-->WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-41923112778191929262009-03-03T11:16:00.002-06:002009-03-03T11:19:09.357-06:00This Just Makes Me HappyYes, I do do theology with my stomach. And I would totally give a Food Network show hosted by a priest a chance. If I had cable, that is.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/02/AR2009030202944.html?wpisrc=newsletter">Apron Vestments</a>WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-23616972963536512282009-02-28T15:34:00.003-06:002009-02-28T15:39:53.804-06:00Obama = Kara ThraceHarbinger of the Apocalypse and all that good stuff.<br /><br /><div><iframe src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/29437911#29437911" frameborder="0" height="339" scrolling="no" width="425"></iframe><style type="text/css">.msnbcLinks {font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;} .msnbcLinks a {text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px;} .msnbcLinks a:link, .msnbcLinks a:visited {color: #5799db !important;} .msnbcLinks a:hover, .msnbcLinks a:active {color:#CC0000 !important;} </style><p class="msnbcLinks">Visit msnbc.com for <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/">Breaking News</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507">World News</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072">News about the Economy</a></p></div><br /><br />As is usual when Tim LaHaye and the monstrous work of bad writing and worse theology known as Left Behind is brought up, the Metra is left to say: What, what now? Of course, Rachel Maddow said: What, what now? with far more style than I can muster.<br /><br />Question, if the Anti-Christ will be a commie socialist, why was the early Christian community described in Acts functioning as a commune?WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-62945134841526669462009-02-11T09:50:00.003-06:002009-02-11T10:03:52.950-06:00No, Georgia, just no....And in yet <a href="http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/020709/gen_385535247.shtml">another stunning display of anti-intellectualism</a>, the GOP in Georgia attempts to ban classes (graduate-level classes!) on queer theory. (Via <a href="http://www.feministing.com/archives/013656.html">Feministing</a>.)<br /><br /><sarcasm>Doubtlessly, they are aware of the academic throwdown between queer theory and gay and lesbian theory and are only doing this to help out the gays and lesbians.</sarcasm><br /><br />I wonder how badly the field of queer theology would break them.... And I'm sorry folks, but your basic readings for queer theory....so less steamy than a good ol' time with Plato or even a decent chunk of Christian saints' lives.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-88037506703931966922009-01-23T00:14:00.003-06:002009-01-23T00:35:19.329-06:00"born?" oh, alternet....By <a href="http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/121603/women%27s_%27liberation%27_through_submission%3A_an_evangelical_anti-feminism_is_born_/">born</a>, certainly you mean "is fondly rocking the cradle of its great, great, great grandbabies"....although, yes, the scale of organization is certainly growing.<br /><br />There's absolutely nothing new about the evangelicals and fundies hard-selling "Biblical" submission as liberation for women. Nothing new. I swear I'm remembering a similar argument being made in the 1880-90s in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Gospel Advocate</span> as regards first-wave feminists (who didn't really do much to challenge gender norms), but don't quote me there. It's been a few summers.<br /><br />And, actually, Twisty Faster is definitely onto something with her "<a href="http://blog.iblamethepatriarchy.com/2009/01/22/godbag-medical-professional-inflicts-views-on-unsuspecting-patient-with-hilarious-results/">women hate you</a>" label. The worst of the brainwashing is carried out by the older women. Or, as is frequently becoming the case, by only slightly older girls who are honored with the position of a young women's ministry -- where they can make the marry and submit model look oh-so-cool to the younger things. This is possibly because the menfolk don't see one or two nutty unwomen-in-training to be much of a real threat.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-45461604906949155912009-01-22T22:01:00.000-06:002009-01-22T22:02:43.428-06:00And then back to work again....