Novel, Gitmo, Don't let indrax get tortured

I'm participating in national novel writing month. It will be a surrealist novel in which George Washington tries to kill a vampire (the protagonist).
To guard against procrastination, it has no plot restrictions. Anything can happen, and any writing I want to do will fit into it. I expect to do alot of philosophical exploration through my characters' monologues.

In the past I have been jaded and apolitical. I'm taking this opportunity to articulate some political stands, so If I suddenly disappear during or after November, you know why.

Timeline

Having recently gotten out of what I can perhaps best describe as an abusive relationship, I have found making a timeline of events to be extremely fulfilling and liberating.

In any bad relationship, there is going to be some tendency for self-blame, guilt, polarization, and confusion. Laying out a timeline of as much as you can remember lets you take a good objective look at things. I'm not sure I'd reccomend this continuously in a relationship, because it would be too much likescore-keeping, but keeping a diary you could look back on would help. You will find that things you were feeling guilty about were entirely in line, and you will find other things that it would have been good to handle differently. You might still feel guilty, but it will be a realistic guilt about a problem that is actually manageable. Likewise, you will see ways in which the other person was not as bad as you had been feeling they were, and other, perhaps more fundamental problems.

Hey, it's worth a shot.

Not what she thought she said

Ignoring for a moment the problems I have with a stripper pole-dance toy marketed to children as such, one of its critics made a suggestion that really wouldn't solve the problem:

"This should only be available to the most depraved people who want to corrupt their children."

The sad thing is that physically, this is an awesome toy. Kids love to swing around support pillars, table legs, or anything else. If this were marketed as a 'fireman's pole' or just an indoor jungle gym component, no one would have issue with it.

Final Report as an Ally

Robin Edgar's case has concerned me since I read his posts on beliefnet several years ago.
About a year ago, shortly after I entered the UU blogosphere, I started frequenting Robin's blog, which started up around that time. I noticed quickly that he seemed hostile to Unitarian Universalism, but I offered to help Robin because I have a philosophy that despite whatever conflicts people have, their core goals and values can ultimately be compatible. In particular, I would like to see him become a valuable member of the UCM, and UUism as a whole.

Mr. Edgar is intelligent, passionate, and prolific, It is a shame that this conflict has gone on as long as it has. Robin could be an asset to the UU community, instead of a thorn.

The UCM should not cut off the possibility of dialog with Robin, or his reinstatement. It should state the conditions under which it will enter into dialog. It is not consistent with UU principles that anyone be eternally cut off from fellowship.

The UCM needs to address this issue publicly. The wider UU community deserves to have both sides voiced. Their silence reflects badly on the UCM and UUism as a whole.
The posts by an anonymous UCM member to Robin's blog do not serve this role.

Robin needs to stop being an ass.

Milton Friedman Choir - The Corporation

I have no fundamental problem with free markets, and just today I was pondering that government run schools really aren't the best way to achieve universal education, but This is more disturbing than anything I've seen all week, and that includes the turtle rape video.