Had to post this - Not mine, but feel the same way

This letter was sent to the Wall Street Journal on August 8, 2008 by Alisa Wilson, Ph.D. Of Beverly Hills, CA. in response to the Wall Street Journal article titled "Where's The Outrage?" that appeared July 31, 2008.

Really. I can tell you where the outrage is. The outrage is here, in this middle-aged, well-educated, upper-middle class woman. The outrage is here, but I have no representation, no voice. The outrage is here, but no one is listening for who am I?

I am not a billionaire like George Soros that can fund an entire political movement. I am not a celebrity like Barbra Streisand that can garner the attention of the press to promote political candidates. I am not a film maker like Michael Moore or Al Gore that can deliver misleading movies to the public.

The outrage is here, but unlike those with money or power, I don't know how to reach those who feel similarly in order to effect change. Why am I outraged? I am outraged that my country, the United States of America , is in a state of moral and ethical decline. There is no right or wrong anymore, just what's fair.

Is it fair that millions of Americans who overreached and borrowed more than they could afford are now being bailed out by the government and lending institutions to stave off foreclosure? Why shouldn't these people be made to pay the consequences for their poor judgment?

When my husband and I purchased our home, we were careful to purchase only what we could afford. Believe me, there are much larger, much nicer homes that I would have loved to have purchased. But, taking responsibility for my behavior and my life, I went with the house that we could afford, not the house that we could not afford. The notion of personal responsibility has all but died in our country.

I am outraged, that the country that welcomed my mother as an immigrant from Hitler's Nazi Germany and required that she and her family learn English now allows itself to be overrun with illegal immigrants and worse, caters to those illegal immigrants.

I am outraged that my hard-earned taxes help support those here illegally. That the Los Angeles Public School District is in such disarray that I felt it incumbent to send my child to private school, that every time I go to the ATM, I see "do you want to continue in English or Spanish?", that every time I call the bank, the phone company, or similar business, I hear "press 1 for English or press 2 for Spanish". WHY? This is America, our common language is English and attempts to promote a bi- or multi-lingual society are sure to fail and to marginalize those who cannot communicate in English.

I am outraged at our country's weakness in the face of new threats on American traditions from Muslims. Just this week, Tyson's Food negotiated with its union to permit Muslims to have Eid-al-Fitr as a holiday instead of Labor Day. What am I missing? Yes, there is a large Somali Muslim population working at the Tyson's plant in Tennessee . Tennessee , last I checked, is still part of the United States . If Muslims want to live and work here they should be required to live and work by our American Laws and not impose their will on our long history.

In the same week, Random House announced that they had indefinitely delayed the publication of The Jewel of Medina, by Sherry Jones, a book about the life of Mohammed's wife, Aisha due to fear of retribution and violence by Muslims. When did we become a nation ruled by fear of what other immigrant groups want? It makes me so sad to see large corporations cave rather than stand proudly on the principles that built this country.

I am outraged because appeasement has never worked as a political policy, yet appeasing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is exactly what we are trying to do. An excellent article, also published recently in the Wall Street Journal, went through over 20 years of history and why talking with Iran has been and will continue to be ineffective. Yet talk, with a madman no less, we continue to do. Have we so lost our moral compass and its ability to detect evil that we will not go in and destroy Iran 's nuclear program? Would we rather wait for another Holocaust for the Jews - one which they would be unlikely to survive? When does it end?

As if the battle for good and evil isn't enough, now come the Environmentalists who are so afraid of global warming that they want to put a Bag tax on grocery bags in California ; to eliminate Mylar balloons; to establish something as insidious as the recycle police in San Francisco. I do my share for the environment: I recycle, I use water wisely, I installed an energy efficient air conditioning unit but when and where does the lunacy stop? Ahmadinejad wants to wipe Israel off the map, the California economy is being overrun by illegal immigrants, and the United States of America no longer knows right from wrong, good from evil.. So what does California do? Tax grocery bags.

So, America , although I can tell you where the outrage is, this one middle-aged, well-educated, upper middle class woman is powerless to do anything about it. I don't even feel like my vote counts because I am so outnumbered by those who disagree with me.
Alisa Wilson, Ph.D. Beverly Hills, California

Something was brough to my attention

May father, a die-hard Conservative, sent me this email:

>I thought this was a great idea.
>>
>> THE PROGRAM:
>> On Friday, September 11th,
>> 2009, an American flag
>> should be displayed outside every home, apartment,
>> office, and store in the
>> United States . Every individual should make it their
>> duty to display an
>> American flag on this
>> eighth anniversary of one of
>> our country's worst
>> tragedies. We do this to honor those who lost
>> their lives on 9/11,
>> their families, friends and loved ones who continue to
>> endure the pain, and
>> those who today are fighting at>
>> home and abroad to preserve
>> our cherished
>> freedoms.
>> In the days, weeks and months
>> following 9/11, our
>> country was bathed in American flags as citizens
>> mourned the incredible
>> losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against
>> terrorism. Sadly, those flags
>> have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us
>> through some tough times
>> and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize
>> us in solidarity. Our
>> American flag is the fabric of our country and together
>> we can prevail over
>> terrorism of all kinds
>>
>> Action Plan:
>>
>> So, here's what we need
>> you to do .
>>
>> (1) Forward this email to
>> everyone you know (at
>> least 11 people). Please don't be the one to break
>> this chain. Take a moment
>> to think back to how you felt on 9/11 and let those
>> sentiments guide
>> you.
>>
>> (2) Fly an American flag of
>> any size on 9/11.
>> Honestly, Americans should fly the flag year-round, but
>> if you don't, then
>> at least make it a priority on this day.
>>
>> Thank you for your
>> participation. God Bless You and
>> God Bless America !

I got to thinking about it and made a few revelations:

(Buckle up, it gets fun from here!)

I like this concept, but think it should also be done on December 7, for remembrance of Pearl Harbor.
Maybe the citizens will remember that event and how we retaliated in such a fashion that Japan NEVER even THOUGHT about something like that again and start to wonder why Afghanistan is not equally super-spanked!

