i say that as if a boring moment has even touched my life in the past year, but what i mean is that local political activism appears to be setting its sights on a big chunk of my life (as opposed to the national political scene that's held my life without ransom since january of last year).
random thought: i really wish i didn't hate the la times... i really am going to have to start reading the damn thing.
so, agendas are starting to roll out, activists are trying to come together, a few of us are working on building a bridge, and a small-scale coup d'état is likely in order so the better leaders can better bridge the activists. in hypothtical speak, let's just assume that there's a particular congressional district in ripe shape to be assumed by leaders with smaller egos and better intent, so as to unify, empower, respect, and include its residents in a well-oiled machine of progressive activists. and let's just further assume that the person currently holding the self-appointed leadership role is more akin to the likes of anwar sadat. a belevolent dictator is, after all, still a dictator, even if he is wearing the enlightened hat. and such a leader needs to go...
and we've got shit to do here. we need to get prop 8 repealed. we need to set a progressive agenda of our own on issues from healthcare, the environment, education, and economic reform. we need to solidify our movement so we can present ourselves as either a threat or a tremendous support network to our local politicians, and start making ourselves seen, heard, and recognized as a power with which a reckoning will be demanded. and we can, for there is great power in numbers, especially in numbers of educated, informed, enlightened citizens.
all of this makes me go gooey in the knees. and wonder if i'll ever again have a quiet night at home alone (i fondly remember when i used to get 4 or 5 such nights each week) or find someone i'll want to fall crazy madly in love with.
oh the woes of an enlightened activist...
~k
20 December 2008
16 December 2008
what i want
so much is up in the air right now, so much is going on, so many offers are coming and going, and so many questions are being asked without answers. it gets a girl wondering what it is she really wants.
there's the obama administration position i'm being recommended for, a nalp position i was nominated to assume, a congressional seat i've had my eye on, and a national security fellowship i've got my name all over. but then there's my real life, my real job, my friends, and everything else that's been me all these weeks and months. so what is it i really want, and why am i trying so hard to consider and make room for all this other bullshit?
for the sake of full disclosure, i should admit that i'm a wee bit drunk right now. naeun and i had a coupla drinks and a fat bowl of pho ga tonight, and i'm still buzzed. she made me think, and she made me think about what i want out of my life. exactly which direction i want to point my future and start moving toward.
that's easy. it really is. i've said it all along, and even though i let ambition or politics or the "i know i'm a bad ass, let's prove it to the world" ego get in the way, i know what i want. i want to fall crazy, madly in love with some amazing man and create a family. i want to be a mom. i want to write historical fiction novels and political commentary to pay the pay the bills while i have my babies and raise them to be the enlightened future of our country and the world. that is _exactly_ what i want. i don't care where or when it happens, but that's what i want. that's what will give my life even more meaning than it has today (which is a lot).
the obama job would be impossible to turn down. shit, i might even have to pack up my life and move to dc if it comes through. nalp is easy. my day job is just that. it has no meaning, no long term potential, no career card. the congressional race decided for me when my congressman decided not to accept the job obama was offering. and the fellowship is mine. i wanted it. i want it. i got it. and i couldn't be more thrilled. it's going to teach me to think critically about national security, will give me the resources and connections to start writing and publishing op-ed pieces and being a liason to the media and polticians on national security issues. this is my segway into writing political commentary and advising politicians on important political matters. it's right. it feels right. and it's the right door to walk through.
and my first novel. well, it's done. it just needs for me to let go and go to publish. it will. it's good. i can write. it's the one thing i do that i know i do well. and there's no reason i shouldn't be paid for it.
so that is it. what i want is easy. i want to fall in love, madly, crazy, hopelessly in love, i want to bring children into that love affair, and i want to be paid to write, while my lover and i raise the leaders of tomorrow.
it really is that simple...
