Sex Education in Mexico kicks our ass

Sex Education that tackles healthy sexual practices and promotes safe relationships? Sign me up.

No surprise that the morality police want to shut the whole thing down. Never mind that studies show sexually transmitted infections are a public health concern and most teenagers are becoming sexually active at 13... best fill their head with lies and ignore them. Or tell them that as homosexuals, they are abnormal and need psychiatric help.

I hope the government and administration responsible for this safe message stays strong on the issue and doesn't back down!

Cellphone ringtones for safe sex

Sexy boyfriend sent me another story to blog about. Thankfully this one was far less depressing than the last one.

I kind of love it!

In India, a ringtone just launched which features the word "Condom" sung in multipart a cappella harmony. The country has approximately 2.5 million people living with HIV, and this ringtone is part of a "three-year ad offensive aimed at making condom use there more socially acceptable."

The larger campaign for condom use includes ads on television, radio, and film, and print and outdoor media. The HIV-prevention messages are expected to reach an estimated 52 million men and it's being promoted with the line, "jo samjha wohi sikander" or translated "The one who understands is a winner."

An ad promoting the ringtone shows a man at a wedding holding a cell phone and becoming embarrassed when it starts ringing "CONDOM!" However, people around him treat him as someone smart and responsible.



From the article:

"Ringtones have become such personal statements that a specially created condom ringtone seemed just the right way of combining a practical message with a fun approach," said Radharani Mitra, creative director of the BBC World Service Trust India.

The campaign is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The National AIDS Control Organization is also using the ads to support its condom promotion efforts.

The ringtone, which can be downloaded both via SMS or the Web site, has reportedly been downloaded more than 60,000 times in the last 12 days. And trust us, it's much better than that other safe-sex ringtone: "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off."

** If you link to the article, you can hear the ringtone in unedited form if you scroll to the bottom of the page...

Not Pretty Enough to be a Patriot

The girl on the left is Lin Miaoke, 9. Clearly a cute girl, she has already appeared in television commercials. In the opening ceremonies at Beijing, she received a huge honor. She sang "Hymn to the Motherland" to millions of viewers around the world. Consequently she's become a young sensation, "giving interviews to all the most popular newspapers."

But it turns out Lin Miakoe was a pawn. She was used because the real singer, Yang Peiyi (on the right) wasn't pretty enough to represent her country. Because she has buck teeth.

In interviews, the musical designer said this was not the first time girls were weeded out for looks,

...A ten-year-old had originally been chosen for the quality of her voice. But she, too, had fallen by the wayside because she was not "cute" enough.

"We used her to sing in all the rehearsals," Mr Chen said. "But in the end the director thought her image was not the most appropriate, because she was a little too old. Regrettably, we had to let her go."

Too old at ten?? Not cute enough at ten?

Then they found Yang Peiyi who they thought was "flawless." Until someone brought up her teeth. But turning away little girls with obvious talent is not disgusting, sexist and hurtful. It's all about P.R.

It is a question of the national interest. It is a question of the image of our national music, our national culture.

Congrats, your natural culture looks heartless.

But, it's not like I couldn't see this same garbage happening elsewhere. I just thought the Olympics were bigger than that. About pride, honor, and bringing the world together. Turns out it's just another lesson to little girls that what matters most is your looks.


Feministing's post as well


PS: Both of these little girls are adorable

UPDATE: According to CNN, Yang Peiyi was passed up due to teeth and a face that was "too chubby" -- UGH!

Headline Heartache of the day

Groups fight abortion for 11-year-old Romanian
Girl, who was raped by her uncle, seeks to travel to U.K. for procedure

Rape a way of life for Darfur's Women

That is a headline on CNN.com right now. And I could cry right there. But instead I read the whole article and cried after that.

TRIGGER WARNING....

Sudan's Darfur crisis has exploded on many fronts -- violence, hunger, displacement and looting -- but United Nations peacekeepers say the biggest issue now affecting the region is the systematic rape of women and children.

Thousands of women -- as young as four -- caught in the middle of the struggle between rebel forces and government-backed militias have become victims of rape, they say, with some aid groups claiming it is being used as a weapon of ethnic cleansing.

"That is one of the biggest issues in Darfur -- the rapes, and crimes against women and children," says Michael Fryer, UNAMID's police commissioner, the United Nations peacekeeping force deployed to try to tackle the violence.

Relief workers say they are powerless to stop the attacks and they say if they do speak out they fear the Sudanese government will tell them to leave the country.