The dropping of "The Bomb" in Japan was an example of massive retaliation. At that point in our history, we were not concerned with all of the psycho-babble crap that keeps us (as a nation) from making a point and making it painfully clear. Now, we (again, as a nation) want to send aid in the form of food and medical supplies to our enemy so that we can look at ourselves in the mirror and say we are good people. That is bullshit. It is that coddling that has brought us to the point we find ourselves today. If the enemy is our enemy, they need to be pushed to the point of surrender - using whatever means necessary. We should have, on September 12, 2001, dropped so many bombs on Afghanistan that it was reduced to nothing more than glass slag that reflected the starlight in the cool night air of the middle east.

Look at the movies we like, where the bad guy is clearly defined and we want nothing more than to destroy him. Inglorious Basterds is coming out. It is a film by Quentin Tarintino about a group of soldiers that kill Nazis. That is their job. I'm looking forward to seeing it, if only to remind me of a time (before my time) when we held people responsible for their actions and exacted not revenge, but justice. The Nazis were evil. The skin-heads that follow that Aryan path are equally evil. The followers of bin Laden are also evil, but our nation wants to rehabilitate them - not ever realizing that there is NO rehabilitation for religious zealots. We feel bad for them.

"Poor misguided souls thinking that this is their way to heaven. We should teach them that love, not hate, and OUR God are the only way to heaven. It's not their fault. They were taught hate from a young age. We should HELP them, not fight with them. Awwww..."
Fuckhead thinking.

They will say/do whatever they have to to put themselves in a position of killing us. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese forced us to pull our head out of the sand and take action in the events of the world - drawing us into the war. In today's society, we need not have our heads pulled from the sand, but rather pulled from our asses. We need to wake up and see what is happening in the world and in our own country and make changes to become strong again.

In short, we need to revert to a former time of glory in our nation's history. A time when we defended ourselves and sought out those that were aggressive towards us - and SUCCEEDED in bringing them to justice. Our innocence was lost a long time ago, but our naivete seems to be making a comeback. We want to be everybody's friend and have no enemies. A wonderful dream, but impossible. For whatever reason - valid or not - people will hate us. Fucking deal with it! Uncle Sam needs to man-up and start kicking ass like we used to in "the good ol' days".

My father blamed the issue on the current administration and warned of imminent doom and destruction at the hand of Obama. I still think that it is the state of society for allowing the bleeding hearts (of ALL political parties) to corrupt our nation and turn the majority that has the vote to become so mush-minded that flashy smiles, empty rhetoric and promises of positive change sway them (the voters) to put ALL of the current political "Civil Servants" in the positions they have.

When it became inappropriate - even criminal - to employ spankings as discipline to our children, when it became offensive - even criminal - to compliment a person of the opposite sex on how they look, when it became too much for our social conscience to expect people to actually have to work for a living and - instead of continuing to make them do so - create social programs to keep them fed and clothed and housed with medical benefits, when it became all of this, THAT is when we, as a nation, began to throw it all away.

Utopia doesn't exist. We will never create it in this world. All of the people that feel that a hug is what is needed should try going to Iraq and give one of the MANY people there trying to kill us a hug. They will be stopped by one of two things: a bullet or a bomb. Either way, they will not have the voice to put any more soft-headed, greedy, only-out-for-themselves politician in a position to create policy to which the WORKERS of America have to adjust. The problem is not the politicians. The problem is the majority of SHEEP that put them in power.

Me and Prop 8

Ok, so my next post will make one of my two readers kinda mad.
So Prop 8 failed in California, leaving the ban of same sex marriages in effect. I have no problem with this. I also have two different views on it, but both share the same general point: I am against same sex marriages.

Secular :
I am not saying that I oppose same sex couples. I do not. I feel that everybody has a right to live the way they live, for whatever reason, as long as it does not interfere with my right to do the same. I just think that trying to force the government to recognize this type of marriage as legitimate is wrong. This is the line in the sand. It has to be drawn somewhere.
As a nation, we need to understand that the idea of “tolerance” has gotten way WAY out of hand. The morals that make our country strong have got to have a limit or they never really existed at all.
Many states in the US banned interracial marriages prior to the Supreme Court's 1967 ruling in Loving v. Virginia. That ruling was a move in the RIGHT direction, as the color of skin is not a reason for discrimination. An Asian woman will be able to give birth to a white man’s child. The morals of the country were not diminished by this move. The only thing that was hurt was a dying prejudice that was out-dated anyway.
The difference between that and this is fundamental: same sex marriages cannot CREATE children.

From what I can see, the driving forces for the movement to legalize same sex marriages are the financial/legal benefits and protections and for validation. The basic fact is that same sex marriages ARE different from as they will not keeping the family name going – not to mention the propagation of the human race - never produce a child, etc . A marriage, as defined by the primary or first definition at http://dictionary.reference.com, is as follows:

The social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc.

In fairness, there is this definition as well, listed fourth:

A relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other in the manner of a husband and wife, without legal sanction: trial marriage; homosexual marriage.

I just want to point out that all of the definitions that deal with this type of definition use the phrase “husband and wife”. Says a lot, huh?

The legal/financial perks are in the form of tax rates and adjustments, insurance coverage, death benefits; the list goes on and on. If we set it up to allow this type of union to be recognized and receive these perks, what will come next? You have to be insanely naive to think that this will not lead to other people wanting these advantages for THEIR “special unions”. Do we allow polygamy? Is that going to be the next sub-group to yell discrimination? What about cousins? Or parents and children? I am not trying to be gross, but some people react with the same disgust to homosexuality as you just did to those examples (extreme as they may seem).

