May As Well Hand You My Shoes

Recently, a bill was put forth to the Oklahoma State Legislature that has become an item of controversy in the state and throughout the nation:  The Personhood Bill, bill SB 1433.  This bill proposes that Oklahoma should adopt the view that life begins at conception.  In theory, I don't necessarily have a problem with that.  If a person wants to carry that view in their personal life, that's fine.  What I have a problem with is that if it becomes the legal definition, it stands to threaten a woman's constitutionally guarranteed right of choice.  Supporters say that it won't change a woman's right to choose, but rather simply acknowledges that life begins at conception.  But no where in the bill does it guarantee that it won't affect a woman's choice.  My question is, if it were true that it changes nothing, then why force the issue?  Why not simply leave that to your own moral code or that of your religion?

In addition to the obvious uproar over the right of choice, opponents of the bill worry that passing this bill will restrict contraception options and inhibit or shut down fertility clinics.  Fertility clinic doctors postulate that, technically, if a fertilized embryo is dropped in a lab or another accident occurs, the technician could be brought up on homicide charges.  Unlikely to happen, sure, but it makes a point.

I'm not in favor of abortions, however, I do believe women should have the right to terminate an early pregnancy, especially in the case of sexual assault, gross disability, or when it jeopardizes the health of the mother.  I don't believe abortions should be used as a method of birth control.  That being said, I also don't want to see a child grow up abused, unloved, and unwanted because the mother wasn't permitted a choice.  I think when a woman decides to obtain an abortion, counseling should be provided, and various options fully discussed with the woman, so that person can make an informed choice.  Taking away a woman's right to choose will only lead to the same back-alley tragedies that occurred in decades past, and everyone loses.

Another bit of concern for me is the religious agenda behind this bill.  Oklahoma is smack in the middle of the Bible Belt and is extremely conservative.  Everyone has the right to pursue their religion if it doesn't harm anyone or hinder another person's beliefs.  Supporters of this bill, including elected officials, consistently throw God into the equation.  What happened to the separation of church and state?  I'm not naive enough to think that bills and laws don't die or get passed through religious support, but it shouldn't be the case. 

I read a public opinion about this issue that struck me.  In this commentary, a woman discussed making the choice to continue with her pregnancy.  It's not something she's regretted, but she is thankful that she had the right to make the choice she did and would not want to deprive other women of a similar choice.  But she conceeded that it's been a constant financial struggle for her to be a single parent. What made me take note was that she said the same people who support this bill, who complain and rant and want to force women to keep any pregnancy, are the same people who complain and moan and protest about having to support the welfare programs designed to help parents who can't make ends meet, including this woman, who is working two jobs.

Republicans, in general, are supposed to advocate less government involvement in our lives.  If that's the case, then why was this bill, that shoves the government's nose into our private lives, overwhelming supported by the Oklahoma Senate?

This bill is a setback for women's rights, and needs to be withdrawn, or at least admended to guarantee that a woman's federally protected right to choose is not hindered.  Otherwise, you may as well just take my shoes, put me back in the kitchen, and take away my right to vote. 

Ka-Fizzle and Droop....

You have got to be kidding me.  Honestly.  There I am, watching one of the best shows on the air right now (aka The Walking Dead...awesome!!!) and I get bombared with ads for Comicbook Men, AMC's new series.  I'd seen the ads for it before, but have had absolutely no interest in the program.  Knowing that people are probably going to have no interest in this show, AMC, in a completely dick move, won't let Walking Dead fans get a preview of the next Walking Dead episode until they sit through Comicbook Men until the first commercial break.  That makes me want to hurt someone.

Let's take a look at Comicbook Men, though.  A reality show about a comic book store and associated podcasts.  Kill me.  Kill me now.  If this is what the public considers interesting, you may as well just forgo any hope you ever had for the progress of humanity.  I don't care who "stars" in this series.  It's just not worth it.  I don't need to see an entire show about sweaty nerds sitting around geeking out over comics.  "Who's your favorite female character?"  Now discuss for five minutes.  Seriously...

AMC, if you have any self-respect, you'll take this show off the air, and you'll do it before it has a blow back on The Walking Dead.  If you ruin that show for me, I swear.... I just may lose what little i have left of my mind, and it will be ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!! 

Red Dirt Wasteland

For the record, I don't believe in New Year's resolutions.  They are generally just another way to feel horrible about yourself, and since I'm already good at thinking I'm a sack of crap, I choose to forgo this particular tradition.  I think we should make little resolutions all year long as needed.  Sometimes, however, things I want to change happen to line up with the beginning of the year.  Such is the case now.

