Eeeewwww

Current temperature: 107 F / 41 ish C.
Current conditions: smoky. "Extremely unhealthy" range.
Visibility: pretty bad. Looks like a mile, maybe.

TH and I have burning eyes and sore throats.

(And people laugh at me for loving winter.)

Patriotism

Watch this link to YouTube. And then tell me this country ain't great!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDA9NbPAK8o

Sorry, I would've embedded it in my blog, but I'm hopelessly non-geeky.

ps. Thanks, Dad, for the link!

If lovin' you is wrong....

.... I don't wanna be right.

Happy Birthday, U.S.!!

I've been thinking a lot the past couple days about what it means to me to be free.

• It means that I can make choices about my life, instead of having those choices made for me.
• It means that I can think, say, and write what I want without fear of reprisal from the government.
• It means that I can choose not to participate in patriotic activities.
• It means that I can choose to participate in activities critical of my government.
• It means that I can freely travel without suspicion.
• It means that I am protected from search, seizure, and harassment from government agents without just cause.
• It means that I can be protected from discrimination.
• It means that I can vote my conscience. Heck, it means I can VOTE!!
• It means that I can love my country, and love other countries just as much.
• It means that I can be opposed to war without being opposed to my country.
• It means that I can be free from propaganda and think for myself.
• It means that I can support a woman's right to make decisions about her body.
• It means that I can support the right of all citizens to benefit from well, benefits.
• It means that I can support the dignity and rights of all people in this country, whether they are citizens or not.
• It means that I can support the conservation of this earth, in addition to the people on it.
• It means that any of you can disagree with me, and that the resulting discussion will serve to make our nation more interesting, stronger, and a better place to live.

Happy Independence Day!! What does freedom mean to you?

(See the text of the Declaration of Independence.)

How time flies

On Notre Dame
Originally uploaded by shesingsforjoy

This time last year, we were in Paris.

Sigh.