A picture's worth a thousand words...

...or "Abortions, Ultrasounds and Me"

So, here goes.

I'm a guy. For those of you who hadn't put a gender to the Maadas Hel nick, there you go. I'm a male in a male dominated society where women are trained into a role from birth to serve me. That's never set well with me, but I only recently realized that I am a feminist. There have always been things about women's depiction in the mainstream, our deprecating-by-nature language, etc. that bothered me.

Having said that, here's where it gets dicey for me. Abortion.

I'm not terribly comfortable with trying to convince anyone I have a valid opinion on abortion since I can't become pregnant. To me, it's like a person with no legs being appointed the head of R&D for the Dept. of Silly Walks.

Still, in my own estrogen-challenged way I've become quite solid in my pro-choice stance, based more than anything else on a woman's right to choose how to live in her own skin. (My opinions aren't influenced by the God stuff, so I get to deal in human issues when trying to make sense of it all.)

So this morning while punishing my poor, tired old body on a treadmill in a gym, I saw this bit of scariness about a South Carolina law that's sailing through their legislature that will force women having an abortion to view ultrasound pics of their unborn fetuses before giving the go ahead. Ultrasound pics, mind you, they didn't request, taken by someone who isn't them, of a fetus they are not connected to in any way.

"I'm just trying to save lives and protect people from regret and inform women with the most accurate non-judgmental information that can be provided," Rep. Greg Delleney, R-Chester, said.

Greg's a guy too. Like me, he's just as incapable of ever knowing what it's like to physically carry a child in his womb. Like me he'll never even come close to grasping the emotional implications of giving birth or aborting it. Like me, he'll never walk in the shoes of the segment of our society who is expected by their peers to give up their lives for breeding purposes.

So, are we really going to pass actual laws that force people to look at pictures they don't take, request or want to view? Why the hell not, we've already got these:

The state's informed-consent law, passed in 1994, requires abortion doctors to tell women the likely age of their fetus and give them information about fetal development and alternatives to abortion. Women must think about the information for at least an hour before terminating their pregnancy.

Hey, I guess if we can pass laws forcing a human to "think about" something of the government's choosing for an enforced time period, then passing legislation that will force us to train our eyes where we're told to is no great stretch.

I'd love to hear from women on this topic, but this is disturbing on so many other levels than just the abortion aspect, in my decidedly testosterone influenced opinion.

A little help here?

I'm surrounded...by idiots

Last night as I was packing up my gear from another fun Wednesday Night Acoustic Open Mic Night (which I host every Wed. at our local sports bar), a diamond studded, trying-too-hard older lady came up to me and asked me about a song I had just played, which was one of my own compositions entitled "God Bless Americans" (liberal satire to be sure). She wanted to know what my political leanings were so I told her. She, not surprisingly, informed me that she and her hubby who are moving here (great) and building a new custom home up on the most exclusive hillside development in the county, are staunch conservative Republicans.

No shit, she-lock, I'd a' never guessed. She assaulted me with the old "People oughta have to work for what they get," line as she waved her diamonds in my face and told me how her daddy was a writer and a prof back in the day at UT. I'm sure she's really had it rough.

This morning as I was on the treadmill (because I've become one of those lunatics that works out every weekday) I saw the Faux News scrawl. I was informed that the brilliant bubba legislature of South Carolina is sailing through a bill to force women getting an abortion to view ultrasound images of their fetuses prior to giving the thumbs up. That's true compassion if I've ever seen it.

Next was a brief telling me that a woman and her husband were given the go ahead to sue a fertility clinic because they say the clinic gave her another man's sperm, rather than hubby. They said they knew because their daughter's skin was too dark to be theirs. Allegedly they have DNA to back this claim up.

Idiots and crazies are everywhere. I need intelligent stimuli. Quick.

It's official

Well, now I've done it.

I just returned from making my candidacy for city council official. Having known several city hall employees for years, I took a lot of good-natured ribbing when I came walking in to file, but I think all in all they're positively interested to see if a small hayseed town will elect a liberal long hair to the council.

Obviously I have a few agenda items in mind going in, and anyone who tells you they don't is a smooth liar. I'll lay those out as the time gets closer.

Election Day is May 12. We draw for order of placement on the ballot next Wednesday.

I'll keep everyone updated on here if they're interested.

Peace,
M.H.

Be Very Afraid

The following was for a column, entitled The Left Brain, that I send out to local papers on a semi-regular basis. Since I'm an ex-employee of all of them, they never print my work. No problem. I thought I'd reprint it here for the hell of it. M.H.

I am not scared of Ann Coulter or the dozens of neocon lunatics like her, who the pseudo-news agencies love to parade out in full froth during ratings periods. The fact that she used the word “faggot” to refer to presidential hopeful John Edwards during a speech last Friday doesn’t frighten me. I’m not shaken by such casual, hateful insensitivity or by her logic-defying response to the ensuing furor that we should just get over her use of a “schoolyard taunt.”

