So you wanna know what Peanut's been up to?

Hmmmm, let's see: throwing chairs, hiding himself under or in furniture when he's mad, teaching everyone in class how to say "F-U-C-K you" in sign language, telling a classmate that he's going to "blast him with his dad's new assault rifle" and hmmm, so far I think that's it.

He's continuously rude in Spanish class yet I refuse to pull him out of it since that's what he wants. Tuesday Peanut and Classmate went to the guidancance counselor for a "Friendship Meeting" where they were then assigned to each other for the rest of the week.

What did my son say to his teacher upon returning back to class? "It's okay Ms. S. because it's Tuesday and there are only 3 more days in the week."

Here's the break down:

The Friday before spring break, which was 3 weeks ago today, he got mad at another classmate, yelled in said classmate's face then picked up and threw a chair. He wasn't throwing it at anyone, but it did bounce and almost hit another classmate in the face. Peanut was punished but since that weekend he went to stay with his dad, it didn't do much good.

Last week he got in a scuffle with another classmate (J.) because Peanut was playing with a little blue army dude when J. asked to play with it. Apparently Peanut was irritated with him because his little blue army dude said, "I don't like black people." Peanut tried passing this off to me as, "But I didn't say it, my blue guy did." That didn't fly naturally because it was merely an act of deflection by proxy, using the blue guy to say what Peanut knew he wouldn't be allowed to say otherwise.

Needless to say, I was pissed so we had a discussion. I asked him how that possibly made J. feel when he said that and (thankfully) Peanut replied with, "Sad. And kinda mad."

I then asked Peanut how he would have felt had J. said he didn't like Phillipino people. He cried, "But he did say that to me!" So I said, "Tell a teacher!" (I'm getting real tired of saying this to him, seriously.)

Essentially, Peanut knew what he said was bad and apologized.

However, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week presented it's own problems.

Monday - I can't remember right now because my memory is being consumed by the gun threat. I'll read his agenda and get back to you on this.

Tuesday he decided to threaten J. by saying, "I'm gonna blast you with my dad's new assault rifle." J. shot back, "Fine, I'll just chop your head off." Both sent to a "Friendship meeting" with the school's Guidance Counselor and principal and, thankfully, Peanut was not suspended. When I found out of course, I was not pleased. My exhusband does indeed have an assault rifle which makes me extremely nervous because there is no real reason to own one if you don't hunt or live in a rural setting. Ex lives in Virginia Beach which is completely suburban. I'm trying to figure out how to make him get rid of it but he does keep them locked up and they all have trigger locks when Peanut is at his house; he choose to show it to Peanut that first weekend after purchasing it. (This also brings up the question: if he can buy an assault rifle, why is he bouncing his child support checks and why is his house almost uninhabitable?) Needless to say, Peanut was grounded to his room and was not allowed to play with anyone or anything. He was not happy but I told him tough shit.

Wednesday found him, after lunch, standing in the middle of class, holding his middle finger up and informing everyone that it meant the *f-word* in sign language. Then he spelled it for them, but he didn't actually say it. Did spelling instead of speaking it save him from having to drink two teaspoons of vinegar Wednesday afternoon when we got home? Hells no. And he was grounded to his room again.

After the sign language lesson, he asked Ms. S. if he could play with blocks and when she told him no, that playing was a privilege he had lost, he threw a chair again and stomped into the closet.

*sigh*

Yesterday was a better day, but he was extremely rude in Spanish class again. I keep telling him that if he'd sit and pay attention, it wouldn't be so boring.

Also, when Ms. S. asked Peanut why he listened so well in her class, but was awful for Ms. W. and the Spanish teacher, he said, "Because you're just the best teacher ever!"

So I have a suck up for a 1st grader.

We've been going back to the Talk Dr., too, and Monday is our 2nd appt. We have one each week all through May because she's going to be gone all of June so hopefully this helps work something (or whatever it is) out.
Keep reading....

Friday Dog Blogging: Look! Two Babies in a Bed! version

This is how I found them Wednesday morning. Aren't they the cutest? Echo (the black with pink collar) has a thing for licking the other 2 dogs' faces. They let her for the most part, but it can be annoying. Storm is the Old Lady and can't use her back legs much, hence the new dog bed.

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Friday Random Ten: Damnit, I Have to Start Over Edition

So my GoGear wasn't cooperating just now. When I went to go back to the first song played, it went back to the main list even though I didn't push that button. Because I was only half paying attention, I hit the arrow to Shuffle All again so it started over. Lucky me. Michael Jackson was on the first list and since my brain can't remember the first 10 songs played by itself (because at least 20 more have played since then :), he most likely won't be on the 2nd time.

1. Random by Lady Sovereign
2. Colors by Amos Lee (if you have not heard him, do!)
3. Don't Know How by Joss Stone
4. Party Starter by Will Smith (very catchy)
5. Rush by Aly & AJ (my neice absolutely loves this cd)
6. Airplane by the Indigo Girls
7. Ash and Smoke on the LOTR soundtrack
8. Brandenburg Con No. 3 by Bach
9. Lady Margaret by Cassie Franklin (from the Cold Mountain soundtrack)
10. Love is All We Need by Mary J. Blige
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Imagine me this.

