Friday, April 29, 2011

Royal Weddings and Why America Should Have a Queen

Yeah yeah yeah, the royal wedding was quite the event.  So dignified.  So regal.  So British.

If America would name me Queen of the States, I would have quite the event too, remarrying my husband in a grand event.  The differences between British Royalty and the new American Royalty, me, would be quite obvious.

My bachelorette party would take place in Vegas, with much gambling, drinking of kamikazes and general debauchery.  I would become the royal spokesperson for ibuprofen, the cure for the kingly hangover.

I'd have my dress made for me by Lupe, a seamstress on the southside of Milwaukee.  It would not be elegant and demure (who would I be kidding), but it would have lots of dingle balls, colorful embroidery of parrots and palm trees and I would wear a sombrero heaped with fruit and nuts.  My shoes would be Birkenstocks because I have terribly sore feet.

My husband, let's see, he would become the, uh, Earl of Wilderness, would wear one of his many hunting outfits, turkey, deer, duck, goose, or perhaps a nice fly fishing vest.  His hunting clothes are the only outfits he has that match.

Our reception would take place at Shank Hall, home of the alternative set, here in Milwaukee.  Upon arrival, our guests will be served a variety of Milwaukee canapes, wienies, brats, popcorn, peanuts, and a huge amount of micro-brew.

I thought about having a beautiful champagne fountain with an ice sculpture of the Titanic on its way to its watery resting place.  But, since it's Milwaukee, I'll have the Iroquois going down in a bucket of beer.

Dinner will be Mexican food, it's the best in the world, outside of Mexico. 

My daughter will be my, let's see, what's the American equivalent of a Lady in Waiting?  My daughter will be my Countess in Criticism.  She'll find fault with my look and everything I do on my big day, and dislike the attendant's gift I got her, asking if I kept the receipt.  She'll also leave early to attend a Brewers game.

Anyhow.  I think I've got everything it takes to be a Queen.  To be your Queen.  To be the Queen of the United States. 

Cash bar.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

How to deal with Tragedy

I received devastating news about a relative, whom I love very much, and recent events that could only be deemed "tragic" with regard to his family.  I don't want to talk about his situation; I know nothing about the events leading up to the tragedy.  I do know that I will reach out and help my relatives in any way I can. 

My son died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  I can't tell you how black the hole is that people fall into after a tragedy - I can tell you it is very deep and that you feel you are completely alone in the dark.  And for the most part, you are completely alone.

People don't know how to deal with tragic events and the accompanying sorrows.....so they don't deal with them.  This leaves you feeling isolated and more alone and saddened than ever.  Trust me, not knowing what to say to someone after a tragedy is not the problem.  Many people called me after my son's death and said "I don't know what to say".  Not knowing what to say is fine.  Saying that is fine.  It's saying nothing that further destroys the people left to pick up the pieces of shattered lives.

For as many people who called me to tell me they were sorry and didn't know what to say, there were many more who just ignored the whole devastating event after the funeral.  They disappeared out of my life, as if suicide was somehow contagious and I was infected.

Reach out to people who are traumatized by tragic events.  You don't have to know what to say.  Sometimes just hugging someone says more than any words could express.  I thought most people would instinctively know this, but then I was surprised at how many people simply do not.

Put your own discomfort aside and stand next to the people who are going through a tragic event.  Let them know you love and support them, without any judgments or opinions.  No one cares about your judgment or opinion at a time of grief, or ever, for that matter.  Keep them to yourself, or better yet, train yourself not to form them in the first place, because you do not have a clue about another person's life.  You don't know anything about someone else's life unless you're in their shoes, living their lives.  And you certainly have no right to pass judgment or form opinions regarding events of which you are completely clueless.

My heart goes out to my family, as does my support and love; my help in whatever way they need it.  If I could take away the pain and blackness, I would willingly do so.  The road back to normal life is long and treacherous after a tragedy, and people walk it, alone, for the most part.  But they don't have to .  Stand beside them, hold their hands, let them feel your love and support.  And do this well after the funeral dust has settled, the prison door has clanged shut, or whatever the outcome of the tragedy.  People do not get over anything.  They learn to live through their pain.  It would be a lot easier with a little support and a lot of honest love.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Do Something Nice for Someone

I bought a new car yesterday.  It's nice.  There is nothing wrong with my old car, in fact, it runs better than ever.  Low mileage.  I didn't trade it in and I'm not selling it.  It's eleven years old, and frankly, I am just sick to death of driving the same car I've been driving for eleven years.  So I tooled up to my house in a Toyota with 23,000 miles on it, and took my husband for a ride.  (I get the selling ploy of getting me to take the car for a day and bond with it.)  Surprised me, my husband loved the car and gave me a positive signal that we should buy it.  So I did.  Usually when parting with cold hard cash (or years of debt financing), my husband is the ultimate doomsday predictor and veto checker.  Unless its something HE really wants.  Like a new rifle. 

