Odious Oprah

Before anyone continues to read, I would like to make it clear that this post is going to be ridiculously one-sided. I hate Oprah. She does nothing for society. You can tell me all you want about her charity or whatever good dead you want to harp on, but how often does she do these deeds?

In 2007, Oprah was worth $1.8 billion. Put simply: When Oprah shells out a couple thousand to this or that charity, it’s like me pulling nickels out from under my couch.  She is not brave. She is not overly intelligent. She DEFINITELY doesn’t even have good looks going for her!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JW4LLwkgmqA

My grandpa sent me this link. It’s about “Oprah’s Church”. So the gist of the story is that she is telling people that there are many paths to heaven and that Christ is not the only way.

WHY DO YOU PEOPLE CARE?! Let her say what she wants and believe what she needs. It’s a free country. She is obviously just trying to get more people to pay attention to her and worship the ground she walks on. Plus she hangs out with that doofus, Tom Cruise. He is probably converting her to scientology, slowly but surely.

I mean, she does have a lot of money to give… she’ll probably become a church elder after about a week.

The comments on the video say things like, “Well, I guess she won’t be walking through the Gates of Heaven with any of us.” Who the hell are you to proclaim you’re going to heaven? That is the most self-righteous, pedantic thing I’ve ever heard. Man, get a life.

Oprah continues to say that, while in church, she was listening to the minister discuss how all-knowing and all-existing God is. She then stated that the minster said that God is a jealous God.

I dunno what kind of wack-job church you’re going to lady, but I can tell you that in all my years of Catholic-school-going and  church attendance, I have never ever heard that phrase.

Other than to tell Oprah that she is a dummy, we should all just stop paying attention to her. Stop buying her books. Stop watching her boringly redundant show. Don’t buy her magazine, her clothing line, or her cocaine products (joke?). Just stop giving her the time of day. Let her say and think whatever she wants. It’s not hurting anyone. She is vapid and self-centered. By paying attention we feed into her cravings for money and popularity.

Why in God’s name would you buy her magazine anyway? The woman can’t stay in shape. She can’t stay young. She isn’t good looking. Unless you are worth 1.8 billion you’re not going to be able to buy half the junk she advertises.

Pick up a book.

Thomas Paine’s most influential writings are now available in paperback.
How about Alex de Toqueville ’s Democracy in America?
To Kill a Mockingbird
Boy’s Life
1984 is my favorite
Fahrenheit 451?!

Anything but Oprah! For God’s sake, feed your intellect!!

(Re-reading this post has made me realize how ridiculous it is, but I don’t really care. I’m entitled to a good nonsensical rant every now and then, right?)

What better time to gripe about the Catholic Church than the Easter Season

I was born and raised Catholic. I went to a Catholic grade school, a Catholic high school, and I’m at a Catholic university right now.  Thus, it’s become pretty hard for me to understand why I find myself parting ways with the Church on so many levels.

Perhaps it’s for reasons such as the Pope’s addition of Seven (new) Deadly Sins to the previous seven: abortion, social injustice, pollution, selling drugs, contraception, genetic engineering, and being obscenely wealthy.

Looking at the Church’s view of the fetus, abortion is not so far-fetched, but with the Church’s unflinching stance on “respecting life from birth until NATURAL DEATH”, why is the death penalty not on the list?
Social injustice seems ridiculously broad, but I won’t argue that…for now
Pollution though… As any of my regular readers will know,  I love the environment, and I think it’s important to care for it; however we can’t expect to  stop pollution on a dime (Does that make sense?). In order to find alternatives to pollution, we have to pollute. Research requires the burning of fossil fuels and natural gases, sorry. Helping Third World countries by flying food out to them (in order to prevent social injustice, mind you) requires that we pollute.
I don’t really have anything against the addition of selling drugs to the list. It ruins lives, but why isn’t using drugs, then on the list?
Contraception is an interesting addition to the Seven Deadly Sins. I feel like the Church might as well add premarital sex to the list, seeing as the majority of contraception products are used by non-married couples. However, adding contraception to the list seems to hammer home the Church’s already heavy-handed stance that once a married couple is done having children, sex too must cease. I see so many problems with this logic. We are animals, as much as the Church wants to deny it. Surely, if a husband or wife decides to follow Catholic upbringings and tell the significant other that they refuse to have sex ever again, couldn’t this encourage the husband or wife to have an extramarital affair? Wouldn’t continuing to have sex as a married couple only foster the love and intimacy marriage is meant to promote?
Genetic Engineering is a sticky subject. While the science is taking some actions that screw with nature, it is also searching for quicker methods to manufacture insulin for men and women with diabetes. It is helping scientists do more expansive research to study and cure cancer. We cannot make a sweeping statement and say that genetic engineering is all bad.
And finally… being obscenely wealthy too is now a deadly sin. Isn’t it possible to be obscenely wealthy and still be a good person? Donate to charity? Go to church? Love your family and others? Guilting people out of being obscenely wealthy is only going to serve to derail capitalism and turn us into a Communist State…. something else the Church is strongly against.

