Friday, December 21, 2012

After Sandy Hook, WHAT?

I know I've been quiet for a while but what can I say that hasn't already been said about the horrific events that occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut that hasn't already been captured in print, in video, and on all the social networks.

As I started to read about and listen to the unfolding events via Internet and television, I could not hold back the tears as they just poured down my cheeks.  As a former Connecticut resident, I knew that Newtown was a place where those who live there do so because of its hominess, its friendliness, its aura of safety.  And that vision of the town has been shattered as has the lives of so many of the town's families.

There is no way to make sense of this.  There is no answer to the question, why?  There is just profound sadness.......... and incredible anger.  I cannot bring consolation to those  who lost their precious children or to the families of the brave adults who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect those youngsters they loved.

What I can do is rail against the NRA and those gun owners who continually utter the lie that the government will take away all their guns.  No one is advocating taking away your guns.  BUT, it's now time to regulate what you can have.   The Second Amendment  does not say you have the right to own assault weapons or military-type weapons capable of shooting 30 rounds in less than ten seconds! 

And I can rail against the dearth of help in this country for those who are mentally ill.  Funds have been stripped to the core  from agencies who service those with mental health issues. 

In our Declaration of Independence, we have the right to the unalienable right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Those little six and seven year old children never got the chance to pursue happiness because some crazed, mentally ill person had access to guns.

Sane individuals must come together to work out viable solutions without shoving partisan, political and/or religious nonsense down each others throats.  This must not be an 'all or nothing' solution.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Black Friday? Not Me!

To me, Black Friday (or Black Thursday night) is an abomination.  This year, many stores opened up early Thanksgiving evening.  I don't understand the greed of stores who just can't give their employees a day off to celebrate a day that should be spent with family and friends and remembering all the things that you enjoy and are so grateful for.

Those of us who don't shop for Christmas just sit back and watch the mayhem gleefully presented by all the news programs.  At first it's a little funny to watch the frenzy.  But when you hear of people being trampled, hurt, spat upon and cursed, it's not funny at all.

It's one thing to try to purchase stuff at remarkable bargains.  It's another to push, shove and elbow through crowds to get something for less money.

When people trample others for cheap goods mere hours after being thankful for what they already have, it's just terrible.  I can't imagine this whole gift-buying frenzied process is something people enjoy.  Hey, I could be wrong but I'm glad I'm not a part of it.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Thoughts As I've Aged

Much as I'd like to think of myself as a little kid still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, I am not a young person anymore.  And over the years too many people whom I've loved have passed away, some way too young.  As each family member or friend passed, the state of my own mortality reared its ugly head.

I was just 30 when my parents died.  And now I am among the oldest generation in my family. I am one year older than my mother was when she died.  And over the years the fear of death washed over me at various times.

I reconnected to some high school friends a few years ago.  I wonder if they, too, have had the same thoughts that I do.  We're all still entwined with busy lives, some have had medical issues, others are doing well, physically.  At a special high school class reunion about a year ago (which I did not attend because of distance and timing), the names listed on the In Memoriam page had me reeling.

I simply don't think of myself as part of the "older generation."  And that's probably a good thing.  Perhaps, as 'they' say, age is just a state of mind.  I can't do some of the stuff I did when I was 20 or 30 but I over the years I've learned to do so many other things.  And I've got so much more I want to do.

So, maybe these thoughts of my mortality serve to encourage and stimulate me to continue to be active, to learn new stuff (Photoshop comes to mind), to do things I haven't done before and see things I haven't seen before, to be active politically as a liberal living in a looney red state, to do things to help the community and on and on and on.

Learning and activity can be powerful tools to keeping a younger outlook on life.  I hope those tools and living a healthy lifestyle keep me going for a very long time, at least until I'm 120!

Monday, November 12, 2012

YIDDISH CURSES FOR REPUBLICAN JEWS

I didn't write these.  Someone sent them to me via email but I thought they were funny enough to share.  If anyone knows who put this together please let me know so I can properly attribute this piece and thank her/him profusely!



YIDDISH CURSES FOR REPUBLICAN JEWS

May your insurance company decide constipation is a pre-existing condition.

May you live to a hundred and twenty without Social Security or Medicare.

May you be reunited in the world to come with your ancestors,
who were all socialist garment workers.

May you find yourself lost and stranded in a village of Palestinian Muslims,
and may you be treated only with dignity, kindness and respect.

May you grow like an onion with your head in the ground,
and then may the ground be fracked.

May you grow so rich that your widow’s second husband is thrilled
they repealed the estate tax.

May God give you a daughter-in-law who is as kind as she is beautiful, as patient
as she is rich, as wise as she is devoted, a virtuous woman in every way. And then
may a ballot initiative invalidate her marriage to your fat lump Rebecca.

May the secretary your husband is schtupping depend on Planned Parenthood
for her birth control.

May you feast every day on chopped liver with onions, chicken soup with dumplings,
baked carp with horseradish, braised meat with vegetable stew, latkes, and may
every bite of it be contaminated with E. Coli, because the government gutted the FDA.

May your state outlaw the morning-after pill the day before your daughter
comes home from the NFTY convention.

