Impaling Palin

Can I just be completely un-liberated, anti-feminist, and chauvinistic for a moment? This thought has been bothering me about Sarah Palin. If you are such a wonderful mother, such a wonderful human being....why wouldn't you pass up the nomination for VP to take care of your 17 year old daughter, who is going to need your support and attention now more than any other time in her life? This is strictly my opinion but if my daughter were pregnant I would be completely focused on figuring out how to help and teach her how to be responsible for this child. As a candidate she is completely unavailable and unfocused on her family. As VP she would be the same. This bothers me. I understand ambition. I have plenty of my own. But if she was that awesome, the offer would have come around again sometime......wouldn't you think it would be better to focus on the problems you have in your own home?

I welcome a debate on this, what do ya'll think. I like her spunk, I disagree with her on almost every issue and I hate that she has flip flopped on so many things, but that's every politician. But this thought about her pregnant teenage daughter keeps popping in my head. Why would you abandon your family when they need you the most? Is power really that important? Even the thought at the chance of being the leader of the free world is not enough to make me toss my kids aside to further my career. Now think about this long and hard before you slam me. I am not saying she doesn't love her kids. But there is no way she is going to be around to help with that baby.....is Bristol going to be left to learn about parenting with a Nanny and her Dad? As a mother myself, helping with life changing milestones are some of the things I look forward to (and also dread) the most.......Just my opinion, but I think she has made a bad call for her family, a choice fueled by being power hungry.

Idioms you Idiots!!

Idiom: an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up

Let's just examine this whole pig with lipstick bullshit....I am going to give you a list of idioms and put them into context of the Presidential Campaign....then I am going to give you the media reaction to said phrase...mostly because I am avoiding housework ..... and a nerd. Now before I start this let us get one thing straight. These are potential phrases....I support Barrack Obama, I don't care how freakin' hot Sarah Palin is....LOL!

A Dime A Dozen
Politicians like John McCain are a dime a dozen
Media response = Insult to McCain as a washed up political hag.

A Leopard Can't Change His Spots
Obama talks about change, but a leopard can't change his spots
Media response = McCain campaign referring to Obama as an animal and not a human being.

Son of a Gun
Joe Biden sure is one Son of Gun
Media response = Has the Democratic ticket changed their stance on Gun Control???? Scandal!!

Third times a charm
It seems the Republican Party thinks the Third time is the the Charm...maybe they will get it right this time.
Media Response = Obama campaign slams Bush and McCain in one fell swoop!!!

Smell Something Fishy
Sarah Palin appears to be the pitt bull of this campaign but something smells fishy
Media Response = Obama campaign slams Palin's personal hygiene (ok uncalled for but it was just screaming to be written...forgive me Lord, that was rude)

Pig In A Poke (means a deal that is made without first examining it.)
McCain sure is a pig in a poke over his VP choice
Media Response = Now Obama calls McCain a PIG too!!!

Don't Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth
The RNC couldn't look a gift horse in the mouth regarding the VP choice of Sarah Palin!
Media Response = RNC chairman calls Sarah Palin a Horse!!!

Cock and Bull Story
The media has created this cock and bull story about Sarah Palin passing off her infant son as her daughter's.
Media Response = Well we got the cock part right...she's knocked up! (Oh Lord I apologize again...sometimes I just can't resist)

All Bark And No Bite
Sarah Palin is all bark and no bite when it comes to environmental protection
Media Response= Obama campaign accuses Palin of barking at tree huggers....

Yes yes, these are jokes, I made them up, but geez people. Have we forgotten that millions of women in Africa are being gang raped everyday? Billions are starving. Soldiers are dying? Who gives a flying fuck if Obama used a common phrase like a pig in lipstick...a phrase by the way John McCain used himself last fall! I hate the media!

Depakote Day 2 1/2

Well I think the Depakote might be a much better fit for me.....but it's early. I said the same thing the last time in the first two days into the new drugs....it's kind of like dating. You get all oooey gooey over someone, think maybe this could be the ONE... then you realize all he ever does is talk about himself! LOL! I knew I would be going through this 'dating' process with the meds....it was the thing I dreaded most. I hope this one finally sticks.

I have tons and tons of opinions on politics lately but can't seem to find the time or gumption to write about them. Maybe today I will have time and be inspired. But can I just say that the whole 'lipstick on a pig' thing just cracks me the hell up. Get over yourself people. Sometime someone is going to say "Well that's the pot calling the kettle black" about Obama and it's gonna be "oooooooooh he/she's a racist! I can't believe they said that!" and we will be hearing about it for weeks....it's an expression folks. Get over it. I could list a ton of them that if taken out of context could be considered extremely offensive.....now that sounds fun, maybe I will do that today :0)~

For that matter how about the FLILF

I last wrote about Sarah Palin, but I would be derelict in my psuedolesbian duties if I left out Cindy McCain huh? Good Lord she is the ultimate Barbie doll...which actually makes me hate her :0)~ But she's hot.....I shouldn't have left her out in my last post.

It's like the Playboy Ticket. In fact I think that's what I am going to call it.

For the record Obama has my vote...even though his VP choice measures about a 2 on the hotness scale...Obama on the other hand...hmmmm....I have to say he measures about an 8, he's kind of a hottie don't ya think?

Oh the things I think to write about at 6 a.m......

The VPILF

I read the funniest thing on a blog I discovered today....about Sarah Palin being bow chicka wow wow hot! This from a straight gal. I have to say I am in agreement. Good Lord that woman is fine....I'm supposed to hate her, I am a liberal to the core...LOL...but there's something about that hot librarian thing she's got going on. I just keep waiting for her to take the pin out of her hair, throw her glasses to the crowd and start stripping around the pole that would miraculously ascend from the stage of the RNC.....

Can't you just see it now....I am hearing the tunes of "Hot for Teacher" in the background....Can't you just picture it?

Check out this blog it's funny as hell! Sweetened Taters

Happy Thursday

Well I am still feeling sooooooo much better. The old me. Still crazy...but my normal crazy :0)

My only complaint, and then I swear I will stop complaining about my health and starting writing about more interesting things again, is that I have this constant headache. I wake up with it...it's there all day....it never leaves. Maybe a piece of my brain exploded with my little breakdown...HA! It's seems less severe today, but it's still there. As soon as I woke up there it was at the very top of my head, like some little brain fairy poking me with a teeny tiny pitchfork. Maybe if it's less severe today that means in a few days it will be gone.

