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Monday, August 31, 2015

Black Lives Still Matter



The Regressive Party has recently become fixated on their own persecution. These are all persecutions that they imagine and create themselves, but that is no reason not to be consumed with them, I suppose. These profound slights are, of course, only a means of deflecting from their own disgusting voter base and platform while creating a means of redirecting negativity toward the left. It is almost embarrassing how desperate their attempts are. It would be laughable if it weren't so fucking despicable and so dangerous because it keeps diverting attention from things that are sincerely important to not only create their own narrative of persecution, but allow for negative dialogue around things which would require none otherwise.

Those poor sonsofbitches on the right are being persecuted because they have to make cakes for gay weddings. What a glorious way to create drama around a beautiful movement America is finally embracing and create controversies and division out of something no thinking human being would ever even imagine.

In June they compelled Americans to understand that the slaughter of nine human beings in their house of worship was because of their religion. It seemed that the plight of the American Christian had not been acknowledged by society at-large so this was a perfect opportunity to make sure everyone knew. Of course, it was also a perfect opportunity for us to all reflect on how many 'lone wolves' who are always white with mental illness keep killing black people, too. As with the gun rights discussion the Regressives try to avoid, that problem of racism which seems so pervasive on just the one side of the aisle becomes very uncomfortable for them pretty quickly. It probably would've been better to just let them discuss the religion of those murdered in Charleston and ignore their race altogether. Fortunately, America sent back a resounding, "Shut the fuck UP" to that plea.

Last week Michael Brown, the former head of FEMA, determined that the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina would be the perfect day to write an article and go all over the media to tell about how unbelievably maligned he has been and and what a tragedy (his word) it was THAT HE WAS THOUGHT POORLY OF. That was a lot more important, I am sure, than a thoughtful and meaningful reflection on the how's and why's of the actual tragedy or any remembrances of those lost. That little conspiracy theorist deep inside of me keeps saying, "Yeah. I'll bet he was paid to write that and be all over the media that day because the GOP and Bush, especially, don't want us to have any sincere or solemn reflections this close to an election." Although my little voice sometimes goes a little overboard, I'm pretty sure she's right on this one.

Harris County, Texas, Sheriff Ron Hickman held a press conference this weekend to tell us that all lives matter. As the message has not yet made it to the sheriffs ears, I will reply the same way I did three months ago when this talking point was tried: "Yeah? Kindly go fuck yourself."  All lives do not matter when you find it necessary to quickly dismiss an entire movement by insisting all lives matter instead of considering the truth and necessity behind the words BLACK LIVES MATTER. You negate the message when you make your own movement to parody the one created for an important national movement. Do you want to know why? Do you wonder why we have never had a movement that demanded all lives matter? Because, Asshole, that has never been in question. No one in our history has walked around and thought to themselves, "Goddamn, those poor straight white Protestant men. They cannot catch a break. The world seems to beat them down every time they start to make inroads toward progress."


A deputy in his charge was shot and killed by a black man. So far, this is all that anyone knows. But the message the sheriff wants to send us is that the Black Lives Matter movement is hateful and its rhetoric is dangerous. This is the lowest level of diversion I have seen yet. This asshole has determined all by himself that the person who shot this cop had done so solely because the Black Lives Matter movement exists. This assertion is completely based on supposition. They have not found anything to evidence his involvement in the movement, let alone his reasons for having shot the officer. Even though he isn't white, he, too, might be a lone wolf. He, too, might have mental illness (it's not an exclusive condition to white men with guns, you know). You are a disgusting low-life when you hijack the good works and important focus of the movement to promote your own tired agenda.

We know... You were all a lot more comfortable in the world where your power was understood and accepted. That world is gone. Its been gone for a while now. It's time for all of you who can not bring yourselves to embrace the world we have in 2015 to step aside. We are all getting sick of making excuses for you and all of your hate. It is only the hateful rhetoric of the right that is the problem. No national rhetoric has come out around race relations which is dangerous except by those who don't want to allow our progress. We are done with you. Honestly.




Sunday, August 30, 2015

Anchor Baby Agenda




With all of his bluster, the Regressive Party hardly knows which way to focus their attention in order to dismiss their front runner, Donald Trump. He is terrifying them in ways they could have never imagined and, quite frankly, he is wasting billions of dollars and countless hours invested by the Koch brothers and their ilk to redefine what history would call a 'democracy.' I have a feeling, however, that once they find time to take pause on Trumps recent immigration stance, they will be able to at least embrace his assertion that the 14th Amendment needs to be repealed. Please be ready when they change their minds. As with all of their 'revelations,' it will come out of nowhere and the contradictions and historical 'facts' will be mind-boggling. Prepare yourself now to understand its truths so the narrative coming from the right can be quickly and effectively dismantled.

The 14th Amendment was not exactly a reaction to immigration. It was a reaction to those who were forced to immigrate here and when, through the Civil War, they (the men, at least) finally found themselves living here freely, the Constitution was amended to allow them free reign of their own personhood where they had equal rights of citizenship and to the same protections as white men.

Without the 14th Amendment, we would still be living with segregation, too. Although we still have a handful of knuckle-draggers living among us who would like to revisit those days, most of us actually shudder at that idea.

