My rants: Fair and Balanced ®

lex_kempo @ 2007-05-20T02:57:00

2007-05-20T06:57:52Z

Happy 20th birthday to me!

The Prodigal Son

2007-05-13T16:47:52Z

Well, it would appear I have returned, LiveJournal. Another semester is at a close, and I have survived, albeit not unscathed. First off, grade report.

Honors Practical Genetics A
Physics I Lab A-
Physics I B+
Cell Biology B
Honors Film (Lemmon) B

Overall, a disappointing semester. I am too pissed at my Film teacher to even begin to describe, but alas, any whining on my part will be fruitless.

So without further ado, I give you cat pictures behind this cut. Oh, and one of me as a heavily rained-on Templar Knight from the Ren Fest. The cat's name is now Pandora, as was finally agreed upon by the family as a whole.

Finally, the good news. The Red Wings are doing well on the path to the Stanley Cup. For this, I am thankful. I came in second at the monthly "RISK global domination in the park" game yesterday morning (at 9am on two hours sleep from a long tabletop RPG session from Friday). It was a good game, but I eventually met my match. Oh well.

-J

lex_kempo @ 2006-11-29T14:59:00

2006-11-29T19:59:23Z

Eesh, it has been a while, non? Well, I'm going to keep this one brief. Life has been kinda sucky lately, ended up taking the semester off. Haven't done that in a while, but the circumstances could have been better. I suppose I'll comment on that a bit more the next time I post, should I feel like it. Let's just leave it at "Bipolar" for now.

I got a cat a few days ago, about to take her to the vet for a checkup. She is a wonderfully cute little girl, about 3 years old... Came with the name Bella, but I'm sticking with either "Katja" or "The Ω Katt" (Omega for short). Let's see how the vet handles that one. She's great though, bit of a cold, but we'll get her fixed up good as new I'm sure.

I've been on sabbatical from the lab for a few months now, but I assume I'll be going back with the start of classes in January. All set up there, looks like a pretty decently interesting classload. Honors computerized genetics, physics with lab, cell biology, and a film class on Jack Lemmon. Quite a mix, really.

Anyhoo, there's a quick update for you all. Couldn't let Amanda have all the fun!

-J

Hello, HAL.

2006-06-29T01:20:16Z

Well, 9PM at the lab again. Still have about an hour for the electrophoresis to finish, then I need to carve out the DNA with a scalpel. The system for gel purification isn't exactly pretty here. You set your gel on this big block back-light unit that spews forth UV radiation. The ethidium bromide in the DNA glows orange inside the greenish-tinted (trick of the UV light) gel when exposed to the radiation. Unfortunately, you are directly exposed as well as you sit there and try to cut out the least amount of gel possible to get the maximum yield of DNA. Very tricky, I might add, as the stuff tends to slip and jump around as you try and cut it. They at least provide you protective glasses, because the UV would just sort of burn your retinas out as far as I know. As for your arms/hands/face, well, people have actually gotten sunburns and what have you from similar devices. Ironic, we'll all get cancer in the process of curing it thanks to the double-strand DNA break ability of UVR.
I'm giving my first presentation to the lab next week, don't have much prepared yet. Just haven't had the time, it seems. I've been having a very difficult time getting up out of bed recently, and I'm always tired and out of it. Kinda sucks. On the bright side, I've been getting plenty of exercise, and practicing lots of football in honor of the World Cup. Still can't always kick it where I want to, but I'm getting better.
Everyone leaves around 5:30-6:00 usually, so it gets pretty lonely here. I wanted to be home earlier (3PM), but I just ended up arguing with my Dad on the phone (as usual, whenever we talk) so I decided to just try and work some more instead.
Upping my hours at the lab to try and get my first paper out sooner (before August ends), but we'll have to see about that. Makes getting a part time job harder. Again, I'll just have to figure it out. Any good ideas on where I should look for a job? I only have about 10 hours a week to offer. Any idea what job might fit me best?

Ah well, back to work I guess.
Yours in WEARINESS,
Jesse

And ye, he entered the inferno...

2006-06-23T01:32:58Z

Ugh. Still in the lab at 9:30PM. You know what I dislike? Agar plates. I cannot time the cool-down period correctly. Ever. At least these ones fit into our 50°C water bath. I'll explain more later, I suppose. Me and two lab mates (one Brazilian, one Croatian) went down to a bar to watch the football games. That was fun at least. Ah, Brazil. One of my adopted home teams. (Also: Argentina, Trinidad & Tobago, Italy, and France. USA of course, too.) Now I'm waiting for some plates to dry so I can complete this bacterial transformation and let them grow overnight. I have a dentist appointment at 8AM tomorrow, too. Tonight sucks.

Well, might as well give a small update while I wait. I ended up getting a late medical withdraw from my OCII class (After a rejection and an appeal. Retarded.), I just couldn't catch up after missing that month with pneumonia. USF is jerking me around scholarship wise regarding the withdraw, so I have to file some more petitions there. Did surprisingly well in my other classes considering such a large time out, though. B in Ecology, B in OrgI Lab (Which is bullshit, I aced every assignment highest in the class, then they threw a bunch of new shit on the final which they failed to mention at the "super-awesome non-mandatory final prep classperiod". Didn't help it was directly after another big exam (I was almost late running across campus). Oh well, excuses excuses. A in my Honors Molecular Genetics / Biotechnology (Again, of course. I ended up being a second teacher in both halves of the class, since I work in the bloody field and all. And most of them weren't even Sci majors. ). Weight Training was a Pass/Fail, Passed of course. Was fun at least, got a lot stronger and lost some fat. I'm keeping up with increased exercise and far less food, so that's great too. What else? Still working (Well, volunteering. Unpaid internship and all.) at Moffitt, generally around 20-30 hrs per week, although it is slowing down a little. I should have my current project wrapped up in the next two months, and hopefully published soon after that.

Anyhoo, gotta get back to work. Maybe I'll be heading home by 11:00? I don't know. Too bad it's an hour drive, too. Well adios to all for now, I'll try to post some more in-depth stuff (and hopefully with a cheerier attitude) soon.

Yours, in SCIENCE!
-Jesse

lex_kempo @ 2006-06-19T23:14:00

2006-06-20T03:17:08Z

Woo! The North Carolina Hurricanes are the 2006 Stanley Cup Champions!

Congratulations to Cam Ward and all the rest.

More soon. Really.

There they shall abide long ages; and they shall have no refreshment nor drink...

2006-03-06T15:01:06Z

Ugh. Apparently that little illness I had last week has shifted into good ol' pneumonia. My Doc gave me antibiotics Friday, but I still downhill quick over the weekend (103.7 fever, severe dizziness, nausea, etc.) Worse yet, I have an organic chem II test today and an ecology test tomorrow at 8am. I was finally able to get out of bed without falling over from dizziness today, so that's some progress, but I really don't see myself making the drive to USF, y'know? Christ, I feel like shit. I think it is time to lay back down now. So much for that lengthy post.

Huh. Since when did free accounts get 6 userpics? This is new.

Hell will lie in ambush, a home for the transgressors...

2006-02-28T03:41:54Z

There is a post coming soon, I swear. I wrote a third of it last night (sickness makes me update... Sorta). A long and bitter one, too. Maybe the post will explain more why I haven't finished it yet. Anyway, bed time now, gotta get up at 5am.

