The controversial controversy survey and more news on Maria
Horked from the right, honorable adaveen
2. Would you do meth if it was legal?
No and I also don't plan on shoving my head in a chipper shredder.
3. Abortion: for or against it?
For. I'd be open to some reasonable restrictions on late term
abortions so that we have no real possibility of infanticide. The
key is to preserve real life while exercising reason, not merely
emotion.
4. Do you think the world would fail with a female president?
Apparently not -- there have been lots of female presidents and
Prime Ministers. The world is still here despite a lot of male ones,
too.
5. Do you believe in the death penalty?
No, I don't. If we ourselves kill then on what ethical grounds do
we stand to tell others not to? Besides, there are far too many
mistakes in the process and it's a deeply prejudiced system against
minorities and the poor. It's also a barbaric practice in all instances, imho.
6. Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?
I'm for legalizing most drugs. And I've never used any ... not even
grass ... but I think making them forbidden makes them more
attractive. Legalized, they're much easier to deal with. As Bob Wilson
once said, if Ireland wants her people to speak Irish, she should
just outlaw the learning of it.
7. Are you for or against premarital sex?
Definitely in favor of it. Post-marital sex, too. If I were
talking to a youngster, I'd remind them about safe sex and all that.
8. Do you believe in God?
I don't believe in anything. I'm not prejudiced against the concept
that a divinity might shape our ends. I've seen way too many weird
ghost things while researching that cause me to wonder about life
after death. So far, I'm just too stupid and confused by data to be
a theist or an atheist. I'm stuck in the middle with the rest of
the confused people.
9. Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?
Hell yes.
10. Do you think it's wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally
moving to the USA?
One of my best friends, Maria, came here from Mexico as a child with
"illegal aliens". See her story below. Yeah, I'm really worried about
"illegal aliens". Sarah Palin, on the other hand ...
11. A twelve year old girl has a baby, should she keep it?
An extraordinary 12 year old might be up to the challenge.
12. Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen?
No. (I'm innately prejudiced against anything having to do with alcohol ...
my mom died of alcoholism when I was a teenager).
13. Should the war in Iraq be called off?
It should have never been "called on".
14. Assisted suicide is illegal: do you agree?
No. Anyone who has ever watched a loved one die slowly from a
terrible illness will acknowledge the potential necessity for it.
Dr Kevorkian, on the other hand, helped a couple of healthy people
kill themselves. I think he's more than a little nuts.
15. Do you believe in spanking your children?
I think you teach children with your actions. I always got a
lot more attention from Ben by telling him how disappointed I was in
his actions. A spanking (aside from being an act of violence) lasts
a second -- a good talking-to echoes in the mist.
16. Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?
I'd do it for free. The cloth flag means nothing -- the symbol
behind it is eternal and will never be destroyed unless we kill the
principles for which it stands -- one of them being the right for
people to burn a piece of cloth without redress (so long as the fire
doesn't get out of control or something).
17. Who do you think would make a better president? McCain or Obama?
Oh, please. Putting McCain in that office would be like naming Ted
Kacinsky as the Postmaster General.
18. Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your
answers?
I doubt any of my flist will be terribly surprised ... or care. :)
Well, if anyone has ever wondered about what I thought on those things, your curiosity has been satisfied. And if you did, you really need to expand the stuff you wonder about. :)
Sorry, I forgot to put this behind a cut before.
A final bragging bit today -- my dear friend Maria Garcia (of whom I've spoken above and before) has done it again. I'm so incredibly proud of her that I just had to blog about it. Maria came here as a child, having watched her parents murdered right in front of her when she was a toddler. Northern European-Americans think we understand poverty -- knowing Maria has taught me that we don't. Maria was forced to work in the fields when she was four years old. She had to wash dishes for her huge family when she was five. Her eldest brother used to beat her with the crop he used for horses. She somehow managed to come to the US with some kinder siblings and it was then everything changed for the better.
Many years later, I lucked out and hired her as my housekeeper and general right-hand person. One day, she left an extensive note for me about something to do with the housework and I was stunned. It was perfectly written. I've seen people with doctorates who didn't have the grasp of English she had. The next day, I sat her down and said, "what the hell are you doing cleaning houses?" When she protested that there was nothing wrong with cleaning houses, I said, "of course not, but if you could do something else, wouldn't you want to?" She admitted she had always wanted to be a teacher and asked, "Do you really think I could do that?" I told her I thought she had the intellectual skill to do whatever the hell she wanted to do. It seems her siblings had told her for years that she couldn't go to college ... that she wasn't smart enough.
A few years later, I lost the world's best housekeeper and the country gained an amazingly dedicated teacher. While teaching, she pressed on and has just recently finished her Masters degree program with her full credential. While doing *that*, she brought the grades of her classroom up to the highest level of any class in the district. The only problem now is that a couple of the other teachers don't like her because she's really making them look bad. lol
Anyway, I am attaching a picture of Maria at her Masters graduation. By the way, while doing all this, she managed to raise three remarkable young women (all honors students) who are also in the picture (Patricia, Leticia, and Lysette in the cool shades). Oh, and her husband Pablo, too (sorry, Pablo lol). We love you guys.
So much for "illegal aliens".
Everyone in the States ready for Godzilla vs. Bambi ... uh, I mean, the Vice Presidential Debates? I'm making popcorn for the occasion. (BTW, Sarah, Godzilla vs. Bambi was NOT a Supreme Court decision).
