No.
The cure for violence is not more violence.
The answer to bad men with guns is not good men with guns.
Very few things are black or white.
People are not inanimate objects; numbers that can be added or subtracted and result in the same predictable solution. There are always gray areas.
I've been a victim of violence. I do not wish violence on the offender(s).
It's not a "turn the other cheek" thing. It's a humanity thing.
Revenge would solve nothing- and would make me a lesser human- because then *I* would be a violent human.
There was a mass shooting.
Why was the immediate response a huge run on the purchase of guns?
If you already had guns, why did you need more...NOW?
If you didn't have guns, why did you need any...NOW?
How did that make you safer?
How did that help the victims' families, other than a resounding slap in the face-
"This type of weapon just slaughtered your baby- I GOTTA GET ME ONE!!!"
I don't care what you say, or your alleged motivation- that is exactly what those families saw
-in the empty shelves of the gun stores
-in the rising prices on weapons and ammo
-in the 'gun appreciation' days and the raffles of that exact. same. weapon.
And they hear no apology from you that does not include a 'BUT'-
-We're sorry your child is dead BUT you can't blame the gun
-We're sorry that over 30,000 Americans are killed by guns every year BUT the 2nd Amendment is what keeps us safe and free (unless you're one of the 30,000 I guess)
-We're sorry that our fellow Americans who outnumber us don't agree with us BUT we want our guns, we've twisted the 2nd Amendment to agree with us, we've bought politicians and supreme court justices to agree with us and fuck the rest of you.
Our society is sick.
Our infatuation and devotion and worship of...tools of death are a symptom.
More of the same does not make a cure.
Guns don't kill people.
People kill people.
People with guns kill a lot of people easily and quickly.
The answer is no.
photo
photo by Sheri Dixon
Monday, January 14, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
...In Which I Attempt to Be Calm
*In the interest of productive discussion, I have promised to type this calmly, and without sarcasm or frustration. We'll see how that turns out*
Some points I'd like the anti-regulation folks to ponder, please- no "you don't need that kind of gun!" rhetoric from me- and I've NEVER said that, by the way. Ever.
I understand your interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. But I'd also like you to understand that that's all it is- an interpretation. No one alive today was in the room when they wrote and signed it. Not even today's supreme court justices (no matter how old they look).
You cannot look for intent in the founders' private writings, because that's what they were- private opinion and even if that's personally how they thought, it was NOT what they wrote to be the guidelines for the new country. They looked at the bigger picture of an entire society, and they compromised.
So all we've got is a sentence. The founders knew grammar, they were very well-educated. In sentence structure, you have the most important part first, followed by an explanation or further description.
"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
OK. First part- even the most adamant anti-regulation folks will admit that the people back in the day DID have their own guns, and were supplied BY THE GOVERNMENT with powder and such and trained together in order to not, yanno- shoot each other in the ass if a crisis arose requiring them to muster. (Oops- first sarcasm. Perhaps a cookie will help. Back in a sec...)
Now, in light of that- that we're talking about a trained militia, the second part where it says "people" is important. Because it does NOT say "the individual" and that IS important- so important that the 2008 Supreme Court interpretation CHANGES it to acknowledge that it does in fact, mean 'individual'.
But that's not what it says. And any strict constitutionalists will agree with that. Again, the founders were not stupid and were not scribbling this shit on the back of a cocktail napkin. (Shit. Maybe some cocoa...)
Now- "bear arms". Bearing arms means specifically one thing- to take up weapons against other humans with intent to kill. You don't bear arms against a bunny rabbit destined for dinner. You don't even bear arms against a coyote after the chickens. And you sure as hell don't bear arms at skeet or traps or targets.
So there's my interpretation of it- as a sentence written in English by men who were educated and knew exactly how to build a sentence and what different words meant. They knew the difference between "people" and "individual" and "well-trained militia" and "buncha guys stockpiling shit rabidly and furtively". (Goddamn it. Time to break out the wine...)
Now, does this mean that anyone using the above interpretation thinks that ALL guns need to be confiscated, melted down and turned into bird baths? Of course not. Metal bird baths rust. Everyone is aware that guns are part and parcel of the American culture. Stop. Listen.
Look at me and listen to my words because I'm telling you what I believe and what everyone on 'my side' believes- no one wants to confiscate your guns. HEY! Stop. Deep breath. Do not utter the words "Pelosi, Feinstein or Shumer". Don't. Because yanno what? Those people are nowhere in 'my side's' news.
The 3 horsemen of the disarmament apocalypse are part and parcel of what 'your side' is telling you 'my side' is up to. But we're not.
Here's what we'd like to see happen-
-Close the damn gun show loophole. Seriously. It's ridiculous.
-Show us proof of proficiency if you want to own a gun. That doesn't mean you have to list your stash- you can have a driver's license without owning a car. Make the concealed-carry course mandatory for any gun purchase. One day. One day to show us you give a damn about actually being safe with your weapon of death. And a little renewal refresher every 5 years or so.
-Everything else? Would be impossible, and we know it no matter how much we may hate it. If we ban specific models- the manufacturers will change the model numbers. If we ban certain clips, certain other ones will appear and/or ways around the law will be figured out.
See that last one? Read it again. OF COURSE your terrifying 3 horsemen will ride into DC and demand the moon. OF COURSE 'your side' will dig its heels in and say "NO COMPROMISE!" and both sides will envision themselves with faces painted and charging at each other Braveheart-style, when in actuality what's supposed to happen is...compromise. Compromise. Compromise. It won't hurt you, really. Say it with me-
*Com...pro...mise*
Here's the most important thing, at least to people like me- and we are legion, trust me. Way WAY more legion than ya'll are. Not a threat; just the truth. I know numbers and statistics are important to you, because we keep hearing about how the pleasure and rights of 80 million gun-owning Americans are at stake here. That means there are 230 million NON-gun-owning Americans. Americans. Just as American as the gun owners.
