Lesbian Parents OK

I found this article on the New Scientist. A study of 44 teens raised in lesbian households found these teens to have no difference from teens raised in heterosexual households. Now this really isn't a big study, but it counts for something. I wish they would have found more families to study. Anyway, I found the article interesting. Check it out!

Cycling

I have accomplished a great task, today. I rode my bike for twenty miles. This is the first time I have ever done anything like this. I normally bike around 10-12 miles, but I was inspired by the beautiful day. The weather is perfect with the temperature reaching around 82. I couldn't resist. The best part about it is that I don't feel extremely tired or sore. Although, I'm sure I'll take a nap sometime this afternoon. If I could do this at least once a week, I would be very proud of myself. That's my new goal!!

Here We Go Again...

Abortion is a dirty word in the South. I just came across an article that states that certain states like Texas, Mississippi, and Kansas give out brochures indicating that women who have abortions increase their risk of getting cancer. What's great about this is that the group that puts this brochure out are part of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer group, which is pro-life.

And this is where they get their information:
Joel Brind, a biochemist at Baruch College in New York who advises the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, noted that a woman's chances of getting breast cancer go down if she gives birth at a relatively young age. He reasons that those who opt for abortion are giving up a chance of reducing their breast cancer risk.
Therefore, he says, abortion increases the risk of cancer.

I can't believe he says this with a straight face. Check out the article!

The Values-Vote Myth

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: The Values-Vote Myth
I found this op-ed piece in the NYT. Interestingly enough, I've been feeling the same about how Democrats are rationalizing the reason Bush got reelected--If you want to understand why Democrats keep losing elections, just listen to some coastal and university town liberals talk about how conformist and intolerant people in Red America are..

I have been reading many different articles about the post election feelings of the Democrats, which has lead me to conclude that Democrats are being a bit snobbish. One thing is disagree on key positions like abortion or the war, but another is to think that Red America are made up of bunch of homophobic rednecks. The fact of the matter is that it's not true. I also don't believe that there's a surge of Evangelical Republicans coming out to vote, but then again the country has been leaning more conservative than liberal. The reality is that the young people who tend to be more liberal on social issues didn't vote. That's the bottom line.

I have to be honest. This is the first year that I vote. I never bothered to vote in the past. If I had registered in time in 2000, I would have voted for Bush. I didn't like Al Gore. He didn't move me. Bush wasn't so bad. I changed my mind on him because I don't feel that anyone has been held accountable for the obvious lack of accurate intelligence when it comes to the war. I don't necessarily disagree with everything Bush has done, but I do recognize the importance of the balance of power. I use to consider myself a Republican in the economic sense, but I lean toward the left on some social issues. Besides, you should vote for a candidate based on issues not what party they belong to. This is a lesson that I'm beginning to understand more and more as I dig into the political arena.

Abortion

The story is beginning to heat up--Abortion. I want all of you to keep on eye on this like I will.

Angry conservatives flooded Senate phone and fax lines on Friday demanding that Republicans prevent Senator Arlen Specter from presiding over the Judiciary Committee after he remarked that strongly anti-abortion judicial nominees might be rejected in the Senate.

While Democrats have always been more vocal than Republicans, don't expect this to be true in the next four years. I would hate to see what would happen to this country if Roe v. Wade is overturn.

Walmart Gets the OK

Walmart has been able to open its doors in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Some are very happy about this claiming that this is progress. While others realize that Walmart will only bring down the town. Let's see how those people will feel about Walmart when local businesses will have to close down because they cannot keep up with the giant. I hope someone follows up on this story. I would like to see the results of this.

Get it Together

Well now that the elections are over, I hope the Democratic party gets their shit together. I've been surfing through the net and found out that they are thinking of the 2008 presidential election. It seems that Edwards will try to run for president. He's got to be kidding if he thinks he'll get elected. He's not even running for reelection in the Senate. How's he going to do it? The next person (and we all know who it is) is Hillary Clinton. I don't like her at all, but she has a hell a lot more experience than Edwards.

On the right, we have Giuliani, Frist, McCain, and so on. If Giuliani runs, he has a good chance of getting elected. As much as I like Giuliani and dislike Clinton, I would probably vote for Clinton. The simple fact that there needs to be a balance of power in our government. This is why the two party system sucks. The Republicans control everything now. That's dangerous. Supreme Court Justices are going to be picked. Can we say goodbye Roe v. Wade?

Now there are things that I do like about the Republicans. They are not all bad. The way Democrats stomp there feet like little kids when things don't go their way is extremely annoying to me. Especially when the Hollywood elite decide they are going to become political. I hate to tell you but that turns me off more than anything else. Hey Hollywood, wake up and shut up! The Republicans won without having any help from celebrities! Do you realize that you morons???!!!! But Hollywood lives in their own little world and think everyone else does, too.

Anyway, I feel this is a critical time in our lives that calls for action. If you didn't vote or are turned off to vote on the next elections, think again. This could be the turn of this country towards a more religiously conservative era. For those of you that are not that religious, think about your position.

