The Butter Battle...

This story was written for kids.  It's the story of how two peoples who are basically the same, get deeper and deeper into hate, vengence, weapons... all for something quite basic and simple.  Originally it was written with the U.S/USSR cold war in mind.  I wonder if this also looks like congress?  If this also looks like gay rights/religion?

It's the story of how the world comes to the brink of destruction because two peoples can't simply acknowledge that each does something differently, does something that seems and feels and is right for them.
Maybe it doesn't work for anything but the cold war.... but maybe it is also a good lesson.  

hugs

Scottie do not read this post.

Hello Friends;

  I ran across a pic today, sparked my interest.  It is below and speaks for itself.

When I was much younger, I hunted some.  Mostly, I shot things... trees, cans, targets.  I no longer own guns, and for the most part don't need or want to.  But, I thought I would tell you my story about guns...

I've told you all about when I was 11, and was raped by one of my neighbors.  I don't need to go over that again.  In the ensuing period afterward, I recall quite clearly getting my father's gun and putting it to my head.  As you can imagine, it didn't go off.  I don't recall if I didn't load it, or if I loaded it wrong... I remember pulling the trigger and nothing happening, then putting the thing back where it was and going into my room to stare at the wall for a while.

  In time, I was ok.  Mostly.  I had some fear issues and self esteem issues, still do.  I also had anger issues, and those still get me now and again.  Perhaps it just isn't something that can be fully put behind a person?  

  I, of course, had a bb gun when I was a kid.  I think my Dad may still have the darn thing stashed somewhere.  He's not good at throwing things out.  My friend and I got quite good at target shooting, and like most kids, were more creative than wise.  We would play war, shooting each other as we ran through the woods with the rule:  no shooting in the face.  Seemed quite safe then.... right?
  In time, I moved up to a .22.  Just a plinker rifle, cheap but accurate.  I recall coming home one day on the day before rent was due and getting stopped by the neighbor kids.  I talked with them for a while, and seeing their mother come from my house with something in a towel had me curious but unconcerned.  Well, come to find out, while I was at work my room-mate decided to pack up and leave, on the day before rent was due.  Since he was still there, the neighbor decided it was likely best if she removed my gun from the house before I got there.  It startled me at the time to realize how that was probably a good idea.

  So, I don't own guns anymore.  Don't need them, don't want them.  But, many people do, want them at least.  And, for those who are safe with them, I am mostly accepting of their rights.  But, look at my history with guns above.  Scary stuff happens, dumb stuff happens, and even accidents happen....
  

...  and when those scary, dumb, accidents happen, no amount of "oops - sorry" brings back the bullet.  

There be monsters there...

Hello Friends;

  I recently ran across a picture that startled me.  I, like most people, have certain things I focus on in my reading, other things seem to slip by without notice.  But, the pictures below made me think about other things, such as how the republicans seem intent on giving this country to corporations at every turn.  An article printed in 2011 by GreenBiz.com is an example of that.
  If you look beyond the article, you will see what the republicans seem desperate to arrange.  The sky in this picture right here is beautiful, but look what happens when unchecked emissions enter the environment.
  This is why I believe the republicans are the most dangerous little critters to arrive on this planet.

WASHINGTON, DC — The new spending plan laid out by House Republicans would slash theEnvironmental Protection Agency's budget by nearly a third and prevent it from using funds for greenhouse gas regulations.

The plan (PDF), referred to as a "CR," or continuous resolution, would reduce the agency's budget by $3 billion, while its research-driven Global Change program would also see about a 30 percent hit.

Other agencies working on energy or climate-related matters would also see their funding shrivel up, including the Department of Energy, Department of Interior, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The moves are part of Republican efforts to trim $100 billion from the budget, largely driven by a raft of Tea Party candidates who joined the House of Representatives after the 2010 mid-term elections. The GOP originally sought cuts totaling $32 billion, but freshmen legislators forced the party to ramp up cuts and make good on their campaign promises.

I am Offended

Good Morning Everyone.
  I took a few minutes with my coffee before heading out to get to work this morning to look at the news, the blogs I enjoy - but rarely comment on. Sorry, randy is an idiot.   But, you knew that.  Anyway, here is why I found myself quite offended:

Now, perhaps I am just over-reacting.  Perhaps it is just my tired mind and body rebelling against the "rich and powerful".  I don't know...I understand politicians try to "blend in", dress like the common man and seem more like us.  But, let me tell you a few things that I see right away...

1.  That Carhart - style at least - coat costs around $100 or much, much more.  It is not an affectation, it is a tool (Much like mr. cruz yet differently).  The reason that the coat costs so much is that it breathes very well, helping a person who works hard to not sweat too much.  Further, they are near indestructible, standing up to a great deal of abuse and use.

2.  That Denim Shirt.  Again, such were made for their ability to breath and take abuse.

What you see there, my friends, is Rural Camouflage.  Just like hunters going into the woods where pictures of leaves, twigs and tree bark on their clothing to blend in and seem appear not dangerous to those living there, this man wears Urban Camouflage to appear harmless, "one of us".  Trust me in this, that hunter ain't no tree and this man is dangerous!

  You see, what pisses me off, as I get ready to go out and work for a living on a Sunday morning, is that I have never seen a Carhart in such nice shape.  Anyone who uses one, ANYONE, will tell you that they get scuffs, stains, etc.  And, that denim shirt - any bets it cost more that the jacket?
  Not only that....  you see, what pisses me off is that I have scars on my hands,  Dirt under my fingernails that just never seems to scrub out but lasts for days no matter what I try.  This man has a frickin' manicure!  (I looked at other pics).  His skin isn't torn from nails, engines, beams or whatever.   A frickin' manicure!!

