Powered by Twitter Tools

Powered by Twitter Tools

So, yeah, did I mention we’re crazy?  Okay, so did I mention that we’re suckers for a cute mashed furry face?  Yep… you knew that too.  So then none of you will be surprised that our family grew a little today.

Ariel

Yes, Ariel joined our happy tribe.  And, damn, I’d forgotten how much fun a puppy is.  Yes. puppy.  We just got Mabel to the well-adjusted adult dog stage, and now we have a 9 mo. old.

We are nuts.

She’s also a Frenchie.  She was free to a good home.  Her parents just wanted to make sure that somebody would love her like they did.  And so we are 5.

Did I mention she has a heart shaped fur patch on her rump?  So cute.  And she’s just a little girl.  Little for a Frenchie that is.

So we’ll see how this goes.  School, new dog, job searching.  Wow.

What are we thinking?

That love is a cold nose and a furry face.

Yeah.

Was there a law change I didn’t know about?  Was I in a coma and my country closed up shop? 

Because, seriously, this crap about the Mosque in NYC?  This is just crap.

Crap.

Republican issue politics, same as always, designed to distract the ignorant masses from the reality that they as a party stand for very little other than hate and greed.  Yes, I called all ya’ll out. 

HATE & GREED.

Let me paint a little picture of a world of parallels for you…

Where in the world will you find large organized religions who are removing established members of their congregations from even lowly leadership positions in their structure, muzzling them and refusing to allow them to speak in services?  And the crime these disenfranchised are guilty of?  Being Women.

The Southern Baptist Convention.

Where in the world do you have religious zealots who are willing to kill people they regard as their enemies, are constantly waging hate campaigns against the families and friends of their targets, and feel that whatever steps they take against their enemies are good in the eyes of their God?

The Right to Life Movement.

And where in the world will you find so-called devout religious people who are only tolerant of the religion they know.  Who want to exterminate an entire body of believers because they don’t believe the same way and because they equate the acts of a fringe group with the whole entire group.  A group of religious people who think that those other believers who do not share their particular faith should not have the same rights to practice their faith. 

This would be America today.

Our country was not founded on any one faith, but many.  We welcome all, and our Constitution protects everyone.  That raggedy old stack of words states very plainly:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

So, if there is a Mosque built at Ground Zero, and we all have such a problem with that, then maybe we need to look at ourselves and why we feel that way.  I have visited the Dachau Concentration Camp outside of Munich, Germany.  On the grounds of that camp there are many religious memorials, from all faiths, and that presence to me speaks of faith.  And irony.  Because I’m sure you all know that none of those faiths did anything to help the 6 million Jews who died in WWII.  In fact, right here in our country there were many so-called religious people who spoke out loudly- from the pews and the pulpit – against getting involved in WWII.  And these were people who knew the Jews were being exterminated, but who also didn’t believe that even one American life should be at risk for the whole Jewish faith.  And, as we all know from history, the only reason we ever got into the war at all was because of Pearl Harbor.  Not because an entire religion was being exterminated in Europe. 

I guess we should thank Japan for bombing the shit out of us and forcing us to do the right thing.  Because our countrymen, all of whom considered themselves good religious believers, mostly didn’t want to help the Jews because they didn’t believe the same things we do.  Oh, and don’t forget, they did kill Jesus you know. 

They were Jews.  Not Baptists, or Lutherans.  They were Jews.

Who do we sound like?  Oh yeah, that would be Islam.

Today I applaud my President – a frackin’ Methodist BTW!!! – for standing up for my Constitution.  I applaud my founding Fathers for foreseeing the dangers in theocracy.  I applaud the Mayor of NYC – a Jew BTW – for standing up to the rabble and the pressure and doing the right thing by saying “let them build”. 

And I will help them build too.  After all, they can’t be any worse than what we already have.

Hate and Greed.  The true face of the Republican Party.  Don’t let the bread and circuses fool you.  That’s the face behind the mask. 

Heartbreaking.

Because there is truly nothing worse than a Summer Cold.  Except for maybe this one I have… it might be worse.  It might be the virus equivalent of the Apocalypse – we’ll call it Coldpocalypse.

