STOP THIEF! or Let go of My Little Pony Flag!

What if it it was My Little Pony

          Imagine, if you will, the following situation.  You are a proud member of the My Little Ponies Liberation Front or MLPLF for short.  You dedicate your lives to making people realize that the wonders of My Little Pony goes beyond mere children's programming and into the world of philosophy and mysticism.  Of course there are infidels who disagree with your group's beliefs and constantly disparage you and even mock you on Twitter and Facebook.  You are okay with this because Freedom of Speech is enshrined in the Constitution.

     Now imagine, these Anti-Pony Enemies (Or APEs for short) decide that merely making fun of your beliefs isn't enough and they must instead knock down any symbols of the MLPLF movement.  They rive around cities and towns looking for any signs that an MLPLFer might live there and when they see a flag, symbol or Friendship is Magical playset, they rush out and steal it away from its rightful owner.  OH THE HORRORS OF IT ALL!

Yes I know, its enough to break your heart!

     Now that situation is a little out there and just a tad silly, but stick with me here.  It MAY get clearer as we muddle through.  No promises though.  So a friend of mine both Real Life and Facebook wise posted this video.  Apparently it is a thing now where people who are driving along and see the Battle Flag of Virginia hanging on someone's property race over onto private property and steal the flag.  That is right.  In the interests of "justice" these hoodlums trespass onto private property and steal another person's property.

     This is truly mind blowing to me.  I am betting that pretty much every person who is guilty of this would be madder than Hades if someone came onto their private property and stole anything of theirs.  This thieves seem to think that just because they are offended by said flag that is okay for them to take it from its rightful owner.  Well, it doesn't give you that right.

     There seems to be a common misconception over being "offended."  People seem to think that being offended gives them some sort of special privileges.  They believe that if they are offended by something, they have the right to do everything they can to not be offended.  This includes breaking into someone's property and removing the thing that offends them.

     Well, here is a wake up call which most of these nuts will ignore.  The only thing being offended gives you the right to do is...well be offended.  You can't beat someone up for offending you.  You can't destroy the property of others because it offends you.  Matter of fact, the only thing you can really do is offend the offenders right back by being offensive.  (Okay now I am dizzy,)

     It is okay to be offended by things you don't like.  Heck your feelings in the matter may be perfectly justified.  However, you don't get to dictate other people's beliefs or standards just because you are offended or think their standards are wrong.  (Somehow bakeries and florists suddenly come to mind 

here.)

I dunno is this cake a little too...well you know.

     America is an amazing country.  Despite all of the problems and stupidity (But enough about Donald Trump) running rampant in it, we still have unparalleled freedoms.  We can pretty much say anything we want about anyone we want and it is protected under our founding documents.  However, people seem to get confused about exactly what rights they have.  You have the freedom to offend and be offended, but you don't have the freedom to stop other people from exercising those exact same rights.  If someone says something or does something or shows something that you find offensive, well suck it up buttercup because there are jack you can do about it.

End of Rant 

Sending People to their deaths should never be easy or Answering for your actions.

     I justifiably go on and on about Republican Warhawks who constantly preach we should bomb the heck out of this Middle Eastern Country or invade that Middle Eastern Country all in the name of Oil...err democracy.  They ignore the multitude of disasters of the past and blindly believe that THIS TIME things will be different.  (Disagree with me, feel free to show me one time where the US actively invaded or attacked a Middle Eastern nation where it all worked out right in the end.)  We have had some minor successes in working from behind the scenes such as when we helped insurgents oust the USSR back in the day, but even those rare wins are overshadowed by the failures.  Still we try the same shift over and over again.  The great John Stewart said it best in this clip:

Learning curves are for Pansies.

     Now the Warhawks are making saber rattling noises again.  When several major nations, including the US worked to negotiate a treaty with Iran over its nuclear programs, 47 of these idiots actually wrote a letter undermining the negotiations and essentially saying, Neener Neener.  Instead, McCain and others of his ilk keep preaching more and more war either direct or indirect such as sending arms and supplies to people that might oppose Iran.  (We saw how well this has worked out in the past.  ISIS is very well armed because we sent billions of dollars in arms to the Middle East and then just left it all there OR gave it to the Iraqi and Afghani troops who were supposed to use it to...well stop people like ISIS.)

