I know. I need to find something else to complain about than Texas. I’m getting over it too.

Texas, Texas, Texas. That’s all I b*tch about anymore, & there’s plenty more to complain about. But I read 2 tweets almost back to back today about the most ridiculous things… in Texas of course!

So, 2 stories:

TX Teacher Who Accused Girl Of Grieving Over Bin Laden Not Returning To Work

The Texas high school teacher who allegedly told a Muslim girl in his ninth grade algebra class that “I bet that you’re grieving” over the death of Osama bin Laden will not be returning to work, a school spokesperson tells TPM.

The teacher was suspended last week after the girl complained about his comments to her, which came the day after bin Laden was killed by American forces in Pakistan. The girl’s name has been kept out of reporting on the case, and a spokesperson for the Clear Creek Independent School District would not immediately release the name of the teacher to TPM.

The incident took place at Clear Brook High School near Houston. Parents and fellow students were outraged by the teacher’s remarks to the girl, which allegedly included him calling bin Laden “your uncle.”

No real confirmation that the teacher had been fired, just at least suspended. So, some ppl realize this is wrong.

Texas Senate passes bill allowing concealed handguns on college campuses – via Dallas News

The proposal, generally opposed by higher education officials across the state, would allow Texans with a concealed handgun license to carry a gun into any buildings on a college campus, including classrooms. It would also allow students with a license to keep a handgun in their dormitories…

I dunno. That just sounds awfully dangerous to me. Guns in dorm rooms. I just remember that dorm rooms were never locked; and undergrads (who were the common dorm-dwellers) liked to get tipsy.

Homophobic behavior. That’s what we’re going to talk about. B/c I read this incredible op-ed by a gay former NBA player John Amaechi. I’m not a huge b-ball fan, but I do watch some games. And I know what a huge star Kobe is.

Just read the article. It’s basically everything I would say, but coming from someone “in it”. If the NBA accepts Kobe’s appeal of his fine, they’re basically saying that they don’t care about the LGBT community, & these kids dying here in the US.

Then, I wanted to share this video of Alan Simpson (former senator, R-WY) on Hardball earlier this week. It’s a minute & 10 secs. Watch it. I’ve put the transcription underneath.

SIMPSON: Who the hell is for abortion? I don’t know anybody running around with a sign that says, “Have an abortion! They’re wonderful!” They’re hideous, but they’re a deeply intimate and personal decision, and I don’t think men legislators should even vote on the issue.

Then you’ve got homosexuality, you’ve got Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. We have homophobes on our party. That’s disgusting to me. We’re all human beings. We’re all God’s children. Now if they’re going to get off on that stuff—Santorum has said some cruel things—cruel, cruel things—about homosexuals. Ask him about it; see if he attributes the cruelness of his remarks years ago. Foul.

Now if that’s the kind of guys that are going to be on my ticket, you know, it makes you sort out hard what Reagan said, you know, “Stick with your folks.” But, I’m not sticking with people who are homophobic, anti-women, moral values—while you’re diddling your secretary while you’re giving a speech on moral values? Come on, get off of it.

OMG, you have to go over to the Huffington Post & check out this article by Galia Slayen!

Click on the pic below to go to the article. She took Barbie’s measurements & translated them to a life-size doll!

I want you to go over & actually read through what she wrote. She organized the first National Eating Disorders Awareness Week at her college. She mentions her time being anorexic & that skirt on the Barbie used to be her own.

But here are some scary stats she mentions at the end of her article:

• There are two Barbie dolls sold every second in the world.

• The target market for Barbie doll sales is young girls ages 3-12 years of age.

• A girl usually has her first Barbie by age 3, and collects a total of seven dolls during her childhood.

• Over a billion dollars worth of Barbie dolls and accessories were sold in 1993, making this doll big business and one of the top 10 toys sold.

• If Barbie were an actual women, she would be 5’9″ tall, have a 39″ bust, an 18″ waist, 33″ hips and a size 3 shoe.

• Barbie calls this a “full figure” and likes her weight at 110 lbs.

• At 5’9″ tall and weighing 110 lbs, Barbie would have a BMI of 16.24 and fit the weight criteria for anorexia. She likely would not menstruate.

• If Barbie was a real woman, she’d have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.