It’s a matter of consent! Two adults should be allowed to do whatever they want if they are both consenting!
Yes and no. Yes, two people OF PROPER AGE AND MENTAL ACUITY can consent to almost anything. The “no” comes in when it infringes on other people’s rights or presents a lewd or obscene public display. But consent has absolutely fuck all to do with this issue. The behavior is not illegal. You can have sex with anyone PROPER AGE AND MENTAL ACUITY that is willing to have sex with you. The marriage is not even illegal. It is simply unrecognized by the government. If you and your friends and family recognize it and accept it and deal with you and your significant other as if the two of you were legally married, what difference does it make what the government says? I, personally, have never needed a governmental validation of my feelings for or against anyone or anything. Why is this validation, or lack thereof, such a huge hairy deal? I love this or that is made no more or less valid by a nod of approval from Uncle Sam.

Biblical:
In Romans 1:26-27 (EMTV), Paul writes:
For this reason [idolatry] God gave them up to passions of dishonor; for even their females exchanged the natural use for that which is contrary to nature, and likewise also the males, having left the natural use of the female, were inflamed by their lust for one another, males with males, committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was fitting for their error.

In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (TNIV), Paul says:
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor practicing homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Really? Do I need to say anymore? It is a lust that is against nature. Simply put, a spit in the face of God, saying, “I can personally improve upon your creation. Check this out! I can stick this in here! Who needs women?”

Conclusion:
While I could not care less about a person’s sexual orientation, these are my beliefs. Those friends I have that are homosexual know me but may not know these views. They were not judged on their sexuality. They were judged on their humanity. They are my friends because I see more in them than their sexual orientation. I see more in them than their religious, political, ancestral or ethnic characteristics. And they see more in me than a condemning bible-thumper because they know me and know that I am not one to cast aspersions on others when I am so fatally flawed myself.

Thank you for your time.

Official Gene Pool Lifeguard

I am tired of it all.
The stupid people seem to be getting more and more prevalent. So I have decided to become an Official Gene Pool Lifeguard.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
1. Making sure that the human race is not held back by the proliferation of stupidity.
2. Recruiting additional OGPL members.
3. Informing the rest of humanity of the risk they take if they hook up with a moron.
4. Keeping the morons from propagating.

It's like this... if there is someone that poses a danger to the advancement of the human race, such as a welfare addict that will not go out and get a job though perfectly able to do so or individuals that sue over acts of idiocy (such as the McDonalds lady that spilled hot coffee on herself and sued McDonalds for giving her HOT coffee) to get rich quick, a OGPL Citation is issued. They have to go to a court that looks at the issue and determines if they are indeed stupid. If so, they have to pay a fine. These fines go DIRECTLY to the schools of America (in an effort to EDUCATE the kids and keep them from becoming a stupid burden on society).

If an individual gets 3 citations in a single 12 month period, the REAL actions are taken. They have to go get a vasectomy (for men) or the 5 year birth control implant (for women) so that they do NOT have any children. They then have a 5 year sentence to serve where they pose no threat to the rest of the population by breeding.

During that 5 years, they cannot get more than 2 citations in a 12 month period. If they can do that, the vasectomy/birth control implant will be reversed. If they cannot make it, the procedure stays permanent and they will not be allowed to have children that will undoubtedly grow up to be moronic assholes like them.

This is just a rough idea at this point, but be on the lookout for the OGPL shirts and hats. It is an idea that will take off. Tell your friends. Tell your neighbors. Tell everyone that stupid people's days are numbered!

The Parasitic Thought Process

Do you remember when public pools had diving boards? How about long car trips with the family and lying down in the back of the station wagon to sleep? How about your dad letting you steer the car on deserted back roads while you sat in his lap? Or even riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm afternoon?

I miss those things. I think the reason I miss them is that I now have a son who will never get to experience them. Some of the activities or items listed above were removed from society because of the populace at large not being able to take responsibility for their own actions – more to the point, their own stupidity.

I am speaking specifically about the diving boards.

Little Bobby-Joe climbs up onto the diving board and jumps off, landing in the water and closely supervised by his mother or father, wading in the deep end to encourage him and help him if needed. Next up is Marty. He is in his upper teens and wants to impress a young thing that has caught his eye. Marty’s parents are not at the pool, as he is old enough to swim alone. He jumps off of the diving board and tries to splash the object of his interest by jumping to the side instead of jumping to the middle, like anyone with any sense would. He overdoes the jump and lands with a sickening crack on the side of the pool. The lifeguards jump up and do their job; paramedics arrive and take him away.

Marty’s parents – hell, it could have just been Marty himself – decide that the city of Austin (where the pool is located) and the diving board manufacturer are to blame for the complete loss of use on his right side. So what do they do? They file a lawsuit. Not only that, they win it because the insurance company is the only one that pays, right? It won’t hurt the insurance company. They have TONS of money!

This is a true story that happened at a pool at which my brother and I worked. It is my belief that the inability to accept responsibility for one’s own actions, coupled with a desire to hit a big payday and have no more financial worries, is the reason some – NOT all, but SOME – of our innocence as a society has been lost.

It is further my belief that the loss of this innocence will only continue until we act as a majority to really hit hard those individuals and organizations that file these frivolous lawsuits and try to frame up the “big corporations” to get rich.

These lawsuits are more than ridiculous, they are evidence that we, as a nation, are only in it for our individual selves; that we, as a nation, truly are the laziest people on Earth.

This has no hidden racial or ideological message. People of every race are guilty because this is a SOCIETAL dysfunction. We have to work as a society to rid ourselves of this parasitic thought process. Regain the pride in doing a good job. Make more of yourself than what is expected of you.

I now step down from my soapbox.

The demise of Western Civilization Continues

I have to agree with some of the critics of this "Pizzas for Pesos" marketing plan instituted by Dallas based Pizza Patron: I just don't see the benefit. We are too far from the border to really use the "it's a convenience to our customers who return from Mexico with extra pesos in their pocket" line. Think of the logistical headache of figuring the conversion! Damn! More trouble than it's worth, I think.

Targeting a specific demographic? Not a bad idea, but why now? Why bring out this specific plan right now, when the illegal immigration topic is at such a fever pitch?

It's like they are saying, "Have you just snuck over the boarder and simply haven't had the time to exchange your currency? Being chased by INS and can't risk going into a bank? Hungry? Come on in! You can pay with your worthless pesos!"

