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katekatwarning, political rant. i'm a lefty. lefty of lefty, ok?
While manning the County Democrat booth at the Italian Picnic and Parade (yes, really) I managed to get into an argument with someone who called himself a democrat (though honestly? he was what one can only call a conservative democrat, and maybe even not that). He was trying to argue that we could pay for all of the cuts in education if we just took all the criminals who had murdered someone out and shot them (thus not doing expensive death penalty trials for them and not paying for convicted murderers to be housed in prison).
Look, if it wasn't obvious, I'm more rabidly liberal than most democrats. Mom tried to get me to back away and not get involved, but the problem with people who are having fun being confrontational is that they persist in doing so - this guy had a point to make and even after I said we'd have to agree to disagree he turned to the guy in the booth next to us and started trying to solicit his agreement in this so-called reasonable *cough*bloodthirsty*cough* plan.
And you know what? I've been raring for a fight. So I turned and looked him in the hostile eye and said that I categorically, adamantly, and utterly believe that it is not my right or the right of the state to take anyone's life. And yeah the budget in CA would be fixed if the state stopped fucking prosecuting for the death penalty (and we wouldn't have to kill anybody to do that. He wanted to know if I really thought Charlie Manson should be alive and here's my thing...
I don't think anyone has the right to kill me. And I don't think you think anybody has the right to kill you. I don't think I have the right to kill anybody, either. I don't think any individual has the right to kill any other individual. Now why would I want the state to have the power to kill anyone if I don't think anybody, ever, has the right to kill anybody else? Screw that.
Course he thought he slapped me down with his whole dismissive 'well then you wouldn't bother to defend our country either, would you?' And it was then that my mom stepped in (which, ok, probably good because I'm getting into arguments in the Democratic booth when all they're trying to do is represent in the community) ... and because it saved me from the reply i would have liked to have made which was to say, in the same dismissive tone, oh, i didn't realize that he was one of those poor naive people who still believed individual nation states actually existed and would waste his life on one.
cuz yeah, i do wonder if the nation state still actually exists given corporate control of so many things, and i continually am bemused by this whole 'patriotism is the most important ideal' attitude. cuz the conservative people think the idea that someone who is willing to die for their country is the only good person, and quite frankly, it's an idiotic trump card. the whole point is NOT to die, but to change the fucking world while we're alive!
As one of the women who is working on the float with us said yesterday - why is it that the only life republicans want to save the unborn ones? everybody else should die, especially if they do it for their country! or if they do something wrong! kill 'em all! except for those unborn babies - they're WAY too important!!
let's see, other than that,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
summer_of_giles summer_of_giles summer_of_giles!!!!!!
and also, claims posts at![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
kradambigbang went up and I got fic I'm super excited to work on! Hopefully the author is ok with the stuff I do....
And tomorrow there will be exciting float making. Then Sunday will be ... PARADE! OMG small town fun is amusing.
While manning the County Democrat booth at the Italian Picnic and Parade (yes, really) I managed to get into an argument with someone who called himself a democrat (though honestly? he was what one can only call a conservative democrat, and maybe even not that). He was trying to argue that we could pay for all of the cuts in education if we just took all the criminals who had murdered someone out and shot them (thus not doing expensive death penalty trials for them and not paying for convicted murderers to be housed in prison).
Look, if it wasn't obvious, I'm more rabidly liberal than most democrats. Mom tried to get me to back away and not get involved, but the problem with people who are having fun being confrontational is that they persist in doing so - this guy had a point to make and even after I said we'd have to agree to disagree he turned to the guy in the booth next to us and started trying to solicit his agreement in this so-called reasonable *cough*bloodthirsty*cough* plan.
And you know what? I've been raring for a fight. So I turned and looked him in the hostile eye and said that I categorically, adamantly, and utterly believe that it is not my right or the right of the state to take anyone's life. And yeah the budget in CA would be fixed if the state stopped fucking prosecuting for the death penalty (and we wouldn't have to kill anybody to do that. He wanted to know if I really thought Charlie Manson should be alive and here's my thing...
I don't think anyone has the right to kill me. And I don't think you think anybody has the right to kill you. I don't think I have the right to kill anybody, either. I don't think any individual has the right to kill any other individual. Now why would I want the state to have the power to kill anyone if I don't think anybody, ever, has the right to kill anybody else? Screw that.
Course he thought he slapped me down with his whole dismissive 'well then you wouldn't bother to defend our country either, would you?' And it was then that my mom stepped in (which, ok, probably good because I'm getting into arguments in the Democratic booth when all they're trying to do is represent in the community) ... and because it saved me from the reply i would have liked to have made which was to say, in the same dismissive tone, oh, i didn't realize that he was one of those poor naive people who still believed individual nation states actually existed and would waste his life on one.
cuz yeah, i do wonder if the nation state still actually exists given corporate control of so many things, and i continually am bemused by this whole 'patriotism is the most important ideal' attitude. cuz the conservative people think the idea that someone who is willing to die for their country is the only good person, and quite frankly, it's an idiotic trump card. the whole point is NOT to die, but to change the fucking world while we're alive!
