Do You Realize?

Woofday Wednesday--Soot & Ash

This is Soot & Ash. They are my cross to bear as an individual who takes in the unwanted. They are the ones I couldn't save. They followed my husband home while he was out jogging one day. They were the sweetest dogs, but they were big dogs, the biggest we'd ever taken in, and the kids... well, the kids weren't so big. When it came time to walk dogs, Soot & Ash would be so excited they would knock the kids over like bowling pins. When the gate was opened to the backyard, one or both would streak out & take off for an adventure, which would cause us to have to follow them and haul them back home, usually wet & muddy.

It was too much to handle for us at the time. We'd had them spayed, we tried the obedience classes, but they never got any calmer. It was an agonizing decision, because we loved them (even though I admit I jokingly called them Shit and Ass when I was irritated). I cried and cried when we took them to the animal shelter. I keep telling myself that labs & lab mixes are one of the most popular dogs & that someone adopted them because they were so sweet. But the fact is that I don't know that for sure, and it still troubles me, even after four-and-a-half years.

I miss you, girls.

Love a stray; neuter & spay!

The tightening of the wingnuts

I've been surfing this morning, and the waves are high and treacherous .

Have you noticed that when a person can't poke holes in a politician's policies or the job they've done/are doing, they resort to trying to poke holes in their private lives?

Hate-filled fundies have done their best now to prove Obama attended a madrasa, that he's not a "true" Christian or that his church is racist against whites, and now this man has made not one, but two, YouTube videos claiming to have had a coke-crack-and-fellatio-fest with Barack in the back of his limo.

Let me just go on record as saying that if this story is, indeed, true, that Larry Sinclair is the singular highest form of idiot: one who doesn't know the monetary gains of true blackmail. Okay, that was a joke, but this isn't. If I have solid, proof-backed claims of misconduct of such a well-known figure, I know I'm headed to the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time, Newsweek. But Larry? His exposure of choice is YouTube, where any jackass with a cameraphone is a celebrity in their own mind. We teach our kids to ignore schoolyard taunting, and yet there are people out there who want Obama to respond to this? Right now? Shall he drop his campaign duties and make himself a YouTube response video?

On one wingnut delicious Republican site, which I shall not publicize, I found not only the Larry Sinclair breaking news, but also this bullshit juicy little morsel (which I've picked apart and provided responses) about hatemonger Fred Phelps being a registered Democrat:

Quick question, why do the Democrat candidates for President refuse to condemn the antics of the Leftist religious groups in their party?

I hardly think not taking the time to specifically address Phelps publicly constitutes a refusal to condemn the man and his hateful brood. And is there any such thing as a "Leftist religious group?" Also, if you truly think this is a "quick question," you're completely lacking in anything resembling intelligence.

Is there anyone more disgusting than their Westboro Baptist Church backers?

No. No, there isn't. Except maybe murderers and rapists and the pedophile pervert that recently found my site after searching for the words "underage cunt hole." (Boy, he was disappointed!) Those people may give Fred a run for his money.

Why will they not kick Fred Phelps to the curb? Is it because his hate is exactly like theirs, well except for hating FAGS? Is it because he uses their playbook religiously?

I'd like some clear proof, or at least a semblence of examples, of the accusation that he "uses their playbook religiously," and the "hating FAGS" is where he's more like the redneck fundies who pen entries like the one I'm addressing.

Will the Clintons return the money that Phelps gave them?

I tried at opensecrets.org to find that money, and I couldn't. Besides, Phelps has very openly been "anti-Clinton" once he realized Bill didn't espouse the same, errr, virtues as ol' Fred did.

Will Phelps again get invited to the White House if Hillary is elected like he did when Bill was? Will Phelps send his son to Hillary's inauguration like he did to Bill's first?

A Phelps may have, indeed, showed up at Bill's first inauguration. The one-sided love affair didn't last long. Fred's Westboro Baptist Church picketed Bill's mother's funeral, as well as Al Gore's father's funeral. I suspect he won't show up in support of Hillary any time soon.

I just want to know why homosexual groups refuse to try to kick him out of the party. I mean, is getting elected so important to them that they will allow Phelps and all the other hate groups (KKK, NAACP, etal) to continue to be the majority of their party?

