I Thought I Was Done

     I thought I was done with political blogging...politics in general for the year. A friend posted an article from the Huffington Post regarding Mitt Romney's stance on gay rights. I have another friend who calls him Shit Romney, but I swore I would not go down that path. So I'll leave it up to her to call him Shit, so I don't have to call Mr. Romney Shit. This post is off the cuff as I am so angry I just did not want to take the time to calm down. Shit...oh, I mean Mitt, quite clearly thinks it wrong for homosexuals to have children. He thinks the children will be harmed if they do not have a mother and father. Okay, let's look at this. First of all, Shmitt, they will have a mother and a father! Perhaps he needs a refresher biology class. Apparently the potential leader of the free world is unfamiliar with the concept of sperm and egg. Secondly, if a child has two parents, she is a rarity. To go one step further, if the child has two parents that love her and each other, she is off the charts lucky. If a child has two parents in a loving home who provide and sacrifice for her, does it matter if both parents have all the same parts? Of course not; only an antiquated, uninformed, narrow minded, compassionless dolt with his head in the sand would have such an erroneous thought.
     I am a lesbian. A card-carrying, Ellen loving lesbian; have been my whole life. All homosexuals are homosexuals their whole lives because we are born this way. I have blue eyes, too...because I was born that way. I could buy colored lenses if I wanted green or brown eyes, but it would be a facade. Likewise, I could pretend to be heterosexual; I did for the first 20 years of my life. Another facade, and very tiresome. I have the courage to be myself; a 47 year old, blue-eyed lesbian. I don't have kids; I don't want them. I have dogs. Now, I would love to see Shmitt try to take a dog away from a lesbian...next he'll want my truck. Also, I do not have a partner at this time; I don't think I want one of those either. Once I figured out I could sleep diagonal across the bed, I decided being alone is a good thing. However, that is my choice. I do not want Shmitt deciding for me who I can or can't sleep with. I don't want him deciding for my friends who they can and can't marry or to tell them that having and loving a child is only right for certain people; the ones an act of birth made heterosexual. That's right folks, it's not a choice. Does anyone really still think it is? Really? I've been "out" for almost 30 years and let me state for the record that to be shunned by society and deemed the "freak" by your family and supposed friends is not something one chooses. I'll say it again, I have courage. I don't want to come across as cocky but I am proud of being strong enough to live my life honestly. It's a lot easier today than it was 30 years ago. I am no longer chased when leaving a gay bar. Well, I don't go to the bars anymore, so that's kind of a moot point. Let's say this, a partner no longer has to be "the roommate." Holding hands in public isn't as frightening as it once was. We really have made tremendous progress and I hate to see a buffoon like Shmitt tear down  the work we have done.
     Gay, straight, bi, trans, or hetero, we are all part of the human family. We are, biologically, products of the genetics of our parents. One in four children of the same parents is homosexual. Whether or not that child lives her life honestly and has the courage to live without the facade will be up to her. She will if she has understanding and loving parents who have instilled in her the confidence and intelligence she needs to have an honest, successful life. My grandmother instilled that sense of pride in me. She loved me regardless of the stupid things I did...repeatedly. Knowing I had her---my best friend---in my corner, made me know there was nothing I was too afraid to do. Why deny a child of someone so wonderful? That seems to be the goal of Shmitt. He can rhetorically spin his stance on this issue any way he chooses but the bottom line is he would rather deny a child a stable and loving home, than accept people as they were born.
     There is supposed to be a place for comments on this but I heard that function is not working. I have absolutely no idea how to change this. If you want to comment, and I am interested in hearing what people have to say, you can do so on my Facebook page.