Please stop making any show about how you're clutching your weapons and stockpiling and 'no compromising' because you need them to protect and take back America.
Because you're not.
How and when do you plan on this big "taking back of America"?
Ya'll aren't organized, no matter how many there are of you. Sure you may know others like you- you may even all meet up to do some shootin' together. But en masse? To face off with the US government forces? How will you know when to go? Is there a big bat signal somewhere?
I'm not being facetious- I really want to know. I don't know if you've even thought about it, or is it part and parcel of the whole "cold dead hands" marketing? Have you?
(Note to self- the wine seems to be doing the trick. Mellow City, that's me.)
Here's what my side sees your side doing, over and over and over again-
-Wall St. tanks the economy- putting our country into economic peril and a whole bunch of Americans on the streets.
Our side gives birth to Occupy- hundreds of thousands of people marching, protesting, old people, young people, employed and poor people. They get arrested and roughed up and hauled off.
Your side calls them dirty hippies and tells them to take a shower and get a job.
-After the election, when not only our President won re-election but a greater number of diverse people were elected into office than ever before
Our side celebrates with relief, and then sets our sights on the '14 elections, because we LIKE the House of Representatives (along with all the other elected officials) to actually, physically represent us- all races, all genders, all religious affiliations or not- we're a melting pot, remember?
Your side wails and gnashes its teeth at the 'end of traditional America' and buys up MORE AMMO because very soon white people will be outnumbered.
-When the Keystone XL trenches its way through private property that's been taken through eminent domain- taken by OUR government and given to a foreign company to transport toxic shit to Houston where it will require billions of gallons of fresh water (and TEXAS has so much of that to spare) to make it usable for crude applications (the finished product will NOT be able to say...gas up your car) and then sold overseas
Our side protests, calls, writes letters, chains ourselves to bulldozers and up in trees, gets arrested and roughed up trying to stop a very hostile takeover of AMERICAN SOIL by a FOREIGN ENTITY
Your side has no idea. Because you're so worried about your guns being taken.
Here's what I hear- "Protecting the 2nd Amendment makes all the others safe".
Even IF that's true, when are you going to start?
Even though the anti-regulation 'saving America from tyranny' crowd talks a big game, and even though I really don't want to see them marching ARMED at any of the above protests, I need to know
where the hell are you?
Wearing your pro-gun t-shirts and caps, why are you NOT HERE and as outraged as we are about all the above transgressions?
Is it the conservative/liberal moat? Can that not be crossed? Because that's music to the ears of those doing the transgressing.
Can your side not even acknowledge that Wall St. hamstringed the economy and that foreign companies on American soil taking land without the owners' consent is FUCKING WRONG because our side tends to be liberal and want things like help for poor, sick, old and female people and tends to be not fanatical about knowing the joys and fun of shooting an AR?
(Damn. Wine's wearing off...too bad we don't have any weed...)
Can you not understand how it's brain-exploding frustrating to listen to you beat your chests and parade around in your soldier suits and scream "COLD DEAD HANDS/AMERICA/NO COMPROMISE" and know damn well that the only tyranny you care one good goddamn about is if someone knocks on your door and demands all your guns?
(Quick...wrap it up...MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY!)
So please- unless you are ALSO going to be concerned about anyone else and any other issue, do not tell us you are patriotic Americans who are protecting America.
Please- do not tell us that you NEED your guns to protect America because you don't trust the government, specifically THIS administration, because in a civil society, that shit gets fixed in the voting booth and by the citizens. You want to be sure we don't turn into a fascist theocratic country? Stop voting for the bastards.
And finally- please- listen to yourself when you are spewing such venom, such hatred both for your fellow Americans and the government, really listen and counsel your hearts and then possibly consider taking the advice you give us when we say things like, "Yanno, every other country provides health care for its citizens- maybe we should try it".
You say IF YOU DON'T LIKE OUR COUNTRY- GET THE FUCK OUT.
At the end of the day, if the majority of citizens feels one way and you feel another, if the English interpretation of the constitution really IS what it means and not what you WANT it to mean...see above.
At the end of the day, we don't hate you because you own guns. We dislike you because you're selfish.
Some points I'd like the anti-regulation folks to ponder, please- no "you don't need that kind of gun!" rhetoric from me- and I've NEVER said that, by the way. Ever.
I understand your interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. But I'd also like you to understand that that's all it is- an interpretation. No one alive today was in the room when they wrote and signed it. Not even today's supreme court justices (no matter how old they look).
You cannot look for intent in the founders' private writings, because that's what they were- private opinion and even if that's personally how they thought, it was NOT what they wrote to be the guidelines for the new country. They looked at the bigger picture of an entire society, and they compromised.
So all we've got is a sentence. The founders knew grammar, they were very well-educated. In sentence structure, you have the most important part first, followed by an explanation or further description.
"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
OK. First part- even the most adamant anti-regulation folks will admit that the people back in the day DID have their own guns, and were supplied BY THE GOVERNMENT with powder and such and trained together in order to not, yanno- shoot each other in the ass if a crisis arose requiring them to muster. (Oops- first sarcasm. Perhaps a cookie will help. Back in a sec...)
Now, in light of that- that we're talking about a trained militia, the second part where it says "people" is important. Because it does NOT say "the individual" and that IS important- so important that the 2008 Supreme Court interpretation CHANGES it to acknowledge that it does in fact, mean 'individual'.