I digress.

I'm amazed at how easy it is in America to obtain credit.  I am, after all, retired and making about half the money I used to make.  Oh well.  My income tax statements must look good thanks to my husband's amazing earning ability, and I do pay my bills on time.  Whatever.  Let's keep the middle class in debt!  So, after priding myself on a shopping trip to Chicago where I (or my husband) paid cash for everything, I came home and spent $17,000.   On credit.   Yikes.

Regardless, the point of this story is not about keeping the middle class in debt, the point is helping out people who are doing their best to survive in this economy against tremendous odds stacked against them.

I have a niece who works very hard to support her two sons and do the best she can as a single mother.  Baby Daddy took a self-absorbed hike and she's on her own.  There is some familial support in terms of child care and transportation, but certainly no financial support.  She goes to work everyday in a stable government job, that provides her and her children with needed benefits, but not a terribly large salary.  This sounds so familiar to me.  Deja vu.  I had to do the same thing.  I remembered how I struggled, and how I was constantly put down by my dysfunctional family.  Not a bit of help from them for me or my kids.  Not even an invite to an occasional dinner.  But that's just who they are......general knobs.  They are all graduates of the school of thought "You Deserve It".  My biggest question is are they, finally, also getting what they deserve for having that attitude?  I don't believe in a system of bad people getting bad things and good people getting goodies.  I know too many wealthy A$$es.  I do believe in karma and lessons to be learned.  I am content with my karmic road.  I wonder if my family is content with theirs?  I wonder if their general unhappiness is even remotely connected, in their minds, to their absolutely horrifying behaviors.

So, I decided to give my eleven year old Jetta to my niece, who is driving her mother's older car, who in turn is driving an even older car that borders on road-worthy.  Now I do have other people in my life who would have wanted that car, grandchildren for example.  But my grandchildren are young and have years to attain driving skills and cars.  My niece needs the help right now.

I wonder how my life would have changed had someone given me a decent vehicle when my children were tots.  Something that didn't break down constantly.  Something I could drive further than the grocery store without fear.  Something I could have taken a road trip in and gotten away from the trials and tribulations of my daily life in this grinding city.  I was thirty-three years old before I could afford to buy myself a decent car.  At that point, the kids were finishing middle school.  Still, it was such a relief.  I drove that Toyota to 200,000 miles and then gave it to someone who needed it.  (Ironically - my niece's father.)

So when you are faced with good fortune and blessings, think about how it was when you were faced with troubles and money woes.  Reach out and help someone.  Do something nice for someone and leave your crazy assessments and judgments of another person's life on the side of the road, where they belong.  Not one person in my family ever asked me about my life - they just decided I was wrong about everything and treated me accordingly.  Don't do that.  You don't know JACK about another person's life unless you ask them.  Don't assume anything.  Do something to help.  If we all are busy helping each other, maybe we can all stop hurting each other.

Wouldn't that make the world a better place?

Monday, April 25, 2011

The Price of Gas

Everyone in America is bitchin' about the price of a gallon of gas.  Oil companies are reporting 60% profits in this quarter, but say they have nothing to do with the price of their product.

Well, I don't much like spending $60 to fill up my tank, and I have a small car.  But the truth is, the whole world pays, on average, $5 for a gallon of gas.  Canada.  Mexico.  Costa Rica.  England.  Spain.  Argentina.  Etc.  Why do Americans think they are entitled to cheap gas?  Why are Americans always so dang entitled?  Why do they think they deserve more than every other citizen on the planet?

Governor Scott Walker destroyed the high speed, energy efficient rail that was proposed between Milwaukee and Madison, eventually extending to Minneapolis.  I took the train to and from Chicago this weekend.  I like trains.  I can read a Sunday newspaper in the time it takes me to travel 90 miles.  But we don't have trains here in America, or at least, our train service is very limited, by world standards. 

Moving people efficiently in America has always been car-dependent.  As a nation, we were short-sighted in our transportation views.  I might be able to take a train between Milwaukee and Chicago, but if I wanted to take a train to my cottage in the northwoods, I'd have to hop a freight.  Probably several freights.  Although I am bohemian by nature, I'm not sure being a hobo is the right path for me. 

I do not mind paying $5 for a gallon of gas.  I don't blame Obama for it,  nor should anyone else.   My disgust is for the people in this country who would sooner die than find alternate transportation.  Driving their cars is their right, in their opinion.  Well, pay for it then.  You're entitled to drive your car.  What you're not entitled to is a special price break for that privilege.  I know people who have never been on a city bus, and would consider riding one to be a mortifying experience.  I also know that the larger the car, the greater the owner's resistance to mass transit.  I also know that mass transit is simply unavailable in large parts of this nation.

