December 2003 Archives
Today was among the most crappy I've had in awhile. First I felt sick for most of the day. Came home from work and just crashed. The store was terribly understaffed, and I had the customer from hell at the service desk. Funny, I was working the desk with a fellow blogger, and I was thinking through the whole incident I wonder whose blog this will appear on first. Suffice it to say that he made a total ass of himself, especially as he dropped F-bombs on the way out the door. I really should have had him escorted out of the building and stopped dealing with him. This guy had the nerve to cut in line in front of about 20 people, and then refuse to move until he was waited on. Eventually I figured it would take longer to argue with him than to just get him out of my face, but in retrospect it would have been more fun to have him forceably removed. :)
Looking back at my previous entry, I should make clear what I think of the pope's latest idiocy. I think every remark he makes puts him closer to Pat Robertson, and I believe people will begin to see that he really makes little sense. Gay youth, however, are more prone to internalizing these kind of remarks that make them seem like less than people. The rhetoric that the pope spews is the same type that leads to the gay youth suicide rate being 4 times higher than for straight kids. I have no tolerance for people who perpetuate situations like that. Perhaps I'm being extreme in my judgement, but the truth is that lies and misdirection can be as serious as a knife or a gun.
I think the best customer award goes to the intoxicated woman who told me she would pee on the floor if we did not get her some toilet paper. I just have nothing more to say about that.
Of more concern is that I just read that the Patriot Act II was signed by Pres. Bush on December 13 without any announcement. I read this on Ron's Log and he referenced the article from the San Antonio Current. I searched CNN.com and Yahoo! News and didn't find anything there. There was no record on the White House's website either. If this is true I find it interesting that this was done the day Saddam's capture overshadowed all other news, and no one heard about this latest intrusion into Americans' privacy at all. It's as if the government didn't really want anyone to know. I'm still looking for another news source to corroborate this though so don't take my word for it yet.
I'm not sure what to say about this... I'm sure it's floating around Yahoo! News Photos because it's people's behinds. (People saying OHH! Look at their butts!) But what's interesting is that they are ice swimmers in Berlin. I can't imagine what this must be like; when my shower gets cold I'm jumping out.
[source: Yahoo! News Photos]
The returners were back in the store today, some even nastier than yesterday. One man even accused me of discrimination when I gave him his exchange options since he didn't have a receipt. At our store if you have a receipt it takes 10 seconds to do a return. It's quick, painless and fair. I just don't understand when people get upset at us because they lost their receipt. Although I did read something yesterday that might help explain some things.
It's called "The Maturity Continuum" and it's from Stephen R. Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The continuum goes from dependence to independence to interdependence. "Dependence is the paradigm of you - you take care of me; you take care of me . . . I blame you for the results. Independence is the paradigm of I - I can do it; I am responsible . . . I can choose. Interdependence is the paradigm of we - we can do it; we can cooperate. . .". I think that many people reside on the first part of the continuum with the thinking that it's always someone else to blame, and that it's always someone else's fault. I blame you for me not having a receipt. Or You didn't take care of me. I'm not sure what it takes for people to move up on the continuum of maturity, but more people should look into it.
Source: Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Philadelphia: Running Press Book. 1989. 15-16.
Well, it's the day after Christmas and all through the store, everyone was grouchy, even the whore. Well, there wasn't a whore, but it rhymed. My apologies. It was very busy today with people returning things they didn't want and buying the 50% off clearance. Some people will say anything to get around a return policy. Well, my friend who bought it lives in Texas and I'm leaving tomorrow for my home in Italy. Umm, OK. Or the threat, I'm going to send my husband in here! I was trembling.
In other news, Christmas was good. The whole family gathered at my parents' house on Christmas Eve for dinner and to exchange gifts. It's always fun with that crowd. I wish we got together more often. I'm thinking it would be fun to throw a Valentine's Day party.
