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Feb. 15th, 2012 09:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwydion* I had a huge entry, but it got eaten as I went to post it. This is my attempt to recreate it. I know an item is missing, but I can't think what it was.
* Sections of Homs were burning around when I went to sleep last night, along with a section of pipeline due to mortar fire by the Syrian Army. The Syrian government continues to claim that all those uniformed soldiers and government tanks are really evil terrorist, despite common sense and all evidence to the contrary. There was an assassination of a general and some bombings in Aleppo by the rebels in response to all the massacres. The Syrian government is also trying to put down Democracy protests in Damascus.
* There were some bombings in Bangkok, but last I heard it was lots of finger pointing and blame between Iran and Israel over who actually did it, and not much in the way of facts.
* Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota has authored the Student Non-Discrimination Act to protect LGBTQ elementary and Secondary kids from bullying and is backing the Safe Schools Improvement Act to stop bullying based on race, sex, national origin, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Multiple versions is normal at this stage in the process. Notice both include trans folk. This is why Mr. Frankel is one of my very favorite Senators; he's always out fighting for the most vulnerable. Notice that if they passed one or both of these, they would supersede the pro-bullying "neutrality" laws in the states. I'm not holding my breath, but I very much wish them luck.
* To be clear, Whitney Houston did not sing my sort of music. (Indeed, I have had to sit through a lot of middle school talent shows in which at least one young lady always incorrectly believed she could sing one of Ms. Houston's songs, and as I result, her most popular ones still make me wince). This doesn't stop me from recognizing the obvious talent and beauty of her voice and having empathy for the tragic trajectory her life took or from sympathizing with her freinds and family. It doesn't stop me from being creeped out by the obsessive press analysis of her last week or the paparazzi stalking her grieving daughter and mother. It's hard enough to lose someone without having to do it on national tv. (Yes, I felt that way about the stalkerish coverage of celebrity deaths long before Skye's murder had reporters staking out the houses of mutual friends). I am also made seriously uncomfortable by the cruel and misogynistic things I am seeing on the Internet. It seems to me there is a serious lack of decency and empathy going on both in the press and public spaces on the internet and it makes me queasy. You will notice we aren't doing that here.
* Today was rather more complicated and expensive than I'd hoped, as they had already sold the car I wanted. I ended up having to get a more expensive and significantly large vehicle than I wanted. Luckily, I set aside an extra thousand for insurance, fees, tires, etc.. I had hoped I'd be ahead instead of behind after this month. Sigh. It's a decade newer than any other vehicle I've owned, and is the only car I've ever owned with working air conditioning. It handles well, and despite the size, has slightly better gas mileage than I'm used to. I wanted smaller with significantly better gas mileage. It has controls that are fairly intuitive, decent stereo, new timing belt and radiator, and good tires. I know he'll fix anything turns up broken in the next month or two for free. I figured it was better a too large car than no car, and tracking down a car in range from another source would be exhausting, time consuming, and less reliable, so I took it.
* I am motorized, fed, and insured. A bunch of small errands got done that would have been several days of bus and gimping done, though I forgot the cheese, litter, and algae wafers. Hector had his psych meds and I'm hoping he won't prevent me getting decent sleep like he did today. Someone likes the mediated treats so much that they stole them and chewed through the plastic. I rebagged the rest and hid them in the catnip drawer that even Hector can't open. Silly beasts. Lm has made the cat tree her place and is on the third evening in a row of mesting over there. I'm so glad she's got territory that let's her be more social in the evening. Now to find her a stable spot in my room she likes that doesn't conflict with the senior beasties. I am hoping that if I can find a cheep piano bench or ottoman in a second hand store, that I may be able to use that to fix the mesting issue.
* John Stewart takes on the latest wave of right wing mysogyny aimed at military women.
