Happy Birthing Person's Day! What????

So I took a few days off from blogging, to relax, recuperate, and to decompress. During that time, we celebrated Birthing Persons Day. What????? We celebrated who????? I'm sorry but NO! Just NO!

Okay, today I might get a little triggering to some, so don't say you haven't been warned. 

If you have been avoiding social media or media of all kinds, then you may be scratching your head over the whole Birthing Persons Day comment. What essentially it is, is a way to change that old worn-out Mother's Day into a more inclusive holiday. In truth, it comes from those who are constantly trying to normalize numerous sexes. Its birth, if you will, comes from trans people (women becoming men specifically) who are having babies and saying that yes, men can now have babies. In their eyes, mother is no longer an inclusive term, so like everything else that is currently getting canceled, apparently the word mother should also be canceled, and we should simply ignore the fact that regardless of what you identify as only a biological woman can have a baby.

It should also come as no shock that the NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League), is completely on board with this, claiming it is a much more inclusive, although incorrect term. In my humble opinion, abortion rights activists have always had the agenda to make human life expendable if it was not viewed as convenient, therefore it dehumanizes the unborn. So what is the next step? Let's also dehumanize or at the very least dismiss the importance of the mother too. Instead of viewing motherhood as something special and the ability to grow a human inside you as miraculous, let's instead make mother a canceled word and make pregnancy and childbirth something anyone can do! But can just anyone do this?

Not surprisingly, some on the left have already jumped on board with this and have even started referring to themselves as "birthing persons." For real???? Where are the feminists who usually throw major fits about this kind of thing? Why is there not marching in the streets and a demand for the right to be called "mother" and a stand being taken that "Mother's Day" should be upheld? Instead, we hear.....crickets. 

Now, this in my opinion is not about trans people per se. I do not care what sex you want to be and I don't care what you want your pronouns to be. If you want to be called, "he, she, they, here, there," I don't care. That is your business. I will even go so far as to say, if YOU want to be called a jelly bean, I will call you a jelly bean, but if we are erring on the side of science, then there are only two biological sexes, male and female, and only one of those biological sexes can actually carry a baby in their womb and little hint....it is not the biological male. 

I am a biological woman. I am called mom, mommy, mama, mother, ma'am, and after some read this, probably some other names that won't sound so pretty, but the fact is, I have earned all of those names. I have carried children inside me from conception to birth and I have been a mom to those kids since they were conceived. I have gone through all of the biological womanly things from starting my period to menopause, and while some of that has literally sucked, I have biologically been through it all. I have also been a single mom for the last 20 years, raising kids on my own and often times dealing with the fallout of being a single mother in the world. Because of all of this, I have earned a day where I eat free, get a gift or two, and where I remind each of my children just how long my labor was with them. Why? Because I have done what no biological male can. I provided the egg, which became the human that grew inside me for nine months, and then I suffered through the labor that no man was created to suffer through. 

I have earned Mother's Day, and I will be damned if I give into a society that wants to simply dismiss my role in creating human life and make it and me ordinary. I am not ordinary! I am a woman and more importantly......I AM A MOTHER! So if as a woman, you think so little of yourself and your sisters, as to have the greatest role you were ever given on this planet be classified as something any mere"person" can do, then you go for it, but as for me and mine, we will celebrate Mother's Day at my house and you can count on that. 

Until next time....be sunny, be happy and give your mom a hug.....she has earned it! 

 

The Boy (Based on a true Story)

His blue eyes danced as the excitement of the house made him giggle. Today was a special day and the little blonde haired boy was so happy. He wasn’t sure but it seemed like a really long time since he had been this happy. The mom seemed a little stressed as she packed up the little one lying in the crib. He was still fragile and required a bag full of “stuff” every time he left the house. The blonde haired boy though, loved the little one and even though he was only 5 years old, he understood that the little life there in the crib, almost didn’t make it home.

