Glenn Beck annoyed me greatly

Which probably isn't surprising. What an ass. You don't have to be Jewish to recognise how wrong this is, posing Michael Bloomberg (who is Jewish) in an armband giving a Nazi salute in a graphic before the NRA national convention.

Jewish groups furious after Glenn Beck depicts Bloomberg doing Nazi salute

Abraham Foxman, a Holocaust survivor and national director of the Anti-Defamation League said that Mr Beck's implication that Mr Bloomberg is turning New York into a Nazi-like state was 'outrageous, insensitive and deeply offensive on so many levels.'

'Glenn Beck should know better,' he added. 'He has drawn similar inappropriate analogies to the Holocaust before. We wish he would stop trivializing the history of the Holocaust to score partisan political points.'

and then there was this...

Sharpton And Guests Take On ‘Stunning, Offensive’ ‘Zombie’ Obama Target From NRA Convention

MSNBC’s Al Sharpton went off on Zombie Industries Monday evening for displaying a life-size target that bears a striking resemblance to President Obama at this past weekend’s NRA convention in Houston, Texas. The NRA did eventually ask the company to remove the figure, nicknamed “Rocky,” from its booth, but it is still for sale, for $89.95, on their website.

I don't agree with Al Sharpton a lot, but he was dead right on this--these are racist and offensive target models that look like a sitting president, where people are encouraged to shoot at the target, which spills 'blood' when hit. Would we have a zombie George W Bush, or Abraham Lincoln, for example? No, of course not. Part of the patriotism that I was taught as a child includes respecting the President of the United States (even if you don't agree with the current holder of office). It's not about selling people targets that look like the president in preparation for that armed rebellion that many people on the right seem to think they're going to be part of soon. It scares me that people holding such extremist views happen to also often have guns, and makes me feel less safe as a citizen. It scares me just how many whackadoos are out there who still think Obama is a Muslim, that armed rebellion will be necessary to 'take back the country', etc., etc. Yet everyday the President still manages to actually carry on despite being reviled by these people.

Yay!!!!!!!

I am so proud of my President for coming out on the side of marriage based on love, not gender. Go Obama! I just hope it doesn't hurt his re-election chances, but then, it's better to hold to a principle that's right strongly than waver due to what other people think.

Obama voices his support for gay marriage

While the nation appears roughly divided on the issue, the political cross-currents are tricky.
Some top aides argued that gay marriage is toxic at the ballot box in competitive states like North Carolina and Virginia because, as Tuesday's vote demonstrated, the issue remains a reliable way to fire up rank-and-file Republicans. It also could open Obama up to Republican criticism that he is taking his eye off the economy, voters' No. 1 issue.

Other Democratic supporters claim Obama's decision could energize huge swaths of the party, including young people. He also could appeal to independent voters, many of whom back gay marriage, and he could create an area of clear contrast between himself and his Republican rival as he argues that he's delivered on the change he promised four years ago.
Obama touched on that in the interview.

He said he sometimes talks with college Republicans on his visits to campuses, and while they oppose his policies on the economy and foreign policy, "when it comes to same sex equality, or, you know, sexual orientation, that they believe in equality. They are more comfortable with it."

View the interview here.

'Where the Wild Things Are'

as read by President Obama--



I hope somewhere, Maurice Sendak is enjoying a 'wild rumpus', or at least is not lonely for someone who loves him. Rest in peace.

Good night.

Not bad

Maybe we should make all the candidates sing, like some sort of 'American Idol' contest, and they get points for that...



..oh, wait, someone might take me up on that.

Finally, a cause I can get behind in terms of sending military advisors

I've been following the actions of the so-called 'Lord's Resistance Army' for a bit now and I am horrified by their tactics and the pain, suffering, and death they bring in the name of Christ. Apparently Rush Limbaugh thinks that they are nice Christians because they say they are, rather than the brutal thugs they are. If you are not familiar with the LRA, you might want to do some Googling. In the meantime, this video does a lot to give you an idea of how children fare in the LRA.

Dear Mr. Limbaugh: Evelyn's Appeal from Strongheart on Vimeo.

Yay!

Getting "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Done

As of September 20th, 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' is history.

The President sent the email below to individuals and organizations who worked hard to make this victory possible.

Last year, I visited Afghanistan. I was there to thank our men and women in uniform, the brave Americans who have given so much on behalf of this country and who make me so proud to be Commander-in-Chief. At one of America’s bases there, I was shaking hands and taking pictures, walking along a pretty tight crowd of service members. A young woman in uniform pulled me into a hug. She leaned in close so I could hear her over the noise and whispered, “Get ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ done.”

I said to her, “I promise you I will.”

A few weeks later, after a struggle that lasted almost two decades, I signed a law to repeal this policy. I signed it with absolute confidence in our men and women in uniform, in their professionalism and in their capacity to adapt to this change, just as they have adapted and grown stronger with other changes throughout our history. And I signed this repeal knowing that our military would be stronger – and our nation safer – for the service of patriotic gay men and women who would no longer have to live a lie in order to defend the country they love.

