http://annezook.com/ en-us annezook@allmail.net 2010-05-31T08:31:36-07:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003753.php Poor Alaska. Again. The pipeline, of which BP is the majority owner, dumped thousands of barrels of oil across a swath of what used to be pristine wilderness before the objections of conservatives (of the ecological variety) and the native population (who had an arguable right to be considered) and a lot of other people were ignored in a desperate rush to 'secure' this country's energy future with this non-sustainable, planet-killing project. Before this , the pipeline had already spewed at least 40,000 barrels across the landscape in major incidents. The number of minor incidents--small but persistent leaks, leaks the media didn't find out about, etc.--is unknown. I'm just saying. If all the money we've dumped into killing the planet by drilling for oil had been put into wind and solar energy research--you can't tell me we wouldn't be driving 95% pollution-free cars and working in green buildings right now.... 3753@http://annezook.com/ World Issues 2010-05-31T08:31:36-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003750.php The ubiquitous CNN headlines the story as Federal government extends area of fishing ban in Gulf of Mexico. Just some "area" (vague) and just a "fishing ban." Not too bad, right? In the first paragraph, their coverage leads with the Feds closing "more Federal waters" (just to vague it up a little more) with a direct segue to lawmakers holding hearings. The juxtaposition makes me wonder if CNN thinks the resulting hot air will fix the situation? To be fair, they get to numbers after that. 19% of the Gulf. Overseas, the Guardian tells its readers that the Atlantic coast now under threat as current spreads Gulf oil slick with the sub-headline of "Scale of disaster becoming apparent as tar balls reach Florida and Gulf of Mexico no-fishing zone doubles in size" "…doubles in size." Their first paragraph stays on subject. "There was mounting evidence tonight that the scale of... 3750@http://annezook.com/ World Issues 2010-05-18T15:53:18-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003749.php The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday the federal government has the power to keep some sex offenders behind bars indefinitely after they have served their sentences if officials determine those inmates may prove "sexually dangerous" in the future. A singularly appalling decision. The law has to be the law. The law says that prisoners are released once they have served their sentences. You can't keep people locked up because you suspect they're thinking about committing another crime. I've never liked that "civil commitment" thing--if you think laws for certain crimes don't call for long enough sentences, then fix those law. Don't just just pass a new one saying you can pick and choose and decide keep some people in prison forever, without additional due process. If anyone's keeping score, this is another step on the slippery slope from democracy to totalitarianism. Also--stop for a moment and just imagine how appalled... 3749@http://annezook.com/ 2010-05-17T10:28:49-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003746.php Every place you turn these days, you're told not to wear perfume, to avoid scented bath products, to keep to laundry odorless laundry soaps, to use unscented hand lotion. Why? Allergies. Everywhere you go, you're surrounded by a thousand people, each of whom is likely to be allergic to something. For instance, it's very common for people to have pet allergies these days. Which makes it hard to understand how Frontier Airlines can be seriously considering letting dogs, cats, and other animals fly in the cabin with unsuspecting passengers. Disclaimer: I don't have a dog in this race myself. My only environmental allergy is the rise in blood pressure I experience when surrounded by stupid people. My defense of the allergy-ridden is purely altruistic.... 3746@http://annezook.com/ 2010-05-12T16:38:59-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003745.php The military is considering issuing a medal to soldiers who don't kill people? Does that make actual sense? No, it does not. Yes, civilians get killed. They get raped and murdered. They get kidnapped and tortured--our own government was in the business for a while and hasn't actually shut down the program yet. War brutalizes soldiers. It always has. That's a lot of what the "horrors of war" are all about, people. War brutalizes the soldiers and they pass it along. You want to stop civilian war casualties? Stop making war.... 3745@http://annezook.com/ War 2010-05-12T16:27:31-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003740.php I always sort of wondered why some lame-brain hadn't done this before.... 3740@http://annezook.com/ 2010-05-06T16:44:33-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003737.php Every now and then, I skim my way though my almost antique list of political sites and blogs. I think it's important to do that, even though I've sworn to stop letting the resulting rage rule my life, because sometimes--if I haven't been paying enough attention for a few weeks--I almost forget that we're evil. Evil is as evil does and we do evil. We're also, duplicitous, hypocritical, and frequently bigoted. I've got to stop reading the news. It never improves my day. On the lighter side of Being Peevish: Maybe twenty or thirty years ago, stories about clueless men are about weddings were funny. Take a walk with Google Maps.... 3737@http://annezook.com/ 2010-05-06T15:35:49-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003735.php If I lived in Whitney, I'd totally vote Looney. Among other things, they promise banning superheroes from using their powers for evil. Who wouldn't vote to for that? (Although, remember the recent debacle of Bonehead & Crookface, I might ask them to add wannabe superheros to the ban.) I'm glad I'm not in Montgomery County, Maryland, though. Even if I was, I wouldn't vote for corporate person Murray Hill for Congress. It is running as a Republican because of the party's pro-corporate agenda That's not even funny. Repugnicans--that is Republicans--really do care about the little people. Don't be fooled by their actual policies or anything. Know that they care deeply about people. Or, at least, their favorite sloansr. (Of course, once you've found the words, you have to have another fight over who gets to define them. Republicans have been repugnant (couldn't resist) for a long time. Those of you... 3735@http://annezook.com/ 2010-05-05T12:38:47-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003733.php Shrimp boats won't be goin' Their sails are furled tight. Shrimp boats won't be goin' The shrimp have all died. Why don't-cha hurry, hurry, hurry drill Why don't-cha hurry, hurry, hurry kill Look here! The shrimp boats aren't a-goin' The shrimp have all died. P.S. In case you're wondering, no, I do not consider a u-turn sufficient to make up for a decision stupid enough to have originated in the Bush White House.... 