Monday, November 28, 2005

Only the foolish and the ignorant don’t believe in a Plan B

From the Village Voice

By now, it has become all too apparent that George W. Bush's Food and Drug Administration likes to play politics with women's reproductive health. It wasn't exactly surprising when a report recently revealed the agency's "unusual" maneuvering over the morning-after pill, or Plan B—a booster dose of the ordinary birth control pill that has been approved for over-the-counter sales by an FDA advisory panel and the staff itself, but has remained in limbo since April 2003.

On November 14, the Government Accountability Office— the investigative arm of Congress—issued findings from a 16-month investigation into why, in May 2004, the FDA first refused to make Plan B available without a prescription. Barr Laboratories, which manufactures the drug, has revised its original application and is now requesting approval for over-the-counter sales for women older than 16.

As I’ve said many times before, these people in power today are NOT Republicans. Republicans are hands off and small government. The current administration has created the largest and most expensive government ever seen in this country.

No, this country is not run by Republicans, this country is being run by religious fundamentalist who care little about ‘All men are created equal’, and more about ‘Thou shall do as we say and don't ask questions’.

This move by the FDA to delay (and hopefully kill) the morning after pill is a perfect example of this. In an agency that is supposed to be more concerned with science and the health of the population, government officials stepped in and rejected the approval of this drug for purely political and theocratic reasons.

Funny how we fight against this type of government controlled restrictions in every part of the world, but for some reason people tolerates it here in the US.

For all you guys out there opposed to this, let me ask you some questions. Why exactly are you so afraid of this pill? Do you think your GF/Wives will just go out randomly having sex with people? Do you think you won’t be able to keep your woman barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen anymore? Do you think this will somehow effect your manhood if women are able to choose who and when they want to have kids?

By putting the plan B pill on the shelves, women will not all just automatically have unprotected sex with every guy they see. This is real life people, not a porno.

Don’t even start with the moral justifications. Your president that you all look so highly on seems to think pre-emptive strike is a good thing. Well, that’s just what this is.

Even more upsetting is that there are not more women speaking up against this. I know what some of you are thinking, and here’s my response. Just because it’s available doesn’t mean you have to use it. The fact is that by having a choice you are empowering yourself and your gender to more decisions in life.

Don't kid yourself. A child changes everything. It doesn't just delay things, it changes all your plans. Forever.

The obligation to raise and care for a child is a big one. Not everyone can do it. Not everyone should do it. Go to your local Wally world (and other places) and you’ll see what I mean.

This reminds me of a statistic from the 04’ elections. The population least likely to vote for Bush was educated urban women. The population most likely to vote for Bush was uneducated rural women. Don't let the uneducated determine what will happen for all of you.

Happy Post Turkey-Day-Coma Day!

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Turkey Day Post

It’s Thanksgiving once again. A time for families that rarely see each other to indulged in turkey goodness. Hopefully most of us are thinking of more thankful things than the yearly worship of the consumer Gods that is the ‘Day after Thanksgiving sale’.

I know it’s a bit silly, but I do think about the things I am thankful for. I try to follow the intent of many holidays, like on New Years Eve, I will always think about what I’ve accomplished this year and set some goals for next year. Then of course get totally hammered. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas I go to NYC to see the tree. Things like that, it’s just what you’re suppose to do.

Anyway. So I’m sitting here thinking about how I don’t want to do work today. I mean really, who does work today?

I’ll start with a couple things that I’m very thankful for

Professionally
I think professionally I’m doing fine. Pretty good exciting new job with a growing company, a good stepping stone to my next job (yes, I think 2 jobs ahead of my current job. It’s a serious problem I know).

Although I was unsure at first, working from home has been the greatest thing. With the horrible traffic here in Atlanta, not having to be in it everyday is a serious work perk.

So I'm thankful.

Family and Friends
Yes, I’ve also realized that I put professionally before family and friends.