Today, in accordance with this law, I signed the certification that will end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” once and for all. The Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also have certified that the military is ready for the repeal. Sixty days from now, on September 20th, the repeal will be complete and gay men and women will be able to serve their country openly.

On that day, I’ll be thinking of the young woman I met in Afghanistan. And I’ll be thinking of the countless others like her, straight and gay alike, who love this nation and the ideals for which it was founded, and who have signed up to serve so that we might all live in freedom and uphold this simple creed: we are all created equal.

Thank you for helping to make this victory for our country possible.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

Incidentally, I thought it was an excellent speech, carefully worded with the right tone

Transcript of President Obama’s Speech on the death of Osama bin Laden

Favourite part:

As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not –- and never will be -– at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.

Thankfully, progress

Obama orders same-sex hospital visits: Gay, lesbian couples must be allowed visitors, medical power of attorney

The rule will affect any hospital that receives Medicaid or Medicare funding, which is the majority of hospitals in America.

Officials said Obama had been moved by the story of a lesbian couple in Florida, Janice Langbehn and Lisa Pond, who were kept apart when Pond collapsed of a cerebral aneurysm in February 2007, dying hours later at a hospital without her partner and children by her side.

Obama called Langbehn on Thursday evening from Air Force One as he flew to Miami, White House officials said. In an interview, Langbehn praised the president for his actions.

"I kept saying it's not a gay right to hold someone's hand when they die, its a human right," she said, noting that she and Pond had been partners for almost 18 years. "Now to have the president call up and say he agrees with me, it's pretty amazing, and very humbling."

The new rules will not apply only to gays. They also will affect widows and widowers who have been unable to receive visits from a friend or companion. And they would allow members of some religious orders to designate someone other than a family member to make medical decisions.

It reminded me of the case of Sharon Kowalski and Karen Thompson, a lesbian couple who were separated for years until Thompson finally won the right to care for Kowalski, who had been severely injured in a car accident.

It's good to know that other couples won't have to fight draining court battles to be with their loved ones. But there is a big caveat--hospitals have to respect the wishes of their patients but those wishes must be known. That's where advanced directives/living wills are so important in determining who has say over medical care. Remember--it's easy for something to happen that prevents you from conveying your wishes in an emergency.

As reality sits in, the question is, were we a little unrealistic?

I still love Barack Obama, although his agenda is turning out to be much harder than we hoped. Here's a great video from the folks at JibJab:



I love the ears.

Thanks to YKWIA for showing it to me. Incidentally, JibJab videos are downloadable, if you follow a link under the video (it's in the line that says: Favorite - Share - Playlists - Flag - Download ($5.00)). We were looking for that option earlier on YouTube and it turned out to be on the very videos we were watching. :)

I wish I'd seen these during the campaign

The first is a send up of Hillary vs. Obama as part of an epic battle in a galaxy far, far away. Bill as the Emperor is a great touch. YKWIA, who showed me the video, thinks Rev. Wright should have been Jar Jar Binks. :)



The second was aired more than a year before Sarah Palin became a vice-presidential candidate, so I guess Craig Ferguson was quite possibly the first national figure to draw the similarity between Palin and...a naughty librarian. :) I think Craig's a bit naughty, too, but after all, he is Scottish. ;)



Sometimes the YouTube comments under the video can be very interesting, and that is the case with this one. In one exchange, the first person, going by the moniker derajsyla15 used the 'f' word a lot and basically said in a cruder way that he'd like to cut her head off and feed her to special needs children. Really. So there was of course a reply, and it was great: 'You come across as a very articulate and mature person, I'm going to take all your comments seriously. But other than that, you seem like a serial killer that belongs in an asylum.' (from irsh4lyf3). It was a comment worthy of YKWIA.

Good night.

Not particularly looking forward

to working 10 am-9 pm tonight. Oh, it could be till 10 pm, like on Monday night. But even though I got almost eight hours' sleep last night, I feel tired, still hung over from going to bed at 4 am the night before. And the roads were pretty bad last night (we had about 3 more inches of snow, and the temperature was around 10 degrees, so salt didn't do much and even the main arteries were pretty snow covered). I slid any time I was not absolutely driving at maximum attention with hands at 10 and 2. I can drive in snow pretty well but I don't really like to, and I have to admit my anxiety levels have been higher with the ice and snow. And now I get to do the whole thing again. Hopefully it's a little better since the ploughs have had time to get ahead of the snow, but it's only 9 degrees now. I'm so glad I don't live any further north. These arctic blasts are enough for me.

Given the ice storm and snow, I found this quote from Obama's inaugural speech comforting: 'With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come.' One of the librarians on the MEDLIB-L list had it on her signature line and it seemed appropriate given Kentucky's problems over the last week or so.

Okay, I have to get ready for work.