Voting

I said I was going to keep my vote secret, but the more I think about it the more I know it's a wrong decision to do so. This election is important and my friends should know what issues helped me make my decision. I didn't make up my mind until yesterday. I decided to go to Bush's and Kerry's websites to see what each offered. Frankly, I was not impressed with Bush. I support the war in Iraq, but I didn't support the US going in alone. I knew it would be a bad idea. It turns out that there weren't any weapons. That just doesn't sit well with me. Yes we did remove Saddam Hussein, but there are many other leaders that should be removed and are more of a threat than Hussein was.

I also did not like the fact that Bush wanted a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Social issues should not be decided by the constitution. I hate to tell you anti-homosexuals that there are actually five sexes. Not everyone is born a complete female or a complete male. This is not something pulled out of a hat. It is scientific. Gays want to marry, so let them. Mind your own business! If you don't like it, tough! I don't like it when you start preaching down my throat about God or that gays are bad!

Now on to Kerry. As you know I'm not crazy about him, but I did find some stuff that I do like about him. He believes in border patrol. That alone shows that he's tougher on terrorism than Bush is. Bush has not done anything for our borders. If he can't stop illegal immigration into this country, how is he going to stop terrorists from seeping in? We can easily protect ourselves from outside threats. But when the threats are in this country already, how are we suppose to stop them? We didn't stop 9/11.

Another issue I find important that I was very pleased to see was keeping schools open until six:
Offer 3.5 Million After-School Opportunities Through "School's Open 'Til Six"
John Kerry and John Edwards are strong supporters of after-school programs. They give students extra help, keep them out of trouble, and offer peace of mind to working parents. The Kerry-Edwards "School's Open 'Til 'Six" initiative will offer after-school opportunities to 3.5 million children, through programs that are open until 6 p.m. and offer safe transportation for children.
Do you know how great that will be? How much money parents are going to save by keeping their children in school and not having to take them into a daycare? It won't be good for daycares, but the bottom line is that it helps parents. This is especially helpful to low and middle income families. This means more jobs opening up because now we need people to stay with these students. Women will benefit from this tremendously. Families that can't afford daycare, won't have to worry about mommies having to only work a part-time job in order to be home in time to pick up the kids from school. This eventually will signify that more women will hold full-time jobs and more money will poor into the household.

Let's not forget about the children, either. They will receive extra help in the subjects needed and have time to finish their homework. Kids will not have the opportunity to get themselves into any trouble. With many children not knowing how to read, how could this not be an overall benefit for working families?

There are other issues I like, but these two struck home. I'm not a parent, but if I knew that I would be able to keep my children in school longer and not have to worry about additional costs, I would be a happy camper. Border patrol is also very important to me and I've mentioned it before.

As you have probably deduced by now, I'm voting for Kerry. The polls open today at one and as long as there isn't a four hour wait (like yesterday), I will cast my vote. I'm happy that I have found issues that are important to me. I was originally going to vote for Nader, but now I know that my vote will count. I could now at least get behind a candidate and not hate the president. Let's hope that Kerry does get elected on Tuesday.

Free Time

Maybe not, but I'm down to two 4 hour shifts a week. I'm working my last eight hour shift at B&N on Saturday and no more weekends. I know I've been slacking a bit, but I'm too tired to write. What I haven't been slacking off on has been working out. I'm glad about this because it's usually the first thing to go. I still work out 4 to 5 days a week (depending on how tired I am).

Now that I'm down to two shifts, I'm starting my GRE studying and relearning French. I was thinking about it a few days ago that it sucks that I can't speak French after taking a couple of semesters of it. I'm back to reading it, which I could do barely. Anyway, it's fun. Also when I go back to school to get my master's, I'm probably going to learn Portuguese, but that's another story.

Anyway, that's what's been going on. I'm still not sure who I'm going to vote for. This is not good since there's early voting down here. What to do? I better make up my mind soon. I don't have much time left.

Clinton--Head of the UN?

Bill Clinton
This does come as a surprise. Clinton is interested in taking over Kofi Annans's spot in the UN. Would he actually get that spot? And what would this mean if Hillary gets elected in 2008 (of course if Kerry looses this election)? I personally think it's a bit scary that one family would control the world. How imperialistic would we look then? The GOP wouldn't like this. Any international decision would have to be approved by Clinton (unless the president decides to go it alone, like Iraq). I'll have to say that I'll have a lot of material to write about once I'm done with school.

I'm Mad at the Yankees!!!!!

At first, I couldn't believe that the Yankees had lost the lead in this series. But loose the series?! Come on!! 10-3? I got so mad that at 10:00pm I decided to go to sleep. The truth is that the Yankees played a horrible game last night. The pitching decisions were awful. How do you allow the Red Sox to hit a grand slam on game 7? Anyway, I will not talk about this anymore.

Smartest and Dumbest State

States
I guess I belong in Florida being that I moved from New Jersey, which is #4 in the country of smartest states.

