We are into the 1st full day of our new presidency...a day full of such hope for so many people. Sadly, not for everyone. There are so many facets to what has happened this year, it's impossible to touch on all of them without rambling.
Once of my facebook friends, a girl I went to high school with, made a status update saying how she was laughing that people are assuming this inauguration would be the beginning of the end to racism. In fact, this "unity" has brought out the ugliest in so many people.
I've heard jokes like
"Hey, I hear we're getting free KFC coupons with our tax returns."
"The new presidential car is a PONTIAC. (Poor Old Nigger Thinks Its A Cadillac)"
Ok, I'll be the first one to tell you that I am not innocent from making racial jokes, using racial terms...privately. Growing up in a fairly rural part of Virginia, there's still a heavy cloud of racism here. I've heard from people who've moved here from up north that say "you are still fighting the civil war down here." Another comment I felt was unneccesary...
Speaking of unneccessary...another friend of mine says "I'm mad he didn't mention his mother in his inauguration speech...after all, she's the white one."
I'd be stupid to say that race has nothing to do with this turn in our nation's history. Of course, it is significant that our new President is an ACTUAL African-American (dad from Kenya, mom from the US), and yes, the color of his skin is dark...but I voted the way I did, because I felt that we did not need 4 more years of the same old shit. Another old white guy....who agreed with everything that GWB did....and GWB is someone who has NEVER gotten my vote. Gore got me in 2000, and Kerry in 2004. I've just never agreed with what he stood for. McCain, to me, was another dusty old Republican with the same values and beliefs.
My whole point is...whether you voted one way or the other...the next phase of our nation is here. We, as Americans, need to look past how our President looks, what his name "sounds like," whether or not he's a Muslim, and come together as a nation. Bush sounds like "tush" - the Kennedy's are the only Catholics who were in the White House...change happens. President Obama vowed to protect our Constitution and our values, and I trust that he will do that to the best of his abilities...just like Mr. Bush did to the best of his.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Opposite
A new day, yes -- a good day, I dunno! Historic, of course.
I am physically ill at VA being a blue state. I have spent all night and part of the morning getting all of the mindless, idiotic rants out of my system. Trying to be the bigger person is hard when you truly believe in what you voted for and it appears that the majority doesn't.
That quote of the day over there. How ironic, didn't we just elect a "sheep" to lead our military "lions"? I digress.
I had a similar talk with Madison this morning. My went a little different, stemming from the fact that I refused to tell her who I voted for. She assumed that I voted Obama since I wouldn't tell her. I did that to make a point to her.
She woke up and asked, "McCain won, right?"
Me: Um... No. Obama won.
Madison: NO! He did not!
Me: Yes, he did.
Madison: You voted for him didn't you!
Me: If I did, what is the problem with that?
Madison: He's ick.
Me: Ick? Madison, you don't vote for president because you think he's "ick". How you choose who to vote for is by listening to what they believe in and choosing the one you agree with. I would never tell you who to vote for, its up to you! And you will not tell me who to vote for. Thats the system.
Madison: Whatever, he's still ick. *stomps off*
Me: By the way, I voted for McCain!
That is a 7 year old for you!
I really don't know what else to say. If I keep writing I will surely write something stupid, mindless, and possibly offensive - and I rather not make myself look like the ass I really am!
I am physically ill at VA being a blue state. I have spent all night and part of the morning getting all of the mindless, idiotic rants out of my system. Trying to be the bigger person is hard when you truly believe in what you voted for and it appears that the majority doesn't.
That quote of the day over there. How ironic, didn't we just elect a "sheep" to lead our military "lions"? I digress.
I had a similar talk with Madison this morning. My went a little different, stemming from the fact that I refused to tell her who I voted for. She assumed that I voted Obama since I wouldn't tell her. I did that to make a point to her.
She woke up and asked, "McCain won, right?"
Me: Um... No. Obama won.
Madison: NO! He did not!
Me: Yes, he did.
Madison: You voted for him didn't you!
Me: If I did, what is the problem with that?
Madison: He's ick.
Me: Ick? Madison, you don't vote for president because you think he's "ick". How you choose who to vote for is by listening to what they believe in and choosing the one you agree with. I would never tell you who to vote for, its up to you! And you will not tell me who to vote for. Thats the system.
Madison: Whatever, he's still ick. *stomps off*
Me: By the way, I voted for McCain!
That is a 7 year old for you!
I really don't know what else to say. If I keep writing I will surely write something stupid, mindless, and possibly offensive - and I rather not make myself look like the ass I really am!