But that's not what it says. And any strict constitutionalists will agree with that. Again, the founders were not stupid and were not scribbling this shit on the back of a cocktail napkin. (Shit. Maybe some cocoa...)
Now- "bear arms". Bearing arms means specifically one thing- to take up weapons against other humans with intent to kill. You don't bear arms against a bunny rabbit destined for dinner. You don't even bear arms against a coyote after the chickens. And you sure as hell don't bear arms at skeet or traps or targets.
So there's my interpretation of it- as a sentence written in English by men who were educated and knew exactly how to build a sentence and what different words meant. They knew the difference between "people" and "individual" and "well-trained militia" and "buncha guys stockpiling shit rabidly and furtively". (Goddamn it. Time to break out the wine...)
Now, does this mean that anyone using the above interpretation thinks that ALL guns need to be confiscated, melted down and turned into bird baths? Of course not. Metal bird baths rust. Everyone is aware that guns are part and parcel of the American culture. Stop. Listen.
Look at me and listen to my words because I'm telling you what I believe and what everyone on 'my side' believes- no one wants to confiscate your guns. HEY! Stop. Deep breath. Do not utter the words "Pelosi, Feinstein or Shumer". Don't. Because yanno what? Those people are nowhere in 'my side's' news.
The 3 horsemen of the disarmament apocalypse are part and parcel of what 'your side' is telling you 'my side' is up to. But we're not.
Here's what we'd like to see happen-
-Close the damn gun show loophole. Seriously. It's ridiculous.
-Show us proof of proficiency if you want to own a gun. That doesn't mean you have to list your stash- you can have a driver's license without owning a car. Make the concealed-carry course mandatory for any gun purchase. One day. One day to show us you give a damn about actually being safe with your weapon of death. And a little renewal refresher every 5 years or so.
-Everything else? Would be impossible, and we know it no matter how much we may hate it. If we ban specific models- the manufacturers will change the model numbers. If we ban certain clips, certain other ones will appear and/or ways around the law will be figured out.
See that last one? Read it again. OF COURSE your terrifying 3 horsemen will ride into DC and demand the moon. OF COURSE 'your side' will dig its heels in and say "NO COMPROMISE!" and both sides will envision themselves with faces painted and charging at each other Braveheart-style, when in actuality what's supposed to happen is...compromise. Compromise. Compromise. It won't hurt you, really. Say it with me-
*Com...pro...mise*
Here's the most important thing, at least to people like me- and we are legion, trust me. Way WAY more legion than ya'll are. Not a threat; just the truth. I know numbers and statistics are important to you, because we keep hearing about how the pleasure and rights of 80 million gun-owning Americans are at stake here. That means there are 230 million NON-gun-owning Americans. Americans. Just as American as the gun owners.
Please stop making any show about how you're clutching your weapons and stockpiling and 'no compromising' because you need them to protect and take back America.
Because you're not.
How and when do you plan on this big "taking back of America"?
Ya'll aren't organized, no matter how many there are of you. Sure you may know others like you- you may even all meet up to do some shootin' together. But en masse? To face off with the US government forces? How will you know when to go? Is there a big bat signal somewhere?
I'm not being facetious- I really want to know. I don't know if you've even thought about it, or is it part and parcel of the whole "cold dead hands" marketing? Have you?
(Note to self- the wine seems to be doing the trick. Mellow City, that's me.)
Here's what my side sees your side doing, over and over and over again-
-Wall St. tanks the economy- putting our country into economic peril and a whole bunch of Americans on the streets.
Our side gives birth to Occupy- hundreds of thousands of people marching, protesting, old people, young people, employed and poor people. They get arrested and roughed up and hauled off.
Your side calls them dirty hippies and tells them to take a shower and get a job.
-After the election, when not only our President won re-election but a greater number of diverse people were elected into office than ever before
Our side celebrates with relief, and then sets our sights on the '14 elections, because we LIKE the House of Representatives (along with all the other elected officials) to actually, physically represent us- all races, all genders, all religious affiliations or not- we're a melting pot, remember?
Your side wails and gnashes its teeth at the 'end of traditional America' and buys up MORE AMMO because very soon white people will be outnumbered.
-When the Keystone XL trenches its way through private property that's been taken through eminent domain- taken by OUR government and given to a foreign company to transport toxic shit to Houston where it will require billions of gallons of fresh water (and TEXAS has so much of that to spare) to make it usable for crude applications (the finished product will NOT be able to say...gas up your car) and then sold overseas
Our side protests, calls, writes letters, chains ourselves to bulldozers and up in trees, gets arrested and roughed up trying to stop a very hostile takeover of AMERICAN SOIL by a FOREIGN ENTITY
Your side has no idea. Because you're so worried about your guns being taken.
Here's what I hear- "Protecting the 2nd Amendment makes all the others safe".
Even IF that's true, when are you going to start?
Even though the anti-regulation 'saving America from tyranny' crowd talks a big game, and even though I really don't want to see them marching ARMED at any of the above protests, I need to know
where the hell are you?
Wearing your pro-gun t-shirts and caps, why are you NOT HERE and as outraged as we are about all the above transgressions?
Is it the conservative/liberal moat? Can that not be crossed? Because that's music to the ears of those doing the transgressing.
Can your side not even acknowledge that Wall St. hamstringed the economy and that foreign companies on American soil taking land without the owners' consent is FUCKING WRONG because our side tends to be liberal and want things like help for poor, sick, old and female people and tends to be not fanatical about knowing the joys and fun of shooting an AR?
(Damn. Wine's wearing off...too bad we don't have any weed...)
Can you not understand how it's brain-exploding frustrating to listen to you beat your chests and parade around in your soldier suits and scream "COLD DEAD HANDS/AMERICA/NO COMPROMISE" and know damn well that the only tyranny you care one good goddamn about is if someone knocks on your door and demands all your guns?
