Ron Paul open thread

Here's a good site detailing his congressional voting record through at least 2007, and another with some more voting and issues information.  As can be expected (and as many of us already know), some of it's great, and much of it is lunacy.

But I'm curious: regardless of whether or not he has a chance of winning either the GOP nomination or the presidency, what are your opinions on him, his candidacy, and his overall message?  What do you think a Ron Paul presidency would look like?  More importantly, how do you think the political landscape and national discourse might be affected if the mainstream media -- and America -- were forced to listen?  I know we've all got that Ron Paul supporter or three that we know that make you kind of want to scream sometimes when they keep going on about gold, but you have to admit, the guy is saying things and challenging the establishment in a way that no other candidate in recent history has dared -- or been allowed -- to do.  

You're welcome to comment however you wish, of course, but I am hoping for something a little more substantial than simply "he's a racist," "he's crazy," or "he will never win" -- as well as "he's our only hope," "fiat currency is evil," or "Obama's a Republican."  He's got a history dotted with racism, homophobia, and de facto sexism, but hey, so do the rest of the dipshits in the running for the nomination, so let's chat.

Obligatory disclaimer: I AM NOT ENDORSING HIS PRESIDENCY.

Have at it!

JOBS! Open thread

As some readers may recall, I joyfully quit my job back in November, and to swore never again work in another stupid cubicle at another stupid bank.

Welp, plans have changed!  I have just accepted an offer to work at a much better bank, doing a much better-compensated job in a much prettier building with several more floors, and many more elevators-- all of which appear to work!  Oh, and this bank utilizes the many technological advances that have come about post-1990!  And the benefits sound fantastic!

This new job, to which I was referred by a friend, reminds me that, with only a couple exceptions, every job I've had was the result of a referral from a friend or family member.  And then I realized that I have had a lot of jobs, mostly of the crappy retail variety, that are quite different from one another. To date, I have worked at:

• A movie theater (referred; several months)
• A shoe store as a salesperson and shoe-dyeing specialist (referred; 6ish months, till the store went out of business)
• A convenience store as a clerk (referred; few months)
• A one-hour photo lab as a lab tech and later, manager (referred; 6 years)
• Two different gas stations as a clerk (referred; total of about a year)
• A photo studio as a photographer (1 day)
• A big box electronics store as a camera salesperson (4 months)
• A computer repair store as an in-store tech (4 months)
• Two bank customer service call centers (one referred; total of 2 and a half years)
• Two restaurants as a host and a server (8 or 9 months total)
• A metal plating company as an office assistant and a piece-putter-togetherer (referred; a couple months; temp job)
• A bank fraud department as a claims investigator (just over 2 years)
• An environmental non-profit as a phone canvasser (referred; 2 days)
• And, as of shortly, a bank as an accounting specialist (referred; ???)

What have been some of your most varied or interesting jobs?  What do you do now for work, if you work?  What do you want to do?

Rapture Open Thread

I got a little too excited about the impending non-rapture last night, and spent the majority of the afternoon in bed with an ice pack over my head, spending quality time with my Netflix Instant queue.  I watched The One Percent, Loose Change 9/11, and the pilot episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in between naps, before finally crawling out of bed to shower and go look at the beginnings of this weekend's nasty storm with the neighbors.  How did YOU spend the rapture?  
Oh, speaking of Crazy Christians, listen to Jesse's song about being raised by them:

Find more jesse lukes songs at Myspace Music

Some Stuff, open thread

• Firstly, Sam Keenan, the artist responsible for the adorable little forked baby up there, is currently participating in Song A Day 2011.  Song A Day is a loose sort of event where musicians commit to writing and recording one song per day for one month.  Sort of like Nanowrimo, or Nablopomo, but with music.  It's pretty rad what people can manage to do in one day (my husband has done it in the past, too; check out his MySpace page for a bunch of his past Song A Days, most from 2008).  Check it out!  The player is at the bottom of the website.  Also, check out the song Super Penguin to hear a guest appearance by Sam's son.

• Amanda Marcotte has an interesting take on the recent study that reports that most American Catholics disagree with the Catholic Church on a number of contentious issues.  I largely agree with her, but am a little shruggy on the following:

Not that I’m letting Catholics off the hook.  If you disagree with the church, you really should leave as a moral matter.  Money and esteem given to the church allows them perpetuate their evil on the world.  That money and power goes towards depriving women of choices, oppressing gays, spreading HIV by limiting access to condoms, and whatever else they do that you disapprove of.  

It's definitely true that cutting off your support for the Church will lessen the money and power that the Church uses for regressive and bigoted things.  On the other hand, I think there's a lot to be said for Catholics who are actively engaging their churches and leadership for more progressive policies.  Abandoning the institution is one solution, sure; but so is changing it from within.  After all, feminism certainly has its share of bad history, but we aren't abandoning it left and right because the movement's goals and ideals have shifted considerably, and people within the movement are actively trying to be more inclusive, among other things.

• See how susceptible you are to mind control tactics:

• I also accidentally deleted my old Tumblr that I never updated.  How does one accidentally delete a Tumblr account, you ask?  Well, I had one called Choreographix, with a sub account called Minneapix, where I intended to post old photos I have taken around Minneapolis through the years, mostly concert pictures, because that was my "thing" for a while.  I thought I was deleting that one, but wound up deleting Choreographix.  So I just made a new one, with my name as the title instead, where I post pictures.. of concerts, buildings, protest rallies, me, whatever.  You can find it here.  I just remembered that photography is fun. Yay!  

• Also, new and interesting ways to upgrade your ramen noodles!  Like this "Ramepherd's Pie," which I need to make immediately:

• Oh!  And this is a riot.  So, this guy went to India for a while, and... well, he says this:

I went away for India for 6 months last autumn. Whilst I was away one of my best mates was living in my flat looking after it for me. When I got back from the airport last week there was a note on my coffee table to press play on the Playstation and this video came on the TV.. Pretty awesome, though I did feel slightly violated by what happens at about 1m30 and that might be a bit NSFW

Hilarious.

So... what's new?

Open Thread

Just a quick note to say that I've started a new semester, and am now enrolled full-time, so my brain is mostly elsewhere at the moment. I'm pretty happy about one class I am taking online, American Government, though, because it consists primarily of arguing with people about politics on a message board, and submitting a few essays. So, basically, I'm going to get academic credit for the equivalent of my existing participation in the blogosphere.

I'm also working on a new blog concept with a few friends, which is taking a bit of time, as well. (ethecofem is not going anywhere; this idea is a new and separate one entirely and I will surely and excitedly tell you all about it when it's up and running, hopefully soon.)

This just means that I won't be writing many posts of any real substance for a couple months, but I will probably post a lot of conversation starters, because I've been really appreciating the discussions around here lately, especially as we continue to add more contributors.

Also, I've just recently discovered the fun of "open threads," so I declare this to be one.

How's it going?