Only Bitches Talk Shit.

Part I: Rant No One Cares About

So, I’ve had digital cable since I moved to the Bay Area, almost 3 years ago. Generally it has worked fine for me, and any issues I’ve had were dealt with quickly and without cost to me.

However, in the last 6 months or so, my cable reception has gone to shit. Half the channels, which I pay EXTRA for, do not come in at all, and the rest of the channels are choppy. Not to mention that all reception keeps dying periodically (You know, like in the last 20 minutes of the last Gilmore Girls Episode, ever!). I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the day before the cable died for two days, I called to get my cable fixed. Here is how it went down:

They will fix it, but they’ll charge me on top of my ridiculous monthly charges. When I told them, no they would not be charging me to service THEIR equipment; they informed me that I am responsible for the equipment in my home. Here’s the thing, when I cancel cable, I will not be keeping the equipment. The cable company will demand it back. So, since it’s not MY equipment, how can I be responsible for it’s maintenance? So, fuck all that noise, I’m getting a satellite dish. And Comcast can bite my ass.

Part II: Really Random Food Things

Food is such a challenge these days. For weeks, all I could get down were plain turkey sandwiches. Now, I can’t even stand the site of a damn Quizno’s store.

Generally, I’m not a big cream cheese fan. This week, I can’t get enough of the stuff into my body. I’m pretty sure I’d eat it by the spoonful if I had the means.

All food sounds disgusting at all times. But I’m constantly STARVING. Makes deciding what to eat a true joy.

Part III: Semi-Political Rant In Which I Piss Off Half the People I Know

First things First: Whom does Mitt Romney think he’s fooling? He’s never going to be elected President. I’ll tell you why I’ll never vote for him.

I’ve made my feelings on religion in general and the Mormon religion in particular, clear. If it works for you, great. Just leave me alone, and don’t go pushing your shit on me. (Shit being hang-ups about gays, abortion, birth control, global warming, whatever. Believe what you want, just stop trying to legislate morality. If you don’t believe in abortion, don’t have one. Repeat for all other topics). I will never vote a Mormon into office because I know from experience that Mormons cannot compartmentalize their religion from the rest of their lives. It’s not just what they believe, it’s who they are and what they do. So, if a Mormon were to get into office, they would feel duty-bound to create legislation that would destroy many things that I hold dear. Women’s rights over their own body, consenting adults being able to marry without regards to genitalia etc.

I think most other non-Mormons would agree with this line of thinking. But I also think everyone is afraid to say anything because they don’t want to start the religion debate. And I would agree that one’s religion really shouldn’t determine their ability to run a country. Except after living in this fundamentalist regime for the last 7 years, I’m a little terrified of any candidate with a “God is telling me, and only me, what to do. So if you disagree with me, you are inherently evil,’ mindset.

Second: Immigration “Reform” Ok, how many illegal immigrants do you know that have $5000 lying around? Yeah, none for me either. And this proposed legislation will never work. Temporary worker visas sound like a great idea. Until you look down the road a little. Now the government will know exactly where to find immigrants and do whatever they please to them. Since illegal immigrants live in constant fear of being found and sent either to jail or back to the conditions that made living life in poverty look like the promised land, they won't exactly be lining up to tell the government their home address.

Why do people get all pissed off about this? Illegal immigrants are NOT taking jobs that other people are trying to get. Most work for significantly less than minimum wage, without benefits or any protection. We all benefit from this system: going out to dinner is affordable for most people because restaurant owners can pay their back-of-house staff about $3/hour, tax-free. We can afford to buy produce because migrant workers are paid Dustbowl-like wages. Without these workers, lettuce would cost about $12 per head just so farmers can cover their costs.

This whole mindset that we are entitled and “they” are not is purely destructive. People who feel they are at a disadvantage find someone else to blame. (To put it into alarmist terms this is how the Nazi Party won over Germany. Things are hard, we'll serve you up a scapegoat.) So, poorer Americans blame illegal immigrants for their trouble. I know, I know, it’s human nature and all that jazz. It just pisses me off. What especially pisses me off, my father (a freaking immigrant himself) is SO anti-immigration it makes me nuts. But then again, for a man who has chosen NOT to become a citizen, and therefore forfeited his right to vote, he sure has way more opinions than he needs.

Ok, I’m off my soapbox now. I really need to stop watching the news while I work out in the mornings. Just gets me all pissed off first thing in the morning.

*PS: Many thanks to Lil John for the title of this post. I've had this song stuck in my head for three days. Again, my child will have a VERY interesting vocabulary.

Call me crazy but..

So, election shit is mostly done. And I’m again disappointed and ashamed of most Americans’ inability to accept gay people. Just the most disgusting side of humanity. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it: If you don’t believe in same sex marriage, don’t marry someone of the same sex! Keep your ignorance to yourself. I guess to me, it's just as bad as racism. Even 25 years ago, it was still illegal in many states to marry someone of a different race. I know it's just a matter of time, but meanwhile ...

And, in extra fun, check this action. I’ve lived in Oakland for over 2 years now. I tried to register to vote twice before my registration made it to the proper authority. What are the odds TWO registrations got lost in the mail? Finally, the third one “took” and I was able to vote without issue.
However, Xtian registered, received all his voter information including his designated polling place. However, when he showed up to vote, the poll workers had no record of him. And he wasn’t the only person having the same problem. At this one polling place, there were more than two-dozen people whose registration wasn’t on record.

Now, call me a crazy conspiracy theorist, but let’s look at the demographics here. Oakland is a predominantly African American and left leaning city. Really heavily stacked toward the liberal. Wouldn’t it be just too easy to “lose” registration cards, or just leave people off the records? And, with the electronic voting machines, how easy is it to alter results? Generally, I don’t believe in conspiracy theories. But this is just too much to ignore.

I realize that voting is important and all that. But shit like this just confirms my feeling that our government is trampling on the very system they put into place. To paraphrase Jefferson: All governments need the occasional revolution to keep them honest.
Anyone else feeling like it’s about that time?

But at least California’s prop 85 (basically banning all abortions for women under 18) and South Dakota’s total abortion ban were defeated. So at least young women are still allowed to control their own bodies. For now.

I’ve only voted in 2 presidential elections and two mid-term elections. Every one of them has left a nasty taste in my mouth. Either my own countrymen and women are mostly deplorable, or the entire system is a complete farce.
I can’t decide which one is worse.