Reading a friend's Facebook post reminded me there will be some disappointed kiddies who will not be able to trick or treat tomorrow due to the weather or flooding in areas hit by the big storm. This may seem minor to us adults, considering all the damage and loss of lives caused by Hurricane Sandy, but most little ones will not be looking at the big picture. I hope the places where the weather or flooding makes it impractical for the little ones to go out, have made other arrangements. I know that to me as a child, and to my grandkids, Halloween is one of the most fun things of the year.
I am sure the damage to property will have longer term affects and will also ruin the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays for many people. The holidays are probably the least of their worries if their homes or places of business have been damaged or destroyed. That is obvious. But, still, it is another disruption of usual family life and one that perhaps the little ones will notice most.
For all U.S. citizens registered and intending to vote, there remains the question of whether or not people in the affected areas will be able to cast their ballots a week from today. States depend upon electronic voting and some areas may still be without electric power Tuesday or transportation my be impossible due to flooding, fallen trees or wires, road damage, snow, etc. caused by Hurricane Sandy. And yet U.S. law based upon constitutional and other issues, determines voting day. To change it, even temporarily, would require Congressional action. And we know how quickly and efficiently Congress acts. But if problems from the storm keep large groups of people from being able to participate in voting, something should and must be done to rectify that situation. So here is hoping one of two things happen: either road and power conditions do not present obstacles to the vast majority of people in areas affected by the storm, or Congress has in place a plan which it will put immediately into action if the need arises.
I also have been considering how mail will be affected by Sandy. Despite the old Postal Service motto, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.", it is logical to assume mail delivery, not just in the areas hit by the storm, will be interrupted. As mail originates as well as gets delivered to the storm area, surely we shall be affected nationwide by interruptions.
Also transportation of needed goods across the country will be affected. This could conceivably impact just about everything from food on grocery shelves to manufacturing. The extent of the effect will depend on how quickly things get back to normal in the areas of the storm. And already, flights in and out of some major airports have been cancelled. I can only imagine how that will affect many people. Just think how many things depend upon meeting deadlines and reaching destinations.
I am sure there will be books, television shows and at least one movie about "The Great Storm of The Century"--or at least let's hope this is the storm of the century and it is not outranked by another. One thing is for sure, there will be millions of stories about the storm and there will be many lives forever changed by it. I realize most people have it within them to overcome monumental adversity. But, all the same, my heart goes out to those who suffer because of this latest disaster. And I am grateful my family and friends appear to be coming through it pretty much unscathed.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Trying to Type a Post for a Blog
I have noticed that for some reason, what I input here does not always read the same when published. For example, if I use an ampersand, it appears followed by "amp;" and then the next word. And sometimes I will see obvious typos or parts of things I wrote and deleted even though I have gone back and edited and eliminated them. Now I am not saying I never make typos, leave out words, etc. But it would be nice if what I write appeared the way I wrote it and if editing worked. I think this problem is related to the same thing that caused a bunch of posts to disappear from my blog. I wrote about that problem earlier. Apparently Google has issues here as it does with FaceBook. FB is so unstable. As large as Google is, you would think they would have people who could fix these problems.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Good morning, Starshine
My husband, who I fondly refer to as DB (Dearly Beloved), has the most remarkable ability to come out of a dead sleep in a cheerful mood. He often wakes up joking. In fact, once, coming out of an anesthetic after surgery, the first words out of his mouth were a joke. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the joke, I just remember the nurse being surprised by it.
I have been sleeping with him within the bounds of holy wedlock for almost forty-six years. In all that time, I have only known him to wake up in a grumpy mood once. And once is enough. There is nothing pleasant about a big, burly guy waking up in a bad mood and growling at you.
Many times his morning disposition has served to change my morning mood from blah to good. I have never heard of anything like it. He will be sound asleep and perhaps my moving around the room will awaken him and he immediately, without skipping a beat, makes some joke.
This carries over into other times also. Just yesterday, he was in the shower and I went in to tell him I was going to the gym. I opened the shower door without saying a word, and without missing a beat he spits a mouthful of shower water at me!! Of course, I quickly shut and reopened the door only to be spattered once again by another mouthful of shower water.
