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June 25, 2003: Politics and Stuff
Jun 25, 2003

Political State of Irving Washington:

I've been volunteering for the Arizona Civil Liberties Union (AzCLU) a branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). I used to think I was paranoid, but now I know that I'm not. I take calls all day from people who are either (a) examples of *actual* paranoia, (b) real live proof that the government *is* out to get me, (c) real live proof that EVERYONE is out to get everyone else, or (d) some combination of the above. I'm currently researching action being taken by "America's Toughest Sheriff". The Homeland Security Department, the presidential administration, the U.S. Congress, the State legislature of Arizona, and (of course) the Supreme Court of the U.S. all seem to be dead set on using war as an excuse to violate various liberties in this country. I'm not even in the mood to get started on the environment right now. It's just too depressing.

On a personal note:

I'm currently working on a personal project that will probably require that I eventually purchase a domain name and get some hosting. I need to know the best way to do this. I also want to know how to make certain that I retain the copyright to material that I post on my own website. If anyone out there in H2G2 land has any input on this subject, please let me know.

(14 replies, Latest reply: Jun 27, 2003)

Sunday, Father's Day, June 15: Grandmothers
Jun 16, 2003

I have two Grandmothers, which is the normal amount for people if neither of yours have died, and you only count biological Grandmothers. When you take into account step-parents' mothers, I'm sure many people have more Grandmothers than two, but I only have my biological mother's mother, and my biological father's mother. Both of these have been having some trouble lately.

This spring, my Grandmother Dorothy (dad's mom) had to have emergency surgery because of a ruptured intestine. She's been closely monitored by the family ever since. Luckily, two of her sons (my uncles) live in the same town with her, and my father lives only two hour's drive north of her. She's recovering, and we all wish her well.

At the begining of this summer my Grandmother Helen (mom's mom) was discovered to be more or less unable to take care of herself. She has been moved out of her own home, and my mother's sister has taken upon herself power of attorney to put her affairs together. Grandmother Helen seems to have made numerous donations to her church with money she didn't have. The fact that she had been occasionally forgetting to go to church recently should have tipped them all off to her condition (she had gone litterally religiously for the last several decades), but they accepted the money, anyway. She seems to be somewhat in the hole financially, my mother's sisters who lived nearest Grandmother Helen have been trying to take care of her. She is currently living with my cousin, Gina, and her family. If my aunts can't find a place for her to live in a supervised setting soon, she may end up living here with us.

Neither my mother, nor any of her sisters, has ever gotten along well with "Mamma" as they call her. Grandmother is a very religious woman, and none of her daughters are. She has been known to deliberately depress people. I am planning on a very interesting summer.

(3 replies, Latest reply: Jun 17, 2003)

All About Me...
May 20, 2003

Maybe I'll put some items of social significance up later, but for now, this post is about me...

I'm back after a long absence, but it's been well spent. After joining the speech and debate team, I've definately started increasing my Grade Point Average, and I'm hoping that by the end of Fall semester I'll actually have a GPA that I'll be proud to show to the law schools I'm applying to. My cumulative GPA right now is 3.26, up from 3.08 at the end of Fall 2002. How did I cause my average to jump so significantly in just one semester? Maybe the fact that I got a 4.0 for Spring 2003 might have something to do with it . I'm proud of myself, and I'll freely admit that this post is just to toot my own horn, which I rarely do otherwise. Yay me!

(14 replies, Latest reply: May 27, 2003)

Personal Issues, World Issues
Sep 25, 2001

This is part two of a two part journal entry. If you have not read part one, please feel free to do so. It deals with my reaction to recent world events. If this does not interest you but my personal life does, please feel just as free to read only this entry.

September 24, 2001
Part II: My Life

I went to a party Saturday night. I don't like parties, generally. I used to think that maybe this was because I didn't get invited to them, or because the parties that I went to in Highschool were depressing. Saturday I found out that this wasn't true. Nothing's changed since Highschool: I still don't know how to party.

One major problem is that, as my roommate would say, I don't do anything. He means alcohol, nicotine, and other drugs. So at a party full of people who are drunk and high I often have trouble relating -- and I'm not given much motivation to relate to people. I don't really want to talk to some girl who's drunk. It's a complete turnoff. Talking to guys is no better, as they tend to get obnoxious and agressive when drunk, so it's hard to make friends with them. And I can't tell the difference between someone who is genuinely friendly and someone who has just been loosened up by either alcohol or grass.

The other major problem is that I don't do anything. I know, that was the first problem, but this time I mean it in a different way: I don't dance, I have trouble starting conversations with strangers, I have trouble maintaining any conversation that involves more than three people. I tried talking to the one girl I could find that wasn't drinking and she did what I expected: gave me funny looks and found ways to get out of the conversation. Doesn't do much for my self esteem, really. And then low self esteem just makes it harder to talk to people...