     So here is the problem I have with people sending other people to die in foreign lands.  Well, I mean aside from the actual sending people to die in foreign lands part.  Most of these men and women currently ruling America have never served or bled for the country.  A large chunk of them have never had their sons and daughters shipped off to die or come back horribly maimed.  In short, they have never experience the horrors of the evils they propagate.  

     It is high time these people come down from their ivory towers and face the public for the disasters their actions cause.  If you want war, suck it up and come down to our level to declare it.  Face the families of the soldiers you are sending to die far from home.  See how tough and how vocal you are when all of the people you will hurt will be staring right at you..

     I have a good friend whom I have never actually physically met who (In one of his rare lucid moments) came up with this petition.  

Public Declarations of War

     I humbly ask all of my readers to sign this petition.  Let our so called leaders on both sides know that we are tired of warmongering and hate.  If they are going to commit the crime, then make them face the shame of doing so.  Our freedom is never free and it is time they stop spending our dearest blood so freely.

End of Rant

Walk a 1000 miles in my shoes...better yet, think a 1000 thoughts inside my head.

Don't worry, be happy!

         Few things in this world truly bother me.  I was born was way too much mellowness in my system to get angry easily or to be annoyed by stuff that really isn't important.  I see people screaming over this or that on the Interwebz over and over again like it is the end of the freaking world or something. I usually just kind of shake my head, nod symbolically in support and move on with my life.  After all if you truly believe Obama is going to invade your state, take away your guns and force everyone to have Gay Muslim Weddings, more power to you.  Who knows, you might actually be right....NAHHHHHH!
     Now having said that, let me tell the one thing that really really grinds my gears is listening to people in $20,000 suits driving BMWs going on and on about the Poor.  Watch any episode of Faux News and you will hear words like Leeches, Moochers and Bums.  They run segments called "Entitlement Nations" where they basically say that if you are poor and on any form of public support, you are worthless and nothing but a drain on all of the Good People in the nation.  You have old people in the US Government, many of them having never done a day of hard labor in their lives discussing how we need to cut school lunches and WIC (Women Infant Children) funding because it is driving the nation to bankruptcy.

I'm madder than heck and I ain't gonna take it no more.

      Little bit of background for you to thoughtify on.  I was born in the early 60s to a very poor family.  First house I ever remember living in had no form of running water at all.  Water was pulled up from a well and lets just say going to the bathroom in the middle of Winter was an adventure.  BRRR.  My father worked for the County Road Service most of his life making far less than what would be considered minimum wage today.  Food was scarce and not super plentiful.  If it wasn't for home grown veggies and animals, we'd prolly not eaten some days.  Only once during the 20 years I lived with him did my Father ever ask for help and most of you can't even begin to imagine how hard times were that year.  In other words, WE WERE POORER THAN FREAKING CHURCH MICE.
     So needless to say, I know what I say when I talk about being poor and the Poor.  Pretty much everyone I knew during that time was about as poor, if not poorer than we were.  I will say that 95% of them were hard working, industrious individuals who never wanted help from the Government and certainly never suckled from the Government teats.
     Fast forward a decade or so and Ronny Reagan invents whole cloth the "Welfare Cadillac Queen" who uses indiscriminate births to milk the government for untold riches.  This lie has been repeated so long and so often that it has become an ingrained part of Conservative mindsets.  They go on and on about RAMPANT WELFARE FRAUD (There isn't) and DRUG ADDICTS LIVING OFF WELFARE! (Well in their defense, there are some.  However it is amusing to note that in every single state where they have instituted mandatory drug testing to catch cheats, they have wound up paying a hell of  a lot more for the tests than they saved in caught abusers.  Also it is no surprise that ALL of the companies who were hired to make these tests are owned by Conservatives.  Don't believe me?   Look it up.)  So this whole mentality of Poor People are leeching off the rest of us is essentially a lie that has been repeated so long, the liars believe it is the truth.  Kind of like RAMPANT VOTER FRAUD!
     The vast majority of these people claiming that the poor serve no purpose and are just a drain on society have no clue what it means to be poor.  I almost laughed myself sick a while back when a few wealthy folks decided they would spend a week living off of what someone below the poverty line has to spend.  Needless to say, if they actually had to survive, they would starve to death.  Most haven't tried to understand and are perfectly comfortable judging others.
     So here is my thing (OMG PUT THAT AWAY!), if you haven't lived the life, suffered through the pain and hunger, shut up.  If you haven't spent a single day wondering where your family's next meal is coming from, Shut the Hell up.  If you haven't worn your sister's hand me down pants because your Mom can't afford to buy the fabric to make you new ones, Really Shut the Hell up.   You stop talking about the Poor and being Poor and I won't start making snide comments about the quality of 1872 Port Burgundy when used with Brie Cheese that has been aged under Donald Trump's hair piece for five years.