My oldest grandchild once told his teacher that his grandfather was the funniest man in the world. I have to say I tend to agree with him. Perhaps that is how we have stayed married all these years. I know that it is one reason I am still crazy about him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw3oxJvSRj0
I have been sleeping with him within the bounds of holy wedlock for almost forty-six years. In all that time, I have only known him to wake up in a grumpy mood once. And once is enough. There is nothing pleasant about a big, burly guy waking up in a bad mood and growling at you.
Many times his morning disposition has served to change my morning mood from blah to good. I have never heard of anything like it. He will be sound asleep and perhaps my moving around the room will awaken him and he immediately, without skipping a beat, makes some joke.
This carries over into other times also. Just yesterday, he was in the shower and I went in to tell him I was going to the gym. I opened the shower door without saying a word, and without missing a beat he spits a mouthful of shower water at me!! Of course, I quickly shut and reopened the door only to be spattered once again by another mouthful of shower water.
My oldest grandchild once told his teacher that his grandfather was the funniest man in the world. I have to say I tend to agree with him. Perhaps that is how we have stayed married all these years. I know that it is one reason I am still crazy about him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw3oxJvSRj0
Justified
DB and I are enjoying season 2 of "Justified". Timothy Olyphant does a "bang up" job as Raylan Givens, but Walton Goggins (Boyd Crowder) does amazing work. I have seen him before in bit parts and never paid much attention, but he really is good. Actually all the actors do a good job. Margo Martindale's character, Mags Bennett, was introduced in an episode we viewed last night and she stole the show. We had never heard of the show before a friend gave us these discs. Now we are hooked.
I am sure the locale of the story adds to its appeal to us. The stories center mostly around Harlan, Kentucky. My parents were born in Woodbine, KY and raised in Corbin, KY. When I was a kid and my family used to drive from Cincinnati to Florida, my dad would always talk about how rough Harlan and Jellico were. He said a lot of folks there would just as soon kill you as not. With my mother and aunt now living in Corbin, we are pretty familiar with the area, but I have always avoided Harlan and Jellico . So it is fun when the show refers to places we know. So many movies take place in big cities like LA, NYC or Chicago. I wonder if residents of those cities say things like, "Oh, I know that place!" when they watch movies which are set in their city, or does it become old hat.
I think a few years back Corbin voted to allow liquor to be sold by the drink. It sits within two dry counties (Whitley and Knox)--three if you count North Corbin which is in Laurel County, also dry--well, moist now. Corbin just this year voted to allow retail liquor sales. About time. For a dry city, Corbin always had its share of drunks and I doubt they all left Whitley, Knox and Laurel counties to get their booze. Harlan County is a moist county. No wonder moonshine was so popular. Anyway, the alcohol situation in the area adds to the story line of "Justified". Besides illegal liquor, the series covers just about every other type of crimes. In fact, "Justified" often features stories about the illegal drug trade in the area. For quite a few years, Kentucky's number one crop was marijuana, not tobacco. Now other illegal drugs, especially oxycodone (oxycontin) outsell marijuana there, I think. It is a huge problem.
This series has sex, violence, drugs, and bad language along with interesting characters and story lines, as well as fine acting. I even like the catchy music that is played, but not overdone, as the theme to the series.
I am sure the locale of the story adds to its appeal to us. The stories center mostly around Harlan, Kentucky. My parents were born in Woodbine, KY and raised in Corbin, KY. When I was a kid and my family used to drive from Cincinnati to Florida, my dad would always talk about how rough Harlan and Jellico were. He said a lot of folks there would just as soon kill you as not. With my mother and aunt now living in Corbin, we are pretty familiar with the area, but I have always avoided Harlan and Jellico . So it is fun when the show refers to places we know. So many movies take place in big cities like LA, NYC or Chicago. I wonder if residents of those cities say things like, "Oh, I know that place!" when they watch movies which are set in their city, or does it become old hat.