What if you walked out of your house one morning and everything had been bombed out while you were trying to sleep? Bombs that disturb your life and your livelihood.

What if rebels stormed into your home, destroying everything, shooting any men and boys then raping the women and girls?

What if there were thousands of children known as night commuters who walk several miles each night just to be able to sleep safely?

What if you witnessed every member of your family being killed in war by some military or another?

What if you were Arab and fleeing for your life because the non-Arab eradicators wanted you gone even if it means (especially so) by death?

What if your government said no to helping you and your family fight the spread of AIDS?

What if your children kept dying from a disease that could have been prevented had your government allowed funds to be used for more important things than war or oil? Or if the president had listened and allowed himself to believe the scientific data backing these prevention methods.

What if your children were being taken to fight in an army?

What if your children were being stolen to become a child solider and/or sex slave?

What if you had a president who once said, "Not on my watch," but has totally ignored the mass genocide and holocaust going on throughout much of Africa right now?

These are a lot of "what if's...." but in at least one country around the world, all of it is happening right now as we sit safely at our computers and read various blogs, news reports or find out the latest on Angelina Jolie and whether or not she's going to give birth in Africa.

We are a society steeped in complacency.

Which is why I recommend attending a Save Darfur rally this Sunday in a town/city near you. I'm heading up to DC Sunday afternoon right after lunch because I don't have a good enough reason not to.
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Ever wonder what a manatee sounds like?

Well now you can find out by visiting the Save the Manatee Club website.

If you're like me, you're probably asking yourself, "They make noise?" What is perhaps the most intriguing is how a mammal so big to be called a sea cow can make such high pitched noises.

Go have some fun listening to all the different calls, I did. And if you feel so inclined, you can adopt one, too.
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Urban vs. Surburban vs. Rural

Since living where I do currently, I readily admit that I will either live in a very urban or very rural environment due to the sense of community. Everybody waves to one another where I live and Little League games are a Big Deal. I like knowing that if needed, the town would rally behind me. It's a very old-fashioned community and very republican, but none of that matters when your house just caught fire or you're broke down in the middle of town.

The same thing goes for the more urban parts of Richmond. I don't worry about running out of gas in The Fan because I know a gas station (or two) is within walking distance, food is right around the corner and finally they are realizing real street lamps are a good investment.

My feel from the suburbs is that everyone turns off their porch light at night, therefore effectively ignoring those around them. While I don't like my neighbors up my ass, I don't want them to be complete strangers to the rest of the world either. When I lived in Virginia Beach, which is one big suburb, we knew our neighbors and hung out with them often. But many of those in the neighborhood ignored everyone else. (I do remember a lady who rented the house next to us moved after 1 year because we made her life hell, :)

In case you're wondering where this is coming from, see Amanda's post on why she now wants to read a book by Jane Jacobs, Dean Dad's review of it (link within post) and her thoughts on the premise of the book. It's convinced me to read the book as well. Jane Jacobs seems to give us a very good reason to stop urban sprawl which I've been for since, well, forever.
Keep reading....

I've been linked!

Belle Waring of Crooked Timber
Carnival of Feminists XIII
Crohn's and Colitis Disease LJ Community

All linked back to me. It's kind of exciting.

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Well whadaya fucking know

Women are blamed for everything especially when we're raped and killed by someone else because we didn't exercise common sense. What-thefuck-ever.

Take the author of this enlightening op-ed piece found in the Wall Street Journal recently, which was written by a woman:

A police investigation has confirmed that on the night of her murder, Ms. St. Guillen was last seen in a bar, alone and drinking at 3 a.m. on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It does not diminish Mr. Littlejohn's guilt or the tragedy of Ms. St. Guillen's death to note what more than a few of us have been thinking--that a 24-year-old woman should know better.

It's the same argument really: I'm not blaming the victim, but....

Of course the woman should have known better since she's the weaker of the two sexes and can't adequately defend herself against a more powerful adversary. Of course it's the woman's fault for a man raping, mutilating and eventually brutally murdering her even though she most certainly can't control anyone else’s actions other than her own. Of course it was Imette's fault because, damn it, women should know better than to freely associate in public especially at 3am. And *gasp* she was drinking, too.

If you have attended college any time in the past 20 years, you will have heard that if a woman is forced against her will to have sex, it is "not her fault" and that women always have the right to "control their own bodies."

Sadly no, I really don't hear this enough and I work right here on campus. There are phones everywhere with yellow flashing lights above them, but there is no education about rape and sexual assault. We just get help afterward.

Nothing could be truer.

I'm just pointing this out because I want to scream, "Nothing could be more true you dumbass. Truer is not a word." I understand that dictionary.com says it is, but I think someone was smoking something that day.

Yet I digress. It only gets better from here on out, I promise.

But the administrators who utter these sentiments and the feminists who inspire them rarely note which situations are conducive to keeping that control and which threaten it. They rarely discuss what to do to reduce the likelihood of a rape. Short of re-educating men, that is.

I am unaware of any differences. Isn't it rape when someone forces you to have sex regardless of when or where it happened or who the perpetrator was? We feminists discuss what to do to reduce the likelihood of rape all the time. We also talk about how it's unfortunate that we have to *at-risk* ourselves because the other half of society refuses to control themselves and then take responsibility when they lose that control. In an ideal world women and men would be trusted at all times. But damn if its mostly men who rape and she (the author) apparently believes re-educating them would be just silly.

