e=me?

Basics...
Name: Mary Anne Effler
Age (be honest): 17
Sexual Orientation:Straight
Location: Texas
5+ Favorite movies: Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
5+ Favorite tv shows: Many animes and Simpsons
5+ Favorite books: We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, 1984 by George Orwell, and Brave New World by Alduous Huxley
5+ Favorite bands: Morning Musume and 12 Girls Band (both are Jpop groups)
Is English your first language?: Yep.


School
GPA?: 3.8 when weighted
Honors or regular?: G/T and AP
Favorite class?: German and English, but Algebra is good too.
Do/did the teachers like you?: All except my World History teacher. But then again, she had my older sister long ago, so she was kind of bias to begin with.
Are/were you popular?: Depends on how you define popular. Yes, people know who I am. No, I don't really care too much if I'm noticed or not.


Religion
What is your religion and why?: I'm essentially agnostic. I was Christian until a year ago, when I started realizing there were way too many falacies in it.

Are your parents the same religion? If not what are they?: They're both United Methodists, although they grew up Southern Baptist and Church of Christ (bleh).

Who/what do you think influenced your religious beliefs?: A lot of it came from my own observations. Recently though, my boyfriend (a Unitarian Universalist) and his family have been talking with me about religion, and that's helped me get a more solid thought pattern down. Also, I've started posting on the IIDB forums, so I can hopefully start debating about religion and learn more.

What do you think of atheism?: I don't see anything wrong with atheism, and I think it is an often misunderstood label. Many simply assume it has a negative connotation, but atheists themselves are often very good people.

What do you think of fundamentalists?: I can understand why people are fundamentalists, but I find them extremely irritating when they try to tell me that what I believe is totally wrong. They can believe whatever they want to, but they don't have the right to enforce their thoughts on others.


Politics
What political party are you affiliated with and why?: As I'm still a minor, I don't really have a set affiliation. I'm probably closest to Democrat, and would vote either Democrat or Independent.
What party are your parents affiliated with?: The rest of my family is Republican, and highly conservative.
Do you vote (or will you when you're old enough?): I obviously can't right now, but yes, as soon as I'm able, I will take advantage of that right.

What are your opinions on the following issues and their current state? Please write at least a paragraph for each one. If you live outside of the United States, modify it as you see fit. Also, please provide facts and/or evidence to support your argument:

George W. Bush - While I do agree that he has quite a bit of stress to deal with on a daily basis, you'd think the president of a nation could make a few less blunders. He seems to be fairly ignorant to other cultures, as demonstrated by the various mispronounciations in his speeches. He also makes several quirky statements, such as "Most of America's imports come from outside the US", which makes one wonder how he became president. Although I don't agree with much of what he does, I do admire his dedication to the job.

Iraq War - I love this country and its ideals; however, i just do not support this war. It was acceptable up until the point when he completely switched aims. This was originally a war to find the WMDs and neutralize terrorist leaders. Now it's become a massive waste of time, effort, and lives all for the sake of "freeing" various Middle Eastern countries, which we only seem to care about now that they are a threat to us. I don't see a reason to believe that Bush is going for "their best interests" in light of that fact.

War on Drugs - We can never completely eliminate drugs from society. Rather than the extremeists who call for a ban on all drugs, there should simply be restrictions on their distribution, and those restrictions should be enforced. It's said that we should keep drugs in the realm of public access, because they are an unfortunate addiction. They are not an unfortunate addiction; they are an escape. Rather than encourage people to use this excuse, people should be encouraged to improve their lives through more permanent methods.

Health-care - While I do understand the cost implications it would have, health care should be universal. Health should not be a priveledge for the top 5% of society; it should be a basic societal right. Even if the people who need it most are not always able to contribute in an incredibly significant way to society, it doesn't do any good to simply ignore them. That could be constituted as murder, or at least professional negligance.

Environment - America is extremely lucky to have such diverse examples of ecosystems within it, and all Americans should come to recognize that fact. People over in Japan would kill to have 20 sq. miles of the land we dump waste on. More scientific emphasis needs to be placed on developing new ways to reduce emmisions and keep non-renewable resources in tact.

Animal Welfare - Animals are akin to babies: you can't understand them, but they are still a valuable life. I am in favor of putting an animal out of its misery when need be or for cultivating food, but killing an animal for sport is plain wrong. One shouldn't take an animal in unless they are prepared to take care of it for the duration of its life, or unless they are able to find it a decent home, and are completely positive that they are able to do so.

Worker's Rights and Unions - Considering the history America has when it comes to mistreating laborers, unions are especially important. It should never be permittable to abuse and take advantage of labor under any circumstance. No union is perfect, of course, but the fault of one should not cause the downfall of all.

Abortion - I am against abortions unless there is a decent reason behind it. Monetary issues are not a decent reason. If the family is financially unable to take care of the baby, they should let someone adopt it. If the birth would endanger the mother's life or if the baby would not live long if born due to a disorder, then it might become a consideration.

