Instead of protesting a protest...

Perhaps it's because all of the pain is so new, so fresh. My Dad's funeral was only three months ago. Perhaps, it's just because I'm a human being who has a bit of empathy and I can't imagine what it would have been like to be so sad, to have lost so much, and be mourning the lost of a dear loved one, only to see picketers outside the funeral home or church. Whatever the reason, I am not alone when I say that the Westboro Baptist Church is way WAY out of line.

I'm not out to take away any one's right to a peaceful gathering, to take away their free speech. I don't follow my husband half way around the world every month so that he can protect those rights for nothing. I hold those rights near and dear to my heart. And so does he. We've talked about it, and he would not stop an anti-military protest. He refuses to say anything to anti-war or anti-military picketers on the street. Because they have the right to air their opinion in a peaceful manner.

I think, that if the group doing the picketing in this case were any group of people without ties to a Christian organization, I would feel much differently. I might not be as upset. I might not feel like it was as vitriolic, as disgusting. But then, maybe not. I think it is a violation of humanity to stage a picket line, a protest at someone's funeral. Turning an entirely somber affair designed to allow family and friends to say goodbye to a loved one into a political statement is entirely wrong. I don't know how. I can't give you a biblical example of why it is wrong to do this to people at a funeral, but I'm pretty sure it is. It goes against so many things that Jesus taught. It breaks my heart that the organization doing this comes in His name. It makes me want to scream and cry and try to stop it all at once.

Would God really use a teacher's car accident to make a statement against the way the public school is run? This church claims that the reason this teacher died was because the public schools teach rebellion. I think it's a little bit ironic, because wasn't that was Jesus was? A rebel? Didn't he fight the church leaders left and right? One of the things He came here to teach us was that sometimes a little rebellion isn't a bad thing. Jesus defied all sorts of social standards, liturgical laws, and rebelled against the sinful and unholy way the Pharisees were running the temples.

Why does it bother me so much that people are protesting at funerals? Maybe it's partly because of what my husband does for a living and this church is known for protesting at military funerals. Mostly it's because it's a church. It's a group of people associating themselves with MY faith and MY God. Maybe I'm wrong. I could be wrong simply because I am holding them to a higher standard than I would any other group or organization. Very often, I'm too judgemental of other people, especially Christians. I expect Christians to live a life with a higher moral standard, to be nicer to people, and to be law abiding citizens. But that's wrong, perhaps even hypocritical. I break the law, I'm not always nice to people, and I'm a Christian. I dare you to catch me on a bad day. Heck, let me catch you texting and driving, and you'll see the Christian fall off of me faster than a Maserati on the Autobahn. So, when I see a Christian failing my high expectations, I need to remember to pray and remember that I too, fall short. I too, sin. Most of the time it works.

But not tonight. I'm tired. Tired of hearing about these funeral protests. I'm tired of hearing about people showing up with signs that say that God hates Fags, and that all of our problems in this country are because God is somehow judging our nation for supporting a 'homosexual agenda' or fighting an unjust war or whatever else we do that could anger Our Father.

I'm tired of hearing about how much "God hates fags." That isn't true. Not in the least. God hates sin. God hates the behavior that often happens on earth as a result of humans having free will. God, however does not HATE any one. Be they a fag, a christian fundamentalist extremist, a tax collector, a murderer, even pedophiles. God doesn't hate human beings. God loves us. All of us. It is for that reason that He sent Jesus to die for our indiscretions. He sent his only Son to DIE so that we could have life. What is it that we don't get about that? It doesn't matter what we do, or what we don't do. The only thing that matters is what we believe. We don't earn an entrance into Heaven.

If God hates homosexuals because they engage in a sinful behavior (because again, God hates behavior and sin, NOT the being itself), then he must hate me too. Because I engage in sinful behavior every day. Just the other day my four year old had to remind me that the "f" word wasn't a very nice word. I told some girl to drive, rather than text with her "f"ing phone in a rather loud and mean voice. I sinned. I KNOWINGLY and consciously engaged in a sinful behavior. I think about doing BAD things all the time. I want to HURT people who stand outside of funerals with signs claiming that "God Hates (anyone)." God is love. And something that embodies love cannot hate anything but the thing that would destroy that love.

People don't die because of God's judgement. People die because their bodies wear out. People die because we were given free will from the beginning of time, and that free will sometimes leads us into bad decisions. People die because people die. It's bigger than a stupid church or a military policy on sexual orientation, or whether our schools are teaching the wrong things. The reasons for death are so deep and that I can't even wrap my entire mind around it or explain it in an angry blog post, but ultimately, it doesn't matter. Death is just the beginning for Christians. Without death we wouldn't have life.

This church believes that protesting at a funeral is a Christian act. It isn't friends. It just plain isn't. As Christians we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. And believe it or not, the word "neighbor" doesn't limit us to loving those people living in residences directly adjacent to our own. Neighbor here means a fellow human being. A fellow sinner. Whether homosexual, soldier, civilian, criminal, or regular old Joe Schmoe just trying to live his life. If we love our neighbors, we certainly aren't going to choose one of worst moments for a family to stage a political protest.

On some crazy level, I do understand where this church is coming from. I know what they are trying to accomplish, but the way they are going about it is all wrong. If you're mad at the government, protest at the federal building. Or the state building. You think the way the curriculum in the public schools is wrong? Join the PTA. Make changes. Home school your kids, or send them to a private school. Picket outside the Department of Education. VOTE to change the government and it's policies. It's your right. However, standing outside of a teachers' funeral claiming that she died because our schools teach rebellion doesn't change anything. It sends the wrong message. It tells people that Christians are hateful, spiteful, hypocritical human beings.


My message to a church that would send such a message to the world:

A Christian's first mission is to bring people to God. By sending such a hateful message in the name of God, surely you are turning people away from Him. And a back turned from God is a face turned towards sin.

What does the Bible say about Christians who lead people into sin?

