Saturday, November 13, 2004

Fuck The South

Hi everyone,

I got this in an e-mail recently..... It is hilarious! (and SO TRUE!) so read on everyone.....

RED STATES....YOU ARE ON NOTICE!

I don't know who wrote this (I wish I could give them full credit) but the website they have is called... www.fuckthesouth.com

So here it is............................!!!!

Fuck the South. Fuck 'em. We should have let them go when they wanted to leave. But no, we had to kill half a million people so they'd stay part of our special Union. Fighting for the right to keep slaves - yeah, those are states we want to keep. And now what do we get? We're the fucking Arrogant Northeast Liberal Elite? How about this for arrogant: the South is the Real America? The Authentic America. Really? Cause we fucking founded this country, assholes. Those Founding Fathers you keep going on and on about? All that bullshit about what you think they meant by the Second Amendment giving you the right to keep your assault weapons in the glove compartment because you didn't bother to read the first half of the fucking sentence? Who do you think those wig-wearing lacy-shirt sporting revolutionaries were? They were fucking blue-staters, dickhead. Boston? Philadelphia? New York? Hello? Think there might be a reason all the fucking monuments are up here in our backyard?No, No. Get the fuck out. We're not letting you visit the Liberty Bell and fucking Plymouth Rock anymore until you get over your real American selves and start respecting those other nine amendments. Who do you think those fucking stripes on the flag are for? Nine are for fucking blue states. And it would be 10 if those Vermonters had gotten their fucking Subarus together and broken off from New York a little earlier. Get it? We started this shit, so don't get all uppity about how real you are you Johnny-come-lately "Oooooh I've been a state for almost a hundred years" dickheads. Fuck off.Arrogant? You wanna talk about us Northeasterners being fucking arrogant? What's more American than arrogance? Hmmm? Maybe horsies? I don't think so. Arrogance is the fucking cornerstone of what it means to be American. And I wouldn't be so fucking arrogant if I wasn't paying for your fucking bridges, bitch.All those Federal taxes you love to hate? It all comes from us and goes to you, so shut up and enjoy your fucking Tennessee Valley Authority electricity and your fancy highways that we paid for. And the next time Florida gets hit by a hurricane you can come crying to us if you want to, but you're the ones who built on a fucking swamp. "Let the Spanish keep it, it’s a shithole," we said, but you had to have your fucking orange juice.The next dickwad who says, "It’s your money, not the government's money" is gonna get their ass kicked. Nine of the ten states that get the most federal fucking dollars and pay the least... can you guess? Go on, guess. That’s right, motherfucker, they're red states. And eight of the ten states that receive the least and pay the most? It’s too easy, asshole, they’re blue states. It’s not your money, assholes, it’s fucking our money. What was that Real American Value you were spouting a minute ago? Self reliance? Try this for self reliance: buy your own fucking stop signs, assholes.Let’s talk about those values for a fucking minute. You and your Southern values can bite my ass because the blue states got the values over you fucking Real Americans every day of the goddamn week. Which state do you think has the lowest divorce rate you marriage-hyping dickwads? Well? Can you guess? It’s fucking Massachusetts, the fucking center of the gay marriage universe. Yes, that’s right, the state you love to tie around the neck of anyone to the left of Strom Thurmond has the lowest divorce rate in the fucking nation. Think that’s just some aberration? How about this: 9 of the 10 lowest divorce rates are fucking blue states, asshole, and most are in the Northeast, where our values suck so bad. And where are the highest divorce rates? Care to fucking guess? 10 of the top 10 are fucking red-ass we're-so-fucking-moral states. And while Nevada is the worst, the Bible Belt is doing its fucking part.But two guys making out is going to fucking ruin marriage for you? Yeah? Seems like you're ruining it pretty well on your own, you little bastards. Oh, but that's ok because you go to church, right? I mean you do, right? Cause we fucking get to hear about it every goddamn year at election time. Yes, we're fascinated by how you get up every Sunday morning and sing, and then you're fucking towers of moral superiority. Yeah, that's a workable formula. Maybe us fucking Northerners don't talk about religion as much as you because we're not so busy sinning, hmmm? Ever think of that, you self-righteous assholes? No, you're too busy erecting giant stone tablets of the Ten Commandments in buildings paid for by the fucking Northeast Liberal Elite. And who has the highest murder rates in the nation? It ain't us up here in the North, assholes.Well this gravy train is fucking over. Take your liberal-bashing, federal-tax-leaching, confederate-flag-waving, holier-than-thou, hypocritical bullshit and shove it up your ass.And no, you can't have your fucking convention in New York next time. Fuck off. contact

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Bush Sucks

and we have him for 4 more years. I don't know what people were thinking a few days back, but I am still reeling from the devistating loss.

