Thoughts On Feminism

Some people nowdays seem to think that feminism is a plot by some radical men-hating women who want to take over the world and eliminate all men. At least that's the impression you'd get from reading the right-wing media and blogs. For instance, it seems like their favorite word is "femi-nazis". Nothing could be farther from the truth.

In truth, feminism is the simple belief that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men do. We were all taught in school that everyone is equal, but then we became adults and found out that some people are more equal than others. Sadly, this fact has been accepted by many of our citizens as something that cannot or should not be changed.

I refuse to accept that, and I guess that makes me a feminist. Our constitution tells us that all people are to be treated equally, and we should not accept less than that. If one citizen is denied equality because of their sex (or race, age, religion, etc.) then we are failing to live up to America's true potential. That should be unacceptable to all Americans.

While I truly believe everything in the above paragraphs, there is another reason that I have for being a feminist. The beautiful young lady in the picture above is my daughter. If I had no other reason to believe in feminism, she would be enough. I will never accept that she should have less rights or opportunities than any man.

I have a challenge for all you fathers out there who consider yourselves to be conservatives (and would never admit to feminist views). I'll bet you have a picture in your wallet of your daughter, neice, sister or granddaughter. Take it out and look at it.

While you're looking at the picture of that beautiful person, ask yourself if she should have complete control over her own body just as a man does. Ask yourself if she should have equal pay for equal work. Ask yourself if she should have the opportunity to rise as far as her talent and hard work will take her.

Whether you want to use the term or not, if you answered yes to those three questions then you're a feminist. If you didn't, then you're not much of a father (or uncle, brother or grandparent).

Can you really look at that picture and deny her equality?

Tour De France Is Here Again

Those of you who've been reading this blog for a while will know that I have a particular fondness for the Tour de France. I believe it to be one of the world's greatest sporting events. The 2008 Tour de France has now started, so for the next three weeks I'll be blogging about it intermittently (maybe daily).

American riders have done very well in the modern Tour. Greg LeMond won it three times and Lance Armstrong smashed all records by winning it seven times. The year after Armstrong retired, Floyd Landis won the Tour. But a French lab accused him of doping and the title was taken from him.

Personally, I think he was innocent. The testing protocol of the French lab was very flawed, but everyone's afraid to call them on it. I think they were just tired of Americans winning the French race. Lance was too popular to accuse, but the unknown Landis was easy to sweep aside.

Last year the Discovery Team from the United States did very well. They won the team championship (the first time for an American team), and also had one of their riders win the overall championship. Unfortunately, the Discovery Team was disbanded last year.

But two new American teams have been created and both are in the Tour this year. It marks the first time the United States has had two teams in the race, and both seem to be pretty good -- but we'll just have to wait and see how well they do in their first Tour. The teams are Columbia (pictured above) and Garmin Chipotle.

So far, two legs have been run of this year's Tour, but they were fairly easy legs and there are a ton of riders still near the front. I'm going to wait until things start to shake out a little before I start posting any standings.

Van Os Says History Matters

History matters.

July 4 of this year marks the 232nd anniversary of the July 4, 1776 proclamation of the American Declaration of Independence. What happened 232 years ago matters. How we treat it matters.

On this continent in that hot July 232 years ago, the members of the continental congress meeting in Philadelphia made an electrifying decision: that they would challenge the power of the British Empire for the right to govern themselves.

It was recklessly audacious to declare independence from a British Crown that was not willing to grant independence. The act of doing so was an act of treason, punishable by death. Under British law, the undertaking to which the signatories of the Declaration voluntarily committed themselves incurred the maximum possible risk to which any subject of the British monarch could be exposed. In signing their names to the Declaration, they signed their own death warrants, and they knew it.

Indeed, words like "reckless" and "audacious" cannot do justice to the step taken by the signatories of the Declaration of Independence. It was an act of raw courage of the highest possible order. It was electrifying, not only to the signers and their families, but to all the population of the 13 British colonies - newly declared to be free and independent states - and to all the world. It was not a genteel act. It was an action that was unimaginably subversive and revolutionary. It was an act that challenged the entire world order.