Vaya con Dios-
Jesse

Mountains shall pass away and become like vapour

2005-07-13T05:35:44Z

Hello again, everyone. My apologies in advance if some of this rambles or doesn't make much sense, I'm just in one of those kind of moods right now, I guess. Sometimes it seems like I'm incredibly busy, and yet I can't really say what it is that I've been so busy doing. I've been avoiding AIM and LJ recently, I guess I just haven't felt much like talking about anything. Summer classes are almost over (my lab final is next week), so that's good. My partner, although a cute Asian girl – a plus, wasn't very helpful and often left early or just didn't show up, so I've grown to dislike her a great deal. I seem to dislike people much more these days than I used to. I don't know what to make of that. I still have the organic chems to slug it out with, but I'll be able to start up the microbiology coursework at USF now.

Moving on. I talked to Emily a little bit tonight. That was nice, I've missed her. Too bad I never seem to have anything to say when I do talk to people, but what's new there? My classes at USF start up at the end of August, I'm already dreading it. The schedule isn't very convenient, and I'm less than enthusiastic about having a 45 some-odd minute bus ride twice a day to get there and back. I've heard a lot of things about Organic Chemistry, the horror stories about taking it at USF are discouraging to say the least. I'm a bright guy though, and if I can't handle this, I might as well rethink Med school while I'm at it. I don't need it for a career in genetic research, or even for genetic engineering, but it always seemed like a good idea. Speaking of Med school, I had the opportunity to shadow my physician around for a day, it was quite interesting. Saw a few different interesting cases, my favorite parts were probably getting to see patient X-rays and also observing a mole removal. There was a surprising amount of flowing blood involved. I should get a place to upload some pictures of me in my labcoat.

Saw Fantastic Four with the parents, wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. Also went and saw the Wizard of Oz at the Tampa Theatre with my dad, about damn time I saw such a classic, but I was a little disappointed. Unfortunately my membership there has lapsed, but I'll renew at the end of the summer for next year's summer classic series. The roleplaying group switched from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG back to Vampire: Dark Ages, that Old World of Darkness classic. I'm absolutely loving it, but I never really did like Buffy all that much. Currently we are playing a game set in 1210 between the Fourth and Fifth Crusades, and I'm playing a Knight Templar, Sir Thomas of Tripoli. Those who know me know my passion for history, and the crusades is one of my favorite periods (second only to the rise of the Roman Empire). Knightly Orders only make it that much better.

Finally, I've stumbled upon a new site that has re-lit some of that righteous (oh, yes, righteous I say!) political rage that I felt so long ago. Namely, "The Jesse Factor". There are some interesting coincidental similarities between us, most obviously in our name, second in the use of FOX News / Bill O'Reilly slogans, and third in our political hackery. The differences are every heartfelt belief we have. Now, I've re-written the sentence meant to go here about 15 times, and each time I either sound like a hypocrite, a lunatic, or just an asshole, so I'll leave it at that.

Now. On to the things I've been tagged with. Thanks a lot Dave, making me work.

TEN THINGS THAT I HATE
1. Work. I'm just too damn lazy, thanks.
2. Being around my father all day.
3. Not understanding something, be it subject, person, or joke
4. Rush hour
5. That I have no musical talent - You too, eh Dave?
6. Worrying about being a hypocrite. And I do it all the time.
7. The fact that I'm so damn lazy
8. The parts of higher education that get in the way of actual learning
9. Politics.
10. Jesse from The Jesse Factor - Give me my damn name back.

ELEVEN THINGS THAT I LOVE
1. Doing the right thing
2. Learning
3. Late-night dinners with friends. Nothing like 2am Steak n' Shake.
4. Chances to show off things I know. So sue me.
5. Having good friends to depend on
6. Rainstorms
7. Memories of my travels
8. Hawaiian shirts
9. Politics
10. Really good food
11. Getting up late, lounging around

Googling my name:

1. Jesse is so hottt and he is not gay. All my friends thinks the same thing.
2. Jesse is a petty tyrant, and everyone who works for him is afraid of him
3. Jesse is not phony. Jesse is just Jesse
4. Jesse is also the creator of The Gambler's Guide to the World
5. Jesse is surrounded by throngs of pretty faces - his devoted fans
6. jESSE is a listserv discussion group
7. Jesse is listed as one of the 20 Teens That Will Change The World
8. Jesse is smarter than you think. Watch how the republicans will react to this. This is a marketing ploy, and Jesse is doing it quite well.
9. Jesse is always the first one to want to take action, and it usually involves violence
10. Jesse is lying upon a couch; from his loins rises the stem of a tree (Ouch!)
11. Jesse is above all things, cunning, and he changes his attitude to suit the situation he's in
12. Jesse is a protector and likes to comfort others
13. Jesse is clearly partisan.

lex_kempo @ 2005-05-20T01:25:00

2005-05-20T05:43:12Z

Well, it's official, I'm 18 now. Happy birthday to me. My family has a game we play on each of my birthdays where we ask what someone of my new age can do that they could not do a year previously. What can an 18 year old do that a 17 year old can't? The answers I have so far are: go to prison (well, under 18y/os get that a lot in florida, too), have my vote not counted (a yuk yuk), and not be lying when I click "I Agree". Anyways. Life has been busy, and I'm just plain worn out. I graduated a week ago monday with my AA from SPC, just waiting on the degree to show up in the mail. It's all pretty exciting, really. Kept up my 4.0 this last semester (almost didn't make it in Chem II), but it was close. Have to take Chem II Lab over the summer now (TR 12:30 - 2:30), it started last tuesday. It's tough because it only lasts for two hours, and we have to do all our lab notebook stuff in class, we can't take it home, so it's tough to fit everything in the allotted time. Still Ohtamaa is multiple factors of ten better than Coppock (*shudder*), so I'll take what I can get. There's a whole bunch of stuff I've been meaning to write about here, but I've been pretty distracted since finals week. It's only 1:28am right now, but I have an early appointment tomorrow, so I don't think I'll get into any of it right now. My grandpa has been visiting (and taking up my room/bed, but at least he gave me an air mattress this time for the living room) since a week ago wednesday, and still has about a week left here. It's been nice to see him and all, he's pretty much the only family I really like, but the whole thing has really added to my stress levels and helped to minimize the relaxation I had hoped to get from the one week down between semesters. Rargh. Anyways, that will do for now, I'll try to post more soon.

lex_kempo @ 2005-03-22T10:24:00

2005-03-22T16:04:40Z

Grah. Got back from SOLAR at about 1am Monday morning, and I'm still pretty much scatter-brained and sore from the whole thing. I had a great time though, even the lengthy car trip (9+ hours one way, but with a bunch of friends it's not so bad). I'll try to post something more in-depth about it to let everyone know what it's like a little later. For now, I'm answering a silly little survey that found its way from Roy to Amanda to me, and then off to take a nap. And on a closing note, I've now had the experience of mexi-packing a $51/night Super 8 room with 7 people. What a fascinating trip.

A - Age you got your first kiss: Um... N/A I suppose.

B - Band listening to right now: Glen Campbell right now, not really a band.

C - Crush: About half the female population I know at any one time.

D- Dad's name: Dave

E - Easiest person to talk to: Hmm. Josh, maybe? Matt's pretty cool too.

F - Favorite band at the moment?: Band? I dunno... Singer-wise I like Johnny Cash, Sting, and Billy Joel.

G - gummy worms or gummy bears?: Bears

H - Hometown: Outside of Detroit, MI

I - Instruments: Mi guitarra

J- Joints smoked: Never

K- kids: They're cool once you get used to them. I'd like one eventually

L - Longest car ride ever: Either Michigan to Utah or Utah to Florida...

M - Mom's name: Lyn

N - Nicknames: Um... Captain America. And a few others I won't mention (Fuck you, guys. Seriously. You know who you are.)