This Amendment was also the guiding principle in the Roe V Wade decision finally allowing women to have ownership of their own bodies and in making their own healthcare decisions.

Just this year the 14th Amendment was cited repeatedly in the Obergefell V Hodges Supreme Court decision where the rights of LGBT citizens were recognized in their own capacity to determine who they can marry.

The 14th Amendment was the clincher in getting public schools to detach from religion, as well. The 1st Amendment guaranteed freedom from a state designation of religion the 14th, the Supreme Court decided, that all levels of the government were bound to the same guidelines.

Please do not forget, my brothers and sisters, not only has the 14th Amendment been necessary in defining those rights listed herein, but it will be necessary in the future to continue to win rights we are still demanding. The ERA, after nearly 100 years, has still not passed. A member of the LGBT community can still be denied a job or fired from a job if their employer condemns their 'lifestyle.' The many rights guaranteed to counter discrimination of minorities in voting, education and employment are still being debated and are repeatedly brought back to the courts for reversal. I also believe that the final nail in the coffin of the bullshit of whom you have to make a wedding cake for will also be determined by the 14th Amendment as it says all rights defined in the 1st Amendment are universal across all levels of government, including state.

It is inconceivable that we live in 2015 and are trying to compel other American's to embrace the lives of those who are new to our country and protect those who were born here. And I can not believe a single human being would insist that we need to get rid of the 14th Amendment.  Yet, here we are. We are still suffering those loudest voices (coming from the dimmest minds) in our society who condemn all of us to bear their hatred and intolerance. They don't seem to be going anywhere so it is our job to have louder voices and point them at the rational people in our society who really don't want to hear it. Each of our presently guaranteed rights which become threatened will convince more of them to start paying attention. Keep telling them until the selfish are finally provoked to see their own lives threatened. It is more important that they do wake up, than why, I suppose.


Do not be surprised when the leadership on the right finally realizes what a jackpot this idea of repealing the 14th Amendment would be to their collective agenda: rid the rights of those who fail to be Straight. White. Christian. Men. SHIT! That is their entire voting block. And be ready to explain what it REALLY means to all of those who believe it is a discussion regarding immigration. If they cannot be bothered to care about these babies, maybe they can care about how far-reaching the implications REALLY are.











Friday, August 28, 2015

Hey Brownie, Kiss My Ass!


*** TRIGGER WARNING***   Pictures of death inside



The only Michael Brown that America should condemn and talk shit about wrote an article yesterday in Politico and he actually titled it "Stop Blaming Me for Hurricane Katrina." How are we in a place in America where a person is first given an opportunity to dismiss a large swath of American citizens and their needs and then 10 years after 1,245 human beings died, on this solemn anniversary where we should all be reflecting on the loss of those beautiful lives and the failure of those who should have done absolutely anything possible to save them, we are instead asked to reflect from the perspective of the man who led FEMA at the time and found a way to make a catastrophe into something actually worse for which I cannot find a word? It is beyond my understanding that this garbage is even given a voice today. Shame on Politico.

Brownie, grow up. How fucking old are you?  You just tried to publicly steal the gravity of this important remembrance and offer yourself pity. Were you stomping your feet and screaming while you wrote this shit? Honestly? I am embarrassed to be an American sometimes. It is because we have determined to give ourselves leaders who have absolutely no interest in leading or caring for us and then condemn us for having expected them to.

Brownie dedicated his entire article to focusing the blame on others. He wanted the states and the cities to be responsible for the preparations and recovery. He insists the failures were solely those of others. FEMA (the FEDERAL Emergency Management Agency) exists for a reason. FEMA is actually supposed to work on a national level. Those responsibilities take over those of the states and cities during disasters. He even admitted as much in the article, "Could FEMA have ordered the evacuation of New Orleans? Yes..." Then he rambles on about the steps that would need to have been taken to do so. They sure sounded cumbersome and overwhelming. I can see why he chose not to do that and watch, with the rest of the world, the ruination of an entire city and it citizenry.

Brownie told us that there were "many dark moments," but determined that the worst was probably, "being held responsible for things that [he] didn't control at all." This is the most amazing thing I can imagine. What about the many dark moments of those whose families and homes were destroyed? I would have to imagine their suffering would probably supersede your own. Explore this thought process with me, will you? Demanding that you are not responsible because others didn't do their jobs is, to me, like a 12 year old child being told to watch their little brother while the babysitter runs to the bathroom and while she is out of the room the toddler eats rat poison found on the floor behind the drapes. The child dies but the 12 year old insists, "It wasn't my fault. Yes, I saw that the baby was eating it. Yes, I knew that it would have tragic consequences. But its hardly my fault. The babysitter shouldn't have put me in charge. And my parents shouldn't have had rat poison out and the landlord shouldn't have had rats in the building." That is the same logic that would allow the head of FEMA to tell us 10 years after this tragedy that it was not his responsibility.

Brownie tells us that when they call 911 (the local entity they should have called instead) they are following the proper procedures. Of course, there were no working phones. But, whatever. He made a point of telling us that is the job of the first responders. If an intelligent person takes a moment with that, they then say to themselves, "Right. First responders. Not only responders. Dickhead."

