9/11 is happening every day

Its far worse than 9/11 was. We flipped out so much over that, yet that sort of thing is going on all the time. That horror and pain: constant; the fear: constant; every day. War must stop. Militaries must stop. Heck, war video games and movies need to stop, too; it may just be a game, but it represents something real, and murderous.

Stop spending money on bombs and bullets, spend it on food and water.
Remember 9/11 and how we felt, now think about how it feels to live in another country where things like that are common place...but its never common emotion, every time it happens people are crying in fear for their lives.

Don't watch this and tell me that we need to keep funding bombs and bullets. If you can watch that video, and others like it, and still tell me that we need to keep building bombs and bullets, than the only thing I can say to you is that you are not human. We need to have compassion, to love life, not killing people because they are different or have different ancestry.

Ok, so you can try to say that we need those things to fight for our freedom...well, go look at my Veterans Day post, we're not fighting for our freedom anymore. We're just fighting.

Go watch the movie War Games, it's a great 80's movie about a kid who accidentally hacks into the military computers (ok, a little far fetched), and plays a game of nuclear war with the military simulation computer. But the military doesn't realize what's going on, and thinks that Russia (Soviet Union) is actually launching nukes. Finally the computer realizes that no one can really "win" in a war.
There is no victory, there is only defeat and death. How can we say we won something when there is life lost? Is life so meaningless that we can call a win when people have died? How do you come out a head when there is human life lost? How can there be freedom when there is death?
War is oppression. Fighting for freedom means destroying someone else. It takes away someone else's right to live. Why are we so blind?

I move to Occupy the Military. Stop war, stop fighting, stop bombs, stop bullets, stop pepper spray, stop violence.

Freedom

Happy Veterans Day! "If you enjoy freedom, thank a veteran!"

Well, I don't have freedom. I can't afford food, I can't afford new clothing, I can't afford gas, I can't afford transportation, I can't get a job, I can't afford a place to live, I can't afford health care.
What other kind of freedoms are there? (If I speak my mind in public, I am told to sit down and be quiet, or arrested; I don't have the Freedom of Speech that was promised me.)

I will thank the soldiers of the Revolutionary War, of the Civil War, of WWI/II. They fought so that I would be able to vote for the government, not pay taxes to some remote leader in a distant land, so that people wouldn't be slaves, and so the world wouldn't be under a terrible dictator, or again ruled by a distant land.
And I will thank the soldiers of Iraq for fighting so we can have oil and gas. And the Afghanistan soldiers (those that finally got Bin Laden) for ridding the world of another dangerous man.
But my personal Freedoms? The things that I need to exist in this world, I don't have. And if I ever do get those things, I will thank those who have protested Wall Street, and the corruption and greed in our own government. And if any of them are soldiers, than I will thank them, because that is where our Fight for Freedom is.
In the 50's-80's we dealt with the Cold War. Though we had many freedoms at that time, we were living under fear. The War on Terrorism (not the War in Afghanistan) was to say that we, The United States of America, will not give in to fear tactics again, we will not be intimidated. So, I thank those soldiers. Though I do not thank the continuation of that fighting, nor the change of the name from War on Terrorism to the War in Afghanistan. And in reality, I do not thank the Iraq War, because it was mostly about greed and misinformation (though I do thank the soldiers who were able to capture Saddam and bring him to justice for the atrocities he committed, but there are other evil dictators in the world doing far worse (like Sudan), but we aren't doing anything about those.......


We do have many freedoms, we do have the freedom to protect ourselves (sorta, you can carry a gun, but you can't use it), we have freedom of speech (sorta, I can say what I want here, or in private; but if I protest the government, or the wealthy, I am yelled at and ridiculed, and possibly arrested, we have the right to vote for our leaders (sorta, our Presidential votes go into a state pool and then the state votes for the president, not the individuals), we have a right to health care (well, not really, it's a privilege, to those who can get insurance, which can be denied for any reason, to those who can afford it, and the utterly downtrodden who are able to qualify for government aid through the homeless programs; but the poor, and sick who aren't homeless, can't get health care without going in debt), we have the right to pursue education (sorta, children are forced to attend a school within a district they live, even if that school is not providing a satisfactory education; higher education costs an arm and a leg, and only the moderately wealthy [by American standards], those who received high grades/test scores, or those willing to go into heaps of debt can afford to attend; also education seems to be a very low priority for government funding). We used to all receive basic public services (fire protection) at no cost with no discrimination, but not that long ago a man's house was allowed to burn to the ground because the city said he had to pay an extra fee in order to receive the public service....which makes it a private service.
So, are we really free? Do we have freedoms? We have some, but many have so many restrictions or only those with money can have them. If you think about it, that disqualifies them from being freedoms.

