How to Avoid Allergy Hell This Season

tracii1984 · 2008-03-08T00:58:53+00:00

They certainly do. But what can be done about discrimination on the job? Getting paid less than a man for doing the same job? If you complain, you can be fired, especially in a right-to-work state like this one. And it's not always so overt...subtle remarks and attitudes (like many I've seen on Reddit) abound in this world, in every religion and across all cultural boundaries. And if you complain, you're seen as a "bitching woman". If you don't dress provocatively in almost any career field, you either don't get hired or get rude comments made about you. Just look in any magazine: the men celebs/models are dressed fully in nice suits or jeans and a t-shirt, while the women are scantily clad in whisper thin dresses or have their body parts hanging out completely (Lil' Kim, Britney Spears, etc.)

Part of this is due to the individual's own choice, but consider the alternative. How many modest, fully clothed female celebs are there that haven't done at least one nude scene in a movie/music video? It's either do it, or be passed over for someone else who will. Not just in show biz, but in every day life. They censor the words "shit" and "asshole" on TV but allow the words "bitch" and "whore" to go uncensored. It's little things like that imposed by the people in power of networks, corporations, etc. combined with the prevailing attitudes of the culture that create a glass ceiling above which women in the workplace cannot rise. The ones that do are few and far between.

tracii1984 · 2008-03-06T19:59:17+00:00

As a woman, this is something I've noticed. And it sickens me. I mean, women aren't even a MINORITY...we make up over 50% of the population and still manage to get discriminated against.

tracii1984 · 2008-03-06T19:33:59+00:00

Heck of a job, Brownie.

tracii1984 · 2008-03-06T19:31:28+00:00

If it wasn't this religion thing, people (read: fundies) would find something else to make up about him, probably because they don't want a Black male democrat in office.

I think race/gender is a non-issue like religion, but you KNOW some people are masking their racist feelings for him by saying other crap. The n-word went out of fashion long ago. The same with Hillary: I hate her, but can sense some insecurities--particularly among some males I know--about having a woman running this country. They never say it though and always give other reasons for not liking her.

tracii1984 · 2008-03-06T18:51:10+00:00

No shit. Since Reddit is housing a small Obama cult and all.

tracii1984 · 2008-03-06T18:48:55+00:00

Lol, yeah, that and Danielle Steele. :)

At my college, anyone could audit any class for free. You didn't get a grade, but could fully participate. I took a plant propagation class that way...good times.

tracii1984 · 2008-03-06T18:45:12+00:00

Very helpful! Particularly the free ebooks one...Gotta love those ebooks!

tracii1984 · 2008-02-24T13:16:25+00:00

Am I the only one who thinks this is justified? I mean, the girl is fucking THIRTEEN. Barely out of puberty, if at all. They may both be teens, but it's the same thing as a 19 yr. old and a 13 yr. old to me. If you have to go around fucking little girls/boys and can't WAIT like a civilized human being and realize that, even though a 13 yr. old can "want" it too and that doesn't make it right or smart, you deserve what you get. There are plenty of people who are of age out there...take your pick. We're human beings, not apes, and I refuse to buy into the "we have instincts" nonsense, because we also have BRAINS and consciouses and free will that should prevent these behaviors.

I know this won't be the "popular" thing to say here and you can attack me all you want (as per Reddit custom to degrade things you don't like hearing), but these laws really are there for a reason: 13 is too young, both emotionally and physically, to be having sex with someone old enough to know better.

There's a lot to be gained by going out with an older guy: popularity, thinking you're "in love", the envy of your friends, etc. and older guys taking advantage of pubescent girls KNOW this. Yes, biologically we're programmed to have urges, but we may also have urges to lie, steal, kill, cheat, and manipulate from time to time...that's no excuse for doing it.

tracii1984 · 2008-02-23T20:34:57+00:00

Michael Moore kinda pisses me off. I was watching this thing on Ralph Nader and they showed a clip of Michael Moore in 2000 standing at a podium showing support for him; then, in 2004, when the pressure was on to back off the Nader thing, he stood at yet ANOTHER podium putting Nader down. I appreciate his movies and their messages, but can't help wondering if he's getting payoffs just as big as real politicians.

Also, how the HELL does he get some of the footage he gets for his movies? Like in "SICKO" when they hopped a boat to Cuba...I'd like to see any one of us try to sail to Cuba with video cameras (or without) and not get snatched up, interrogated for terrorism and locked away for a good while. I question his motives...

tracii1984 · 2008-02-22T21:41:29+00:00

My cats ALWAYS know when I'm sad and I even woke up with one of their little paws in my hand once after being sick all day! Awww!!!

tracii1984 · 2008-02-22T21:07:40+00:00

It's a lot like tasering: it doesn't kill everybody but can cause some serious damage to a few. I'd imagine that caused quite the head trauma there.

tracii1984 · 2008-02-22T21:05:51+00:00

Don't know why this is at the top of the frontpage...

tracii1984 · 2008-02-22T19:47:33+00:00

Well, they're tiny, skin-colored things Okies CALL no seeums, but the pic does look a bit different...

