"Freedom of Religion" or "You keep using those words. I do not think they mean what you think they mean"

So I live in a neighborhood that is one of the most culturally diverse ones that I have ever lived in before. Of course given the fact that I am from the Deep, Deep, Deep South, that's prolly not saying much. We got people from England, Russia, all over the Middle East, all parts of Africa and who knows where else living in a fairly close area. It is truly interesting and inspiring.

One of our neighbors is Muslim and performs his daily prayers in the morning and in the afternoon from the deck behind his townhouse. I generally hear him when I go out in the afternoons to go to work and actually enjoy listening to his prayers for a few seconds before I get in my car.

So yesterday as I was leaving for work, he was out giving his prayers and the elderly couple from across the parking lot were standing in front of my house (for some strange reason not in front of their own house) and they were staring in the direction of the gentleman praying. The woman said, “I don't like that. He shouldn't be doing that.” The man replied with a nod, “I am going to complain about it. He doesn't have the right to do that.”

Now folks, keep in mind what this old White dude just said. “He doesn't have the right to do that.” That statement should scare the living crap out of you. An American (Presumably anyways) stated that another American (confirmed, I have spoken to the gentleman before) stated arrogantly did not have the right to practice his religion. Can you grasp how fundamentally (Pun intended. Get it?) FUGGED up that is?

I see a lot of that these days. People who have the attitude that their faith is the only one covered under the 1^st Amendment. They feel that they have the right to say, “Well I don't like your religion (or lack there of in the case of Atheists) so you don't have the right to practice it.” An even larger group seems to have the attitude of “Well, you can practice your faith, but not where I can see it or hear it.” (Huh Same Sex relationships and Religion...whodathunk it?)

Folks, that ain't the way it works. That's not the way any of this works. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” (Sorry apparently its a bold/italic kind of day.)

A follower of Islam has the exact same right to worship as a follower of that carpenter guy...Jessie...Josie...err somfin or another. They can stand on their porch belting out prayers to their hearts content and there is nothing you can do about it. If you find the sound annoying, go inside or go for a walk until they are done. I personally find the prayers a lot less annoying then the loud, canned Christian music blaring out from loudspeakers every hour on the hour from churches. When you can hear that crap from 8 blocks away, it is too danged loud. Just saying.

The almost overwhelming attitude among a lot of “Christians” today is that only Christianity is covered under the 1^st Amendment. Well, Christianity and Judaism since they kind of use parts of the same rule book. Atheists are actually banned from holding public office in many Red States and many of our so called leaders push for laws that prevent Muslims from holding any sort of office, including POTUS and SCOTUS. They want Christian Law to be the ONLY law of the land. (Sharia Law West anybody?)

Before the US of A was even...well the the US of A, it was built on the very foundation of Religious Freedom. People came here so that they could live, love and worship however they please without fear of persecution or punishment. When this country was founded, the wise men who forged it saw the evils of a “State Religion” and made sure that no one religion would ever be the only recognized one. At least three of the Founding Fathers weren't even Christian and of the remaining ones, the diversity in Christian Denomination was mind boggling. So the idea that people today want to limit the religious rights of others while forcing their own beliefs onto everyone is about as UnAmerican as Borscht (The mind boggles over the fact I spelled Borscht correctly the first time. Must have been channeling Donald Trump's Same Sex Lover, Putin.)

What it boils down to is something very simple. You don't have to like someone else's faith. You don't have to take their faith seriously. You are even allowed to think that their faith is stupid and even evil. You are not allowed to ban their faith. You are not allowed to stop them from publicly practicing their faith. So the next time you or anyone thinks or says, “They don't have the right,” I have one bit of advice. Suck it up, Buttercup! (Wow, bold, italics, underlined AND a bigger font.)

End of Rant.

End of Rant.

