DNC October Surprise...The Draft

Well, if the Democrats are one thing –it’s persistent and if they are two it’s persistent & predictable… Yes, they are at it again –using false information to try to win elections. No boys and girls, I am not talking about memo-gate…I am referring to the email circulation about the ‘secret plan’ of the President to re-instate the draft….
The email reads as follows:

“Mandatory draft for boys and girls (ages18-26) starting June 15, 2005
There is pending legislation in the House and Senate, S89 and HR 163, to reinstate mandatory draft for boys and girls (ages18-26) starting June 15, 2005. This plan includes women in the draft, eliminates higher education as a shelter, and makes it difficult to cross into Canada.
The Bush administration is quietly trying to get these bills passed now, while the public's attention is on the elections. The Bush administration plans to begin mandatory draft in the spring of 2005, just after the 2004 presidential election.
• The Congress has added $28 million to the 2004 selective service system budget to prepare for this military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005.
• Bush has ordered the Selective Service to report to him by March 31, 2005 on their readiness to implement the draft by June 2005
• The pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide.
Please act on this:
• Tell everyone you know - parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents,
godparents, friends, teachers
• Call and write to your U.S. Senator and your U.S. Representatives and ask them why they aren't telling their constituents about these bills.” End email.

Funny thing is that even news outlets that are covering this story and reporting that the Administration is (and has always) denying this –are stating that there are indeed two bills right now calling for this –in the House and the Senate. This article goes as far as to say with ‘these bills’ out there it will be hard to kill the rumor…leaving the implication that the administration is involved. What the media has failed to tell the American people is that the two bills (actually three if you count one from 2003) that are ‘out there’ are all sponsored by DEMOCRATS…an integral part of the story wouldn’t you say?!

The House bill was introduced by (D) Charlie Rangel. “Under his bill, the draft would apply to men and women ages 18 to 26; exemptions would be granted to allow people to graduate from high school, but college students would have to serve. Anyone who didn't qualify for military service because of impairments would be asked to perform community service.”
In response to Rangel’s bill Donald Rumsfeld said, “"We're not going to re-implement a draft. There is no need for it at all. The disadvantages of using compulsion to bring into the armed forces the men and women needed are notable."
This House bill presented in 2003 is sponsored by 13 Democrats (8 are members of the Black Caucus –as is Charlie Rangel)

The Senate Bill is Sponsored by Fritz Hollings (with no co-sponsors) also a Democrat. Not one Republican looking to re-start the draft.

I looked at the Selective Service website, and they have a statement regarding this matter on their main page:
“Notwithstanding recent stories in the news media and on the Internet, Selective Service is not getting ready to conduct a draft for the U.S. Armed Forces -- either with a special skills or regular draft. Rather, the Agency remains prepared to manage a draft if and when the President and the Congress so direct. This responsibility has been ongoing since 1980 and is nothing new. Further, both the President and the Secretary of Defense have stated on more than one occasion that there is no need for a draft for the War on Terrorism or any likely contingency, such as Iraq. Additionally, the Congress has not acted on any proposed legislation to reinstate a draft. Therefore, Selective Service continues to refine its plans to be prepared as is required by law, and to register young men who are ages 18 through 25.” www.sss.gov

Couple this new scare tactic with Kerry out there saying that ‘this administration’ is going to reinstate the draft, implying that there are already plans to disenfranchise black/poor voters (translation –the mean GOP won’t let the jails install voting booths…I’ll have to find that article again), and sending little old people letters saying that President Bush wants them to starve in their old age. In 2000 the NAACP and the DNC ran some of the most despicable ads…saying that black schools will burn and there will be burning crosses on lawns again if a Republican wins –claiming that GWB didn’t want to punish the killers of James Byrd (his young daughter in the commercial saying that GWB was killing her dad all over again) –yet Dubya strongly advocated the death penalty for Byrd’s killers.

Republicans are always being accused of employing the infamous ‘Republican Attack Machine’…a tactic perfected by the Clintonistas to deflect any and all criticism that came their way (never mind the small fact that 99% were true). I have never seen a GOP ad that shows a Democrat picking the pocket of a corpse or a soldier –but a Democrat is running one now. The DNC knows that their base is anything but thrilled over their candidate…no Democrat has ever lost the woman’s vote and Kerry is…they even had to bring in Jesse Jackson because they are losing the Black vote –so they resort to scare tactics and lies to reclaim power. Anyone that says that the GOP is using scare tactics by citing terrorism –better go watch this...

I’m waiting for the true commercials to start…”The Black Caucus thinks you white folks get off too easy…we want to reinstate the draft so you have to serve along with the 30% of the armed services that are minorities….” If they are introducing the bills –why not stand up and campaign on it?

GPS Implants for My Kids Please...

This morning I was listening to Michael Smerconish on the radio. I think I have talked about him before…he is a Philly talk show host (former lawyer), does occasional commentary on CNN and just wrote a book called ‘Flying Blind –How Political Correctness continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post 9/11’ (he testified in front of Congress about this also). Anyway, I never used to listen to him because he was on too early, but now that I have to drive Justice to school every morning I get to hear him. Both my dad and The Man have told me that I (or my blog) remind them of Smerconish…that we have similar trains of thought—I haven’t heard enough of him to say if I agree yet…but this morning he was discussing something I have been talking about for a long time…

During the brief part of the show that I caught today, Michael was talking about the possibility of implanting GPS chips into CIA officers, soldiers etc. Subsequently, if they were captured Special Forces could swoop right in –save them and kill the animals who took them. Those of you who know me in real life can attest to the fact that I have been saying this about children FOREVER. If we have LoJack for our Jeeps…why wouldn’t we have it for our MOST valuable possessions?

I guess one of the major drawbacks of being a news-junkie is the ‘missing children’ stories that always haunt me… Actually, they don’t even have to be children –I sent a card to Lacey Peterson’s mom soon after she ‘disappeared’. (She was 27, pregnant with her first child –who was a boy and already named Conner…I was 27 when I was pregnant with Justice –my first child who was a boy and already named Justice….I felt a connection with her). If there is ANY chance in the world that your child could be abducted, raped, dismembered or tortured --why wouldn’t we be doing more to prevent it from happening? The LoJack commercials promise your car will be located in 30 minutes (and they boast a 90% success rate) –and with ‘missing persons’ they say that the first 24 hours are crucial –so couldn’t this technology virtually eliminate the horror of child murders outside the home? Why don’t we have GPS for humans?

I know –the conspiracy people will say that the Government could then track your movement…but I say, so what? They wouldn’t be mandatory. You don’t have to get your kid one –but I want it and would implant it in them myself if need be. This is my biggest fear as a parent. I watch family after family cry on Larry King and wonder how they possibly go on after something like that…knowing your child died scared to death in some horrific fashion.

