all things andrewjthomas

Prop 1A: No
Prop 2: No
Prop 3: Yes
Prop 4: No
Prop 5: Yes
Prop 6: No
Prop 7: No
Prop 8: No
Prop 9: No
Prop 10: Yes
Prop 11: Yes
Prop 12: Yes

I urge everyone in California to vote for Prop 3 for totally self-interested reasons. My child regularly visits Children's Hospital in Oakland because of his hemophilia. That place is wonderful to us and everyone else that seeks treatment there. They deserve the money and it will go to a good cause.

I struggled with Prop 4 until I realized the only issue I really had was about notification in general, not the timing. I believe parents should be notified, especially for any surgical medical procedure. However, that notification could easily come after the procedure was completed. I wish they'd pass that law, and not this one that subtly tries to violate personal rights.

Voting against Prop 8 should be self explanatory. If you vote yes then you're a bigot. It's that simple.

As for Prop 11, I admit it has some flaws. That said, I want something to be done about districting and it's clear to me that elected politicians should not be in charge of their own districting (just like they shouldn't be in charge of their own pay raise). Sadly though, I doubt this will pass.

And my support for Prop 12, another completely self-interested vote, is due to being a veteran. I would like to someday own a home in California. It doesn't seem possible, but I know if I make the attempt, I will need the VA home loan benefit. I served my country, which is more than most can say, and I do think I ought to get some tangible benefit for that service. I'd also point out to folks that this prop does not cost taxpayers anything. It just approves the state to give out more loans to veterans that they would have to pay back.

Feel free to argue with me in the comments.

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup


--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

looks like christmas came early this year

dustin3000 from flickr noticed this little bit of media bias:



(original stories posted here and here)

this reminds me of lessons from malcolm gladwell's book, blink

subconscious assumptions DO matter
and all the media we take in colors our world
just some random food for thought

[EDIT] on a side note, i find the yahoo flame war on that flickr post hilarious

i wonder if bush is still an advocate for state's rights?

someone please tell me
how do you fight a war
against poverty? drugs? disease?
is it a war of attrition?
that would make sense because we certainly have a rather large volunteer army
(as opposed to our real volunteer army that's losing numbers in droves)
what about weapons?
they've got AIDS, heroine, and the Republicans
we only seem to give our troops NO...
NO sex NO drugs NO handouts
and finally, if we were to ever win, what would that entail?
absolute destruction of the other side?
and if not, how do we all sit down and discuss treaty terms?
if there's one thing that annoys me it's a poorly executed metaphor

btw, this should make toilteanas happy
two rich white guys getting sentenced to a pound-me-in-the-ass state prison
do you think it would be too mean to send them bottles of ky and maybe a one-size-too-small pink t-shirt that says princess or spoiled brat?
the real problem is that these guys were just stupid
every true thief knows the only way to steal is to keep it legal and to always pay tribute to your crime boss
i mean, capone never would've been busted if he'd just paid his taxes

to say i am disgusted with our nation's current political agenda is putting it mildly
how long before people realize they are being raped and sodomized daily?
we let asshole bullies do the talking for us
we allow criminals to govern, pirates to pillage, all while spitting on people for the unforgivable sin of being poor
every morning i cringe before checking the news, what horror awaits me this time?
i turn on, i tune in, but i have no idea how to drop out even though i desperately want to
and at the same time i just want to rage against these things...
to rephrase fight club,

this is your country, and you're losing it one minute at a time

i am obviously against this war for many reasons
(the immorality of preemptive, world bully, economics of euro vs. dollar)
i marched several times before this war began
(in san jose, san francisco, anywhere i could really)
i walked out of work at noon on friday (granted i eventually came back)
i say all of this because i want to show my strong belief in protest
it is a very american idea that we've been perfecting for years (boycott, sit-in)
however, i've always thought of protest as a powerful way to get your dissent heard
the end goal should be to have your agenda noticed and taken seriously
and to sway people who have not sided that your side is the right side
i don't believe blocking prime time traffic or defacing private property is an effective tool for convincing people of your arguments
this week's protests have done nothing for our movement
all it achieves is polarization of either side
(when what we should be striving for is understanding and enlightenment)
therefore i will be boycotting the protests in san francisco
(and taking up the cause in my local south bay which has had many more peaceful protests)
protesting also means making sacrifices (hunger strike, lost pay, threat of bodily harm)
it's easy to protest in california - the sun is always shining, it never gets cold, people will stand by you en masse
no one in california makes any real sacrifice when protesting
you aren't in danger of being killed for voicing your dissent
(segregated south, communist russia or china)
and if you get arrested for public disobediance because you were destroying property don't claim that's sacrifice you pathetic hoodlum
it really ticks me off to see how many people are involved for the "fun" of it
we should all be disgusted that we even need to hold these protests
so we came out in large numbers, big deal. that's something to cheer about?
we should not be patting ourselves on the back for doing one of our basic civic duties
remember the lone student standing against multiple tanks in tiananmen square?