If a single human being would spend a few minutes to remember those three weeks when we were glued to the television just hoping loved ones of those being interviewed were found alive and determine that tragedy and the responsibility of its aftermath were the sole responsibility of the local or state governments, you are out of your mind. Some disasters are well out of the control of those entities. That, by the way, is why we have FEMA.


Brownie even condemns the media for showing us, "young, poor mothers with babies cramped in unsanitary conditions" and priming us for the blame to be directed at FEMA. It is beyond my comprehension how you can actually remind your readers of those people who suffered, but only so as to remind us that the media was subjecting you to ridicule, not that those lives were remotely important. What the FUCK is wrong with you? Honestly!



We are asked to believe that the failures all came from others who determined not to do things. Ask yourself, as a thoughtful and compassionate human being, what would you have done in his shoes? Would you have just said, "Well I am the head of FEMA and this is, indeed, an emergency. Fuck what documents others are unwilling to sign. Fuck that the President is on vacation and seems unwilling or uninterested in participating in any action. I am going to get the National Guard in there immediately. I am going to get the young men and women from nearby military bases to get here with necessary equipment and vehicles and evacuate every human being they can find." Or would you watch the news, see dead bodies floating in water, people stuck on roof tops and thousands of people stranded in the Superdome and remind yourself that other people didn't do their jobs correctly so why should anyone expect for you to have done so?

Selfish sonofabitch.

This is the mission statement of the federal agency you were in charge of:
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.

Brownie, take a quiet moments reflection and ask yourself if, on this anniversary when so many people are mourning the loss of loved ones, their homes and their culture, you should be feeling sorry for yourself. Then ask yourself why in the fuck anyone else should. You should be ashamed of yourself. You should still bear the shame of that, "Heck of a job" and you should now bear the shame of having created and taken an opportunity to have a public pity party and divert the attention of Americans who need solemn remembrance for healing and future progress. You are a disgrace to my country.

I promise you. This is your fault. Certainly other people can bear the shame, as well. But, here, after 10 years of having had time to reflect, you have come up with a diatribe against everyone above and below you and pointed the blame on them, you just told America who and what you are. These lives are your fault. Share the blame, that's fine. But take it. Every single picture herein is of people who suffered. Regardless of the color of their skin or the parts of town they lived or whether or not they could afford an airplane ticket or had a car to leave town, these are all human beings. However you consider them, remember they all have/had many who loved them dearly. Their suffering could've been lessened if you had made choices to ensure their safety. Their loss is still being mourned by the entire country. It is time for you to share in that mourning and take the mature responsibility for your part in it. Until you can do that, Brownie, you do not deserve to call yourself a human being, let alone an American.














Thursday, August 20, 2015

American Dignity


God help me (begged the Agnostic) but some days I really want to be a porcupine or even a gnat. Some days the lack of humanity in our human race is so much more than I can bear to live with that I want to just fore go my own claim to it and be anything other than human. I just got a notification from Twitter that President Carter made an announcement regarding his cancer diagnosis and I logged in to read about it. Cancer is a very personal issue with me (here and here) and I don't think people can ever understand the fear and anxiety of a level IV diagnosis until they witness a loved one slowly and painfully succumb to its power. I should've known better than to go to Twitter to read about it. I've learned this lesson before. But who would think the world would find a single piece of shit who could speak ill of President Carter? Or celebrate the suffering of he and his family?


Something inside of me is always going to be defensive, almost protective, of Vice President Biden. No matter how many interpreted gaffs he can amass, their deliveries are wrapped in sincerity from a man whose good natured, loving heart is unquestionable, leaving his intentions to be the same. I have always had the same respect and defensive care for President Carter. He may not go down in history as having been our greatest President with the longest list of certifiable accomplishments, but I can't imagine our ever having another who enters the office with more genuine and open minded aspirations for America and all of her citizens.

If we were to measure Presidential accomplished goals versus Presidential aspirations, GW Bush would be one of our most successful Presidents in history. If we measured their aspirations, President Carter would rank at the top. The profound chasm between those two variables alone should give us all pause to reflect on the country we have and the future we want for her. For me, I'll beg one hundred President Carters before a single Bush return.

Whenever I think of people we've lost or will lose I ask myself how they would want to be remembered; not just their legacy but at what point in their lives. Where did they most clearly identify themselves when they reflected on their lives? I figure most people would want any of their remembrances to include an image of themselves at a younger, more vibrant age. I don't think President Carter has much vanity at all, if any. I imagine it would only be the legacy and the unfinished works that he would want us to hold on to. I will certainly do that. And this is the image my heart will embrace.


I remember when Jimmy Carter was our President and what he looked like at that time but he was not done then. He has continued his tireless journey and made the most of every opportunity he has found to make this world better for every human being. The undeniable beauty of his legacy will be that it never rested. He never quieted his voice or slowed his momentum while trying to bring peace and equality to the world. Once he is lost to us, I will surely remember him at the end still focused on his mission while projecting humility, grace and love.

What a wonderful world we would live in if we continued to elect selfless human beings who intend to work for our own progress until the day they leave us. His still growing legacy is presently being assessed by those who want the same responsibility while mocking his work and ambitions. I hope everyone can pause on that in genuine reflection while reading opinions one of their most ardent supporters:



This is what grace and dignity in leadership are meant to be. This defines the understandings of one whose intentions are honest and thoughtful. This is what America needs to remember while determining its future leadership. Especially now.