I had never expanded this train of thought to include soldiers…then again before the past year I was never cognizant of the sacred ancient Muslim practice of beheading either… With this technology Daniel Pearle, Matt Maupin, Nick Berg, Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong could all still be alive and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi could be very dead…

Why aren’t we doing this yet? Do Americans value their Audis more than their children and their soldiers –or could it be that we haven’t made this technological leap…or are people so paranoid that they would keep their privacy over their lives?

Back to Life...Back to Reality...

OK…So I’m back and I’m not happy about it….but I am tan.

Some random vacation thoughts and happenings...

So me, my younger sister (J), Justice and Mason headed out Saturday morning right into Ivan. Visibility on the highway…ZERO. Visibility with an evil 18 wheeler in front of you…ZERO minus 100. The men couldn’t go –so we headed out on our own. I called into a new talk radio show from the road –Pastor Joe? A very conservative black minister in Philly –he was good. I got through and was getting major feedback on my cell –which caused me to hmmm and uhmmm and sound like I had a 65 IQ. He asked me to hold on through the break and I was tempted to hang up, but my sister wouldn’t let me because ‘that would be mean’…
* * * * *

The boys were watching the Shrek DVD for the millionth time (luckily they have headphones for the DVD player so we didn’t have to hear it) and we were already bored, so J started an impromptu Presidential poll using bumper stickers. After the eight hour ride it was Bush: 12 Kerry: 7. (*I was happy to see that most of the Bush stickers were on cars with Ohio tags…Swing state!)
* * * * *

We arrive at the house (which rents in-season for 4 grand a week) to find they have ghetto-cable…NO FOX NEWS! Apparently the South has a lower-than-basic cable option. I was freaking out…complete withdrawal. No problem—they had CNN, C-Span and MSNBC (liberal conspiracy by Charter Cable?) For the first day I watched CNN –whining that if I had had to pay to stay there (my friends own the rental house) I would be pissed. The second day I called Charter Cable to re-affirm that Fox didn’t come with the existing package –“Isn’t this a Red State?” (She just laughed nervously). Third day I call my friend…

”R, imagine this…you are staying somewhere and know that the Eagles are playing every night and you can’t watch them…how would you feel?”

“I would freak out and be miserable”

“OK, that’s where I’m at...you have to upgrade the cable and I will pay the difference for the next two months until you go to settlement.”

Next day….ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…Fox and Friends, Bill O’Reilly, Sean and Greta are back in my life…$60 for 6 days of viewing pleasure.

Hello, my name is ALa and I am a Fox-a-holic.
* * * * *

We kept seeing a REALLY good looking life guard on the beach. He would ride by on his quad and wave everyday…he had dark good looks (Clooney) and a great body (hey…it wasn’t my idea to be there single! LOL) We would wave each day and wonder what color eyes he had under those Oakleys…Then on the second to last day –when J and I were both completely in love…he got off the quad to help an old man take a picture of some seagulls (?) and low and behold…he could barely see over the 4-wheeler… Collective groan from me, J and my friend N that lives down there –he was like 5 foot nothin’! Way to ruin 3 girls fantasies with one small hop onto the sand…
* * * * *

I loved seeing that Bruce Springstein decided to pass judgment on the President’s intellect because he mispronounces some words…in the next breath he went on to say that some people didn’t get the Symbology of his music…
* * * * *

One of my other friends that lives down there (M) is a lib. She moved down there about two years ago…

“M…I am SO happy that you have taken your vote from the swing state of PA to the RED state of NC –where your vote won’t count”…and I hugged her.

“F*** you A….” she says laughing (on the outside…)
* * * * *

The man and my sister’s fiancé (T) came down on Thursday. I was glad to find out that T’s family, life-long Democrats, are all voting for Bush (with one exception who is voting for Kerry because Howard Stern told her to). He has a HUGE family!
* * * * *

The man called me early in the week to read me some of your comments (I never made it to the library as there was not ONE DROP of rain and we stayed at the beach all morning and the pool the rest of the day). I have been bursting at the seams to tell TWD that he is wrong…George Bush is NOT the only one that would campaign on 9/11 and being a war President. Roosevelt (D) had campaign buttons with Pearl Harbor that said ‘I Remember’ and certainly campaigned on being a war President. So there.
* * * * *

I wanted to check in, but I must go unpack and resume the depression of retuning to my humble abode after living in a mansion with an elevator for the past 10 days…I know money isn’t everything –but it sure is something!
* * * * *

I also wanted to post an email that I received while I was away........from 'fred flinstone'...

Begin Email: "Holy shit, not only are you a close minded fool, but your photoshop skills are embarassing!" End Email...

Thank you chesterfieldmuffins@hotmail.com -I had a great laugh upon my return....

Return to the 'Dirty South'...

I am leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for the lovely RED state of North Carolina –and maybe the remnants of Ivan and to welcome in Jean… I will be gone from ya’ll (have to get into the mood) for a very lengthy TEN days (that's the house)! I have already mapped out the public libraries (since it will rain the entire week anyway) and will let my children run amuck as I check in periodically from public internet access (always up for a new experience!)

I leave you with a few thoughts to chew on…

Kerry has been bashing Cheney (isn’t that the Veep candidate’s job?) for the past year about the Darth Vader of companies…Halliburton. Low and behold…The Co-Chair of Kerry’s campaign gets paid over a half-million dollars a year…LOBBYING FOR HALIBURTON! ...Need I say more?

New information from the ‘Oil for Food’ scandal shows that monies allocated for the people of Iraq may have been funneled to Al Qaeda…more specifically to Bin Laden. But, no…there were no ties at all! (Special report Saturday night on Fox News Channel).

Retired Col. Walter Staudt, who was brigadier general of Bush's unit in Texas, (the man sited in the ‘forged CBS documents’ as pressuring Killian to ‘sugar-coat’ Bush’s guard record) has come forward to say this is not true, that Bush used no influence to get into the Guard (he says there was a long list to get into the Guard, but not pilot training because there was a chance pilots would be sent to Vietnam), and that Bush was in the top 5%-10% of his class –so there was no reason to ‘make things look better’. Now, I do believe that forging ‘government’ documents is a felony (not to mention within 60 days of a Presidential election -undue influence…) Where is the investigation?

Can I just say how totally disgusted I am with the new moveon.org ad?! We have soldiers actively fighting in two separate theaters and they depict a soldier holding up his weapon in defeat…they wish! I would hope that if the tables were turned right now and I wanted the incumbent out…that I would not be wishing for the worst (even if it was Hillary). I would hope that I would be a better American than to wish for failure in Iraq (and use deaths for political gain & talking points), hope unemployment stopped falling, pray the economic recovery tanked and prayed to (Buda?) each night that Bin Laden stayed well hidden… Please let my hate never be so great that it overtakes my humanity!

Have a wonderful week…I shall miss you all!

