This makes me sad....

Supreme Court rejects school dress code challenge

really? You can't wear a shirt that has the First Amendment printed on it??


The Associated Press
Monday, January 11, 2010; 10:17 AM

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is declining to review a Texas school district dress code that prohibited student clothing that featured political commentary.

Without comment Monday, the justices rejected an appeal from a high school senior in suburban Dallas who sued the Waxahachie Independent School District for political censorship.

Paul "Pete" Palmer, now a senior, first sought to wear a T-shirt supporting John Edwards' presidential campaign in 2007. He later asked permission to wear other shirts with political messages, including one that had "Freedom of Speech" on the front and the First Amendment printed on the back. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the code, saying its intent was to eliminate distractions.

WTF??

I am so sick of hearing about these health care town hall protests. Here's my 2 cents and then I'm done thinking about this topic.

I support free speech. I support the right to protest your government. I support the right of dissenters to be heard.

I do not support the childish behavior that some of these protesters are exhibiting. Since when is it appropriate to scream and yell at someone who is trying to make a point? Since when is it appropriate to interrupt someone who is speaking? This behavior is not tolerated in elementary school and it should not be tolerated at these town hall events.

What happened to civility?

This is embarrassing.

I believe it is a mob mentality at work here. The conservative groups that are providing this mis-information are empowering people to disrupt an otherwise orderly event b/c you can "hide" in a crowd. These folks feel like they don't have to take responsibility for their actions because it is too easy to just yell at the Congressman from the back of the room rather than approach a mic and ask an intelligent question and possibly have to explain yourself and your position to the person you are asking the question to.

It just makes me sick and sad.

Bill Maher has a great article in Huffington Post posted last Friday that pretty much explains why I am embarassed, sick, and sad about the whole thing:

New Rule: Just because a country elects a smart president doesn't make it a smart country. A few weeks ago I was asked by Wolf Blitzer if I thought Sarah Palin could get elected president, and I said I hope not, but I wouldn't put anything past this stupid country. It was amazing - in the minute or so between my calling America stupid and the end of the Cialis commercial, CNN was flooded with furious emails and the twits hit the fan. And you could tell that these people were really mad because they wrote entirely in CAPITAL LETTERS!!! It's how they get the blood circulating when the Cialis wears off. Worst of all, Bill O'Reilly refuted my contention that this is a stupid country by calling me a pinhead, which A) proves my point, and B) is really funny coming from a doody-face like him.

Now, the hate mail all seemed to have a running theme: that I may live in a stupid country, but they lived in the greatest country on earth, and that perhaps I should move to another country, like Somalia. Well, the joke's on them because I happen to have a summer home in Somalia... and no I can't show you an original copy of my birth certificate because Woody Harrelson spilled bong water on it.

And before I go about demonstrating how, sadly, easy it is to prove the dumbness dragging down our country, let me just say that ignorance has life and death consequences. On the eve of the Iraq War, 69% of Americans thought Saddam Hussein was personally involved in 9/11. Four years later, 34% still did. Or take the health care debate we're presently having: members of Congress have recessed now so they can go home and "listen to their constituents." An urge they should resist because their constituents don't know anything. At a recent town-hall meeting in South Carolina, a man stood up and told his Congressman to "keep your government hands off my Medicare," which is kind of like driving cross country to protest highways.

I'm the bad guy for saying it's a stupid country, yet polls show that a majority of Americans cannot name a single branch of government, or explain what the Bill of Rights is. 24% could not name the country America fought in the Revolutionary War. More than two-thirds of Americans don't know what's in Roe v. Wade. Two-thirds don't know what the Food and Drug Administration does. Some of this stuff you should be able to pick up simply by being alive. You know, like the way the Slumdog kid knew about cricket.

Not here. Nearly half of Americans don't know that states have two senators and more than half can't name their congressman. And among Republican governors, only 30% got their wife's name right on the first try.

Sarah Palin says she would never apologize for America. Even though a Gallup poll says 18% of Americans think the sun revolves around the earth. No, they're not stupid. They're interplanetary mavericks. A third of Republicans believe Obama is not a citizen, and a third of Democrats believe that George Bush had prior knowledge of the 9/11 attacks, which is an absurd sentence because it contains the words "Bush" and "knowledge."

People bitch and moan about taxes and spending, but they have no idea what their government spends money on. The average voter thinks foreign aid consumes 24% of our federal budget. It's actually less than 1%. And don't even ask about cabinet members: seven in ten think Napolitano is a kind of three-flavored ice cream. And last election, a full one-third of voters forgot why they were in the booth, handed out their pants, and asked, "Do you have these in a relaxed-fit?"