Do people not realize that by re-electing this IDIOT, they have given him all the power that he didn't have in 2000 (but used anyway?). So now, the word "empowered" is being thrown around......and do you really know what that means?

How about .....
Religion in schools
Children left behind
Gays left behind
More tax breaks for the rich
Higher energy costs
Higher inflation
More unemployment
DRAFT!
No Sex
............................

and so on and so on.....

Now most may be tongue in cheek, but I must say that I am tired and need to walk away from this shit.

Peace,
JPB

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

Empowered Voters

I must say that I was surprised when I went to my polling place on election day. I had heard the stories that there would be long lines and hour long waits.....I just didn't believe it.

I have been voting since I was 18. I have never had to wait to vote. Go in, chit chat with the poll workers, have a cup of joe and then mosey over to the punchcard ballot machine and do my thing.......

Boy how things have changed! Yes, still have those damn punchcard ballots......yes, still need to check to be sure there are no hanging chads (god, I felt stupid- but I didn't want to take the chance that my vote wasn't going to count.) but wow......I had to wait, in a LINE today! 45 minutes later, I was even more EMPOWERED....just talking to folks that I didn't know about how excited they were about this election...we were all on different sides, and some people still were unsure of who they were going to vote for......I, of course, took this as my DUTY to talk about my views.....

This one young lady in her 20s was voting for the first time...but didn't know who she was going to vote for, she really just figured she would go in and decide right then and there....that wasn't good enough for me....I had 45 minutes to kill, so I thought, what the HELL if I can get her to vote for Kerry...then that's one less vote for Bush. So we started to chit-chat.

We talked about the typical stuff: war in Iraq, oil prices, domestic issues, heathcare, etc.....and she still didn't know what to do....So I decided to pull out the big guns! I asked her if she understood that besides all of these VERY IMPORTANT facts, that the President who is in power over the next four years will most likely be appointing 4 justices to the Supreme Court.

The lady had no idea. I told her that depending on where she stood on issues such as privacy, abortion, gay rights, pornography, moral issues.......The Court would be forever changed (and our lives forever changed) by the decision the next President makes on appointments. I told her that this......Was the most important reason to make the CORRECT choice.

We talked for a few more minutes and then she sighed....I am so relieved! I am glad we talked...I know who I need to vote for........And she smiled.

I was dying for her to tell me.......But she just kept smiling........I began to wonder, should I just come out and ASK her? So that is exactly what I did....

She said, I wish that someone would have told me about the issues with the Supreme Court sooner than right now....That would have made my decision that much easier.....But there are issues that I am concerned about that are always presented before the Supreme Court and I can't take the chance that my vote for President helped to put a justice on the Court that doesn't match my beliefs....(to this I got a bit scared...! Did I unintentionally swing a vote for Bush?????) .....She smiled at me again, and said, you know, my brother is gay....And he's been in a relationship for over 10 years, and he wants to get married....I want him to be able to get married...I'm voting for Kerry....

Alas, my troubled heart had skipped a beat...I had done my civic duty and turned an undecided voter towards the light.........

I am happy.... I am empowered...... I only hope that this election fires Bush.... Guess we will know soon enough!

Sunday, October 31, 2004

Our Nation's Religious Past

(let me first apologize for the length ...my muse was here helping me in my quest for understanding and truth).
(this writing was in reply to my brother-in-law's forwarded email. He had sent me a link (which I cannot locate) about some interesting facts about our Nation's history and how steeped in religion it is. As my brother-in-law stated..it was very interesting..-he doesn't necessarily subscribe to the theory presented either...he was just amazed with the amount of religious iconology found throughout our monuments....which is correct, but the message coveyed by the original author wanted the reader to believe that this was the basis for the current trend in religious fundementalism in our political system.....I took this to task (not my brother-in-law...cause he's awesome and I love him). So here was my reply to the email (I think it is making its way around the internet now...so I am gonna COPYWRITE IT! (hehehe!)

REPLY:

I found this very interesting, yet very slanted. Yes, our great Country was founded by those persecuted for their religious beliefs...
That is why IN THE CONSTITUTION, there was a DELIBERATE separation of church and state. No where does it say that it cannot intermingle.

Remember back to history class....