I think a few years back Corbin voted to allow liquor to be sold by the drink. It sits within two dry counties (Whitley and Knox)--three if you count North Corbin which is in Laurel County, also dry--well, moist now. Corbin just this year voted to allow retail liquor sales. About time. For a dry city, Corbin always had its share of drunks and I doubt they all left Whitley, Knox and Laurel counties to get their booze. Harlan County is a moist county. No wonder moonshine was so popular. Anyway, the alcohol situation in the area adds to the story line of "Justified". Besides illegal liquor, the series covers just about every other type of crimes. In fact, "Justified" often features stories about the illegal drug trade in the area. For quite a few years, Kentucky's number one crop was marijuana, not tobacco. Now other illegal drugs, especially oxycodone (oxycontin) outsell marijuana there, I think. It is a huge problem.
This series has sex, violence, drugs, and bad language along with interesting characters and story lines, as well as fine acting. I even like the catchy music that is played, but not overdone, as the theme to the series.
Friday, October 19, 2012
I am sorry if my political posts offend any of my FB friends and others. If you want, unfriend me. Or do not read my blog. I will still like you personally even if I do not agree with your politics. You have the right to your opinions and I have the right to mine.
I believe we are at a very critical time in our nation's history. We are at a crossroads and stand to lose much of what has made us a world leader and great country. Not that the country is perfect but it has always been the best the world has known. I think the time has come for me to speak out a bit more about the damage that has been done by this President. I fear for the future of the country if we do not get rid of Obama and his cohorts. Not that I think Romney is a great choice, but he is a far cry better than Obama (which is not saying much) and would be a step closer to bringing us back to where we should be as a country, and farther from the socialist nanny state Obama is trying to create. On the other hand, I do not want the government to be run by far right religious zealots who I think are as screwy as left wing liberals. I still want to mainly use this blog and FB for other, non-political reasons but no longer care about being PC (some would argue I have never been PC). If I want to say how I feel, I will. I will try to refrain from doing so on your blog or FB wall but not mine. I also will exercise my right to eliminate anything you say that I might not want to see on my blog or FB wall. You, I assume will do the same with my posts you do not like.
I created this blog as a place to put down my thoughts on many things. And so, this morning I am thinking about many things,such as Libya, the economy, etc.. You know, how Obama and the Dems have screwed things up and want to screw things up even more. The first thing I thought about was the liberal move to deprive the military of an early vote and/or absentee voting. What kind of people would do this? Ungrateful, selfish bastards is who. If anyone should have the right to vote absentee or early, it is our military members. They alone have earned that right. We all have the right to select our form of government and elect our representatives. That is a natural right. But the military have earned the right and privilege to absentee and early voting above any other people. This effort to eliminate their early vote was a ploy by the left who know the majority of military members are conservatives. Just like during the Gore-Bush election, they claimed absentee ballots from military members aboard military ships could not count because they lacked a zipcode. Never mind those ballots were from the state in which the military member was registered so could easily be counted. This also shows just how little esteem the left really has for the very people who protect their rights to be such assholes. And probably many of them would never be willing to serve in the military themselves.
My second beef today is with Obamacare. This is also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. There is a reason most people do not know it by the latter title. That is because it neither protects patients and is anything but affordable or caring. The Government Accounting Office even says it will drain Medicare and do away with Tri Care, which is the best coverage the military has ever had. This will be done over time and options seniors and the military now have about their health care will be eliminated as we move to a one-size-fits none type of health care system. If you think defense is costly, just wait. This will be a ball breaker. Not to mention it probably is unconstitutional. But then, Obama is well practiced at circumventing the Constitution.
