Just My 2 Cents...

What in Hell is Wrong with You People?

2011-08-03T11:40:00.009-04:00

I have to ask: What in hell is wrong with you people? Just within the last week, I have heard three news stories, where people have left their dogs in hot cars, left their dogs tied outside with no shade or water, and puppies left in a hot dumpster. And just when I think it couldn’t get any worse, I hear on the news, TWO stories, that someone purposely BURNED a couple of dogs.

The very idea of someone hurting a poor, defenseless pet just turns my stomach inside out. Yes, I will admit that I am an animal lover---always has been, always will be. And maybe because I am an animal lover, people may say that I am taking these news stories too much to heart. Maybe I am. But that in NO WAY should excuse, pardon, or forgive a human being for hurting a pet. That in NO WAY should excuse, pardon, or forgive a human being for putting their pets in harm’s way, whether on purpose or not. We are supposed to be the higher evolved, more intelligent of earth’s species, but I am really beginning to wonder about that.

In Bladenboro, NC, a male boxer-bulldog mix, called Tiger, had third degree burns on his head, back, and legs. The burns came from hot grease. If you have ever been splattered by hot grease while cooking, then you know how hot and painful it can be. Just imagine some uncaring S.O.B. pouring hot grease all over your head, back and legs, then leaving you to fend for yourself. (The Humane Society is offering a $2500 reward for the identification, arrest, and conviction of the responsible S.O.B.).

Then a couple of days later, another dog in the same NC county was found with worse burns than Tiger’s. The police took the eight-week-old puppy, called Zena, immediately to the vet’s. The vet said that it looks like someone rubbed the little pup down with grease or other chemical and set her on fire. The Humane Society is also offering a reward for this crime. Luckily and thankfully, both dogs will recover, but will always have permanent scars---both physical and psychological.

The fact that humans take animals and make pets out of them and then abuse them or put them in harm’s way, has made me lose all faith in my fellow man. After seeing and reading about the atrocities that man does to his fellow man, can only make one turn away in disgust. But to hear about the mistreatment of an innocent animal that asks for nothing in return for their loyalty and love, other than food, shelter, and a little attention, just makes me unspeakably sad, heartbroken, and even more detached from my fellow man.

Man is the only creature on earth that follows or believes in religion. But yet, they (humans in whole), rarely follow the more basic tenants of their religions, that require kindness, love, and understanding of our fellow earthly creatures. But my thoughts of religion in whole will have to be held for another time.

There is nothing, absolutely NOTHING, that makes me feel better than to come home to the wagging tail of my sweet, little dog. He is truly my best friend and he adds a lot of joy and happiness to my life, just having him around. He doesn’t care if I wake up in a bad mood, he doesn’t care if I’m overweight, he doesn’t care what I wear, and he doesn’t care about anything other than being loyal and being there, with his wagging tail. In return, I just have to feed him, walk him, give him shelter, and spoil him with attention or a game of tug. No more is asked of me by my faithful, loyal, best friend.

I just can’t wrap my mind around why anyone would torture or mistreat an animal. I have said it often, and I’ll say it again: Because of all the evil in man’s heart, I prefer the company of animals. I truly hope that the bastards who were or are involved in animal cruelty get caught and real justice is dealt out to them. And I would even go as far to say, that I would even love to see the same thing done to them, which they did to the innocent animals. Now, I think THAT would be a real deterrent.

And please consider this: If you are looking for a pet, please consider adopting one from the shelters. Please give them a second chance at love and loyalty. But only take a pet, if you can truly love and take good care of it, and spoil it rotten. After all, that’s what they’re for. Give your pets a big hug and tell them that you love them.

Anyway, that’s my 2 cents.

The Death of My Best Friend

2010-03-11T22:41:00.003-05:00

On March 10, 2010, my best friend, Daisy, died. She was a part of my life everyday and just about everything I did throughout the day, some how, in some way, involved her. She was my friend, she was my confidant, she was there when I was happy, and she was there when I was sad. Daisy Mae was my ten year old dachshund.