Dangers of drug use

This was taken from another website, but since I agree, I thought I would post it. It's a bit off from my usual. Most of what I say is more on the idea of good morals, though I do have some rants about things that are just ridiculous, and this falls into that category.
So, without further delay, here is Weed: not even once by Nick Jacobs for Indiana Daily Student (http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=83415)

I’d like to formally thank the Barack Obama administration for cracking down on the marijuana epidemic America is facing.

The dangers of marijuana are outrageous: fatal kidney and lung disorders, possible brain damage, severe depression and, worst of all, death.

It’s produced in “Mary labs” sprinkled across America’s trailer parks and farms. These “Mary labs” are unregulated, and the chemicals used can cause spontaneous fires. Marijuana is destroying families in areas once known for their peaceful agriculture.

Oh, wait. That’s methamphetamine. Let me try again.

When marijuana was first introduced in the 1980s, it annihilated an entire generation of black youths because of its cheap price and highly addictive nature, despite its short-lived 5- to 15-minute peak.

Many women who succumbed to its addictive properties became ganja whores. This led to the “ganja babies,” children who were born addicted to marijuana. Ganja whores were unknowingly feeding their babies marijuana with their breast milk.

Ah, that’s wrong, too. I think that was crack. Seriously, I can get this right.

Marijuana was first created as a way to wean people off of a commonly abused pain killer called morphine in the 1800s. But eventually it became its own demon, referred to as the “Big M.”

Remember how the spread of HIV/AIDS in the ’70s and ’80s was partially a result of sharing marijuana needles? Some people had to get their arms amputated because they destroyed their veins from injecting liquefied reefer.

Think of Jared Leto’s character in “Requiem for a Dream.” And so many celebrities have died from marijuana. For example: Jim Morrison of The Doors and Bradley Nowell of Sublime.

No, no, no, that was heroin.

Well I’m sure everyone has heard of Marijuana Anonymous and the 12-Step Program right? Marijunanaholics are a drain on our society.

Statistics prove driving under the influence of a .08 blood cannabis content will impair your driving ability. High drivers caused more than 13,000 car accident deaths in 2008 alone.

Think about all the college students who die of weed poisoning every year. Or how many women on campus get taken advantage of and subsequently raped when frat guys give girls shot after shot of the ganja.

Oh, excuse me, that’s alcohol, which is perfectly legal.

Smoking reefer causes 443,000 deaths annually from first- and second-hand smoke.

Actually, you know what? I’ll just stop here. That’s the result of cigarettes, another legal drug.

What are the dangers of marijuana? Here’s the short and simple:

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has released studies that prove annual deaths related to marijuana consumption are zero.

What are the adverse effects of smoking dank-ass buds on the reg? Red eye, cotton mouth and increased appetite, which in turn incentivize pot smokers to buy eye drops, Arnold Palmer lemonade-tea and pizza. Getting high makes people buy things.

We’re about to double-dip into another recession, and the president wants to restrict incentives?

The GOP is right; Obama is bad for the economy.

