Category: politics

We’ll Never Understand

So far, I’ve seen statements from at least 3 politicians, who have no problem expressing strong opinions about people outside their religion and race; who never let their own ignorance keep them from pronouncing judgement on others, say today that we’ll “never understand the motivations” of the monster who killed 9 people last night in Charleston.

Why reserve your whip-smart judgement now? Why be so “sensitive” and offer your “prayers”? Could it be because your ignorant ramblings maybe inspired this guy?

Media figures and politicians demonize entire races and religions all the time, saying, like Glenn Beck did, that people are “willing to lay down their lives” for whatever batshit crazy cause they’re spouting off about. And then, when some crazed lunatic actually DOES WHAT THEY SO SLYLY SUGGEST, they clasp their hands and say they’re praying for the victims and say we’ll never understand what drove them to do such a horrible thing.

We know. They were inspired by parents, by the talk radio hosts they listen to, by the politicians that pander to any loony zealot who will vote for them (or give them money), by the mentally unhinged bastards who say we’re at war with everybody.

So, maybe instead of just praying for the victims, we should stop being such assholes and preach the religion we say we follow? Preach peace. Preach understanding. Preach forgiveness and humility. Teach your kids not to be racist. Teach your kids to love their neighbors (no matter who they are).

These tragedies are avoidable, and praying for the victims is the least you can do. Condemn violence. Condemn racism. Condemn those who make targets out of innocent people. And if you are one of those people, stop it already. You’re the problem. Be a part of the solution.

Question Authority!

I watched the documentary 8: The Mormon Proposition about the LDS Church’s involvement in getting California’s Prop 8 passed. It was depressing as hell, no lie, and I felt like I had just watched a movie about the holocaust. I encourage you all to watch it too.\
Non-LDS should watch, and then speak out about the church’s tax-exempt status. They clearly overstepped the lines in this case and it’s disappointing that more people aren’t outraged.\
LDS should also watch and ask their leaders for an explanation about the backroom shenanigans. I don’t care about what the LDS Church preaches to its own members or the reported strong-arm tactics of getting people to donate money, but all that sneaking around and manipulating and outright lying to the voting public is inexcusable. That is not the way any organization purporting itself to be of God should behave.

What’s Happened to the Boy Scouts?

They’re now training Explorer scouts to ‘combat terrorism’. That’s crazy. As a wee bit of backstory, I’m an Eagle Scout. I was a Cub Scout and in scouting from age 8 to about 17 when I was a junior assistant scoutmaster. I got my Eagle when I was fourteen and was an Explorer.\
I can’t imagine what the point of this is other that a bunch of macho jackasses being, well, macho jackasses – and passing it on to kids. It’s just sad that Scouting has come to this; I’m not sure what else to say about it other than I’m disappointed and that my kids won’t follow me into Scouting.

Published
Categorized as terrorism

Epic Post of Life!

Brian says things incorrectly, like, “S starts with scooter, ” and “B starts with balloon.” He also says, “I need to wear socks for my feet to not get cold.” I don’t know how to fix this. I’ve read that you shouldn’t correct kids sentences, but instead should repeat the sentence back to them correctly. He also refuses to use “I” at home, instead saying, “Me want juice,” and “Me want to go, too.” He does use “I” at school, so I know he is teachable. Maybe I just need to be more firm (about everything, I am sure). Of course he also says, “Why you dood that?” (The past tense of do, of course.)\
I am happy to report that Brian will now wipe his own butt. WOOT. This was facilitated by the kiddie flushable wipes left behind at Babba’s house by Kevin’s brother’s family over Thanksgiving break. Babba stuck them in the back of our van and told us to take them home. Score for us! (Hello, TMI. Hope he doesn’t want to be president someday.)\
Max was invited to join the Philosophy and Art club/class/thingie at school. He is the only 3rd grader to be asked, as it is only open to 4th and 5th graders. Whee. I am really excited for him.\
Kevin said that he wanted to eat less meat, so I gave him a dinner of a baked sweet potato, broccoli, and hard boiled eggs. That is the last time he’ll say anything like that, I bet. 🙂 Tonight is meatless spaghetti sauce with pasta. That he won’t mind.\
I have been feeling much better since starting the new medicine, which was also about the time Brian started school (no coincidence, I am sure). And it shows: the house is clean, the laundry is done and put away, and I have been cooking.\
Speaking of cooking: Cookie rec time! My grocery store oatmeal, cranberry, walnut break-and-bake cookie dough. It is soooo good. Run to your store, tomorrow, and check it out! We like to make homemade Christmassy cookies, focusing our energy on the cool stuff, and then fill in the platter with cookies from premade dough, since they are available in more typical-cookie flavors.\
Today is A Day Without Gays, which I forgot about until I signed on this morning. Supporters are asked to not go to work, not go shopping, and not use the tv or internet. I couldn’t keep my husband home from work, even though I wanted to, but I did manage to send him off with a brown bag lunch. I sent my kids to school even though I could’ve kept them home. It made the decision between going Xmas shopping and doing laundry really easy and I stayed away from the net for half of the day until I caved. Have you seen any difference today?\
It’s kind of sad that I couldn’t stay offline for an entire day, right? I even took a two-hour nap solely to facilitate this! I have a book that I was planning on curling up with, in between loads of laundry, but really? I need to be online. It’s a drug. An obsession. A vital part of my daily life, ok? OK!\
Good thing I caved though because when I checked my email I found out that our landlord has declared bankruptcy and the bank is now trying to sell the house. I am not sure this puts us in a more precarious position than before, since we were always in a precarious position, but it feels more imminent and there are now new people with which to coordinate things.\
Poking around Craigslist, I found this house for only \$50 more a month:\
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Kevin is in love with the kitchen:\
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It has 3200 sq feet, 4 bedrooms, formal living room, family room, sun room, and bonus room (and of course all the other necessities, heh). The inside is full of upgrades like wood floors, cherry wood cabinets, and built-in book shelves. It has a fenced, corner lot. AND IT IS IN THE RIGHT SCHOOL ZONE!! The problem is that after living in a house like that for a year, it would be really depressing to buy and move into the type of house we could really afford. But WOW. What a house.\
I have inside information, ha!, that Paula Deen is moving to our island. Maybe I will see her at Kroger? We have a local restuarant that serves better food than her “Lady and Sons,” according to Kevin. Maybe I will see her there? Wouldn’t that be a hoot?\
The weather here has been really weird lately. It is warm outside, but cold inside. Someone explain that to me, when we aren’t using the air conditioner. I’ve been thinking about taking the kids to the beach. It’s been over a month since we’ve been!\
This is my last edit, I promise. It started with one little error and then ballooned into a monster, I know. Sorry. But not really. Hee.