• Slumber Party Barbie was introduced in 1965 and came with a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 lbs with a book entitled “How to Lose Weight” with directions inside stating simply “Don’t eat.”

While I’m saddened by these statistics & that we raise our girls w/ such a priority of what a select group of designers (fashion & doll) & editors define as beauty; I applaud young women like Galia Slayen. The fact that she’s doing this gives me hope for our next generation of little ladies!

Guess who was sick of always having to buy a fresh batch of cilantro everytime she wanted to cook Indian food. Then, always felt horrible having to throw out half the batch because it would go bad before she could use it up?

So, on Sunday, I bought a cilantro PLANT! Yup, fresh cilantro whenever I want!

On the care label, it said it requires “8+ hours of sunlight daily”.

Um…. it’s been cloudy/rainy everyday since, & will likely continue all week.

Another reason I really like The Big Bang Theory.
Their theme song.

There used to be a time when we had some really great theme songs that actually related to the show itself. Like The Greatest American Hero:

I love the Big Bang Theory. It’s funny & it’s all about “geeks”. I think “geeks” are cool.

Big Bang Theory is on at 8pm EST, on CBS.

So, galliano is now lower case. It used to be a capitalized last name. Esp back when I respected & adored him. I had posted back in Oct. 2006 about him: House of Galliano.

However, I cannot support galliano. He was a twisted mind. Which is what I loved about his work. But, unfortunately, there was bigotry in that twisted-osity. Which I cannot stand for.

Zero Tolerance for bigotry. For Reals.

He made some anti-Semitic remarks. Video below. This video is a previous video that just came out now when he was arrested last Thurs for other anti-Semitic remarks. These aren’t isolated instances w/ him.

I have no tolerance for bigots. Remember when Mel Gibson went off a few years ago? Then, the next year or so, he released Apocalypto? Well, a bunch of ppl went to go see it still. But not me. And I haven’t watched anything w/ Mel Gibson involved since then. Even though rentals w/ him have come into my & my parent’s house, I wouldn’t sit through them.

Related: that’s how you slap a racist diva.
I had written about Brigitte Bardot back in June 2008, when she was convicted of this type of behavior 5 times in about 10 yrs.

Updated 3/2/2011
Just about every other country has Hate Speech laws. These are mostly laws against inciting hatred toward a ppl for religious or racial reasons. The keep the peace & help prevent riots.

But not the US. We’ve got that 1st Amendment.

The one that allows the God-fearin folk of the Westboro Baptist Church to go protest at the funerals of US troops.

The same troops that gave their lives (their lives… let’s take a moment & realize how important that is… their l i v e s), just so that bigots can say sh*t about them after they are no longer with us. How sickening is that?

Today, the “Supreme Court upholds Westboro Baptist Church’s right to stage anti-gay protests at funerals of U.S. troops.”. Well, of course they did. First Amendment, baby.

No. The most hurtful speech should NOT be allowed near such a private event. Something like this should be considered a private area, & they should get in trouble for trespassing if they come close enough to disrupt the funeral itself.

I know there are laws against saying BOMB in airports, right? & yet, it’s ok for ppl to yell out the N-word (Nazi or Nigger). It’s fine for our politicians to dress up as Nazi’s & go to a theme party. If someone told me there was a party where ppl were dressing up as KKK members…. um… I would decline w/ a LOT of words as to why. & yet, these are the ppl we chose to elect into power?!?!

It’s NOT ok to hate. It’s not.

I’m really shocked at Galliano though. I mean, I’m sure he heard some hatred homophobic speech growing up. & yet, he can still have hate for a ppl embedded into him?

I don’t think I mentioned it here, but last September, I was struggling w/ whether or not I should get a flu shot.

Most ppl in my life would get a flu shot. My boss & his wife would get one every year, & they’ve always been healthy throughout flu season. I am around a LOT of students on a daily basis, the most likely demographic to get H1N1. Plus, I travel a LOT in October, the highest month to contract the flu. Add to that, the fact that in the last 6 yrs, I’ve had meningitis & walking pneumonia.

So, last Fall, I caved, & got the flu shot. They said this shot was for the “regular” flu & H1N1.

If you know me (in life or via this page), you know how paranoid I am! I don’t trust the Feds. I believe they push drugs through in thinking of economy over health.

