with that out of the way, let's get down to politics. i can feel you leaving already. i didn't get to see the debate because a lecture on ancient egyptian beliefs and practices seemed much more interesting. and while i haven't seen the entire debate (from it's current endless loop on c-span,) i have seen enough to know that the gentleman i listened to was far more interesting. what does it say about the state of the government when the debates are restricted to the top two candidates? [i guess the whole idea of american revolution died long ago.] the two candidates, mind you, who do little other than hiss and claw at the other. and if we must watch such antics, at least the put-downs could be more entertaining than references to "campaign finance reform" and "future billion dollar social security debt". the rule should be this, serious topics require serious discussion. self-smirk-inducing comments require cream pies and the words, "nyuk, nyuk." okay? good.

one point i did hear discussed by a student group after the debate, was the newly fda-aproved abortion pill, ru-486, and the candidates stances on abortion more generally. and while i'm not usually one to spout my views on such issues as abortion, gun control, other large problems, i'm gonna do so now. feel free to offer a rebuttal, or just comments in general. however, you probably won't change my mind, and not because i'm intensely stubborn, but because i've thought a lot about this issue (and others) and tried to come at it from different angles, so it would take something new. anyway, my point is not to change your mind, but to speak mine, and i am 'pro-choice'. for a few reasons. the first being, while i'm a backer of human life, and life in general, there are cases where i think forcing a woman to carry a child to term is akin to torture. and i think, if there is even one case where a 'no abortions rule' fails, then it mustn�t be a rule. and sure i don't agree with every abortion that takes place, but i do see some as either necessary, or very close to it. secondly, the 'land of the free', needs fewer hard-and-fast restrictions that deep into personal lives, else it's not really all that 'free', right? lastly, and most importantly for me anyway, is the fact that i -as a male- have little right to make such laws, or allow my representatives to do so in my stead, as they don't directly affect me. [i hope it's obvious that when i say 'don't directly affect me', it's realized as i don't have anything physically changing within me, nor do i have any medical procedures done to me.] i feel if any such decisions on whether one should be allowed would have to be made on an individual case-by-case basis. and since that can't be done, the next best thing must, which is choice, in my opinion.

i've never worn rings, any other type of jewelry, or even a watch on a consistent basis, because they always end up bugging me at some point or another. and i often wondered how i would deal with having a wedding band on the same finger for decades. (knock on wood.) however, i've only been wearing the only ring i own for a week, and when i moved it to another finger to keep it from potentially slipping off while doing laundry, i felt for it with the thumb of the same hand and immediately wondered where it was. it already felt unnatural for it not to be there. i found that very odd. since we are on the topic of laundry, (well, we weren't, but we are now,) i must say that i don't mind separating clothes. i don't mind putting them in the washer. i don't mind taking them from the washer and putting them in the dryer. i don't mind taking them from the dryer to 'wherever it is you set them down intermediately'. what i do mind is folding them. if anyone actually likes to fold clothes (as well as unpack), contact me, maybe we can start a business for the lazy and/or rich.

lastly, for those of you who think there are too few southpaws in diaryland, and wonder which is my 'handed' side. it is as the latin root ('dexter') of dexterous suggests, on the right. besides, what with roughly only twenty percent of the population being left-handed, simple statistics would lead to similar numbers of diary writers here. [ooh, i hate it when book-learnin' just slips out like that. pardon.]

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