Regretfully they tell us,
But firmly they compel us
To say goodbye to you.

So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehn, good night,
I hate to go and leave this pretty [site].
So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehn, adieu,
Adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu.

So long, farewell, Au'voir, auf wiedersehn,
I'd like to stay and taste my first [campaign]
So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehn, goodbye,
I leave and heave a sigh and say goodbye,
Good bye…

What's in a Name and Do You Need One to Win?

Can we judge a potential President by the loyalty of his followers?

Lincoln had his staunch followers, tons of Americans loved FDR and of course there was the “I like Ike’ crowd…
But the named –fiercely loyal followers -were born in 1981 with the “Reaganites” (and Reagan Democrats/Reagancrats). Eight [glorious] years later came the Bushies –they were for Bush Sr. originally, but their ranks have grown and intensified for Dubya…The New Bushies if you will. Then (in the stained dress portion of US history) there were/and are the Clintonistas (referred to by the right as “Clinton Kool Aid Drinkers")…the inventors of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. The 2003 Primaries brought on the Deaniacs. They loved Dean (enthusiasm that came close to the Clintonian worship of the 90's) –Tons of kids were donating money from their student loan refunds and getting involved in a system they had never cared about…they truly were Deaniacs. I will never understand why they all caved at the last minute and went with the Melting Candle…

With 47 days until the General election –there is still no name for the Bush haters that are voting for John Kerry. Us Bushies will sometimes refer to them as the “Kerryites” or “Kerry Kool Aid drinkers”, but that’s just because they have no official name –so we are forced to borrow other people’s… I don’t really believe there are Kerry Kool Aid Drinkers, and (besides TWD) have never met anyone that will argue passionately FOR Kerry –they will argue to the death AGAINST Bush, but not for Kerry (and remember, I live in Philly so I am the lone Republican). But then it hit me…they do have a name, they are the “Anybody-but-Bushies”… Just like Dole was the “Please-defeat-the-Clintonistas”…and we see how far that got him!

So is it the cool name or the loyal followers behind that name that wins elections? This election could be a good sociology experiment for our nation. Can you win an election with hate (we couldn’t in ’96)? Can you have no message, no plan (besides ‘anything you can do, I can do better’), no solid position and no charisma and still win –just because your voters loathe your opponent? Can you win without a ‘name’ and the followers that adopt that name? Will the ‘Anybody-but-Bushies’ pull it off? Only 36% of Kerry voters are voting FOR Kerry –whereas 83% of Bushies are voting FOR Bush…will loyalty and belief lose to hatred and revenge? Will Kerry suffer the same fate as Dole –solidly proving once and for all that hate can’t win an election? I think this is a fascinating social trial.

Republicans learned two important lessons (the hard way) in 1996… That voter’s don’t care about what happened in any war that ended more than two decades ago and that hate for one candidate with no enthusiasm for the other won’t defeat an incumbent…this was the case when Dole (decorated WWII vet who was truly injured for his Purple Hearts) lost to the much-hated-by-the-Right Clinton (Vietnam draft dodger). Watching the handling of Kerry’s current campaign, it would seem that his team didn’t learn either lesson from Dole’s defeat.

I would hope that hate can’t win an election and that a candidate that can’t inspire the constituents –wouldn’t end up in the White House. I guess we will find out in November…

Sabotage: The Hillary Factor –A Second Look

So, at this juncture of the election, we must take a second look at the ‘Hillary Factor’…the ‘American Evita’ if you will. All of you Clintonistas (who have now drank the Kerry Kool Aid) that believe that Kerry’s current campaign debacle doesn’t have a Clinton hand in it…are in serious denial.

Let’s review, shall we…

Hillary wants to be President -- I think anyone being honest will admit that. The Clintons are a very powerful couple still controlling the DNC despite Gore and Kerry’s supposed leadership after being nominated by their party. People that have no Presidential aspirations don’t (usually) run for Senate. Bill is the youngest ex-President in US History and Hillary has already said that, if she was President, Bill’s role would be ‘Co-President’ not ‘First Husband’. A Kerry win (possible 8 years) could take us to 2012. At that point Edwards would run which could possibly take us to 2020. The Clintons do not want to take this chance… (Trust me; Hillary’s pulling the Bush lever in the privacy of that booth).

So, despite Kerry and Theresa’s misgivings, Terry McAuliffe remains in charge at the DNC –a Clinton Appointee and loyalist. Recent events have all but proven where his true loyalty lies. In spite of the onslaught of evidence that says the CBS documents questioning Bush’s Guard service are forgeries…McAuliffe still choose to run a new DNC ad that referenced Ben Barnes and the very papers at the heart of the CBS scandal.
NBC and CBS have now told the DNC to remove the ads, as clips used of Tim Russert and Dan Rather were never given copyright permission for use. McAuliffe just wasted how much money on ads he knew would be questioned and have to be pulled?
He is giving speeches saying Bush is a liar for stating in 1978 that he was a member of the air force –but there is documentation that clearly shows that for 120 days George W. Bush was an active duty Air Force member...McAuliffe knows that keeping this story alive will only fuel the Swift Vets to soldier on.
He is touting the Ben Barnes interview where Barnes stated that ‘he gave Bush special treatment to get into the Guard’…yet –his daughter has come forward (in several interviews) to say that he is lying. She claims she asked him directly each time this has come up (in EVERY other election that Bush has run in) and her father has always said unequivocally “no”. She related that his story did not change until Barnes became and active Kerry fundraiser and Vice Chair in the campaign –and low and behold…he is Kerry’s biggest money man in Texas. (FYI: In 1999 Barnes testified Under Oath that he had not aided Bush into the National Guard).

Clinton is now (maybe conveniently?) unable to campaign for Kerry at crunch time –and as Kerry brings all the old Clintonistas into the flock -- who are urging him to push the Vietnam/national Guard debate…Clinton is calling Kerry from his sick bed to tell him to lay off Vietnam. This is so brilliant that even I must be impressed with Magical Me! He KNOWS how haughty Kerry is (especially when his service is questioned) and trust me…Kerry wants no advice from what he deems a back-water poor-southern pot-smoking draft dodger. The beauty of this is that Clinton knows this –and knows that he will do the opposite and keep talking Vietnam and National security (where Bush is beating him in double digits). It’s beautiful…Dick Morris learned him well!

Notice, if you will, that the Clintonistas who are coming into the campaign are the 1992 crew…all the same people that Clinton fired in 1996 for his own re-election bid (he then hired Dick Morris). So, in ‘party solidarity’ Bill sends Kerry the people that he hadn’t trusted with his own incumbency…I am beginning to love this man. The power and scheming is intoxicating…At this point I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to find that the Clintons were funding the Swift Vets –or gave Dan Rather the phony documents. When Kerry first became the nominee apparent, Dick Morris warned him that if Hillary wasn’t the Veep he would be “removing daggers from his back the entire campaign”… and you may think that Dick is evil –but the man in rarely wrong.