~k
there's the obama administration position i'm being recommended for, a nalp position i was nominated to assume, a congressional seat i've had my eye on, and a national security fellowship i've got my name all over. but then there's my real life, my real job, my friends, and everything else that's been me all these weeks and months. so what is it i really want, and why am i trying so hard to consider and make room for all this other bullshit?
for the sake of full disclosure, i should admit that i'm a wee bit drunk right now. naeun and i had a coupla drinks and a fat bowl of pho ga tonight, and i'm still buzzed. she made me think, and she made me think about what i want out of my life. exactly which direction i want to point my future and start moving toward.
that's easy. it really is. i've said it all along, and even though i let ambition or politics or the "i know i'm a bad ass, let's prove it to the world" ego get in the way, i know what i want. i want to fall crazy, madly in love with some amazing man and create a family. i want to be a mom. i want to write historical fiction novels and political commentary to pay the pay the bills while i have my babies and raise them to be the enlightened future of our country and the world. that is _exactly_ what i want. i don't care where or when it happens, but that's what i want. that's what will give my life even more meaning than it has today (which is a lot).
the obama job would be impossible to turn down. shit, i might even have to pack up my life and move to dc if it comes through. nalp is easy. my day job is just that. it has no meaning, no long term potential, no career card. the congressional race decided for me when my congressman decided not to accept the job obama was offering. and the fellowship is mine. i wanted it. i want it. i got it. and i couldn't be more thrilled. it's going to teach me to think critically about national security, will give me the resources and connections to start writing and publishing op-ed pieces and being a liason to the media and polticians on national security issues. this is my segway into writing political commentary and advising politicians on important political matters. it's right. it feels right. and it's the right door to walk through.
and my first novel. well, it's done. it just needs for me to let go and go to publish. it will. it's good. i can write. it's the one thing i do that i know i do well. and there's no reason i shouldn't be paid for it.
so that is it. what i want is easy. i want to fall in love, madly, crazy, hopelessly in love, i want to bring children into that love affair, and i want to be paid to write, while my lover and i raise the leaders of tomorrow.
it really is that simple...
~k
13 December 2008
the simultaneous seven
stages of grief, that is...
so, i'm equal parts pissed off and hurting. and i'm so sick and tired of being told how amazing and wonderful i am, but... i don't get that. but what?
the latest version of the story is, "i love you, i want to be in a relationship with you, but i can't. oh, and will you come spend the holidays with me and my family in the midwest?" i don't even understand what that means. you want to be in a relationship, but you can't (sidebar, i never asked for a relationship, but assumed we were moving slowly in that direction (i also never mentioned anything remotely related to a timeline or being in some kind of hurry)). and you can't be in a relationship, but you want me to spend the holidays with your family in another state? you want to further complicate the incomprehensible status of our relationship by involving your family? are you kidding me?
i also don't understand why all of these selfish fucking pricks out there think they can rip our hearts out of our chests and then act completely dumbfounded when we don't want to be friends. yeah, that's what i want to do. i want to be broken up with, suffer through the pangs of the loss of a lover, and then continue to try to be your friend, only to watch you move on to another woman, while asking myself what she's got that i don't. no, i don't want to be your friend. are you high?
shock. i went into this with the impression that we were both looking for something serious. and i didn't imagine that conversation. we had it. at the beginning, before things got even remotely intense.
the other night when i reminded him that i didn't just wake up one day and start asking for things that weren't on the table, he said, "i was looking for something serious. i do want something serious."
to which i responded, "just not with me?"
"yes, with you," he said.
what? you want to be in a serious relationship. you want it to be with me. and we're breaking up. am i missing something?
denial. in my book, denial ties in very closely to the shock and disbelief stage. he can't possibly be serious, right? he can't possibly want to spend the rest of his life in the same trench my ex-husband now occupies, kicking himself in the ass for letting me get away (or in the case of my ex husband, pushing me away with a 2-ton bulldozer, and then doing too little too late to try to get me to come back). he can't possibly tell me he loves me in one breath, but can't be with me in the next. he can't possibly expect me to find any comfort in the words, "you're amazing and i know i'll never find anyone i will have as much fun with as i do you". all that does is make no sense whatsoever. why would you want to stop seeing the person you have more fun with than you've ever had, especially if love is part of the package?
bargaining. not happening. i'm not going to sacrifice any of my integrity, happiness, or self-respect just to have a moment of his attention or affections. fuck that.
angry? yeah, you betcha.
depression. i hurt and lotsa willful tears have escaped my stubborn ducts. he kinda broke my heart. i tried so hard not to even give him access, yet he wiggled his way in, and once there, couldn't take the heat. it got time to jump off the cliff, and it appears as though i'm standing here alone. when i turn around to see how far he's run in the other direction, i no longer even see the dot on the horizon that was the man standing next to me just five minutes ago.
acceptance. do i have a choice?
and hope. that's what i do. i have more love and more hope in this tiny little body than my entire neighborhood could hold in its lake. i do believe that all the wonderful we were is nothing compared to the wonderful that awaits. and if i fell in love, i can do it again, and next time it hopefully won't be with a coward.
