I can't stand it. I am so nervous for Barack Obama. I really want him to win in Texas and Ohio and Rhode Island and Vermont. I want Hillary to stop all of the scare mongering too--who would you want to answer the phone at the White House at 3:00 in the morning? Ick. Way to appeal to people's better selves. Way to take the high road. Desperate?
In the greenroom at my son's play that I mentioned the other day, I overheard three dads talking to one another. One said to another, "How's your man Obama doing?" I overheard and thought, Fantastic! More Obama supporters--what fun! No. They were not. I just stood there eavesdropping on their conversation taking place 5 feet away from me--I didn't have to strain too hard and didn't feel bad about doing it either, until I realized the magnitude of their contempt for Obama, their ignorance in general and their love of Rush Limbaugh! It was like they were from a different planet...or I was. I couldn't believe the lies that they believed. And they didn't just half heartedly believe these falsehoods, they believed them with energy and vigor.
They think that Obama is Muslim, which he is not. My son has responded to that idea previously by saying, "So what if he was?! What does it matter?!" Out of the mouths of babes. They know that Obama is pro choice, but then they went on to defend Bush and his policies. Here's a question: how many men, women and children have been killed in Iraq by his misguided war policy? Do the number of abortions even reach that? Are those Iraqi deaths OK somehow? Are those people not God's children by their own beliefs? Isn't one of Jesus' monikers the King of Peace? What am I missing here?! Are Bush's abstinence only programs helping poor people around the world, or are there all sorts of STDs and more births in abject poverty. Is a full quiver really a good thing in that situation? Wouldn't condoms and myth busting about the spread of AIDS and respect for the culture and the mores be more helpful in this situation?
I couldn't believe the stuff that they were spewing. Just offhand comments to one another, said as if absolute truth that they got from their man Limbaugh. I still can't believe it. The ignorance was astounding to me. The fact that they feel they are devout Christians and then they listen religiously to a hate monger--really, it boggles my mind. I guess hate is OK if it's directed at gay people, or Jews, or Muslims or foreigners or atheists (sorry overseas visitors--God help you if you happen to be a Gay, Jewish overseas visitor from Belgium or somewhere, or even worse FRANCE!!!).
More of us in this country believe in the principles of this country than those who do not. We believe in freedom of religion--believe whatever you want. We believe in freedom of speech, and right to free assembly and freedom of the press. We believe in the pursuit of happiness. We believe in our right to our own lives making decisions for our bodies and our families. This is the land of the free, which means we have the right to disagree. We have the right to dissent. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." Patriotism requires people standing up and saying NO! No to 100 years in Iraq. No to tax breaks for the rich. No to pollution and disregard for world treaties trying to limit damage to the earth. No to erosion of our personal liberties. No to allowing the government to take our phone records or to tap our phones or to arrest us without charge or right to counsel. No to torture.
No, no, no, no, no! No.
Take that you ditto heads--you yes sayers, you Limbaugh fans. Want to go to war? Yes! Want to unlawfully tap people's phones? Yes! Want to torture people held without charge? Yes! Yes to whatever Limbaugh says. Ditto, ditto, ditto.
NO! A lot of us are saying no. No more war. No more pollution. No more torture.
Go Obama! A lot of us are voting for you because we know we can say no. We know that you have stood up and said No! And because of that, we know that, Yes We Can.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Dueling Quotes Monday
The last few weekends my husband and I watched the Colin Firth BBC production of Pride and Prejudice. I'm going to out my husband by saying that he liked it too. Yes, he did. It's a great story. I didn't get enough of it, so I'm now reading the book once again. I love Jane Austen's sense of humor. She really hates self important people and silly people and mean people. But, she portrays them all with shades of grey thrown in so you can see how some people may like these characters. They're not one dimensional by any means.
I also really like Mark Twain. Like Austen, he hated fools and hypocrites and also painted his characters in many shades of grey. No cardboard cutouts there in his stories. Just funny characters that show the extreme moral hypocrisy of his day.
I like Twain's pithy quotes. See the one below at the bottom of the page? It reads, I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. I think it particularly applies to homeschoolers. I also think that's true for lots of people whether you homeschool or not. Kids have always found ways to pursue what interests them. They've always found ways to find out more about what catches their curiosity, even if school seems to get in the way sometimes.
Here's a great quote from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice from a silly character who actually doesn't feel strongly about books at all,
And here we see what Mark Twain felt about books making a great library,
OUCH!! That's harsh, Mark Twain. It's funny, but harsh.
Don't worry Elizabeth Bennet, I'm not going to give up reading about all of your exploits, regardless of what Mark Twain says on the subject.
Cad...
I also really like Mark Twain. Like Austen, he hated fools and hypocrites and also painted his characters in many shades of grey. No cardboard cutouts there in his stories. Just funny characters that show the extreme moral hypocrisy of his day.
I like Twain's pithy quotes. See the one below at the bottom of the page? It reads, I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. I think it particularly applies to homeschoolers. I also think that's true for lots of people whether you homeschool or not. Kids have always found ways to pursue what interests them. They've always found ways to find out more about what catches their curiosity, even if school seems to get in the way sometimes.
Here's a great quote from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice from a silly character who actually doesn't feel strongly about books at all,
- I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.
And here we see what Mark Twain felt about books making a great library,
- Just the omission of Jane Austen's books alone would make a fairly good library out of a library that hadn't a book in it.