Is it even possible to kick someone out of a political party? We are not the Pope; we cannot excommunicate someone who's simply chosen to keep the word "Democrat" on his voter registration card out of spite. And, are the Democrats so popular as to attract both the KKK and the NAACP? Seems like, despite its early Democratic implications, the KKK today attracts many more conservatives than liberals to its ranks.

Please, if there is a single Democrat that knows these answers, let me know. I just can't come up with one good reason why there is actually a group with so much hate amongst them.

I can't come up with a good reason for the existence of hate groups, either. But the fundies and their "Obamanation" agenda should recognize some parallels.

First and foremost, anyone who believes that Fred Phelps adheres to any political party's true ideals needs to be shot. Fred Phelps adheres to only one agenda: his own. I don't accept him as a true Democrat any more than I would be stupid enough to suggest he were a true Republican. Yes, his voter registration card (which is how old if Phelps is pushing 70?) says "Democrat." I like how Mother Jones stated it in 1999: "He still calls himself a Democrat, refusing to change just because his party has." If you look at Fred Phelps's beliefs, they are far and away closer to the right than the left: extreme religiosity, anti-homosexual, racist. But, again, remember I said I don't think he's truly representative of either legitimate political party.

Second, quickly addressing Obama's "clear" disrespect for white Christians everywhere, let's suppose he was, heaven forbid, NOT a Christian. Does our Constitution not declare that he should be able to choose any religion he wishes? Does our legal definition of who can hold the office of President of the United States include that (s)he must be a Christian? NO. Even if he were Muslim, he would be afforded that right by our Constitution, just as I'm allowed to carry my AK-47 squirrel hunting if I so choose. The problem is extremism, and I boldly declare that any religious extremist is dangerous. A fundamental Christian nut who bombs abortion clinics in God's name is no different to me than a fundamental Muslim nut who bombs the pet market in Allah's name.

Meowy Monday--Tybee

You've already met all my beautiful kitties, but I'm far from finished introducing you to the fabulous felines my family has found over the years.

This is Tybee, my sister's cat. Middle calls her "Moonrock," because he says she looks like an alien. I don't remember much about her origins, but I believe she was born a barn kitty. I do remember that she was once small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

Love a stray; neuter & spay!

Sunday Scribblings--Teeth

When I saw that today's writing prompt was Sleep (and/or Teeth), I thought, "Cake. I can write about my improbable, impractical, and inexplicable sleeping habits or my horrific, terrifying dreams and how good I am at deciphering their meaning." But then I convinced myself to tackle teeth instead, just to stretch my wings a bit.

We have a total of 151 teeth in our collective heads; three of us had to have teeth pulled in order to facilitate orthodontics. Three-fifths of us are currently in braces, two sets of traditional labial braces and one set of lingual braces (I was ahead of the trend, having had braces eight years ago, and Eldest flew through her braces experience). Three-fifths of us have had our wisdom teeth removed.

I had eight teeth pulled before braces (four regular molars, four wisdom teeth). Genetically speaking, I got screwed over in the teeth department; my father was in full dentures by the age of 29, and my mother also passed on her family's periodontal disease. Consequently, four of my teeth are in line to have implants in the future (my husband has vociferously declared that he will stop at nothing to ensure that he never sees me without teeth); I wear a permanent retainer behind them. When I had a root canal performed several years back, the oral surgeon told me I have problematic teeth; some of my molars have up to four roots, and the roots are long, branching, and some are spiraled. I'm a dental mutant.

Eldest was only in braces for fourteen months because she was so good about wearing elastics on her teeth. She just had her wisdom teeth removed yesterday; she has cute chipmunk cheeks today.

Youngest's lack of executive function means that many times, he would rather give up every privilege he has than to drag himself to the sink for two minutes to brush his teeth. It drives me absolutely fucking nuts. We've tried rewards, bribery, and threats to life & limb, all to no avail. My prediction is that we will have to have the braces removed from his teeth. He had to have three teeth pulled before his braces.

Middle will have braces on his teeth for five years at the rate he (doesn't) wear his elastics. He had to have two teeth pulled before his braces.

My husband has an artificial tooth. As a child, he was playing "golf" with his brother. For some stupid-ass unknown reason, hubby laid down on the floor to "eye" his brother's shot. His brother's shot, as it turns out, was directly in line with hubby's mouth, knocking his front tooth down his throat. Heh.