As confessions are on the decline, many speculate that the Church created these new sins to help up the number of confessions. However, one must wonder why the Pope hasn’t added “child molestation” to the list of sins. Perhaps because it targets too many of its own in ways that these other sins absolutely cannot?

You are absolved of your sins.

VH1’s Black History Month…It’s everything you’d expect from VH1

I’ll admit it, I’m addicted to “Rock of Love”. I really don’t watch a lot of television, but something about that smutty filth we call television has sucked me in. As embarrassed as I am, I cannot look away.

While skimming through the channels to see if any Rock of Love reruns were on, I noticed VH1 was celebrating Black History Month. Is “celebrating” the right word?

For anyone who’s watched VH1, its celebration of Black History Month was set up just like their other shows: A series of men and women are interviewed, and in between the clips of their answers/statements are pieces of movies and TV shows to illustrate their points.

Well I happened to come to the station just as various black comedians, actors, and musicians were discussing the image of the black man/woman in movies before the 1980’s. The statement was made, “Before 1985, if you were a black man in Hollywood, you could never get a job as an actor unless you played a pimp.” Another interviewee came up and stated, “It was basically blacks playing out the white stereotype that all black men are pimps and all black women are hookers. Whites couldn’t see beyond that.”

WOW. Hold on… just one second please. The stereotypes that whites have about blacks…Seriously?
I am as liberal as they come as far as fighting inequality, racism, etc., but when I hear statements that seem to be blatant hypocrisy and absurdity, well I just can’t stand and fight for the minority.

How many songs have been written with the word “pimp” embedded at any point in the lyrics? Dear God. I know nothing about rap and pop culture, but I’ve heard enough rap at dances and parties to know how often the artists in rap and R&B songs profess to be pimps.

“I don’t know what you heard about me
But a b*tch can’t get a dollar out of me
No Cadillac, no perms, you can’t see
That I’m a motherf*cking P-I-M-P”
-50 Cent/Snoop Dogg

“Wait I got a snow bunny, and a black girl too
You pay the right price and they’ll both do you
That’s the way the game goes, gotta keep it strictly pimpin
Gotta have my hustle tight, makin change off these women, yeah

You know it’s hard out here for a pimp
When he tryin to get this money for the rent
For the Cadillacs and gas money spent
Because a whole lot of bitches talkin sh*t”
-Djay f/ Shug

“You know I thug ‘em, f*ck ‘em, love ‘em, leave ‘em
Cause I don’t f*ckin’ need ‘em
Take ‘em out the hood
Keep ‘em looking good
But I don’t f*ckin’ feed em
First time they fuss I’m breezin’
Talking ’bout what’s the reasons
I’m a pimp in every sense of the word, b*tch “
-Jay-Z

“Pimpin them hoes and put the b*tch on the track
And tell the ho to bring all my money back”
-Pimp C

The list goes on…

I don’t understand how the group of people on VH1, assuming that they are expressing the majority opinion, could possibly say that it was white stereotyping alone that kept them playing pimp roles in movies. Look at these lyrics! African Americans, by their own free will, categorizing themselves as pimping, degrading their women and selling their dignity for money. These rappers are PROMOTING THE VERY IMAGE ABOUT WHICH THEY COMPLAIN?! How can you claim to be kept down by the white man, to be disgusted with the image you have been given by whites in America, and still, by your own accord, calling yourself the very thing from which you are trying to shake free? I don’t understand… And don’t get me started on the things these lyrics do to black women.

To be honest, I almost started crying as I was searching for these lyrics. My eyes began to tear up. How can you talk about other human beings in this way and get away with it? How is this right? Why are black rappers willing to rob their own race of dignity, especially their females?

