Is Paul Ryan Trying to Lose Wisconsin?

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Wednesday August 22, 2012 · 8:05 AM PDT

2012/08/22 · 08:05

Not that I mind in the slightest...

Seriously, the Steelers' Terrible Towel?? Shameful. Nobody from Wisconsin disrespects the Packers like that, especially if they're running for public office!

If I were a Republican, this would make me vote for Obama. :P

Why am I such a coward?

Valdearg

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Tuesday October 11, 2011 · 11:02 AM PDT

2011/10/11 · 11:02

Upon learning that today was National Coming out Day, I briefly thought about finally outing myself as a bisexual to my family and the friends that don't yet know. That thought quickly vanished, as I convinced myself that doing so would ultimately be more trouble than it's worth. I have no problem saying that I am as attracted to men as I am to women semi-anonymously on the internet. I was able to tell it to my wife, who was very understanding and open minded when she learned it. I now have no problem telling most of my closest friends, who have all responded positively to the revelation.

Why, then, can't I muster up the courage to finally stop hiding it from everyone else? Every time I think about saying something, I always tell myself that I'm better off keeping it a secret from the majority of people I know. It's like I've put on this masculine, straight act for so many years that, even though deep down inside of me, I'd like to stop hiding it, I feel that it's just going to cause me problems if I do so.

I'm not ashamed of myself and I certainly don't feel guilty for being bisexual, so that's definitely not the issue. I just don't like conflict and even though I suffer in the long run from not saying something, I can't bring myself to open that can of worms, especially when dealing with my brother and my less than sensitive sports buddies.

They're the typical masculine athlete, military, fun-to-hang-with-even-though-they-can-be-total-jerks-type of guy. They are easily my closest group of friends, and they are overall very friendly and fun, despite the fact that they don't pull punches when joking around or talking with each other. I'm on their football team, I play D&D with them, and I genuinely enjoy their company. I even tolerate their pseudo-homophobia, despite the fact that deep down it kills me when they go on an anti-gay rants and make anti-gay jokes. They don't actively hate gays. That much is clear to me. However, as is the status-quo with the "typical" guy group, their "humor" and joking namecalling is pretty much as you'd expect, littered with subtle homophobia and the three letter "F-word".

Don't get me wrong. I love these guys and would defend them to the death, despite their cultural shortcomings, but I really think the main reason I can't bring myself to finally fully embrace who I am and stop hiding it from the world at large is because I'm absolutely terrified of what would happen should they find out. Logically, I'm pretty sure they'd be okay with it, but something in the back of my head keeps telling me that it won't be, that I'd lose friends or permanently alter the dynamic of the group by coming out, and that I'm better off just keeping it hidden.

It makes me feel like a total coward, and I hate myself for it...

Valdearg

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Wednesday June 08, 2011 · 11:32 AM PDT

2011/06/08 · 11:32

There is currently a Diary on the Rec List that alleges that a SWAT team broke into an innocent man's house and detained him as his children while they searched it over unpaid student loans, and there is some SERIOUS jumping to conclusions and knee-jerk reactions going on over there. Rather than examine the facts versus what was reported, everybody is getting hysterical over the "Police State" that we live in here in America. It's unreal.

Many logical, rational explanations are being lost in the paranoia and outrage that the less rational of us are spreading, and they need to be separated and emphasized in order to show just how irrational people are acting right now.

Speaking from personal experience, unpaid student loans are not a valid reason to obtain a Search Warrant. Unpaid loans are handled through the court system and are not a criminal matter. No matter how long you go with unpaid loans, you will NOT be invaded by a SWAT team. Sorry. I know that that totally goes against the preconceived notion that we are living under a dictatorship, but that's the Truth.

As wmtriallawyer pointed out over a few comments, the Office of Inspector General was involved in this raid, and they don't deal with simple debt.

From wmtriallawyer's comment:

“The Office of Inspector General does not engage in the collection of student loans. Our mission is to conduct criminal investigations related to the programs and operations of the U.S. Department of Education, which include the student financial aid programs. We can confirm that we executed a search warrant at the residence, however our policy is not to discuss details of our on-going work.”

They handle criminal matters and have the authority to execute Search Warrants. So most likely, this raid was for something criminal, like Fraud or something similar.

Also, the agents who did perform the raid on this home were NOT SWAT agents. The local police only sent one police cruiser and one cop. The agents who performed the raid were mistaken for SWAT, and were actually Federal Agents.

