Four years ago, Bush -- then a candidate for the White House -- described the notion of same-sex marriage as a state issue. Bush made clear his personal opposition to same-sex marriages, but he said on several occasions that it was a matter for individual states to decide.
[...] Bush, however, has said that the actions in Massachusetts and California forced him to take a more aggressive stand on the issue.
Which brought to mind Clash lyrics (also covered by Pearl Jam):
Number 3
You have the right to free
Speech as long as you're not
Dumb enough to actually try it.
You have the right to states' rights as long as... yeah.
I've got a lot to say about this issue, but, as many of you know, most of it is smothered by foaming, incoherent rage... That seems to be true of a lot of my politically-concerned opinions—I'm not sure if that makes me passionate or knee-jerk. Or maybe just too lazy to write out a sound position ;)
You know you're not in Austin anymore when you stop for gas, and: the painting service van at the pump next to you has a cross on the company logo; there's a Church of Christ flyer posted by the restrooms; and the guy coming out of the restrooms has a Jesus fish hat on. That's in addition to the old man in a (authentic) trucker hat and overalls scratching off lotto tickets by the coffee machines.
Now I'm at the Days Inn in Mount Pleasant (pop. 13,935), which—despite my room's lack of alarm clock, buttons on the AC unit, labels on the phone, or the advertised microfridge—miraculously has wireless internet.
I have to admit that I got excited when I passed my first Pilgrim's Pride "CHICKEN" truck. I said hi to Bo's head when I passed the distribution center, then sought out all the Pilgrim's Pride chicken products at Brookshire's, the local supermarket chain. Eggs, frozen chicken, fresh chicken ("100% All Natural")... I can't help wondering if any of those chicken parts were some of the 15,000 gawky three-week-old chickens Danny and I saw back in November.
So far, I've made a phonecall to Pittsburg's city hall (about the town's promotional video) and a list of things to do tomorrow. I'm on my way.
(Oh, and everyone needs to check out Maryann's new "OC" Update blog—I promise you that no matter what you think of the show itself, you will laugh your ass off at Maryann's weekly episode summaries. Go M!)
Funny how the memory of last night's thunderstorm had already faded like a half-remembered dream: like probably all of North Campus/Hyde Park, I was startled awake by stupendously loud thunder and lay frozen for the split second it took to process "big noise" into "thunderstorm." Half-conscious for what seemed like hours, I soaked in rolling, crashing thunder running in long mountain valley echoes and the noise of the sustained downpour that we get so infrequently here.
I thought, "Such a nice sound!"—followed closely by, "The backyard mudhole'll be back..."
Photos from Mardi Gras weekend in Baton Rouge are on the gallery in the Baton Rouge album: beads and buildings and Hummers and flamingos and puppies oh my!
I had a very good meeting with my thesis advisor this morning—it wasn't nearly as soul-crushing as I was anticipating. In fact, it was damn near uplifting.
Ok, maybe uplifting is stretching it a bit... but it was good.
I oscillate wildly between "Holy fuck how will I ever get this thing done?" and "Hey! Yeah! I can totally do this!"
While it doesn't relate to -Luv- at all, I present to you my newly designed, relocated, 100% fresher webpage. There ain't much new text up... but there are **drumroll** PICTURES! Albums upon albums of photos from the past two years, of and for you lovely people.
So go browse, comment your little hearts out, check back often for updates, and keep thinking those naughty V-Day thoughts.
An example of irresponsible headlines, courtesy CNN.com: the story is titled "Pharmacists fired for denying 'morning after' pill." CNN.com's teaser on the front page? "Pharmacists fired for denying abortion pill." "Abortion pill"? This wasn't RU-486, this was Plan B. There is a huge difference there—the former blocks progesterone and ends a pregnancy; the latter is simply a higher dose of regular birth control hormones, which prevents a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.
"But, Clare, it says 'Pharmacists fired for denying morning-after pill' on the front page!"
That's right... within the five minutes from when I started writing this post to when I just now reloaded the page, somebody over at CNN.com said "Whoopsy! That'll cause a stink!" and changed it. I hope some web lackey's getting a lecture right now.
Coming to Austin March 16-19, Pants on Fire—further proof that hippies can't get enough of their giant puppets.
Reminds me of the shirt Justin had on his old blog for a while. Those still up for grabs? I've seen a rougher version spray-painted around town, but you just can't wear concrete.
In other news, I've been invited to interview with UC-Berkeley, and will promptly and fearlessly do so on Saturday morning.
Also, the best thesis title suggestion before noon Friday gets a cookie and almost certain inclusion in the thesis symposium program. Chickens, pollution, lawsuits, pilgrim's hats: ReadySetGo!
More mind-boggling American attitudes: I'm saddened, outraged, and confused all at once by so many people's virulent opposition to legalizing gay marriage. I realize my readership aren't really the people to be asking, but I'd really like to hear a reasonable justification for preventing gay marriage. I strongly suspect that anyone who opposes it simply doesn't personally know any gay couples.
Mostly rhetorical question: Why the FUCK is America so terrified of and yet obsessed with the female body?
Janet Jackson shows a nipple and there's hell to pay, "ER" is gonna show an old lady boob and stations drop the episode... and yet—hell, I don't need to list the "and yet"s of how advertisers and consumers salivate over boobies otherwise.
Though, come to think of it, it's just the nipples that Americans seem to object to... Maybe we're just terrified of nipples.
As much fun as the last quarter of the game, the streaker, and Janet Jackson's right breast were, I'm happy to report that the PartyPoker.com Lingerie Bowl 2004 was in a class all its own. Women in shoulder pads, numbered panties, and push-up bras, tackling each other on a miniature football field, complete with terrible production value and not even enough budget for the rights to background music? Sign me up! I was just disappointed that the refs weren't male models in striped boxer-briefs.
Strangely enough, the Lingerie Bowl's over-the-top chauvinism was nowhere near as offensive to me as Budweiser's "Yelling Like a Ref" ad. I realize that misogyny and beer go together like, oh, fish and chips, but for some reason this one just seems to cross that line of acceptability. There's a tone of true hatred in the portrayal of the wife... Maybe it's not really that terrible, but my gut reaction was shock. I'd be interested to hear what other people think of it—both women and men.