I am stuck in one of the most god-awful states in the nation.  When my job first assigned me here, I thought I would be okay.  Sure, the midwest sucks, but there have to be redeeming qualities, right?  Well, I've found a state that seems to have only only redeeming quality:  the people are generally nice.  And that's it.  I've found it very difficult to find things to do here in Oklahoma.  Yeah, that's right.  I have to live in Oklahoma.  Sucks to be me.  What I've discovered is that anything I had an interest in before is nigh impossible to do here. 

I like hiking.  Yeah, good luck here where I don't think they know what a hill is.  AND YES, OKIES... I KNOW that way in the southwestern part of the state there are some rolling hills.  Well, I don't feel like spending half my day commuting to said spot.  I guess I'm used to being able to drive a max of 45 minutes before finding a decent hill to climb.  From what I've heard, what little trails they have here pretty much end after a mile with a sign that pretty much says, "Trail ends.  Turn back.  Trespassers will be shot."  Funsies.  And I don't consider trekking across someone's fallow field a hike.

I also love the ocean.  Well, there goes that idea.  The biggest lake within decent distance of me is little more than what I would consider a pond.  So no luck there.  I like cultural events and art festivals and galleries.  Unless I'm into southwest art, I'm outta luck.  In fact, I was excited when I saw there was an art district, but I was sadly disappointed to discover that there are no galleries in the art district.  It's just named that because once a year they shut down a block and have an "art festival".  Sigh.  Oh, and for those of you who think, "why not just go to the Paseo?"  Well, no.  I don't like southwest art, and the two blocks of art studios isn't exactly what I would call a huge selection.

I like interesting food.  Outta luck there as well.  Kabobs are considered exotic here.  A decent steak can pretty much be found at Outback.  Even the $60 steak I had wasn't that much better than the $11 Outback Special.  I'm not kidding.  I love seafood, so I'm outta luck there as well.  Nothing is fresh.  I'm not joking when I tell you that Chili's was listed in the top 5 of best BBQ in a local paper, as chosen by the public.  Chinese food?  People here recommend the local buffet.  Thank GOD for the one decent Vietnamese place I've found here.  (interestingly enough, there is a relatively signficant Vietnamese population.  Relatively significant being... well... relative, since the vast majority of the state is lily white.)

Shopping?  I'm not a huge fan of shopping, but even if I were, I'd be hard pressed to find any quirky local shops.  There's not a lot.  Yeah, there a few here and there, but they're spread out and hard to find.

Sports?  When it's not 112 degrees for four months, people apparently decide that it's not worth having non-high school or college sports.  Once the OU/OSU football season starts, no one here pays attention to anything else.  There's a pretty decent minor league baseball team, but I'm not a baseball fan.  And seriously.... the Thunder can suck it.  I'm a bitter Seattle Super Sonics fan.  I hear the hockey team isn't much better than high school team.

So, I decided since there's nothing really to do here, maybe I can find a social group.  I went on to meetup.com and found a raging total of 43 groups, compared to the 2000 or so I'm used to seeing.  Of those, most require you to be A:  extremely religious, B:  extremely Republican, or C:  extremely old.  Most people here socialize at church, and since I'm not a church goer (which gets me a lot of disappointed looks here), I don't have that as an option either.  I'm not an atheist or anything.  I just don't like the commercial feel of most churches.  Especially the mega-complexes you find here.

My point here, other than that this state has very little to offer anyone, is that I'm determined to try and find something to do in Oklahoma that may introduce me to someone with whom I don't work.  I'd love to make a non-work friend.  I'm aching for a good adult kickball team or social group or SOMETHING.  Yeah, I could start a meetup group of my own, but I'm also extremely lazy, and I don't want to be responsible for organizing events.  Since I haven't found much to do here, I'm afraid I wouldn't get a lot of takers for an event entitled: "organize your sock drawer".  But I WILL find something to do, even if I end up face down in the red dirt cursing the scraggly buffalo that just ran over my back, fracturing my spine, because the only thing I could find to do was Buffalo Tipping.

Game on, Oklahoma.  GAME.  ON.

Have a Very Budgety Christmas!

It's that time of year again.  Stockings adorn the mantel, lighted garland frame the doors, and the Christmas tree is sporting a couple of new ornaments.  It's quiet and peaceful and I'm looking forward to the chilly nights and crisp mornings of winter.  I love Christmas.  L-O-V-E it.  Not really for the presents (although my family will probably tell you differently), but for the soft lights and quiet glow of the season.

The last few years have been financially tough on the U.S.  We managed to dig a pretty big hole for ourselves and we're still trying to find the edges of that hole in order to try and climb out.  Some of us have chosen to live within our means, work hard, save, and pay off our debts, while others have decided to go sit in a filthy encampment and whine about how life isn't fair.  Whatever your reaction, it's time to rethink what you spend this year or what you're spending your money on.