Ah yes…
The Almighty Dollar.

Most of my friends don’t understand how I can hate rap as much as I do, but there is my reason. I believe there is worth in every human being, and in my opinion, words like these rob that worth for all its value.

VH1’s charming Black History Month special continued with discussing the size of a black man’s penis. What a way to celebrate the solidarity, accomplishments, and advancements of the black culture by discussing the rumor of a black man’s penis size. Black men and women came on the screen making statements such as, “Oh yes. I am sure the majority of white women have fantasized about being with a black man… just to see if the rumor is true.” “Oh yeah, I’m sure white men are often belittled by our size. They know they can’t compete and wonder if their women would leave them for us for more sexual pleasure.”

This is the way you want to promote Black History Month??? THIS is the way you want to show the legitimacy of your race? Especially with so many young and old teens tuning in to VH1 on a daily basis, this is the opinion you want them to have of blacks? THIS is what you want them to think of when they think of black culture?

I turned the VH1 special off after this. I couldn’t take it anymore. Perhaps it went into details on the courage, honor, and determination of people like Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks. Maybe it mentioned the intelligence, talent, and skill of others like Oprah Winfrey, Muhammad Ali, and Maya Angelou.

If I am wrong about VH1’s special, please correct me. If anyone watched the whole thing and would like to point out my errors, please do. I honestly encourage this.

But until then…

“I know why the caged bird sings.
Ah, me, when its wings are bruised and its bosom sore.
It beats its bars and would be free.
It’s not a carol of joy or glee,
but a prayer that it sends from its heart’s deep core,
a plea that upward to heaven it flings.
I know why the caged bird sings.”
-Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)

My Most Pointless Post

The boyfriend bought me the Signet Classic’s collection of Thomas Paine’s most influential works. I must now say that he has joined Ben Franklin and G-Wash (George Washington, for those who didn’t grasp that) as one of my all-time heroes.

I am so absolutely in love with the extraordinary beauty of “average” citizens doing absolutely wonderful things. Maybe I’ve bought into the whole American Dream thing a bit too much, but I can’t help it. Franklin was the fifteenth of seventeen children; his dad was a soap-boiler for crying out loud… now he’s the face on the $100 bill?!
Paine was just an average citizens yet he remains one of the most important pieces of the American Revolution. He was just a regular guy, but I am enveloped by the power of his language. His ability to articulate ideas eloquently, yet simply is amazing, and his insight is so advanced and wise.

I really don’t know why I am posting this. I suppose I just wanted to get these ideas out there. This really wasn’t political/social commentary, but it WAS an opinion… so I guess I haven’t strayed too far from my overall theme.

Anyway, here are some quotes that I’ve found particularly moving thus far:

“My country is the world, and my religion is to do good”

“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.”

“Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”

“If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.”

“I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy.”

“He who is the author of a war lets loose the whole contagion of hell and opens a vein that bleeds a nation to death.“
^^That’s for President Bush.

I wish I could write like this some day…

Leathal Injection: Is it too cruel and unusual?

A wonderful article in the Washington Post caught my attention today: The Supreme Court is currently torn over whether lethal injections are a painful capital punishment procedure, thus violating the Constitution’s protection from cruel and unusual punishment.

This brings up a couple issues for me. In my Constitutional Law class we discussed whether the Supreme Court should be involved in questions of degree. As my professor was a very conservative man, he of course said no. Taking a step back and analyzing the question myself, I’d have to agree. The purpose of the Supreme Court is to interpret the Constitution and then determine whether a specific law is clearly and directly in opposition to it (check out Marbury v. Madison for Chief Justice Marshall’s eloquent opinion of what exactly judicial review is).

If my opinion is correct, what place to judges have in analyzing whether something is “too costly” or “too painful” or “too burdensome”? In order for the Supreme Court to determine whether lethal injection is a cruel and unusual punishment, scientific review and evidence would have to be presented to the Court so that the Justices could come to a decisions. Justices are in no way qualified to make a ruling on such matters; it is not in their expertise, nor was it ever meant to be. They are not doctors; they are judges.

As Justice Scalia so tenderly put it, “this is an execution, not surgery.” (High Court Divided Over Lethal Injection, Washington Post)

However, I must disagree with Justice Scalia’s opposition to a painless death for those convicted of murder and even the death penalty itself.

