La Corrida de Toros

We're learning about bullfighting in Spanish class. Now, I'm into animal rights--I don't go overboard, but I believe they need to be treated with as much respect as you would treat a human being with. I try not to make a fuss.

So I kept my mouth shut taking notes. I kept my mouth shut when they were talking about stabbing the bull in the neck with barbed spikes. I kept my mouth shut when they were talking about a 'quick kill' and how the matedor isn't supposed to make it hard for the bull. when they brought up a video of a bullfight, that's when I couldn't take it anymore.

How is that art? Senora F. was saying that it's not a fight, it's an art form, but I don't see stabbing an animal in the neck and then making it charge at something over and over and over again right before you KILL it entertainment. We didn't have to watch the kill, because we ran out of time, but if she brings that video up again today, I'm walking out. I don't care how much crap I get for it. I don't find watching animals in pain entertaining, and I certainly don't find it art.

You know they used to do that sort of thing with people? Put them in a big arena with a hungry lion and watch them fight to the death and whoever wins, wins? The Romans called that an art form, a sport. We call it barbaric.

How is a bullfight any different? Except that it's a lot rarer for the human to die. Is that how it's less barbaric, the human doesn't die?

I can't stand it.

Brii333

wow...

okay, Mrs. M gave me a long list of words and I used them to write a poem; turtle, cup, under, broken, sky, gleam, peaches, table, warm, step, water, photograph, hero, gold, feather, reply, line, silent.

here it is...


The hero stands before the crowd,
A gleam in his eye,
Beautiful, with hair dark gold, like peaches.
He, who's cup has always been full,
His foot rests upon the
Broken villain.
Our villain, who has been
Quiet as a turtle in his shell,
Found, when he let loose his voice
Those who, like he, were trapped
Under the hard step of man
Followed hiim to the table in
An attempt to reach their
Place in the sky.
And now, they see their villain
In a newspaper photograph,
With the hero's foot upon his throat,
His gold hair feathering in the wind,
Pressing our shamed leader's
Face into the dirty water.
Our reply is to simply,
Silently line up to
Warmly, quietly help our
Hero to his feet again.



kay, yeah, I know it sucks. but I had a list of words and a challenge to fufill. MUAHAHAHAHAA!!! and I win. Just because it's a terrible excuse for an attempt to tell a story in kind of sort of a poem form...

xoxoxoxoxo ♥♥♥
Brii333

Your Super Power

How can one so small
Cause so much pain?
Your super power--causing tears--
Is driving me insane.
Your blows are low
But cut like knives...
How could your words cause
so much mis'ry in our lives?
A moon with a dark side
You cannot hide,
This tormentor I feel empathy for,
Though, still, I'm not sure why.
I remember you happy,
Smiling and glad.
What happened to
Those times we had?
Trade butterflies for
Broken glass,
Good memories for
A tainted past.
A bitter taste lingers,
Sweet yet sour--
Lingering aftermath of
Your dark super power.



uhm...yeah. I wrote that poem in about two minutes, so it took a lot of editing to sound even remotely right. I had to mess around with the word 'misery' and change it to 'mis'ry' so it would sound right. :/

anyhoo, it goes with a poem that I wrote over a year ago, titled

Broken Glass and Butterflies

Embedded deep into my arm,
The shards of glass that sparkle burn.
The rest is strewn across the floor,
From a window that is no more,
Shattered by your baseball bat,
But the pain that I feel doesn't hurt like that.

The pain is deep within my soul
Where tears that never end do fall.
Where have the days behind us gone?
Where did the light go? Where is the sun?

What happened to your smiling face?
What is this thing that's taken your place?
It's sucked away the good in life,
So all that's left is pain and strife.

Is this what hell's like? What is heaven?
Did we do something wrong to some heavenly brethren?
Why is it that I want to die?
Where have my tears gone? Why can't I cry?

I've scrubbed my body, hands, and face.
I still feel dirty, and not in my place.
Can I trade lives with someone else?
Anyone, anyone but myself?



As you can see, I've come a long way in the past year.

Constructive Criticism Welcome,
Brii333

More Poetry

So our assignmnt on friday was to write three more poems--one about a month of the year, one speaking to something not human, and one made up almost entirely of questions.

Enjoy.

In April

Raindrops fall like jewels,
In April,
Saviors with power to heal.
Soft mist condensing on my face,
Cool and kind on my skin, it feels
almost soft, and with light steps,
twirls down, for the dead ground to feed.