End of Rant

Just a funny for your day!

The Kochs Brothers, Donald Trump and John Boehner are flying from downtown LA to a club 40 miles away in their private jet to play golf. During the brief flight they start bragging about how much money they made last year.

"We busted up Unions right to organize effectively and without union protection we forced people to work tons or unpaid overtime every week.

Trump snorted and said, "I accused immigrants of bring rapists and murderers but the suckered still work for me and think I'm a nice guy."

Boehner shook his head and said "well my group gutted agencies like the FAA and EPA and all of you paid me millions to do it."

Minutes later, the plane crashes and everyone on board dies. An investigation shows that the pilot passed out from exhaustion after being forced to work 72 hours in a row and the auto pilot failed to engage because no one had bothered to inspect the safety equipment. Parachutes that might have saved their lives were still waiting to be packed because Immigrant workers were to annoyed with Trump to work.

The moral of this story is "if you are going to dick people over, you should probably walk."

This un's prolly gonna get me yelled at but what the heck or Waving a Red Flag.

Offensive?  Possibly

     For the most part, I have steered clear of the whole Confederate Battle Flag hoopla currently running amok all over the country.  I am a deep fried Son of the South born so deep in Lower Alabama you need excavation equipment to get to my house.  My family is so Southern that we bleed grits and some of us prolly have had damaged linen goods in our closets.  (Get it?  Cause hoods and robes have holes so the sheets had...oh never mind.)  Anyone who knows me knows where I stand and how I feel and if you don't know how I feel, you probably don't know me as well as you think.
   Now on this little ranting journey, I am going to take a slightly different tack than the "Heritage not hate" and "Its a sign of WHITE SUPREMACY!" groups.  I think that deceased equine has been beaten enough thank you.  I mean, trying to have a rational argument between these two groups is like trying to skinny dip in the Sahara and not nearly as refreshing.  Nah, me I am going to move on to what I personally think is the crux of this debate.  (and use smart sounding words like crux while I do it to make people think I am more intelligent than I actually am.  Is it working yet?)

Offensive?  You betcha!

     Okay so the argument boils down to two groups who are juxtaposed on exactly what the flag symbolizes.  For the most part there is no middle ground or even any cover to hide in as the insults and such are flung.  Both sides feel they are right and both sides think that the other side is so full of cow manure that they can be smelled from the moon.  (Okay okay I know that you can't smell anything in space, but look I used a big word like Juxtaposed in a sentence.  Yay me!)  Well here is my take on the whole durned argument.  It doesn't matter which side is right and which side is wrong.

Offensive, well maybe to anti-pagans.

      Lets say the SOUTH SHALL RISE AGAIN folks are right.  That the CBF is an innocent symbol of Southern Heritage and pride that has been stolen by evil, nasty hate groups like the KKK and Neo-Nazi groups.  That it never symbolized hatred or racism or slavery.  That people should fly it with pride every day and thank Gawd Allmighty that they are lucky enough to live in the Deep South where we deep fry everything.  Doesn't matter.
     Lets say that the ITS EVIL BURN IT BURN IT! groups are right.  That the flag symbolizes racism, racial divide, the inhuman practice of slavery AND the artery hardening evils of...well deep fried everything.  That the flag was sent by Satan himself to lead good Christians away from the straight and narrow to be seduced by Deep Fried Oreos or Deep Fried Bacon Wrapped Sausages.  (Wow suddenly I am hungry.)  Also...doesn't matter.

Offensive, probably.  It is Texas after all.

