X Marks the Christmas Hot Spot

The holiday season has arrived and with it comes all the hyperbole, anxiety, angst, vitriol, propaganda, politics and melodrama over what it's about, who it's about, who's Christian religion is the best, secular vs. religious, and [insert deity of your choice here]-forbid... WHY WE ARE ALL GOING TO HELL IF SOMEONE SPELLS CHRISTMAS WITH AN 'X'!!!!!

My siren of suspicion is clanging violently in my head. It's warning me that these are [this is where I generously give the human race the benefit of the doubt] probably the same people who text so many messages that their every day speak has become:

omg dis blog post s so lamo 

we shd ll jstgiv r hartz 2 Gsus n evry1 Ls cn go 2Hell. 

Ive 2 go shpg W my bff now. tlk2ul8r!

Or (and?) they are the same people who obviously didn't pay attention in school because they can't tell the difference between their, they're, there and a hole in the ground. 

So they are [I omitted the contraction in an effort to avoid confusing certain people]  yelling at us because we do not spell Christmas the way they like it and I am yelling at them because I wish to hell everyone could understand basic concepts such as, "this apostrophe goes here, but not here." 

Why can't we all just get along? Really. It never ceases to amaze me just how many people out there have nothing better to do with their lives than to chase after the nefarious X. Don't they see what happens when they crucify it? They will have turned an honest X into a 't'. That, in my humble opinion, is the real sacrilege here.

Oh, and if this post flustrates anyone I would like to apologize. . . As soon as I figure out what you mean.

For more information read here:

http://www.crivoice.org/symbols/xmasorigin.html

Happy Holidays to You!

I've never understood the big deal about saying "Happy Holidays!" rather than "Merry Christmas!". The only people who DO seem to have their panties in a bunch over the issue are the devout fundie-nutberger Hypochristians that seem to be trying to mandate all social, political, educational, environmental, economic and spiritual aspects of public American life.

I, as a self-affirmed atheist, prefer Happy Holidays. And not just because I'm an atheist. I have enough empathy and outer-awareness to realize that there are many people in the world who do not believe in Jesus, or who celebrate other religious holidays that just happen to coincide with the Christian holiday of Christmas. In conscious acknowledgment of these people, and with deepest respect for them, I will gladly wish people a "Happy Holiday".

If someone should wish me a Merry Christmas I tend to be okay with that because I realize that they probably just don't understand the vast array of human religions that occupy the same time frame on the calendar as Christmas. Furthermore, the wish was made from good intentions, so no harm no foul. I can excuse people their ignorance (to a degree!) if they at least meant well.

What bothers me deeply, however, are those fundie-nutbergers I referred to previously. For all their defense of Jesus they just refuse to share the arena with anyone who doesn't believe what they believe. They don't say, "Merry Christmas" because they don't know any better. They say it because it's a defiant in-your-face to everybody who is not like them. But they don't stop there. No, not those rabid Palin-Knows-Best hypocrites. They go one step further: they are furiously insulted if someone wishes them a "Happy Holiday", or even worse, if a business or any other establishment espouses "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas". They have no regard for other people's beliefs and somehow think they hold a monopoly on December... a month in which Jesus was never even really born.

And yet, they don't realize and/or care that there are people of other faiths out there who may be offended by their narrow-minded Christmas wish of happiness.

After all, it's not a blessing they are trying to bestow on others, it's a mandate.

Intolerance of others was not something Jesus ever espoused (okay, except for maybe the money-changers) yet these Christo-fanatics are in fact behaving in a very Un-christian like fashion. Thusly, they have disqualified themselves as true Christians, i.e., a religious FAIL.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”


Take the poll and let the world know where you stand:


http://www.idahopress.com/opinion/poll_feb86b70-f1df-11df-abef-001cc4c002e0.html


Peace on Earth, good will to ALL... even if you believe in Flying Spaghetti Monsters (maybe even especially).

Being a Bully is Bullshit

Myrtle Beach area teen suspect's parents: 'If we'd only known'

Read more: http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/11/20/1823443/teen-suspects-parents-if-wed-only.html#ixzz15pat2MtP

Bullying IS a form of terrorism. It is soul-destroying. It is dehumanizing. The motivations for being a bully are no less than those of a psychopath.

The victim of terrorism is emotionally abused to the point of being incapable of rational thought. If the victim is an inexperienced teenager, the outcome is even more debilitating.

The boys that bullied Christian Helms should be charged with acts of terrorism themselves. As well as harassment and assault.

Period.

Laws Are Great... When They Actually Work

"How Do Domestic Violence Laws Encourage False Allegations?"


http://www.saveservices.org/falsely-accused/how-do-domestic-violence-laws-encourage-false-allegations/


During my divorce, my ex-husband removed all the money from our joint accounts and put them into an account at another bank in his name only. This left me financially destitute (I was a homemaker of 17 years who had, at the time, been a full time college student).

I had no money at all and no family to support me. I was told that I needed to take him to court and the judge would make my ex make the funds available to me (according to the law). The only catch? I couldn't afford an attorney to do just so (because I had NO MONEY)! I tried to call for legal aid but under the following guidelines I was not allowed free aid: we have children together, we share ownership of a residential property, he never physically abused me.

I had several people encourage me to lie and CLAIM he beat me so that I could qualify for the legal aid. I absolutely could not do it, simply on principle (and, to be honest, because of fear of being caught committing perjury) but I could see where so many women would be desperate enough to do so. It was humiliating and terrifying to be indigent, especially KNOWING that some of that money was mine but that I had no avenue with which to exercise my rights in order to obtain it.

As an afternote, when we went to court for our final divorce proceedings HE had an attorney (and I didn't) and I wasn't awarded anywhere near what I was owed (according to state law) simply because I couldn't afford an attorney to represent my own interests.

No Jobs is Good News... If You Believe the GOP

I just read a blog post by Griper Blade this morning:  GOP = No Jobs


We have this problem right here in South Carolina. Sanford refused to take the stimulus money because the feds wouldn't allow him to spend it on what he wanted (he wanted to pay back the big name developers who'd already abandoned the state).

Now the government is saying they don't want to put a much needed interstate into Myrtle Beach, which would go all the way to Ohio (where our biggest source of tourists are from). Not only is this going to hurt our tourist industry, it will nullify the opportunity for thousands of jobs in this state.

On another front, Charleston has one of the best harbors on the eastern seaboard for large ships- container ships and cruise ships. Only thing is, the harbor has been neglected and requires dredging if we are to continue to function as an international harbor. Thousands of jobs hang in the balance. Charleston tourist industry hangs in the balance. Thousands of potential jobs needed to perform the dredging operation hang in the balance.... But our government tells us it's fiscally irresponsible to spend this money on these projects right now with the economy being so tight.

Say again?

Ok, so paying for unemployment, SNAP services, etc, is BETTER for us? Watching our tourism industry (a major supporter of state economics) shrivel and die is GOOD for us?

I guess I just need to leave it in the hands of our sweet lord Jesus, dye my hair blonde and put it in a bouffant, and focus on my soap operas. It's just EASIER that way.... Or so they keep telling me.


By the way, what's happening in YOUR state?