Thank you President Carter. Godspeed to you and your family during this next leg of your journey.


Wednesday, August 19, 2015

New Talking Point

It's so funny. (Or not). I've come to know the new talking points from the right as soon as I hear absolute bullshit coming from a pundit that I have never heard anyone say before which really only seems to divert from the narrative against their platform and does nothing to support their assertions or diminish ours. Last week, I believe, was the first time I heard their latest distraction from the anti-choice discussion. My warning sirens went off immediately when they insinuated that the Regressives were the ones who really respect women because they believe that women are capable of thinking about more than just one issue, abortion. Curious, right? You believe we are capable of deep, critical analysis about things but we still should have no capacity to determine how to build our own families or make decisions about our bodies. Brilliant. Please, tell me more. I have now heard it several times and I do not believe the idea of the new talking point was well enough defined as to enable clear or coherent retellings by those who offer them to us.

This evening Chris Matthews had a new pundit on, KellyAnne Conway, who I have seen around lately. In a conversation tonight about the Regressive Party having such despicable ideas about immigration, KellyAnne offers us this little nugget. Either she is too ignorant to realize where their new talking point is appropriate or she is too green to understand only the Fox audience would miss its unnecessary insertion into the conversation. Somehow she managed to get this in to distract from the fact that their candidates (who always demand it is the job of those on the right to defend the Constitution) are now suggesting we need to get rid of the 14th Amendment. She tells us that the candidates on the right can think above the waist and, "its not about women's health - that's breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and the rest of it..." I don't know ... when discussing the genuine importance of women's health and compelling the viewers to believe that you are the ones who care deeply, does 'and the rest of it' really suffice?

So this is their latest talking point. Of course it is ridiculous. Sometimes I honestly believe that they give them to us to leave us dumbfounded and unable to reply at all. This new one sets your brain spinning with so many arguments that you can't catch your brain quickly enough to counter their bullshit. Of course abortions and contraception are about women's health. We do not go see our mechanic for those issues. Of course candidates on the left don't believe that is all we care about. That is why they also talk to us about the environment and schools and societal struggles and the economy and the myriad other things we care about that the right would like to find ways to ignore or ruin altogether.

We all need to be mindful of the talking points as they come out. We all need to be ready with the thoughtful counter punch to ideas coming from the right which are utterly unimaginable and usually laughable. Otherwise whomever offers the bullshit gets to walk away having convinced themselves and anyone else paying attention that they were right by virtue of having left you dumbstruck. Christ they're awful.

We also need to be mindful of where these talking points are coming from. Start noticing the job titles of their pundits. KellyAnne's job title is "Republican Pollster." It would seem that a pollster would be getting statistical data and disseminating necessary information to the party and the candidate(s) paying for her services. But this pollster is on different shows giving us talking points on every issue imaginable, completely devoid of statistics or support of data offered. What is the point of having a pollster on the show who doesn't offer you statistics? I have recently come to find out a lot about the pundits on the right which has offered profound pause. I hope to write about it soon. They are crazy. And we, as a society, are assholes for allowing them to even have a voice.









Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Pinkie Promise Presidency

I have been trying to watch MSNBC this evening to see whats going on today. I have no idea what is happening in the world because they have been sitting with pundits telling us that Donald Trump is going to be coming on soon to give a press conference before offering a speech about his policy proposals. That's exciting, to be sure. I am anxious to hear how he could possibly offer us plans for implementing what have, thus far, been some pretty outlandish ideas. The pundits have been anxious to hear him, too. I'll bet they would just love to have anything new to talk about and leave behind the drama he creates and, thus, attempt to explain his remaining durability as a candidate.

To no one's real surprise, I suppose, we were all let down. Trump assured us that he is going to win the Hispanic vote, he has told us that in the past, prior to and following polls which told us the opposite. He wanted us to know that he is going to win the women's vote because he has respect for women (who, apparently, are not Rosie O'Donnell or in positions to ask him questions he'd rather not answer). He really cares about our health issues and thought Jeb Bush was a dope for the statement he made last week about it not needing so much funding. "The women's health issues, I'm all for that." I can only imagine he meant he is 'all for' funding health care and not 'all for' our having health issues. He concluded by saying, "I cherish women. And I will be great on women's health issues. Believe me."

He is going to 'reign in' China because they have been stealing our jobs. I suppose in Trump's mind we had nothing to do with sending jobs overseas with there having never been laws passed that the Regressive party demanded to enable their corporations to make money hand over fist while leaving the rest of us out to dry.

When asked how he will address the racial tensions in the country today? Simple (because this issue we have been ignoring since the nation was founded really should be a pretty simple answer, no?). Its jobs. And spirit. And cheer leading. Apparently racism will end the day people all have jobs (and leadership who aren't racists, maybe?).

When challenged by a reporter as to how he would implement his plans he told us he isn't going to let the cat out of the bag now. "We will see lots of plans," began a rambling homage to his own business prowess which never actually came back to telling us what those plans were or any means of their implementation. The reporter tried to, again, force Trump to nail down an actual answer by saying, "Now you are just asking people to trust you," to which he replied, "There does have to be a trust." And then he went to Major Garrett to get another safe question.