Why else would all these drugs be pulled off the shelves 5 yrs after they’re touted as the next great elixir, b/c they’re killing ppl? You’ve seen those commercials on tv by the lawyers: “If you or a loved one had taken “drug x” & are now experiencing blindness, heart palpitations, or whatever else, please contact us.”

Anyway, I don’t trust those those cats. But I did it. I got the flu shot last Sept.

And now…. I’ve gots the flu. Wouldn’t it figure. Apparently some strain that wasn’t covered by the flu shot.

In other news, I also gave it to Mr. T, who has no health insurance. So, we spent yesterday in bed watching movies. We saw Scott Pilgrim vs the World & The American. I liked Scott Pilgrim; it was cute, quirky, funny, had visual effects like a graphic novel, & the music was fun. Did not care for The American, like the last 3 George Clooney movies I’ve seen. Right from the beginning, when you see him steal a car & start driving down from Sweden; the music sucked. It was like the music was scored by some 19-yr old who’s used to scoring for their buddy’s indie film. [& by "buddy's indie film", I mean the kid running around with his dad's video camera, w/ no budget.]

How impossible is our gov’t being right now?

They’re trying to cut the budget. Ok, cut the budget. But don’t defund or eliminate domestic programs that elevate Americans. But they’re basically about to shutdown.

Programs eliminated – Fed funding for:
- Americorps
- PBS & NPR
- Planned Parenthood [links to sign petitions]

Programs cut:
- border security

President Obama had a 2011 budget proposal. But it was never enacted. Why do we elect ppl into office, then not listen to anything they say, and then want to vote them and/or their party out of office, b/c nothing’s getting done?

Some ppl (myself included) count on NPR for information & to stir discussion, to hear about the culture (domestic & foreign). PBS offers informative programing to both adults & children.

Planned Parenthood offers affordable (or free) health services to men & women. STD testing, treatment, education (about the consequences of sex), access to see an OBGYN.

Then, I just read that the Defense Department sponsors NASCAR racers. Apparently, 1/3 of the Army’s recruits are 1st contacted through Nascar.

How do you spell Nascar anyway? Is it NASCAR, like the letters stand for something? Though the letters in scuba stand for “self contained underwater breathing apparatus”, but it’s just a regular lower case word now. Or, is it NasCar, like Nasty Car? I guess I could google it, but consider it an “opportunity” to show off your knowledge of it.

Back to the Defense Department. Though the Army uses Nascar for recruitment, the Navy & Marines don’t feel that a presence at Nascar is necessary. Maybe they feel the clientele at this event wouldn’t pass their entry exams?

If they stopped sponsoring Nascar drivers, it would save the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars! I’m sure the 1/3 of ppl that the Army got via Nascar, they prob woulda gotten anyway b/c those are prob the ppl that joined so they can shoot at stuff.

Nascar is one very specific demographic of ppl.

PBS is useful to ALL Americans. Let’s get our priorities straight.

Update 4/8/2011:
Check this out! Click on tweet to read article & see the graph!

The topic of Ugg boots came up this morn at work.

My office-mate said like 8 sheep are killed for each pair. So, I (of course) googled it, and this is what I found….

“They ship sheep on a 7 week journey in a large cramped room. Most sheep die from starvation from sickness and confusion or trampled on. The people on board treat the sheep like crap, kicking them, stamping on them. They slit their throats and cut off their legs alive infront of the other sheep. They cut deep flesh from their tail area without pain relief. Thats all I’ll say. I’m sorry if you are disturbed but I want people to stop buying wool from Australia”

Just thought I’d share b/c I was shocked & appalled & you should be too.

So, it hit me this morning.

Librarians are the kings & queens of enablers.

Think about it, if you go up to a librarian, & ask them to help you w/ anything. Seriously, anything. They will help you.

Go up to a librarian & say any of the following:

• “I was hoping to compare foot sizes of different types of dogs”.
• “I need to find all the variations of grapes & how many of them are used in wine.”
• “What percentage of pregnant teens deliver in high schools?”
• “Are the different nose sizes of monkeys/apes/gorillas, in anyway related to nose sizes of various races of ppl?”

The answer you’ll get is always “oh how interesting! Let’s see where you can find materials on that!”

They’re always so sweet, so supportive of whatever weird thing you hit them with. And they never seem shocked.

Enablers.