Writing Successes: Started the article, finally. Did some work on a help page.

Music Playing: Bing Crosby: 16 Most Requested Songs. It's even funnier if you know that they're all songs from 1920-1929.

Well, first, the teachers strike was averted for now. They'll do a final vote tonight that should seal the deal, but they're expected to vote FOR the contract. I also understand that Doonesbury has been covering this topic, thanks to Mollie. So, if you read that, you might actually have an idea what I'm talking about here.

I realized last night I'm just a total contradiction sometimes. See, there's this "sex offender" who is moving into a residential neighborhood, next door to two small children. This man spent 12 years in jail for sexually assaulting an 11 yr old girl and confessing to 49 other crimes of a simliar nature (is what the news said, I think). His backyard borders on a church playground, too. So, the community around where he will live is up in arms. Marching around with signs and stuff.

Here's where my brain goes haywire. One part of my brain totally agrees that the community should protest. I wouldn't want that guy living anywhere near my kids, that's for sure. I really don't feel I have a lot of tolerence for this kind of person, since I was abused as a kid myself. I'm pre-disposed to loathe him without knowing him.

On the other hand, he did his time for his crime. Shouldn't we be forgiving? I'm not saying welcome the guy with open arms, but surely he deserves a place to live without harrasment. He's a person as much as I'm a person, after all. I wouldn't like it if someone sent out flyers saying, "Deoris, an internet junkie, will be moving here!" and then be condemned before anyone had the time to meet me or view my actions. Snap judgements don't sit well with me. You never know what's lurking inside until you meet the person.

But that's the trouble. You already know what's lurking inside this guy. And LURKING is the key word. So, why not prevent what could be a serious amount of future crimes to your own children?

Round and round I go. Take the higher path, and err on the side of tragedy....take the baser path and err on the side of humanity. I dunno.

Maybe I just think too much about this kind of thing. I can do it with most things, in fact. Ask me about the current situation with Iraq, the teacher's strike, or whether or not to add bios to the Amazons pages before we have them or after. Heck, ask me about cleaning the sink.

Just don't ask me where my archives went. I've no clue. ;)

PS: And please, feel free to use the comments are and send all your hate mail....but *yay* for the Court of Appeals. This actually effects me as I live in Oregon, one of the states in the ruling. Not that my children learned the pledge in the first place, I don't think they teach that here anymore, really. But it's good to see the system working. As a pagan, I couldn't be more pleased. I know, hate mail away.