From CNN:

CINCINNATI (Reuters) -- A car commercial proclaiming a jihad on the U.S. auto market and offering "Fatwa Fridays" with free swords for the kids is offensive and should not be aired, Muslim leaders said on Sunday.

Um, ya think?

Other parts of this article that made me chuckle:

"They are planning on launching a jihad on the automotive market and their representatives would be wearing burqas ... ," said Adnan Mirza, director of the Columbus office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "They mentioned the pope in there and also about giving rubber swords out to the kiddies -- really just reprehensible-type comments."

I know it's wrong, but I just can't help but laugh at the absurdity of even thinking of running a commercial like this. I'm also laughing a little at the idea of the sales guys wearing burqas handing out rubber swords to kids. But just a little.

Otis sent me this map today, and I found it interesting. Their choice and use of icons did give me a chuckle. I'm feeling appropriately guilty about that.

You can see that things are pretty tense along the Texas/ Arkansas and Louisiana border, and clearly the Dallas/Ft. Worth area is the hot bed of intolerance here in Texas. I wonder why that is? My final observation...one group in Dallas actually calls themselves the TCB Hate Crew, a racist skinhead group according to the map. I'm surprised they can even recognize what their motivation is. The question is, do they know why?

I was going to write this tirade on the ludicracy of our political campaign and voting system, but I think this pretty much sums it up.

I have never spent as much time researching candidates and their platforms as I did this time. Sadly, I didn't feel any more prepared to vote than if I had just walked into this election blindly. OK...that might be a slight exageration. I was certain on my choice for governor and a few of the state and national representatives, but that's about it.

As I stood at the voting machine yesterday, I was horrified to realize that I have no idea what most of the state and local positions do. What the heck does the Agricultural Commissioner do? Or the County Commissioner? I don't know, and if I don't even know what they do, how can I be qualified to vote for them? I decided I'm not, so I passed over those positions.

Here-in lies part of the problem. Most people don't have a clue what their elected officials do beyond the highest levels of leadership (i.e. Governor, Congressperson, etc), but they cast a vote for these positions anyway. Is that smart? I don't think so. How can you possibly be selecting the person who is best for the job if you don't know what the job does in the first place?

The other part of the problem is people don't think about why their opinion is what it is. They have no substantially arguable basis for how they believe the government should be run or why they agree or disagree with certain social issues. So many people just tow the party line, drink the proverbial kool-aid. Most people in the US identify with a certain political party based on factors like religion, race, etc., but they never stop to wonder if that party's opinions are truly their own opinions. It scares me to realize how little people in this country actually think about the reasons why they vote the way they do. If they did, our political system would be very different, and the monsters the Republican and Democratic parties have become would quickly die out.

Hmmm...I guess I did write that tirade after all.

The arguments for global warming are crap because they rest on the fallacy that our planet is stagnant and unchanging. If you believe the changes in our planet/climate are majority our fault, then you're a moron.

This guy does a better job of backing up his argument, and he's much more eloquent. But it's what I totally would have written had I taken the time to do so :)

The Federal Justice Department is investigating the Austin Police Department for use of excessive force and "to determine whether APD is systemically violating the Constitution of the United States." After my experience with the APD yesterday, I would have to say they are most certainly violating the Constitution and, if left to their own devices, would proceed to turn this city into a police state. They are certainly well on their way.

Yesterday all Otis and I wanted to do was take Abi to the creek to swim and play and generally get her energy out. We took her to a park I've been taking her to since she was a puppy. She even learned to swim at this park. But when we arrived we were shocked and thoroughly angered to see at least 15 police officers searching people's belongings and writing tickets for whatever they could find. Last time I looked officers had to have probable cause to search someone's belongings for illegal items. Most of the tickets were being written for possession of alcohol, which is not allowed at that particular park. But every person we talked to said they had been searched...even people who had no coolers. Is simply being at a park probable cause for a search? I should hope that we are allowed to hang out at a park with the reasonable expectation that we won't be searched by the police.

I had my own personal run-in with an officer after she saw Abi off her leash. And even though I promptly put her on her leash after the officer asked me to, she very angrily proceeded to ask for my ID, which I did not have with me. She told me to wait around to "finish our discussion" while she (presumably) went to get paperwork to write me a ticket. Since she didn't seem like the kind of person I was going to be able to reason with, Otis and I decided to high tail it out of there and avoid a ticket.