3733@http://annezook.com/ World Issues 2010-04-30T13:05:42-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003723.php It was as irritating as hell when airlines started charging people who were traveling for carrying their luggage. As though it was somehow unusual or strange that someone leaving home would need a couple of changes of clothes and maybe a second pair of shoes or a jacket and maybe even want to tote along a gift for Mom. As if that wasn't bad enough now Spirit is planning to charge people for carry-on luggage. Now it's not enough that they think you should travel without some clean pants and a couple of shirts. Now they want to charge you for carrying your deodorant and some toothpaste on board the plane with you.* The crazy is piling up, isn't it? But that's not all. No, now another airline is considering charging you to pee. No word, yet, on whether or not water, coffee, and soft drinks will still be distributed... 3723@http://annezook.com/ 2010-04-07T14:13:16-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003719.php Hypocrisy is jumping on chances to diss religion and make bad and offensive jokes about archaic superstitions, then taking advantage of an offer to leave early on a Friday "for the Easter weekend." I never said I wasn't a hypocrite, you know.... 3719@http://annezook.com/ 2010-04-02T16:12:13-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003716.php Apparently talking about the hundreds and hundreds of children sexually abused by priests while the Catholic church was more concerned with cover-up than prosecutions is just unfair. Apparently, talking about a particularly egregious case that was coming to a trial of sorts--even though only inside the church's 'trial' procedures and not in a criminal court--until the trial was derailed by a pre-Pope is just--it's so unfair to talk about that pre-Pope priest, now that he's Pope-ing, that the people around him are getting pissed. As near as I can figure, from reading both stories, their defense goes something like this: "While it is true that mistakes were made, it can nevertheless be argued that someone else made them and in any case a mistake made by a man can't be held against a Pope and it's against the rules to talk about the man before the Popery." Also: "We're gonna... 3716@http://annezook.com/ Aimless ranting 2010-04-01T14:41:21-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003710.php I'm pretty good with the blinkers--seeing only what I want to see, but some Republicans leave me behind. Mr. Frum mourns the imminent passing of the health care reform bill but maintains that even though Republicans can (and will)( keep voting "no" until the final is signed, they gotta live with it. Repeal? No, that's not gonna happen. because: Will they vote to reopen the "doughnut" hole for prescription drugs for seniors? To allow health insurers to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions? To kick millions of people off Medicaid? No, they will not. Because that would be political suicide. Boggles the mind. Politically, it's okay to tell lies and mislead people to prevent meaningful reform--they're perfectly happy to vote against people getting coverage, but they lack the balls to take it away later? Where are the principles they pretend they are upholding? Frum goes on claim that the... 3710@http://annezook.com/ 2010-03-22T14:17:47-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003707.php I support equality and decent treatment of fellow human beings, regardless of gender, age, physical ability/disability, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, or political affiliation or almost any -ism you might be able to think of. (There are exceptions.) But? If you're going to post rants about how this person dissed you for having brown skin or that person dissed you for having boobs or some other person dissed you because you're gay, you have got to provide some level of detail explaining why you think you were dissed for that reason. I'm not saying you have to prove it--we all know this shit happens. I'm saying that if you're not able to say some guy in the grocery story cut in front of you in line because you were in a chair or some guy didn't offer you a job you felt you were perfectly suited for because he could tell you... 3707@http://annezook.com/ Race, Gender, and Sexuality 2010-03-19T14:37:38-07:00 http://annezook.com/archives/003706.php I saw online somewhere today that next year will be Reagan's "centennial" or something. He'd have been a hundred if he hadn't died, anyhow. Apparently this is going to be a big deal for the news media, currently at a loss for rabble-rousing sensationalism. (DADT was revoked and no one cared. All reliable polling says that abortion is not at the center of the "health care reform" drama, in spite of dozens of news outlet headlines trying to say it is. Obama won't do anything outlandish they can make hay from. The so-called "Tea Party" is imploding from the weight of their own crazy. Palin is so five minutes ago.) But. Seriously? Reagan? Reagan? I mean, put Party labels aside, forget your own political affiliation for the moment. Look at results. #1 - Reagan promised that if we gave rich people tax breaks, the money would "trickle down" to us.... 3706@http://annezook.com/ Aimless ranting 2010-03-18T15:18:20-07:00