Let's face it.  We live in a capitalist society.  Without us out there spending our hard earned dollars, the economy would collapse and we may as well learn how to goosestep, because we'll all of a sudden become the largest territory in someone else's country.  The Grinch may be telling you that Christmas doesn't come from a store, but at the same time he's directing you to buy his tell-all book, the adorable stuffed plush Max doll, and the complete Whoville playset.  I'm not saying that we should all sit around and make gingerbread men garland out of recycled grocery bags (although, crap... that's kind of good idea.  patent pending.).  What I'm suggesting is that we show some restraint this year.

Perhaps your significant other doesn't need the $400 mixer right now when a handmixer would do.  Yeah, the $400 mixer would be nice, but you're on a budget, remember?  You can get that mixer when you get the credit card paid off, or you're not constantly checking your bank account balance to make sure you're not going to overdraft.  I'm not saying you have to get super cheap or something, but maybe you get one less gift this year than last.  Or you make a gift.  Handmade gifts are always appreciated and they tend to mean a little bit more than something you picked up off a shelf (even though you had to elbow that blue-haired lady in the throat to get the last one).  Maybe you make cookies baskets for your office friends rather than that $10 Starbucks card you thought would be nice.  (I priced it out.  A nicely adorned bag of cookies is significantly less.)  Is your 5-year-old seriously going to notice one less gift under the tree?  My nephews hardly know what they actually got at the end of Christmas morning, so I can tell you from personal experience, they won't miss it.

I'm not advocating that you get all Scrooge McDuck on everyone, just that you think about how much you're spending compared to your financial situation, and what you're spending that money on.  I'm not even saying that you have to have every penny you're going to spend just sitting in the bank.  Go ahead and charge a few things.  But if you can't pay off your gifts by Valentine's Day, then perhaps you should rethink how much you're spending. 

Christmas is a truly wonderful time of year, and we all appreciate it for different reasons, even if you're not a firm believer in Christmas.  The lights and decorations alone are enough reason to appreciate the season.  Just appreciate it for what it can be, rather than how much you spend.

I'm 99% Sure You're an Idiot

I've been holding back from saying anything about the Occupy Whatever phenomenon that's been sweeping the country, but I just can't hold back any longer.  While there are a bevy of Occupy Whatevers to choose from, I'm going to focus primarily on the Occupy Oakland group.  As a former resident of Oakland, I feel I have a pretty good understanding of the dynamics in the city and the make up of the people who usually participate in these protests.
In general, I'm not with the 99%ers.  I worked hard to get through college.  My parents paid for half of my tuition and housing, and I paid for everything else through loans and working part-time crappy jobs at the mall or Target.  I lived in a house with four other people where the walls were never at 90 degrees and the wind blew through the thin windows in winter like the windows weren't even there.  I ate ramen, rarely went anywhere, and made up my own entertainment for the most part.  We'd pool our money to buy a large pizza.  I had a small used car that barely ran.  I'm still paying off loans I took out for my degrees.  And I'm okay with that.  I don't blame others for my choices and my debts.  And I don't blame others for making the choice to take on a home loan I knew I wouldn't be able to afford after the Arm reached it's max.  Thank God, I chose to get rid of my mortgage before the market crashed.  So yeah, I rent, but I can at least afford my rent, because I choose to live in a place within my means.
I agree that maybe large corporations could give something back to the community.  Maybe more than they are right now.  But corporations don't exist to provide charity.  They exist to make a profit.  Somewhere along the way the 99%ers forgot that.  The corporations don't owe us anything.  You want change 99%ers?  Okay.  Get together and come up with a real plan.  A lot of you supposedly have degrees, so you must have some smarts.  Stop bitching about how unfair things are and expecting someone else to solve your problems.  Stand up for yourselves and go to the public and the government with a real, actionable plan for how to change things.  Otherwise, you're just a bunch of squawking loud mouths who are doing nothing other than aggravating 3/4 of the country.

I'm not part of this generation who thinks that they're entitled to everything, and can spend money at will without taking responsibility for it.  When you're in college you don't get the really nice car and the tricked out phones and vacations and all of that stuff that takes money to get unless you come from a family with money already and they're willing to finance those things.  I didn't come from a wealthy family, and I don't blame society for that.  We can't all be rich.  Sure, sometimes it sucks that I can't have the newest gadget, or eat out all the time, but I don't expect those things, and I'm not about to put myself in a lot of debt to do it.

