I am willing to say it. American’s are the most hypocritical bunch. Maybe in the world. If we’re not, we are trying hard to beat out whoever is number one, and we won’t rest until that happens. Do you hear me, all of you Glenn Beck’s and Sarah Palin’s and Rush Limbough’s out there. All of you religious zealots. Anyone who feels that it is ok to separate us because of our skin, our sex, our religion, or desire to be intimate with another human needs to leave this country. That’s right, I said you leave. Not the people who wish to retain the rights set aside by the constitution and the fore fathers.
Let’s set aside the fact that America was founded by white men on the backs of slaves for the benefit of keeping all the money that would have been going to the Crown and the Church of England. Despite the sketchy beginnings, the fact that the words were written to say the following:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,[1] promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
How about our rights in the First Amendment:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
How is it in this day and age, after we have proven that the Earth is rotating a sun, and not the center of the universe; after we have proven the evolution takes place, no matter where the starting point was; that life may very well exist beyond our own planet; that we can still have shock and awe and issues with a black man as a president, women in the work place, or that another human can love another human because they are humans. A human can love a human because they are human. A person is complimented by another human and they feel safe and comforted by the other person. You’re telling me that we can establish in writing the fact that people are protected by law, but not protected by our actions as a nation?
A man is dead by suicide in New York, a Rutger’s University student, because two other students broadcast him having sex with another man on the internet without his knowledge or consent. If that had been a man with a woman, the roommate would have given him a high five, but instead he was humiliated publicly, and now he is dead because he felt that he had no where else to go in life but out. A thirteen year old boy hung himself in California because he was taunted for being gay. New York, one of the oldest states in American, the melting pot of all melting pots, the home of Ellis Island, the hub of all people coming to America for nearly two hundred years. Yet with all the history and diversity, there is still enough disregard and hate to send a man to his death. California, all I need to say to you is You Should Be Ashamed. When you’re thirteen and the only way out is death, you have failed as a state, a country, or any type of unified community.
What the hell is your problem, America? Are you too distracted by your TV and your desire to buy more shit that the welfare of our own people to feel safe and loved is too much of a burden?
Patrick’s Story from Galaxy Sailor on Vimeo.
Aaron Ridings and why Marriage Matters from Galaxy Sailor on Vimeo.
BY SIGOURNEY WEAVER
September 30, 2010
Coral reefs have always been sources of wonder and imagination for me — teeming with unbelievable life, from the beautiful, to the bizarre and the powerful, all living together in a mysterious underwater world. In recent years, however, scientists have realized this world is threatened by a one-two punch on the horizon from carbon dioxide emissions that could be fatal.
Last week, the New York Times reported that scientists fear record high temperatures may cause large-scale loss of the world’s coral reefs — with indications that climate change is the culprit.
Coral is extremely sensitive to heat, and when temperatures spike for a few days it can cause massive die-offs. This process has been dubbed “coral bleaching” because these once vibrant, colorful reefs are transformed into stark white graveyards.
Scientists point to coral as a canary in the coalmine for climate change — and their reaction to increased water temperatures isn’t the only indication that carbon emissions are reaching dangerous levels. Last year I narrated a short documentary from the Natural Resources Defense Council called Acid Test that explored another one of the seas’ warning signs: ocean acidification.
Like increased water temperatures, ocean acidification occurs because of increased carbon emissions in the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels. These emissions not only cause temperatures — in the air and the water — to heat up, they are absorbed by ocean waters where they turn into carbonic acid.
The increased acidity of our oceans threatens the creatures that form the base of the food chain in the sea, from plankton and shellfish, to — you guessed it — coral reefs. If they perish, what happens to the hundreds of thousands of species further up the chain?
Scientists aren’t sure. But they can say with assurance: if we continue burning fossil fuels as we are now, we will double the ocean’s acidity by the end of the century. And while it will be months before scientists know the full extent of increased water temperatures on coral reefs — this year is already only the second year of global coral bleaching on record, due to extreme temperatures.
Add the recent oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico into the picture and the seas are sending us a clear message: we must break our addiction to fossil fuels. We must transition to clean energy that can’t spill, run out, destroy entire communities & economies, or kill off these creatures and places of wonder.
The Senate’s failure to act on either climate or the immediate needs of Gulf Coast communities shows just how tight a stranglehold Big Oil has on Congress. The nation will continue to suffer until Congress breaks this stranglehold. Congress needs to return to the task of passing clean energy and climate legislation that will put Americans back to work, reduce our reliance on foreign oil and create a healthier future for us all — above and below the water’s surface.
So many things to say and catch up on. Why do I so infrequently bombard my own blog. I need to punish this thing with more frequency and unabashed goodness.
So, I got to shake hands and say hello to Guillermo del Toro last night. For those that don’t know, he is the screen writer and director for Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, Blade 2, Hellboy 1 and 2, and the most important for me – Pan’s Labyrinth. To say that I was (internally) giddy as a school girl would be understating the massive amount of giddy that was inside of me. It was contained well, but the well was full.
It was an amazing two hours of question and answer and discussion by one of the most amazing and influential directors of our time. He is on the road promoting his new book, The Fall, which is book two in The Strain series. I was introduced to The Strain but didn’t get though it all, not because I wasn’t captivated, but because I was going through some tough emotional times, and focus was at a minimum. With seeing him last night, I got a signed copy of The Fall, so now I will read The Strain and move on quickly. He is an amazing guy, for no other reason that he seemed like the perfect person to hang out with, drink beer, discuss faerie lore or politics or religion, and just have a blast with. He took a shirt from The Last Stand on it, so here is to hope that he sees it!
Speaking of faerie tales, I have found a sudden fascination with certain aspects of The Field Guide to Demons, and links to things I have been writing and creatures that inhabit the pages and the layers of many worlds. Coupled with my reading of The Sandman, my brain seems to be weaving a story that I am pretty compelled by. Details as it unfolds to me.
Over at The Last Stand, we had a winner for the Xbox 360 competition we had going. Justin Turner, aka @EyeOfCthulhu, won our Dead Rising 2 game and will no doubt have to keep his eyes open for snipers sent by the losers. Justin already sleeps with one eye open, so it’s not new to him. A huge thanks to all that watch and participated!
On the Koldacst.tv front, we were the number one show for the day a couple of times. We seem to be locked in a battle with SpellFury for some top honors and numbers. Episode 8 comes out today, which concludes our release run with Koldcast. They were fantastic to us, and I wish everyone to go over there and watch all that they have to offer.
I am sure there is more to say, but I am going to spread it out a little bit!
Thanks from Galaxy Sailor!