The boy remembered the many days and nights that he and his older brother had to stay at home while Mom and Dad spent many long hours at the hospital. He remembered the tears in his mom’s eyes when he went to the hospital and they were all told by the doctor that his baby brother might not make it through the day. He was told to say goodbye, but he refused. Instead he reached in the clear crib where his youngest sibling lay and quietly whispered, “You’ll be fine. I talked to the Blessed Mama and she told me,” referring to a long talk that he had, alone in his room with Jesus’s mom.

The boy had been right. His baby brother had come home and in his eyes, that baby was perfect. Since he had come home though, life had been busy and this new little family member took a lot of care. The boy had long since realized that his days as the baby of the family were over and truthfully, it hadn’t really bothered him giving up the title as he never much liked being called a baby. He knew that the new baby had fought hard all those months in the hospital and he deserved a little babying and special treatment in his life, so Mom and Dad fussing over him really wasn’t so bad.

Today though, it was going to be different. Mom and the little one and the older one were all leaving and it was just going to be him and Dad. The boy could hardly contain his excitement. It was just two days until the 4th of July and he and Dad were going to get fireworks….together….just the two of them. He couldn’t wait and he giggled and bounced around as Mom finished packing up the baby and tried her hardest to motivate the older one out the door. Earlier, Mom and Dad had talked about the baby staying home and the boy had stood back breathlessly waiting for the verdict. He would have said nothing and would have shared the day with the little one, but when Mom said, “No….I’ll take him. You guys just need to go have some fun,” the boy’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest. It was going to be just him and Dad and he was so excited.

As Mom drove out of the driveway, the boy stood looking at his dad. He didn’t know if all dads were as great as his dad, but he knew his dad was the best. His dad was his hero. He had a loud booming laugh that rang through the house. He was smart because he worked on airplanes and the boy just knew you had to be really smart to do that. His dad had a beautiful voice and he loved to dance and the boy loved listening to his dad sing with the radio and then grab his mom and dance through the living room with her. Yes, he had the best dad in the world and now standing there looking up at him, he knew that today, this day was theirs…..all theirs and he couldn’t wait to get it started. This might just be his best day ever.

The boy’s dad grabbed him up and said, “How about we go get some fireworks?” The boys blue eyes began to sparkle. Spending time together AND fireworks!!!! This day was going to be so cool.

The dad took the boy back to the master bathroom and told him he needed to get in the shower. The boy quickly undressed and jumped in the shower. He scrubbed himself as quickly as he could and then yelled to his dad to help him turn the water off. The dad came walking back with a cup of coffee and a pack of cigarettes. The bathroom was the only room the mom would let him smoke in. He helped the boy out of the shower, wrapped him in a towel and sent him into the master bedroom where he had already laid the boys clothes out. “Now you stay in here and get dressed,” the dad instructed, “and I will take my shower. Then when I get out, I’ll get dressed and we will get our day started.”

Once again the boy could hardly contain his excitement as his blue eyes were clear blue sparkling pools. The dad was almost as excited as the boy. This after all was one of the first times in a very long time that it felt as if the family was starting to find its way back to a new kind of normal. Now, being able to spend this day with this little blonde haired boy who had stayed calm and cool during the last few months when everyone else was anything but, who had constantly told everyone that would listen that his little brother would be fine and who had welcomed his new sibling without envy or attitude….gave this dad pure joy. He planned to take his son and let him choose anything he wanted at the fireworks stand. Today, money didn’t matter. All that mattered was the two of the spending time together and making his little boy laugh and smile as much as possible.

The dad opened the ventilation window above the toilet and then sat down next to the toilet and proceeded to set his coffee next to him on the floor. The bathroom wasn’t huge, but he had found a comfortable spot between the wall and the toilet to sit, drink coffee and have a cigarette. He lit his cigarette and took a sip of his coffee. Mentally he was planning the day ahead and trying to imagine the boy’s excitement when he told him that he could have ANYTHING he wanted at the firework stand. He put the cigarette to his lips, took a long drag and……..