OUCH!! That's harsh, Mark Twain. It's funny, but harsh.
Don't worry Elizabeth Bennet, I'm not going to give up reading about all of your exploits, regardless of what Mark Twain says on the subject.
Cad...
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Under Cover Cop...
My son is in a play. A play that will have had 12 productions! Today is the 12th. He is tired and I am tired and my husband is tired and my daughter is tired. Drama is tiring. I'm not talking about the usual drama that occurs here on a daily basis. You know the kind where someone touched someone first on the couch--no I didn't!--yes you did!, or the kind where someone seemingly got a hair's width more of some treat--their piece is bigger!--no it's not!--yes it is! We're all used to that drama. I don't like that drama, but it's not the same kind of tiring as 2 shows on a Saturday with me working in the green room all day.
As a green room mom, it's my job to help the kids however they need it when they're in the green room in between their scenes. Yesterday, I worked 2 shows so I was there for 9 hours. I handed out band aids, popped microwave popcorn , played cards with my son and a friend of his, tracked down a dad to come pick up his daughter with her very sore throat and teary cheeks. One of my main jobs is to make sure the kids all have their over-sized men's shirts on when the eat anything or drink anything--even water.
It was made very clear to me at a parent's meeting that the costume people really need the costumes to stay in pristine condition. The kids really must wear their cover-ups properly. They need their torso covered and their legs.
I became the cover-up cop yesterday and I didn't like it. Neither did the teen aged girls that I hassled. I told one girl to please go get a cover-up and she said that she did have one on--it was an unzipped hoodie that didn't cover her legs at all. Sometimes kids are wearing old choir robes or bathrobes as cover-ups, so the contrast between that and a little hoodie is glaring and extreme.
Finally, I spoke with the head of the costume department and she said if their front is covered, if the hoody is zipped they're OK. She said they're not going to listen to us any way so it's the best we can hope for.
Good. I'm not cut out to be a cop--under cover, cover-up or otherwise.
As a green room mom, it's my job to help the kids however they need it when they're in the green room in between their scenes. Yesterday, I worked 2 shows so I was there for 9 hours. I handed out band aids, popped microwave popcorn , played cards with my son and a friend of his, tracked down a dad to come pick up his daughter with her very sore throat and teary cheeks. One of my main jobs is to make sure the kids all have their over-sized men's shirts on when the eat anything or drink anything--even water.
It was made very clear to me at a parent's meeting that the costume people really need the costumes to stay in pristine condition. The kids really must wear their cover-ups properly. They need their torso covered and their legs.
I became the cover-up cop yesterday and I didn't like it. Neither did the teen aged girls that I hassled. I told one girl to please go get a cover-up and she said that she did have one on--it was an unzipped hoodie that didn't cover her legs at all. Sometimes kids are wearing old choir robes or bathrobes as cover-ups, so the contrast between that and a little hoodie is glaring and extreme.
Finally, I spoke with the head of the costume department and she said if their front is covered, if the hoody is zipped they're OK. She said they're not going to listen to us any way so it's the best we can hope for.
Good. I'm not cut out to be a cop--under cover, cover-up or otherwise.
This is not me.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Who's Sick of Winter?
Raise your hand if you're sick of winter! Me. I'm raising my hand! Oooooh! Oooooh! *raises hand like Arnold Horschack*
Isn't the picture of the snowdrop at the top there pretty? I am ready to see that all over the ground. I want the snow to melt.
Here's an excerpt from botanical.com about snowdrops,
Snowdrop, usually spoken of as the first flower of our year, though the Winter Aconite has perhaps a better title to be so considered, has never been of much account in physic, and has never been recognized. Gerard says 'nothing is set down hereof by the ancient Writers, nor anything observed by the moderne.' He calls it the Bulbous Violet, but adds that some call it the Snowdrop, the earliest mention of it by this name, and it was known to all the old botanists as a bulbous violet.
I'm in the Chicago area in Very-republican-Town, Illinois, and we don't have anything blooming here now. I noticed a visitor from Vietnam the other day. What is blooming there now? Is there a blooming season? Do flowers bloom year round, or in cycles? What about you visitors from Turkey, England, Romania, Estonia, Malaysia, the Faroe Islands or Nicaragua? What flowers do you see now? What will you see, when the flowers bloom?
Isn't the picture of the snowdrop at the top there pretty? I am ready to see that all over the ground. I want the snow to melt.
Here's an excerpt from botanical.com about snowdrops,
Snowdrop, usually spoken of as the first flower of our year, though the Winter Aconite has perhaps a better title to be so considered, has never been of much account in physic, and has never been recognized. Gerard says 'nothing is set down hereof by the ancient Writers, nor anything observed by the moderne.' He calls it the Bulbous Violet, but adds that some call it the Snowdrop, the earliest mention of it by this name, and it was known to all the old botanists as a bulbous violet.
The generic name, Galanthus, is Greek in its origin and signifies Milkflower. Nivalis is a Latin adjective, meaning relating to or resembling snow.
I'm in the Chicago area in Very-republican-Town, Illinois, and we don't have anything blooming here now. I noticed a visitor from Vietnam the other day. What is blooming there now? Is there a blooming season? Do flowers bloom year round, or in cycles? What about you visitors from Turkey, England, Romania, Estonia, Malaysia, the Faroe Islands or Nicaragua? What flowers do you see now? What will you see, when the flowers bloom?
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