Forehead-slap time
July 30, 2004
Via Sun-Sentinel:
Three Tampa city council members walked out of chambers rather than listen to an atheist give the opening invocation.
[...]
“We have never had people of an atheist group represent Americans,” White said.
Because it would be wrong to have an atheist representing Americans. That would imply that there are actually atheists in America . . .
“I just can’t sit here and listen to someone that [sic] does not believe in a supreme being,” Alvarez said.
Atheists have to sit through ceremonial religiousity in numerous public settings. But I bet this woman would get in a huff if an atheist walked out on a speech of hers saying “I can’t sit here and listen to someone who believes in a supreme being.”
“I think this is sending us in the wrong direction,” Ferlita said.
Yeah. Including people regardless of religious faith or lack thereof is so totally not what our country was founded on. It’s not like those atheists pay taxes or something.
“I certainly don’t agree with having an atheist come for the invocation,” she said. “I think the invocation is a time for the council to start their day with an expression of faith.”
No. An invocation is used to start a city council meeting. Official government meetings are for official government business. Express your friggen faith at home, not on the taxpayers’ time and the taxpayers’ dime.
WHY is this so hard for so many people to get?
Creative way to get early retirement
July 27, 2004
http://montreal.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=qc_dress20040723
“A city of Montreal food inspector says city officials won’t allow him to wear a dress to work anymore. Collective agreement says women can take retirement after 25 years of service, but that men have to work 30 years before being eligible. Patrick LeLann has been wearing a dress on the job to draw attention to what he says is discrimination against male employees. LeLann has worked as a food inspector in Montreal for 26 years. The single father says he wants to take early retirement to spend more time with his two young children.”
My father rules.
July 21, 2004
My dad and I were talking, and somehow the topic of “people who shouldn’t have kids” came up. He decided to tell me about what he calls his “one good deed for humankind.”
Years ago there was a guy in my town who knocked up three different girls with babies who ended up having severe mental and physical defects. Worse yet, he had no intention of supporting or being around any of his kids, nor did he have any intention of ever using a condom either. One day my dad and this guy were talking, and the guy said his doctor suggested he get a vasectomy. The guy hadn’t made up his mind yet. So my dad says, “Oh, I heard that when you get a vasectomy your dick gets bigger.”
The guy went back into the doctor right away to schedule the procedure.
The answer is No and also you’re an idiot
July 13, 2004
From an advice column at Salon:
About three months ago, we had a “condom incident” and I told him I would go get the morning-after pill the next day. I forgot to do it and basically lost the window. I told him I got busy and it slipped my mind, but I realized in my heart that I wanted to get pregnant. When he found out that I didn’t get the pill he was livid, he said he would want me to get an abortion if I was pregnant, that he wasn’t ready for kids, that things are finally going right for him and he doesn’t want to mess it up.
[...]
Is it ever OK to “accidentally on purpose” get pregnant? To just forget to take the pill and see what happens? He agrees that he wants kids; he just won’t commit to any kind of time frame and I think he would actually be thrilled if it really happened. What about when you know someone really well, and you know that a lot of times they need some extra push to get them to commit to the unknown?Not Yet Kind of Pregnant
Dear “Not Yet Kind of Pregnant”,
Bitch, I will stab you.
Ultimate Guide to Achieving Financial Stability
July 7, 2004
Australia is fresh out of orphans, apparently
July 3, 2004
Via news.au.com:
PARENTS of babies born since midnight will be holding their newborn bundles today and counting their blessings – and their $3000.[...]
The maternity payment, which is given to everyone regardless of income, will jump to $4000 for babies born from July 1, 2006, and $5000 from July 1, 2008.The first of the babies to earn the bonus lump sums for their parents began arriving at hospitals overnight.
The [Australian] Federal Government’s new maternity bonus gives $3000 to each baby born from today, July 1, $6000 for twins and $9000 for triplets.
This just ticks me off on so many levels. Where are the lump sums for people who adopt one of the millions of neglected children already in this world? Why give a cash prize of taxpayer freakin’ money to anyone just because they bred? How about someone on fertility treatments who births 5 severely ill kids who need millions of dollars of government-subsidized health treatments; are you going to give them the reward cash for each suffering kid? If parenthood is so wonderful and life-fulfilling why would you have to get a cash incentive at all?
Vaccinate your kids.
July 2, 2004
Via newsday:
A suspected large-scale polio outbreak was reported Friday among children in a heavily Muslim northern Nigeria state that had boycotted immunization campaigns
[. . .]
The suspected outbreak was in Kano state, one of several in northern Nigeria that had shunned polio vaccination drives over suspicions the vaccines were part of a U.S.-led plot to render Muslims sterile.
Vaccinate your damn kids, people.
