Steven Colbert has balls of steel.
Seriously - it takes a certain amount of balls to roast the President with him sitting less than 10 feet away from you.
And, really, this is just freaking funny. Who knew that CSPAN could be so interesting?
I read this on one of the local community message boards I read this morning:
Victoria's Secret is making news with a series of incidents regarding breastfeeding women. On at least three seperate occasions at different stores across the country, women have been refused the right to breastfeed their children in the store. Most recently, a woman in Boston was told that breastfeeding was "unsanitary" and to take it to the outside restroom. Because VS makes money from selling products for women's breasts, yet has such a negative view of the act for which they were designed, a staged "nurse-in" is planned for stores around the country for this Saturday, July 1, at 1:00.
Although I don't generally wax poetic about it (especially in this blog - which is really more for my professional/school issues), I am pro-breastfeeding (if, of course, the mother is able to produce milk). I don't think that women should be ashamed to feed their infants, and they should not be relegated to public restrooms which are, frankly, gross and unsanitary. Many newer shopping centers have "nursing rooms" - quiet, clean places where nursing moms and their families can get away from the bustle of the mall to feed their babies.
However, the idea of a "nurse-in" as means of protest seems kinda crude/rude in my never-be-humble-opinion. Although the alleged comment by a VS employee that breastfeeding is "unsanitary" is disturbing, I have no problem with them asking the nursing mother to take it elsewhere. From a legal perspective, most VS' don't have 'waiting areas' with comfy chairs - so, theoretically, these women are either A) taking up changing room space, or B) precariously perched on ledges or displays where they should not be loitering.
I've often been asked by retail store employees to leave my food or drink out of their shop. Hell, I've done that myself when I've worked in retail clothing. Even the most careful person can trip and spill a soda and ruin expensive merchandise. I have no problem with breastfeeding in public parks, restaraunts, or anyplace else that allows everyone to eat and drink freely. But I know for a fact that VS is pretty picky about allowing people to eat and drink in their stores (with good reason!). Why shouldn't that apply to babies, too?
It's the "Whatever! I'll do what I want" (to quote Cartman) attitude that negates their argument. It shifts them from "noble activist" to "whiny SOB". I hate that *these* women claim the label of feminist - it makes the rest of us look whiney.
I *do* think that women should be allowed to feed their children, tastefully and discreetly, in a place where *everyone* can eat. Grassy field in a city park? Fabulous! Chili's Restaraunt while the hubby eats his burger? Wonderful! Airport terminal? Great!
Victoria's Secret? Not so much.
Yeah, I know I'm opening up a can o' worms. But it disturbs me to watch our society's sense of entitlement grow so rapidly. There's a fine line between fighting for what's right and just being a pain in the ass. In my never-be-humble-opinion, these ladies are crossing that line.
United 93 opens this Friday - will you go see it?
I'll admit, I'm a bit out of the loop when it comes to movies lately - so I didn't know that this was made until pretty recently. According to the Newsweek article on it, it was directed by Paul Greengrass, who made 'Bloody Sunday' and 'The Bourne Supremacy'. It has the seal of approval from the victim's families - and yet there is still outrage over the film.
Is it too soon? How long should we wait? 5 years? 10 years? Would it make a difference if the profits from the film went to the families that suffered during the attacks?
Honestly, I don't think I'll watch the movie right now. It's been 5 years, but just watching the preview brought back a flood of emotions. No, I didn't lose anyone in the hijackings - but I still remember that day very, very vividly. I weep for the families that were shattered, and I rage at the path my country has taken since these events. I'm not hiding my head in the sand, but I make an active choice not to subject myself to that emotional onslaught again, right now.
Instead, this weekend, I'll clean my house. I'll work on a friend's costume. I'll cuddle with my cats. I might actually start the exercise program I've been talking about for the past 4 months. I'll honor death by celebrating life.
Bush has been quoted as saying “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.”