My wife and I received Daisy as a gift from my parents when, Sparky, our fourteen year old chihuahua died. She was nothing but a six week old pile of ears. She was so tiny that she could fit into my shirt pocket. On most days after we first got her, she would climb into my shirt pocket and fall asleep for hours at a time. At first I didn’t know why she wanted to do it, but then I realized that hearing and feeling my heart beating probably reminded her of her mother. She continued to do this until she was just too big to fit in the pocket anymore, so she would squeeze her head in as far as she could while sitting on my shoulder. I guess those shirts with pockets were the catalyst that forged our close friendship. And what an adventurous, fun filled friendship it was.

My wife and I never had children, which we later found out was because of her cancer, so our pets were always our kids. It took us a week to think up the perfect name for our new little dachshund. We made a list of ten or so names, but none of them fit her personality. Then one night while watching something on TV, the dog’s name on the show was Daisy. My wife and I immediately looked at each other because we knew THAT was the name of our new little pile of ears. Daisy Mae… yep, it was a perfect name for a perfect pet.

It was obvious from the start, that Daisy was more my dog than my wife’s, but the shirt pockets probably had a lot to do with that. Daisy had the biggest brown eyes I ever remember seeing on a dog. I used to tell her that it was because she was so full of crap, but she would only look up at me and give me one of her sloppy kisses. She would be at the door waiting for me to come in at the end of the day, and follow me through the whole house as soon as I entered the door. That little tail wagging like crazy. Daisy had this certain little “prissy” walk that used to make me smile just doing nothing but walking about the house. Another nickname that I gave her was “Prissy Butt.”

Daisy was more than a pet, she was essentially our child. She was someone who could cheer us up on our worst days and someone who could make us smile when we had tears streaming down our faces. She was a very special member of our family and she gave her heart and love to us unconditionally. And we loved her with all of our hearts.

A couple of years after bringing Daisy into our home, something very interesting happened. Just about every time that she would sit in my wife’s lap, she would nip and bite at my wife’s hip and side. She didn’t bite my wife hard, and my wife said that it was more of a pinch with her teeth than anything, but it did hurt. Try as we may, we could not break Daisy from doing it. A few months later, when my wife was being examined by a fertility doctor, they found that she had stage IV endometrial cancer and that the tumor was in the exact spot where Daisy was nipping. A few years earlier, we had watched something on TV about how some dogs could actually smell some types of cancer. Of course we thought it was great news that dogs could do that, but we never thought about it when Daisy was trying to tell us that she sensed something wrong.

After a very hard two year fight with the cancer, my wife passed away in April 2004. Going through the grieving process, Daisy was always there for me when I needed someone. Her long droopy ears were the first thing to catch my tears as I cried. When I was at home, she never, ever left my side. She knew that I was upset and she was determined to take care of me as best as she could. I remember a couple of times when she would go to the kitchen, get a couple of pieces of her kibble, and bring them and leave them at my feet…she was actually trying to share her food, in hopes that it would help me feel better. Looking back on it now, I guess it really did make me feel better, because I can’t help but smile when thinking about it.

Over the past six years after my wife’s death, Daisy and I became even closer. She was my constant companion and friend. When I used to lie down on the sofa or bed on my side, Daisy would always jump up and drape herself across my side and let out a huge sigh. She would lay there as long as I would let her. She was the first thing I saw when I entered the house and the last thing I saw when I left. She was there to listen when I needed someone to talk to and she was there to keep me company when I felt lonely. In the end, she wasn’t a dog or a pet, but she was a friend…my friend…my best friend.

I’ll hold memories of her in my heart until it no longer beats. I loved her with all of my heart, but more importantly, she loved me. Rest in peace, Daisy Mae, rest in peace. And give mommy a sloppy kiss for me.

Farm Living is the Life for Me---The Joys of “Living” in FarmVille

2009-11-01T21:08:00.007-05:00

After joining Facebook, I refused to join in on the gaming aspects of the social site. To be honest, I thought that the games would be even more of a waste of time than Facebook already was turning out to be. It was a little annoying to see in my feed, the posts from all of my friends’ exploits in FarmVille, Farm Town, and other farm simulations. But then it happened…one of my friends posted a photo of their FarmVille farm, and I was suddenly bitten by the farming bug (it could have been a potato bug, I think).

