hellziggy

The worst school shooting in our nation's history and Bush has this to say:

"The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed," spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

31 people are dead so far at VTU, and we don't have all the info on it yet and that dickhead is making gun control statements? *sigh* Yeah, that's the leader of our country. Doesn't it just make you proud? 

I firmly believe in the rights of Americans to bear arms. I also firmly believe in gun control. These two things don't have to be mutually exclusive. But less than 8 hours after this tragedy? There is no excuse for Bush to have made that statement. There is a time and a place. This wasn't it. Bush is a fucking asshole.

This tragedy should not be used for a political agenda. These weren't numbers that were killed, they were people. And unfortunately fucking Bush will probably never see them as human beings but rather as "talking points."

*edit*
I still think Bush is an asshat but it has been pointed out to me that the quote is slightly out of context. I was told that NPR manipulated the quote, but it appears to be the AP Newservice's release (which NPR used) that put the quote right after the president's reaction rather than noting that it was in response to a reporter's question. Here's the exchange from the White House transcript:

Q Dana, going back to Virginia Tech, what more does this White House think needs to be done as it relates to gun issues? The President says current laws need to be strengthened, anything beyond that — you had a conference on school violence with guns — what more needs to be done? MS. PERINO: I would point you back to the fact that President, along with Secretary Spellings, hosted last October — October 10, 2006 — a conference on school gun violence after the Amish school shooting and the other shootings that had happened, because the tragedies are the ones that just collectively break America's heart and are ones that we deeply feel, because all of us can imagine what it would be like to have been at your own school, your own college, and to have something happen. And those of us who are parents, or brothers or sisters of people at the schools have to take that into consideration. As far as policy, the President believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed. And certainly bringing a gun into a school dormitory and shooting — I don't want to say numbers because I know that they're still trying to figure out many people were wounded and possibly killed, but obviously that would be against the law and something that someone should be held accountable for.

Still not a Bush fan, but now annoyed at the AP for putting out such an obviously biased account which appears to have the purpose of inciting anger.

I'm posting from work so I may not have pretty links... 

stoney321 is on the email list for this company, Outsidepride.com. She is a Master Gardener for the state of Texas and as such has recommended their products to people. She won't be any more. Here is the text of the email she got:

This is not your typical newsletter from Outsidepride.com, Inc. In fact, this is the first one in six years which is not business related.I apologize for cluttering your inbox with an unsolicited email; however you are free to unsubscribe just by clicking the link at the bottom.

I want to share with you my television viewing experience the other night on prime time television. I ask those of you who agree with me to go to www.cbs.com and go to the bottom of the page, click the feed back link and express your opinion. I know the vast majority of you will agree with me as all polls indicate. We are the majority, not the minority as the liberal media would lead you to believe.

My wife and I sat down to watch television the other night with our children. Cold Case was on which is normally a fairly enjoyable show to watch; however, the last half hour of the show dealt with a young man who wished he had asked his male friend to come with him (long story short). The show ended with the two men hugging and obvious intimation they had discovered their gay feelings towards each other. The very next show was Without A Trace. The whole last half hour of this show was about two lesbians who were struggling with their feelings of lesbianism. It ended with full acceptance from one father and the two lesbians making out. Yes, they were kissing right at the end of the show on public prime time television. So much for wholesome family television.

Now, I am NOT trying to bash homosexuals and I am not a bigot;however, I feel homosexuality is morally wrong and should not be "promoted" as what is the norm for society. Text books are being rewritten as I am writing this to "highlight" every homosexual who has made a contribution to society. There are teachers who have been asked to make sure students know that, "This person in history was a homosexual." History is being rewritten to promote homosexuality and prime time television is doing its best to make homosexuality a "normal" behavior. If homosexuality was the norm, civilization would have ceased to exist thousands of years ago. Procreation takes a man and a woman. There was Adam and then there was Eve, not Adam and Steve.

There are literally tens of thousand of you reading this email right now. If you are tired of the way public television is going let CBS know! It will only take about 1 minute of your time. Again, just goto www.cbs.com and click the feedback link at the bottom. It is time the majority speak up and not let the minority run this country. The majority can bring back the Christian heritage this country was founded on because it is, "In God We Trust."

Thank you for your time,

Troy Hake
President
Outsidepride.com, Inc.

Stoney's post, including her intelligent & polite response is here: http://stoney321.livejournal.com/177578.html


Stoney also said: 
So. Here's where YOU come in. THIS IS THE CONTACT PAGE for the company, Outsidepride.com. Please take the time to email them and let them know how bigoted they are. I hope their mail servers gets so many hits, it bogs down. PLEASE DO NOT USE INFLAMMATORY LANGUAGE. Do not give them fuel to say "I told you so." Be polite. Be firm. And pass this on to as many people as you'd like. Link, cut and paste, repost, whatever you feel necessary.

I'd like to remind everyone that they sell SOIL and GLOVES. What that has to do with homosexuals on TV is beyond me. Ridiculous.

 

I intend to do just that. I will be emailing Mr. Hate Hake to let him know how much I object to his message. When I do that I will also post my response here for y'all to read. Also, I will be doing as several of Stoney's readers have suggested and be sending an email to CBS.com. Not to complain, however, but to compliment them on their honest portrayal of loving and realistic homosexual relationships.