He gave us a 'Believe me,' a promise of seeing 'lots of plans,' and told us we will be given specifics with numbers in the next two weeks with a final reminder, "Knowing everything I just said is right and you have to be flexible." He then rounded back to the promise that manufacturing jobs will be coming back from China and Mexico. Until he gives specifics, I can only assume he means to use his charm against the leaders of other countries and compel them to hand back these jobs they 'stole' . I'm sure that is the same charm he will use to charge Mexico $100,000 for each immigrant they send over here (you know, the government hand picks them and sneaks them across) while forcing them to build that wall with a door for the 'good ones' which he is sure also exist.

As much as I laugh at the fact that the Regressives have just fallen in love with Trump and he can top the polls no matter what he does or says, it is also incredibly disheartening to realize that I have to share my country with people who are so tragically stupid as to hear this shit come from a potential leader and believe of the seemlingly thousands of candidates out there now, the message from Trump is the most ideal to them. Hopefully that is because the rest of the candidates are pretty much sharing talking points. But I fear its worse than that. I fear that our society has plummeted to a point where those who condemn the left for having too many "Hollywood types" in our party are so easily excited by a man because he had a 'reality' television show. These people are loyal and avid when interviewed. They are so sincere. Nothing that they are saying makes sense, either contextually or rhetorically. It is as if they can hear him give the same messages full of disdain for others and give no ideas for creating the many changes he proposes and they are just willing to take a pinkie promise on their delivery because, gosh darnit, he is famous. And rich.

I don't know. Maybe if we all agree to make a pinkie promise with Trump he can get Mexico and China and racists and misogynists to do the same? It feels like a pretty big risk. Ill have to think about it longer.



Monday, August 10, 2015

Public Service Message







For All Parents and All Teenagers:

I just saw last nights episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on my DVR. As always the main topic offered me serious giggle mixed with abject horror. I deleted it and went looking for the other shows I'd missed this weekend. Then I realized there are a lot of states where the kids are getting really fucked up information. And plenty of their parents don't have HBO.

 For all of those people... And for everyone else in need for a good laugh/confirmation the GOP has a terrifying agenda even for the kids...




Happy Monday Y'all. Kisses all around,

Your Mean Progressive


Saturday, August 8, 2015

PC or Not PC? That Is the Question.


On different issues I know in an instant what my position is because I can identify its substance to one facet or another of my own life like the anti-choice movement. Or, in its infancy, I quickly know how I feel because it's just a given, like the Black Lives Matter movement. From day one I had a connection so passionate as to think, "I will absolutely meet you in an alley out back over this."

There are some things that I have to spend time in reflection before I really know how I feel because the debate, itself, encapsulates my own inner turmoil about variables of either side, like the death penalty debate. It is obvious that our system is a clusterfuck where innocent people are sentenced (or worse) and it is questionable, at best, if a 'civilized' society would have a government that has killing human beings on its agenda. On the other hand, from the day I met and instantly loved my daughter I knew that if anyone brought the irreparable harm to her as finds so many of America's children, I would not want them to enjoy a moment in this realm where my child could not.



So with this discussion about our present definition of political correctness and whether or not it has been stretched so thin as to disallow our own societal growth, I have been back and forth on the subject and struggled while on both sides. I certainly will, for the rest of my life, disavow the ideas of political correctness offered by the meme creators on the right whose only obective is to denounce everything and everyone the basic tenets of political correctness uplift and celebrate, but I have questioned recently if we have found a way to take those ideals to extremes.

Yesterday, before I saw this video from Bill Maher I think I had pretty much found my answer, but as with all things in my mind that passionately demand definition, I still needed to understand why or how we found ourselves in this place. We can all point our fingers at problems and lament those who perpetuate them, but without understandings of their origins and implementations, nothing will ever be done to resolve them. Our own defensiveness will instigate theirs and leave no room for growth.



For me it was nice to have been afforded this perspective on the same day I felt pushed over the edge on the political correctness question I was teetering back and forth about because I now won't have to drive myself crazy trying to figure out the 'whys' and 'hows' for myself. The thesis offered by Caitlin Flanagan makes a lot of sense. There may be a few caveats I will need to manipulate a bit for my own belief structure, but the basis of why we find ourselves in this place is quite clear. And, having been a parent who raised a child during this age with steadfast absolutes regarding how to embrace and promote variables in society, the causation is evident. (So is my own complicity. Sorry).

If any good will come from people dismissing the Black Lives Matter mantra with generic reminders that all lives matter, it is our reaction to that dismissal. Our reactions are visceral. They are innate and genuine. We have raised ourselves and our children not only to know that truth but to demand it of society. But when we condemn those who agree with us on our embrace of humanity but either do not understand the definitions the same as we see them or with the same limitations, we begin creating more problems for our defined cause than maybe even solutions.

Below, please find my last straw. I realized our own failures yesterday and the dangers which come from our very narrow expectations of those who define themselves similarly. Quite simply, we alienate those who are our allies in the universal struggle and we, possibly, take that struggle to such an extreme as will never be accepted by a society whose progress is generally slow and whose identifications of variables will never come from the same places and experiences as another.

