Happy New Year

Hello All!

I hope that you all have a wonderful, happy, blessed, joyous, safe, and freedom loving/living new year. :) 

May this be the best ever. 

-Purple

Another Weighing In: Reality Hurts

I find this article quite interesting: Reality Hurts. 

Yes reality does hurt. I wish it didn't. 

Raise Your Hand

I'm starting a movement. 

If you are a gun owner and you didn't shoot anyone today, or yesterday, or the day before that, or ever, then raise your hand. It looks like this on Twitter: #handraised.

If you are a gun owner and you had to shoot someone in self-defense, raise your hand. It should look like this on Twitter: #handraisedtodefend.

If you don't own guns, that's fine too. :) 

My hand is raised. 

From Facebook to Connecticut

Today I read on Facebook, of all places, one of the best posts about the tragedy in CT and gun control.

"Gun control laws always become the center of the debate when tragic events such as the Sandy Hook school shooting happen, however, in my opinion. ...no amount of gun restrictions can prevent a truly evil or disturbed person from commiting a crime. There needs to be national dialogue surrounding mental health and illnes...

s as well. Mental illness is real, depression is real, bipolar disorder is real. We have to stop shaming and ridiculing people who suffer from these very serious conditions, or else they may never seek the help they need.

It takes deep mental issues for someone to do something so heinous. ..guns or not." - Barack Loves Michelle.

Yes that is right, the post is from a Facebook page called Barack Loves Michelle. It's a great Facebook page and shows our First Couple as the loving equals that they are.

Also please note that when the NRA says they are very sorry for the victims of the CT tragedy today, they mean it. Yes they do. In all my years of being in the NRA I have never once met a member who thought such acts were a good thing. In fact, they usually respond with rage and wish they had been there to stop such act. Whether you want to hear that or not, that is the actual response of those gun lovers.

 

And this one as well. 

 

But please can everyone please just SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT GUN CONTROL WHEN THERE ARE FAMILIES THAT NEED OUR SUPPORT! 

 

Yeah, I'm infuriated that people got hurt. Could you all be infuriated by that too. Does it matter what tool was being used to hurt them? Oh come on, just show some love and support to the grieving families and community. And please stop hating on those of us who do own firearms. Not helping our country any by dividing us. 

To those who have been hurt by this event, my heart and prayers go with you.

Speaking of Anonymous...

I have heard about this for the past few days but now I see an article from The Raw Story about Anonymous and Israel. 

'Anonymous' crashes hundreds of Israeli websites over Gaza air assault.

Wow. Well that should cause a HUGE ruckus. 

Mind you I have Jewish blood and ancestors who I'm pretty sure were killed when the Nazis invaded France, so when I say I believe in a Jewish nation, I mean it. In my blood and bone. However I do NOT WANT a Jewish nation that practices the same killing techniques Jewish oppressors have used.

Maybe the UN and the US supported Israel so they could get a stronghold in the Middle East. Maybe sheer racism and hatred of Arabs and Muslims lead to Israel being formed. Maybe it is the above and more. However, I do not want the dream of Israel, where a persecuted people can find safety and peace, to be marred by its own violence. I do not want Israel, a country I could probably become a citizen of, to be killing others as its citizens have been killed. 

No, I'm not asking for too much. 

I want Israel to be a beacon of hope and freedom for all people!!! That includes the Palestinians. When you look at that, is it really that surprising that the Arab and Muslim world don't like us? No, it is not. 

So let's try this living together in peace. You don't have to love your neighbor but you can leave your neighbor alone and treat them with courtesy. Really.

I may be a crazy dreamer but then again so was another famous Jew. He is remembered as Jesus Christ. 

;)

Oh and Anonymous: Wow. You have courage. I'm waiting for the day you do something I really hate. However, go you. You do act for those who cannot act for themselves. 

Huzzah. 

Thank You Anonymous

I was putting together a blog post about Anonymous stopping Karl Rove from fixing the election, then I saw the Tennessee Guerilla Women blog post on the subject and decided I should just link to that. 

Tennesee Guerilla Women: Did Anonymous Block Karl Rove's Attempt to Steal Election? (Video)

The post has two videos, one from journalist Thom Hartmann and one from Anonymous itself. There are also links from Salon and Truthout.