I guess I have no comments on the news right now. My brain is kinda fried at the moment after my long day dealing with some crazy people. Perhaps I will read and understand the news later. In the meantime, I heard on NPR that the saying "OK" came from Martin van Buren's election campaign. Apparently he was from a town in New York called Kinderhook and so he was referred to as the Ol' Kinderhook. So when he'd sign things, he'd sign them "O.K." [heard on NPR and researched on YourDictionary.com: visit the YourDictionary link for more info on popular words of 2003]
Christmas Eve was much busier than I thought it would be. I figured most people would be done with their shopping and ready to spend their time with families and friends, but no, they were still out shopping. Most seemed to be picking up some last minute items - stocking stuffers and such - but there were still a few out there who seemed to be doing the bulk of their shopping at the last minute. One woman had actually waited until 1/2 hour before the store closed to begin her shopping. She was awfully upset when her chosen method of payment didn't go through. We actually had to show people out the door as the clock ticked past closing time. Apparently some customers think we have no families and just live there. I was anxious to leave and watching people continue to come up to my registers 15 minutes after we had closed was frustrating. Thanks to them I was almost late for my family's Christmas dinner. WHEW! Made it! Only a few more weeks of Christmas returns and clearance to go...
Isn't it interesting that Howard Dean made the comment after Saddam's capture that American really isn't any safer, contrary to Mr. Bush's remarks? It's worth noting that now we've gone to "orange alert." This point was well made on LiberalOasis.com and I thought it was a very good one. I've heard commentary on NPR from people saying how ridiculous a statement Dean had made, yet current events prove that he was indeed correct. I wish an alert didn't have to prove him right and I hope that nothing bad happens to Ameicans.
A few random holiday thoughts:
1) The Lexus commercials - For the past few years I've seen holiday advertisements about buying someone a Lexus for Christmas. They do it in all sorts of cutesy ways. Most recently the little train around the tree spills over and what comes out but a key to a Lexus. Another one is that the key becomes the nose of the snowman. When I visited the Lexus site the cars list from about $29,000 to $64,000. Who the heck buys someone a Lexus for Christmas?? I know many people are getting cell phones, xboxes, and even computers and TVs. But I think for most Americans a Lexus is a bit extreme. I think the holiday Lexus commercials do more to alienate people from the Lexus brand, and make us all wonder what kind of crack they're on.
2) Red and Green lights - I have no problem with people decorating their homes for the holidays. I think it's great that people get into the spirit and want to share it with others. But I wonder about homes that have a porchlight that has been replaced with a red light. You know what that looks like? Or when home owners shine green lights up at the house or their trees it just looks spooky. Obviously, this is not like the Lexus issue, but just a random thing I notice.
Yahoo! News - SAME-SEX COUPLES TAKE MARRIAGE MORE SERIOUSLY THAN TV DOES
How interesting. I hadn't really thought about this point. Especially love the part about the FOX network - how ironic is that?
I heard about the court decision regarding Jose Padilla who was being held as an enemy combatant. Apparently he is a US citizen who was suspected of having ties to terrorism, so was declared an "enemy combatant." It meant that he had no access to a lawyer or the US civilian courts, nor was he officially charged with anything I believe. When I first heard about this my first thought was the terrorists won. When the government denies its citizens access to redress and basic consitutional rights, that's the end of the concept of our country. I was elated to hear about the ruling that US citizens who have been detained on US soil (or outside a "combat zone") cannot be declared enemy combatants. Nice to know that the Bushies can't just walk all over the Constitution when ever it becomes inconvenient.
