My Fetus And Me - A Pictorial

I am still hung up on this bizarre bill trying to pass on requiring women to listen to the heartbeat of their fetus and view it on the sonogram before they have the abortion. For anyone who has seen the movie "A Clockwork Orange", it brings to mind the part in which Alex goes through aversion therapy with his eyelids forced apart with metal hook-like instruments to force him to watch the violence and gore. This would probably be totally acceptable in the eyes of most of our Republican politicians, especially here in Texas. (unless, of course, heaven forbid one of their daughters was to turn up knocked-up!) In this post, my colleague does a good job in making his point and backs up his point with fair, albeit pointed argument and question. I personally happen to also agree with him 100%, just in case you couldn't tell from the above rantings.........

This class will be remembered as one of the most fun and best classes I have taken in a college career that has spanned (gulp!) 16 years. Thanks again for everything and I sincerely wish you the best.

Enough Already!!

We have almost lived with the oh-so-deadly h1n1 "swine flu" virus now for 2 whole weeks. Local stores have sold out of hand sanitizer and face masks. We have had the first fatality in the U.S.. Local school districts have cancelled school and extracurricular activities. I walk out of my front door every morning half expecting to see people rolling to work inside bubbles like huge hamsters. Seriously people, it's JUST THE FLU!! For the love of God! Yeah, tons of people get the flu each year, and yeah, unfortunately some do die. But holy crap! Unless you are an infant, or old and decrepit, you have really nothing at all to fear. Would getting it suck? You bet!! You's shoot out both ends for a couple of days before you got better. The one fatality we have had was a 2 year old infant of a family in Houston without healthcare that is rumored to be of a illegal resident status. This article from the Statesman even says that basically unless your arm falls off and you think it might be a side effect of the swine flu, then STAY HOME!!! Geez. I'm just so sick of hearing the media constantly whipping the public up into this frenzy like it's the freakin' black plague! At this point I'll voluntarily inject myself with swine flu in the eye ball if the media will agree to just drop this!

Rick Perry - Our Savior Reincarnate? Or Ridiculous Party Yes-man?

So I was reading through some of my classmate's recent blogs and found one that interested me. It was on the topic of Governor Rick Perry's current fight with Washington over the receipt of federal stimulus monies. The author makes a point that Texas is such a superior state that we need absolutely no assisstance from the federal government and especially Barack "Hussein" Obama. (Just in case we weren't sure which side of the fence the author was on....) This post reminded me of why I wanted to take this class in the first place, to dispell our radical beliefs about our dear Texas. I have even spewed unfounded Texas-loving garbage the majority of my life (at least the first 30 years) that had no fundamental basis for it, just crap I heard from people or read on the internet, or the worst place, my uber-conservative, ultra-right wing family. So I too sounded like someone who had a dixie flag painted tailgate, dipped Skoal, and was itching to start a survivalist community. Anyway....back to the subject. I too think stimulus monies should be spent wisely, and if there are ridiculous strings attached that somehow better any single individual or the Democratic party in any way, we should definitely bitch about it. That's just not the case. The "strings" are government programs that we will have to start with the stimulus package funds, and after those funds run out, we will have to continue to finance these projects. Big deal. Considering how little we spend as a state on our people, it isn't to much to ask. Especially since most of these projects are civil projects that benefit US. Perry being so adamant about not taking the money is just partisan politics at it's worst. It's not just about Texas. It's about the nation recuperating as a whole. National macroeconomics doesn't skip over Texas just because we are so "great". The stronger Texas' economy is, so will be the national economy. By the way, so there's no confusion, I have NO party affilation, do not and will not ever cast a vote until there's less 2 party dominated B.S. and more reality and less Hollywood in politics, but I am SEVERELY proud to be from this state and this country. I just recently spent five years of my life fighting for OUR freedoms in the military, but I am a realist who has no blinders on when it comes to politics, and I know a head-bobbing yes-man when I see one, and I know what a terd smells like.

P.S. - a third of Texas' yearly budget is money given to us by the federal government. Just FYI.

Where's Wyatt Earp When You Need Him?