Appreciation

     After re-reading my last post---yes, I am my own biggest fan--- I realized yet again how much I have in my life. I also came to recollect something I learned many years ago: You cannot appreciate something unless and until you have experienced the opposite. For example, if you've never been lied to you cannot fully appreciate the truth. Until you've been broke, you cannot appreciate wealth. Unless you have been broken-hearted, you cannot appreciate love. We can understand things in conceptual terms but without experience this is simply knowledge; not appreciation. I can understand, in theory, the love a parent has for a child but can't understand the actual feeling. Just as someone may understand the unconditional love given by a pet, until that person has shared her home with an animal, she will never truly understand the bond between animal and person.
    People think my dogs are the luckiest in the world because of how I treat them, whereas I think of myself as the lucky one to be in a position to have these wonderful beasts in my life. For those of you who have never had a dog, you are missing out on so much. I've been in many, what I thought to be life-long relationships(more then I'll admit here), but never have I been greeted with such love and excitement as when my dogs hear me come up the driveway. When I'm sad, they know. When I'm happy, they know. When I want to play, they play...and the list goes on and on. Several years ago my dog, who was born in my bathroom and lived to be almost 15, died in my arms. I was lost for many weeks. She could never and has never been replaced. Instead, adhering to the natural cycle of life, I came home one day with a 25 pound baby who I named, Reddog. She rescued me as much as I rescued here. Sometimes we all need to be rescued; those with 2 legs as well as those with four. Due to the fact that our society is filled with...well, irresponsible jerks...there are so many dogs that need homes. And I don't believe for a second that there isn't someone reading this who isn't in need of some rescuing. For those in Phoenix, we have a wonderful no-kill shelter here named the Arizona Animal Welfare League. I don't have their web info at hand but you can Google them or find them on Facebook. They can get you in contact with any one of the numerous shelters in the Grand Canyon state. The National Humane Society can give you information nationwide. Just something I want everyone to think about. As part of the human race, we are all responsible for the domestication of animals. Thus it is now our responsibility to care for them. So the next time you come home to an empty house, think of how great it would be to put your feet up on the couch with a dog on your lap. Then, you'll have something new to appreciate.
   On the lighter side of appreciation; this is for all of you youngsters out there---I'll let you define yourselves. You have all been born into the computer age and I'll wager to guess have never experienced the typewriter. Oh it was quite a joy. First, you had to load the paper---one sheet at a time---evenly onto the roll. Then of course was the challenge of carbon paper. My favorite part was when you made a mistake. You had 2 options: find the eraser ribbon or use the eraser itself. For those of you giggling right now, you know the one I mean; it looks like a pencil and you had to unroll the paper and try to erase while the paper was still in the typewriter. If you managed to do this without tilting your paper, you continued to type only to find that you had erased a hole right through the paper...and were instead typing on the carbon.That being said, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the machine I am typing on at this very minute...with Reddog by my side.

One More One More Thing

Ok, I just read my last post and I feel bad. I think it sounds a little harsh and I don't want to piss-off my followers...I have one. What sounded like an admonishment for being irresponsible was just me poorly saying that we must admit to our mistakes and take responsibility for our choices. I am not saying people don't deserve help or empathy, just admit you screwed up and ask for help. We are all part of the human family and everyone needs help from time to time. I have the greatest friends in the world who have helped me more times than I care to count. But maybe every now and then we should all help a stranger. The next time you see a guy on the street asking for help, give him a couple of dollars.It doesn't matter what he'll spend it on. It's not our place to judge. Just help when you can and be thankful you're in a position to help. My grandmother, who was the wisest person who ever walked the earth, always said, "Never let a friend go without and help a stranger when you can." If you don't encounter anyone on your travels that needs help and I've inspired you in any way to contribute to your fellow human beings, there is an organization in Phoenix called the Welcome to America Project. They aid refugees coming to this country who literally have nothing but the clothes on their backs. I think their site is wtap.org, or maybe .com. Just Google them if you feel so inclined. When you get home, look around and see, really see all the things you have and then think of someone who has absolutely nothing; not even a home or food. People need your help. Give it to them.

And One More Thing...