I am a feminist. I have had countless arguments with others who say I am not a feminist because I do not meet their definition. It is childish and I always let them know that. I will never question or be uncomfortable defining myself as a feminist and I will never need to reach out beyond myself to determine if it should change. It always pisses me off that someone thinks it is their responsibility to define it for me. Feminism is about equality. I can take it from here. Really. Thanks.

I always get very defensive when someone tries to define feminism for me. And here I am openly acknowledging that I am pissed off about the definitions of another. Beyond that acknowledgement, I am not really comfortable with the fact that I am doing it, but I do not feel apologetic for it, either. I will allow these people to not share my definition, I suppose, but I will say that my interepretation of their projections will make the movement even more difficult than it already is. I want my grandbabies to grow up in a world where the ERA has passed. I want them to have laws specifically not just to protect their rights to their own bodies, but on the books saying that no politician or judge can determine otherwise. The farther away the cause of equality comes from the mission, however, the fewer accomplishments we will have had for my grandbabies future. Frankly, that is unacceptable to me.






Has anyone else struggled with or questioned the political correctness debates, lately?




Dammit! Bill Maher, There is A Difference

I love Bill Maher. I do. I look forward to him every week and agree with him on a lot of things. But this is the second time recently that I have been so put off by something he said that I was compelled to write about it. I wonder if I will be able to piss off as many people as I did last time?

Last night in a quick aside when he mentioned the question from the GOP Debates the night before about whether or not any of the candidates had ever spoken to God (giggle, I know if there had not been a national audience at least Cruz and Huckabee would've answered in the affirmative and offered the myriad conversations full of the good Lord's glorification of their own good deeds), Maher said 7.5 million Americans are atheists and 9.8 are agnostics. He then said, "By the way, they're the same thing. People try to make a difference, there is none." There most certainly is, dammit.

I take it personally that I would be considered an atheist. I think that the non-existence of God is as knowable as the existence. I am not sure. I wouldn't ever want to be in a theological discussion and be misunderstood as an atheist because that would mean that I am negating the possibility of whichever beliefs another person holds true. I don't know. I do not believe that anyone has a way of knowing (aside, of course, from Cruz and Huckabee, I suppose).

I was raised a Methodist. I went to church and took classes to be confirmed because my parents said I had to. I was 13 so I did what I was told. I didn't really pay attention in the classes and the confirmation to follow meant nothing to me. I don't mean to disrespect anyone who thinks that is a poignant moment in their lives, but it was not one in mine. When I went to college I was excited to take the Comparative Religion class because I thought the idea of so many different ideas about faith would be cool to learn about, much in the way I am interested in many other aspects of history and sociology. The thing I walked away from at the end of that semester was the number of commonalities of most religions. Many had strikingly similar stories and offered the same basic tenets. My mind wandered off to question, "Well, maybe there is a God and he/she/it sent prophets with similar messages to different times and places when and where they were needed."

The nice thing about not having any personal investment in supporting the ideas of a specific ideology is that I can embrace any of them. I do not need to be right. I don't care who is right. It is curious to me that religion, for some reason, is the only thing I have yet come across in my life that I do not HAVE to understand. I honestly don't care either way. I tell people that I want to be a good person even if there isn't a hell. And I mean it.

I am offended by people of any religion who insist that I am wrong not to follow their faith and insult me for not believing what they do (or worse, insult me for not allowing them to believe what they do, which I would never consider but when you are offered too many opportunities to dismiss all other people with different beliefs, sometimes you end up with the arrogance that those who aren't 'on your side' are against you). Similarly I am offended by those who condemn those of faith to ignorance for having a belief in something which contradicts their atheist views. Its just shitty, in my mind, to tell someone they are ignorant for believing (or not believing) in something no one can prove.

Having faith doesn't make you stupid. Faith can be a lovely thing. I remember when my dad was dying over 3 weeks in the hospital. Countless times I wished I knew what it meant to have faith. I wanted to have a place to lay my heavy heart and feel my pleas may be heard. I would've done absolutely anything to go down to the chapel in the hospital and make a deal with God. There is very little I would not have promised to God in trade for alleviating my dad's pain. If having the capacity to pray and believe that there is hope makes people feel better or safer in their lives, wonderful. If they sincerely believe that it is a positive influence in their lives, who am I to tell them they are wrong? I've never seen God. I've never had proof either way. And I don't need it.

This will probably end up being a pretty irrelevant entry for most of my readers. The distinction was important for me. It is crazy o'clock in the morning, however, and I cannot even really be sure if I made my point. I am adorable like that sometimes.


Thursday, August 6, 2015

Another Day



I woke up this morning and determined that I was going to take a minute off from writing. My depression has me exhausted. I can hardly think or keep my eyes open to write. I watch the news and bitch about it to distract myself from my own life (brilliant idea, Ang!) but find I just kind of hate the world and wonder: What's the use? Who gives a shit?

This morning I logged into Facebook and the first thing I saw in my feed was a video shared by J.b. Fisher (thanks, dude). I'm not even sure why I opened it, to be honest. The only reason I even logged in was to find a picture of my cat saved in my album.