Whether Anonymous did indeed stop, or even just scare Karl Rove, then I for one would like to say thank you. I hope you never have to do this again, but I hope you are there if needed. 

Anonymous,  grateful nation salutes you. 

I also wish I could look at the history books 50 years from now to see if Anonymous is credited with saving the 2012 US Presidential Election. 

Occupy Black Friday

I'm a fan of the Occupy Movement. In fact, it just might be the beginning of a worldwide movement for equality for all. But that's another post. For today I will write that I am going to celebrate Black Friday by not participating in it. When I do my holidays shopping I will try to spend more dollars in local businesses. I'm hoping this helps.

Granted if we don't have a big holiday rush that might hurt the economy and stores too. However I hope that my spending money will help the economy AND let big business know that well, workers needs days off too. And liveable wages.

Occupy & Black Friday. Don't forget to check out the picture in the link.

Texas Leaving?

Hello.

Well yes I would be sad if Texas left the US. I want us to all work together. Also after many years of being a nation with Texas and Texas being a part of our nation, it would be quite difficult, though I think more so for Texas, to live without being part of each other.

However I do have one big question.

If Texas leaves the US, does this mean our textbooks will improve? I mean just think upon it: More SCIENCE!

Texas, I'd miss ya' but not your textbook adoption habits. 

We ARE Purple!

I told you we were purple.

See the picture below and then the lovely explanation copied with it.

Copied from C. Howard on Facebook:

"America really looks like this - I was looking at the amazing 2012 election maps created by Mark Newman (Department of Physics and Center for the Study of Complex Systems, University of Michigan, http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2012), and although there is a very interesting blended voting map (Most of the country is some shade of purple, a varied blend of Democrat blue and Republican red) what I really wanted was this blended map with a population density overlay. Because what really stands out is how red the nation seems to be when you do not take the voting population into account; when you do so many of those vast red mid-west blocks fade into pale pink and lavender (very low population).

So I created a new map using Mark’s blended voting map based on the actual numbers of votes for each party overlaid with population maps from Texas Tech University and other sources.

Here’s the result—what the American political voting distribution really looks like."

I know you want to secede Texas, but we are all on this together. You don't have to love thy neighbor but helping him/her out will probably make God very happy.

Plus seeing this gives me so much hope. We blend together. Now let us try to make sure all of our individual needs can be met while caring for each other.

'Tis good. :)

We Won

Or perhaps I should say that America won. America, that noisy, diverse, crazy, fabulous experiment in humanity, won. 

I am so very glad. 

To share my gladness I will share what others have said so much better than myself.

Videos: (Open in new windows.)

Obama Complete Victory Speech 2012 

A Bit of Humor: Key & Peele - Obama's Victory

The Daily Show and the United States of Arithmetic - November 7, 2012

The Colbert Nation with Andrew Sullivan Happily Drinking Tears - November 7, 2012

The Colbert Nation with Rachel Maddow - November 8, 2012

Chris Matthews - "Better Country" - November 9, 2012

It would not be complete without Romney's Concession Speech

Finally to quote Stevie Nicks "And the landslide will bring you down." Yup that lyrics for you, GOP.


Our Star Trek Future

This summer I turned to my partner and said that I wanted a "Star Trek" future. I wanted a future that worked with the environment, that was devoid of racism, sexism, and classism. That all ate. That all got an education. That all sat at the table of humanity as equals. All of humanity swam in the same pool and drank from the same fountain. 

I will always pray and hope and work towards that future. Ah work. My work until now has always been on the Internet. Now I shall pound the pavement for my beliefs. I shall register people to vote. I shall drive or walk them to the polls. I will put my body on the line to support my soul. 

For I love my country. I love my species. I love my planet. And I will work them all.

Thank you.

Same As the Old Boss?

In response to an article about meritocracy:

"It was like Freakonomics last night. Are you trouble because your name is Pecola or are you in trouble because your parents come from a culture that made them think naming you Pecola was a good idea.

Half of the great Anonymous/Occupy movement are dropouts of one form or another. So half of them finished their degrees in computer science and became part of the establishment or the loyal opposition and the other half dropped out of college or the corporate community and became part of the establishment or the loyal opposition.

The people who build the firewalls and anti-virus programs are the same people or were classmates with the Hackers.

