The Best Of Me

I added a new section to my side bar. I now have links to various meditations I've written out here. I also have my favorite Bush rant. Since I'm coming up on my one year blogiversary, I decided to post my best quotes from this blog.

On the Hubby-Man
"Hubby Man calls for me to come quick... the snake is eating itself. I dash into the bedroom expecting... well I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe Sinbad the snake doing the oroboris circle thingy. Nope. The stupid snake had his mouth firmly clamped on his body, while the rest of him wrapped and squeezed himself."

"My hubby noticed ages ago that redheads tend to clump together. He expressed how beautiful it was to see 3 or 4 redheads together, lighting up a room and drawing all the attention. I laughed at him and told him we don't clump or cluster, we clot like blood."

"I thought about how nice is is that I have a talent for cooking, and from out of nowhere Hubby-Man says, "I'm glad that you are talented in bed, because we can always go out to a restaurant... But I do appreciate your cooking"."

On My Son
on the first day of school"This morning, he comes out of his room wearing a dirty school shirt! I don't know where he found it, but there it was, in all it's wrinkled glory hanging on his body. I almost laughed out loud. I said, "Where did you find that shirt?" He replied, "I guess I should have grabbed one of the ones hanging up?"

"Anyone with a 12 year old boy understands, and the rest don't need me to share."

"I stuck the coupon on the fridge along with all the other coupons I'll never use, and promptly forgot about it. L however, did not. Every day I asked, "What would you like for breakfast?" and he'd reply, "Krispy Kreme... You didn't buy them last night? Ok then, hashbrowns." This went on for 2 solid weeks. I'd pick him up from school; he'd ask for Krispy Kreme. I went grocery shopping; he asked for Krispy Kreme. I'm still thinking he will eat one or two donuts and be done with the Krispy Kreme thing, and we'll be stuck with 22 high-calorie rings of doom... I could not have been more wrong. We finally go buy the friggin' donuts. L eats one, I eat one, B eats one. Then we all eat another. L notices that the first dozen are halfway gone, and says, "There were 24 donuts, and 3 people. That makes 8 donuts each." We all agreed that 8 donuts were the max we'd eat, so that all would be in balance. This isn't normal behavior for L. He's usually quite generous, and if he mentally divides food, he does it by size. Thus I say: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts are not your average donut."

"A commercial came on, and L snagged a gingerbread man to eat. He started making loud licking noises, running his tongue up and down the gingerbread man's back. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes, and he started to giggle. I got a clear image in my head of SpongeBob SquarePants eating ice cream, and smiled. L really got into the SpongeBob mode then; wrapping his lips around the gingerbread head, slurping with a blank look on his face, the whole 9 yards."

"My bread was so bad...
How bad was it?
It was so bad, my son said, "You should throw the bread away, and burn the pan it was baked in, and salt the oven in which it was baked."


On The Prez.
"So last night my President delayed "Survivor" so he could say nothing in a genuinely artificial sincere way."

"Last night I got tired of being in despair. I refuse to give Bush that power over me for one second more. We as a people can survive this. We survived Mc Carthy, we survived others, we'll survive this. Better yet, we as a people can fight this. You know why? Because we can speak out without fear serious of reprisal. No one is going to knock on your door for the content of your blog. No one is going to amputate your tongue, or maim your family members because you don't like Bush.
If we live in fear Bush wins.
I will not fear an angry little man."

"I don't like George Bush. I don't like our predominantly Republican Congress. More accurately, I'm nearing a point of 'fight or flight' mentality. Other countries are looking good to me. I have awakened in the middle of the night from dreams of Bush getting re-elected. I've studied enough history to see how quickly a country can go from free to hell. All it takes is fear. Right now, Americans are afraid they will lose their jobs and be unable to find new ones. They're afraid their teenagers will be gunned down by a crazy student, teacher, sniper, or pack of ravenous wolves. They pray for the rapture to take them away. They would rather have the world end, than look at their fear.
At least, some of them would.
Some, but not all.
Some Americans face their fears, tackle them like the intruders they are. Some Americans write their congress people, sign petitions, protest, or just plain blog. There's a stealthy flow of information circulating the net, undermining the media; Thanks to an educated and inspired few."

"A few days ago, Bush came to St. Louis. Protesters were there, showing their objections to the change in overtime thing. Bush (supposedly) never knew they were there. Last year, Bush came to St. Louis. Protesters were there, showing their objections. Bush never saw them. I know he never saw them because they were kept on a side street a quarter of a mile away. This is happening all over the country!"