The boy was hurriedly drying off and trying to dress. He wanted to be ready as soon as his dad was out of the shower. He heard the clank of his dad’s coffee cup hit the floor and he could smell the smoke from his cigarette. He knew Dad wasn’t in the shower yet and that it would likely be a few before he finished his cigarette. The boy felt a twinge of disappointment that his dad didn’t get directly in the shower, but then again….he knew he never did. Then he heard a single word…..”Ouch.” There was another sound but the boy wasn’t sure what the sound was. Gingerly he pressed his ear to the bathroom door and tentatively said, “Dad?” There was no answer. The dad always answered. So the boy knocked. Still no answer. Confused, the boy opened the door.

The dad lay with his head between the toilet and the wall. He held a lit cigarette and his coffee cup sat on the floor by his side. His eyes were closed but there was a slight gurgling sound coming from his chest. The boy’s eyes grew wide as he tried to understand what lay before him. Then he knew, his dad was teasing him. His dad loved to kid around. He carefully walked closer to his dad, expecting at any moment that he would jump up and grab him, all the while laughing his booming laugh…but there was no movement. “Dad,” the boy said. Then more quietly, “Daddy.” The gurgling continued. Maybe he passed out the boy thought. Using the extent of his 5 year old knowledge, he picked up the now luke warm coffee cup and he poured the coffee in his dads face. There was nothing…not even the slightest movement. It was at that moment that the boy knew. He took the still burning cigarette from his father’s hand. He squashed it out in the ashtray next to his dad, just as he had seen him do it a million times.

The boy sat there. He touched his dad’s hand. It was warm and rough as always. At that moment, he knew that hand was the hand he loved the most in the world. He wanted with all of his heart for that hand to reach up and grab his. He wanted to feel the warmth and security of his own small hand wrapped deep inside his father’s big and safe hand. No!!!! He wanted his daddy to sit up and smile at him. He wanted to sit in his lap and feel those arms around him. He didn’t want his dad just to lay there, covered in coffee with that horrible gurgling sound going on. Then it stopped and the boy just sat there, his blue eyes now a steel grey as he continued holding his dad’s hand and watching his dad’s face turn from a pink to a grayish color. Slowly the warmth was leaving his dad’s fingers and the boy just wanted this to be a dream. He kept thinking that he wanted to wake up. He wanted to run into his mom and dad’s bedroom and hug his dad. He wanted to tell his dad about the awful dream and he wanted to hear his dad say, “It was just a dream. I am fine.” He wanted to get fireworks. He wanted to hear his dad laugh and sing and he wanted to watch his dad dance with his mom across the living room floor. Most of all though, he didn’t want to be there alone. His young brain was beyond full and he was trying to process the most unthinkable situation and it simply wasn’t possible. He was alone and suddenly he was scared.

The boy had never been home alone and this was the worst way to have that experience for the first time. Fighting back the tears he looked behind him and the family dog sat quietly, just watching. He obviously had no idea what to do either. The boy tentatively pulled his hand away from his dad. He knew this might be the last time he felt that hand, but waves of reality kept hitting him. He was alone, he was scared and he knew that his dad was gone. He looked at his father’s face, looking lifeless and colorless and he quietly whispered “Goodbye Daddy.” He then made his way to the dog. He buried his face in the fur of the animal and let out a sob. The dog whimpered sensing how devastated his little human was.

The boy, still scared, still alone and still not knowing how to handle the way his world had just changed, slowly walked to his bedroom. The dog followed. As the boy walked in his room, all the things he loved, all the things that made him happy and all the things that made him secure, no longer existed. He just wanted to feel safe and he didn’t know how to do that. The boy walked towards his bed and grabbed his pillow and blanket and then he got down on his knees and crawled under his bed. The space was small, but then so was he. The dog, knowing how much the boy needed him, got down on his belly and pulled himself under the bed too and lay his head on the boys stomach. Together they remained like this for what seemed like forever.

The boy startled awake and the dog whimpered at the boys’ sudden movement. For a second the boy thought it might all have really been a dream. Then he looked up to see the bottom of his bed and his heart sank once again. He had no idea how long he had been under the bed nor did he know when anyone would be home. Then the fleeting thought went through his head, what if they don’t come back? He knew deep inside they would, but what if they didn’t? He continued to lay there, the dog never moving from his side and the boy wondering one thing….Why?