<object height="344" width="425"><br /><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gZez_k4vAzU&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gZez_k4vAzU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-10703614825135670942009-01-19T23:09:00.003-06:002009-01-19T23:51:33.690-06:00Mourning.I made it back to Memphis for a short 27 hour visit. (Apparently on a very bad night for the city. Wreck at Cooper and Union, saw about three fire trucks racing by as I was leaving Soul Fish, and tragically, the Memphis cops <a href="http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jan/17/officers-off-duty-after-traffic-stop-leads-to/">fatally shot a man while pursuing him</a>.) And as I'm about to leave Tennessee to head back to Berkeley, I find myself in a mix of emotions about my city.<br /><br />Memphis has a bad rep, deservedly, at the moment. I've been following the string of <a href="http://questioningtransphobia.wordpress.com/2008/12/28/a-call-for-action-on-trans-rights-in-tennessee/">murdered and brutalized transwomen</a> in my city with a heavy heart. Until this last summer, and possibly not even now, there hasn't been a great deal of awareness of this murders even within my college's GSA. (I can only speak as someone loosely associated with the Rhodes GSA, but I hadn't heard anything about <a href="http://www.republicoft.com/2008/08/19/the-lgbt-hate-crimes-project-walking-in-memphis-pt-1-tiffany-berry/">Tiffany Berry</a>'s murder until I read Terrance's piece about her at the Republic of T.)<br /><br />Part of this is due to the continuing racial divide in Memphis. Rhodes is still very white and privileged (and to a somewhat different effect -- straight). Students there, even one's who are trying to be aware of the outside world, live in our own little, fenced in bubble. Thus, it there were brutal murders and injustices within the greater community -- within a greater GLBT community -- and we remained unaware. And while there's a push to create stronger ties between Rhodes and the greater Memphis community, I'm not certain how effective the attempts will ultimately be. Tutoring at Snowden is great, but when you graduate without realizing that Snowden is one of the better schools in the city... (I'm also opposed to the <span style="font-style: italic;">noblesse oblige</span> attitude that is extremely prevalent on the Rhodes campus, but that's another matter.) I suppose for the time being the best I can do is to combat my own ignorance and e-mail my remaining friends at Rhodes to try to prevent a similar state of group ignorance in the here and now.<br /><br />But I still love Memphis. I still want to be living in Memphis. I drove out of the city with a part of my heart breaking because I don't know when I'll be driving back in. I want the best for Memphis.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-26287794256719220632009-01-12T22:10:00.002-06:002009-01-12T22:37:16.365-06:00Pointless Video PostFranz Ferdinand is releasing a new album!!!! But wait, is it the eighties again?<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uqJRnopvVIU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uqJRnopvVIU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />I dig. But holy crap, looks like an early Depeche Mode video.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-80126483014423866542009-01-12T21:54:00.003-06:002009-01-12T21:57:53.309-06:00Good to know...Mike Huckabee is not pro-sodomy. Just in case you were wondering.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qR1WiOSkW1w&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qR1WiOSkW1w&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />File under, the hell?<br /><br />h/t <a href="http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2009/01/12/8022">Box Turtle Bulletin</a>WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-71043590781949527692009-01-05T19:36:00.003-06:002009-01-05T19:56:29.713-06:00We break our silence to bitch some....So in our new life as a sarcastic grad-student by day and an even more sardonic barista by night (or early morning), I run into some of the eccentrics of the Berkeley area. In all honesty, the customer base is decent -- the notion of murder only pops into the back of my head about 5% of the time.<br /><br />A recent addition to that 5% is someone I've dubbed "Organic Milk Mom." Here's how the interlude at the register goes, repeatedly.<br /><br />OMM: *setting toddler down on counter, where toddler can grab at tip jar and other objects, or get badly scalded if someone tips over a cup of coffee, orders something. Begins the high-pitched holier-than-thou voice.* Is organic milk an option?<br /><br />Me: No, ma'am. But we use Berkeley Farms milk, so it is growth hormone free.<br /><br />OMM: Well! *insert head-flip here* What about non-fat? Is that an option?<br /><br />Me: Yes, ma'am. *begins to hit non-fat button on register*<br /><br />OMM: Or low-fat? Do you have low-fat?!!!