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What Should A 4 Year Old Know? How To Be Happy, That’s What……..


Stumbled on this article this morning.  It is just simply awesome.

I’m a great deal more concerned with mud pies and blowing bubbles than numbers and letters.  I am also much more focused on teaching the boys that whatever they are interested in, be it dinosaurs, cooking, painting/drawing, or playing with dollhouses, is not only okay….it’s awesome.

I think if we all spent more time building up our kids and teaching them to be secure in themselves, we’d have a lot less jacked up adults.  Gracen has a phenomenal kitchen set-up in his room, with an apron and chef hat, multiple burners & grills, and cash registers with a shopping cart for buying food.  He loves it.  He also has a vacuum cleaner and brooms and mops.  He has a toy iron, and ‘washes’ his clothes.

At least a couple times a week he cooks me something wonderful and we ‘eat’ it (usually Darth Maul Stew with artichokes).  Do I think there are traditionally girl & boy themed toys?  Yes.  Do I stick to the generally boyish themes?  Not on your life.  He gets what he is interested in, and plays with what he likes.  When he gets older, he’ll be a well adjusted person who knows how to cook and clean for himself, & how to wash his own clothes.  He also has tools, swords, cars, engines that can be disassembled, and superhero outfits, which are sometimes in use all at once (a la Samurai Delicatessen).

I really do believe the best investment we can make in the future is to concentrate on molding intelligent, creative, compassionate, empathetic, happy kids.  That isn’t to say that it isn’t also very important to help them reach their potential academically.  It absolutely is.  One complements the other, and both are important for a well adjusted adult.  I just want to be sure they are happy, safe, and healthy while they learn.

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Colbert Said It First. We’re Getting Double Poped.


Although Vatican fears of a possible schism of power might have some ring of tiny truth to them, the main reason for remaining cloistered at the Vatican is most likely the same as the motivating factor in his resignation.

Scandal, and a great deal of it. Once away from the protecting arms of Rome and the new Pope’s regime, just exactly how safe would Benedict be, either in his person or in a legal capacity?

The amount of attention which seems to continue to focus on the Pope Emeritus is a bit disturbing and presents an unfortunate aura of continued silence and non-action regarding rumors and accusations of abuses in the church.

If the church has any real intention of addressing these problems and repairing their deteriorating image, giving gabby reports of bi-Papal lunch dates is not the best way to go about it. This smacks of more sweeping under the rug of concerns and protecting their own.

 

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No, Mr. Priebus, I Don’t Think That’ll Fix It………


Mike Huckabee is a nasty, vile little man.  He is an attention whore.  The fact that he is from my home state of Arkansas is yet another strike against him, since he shines a very unwelcome spotlight on a very backward state.  He draws in criticism on all of us who live here, and in turn those of us who are trying to live Blue in a sea of Red have to cope with a multitude of slurs and insults everywhere we go, both online and in real life.  We do not need any more bad publicity, Mike.  We have too much already. He has nothing whatsoever of value to add to any public conversation, and has not been relevant in quite some time.  I loathe the man, and I abhor pretty much everything he stands for.  I wanted to be absolutely, sparkling, crystal clear about that.

So I could tell you this………..

As much as I dislike Huckabee, I am equally opposed to the GOP platform and ideology.  Very little that issues from the right of center these days manages to be anything other than totally offensive.  Even when you allow for the embellishments of hype in the media, it is clear that there is indeed a war on women, children, families, the middle & lower classes, the disadvantaged & disenfranchised, non-Christians of every and no faith & set of beliefs and non-beliefs, minorities, and pretty much everyone who is not an elite, upper class, older white male.  The strong denials from the GOP on this just highlight their fractured and problematic relationship with the wing-nuts who have taken over in recent years.