(about the Duke rape case)Which explanation is most credible? Perhaps it doesn't matter. Whatever the problem is, it won't be fixed this year or possibly ever, even with best sorts of attitude adjustment. Perhaps the law of averages says that, with 14 million men in U.S. colleges today, a few of them will be rapists. What to do? For starters: Be wary of drunken house parties.

The law of averages also suggests that a woman is raped and/or sexually assaulted every 7 minutes or that 1 out of 7 women will be raped and/or sexually assaulted in her lifetime. And that, on college campuses, those numbers get higher. No number is set in stone, however, because so many rapes/sexual assaults go unreported because of the social stigma placed on a woman's supposed responsibility. You know, that we should have known better and utilized our common sense function.

I would like to address the beginnings of a double standard in that paragraph. Why is it men can go to drunken house parties, knowing or unknowingly, yet its women who need to be careful? Again I ask how on this fucking planet can I control another man's action toward me regardless of my sobriety level. I've been in plenty more sticky situations sober than drunk doncha know. Especially since most rapes/sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows. Horny uncle's anyone? Brothers? Grandfathers? Step-dads?

The odd thing is that feminism may be partly to blame. Time magazine reporter Barrett Seaman explains that many of the college women he interviewed for his book "Binge" (2005) "saw drinking as a gender equity issue; they have as much right as the next guy to belly up to the bar." Leaving biology aside--most women's bodies can't take as much alcohol as men's--the fact of the matter is that men simply are not, to use the phrase of another generation, "taken advantage of" in the way women are.

Feminism is to blame for women getting raped while intoxicated because my foremothers told them they could do anything a man could do, including getting drunk in public. Feminism is to blame because my foremothers have given us all a false sense of security.

Jeebus fucking crispus. Can we get anymore off the wire?

Why can't a woman head out to a bar for a few drinks like the men do? Because our common sense should tell us that a guy might try to rape us. Doesn't this argument, spurious as it is, seem to come full circle and disprove Naomi’s own, mostly illogical, point?

Naomi essentially offers up the notion that men can't be trusted to control themselves so women need to exercise enough common sense and self-control for both genders. Sounds a little like double-consciousness to me, eh? We, as women, have to know what a man is going to do at all times in order to be ready for something like rape. Add to that the notion of black/hispanic/asian women needing to be aware of themselves not just as women, but as women of color. Fun. No free association for us because we have to watch the men in the dark corner of the room all night just to be sure!

I would also like to ask: What about a man's common sense? At what point is he implored to exercise his own critical thinking skills when approaching a woman? And at what point should he begin recognizing sobriety levels in both himself and the woman along with her cognizant ability to say yes?

(For another rebuttal to Ms. Naomi's asinine argument, see Women's ENews. It's a good and one that directed me to the op-ed to begin with. It was so preposterous I needed to write up a reply on my own. Here's an interesting article written back in 2003 on why, In sexual assault cases, athletes usually walk which is highly relevant in the Duke case.)
Keep reading....

Adios mio. Oy. Jinkys.

Bush is so thoughtful he somehow thinks reducing environmental restrictions on gas will save people like me from paying $42.00 for 14.5 gallons every 4 days. He needs to perhaps grow himself a clue.

Who'd a thought Canada would actually agree with the US in its decision to bar the media from covering the return of 4 flag-drapped coffins; soldiers who were killed in Iraq?

And for shit's sake, because this is stupid, why on my Mother's green earth is Britney Spears pregnant again? Especially with plenty of wannabe mom's out there who'd do a much better job. Is that wrong of me to call her a bad mom? Perhaps it's based on the fact that, in all the pictures of Sean Preston, his nanny is within arms reach even if Britney is standing right there. I guess it's because I am a single mom and I got to do all that infant stuff myself. It's like when Gwenyth Paltrow decided to get a nanny for Apple because raising kids was "just too hard." Come into my world for a day then tell me about hard!

Even if she isn't (Britney that is), shouldn't someone tell her that DH left his previous girlfriend with 2 small children also? His life is obviously meant to be footloose and fancy free so muddling it up with children, and perhaps condoms, just makes it not worth living. Apparently.

(I'm going to crawl back into my safe knitted hole now.)
Keep reading....

Here's a thought

When you see a woman who is significantly older then you, who is obviously operating off a fixed income because she is counting out change in order to buy a bottle of dishwashing liquid and you're standing there with a $20 bill in your hand for purchases that totaled just under $10....

Offer to buy the damn soap for her. Help her out a little. After all, isn't it our civic and societal duty to help our neighbors when society fails to do so?

Of course I will admit that I didn't offer because I was too busy being irritated at the woman in front of me who definitely had the means to help out more than I did.

Argh.
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Shawl #1 is done!

It wasn't that hard really and I had it done in about a week. I used a 5 75 yard hanks of a yarn called Victoria Songbird from The Great Adirondack Yarn Company in NY. It's wonderful stuff and I really hope my boss loves it as much as I do. The pattern was CO 2, next row K1, YO, knit to end then repeat just like that until you use 4 balls of choosen yarn, saving the last ball for fringe.