May your child give his Bar Mitzvah speech on the genius of Ayn Rand.

May you spend your whole life supporting and voting for and sending money
to Israel, and may you one day be actually forced to move there.

May you have a rare disease and need an operation that only one surgeon
in the world, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine, is able to perform.
And may he be unable to perform it because he doesn’t take your insurance.
And may that Nobel Laureate be your son.

May your son be elected President, and may you have no idea what you did
with his g-ddamn birth certificate.

May you find yourself insisting to a roomful of skeptics that your great-grandmother
was "legitimately" raped by Cossacks.

May you have a large store, and have it all dismantled by vulture capitalists.

May you have a hundred houses, and in every house a hundred rooms, and in every
room twenty beds, and then may you fall behind on just one of your mortgage
payments and have the bank repossess everything.

May you live to a ripe old age, and may the only people who come visit
you be Mormon missionaries.

May you make a fortune, and lose it all in one of Sheldon Adelson's casinos.

May your grandchildren baptize you after you’re dead.

May the state of Arizona expand their definition of "suspected illegal immigrants"
to "anyone who doesn't hunt."

May your son the doctor introduce you to his fiancée, Bristol Palin.

May you sell everything and retire to Florida just as global warming makes
it uninhabitable.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

I Can't Pledge Allegiance......

If, on Wednesday, November 7, 2012, Romney steals* the election (*What else can I think given the fraudulent voter ID laws, the Romney connection to the voting machines, the throwing out of Democratic voter registrations, the misprinted voter information pamphlets, the incredible amount of GOP lies, and on and on...),  my head will explode, my heart will be broken, my anger will be gigantic and my allegiance to this country will totter on the precipice.

I would never pledge allegiance to a country that legislates what I can do for my own body, for my own health, which sticks it's nose in places that must be completely private and off limits, to a country whose legislative body (think GOP) thinks it can foist it's Christian religious views on every citizen through legislation (totally against the Constitution), whose elected officials (again, GOP) think that women are second class citizens and don't need equal pay for equal work, a political party who would deny many of its citizens their civil rights, who would dismantle all the safety regulations we've enjoyed for so long thereby putting our health and essentially our lives at great risk, who thinks education is only for the rich, all for the love of enriching the huge corporations who care nothing for the United States and its citizens so long as they add mega bucks to their bottom line, hide their profits offshore and refuse to pay not only their fair share of taxes but think they are entitled to pay so little or nothing because they are the "privileged."

Our Congress and our political system has been bought and paid for by those who are super rich.  They feel privileged, entitled, and righteous about lording their power over every aspect of people's lives and see nothing wrong with an oligarchic form of government that they laughingly refer to as democracy.  It is not.

And so, if Romney and his ilk get in, we are condemned to a life of subservience to the wacked out views of the GOP.  This will be a country whose shining light will have gone out, replaced by an oppressive "regime", not a country with a government of the people, by the people or for the people.  God help us if Romney gets in.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Life is like Coffee Movie

Life is like Coffee Movie: Do you know people that just seem to be happier in general? Do you say to yourself, "I want to be more like them"? Often, the happiest people in the world don't have the best of everything...they just make the best of everything!

I wish everyone would understand this.  I believe, though, that so many Republicans just wouldn't get this.  Sigh.......................

Friday, September 21, 2012

Republican Drivel...

"I've been on welfare and food stamps. Anybody help me out?  No!"  These words were yelled out by actor Craig T. Nelson on Fox.  Gawd, like a typical moronic Republican, he doesn't have a clue. And even though he's made money as an actor, he apparently hasn't earned enough to buy some brains!

Ann Romney is continuing her whining ways.  She wants fellow Republicans who are backing away from Mitt's mouthings, to just "Stop it. This is hard."  Yes, Ann, it is so hard to be you. You people just don't know how hard this is: traveling, meeting people who actually have to WORK for a living, stopping in, ugh, diners and such, always having to smile.  And people always saying such mean things about Mitt.  Leave him alone. Just be grateful that he's running.   Well, gawd, Ann, if you can't take it now, get the hell out of the race. And take you lying, flip-flopping husband with you.

So, the tax return for 2011 is being released.  I have no doubt that it took this long to doctor the information.  After all, he knew he was going to be running for President and knew he had to hide stuff.

The other 20 years of tax returns come to us in the form of a letter from the accountant who has "seen" them?  Really?  No specifics given out.  Romney has said that giving specifics would give ammunition to the Democrats.  Well...... if you have nothing to hide.......

And about the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Swiss accounts?  Nada.  Romney:  a true American patriot....keeping his money overseas.  What a guy!

Doctors reports on Romney's and Ryan's physical health will be coming out.  I'd like to see the mental health reports!

Ah, the patriotic Republican House, blocking a vote on the Veterans Jobs bill just to thwart President Obama.  Nice going, turds.

Mitt thinks if his dad, who was born in Mexico, was born to Mexican parents, he'd have a better shot at winning over Latinos.  Really?????  Mitt, even that wouldn't help you.