After clicking on the FarmVille link that first time, I got hooked on simulated farming like there was simulated cocaine mixed in the simulated brown soil. And I was on a high too! Plowing, planting, and harvesting (Oh, my!), was quickly turning me into a simulated farmer. I was quickly becoming one of the 11 million daily users of Zynga’s FarmVille (according to Mashable.com). Not only was I visiting my farm everyday, but I found myself actually visiting it several times a day.

I began to wonder if I did indeed have a problem, when I began to keep a mental schedule of where I would be and what I would be doing throughout my week, so as to know what I could plant and if I would be able to harvest my crops on time. I also wondered if real farming was so mentally draining. Mind you, I grew up in a Virginia family that grew and cured tobacco, and both grandfathers were farmers who grew their own food, so I had farming in my blood, so to speak. But I don’t recall any of my family enjoying the real fields as much as I was enjoying the simulated fields. (Hmmm… maybe they were doing it wrong somehow? I’ll have to make a mental note to ask this question at the next family gathering. I’m sure they will tell me a thing or two about it).

San Francisco based Zynga, the maker of FarmVille, introduced the simulated farming game to Facebook members in June 2009. It almost immediately took the lead as the number one game on the social media website. Averaging around 60 million users per month, it is and will be a major magnet for Facebook’s advertisers; Americans account for most of the users of FarmVille, followed by the British. The game became so popular so fast, that a month after it was introduced, developers created “farming bots” or “farm managers” to be used with the game. These farm bots or managers, can plow, harvest, plant, or even help you gain extra Experience Points (XP’s), even while you’re away from your computer. I tried Automation Labs’ Farming Extreme Manager, and though a little tricky to setup for the first time, it works very well. But once it was up and running, it was like I had hired farm hands to do all the work and I started missing getting my simulated hands simulated dirty, and where’s the fun in that?

When starting the game for the first time, you get to design the farmer you, or your avatar that will represent you down on the farm. As you work about the farm, your avatar walks around doing the different tasks. The little farmer’s walking does slow down the process a bit while you wait for him to walk across your farm. I accidentally discovered that if you lock your farmer into a corral, it speeds things up, because you cut out the walking time. There are several websites that have sprung up in the past few months, offering FarmVille tips like this one. One of these useful sites can be found at: http://hubpages.com/hub/Farmville-Tips. If you do a Google search, about 481,000 results will display.

Zynga plans to generate $150 million by the end of this year from the players of FarmVille, through micropayments or microtransactions, for the sale of virtual goods such as tractors, seeders, and harvesters. Anyone familiar with eBay or PayPal, will know how micropayments work. If the trend continues, in the span of just two days, virtual farmers can purchase up to 1.6 million tractors for their virtual farms Though the goods may be virtual, the money spent for these items is very real. Most of the items in the FarmVille market can be purchased through the use of FarmVille coins, which you earn when you sell or harvest items, or when you earn award ribbons. But for some of the market items you need FarmVille cash to purchase. You can buy more FarmVille coins and cash using a credit card or PayPal account. You can also earn them for free by signing up for promotions or surveys from different sponsors. Americans are expected to spend almost $1 billion in virtual goods this year, doubling last year’s totals.

The players of FarmVille, using FarmVille cash, have also helped in a charitable way this month. The players were able to purchase special sweet potato seeds to help Haitian children. In just three weeks players spent $854,000 buying these seeds. Zynga in turn, donated half of the proceeds, helping to provide food for about 500 children in Haiti.

As I end this article, I am realizing that I have some corn to harvest down on my farm, and I can’t wait to get on the tractor. If everyone else is enjoying the activities of virtual farming and visiting their farming neighbors as much as I am, I am sure that FarmVille will be a big hit for a time to come. To quote my cousin, Rusty, “I guess I’m getting back to my roots.”

I’ll be seeing y’all down on the farm!

I Do... (Oh no you don't!)

2009-05-27T13:31:00.025-04:00

As I write today's blog post, it is with a heavy and saddened heart. Let me explain: I wanted to write this post on Tuesday night, but I was so busy talking with friends who were more upset than I was, that I didn't get a chance. Also, I wanted to choose my words and emotions carefully, so I waited another day or two before posting this.