Now it's on to finishing the monkey and beginning Shawl #2 (in a flower petal pattern) for a co-worker. Yay!
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I'm not dead yet either.

But really, who needs to read anything on their own when fellow blogger friends provide you with links to more stupid people around the nation?

Take a certain Judge in Miami for instance. He dismissed a woman's lawsuit against World Wide Red Light for invasion of privacy on the grounds that, if she stays anonymous then her privacy hasn't been invaded. Wanna know what the lawyer for WW said? I bet you're waiting with bated breath.

She's not a child, she's not abused. She can't claim invasion of privacy because this tape was made in the presence of others.

Are you saying wtf, too? Because that's the first thing that came out of my mouth. You know what; you don't have to make this shit up anymore because our lovely judicial system does it for us. Oh wait, it seems to be men who mostly make this shit up because we women are just Others.

Now on to other stupid men.

A 76-year old man claiming to be a doctor went door-to-door in a FL neighborhood offering free breast exams. And two women let him in. The man was being his natural predacious self, I understand that. Maybe because of his age he didn't know he was supposed to behave; I've known many a dirty old man who think they can get away with it because they are older.

I would like to believe this but I'm not stupid (at least most of the time anyway though I'm sure I have my moments). Seriously though, any man professing to be a doctor, who comes to the front door of my house offering free breast exams is creepy and raises all sorts of red flags. I’m very thankful he only made it to the 3rd woman before his previous victims got smart and called the police. Now he'll be enjoying his retirement in jail.

And because we can't stop with a judge and perverted old man, we'll move on to University!

Baylor University in Waco, TX has banned its female athletes from posing for Playboy.

I like what a student of the Uni said personally:

One woman, who professed no desire to pose for Playboy, said Baylor officials had "more important things to worry about" and wondered if male students would face similar punishment if they were seen reading an issue of Playboy featuring Baylor women.

There is much more to worry about with regards to students and safe campuses so it's only telling that posing for Playboy draws the administrations attention as opposed to those who read it. I think it's because the board/administration is mostly, if not all, white men who like to partake in the viewing pleasures of Playboy now and again. We wouldn't want them to ban themselves now would we?
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Friday Dog Blogging: "I'm tired so just look at the pretty pictures" edition

We had to retrieve Shia from the ball field across the street again. Thank heavens she's such a nice dog so strangers receive her well. I have no idea what they're looking at here but I thought it was so cute.

For a cat who is supposed to be at least 13 years old now, she sure loves to play. A lot. With anything she can get her furry little paws on. This includes my yarn and needles when I'm sitting at the desk trying to knit, too.

Phantom, our dark calico, has been coming upstairs a lot more but I think its been mostly to stalk Ms. Kitty as she finally attempts to assert herself. So I'm sure you'll be seeing more of Phantom as she allows me to photograph her (which is highly unlikely because none of the cats really seem to care about me, only my sister).

Keep reading....

Damn, you can tell it's spring!

I've been fairly busy at work because it's nearing the end of the academic year which is when we recruit, recruit, recruit. And we've added a summer genetics internship to our roster, too, so we've been getting things set up with that. Oh, did I mention that progress reports on our grants our due in a few weeks and one of our grants is ending (thank fucking god)? So I've been busy.

Shrine Mont is almost upon us, too, plus I've agreed to help another friend put together a Christian youth conference called New Beginnings which will be happening one month from now. Since it's mostly a last minute group (kids ya know), the work is just now officially starting. Then I have the beautiful huskies I spend a lot of my afternoons with, the women's shelter and a kid so, wow, I'm busy.

But I really like it this way doncha know. I love all the work I'm doing and wouldn't trade it for the world. Not even for all the stupid people who should never own a pet of any sort.

I do have a post in the works that hopefully I'll get up today while I'm at work. I head to an overnight gig with the Shrine Mont gang later this evening after I drop Peanut off early with his dad so I'll be busy until Saturday afternoon.

Oh! I forgot to mention that I also have a new manfriend who you all know as NASCAR Nut. I don't give a shit for NASCAR - I can't even pretend to be interested. But I let him have his fun and he let's me have mine, hehe. Besides, who can turn down a guy who loves animals as much as I do? He does do some other things that I'll just keep to myself. We were going to head out to Kings Dominion tomorrow but damned if the weather ain't gonna be shitty. But who knows, maybe we'll be wrong. It sure as hell wouldn't be the first and I'm definitely sure it won't be the last.

On the other hand, my sister reminded me of something my niece said a while back:

She told Peanut she was going to college because there are better playgrounds there.

A few weeks ago, Peanut asked me this:

Mom, when we move out by ourselves, can we adapt a husky of our very own?

Doncha just love kids?

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Friday Random Ten: It's raining on my weekend of fun edition

We really need the rain so I'm not totally complaining but I was looking forward to going to Kings Dominion tomorrow afternoon without kids. Oh well.