Drama

You call to me like a siren's song,
I know I can't resist for long.
But, let's say for argument's sake,
To leave you behind is the choice I make.
I believe great longing I would feel,
to return to the song and the stage and the real
Love for pretending I know that is I,
The Sanctuary it brings me, inside.
So I know that Drama is where I must go,
To the rhythm of the steady flow
From the scene to the act to the musical.


So Many Questons Ask the Same Stupid Thing

Will I ever be able to
Be like you?
Can't I be pretty,
Small, and dainty, too?
A fragile Beauty
the world want to see--
Can I ever live up to
What I'm 'sposed to be?

The world's expectations
Are so hard to own.
Why can't I be the way
I've always been shown,
With delicate hands,
and a tiny waist?
Why can't all these eyes
Just give me my space?

I know that a Beauty
I never will be,
So why do I try to
Be what they want to see?
I can't seem to help
This obsession of mine,
Though I know it's what's
Killing me, deep down inside.



Hoping to Hear Consructive Criticism,
Brii333

Day Of Silence

http://www.dayofsilence.org/

Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence (DOS), a national youth movement bringing attention to the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by anti-LGBT bullying, name-calling, and harassment. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward building awareness and making a commitment to adress these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today.

What are you going to do to end the silence?

GLSEN, http://www.glsen.org/

Vote For Me?

I got more stuff on the Teen Ink web site.....I would love you forever and ever and ever and ever and EVER if you would vote for me...

Oija:
http://www.teenink.com/raw/Poetry/article/97895/Oiuja/

Sestina for One Beloved:
http://www.teenink.com/raw/Poetry/article/98370/Sestina-for-one-Beloved/

Loves To You
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Brii333

Conspiracy Theorist

Okay, so next Halloween I'm going to dress up as a conspiracy theorist. I'm going to have a tinfoil hat for sure, but I have no clue what else to have for my outfit. If you've got any ideas, it would be lovely to hear from you. :D

Thankiez to my Favorite Subscribers...
Brii333

Relating To Edgar Allan Poe

I love reading Edgar Allan Poe. My used copy of "The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings" is well loved and kind of sad looking (it's a paperback). Some of my favorites include The Sleeper, Lenore, The Raven, Annabel Lee, The Bells, Eldorado, Eleanora, The Masque of the Red Death, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Cask of Amontillado.

There are a lot of lines I can relate to. But there's a part of The Pit and the Pendulum with which I can relate to better then I thought I would...

"It was not that I feared to look upon things horrible, but that I grew aghast lest there should be nothing to see. At length, with a wild desperation at heart, I quickly unclosed my eyes. My worst thoughts, then, were confirmed. The blackness of eternal night encompassed me. I struggled for breath. The intensity of the darkness seemed to oppress and stifle me. The atmosphere was intolerably close."

I'm confessing my terrible fear of complete darkness only because I was told by our health teacher, Mrs. GL, that if I didn't learn to open up about things, I would never get over my addictive behaviors disorder. I want very badly to make it go away, so I am practicing opening up with my nyctohylophobia.

And while I'm setting myself up for many taunts from tony, I might as well confess that I am also terrified of tampons and ouija boards and ghosts.

That was a lot harder to admit then it should have been. I'm trying very hard not to delete this.

xoxoxo,
Brii333

QUOTE OF THE DAY
One will never reach distant shores,
if he chooses to remain upon the dock,
In fear his little ship of dreams
may be dashed against the rocks.
-- F. Bolen.

Acrostics

For our poetry book in English class, we had to write acrostics. We were only supposed to write two, but I wrote four. I happen to hate the way acrostics look, so I wrote them to look like not acrostics.

To make it easier for you to read the word down the side, though, I'll make it a different color.

Damn, I hate the way that looks. :P

Anyhoo, for the first one, we drew a word out of a little container, and I drew the word "Saltwater."

Ocean Drowning
Savior Impersonation, poisoned and
Always eager to
Leave it's bitter
Taste on your lips.
Weaving into your lungs
As you
Try to choke the murderer back up as it
Eats it's way past your crumbling,
Ripped defenses.

and then I just pulled a few out of my brain...

My Fault? Probably...
With this, I'm never sure if it's just me,
Or the who world.
Ripping razors in my lungs restrict
The air I try to hold.
Hell is where I know I'll go,
Lest I can change my ways,
Each empty beat of worthless heart
Seems pained, Shredded, Awry.
Something's tearing it apart...