Suddenly the dog whimpered loudly and backed out from under the bed. The boy lay there listening. The car door shut. Then another. THEY WERE HOME!!!!! The boy quickly rolled out from under the bed and rushed down the hall. He ran to the door and opened it just as his mom, with the baby and his older brother stepped in. A huge uncontrollable sob welled up and escaped his chest and then the words that he knew to be true, but the words he hadn’t been able to say finally came exploding out as 
he grabbed his mom and held her tightly. “Mommy, Daddy is dead!” And as she looked into those eyes that had aged a hundred years since she had left that morning….she knew it was true.

Gorilla vs Child

In the case of Harambe the gorilla who was recently killed at the Cincinnati Zoo, yes...I am sad that he had to die but I am also a little alarmed that people put an animal's life above the safety of a child. I am also saddened at what a judgmental world we have become to brand the child's mother "neglectful" and a "bad parent" even when eye witness accounts say the mother had her son right with her and was warning him away from the fence just seconds before he slipped through. Yes, I am alarmed and saddened but not surprised.

In our current world where the internet shows us a myriad of pictures and videos of animals "acting" like humans and those watching obviously believing they have a human side, it somehow makes sense that people would be much more willing to fight for animal rights than they are for human rights. It's kind of ridiculously sad if you think about it. I guess because of this, no one should be surprised at the out cry in defense of a 400 lb. gorilla who likely would have killed this child had the zoo not intervened as it did.

The fact is, gorillas, bears, lions, etc are WILD animals. Even when "trained" or "domesticated" there is no guarantee that these animals won't get startled or revert to their most basic animal instincts....regardless of how many cute animal videos you watch on the internet. When that happens it is human vs. beast and the human is not likely to win that battle.

The internet is in full out cry and lynch mob mode that those in charge at the Cincinnati Zoo made the call to kill the animal, even though they explained their protocol and they are the experts on the situation. However, it does not keep Joe Public from sitting behind his computer saying "Awww poor innocent gorilla. He was just taking care of the boy." I saw the video and Harambe was most definitely NOT taking care of the boy. He was dominating the boy. You didn't have to be trained in animal behavior to see that.

Sadly, the likelihood that any of these indignant people have ever been closer to a gorilla than reinforced plexiglass or zoo cages is slim to none. They have never worked with these animals and don't know their true personalities or what the likely outcome would be of such a tragic incident. It's easy to be an armchair zookeeper when your screen saver is a grizzly saying "I haza cheezburger?" However, if you listen to the "real" experts, the people who work with these animals and know their temperament, they all say the same thing. The zoo acted responsibly. Harambe under the best situation...meaning people not excitedly screaming like crazy....would likely have ended up hurting or more likely, killing the boy. It might have been unintentional, but a 30 lb child being drug through the water is no match for a 400 lb gorilla. Add in the screaming people and that poor gorilla was likely very agitated. He was in protect mode and he was standing his ground. That little boy meant nothing to him.

One expert said that yes, they could have tranquilized him, but before he went down he would have gotten crazy as they don't go down immediately. Since the boy was between his legs, he would likely have been severely injured if not killed before Harambe actually became tranquilized. The zoo and all those who knew what they were doing, acted appropriately. They put the boys life first and that is as it should have been. The out come was sad, but would have been much sadder if the boy had been killed right there in front of everyone.

As for the armchair quarter backing of the mom...... So all you parents who have raised your kids without even one near miss, raise your hand. If you are honest.....there are no hands raised. The fact is, if you are a parent.....you have lost your kid, dropped your kid, forgot your kid or watched your kid get hurt at least once and probably more times than you would like to admit. It doesn't make you a bad neglectful parent. It simply makes you a parent. You can't protect their every move. It is simply not possible. Believe me...I have tried....and failed!