So......I feel the urge to write about the new legislation presented by Rep. Joe Driver which would allow college students to carry concealed handguns on campus. There is already a law in place that allows individual school districts to allow concealed handguns by their faculty at the district's discretion. This would allow the students at colleges around the state to be armed as well. There would have to be some minimal training involved prior to the student's ability to carry a weapon, if that's any consolation to anyone reading this. Now I would think I was stating the obvious if I said that these ideas are crazy, but apparently I'm wrong. Because of incidents around the country such as the tragedies at Virginia Tech and Columbine High School, some people think it's a good idea for students or faculty to carry weapons to thwart any attempt on students lives by a gun-toting madman (wait - hasn't the "gun-toting madman/men" always been students..........with guns?). Personally, I think it is a horrible idea. First of all, the sources of these violent acts were students and no one saw it coming. Is giving these staudents authorization to bring guns onto campus going to help? It's not like the movie "Red Dawn" where we need to arm our faculty and students to fight the Russian invasion. (anybody else think that was weird that the Russians parachuted onto a Colorado high school?) Anyway, I feel that having people carry handguns with only little to no training is a horrible idea. In the military and police forces, etc., there are constant mishaps where someone accidentaly shoots themselves or is caught in friendly fire. And these are weapon EXPERTS! I think that it would turn campuses across the country into a bunch of Tombstones and Dodge Cities and other fomous wild west shoot-out towns. Kids get into fights at school now. What happens when they have guns on them or ones that are easily accessible? If this had any impact, I think it would only escalate any situation similar to the ones in the rest of the country. Unfortunately, we can not read minds and it is often very hard to tell if the kid that sits next to you in Chemistry is the one who is coming in tommorrow and spraying the class with his Dad's .45. People are unpredictable and some people are just plain crazy. Giving them a concealed handgun license isn't going to remedy the problem, on the contrary, it just might make it much worse.

Conservatives Call for New Text Containining Adam and Eve, Darth Vader, and Spaghetti Monsters

So I read a recent post from the blog "In the Pink" titled "Evolutionary Road" It was on a topic that highly interests me, which is the topic of evolutionism and/or creationism taught in Texas schools. You see, the State Board of Education rejected a motion from conservatives to restore the requirement that "strengths and weaknesses" of Darwin's theory of evolution be taught in schools. The author does a good job of letting us know what side she's on through humorous statements, but overall, the post was too short to really delve into the subject. This is a very hot topic here in Texas, and the post didn't tell enough about what the new requirement says, and if it really changes anything. It didn't go into the fact that if we teach all sides, we have to cover what EVERY religion believes, not just Christian belief. It would be a Pandora's Box that even the conservatives wouldn't want to open, even if some of them don't realize it. No matter if you say "strengths and weaknesses" or "examining from all sides" it all means the same thing and is intended to do the same thing - pollute the theory of evolution. I'm just glad that for now at least we seem to be making headway (albeit slowly) in the right direction. Eventually we'll catch up to the rest of modern society. Maybe.

Making Sure You're Being Kicked When You're Down...

Here is a great op ed article from the Statesman. It is very well written with the arguments against the new proposed ultrasound bill being grounded in fact. Although it is very much against the bill and most decidedly negative, it seems the author is trying to show points of factual mis-interpretation, such as the Texas law that forces doctors to inform patients that having an abortion increase the chance for breast cancer in the future. This is a ridiculous claim, since not only has it never been substantiated in research, two of the largest cancer research organizations have both blatantly stated the complete opposite - that there is absolutely NO proven link. I think the article is written with distinct bias, but I think the author is spot on with their opinions and their defense of their position. I love the state I was born and raised in, and living outside of Texas for 6 1/2 years before moving back last August reinforced my feelings. As I discover legislation on the table such as this, though, it reminds me that stereotypes are founded in truths, and that we still have a way to go. I am just happy to be a first-hand witness to the maturation process of my state. A "changing of the guard" will happen soon, I am certain. Whether it's minority/majority flip-flopping, or the end of a narrow minded generation, I am not sure. I'm just sure it will!

Fences of Freedom?

I recently read an article that I found very interesting. Not only does it impact us locally, but it also secondarily impacts our fellow Americans, even if it’s probably unknown to most of them. It was about the wall that was deemed necessary to “combat terrorism” by our Department of Homeland Security a few years ago. It tells a story of a 73 year old Native American woman trying to save her land that has been in her family since the 18th century from being taken from her by the DHS. (Even though she is offered “fair market value”) It tells the story of Eagle Pass, where there are miles of fence being erected through the center of town, much to the chagrin of not only the townspeople, but also the Mayor. The article gives us information on the bleeding of the government’s wallet by grossly overpaid and decidedly under-delivering corporations such as Boeing, (my personal favorite as they were my most recent employer) who are given ludicrous amounts of money to engineer and build a fence…….wait a minute…..doesn’t Boeing build airplanes? WTF? The only way I can think to put this in perspective would be for one of us hiring an engineer from Ford to build us a soap box derby racer, and paying him 500 grand for his horrifically overqualified work. This article basically leaves us with the overwhelming impression that the brand spankin’ new DHS secretary Janet Nepolitano will have her hands full trying to clean up this mess here. Of course, that is, if this administration really is about change!