Maybe I Should Go To Lunch...
Hellish clawing in my core,
Undermining self-control.
Needing food and wanting it,
Gets hard to tell the difference.
Every movement trembles with question,
Rapidly losing what ground I've gained.

Street
Slippery extent of shiny tar,
Tripping on the cracked cement.
Rip my jeans of crumbling black,
Every fall shredding my flesh,
Every shred dripping red
To mix with that of those before.

Constructive criticism wanted.

Much Love
Brii333

Musings

Everybody has Demons. Some people ignore them, some people hide them, some people smother them. But sometimes the Demon you thought you'd never have to face again climbs out from the deepest recesses of your soul, the darkest corner of your subconcious. It has waited a long time, growing and building it's strength for the day it returns to the forefront of your mind to wreak havok on the small bit of sanity you worked so hard to regain.

And then what? Do you move on, pull out a mask and hide the turmoil behind your eyes from the probing gazes of the Others? Or do you seek answers from another, that kind-faced lady with the shiney certificate on her wall which states that she's been qualified to try and pretend only she can show you how to save yourself?

What about the teacher who looks at you with concerned eyes as she reads your poem? The friend you know cares but couldn't handle the tired, pathetic truth?

You know the truth--you're weak. Far too weak to deny the hungry Demon the meal of shame and exhaustion you know it craves.

And the only thing you can do is plead silently for someone to save you from yourself.

Brii333

Newsletter

Dear Branna,

This is a rare email – one where we celebrate another huge step towards marriage equality not in a matter of months or years, but literally days.

Vermont made history today, as the first state in America to enact marriage equality through legislative process – just FOUR DAYS after another huge win for marriage equality in Iowa. This is a resounding message about the direction of our country. Not only did the Vermont Legislature vote to support marriage equality, but they did so with a two-thirds majority to override the Governor's veto.

Now the courageous leaders of the Vermont House and Senate are about to bear the brunt of a right-wing backlash. Let's show them they did the right thing.Send a quick thank-you note to Vermont's House and Senate leaders who stood strong for equality.

Our path has never been easy. But sometimes our perseverance is rewarded with enormous breakthroughs like these. After the Iowa court decision last Friday and today's historic vote in Vermont, we have DOUBLED – in one week – the number of states that allow loving, committed lesbian and gay couples to marry. I can't overstate the significance of the Vermont victory. The governor had just vetoed the marriage equality bill, and we were a few votes short of the two-thirds majority necessary to override that veto. But we prevailed. And YOU had a hand in this victory. Your support enabled us to work with the dedicated and talented team at the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force for over a year to lay the groundwork. And HRC's National Field Director traveled to Vermont several times this year, including this week, meeting with lawmakers HRC helped elect. In Iowa, HRC played an instrumental role in electing a fair-minded majority to the State House and protecting and expanding the fair-minded majority in the State Senate, giving us leaders who last week so eloquently defended the court's decision. It's all proof positive that your support of HRC makes a tangible difference. If you have ever doubted our ability to change the hearts and minds of our friends, neighbors, coworkers and fellow citizens, let today lay those fears to rest. Of course, there is still much work ahead. The California Supreme Court will decide in the next 60 days whether to uphold Proposition 8. And even now, the radical right is using these tremendous milestones for equality to rally their troops and spread their lies. We'll need to call on you in the days and weeks ahead to help us defend these victories and push for equality in other states.

In the meantime, please take a moment to celebrate these historic wins with your loved ones. And make sure these courageous Vermont leaders receive the praise they deserve.

Send your note to the leaders of the Vermont Legislature who stood up for what's right today.

The dedication of HRC's members and activists is the driving force behind our work. I cannot thank you enough for helping make this day possible.

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese
President

P.S. When it rains, it pours. Just hours ago, Washington, DC's City Council voted to recognize marriages from other jurisdictions! The measure won't become law until it's approved by the mayor and Congress, but it's a big win, and we'll keep you posted.

In Response To Okie's Question...

I got a comment on my sock-pen-alien post from Okie, who said this:


Okie said...
lol...fabulous insight. Now that you've solved the first part of the mystery...how about the second part? Namely, why are the aliens here and what are they doing once they become adults? Scary.


Now, this is a very good question. My theory is that they're here because they really built the earth, and the human race is just one big experiment to discover the meaning of life. Once they become adults, they hide deep in the recesses of the ocean and observe. And the dolphins and mice are their minions, who only put up with us keeping them in tanks and cages in the zoo or whatever because then it gives them an insight to how we act.