~k
so, i'm equal parts pissed off and hurting. and i'm so sick and tired of being told how amazing and wonderful i am, but... i don't get that. but what?
the latest version of the story is, "i love you, i want to be in a relationship with you, but i can't. oh, and will you come spend the holidays with me and my family in the midwest?" i don't even understand what that means. you want to be in a relationship, but you can't (sidebar, i never asked for a relationship, but assumed we were moving slowly in that direction (i also never mentioned anything remotely related to a timeline or being in some kind of hurry)). and you can't be in a relationship, but you want me to spend the holidays with your family in another state? you want to further complicate the incomprehensible status of our relationship by involving your family? are you kidding me?
i also don't understand why all of these selfish fucking pricks out there think they can rip our hearts out of our chests and then act completely dumbfounded when we don't want to be friends. yeah, that's what i want to do. i want to be broken up with, suffer through the pangs of the loss of a lover, and then continue to try to be your friend, only to watch you move on to another woman, while asking myself what she's got that i don't. no, i don't want to be your friend. are you high?
shock. i went into this with the impression that we were both looking for something serious. and i didn't imagine that conversation. we had it. at the beginning, before things got even remotely intense.
the other night when i reminded him that i didn't just wake up one day and start asking for things that weren't on the table, he said, "i was looking for something serious. i do want something serious."
to which i responded, "just not with me?"
"yes, with you," he said.
what? you want to be in a serious relationship. you want it to be with me. and we're breaking up. am i missing something?
denial. in my book, denial ties in very closely to the shock and disbelief stage. he can't possibly be serious, right? he can't possibly want to spend the rest of his life in the same trench my ex-husband now occupies, kicking himself in the ass for letting me get away (or in the case of my ex husband, pushing me away with a 2-ton bulldozer, and then doing too little too late to try to get me to come back). he can't possibly tell me he loves me in one breath, but can't be with me in the next. he can't possibly expect me to find any comfort in the words, "you're amazing and i know i'll never find anyone i will have as much fun with as i do you". all that does is make no sense whatsoever. why would you want to stop seeing the person you have more fun with than you've ever had, especially if love is part of the package?
bargaining. not happening. i'm not going to sacrifice any of my integrity, happiness, or self-respect just to have a moment of his attention or affections. fuck that.
angry? yeah, you betcha.
depression. i hurt and lotsa willful tears have escaped my stubborn ducts. he kinda broke my heart. i tried so hard not to even give him access, yet he wiggled his way in, and once there, couldn't take the heat. it got time to jump off the cliff, and it appears as though i'm standing here alone. when i turn around to see how far he's run in the other direction, i no longer even see the dot on the horizon that was the man standing next to me just five minutes ago.
acceptance. do i have a choice?
and hope. that's what i do. i have more love and more hope in this tiny little body than my entire neighborhood could hold in its lake. i do believe that all the wonderful we were is nothing compared to the wonderful that awaits. and if i fell in love, i can do it again, and next time it hopefully won't be with a coward.
~k
11 December 2008
contemplating "self interest rightly understood"
a child of the french revolution, alexis de tocqueville believed that democracy in america worked because local liberty encouraged individuals to be involved, to associate with one another to define, address, and deal with their collective needs and aspirations. it worked because self interests were realized by making the community a better place. sadly, however, we have seen this philosophy run amuck the past eight years, by and for an administration so mired in their own egocentric philosophies, that the country, the world, and the individuals who fell prey to its promises of wealth, have let the can turn to shit.
