Books, and Bob

I know that Bob Marley is considered "over played."  I know that everyone has heard his songs five billion times.  But that wasn't Bob Marley's fault, and his music still sometimes really hits the spot.  Today, when I was driving down by the beach in my car, looking at the beautiful sunset, a really good Bob Marley song came on the radio.  It was "Waiting in Vain", a song about how he could no longer wait for a woman to love him in return.   That's not the part of the song that I rocked out to the most, it was the line, "In life I know there's lots of grief, but your love is my relief."  You get the idea.

I then went to the bookstore, and spent way too much money.  I haven't read things that weren't for school in eons, so I got a little too excited.  Well, I bought the following books:

- The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair - a book which examines the meatpacking district in Chicago, the book had a huge, profound social effect on the meat industry which resulted in President Teddy Roosevelt endorsing the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Laws.  This book illuminates the gross side of capitalism, so it should be an interesting read.

- Vintage Hughes, a Collection of poetry by Langston Hughes

- Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu - A classic Chinese philosophy book which explains the spiritual side of Daoism.

- My Bondage, and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass

- When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris - I haven't even looked at the back of this book yet because David Sedaris is my favorite author, and I am more than excited to read it - no matter the subject!


Also, here's a funny Onion article to get the night started off right : Study: All American Problems Could Be Solved by Stopping and Thinking For Two Seconds

Nothing that I would expect.  I love the woman listening to Frank Sinatra!

Guide to Illegal Drugs

Need I say more?

iPad games for cats...

Purina Friskees' Game for Cats on the iPad

...What has this world come to?

On more vapid things...

I was just flipping channels on my TV at home, when the Real Housewives of Orange County came on.  These women are bickering over how one of their friends is at the hospital during another woman's fashion debut.  They are actually fighting about whether or not the woman in the hospital is doing this all "on purpose" and "to make a scene" at an event that she isn't attending to bring the attention to the woman in the hospital.

This is why I can't watch reality television.  These women's souls are about as non-existent as their real boobs.

EDITED : Right before I flipped channels, the woman was attempting to defend herself by saying, "this show is about reality, and about being real, and telling the truth."  Sometimes, heinous women say stuff like, "I only tell the truth, but it might hurt." - and guess what?  It's only a cover up for being a bitch.

Mexican Poet Gives Speech on Narcoterrorism

Mexican poet Javier Sicilia gave a speech at the Zocolo (town square) in Mexico City on a topic that has become synonymous with Mexican politics - drug cartels and corruption.  There was a march on May 8th that Mexicans used to express how they really feel about their country, that it needs to be saved from the thugs and corruption that has plagued their lives for years.  Recently, the violence has gotten a lot worse and a lot of Mexicans feel helpless to stop it.  Americans should care about this issue because of the human lives that have been lost (first of all), but also should care because it is an issue of American national security.  With so much crime and destabilization south of the border, it is hard to ignore the impacts that this could have within our own borders.


Unfortunately, Mexicans sometimes feel that Americans make their problems a lot worse.  The market for drugs in America is one of the biggest problems - where millions support the terrorism indirectly by purchasing illegal drugs.  I once heard somewhere that marijuana sells for more money per ounce than gold...and when criminals and law enforcement (as well as customs agents) agree on a policy, there should be more questions about the validity of the policy.


That being said, this silent march that occurred on May 8th is an inspiring example of how when people can come together, that there is a possibility for change.  Unfortunately, there has not been that much publicity given to the Mexican citizens that do not support the drug cartels, and Mexicans are facing a new type of revolution within their own country.


Javier Sicilia says in his speech that, "Our Mexico, our house, is shrouded in greatness, but there are also cracks and abysses that expand into the carelessness, complacency and complicity that have driven us to this hideous devastation."  His speech is a testament to inspiring political rhetoric that perhaps could lead to a change in policy, and make others aware of the diversity in opinion of Mexican citizens.  


The speech that Javier Sicilia gave at the Zocolo can be found here: Sicilia's Speech in Mexico City on the Drug Wars in Mexico
Also, here is the Washington Post photoessay on the protest: Photographs of the Silent March from Cuernavaca

Regarding the Rapture on Saturday

I Fucking Hope the Rapture Happens On Saturday, by Paul Constant

Hilarious blog post about how if the Rapture happened on Saturday, the world would be a better place.

The Reagan Revolution

This is the first in a series that was financed by Mike Huckabee, long considered one of the most conservative potential presidential candidates.  His goal is to create videos marketed to children to teach them about "monumental" moments in American history.  This video is completely inaccurate because it fails to address the climate of domestic and global politics that Ronald Reagan entered when he became president (save a reference to an awful Washington D.C.), and the falling of the Berlin Wall was not created by Ronald Reagan but was a complex event that had many factors including the USSR's inability to keep their country stable after being at war for almost ten years. Also, on the issue of those hostages, the Iranians who held the Americans purposefully released them after Carter no longer had a chance to take credit for their release, that wasn't crafted by Reagan but was merely an accidental gain for his presidency. History doesn't serve an agenda, that's called propaganda. :)

Here's an article by the educational organization Teaching Tolerance on this issue: http://www.tolerance.org/blog/meet-mike-hucksterbee?newsletter=TT051711

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin can count him among their great citizens....

super size meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee


....only in Wisconsin is it appropriate to not only work at the Waupun Correctional Facility, but to eat 25,000 big macs in ones life :)

Ring Them Bells

a combination of my two favorite things : bob dylan and sufjan stevens

happy graduation, class of 2011!

This one time at Teeter Totter....

I was hanging out around the Teeter Totter for AXO's annual 24 Teeter Totter with Phi Delta Theta for Headstart, and a wise soul said to me, "Man, I better go.  Because if I stay, I will have to make out with Bill Sitter."

People were created to be loved, things were created to be used...

...the reason the world is in chaos is because things are being loved, and people are being used.

Holding

If you're holding, don't hold out.

Wisconsin Voters: Disenfranchised?

Wisconsin Voter ID Bill

If you can't keep your own party in office, doesn't that make it, "a symptom of democracy?"  Which in case you weren't aware, has been the defense of many Republicans.  Well, instead of letting democracy "run its course", why don't we just make it so that legal voters cannot vote? To Wisconsin Republican leadership, this seems easier.

holy shit.

Feminism and Being a Mother

How to Raise a Sexually Healthy Teen

A very special story about how feminism and being honest with children are maternal instincts.

I Shall Be Released

This video doesn't sound too different than my 300 level politics classes....

MEOWWW

!!!!

Should Colleges Ban Fraternities?

New York Times article on Banning Fraternities

...and the simple answer is, NO!

GOP's "Job Growth" Plan?

....but how many jobs does it create?

http://www.thenation.com/blog/160457/gop-jobs-plan-wasnt

The Legacy of Malcolm X

"When I finished unpacking my new apartment, I made one immediate change. I took my old Malcolm X poster out of the bubble wrap and affixed it to my living room’s western wall."
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/2011/05/the-legacy-of-malcolm-x/8438/

Speakeasies, Domestic Terrorism and South Lake Union

Interesting article posted today in the Stranger: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-long-con/Content?oid=7989613

I remember this drug bust happening, and thinking that it was a successful operation for the SPD.  Lately, with all the problems that people have been bringing to light with the SPD - it is sad to see another operation filled with hypocrisy and fiscal irresponsibility.  Kudos to The Stranger for being the "only newspaper in Seattle."