v-bunny

P. Diddy says: VOTE OR DIE! Suckas...

Maybe P. Diddy is pushing the DIE part a little too hard. I mean, for the truly paranoid, there is the chance that a second term for Bush might mean the annihilation of civilization as we know it but scaring the bejezzuz out of people or threatening them with imminent death is no way to go. Or is it.....
The point is, maybe P. Diddy (or as I like to call him, Puffy) has a point. Not enough people vote. The people whose lives are most affected by the outcome of this election don't vote. And that frustrates me. If you know me, you know how I get about politics. I hate politics as a thing because it's so corrupted and it's run by people who care more about being someone important than helping the people it governs. Or at least that's what it feels like most of the time. I mean, look at our current administrations, all out for themselves. Where are we in the equation? That's also why I'm so adamant about people being involved in politics. Voting is the one place where we can tell those in charge what we really want, be it a new president or a new marriage law. But if people don't vote, the politicians are just going to run around doing whatever they want without regard for the people they represent.
I'm sure this is nothing new to any of you, because you guys are intelligent people, right? I know that you're all voting, right? Right? You better, 'cause you'll have no one to blame but yourselves when we all get drafted and sterilized and forced to watch The Passion of the Christ until we BELIEVE. I *shudder* at the prospect.
One thing about tonight's debate between Edwards and Cheney: It's going to be good. Let's get it ON!

DNC to you, too!

So, I haven't experienced any up close and personal DNC moments aside from the event on Monday but people at the bookstore have been abuzz with sightings and stories.
Earlier in the week, while Peter was delivering a book to the Charles Hotel for Hilary Clinton, he saw Bill Clinton in the lobby with an enclave of Secret Service men. Oh, I'm jealous.
There was another Bill Clinton sighting on Tuesday, this time by Molly and Jess who saw him, or at least the very top of his head as he was verilly mobbed by adoring fans, outside the watch store in Harvard Square. They captured the moment on Polaroid, the funny thing being that you can see a ton of other more high tech camera gadgets sticking up above the crowd to do the same.
There was also a rumored lunch date between Katie Couric and Ben Affleck at Leo's the same day. Speaking of Ben Affleck and my never-ending fascination with him, did anyone catch the cover of the Boston Herald today? I mean, can you believe how trashy that paper is? On the cover is a picture of Ben and one of John Kerry's daughters. The caption underneath reads: "Cambridge actor Ben Affleck has a word with Alexander Kerry yesterday at Harvard Square. The Kerry daughters- Alexander and Vanessa- have been vying for Affleck's affection during DNC week and acting like a couple of divas." Isn't that ridiculous? The Herald needs to get a life.
Anyway, Wednesday, Molly walked by Katie Couric and her entourage on her way back from lunch, and Jeanne spied her too as she walked by the bookstore.
The only people I've really had the pleasure of seeing have been pompous, egotistical politicians I don't know, or care to know, who have been streaming into the store and having loud, self-important conversations with their friends or on their phones because someone like me is really going to be impressed by some big shot air head.
I mean, not everyone is like that, but there has been an acute decrease of head space around here ever since the DNC rolled into town.
But you know what, honestly, I don't care that the DNC is here. I actually kinda like that there is something big and flashy happening in this town for a change. I mean, there's an increase in celebrity sightings, the side of politics I'm on is congregating here, there are fireworks like EVERYDAY, and maybe, just maybe, I'm even feeling a little of that ol' patriotism in the air (though you still can't make me where a shirt with a flag on it).
So, it's not a bad thing, really.

An event to remember.