All eye witness accounts say that the zoo was busy and that the mom was being attentive to her child. The little boy said he wanted in with the gorillas and she had told him no! This is not unusual, as kids want to be most places they are not suppose to be. They also have no fear of anything. That gorilla to him was a big cuddly stuffed thing he wanted to play with. Perhaps his parents had shown him videos of a gorilla cuddling a puppy. Yes....that was sarcasm. At any rate, it was at that moment.....his mission became  to play with that gorilla. And any parent knows when a toddler is on a mission, they are slippery, sneaky and very quick. It's what toddlers do! The mother turned her back for one moment to take a picture and that is all it took. The boy was gone. It has happened to all of us and yet you would think this was a singular case. The rest of us are just lucky our kids didn't try to crawl in with a lion or a bear.

So what are we now doing? Are we trying to set up a precedence that if a toddler does what they do best, that the parent faces charges? Looks like a lot of us will be doing time then. Yes, because that is what our legal system needs. More bogus cases clogging up the system and costing the tax payers money.

Bottom line is that people are being ridiculous. This was an accident plain and simple. Remember those? Where something unfortunate and unplanned happens but it really isn't anyone's fault. Perhaps some of you die-hard people out there who think the lady wasn't being a good parent, would like to have seen her have a leash on her kid. Oh, but no.....then you would have had a whole other reason to criticize her parenting skills.

I do find it sad that Harambe had to die, but I applaud the zoo for acting so quickly and for those who knew what they were doing, jumping into action and saving the child. I also feel a great deal of empathy for the mother who I have no doubt felt plenty of guilt already for her son breaking free and that was long before the opinions of America chimed in making it worse. I am sure it is a scare she will never forget and a situation she will never allow again. So lets save our parental rage for the parents who starve and physically and sexually abuse their kids. Just a thought.

Please people.....get over your mob mentality and get off your judgmental high horse. But for the grace of God that could have been any one of us parents...... and every last parent out there knows it. Lets just hope that a lesson was learned by all and maybe perhaps more zoo's might think about toddler proofing themselves just a little bit better. 

This Morning......

So I had an interesting conversation with my son this morning. He pointed out to me that lately I have been a bit neurotic, a lot OCD and a rather large, pain in the butt trying to micro-manage not only him but everything in the free world. His 19 almost 20 year old face was perplexed and I could tell that he was clearly irritated with my fixations on the cleanliness of the house, his where abouts and my constant and total exhaustion. It really got me to thinking.

This is not unlike other moments in our life when he and my other kids get frustrated with the fact that I repeat myself a thousand times, catch myself walking into a room only to absolutely forget why I was there or to lose complete track of what I am saying in the midst of saying it. From their perspective, I am sure they are already picking out skilled nursing facilities to put me in.

Sadly, I remember feeling these exact feelings towards my own mother. My patience with her was very low when I was in my 20's and 30's or as I like to call them, "my know it all years." It drove me to distraction that my mother called me 100 times a day to see what I was doing, that she repeated herself over and over or that she couldn't remember where her keys were, her glasses were or what she was saying in the middle of a sentence. I remember honestly wondering if she was in the early stages of Alzheimers. Now though, I know she wasn't. She was just a mom with a full plate and many years of information fighting for space in her brain.

Kids have no idea what parents, but mom's especially, hold in both their hearts and minds. Sometimes the two are very closely connected even if anatomy tells us differently. Mom's are usually the center of the home and the place where all security, information and need is tossed with the knowledge that Mom will handle it. If Mom is the only parent in the home, she also becomes Dad and is solely responsible for everything both good and bad that happens. It is a daunting, sometimes unforgiving and unappreciated role, because it is simply taken for granted that Mom can do it all....mentally and physically. And most of the time....we can, but not without the consequences of things such as looking for our glasses when they are perched on our head or frantically looking for our phones as we are talking on them. This is always followed by the eye roll and obvious questioning of our mental health from our kids.

At any given moment my brain is running at full tilt thinking of all the things I have to do for the kids, for the house, for David especially. I have to think about and worry about bills and finances and then throw in the problems of the people I love, things others come to me with and the many small things that are just everyday life and there is a lot that fills my heart and my brain daily. Sometimes I am exhausted and ready for a nap before my feet ever hit the floor in the morning. Then there are those things that kids simply have no understanding of such as parents worrying about their kids health, their futures and their safety. That is not something a parent can turn off, although there are times we surely would like to. Our kids are our hearts and until you have a child, you never understand that tie that will bind you until one of you leaves this earth. Add in the speed bumps of health, family issues, doctors appointments, holidays, jobs and the scheduling that keeps us going from one daily event to another and it is a complete miracle that a mothers head doesn't explode at least once, on a daily basis.