I guess I have my job to thank for the things in this part. I am enjoying living in Atlanta with my family and friends quite a bit. It’s nice to know you’ve got someone close by that you can just drop in. Teaching my nephew to say ‘I live a Thug life” is also fantastic.

Of course, that’s all I can think of right now in terms of thankful things. Now for something more traditional tot his site.

Things I’m NOT thankful for:

I’m not thankful for the current administration in almost any way, shape, or form.
I’m not thankful that this administration used a lie to take the nation to war.
I’m not thankful that W used the resources of the United States to fight his (and other evangelical warmongers’) private war. I know all about your tower of Babel reason.
I’m not thankful that W has ruined one of the biggest opportunities to bring the world together after 9-11. Now everyone just hates us.
I’m not thankful that this country has elected a president that thinks God speaks to him directly.
I’m not thankful that people think that’s ok.
I’m not thankful that there is no real leadership in the government today.
I’m not thankful that this administration uses fear, intimidation, and deception as its primary tools.
I’m not thankful that people don’t try to do more for themselves instead of just waiting for handouts
I’m not thankful that people actually think there’s not enough religion going on in the world. Look at all the shit around you, guess what the main causes for most of them are you jackass.
I’m not thankful that people have made religion into a global disease. Let me set it straight for y’all. You’re all FUCKING wrong if you think religion requires ANY killing of ANYTHING to spread your message.
I’m not thankful that somehow you think letting loving couples marry their partner have any effect on your life.
I’m not thankful that the upper class keeps getting richer while the majority of Americans continues to increase their debts.
I’m not thankful that the government keeps helping only the rich and big corporation. I’m not thankful that the government keeps cutting vital programs helping those that most need helping.
I’m not thankful that human trafficking has made a major comeback and no one is paying any attention to it.
I’m not thankful that the environment is going to shit and everyone thinks its just part of some cycle.
I’m not thankful that big pharmaceuticals have taken over as the biggest drug cartels.
I’m not thankful that people don’t realize this and there isn’t a just say no campaign against prescription drug abuse.
I'm not thankful that peoplethink of everything in terms of money or the bottom line. There has to be more than that living in a society.
I’m not thankful that intelligent design isn’t outright laughed at and ridiculed, but somehow is law in some states.
I'm not thankful that people actaully think ID is science.
I’m not thankful that it took me 30 minutes to do the thankful list an only 10 minutes to do this one.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Pardon the Interruption

Thought you knew what to expect here huh? Thought you were all ready to flip onto another page when you see the same old post huh? Thought you were going to see a post with insightful views of the world around us or witty inside jokes?

Well you’re wrong on all accounts.

Actually, I’ve got nothing. There are a couple things going on that have seriously destroyed my lack of time or interest in posting.

As the year winds down, there are so many things that I want to do before the year is out, and so many more things I want to plan for the next year. I've got things on lists to check off. Yes, list with a S, multiple lists. You see, you’d never know it if you met me, but I’m a closet neurotic OCD planning fool.

Sure some things I do seem random and totally idiotic, but I assure you, most are not. Even the randomness gets planned out. I don’t plan for a specific randomness, just options for randomness then pick one. Sounds pathetic I know, but it's what I do.

I personally don't know what people are thinking about all the time. Like whenever I have any free time, I think of a situation and different ways I would act in them. Some are proper, some involves a chainsaw. Whatever comes, I've aleady played it out in my head.

You see, that's the problem. There are things that play out just like I've planned, but then real life is a funny thing. There are many things that no matter how much you've thought it through, it's just not the same when it actually happen.

Sometimes things just feels like shit no matter how well you prepare yourself.

Anyway, another reason for my absence is due to the fight between my computers and I lately. First my monitor was doing strange things, then the wireless stopped working. What a pain in the ass. Besides moving, I think having computer problems, out of the blue cause it was all working fine, is one of the worst things ever.