On The War
"What would 90 Million dollars, the amount spent on the war this year, buy?
Free lunch every day for every working American for a year. (bread, milk, carrot sticks, lunchmeat and an apple) or 1700 new hospitals. or 6300 new schools with internet access and 6 computers in each classroom. or900,000 city park renovations. or 1,800,000,000 hospital cafeteria meals for a couple. or 18,000,000,000 home cooked meals for a family of 3"

"The United States of America, winner of the Cold War and all around "good guy" needs to prepare for a new (old) problem. We are going to have battle-scarred, shell-shocked, embittered and disillusioned men and women returning to raise the children that their families have been caring for. There will be no place in society for them. There will be no jobs. There will be no help from the military that used them so poorly. And their children will suffer in silence."

"And here I was thinking that the National Guard was designed to guard our nation."

"Playground bullies engage in terrorism, as do drug dealers, militant groups, activist groups and entire governments. Why do we turn a blind eye to some of it, and bomb the snot out of people for other acts of terrorism? Why is it acceptable for a child to be abused at school (or home) by another child, yet unacceptable for a small group of people to blow up a bus? Why do we smile at Greenpeace, laugh at PETA, ignore the inner-city, and squash Afghanistan? Why do we need to add cute little prefixes to terrorism? If it's ecoterrorism, is it somehow more special than just regular terrorism?"


On Sept. 11th
"Elections were postponed, our borders were closed, all non military flights were grounded, no stocks were sold. Our country sent warships to protect the East coast, and make the ports less of a target. The President was still flying around in an empty sky, and average people dug through rubble looking for survivors, and looking for hope."

On Spaceflight
"There are moments in everyone's life that make us great.
Entering a burning building to save a life. Standing before a tank in a public square- and dying for it. Hugging a child, hugging an adult, hugging a stranger, touching another. Sending a living being off this planet and BRINGING HIM/HER HOME AGAIN; not once, not twice, but more than a thousand times! When did these things become cliche? These acts lift our heads from the muck and mire of our daily crap, and remind us that life covers the whole wide world!"

On Politics
"I have always thought of the idea of seeing the ten commandments outside a courthouse as being rather appropriate. Perhaps they can modify the existing monument to cover some of the major laws of our country, without imposing their religious beliefs...
THOU SHALL NOT STEAL
THOU SHALL NOT RAPE
THOU SHALL NOT LIE IN COURT
THOU SHALL NOT KILL
Gee, that covers the basics. They can stick HONOR THY MOTHER AND FATHER over at the Juvenile Courthouse; and while they're at it, Divorce court should get TREASURE THY CHILDREN ABOVE ALL WORLDLY POSSESSIONS and THOU SHALL NOT BICKER"

On The World
"Fulfillment comes with greeting the morning sun, feeling the breeze, listening as the world speaks with myriad voices, -whispering- I am!"

"Sometimes it's fun to roll around in your personal pile of trash. It's like visiting an old friend. It's comfortable, and when you climb out and brush yourself off, the world looks so beautiful!"

"I believe I have drawn enough chaos to me and my loved ones now. Thank you Universe for the crazy drivers, the heart palpitations, the stressed-out children, the near-miss with our bank account and the flooding of the downstairs bathroom. I really appreciate the heads-up you've sent me. I've gotten the message, and I hope you're done now, because we're getting the tree taken out this week, and I can see how that's a big opportunity for chaos."

"There is a tremendous thunderstorm outside right now. It sounds like the Gods are moving furniture across a hardwood floor."

"Cash is a great validation."

"I saw a goofy couple learning how to shop together. They didn't have the foggiest idea what they were supposed to buy for their household. It seemed like every aisle I went down, there they were -discussing the mathematics of food. It was amusing, and brought back memories of my first dozen shopping expeditions as a married woman. "I will eat X amount of this... B will eat X amount... is 2X greater or less than Y amount posted on the box?" The figuring then gets into the ratio of leftovers divided quality of taste, subtracting time as an exponential factor."

"I guess some people are attracted to the mundane."

about fairy tales "I thought dragons swiped princesses to teach them how to work. It would serve two purposes. The dragon gets it's scales cleaned, and the princess learns the value of work, growing up to be a good queen."


On Quinn
"I propose a toast to The Mighty Quinn, King of the Wild Things, lover of heavy machinery on wheels, and keeper of the mommy hair. Thank you for sharing your time here with so many."

Useless Gun Locks?

Most of my links are to liberals. I get all queasy when I read a string of pro-Bush blogs; so I don't usually link them, even when the writing is very, very good. One exception is The Smallest Minority. I love his standing offer to provide guns, ammunition, and the cost of using a range to anyone who has never fired a gun before. I avidly read news of the gun world on his blog. I enjoy every minute of it; especially the points I disagree on. But this is beyond ridiculous.