It was not the mere act of declaring political independence that was so electrifying. The signatories proclaimed much more than political independence from the British Empire. They proclaimed the independence of humanity from millennia of subservience to kings, princes, monarchs, priests, god-kings, and all measures of royalty, nobility, and divinity. They presented to the world a new vision of human social and political relations, one founded on the twin premises that all of us are equally ordained with universal and unalienable human rights and that no government can rightfully exist except by the consent of the governed.

Unique to the known history of the planet up to that day, the signers of the Declaration announced to their American countrymen, to the British King, and to the world that here and now they were establishing a whole new way of doing things, of arranging human society, of human life itself: that they were proclaiming not only a new political entity and government, but a new society based on unshakable commitment to the propositions that human beings have irrefutable universal rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that the purpose of government is to secure these rights; and that the only legitimate powers of government are those derived from the consent of the governed.

And they also said: the establishment of our new society is so important to us that we would rather die than live without it, and for the accomplishment of the freedom to realize this vision we pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. In other words, we commit ourselves to giving up everything we have to give, to sacrificing all that we have to sacrifice, to obtain this; and we seal the commitment with our mutual and reciprocal pledges to each other.

In their own lifetimes, the signatories of the Declaration and their generation were terribly flawed in the immediate implementation. They did not apply their vision of universal and equal human rights to slaves, descendants of slaves, people of the indigenous tribes, penniless persons, or women. But it does not excuse them from these terrible flaws to say at the same time that the Declaration they delivered to the world was nevertheless remarkable for the vision it set forth and for the beginning it sparked. The terribleness of the flaws and the remarkableness of the vision are both undeniable and irrefutable.

Every American, whether descended from two centuries or two generations of American forebears, whether a native-born American or an immigrant American, is an heir to the vision declared to the world on July 4, 1776. It is my contention that every generation of Americans is morally duty-bound to advance the progress of human society closer toward the realization of the vision set forth in the Declaration of Independence. It is our birthright and our legacy.

For we who are here to witness the 232nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I wonder whether any of us could do what they did in deciding to sign the document. In fact, I wonder how many of us realize how short a time 232 years represents in the march of history. In my estimation, 232 years is far too short a lifetime for the legacy of the Declaration of Independence. It is far too soon for it to die.

The Roman Republic had a history of 600 years even before the Caesars replaced the republic with an empire ruled by an emperor. There are cities and towns in Europe, Africa, and Asia that have existed continuously as organized municipalities for more than two thousand years. In the long view of history, 1776 was but an eye-blink ago.

The situation confronting Americans on July 4, 2008 is not a pretty one for the vision of the Declaration. A ruling cabal that does not understand, appreciate, or care about the meaning of the Declaration of Independence has pushed us collectively backward, further away from the realization of the vision, in the opposite direction from living up to our legacy. They have pushed us so far backward that the very fabric of our national vision has been bashed and battered in ways that have frightened us profoundly during the reign of the cabal. It tears at our collective soul. It rips us and sears us.

And in our national legislature, the U.S. Congress, the leadership of the opposition party that attained political power in the Congress in the last general election two years ago continues to react with maddening and frightening lameness to the ruling cabalÕs continuing desecration of these national values that constitute our inheritance from not only our revolutionary forebears of 1776, but also from all the other countless heroes, sung and unsung, who have strived and struggled to advance the progress of the vision in all the decades and years from then until now.

To mark the 232nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in this year of 2008, I hereby solemnly rededicate myself to unswerving faithfulness to its magnificent and revolutionary vision. I will not accept or excuse further backward movement from its goals by those who serve as elected representatives in our self-government or by those who aspire to be elected. I make this pledge with the utmost seriousness and gravity. I challenge you to do the same.

Respectfully,

David Van Os Patriot

Some Lofty Words And Ideas

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

These powerful words are from the Declaration of Independence. They were written 232 years ago. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could finally live up to these lofty words?

Did "Old 39%" Get Bought Again ?

It looks like Rick Perry's at it again. An ordinary Texan could never get close enough to Perry to get his case heard, but if you're a rich politician who's willing to throw around a bit of money then our corporate-owned governor is all ears.