If we have consistent $5 per gallon priced gasoline, it might inspire people to find alternative energy sources, or better yet, alternative methods for moving people around.  It might keep the gazillion cars off the highways that cause congestion, pollution, and the undeniably unstoppable destruction of the earth's eco-system.  I'm all for this.  But I'm not short-sighted.  Are you?

Pay.  Pull our your wallets and pay for the gasoline.  And shut the hell up about it. 

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Kloppenburg Asks for State-wide Recount

Actually, asking for a state-wide recount on the supreme court election results is the only thing Ms. Kloppenburg could do to insure there was no fraud.  I would prefer to see Ms. Kloppenburg sitting on the supreme court, but I am more interested in watching the scandal that is sure to unfold here in Wisconsin related to this election.

Its a sad state of affairs when a political party, the republicans, are always suspected of fraud and wrong-doing, but such is the case these days.  If the republicans can't push forward their own agenda legitimately, they will resort to illegal behaviors to do so.  These people are bordering on deranged and fanatical.  Is the republican party the United States' version of al queda?  Starting to look that way.

At any rate, the state republicans here in Wisconsin are screaming about cost to taxpayers for the recount.  Personally, I would gladly pay to insure that election results are certified and accurate; something I don't believe is the case right now.  The republicans are hiding something, as they always do.......and hopefully, the recount will uncover it.  Sneaky bastards, aren't they?  Should the F.B.I. be looking for republican training camps that teach these radicals how to cause political chaos and denigrate our constitutional rights?  Probably.

At any rate, let the recount begin.  I think a lot of dead republicans voted in this election all across the state, and a lot of dead democrats, as well.  Trouble is, all of these dead people voted for Prosser.  Now THAT makes sense.  Prosser is brain-dead, and he would attract this type of voter, i.e., someone the dead can relate to.

I am appalled that The Milwaukee Journal has come out with an editorial saying the recount process is not necessary.  Just a few days ago, they published a report that Journal Communications is losing money.   I think the connection can be made that unbiased reporting is what the people want and will support, not a lot of partisan slant.  I'll continue to get my news from unbiased sources, i.e., The Shepard Express

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Charlie Manson Agrees With Me - What About the Rest of You Serial Killers?

Yesterday, I wrote a post about global warming.  Yesterday, Charlie Manson broke a twenty year silence and came out with the fact that global warming is the biggest threat to our planet.  So Charlie Manson agrees with me.  Is he reading my blog?????  Well, I welcome readers of every......uh....aberration.

For you young pups who don't know who Charlie Manson is, he was one of the most delusional serial killer masterminds in Southern California, murdering celebrities and other more common folk back in the late 1960's.  For a really good chronological event of poor Charlie Manson and his rag tag family, i.e., band of murderers who followed him, read Vincent Bugliosi's "Helter Skelter".  Mr. Bugliosi was the Los Angeles County Prosecutor and wrote a book about the Manson Family after multiple trials.  It's an excellent read, I highly recommend it, on many levels, but most importantly, what happens to a generation of young people with no voice.

Anyhow, what about the real serial killers who are killing thousands? 

The BP oil executives, or for that matter, any energy company executive.

The Koch Brothers with their varied interests in making a buck while destroying the planet.

Donald Trump.  Adequately named.  He has a trumped up view of himself.  His accomplishments are basically nothing to brag about, unless you call charging $500 for a mediocre hotel room an accomplishment.  Of course, Donald Trump has to depend on other idiots like himself to fill those hotel rooms.  There must be a lot of them.  And he's a birther.  What a horse's patoot.  Even looks like one with that fake horse hair comb over.

The 1% of the ultra wealthy who actually ruin this planet (ruin, not run, I said)  in the name of getting richer, are the real serial killers we need to be concerned with.  But they don't ever go to jail.  They don't ever get questioned.  As if having money automatically infers intelligence.  As if they are above the law.  Well, if money keeps you above the law.......than the laws should change.

As I said yesterday, how does an extinct species spend any money?  Pretty impossible.

But these are the real serial killers, these so-called Captains of Industry.  We're all on the Good Ship Lolly Titanic and we're going down.  The iceberg we've hit is called greed. 

I think Charlie Manson would, again, agree with me:

It is No Measure of Mental Health to be Well Adjusted to a Society that is Profoundly Sick.












.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Climate Change - Hard Facts, Soft Heads of Denial

Despite all evidence to the contrary, there are still millions of people who don't believe climate change and global warming are happening.

Naturally, the nay-sayers have financial interests in keeping the planet precariously balanced on the edge of extinction.  As if money will help them when the planet disintegrates.  It won't. 

From National Geographic:

Earth is already showing many signs of worldwide climate change.

Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees F. around the world since 1880, much of this in recent decades.

The rate of warming is increasing.  The 20th century's last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia.