Yes, I forget that I have asked you if you have fed the dogs for the third time, but I can remember every medicine David takes, the exact dosage and the date and hour of his last seizure. Yes, maybe I am OCD about my house. Why? Because I can control how my house looks, but I can't control that someone I care about is hurting, that I may not always be able to provide a roof for my children or that if my car quits working I can't afford another one. Yes, maybe I say lets clean together, cook together or watch a movie together....A LOT.....because I know...one day very soon you will be gone and so will this moment in time. And yes, maybe I want to know where you are and what you are doing because it gives me some peace in the moment and sometimes that is really all this mother needs.

So yes, I am neurotic, OCD and micromanaging as hell! I am not however crazy, psychotic or ready for the home. I am simply a mother with a mothers brain.....and someday God willing, you will understand.

Happy Mother's Day

Today we remember the person that brought us into this world. Fed us! Clothed us! And the one who took care of and nurtured us. She was our disciplinarian and our biggest cheerleader. She is also the one we spent years telling  "In a minute," "Do I have to?", and  "He/She did it!" She is the one we gave gray hair to, caused to spend many sleepless nights over our health and our bad choices (or maybe that was just my mom), and the one we ran to with our knee scrapes and heart breaks. Yes....today is the day we celebrate MOM!

At my age and in my generation....we are long past the age of thinking our mothers were sadly misinformed about the world and simply had no idea of what they were talking about. We are now fully aware of just how wise she was and what a keen sense of the world she really had. It was us in our faux wisdom that were sadly misinformed and had no clear understanding of what the world was about.

Also at my age....sadly many of my friends have begun to lose their mothers and I know quite well (this will be my 9th Mothers Day without mine) that there isn't a one of us that wouldn't give just about anything to hear our mom's words of wisdom just one more time; to hug them just one more time; or to be able to tell them "I love you," just one more time.

For those of you who still have your mom's....today is the day to forget that she doesn't like your boyfriend, that she tries to tell you how to raise your kids, or that she is spending your inheritance on a cruise around the world. Today is the day however.....to remember that she has always been there for you, that she loves you beyond words, and that she simply is not going to be around forever. So cherish her and never forget that when she is gone....Mothers Day will never be the same.

So to all my family and friends.....I wish you all a very Happy Mother's Day and I leave you with this video my son Z made of his grandmother.....my mother......Mary Jane Dougherty Jacques.

Shenanigans, Phelps, and the ACLU....OH MY!!!!!!

"How are you today?" I asked the face in the mirror. "Fine!" I replied. Boy did I miss the mark on that  one. Well....actually I was fine, until I found out more shenanigans my son has been up to. (Shenanigans....I love that word. It makes the unacceptable...sound much more acceptable.) At any rate...when you live within small communities....nothing goes unnoticed and therefore....childrens shenanigans....ALWAYS get back to Mom.

Once again I am pounding my head against the wall and wondering what the answers are to raising a young man whose favorite words are "I am a grown ass man," and then turns around and acts like a 16 year old without a brain cell in his head. Oops....I forgot. He IS a grown ass man and he shouldn't be acting a fool and getting himself into things that he can't get out of. More over that though.....my days of raising him are through. That ship sailed years ago as he ran from my home screaming what an adult he was and how I was too stupid to dress myself....let alone give him advice on how to live his life.

Funny though, every time he has  a car repair, a divorce,  a run in with the law, or a problem of any kind....Mom apparently looks pretty good. Then once Mom runs to the rescue....helps to get things fixed...and things start looking up....I am once again the dirt beneath his shoes. I will say however, he is an equal opportunity user....for any family member who is willing and stupid enough to help him gets equally walked on.