This time it was Bo Pilgrim, owner of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation. Pilgrim's Pride is the largest producer of chickens in the nation. Pilgrim decided that he's having to pay too much for chicken feed, and he believes it's because of the government's corn-ethanol program. Pilgrim takes his problem to Perry.

A few days later, Pilgrim donates $100,000 to the Republican Governor's Association, which just happens to be chaired by, you guessed it, Rick Perry. Guess what the governor's office does then? That's right. They immediately start preparing a request for the Environmental Protection Agency to suspend it's corn-ethanol requirements.

Now Perry's office says the donation had nothing to do with Perry's EPA request. They want us to believe that the meeting, then the donation and then the EPA request just happened to be coincidental occurrences. I guess, like most Republicans, he thinks people are stupid.

We've known for a while that Perry can be bought. Now we know the price.

Brimer Is Still Running Scared

Fort Worth's State Senator for District 10 (Kim Brimer) has a reputation in Austin for not getting much accomplished (other than paying rent to his wife). In fact, a majority of his constituents don't even know his name. The only reason he's been re-elected is because he's a Republican, and the Democrats have not run a really good candidate against him.

But things are different this year. The public is tired of the failed Republican leadership, and it's looking like only the well-known Republicans in the safest districts will survive this year. Compounding the fact that Brimer is not well-know and doesn't represent a really safe district, is the fact that this year he has a formidable opponent.

His opponent in the November election is Wendy Davis. Davis (pictured above) is a well-known and well-respected former member of the Fort Worth City Council. She resigned her council seat a few months ago so she could run against Brimer in senate district 10.

After she got her name on the ballot, Brimer must have been scared because he put some Ft. Worth firemen up to challenging the legality of her candidacy. I guess he thought if he couldn't beat her in the election, maybe he could beat her in court by getting her name removed from the ballot. But the judge said the firemen didn't have standing to challenge her candidacy, and tossed the case out of court.

Evidently, Brimer is still afraid to meet Davis in a fair election in November. Both Politex and North Texas Liberal tell us that he has now filed suit against Davis himself. He's trying the same argument that the firemen were using. He's trying to use the fact that even though she had resigned before becoming a candidate, she kept sitting as a council member until her replacement could be elected and sworn in (as the law demanded).

He must not be keeping up with the news though, or he would know that House Speaker Craddick had tried the same thing to keep his opponent off the ballot -- and failed. The judge in that case ruled that Dingus' (Craddick's opponent) city council position would be over before the election, so he was eligible to be on the ballot as a candidate.

There is no reason to believe the decision in this case won't be the same, especially since Davis has not been on the council for several months now. I expect the courts to once again slap down Brimer's hopes. If he wants to go back to Austin, he's going to have to defeat Wendy Davis in November.

Personally, I don't think he can do it.

Exit Strategy ?

Taken from forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?p=4416

Obama's Sister Reaches Out To Asians

We've heard a lot during this presidential campaign about Barack Obama's multi-racial heritage. Most people know that he has a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya. That alone would make the his family the most multi-racial and multi-ethnic first family in our country's history if he is elected president.

But the racial and ethnic make-up of Obama's family is even more varied than that. There is also an Asian component of the family -- Obama's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng (pictured above). Barack and Maya have the same mother, but different fathers. Maya's father was Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian businessman who was married to their mother when she lived in Jakarta from 1967 to 1971.

Here is how the Chicago Sun Times describes the relationship between Barack and Maya, "Soetoro-Ng is nine years younger than Obama and considers him 'the strong male force' in her life after her parents' divorce. It was with Obama she attended her first blues concert and her first voter registration drive, she said. The two remain close: She was there when Obama's oldest daughter, Malia, 9, was born, and plans to help celebrate her 10th birthday on the 4th of July, on the campaign trail.

Soetoro-Ng's appearances give voters a chance to get to know Obama as a person, not just an elected official. Her stories illustrate the development of his character, from his days as a teenager who loved basketball and bodysurfing and didn't always get the strongest grades, to his growing sense of civic duty in the summers she spent with him in Chicago."