The article does skip over the dot.com boom bust, the biggest increase in productivity since the Industrial Revolution, and the decentralization of communication and  knowledge.

It may be a case of "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss," but not if we are careful. We can favor a new order that aligns more with equality, liberty, and dignity; however, it is not as easy as it seems at first glance."

Perhaps we have a difficult time changing the world as it is hard to change ourselves. We live in patterns of behavior. Sometimes what we think helps us change. However the real work is the day by day reprogramming of our own behavior. 

Where the heck am I going with this?

Simple. If we want a new and just world then we need to be just in all of our dealings. And that is very very hard. 

In Liberty,

-PAP

So Good It Had to Be Reposted

I came across this wonderful blog post from 4 Quarters & 10 Dimes (link on the left). It was was so excellent that I simply had to repost. It is quite long and well thought out so I will only repost the numbered items. There are nine reason listed below and after each reason in the article is an explanation. 

It is quite, well, fantastic.

"I will not vote for any Republican for any office at any time in the foreseeable future because:

1. I believe in fiscal responsibility.

2. I believe in a strong military.

3. I believe that strong communities are essential to American society.

4. I believe in the dignity and worth of women.  

5. I believe in the separation of church and state.

6. I value education.

7. I believe in democracy.

8. I want to preserve the republic.

9. I do not hold with treason."

Read the full article here:  


http://4quarters10dimes.blogspot.com/2012/10/why-i-will-not-be-voting-republican-for.html

In Liberty,

-PAP

Abortion Thoughts - Pro-Choice One

Abortion. 

Ok, it's a big issue. How could it not be? It is an act where a woman decides if a group of cells will potentially be born and become a person. 

Hmm.....

So here are some thoughts about abortion and I will probably revisit this issue again.

My Mother = Pro-Choice

My mother became pro-choice as a nurse working her first job in the 1950s. There she worked on a special wing that served women who had given themselves, or paid for a backstreet abortion. Here is only some of what she saw:

• A husband cradling his dying wife. He wept over her corpse repeating over and over again "I loved her. I loved her." Had this couple lived today, he would still have a wife.
• A fourteen year-old girl asking through her tears if fathers who had sex with their daughters really did love them.
• Countless other women who dying and/or trying to recover from blood loss and/or infection. 

Yes, yes, you could say that these people should have chosen life. And I could say several things to you but what I will say is: How the Hell can you be so callous?

In the above stories you are witnessing human suffering. Suffering because bearing a child would destroy the life. Or perhaps bearing a child would have killed them. Or perhaps they were fourteen year-old rape victims and their father was the father. So in the face of all of this human suffering and agony, do you not think that a life would indeed be saved by having the abortion. If that prospect terrifies you, then be terrified. 

Feel free to admit that you are frightened by women controlling their bodies and therefore their lives. Feel free to be terrified by the thought that others do not need to be chained to bearing a child.

Chained, you say?

Yes.

Children are miracles and wonders and proof that God thinks we should keep going. They are proof that life will prevail. So yes, it is terrifying to think that this life could bring about devastation. But sometimes a new life brings pain. Sometimes a new brings a reminder of pain. And sometimes a new life needs to be allowed to be a new life at another time and place. 

So yes. There are times when an abortion is necessary. And by necessary to do not mean that you get to decide what is necessary for another person. You can only make that decision for you. 

So make it for you - and accept other people's choices as well.

Voice

Hello. I hope that you all are well.

I have not written in years. Yes there was plenty to write about but well I didn't. I could get into feelings of unworthiness in expressing my viewpoint or tell you that I wanted to write such brilliant prose that all the world would be healed by my writing. Or I could tell you that I just didn't do it. 

Oh whatever. 

I didn't in the past. Now I'm done. 

I've decided that I have a right to write what I think as much as everyone else. I totally support free exchange of ideas. And right now, I have a lot of ideas. 

I also have a lot of anger. 

In the next few weeks I will be writing on the following topics:

1. What I think THE issue of the 2012 election is.
2. Clinton gave the conservatives everything they wanted and they still hate him.
3. Money changes everything and back to the feudal Europe for us. 

Plus I'm sure I'll find other issues. 

For now, I'll just say, I'm writing. I'm here. And I will share.

For Liberty.