Humanitarian group Refugees International in a report last year said rape was "an integral part of the pattern of violence that the government of Sudan is inflicting upon the targeted ethnic groups in Darfur."

(Emphasis mine)

How can this be happening? How can human beings do this to each other? If anyone knows of groups that need funds or letter writing that needs to get done, send that info my way and I'll post it. We have do SOMETHING.

Thank heaven I was born in America. This kind of terrorism is unthinkable.

The definition of 'unfair'

The mayor of Santiago, Chile, Gonzalo Navarrete, has a great plan.

He's handing out free Viagra to men.

Why?

Mayor Navarrete said it's because "an active sexuality improves the overall quality of life."

Over 1,500 men are eligible to receive up to four pills each month. They just have to be at least 60, registered with the health service and have a doctor certify that they do suffer from erectile dysfunction and that their condition would not put them in danger of suffering cardio-respiratory side effects.

How about that? Sexuality improves the overall quality of life and we should support that! But apprently, only when this sexuality improves the life of MEN.

Women-- not so much.

Anna, blogger at Planned Parenthood, tells of how Chile just passed a law that makes it illegal for clinics to hand out free morning after pills.

The court case was prompted by 36 conservative Chilean lawmakers who banded together in 2006 to protest ... the use of emergency contraception ...on the grounds that the morning-after pill constituted an abortive medication. The Constitutional Court, consisting of eight men and one woman, upheld the lawmakers' complaints, voting 5 to 4 to ban the morning-after pill from being freely distributed at public clinics. The Court announced its belief that emergency contraception violates the Chilean Constitution's affirmation of a "right to life.

Charming, ain't it?

I guess sexuality is only safe in the hands of men.

Woman to be executed for witchcraft in 2008

Somedays I just feel like curling up into the fetal position and crying. How do we combat all the fear and hatred directed at women? It's fucking everywhere! In every country, every religion. We got politicians (FRICKIN POLITICIANS) in America calling young women "sluts" and lamenting that rape just ain't what is used to be cause women aren't chaste anymore.

And all that looks like NOTHING when compared to what's going on in developing countries.

Rape at epedmic levels in Africa: Women are being gang raped as a tactic of war.

A man in Afghanistan is to be executed for simply reading about women's rights.

And now today I log on to this headline: Saudis to execute woman for witchcraft.

This is what happens when women are demonized through society and religion as "other." I'm so sick of it. It seems to be that this society is terrified of women. This is a country where women cannot drive, rape victims are sentenced to 200+ public lashings, and a woman can't even be seen at Starbucks with a male co-worker for fear of being arrested.

But yes, fear the women, they give you impotence.

Witchcraft is considered an offense against Islam in the conservative kingdom.

In Falih's case, the judges relied on a coerced confession and on the statements of witnesses who said she had "bewitched" them to convict her in April 2006, according to the group.

Falih later retracted her confession in court, claiming it was extracted under duress, and said that as an illiterate woman, she did not understand the document she was forced to fingerprint.

The Saudi court cited an instance in which a man allegedly became impotent after being bewitched by Falih, the rights group said.

An appeals court ruled in September 2006 that Falih could not be sentenced to death for witchcraft because she had retracted her confession. But a lower court subsequently reissued the death sentence for the benefit of "public interest" and to "protect the creed, souls and property of this country," the group's statement said.

Is it just me or is the WOMEN who need protection???

Please tell our leaders that it's not OK to sweep rape under the rug

Two years ago, 20 year old Jamie Leigh Jones was drugged, assaulted, and viciously gang raped on the job by her fellow coworkers. Learning of the attack, her employers placed her under armed guard in a shipping container for 24 hours without access to food or water.

Two years later, these horrific acts of unspeakable violence, as well as, the unbelievable reaction by her employers have gone unpunished and justice has not been served.

Why? How this could this happen? Because the 20 year old victim was a government contractor at KBR in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq.

Jamie Leigh Jones, an American citizen, while employed by KBR, a former subsidiary of Halliburton was brutally gang raped by fellow KBR employees two years ago while stationed in Iraq. Army doctors performed a medical examination which showed that she had been raped (vaginally and anally). However, the rape kit was turned over to KBR and portions of the rape kit have vanished.

Jamie was then ordered by her KBR employers to remain in a shipping container under armed guard for 24 hours without access to food or water until she was rescued after her Member of Congress demanded action by the State Department.

After two years, not only has the Justice Department not brought any criminal charges, but ABC News recently reported that they could not confirm that any federal agency was investigating the case at all.

