Posted by a friend of mine somewhere else...one of the few times I'll get into something pseudo-political on my site...but I liked these statements. They are basically satirical statements addressing most of the "arguments" against gay marriages.

1. Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester, and birth control are not natural.
2. Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Infertile couples and old people cannot get legally married because the world needs more children.
3. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children because straight parents only raise straight children.
4. Straight marriage will be less meaningful, since Britney Spears's 55-hour just-for-fun marriage was meaningful.
5.Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and it hasn't changed at all: women are property, Blacks can't marry Whites, and divorce is illegal.
6. Gay marriage should be decided by the people, not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of minorities.
7. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are always imposed on the entire country. That's why we only have one religion in America.
8. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people makes you tall.
9. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage license.
10. Children can never succeed without both male and female role models at home. That's why single parents are forbidden to raise children.
11. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt to new social norms because we haven't adapted to cars or longer lifespans.
12. Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because a "separate but equal" institution is always constitutional. Separate schools for African-Americans worked just as well as separate marriages will for gays & lesbians.

Ames riot 1

Ames riot 2

Iowa State University, or more appropriately, the city of Ames weathered a riot that appeared caused more by the police than by students, over the weekend. This just helps illustrate the very real rift between the Ames Police Department and the students of ISU. Ames Police have little to no respect for students, and thus have an amazingly bad image. Students in turn, will, probably more so than any other demographic in America, vehemently react when they feel pushed around by "the man."

Really, it is quite a distinct feeling in Ames, the rift between Ames Police and students. Hopefully this sort of riot does not endanger the student-run festival that VEISHEA is, and instead fuels the needed changes in the attitude and image of the Ames Police.

A discussion on Good Friday led down other avenues...including this quote:

"one man sits on a park bench and talks to the sky, he's a crazy bum... a room full of people do it, it's a church..."

My turquoise-blue (mostly blue) betta at work is sick. I have two, but my red one is on someone else's desk. My blue one has spent the last 5 days very docile...sleeping a lot...not doing much, and worst of all, not eating. During feeding time he'll motor on over to the food, look at it..kinda hover and watch it...then lose interest.

I've had him about 7 months and he's always been a very happy active guy. He likes to flare up and challenge his reflection in the back of the tank (something I've worked to minimize), and he used to always make the biggest bubble nests...he would spend entire days blowing bubbles and very carefully arranging bubbles.

He's currently being treated, but so far it doesn't look good. Hell, I don't think I've named him beyond "blue" even...

I need to post here more....

I didn't do too bad in this year's men's ncaa tournament picks, but I didn't pick any points up in the Final Four, which really tends to sink ships. Having 3 of the Final Four, I at least had good picks, but the only real thing that hurt was Kentucky losing so early...the team I had winning it. That hurts the points, even if I do get a lot right in the first few rounds. It's all about picking who wins it. :) Click on the bracket to expand it.