So for half the party I sat around, watching people make fools of themselves. Girls would ask me to dance, but they weren't asking me to dance because they wanted to dance with me, they were asking me to dance because they thought that dancing was fun and that everyone at the party should be having fun. Why don't people who like to dance understand that some people don't like to dance? Dancing is fun when someone wants to dance WITH ME. That makes me feel good, makes me feel wanted. But if a girl is just going to twirl me around for a few seconds and then move on to someone else it's not enjoyable. That and half the music being played was horrid 80s retro dance music. The other half was good stuff, actually.

Eventually my room mate and I convinced the hostess to turn off the stereo. We got out our guitars and began attempting to entertain the crowd ourselves, which worked marvelously. Unfortunately we did this around the same time that the keg began to go dry, so our audience started shrinking little by little.

I don't think I made any new friends at this party. I certainly didn't get to know anybody well. If I'm asked again I'll probably go, though. There's a part of me that tells me that if I get pessemistic and don't go out to parties and the like when I am invited I will never meet new friends. The hard part is that being in a room full of people having fun but not knowing any way to have fun with them really ends up making me feel more lonely than sitting at home would. I suppose I have to tell myself that I have to risk that sort of thing in order to find any reward.

(2 replies, Latest reply: Oct 21, 2001)

World Issues, Personal Issues
Sep 25, 2001

Life is never simple. Personal issues don't just go away in the face of world wide disasters. If they did, life would be a whole lot easier. Until some conclusion is reached regarding the recent terrorist attack on the United States and George Dubya Bush's subsequent calls for military response; or until Operation Infinite Justice drags on so long that it becomes a backdrop of our time rather than an issue that can be clearly percieved, I will be posting my journal in two parts: Personal and World.

September 24, 2001
Part I: The World

The "War on Terrorism" could be a very bad thing indeed. The last thing the US needs to be doing right now is actually *being* the monster that the terrorist groups (and the governments that support them) make the nation out to be. Violence provokes violence, and if we start a "war" many, many, many more people will die. Americans, Afghanistanis, and anyone else whose country is either targeted by the US or joins its cause.

"Infinite Justice" is, perhaps, the worse possible name for this operation, anyway. First of all it sounds like a title that was actually rejected by George Lucas when dreaming up "Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones". Or possibly a comic book series. Then let's break it down into its component words:

"Infinite" -- this implies that it will NEVER END! Now I'll be the first to admit that trying to round up every last terrorist in the world is like finishing your active threads on H2G2: Just when you think you're done another pops up. But to actually name this operation in such a way that it apparently condemns the world to an unending military action is just depressing.

"Justice" -- this implies that killing people is somehow just. There is not a soveriegn nation in the world (that I am aware of) that does not have laws against killing people. Sure, most give exceptions, but still, it is universally recognized that killing is basically wrong. Most religions also make this point -- including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, the major religions of the US and the Middle East. The Bible, as far as I understand it, does not say that killing is bad except under certain circumstances. Killing people can occasionally be justified in terms of self-defense, but that's really it, isn't it? And even then it's really a last resort. Ghandi wouldn't have even advocated killing in self defense (and I tend to agree with him).

Then lets look at the people we're thinking of killing. The Terrorists, right? These people are evil, vile, America hating scumbags, right? Wrong. Bin Laden's organization recruits by finding young children on the streets who are starving and in desperate need of food and shelter. They offer both food AND shelter if the children will attend their terrorist training camps. So these kids, of impressionable ages, learn that terrorism=food=good and America=no food=bad. So are the Terrorists evil people? Or God's children brainwashed by an environment of hate, finding their only nurishment at the hands of those who teach them to be killers?

Bush's speech didn't say he wanted an all-out-war. It did threaten war if certain demands were not met. These demands were really overstepping his bounds as a world leader. He asks Afghanistan to hand over Bin Laden, an act which Afghanistan had indicated earlier that it may have been willing to do if we could present evidence. So far so good (except that the next day Bush refused to present evidence and said the terms were non-negotiable). Next he said that the Taliban needs to shut down all Terrorist training camps. This is a good idea, but how realistic is it? I mean, what if Dubya was charged with the task of shutting down all terrorist training camps in the US? He doesn't have the authority to give law enforcement the authority neccissary to perform such an act! I mean, the reason the Ku Klux Klan (who I would deem terrorists) still exists is that we don't have the power to STOP them. Why ask another government to try? Next Bush demands that the Taliban allow US troops to enter Afghanistan and check to make sure these camps are shut down! This is the point where I, as leader of a soveriegn nation, would absolutely draw the line. The last thing I want is the military of a country that has never shown me any kindness coming in and throwing its weight around inside my country!

Then Bush decides that the rest of the world needs to follow suit!!!

Part II will be in a seperate entry, which I will compose immediately after posting this one.

(5 replies, Latest reply: Oct 8, 2001)