31.10.04

Pagan Unity Campaign

Pagan Unity Campaign

This seems to be a good site. It's unfortunate that I found it so late in the game. They have good detailed voter guides for pagans and those in non-mainstream religions, in general, really. I'll most likely keep checking back with them even after the election, since I've had my political consciousness raised, and I'm still coming at it from the same place.

Steven Waldman on the case for imposing religious views on others. -- Beliefnet.com

Steven Waldman on the case for imposing religious views on others. -- Beliefnet.com

This guy tries to make a good argument, but the problem is that he's not arguing it properly. He's trying to say that any vote from morality is supposed to be wrong, but that's not the case. The problem is with votes based upon moral (or more accurately, religious) principles that adversely affects other people who don't share that belief. A law that is passed due to religious ideals that helps people is never going to be wrong... unless it also unduely hurts other people. If the issue is an article of faith that isn't carried by someone else, it would be morally wrong to force that person to do that by the force of law. If, for instance, I had a religion where I thought that nobody should NOT have sex with their dog (I don't, it's just a metaphor), and I tried to pass a law that said that everyone should have to have sex with a dog once a week, that would be morally wrong, not so much because of the sex with a dog thing (which I happen to find rather wrong, anyway), but because I'd be forcing other people to do something they think is wrong. I know that's an extreme example, but that's what legislating an article of faith is. If the other person doesn't share that article, it's wrong to force them to act a certain way. For an article of faith to be legislatable, there should be compelling SOCIAL, CIVIC, or ECONOMIC reasons for it to be passed. Then, if someone doesn't hold the same faith as you, there is still a compelling reason for that person to accept the judgement of the law. It is perfectly fine for your faith to guide what you want to accomplish in the political sphere, but for things to really be political, they have to have good social grounding, rather than just divisive religious ideals. That's what the problem is with legislating faith is, because not everyone has the same faith. In one country, though, everyone is tied together by the social fabric and new laws should be argued from that perspective, and not from a religious one.

Why Pagans should support George W. Bush -- Beliefnet.com

Why Pagans should support George W. Bush -- Beliefnet.com

In my last entry, I said that I couldn't understand how people could be pagans and support Bush, but I seem to have missed one important factor... Glaring Inconsistencies! This article is rife with them. Somehow, the author, who claims to be pagan, glosses over the terrible environmental problems Bush has caused, the poor economy, and human rights violations from Bush's former 4 years of the presidency, and focused on the stump speech/talking points that the right wing media spews out. The author has no problem with innocent Iraqis getting killed, but does have a problem with abortions. I'll tell you, I don't like abortions, but I know they're going to happen, so I'd prefer to have them legal, because it will result in less crime and less death. I don't approve of killing innocent people in Iraq just because a small percentage of people might have anti-american and anti-christian ideals. I'm pretty sure most of the people in the country wouldn't approve of my spiritual ideas, but I think they'd be civil enough to have a live and let live policy about it, as long as I don't try to change them. The author seems to really be holding on to a lot of christian ideals. That's fine, there's a good deal of merit in christianity, but to call upon christian ideals is somewhat less-than-pagan. It can be great for a world-religion point-of-view, or from a general moral point of view to bring up the beliefs of another faith, but that's like using something the Buddha said to support something Jesus said... it's more of an interfaith approach than an argument from that faith's ideals... and some people are bound not to take it so well. It also displayed (not surprisingly) some anti-homosexual ideals. The author claims to not have a problem with gays, but doesn't seem to really believe what she says (I think it's a she...). From my point of view, this seems to be a quite distorted view of paganism. I can admit that often, my views on matters political and moral deviate from the party line of most organizations, but I can't really understand how this person can believe that pagan ideals are the same as conservative ideals... This article has some serious issues.

Why Pagans should support John Kerry by Starhawk -- Beliefnet.com

Why Pagans should support John Kerry by Starhawk -- Beliefnet.com

I gotta say that I agree with everything this article said, and I'm not generally inclined to agree with everything Starhawk has to say, but she has good points, and this is something I tend to agree with. There was an article about why Pagans should vote for Bush, and I'm going to read it, but I can't really imagine why Pagans would ever want to vote for Bush... even if they were rich. I'll probably post it here, with reactions, once I've read it.

29.10.04

No People Names for Pets

PeoplePC - News

Now this is just over-legislating something. Okay, so children might get depressed if they have the same name as someone's pet, but they'll GET OVER IT! This is definitely over the top. If someone wants to give their pet a person's name, that's because the pet is important to them. Assuming the children would get depressed devalues people's pets... which they might care about... and it also really doesn't give children any credit at all... like they couldn't recover from something like that. This is just silly.