The Arctic is feeling the effects the most.  Average temperatures in Alaska, western Canada, and eastern Russia have risen at twice the global average.

Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or earlier.  Polar bears and indigenous cultures are already suffering from the sea-ice loss.

Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting.  For example, Montana's Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910. 

Coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature, suffered the worst bleaching - or die-off in response to stress - ever recorded in 1998, with some areas seeing bleach rates of 70 percent.  Experts expect these sorts of events to increase in frequency and intensity in the next 50 years as sea temperatures rise.

An upsurge in the amount of extreme weather events, such as wildfires, heat waves and strong tropical storms, is also attributed in part to climate change by some experts.

Are Humans Causing It?

Very Likely.

Industrialization, deforestation and pollution have greatly increased atmospheric concentrations of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, all greenhouse gases that help trap heat near Earth's surface.

Humans are pouring carbon dioxide into the atmosphere much faster than plants and oceans can absorb it.

These gases persist in the atmosphere for years, meaning that even if such emissions were eliminated today, it would not immediately stop global warming.

Some experts point out that natural cycles in Earth's orbit can alter the planet's exposure to sunlight, which may explain the current trend.  Earth has indeed experienced warming and cooling cycles roughly every hundred thousand years due to these orbital shifts, but such changes have occurred over the span of several centuries.  Today's changes have taken place of the past hundred years or less.

What's Going to Happen?

Global warming could lead to large-scale food and water shortages and have catastrophic effects on wildlife.

Sea level could rise between 7 and 23 inches.  Rises of just 4 inches could flood many South Sea islands and swamp large parts of Southeast Asia.

Some hundred million people live within 3 feet of mean sea level, and much of the world's population is concentrated in vulnerable coastal cities.  In the U.S., Louisiana and Florida are especially at risk.

Glaciers around the world could melt, causing sea levels to rise while creating water shortages in regions dependent on runoff for fresh water.

Strong hurricanes, droughts, heat waves, wildfires and other natural disasters may become commonplace in many parts of the world.  The growth of deserts may also cause food shortages in many places.

More than a million species face extinction from disappearing habitat, changing ecosystems and acidifying oceans.

The ocean's circulation system, known as the ocean conveyor belt, could be permanently altered, causing a mini-ice age in Western Europe and other rapid changes.

At some point in the future, warming could become uncontrollable by creating a so-called positive feedback effect.  Rising temperatures could release additional greenhouse gases by unlocking methane in permafrost and undersea deposits, freeing carbon trapped in sea ice and  causing increased evaporation of water.

......

It's Earth Day week.  Am I the only one who cares about what we are doing to our Mother?  Will we continue to destroy the environment for future generations, until there are no future generations?

Although all the scientific data is in, we still have people in complete denial that any of this is happening.  Who are those people?  They are the very ones destroying the planet, in the name of earning a buck. 

I have just one question.  How does a dead species spend money?

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Amerika - Land of Idiots, Morons, Stupids and Even More Stupids

Can you believe the U.S. House of Representatives adopted Paul Ryan's budget plan - a plan that robs the average American of Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid Benefits?

I can't.

But then, I always forget that this country is full of ignorant, uneducated, truly dumb people.  That's who votes these yokels in, and that's who keeps them in power; because these morons don't understand that what is coming out of Paul Ryan's mouth, and what is coming out of Washington as law, are two VERY DIFFERENT things.

You want to know the fix for Amerika?  Make wealthy people pay their fair share of taxes.  Stop promoting the military/industrial complex, i.e., get the F*ck out of every conflict on the planet and start addressing the conflicts here.  Socialize medicine, because health for profit means a lot of dead bodies on the road.   And finally, limit all political terms, so that we don't have career politicians who are basically $hit speaking Arseholes. 

Or move.  To Europe.  Although, I love Europe, and would hate to see it invaded by a bunch of cracker a$$ Amerikans.

This country is in the dumper.  It stinks.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Oil Can Scotty's Actual Report Card

Scott Walker gave himself a grade of B+ on his first 100 days in the governor's office.  I am going to venture a guess that Scott Walker never in his life received a grade as high as a B+, not in high school, not in "some" college, not anywhere.  But he does have a rather skewed way of looking at things.  Let's actually give Scott Walker a report card.

1.  Avariciousness.  A++.  This man will go to any lengths to promote his rabid right agenda.
2.  Intelligence.  Incomplete.  Or Non-existent.....your choice.
3.  Lying.  A++.  Actually Psychopaths do not know they are lying, they believe their lies. 
4. Maneuvering.  D-.  He tries, but he just isn't smart enough.  The average 3rd grader can out think him.
5. Egregiousness.  A++.  Everything he does is seriously harmful to someone.  Usually many someones.
6. Nepotism.  A++.  Anyone who gave Scott Walker money will get something back from him.
7. Totalitarianism.  A++.  Emperor Walker has elevated himself way past the political hack stage where he belongs.  He truly thinks he's above the law, and if he finds out that he isn't, he'll change the law.