In 2006, the only known countries to utilize the death penalty were Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, North Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, the United States of America, Vietnam, and Yemen (Amnesty International), and 91% of those executions took place in SIX countries: China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan, and the United States.

As a country that fosters democracy and has spent excessive amounts of money and man power on “saving” the barbaric government of underdeveloped countries, it is quite ironic (and rather hypocritical) that we find ourselves grouped with these very same countries for such an issue. This is a really well done diagram I got off Wikipedia as far as the distribution of the death penalty http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Death_Penalty_World_Map.png

I just can’t see how murdering someone who murdered someone else somehow magically sets the world right again. Perhaps if I was the mother of a child who was raped and violently murdered, I would change my mind. However, at this point in my life, I cannot see the logic, and I know that I could not live with myself if I were responsible for the intentional murder of another human being. Yes, that person should be in prison for the rest of his or her life, but who are we to decide that that person’s life is no longer of value? And can you imagine the pain that is put on that person’s loved ones when they find out that their son, daughter, spouse, friend, etc. is to be put to death? Why must we punish more innocent lives? Why must we cause more people to suffer? What good does this do? What justice does this bring to the world?

Christians that promote the death penalty drive me the most insane. One of those messages that Jesus was always rambling about was letting God be the judge… i.e. How can you point out the splinter in your brothers eye when you do not see the low in your own? Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, etc.

In conclusion… if we want to get rid of the death penalty, or perhaps just rectify any flaws with lethal injection, it is up to the people to bring their opinions to their representatives. We can’t depend on the Supreme Court to do all of this work for us.

Before you diss Islam, know your Christianity first… And quit generalizing, too.

While chatting with a friend the other day about religion, he cited this passage from the Quran: “Prophet make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home: an evil fate” (Quran 9:73) “Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who reject faith fight in the cause of evil: so fight ye against the friends of Satan” (Quran 4:76), and of course, he referenced suicide bombings.

 

 

The direct correlation between Islam and September 11, the assertions that all Muslims are America-haters and Christian-killers, that the religion teaches them to either convert non-believers or exterminate them… all of this I’ve heard time and time again, and all of it I roll my eyes at. The overt hypocrisy, the vast generalizations, and the sheer idiocy of these remarks are so easy to see, yet even easier to overlook.

 

 

The Christian Bible’s Old Testament repeatedly calls on those of faith to either convert or kill non-believers. For example, Deuteronomy 17 states, “17:2 If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant; 17:3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 17:4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel; 17:5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.”

 

Why can we point out passages in the Quran that call for extermination of infidels while we continue to ignore the very passages in the CHRISTIAN BIBLE that promote the exact same actions? What makes our “peaceful” Christian religion justified in its writings urging murder yet labels Islam a violent faith?

 

After reaching this point in the argument, I am usually reminded of the events of September 11; I’m told that terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in the name of their faith, and thus, any faith that promotes such a thing must surely be a hostile one. I’d like to direct anyone who chooses to utilize this argument back to the actions of our peaceful Christian brothers and sisters. Think of the Christians who have blown up abortion clinics or attacked doctors and nurses who work there in the name of Christianity. Is this not a similar concept? European countries in the 16 and 1700s colonized and enslaved the people of Africa and Asia in the name of Christianity, in the name of saving the savage people from their filthy sin filled lives. Their land and resources were exploited and their human dignity ravaged all disguised under a veil of Christianity’s greater good, of a mission to bring the Christian faith to those who were too stupid and too uncivilized to know it.

 

But no, it is the Muslims who are violent.

 

The men who bombed the World Trade Center were not Muslims at all. The faith strictly forbids alcohol consumption, loose sexual values, and gambling, yet the terrorists of 911 drank heavily, utilized the service of prostitutes, and visited casinos all the night before their act of terrorism was to be executed. Wouldn’t it seem that men who are thought to be killing American lives all in the name of Islam would be interested in rigidly following the basic rules of their faith?

 

“Oh yes, well the Quran states that those who die for their faith will be rewarded greatly in heaven.” I would like to guide you toward Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount for a response to this argument. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake/ Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12). We honor martyrs and pray to saints, many of whom have died in the name of their Christian faith. We immortalize those who have died for the sake of Christianity… Sound familiar?