though things will undoubtedly get worse before they can get better, I’m a hopeless believer that enlightenment is just around the next bend. I mean, that’s why obama won. it was the community organizing, the belief that “yes we can” make the country better that riled up a nation, that got us knocking on doors and making phone calls, to elect a new direction for our country and ourselves. it was that collective we that came together to restore the ideals that made american democracy the envy of the world in the first place, as opposed to the symbol of greed, hatred, and imperialism that has terrorized us since 2001.
this morning, while I was reading joseph stiglitz’s article, “capitalist fools” in the latest issue of vanity fair, (http://www.vanityfair.com/
markets aren't self-adjusting, not when the factors that impact the fluidity of the market are in the control of individuals. and in the case at hand, the individuals controlling the factors that've impacted the fluidity of the market have been motivated by greed (and not just greed, but disgustingly blind-sided eregious greed). we let individualism without bounds rule the roost without any regulation or oversight, simply believing that the markets would self-adjust, and the only thing that adjusted was the safety of our money in the banks, and the discrepancy in income between the poorest and wealthiest in this country.
choices weren't made within the ideologies central to the american philosophy of democracy, that enlightened self-interest would lead individuals to further the interests of the group. instead, we empowered the egoists to destroy the america we were, for the sake of a few bucks. that's over, and a new america has spoken. the old america, the real america, the america that inspired a world to believe in freedom. we're taking it back, and we're going to watch over, regulate, and influence with a self interest rightly understood...
~k
10 December 2008
one whirlwind week
if i could sum up my life in one word, it would be "magical". there are a lot of reasons for this, but i think primarily it's because i've been blessed with a kick ass pair of permanent rose-colored glasses.
yeah, shitty stuff happens. i hit big snags in relationships (not sure why the boys seem to be so scared of me and my ginormous heart). i have trouble getting along with people who have a different political philosophy (sorry, dad). my rent is too high for a place without parking (but worth every penny). i'm worth more dead than i am alive. my family lives way too far away, and when i go visit them i spend half the flight home bawling my eyes out. i walk with a cane and sometimes it sucks (most of the time it sucks). it costs me almost $400 to replace a tire on my car (something i feel i have to do far more often than seems reasonable). i can't wear sexy, strappy, 4" shoes, and sometimes that bums the shit outta me. i don't yet have a ticket for obama's inaugural speech (but i'll be there anyway). sometimes i think i'm in over my head at the day job, i'm responsible for way more than i should be, and i have to go to three office holiday parties, in three cities, in one week. traffic pisses me off. being disappointed by my friends weighs heavily in my heart. and i'm 34, single, childless, and don't see that changing anytime soon.
thank god i'm hot!
all joking aside, i really do suffer the same woes of any one who lives a life. there are days i'm sad, lonely, feel sorry for myself, and want to crawl into a hole and die. there are days i pick up the newspaper and wonder if things are ever going to get better. and don't tell anyone, but some days i wonder if those nutbag christian folks are right and the world is going to end any day now.
but then i have weeks like i've had this week (and it's only wednesday), and i remember why it is that i can sum up my life in that one "magical" word.
on monday, i got a call from obama (not personally, but someone on the team). i have to pick one position that i want, out of the 3,300 listed in the plum book, write the best cover letter of my entire life, attach my resume and a list of the reasons i'm the right gal for the gig, and someone who has been asked to make 36 recommendations is going to recommend me for the appointee position of my choice. this doesn't mean i'll get the position i've chosen as my number one (in case you're wondering, it's _special assistant to the president for presidential personnel_), but it does mean that someone high up in the obama team thinks highly enough of me and my contributions that i'm one of their 36.
on tuesday, i got a call from the director of a fellowship program to which i applied. we scheduled an interview for today.
today i found out i'm a finalist for that fellowship. i also found out this was the year of the most number and most amazingly qualified of applicants. and i'm a finalist. and she is going to recommend to the board that i get the los angeles fellowship (http://www.trumanproject.org/programs/fellowship). it doesn't mean i'll get it. but it does mean that in a year when the number of applicants was highest and the calibre of applicants astounding, i'm a finalist.
i guess (and not that i ever really doubted it) that the sum of all things in my life is that hard work and believing in myself pays off. it's nice for me to wake up every day and think i'm awesome, it's even better when my friends and family (and boys breaking up with me) tell me how wonderful and amazing i am, but it's even better when my awesomeness is recognized on a much grander scale than my own delusions of grandeur. and that's what's happened this week.
it reinforces my belief that anything is possible, and tightens the screws on those rose-colored glasses i refuse to stop wearing. and if i don't get the obama job, yay, i don't have to pack up my life and move to the east coast. if i don't get the fellowship, i can reapply next year. either way or not at all, i already have an incredible life i wouldn't trade in for a dump truck full of gold bricks. a life that's, in a word, magical...
