Something has frustrated me and it’s more than just a personal issue. It’s part of the epidemic of mommy guilt and an unfortunate side-effect of patriarchy, although it may not be immediately obvious that they are related. Continue reading
Politics
On Women Not Wanting Babies, Part II
Yesterday I posted about outside pressure placed on women to have children and the difficulties encountered when deciding whether to have them or not. Today I will explain why I’m writing about women choosing not to have children while I’m currently pregnant.
Why am I writing this after I chose in favor of babies? Continue reading
On Women Not Wanting Babies, Part I
It’s true. For years I did not want kids. Not all that surprising for someone in her twenties, I think. Your life on your own has just begun, you’ve moved out of your parents’ house, finished or are just finishing college, and beginning to build a career. If you are married, it has only been for a few years. You and your husband/wife are still trying to figure who should take out the garbage and how you can get to sleep at night when one of you is always in bed at ten while the other wants to read until midnight. Babies would just complicate things further.
But here’s the problem, once you’re married people ask about babies a lot. Continue reading
Writing My Passion
As terrifying as it is I think it’s about time I start to share some of my writing. I’m hoping that if I put it out there I will be less afraid and that’ll encourage me to write more. To start I’ll share something I wrote on the fly rather than something I’ve been working on for a while, that way if no one likes it I don’t feel as devastated.
The following was what I wrote for a writing exercise at the Foothill College Writers’ Conference that I went to back in July. The exercise was simply to write about something I’m passionate about. I decided to tear through the fear and to do exactly what the exercise asked. I wrote about what I’m most passionate about despite being attacked for it in the past. The result was a stark naked emotional piece that I wrote without hesitation or fear of attack. I wish I could write like that more often. Please, be gentle… Continue reading
Take Away the Pain in My Stomach
You Don’t Live in a Police State? Guess Again.
I’m a bit tardy in posting this due to the holiday, but as it’s important to discuss it and will remain important to remember for years to come, I’m bringing it up again, even though some may unfortunately already feel it’s old news.
Apparently, someone within the Twin Cities local government felt it was within their rights to threateningly enter the homes of innocent people against whom they have no evidence of wrongdoing and proceed to terrorize said people at gunpoint and apparently a judge agreed with them.
Make no mistake, they were indeed terrorizing them. Speaking as someone who has been harassed by a group of police officers, I can tell you without hyperbole that it is terrifying to be forced to listen to the taunting jeers of those with unquestionable authority, especially when they’re armed. I can only imagine how much worse it would be if they forced their way into my home (where I generally hope to feel safe) dressed in riot gear, refused to show a warrant, handcuffed me while I stared speechless at the barrel of a semi-automatic weapon, and forced me to lie on the ground while they referred to each other as the “terminator” or the “exterminator”.
This is NOT a Republican issue and please do not do yourself the disservice of assuming it is. The point is that “democratically” elected officials have the power to do this and we do not believe we have the power to stop them. This is not the behavior of the governing body of a true democracy. This is the behavior of a state in which the government and the people are separate.
Please also do not make the mistake of thinking that this will not happen to you because you are law abiding. Again, there was no evidence against these people. Maybe you assume you will not be the victim of this kind of abuse because you do not put yourself in the position these people did by planning to exercise their rights to assemble and speak freely? Then I ask, are you willing to give up those rights? What happens when you do find yourself faced with a situation in which you feel you need to speak out?
These immoral raids only serve as a reminder that you’re safe, as long as you remain complacent.
The text links in the article I’ve copied below won’t work so check out the original article from Salon.com for more details. Videos are embedded. Continue reading
RAWR! Microsoft Hungry!
Today it was announced that Microsoft is offering to buy Yahoo for $44.6 Billion. I am not a financial analyst or highly trained in business, but when I read, “With Microsoft paying a full price for a broken business where there’s not accelerating organic growth, I can’t make that work at all. I don’t see what they get out of it. The strategy behind the deal was wrong.” (Jon Fisher) the first thing that comes to mind is that Microsoft is simply not concerned about purchasing a successful business. They are interested in removing potential competition.
Then I read that “the Justice Department said it is ‘interested’ in reviewing antitrust issues” and realized that I don’t need to be an expert to question the motivations of a monster corporation that’s been scrutinized in the past. (I originally read about antitrust issues in this article, but upon reloading the page I noticed that sentence had mysteriously disappeared. Is that part now deemed unimportant?)
What kind of changes would MS make with their newly acquired toy?
Continue reading
A little bit of wisdom 