Maya currently lives in Hawaii with her husband, Konrad Ng. Mr. Ng is a professor at the University of Hawaii, and blogs on Obama's campaign website, while she is a teacher at an all-girl's school. Maya is taking the Summer and part of the Fall to campaign for her brother, especially in the Asian-American community.

Asians in America come from many different countries and cultures, and do not vote as a bloc. In the last presidential election, 56% voted for Kerry and 44% voted for Bush. Maya is hoping to change those numbers by reminding voters of Obama's family connection to the Asian-American community.

Currently, Asian-American voters represent about 5% of the population (about 15.4 million people).

We have some fun activities planned for the Fourth of July, and we hope you will join us! Wear your Apple Corps t-shirt to all events! Don't have one? We have them for sale for $10 each to cover the cost of the shirt.

Friendswood Parade

Apple Corps members needed to walk in the parade on Friday with Sherrie! We line up at 9 AM and the parade begins at 10 AM. We have fans to pass out to the crowd that say, "I'm a Fan of Sherrie Matula!"

Friendswood Booth

From noon to 4 PM on Friday, we will man a booth at the Friendswood Fourth of July celebration. We'll pass out pushcards and fans, sign up Apple Corps members, and tell folks about Sherrie. Don't worry, we'll have an ice chest full of water and drinks for you!

Fireworks in Clear Lake

End the day with us on the Lake side of Clear Lake Park and enjoy the fireworks. Bring your family and enjoy the company of other Apple Corps members. Be sure and bring lawn chairs, drinks and snacks! You'll find us under a canopy marked by Sherrie Matula signs.

Blockwalk with us July 5th and 6th

Our blockwalking program is going VERY well because of our terrific volunteers! If you have blockwalked with us before, we invite you to return this weekend. New blockwalkers, we will train you and pair you with an experienced blockwalker!

When: Saturday and Sunday, July 5th and 6th. Train, and pick up water and lists at 5:30 PM. Walk from 6PM to 8 PM.

Where: Meet at our headquarters, 17300 Saturn, Suite 105. (map) Thanks for all you are doing! Call me to volunteer and to get information about where to meet for our Fourth of July events (281-536-2457). John

Back-Shooting Is OK In Texas

Back in the Old West on the Texas frontier, shooting a person in the back was not only considered murder -- it was the epitomy of cowardice, and it wasn't tolerated. But frontier values don't exist anymore here in Texas. Our state's Republican leadership has seen to that.

It seems that now a little back-shooting can make you a hero, especially if the victims have brown skin. Take the case of Joe Horn (pictured above) for example. Horn saw his neighbor's house being burglarized and called 911. But Horn didn't think the police were fast enough, so he took his 12-guage shotgun and dispensed his own brand of justice by killing two men.

Horn told police the two men attacked him and he feared for his life. He said he shot the men in self-defense. Sounds heroic, doesn't it? But there are a few problems with that story.

*The 911 operator begged Horn not to go outside and confront the men.

*A police detective had already arrived, and had to duck when the shots were fired because he was afraid Horn might shoot at him, too.

*Both of the men shot by Horn were unarmed.

*Both of the men Horn shot were shot in the back.

The crazy part is that if the police had shot these men in the back, they would have been charged with a crime. Police aren't allowed to shoot people running away from them. Also, I believe if Horn had been African-American or Hispanic, he would already be on his way to prison.

But Horn was white and the victims were brown, so the District Attorney and the Grand Jury decided that no crime had been committed. Let that be a warning to anyone thinking of visiting Texas. Don't anger a Texan, or he might have to resort to "self-defense".

Sometimes being a natural-born Texan is downright embarrassing.

General Clark Was Right

General Wesley Clark has the mainstream media so upset they don't know what to do with themselves. What did he do to accomplish this? He told the truth, and refused to apologize for it. For the media, that's almost unforgiveable.

The major media outlets love a good lie, like the Swift Boaters against Kerry or the Muslim accusations against Obama. They can't seem to get enough of an outrageous lie, and they'll keep bringing it up for months. But give them a little truth and they seem to choke on it.

I can't count the number of times the Talking Heads have asked Clark or each other whether the General should apologize to McCain for telling the truth. Well, let's answer that right now. HELL NO, he shouldn't apologize!