Soooooo YAY! I feel normal again. And I have absolutely nothing to write about. Doesn't that just figure! LOL! I am sure before the day is over I will have some brilliant words to write...truth be told I haven't seen the news in over a week. I have no idea what is going on in the world....which is ODD for me!! I am a news junkie! I usually even keep up with news on sites like Reporters without Borders, which publishes news your freedom of press loving government won't let you hear. But I am so out of the loop right now that for all I know Hugh Hefner is Obama's running mate and John McCain was found in an alley getting a $20 blow job....ok that was uncalled for...yes, I am definately back! :0)~

But seriously...Hugh Hefner for VP....that could be fun...

Finally a Normal, Insanely Odd Blog

So is anyone else around here sick and tired of reading about me being sick and tired?

I am feeling pretty good today and trying to get things back to normal around here. I've cleaned house today and have generally felt normal. I have the house to myself for a few hours so I have been surfing for music online and came across an old song that I used to love. It's a Marilyn Manson song. And I thought what a perfect thing to blog about! LOL! It's time to start writing about all the crazy shit I usually write about. And hey, we've been teetering on the edge of insanity all week...who better to talk about than the big, bad, scary, and insane devil boy, Marilyn Manson?

Yeah, I am a fan. Shocked? Ok yeah, at this point not much would shock you about me right? Well let me tell you why I am a fan. Because he is honest. You don't have to like it, agree with it, or even be able to stomach it...but let me tell you, he is the voice of an entire community of young people in this country. People like me who grew up surrounded by nightmares, poor, independent punks, the quiet intellectual ones and even the pretty young things on the soccer team living in the perfect suburban neighborhoods. He writes about the raw, gutting emotions of adolescence. The pain and doubts in your mind as you struggle with your screwed up life, wondering if you will ever escape. Those who are silently suffering from depression or other mental illness. Those of us with parents who weren't there, or incapable of parenting. Those of us with parents who tried to be the perfect parent or even just wanted to appear to be the perfect parents, but never once listened to angst in our hearts....So many kids grow up without any guidance at the crucial age of adolescence. I did. It created some pretty screwed up thoughts and doubts in my life as a teen. When I was 17 or 18, along came this artist who was just shockingly brutal, blasphemous, scary and controversial....I loved it! (of course) The Alice Cooper of my generation!

Now my hick town is full of metal heads and rock and roll lover's...but this dude was NOT creating fans among the coutry boy metal heads I grew up with. He was a little too poetic and cryptic for them....they needed sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. I hid my Manson fetish and spent many nights listening all alone to this voice who spewed his hatred for society and organized religion in that seductively evil voice. Now let me be clear, I didn't always approve of or agree with the things Mr. Manson has proclaimed in his music or elsewhere....but I loved the fact that he had the balls to say it. Kind of like my love for Larry Flynt, he is one sick f'ker, but damn it I like him! I have the same love for Ted Nugent - who I disagree with on almost every political issue LOL! They just say what they're gonna say and don't give a shit what you have to say about it!

So anyway, back to my rebelious teenage angst...I fell in love with Manson's first album called Portrait of an American Family It represented the inner turmoil of every American child growing up in homes where they were abused, molested, neglected and ignored. The kids who were being bullyed in school and in society. The kids disillusioned with religion as the reality of adult hypocrasy started crashing down on them. Those kids who were outcasts. Then Anti Christ Superstar came out...boy did that cause some controversy! Of course, I loved it!

His lyrics aren't for the faint of heart...some of them are down right sick...but they ring true in the ears of the angry teen. They are empowering and you feel less alone as you realize that somebody gets it. Somebody gets it. Now that statement isn't going to make sense to those of you who enjoyed a beautiful childhood, and God Bless you. And I need to add mine was not all bad I have very fond memories of things in my childhood...but there are nightmares that overpower those memories more often than not. And I became one of these angry, confused teens....Marilyn Manson was my Jim Morrison....

He was my first ever rock concert. It was awesome. There were churches protesting outside the arena, it was insane. At the time I was in a very vacant place regarding my faith and what I believed. I grew up in a fanatically religious home, but of course I was never one who accepted the spoon fed doctrine, I asked too many questions and did too much of my own research (why believe something if you don't really know why), I questioned sacred scripture *gasp*. I was considered rebellious and blasphemous! Having a mother who was mentally unstable didn't help this matter at all of course. I didn't know what I believed anymore...

Ok, so back to the concert...the big stink about this show was that Manson had been ripping up a Bible during part of his performance. That doesn't go over too well in the Bible Belt. There were TV news crews everywhere! I had skipped class to go and I was just sure my English professor was going to see me on TV and would know I lied about a family emergency! (I know..that was just plain bad...) So I snuck in a side entrance...

The show was amazing, the energy was wild, the theatrics were more than Alice Cooper could have ever imagined and the crowd loved it! Yes, he tore up the Bible. Did I cry about it? No. Would I cry about it today if I saw it? No. At that time, and even now, I celebrate that fact that we are allowed such freedom of expression in our country. The fact that he could display his contempt for organized religion and it's man made rules, or that a citizen can burn his flag in protest of the horrible decisions our government has made at times....these are true freedoms. And feeling free enough to do them, with little care or thought of the opinion of others is an awesome thing to me. Maybe I am weird....

Would I ever tear up my Bible? No....it has brought me far too much comfort over the years. Would I care if you tear up yours? No...do what you gotta do...cause I've been in that place in my head and in my heart...and I think freedom of expression is a treasured liberty.

Whoa...you got a soap box full that time huh? And probably about a topic you could care less about! LOL....I guess I'm back!

P.S. I considered adding Manson tunes to my playlist here...but I didn't want to scare any readers away!!! Ha! I wonder where the hell that guy has gone anyway....he'll probably die young...The most brilliant ones always do.

P.S.S. * a few hours later * Ok I added one anyway, it's one you can surely tolerate, probably the most sedate song in his repertoire

Noooo Way Maaaan

OMG kids we are wearing weed in our birthday suit! No foolin' just read it on MSNBC.com here's the article: Skin churns out marijuana-like brain chemicals

That's why my skin was always so clear in high school and college :0)~

And further proof that perhaps it's time we solve our recession problem by legalizing a chemical that apparently our body makes anyway. Legalize weed, license people to farm and sell it, tax the ever livin' shit out of it and VOILA...budget problem solved! Plus the hillbillies down south will be upgraded their john boats for bass boats, trading in their 1974 Bronco's for a spiffy 1999 Bravada, and every shack around will have a hot tub out by the well......