A shield against the storm

     A wise man once wrote, "no man is an island."   Another wrote something along the lines of "a house built upon the sand."  Both spoke of how we will always be stronger when we have those we can depend on and always trust to "have our 6."  It doesn't matter how strong a person is or how independent he thinks he is, he is always stronger when he has family backing him up.
     I have been blessed with a handful of friends that are as close to me as family.  People who I know quite literally call at 3am in the morning and say, "I need help" and that is all it would take for them to be on the road to aid me.  If you have never known that incredible gift, I feel sorry for you.
     Recently, my family suffered a terrible loss.  The sudden shock was a brutal blow to us.  I reached out to one of those "family by choice not by blood" just for a sympathetic early.  This Brother not only gave me that ear, be offered so much more.  I told him how we might not be able to afford something very important and this Brother that I know can ill afford the extra cash said "we can help with that if you need it."
     That is the rock that my house is built on.  Friends, some I have known forever and a few I have only known as short time, that I know will always be there for me.  That is my greatest gift and my greatest responsibility because I must be the same rock for all of them.

No Rant This Time, Just Gratitude.

SIOTBAA, The Tinfoil Hat Edition or OH NOSE, OBAMA'S COMING TO TAKE MY GUNS

 So the Wife Unit asked that I travel to the fabled land of Starbucks and bring her back an offering of the new Double Double Fudge (So good they named it twice...their bad joke not mine.) Frappuccino. As is my wont, I listened to NPR on the way there and back again and as I returned to the vehicle after successfully capturing the DDFF, this gentleman was speaking. He preached loud and long about the coming New World Order and how Obama and his Muslim masters were hard at work getting America ready for takeover.

He went into great detail about how Obama's minions had been secretly implanting US citizens with computer chips for years to that the Government could use its infernal technology to track our every movement using the GPS signals embedded in the chips. He also pointed out that all of the military “training exercises” seen recently were all part of the top secret plan to install Martial Law and start putting US Citizens into FEMA extermination camps. Folks, in the 10 short minutes I listened to this guy, he hit on pretty much every single conspiracy theory out there and even mentioned a few that I had never heard of. For the sake of brevity and (Truthfully) the lack of any real interest on my part, I will only cover two of the many, many “theories” this gentleman had.

First, the tired old saw about some secret Gubbermint force using teensy little drones to inject undetectable GPS tracking chips into your body so your every action can be tracked. The most obvious problem for this idea is that the technology for this simply doesn't exist. Whereas companies are experimenting with very cool micro drones that mimic animals and insects, they are far from being unnoticeable so if one was buzzing around your body, you'd be going “WTF is that thing?” And although RFID chips do exist (My dog has one for gosh sakes), they don't broadcast secret radio messages over any real distance and certainly cannot be detected from a satellite in orbit. When the Vet checks my dog's chip, they have to use a handheld scanner pressed directly against the pups skin.

The second problem with this idea is “Why would the government bother?” Do you have a cell phone? Tablet? Dashboard GPS? If you answered yes to any of these questions then the government could easily track your every move without the need of implants or micro drones. You are already giving the government everything it needs to follow you from the grocery store to Pappy's Pop A Top Strip Bar and Cathedral. So, you can either panic and smash all of your cool toys or just let this one go. Okay?

Now, moving on to the New World Order and Obama's Secret Muslim Agenda (Hence to be known as NWO and OSMA) and the threat these two forces pose to the world. Since I believe in brevity (Stop laughing. I do believe in being brief. I also believe in fairies and Big Foot.), I will cover the threat posed with just a single word. NONE!

I listen to people talk about the coming NWO and how all of the governments of the world will unite under one charismatic leader and lead the world to its doom in eternal heckfire and I only have one thought. “Have any of you actually taken a look at the world you live in?” I mean seriously, nobody actually likes or trusts anyone. Allies don't like Allies and Enemies certainly don't like enemies so the very idea of all of these fractious groups suddenly uniting under one global banner to lead the way to the Alpacalypse is a little hard to believe.

Part of the NWO's plan (supposedly) is that OSMA will use its military might to conquer the US and put all of its people under the iron thumb of Sharia Law (Which is not the same as Shania Law because one will make you give up bacon and booze and the other will make you listen to Country Music all day while driving trucks...most people will not get that joke. Oh well, moving on.)