1. Expression by Salt-N-Pepa
2. Come as you Are by Brandy
3. Don't Let Go by En Vogue
4. Nobody's Home by Avril Lavigne
5. Poeme de l'Amour et de la Mer, Op.19: Interlude (this is part of the cd For Your Soul so I 6. can't remember the artist/composer)
7. Seen it all Before by Amos Lee (if you've never heard of him, you must hear him)
8. Somewhere in Between by Lifehouse
9. Ash and Smoke from the LOTR soundtrack
10. Brandernburg Concerto #2, Movement #1 by Bach

Bonus track: Cleanin' Out my Closet by Eminem - a lot of his songs really are good but of course there are also some I choose to ignore.
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Dear Mr. President

2Pac, 4NonBlondes, Master P and Pink (hers being the most recent) have each written songs as public letters to various Presidents and each are worthy of the cost to download.

Witness 2Pac:

"Letter To The President"

Uhh.. dear Mr. President
Whas happenin?
I'm writin you because, shit is still real fucked up in my neighborhood
Pretty much the same way, right around the time when you got elected
Ain't nothin changed
All the promises you made, before you got elected....
they ain't came true
***Me and my homies is wonderin'...what's goin on?
Holla...

[2Pac
Tell me what to do, these niggaz actin up in the hood
Send mo' troops, dear Mr. President
(Me and my homies is wonderin what's goin on.. holla!)
Tell me what to do, these niggaz actin up in the hood
Send mo' troops..

Why should I lie, when I can dramatize?
Niggaz fell victim to my lyrics, now traumatized
Simply by spittin I've been blessed given riches, enemies suspicious
cause I'm seldom in the company of bitches
Plus the concepts I depict, so visual, that you can kiss
each and every trick or bitch, inside the shit I kick
My heaviest verse'll move a mountain
Casualties in mass amounts, brothers keep countin
Fuck the friendships, I ride alone
Destination Death Row, finally found a home
Plus all my homies wanna die, call it euthanasia
Dear Lord, look how sick this ghetto made us, sincerely
yours I'm a thug, the product of a broken home
Everybody's doped up, nigga what you smokin on?
Figure if we high they can train us
but then America fucked up and blamed us
I guess it's cause we black that we targets
My only fear is God, I spit that hard shit
In case you don't know, I let my pump go
Get ?ride for M'Thulu? like I ride for Geronimo
Down to die, for everything I represent
Meant every word, in my letter to the President

Dear Mr. President, tell me what to do
These niggaz actin up in the hood, send mo' troops
(What should I do?)
Dear Mr. President, tell me what to do
These niggaz actin up in the hood, send mo' troops

[E.D.I. Amin]
Oh youse a ball in the White House, I hope you comfortable
cause yo I spend my nights out, with the lights out
under the safety of darkness, amongst the crazed and the heartless
first sent at in a all and div troops
and young soul bros, ready to rode a starship
Launch it, leave a nigga flat for scratch, the Godless
I gotta get chips, but you can't understand that
Wanna ban rap? Stand back, before you get hurt
It's the only thing makin pay besides smoke and work
On a mission listen more chips my goal and position
First on my decision I realized the same nigga
Trippin to drastic measures tryin to get stacks of cheddar
Muh'fuckers hate cops, wait it ain't gettin better
But you keep, tellin us, that it is
while your motherfuckin troops keep killin our kids, dig
Don't be surprised if you see us
Dumpin with nuttin but artillery to free us, motherfucker

Dear Mr. President, tell me what to do
These niggaz actin up in the hood, send mo' troops
Dear Mr. President, tell me what to do
These niggaz actin up in the hood, send mo' troops

[Kastro]
Strapped and angry, with no hope and heartbroke
Fightin first my trained brain until it's not so
It's hostile, niggaz lick shots to watch the glocks glow
Cadres of coppers patrol us like we some animals
And it ain't no peace, my peace a piece on my streets
to people beefin and things, squeakin on they beefs for weeks
Mr. President, it's evident, nobody really care
for a struggle out the gutter, twenty-two with gray hair
I was raised to raise hell, frail and my heart stale
So I'ma bring hell to earth until my heart fail
But y'all play fair, give me and mine, I'll share
Til y'all show us you care, it's gon' be mayhem out here
Me and these'll freeze the biggest with ease
I'm still a nigga you fear, bring the beast to his knees
and I've been born to represent, for that I've been heaven sent
And I meant, every word, in my letter, to the President

Shit is still fucked up y'all
And y'all wonder when it's gon' get better
and it ain't gon' get better

[2Pac]
Dear Mr. President, tell me what to do
These niggaz actin up in the hood, send mo' troops
Dear Mr. President, tell me what to do
These niggaz actin up..