now that is real protest

just got back from a lunchtime demonstration... details here
we're meeting again at 5 PM
all you south bay'ers come out and protest!

just how would we, the usa, react to UN weapons inspectors in this country?
i wonder what sorta grass roots movement needs to happen to make this a reality
can i just call up the UN and request one?
don't you want to know all about our secret military programs?
don't we still pursue attaining weapons of mass destruction?
don't we maybe have some chemical and biological weapons stock piled somewhere?

so, based on this post by matt, i looked at helen thomas's stuff online
she seems like one very cool lady (and an excellent white house reporter)
so i decided to write her an email... and i actually got a response:

Thank you; if the anti war protesters continue, it should have some affect on the White House, I hope - helen thomas

----- Original Message -----
From: Andrew Thomas
To: helent@hearstdc.com
Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 2:10 PM
Subject: Thank You

Hello Helen,

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for speaking out against the many wrong doings of our current government leadership. I specifically enjoyed your indictment of President Bush during your interchange with Ari Fleischer at the Jan. 6th White House Briefing. I also couldn’t agree more with your statement that a pre-emptive strike policy legitimizes the attack on Pearl Harbor. I only wish there were more journalists like you who were willing to speak out. I will be attending an anti-war protest in San Francisco this Saturday. I wish there were something more I could do however. Anyway, thank you, and please continue to speak out. Your patriotism is appreciated and desperately needed in times like these.

Thanks again,
Andrew Thomas

i should be happy the fucktard (stolen from nasagrl's now-defunct journal) didn't announce all out war tonight
i should be happy the fucktard actually admitted we need to get off of foreign oil dependence
of course, the paltry few billion bucks he's willing to throw towards hydrogen-powered engines was really a slap in the face
(especially when compared to the 400 billion dollar bad check he's willing to write for the AARP vote)
and btw, dubya, health care costs are not only jacked up by frivolous lawsuits... most of insurance costs come from absorbing fees for the underpriviledged that don't have health insurance in the first place
if you spent more time trying to get everyone preventative care instead of covering rich doctor's asses, maybe costs would come down a bit
and the "tax relief" that will only really benefit people who make more than 300k a year... that was a bit annoying too
lets not forget that this is the same man that wants to allow corporations to classify SUVs (you know, those gas-guzzling terrorist funders) as a tax write-off
oh, and the same man that can't seem to address congress and the nation without bumbling, stuttering mush-mouth
he wants mentors, great, i'm all for that (until he and ashcroft decide they should spy for the government)
he wants to treat the druggies, i'm all for that too (hey, i give credit where credit is due)
but is anyone else scared of his john wayne impersonation? the man flat out flaunted the fact that we had al queda members killed
no war crimes tribunal for these guys, oh no! forget bringing out evidence for the world to see
yeah, you praise him now... wait until it's you they come for

they aren't quite as stupid as i thought:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/4911975.htm
but then, they still aren't very smart either...
i guess only time will tell if we become a fascist nation

i submit to you that in future history books the phrase "pre-emptive strike" will be viewed the same as "breathing room"

FUCK BUSH AND HIS MERRY BAND OF WAR MONGERS

if i suddenly stop posting here you will know it's due to the fascist oppression by our wonderful government
we are becoming a first-aggressor state
we are limiting our own personal freedoms
we are no longer americans

rah-rah!

go us

to play more computer games that is
i find this an amazing new leap in the military's marketing campaign
( it's certainly stirring up controversy )

I've never felt like this before. I'm not even sure why it is affecting me this much. I have never felt very patriotic. I am not the biggest fan of capitalism or our military system. I don't believe in much of our foreign policy, including our handling of middle eastern issues. I didn't want to see McVeigh killed. I don't really believe in capitol punishment ... but I can't help feeling like Deniro's Capone:

"I want this guy dead! I want his family dead! I want his house burned to the ground! I want to go there in the middle of the night and piss on his ashes!"

I don't even care about the "why" right now, just the "who". If only we were all so lucky to have never learned of the "what, where, and when".

ok, so for no explainable reason, at three fucking a.m. this morning, a political play on words popped into my head. it's not the greatest thing ever conceived, but it would look good on a bumper sticker:

One Clinton on the stand is worth more than two Bushes!

buh dumb bump, ching!
thank you ladies and germs, i'll be here all week ...