Well, National Geographic seems to think otherwise. The first few paragraphs of that article - published in October 2004 - are eerily similar to what’s going on right now.
In another blog, a New Yorker commented that “Osama couldn’t destroy my city, but GWB’s negligence cost the country one of its crown jewels. Nice job, George.”
I couldn’t help but realize today that, if Ossama Bin Laden (remember him?) is still alive, he’s got to be absolutely laughing his ass off over this one. Sure, they crashed some planes into the World Trade Center… but we’re killing thousands of our own people through poor planning and communication. Millions of dollars that should have gone to *essential* public works projects - like the NOLA levee systems - were instead diverted towards homeland security and the ‘war on Iraq’.
And speaking of Homeland Security… I was under the grand delusion that, after 9/11, we were better prepared for a major disaster and had plans in place for something of this magnitude. Wouldn’t this have been a perfect opportunity to show that we *learned* from the mistakes made in the 9/11 relief efforts, and could actually use the new systems that were put in place? This is just *one city*. I can’t imagine what would happen if, God forbid, a number of cities were hit simultaneously with bombs or biological substances.
There are thousands of people who are stranded at the NOLA Convention center and the Superdome. Yes, they’re trying to get folks out, but they’re hampered in part by the chaos that they helped create - control was not taken over the situation quickly enough. It’s quickly degrading into a lawless society - mostly out of fear and desperation, it sounds like.
We need a plan, we need people, we need resources, and we need it *now*.
A friend posted a bit in their blog about the use of the little "Support our Troops" ribbons that people are plastering all over the place, and my reply got a bit long-winded… so here it is. 
I really despise those little ribbons.
I can't help but think that a good 85% of the people who have them on their cars are simply buying into the propoganda and putting them out there because it's "the right thing to do". They most likely do not follow the news, do not do independent research, and do not actually have any clue why our troops are *in* Iraq.
Now, all that said… I *do* support our troops. I think each and every American soilder deserves our support - because, frankly, it's not their fault they're there. They have to follow orders. I don't agree with the *orders*, but I do agree with supporting the men and women in our armed services as much as we can. They're in a craptastic situation, and there's not much they can do about it. They've chosen to enter into military service to our country and, in essence, to *us*, the regular joe-schmoes of the US. For this, they deserve all the support they can get.
As for the flag bit, it drives me batty to see people using the flag in ways it's not supposed to be. It's a symbol of our country and it holds great power - and should be used as such. I'm all for free speech. If you want to burn the flag to make a political statement, that's fabulous. What drives me crazy is the unintential destruction of the flag - people who put a flag on the back of their truck (and I'm talking a real, full size cloth flag) and drive around with it, letting it get dirty and tattered and gross. They think they're showing off their "patriotisim", and they're really just proving that they're idiots. It's a powerful symbol that has been trivialized into a bit of kitsch, and that really kinda sucks.
The more I get into politics, the more I realize that I grew up in an extremely odd household. My dad is a Vietnam vet - and truly is a patriotic man. We grew up with a strong sense of love for our country, and a high respect for the flag. He had a merry little war with the guy who lived across the street, to see who could get their flag out the earliest on federal holidays.
Yet, underneath all of this, there was a strong sense of being able to talk about, debate, and disagree with the government. My dad's a vet, but he doen't think we should have *ever* entered Iraq. He supports his brothers and sisters in arms, yet is vehmently opposed to the Bush administration. He has always instilled in us the ability to speak our minds and debate out issues - even if we end up disagreeing on them, he supports us having an educated opinion.
In writing this out, I realize how lucky I was to grow up with these values - a strong sense of true American patriotisim. It's not about toeing the party line, it's about learning what the isses are and being able to take a stand on them. What seperates us out from a lot of the world is that we *can* have a dissenting opinion. This right seems to be eroding away, though, with more and more pressure to conform to what certain factions think being a "true American" means.