Are other companies really considering this tactic? Is this a business plan that we really want to emulate? It seems to me that it is no more than pandering to a special interest group for publicity. In some of my business classes, if I remember them right (it was a couple few years ago that I took them, lol): "Any publicity – even bad – is GOOD publicity. It gets the name out to the public… makes them start talking about the company or product." A few years ago, it was the "black culture" that was in the spotlight. Now it is this.

Wake up, people! Why are we just sitting around, waiting for somebody else to fix the problem? Should the government step in? Can we actually rely on the government to act on our behalf (by "our" I mean, of course all of the LEGAL folks in the country – not just the American citizens)? We put the people that run the country in those positions of power, so why are they not listening to the obvious majority of the voters? Is it the majority that is speaking out against this, or the other way around? Again, for the slow people in the audience, I am speaking of and to the LEGAL inhabitants of the USA.

If things continue to progress in this way, I foresee a lot of American citizens leaving the USA and moving to other countries. Not all countries are 3rd world, even compared to the USA. Some even have enough balls to stand up to the immigrants and make them conform to the country, instead of the American way of having the country conform to them.

I'm just sick of this shit! Everybody is complaining, but no one is actually doing anything. Well, I'm going to take some action on this one. I will start by gathering as much information as I can and then start spreading the truth. I will stir up the masses so that the "elected" officials HAVE to hear the will of the people. I will openly refuse to do business with any companies that use illegal labor or pander to a minority, and strongly encourage others to do the same.

What will separate me from the morons? I will completely respect your right to continue patronizing these establishments. I don't expect everyone to share my ideals, but there are some that would with just a little encouragement.

New Years ponderings

I usually don’t go in for New Year’s Resolutions. I just don’t see the point in waiting until then to make a change in oneself or one’s life. Just seems like a way of delaying having to do or stop doing something. If you are going to delay it, you will most likely not follow through with it. At least, that has been my experience and observation. That is why I didn’t wait until January 1st to quit smoking. I quit – cold turkey, so to speak – in July (I think)… maybe August. Not sure.

BUT

I am making a resolution right now. I resolve to stop thinking that everything will work itself out. I kind of have that problem. I feel that if something is supposed to happen, it will happen. That is not to say that I do not work for certain goals, or try to achieve things on my own, but I do everything that I can and let “fate” take over. I have to stop doing that. I should really try and come up with a way to continue working to get something/somewhere until I do or I am told that it won’t happen at all.

Don’t give up, I guess. Yes, that would be the most succinct way of putting my resolution.

As far as having the old year exit on the right note, I have some things to say:

S – You are an excellent mother and very good friend. I am sorry that things are hard for you, but I cannot do any more to help you. All it is doing is enabling you to be lazy and not take responsibility for yourself. I have gathered the courage to be more open with you, but I just don’t have the courage to say this to your face. I do not want that argument. There is too much at risk for you to feel slighted by my bluntness, but I know that down the road, you will agree that it is exactly what is happening.

J – I am not running. I am going nowhere. I will stop standing idly by while you emotionally shred yourself. You must change that or there will be many conversations about it leading to actually arguments. I do NOT want you to “pretend” that everything is great, either. I want you to realize that you are worth more than the constant barrage of negativity you unleash upon yourself. I will do anything I can to help.

Trolls, haters, and racists – Fuck off and die. Eat shit. Gag on mass quantities of Drano. How else can I put this? You are no better than the KKK or Jesse Jackson. I wish for you in the New Year to be faced with having to rely on someone that you hate to save your life. Yes, I want you all to be beaten, car or airplane wrecked or anything to within moments of death, only to have your worst “enemy” be the one to save you. With your mentalities, it still won’t make a difference.

Motto for 2007: Be good or be good at it!

PISD has me PISSED

My son is 5 years old. This is relevant because my son is in kindergarten in the Plano Independent School District (PISD). The PISD has come out on the subject of Christmas with a “We will not favor one religion above the others, so we will call it a Winter Break and the children can have a Holiday Party” stance.

I feel just fine with that. I think it is ridiculous, but I can live with the complete absence of any religion in the classroom.

Then tell me, why did my son make a menorah in his class? Is that not a religious icon for Hanukah? Is that not a Jewish holiday?

Don’t get me wrong, I really could not care any less if the schools want to have a Christmas party or Yule celebration or have the kids make Kwanza stuff. I want my son to LEARN about the world, so teach in school.

BUT, if you are going to say that children cannot bring candy canes to school for other children because they are signifying the shepherd’s crock, and thusly, Christ as the shepherd and all that shit (yes, it happened a couple of years ago right here in PISD), do NOT have my son make a drawing, cut-out, coloring or anything else of any religion!

I love freedom, but this shit has GOT to stop! No more pandering to the minorities, regardless of whom or what they are. We, the citizens of this country, must take action to get this rampant “political correct” pandemic under control. I fear it may already be too late, but here is what I suggest:

When you see someone trying to take advantage of the system so that they can continue to not have to be responsible for their actions (i.e. frivolous lawsuits, manipulating the Welfare system, trying to set someone else up for a quick and easy buck), call them on it. Get their personal information and spread the word. There is no law forbidding the telling of the truth.

There are more people that are honest than there are that are dishonest. That means, we, the honest folks, are the MAJORITY. Let’s use that weight and force our representatives in power (that we were supposed to have put there) to start SOLVING the problems instead of dancing around them.

I am just so sick of everyone trying so hard to make sure that no one gets their feelings hurt, so no one stands up and says, “You are acting like a child. You are wrong!”

There are people like this in EVERY race and EVERY religion. Call the wrong-doers out and take a stand.

Theodore Roosevelt, in a letter to the American Defense Society in 1919, said this:

"In the first place we should insist that the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equity with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming an American and nothing but an American. There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any flag of a nation to which we are hostile. We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

And for shit’s sake, stop getting all up in arms about the stuff that doesn’t matter in the long run.

Thanks for listening. I rambled a bit, but I have had some things on my chest, and now they are off.

