Case against Bush Admin might help the fight against the BOA?

I just finished reading this article.

"Next week, the group started by Gaylor and her mother in the 1970s to take on the religious right will fight its most high-profile battle when the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on its lawsuit against President George W. Bush's faith-based initiative.

The court will decide whether taxpayers can sue over federal funding that the foundation believes promotes religion in what could be a major ruling for groups that fight to keep church and state separate."

Now that's news! And this Anne Gaylore lady sounds great!

"The 51-year-old once donned a nun's habit as a college student in 1977 to protest a judge who blamed rape on women who wear provocative clothing."

Apparently her mother fought for pro-choice rights back in the day.

There is a follow-up article here. The case is Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc., 06-157. for interested parties. It's pretty interesting to me. I was thinking if tax payers can sue the government for giving money to religious organizations, what about the situation with Boyscouts of America? -where the mormons have invested money and now corrupted the standard beliefs with anti-gay beliefs...going so far as to eject life-long members from the organization who are suspected of being homosexual....

The organization's right to set such policies has been upheld repeatedly by both state and federal courts. Reason being is that the Bush Admin is big supporter of the BOA...would this case help the people who have been trying sue the Boyscouts of America for descrimination? Maybe they can sue the gov for giving the funds to a religious organization.

Stem Cell Research eh?

This article on Canada.com says that the Hospital for Sick Children has received an anonymous $5.1-million donation which will be used in stem cell research.

I don't really know where I sit on stemcell research. I always think of that ....South Park episode where Christopher Reeves sucks the juices out of fetus to heal himself. It's weird to me because I know where I sit with abortion, I'm pro-choice. And I was thinking, well when people have miscarriages, they don't burry the fetus. It usually gets flushed or removed and tossed. Thats a really interesting arguement...

Black Snake Moan....

I was reading a huge article about this movie on a feminist blog today. People were freaking out about the movie. I saw the previews for this about 3 days ago. I thought "I'll have to see that movie" Here's why: chained promiscuous girl with catholic preist hovering over her preaching. I figured it was going to be halarious. I thought it would have been a funny statement. Apparently the movie is not done in this light. Feministing.com reported that Christina Ricci told MTV that she is playing "a girl who suffers physical flashbacks to a childhood rape. Some women and young girls freak out, panic, and need to cut themselves. [My character] needs to cause herself the same kind of pain when she has panic attacks by having anonymous sex."
Sort of wrong.. but sort of right. She sounds vague and uninformed. There are very complex issues surrounding what victoms of rape go through. Many people who have suffered a childhood rape become hyper-sexual in their teens and adults but this isn't always the case.

I wanted to post my thoughts on this movie (that I have not yet seen btw) on my own blog since my comments would either be ignored or cause anger on Feministing.

As a uber sexual person, I like movies that are erotic and see nothing wrong with them. However, the general consensus at feministing was that the movie was selling Ricci's body, and basically erotisicing the submission and torture of a traumatized girl. However these are all valid complaints, I immediately figured the movie was done in a different light, maybe to make catholic and chaste beliefs look silly and fascist. and of course being somewhat sexy in the process.

*On a different note, I must write a rant about the complex issues of wanting to be sexually submissive i.e. being tied up and such, with your lover but obviously not wanting to be submissive in life or being raped. Also,I like watching S&M porn but don't like the exploitation and oppression of women that they portray even if it's all in good fun..

Effects of Global Warming?!

This is so freaksome! Scientists wonder if global warming may be polluting oceans with massive and alien looking jellyfish! I wonder what other developments mother nature has in store for us, as retaliation to global warming?


Blue Jellyfish Article
Giant Jellyfish Article

When I Grow Up, I Wanna Be A Junkie

When I was younger I was pretty much convinced that once I made it out of high school, I would become a junkie. I figured that I would buckle under capitolism when I realised I couldn't go on working 40 hours a week at $6.50 an hour. I figured I'd live the rest of my days in a crowded, delapitated house with a bunch of cracked out useless musicians and we could create some stability in the chaos of sex, drugs & rock'n'roll. Exert control over our powerless lives. Perhaps this was a silly goal for a teenager to have. But look at it from my perspective- I didn't have anything to live for. My life seemed carelessly devoid of meaning. As if someone had put me here to aimlessly run around the planet for their own amusement. There's is where it all makes sense. Being a junkie gives your life meaning in a sick & twisted way. Addiction gives you something to focus on. If you have a goal of always trying to get your hands on that next fix.. you've got something to live for.

Maybe that sounds sick.. but slowly killing yourself sure beats waitressing...or suicide for that matter.

Interview with Celia Rivenbark ..

This article got me really upset a few months back when it was published in MacLeans Jan 01, 2007 issue. The columnist and author of Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like A Skank, get an interview and half of everything she says makes me angry. Not that I'm a parent so maybe I have no right to speak against her opinion.. tooo bad I'm gonna anyway. A particular part that pissed me off was this:

" Q:... and Nelly Furtado too. What's Nelly's song, Promiscuous, I think?
Yeah, isn't that lovely?
A:I guess we're a leading exporter of skank music.
Who'd have thought. Yeah, that song will come on my daughter's favourite radio station and I'm like, "No," and I turn it off.
Q:You turn off the radio?
A:Oh yeah, when that comes on? I do. I don't think it's appropriate for a nine-year-old kid to be singing along to how promiscuous she is. I mean, I don't even know if she knows what that word means, but it's just a little early for that, you know? Of course, I'm a realist. I know when she hits 13, 14, 15 and she lives with an iPod glued to her ears, I understand that's inevitable, but she's nine, barely nine -- she doesn't need to be singing about how promiscuous she is."

Ahh,...you turn off the radio. She is totaly offering a great a lesson to her daughter. Come on, kids aren't retarded. If you were to explain how you feel the song contains a lack of morals that you want your daughter to have,(or that you feel the content of the song is innappropriate) the kid is going to understand what your saying. I think people need to be more explainitor with their children. Simply stating "NO!" is more apt to pit the child against you. It wasn't all that long ago, that I was 9! I dunno if censorship is really the solution to the problem. 9 year olds are smart and discovering the ever-fun past time of doing the opposite of what your parents tell you to do.

There is also the issue of female promescuity...I was lucky with my mother not telling me to keep it in my pants until I'm married...

More ranting about this later..

India Doesn't Like Gals

What's with India killing off all its baby girls? Have they decided to turn into China? They don't have restrictions on birthing so you wonder.... But This article explains it all.

The article says that in the last 20 years, India has lost over 10 million female infants to feticide. (yea thats right) The world is a sick sad place.