(Quick...wrap it up...MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY!)
So please- unless you are ALSO going to be concerned about anyone else and any other issue, do not tell us you are patriotic Americans who are protecting America.
Please- do not tell us that you NEED your guns to protect America because you don't trust the government, specifically THIS administration, because in a civil society, that shit gets fixed in the voting booth and by the citizens. You want to be sure we don't turn into a fascist theocratic country? Stop voting for the bastards.
And finally- please- listen to yourself when you are spewing such venom, such hatred both for your fellow Americans and the government, really listen and counsel your hearts and then possibly consider taking the advice you give us when we say things like, "Yanno, every other country provides health care for its citizens- maybe we should try it".
You say IF YOU DON'T LIKE OUR COUNTRY- GET THE FUCK OUT.
At the end of the day, if the majority of citizens feels one way and you feel another, if the English interpretation of the constitution really IS what it means and not what you WANT it to mean...see above.
At the end of the day, we don't hate you because you own guns. We dislike you because you're selfish.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Book Review "Embers at Galdrilene"
I don't generally read much fiction, and I very rarely read fantasy.
Embers at Galdrilene is both, and it's fabulous.
I confess I read it mainly because I know the author, but not the way you usually say that- "I know the author so I felt compelled to give it a shot...out of courtesy".
I read it because I know Audra- my family and hers have broken bread together, the boys have played together, at one point we sent a goat, 2 baby guinea pigs and a wringer washer home in their mini-van in exchange for the delivery of a puppy.
We've met in a tornado-whipped campground in Oklahoma and in their home in Kansas.
I love Audra and her family, and that's no understatement.
So I didn't open Embers with hesitation- I knew it would be everything Audra is- funny, complex, whimsical, dramatic, passionate.
And I was not disappointed.
Embers at Galdrilene is dragon fantasy at its very best- following half a dozen very different characters on their journey to come to peace with their gift of magic and to answer the insistent humming of their dragon-partners: something they'd been told was impossible and even deadly, they form an unlikely alliance and discover places and things that were supposedly lost in the mists of history.
An absolutely stunning tapestry of a fairy tale, the characters are true and the setting comes alive, pulling the reader in and along for the ride.
I ordered a 'real' book, since I'm old and still prefer that format, but the cover and interior details are so fitting and beautiful that I highly recommend this version over the Kindle or Nook versions.
The best part?
Embers is only the first book. So when you turn the final page, it's not depressing- there's more to look forward to.
Embers at Galdrilene- by A.D. Trosper. Even and maybe especially if you don't read fantasy, your brain and heart will thank you for this refreshing vacation.
http://www.amazon.com/Embers-at-Galdrilene-Volume-1/dp/0615730957/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357871140&sr=8-1&keywords=embers+at+galdrilene
Embers at Galdrilene is both, and it's fabulous.
I confess I read it mainly because I know the author, but not the way you usually say that- "I know the author so I felt compelled to give it a shot...out of courtesy".
I read it because I know Audra- my family and hers have broken bread together, the boys have played together, at one point we sent a goat, 2 baby guinea pigs and a wringer washer home in their mini-van in exchange for the delivery of a puppy.
We've met in a tornado-whipped campground in Oklahoma and in their home in Kansas.
I love Audra and her family, and that's no understatement.
So I didn't open Embers with hesitation- I knew it would be everything Audra is- funny, complex, whimsical, dramatic, passionate.
And I was not disappointed.
Embers at Galdrilene is dragon fantasy at its very best- following half a dozen very different characters on their journey to come to peace with their gift of magic and to answer the insistent humming of their dragon-partners: something they'd been told was impossible and even deadly, they form an unlikely alliance and discover places and things that were supposedly lost in the mists of history.
An absolutely stunning tapestry of a fairy tale, the characters are true and the setting comes alive, pulling the reader in and along for the ride.
I ordered a 'real' book, since I'm old and still prefer that format, but the cover and interior details are so fitting and beautiful that I highly recommend this version over the Kindle or Nook versions.
The best part?
Embers is only the first book. So when you turn the final page, it's not depressing- there's more to look forward to.
Embers at Galdrilene- by A.D. Trosper. Even and maybe especially if you don't read fantasy, your brain and heart will thank you for this refreshing vacation.
http://www.amazon.com/Embers-at-Galdrilene-Volume-1/dp/0615730957/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357871140&sr=8-1&keywords=embers+at+galdrilene
Monday, January 7, 2013
Holy Shit! There Really IS a Slippery Slope!
And all this time I've been chiding and deriding the anti-gun regulation folks and the fundamentalist Christians.
Till it occurred to me, as though slapped with a sack of wet mice, that they are
100% CORRECT
Yes, folks- you heard it right here, right now. There is, in fact, a slippery slope and we've been on it for many years already.
The 2nd Amendment has been bastardized and we need to take it back. It was put there because we were to never have a standing army- the citizens were to be TRAINED as a militia so the government could call them up to fight FOR the government to protect our borders.
Somehow, about 50 years ago, the NRA went from being a hunter support group to making a devil's deal with the gun manufacturers to supply them with a consumer base. The lobbyists invaded DC and bought the politicians and the judges and the NRA did the rest.
Before that there was never even a word about the 2nd Amendment in their monthly magazine and the NRA is on record as being relatively PRO-regulation.
So here's where we went wrong, America- at the first inkling of the gross misinterpretation of the 2nd Amendment, America should've said
"HEY- THAT'S NOT WHAT THAT MEANS- YOU ARE JUST BEING MANIPULATED AND MARKETED TO AND YOU ARE BUYING IT LOCK, STOCK AND BARREL* AND WE WILL HAVE NONE OF THAT".