2. Would you do meth if it was legal?
No and I also don't plan on shoving my head in a chipper shredder.
3. Abortion: for or against it?
For. I'd be open to some reasonable restrictions on late term
abortions so that we have no real possibility of infanticide. The
key is to preserve real life while exercising reason, not merely
emotion.
4. Do you think the world would fail with a female president?
Apparently not -- there have been lots of female presidents and
Prime Ministers. The world is still here despite a lot of male ones,
too.
5. Do you believe in the death penalty?
No, I don't. If we ourselves kill then on what ethical grounds do
we stand to tell others not to? Besides, there are far too many
mistakes in the process and it's a deeply prejudiced system against
minorities and the poor. It's also a barbaric practice in all instances, imho.
6. Do you wish marijuana would be legalized already?
I'm for legalizing most drugs. And I've never used any ... not even
grass ... but I think making them forbidden makes them more
attractive. Legalized, they're much easier to deal with. As Bob Wilson
once said, if Ireland wants her people to speak Irish, she should
just outlaw the learning of it.
7. Are you for or against premarital sex?
Definitely in favor of it. Post-marital sex, too. If I were
talking to a youngster, I'd remind them about safe sex and all that.
8. Do you believe in God?
I don't believe in anything. I'm not prejudiced against the concept
that a divinity might shape our ends. I've seen way too many weird
ghost things while researching that cause me to wonder about life
after death. So far, I'm just too stupid and confused by data to be
a theist or an atheist. I'm stuck in the middle with the rest of
the confused people.
9. Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized?
Hell yes.
10. Do you think it's wrong that so many Hispanics are illegally
moving to the USA?
One of my best friends, Maria, came here from Mexico as a child with
"illegal aliens". See her story below. Yeah, I'm really worried about
"illegal aliens". Sarah Palin, on the other hand ...
11. A twelve year old girl has a baby, should she keep it?
An extraordinary 12 year old might be up to the challenge.
12. Should the alcohol age be lowered to eighteen?
No. (I'm innately prejudiced against anything having to do with alcohol ...
my mom died of alcoholism when I was a teenager).
13. Should the war in Iraq be called off?
It should have never been "called on".
14. Assisted suicide is illegal: do you agree?
No. Anyone who has ever watched a loved one die slowly from a
terrible illness will acknowledge the potential necessity for it.
Dr Kevorkian, on the other hand, helped a couple of healthy people
kill themselves. I think he's more than a little nuts.
15. Do you believe in spanking your children?
I think you teach children with your actions. I always got a
lot more attention from Ben by telling him how disappointed I was in
his actions. A spanking (aside from being an act of violence) lasts
a second -- a good talking-to echoes in the mist.
16. Would you burn an American flag for a million dollars?
I'd do it for free. The cloth flag means nothing -- the symbol
behind it is eternal and will never be destroyed unless we kill the
principles for which it stands -- one of them being the right for
people to burn a piece of cloth without redress (so long as the fire
doesn't get out of control or something).
17. Who do you think would make a better president? McCain or Obama?
Oh, please. Putting McCain in that office would be like naming Ted
Kacinsky as the Postmaster General.
18. Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your
answers?
I doubt any of my flist will be terribly surprised ... or care. :)
Well, if anyone has ever wondered about what I thought on those things, your curiosity has been satisfied. And if you did, you really need to expand the stuff you wonder about. :)
Sorry, I forgot to put this behind a cut before.
A final bragging bit today -- my dear friend Maria Garcia (of whom I've spoken above and before) has done it again. I'm so incredibly proud of her that I just had to blog about it. Maria came here as a child, having watched her parents murdered right in front of her when she was a toddler. Northern European-Americans think we understand poverty -- knowing Maria has taught me that we don't. Maria was forced to work in the fields when she was four years old. She had to wash dishes for her huge family when she was five. Her eldest brother used to beat her with the crop he used for horses. She somehow managed to come to the US with some kinder siblings and it was then everything changed for the better.
Many years later, I lucked out and hired her as my housekeeper and general right-hand person. One day, she left an extensive note for me about something to do with the housework and I was stunned. It was perfectly written. I've seen people with doctorates who didn't have the grasp of English she had. The next day, I sat her down and said, "what the hell are you doing cleaning houses?" When she protested that there was nothing wrong with cleaning houses, I said, "of course not, but if you could do something else, wouldn't you want to?" She admitted she had always wanted to be a teacher and asked, "Do you really think I could do that?" I told her I thought she had the intellectual skill to do whatever the hell she wanted to do. It seems her siblings had told her for years that she couldn't go to college ... that she wasn't smart enough.
A few years later, I lost the world's best housekeeper and the country gained an amazingly dedicated teacher. While teaching, she pressed on and has just recently finished her Masters degree program with her full credential. While doing *that*, she brought the grades of her classroom up to the highest level of any class in the district. The only problem now is that a couple of the other teachers don't like her because she's really making them look bad. lol
Anyway, I am attaching a picture of Maria at her Masters graduation. By the way, while doing all this, she managed to raise three remarkable young women (all honors students) who are also in the picture (Patricia, Leticia, and Lysette in the cool shades). Oh, and her husband Pablo, too (sorry, Pablo lol). We love you guys.
So much for "illegal aliens".
Everyone in the States ready for Godzilla vs. Bambi ... uh, I mean, the Vice Presidential Debates? I'm making popcorn for the occasion. (BTW, Sarah, Godzilla vs. Bambi was NOT a Supreme Court decision).