Ok I am joking about the hillbilly surplus, but if people studied this seriously...the reasons our government developed such a propaganda against marijuana in the first place (completely a ploy to further segregate and punish blacks) and the studies that have shown the stoner to be no less dangerous, and usually less, than the local drunk. I don't care for the drunk hanging around all the time either...but it's legal. And every drink I serve at the tavern is taxed for the good of our state and country. My advice...if I were president...make weed legal too. Let all those party animals get jugged up and stoned! There'd be a lot less fighting and lot less unwanted pregnancies....who has the motivation to kick ass or chase ass when you are drunk and stoned....'dude ya got any chips?' LMAO

Yeah yeah I am poking fun at a controversial topic....what else is new. I am all for legalizing pot. I've seen far more fucked up and dangerous drunks in my day. Live and Let Live...and make a little tax money while you are at it!! Hell it was good enough for George Washington!

Hackin' Up The Headlines

If you caught your morning news you are seeing two big headlines today....first of all the Rev. Jesse Jackson wants to cut Obama's nuts off...well ain't that just solidarity for ya?! Good grief. I am sure there are more people who'd like to see Jackson's nuts dipped in batter, deep fat fried and served on a platter. Oh, sorry, that must be the hillbilly comin' out it in me. Hog balls are a delicacy around here....I just have to say that guy gives me gas. Always has. Always running his mouth....what exactly does he do? Actions speak louder than words. Please correct me if I am wrong, but does this man ever do anything that doesn't involve a camera crew following him around? Isn't his face I always see popping up in the latest racial controversy? Does he actually do anything else when there are no major headlines to be captured? He strikes me as the kind of man who wouldn't spare a dime for a homeless man, he'd be the guy growling "Take a bath hippie" Just my opinion....He certainly is no Martin Luther King Jr.

Then there is the JonBenet Ramsey case....can I just say it's about fuckin' time! It would have been nice for the family to receive this apology from the DA's office before Patsy Ramsey had to suffer an agonizing death from cancer. Yeah...good one guys. Way to go. The woman suffers the horrible reality of having her own child murdered in her own home....the fact that she was sexually assaulted only adds to the horror...then you accuse her and her husband of doing it. Convince a town, a state and a nation (thanks to our fact checking, dirt loving media) that they are guilty...everywhere they go for the rest of their lives...suspicion...now one of them is gone and you finally....FINALLY admit that ya fucked up! Good one boys...that's all I can say.

So yeah, I'm bitchy this morning...can ya tell.

Oh and just a correction from my last post (I am leaving it because, well, it's hilarious) but when I was talking about a flagellation situation....uh yeah, I meant farts...you know flatulence. I just had momentary attack of dumbassitis. But to go from flatulence to flagellation...now that's a doosey!

Moonshine and Roses

My weekend is over and my heart is full. These are times I cherish in my heart as rare and pure moments of utter joy and freedom. When the girls can get together and kick off our shoes, dance in the river and just be free. Free of spirit. Free of burdens. Free of mind. Free of heart.

The weekend was spent juggling my regular jobs and mommyhood with making time to spend with friends, but it was worth the exhausted feeling I have tonight. Good friends, good music and good spirits, which included a little home made and hand delivered Tennessee moonshine....which is utterly disgusting by the way...:0)~

My girlfriend who is home from the ARMY is one of those people who makes my life so much happier when she is near. A kindred spirit, who I have worried about and prayed for as she fought in this bloody war in Iraq. Having her home, on the land where she was born and bred, the land she takes as much pride in as me, is like passing by a rose bush with one beautiful scented blossom, hanging in the sunshine, sharing it's life with all who see it. She is a rose in my life. And I love her. My heart is full.

Meet Me in Saint Louie....part One

Well we are back from our vacation and I am happy to report we had a (mostly) FABULOUS time!!!! I couldn't have asked for a better weekend!!! And I just have to brag on the city of St. Louis for a moment! It is such a clean, tourist friendly, easy to navigate and hospitable city!!! It has always been my favorite city but after a 3 day vacation with two toddlers I will be singing it's praises forever! LOL!

So there are lots of good stories to tell, some good, some bad. I figure I will start with the bad just to get it out of the way...save the best for last ya know...I will probably have to lump these in seprate posts because you know how I like to jabber on and on. So as time permits today I will try to sum up my vacation in several posts.

We left the house Friday morning headed for the St. Louis Zoo. After about 2 1/2 hours of driving we finally hit the city. Construction detours turned us around and we ended up waaaaay off course. God bless truck drivers! I stopped at a 7/11 and asked a driver for help. He laughed at us, redneck white folk who can't navigate the city...."How da hell you end up down here?" I just laughed right along with him. We were on the far south side of the city! But thankfully it didn't take long to get back to where we needed to be, he gave us great directions! So I guess it wasn't all that bad, but I have to say part of me was thinking "If this is how the vacation is starting...Oh Boy!"

Finally we arrived at the Zoo, and as far as Zoo's go, it is very nice, clean and entertaining. However I did find myself pitying these captive animals. Many of them look they would chew the wrong end of a shotgun off if they could....if animals can get depressed, that is what I saw. A majestic brown bear just paced back and forth for hours, panting and hanging his head. He looked as if he once was glorious to behold, and now patches of his fur were missing and he looked so sad I wanted to hug him...if he wouldn't have considered me a 4 course meal. So many of the animals just looked miserable and defeated. I felt a bit guilty standing there oggling them and trying to excite my kids about them as they stared back at us with blank looks and hopeless disregard. We spent a few hours there and then checked into our hotel and headed for the pool.

This is where the story gets bad...the single most memorable event of our vacation and it has nothing to do with my family or our many adventures. When we arrived at the hotel pool there were a few other families swimming and some adults in the whirlpool. I saw the most beautiful little baby boy with his Daddy sitting by the edge of the pool, he was maybe 4 months old. He had an older brother in the pool swimming (I am assuming he was brother, he was probably 12). Then I noticed this older lady over by the hot tub. She was in and out of the hot tub and she scowled much of the time. Her husband and son were frolicking in the pool having a great time along side us, but she just scowled. I remember feeling sorry for someone who could be that miserable with a hot tub sitting right beside them....

