This week the blogosphere has been inundated with posts about Her Highness, Sarah Palin.
Why she's wonderful, why she sucks, what her good points are (none, in my humble opinion), what people like about her..
In many discussions I've had on neocon and liberal blogs alike, my normal response has gone something like this:
John Mccain has only proved by picking Palin as his VP what I already knew:
He is NO maverick. His choice only shows that he is desperate. Desperate for the Evangelical vote, desperate for the uber-Right vote, and desperate to take some HIllary supporters from Barack(though how he imagined he could get any of them on his side is beyond me).. As a matter of fact, how any Hillary supporter could say they're now voting Mccain is beyond me..
Anywho..
Sarah Palin is anti-gay, anti-environment, pro-religion-in-government, pro-gun (and before anyone says anything: I have NOTHING against our Second Ammendment Rights.. I do, however, see a problem with people fighting to make it easier to get guns, when imho, it is far too easy for criminals to get their hands on guns as it is).
She thinks we should have prayer in our public schools, she believes creationsim should be taught in our schools..
She thinks that global warming is NOT man-made (therefore NOT our responsibility)..
She's a HUGE fan of hunting, she opposes the polar bear being listed as an endangered species by the Interior Department , and has led the fight to begin drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (something Mccain opposes, by the way)..
She is admittedly "as pro-life as one could be". Not agreeing with abortion even in cases of incest and rape..
She doesn't believe in sex education in our schools (perhaps if she did her 17 year old daughter wouldn't be prego)...
To my response one conservative replied "So what? That is why we LIKE her..."
*hangs head in disgust.. How can so many people just not "get it"????*
(Factiod: According to the Washington Post: "After the legislature passed a spending bill in April, Palin went through the measure reducing and eliminating funds for programs she opposed. Inking her initials on the legislation -- "SP" -- Palin reduced funding for Covenant House Alaska by more than 20 percent, cutting funds from $5 million to $3.9 million. Covenant House is a mix of programs and shelters for troubled youths, including Passage House, which is a transitional home for teenage mothers.
According to Passage House's Web site, its purpose is to provide "young mothers a place to live with their babies for up to eighteen months while they gain the necessary skills and resources to change their lives" and help teen moms "become productive, successful, independent adults who create and provide a stable environment for themselves and their families."
"In classic "compassionate" conservative fashion, Palin opposes programs that teach girls how not to get pregnant, lobbies against their right to decide whether to have a child, then kills social programs that exist to cushion the impact of those policies. She then has the gall to trot out her own pregnant daughter as a symbol for "family values."
Now, many Conservatives have been writing blogs about how Mccains pick has "frightened" us libs.. Well, they're right. He HAS frightened us.. But NOT because I'm afraid she'll help him get elected, but because if he is elected this woman could end up our Commander in Chief.
NOW, take a look at this and tell me she doesn't frighten you as well:
" The Huffington Post writes that the church's preacher, Ed Kalinins:
… preached that critics of President Bush will be banished to hell; questioned whether people who voted for Sen. John Kerry in 2004 would be accepted to heaven; charged that the 9/11 terrorist attacks and war in Iraq were part of a war "contending for your faith;" and said that Jesus "operated from that position of war mode."
Kalinins also offered a nuanced view of foreign policy, preaching that 9/11 and the Iraq war were part of a greater struggle over Christianity, with Jesus playing an important role as a very exacting general:
"What you see in Iraq, basically, is a manifestation of what's going on in this unseen world called the spirit world. … We need to think like Jesus thinks. We are in a time and a season of war, and we need to think like that. We need to develop that instinct. We need to develop as believers the instinct that we are at war, and that war is contending for your faith. … Jesus called us to die. You're worried about getting hurt? He's called us to die.
It can't necessarily be assumed that Palin agrees wholeheartedly with her former pastor. But in an address to the church three months ago, Palin also used disconcertingly religious language to frame the conflict in Iraq:
"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending (U.S. soldiers) out on a task that is from God," she exhorted the congregants. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."
Just what we need: Another Republican who believes it is Americas "Christian duty" to rule the world with an iron fist. *ugh*
Did I forget to mention that on top of Sarah being of a very pro-war, police-the-world, mentality, that she has not one iota of Foreign Policy experience and admits to not knowing "much" about Iraq?
This lady is a neocon to the core.. One whom John Mccain only met ONCE before picking her as his VP. (Which adds one more to the long list of reasons I question his sanity)...
John Mccain knew he needed to pander to the uber-Right Wing evangelicals out there so he thought she would be the perfect pick.. And she is, if that what he was going for..
My BIG question is: Is THIS what we want running (or shall I say RUINing) our country?
Old Johnny, who supported 95% of Bushneys policies, by the way, has just given us one more reason to work our asses off to make SURE that he does NOT win this election.
Who may just die and leave Palin as Pres?
Is this the direction Americans really want our country to go?
Is this what America has become?
One which has become so apathetic to our fellow middle and lower class that it will continue the same failed economic policies which have put a stranglehold on the working class?
One which will elect a president who would love nothing more to include Christian classes and prayers into our Public Schools attended by all races and religions?