And I haven't even brought up America's religious beliefs. But here's one fun fact you can take away: did you know only about half of Americans are aware that Judaism is an older religion than Christianity? That's right, half of America looks at books called the Old Testament and the New Testament and cannot figure out which one came first.

And these are the idiots we want to weigh in on the minutia of health care policy? Please, this country is like a college chick after two Long Island Iced Teas: we can be talked into anything, like wars, and we can be talked out of anything, like health care. We should forget town halls, and replace them with study halls. There's a lot of populist anger directed towards Washington, but you know who concerned citizens should be most angry at? Their fellow citizens. "Inside the beltway" thinking may be wrong, but at least it's thinking, which is more than you can say for what's going on outside the beltway.

And if you want to call me an elitist for this, I say thank you. Yes, I want decisions made by an elite group of people who know what they're talking about. That means Obama budget director Peter Orszag, not Sarah Palin.

Which is the way our founding fathers wanted it. James Madison wrote that "pure democracy" doesn't work because "there is nothing to check... an obnoxious individual." Then, in the margins, he doodled a picture of Joe the Plumber.

Until we admit there are things we don't know, we can't even start asking the questions to find out. Until we admit that America can make a mistake, we can't stop the next one. A smart guy named Chesterton once said: "My country, right or wrong is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying... It is like saying 'My mother, drunk or sober.'" To which most Americans would respond: "Are you calling my mother a drunk?"

Bill Maher is the host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," and will be joined on the show tonight by Arianna Huffington. "Real Time" airs fridays on HBO at 10:00PM Eastern Time.

ass

I am blogging from the train with a guys ass totally in my face. Not fun. I really wish I could figure out how to turn the sound off when I take pictures with my bberry.
Too funny - these irritating people just realized they are on the wrong train. Good job losers.

Is Nothing Sacred?

If you know me then you know one of my favorite bands is the Foo Fighters.... The McCain Campaign has been using the song "My Hero" without their permission. How dare they??!!

From USA TODAY: Add the Foo Fighters to the list of artists who want Republican presidential nominee John McCain to stop using one of their songs. Here's a statement the band just issued:
This isn't the first time the McCain campaign has used a song without making any attempt to get approval or permission from the artist. It's frustrating and infuriating that someone who claims to speak for the American people would repeatedly show such little respect for creativity and intellectual property.

The saddest thing about this is that My Hero was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song. We hope that the McCain campaign will do the right thing and stop using our song -- and start asking artists' permission in general!

My Hero is from the Foos' 1995 album The Colour and the Shape. If you're a fan, there's still a good chance you've heard it at a sports arena in recent years.

As E Online notes, other artists who have objected to the McCain-Palin campaign's use of their songs include Jackson Browne, Heart, John Mellencamp and Van Halen.

Smoke Detectors

Many jurisdictions across the country require commerical and residential properties to have at least one working smoke detector. It seems like every day there is another story in the news about how someone almost "didn't make it out" or how someone died because their house was on fire AND they didn't have working smoke detectors. Seriously people. This isn't rocket science. Why would you NOT have a working smoke detector? They cost less than 10 bucks AND some jurisdictions (i know mine does) give them away for FREE. It is a simple and easy way to increase your chances of survival.
If a child - or anyone - dies in a house fire and there were no working smoke detectors can the owner or guardian be charged with a crime? Reckless Endangerment? Involuntary Manslaughter? I wonder....
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pyfff/smkalarm.html

excessive packaging

I remember when CDs first came out in the mid 80's and they were in these looong boxes (at least twice the length of the CD case w/in the box) with lots of artwork and the songs printed on the back, etc. I think the original purpose was to prevent shoplifting by making them an awkward size. At some point technology advanced to the point that little sensors could be put on the cases and at some point it was decided that these boxes were an uncecessary use of material and eventually CDs began to be sold in just their plastic cases. I wish the environmental angle had more to do with it than the shoplifting angle but I doubt it.
In any event as the 80's became the 90's became the 00's there has been an effort to reduce the amount of unnecessary packaging used for packaging products.
There is one glaring exception that I would like to share with you that I would not have know about except for the fact that i recently had several gifts sent to me.
I had packages sent from Crate and Barrel and MAcy's and they BOTH used WAAAY too much packing materials in the boxes. They would use a HUGE box filled with peanuts to send a tiny little box (which inside that little box had additional packing materials to keep the items safe).
It just seems like such a waste. I have thrown away bags and bags of peanuts. I feel bad about taking up space in a landfill with this stuff... I have no idea what the recycling people must think when for the last 2 recycling days we have had tons and tons of cardboard out to be picked up.
I just wish these stores would be a little more thoughtful about the environment. Of course if they ever changed how they shipped stuff i bet people's things will start breaking.... is there no middle ground here?

