NaBloPoMo #8: EDNA

The House of Representatives today passed a federal ban on job discrimination against homosexual and bisexual people. The bill does not include transgendered people. The House passed the bill 235-184. It’s expected to be more difficult to get it through Senate, but probably doable. Bush is expected to veto the bill if it gets to him; the White House “has cited constitutional concerns and said the proposal could trample religious rights.”

Notice, if you will, that the bill excludes churches and the military. (It should not exclude the military. We’ve never lost a battle because Jim and Bob were gay and it made everyone else drop their guns.) So I’m missing the part where it would “trample” anyone’s religious rights. You know what? They have every right to personally think that people who are not straight should be stoned or not have a job or whatever. They do not have the right to fire or refuse to hire someone for it, or at least they shouldn’t. Equal Protection ring a bell here?

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Now, see, this–and it doesn’t include religious organizations, due to the First Amendment–should guarantee that everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, is equally protected under the law. In Romer v Evans, the Supreme Court found that people who are other than straight are protected by the Equal Protection Clause. (The decision was delivered by Justice Kennedy, by the way. Not, say, Ginsburg. The man is fairly conservative.) That was in 1996. Only now is it becoming legislation, instead of judicial precedent? Only now are people who are not straight being afforded equal protection as regards the ability to gain or keep a job? Now, after at least one person I know has lost a job because of sexual orientation?

Better late and incomplete, I suppose, than not at all. There have been efforts to pass similar legislation since 1975, after all.

And, by the way, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” does not count. It is discrimination in any form, unless you also plan to forbid straight people from discussing their sexual preferences, orientations, partners, families, and from flirting with coworkers.

Several other articles:
House approves ban on job bias against gays. From the Dallas Morning News.
On Protecting Gay Americans from Workplace Discrimination. An “Open Forum” article from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Anti-bias bill clears hurdle. From the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette.
Alabamians in House Reject Gay Rights Measure. From WSFA-12, Montgomery, Alabama. (Text article, not a video.)
House votes for protections for gay workers. From The LA Times.
House OKs ban on homosexual discrimination. From The Washington Times.

NaBloPoMo #7: Child Support

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the case of a man who tried to get out of paying child support. The crux of the argument is that the ex-girlfriend said she was physically incapable of getting pregnant. Whether it’s something she had been told by a doctor, or was just something she was saying, is not covered in the article.

The National Center for Men sponsored the case. If you look at the homepage, you can see that they have admirable goals: helping men with divorces and custody, men who are abuse victims, men who have dealt with discrimination, and so on. They do, however, fail completely on the second point: “[Y]ou are being forced into paternity and/or an unfair child support obligation against your wishes.”

No, see, this is how it works. If you have sex and don’t want a child, you use protection. Condoms exist for a reason. Or there’s this surgery called a vasectomy, which nearly always results in male sterility. There is a failure rate of about 1%, but that’s better than condoms, which have a breakage and slippage rate of about 3%. Either way, those are steps that men can take to prevent pregnancy and therefore child support payments.

In an earlier article, the man in question did say he expected to lose the case. He takes it as, “That’s not fair, but that’s the way it is.” In the same article, a law professor points out that it’s a societal responsibility.

Here’s what it boils down to. If you have sex, you are responsible for the outcome. If you do not want that sort of outcome, you use protection. Simple.

I do think they have a decent point, however. A man should have a certain amount of time post-conception to opt out of paying child support. In this opt out, though, they must forfeit all parental rights. They do not get to see the child, they do not get to expect the child to have their last name, they do not get any of the perks if they are not willing to pay or take responsibility.

In conclusion: No glove, no love if you want no kids.

NaBloPoMo #6: Nutrition

Apparently, coffee, eggs, avocados, mushrooms, and peanut butter all have definite health benefits. Now, for me, I can’t afford avocados, and I dislike mushrooms. But the other three are great news.

See, my financial situation is currently this. Last month, I paid my car bill, utilities, and rent, and that was just about it. I could barely afford eggs, milk, and butter substitute, and had to scrounge for gas money. This month should be better; I’m getting a raise, and my hours have increased, thanks to my promotion, but I still won’t be able to afford any particularly pricey foods.

G and I are grocery shopping this week, probably Friday night. We need to make a list, and I think eggs will top that. I made eggs with potatoes and crushed (canned) tomatoes last night, and it turned out to be very yummy. Glad I stocked up on herbs when I had the money. Eggs are versatile and great to cook with, so they’re a favorite of mine when we have them.

Another favorite is potatoes. Potatoes are incredibly cheap, just a few dollars for a five pound bag, and they can be used in just about anything. That egg dish I mentioned, baked potatoes, soups, stews, mashed potatoes…the list goes on, but I am not the Bubba of potatoes.