My biggest irritation today concerns Libya again. Copies of communications between Ambassador Chris Stevens and the State Department have been disclosed (http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/10/19/documents-newly-released-information-reveals-ambassador-stevens-worried-about-security-threats-in-libya-prior-to-terror-attack/). In these the late Ambassador talks about the organized attacks on Western targets in Libya, including an attempted bombing of the embassy. He states the need for more security. Repeatedly. Even on the day he died he was still laying out the situation in clear terms to the State Department. These communications, along with intelligence on the ground in Libya, along with the coming of the 9/11/2001 anniversary, should have warranted an effort to beef up the protection of our embassy personnel all over the world, not just in Benghazi. Anyone with common sense would have known what could and did happen at the embassy in Libya on 9/11/2012. But our State Dept., under the leadership of Hilary Clinton, failed to act. And then, after the death of four Americans in Libya, she and our dearly beloved President, played the blame shifting game for days on end, blaming some guy who produced some lame video. (The guy obviously was an idiot but not responsible for the planned attack on the embassy.) Once again, we heard Obama laying the blame for a terrorist attack on the US, reminiscent of his apology tour of Europe early in his administration. I am sure that after the public airing of the communications sent by Stevens, the administration will come up with another scape goat. That is the one thing they are good at---not accepting responsibility. If indeed, neither Obama nor Clinton knew about the situation in Libya before the attack, then they are at the very least, totally incompetent. It is Obama's responsibility to know and Clinton's responsibility to know and to keep the President informed. Any embassy can come under attack and if attacked by enough terrorists, there would likely be injury and/or death. But to have all the clear signs that an attack is likely and to fail to act to prevent it is gross negligence. I have absolutely no confidence in Obama as far as our security is concerned. He takes credit for finding Osama Bin Laden, but indeed, Bin Laden was found due to efforts by our military and intelligence that were put into place by George Bush. Of course, Obama had to approve the mission. What President would not? Well, maybe Bill Clinton.
These things, along with the Fast and Furious cover up, the pouring of taxpayer money into failing green companies(http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2012/10/updated-list-of-obamas-green-energy-failures-36-of-them-2506484.html ), the Acorn scandal, the unemployment rate, the pouring of money into other failing industries and the unions, the state of the economy (especially our debt to China), his policies on illegal immigration (including the lie he told about AZ law during the debate), are just a few of the reasons to dump the incompetent and dangerous Obama.
I believe we are at a very critical time in our nation's history. We are at a crossroads and stand to lose much of what has made us a world leader and great country. Not that the country is perfect but it has always been the best the world has known. I think the time has come for me to speak out a bit more about the damage that has been done by this President. I fear for the future of the country if we do not get rid of Obama and his cohorts. Not that I think Romney is a great choice, but he is a far cry better than Obama (which is not saying much) and would be a step closer to bringing us back to where we should be as a country, and farther from the socialist nanny state Obama is trying to create. On the other hand, I do not want the government to be run by far right religious zealots who I think are as screwy as left wing liberals. I still want to mainly use this blog and FB for other, non-political reasons but no longer care about being PC (some would argue I have never been PC). If I want to say how I feel, I will. I will try to refrain from doing so on your blog or FB wall but not mine. I also will exercise my right to eliminate anything you say that I might not want to see on my blog or FB wall. You, I assume will do the same with my posts you do not like.
I created this blog as a place to put down my thoughts on many things. And so, this morning I am thinking about many things,such as Libya, the economy, etc.. You know, how Obama and the Dems have screwed things up and want to screw things up even more. The first thing I thought about was the liberal move to deprive the military of an early vote and/or absentee voting. What kind of people would do this? Ungrateful, selfish bastards is who. If anyone should have the right to vote absentee or early, it is our military members. They alone have earned that right. We all have the right to select our form of government and elect our representatives. That is a natural right. But the military have earned the right and privilege to absentee and early voting above any other people. This effort to eliminate their early vote was a ploy by the left who know the majority of military members are conservatives. Just like during the Gore-Bush election, they claimed absentee ballots from military members aboard military ships could not count because they lacked a zipcode. Never mind those ballots were from the state in which the military member was registered so could easily be counted. This also shows just how little esteem the left really has for the very people who protect their rights to be such assholes. And probably many of them would never be willing to serve in the military themselves.
My second beef today is with Obamacare. This is also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. There is a reason most people do not know it by the latter title. That is because it neither protects patients and is anything but affordable or caring. The Government Accounting Office even says it will drain Medicare and do away with Tri Care, which is the best coverage the military has ever had. This will be done over time and options seniors and the military now have about their health care will be eliminated as we move to a one-size-fits none type of health care system. If you think defense is costly, just wait. This will be a ball breaker. Not to mention it probably is unconstitutional. But then, Obama is well practiced at circumventing the Constitution.
