First a little back story.

According to his entry on Wikipedia (don’t worry, it’s got several legitimate references on what I’m about to mention, check them out for yourself) Mr. Norris has done the following:

• Married Diane Holechek in 1958
• Had his first son, Mike, with Diane in 1963
• Had his first daughter, Dina, not with Diane in 1964
• Had his second son, Eric, with Diane in 1965
• Divorced Diane in 1988
• Married Gena O’Kelley in 1998
• Had twins with Gena in 2001

So what am I getting at, and why is Chuck Norris a giant douche?

Recently Mr. Norris posted a little diatribe to the internet about the recent protests proceeding the passing of Proposition 8.

Now, before I continue I will say one thing.  I do agree with him that these protests should not involve violence.  Causing physical injury to others or damaging personal property is clearly sending the wrong message.  Martin Luther King Jr. understood in the ’60’s that peaceful protest was the best method and so should those continuing the fight for equality today.  (Odd that we are still fighting for equality in the US four decades later don’t you think?)

All that said, I’ll get to my point.

Mr. Norris claimed that the protests and rallies occurring in California and around the nation equated to a desire for anarchy.  That somehow these hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people that are publicly displaying their outrage for the passing of this hateful legislation are giving up on democracy and calling for anarchy is outrageous.  Mr. Norris has clearly never heard of or fully understood the concept of “tyranny of the majority” and would presumably be a-ok with a majority of his fellow citizens taking away just about any of the rights currently bestowed upon him by the US or his states constitution.

Before I cut Chuck Norris out of this I will mention why I felt the need to provide a mini bio on Mr. Norris earlier.  Here we have a man that is ok in defending those that proposed and passed a proposition that’s aim was to “protect” marriage.  Now he may not have said that he stands behind Proposition 8 exactly, if he did at some point I couldn’t find a reference to that effect, but in defending the actions of those that supported it, and saying to the opponents, tough luck, that’s democracy for yah, he might as well have.  If you accept my argument that he’s indeed defending the defense of marriage argument, I have one question.  Who is he to be defending those that think they are defending marriage?  The guy cheated on his wife between his first and second child, subsequently fathering an illegitimate child, divorced, and later remarried.  Marriage is under attack not by those that don’t have the right to marry, but by those that do!  That’s enough of Chuck Norris.  I promise never to mention his name again.

My Generations Fight for Equality
Californians just wrote into their constitution legislation that flat out takes away rights from a minority.  Just to say it again.  The majority of human beings in California decided that a minority of other human beings are not worthy of the same rights and privileges that they are.  If that doesn’t absolutely disgust you I honestly have no idea what would.  Every generation seems to have it’s own fight for equality and this is my generations.  Although this time it’s a little different.  This fight is being fought on two fronts.  On the one hand this fight is to grant rights to a class of people that has truly never had them.  On the other hand the fight is against those that are not happy enough with people just not having these rights, they want the rights specifically taken away from them if current laws don’t make it clear enough already.  What year is it again?

Bigotry in America?  You betcha!

Well, if it isn’t obvious enough yet that I vehemently oppose Propositon 8 and any law that tries to accomplish the same goals, then you haven’t really been paying attention.  I supported No on 8 financially as best I could.  I couldn’t vote or fly to California to help oppose the proposition physically, so I did what I could.  For that matter it seems like others from out of state did what they could to support the proposition.  The Mormon Church (Utah), The Knights of Columbus (Global), Focus on the Family (Colorado), and countless individuals.  I think it says a lot about the people supporting the proposition and their reasons for supporting it when you realize that these religious organizations, and their followers, were among Proposition 8’s largest donors.  I may not be religious myself, in fact it’s this very type of religious bigotry that pushed me away from it all together, but I honestly have no problem with you following whatever religion you’d like.  Be that a religion that’s extremely out of touch with the issues facing the world today, you can name just about any main stream religion as far as I’m concerned, or a religion that’s based on the writings of an unsuccessful science fiction writer.  Believe what you must to get you through the day.

Do not, however, think that you can take your dogma and force it on me or anyone else that disagrees with you.  Define marriage as it pertains to your religion however you’d like.  I don’t care if that means only men and women can get “married” in your church or that a man can “marry” however many women he’d like, or that the color of each individuals skin must be the same to “marry.”  Make up whatever crazy rules you’d like and “protect” YOUR definition of marriage, whatever that may be.  My definition of marriage affords every human being the same rights and I am in no way forcing this definition on your religious beliefs.