Matthew 18:6 (NIV) But if anyone causes one of these little ones who
believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung
around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Mark 9:42 (NKJV) But whoever causes one of these little ones who
believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung
around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.

Luke 17:2 (NIV) It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea
with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these
little ones to sin.

Not once, not twice, but THREE times it's mentioned. Three is an important number, and if you're a Christian, you know that. It's not an accident.

I could go on forever talking about how God loves everyone, regardless of their sins (He really does), how He wants us all to repent and believe so that we can go to Heaven (He really does), how He sent his Son to die so that we didn't have to pay the price for our sins (He really did) because He loves us so much, or how we can't get into heaven by doing (or not doing) anything (we really can't) and how it all hinges on what we believe.

I could, but it's late. And I'm sure I'm rambling by now. So instead, I will pray for this church. Because that is what I do when I'm angry with someone. I will pray that they will see how horrible, how AWFUL they are being by using a painful time in people's lives to make a political statement, turning what should be a sad but beautiful last moment in someones earthly journey into a media circus. I will pray that that the family will be protected from seeing the whole ordeal as they grieve. And lastly, I will pray that these events will cause people to question what the true God would say, and what He really says about moments like this so that they will come to know how much He loves us all -- no matter who we are or what we do.

Let's Pretend...

Do you remember yesterday when I said I was working on that entry about the deterioration of society in the last 100 years?

I'm still working on it. But it's getting to be a bit too complex and deep for a one blog post, especially on my light-hearted, unheard of "mommy blog." Too many things about society have changed so much and so many events are involved in those changes that it's almost comparing apples and automobiles. The both start with "a" but the similarities end there.


But for now, I want everyone to use their imagination.

Imagine for a second, that we are heading into World War I or II, only with the current times.

Now, remember what people had to sacrifice in World War I or II to keep the troops supplied with food and clothing. People had to ration all kinds of things necessary to their daily lives -- they gave up flour, sugar, anything containing rubber, etc. They dug up their lawns and flower gardens to plant more practical potato and vegetable gardens because the big farms were sending all the food to the troops overseas. They spent their free time sewing and making clothing for the troops. They spent their hard earned money on war bonds -- essentially loaning the government hundreds and thousands of dollars of their income so the government had money to buy those supplies for the troops. These are just a few of the day-to-day sacrifices they had to make.

Now. Think again about how that third world war thing. Would you be willing and able to give up what the people did back then? Would you be willing to stop eating out, buying your fancy coffees and eating your prepackaged foods? Would you dig up your grass and plant your own vegetables? Would you use public transportation and walk to reduce the amount of fuel consumption -- not because prices had become unreasonable, but because the government needed it? Would you be willing to give your life? Would you be willing to reduce all of your greedy consumption in order to supply soldiers in the field? Would you be willing to be patient and wait years for the conflict to be over? Would you be willing to let your sons and daughters go to fight, knowing they would not EVER get leave until the war was over? Would you be willing to raise your neighbor's child while their parents were overseas fighting?


I know I'm asking some hard questions. I don't know that I want to answer yes to all of the questions. I don't know that I can. But I know that people gave all of those things up and more for past conflicts. And it is at least partly because of those sacrifices that the wars ended as quickly as they did. I am not so certain that our society could give those things up without a fight about our "rights" to cheap gas and fast food. What do you think?

Dear Bloggy Friends...

I am going to miss you. I have had to unsubscribe from a few blogs recently. Blogs that I loved. Blogs that aren't normally full of heavy reading, political opinions, and insults to me. But recently, that has changed. Many of the people I have read for months have suddenly decided that I am a jerk. And they've told me so, and many in some not-so-kind words, and a few with graphics as well. I understand they weren't directly JUST at me, but they were directed at my friends, and the people that I spend quite a bit of time with. So, yes. I have decided to unsubscribe. Because you have hurt my feelings by directly insulting me based on my political and religious beliefs. A genre of blogs that is normally about fun and family has turned much darker, and I didn't like it.

I was a supporter of John McCain. Period. My husband is in the military, and democrats like to get rid of the military. I didn't think that some of the policies Obama was going to put into effect were financially responsible. But do you know what? Now, I support Obama. Because he, in a few short months, will be the President. As in, the person who is in charge of the company my husband works for. He can order my husband to his death if he feels it is best for our country. So I will pray for the new President, and try to support him. That is the way I am. I am appalled that there are people who threatened to leave America should McCain take office. I didn't consider leaving (unless we get stationed overseas) -- never once -- based on who was elected to be president.

I have mixed feelings about Prop 8, but I kind of understand the reasons for it. Churches would be in trouble if Prop 8 failed. Because they could be SUED for following their religious beliefs by discriminating about who could be married in their church. I think that life is confusing enough without the schools teaching my kid about a whole new faction of relationships. I don't need to explain how a family with two daddy's or two mommies can have babies, when I've told him it takes a Mommy and a Daddy.

I agree with the passing of Prop 4. Prop 4 required a minor's doctor to notify her parents before they get an abortion. I don't think that's right. Because folks, not everyone loves their kids. Not every family is happy. Not every parent is responsible enough to do the right thing when their troubled teenager comes to them with the biggest problem they've probably ever had. I don't want a girl to get beat to death by her parents because she wasn't getting the love she wanted from them, turned to the wrong person, and got herself in a bad situation. I don't want her to go to some black market abortionist to take care of her problems and end up unable to ever have kids, because things weren't sterilized or done properly. Have we not learned from history? Women are going to do things to get rid of their precious babies if they are desperate to get rid of them. Isn't it better that if they are SO desperate to make that decision that they do it RIGHT, instead of dangerously!?

So. There you have it. Those are my beliefs. I had quit reading new blogs, because I had too many to read... But, now I have been able to drop quite a few people who have flipped me off, called me a bad name, and insulted me based on my beliefs. Because, folks, I'm not afraid to share MY opinions with you. But if you don't agree with me, I'm not going to attack you personally. I'll just agree to disagree. That's how we're different. And that's why I can't be your friend anymore.

