Rednecks, Chihuahuas, and Other Highlights of My Week

So my house has been crazy with illness all week; from stomach viruses to asthma/allergy issues. And, let me just say that I hate vomiting….not that anyone likes it…but I really, really hate it. Here are some other highlights of my week:

While sitting at a red-light, I noticed a bumper sticker some redneck had on his truck {and I say redneck because he had a sticker of a deer head on his truck, next to one that said ‘Ted Nugent for president’…so case closed.}, it read “Europeans call it socialization, Americans call it welfare, Obama calls it change”. Now maybe I’m reading this wrong (and if I am, just tell me) but it sounded like an insult to Obama and welfare. If so, let me just get on my soapbox here and start by saying that Obama did not create welfare, or the U.S. welfare system. He was just put into leadership of a country that already has this system in place, albeit a screwed up system, but a system already in place. Secondly, I don’t get the big complaint with welfare, helping each other out, or liberalism. Especially from people who claim to be Christians. I’m sorry, unless I learned from a different Bible, Jesus was a poor carpenter who sought out the sick and the poor to HELP them. But, sometimes I have to wonder if Republicans are somehow picturing Jesus as a stuffy old white man in an expensive suit that brings in a 6 figure income, who looked down his nose at others and talked out of his ass. I admit that our welfare system is badly in need of better management, especially since there are so many people who abuse it. But, in the meantime how can we punish those who are using the system like the stepping stone it was designed to be, just because there are some who truly are lazy? Bottom line: don’t complain about something you know nothing about, don’t put ridiculous Obama-hating stickers on your vehicles blaming him for everything wrong with this country, and if you’re going to have all these conservative ideas about welfare, fine--just please don’t play the Christianity card along with it.

We have a new Chihuahua puppy……that I hate. She was a Christmas gift for our 7 yr old, but also meant to be a family dog. I’m not sure what kind of crack we were smoking to 1) buy a dog for a 7 yr old, and 2) not consider that we’d be house training this dog in the WINTER. We take her outside, she sniffs around, sometimes pees, sometimes doesn’t. As soon as we go back in she pees (or worse) right on the floor. Only when it’s sunny, does she decide that she can pee outside. Little bitch. I hate her. She is stupid and untrainable. Last night, I reached my breaking point…… I found myself in my t-shirt, flip flops and coat (thankfully a long coat), with no contacts in (having been just about to get into bed), standing on our back patio, with freezing rain misting down on me, begging this dog to please do her business so we could go back inside. She on the other hand, thought this was some kind of really fun game where she just tries to sneak around me and get back on the patio to go stand by the door. When I finally give up and go in, she craps on the living room floor!!!!!!! For the 50 billionth fu**ing time!!!! I wanted to hurl her through a window. I have no patience to train a dog, I never have. I like the big goofy furry ones who just live outside. Or better yet, cats, who actually enjoy being clean. They don’t eat their own shit, vomit it up, and then eat their vomit. Cats are NORMAL!!! Lap dogs are too needy, they have long nails that scratch you, and they take more patience then Mother Teresa or Jesus ever had in order to house train! And I’m sharing this with you dear friends (or my 3 faithful readers) because I cannot say this to my 7 yr old, who seems to really like the stupid dog.

Last but not least, I have had an ongoing battle with a collection agency who claims I owe a 900.00 phone bill from 2000. I have disputed this with the credit bureaus as well as the collection agency. They are now asking me to fill out a fraud affidavit, have it notarized, as well as file a police report. Are you kidding me? File a freakin’ police report over a phone bill from 9 years ago??!! Wonderful.