By the way, if you don't have an approved voter ID, go get a gun permit.  That will get you into the voting booths.  You don't even have to show your gun, or actually own one!!!!  Getting a gun permit is easier than going through the hoops those f**** states require you to go through just to exercise YOUR RIGHT to vote!

The only reason I look forward to reading about Mittens is to see what other slithering, lying crap comes dribbling out of his flip-flopping mouth.  Each day makes the hole a little deeper.  Heh, heh, heh.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The 11th of September or 9/11?

Thirty-eight years ago today, I gave birth to our second son, Abbott.  It was one of the most amazing, happy days of our lives.  And each year, on September 11th,  we celebrated that wonderful moment...... until 9/11/2001.  On that day we all felt the horror.  Our son was 2500 miles away from us and the telephone conversation we had that day was difficult.  He said to us, "How can I ever think of this day with anything but sadness?"  We said all the appropriate things to him, trying to tell him of our happiness the day he was born.  But it was a conversation that left all of us with a heavy heart.

Each year after that it became less difficult.  Then one September 11th, I told him that there were 2 ways one could think of this day:  Everyone was calling the event, nine-eleven (9/11).  That seemed to be etched into the public mind about the day of the tragedy.  But we should refer to his birthday as having been born on the 11th of September.  That differentiation didn't have the same impact or connotation as 9/11.  And once we started referring to his birthday that way, it became an easy way to separate the two events.

We will never forget the tragedy of that day in 2001, but we celebrate the joy of Abbott's birth, first and foremost.

Happy birthday, my darling son.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

A Blog of Note.....a Liebster Award






I was given a Liebster Blog Award today by my cousin, Karen Lebewohl Blessing. It's a tagging award given to bloggers who have, either less than 3000 readers or less than 200 readers, depending on where you read up on this award, and is usually considered a favorite of the one bestowing the award.  I, frankly, don't know how many read my blog because I never check.  However, I am truly flattered that Karen would include me in her list of blogger 'awardees'.

I started my blog after I moved to Arizona and became aware of the extreme conservative views of many in this state. Years ago, Arizona was not like this and, coming from a liberal and progressive background, the extreme right wing views caused me some anxiety.  I thought the best way to handle that was to vent on a blog. I chose the name of my blog because sound bites are so prevalent and mostly repeated by those who don't bother to do the research to check their facts and, frankly, don't appear to have the critical thinking skills so necessary to understand that today's politicians are not serving the people but only serving themselves.

I blog mainly about politics but on occasion my blogs get personal or I blog about other subjects that interest me.  The fact that I love to write and it is something that I will admit I do well makes it easy for me to blog.

So, now it's my turn to bestow the award on those blogs I really love. Here are my favorites and I hereby give the Liebster Award to  these very worthy blogs.  Their writing is wonderful, intelligent, funny, joyous and full of personal observations that are so diverse.


Enjoy these:

      1.  The Rude Pundit  http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/
      2.  Karen Blessing's Baking in a Tornado:  http://bakinginatornado.blogspot.com/
      3. Michael Galvin's  truthout2prw:  http://truthout2pwr.blogspot.com/
      4. Susan Lerner's Booklerner:   http://booklerner.blogspot.com/
      5. Geoff Fox's My Permanent Record:  http://www.geofffox.com/
      6. Stew Campbell's Stewsbrew:  http://stewsbrew.wordpress.com/
      7. The Political Carnival:   http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/

Sunday, July 29, 2012

I may be liberal but...

I may be liberal but I'm not crazy.  Democrats, liberals, and progressives, for the most part, have not gone off the deep left end of the political spectrum.  We are patriots, we are intelligent, we think things through, we analyze. We understand that this is a country blessed by people who have come here for better lives, lives that give them  freedom from tyranny and fear.  America is indeed a smorgasbord of ideas, of individuals who bring their hopes, their dreams, their traditions and beliefs, their skills and abilities.  But mostly, they bring their desire to live in a country which values individual rights, justice for all its citizens and the freedom to be heard, respected and valued.  We were a country which produced the best and the brightest.

But, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.  Thanks to the Republican Party which has been taken over by the Tea Party, the ideals that I thought described what the United States was all about are systematically and deliberately being sabotaged, state by state, and through the obstinate and narrow mindedness of a group of people intent on denigrating our first black President at every turn.  The vitriol, the venomous comments, the intent to thwart everything Democrats propose, regardless of whether it benefits the country is beyond reason.  They have decimated every program that benefits the elderly, the young, and the infirm. The twisting of words, the outright lies, the breaking of unions, the disparaging of teachers, police officers, and firefighters, the  attempt to dismantle the government's ability to protect the environment, to educate every child, the effort to privatize everything so that corporations can squeeze humongous profits , using race-based politics, the gutting of regulations insuring the safety of of our citizens, the insertion of Christian-based beliefs into law contrary to the separation of church and state, insisting that this is a "Christian" nation when it most definitely is not, denying healthcare to millions of Americans...this is the Republican way.