Heavenly Father may I holla at you briefly
I wanna meet the President, but will he meet me?
He's scared to look inside the eyes of a Thug Nigga
We tired of bein scapegoats for this capitalistic drug dealin
How hypocritical is Liberty?
That blind bitch ain't never did shit for me
My history, full of casket and scars
My own black nation at war, whole family behind bars
And they wonder why we scarred, thirteen lookin hard
Sister had a baby as an adolescent, where was God?
Somewhere in the middle of my mind
is a nigga on the tightrope, screamin let him die
Can't lie I'm a thug, drownin in my own blood
Lookin for the reason that my momma's strung out on drugs
Down to die, for everything I represent
Meant every word, in my letter to the President

[Big Syke]
Blacks is broke, think it's a joke that we livin low?
Y'all sniffin blow and postin what they hittin fo'?
Tell the secretary it's necessary we get paid
Look what you made, little kids gettin sprayed
Day after day, and night after night
Battles and wars to the daylight
We might change and rearrange if you do somethin
Til then we gonna keep it comin, Mr. President
Hehe
And I meant every word in my letter to the President

[2Pac]
Word motherfuckin life
Fuck this nigga think?
Cuttin taxes, takin off welfare
We 'sposed to just sit here, go broke and die, starvin?
Motherfuckers crazier than a motherfuckin scout
Nigga this Thug Life, Westside Outlaw Immortalz nigga
We fin' to hustle til we come up

Dear Mr. President, tell me what to do
These niggaz actin up in the hood, send mo' troops
Dear Mr. President, tell me what to do
These niggaz actin up in the hood, send mo' troops
Dear Mr. President, tell me what to do
These niggaz actin up in the hood, send mo' troops
Dear Mr. President, tell me what to do
These niggaz actin up in the hood, send mo' troops

Dear Mr. Clinton, shit
It's gettin harder and harder for a motherfucker
to make a dollar in these here streets
I mean shit, I hear you screamin peace
But we can't find peace
til my little niggaz on these streets get a piece
I know you feel me cause you too near me not to hear me
So why don't you help a nigga out?
Sayin you cuttin welfare
That got us niggaz on the street, thinkin who in the hell care?
Shit, y'all want us to put down our glocks and our rocks
but y'all ain't ready to give us no motherfuckin dollars
What happened to our 40 acres and a mule fool?
We ain't stupid
Think you got us lookin to lose
Tryin to turn all us young niggaz into troops
You want us to fight your war
What the fuck I'm fightin for?
Shit, I ain't got no love here
I ain't had a check all year
Taxin, all the blacks and
police beatin me in the streets
Fuck peace

These niggaz actin up in the hood, send mo' troops

And now for Pink featuring the Indigo Girls:

Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President
Come take a walk with me
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep
What do you feel when you look in the mirror
Are you proud

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why

Dear Mr. President
Were you a lonely boy
Are you a lonely boy
Are you a lonely boy
How can you say
No child is left behind
We're not dumb and we're not blind
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye

Let me tell you bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don't know nothing bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh

How do you sleep at night
How do you walk with your head held high
Dear Mr. President
You'd never take a walk with me
Would you

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He Said, She Said: Does it ever change?

I have something to say about this Duke case where people are all screaming, "Hey, no DNA! See? Them white boys is telling the truth!"

WTF people?

If anyone has ever paid any bit of attention to rape cases, a majority of them lack any kind of DNA evidence and it's almost always her word(s) vs. his word(s) combined with the hard evidence. For heaven's sake, there was the OC case where the dumbasses videotaped themselves raping, sodomizing and sexually assaulting an obviously passed out 16 year old girl yet the first trial still resulted in an acquittal for, are you ready for it, lack of evidence. A Chicago case very similar to the one in OC had similar results. Hopefully an appeal is forthcoming and the woman in the Chicago case gets justice, too. And how can we forget about the judge who dismissed a 17 year old woman's accusations of rape and in turn charged her with falsifying a police report because she didn't act traumatized enough after the incident?

So when I read that warrants were issued to collect DNA samples from 46 of the 47 Duke Lacrosse players, I was like Hell yeah! Because seriously, I'm really tired of the rape apologists since I can't rape myself and women don't usually rape other women. Our current society creates and sustains a rape culture. When is the collective whole gonna understand, digest and work against it for all women's sake? Why is it we have to wait until they have daughters for them to get a clue? Don't they have mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers and/or wives/girlfriends?

My heart sank when I saw the DNA results (from the boys who were actually tested) came back negative. I'm also guessing only the boys who truly didn't do it were the ones who stuck around to get their mouths swabbed instead of, like their teammates, being shipped off to avoid responsibility.

Of course my soul was elated once again to read that 2 boys were arrested then charged with rape and sexual assault because the victim has positively ID'd them a week or so ago. And a sealed indictment was issued by a judge. It is important to remember that a prosecutor can't give all their secrets away to the general public because it could severely hinder a case; I'm betting the defense attorney's are going to try for a change of venue as it is (and wouldn't be worth their salt if they didn't).

But most importantly, I say a man is guilty of rape before he's officially indicted because let's face it, a man rapes a woman every single minute of every single fucking day. The world has over 3billion people in it so it's a fair estimate. Notice that it's not women raping men, it's men raping women and often times it's brutal and/or fatal. And I'm really getting sick of those who think we (women) should just sit back and wait for the guilty verdict before we vilify those poor boys.

I've already given you 3 very recent cases where a rape did obviously take place but guilty verdicts were not forthcoming. Even with video evidence.
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Isn't he dapper?

I got him to wear his nice dress pants and shirt today, although we were just going to church for the easter egg hunt. As much as I love the Episcopalian services at times, and definitely the music, I no longer appreciate easter I guess you could say. So instead, I have dubbed it "The fake resurrection of Jesus Day." I think it suits the occasion better, don't you? (Posing solely Peanut's own volition and done with absolutely no prompting by me.)
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Guess who's back?