Depression is a monster, there's no telling what it'll have in store for you from day to day. I was reawakened, even if only for this moment, by this video to participate in the world today.  This made me feel connected to and inspired by life. It depicts the sweetest, most natural and genuine love imaginable using no words. Honestly. I am certain this is the most beautiful thing I have seen. My heart paused. I hope you all find a quiet moment where the world isn't whizzing by to breathe and take this in. And I hope you enjoy this as much as I have.

Kiss Kiss...









Tuesday, August 4, 2015

I, Carly, Can't Fucking Stand You!

Oh, Charles and David, you refuse to see what you are doing. I would be embarrassed for you, probably, if I considered you human beings. It kills me how gullible you think Americans are. I wonder if your present Trump debacle will be the thing to make you finally reconsider your motives? Maybe it will be the miserable support found for the sheep in skins of color or the sheep in the skirt? I don't know but I feel confident that by the end of this week you will start to realize that the dynasty you have created built on a foundation of dog shit has finally been assessed at a fair market value.



Today Carly Fiorina is the one to earn my ire. She is hard to take seriously because I know that she will not be in the race much longer, but the fact that she is only out there because she is a woman is the thing I can't bear. Really? You think the government should be shut down if the Regressives don't get their way in defunding Planned Parenthood? You don't give a shit about fetuses. I'm sure you don't give a shit about children. Shut the fuck up.

The (not so) funny thing is, they hear confidence coming from a woman and determine she would be a great way to get votes for the GOP because they think that is what we little ladies are looking for. Of course, we are wiser than they give us credit for (and we can open our own pickle jars, too) and the confidence they hear is the condescension we receive.

As Ed O'Keefe, a commentator on the Fox cable channel with the word 'news' in its title tells us, Carly Fiorina is the perfect candidate to oppose Hillary Clinton. She can 'distinguish herself' because of qualities none of the others in the vast GOP field have. Apparently, the rest lack ovaries? And mammaries? I don't even know a single variant beyond that and O'Keefe doesn't offer any.



I knew and cared little about Fiorina until May when she went to South Carolina to hold a press event outside of a speech held by Secretary Clinton. I can't believe that her objective was to embarrass herself, but I also can't tell you what else she accomplished, either.  I won't call it a nasty tactic, because Clinton does it often. The difference is, of course, people actually want to hear what Clinton has to say. Who are the imbeciles that planned this catastrophe? Nevermind... Its the same ones who believe that we need to have a woman on the right in order to feel like we are respected over there, too (regardless of what comes out of the mouths of all on the right, including their women?).

While on her trip to South Carolina to prove her irrelevance, I saw her interview with Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC live and found myself screaming at the television telling Mitchell how to follow up. Fortunately, she heard me (wink). First Fiorina rambled on about how all of the candidates on the right had to answer the question about Iraq (remember the one Jeb fumbled over repeatedly?) and that no one bothered to ask Clinton that question. And she has avoided discussing Iraq. Dumbass.

Then, this woman whose hubris helps her fit comfortably into the 2016 candidate field, tells us that Secretary Clinton isn't qualified to run for President even though she has been a Senator and Secretary of State by offering us, "Titles are just titles and talk is just talk." This from a woman who reminds us about her having been a failed CEO (she doesn't remind of the 'failed' bit, of course) of a major Fortune 500 company.

See Interview Here


What, I can only assume, these people on the right don't understand, is the fact that a woman who blinks her eyes and bobs her head constantly while the other person in the conversation is speaking means that she is both not listening to what the other person is saying because she is impatiently waiting for them to shut up so she can counter whatever it is she thinks they will end up having said once they're through, and she has already assessed her superiority over that other person. As a woman, I won't try to speak for all of us but I am certainly better qualified to do so than any GOP strategist, I can tell you that when you put that on the television and ask me to get excited that I could have a chance at leadership by that type of woman, I will reply with a resounding, "Ummmm. No!," like most women, I'm sure. Again, that is only the intelligent among us. Those sheep you have wrangled on the right who thought Palin was a good idea because she was all 'mavericky' and shit, they might want to be talked down to, but I bet even they won't like her much, either.

Here, in an interview with Mika Brzezinski of Morning Joe, which I will startlingly give respect to Mika for actually being the hardass she should be, Fiorina explains her profound superiority over Clinton because of her 'track record.' She condemns Clinton for really having had no accomplishments and dismisses the fact that Fiorina, herself, was fired from Hewlett Packard and the stories surrounding that. Her contention was that she was a profound success there because, shit, I can't type the whole thing, she basically offered a lot of statistics and numbers of percentages of growth which were all in direct correlation to the fact that she fired 90,000 human beings to create those profits. David and Charles, I know that you sincerely do not understand the minds of those in America who aren't your sheep, but I will offer you a hint and hope you don't use it against my people in the future: We are not fucking idiots. We can listen to her prattle on about statistics and understand that it is all due to scores of thousands of people being unemployed. We are on the left. We are here because we actually give a shit about other people. You will not get any of us to vote for your side if you offer us your talking points in a skirt. Only your selected base lacks the capacity to crest that shallow depth.