This must present a real dilemma to the ‘Anybody but Bush’ crowd (Kerry is now polling with only 38% likeability among his own voters!). I know they can almost taste another Clinton White House, but they don’t want to wait through four more years of Bush. The thought of their idol being the Saboteur of Kerry’s chance --after all the energy they have expelled on his behalf –must be impossible to bear.

Here’s the thing, let me inject a bright side for all –Elephants and Asses alike…We all have something to gain this time. If Kerry wins, he will be replaced in four years with a Republican (I’d bet anything on that) –so Hillary’s out. Hooray for us! If Bush wins –and the hate on the left continues to build –Hillary may just have a chance at being the first woman President. Hooray for you. So we can all relax a bit as we approach the last leg of this race…because of the ‘Hillary Factor’ we all have a chance at happiness whichever way the race goes...

Are You Going To Hell?

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Very Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	Moderate
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Moderate
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Moderate
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Low
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test


Thanks to Kat @ The Middle Ground for posting this quiz!

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone (truly) for all the wonderful comments/advise about my ‘pre-school dilemma’ with little Mason. Since you were all so thoughtful and sincere in your posts, I thought I should give you an update and fill you in on my decision. (Also, I was going to write about the forged documents, but I'm SO sick of hearing about it that I couldn't bear to expel the energy).

Mason's speech teacher (Diane) decided to start him on some new SLP cutting-edge program (who knew there were such things). It will teach him the articulation of sounds/words, while teaching him cursive letters (?), and to read (?) all at the same time. She had to do an evaluation before it was OK to begin this -he had to test at a 3.7 comprehension level (3 yrs. 7 mths) -he is 3 yrs. 10 mths. She began the test and he went all the way to 4.10 before she stopped...he hadn't missed one question! I know this may sound horrible for a Mom to say, but this actually made me a sad. If he was at a lower intelligence/understanding level for his age, he may not even notice that he sounds different --but testing so much higher than his age means he has all this inside with no way to communicate it... Anyway, he is saying three-word sentences almost completely legible and it is only when he goes off into long stories/explanations that we are at a total loss. He begins this new program tomorrow.

As for pre-school....after many discussions with Diane and the prospective pre-school teacher (who was Justice's teacher for 2 years)...we have decided to hold him back. My Mom has always said..."There are many people that regret pushing them too soon, but none that regret holding them back."

In lieu of pre-school, I have decided to enroll him in Karate. It is the same amount of time a week, has the social aspect and the discipline aspect (probably more so) ---without the verbal expectations. He is really excited about going to his 'dojo' wearing his 'ghee' to see his 'sensei'... I feel really good about the decision --and I thank you all for your input!

As it is back to school time...I also thought I’d share one small thing that has made my life easier since Justice started pre-school: (BTW… he LOVES his kindergarten teacher -a tall blonde! They had gym for the first time today and learned 'Pac man tag' (?) lol):

***Remove all clothing immediately after school and put it all right into the washing machine. Wash face and arms up to elbow with anti-bacterial soap.
(This may sound OCD-ish but we were all sick constantly when he started school -and those damn 'kid germs' seem to be worse and last longer in adults - but ever since we started this regimen, we have hardly been sick!)***

My Grad School completely screwed me and didn't process my paperwork this semester (they are changing computer systems and didn't have me as a matriculated student -which I have been since July 2002). I had to cancel all my classes as I had already missed four by the time they figured out what had gone wrong...But since I will now be a full time chauffeur (Kindergarten, speech, karate), maybe it was a blessing in disguise (as an inept higher-education administrator)...

Have a Great Non-Political Day!

Is Your Site Good or Evil...MINE 67% GOOD!

Thanks to Frater Bovious for putting this on his site. I found out that my site is 67% good and only 33% evil -proving that the conservative perspective is way more good than evil! (But of course we already knew that!)

MY UTOPIA

In my world… (Domestic Policies)

*Abortion would be illegal –except for those rare instances when the woman’s life is in grave danger (though I’m not sure what woman would pick themselves over their baby-I told the man that if it came down to me or Justice –he sure as hell better pick him!)/rape/incest (sex education would teach women to go right to the hospital to have a D & C/Rape Kit if either of these things occurred).

Life MUST have a beginning –and that which is not alive, does not grow…

Condoms, the morning after pill, birth control, birth control implants and all surgical procedures that stop reproduction will be allowed –encouraged and widely available.

*Civil Unions would be available to all that wanted them (hetero or homosexual couples). They would provide ALL of the same legal benefits that marriage does. (Except for adoption where equally qualified hetero couples would still have first priority –as the child will have one less thing to get beaten up over).

*Marriage would be a ‘word’ reserved for a man and a woman. This is a word that began with a religious connotation (not a Constitutional right) and a promise made before God. Civil Unions will afford the same tax breaks (under Bush) or Tax increases (under Kerry) –so it will all be equal as far as civil rights are concerned.

*Gun Control would actually take guns from the criminals while allowing responsible citizens to retain their 2^nd Amendment rights. We would have no ‘fluff’ legislation just to please the left, but there would be no guns for sale that could kill an elephant just to please the NRA.

*There would be separation of Church and State, but not separation of God and State. The government would not be able to force a religion on the people, but God would be present now as he was at the inception of our Country.

*Every pedophile (true pedophile- not 18 yr. old boyfriend having consensual sex with his 16 yr. old girlfriend) would be put in jail for life at the first offence. The only way to forgo this punishment would be mandatory castration….end of story. This is not a crime that can be rehabilitated and children should not be terrorized to protect a pervert’s civil rights.

*ALL government programs would be overhauled and all waste cut out. Welfare/Unemployment would exist on a limited basis and would be evaluated on a case by case basis. **There would be tax incentives for each year a person retained their employment and for each year couples stayed married (this would also apply to civil unions).

*Marijuana would be legalized, regulated and taxed. Our jail space should not be taken up with dime-bag pot smokers when we need the room for pedophiles and murderers.

*The Patriot Act would remain and may even be expanded. In my world people would give up the right to have library books private to save just one life (does anyone go to the library anymore anyway?!)

*A new Government department would be established specifically for union oversight. Union licenses would be granted through this department and any infringement on the rights of non-union members/ political extortion/member’s money unwittingly going to candidates…would result in the revoking of that license. The NEA would be the first to go. Teamsters next…

*School vouchers would be available for all children. A child should not be stuck at a ‘bad’ school because of their parent’s financial situation and the neighborhood that they live in. Teachers in public schools would not be restrained by their Administrations on discipline issues. They will be free to give detentions; demerits and any other course of action that will help restore order in the classrooms. Inner city public schools that fail to meet certain standards will be staffed by military personnel –and no child will be allowed to stay behind or they will receive corporal punishment.