Here's where Oakland comes in.  I was reading about all of the shenanigans going on in that city right now.  I will agree that the mayor is handling this situation poorly, but you can't blame the cops for enforcing the law, and you can't blame them for tear gassing your sorry asses when they give you ample warning to disperse, you don't, and then you throw things at them.  You can't blame the Port of Oakland for trying to conduct business just because you feel you're entitled to part of the profits of the businesses who transport goods there.
What's most irritating of all is that movements like Occupy Oakland can't even agree on a group statement.  In the various articles I've read, there have been statements that range from forgive student loans to tax the corporations to bring the corporations down to take down the city of Oakland and more.  This last one is the most ridiculous to me.  So, you want to overtake the city of Oakland?  Okay.... what do you think that would accomplish?  You take over city hall, lose all state funding, all federal funding, and make your own little island of hell?  Do you think any of you have the collective ingenuity to take over a city and make it better?  what would you do?  Fire all the police and turn Oakland into a city of gangs?  I don't understand that thinking.  How on earth does camping in a public square and throwing urine and fireworks at the peace officers help a damn thing?  Again... COME UP WITH A PLAN OR AT LEAST A COHESIVE STATEMENT!!!

Okay 99%ers, here's the deal.  Right now I'm wholly against you unless you can come up with a solid statement and a plan of action.  You come at the public with something like that, some sort of actionable plan that can actually be considered, and I'll think about supporting you.  But until then, you're a bunch of whiny, self-important, spoiled, self-entitled idiots who can't do anything other than sit in a park and bitch about how life is unfair.  The sooner you learn life is unfair, morons, the sooner you'll see your way through this.  Socialism just doesn't work.  Grow up.

Put Animals in Their Place

Ever look at an animal, like an otter or something, and think it's just too cute for words or even to live?  Ever feel like telling off said otter because it gets to sit around all day looking cute and letting people feed it like was part of the royal family or something without contributing a lick to society?  Yeah, me too.   Which is why I fell in love with the book F U Penguin. 

I ran into this book a few years back, and while I keep waiting for someone to buy it for me as the perfect Christmas present (ahem....) so i don't actually own it...yet... it has remained one of the most memorable books I've ever skimmed through in a random location.  It's quite simply a book where the author tells off various animals, and it's probably the funniest book I've read.  When my friend and I first found it, we laughed so hard we cried.  Reluctantly, we put the book down thinking that in a while the funny would wear off.  Several blocks later, we stumbled into a book store to try to purchase the book.  Nothing was quite as humorous as having to go to the information counter and ask the 50-something stuffy old librarian-looking woman at the desk to check and see if they had the book.  "Yes, that's right.  F U Penguin.... Like the letter F, the letter U, then Penguin.  Yes, I'm serious."  It was even better that they were sold out.  It's now a couple of years later, I still think it's funny.

Every now and again, I forget that the author also runs a blog.  I highly suggest that for a little bit of joy in your day, you visit the site.  Look straight into the eye of a cute fluffy bunny and tell it that you're not going to put up with its obvious and pretentious cuteness while you try unsuccessfully to keep your hair from looking like you didn't just walk through a military-grade wind tunnel.

A Season of Mehs and Uhhs

I am not a die hard football fan by any means, but there's something about the start of football season that makes me happy.  Probably because I know summer is almost done, and Fall is right around the corner.  I like watching the games, sometimes intently, sometimes as a background to cleaning or some project.  We're several games into the season now, and I must say that I've been rather disappointed in the NFL.  It could be that my region apparently has decided that it can't ever show a game featuring my home team (GO SEAHAWKS!!!  even though you suck right now) or that my new state doesn't even have a professional team, thus making it continue to be on my top 5 list of states that suck.

Whatever the reason, I am not getting into the NFL this year, and frankly, it's depressing.  (You know what else is depressing?  Knowing that the best fried chicken in the state comes from KFC.... it just makes me weep.  Food here also sucks.)  I'm watching the Patriots/Cowboys game, and while the score is close, I am just not finding myself engrossed in the game either way, and I seriously hate both teams, so you'd think I'd be able to pick one (Patriots) and hope they lose.  Between lackluster plays, and Vick's whining about his teaming being horrible (when the bastard shouldn't be playing in the NFL anyway, and should still be locked in a dark solitary hole for the next 30 years, imo), and the commentators  redefining boring, the NFL is losing me this year.

I just haven't seen a team really stand out yet or even a player.  I guess the 49ers are doing better than I expected, but I have to hate them, because they're in my league, and they're doing much better than the Hawks.  (then again who isn't?  Oh yeah... the Colts.  ha f-ing ha, Colts.)  What's it going to take to get me to like the NFL this season?  Maybe nothing.  Maybe it's just me.  Or maybe they can all stop acting like a bunch of over-indulged children and actually show some humility for once.  Or maybe some of those guys can get a damn haircut (yes, I suddenly turned 90) so I don't have to stare at their dreds sticking out from their helmets.  (Seriously, what's more disgusting than a dredlock, especially on a white guy?  Gross.)  Someone needs to stand up and start shining.  Or someone who is shining needs to really start sucking.  Either way, I'm good with that, and it would at least add some interest to an otherwise unimpressive season.

Am I the only one who feels uninspired by the NFL this year?