“Where the preamble declares that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the word ‘Jesus Christ,’ so that it should read ‘a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion.’ The insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan [Muslim], the Hindoo, and infidel of every denomination.”
– Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826), third president of the United States, author of the Declaration of Independence
Tags: Quotes
Monsters
A lifeless mechanical roar
in the dark
growing closer.
Parting the trees on an asphalt path.
Not just children dream of monsters
or hear them in the night.
Four Wisconsin women have walked away from a sex crime with little more than a slap on the wrist. After one, a former or current lover lured the married man to a hotel room binding him to the bed and slapping him she enlisted the aid of her sister, another of the married man’s lovers and his wife to assault and humiliated him before gluing his genitals to his stomach. The assault ended when the man freed himself from his bonds and the women fled.
This story has been discussed, snickered over and featured in several papers and on the internet with sometimes humorous headlines and reader comments. Now, I like jokes as much as the next person and I appreciate someone receiving their just desserts…still…that’s not what this was. What these women did was a crime.
Imagine a spurned male lover binding a woman to a bed, slapping her, then texting his brother, yet another man and her husband to join him in humiliating her before gluing shut her vagina. I am sure few people would choose to make sport of her and excuse the actions of those men as a humorous bit of revenge.
Male victims of domestic abuse and rape seldom come forward. Is it a wonder when so many, including the court in this case, view female on male violence as a joke or in this case righteous indignation for philandering gone too far?
The participants, of course now say they are “extremely sorry” and that “we got caught up in something bad.” Can you imagine four men who participated in a sex crime offering that sort of an apology and explanation walking away without jail time? Even the judge acknowledged that men facing such charges would likely face prison. All four have walked away with a sentence of one year of probation, community service and it seems a smirk on their faces but that’s okay because it’s funny when women commit sex crimes against men right?
Tags: Farther Afield:News
Oranges on a winter morning.
The cat curling into your arms while you sit in the sun.
Laughter
Chili cheese dogs
New socks
Being kissed the first time…and all the kisses after that.
Moonlight
Water…drinking it, floating in it…hearing it babble…
Ummm
What is good?
Tags: Random Babbles
“It is not the function of Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error.”
– Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954), U.S. Judge
Tags: Quotes
“I would like like a peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich please Grandma.”
Tags: Quotes
A four year old Texas boy has been barred from pre-kindergarten classes because his hair is too long? Have people gone mad?
The Dallas Morning News told the story of little Taylor Pugh that prompted this post. There is a link to the story below that includes a photo of Taylor. He is a cute child with a goofy cap of dark brown hair and a sweet smile. Because of the length of his hair he is sent out of his classroom daily after attendance to be instructed in the library and has been barred from enjoying recess with his fellow students.
The Mesquite ISD isn’t saying whether the child will spend his entire school year in the library isolated from his fellow students. School district spokeswoman Laura Jobe is quoted saying, “If this child’s hair was cut according to our guidelines, none of this would be necessary.”
Obey, comply or else…
Give me a break. This is about petty bureaucrats who are mad with power imposing a dress code that quashes individuality and teaches children to bow to power or be cast out.
Does anyone remember how offensive the uniformed society of Chairman Mao was to freedom loving Americans? I do and I am alarmed that so few others do. Obey, do not resist, do not question authority….dress alike, answer the standardized tests with the approved answer, and walk in lock step.
No wonder this country is headed steadily downward in educational standards as children are pushed through like sheep all while being told individual expression even in dress or hair cut, style and length is unacceptable.
Childhood is a time to experiment and learn, to try on different roles sets of friends and activities, to create and to find ones self. He is four and he likes his hair. Children are silly creatures. If let alone the child may choose to buzz cut it or grow it to his knees. Why does that upset so many adults? Perhaps because in their work a day, follow the rules misery this child, or any child, not following the rules reminds them of their own lost freedom?
The kid will has lifetime of rules to comply with in the future as do we all but who says it will be in a suit and tie? If people like the folks at Mesquite ISD have their way maybe all our futures will be spent in a government issued uniform with approved haircuts?
Link to the story by KAREL HOLLOWAY kholloway@dallasnews.com / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/tv/stories/DN-meshair_16met.ART.State.Edition2.4be91f6.html
Tags: Farther Afield:Politics
I think a plate of left over turkey and stuffing is perhaps the finest meal of the fall season. It’s a reward for a day spent cooking that allows the cook to enjoy their own work in a way they cannot on Thanksgiving Day.
Our dinner yesterday was terrific. All the standards were on the table. Eighteen pounds of turkey, two large bowls of stuffing one cooked in the bird the other in a baking dish, mashed potatoes, my son-in-law’s home made green bean casserole, biscuits, gravy and a greek vegetable salad. For dessert there were three kinds of pumpkin pie. Pie is quite important to my family.
It’s not Thanksgiving without my Aunt Millie’s pumpkin chiffon pie. When I was newly married she taught me to make it and now my children are making it as well. About five years ago that pie and our love of all pies spawned Dessert Wars! Each year all of my three children claimed to make the best pie and did! Their pie making was out of control. They weren’t just making pumpkin chiffon anymore but also pumpkin cheese cake and pumpkin walnut too. After every Thanksgiving dinner I was expected to try and as evenly as possible praise each pie.
I wasn’t Mom anymore I became a negotiator. Our Dessert Wars were making my waistline expand as well as forcing me to attempt to be neutral in the wars (something not easily done) and I had to do something! The dessert table wasn’t big enough for nine plus pies and neither was my tummy. No more nine pie Thanksgivings I told them. It was time to call a truce in Dessert Wars….but how?
Calls were exchanged each child trying to win support for their pie making in order to secure the coveted position of Thanksgiving pie maker. They called each other pleading their case. Who was the best pie maker was just one bit of the conversation. Time, cost, children, ease of transporting the pie…all these things were discussed with seriousness and humor in an effort to gain concessions from the other.
Finally it was decided my middle daughter Rebecca would make the pie this year but only if her older sister Lijana could bring her pies to Christmas dinner. My son Seth upon hearing of this agreement told me none of that matter; he too would make pie. I still had work to do. I needed a different approach though. How could I dissuade him from making pie too? I decided on a strategy. I would lavish praise on his cooking skills and suggest that he might make the best mashed potatoes in the family.
It worked! We were down to just three pies. Now, here I am enjoying our leftovers and the last slice of pie. It’s not just pie though. It’s a lifetime of memories, it’s our families silly competitive nature, it’s humor and seriousness, it’s those hours we spent in the kitchen and over the dinner table, it’s those of us who are no longer with us at the table but who will forever be with us in our hearts….it is all the things that we are thankful for.
Tags: Close to home