I see you cruz.  Only dumb animals are fooled by that camouflage.

Is there a right to love?

I'll offer my thoughts after this heartwrenching article...

A 15-year-old Florida boy who's been in foster care his entire life is so desperate for a family to call his own, that he recently took matters into his own hands.

Davion Navar Henry Only gathered his courage and stepped up to the pulpit at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersberg, Florida, asking, directly, if anyone there might want to adopt him. He told the parishioners, "I know God hasn't given up on me. So I'm not giving up, either."

After learning that his biological mother, who gave birth to him while she was in prison, had passed away, he asked his caseworker, Connie Going, to take him to church so that he could make his request. She agreed.
Arriving in a donated black suit too large for him, wearing a zip-on tie that he wouldn't have known how to tie himself, he followed intently along with the sermon before declaring, "I'll take anyone. Old or young, dad or mom, black, white, purple. I don't care. And I would be really appreciative. The best I could be."

In a piece that ran in the Tampa Bay Times earlier this month, reporter Lane DeGregory recounts that the boy was shy, but he was determined to speak at the church.
His mother had been in jail on petty theft and cocaine charges when he was born. After his 15 years in foster care, Davion looked her up for the first time and found out that she had died. Since then, he's been working to manage his temper and pick up the grades he let slump.
He couldn't let nerves and shyness deter him from showing the people in the pews that he could become somebody's son. So he walked to the front of the church, and he let his earnestness speak.
The Tampa Bay Times story detailing Davion's plight has gone viral. The piece got 14,000 shares on Facebook just from the paper's page, and thousands more from aggregation in the Daily Mail, ABC News, People magazine and others. His story has even been shared in Australian media.
If this were a movie, the happy ending would place Davion within a warm household, where he would learn to be loved and continue to ace his way through high school. But whether or not his brave stunt will earn him a home in real life remains to be seen.
Connie Going, the Eckerd adoption specialist in charge of Davion's case, could not be reached for comment, but data from the Administration for Children and Families' Children's Bureau suggests that Davion's chances aren't great.
An agency report shows that black and Hispanic children made up the majority of kids in foster care at the end of the 2012 fiscal year. And out of 400,000 children in foster care last year, only 52,000 were adopted.
The Times reported that two couples asked about Davion at the time his story was published, but none neither had moved forward with an adoption.
Florida Department of Children and Families spokesperson Terri Durdaller said the agency got around 300 calls about Davion earlier this week. Since then, the number has risen to "several hundred."
"We hope everyone who calls is a potential parent," Durdaller said. "We're hoping to connect him with a forever family and that this will bring recognition to the foster system in Florida."

  Hello My Friends;

  As you all know, I've not done a lot of posts lately.  In great part, I've been very busy with the leaf season lawn work.  But, that is not the full reason.... sometimes I just don't have a lot to say.  I've told you that before, but it's true even still.  But, I'm having trouble writing this.  It is just a terribly simple thing, so very basic, yet words seem to fail me.  I feel sad, fearing that this poor boy is not to find what he wants and needs.

  As I read this article, it occurred to me that we throw out cartoons, signs, rant and rave, and in some scabbed over calloused portion of our heart, we know that what we say is a sign of our pain, our frustration, our anger with the hope yet the doubt that those who are in power will ever change... and yet, this young man just stands up and declares "this is what I need".    I can't help but to wonder if someone will help.
  But, yet... let us look at the people who could help him:  Could a gay couple?  Perhaps, but doubtful.  Gay marriage is yet questionable in Florida.  Gays adopting a young teen?  I can see the slurs and jokes now.  And, no matter how straight, a single man is not likely to be allowed to adopt.  And, sorry to say, a black teenager brings out more stories to cause fear in the news than care or concern.  Will people see his heart?   Somehow we simply figure that the state, which has eaten away at our freedoms and our humanity at every turn, will care for him.  It's not our problem, because likely we wouldn't be allowed to help anyway, why try.

  So, what we have, then, is a young man, desperate to be loved and understand the concept of family, where he will be loved for who he is as a person.  Still.  It's a real life, not a congressional bill bandied back and forth by pompous bootlicking congresspersons who care only about their wallet and how it can be made fatter.  It's a heart, a young mind, willing to be loved, hoping to be loved.

  Wow, if he only knew the dreams that represents for so many.  How many of us came from homes or know people who came from homes where we were not loved for who we were?  How many of us understand the concept of unconditional love, respect, support?

  No, what makes me sad, this young man is so very much alone.  I can't even help him if I wanted to.  In a world where people believe in the "right to life" but not the "right"... or at least the "freedom to love", where we see the theory of "trickledown economics" as really important, the freedom to purchase a firearm - multiple firearms without pause for investigation into the reason for such dangerous items that have but one purpose:  to kill; the derision of a single mother seeking an abortion and calling her a murderer for that horrible need, yet then when she needs money to raise the child she is sneered at for seeking welfare, scorned for going to work without childcare, and called horrible things when her child gets into unsupervised trouble!.....where the feeding and caring of our poorest, most needful, as "handouts" always said with a sneer, and to even care for those less fortunate is considered a weakness, a Sunday Morning Penance at best, in this whole mess sits this poor lad is wanting to simply have a home.  I wish him all the best.

How does one tell a hungry child "I can't feed you because I have to give tax breaks to the wealthiest"?

Saw these pics... made me laugh. You too?