     Okay now that I have managed to honk off pretty much everyone in the country, let me try and explain my reasoning.  (Or at least distract you long enough for me to hide.)  Here is why it doesn't matter and it is prolly something that most of you haven't heard of.  It is a little thing called the 1st Amendment.   Dodging the issue of whether the flag should be flown on State/Federal Grounds for the time being cause that is a whole nother kettle of fish, it doesn't matter if you hate the flag.  It doesn't matter if you are so offended you poop bricks.  It doesn't matter if your Great Great (wait how many greats would be the Civil War) Grand Pappy rode into battle against Colored Troops on a chariot pulled by Negro slaves so you find the flag horribly offensive.  It just don't matter.
     Everyone and their brothers can freely fly the Battle Flag whenever and wherever they want.  That is their right under the laws of our nation.  Anyone else has the right to be offended.  That isn't exactly a law, but good enough.  Your being offended cannot and will not interfere with someone else exercising their own right.  It sucks, but that is the way the country works. Nor does your being offended give you the right to take their property and destroy it.
     What it boils down to it simple.  Be careful what you try to ban or destroy because other people might find your flag...symbol...clothing offensive and decide that you can't display it anymore.  I mean I personally find the flag of Arizona offensive because it is led by a bunch of morons, but you don't see me heading out there and demanding they take it down.  (Well mainly because that's a long way off and I'm poor.
     Offended or offending, it doesn't matter in the end.  Even if you disagree with the people that fly it and think the flag should never be flown again, you still have to respect their right to fly it.

End of Rant

Offensive?  Its like someone took the Chinese Flag and the Japanese flag and tried to drown it in a lake.  Sheesh!

Religious Persecution or "You keep using those words, I do not think they mean what you think they mean.

     It is time, the Redneck said, to talk of many things.  Of cakes and caterers, florists and Queens (Sorry couldn't resist, DON'T HIT ME DON'T HIT ME!)  Lately we have been hearing a lot of noise coming from those who feel they have the religious right (Oddly enough the noise has been coming from the Religious Right about religious rights.  Go figure.)  They steadfastly hold that they have the right to forbid service to anyone that they disapprove of and by anyone of course, we are speaking of Homosexuals.  They think that this right is given to them by the 1st Amendment which as we all know is the "Right to wear plaid socks" Amendment.  (Wait, what did you say?  Freedom of speech and religion?  Not plaid socks?  Whups, my bad.  No wonder I flunked Civics.)

     Now before you panic and think, "Oh no, not another lecture about how downtrodden the Gays are and how evil the Bakers and Florists are," let me assure you that this little tirade has very little to do with equal rights, who marries who or who bakes what cake.  No, have no fear, this little rant is about one of my favorite things to talk about, HYPOCRISY!

     So ever since the first baker (Or was it a pizza place?  So many bigots so little time.) announced that they would not serve Same Sex couples and claimed the right to do so based off their deeply held religious beliefs, I have claimed that these so called Christians would go absolutely Sape Pit if the tables were turned and someone refused them based on their own deeply set beliefs.  People laughed at me (Well okay it may have been the plaid socks) for saying this and said, "No, Christians would never do that."

     Well after seeing several more rants today about the right to refuse service, I decided to drop everyone a line and say simply, "I TOLD YOU SO!  See not too long ago, the not so great state of Minnesota passed their version of the Religious Freedom Act which would basically let any business discriminate against...Well anyone.  (Sure it was mostly aimed at Same Sex Couples, but pretty much covered anyone they deemed bad.)  Immediately the uproar began about how they were being bigots and the law was actually...well against the law.  The Governor and other potted plants ignored the hoopla or poo pooed it as being silly.  With me so far?  Good, lets keep going!

I'm madder than heck and I ain't going to take it anymore!

     So as the law meandered its way through its young life, it inspired people.  Well, probably not the people that the writers of it had hoped to inspire, but it did inspire people.  Suddenly people, companies and entertainment groups essentially said, "Fudge this.  We don't want to do business someplace that shows such blatant bigotry" and they started pulling out.  Millions, perhaps even billions of dollars in potential revenue was on the cusp of being lost because of the RFA.  In other words, people were deciding they had the right to not do business with people that they found offensive.  Now you'd think all of those proud, pseudo Christians would be happy.  Here were other groups doing the exact thing they were.  Fair is fair right?  Right?

     Guess what people started yelling as soon as this started happening?  Yup, you guessed it.  RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION!  Seems that it was okay for them to discriminate against people they found offensive, but some sort of war on Christ for anyone else to do it to them.  They claimed that they were being attacked because of their religious beliefs because people were choosing not to do business with them.  Guess it boiled down to Freedom for them but not the same Freedom for others.  Kind of a "Don't do what I do.  Do as I say do" of thing.

     I hold firmly that no public business and especially not an elected or appointed official such as clerks, judges etc have the right to refuse to serve anyone, even if they don't like them.  However, if you do chose to be a bigot, then don't get to peeved off if the rules you use for yourself come back and bite you in the buns  (Bakery joke, get it?)