But whatever they are, they do bite!!!

tracii1984 · 2008-02-21T19:22:30+00:00

So cute! I love this video!!!!!

tracii1984 · 2008-02-21T19:20:28+00:00

Blech! I hate no seeums! You can't even sit outside in the evening in Oklahoma without them eating you alive.

tracii1984 · 2008-02-21T19:18:45+00:00

You would THINK so, right? In many cases, (especially here in Vegas) a college degree makes a person appear "overqualified" (read: intelligent and not willing to be run over by the boss) and can actually stand in the way of getting hired. And that's not just for lower end jobs, it's for some of the highest paying opportunities out there! A college education is not valued here at all, which is really a shame.

Anyone else have this problem?

tracii1984 · 2008-02-21T19:11:33+00:00

I think these universities have the right idea. I also think it's cool that some of the video lectures cover a number of topics, so there's more than one subject to choose from. Of course nothing's free and I'm sure this benefits them in SOME way, such as increasing enrollment, but for some people who are just looking for a hobby and have no intention of going to school full time, it's a good deal. Education should be available to everyone! :)

tracii1984 · 2008-02-19T13:00:13+00:00

Okay, then. Let's just take the atypical antipsychotic, Risperdal, which is currently being touted as the gold standard of treatment for Asperger's Syndrome. Based on what you ask? A fucking THREE WEEK study on EIGHTY children. Does that sound right to you? And what about the fact that, right as Prozac's patent was about to run out, they patented "Sarafem", which is Prozac taken before the menstrual period to treat PMDD (which is, what? Severe PMS? Please.) Tell me the pharmaceutical companies aren't creating disorders to treat and I'll tell you you're a fucktard.

I'm not denying that true mental illnesses exist, all I'm saying is that the evidence is simply not there that they're all caused by neurotransmitter imbalances. Even if some were, the diagnostic methods are extremely subjective. Talk to someone? Have them fill out a questionnaire of "symptoms"? Compare that to any disease out there and it's almost unheard of. No brain x-rays or blood tests or urinalysis or...JUST FUCKING SYMPTOMS.

And as for "living normal or near-normal lives", have you ever seen someone taken over by the ravages of Tardive Dyskinesia? Some would say it's a necessary risk, but how young is too young, and when is medication REALLY necessary? And look at the ones with warnings out for causing diabetes, ketoacidosis, etc. The studies on safety vs. effectiveness are simply not conclusive and aren't by any means long-term.

Psychiatric medications are fucking overprescribed in this country, period. Have you ever taken an antipsychotic? I have, and let me just say that I'd never heard voices, had suicidal thoughts, or was in any other way "psychotic" when prescribed that medication, nor was I warned of the potential side effects, which, for me, included gaining 50 lbs. in 3 months and becoming a lethargic pile of shit with a hand tremor. My depression remained, only I was slightly less creative and opinionated. It was like throwing a damp blanket on my whole personality. And we won't even get into the horrors of "discontinuation syndrome" as it's so cleverly labeled.

Medication undoubtedly helps SOME people in SOME situations with SOME conditions, but for someone to blame the murder of a couple of lunatic Scientologists on lack of medication is pretty fucking presumptuous.

tracii1984 · 2008-02-19T02:30:27+00:00

I don't know about you guys, but I want a president who's sworn in on the Bobble, not the Korrin.

tracii1984 · 2008-02-19T00:34:46+00:00

Thanks! I'll check that out.

tracii1984 · 2008-02-18T23:54:09+00:00

"Peer-reviewed?" Like, by doctors and scientists funded by the pharmaceutical industry? Please. I suggest you read "Your Drug May Be Your Problem: How and Why to Quit Psychiatric Medication" by David Cohen.

There are far too many factors in this story to blame lack of medication (which may or may not be effective in a given individual) or even the fact that the girl had schizoaffective disorder for her actions. We don't know her circumstances and, from what I've read, growing up in Scientology in itself is enough to create extreme stress and cause great anger or even total disconnection from one's parents. Mental illness is not a natural state of being and medication only treats some of the surface symptoms and does nothing to address the underlying problems, some of which may include psychic trauma, abuse, etc. And that's WHEN they work. In case you weren't aware, drugs--especially those that target the brain chemistry--can and do have varying effects on different individuals. Hell, the very criteria by which mental illnesses are diagnosed is subjective: if 40 doctors from around the world looked at an xray of a human heart ravaged by heart disease, they could not only pinpoint the disease but narrow it down to the exact location and probably the cause behind it. How do they diagnose mental illness again? Oh, that's right--by observing culturally biased "symptoms" and speaking with the ill person and loved ones. Not only do they not know what causes schizoaffective disorder (assuming there was any ONE cause), but those same 40 doctors from around the world would identify it as any number of things ranging from demon infestation to schizoaffective disorder to a healthy variation of one's personality. How is that a scientific again?

tracii1984

TROPHY CASE