One which would overturn Roe v. Wade if they had the chance?
One which has become so hateful, and so phobic, that we will support a president who believes gays aren't entitled to the same rights as any straight American?
One which allows one particular set of religious beliefs to dictate our laws?
One which inflicts one particular religious belief upon a country which is SUPPOSED to respect and value people of ALL religions, ethnicities, backgrounds and lifestyles?
One which thinks it is Gods plan that America act as the worlds police? One which continues to support a president who didn't exhaust all possible options before going to war? One which thinks diplomacy is a bad thing?!?!
It truly boggles my mind, how people who constantly proclaim that they are SOOOO MUCH MORE patriotic than everyone else, can in good conscience support a ticket which will continue Bushney and Co's blatant disregard for TRUE American values and our Constitutional Rights.
It is absolutely the MOST unpatriotic thing I have EVER heard of.. And certainly NOT the America I knew and loved?
The America which counted ALL human beings, regardless of sexual preference, lifestyle, religion, race or background, as EQUALS who were entitled to certain inalienable rights, among those being life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?
The America, the melting pot, which respected all cultures and lifestyles and valued their contributions to our society? (Remebr Mccain "tar baby", "gook" and "cunt"/"tramp" references.)
What happened to the America, which at the very LEAST, attempted to set a good example when it came to being fair and just and humane and compassionate and TOLERANT?
Whatever happened to freedom of and from religion and SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE?!?
Where has that America gone? And when will it come back?
When we stop allowing fear and ignorance to overtake our common sense and are big enough to admit that we SCREWED up *big time*.
When we stop allowing the Republican Party to scare us into submission..
When we stop allowing our politicians to treat our Constitution as if it were "just a piece of paper".
When we remember the vision our fore fathers had for this great nation was one which every single one of us was entitled to a good future as long as we worked hard for it and stopped settling for less!
When we stop allowing our Elected REPRESENTATIVES, in every single branch of government, to put the welfare of the corporations above those of the People and remind them that THEY work FOR US.
When we DEMAND our government LISTEN to the WILL OF THE PEOPLE!
Americans are NOT quitters.. And historically we never allowed ourselves to be bullied into submission for long.. And we never bought into the whole "PROGRESS is a bad thing" rap..
SO what's changed??!
NOTHING. Except that we got lazy and compliant and apathetic or gave in and gave up on ourselves...
NOW is the time to be heard, now is the time to NOT settle for less.. Now is the time to say to our government: We will NOT be silenced any longer, and we will take OUR America back.
Obama, Mccain, Hillary & Biden. I’m Back! *UPDATED w/ Info on Palin and my Obama graphics!*
Current mood: inspired
Category: News and Politics
Hey Peeps! Well, after a week away I'm back from the Jersey Shore.. We had a great time, by the way.. And, for the record, Billy (BG) and Lisa are ULTRA-groovy cool peeps and we had a BLAST!
So, if I haven't answered your comments or messages or my blogs, you guys know why.. Give me some time and I'll try to catch up with all of it, and if I miss something important, let me know by writing to me again.
Now, on to politics. What a week we picked to go on vacation, huh? Soooooo much happened in politics and I wasn't around to blog about it *sigh*.
So I'll try to get in as much here as I can and answer some of the questions many of you guys sent me while I was gone.
First of all, let me say that I COMPLETELY and TOTALLY support Barack Obama and think his choosing Joe Biden as his VP was a super cool move. Some of you wrote to me asking me how I could support his choice and "call myself a hippy" (as Joe voted for the war in Iraq), and someone else pointed out on my last blog that I was being a flip flopper because I had written a blog a while ago stating that I was against Obama and have since changed my mind.
So, let me first address me being a flip flopper (though I prefer thinking that I am NOT so much a "flip flopper" as someone who is a HUMAN BEING, one who is ALLOWED to ponder the various issues and rethink my stance, and *gasp*, even change my mind when it comes to any issue (or candidate.... That's what being progressive is all about, to me, anyway)...
Now then, here's where I stand on Obama.. I admit when he was first given the nomination I was bitter. I LOVED Hillary (still do) and think she was the most qualified and ready candidate for the job ahead. I loved her plans and her stances on most issues. ANd I especially thought she would make a great (uber-fantastic) pres because SHE, of all people, KNOWS who the rats in Washington are and would have ended a LOT of the crony-ism and corruption in Washington as soon as she stepped into office. (Especially considering that the same people who spent millions of dollars to "investigate" aka find dirt on, Bill Clinton (and all they could come up with was him lying about an extra-marital affair), are the SAME people who are protecting Bush and profiting from Bushney and Co.'s administration (but that's a whole 'nother blog now, isn't it?)
Again, I was bitter about how the media was very biased against her, and how the whole thing went down, really. I was passionate about her and still look up to her.
That being said, the more I looked into Obama the more I realized he was NOT just rhetoric. I went to his website and researched his plans (which, btw, are very similar to Hillarys). I researched his past and read his book and read about his life and what formed him and why he is the way he is today. I agree with almost ALL of his stances, from how he feels about the war to how he feels about Roe v. Wade to how he feels about healthcare in America today. He does have substance and anyone who says he doesn't is miseducated or being misled.