No, what scares me was the crowd’s immediate reaction to her words. Applause.

The fact that we live in a social climate that allows whack-jobs like Coulter to become wealthy by spewing their version of public opinion to a waiting audience, hungry for all the intolerance, racism, misogyny and hate they can swallow, scares the bejeezus out of me.

Before anyone points out that Coulter has a right to say things like, “I think there should be a literacy test and a poll tax for people to vote,” (on Hannity & Colmes, Fox News Channel) or her classic post 9-11 syndicated column, playing to our grief and fear stating, “We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity,” or her vicious comments last year directed at 9/11 widows who she claimed were “witches” enjoying their celebrity status, you’re correct. She has the right to say mean-spirited, horrible things due to a constitutional freedom of speech.

I have a constitutional right to carry a lethal firearm too. I can conceal it while I carry it and I can fire it. This does not give me the right to aim it in Ms. Coulter’s direction and pull the trigger. There are laws against that sort of thing.

There’s an expansive canyon between our rights and our abuse of them to disrupt and hurt others; a chasm that Coulter routinely hops over with graceless ease.

Her latest foray into the Howard Stern-like shock arena may cost her more than usual, however. Some newspapers among her strong client list are starting to drop her column, albeit at a slower pace than she deserves. Evidently a memo has circulated within the corporate media world noting that the use of slurs to taunt those you oppose is bad for business. Who’d a thunk it?

Of course locally, where the finest media outlets in Burnet and Llano counties consistently run fishing columns and canned political rhetoric by conservative incumbents, passing this off as opinion/editorial content, I don’t expect as much as a batted eye. There’s a sick, co-dependent relationship here in the Hill Country wherein the citizenry continues to allow the local press to blatantly shirk its historic duty to those it serves as long as the church news gets in, the obits are timely and the high school football scores are right. It’s embarrassing but not many seem to care.

Still, it’s not the “dog bites man” non-newsworthiness of Coulter’s immature and mind numbingly stupid comments that should scare every freedom loving, flag waver out there; it’s the appreciative audience that she and her ilk play to. That she justifies her remarks with an equally offensive response about bullying schoolchildren isn’t nearly as troublesome as the millions who will nod obediently at the boob tube, drooling in agreement while mumbling, “Yeah, what’s the big deal?”

That group of Americans frightens me more than predictable stupidity from the stupid. Luckily, many of them are easily identifiable by Bush/Cheney stickers and therefore can be easily avoided by those of us who have a clue.

It's official - I'm Nuts

I must be fucking crazy.

I mean, the signs have been there for some time. Rants and rages about things that just shouldn’t matter to me. Writing letters to local papers about the impropriety of Gov. Perry’s unscientific vaccine mandate when the vaccine is for schoolgirls, which I’m not, and my daughter is home-schooled and thus not subject to it. Bitching about the insensitivity of a Republican senator who actually said that people shouldn’t have to justify the use of deadly force in shootings under his proposed new legislation. Riding around town with big, bright incendiary messages about political injustices and social iniquities scrawled in window paint on the back windshield of my 1965 Plymouth. Starting a blog after reading and being inspired by the heretical offerings of now renowned anti-American, anti-Catholic librul Melissa McEwen.

All these should have been signs that I was mentally slipping just a bit, cries for help you might say. But now there’s no denying my emotional instability.

I’m running for office.

Granted, it’s a local office, a seat on my city council, but I still deem that as proof positive of my insanity plea.

I’ll keep everyone informed of the process every step of the way, including any unexpected negativity or resistance I encounter, as well as any pleasant surprises. As former city secretary and a member of the commission who authored the town’s charter, I do have some idea what the process of running and serving on the council entails.

It’ll sure be interesting to see how this lil’ redneck, heavily republican and socially behind the times town reacts to the local “crazy” being on the council. The reactions to proposed ordinances to allow low-speed and neighborhood electric vehicles, in compliance with state statutes, and the push to implement a city-wide recycling program, as well as a crackdown on known racially-biased hiring practices will be, uh, worth watching to say the least.

Believe it or not, I think there’s a good shot that I could actually win one of the four open seats, so stay tuned.

The locals must be right about me. I must be fucking crazy.

Just so we know...

fas·cism (fāsh'ĭz'əm)
–noun

1. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

2. A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.

de·moc·ra·cy (di-mok-ruh-see)

–noun

1. government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.

There's far too much of the former and not enough of the latter in the mainstream American conscience, these days. Just thought I'd post a reminder that government centralized socioeconomic controls, censorship, control through terror, racism and belligerent nationalism, whether practiced by the majority or not, is till counter to the ideals on which our society was founded.

Caution, I know how to use this thing

I am Spartacus!