If you're wondering why I am saddened and tentative about this post, it is because of the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold the voter-approved ban on gay marriage (Proposition 8). Regardless of how you may personally feel about this issue, I for one, think that it is wrong to ban same sex marriages.

I grew up In the Southern Bible belt, in Virginia. I don't believe that I knew anyone that I went to school with as being "out." That is to say, they were secretly gay, but I and many others did not know that they were. Regardless of whether we knew someone was gay, we were pretty much raised by our churches, families, friends, and culture to believe that being gay or "queer", was totally wrong. Not only was it wrong, but "those" people would burn in hell for eternity. Everyone must admit, that's some pretty scary stuff and we wanted nothing to do with gays or their lifestyles.

Once I got into my mid-teens, I met my first openly gay person. But I was completely confused... he didn't have horns or a spiked tail. In fact, he was one of the nicest, most caring people I had ever met. He was polite, respectful, and a really interesting person. He did not try to "turn" me or the other kids gay. He did not use foul language. He did not talk about "perverted" sex in front of us. He was a regular, "normal" guy from the neighborhood. No more, no less.

Even though Rush Limbaugh says they don't exist, I consider myself a moderate when politics and society are concerned. I try not to lean one way or the other. I try not to lean too far to the left or too far to the right. I try to judge each issue on its own pros and cons, and make my decisions accordingly. This is one such issue. I have tried in my adult life to not judge others. Sometimes (most times) I succeed, other times (rarely), "the devil comes out" of me and I will judge others, but I usually can self correct myself and I pray for forgiveness.

To me, to ban one group of people from something, usually turns out to be wrong or just a bad idea all together. At one time in America, women were not allowed to vote. That turned out to be a bad and wrong idea, but thanks to the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, women may now vote. Also at one time in America, people who were not considered white, could not vote. This too was a bad and wrong idea, but thanks to the 15th Amendment, now anyone, regardless of color, may vote. And the other prejudices that were around in America that made non-whites 2nd class citizens, turned out to be a bad (and very wrong) idea. But thanks to the Civil Rights movements, "most" people in America have equal rights. But by no means, do ALL Americans have equal rights.

Prejudice is prejudice and hate is hate---no matter who they are against. But wrong is wrong, when one group of people are banned or treated as 2nd class citizens, based on their religious beliefs, color, sex, or sexual preference. It just pains me that it takes society so long a time to finally realize it. And during that time, innocent people are hated, criticized, judged, mocked, and banned, because of nothing. Well, not exactly nothing... because of other people's unjustified fears. When people judge or create prejudices on others without knowing all the facts, they create unjustified fears and pass those fears on to others until it spreads like a virus. And during this time of fear, the social growth of America slows until it almost stops.

Something else bothered me about California's Proposition 8: The millions of dollars collected and spent by churches and other groups to oppose Prop 8. The fact that so much money could be collected and spent on this one issue, while at the same time millions of people around the world are going to bed hungry, are living on the streets, or dying because they can't afford medical care, is even a bigger wrong than two men or two women professing their love to each other in a marriage ceremony! My God, America, when will we wake up and take care of the REAL problems?

It amazes me that people can quote the Bible to blast same sex marriages, but these same "righteous" people always skip over the Book of Matthew where it says to "Judge not lest ye be judged." Whether or not you believe in a Higher Being, judging others is wrong to the basest of beliefs. I just don't understand what it is that will be taken away from "straight" couples' marriages, if two men or two women also get married. I loved my late wife with all of my heart and soul, but I knew that nothing could ever change that, regardless of who else gets married. If you're a married Baptist and a Hindu couple gets married, does that take away anything from your own marriage? Of course not. So why would you believe a same sex marriage would take anything away?

One of the saddest things that I have heard from gay friends living in California, is that they will now move from the state, because of the Prop 8 ban. When one American no longer feels at home in any part of America, what has happened to the American dream? What has happened to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" in America?

Regardless of your thoughts about this, I just ask that you love and care for one another. And to think about what happened in Hitler's Germany when unjustified hate and prejudices were allowed to spread like a virus. Love and care for each other, regardless of differences, and let God sort it all out in the end.