Sometimes the perks of working at the Harvard Book Store, a damn fine bookstore to boot, are worth the stress of working a retail job. Take today, for instance. A high profile event with many famous speakers, people begging for sold out tickets to the point of offering their first-borns in exchange, and me, I waltz right in with a smile and take my seat three rows from the front with my fellow bookstore partners-in-crime. Easy as pie and twice as yummy. We were cosponsoring an event with the Progressive Book Club (an online reading group that caters to the left) at the First Parish Church on Books, Politics, and the Culture War: A Panel Discussion with Joe Conason, Sidney Blumenthal, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Al Franken, and Toni Morrison. Pretty big deal. Joe Conason introduced everybody, not that anyone really needed an introduction.
Toni Morrison quaintly apologized for having to write out her thoughts beforehand, then proceeded to give a very eloquent speech about how race, religion and other issues of import have been changed from being real world issues into shallow distractions from worse problems of the current time.
Sidney Blumenthal dropped the C bomb a lot (he worked for our beloved former President from the South) and all in all, I don’t remember much else about what he said.
Al Franken had everybody rolling in their pews. He recounted several anecdotes about what happened after his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right came out. First he talked about being on one of those news station shows, MSNBC or something, and how the host asked him point blank if he was calling George Bush a liar. Al Franken answered with all deadpan serious, yes. Then he went on to talk about when he got into a tiff with Bill O’Reilley at a book convention and got sued by Fox. He was like, “When the case went to court, Fox was literally laughed out the door, and usually, when you say literally laughed out the door, you really mean figuratively, but this time, I really mean literally. People were laughing so hard, they peed themselves. They had to lay down mats.” It went something like that. Not good with quotes, as you all know. Still, it was really funny. Apparently it’s a story that he has told on his book tour before, but it’s new to me, hence HILARIOUS. I mean, he was on Saturday Night Live (back when it was good) for a reason.
Robert F. Kennedy went on a slightly overlong and stuttery oration on the ills of the Bush environmental policy that grew more passionate and more rousing with each passing minute.
I'm not even going to get into the Q and A part since it was such a sad affair with a weird guy from Billionaires for Bush, a teary old woman from San Fran who didn't really have a question, and maybe one really good question from this youngish guy.
Afterwards, we went out for beer and copious amounts of sushi. Gossip was spilled, stories were told, and a damn good time was had by all. Oh, and by the way. I love the people I work with, I really do, but they do the wackiest things. Like having rock, paper, scissor competitions were the loser has to eat a dog biscuit. Yes, a dog biscuit. Two have been consumed already (not by me!) and lord knows how long this might go on for. Dog biscuits are for dogs, people. Ew~!
Speaking of rock, paper, scissor, there is a hilarious website of a rock, paper, scissor game using pictures from the first day of Saddam Hussein’s trial. It’s so funny. Check it out: Rock, Paper, Saddam!
Tiger claw!!!

Mike, where do you find these things?

Oh my god.
I've just spent the last two hours playing the Bush Game thanks to Mike's recommendation.
It's possible the most awesome, funny, and wrong game I have ever seen. You've got to play it. I finished it in just under an hour but it feels more like 3, my brain hurts. It's got everything: Politics (facts about how the Bush administration fucked up our country), the goddam A-team (I pity the fool), and loads of obscenity (a very creative use of a certain boob). Who can ask for anything more. I'm not going to give anything else away because frankly, I can't even describe it. It's that good.
Warning: Do not start this unless you have a lot of time on your hand. Also, do not play this at your office computer or if you are easily offended or are within sight of people who are easily offended. Also, you'll need a fast computer, preferably with sound. That's all. Okay, now go play!

Ha, in yo' face.

BOSTON -- A federal judge Thursday rejected a last-minute bid by conservative groups to block the nation's first state-sanctioned gay marriages from taking place in Massachusetts on Monday. U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro said the state's high court acted within its authority in interpreting the Massachusetts Constitution. -from Boston.com

So there.

Maybe I'll go down to City Hall Monday mornin' to catch me a bouquet or two.

Live and let live already, damnit.