Peace, Brii333

Roller Coaster

Today is a drop of cool water on a
Parched desert floor.
Today is that rare occurance when the
Throbbing tick that stabs
Takes a lunch break.
Today is a pencil without a broken tip,
Working down to the cold metal cylander
Which signifies that time to retire.
Today is a brief glance at life for a puppy;
Blissfully jumpy and trembling with joy
At the sight of someone to play with.
Today is that exploding cement truck
on the television screen, surrounded by
excited, laughing pyrotechnitions.
Today is dropping water balloons
on unsuspecting pedestrians, tingling with
the vivid hilarity of the shocked exclaimations.
Today is sitting under an angry squirrel's tree,
The entertaining moment before
That acorn cracks you on the skull.

Tomorrow is another melancholy tock
To accompany the empty tick that
Tells you time is, indeed, moving.
Tomorrow is the lonely patch of brown grass
In the middle of the lawn, reminded of
It's failiur by the surrounding sea of green.
Tomorrow is that promise you knew would break,
The earnest eyes of one saying they
Thought you knew they didn't mean it.
Tomorrow is the sick feeling
You knew you would feel
After the high.

Today is knowing
Tomorrow is knowing
That yesterday
Won't be back.

Anyhoo, I figured since I'm going to have to put that in a poetry book for english, I might as well post it on my blog. I mean, people're going to be reading it whether I want them to or not, anyway.

xoxoxo,
Brii333

Missing Socks

I have answered the great question. It will unriddle many riddles, and solve all problems of the cosmos.

Where do all the missing socks go?

Obviously, they are baby aliens. When they reach adolescence, they become pens. Ever had that confusing moment where a pen just randomly shows up, and you have no idea where it came from? Yeah, it used to be that favorite sock of yours that mysteriously disappeared when you put it into the washing machine.

And then, when all your pens start to mysteriously disappear, that's when the aliens become adults.

So, yeah. That's where all the socks go.

If you have any more of those rediculous questions like the one above, ask them. I will have the answer.

Solving the Mysteries of the Cosmos one Question at a Time,
Brii333

Fighting World Suck

Brotherhood 2.0 has convinced me to fight world suck. However, I'm starting out small, by fighting lower local suck levels instead. And do you know how I'm doing this? Well, duh, of course not. That's why I'm going to tell you. **hits self on forhead** dummy!

I'm fighting local suck by being nice to assholes!!! Since my area is so filled with asshole-ness and meanies, I figure the last thing people expect is for someone to be nice to them. So, therefore, if I'm nice to them, maybe they'll get confused and forget to be assholes.

It's the perfect plan!!!
Muahahahahahahaa!!!!

Your Evil Genius, Fighting Local Suck One Asshole at a Time,

Brii333

EcoGeek News

Eco News!!! Yay!!! All things Green and Economy-Friendly and Non-World Suck!! (basically, taking the Eco-Geek Newsletters and posting them here, in my blog.)

This week's news includes a couple of big milestones in wind power, a nation setting the goal of being carbon neutral within the next decade, and some European countries are now buying back old, polluting and inefficient cars to get them off the roads. And Envirowonk has a story of two federal departments getting along in order to help facilitate the development of new off-shore power.We are going to be resuming our series of interviews with science fiction authors with an upcoming interview with three-time Hugo award nominee Paolo Bacigalupi. We hope to be able to bring you other authors with both an eye toward the future and an environmental sensibility in the coming months.


Will The Green Jobs Come?

The green jobs debate rages on. Some argue that all the stimulus money being poured into green efforts - like renewable energy and building retrofitting – will create millions of new jobs, and will revitalize the economy. Others are not so sure. The latest opinion to be voiced comes out of the Institute for Energy Research, which just published a study challenging the rosy predictions of people like the Center For American Progress (who predicted that $100 billion worth of green investment would create 2 million jobs).


Maldives Going Carbon Neutral

The Maldives announced yesterday a plan to go carbon neutral within the next decade. The project will cost $1.1 billion to install renewable energy across the nation's 250 inhabited islands. Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed said that the nation would achieve carbon neutrality through 155 1.5-MW wind turbines, a half-square kilometer solar farm and forgoing fossil fuels. Since much of the nation's economy is based on tourism, greenhouse gases emitted by air travel will have to be offset with EU carbon credits. The nation is privatizing their electric utility to open up funds for the effort and it will be looking for outside investments as well.