Avoidance...

I've pretty much avoided politics lately. For many good reasons. I still kind of am, but there are few things that bug me:

1. The Electoral College bothers me. Why should someone who recieves 50% of the popular vote get 2/3 of the electoral vote. I would feel the same way had the election gone the other way. In the days when your vote really does count (at one point Obama and McCain were 18 votes different in Nebraska), you kind of feel like it doesn't if you live in a state with 55 electoral votes, and you KNOW that the candidate you choose is not going to win that state. Hypothetically.

2. The media angers me. Journalists are supposed to be non-partisan aren't they? Why is it that newspapers and places that are supposed to be informing people about the pros/cons of voting one way or the other can take a side? Doesn't that make their reporting biased if they promote one position??

And now we're moving on... Getting ready to see what this new president will in fact be able to do for us. I am a bit concerned about the Democrats being in control of EVERYTHING... Mostly, because they generally are nasty to the military and that's our main source of income. And because they like to control everyone's lives by legislating things that don't need to be legislated -- like common sense. But that's just my opinion. If people are too stupid to use common sense, then they deserve the consequenses.

What are your thoughts on the electoral college and the media??

This is what your socialized healthcare will look like.

You will get a referral for infertility. To the worst doctor in the area. Luckily, you'll end up pregnant before you have the appointment for the infertility.

You find a better OB, schedule an appointment for WELL after the required processing time.

The day before your appointment, you'll wonder why you haven't gotten the paperwork in the mail, so you'll call your insurance company. Turns out your insurance company turned DOWN the pregnancy referral, because they had approved one for infertility. I guess I'm not pregnant after all. Even though several pee tests and a blood draw from my primary doctor beg to differ.

Yes, folks, socialized health care will look a LOT like what I have for insurance-- the system the military people use. You will be using an HMO. You will NOT be able to see just any doctor unless you see your primary care doctor first. And if for some reason you have a change in your situation and have to go BACK to your primary doctor to get a different referral to a different doctor you're at the mercy of some schmuck pushing papers. In their rush to get the paperwork done in time, they'll scan it quickly and NOT SEE that the INFERTILITY referral will NOT work for a PREGNANCY appointment.

Instead, the insurance company wants me to go to the ER. For something that could cost the government SO MUCH LESS if they'd just get off their butts and READ the paperwork properly. That's where all your hard earned tax dollars are going. To junk like that.

Yes, I'm upset. I'm upset because I don't want to go to the hospital to get an ultrasound when I already have an appointment for tomorrow. I don't want to wait another several weeks to be seen, when I already had an appointment. Seems to me, that if I were you guys, I'd want tax breaks to pay for my health care, rather than having the government mandate who you can see and when. That hasn't worked for me.

(I'm not going into the troubles I had when I got pregnant with Little Monster and was being seen at the military hospital. I'm not going to tell you about the time they told me I had breast cancer, when really I have "lumpy breasts." I'm not going to tell you about all of the mistakes that have been made and the way I've been treated by the same health care people you will be dealing with if socialized health care is set up. I'm not. I just want you to think about how much money it will cost. And how many people will go to the ER for a sniffy nose or a toothache. And how much that will cost you.)

I'm praying someone at that office building will have a heart, and get this paperwork put through today. So that I don't have to go see my doctor, have stuff ordered, and have to go to the HOSPITAL --where it costs forty times as much -- to get it taken care of.

Note to family and friends who are reading: Nothing is wrong. I am fine. Teeny Bean is fine so far. Do. Not. Worry. I just need to get some stuff done that my doctors office can't do. And my insurance company -- they're idiots.

Note to insurance company: Please don't 'accidentally' delete my SSN from your files, thereby deleting my insurance and making my life even more difficult because I complained. Just give a gal a hand for once, and help me out. Don't make me wait over a month to get this stuff taken care of! :)

Interesting...

to say the least.




Veeeery Interesting... Did she really know he wasn't there? This makes me wonder... Did she keep him around for political reasons after all? Hmmm... Like I said. Interesting. Veeery Interesting.

It's no surprise

He's finally getting his day in court. I've written and ranted about the idiot senator in Nebraska who is finally getting fired from his job. Nebraskans voted to limit terms state senators can serve, and I'm one to believe that Ernie Chambers is probably the reason for that. Sure, he's done some good, but he's spent more time wasting the government's money, mocking the constituents he's supposed to represent, and showboating that actual legislating that will do any good. I'm not going to go into that. Today I feel led to talk to you today about the allegations that Ernie Chambers has against God. (The links in this paragraph will give you the history I have of writing about the man.)

Chambers alleges that God has made "terroristic threats." This isn't the first time he's made a mockery of the court system in this country. And a while ago, I wrote this rather angry statement to Mr. Chambers:

I hope you DO get your day in the Douglas County Court Mr. Chambers. I hope God
shows up. But know this: Even if He doesn’t appear before the Douglas County
Court, you will appear before Him at the gates someday. I pray Mr. Chambers that
before that day you will rethink many of the things you have said and done in
your life and for our government. I pray, Mr. Chambers that you will find the
Lord; that you will repent for your sins. Because, Mr. Chambers, in the true
end, He is the only one that can Save you.

I have not changed my position, nor do I regret that statement. I am glad that Mr. Chambers is getting his day in court. I have faith that God will find himself a defense attorney (I will pray that the defense attorney's ears will be open to hearing the calling) and will be able to prove that God does not issue threats. God makes promises. God makes the most sincere promises, and he keeps them. That is not to say that the Lord is promising plague and pestilence, flood and famine on our world. He doesn't need to. The enemy has taken care of that. If you watch what happens when bad things happen, though, most of the time, good comes out of it. That good is God moving.

I have more to say on the matter, but first I need to do some research. It may be a while, or it may be tomorrow. But I will be back with more on this topic.