It’s the usual- runny eyes, pounding sinus headache centralized in forehead (or a band of Pygmies camping in my skull – who can tell those apart these days?), a throat that feels like I might have gargled with sulfuric acid (again, who can tell that stuff apart… things happen), oh… and full ears.  So, no, Bob, I’m not ignoring you, I just can’t hear. 

Really.

Yeah.

So, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to whine off to work, yell at a couple of poor sniveling bystanders, and then come home and go back to bed.  It’s a busy day for sickos.

Whatever you do, don’t shake my hand!   

Okay, so, contrary to what you see in this space most of the time, I actually used to be very active on here.

I know, shocking isn’t it?

But, yeah, this used to be my Therapist’s couch/Soapbox/Wailing Wall, and there was a time when even two days between posts was just unthinkable.

The Horror!

And now, sadly, such is not the case. Not because my life is any less interesting. Au contraire ma Cherie… But there’s just a lot I don’t talk about anymore. And then there’s the time factor. And then there’s the whole micro-blogging thing. And then … well, you get the picture, there’s a lot of reasons why I don’t, but the result is the same.

I don’t blog that much anymore. But I think I’m going to change that.

No, don’t expect me to start doing the dreaded product reviews, don’t think you’ll start seeing fashion tips, and for Jeebus’ sake I won’t be blogging about poo or babies. But I am feeling the need for an outlet, a place where I can talk about my life, current events, and things that make me go ARRRRGGGHHH. Because these days I’m going through some changes… okay, lots of changes, and those changes mean I need a place to talk. And maybe the feeling that somebody is listening, and maybe even feeling some of those same thoughts. Well, let me qualify that, somebody other than the mentally deranged – we share a lot of thoughts. And that’s not a good thing.

But anyway, that’s why I started blogging to begin with. To talk. To get viewpoints from people who aren’t just in my inner circle. To feel out my half-baked theories and see what the rest of the world believes. And I think it’s time to start doing that again. And I have. And I’ve just got to say that seeing the Statcounter numbers that show me you are reading those efforts? That’s making me feel good. No, that’s making me feel really good. Like maybe I shouldn’t have stopped doing this to begin with. Because maybe my bloggity blog blog therapy sessions were at least the written equivalent of that accident on the interstate for some of you. But, really, whatever your reasons are for reading my scribblings (or peckings, as the case may be), you do read. And that’s what I do this for.

Not the echo sound I get when I shout these thoughts down a well.

That’s not a good sound BTW. That echo. I heard that for a long time. And then you started reading. And then this became fun.

And, amazingly, after a hiatus, it’s fun again. Thanks. I appreciate you all… yes, even you, down there in the very front. You’re all my favorites!

Because some time this year I may have become an alien.  Haven’t gone outside the house and really searched for the pod, but I’m almost positive I was bodysnatched and this weird version of me was left behind.

Probably they hid the evidence of that snatching in our garage… ideal spot I’d say. Since Hoffa may be out there too.

But anyway, yeah, I don’t think I’m me.  I think I’m somebody else.  Because I cleaned out the office this weekend.  Organized it.  Got it so I can work in it. 

That is so totally not me.

Even the file drawer?!?!  I know, WTH, who does that stuff?

But yeah, it’s organized too.  Much shredding commenced.  Et voila… lots less crap than there used to be. 

Can you nest for school?  That might be it.  You know, after the great school supply pilgrimage, I had to make a nice tidy place to put them?  And I need an Up/Down vote on the pencil bag I bought for my Book Tote.  Yes, a pencil bag, because there aren’t enough pockets in my tote, shut up, okay?  Anyway, it matches the pattern on my folders and notebooks, is that too much?  Popular belief around here is that I’m going to get beat up and the kids will steal my milk money if I let anybody see it.

But it matches.  It’s really cool.  And I always wanted a pencil bag back in the day, but my Mom never would do those, said they were a waste.  But this one is really cute.

Really cute.