*REAL non-partisan studies would be conducted by the best scientists/environmentalists in the world to learn the truth about the environment –how much is naturally occurring cycles, how much is due to natural occurrences (volcanoes causing most of mercury, etc.), and how much is directly from the United States pollution. EPA standards would be set accordingly.

*The legal system would be completely overhauled and would finally do more to protect the victims than the perpetrators. Evidence will never be thrown out if it proves guilt ‘on a technicality’. Victims/victim’s families will have veto power on any deal offered to a defendant by the Prosecution.

*We would immediately begin drilling in ANWAR –this would create thousands of jobs (that will not automatically be union), and provide an alternative source of oil if there is ever a national crisis. The caribou will be just fine.

*Affirmative action would remain in the sense that one could not be discriminated against for their race (or sexual orientation)…but all ‘point systems’ and ‘quota systems’ would be immediately abolished.

*Tax payer money would no longer pay for ‘voluntary detrimental actions’. This means if you choose to attempt suicide, OD or ride a motorcycle without a helmet -become a vegetable and your insurance runs out…your family will have to pay or finally admit that you are brain dead and pull the plug.

*The borders would be closed. Immigration would go back to the way that it used to be done and that is in waves –ensuring we stay a MELTING pot. You would have to know English to pass your citizenship test, to vote or to get a driver’s license. Visas would be heavily scrutinized, but because of the aforementioned rules it would be easy to spot (hear) someone that shouldn’t be here.

*Flag burning would be illegal.

I’m sure I’ll think of 20 more things after I post this…

Don’t tell me all the technical reasons that this wouldn’t work…this isn’t my political platform—it’s my Utopia. (This DOESN'T MEAN NO COMMENTS...just that I hadn't really thought about the 'reality' of this --just what would be ideal in a 'make-believe ALa world')...

Rodney King Day in the Blogoshere

In honor of Rodney King and the spirit of 'Why can't we all just get along"...Sundays can be a bi-partisan /non-partisan day of coming together and laughing at ourselves and pictures from the time capsule.
This was Senior Prom 1989 -held at the 'Poshy-Posh Country Club'.
My final grade in Advanced Applied Art was cultivated from this night -as I designed 5 of the dressses there (including mine)....Grade A

Justrose & Cigarette Smoking Man have posted their's too...Go check them out...

Have Not Forgotten!

“Is this live? Is THIS LIVE?”

No one answers. Everyone is in shock. “LIVE” is written in bright red on the left-hand top of the screen. All four of us are frozen in horror as the second tower crashes to the ground. The kids are playing on the floor –happy, and oblivious that their lives have just changed forever.

“Is this LIVE?”

“Shut the fuck up!” the man was visibly shaken and me asking if it was ‘live’ 100 times in some weird state of shock was making it worse.

Justrose, and her S and little P, had walked into our shore house only minutes before. I had called her while they were still on the road to tell them what was happening... I’m not sure they really believed me. I didn’t blame them…I was watching it live and didn’t believe it.

The screams, the paper…it just keeps falling and flying. My God, we have no idea how many people are in there…Are there people falling? Are they jumping…oh God….oh my God…

The man and I turned at the same time and just looked at each other –it felt like forever –it felt like we had an understanding of all that was to come in that moment. We looked at the kids together too –thanking God that we were in NJ and not New York. This vacation was supposed to be in New York…a skyscraper tour. At the last minute we had decided the kids were too young and decided to go Ocean City (132 miles away from Lower Manhattan).

The boardwalk was so surreal that day. Radios and TVs were on in each of the use-less trinket and surf shops. Everyone looked like zombies –as people passed we looked at them and everyone nodded at each other in silent understanding…and shock. The kids wanted to go on rides, to go on the beach…they didn’t understand that we couldn’t. We just wanted to be back at the house-- in front of CNN. The tugs wouldn’t let up and we finally gave in and walked to the beach…horrified to see a black line of smoke that was creeping down the horizon. Within hours, giant battleships were visible in the far distance –lined in front of the death cloud that seemed to have no end.

We couldn’t call anyone –being so close to NY our cell phones were all useless. We were all together, but the feeling of isolation and utter despair was unbearable. The Pentagon, Flight 93 in OUR state…how can this be happening? Who the hell is Usama Bin Laden? Al Qaeda? They’re gone…how can they be gone? I was at the top of that tower…I have pictures…somewhere…shit where the hell are they?! I have to find them as soon as we get home… I don’t understand…You guys can’t leave –just stay the night. I know you want to be home, but all the bridges are probably closed. OK, well please be careful and call me as soon as you get home if you can get through…

Justrose, S & P left. The boardwalk was to be closed for the next two nights because of security concerns --How do you explain that to a three-year old and a one-year old while shielding them from the ghastly truth? We put on a movie in the back room for them and sat in the living room –all night…eyes glued to CNN –in horror, anger, tears, spewing profanity and guilt –that we were so happy that we were there –in that smelly beach house, in Ocean City, New Jersey.

Click here - go three down to 'Remebering 9-11' and listen to this Chilling Flashback

A Challenge

One of the first thing that comes up during an ‘Anybody but Bush’ conversation is ‘he’s dumb’…How do they know he’s dumb? Well he doesn’t pronounce some words right. He had never been out of the United States before he was President (which isn’t true, btw). He didn’t know who the Prime Minister of Some-Country-No-One-Has-Ever-Heard –Of is (mind you that many Americans don’t know who the Vice President is now). If you push them they go on to say that he was a ‘C’ student and that he only got into Harvard and Yale because of his name. Keep questioning and the conversation ends right back at ‘he can’t speak’…

WARNING: The next time someone says this in front of me—I will be forced to call them out...

Sound harsh? If it does, you are not the mother of a child with a severe articulation disorder. Over the past two years Mason has heard on television, from family friends and even from the JibJab movie, that people that don’t speak perfectly are dumb (“Mom, I no say nuklar eiver”). This is a ridiculous statement as many children with autism are smarter than any of us and will go on to work at NASA –with limited or no words.

This got me thinking and I spent over two hours on line the other night looking for Kerry’s grades, SAT scores…anything. We hear how smart he is –how nuanced…but we also know that he didn’t get into Harvard and Bush did (and I am assuming that FORBES is a better legacy name than Bush). There is nothing. Rumors of low C’s…but nothing official. We knew Bush and Gore’s SAT scores a year before the 2000 election. Not a record released from the nuanced one though.