O - One wish: To excel at -everything-

P - Phobia[s]: Heights, spiders

Q - Quote: 'I hate him/her/it with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns'

R - Reason to smile: Good friends, good times, good memories

S - Song you sang last: Billy Joel - Goodnight Saigon (Well, tried to. Debated tune with my father)

T - Time you woke up [today]: 8:15am

U - Unknown fact about me: Um... I have an unhealthy interest in catgirls? I guess that's not really that unknown though... I had a serious blood platlet disorder when I was a kid called ITP (Immune (Idiopathic) Thrombocytopenia Purpura) that could have easily ended in a rather fatal manner.

V - Vegetable you hate: Cabbage I guess, but I do like saurkraut and coleslaw, so I don't know.

W - Worst habit(s): Procrastination

X - X-rays you've had: 2-3 body, 5-6 dental

Y - Yummy food: Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches :)

Z - Zodiac sign: Taurus

Big hats, executions, chili, and the alamo

2005-02-23T05:05:44Z

Eaugh. Leaving for San Antonio tomorrow morning at 7 with the rest of the team: Becky, Jo Ellen, Kerri, and Jordan, as well as Mr. Manias. The Ethics Bowl will be Thursday, it starts really early in the day too. This should all be very interesting, I really don't want to go right now, but I think that's just because I'm lazy. I don't know. I'm feeling very tired, but I'm pretty much all packed. I still don't know where the line is when it comes to genetically modifying animals... Eh, it'll be entertaining when the judges ask that. I'm gonna practice writing out my overviews on the plane (really crappy flights, by the way, not even that cheap given the relative crappiness), given that they need to be memorizes since we can't bring any notes in. I'll be flying back home Friday morning, should be able to hang out with the gang assuming they're doing the usual Friday thing, so that'll be cool. and no more Saturday morning practices, so yay! Got my first Chem II test back today, got what I expected at an 84 (not including the 5-7 point curve, he hasn't decided yet). The average of the class was about a 70, all the heavy hitters I expected to do worse than ended up with high 70's except Cincae (Sinsae? Sincee? She's a nice, cute, funny asian girl. I keep running into her around places, which is cool.) who got an 86. Apparently there were two or so As. I'm amazed how well I did in comparison considering I studied the morning of with the hour or so I had between giving an ethics presentation in front of a class for practice and the actual test. I feel kinda bad too, because I'm just not trying that hard in class and I don't really get the material while other kids work their butts off and just don't do as well. I don't get how it all works sometimes. I got a 100 on my humanities I test, fucked up the curve for everyone else (I'm in the 5:30 class, the 3:30 class had a 4.5 point curve, highest being a 95.5). That test was fucking hard though. Mrs. Yakle may be a cool, awesome person, but Mio Dios, that was not an easy test (slide identification, 300 word essay, 13-17 not-so-short "short answer", then some easy matching and multiple choice. I ran out of time but managed to just finish off the essay fully. ) Anyways. I ramble, but that's what you get on LJs, stream of consciousness type stuff. I blame God. I have a speech to give next Wednesday, I'll have to choose a topic and write it and practice it this Sunday once I get back I guess. So much for planning ahead. I'm thinking of applying for Student of the Year and the Apollo Award at SPC for my graduation in May... Might be fun, I don't know. Bleargh. I'm done for now. Need to head to bed for the early flight tomorrow.

Wish me luck everyone, I'd appreciate it.
I'll be thinking of ya'll -
...Jesse

Hold the presses! An update from our correspondent in the field.

2005-02-11T06:23:10Z

Well. Bleh. Lots of stuff has been happening lately. Where to start with it all? Been really sick for about a week now, but I'm finally getting better. They had me on some pretty heavy meds, an antibiotic, a nebulizer (you know, I'm not sure if that's even how to spell that...), and this inhaler disk thing.... Advair or something. It was interesting, to say the least. What is fun is after doing the nebulizer thing I hack and cough up stuff for about half an hour. All the coughing I do these days has given me pretty much constant headaches and caused some muscle crampings, which I find hilarious when I'm not yelping in pain. But ah, c'est la vie.

Just got my admission certificate from USF today. I'll be finishing my AA this semester from SPC (with about 80 credit hours, too. Hehe.), just before I turn 18. I'm pretty happy about that for some reason. I don't know. Hopefully I can keep up that 4.0 this semester. Maybe they'll write something neat on my degree like "high honors". Ohh boy, it's going to have the honor society seal on it from Phi Theta Kappa too, and I'll get those crazy gold tassel…sash… stuff. Wee. Maybe I need to take a look at the priorities in my life.

Ethics Bowl is in two weeks. If you talk to me much in real life you probably already know about it, since I seem to bitch about it quite a bit. Regardless though, it seems like a good experience overall. Basically, 40 colleges across the country are selecting 5 students and sending them to San Antonio Feb. 24 and making them face each other, debating cases of ethical difficulty. The basic point is thinking through your argument logically and defending your thought process against barrages questions and an opposing team doing it's best to muddle your points. So basically I'm practicing about 10 hours a week with the 4 other students and the couple coaches to be ready by then. I'm only arguing 2 of the 15 cases, and they were both pretty simplistic matters for me to decide on. One is about a man named Kac who had scientists genetically modify an albino bunny rabbit (which he named Alba) by adding in genes from a jellyfish that creates phosphorescent proteins in the bunny's skin/fur/etc. Mr. Kac claims he did it for the sake of art, and is making a project out of the media attention surrounding Alba. The other is a case in which the HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority) of the UK changed it's rules to allow families with a terminally ill child to use pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to select an embryo almost guaranteed to be a compatible donor with the sick child for in-vitro fertilization. Essentially, they are helping families have another child to save an earlier child, and allowing a technology that will give a 98% chance of creating a compatible donor, rather than a 25% chance through natural conception (at least in the specific case of the family in question). While the judges could actually ask any question (on which I will have to give a 10 minute response), the first question will generally be the main ethical topic of the case (the weirder questions get asked later). I argue for the genetic modification of Alba given the fact that Alba is being well taken care of, although I make the point that "art" is not a proper justification for any action, and that the reasons ultimately don't matter in the end. As for the HFEA, I argue in support of the use of technology to maximize the chances of the second child being a proper donor, or (if it is asked) in support of it being ethically permissible to have a child to save an earlier child. Needless to say, this will be interesting. But for now I have at least two practices a week that are keeping me busy (6:30 – 10:30 Wed night, 9:00 – 2:00 Saturday morning), as well as a few times where I will be getting up and presenting in front of a few random ethics classes at SPC. It's a lot of work, but I've never really done public speaking before, much less with such a formal atmosphere, so it's certainly helping me learn some good life skills. Not to mention the honor in being one of only 5 chosen (and yes, I was approached about this, I didn't sign up) throughout all of the SPC campuses. Anyways. Yadda yadda.

I withdrew from my Tuesday Chem II Lab. The instructor was a freaking psycho nazi, and I was already pretty booked up and stressed this semester, so I just didn't need his shit. Those who know me will realize how uncharacteristic of me this was (I've never withdrawn from a class before. Ever.), but this man seriously needs to be fired. What was funny though was how ridiculously difficult it was to drop the lab but not the lecture. Apparently at the Tarpon Springs campus (the rest of my classes are at Clearwater) they have a rule that if you withdraw from one you have to withdraw from the other. So I talked to the head of the Math and Science department except low and behold, she's a complete tight-ass nazi bitch. Complaining about a psycho to a nazi, it's really quite funny. Thankfully my parents went to bat to with this woman for me (I was a little busy attending a chem lecture), and argued with her for about an hour and 45 minutes before she finally agreed to see us in person and get everything worked out. She basically gave them a run-around about how rules are rules, etc., so they brought up my 4.0, extracurricular, etc. Arguing ensued, there was a great deal of yelling, but she finally relented to at least meet us. Once there in person, she was rather helpful (although she did bring in an aide to record the entire conversation), giving me the override to escape the lab but not the lecture. I can't help but think the only reason she gave up was to be rid of us. Whatever. I just feel bad for the 7-8 kids in the lab who were equally as disturbed by this man as me ( 2-3 just dealt with it, and 2 just didn't give a flaming fuck). The guy wouldn't even let my old lab partner join a different group, saying "groups are of 2 or less people". It seems to me 3 is more of a "group" than one, but hey, I don't have a Doct- Oh wait, neither does he. </bitter>

It would seem I have reached a new level on the geek totem pole, as I am soon to be a LARPer. My friends and I are going up to Georgia for SOLAR March 18-20 (I believe…) . Still need to get my costuming and weaponry started, that's going to take a while. Hoo-boy.