So Sue Me...

(originally drafted on 5/16)
I don't like horse racing. I am soooo tired of hearing about Preakness (tomorrow). This is a barbaric and archaic sport that i hope goes the way of the dodo. (the same with Dog races, bull riding and really any other "sport" that forces animals to compete with each other - although i don't have an opinion on polo b/c i'm not clear on the role of the horse other than transport....)

The political leadership in MD wants to legalize slots in MD so that we can save the MD racing industry and have more funds for "education." I'm sorry - i don't buy it.

1. industries evolve - some die off - some grow. Let this one have a quiet death without putting it on life support by encouraging people to gamble MORE than they do already.

2. gambling profits are unreliable and inconsistant and bring a host of other problems that we will be force to spend money on (addiction programs, additional police presence at gambling establishments, etc.) If our Governor and General Assembly leadership think that we need more money for education then here are a few suggestions i have for raising those funds:

um... increase taxes. No one likes this BUT at least it is a legitimate way for the government to raise revenue (rather than taking advantage of people who like to throw their money away)

Increase taxes on.... let's see.... why not cigarettes? (I know it is a regressive tax on lower income people but HEY - no one is forcing them to smoke) How about alcohol? Same thing. And i've been known to enjoy a beer or glass of wine (or 5).

What else can we do... we can stop giving HUGE tax breaks to developers to build gigantic condo buildings only to have them sit below capacity for 15 years... How long did it take before Harbor View was at full capacity??
I guess I could go on but it would just make my ulcer worse.

Just say NO to slots in November.

A New Word I Can't Stand

(from Wikipedia)
Webinar: A webinar is a specific type of web conference. It is typically one-way, from the speaker to the audience with limited audience interaction, such as in a webcast. A webinar can be very collaborative and include polling and question & answer sessions to allow full participation between the audience and the presenter. In some cases, the presenter may speak over a standard telephone line, pointing out information being presented on screen and the audience can respond over their own telephones, preferably a speaker phone. There are web conferencing technologies on the market that have incorporated the use of VoIP audio technology, to allow for a truly web-based communication.

In the early years of the Internet, the terms "web conferencing" was often used to describe a group discussion in a message board and therefore not live. The term has evolved to refer specifically to live or "synchronous" meetings.

More Train Stuff - but also a life message

It has been a while... I've been busy just like everyone else but I guess that's no excuse.
On the train this evening (originally written in mid-March) some schmuck sits down across from me and takes up both seats - he's not fat - he's just stretching out and flopping the tail of his coat purposefully across the other seat. As more people board the train he makes small jestures to move his coat and scoot over as people approach the seat. Several minutes and people pass him and that seat and proceed further into the train.
I'm watching this with some amusement. Sometimes I like to keep time on how long it takes from the time a schmuck sits down to when someone finally asks them to move off the other seat so they can sit.
It typically is about 5 minutes but this can be impacted by how early the schmuck gets on the train. I've seen it go to 15 minutes before - BUT every time someone has eventually taken that other seat. It is pretty funny. The other thing is that I will purposly take that seat even if there are other unimpeaded seats in the general area because it pisses me off that these guys think they can just spread out and take up more space than they need, deserve, or have paid for.
I've gotten some quizzical looks - no one has ever gotten mad - but they sort of look at me funny... Anyways - back to the current schmuck.... Someone finally sits next to the guy and the train starts moving.
So this guy is sitting here in a seat with his back to the end of the car and the train wall to his right side. A southbound train passes us at high speed and WOOSH - this side panel in the wall comes unlocked and totally swings for this guys head. The girl sitting next to me was able to grab it at the last minute so it didn't actually hit him. Then they together spent the next 5 minutes trying to figure out how to lock the thing back up. Pretty funny.
The moral of the story is "don't be that guy."

Fuck You Very Much

People are full of shit. Seriously.
Yes - thank you for protecting that special seat next to you.
Your story that the occupant was in the bathroom was not convincing - especially when he showed up 5 minutes later OBVIOUSLY from outside the train and you lifted YOUR bag so he could sit there. Thank you beeeotch. I hope you enjoy his company.

People are stupid

upon seeing this barrier at the train station a woman came up to me and asked if that meant that we were not supposed to go on that part of the platform... seriously...