PS In retrospect, I realise I am whigning, and that it should not be indulged. And working 11 or 12 hours a day is better than no job at all. And the streets weren't bad later on at all. I think I'm still just very tired from staying up too late the other night and I'm having a giant 5-year-old moment. Sorry. :)

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got this from Steven over at Library Stuff, who in turn got it from someone else. I suspect it's making the rounds:



PS If you need to know how to make sure animated .gifs display through Blogger pages hosted on Blog*Spot, check out this post.

An interesting test

Your result for The Cultural Identity Test...

The Intellectual

69% Traditionalism, 82% Knowledge, 80% Diversity, 28% Contemporary and 30% Untraditionalism!

You Scored 82% The Intellectual, Congratulations!

Ah, the intellectual. Pure, unadultered science is what motivates you. The world is an interesting place, and you want to pick it apart and see how it works.

You are probably not all that impressed with the Untraditionalism of traditionalists or liberal philosophers, and see instead a third path to enlightenment: that of logic and reason. Modern ideas do not interest you, as you know that every fact is accompanied by an irrefutable opinion, and there is simply no room for such romanticism.

History, philosophy, and a multitude of cultures are all familiar to you, and you revel in the delight of learning even more. There is simply no limit to your understanding, except what you are able to read. The intricacies of language is second nature to you, and you probably can speak more than one. Which is useful, because you love to travel to places where you might need it. While others are content to revel in the intellectual impoverishment of our time, you set your sights higher--probably with the aide of a sextant. Because you're an intellectual, and you probably have one.

Editors Note:

Although it's now taken over twenty hours to complete (and if you calculate in all the years I've spent compiling this information for my own purposes a good deal longer), I'm very pleased with how this test has turned out. Yet even more gratifying are the responses I've been getting from people. If you were wondering, I am a traditionalist, and knowing about my heritage and celebrating my customs is one of the most important aspects of my life. It has been since I was a child, and in reality I created this test more for my own interests and curiosity than for entertainment value. If I succeeded in both then that's just a bonus.

The greatest compliment I've gotten from people is that this test has made them consider their own heritage more deeply, and want to find out more about where they came from. This wasn't a necessarily a goal I had in mind when I created the test, but to hear that I've sparked some interest in a person's lineage, however small, is an incredibly rewarding experience. Our lives are so determined by where we have come from, our past, that to learn more about those indelible links is often times an overwhelming experience. To know that my great, great, great grandfather was a signer of the Declaration of Independence helps me appreciate the history of my country, America, in a much deeper and more personal way. And, like as not, amazing links can be found in almost anyone's history.

Whatever your score, whatever your ideas on the issues I've raised here, I want to sincerely thank you for spending the time to take my test, and hope that you've enjoyed it.

I also have a ton of resources for learning about your own history, and I'd be happy to share them with anyone who was interested. And feel free to send me your thoughts and comments, or even your ideas for the test! I love to read them, and might even post a few in the test itself.

Viel Glück,

- Errantblue

Answers to the Geographical and Historical Questions:

Q 24: The Five Pillars Of...

A: Islam

Q 25: Historically, the "dollar" draws its origins from...

A: Germany and Scandinavia. Specifically, from the Thaler.

Q 26: Some easy geography. What country is this?

A: Japan

Q 27: A little trickier. What country is highlighted by the red dot?

A: Nigeria

Q 28: You live in Romania and you travel directly south. What country are you in?

A: Bulgaria

Q 29: Mao Tse Tung...

A: Was a communist Chinese military leader

Q 30: Rome ceased its expansion into Britainia because...

A: A and B

Q 31: What famous building is this?

A: St. Basil's Cathedral

Q 32: If you went to South Africa, could you speak English?

A: Yes, you could.

Q 33: Where do you think this might be?

A: Northern England

Q 34: Aryan...

A: Is an ancient Indo-Iranian word refering to a caste of nobility.

Q 35: Which mythological cycle describes a creator god who emerged from an egg and split himself into two people, one male and one female?

A: Indian Mythology

Take The Cultural Identity Test at HelloQuizzy

Okay, I'm very tired. I got 2 1/2 hours of sleep last night due to my own procrastination on the notes. Hope you had a good weekend. I don't get off for the King holiday tomorrow but will be off for a doctor's appointment on Inauguration Day. Yay for a new President!

PS I really like the picture the quiz writer used. :) I've always wanted a skull in my library. Oh, that's right, I have an entire skeleton (although it is of plastic). But the skull by itself is way cooler, and you can recite Hamlet for fun.

This is the season for getting together with extended family

but if you think yours is convoluted, look at Barack Obama's. Talk about multicultural: Africans, Asians (both from Indonesia and China (including one by way of Canada)), British, etc. They've moved around even further, studying in a variety of places abroad like Germany and South Korea. Religions include Roman Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, other forms of Christianity, and through his wife, a branch of relatives that are African-American Jews. Whew! Didn't he say something about his family being like the United Nations? He was right!

The Wikipedia article includes a nice genealogical chart to keep everyone straight. With polygamy in Africa and a series of marriages and divorces throughout the family, there are lots of 'steps' and 'halves'.

I have a tiny family by comparison. I can't imagine everyone getting together at one time for his family celebrations.