Anyways, there's more I'm sure, but these days I consider it an accomplishment to post anything at all. Hope everyone is doing okay. Now, on to that lovely quiz that has taken the journal communities by storm! (Ho ho! I think I got bitter again in there somewhere!)

LJ Friends Meme by coolerq

• You must tell 10 people about this game.
• Dani is the one that you love.
• Emily is one you like but can't work out.
• You care most about Josh.
• Frank is the one who knows you very well.
• Thomas is your lucky star.
• Walk like a Man is the song that matches with Dani.
• Black is Black is the song for Emily.
• Old City Bar is the song that tells you most about YOUR mind.
• and Boum! is the song telling you how you feel about life
Take this quiz

Ho, ho, ho.

2004-12-25T06:35:29Z

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone enjoys the holiday, and let me know what presents you receive (if you do the whole give/get thing). Florida Christmases just.. aren't quite the same. Much warmer. We put some ornaments and decorations on the palm tree in front of our condo. Good enough for me, I suppose.

Talk to you all soon-
...Jesse

lex_kempo @ 2004-10-28T11:23:00

2004-10-28T15:54:55Z

Well bleh. I didn't go to my morning classes on wednesday, but I rather -had- to go to my lab. You just can't make those things up. I'm feeling a little better today, but I'm still really tired. My homework is all starting to back up, it's looking really bad. This weekend is going to suck, and it's the last schoolbus figure 8 at the Sunshine Speedway! Why did this have to happen this weekend!? Anyways.

There was a fascinating little discussion about gay marriage on this board right here. The board is actually for NationStates, about an attempt to repeal a UN resolution protecting gay rights. While it's based on a game, the argument is very real and rather well argued (it gets good about 4-8 pages in...). Of course The Psychotic Dictatorship of The-Brotherhood (My first nation) does not recognize the need for protecting gay rights, as no marriage is sanctioned by law and all pregnancies are pre-arranged by the government. Thankfully that nation isn't the one I sent to the UN, as only one nation per player can be. But moving on.

The video card on -my- computer fried yesterday. Silver is the computer's name, for those in the know. The Card was an AGP (4x. hehe.) GeForce2 64mb... pretty old by now, but it worked for me. I'm debating what exactly failed, but it looks like it may have just been the fan. It would boot up and run okay, with all sorts of graphical distortions... The fan wouldn't start at any point, and it would overheat within a few minutes. Oh well. Went to Staples and CompUSA and ended up with a new GeforceFX 5700LE 128mb... $100 in the end. It works great, no complaints yet but I don't really have time to test it on a game.

I fucking hate the Rubik's cube. It taunts me as I walk by it, always watching me from it's perch on the edge of my dresser. It thinks I have given up... But it's wrong. As soon as I'm caught up... It will be next. Just wait and see.

Bush supporters keep lining up along McMullen-Booth Road near where I live... They haul out little children too, which makes me feel bad as I roll down my window and flip them off when I drive by. Oh well. The causeway was completely back up the other day because Bush and Kerry supporters had formed little groups all along it and cars would slow down to honk or wave or whatever, causing some serious traffic. It was almost funny, but at least I got to wave to some Kerry people. Apparently they don't live by me, and the bloody Democratic Org. of Pinellas didn't have any more Kerry T-shirts for me to buy. Bah. There's an awesome one on the website(www.JohnKerry.com), that says "Estados Unidos, Estamos Unidos". I want that shirt really badly. I also want to make a 527 ad. That would be great. That's it for now, I better go get to work.

Good day, and God Bless America.
...Jesse

I never update

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What Canadian Province Are You?
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lex_kempo @ 2004-10-25T11:30:00

2004-10-25T15:42:19Z

I stayed home from school today, which is highly atypical for me. I've been feeling really sick over the weekend, and it got particularly bad last night. It's bad timing though, as there is a Biology test today, and a paper due in ethics, and both an SGA and PTK meeting, so I don't know how I'm going to catch up on all that. I did the coastal clean-up with PTK and SGA Saturday morning (too early, I say! At school at 7:20am to carpool. I don't like mornings). Worked for about an hour and a half and then went home and laid down, started feeling ill again. Studied and worked on papers most of the day Sunday, but went to the Tampa Theatre with my parents to watch the original (well, sort-of) Phantom of the Opera (with Lon Chaney) at 3pm. I got really sick in the car, but it was a one-time only type of event and I had never seen it (especially on a full-size movie screen with live organ accompaniment, although I'm not a big fan of Mrs. Rosa Rio....), so I did my best to suffer through. The movie was pretty... awful in the end, hilariously awful in fact. It was the 1929 re-edit of the 1925 original, although I had difficulty noticing the supposed technicolor sequence during the ballroom masquerade. Oh well. I'm still glad I got to see a part of cinematic history. Maybe I'll walk around with my hand above my head for the next few days just to honor it. For those who don't get the reference (read: anybody), I'll explain it if you merely ask. Anyways, I'm going to go back to bed now I think. So very tired. I hope there's not a long wait at the doc's office this afternoon....

I <3 Jon Stewart

2004-10-21T03:10:10Z

Well, I've decided to whore out the integrity of my journal, like the professional journalism of so many a FOX News correspondent. The difference is I don't make my readers (oh, okay, reader. When I pay her.) engage in lewd phone sex (you know, compared to...non-lewd... phone sex). Here's some of those "quizzes" you crazy kids like to take.

I'm Tim!

Which Robert & Tim Show Character Are You?

Threat rating: High. The Bush administration is
concerned that it may not get a second term.
Therefore, we are going to change the rules so
that each Democrat vote only counts as 0.2
votes because Democrat is a shorter word than
Republican

What threat to the Bush administration are you?
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I am an Intellectual

Which America Hating Minority Are You?

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What Legendary Japanese Monster Are You? by kumauru
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Now wasn't that fun? I think that was fun. Did anybody see John Stewart on Crossfire a little while ago? That was absolutely incredible. Check out this /. (Slashdot) article about it. The best part had to be when Tucker Carlson kept pushing him to be funny and trying to distract him from talking about his disdain for their show and Stewart ended up insulting his bowtie and calling him a dick. It was beautiful. I shed a tear of joy. It was great to see Jon Stewart taking things very seriously, and so sad to see him get shut down by party hacks like Carlson and Begala, especially on a shouting-heads show like Crossfire. Yes, I realize the irony of me calling someone a party hack, but I still like to consider myself a healthy mix of policy wonk and party hack, thanks. I'm like a mix of Hannity and Colmes, only I'm not a flaming jackass and I actually say something. Anyways.