This man's email annoys & angers me for so many different reasons, a few of them being:
1. Using his company's trusted name and resources to spread his personal prejudices and hatreds.
2. This quote: So much for wholesome family television. WTF? He was watching Cold Case and Without A Trace. Both are crime/police dramas which portray, among other things, murder, rape, kidnapping and pedophilia. That is wholesome family television? And a loving relationship isn't?
3. And the one that really annoys me, because rather than personal opinion it is based on false and inaccurate information: The majority can bring back the Christian heritage this country was founded on because it is, "In God We Trust."

No, no, no! This country was NOT founded on a Christian heritage. That is why there is NO mention of God in the Constitution!

So please, if you disagree with this man's beliefs and tactics, please take the time to tell him. Obviously, if you agree with him, you also have every right to respond. After all, free speech was one of the things that this country really was founded on. Of course, I like to believe that no one on my flist would encourage prejudice and hatred. If you have an opposing belief to mine you don't have to hide it. I just ask that all responses be polite and not contain any personal attacks.

Ok, so I've got this cold. Y'all know that by now. While picking up a prescription for hellbob yesterday I remembered to pick up some NyQuil and DayQuil cough syrup, as we were out of both.

As i was looking at the NyQuil bottles I noticed that they had this on the label:

and I remembered that I had read an article online about NyQuil not working anymore. They took the pseudoephedrine out of it.

Most of the Walgreens brand of it also had the PSE free tag too. There were a couple left that didn't and still had the PSE in it. I grabbed two of those. The DayQuil appeared to still be the good stuff so I grabbed a couple of those too.
After all, why would I buy a product that has had the effective ingredient removed?

With my armful of drugs I headed to the pharmacy to get hellbob's stuff. The pharmacist started ringing up my stuff, but the computer beeped at him. I was only allowed to buy two bottles of the stuff. PSE sales are limited because people are using it to make crystal meth. But to make it they need the pill form of it. Meth can't be made from NyQuil.

So NyQuil changed their formula so that their product would not be required to be behind the pharmacy counter any more. It was required to be behind the counter even though it couldn't be used to make the illegal drugs. The change in formula has prompted me to stock up on bottles of the stuff that have the old formula. I can't stock up on them because their sale is restricted.

What a frickin' pain in the ass!

Between being told I can't buy 4 bottles of cough syrup and the hassles I have to go through every month to get my Ritalin prescription the trips to the pharmacy seem to be trying to make me feel like some kind of drug addict. The irony is that I think I may be the only 35 year old in this country who has never smoked pot, not even once. Yet I keep expecting that on my next trip to the pharmacy to get the drugs I need, I'll have to sign my name to a list of suspected drug abusers.


*edit* The Minnesota Statute's latest ammendment is under here. Essentially there is a limit on how much you can buy, it is required to be kept behind the pharmacy counter, and the buyer must provide photo id w/date of birth & sign a document w/date of sale, name of buyer, & amount of drug bought. It also has a contingency that if the State Board of Pharmacy finds that PSE in gel capsule or liquid form can be used in the manufacture of meth they would require the same restrictions.

( Lots of boring legal speak under here )

Merry Christmas... I mean Happy Holidays... er... um... Thank you for buying stuff & have a good day...

( Text under the cut )

This is an article about all the uproar over whether we should be saying "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" and all that crap.

As far as retail clerks are concerned, I am on the "Happy Holidays" side of things. I've worked several holiday seasons at a bookstore in a part of the Cities with a heavy Jewish population. As I rang customers up there was a good chance that they weren't going to celebrate Christmas. Yes, sometimes I did say Merry Christmas, because it is hard to break thirty years of habit, but I tried to make an effort not to. After all, to those who celebrate Christmas, that is what you are talking about when you say Happy Holidays. That is what they will interpret it as. If you are Jewish and I say Happy Holidays your first thought isn't "but I don't celebrate Christmas."

I am just getting so sick of all the politicians trying to bring religion into politics, and of all the religious leaders trying to convince America that all Americans are Christians. It's just not true! I don't think the government should try to protect Christian beliefs and ideals. They should be protecting all religious freedom, not just Christian.

I am not Christian. Yes, I celebrate Christmas. But to me it is not a religious holiday, it is a family holiday.

It is a time to give gifts to those you care about and spend time with family & friends and eat lots of really good food.

When I do get around to decorating my house I do have a Christmas tree. There is no angel on top. One year we had a stuffed Opus on top. The last few years we have had a Moravian star on top, because 1/4 of my heritage is Moravian.

When we go to my mom & dad's house on Christmas morning I will take all the figures out of the manger and rearrange them. Not because they aren't set up right, but because it is something I have always done ever since I was a kid. Would I like to have that manger set someday? Yes. But not because of the religious meaning. I'd want it because it is something I have a memory of for as far back as I can remember. For as long as I can remember that one wise man has had a broken toe. I have no idea when or how it broke. The set is just plastic, nothing special about it, and the manger itself is a crude homemade manger. But my dad made it and that has more meaning to me than some baby who was born 1000 years ago & may be the son of god, or his mom may have just gotten knocked up and spun a good tale about it.

Yes, people will say Merry Christmas to me. I will say it back. Some will say Happy Holidays, and I will reply with the same. Very few of them will likely say Blessed Yule/Solstice. I won't be resentful of this. I know that whatever people say, it is the thought and not the words that are important. And I know that the majority of people I know celebrate Christmas, whether in a religious way, or just in a family way like me. I can't force them to not say Merry Christmas, just as they can't force me to say it. And I really don't mind. After all, arguing over the proper thing to say kinda defeats the reasons we celebrate, doesn't it? Besides, for over 30 years I have celebrated Christmas with my family and friends. I am just as likely to say Merry Christmas as Happy Holidays. It doesn't mean the Christian politicians have won.