wtf, are you effing kidding me?

So I read an article in USA Today today that stated Iraq has recently purchased billions of dollars worth of weapons from a US businessman-and this has come to light by the guy's own admission! What the hell? Though this type of thing probably goes on all the time, and probably has been, I'd hope the fact that it is so non-chalantly and openly announced is enough to light a fire under everyone's asses to demand an end to this farce of a war. Not only are we not "winning" (assuming you can), we're possibly perpetuating out own defeat. Seemingly the government sees our nation as so powerless, they don't even bother trying to conceal our country's own role in the death of not only thousands of US soldiers, but millions of Iraqi civilians.

Our current administration has committed absolute crimes against humanity for which there is no recompense.

So far this summer

So it has been a while since I have written anything . . . so I will provide an update. Though I think that Cassie, you are the only one who reads this, maybe, haha, oh well. Anyways, I am currently interning for an attorney in Stillwater, MN. While she primarily defends juveniles, she also does work in the family law arena. And though I have only been here a short while, I feel I have already been exposed to so much (good and bad) and I feel this will be a life changing experience. First of all: though you are always "aware" that sick and crazy people are out there and they exist due to the medium that is the Jerry Springer show, you'd never really know it if you were not exposed to it. I already have seen and or met several people who have not led the most, er, scrupulous lives, some of whom the attorney I work for represents! crazy. Though I think everyone has a right to a defense and zealous advocacy, blah blah blah, I have come to realize I could never be a public defender. Though I would want to defend one you believe is truley innocent and have glamorized in my mind a fight for the underdog, I don't think I would be able to argue, with a straight face, for someone I believe has done heinous, terrible things-I am a transparent person, which on a larger scale means I won't be an attorney long, which would not bum me out but for the fact I own tons in loans.
Also, another negative as to the profession in general would be my overall frustration with the law and legal system. In my short time here, I have already encountered many issues where the law not only does not achieve justice, it is downright backwards. egh. Not to mention the fact that everything takes for frickin ever in the legal system . . . On the bright side, most, if not all the lawyers I have seen argue for their clients are fully competent, as are most of the judges. Of great import to me are the judges who seem to genuinely care about the individuals involved, and thus struggle with the decision they must make. I'll particularly not forget one judge's act of kindness and encouragement in their recognition of a juvie's progress when the brought brownies to court in celebration. It was cool on the judge's part to acknowledge the person, but I'll especially never forget the girl and her family's smiles and gratitude for the judge's thoughtfulness :)

Nother' Fem. Rant

So a book discussion fueled my “femi-nazi” (of course by using that term, I am probably cheapening my perspective b/c it's probably what some sexist dude would refer to me as); why? Because I think women should be equal to men? Go F yourself) rant switch . . .

So I was watching a presentation on CSPAN2 by Erica Falk, Author of "Women for President" who talked on historical bias in the media against women running for office.

Among the statistics she mentioned are that in different media sources men receive more substantive press while women receive more press that relays their physical appearance . . .
Ok, I gotta call side note hear about this whole appearance thing (related to my other blog post). It is very disheartening that women are still very much objectified; here, in the highest profile eschelon of society. This of course is pervasive through all levels of our Strip club, girls gone wild society . . . yuck. Disappointingly enough, I guess HRC participated in a magazine examination of her “10 worst outfits” or something . . . (was it in People? Anyone? Sad . . .)

Further, she makes the VERY excellent point that women running for office often face a double bind when it comes to emotional conveyances. For example when Hillary cried after one of the primaries she lost, she was conveyed as being too emotional, but if she does not show too much emotion, she is conveyed by the media as “cold” or an “ice queen . . .” damned if you do, damned if you don't . . .

This presentation pretty much confirmed my feeling that Hillary has gotten the short shrift in the Media overall. While Obama is painted as this great uniter (a portrayal based on his policy . . .), Clinton is often times more chastised for her emotional reactions. Another interesting thing she pointed out was that each time a woman has run for office in the past, even if they were not the first, they would be portrayed as the “first woman running for office . . .” While this is comical, it is also very frustrating-like some sort of retroactive diminishment of women's democratic accomplishments.