The daddy of the baby began to slowly pace around, bouncing his son and whispering sweet notions to him as he kissed and loved on him. It warmed my heart and made me miss having babies of my own. But I noticed he had a worried look on his face. He was watching his older son very closely and seemed to be willing him to get bored of the pool so they could leave. It took me a while to see the big picture of this scenario, but once I did I was just sick! Sick, sick, sick!!!

See what I saw was a loving father, spending quality time with his kids, perhaps letting mommy take a nap or a shower back in the room. I saw a doting dad who showered his kids with love and praise and laughter. What the scowly woman saw was a big scary black man, with big muscles, covered in tattoos. He had on very nice, designer swim trunks, as did his kids, so I am sure she assumed he was a drug dealer. His fancy blackberry phone must have been stolen or bought with dirty money and he probably had his 12 year old peddling crack on the grade school play ground!

See what I didn't notice for a while is that every time the 12 year old got in the hot tub....she got out! And she never once set foot in the pool with us. She also kept a close eye on the father...as if he was gonna whip out a 9mm pistol with an infant on his hip and rob her of her L.L. Bean flip flops and her Panama Jack straw hat. She never cracked a smile even as my children, who are damn near irresistible, flashed her smiles and waved at her......I started to get the big picture here and I was scrambling in my mind to find a way to make the father and his children feel comfortable. I talked to the little boy a bit, but finally Dad insisted that they leave....I could tell by the look on his face that he had had enough of the suspicious glares and the blatant disgust from this woman.

After they left......SHE GOT IN THE POOL, all smiles and sunshine...waving at my kids and giving us that approving look you give a happy family who is splashing and giggling. It took everything I had not to go over to her, hike up my leg and pee on her!! Must be the bitch in me, canine instincts!!! I bet she wouldn't want to be swimming with my white ass either if I used her for a fire hydrant. I was so disgusted.....I said something to my husband about it too....It might have been loud enough for her to hear...I might have felt bad about calling her an idiot...I might have hoped she hadn't heard me....I might have hoped that dirty look was aimed at my trashy tattoo and not my intelligent observation of her ignorance..........but then again....nah! The bitch deserved it!!!

I don't know that I have ever witnessed anything so blatantly prejudiced in all my life. Even my ignorant ass redneck relatives wouldn't have acted like that. I thought we gave up the fear of sharing swimming pools with 'colored folk' in 1960....maybe I am the ignorant one.

P.S. I am doing ok, thanks for the support ya'll! I'll keep you posted on my mental healthy....maybe I will find some kind of 'crazy meter' widget! LOL!

My Life In Music

The house is quiet, hubby is out, the kids are asleep and I have been adding songs to my Playlist for my blog....it has put me in mellow mood, as always seems to happen when I have time to listen to meaningful music. Much like reading an emotionally powerful novel it takes my mind to a place that reflects on the past, the present, the future and all the events in my life related to or described by the lyrics and rhythms in the songs. My family is full of musicians, my father, brothers, uncles, nephews and cousins...guitar pickers, bluegrass lovers, rock and rollers and amazing songwriters are all in the mix. No family gathering ever occurs without guitars and a foot stomping celebration of our roots.

I had the urge tonight to post snippets of song lyrics that are the timeline of my life, but this blog would be 5 pages long. Then it occurred to me to just post the song titles. They are all on my playlist, anyone interested could just find the song and listen. However, this blog is really just for me. I don't expect anyone to be all that interested. I just have the need to purge this....there are no words of my own flowing from my brain tonight. No poetry. Nothing new...only things that have already been said. Only the words of these songs, stolen from others and applied to the realities of my life. Songs so significant in my life that many of them stop me in my tracks.

The first being Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, which describes the descent of my mother's sanity and the feelings I have surrounding her loss. The song was written for Syd Barrett, the bands original singer and songwriter. His friends and bandmates watch him slip into the depths of mental illness at the beginning of their success....they have captured the feeling of loss so wonderfully. I want this song played at my funeral someday. "We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year" Those words seem to sum up my mother daughter experience. Even now that she is gone, I still feel that....year after year.

The second is For You by Stained. I hope that when I my sons are teenagers I have the sense to listen to this song and remember my own childhood. This song just embodies everything I felt as a teenager of a broken home, a victim of abuse, a lost child trying desperately to find a way out of the darkness that was my reality at the time.

The third is Not a Pretty Girl by Ani Difranco. This woman is such an amazing songwriter, every word she puts to paper touches me on some level, but this song is who I am. Once I found myself, became comfortable in my own skin, and decided to forge my own path in life, this is who I became. From the moment I first heard this song I felt like Ani had somehow reached into my soul and pulled out my inner feelings about who I am. Yes I am pretty, or pretty enough...but I don't care about being a "pretty" girl. I want to be the girl you remember because she said or wrote something that affected you in some way...not because she is attractive.

My feelings on politics, government and human rights? Blowing in the Wind by Bob Dylan. 40 years later this song still holds a powerful message that I wish every human on Earth could take to heart.

My family, my roots, my heritage - Leave This Long Haired Country Boy Alone by Charlie Daniels. These are my father's people. Hillbillies. Country Trash. River Rats. Guitar Pickers and Whiskey Drinkers. I love them fiercely.

The soundtrack of those family gatherings often included songs like The Ballad of Curtis Lowe by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Copperhead Road by Steve Earl and dozens of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, George Jones and Willie Nelson songs.

My experience with aging - Outlaw Women by Hank Jr. These are my girls. One of a kind. Loud, rowdy, strong, independent and opinionated. Take it or leave it. We have gone from being girls to women, girlfriends to wives, and kids to mothers. There are a handful of us who are still a tight knit group and Hank says it all about who we are.

The memories of being young and free as a teenager...ok don't laugh....Good Ole Boys by Waylon Jennings. Yes it is the theme song to the Dukes of Hazard, but more than that to me, it describes life for the youth of my generation growing up in rural small town America. We got our kicks taking risks and evading the law. We never meant any harm, never created any violence or vandalism, we were just kids with nothing better to do but drink beer, race cars, get crazy and be young. Another song that is an accurate description for my generation of country boys and girls is Fortunate Son by CCR, once again a song that was written for our parents generation seems to hold true, even for my own children.

My life today Small Town by John Mellencamp. He says it all.....