My biggest irritation today concerns Libya again. Copies of communications between Ambassador Chris Stevens and the State Department have been disclosed (http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/10/19/documents-newly-released-information-reveals-ambassador-stevens-worried-about-security-threats-in-libya-prior-to-terror-attack/). In these the late Ambassador talks about the organized attacks on Western targets in Libya, including an attempted bombing of the embassy. He states the need for more security. Repeatedly. Even on the day he died he was still laying out the situation in clear terms to the State Department. These communications, along with intelligence on the ground in Libya, along with the coming of the 9/11/2001 anniversary, should have warranted an effort to beef up the protection of our embassy personnel all over the world, not just in Benghazi. Anyone with common sense would have known what could and did happen at the embassy in Libya on 9/11/2012. But our State Dept., under the leadership of Hilary Clinton, failed to act. And then, after the death of four Americans in Libya, she and our dearly beloved President, played the blame shifting game for days on end, blaming some guy who produced some lame video. (The guy obviously was an idiot but not responsible for the planned attack on the embassy.) Once again, we heard Obama laying the blame for a terrorist attack on the US, reminiscent of his apology tour of Europe early in his administration. I am sure that after the public airing of the communications sent by Stevens, the administration will come up with another scape goat. That is the one thing they are good at---not accepting responsibility. If indeed, neither Obama nor Clinton knew about the situation in Libya before the attack, then they are at the very least, totally incompetent. It is Obama's responsibility to know and Clinton's responsibility to know and to keep the President informed. Any embassy can come under attack and if attacked by enough terrorists, there would likely be injury and/or death. But to have all the clear signs that an attack is likely and to fail to act to prevent it is gross negligence. I have absolutely no confidence in Obama as far as our security is concerned. He takes credit for finding Osama Bin Laden, but indeed, Bin Laden was found due to efforts by our military and intelligence that were put into place by George Bush. Of course, Obama had to approve the mission. What President would not? Well, maybe Bill Clinton.
These things, along with the Fast and Furious cover up, the pouring of taxpayer money into failing green companies(http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2012/10/updated-list-of-obamas-green-energy-failures-36-of-them-2506484.html ), the Acorn scandal, the unemployment rate, the pouring of money into other failing industries and the unions, the state of the economy (especially our debt to China), his policies on illegal immigration (including the lie he told about AZ law during the debate), are just a few of the reasons to dump the incompetent and dangerous Obama.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
School Days
I thought I would share this story just in case any of you have ever been embarrassed by your parents as a child. DB and I were saying we were glad our grandkids liked school because neither of us ever looked forward to the start of school. He said one reason he disliked school was he was often humiliated by some of his teachers. He was a poor kid who just happened to fall into a school district full of children from well-to-do families. And some of his teachers seemed to enjoy embarrassing him. I don't know why I disliked school. Most of my teachers, with a few exceptions, were fine. Anyway, we eventually got around to most embarrassing moments in grade school. Here is mine:
My mother was always a very practical person. She was a product of the Great Depression. At Christmas, while we usually received a toy, and always received oranges, nuts and candy canes in our stockings plus a box of chocolate covered cherries and some hard candies, mostly we got pajamas, underwear and things we needed rather than anything we necessarily wanted. (The one exception to this being my microscope kit.) And she also was the world's worst secret keeper so she always managed to blab what our gifts were, taking the fun of surprise out of receiving gifts. She was loving and kind hearted but just terrible when it came to understanding certain things about kids and gifts. So one year, when I was in about the fourth or fifth grade, our class had a gift exchange and everyone had to buy a gift for someone else of the same sex. The price limit was a fifty cents or a dollar, I cannot remember exactly.
Well, my mother bought a gift for me to take. I must have known what it was ahead of time because I am sure I probably wrapped it. I always wrapped my own gifts, so it is doubtful my mother wrapped this one. It was in a flat white box like women's handkerchiefs used to come in. The significance of the gift apparently did not dawn on me ahead of time because I do not remember worrying about it until the time of the gift exchange.