The more I discovered about him, and listened to him, and watched him, the more I became excited about him.
And now, I am proud to say, I am a full fledged Obama-head and I am super stoked about him being the next president of the United States.
Any concerns I had before about Barack have been quelled. Especially when you consider the fact that Joe Biden balances his ticket out completely.. What Obama lacks in Biden more than makes up for..
Obama is fresh and new and full of passion and ready to work his butt off trying to restore our economy, our standing in the world, and the trust of the American People in their government.. He's ready to get working on diplomacy again and bringing our boys and girls home..
Joe's foreign policy experience should put to rest any reservations anyone had when it comes to being a war-time president..
Barack will keep Joe new and current and passionate and Joe will help keep Barack on track and make his visions reality.
The fact is that the entire Democratic Party will be there to help guide him and offer their own ideas and plans when it comes to fixing the millions of problems that have been created these past 8 years...
And a lot of Republicans are ready to start working on digging ourselves out of the hole we've been dug into by Bushney and Co. Together, bi-partisan, as a TEAM, as Americans.
I believe that Obama is sincere and passionate about our country, just as passionate as I am. I feel the same way he does when it comes to what I feel is wrong in this country and how we should go about righting those wrongs.
He inspires me and gives me HOPE. I stand behind him one hundred and fifty percent. Barack and Roll, Baby!!
Now, for those of you who are hard-core Hillary supporters hell-bent on voting Mccain (or anyone but Obama).. I say this to you:
If you really support Hillary, and love and trust her and feel the same way she does when it comes to the most important issues in our country today, then I BEG you to PLEASE LISTEN TO HER!!!
She knows what is at stake here in this election, and has thrown her full fledged support behind Obama and is working her butt off to get him elected. Why? Because she knows what could happen if Mccain does become president in 2009.
Sure, Mccain has experience.. He has so much experience, in fact, that he should be a good candidate. Unfortunately, he is not...
He has been in Washington long enough to know that the Bushney policies of the past 8 years DON'T WORK. Long enough to know, in fact, that Bushney policies weren't gonna work, haven't worked, have royally screwed our great country, and long enough to know that a continuation of those policies will only dig us deeper..
He has enough government experience that he should KNOW BETTER, but doesn't.
In short: He has his head shoved way up his butt and knows NOTHING when it comes to what it will take to solve the problems we are facing.
If Mccain is elected president, we will continue watching our economy go down the drain.
We will continue to watch helplessly as our houses depreciate in value and our homes continue to be foreclosed on..
We will continue to see prices go up and wages go down.. We will continue to have our jobs shipped overseas..
We will continue to see health insurance companies and jobs lessen benefits for more money..
We will continue seeing our boys and girls in uniform lose their benefits and wages and incentives and be sent on tour after tour after tour...
We will continue to watch our government throw diplomacy right out the window, playing word police, while punishing other countries for human rights violations but ignoring and violating human rights violations and the Geneva Convention here at home.
We will continue to see the welfare of the corporations come before the welfare of the American People.
We will continue to watch the rise of inequality in the workplace..
We will continue to see the rise of discrimination against people (for their gender, or sexual orientations, or religions, or races) rise in this great country which is supposed to have "liberty, and justice, for ALL" (please notice there is no asterisk next to ALL).
And let's not forget about our Supreme Court Judges..
If Mccain is elected he has the power to replace them with others who would overturn such important cases as Roe v. Wade.
IN fact, at this VERY moment the Republicans hard at work attacking womens reproductive freedom, trying to "redefine" abortion to include birth control as a means to MAKE IT ALL ILLEGAL.
And remember that Mccain called black people "tar babies", his wife and women "cunts" and "tramps", and made horrible jokes about monkeys raping women... Don't believe me? Look it up.
His own colleagues (Republican colleagues) in Senate have voiced their "worry" over his "short temper".
Who the hell wants a president like that?
God bless him for his service to our country.. But Mccain is certainly NOT presidential material.
And those are just a FEW examples of what would happen, and if Mccain is elected believe me, We will continue to see all of the FAILED policies of the far-right destroy our country and we will all watch as the American Dream dies once and for all.
Even die hard, life long Republicans see what is happening.. Know what the consequences of these past 8 years have been.. They know what it will take to clean up the messes we have gotten ourselves into.. They are, for the first time in history, turning to the Democratic Party and publicly announcing their support for Barack Obama.
This isn't about Dems or Pubs. This is SOOOO much BIGGER than that.
Make no mistake, this is about AMERICA, and I am supremely proud to see our Republican Senators, Congressmen and other representatives standing up for what is RIGHT and SPEAKING OUT.
(for more Republicans endorsing Obama such as Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Former Congressman Jim Leach (R-IA) and former Bush White House intelligence adviser Rita E. Hauser please check out http://www.republicansforobama.org/ & http://www.newsweek.com/id/107476)
Now, if THAT doesn't say something to you about just how important, just how dire, and just how pivotal this election will be, I don't know what does.
