Living Without Heat

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Monday February 22, 2010 · 5:36 PM PST

2010/02/22 · 17:36

I don't wake up to a frozen-over toilet bowl, and I can't see my breath in my apartment, but temperatures in the place I call home appear to have stabilized at about 55.4° during the day and about 52° at night. It's not that I can't afford the gas to heat my apartment, it's that apparently my landlord has provided such inefficient appliances - a gas stove, a hot water heater three stories below me in an uninsulated basement, and a heater powered by said water heater - that heating my one-bedroom apartment to 60° in December and January cost $150. To compare, my friend in a two-bedroom down the street was paying $140 for an average of 70°.

So rather than forking over more than I spent on groceries in a month to keep myself at barely-heated, I just told the gas company to shove it. Currently, I'm in the adjusting process.

Poll

142 votes Show Results

My house/apartment is...

142 votes Vote Now!

My house/apartment is...

over 75Â°

4 votes

72-75Â°

5 votes

70-72Â°

14 votes

68-70Â°

34 votes

66-68Â°

42 votes

below 66Â°

43 votes

Caster Semenya and our Sexism Problem

hobbularmodule

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Saturday August 22, 2009 · 4:45 PM PDT

2009/08/22 · 16:45

Caster Semenya: you had probably never heard of her before last Wednesday, when she won the women's 800m championship. Actually, you probably didn't even hear about her then -- until the International Association of Athletics Federations publicized that they'd asked her to take a gender test.

The media jumped on this, flashing Caster's image across the screen and posting pictures of her in various poses and various attires, as if asking the general public "well, what do YOU think?" What very few questioned, however, was the fact that IAAF had publicized the fact that the test was going to take place, not that she had failed it. Her family was contacted, her birth certificate demanded (sound familiar?), and various avenues of the internet were filled with speculation on her gender identity based entirely on her appearance.

hobbularmodule

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Friday December 26, 2008 · 6:56 PM PST

2008/12/26 · 18:56

I was given a good Catholic upbringing. The majority of the people I associated with and respected were male, and so I absorbed much of their attitudes, likes, and dislikes. I heard over and over again the kvetch that women would just never give it up and let themselves go to seed and be nagging bitches as soon as you say "I do". How women had sand in the vag, meat curtains, and various other derogatory descriptors. I swore that I'd never be that girl - I never wanted anything like that said about me.

But I also swore to remain abstinent until marriage - it was frustrating to my boyfriend, but he respected my choice. Until he went to college. Then he decided to dump me so he could have sex - something Prager endorsed. It tore me apart, so I gave it up - also something he endorsed. It was a terrible first time, five minutes in and out, and three days later he'd already had number two. Being in the Prager mindset myself, I assumed this was because I was not being satisfying enough. So I tried again. And again. To no avail, just to the detriment of any self-esteem I'd ever had.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

hobbularmodule

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Sunday November 16, 2008 · 6:10 PM PST

2008/11/16 · 18:10

The most I remember of Mr. Nader was a clip I saw from some previous election where Nader filmed himself having a mock debate with puppets of [Republican nominee] and [Democratic nominee] because he was sore that they didn't invite him to the Presidential debates like a legitimate candidate. Immature, ridiculous, silly, all of the above. Solidified my relief that the man was a third-party candidate and ran absolutely no chance of ever walking into a room with "Hail to the Chief" played on anything more majestic than kazoos.

That being said, the recent profanity and insults that have been hurled at Mr. Nader by administrators and users of this site are shameful and embarrassing.

Update: To be clear, I'm not condemning the use of swears on the site (I fucking love swearing). I merely think that we as Democrats and liberals should be more considerate when applying those swears to the character of a fellow human being.

hobbularmodule

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

Friday September 12, 2008 · 7:54 AM PDT

2008/09/12 · 07:54

Part of the reality of a political campaign is the fact that narratives evolve over time. This is necessary and healthy, as it is important to display and celebrate the many facets of a candidate so that the American people can get a full picture of the person for whom they will be casting their vote. Sometimes, however, we can get caught up in the present, in what we have become, and forget from whence we came.

At the beginning of February of this year, when we were concerned merely with the outcome of Super Tuesday, not knowing that there were still four months of a cut-throat primary ahead of us before we would choose a nominee, not even knowing who the Republican opponent would be, a group called will.i.am released a music video summarizing Barack Obama's message at that time.

It is time for all Democrats to watch that video again. Please follow me over the fold.

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Living Without Heat

Caster Semenya and our Sexism Problem

Prager's Ideology Isn't Harmful? Think Again.

I don't like Ralph Nader, either.

There has never been anything false about hope. [video]