So Oil Can Scotty is an Ailment that the State of Wisconsin will have to suffer, like a festering boil in the groin.  Hopefully, we'll only have to suffer the Ailment for 265 more days, when he becomes available for Recall.

In the comment section of Oil Can Scotty's Report Card, this reviewer states:

Scott honestly doesn't grasp simple concepts of leadership.  He doesn't work well with Democrats and he bullies the working class at every opportunity.  Special education classes may help Scott, but recess seems to be his only time to shine.  Should be held back.  Should be considered for enrollment in a less demanding school.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Catholic Church Continues to Fail

In an article in The Milwaukee Journal today, "auditors hired by the U.S. bishops to check child safety in America's Roman Catholic dioceses each year warned in a new report Monday of a drift away from parts of the church's 9-year-old abuse prevention plan.

Of the 188 participating dioceses, 55 needed to make improvements or risk being out of compliance with national policy, more than double the 2009 number, auditors said.

The church cannot afford to relax its standards, the authors of the study warned.

Among the most common problems identified:

* Allowing clergy who had been barred from ministry to lead public prayers.
* Failing to meet with all religious orders whose priests work in a diocese.
* Not checking whether safeguards were in place at the parish level, despite a directive since 2006 to do so."

Okay.  So, the catholic church, despite paying billions of dollars to victims of clergy abuse, continues to allow situations where abuse can occur and go unreported.  Our Father of Perpetual Molestation. 

"The abuse crisis continues to batter the church". 

What about the church's continual battering of victims?

I wonder about people who still believe in the institution of Roman Catholicism.  Do you really think you can only achieve a glorious afterlife by supporting an archaic and basically evil system?  Better think again.  Better stay on your knees and pray for enlightenment.  Better care more about your children because the Roman Catholic Church has little regard for them.  Better think about what your tithing actually supports.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

What's Really Happening with the Supreme Court Justice Election

So, Prosser turns up the winning margin of votes in the ever suckful Waukesha County.  He agrees to a recount.  In the ever suckful Waukesha County.

My point is, anyone aligned with Oil Can Scotty Walker would not have had such a huge turn out of supporters state-wide.  Not in Wisconsin.  Not in the current political climate.  Originally, Prosser only lost by a few hundred votes.  NOT BLOODY LIKELY that he came dangerously close to winning the state.

Is this a ploy?  Is the Waukesha vote discrepancy merely a smoke screen to cover up voting irregularities in other counties?  Is the reason Prosser agreed to a recount in the ever suckful Waukesha County because he wants to avoid anyone taking a close look at other counties.

Wisconsin citizens need to demand that this whole election be tossed out on its crooked arse unless the recount is state-wide.  There just is no believable way that Prosser, who sent out one of the most prejudicial, biased flyers I've ever seen, could win this state.  No intelligent person wants a racist, anti-woman jerk like him sitting in judgment of anyone. Waukesha is merely a smoke screen.  There's something rotten in Denmark.  And Bayfield.  And Sheboygan Falls.  And Florence.  And Lac du Flambeau.  Ad infinitum.

Let's not let this horse's arse ascend to a position of power; he's a fraud.  So is this election.

First Nice Day In Wisconsin

Forgetting about how badly this State operates due to its lack of leadership, let's just concentrate on the beautiful spring day that finally arrived where I live.

I went outside and did battle with the autumn clematus and honeysuckle vines from last year.  It took over an hour to cut them back from the fence and the garage.  I actually worked up a sweat.  I haven't sweated except during the high fevers that I've suffered all winter.  The sun shining on my face, and me in a short sleeved t-shirt.  YUM.  I'm happy despite the fact I live in Wisconsin, Land of Wasted White Idiots.

Next, I squared off with the wild rose bush that grows prolifically next to my back door.  This is a beautiful, large bush that produces amazing white roses.  It attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.  It's beyond gorgeous, but it is deadly with its thorns and it would take over my backyard left to its own devices.  Everytime I go to trim it -- ah, that's too nice -- everytime I whack the crap out of it, it sinks its thorns deep into my skin leaving many bloody wounds and battle scars.  I have to say, it usually wins all of our fights.  But its so beautiful, I can't even complain.  Usually, when I walk out the back door (it grows over the door), it drops lovely white roses on my head, crowning me, and making me look like a damn idiot at the grocery store.

It was a real bad winter here in Wisconsinland, but my arbor vitae trees grew about two feet, so at least something appreciated all the snow and cold.  The magnolia is full of buds and the apple tree is going to be its usual white wonderland.  Everything is coming up, and hopefully one of the lilac bushes that looked sickly last year will benefit from the massive digging out of ground cover I did in the fall.  Its a beautiful, warm spring day. One can almost forget that she lives in a ridiculous state that's been turned into a political circus by the rabid right. 