Customer Service

Because my job also has me working partly in Customer Service, I have high expectations to any service I receive. I will try to keep in mind that the person on the other end of the phone is NOT responsible for whatever my problem is. I will say things like “please” and “thank you”. Basically, I will show them respect.

I know – first hand! – how frustrating it is to work in this field, so I give a LOT of leeway to the representative or agent I am working with. I also, if the situation warrants, will call to PRAISE the rep that I dealt with to his or her supervisor.

There is absolutely NO reason for ANY rep to get bitchy with me. I remain calm, even if I am not getting the satisfaction I am looking for.

So now, I rant:

I called the power company because the power went out all over my apartment complex. All business and housing AROUND my complex was still operational, but I was in the dark. I checked with neighbors, same situation. I called, and after a long time on hold (to be expected in this situation), I spoke with perhaps the rudest rep ever! She was antagonistic from the get go. She spoke in a short, tight manner as if I was a child and understood nothing.

I usually try and find fault in my half of the conversation for the attitude of the rep to which I talk. Yes, I do lose my temper every now and again. Frustration can only be checked for so long. But this time, I did nothing wrong… honestly!

I got her name and proceeded to inform her that I was only calling to make sure that someone was aware of the issue and, if so, see if there was an estimated time to restoration of power. Her flagrant disregard for civility and manners is a prime example of why her company is losing customers left and right to smaller companies. That and the ridiculous rates they charge the customers. She began to snap back and I interrupted her, telling her that she was not worth the time or the energy it would take to argue with her.

I hung up and immediately called back. When I got another rep, I asked for a supervisor. She tried to assist, but I refused to talk to her or anyone else that wasn’t a supervisor. I did this in a very calm and rational tone. When the supervisor came on, I explained the situation fully and calmly. She said she would speak with the rep and pull the recording of the conversation if there was one.

Will she do it? I don’t know. I really don’t care. I just want to make sure that I, the consumer, am heard.

I advise ALL of you reading this to stop taking poor service. Demand professionalism and respect.

This is ESPECIALLY true for waiters and waitresses. If I get poor service, I tip poorly. I generally start at 20% and the level of service I receive either raises it or lowers it. If I feel that the service I received was truly abominable, I will leave only what coins are left after the change is returned. Conversely, if the service I receive is spectacular, I will (and have done this this very week!) leave as much as 50%. I do not care if you’re counting on my tip; I reward good service and refuse to reward bad service. Want a better tip, provide service worth it.

Gratuity: 1. a gift of money, over and above payment due for service; tip 2. something given without claim or demand.

Where, in that definition, does it say anything about tipping being required? We, the customers and consumers, have the power to change this state of affairs. We can, but only if we stop rolling over and taking what is given to us.

Where you see a cane, I see a crock.
Where you see a crowd, I see a flock.

I got PROOF!

Check this out:

Your Social Dysfunction: Normal Being average in terms of how social you are, as well as the amount of self-esteem you have, you're pretty much normal. Good on you.

http://img.quizgalaxy.com/social-dysfunction-bg.jpg); background-repeat: no-repeat;'>

Take'>http://www.quizgalaxy.com/quiz.php?id=72">Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com Please note that we aren't, nor do we claim to be, psychologists. This quiz is for fun and entertainment only. Try not to freak out about your results.

Wow. I never wouold have guessed!

My son, my fear, my problem

My son, my 5 year old, hit (or “punched” as was reported to me) two other children in his class, yesterday (December 14). As if that wasn’t enough, one of those kids was a girl.

A GIRL!!

What the fuck?

I have always emphasized that he, as a boy, NEVER hits a girl – he PROTECTS them from others that would try and hurt them!

Please reference the two entries on Degrading Women for more about how men should behave regarding women.

I asked him why he did it, and he said that they were calling him names. I asked what they were saying and he said that they called him a crybaby. When I went off (and I did) about him hitting a girl (one that was supposed to be his girl-friend), he said that he did it because she told him she didn’t want him.

Get used to that one, son! Some women will totally fuck with your emotions and your head. On the flip side, so will some guys (to women). They are present in both sexes, these assclowns.

I really wanted to spank him. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated and deserves corporal punishment, but I just couldn’t do it. I should have tanned his ass, big time! But, after everything I have been through in the past 2 years, I am afraid. I live in fear that the state of Texas will swoop down and claim me an unfit parent and take him away. I worry that he will mention getting a spanking and then CPS will step in and I will lose him, as I lost my daughter.

My son deserved a spanking, but I am second guessing all of my parental decisions because of my fear of an overzealous arm of a heavy handed state government. This is not a good situation. My son knows better. He has been taught better than this… at least, I thought he had been taught better than this.

I will say this much, if he EVER hits another girl, I WILL spank him for it. I will make sure that my anger has subsided and I am calm and rational, but I WILL make him understand that you NEVER hit a girl, and his ass will feel the sting of a couple of good swats to help him remember it!

Yes, this one will keep me on my toes.

McDonalds has deep pockets

My son loves McDonalds. He’s 5, so he has not developed acute culinary tastes, yet. He likes it for the Play Area. OK. I can suck it up and allow him to romp in an area made just for kids. He’ll have some fun.

Saturday, I take the young one to the Mickey-D’s on Belt Line near Plano Parkway. I pass it on a pretty regular basis and have always thought that the play area looked cool (kind of a central American jungle/Jurassic Park look to it). We get in there and the design is actually the worst in the world.

First off, the tables are tall with tall chairs. Kids that are shorter than 5 feet tall are going to have a problem getting into and out of these chairs. Shit, ADULTS were having trouble! My son was sitting on the edge, as he is 5 and excited to be in the play area, and slipped off the chair, pushing his arm (which was resting on the table) up at an awkward angle and height. Great crying ensued as he was in some noteworthy pain.