­— nicjacob@indiana.edu

Now my two cents (not sure why it's stuck on italics, doesn't want to go off of....):
Marijuana has actually been used for many hundreds, if not thousands of years. I believe it was Queen Elizabeth (1600's) who used marijuana to help with her period cramps. It's used to treat migraines, seizures, stress/panic disorders, could be used to treat ADHD, and also treats other neurological illnesses or physical pain, and even cancer! Though, of course, anyone who actually knows anything about marijuana knows its medical benefits.
So, if marijuana doesn't cause people to do stupid things (as it makes most users sit back, relax, and eat), and has all these medical benefits, why is it illegal? Because tobacco companies said it should be. And cotton and wool companies didn't want hemp to be used instead to make clothing. It was also the tobacco companies that had a part in the Prohibition (illegalization of alcohol). So...hmmm....monopoly on the relaxants? Marijuana is easier to grow than tobacco, and people were growing their own at home and being affected far greater than the tobacco could. With Marijuana illegal, people bought cigarettes in large quantities. And the tobacco companies made bank. Also pharmaceutical companies had a part in it's illegalization, as it is a miracle medicine: far more affective on most illnesses, and with far fewer side effects, and affects people in a much more uniform fashion than most pharmaceuticals.
But cigarettes cause cancer, marijuana doesn't, in fact it slows cancer growth. I thought it was the job of the FDA to insure that products sold to the public for consumption met certain health requirements. We do hear commercials for medication that has huge lists of side effects that happen in a small percentage of the testers, but it is a high percentage of cigarette smokers that end up with health problems. Maybe because it takes so many years for the side effects to occur.
Alcohol (which I love, btw, but only in casual amounts) causes instability, lapse of judgement, coordination problems, speech problems, violence (among many heavy users), liver problems (also among heavy users), and poisoning. I do think a moderate amount of alcohol is good (a glass of wine or a beer or two with a meal), though we very much over do it. We have a society that encourages people to drink to the point of drunkenness. When a person is drunk, they are far more dangerous than someone who is high. A drunk will keep drinking until they pass out from way too much, and those who have a higher drunk tolerance may get alcohol poisoning far before they realize they are drunk. None of these issues exist with marijuana. When you're high, you sit back and do nothing, you don't continue smoking until you're dead, you physically can't.
Some will argue that marijuana is illegal because it is a mind altering substance, my response is "so is alcohol, and in a far more dangerous way." If marijuana were legal, there would be bars with people sitting on couches laughing, being philosophical, or sleeping, instead of bars with loud "music" and people dry humping on a dance floor until they puke, or get taken home by some stranger and raped, or attempt to drive home and maybe kill themselves or someone else.
Marijuana is not a dangerous drug; sure, it affects the mind, and perception, but in a far less dangerous way than even other legal drugs.
Though, like alcohol, it shouldn't be used in excess, and I don't think it should be available to everyone. But it should be legal in the same way that alcohol is. With same restrictions as far as driving under the influence, even though people are far less likely to drive while high than they are while drunk.

Write your congressman, and encourage them to listen to the people, not the corporations, on not only this issue, but many others.

Music

***WARNING: CONTAINS EXPLICIT LYRICS FROM POPULAR SONGS***

Shake it like a salt shaker
I wanna fuck you like an animal
Back that ass up
Let me see that thong
she says "this pussy's yours, Daddy"

Oh give me that ass
Shake that ass ho, make that cash ho
Pop that pussy ho
So take off all your clothes
I'm bare boned and crazy for you

Girl you know I like it when you climb on top
U make me wanna sweat
We've only just met and I'm undressing you with my eyes
Hit me baby one more time
I'm a slave 4 you

Girl you look like someone I done fucked before
Creepin' up and down now
I see you winding and grinding up on that pole
I wanna fuck you, you already know
Oh what we do when the pants are down

Down and dirty, hot and squirty
Only good for a fuck
You know you gotta back the fuck up
I know you want it, the thing that makes me
It's fuck and run, fuck and run, even when I was twelve.


Turn it up
Listen to the shit they pump into your head
Filling you with apathy
Sex, sex, sex, is that who we are?
6 year old shaking their asses?
Parents wake up and smell the dead roses.

Music today is full of shit
Demeaning, demoralizing, yet we dance around
the further we go, the worse it gets
the worse it gets, the further we go
'Til every girl in the world is a ho

What could be done?
Does the world even care?
Do we notice the cost, the loss?
We encourage rape, don't procrastinate
Take a stand, get off your ass, don't fuck around.

A woman is worth more than the contents of her pants
More than what's under that shirt
Quit thinking with your dick
and learn some respect,
then you'll grow a pair.

Women grow up and understand
The world's a different place,
if you'd put the wheel in your hands
Use your brain and eyes to win a guy
Don't try with what's between your thighs.

Let's get back to the days of living under the sea
To the days of flying a kite, and yellow submarines
What the world needs now is love, such love
Give a reason to keep the chin up, and whistle while we work
Take a listen to your music, and think about what it says.



Yes, the first half of this poem that I wrote a few years ago is all quotes from, mostly, popular music. These were from songs that are often played on the radio, at least at the time.
But yes, I was at the local Farmers Market, and there was a performing dance group of very young girls dancing to a song that had the lyrics "Can you shake it?" in a male voice with a echoed "I can shake it!" in a female voice. These six year old girls were shaking their rear ends. I wanted to smack every one of their parents, and the dance teacher. What kind of message are we sending children? Ok, so maybe right now they don't understand what the song is or what they're doing, but it sticks in their brains. I remember singing in the children's choir at church, and I remember one of the songs. These little girls are going to remember dancing to this junk. And unless someone steps in and tells them that it's not ok, they are going to continue shaking their asses.
We're creating a world where sex is trivial and common. And we're setting up a world where rape will be common....no, rape is common. I find it most horrible that more than half of the girls I know have been sexually assaulted in some form or another, many in the form of rape. This is not ok. We can't create a world where people are afraid to live.
Take a stand and don't listen to music of this sort. Listen to you music, and be one difference. And if you have kids, or plan to someday have kids, be sure to teach them that sex is special, and should be with someone special, and that anything less is not ok. Teach them that sex is also about what you can give your partner, not what you can take from your partner.

