Thursday, September 28, 2006

OB’s life in pictures…

I just installed this new gallery software.  No doubt I’ll be dicking around with it a bit but for now it seems to be working just fine!

Photo Gallery

Take a gander, and if you find anything weird or funky, let me know.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Bill Clinton and Keith Olbermann are HOT!

As a rule, I’m more attracted to younger men… but over the past few days, between President Clinton and Keith Olbermann, it’s difficult to say which one got me more tingly and breathless as they so eloquently read Chris Wallace and George Bush (respectively) the riot act.  It just doesn’t get much better!!!!

The nation’s freedoms are under assault by an administration whose policies can do us as much damage as Al-Qaeda; the nation’s “marketplace of ideas” is being poisoned, by a propaganda company so blatant that Tokyo Rose would’ve quit. Nonetheless.... ...the headline is this: Bill Clinton did what almost none of us have done, in five years. He has spoken the truth about 9/11, and the current presidential administration. “At least I tried,” he said of his own efforts to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden. “That’s the difference in me and some, including all of the right-wingers who are attacking me now. They had eight months to try; they did not try. I tried.” Thus in his supposed emeritus years, has Mr. Clinton taken forceful and triumphant action for honesty, and for us; action as vital and as courageous as any of his presidency; action as startling and as liberating, as any, by anyone, in these last five long years. * The Bush Administration did not try to get Osama Bin Laden before 9/11. * The Bush Administration ignored all the evidence gathered by its predecessors. * The Bush Administration did not understand the Daily Briefing entitled “Bin Laden Determined To Strike in U.S.” * The Bush Administration… did...not...try. Moreover, for the last five years one month and two weeks, the current administration, and in particular the President, has been given the greatest “pass” for incompetence and malfeasance, in American history! * President Roosevelt was rightly blamed for ignoring the warning signs—some of them, 17 years old—before Pearl Harbor. * President Hoover was correctly blamed for—if not the Great Depression itself—then the disastrous economic steps he took in the immediate aftermath of the Stock Market Crash. * Even President Lincoln assumed some measure of responsibility for the Civil War—though talk of Southern secession had begun as early as 1832. But not this President. To hear him bleat and whine and bully at nearly every opportunity, one would think someone else had been President on September 11th, 2001—or the nearly eight months that preceded it. That hardly reflects the honesty nor manliness we expect of the Executive.

Monday, September 11, 2006

9/11, Jesus the scene-stealer, and losing god(s)

I started this entry on 9/8, and although I’ve flogged myself for being a bad blogger and not posting, I suppose it’s fitting that it be published on 9/11 as people remember that day that took, and changed, so many American lives. Mine was but one of them, and for me that tragic day ties in with another, of which PZ reminded me.

Steve Irwin’s death is a tragic loss to his family and all the good work he’s done for the natural world.  My heart goes out to his loved ones, and the man has my respect for sharing his knowledge in such a way as to engage the interest of those who might not otherwise learn about some of the “monsters” we share the planet with.

So, in my blog-wandering, I came across PZ’s post, “Ken Ham spits on Steve Irwin’s Corpse”, wherein he describes what it’s like to attend a loved one’s “memorial” and… well, I’ll let him tell it:

My baby sister (she was in her thirties and had two kids of her own, but she’ll always be my little sis) died a few years ago of one of those sudden, massive infections - the kind of unexpected reminder of bacterial dominance that killed Jim Henson. When I attended the funeral, I was reminded of another lower life form that afflicts humanity: the minister was an ecstatic Jesus freak who, rather than talking about the young woman we’d lost, or trying to give words of reassurance to a grieving family, instead tried to turn the affair into a revival meeting, asking people to TESTIFY FOR JESUS!!! and otherwise making her superstition the center of attention, rather than Lisa and loss. It galled me no end, as you might guess, and if it weren’t for my respect for members of my family I would have grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and thrown her into the street.

Maybe I should have anyway. Goddamn all preachers, pastors, and priests.

It was a nearly identical experience that removed the last shread of tolerance I had for Christians in general, and fundamentalists in particular. In retrospect, that day was probably the one on which I decided I’d have to stop pretending that I believed in any sort of afterlife, and impress upon the people I loved how important it is for me to make THIS life a full one instead. There are people in my life with whom I have left things unsaid, or undone… and to me, it is those missed opportunities for shared moments and memories (sometimes even painful ones) that make some losses more agonizing than others, and become catalysts for sweeping changes in one’s own life.

My dear departed friend was “born again” in the late-80s/early 90s, and at the time I had been Wiccan for several years. To her credit, she did live up to her faith and take every opportunity to bring me to Jesus; and although I thanked her and told her I understood her motivation, by then I’d not been a Christian for nearly twice as many years as I had been one, or at least nominally so.  I remember clearly the day that I tearfully asked her to not let our religious differences get in the way of a friendship that began in grade school, and she said she wouldn’t.