Homeland Security At Work

PeoplePC - News

This is an article about how Homeland Security agents visited a toy store because they had a generic rubic's cube (on which, supposedly, the copyright has expired), and made the owner take it off the shelves. Now, maybe it's just me, but DOESN'T THE HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO? I dunno, maybe it's just that someone selling generic rubic's cubes doesn't sound like that much of a threat to national security to me... probably because it doesn't involve, I dunno... BOMBS... This story just shows how much the government's power is abused... particularly since this wasn't addressed to the manufacturer or y'know... through the PATENT OFFICE. Yikes... this is just stupid....

PeoplePC - News

PeoplePC - News

This is a story about an official pardon that's being carried out in a Scottish town for people who were executed as witches centuries ago. I know there are still people who don't really want pardons for some silly reason, but shouldn't this have been done at least decades ago when scholarship figured out that most if not all of the people who were killed were innocent? The story says it came too late by centuries... and in preventing their deaths, this is true, but I think it came too late by decades, because there's really no reason to wait on offical pardons once the evidence is there that the institution was wrong. To me, that's an immediate kind of thing. But, it's at least a good step that this one town is doing the right thing, finally.

27.10.04

MSNBC - Catch the lunar eclipse while you can

MSNBC - Catch the lunar eclipse while you can

I watched the last few, and they were really cool. I'm definitely watching this one... particularly since Megan is going to, as well, so we'll be looking at the same thing at the same time, which is nice. But lunar eclipses are just awesome. They turn the moon red and are just really kinda creepy. Excellent for the week before Halloween, and also just good fun. Wear a coat, though, 'cause it's gonna be cold.

24.10.04

MSNBC - Bush ad uses wolves to imply Kerry weak

MSNBC - Bush ad uses wolves to imply Kerry weak

There's a couple of problems with this ad. If the Bush people had anything to say about it, I'm sure we wouldn't have wolves... and not just the ones that imply American enemies, wolves themselves. For those of us who feel a connection with wolves, we know that you need environmental programs to keep them around, and Bush certainly doesn't support those. This ad does just the opposite of what it's supposed to do for me. It makes me see more that Bush is a very bad man. He's just like a jerk who goes out and hunts wolves nearly to extinction without considering the impact it might have on the world. Instead of just creating an analogy, it brings other issues to the table that are very much like the issues it tries to address... but in neither case is it beneficial for Bush. Wolves are noble creatures who fulfill an important requirement in nature, and similarly, there are reasons that terrorists attack other people. If we understood what those reasons were, we could control that problem. If we just go out and kill all of them without thinking, we just create more problems. I thought this ad might upset me, because I'm a wolf person, but it turns out to be so ironic and very much on the nose without his realizing it that I almost don't dislike it... as long as people actually think about what they're seeing and doing.

23.10.04

The Bush campaign has hired David Barton who calls the U.S. a 'Christian nation' -- Beliefnet.com

The Bush campaign has hired David Barton who calls the U.S. a 'Christian nation' -- Beliefnet.com

Those of you who know me know how reprehensible I'll find this article, even before reading it. The problem is that this nation has freedom of religion. Therefore, it cannot be a Christian nation. It can't be any religion, officially. If the majority of the nation were pagans, it wouldn't be a pagan nation. Same if the majority were Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Shinto, Confucian, Taoist, or even Satanist. It's just not. While there could be some argument whether groups could use their services to promote one candidate or not, it's just not a good idea, in general. Firstly, most religions don't NEED to do that, because if you're not Christian, you know not to vote for Bush, because he wants you to be. Second, people are GOING to disagree with you. Some will, some won't, it's just unavoidable. And when you express something to your congregation that they disagree with, you've just lost their respect for your judgement... and most likely left a sour taste in their mouth about you as a person, as well. It's simply a better idea to let people make their own decisions, and not to try to force an issue on people when they'd just as soon leave it be.

Military Reference - Japanese

Military Reference - Japanese

This was a cool looking site. It had lots of stuff about japanese swords and samurai in general. Looked cool to me. :-)

MSNBC - Vacation leads to home makeover by squatter

MSNBC - Vacation leads to home makeover by squatter

This is just nutty. Some woman broke into another person's house and started living there. I didn't think that still happened in America. It's kinda creepy. Glad it's never happened to me.

MSNBC - Several strong earthquakes rattle Japan

MSNBC - Several strong earthquakes rattle Japan

I looked at this mostly out of idle curiosity and an interest in Japan. But it made me think. With this earthquake right after a typhoon, and the volcanos and hurricanes that have been happening in the U.S., there are all kinds of natural disasters globally speaking, lately. Now, if one were biblically inclined, one might see the apocalypse. As I am not, I tend to see things very much like those described in the book I'm reading right now about the enviromental crisis, which was written nearly 10 years ago, and in which the author predicted things just like this in 5 to 10 years if we didnt' change things. We did a little, but not very much at all, and here we are. Honestly, it's looking kinda grim. One hopes that we can maybe turn some of this around, soon.