So NO, I am NOT a flip flopper, nor am I being somehow unloyal to HIllary.. I am standing with Hillary, and millions of Americans, who are sick and tired of the failed and flawed policies of the past eight years and are ready for change.
Mccain is a continuation of those flawed policies. Obama is the light at the end of the tunnel.
I am ready to see our Constitution revered and followed once again..
I am ready for the abuses and misuses of power to end.
I am ready for an American government that once again works FOR the People, and NOT against the People.
I am ready for an America which is looked up to and admired for its example and its character, NOT feared for its power and strength.
No more crony-ism, no more corruption. No more unconstitutional and illegal, behind closed doors, bull.
I am ready to take a chance. I am ready to take a stand.
And I will do everything I can to make sure Mccain is NOT elected, and Obama is.
Peace and luv, Janie
Okay, here are my newest Obama graphics for those of you who didn't see the bulletin:
And... Some information on Mccains running mate, Miss Sarah Palin:
(seen sitting in her office in Alaska)
For those Hillary supporters.. Actually scratch that, for those Americans who think that somehow because she is a woman that she will be an asset to Mccain, I thought you should think about this:
"I am pro-life and I believe that marriage should only be between and man and a woman."
from Wiki:
*In 2002, while running for lieutenant governor, Palin called herself as "pro-life as any candidate can be."[25]
*She opposes abortion for rape and incest victims,[81] supporting it only in cases where the mother's life is in danger.[82] Palin does support contraception,[83] and is a prominent member of Feminists for Life, which takes no position on that issue.[84] Palin has said she is in favor of the death penalty in extreme cases.[85]
(Note from me: She also opposes abortion in ALL cases and opposes the use of BIRTH CONTROL PILLS AND CONDOMS even among married couples)...
* Palin opposes same-sex marriage[25] and supported a non-binding referendum for a constitutional amendment to deny state health benefits to same-sex couples.[86] Palin has stated that she supported the 1998 constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.[25]
* In a televised debate, Palin supported teaching both creationism and evolution in public schools. The next day she clarified her position to one of allowing the discussion of alternative views and not of having creationism in the curriculum.[87]
* Palin has strongly promoted oil and natural gas resource development in Alaska, including opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling.[32] She does not believe that global warming is man-made.[35] She opposed listing of the polar bear as an endangered species,[88] and supported a controversial predator-control program involving aerial hunting of wolves.[89]
* Palin is a member of the National Rifle Association, and is popular among gun rights activists. She is a strong proponent of the Second Amendment, and supports gun safety education for youth.[90]
Sarah on the Issues:
*Marriage only be between and man and a woman. (Nov 2006)
On the Environment:
* Lift moratorium on offshore drilling. (Jul 2008) * Convince the rest of the nation to open ANWR. (Jan 2007) * Sue US government to stop listing polar bear as endangered. (Aug 2008) * We must encourage timber, mining, drilling, & fishing. (Jan 2008) * Convinced McCain to drill offshore; not yet on drilling ANWR. (Jul 2008) * Unlock ANWR; we're ready, willing and able to contribute. (Jun 2008)
On Gun Control:
* Supports ending D.C.'s 32-year-old ban on handguns. (Jun 2008) * Lifelong NRA member & champion of right to bear arms. (Feb 2008) * Supports Constitutional right to bear arms. (Nov 2006)
On HealthCare:
* Health care must be market-and business-driven. (Jan 2008) * Take personal responsibility for personal health & all areas. (Jan 2008)
* Submitted legislation to build natural AGIA gas pipeline. (Mar 2007).. * Convince the rest of the nation to open ANWR.
I forgot to mention that she also was THE STATE CAMPAIGN CHAIRPERSON FOR PAT BUCHANAN during his 2000 Presidential Campaign.
And vocal supporter of the Bush/McCain proposal to privatize Social Security.
(Jan 2007)
Make no mistake, this woman is more of a neocon than Mccain will ever be (which is why he picked her, imo, he needs the Evangelical vote). Shes a CARD CARRYING, RIFLE TOTING, ANTI-GAY, ANTI-CHOICE, ANTI-ENVIRONMENT married to an oil executive who likes to hunt and fish in her spare time.
And seeing as how Mccain only met this once before choosing her as his VP, the only reason I can see for him doing so is to try and lure the PUMAS over to his side...
She, like Mccain, does NOT stand for progress, and will continue the efforts of the Bushney administration to set back womens rights, gay rights, environmental issues and reproductive freedom as long as she can.
Biden Is the Man! And We’re Goin’ ALL THE WAY, Baby!
Current mood: catalyzed
Category: News and Politics
This is gonna be short and sweet (like me;o))..
Joe Biden is gonna be our next VP, and I am SURE that Obama is gonna be our next pres! The Pubs have NOTHING on us now, with Joe by Obamas side they're an unstoppable team! And for the Dems who were still leery about Obamas lack of experience and foreign policy knowledge, we have all the bases covered now..
Dem's 08!
Yeah Baby!
I hope you guys are just as pumped as I am!
On a side note: I wanted to let you guys know me and Mommy are going on vacation for the week, and won't be back til Friday..
So, I'm leaving you with some new graphics just for you guys!