Ages ago, I bought a rifle. Shortly thereafter, I bought a gun lock. I wore the key on a cord around my neck. I carried the spare on my keyring. When my hubby bought his rifle, (a beautiful Enfield .303 bolt action sniper rifle) we immediately locked it. Perhaps, if we never had a child in the house -even as a guest- we might consider doing away with the locks. But really... If you have the time to get to your gun, switch off the safety, make sure there's a round in the chamber, and aim; then you can spare a few seconds to remove the lock. Otherwise, you may as well use it as a club.
I have a rifle for just in case. Just in case I need to hunt for food. Just in case the country falls apart. Just in case a crowd of rioters breaks into my home. In any of these instances, I'll have plenty of time to get that lock off my gun. If someone breaks into my home in the middle of the night, and I actually wake up; I'm more likely to hit the 911 button on the security monitor.

It would be foolish to have a child and a gun in the house, without the extra precaution of a gun lock. I'm proud to say that my son has never played with either of the two rifles in the house. He's never played with the collection of swords and knives. We taught him well. He understands the purpose of weapons, and he understands that they are not "cool".
Perhaps we taught him too well. He's 13, and he's still afraid to fire my rifle. I would like him to get comfortable with it. I would like him to practice. I would like for him to feel that rush of power, then put that feeling aside; so that he understands all the aspects of weapon ownership. And I let him proceed at his own pace. I will not force him to handle a weapon; but when he does, I want to be right there -teaching the difference between Hollywood and reality.

Why they're called "Blood Diamonds"

I've heard the phrase "blood diamonds" for as long as I've been a rockhound/amateur jeweler. When I looked into the story behind the name, I was horrified. I started a campaign (that continues to this day) to educate all and sundry. I'd like to see colored gems in engagement rings. First of all, they're pretty. Secondly, there's a greater selection. Third, it would put an end to THIS.

Thank you, Alien Nation, for giving me more fuel for my fire. I've been so wrapped up in the same sex marriage debate, that I'd forgotten my crusade. Thus, with my skin all broken out in goosebumps, I say again: Don't buy diamonds. If you must buy them, make sure you know which country they came from. Buy diamonds that were mined in Canada, America, Russia, even China. Thai diamonds are fine. Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea and Malaysia -they have their problems, but they don't have the blood of entire villages attached to their gemstones. Please, please, please don't buy blood diamonds.

They rape 3 year olds with their gun barrels, for gods sake. Just so they can keep their countries mineral wealth. Don't buy diamonds.

I suppose

I suppose my previous rant makes it look like I support polygamy. Hmmm. I do support polygamy as a concept. I have never seen polygamy really work here in America. It seems to work out just fine in other areas of the world, though.

Rant rant rant

"The union of a man and a woman is the most enduring human institution, honored and encouraged in all cultures and by every religious faith," Bush said.
"Marriage cannot be severed from its cultural, religious and natural roots without weakening the good influence of society."

BULLSHIT! I can understand the common, barely educated American buying this stuff. I understand that resistance is a gut reaction. Hate and fear beget more hate and fear. It's normal. And we have self awareness. We have intelligence. We have logical minds that can overide our gut responses. Society teaches us control of our gut reactions. We choose to control our emotional responses because of the greater benefits of friendship, community and yes, strength in numbers. Yet, being human, we continue to respond on an emotional level. Look how I just ranted an entire paragraph from my gut.

Now then, the union of a man and a woman is not the most enduring human institution. It is not honored and encouraged in all cultures, or by every religious faith. Let's take a little walk through history as we know it.
Wikipedia online encyclopedia claims that marriage is generally considered to be the union of one man and one woman, i.e., husband and wife. But if you scroll down past the table of contents, you'll read this: "In most societies, marriage was polygynic, where a man could have multiple wives..."
There's a bit more to it than that. Throughout history, a person in a position of power -for example a king or queen- would take multiple husbands or wives. True, it was always someone of the opposite sex. This made sense, of course. Each new spouse was a link to another country, and a chance for the perpetuation of power. However; in nearly all ancient societies, people would reproduce with the opposite sex, but have lovers of the same sex. You would have been considered strange if you didn't have at least one same sex lover. This was especially common with conquest based cultures. again, it just made sense. Having a lover within your ranks brought a share of power, gave you a focus for your energies, created camraderie and provided a tangible hope for the future. The pain of loss could be eased by another lover, who had also experienced loss.
I can see why having same sex lovers was pushed aside during long stretches of peace. I can see where it became a less acceptable lifestyle. Women wanted babies, and they wanted all of the power (and the monetary security that came with it) to pass on to the next generation. Yet these same women had plenty of woman lovers while the men were at war. That bit of history always repeats itself. I surmise that most people are inherently bi-sexual. We long for partnership, aside from the longing to create new generations; and we will find partnership with people of either sex.
My personal preference is for men. If all the men in the world dissappeared, I would find a woman to love me. A vibrator does not -cannot- love. I even think that if all the attractive men vanished, I'd find a woman. I'm not likely to ever know. There are lots of hairy, smelly men around.