Now imagine this if you can without your headparts blowing up. Supposedly a man who is hated by a large number of people while use the military might of the US to conquer the country and install the OSMA. If we are to believe the Right Wingnuts (Keep in mind that I believe in unicorns and gnomes), the vast majority of the US Military Complex truly hates Obama and no American would ever fight for Sharia Law, so I cannot even conceive how a hated POTUS would convince the military to overthrow the US Government AND impose Sharia law. Maybe if they offer free kittens and Ice Cream too?

So I am no great thinker. I generally use my headparts to keep my hat on and not much else. Maybe I missed something? Perhaps you, my dear readers, can explain it all too me. I mean, if the threat is real, I want to be ready to battle the NWO/OSMA (Well unless they have kittens and ice cream, then I am all over that.) when the time comes. So if you can, please tell me the hidden truth behind the seemingly insane rantings. I eagerly await your instructions.

End of Rant

The Oh So Difficult and Rough Life of an Author.

     As I have mentioned before, I have been tossing out wordage since I was 16 years old and sold my first article for the grand sum of $35.00.  (Don't laugh, to a 16 year old in in 1979 in LA (Lower Alabama, 35 bucks waa a boatload of money.  At the time I got $5.00 a week in allowance to put things in perspective.)  I realized that crazy people would pay me me money for the drivel than ran through my head and I never looked back.
     So because of this decade long perspective, I can look at some of the ideas people have about the life of an Author and just shake my head.  (Paues and takes a drink from his ice cold energy drink.)  You seem to think that is is all fun and games with lots of sitting and goofing off or going to conventions to meet other authors and stars while...sitting and goofing off.  (Pauses and watches a bird fly byin the cool evening air.)  Well let me tell you that all of those things are very far from the truth.
    First of all, I have an actual job that is very demanding that takes up a great deal of my time.  I work at a fairly famous pizza place (You prolly remember commercials about avoiding something if you're OLD!) as a Delivery Driver/Assistant Manager.  This highly demanding job requires me to spend 15 to 20 hours a week riding around in my car, drinking and snacking while occassionally walking short distances to give people food.  It is a very difficult job and there are some weeks I am not sure if I can make it through the day.  I usually have to be at this arduous job by about 1730 hours so that means I must wake up no later than 1200 hours to get ready for work.  (And play World of Warcraft and watch Netflix and listen to music while playing WOW or watching Netflix.)
     On those rare days (Generally 3 or four) when I am off work,  I have so much to do around the house and in the garden that I must be out of bed at the crack of Noon to make sure that i have enogh time in the day to get everything done.  Then my day generally consists of eating lunch, preparing dinner and...well playing World of Warcraft and watching Netflix.
     Now after realizing how long and difficult my days are, you can well understand how difficult t is to find time to actually get any writing done.  I have to struggle with my oh so busy day to find the time to sit down in my comfy desk chair or even worse, sit outside in my even more comfy deck chair under the shade of my oversized deck umbrella with nice cool breezes blowing around me while sipping ice cold energy drinks.  It is a wonder I ever get anything done.  Still, I soldier on and manage.
     So the next time you are sitting at your desk after getting up at 0400 to get to work so that you can be badgered by people you don't even like about things you really don't care about, think of me and feel better about your lives.  Think of me struggling to stay awake in the warm Spring air and realize things cold get much worse.  (Finishes energy drink and ponders getting out of chair to get another, but decides the kitchen is much too far.)  PITY ME!

End of Rant

Put on your big bigot pants or STFU! or Play that bigotry card proudly!

Herein lies the hypocrisy of the "Birth Gender" bathroom bigots.

"BR I care not if it's bigotry or if anyone agrees or not.I damn sure am not ever going along with men sharing the bathroom with my girls. I don't give a damn about how he identify or whatever he calls himself. If he looks feminine enough to fool me that's fine.But if he doesn't fool me ,he will see how we feel about this."

Now lets break down this little gem into easily digestible parts. “I don't care if it's bigotry or if anyone else agrees or not.” Kudos on that one, I can't find any fault with that statement. Grats on that one.

“I damn sure am not ever going along with men sharing the same bathroom as my girls.” Again, not much problem with this one either. Straight males commit 1000s of rapes, assaults and molestations every year, so I'd be kind of nervous if a Straight Male walked into my little girl's locker room too. (Yeah I know what he actually meant, but I'm being nice.) So kudos on that one too.