Another Train Rant

if anyone is reading this i am sure that you get tired of my commuting rants but i just can't stop. This is how I blow off the steam. Otherwise you will see me on the news one day and the headline will be something about how a commuter went beserk and freaked out on a MARC train...

As i read my book and was waiting for my train to pull out of the station i became aware of an interesting smell. I looked up and.... literally 3 of the 5 people in my area were chowing down on junk food. And we wonder why people are fat. Just look at the people who ride my train - always eating bad food - McD's, Sabarro's, Auntie Anne's pretzles. Seriously - this can't be their dinner. It just grosses me out.

Eating on the train is on its way to making my list of rude train behaviors.

Also so is bringing luggage if it isn't on there already - who do you think you are? Did you purchase 2 tickets??

Trash Cans....

Yesterday someone stole our trash can. It was a nice can - pretty expensive - good quality on wheels with a nice handle and lid. I'm a little upset by this. We lived for 5 years in a part of town that some would consider not as "nice" as where we live now and not once was our can stolen... GRRR

Pooped Upon

so.... when i was 8 years old my friend's mom took us ice skating in DC near the U.S. Mint. This was over 20 years ago, so i doubt the rink is still there. While unlacing my skates after a tiring 30 minutes I was pooped upon by a pigeon. It was gross and scarred me for life. Ever since that happened I have had this fear of being pooped on. It usually only manifests itself when I am in an area that several birds congregate (outside Union Station, at the beach, near any body of water really...). My S.O. likes to make fun of me but it totally freaks me out to be around a large number of birds.
Fast forward 22 years to Sunday. A lovely unseasonably warm day in mid October. I decide to go for a walk since it is so nice outside. S.O. and I walk to Tide Point (his idea). We lounge on the promenade and while we are sitting there the sea gulls are circling. I know they can feel my hate for them emanating from me. After about 20 minutes we decide to head back to the house.
On the way back - minding my own business - i get pooped on. Right on my sunglasses and shoulder. GROSS!!!! AAAAHHH!!! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN! It was just a matter of time before they found me those bastards. Now i have to be extra vigalent when in the presence of birds.

Seriously

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but geeze people, please! Please don't do personal hygene tasks on the train! Especially your nails! For god sakes! No one wants your nail trimmings or filings flying on to them! Why is this so difficult to understand? I wonder if MARC management can post a notice about this or something...

The MARC Train... it takes all kinds....

So - on my commuter train there are always different types of people. Most are regular commuters just like me, but occasionally you will have your tourist families and other random people heading to Washington for the day.
In the evening however, heading back to Baltimore we also have the people heading to BWI airport. These people are the worst.
They have no clue about train etiquette - such as not leaving your luggage in the middle of the aisle or not taking up more than one seat.
Seats are important on these trains. I've seen fist fights almost break out over a freaking seat.
So.... this one lady got on the 6:40 pm train out of Washington. IF on-time this train doesn't make it to BWI until 7:18 pm.
WHY would someone who has an 8pm flight take the 6:40 train?? It is beyond me. I just don't get it. If you are doing something new (like taking the MARC train) and you have no idea where you are going, wouldn't you give yourself a little extra time to get to your destination.
So, this lady from the other day is on the train and is frantically attempting to change her flight to a later one - but unfortunately there are no other flights to her destination. (another commuter rule - if you have to talk on your cell keep the volume down and keep it brief)
So she starts berating the person on the other end of the line about how that airline sucks and if she had flown with another airline this situation would not have happened b/c they would have had more flights.
Obviously this woman was insane. Seriously - did she think that the person at the reservation desk would be able to just add another flight to the schedule?
So... as the lady is talking with the reservation desk working on getting her on a flight the next day her cell phone died! The look on this woman's face was priceless! She just had to sit there and fume the whole way to BWI. It was pretty funny.

"libarian" vs. "librarian"

OK - What does this mean and why to people always miss-pronounce this word?

I have a few theories...

One: They do it on purpose b/c they think they are being cute.

Two: Their parents say it incorrectly so they were raised with the incorrect pronunciation and although they know now that they are saying it wrong they really don't care.

Three: They have no clue they are saying it wrong....

No matter what the reason, i can tell you one thing... no matter who you are, it makes the person uttering the word look really stupid.

On the Train....

ok so.... my commute to and from work every day always gives me something to think about.

The other day it was this... I am sitting there in my seat waiting for the train to take me home and there are are few other people in seats in my general area.