Over the last few weeks I have heard countless pundits from the right opine as to the necessity of having Carly Fiorina in the debates (I can only assume that's why the ball licking lap dogs at the National Review gave her the cover last week) because otherwise Americans might be offended by the idea of a group of 10 men all attacking the left's leader, a woman, Secretary Clinton. God. Damn. We are still stuck on that female hysteria, huh? Roll in a fainting couch, get us our smelling salts and I'm sure we will get through it okay. In fact, I imagine she will still come out looking better than all of those doing the attacking because, regardless of whether or not anyone wants to acknowledge it, the country is growing more tired by the day of having unsubstantiated rumors come out and linger for years after having been disproved. Americans who are mindful of the absolute mess the Regressives have created and continue to manipulate are finding it hard to listen to them continue to blame President Obama, and Secretaries Kerry and Clinton for failings which clearly came from the right. As we continue to educate our brothers and sisters, you all on the right will have to start with some new tactics. 

Might I offer some suggestions? Start with giving us women to admire (I can't imagine there being one in a party that promotes and perpetuates patriarchy, but maybe you have some I haven't heard of.). Build your party out of politicians with actual ideas instead of threatening them to offer us yours because we actually know they are too afraid to say otherwise. It makes it hard to take any of them seriously when they just spent the weekend trying to win your favor. Find a platform that isn't necessarily from the left, but at least not as far right as one can go without actually starting to bring to mind the atrocities of those hardest right regimes of the last century. Never forget, the left will always be smarter than your lot. And unless you decide to veer farther right and try to amend that the way your predecessors on the far right have done, you will have to start behaving as if your opposition is going to catch on and foil your every move. It really is all falling apart for you now. And you created this. All of it. You built a movement built solely on hate. You allowed that movement to hijack the Republican party. You forced so many distractions as to negate many of the accomplishments of the right. And you created the long list of those they were supposed to hate out of all of the other people in the country, which alienated too many (Hitler, lets just say, took more time with the same plan and had many more people who fit in his 'collective'). Fucking progress! Goddamned melting pot! I know, guys, but take solace in this, you are both in your twilight years and will be gone soon. It always makes me feel better, anyway.

Kiss Kiss,
Mean Progressive



Sunday, August 2, 2015

It Is Our Time


As mothers, we fight for the Black Lives Matter movement because they are all our babies and it is nonsense that anyone could think otherwise. As mothers, we fight for the LGBT community because they are all our babies and no one should dismiss them. We fight for everyone. We forget to fight for ourselves.

Tomorrow the Senate is going to vote to get rid of funding for Planned Parenthood. This is a VERY BIG deal. This is the womens movement. This is their attempt to get abortion on the agenda and to take away healthcare for American women. Last week Mike Huckabee suggested he would do anything he could to stop abortions and when asked if that meant using the FBI or federal troops to stop abortions, he said the use of troops to enforce was not out of the question. Abortion is legal. It has been legal for 40 years now. It is a right for women.


Is that what it would look like if a woman wanted to get an abortion in Mike Huckabee's world? Is this an acceptable idea? We have to speak out. We must demand that our rights are not disposable. I would never have an abortion. I had a choice when I had my daughter. Having been adopted and knowing how hard it is to grow up adopted, I knew I couldnt make that choice. Because of the way my brain works I knew I couldnt have and abortion. I knew that I would beat myself up for the rest of my life and focus on the "what ifs" until I made myself crazy. I chose to have a child. I CHOSE to allow the fetus inside of me to grow into a human being that I gave life to. THAT WAS MY CHOICE. No one can take any of the choices away from women. I will fight for the rest of my life to make sure that all women have the right to decide what is best for them and what to do with their own bodies.


Tomorrow the Senate is going to vote to get rid of funding for Planned Parenthood, their biggest target for their War on Women. They have threatened to shut down the government. They use Planned Parenthood as a boogey man. The monies that Planned Parenthood uses from the government goes toward cancer screenings, sex education, protection, and health care for women.   All of the things they provide enable women to make healthy choices about their bodies and their families. This is what the Regressive party wants to take away from us.

We are treated as children. We are the mothers of this country. We are the mothers of the politicians who demand we should not have a right to make our own choices with family planning. Today we have a right to our own bodies, it has been in question since we decided it was so and it became legal, but it is legal. And it is our right regardless of how other people see it. They simply must not be allowed to take our rights away.



Please do not confuse this as anything other than a very deliberate attack on womens rights. There are many things in the news this weekend that are interesting. Please do not let any of them distract you from the one issue that you can have a voice in. Demand that your Senator know your view. Demand that this issue is not about abortions but about womens rights. Demand that as a woman you will not accept anything other than a "Nay" vote which is the only way your Senator can actually represent their constituency. Planned Parenthood offers healthcare to millions of women. We are demanding that all Senators represent all women.

The best way we have is to fight by demanding the Senators actually think about the women they are supposed to be representing. Email, tweet or go on the Facebook page of your Senators. Let them know and all of the people who follow them that you demand your rights be protected. Give other people in their tweets or on their Facebook page something to think about. I also suggest contacting the big corporate donors who support Planned Parenthood and demanding that they compel the Senators represent women properly.



That is all that this is about. This is not about anyone wanting to 'save lives.' This is just another attempt to take away the rights of women. These are the same leaders who have yet to allow the ERA to pass. Please fight. Today. Compel others to do the same. Our rights must be part of the revolution we are finally seeing in America! We can fight for our babies of color and our babies in the LGBT community while we fight for ourselves, too. This is the chance. NOW is the time.