The Bill of Rights..."at its inception...was not intended to protect everyone. Whole groups of people were left out. Women were seen as second-class citizens, at best." Visions of Liberty (pg. 57)

"The very language of our early declarations of principles was exclusionary. When in the Declaration of Independence the principle of equality was announced, by its own terms it was exclusionary: 'All men are created equal,' it said."
Visions of Liberty (pg. 57)

The right to vote, of course, derived in large part from property qualifications, 'All men are created equal,' excluded more than just women: it also excluded most men. The consent of the governed...[was] understood to be limited to the consent of property owners." Visions of Liberty (pg. 57)

-Property owners then changed to taxpayer qualifications, etc.....while women and African Americans were continuously denied the right to vote.

Moving on...

On the religious aspect.....
There is no escaping our religious past. I think we should embrace it. My fundamental belief is that while EMBRACING our religious past that we must LEARN from it as well.
Puritans LEFT England because they were being persecuted (for it was a crime NOT to go to the Protestant Church of England and receive the sacrament).

But what the Puritans did when they came to this great country was the same thing! "There were incidents of religious intolerance in the colonies as well. In 1637, a woman named Anne Hutchinson, who openly disagreed with the Calvinist ministers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony about how to achieve salvation, was tried for heresy, convicted, and banished to the wilderness."

The issue of God.

This one bothers me. Why? Because God has many meanings. Anyone with any religious underpinnings understands God in their own way. "In God We Trust" doesn't mean......"In [the Christian] God We Trust", "In [the Jesuit] God We Trust", "In [the Buddhist] God We Trust," "In [the Islamic] God We Trust" "In [No] God We Trust," and so on and so on.... I think you get the point. God is a term that is used "generically to be inclusive of all religions and of no religions at all." (My personal quote-thank you very much).

The Bible issue....

"One reason for the difficulty in interpreting the Bible is that the biblical authors wrote in a completely different cultural, social, economic, political, and religious world from our own. The original writers of the Bible do not try to explain that ancient world to their readers. They assume their readers know all about it. It must be discovered anew by modern readers, not for the purpose of retreating back into it, but in order to know what is being said. Moreover, their manner of thinking and expressing themselves was Eastern (more precisely, Semitic), not Western as is ours." (Good News Bible, Catholic Study Edition, pg. xx-xxi) In other words... THINK PEOPLE! Understand what is being read...and in what CONTEXT.....The Literal reading of the BIBLE will guide people to confusion and broad, overbearing, unbelievable beliefs.....(let the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, or your own personal divine being guide you into understanding! Don't be blinded by the ancient writings and not understand the truer concepts...)

As far as the 10 Commandments....
That is not a Christian doctrine per se. Why? Because that was in the OLD TESTAMENT, before Christ.....

If you look at this historically (and here is where I will take a bit of license), the great Old Testament was full of wonderful stories (honestly, can you really believe that all of that happened???) that explained to many how to live their lives (much in the way that fables teach children lessons). There were these wonderful things called the Commandments.......and really, they are GOOD! I can actually say- if removed from its religious connotations, they can have themselves FIRMLY planted in modern society as words to live by ......to live happily....to live completely.

The First 3 Commandments (the ones I have the hardest time with from an historical perspective) govern the relationship between God and humans...
-graven images
-swearing
-blasphemy
-Day of Rest (Sabbath)
-acts of worship
-acts of charity

Commandments 4,5,6,7, and 8....those are the BEST ones....because they are the heart of leading a healthy life...and govern public relationships between people. Getting along....pretty simple.
-Honor your Father and Mother
-Not Killing
-Not committing Adultery
-Don't Steal
-Don't Bear False Witness


Finally Commandments 9,10 govern private thoughts...again pretty simple and easy to understand
.
-Coveting your neighbors wife (but I guess if you covet the neighbor's husband you are ok)
-Keeping up with the Jone's (you know...desire of what your neighbor/friend/other person has and you want)
With the exception of 1, 2, and 3...these Commandments can be lifted from their RELIGIOUS underpinnings and placed in a secular world and be fully accepted as basic and understood (by most)

It is therefore fitting, under these circumstances that you would find these HISTORICAL (NOT religious) artifacts adorning our judicial and governmental buildings.

On to James Madison.....
he also stated, "the real danger to liberty in any society, comes from the ultimate source of power. In America, the real power lies with the majority of the people. The invasion of individual rights is likely to come not from a legislature that is out of step with its constituents, but from a legislature acting as an 'instrument' of popular majorities.

He called this the tyranny of the majority. "A bill of rights might be useful in restraining the power of a king, but I have little faith in its ability to restrain the tyranny of the majority in a democracy."