*Note the gun joke. Just wanted to make sure ya'll got that since I thought it was pretty clever.
But, no.
We let the camel's nose under the tent and now the camel has not only upended the tent but he's shit and pissed all over it.
And you can't get the smell of camel piss out of stuff. Trust me.
And speaking of camel piss, how about that Joe McCarthy?
Joe McCarthy got all of America's knickers in a knot about the Red Commie Scare back in the '50's. Suddenly it was of vital importance to make it abundantly clear that America was not Communist.
Because so many people were confused about that.
Or something.
And what ONE THING separated us from the godless Commies?
Borscht.
No. Wait.
GOD.
Yes, God with a capital G.
So ol' Joe made damn sure that God was everywhere- He got added to the pledge even though the Baptist minister who wrote it specifically and purposely left Him out of it, on accounta America does not have a national religion.
It got printed on all our money- replacing "E Pluribus Unum" with "In God We Trust", and if you look around, you'll see how THAT turned out, once we stopped believing that "Out of many, we become One" and shoved the Christian God of the Holy Bible down everyone's throats as they paid for their rent, and food, and beer, and lap dances.
And we even had to adopt "In God We Trust" as our national motto. Even though the 1st Amendment clearly states that we have NO NATIONAL RELIGION.
That was in the '50's. Not the 1750's. The 1950's. Once it became clear that McCarthy was as crazy as a spun cat, all that crap shoulda been scrapped since it was all absolutely counter to the 1st Amendment. All of it.
But no, we went ahead and let that slippery slope slide.
And look where we are now- having presidential candidates standing up and saying they consult God before any decision and that they use the Holy Bible as their guide.
Which is bullshit. Because that's what the Founders spent all that time laboring over hot meals and French wine pounding out a Constitution and Bill of Rights for. If they'da known you were going to toss it all over and use the bible instead, they coulda been back on their huge landholdings, overseeing their slaves and shit.
So I owe all the anti-regulation gun guys and all the fundamentalist Christians a huge apology. My eyes have been opened and I can see the light.
We shoulda slapped ya'll with a rolled up newspaper over half a century ago.
Because this is OUR country, too.
And as of now, ya'll have made a huge fear-mongering hate-filled mess of it that will take decades to recover from.
But we will take America back.
And we won't let you fuck it up again.
Till it occurred to me, as though slapped with a sack of wet mice, that they are
100% CORRECT
Yes, folks- you heard it right here, right now. There is, in fact, a slippery slope and we've been on it for many years already.
The 2nd Amendment has been bastardized and we need to take it back. It was put there because we were to never have a standing army- the citizens were to be TRAINED as a militia so the government could call them up to fight FOR the government to protect our borders.
Somehow, about 50 years ago, the NRA went from being a hunter support group to making a devil's deal with the gun manufacturers to supply them with a consumer base. The lobbyists invaded DC and bought the politicians and the judges and the NRA did the rest.
Before that there was never even a word about the 2nd Amendment in their monthly magazine and the NRA is on record as being relatively PRO-regulation.
So here's where we went wrong, America- at the first inkling of the gross misinterpretation of the 2nd Amendment, America should've said
"HEY- THAT'S NOT WHAT THAT MEANS- YOU ARE JUST BEING MANIPULATED AND MARKETED TO AND YOU ARE BUYING IT LOCK, STOCK AND BARREL* AND WE WILL HAVE NONE OF THAT".
*Note the gun joke. Just wanted to make sure ya'll got that since I thought it was pretty clever.
But, no.
We let the camel's nose under the tent and now the camel has not only upended the tent but he's shit and pissed all over it.
And you can't get the smell of camel piss out of stuff. Trust me.
And speaking of camel piss, how about that Joe McCarthy?
Joe McCarthy got all of America's knickers in a knot about the Red Commie Scare back in the '50's. Suddenly it was of vital importance to make it abundantly clear that America was not Communist.
Because so many people were confused about that.
Or something.
And what ONE THING separated us from the godless Commies?
Borscht.
No. Wait.
GOD.
Yes, God with a capital G.
So ol' Joe made damn sure that God was everywhere- He got added to the pledge even though the Baptist minister who wrote it specifically and purposely left Him out of it, on accounta America does not have a national religion.
It got printed on all our money- replacing "E Pluribus Unum" with "In God We Trust", and if you look around, you'll see how THAT turned out, once we stopped believing that "Out of many, we become One" and shoved the Christian God of the Holy Bible down everyone's throats as they paid for their rent, and food, and beer, and lap dances.
And we even had to adopt "In God We Trust" as our national motto. Even though the 1st Amendment clearly states that we have NO NATIONAL RELIGION.
That was in the '50's. Not the 1750's. The 1950's. Once it became clear that McCarthy was as crazy as a spun cat, all that crap shoulda been scrapped since it was all absolutely counter to the 1st Amendment. All of it.
But no, we went ahead and let that slippery slope slide.
And look where we are now- having presidential candidates standing up and saying they consult God before any decision and that they use the Holy Bible as their guide.
Which is bullshit. Because that's what the Founders spent all that time laboring over hot meals and French wine pounding out a Constitution and Bill of Rights for. If they'da known you were going to toss it all over and use the bible instead, they coulda been back on their huge landholdings, overseeing their slaves and shit.
So I owe all the anti-regulation gun guys and all the fundamentalist Christians a huge apology. My eyes have been opened and I can see the light.
We shoulda slapped ya'll with a rolled up newspaper over half a century ago.
Because this is OUR country, too.
And as of now, ya'll have made a huge fear-mongering hate-filled mess of it that will take decades to recover from.
But we will take America back.