May 10, 2004 | Boston -- Conservative groups filed a motion in federal court Monday seeking to block the legalization of gay marriage next week, arguing that the state's highest court violated the U.S. Constitution with its landmark November ruling. -from Salon.com

Come on, people. Just leave it the hell alone already. What people do in their private life should not be regulated by the government.
How is allowing two people who love each other to get married, regardless of their sex, going to affect heterosexual marriages?
Here are their excuses:
Erosion of family values. Don't you think a 50% nationwide divorce rate has done that already? This guy makes a good point.
And who's really cheapening the meaning of marriage anyway; from society's mad obsession with minute-long celebrity marriages (Britney and that guy, Drew and Tom Green, Dennis Rodman with himself, er, I mean Carmen Electra, J-Lo and everybody), to turning the sanctity of marriage into frivolous capitalistic entertainment (the Bachelor, Average Joe, Joe Millionaire, MTV, The Littlest Groom (gack!), and god knows what other new "marriage" reality shows that are out there right now that I don't know about, just wrong, the bunch o' them)
Think of the children. Then why is it legal for gay couples to adopt children if they didn't think gay couples would make legitimate parents?
It's unconstitutional. It's the same argument I make above, government should not stick their noses into people's private lives. Plus, I'm sure they didn't give that much thought to it back in 1787 since they had other things to think about, oh, say, like forming a new country and stuff. And what about the whole separation of church and state thing?.
Marriage is a holy union between a man and a woman. Says who's god? What if I'm an atheist, or Buddhist, or Unitarian? When did the government become a scepter for the Christian Right? (Don't start with me, I know….grrr…bush….) Fine, I can't have a church wedding (wasn't planning on having one anyway, being the heathen that I am and all) but what does that have to do with marriage in the strictly secular sense (tax cuts, insurance benefits, joint ownership and responsibility of stuff, the fuzzy feeling of being married to someone you love, the title of commitment for spending the rest of your lives together).
Make me an argument that isn't rooted in homophobia. Then we'll talk.
P.S. Mitt Romney's Mormon, which means he's okay with polygamy, right? Oh, but only the many-wives-for-one-man kind of polygamy. That's in the bible, you say. Hm, yeah, I guess that makes him a misogynist, too.

Ramblings on doing more good.

Lots of sad things going on in the world, political things I will refrain from addressing too much because it's already been said many times over and much better by others. Politics inflame me through and through. Not just the current affairs of politics, but the actual thing itself, how it’s become this uncontrollable behemoth of popularity over ethics. I still want to believe in the people’s ability to change things for the better if they band together on a certain goal. On-line groups have been trying to do this for a while. A heartening example is Moveon.org which has mobilized from the grassroots up to really become...not a powerhouse (yet) but at least, an unavoidable pain in George W’s side. Moveon.org first caught my attention with its Bush in 30 Seconds ad contest back during the Super Bowl. I marveled and delighted in it like a kid’s first time seeing snow. But as you all know, or I hope you all know, CBS was too chickenshit to air it, citing some lame excuse or other while it ran the government’s anti-drug ads, not to mention some really offensive beer ads, without a peep.
Another site I like is StoptheNRA.com which gives me updates on those gun-obsessed Hestonites. Go watch Bowling for Columbine if you need an explanation, then go to StoptheNRA.com and get on the NRA Blacklist. It’s fun!
When I was little, I subscribed to the 3-2-1 Contact Magazine. Today, I still carry a torch for science and environmental issues. I really like WWF (World Wildlife Fund) which has an “action network” that helps you contact your local officials about pressing environmental issues (and they’ve got a cute panda logo). They’ll also ask you for money a lot but if you focus on the other part of it, the petitions and letters, then it’s pretty worth it. I always feel a little hesitant about these non-profit groups because I don’t have money to give them but I still like the idea of them. Amnesty, Habitat for Humanity, Peace Corps (I have a friend, Leslie, who in doing this right now), etc.
Despite all that, on-line petitions and donations only go so far. I spent much of April in an in-the-flesh humanitarian fervor. I went to the March for Women’s Lives down in DC one weekend and I did the Walk For Hunger last weekend. I plan to do more volunteering. There doesn’t seem to be enough time in my life but at this rate, there never will be. It’s no excuse. So, who’s with me?

Tossed salads and scrambled FCCs.