1. Santorum: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-february-14-2012/lady-and-the-troops
2. The pro-rape FOX pundit: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-february-14-2012/v-jay-jay-day
* Sections of Homs were burning around when I went to sleep last night, along with a section of pipeline due to mortar fire by the Syrian Army. The Syrian government continues to claim that all those uniformed soldiers and government tanks are really evil terrorist, despite common sense and all evidence to the contrary. There was an assassination of a general and some bombings in Aleppo by the rebels in response to all the massacres. The Syrian government is also trying to put down Democracy protests in Damascus.
* There were some bombings in Bangkok, but last I heard it was lots of finger pointing and blame between Iran and Israel over who actually did it, and not much in the way of facts.
* Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota has authored the Student Non-Discrimination Act to protect LGBTQ elementary and Secondary kids from bullying and is backing the Safe Schools Improvement Act to stop bullying based on race, sex, national origin, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. Multiple versions is normal at this stage in the process. Notice both include trans folk. This is why Mr. Frankel is one of my very favorite Senators; he's always out fighting for the most vulnerable. Notice that if they passed one or both of these, they would supersede the pro-bullying "neutrality" laws in the states. I'm not holding my breath, but I very much wish them luck.
* To be clear, Whitney Houston did not sing my sort of music. (Indeed, I have had to sit through a lot of middle school talent shows in which at least one young lady always incorrectly believed she could sing one of Ms. Houston's songs, and as I result, her most popular ones still make me wince). This doesn't stop me from recognizing the obvious talent and beauty of her voice and having empathy for the tragic trajectory her life took or from sympathizing with her freinds and family. It doesn't stop me from being creeped out by the obsessive press analysis of her last week or the paparazzi stalking her grieving daughter and mother. It's hard enough to lose someone without having to do it on national tv. (Yes, I felt that way about the stalkerish coverage of celebrity deaths long before Skye's murder had reporters staking out the houses of mutual friends). I am also made seriously uncomfortable by the cruel and misogynistic things I am seeing on the Internet. It seems to me there is a serious lack of decency and empathy going on both in the press and public spaces on the internet and it makes me queasy. You will notice we aren't doing that here.
* Today was rather more complicated and expensive than I'd hoped, as they had already sold the car I wanted. I ended up having to get a more expensive and significantly large vehicle than I wanted. Luckily, I set aside an extra thousand for insurance, fees, tires, etc.. I had hoped I'd be ahead instead of behind after this month. Sigh. It's a decade newer than any other vehicle I've owned, and is the only car I've ever owned with working air conditioning. It handles well, and despite the size, has slightly better gas mileage than I'm used to. I wanted smaller with significantly better gas mileage. It has controls that are fairly intuitive, decent stereo, new timing belt and radiator, and good tires. I know he'll fix anything turns up broken in the next month or two for free. I figured it was better a too large car than no car, and tracking down a car in range from another source would be exhausting, time consuming, and less reliable, so I took it.
* I am motorized, fed, and insured. A bunch of small errands got done that would have been several days of bus and gimping done, though I forgot the cheese, litter, and algae wafers. Hector had his psych meds and I'm hoping he won't prevent me getting decent sleep like he did today. Someone likes the mediated treats so much that they stole them and chewed through the plastic. I rebagged the rest and hid them in the catnip drawer that even Hector can't open. Silly beasts. Lm has made the cat tree her place and is on the third evening in a row of mesting over there. I'm so glad she's got territory that let's her be more social in the evening. Now to find her a stable spot in my room she likes that doesn't conflict with the senior beasties. I am hoping that if I can find a cheep piano bench or ottoman in a second hand store, that I may be able to use that to fix the mesting issue.
* John Stewart takes on the latest wave of right wing mysogyny aimed at military women.
1. Santorum: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-february-14-2012/lady-and-the-troops
2. The pro-rape FOX pundit: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-february-14-2012/v-jay-jay-day
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Date: 2012-02-16 07:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 09:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-16 10:13 am (UTC)