Thomas Jefferson answers this by stating, "Once established, a bill of rights would provide the legal basis for an independent judiciary to strike down majoritarian excesses by ruling unconstitutional any legislative or executive act that violated individual rights as defined in the Constitution. Such legislative acts, even if committed in response to majority opinion, could be declared null and void by the courts. A bill of rights would put a powerful 'legal check' into the hands of the judiciary, provided it remained safely independent of the other branches of government." (Visions of Liberty, pg 42-43)

humm...sounds like a case for the gay marriage issue, doesn't it?

Although the American revolution was fought against British tyranny, there was another tyranny to be avoided according to Madison. "Whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced to the very definition of tyranny." His point? The accumulation of all powers in the same hands....doesn't matter whose hands....religious, white, black, pro-this, anti-that...whatever.....the concentration of power in a few hands is crippling to everyone in a representative democracy....in one way or another.

He went on to say that in a heterogeneous community, the majority may not represent all competing interests. The majority is likely to be self-interested and ignorant or indifferent to the concerns of the minority. In such case, the assumption that the majority represents the minority is 'altogether fictitious." (Tyranny of the Majority, p. 2-3)

So by quoting Madison as listed in the prior email.....there is a question as to the validity of this statement. Sure, Madison may well have meant what he was quoted as saying "we have staked the whole of our political......" and so on....but the MAJORITY of Madison's feelings were etched in his belief that NO MAJORITY shall have control over the minority.

Using this single statement to justify the rights of a majority (in this case, Christians) to instill God and religion into everyone's lives through the Constitution, laws, beliefs (as in "well, he said it so it must be true"...or, "it's always been this way")....does not hold up to Madison's belief that the minority needed to be PROTECTED from the tyranny of the majority, no matter what the cost.


However, it is like anything...too much can be strangling. My fear - as I see coming true, is that there are those in the government (and in our society at large) that believe that we should remain focused solely on our religious underpinnings, devoid of fairness and understanding of those that do not subscribe to those beliefs.

Whether it is with malice of forethought or plain blind faith, the failure to recognize and appreciate the differences in each other will lead to the downfall of this great democracy. I do not suggest that we forego our religious beliefs, but instead, keep them in check, close to our hearts, and not blind ourselves to the truer meaning of democracy and the ideals that our Founding Fathers left us. It is not our religious beliefs that make us a great nation...it is the acceptance and understanding of those beliefs and the beliefs of our fellow citizens that make us a great nation.

The failure to recognize that each individual in this country has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...not on the basis of religion or the Bible...but endowed by our Creator (whomever you choose to believe it is) leads us down the road that Madison warned us about so many years ago. The Tyranny of the Majority.

I could go on and on.....but I hope that everyone at least has a new perspective in which to ponder. My hope for the future of this country is that EVERYONE can participate in the process (to get married -the pursuit of happiness, to be free of bondage, etc...) only then can this country truly be the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.

Thank you all for your time. Your Feedback is appreciated.

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

I Miss Clinton

Ok,
Sorry I've been away for a while, but I have been working hard on my degree (and its taking up a lot of time!)

After seeing our GREAT former President Clinton at the Democratic Convention in Boston- I longed for the days that he was in office!  I don't condone what he did (though I gotta tell you ...who wouldn't want to get a BJ in the Oval Office-just so you can say you did???)

Anyway, I digress.  The past four years, have been terrible.  I am embarrassed by Bush, he's such an IDIOT. 

...more later....

In the meantime, check out this fun parody of both Bush and Kerry ... it's really funny!

www.jibjab.com

See you soon!
PEACE,
JPB


Tuesday, June 15, 2004

My personality test

I'm taking courses for completion of my Masters In Organizational Management (MAOM). So there is a major focus on personalities and how they go (and sometimes don't go) together.

So, I decided that I had to take some for myself. I went to google..(isn't that great?) and found some great links. I decided to go hog wild and take a few of them....I even took a disorder one (but it said I was 56% narcissistic-so I didn't really care to read more).

A few of the sites I visited are:
www.humanmetrics.com (basic personality score)
www.advisorteam.com (that's were you can get your temperament score)
www.similarminds.com (that is the best one with lots o' tests)

So I guess you are dying to find out right?
No, probably not! But here it goes anyway!

Test one (from humanitarian) ESFJ (Extroverted Sensing Feeling Judging)

Test two (from advisorteam) Idealist

Test three (from similarminds) ENFP (Extroverted Intuitive Feeling Perceiving)

Test four (from similarminds) that's the one that I didn't like

I just retook the Myers-Briggs (they say you should take it often, because your personality will change over time - but your core personality traits will stay the same.)