And we won't let you fuck it up again.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Delicious Diversity
Yanno the recipes I like the best?
The ones that you read and think, "How the hell will THAT work?"
When you're going along, reading the ingredient list mentally mixing it up in your head and saying to yourself, "Ya, ya, ok, sounds good..." and then you get to one or more ingredients that screech your thoughts to a halt with a recoiling-from-the-cookbook shudder and your instinctive reaction is. "How the hell will THAT work?"
So I made chili yesterday.
Tried out a new recipe that had not one, but FOUR ingredients that made me stop in my mental tracks.
But I thought I'd be brave and give it a shot- invited our 2 most daring epicurean family members within dinner-driving distance and tossed it all together, making a few changes as I went (like most cooks do- as in the rest of life, the key to success is experimentation balanced with the tried-and-true).
It was delicious.
After dinner we had a campfire and fireworks show- fire made by Rick and Joe, and fireworks by Alec and Ben.
Around the campfire we were a companionable crew of unlikely characters.
Our neighbors Rick and Christine- the best neighbors on the planet, but a little to the Right of our way of thinking politically. Joe asked Rick if he'd read one of my blog posts and he said, "I don't read that commie pinko stuff". He ate the shit outta the commie pinko apple cake tho...Christine does her best to keep Rick on a civil plane. It's a lifetime endeavor.
Joe- heavily armed, old Montanan, former Marine and about a hundred miles to the Right of Rick. An absolutely integral member of our adopted family for over four years now. I tell folks I've almost got him house trained. Almost.
Ben and Jason- (I can't even type their names without smiling). If I had had the pleasure of having 2 more sons, I'd want them to be Ben and Jason.
And of course, Ward and Alec. The 2 most dear people to me on the planet- both hysterically funny, frighteningly brilliant, astoundingly handsome.
We ranged in age from 12 to 70, from urban to rural, liberal to progressive to conservative, Catholic to Baptist to reincarnationist to atheist.
We're not all the same, we don't all think alike. Society tries to get us to believe that the ONLY way to happiness and success is to group together with 'like-minded people'.
Including and spanning out from last night's campfire, it's easy to see that our entire group of friends is hugely diverse in all ways. So how the hell does THAT work?
As good as the chili, baby. As good as the chili.
How the Hell Will THAT Work Chili
2 tsp olive oil
2 small onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound ground sirloin
2 pounds sirloin steaks, cubed
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 can dark beer (I used Shiner Black Bohemian Lager)
1 c strong black coffee
1 12oz can tomato paste
12oz beef broth
1/2c brown sugar
3 1/2tbsp sweetchili sauce (from the oriental food section)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp basil
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
Heat the oil and cook the onion and garlic till tender and transparent, transfer to soup kettle.
Brown the cubed steak and add to onions and garlic.
Brown and RINSE the ground sirloin and add to onion, garlic and cubed steak.
Mix in all the other stuff and stir well.
Simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least 2 hours- more is betterer.
Enjoy with COMMIE PINKO CORNBREAD-
1c baking mix (I use Pioneer)
3/4c cornmeal
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
2/3c milk
6 tbsp melted butter
Mix together, spread into buttered cast iron skillet and bake at 425 about 20-25 minutes till knife comes out clean.
The ones that you read and think, "How the hell will THAT work?"
When you're going along, reading the ingredient list mentally mixing it up in your head and saying to yourself, "Ya, ya, ok, sounds good..." and then you get to one or more ingredients that screech your thoughts to a halt with a recoiling-from-the-cookbook shudder and your instinctive reaction is. "How the hell will THAT work?"
So I made chili yesterday.
Tried out a new recipe that had not one, but FOUR ingredients that made me stop in my mental tracks.
But I thought I'd be brave and give it a shot- invited our 2 most daring epicurean family members within dinner-driving distance and tossed it all together, making a few changes as I went (like most cooks do- as in the rest of life, the key to success is experimentation balanced with the tried-and-true).
It was delicious.
After dinner we had a campfire and fireworks show- fire made by Rick and Joe, and fireworks by Alec and Ben.
Around the campfire we were a companionable crew of unlikely characters.
Our neighbors Rick and Christine- the best neighbors on the planet, but a little to the Right of our way of thinking politically. Joe asked Rick if he'd read one of my blog posts and he said, "I don't read that commie pinko stuff". He ate the shit outta the commie pinko apple cake tho...Christine does her best to keep Rick on a civil plane. It's a lifetime endeavor.
Joe- heavily armed, old Montanan, former Marine and about a hundred miles to the Right of Rick. An absolutely integral member of our adopted family for over four years now. I tell folks I've almost got him house trained. Almost.
Ben and Jason- (I can't even type their names without smiling). If I had had the pleasure of having 2 more sons, I'd want them to be Ben and Jason.
And of course, Ward and Alec. The 2 most dear people to me on the planet- both hysterically funny, frighteningly brilliant, astoundingly handsome.
We ranged in age from 12 to 70, from urban to rural, liberal to progressive to conservative, Catholic to Baptist to reincarnationist to atheist.
We're not all the same, we don't all think alike. Society tries to get us to believe that the ONLY way to happiness and success is to group together with 'like-minded people'.
Including and spanning out from last night's campfire, it's easy to see that our entire group of friends is hugely diverse in all ways. So how the hell does THAT work?
As good as the chili, baby. As good as the chili.
How the Hell Will THAT Work Chili
2 tsp olive oil
2 small onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound ground sirloin
2 pounds sirloin steaks, cubed
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 can dark beer (I used Shiner Black Bohemian Lager)
1 c strong black coffee
1 12oz can tomato paste
12oz beef broth
1/2c brown sugar
3 1/2tbsp sweetchili sauce (from the oriental food section)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp basil
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
Heat the oil and cook the onion and garlic till tender and transparent, transfer to soup kettle.