~k
yeah, shitty stuff happens. i hit big snags in relationships (not sure why the boys seem to be so scared of me and my ginormous heart). i have trouble getting along with people who have a different political philosophy (sorry, dad). my rent is too high for a place without parking (but worth every penny). i'm worth more dead than i am alive. my family lives way too far away, and when i go visit them i spend half the flight home bawling my eyes out. i walk with a cane and sometimes it sucks (most of the time it sucks). it costs me almost $400 to replace a tire on my car (something i feel i have to do far more often than seems reasonable). i can't wear sexy, strappy, 4" shoes, and sometimes that bums the shit outta me. i don't yet have a ticket for obama's inaugural speech (but i'll be there anyway). sometimes i think i'm in over my head at the day job, i'm responsible for way more than i should be, and i have to go to three office holiday parties, in three cities, in one week. traffic pisses me off. being disappointed by my friends weighs heavily in my heart. and i'm 34, single, childless, and don't see that changing anytime soon.
thank god i'm hot!
all joking aside, i really do suffer the same woes of any one who lives a life. there are days i'm sad, lonely, feel sorry for myself, and want to crawl into a hole and die. there are days i pick up the newspaper and wonder if things are ever going to get better. and don't tell anyone, but some days i wonder if those nutbag christian folks are right and the world is going to end any day now.
but then i have weeks like i've had this week (and it's only wednesday), and i remember why it is that i can sum up my life in that one "magical" word.
on monday, i got a call from obama (not personally, but someone on the team). i have to pick one position that i want, out of the 3,300 listed in the plum book, write the best cover letter of my entire life, attach my resume and a list of the reasons i'm the right gal for the gig, and someone who has been asked to make 36 recommendations is going to recommend me for the appointee position of my choice. this doesn't mean i'll get the position i've chosen as my number one (in case you're wondering, it's _special assistant to the president for presidential personnel_), but it does mean that someone high up in the obama team thinks highly enough of me and my contributions that i'm one of their 36.
on tuesday, i got a call from the director of a fellowship program to which i applied. we scheduled an interview for today.
today i found out i'm a finalist for that fellowship. i also found out this was the year of the most number and most amazingly qualified of applicants. and i'm a finalist. and she is going to recommend to the board that i get the los angeles fellowship (http://www.trumanproject.org/programs/fellowship). it doesn't mean i'll get it. but it does mean that in a year when the number of applicants was highest and the calibre of applicants astounding, i'm a finalist.
i guess (and not that i ever really doubted it) that the sum of all things in my life is that hard work and believing in myself pays off. it's nice for me to wake up every day and think i'm awesome, it's even better when my friends and family (and boys breaking up with me) tell me how wonderful and amazing i am, but it's even better when my awesomeness is recognized on a much grander scale than my own delusions of grandeur. and that's what's happened this week.
it reinforces my belief that anything is possible, and tightens the screws on those rose-colored glasses i refuse to stop wearing. and if i don't get the obama job, yay, i don't have to pack up my life and move to the east coast. if i don't get the fellowship, i can reapply next year. either way or not at all, i already have an incredible life i wouldn't trade in for a dump truck full of gold bricks. a life that's, in a word, magical...