It is the road to Fascism, led by a selfish, self-absorbed, bible-thumping cadre of insolent, contemptuous, disrespectful, homophobic, racist, and bigoted people from a segment of the American populace who have become the most intolerant human beings the United States has ever experienced. It is criminal, it is shameful, it is unpatriotic, it is un-American, and it is a disgrace.   And they must not be allowed to strip this country of its claims to democracy, freedom, opportunity for all and the pursuit of happiness for every citizen.  We must not let anyone "take our country back."  We must take our country forward, ensuring equal rights for everyone, a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people", not run by the rich and their corporate friends.   Republicans are against a real democracy; Democrats are for a real democracy.  It's an easy decision for those who really care about the welfare of the citizens of the United States.


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Reasons for recovery

When one comes close to death and recovers as well as Ethan has, I have to believe that all the loving thoughts, prayers and good wishes had something to do with it, notwithstanding the excellent medical care and physical therapy he has been getting.  On this day of our 46th anniversary, the best gift is not the length of a very loving marriage to a man I just adore and who continues to make my heart soar, but to the gift of Ethan's recovery, to the gift of caring, support and love from Ethan's friends and the knowledge that he is safe and has retained his wonderful sense of humor.

To all Ethan's friends and our relatives and friends, a heartfelt thank you for your healing energy, thoughts and help.  You are truly part of our family circle.  We love you all.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

If you have your health....a not so good turn in life...

"If you have your health, you have everything."  Those words are the ultimate truth.  My son ruptured his left ACL and meniscus.  He had to wear a huge, heavy brace on his leg and couldn't move around with it.  That's not a good thing.  When you're taking a long plane ride, you're told to get up, walk the aisle and when sitting, wiggle your feet and bend your legs to prevent clots.

As a result of wearing the heavy brace and inactivity, Ethan developed a pulmonary embolism and collapsed.  He managed to call a neighbor and that's when the drama kicked into high gear.  EMTs rushed him to the hospital where the docs found a HUGE clot that had broken into pieces which were meandering around in both his lungs and his leg.  He was told he was lucky this didn't kill him.

He is now on clot-busting drugs, still hospitalized, being watched, having tests  and generally making his mother's hair turn white!

What is amazing to me, though, is the incredible kindness of his wonderful neighbors and good friends who came to his rescue, got him the medical help he needed, took care of his personal stuff, have visited and helped with the mess in the house from when he collapsed, continue to help and give comfort.  Since Ethan is a vegan (and the hospital food people do not have a clue as to what that entails) his friends have provided food he can eat. These are extraordinary people and to them we are eternally grateful.  Friends and relatives who know about the situation have offered their help, prayers and healing thoughts. 

Mom, Dad and brother have all cleared our calendars to fly up to be with him on a round robin basis.  It's what we do, not only because it's right, but because we love him and need him to know we are there with him, for him and always will be. 

It's a lot more complicated than this but we'll get through this together.  And we are feeling the hugs, the love and the strength from all those who have let us know they are thinking of us.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Sterling, my furry family member

Life goes by, a day at a time, seemingly fine. And then, suddenly, things go downhill fast. I have 2 really adorable rescue dogs.  Snuggles is a maltese/shi tzu mix and Sterling is a bichon/poodle mix.

 When I heard a yip from Sterling it didn't seem like a big deal.  When he didn't want to eat, my suspicions started to rise.  When he didn't want to get up off the floor and didn't want to walk, the bells were ringing.

We rushed him to the emergency vet because this was a Sunday (of course.)  We spent several hours there, much of it waiting to see the vet on duty.  There were a lot of emergencies that day.  They did preliminary tests and took x-rays which showed a disc problem.  The vet sent us home with some meds and we were told to keep him as inactive as possible.

On Monday morning, we took him to our vet and the drama was on.   The disc problem was causing him pain.  He refused to eat and drink so he had to stay at the vet with an IV  for nutrition and liquid.  His weight loss was quick.  It was easy to see the difference a few less pounds made on his little body.  He spent two additional days at the vet with the IV in him.  We took him home for the nights, keeping him in a crib so he wouldn't try to jump up on anything like the sofa or the bed...two of his favorite places.  And he was on a regimen of medications for pain, nausea, gastro protection, indigestion, and probiotics.  Except for the probiotic which he took willingly, it was a battle to get the rest of the meds down his throat.  Trying to get him to eat was another test.  I cooked chicken breast for him and he would eat that.  But trying to get him to eat the canned stuff the vet sent home was a different story.  He wouldn't eat it out of his dish but if I put some in a spoon, along with some chicken breast pieces, he would lick some of it.

We spent most of the time during the week, when he wasn't at the vet, either holding him or making sure he wasn't doing much of anything except laying in one of his several beds scattered round the house.  In the meantime, Snuggles, bless her little heart, was extremely concerned about him.  She hovered near him and we could tell from the look on her face that she was worried.  Continuing to reassure her was part of the drama, too.

Sterling is still on pain medication for a few more days, but now we will have to make sure he doesn't jump on stuff.  A wrong jump could result in paralysis.  We'll be getting some doggie stairs for him.  Any bets as to whether we can teach him to use them?

The cost of all this was unexpected and high.  But there was never a moment , not one moment, when we hesitated to do everything we needed to do to get him well, no matter what the cost.  Our doggies are family members, bringing us joy, happiness and giggles all the time.  There isn't anything we wouldn't do for them.  Love my doggies!