Thanks to Gnostradamus for the quote and the link:

A U.S. government official confirmed for News10 Wednesday morning federal agents with the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), not local S.W.A.T., served the search warrant

Come on Kossacks. I know we're better than this. I joined this community because we were a reality based community that didn't fall victim to fear mongering, lies, conspiracy theories, and paranoia. Yet today, when reading the comments in that diary, it reminded me of the Right Wing's capability to ignore facts, twist evidence, and jump to conclusions that support their biases. Please, let's avoid this kind of knee-jerk reaction in the future. Police Brutality is a real and legitimate thing to be vigilant about, but let's not get bent out of shape over every single report of a Law Enforcement Operation. We must withhold judgement on a case by case basis once we have the facts and evidence to support our opinions.

NOTE: Just to cover the inevitable accusation of supporting a fascist, authoritarian police state, I'm going to say that I absolutely DO NOT support Police brutality or corruption in any way. I am appalled in situations where Police Brutality actually occurs, and, even in this case, I don't necessarily support the way they handled detaining the husband and kids while doing the search. There are certainly better ways to handle it. However, claiming that SWAT invaded the home of an innocent man due to an unpaid Student Loan is dishonest and doesn't really lend much credibility to not only this site, but our collective Democratic causes.

Rapture: Going out with a bang!

Valdearg

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Thursday May 19, 2011 · 11:22 AM PDT

2011/05/19 · 11:22

Alright, so here's the deal. As one of Daily Kos' resident irreverent atheists, I'm looking for ideas on things to do for a Rapture party on Saturday. Knowing just how creative and funny the community is, I'm really interested in what kind of craziness you all can come up with!

I'm planning on holding an irreverent, outrageous party that would make even the average believer blush. Obviously, I'm out to make fun of the belief that the world is going to end on Saturday, and the theme of the party will more than likely be something like "Blasphemy is Fun!!" or something related to the 7 deadly sins. (I haven't quite decided, yet.)

The group I'm planning on partying with are pretty much as irreverent as myself, but not everyone is going to be atheist. Some carry Pagan beliefs, so ideally, we'd want to avoid offending them. Anyone else is fair game, though! They are all pretty liberal and tend to get kind of wild, especially after a few drinks. (And trust me, there WILL be copious amounts of alcohol)

Ideally, the suggestions will be meant to be entertaining, make fun of the Rapture or Christianity in one way or another. They can be offensive, but not maliciously so. I'm not doing this to be mean or insulting (okay, maybe a teeny, tiny bit insulting, but definitely not mean!!). I just really want to have a bit of fun with fellow blasphemers. (Also, being from Wisconsin, I'll take any excuse I can to party!)

The only rules I have are that the suggestions have to be legal and safe for everyone involved.

A few examples I've been tossing around in my head:

Costumes: Dress up as your favorite bible character (good or evil), extra points if you can twist it into something provocative, sexy, or evil!

Games: Twisted drinking games with a religious aspect to them. (My creativity in this aspect is sorely lacking. Definitely having trouble coming up with some!)

Drinks: A whole bar's worth of irreverent drinks, such as Jesus Juice, Walk Me Down (Sweet Jesus), Blood of Satan, and Devil in Disguise

Decorations: I haven't decided whether or not to do an "Angellic" setting, which adds to the irony, or a more "Hellish" style setting, which would be more befitting a party like this. Any other suggestions are more than welcome!

Disclaimer: If you are offended by the basis behind this party or believe this party is inappropriate, you can keep your comments to yourself. I'm not interested in debating religion or spirituality. I just want to have some provocative, irreverent fun with some friends!

Valdearg

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday April 10, 2011 · 8:19 PM PDT

2011/04/10 · 20:19

I've been pretty cautious about jumping to conclusions about the results of the WI Supreme Court Election between JoAnne Kloppenburg and Walker stooge David Prosser. I, like most reasonable people want to see the events in the past few days investigated to the absolute fullest to shed some light on some quite murky circumstances.

That being said, I ran into a link shared by a friend of mine that is... interesting.

It alleges that the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, the very organization in charge of making sure elections are run fairly and the will of the people is enforced in the state, may have known who was going to win that election before it even happened.

Documentation Here

Valdearg

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday March 01, 2011 · 9:45 AM PST

2011/03/01 · 09:45

I've been scanning the new diaries for about an hour or so and haven't seen this posted yet, so I'm just going to go ahead and do so. If a diary about this already exists, feel free to disregard. :P

Judge orders State Capitol Building Reopened to the public!!!

I knew when that scumbag Walker attempted to close the Capitol, it wouldn't stand. However, I'm glad this temporary injunction came through this quickly, because it allows those who remain strong in Madison to occupy the building and make their voices heard when Walker reveals his budget this afternoon!