Finished my goddamn insect project today, was an interesting thing. I was so disappointed when the prof effectively handed everyone an A after our small presentations... When I put hours of effort (all the night before/morning of, except for the actual hunting and photo taking, of course...) into something, I hope people would at least read it, but you'd think I'd have learned by now. What was even more funny was I had prepared for the grasshopper anatomy quiz and when I walked in it says on the board "Grasshopper quiz next week, will review grasshopper after projects today". Bloody hell. Everyone seemed amazed with my in-depth knowledge of grasshoppers when she asked us questions about them, which I thought was hilarious because it represented a total of like 45 minutes researching online. Apparently that's about 10-fold more than the average student. Did you know grasshoppers's blood is non-colored with a slight greenish tint, due to the fact that it does not transfer oxygen like in many animals? Oxygen is brought in only through spiracles that attach to tracheae. The grasshopper can contract or release muscles around the spiracles (holes along it's sides...) to allow air in or not, and the spiracles have small hairs within them to filter the air as it enters the trachea. See, this is what studying does, fills your head with useless information. Don't get me started on ocelli.

Jon Stewart on Crossfire:
The Video
The Transcript
The Wonkette
The Post
The CNN

A look into this fractured soul....

2004-10-19T17:43:04Z

Well, it seems I've finally sold out and did a stupid little survey thing that's been going around. Bah, humbug. On the other hand, it seems I've posted twice in one day now... Incredible!

Everything Anyone Ever Wanted To Know About You
Created by LaBelleAmie and taken 495 times on bzoink!
The Basic Stuff
Name?	Jesse
Age?	17
Height?	5'11" (might be 6' now, I haven't checked lately)
Weight?	260-270, I flux quite a bit.
Birthday?	5/20
Birthplace?	Dearborn, Michigan
Current Location?	Florida
School/Grade?	12th / College
Zodiac Sign?	Taurus
Chinese Zodiac Sign?	Rabbit
Righty or Lefty?	Righty. Not politically though.
Haircolor?	Brown
Eyecolor?	Blue
Skin Color?	Um...White? A little pale.
About You
What's Your Family Situation (Parents, Siblings, etc)?	Two parents, that's it.
Any Pets?	Yup. My kitty.
If So What Are They?	Figment, my red/orange tabby.
Favorite Relative?	Uh...My grandpa I guess. He's pretty cool.
Least Favorite Relative?	The rest of my family? I don't like many of them.
What's Your Heritage/Race?	Bohemian (Slovak), Hungarian, Polish... Whiter than white.
Political Affilation?	Liberal. I prefer "flaming liberal", because I tend to light on fire when I try to talk with a republican.
Love & Sex
Sexuality?	Straight
Are You In A Relationship Now?	Nope
If So, With Whom?	I just said no, dammit.
For How Long?	Fucker.
Are You In Love?	Love? Eh. I'm not even certain love exists.
Do You Have A Crush On Anyone?	Sure. Plenty. Half the girls I have met or will ever meet.
Ever Had A Crush On Someone Of The Same Sex?	No.
How Old Were You When You Had Your First Kiss?	Never.
Virgin?	Yes.
If Not, How Old Were You When You Had Sex For The First Time?	N/A
Was It Enjoyable?	N/A
What's The Farthest You've Ever Gone?	Not.
Where Do You Most Like To Be Kissed?	How the heck should I know?
Best Love Quote?	"Love is the blackest of all plagues... But you can never die from it. Only a fool dies of love" - Jöns in "The Seventh Seal" (Det Sjunde Inseglet)
Your Friends
Best?	Thomas. Boomer is cool too, but he would say Thomas too. Thomas owns all.
How Many Do You Have?	A few here and there.
More Guys Or Girls?	Guys
Love Them All?	No?
Any You Wish You Were Closer To?	I guess.
Oldest?	Thomas.
Newest?	Frank I suppose. Or Anton.
Pen Pal?	I guess Melanie and Rachel were... None now.
Friends And Words: Associate Them
Pen	James
Flower	Becky
Pink	Stacey
Window	Boomer
Heart	Jamie
Mother	Thomas
Bread	Boomer
Insane	Steph
Sunglasses	Brian
Pimp	Brian
Cross	TJ
Lonely	Trevor
Car	Srini
Music	Boomer
This Or That
Boxers or Briefs?	Briefs.
Thongs or G-Strings?	Um..Neither?
Shorts or Pants?	Pants. Khakis. Suit Pants.
Shoes or Barefeet?	Shoes.
Books or Movies?	Movies... But Books are cool too.
Night or Day?	Night
Dark or Light?	Dark
Mountains or Beach?	Mountains
Snow or Sun?	Snow
Pepsi or Coke?	Pepsi
Guys or Girls?	Girls
Swim or Surf?	Swim
For or Against
Gay Marriage?	For. To do otherwise is nothing short of state/federal sanctioned discrimination.
Abortion?	For. Every woman deserves to have a choice. Unwanted children and unprepared families only bring more problems.
Bush Getting Re-elected?	Against. People know I could write a book about why. What I find fascinating is people consider him the "anti-terror" cantidate, when he has slashed most domestic security.
Suicide?	For. It's your choice. If you can't handle it, go away. The idea of illegalizing suicide just seems hilarious.
War?	If the cause is right, sure. Of course, there are expectations that you won't go in and fuck everything up. Like this last time. Would I go to war? Quite possibly.
Pants?	For. See reason below
Clothes In General?	Um... For, I suppose. Not for modesty, more for protection. Walking through the park might be quite painful otherwise.
Penises?	Um... I like mine? I'm not sure what to say to this.
Favorites
Color?	Blue. Then Purple. Then..um... Rainbow!
Number?	20. Then 10.
Holiday?	Boxing day? I don't know... Christmas I suppose. Winter + Lights + Singing = Fun.
Season?	Winter, then fall. I like the cold, and of course watching the leaves change up north is nice.
Movie?	The Last Samurai. Det Sjunde Inseglet. Lawrence of Arabia.
Book?	Rainbow Six. The X-Wing series. ShadowRun: Preying for Keeps
Magazine?	PCGamer, American Scientific, Science News
Food?	Italian, Mexican, East European. It's all good.
Drink?	Raspberry Tea, Sweet Tea, Cream Soda, Root Beer.
TV Show?	The Daily Show or MacGuyver.
Song?	In Time - Mark Collie (Punisher Soundtrack)
Band?	Uh...Foreigner?
Computer Game?	Day of Defeat.
Video Game?	Suikoden II
Anime/Manga?	Case Closed, Inuyasha.
Shirt?	The one with the hula girl on the back.
Pants?	Khakis
Actor?	William H Macy, Willem Defoe.
Actress?	Uh... Rachael Leigh Cook I suppose. She's so cute... The only reason I sat through Antitrust and Josie and the Pussycats...
Singer?	Jim Croce and Billy Joel
Flower?	Hmm. If we're talking about angiosperms, then cherry trees. Otherwise African violets.
Scent?	Oranges. Just like the old horizons ride at Disney...
Animal?	Tigers. Then beavers.
Cookie?	Chocolate chip
The Future
Want To Go To College?	Of course, heck, I've aready started. Med school soon enough.
What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?	Research geneticist or genetic engineer.
Want To Get Married?	Yes. Preferably to an asian or latin girl, hehe...
Want To Have Kids?	Yes.
What Would Their Names Be?	Hmm, Boy: Dominic, Anton, Thomas. Girl: Catalina, Kaori, Rachel.
How Many?	One, maybe two.
Where Do You Want To Live?	Hmm, probably not Florida. NE or NW US, Europe, Australia, Japan, whatever.
Where Do You Want To Get Married?	I don't really know. Old church in Europe somewhere, perhaps.
How Do You Want To Die?	Blaze of glory, of course. Or saving someone important to me. If you gotta go, go big...
More Stuff About You
Piercings?	Nope.
Tattoos?	Nope.
Smoke?	Nope. Don't like it when people smoke near me, either. Especially those that treat the world like their own personal ashtray.
Drink?	Nope.
Do Drugs?	Nope.
Skinny Dip?	Heh, not really anymore.
Greatest Fear?	Heights, I suppose.
Chocolate or Vanilla?	Chocolate
Go To Church?	Not often these days. Maybe I'll go back to a Unitarian Universalist church.
Religion?	Nominally Methodist (Christain - Prtestant sect). Otherwise Humanistic Deist.
Scars?	A few. Drill bit on my left wrist. Upper right of my forehead. Left index knuckle. Just under my lip.
CDs Owned?	A bunch. Minimum 200, plus as many casettes. Most are packed away. Rarely listen these days though.
Collections?	Uh... Not really. General eastern (Indian, Chinese, Japanese) stuff. Nothing specific.
Like To Be Naked?	Ehe, I don't know. Kind of, not really.
Ever Eaten Sushi?	Yes.
An Entire Case Of Oreos?	Heh, yes. Over a week or two, though.
Been On Stage?	Plenty of times. "Oh what a beautiful mooooooooorning...."
Danced In The Rain?	All the time
Kissed Someone Of The Same Sex?	Nope.
Weirdest Dream?	I... don't really remember my dreams, on the few occasions I have them. I remember falling of a cliff into a giant skull once...
Best Dream?	I got together with this girl I liked... Actually, that dream has happened a few times, only different girls. Frued would have a field day with that, I'd imagine.
Saddest Dream?	N/A
Dream You Most Wish Would Come True?	I guess one of the girl ones, since I can't seem to remember any other ones.
Think You're Attractive?	I don't know. Not particularly attractive or non-attractive.
Shoplifted?	Never.
Been Caught "Doing Something"?	I... no?
Weirdest Makeout Place?	I have no clue.
Like Thunderstorms?	Yes, very much so.
Favorite Shoes?	Um.. Velcro? Real tennis shoes with strong side-to-side support.
Favorite Quote?	"To understand this [Gabriel's Horn] for sense it is not required that a man should be a geometrician or a logician, but that he should be mad." - Thomas Hobbes
Best Advice Given?	Settle down, you're ahead of the curve. You'll give yourself an ulcer.
Worst Advice Given?	Trust me.
Favorite Song Lyric?	I was gambling in Havana; I took a little risk; Send lawyers, guns and money; Dad, get me out of this.
What Quote Says Most About Your Life?	I shall be saying this with a sigh; Somewhere ages and ages hence;A road diverged in the wood, and I---; I took the one less traveled by; and that has made all the difference.
Glad This Is Over?	Hehe, a little bit. Got some homework to do.
Create a Survey \| Search Surveys \| Go to bzoink!