Friday, June 1, 2012

MY DELETED COMMENT ON HUFFPOST'S JOBS REPORT!

Today, I posted the comment below on HuffPost under the article about the jobs report.  69,000 is a low number?  After getting 16 people to "fave" the comment, Huffpost removed the comment.  I am designated a Superuser on Huffpost.  Don't know what their problem is. 



It's beyond comprehension that Obama gets blamed for every damned thing. Why hasn't the GOP Congress done something about creating jobs LIKE THEY PROMISED? President Obama has tried and accomplished a turnaround in the jobs picture against all odds thrown at him by the GOP. The GOP hates his guts and will do anything to bring him down. Obama is not responsible for singlehandedly creating every new job here. There have to be consumers to buy the products. The GOP is doing its damnedest to make sure the middle class has less and less money, purchasing power and voting power. Where the hell were the screamers when GW Bush threw the economy and the country in the crapper? 69,000 jobs WERE ADDED. There will be more to come if we can keep the vicious GOP from giving more tax breaks to the damn corporations and making sure a JOBS PRESIDENT like Obama remains in office.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

HEADLINES - SEE WHAT'S WRONG HERE?

Major GOP Donor Arrested in $100 Million Veteran Charity Scam

House Republicans Want to Strip LGBT, Immigrant and Native American Protections from Violence Against Women Act

GOP Plans to Dramatically Scale Back Protections for Abused Women

North Carolina discriminates against the LBGT community in their state constitution

House GOP Defends DOMA's Separation of Bi-National Same-Sex Couples

Shaun Winkler, GOP White Supremacist Candidate for Sheriff (Idaho) Hosts Cross-Burning event

House Passes Bombs Not Bread Bill to Spare Military, Cut Food Aid

Reporters Blocked at Romney Event

Boehner Threatens to Take Economy to the Brink Again

Florida Telling Hundreds of Eligible Citizens They are Ineligible to Vote



All of the above are what the GOP is all about.  They are not just conservative.  They are dangerously vicious, misogynistic, bigoted, racist, fascist individuals hell bent on destroying democracy as we know it, replete with stupidity, unable to understand the hell they are reigning on the United States citizenry, and happy to make this country into an oligarchy, creating a society based on two classes: those with money and power and those without and the chasm between the two is so wide it will be impossible to close or change unless the current lunatic-inspired GOP is decimated and reason and humanity seep back into those who still cling to what they think is conservative values.

As it stands now, the GOP has no values that relate to humanity.  They are simply bat-shit crazy.  May they all rot in hell.







THE ANSWER TO CITIZENS UNITED

Citizens United is an abhorrent decision that needs to be reversed.  Well, if corporations are people (my friends!) they must be able to vote since every person is entitled to vote.  Therefore if I form a single person corporation, I should be able to register that corporation to vote!  If my attempt to register is rejected, can I not bring a lawsuit saying that, like some minorities, I have been discriminated against because I'm a corporation?  If one person formed a one-person corporation, tried to register to vote and was rejected, and then sued the state for discrimination, how do you think the Supreme Court would rule when the case got that far?

Anyone have any comments?

Monday, April 16, 2012

We are all "illegal"

None of us living here in the United States is "legal."  We can't be when those who came from Europe, the so-called discoverers, actually stole all the land from the original peoples and in which we now live and declare to be the United States of America. This isn't "our country" and really never has been.  We are a bunch of thieves masquerading as "righteous owners" of land we have no right to own.  So, I'm sick and tired of tea party assholes and moronic right wing nuts jobs (read GOP/conservatives) yelling about how they want to "take our country back."  It was never yours to begin with.  Everyone living in this country with the exception of all Native Peoples ("Indians" to you disgusting, right wing, denigrating windbags) is an "illegal alien." Now, stick your nose up your ass and thank your lucky stars that you get to live here.......as guests.  And act like guests...be courteous and kind and grateful to your hosts so they won't kick you out on your fat asses for decimating their gorgeous country with your pollution and your complete contempt for your hosts and their way of life.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