All of these songs....feelings captured in the words written by phenomenal artists. Writers I could only dream of being comparable to. They speak to me in ways that Wordsworth and Lord Byron will never be able to do.

Forgotten Flood Victims

There has been a slight falling out in the family....something I am not comfortable discussing publicly yet, but one that I suppose you can file under "Why can't I ever just keep my big mouth shut!" Somebody said something hurtful to me, I told my husband, my husband defended me in a fierce and rather disrespectful manner (ok it's his mom....) and so now they are not speaking. It made for a potentially awkward Father's Day....but it actually turned out wonderfully for us. He woke up yesterday and decided we were going to spend the day just US...the 4 of us. He wanted to got to Evansville IN, about a 2 hour drive, and take the boys to Chuck E. Cheese. We had an awesome time, just by ourselves! And hubby and I talked and talked and felt closer than we had in a long time. I told him not many guys would have done what he did for me, even if I don't necessarily agree how he went about it. Anyhoo hope you all had a fabulous Father's Day!

For those not familiar with Chuck E. Cheese, it is a Pizza place for kids full of games and little rides and activities for kids (and adults :0) The boys had so much fun!

On our way home we decided to take a different route to see the flood waters in Lawrence County IL. You keep hearing about Iowa on your morning news, but nobody is telling you about this little piece of the Earth that has been ravaged. A main water line has broken somewhere underneath this floodwater, and 4 towns are without water....FOUR TOWNS! Our local dairy truckers are hauling truckload after truckload of water instead of milk to try and keep these people sanitary and hydrated. So if you price of milk suddenly goes up, maybe the local news should take a look at the crisis here....


I did not have my camera with me, but what we saw was just amazing and horrifying. Houses underwater and farmland just disappeared into lakes. Dozens of levees have broken along the Wabash and Embarrass River's to create this disaster. There were cars lined up for miles pulled over on the highway gawking at the sight. There were speed boats and jet skis in the flood waters that used to be fertile farm fields, helping victims retrieve items from their homes and surveying the damage. Road signs peeked out just above the water line, indicating that this water was at least 8-10 feet deep. I have found some pictures online that show the flooding my neighbors are enduring. They continue to need your prayers. I think perhaps because this is not a densely populated region, it is not getting media coverage, but these flooded fields are going to affect everyone's pocket book very soon. Much of this corn is grown for ethanol, and often our soy beans are used for bio-diesel as well. More pain at the pump.










Photos are property of Steve Hardesty, please see this site for more photos he has taken of this disaster http://www.stevehardesty.com/

Survival of the Smartest

So I am sick as a dog and really should be in bed, but instead here I am talking to you...whoever you are....

I have come across a blog that I find fascinating! It started with my fascination about polygamy and reading several blogs of Americans who are living this lifestyle. I stumbled across a website that combines the poly lifestyle with something else that fascinates me, Survivalists. Not the doomsday type survivalists, but the realists, the people that realize our economy may not hold out forever and disasters like Katrina and 911 may put us in the position to be self sufficient at some point in time, especially those of us isolated from any metropolitan area. They are the "Bama Girls" and they call their blog The Self Sustaining Kitchen It is filled with ideas about how to recycle items, can, dehydrate and store food, as well as general country living things. Here is the link....I will add it to my blogroll too http://www.bamagalskitchen.blogspot.com/

This site got me thinking about something I made a mental note about years ago. After 911 happened, I remember thinking that I should really try to be prepared in the event of a disaster like this. I look now at the flooding going on in our neighboring counties and realize the cost of food and supplies is going to increase dramatically because of this. In fact much of the farmland that is flooded right now is used to grow corn for ethanol production....so once again that is going to impact fuel prices, which affects us all across the nation. On the flip side of that, in the last decade wheat production has gone down because so many farmers here began to grow more corn, due to the demand for ethanol....this is why your bread costs so much more lately, especially healthy whole grain bread. When you consider my family of 4, who generally lives paycheck to paycheck, or damn close to it, that is a scary prospect. Higher food costs and fuel costs could sink us in a hurry. We already have a lot of trouble with people robbing fuel from the farm tanks and even vehicles parked in the driveways, most of us have guns handy to ward of varmits like skunks, coons and possum...but they are handy for theives too! There may come a point in time when we are forced to protect ourselves from theft of food and other supplies as well if things continue this way.

Anyhoo, it just got me thinking. It is a subject I am sure I will write about more, I just had to share this little gem that I found. It is funny and informative. Just 2 wives and their hubby living the country life, much like me, minus the other wife.

For now I need to get to bed, even my fingers ache. I hate being sick. It makes me whiny....and I hate it when people whine!

Ignorance Always Prevails - Warning Foul Language!!

Ok, can I just say I am sick and tired, and I mean sick and f'n tired of getting the e-mails about Barak Obama that are nothing more than racist tirades masked as concern for the welfare of America. One of my Aunts is by far the worst at passing these along. I have probably pissed her off this morning because I sent her an e-mail and told her to check her facts, along with a link to http://www.snopes.com/ I never was one who could keep my mouth shut :0)

I can honestly say this has nothing to do with my political beliefs, but everything to do with the integrity in journalism and the political process. Today's e-mail (they seem to be coming daily) states the following "facts"

Obama is an illegitimate child because his father was not divorced from his first wife before he married Obabma's mother

Despite Obama's claims that his father was an atheist, he was in fact Muslim

The e-mail goes on to show many many pictures of Obama visiting with family members in Kenya along with captions that seem to show nothing other than him enjoying his visit and supporting his culture. The e-mail ends with the following:

SINCE CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN, AND THE NEW YORK TIMES WILL NOT SHOW THESE PICTURES, AND WE WONDER WHY NOT, WILL YOU FORWARD THESE TO THE (APPROXIMATE NUMBER) 200 MILLION AMERICANS WHO HAVE INTERNET ACCESS? THANK YOU.

Give me a fuckin' break!! Those pictures did nothing but show this man on a family visit. How is his pride in his culture any different than our "German Beer Fests" "Mardi Gras" "St. Patrick's Day" "Valentines Day".....These are all celebrations of white culture I suppose they don't count. White people supporting their heritage isn't dangerous...but God forbid an African American support his culture and family history!! If I go to Germany and trace the steps of my ancestors and meet with distant relatives, does that make me a racist pig who believes whites are superior. Fuck no it doesn't. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. And it pisses me off! Have we stooped to such a low that an intelligent, free thinking American citizen cannot display pride in his roots and aspire to become the President of the United States? Are we not the melting pot of the world? Wasn't this country founded on the principle that any man, from any land could come here and live in freedom?