</center>

This and that: Redux

2004-10-19T05:40:50Z

Unbelievable. It seems my computer decided to crash and wipe out my original big ol' post, so I imagine I will have to retype it as best I can now.

It's been a while. I'm starting to get through some of the projects from school. I'll probably need to go bug hunting some more tomorrow before identifying what I have for Bio II Lab Wednesday... We were supposed to get 30, but I'll be lucky to make 15. I'm not sure how many will get more than that. My Ethics application paper was due today... Started last night at 7ish and worked until 3:45, went to bed, got up at 5:30 and finished it up. 3,600 words in the end, it took me to long to write that much. I had to learn Kantianism, Rawls' Contractarianism and Rule Utilitarianism foreword and backward first though, so that might explain it a bit. I joined Phi Theta Kappa (honor society for two-year colleges) and Student Government (SGA), it's interesting. Had an SGA meeting today a few hours after classes, it was rather pointless as usual, then Gabby and I helped Haddar (Hadar? I'll have to check...) tie ribbons around most of the trees around campus to signify Alcohol/Drug Awareness Week/Month/Whatever. SGA gave me a shirt for it to that they demand I wear Wednesday, but it was nice enough that they gave it to me (even though new guys like me came after they ordered them...), so why not? Friday was the induction ceremony for new PTK members, and that was interesting. There was an oath, and we all signed a book with a feathered pen... There might have been some blood rituals, I can't quite remember. I met a bunch of neat people, Jonathan, Jacqylin (Jacqylen? I remember the y at least.), Anton... There was cake too. The speaker at the event was a joke though with this horribly long and boring story about frogs and a hole and jumping to get out of it... It was awful. If he'd done the story from "Catch me if you can" it would have been great. Two mice fall into a bucket of cream. One gives up and drowns. The other keeps kicking and struggling to live. Eventually he kicks so hard and so long that the cream turns to butter and he can climb out of the bucket. You should be that mouse. Isn't that great? It's perfect. Too bad. Bob, Hadar, Johannah and me are all members of both PTK and SGA, and Johannah is trying to get me to join the Ethics Club with her as an officer and to take over and maintain their website. I don't know if I should do that though, my schedule being as full as it is and all.

I've watched all the debates, and I've been following all the latest news in politics, regardless of the fact that I've tried to escape the subject due to the physical symptoms of nausea, headaches, and stress that it causes me, but alas I cannot seem to escape it. I just saw a new Bush add today asking if America could survive a liberal president. It said we, liberals, voted against the Gulf War, against funding our troops in Iraq, and that Reagen was a hero because he single-handedly ended the cold war. Don't you see how that makes liberals not worthy of the white house, and in fact makes them a monstrosity that will destroy America? I sure do now! Thank God! This sort of thing makes me truly hate people, and I'm not too fond of the feeling. I would have no remorse if my dream was fulfilled and the people responsible for ads like that, and especially the worse ones like that one comparing Ted Kennedy to Hitler... If they just lit up in a brief but delightful moment of spontaneous combustion. Oh well.

I got into an argument with a girl from my ethics class over the ACLU, NAMbLA, and the first amendment. Since I'm a liberal ACLU-hugger, it shouldn't be too terribly hard to figure out my side of the argument. Fanatics are to easy to beat though, sadly. As soon as she said "Burn all the books to save the children", it just stopped being fun. The crowning moment though was her shouting across campus as she walked away "Pray for God to show you the right choice". I mean damn, what an insult. She seems to think that her non-logic, blind anti-reason, and moral absolutism won her the day. My return shout was "I don't need my daddy to tell me what to do", a line I've started using lately in response to the type of person who relies on divine intervention in their decision making processes. I don't feel the need to rely on an almighty father figure to make my choices for me. It's not that I don't believe in God, I do, but I don't think he cares if you wear a red shirt or a blue shirt to church. In fact, he'd like you to stop bothering him with such stupid questions. Great, thanks.

Becky died. It's weird, I mean, I didn't know her all that well... I went to church with her every Sunday for a few months, but I was really closer friends with her sister... I actually had a sort of grade-school crush on her for a month or so before I wised up to the fact that our personalities had irrecoverable differences. When I heard she died I expected to be saddened, or at least to realize my own mortality or something... But there was nothing, just emptiness. The usual emptiness. It was much like when my first grandmother passed away, there was no emotional response, perhaps a twinge of "That's too bad", but ultimately nothing... I wonder sometimes if I'm some sort of monster, an emotionless robot without a soul. I feel bad for her family... I never met her parents, but I know her sister was very close to her. I'm not sure what to do exactly, is was... a long time ago. I hope they can pull through this eventually, although it will undoubtedly be a long, hard process. I don't know... I just don't know these days.

Things have been busy lately, there are so many stories to tell. Maybe I'll write more later, I don't know. I've joined a really cool role-playing group, we're doing Vampire currently. I have a 7th-gen Bohemian/West Hungarian diablerist Brujah Ex-crusader/Teutonic Knight. Intriguing. The people in the group are all really awesome, Frank, Josh, TJ, Matt, Jay, Mark, and Patrick... Hayley has also started showing up again, so that great, she's really cool too. Too bad Adam has shown up since the first time though, I really liked him, even if he was a little young.