It was only 29 degrees when I woke up today. I’m very surprised they didn’t shut down the schools. We just don’t do 29 here. I remember schools were shut down when there was a threat of snow one year. Yep, just threat. It turned out nice and sunny. We’re that scared of the cold here. I think the afternoon highs will be in the 60s and will probably be a very nice day.

One thing that I don’t do anymore since moving to Atlanta is watch the news. Since I’m working all the time I miss a lot of the news that comes up around 5pm. So no news for me. However, there is one topic that I keep hearing on the radio. I don’t know if it’s just this one radio station’s crusade or anything, but they’ve mentioned it everyday this week.

The story involves a 37 yr. old lady that got pregnant by a 15 yr. old boy. Apparently they’ve been having sex since he was 13. The legal age to marry is 18, but under a weird old law, you can marry anyone you knock up no matter their age. Yay family values!

So now there’s a big uproar about the law and people are genuinely surprised at this law that I bet was written by those under the banner of protecting the family.

Listen all you conservative bible-thumping think you know what’s best, what seems like a good idea in your belief system, isn’t always the best idea for the rest of the world. When will you learn that trying to extract rules from a book written 2000 years ago is NOT a good idea?

Sure it’s got some good stuff in there, but we don’t need to look to that to know what’s right and wrong. Don't steal or kill people? You need to look at an ancient text to know that's not good?

If you think people do need a Bible/Koran/whatever the hell old text to teach them between right and wrong, maybe you should look at yourselves as a parent or the fact that we pay teachers $17,000 a year why there's so many stupid people around. BTW, there are people who plays sports that make that kind of money in hours.

Maybe you’re just not willing to admit that we’re fucking up in terms of education. Maybe we're too concerned with this capitalistic consumer society to be worry about a silly thing like education. Maybe having a kid is more than about procreation to keep you company or buy cute little baby clothes.

Think about why people want their kids to have a good education nowadays. It's not so they would be better people or help society as a whole grow intellectually. No, it's so they can have a good job and have lots of money to buy stuff. When education has degraded into only a means of
making money, society is in big trouble.

Just as all these anti-gay marriage laws will soon prove to be a great loophole in domestic abuse acquittal, this law in Georgia will now see the ill-effects of trying to rule through theological theories.

Can't wait till Harry Potter Tomorrow!!

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

I don’t know how stupid you think everyone is.. but…

The Chiefs of the big 5 oil companies defended their record breaking profits this year in front of the congress today. When I say record breaking, I mean more than any company in any industry EVER.

Together, these 5 oil companies earned more than $25 BILLION in profits in the 3rd Quarter as the price per barrel rose to $70 after the disruptions caused by Katrina and Rita. At a time when we were seeing record destruction and devistation in our cities, some were seeing a great opportunity to cash in.

The explanation by one of the oil chiefs was that “earnings goes up and down year to year”.
According to the chief of ConocoPhillips, whose profits rose 89% from the same period last year, states that he does not consider that margin (+89%) a windfall.

WHAT the FUCKING HELL? You don’t think 89% is that big of an increase within a year?!! This is NOT a normal cycle of profits. How are you people keeping a straight face and not breaking into laughter when you say this crap?

The ExxonMobil Chairman was quoted as saying “It’s the profits that makes the company run and make the economy run”. Well, you got one part right.

How exactly do you think the high cost of gas and heating bills in the winter will help the economy is beyond me. Perhaps you’re just talking about yourself. I’m sure you’ll get a nice big bonus out of this, and maybe you’ll buy a couple of new houses where people will be hired to work on your lawn and clean your house. See new jobs for everyone!

Bravo for helping to keep the economy going.

For some reason, the Republicans denied Democrats’ request to have these chief’s testify under oath. I can’t even think of a mildly good reason why this testimony doesn’t need to be under oath. What the hell? Someone PLEASE explain to me the logic behind this.

What? The oil chiefs may not be truthful if they're under oath or something. Oh wait, no, that's the whole fucking point of being under oath. Does the Republicans not want the oil chiefs to have to tell the truth?