22.10.04

Enjoy The Draft

Enjoy The Draft

This site is hilarious, tongue-in-cheek satire that's simultaneously highly amusing, cynical, and incredibly scary. I just genuinely hope that this guy is really kidding. It seems like he'd have to be... or else he is completely insane. In any case, it's a site worth checking out.

21.10.04

The Wiccan Warrior by Kerr Cuhulain -- Beliefnet.com

The Wiccan Warrior by Kerr Cuhulain -- Beliefnet.com

This looked interesting. He has a book I've been meaning to read, but haven't had a chance to yet, financially. I've always had a bit of a warrior archetype thing going, but in a positive way. A real warrior seeks to avoid battle, in general. So I've kind of been doing this by default since I became a pagan. So, even if you're not that interested in the topic in general, it might give you better insight into me as a person... assuming you're interested in that, as well. ;-)

MSNBC - Carter: American troops' presence ignite more violence

MSNBC - Carter: American troops' presence ignite more violence

This was a very eloquent statement that a friend sent to me by former President Jimmy Carter, a generally maligned man (for no good reason I can think of). I wasn't sure it'd be good, since it's with Chris Matthews, but it turned out quite good. We ought to listen to this man. He has some good ideas laid out. Even just a couple of them would be good. If you're at all interested in the war in Iraq and how to end it, it's worth checking out. Thanks, Animator. :-)

Two new polls show a sudden shift of undecided Catholics toward Kerry. By Steve Waldman -- Beliefnet.com

Two new polls show a sudden shift of undecided Catholics toward Kerry. By Steve Waldman -- Beliefnet.com

I find this interesting, even if I'm not a Catholic (or even a Christian), just because it seems like a lot of the attacks on Kerry are backfiring, and being that I'd much rather have Kerry than Bush, this is comforting. As somewhat of an anti-establishmentarian, it's good to see that the institutional controls might be failing, as well.

18.10.04

Llewellyn's Spell A Day: Ritual for a Fuller Head of Hair

Llewellyn's Spell A Day: Ritual for a Fuller Head of Hair: "Ritual for a Fuller Head of Hair
October 18th, 2004


Color of the day: Gray
Incense of the day: Frankincense

At sunrise during a waxing Moon, wash your hair and then rinse it with rosemary (if you have dark hair) or chamomile (if you have red or blond hair). Make a hair rinse by steeping the herb in hot water for five to ten minutes, then straining and cooling the infusion. Get your hair cut before sunset.

By: Therese Francis"

This was something I thought might be of use to my friend, Kristy. Hope it was of any help. ;-)

17.10.04

MSN Careers - You Can Get a Job With Any Major - Career Advice Article

MSN Careers - You Can Get a Job With Any Major - Career Advice Article

I'd really like to believe that this is true. My interview kind of supports it... but the job hasn't quite come in, yet. Once it does, maybe I'll believe in it a little better. The guy did have a lot to say about how a business major isn't really useful anymore because so many people take them... but I'm not sure about it. Hopefully, they're right. ;-)

6767.com

6767.com

This is a weblog done by Dave Navarro. He's one of my favorite guitarists... a very prime influence, and, as I'm finding out through further exposure to him as a person, he happens to be a great guy... at least from my perspective. Just thought I'd throw this website out there for the people who were interested.

8.10.04

Help Protect Our Endangered Species

The League of Conservation Voters

This is just one of the email things on the last site. It's about making the Endangered Species Act still have weight. It's definitely worth sending out if you have any kind of environmental streak in you because it keeps animals from going extinct, and it's effective at bringing populations back, as recently happened with the bald eagle. Worth checking out.

The League of Conservation Voters

The League of Conservation Voters

This site looks like a really good hub of things that I'm actually interested in. I know the war has kind of taken over most domestic and environmental issues for this election, but they're still important to me. This site has lots of new articles, and a feature to send emails to your congress member. It's a good way, I think, to actually get the word out to people that this kind of stuff still matters to some of us.

Bring back Invader Zim Petition

Bring back Invader Zim Petition

I doubt the petition will have any real effect, but I signed it, anyway. I do wish they were still making more Invader Zim. It's a hilarious show. It's too bad it didn't really take off, because it's highly enjoyable. I've just spent the last week or so going through and watching the DVDs for it. It's addictive.

Hosted by DrunkDuck.com! [ #1 Lucidfairy Cover ]

Hosted by DrunkDuck.com! [ #1 Lucidfairy Cover ]

This is a webcomic... a yaoi manga that my friend is making. If you're interested in manga, and don't mind some slightly strange things (and if you like manga, how can you mind them?), it's worth checking out. She updates it fairly regularly, so it's often got something new. I'd definitely recommend it.