Oh and let's just address the facts listed in this e-mail and compare....

He might be an illegitimate child. SFW??? In this day and age, how many people also fall under this category? I mean are we stooping that low? The fact that this detail of his life could in any way sway someones determination of his ability to be a leader just makes me cringe in shame at the ignorance of some of my fellow Americans

His dad is Muslim...maybe Good God people, has the Bush Administration scared ya'll stupid?? Do you think that every Muslim individual on this Earth is a terrorist? Get a life! And get an education while you are at it! It's one thing to have an educated opinion on something, but if you were educated on this matter you would see how ridiculous and contradicting this whole idea is.

And lets just lay out some of my own dirty laundry here to compare and contrast. If we are going to be judged by the sins of our fathers here's where I fit it in:

My Dad has been married 5 times
He has 3 children by 2 different women
He was in and out of my life during my childhood
He never paid child support
He is an alcoholic
He has been in prison twice
He drives a lawn mower to the bar because he no longer has a driver's license
He is a mess

So what is your opinion of me now? If you have been reading my blog and now have learned these facts about my father, has your opinion of me changed? Does the fact that I still love my father despite his shortcomings make you think that I am in some way a dangerous person, or derelict in my responsibilities as he tends to be? If so you can kiss off ;0) But I would venture to bet any intelligent person reading this, especially those who have been reading my blog for quite some time, do not hold me accountable for the sins of my father. So why is Barak Obama's father's possible religious beliefs of any relevance to his campaign??

Oh but my FAVORITE Obama FACT is that when he gets in office he is going to send all of our money to his Mother Country .....good one....nice....scare the shit out of every little old lady in the country....First off, in my opinion, Africa could use a little more support, from the world in general!!! But do you really think our government would stand for someone just pumping all our tax dollars into another country? What happened to democracy? Is Obama immune from impeachment...NO! Why is it so easy to scare the citizens of our country, especially my small town country folk, family and neighbors??? Why do people just believe all the lies that are spoon fed to them from ignorant people who talk straight out of their ass rather than actually researching FACTS? Is it so much easier to believe a lie than put forth the energy it would require to form your own opinion by spending 10 minutes looking up the truth for yourself?

For the record I would be just as pissed if these type of lies kept hitting my e-mail about John McCain. I don't care who you are voting for as long as you exercise your right to do so...but at least vote based on facts!

For the record...the man I described, my father, is a my Aunt's oldest brother. I guess she ain't runnin' for President anytime soon either! LMAO!

Into the Wild

I have been meaning to blog about this movie for a few days and have never found the time. I had read about it on a few websites, and it has been an inspiration to someone I know. So much so in fact he began a cross country journey of his own. I had to see it!!

If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It taps into the core of the human spirit and is a true story about a man who fed his wanderlust to the ultimate extreme. A young man whose ideals and visions for the human race were full of compassion, hospitality and solidarity...in addition to solitude. He had very little use for money, success or recognition. He believed that careers were a '20th century inventions' and that "The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences". If you haven't seen the movie stop reading here because I might spoil it for you.

This man set off on a journey with no map, no money, no intended course....just the journey of life. To me that alone is an inspiration. Before I had a family I often dreamed of just hopping in my car and just going...drive to wherever end up anywhere. To sleep under a different sky every day until I had satisfied my lust for going. Obviously this little fantasy didn't figure in $4 gas prices LOL! Or how I would fund my journey even in the best of economies. But Chris didn't need money. He traveled by thumb and wisdom. Shed his former identity and named himself Alexander Supertramp. I find this idea not only just completely kick ass, but refreshing as well. Haven't we all wanted to be someone else, just for a while?

His travels eventually inspire him to take on the ultimate human challenge. Surviving Alaska, alone, in the wild with very little equipment to do so. In the end he didn't survive, but perhaps that was his destiny. Not a failure on the part of a fool, as some see it, but the destination of a modern day prophet. The final chapter in the inspiring story of Christopher McCandless.

Just like anything I find interest in, I have obsessively researched this story ever since I saw the last frame of the movie. In fact, I finished the movie at 11 p.m and found myself out here on the computer Googling until 12:30 a.m. The more I read the more my inspiration was dashed and clouded with anger at those who, I feel, misunderstood him. So many chalking this inspiring story up to nothing more than the psychotic downfall of an untreated schizophrenic. This led me to ponder these thoughts.

What if that theory is true? Schizophrenia. Does it diminish the inspiration? Does it change the face of Alexander Supertramp? Does it change this story from an epic journey of self discovery to one of insane wandering with a tragic ending? Not for me. Who is to say why one person's reality is not valid? My mother's illness taught me this one truth...it was real to her.

McCandless was and continues to be such an inspiration to people across the globe. I refuse to let the theory that he was simply insane take away from his genius theories about human life and love, or his spirit of adventure. Did Picasso's illness change his works of art to blobs on a canvas? Did Syd Barrett's journey to madness diminish his mark on the history of rock music? Does John Nash's insanity belittle his prestige as a Nobel Prize Winner?

No.

Regardless of the reason, Alexander Supertramp will forever be one of those people I hold in my soul as an inspiration and an example of how a human life should be lived.

"If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed."— Chris McCandless

Feeding the Flock

Saturday nights I usually turn in my order pad for an apron and cook at the tavern instead of waiting tables. We always have a large rush after church and spend the next several hours preparing dozens of platefuls of fried chicken, whole catfish, burgers, fries, chops and salads....along with about 100 hundred other combinations. However last night we found ourselves filling box after box of to-go containers to send out to the fields. We have had such a miserable planting season that the farmers dared not leave their tractors even for an hour to clean up and go to church. Women came in one after the other to pick up bags and boxes full of hot meals to deliver to their husbands, sons, daughters, fathers, and perhaps for themselves to eat before they crawled back in the cab and put another row of seed in the ground. Some of these farmers are going on their second and third re-plant of corn this season after the weather washed away their first attempts at success. The rain has delayed the wheat harvest, and the sacks of seed for beans have not even been opened.