Now comes the hypocritical part of this brave little missive. “I don't give a damn about how he identify or whatever he calls himself. If he looks feminine enough to fool me that's fine.But if he doesn't fool me ,he will see how we feel about this.” Can anyone else raise their hands and tell me exactly why that is so danged hypocritical? Anyone? Okay, I'll explain.

Herein lies the stupid, folks. The gifted soul that posted the comment says that if a Trans who was born Male and looks Male shouldn't be allowed to use the same potty as his daughter, but a trans Male who looks feminine is okay because he can't tell the difference. In short, the feminine Trans passes his approval. The stupid lies in the fact that NOTHING HAS CHANGED! The Feminine Trans is still as male by this person's standards as the other one and, using his “logic” is just as much a threat as the manly one. The only thing that changed is one meets with his approval and the other one doesn't.

That is exactly what all of these “Religious Freedom Acts” and “Birth Gender Bathroom” laws boil down to, approval. Conservative Christians don't approve of Same Sex Marriage, so they pass laws that try to limit or even do away with it. When they can't do that, they pass laws that allow businesses to discriminate against them. They try to prevent Same Sex couples from adopting. Simply because they don't approve of them.

Same with these bathroom laws being passed left and right by Conservative Republicans. They don't approve of even the very concept of Transgender individuals. They don't approve of who they are or their ideas which fly in the face of centuries of “Now that is just the way things are!” So they pass laws which directly target Trans individuals and try to pass it off as “common sense” laws to protect everyone. If you were working on common sense laws to protect everyone, you'd pass laws banning Conservative Republicans from using restrooms given the fact the the ex-speaker of the house is a serial molester of little boys and Conservative poster boy Duggar raped his little sisters. Funny how no one on the Conservative side is suggesting we ban Conservative men from restrooms to protect our children.

It comes down to this. If people are going to do harm and break the laws, they are going to do it no matter what. New laws to make it illegal won't stop them. Conservatives always cry out loudly anytime new and stricter gun control laws are suggested and do you know what they scream? “GUN LAWS WON'T CHANGE ANYTHING BECAUSE CRIMINALS DON'T OBEY THE LAW!” Funny how those same people are now screaming, “WE NEED NEW LAWS BECAUSE CRIMINALS AREN'T OBEYING THE OLD ONES!” when it comes to bathrooms. Like I said at the beginning, this is the height of hypocrisy.

End of Rant

THE GREAT 2016 POTTY BREAK! or Hey you made the laws, so deal with it.

Okay so here's my idea. Get ready because it is a DOOZY! With all of these oh so bigoted states passing oh so bigoted laws targeting Transgender people and all of the uproar being generated by even more bigots about how they need to keep their loved ones save so people should only use the bathroom associated with their birth sex, I have been giving it a lot of thought and I seriously don't think these people understand exactly what they are asking for. So I think we need to show them exactly what sort of magical paradise they will be living in if Trans are forced to use the bathrooms of their birth gender.

So here is my idea. All of the Transgender individuals out there, all of you need to make road trips down to all of the States where Birth Bathroom laws have been passed, and do exactly what the law says you have to do. Yup, that's right. All of the Trans Males need to go use the lady type bathrooms and all of the Trans Females need to go use the guy type bathrooms.

Wazzat you say? How will that cause an uproar? Well, it is simple. Imagine you are a Middle Aged Christian Lady delicately powdering your nose and in walks a tall, muscular man with a nice stache and five oclock shadow. He smiles at you and proceeds to stand next to you and wash his hands. You, of course, will scream in terror and race out of the room trying to find a cop. Problem is, that guy is actually biologically a women and by the laws of your state, He is doing exactly what he is supposed to do.

So, come on America (and any one from any of the 8 or 9 nations that read this blog)! Plan your next road trip around visiting all of the states passing these bigoted laws and visit bathrooms in every single one of them. Put on your prettiest sundress and pay a visit to the guy room. Pull on your tightest muscle shirt to show off your hairy chest and visit the girl room. Just make to keep your ID and birth certificates ready when all of the shouting starts. When they start yelling at you, just say, “Hey this is what you asked for.”

COME ON PEOPLE, ITS POTTY OR BUST!