Along the back wall is a slide that is about 12 to 15 feet tall. Kids climb through the plastic maze to get to the slide and slide down. Great fun, as my son reported to me numerous times after sliding down. I watch and proceed to get pissed as several kids ranging in age from 3 to 12 start walking up the slide to get to the top instead of taking the ladder-maze thing! Kids are trying to slide DOWN the slide! At the base of the slide is a wall with a long bench on it. This is where the “parents” sit to “supervise” their children. NONE – NOT ONE – of these ….. these ….. BREEDERS (I now know what the CL poster meant by the difference in Parents and Breeders!) says anything to ANY of the children. So I do.

I get up, walk over to the bottom of the slide and yell up to all of the children that the slide is one way – DOWN! Walking up the slide is rude and dangerous to the children doing the walking as well as the children sliding down. I know the offending kids heard me; they all looked at me. I know the Breeders heard me; I wasn’t 2 feet in front of them and yelling over the din of laughing and screaming children. I walk away talking – very loudly to myself (in typical passive/aggressive style) about how I will have to step up and parent everyone’s children as none of them are doing it!

I get back to the table and look back and see that my son is now stuck in a traffic jam as another 10 year old looking fucker is walking up the slide and has stopped traffic 4-5 kids deep. I go get the manager and use key words like liability, safety violation, injury and lawsuit. The manager still says that there is nothing he can do, as the moment he walks away from the kids, they will just do it again.

This apathetic managerial style is unacceptable to me, so I pack up my son and we are out of there. I know that the loss of my patronage will do nothing to impact the profits of this internationally recognized and age-old institution of a fast food chain, but I urge ALL people to voice their disgust at poor to pathetic service.

Bad design, bad parenting and bad managing are making this great looking play area a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Poor Pitiful Bruised Psyches

OK.

Here we go again.

Let’s all jump on the “Poor Pitiful Bruised Psyches” band wagon. I am referring, of course, to the Michael Richards’ (the actor who played the Seinfeld character “Kramer”) outburst at the two black hecklers.

Mikey goes on the Jesse Jackson talk show, “Keep Hope Alive”, as a part of a series of apologies for the incident. What a stupid fucking name for a show that is. The only thing Jackson wants kept alive is racial strife! Without that, he’s out of a job. He says he wants racial harmony, but he’s the first to blow piddley shit like this into the entertainment headline it is today.

Stay on target.

Hecklers. Every comedian has to learn to live with them. It is an art to deal with them properly. I know this from personal experience. I did not have to deal with many hecklers, as I only performed at open mike nights and they were very rare at those. As a professional, I would expect that Mikey has had his fair share of those types of people. But the bottom line is this: If you have the balls to heckle a comedian – one you paid to see – you had better have the ability to suck it up when he rains down upon you.

This pansy-assed hurt feelings bullshit just doesn’t wash when you look at the fact they were the first to open their mouths. Imagine where we would be if Don Rickles, the king of insult comedy, had to deal with this type of shit!

Other minorities can make racial slurs, such as my favorite, Carlos Mencia, and they don’t get slapped with this shit. But a white guy?? Now he’s just being racist!

Stay on target.

Mikey’s publicist “Howard Rubenstein, said Saturday that Richards has begun psychiatric counseling in Los Angeles to learn how to manage his anger and understand why he made the racist remarks.” (AP News Sun Nov 26, 2006)

PSYCHIATRIC COUNSELING?? Are you fucking kidding me??!! He made racist remarks because he was angry, provoked, whatever. I guarantee you that these bastards claiming “injury” have let fly several racial epithets at non-blacks!

I realize that two wrongs don’t make a right, but adding another wrong – the highly publicized and blown out of proportion circus we now have, including counseling and acknowledgment “’that his statements were harmful and opened a terrible racial wound in our nation,’ Rubenstein said. ‘He pledges never ever to say anything like that again. He's quite remorseful.’"(AP News Sun Nov 26, 2006) – doesn’t help any, either!

Everybody just needs to grow the fuck up! Why can’t we all just get along? I’ll tell you why, Rodney, because there’s no money in it for the greedy! There’s no press for the tired old pimp that trots out the same tired old hookers called “Racism” and “Inequality”. Is this really worth getting all up in arms about?

That’s all I’m saying: Have we, as a society, degraded to the point that this minor rhetorical bullshit is all we have at which to gasp in shock and horror?

I do not think so.

God, I hope it isn’t, or we are in deeper shit than anyone imagined.

XM Radio and MY money

Wasn’t satellite radio advertised when it first came out as commercial free? Am I the only one that remembers this? That was why you were paying for a subscription, so you didn’t have to listen to commercials and you could choose a station that played a much finer selection of music…. Almost perfectly tailored to your preferences.

I’m in the truck with my brother-in-law. We are riding out to do a job. It’s a great day. He has satellite radio – XM – in his plush truck. Music is great! The song ends and the sultry woman’s voice declares the station ID – multiple times.

Yeah, I get it, thank you.

Then a Coors Light commercial comes on the radio. First of all, gross! Coors Light is like sex in a canoe. It’s fucking close to water! Second, it seems to be exponentially longer than those played on the commercial radio stations.

*Hmmmm, I wonder why it’s called “commercial” radio?*

I digress…

And third – and lastly – it is followed by another commercial…Then another.

When did the $20-25 a month become NOT enough for XM? When did they decide that they needed to air commercials on what was introduced and advertised as “commercial free radio”?

Don’t you know? Neither do I!

Do you know what this little peek into the world of satellite radio did? It insured that I will NEVER get satellite radio. I know, XM will not go out of business because they didn’t have MY $20-25 each month, but I only wanted it so that I could AVOID the irritating commercials that insulted my intelligence in the first place.

I wonder what the hullabaloo is all about with HD radio?

Play nice!

OK. My problem is simply this: I hate people.

I know, this is the real world and I have to deal with them. But come on! Did everybody wake up and eat a big bowl of Stupid this morning??

Why are you in such a foul mood today? What has your undies in a knot?

Well, I am just so tired of stupid people! Isn’t that enough?

Key spark for today: I took my son (5 y/o) to a bank grand opening today. I had heard on the radio that Scooby-do was going to be there and he is (currently) my son’s “Big Thing”. It turned out to be a huge deal. There were all kinds of things for kids to do and free hotdogs and stuff. We were having a great time.