OH yeah, I almost forgot, one of the most common things that hinders women in their race could be the American perception of their lack of viability as a candidate. Even at points where polling statistics showed that both candidates had equal support, the press would paint it as “surprising” if Clinton won a primary . . . Also, and this sentiment was voiced by one of my law school collegues, you often hear, “America is not ready for a woman . . .” WTF? Why not-a good point she makes is that you don’t often hear people voice why America is "not ready."-prejudicy? Sexism? Just generally, American is not ready? Well I want to call bullshit on that-America, show you are fuc*in ready by voting HRC in-yeah!

Hillary in 08'!!!!

So I went to the Hillary and Barack speech last night. While I have been primarily a Hillary supporter, I was impressed with Barack's speech. In fact I remember thinking, he's got it in the bag, how can anyone beat this . . . Apparently, a lot of other people felt the same way, as a good portion of the audience left after his speech. And because there was more than an hour in between the speakers, and Hillary's arrival was late, even more people had left before she actually spoke. (And to my friend's and my chagrin and horror, several people, including several of our classmates! left during her speech.)

As is par for the course for Obama/Clinton speeches, his speech was mainly focused on the rhetoric of "hope" and "unity," while she offered more solutions for our nation's problems. Don't get me wrong, I love unity, and I have hope for our country . . . however, the problems our nation face require real, hands-on solutions, and I feel Hillary is more equipped to confront them. I know that she has fought for years to change our health care system, and has been successful in implementing a program which increased the number of children covered. Obama may have accomplished a lot in Illinois, but I am not aware of anything. Whether or not he has, we know that Hillary has put her money where her mouth is in the past; therefore, I feel more secure with her as a Presidential potential and believe that she would continue to deliver into the future.

Cas./Julie/anyone, rebuttal?

Text Messaging

Hey! You know what I hate?? Text Messaging! It's like why text message me when you can just call me? Maybe everyone else has speedy fingers, and thinks it is fun or something, but it is annoying for me and takes forever-thanks for giving me a chore! Maybe I should just start responding to texts by calling-or is that some breach of social etiquette to not respond in kind? Eh whatever, damn the person who invented text messaging!

So I had this dream . . .

Obviously I am ripping off Cassie's dream post idea, but immitation is the sincerest form of flattery-maybe this is like my homage a Cas.-haha

So I just had this crazy dream that I was driving in Missoula, but there were these obnoxious old dudes were standing in the left lane "directing traffic" with flags, and then I was somehow on a bike . . . And then I ended up in the Clark Fork, and some old dude helped me swim to the shore of Cara's Park . . .hmmm, what is the meaning of all these old dudes? You'd think I had a fetish, and yet in reality, all I wish for is that someone UNDER 70 to find me attractive-haha.

So that was probably actually really boring . . . there is some comdedian who does material on friends who tell him their dreams, and end by asking "isn't that weird?" to which he always responded, "No, it's boring!" haha. Ah well. On another note, I am going to hear Obama/Hilary speak tomorrow! Should be cool, I'll maybe post about it later . . .

Holocaust Museum and Related Issues . . .

So I went to the Holocaust Museum in DC, and although I have always been aware of the Holocaust as a terrible event in the history of human kind, the museum helps one to perceive the true terror and evil of the event. How did such an event even happen? It is truly terrifying and mystifying that one crazy person could mobilize so many people into not only enabling, but perpetuating such horendous crimes against humanity. How could the masses have been so easily and willingly led astray? The whole event really kind of gives me a cynical view of humanity, and reminds of a related question I have always had.

Why is it seemingly only the white race that has sought to exploit or enslave other races? (I am not the most educated person on such matters, so I would be interested to hear about counter-examples if anyone knows any, i.e. a "minority" (non-white) race attempting to exploit a different race.) Freud always believed women possessed some sort of "penis envy." While I certainly do not believe that, I do wonder if white people have some sort of latent melanin envy. ?