Germany and UK Paying Citizens to Get Rid of Old Cars

Germany recently announced a program which gives money to citizens to scrap old polluting cars and buy newer, more fuel efficient ones. The program pays 2,500 euros ($3,500 USD) for each car scrapped. The result has been an incredible success story. Over 150,000 applications have been received, getting polluting old junkers off the road and boosting auto sales by 21.5 percent in February in Germany – all while sales to foreign markets dropped an incredible 51 percent. In short, by getting people to ditch their old cars Germany may be saving their auto market as well as protecting the environment. Now another European superpower, the United Kingdom, is considering adopting similar scrap-for-cash incentives to boost its struggling auto sales. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, an industry group, has submitted a plan for a similar scheme to the British government.


Spain Sets World Wind Record

Last week, during a spell of particularly strong wind gusts, Spain set a world record by having 40 percent of their energy requirement generated by wind power. The high winds in the northwest of the country generated a whopping 11,180 MW during the strongest gust. While the U.S. is still number one in wind power, we only get 1 percent of our energy from the resource. Spain, ranked third in the world, has been incredibly ambitious in their wind plans. They hope to be generating 20,000 MW from wind by 2010 up from the 16,000 MW they're currently producing.


Seawater Could Be Used to Clean Ship Exhaust

The shipping industry, like the airline industry, is responsible for a large chunk of greenhouse gas emissions, but it has been hard to regulate because standards would have to be approved and enforced globally. It hasn't faced much pressure to clean up until the UN and European Union recently began calling for lowered emissions. Luckily, a Singapore firm thinks it has a solution to the problem. Ecospec has developed a method to remove carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and soot from ship exhausts with a widely available resource for ships - seawater.

Don't forget to check out the news on the other EcoGeek Network blogs, too:
Carectomy - http://www.carectomy.com/
EnviroWonk - http://www.envirowonk.com/
Envirovore - http://www.envirovore.com/
And be sure to check in for more information about all the latest green technologies at EcoGeek.org

Angel of Death Discussion

An Angel of Death is a person, usually a doctor or physician, who kills people in order to end their suffering.

Now, normally, an Angel of Death only acts if they have been asked by a patient who is terminally ill or severely injured. One famous Angel of Death is Jack Kevorkian, a doctor who commited at least 130 assisted suicides. He spent eight years of a ten-to-twenty-five year sentance for second degree murder, and was released on parol for good behavior.

Alright, so now you know what they are. It's time to discuss veiwpoints on the situation.

I will agree that killing someone, even at their request, would be morally wrong. It seems to me that it would be difficult to remove a human being from this world when you know they are capable of coherant thought, at least enough to ask for death. However, I belive that if someone is, say, already dying and would rather skip all the pain and just get it over with, assisted suicide would be acceptable. I only know that I wouldn't be able to go through with it.

This brings up a point of confusion for me in the medical world.

So, there are these people who are dying of cancer, or some other immensly painful disease, and the doctors won't give them morphine because they say they'll...get addicted to it? They frickin' dying, for Osiris's sake! What does it matter if they get addicted to it? If they're in pain and dying, give them all the fricken morphine they want! I'd say it would be better for their sanity.

Anyway, I just want to hear people's opinions on the whole Angel of Death thing, and opinions on the morphine situation would be welcome, as well.

xoxoxo,
Brii333

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Am I a criminal? The world knows I'm not a criminal. What are they trying to put me in jail for? You've lost common sense in this society because of religious fanaticism and dogma. "
~Jack Kevorkian

Beast of Gevaudan

This is the name given to several enormous, man-eating, wolfish animals who ranged the provinces of Gevaudan and Vivarais in south-central France between 1764 and 1767. They were told to have a reddish color fur, large tails, and formidible teeth. They killed their victims by ripping at their throat and facial area with their teeth. The number of victims is uncertain, all depending on which source you look at. One source tells the creature claimed 210 victims--113 deaths and 49 injuries. Another is more specific, stating that 25 women, 68 children, and 6 men were killed, with over thirty more injured. All of the attacks were by a lone wolf, though some say that they saw a smaller female sitting nearby who did not participate in the attacks.

So what was the Beast of Gevaudan? Apparently, it had an aversion to cattle and always went for the human, so it wasn't an ordinary wolf. It's fur color and size also points away from the wolf speculation. Some say it was a wolf-dog mix, but no one can be sure.