STAY STRONG, FOLKS! I WISH I COULD BE THERE WITH YOU!!

Poll

0 votes Show Results

0 votes Vote Now!

We should respond with a burning of our own!!

Valdearg

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday September 08, 2010 · 11:45 AM PDT

2010/09/08 · 11:45

All of this talk of the Koran burning got me thinking. Besides outrage, logic, reason, and appealing to the sensible side of people who support this act (who am I kidding? Sensible? Yeah, right.), we should just sink to their level and respond in kind.

Now, the question is, what do we burn?

Poll

69 votes Show Results

Should we burn the Twilight Series, by Stephenie Meyer?

69 votes Vote Now!

Should we burn the Twilight Series, by Stephenie Meyer?

YES!

36 votes

No. I like Vampires who sparkle!

33 votes

Expanding America's Sexual Identity

Valdearg

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday August 26, 2010 · 10:24 AM PDT

2010/08/26 · 10:24

As someone with a very healthy sexual lifestyle, I often find myself utterly baffled by the cultural duality that exists in our country when dealing with the topics of sex and sexuality. We have a culture in which, for most Americans, they'd rather see graphic, visceral violence than a topless female. Yet, at the same time, I've yet to meet a single person who doesn't truly enjoy the act of sex. I know there are some asexual people out there, but they are few and far between. Why is it that there is such a rift between what we enjoy as individuals and our cultural sensibilities as a whole, and what can we do to help our American culture "loosen up"?

Poll

63 votes Show Results

How do you consider yourself, in regards to sexual behavior?

63 votes Vote Now!

How do you consider yourself, in regards to sexual behavior?

Monogamous with my significant other for reproduction only.

0 votes

Monogamous with my significant other.

32 votes

Swinger - Threesomes only

0 votes

Swinger - No Swap

2 votes

Swinger - Swap

5 votes

Curious about swinging, but have never tried it

3 votes

Non-Monogamous (Non-exclusive dating, Open Relationship)

5 votes

Non-Monogamous (Cheating)

0 votes

Single - Recreational Sex

5 votes

Single - Masturbation

4 votes

Single - No sexual Behavior

6 votes

Pie-sexual (Such a bad pun!)

1 vote

U.S Congressman wants "Collateral Murder" leaker PUT TO DEATH!

Valdearg

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday August 03, 2010 · 3:33 PM PDT

2010/08/03 · 15:33

This just infuriates me.

While plodding through the waist high piles of shit over on Freep, I happened to stumble across this little gem.

What should happen to PFC Bradley Manning, the young man now charged with the unauthorized access of and subsequently leaking of classified military information, namely the video that Wikileaks released under the title "Collateral Murder"? Should the United States government execute him? If your name is Congressman Mike Rogers, then you believe that yes, the young man should be put to death.

What... The... Fuck?!?

Valdearg

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday June 03, 2010 · 7:39 AM PDT

2010/06/03 · 07:39

Yesterday, I posted, and subsequently deleted, a very poor attempt at humor at Glenn Beck's expense. It was in bad taste, it was not funny, and as many of the comments pointed out, it provided our opposition with ammunition and gave our community a black eye. For that, I am sorry.

Valdearg

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Tuesday March 23, 2010 · 8:54 AM PDT

2010/03/23 · 08:54

Dear Mr. President,

Today, March 23rd, 2010, is the beginning of my 23rd year of life. After watching the debate for the past 14 months, listening to the Republican lies, and, yes, I will admit, losing hope at least once during the process, you and the rest of the people responsible for passing this legislation have provided me the absolute BEST birthday gift I have ever received. I know I'm still young, and I know that I have many, many birthdays yet to happen, but I absolutely CANNOT imagine that a better gift than affordable health care for the millions of suffering Americans will ever come my way.

Valdearg

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday February 11, 2010 · 10:08 AM PST

2010/02/11 · 10:08

In light of diaries like this and this, both good reads and perfectly acceptable viewpoints, I figured I'd just cut to the chase.

F**K you, world!

Feel free to join in the gripe fest. Let's get it all out of our system, so we can go back to doing positive work, getting good democrats elected! :)

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Is Paul Ryan Trying to Lose Wisconsin?

Why am I such a coward?

Police States and Reality based communities.

Rapture: Going out with a bang!

More suspicion in WI-SC Election

Judge Orders WI Capitol Building Open!!

We should respond with a burning of our own!!

Expanding America's Sexual Identity

U.S Congressman wants "Collateral Murder" leaker PUT TO DEATH!

Apologies to the DKOS Community

THANK YOU, Mr. President, for the BEST Birthday Gift Ever!

F**K you, world!