~k
04 December 2008
my favorite things about los angeles (in no particular order)
my friends (this is first, everything else is in no particular order)
my apartment
the rare but pure beauty of a clear day
spending the few rainy days cuddled up with a good movie
the scent of jasmine in unexpected places
that it can be both hot and cold in the same day
philippe's
the hollywood sign
silver lake
basketball in pauley pavilion
farmer's markets
taco stands
the grove
slippery shrimp
the vista
angelenos, no matter from whence they came
venice beach
diversity in all things
4100
the music box steps
blossom
the view from my neighbor's deck
ucla
the greek theatre
chateauneuf du pape by the glass
the wiltern
art & soul tattoo (scott, in particular)
the ancelle on gramercy
cobras and matadors
pink's
shisha bars
california chicken cafe
the sportsman's lodge
hollywood blvd.
grauman's chinese theatre
3rd street promenade
the crisp ocean breeze on an otherwise hot day
the waves crashing onto the shore
melrose
grace
june gloom
lacma
the pantages
the getty villa
air hockey at yankee doodle on the promenade
killer shrimp
sushi
that tommy's burger is always open
el cholo
the oh-so-random after hours scene
the pch
ucla extension
that it's 80 degrees on christmas
if it exists, it can be found here (and probably at a rummage sale)
bacon-wrapped hotdogs from a grill on the sidewalk
the joy in finding biscuits & gravy and grits on a breakfast menu
the edison bar
25 degrees
ethel on 3rd
parties at the museum of natural history
knott's scary farm
sample sales in random downtown warehouses
larchmont village
the smell and feel of the bodhi tree bookstore after lunch at good urth
versailles
the awkward bustle of downtown
universal studios
cayenne cafe
gorilla thursdays
ordering spaghetti off the menu at valentino
the way the city smells on a foggy morning
the sunsets in october
sitting on my deck on a warm summer night
how completely crazy some seemingly ordinary nights can turn
that there is a park on stoner avenue
walking through the library for cocktails on the roof of the standard
the sunset junction
star of india
the red lion tavern
being able to give directions to anywhere in the city
knowing that leonardo dicaprio lives here somewhere
the b dash
seeing my office building in every car commercial
having my groceries delivered
401 north sycamore
baja fresh
the cat & the fiddle
westwood village
brunch
sunsets over the ocean
~k
my apartment
the rare but pure beauty of a clear day
spending the few rainy days cuddled up with a good movie
the scent of jasmine in unexpected places
that it can be both hot and cold in the same day
philippe's
the hollywood sign
silver lake
basketball in pauley pavilion
farmer's markets
taco stands
the grove
slippery shrimp
the vista
angelenos, no matter from whence they came
venice beach
diversity in all things
4100
the music box steps
blossom
the view from my neighbor's deck
ucla
the greek theatre
chateauneuf du pape by the glass
the wiltern
art & soul tattoo (scott, in particular)
the ancelle on gramercy
cobras and matadors
pink's
shisha bars
california chicken cafe
the sportsman's lodge
hollywood blvd.
grauman's chinese theatre
3rd street promenade
the crisp ocean breeze on an otherwise hot day
the waves crashing onto the shore
melrose
grace
june gloom
lacma
the pantages
the getty villa
air hockey at yankee doodle on the promenade
killer shrimp
sushi
that tommy's burger is always open
el cholo
the oh-so-random after hours scene
the pch
ucla extension
that it's 80 degrees on christmas
if it exists, it can be found here (and probably at a rummage sale)
bacon-wrapped hotdogs from a grill on the sidewalk
the joy in finding biscuits & gravy and grits on a breakfast menu
the edison bar
25 degrees
ethel on 3rd
parties at the museum of natural history
knott's scary farm
sample sales in random downtown warehouses
larchmont village
the smell and feel of the bodhi tree bookstore after lunch at good urth
versailles
the awkward bustle of downtown
universal studios
cayenne cafe
gorilla thursdays
ordering spaghetti off the menu at valentino
the way the city smells on a foggy morning
the sunsets in october
sitting on my deck on a warm summer night
how completely crazy some seemingly ordinary nights can turn
that there is a park on stoner avenue
walking through the library for cocktails on the roof of the standard
the sunset junction
star of india
the red lion tavern
being able to give directions to anywhere in the city
knowing that leonardo dicaprio lives here somewhere
the b dash
seeing my office building in every car commercial
having my groceries delivered
401 north sycamore
baja fresh
the cat & the fiddle
westwood village
brunch
sunsets over the ocean
~k
30 November 2008
i can't help it, i can't...
1) i am trained to think critically and argue.
2) i am liberal.
3) i see the world through the lens of my experience and that's _never_ going to change.
4) all of the above are a deadly combo when politics comes into the discussion.