Return to Normal...

So, I freaked out a little bit yesterday. Those people at BlogHer (who don't get EVERY blog I write), think I'm a nut now. I'll just go away for a while, and lurk a bit... The news I gave you is old, except that whole thing about the North Carolina Driver's license.

I still don't know what to think. I've probably watched one too many conspiracy movies, read one too many conspiracy books, and have an overly active imagination. But when Not the Momma and I talked a bit about it the other day, I knew nothing of this whole "North American Union." or the SPP (Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America). I still think there is a lot of fact behind the whole conspiracy theory. The fact that there is a crazy conspiracy theory that is debunking a lot of the real stuff is a bit unsettling, because people will dismiss the whole thing as false, rather than looking into the facts, and the truth.

The SPP is real. It is REAL.

From their Myth/Fact website:
Myth: The SPP is being undertaken without the knowledge of the U.S. Congress.

Fact: U.S. agencies involved with SPP regularly update and consult with members of Congress on our efforts and plans.

So, they talk to congress about what they're doing, but Congress doesn't necessarily help make or change or have authority over the decisions? I mean, just because I "update and consult" with my husband about things I want to do doesn't mean I'm asking permission, or that if he disagrees that I am bound to that decision. It's just a bit eerie. Mostly, because I don't know enough about our government and how it's run. That 9th grade 'government' class was a joke. The teacher was terrible, so full of himself that he could barely speak to us at a 9th grade level, let alone actually teach us about the real government.

Because I value my husband's career, (because he's the one who has one that brings in enough money to -- feed, clothe, house, and keep us in our TVs and Wiis), I will probably make this the last post about governmental conspiracies, and politics. For now.

NAU -- Not just a conspiracy??

This week's PrompTuesday is to give an inspirational speech in 150 words. I am cheating a bit. I am prefacing this with the fact that between looking at links, etc. I have spent probably 15 minutes on this, and I have no idea how many words I am using. I am sorry for cheating, but I am trying to inspire here... and I'm not talking about something that can easily be summed up in 10 minutes and 150 words. My inspirational speech is to YOU. YOU who are reading about this. Find out what the heck is going on. Then tell people about it. We are so busy talking about Hillary Duff and Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus and their scandals that we aren't paying attention to the IMPORTANT stuff. The scary stuff. The stuff that is causing my heart to quake and my hands to tremble with fear for our country and our world. Look this up. Share with me what you have learned. Share with your family. But do real research, people. Not that wikipedia crap. Write your congressmen. Ask the people that WE put into place what is happening here.

I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth. I take that back. Not a little... A LOT. A WHOLE LOT!

Did we vote for this? Did Congress? WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE LORD IS GOING ON HERE????

North Carolina's Drivers License is "North American Union Ready!

The first "North American Union" driver's license, complete with a hologram of the continent on the reverse, has been created in North Carolina.

Did we vote on this? Did "we the people" have any say in this? Is this what 'we the people' want? Seriously? We DID!? Is this just some crazy half cocked conspiracy theory?? Here is what I have found out:

The SPP is real. So much for securing borders and solving any tax crisis. Why aren't we talking about this when we are debating who is going to be our next President? Because we're too busy worrying that Hannah Montana has whored herself (not my opinion, just repeating the general consensus I've noticed from the media circus --yes, circus, not circuit) out to Vanity Fair and how bad that looks for Disney.

The North American Union... IS IT HAPPENING? IS IT REAL? WHO IS BEHIND ALL OF THIS, AND WHY ISN'T IT FRONT PAGE HEADLINING NEWS???

As the
executive branches of Canada , the United States , and Mexico conspired to
expand NAFTA behind the backs of their unconvinced populaces, an independent
task force sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations floated the idea of
deeper integration under the name of the North American Community. Their paper,
published in May of 2005 and financed by Archer Daniels Midland, Merrill Lynch,
and Yves-Andres Istel, was not authored by an underground network of
conspirators against U.S. sovereignty, as NAU critics would have us believe, but
by a staid group made up mostly of former government officials and big business
representatives.

This group envisioned regional integration as the
creation of a "community" with shared commercial, security, and environmental
purposes. It proposes sacrificing national policy tools to regional goals in
areas such as creation of a common security perimeter, a permanent NAFTA
tribunal to settle disputes, expanding NAFTA to restricted or excluded sectors,
and adopting a joint resource agreement and energy strategy. Indeed, some of
these recommendations could very well present threats to democracy in all three
countries. But the report does not include adopting a common currency or a
single regional government and in fact states that a "union" along the lines of
the European Union is not the right approach for North America .

The CFR
paper was an academic exercise with pretensions of reaching policymakers. While
some of its recommendations were later taken up in the Security and Prosperity
Partnership talks, particularly suggestions on ways to improve transnational
business, many of them were unanchored by reality and quickly went the way of
the vast majority of policy recommendations.

The SPP, on the other hand,
established working groups, rules, recommendations, and agreements that have had
a huge and largely unknown impact on rules and policies. It is a complex web of
negotiators who work without congressional oversight, public right-to-know, or
civil society participation. The corporate world, however, has ample
representation; the SPP advisory body called the "North American Competitiveness
Council" reads like a "Who's Who" of the largest transnationals based on the
continent.

Please read part of that again...

"It is a complex web of negotiators who work without congressional oversight,
public right-to-know, or civil society participation. The corporate world,
however, has ample representation; the SPP advisory body called the "North
American Competitiveness Council" reads like a "Who's Who" of the largest
transnationals based on the continent."

Please, if someone knows more information about this, maybe I'm making a big deal out of nothing, but this sounds an AWFUL LOT like BIG BUSINESS is getting ready to take over the continent of the US... without any of us knowing, behind our backs. Sounds just a bit sneaky to me. I will definitely be spending some time praying about this.

How is that for inspiration? Folks... We REALLY need to start taking a more active BOLD role in the way our country is run, otherwise, we won't have to worry about having any kind of role in our government or the decisions that are made. We won't have to worry, because we will have no say.