I've enjoyed my time off tremendously and, after Wednesday, I kinda stopped paying attention to the news except for the attempt to overthrow Rummy by 6 Generals. It's kinda nice seeing his own boys breaking rank yes?

But just in case you all think I sat around doing absolutely nothing, I did complete Peanut's first sweater knitted solely by me (just have to attach the hood and I'm not too sure how to do that). And I have started to knit the featured monkey in a deep purple for the body with light sparkly purple for the face, hands and feet (you can order your very own kit here). It's for NASCAR Nut's youngest daughter who turns 5 May 7th. I am told that she's is going to absolutely love it.

Also, NASCAR Nut was the nice guy that he is and bought me seasons 2 and 3 of Smallville (I use this site to figure out if the episodes are worth staying up until 1am for), which I have almost completed, :).

Since I go back to work tomorrow, I will be back to my regular updates, rantings and readings of regular news and other blogs. Lucky for you all eh?

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Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail

hippity hoppity Easter's on its way.

You may be wondering where the hell I've been as of late. Well, Peanut and I are on Spring Break meaning his school is closed this week and I took off to hang out a little bit extra with him. We've been chillin'.

I have been reading a few blogs still, not wanting to totally ignore the outside world, but the outside world can piss me off so bad what with dumping animals and kids into shelters, then Big G. screaming about how overcrowded they are, but refusing to give anyone any money except for where the Big G. might truly benefit. *cough*oil*coughcough*

Monday when I heard the updates in the Duke case, I ran to Amp's blog, Justice 4 Two Sisters then Amanda's post on the subject. I was reminded that sure, warrants had been issued to obtain DNA from 46 men, but not all 46 have been tested yet. hmmmmm. Makes you wonder doesn't it? It's times like these when I'm glad I am a skeptic and view everything with a critical eye.

On that note, I leave you with this Peanutism:

Peanut: Mom, when we move out on our own, can we adapt a husky?
Me: (laughing) Sure, but I think the word you are looking for is adopt, though adapt fits, too.

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Friday Random Ten: And then there was Mozart

I have been having tons of fun downloading songs. So much so, I end up getting sidetracked and off on some musical adventure usually not related to what brought me to Napster to begin with. I now have the full Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, complete with bells and canons and, of course, some Bach and Mozart. What really makes it hard getting these guys is that I have no idea what most of the official titles for the songs are so I have to listen to them one at a time, usually in its entirety before I can tell it was what I was looking for.

So now the list:

1. Necessary by Brandi
2. Jealous Guy by Gavin DeGraw
3. Love me with a Feelin' by Bette Midler
4. Top of the World by Dixie Chicks
5. When I Come Around by Green Day
6. Something to Sleep To by Michelle Branch
7. Symphony in A Major by Mozart
8. Song For You by Michael Berube with Chris Botti (if you haven't heard Chris Botti, please do. He plays the trumpet wonderfully!)
9. Whatever You Say by Martina McBride (a great angry music song)
10. Stay by Alison Krauss

Bouns track but it was like, #15 or so, The Rose by Bette Midler. I just love it!

And that's all for this Friday folks, thanks for watching....er, reading.

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Friday Dog Blogging: Look! New huskies!

And they're off!

These are the two I picked up 2 Friday's ago and when we finally got back to the house, they had so much energy we let them run around to play for a bit (well, it was more like 2 hours but they loved every minute of it!).


Isn't he beautiful? Atlas actually sits like this a lot and is most polite and kinda shy. Aren't his eyes wicked? He is a bi-eyed wolf-grey male husky who might have a home this weekend. Yay!
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For those who are priority-challenged

When you buy and/or adopt a dog, cat, ferret, rabbit (you get the point), it's supposed to be 'til death do you part. Not 'til summer vacation, or when you put the inflatable pool up, or when the new baby comes, or when the dog chews your couch or the cat uses your wall as a scratching post, or when still a puppy/kitten, they bite/scratch you (this should be an obvious duh, but it's not for a lot of people), or 'til you realize the people you adopted the animal from was telling the truth about s/he shedding so much fur....or even when you realize the animals actually needs attention and refuses to be ignored.

Ever hear of the internet and researching the animal before you actually make the supposed lifelong commitment?

I just got this email and it's what sparked this rant, for like the millionth time:

i am reoffering a female spayed german shepherd. shes a great dog. all
her shots are current. no papers. she needs lots of room to run and needs someone to spend a fair amount of time with her. prefer to give her to someone who knows and loves the german shepherd type. outstanding watch dog. loves kids, but can be a little rough at times as she is large and doesnt understand her own strength. she would love sleeping in the bed with you and to sit in your lap. shes extremely
affectionate. however, she's satisfied with sleeping nearby. she checks to make sure our children are in their bed and safe each night before she lays down. please email me at Annie3318@cs.com with shepherd in the subject, otherwise i may delete ur mail. she has her crate that she doesnt mind getting in to. i do not put her in there
unless i have my infant niece over crawling around. she loves being outside too. the reason im trying to find her a new home is because i have an ezset swimming pool that i am afraid she will pop when we put it up. she loves water and likes to bath in the shower. my husband suggest we build her a little side pin, but i do not want her caged or tied up. period. i wouldnt want that for myself, so certainly not for my pet. (bold mine)

Isn't that nice? She wants to put up her inflatable pool soon but doesn't want to the dog to pop it so, naturally, instead of teaching the dog to stay away from it, the woman figures it can all be solved by getting rid of her!