There are over 20,000 Americans employed by US government contractors in Iraq. These individuals have the same right to treatment, services, and proper investigations when they are the victims of violent crime as those of us here at home. Their offenders, who are paid with American taxpayer dollar, should be held accountable.

Since Jamie has gone public with her story, it is clear that this is not an isolated incident; many women working for US Government contractors face sexual assault and harassment. Yet, the perpetrators of these violent crimes are not held accountable and justice is not served.

The current state of affairs is absolutely unacceptable. Action is required.

Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter along with Congressman Ted Poe and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, are taking the first step to ensuring accountability. They are sending letters to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanding answers in the KBR rape cases and asking them to clearly define the steps they are taking to ensure that what happened to Jamie will ever happen again.

They need YOUR help to get your Member of Congress to sign on to these letters. It’s been two years and it is obvious that the Departments of Defense and State are not taking this issue seriously. We need to show them that the House of Representatives demands action.

Please call your member of congress as soon as possible and ask them to sign on and demand answers about the KBR rape cases and how they plan to prevent these occurrences in the future.

With your help, we can take the first step to preventing what happened to Jamie from ever happening again.

Domestic Violence in Spain

Watch this CNN news clip about a talk show in Spain, who under the guise of talking about domestic violence with a survivor, allowed her estranged boyfriend to come on and (surprise!) propose marriage *never mind she had a restraining order* -- in front of 2 million people the woman said NO. A week or so later she was stabbed to death.

The clip goes on to discuss the epidemic problem of DV in Spain. It's heartbreaking.

Military cover-ups

This story is sad on so many levels.

But I think it's really worth mentioning that Jessica Lynch was sexually assaulted-- a common tactic used in war to devalue a people. The American public at large is now becoming aware that officials in government have been floating lies about these specific cases of Tillman and Lynch. Trying to make heroic stories and Hollywood-like plots out of the true, horrific situations of war.

People are shot by friendly fire, people see their friends shot and killed in front of them, women are constantly sexually assaulted in war as a tactic of fear and degradation.

If our government will use its own military heroes to try and rally cultural support of the war, what else will they stoop to?

Great video

Disgusting

"If you take out uncovered meat and the cats come and eat it, whose fault is it-- the cats or the uncovered meat?"

-Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali, a Muslim cleric in Australia, on female rape victims who do not wear traditional Islamic clothing. (He has since apologized for the remark).

Why do we put idiots on TV?

CNN's Beck to first-ever Muslim congressman: "[W]hat I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies' "

I hate being right

I always felt Iraq was a huge mistake but reading the news lately, I'm see more and more that unfortunately, I will NOT be proven wrong.

It's when I read stories like this that I become truly incensed

President Bush and Co. are going to go down in history as the worst leadership this country has ever experienced. I don't care what you think of me for saying that. I have family leaving to fight in Iraq right now, so don't even dream of saying I don't support the troops. Baloney. I support my ass off for the troops. That's what terrifies me, Bush is evil, and he's responsible for the troops.

9/11 was five years ago and if anything our country's future is more dire than ever. Iraq is on the verge of civil war according to the U.N. (and also according to several of our own top military leaders), we've lost huge chunks of Afghanistan to Taliban rule which has come back with a vengeance. AND we have impending crisis' to deal with in Iran and other middle eastern areas.

And where have our tax dollars gone? Well if you read the highlighted story above, you already know. Our great American nation, boasting of superior morals (America Good, terrorists evil-doers) has been sending suspected terrorists out of our country on jets to be tortured in the comfort of a third world country not bound by our inconvenient American laws that people have a right to a fair trial and counsel.

"A Muslim Canadian citizen, Maher Arar was detained in the U.S. in New York on Sept. 26, 2002. He was held for questioning for 12 days, then flown by jet to Jordan and driven to Syria. He was beaten, forced to confess to having trained in Afghanistan -- where he never has been -- and then kept in a coffin-size dungeon for 10 months before he was released, the Canadian inquiry commission found."

Sick thing is, our government is basically acting like, "Hey whoops, sorry buddy, guess you slipped through the system." Arar filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court, but the case was dismissed by a judge citing "national security" issues.

Oh. My. God. I feel violently ill and embarrassed to be an American. And I shouldn't be!! The majority of citizens in this great country have been lied to. We are proud that we live in a country of democracy, we say let freedom ring. Our soldiers have been fighting on the front lines because they want to help free oppressed people. They're willing to die so that the world is safer for everyone. And yet, this whole time, our leaders are no better than Saddam. Worse when you think about. Saddam was a bastard, but at least he put it right out there that he was torturing and killing people. Our leaders are cowards. They put people on planes and send them to Syria. That way we can torture them without feeling quite so bad. It's doesnt' mean that we use torture if we do it in another country, right? Torturing doesn't count in Syria.