There was something extremely satisfying about knowing that the work of my hands was going to provide sustenance for the men and women who labor so hard to feed their families, mine and yours. Life is hard for the small farmer these days as corporate farms have eaten up available ground and tax breaks, and the government favors these big corporations who can contribute to their campaigns and causes. Yet these families just keep plugging along....mostly because they know no other way of life. Around here, the land you are turning and trying to make a living from was most likely the same land your great grandfather turned with a horse and plow. 100 years ago a farmer with land of his own made a very nice living for his family, and perhaps could even be considered wealthy. Today the farmer is too poor to be rich and too rich to be poor. Land = Assets, but Land does not = Cash Flow....financial aid for college students, for example, is not available to these families, even if the profit brought home at the end of the year is less than $20K. It is an impossible predicament...yet generation after generation the keys to the tractor are passed down and another young family throws the dice in the gamble that is the farm.

As my night was ending and I stepped outside for a quick smoke (yes, yes I know...), I watched as a thunderstorm was brewing in the south, fiercely growing and dumping rain on many of the fields that had been once again been freshly planted. I wondered how many of those raindrops hid the tears and sweat rolling off of the face of the beaten down men and women who never give up. They are nothing if not resilient. I am proud to call them my friends and neighbors.

What is a Redneck Anyway?? ~ For my Aussie Pal

Ok, this is for Mum-me...who posed the question "what is a redneck anyway"...see they must not have rednecks in Australia. Some would argue this to be a good thing! LOL! But seein's how I am one...well...I gotta say she's missing out.



Here is what Webster's Dictionary has to say on the matter:

red·neck [réd nèk](plural red·necks) n



1. a taboo term for a Caucasian farm hand in the southern United States, especially one regarded as uneducated or aggressively prejudiced



2. a taboo term for somebody who is opposed to liberal social changes, especially somebody regarded as prejudiced
[From the sunburned necks of those who work outdoors in sunny climates]

Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.



However, I suppose I would define myself much differently. For starters I am educated, open minded, liberal, and far from prejudiced regarding race, creed or sexual orientation. However my parents, and their parents before them were the very definition of this term, right down to the farm hand occupation. To this day my dad uses derogitory terms for people of color, and homosexuals, he is ignorant about politics and social climates, and he drives a lawn mower around town because he has had so many DUI's (Driving Under the Influence -Alcohol) that he is never allowed to obtain a driver's license again. His favorite pastime is sitting in his old john boat on the Wabash River catching catfish and walleye.....he is the Webster's Definition of a Redneck.



My brand of Redneck is much different, in my opinion. For me being a redneck is all about rural life. I live in a very remote, rural community that is far from any real 'town' and is hundreds of miles away from any city. To go shopping at a 'mall', I have to drive at least 2 hours! We farm, we like big trucks and 4-wheelers (ATV's). We like to go muddin', drink beer, have lots of babies, swear a lot, go to church on Saturday evening and go to the tavern Saturday night, loud music, and NASCAR racing. The men tend to chew tobacco and a ton of us still smoke cigarettes, despite the dangers. Our favorite wine comes freshly bottled in a milk jug from the neighbor's basement and moonshine making is a favorite pastime. We eat a lot of our own homegrown food, and entirely too much gravy! Pretty much anything dipped in batter and deep fat fried is considered a delicacy, including but not limited to pickles, mushrooms, okra, cauliflower, cheese, meat, fruits and even candy bars. (yes you read that right....)

You can usually find me out in the yard somewhere, sunburnt and dirty LOL...we are outdoor people. We hunt for fun and fish for leisure. I can shoot a gun, drive a "3 on a tree" stick shift, pee outside if necessary and don't bat an eyelash at butchering our own meat. I can cook just about any meal under the sun - outside! Yes I could make fettucine alfredo over a wood fire if I had too... As teenagers up we drank too much, smoked too much, swam in the river, and wrecked our Dad's trucks. Some of us didn't survive these fast and furious days. We have been busted by the cops at parties exceeding 300 people hidden out in the middle of a pasture field, miles from anywhere...we have ran from them in corn fields and wooded lands and rarely been caught. None of these are things to brag about, but they are truths about how my husband and I grew up.



See there are no community centers, YMCA's, or Youth Outreach Programs here. There wasn't much for kids to do but get in trouble. Hard work was expected out of most of us at home, we worked hard and we played hard...but when it was time to play, the only thing there was to do was load up a cooler of beer and meet your friends somewhere secluded and act stupid! Some of that is changing, or so it seems, and THANK GOD! Because now that I am a parent I don't want my kids doing ANY of the things I did! Lord Help Me! But back in my day (about 15 years ago) this was just how it was.



So that leads me to who I am today. Still that ornery little country girl, but one who has learned a lot of life lessons in my day. We lost some friends on this journey to adulthood and that was hard - we still think of them often and know they are looking down on us. We learned a lot about the kind of parents we wanted to be, and the kind of things we wanted to change with our own children. We have vowed to be more involved in their education and activities. But we took a lot of positive things from our upbringing as well. Around here, you can always count on your neighbor...whether it be something as small as a cup of sugar, or as large as plowing your fields...people around here stick together and help each other out. You always stop for someone on the side of the road, you always take food to people who are ill or have suffered a death in the family, and you respect your elders at all times. We are country folk. Things are simple. We are simple. And yes there are still the traditional bigots. There is still an extreme amount of ignorance. But it has been my experience that even the most 'civilized' suburban communities can be full of ignorant bigots too.



Some of the younger generation in my family call me a redneck hippie. I suppose my peace, love and freedom for all mentality lends to that. I am ok with that. That is a good title for me.



Ok and just one more thing Mum-me...the vocabulary. These are things you will hear on a regular basis in my household. Even though most of us were taught proper grammer in school....we still talk like hill billys!

When ya'll gonna git gone? (when will you be leaving?)

Are yous goin to town? (Are you going to town, or are you all going to town)

Seeins how we ain't got any taters I guess we'll just eat corn (Since we have no potatoes we should just eat corn)

You reckon? ~ as in 'you reckon it's time to git to church?' or 'you reckon we oughtta get goin'?" (means-Do you think...?)

I have a hankerin' for - as in a hankerin' for an apple fritter (I have a craving for or desire for...usually with me it involves FOOD!)

Weather is a constant topic of conversation since it affects the farm and our livelihood. You will often hear my husband say It's hotter than a whore in church or It's colder thana well diggers ass.

