Odessa

Actually I applaud Angie. I would love to have a glass of wine with Angie, only if I have a DD of course. Angie placed the following classified ad in the Northern Wyoming Daily News:

VERY mad mother selling 16 yr. old son’s 1993 Ford Ranger. Drove 3 mos. before son forgot to use his brain and got caught driving drunk. $3500 OBO. Call meanest mother in Wyoming, 307 -2**-****.

Angie says her son is a good kid, but he got stupid New Year's Eve. (read more) The deal when he got the truck was that he keep his grades up and stay out of trouble. Sounds like he forgot that driving drunk was trouble.

As far as Angie is concerned, Is she the meanest mother? Depending on your perspective, she might be mean, but selling the truck really makes a point. Angie has the guts to tell her son "no".

I bet her son won't make the same mistake twice and he'll get a couple of years practice calling for rides and looking for DDs. I call that character building. Hopefully he will thank his mother someday for helping him find his brain again.

Girl goes to Christian school. Girl might be a bit wild and like to party. Girl lies to her parents. Instead of her friend's house, she goes over the state line and goes to a party. Girl drinks at the party. It's a pretty common scenario.

Small town high school football players play on a good team that the town worships. They are popular and the kind of guys you want at your party. They are so cool. Another common scenario.

However, it gets a little hinky from there.

Girl either drinks too much or is drugged. Guys from the football team think a passed out girl is a good thing to fuck. Hey, why not. She ain't from our town or our school, so who cares. They drag her around to a few parties, like some human blow-up doll available for their amusement. Sick bastards, right?

Then football guys post a few youtube videos. Why? Because it is so cool to be a douchbag that fucks a girl who is in no condition to protest (link). Then the douchbags get smart and take down their posts, but not before Anonymous grabs a copy or two. (Three cheers for Anonymous on this one)

People who witnessed the rape of girl are reluctant to come forward and tell their story(link). Why? Because no one wants to be the one to disparage the town "heroes". No one wants to screw up the "heroes" chances to get into a good college. No one wants to admit they stood around with their fingers up their ass while it happened. No one wants to admit that their town, Steubenville, sucks. Little town, little minds. Steubenville is a town without pity.

Was the girl wrong in lying to her parents? yup. But that is no excuse for a couple of douchebags, Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond, to rape and then brag about banging a passed out girl. And of course some people have said that the girl was sleeping around, blah, blah, blah. Also not an excuse. This ain't the 1960's folks.

It gets better. Some parties are even threatening law enforcement for investigating the incident.

It will be interesting if Steubenville can get over the peer pressure to blindly protect it's football heroes. People need to tell their stories. The truth needs to come out. There must have been someone who saw what happened, someone who is not a high school football sycophant. Stop worshiping guys whose only claim to fame is being able to throw around a stupid football.

Bruce Tanski wants to build a cheesy apartment complex, one like other cheesy apartment complexes he has built. Bruce Rischert didn't want another one in his town. Mr. Tanski's complexes don't have the best reputations. Mr. Rischert thought the proof was in the lousy reviews and lawsuits. Mr. Rischert spoke up about Mr. Tanski at town meetings against the proposed apartments.

Rather than defend himself, Mr. Tanski agreed that his apartments are cheap ass. He didn't claim he learned from his mistakes. He didn't say he decided it would be a sense of pride to build quality apartments or treat his disabled tenants fairly. No, none of those. Mr. Tanski slapped Mr. Rischert with a $2.5 million libel and slander lawsuit, stating "disgrace, humiliation and shame throughout the community, permanent harm to his professional and personal reputations, and severe mental anguish and emotional distress." Read more Sorry, Mr. Tanski's apartments already spoke for themselves...

Mr. Tanski is even cheesier than his apartments. We have the right to say we think he builds crap. We have the right to repeat bad things people that have rented from him have said. Residents have a reason to be concerned about a man who was charged by the Justice Department for his practices. Suing a man for speaking his mind is low, especially when Mr. Tanski has nothing constructive with which to defend himself.

After 40 years maybe it is time to retire, Mr. Tanski. And drop the lawsuit. It is doubtful you will win. Continuing to be a bully just makes you a bigger asshole. Please just go away because you are the disgrace.

I was at the New York State Capital today ahead of Governor Cuomo's State of the State Address. I may have thought that I, a woman from 2012, was transported back to 1967. Instead of the Vietnam War, people here are against fracking. Looking at some of the people in the crowd I pondered....

Do they understand the science behind fracking?
Do they understand the pros and cons?
Have they ever talked to a farmer in the area where fracking is proposed?
A resident?
Do they own a comb? A razor? Soap?
A body part that hasn't been pierced?
Are they simply protesting because someone told them fracking is bad?
Because it is the "fashionable" opinion to take?
Is this protest an excuse to yell and scream?
Hold up signs?
And dance? (Like the asshole that nearly smacked me in the face with her flailing arm)

I left not quite sure how I feel about them or their "cause". Looking at the signs I was not convinced that they really understood what they were protesting. Would New Yorkers be guinea pigs (as one sign asserted) after fracking has already been used for several years in other states? I also wasn't sure if this was just an excuse to hold a party.