Brown the cubed steak and add to onions and garlic.
Brown and RINSE the ground sirloin and add to onion, garlic and cubed steak.
Mix in all the other stuff and stir well.
Simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least 2 hours- more is betterer.
Enjoy with COMMIE PINKO CORNBREAD-
1c baking mix (I use Pioneer)
3/4c cornmeal
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
2/3c milk
6 tbsp melted butter
Mix together, spread into buttered cast iron skillet and bake at 425 about 20-25 minutes till knife comes out clean.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Pre-Coffee Persecusion
Lets just get this out of the way.
I'm never eating at Chik Filet again and I'm never shopping at Hobby Lobby again.
It's not really a big deal for me, a sacrifice- if you will, because the food at CF is really shitty (who the hell takes dry bread, a frozen-then-deep-fried chicken part and ONE PICKLE SLICE and bases an entire restaurant on that crap?)and anything I can get at Hobby Lobby I can get at any other hobby store...preferably a locally-owned one.
The Chik Filet debacle? Stupid. Ooooh, the Christians are marching en masse to eat crappy sammiches in support of Chik Filet's brave policies. "Clogging our arteries for Jesus". Whatever.
I've had it with the Hobby Lobby thing, tho.
They're willing to pay 1.3 million dollars A DAY in fines rather than supply their employees with ONE segment of health care? Coincidentally, since from what I've seen, Hobby Lobby employees tend to be under 50, lower middle class and WOMEN- it's the very thing they most need- help in deciding how big their family gets. How fucking Christian of them.
Let me do this so it's easy to understand and impossible to misunderstand-
HOBBY LOBBY IS THE CHURCH OF NOTHING. IT IS NOT A RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION AND IT IS THEREFORE NOT EXEMPT FROM IMPLEMENTING ANY PART OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT.
Is that clear?
The ACA does NOT say "Everybody MUST take birth control and have a minimum of three (3) abortions in their lifetime, men included", but you'd think it says exactly that to hear all the wailing, gnashing of teeth and rubbing of ashes onto clothes-rent heads.
Settle the fuck down.
Just because the President/Owner/King of Hobby Lobby thinks PERSONALLY that birth control is a bad thing, he cannot CANNOT make that decision for his employees.
On accounta Hobby Lobby is NOT a RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION.
But the entire "we're so persecuted" Christian Nation is gonna march on Hobby Lobby in a few days to SHOW US HEATHENS that they support the holiness that is...a fucking glorified five and dime store.
They're going to march in support of ONE MAN being able to essentially screw and persecute the living hell out of every female employee he has, who is not doing it because he can't AFFORD IT- since he's paying more in fines than if every one of his employees (men included) took the pill every day for the rest of their lives.
That, my friends, is the most unabashed bullshit I've ever heard in my entire life.
And the angels sang.
I'm never eating at Chik Filet again and I'm never shopping at Hobby Lobby again.
It's not really a big deal for me, a sacrifice- if you will, because the food at CF is really shitty (who the hell takes dry bread, a frozen-then-deep-fried chicken part and ONE PICKLE SLICE and bases an entire restaurant on that crap?)and anything I can get at Hobby Lobby I can get at any other hobby store...preferably a locally-owned one.
The Chik Filet debacle? Stupid. Ooooh, the Christians are marching en masse to eat crappy sammiches in support of Chik Filet's brave policies. "Clogging our arteries for Jesus". Whatever.
I've had it with the Hobby Lobby thing, tho.
They're willing to pay 1.3 million dollars A DAY in fines rather than supply their employees with ONE segment of health care? Coincidentally, since from what I've seen, Hobby Lobby employees tend to be under 50, lower middle class and WOMEN- it's the very thing they most need- help in deciding how big their family gets. How fucking Christian of them.
Let me do this so it's easy to understand and impossible to misunderstand-
HOBBY LOBBY IS THE CHURCH OF NOTHING. IT IS NOT A RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION AND IT IS THEREFORE NOT EXEMPT FROM IMPLEMENTING ANY PART OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT.
Is that clear?
The ACA does NOT say "Everybody MUST take birth control and have a minimum of three (3) abortions in their lifetime, men included", but you'd think it says exactly that to hear all the wailing, gnashing of teeth and rubbing of ashes onto clothes-rent heads.
Settle the fuck down.
Just because the President/Owner/King of Hobby Lobby thinks PERSONALLY that birth control is a bad thing, he cannot CANNOT make that decision for his employees.
On accounta Hobby Lobby is NOT a RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION.
But the entire "we're so persecuted" Christian Nation is gonna march on Hobby Lobby in a few days to SHOW US HEATHENS that they support the holiness that is...a fucking glorified five and dime store.
They're going to march in support of ONE MAN being able to essentially screw and persecute the living hell out of every female employee he has, who is not doing it because he can't AFFORD IT- since he's paying more in fines than if every one of his employees (men included) took the pill every day for the rest of their lives.
That, my friends, is the most unabashed bullshit I've ever heard in my entire life.
And the angels sang.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Making Shit Up
I love to write.
I've always loved to write.
Words are magical, wondrous things and threaded together carefully and artfully they weave thoughts and dreams into the cloth that becomes the wardrobe of our imaginations.
Just by chance, the things that I've written tend to be real, and experiential and concise.
School newspaper, local newspaper, articles for a website, journal entries, blog.
Very much "where, what, when, how and who in 3,000 words or less" sort of writing.
'CancerDance- a love story' is journal entries and blog posts with a few chapters tacked to the beginning. Don't get me wrong; the format makes it much more visceral than simple prose would be.