[sources: NPR news & Yahoo! News]
Nasty people, crazy people, and the ones that were normal in between. There was the lady who got so upset that I'd helped her that she guffawed at me and went to storm off until I reexplained that I was helping her. Sometimes I think people want to get upset. There was the graffiti in the men's room. One said "4:20" which I understand but the rest of it was undecipherable. What's the point of it if no one understands it? Then there was the man who thought he'd help us remove the graffiti by wiping it away with water which was working miserably. We told him not to worry about it and that we'd take care of it. As he approached me I was almost intoxicated myself from the fumes emanating from this guy. There was the creepy guy who leered at me as I walked past for no apparent reason. There were the people who wait in the longest lines and refuse to get into shorter ones, all the while complaining about the long lines. Then there are the people who wanted a slow checkout while there are others waiting behind them. They get mad when you go too fast... Of course there were the normal ones in between that helped keep some sense of sanity, but it was really like the twilight zone today. Sure to be worse tomorrow...
morons.org - Bush Declares War on Gays
Sums President Bush up pretty well. Very fitting that he should be written about on this website...
The Bush Interview
I read the excerpts of the President Bush interview with Diane Sawyer. It was interesting to read all the stutters and word changes in print. Just as curious was how Mr. Bush never answered questions about weapons of mass destruction, and continuously referred back to (what seemed) a prepared statement. "Saddam was a danger and the world is better off cause we got rid of him." It seems that in our president's mind it doesn't matter what he did to get involved in Iraq, but just the fact that Saddam is gone makes us safer. Didn't the Republicans threaten to impeach Clinton for his cigar issues in the White House? Why don't the Democrats threaten to impeach Bush on the fact that he lied to the public and now refuses to admit or apologize for it.
I found it funny that he mentioned that he hadn't spoken with his mother for several days. Where are his family values? Shouldn't he be in close contact with his family since he's so into traditional family values. Maybe it just wasn't convenient.
George Bush said that the best day of his presidency was the day he was sworn in. He was glad to have the chance to "implement a strategy that would make the world more peaceful and more free and a country more compassionate." I guess that would have been his best day because since then he hasn't done much toward implementing his stretegy. The world certainly has not been made more peaceful under Bush's care - he started a war. (And I mean the real one, not the kind that we fight at all times. You know, war on poverty, war on drugs, war on terror... - the scary thing is that I think Bush thinks the "War on Terror" is a real war, complete with civil rights deprevation and sacrifice) He hasn't led us to be a more compassionate country. Look how he's given the Right the ability to dictate law and policy. I'm sorry, but few times in history has religion shown to be a good governmental force. And that's his strategy so far as I see it. Otherwise, there is no strategy besides getting himself re-elected.
When asked about the power of prayer and whether his confidence comes from the thought that God is behind him, Bush said this:
My confidence comes from a lot of sources. I do — I am sustained by the prayers of the people in this country. I guess an appropriate way to say this, it's one of the beautiful things about America and Americans from all walks of life is that they're willing to pray for the President and his family. And that's powerful. It's hard for me to describe to you what that means. It's — let me just say this: It's a leap of faith to understand. And — but I am a confident person, I am, because I believe in the values of America. I believe in what we stand for. I'm confident because I've got assembled a great team. ... I'm confident in my management style. I'm a delegator because I trust the people I've asked to join the team. I'm willing to delegate. That makes it easier to be president. ...
Are these words being put together by the President of the USA? I know he was a bad speaker when he first started, but I thought he was getting better. He really has problems putting sentences together sometimes. What's this about a leap of faith to understand? Why can't he explain this simple concept? Would it expose something in his mind that would scare us all? While we're getting scary, let's wonder how we got on to the topic of delegating and how that relates to being a good leader. This is related to God how? Did God delegate America to Bush?
Of course the part that I'm still irritated about is the constitutional amendment he apparently supports banning gay and lesbian marriage. What's his thinking here about the oath of office? If he can't preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution why not simply change it to suit your whims? Apparently he doesn't believe in that life, liberty and persuit of happiness thing either because he's obviously stamping his foot down on that for gay people. To me, he is a scary man and should be voted out. Like he said in the interview, if he doens't win re-election he'll just go back to Crawford, TX - and that's fine by me.
