( Russian ) Somewhat hampered by the fact that I forgot to copy over all the instructions from the book when I left this morning, but hey. Hopefully I didn't do too bad. And this is one of those things where, if I did, the solution is pretty easy and involves repetition and memorization. A lot of it.
And in other news, the Tea Party has gone even more fucking batshit than they were already. It was one thing when they were calling themselves Tea Baggers and everyone with a modicum of savvy as to slang culture was laughing at them, but this is just ridiculous. In one news article I read that they were responsible for putting at least one
purported home address for a Congressman online, thereby causing that person's home to be harassed day and night. And it wasn't even the guy's house, it was the guy's brother's house, with his four kids there. Windows have been smashed, death threats have been made. Calls have been made to some congressmembers' offices day and night so that they can't get a call out, which is a serious safety hazard if this violence escalates. Slurs of racist and homophobic nature have been levied.
And for what? Because the "people" don't want it? As far as I've read, around half (depending on whose numbers you look at) the people in this country are for this health care bill and think it's an excellent idea. Probably more than that are for some kind of health care reform, at least. Everyone wants to be able to go to a doctor for what may be a serious health concern without worrying about their medical bills. And right now, we can't do that unless we have insurance, and in some cases even if we do and just don't have adequate insurance. Because insurance costs are ridiculous. Because our health care system is fucked.
The rest of the first world is welcoming us into the 20th century. Not the 21st century, the 20th. Because we suck that much. Because the rest of the world has at least a basic standard of medical care available to all their citizens regardless of income or class bracket, and we're the only ones where you have to be rich in order to be healthy, or at least deliberately and willfully unhealthy. And the Tea Party is fighting tooth and ragged nail for our right to hurl ourselves back into the dark ages. What the hell, people? Are you really that stupid?
It's not even that I disagree with their point of view. I do, but I can see why they're upset about taxes and government spending supposedly running amok in a time of everyone bootstrapping it except the rich, and the divide between rich and poor ever growing. I can understand the frustration. But for crying out loud, why does that justify harassing people in such a way that makes their families fearful for their lives? How is it the congressman's fault that his brother's address was published instead of his own, and his house subsequently harassed? It's not his fault, dear Tea Partier, it's yours. You're the one going over there and threatening children. You're the ass in this picture, not him. Yes, this is a country that was founded on rebellion, but, you know what? The Declaration of Independence says "it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands". Not "It becomes necessary for one people to go smash the tyrant's houses and scare the shit out of his children." No. Not cool.
Actually, now that I'm thinking of the Declaration, let's go to one of my favorite parts that I still remember from when I had to memorize it as a kid. It's from the list of grievances that the colonies had against the King, and one of them that was my Grandmother's favorite and is mine, too, now, reads: "He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people."
Basically, dear Tea Partiers, he did the same damn thing that you cocksuckers are doing. You're the King in this picture, not the righteous colonists. You stopped being righteous when you started being violent, and threatening violence.
God knows this country has a history of rowdy protest. I lived in the Capital for years, I remember the crowds on the mall. But there is a major, major difference between people painting themselves colors, baring their breasts for peace, storming up and down the gravel and sand waving signs and playing really loud music. You know, the Folk Song Army. There's a big difference between that and throwing shit through people's windows and calling them faggots and niggers. Not. At all. Cool.
I know about being pissed off. Oh, the things I want to do to the fuckbrained sheepshaggers who are doing this. But you know what? I can at least pretend to be a civilized person and
not do them. I can be pissed off, confine my rantings to the internet, not publish anyone's phone numbers or even names or parties, you'll note, in my rantings, and then maybe write my Congressman or the president asking for censure of the Congresspeople who are advocating or approving of this stupefying bullshit. Because yes, at least according to some sources I've read, there are Congressmen who are saying "Well, what did you expect? You voted for it. This is your fault."
No. No, this is not their fault. It is, indeed, the duty of a representative of a body of people to represent the points of view fairly. It is also the duty of that body of people to make their voices heard in a respectful manner. This shit is not respectful. This is bullshit.
It is also, I should say, and I know this has been brought up elsewhere on my friends' list, the duty of the representative to do right by their constituency. And maybe, since these are people who represent us
for a living, just maybe they know better than me about some things? Because their job is to read the proposals, learn about the needs of their people, and then advocate for bills and laws that fill those needs. And they are supposed to do their research (including having staff to do it for them, heh, I would love staff to do my research for me) and use their best judgment. That's what we pay them for. I don't have time to read every single article of every single bill, translate it from legalese to a language I speak, and then argue in a very heated debate for my side. I'd never get any sleep! I have a day job, and I have to put food on my table and keep a roof over my head. Instead, I learn about our representatives and vote for one who I think will best argue for my needs and wants. Do I sometimes lose and get maybe the second or third best? Yes. Do I deal with it? Yes. God. How many of you Tea Partiers even voted? Maybe most of you, but why do I suspect there are those of you who haven't even done that much to secure your right to bitch.
In short, people who go after other people's homes and families with violence and death threats as a means to register their political disapproval are thick-headed fuck-ups, and I strongly dislike them. They can go suck diseased rotting cock.
(This tirade brought to you by the letters F, U, and by the morning news.)
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