 

Of course, at this point I must add a disclaimer, although I know that there will still be someone who chooses to point this out: I am in no way saying that Islam is never used by evil people as a shield for evil deeds. However, we have to remember to separate the religion from the people. By this I mean, while the faith itself may say one this, someone else may interpret it to mean something else, something violent and hostile, and may act on it. This does not mean that that is what all Muslims believe!

 

Again, to Christianity… Some Christians believe that only through baptism can one be saved. Even if one has never heard of Jesus Christ, because that person has not been baptized and does not accept Christ as his or her savior (again, not by choice but because the belief in Christ has never been made known to that person), that person will go to hell. Not all Christians believe this. Not all Christians believe that homosexuality is a sin; not all Christians believe that the death penalty is bad; not all Christians believe evolution is real; not all Christians choose to wait to have sex until after marriage. This means that Christianity, like Islam, is not a uniform belief. Some people believe and do one thing while some people believe and do another. It is not just to generalize a whole people, an ENTIRE FAITH on the actions of the few or with regards to the events that we see on the news. It’s not fair, and it’s not right.

 

I really am becoming more and more disgusted with the hatred and bigotry toward Islam. Yes, there are bad Muslims out there, and Christians and Jews, and Hindus and atheists. We have to stop judging and entire faith on our shallow predispositions and skin-deep generalizations. We have to let go of our contempt and judgmental attitudes and stop being so childish and inane.

 

More senseless idealism and bleeding-heart liberalism from an untainted nineteen year old youth.
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
MLK Jr.

 

Perhaps it’s not too late…

Some rambling till I post my next blog…

I haven’t written in quite some time… finals had consumed my life for a few weeks. But I’m back! I’m working on a more complex blog at the moment, although until I’m done, enjoy this appetizer:

While watching ESPN coverage of the Mitchell Report with my boyfriend, Bob, he mentioned something that I had never really thought of: Think of the millions of dollars funding dozens of scientists to find a way to detect HGH in humans… imagine if that was all directed toward cancer research.

Man. Good point, Bob.

While I was flipping through a weekly magazine that my sister receives in school, an article titled, “Smell This” caught my attention. The article was about posters advertising the new film, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. A new product developed by scientists from the company, Scientisphere, has allowed advertisements to be printed in scented ink. Advertisers have taken advantage of this development with the logic that scent is so closely tied to memory that ads using this new ink will have a leg-up in the consumer’s mind.

Again, how much funding was put into this product that could have possibly made a difference in Alzheimer’s, Cancer, or AIDS research?

I guess this is just some food for thought. Think of all the major product lines (Nike, iPod, Ford) that spend millions every quarter on advertising. Think of the gajillion, bazillion dollars being spent on a war in Iraq.

Now think of the quality of our VA hospitals.

I’m not even going to delve into issues like public housing, public schooling, national health care, etc. I doubt many can argue with finding a cure for cancer or treating our veterans to the treatment they deserve while in the hospital. I suppose this is more of an ethical question rather than a political one, but it’s becoming a rather tiring sight for me.

Our money has become so misguided and misdirected.  I just don’t understand how we can continue to be so selfish and so self-centered- so oblivious to pain and ignorant to suffering. What’s the solution? Is there a solution? Is this merely my bleeding heart idealism taking over my rationality? Has my young, untainted hopefulness rendered me completely unable to see reality?

I dunno. Criticism welcomed, encouraged.

Feminism, flawed.

It’s been a month since my last update, and so I decided that one was due. I apologize for keeping any of you in suspense; I hope the delay has not caused you any undue hardship.

While watching a very interesting documentary in my sociology class, something struck me as pretty neat. During the study that was being conducted, a rather attractive blonde woman in her mid-twenties made a ditzy remark and smirked coyly. The conductor of the experiment turned toward her and sharply scolded her- something along the lines of “Forget cute. You’re a woman. If you want to go anywhere, you need to be determined and serious. You need to be hard working and respectable. Forget cute, because when you’re 45, you’ll be an old broad with nothing left.”

It took every ounce of my strength to not stand up, cheer, and give a solid fist-pump.

