Mental Solstice

Bush's Competency

From Steve Horowitz & Counterbias:

His failures and deceptions are breathtaking in scope, almost inconceivable in harm. But at least even people who voted for him twice can see them now. Because everything Bush has said and done reveals him to be an idiot, a liar, a criminal, or all three.

Oh yeah...then please explain all the "W" stickers I still see on the back windows of cars. Obviously, a lot of folks in my area are slow getting it.

Thanks Tom for the tip.

Naked Guy

The Naked Guy of Berkeley, a.k.a. Andrew Martinez, was found unconscious in a San Jose jail cell on May 17. He died the next day. His death has been ruled a suicide. The Naked Guy was infamous in the 1990s for attending classes at UC Berkeley wearing nothing but sandals and a backpack. Unfortunately, the subsequent years have not been as kind to him as he spiraled downward from an undiagnosed psychosis. He had recently been jailed for assaulting a co-resident at a halfway house.

This story underscores the fact that our society still has a long way to go in its treatment of our mentally ill/challenged citizens. During the same time Naked Guy was on his crusade to dress minimally, I was part of the movement to eliminate the warehousing of mentally challenged persons in mental institutions, in favor of more community services. I'm still in favor dispersed community-based services, as opposed to centralized, permanent warehousing of most mental health consumers. However, Naked Guy's story emphasizes the need for the provision of  more comprehensive medical services for mentally ill persons. Simply jailing such persons is obviously not the answer. Perhaps we went too far in the right direction in our effort to de-institutionalize our most vulnerable citizens, or not far enough.

We Are Family, All My Sisters & Me

...Well maybe not. Before your sisters and you can say you're family, you had better hope your parents are a man and woman, married to each other. Otherwise, you may not be able to live in Black Jack, MO. The city has an ordinance that prohibits more than three people from living together unless they are related by "blood, marriage or adoption." Olivia Shelltrack and Fondrey Loving were denied a occupancy permit for themselves and their three children (one of the children is Olivia's from a previous relationship). The city council refused to amend the ordinance to include unmarried couples related by children. The city's attorney refused to speculate whether the city planned to evict Shelltrack and Loving, who, by the way, have been together for thirteen years.

Beer, Cats & Pre-Pregnancy

New federal guidelines ask all women capable of child-bearing (and their health-care providers), to treat themselves as pre-pregnant, regardless of their future child-bearing intentions. Therefore, any menstruating woman should take folic acid supplements, be mindful of conditions such as obesity, asthma, diabetes and other chronic health issues, and refrain from smoking, cats, and drinking (tell this to the Bush twins).

It would be nice if our government encouraged and provided good health education and care for ALL females, regardless of childbearing capacity, because we are valued members of our society. However, as a female, you are simply regarded by our government as a vessel for another human being...as long as that human being is determined to be male...otherwise, you're just a vessel of another, newer vessel.

H/T Feministe

The Heavy Breather On The Other End...

...could be Georgie or Dickie, and those crazy guys at NSA playing  their prank phone jokes. According to a senior government official, ABC News, among other news organizations, have been the target of NSA in their collection of domestic phone records. The NSA, as a part of a CIA leak investigation, is tracking reporters' phone habits to discern who their confidential sources are.

In the past, the press has been crucial to our system of checks and balances, which this administration seems to have a huge disdain for. Once they're through castrating the press, what will be next? Wedgies for the Supreme Court?

Ever Wonder Why Bush's Diplomacy Sucks?

According to Merriam-Webster Online one of the definitions of "diplomacy" is:

2 : skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility : TACT

And the definition of "tact" is:

1 : sensitive mental or aesthetic perception
2 : a keen sense of what to do or say in order to maintain good relations with others or avoid offense

Of which our Dear Leader has none:

He walked around giving handshakes and hugs to those who rose for his entrance, and greeted a man who remained sitting in a wheelchair with, "You look mighty comfortable."

H/T Wonkette

Death Can (Should) Be Funny

Hop on over here to participate in the Deathbed Joke Project. After all the "I love yous," and prayers, what pithy statement would you make on your deathbed, if you had the chance?

My contributions were:

“Never order a margarita in a Chinese restaurant”
“They said I had to have a jacket and tie to get in”
“The dyslexic was right, God is a Dog!”
“Not only is God black, but SHE’s a lesbian, and boy, is she pissed”

The second one, I'll have to give credit to my DH.

H/T Pandagon