Excuse my rambling, please. Back to the subject. Several present day religious groups support multiple person marriages. Most of them say the wives should treat each other like partners. Religious writings codify how these spouses (spice) should treat each other, and even cover the reproduction issue. They discuss how to deal with one's wives preferring each other over their joint husband. I don't see those writings vilifying homosexuality. I see them acknowledging it, and still providing for the continuation of the species.

To reiterate: The union of a man and a woman is not the most enduring human institution. Bi-sexuality is. It is not honored and encouraged in all cultures or faiths. Union is honored and encouraged. Reproduction of healthy human beings is honored and encouraged. Monogamy between one man and one woman is only honored and encouraged in certain religions.

Get your facts straight, Mr. President, before you open your mouth.

Kerry Protest Pics Are Fake

Ok, so I haven't really watched the news recently; but I should have known this anyway.
The Guardian knows it.
Slashdot knows it.
even Snopes knows it.

Why does a Google News search show every country but America talking about this?

Oh yeah, and that supposed affair? Never happened.
Let's play nice, kiddies!

I love this time of year

Yesterday, as I walked to the truck to get my son from school; I spotted a robin. "That's it", I thought, "Winter's over." We could get more snow. We could even get more ice, but the presence of robins means no more hard freezes.
The sparrows think so too. Today they were singing out their territory calls. "I'm here! Girls,girls,girls,girls, I'm here!" Soon the jays will be fighting for the best trees. The cardinals will stake out turf near the bird feeders; so as to get the best sunflower seeds. The neighborhood will be filled with splashes of color. In a month or so, the birds of prey will figure out that there's an abundance of food here; and I'll get to see the hawks and falcons.

The first year we lived here, I got to see bats up close. I also met the groundhog that lives under the porch 2 doors down. The next year I saw a turkey, bald eagles and a skunk. Can you believe I live in a city? I wonder what new critters I'll see this year.

Something to think about

Zombyboy of RessurectionSong ponders whether same sex marriage is a civil rights issue, or not. Before I get into my own commentary, I want to point out two things right up front:
1. Zombyboy says some very positive things, including this. "I think that America, and marriage, are both big enough to endure benefit from extending the privilege of marriage to the gay and lesbian community."
2. I know RessurectionSong is one of the BIG blogs, and I'm not trying to glean any hits from the site. He brought up some points that gave me the impetus to write.

Ok then. Zombyboy writes "In what way is it a civil rights violation to say that there are rules for entering into a specific kind of contract and if you do not meet those eligibility requirements you are being discriminated against?"

Well, lets see. Buying a house is a specific kind of contract. There was a time in America when certain people were ineligible to own property. That was modified into certain people being ineligible to own real property; as in real estate. That was modified again to be that certain people could only own real property in certain neighborhoods.
I've studied real estate law thoroughly. These people did not meet the recognized eligibility requirements due to their ethnic heritage. Nonetheless, they were discriminated against.
So here's the thorny problem. Some believe that homosexuality is a choice. No one says that ethnic heritage is a choice. Yet there was a space of nearly 100 years between the Emancipation Proclamation and the legal right for African Americans to buy property in any neighborhood. Do we really have to wait a century or more for this to be considered a civil rights issue?

If

If St. Louis begins offering same sex marriage licenses, I will personally give roses to the first hundred couples.

Tracking Marriage Proposals
heh. Marriage proposal... get it?
Victoria Dunlap, a county clerk in BERNALILLO, NEW MEXICO issued 66 same sex marriage lisences on Friday. Today she issued refunds, or recorded the licenses that were presented to her.

GEORGIA's senate debates the issue.

Republicans in INDIANA are refusing to come to the floor of the House as long as same sex marriage is upen for debate.

MICHIGAN has some pretty vocal people (with blinders on!) in this article.

Two FLORIDA men are suing for the right to marry.

And SAN FRANCISCO keeps marching on...