This woman gets on the train and walks over to me and asks me if someone is sitting in the seat next to me. well, no. no one is sitting there. The general assumption is that unless there is stuff on the seat the seat is available for you to sit in. I just thought it was a stupid question. You should assume that no one is sitting there.

I know in the grand scheme of things this is really nothing, but i just thought it was a stupid question...

Oh - that reminds me of something else really stupid someone said to me once while waiting for the train in the AM.

The train usually leaves at 735 - so we are all waiting on the platform for the train to show up and it is 15 minutes late so now it is 750 and this woman - who i have seen before so i know she isn't a tourist - she walks up to me and asks me if the train is late... um... i looked at my watch to make sure that i wasn't in some sort of time warp or something... yep. it is 750. OBVIOUSLY the train is late....

duh. stupid questions waste time.

Elevator Amnesia

Ok so here's the thing.

I work on the 7th floor of my building so i ride and elevator several times a day. Lots of random people get in these elevators on and off various floors. Many times people get on and whether they are going one floor or all the way down or up it seems that as soon as they get in the elevator and push the button for their floor they immediately forget that they are in an elevator.

so what happens is that we will arrive at their floor AND NO ONE WILL MOVE OUT THE DOOR! Hello! We are at your destination. You just hit the button for your floor - don't you remember where you are going??

GGGRRR.... very frustrating. I really don't understand why people don't pay attention and get out of the elevator when we get to your floor...

it's called Elevator Amnesia.

Every Occasion in Life as Explained by the Jerry Seinfeld Show

ok - so every situation that happens in your life has been parodyed on the Jerry Seinfeld show. For example, one of my most favorite classic scenes is the "reservation" scene where Jerry is at a car rental place and in an attempt to claim his vehicle has the following conversation with the girl at the counter: (episode 28, "The Alternate Side")

Rental car agent: Next please.

Elaine: Well, go, go.

Agent: Can I help you? Name please?

Jerry: Seinfeld. I made a reservation for a mid-size, and she's a small. I'mkidding around, of course.

Agent: Okay, let's see here.

Jerry: Sixty-six years old?

Elaine: Yeah, well, he's in perfect health. He works out, he's vibrant. You'dreally like him.

Jerry: Why do people always say that? I hate everyone, why would I like him?

Elaine: What do you think, would you go out with a sixty-six year old woman?

Jerry: Well, I'll tell you, she would have to be really vibrant. So vibrant,she'd be spinning.

Agent: I'm sorry, we have no mid-size available at the moment.

Jerry: I don't understand, I made a reservation, do you have my reservation?

Agent: Yes, we do, unfortunately we ran out of cars.

Jerry: But the reservation keeps the car here. That's why you have thereservation.

Agent: I know why we have reservations.

Jerry: I don't think you do. If you did, I'd have a car. See, you know how totake the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation andthat's really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybodycan just take them.

Agent: Let me, uh, speak with my supervisor.

The agent goes into an office with a window in the door so she can be seenspeaking with someone.

Jerry: Uh, here we go. The supervisor. You know what she's saying over there?

Elaine: What?

Jerry: Hey Marge, you see those two people over there? They think I'm talkingto you, so you pretend like you're talking to me, okay now you start talking.

Elaine: Oh, you mean like this? So it looks like I'm saying something but I'mnot really saying anything at all?

Jerry: Now you say something else and they won't yell at me 'cause they thoughtI was checking with you.

Elaine: Okay, that's it. I think that's enough, see you later.

The agent returns.

Agent: I'm sorry, my supervisor says there's nothing we can do.

Jerry: Yeah, it looked as if you were in a real conversation over there.

Agent: But we do have a compact if you would like that.

Jerry: Fine.

Agent: Alright. We have a blue Ford Escort for you Mr. Seinfeld. Would youlike insurance?

Jerry: Yeah, you better give me the insurance, because I am gonna beat the hell out of this car.

The reason i bring this up is because i made an appointment with my trainer at the gym for 6 am this morning and SHE DIDN'T FREAKING SHOW UP! For the appointments we had earlier in the week she was 5 minutes late for those. Man. This is a business transaction. I am PAYING for this person's time. She had damn well not do this again or I am going to get another trainer.

I just read my "contract" and I might have to fight "the man" a little harder than expected to get out my contract with this girl. Geeze! It's just rude and bad for business. You make an appointment with someone - you should be there! Especially when that appointment is at 6 am in the freaking morning.

I've gotta call the gym manager later today. The contract says that as a "client" if I don't provide at least 12 hours notice before cancelling a session then I get docked that session. Well.... does it work both ways? If my trainer doesn't show up do i get a free session?? doubt it, but i'm going to try....