The other day at a fund raiser “John Kerry took a rare shot at Bush's school smarts, something he had diligently avoided during the campaign because many Democratic politicians are aware that Al Gore turned off some voters in 2000 by appearing dismissive about Bush's intelligence. He made the comment at a Tampa fund-raiser, where Kerry noted that both he and Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, sitting nearby, had attended Yale University, as had Bush. ''Bill and I share the same institution of higher education -- at least for some of us," Kerry told the $1,000-a-plate audience of about 500, some of whom chuckled at first, then laughed louder and applauded. Kerry, looking a bit sheepish, said in a low voice, ''No, uh, be nice." Now if the Beltway rumors are true –and he is out there questioning the President’s intelligence while he too was a low C couldn’t-get-onto-Harvard-student…Hmmmm… Now, why hasn’t the Fair and Balanced press dug up this story—found the SATs—talked to Professors…?

We know all about Bush’s SATs and grades, but here is something that hasn’t been widely reported, “

The records also show Bush made a grade of 88 on total airmanship and a perfect 100 for flying without navigational instruments, operating a T-38 System and studying applied aerodynamics. Other scores ranged from 89 in flight planning to 98 in aviation physiology” (AP 9/7/04).

After hours of searching and reading anything I could find about Kerry’s academic prowess…I realized that we have never known less about a candidate then we do about this man. We have no academic records –and we don’t have medical records. This would help to clear up this Purple Heart debate, but also answer questions about the prostate surgery he had. I also read Beltway rumors that he may have a growth disorder –it seems neither of his parents are tall and neither have the elongated chin, arms or legs that he has. I believe that both Bush and Cheney have there medical reports made public.

Geraldine Ferraro’s husband was forced to release his taxes to the public, and she was only the Veep candidate…Theresa H. Kerry still hasn’t released hers and she is the spouse of the Presidential candidate. I want to know where this woman’s money came from, where it goes (especially how much she has given to charity) and what it’s being spent on…it’s only fair.

The left is so anxious to oust Bush they are working to elect someone they know virtually nothing about. The election is in 54 days –when will the serious vetting of this man begin? Does the Forbes/Heinz power ticket get absolved from what all other candidates are required to disclose? If he is so smart –why wouldn’t he be hanging the grades for all to see? If he is healthy and the Purple Hearts are justified –why wouldn’t he dispel the myths? If all THK does is on the up and up –why the blackout?

Inquiring minds want to know…

So before you cast aspersions on the President about his ‘intelligence’, provide for me the background on your alternative. Before you talk about his oratory shortcomings, think about who may be listening. Before you vote out of anger, find out who the hell you are voting for.

…and remember, if you are to speak ill about those who may not speak as ‘normally’ as the rest of us –make sure I am not there…

Be afraid, be very afraid…

My Loss, His Gain...

Why, being only 5’2, would I marry –and procreate with- someone who is 6’4? That is probably what I was thinking as two nurses descended unmercifully on my stomach. I had been pushing for 3 ½ hours, Justice was lodged in the birth canal, the fetal monitors were blaring and they were trying to break his collar bone to get him loose…

Almost five hours later, I finally got to see him. He was the lone baby in the NICU, bruised and crying with a tiny little cast on his left arm. Born two weeks early, he was just shy of 9lbs. When the nurse finally placed him in my arms that first time –the entire nursery instantly faded away…all the tubes, monitors, bottles of formula that I had threatened them not to feed…and it was Justice and me, finally meeting face to face. A hot wave rushed through my entire body as I thought, “I have never loved anyone until this very moment…not my parents, my brothers and sister or my husband…”

The day we brought him home was so emotional... As I sat there watching his chest rise and fall I gave in to the tears that were bound to come –they came because we had so much trouble getting pregnant in the first place, they came because I had waited so long to meet this little man, they came because there could finally be relief after nine months of worry, and they came because they almost hadn’t let us bring him home that morning…Christmas morning 1998.

‘What’s wrong?’ the man asked.

‘What if he goes to college in California?’ I cried.

Irrational? Yes, but there is nothing rational about holding a little person that you had felt, talked to and worried about for nine months…but never saw, heard or touched.

Today that baby let go of my hand after a hard squeeze, said, “I love you Mom”, with tears brimming in his eyes –and walked toward independence. I stood there, seemingly frozen in time, as I watched him nervously make his way to the line forming in front of his new kindergarten teacher…Mrs. B. I fought to hold back the tears that would expose me as the novice mom as he turned back to give me an uneasy smile and to look for a reassuring one from me. I am not ready!—but I know he is. Yesterday he informed me that he would need a cell phone—in case he needed to call and tell me about bullies. This is his biggest fear. He is afraid that ‘bullies’ will beat him up because he can’t tie his shoes yet...

“You aren’t the kind of kid that gets bullied” I always reassure him. And it’s true –we all know that kid, and it’s not him. He is smart, confident, beautiful, empathetic and considerate …and now someone else gets to add their influence for three hours a day –five days a week…

Welcome to behavior modification for the ultimate control freak (that would be me) a.k.a KINDERGARTEN.

Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is...

In 1997 I worked for the ‘Donald Trump of Pennsylvania’ (as deemed by Philadelphia Magazine). I was the personal assistant/secretary to both the Vice President and the Construction Manager. One of my various responsibilities was to coordinate all purchase orders (PO’s) from the hundreds of contractors that worked at the various properties (and get them paid). I loved this job –I had the best of both worlds…I was being paid by ‘the suits’, but most of my interactions were with the ‘blue-collar boys’. I actually looked forward to going to work, a place where the contractors told me daily how unorganized it had been before I came and how long it used to take them to get paid…so nice to be appreciated!

‘Trump JR, Inc’ was fanatical about property numbers and PO numbers --nothing would get paid without them… All of a sudden, contractors began dropping off bills that just said ‘Cherry Hill’ –no property number and no PO. I would call the accounting office to get a property number or to find out what was going on, and would always just be told, ‘Just write Cherry Hill, we’ll know what it is.” I thought this was really strange, but I was always so busy that I didn’t dwell on it much (truthfully, I thought maybe one of the owners was having a house built on company dollars…?)

About 2 months after the mysterious invoices began:

“Did you get my last PO? We’re really tight this month –is there anyway you can speed that up for me?” asks Joe Maintenance Guy.

“I don’t see it here…what property was that for?”

“Cherry Hill…the abortion clinic.”

I wanted to throw up. I was helping to build an abortion clinic. I couldn’t sleep that night. I tossed and turned and wondered what I should do. You see, the week before they told me that they wanted me to stay there and go to school part-time (I had told them I was thinking about going back to school full time). They promised that I would be making “more than I would ever make as a teacher” if I stayed—they were talking upwards of $45K with full benefits (I was 25 and had yet to complete my degree) with guaranteed bi-yearly raises AND tuition reimbursement. The man and I were newlyweds who would have been thrilled to be making over 100K a year combined (with no more student loans accumulating). Neither of us had ever seen that kind of money, we didn’t have parents who could buy us a house, furnish it or have a trust/college fund waiting (like some of our friends)…that’s just not where either of us is from.