The exchange took place and everyone opened their gift. I do not remember what I received but will never forget what I gave. I gave two pairs of nylon panties! I have no clue as to how the recipient reacted, because I was too busy trying to survive my own embarrassment over this gift which my mother, no doubt, thought was a pretty and practical present. She would have had no clue as to the embarrassment such a gift would cause.
This is the same lady who hung her own just laundered underwear in the basement to dry rather than have everyone in the neighborhood see them on the clothes line. Our backyard abutted a woods, so I am not sure who she thought would see them. I suppose only adults were allowed to be embarrassed over someone seeing their undies.
Yes, some things your parents do you remember for a long time. In retrospect, I know at least my parents were good people; did not abuse us; did not drink or act in inappropriate ways, so this was not such an awful thing. But you would never have convinced me of that during the gift exchange or for quite a few years while the gift exchange was part of a recurring dream.
My mother was always a very practical person. She was a product of the Great Depression. At Christmas, while we usually received a toy, and always received oranges, nuts and candy canes in our stockings plus a box of chocolate covered cherries and some hard candies, mostly we got pajamas, underwear and things we needed rather than anything we necessarily wanted. (The one exception to this being my microscope kit.) And she also was the world's worst secret keeper so she always managed to blab what our gifts were, taking the fun of surprise out of receiving gifts. She was loving and kind hearted but just terrible when it came to understanding certain things about kids and gifts. So one year, when I was in about the fourth or fifth grade, our class had a gift exchange and everyone had to buy a gift for someone else of the same sex. The price limit was a fifty cents or a dollar, I cannot remember exactly.
Well, my mother bought a gift for me to take. I must have known what it was ahead of time because I am sure I probably wrapped it. I always wrapped my own gifts, so it is doubtful my mother wrapped this one. It was in a flat white box like women's handkerchiefs used to come in. The significance of the gift apparently did not dawn on me ahead of time because I do not remember worrying about it until the time of the gift exchange.
The exchange took place and everyone opened their gift. I do not remember what I received but will never forget what I gave. I gave two pairs of nylon panties! I have no clue as to how the recipient reacted, because I was too busy trying to survive my own embarrassment over this gift which my mother, no doubt, thought was a pretty and practical present. She would have had no clue as to the embarrassment such a gift would cause.
This is the same lady who hung her own just laundered underwear in the basement to dry rather than have everyone in the neighborhood see them on the clothes line. Our backyard abutted a woods, so I am not sure who she thought would see them. I suppose only adults were allowed to be embarrassed over someone seeing their undies.
Yes, some things your parents do you remember for a long time. In retrospect, I know at least my parents were good people; did not abuse us; did not drink or act in inappropriate ways, so this was not such an awful thing. But you would never have convinced me of that during the gift exchange or for quite a few years while the gift exchange was part of a recurring dream.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Oh,No! Not Another Rant!
Originally posted on my Facebook page:
Okay, here I go ticking off people again. But I am going to rant anyway and this time I am not full of meds and it is not the middle of the night. I am not angry, I am just stating how I feel. This rant is the result of a couple recent posts and emails (emails from people I know but do not care for, by the way. People, in I my opinion, who live in a narrow little world even if they do get around a lot.
I hate messages that imply or outright state that if I do not repost them, somehow I either am heartless, ignorant, agree with the opposition or am guilty of a myriad of other things. I do not repost. I do not repost. I do not repost. If you want to do so, fine. That is your prerogative. But the quickest way to turn me off is to not only ask me to repost but to act like I must disagree with your message or assign some other negative, nefarious motivation to my not reposting.
If I want to use my feed as a sounding board for any cause, I will do so. I do not need anyone's help. I do not want to promote or support any organization or group on my newsfeed. (I am speaking of political, religious, business or social organizations. I do and always will openly support our military members. I do not think of them as a "group" for the purposes of this post.) I have been around the block a few times and know that not all groups are what they seem and supporting them publicly may come back and bite me on the ass. So I will do my own promoting of causes or not. Now if these are on your feed and I visit your page, I see what I see. But I really hate having these things sent to me. Email is the same. And by the way, I hate Obama and everything he stands for but when conservatives post stupid, inaccurate things about the man, they do all conservatives a disservice. There are plenty of reasons to find him the worst thing to happen to this country since the Civil War. Please do not make up crap. It just lessens your credibility. Leave that to the liberals. Check out your facts before passing stuff along.