Our ENTIRE Justice System Sucks: My Story
Current mood: catalyzed
Category: News and Politics
I was talking to my girlfriends the other day, and somehow the subject of me being raped was brought up.
As most you know, I was raped when I was a teenager. For those of you who don't, here's a little background on my story:
I was fourteen years old and a really YOUNG and naive fourteen year old at that. Not like of kids nowadays who look like they're twenty and act that way, too.. It was my first year of high school, I was in the 9th grade, and starting to get a wee bit rebellious, seeing which lines could be crossed and testing my boundaries as all teenagers do.
We had just moved into a new house on Sackett St.. And the first week we were there me and my girlfriend Emily decided to pretend we were locked out of my house just so we could have a reason to go hang out with this kid Ben (who I had a crush on, lol) who lived less than three blocks away..
I've often wondered how different my life could have been, would be, if we hadn't made that silly and stupid decision back then..
Anywho... As we were walking down to his house, we ended up meeting these three kids, one of whom Emily had gone to Junior High school with. She introduced me to the bunch and we ended up hanging out all day with them.
Somehow, I ended up dating one of the guys who we met, and hanging out on a regular basis with him and his cousins for the next week or so.
Little more than a week or two later, one of the guys who we met that fateful day stopped by my house to tell me that my "boyfriend" was on his way over and I let him and two of his cousins into my house. No one was there that day because one of my mom and dads friends had passed away and they had to go to the wake. My brother was home..
He was only eleven years old at the time, and miraculously he was in the basement doing laundry when everything went so horribly wrong.
Me, my boyfriend and his two cousins, (David, who was sixteen at the time and C., who was probably about twenty six).
And before anyone says anything: Yes, I was stupid to have allowed older guys into my house when no one was home. I was an idiot. Hindsight is twenty-twenty. So please don't beat me up over it because I have beat myself up over that choice bit of stupidity for eleven years now.
Me and my boyfriend (who was the same age as me, by the way), ended up making out in my room as most teenagers do at one point or another.. All of the sudden, his cousin David bursts into the room and says he needed "to talk with me".
It was very weird and me and my guy (we'll call him A.) kinda looked at each other like "what the hell is going on?".
C., the older, much bigger (about 300 pounds, 6" tall bigger) cousin was standing right in my doorway when David burst into the room.
A. looked at David and asked him what the hell was so important that he just had to talk at that very moment, and David said something about having to ask me a question and that it couldn't wait. And that he needed to talk to me alone.
Weirder and weirder.
The condensed version of what happened after that went something like this:
I told A. it was okay and that I'd be right out. David told him to close the door for a minute . I (stupid me), told A. it was alright and we'd only be a minute and turned to David. I asked him what the hell was up and all of the sudden he was NOT the guy I had known the past week or so. (But I guess I didn't really know him at all. Ugh.)
He just kind of flipped out and started asking how I could be with his cousin and not him.. He got really aggressive and I started to get really scared. He just kind of lunged for me, grabbed my jeans and he actually tried to pull them off so hard that I flew off of my bed (they were tight jeans) and went sliding onto the carpet (I had a rug burn for days).
At that point things went crazy..
A. burst into the room when he heard me screaming but C. grabbed him and A. just couldn't break free (A. was a fourteen year old kid not much taller than I and skinny, and I told you what Chu looked like).
I was raped, three separate times (he stopped twice for one reason or another, not getting into details here, and started up again.)
I fought, as hard as I could. It's funny because as a girl you try and think about what you would do if anyone ever tried to rape you, and you think of different things you could do to get out of it.. I always thought if anyone ever tried to rape me I would kick them in the balls and run like hell.. But it's not that simple in real life, is it?
I'm almost positive I got knocked out for a second, because one second I remember fighting with all of my might, grabbing Davids hair, and then I remember him grabbing my hair and pounding my head into my metal bed post...
The next thing I remember is him forcing himself into me.
Anyway, at some point during the whole fiasco A. finally got out of C.'s grasp. He ran for the door and C. chased him..
I didn't know where he was going or if he would even get there alive and lost all hope at that point.
It turned out that C. chased A. all the way to the train station, where A. jumped on a train... AT the nest stop A. ran to call the police to tell them what was happening at my house....
I guess the whole rape(s) lasted about an hour.
When David finally finished with me and finally left my house, I remember throwing on a pair of white pants and a red tank top and running downstairs to see what had happened to my little brother..
THANK GOD for MAKING SURE that Kevin had his walkman on that day and was doing the laundry (which he rarely does). It really is nothing short of a miracle. I have no doubt whatsoever that if Kevin had heard my screams and my pleas, he would have come upstairs, and he would have been REALLY hurt.
I remember my little bro looking at me (and I was a beat up MESS) and asking what happened and me getting histerical and saying "I'm leaving, DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES< LET ANYONE IN THIS HOUSE.... EVEN IF YOU THINK THEY"RE MY FRIENDS.... LOCK THE DOORS AND DON'T EVEN ANSWER IF SOMEONE RINGS THE BELL!!!!!!!!!!!"