As it happened, something entirely unrelated (but painful and catalytic in its own right) caused our contact with one another to change from an almost-daily occurrence to such infrequency that by the time she died, it had probably been at least 8 years since we’d spent any time together.  When I got married, almost 11 years ago now, I’d heard that although she wished me well, she was frightened for the immortal souls of her loved ones who attended my pagan wedding ceremony. Again, although I truly understood her POV, hearing those words - fundy “talking points” - hurt my heart.

On 9/11/2001, fundamentalists flew airplanes into buildings and killed over 3000 Americans, and when I posted on a message board that such tragedy is what happens when religious people take their invisible friends and their ancient myths too seriously, I was accused of being a godless anti-American, damned to Hell and called the foulest names in Christendom. And perhaps that day I did become godless… and definitely anti-fundamentalist… but certainly not anti-American. If the horrific aftermath of the acts of fundamentalist Muslims wasn’t enough to show convince me that I wanted no part of the Abrahamic deity, the words and acts of Christians in their response was a clear demonstration of what a monster this God is; or more particularly, just how far His followers will go in their pursuit of pleasing such a monster.

I didn’t pray on 9/11.  And although I lit a candle, I recall thinking that it was a memorial in honor of everyone who died and NOT a small ritual beseeching an invisible friend for blessings or help to defeat “our enemies”. On that day, it really hit home just how irrational, unnecessary and downright dangerous it is to give credence to invisible friends of any stripe. As the smoking ruins of the WTC stood testament to, some people are religious enough, committed enough, BATSHIT CRAZY enough to kill themselves and others at the behest of their invisible friends. Others still are batshit crazy enough to say that those thousands of Americans died because their invisible friend is punishing the country for the religious tolerance, laws and public policy He supposedly disapproves of.

Free thought, science, dissent, free speech and religious tolerance have been victimized as well since the attacks on America that day. We are being intimidated into giving up our liberties in the name of security, while on the frontlines of the Culture War you can’t listen to 3 minutes of conversation or swing a fucking dead cat in public without running into Jesus.  The god-talk everywhere was bad enough for 10 years before 9/11… it’s unbearable now.

So back to my story…

My friend died quite suddenly later in 2001, and my first thought after hearing the news was, “Where was that fucking Jesus, to whom she’d enslaved her mind and spent the best years of her life in dedicated service to? What grievous ‘sin’ did a 38 year old mother commit that she deserved death NOW, when her children are almost grown?”

If her service was any indication, that Jesus character was right there, right now, and demanded the spotlight to the exclusion of any of those mere mortals who might get up there and profane the occasion by, y’know, talking about their daughter/mother/sister/friend/wife, whom they loved and now mourned the loss of. My despair and sense of decorum prevented me from making a scene, but between my ire at my friend’s taking a backseat to Jesus and having some rather emotional, long-overdue reunions with her family members, I remember that I was having spasms in my back muscles that made it difficult to walk, and breathe.  I escaped the church with all due haste, screaming and howling in pain and rage alone in my car until I got to her sister’s house where we’d gather after the burial.

There is no afterlife, no “better place” for a person to be, especially when they were young enough to be enjoying their family and friends.  The way I see it, even if you believe in an afterlife, living as though you don’t at least ensures you’ll enjloy THIS one to its fullest.  I will never see my friend again, and unlike believers, I find no comfort in the irrational precept that her death is somehow less tragic because “she’s with Jesus,” even though I know she’d have liked nothing better than for that guy-in-the-sky thing to be true.  Despite her commitment to Christ, I can’t help but think she’d much rather have waited a few more decades before going off to “be with” Him.

I sure as hell know I’d have liked her to become a crazy old lady with the rest of us, with or without Jesus.

More crap laws meant to silence legal speech

Earlier today I read a column on DangerousTalk.net that illustrates how far the Religious Right will go toward forcing all Americans into their way of thinking.  Secular Spice addresses the pressure far-right “traditional values” groups are putting on corporations, as well as legislators, in her article, “Waging the War against ‘White Collar’ Porn”:

In early August, 2006, several religious-right groups such as Concerned Women for America, the Family Research Council, Morality in Media, and the American Family Association, joined forces to place an ad in USA today, demanding that the US Department of Justice “investigate” pornography that is made available to hotel patrons, claiming a violation of obscenity laws.

Worse still, they’re using shitty data to argue that the government ought to step in and enforce their worldview:

Using language usually reserved to describe terrorists, the anti-porn crusaders asserted, “Pornography is a disease plaguing America’s freedom and safety.” They called on the US Department of Justice to step in.

Is this really a good use of taxpayer money? Let’s look at the facts. According to federal crime statistics released in June, the incidence of rape has decreased 85% since the 1970’s. While the Campaign for Corporate Responsibility claims that viewing pornography causes people to commit sex crimes, they ignore the fact that hundreds of millions of porn videos are rented and purchased in the United States each year. Yet, the US Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that violent crime rates have dropped since 1994, to the lowest rates in 2004.