5) i think george w. bush is the biggest fucking moron on earth.
6) i think the economy is tanking because regulation (code word for a legal requirement that the books aren't being cooked to overvalue assets) was cast aside to allow the market to work itself out, fluctuate, and adjust according to the fluidity of a "free market". the only problem is that the element of greed was not considered, and as rich greedy assholes saw nothing but dollar signs standing in the way of the lessons of history (see 1762 when a housing bubble popped, credit crunched, and the resulting depression helped pave the road to the american revolution, for one; see the great depression, resulting from the bank failures following risky (see unregulated) investments in the railroad industry as example b), and those super-smart ivy-league educated business people ignored all signs of the inevitable end to the exorbitantly rising value of real estate, the blossoming 'burst' of the housing bubble, and the crunch for credit strangling the global market today (along with all of those grossly over-valued mortgage securities all wrapped up into tight little bundles of neatly packaged shit-pies sold to investors (ahem, us) as 'assets' (awesome!)).
7) i think the patriot act is an abomination, and i have seen the current administration spend eight years redlining the constitution to suit its agenda of greed and imperialism.
8) i think guns are neat-o, but i don't want one (for shit's sake, i can't even check the air pressure in my tires). i also don't see the problem in asking people to fill out a form, get a background check, and wait a few days before walking out of the gun store with a semi-automatic 12-guage shotgun.
9) i think education in the u.s. is _clearly_ benefiting the upper class. i think anyone who thinks otherwise is choosing blindness over sensibility. kids who go to public high school in beverly hills get better teachers, more money, better technology, better after-school and in-school programs, better books, more teachers, more electives, more safety, more opportunities. kids who go to public high school in compton, on the other hand, have to dodge bullets, peel their crack-whore moms up off the sidewalk, fight the pressure to join gangs their drug-pushing friends making an easy buck belong to, and search high and low for any support, encouragement, and opportunity to rise above all that to get an education (all of which takes place in a segment of society that does not value an education). dude, that one kid who makes it out of compton and into college has more character, strength, and maturity than all the beverly hills kids put together. for all the others who don't make it to college, is it the kids' fault for being born into compton instead of beverly hills, for not having equal access to eductation, for spending his/her formative years being woo'd to the dark side?
10) i think health care in this country is shameful as it, much like the above referenced crashing "free market", is motivated by greed. pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, manufacturers of medical technology keep prices _so_ high that only the most fortunate of americans, who work for companies with a big bank account, can actually afford to be healthy. and shit, with my six-figure salary, and company sponsored health insurance, i can still barely keep up with the bills rolling in from my twice-yearly no-issue doctor visits. so, like education, health care is really only accessible to the upper class.
11) i think legal reform is necessary to bring down the costs of medical malpractice insurance (or the entirety of the field should be scrapped in favor of socialist health care).
12) i think anyone who doesn't believe in climate change or see the urgent necessity in preserving natural resources and eliminating our addiction to fossil fuels is stupid.
13) i think our addiction to fossil fuels is the only reason we wage a war in iraq.
14) i think the claim that we fight the war to spread democracy, to free people of a tyrannical, evil leader, is gobbledygook. if that were really the reason, why aren't we waging similar wars in somalia, rwanda, or darfur where genocide is as rampant as aids? oh, yeah, cuz there's no oil to drill?
15) i think our addiction to fossil fuel is the primary reason terrorists target americans, and i agree with former CIA director Jim Woolsey who said, "we are funding the rope for hanging outselves" for our (via the dipshit in chief) refusal to do anything significant post 9/11 to reduce our gasoline consumption.
16) i think the big 3 should not get a dime of taxpayer bailout money (see #'s 12-15).
17) i think if someone is against gay marriage, they should not get one and shut the fuck up.
18) i think religions' greatest contribution to the world is the spread of hate.
19) i think sean hannity should take a long walk off a short cliff.
20) i think i can be intolerant of the views of others. and while i probably don't really stand on the moral high ground from which i find myself looking down at the world, it is where i perch. and i'm okay with it. i accept me, flaws and all, liberalism and all, judgmentalism and all.
sorry.
~k
2) i am liberal.
3) i see the world through the lens of my experience and that's _never_ going to change.