The Death Penalty - I am not in favor of the death penalty, but neither should excedingly dangerous criminals be released back into society. If you kill someone, they don't have to care about their problems for much longer; they're dead. However, if someone were, say, locked in solitary confinement for the rest of their lives with all their food given to them through a tube in the wall, they might start to consider the ramifications of their actions a little bit more.

Gay Relationships - I don't really see what the big issue is. They're not asking for you to become gay, they merely want to have the same rights as anyone else. Frankly, so long as two people love each other, it shouldn't matter if they're the same gender or not. The Bible says nothing forbidding gay relationships...it simply says God made Eve for Adam. It doesn't say Adam couldn't date a Steve. The only instance in which I could see homosexuality being a problem is in the old roman empire, where the amount of gays were actually causing the birth rate to drop alarmingly.

Choose the issue above you feel most strongly about and argue in favor of the opposing point of view:
I guess I'll argue the other side of the Death penalty.
It's said that there are various kinds of criminals that cannot be rehabilitated under any circumstances, such as sex offenders. If they were locked up permanently, no amount of rehabilitation could fix their tendencies, so there is no point in wasting that much of the government's money to keep them alive. Also, to keep someone locked up permanently with no human contact could be considered a form of cruel and unusual punishment.

General Knowledge:
Correct the following paragraph: (leave the original so people can see it)
Once upon a time there were five monkeys sitting in a tree, they ate a lot of bananas. Eventually, bananas became scarce and they decided that one of them is going to have to leave the tree to find more. When the monkeys pulls straws, the one on the left had the shortest. Their were no bananas near-bye, so he had to venture deep into the forest. He had several of trouble; getting through the dense underbrush. Although, he eventually made it. He found his Dad in a clearing, whom gave him a huge pile of bananas. Then the monkeys lived happily-ever-after.

Once upon a time, there were five monkies sitting in a tree, and they all loved to eat bananas. However, eventually bananas became scare, and the monkies decided that one of them would have to leave and find more bananas. The monkies all pulled straws, and the monkey on the left pulled the shortest straw. There were no bananas nearby, so he had to venture deeper into the forest. He had several troubles, such as getting through the dense underbrush. However, he eventually made it through the underbrush and reached a clearing. A clearing which happened to have the monkey's father in it. The monkey's dad gave him a huge pile of bananas, which kept all the monkies in the tree happily fed and satisfied ever after.

Solve the following problem:

A / 6 + 5=13

What is A? 48

Writing like an eight-year-old, briefly explain the process the sun uses to emit heat and light:
The sun is a really really big star. Like all the other stars up there, it is always emitting heat and light and energy like the light bulb in my room. It helps keep things comfy all year round and changes things so I can do all sorts of fun stuff!

Write a haiku: (http://www.ehow.com/how_3336_write-haiku.html)
I don't write very well
but for this application
I will try my best


Question of the Month - A question scientifically designed by our brilliant, sexy member of the month: rhythm_attack!
In your opinion, what will be the future of United States foreign policy as applicable to imperialism masked under the front of righteous crusade and the extent of power of the United Nations?
Unless something happens that will convince the current administration that their tactics are too imperialistic, there will be nothing to stop the US from abusing its abilities as the world's superpower. I do not wish for another tragedy to occur that costs human lives, but something needs to occur that can prove to the US that its current foreign policy of "shoot first, then ask questions" could stand to undergo revision; possibly the appearance of another world superpower or alliance of countries that can outmatch the US.

Other
What makes you stand out from other people, intelligence wise?: I tend to be more humble about any sort of intellegence I might have. I know it's impossible to know everything, so I don't see the point in being overbearing or bombastic.

Where did you hear about this community?: On one of the official LJ promoting communities.

Promote this community in two places and show us the link: On my User Info and in this communitry: promoteyourshit

Make us laugh:
Three women die together in an accident and go to heaven. When they get there, St. Peter says, "We only have one rule here in heaven: don't step on the ducks!" So they enter heaven, and sure enough, there are ducks all over the place. It is almost impossible not to step on a duck, and although they try their best to avoid them, the first woman accidentally steps on one. Along comes St. Peter with the ugliest man she ever saw. St. Peter chains them together and says, "Your punishment for stepping on a duck is to spend eternity chained to this ugly man!" The next day, the second woman steps accidentally on a duck and along comes St. Peter, who doesn't miss a thing. With him is another extremely ugly man. He chains them together with the same admonishment as for the first woman. The third woman has observed all this and, not wanting to be chained for all eternity to an ugly man, is very, VERY careful where she steps. She manages to go months without stepping on any ducks, but one day St. Peter comes up to her with the most handsome man she has ever laid eyes on very tall, long eyelashes, muscular, and thin. St. Peter chains them together without saying a word. The happy woman says, "I wonder what I did to deserve being chained to you for all of eternity?" The guy says, "I don't know about you, but I stepped on a duck!"


Optional: Picture would be nice for the member list if you're accepted, but this is optional and won't count for or against you. Or you can submit it after voting is complete.
I think I'll hold off on submitting a picture. No need for you to convulse in horror at the sight of me; I'm not very photogenic.