Where are you on the political compass?

My score is
Economic left/right:-4.00
Social libertarian/authoritarian:-3.75
What's yours?


Update: I have updated the link.

Someone will have a gender gap problem next year

Judging from the statements Rick Santorum has made while promoting his book It takes a Family, the junior Senator from Pennsylvania will have a serious problem winning the votes of women. I guess he thinks life is a 1950's TV show.

What woman in her right mind would vote for a man who says stupid stuff like birth control is dangerous and doesn't work? If birth control didn't work, there wouldn't be a Generation X. The pill was introduced in the 1960's, the Baby Boom ended in 1964. Widespread availability of contraception leads to a declining birthrate. Pretty amazing coincidence isn't it.

Senator Santorum's ignorance of elementary school civics is apalling. He stated that even though the laws in Conneticut banning contraceptives was a bad law, the Supreme Court had no business striking it down in Griswold v. Conneticut. Here is a lesson in how our government works as outlined in the Constitution: the legislative branch makes the laws, the executive branch enforces the law, the judicial branch interprets the law. This means if a court finds a law does not fit within the framework of the constitution, that law is interpreted to be unconstitutional and is struck down.

This guy is an amazing moron. I am so glad he is not my senator. At least my idiot senator, George Allen, keeps a low profile. But then again, I hear both Senators Allen and Santorum want to run for President. I do not think our country can survive another mental midget as the commander in chief.

So click on the link for more information on Rick Santorum.

Cat blogging

The stealth tuxedo cat
Yes, he always has that put upon look.

ZZZZ

I just turned in my last paper for my National Defense Policy class. Now, I get to wait for my grade.

I get a break for about a week, then it's International Political Economy. Actually I don't, my book arrived for that class today, so I get to start reading later.

I going to sleep.

Will the bubble finally burst?

There has been a lot of discussion in the Washington DC area as to whether there is a bubble in the housing market. Prices on homes have been increasing rapidly since 2000, houses last only a week on the market, bidding wars and home values increase faster than salaries. A family of three making up to $90,000 a year qualifies for homebuying assistance from the City of Alexandria for the purchase of a home priced up to $399,500. Which leads to the question, who can afford to buy a house in the current housing market?
Now according to The Washington Post, the housing market may finally be stabilizing. So now houses are selling in two weeks instead of one. Three weeks for a fixer-upper. I don't think this means the bottom is falling out of the market.
On a personal level, I would love to see housing prices fall. I can actually afford to buy a house close to work and school. A condo or townhouse is all I'm asking for.
On the other hand, a bubble bursting would mean a sharp decline in property tax revenue as tax rates are reassessed. Which would hurt schools, roads, park maintenance and other things that improve quality of life.

My first diary on DailyKos

I recently got a letter from George Allen begging for money for his Senate re-election campaign. I was so moved that instead of giving him money, I wrote my first diary on DailyKos. Please click on the link and (if you are a registered member) give me some mojo.

Silly shoes

I admit it, I have a shoe fetish. My husband, NoPT4Lent, even bought me a wardrobe to put my shoes in. But sometimes when you look at shoes, you have to wonder, "Who would buy these shoes?


A dominatrix with bunions or fallen arches?


Does this shoe prove once and for all that baller dancers really are athletes?

Would you like fries with that, Mr. Justice Wanna-Be?

Meet Judge John G. Roberts, Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and W's nominee for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

His credentials are impressive: law clerk for CJ (then AJ) William Rehnquist; principle deputy representing the Government for Kenneth Starr, US Solicitor General, in the Supreme Court; and attorney in one of the most prestigious D.C. law firms, Hogan & Hartson. However, was he chosen by W. to shift the balance of the court to a clearly conservative institution? Is the legacy of moderate pro-common-sense jurisprudence over? Will privacy and due process be just a fleeting memory for monorities? Will Rowe v. Wade or Lawrence v. Texas be reversed?

He has some big shoes to fill. Unfortunately, pumps don't go well with that tie.

You say you're not about to retire CJ Rehnquist, but come on... Do you expect to preside over the court the day after your funeral? Please say you won't give W. the satisfiaction of putting...

Clarence Thomas up to be your replacement as CJ.

I only hope that Judge Roberts' past writings and rulings on the D.C. circuit don't make us wish the Senate should have confirmed Bork :-(

So the next time you take the Metro to work, make sure you finish your fries before you get on. Just ask Ansche Hedgepeth.

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty... 

Mercenaries for Peace

Imagine you found a group whose mission statement said the following

"non-profit organization of companies, individuals and non-governmental organizations which provide services related to conflict alleviation and avoidance, post-conflict reconstruction, and emergency humanitarian rescue worldwide. ....committed to working with policy-makers in government and opinion leaders internationally to improve the climate for peace, and to raise the profile and acceptance of association members in the world foreign policy community....violent, low-intensity conflicts around the world are among the most serious challenges facing the foreign policy community in the 21st century. Innocent civilians are overwhelmingly the victims in these conflicts."

Would you think it was an organization like Doctors without Borders or the International Committee of the Red Cross? Maybe it's a French NGO?
Actually, it's a lobbying group for private military companies. Its members include Armor Group and Blackwater USA.
Oh my eyes!! Did black just become white?
Well I guess if today's military forces don't want to train for peacekeeping operations or guerrilla warfare, who are you going to call? These guys?
Their code of conduct states that members are required to provide insurance for their employees. Will this group lobby congress for VA benefits for their employees when insurance becomes too expensive?
Maybe I'm being a cynic and I think it's just a PR effort to soften the image of these companies.

Friday cat blogging

Yes, that's one flabby tabby!!!

Got a Letter in the Mail. Go to War or to Jail?

Today I received a letter from the Virginia National Guard. The reserve has been trying to recruit me since September 12, 2001. They really sent me letters in 2003, during the beginning of the Iraq War and after the announcement of stop-loss. Yeah, like I'm going to work a "part-time" job with lots of overtime.

I got a break during 2004, no letters.

So now the letter is back. I thought the Army exceeded its retention goals for the year. Or was it only the regular Army and Reserves and National Guard that really need bodies?

I think I'll call the recruiter tomorrow and ask him the following questions:
I haven't been running in over two years, how long do I have to get back in shape? Do I have to do push ups and sit ups? (If he says no, he's either lying or desperate, probably both) Do you still have food for freedom? What's the limit of disability will you accept? Are you sure I won't have go to Iraq? LOL!

Updates

I have posted some links on my blog.

Double Standards

Lately with all the spin I have heard about the Karl Rove case two things have become very apparent to me.

The First Amendment (the one that covers freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion) only applies to conservatives.

Title 18 of the U.S. Code (the part of federal law that covers national security crimes like espionage, treason, unauthorized disclosure of classified information) only applies to liberals.

What the fuck is wrong with my country? I thought the law applied to everyone equally.

Still here

O.K. so Bush won. I am still depressed about it. But I still live in the United States, and I have decided to stay and fight. It's my country too. What am I doing now? Well, I am now working on my Master's in International Relations. So, I am really busy. I also work full time, am married, have a kid and two cats, so I had to give up something.

I will check in from time to time and give updates.