4) all of the above are a deadly combo when politics comes into the discussion.
5) i think george w. bush is the biggest fucking moron on earth.
6) i think the economy is tanking because regulation (code word for a legal requirement that the books aren't being cooked to overvalue assets) was cast aside to allow the market to work itself out, fluctuate, and adjust according to the fluidity of a "free market". the only problem is that the element of greed was not considered, and as rich greedy assholes saw nothing but dollar signs standing in the way of the lessons of history (see 1762 when a housing bubble popped, credit crunched, and the resulting depression helped pave the road to the american revolution, for one; see the great depression, resulting from the bank failures following risky (see unregulated) investments in the railroad industry as example b), and those super-smart ivy-league educated business people ignored all signs of the inevitable end to the exorbitantly rising value of real estate, the blossoming 'burst' of the housing bubble, and the crunch for credit strangling the global market today (along with all of those grossly over-valued mortgage securities all wrapped up into tight little bundles of neatly packaged shit-pies sold to investors (ahem, us) as 'assets' (awesome!)).
7) i think the patriot act is an abomination, and i have seen the current administration spend eight years redlining the constitution to suit its agenda of greed and imperialism.
8) i think guns are neat-o, but i don't want one (for shit's sake, i can't even check the air pressure in my tires). i also don't see the problem in asking people to fill out a form, get a background check, and wait a few days before walking out of the gun store with a semi-automatic 12-guage shotgun.
9) i think education in the u.s. is _clearly_ benefiting the upper class. i think anyone who thinks otherwise is choosing blindness over sensibility. kids who go to public high school in beverly hills get better teachers, more money, better technology, better after-school and in-school programs, better books, more teachers, more electives, more safety, more opportunities. kids who go to public high school in compton, on the other hand, have to dodge bullets, peel their crack-whore moms up off the sidewalk, fight the pressure to join gangs their drug-pushing friends making an easy buck belong to, and search high and low for any support, encouragement, and opportunity to rise above all that to get an education (all of which takes place in a segment of society that does not value an education). dude, that one kid who makes it out of compton and into college has more character, strength, and maturity than all the beverly hills kids put together. for all the others who don't make it to college, is it the kids' fault for being born into compton instead of beverly hills, for not having equal access to eductation, for spending his/her formative years being woo'd to the dark side?
10) i think health care in this country is shameful as it, much like the above referenced crashing "free market", is motivated by greed. pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, manufacturers of medical technology keep prices _so_ high that only the most fortunate of americans, who work for companies with a big bank account, can actually afford to be healthy. and shit, with my six-figure salary, and company sponsored health insurance, i can still barely keep up with the bills rolling in from my twice-yearly no-issue doctor visits. so, like education, health care is really only accessible to the upper class.
11) i think legal reform is necessary to bring down the costs of medical malpractice insurance (or the entirety of the field should be scrapped in favor of socialist health care).
12) i think anyone who doesn't believe in climate change or see the urgent necessity in preserving natural resources and eliminating our addiction to fossil fuels is stupid.
13) i think our addiction to fossil fuels is the only reason we wage a war in iraq.
14) i think the claim that we fight the war to spread democracy, to free people of a tyrannical, evil leader, is gobbledygook. if that were really the reason, why aren't we waging similar wars in somalia, rwanda, or darfur where genocide is as rampant as aids? oh, yeah, cuz there's no oil to drill?
15) i think our addiction to fossil fuel is the primary reason terrorists target americans, and i agree with former CIA director Jim Woolsey who said, "we are funding the rope for hanging outselves" for our (via the dipshit in chief) refusal to do anything significant post 9/11 to reduce our gasoline consumption.
16) i think the big 3 should not get a dime of taxpayer bailout money (see #'s 12-15).
17) i think if someone is against gay marriage, they should not get one and shut the fuck up.
18) i think religions' greatest contribution to the world is the spread of hate.
19) i think sean hannity should take a long walk off a short cliff.
20) i think i can be intolerant of the views of others. and while i probably don't really stand on the moral high ground from which i find myself looking down at the world, it is where i perch. and i'm okay with it. i accept me, flaws and all, liberalism and all, judgmentalism and all.
sorry.
~k
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