They say they want to buff up their image.  The RNC’s  chairperson Reince Priebus was quoted in an interview with the National Review on Friday, saying that Mike Huckabee should be “the model for the GOP on social issues such as marriage equality and abortion.”  This not only does not improve their image, it reinforces everything that is wrong with the party.  No matter what the PR folks for the GOP churn out to rehabilitate their tarnished facade, every time these guys open their mouths, the truth slithers out.

The truth ain’t pretty.

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Let Them Eat Cake. No, Wait…. Let Them Eat Roadkill.


So then there was this : Montana To Introduce Edible Roadkill.  Ed-i-ble Roooaad-kill.  Nope, it doesn’t sound any better when you say it slower.

Okay, here’s the thing.  I am all for reducing, reusing, & recycling.  I hate to see waste.  C’mon, though, folks.

We live in such a litigious culture that feeding the homeless is actually banned across America.  Restaurants who want to donate leftover food often do not or cannot due to fears of prosecution.  As a nation we toss out massive amounts of perfectly good food every day, missing out on golden opportunities to help others.

Has it really come down to this?

Excuse me while I toss this turkey in the trash.  Don’t dig it out, either, or you’ll be sanctioned.  However, if I hit a wild turkey on the way home, you may scrape it up and tuck in.

You’re welcome. 

no no turkey

No turkey, without tracks.  Nice motto.  Not.

roadkill turkey

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So you're tired of hearing about "rape culture"?

Reblogged from Rant Against the Random:

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TRIGGER WARNING:

The following includes descriptions, photos, and video that may serve as a trigger for victims of sexual violence.
Please be advised. 

Someone asked me today, "What is 'rape culture' anyway? I'm tired of hearing about it."

Yeah, I hear ya. I'm tired of talking about it. But I'm going to keep talking about it because people like you keep asking that question.

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Excellently put. So am I tired of hearing about it? Sure I am, and so is everyone else. You know what I am even MORE tired of? Living in it, and having sons growing up in it. Having a grown daughter living in it. Ignoring it and staying silent about isn't going to fix it or make it go away. As long as the problem exists, we SHOULD be talking about it.
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I Am Not Your Wife, Sister or Daughter. I Am A Person.

Reblogged from The Belle Jar:

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I don't have to tell you that Steubenville is all over the news.

I don't have to tell you that it's a fucking joke that Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond, the two teenagers convicted of raping a sixteen year old girl, were only sentenced to a combined three years in juvenile prison. Each will serve a year for the rape itself; Mays will serve an additional year for "illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material."

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Very thought provoking. The Steubenville tragedy and subsequent trial shined a light on an ugly problem that occurs everywhere, all the time, to all kinds of people. Nobody has the right to do anything, to anyone, ever, without their clear consent. A shake of the head means NO. A whisper means NO. An uncertain "I am not sure about this..." means NO. Silence means NO. Lack of consciousness means NO. Any kind of diminished capacity for understanding the situation means NO. A YES, given under any sort of fear, pressure, or duress, means NO. If the answer is not a clear YES, it is NO. It does not matter whether the object of your desire is male, female, or transgender. It does not matter if they are straight, gay, bisexual, or any other sexual orientation. It doesn't matter if you bought them dinner, or gave them a ride home, or picked them up in a bar, or met them running naked through the street. There is NO excuse, EVER, to rape someone else. If you rape another person, you are a rapist. You are wrong. If you stand by while it happens, you contributed to the rape, and you are wrong. Nobody gets to be neutral in this situation. If you do not completely support the victim, you are supporting the rapist. You are adding to the problem. Slut shaming a victim is effectively raping them again. Outing their name (looking at you, news networks) to make it easier for others to torment them is assaulting them again. Making excuses for the rapist is assaulting the victim again. It makes no difference what they were doing, or where, or with who. What kind of person you think they are is immaterial. Whether you agree with their life choices is immaterial. If you are not part of a compassionate solution, you are part of the problem. Period.
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What's So "Pinteresting"?

