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Monday, June 29, 2009
I agree with Jeremy on the Iran/Islam situation. The only thing that matters is power, and any of these entities will apply any theology/philosophy/rationalization that works for their particular power grab. Consider the Catholic church's current attempts to manipulate the Spanish government. Or consider the man who murdered the abortionist recently. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "If your enemy strikes you, turn the other cheek so that he may strike it as well." (Or words to that effect.) Nowhere did Jesus say, "Murder people who do not keep the Commandments." But sociopaths will be sociopaths, so...
Devin, I saw your QBS trailer photos on Facebook. What's going on there?
Friday, June 26, 2009
The situation in iran has nothing to do with islam, it's just about the state reasserting it's control. Pick a religion from a hat and i'm sure you can find plenty of examples of state leaders who were followers of that religion and had their own people oppressed as well. For some religions you have to look back further than others, but it's all there.
So, marriage and the government. In my perfect world, the government wouldn't be involved in sanctioning religious ceremonies (like marriage). The government would enforce legal contracts made between people. It isn't a perfect world, and obviously the reason there's a gay marriage movement is because it's way easier to expand the government institution of marriage to homosexuals than it is to tear down the entire system and replace it all with civil contracts. Also it is a clever propaganda move by gay rights people to demonstrate that being homosexual isn't about choosing a lifestyle of sexual perversion, that homosexuals strive for the same kind of normal lives of domesticity as any white-bread straight couple.
As far as polygamy goes, I wouldn't equate a domestic arrangement between 2 equal partners in a relationship to a harem based on paternalism. I think extra scrutiny is most definitely warranted in the case of polygamy for that reason. In my perfect world would that mean domestic contracts among a polygamous family would be illegal? I don't know. I think adults have the ability to choose to do a lot of stupid things that are irrational and objectifying where the choice to participate in that activity seems to demonstrate that person's inability to choose rationally for themselves at all. Even to the point where it seems like you should be able to make a law to mandate that they not be able to choose to engage in that activity (burkas in france for example). The problem is, people choose to participate in irrational behaviors all the time, it's part of what makes us human. My particular favorite irrational behavior is religious worship and observance of all kinds. Irrational from top to bottom. But hey, that's sort of what the foundations of faith are built upon, you couldn't have religious faith without having groups of people doing wacky things that make no more sense than, "my traditions tell me to do this, and so I do this out of respect for my traditions."
Either way, so long as you're not hurting anybody, I don't think the state should be involved in sanctioning or discouraging anyone's religious practices. But as long as it is picking winners and losers in the religious sanctioning game, I think a little more equality in the wrong direction is better than maintaining the status quo.
.: posted by jeremy 6/26/2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Polygamy is fine with me as well. As long as it's all consenting adults, I just don't care.
I suppose the flip side of that is that I don't think anyone should get any kind of advantage for being married versus unmarried. But for scenarios like assigning death benefits, who gets to stand at my bedside as I die, etc, the state has no role to play. I'll pay for it, and I'll say who gets to be there. If I say I want my dog at my bedside when I die, then by God he should be there. I don't need some damn hospital administrator standing there, clipboard in hand, insisting on the sanctity of marriage.
And also, there's a phrase that turns my stomach: "the sanctity of marriage." Half of all state-sanctioned marriages end in divorce, and many of those divorcees marry and divorce again. Yesterday Beth and I saw a reality show about two shallow people getting married, and whether or not they would go through it. Because that's how seriously we straight people take it. We make gameshows out of it. Rev Sun Myung Moon married how many people in the stadium that time? Did they invalidate those because they weren't sanct enough?
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Pogue explains the iPhone compass in passing. Kinda makes sense. What doesn't make sense is the Middle East. I watched the YouTube clip on Neda's death in Iran. I thought Muslims were supposed to kill infidels, not each other. Evidently, Sunnis consider Shias infidels, and vice versa.
