America, Not So Equal...

Now don't get me wrong, I love America but what some people consider "equal" just infuriates me is the fact that out of 50 states Mark and I can only be "equal" in two - Massachusetts and California (which may be overturned in November). Now Norway has allowed gays to marry. There are more countries than states where Mark and I would have the same rights as everyone else. The countries are:

1. The Netherlands, 2001.
2. Belgium, 2003.
3. Massachusetts, USA, 2004.
4. Canada, 2005.
5. Spain, 2005.
6. Norway, 2008

OSLO (AFP) — Norway's parliament on Wednesday adopted a new marriage law that allows homosexuals to marry and adopt children and permits lesbians to be artificially inseminated.

After a heated debate, the members of parliament adopted the text by a vote of 84 to 41.

The three centre-left coalition parties in power and two opposition parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals, voted largely in favour of the law, while the Christian Democrats and the far-right Progress Party voted against it.

Norway thus became the sixth country in the world to grant homosexuals the right to marry on an equal footing with heterosexuals, according to Norwegian television TV2.

"This decision is of an importance comparable to universal suffrage and our law on parity," Labour Party rapporteur Gunn Karin Gjul said during the debate.

The most controversial part of the law is that which gives lesbians the right to be artificially inseminated. The sperm donor must be identified so that the child can seek out his or her biological father at the age of 18.

"We are now creating a system where the father is reduced to a sperm sample," lamented Ulf Erik Knudsen, a member of the far-right.

Outside the parliament, a handful of opponents protested with posters reading "Have fathers become superfluous?" and "Parliament has no mandate to change the laws of nature."

Among other things, the new legislation replaces a so-called "partnership law" adopted in 1993 which gave Norwegian homosexuals the right to civil unions.

Health care workers who do not want to perform artificial inseminations on lesbians because of their personal convictions will not be under any obligation to carry out the procedure.

The new law is expected to enter into force at the end of this year or early next year.

Homosexuality was illegal until 1972 in Norway, a country which has since become one of the most liberal in the world in the field.

Another Reason...

So Michigan has given us another reason for us never to move there. In a 5-2 decision, the Michigan Supreme Court has decided that Mark and I do not deserve to have domestic partner benefits. What does this mean? The court decided that a 2004 ban on "gay marriage" also allows governments and state universities from offering health insurance to the partners of gay workers. So up to 375 gay couple have lost the right to support their spouse with health insurance. If Mark and I lived in Michigan with OUR daughter, I would have no health insurance. If Mikayla was adopted in Michigan by us (a loving couple that has been in a relationship for eight years) only one of us would be her "legal" parent. That person would probably have been me and then she would have lost her insurance as well.

This is what people consider equal rights. Just because the religious right feels that my relationship with Mark (that has probably lasted longer than most straight couples) is evil or worst than terrorism, we lose what most people take for granted.

Justice Stephen Markman, writing for the majority, said that while marriages and domestic partnerships aren't identical, they are similar. He was joined by Chief Justice Clifford Taylor and Justices Maura Corrigan, Elizabeth Weaver and Robert Young Jr.

Dissenting Justices Michael Cavanagh and Marilyn Kelly said the constitutional amendment prohibits nothing more than same-sex marriages or similar unions. They argued that circumstances surrounding the election suggest Michigan voters didn't intent to take away people's benefits.

To read more, click here.

Meat Grown in a Lab...

Not sure how I feel about this, but the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has just offered a $1 million prize to anyone who develops a commercially viable "in vitro chicken-meat product." If we can "grow" various parts of the human body and these parts are human, why can't we grow meat for consumption in a petri dish? Would I eat it - not sure. It is grown from a chicken and therefore chicken, but it seems wrong. Where do we lose the "actual chicken" and start to create this meat from modified or genetically engineered embryos. But isn't this what they are already doing? They are skipping the "bird" part and going right to the meat.

Here is an excerpt from Slate:

The idea is simple: Instead of growing a chicken embryo into a bird and cutting meat from it, you skip the bird part and grow the meat directly from the embryo.