I didn't respond, not even to tell her that I've got 3 dogs and they all couldn't give 2 shits about the inflatable pool but will stop by to drink out of the foot tub. And if I would have responded, I would not have been very nice. At. All.

Okay, so I lied. I did repond to tell her the dog could be taught and yes, because I am me, I added a little line of sarcasm in there. Heh.
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Is Society in your house, too?

Do you let Society dictate your every move? Ladies, do you let Society predicate whether or not you shave your legs? Wear make-up? Have pretty hair? Or whether or not you wear cornrows or dreads? Guys, do you let Society tell you only one ear is the *appropriate* one to have pierced and that having both is a big social no-no? How about the length of your hair? Or whether or not you wear cornrows or dreads? Ladies and guys, do you let Society deem you a failure in parenthood when your child doesn't end up like s/he's supposed to (with the suppositions being defined as what Society deems appropriate of course)?

If you have said yes to any of the above, you need to kick Society from out yo' house, fer real!

"Societal guilt" is not a true form of guilt. You are only feeling that way because Society says you should.

(If Peanut were to rape and/or murder a woman (hell, if he were to ever violently touch another living thing), I would not feel like I failed as a parent because I'd be too busy being pissed off and trying to kill his ass before the State could. I think, honestly, I'd feel bad because of who he hurt and what those persons might think of me than Society as a whole. 'Cause again, Society doesn't live in my house. And FTR, rape/murder cannot even come remotely close to being compared to failing grades.)

But what if your child fails high school? What if s/he failed 10th grade due only to their lack of completing the necessary work that would garner the good grades needed to pass? You tried grounding her/him, you've tried taking precious extras such as the internet and the beloved car and still there have been no improvements.

At what point should blaming yourself for her/his failures be "Societal guilt" vs. "personal guilt"? And is it fair to let Society in your house when they don't live there every damned day to be a fair judge of a parent's failure?

Because if you let Society in, that's ignoring the real problem and, like white guilt, only blaming yourself when someone brings it to your attention.

I remember when my friend L. thought something was wrong with her because she only felt bad for lying when she got caught. I laughed and laughed because hell, isn't that the way most of us feel? We tend to feel bad not for lying as an act of willful insolence, but specifically because we got caught. When we get away with it, do we feel bad? Nope. (Okay, not always.)

Feeling guilty that your child failed high school only because Society might view you as a bad parent isn't being honest and is allowing Society in your house where they shouldn't be. Feeling bad because, on a more personal level you are feeling guilty for somehow not doing what you thought a parent should to help your child accomplish what goals might have deemed worthy in their adolescence is perhaps more appropriate.

As parents', we are responsible for these little beings called kids. It is our responsibility to make sure they don't fuck up the world when they get older and capable of living a viable, responsible life of their own so I can certainly understand the implications from such a failure.

However, at the age of 15/16, your child is now a teenager and clear on their way to becoming a young adult. They are old enough to understand the consequences of their actions, or lack thereof. At 17, they are well aware of the world around them and more so that they are not in its immediate center; the world stops for no one as the cliché goes.

(What is also interesting to note, is that if I were to let Society in my house, I would have re-married already or never divorced to begin with so that Peanut would have a positive male role model so as not to end up like some asshole in jail when between the ages of 15-24.)

So kick Society out of your house and tell it to, "Hit the road Jack and doncha come back no more!" Tell 'em I said so if you have to, I'll take the blame!

(Note: It's okay to complain about Society in your house 'cause Lord knows I do, but it's not okay to let them rule your life.)
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DeLay has been delayed!

I was very excited to hear he is not going to run for re-election this year, which means he's finally admitting he's a jackass and busted since his aid confessed to having unethical relations with Jack Abramoff.

I'm just so torn up about this.

Not.
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Ho Hum

I've been busy, especially with knitting because I'm now onto the back of Peanut's new sweater and soon will be doing the front....then it's on to the hood! I promise I'll post pictures when it's completed because I'll be so excited that I followed a complete pattern all.by.myself and I'll want to show it off anyway!

So, instead of a regular blog post, I'm leaving your with a link to Calculate your Ecological Footprint.

What about me you ask?

CATEGORY/ACRES
FOOD/3
MOBILITY/3.7
SHELTER/4.4
GOODS/SERVICES/7.4
TOTAL FOOTPRINT/18

IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON. WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.

IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 4.2 PLANETS.

Sad isn't it? I have a feeling that when I finally move out on my own, this will reduce drastically because I only have me to convince to save electricity, to walk more, etc. Convincing just one as opposed to 3 other adults is way easier.

Now on to WomensEnews.

They have a few good articles in this latest edition, namely their cover story about the Duke rape case and the South Dakota ban on all abortion, even in the case of rape, incest and the health of the mother.

At least Mississippi's (D) Rep. Holland had enough common sense to let the bill die in conference. The whole state only has 1 abortion clinic and major restrictions have been placed on abortion there anyway. Maybe that's why he thought an entire sweeping ban was unnecessary.
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