End of Rant

PS:  Before too many people get honked off at me, I am not speaking about Christians as a whole.  I am associated with a lot of good Christians who do not judge or condemn anyone because of their beliefs or actions.  I speak exclusively of all of the hypocrites out there who give mouth service to being Christians but lead lives that I am pretty Jesus would have gone WTF over.  So don't stress about it too much, odds are I wasn't talking about you.

I AM NOT AN ANIMAL! I AM A HUMAN BEING! (Which is actual worse in my opinion.)

    

Not asking to be raped.

   

 So I was reading an article about new Federal rules and regulations that are coming into play on college campuses designed to mitigate and hopefully reduce the number of rapes that occur on campuses every year.  Now  having read through the whole thing (That's 30 minutes of my life I will never get back), I think it is an excellent example of pure BS (Bureaucrat Shift) I have ever read and will probably do more harm than good, much like most of the legislation passed by our so called leaders.  I personally feel that a group that is dominantly Old, White and Male really shouldn't be involved in making rules governing rape, but that is just me.
     Before I go any further, let me state for the record that the epidemic of campus rapes not just in the US but all around the world is a horrible thing and more strict steps need to be taken on a local, State and Federal levels to help combat it and hopefully prevent it.  I just think this BS ruling isn't going to do the job,
     Now, having said all of that, I am going to confuse you.  See this rant isn't about the new regulations or even about the rapes themselves which are horrible.  No, this little rant is all about this All Male Attitude or AMA as I call it.  (Suck it American Medical Society, I stole your letters!)  Scrolling through the comments I saw literally hundreds of examples of this Dark Ages Attitude of “Well, she was asking for it so she deserved to be raped” or “Did you see the way she was acting, you can't blame the guy for what he did.”
     It is a shame that in the 21st century (Wait 2015?  Geez I am old.) that we still have this idea that somehow woman have this magical power to show various parts of their bodies and poof, men lose all control of their tiny little minds and revert back to Ogg the Cave Man.   I think it is high time we evolve away from Slut Shaming and start Monster Shaming. (No not the Energy Drinks, they are awesome.)

Still not asking for it.

     I am always seeing people talking about how “Well she got drunk and passed out at the party so it was her fault that a bunch of guys raped her and filmed it” or “She was dressed in such sexy clothes that she incited the men to rape her.”  The accusers continuously try to shift the blame from the perpetrators of these horrible acts to the victims and it makes me sick.
     No woman is ever asking for rape.  Rape is not fun.  Rape is not sexy.  Rape is a violent, degrading act that destroys the victims.  No matter how provocatively a woman dresses, she isn't asking to be raped.  No matter how much a woman drinks, she is not asking to be raped.  No matter what a woman may say, she is not asking to be raped.  In every single case of rape, the woman is not at fault.  The person who decides that he is going to assualt her and force her to have intercourse with him is the one at fault, no one else.
     And I personally don't understand why Men support the “She was asking for it” meme.  Basically what Slut Shamers are doing is saying, “Well Men have no self control and are nothing but rutting animals so the moment some boobs or butt is shown, they just can't help it.”  As a man, I personally find that extremely offensive and any real man should too.
     Are there (rare no matter what people want to think) times when the woman cries “RAPE” and was not actually assaulted?  Sure, that happens.  However, the vast majority of all rapes are not faked or lied about.  Matter of fact, there are more than likely a lot more cases of rape that never get reported precisely because of the way the victims are treated.
     See Rape is one of the few crimes where victims are accused of wrong doing.  When a store is robbed at gun point, no one says “Well the owner was asking for it, look at all the nice stuff he had out for everyone to look at.”  Because this Victorian attitude of “Women who dress or act a certain way are bad or evil,” people judge the victim not the criminal.
     I often wonder when I read the “women at fault” comments, how these cruel people would feel if their daughter was raped.  Would they shrug it off and judge her wrong because of the way she was dressed?  I hope not, but can't really be sure.

Yup you guessed it, still not asking for it.

End of Rant

(PS:  I used “woman” exclusively in this article but I would be remiss if I didn't mention that men are indeed raped too.  Unfortunately exact numbers are hard to come by because when it does occur, men aren't likely to report it because of (Yup, you guessed it) the stigma placed upon rape victims by society.)