These bigots, religious or not, fail to recognize time and time again that marriage at the state/federal level is completely different than at a religious level.  Marriage at the state/federal level grants rights that only that level of government has the power to do so.  Over 1000 individual rights depending on who’s counting them and how they’re counting them.  Marriage at the religious level grants religious rights only.  The two are completely independent.  If I’d like to get married tomorrow all it takes are a few forms and signatures at the local courthouse, not church.  Likewise if I meet the requirements of a certain religion I would have no problem marrying in their church.  That marriage in itself does not entitle me to the rights millions of Americans are demanding.  In order to be granted those rights I would have to, you guessed it, go to the court house and acquire a marriage license administered by the government.  What’s so hard to understand here?

I’m absolutely disgusted that millions of Americans were given the opportunity to vote hate and unequal rights into their own constitution.  I’m even more disgusted that some chose to use that opportunity to force their bigoted views upon millions of others that merely want to be treated as equals.

I’m sure I could go on, and I might in a later post, but for now I’m done.

John

Philadelphia

Detroit

Driving through Canada

Niagara Falls

Driving to Philadelphia 

John and Jenna

· McDonalds on Harlem: breakfast of champions!
· No “Welcome to Indiana” sign on 80/94. Hello to you too Indiana!
· Indiana, home of “adult” stores and fireworks. Krazy Kaplans buy one get one free!
· Jenna fumbles with the camera as we enter Michigan. No “Welcome to Michigan” photos.
· Michigan, second home of “adult” stores and fireworks. X – It here for books, movies, and arcade!
· Stop in Jackson, MI at rest stop. There’s a reason all the other rest stops are under construction.
· Gas stop near Ann Arbor, MI. Hot dogs and Bawls. Sugar free Bawls for Jenna!
· Detroit, MI. Home of every company’s automotive division and more bridges than we could count.
· Saw the skyline for about 5 seconds when 94 permitted.
· Final stretch to Canada!
· Blue Highway Bridge to Canada: $1.50 USD.
· Show the nice man my passport and drivers license. I will be visiting Niagara Falls for 2-3 days and I’m not currently transporting tobacco or alcohol. Canada let’s us in!
· Decide to follow gentleman from Michigan, seems to know what he’s doing.
· Change car from US to metric. Now doing 115 km/h in a 100 km/h zone. Keeping up with Americans, passing the Canadians.
· Realize that all measures of distance and temperature in the cars computer have been converted. My car has been driven 47,000km, our trip has been 700 or so km, the outside temp is 2, the inside temp is 22. I’ll spare you the rest of the measurements.
· Find amusement that highway markers are little crowns.
· Finally get passed by a Canadian.
· Road is smooth, straight, and cuts through farmland. Much like Illinois’ 39.
· Tim Horton’s are at every major exit. Decide to stop for some donuts and a much needed bathroom break.
· Our first interaction in Canada goes smoothly. The Tim Hortons does not accept credit cards but graciously accepts my $20 USD bill instead. No stereotypical Canadian accents here.
· Brentford, Ontario, “The Telephone City”
· The sun has set as we enter the Niagara Escapement. The surrounding town is lit up with lights and traffic. And on the shores giant flames shoot out from stacks from what we could only assume was an oil refinery. A sight to see as we passed through the town.
· More driving on QEW towards Niagara Falls.

John

Governorships
Democrats: +6
Republicans -6

House of Representatives
Democrats: +27
Republicans: -26
Independents: -1

Senate
Democrats: +4
Republicans: -4

Although the last two remaining races are close it looks like the Democrats have a shot at winning control of the Senate too.

With all this change across the nation there is someone out there that needs to be thanked.  George Bush did a fine job convincing people that maybe, just maybe, they made a mistake in 2000/2004.  It really says something when your approval rating sinks so low that candidates don’t even want to be seen with you.  Not that you’ve done much good for the country in the past 6 years but hopefully with these sweeping changes you’ll be able to do even less.  Enjoy your final years in the White House.  Feel free to say some stupid shit on your way out so that publishers have enough data for the next few years of Bushism’s calendars.  Seriously though, thanks for effectively paralyzing your own party!