"The position of this administration is that whatever legal arrangements people want to make, they're allowed to make, so long as it's embraced by the state (news - web sites) or at the state level," [President Bush] told Sawyer. (ABC)
This was said in answer to a question from ABC's Diane Sawyer about gay and lesbian marriage. That's so kind and compassionate to allow us to make whatever legal arrangements we wish to make. I missed this part of the interview, and I'm glad I did. I don't need to see that moron make any more of those types of comments. I did see the part where he repeatedly dodged the questions about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He still claims that he based his decision on solid intelligence. I loved the look on Diane's face when he was asked about the difference between programs and actual WMD and he said something to the effect of "Does it matter?" He was getting a little agitated. I might have a little respect for him if he could just own up to the circumstances instead of trying to rewrite history and claim no responsibility.
Odd things at work tonight:
1) There was a customer who was in with her husband who was in a wheelchair. They had parked in one of the handicapped spots in the parking lot so it would be easier for them to get in and out of their vehicle. Well, someone else decided there weren't enough spots in the parking lot (there's only several hundred) and so decided to park next to their car in an unmarked spot. When the couple went out to their car, the woman had some difficulty getting her husband into the car and so asked the person in the unmarked spot if they could move. The illegally parked person told her to "go to hell." The customer came back and told me so we removed the illegally parked car promptly. Merry Christmas to you too, you know?
2) There was a used package of Preparation H on the floor of the men's room. Now I don't know if someone stole it - like had an emergency itch and just had to have one. I don't know, but throw your trash away. ugh... Apparently a few days ago a woman stole a pregnancy test, used it in the bathroom and left it there. Let's hope she's not bringing anyone into the world.... And they say gay people shouldn't have children.. geez.
#20 on the list of search strings used to find this little website is "long weekend." I haven't had a long weekend in so long I don't know what it is either. Gotta love retail this time of year... If anyone still remembers let me know and I'll post about it so searchers find what they came for.
It has been reported that a recent study at The University of Chicago has shown more evidence that homosexuality is a predetermined characteristic - not a chosen attribute as some would try to perpetuate. Following are some of the links to reports on this issue. Thanks to Wonderboy for bringing this to my attention on his blog.
I saw my first political spot on TV tonight - it was put on by Moveon.org. It was basically about how the Bush Administration has focused a lot of time and money on Iraq while ignoring pressing domestic issues. You can view it on the moveon.org website. It was so refreshing to see something like that on TV - something that agreed with the way I see things happening in our government. It seems that something is wrong with our country right now, and I seriously hope the American people care enough to make it right.
Also while surfing moveon.org I watched a 45 minute speech by Al Gore about the current state of things in our country. I'm so glad I voted for him, and I'm so upset that it's not him in the White House right now. I wish that Bush hadn't been appointed - I would feel much better with Gore leading our nation right now. Basically his speech pointed out how abnormally our government is behaving.
The 2001 winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics, George Akerlof . . . told Der Spiegel, "This is the worst government the US has ever had in its more than 200 years of history...."
Glad it's not just us that sees this... Anyway, I feel a little better now. I have been concerned for awhile now that American politics and government were just going to continue to get worse and continue to go unchecked. I'm seeing that there are people out there who are taking notice, and I hope that more people will see what is going on. American government is not representing the American people... It does from time to time, but in my job if I perform well from time to time I get fired. I know there have been situations like this in the past, and maybe it's really just always been like this. Maybe my eyes are just now opening. But somehow I think it is getting worse, and whether it's always been like this or not, it needs to change. I think that change will begin when Bush leaves Washington DC.
Just woke up. I dreamed that my cat was elected mayor of a small town. Then we went on vacation and she went into labor, which is odd considering she's spayed. We had to call the ambulance and everything.
How surprising to read that Halliburton may have overchanrged the US government for work done in Iraq. Meanwhile we're still pissing off our allies in Europe and pissing away taxpayer's hard earned money. You know, I just can't wait to vote for president again.