The French spent a long time hunting ordinary wolves, but the attacks continued after all wolves were chased from the area. Finally, François Antoine, the king's Lieutenant of the Hunt, was brought in. In 1765, an enormous grey wolf was caught. He was 80 centimetres (31 in) high, 1.7 metres (5.6 ft) long, and weighed 60 kilograms (130 lb). It was agreed that this was large for a wolf. Several survivors identified it as the wolf who had attacked them, recognising scars from wounds they had given him as they defended themselves.

However, another beast soon appeared, killing several children. Dozens more attacks were reported.

He was eventually shot by a local hunter, Jean Chastel. A lot of controversy surrounds his success. One traditional story claims that, when part of a large hunting party, he sat down to read the bible and pray. During one of his prayers, the Beast came into sight, staring at Chastel, who finished his prayers before standing up and shooting him. This is unlikely, as waiting long enough for it's victim to stand up would be immensly uncharacteristic of the Beast. It's more likely that this version was invented out of romantic or religeous motives. Some other people claim that he had actually trained the beast, so that he could kill it and be hailed a hero.

Later, novelists started the idea that Chastel shot the Beast with a silver bullet of his own make. Thus, the silver-bullet-to-kill-a-werewolf story started.

Either way, it's a fascinating story.

xoxoxo,
Brii333

QUOTE OF THE DAY
For this was the land of the ever-memorable Beast, the Napolean Bonapart of wolves. What a career was his! He lived ten months at free quarters in Gévaudan and Vivarais; he ate women and children and ‘shepherdesses celebrated for their beauty’; he pursued armed horsemen; he has been seen at broad noonday chasing a post-chaise and outrider along the king’s high-road, and chaise and outrider fleeing before him at the gallop. He was placarded like a political offender, and ten thousand francs were offered for his head. And yet, when he was shot and sent to Versailles, behold! a common wolf, and even small for that.
~Robert Lewis Stevens in his book "Travels with a Donkey in Cevennes"

The Matthew Shepard Act

This was proposed a few years back as an extentian to the 1969 U.S. federal hate-crime law. It would include gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender citizens so that they, too, would be protected under the law.
It would also...
~ remove the current prerequisite that the victim must be engaging in a federally-protected activity, like voting or going to school...
~ give federal authorities greater ability to engage in hate crimes investigations that local authorities choose not to pursue...
~ provide $10 million in funding for 2008 and 2009 to help State and local agencies pay for investigating and prosecuting hate crimes...
~ require the FBI to track statistics on hate crimes on transgender people (statistics for other groups are already tracked).

The bill passed the House of Representatives in May, 2007, and it was the first time that a gay rights bill had been brought to the floor of the House.

The bill passed the Senate in September, 2007. President George W. Bush then indicated he would veto the DoD authorization bill if it reached his desk with the hate crimes legislation attached. As a result, the amendment was dropped because of opposition from anitwar Democrats, conservative groups, and of course, our exalted former president, George W. Bush.

Barack Obama's website says that one of the priority goals for his new administration is passing this new Act.

However, I recently discovered that it is going to take two years to get to it.

Now, I know that our new president is busy. Very busy. But the problem with the whole two years issue is that every six hours, another member of the LGBT community is the victim of a violent hate crime. Keep in mind, this is just violent hate crimes.

Several people have died.

I'm not saying that this new Act will stop the hate crimes. But it will allow us to feel safer, to know that if something happens, the government will be on our side.

I will say that the more I read these newsletters, the less respect I have for Bush's administration. I never thought I could like him less, but I have.

Thanks for Listening,
Brii333

Myths

Ever since I could understand stories being read to me, I've been a seeker of myths. Mom and Dad would read me stories--Dad would read me fairy tales and make up his own stories, Mom would read to me out of books of myth. My favorite ones always involved dragons and knights in shining armor, or other such things.

Anyway, It contributed to my belief that nothing is completely impossible, that things such as fairies and dragons and vampires and monsters could exist, somewhere.

And people seem to find this incredibly amusing. I don't usually talk about such things because of this, but sometimes (like at home) I can't help myself. I'm ridiculed for it, and it makes me sad.

"They're not real, Brianna. That's why they're myths." Tamie or Dad or Skylar will tell me. My mother is the only one who says nothing. (If anything, she encourages it.)

But my point is, why can't there be things that we can't prove? Why can't there be magic and mysterious beings and living myths out there, things that we can't prove or understand? I'm not saying that these things exist for sure, but we can't know that they don't exist, either.

**sigh**

I think I've gone into this subject in a rant before, but that's beside the point.

So I might be crazy, but I think it's dumb to rule this stuff out.

xoxo,
Brii333

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who do not believe, no proof is possible."
~Stuart Chase