'Easterchicks Gone Bad' is a collection of articles written over the course of 5 years that are all put into one volume.
Both of these are about real stuff. Reporting, as it were.
'Almost Invisible- a different kind of survival story' was my first foray into fiction, and it scared me to death. Not just the fiction aspect of it, but making a whole BOOK aspect- everything in me is trained to take a subject, circle around it, dive in, rip the heart out of it and set it to words...condensed and descriptive yet complete.
I wrote that little 100 page book one chapter at a time, one a night till it ended- and till it ended even *I* didn't know how it would end.
I was lamenting my current state of discouragement with my writing life in general and a dear friend...lets call her 'Audra', said, "You write for the love of writing and because you have people in your head that will drive you crazy if you don't let them out."
And therein lies the Rub.
My head? Empty.
There are no people in it.
The characters in 'Almost Invisible' were the first time that had ever happened to me in over 50 years. And so far, the last.
So I've got what I believe is a pretty good concept for what I'm doing now, and I've got it laid out in my head (and on paper as well because I'm old) and I'm fully engaged in the entire project.
The people in the book? Elusive as Bigfoot.
Audra writes fabulous characters who apparently hatch between her ears and gain form through her computer keys; and they leap off the pages of her book full of life and passion.
Joe, too- sits down to write and his stories appear on his computer chock full of people who come with their own histories and quirks and humanity. He admits that he has no idea how a book will go till it's done. "Beats the shit outta ME", he'll say when asked why a story takes the turn that it does.
The part of writing he finds tedious is the editing and spell-checking, but the story parts just flow.
I'm in awe of such gifts.
Having only dealt in non-fiction my entire life, it was pretty easy to think, "Fiction? What's so difficult about THAT? All you gotta do is make shit up".
Now I know.
Now I sit at my computer mentally drawing and crumpling up character after character in my head till I sketch one up that fills the need of the story.
I'll type it all up and think, "THERE! I've finished the first section", then look at my page count. Twelve. Twelve pages.
Dumbfounded, I think, "What the hell? I've said all that needs said here and it's only twelve pages??? That will not a book make".
So painstakingly, line by line and paragraph by paragraph I go through it again. I read each tiny section, pause, close my eyes and think, "MORE".
I elaborate, describe, add background and depth and read it again.
"MORE".
Over and over and over again.
It's unarguably the hardest work I've ever done regarding words.
I believe it's good for me.
I believe I'll come out the other side a better writer, and I believe I'll be proud of the finished product both in content and quality.
Will anyone read it?
Beats the hell outta me.
But Audra says that's not what I'm doing it for, and she's never lied to me.
I've always loved to write.
Words are magical, wondrous things and threaded together carefully and artfully they weave thoughts and dreams into the cloth that becomes the wardrobe of our imaginations.
Just by chance, the things that I've written tend to be real, and experiential and concise.
School newspaper, local newspaper, articles for a website, journal entries, blog.
Very much "where, what, when, how and who in 3,000 words or less" sort of writing.
'CancerDance- a love story' is journal entries and blog posts with a few chapters tacked to the beginning. Don't get me wrong; the format makes it much more visceral than simple prose would be.
'Easterchicks Gone Bad' is a collection of articles written over the course of 5 years that are all put into one volume.
Both of these are about real stuff. Reporting, as it were.
'Almost Invisible- a different kind of survival story' was my first foray into fiction, and it scared me to death. Not just the fiction aspect of it, but making a whole BOOK aspect- everything in me is trained to take a subject, circle around it, dive in, rip the heart out of it and set it to words...condensed and descriptive yet complete.
I wrote that little 100 page book one chapter at a time, one a night till it ended- and till it ended even *I* didn't know how it would end.
I was lamenting my current state of discouragement with my writing life in general and a dear friend...lets call her 'Audra', said, "You write for the love of writing and because you have people in your head that will drive you crazy if you don't let them out."
And therein lies the Rub.
My head? Empty.
There are no people in it.
The characters in 'Almost Invisible' were the first time that had ever happened to me in over 50 years. And so far, the last.
So I've got what I believe is a pretty good concept for what I'm doing now, and I've got it laid out in my head (and on paper as well because I'm old) and I'm fully engaged in the entire project.
The people in the book? Elusive as Bigfoot.
Audra writes fabulous characters who apparently hatch between her ears and gain form through her computer keys; and they leap off the pages of her book full of life and passion.
Joe, too- sits down to write and his stories appear on his computer chock full of people who come with their own histories and quirks and humanity. He admits that he has no idea how a book will go till it's done. "Beats the shit outta ME", he'll say when asked why a story takes the turn that it does.
The part of writing he finds tedious is the editing and spell-checking, but the story parts just flow.
I'm in awe of such gifts.
Having only dealt in non-fiction my entire life, it was pretty easy to think, "Fiction? What's so difficult about THAT? All you gotta do is make shit up".
Now I know.
Now I sit at my computer mentally drawing and crumpling up character after character in my head till I sketch one up that fills the need of the story.
I'll type it all up and think, "THERE! I've finished the first section", then look at my page count. Twelve. Twelve pages.
Dumbfounded, I think, "What the hell? I've said all that needs said here and it's only twelve pages??? That will not a book make".
So painstakingly, line by line and paragraph by paragraph I go through it again. I read each tiny section, pause, close my eyes and think, "MORE".
I elaborate, describe, add background and depth and read it again.
"MORE".
Over and over and over again.
It's unarguably the hardest work I've ever done regarding words.
I believe it's good for me.
I believe I'll come out the other side a better writer, and I believe I'll be proud of the finished product both in content and quality.
Will anyone read it?
Beats the hell outta me.
But Audra says that's not what I'm doing it for, and she's never lied to me.
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