What the GOP is about

1.  Scott Walker's quiet repeal of equal pay for women;
2.  Denying full health benefits, i.e. contraception, for women under the guise of "religious freedom";
3.  Not extending the Violence Against Women Act;
4.  Pulling federal dollars from Planned Parenthood;
5.  Voter ID laws designed to discourage the elderly, blacks, college kids, etc. from voting, all because of bogus concerns about bogus voting fraud.
6.  The GOP decimating everything that helps most Americans: wages, unemployment, Medicare, Social Security, healthcare, education, environmental protection, etc.;
7.  The GOP's gift of much lower taxes for oil companies, pharmaceuticals, corporations and the rich, placing a larger tax burden on the average American;
8.  Paul Ryan's incredibly awful budget which would elevate the deficit on the backs of the poor;
9.  Denigrating science and public education;
10.  Blaming teachers, police officers, firefighters, and their unions for the ills of the country;
11.  Still believing in the fable of trickle-down economics which never worked;
12.  Cherry-picking which parts of the Constitution to uphold and which parts to throw out;
13.  Still thinking that somewhere in the Constitution it says this country was founded as a "Christian Nation".............
14.  Reveling in their complete and utter lack of honest intellectualism about science, women, what this country is supposed to stand for, diversity, kindness, compassion, humanity, honesty;
15.  The GOP: the political party bound and determined to bring this country back to the 1930's;
16.  The GOP: a party that has no forward vision for the good of the country, only tired, old ideas from the past that don't work;
17.  Making the United States in a fascist oligarchy;
18.  GOP candidates who flip-flop on issues to pander to the right wing;
19.  GOP candidates who lie continually;
20.  GOP Congressional members who HATE President Obama and don't hide that hatred;
21.  Republicans who publicly disrespect the office of the President of the United States because there is a black man as President;
22.  Stating that their only goal is to get Barack Obama out of office.
23.  The stupidity and audacity of questioning President Obama's birthplace and his religion.
24.  Wanting to "take our country back"..from who?  the Native Peoples from whom you stole the lands???
25.  Conservative:  limit change, preserve existing conditions, inflexible, unchanging, controlling, unimaginative, uncreative, old guard, right wing........... all unflattering definitions.

Why would anyone want to be part of such a horrendous group of miserably mean, stupid, intellectually challenged, unpatriotic and vicious people?

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

REPUBLICAN AGENDA AND PLATFORM-ALL NEGATIVE

Transvaginal probes, essentially condoning rape by government; drug testing in order to get unemployment compensation; bills denying women's health coverage; bans on reproductive rights; voter ID laws denying thousands who have voted their whole lives, the right to vote now; killing Medicare and Social Security; war-mongering about Iran and Syria; tax cuts for the rich; Republican presidential candidates flip-flopping and lying; advocating for religious doctrine over scientific reasoning; denying proven global warming/climate change; elevating the views of the Christian religion into every political arena and over every other religion; denying those who work their right to unionize; trashing laws which protect the environment; gutting public education in favor of for-profit charter schools; denying people the right to health care coverage; obstructing everything President Obama and Democrats put forth; guns in every nook and cranny; adhering to only selective parts of the Constitution and gutting the other parts they don't like; a very small government but one that fits in a woman's vagina and sticks its nose into everyone's personal life; dispensing with all safeguards for the young, the sick and the elderly; blocking help for small businesses; bashing the LGBT community; supporting the ridiculous DOMA;  ..............AD NAUSEUM!  Everything listed is a negative.  They offer nothing positive for this nation.

The Republican party is peopled with the lowest of the low, the nastiest of the nasty, the craziest of the crazy, the meanest of the mean, the vilest of the vile.  These people have no hearts, no souls, no understanding of what it means to be humane.  They are power- hungry Christian zealots stampeding over everyone else's beliefs, unwilling to listen to reasoned compromise.  They are not just bullies.  They are the demons of politics, course, loutish, uncouth, and dangerous.  They are thieves, stealing our civil liberties, our civil rights, our dignity, our lives and they must be stopped.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

MY DISCUSSION WITH LIFELOCK REGARDING LIMBAUGH'S SHOW

Lifelock is still advertising on Limbaugh's show.  I wrote to them requesting that they drop their ads.  What follows below shows what a miserable corporate entity they are.

This was my initial email, sent on March 6, 2012:

You sponsor the Phoenix Mercury. And you STILL advertise on Limbaugh's show? How can you be blind to the fact that continuing to have ads on his show means you support his hateful and disgusting attitude toward women. This is not a free speech issue. He is free to spew his brand of hatred. Your company does not have to appear complicit, agreeing with his stance. And by remaining as one of his advertisers, that is precisely how your company is perceived.

As a sponsor of a pre-eminent women's basketball team you have an obligation to not sully your reputation. Have the courage to stop advertising on his program and show that you have respect for women.

Do the right thing. It's long overdue.

Respectfully,

Reisa Miller
Chandler, AZ

This is the answer I got today, March 7, 2012:

 Response Via Email (Annie Kobus)    03/07/2012 01:30 PM

Reisa Miller,

Thank you for your email and for the feedback that you have provided.

We have received a considerable amount of comments regarding our advertising with Rush Limbaugh. Like many Americans, we were shocked and offended by his language, insensitivity and approach which was not what we expected from an advertising partner. We immediately expressed our concerns to Rush and felt that an apology was needed. We are glad to see that he has made repeated attempts to apologize for his remarks.

While this continues to be a topic for discussion, LifeLock has stated our position and continues to focus our efforts on working relentlessly to protect our members from identity theft. We remain committed to protecting the identities and personal information of all of our members, regardless of gender, creed, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or any other qualifiers.

LifeLock works with a variety of advertisers and radio personalities and the views expressed by the host do not, and have never, represented LifeLock’s views. The reason we have maintained long-term relationships with our advertising partners is because they do share our commitment to fighting identity theft.

If at any time you have questions or need to make changes to your account, just visit your secure online member portal by going to www.lifelock.com. For additional support, email us at member.services@lifelock.com or contact us at 1-800-543-3562. We're here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Sincerely,

LifeLock Member Services



I didn't think much of the answer from Lifelock so this was my reply to them today!