Trust 'em, they know how this works.

"New York's top Catholic leaders on Thursday sharply criticized the city for "blanketing our neighborhoods with condoms," saying city officials were promoting promiscuity and degrading society by distributing subway-themed condoms.

Yeah, see, it works like this: Giving away condoms promotes promiscuity the same way confession does. Catholics know all about the "get outta jail free" approach to sinnin'! That's why they're all over this.

Good grief.

Oh sure, why the hell not?

I suppose there could be worse things, that would quell the wave of sanity that seems to gaining momentum, but my mind's too swirly after reading this to think of a single one right now.

Happy to be Texan, not terribly proud

I was born here in Texas and am inexorably tied to many of its traditions and attitudes. Through much therapy and personal reevaluation I have lessened the number of the latter that fall under the strict domain of the crimson collared.

Including our state’s favorite God given right – shooting folks. We love to shoot folks nearly as much as der Fuhrer loved putting ‘em to sleep while he was Guv. Now, thanks in large part to Reep Jeff Wentworth, the fine State Senator from San Antone, we may soon be able to shoot ‘em more often with fewer repercussions.

WooHoo!

See, Wentworth and fellow Reep Jane Nelson of Lewisville have decided that the ability to shoot folks who break into your home uninvited is simply not strong enough. So in their inimitable spindiferous way they have set about to convince folks that a bill they have co-authored merely means that you can shoot intruders in your home easier.

“Half of the people are surprised to find we don't already have that right,” Wentworth said.

That’s right Jeff, they are surprised. Because WE DO! This is an example of the great Reep Bullshit Machine in high gear. Here’s the deal. Texas’ laws regarding what is known as Castle Doctrine (a reference to jolly old England and a man’s right to defend his castle) are already some of the broadest in Unmerica. What this bill will actually provide, despite Wentworth and Nelson’s great distraction of Home and Hearth nonsense, is a greater ability to shoot first, ask questions never, and to do so at work, in your car or essentially anywhere in public you feel threatened. That’s right folks, the Wild, Wild West is making a comeback.

(Does anyone else hear an old Marty Robbins song playing in the background, or is that just me?)

“Texans should not have to prove in court that their lives were directly threatened,” Wentworth stated proudly on Wedensday. Damn straight! Why should people who kill someone with a firearm have to prove to some danged old court, (probably run by some activist judge anyway), that they felt threatened? Hell, if’n they say it was a just shootin’ then what right does a court have to question it?

In its currently proposed form the bill would legally establish the assumption that someone criminally entering a person's home, business or vehicle is there to cause death or great bodily harm and would allow potential victims to use any force – including deadly force – in retaliation.

The NRA (National Redneck Association) backs the bill. They refer to them as "stand your ground" laws because they allow possible crime victims who are in a place where they have a right to be to fight back without being second-guessed by courts. Yeah, being second guessed by courts in shooting cases can be a pain in the ass.

According to Zach Ragbourn, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Florida (where an identical statute is already in place) is already seeing cases in which people are trying to use the broadness of the law to get away with murder.

"It's tying the courts up in knots," he said.

Imagine that. Where are Artemis Gordon and Jim West when we need ‘em?

Dick Perry and his magic vaccine

I wrote this for another blog on Feb. 2, 2007 - MH

For the last 3 months, our vehicles have sported a topical statement indicative of our present level of disgust wih our political, economical, environmental and social situation. Every couple of weeks a new big, bold piece of commentary arises on our back windshields in colored window markers purchased just for the effort.

Today's was a no brainer. Rickhead Perry, our esteemed guv, is at it again. Today, by way of executive order, (read: legislation without the messy need for legislators), he ordered all female students entering the 6th grade in 2008 to submit to a mandatory HPV vaccine. This is an immunization against the most common, and potentially least harmful sexually transmitted disease. This is a VD shot for 11-12 year old girls.

The problem is, the guv,with his vast medical knowledge, has a flag to wave so as to appear to be a saviour of the public's health. The human papillomavirus, by the admission of the Center for Disease Control itself (look it up - I did) may sometimes lead to cervical cancer in some cases. Here is a direct quote, copied and pasted from the CDC's own website.

"Approximately 10 of the 30 identified genital HPV types can lead, in rare cases, to development of cervical cancer. Research has shown that for most women (90 percent), cervical HPV infection becomes undetectable within two years."

Yet those are good enough numbers for the pig that only 39 percent of Texans voted for in November to decide that my daughter must have an HPV vaccination. Mandatory.

It's to stop the spread of cancer, he says.

Bullshit Rick. You're a lying, thieving (ask Texas Parks & Wildlife about $40m in missing revenue if you don't believe me), slick ass car salesman/conservative nutjob. There's enough information out there just for the googling regarding the dodgy nature of vaccinations and the misinformation spread by folks we're supposed to trust about the ways that vaccinations have gone wrong (without lots of nasty press to get in the way of the Big Pharm dollar), that there's no way I'm gonna trust you or your back pocket lobbyists with my daughter's health.