I’m glad there are Republicans that are questioning the oil companies and these record breaking profits. Make no mistake. $25 BILLION profits in 3 months time is a lot. A shit load if you will. The bigger test will be if there’s anything done about this.

According to many accounts, this hearing will result in a lot of rhetoric, and maybe some threats, but likely result in very little action.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

Of course, looking to this administration for any help with oil companies would be a good laugh.

There comes to a point when even Republicans cannot stand by as big corporations continue to take advantage of the citizens of this country. Of course, being that many of these Republicans are in the back pockets of the oil companies, it may be long time before this ass raping stops.

Happy Humping!

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

What 2nd course?

Ended before it got started.

I think that’s the best way to describe my birthday. After a big lull in the celebration the last couple of years, this year had all the makings of a great birthday. I was around friends and family. People drove for hours to come this weekend. I’ve just moved back to ATL, and the new job’s been going well.

So everything’s going fantastic.

Overall, the plan was simple. Dinner and go out to a few bars. I picked a Tapas restaurant to go to since that’s been my thing lately. While we waited for other friends to come by to go to dinner, we started playing a game, and that game started the end for me.

It was a roulette drinking game that had 6 shot glasses and a roulette wheel. Each shot glass had 6 numbers on it. If the ball lands on your number, then you have to take a shot (or half shot depending on if it’s black or red).

I don’t remember how long we were playing, but a lot of shots were taken. We already had to resort to beer shots by the time my friends came by.

So we went off to dinner where we had to wait for our table. I think the wait was about 45 minutes, and in that time span I had 2 mojitos, 1 jager bomb, 2 lemon drop shots. Then came time to sit down where sangria was ordered.

Needless to say, this is when my memory of the night begins getting fuzzy. I remember having some really tasty dishes. I remember having to go to the bathroom several times, and I remember hurling in the bathroom a couple of times too. Other than that, it’s all pretty fuzzy.

Talking with friends later I found out that there was a whole 2nd round of food that came out that I completely did not remember. Guess I’m going to have to go to that restaurant again. Hopefully, they won’t remember me.

After dinner people were asking where we were going next, but unfortunately I was done. I was ready to sleep under the table at the restaurant.

I don’t remember much of the ride home except I hurled a bit in big red. Poor girl. One comforting thing is that when you’re around good friends, you don’t get as embarrassed about things like that. Simply because they’ve seen me do it way too many times to care.

Baring this little set back, the rest of the birthday weekend was great. Had lots of great food and I actually went car shopping. If you didn't know, car shopping is probably one of least enjoyable experiences for me. I'll have to tell you the story of one of the car salesman that we met. Man, talk about over share.

I put down an order for a red Toyota Prius. I'm not planning on buying till next year, but the wait seems to be a couple of months, so hopefully, the timing will work out perfect.

I also got some majorly awesome presents. The best would probably have to be THIS.

Yes, be jealous. Very very jealous.

Happy Tuesday!

Friday, November 04, 2005

HAPPY BIRTHDAY




PUP !!!!


You damn near 30!!! I hope you can read the huge font old man!!!!
Go, Go, Go, Pup..

It's your birthday
We gon' party like it's yo birthday
We gon' sip Bacardi like it's your birthday

Ironically (in an Alanis way), I’m listening to ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ by Bon Joni. Interesting that’s the first song I’ve heard today and the second cued is Pet Shop Boy’s ‘Being Boring’.

After the accident, ‘Being Boring’ became one of the theme songs for me. Given a second chance at things (life), I've realized there’s no reason to be boring or to hold yourself back about things. The only fear I had after coming back was not accomplishing everything that I wanted.

I could’ve stayed dead if I wanted to be boring. That’s not what happened though, I came back. It would be a big waste if I didn’t take advantage of it. There's so much out there to experience.

I think I’ve changed pretty drastically to the person you know as Pup now. You would never read what the old me would post, cause he probably wouldn’t or it would just suck a lot (not that I'm saying this is a great blog or anything), but there definitly wouldn't be cool posts like 'What the fuck is wrong with you people'. Yea, he kinda sucks.