Tonight was crazy - I had only a few cashiers and we were swamped. I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off. Can I just share a quick pet peeze of mine? There's this area at the front of our store where people can pick up a cart as they walk in and drop it off as they walk out. Now one would think you would put it back where you got it from right? No sir. They just drop it off right in front of where its supposed to go, but just so it blocks the flow of traffic out the front doors. Seriously people, just a few more steps. I have to wonder what these people's homes look like. Do they just put stuff anywhere and leave it like the maid will come along and clean it up for them? I think this is another example of people not taking responsibility.
Another random thought for ya.. I thought of this last night after my little mini-marathon of West Wing. (watched 3 episodes last night) I wonder if the problem with much of the populace is that people are lacking (or not applying) critical thinking skills. I mean, if you think about a lot of the ridiculous problems we face in society these days, most can be resolved with a little serious problem searching and critical thinking. I wonder if people are too lazy to take the time to think about things like this. I can apply this to so many things I can't even begin to list them here. But suffice it say I think a lot of the time, people just aren't thinking...
To good not to post:
Today is the 50th anniversary of the "rearguement" of the Brown vs. Board of Education case at the United States Supreme Court. The case wasn't decided until May 17, 1954, but it was one of the most important civil rights cases ever to be decided by the Supreme Court. It was when the law was "seperate but equal" and black and white children went to different schools. Of course things weren't equal - some children ended up being seperated from their families so they could go to better, integrated schools such as in California. The decision from this case changed America, and thank goodness it did. It was one of the ways that government began to put an end to racial discrimination. I think there's a history lesson to be learned from this as well.
In 2003 we have another type of discrimination against gay and lesbian people. It is propogated by radical religious-right groups and even people in the government (one of whom is the President). The justice who wrote the opinion for Brown, Justice Warren, wrote that:
Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of the law, for the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the negro group. A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. Segregation with the sanction of law, therefore, has a tendency to [retard] the educational and mental development of negro children and to deprive them of some of the benefits they would receive in a racial[ly] integrated school system.
I think this also applies in many ways to a current issue that our country is struggling with. When the government sanctions (by laws and practices) discrimination against a group of people, it makes them second class citizens. Of course this makes them feel like second class citizens. So when our government says that gays and lesbians can have the "seperate, but equal" civil unions, it's really not equal. It's saying "Hey, you're not good enough for marriage, so we'll give you something else." You can't argue that this doesn't have a detrimental effect on gays and lesbians and their relationships.
I don't mean to make a direct parallel between the two civil rights movements (for anyone who may be offended by that), but there are many similarities. I was struck this morning when I heard about the anniversary on NPR because I've been thinking a lot recently about how we continue to repeat history when it's lessons should have already been learned. I hope this refresher course we're living now prevents it again in the future.
What a wonderful day it has been! Last night after I was done with email, blogs, and about an hour of Railroad Tycoon I went outside for a moment. It was beautiful as there was a full moon and it was reflecting off of the snow. Kinda had this magical blue cast to the night. Just one of those cool moments... Today I didn't get up until 12:30 and then didn't do much until going to the IGA for some dinner stuff. I cooked from about 3 until everyone got home at 5. I think the best part of the meal was the quiche. It was the first time I had made it, but I had a recipe I'd found and some advice from my mom (the mom advice is the essential part!) Turned out really well.
I see in the news that Al Gore is going to endorse Howard Dean. That's a very good sign. I'm trying to stay hopeful for the next election, but it's tough to be optimistic when the Republicans have been so good at organizing, raising money, and rewriting history. They've also appealed to people's fear and emotions on issues that should be rationally discussed, so they've got the upper hand on that too. Of course my emotions are anger and frustration at the GOP for taking the country and screwing things up. I'd like back the civil rights that they took away, and I'd like them to stop making me a second-class citizen because it's good for their fund-raising. As Dean says, we can do better than this...