<br /><br />Now, this would be a throughly reasonable discussion if it occured once. The fact that this discussion has occured twice in three days with exaggerated "OMG! How can you not have organic milk!" intonations is ridiculous. If we didn't have organic milk on Monday, we aren't going to have it on Wednesday. Do not hold up the line because you somehow think that being a bitch to the barista making a little over 8 dollars/ hour will get anything changed. <br /><br />But apparently in the minds of some crazy-mothers, <a href="http://www.alternet.org/environment/117200/my_war_against_food_nazi_moms/">non-organic foodstuffs are tantamount to abuse</a>.<br /><br />I'm contemplating changing the script next time, smiling sweetly, pulling out my accent and telling OMM. "Well, all our milk is carbon based, so yes, it's organic."<br /><br />Such people are rivaled in my disdain only by the one or two environmental crusaders who flip out when I ask them if they would like a carrying bag for their coffee. If you don't want it, a "no, thanks" is all that is nessecary.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-81537534711798776242008-12-07T22:28:00.002-06:002008-12-07T22:31:01.826-06:00Music Meme!Yes, somewhere in the middle of scribbling frantic thoughts on boddhisattva's, homoeroticism in the lives of holy fools, and queer critiques of marriage theology, I stopped to play this game.<br /><br /><i>Put your MP3 player on shuffle, and write down the first line of the first twenty songs. Post the poem that results. The first line of the twenty-first is the title.<br /><br /></i>i’ll tell you something…<br /><br />destiny, destiny protect me from the world --<br />the Mississippi Delta is shining like a national guitar --<br />they watch you, your expert double exs<br /><br />your cd collection looks shiny and costly<br />you can look, but you can’t touch<br />whatcha gonna do when the party’s over?<br />take me back to dear old blighty?<br />time is like a broken watch<br /><br />isn’t god allowed to think?<br />i am he, as you are he, and we are all together<br />touch your thighs, i’m the lonely one<br />i tried to fall in it again<br /><br />adia, i do believe i’ve failed you<br />what you want, what you got . . .<br /><br />i can’t believe the news today<br />because the world is round<br />a sub-granite wall numbs our bones<br />on nights like this when the world’s a bit amiss<br />give me some of this<br />anytime i need to see your face<br /><i><br /></i>WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-15891809627447624222008-12-01T13:10:00.003-06:002008-12-01T13:15:51.383-06:00When beauty standards met punk cabaret...Punk cabaret said "Fuck You." Amanda Palmer is leaving Roadrunner Records, because they insisted that shots of her "fat" belly be removed from one or her videos. More at <a href="http://www.feministing.com/archives/012421.html">Feministing</a>.<br /><br />We break from contemplation of ascetic practice and marriage theology to insist that Amanda Palmer's belly is a smoking hot belly. (What with Amanda Palmer being a smoking hot person and all...) <br /><br />We shall now return to our originally scheduled day of theorizing.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-86236126419978936572008-11-24T19:05:00.002-06:002008-11-24T19:10:57.591-06:00Minister too tired for seven days of sex.(yes, that was CNN's headline, deal)<br /><br /><script src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/js/2.0/video/evp/module.js?loc=dom&vid=/video/living/2008/11/24/young.seven.days.sex.cnn" type="text/javascript"></script><noscript>Embedded video from <a href="http://www.cnn.com/video">CNN Video</a></noscript><br /><br />I wonder what he would think of the early Christian practice of celibate marriage. And I'm bothered (but not hot) from the emphasis on wives realizing they needed to be more available to their husbands, and not so much the other way around. Seriously though, this is about the third evangelical minister I've heard of running something like this in the past year or so.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-87538222509734834822008-11-05T21:50:00.003-06:002008-11-05T21:59:34.209-06:00One of these days...I will get back to rambling here...but until then...<br /><br />Congrats to Barack Obama! <br /><br />And shame upon a bit over half of California, Florida, Arizona, and Arkansas. Shame.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-43605817757013508892008-10-24T11:43:00.000-05:002008-10-24T11:45:23.298-05:00Mwahahahaha!