Currently a senior at my college, I'm taking a class on Islam. It's been very informative and a helpful religion to understand in this day in age. On September 11, our professor had us all stop and simply discuss the anniversary. One girl in my class was in school in Switzerland at the time, she said the next day kids at her school basically said, "Well America deserved it."

That thought made me ill. How could anyone say that innocent people deserved this? That any country deserved this?

Because America has a disgusting, dark underbelly that hides from us. We're fighting a war that we claim is about freeing the oppressed but we're doing nothing to help the teachers in Afghanistan who are murdered every day because they dare to teach women. Think people! If our motives were about ending oppression and saving the world, our asses would be in Darfur right now.

Our loved ones are in harms way because of a lie and our embarrassing government is responsible for the destruction of Iraq. To be sure it was "f-ed" up to begin with but at least it was a secular state. Now, it'll likely fall to the hands of extreme, radical Islam. Women, in other words are likely screwed. I don't say that as a diss on normal Islam, but take a look at radical, violent, distorted Islam had done to women under the Taliban.

President Bush DARED to use his September 11th address to try and pep us up for this war. He dared to use that solemn day to try and win support for this botch job of monumental proportions. Meanwhile Cheney was sweating up a storm everywhere claiming that anyone who questions the president or the war would help our enemies. BULLSHIT DICK. You help our enemies. You help bring more terrorists to the fold. All they have to do to recruit is go out and say, "Look what America has done! They are an evil western empire! They started a war, they took our Muslim brothers and sisters and tortured them. Evil infidels."

And I'm sorry, if Bush is going to fly people off and torture them for months on end, then he is an infidel!! This isn't a radical thought. It fits our country's definition. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation says that "Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."

By the way, if my friends find that CIA agents have dragged me off for "questioning," call Syria. That might be where I'll be.

We cannot forget Afghanistan

Every single day, somewhere in Afghanistan, a girls' school is burned down or a female teacher killed by the Taliban.

Makes you feel awkward about skipping classes, doesn't it?

If you recall, the treatment of Afghan women and girls was one of the reasons our government advocated going to Afghanistan. Under Taliban rule, women and girls were not allowed to seek education or employment. They weren't even allowed to be outside without a male relative escorting them.

After the Taliban was overthrown, schools were opened immediately by the new Afghan government in 2002. Some 34% of girls were estimated to be going to school and well over 50% in the major cities of Kabul and Herat.

Now unfortunately, the Taliban is fighting back. Bomb threats and violent attacks have kept most girls home and many schools have closed. Nearly one-third of all districts have no schools for girls.

Violence has hit an all time high and yet our government says nothing about the dire situation plaguing women and girls.

You can help give these women a proper voice. Support the Afghan Women's Empowerment Act.

The bill, which was introduced in each house of Congress by Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Carolyn Maloney, authorizes the President to appropriate $10 million each year for three years for the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. Also $5 million each year for the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs, and $30 million each year to be used by Afghan women-led NGOs to provide adult literacy, technical training, health care, education, and other critically needed services to women and girls throughout Afghanistan.

Urge your elected officials NOT to turn their back on the women in Afghanistan!

Rape and the Iraq war

Read this story, and your hair will stand on end... mine did.

Thankful to be an American

Women' rights have a long way to go in the United States. The history of women's rights in this country is even more embarassing--- I just bought a book "The Boundaries of Her Body: The Troubling History of Women's Rights in America" and it's bigger than my bible!! Yet, I still realize how lucky we are.

Because we didn't grow up in Africa. I mean, the country suffers from a major AIDS crisis and widespread poverty, not to mention terrible political and civil upset. Genocide has left many refugees behind, many of them women (millions of rape victims among them). But we are also lucky to be American because stuff like this happens in Africa. As if female genital mutilation and rape/abduction marriages aren't bad enough... now reports show that 1 in 4 girls living in Cameroon suffer a new form of mutilation.