Your answer below is a disgrace.  You obviously just don't get it.  Your feigned shock and offense at his remarks mean nothing if you still run your ads on his show.  His attempt to apologize was nothing more than a little fear about his bottom line.  His sincerity is really questionable in light of his comments today about a female author.  The man is toxic to women.  He has a problem with women and continually says things that cross the line.  There is a difference between expressing your opinion and ranting and raving in the lowest  and vilest of terms.

There are other right wing talk shows you could advertise on if that is your bent, but continuing to sponsor Rush Limbaugh tells me you really don't care what he says as long as that money rolls in for you. 

If I were a member of the Phoenix Mercury I would be mortified to have your name on my shirt.

And if you think that Limbaugh shares your commitment to fighting identity theft, he has already stolen the good name of several women.  Nice company you keep.

I'm sorry you are digging in to the position you've taken.  It boils down to character. Neither Rush Limbaugh nor your company has it.


Reisa Miller
Chandler, AZ

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

REPUBLICANS ARE NOTHING BUT COWARDS

 What more proof do you need that the Republican/Conservative/Tea Party/Moron Party is quaking in its boots at its total lack of balls to go after one of their own.  That Rush Limbaugh, or as I prefer to call him, Rushing Limpballs, can open that pisshole of a mouth, trash someone he doesn't know over the airwaves and expect his Republican henchmen to jump on that potty-mouthed bandwagon is beyond comprehension.

But, sure enough, his army of asshole stooges not only jumped but asked "how high."  Here are some of the detestable, ugly, drooling drippings that came out of their disgusting, smelly mouths (courtesy of Eric Boehlert of Huffington Post):

-Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin denounced Fluke as a "femme-agogu tool."
-The right-wing site Jawa Report illustrated a post about Fluke with a picture of a tattoo that reads "Semen Demon."
-Pam Geller wrote that Fluke is "banging it five times a day" and that "calling this whore a slut was a softball."
-Accuracy in Media's Don Irvine called her a "skank."
-Former CPAC Blogger of The Year, Ace of Spades, called Fluke a "shiftless rent-a-cooch from East Whoreville."
-Michelle Malkin guest blogger Doug Ross used "Got Slut?" in a headline and suggested Fluke suffered from "nymphomania."
-Dana Loesch complained the controversy surrounding Limbaugh's three-day "slut" campaign represented a "manufactured" story. (This, before Limbaugh responded to the "manufactured" story by issuing a rare public statement.)

And then there are the feeble, idiotic responses of the Republican so-called leadership: Romney apparently would have used other words to convey the same message, Boehner said it was "inappropriate," thereby proving what a wuss he is, Santorum-Cantor ....anything????   Too scared to beat the shit out of Limpballs and tell him where to go.  They cower before him, all doing his bidding.  They are cowards of the first order.

The whole Republican gang is just that:  a gang of backward, nasty, mean, vicious, haters of everything and everyone who isn't white, male, and Christian.  They are a bunch of old farts belching their stinkin' wind and trying to suck the life blood out of all those who don't think as they do.  Perhaps their collective belching and farting of their scare tactics, their lies, their creepiness, and their idiocy will shortly bring them down into the sewers they like to wallow in.  And with some luck they will never rise again out of the muck and the mire they have created.

Friday, March 2, 2012

ARE WE IN A TIME WARP?

As time goes by in this political season that I can only describe as being incendiary, I wonder why Republicans and Tea Party members have become so unbelievably unsound, so out of touch with the 21st century, unreasonable, unbalanced, unrealistic, backward, vulgar, and just genuinely miserable human beings. 

When did they become the advocates for blind hatred toward all those who either are not like them or who don't believe or agree with them?  How do they reconcile their professed belief in a small government while at the same time sticking their noses in the most private affairs of women? How can their Christian religious beliefs take precedence over everyone else's beliefs.  Why do they think theirs is the only belief system that must be followed?

On one hand, they profess to want to adhere to the Constitution.  On the other, they want to rip out the parts they think don't follow their warped beliefs.  They apparently want this country ruled as a theocracy.  I also think they don't understand what the word means.

Their disdain for education is beyond belief.  Their disdain for the rights of average Americans is beyond belief.  Their war on women is incomprehensible.  Their war on laws that keep us safe is incomprehensible.  Their war on the sick, the young and the elderly is incomprehensible.  Their war on science is incomprehensible.  They badmouth everything good that the Obama administration does

Everything that the Republican party stands for is detested by those who really love this country.  The Republican party seems hell bent on rolling back all the gains Americans have made in the last 60 years.  Women will become chattel, education and health care will only be for the rich, minorities will be discriminated against just as they had been so many years ago.  It is the way Republicans think.  It is what they want.  It is a devastating plan for the United States. 

They have twisted the meaning of much of what this country stands for:  freedom, patriotism, liberty, opportunity, equality, diversity, cooperation.  They are bigots, racists, 

We are heading toward a Taliban-like state if they ever take the reins of government.  They are a depressing group of hypocritical, misogynist nutjobs.  This country will not be a good place to live in if they get the power they seek.  It will be like living in the United States of Iran. 

