babbling blue

Well it’s been awhile since the last ill-fated presidential election took place. Just over a month now. But it hasn’t been forgotten. Last night I went to the holiday party in my apartment building, and people were still talking about it. This could be because of all the cabinet changes announced in the last couple weeks.

In my last entry in I said “The worst thing that can happen is 4 more years of the Bush presidency.” As much as I hate being wrong normally, I really hope I am in this case. While it might feel good in a few years to rub some noses in Bush’s fuck ups and say “I told you so” I’d rather have to admit Bush isn’t so terrible than have the country (education, civil rights, economy, jobs, etc) in the toilet.

So now we wait and see. And try to fight the things that need to be fought. One idea seems to be that those of in cities, for the most part “blue” strongholds, tell the rest of the country to go fuck themselves. Here is one take on this idea:

The Urban Archipelago

The article is interesting, if a bit overly bitter. But they forgot to mention something that I believe is of the utmost importance; the degradation of freedom in America. The Republicans are actively trying to expand the scope of the USA PATRIOT Act (passed overwhelmingly by both parties in a blind Post-9/11 patriotic fervor) further eroding the premise of due process and making the country even less hospitable for non-citizens; Democrats, on the other hand are trying to rollback some of the heavy-handedness in PATRIOT. Legislation is in the works to add 23 new federal death penalties for terrorism crimes, make it easier for the Justice Department to get information about people without showing just cause or going through the courts (and sealing their request with a gag order), allow the government to detain a person without having to show they are dangerous or likely to flee–the burden would be placed on the suspect to prove they are NOT dangerous, permit removal of non-citizens who at the determination of the government) have ever belonged to a political group that has ever used violence to a country where their “life or freedom would be threatened”, etc. The list goes on, and it’s scary.

And why is all this happening? In the name of security. It’s happening because people are afraid of terrorists. But who is it that wants to give Big Brother all of this power to “protect” us? That’s right. . . the “Red’s”. The people who, for the most part, live in areas highly unlikely ever to be struck by a terrorist attack. Those of us who live in the cities (I’m in Chicago) and are therefore at a higher risk would rather we keep the freedoms that make us Americans than go overboard in order to be “safer”.

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,60129,00.html

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0928-07.htm

http://www.workingforchange.com/printitem.cfm?itemid=17185

Don’t give up your freedom for the false promise of security.

But only for Kerry.

Especially if you’re in a swing state, do NOT vote for Nader or any other third-party candidate. Sure, you may believe in what they have to say. Great, fine, splendid. But in an election this close we can’t afford not to vote for Kerry.

The American political system forces us to, in many cases, choose the guy or gal who sucks less than his or her opponent. Does that stink? Yes it does! Should we try to change that? Sure! Should we try to change that by voting for a third-party candidate this year? Probably not! If you live in Ohio or Florida or Wisconsin or other highly contested state, don’t even think about NOT voting for Kerry. It’s not an option.

The worst thing that can happen is 4 more years of the Bush presidency. He dragged us into a war under false pretenses with inadequate support and no plan for winning the peace. Now it’s turned into a quagmire which has proven fatal for thousands of Americans, Iraqis and others. The economy is not doing well, the job market sucks. The environment has suffered (the Bush administration has rolled back many protections that existed when he took office). Our civil rights are being gutted by the Patriot Act. He wants to amend the constituon to define marriage as being between a man and a woman, putting discrimination into what is the closest thing to a sacred document we Americans have.

Education? No Child Left Behind has left children behind. When a national teachers union had the nerve to (gasp) speak out about how it wasn’t working, Bush’s Secretary of Education called them a terrorist organization! (See the story) Can you imagine? Bush didn’t have anything to say about this. Typical of this administration is attack the messenger rather than the message when someone doesn’t agree with them. Health care costs are continuing to increase with no end in sight. Bush opposes importing prescription medications to help bring down drug costs. Millions of Americans lost their health insurance coverage during the Bush presidency.

So, go vote. Tell your family and friends. In a free country as ours (supposedly) is, we can vote for whomever we want. So vote for the candidate that has a chance to do the most good. In my opinion, that is John Kerry.

Note to self: Put new toilet tab thingie in the tank tomorrow.

And in case you’re wondering, it’s the Chlorox clear variety. I love blue things–heck just look in my closet, half my warddrobe is blue–but I draw the line at toilet water. Not eau de toilette, which is different. I don’t mind when those are blue. Like Chrome. Mmm.

But I think that blue toilet water just screams “I’m too lazy to clean my toilet!” Sure, I am too lazy to clean my toilet. But I don’t want people to KNOW that. I want them to look at my clean (and sanitized) toilet and not think anything at all. Because toilets shouldn’t make you think. A clean toilet without blue water shouldn’t be noticed. And that’s what I’m going for.

But it’s become clear to me that the last tab thingie has run its course, and must be replaced. Tomorrow I’ll take care of that and my toilet bowl will fade back into oblivion.

Wrong!

I’m so sick to death of seeing “lo carb” stuff all over the place. There is a low carb version of everything now, even ketchup. What the hell?

Nothing is simple when it comes to our bodies. So you can’t simply say “all X is bad” or even that “Y is always good for you”. Maintaining a healthy diet requires balance. You shouldn’t eliminate all fats from your diet (our body requires certain “essential fatty acids”. Nor should you eliminate all carbohydrates. Carbs (especially high-fiber, complex carbohydrates) eaten in moderation are quite good for the body.

The whole reason for the low carb diet isn’t because carbs are in any way bad for you. The theory behind the whole thing is that your body will process carbohydrates to make energy before it processes fat. Also, if you consume too many carbohydrates, the excess that your body doesn’t may get converted to fat. Thus if you reduce the carbohydrates that you eat, your body will be able to burn fat faster and won’t build up as much fat. So it is certainly possible to lose weight this way. But does it make you healthier? No, not really. If you aren’t overweight, there’s no point in being on a low carb diet.

In fact, you should be careful not to go overboard in avoiding carbohydrates.

According to Dr. Ron Kenny, MD Link:
“High-fiber (high-cellulose) vegetable foods are the healthiest choices for human nutrition, and intake of these foods is associated with lowered incidences of hypertension, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, etc. Examples are lettuce and broccoli. Examples of low-fiber, complex carbs are banana, tomato, squash and all cereals and grains (therefore bread and pasta), potatoes and rice. ”

So, carbs are not bad. Even fat isn’t bad. Both can be bad in excess. The lack of both can also be bad. So use your head when you’re dieting and don’t be fooled by the latest crazes.

Damn, that was easy. I just created a blog. Couldn’t be simpler. At the moment I don’t have time to write much of anything. But I’ll get to it. For reals.