A really grim religion
A couple of other points
On Andy's rant about government interference in family matters (gay marriage), I iterate; if gay marriages are legalized, so should be polygamy.
On Jeremy's rant, I thought the military defended the flag, not the constitution. It answers to civilian authority, as determined by whatever shithead "rules" in Washington.
.: posted by Dweeb Eubanks 6/23/2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Two days ago I watched the movie Appaloosa. I really enjoyed it. It wasn't the greatest story in the world, but sometimes you just want to watch a Western, and it was satisfying in that regard. Basically the same story as Rio Bravo or El Dorado, with some itinerant lawmen pitted against the local evil land baron. The only part that really made me snort was at the end, when it was narrated that the character was riding off into the sunset. I guess they felt that the cliche might go unnoticed, so they HAMMERED it home.
Last night I watched the movie Saints and Soldiers. I thought it was pretty awful. The acting was fine, and the production values were fine, but the story and dialogue were pitiful. But, it was interesting in a few ways. While I was watching it, Beth kept saying that it was a Mormon propaganda film. I laughed and said it sure seems that way, doesn't it? Then I looked it up online and found that yes, it was made by a Mormon production company. Even neater, they made it on a budget of around $1 million. They did a great job; it didn't lack a thing in production value. Just the story itself that was so aggravatingly lame.
Friday, June 19, 2009
God, no kidding. When was the last time magnetic north mattered to an iPhone user? Never?
The top story on cnn right now is a free advertisement for a consumer electronic device. There are big things happening in iran, north korea is preparing for a missile launch into the pacific that we are threatening to shoot down, there is a health care reform debate going on that is going to result in some sort of restructuring of a 6th of the american economy and financial regulation legislation being finished off in congress that may or may not plant the seeds for the next financial meltdown in another 15 years.
But nevermind all that, THE NEW IPHONE HAS A COMPASS, HOLY SHIT!
.: posted by jeremy 6/19/2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
That's right, we do have a blog for ranting. Here's my contribution:
Obama's DOJ filed a brief supporting the Defense of Marriage Act. During his campaign, Obama described this law as "abhorrent." Now his administration is defending the act by equating gays with child molesters, and also asserting that it would be fiscally irresponsible to allow gays the same rights as heteros.
This pisses me off no end. Frankly, I find it irritating that there are culture groups in our nation that are based entirely on sexual orientation. I find it especially irritating that they have parades and bumper stickers. Nobody should give a damn. It should not be important. But what really just bugs the shit out of me is that the federal government is interfering with their families, saying who can have what type of relationship with whom. This is right up there with warrantless wire-tapping on my list of BS things that Obama has lied about.
My neighbor is a bit of a crackwhore. Her dad died the other day and she came by asking for a donation because they don't even have enough money to bury him.
I only say she's a crackwhore because that's what her uncle told me she was. Her uncle lives across the street from me. In reality, I think she's a crack smoker and dealer.
I was asking her what she knew about the neighborhood the other day, if she knew if our street was safe or bad, or if the kids who play basketball down the street are ok guys or if they were into bad stuff. She pointed out 3 houses on our street that are supposed to be bad. She also said that those kids playing basketball down at the end of the street killed a guy a couple of weeks ago. I only say she's a crack dealer because I was asking her about the prostitutes who work Airline Drive 4 blocks over, wondering why they were out working at 9am on weekdays, as if people are really looking for a hooker at 9am on a monday, and she laughed and said she knew all about that business because she used to sell coke to those girls.
This is what happens when I go out into my front yard. I mow the lawn, I work on my car, I get my mail, take out the garbage, whatever, and she walks over and chats me up.
On a positive neighborly note, however, the people in the other house across the street from me came over after Ike and offered to run an extension cord from their generator across the street to me. They also brought over food like 3 times while we were waiting for the power to come back up. I guess they were concerned that I was living by myself and couldn't cope or something. These are people I had never spoken to before in about 3 years of living there.
.: posted by jeremy 6/18/2009
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