I also love tomatoes. Not only can I eat them fresh all day long, the canned versions are easy to add to anything and to season, and they’re really healthy. Lots of antioxidants and vitamins. I tend to add tomato paste to rice casseroles especially, but also beans, eggs, and potatoes.

And take a look at beans. You can’t get a lot cheaper than those. Sure, it takes some prep if you’re working with dried beans (much cheaper than the canned version), but you can make an easy vegetable soup with them, add them to a rice casserole, or just have beans. I’m not so sure about beans and eggs, though.

Brown rice is a fairly cheap source of fiber, and it’s filling. It also has more flavor than regular white rice, though the texture may not be to everyone’s tastes. It’s also a good mineral source.

I know most of those are not particularly good protein sources, but that brings us back to eggs. Twenty-six grams of protein per cup! No cholesterol, either, despite the reputation, and it does have vitamins and minerals. Eggs will certainly be on our shopping list.

Oatmeal! All we currently have is prepackaged and preflavored, but I think that’s going to change. Cheap and it lasts, so it definitely makes the cut for something healthy to add to our diets. And it can be modified fairly easily. One of my favorites is to buy frozen raspberries and add a small handful while the oatmeal is cooking; the raspberries break up and flavor the oatmeal, and it doesn’t really take any extra sugar. Make it with milk instead of water for some extra calcium.

It may be frustrating to have a highly limited grocery budget; in fact, I know it is. All it takes is a little research to find healthy foods that fit the budget, though, and some creativity to make it fresh and tasty each time.

NaBloPoMo #5: Lawsuit

The family of a boy who died in New York of a MRSA infection is planning to sue the city for $25 million. The boy was originally diagnosed with an infection by a doctor and given antibiotics. When he appeared to worsen, his mother took him to one of New York’s public hospitals for treatment. The doctor there thought he was seeing an allergic reaction, due to skin lesions, and didn’t give stronger antibiotics; instead, he treated for the apparent allergies and sent the boy home. The boy later died.

My problem starts with the assumption that the doctor should have known it was an infection, as opposed to an allergy. Granted, he was on antibiotics, but it’s perfectly legitimate to have antibiotics prescribed when skin lesions are present in an allergy attack. It’s to deter an infection from setting in.

And I am sorry he died of the infection. I am. It’s very sad. However, it is not the doctor or hospital’s fault. In 2005, there were about 368,600 hospitalizations involving MRSA, and 5% of those infections proved fatal. Even if the boy had received proper, prompt treatment, it’s not unlikely that he would have died, especially since he was brought to the ER on October 12 and died October 14. I would think that means it was pretty advanced.

The lawsuit is over the top. Perhaps file a complaint for malpractice, but I don’t see that it’s the doctor’s, hospital’s, or city’s fault. Wouldn’t it be more productive to channel their grief toward figuring out how he got the infection?

NaBloPoMo #4: Fort Dix plot

I should stop cutting this so close, especially when I’ve been home for three hours.

Apparently, there was a plot to attack Fort Dix. This brilliant plan was hatched by six men, all foreign-born, all Muslim, and all from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

The first sign that this is a bad plan is the obvious. It’s five guys (the sixth refused to take part in the actual attack), trying to take on an Army base of 31,065 acres. Then there’s the part where they decided on Fort Dix because one of the men was familiar with the layout…because he delivered pizza there.

Now granted, five men with automatic weapons and grenades could do a lot of damage. I’m mostly boggled by the stupidity involved, however. Bringing a video to be burned onto DVD, when the video involves calling for jihad? Of course, I can’t assume any intelligence on their part. They did want to take on an Army base that also houses an FBI training facility.

NaBloPoMo #3: Illegal Immigration and Oklahoma

Oklahoma has toughened its stance on illegal immigration. Beginning Thursday, the new law allows police to check the immigration status of anyone arrested and detain them until deportation. It also makes it difficult for illegal immigrants to get government IDs and aid, and it’s a felony for citizens to “knowingly provide shelter, transportation or employment to illegal immigrants.” According to the article, many people in the Latino community are now staying home, afraid of being deported, and it’s affecting businesses. There’s also a reverend who…accused the state of committing ethnic cleansing because of this law.

And over in this article, there are quotes from a couple of priests, who compare the influx of illegal immigrants to the migration of the Irish and eastern Americans from the 1800s.

Now, here’s the thing. This is illegal immigration. By definition, it is a crime. Therefore, making it more difficult to commit is logical.

I hear the left wing coming now. “But we need immigrants! Who else would do these jobs!” “But we’re supposed to be the land of promise and accept people from other countries!” Etc.