Even with all this, I have hope that the American people won't let the Republicans ride roughshod over them, take away their rights, stomp on their ideas or their dreams or allow this country to go down the path to a theocracy or oligarchy.  I hope this will become a country for "the people", by "the people", and not run by the corporate masters who pull the strings of most Republican politicians.  

Sunday, February 19, 2012

TO MY DARLING SON, ETHAN: FROM THE VERY FIRST MOMENT....

From the moment I knew you were coming, I held my breath and said a prayer that your nine-month journey would be traveled without incident, surrounded by everything you needed, including the incredible love Dad and I were feeling at this chance to finally bring a new life into our world.  I loved you the minute I heard your heartbeat, I loved you more the minute you were born. Then I saw your face and I fell in love some more. You were only a minute old, but I knew I would die for you and to this day I still would.

From that day forward you have given Dad and me a laugh a minute, our hearts bursting with love through all your growing up years, 'kvelling' at all your accomplishments (and there were many) and loving the compassionate, kind and caring human being you were becoming.

Our life with you during your first 18 years was exceptionally happy.  You made parenting easy as we watched you grow from such a cute little boy with a wonderful giggle and smile to a great teenager who did so well in school, not following the crowd but creating your own path.

You found your life's calling early and pursued it vigorously at Arizona State University. You have become one of the country's premier photographers and have received so many awards for your wonderful work.  Yours is not a job, it is the passion of your life.

Wishing you a wonderful birthday with many, many more years to enjoy your passion and find even more success in all you do.

We are so proud of the boy we knew.  We are so proud of the man you have become.  You are loved beyond measure.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

This Pack of Nit Wits

The incredible viciousness being tossed back and forth between Romney and Gingrich makes me laugh, albeit through my disgust.  Each has a really big problem with something they should have learned when they were kids........ telling the truth.  I understand this "is politics."  But lying just shouldn't be acceptable in any venue.  The lies are legion, nonsensical, blatant, hypocritical, malicious, reprehensible, groundless and erroneous.  The two of them sound like immature, emotionally undeveloped, nasty little boys intent on outdoing the other in name calling.  Neither is Presidential material.

Each has enormous detrimental baggage.  One clearly is lacking in character and integrity and has honed his lying to a very high degree.  The other pads his answers to mean whatever will pass muster to the particular audience he speaks to.  He has no idea what he believes because those beliefs change so frequently depending on the audience he is speaking in front of at the time.

Both take credit for things they were never really involved in.  Gingrich  says he is the successor to Ronald Reagan even though Reagan did so many things Gingrich is against, like raising taxes more than a dozen times.  Romney takes credit for creating thousands of jobs, citing, as an example, the success of Staples.  Romney was with Bain Capital, not Bain, a completely different company which was involved with Staples.  Romney wasn't a job creator, he was a job destroyer.  He and his cronies took over companies, took out the money, left the companies with debt, sent jobs overseas and left the companies to collapse, thereby putting an awful lot of people out of work.

Gingrich had to leave his position as Speaker of the House in disgrace; he is an adulterer as is his current third wife, is a race-baiting bigot who thinks Latinos and Blacks are somehow lesser human beings.  He is bombastic, pompous, ungracious and histrionic.  He is hardly presidential.  He makes a mockery of the Constitution and all that is good in this country.  He has no empathy for the working people of the United States...the ones who help make this country great.

Romney has no idea what most Americans struggle with in living day to day, trying to survive job losses, house losses, paying ungodly amounts for health insurance, having no health insurance, taking jobs that pay very little.  He inherited his obscenely huge amount of money.  He was a one-term governor of Massachusetts who, apparently, did so lousy a job that he wasn't re-elected.  The only good thing he did was pass "Romneycare" which is much like the Affordable Health Care Act that President Obama passed and which Romney rails against.  Every position he takes changes with the wind.  He flip-flops faster and more often than a beached fish.  He apparently hasn't heard that there is audio and video of him everywhere voicing all his changing positions.

And then there is Ron Paul and Rick Santorum.  What is there to say.  One is surely a self-centered crackpot, the other a right wing Christian, mindless, bible-thumping, tactless stooge who wants to take the country back to the 19th century.

None of the 9 cretins running for the GOP presidential nomination has ever talked about what they would do to create jobs in this country.  They had no idea how to.  They only knew how to bash President Obama.  The GOP is the party of hate, class warfare, backwardness.  They look back instead of forward.  They want things to be as they were, no matter how bad it was.  They want to eliminate all the gains this country has made in education, health, environmental safety, food safety, equitable pay, equal rights, personal rights and on and on and on.  They want to take this country back, all right, back to the time when women and minorities were second class citizens.

This pack of nit wits is the best the Republican party has?  When G-d said, "All those who want brains, come forth," the Republicans came fifth.  Those left running are a very sorry lot.  They just need to go away and leave the country in the hands of people who care for EVERYONE living here, not just the ultra-rich 1%.  The rest of us, the 99% need our voices heard.  We'll have that chance by re-electing President Obama.