Ah, but anyways, I'm just jabbering now. I can't believe I had to re-type all this nonsense. I think it actually became more fractured the second time then when I was typing it stream-of-consciousness. How odd. Anyways, I promise I'm actually going this time. Good night everyone, and may God bless America.

And shepards we shall be...

2004-08-27T06:22:49Z

Alrighty, I'm going to try and keep this one brief, and sadly, rather limited in politics and relevance. My classes started up Monday, and I'm still a little sick from last weekend. I'm on a different antibiotic now, which will hopefully prove more effective than the first. Classes are okay, I'm getting a little stressed, but no big deal. I have the same lecture and lab teachers for Biology II that I had for Bio I, which is neat. My American Government teacher (she's a lawyer, actually) is interesting, and I think I will like her, but it's too early to tell. My ethics teacher is a pretty funny guy, and while I was certain I would hate the class (come on. Ethics. Lots of writing about nothing...) as I read the book it may actually prove to be quite interesting. I don't have many stories to tell as of yet (only been to two classes of each), except perhaps one from American Government... This one is kind of rambly, so feel free to skip over it. I'm just still mad about it.

I found this exercise to be frustrating, to incredibly understate it. The class was broken up into groups of 4 to discuss and answer 5 questions on the meaning of being "American". The first question was to define what it was that being "American" meant to you. For the sake of privacy, all names have been changed. Rom, an older gentleman with an outgoing and humorous attitude answered "rights and freedoms". I followed up on that, saying that being American to me meant having a responsibility to defend the rights that we perceive having in whatever way we feel best. I further reasoned that the conflicts within America are rooted in the fact that people have different beliefs on what those rights are, as well as the best way to defend them. Yes, that's actually what I said, I'm going to be a real joy in this class. A girl, I can't quite recall her name right now, stated that she didn't know what made someone "American", "I guess being born there". I tried to help her clarify her position, offering "What about people who move here" to which she replied that there was a test for the immigrants, and when I mentioned that people born in the US don't have to take a test (what a shame), she said "I don't know!" and that was the end of that. But oh no. It doesn't stop there. Then we go on to Bulia, er, Rulia. Whatever. She says something along the lines of "Stupid, materialistic". Now, that's all good and great, I know, nobody likes Americans, I sure don't. But that's... not really an answer to the question. So I say, "Ah, so it's personality traits that define Americans" and she replies by repeating herself and throwing in "greedy" or somesuch. I protest, saying "Right, but--" and she yells at me to not tell her how to think, and the other girl joins in shouting "There's no right or wrong, there's no right or wrong!" at me. At that point I just shut up and thought "DIE SOON" as loud as I could. I don't my wish will be granted, so I intend to sit somewhere else when I go in today, since permanent seats are being assigned and it wouldn't be pretty if I kept getting stuck with those two for every group project over the semester.

In random news, I recently watched a few films, all very good. "Boondock Saints" is a masterpiece of action and dark humour, with pulp religion thrown in for good measure. High marks. "The Killer" is the essential Chow Yun Fat / John Woo offering, plenty of action built on a foundation of drama and morality. Very interesting. Very good.

Because I need to maintain an air of professionalism, I'll point you all to an interesting op-ed piece I read in the St.Pete Times. "The Rambo Coalition" by Paul Kruger. It is very interesting, I assure you. When I get some free time and energy, I think my next political post will be on my dislike for organizations like Rock The Vote the aim to mobilize young voters. While these organizations have a good idea, in practice it just doesn't work well. I'll elaborate further some other time.

Old rants die hard

2004-08-22T06:04:29Z

Here I am again, catching up on rants I left in Limbo, left with nothing better to do as I deal with being sick. Dani somehow marginally restored my faith in posting about relevant issues, although I'm not exactly certain how. I hate the internet. The Sunday before last (Hey, there was a hurricane, alright? Shut it.) was cool, Lawrence of Arabia was showing at the Tampa Theatre, and I finally got to see the desert epic on a big screen. While they don't have the facilities for a full ratio showing of it, it was certainly better than letterbox on my little TV at home. For those who don't know me very well, I'm a bit of a movie buff, especially the old classics. Lawrence of Arabia is a favourite of mine, an epic in every sense of the word. I'll talk more about that some other time, I suppose.

For now, I'd like to talk about a completely different issue altogether. Namely, the Pledge of Allegiance, specifically the portion "Under God". I recently took part in an online discussion about that particular phrase, and my personal feelings on it's removal. While I was more than willing to pass up such a debate, the latest post provoked me into action. The argument was that "It should stay. It was made that way by the founders of the country." Let me post my thoughts (The unabridged version) here.

I have a certain distaste for using a "lj-cut" here, but out of courtesy for the friends pages of those who know me, I feel obliged to do it as this one runs a little long. Just one more obstacle for those who would actually read my thoughts.

Before getting into my own opinion on the matter however, it is of course best to understand the point of discussion. The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, and originally published in a children's magazine. In 1953 (over 60 years after it was first published) the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's organization, started a campaign to add "Under God" to the pledge. This was a difficult time in America, which was beset by the communist scare and subsequent McCarthy witch-hunts. "Under God" began being seen as a way to make a distinction between the primarily Christian democracy and the primarily atheistic communism. In 1954, with the approval of President Eisenhower, a bill was passed into law that added "Under God" to the Pledge. As anyone can plainly see, the "founders of our country" have nothing to do with the Pledge at all, much less the phrase "Under God" used within the Pledge.

Now on to my (not so humble) opinion. With the addition of "Under God", the pledge became more than a patriotic oath but a public prayer as well. Imagine if your children were forced to say "Under Buddha" or "Under Allah" every morning as they swore their fealty to their country. It's the same thing. In a country that prides itself on diversity and acceptance (at least on the surface), this forcing of one religion on to the masses is unacceptable. Without a doubt the words should be removed.

Of course the interesting parts of this argument have been occurring in courts as of late. Michael A. Newdow, an atheist and father to a girl in second grade (at the time), filed a lawsuit against The Elk Grove Unified School District. The main idea behind the suit was that as a father it was his right to raise his daughter in any religion he chooses, and that his right to do so was being denied by forcing his daughter to recite a pledge confirming the existence of a monotheistic omnipotent deity every morning at school. While the suit was thrown out by a federal judge in California, a 3 judge panel from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 in favor of Newdow.

A great outcry was heard from various religious organizations and conservative politicians, including President George W Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft. Ashcroft proceeded to request a hearing en banc of the full 9th Circuit, which was rejected. The public was further enflamed by lies (mis-truths if you're a politician) from Ashcroft and numerous right-wing and fundamentalist news sources (including AgapePress.org and the American Family Association) claiming that the ruling meant "millions of school students in the nine western states covered by that court will be forced to stop reciting the Pledge...". Of course, that was not the ruling at all, which was merely a return to the pre 57' Pledge without the words "Under God". House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) even went as far to threaten the judicial branch, claiming that Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution could be interpreted as the ability of Congress to impeach any judge they disagree with. He further stated "I think that would be a very good idea to send a message to the judiciary they ought to keep their hands off the Pledge of Allegiance." This issue is obviously causing conflict at a much deeper level within the government than the 9th Circuit Court.

The School District, Newdow, and the US Department of Justice all made appeals to the US Supreme Court. On October 14, 2003, the court agreed to hear the case. By January of 2004, over 40 briefs had been filed over the case from varying views on the issue. In March of 2004 the US Supreme Court heard the case, and handed down it's decision on June 14th. Instead of ruling on the constitutionality of the term "Under God", however, the court managed to reverse the ruling of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on a technicality. They ruled Newdow did not have a legal right to speak for his daughter, and thusly had no right to bring his case before a court, because he did not have "primary custody" of his daughter. Mr. Newdow and Ms. Sandra Banning, the mother, had the child out of wedlock and never married. Ms. Banning claims to have become a "committed Christian" after the birth of her daughter, and as a matter of course had no complaint over the phrase "Under God". Newdow has never failed to pay child support, and went to court over getting more time to spend with his daughter. He currently cares for her two weekends a month plus holidays, and plans on pushing for more time.