I had never heard this idea articulated quite so well, and I mentioned the point to my professor as something I really took a liking to. My reason for enjoying this statement so much was the way I saw it relating to feminism. This woman seemed to hit the nail on the head: if women want equality, we have to earn it. We can’t depend on being cute, beautiful, or sexy to get ahead. We only further the stereotypes. Equality has to be gained by merit and hard work. My professor gave me a little rebuttal, stating that feminism is merely the search for equality between men and women. While I totally agree with this concept, I feel that, in a myriad of occasions, it is women who aid in bringing discrimination upon themselves.

I personally have never really felt discriminated against due to my sex, and maybe this is why feminists are so hard for me to buy into (Although I do recognize that I owe the fact that I do not feel discriminated against to feminists of earlier eras). I feel like feminism has reached its goal in all the legal equalities that can be achieved, but I believe it is up to women to do the rest to grasp and maintain social equality.

Women willingly do so much to put ourselves at the mercy of social inequality. Take for example the women in music videos; think of their dress, the way they move, and the way they dance. She becomes nothing more than sex objects at the beckon call of whatever pop star wants to have her next.

And she’s okay with that.

Think of reality shows; think of the way women act on these programs- their serious betrayal to the other women on the show, their publicly exposed sleeping around. In these ways and more, women foster and promote gender inequality.

Now don’t get me wrong… I love shoes. I love dresses, curling my hair, and painting my nails. I enjoy wearing make up and jewelry, but I will be damned if I am not going to be taken seriously. I work hard in school; I hold good jobs into which I put a lot of effort. I refuse to call my girl friends “bitch” as a term of endearment. I dress in a dignified manner when the occasion calls for such dress. I respect myself, and I respect other women.

I think this idea of women making sure to respect one another was well-put in the movie “Mean Girls” (go figure). While lecturing the girls in the school about their behaviors, Ms. Norbury says, “You all have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores.” I couldn’t have put it better myself.

If women want social equality, if we want to be seen as decent individuals, it is up to US to actively work for that change. We can’t go screaming and parading around on Capitol Hill, braless and refusing to shave. We can’t go to clubs wearing virtually nothing, dancing like strippers with any and every random guy that sticks his hand in our pants.

We can’t expect to to be treated in a dignified manner if we are not willing to treat ourselves and other women as such. We cannot expect to get a pay increase by running around, causing a ruckus while screaming at our congressmen. It’s not going to happen; don’t expect it to. We have to take matters into our own hands, and perhaps we can take some advice from our beloved Mahatma Gandhi:

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” (i.e. we can’t run around howling for change if we are  not going to exemplify characteristics that warrant it)

You said it, big G. You said it indeed.

Big Brother is Watching You

For those of you who don’t know, my favorite book of all time is 1984. I have read it five and a half times (I couldn’t finish it again this summer before coming to school), and I am just absolutely in love with it. The title of this entry comes from the book. This slogan is plastered on every sign throughout the country: Big Brother is Watching You.

The idea of being watched over by our higher government powers is something quite frightening, at least to me it is. History has shown us time and time again that dictators often take totalitarian control of a country because they are “doing what’s right for the citizens”. They are not scrutinizing the people’s every move for any personal gain, but for the good of the country. When citizens do not know how to make their own valid choices, the government steps in to lend them a hand. Often, this can begin in the most subtle ways.

I believe it was two days ago when CNN did a wonderful documentary titled, “America’s Killer Diet”. It opened with depicting a young, Jamaican boy who had gained weight exponentially since coming to the U.S. The story was heart-wrenching and very sad to watch. The documentary continued with showing the various ways in which America’s diet, to put it bluntly, murders us. The saturated and transitive fats, the calories, the carbs, the processed garbage- it destroys our health.

One of the big problems CNN touched on was the amount of Omega 6 oils consumed by U.S. citizens. Omega 6 oils are essential to our diets, but not in large quantities. They are found in the form of soybean oil, and over-consumption of these oils cancels out our consumption of very important Omega 3 oils, found in certain types of fish, almonds, avocados, etc. (As a side note, check the food labels on your next meal; you’ll be shocked to see how many things contain soybean oil).

Anyway, the documentary proceeded to interview various nutritionists, doctors, and lobbyists regarding the excess amounts of Omega 6 oils in everything we eat. One woman even went to far as to assert that the government should prohibit these oils from being so widely used, even suggesting banning them completely as a concern for public health. She then continued to say, “I guess that sounds something like a nanny state, but if that’s a nanny state… haha well then so be it.”