He was so confused, and now really scared, that he just kind of nodded and I bolted out of my house like a bat out of hell and ran for my friend Bens house.
To make a long story short, the cops finally found me after looking all over the neighborhood for me and brought me the hospital, where A. was waiting for me, along with my mom and her best friend. My dad had to go back to my house so they could set up a crime scene and collect evidence.
After the rape kit at the hospital I was brought to the Special Victims Unit, and me and A. were interviewed by various different detectives and we wrote our statements and pictures were taken of all of my injuries and bruises and bite marks and god knows what else.
I was raped on April 16th. The court date was set for the following April 16th.
The cops had ALL of the physical evidence. They had all of the DNA. We had an EYEWITNESS ( the rapists own COUSIN, no less).
The charges were as followed: He was charged as an adult, by the way.
Three counts of rape. Sexual assault. Assault and battery. Endangering the life of a minor. Threatening the life of a minor. Two counts of illegal imprisonment. Two counts of Robbery (ah yes, he also stole my moms jewelery after he'd finished with me)..
And do you wanna know what happened?
He plead guilty. He stood on the stand and described every single detail of what he did to me.
And....
He was sentenced to 5 years probation. With weekly psychological evaluations and drug testing (on 2 different days, every week, for the next 5 years).
The judge, who was really pissed that David wasn't gonna serve any hard prison time, told him that if he violated my order of protection, (which he already had about 10 times trying to threaten me and my family, shooting at me, showing up at my school, trying to run me over with his car, getting his bitch girlfriend to beat the crap out of me with her friends..), if "he so much as spit on the sidewalk" were the judges exact words, he would "lock him up for a minimum of 15 years" for "terrorizing" that "poor girl" (again, exact words).
David got off with NO time. NOTHING! All because he "admitted" he raped me?
Because if he had plead "not guilty" and gotten proven guilty (which he would have because the evidence against him was overwhelming), he'd have gotten a minimum 15 year sentence?
Does that make sense to you?
And do you want to hear the kicker? David was arrested no less than 7 times after his sentencing, but because the order of protection and his probation, for some reason, never came up when he was arrested, once he was released they couldn't re-arrest him or give him time for it.
My District Attorney was sooo disgusted and disheartened by the whole thing that she actually quit working SVU. She now works in Vice and has ever since that day when David got off scot-free.
NOW...
I have a friend who is addicted to drugs. She has no criminal record, and has never gotten busted for anything more than a few bags of coke which were obviously for personal use.
The girl has a problem, but she is not criminal nor is she hurting anyone else with her self destructive tendencies.
So you tell me how she just got sentenced to 5 years in prison for carrying 10 bags of coke but David got off with NO time at all?
Who's the worse criminal here?
There is something seriously wrong when rapists, pedophiles, and child abusers are let go with slaps on the wrist over and over again, let go to continue hurting people and ruining lives... When people like David are given endless second chances (he raped 6 girls I know of since he raped me)...
Our entire justice system needs a SERIOUS overhaul. And our society needs to get its priorities straight when it comes to who is punished for which crimes.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but: The punishment for RAPING SOMEONE should be a hell of a lot more severe than the punishment for doing drugs, right?
And another thing. After I was raped, I was given a SHIT-load of pills. One to try and prevent AIDS. One to prevent pregnancy. One to fight off infection and lesser the chance of me getting some type of STD..
Now, WHY OH WHY, did I have to endure FIVE YEARS of annual AIDS tests? Why couldn't they just take Davids blood and then they would KNOW whether or not I was at risk?
Because they didn't want to "violate his rights".
Yes, you heard it: Violate HIS rights!
WTF?!?!?!?!?!
Never mind that he RAPED me. Never mind that he screwed my entire LIFE up. Never mind that he KILLED the innocence and the trust of a 14 year old girl, who, eleven years later, STILL struggles with PTSD and other issues stemming from my rape.
Never mind that I will NEVER know who I might have been had that never happened.
HIS rights are too important.
Yup. the system sucks, alright. BIG time.
Ugh.
What about you guys? Have any stories of your own?
Bushes New Attack on Women. Get Over Here NOW!!!!
Current mood: revolutionary!
Category: revolutionary! News and Politics
Holy Crap! Just when I thought we were coming to the end of Bushney and Co.'s disasterous reign of idiocy, I recieve this in my inbox:
Dear Friend,
Can you imagine living in a place where birth control is considered an "abortion" and health insurers won't cover it? Where even rape victims are denied emergency contraception?
It seems unbelievable, but THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION IS QUIETLY TRYING TO REDEFINE "ABORTION" TO INCLUDE BIRTH CONTROL.
The Houston Chronicle says THIS COULD WIPE OUT DOZENS OF STATE LAWS THAT PROTECT A WOMENS REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM AND PROTECT RAPE VICTIMS(*1).
And it's being pushed as a "rule change"—MEANING, IT DOESN'T NEED CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.
Can you sign an emergency message to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, whose department is considering this rule change right now?
Tell him: "Contraception is NOT abortion. The Bush Administration's proposal to CHANGE THE DEFINITION OF ABORTION and REDUCE WOMENS ACCESS TO BIRTH CONTROL MUST BE STOPPED."