I apologize to my liberal friends and relatives for this showing up on your newsfeed. Go ahead and delete this post. I probably would delete yours if you were praising Obama. Also, to my liberal friends and relatives, you can be just as guilty of ignorant actions as the rest of us. Stop saying "Tea Party" as if it is a political party. It is not. It is not a monolithic, racist, reactionary group. Conservatives are just as intelligent and as ignorant as liberals. We just approach things from opposite viewpoints. There are plenty of idiots on both sides. No one side has the monopoly on ignorance and bigotry.
This certainly holds for religion. If you are an atheist, you may be just as guilty of pushing your ideas and being blind to anyone else's views as a religious person. I get fed up with both the religious right and those who act like anyone who is religious has to be stupid. You can both be bigots. I am not a Christian and do not wish to be converted. But that does not mean I totally dismiss Christianity or any other religious views out of hand. If religion does not explain all the mysteries of the universe, neither does science. I do not pretend to know the answers to the creation and no one else does, either. Or if anyone does, he isn't talking, at least in this dimension. But I think there is room for both believers and non believers. I don't want either side pushing their beliefs on me. And quite honestly, if all you do is talk about your religion or lack thereof, I have to wonder who you are really trying to convince. The most truly religious people I have known in my 66 years really do not talk about it much, but do live it. And the most truly intelligent atheists I have known admit they do not know all the answers anymore than the religious zealots think they do. I don't like receiving emails that make out non believers as evil or religious people as ignorant. Keep these to yourself or whatever, but do not send them to me.
Now for my final rant---for those of you still reading, which I imagine is an exclusive group consisting of ---ME! Although most people I personally know are not guilty of this, sometimes I see stuff that is downright racist. Sometimes it is racist in general, and sometimes about Obama. Fortunately most people I know are not concerned about skin color. That is good because there are plenty of racists, of all colors, to go around. Everyone wants someone to look down upon, it seems. Blacks, browns, reds, yellows, whites, greens, blues, polka dotted, it does not matter. All groups are guilty. Sometimes I think people do not even understand what they post or email is racist. If it promotes hatred or denigration based on skin color it is racist. Same with ethnicity. Simple. So, think before you forward it in email or repost it. No one needs that crap. I don't want it. I delete it immediately if I see it and then think you are a dumbass. If you want to dislike a group, come up with a better reason for it than skin color. It makes you seem like an idiot. And yes, there are groups I detest. I dislike a lot of people and groups as a matter of fact. I am not bias free by any means. But I like to think I detest them for more important reasons than their skin color, who they are screwing, or what language they speak. If I speak against them it is because of their actions and beliefs. We all do that. It is called using judgment, not prejudice. We are supposed to use judgment. We do it all day long in many different ways. And no, this is not just me trying to excuse my own actions and beliefs as non-racist. I admit that occasionally I have racist thoughts, and then I try to take a look at what I am thinking and analyze it and if it is racist, I try to change it. If I can justify my thoughts based on facts and experience, I feel okay. Okay. End of rant. Again, you may feel free to disagree but that does not mean I want to hear about it. I probably should save my rants for my blog from now on. And will. Or will try to.
Okay, here I go ticking off people again. But I am going to rant anyway and this time I am not full of meds and it is not the middle of the night. I am not angry, I am just stating how I feel. This rant is the result of a couple recent posts and emails (emails from people I know but do not care for, by the way. People, in I my opinion, who live in a narrow little world even if they do get around a lot.
I hate messages that imply or outright state that if I do not repost them, somehow I either am heartless, ignorant, agree with the opposition or am guilty of a myriad of other things. I do not repost. I do not repost. I do not repost. If you want to do so, fine. That is your prerogative. But the quickest way to turn me off is to not only ask me to repost but to act like I must disagree with your message or assign some other negative, nefarious motivation to my not reposting.