Reblogged from ShoutOut! JMU:

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I recently read an article on how Pinterest is “killing feminism.”  When I first discovered the article, just a couple of weeks ago, I knew immediately that I wanted to do a blog entry on it, as I’ve felt pretty strongly about the issue since Pinterest’s inception in 2010.  I’m surprised at myself as I write this post though, because my opinion has radically changed over the span of the past two weeks. 

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Great post! I found this interesting. I also have a Pinterest. You will find next to no fashion or frills on it. That is largely because sifting through Pinterest and pinning the things you like is very much like going to the mall. You are surrounded by things that both interest and disinterest you, with a few things that might offend you or that you might be indifferent to. You pick what you like, and move on, leaving the rest behind you. Are your choices wrong? Nope. Are others' choices wrong? Nope. Just different. Pinterest is what it is. It is a social platform where people find common interests. I am puzzled that anyone could find that a threat to feminism, unless they want us to reject anything sufficiently militant and focus on what they feel to be properly feminist pursuits. Come to think of it, that is pretty much the attitude that gave birth to feminism in the first place, no? For me, feminism is about freedom of choice, empowerment, and the ability to enjoy our lives and make our choices without being directed down 'acceptable' channels. I certainly consider myself a feminist and I am damn proud of it. I would still think so if every piece of furniture I had was baby doll pink and covered with frills, and my own Pinterest board was nothing but catwalk stills and home design and pictures of myself in a retro kitchen dressed like June Cleaver.
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Am I living In A Crappy Sci-Fi Flick, Or An Onion Article?


So I was minding my own business, watching the Savannah Wrens beat each other up over the best worms just under my window, and across my newsfeed comes this:

Ukraine Trains Dolphins With Friggin Pistols On Their Heads

Okay, super.  Sounds awesome.  I have seen articles and commentary on marine mammal training programs before.  Usually it was something along the lines of specialized dolphins to save drowning swimmers, though.  It was inevitable for someone, somewhere, to think to themselves “You know what would make this program really great?  Let’s arm them and teach them to kill swimmers!”  It is, after all, the next logical step.  Pain in the ass sinkers.  Removal is much easier than retrieval.

So I got mildly interested and began idly Googling animal warfare training.  The first thing I clicked on was this:

Soviet Killer Dolphins On The Loose In The Black Sea

Okay.  Holy shit?  A bit more browsing through links, and then:

Good News!  Heavily Armed Killer Dolphins Are Not Out To Get You.  Yet.

Well, good to know.  Apparently the program is quite real, though, which makes me think that the guys who came up with this gem of an idea have never visited the Southern USA. If they had grown up around Bubba Jo, Cletus, and Randy the redneck’s Neo-Nazi KKK laden gun culture we have down here, they might have thought twice before arming the animal world and training it to come after us.  Seriously, guys?  Have you even looked around at humanity lately?  Let’s turn Locutus the dolphin loose with lasers and armaments.  That’ll turn out swell.

locutus of dolphin

So long and thanks for all the fish, my ass.  Catch me going near the water.

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Don’t Look, Ethel!


Best as I could tell, these folks were kissing each other on the cheek and holding hands.
Even if there was some actual kissing, there ain’t a child on Earth that hasn’t seen straight folks do that (and more) in public.  Come to think of it, I have seen worse on any number of supposedly child appropriate cartoons and family friendly kids shows which air during kid TV hours on multiple channels.
This has nothing to do with PDA and everything to do with discomfort around something a segment of society is unused to seeing and therefore uncomfortable with. That segment needs to suck it up and deal with it, not try to drag everyone else down to their level.
The only way any of those children will be scarred is if their ignorant ‘straight’ parents do it.  I am not worried.  I’m quite sure that many parents will sink to the occasion so that they can continue to shield their children from reality and common sense.  There will be a whole new crop of little intolerant bigots to release into the world in no time.
Sigh.
Stories like this are exactly why demonstrations take place. To educate the public.