Anyway, this is just my 2 cents.

A Rose By Any Other Name Would Be...Indecent?

2009-04-28T19:49:00.016-04:00

WARNING: TODAY'S BLOG POST MAY CONTAIN LANGUAGE THAT SOME OF YOU (and God only knows why) MAY FIND OFFENSIVE, REPULSIVE, DETESTABLE, OR OTHERWISE OBSCENE. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

Earlier today, the US Supreme Court decided to rule in the favor of the FCC, and that agency's "right" to clamp down and fine or punish broadcast TV networks for what the field calls "fleeting expletives." That means that the FCC can place huge fines on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW, or any other broadcast TV network (& radio), when someone says shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, tits, cock, etc (you get the idea); whether scripted or not.

A little history: The networks (radio & television) have pretty much had sensors that sat around and listened to and watched almost everything that that particular network may send over the air, since the beginning. But in 1934, the FCC was established to regulate "interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable." In 1973 a father filed a complaint with the FCC concerning the fact that his son had heard on WBAI, a New York radio station operated by Pacifica Foundation, a comic named George Carlin perform a routine entitled "Filthy Words." Pacifica Foundation received a sanction in the form of an FCC letter of reprimand, for broadcasting "indecent material." Pacifica said that they were protected by the first amendment and the case went through several hearings and lower courts, finally ending up in the Supreme Court. In 1978, the Supreme Court ruled in the favor of the FCC in the case of FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, ruling that the routine was "indecent but not obscene." Ever since then, there has been a "rule" about certain words not being said on air. That's why you will here the "beep" during some shows when an "indecent" word is stated.

Now I don't have a problem with parents wanting to protect their children from what they deem harmful. I wish that more parents were as protective. However, and I say again, however: THESE ARE ONLY WORDS PEOPLE! I used to work with this ultra religeous woman who would use words like poo poo or pee pee with her children. This same woman would make a face when ever someone said shit or piss. To me, it made no sense. Whether you say shit, poop, poo poo, doo doo, or what ever...YOU'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING! Whether you say piss, pee pee, make water, or what ever...YOU'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING! Whether you say fuck, make love, sex, or what ever...YOU'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THING! This can be said about all the other "indecent" words, but in reality they're just different words describing the same thing. When I see a pregnant woman, I don't think about the act that she and her mate did to produce that fetus. I don't sit there thinking: "hmmm...did they fuck or make love or have sex?" Doesn't really matter does it? Either way she's pregnant. And we all know what they did for her to be in that condition.

My intent for this blog posting is not to offend anyone. I just want everyone to think a different way about simple words. To me, words like war, hate, and rascism are more indecent or obscene. Maybe instead of having organizations like, Parents Television Council, scanning the air waves for "dirty" words, they can help to find a cure for cancer, or a way to end war, or a way to keep children around the world from going to bed hungry.

Anyway, it's just my 2 cents.

For more information on George Carlin's routine, please see: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/filthywords.html

Old MacDonald Lost His Job A-I-A-I-A-I-G

2009-03-16T21:04:00.016-04:00

You know, I am so damned angry right now that I don't even know where to start. Only in the great nation of the United States, could this happen. Only in America can one of the world's largest insurance companies lose so much money that it is on the verge of bankruptcy and gets bailed out using taxpayer money. Only in America can that same insurance company insist on paying $165 MILLION in bonuses. And absolutely, only in America will that huge insurance company insist on paying the bonuses to the same bunch of idiots that put the company on the verge of bankruptcy in the first place! God help me to understand this, please!

AIG is claiming that they're under "contractual obligations" to pay these bonuses. Contractual bonuses, my ass! One of my questions: how would they have paid these bonuses if they hadn't received $152 BILLION in bail out money? Another question: why can't all of those well paid AIG attorneys and accountants who look for tax loopholes, to keep from paying their fair share of taxes, also look for ways to get out of or even delay these "contractual bonuses"? I don't even want to get started on the fact that AIG sent $35 BILLION of American taxpayer bail out money to European banks that AIG are connected with.