    Hello again and thanks for checking back in with me. There is one other comment I want to make about the debate, then I'll let it go. A woman asked about tax cuts; specifically about credits and deductible items such as learning credits that Romney plans to eliminate. Romney stated that she would still come out ahead even though she had children in college because he is planning to eliminate capital gains taxes. Ok, he had just finished commenting on the terrible state of the economy and the horrifically high unemployment rate: does he honestly believe that people who are depleting their savings accounts are concerned about capital gains taxes. They have no capital gain. People are concerned about feeding the kids and paying the rent. There is no more disposable income. There is no money left to invest once the bills have been paid. Savings accounts are shrinking even as I write. People are living in the present. What got them to this point?
     In fairness to both Obama and Romney, neither is as fault for the sad state in which people find themselves.Who then is to blame? The last time this country had a balanced budget and was debt free was under Andrew Jackson, sometime around 1836. Obama did this, Bush did that, and Clinton did everything...or should I say everyone? I am not financially intelligent enough to describe why the stock market took a dive, but it did and people lost a lot of money and a lot of jobs. I am one of the lucky ones; I have a job and health benefits. However, I had dug myself into a financial hole by living well beyond my means on credit. A great number of others did the same on a much larger scale. They bought homes they could not afford and had 2 SUVs in the driveway. I live in the Phoenix area and have seen new neighborhoods pop up, alive with activity and kids riding bikes in the street. Those same neighborhoods are now virtual ghost towns. I am truly sorry for those people as they may not be as fortunate as I. However, in some cases---not all so don't get offended---the circumstances in which they now find themselves are a result of the choices they previously made. Those people, through their own fault or just plain bad luck have no concern at the present time as to whether or not their savings accounts will be face tax implications. Their savings accounts are on their kids feet or in their lenders hands.
     As I said, I am fortunate to have a job. I am also fortunate in my wisdom; that is to say I am wise enough to be a renter with a 16 year old truck that does not belong to the bank. I once had the responsibility of being a home owner.....never again. Maybe I'll talk about that next time.

Presidential Debate: Thanks for the Inspiration

     Hello everyone and thanks for taking a look at my first attempt at blogging. Technologically speaking, I'm a couple of decades behind but after watching the debate last night I have a lot to say. After several hours and help from my friends, I figured out how to begin blogging; it was either this or to send out lengthy texts to everyone. Since I still have an old Nokia flip phone, texting was not a viable option. So, here I sit typing my first blog on "Musings from Cork County."
     I decided on this title while opening a bottle of wine. My grandmother, who is never far from my mind, was a first generation American who was born to William and Mary Barrett from County Cork, Ireland. As I held the cork from my bottle of Chianti, I realized I had my title. Now, I'm going to speak on politics for this post but who knows what I'll talk about in the future. First let me say that I am a registered Independent who is fed up with Party politics. I have engaged in many conversations with friends and co-workers regarding politics. What starts out as interesting dialogue quickly turns into heated arguments with constant interruptions and hateful remarks. I am as guilty of this as the next guy. I am a firm believer that change, which is what we all claim to want, begins with words and ideas. Instead of yelling at each other from high atop our Party platforms, we need to engage each other intelligently and with open minds. I am glad to know that the politics of our country inspires such passion but we need to attack our problems; not each other. Now, on to the debate.
     Last night both men were asked about equality for women in the workforce. Let's face it, neither one answered the question, rather they danced around it like the seasoned politicians they are. President Obama wants us to have equal pay because we women are more frequently becoming the "bread winners." I am single with no kids, I have always been my own bread winner. I want equality because I deserve it not so I can feed my family because my husband lost his job. As annoying as that was, Mr. Romney topped him. After scouring the earth for "qualified" women, he made the sacrifice of having a flexible work schedule for them so they could be home in time to cook dinner for the family. WHAT? What year is this? I had to check my closet to see if I had a Poodle Skirt. I think that is when I went for the corkscrew. When I came back, Romney was talking about unemployment. I caught the end of his answer when he said that Obama had not even created enough jobs to match the population growth. That got me thinking. First of all, newborns don't work. Secondly, did he consider that perhaps we are over-populated as a nation;something which will become an even greater problem when he works to eliminate contraceptive benefits for women from insurance plans? I was reminded of Socrates' Cyclical Argument (it was really Plato). He stated that things are born from opposites. In other words, if you are feeling stronger, you must have been weak to start. Hence, strength can only come to exist when weakness vanishes. I must admit that Mr. Romney proved Socrates correct. If contraceptive benefits disappear the population will grow at an exponential rate; thus making it impossible for the creation of jobs to keep up with the population growth.
     Well, that's my first blog. If you liked it, check in another time to see what I'm rambling about. But you must come to this site with an open mind. If we all have something to complain about then what we have been doing over the years is not working. Customs and habits can be very good things but they also can hinder the mind from opening up to new ideas. Thomas Paine, our forgotten Founding Father, wrote in the introduction to Common Sense (1776) that " a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right."