At this point, I should tell you that I am raising my son per the directives listed in this blog, but specifically the last 2 posts.

We are in line at the balloon animal maker guy when a – well, it’s not mean if it is accurate – toothless bitch decides she wants her kid to get a balloon animal, too. She is line two people behind me. I hear her swearing at her kid, yelling for her husband (or whatever) to “get the fuck” over there so that she can go sit down and being a general pain in the ass to everyone within earshot.

The people between her and I eventually leave the line (I don’t blame them as I do not want my son learning that type of language at 5, but I’m me and will not pander to lesser idiots), bringing her right behind me.

“I bet all these little fuckers are gonna get real big balloon animals,” she says – loudly and to no one in particular. At this, I turn and begin with politeness.

“Would you mind not swearing like that around my son, please?”

“It’s a free country, asshole. I have Free Speech in my Constitution!” (Nice reply, right?)

I swear I am not making this up. This is how it truly happened.

I turn back around to my son and try to keep his focus on me and not on her.

“Brent (the husband), will you get the fuck over here? I want to sit for a minute!”

Brent is in the next line getting an autograph from a former Dallas Cowboy. This means that Brent is NOT moving.

I turn again and say, “Ma’am, I asked you nicely and would like for you to show me a little respect by not using vulgar language in front of my son. If you cannot do that, I will see if there is someone that will help me make you stop.”

Not really a threat, but trying to show that there is a line and she is dancing real close to it.

“My husband will kick your ass if you keep talking to me like that.”

It’s now over. Brent, as I said, is in the next line. He is about 6 people away from getting what will surely be the centerpiece for his mantle for years to come. Behind him is a Dallas DART cop. Brent is the last in line.

“Excuse me, Officer. Will you please explain that this vulgar, abusive, and unnecessary language is not tolerated in public? I have asked twice now for her to stop, but she is just not understanding that she – and her language – is offensive!”

Cop, “Ma’am, if you do not refrain from using inappropriate language, I will have to ask you to leave.”

Bitch, “I got rights. I can say anything I want to. I came here with my family to have some fun and goddammit, I’m gonna!”

Cop, pulling out radio and saying something I couldn’t hear.

Next thing I know, there are 4 officers around her and her son, escorting her away. Brent passes me and gives me an attitude, saying something about it being MY fault he won’t get his coveted autograph.

“If you would teach your wife not to be a bitch, you would be getting that autograph right about now, Brent,” I say as he turns to follow his yelling, obscene bitch of a wife.

I just want everyone to play nicely for a while. Not get all bent out of shape if someone asks for a little consideration. I don’t. Why can’t anyone else do this?

Degrading Women part 2

The solution seems to be simple, at least to me.

Teach respect. This next part is where I might lose a lot of you folks reading this. Teach respect to BOTH little boys AND little girls. Let's address these individually, starting with the more obvious point of view:

Little boys.

Men, teach your little boys to be respectful to everyone they meet. I was witness to a common phenomenon just the other day.

Two people that considered one another a friend met and developed their friendship on line. They both had similar views and enjoyed the banter they had going between them. They were both heterosexual males that had wives that they loved, they were faithful to their respective families, they shared corresponding religious views and even kept the same secret from each other: each was mildly racist. Both felt no shame in that fact, but realized that there is a time and place to express those ideals.
They had talked for a couple of months on line and decided they would meet at a Starbucks to see each other face to face for the first time... to try and move the "on line" friendship to a "real" friendship. The day arrives and "Friend One" (a black man) and "Friend Two" (a white man) see each other for the first time. Both are angered with themselves because they have become friends with a member of a disliked race (as I said earlier, both are MILDLY racist). The friendship ends there. They just cannot get over that hurdle.

How does this relate to the respect point? Like this:

Both had been taught by their families that people of the other race were not worth their respect. When they did not know that the other was black or white, respect was given and a bond formed. Because of what they had been taught, the bond was broken. Both are now happy in their own lives and still send the occasional email, but the friendship is lost.

To bring it back around to the point, it is your responsibility, brother, fathers and step-fathers, to show the young boys each and every day how to be respectful to everyone, especially women. Women are different than men, and with those differences come certain feelings by some of superiority or inferiority. I don't personally agree with that, but I know some men feel like they are better than women. I know some men that feel like they are not worthy of women, as well.
An example: Men can only destroy life; Women can both destroy AND create it. We, as different sexes, are NOT equal. Neither is one above the other. We are simply very different. Man's strength compliments Woman's weakness, and visa-versa. We, as a species, cannot yet exist one without the other.
THEREFORE
Teach respect of girls/women to the young boys and they will grow up following that creed. Teach them to respect everyone until the individual loses it, and they may not miss out on a fulfilling friendship because of outdated and bigoted feelings passed down to each generation for no reason.

Little girls.

Teach them, sisters, mothers and step-mothers, to show self respect. Again, this is accomplished by example. If you dress like a street-walking hooker, then they are going to think that it is alright to show that much skin and dress like that. If you allow the men in your life to treat you a certain way (physically abusive or like a warm place to put their penises and nothing more), the little girls will grow up thinking that is all that they are to men - that it is normal to be hit and demeaned by the very people that are supposed to love you. Worse still, they might grow up thinking that the only way to show affection is through physical abuse. Then they search it out.

Teach them, brother, fathers and step-fathers, to DEMAND respect from the men they invite into their lives. My brother did something for his daughter and I want to do it for my daughter when she is old enough. He took her out on her first date. It happened like this:

He picked her up on time, dressed nicely in clean clothes and well groomed, and introduced himself to her parents. He opened her car door for her to get in and get out, held the door at the restaurant, and held her chair for her to sit. When she got up to go to the restroom, He stood as she did and sat after she was out of sight. He then stood when she returned, held her chair again, and only after she was settled did he sit. He spoke of subjects that interested them both in a very respectful tone and was a perfect gentleman.
They, then, went to pay mini-golf. He was attentive and polite. He never gloated over a victory or became angry at a loss. He did not ogle her at any time. He did not ogle any other women he saw while they were together. He did not push a kiss goodnight at the end of the evening.

