Yes, it is CHANGE we need.

Note: Before reading, please keep in mind that I am not meaning to insult anyone, and if you are too conservative you have every right not to read this. But I feel that a lot of people suffer with the frustrations that I have put in this very blog, and maybe someone can get a little insight from this.

I'm getting so tired of the negative campaign being waged by the McCain-Palin camp this year. It's desperation. Everywhere I look I hear people making racist and degrading comments, and not one word these people say has anything to do with the issues. If I read one more hate-filled email about Barack "Hussein" Obama, I will scream. And then they say that Dems are un-Christianlike? Well, if your version of Christianity is completely hate-based. Please don't take that the wrong way, because I have met plenty of Christians who uphold their faith but still take time to think for themselves and really choose what they think is truly right and moral. Sometimes, and only sometimes, do I see Christians who are actually Democrats because they care about the poor, the disabled, or the environment which is God's hallowed creation that is getting stripped away acre by acre. Mostly, I just see a bunch of people blindly following the Republican party because their pastor told them Democrats are baby killers. Which is a ridiculous notion at best. The truth is, Republicans know this is the linch-pin for certain voters. They've never made any progress on the pro-life front. They just keep giving promises that keep the votes coming in. It would seem they want to stop everyone from making their own decisions about their own lives, but they want the "Big Wigs" of the world to run amuck with what they call freedom.
Today I experienced true inspiration. Joe Biden spoke to the few Democratic-leaning citizens of Springfield at Jordan Valley Park. What I experienced was not a mud-slinging pile of negative poop aimed at discrediting the competition. There was no need for it. Because the Democrats have a plan that won't just be a recreation of the last pitiful 8 years (although the Republicans are desperately trying to spin it to where it's all Clinton's fault...) They recognize that it is the middle class that is the pivotal base for the American economy. When you strip away the middle class's ability to take care of themselves, you strip away their jobs and their ability to feed their families, then there is no American economy. McCain would enact the same fruitless policies that keep the rich rolling in the dough and the poor (and the failing middle class, of course) shedding more and more tears because they are afraid. They are afraid to even get out of bed in the morning because they don't know what the day will bring.
A person I know, who I never realized was AS heartless as I thought he was, posted a ridiculous new bill of rights re-write aimed at the "liberal bed-wetters" as I believe the post called those like myself. In a nutshell it said that he and his kind don't owe the rest of us anything. They should reap the benefits of the things they "earned" and I should just have to die, because I'm liberal scum trying to milk everything I can get out of the system, and of course it added that there's no possible way that any of us "disillusioned" liberals have worked for anything we think we're entitled to. Newsflash, buddy. I HAVE worked for everything I have gotten out of this country. I have supported the troops, I have supported the American way of life, and I have put my own hard-earned money into systems that I feel should be a base of support for me. I have put my faith in a government that I hoped would take care of me because I am working VERY HARD to take care of it. I serve my country every day, and you're right, I AM insulted by the fact that you would ever claim that myself and others like me would ever just sit back and let YOU, many of whom were born into money and have never suffered over the cost of a gallon of milk, tell me that I'm unworthy of the support of my country. The way I see it, as a community, as one country, we should all WANT to take care of one another. We should all WANT to see our neighbors succeed in life. You who write unpatriotic and cold-hearted trash such as that I was forced to read should be ashamed of turning your back on your fellow human beings. Barack Obama was recently criticized for declaring himself a citizen of America and a citizen of the world. Oh, yes, how DARE him ever consider himself a citizen of the world! What? So, Republicans wish to alienate our entire country from all the others, because why? We are better than everyone else? I see. That must be why you all think that you're more entitled to enjoying the benefits of the American system more than your rival Democrats. Because you are better than us.
From the Change We Need rally I took something away. Hope that we can put our faith in leaders that Americans in the majority, that is those who don't make 400,000 dollars a year, can trust to work for us. Hope that I can wake up next year without the feeling of dread that I may never be able to attain my dreams because I simply can't afford them. Sorry I wasn't born into wealth and luxury, but I was born happy. And I was born working hard. I was born learning from my mistakes and being taught that I can accomplish anything with a little faith and effort. And that has all been stripped away as I see Americans ascribing to ideas that put us all in a medieval-type caste system. I don't have money so I don't deserve anything. What a sad reality. And I won't buy it. That's why in November I will be casting my vote for someone who believes that I am worthy of being fought for. I will cast my vote for a man who believes that his country (his ENTIRE counntry, not just the wealthiest 1%) deserve his attention and his time. And I refuse to believe that every American is as selfish, shallow and cold-hearted as those I've had the displeasure of knowing. No matter what party you support, think about why you hold those values. If those reasons are sound, I applaud you (and I repeat, no matter WHAT PARTY). I don't mean to insult Republicans in this rant of mine, only a select few, and these are people I have chosen to no longer associate with. They talk of liberal radicals... if they only could see themselves.