We pay a lot for our 151 teeth, monetarily, physically, and emotionally. I never really thought about how much dental drama we have endured. We could do a whole reality show about my family's dental issues. I'm totally serious; I'm calling A&E or DHC right now.

Photo Hunt Saturday--Free

When I read this week's theme, free, I started thinking: Is anything in life really, truly free? Then my head started hurting from thinking too much, and I chose instead to use this as a FREE day to post any photo I want to share with you. Besides, in northern Australia, Varied Lorikeets like this one fly free in their native habitat.

This photo was taken at the interactive aviary exhibit at the Ft. Worth Zoo; this little fellow was incredibly gregarious, and we made fast friends. It must have been my name that he liked. The photo was taken in February 2005 with a 105mm lens; I love this one so much it is one of my desktop images that I routinely use.

Oh, Africa!

You really have no idea how much I was looking forward to the first visit to my blog from someone in Africa. Today I noticed on my ClustrMaps a beautiful little red dot on Africa, and I am so happy! Whoever you are, you have totally made my day! Now if someone from Antarctica would just stumble here...

P.S. I'm working on possibly taking some photos of a few art pieces I've finished recently. They've been languishing in various states of un-doneness for months. Huzzah!

This 'n' That

Youngest is on a school trip for three days. I stayed in bed on my laptop until almost noon today, with two cats and a dog for company. It felt delicious.

I'm so excited. My sister & aunt have asked me to get them information about the Presidential candidates. They apparently missed John McCain saying he's okay with staying in Iraq for another fifty or a hundred years. I'm hoping my information will sway their opinions away from the Dark Side (sort of just kidding, Meems). I asked them which five issues they find most important when deciding who gets their vote, and I'm compiling info for the three most viable candidates (Since they do not want to see me move to Italy or Canada, they are not voting Huckabee... I'm sure that's the only reason, though). It is information gleaned from watching interviews, transcripts from the debates, their websites, news sources (NYTimes and Washington Post, just to be equally biased), etc. I'm now at six pages, with one issue left to research.

Last night I found flowers outside my door. Happy Valentine's Day! (This company has the most breathtaking flowers; their dried wreaths are to die for.)

Things that make you go "HMMMM..."

Occasionally, I will follow the links back to the places from which my visitors came. This leads to some interesting speculation.

For example, today, someone reached my site, not once but TWICE (an hour and a half apart) from Google in Italy after searching for the words "bakery piss."

Pain

Last night, I spent forty long and painful minutes on the telephone with my dad, talking politics. Oh. My. Fucking. Hell. This afternoon, it still feels like I went to the dentist and had all my teeth pulled out with no anesthesia.

Sunday Scribblings--Fridge Space

My life sucks. Every day is filled with darkness, with only the occasional glimpse of light. I'm always cold; I'm supposed to be next to a warm stove, inhaling the marvelous smell of cookies. Baking Soda. You'd think they would know, just by my name, where I belong. But they've stuck me in here, in this dark hellish place, to do a workhorse job that no one else is willing to do.

You'd also think that I'd get front row seats to all the action, considering all the work I'm expected to do here. But, NO! I get pushed to the back of the ranks, along with the leftover pork 'n' beans and the chow chow. I'm short, too, so even when the lights come on, and there's a glimpse of the outside world, I can't see over the precious ketchup and the mayonnaise and the orange juice. Don't even get me started on that fat bitty Butterworth; she purposely scoots her buttery ass over in front of me every time. She has hearing like a friggin' dog; she can hear humans headed toward the fridge for miles.

I wonder how many humans know I can only do so much dirty work before I can't take it any more. They don't check some of my cellmates for so long that mold has attacked and is growing all over them; I feel bad when they get pitched in the garbage just for being inanimate. And onions! Oh, bleeding Christ, the onions; they really have it in for me, trying so hard to make me look like I'm not doing my job properly. Just their presence here makes me cry. It's all enough to make a box of baking soda go insane.

At least I know my job is safe for a good long while. They never ask me if I'm still okay and happy in the job; they just assume, and leave me be. They don't realize I expired a year and a half ago, and I quit really trying a month before that.