Democracy....
is the voice of the people. And the people have spoken. We, the people, of the United States of America, have elected the first African-American president. Not only did he win the electoral vote, but also the popular vote. I will say, in 2000, when Al Gore won the popular vote and all that bullshit with Florida, really hurt my faith in the idea of democracy. Even if I HAD voted for Dubya in 2000, I would have questioned the whole election process.
What's the point, if MY vote wasn't going to count.
I almost felt that way last night. I did vote for Obama. I live in rural Louisa County, where from all sides, the gun-toting rednecks (who I love lol and are BFFs with) were saying, "Remember your southern heritage." My 7 year old came home saying "We aren't ready for a brown president."
Well, I did NOT grow up in 1865. I did NOT come from a family that owned slaves. I was born in and spent many years of my life in Petersburg, where the black population surpasses the white. I won't lie, I have some prejudices. I will admit, when I voted for Hillary in the primaries, I said, I will NOT have a black president, I will vote McCain.
When it came down to it, after all the article reading and debating with Kumiko, I ultimately couldn't cross party lines. I believe that everyone was created equal. Blacks, white, koreans, japs....everyone. And now I feel like if Obama is president, MY kids, who are the GREATEST minority (as 1/4 iranian, 1/8 japanese and the rest a cluster fuck of european) can too become President.
I fear that if they do, the public will hear "His grandmother is Iranian...he's going to let the USA get bombed by terrorists.
Well, to me, that has nothing to do with the person running for President. My grandmother was Japanese. She was a Shinto Buddhist. If *I* were in Obama's place, would the public be saying "She's not a Christian, she's a Buddhist?" I think that's fucked up.
Long story short, I had the talk with my kids this morning, and I'll tell you, too.
"Boys, today is the beginning of a new America. We have a new president, and he is a brown person. Just because he is brown, does not make him a bad person, or a bad president. Some of your classmates are brown, like Kamaya, "Peanut," and Divine. They are good people, and you call them your friends. All in all, we are AMERICANS. We live in AMERICA, we exist through democracy, where the people have a right to voice their opinions and place their votes. We are LUCKY to live in a country that allows us to do that. You might not agree with what was decided, but because we are true Americans, we can't turn our backs on our government because of who our president is."
Zach, who was adamant about John McCain, looked at me with his big brown eyes and said, "We are Americans, and I don't want to be anything else. Even if we do have a brown president."
From the mouths of babes.
"
What's the point, if MY vote wasn't going to count.
I almost felt that way last night. I did vote for Obama. I live in rural Louisa County, where from all sides, the gun-toting rednecks (who I love lol and are BFFs with) were saying, "Remember your southern heritage." My 7 year old came home saying "We aren't ready for a brown president."
Well, I did NOT grow up in 1865. I did NOT come from a family that owned slaves. I was born in and spent many years of my life in Petersburg, where the black population surpasses the white. I won't lie, I have some prejudices. I will admit, when I voted for Hillary in the primaries, I said, I will NOT have a black president, I will vote McCain.
When it came down to it, after all the article reading and debating with Kumiko, I ultimately couldn't cross party lines. I believe that everyone was created equal. Blacks, white, koreans, japs....everyone. And now I feel like if Obama is president, MY kids, who are the GREATEST minority (as 1/4 iranian, 1/8 japanese and the rest a cluster fuck of european) can too become President.
I fear that if they do, the public will hear "His grandmother is Iranian...he's going to let the USA get bombed by terrorists.
Well, to me, that has nothing to do with the person running for President. My grandmother was Japanese. She was a Shinto Buddhist. If *I* were in Obama's place, would the public be saying "She's not a Christian, she's a Buddhist?" I think that's fucked up.
Long story short, I had the talk with my kids this morning, and I'll tell you, too.
"Boys, today is the beginning of a new America. We have a new president, and he is a brown person. Just because he is brown, does not make him a bad person, or a bad president. Some of your classmates are brown, like Kamaya, "Peanut," and Divine. They are good people, and you call them your friends. All in all, we are AMERICANS. We live in AMERICA, we exist through democracy, where the people have a right to voice their opinions and place their votes. We are LUCKY to live in a country that allows us to do that. You might not agree with what was decided, but because we are true Americans, we can't turn our backs on our government because of who our president is."
Zach, who was adamant about John McCain, looked at me with his big brown eyes and said, "We are Americans, and I don't want to be anything else. Even if we do have a brown president."
From the mouths of babes.
"
Monday, November 3, 2008
Its almost time...
By this time tomorrow, I will have cast my vote (hopefully, I won't still be standing in line). I can only hope that more people will vote for McCain/Palin than for Obama/Biden.