In my opinion, with this ruling, the US Supreme Court dealt a horrible blow to religious tolerance and the acceptance of diversity within America. That is not all however, as this ruling further serves to damage the rights and credibility of non-primary parents nationwide. The court has effectively stated that if the primary parent feels a child should be raised one way, the secondary parent has no right to challenge the legality and ethics of the primary parent's choice. As an example, if the secondary parent disagrees with the primary parent's use of corporal punishment on their child, there is absolutely nothing he/she (generally he, although the continuing discrimination against male single parents in the courts will be subject for another time) can do about it. The US Supreme Court rarely fails to make me lose faith in our government and the protection of the Constitution that it was founded on.

>Insert rain joke here

2004-08-13T03:02:03Z

Hurricane Preparedness Handbook, courtesy of the Department of Emergency Management.

I just posted a comment on kawaiikitty's journal that struck my fancy, so I think I'll post it here (even though technically more people will see it there, but whatever). Florida is about to be creamed by Hurricane Charley, and these are some random thoughts, predictions, and facts about the it.

This will be an interesting weekend, to say the least. This hurricane is probably only going to get worse as it approaches the coast. First off, hurricanes lose energy from crossing land and cold waters. It's pretty early in the year, so the waters in the ocean are still quite warm. This should only serve to fuel the strength of the hurricane until it makes landfall. At this point, it will be cut off from the ocean, it's source of warm air filled with water vapor, and will eventually dissipate. We'll just see how much damage occurs until it tires. At this point the best we can hope for is for it to err right (land short), heading inland early and only hitting us with the left side of the hurricane. The right side is the strongest side of the hurricane, as it's forward motion is added to the strength of it's counter-clockwise wind flow. Besides that, if the hurricane goes a little long and we are hit by the right side of the hurricane, the counter-clockwise wind will be forcing water and winds into the bay, most likely resulting in stronger flooding of the bay's coast.

Very exciting. On a secondary note:
I <3 Denis Phillips, of ABC Action News.
Yay! We get free sand!

Oh yes, and on a tertiary note:
The governor of New Jersey admitted to being gay and resigned his position, effective November 15th
I'm sure FOX News will have plenty to say about that.
Speaking of FOX News.
Linda Vester is worried about Muslims promoting religious intolerance in one Saudi Islamic school in Virginia. What about the same religious intolerance that has been taught in some Baptist churches every Sunday, and catholic schools for even longer? That's not worth investigating, fix those crazy Muslims first! And what about the constant muddling of Islam and terrorism in the mind of the American public? Not that I'm suggesting the media condones, accepts, or encourages this association, of course.
John Gibson says San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is a cynical hypocrite who only allowed gay marriages to "nail down the gay vote for himself forever". Gee, I wonder who's the real cynic here? Perhaps he was showing his support for the equality of homosexuals? Or maybe, just maybe, he was hoping to influence the important upcoming decisions on gay-marriage by showing it was indeed possible, without the fiery apocalypse I'm sure FOX News and it's correspondents would have delighted in.

I pledge allegiance to Allah, Buddha, Christ, Xenu, God, the US Dollar, Joseph Smith, Jim Jones...

2004-08-10T07:08:30Z

I've been typing up another rant, this one about the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as a little info on recent events in my own life. My thoughts are a bit too scattered right now, and I'm just plain tired, so I'll post it in the morning. I'll give you this though, I got my volunteer papers from Habitat for Humanity today. How exciting! I'm still not allowed to use power tools or ladders though. Damn you 18! Why can't you be closer to 17?! The Peace Corps doesn't want anything to do with me for a while either, it seems. Oh well. Salutations and goodnight to everyone.
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A portion left on the editing room floor:
If I were to broaden my definition of "this country's founders" enough to state that it was they who added "Under God" to the Pledge, than I could just as easily state that "this country's founders" assembled model-Ts and flew in F-16s.
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Oh, and by the way, did anyone hear about that little orbital (Reagen-era Star Wars style) missile-shield weapons platform that Bush is budgeting for? $53.1 billion over the next 5 years, $10.2 billion next year. It's funny that so much money is being given to developers for a defense against weapons that aren't being used by enemies of the US. Ah well. It's not like it's my money. Oh wait.

...Jesse

Darn my devotion to the truth!

2004-08-06T07:35:17Z

Well, I had a pretty successful night. I started up this LJ account (I've actively avoided doing this in the past, but that's a story for another day), talked to kawaiikitty for a while, all was good.

...But then I had to stumble across the FOX-News webpage.

While this story about Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) condemning of ads critical of Sen. Kerry's Vietnam record made me smile, you have to love McCain after all, my mood was quickly soured by this article. Naturally, only Bill O'Reilly could write something so aggravating as to force me to write my first entry to my journal less than 4 hours before I need to be awake and refreshed. After a crushing defeat for tolerance within America stemming from the addition of a gay-marriage ban to the state constitution of Missouri, Mr. O'Reilly decided to take the moment to challenge the ruling of King County Superior Court Judge William Downing. Judge Downing ruled that the denial of marriage to same-sex couples was a violation of their constitutional rights. Mr. O'Reilly stated the following.

"But, at the same time, the people of Missouri were voting, a lone judge in Washington State was approving gay marriage. Seattle jurist William Downing says he knows what's right for America, and he will change the definition of marriage all by himself. It was the ACLU who petitioned the judge. What a surprise. His ruling will likely be overturned.

That's not the point. The main issue here is that individual judges continue to overrule the will of the people. We simply can't have that in America. Judge Downing is not in charge."

I'm not even sure where to begin here. Let's start with this venom toward the ACLU. The American Civil Liberties Union is an organization dedicated to one single task, protecting the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. How is it that this organization can be so universally hated by members of the right? A better question is why aren't you a card-carrying member? This organization fights every day in courts and communities to protect the rights of every individual person in the United States of America. I am forced to question both the character and the patriotism of any American who does not support such a noble goal. Yes Mr. O'Reilly, that means you.

Secondly, I find one particular line to be almost humorous in it's irony, at least used by the inimitable Bill O'Reilly. "The main issue here is that individual judges continue to overrule the will of the people. We simply can't have that in America." Now before we get into the fundamental flaws of this idea, let me get the standard 2000 election zing out of the way, as much as I hate to do it. Ahem. Tell that to our current president! It seems there was no problem in deciding an election through the supreme court instead of the "will of the people". Now, back on track. It is the role of a judge to uphold the meaning of "the law". If 79% of the people in Nebraska voted to add a state constitutional amendment to ban left-handed people (since we all know Nebraska is a primarily right-handed state), it in no way represents a clear application of (or even concern for) American law. The fact that a majority of states have constitutional amendments in direct conflict with unalienable rights promised to all American citizens should be cause for great concern. Americans have a right to equality, and these states seek to deny that right to homosexual couples. It doesn't require a very broad mind to realize the injustice of the events taking place in America today. These amendments are nothing short of state-sanctioned oppression. If it takes a court to protect the rights of America's citizenry, then so be it. It's a shame Americans need to be protected from themselves.

...Jesse

"Our character...is an omen of our destiny, and the more integrity we have and keep, the simpler and nobler that destiny is likely to be."
George Santayana (1863 - 1952), "The German Mind: A Philosophical Diagnosis"