In other news here is a list of states who’s majority is about as dense as a rock and demands just as much respect…

Colorado: Shot down domestic partnerships (54%) AND Same-Sex Marriages (56%)
Idaho: Also banned Same-Sex Marriage (64%)

South Carolina: Banned Same-Sex Marriage (78%)

South Dakota: Banned Same-Sex Marriage (52%)

Tennessee: Banned Same-Sex Marriage (80%)

Virginia: Banned Same-Sex Marriage (57%)
Wisconsin: Banned Same-Sex Marriage (59%)

Pretty sad that it’s 2006 and people are this ignorant.  I really can’t say much else about it.

And for some slightly better news…

Missouri: So far on track to allow for stem cell research (51%)
South Dakota: Shot down an almost total ban on abortion (55%)

That about sums up the most important aspects of the election.  Now all we can do is wait and see what happens.

John

Customer service is something you must practice in everyday life. It doesn’t matter if you’re in food service, retail, or just dealing with other people on a personal level. Customer service should always be a top priority in any aspect of life. The crappy part of customer service is the fact that customers are far more likely to remember a single instance of bad service than every other instance of good service before it. No matter how good you are in the past, it can all come crashing down that one time you refuse to loosen a lightbulb.

The really crappy part is that you can cross the line from good service to bad in an instant without even knowing it. Try as you might it’s bound to happen. And yet, we must continue to provide the best customer service. Somehow it just seems like an unobtainable goal.

John

“America is a free society which limits the role of government in the lives of our citizens. In this country, people are free to choose how they live their lives.” (George W. Bush, June 5th 2006)

Wow, thanks for that! Maybe I’m missing something when you insert that statement in a press conference regarding an amendment to ban same sex marriage. I couldn’t have less respect for the man than I do now.

• George W. Bush,
• Homophobes,
• Those that can’t see the difference between rights and religion,
• Anyone for a federal ban on same sex marriages

Subject: Get a clue!

The time is coming. One day, I can only hope the day comes soon, the argument will be over. Same sex marriages will no longer be the hot topic but just another marriage. Get with the program. African Americans are no longer slaves, they no longer have to sit at the back of the bus, and no one cares what drinking fountain you drink from. On that note women also have the right to vote. Who knew! The parallels between these movements throughout history is almost uncanny. Just as we look back today and think it was silly that people actually faught against the end of slavery, that people argued for segregation in schools, and that people didn’t think women should have the right to vote, we will soon look back and realize that same sex marriage is not the end of the world. Get over it!

John

The solution is simply a giant catapult. Much like the one shown below, except bigger, shinier, and much more real. Anyway, the idea here is to build such a catapult in order to launch those that lack even a small glimmer of common sense. I’ll first describe the image below and then I’ll develop a quick and easy way to determine just who should get in line for a one way ticket to nowhere.

1. This of course is the moon. More on that later.
2. Don’t look at this as a giant boulder, it holds people!
3. THE Catapult
4. People burning up in the atmosphere. More on that too.
5. Stupid people by the hundreds!

Ok, so right now you probably think I’m some sick freak who just wants to off a bunch of people by catapulting them into the upper atmosphere. Maybe you’re right on the catapulting part but here me out as to why this isn’t such a sick idea!

I don’t know about you but rarely a day goes by without me hearing about something so stupid that I just want to gouge my ears or eyes out depending on which method was used to obtain said information. It’s quite obvious to me, and hopefully it will be to you as well, that the people given a one way ticket will deserve such ride and will probably leave the world in a much better state. So let’s get to the list of eligible travellers!

• Anyone unable to accept responsibility for their own injury. Follow directions and use some common sense once in a while and all will be well. (ex. Guy listens to iPod too loud, sues Apple.)
• Anyone who is FOR an amendment/law/etc banning gay marriage. (Ignorance.)
• Anyone who is AGAINST a public smoking ban. (Can you say public health?)
• George W. Bush. (There are far too many reasons to list.)
• Anyone that destroys public and private property for fun (Cubs/Sox rioters, graffiti artists, other vandals.)
• Drivers that remain in the left or rightmost lane which has been scheduled to end for more than a mile. (Way to backup traffic.)
• Pretty much anyone that demonstrates a repeated lack of common sense.  ‘Nough said!