So by now, you've all heard of the whole FCC crackdown on indecency thing sparked by the harmless boob of Ms. Jackson. Many months and increased fines later, it almost feels like Hays is rearing his ugly head again. Recently, the FCC decided to fine everyone under the sun, most notable, Howard Stern for saying rude things on air (as if he hasn’t been doing that for many years and years already). Stern says it’s political censoring since he’s been badmouthing the Christian Right and George W. constantly for months. I feel that everything is a conspiracy and I trust the government about as much as I trust past-the-due-date yogurt, so I’m on Stern’s side on this one. And Stern does have an extensive audience of hardcore fans at his beck and call ( = possible voting population). I’m sure most of you know this by now but I bring it up only because of this hilarious situation the FCC has gotten itself into because of Stern and his vast listeners. You see, Stern decided to use the FCC’s new fervor for attacking indecency on the mother of all afternoon comfort shows, the big O herself, miss Oprah Winfrey. Apparently, during one of her shows in March, the topics of “rainbows?” and “tossed salads?” were thrown around. Huh? Oh, the sexual kind of rainbows and tossed salads. It was a show about teenage sexuality and those are terms for types of oral and anal sex, you see. Uh-huh. Anyway, Stern decried the hypocrisy of the FCC. "If they fine me, they gotta fine Oprah - the darling of the world," said Stern. And so said the 1600 people who wrote to the FCC about it, too. He got those people to complain the hell out of the FCC about Oprah. As you can imagine, the letters sent by Stern’s listeners are pretty hilarious. Besides the ones pretending to be enraged soccer moms, there are some that straight up defy logic. My favorite is the 4th letter.

More women's biznizz...

I spent all of today at the Simmons conference down at the Boston WTC. It was an all-day event on women in business (and to a certain extent, in politics as well) that featured such distiguished speakers as Janet Reno, Jane Fonda, Mariane Pearl, Erin Brockovich, and of course, Whoopi Goldberg. Strange indeed, yet it was alright.
We set up a makeshift bookstore on one side of the conference. I saw a lot of vice presidents, but not a lot of presidents. Everyone was congenial, well except for this one woman who walked up to me and was like, "Hello. I'm a C-E-O and I have a suggestion. Is there someone (more important than you) that I can talk to about it?" and me being the wonderfully diplomatic person that I am said, "Well (Ms. C-E-O), there isn't anyone here but I can pass the message along to the appropriate person (who is more important than me)." So she (rolling her eyes impatiently because she has to talk to this *peasant*) told me, "Well, you see, I don't have time to read (because I'm too important for that) and I really thing that you should have more audiobooks for people like us (smart business people who are way too important to bother with books) for next time. " to which I answered, "(Um, okay, that's your important suggestion?) That one was the only one we could get but I'll be sure to tell Carole, our head buyer, your thought(less)ful suggestion (bi-atch). Have a nice day! (I hope you choke on your buckets of money.)" )
Um, er, back to less ranty posting---->
I actually rather enjoyed it, despite my poor tired feet. All these mostly nice (my above tirade aside) business women full of ambition and drive determined to climb the corporate ladder with their heads held high, it was somewhat inspiring despite my own goals of rocking a fun-filled but dirt-poor life. I already know the cubicle world is not for me but ambition still tugs at my heart from outside the box.
Janet Reno was disappointingly manly in appearance. I don't know, I was maybe hoping that in real life she would look less like the SNL Will Ferrell impression. But I shouldn't belittle the fact that she's done a lot for women in politics.
All through Jane Fonda's speech, I was singing some song in my head that went: Baaaaaaaa.....ba..RELLA!! Baaaaaaa.....ba..RELLLLLLLAAAAAAA!!! (set to hot jungle beats and futuristic whirs) Unfortunately, I believe there is no such song in actual existence so I'm just looney bins and making up songs in my head. But it was a damn good song. Baaaaa....ba.......
I got Erin Brockovich to sign a book to my sister. I don't know why I decided that was a good idea because I think she really liked the movie but maybe it was the exact opposite and I really liked the movie and she didn't like it at all. Either way, now I have this book.
The last person to speak was Whoopi. I just don't know how I feel about her sometimes. I think I have this deep love for her because she is so vocal and so funny but then she'll make these horrible movies. HORRIBLE movies. At least I got to see her this time. I missed her when she was at the March for Women's Lives last weekend. Today, she told a bunch of jokes about menopause (this was a women's conference) but she also emphasized the importance of women stepping up to become leaders of the world. Okay, I like Whoopi.
So, what did we learn today?
Meeting famous people at conventions is expensive if you don't work at one of these things. ($600!!!! I heard. No wonder they didn't want us eating their food, though we did it anyway.)