I Voted

My husband and I dashed into the voting polls (kids in tow) at around 6:30pm last night. Alexandria (my 7 year old) has been pretty interested in the whole process. So on the way home from voting I told her that originally women were not allowed to vote. I explained that back then their opinions were not considered important, furthermore it was considered that they should just adopt whatever opinion their father or husband had. I asked her what she thought about this and without any hesitation (that’s my girl!) she replied “not fair”. Afterwards, I actually began to feel elated by being part of something so historic; something so much bigger then myself. Not just having voted for the first Black president, but for having voted. Yeah, I voted in the last two elections but it wasn’t quite the same. This election was big. Plus after explaining to my daughter how women were not allowed to vote in the past, I realized that even if my single vote would somehow never get counted, even if the person I chose hadn’t won….I still voted. I still practiced a right that many American women fought for; a right that our soldiers still fight to keep today—Freedom. The Freedom of choice, Freedom to walk into the voting booth and give my opinion. I was able to look at two potential candidates and then choose who I wanted as my nation’s leader; and my opinion was not silenced.

Politics and Other Things I don't Understand

Disclaimer: This is a pretty opinionated post (although I did hold back quite a bit). If you are easily offended by the “pro life, pro choice debate” or outraged by political ignorance (such as mine) then you shouldn’t read. And as always, my intent is not to offend anyone just simply share the thoughts that roll around in my head.

Why are people complaining that Obama doesn't have enough experience? What political experience does McCain have that Obama doesn't? Seriously…tell me because I don’t know. I mean, aside from the fact that McCain is white haired what about him says "ah yes, he is so wise and will lead our country to a better place". George W. has a lot of gray hair and we all know how that story ended. What's wrong with a young president? What's wrong with a black president? Shouldn't our country be to the point that we can choose a leader that didn’t come from the same "old white man" cookie cutter? McCain was clearly carved out of the same cheese as Bush.
For those of you who are afraid to have a non-white president (and oh yes, I’ve heard it), I'm not even gonna address that here because you're stupid. Sorry, but you are. For those of you who are worried about his tax increase proposal, you must make at least a quarter of a million dollars a year...so what the hell are you doing reading blogs? Go out and live your posh life! Now I admit, and it's probably obvious anyway, that I'm not too knowledgeable about politics. There is a lot I don't understand. But, I know this:
I know when someone looks and sounds like an idiot (Bush), and does it repeatedly on national television (Bush). That's just not a person I want making critical decisions that effect my taxes, my economy, my safety, my choices, my country, essentially my freedoms. I understand enough to realize (along with most of America) that McCain chose Palin in hopes of gaining some democratic voters. Duh. You know how us liberated women love “girl power”. Guess he figured that would be his strongest asset. And, while Palin is appealing to me in some respects, the VP does not run our country.
And as far as both of the presidential candidates’ stance on abortion…this is the only part of my opinion I’m going to share, and then you’ll interpret it how you will.
I once saw a sticker from Planned Parenthood that read, “Behind every choice, is a story”. I realize there are many, many mothers out there who raises her children lovingly in a clean, caring environment, reads her parenting magazines to be up to date on vaccinations & educational toys, breastfeeds, home schools, makes homemade organic baby food, and truly unconditionally loves her child, and understands that at any moment she would sacrifice anything, including her life, for the sake of her child. However, while it may be hard to fathom, I believe that for every 1 mother out there like that there are 3 mothers who use drugs while pregnant and/or openly in front of her child, party all night while her child is in the other room with no dinner, no bath, maybe scared, maybe lonely, maybe just used to this way of life; is verbally, physically or sexually abusive on any given day, or lives with a man who does the same, has multiple children with different fathers—none of which are involved in their child’s life, does not ever show love, compassion or kindness to her children, does not know how to give healthy love because it was never given to her. If you don’t believe this exists or that this is a rarity---you’re fooling yourself. If you think CPS “handles” all of these cases and puts the child in a better place—again, you’re fooling yourself. Our system is way too overcrowded to take care of all these children, and there is not enough manpower or money to properly screen all of the foster homes—therefore some of these kids get placed in a home similar to what they came from. So yes, I will say it…. I think it’s nice and easy to be appalled at people who would not go through with a pregnancy, when you’re sitting in a middle to upper class home, with a substantial income, well educated, mentally stable, and not suffering from any addictions.
THAT being said, I think for this particular election there are far bigger issues at hand then where someone stands on abortion. I think that we need a leader who can relate to the majority of the people he/she is leading. The majority. Not the elite few.