You know what? I’m sorry that their lives are not good in their own countries, and I’m sorry that American citizens and legal residents won’t do farm work or labor. But the fact is, they are not here legally. They are committing a crime by their very presence in this country. So crack down on it, by all means, especially when the people who are not here legally are taking full advantage of government benefits. And the people affected? I’m sorry. It sucks to be you. Now go back to your own country and figure out how to get out of there legally.

NaBloPoMo #2: Westboro Baptist Church

After yesterday’s post, my dad and I were talking a bit, and it turned out that he didn’t know anything about the Westboro Baptist Church. So I thought perhaps it would be a good idea to educate those of you fortunate enough to not know of their existence. (What? If I have to lose that much more faith in humanity, so do you.)

This is the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) in a nutshell: Their leader is Fred Phelps, who also happens to be related to nearly all the members–as their father or grandfather. (I can’t find a site that discusses them without bias besides, of all places, Wikipedia. Per Wikipedia, the church has ninety members, nearly all of whom are either Phelpses or Hockenbargers [Charles William Hockenbarger, their patriarch, has been a friend of Fred Phelps' since they were in their twenties]. The one family that isn’t related is the Drain family; Steve Drain filmed a documentary on WBC, came to accept their beliefs, and brought his family to join their church. The Phelpses and Hockenbargers have intermarried at least twice.) Fred Phelps considers himself a minister who preaches that God hates America because of America’s apparent tolerance for homosexuality.

Are we sensing the crazy yet?

If not, see GodHatesAmerica.com. Yes, that is really one of the church’s sites. The main one, GodHatesFags.com, appears to be down.

Fred Phelps claims to follow a Calvinist and primitive Baptist ideal in his so-called teachings. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see either of those proclaiming that dead soldiers are a result of a country not condemning homosexuality.

I really hope you did a double-take at that. I really, really do.

You see, WBC believes that everything that has gone wrong for America (and other countries, such as Sweden) is due to not despising homosexuality. 9/11? God hates America. Soldiers dying in Iraq? God hates America. Katrina? God hates America.

Oh, but that’s not the best part. Not only does God hate America, but God should be thanked for hating America. This results in signs like this:

You see, according to WBC’s beliefs, God is responsible for everything. According to my understanding of Judeo-Christianity, this conflicts quite a lot with the concept of free will that God guaranteed humanity. Cults and details about actual religion don’t mesh well, do they? And, as God is perfect, God should be thanked for everything He does, including causing thousands of deaths.

Oh yes, I did refer to them as a cult. I’m not certain how you could call them anything else. Their leadership controls every aspect of their members’ lives, from what to wear to what to believe and say; they don’t allow marriage outside the group; and they believe everyone but them is going to Hell. Is there another way to look at them? They’re also tiny and disavowed by religions they claim similarities with, like the Baptist churches.

Fred Phelps isn’t really the scary one anymore, though. He’s an old man who just likes to hear himself talk and believes he has some amazing power that doesn’t actually exist. The scary one is his daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper. Rather, one of his daughters; he has eight. And five sons. (WBC falls into the category of the Quiverfull movement, which doesn’t actually say anything about them as a group besides that they’re desperate to increase their membership…without marrying outside their group. Let me know how that immaculate conception goes.) To get an idea of how she is, watch this. It’s a relatively unbiased documentary made by the BBC about the Phelpses, and Shirley figures heavily. She’s a lawyer. She will sue over anything. She also has an illegitimate son, but don’t mention that they can possibly sin like that. Shirley is the one to indoctrinate the next generation directly, and their apparent liaison with the sane world.

Oh, and by the way, God loves Iraq.

NaBloPoMo #1

Westboro Baptist Church has had a judgment for $11 million returned against it. The case involves–surprise of surprises–a protest at a Marine’s funeral. Shirley Phelps-Roper, AKA Daddy Phelps’ right hand, AKA the lawyer bitch, AKA the fundie with the illegitimate son, says in another article that they’ll get the verdict overturned in “about five minutes”.

Actually, Shirley Phelps scares me. She’s outwardly so incredibly sane, and then you listen to her, and you realize that she is completely, totally nuts.

Madeleine McCann’s father is returning to work. Why we care, I am not sure, especially since it’s been six months since she disappeared, they’re not US citizens, and it didn’t happen in the US. (The US part only matters because that’s a CNN article, not a BBC one.) Because she was an adorable four-year-old? Er, okay, gods know there aren’t plenty of other adorable four-year-olds who have horrible things happen every day. Because her parents were fucking idiots and left her and her younger siblings alone in their hotel room? No, that just makes them idiots. It doesn’t make it world news. Now, if she’s found alive in, like, Bermuda in thirty years, it will be world news, even though no one will remember who Madeleine McCann is at that time.

