Whatever happened to freedom of speech?

There is no such thing as freedom of speech anymore. Freedom of speech was abolished when the first person who was offended by someone else's opinion stood up and whined, "That's not funny! You can't say that! That's _________phobia! (fill in your personal favorite of any number of minority groups)".

I may not like what you say, or even how you say it, but when did we forsake the duty to protect each other's right to say it anyway??! I'm not even going to go into the number of persons/groups/entities which are "permissible" to offend. Just don't touch someone's personal sacred cow, or HOLY MOLEY! Watch the cannonballs fly!! Twice this week, a celebrity (newsflash: they are also allowed to have personal opinions, even if you don't like their opinions) came under fire for what he said. Here's a bit of earthshattering news: Adults don't have to agree with each other, they can say what they like. If you feel you need to "correct their thinking", fire ahead, but don't be surprised if they choose to maintain their original standpoint. What you have NO RIGHT to do, is tell them that they CANNOT speak their mind!!! That is the essence of Freedom of Speech. Look it up, people.

Women who don't like their children and the women who don't like them

The title may be a bit convoluted, but I'm still steaming. I just watched/listened to the TODAY show interview with the woman who wrote an article for Redbook, about how she "never liked her child". I wanna slap that woman so hard her teeth will rattle. HER expectations were not met?! SHE was disappointed with her child's progress?! What?! But didn't she order the "sparkly Barbie doll" version of a daughter?? Well, damn it, give that woman a refund!!
Did it ever occur to her to have her child examined? Did it ever permeate her self-absorbed consciousness that perhaps the reason the girl did not "achieve" the developmental milestones was because there was a medical problem? Who told her that children are given to us as "trophies" to demonstrate how "worthy" we are? It took this self-involved be-yotch SEVEN years to get around to having her daughter checked out and LO! And BEHOLD! There was a MEDICAL explanation for her difficulties! Of course, by now, her daughter probably ain't too damn crazy about her mother, either! I hope that woman gets an earful of THAT someday.

In the meantime, maybe only adults should have children, instead of limelight seeking, self involved, "its all about ME" women, who think that children are accessories, like a fabulous pair of shoes!
One more thing: go ahead and tell your child you don't like them when they do something you don't like. That way, they can see that "adults" are really just overgrown preschoolers! Insert whine here: "I don't like youuuuuuu".

Eight Months In and Counting

Guess I should post more regularly. Just a quickie then, and off again. Two thoughts: One: I don't care whether a person has an issue with our president because he's black, or young, or Democrat. I don't care what the issue is. All you yahoos out there who insisted that we "respeck the Prezident" when Bush violated the office had better pay the same respect to this president. That's the bottom line. Respect one, respect all.
Two: The IWF is no more non-partisan than I am a 20 year old supermodel with 19 inch thighs. Any organization with Lynne Cheney and Wendy Gramm on the Board of Directors is CLEARLY connected to the RNC and should be ashamed of themselves for trying to pretend they are anything else. That's all I have to say about that.

Irrational Fear Area Dead Ahead

My goodness. One would have thought that as a nation we had grown up enough to outgrow our fear of the Socialist Boogeyman and the Communist Bump in the Night. Who knew that they were just hiding in the dark corners of the national minds and hearts, waiting patiently for the day that a sufficient number of people said, "Hey! Let's do something REALLY radical for a change, and vote for a change? Let's try electing someone who is not white, male, and Anglo-Saxon! Someone who wants us to stop doing things the way we have always done them. Someone who believes that there might be a better way to make things work. Someone who is willing to listen to the rest of us who would like to see a truly kinder, gentler, more generous and more inclusive country and government". Then, hey, nonny, out jumped the hiding ghoulies, shrieking "EEEEK! We can't have this! This is socialism, communism, anti-capitalism! You are undermining our livelihoods! You are stealing our rights! You are threatening our sacred way of life!" Here's a really radical thought: Maybe none of it is ours to begin with, so maybe we should stop being so afraid of losing what was given to us in the first place, and start sharing what we have been given. That's not socialism. Its much older than that, and its the way someone tried to teach us to live about 2,000 years ago.

Another "Are you kidding me??" moment

The senior senator from Alaska was just convicted on seven (that's SEVEN, folks) felony charges, and yet he is still entitled to run in the upcoming election, and if elected, eligible to take his seat in the Senate, because (are you ready for this?)

THERE IS NO LAW PROHIBITING A FELON FROM SERVING IN THE SENATE!!

Gotta love this country!

From an undecided voter, Pt.2

The McCain supporters are already starting the refrain: we are not responsible for what "some" people say/do. Hate speech is hate speech, and actions not discouraged, are actions encouraged. Radio personalities who encourage fringe groups and believers to act out their hate speech, and then try to hide behind the First Amendment have to accept responsibility for their words, and so should the McCain supporters. We criticized Islamic clergy in this country for not speaking out against the violence by some fringe believers. Why should McCain and Palin not be held to the same standard?

From an undecided voter...

Let me be clear. I have not "fallen in love" with either of the major candidates for president. I have not followed the debates until tonight; mostly because, like talk radio, I cannot simply listen and observe, I tend to start arguing with the speakers even though they cannot actually hear me. I am forced to watch tonight, because my husband is deeply interested, and this is a small house. However, if the vote goes to McCain at this election in November, then the American people as a whole have not listened, have not read, and have not used reason to make their decision. I may not be "in love" with Obama, but I will remain "an old maid" if my choice is only McCain.