Thanks for the time,
Amy

Need to get cracking on this!

It would appear I've gotten into a rut of writing, skipping a month, and then writing again. That's not good. I really do plan on getting some pictures up, commenting on things on a regular basis... you know, the usual. I guess I can start with some good news. My weight loss plans seem to be working slowly. I am now into my "skinny" jeans, although they are a bit snug. But, I haven't dared even put them on for 6 months or longer, so I consider the buttoning to be a success. Now I just need them to get too big! That would be a dream come true.

I'm a bit frazzled. Seems like there's always so much to do. I am still trying to complete a Catster video project for the boys and all the kitties in their TWT group. I'm drawing a mind-blank on a song to use. It's very frustrating. And the next couple of weeks are going to fly by! I am moderating trivia in BT next weekend, and it will be my first time. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also a bit nervous. I hope my questions are all ok. I hope I can lose a bit more weight before I go to BT. It would be nice to get up in front of all those people and feel secure.

The following week it will be moving Erin and Dylan back to Missouri. I'm really glad their coming back. Erin hasn't been happy out there all year, and I know she has to be excited about returning, but I think she's a bit apprehensive at the same time. Dylan hasn't been doing so hot lately in school, and he's already making all kinds of plans with his "buddies" from Springfield, which will just pull him further and further from his purpose in law school. What do you do? You can't make people's wise decisions for them. Even if you wish you could.

That's all for now,

amy

Thoughts on Religion and The Poisonwood Bible

I haven't written in a while. I guess I took some time trying to think about what would be worth writing about. So few things important to people are worth writing about. Then I picked up a book that seemed worthwhile. I've wanted to read "The Poisonwood Bible" since I first heard about it years ago. I'd read other of Kingsolver's works and liked them, and PB was always considered her best. I can see why.

I won't give anything away as far as plot is considered, as I hope to inspire someone to pick it up someday. I just thought I'd discuss some basic themes that I found quite intrigued me and sometimes inflamed my anger. Perhaps the most prevalent deals with religion, predominantly Christianity. Nathan Price is the bible-toting patriarch of the Price family, a man who has found his calling to lead the heathen tribes of the Congo from the clutches of evil pagan idols and sin. He is a missionary sent by the Southern Baptist Mission in Georgia for this sole purpose. He brings his family along, his wife and four daughters. The story alternates quite masterfully between the perspectives of these five women. As this story unfolds we begin to see Nathan for the cruelty he possesses. He leads his family with an iron fist - the self-proclaimed hand of God that he feels he must often use against his wife and daughters in order to keep the lost little female lambs from straying from the tiny trough from which he has kindly allowed them to feed. Nathan would appear to have no identity of his own. Rarely does he ever speak words of his own in the novel, merely words taken ver batim from the Bible. He is the epitome of the hell, fire and brimstone Baptist preacher. Just as Kingsolver, I do not mean to shed a negative light on Christianity, merely on the interpretation which seems far-too prevalent today, especially in America.

Nathan Price has become so entrenched in fulfilling his duties to God that he turns his back upon all he should love. He cares nothing for his daughters and views his wife as little more than the dumb bitch-hound that was given to him by God to keep the lambs coralled. And the lambs must be punished for everything, for they are weak, and God has no patience for stupid little girls. At times he woud seem to view women as the mere creation of God to test a man's patience. Nathan ridicules his wife for her beauty, calling her an overzealous harlot who has ensnared him after they make love. It is her fault that he fell into the temptations of the flesh and actually enjoyed it. Sex should only be for procreation. Even with one's own wife it should be seen as shameful and vile. If he derived pleasure then his wife is a whore. In his arrogance he closes his eyes to his own sins, such as brusing the faces of his lovely daughters. As a white, Christian male who knows the Bible from cover to cover he, of course, is destined for a place in heaven. It is everyone else who should suffer to earn salvation. His children slowly begin to resent God as they see him not as a protector but a persecutor at the hands of their own father.

Nathan's identity parallels the theme of American identity in the novel. The family enters the Congo believing in their own superiority. They will take seeds and show these poor dumb heathens how to grow their own food, by God! What results is a harsh lesson for the family. The African soil is ill-equipped for the crops of America - or any crops for that matter. The Congolese people have done their best to survive in a land that is all-at-once harsh, turbulent and unpredictable. The women of the Price family eventually allow their eyes to open to this fact, but Nathan never ceases to try to change the Congo. Nathan Price represents the part of America that hovers over the Congo like an angelic hand trying to bend the people toward their will behind a mask of good intention. Another white man in the story represents the truth of this mission. His greed and arrogant want bleeds those around him of all they have. He is the harsh, brutal will of the American government, a government which slaughters and burns the dead disregarding the sacred rights the Congolese hold dear. One could actually argue that an attempt to force the Congolese to adopt the Christian Jesus as "personal savior" is a similar slaughter of the ancient cultures of the tribes. Of course, one could never say this outright in America. Oops... I just did. This is becoming quite long, so perhaps I should break it up. I'll write more on "The Poisonwood Bible" later on.