Is it just me, or does it bother anyone else that the top Texas lobbyist for Merck (one of the "bigs" in Big Pharm and the company that manufactures the soon-to-be-mandated HPV vaccine) just happens to be Perry's former chief of staff?

There's enough wrong with this deal that a populace that was paying attention to the fascist government that's approaching (just as sure as gestapos wore jackboots) could spot it and cry foul if they were of a mind to.

There's also enough wrong with the vaccination industry that I have my doubts about mandated immunizations as a general rule.

I have a message for my guv:

Tell you what pal, You can stick a needle in my daughter if I can stick one in you.

Matter of fact, that's what I'm sporting on the back window right now.

(Full Disclosure: You can fill out some official paperwork stating a religious or (recently added) philosophical objection and opt out, if you're inclined to share that sort of info with your governement. Also, I homeschool, so it doesn't personally impact my kid. MH)

Republicans, me and Him

Party platforms are no more than partisan wish lists that embody what a particular political affiliation would like in a perfect world. As such I try not to get as worked up about them as I could and as some do.

But, I fail. It pisses me off to no end when I read the tripe that passes for securing the party line in our country. Most specifically, the Pachyderm Propaganda.

The Texas Republican Party Platform is posted online in full and is required reading for both young Reeps about to blossom into full-grown intolerance and free citizens who like to/need to know what they're up against. (Older Reeps aren't required to read it, per se, since some of its most basic tenets are actually tattooed on their heads in Damienesque splendor.) The document contains this lovely gem about their fervent desire to define America as a Christian Nation:

"We do not believe in the myth of separation of church and state."

You know, what I love about Fundemental Christians masquerading as conservative politicians? Why, it's their unwavering balls, of course! You might as well say, "We do not believe the foundations of this nation's civil liberties apply to anyone who doesn't believe what we believe!" If I remember the history lessons vaguely, there was this king, who considered himself the leader of the church and the sole employee of the Lord God on Earth, who pissed off a bunch of malcontent colonials to the point they were eventually forced to wage war in their yards with brightly colored soldiers. There were some folks around like T. Jefferson who made a point to try and avoid this sort of thing in the future. See, not being beholden to a particular religion was fairly fundamental to the development of the government we're founded on, strangely enough, completely by design.

I do not believe in the myth of the compassionate conservative, but you don't see me just blurting that sort of thing out, do you? Well, really I do. That's because it's who I am.

And that's who they are. Don't forget it. I know all the triple-lutz's on this one, but remove all the spindiferous bullshit, and keep this in your head always.

"We do not believe in the myth of separation of church and state."

Always wonder about your future and see what you hear.* Wonder about why it is, that despite your religious belief or lack thereof, you always feel a little creepy deep down in that dark pit of intuitive queasiness you don't examine much, when our pal Bushie starts talking about his beliefs.

Sinclair Lewis said "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." There's a short lifespan for freedom when freedom is allowed to be defined by any religious dogma. With that in mind, always remember:

"We do not believe in the myth of separation of church and state."

Always.

(*"God loves you, and I love you. And you can count on both of us as a powerful message that people who wonder about their future can hear." Fuhrer W speaking the mind of the Elephants about his buddy God and Himself—Los Angeles, Calif., March 3, 2004)

Help Me

Hi, I'm Maadas Hel.

This spot on the worldwideweird will take all the abuse I can dish out, inspired by the turmoil in my head. Turmoil created by residing in a world which I rarely understand on anything more than a fleeting basis. After having awakened from a fitful sleep of apathetic acceptance that I clearly knew was, in the least, unproductive after a couple o' decades, I mistakenly assumed that the legion of well-intentioned sleepers could be awakened as well...if only.

I constantly shake my head and wonder how my attention, sluggish on the whole to be sure, was not being fully commanded by the social atmosphere of the planet. Worse yet is now having to grapple with a race to catch myself up while not spontaneously combusting from overload.

Having spent many years using written words and opinions to put food on my family* a blog seemed like the least wasteful therapist my current income will provide.

So help me, if you've a mind to, by contributing. All viewpoints are welcomed, the most ridiculous of which, of course, will be pointed out as such. As a matter of full disclosure as well as a caution, I am also well versed in spin. You could say I'm a regular Justice Potter Stewart when it comes to horse manure in a post - I know it when I see it.

That's it. That's about all the operating standards for now. Comment away.

(*I encourage commenters to use all the Wisms possible (n. (wiz-ums.) 1. Dubya-isms) . Like here for example, when The Dear Leader attempted to pal up to N.H. voters, ya' know - the common man, by saying he understood how hard the working poor, uh, you know, like, worked...for food and stuff.)