Too Nice? Well, then.. Here ya go..

So... Earlier I posted about why I won't, will not, cannot EVER vote for Hillary. Then, Nessa kindly blasted me for being too nice. I don't think you'll have a problem with this then. I'm stealing the entirety of her post and putting it here, I know it breaks all kinds of blogging rules. But, you see, I just can't take any of it and leave the rest. It just won't work. It is exactly my thoughts, my view, except that no one is harassing me for endorsements. I'm not that important, but as for everything else, it sums up my exact thoughts. Down to EVERY DOT ON EVERY i and EVERY CROSS on EVERY T.:

I am not a political blogger; that's not why I blog. I am not
here on this earth to convince anyone to change their ways, never wear that
shade of green, eat only things which have no face, or let your children grow up
wild and free because the world will teach them discipline when they're older.
HOWEVER: My email is overflowing with inquiries from people wanting me to get
political and tell people who I feel would be the best president. Most of these
emails are asking me to endorse Hilary for the simple fact that she is a woman
and all of us women should stick together and elect one of our own to the White
House because it's TIME.

Bullshit.

I am not a political person.
I vote, and I have always voted, because I firmly believe that voting is like
being on a jury, and if a jury/senate/White House/congress is supposed to be
full of my "peers," well, I want to be sure that it really is, and not full of
the kind of people who were on some of the juries/political offices I've seen.
Peers my ass. It was like a tour through Jerry Springer's waiting room, and
those people are NOT my peers.

Besides, people who don't vote rightfully
forfeit all whining rights. No votee, no whinee. Few things make me angrier than
someone griping about a political decision, who didn't even vote. If someone
didn't care enough to have a voice on election day, that person should shut up
forever about anything political. If he really cared, he would have voted.

I know that many people see no connection between someone's personal
life and his/her professional life, but I am not one of those people. I see a
person's personal life as a reflection of their priorities in their professional
life, and vice versa. I can not separate the two. If a person is an idiot in
his/her personal life, I believe he/she will be an idiot in the professional
life, also. And, again, vice versa. Perhaps this is not always the case; I
really don't care. I can't separate them. We are what we are, and most of what
we are we have chosen to be.

It's not just politicians, as you all well
know, either. We all present an image to the public, but if that image is to be
believable and viable in any way, we must give evidence that we are sincere by
the way we live our personal lives. Politics is full of reprehensible people
whose private lives are so filled with chosen horror that I could never in a
million zillion years take anything they ever said, professionally, in any kind
of serious way. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to fall, because it
invariably will. I am not interested in electing a train wreck to political
office.

I could never vote for Hilary, and it's not because of her sex.
It's because I see her as an enabler of a man whose personal life is disgusting.
I see her as an enabler of a marriage that is a joke. I see her as an enabler of
a man who tries to pass off his inability to keep it in his pants as a
'disease.' Please. I also see one/half of a couple whose values are so far
removed from mine that I simply can't accept them in any way. When I think of
the Clintons, all I see is a dysfunctional family, a pack of liars, and a woman
who stayed in an adulterous marriage so she could climb higher as a politician.
I also see a person who supposedly represents a state in which she did not even
live. This is a joke, too. Add to all this the fact that the Clintons are
milking the taxpayers for all it's worth by charging the Feds rent for the extra
residence they built to house the Secret Service agents - to the tune of the
equivalent of their mortgage on that million-dollar home they bought to
establish residence in New York - that's a 10,000 mortgage, folks -this means
that the taxpayers are paying the Clintons' salaries, mortgage, transportation,
safety and security, and the salaries for their 12-man staff. Looking out for
the common people? The Clintons don't know what a common person is. They don't
hang out with common people. No, I don't want either of them representing me in
any way.

The Clintons are a joke. Worse, they are a joke without a punch
line. A never-ending build-up without any resolution. He is a grinning, selfish,
horny old man, and she is a scary cackling oaf with a hard chromium finish who
fakes tears when things don't go her way. Both are scrambling up the political
ladder on each other's coattails, both are kicking the ladder away beneath them,
and neither has a heart, or any kind of ethics other than the selfish kind.
I'm sorry, people who are constantly emailing me to endorse Hilary, but
there is no way that will ever happen. Ever, ever, ever, ever.

I would
never vote for someone based solely on his/her sex. That is ridiculous. I would
also never vote for someone whose personal life was a shambles and whose
personal choices were bad. People who break promises, commit adultery, cheat,
can't keep it in their pants or out of their pants, lie, steal, ingratiate, or
try to fool me into believing they'd be a good elected representative of me
while doing any of those things, make me heartsick and disgusted. Nobody is
perfect, but everybody could at least TRY to behave.

No, I could never
vote for Hilary, and I will never be able to endorse her in any way, unless she
was running for National Joke, or National Bitch, or National Poster Woman for
Dysfunctional Relationships, or Enabler of the Year, or some such.

I
will not be answering any more political emails, so those who are persistent in
wanting me to say something about politics can save themselves the trouble. I
might comment, but I won't answer emails about politics. You wanted to know what
I thought about Hilary and now you know. Are you happy? I bet not.

Besides, who in the world would care what somebody like me thought about
a candidate? Certainly Hilary doesn't care about women like me. Hilary's
"choice" is not the same as mine.

It's common knowledge that I am a firm
believer in choice for all women, and for all men, too. The difference between
me and a lot of other firm believers in choice is that I believe the choice
comes BEFORE the consequences ofr the choice. Anything else and you're just
someone who got caught with his/her hand in the cookie jar and now you want
amnesty AND the cookie AND no consequences for putting your hand in the sugar;
you know, as if your hand being there wasn't your choice in the first place.
Baloney.

So, no Hilary for me. And if you are one of the many women who
are planning to vote for Hilary simply because she's a woman, please stop and
think, and think HARD, before you do that. It may very well be high time to put
a woman in the White House - I look forward to that day - but this is not the
right woman. Not for me, anyway.