Friday, April 8, 2011

The Ever Suckful Waukesha County

The FBI needs to investigate the Waukesha County ballot discrepancy, and the "explanation" as professed by Ms. Kathy Nickolaus, the County Clerk.  Human Error?  I think Republican Clusterf*ck.

The County Clerk has screwed up several elections in Waukesha County.  There's something stinking badly out there is Boringville.   More so than usual.  Let's get to the bottom of this.

Lets get to the bottom of Ms. Nickolaus, who has been in trouble and under investigation before.  I think when we get to the bottom of Ms. Nickolaus, we're going to find something even more stinkful than what is happening with the supreme court justice race.

Just a thought, but we'd better get on the phone to the Feds and let them know something is quite rotten in Waukesha.

Waukesha County Continues to Suck

Give me a break.  Waukesha County (notoriously boring and Republican) forgot to count 7,500 votes?  I think not.

At any rate, the entire supreme court race needs to be reviewed on a federal level, and anyone associated with voter fraud, which I'm pretty sure is what is going on here, needs to go to jail.

Why are Americans subjected to political bullshit on a daily basis?  Why don't we just rise up and overthrow this miserable excuse for a government and live in complete chaos and anarchy.  Show me how that's different from how we live now.  Our Republican leaders put us in chaos and anarchy on a daily basis.  Am I the only one totally disgusted with Amerika?   Where's the outrage?

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

I Declare Joann Kloppenburg the Winner

Actually, I declare David Prosser the Loser.  With a Capital L.  This guy has about as much business showing up for a judgeship as I have showing up at the Fox Six News Desk to report the unbiased truth.

I'm going to predict right now that there will be all kinds of problems with the votes cast for David Prosser during recounts, and that Ms. Kloppenburg will win by a far greater margin than originally reported.  Just guessing, but this guy is way outside the law, as are the people who voted for him.  Prosser as a supreme court justice is exactly the same as Charlie Manson as the Los Angeles County Sheriff.  But it is the United States, so far stranger things have happened and will continue to happen.

Meanwhile, sleep my children in peace and tender.  Some sanity is returning to the the inimitable (we can only hope) State of Wisconsin.  Gotta get that Scott Walker recall rolling so he can ride his (low speed) rail when the time limit is up.  And WHAT are we going to do about that Freakin' Moron, Paul Ryan?  His head is so empty it could be its own black hole. The guy is like Opie Taylor on crack and white lightening.  Someone take him to a D.C. brothel and get him some relief from all that pent up stupid.  Let's pin his ears back next.  He's not the republican poster boy, he's the freakin' elephant.  Aren't you GOPers embarrassed enough yet?  Everyone knows I have no sympathy, but I'm actually embarrassed for you.  I feel sorry for the ultra-sorry state of your membership.

Congratulations to Chris Abele

I don't know if I'm happier about Chris Abele being the new County Executive or Jeff Stone NOT being the County Executive, but my congrats go out to a younger, fresher, smarter and less annoying candidate and his win in this race.  I believe Milwaukee County can get on with the job of being a governing body now, instead of a political war zone, as it had been turned into by Scott Walker and Tom Ament. 

I'm biting my nails over the state supreme court race.  I'm standing in Kloppenburg's corner.  When a candidate for the Supreme Court sends out a flyer promoting Right to Life, I am terrified.  This is what Prosser did.  I guess he forgot Roe vs. Wade, as decided by the United States Supreme Court.  Prosser needs to get the boot.   People like Prosser in positions of authority merely take this country down to a primitive and fascist level.

And it would seem that Oil Can Scotty just can't afford any more bad press, since he demoted the unqualified person he had just put in an $81,000 job.  As you may recall, the loser got the job because his daddy contributed money to Walker's gubernatorial campaign.  Well, that is simply amazing.  Since when did Oil Can Scotty fear bad press; the man seems to thrive on it.  At least, he seems to go out of his way to attract bad press.  I guess he needs to constantly be reinforced that he's making a name for himself.  Should we tell him what that name actually is?

Monday, April 4, 2011

Is America Starting to Devour its Young?

I read an interesting article in the New York Times yesterday relating to the importance of color in food, how it draws us, how it appeals to our taste buds, how something colorful can make us hungry in a different way than say, a bowl of vanilla ice cream makes us hungry.

This article was interesting to me because I have an autoimmune disorder, and the worst and most painful symptoms are generally triggered whenever I've ingested something with red, blue or yellow food dyes.  If it were only that simple, but food additives, preservatives and chemicals also put me over the edge health wise.

I thought about my own response to food.  The items in the bakery with the most color always attract me and make me want to eat them.  Cheetos would NOT be the same if they weren't bright orange and didn't leave orange residue all over your fingers.  Color plays a big part in how appetizing foods are.