-Amy

I'm MAD! MAD, I tell you!

So, what has me so mad, you ask? Finding out about these damn polygamist bastards that were found in Texas... Texas, go figure. Ok, that was out of line, but it follows my watching The Family Guy the other night, and the most conservative state in the country was discussed... But, not only is this friekin' religious cult compound a TRAVESTY to population control, but it's the breeding of sexism, pedophilia, and just plain masogonistic bastardness! I've got a solution for these sons of you-know-whatches... Put me and my pissiness, complete with cut hair and pants (OH NO, how UNGODLY!) in a room with 'em and we'll fix 'em up real good... and I think you and your pets all know exactly what I mean about FIXING!
You know, I have thought many a time that women today with their visions of fashion and beauty as being the "keys to self" are doing themselves a disservice, but it's very hard to actually contemplate the fact that this slavery, disrespect and pigheaded control actually still exists in AMERICA, but I know it does. I can't imagine any woman allowing herself to be treated like livestock. Talk about FACTORY FARMING??? And I think it's sickening with cows and chickens!! And, no offense to those religious-types out there, but our puritanical past definitely doesn't help. I've never met an overly-religious man who didn't treat me like pond-scum. And newsflash, you all look like complete asses!!! Of course... the Bible... an antiquated document written by men with certain... shall we say, leanings in their mind-sets about women... is of course timeless and full of truths... Yeah, people... just think about that! And one article I read about this incident in Texas actually used the term, "idyllic replica of 19th-century life." WTF???????? On what plane of reality was 19th-century life idyllic????????? Maybe for white men it was! There was a time in which women were fighting against these ideas of themselves as holy baby-popping vessels, pieces of flesh that men take control of, ravage, get their ideal male "heirs" and then dispose of like trash! But look at what we're doing to ourselves again? We have plastic surgeons take away the unwanted parts, swap everything on our faces around till we look like jigsaw puzzles with puffy lips, and then have oozy jello squeezed into our breasts. And for what??? Because the only thing we feel like we have to offer is our body... and the only way to get a man (and who the hell REALLY needs one of those, anyway??? Come on, ladies!!!) is to look like a mutant... because, hey, that's what men want these days, big-breasted mutants with pea-sized brains. Maybe Mary Wollstonecraft, Virginia Woolf and, even Betty Friedan, were a little bit more proper with their arguments than I am, but hell! I'm sick of seeing you all do it to yourselves! Who gives a shit what your lame-ass boyfriend says about your boobs! You've become a whiny, plastic Barbie-wannabe who forgot you have a brain a long time ago, and that PISSES ME OFF, because the rest of the sex has to take the rap for you! So, go read something besides Cosmo and realize that the most important thing in life is NOT which pair of shoes match your new $500 outfit the best! You are choosing to live the life of a slave when there are these poor women being forced to, even in our own damn country! So the next time some shitty polygamist gets bagged for forcing women into slavery, think about what your own actions are doing to help other women who happen to be fully-capable, highly valuable, and extremely intelligent. And next time Paris Hilton is on the non-news news channel, change it to something worth watching! Don't mess it all up for the rest of us! *Whew... that felt good...* Sorry if I offended... NOT! It's about time all of us women stopped apologizing for having ideas, so screw you all...

The ever-so non-fashionable woman with ideas and a chip on her shoulder,

Amy

The Beginning

You could say I'm a little behind the times. This is my first blog. As a matter of fact... my cats had their own modes of emotional ventilation before I decided to do this for myself. Maybe that should be my first topic. Am I, in fact, so disenchanted with my own menial existence that I find it necessary to live vicariously through my pets? No, not really. They're just more interesting than me at this point in life. Look at it this way. I spend all my time and energy trying to get money, and then I use what little energy and time I have left trying to keep money. And I do a piss-poor job at it most of the time. Meanwhile, the clever little critters that share my space have found the perfect existence. They are fed, pet regularly, and kept warm by a fabulous benefactor who does everything for them, including hosting their own blogs and making friends for them. That poor schmuck is me. How did that happen? Who's going to feed me and keep me warm? So, until I become interesting enough to figure out how to get away with doing nothing and being happy doing it like they are, they will forever be more clever and interesting than me. Anyway, welcome to my first real attempt at taking back my life!