I could go on and on and on really...but this blog is long enough. So Mum-me, I hope you have a good picture of an American Redneck now! ;0)

What Happened...In my opinion

First I just have to say that I am not at all surprised that someone within the Bush Administration has finally burst out of the closet with tales of deceit and corruption, screaming in anger at the One Man who was supposed to unify this country and create positive change for the American People. I am just surprised it's taken this long.

This blog, of course, should begin with a huge confession. I voted for Bush in 2000. *ashamed face*.

As a young, lower middle class girl, voting in her very first presidential election I found myself drawn to the this Texas Cowboy with his flawed speech, his 'everyman' bravado and his shoot from the hip mentality. I fell for it...hook line and sinker. He seemed like a refreshing change from the 'politics as usual' Clinton administration. However, experience and maturity has shown me that any presidency looks like 'politics as usual' after 8 years. I think the office itself corrupts even the best of men. And clearly Clinton wasn't the best of men before he sat in the Oval Office....I was tired of the scandals and the corruption...I was looking for change. And Bush reminded me of my Grandpa. Straight talkin', fast shootin' George. Despite all my liberal views and hippie love mentality, I fell for him. Oh how I have lived to regret that single moment in the voting booth.

Clearly Scott McClellan lived to regret his faith in George W. Bush as well. The excerpts I have read so far from What Happened have more than confirmed most of my suspicions and fears about this administration. As I watched our soldiers march off to war, and as the body count began to rack up the, the sick feeling in my stomach deepened fearing that his motives were far from justified. The idea that we had sent our young men and women to that battle field and lied to them about their true purpose. The fact that mother's and father's buried their children ~ on both sides of this war ~ sacrificial lambs to a lie, pissed me off. The fact that my best friend spent 15 months over there, miserable and disillusioned about her government and the Army, pissed me off. I am still pissed off! And fought with everything I had to get him out of office in 2004...all the while knowing that Americans historically do not boot out a sitting president in the middle of a war...a fact I wondered if Mr. President was keenly aware of before he set foot in Iraqi sand.


Then there is the CIA scandal. This entire drama fascinated me from the beginning and I long suspected that at the least the Vice President was at the root of this scandal if not the President. Clearly we can see the full picture now through McClellan's eyes. Am I surprised? No. Do I wish that perhaps I could have lived in ignorance and not had to face the fact that my suspicions were true? Yes. I do believe that the full weight and consequence of this one incident is lost on the American people. If allow even one time for our CIA operatives to be fed to the enemy, even if only in theory (fortunately she was yanked from her undercover position before this hit the news), we are defeating the purpose of the CIA and the security of our nation. If the President and his administration can sleep easy at night knowing they declassified information, purposely, to protect the scoundrels within their closets, to distract from their failing war mission, to distract the American people from the fact that they are failing at their job, and risk the safety of the few people who sacrifice their entire lives to protecting our national security, then I fear for our nation as a democracy. This man is dangerous. I used to blame a lot of this on Chaney, thinking *hoping* in some ways that Bush was more of the dim witted second banana in this sitcom, with Chaney pulling the puppet strings. I think this book makes it very clear that Mr. Bush is far more capable of deception and destruction than I gave him credit for.

I am anxious to read this book in it's entirety. I am sure there will be more on this topic...my brain is swimming with thoughts of 911, Bin Laden, Gas Prices etc...but right now I need to go fix a loaf of cinnamon toast for the hungry masses! :0)

Has the Constitution just disappeared? FLDS update..

I am watching the FDLS parents finally speaking out to the media about the loss of their children on the today show. I am heartsick once again over this situation. Weren't we told that siblings would be kept together? That every effort would be made to be sure that these children weren't furthered traumatized by being separated from the only people left in their lives that share their common faith, lives and memories? Ummm apparently that was big talk for the media. Fodder to soothe the growing population of 'normal' Americans who are outraged by this event. The two couples on the show today have kids spread out over 900 miles. The mothers are allowed to visit 1 hour per week, and the fathers are not allowed any contact. So they drive for days to see their kids for an hour....then drive for days to see more of their kids. Even though the state has no proof against any of these individual fathers of any kind of misconduct or abuse.

One of the mothers stated that her 23 year old daughter is being held, along with her 2 year old daughter because CPS believes she is a minor. This woman has a driver's license and a birth certificate stating her age...CPS refuses to believe her. (I am aware that these could be forged, but would you go on national television and advertise a forged document when you know the media will investigate it?) She is one of their smoking guns. They believe her to be 16, which would put her at age 14 at the time of her daughter's birth. But if there is legal evidence that the woman is 23 freakin' years old what kind of beast are we dealing with here???? This is the most ridiculous and dangerous turn of events I have heard yet. If the American people allow this to continue, we are putting all American citizens at risk for civil rights violations at the whim of the government. What's next? Arresting all Muslim men for being potential terrorists? Arresting all Catholic priests for being potential pedophiles? Or better yet, sieze their families because we have no grounds to arrest them.... We need to think about the ramifications of all this. Just because we don't agree with their lifestyle does not give our government the right to march in and steal their children.

One father said this morning exactly what I have been saying all along. "This would be just like any average citizen living in a gated community having their children taken away from them because their neighbor abused his kids" (not the exact quote, I can't remember it verbatim)

My prayers are with those mothers right now. I would die without my children.

I have also recently read that the state has taken custody of an unborn child...an FDLS woman who is pregnant has already lost custody of her child before she has even given birth....how is this happening? I understand that there may be abuse occuring in some of these families or households, I do get it, but what I don't get is how we can take an entire popluation of children away from their parents based on a single false phone call. I look at it this way, I run a home day care. What if one of my parents got pissed off at me and called DCFS (Illinois's version of CPS) and claimed I hurt my children. Would they just march in here, remove my kids and take them 900 miles away? NO THEY WOULD NOT! They would investigate. They would go through proper channels to be sure that my kids were safe and that my husband and I were stable and loving parents. At worst they would remove the abuser from the home. They would go to every effort to keep the children and the family unit together until it was proved to be an unsafe situation. Why were these people not granted those same services? If CPS is supposed to be looking out for the family as well as the children, why have they destroyed so many families, and frankly destroyed the futures of these children. Many of them will never recover from this trauma.

Just my humble opinion....

I am glad the FDLS community is finally speaking out. All of us should have the right to live in private if we so choose...it is supposed to be one of our rights granted by the Constitution, but these people have been forced to go public. The fact that they are willing do so proves their dedication to their children.