I quit the next day. I told them I would stay the customary two weeks, but I would do nothing for the Cherry Hill ‘property’. They tried to get me to stay –various ‘suits’ coming in to tell me their ‘abortion’ stories and how they ‘don’t like it either’, but even if ‘they don’t build/refurbish them someone will’. I did appreciate that they were trying so hard…but, to no avail.

The man ran into one of my old bosses a couple of weeks ago.

“Is she still saving babies?” he asked (His wife was a devout Catholic and he was taking major heat over the clinic back then from her too).

“Now she’s trying to save the world….”

Have you ever had to put your money where your mouth is? It’s hard. That’s the only time that it has happened to me in such a clear-cut way and it was one of the hardest decisions that I have had to make. It’s easy to justify and rationalize when it will be monetarily beneficial, and I won’t lie—I tried to rationalize it –I knew they wouldn’t make me do anything with that account if I didn’t want to…I told myself I’d donate lots to pro-life causes (Money from abortionists would be going right to the pro-life movement…giving the life a purpose…nice try right…)

I felt so good when I walked away…I know that I made the right choice. I had done many things that I felt proud of before (AIDS walks & donations, donating time/small amounts of money, volunteering), but this was different –this was true self-sacrifice that hit me hard –right in the pocket… and one of the few things that truly makes me proud in retrospect. When push came to shove, I actually put my money where my mouth was (I don’t say this bragging –I say it because that day I really didn’t know what I would do).

This isn’t about abortion –that is just where the ‘test’ presented itself to me. This is about belief and action. I usually judge people on their actions –not by what they say. We can talk about things until we’re blue in the face…but what would you give up for that belief?

I have been thinking a lot about ‘self-sacrifice’ lately –it is not something that comes naturally or easily, but it can be very [emotionally] rewarding…

Forget about Zell and the BIG BOUNCE --for now...

OK...Once again tensions are running high --it is a holiday and I did break my own 'No politics on the weekend rule'...Therefore --another quiz...
(One, I regret to admit, was found on "Michael Moore's less retarded (and hopefully less fat) twin's site" aka Jericho Brown -and I'n not being mean -he linked me as "Ann Coulter's less retarded twin"...) :

What Movie Hero are you?

I am William Wallace...

http://www.liquidgeneration.com/quiz/moviehero_quiz.asp

Let's all take a deep breath and see if we would be a cool movie hero or a lame one...

What's in a Name?

This began as a post about the Russian School Hostages. It seemed necessary to discuss it in light of the ‘black-out’ by the collective media. Again we hear the terms “freedom fighter”, “rebels” and “Chechen separatists”. I have yet to hear anyone (besides Michael Savage) describe the bomb that exploded in that gymnasium. The bomb that was loaded with nuts, bolts, screws and other various metal objects that would rip through the flesh of hundreds of children-and did. The ones that weren’t killed by the bomb, and dared to run, were found face down with bullet holes in their backs-children.

This can’t help but evolve into a larger question…What does the media stand to gain from censoring our news and consistently withholding relevant information/pictures? What can Americans possibly achieve from the false sense of security that ‘a name’ can bestow?

After twenty-five years of being attacked and killed by Muslim Extremists, it would seem a matter of simple deduction to understand that we are at war with Muslim Extremists. Terror is their method…not who they are. The ‘War on Terror’ seems to be yet another erroneous title (as a Priest who molests children is, in my eyes, a terrorist). The war is a ‘War on Muslim Extremists', who chose terror as their method of enacting a declared Jihad.

Within weeks of the slaughter of thousands of Americans on September 11^th, the media, along with various civil liberties groups, were already pounding away at the Administration and demanding rights for ‘terror suspects’. In the witch-hunt for John Ashcroft and amidst the cries of this Administration using ‘fear’ to get votes…here is a fact that has gone virtually unreported…”From September 11^th through the end of 2002 the Bush administration had thwarted an estimated 100 or more attacks against the US and it’s interests” (NYT 1/10/03 –way, way back on page A11). But what was the President of the ACLU saying (Nadine Strossen)? That she “saw parallels between what we are going through and McCarthyism.” There have been no internment camps, no KGB, CAIR has not been silenced and no Mosques have been shuttered…An interesting side note to that is no one has been able to cite one case to show ‘abuse of power’ of the Patriot Act.

Journalists continue to refer to Palestinian homicide bombers as ‘suicide bombers’ and ‘resistance fighters’, and they report the story of the children murdered in the Russian school and talk about the captors as “Chechens” without divulging the fact that they too are Muslim Extremists (many Arabs). The media denial goes much deeper than how they have chosen to label murderers as ‘opposition groups’…

You were not told that a Muslim named Abdul Hameed (previously called Suleyman Al-Lindh) was captured in Afghanistan fighting against US forces…you were told that was John Walker Lindh…a name that he had not used in years, but that the media reinstated…

You were never told that a Muslim named Ibrahim was attempting to make a dirty bomb…you were told that was Jose Padilla even though his name was legally changed almost 10 years ago…

You were not told that a Muslim named Tariq Raja was found with a bomb in his shoe on a trans-Atlantic flight…you were told that was Richard Reid, British Citizen…

You were also not told that a Muslim named John Mohammad, who had rejoiced after the 9/11 attacks was shooting people sniper style in DC, Maryland and Virginia…you were told that was John Allen Williams…a Gulf War Vet…

What is the angle in making these happenings all appear as random acts…by people with American names? Why report a name that is false since it has been legally changed?

The NYT, LATimes, Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Post and Dan Rather can criticize Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Cheney and Bush, and they can make claims about the Republicans campaign of fear…and they can go on distorting the truth while they do it. They can pretend that it is luck that has prevented any attack on our soil for the past three years. Some have asked why others question their Patriotism…Because you warp facts to pander to your liberal agenda. You lie to the American people about the true identities of these people to protect the liberties of those who would kill us. You cloak terrorists in American names and noble terms like ‘freedom fighter’. You deceive Americans to justify your hate of this Administration. You veil your intentions in the protection of civil liberties of our enemies…most who are not even citizens--and you jeopardize my children each and every time you do it.

The facts are what they are…we are at war with Muslim Extremists. We are the infidels and Allah will not bless them while we are alive. They don’t hate us for our freedom; they hate us because we breathe. I end with no answer to the cause of the collaborative deception. I have no idea why the media has joined hands in an effort to minimize the threat that our country is facing…

1979- US Embassy in Iran taken hostage –American held for 444 days…by MUSLIM EXTREMISTS.

1982- US Embassy bombed in Beirut (63 killed/17 Americans)…by MUSLIM EXTREMISTS.

1983- Marine barracks in Beirut bombed (241 marines killed)…by MUSLIM EXTREMISITS.

1985- Achille Lauro (Italian Cruise ship) seized and American killed…by MUSLIM EXTREMISTS.

