to be a government official or a kleptocrat when you do it. I’m pissed because I’m reading about Baby Doc Duvalier eating at fancy restaurants in Haiti. Not that long ago I was reading about how all this aid money that is supposed to go to NGO’s to help rebuild isn’t going to the grass roots, on the ground, local groups. Fuckers.

The other day I was thinking about the places in the world I would like to visit. Always at the top of my list are places I am not allowed or advised to go. An ex, when discussing this list once upon a time, screamed at me “why do you love everything that other people hate?” Haiti has been on that list for a long time, and the sad truth is that it is probably safer for me to visit Haiti* now as an English speaking white woman than it has been in 20 years, even though the danger for a poor Haitian woman has skyrocketed since the earthquake.

*So I checked the State Department’s web site and they are advising travel “only if travel is fully supported by organizations with solid infrastructure, evacuation options, and medical support systems in place”. The only groups I can think of with the resources for that, besides the big name aid agencies, are disaster capitalist profiteers with security firms under contract.

That needs to be on a protest sign located outside the offices of big corporate non-payers like GE, Bank of America, and Twitter. Yes, Twitter.

This little country was founded by a bunch of dudes who were pissed off that they were paying taxes to a government that they had no say in managing. 230 years later and we have the illusion of democracy, but we pay taxes to a government that we have no hope of managing, while the neoaristocracy kleptocrats skip out on paying but pull all the strings. That is a simple, clear message that even the most centrist of people should be able to understand. It’s probably also the reason the kleptocrats are big sponsors of the tea baggers, they have the veneer of a grass roots patriot organization while being loud cheerleaders for the ruling class.

I’m an intellectual snob, I admit it. This is not a good thing. It means that I fall for the same bullshit credentials over and over, especially regarding my, uhm personal life.

For the last decade or so, nearly every dude I have dated has a graduate degree of some sort, usually in some flavor of science. I just got tired of having to talk down to boys or to placate their egos when I turned out to know more about something than they did. At least if I was dating someone that educated, this would happen less often. Or that was the theory. In practice in means that while there are a thousand more subjects I can talk to them about, they are still mostly condescending douchenozzles who know more than the little lady.

So I found myself having this little conversation today with Mr. I have a PhD in economics and work as a very important negotiator. You all know where this is going already, doncha?

After being lectured that ‘we have the same goals but my hard approach isn’t the way to go’, I may have said something about how if his “let’s motivate the elites to treat people better” approach actually worked then I would have nothing to write about. And not coincidentally, I’d have no lovely readers (because if you all wanted to hear the same bullshit about how elites actually do contribute to society and we need to compromise with for them, then you’d be reading the Huffington Post or the Big Orange Cheetoh and praising the like of Camille fucking Paglia.)

The thing is, I don’t even think I’m that smart. I mean, yeah I pick up on stuff, but that’s just because I read a ton. I’m pretty sure that anyone could do it if they were interested enough. Obviously I keep dating the same types of dudes and am frustrated by their over-privileged view and under-developed sense of decency. (And no Aeryl, we didn’t even get far enough for me to ask if he was raised by a single mom or not.)

I’d say I give up, but we all know better. Thank the flying spaghetti monster that I’ve never seen marriage or a relationship as a requirement to a happy life, or I’d really be miserable.

For some reason I volunteered to help my dear friend (and laser boobie partner) Syyyyylllvvviiiaaa with blogging and promoting the Seattle Bicycle Music Festival. She organized it last year, and is doing it again this year. When I called to ask her for drinkies the other day she sounded a wee bit frazzled. So I opened my mouth and offered to help (I am actually way more enthused about it than my cynical posting suggests, but cynic, ya know?)

If you are local or near local, you should join us. You don’t have to be a bike geek (I’m not) you just should want to have some fun. If you know a business or organization that might want to contribute, email me.

Because fuck you I don’t care if the Shins are deeply uncool. I like them.

It’s the first of the revolutionary travel posters! And no, I will not be doing further lettering freehand again.

To Tata, who from across the country arranged for a microwave and a whole mess of awesome stuff to be delivered to my house today. I got a fancy red cast iron grill pan and a toaster. TOAST OMG it’s been so long since I had toast.
And to Aeryl, who sent a giant box of clothes for the Kid (including some ironic liquor shirts, a Bob Ross happy trees shirt and a Monty Python shirt) as well as a small library of books.

And because after a few years of feeling disconnected and untethered, I finally feel a little normal. I’m in less pain. I am back to being a little bit of a social butterfly (full butterfly effect takes a while). You peeps have kept me from the darkest of dark places. 

Now just because I’m grateful for the awesome things that I’ve got, doesn’t mean I’m not the angry Queen bitch you’ve come to know and hopefully love. 
(h/t to Renee for the link. And I’m pleased as punch that shit sandwich become a part of the anti-poverty lexicon. Remember folks, there is no difference between shit sandwich and shit sandwich with pickle).

Have you missed out on reading Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged? Do you feel a bit like an illiterate lump when people make fun of the book or those that are objectivists?

Fear not, my friends. Now there is an abridged version.

(But seriously, the abridged version is much better written than the original so I am not sure if you will really get the flavor of just how ridiculously bad the writing is. It’s worse than that time I read the free literature from Focus on the Family. It’s worse than Latawnya the crack pony.)

Throwing people off a plane because of the way they are dressed is pretty fucked up. Throwing 2 men off a plane because they are Muslim while those 2 men are on their way to a conference about prejudice against Muslims would be down-right funny if it wasn’t a true fact. But it is.

There are approximately 1.6 Billion Muslims in the world. The number of Muslims who have become terrorists is a number so small that it’s a tiny fraction of a percent of that number. The number of those Muslims that have become terrorists AND managed to commit an act of violence in America is a tiny fraction of a percent of that. There’s actually been way more acts of violence committed by White Christian Males in the US than by Muslims.

So perhaps the next time you see some douche in a “God Bless America” t-shirt with a cross around his neck, that is the dude you should be throwing off your plane. Because the math says he’s more likely to kill you than the 2 imams on their way to talk about racism.

RQ