Choice is a choice, people!

I mean that by the way Pro-Lifers seem to view Pro-Choicers, as if everyone who supports abortion is going to go out and get one. It's Pro-Choice, the freedom to chose the road you take, the decisions you make, the life you lead. I want those Christian zealots out of my ass. Pro-Choice means responsibility, knowledge, and safety as opposed to ignorance, ignorance, ignorance. You can't tell me that putting hundreds of million of dollars into abstinence programs will solve STDs or unwanted pregnancies.

Experts in sex education and AIDS prevention say that in a country where the vast majority of people lose their virginity before their wedding night, these lessons aren't just distorted, they're dangerous. "To promote abstinence-only in the era of AIDS is to promote ignorance. It's inexplicable," says James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a nonprofit organization devoted to sex education. Some abstinence-only programs, like more comprehensive sex education, have been shown to delay the age at which teenagers first have sex -- which almost everyone agrees is a good thing. Yet studies also show that when teenagers from abstinence-only programs do have sex, they're less likely than others to use protection. Perhaps that's why the teen pregnancy rate in Texas remains one of the highest in the country, despite the abstinence-only policies Bush pushed as governor. -02/24/04 Salon.com

Back to rally.

These were some of the things I saw:
Over a million passionate women, men and children marching for choice.
More puns on the word "bush" then can be counted, including my own: "My bush is not yours, Bush!" which I wrote on the back of my sign.
2 little girls (maybe 3 and 5 years old?) sitting on the ledge of a wall along the street route holding a sign that said "Women with attittude!" They were showered with love.
Republicans for Choice, Republican Catholic Surgeons for Choice, Don't Mess with Texas Women for Choice, Catholic Parishes for Choice. They got a lot of cheers.
I narrowly missed seeing Sandra Berndhart (damn it!). She was having her picture taken with some fans and I ducked out of the way not knowing who it was but my sister lagged behind and then ran up to me after asking me if I saw her. I quickly turned around to search for her but my sister said that she must have run off when she saw the fanatic looks in my sister and her friend's star-struck eyes.
I didn't really see any of the famous speakers since there were so many people and everyone had a sign and I'm short.
I talked for a while with this woman who was working with a group called Chronicle Quilt of Outrage and Hope who travels from rally to rally with squares of muslim cloth to be decorated by people who want to voice their concerns, anger and messages of peace on a national quilt of protest. I made a more environmentally minded one that said, "Save the trees, Burn Bush" and drew some lovely trees on it. If you want to participate, just click on that website above.
What else I saw:
Lots of college students, which meant, drumming circles!!!, idealistic hippies who are vegans and mean well, dreads, head kerchiefs, hemp everything, a group of 80's dancing queens in black and hot pink and fishnets, $3 bottles of water, the word vagina a lot, dust in more places than I care to divulge, the hope diamond (we stole into the Smithsonian for an educational break), a place called "Wings n' more Wing's" (exactly as gramatically as), and too many things to adequately describe here.
Though the majority were young women, there was a fair share of older women, men and many babies (with Babies for Choice and Babies against Bush signs) and even dogs with Pro-Choice shirts on. I'd say that there was a fair mix of multi-generations there. Good for everyone.
For some much needed humor, there was a group of about 10 men, dressed in flowery dresses and curly grey wigs wearing white gloves and clutching handbags with a huge banner that read "Church Ladies for Choice" flanked by amused demonstrators as they marched by a group of stone faced pro-lifers shut off to the side of the road by steel blockades. Go men.

I am home now, happy to have gone and hopeful that it made a difference.
Let's do this again but for other issues, like the environment, the war, the upcoming election. We proved that with a little anger and a little courage, we can show up and participate.
Next time, I want to see you all there, perhaps at the Democratic National Convention in July. I hear it's in our own backyard.