I started thinking about what I ate as a kid, growing up in the fifties and sixties.  We had chips and dips.  Mixed nuts.  Custard stands.  Root Beer.  Great gobs of penny candy which had to be the most colorful thing we ingested.  Sugary birthday cakes from the bakery were normal, but hey - once a year, why not?

I started to think about the kids in my elementary school class.  There were kids who might have gone to special reading classes.  Kids who weren't as quick on the intellectual uptake as I was.  Even kids who really did seem, well, pretty stupid.  But we didn't have Aspergers and Autism and ADHD. (Mind you, I'm only starting on the A's.)  We didn't have kids leaving class to go take psychiatric medications from the school nurse.  I can't help but believe we had better diets in those days.  Even me.  And my mom was not the best cook.

America today is a convenience-based society.  For the most part, parents are simply too busy because both of them work to provide for their families (or their families more materialistic desires) depending on where they are on the socio-economic ladder.  Add taking care of a house, doing laundry, keeping up with the neighbors and carting the kids around to activities, and preparing wholesome meals just has to fly out the window.  Preparing a wholesome meal takes at least an hour.  Add shopping for ingredients and doing the prep work, and you're up to two hours.  Don't forget about cleaning up.  Chicken nuggets might seem like a rational alternative.  But are they?  What chemicals are your kids ingesting along with those nuggets.

Are we poisoning our children?  Have we been poisoning them all along?  I know that for the sake of convenience, we have poisoned our air (carbon monoxide emissions from every family having at least two, and usually more cars).  We have poisoned our water (all that plastic convenience produces waste products which the manufacturers have to put somewhere).  The water seems like a valid dumping ground to the manufacturer. 

Do we start poisoning our children while they are still in the womb?  I know I craved Hostess Suzie Q's when I was pregnant and ate them every single day.  I shudder to think what the label of a Hostess Suzie Q reads like.

Is it possible that all the growth hormones we put in milk and meat destroy our children's brains?  Do the pesticides that keep the bugs off corn and wheat actually rot our children from the inside? Wouldn't eating a bug be better? Is the food supply really safe in America?  Nothing is safe in an America where profit is the one true God we consistently worship. 

I eat organic.  I have to.  I'm very lucky I can afford to. 

I believe America is destroying its children and that Americans are blind to how they are doing this because the convenience they've come to rely on, depend on, build their lives around is far more important to them than doing intelligent things regarding raising their offspring. 

There's a reason there are so many fertility problems here in America.  There's a reason why so many kids have a psychiatric diagnosis.  I think this nation has begun to eat its young.  I think its time for a real rethink on what we're doing here because what we're doing here is hideous and speaks of future disaster.

VOTE! I MEAN YOU YOUNG PEOPLE!

After what has happened to the State of Wisconsin this year (and we're only four months into it), please vote on Tuesday. 

Do a bit of research and you'll figure out quite quickly who the best candidates are.  HINT:  Not Republicans.

I would like to see the youth of this nation get involved and take back this country.  Take it from those who would steal from you, enslave you, and rob you blind your whole life.  Take it back.  Make it right!  Make this country yours.  All it takes is a vote.

VOTE!!!!!!

Do You Need a Job? Are you Talentless?

Oil Can Scotty is handing out high paying state jobs to incompetent people, based on what their daddy's contributed to his campaign.

Oh this is not big news, but I hereby advise every talentless, no experience, lacking formal education nobody to send Oil Can Scotty their resume and include a note that your daddy would have been happy to contribute to his campaign, if he'd had a job.

It is not much of a stretch of imagination that Oil Can Scotty would hand out jobs to talentless, inexperienced people, since he is one of them.  What makes me particularly annoyed is what these types of people will do in the departments they are hired to manage.  We already have seen what Oil Can Scotty can do as governor, none of it intelligent or showing vision.  I blame that lazy eye.  In fact, what Oil Can Scotty does is ugly, like himself.  He must really love to surround himself with ugly.  Makes him feel comfortable, I guess. 

I know a few people in my own family who could land wonderful jobs with the State of Wisconsin, because they were stupid enough to vote this yokel in, and even more unintelligent, they financially supported Oil Can Scotty's campaign.  My immediate family is mostly talentless, which makes them prime targets for the propaganda machine that is the Republican party.  Add their lack of education to the mix, and man, my sister could be running the Corrections Department.  She's kind of a Nazi, with a remarkable inability to feel anything but anger.  She'd be perfect.  I guess I'll drop it now, although I'd like to name a few other people in my family to cabinet posts for which they'd be perfectly suited.

I digress.

If you are out of work, please get your unremarkable resume to Oil Can Scotty as quickly as possible.  There is a job for you in the State of Wisconsin.  You only have to do a little ego stroking and palm greasing.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Waukesha County - Why It Sucks

My husband and I spent the weekend in Madison, which was very nice.  He had a conference and I just poked around the city and enjoyed a weekend of eating out, shopping, eating out, gambling and eating out.