ENFP - "Journalist". Uncanny sense of the motivations of others. Life is an exciting drama. 8.1% of total population.
Take Free Myers Briggs Jung Personality Test


Anyway, what are you going to do with this information now that you have it? Not much really. You have to take these tests over a period of time, because (as you can see) the results can change over time. It is not failsafe, but can give a very good understanding of how you view the world around you, and can give you a glimpse of how you can better interact with people.

So give it a try..there is also a test for married couples. Be careful here though, cause you can find out that you are incompatible!!

Keep Learning!

PEACE,
JPB

Sunday, June 13, 2004

Stepford Wives

So my partner Steve and I decided, despite the reviews, to go see the Stepford Wives. I am glad that we did. It was funny as hell!

The updated version of the 70's motion picture (at least I think it was done in the 70's) really went out of its way to make its own mark.

Of course, the reason I wanted to see it was because it had Bette!!! (God I love Bette)
You can have your Judy Garland, Liza, and Barbara (for all of the friends of Dorothy out there) but I prefer the more avant garde.....Bette....and the more sublime....Olivia...(that's Olivia Newton-John for those of you who might be scratching your head wondering what the hell I'm talking about.) And another thing....don't be dissin' the ONJ. She is a beautiful human being and my first (and possibly my only crush) on the female persuasion-so that says a lot.

I digress. More on the ONJ later.

Back to the movie.

They have updated the premise. Included a gay couple (a Stepford "wife" for the gay man),in fact-the actor that plays the gay, limp-wristed lover (who gets Stepfordized) was in a wonderful film (that my friend JH introduced me to) called "Best in Show"....Sorry folks can't remember his name but you can't forget his character.

So, you have Bette (God, I love Bette), Nicole Kidman (you know-once married to Tom Cruise)....(btw, has he come out yet??) Matthew Broderick (boy he was cute back in the day), Glenn Close (she's awesome), Christopher Walken (ok, I don't care what you say..This dude SCARES me), Jon Lovitz, and a special appearance by Faith Hill (isn't her husband in real life just delicious??)....

Directed by Frank Oz. Enough said.

I have to say that there were some scenes that were awful. The editing was terrible (I mean, for ME to notice that's saying something), and some far-fetched ideas that don't work when you see them through (such as the scene where Dave Markowe turns his wife into an ATM and money pops out of her mouth...) I guess I could believe it if they followed that path through the entire movie (which they didn't)....The method in which they "changed" the women of Stepford, into robots, I guess, doesn't hold through the entire movie....It was like they scrapped the idea half way through the movie and changed gears, but decided not to go back and rewrite what was already filmed.

So I guess what I am saying is that there was a lot that was NOTICEABLY wrong. But I LIKED it a lot. It was extremely funny (unlike the original) and at times macabre. All in all...Good fun....

And did I say- Bette was great! She's such a unique woman....And her transformation was stunning.......

So- go see it!

I give it 3 baseballs out of 4 (for sheer fun-forgetting all else).

JPB

Tuesday, June 08, 2004

Upcoming

Hi everyone,

Look for excerpts from my upcoming book here!

First entry coming soon!

Peace,
JPB

President Reagan

Ok, Ok. I know this is going to sound completely insensitive, but it's been bothering me for a few days now.

Yes, it is sad when ANYONE passes away. I feel for the Prez's family. But do we have to have a "week" of mourning?

I say this because back when Reagan was President, he did not seem to give a rats ass about those people stricken with AIDS. In fact, he NEVER MENTIONED the word AIDS during his ENTIRE presidency.

For one hailed as the "great communicator" Reagan failed to take leadership on an issue that was begginning to rear its ugly head during his watch.

Why was that?

One can assume that he just plain didn't care. Why did we have to lose so many people to a disease whose lives could have been saved- or at least prolonged, if Reagan would have taken a few moments out of his busy life to talk frankly about what was happening.

That didn't happen.

I don't feel any need to honor him for honor is something that is deserved. Honor is an adhereence to principles considered right. Failing to recognize a health crisis that lead to the infections and deaths of Americans (not to mention those worldwide) is something "lacking" honor.

So for all of you Honoring such a man....remember all of those that have passed away because of what he refused to do.

I'll get off my soapbox for now.
Peace!
JPB

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

Just Getting Started

Well, this is my first attempt at doing a blog. I have a website, I belong to friendster.com and I am on the meetup website. Geez...what else do I have to do to stay up with technology!

I will write more when I have time, but that time is not now.

JPB