14 Superfoods

Superfoods
For those of you interested, check this article out about superfoods. It's an interesting find.

Protesting Walmart

CNN.com - Anti-Wal-Mart�
I'm glad to hear that the local people in Teotihuacan are protesting Walmart. This is a great sign that people are beginning to see what Walmart truly stands for. I hope more people take on this trend.

Dieting?

Check this article out (Atkins). I found it interesting since I'm dieting myself and following a low carb diet. By my low carb diet consists of whole wheat pasta, whole wheat cereal (Fiber), and veggies. My low carb is defined by low processed carbs like sugar and white bread. Of course, I do buy low carb meals or products that contain low carbs. For example, I'm eating a chocolate ice cream by Edy's that is low carb. It is sweetened with splenda. I haven't had a chance to weigh myself this past week, but I could tell you that I don't have enough money to buy new clothes. My shorts don't fit me, and I can't buy any new ones because Miami sells winter clothes. The main thing is that I do count calories and exercise 4 to 5 times a week. I know I'm looking better because I keep on getting hit on at B&N, which I find funny. Most importantly is that Dan bike rides with me on Sunday mornings, which is our only time together throughout the entire week. We have tons of fun doing it. It's a definite stress reliever.

I know I'm slacking, but....

I've been pretty busy this last week and a half. I started going back to the gym which means I'm waking up at 4:30 instead of 5:30. I'm still working at B & N, which is getting to me. I haven't even read the newspaper in the past week. How crazy is that? I have no idea what's going on with the world. I'm pretty upset about this. I have to end this post quickly because I'm leaving to work in a few minutes. See you around!

Eating Right

Eating Right

I have this argument with many people that think Atkins is the best thing that has ever happened to weight loss. I like this article that I found because it's exactly the type of diet I'm following (except for the alcohol). People don't realize that you have to restrict the amount of calories per day. Cutting carbs is a fast fix and you won't last very long on it. Besides, in order for your brain to function, you must eat carbs. Protein does not help your brain.

Two months ago I began restricting my calories. I went to the doctor about a week ago, and he told me to do low carb. What he didn't say was to restrict all carbs. He wants me to eat fruits, vegetables, whole wheat pasta, and anything that has a lot of fiber in it. I have lost 12 pounds so far, and dropped a size. For those of you that haven't seen me in a while, I've lost a total of 27 pounds. I'm very excited about this. I'm also not taking any diet pills or calorie burners. It's called discipline! My fellow readers that's what you need in order to loose weight.

Elections

There are five weeks left to election day, and I still have no idea who am I going to vote for. This is a bad sign. I'm not crazy about Bush and I was in favor over the war. Although, I always said he didn't have a clear definition on why we were going into war. You can't have different objectives on why you're taking a country to war. It was the wmd's and we were under imminent threat to be attacked. These are two very different reasons on why to go to war. I still supported it because I believed the evidence was there that Iraq had wmd's. Obviously that wasn't the case and there was no imminent threat of us being attacked. But I do believe that it is better that Saddam Hussein is out of power. This man is a horrible person and what he's done to his own people is unthinkable. That being said, I now feel we should have concentrated more on Afghanistan.

I don't agree with everything Bush believes in, which I think would be weird if I did. For example, I love Dan to death, but that doesn't mean I agree with every he says or does. One thing for sure is that you know what you're getting from him. Kerry is a different story. He makes it sound that he would have made all the right choices. How often does anyone make all the right choices? I know I don't. Moving down to Florida was not a right choice, and I felt we were prepared for it. Now, we're stuck making little money and working way too much. There's a pool in the backyard that I have not gotten into since July. How's that for enjoying the sunshine state? This doesn't make me a bad person; it just makes me human. It's easy to say you would have done things differently after the fact. I could say the same thing about moving down here.

The point is that neither candidate is the best one for the job. I definitely don't like Kerry, but I'm not entirely crazy about Bush either. Who knows who I'll vote for. I wish there was a better contender.

White Power Music

TheDenverChannel.com - News - White Power Groups Turn To Rock CDs To Entice Students

Neo-Nazis are at it again. They have made rock cds and plan to distribute them to schools in Colorado. Neo-Nazis are calling this "Operation Schoolyard USA." These people are a bunch of morons and are trying to make more morons.

What I find interesting is their motto, "We don't just entertain racist kids. We create them." To me that says it all. They have to create racists, which obviously means that people are not born racist. I mean this obivious to me and probably to others. Children become exposed to racist behavior. They are not born that way. I wish the Neo-Nazis would learn from their motto and realize how harmful they are being to society. It's beyond me why anyone hates another person because of his/her religious affiliation and/or ethnicity, but they are out there.

Caskets Float

local6.com - News - Flooding From Jeanne Raises Dead At Florida, Georgia Cemeteries

I had to link this story because it's never crossed my mind that flooding will cause caskets to float. The thought of this is extremely disturbing.