The gears in my head came to a screeching halt. WHAT?! “If that’s a nanny state then so be it,”?!?!?! I truly cannot believe how often people are so willing to let government creep so far into their lives. This woman told CNN, told the country, that she believes that it is okay for the government to dictate WHAT WE EAT. It is not as if America has stopped importing a certain kind of crop from another country because the country has been using toxic pesticides…No. This is completely different.

This woman has said, in so many words, that citizens cannot make their own healthy choices, so the government needs to make them for us. False. I am taken back to ever-enduring words of Benjamin Franklin who said, “Those who are willing to give up a little bit of freedom for a little bit of security deserve neither and will lose both.” You said it, Ben.

If you are willing to stuff your face with McDonald’s four times a week, please do not come crying to the Supreme Court that you are now morbidly obese. McDonald’s, along with other multi-million (multi-billion?) dollar fast food corporations are doing what they do to make a buck. Your own choice was to down a Big Mac instead of munching a carrot. Your prerogative was to grab the large fries as opposed to a yogurt. YOU PICKED the milk shake, the fried chicken, the cookies, the deep frying, the whatever. You chose it; you deal with it. I do not for one second believe in condemning the fast food industry for the obesity of the American people. So many individuals find the strength to say no; why can’t you? So many others find the energy to hit the gym a couple times a week; why can’t you?

If we tell the government, “Hey, it’s fine with us. Step in and dictate what we may eat; make us thin again through restriction on foods,” what kind of barrier have we taken down? How far will that allow the government to go until we’ve decided it’s gone “too far”? From that point, where do we draw the line?

To the mother of the Jamaican boy who was somewhere between 10-12 years old (I cannot remember)… suffering from high blood pressure, sky-rocketing cholesterol, and teetering on the border line of diabetes… Where were you through all of this? Why didn’t you ever say to your son, “You’re eating poorly. You’re gaining weight. You’re not exercising. You need to change your habits, or I’m going to change them for you,”? It was her job as a mother to take care of her son’s health, and I feel like she failed to do so. However, she is now able to blame it all on our country’s food products, get some time on a CNN documentary, and earn some extra cash for her and her son’s appearance.

God bless America.

Email forward reveals what thousands of years of philosophy could not!!!

So I’ve confided in a family member of mine (relation will be withheld for privacy) with some tensions I’ve been having with Catholicism and Christianity as of late. While I in no way am renouncing my faith or anything drastic, I’ve simply been contemplating anything and everything that I can.

In response, I received this email forward. I have done absolutely NO editing to what was sent to me. My personal comments are in blue:

KNOW THESE FACTS?
Death is certain but the Bible speaks about untimely death!
Make a personal reflection about this…..

Very interesting, read until the end…..
It is written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7):

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked:
for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap.

Here are some men and women
who mocked God :


John Lennon (Singer):
Some years before, during his interview with an American Magazine, he said:

“Christianity will end, it will disappear.
I do not have to argue about
that. I am certain.
Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, Today we are more famous than Him” (1966).

Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.
Um, how long after Lennon said these things was he shot? Lennon died in 1980, fourteen years after this statement was made. What a valid conclusion the writer came to.

Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil ):
During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency.

Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died .

Isn’t Brazil considered a developing nation? Disease, sickness, etc. are not a rarity there. He also died over a month after becoming ill. Not one day.

Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and poet):
During A show in Canecio ( Rio de Janeiro ), while smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said: “God, that’s for you.”

He died at the age of 32 of AIDS in a horrible manner.

I do enjoy that the author made sure to include that this man was bi-sexual. So not only did he blow smoke up toward God, but he also lived a disgusting life of sin. Is there a “good manner” in which one would die from AIDS? Just wondering.


The man who built the Titanic
After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be.

With an ironic tone he said:
“Not even God can sink it”

The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic ..

Ah yes. To punish “the man who built the Titanic” God chose to kill 1,450 innocent people, just to teach him a lesson!


Marilyn Monroe (Actress)

She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show.
He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her.
After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said:
“I don’t need your Jesus”.

A week later, she was found dead in her apartment ..

The fact that Ms. Monroe had many affairs in the course of her life, all while being a giant sex symbol in American culture probably had nothing to do with the fact that she was murdered.

Bon Scott (Singer)
The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he sang:
“Don’t stop me, I’m going down all the way, down the highway to hell”.

On the 19th of February 1980 , Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his own vomit.