I do have a candidate in mind, but his people are not bombarding me with requests for endorsement. That just makes me like him more.

To sum up: Hilary - Absolutely not.

Any questions?

Now, Do you have questions? Do you? Because you can read the rest of her stuff at BlogHer, or you can read more of her stuff at Scheiss Weekly. Just as it Says. Maybe someday I'll have the balls or courage or guts to say about 1/3 of the things she says, and maybe I'll even figure out a way to say it as well as she does.

Seriously... That's all that I'm going to say (or let someone else say) for me in the political arena... for now.

Skirting Politics.. or rather.. Politicians in Skirts.

I have been trying to avoid screaming out to the world, or internet rather, my feelings about the democratic nominee, but the time has come.

I'm afraid. Very Afraid. I don't want Hillary Clinton to be president. I'm worried for my husband's career, I'm worried for our health and retirement plan. I'm also worried that the crisis that is our health care system is going to get a million times worse if she steps into office. Why? Because I don't trust her. Don't get me wrong. I'd love to see a woman in office, but I don't want to see her in office. I don't trust her.

You're all going to hate me when I finish saying this. I'm going to alienate whatever readers I have (not many) that don't know me personally, and probably alienate those of you that do know me as well.

I. Don't. Trust. Hillary. Clinton. Do I trust McCain? No. Do I trust Obama? Not really. I don't trust any politician, but the one of these three I trust the least... Hillary. Why? Because. Her husband cheated on her, over and over again. He then lied about it. Over and Over again. And, for some reason, he's still her husband. I don't get it. Why would someone as strong and powerful as she is keep such a loser around? Because keeping him around would pave her way to the Presidency. I don't think it's because she loves him. I think it's because she was USING him. I'd also bet some advisor told her that no one who has been divorced has made it to the Presidency, let alone a divorced single woman. So, because it was a direct benefit to her, she kept him around. What does that say for who she's going to pick for Chief of Staff? What happens when her Chief of Staff lies? Is she going to keep them around becuause it will personally benefit her? I don't know. But so far, her history in that arena, in my mind... It isn't good.

YOU pick the Topics!!

Someone suggested that I let you, my friends, pick the topics that I will write about. After writing three seperate entries for today, and trashing them all for various reasons (including but not limited to: 1) no one cares that the generator tipped over in my car and leaked gas all over the back, eating the rubber backing on the mat. 2) no one cares that I bought a generator. 3) I can't really write about the baby again, because while he is terribly cute, I can only write mushy things SO many times before people think I'm a total dork and 4) If my husband finds out the generator tipped over and spilled gas in the car, he might have a heart attack, and that might kill him, so then he wouldn't come home, and that would suck, and 5) I can't remember the funny conversation my parents had this morning. I can tell you it was similar to the "fart" conversation from the other night) , I have decided that letting YOU pick the topics is one HECK of a GOOD idea! Of course, I'm not going to be mean to anyone (except Ernie Chambers), I won't divulge anything too personal, and if it involves my family, I will have to get permission before I share anything with the world. Here goes.

The first hmmm.. I don't know.. TEN people to comment with their request will be the winners. Of course, if you request something unreasonable, I'll move on to the next person. I'll post the winners when there are ten requests, well, as soon as I have ten reasonable requests.

I KNEW I wouldn't be able to quit!!!

So.. Ernie Chambers is now famous. And it's not my fault. The jerk did it all on his own. And with Scott Adams' help. I have the dilbert blog in my list, but I haven't been there in a while. I've been too absorbed with mommy things to read about the real world of cubes that I used to be a part of (and miss sometimes).

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/09/suing-god.html

Oh, fyi. My blog is #9 for a google search of "person suing god*." So does that make ME famous too? Mr. Adams is #3. Just in case you were wondering.


*As of right now when I am typing this post. It will most likely change.

**Update.. Mrs. Strand.. I fixed an error, JUST FOR YOU! I had the period on the inside of the parenthesis!

The End of MY contribution.

I don’t want this to become the “I hate Ernie Chambers” blog, but I have thought a lot about the reasons why what he does bothers me so much:

1) He is supposed to be a professional representing a group of people. His behavior is most definitely NOT professional, and he certainly isn’t someone I’d want representing me. Anywhere. Ever. If he represented a private company with the amount of respect and forethought as he does the voters in Douglas County, he’d be quickly unemployed.

2) He wastes tax dollars and gobs of time. He spends a lot of time filibustering the state congress, over silly non-issues. His most recent waste of tax dollars, the law suit against God. Yes, it bothers me that he is suing God. But what’s worse, he’s wasting the tax dollars of his constituants to do it. His constituants can’t afford that kind of waste. I’m sure they’d rather have the schools in their area improved than to pay to extend the session by 14 hours because he wants to rant on and on.

3) He makes sweeping statements about groups of people. One example is when he said that our country was “without honor” and that “our soldiers are dying in vain in Iraq and raping women.” The way that is phrased makes it sound like rape is something our soldiers are doing to pass the time while they are away from the states.

There are more reasons, but I'm too tired to list them all. Perhaps it stems back to when I was 15 in high school. I was part of a project to see how underage kids were getting cigarettes. Basically a bunch of high school kids (myself included) went into convenience stores with the backing of the Health Department and the Police to buy cigarettes illegally. I succeeded about half the time. At 15, I looked like I was about 8, so there’s no way it should have happened. We also spent some time lobbying. At the time there was a law going through banning cigarette vending machines from areas where minors could be (bowling alleys, restaurants, etc.). We testified that the law was stupid, because children don’t go to vending machines to get cigarettes, they just go to the local gas station. I was brutally interrogated questioned by Mr. Chambers. He was as ass then. Let’s see. That was, 12 years ago. I’d like to find out exactly HOW LONG in those 30 years he has spent filibustering, making idiotic comments and making statements like suing God. HOW many tax dollars have been wasted on his showboating. And now we know the reason why I have an issue with him. He’s in it for the drama and the publicity. The stupider he behaves, the more publicity he gets. That has to be it. If he really wanted to make the world a better place, he’d find some other way. So, ladies and gentleman, I am going to try my best to ignore him. I will no longer post about Mr. Chambers, because by posting about his idiocy, I am just publicizing it more, giving him exactly what he wants.