(As an end note here, let me say with all joking aside, be careful. There are hateful people out there who think they have the right to beat up and even kill LGBT members just because they don't approve of them. As this hysteria is turned up higher and higher, I fear that we will be seeing a lot more cases of Transgender assault and murder. So fight this crap with all of your power and stand up for your rights. Just keep yourselves safe as you can while you do it. We need heroes, not martyrs.)

End of Rant

We aren't Perverts, we work for the government or Mommy that man is staring at me,

OK Becky, before you go potty lift your skirt and assume the position.

Line up and drop yer drawers!

 So let's get one thing straight, people who are screaming about “Trans Perverts in the restrooms” are suggesting that anyone who wants to use a restroom must be inspected to ensure that their potty parts match the gender they claim to be. They want to make sure the parts match the sign on the door. Several states have passed laws that basically require that someone in a position of power inspect and certify that people are going poop in a biologically appropriate bathroom.

Now, before the snark and insults begin, let me state that I am 67% sure that the vast majority of these “inspection” ideas do truly mean checking out the person's ID to make sure that even though the person claims to be Janet, she is actually physically a James. This in no way defends these moronic laws, but I am just trying to say that maybe not all of the people designing these laws are a bunch of sick, perverted individuals with an obsession for excretion and urination. Anywho, moving on.

Gender Police

So, since one state has actually offered a sizable reward for anybody who catches a Transgender individual violating the sanctity of their potties (Yes that is right, the state is offering a reward for anyone who spies on another person in the bathroom. Nah that's not perverted at all.), lets just focus on the idea that people want to be able to physically verify whether or not a person is an Innie or an Outtie. (Think about it, you'll get it in a second then catch up with the rest of us.) They want the right to check your kids undies to make sure they aren't Trans.

Now focus on that for a second. The proponents of these bigoted laws scream to the high heavens that they are doing everything in their power to protect their children and wives from perverts and rapists. They weep openly that their precious little lambs might see a guy's junk while they are going potty and be scarred for life. They claim they want to keep that sort of trauma from harming their children. So if this is true (It ain't but work with me on this one), WTH (That's Why The Heck BTW, I'm not allowed to curse anymore. Sigh, there goes 20% of my vocabulary.) are these same people okay with total strangers checking to see what is inside of their kids panties?

Let me toss this scenario out for you. Your little girl is on a field trip to the Creation Museum to watch the video about how the dinosaurs missed the boat when the unicorns kept them up late the night before. She suddenly wishes that she hadn't drank three 20 oz sodas on the way there and desperately needs to go the potty. One of the teachers escorts her to the restroom, but before she can go inside a uniformed man says, “Wait, you look like a little boy. We are going to have to check to make sure you are actually a girl. Sorry it is the law.” That night, she gets home and tells you how she had to drop her panties in front of this stranger just to prove that she was a girl. How peeved (Sorry no cursing) would you be. If the answer isn't “I'm gonna get a bat and find that man and beat his head in” you are probably a bad parent. Actually forget the probably part of that sentence.

Now I hear what you are screaming and yes, I admit that is a pretty extreme and fairly (at this time) unlikely scenario. However, reality is just as frightening. At least two VERIFIED cases have occurred since Bigots started fanning the Trans/Perverts flames of hate where Cis Gender Women were confronted by people because they were trying to use the potty and someone (Male of course) thought they looked too masculine to be women and forced them to leave. In one case, the woman was literally dragged from the restroom by her shirt and bra straps by a MALE security guard who followed her into the restroom. Yes, you read that right a Male security guard followed a woman into a bathroom. Scary huh?

The hysteria being generated by the Right over Trans individuals using the bathroom of the sex they identify with is rapidly reaching the paranoia and fear levels of the Salem Witch Hunts. If something is done to stop them, people will wind up getting hurt. Someone will decided that your daughter or wife doesn't look enough like a girl and assault them because they have been brainwashed into thinking that “OMG (That one actually stands for Oh My God) that pervert is gonna hurt somebody!” When this happens, the only people to blame for the injuries and perhaps even deaths will be the people who passed the bigoted laws in the first place and the people who bought into all the lies and fear.

End of Rant.