The thing that really bothered me about this officer was her attitude. She was VERY angry with me...for having my dog off the leash and for not having my ID on me when I was wearing nothing but a swimsuit. Abi wasn't hurting anyone and was literally within arms reach of me. I truly believe that if I had given her any attitude at all this officer would not have hesitated to throw me on the ground. She looked like she wanted to beat me. If she is any example of what our venerable Austin police officers are like, no wonder they're being investigated.

Today's news brings yet another story of a man shot and killed outside a night club by an Austin police officer. The clencher? This officer has a history of excessive force and has even been sued in the past. Who is policing our police? Why do we assume that just because these people have badges they are better people than the rest of us? Where are the checks and balances in our law enforcement system? Clearly one is seriously lacking here in Austin.

Sometimes in this cruel world there are brief moments of justice.

Click here.

I'm currently listening to Michael Vick's press conference, and this is what he literally just said:

"I'm upset and disappointed with myself...I found Jesus, and I'm going to have to ask him for forgiveness."

I found Jesus??? Give me a break.

He's also referring to himself in the 3rd person.

What a tool, to say the least.

Dear US Media,

I. HAVE. A. BRAIN.

Sincerely,
Me

Today I voted, and for the first time since I've been old enough to vote, and also probably for a long while after this date, it actually felt like my vote counted. It was pretty exciting.

Also for the very first time I voted Democratic, effectively turning my back on everything I was raised to believe. Or so my parents would say. Actually, I think my parents know I lean more Democratic than they would like. They blame it on the fact that I have lived in Austin for the last 6 years and Austin's evil liberals have converted me over to the dark side. I actually blame it on the water.

And finally, for the very first time, I feel a sense of pride in taking part in this country's election system. It is for this reason that I think every state should hold primaries on the same day, because every person should feel like their vote makes a difference.

Whatever you're doing today...Vote! Because today it counts!*
*Unless you're voting Republican. We all know McCain's going to get it.

I just got back from our precinct's Democratic caucus. We voted and caucused at a nearby retirement home, and boy were they ever not ready for the number of people who came out for the caucus. All in all 454 people showed up and voted in the caucus (click here for a brief explanation of what all this means). There were so many of us crammed into the common area of the retirement home that the manager kicked us outside for fear that the fire marshal would come by and issue a fine. So, we caucused outside.

The outcome of the caucus was 159 votes for Clinton and 295 votes for Obama, meaning 42 delegates went to the Obama camp and 21 went to the Clinton camp. Otis and I are 2 of the Obama delegates. I'm pretty excited. I've never been this politically involved. I think it's a bit funny that for all intents and purposes I was a Republican yesterday, and today I not only voted Democratic, but I signed up to represent Obama for our precinct at the March 29th county convention. I've never felt this passionately about a presidential race, and I think there will be few other political races in my lifetime that will be this meaningful and contentious. I'm excited to be a part of it, and even more hopeful of where this could take our country.

I just pulled up CNN.com to check the news (and also maybe to make sure no planes headed to the Albany, NY area had crashed. Maybe.) and I am not even kidding, this was one of the headlines:

U.S. Report: China abusing human rights

Whoa! Really? And all this time here I was thinking that China one of those civil rights appreciating Communist countries.

This story makes me so sad. I'm sure a lot of you may not know who Steven Curtis Chapman is, but he was one of my favorite Christian artists back in the day. I haven't followed him or his career for years. He is an incredibly talented musician and can play pretty much any instrument there is, and for that and many other reasons, I had a lot of respect for him as an artist and a person. It seems weird to me to feel so sad for a family I don't even know, but I guess we all have weird "celebrity" connections like that. Anywho, I definitely feel for him and his family, and can't imagine what they must be going through right now.

This story on CNN is, well, I don't believe there are words to describe how disgusting and appalling it is.

This paragraph especially blows my mind:

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, which oversees the hospital, released a statement Tuesday saying it was "shocked and distressed by this situation. It is clear that some of our employees failed to act based on our compassionate standards of care."

I'm sorry, but I believe it is clear that your employees failed to act as HUMAN BEINGS. The lack of compassion in the above statement only serves to explain why the employees acted the way they did. I can not believe institutions like this still exist in this country.