As one of the women who is working on the float with us said yesterday - why is it that the only life republicans want to save the unborn ones? everybody else should die, especially if they do it for their country! or if they do something wrong! kill 'em all! except for those unborn babies - they're WAY too important!!
let's see, other than that,
summer_of_giles summer_of_giles summer_of_giles!!!!!!and also, claims posts at
kradambigbang went up and I got fic I'm super excited to work on! Hopefully the author is ok with the stuff I do.... And tomorrow there will be exciting float making. Then Sunday will be ... PARADE! OMG small town fun is amusing.
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Date: 2011-06-04 06:22 am (UTC)Preciousssssss.With that and the unicorn fic safely spoken for, my sense of fic-lust can rest easier. I'm pretty stunned that nobody has snagged #11, though...but then again that's probably because I know who's building that monster. The mods would probably not take kindly to someone waving a banner and hollering "ART THIS FIC, WANKERS" in a firm tone of crazy. Oh, this fussy internet etiquette...
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Date: 2011-06-04 06:40 am (UTC)and yeah, #11 was one of the ones that could be good but i wasn't sure who was writing (damn me for not paying more attention). also, in super creepy (though usually i'm not this much of a creeper,
i'm not dammit) i dreamed about the dragons last night ... it was on the bottom of my last before i went to bed and at the top when i woke up.i should have totally messaged you and asked which ones i should have gone for......
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Date: 2011-06-07 12:48 pm (UTC)Also(2): !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Date: 2011-06-04 07:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 07:30 am (UTC)(also, sorry, i know i'm basically having a conversation with myself, but it's late, and it happens)
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Date: 2011-06-07 12:46 pm (UTC)Also: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Date: 2011-06-07 12:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-07 06:24 pm (UTC)also, welcome back from wedding-time!!! you can now return to the rest of the world filled with boys who eat yummy foods or drink weird teas instead! of course, be careful about the pinwheels - they seem like they may appear everywhere.
also, how are there TWO naga fics in our fandom? unless you have a new user name or something and that's you in the big bang?
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Date: 2011-06-07 06:31 pm (UTC)There are TWO? How are there two? I WAS NOT TOLD OF THIS GOODNESS.
And, no. The naga thing is all
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Date: 2011-06-07 06:35 pm (UTC)i thought you were writing one? why did i think you were writing one? sorry for getting you all excited.....
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Date: 2011-06-07 06:38 pm (UTC)But, alas, no. My magical critter of choice this time around is the Baku.*
(Isn't
Krisit cute?)* They're not as, um, grouchy as they look.
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Date: 2011-06-07 06:46 pm (UTC)and damnit, i knew it was something mythical.
kind of super awesome though.
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Date: 2011-06-07 07:02 pm (UTC)Which Adam totally does! (Though there is a slight "might get eaten" issue.)
I'm having a goodly bit of fun with it, despite the fact that most of Kris' angst (so far) has been microwave related.
He deals with them as best he can.
“There's oatmeal,” Adam says. “In the coffee pot.”
“Your end is nigh,” Brad tells Kris.
“You wouldn't give back the iron,” Kris points out. He finishes slicing a kiwi and adds it to the plate of diced fruit on the table.
“What's wrong with the iron?” Adam asks.
“Nothing,” Brad says. “Except that someone tried to use it as a skillet.”
“Did it work?” Adam asks.
Kris grins. Brad grumbles, but concedes to add some barely boiled strawberries to his oatmeal. Adam copies him with curiosity stamped on his face. His expression blooms, beautifully, at the first taste.
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Date: 2011-06-07 08:25 pm (UTC)also, HOW CUTE IS THIS BAKU?
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Date: 2011-06-07 08:30 pm (UTC)“This, okay, this is my new favorite thing in the world. I want that on record.” Adam's spoon drags scoops up the mush lovingly. “What kind of syrup is this?”
“TruBlood,” Brad says. “B positive.”
Kris resists kicking him under the table. “It's honey with some orange juice. There's a lot of decent stuff in the city but I'm still working through the options.”
“Is he ever.” Brad nips a banana circle, gently dusted with Kris' improvised mix of brown sugar, cinnamon, and curry powder. “Kristopher is disturbingly particular about his edibles.”
Btw, you wouldn't happen to actually speak Japanese on a feasible level, would you? 'Cause I can't even copy hiragana and, um, Kris actually being Japanese (sort of?) is starting to be be...tricky.
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Date: 2011-06-07 08:35 pm (UTC)and yes! at least, mostly feasible! i can have conversations and stuff and in two weeks i'll be living there! do you need some stuff? what do you need?
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Date: 2011-06-08 12:21 pm (UTC)It's kind of...ironic?
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Date: 2011-06-08 04:12 pm (UTC)sono kata zenzen dame da yo -- 'that thing/way is totally wrong'
hontou ni zettai chigatta - 'honestly that's just wrong'
anything else?
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Date: 2011-06-08 04:15 pm (UTC)Plus, come on. Brad picking on Kris? In Japanese? How am I supposed to give that up?
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Date: 2011-06-08 06:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-08 06:16 pm (UTC)Nihongo no hanashikata sukoshi okashii yo