I am really glad this is almost over. I am tired of listening to the constant barrage of lame attacks against both candidates. I am tired of hearing about the weird extremists (on both sides) doing completely cracked out things, thinking they are supporting a candidate, when really all they are doing is making themselves assholes.
I hope that America as a whole will make a decision that it will be proud of and will not regret. I can only hope that other Americans will take this last day to really think about what it means to be an American and everything that this country has fought for throughout our history. I keep hearing "fair", "is it fair that...", "we need to be fair to...". Whatever happened to "life is not fair"? I heard that alot growing up, and I say it alot to my kids.
Are we a country of pussies, who think everything should be handed to us on a silver platter, not because we earned it, but because so and so has it? I, for one, am not a pussy! I don't expect anything to be handed to me. Its funny to me that I struggle from week to week to put food in my house and gas in my car, when there are people buying $400 worth of bed linens and in the same trip using food stamps to buy their groceries. I just cannot fathom this. I guess they are using the system to get ahead. Is it fair to me? NO. But, life is not fair - and karma will get you in the end.
Wednesday, I guess, is the day we will see which direction we, as a nation, have chosen for ourselves.
I am really glad this is almost over. I am tired of listening to the constant barrage of lame attacks against both candidates. I am tired of hearing about the weird extremists (on both sides) doing completely cracked out things, thinking they are supporting a candidate, when really all they are doing is making themselves assholes.
I hope that America as a whole will make a decision that it will be proud of and will not regret. I can only hope that other Americans will take this last day to really think about what it means to be an American and everything that this country has fought for throughout our history. I keep hearing "fair", "is it fair that...", "we need to be fair to...". Whatever happened to "life is not fair"? I heard that alot growing up, and I say it alot to my kids.
Are we a country of pussies, who think everything should be handed to us on a silver platter, not because we earned it, but because so and so has it? I, for one, am not a pussy! I don't expect anything to be handed to me. Its funny to me that I struggle from week to week to put food in my house and gas in my car, when there are people buying $400 worth of bed linens and in the same trip using food stamps to buy their groceries. I just cannot fathom this. I guess they are using the system to get ahead. Is it fair to me? NO. But, life is not fair - and karma will get you in the end.
Wednesday, I guess, is the day we will see which direction we, as a nation, have chosen for ourselves.
Friday, October 31, 2008
There is this thing called...
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!
I don't have a problem with Gun Locks. I think thats a great idea, but not if it is going to be mandated. Everyone doesn't need those. I guess, if you are going to leave your pistol laying on the kitchen table for hours on end, you might need one.
I think we are basically on the same page when it comes to gun control. If I want to own a gun, I should be able to. I don't mind background checks and waiting periods.
At the same time, I don't think limiting the number of guns someone can own is going to help anything.
Gun Control will NOT solve violence and crime in this country. Criminals... are just that criminals, so what if its illegal -- they're gonna do it anyway.
As far as children picking up guns and accidentally shooting themselves or other people. That is a very scary, sad, and unfortunate thing. But you have to think about it logically. If you are a gun owner, you should be a responsible gun owner. Lock your guns up when they are not in use. Make sure they are not loaded when you lock them up. Make sure your children know not to touch them. As a child, I knew to never touch my dad's gun, unless he was with me. My kids know not to touch Allen's guns.
Yes... I am the mom who lets her kids play with toy guns, swords, knives. *gasp*
Bite me!
Angela, as far as your children and the lighters. You are taking personal responsibility. You are trying to teach your kids -- they just aren't listening. But you keep on trying... thats the point! Some people will just quit trying and expect some law to magically make it better.
BTW - as far as Sex Ed/Family Life... I never got much out of that, and while its good to have it in the schools... its still a parent's responsibility to try to ensure that their children don't get knocked up like we did! ;) It really wouldn't have mattered if we had chastity belts on with no key to unlock it. We were so "sheltered"... once we got that first taste of freedom, that was all she wrote!
I don't have a problem with Gun Locks. I think thats a great idea, but not if it is going to be mandated. Everyone doesn't need those. I guess, if you are going to leave your pistol laying on the kitchen table for hours on end, you might need one.
I think we are basically on the same page when it comes to gun control. If I want to own a gun, I should be able to. I don't mind background checks and waiting periods.
At the same time, I don't think limiting the number of guns someone can own is going to help anything.
Gun Control will NOT solve violence and crime in this country. Criminals... are just that criminals, so what if its illegal -- they're gonna do it anyway.
As far as children picking up guns and accidentally shooting themselves or other people. That is a very scary, sad, and unfortunate thing. But you have to think about it logically. If you are a gun owner, you should be a responsible gun owner. Lock your guns up when they are not in use. Make sure they are not loaded when you lock them up. Make sure your children know not to touch them. As a child, I knew to never touch my dad's gun, unless he was with me. My kids know not to touch Allen's guns.