[emphasis added - OB]

It is these SAME deluded, lying fundy assholes who are behind the very REAL laws that have already passed and have a direct effect on thousands of people in the adult industry; laws which I assert are truly a plague upon American freedom and safety.  While the good Christian husband, exercising his freedom to view a (softcore) porn in the privacy and safety of his hotel room may be imperiling his soul, somewhere in a small town there’s a young single mom whose freedom to make some extra money by being a webcam girl has been compromised, because the current labeling requirements would require her to jeopardize her privacy and physical safety.  Even an educational site would need to comply.  It’s ridiculous! Simply because some people disapprove of sexually explicit speech of ANY sort, they would have the government intercede and make the punishments or dangers so dire as to repress it altogether.

The way things are going, it won’t be long until blasphemy and heresy are criminalized; or otherwise regulated such that the penalties for non-compliance will effectively discourage many people from engaging in those forms of speech.  If that happens, I’ll take up arms, Jack!

I was reminded that I never did copy my rant over here…

Reposted from my MySpace blog 7/26/06:

Yet another law with good intent, sure to be challenged because it goes much further than necessary in pursuing its stated goal, HR 4472 includes language that discriminates against constitutionally protected, sexually explicit speech and creates a chilling effect on those who engage in such speech.

There’s a good summary and analysis by Kat Sunlove and Reed Lee of the Free Speech Coalition which points out the numerous and serious problems with this bit of legislation that represses the speech of adults in its zeal to protect children.

Especially vague and therefore dangerous, is this part:

SEC. 503. RECORD KEEPING REQUIREMENTS FOR SIMULATED SEXUAL CONDUCT.

(a) In General- Chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 2257 the following:

`SEC. 2257A. RECORD KEEPING REQUIREMENTS FOR SIMULATED SEXUAL CONDUCT.

How, exactly, does one define that term?  It’s important to me that it be clearly spelled out, lest I fail to keep the proper paperwork and/or give out my private information to the world at large because the government insists that any sexually explicit speech is assumed to be child pornography unless it can be proven that it’s not.  That’s just crazy!

Here’s an example:  If I post a little video on ObnoxiousBitch.com of myself engaging in some rant or another, during which I use a gesture that can be construed as “simulated sexual conduct,” and by virtue of ads on my site am considered a “commercial” enterprise, does that mean I have to label my site in accordance with these new §2257 requirements?

This is important for me to know, because anyone who’s known me for more than probably a day, knows that included and fairly common in my repertoire of gestures (extensive and prolific, Sicilian that I am!) are any number that are undoubtedly sexual in nature.  By thumping the end of my tongue in my cheek while simultaneously using a certain hand gesture, there’s no doubt I’m simulating fellatio… something I do quite regularly when the subject is something along the lines of “I wonder why so-and-so got such a good gig/spouse/raise/whatever?”

I need to know if just being myself or most especially, being my persona is going to imperil my liberties and require me to jump through a maze of legal hoops simply because the things I say and do are inappropriate for some people’s children - even though it’s not my intent to speak to those children in the first place, but to rational adults.

Industry Alert: Senate Agrees to Revamping of 2257 Statute

Of course, mainstream entertainment entities are subject to an entirely different and far less complicated record-keeping schema, as well as being immune to the fines and jail time that adult entertainment producers face for having one piece of data out of place.  For those who produce erotic entertainment, there’s a very real possibility that a clerical error will make them a felon… and two will put them in jail for up to 10 years.  The clear discrimination against the adult industry, based entirely on the content of their speech surely must be grounds for a legal challenge!  And if not, why not?

Just as the FCC fines have a chilling effect on anyone who broadcasts across the airwaves, laws like this cause people to self-censor out of fear that they’ll be ruined simply because of something they say.  This is a crushing blow to the First Amendment rights of American citizens, even those who aren’t pornographers.  Comedians, actors, artists, filmmakers and a whole host of people should be concerned that they too can be caught in this ever-growing net of laws that attempt to force a certain morality upon our society.

I’ve been called paranoid for trying to point out small things that indicate, to me, a systematic takeover of our government and our society, by people who believe they have a lock on “morality” because they adhere to a certain faith or belief system, or book, that claims to be the sole source of all law and goodness in the universe.  It is laws like these, that criminalize thoughts and actions contrary to what the bible supposedly says is “moral” that serve as evidence to me that the march toward theocracy continues and unless more people stand up and fight for their rights, anyone who strays from a theistic and/or blindly patriotic mindset will be marginalized, vilified and eventually legislated into either complying or being penalized.

We cannot allow it to happen.  If you haven’t already visited the Free Speech Coalition website, please do so - and REGISTER TO VOTE if you’re qualified. America’s is a government of the People, but right now, it’s only some People who are getting their say, because they’ve been mobilized and are voting in much larger numbers than those who don’t hold their extremist views.

GO DO IT NOW!!!