The best way to BEAT BACK THIS PROPOSAL is to show Secretary Leavitt MASSIVE PUBLIC OUTRAGE—that's why today we're launching this petition jointly with Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Together, we'll deliver every signature to Leavitt. You can help add to our momentum by forwarding this message to friends.
Here's what some others are saying about this proposal:
"The draft regulation would define birth control as abortion...it could deny access to critical family planning for women across the country." ~Letter signed by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and 26 other senators.(*2)
"The draft rule could VOID laws in 27 states that require insurance companies to provide birth control coverage for women requesting it [and] laws in 14 states requiring that rape victims receive counseling and access to emergency, day-after contraceptives. ~Houston Chronicle editorial(*3)
"[It's] a spectacular act of complicity with the religious right..." ~RH Reality Check, Information and Analysis for Reproductive Health (*4)
"THE BIRTH CONTROL PILL, THE IUD, AND EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTIVES COULD ALL BECOME UNAVAILABLE, -ILLEGAL-, AS A RESULT."
~Brigid Riley, executive director of a Minnesota teen pregnancy prevention organization(*5)
""
~Janie (aka PeaceNow the Hippie Girl)
Go here to send a loud message to Secretary Leavitt that birth control is NOT abortion!!!!
Clicking the following pic will bring you to the petition so you can sign your name:
Thanks for all you do.
–Nita, Laura, Patrick S., Adam G., and the rest of the team
Just a small note from me:
The pics were added by me. The rest of the letter is from moveon.org.
I urge ALL of you to pimp this blog, blog it yourself, post bulletins, send emails..
Encourage ALL of your friends, sisters, mothers, daughters and anyone who loves the women in their life to SIGN THIS PETITION!
Make them write to their senators, congressmen and other representatives. Make a stink!
GET ACTIVE!
BTW: Reason Number Seven thousand and two NOT to vote for Mccain:
HE SUPPORTS REPEALING ROE V. WADE.
Case CLOSED!
Spread the word, peeps! We can NOT allow this "rule change" to occur. EVER!
Peace and luv, Janie
*Sources:
1. "Redefining abortion; Federal officials considering a rule allowing health care workers to refuse to provide contraceptives," Houston Chronicle, August 10, 2008 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/5935532.html
2. Letter to Secretary Mike Leavitt from Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and 26 other senators, July 23, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4042&id=13467-8331556-6uGV8vx&t=5
3. "Redefining abortion; Federal officials considering a rule allowing health care workers to refuse to provide contraceptives," Houston Chronicle editorial, August 10, 2008 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/5935532.html
4. "HHS Moves to Define Contraception as Abortion," RH Reality Check, July 15, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4041&id=13467-8331556-6uGV8vx&t=6
5. "White House Considering Contraception Restrictions," Public News Service, August 11, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4040&id=13467-8331556-6uGV8vx&t=7
Enough Is Enough!!!
Current mood: disgusted
Category: News and Politics
The following is a video taken by Palestinians. The cameras were given to them by the Jewish/Israeli Human Rights Organization to get evidence of the crimes committed by the Israeli Army.. Since all complaints lodged were always brushed off as "Palestinian Propaganda" and "lies".
follow this LINK to see the video (embedding has been disabled by request)..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA0U1WZflUg
The video speaks for itself.. But here is a pic:
*Following exposure by B'Tselem, Military Police investigate shooting of bound Palestinian The media report that on 20.7, only after B'Tselem aired footage of a soldier shooting a bound Palestinian detainee, did the Military Police open an investigation into the incident.*
Then go to http://www.btselem.org/English/index.asp and watch some of the other videos. Read the eye-witness accounts and look at the pictures.
From Wiki:
"Since the 1970s, Israel has been one of the top recipients of U.S. foreign aid. [10] While it is mostly military aid, in the past a portion was dedicated to economic assistance. In 2004, the second-largest recipient of economic foreign aid from the United States was Israel, second to Iraq. In terms of per capita value Israel ranks first.[11].
In 2007, the United States increased its military aid to Israel by over 25% to an average of $3 billion per year for the following ten year period, while ending economic aid.[12][13]"
This is 2008.. U.S. aid to Israel is approximately one-third of the American foreign-aid budget.
This violence is unacceptable.. Look at the Statistics Here: http://www.btselem.org/english/statistics/Casualties.asp
Then THINK ABOUT THIS:
We, as taxpayers, are DIRECTLY supporting this barbarianism.
Where does it end? When will it end?
When WE demand it.
Write to your congressmen, senators, president.. ALL of your elected officials.
Write to the Israeli Embassy here: http://www.israelemb.org/
Promote AWARENESS. AND KEEP MAKING NOISE AND RAISING AWARENESS!!
I Would BEAT the CRAP Out of You.
Current mood: ninja
Category: News and Politics
It's been a while since I last wrote a blog, partly due to the fact that my Uncle Tim passed away and I guess I've had a bit of writers block, (btw: thank you ALL for writing to me and sending your thoughts and prayers.. They've meant the world to me and my Mom)...
