Surprise Activism in Strange Places

I may or may not use questionably legal file sharing services. To my surprise, after (accidentally?) opening the file sharing program Limewire, I found this:



(may have to click to see the image)

Good on them. They clearly didn't have to do anything, and yet they chose to do something about it.

Subtle

How Poetic.

From Mark Sanford to his Mistress:

You have a particular grace and calm that I adore. You have a level of sophistication that so fitting with your beauty. I could digress and say that you have the ability to give magnificent gentle kisses, or that I love your tan lines or that I love the curve of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of the night’s light - but hey, that would be going into sexual details …

Hilarious. "My dear, when I look into your eyes, I see infinite skies and wondrous possibilities. When I feel the softness of your lips against mine, I feel as though I am transported into a universe, floating without gravity in a state of endless comfort. And when I get to grasp your boobies, it's like totally hot lolz."

Emails.

Marriage Should be Between a Man and a Woman and his Other Woman

Gov. Sanford Admits Affair and Explains Disappearance

Mark Sanford, the governor of South Carolina, apologized in a rambling news conference for having an affair, ending a mystery over his week-long disappearance.

Idiot. Maybe if every staunch supporter of banning gay marriage wasn't either gay themselves or cheating on their wives, the issue could be taken more seriously. Except even then the argument is retarded and everyone involved needs to shut the hell up. Go away, Sanford. Add yourself to the list of disgraced moronic politicians that support moral laws they are in process of disproving.

Revolution in Iran

The current conflict in Iran is the reason that using military force to try to get others to follow your beliefs is a poor decision. Left to their own political system, reform and adaptation are inevitable in civilized society.

The "revolutionary leader" Hossein Mousavi may not mark the beginning of a more liberal Iranian society by any means. But it shows that countries are willing to bring change on themselves, and forcing them to with bombs only serves as a deadly distraction from their own political struggles - one that will get them to blame the outside source rather than start creating change.

Now that they have been left alone, the problems with their own political system have been exemplified, and the citizens have decided not to take it. It may not work, but this is the best way to get change in another country.

Still. that does not mean that some type of intervention by the US is unwarranted. But the point of such interventions is to focus on positive changes while staying sensitive to their culture, rather than simply destroying crap we don't like...

~~~~~~~

This post is somewhat rambling, but the point is that what we are witnessing is - while sometimes tragic - often times remarkable, and it would not have occurred if Iranians were forced by gunpoint to conform to the beliefs of the US. Hopefully things turn out for the best, but even if they don't, this is still a historic moment for their country and the world, and it will not soon be forgotten.

My Problem with the Two Party System

As a Democrat, the two party system rarely bothers me. So what if there is only one choice to represent my beliefs? It is still THE choice that represents my beliefs, and though I can have minor disagreements with their voting choices, chances are I would have them even with the perfect candidate.

Rather, my problem with the two party system is that it does not allow for replacements once your party is elected. I am not fond of my Democratic governor. She does many things I agree with, because we are both Democrats, but otherwise I do not think she is that great at her job.

What can I do? I cannot vote for an independent, because there aren't really any that match my views and even if there were, they probably won't win and will simply take away from the Democrat's chances. I'm not voting for a Republican, because that wouldn't make sense. The Republican may be EXTREMELY qualified and would do a fantastic job getting things done - but they would do a fantastic job at instigating a belief system I don't agree with. So ironically an extremely competent Republican would be worse, since they would accomplish the goals I disagree with.

So I am left with a governor I don't want, simply because I do not have other options. Sometimes I feel as though people should vote for the party first and the person in the role second. It would give a voters a chance to unseat incumbents while still keeping their party in power. If I want my governor gone, I have to vote for the opposite party, and that just isn't happening.

God is Good....?

I'm not an Atheist. I am not against religion. I am also not against Christianity. But I do have a problem with it that I think can be found in the following analogy:

The world is flooding. I have a boat that can fit an unlimited amount of people. But the only people I let on the boat are the ones that pledge their undying devotion to me beforehand. I accept rapists, spousal abusers, and other terrible human beings as long as they pledge that devotion, but I turn away children, college professors and good people that simply want the freedom to live their life. Those people I condemn to death, even though I have plenty of room and can fit them all.

I walked by a car that had the Jesus fish and two bumper stickers that said "God is Good" and "God loves all." I find it hard to believe that someone can believe in Christianity and not see that there is a problem with the idea that "God is Good" when he lets people burn in hell for not believing in him, even if they are good people.

That does not mean that religion itself is necessarily bad. Or the idea that heaven exists but it is not for everyone. Consider the following:

The world is flooding. I have a boat that can fit an unlimited amount of people. The only people I let on the boat are the ones that are good people. Some people may have done bad things in the past, but if they are good people that made bad decisions I let them on anyway, along with all other people that have lived good lives. I accept all men and women and children, but I do not accept rapists, spousal abusers, and other terrible human beings. Those people I condemn to death, even though I have plenty of room and can fit them all.

Once again there are people I have turned away, and arguably they can be saved by my boat as well. But at least I have accepted all of the good people in the world, no matter what they believe and what direction they have chosen for their lives. to me, if I have to have a hell, this is a much more positive belief system.

Conservative David Brooks on Sotomayor

From the New York Times:

Sonia Sotomayor had bad timing. If she’d entered college in the late-1950s or early-1960s, she would have been surrounded by an ethos that encouraged smart young ethnic kids to assimilate. If she’d entered Princeton and Yale in the 1980s, her ethnicity and gender would have been mildly interesting traits among the many she might possibly possess.

But she happened to attend Princeton and then Yale Law School in the 1970s. These were the days when what we now call multiculturalism was just coming into its own. These were the days when the whole race, class and gender academic-industrial complex seemed fresh, exciting and just.

Worth Reading.

Interesting Unimportant Factoid

Kristin had an article about Rashida Jones often playing roles in which you did not know what ethnicity she was supposed to be. I realized I did not know what ethnicity she even was, so a quick glance at her Wikipedia page showed that she was African American and Jewish, both of which came as a surprise (I had assume she had some Indian or Filipino blood in her). More pleasing from the page was this:

Though raised Jewish, Jones began practicing Hinduism in her early teens after her mother took her to an Ashram in India. Today, however, she practices Judaism and told a reporter, "In this day and age, you can choose how you practice and what is your relationship with God. I feel pretty strongly about my connection, definitely through the Jewish traditions and the things that I learned dating the guy that I dated. My boyfriends tend to be Jewish and also be practicing."

She's a good one to have on our team. Yet more proof that we're a people that understands humor. =).

New York is 5/5

So far, every food place I have been to in New York has been amazing. I only remember the name of one (Shake Shack), but the others have been equally as delicious. This vacation may have helped me discover a love of eating - something I never really had before.

Yep. I have nothing else interesting to say, other than I am soon to be the proud owner of General Motors. Hooray?