The Blame Game

    DSD very stubbornly pays almost 0 attention to politics. I think he probably paid more attention before I was always up in his grill about them, but who knows? We started dating about 10 days after the 2000 election and moved in together less than 6 months before the towers fell, so I have been in his grill about politics since the beginning of our relationship.
    He was napping when Rep Giffords was shot. I ranted and raved on Facebook to my family and friends there. In the last half hour I showed him the map of the SarahPac.com bull that was posted some months ago. I have seen it in several places today, but most recently on the site "The Swash Zone." I did not show him who had posted it or that it was originally a Sarah Palin post, but I asked him if the person who posted this BS with a bullseye should be counted as responsible. He looked at me like I was nuts. And I remembered looking at my dad with the same expression prior to 1985 (the year I graduated) when he asked me (after watching an episode on "Quincy" in which a teen ager killed him or herself) about my music.  And I remembered that at that time, I thought it was not the responsibility of Kiss, or Ozzy, or Twisted Sister if people listened to their music and thought the music was telling them to kill themselves or others.
I remember watching movies/videos/games and thinking that people who listened to them were just a little off from normal.
I think Sarah Palin is poison. I think she is only in ANYTHING for herself and what she can get. I have friends who live in Wasilla who attended church with her who think she is sweet and kind and blah blah blah. But I can't blame the... female dog.. for someone who may have misinterpreted her BS and acted upon it. Maybe this is what she intended. Maybe it isn't. She didn't point the gun or pull the trigger. And she should SHUT UP. But she should not be prosecuted.
YET!

Only Questions

How?
What?
Why?
Who?

At this point all we know is that as many as 18 were shot in a parking lot of a Safeway in Arizona. At least 5 are dead, including a 9 year old child and a federal judge. Representative Gabriel Giffords has survived a gunshot to her head and surgery, but she is still in critical condition.

I pray (and I don't use that word lightly) that this was not politically motivated, but if it was, I hope each and every one of the victims or their families sues the shit out of the person who placed a BULLSEYE on Congresswoman Giffords. I hope Sarah Palin loses everything.

What About Yours?

Have you written your Congressional Representative lately? Why or why not?

I have all of the "newbies" in my cell phone. I put them in there yesterday because I could not find the information on Wednesday. And I still have no email address for Rubio, but that does not shock me.

As soon as Steve Southerland's information was up I sent him a quick get acquainted email that said something like, "You ran for the House on the platform of repealing the new health care law. Do you intend to take advantage of taxpayer provided insurance? Why?"  Or something like that.

I have not liked Southerland for years. As the owner of a local funeral home he was featured in a lovely story several years ago on the local news about some poor families father who had died and they had called Southerland. As the grave was being dug huge tree roots were found that was going to require more equipment to remove and the funeral home said it was up to the family to foot the bill. What an ass. I never did hear the resolution, but at the time of the story. OH Look a YouTube video of the story.



Oddly enough he has not yet written back. Do you think he will? Maybe a form letter?

I will write Rubio as soon as I can find an email address. Or maybe I will just call him.

On another note about the "newbies" regarding our newly sworn in Governor: I didn't vote for Rick Scott. I never liked Rick Scott. I think he is probably the biggest crook to ever be elected in our state and OH BOY! is that saying a lot. But when he received praise from Jeb "Let's all be concerned with fetuses and vegetables and stick our noses where they don't belong while social services LOSES living, breathing children" Bush? I almost had to pull my car over to throw up.

We are so incredibly screwed I just cannot stand it. But even people like me who 'blog and try to educate people and vote obviously didn't do enough to get out the vote and get other likeminded people to the polls. Maybe we deserve this too?

An Analysis of Jon Stewart's Rally Speech

Speech Analysis of Jon Stewart’s closing speech at “The Rally to Restore Sanity.”

            On a breezy October day in front of a crowd of 215,000 with the Capital Building providing a dramatic backdrop, Jon Stewart explained why we were all there.  With only about fifteen minutes left of an entertaining three hour program that included Ozzy Osborne, R2D2, and The O’Jays, Mr. Stewart turned serious and described what he was trying to accomplish with this rally and that while it was and had been fun, it was important that the people who were there, and those watching at home, remember that we could all work together in the United States to get things done.  That most of us do every single day.