Do I sound harsh? I feel harsh...and to be honest....all my anger is not at him. I own a good percent of the blame in his willingness to use me....as I have allowed it. Being Mom, I always want to fix things and make it all okay as if he was still coming to me with skinned elbows and knees. But there comes a time when fixing things doesn't really help any more. Sometimes, we as parents, have to stand back and let those wounds sting and bleed. No kiss....no bandage....no help. Now is that time for my son.

We have not talked since Christmas when I realized what a fool I was being and how I was being lied to and taken advantage of. Then the day before Mother's Day he called. I knew he was wanting something and it wasn't just to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. I cut him short and ended the conversation just as he began telling me that our problems were my fault. Now I find out this. The details don't matter. It is just another in a long line of shenanigans that will require money to fix and this time maybe even more. But this time....I can't help. This time he is going to have to do more than pay lip service to being..........a grown ass man!

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http://www.kansas.com/2010/05/19/1320501/kan-ag-readies-brief-in-funeral.html
This article was in the local paper. The people being referred to....the Phelps family....I simply do not understand. I am sure I am just one of a multitude of Christian Americans who stand back and scratch their heads wondering how these people can call themselves Christian or American?


This family prides itself on using their Constitutional rights (mainly their right to free speech) to constantly put down all things Christian and American while hiding behind a self proclaimed Christian church...better known as the Westboro Baptist Church. Fred Phelps...the leader (preacher, minister, whatever) of this church, teaches his flock (many of whom are related to him) that hate is the Christian way. And hate they do!!!! They hate other Christians, service men, the families of service men, politicians, the court system (which they try to use to further their message of hate), America in general......and most especially gays!!!!! And what is sadder is....they have such a warped sense of  God, religion, and most things in general....that what comes from this is nothing more than someone teaching a whole new generation that hate is the answer.


And they are not satisfied to practice their hate filled beliefs in the confines of their church. Oh no...these followers of Phelps take their hate on the road. Most particularly they choose military funerals of young men and women who have died for their churches right to free speech. They come with signs a blazing about how God hates fags! or Thank God for IED's or simply God hates you! The fact that the poor families of these brave soldiers must be subjected to such hate on what is most likely the worst day of their lives.....is reprehensible to say the least.


Now the KS Attorney General is trying with the help of AG's from other states to make it illegal for Phelps and his hate-filled flock to picket at military funerals. While I am a proponent of free speech. I also believe that when our founding fathers gave us the 1st Amendment.....they had in mind a more civilized and dare I say responsible America than what we now seem to have. I think that there was an expectation that just because you can say or do something.....doesn't always mean that you should. This concept apparently goes over the heads of Phelps and his congregation. I am of the firm belief that All funerals should have a strict policy that no protests, picketing etc. can be done within the perimeter of the cemetery. That way no one is taking away Phelps' 1st Amendment rights....and the privacy of the family in mourning is also being respected.


It is a tough world we live in and sadly....where there are rights....there will always be those around to misuse, abuse, and twist them in a way that was never intended. To take those rights away from the few who abuse them is impossible in a democracy for if a few are judged unworthy of the right.....how long will it be before others are deemed just as unworthy because they are voicing something someone else might not want to hear?

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And finally today.....on the same note...yet different (sort of)....the ACLU is suing for the right to swear. 
http://www.funnymos.com/aclu-sues-to-protect-right-to-swear.html#more-454

You just can't make this stuff up. Apparently Pennsylvania has a real problem with swearing and finds verbal profanity unacceptable. Yet a Google search of strip clubs in the state finds that physical profanity is obviously not so frowned on. Again I have to scream REALLY!!!!!!

Come on! If you cuss in PA you can get a fine and a jail term but promote the skin trade and the powers that be look the other way?!  Hmmm.... I am no big fan of the ACLU (The American Civil Liberties Union) but I think this one they got right. And shame on Pennsylvania for wasting man power and tax dollars on someone who's only crime is to cuss. Don't you have drug dealers, murderers, and pedophiles to put away like the rest of the country?????

So as you can see....today I have not been in a good place and my blog is evidence of such. In fact...you might say that today has been really  f*@%#& up!  Oops.....Thank God I don't live in Pennsylvania!