What a peculiar way for rock stars of the 70’s and 80’s to die: as a result of a drug and alcohol binge. Completely unheard of!

Campinas (IN 2005)
In Campinas , Brazil a group of friends, drunk, went to pick up a friend…..
The mother accompanied her to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said to the daughter holding her hand, who was already seated in the car:

“My Daughter, Go With God And May He Protect You..”
She responded: “Only If He (God) Travels In The Trunk, Cause Inside Here…..It’s Already Full ”

Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died,
the car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was intact.

The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the trunk was a crate of eggs, none was broken .

Why did the mother let the daughter travel in this drunk stupor again? Surely, she is not to blame! God’s vengeance came down upon the girl… although he did spare her eggs!

Christine Hewitt (Jamaican Journalist and entertainer) said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written.
In June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.

To be fair, it’s not the most interesting book…

Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus.

Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and he is still alive

“Jesus”

P.S: If it was a joke, you would have sent it to everyone. So are you going to have courage to send this?.

No. I would not have sent this to everyone if it was a joke. I choose not to bother people with annoying email forwards, thank you.

I have done my part, Jesus said

“If you are embarrassed about me,
I will also be embarrassed about you before my father.”
“And I’ll have him kill you by having you strangled, shot, or giving you AIDS.”

You are my 8 in 8 seconds. I am not breaking this. No way!
Yeah! No way!

I’M TOLD THIS WORKS!!!!! Bishop T.D. Jakes “8 Second Prayer.” Just repeat this prayer and see how God moves!!

“Lord, I love you and I need you, come into my heart, and bless me, my family, my home, and my friends, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

All you have to do is say this prayer and don’t bad mouth God, and you’ll be in heaven for sure! Do whatever the hell else you want, but this will save you!

Pass this message to 8 people {EXCEPT YOU AND ME}. You will receive a miracle tomorrow. I Hope that you don’t ignore and let God bless you ..

I’m not even going to comment on this. It’s too easy…

So, here I am again, ranting about religion. It’s funny, really it is. It’s funny that God chooses to violently murder people who speak ill of Him, but JonBenet Ramsey’s killer(s) wanders free. I guess this shows us the real way to appease God: sweet talk. I’m sure Ramsey’s killer prays to God every night asking that he/she/they will never be caught. It seems to have worked.

If only John Lennon had praised Christianity a little more thoroughly, he would still be alive today. I wonder if Abraham Lincoln said the Bible was outdated or something. God got angry, sent John Wilkes Booth on his ass. That explains a lot.

I think the worst part is that the people who write this stuff to promote Christianity miss entirely what Christianity is about. I could have sworn Jesus was saying something about that infinitely loving and forgiving God… You know, you turn your back on Him, but he never turns his back on you? Something like that. Instead, the author of this piece truly believes that God, a being that is beyond human comprehension, beyond the capacity of the human mind, gets pissed off when someone talks garbage and decides to have that person wacked.

To anybody with any sort of intellectual mind, this should not make a lick of sense. I responded to this family member and asked her not to send me things like this anymore, and she merely replied with, “Sorry to see that you have not gotten off of your soapbox yet.”

Ah yes. My soapbox. As I struggle to figure out my faith, as I aim to wrangle with the meaning and significance of Christianity, I am merely standing up on a soapbox.

Well, email forward, I guess you’re right: I don’t know the facts. I didn’t know that the God I was worshiping will give me AIDS if I insult him. I did not know that God kills humans out of anger, despite all refutations of such a notion in the New Testament. I was unaware that God would even concern himself with killing those people, while letting rapists, murderers, child abusers, torturers, terrorists, whatever, roam free over the green earth. I really did not know. Thank you for curing me of my ignorance. It was a plague on my very soul. I will be sure to write to every theology teacher I have ever had (there are six, I believe) and let them know that they are wrong. I will speak with the Pastor of my church and recommend that he work this information into a sermon sometime (this is important for everyone to know). Most importantly, I will be sure to, in my own mind, know the character of the God that I have been worshiping all my life.

Philosophers dating back to the time of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle have been struggling to determine the true nature of that which creates and guides the universe, but finally, this author has figured it out.

If ever there was a post on which I sought comments, this is it.
Please. Tell me I’m wrong; tell me you hated it; tell me you don’t believe in a God period.
I just want some responses. I just want discussion.