And partly because the few times I did try to write a blog I couldn't even post it.. (Or even post replies to my last one for that matter)... Arg, myspazz..
Oh well... Que sera, sera..
But something happened last week which pissed me off SOOOO much I had to tell you guys about it..
My mom and her friend Rhea were on their lunch break walking down Atlantic Avenue here in Brooklyn, when they happened to spot 2 soldiers down towards the other end of the block in full uniform..
As they got closer, and were just about to pass them, all of the sudden a group of yuppies who'd been sitting at an outdoor table of a local cafe said, very loudly and very obnoxiously: "I cannot BELIEVE those two guys have the NERVE to strut around so proudly in their uniforms like that.. I wonder if they KILLED ANY BABIES WHILE THEY WERE OVER IN IRAQ?"
Another yuppie piped in: "So how many INNOCENT IRAQIS did you MURDER OVER THERE, anyway? I mean, did you keep score?"
The two kids, the two soldiers, couldn't have been more than 20 years old, and both looked as if they'd been punched in the gut and kicked in the balls to top it off.. They were both rendered speechless and kind of looked like deer in a headlight, unmoving, not at all sure how to respond to the spew being directed their way.
My mom, the daughter of a WWII vet, immediately proceeded to go up to these two young men and proclaim, in a voice just as loud as those of the yuppies, "Excuse me sir, I just want to THANK YOU young men for putting YOUR LIVES ON THE LINE FOR US and for serving our country.. I would be most HONORED to shake your hand."
Rhea followed suit and shook the other soldiers hand, and thanked him for his service as well...
The two soldiers, obviously uncomfortable with all of the attention which had been brought to them and still a bit shocked by the proceeding episode, obliged my mom and her friend and shook their hands and the foursome struck up a little conversation...
The yups, who had a moment ago been proudly making a show of disrespecting and belittling our soldiers, as if it were something to be proud of, began to look a lot less confident and perhaps even a little bit guilty.. Nevertheless they went back to eating their meal and didn't dare lift their eyes or their voices to my mom or those two soldiers.
Luckily I wasn't their because unlike my mom, who's too classy to make a scene, I think I would of hauled off and smacked the stupid jerks who thought it was "cool" to try and make our soldiers feel like scum. If I had a gun I might have shot them.. And I am SOOO serious:
I can NOT tolerate that shit. Nope, nope.
My mom called me after this had all happened and was very disturbed by it.. She didn't understand it when it happened back in Nam and doesn't understand it now..
As a nurse, my mom has a LOT of patients who have served in Iraq and have just come home or are gearing up for their 2nd, 3rd, even 4th tours, and, as a nurse in a Family Practice, has known many of these boys and girls since they were mere babies.. Many of them aren't even in their twenties yet and have seen and been through more than many of us could take..
To come home and be called "baby killers" or have people spit in their face in UNACCEPTABLE!
Period.
I don't care HOW much you hate this war or think it's wrong, that is NO excuse to spit on the men and women of our Armed Services. NO REASON AT ALL!
My mom posted a blog a while ago which had a video in it about the Vietnam vets and how they were treated when they came home.. The video was kind of harsh but the whole point of it was to try and show just how WRONG it was that our boys and girls came home from war only to have the American public turn their backs on them and act as if they didn't exist.. Worse, many came home and were persecuted and humiliated and treated as worthless pieces of garbage, spit on and physically assaulted..
It was a SHAMEFUL episode in American history, and it seems we haven't learned our lesson from it...
Can you imagine you, or your son or daughter or brother or sister, going into the Armed Forces, going away to war, and finally returning home after experiencing hell, only to get off of their plane in the states and be called murderers upon entering the airport?
Or to be spit on and have pigs blood hurled at them?
Or to come home and not be able to get a job because if you were in Vietnam no one wanted to look at you?
I can not, in any way, shape, or form, understand how anyone can justify such ill treatment of a fellow human being "in the name of peace".
The people who did it back in Nam weren't pacifists, they were jerks.
And the people doing it today are jerks, too. Even BIGGER jerks because WE SHOULD KNOW BETTER!!!!!
Like I said, I don't care how much you hate war, because the majority of our soldiers hate war more than any of us ever could, and have sacrificed and lost more than any of us have ever known.
These are OUR next door neighbors, brothers, cousins, sisters, aunts, uncles, moms and dads.. They aren't murderers, as a matter of fact most soldiers don't want to ever have to shoot their guns (and yes, before anyone says it: There are jerks in every groups.)
But the vast majority of our brave men and women are GOOD and HONORABLE PEOPLE...
WHO DESERVE OUR RESPECT AND DESERVE OUR SUPPORT!!!!!
How dare anyone! Ugh!! I'm a pretty pacifistic but I would, and will, kick anyones ass in a SECOND if I had seen them do what those stuck-up yuppie jerks did to those two soldiers on Atlantic Avenue the other day...
Because if we, as citizens, don't start standing up for our troops more and speaking out for them, then how THE HELL can we expect our government to treat them any better?
It's about damned time we started sticking up for our men and women of the Armed Forces. Because they would stand up for us in a second, even if one of us happened to spit on them...
electric
inspired
disgusted
ninja