I didn’t have this reaction to the Elizabeth Smart case, by the way. For one thing, she was kidnapped from her bedroom, when her family was home. Just a little different.

Why did I have to do a Google news search for Megan Williams updates? CNN could at least mention how the NAACP is urging people to hold off on a march to press for hate crime charges until the prosecutors have a chance to, well, decide if they’re going to press the charges. This should be news. Not Dr. McCann deciding he needs to get back to work.

On Friday, there is a planned “national blackout” of spending by black Americans. The hope is apparently to get the attention of Bush and Congress by taking away the money black Americans spend on a day-to-day basis so the government actually takes action on things that matter here within the country, like child healthcare, the Jena Six, and…oh hey, look, there’s a mention of Megan Williams. For part of one sentence. This is going to make work really, really dull if people go with it, and it will make my (black) manager emo over not making the day’s goal of income. I don’t think it’s going to have a major national impact unless it continues beyond just Friday, like is suggested by Roland Martin. Of course, that’s not his main point; people will need to spend money on shoes, clothes, and food eventually. His main point is to stop complaining and start doing something to improve this country. Not sure how that translates to the healthcare issue, though he does make other good points.

Dog the Bounty Hunter was recorded using the n-word. On the one hand, that is not an acceptable word, ever, and I’m dreading it coming up in my NaNo thing. (It will. My characters are racist bastards. I’m going to try to figure some other word out.) On the other hand, it wasn’t recorded for the show, and it was in the context of a private phone call with his son. So…should it really affect his show? It’s not like Imus’ “nappy-headed hos” comment, which was clearly intended for the public to hear, or like any of the shit O’Reilly and his ilk spew every time they get a chance.

His son, however, should be pissed off and let Dog know. Hm. Maybe the son is the one who recorded the conversation. That puts it in an entirely new light.

Philadelphia needs to stop shooting its cops. Really. Three in four days. Only one was shot fatally, which I guess is something.

It irks me, really, that this article’s focus is on San Francisco. The earthquake was nine miles from San Jose City Hall, and San Jose is larger than San Francisco, both in population (973,000 versus 744,000) and area (178.2 square miles versus 49 square miles.) So if anyone’s going to be interviewed about the earthquake, it should be people from, oh, San Jose. Anyway, the really interesting part of the article is the damage the Hayward Fault could do if it decides to go. Basically, what it comes down to is that Oakland and Berkeley would be in serious trouble, and Oakland might have to rebuild its airport entirely. Larry Nelson makes a good point, however: “It’s really no big deal. It’s what we expect when we choose to live here.”

The Mercury News, on the other hand, apparently had a slow news day. Not surprising, since San Jose is so safe and kind of dull. The entire article (all 385 words of it) is about the reaction of animals to the earthquake, and how they acted before it hit. Apparently, my parents’ cats didn’t forecast it, just scattered when it hit; my dad’s wording was something like, “Cats everywhere.” (They have four.)

California lawmakers: If you don’t spend the money to reinforce the levees around the Delta, an earthquake will hit at the wrong time and cause massive damage. That’s just how it works.

I think I’m done for now.

(On top of NaNoWriMo, I’m doing NaBloPoMo. The current plan is for the posts to be news-related, though not this long on days I work.)

At least it’s not, “Hello, World.”

Hello, all. I am not Italian, as my blog title says; I just couldn’t think of anything else quickly. My creativity is being diverted toward NaNoWriMo, as well as NaBloPoMo. This journal is mostly going to have my NaBloPoMo entries, at least for November; I may also post extra, regarding my NaNoWriMo progress or similar. We’ll see how it goes, shall we?

I work at a shoe store as a first-level manager. I do also blog elsewhere, but it’s mostly inane fan-related things. Real life and news posts will make it here. I’m living in Georgia, recently relocated from San Jose, California. My parents and youngest brother still live in San Jose; my other brother and sister are at college in California. I have two roommates, S and G, one cat who is a complete princess and adores G more than she loves me (ungrateful beast; I handraised her from the time she was born), and S has a puppy who cries at inconvenient times, like when I’m falling asleep.

I have my characters for NaNoWriMo mostly mapped out, since I’ve played with them before. The problem now facing me is this detail called “plot”. That, and I haven’t written anything so long in ages, and the last thing I did write that’s that long is not only utter crap, but took more than a year to get to 50,000 words. We’ll see how I do. I have a team of cheerleaders, aka S, G, and…SD, I suppose (damn you two for having names beginning with the same letters!) whom I can bounce ideas off.

Next post is the first official NaBloPoMo entry.