            Jon Stewart was very careful to tell everyone that our country is in crisis.  That our country has far to go to get back to anything resembling normal and that times are difficult. But then he explained times are difficult, but that does not mean that we are staring at the end of the world, or even of life as we know it.  That we can get past this and get through this and we can come out on the far side, stronger for it.

            Mr. Stewart lay into the media with both barrels, lambasting those who are supposed to deliver our news to us as not only unfair and unbalanced, but as over dramatists and reactionaries who are not giving the people of the United States anything resembling true news.  “The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems and illuminate problems heretofore unseen, or it can use its magnifying glass to light ants on fire, and then perhaps host a week of shows on the sudden, unexpected dangerous-flaming-ant epidemic,” he said, showing his characteristic humor even while expounding on his theory that as a comedian, he is not a politician.

            My favorite part of Jon Stewart’s speech was when he played a video of cars merging as the road narrowed from three or four lanes into two as the cars entered a tunnel.  Jon made guesses about each driver of each car as they merged, “that’s a school teacher who thinks taxes are too high…there’s a mom with two kids who can’t think about anything else...another car, the lady’s in the NRA. She loves Oprah…An investment banker, gay, also likes Oprah,” and explained that these cars and these drivers at this particular space and time was us. The United States. America. A microcosm of the good and the bad and hateful. Each and every one of us.  Mr. Stewart explained that America is a bunch of really busy people trying to get through each day and that we are and that we will and that while it does not appear to be true, we will all be better off in the end, because we can work together and we can compromise and we can accept and learn from each. No matter where we were born, the color of our skin, where we go to church or who we voted for in the last election. That we will be fine. One compromise at a time.

A Brief Hello!

Back to work, back to school, very lazy about posting during the holidays, that is me in a nutshell. But our Christmas was filled with family (some of which I actually like) and our New Year celebration was filled with alcohol and good friends without a hangover on Saturday.

On top of that, apparently Penn State wanted to lose the Outback Bowl more than the Gators did, so Coach Meyer finished his time with the Gator Nation on a high note!

I am STILL working on the post about DC and the blogger meet-up. It will happen.

But someone (I don't remember who) asked me to post the analysis I did of Jon Stewart's Rally Speech. The analysis was for my speech class and (reading back over it) I think (with a great deal of false modesty) I did a pretty good job.

That will be the next post.

I would like to post about the upcoming end of the world also, but maybe someone already has?

Happy 2011 To Each and Every One of You!

The Post Where I Eventually Wish You a Happy Holiday!

On the way home from work on Tuesday, the NPR station out of Tallahassee was being flaky, so I was flipping through the dial looking for some Christmas music and came across some Talk Radio program that I had never heard.  The host was a guest host or something, and the discussion was on this newly proposed Constitutional Amendment where the states could vote to overthrow the Federal government.  What?  That isn’t what is being proposed?  Maybe not, but it sure seems like the states want the right to tell Washington to “Go to Hell!”  Or at least be able to say, “We don’t have to have health care if we don’t want it.”  Which, of course, is where the idea of and the push for this Amendment started.

But I digress.

The host went off on what he called “the allegedly fiscally responsible Republican party” and lambasted my beloved state for the monstrosity it just spent millions on for the Florida Supreme Court.  He said he didn’t want to allow Florida (he was in Tampa) to spend his tax dollars if they couldn’t do better than that and he wanted callers to tell him why their state was better.

Of course no one could.

But the next caller didn’t even try.  He just said Hi and started being critical of the new law passed to allow more inspections of food.  Apparently this new law is going to cost the taxpayers over a billion dollars a year.  Wow. 

But I don’t mind an extra billion being spent to ensure my food is safe, even as I plan to try to grow more of it at home myself.  (TRY being the operative word here)  I don’t mind an extra billion being spent to ensure equality.  I don’t mind an extra billion being spent on AIDS research. 

I do mind when extra billions are put into the hands of those who already have more money than they or their descendants will ever need, but the long term unemployed can go EFF themselves.  I do mind when extra billions are spent propping up wobbly dictators, but our military with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) cannot get the best cognitive care available because it will run over $50,000 per soldier/sailor/airman.  And then many trillions are spent sending in the troops to take out those dictators once we no longer find him (or her!) useful, but still no money for TBI rehabilitation.

