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