If you don't believe this can be done, read up on the blood vessels, livers, bladders, and hearts we've already grown in labs. Check out this month's International In Vitro Meat Symposium. Scan the latest updates on "cultured meat" R&D.

It's no freakier or more far-fetched than what you've been hearing from politicians about stem cells and what they can do for people. Scientists aren't even allowed to try a stem-cell experiment in people till it works in animals. That's all PETA is asking for: "animal stem cells that would be placed in a medium to grow and reproduce."

To put it crudely, if you can grow a hunk of flesh for transplant, you can grow it for food.

I know that this may be a better way, but I still have the fear that people (those who are greedy) will want to find a cheaper way to make this meat. When this happens it is guaranteed that it will once again be unhealthy for human consumption!

Gas Prices...

Lets take a walk down memory lane. Why is it that in just seven years we have gas prices that seem to benefit only the oil companies. When Bush took office on January 20, 2001, the gas prices on a national average was $1.46/gal. Now, just seven years later we are at $3.29/gal. This is more than 125% increase!! Compounded annually, this represents about a 18% jump each year Bush has been in office.

When Clinton took office on January 20, 1993, the national average gas price was $1.06 per gallon. six and a half years later, the national average gas price had jumped to $1.22, roughly 15% higher. Compounded annually, this represents about a 2% jump each year.

Now ask yourself why prices have taken a steep climb in the last seven years. Can we blame the Iraqi war. The same didn't happen when we declared war in 1990. The problem seems to be once again the Bush administration. We have a group of people that have close ties with the oil companies. There are just too many people in the Bush administration that have their hands in the pants of the oil companies.

When the oil companies tell us that they made BILLIONS in profits over the last year and we have to pay for it, who is getting screwed. Then we have Bush telling the American people that "America is addicted to oil" (State of the Union, January 31, 2006 ) and that his administration was going to help rid us of this addiction:

To break the addiction, Mr. Bush announced new research into clean energy, including pollution-free autos and a push to make ethanol

"Breakthroughs on this and other new technologies will help us reach another great goal: to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025," Mr. Bush told a joint session of Congress and a national prime-time television audience.

(via CBS News)

We need to take the next President to task and find a way to help relieve the stress of oil from the American people. We have the technology, but why haven't we created the answer? Bush and his administration helped to destroy America in many ways, the next president will have a long hard task in front of them. That is unless the next President is McCain. Then he will just follow in Bush's footsteps. God help us all if that happens.

With all that said, we are not the country that is paying the highest price for gas. How would you like to pay $4.00/gal. That is what India is paying. Still not the Highest though. Turkey is paying over $7.00/gal. Nice!

Breaking The Law...

John McCain's campaign spending is breaking the law. He elected for public funding when his campaign was having trouble. But now that he is the presumptive nominee, he is, by his campaign's own admission, around $4 million over his legal spending limit.

Why is this important? According to the FEC's law, McCain has broken the law and can be jailed for up to 5 years if convicted.

The DNC filed a complaint today with the FEC you can read here. But essentially, McCain signed a candidate agreement in August of 2007, seeking a certificate of eligibility for matching funds with the FEC. On December 20, the Commission announced it had certified McCain to receive federal matching funds. But checks for matching funds generally don't get written until February or March, and the cash strapped McCain campaign needed money before that.

So on January 31 2008, the McCain campaign disclosed that it had obtained a $4 million line

So...

What's it like when your appointed officials don't care what the majority thinks or feels? How can someone who works for the American people think so little of them? Since 9/11, the Bush administration has pushed the "patriotic" term down the throats of many Americans who don't agree with them or just think "something" is wrong with this administration. I, for one, feel that Bush and his cronies are possibly the worst thing that has happened to America.

Now when Cheney was confronted on ABC's Good Morning America about the 2/3's of Americans who don't think that the war in Iraq is worth fighting, what do you suppose his response was? Not, "well we are taking the concerns of the country's people into account" or "that so many feel this way concerns me". No! His response was "SO!". SO. Are you fucking kidding me? And then when asked "so you don't care what the people think", he didn't try to correct himself. He said NO! How fucking arrogant can you be? This person who "works" for us can dismiss us so easily? How DARE you tell me that my opinion doesn't matter and how DARE you dismiss what the MAJORITY of the nation feels. To me this is unpatriotic!!