1986- US Military frequented W. Berlin nightclub bombed (2 US soldiers killed)…by MUSLIM EXTREMISTS.

1988- Pan Am Flight 103 bombed (270 killed/189 Americans)…by MUSLIM EXTREMISTS.

1993- World Trade Center bombed (6 killed)…by (Iraqi) MUSLIM EXTREMISTS.

1995- Car bomb in Saudi Arabia kills 5 Americans…by MUSLIM EXTREMISTS.

1996- US Air force housing in Saudi Arabia bombed (270 injured/19 killed)…by MUSLIM EXTREMISTS.

1998- US Embassies (Kenya/Tanzania) bombed (5,000 injured/258 dead)…by MUSLIM EXTREMISTS.

2000- USS Cole attacked (17 killed)…by MUSLIM EXTREMISTS.

2001- 2,752 killed on 9/11 in the World Trade Center…by MUSLIM EXTREMISTS.

Cake or Death?!

(Bush Supporters)
Uh, cake please.
Very well, give him cake.
Thank you very much -very nice.
You! Cake or Death?
Uh, cake for me too.

(Kerry Supporters)
You, cake or death?
Death please.

(Results of new 'Time Magazine Poll')
No, cake cake...
You said death first!
No, I meant cake!
Oh, all right...cake or death?
Cake please...

The choice has always been this easy...it's great to see that people are starting to get it!
Bush 53% Kerry 41% Nader 3%

So you...what's it gonna be? Cake or death?

I Think I'm in Love...THIS Woman's View

The liberal media is freaking out! They have no idea how to handle Zell Miller’s incredible speech last night except for claiming, ‘Women will be turned off by his angry and forceful tone’.

Who are these women? Where are these women whose genteel Jane Austen sensibilities will be turned away? I don’t know any of these women. I loved Zell’s speech –I actually thought it was the best of the convention. There were enough sound bites to last a life-time and the ‘challenge to a duel’ with Chris Matthews afterwards left me in need of a Depends…

Did you ever hear the old adage about women liking a man in uniform? Military, Policeman, Fireman…why is that? It’s because these men symbolize strength, courage, honor and a ‘manly’ quality that the stock-broker-in-the-suit-that-just-got-a-manicure just can’t exude. Even when women marry the suit –they dream about the uniform. We want our men strong –we want our men forceful, and we want to feel like they can protect us….even if we are quite capable of protecting ourselves. Zell Miller is a manly man. I like a manly man –I want someone that fixes his own toilet, mows his own lawn and changes his own oil.

So who are these wall-flower women that the media keeps referring to? Is there a woman who wants her man soft and submissive? Manicured and clean? Coiffed hair and un-calloused? Take a stroll down a romance novel isle in the book store…any suits on the covers? No…it’s dirty mechanics, sweaty cowboys (ah…the Marlboro Man), Confederate soldiers, Marines, Firefighters, Tanned Indians with black flowing hair and a buffalo skin loin cloth…the Starbucks and brief-case toting men are not there…the Birkenstock protestors crying about the evils of SUVs aren’t there –Why? Because women don’t fantasize about them… There is nothing sexy about dictating a letter to your assistant (well maybe in that weird James Spader movie…), but –as sick as it sounds- there is something very sexy about killing those who will kill us! Now, that’s a man!

Don’t believe the women’s magazines…I don’t want a ‘feminine’ man –I don’t want to see my man cry over a movie or a card –I don’t want my man to be afraid of anything (and if he is I don’t want to know about it)…and I don’t want my politicians soft either. I want them to fight to win –fight hard, fight often, fight dirty if you need to –but win!

So those women who want their men sensitive, pedicured and hair sprayed –please, vote for Kerry. You won’t find those men in our camp…Our men ride Harleys not windsurfing boards. We conservative women like our men like Zell Miller –loud and, yes, even angry when it comes to protecting his family and what he believes!

“Senator Miller, do you really believe that Senator Kerry would only equip our troops with spit balls?”

“That was a metaphor…do you know what a metaphor is?”

I think I'm in love...

Here's A Tip!

I was disturbed to hear that the GOP delegates are not tipping in NYC. This is one of my biggest pet peeves…(I am not quite sure why as I have never been a waitress). You have to tip waiters and waitresses 20%. If you can not afford to do this –then you can not afford to be eating out. Senior citizens…it has been 20%, not 10%, for a really long time now! If you are ordering breakfast you should tip higher than 20%...just because your eggs were cheaper than a steak, doesn’t mean the waitress/waiter didn’t do the same amount of work. You also must tip bartenders, hairdressers, shampoo girls, the kids that dry your car after you come out of the car wash, pedicure girl and bellhops (you may skip the tip if the server is the owner –nail/hair salons, etc.).

There are two people that I am never quite sure if I have to tip (or how much)…full serve gas guys and the flower delivery guys (Since his arrival is always a surprise, I may not have cash handy…) Maybe someone can advise me on this –Molly Manners, I need help!

Oprah did a show once addressing the fact that most Blacks don’t tip. She was calling on them to do so…but I was more interested in why they don’t tip to begin with. This afternoon I typed “Why don’t Blacks tip?” into Google and TONS of sites can up. One self-identified Black man says that “Most brothers feel they have been downtrodden for so long that tipping doesn’t apply to them”, but then strongly advises them to begin tipping when expected. He goes on to say that Mid-Westerners are also known for not tipping (maybe these are the GOP delegates?). My friends in the restaurant business always complain about older people not tipping-- or leaving a paltry $0.50-$1.00.

Your waiter/waitress makes like $2.35/hr. They rely on your tips to make their living…If my service at a restaurant is terrible I still leave 15-20%, but if it’s great I always leave more.

So Fly-over people, African Americans, stingy Republican delegates and all tight-fisted people out there –Please tip your wait staff and they may stop spitting in your food…

Wrong Direction II: The Blogosphere Let-Down

This whole discussion had disappointed me...my first fight with the blogoshpere…sigh…
I thought everyone 'got' the purpose of this blog...
My literary background hates that I now feel I have to explain it (like a comedian that explains the punch line of an obvious joke)

My site is meant to be a catalyst for discussion --often times discussions that are 'taboo' or normally shied away from or glossed over in polite society…

It is meant to physically extract the truest of emotions (from readers) so others can understand the origin of those beliefs --and maybe, just maybe those rationales can help someone understand/change/re-evaluate their own views/beliefs/conceptions about important issues.
If it takes me being blunt/harsh/controversial/personal to accomplish the great discussion that always seems to happen here...then so be it.

If you appreciate the ACLU/reparations/SBVFT/your favorite ice cream and I disparage it --you will be forced to think about why you are defending it as much as I am thinking about why I wouldn't --the debate only serves to make us all think more thoroughly about what exactly we chose to fight for and why.

I am disappointed because I didn't think that this needed to be verbalized --It would seem that I was wrong.