Still, it is the holiday season, whether your holidays include Christmas, Hanukah, Ramadan, Winter Solstice Celebrations, or just a couple of extra days off work and I would like to think that I can count my blessings. 

1.  Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is now just a fading nightmare for many.  It is not yet perfect, and it will take months to allow gay service members to live their lives openly and honestly, but it will happen now.  I hope this is a sign of the equality to come.

2.  My taxes are not going up.  With DSD still out of work (he has completed 2 years of unemployment) things are getting a little tighter and I don’t think we could afford a tax hike right now.

3.  My step daughter and I have patched up our relationship and I am enjoying this grandparent thing.  And my growing friendship with her.

4.  I can see the end in sight for my Bachelor’s Degree.  About 18 more months and I can make the walk.  It is going to be work for those 18 months, but I will have that degree.

5.  The Republicans didn’t win the House.

6.  W is still no longer President.

7.  Health.  Mine.  DSD’s.  My in-laws who are in their 70s.  My parents who are in their 60s.  The children.  A friend’s mother lost her battle with cancer last night.  My heart breaks for the family even while I rejoice in the health that we have.

8.  All of you in blog land who stick by me even when I have no time for you.  Who post the things I wish I had written.  Who make me laugh and cry and so thankful.

Happy Holidays from me to you.  I hope yours are the best ever.

Equal Rights are NEVER Wrong

Getting There and Thankful For It

I am in the last two weeks of this term and ready for it to be completed. I have one last speech to give tomorrow night, which is 99% complete. The Powerpoint is probably only 35% complete, so I have work to do tonight. I am looking forward to it, since it is about college football and (even though I have not blogged about it much this year) I do still love college football AND my Gators... even when they suck!

So, finish the speech and the Powerpoint, write one paper about a speech given by someone else (imagine, I chose Jon Stewart's end of Rally speech) and take two final exams. Hooray! I am ready.

Our Thanksgiving was fun. DSD's oldest boy decided he wasn't coming for dinner if he couldn't bring his dog... who has never met any of us OR Lola. It would have been a nightmare. He wasn't missed. A friend who normally comes brought her mother and her mother's boyfriend. SleepyEd is our nickname for him. They arrived at 2 and he had to be awakened for dinner... at 3. Then he was in the kitchen with BabyBoy demanding dessert before most of us were done with dinner. No offers to help with the cooking or the cleanup. He then proceeded to go BACK to sleep until time to go. WOW!

There was a slight discussion on taxes and how unfair it is to raise taxes on the rich, but it was held outside of my hearing, because they were afraid they weren't going to get dinner if I overheard probably.

Still in a funk, but I am blaming it on hormones and exhaustion (and the exhaustion can be partially blamed on the hormones and the fact that I am not sleeping).

So for the rest of you in a funk. Read this. It is a really beautiful story. It may not help your funk, but it may give you a nice happy tears cry.

AND, I just received an Email from the NewYorkTimes saying that the Senate passed a bill on food safety. 75-25. Huh. Bi-partisan? Must be something wrong.

Do You Just Get Tired Also?

Maybe it is the demise of Daylight Savings Time. This year I think I can blame the election and the vitriol of it, both before and after.

DSD and I just returned from his parents' home in the central portion of the state. They are wonderful people, but I just don't relax when I am around his mother. I am always terrified I will spill something.

So I have been out of town for an extended amount of time for 3 of the last 5 weekends. And I'm tired.

And a little depressed. I look around at the stupid. I read glaring examples of it. I see it at work. I see it on TV (if I watch it).  I even see it in my college classes, people who can not (or do not) use the English language correctly in the written form, an instructor who is too lazy to even think of the weekly questions on her own.

But classes are winding up. Less than a month to go. And everyone who stops in here makes me smile. Especially those who comment. Hint. Hint.

So please be patient. With me. With each other.

And I will eventually get the post up about the rest of my DC trip and the lovely little (really, she is TINY) DC blogger I met in person!

And Why Not?

I'm glad someone is getting it right. I wish we would!

STRAIGHT COUPLE SEEKS GAY RELATIONSHIP IN THE U.K.

Why didn't I think of that???