Here is his words of respect for the American people:

Raddatz: Two-thirds of Americans say it’s not worth fighting, and they’re looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives.

Cheney: So?

Raddatz: So — you don’t care what the American people think?

Cheney: No, I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls. Think about what would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had paid attention to polls, if they had had polls during the Civil War. He never would have succeeded if he hadn’t had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go, and he was willing to withstand the slings and arrows of the political wars in order to get there. And this President has been very courageous, very consistent, very determined to continue down the course we were on and to achieve our objective.

Below the video:

Fox Attacks...

Here is another of Fox Snooze trying to make Obama look bad. What ever happened to the real news shows and the real newscasters?


Tell NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, CNN, AND OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS that they cannot let the smear campaign continue. Tell them to stand up and be real journalist and real reporters!

Click here to tell the news media.

Dick Head Sings...

Dick Head sings: After YouTube took down a cell phone video recording of the president serenading the White House press corps, Salon’s Scott Bateman put together this animated video to go along with an audio recording of Bush’s song.

(via Towelroad)

Not only is George making fun of all the problems he has caused, the press corps is laughing at it. This is why our news is "fair and balanced"!

The Lorax...

More relevant today than ever. If we keep going the way we are, there will be nothing left.

The Lorax Part 1:

The Lorax Part 2:

The Lorax Part 3:

The Lorax Part 4:

The Lorax Part 5:

The Lorax Part 6:

The News...

While I was watching the primaries last night like a lot of other people, Mark decided that he was going to see what was really going on in our wonderful nation. The primaries are important, but what Mark found showed me that the news could have been doing a little more.

Here is Guest Blogger - Mark:

Tuesday, March 4th, while the media was obsessing about the democratic presidential primary. These were some of the other headlines of the day:

NOTE: THESE ARE ALL FROM ONE DAY!

US Q4 home prices drop; 1st consecutive drop since 1982
Gas Prices Continue Their Climb Along with Oil, Gold (4.00/gal predicted)
Housing in 'deepest, most rapid' decline since Great Depression
Prices soar on inflation worries
OPEC not expected to raise production despite record-high oil prices
Fed Chief: Mortgage Crisis to Continue
Oil Tops Inflation-Adjusted Record Set in 1980
Credit Cards, Other Debt Are New Worry For Banks
Chicago Sales Tax Hits Staggering 10.25 Percent
Citi Touches 52-Week Low as Bad News Continues
British Bank's US Subprime Loan Write-Offs Hit $51 Million A Day
Citigroup's Job Cuts Could Exceed 30,000
US Auto Sales Sink
Buffett: US essentially in recession
Construction spending dives in January
Dollar hits historic lows, again
U.S. online job ads hit slowest yearly growth rate
Filings for Bankruptcy Up 18% in February
Dollar flat before U.S. data, more losses seen
GM to close 7th plant due to Axle strike
New recession worry: Bank failures
Mishkin Warns Of "Substantial Challenges" Facing U.S. Economy
Fed's Fisher Says Inflation Most Serious Risk To U.S. Economy
Dollar Close to Record Low Versus Euro on Slumping U.S. Economy
U.S. Economy: Factories, Construction Spending Drop
Americans Down About Slowing Economy, Have Low Housing Expectations
Rocky markets highlight retirement insecurity
Sector Snap: Mortgage Insurers Slide
Stock market plunges on more bad mortgage news
PMI Expects $236 Million Loss in U.S. Mortgage Units
Thornburg Mortgage's shares plunge 51% on bankruptcy fear
Foreclosure filings nearly triple over same time in '07
CNN Warns Americans A New Great Depression Is Coming


Of course, just last week there was this headline:
"Bush, Fed chief see no recession ahead"

So I guess there's nothing to worry about. Bush says so. And we all know he never lies.....

The Corporation...

A Company will use marketing to target the individual that their advertising will benefit. Advertising is what people see and triggers something that makes them eager to buy the product.