More about Suing God.

I posted the link earlier, but I was too upset to really say anything about this whole debacle.

This article above pretty much sums up the history. It makes me SICK to think that If I were raped that a judge could ban the use of the words rape, sexual assault, victim, assailant and sexual assault kit. How on earth is that woman supposed to accurately describe the pain and circumstances surrounding the situation that put them in court in the first place? I mean come ON! What’s next? Someone breaks into my house and robs me blind, and rapes me and the judge is going to be able to ban the words “breaking and entering”, “theft,” and “trespassing?” What happens then?

Yes, That person entered my house without permission and did some damage to the doors and windows along the way. He entered my house without permission and bade me sit in a chair whilst he knotted some rope around my wrists and legs. The rope was also attached to a chair. After removed many of the items that I had purchased, we engaged in non-consensual sex. Meaning, I was not consenting but he went ahead anyway.*

That doesn’t quite sound the same as what really happened in my fictional version. By removing all of the emotion and pain involved, you are also stripping that person of their humanity. Think about which moves you more. The above paragraph, or this one:

I was sleeping in bed when I heard a large crash. When I went to investigate, this man was standing in my doorway. He had broken the glass on the door. When he saw me he grabbed me, forced me into a chair where he tied me up. I couldn’t move. While I was tied up I watched him steal or break many of my most treasured items. That wasn’t enough. When he was done, stealing my stuff, he stole my soul. He raped me.

I know that a person is innocent until proven guilty in this country. I also know that there are many men out there that have been falsely accused of rape. However, there are many more women in our world who have been assaulted and raped who have not come forward because of situations like this. How can you feel positively about going to the police if you can’t accurately describe what happened when your time in court arrives? The problem isn’t with this case alone but the precedent it sets for the rest of time.

This article tends to make me even more upset. This is just another waste of time and money by this man. If he wanted to make a stand and sue because of a “frivolous” law suit, fine. Do it because some idiot is suing McDonalds because she was burned by hot coffee. Do it because some dork put a drill up his nose, and hit the trigger, and is now suing because “there was no warning against that” in the booklet. But Ms. Bowen had every right to sue because of her loss of free speech. She was unable to accurately depict the events that had occurred during her trial.

There is a fine line between victim rights and rights for the accused and this judge crossed the line and in doing so has opened the door for every sexual predator in the nation to have unfair words banned from the courtroom as well. How are we going to feel as a society when we let this continue? How are we going to feel when pedaphiles go free, violating more children, because words that depict them in a bad light are not allowed in court?

A Note to Mr. Chambers:

I don’t care that you boycott the prayers before the opening of the congress. You are probably right. There is separation of Church and State. You have every right to do so. However, you have no right to badmouth Christians. We are not perfect. We make mistakes, but those of us that are TRUE Christians spend our lives trying to lead good, decent moral lives. I hope you DO get your day in the Douglas County Court Mr. Chambers. I hope God shows up. But know this: Even if He doesn’t appear before the Douglas County Court, you will appear before Him at the gates someday. I pray Mr. Chambers that before that day you will rethink many of the things you have said and done in your life and for our government. I pray, Mr. Chambers that you will find the Lord; that you will repent for your sins. Because, Mr. Chambers, in the true end, He is the only one that can Save you.

*Footnote: This story is fictional and is NOT what happened in the actual court case. Meaning, I made this one up. I expanded on the situation for drama and to show what could happen in the future if things like this continue to happen.

I was going to leave this alone...

But that was when I mistakenly thought he was somehow defending the woman whose court case was shot all to hades when the judge banned the words rape and victim.


Ernie Chambers is at it again. He is being a freakin' idiot. I am trying VERY HARD to be a good Christian at this moment and just leave it alone.

Published....

So.. I got my letter to the editor published yesterday. It was great news for me. I simply cannot get over the comments that have been made. I am considering getting the transcript from that day to get his whole comment. Apparently, he proposed an amendment to the gold star license plate bill. (I looked up the bill and its amendments on our state's website.) The amendment would have allowed for the KKK to have their own license plate as well. This bothers me just as much as the comment he made previously about soldiers raping women, etc. How dare he equate the military with the KKK? I would think that would upset all groups of people. Interesting note: He is the only state senator for our unicameral legislature that does NOT have an email option on the state's website... Perhaps he was getting a bit too much hate mail?

I cannot complain about everything Mr. Chambers does. Someone told me that he makes the other senators think, which he does. He really fought OPS when they tried to re-draw the district lines. Which he should have; it would have essentially segregated the schools. However, he certainly needs to learn to pick his battles. I would think that his constant filibustering and ridiculous amendment proposals would irritate the other senators to the point that they would automatically turn off whenever he opens his mouth. It certainly would me.

Links to the state website so you can write Mr. Chambers about his comments, and the page for the Lincoln Journal Star's Letter to the Editor Page.

http://journalstar.com/articles/2007/06/13/opinion/letters/doc466ddb41b9373719663597.txt
Article

http://www.unicam.state.ne.us/web/public/senators/bios/chambers
Mr. Ernie Chambers Contact Information

First I must apologize....

to my husband. He hates it when I get on soapboxes and rant and rave about things.. Even more so when I do it publicly. And while it may be hot where he is, the temperature where I am... It is a risin'....

It really gets on my nerves when people bad-mouth the military. Ernie Chambers, a state senator from Omaha has done it publicly. He wasn't arguing about why our military is where a lot of people think it ought not to be.. He was arguing about a a damn license plate. I will put links to the articles at the bottom of the page. Mr. Chambers said:

"America is a country without honor, the military discriminates against minorities and soldiers in Iraq are dying in vain and raping women".