Breast ironing:

~~~When hard, heated objects (or other substances like boiling water) are used to try to stunt breast growth. When girls begin to develop, often their mothers or older sisters begin the ironing process. Side-effects include "severe pain and abscesses, infections, breast cancer, and even the complete disappearance of one or both breasts." This savage practice has also endangered the next generation. Some victims of ironing cannot produce milk to feed their infants.

Apparently this practice is a very old tradition but it has just started to nab some press time. Women who were themselves victims, are in turn ironing their own daughter's breasts because they believe it's the best thing they can do to protect their daughters from rape.

"A survey of more than 5,000 girls and women aged between 10 and 82 from throughout Cameroon, published last month, estimated that 4 million women in the central African country have suffered the process."

Now, this is a racist thing to say, but I immediately assumed this would be associated with fundamentalist Islam. After all, you most often hear about their atrocities against women as far as genital mutilation (not to mention covering women with burqas). However, breast ironing is most common in the Christian parts of the country. Only 10 percent of women in Muslim provinces are affected. Certainly an eye-opener to me (and hopefully to everyone) that violence against women and disdain for outward signs of sexuality (especially female sexuality) does not discriminate when it comes to religion. It's a worldwide epidemic of fear, distrust and violence directed at females.

I know these questions go without saying but I'll state them anyway... why are women responsible for the sexual abuse they receive? Why are they mutilated for the benefit of men or for their "protection" -- and by mutilated I mean clitorises severed and breasts ironed off. What is next? If lips become a symbol of lust, will they cut those off? If speech becomes too independent, will they cut out a woman's tongue?

These atrocities are an EVERYONE-issue-- basic human rights violations. It was wrong to keep people in shackles because they are black, therefore our slaves. It was wrong to pin on a Star of David and dehumanize, degrade and eventually kill millions of Jews in the Holocaust. It is wrong throw a large sheet over a woman, or iron off her breasts.

Be aware that "women's issues" are really human issues. And be concerned because reactions to what is different, and what we fear are still very, very barbaric.

Violence Against Women- a rebuttal

Back in early April, I posted something about violence against women “Revealing Truths”. I talked primarily about a girl in my area who had recently been attacked by a stranger while walking home. She was dragged into the bushes and sexually assaulted. See, my mom and dad always taught me to be aware of my surroundings. They told me to have my keys ready, lock the doors when I get in the car etc. But even doing all things correctly can’t protect you.

I am reminded of former student, Dru Sjodin who was abducted in broad daylight in my hometown—in a parking lot of a shopping mall ! Dru knew many of the important things to be aware of—she had worked on raising our University’s awareness on women’s issue by participating in the clothesline project. Yet even she became a victim of abduction, assault and murder. It’s so sad.

In the post I also addressed the widespread problems of stalking, domestic violence and problems that plague the worldwide community of women-- genital mutilation, dowry death, bride burning, and sex trafficking.

However, I have had one poster who has been asking me rather relentlessly to address the fact that men, more than women, are victims of violent crime in the United States. I have been searching tirelessly for sites that are accountable, “dot-gov's” if you will, and have asked this man to be patient. He has been a little too giddy at “proving me wrong” so I think I better clarify my position.

First of all, in my post, I never said that men were exempt from violent crime.

Stats from 2003 show that 16,503 people were murdered in the United States, 78% were men, 22% were women. However, in my extended research I found that “Males were most often slain by males (88 percent in single victim/single offender situations). This same data shows, however, that 9 out of 10 female victims were murdered by males.”

More 2003 stats: 21% of murder victims were killed by their spouse or intimate partner. 79% of those victims were women.

Now, it doesn’t mean that the rate of male homicide is not serious or a sad reflection of our violent society. But the information I found pointed to gang violence, drug violence, or robbery not to abuse because of gender or intimate partner relations—this is the violence women suffer.

This does not mean I hate men. I have heard on many different occasions that men who rape often accumulate several victims. So the men who are doing this victimization are not necessarily a representation of the male population. Of course, not all men beat their wives. I would never claim that.

Pointing out crime against women and its seriousness does not mean I ignore that men are also victims. Men also seek treatment for sexual assault, molestation, and domestic violence. (In 2001, 9 percent of victims of rape/sexual assault were male!) These men need just as much advocay as women.