Later, when my niece and her mother were talking, she said that she had a wonderful time and saw why her mother liked her father so much. Later still, when my brother sat down with my niece, he explained that she should expect nothing less that the behavior she received that night with him when she goes out on a date with a boy. If he does not demonstrate that type of behavior, he is not worth her time, and certainly not her affection.

She has excellent self-esteem and always conducts herself with dignity and grace... and every boyfriend she has had has been a gentleman. None have ever stooped to cat-calling, bragging or disrespectful behavior in regards to her. She learned that from BOTH parents.

I welcome any and all feedback.

Degrading Women part 1

This problem has recently come to my attention:

Guys cat-calling, whistling at, commenting with such things as, "I'd tap dat", or generally disrespecting women.

I have always known that some "men" (I use the quotation marks because, other than having the male anatomy, these creatures are anything but real men) do this. There are many factors as to why "men" behave in this fashion.

1. Nature gave us the "mating impulse". True. This is a natural state for men to try and propagate the species. However, centuries of conditioning should have taken the method to new heights. This type of answer is a cop-out. It's the male saying, "I have no control over myself". A good analogy would be, centuries ago, it was natural to piss on one's self (the concept of bathrooms or cleanliness not yet being invented). You modern "men" learned not to wet yourself, even in your sleep, so why can't you control your mouth when an attractive woman walks by? You are awake, right? You are in control of your faculties, right?
Excuse dismissed.

2. The girl was asking for that attention with the clothes she was wearing. So, you are saying that if you, as a red-blooded "man", see a good looking woman showing a fit leg or flat, smooth tummy, you have to degrade her?! And make yourself look like an uneducated jerk at the same time???!! Wow. That's like saying, "she was a stripper, so it's not rape". Doesn't make much sense, either.
Excuse dismissed.

Lastly, my personal favorite
3. They like the attention. While I'm sure that woman chooses clothes to get her noticed, just as you do, she would rather be told that she is beautiful, or sexy, or enchanting, or enticing, or any of a billion other adjectives that could be used there without making her feel like a piece of meat you "men" are slavering over. Women (and men) like attention, but not that type of attention.

I am basing this on more than just my opinion. I have actually conducted a small poll in downtown Dallas to find out what women really think of this type of behavior. Here are the top three responses:

1. Juvenile
2. A turn-off
3. Degrading

Yup, that is what over 200 women REALLY think! (My poll was 227 women ranging in age from 18-57, chosen randomly in Dallas Alley on a Saturday afternoon)

We have established the problem. Next post will tackle the solution.

Fashion statement says "Slob!"

I have never understood the current trend of today's fashion. I am speaking of the overly baggy jeans/shorts with the underwear visible over the waistband. I remember when it was just the waistband visible over hip-hugger jeans. In the past 7 years or so, the pants have fallen farther down to the point of the waistband of the pants being below the ass cheek!
This is supposed to look good??
What's the point of wearing pants at all? Why not just wear your boxers??

I actually have a theory.....

This trend was developed by racist police officers in an effort to make the chase of suspects shorter. See, it works like this: Get the "gansta" look to include pants worn so low that the crotch is around the knees, thereby making the stride of the suspect shorter because he (personally, I have never seen this look on a female) cannot fully extend his legs. Better still, the suspect would trip and fall on his own pant-legs!

I am working on generalizations here, but I feel that they are, more often than not, pretty accurate.

In any case, I think that this "look" is very unattractive. It shows absolutely no respect for yourself or anyone you are with. Couple this with the "grille" and you look like you wasted all of your cash on a shabby appearance.

BTW, job interviews, meeting your girlfriend's parents, and court dates warrant clothes that fit. The first impression is hard to get rid of, especially when the person you make that impression on may heavily influence your life (boss, in-law, judge, etc.).

Show some respect for yourself and at least have one or two outfits that are not 6 or 7 sizes too big for you.

This is for me

Here it is, the 21st century, and people still haven't become any more enlightened. I perused Craig's List and found that there is an abunance of stupidity in the world. Juvenile comments about one poster's weight launched a virtual littany of slander and genuine anger.

People, this is the pinnacle of freedom. If you do not like what someone has to say, don't listen (or in this case, read!). I do not expect to ever get any feedback or validation for my opinions. Why? Because I'm doing it on the internet as a means to an end FOR ME!
"I just want to get (whatever) off my chest!"
I like reading the opinions and ensuing arguments because it is so easy to see that everyone on the board is trying to feel superior to someone --- ANYONE! I think that this is just as cathardic for them as my blog here is for me. It is just sad that the people need to feel superior to be able to feel ok with themselves.

As for the others that berate and belittle those unlike themselves: you have no self esteem and a pea-brained intellectual view. No one wants to hear you opinion if it nothing constructive....except maybe those others of similar intellectual smallness.

Which brings me to the question, "Where does one go to find a vapid audience that all wish to feel superior to everyone else?"

Might I suggest Craig's List?

WTF!!

I just read that Andrea Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Really??!!

Fo those of you that do not know, she is the woman in Houston, TX that drown her 5 children. I am just shooting from the hip here, but wasn't it a given that the woman was not all there? That still doesn't give her the right to kill 5 children! These kids never had a chance. Their lives were ENDED by their own mother!

Short and to the point, she should be killed. I think that I could find a few people that would do it, too! Now, she will live in a psychiatric hospital and has the very good possibility of being released when the counselors there feel she has returned to sanity. Not good enough. If she was able to commit the crime deliberately, she should be punished. If she is not able to be held accountable due to mental illness, wait until she is no longer ill, then kill her.

In the meantime, we, the taxpayers, are footing the bill to keep her alive. She confessed to intentionally killing her own children. I do not want to pay for her to live. It is not my wishes that my tax money goes to keeping her alive. Killing or hurting children in any way is the worst kind of crime.

Just my 2 cents...