This comment got me so mad my blood nearly boiled. I am not going to talk about how our country is "without honor" and I am not going to deny that soldiers are dying. This, however is an unfair and partially untrue statement. I wrote a letter to the editor about this comment. I was only allowed 250 words. Because he didn't want to honor our soldiers who have passed away fighting in the most recent military conflict.

The part of this comment that got me so riled up was that "soldiers...are raping women." This is why he doesn't want to approve a license plate honoring the soldiers who have given their lives doing what our government asked them to do? Yes there are a few creeps in the military. Think about this though: What was his argument against the "Pro-Husker" football plates? Did he talk about the football players that have been involved in drugs and yes... *big gasp* raping women??? Did he say that perhaps we not honor the Husker football team beause of those football players? Not in this state. "Them's fightin' words." (Same as wearing purple when we're playing K-state.. You just don't do it!) Because people here have pride in our football team, and not every football player was involved in drugs and rape.. Nope, many of them had 4.0 GPAs and are generally wonderful people... The same is true for the military.

It doesn't matter if I am in, married to or hate the military... The soldiers are more than just soldiers. They are people... With families, children, wives, husbands, daughters, sons, mothers and fathers just like the rest of us. They deserve respect as human beings. I am so sick and tired of people talking about them as though they are the ones that wanted to go fight a war. I am tired of people bad-mouthing them. Why are they there then? How did they get there? I'll tell you. WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES voted a bunch of people into the senate and congress. WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES voted for a President. WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES use those people as our REPRESENTATIVES. They make our laws, and make decisions for us, because it wouldn't be right for us to have to vote on every little piddly thing that needs to be dealt with. So our representatives got some information that led them to make a decision, which placed our military where they are today. These people didn't just get together and say "let's go raise some hell somewhere where the locals don't want us." They were told to go there... If you look at it logically, who is responsible? Yes, the government, yes the administration, but also... WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES... who put those decision makers in that place where they have the power to do such things.. So how fair is it for someone in our State goverment to say something like that? It isn't. If the president can be impeached for getting head from an intern.. I think a state senator should be impeached for slander. For the slander of my husband, many of his friends, my father, my grandfather, my cousin and her husband, several of my high school friends, and possibly someday my son.

I am also going to say that the military does NOT discriminate against minorities nearly as much as many other organizations in this country. What do you need to succeed in the military? As an enlisted soldier, you just need to stay out of trouble, work hard and pass your promotion tests. These aren't tests that you haven't been trained for. By the time you get up for promotion, you should know most of what they are asking you. If you want to be a commissioned officer in the military, what do you need? A college degree. How do you pay for that? The military will take care of it. All you have to do is get through school with a decent GPA. (not GREAT, decent.) To succeed, you just need to stick it out. You need to be focused and dedicated. Do what is right, and DO YOUR JOB. Yes, there are a few tests here too, and some are hard, but what race you are has NOTHING to do with the questions that are asked on those tests.. They want to know that when push comes to shove, you are going to know which button to push, and who is allowed to tell you to push that button. OOOKay.. enough on that subject..

Yes, the people in the military get paid to do what they do, and yes they get benefits, and while I won't complain about those things, they aren't worth all of the things that they have to give up. Lets think about what the people in the military give up because WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES have asked them to do a job (through our representatives, of course.). Our soldiers give up months and years at a time with thier families, births of their children, all of their firsts (words, steps, smiles, laughs), they miss birthdays and anniversaries (my husband and I have yet to spend one together in five years of marriage), they give up a sense of stability because they move so often (we have lived in 3 states in five years, One of them twice, for a total of 4 moves from state-to-state, and soon will be 4 states and 5 moves). They give up knowing their children, going to ball games, seeing their school programs. Many of our soldiers are not full time soldiers, so they give up jobs (yes the companies are required to keep jobs for them, but things are often different when they return). They give up their lives. They give up their body parts, and some have given up thier mental health. A few (God help them) have lost their faith. They give up their families, and they give up their time. For what? A few bucks, a college education and lowered health care? I don't think so.

My soapbox doesn't necessarily end with Mr. Chambers's comment and the way it made me feel. There are quite a few things I'm getting upset about. I could go on forever about gas prices and American Pride (or the lack thereof) , sacrifice and how our society has our heads shoved so far up our *** and how so many people think solely about themeselves, but I won't. I just want you all to think about some issues when you are out and about complainging:

• Gas prices. "They are too high." Fine. Do you still buy it, or are you finding a different way around? If bread was 10 bucks a loaf I'd bet you'd eat something else.
• The Government. I won't go into the whines I hear about this all the time. How many of you voted? Did You? That's what I thought. If you didn't vote, shut your mouth. You have no right to complain about it. IF you voted, you are allowed to complain. But don't sit around whining. Write to your representative and tell them what you think they ought to do. After all, if we don't tell them what to do, they are going to do what they think they ought to.
• Breastfeeding in public. The breasts are only sexual things that men are attracted to because our society has made it that way. Breasts are biologically attractive to men because they are a sign of fertility. They are not made for sex. They are made for milk. Do you get grossed out when a baby is drinking from a bottle? Don't freak out if you see me feeding my baby. I refuse to do it in a bathroom. I don't eat in there and neither will he.

There's a ton more I could say, but I've rambled on long enough. I am tired of it. Tired of it all. Stop whining. Do something intelligent to fix it. Oh.. and Mr. Chambers, stop talking bad about my husband and his colleagues. They do their best; it's all they can do.

News articles relating to this topic:

• http://journalstar.com/articles/2007/05/23/news/politics/doc4653a0ead9bf2819313719.txt
• http://journalstar.com/articles/2007/05/18/news/politics/doc464cf2bac80d8564799078.txt