Let me say that I am not in total agreement with the idea of bailing out these Wall Street companies, in the first place. I understand why it was done, but I don't completely agree with it. Especially the idea of bailing out the same companies that have nickel and dimed their customers to death for years. After years of watching The View, on this hot topic, I totally say that I agree with Whoopi Goldberg (oh, God, did I really just say that?).

I praise Andrew Cuomo, New York's Attorney General, by sending AIG and other Wall Street banks subpoenas, investigating these bonuses. Maybe we should have more people like him in the Treasury Department and the SEC in Washington. But then again, he has probably paid his taxes and doesn't qualify (he-he).

I lost my job of eight years in December. I worked for a non-profit and when the economy went bad, I was laid-off (among others). I did my job as well as I could and I did not lose the agency any money. But all I get is a meager unemployment insurance (which is taxable) and the pleasure of being stressed out because I can't find a job. Not to mention the fact that I have some health concerns and can't afford the COBRA payments. But enough about me. Why did I bring this up, you ask? Because the same Wall Street companies, like AIG, that caused the economy to spiral out of control even faster, is one reason why myself and others lost our jobs. But these same idiots who ran these companies and banks into the ground, they get to keep their jobs, their insurance, AND they get millions in bonuses (compliments of the American taxpayer). Again, only in America could idiots run a business into the ground and keep their jobs and collect huge bonuses for doing it.

Anyway, I'll end here and take a sedative to calm me down. That's my 2 cents.

I Hate This Scam Job!

2009-03-11T15:05:00.014-04:00

My faith in my brother human being is dissolving more and more by the day. I was laid-off from my job of eight years on December 11th of last year. Since then, I have been visiting all of the big job posting websites in the hopes of finding another job.

As if having to find another job is not bad enough, or hearing on the noon news that the jobless rate in my state is at 9.7%, or knowing that the economy in general is completely in the dumps, what else could be wrong? Well, I'm glad you asked!

Ever since I have been applying to job postings, especially at the sites that let people post for free like Craig's List, my inbox has been swamped with junk email. And I don't even want to get started with the story of my email address being used by someone to send 1000's of spam emails all over the world and my inbox filling up once again with returned mail or non-delivery notices from people I did not email. But what really chaps my ass, is the fact that after applying to a job that "sounded" great, I get an auto reply almost immediately upon emailing my resume. The auto reply thanked me for submitting my resume and stated that they were "pleased to tell you that you have been selected into the final screening process." And it continued by saying, "as part of our routine background check on all employees we require all applicants who have reached this stage to do a routine credit check to verify your details." I'm thinking, hot damn, a possible new job! But, alas, it wasn't to be.

Well needless to say, I was immediately suspicious. Why would a company want to go through the expense of running a background or credit check on someone who they have yet to even call or interview? And of course, I would NEVER give my personal information online or by email without checking out the company first. I could not even find anything on Google about the business after I received the auto reply. I have forwarded a copy of the job posting and the auto reply email to my state's Attorney General.

What really bothers me is, these creeps now have a copy of my resume, with my work history, phone number, email address, and education history. I am sure that this information could now be used for something illegal or for other scams and there is nothing I could do.

Here are a few tips that may be helpful to you or others, concerning these scams.

1) Use a post office box on your resume. They're fairly cheap.

2) Never give your social security or credit card numbers to anyone you don't know or for a service that you did not initiate. Especially by phone, email, or online. This also goes for your bank account numbers or your Paypal info.

3) Do a Google and a Better Business Bureau search on the name of the business.

4) Flag the job posting for removal as a possible scam.

5) Keep a copy of the job postings that you reply to and all email replies you receive.

I hope these may help you and that these dirty scammers get punished to the full extent of the law. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

Right to Bare Arms

2009-02-26T19:32:00.008-05:00

OK. What the hell is up with everyone jumping on Michelle Obama's case about her wearing sleeveless outfits? Are you telling me, that with so much going on in the world, that this is all we can focus on? What the hell?

Michelle is a very beautiful woman with well toned arms. Why shouldn't she wear sleeveless outfits if she wants to? Even if she wasn't in the best of shape, she should still be able to wear what she wants. I have yet to see her wear anything that was not tasteful, beautiful, and classy.