<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XR9V_aOCga0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XR9V_aOCga0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-3558260179275673022008-10-03T11:20:00.000-05:002008-10-03T16:10:53.354-05:00The Hegemony of Representation<div>Two semesters ago, whilst reading an article on unofficial Soviet art, I encountered the quite useful term -- a hegemony of representation. I can't remember the technical definition, so here's how I internalized the term: what you get when one ideology or model dominates discussion and dicourse to the point of excluding all other models. By creating and maintaining a hegemony of representation, one group within society can effectively oppressive minority groups whose lives and realities are not reflected by the dominant paradigm. Pretty much a common sensical no brainer. But a useful concept when you want to analyze political function.<br /></div>WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-27065915854261607372008-09-12T19:41:00.003-05:002008-09-12T19:49:25.031-05:00In Which Metra Longs for a McCain/Rice Ticket......'cause at least we wouldn't have <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-11-palin-interview_N.htm?csp=34">this nonsense</a>.<br /><br />Attacking Russia would be a absolute disaster, and given that the USA and the Russian Federation have the largest stockpiles of nuclear weapons has a very good chance of heralding an actual eschaton. <br /><br />I bet that didn't just leave Condi Rice cursing -- she probably had to fall back on her fluency in Russian.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-58716401676864393972008-09-01T17:59:00.002-05:002008-09-01T18:12:23.161-05:00A Swing......and a miss for Cindy McCain.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2zP8uFPWxaA&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2zP8uFPWxaA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Are you serious, ma'am? Do you understand how flipping big Russia is? Is your entire understanding of foreign policy based on Risk where you can launch a nice attack on North America from Kamchatka?<br /><br />Repeat after me: Putin is not an idiot. He will happily piss off America by expanding Russian Federation control over former Soviet republics. He will not attack America. Why? Because Vladimir Putin is not an idiot.<br /><br />If John McCain were that great on foreign policy, you might think he might correct a misunderstanding on the part of his wife that's this glaring.<br /><br />h/t to <a href="http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=6773">Pam's House Blend</a>WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-47235900731663614332008-08-30T22:39:00.003-05:002008-08-30T22:50:13.917-05:00I am not now, nor will ever be, a member of the pre-pregnant party.The Apostate on <a href="http://apostate.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/forced-pregnancy-and-childbirth/">pregnancy, abortion rights, and bodily control</a>.<br /><br />I agree. One hundred percent. You should see me freak out when I think too much about the shard of wood embedded in my leg -- the drugs I would have to be on to carry a pregnancy to terms would probably result in a miscarriage anyway. Reproductive control is psychologically important. <br /><br />And read down in the comments, it's also true that women are simply expected to hand over control of our bodies far more frequently than men, and with no fuss. If a man avoids doctors, the response is a shrug -- boys will be boys. If a woman avoids doctors like the plague and maintains an extreme distrust of medicine -- we're categorized as being irresponsible. Probably because for a good chunk of our lives we're categorized as "pre-pregnant."WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-86920975079061271402008-08-25T14:56:00.002-05:002008-08-25T15:05:45.041-05:00Things You Should be ReadingTerrance at the <a href="http://www.republicoft.com/">Republic of T.</a> has a series of posts on hate crimes that have occurred recently in Memphis. <a href="http://www.republicoft.com/2008/08/19/the-lgbt-hate-crimes-project-walking-in-memphis-pt-1-tiffany-berry/">Part One</a>, <a href="http://www.republicoft.com/2008/08/21/the-lgbt-hate-crimes-project-walking-in-memphis-pt-2-duanna-johnson/">Part Two</a>, and <a href="http://www.republicoft.com/2008/08/25/the-lgbt-hate-crimes-project-walking-in-memphis-part-3-ebony-whitaker/">Part Three</a>. I'm ashamed to say that I was only aware of one out of the three incidents. <br /><br />"<a href="http://questioningtransphobia.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/transphobic-words-and-deeds/#comment-2513">Transphobic Words and Deeds</a>" at <a href="http://questioningtransphobia.wordpress.com/">Questioning Transphobia</a> is one of the most enlightening and thought-provoking posts I've read in a while.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5780216905224068835.post-30723399235441964242008-08-20T21:09:00.000-05:002008-08-20T21:10:42.343-05:00How's life in my neck o' the woods?<a href="http://www.punchanpie.net/cgi-bin/autokeenlite.cgi?date=20080820">This</a>, approximately.WordKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.com0