That's what I believe.

Our loses vs Somalia's loses

I've been hearing a lot of people freaking out about the 31 US Soldiers that were killed the other day. Every once in a while someone will briefly mention the eight or nine Afghan Commandos that were with the 31 US soldiers and also killed, but most people glaze over that. We're always so concerned about our troops; and don't get me wrong, we should be! War is an evil thing, "it's only friend is the undertaker," as a great musician once said. It is a tragedy to lose a life like that, but these people have signed up to risk their lives. I would say it's almost like attempting suicide! Granted, the likelihood of dying is pretty low, but there is that chance. These are wasted lives, and chosen to run the risk of wasting their lives. They leave behind family: parents, siblings, spouse, and often very young children. I think that anyone who has a family and joins the military is really dumb for doing so. Those children will never get to know their parent, and the spouse has lost the love of his/her life, and has to start over, hoping to find someone new.
Ok, that's turned into my rant against military. Back to topic.

We freak out about the lose of lives of people who chose to risk their lives, we freak out when our economy takes a dive. Yet who is causing the economy to dive? the rich. They don't really feel the loss that much, or they may, but they can still afford to go out and buy a Mercedes the next day, but those of us who are common people, who can't afford to get into the stock market, and end up losing their jobs, those are the ones that are hurting. But still, most of us can still have a good roof over our heads, a running car in the garage, cable TV, electricity, and food on the table. And if we're having difficulty with food on the table, we have wonderful programs like Food Stamps. There are currently almost 40million people on Foodstamps, I'm actually one of them. But, we have food.
In Somalia, in the last three months, 30,000 children have died due to not having food. I heard about a six-month old baby that weighed in at 6lbs! I was three pounds more than that when I was born. Millions of people in Africa are without food, or a place to live. They're putting ten people in a wood-framed, trash-covered hut. Yes, people's houses are made out of trash.
Also, there are 2.5 BILLION people in the world who don't even have access to clean water. Water! 2.5 billion people, human beings, without water. Could they have water? yeah. We have the technology and resources to provide clean water access and food to every person in the world. It just takes a little jump start, and then they can start growing their own food. The water is in the ground, in most places, but they don't have the wells to draw the water from, and if they do, the wells are right next to the toilet facilities.

These are images from Rwanda. The first is the toilet for the community, the second is where the community gets its water. Could you imagine living like that? But they do.
We freak out so much over our loses, yet we still have way more than 2.5 Billion people. The UK goes crazy and riots, our stock market goes down, people freak out over becoming too socialist. Let me tell you what the alternative to socialism is, these photos above. People living like that, while others live in mansions with multiple cars, and more rooms than can be filled. Can you condemn someone to live like that? Or are you so concerned with yourself that you don't care what other people have to go through, as long as you have your big screen TV. We've been more focused on our own big TV, while 2.5 billion people don't even have water.
Course, here I sit, in front of a 6-core 3.2GHz, 4GB RAM, 4GB hard drives, two wide-screen monitors (which actually I got for free because someone was throwing them away....wtf?), and I have a laptop, and I'm hoping to soon get an Archos G9 101 tablet (better than the iPad). And I in the last year and a half, I've spent $3,000 on amazon with credit. So, I'm kind of a hypocrite. But, I'm doing something to help.
And you can help too. Find a charity that helps provide water, farming training, etc, to Africa. It doesn't take much. Donate $5 if that's all you can do. But if you can donate $50, or $100 do so. You'll be saving countless lives.
Here are a few of my favorite charities:
Seeds of Hope International Partnerships - www.sohip.org (my mother runs the US office for this group)
LifeWater - www.lifewater.org
Project Africa Community Empowerment - www.projectacenow.org (who also gets credit for the photos above, and which I am the webmaster)

There are also several others out there. BloodWater and Charity:Water are also good charities to give to.

Don't wait for someone else to do something, do something yourself.
That's what I would do.