If I want to use my feed as a sounding board for any cause, I will do so. I do not need anyone's help. I do not want to promote or support any organization or group on my newsfeed. (I am speaking of political, religious, business or social organizations. I do and always will openly support our military members. I do not think of them as a "group" for the purposes of this post.) I have been around the block a few times and know that not all groups are what they seem and supporting them publicly may come back and bite me on the ass. So I will do my own promoting of causes or not. Now if these are on your feed and I visit your page, I see what I see. But I really hate having these things sent to me. Email is the same. And by the way, I hate Obama and everything he stands for but when conservatives post stupid, inaccurate things about the man, they do all conservatives a disservice. There are plenty of reasons to find him the worst thing to happen to this country since the Civil War. Please do not make up crap. It just lessens your credibility. Leave that to the liberals. Check out your facts before passing stuff along.
I apologize to my liberal friends and relatives for this showing up on your newsfeed. Go ahead and delete this post. I probably would delete yours if you were praising Obama. Also, to my liberal friends and relatives, you can be just as guilty of ignorant actions as the rest of us. Stop saying "Tea Party" as if it is a political party. It is not. It is not a monolithic, racist, reactionary group. Conservatives are just as intelligent and as ignorant as liberals. We just approach things from opposite viewpoints. There are plenty of idiots on both sides. No one side has the monopoly on ignorance and bigotry.
This certainly holds for religion. If you are an atheist, you may be just as guilty of pushing your ideas and being blind to anyone else's views as a religious person. I get fed up with both the religious right and those who act like anyone who is religious has to be stupid. You can both be bigots. I am not a Christian and do not wish to be converted. But that does not mean I totally dismiss Christianity or any other religious views out of hand. If religion does not explain all the mysteries of the universe, neither does science. I do not pretend to know the answers to the creation and no one else does, either. Or if anyone does, he isn't talking, at least in this dimension. But I think there is room for both believers and non believers. I don't want either side pushing their beliefs on me. And quite honestly, if all you do is talk about your religion or lack thereof, I have to wonder who you are really trying to convince. The most truly religious people I have known in my 66 years really do not talk about it much, but do live it. And the most truly intelligent atheists I have known admit they do not know all the answers anymore than the religious zealots think they do. I don't like receiving emails that make out non believers as evil or religious people as ignorant. Keep these to yourself or whatever, but do not send them to me.
Now for my final rant---for those of you still reading, which I imagine is an exclusive group consisting of ---ME! Although most people I personally know are not guilty of this, sometimes I see stuff that is downright racist. Sometimes it is racist in general, and sometimes about Obama. Fortunately most people I know are not concerned about skin color. That is good because there are plenty of racists, of all colors, to go around. Everyone wants someone to look down upon, it seems. Blacks, browns, reds, yellows, whites, greens, blues, polka dotted, it does not matter. All groups are guilty. Sometimes I think people do not even understand what they post or email is racist. If it promotes hatred or denigration based on skin color it is racist. Same with ethnicity. Simple. So, think before you forward it in email or repost it. No one needs that crap. I don't want it. I delete it immediately if I see it and then think you are a dumbass. If you want to dislike a group, come up with a better reason for it than skin color. It makes you seem like an idiot. And yes, there are groups I detest. I dislike a lot of people and groups as a matter of fact. I am not bias free by any means. But I like to think I detest them for more important reasons than their skin color, who they are screwing, or what language they speak. If I speak against them it is because of their actions and beliefs. We all do that. It is called using judgment, not prejudice. We are supposed to use judgment. We do it all day long in many different ways. And no, this is not just me trying to excuse my own actions and beliefs as non-racist. I admit that occasionally I have racist thoughts, and then I try to take a look at what I am thinking and analyze it and if it is racist, I try to change it. If I can justify my thoughts based on facts and experience, I feel okay. Okay. End of rant. Again, you may feel free to disagree but that does not mean I want to hear about it. I probably should save my rants for my blog from now on. And will. Or will try to.
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