Another weekend in crazyland... Thank goodness I have tomorrow off. I'm not sure how much more of the crazies I can take. Let's see.. how crazy were they? I watched two guys about my age plow into the manual doors. (now we know this is a pet peeve) I mean, they went into them with their full body weight as they expected them to open miraculously and instantaneously. I think I may have said something inappropriate when that happened. A customer told one of my cashiers that he'd like to make a "smoothie" with her (whatever the heck that means) as he was purchasing a smoothie maker. Nose picking... We'll just leave that there. The customer who exclaimed "This is BULLSHIT!" when in fact the fault was hers and we were still trying to help her. OH geez there was the cashier who proclaimed every few minutes that she has herpes. That was precious. Nothing out of the ordinary this weekend I suppose...
Tonight was the first real snow of the year. It was exciting to wake up this morning with a blanket of snow on the ground and the snow still falling. Brings back memories of when I was a kid and feeling warm and safe in the house. To make it even more fun it was the first snowfall in our new house. Of course I had to take pictures! As the day went on the winter weather advisory turned to a winter snowstorm warning and we got at least another 5 inches. We're supposed to get even more by tomorrow morning. Now I'm hoping I'll be able to get out of the driveway for work tomorrow. The store was rather quiet this evening as people stayed off of the streets.
In other news, I see that the school that disciplined a child for saying the word "gay" is still refusing to apologize or destroy the child's disciplinary file. I hope the ACLU drags the teacher and the school board across the coals. Poor kid stuck in the middle of all this...
Yahoo! News - Brazilian mayor closes town to gays
You know what? Make a rule that keeps gays out of your town, but know that your homes will be poorly decorated, all the women will have bad hair days one after another, and there will be no floral arrangements to speak of. No seriously, this is interesting because it takes anto-gay discrimination to a whole new level and I wonder when it will start here in the US. No, who am I kidding? It's already been here for quite some time. Of course this act is one of the most discriminatory things I've ever heard, but that's not stopping the bigots here who the very same types of things. Now just a note about this mayor: he wants to raise birth rates in his little city of 10,000. This means he's now banning condoms, handing out Viagra, and (get this) "proposed building a UFO-port to receive aliens." I hope the religious right is comfortable in his company.
Yahoo! News - Boy says mom is gay; school rebukes him
I am just appalled by this story. I can't believe in this day and age that a child would be humiliated to such an extreme point for saying that his mother is gay. When asked by the other child what that means, he told the child in the simplest terms, "gay is when a girl likes another girl." He didn't describe (nor does he probably know) what that means in bed or what that means in the Bible. It's just how his family is and that's how he described it. He was made to write that he will not say the word "gay" in school anymore. Now that's really ridiculous. Maybe the school district will crack down in high school as well as elementary schools. Maybe they won't allow straight students to use "bad words" to gay-bash and harass gay students. Maybe they would educate students about hate crimes and how that divides society. Unfortunately, the teacher and administration don't appear to have the education themselves though. But that is not what this is about.
This is about stifling 1st Amendment rights and making gay people invisible. God forbid if other students find out that there is a gay family living life just the way they do then they might think its normal. But if we pretend that gay people don't exist then they will just go away right? In the meantime they've traumatized this kid. They're playing politics and "moral superiority" and this child is the victim, along with his family. In an ideal situation, the teacher and administrators would be disciplined and given proper training. But in this world, only the child will suffer for something so innocent. Thank goodness the ACLU is in on this case.
Yahoo! News - Catholic bishops slam gay marriage ruling
Those poor, victimized Catholic Bishops - characterized as bigots. How could that have happened? I think they don't need any help from the courts with that. They do that pretty well on their own. I mean really, let's institutionally deny a group of people their rights and persuit of happiness and then have the nerve to be upset at being called bigots. That's like slave owners being upset at being called racists. If the shoe fits...
And may I just address the statement about the Mass. ruling being a "national tragedy." The fact that our democracy is being turned into a theocracy is the real national tragedy.