Yes... I am the mom who lets her kids play with toy guns, swords, knives. *gasp*
Bite me!
Angela, as far as your children and the lighters. You are taking personal responsibility. You are trying to teach your kids -- they just aren't listening. But you keep on trying... thats the point! Some people will just quit trying and expect some law to magically make it better.
BTW - as far as Sex Ed/Family Life... I never got much out of that, and while its good to have it in the schools... its still a parent's responsibility to try to ensure that their children don't get knocked up like we did! ;) It really wouldn't have mattered if we had chastity belts on with no key to unlock it. We were so "sheltered"... once we got that first taste of freedom, that was all she wrote!
Gun Control?
We had a part of this conversation the other day...and that's when we decided to do this bloggy thing.
Kumiko: So, where do you stand on gun control?
Me: I think we should all own guns.
Kumiko: Whoot!
Me: But I think gun locks should be used.
Oh boy, that started it there. lol. Kumiko's stand ~ education is the key. Here's my tyrade. :)
1. the 2nd amendment is there for a reason. if we, as Americans can't protect ourselves then what's the point.
2. education is always a good idea....for everything. guns, sex, whatever. But from my own experience...I went through Family Life/Sex Ed. and all that crap. I knew that unprotected sex would get me pregnant, but I did it anyway. Three kids later, it took me a while to figure it out. I did not grow up around hunters, so I was not around guns my whole life. But, I knew they could kill me. So, I just didn't even think about them. Now, when I think about MY kids...that's a different story.
Lemme give ya an example. Cigarette lighters. My kids know (or have been taught) "don't play with fire" - let's explain the burned hunk of carpet in the playroom. The first time I caught them with the lighter, I hid them on top of the fridge.
No dice, the 4 year old is a climber.
The second time, my 7 year old had a burn on his FOREHEAD and holes in his shorts from trying to see what Pop Tart wrappers did when they were lit on fire. So, I yeall at them, tell them how scary it is that they could have been hurt...hide them in my underwear drawer.
Psh. Ok. Third time's a charm, right? Not so much. I find out about this one because the fire alarm goes off...and there's a puff of smoke in the playroom (hence the burn mark) This time, Josh was lighting up ropes, etc....and some of it melted and stuck to the carpet. His reply "I wanted a campfire."
This time I realized I needed to go to extremes. i take each boy outside one at a time and I have a very in depth conversation about the house burning down, etc...and I tell them to stick their fingers out. And i lit the lighter.
"OW! WHY DID YOU BURN ME MOM?!?!?!" Because, if you catch the house on fire...that's what it can feel like all over your body...and you can die.
We were good for about 2 months. THEN....they found one in my purse. Now none of the stuffed animals in the house have whiskers.
My point is, some kids just can't learn a lesson. "It won't happen to me" is a big response....and education just isn't going to be enough. Important, but not enough.
I can't wait to see what she says :)
Kumiko: So, where do you stand on gun control?
Me: I think we should all own guns.
Kumiko: Whoot!
Me: But I think gun locks should be used.
Oh boy, that started it there. lol. Kumiko's stand ~ education is the key. Here's my tyrade. :)
1. the 2nd amendment is there for a reason. if we, as Americans can't protect ourselves then what's the point.
2. education is always a good idea....for everything. guns, sex, whatever. But from my own experience...I went through Family Life/Sex Ed. and all that crap. I knew that unprotected sex would get me pregnant, but I did it anyway. Three kids later, it took me a while to figure it out. I did not grow up around hunters, so I was not around guns my whole life. But, I knew they could kill me. So, I just didn't even think about them. Now, when I think about MY kids...that's a different story.
Lemme give ya an example. Cigarette lighters. My kids know (or have been taught) "don't play with fire" - let's explain the burned hunk of carpet in the playroom. The first time I caught them with the lighter, I hid them on top of the fridge.
No dice, the 4 year old is a climber.
The second time, my 7 year old had a burn on his FOREHEAD and holes in his shorts from trying to see what Pop Tart wrappers did when they were lit on fire. So, I yeall at them, tell them how scary it is that they could have been hurt...hide them in my underwear drawer.
Psh. Ok. Third time's a charm, right? Not so much. I find out about this one because the fire alarm goes off...and there's a puff of smoke in the playroom (hence the burn mark) This time, Josh was lighting up ropes, etc....and some of it melted and stuck to the carpet. His reply "I wanted a campfire."