The commenter who originally challenged me said, "men are the real second class citizens." I would disagree. Women are victimized by the very people who are supposed to care for them-- boyfriends, husbands, AND they also must fear the men next to them in parking lots. Men do not live in this fear, whereas women are constantly aware of their vulnerability. If a woman attends a college party and drinks too much, blacks out and then is assaulted... She is accused of being “irresponsible” or “asking for it.” Yet, men who are robbed and assaulted aren’t accused of “asking for it” when walking alone with money.

The commenter also ignored how much racial and religious minorities, not to mention gays and lesbians are disproportionately targets of crime.

Of reported hate crimes, 50 percent were motivated by race, 18 percent by religion, 17 percent by sexual orientation, 14 percent by ethnicity, and 0.4 percent by disability. In 2003, almost half of all murder victims (48%) were African-American.

Funny, you didn’t point that out. But you did attempt to discredit my concern for violence against women.For more info: http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/Main.aspx

Again I will point to the problems facing women world wide. See my post about the danger women in El Salvador face

And also pay attention to what is happening in women’s health worldwide! Women in Sierra Leone and Afghanistan suffer death in childbirth at a rate of one woman in six! (See my post on motherhood)

Or what’s going on in Iran according to this site:

Iran's police force is gearing up to crack down on women who show too much of their bodies in public, reported the Herald Sun, an Australian newspaper, on April 20.

"In our campaign, we will confront women showing their bare legs in short pants," said Tehran's police chief, Morteza Talai. "We are also going to combat women wearing skimpy head-scarves, short and form-fitting coats, and the ones walking pets in parks and streets," he added. Women who do not wear the veil can face prison sentences of up to two months. Since the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, conservatives in Tehran's city council have pressured the police to get tough. Every woman in Iran, regardless of nationality or religion, must obey the dress code and cover her shape and hair outside the home. Fifty patrol cars will cruise Tehran enforcing the rules this summer.”

These crimes against women need to be addressed, and a feminist blog about ending violence is the perfect place for it. I never claimed that only women were victims. I stand for raising awareness about the serious problems that plague women. In trying so desperately to "prove me wrong" you completely missed the point.

Anger Management

HELP! ALL I CAN SEE IS RED!

Lately, I've felt less of the holiday spirit and more red-hot anger rushing through my veins. I am totally going over to the dark side. It's bad stuff. And why-- I have plently of reasons to be happy!

But it's just everywhere in the news lately... Stupid people doing stupid things.

FOR EXAMPLE:

- Bill O-Reily making an idiot of himself and raising a stink on national TV about how Christians are offended when people say "Seasons Greetings" or "Happy Holidays" -- no, no no I am a Christian and that's the stupidest thing I've heard. If someone ever came up to me to wish me "Happy Rape Day" THEN I'd be offended. The mere fact that someone is wishing you a Happy Holiday-- whatever it may be, is NICE.

- the "American Family Association" is calling for a boycott of Ford for advertising in Gay magazines. It makes me mad that someone could pick the name "American Family Association" which sounds so good and positive and make it something as pointless and stupid as this. The AFA says "All we wanted was for Ford to refrain from choosing sides in the cultural war, and supporting groups which promote same-sex marriage is not remaining neutral." What cultural war? Are the "fags" threatening you with any weapons of Mass destruction? Do you see gay peoply boycotting displays of heterosexual relationships? NO. They just want to be left alone.

- More stupidity.. Pro-Life Action League of Chicago called for a boycott of American Girl dolls and merchandise. Because American Girl is teaming up with Girls Inc. -- a nonprofit since 1864 that has provided over $1.8 million in college scholarships to girls, and played a crucial role in advocacy for legislation such as Title IX and the Violence Against Women Act. They also encourage women to take on roles in math, science and politics. They offer after-school programs to underprivileged girls on subjects ranging from pregnancy prevention to substance abuse. On the website, Girls Inc, states its support for girls who might be questioning their sexuality, as well as a woman's right to choose. Those two statements apparently mean they are evil (stupid #1) and conservative groups are calling for a boycott of NOT ONLY Girls Inc., but American Girl as well (stupid #2) --- fine, just overlook all the other good their doing and make it a narrow political agenda. STUPID

- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has described the Holocaust as "a myth" and suggested that Israel be moved to Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska. How about people just live together? And Jews don't need their own separate little country from anyone? AND YOU READ A HISTORY BOOK! STUPID!

On a more personal note.. Stupid stuff that is making me mad
- School bookstore taking advantage of me... royally

-People who drink so much that they ruin the evening for everyone else

- Getting called for jury duty over holiday break..... *sigh*

- Crazy old ladies that call where I work and want to share personal information about bathroom episodes.

- Anger in general.... I feel angry about way too much stuff lately. It's Christmas or HOLIDAY TIME (whichever). Why am I so mad? Just too many bad headlines lately. I need to find my happy Zen place..

Ommmmm.... ommmm.... Ommmmyyyy GOD why am I still ANGRY!?!!??!?!