Maybe the problem stems from the fact that Europe sent all of their Puritans and religious prudes over to the New World in the 1600 & 1700's, and the heritage we Americans have from them have stigmatized us. Or maybe people think that a First Lady should never go sleeveless. But then I would have to ask why not? I would also have to ask, what is wrong with bare arms?

Regardless of whether she is the First Lady or not, we need to show her respect if she wants to go sleeveless. So all I can say is, she has the right to bare arms.

That's my 2 cents.

Racist Cartoon?

2009-02-22T13:31:00.018-05:00

OK. My friend, Sharon, sent me and some others an email the other day with a link talking about how upset the "righteous" Al Sharpton was about the Sean Delonas cartoon that was in the New York Post last week, of two policemen shooting a monkey. The caption of the cartoon showed one of the policemen saying: "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill." Well, not having anything better to do and not having his name mentioned in the media lately, Al Sharpton wanted to kick up a big stink calling the cartoon racist.

This was my emailed reply to Sharon, word for word: "Well, y'all know what I feel about Al Sharpton, and maybe it's because I am white, but I don't see them calling Obama a monkey in this. Knowing that he did not personally write the stimulus bill (his staff and Democrats in Congress did), I take it that they are saying that the stimulus bill has so much crazy stuff in it, that a monkey had to have written it. I also think that the reason a monkey was used in the cartoon was because of the one that went crazy and had to be shot. Am I thinking wrong here???" I truly do not see anything wrong with the cartoon. What Don Imus said about the Rutgers women's basketball team was a little racist, not this.

Today, I hear that the NAACP wants Delonus to be fired or they threaten to make this a "national issue." Julian Bond is saying that the cartoon "...was an invitation to assassination of the president of the United States..."

All I can say is, really? You don't think that there are more important things that could be a "national issue," than a stupid cartoon? What about children going to bed hungry each night? What about people having to decide whether to buy food or buy medicine? What about people losing their jobs or losing their homes? These should be national issues.

And there is just no way, no way at all, that this silly, insensitive cartoon could be a call to arms for the assassination of ANYONE. Not even the assassination of a monkey! If the monkey had been shot a few years ago while Bush was still president and the caption stated: "They'll have to find someone else to write the next tax cut and rebate checks," would there have been a huge uproar about the cartoon then. I say no. No one probably would have even noticed the cartoon at all.

Again, I must say that maybe because I am white, I can't see what the problem is. But then again, couldn't it just be the same with Al Sharpton and the others, that they are only seeing what they WANT to see? I just believe that there are a lot of other things in this world that we could or should be worried about.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

The Octo-Mom

2009-02-20T17:35:00.018-05:00

When I first heard the news stories about Nadya Suleman, aka "Octo-Mom", I was very upset about what she and her fertility doctor did: bringing eight innocent babes into this world at one time, when she already had six other small children and with no income or visible means of support. The more I heard and saw on the news, the angrier I got. How could she be so selfish, so careless, so nuts!

Yes, I truly felt that something was mentally wrong with her, for her to do this. How could she? How could ANYONE? It just made no sense to me. Truly, she had to have some mental or emotional problems, I thought.

However... the more I heard and saw, the more that it began to really bother me about how she was being hounded, and literally hunted down, by the media. Yes, she made a huge mistake, in my opinion, but the way she is being hounded by the media is almost getting to be freak show-like. She is NOT a freak! She may have issues, but who of us don't? Who of us have not made mistakes?

OK, I will agree that it is unfair for us to pay taxes so that she can get food stamps or other welfare assistance, but come on... how come that is so unfair, but the Wall Street bankers getting billions and billions of dollars, because of their mistakes and mismanagement, isn't? Well, the bank bailout is also welfare in my book.

If there is a God, I hope that He will bless Nadya and her family and that they all can live as normal and happy a life as possible. I hope that she can learn from her mistakes and even teach some of us lessons by seeing how she lives her life. And "Dr." Phil, if you REALLY cared about the mental health of this woman, you would have spoken with her without the cameras and without airing the interview. Shame on you for taking advantage of her and her children for your own gain!

That's my 2 cents...