This time I realized I needed to go to extremes. i take each boy outside one at a time and I have a very in depth conversation about the house burning down, etc...and I tell them to stick their fingers out. And i lit the lighter.
"OW! WHY DID YOU BURN ME MOM?!?!?!" Because, if you catch the house on fire...that's what it can feel like all over your body...and you can die.
We were good for about 2 months. THEN....they found one in my purse. Now none of the stuffed animals in the house have whiskers.
My point is, some kids just can't learn a lesson. "It won't happen to me" is a big response....and education just isn't going to be enough. Important, but not enough.
I can't wait to see what she says :)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Where's a Ouija Board when you need one...
What the hell does that have to do with politics? Simple, I want to summon the spirit of Ronald Reagan and ask him to take over the body of whoever gets elected. That would make me very, very happy!
I don't particularly think I'm as far to the right as Angela does, but I guess its possible.
I don't think that I was really old enough to grasp much of what was going on during Bush #1's presidency... and the only thing I really remember about Clinton was his sexual festivities in the Oval Orafice. Really, of no consequence now!
I don't agree with Obama on the issues, I don't agree with McCain on some of them either. I think they're both full of crap on some things.
Where do I stand?
Gay rights: I don't really see a need to get worked up about this issue. I'm not gay, and what gay people do has nothing to do with me. Let them have their civil unions. (See, I'm not so far to the right)
Abortion: This is a hard one. I do believe that its no one's business but mine what I do to my body, but I also believe that abortion is an absolutely horrible practice. I think abortion should only be used in extreme cases - rape, incest, and severe physical harm to the mother. I could go on and on and on, but I won't.
The Iraqi War: Ok... We are not still looking form WMDs in Iraq. There was bad intel. Any president who had the intel Dubya had would've gone looking. Honestly, if someone you trusted greatly said, "your son is smoking crack". Wouldn't you go looking for it? What if you don't find any crack? That doesn't mean your son isn't smoking it.
At any rate, we started something there that we need to finish. I don't know the ins and outs of everything going on over there. I can only hope its possible to get our troops out quickly and safely without doing any more damage to the integrity of our country.
As far as spending $10 mil a month... if it wasn't going toward the war, the government would find another way to squander it! (Can you tell, I have a lot of faith in the government?)
The answer to Foreign Policy cannot be "leave them to figure it out". We are supposedly the strongest nation in the world. We, some would say, have an obligation to be involved.
Economy: The economy sucks and the politicians are to blame... all of them! There is no quick fix to the economy. Someone explain to me how cutting taxes and increasing spending is gonna help the economy!
My brain hurts now Angela... maybe we should tackle one topic at a time... ugh!
I don't particularly think I'm as far to the right as Angela does, but I guess its possible.
I don't think that I was really old enough to grasp much of what was going on during Bush #1's presidency... and the only thing I really remember about Clinton was his sexual festivities in the Oval Orafice. Really, of no consequence now!
"The 8 years Clinton was in office were good years. Great economy, no war, and we had some juicy stuff to watch on TV."We may not have been in a "war", but for some reason, Kosovo is going through my mind.
I don't agree with Obama on the issues, I don't agree with McCain on some of them either. I think they're both full of crap on some things.
Where do I stand?
Gay rights: I don't really see a need to get worked up about this issue. I'm not gay, and what gay people do has nothing to do with me. Let them have their civil unions. (See, I'm not so far to the right)
Abortion: This is a hard one. I do believe that its no one's business but mine what I do to my body, but I also believe that abortion is an absolutely horrible practice. I think abortion should only be used in extreme cases - rape, incest, and severe physical harm to the mother. I could go on and on and on, but I won't.
The Iraqi War: Ok... We are not still looking form WMDs in Iraq. There was bad intel. Any president who had the intel Dubya had would've gone looking. Honestly, if someone you trusted greatly said, "your son is smoking crack". Wouldn't you go looking for it? What if you don't find any crack? That doesn't mean your son isn't smoking it.
At any rate, we started something there that we need to finish. I don't know the ins and outs of everything going on over there. I can only hope its possible to get our troops out quickly and safely without doing any more damage to the integrity of our country.
As far as spending $10 mil a month... if it wasn't going toward the war, the government would find another way to squander it! (Can you tell, I have a lot of faith in the government?)
The answer to Foreign Policy cannot be "leave them to figure it out". We are supposedly the strongest nation in the world. We, some would say, have an obligation to be involved.
Economy: The economy sucks and the politicians are to blame... all of them! There is no quick fix to the economy. Someone explain to me how cutting taxes and increasing spending is gonna help the economy!
My brain hurts now Angela... maybe we should tackle one topic at a time... ugh!
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