Oh, by the way, guess I also should be checking into whether that whole “beat you up and steal your Milk Money” thing still happens.  Because I can tell you that back in the day it sure as hell did.  Yep, if nothing else, I’m an expert on bullying – my portfolio of red hair, freckles, and really smart virtually guaranteed it.  And, I can also tell you from experience that telling your kids that those mean, bad kids are only doing that stuff because they’re jealous of your nice things/good grades/whatever doesn’t make that 24/7 harassment any easier to take.  And besides, the kids who bully?  They’re not jealous, they’re just a bunch of little assholes – and they probably grew up to be big assholes today.  Yeah, I didn’t stutter on that word, they’re assholes.  And if I just called out your kid?  Well, he/she is one too.  Sorry.  And you’re an epic parenting fail if you aren’t recognizing it in them and stopping it.

Anyway, I hope we’ve moved past all that now that I’m back in 13th grade. Although I’m probably just as annoying today as I ever was back then.  I’m just a little nicer about it.  Most of the time.  Okay, maybe not.  But keep in mind, now I won’t get suspended for calling you an asshole.  So don’t take my damned milk money or I’ll pull my color coordinated ruler out of that matching pencil bag and whack the snot out of you. 

You’ve been warned!

See? Aliens.  I never fought back before.  Now I’m ready to take it outside right now… except for the pods.  I don’t want proof, I like things the way they are.  This new me?  She’s working for me.  Color coordinated pencil bag and all. 

Powered by Twitter Tools

But I sure wish we didn’t.

Which answer?  Oh several.

To quite a few different things I’ve been wondering about.  Not that I wanted to read these answers in the paper, along with the rest of the people in the world who’d like to cause mayhem in our country.  But I did.  So did they.  And I’m telling you, right now that butt-load of tax dollars that we’ve spent on two extremely important areas of our lives – Homeland Security & Education- are making those bank bailouts look like the investment of a lifetime.

And before you get started on my math skills, you can just STFU because buttload is too a number, and besides, I’m too busy being creative to take the time to count all the zeros in the actual amounts.

But I digress.  Today kiddies, in one news story, both of those aforementioned government programs are now shown to be the Epic Fail of our lifetimes.

Major epic, actually.

Yeah, I’m talking about the three kids from Jacksonville who decided that their Summer didn’t have enough fun in it.  So while Mom & Dad were hard at work these  three managed to pack suitcases, take a taxi to the airport, buy plane tickets, get past countless adults who are supposedly in charge (including the much-vaunted TSA), and fly to Nashville, Tennessee…

TO VISIT DOLLYWOOD!!!

With $40.00

Wow.  Just wow.  This whole story illustrates failure on so many levels that it should be taught in school all by itself.  Reading & Math so you know how much it costs for three kids to get into Dollywood.  And, of course, Geography – so you know where to fly into in order to reach your goal.

And now we know the answer to W’s question from back in ‘double naught…

“…rarely is the question asked: is our children learning?”

Because tonight we know.  In Geography and Math? Not so much.  But in ingenuity? Well, at this point I’d say they all get an A+.  And much more important than the Geography and Math fail that they confirmed, is the huge gaping hole in our airport security that these three intrepid young explorers just showed the entire world.  Yeah.  Our much touted airport security system?  Well apparently it only works well if your name is Makmoud Ahmadinajad, or you’re wearing tennis shoes filled up with explosives. But if you’re three punk kids- ages 15, 13, and 11- with no discernable ability to read maps or count but one hell of a lot of chutzpah?  Oh, you can manage to get themselves to an airport and on a plane with nothing but cash and a couple of cell phones.  And that’s where we all need to ask ourselves this question tonight.

How safe are we exactly?

Um, not so much.

So, I think here’s where we need to propose a “No Government Left Behind” program.  Because, clearly,  ours hasn’t learned much at all since 2001.  But the same cannot be said for our kids.  They may not be able to find Dollywood on a map, even if you spot them the state it sits in.  But if you give them too much vacation from school, way too damned much money in their Piggy Banks, and not enough supervision, then they’ll sure as hell find some trouble.

Yeah.

Mom?  Dad?  Are you awake?  Are you reading this?  Because clearly there are lots of you out there who are asleep at the parenting wheel.  Because the kids are not safe.  They are not alright.

And after this, neither are we.