So next year will be the big one. Old age will be at my doorsteps. I will be prepared to meet it in Vegas. This birthday is more like the 2 minute warning. There’s still time left, but you’ve better hurry.

You see, I set a lot of goals for myself. There are academic/professional goals, and there are personal ones. I seem to be on-track and doing pretty well in the academic/professional side. Somehow I’m not doing very well on the personal side (being so involved in the professional side has this side effect).

There's gonna be a lot I'm going to have to do in this next year.

'cause it doesn't make a difference
If we make it or not
We've got each other and that's a lot
For love - we'll give it a shot

I was looking for what I wrote last year. Apparently, I didn’t make a birthday type post. I was way too angry at the election results. I bet some of you thought I over-reacted. Did I? No, I think I nailed it.

Last year I said this “For some reason, the last three birthdays have been really been slow and tame. Boo. Oh well, there’s always next year.”

I’ve got some things planned for today, so hope that streaks ends tonight!

Happy Best Day of the Year!!

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Oh My Gucci Lord!

I was going to post some reflection of this past year, about things I’ve accomplished, or still working on, but forget that crap. I think this takes precedence.

This article is just fucking unbelievable. No, this is not an article from the onion.

The House (Congress, not Waffle) released some emails from Brownie, then director of FEMA, immediately after Hurricane Katrina hit.

In an email correspondence between Brownie and Cindy Taylor, FEMA’s deputy director of public affairs during the critical first days after the hurricane, Brownie’s main interest seems to be with what he was wearing and how he appeared on TV rather than the people that were suffering in this disaster.

My favorite line from Brownie to Cindy “… I’m a fashion god.” Yes, how dare FEMA make you wear such horrible clothing. Where are FEMA's priorities? Let's forget about the budget to help people and can get Calvin Kline to design FEMA wear instead.

Yes, fashion is ABSOLUTELY the topic you should be discussing as head of FEMA after a major disaster. Browie, you ARE doing a good job.

Mission accomplished once again Mr. President. You sure know how to pick'em.

BTW, there’s still time for next-day delivery for presents :)

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Pup can be Heros… Just for one day..

Maybe it’s because I watch too many movies, or maybe I just have grandiose dreams, but have you ever thought of being a hero? No, not that indirect nice person hero crap. Not the donating to the Red Cross, or United Way, or some other indirect way of helping out your fellow man and being a hero. Also not the long term being a big brother/big sister mentoring being a hero thing either.

No, I’m thinking more along the lines of superman or batman hero stuff. For example, saving people’s lives or fighting real evil people (unlike made up ones..) that is doing something bad right in front of you. Something like catching a kid before he/she runs out into the street in front of a speeding car. Running into a burning building to save someone. Stopping a homicide from happening. You know, things like that.

Ah, but I bet you can’t guess WHY I want to do this. Ok, go ahead and guess. Give up? It’s not the being a hero thing actually. Sure saving a person’s life and having their undying thanks would be great, but that’s not the main reason (yes, I know I’m selfish like that). It’s not the getting on the news, wearing a cape, and it has nothing to do with being made into a TV movie (unless they write in Dushku as my girlfriend).

The main reason I would want this opportunity I think is to see how I would actually react in a critical situation. Sure, everything knows what the right thing to do in crisis time, but would they actually do it or would they freeze up?

I can dream of tons of scenarios and exactly what I would do at each one, but that’s all just in my head. In a real situation, what would I do? Be brave? Get myself shot? Be able to kill someone? Or just stand there and pee in my pants?

Unlike other types of things that can be simulated, this is not something that you can fake. It’s gotta be a real scenario with real bad people and real people in danger. Only by facing the real thing can you really determine what you would do.

For some reason, I always think of this guy when this topic pops into my head.

Now that’s man who’s proved what he would do.

Happy Wednesday!