At any rate, on the way home, as is customary, we have to pass through Waukesha County.  Waukesha County sucks.

First off, the Wisconsin Roadbuilder Association's construction owners are so hot to get their hands on the mega millions coming their way thanks to Oil Can Scotty, that the freeway is torn up in both directions almost halfway through this county.  Remember, this is April.  The road crews have been at it since March.  So many rich people just can't wait to get richer, I swear, it's like a freakin' disease.  Money lust A-holes.  A nice train could have eased the congestion, but NOOOOO.  Their big earth moving machines have been mucking up the scenery for five weeks already.

I digress.

We came to a complete stop on the freeway in Waukesha County, because some joker caused an injury accident.  Took us an hour to go ten miles.  Has anyone else noticed that some of the worst drivers live in Waukesha County?  There's a reason for that.  Let me explain.

People moved to Waukesha County for a few reasons that they'll verbalize, but the big one, that they won't verbalize, is that they are afraid of black people.  Waukesha County became a haven for white flight.  Now, these same people could build large houses on large lots......but therein begins the problem.  Large houses on large lots, but no services.  No water.  No sewer.  No sidewalks.  The water in Waukesha is tainted and is getting worse.  They keep eyeing Lake Michigan to solve their problems, but thanks to international treaties and agreements, there will be no diversion of Lake Michigan water to Waukesha County.  Let them dig new wells.  Ooops......I mean, let them hire black people to dig new wells.  Better yet, let them keep drinking their tainted water.  It would be better if we could identify these people by green skin tones rather than how utterly dull they are.  More fun, too.

When I drive through Waukesha County, the freeway is congested with cars.  There are only a few strip malls to go to in Waukesha County and one big mall that has seen better days.  The people are coming to Milwaukee, to take advantage of the cultural offerings of a real city.  Waukeshates are bored, bored bored.  They have big houses and big yards, but there is NOTHING to do in Waukesha except go to the strip mall, or cut your big lot of grass, or compare yourself to your neighbors, or put pesticides on your gardens so your skin can turn more green.  Comparing yourself to your neighbors  is completely painful because the neighbors are as boring as anyone else who lives in Waukesha.

Waukesha is like Stepford.  Everyone is the same, all the wives are the same, all the husbands drive the same types of cars and have the same expectations for their families, all the children are the same.  The strip malls are the same.  So anemic are the people in Waukesha County that they almost cease to exist come Friday at 6 p.m.  So uncreative, so unproductive, so unimaginative.  They don't seem to come alive until they get in that car and head toward Milwaukee on Saturday afternoon.

Let's take up a collection for Waukesha County and build them a place to go on weekends so they can stay the hell out of Milwaukee and off the freeways.  What do you suppose Waukeshates would like to do?  How about a great big demolition derby raceway?  The way they drive and love to crash their cars might keep them in their own county once in awhile.

I say we impose a tax on anyone driving into Milwaukee County from Waukesha County.  A $100 tax to cross the border.  Stay on your side of the line.  You didn't want to live here, so don't come back here.  We don't like you.  You take boring to a whole scary level.  You're just too white for us.  Make that green.

Friday, April 1, 2011

April Brings Good Things

I recently inherited a ton of money from someone I didn't even know.  It's great.  I'm going to flaunt it and spend it like a drunken sailor.  I'm also going to make sure no one suffering greed and avarice ever sees a cent of it.

I've decided to buy my dream car, which is the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile.  It's going to cost me a ton of money, but its worth it to have that horn.

I'm going to Paris, I'm going to have a complete wardrobe designed for me and hand sewn.  Silk everything, especially lingerie.  Then I'm going to Italy for matching shoes.  Then on to Hong Kong for pearls.  Can't wait.  The ultimate shopping trip.  I'd go to Antwerp for diamonds, but diamonds are absolutely the most boring gem there is and I just don't want any.

I bought the villa I liked in Costa Rica, and I'm spending almost two million dollars to have the road rebuilt so I don't have to freak out driving up and down it.

All my grandchildren are getting brand new cars and excellent educations.  There won't be any hairdressers in the family.....not that hairdressers are BAD, but face it, making ugly people look good all day long would certainly take its toll on anyone's psyche.

I'm spending winter in Tahiti and summer in Europe for the next year or two.  After that, who knows.   I bought a cottage in Ireland overlooking the Ring of Kerry, and a wonderful apartment in Paris in the best district.  I'm looking at a nice place in Greece.

I'm giving so much of my money away, to people who honestly deserve it and have never had a break in their life.  I'm buying them houses, cars, educations, whatever they need.  I could never spend all this money on my own......I'm letting people who deserve it help me.

Ah.......if only.  April Fools.