When I watched the movie “The Corporation” sometime ago, I remembered an interview with the vice president of Initiative Media, Lucy Hughes. “Initiative is a leading global media communications agency.” Lucy is the Co-Creator of “the Nag Factor”. This is a study done to see who will buy their kids products when the kids nag their parents. Lucy explains how I see how marketing works. Marketing is when “you can manipulate consumers into wanting and therefore buying your products.” Keyword: manipulate. With this “research”, this company has started to target our kids. They know that, “Kids are tomorrows adult consumers. Start talking with them now, build that relationship when younger and you get them as an adult”.

Companies are using physiologists to target certain groups of people with their products. Marketing sets down where to put advertising, who companies should aim their message at, and how to make the advertising appealing. With the help of marketing, companies, with a creative execution, place ads in certain types of media. Look at the Super Bowl. Companies spend Millions of dollars on a placement for their products.

Below is the first chapter of the film. You can watch the film in its entirety on Youtube.


This is from the makers of the documentary’s website:

“One day a whole lot of comments on the film The Corporation appeared in our online forum. It turned out they were from Mr. Urban’s Grade 8 class. Mr. Urban first saw the film while channel flicking on TV Ontario. “Urbs,” as he is known, thought he would bring it to his class and he worked it into his curriculum all year.”

Here is a short video of the kids they talked with:

Bushisms...

And to close out the week (Thank God It's Friday), here is a little something from Bush's first term. I think we should have known something back then.


"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.'' Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001


Makes me proud!

Warning...

Four Dogs Poisoned...

Fairview, Michigan - Four dogs were poisoned on Sunday February 1, 2008. The person who did this put antifreeze in mashed potatoes and fed it to the dogs. They also left a note on the door - "Paybacks a bitch. Woof! Woof!" Out of the four dogs, three had to be euthanized due to the damage that the antifreeze did. Here is what antifreeze does:

Symptoms:
Clinical signs depend on how long it has been since the pet drank the antifreeze as well as the amount they drank. Early symptoms are much like alcohol intoxication. Dogs and cats may vomit due to the irritating effects of ethylene glycol on the stomach. They drink and urinate excessively and may be depressed and wobbly. The increased thirst is due to stimulation of the thirst centers of the brain. Pets may seem on the road to recovery twelve hours later as the ethylene glycol is metabolized by the liver and kidneys. However, a day later in cats and two days later in dogs the patients suddenly becomes much worse. They become depressed, weak, and dehydrated. They may develop diarrhea, mouth ulcers, rapid breathing and seizures. Their kidneys are often painful and swollen.

One of the dogs (maybe more) were part of a search and rescue team. These are the same types of dogs that help during major disasters. The people have not been found.

The family has set-up an account to pay for the euthanasia and autopsies:
Northland Area Credit Union
208 N Morenci Avenue
Mio, MI 48647
Account under: Courtney French

The news video is here. There is a commercial before hand, but you need to watch the story - so sad.

Would You...

Cloning is the new black. There is a Korean company that will let you remember your loving pet by bringing them back. As Fox reports: "RNL Bio on Friday announced it would work with Seoul National University scientists, who created the first cloned canine, "Snuppy," to offer customers a re-creation of their deceased pet for $150,000."

To pay $150,000 dollars to bring back an animal that may look the same, but will defiantly have different traits, mannerisms, and disposition. As Mark mentioned, our pets are the way they are because of the experiences they had. Just like people, I am who I am because of the things I have done. So why would anyone want to do this? This, again, is what is wrong with the world. Lets take a look at what else could be done with 150 thousand dollars - Homeless vets, abused women and children, Diabetes, Cancer, any disease, many humane societies and much, much more.

Although I truly don't believe this, many people tell me that we are a Christian nation. We are supposed to help our fellow man (as long as they are the right color). Why is it then that we take money that can help people and clone an animal when there are so many in the world today that need homes.

Along the same thought, there is a company that will preserve your pets until they are ready to be cloned. ViaGen is the company and for $1,500 they will send a refrigerated biopsy kit to your vet so they can take a small biopsy of "fido". If "fido" has dies, you will only get five days to get a biopsy. After that, he is really gone.

What would you do?