What did Clark say that has the media so upset? He said that McCain's military service showed him to have character and showed him to be brave, but it did not guarantee that he had the judgement necessary to be a good president.

Clark said, "I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president." Later he added, "I think that you can always cite a candidate's service in the armed forces as a testimony to his character and his courage. But I don't think early service justifies moving away from looking at a candidate's judgment."

I hadn't seriously considered Clark as a candidate for the vice-presidency, but I'm currently rethinking that position. I like people who aren't afraid to speak the truth.

Democrats Are Coming Together

It looks like the process of the Democratic Party coming together behind presumptive nominee Barack Obama is progressing nicely. Bill Richardson climbed on board the Obama campaign early. Then Edwards and Gore made it known they will support and work for Obama.

Finally, last week, Hillary Clinton appeared with Obama in New Hampshire. She made it clear that she's a loyal Democrat, and will do whatever is necessary to put a Democrat in the White House in the coming election.

But even after all this, many in the mainstream media tried to make a big deal out of the fact that Bill Clinton was staying out of the limelight and letting Hillary and Barack heal the party. They tried to make it look like there was a rift between Obama and Bill Clinton that couldn't be healed.

That was nonsense, and yesterday those stories were put to rest. Obama and Clinton talked on the telephone, and from their later statements it sounds like any differences have been settled.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "He has always believed that Bill Clinton is one of this nation's great leaders and most brilliant minds and looks forward to seeing him on the campaign trail and receiving his counsel."

Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna countered, "President Clinton continues to be impressed by Senator Obama and the campaign he has run, and looks forward to campaigning for and with him in the months to come."

Republicans might have hoped that Democrats would be left with a rift in the party after the extended nominating campaign, but that was just wishful thinking on their part. All real Democrats know the importance of putting a Democrat in the White House in the coming election, and they are coming together to do that.

I feel better about the coming election with each passing day.

Repubs Still Trying To Destroy Medicare

Republicans have been trying to destroy Medicare for years. They already have the payments for services so low that many doctors refuse to accept or care for elderly Medicare patients. Now it looks like some of them want to make it even worse.

There is a scheduled cut in Medicare that will be around 10%, and is supposed to start around July 1st. The cut is forced because the government has been spending too much. Even though Bush claims to be a conservative, he has caused the biggest jumps in spending of any president and forced the national debt to record levels.

But none of this new spending has gone to help Medicare patients or improve the Medicare system. Medicare is hurt by the new spending, and when Medicare is hurt then the elderly are hurt. If this new cut in what Medicare will pay goes into effect, then even more doctors will refuse to accept elderly patients. I guess the Republicans won't be happy until all doctors refuse to treat the elderly.

Congress had a chance to amend the law and stop the cuts. The amended law would not have improved our broken Medicare system, but would have just kept payments at current levels. But the bill could not clear the Senate. It fell one vote short of the sixty votes needed.

One of those who voted to let Medicare be cut again was our own junior senator from Texas -- Big Bad Box-Turtle John Cornyn. His vote could have kept the program as it is, but he decided to vote against care for the elderly (just like he voted against insurance for children). Once again he proves that he cares only for his rich friends. We must redouble our efforts to replace this fool, and sent Rick Noriega to Washington.

It is ridiculous to even be talking about further cuts in the Medicare program. Doctors are not able to even cover their costs at the current level, and prices rise every year. It is time to raise Medicare benefits, so that doctors can once again afford to care for the elderly.

It is a sad commentary when a society will not even care for its elderly or its children, but that is the legacy the Republicans have left us. There is only one way to fix this problem. We must elect enough Democrats in Congress to save Medicare and adequately cover America's children. Then we must put a Democrat in the White House to sign the bills to fix our system.

We cannot afford to wait another four years, and our youngest and oldest citizens certainly can't afford to wait. Their health is on the line.

Sponsoring The Marriage Amendment

Look who's sponsoring the newest attempt to pass an anti-homosexual marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution. If this is the best the Republicans can do, I'd say that amendment is already in a whole lot of trouble. A clear case of the morally-challenged leading the morally-stupid.

Pictures were taken from Jesus'General.