John

• Friday head out to Frankfort Illinois (No, not Germany!)
• Bum around town, chill with the G family, eat some food.
• Saturday, bum around some more, adventure to the KFC on Pulaski looking for PCCGC Bowls
• Enjoy said PCCGC’s not regretting for one moment that we drove 35 miles to get them
• Head to Best Buy to get some wireless networking components
• Head to the Creamery to visit the Jenna
• Play Cards
• Sunday, Bum around some more, enjoy some tv, head to see Over the Hedge.  “You are the devil.”
• Meet some of the friends
• Monday, hang out on the deck with the G family some more enjoying the nasty weather
• Head inside to enjoy the CSI marathon
• Drive to Jewel to get chicken for dinner
• Become angered by the angry chicken ladies
• Eat the chicken
• Pack up my shit
• Say good bye to the G family and of course the Jenna

And on the way home…

• Rock out to some music
• Keep some jerk from merging into my lane.  Bastard had a good 1.5 miles to do it!
• Go out of my way to drive through 2 manual toll lanes just to pay for the people behind me.  It was discussed this weekend and I really wanted to do it.  Hopefully I made someones day!  If not, I’m out $1.75.  Oh well!

Final thoughts…

Was wondering.  Wasn’t wondering as much.  Then back to wondering again.  Joy!

John

I’m really in this state of being disconnected. From what? From just about everything it seems. It seems as if all my friends (specifically those that entered ISU in the Fall of ‘02) have gone. Graduation was rather depressing for me but I managed to make it through 3 of them. Summers were always fun because you got a break from school and knew that all your friends would be coming right back in August for more. Not this time. It’s a whole new game and I really don’t want to play at the moment.

On top of that I had to move a bunch of my shit (complete with desk and loft which of course needed dissasembling) down the street to my new apartment. Will apartment life next semester be fun? Of course it will be. I’ll be living with TJ, Bill, and Sean and from what I can tell the apartment will actually be CLEAN. Now that I’m started on that it’s time to take a detour.

For anyone that ever visited the 707 #6 I appologize. Though there were glimmers of hope a year ago that the apartment would stay clean it just wasn’t meant to be. Some people apparently have issues cleaning up after themselves or being accountable for their messes. Initiative is a good trait to look for in a roommate. It’s rather unfortunate when your roommates can’t take just a little bit of initiative and clean up the apartment. The bathroom was constantly gross, rarely was the vaccum running unless it was positioned at the end of my arm, when it was running no one ever took the time to empty it or clean the filters, and the kitchen was beyond unsanitary. And yet, apparently I was one of the only ones that thought this was absolutely appalling. Luckily the one time my parents came down to visit it had been recently cleaned. That was Fall semester. By Spring semester things were even worse. But I digress. Well, minuse the little fact where our security deposit may not be returned because SOMEONE decided to rush out of the apartment and leave his garbage behind. This of course went as predicted and there really wasnt much I could do about it. Let’s just say I can’t even imagine what his apartment will be like when he’s living on his own. Gross.

Anyway, back to topic. I seem disconnected from those who graduated and are not returning to Normal at this point and also feel the same about those that will be there in the Fall. I don’t know why I just do. On top of that I don’t have internet access in my own apartment and thus can’t chat with people whenever I want. But, I suppose things will get better in a few weeks. I’ll be settled in and hanging out with my fellow BT Interns. Detour number 2!

I started at Discover today. Got my sweet badge and cubicle. Important events during the day are as follows:

• Shaved, changed shoes and put a belt on in my car in the parking lot of Discover
• Won a Discover water bottle and back pack
• Met my mentor and manager
• Met a bunch of other people who’s names I don’t yet have memorized
• Found my cube
• Had a tuna melt for lunch (delicious!)
• Dealt with software issues on my machine
• Met to discuss the first project I will be working on
• Surfed the internet for a bit because the software I needed was still not installed
• Got Karen lost in Riverwoods 2
• Karen got lost driving to Briarwoods
• Ate pizza at the clubhouse
• FINALLY checked in to my apartment
• Moved into my apartment
• Had no internet or motivation to do much of anything
• Finally drove around looking for laundry detergent (ps things around here are not open 24 hours)
• Did some laundry
• Sat on the floor in the hallway stealing internet from ‘linksys’
• This

So what I really need to do is get settled and get the internet hooked up. That way I can chat with all the people I know and feel a little more connected with them. I also need to figure out what some people are thinking and hopefully come to find that we are thinking the same thing. Yes, vague and cryptic but necessary.

Until then I think I shall collect my clean laundry from the dryer and head to bed. Not much else to do around here and I should be at work around 8.

John