I saw a handful of pro-fracking folks. I nearly felt sorry for them gingerly holding their signs quietly standing at the fringes of the fray. The anti-fracking crowd was too big and too noisy for them to be easily noticed. Luckily for them no one from the wild party sought to make trouble with them. The anti-fracking people were having way too much fun to notice the few pro-fracking folks.

I doubt the Gov even heard the ruckus from a distance. I doubt he would get that close to the unclean masses. I also doubt the party...er....protest would sway his opinion. Then again I can be a cynic.

Laverne Wilkinson isn't dead yet, but she has been given six months to live. Laverne has lung cancer and she went to the emergency room two years ago with chest pains. The radiologist saw the mass on Laverne's lung but no one ever told her until it was too late to save her. (NY Daily New article) She even went to her clinic complaining of a chronic cough during the past two years.

We put far too much faith in doctors. They are not infallible. A tragedy like Laverne's should have never happened, particularly in this country, but it did. It just isn't right that a 41 year old non-smoker is dying of lung cancer because someone didn't talk to her and tell her something wasn't quite right.

Question your doctors. Ask if there are any other tests that can be done. Ask if medical test results have been forwarded. Don't take anything for granted, particularly if you go to the emergency room. (Personally, in an emergency room I was told I sprained my arm when I had actually broken it) You get one body and it matters more to you that it stays alive than a doctor who sees dozens of bodies a day.

I was talking to a couple of co-workers about house guests that had visited over the holidays. Some are obnoxious, some are just a bit strange, but here are some goofy house guest antics:
(And yes, these are all adults. We could probably double the list with silly things kids do)

-When one host asked a guest if he wanted something to drink, he asked for a “wheat beer”. The host had a couple of beer choices, but no wheat beers. The guest sighed and made a choice from those that were available.

- One guest brought the hostess a box of chocolates that she made clear was for the hostess. Later that night the husband of the gift giver was seen eating the chocolates, although the box had been put in a corner near some of the hostess’ personal items. The husband had passed by all the treats, including several choices of chocolates, on the goodies table.

- A guest asked to “taste” the wine and went through all the tasting motions (sip, slush, aerate) before committing to an entire glass.

- Although there was plenty of beer in the cooler outside, a couple of guests raided the refrigerator in the hosts’ basement, nabbing a couple of the last few bottles of very pricey beer that had been a gift to the husband of the household.

- One overnight guest traded up their travel size toothpaste for the household toothpaste when he packed and left.

Yes, we love our family and friends, but sometimes you just have to shake your head after they leave. Please share some of your own.

I have a couple of email addresses. I doubt I am alone in this fact. I have one at work, one that is associated with my internet provider that I use for personal business (stuff I buy on-line, banking, ect.), one that I use for personal social stuff (facebook, friends) and one that I have used when doing 419eater.org stuff.

There is a bit of mixing and some very old friends use the address I use for personal business stuff, but I do not share the address with strangers. None of the people are share-aholics. However, one of my friends occasionally "shares" and I believe a recent linkedin invitations (yes, more than one) were from one (yes, one guy) of the other people on that particular email. I've never met the guy and we do not work in even remotely similar industries so I have zero reason to network with him.

It is just creepy to throw any old email you get your hands on into your linkedin invite list. You might think linkedin is the best thing since sliced bread. I don't. And if you didn't put that address in yourself, then linkedin has some pretty good spyware on your computer that you let linkedin put on your computer and that is creepy, too.

So all you linkedin stalkers - Go away and take linkedin with you. Don't bother me on a personal email address. I get annoyed by enough linkedin invitations from legitimate people who actually know me where linkedin invites should be: on my work email address.

In the whole "I know it when I see it" mindset, Westboro Baptist a hate group. They are an evil bunch of bullies who kick people at their lowest in an attempt to make a point completely unrelated to those that they protest. Yes, it is their 1st Amendment right to be a bunch of douches, but it is also our right to call it what it is.

It speaks volumes that a petition to the president has more than ten times the required 25,000 signatures. What that says to me is that most people that are not Fred Phelps' mindless minions sees Westboro for what they truly are: hateful. I would add spawns of satan, but that is just me.

There are some additional petitions calling for their tax-exempt status to be removed due to their being a hate group. I completely agree with that because they are a sorry excuse for a religious institution. They should receive no preferential treatment from the society and government they hate so much. If they don't like it, there might be close to 300,000 people willing to chip in for one-way plane tickets to the destination of their choice. I could suggest a few homophobic Muslim countries ....

We had our first real snow storm here. It never ceases to amaze me how stupid people can be. I saw a few of geniuses on the way into work

Stupid person number 1: Just as I am coming up a hill I see a guy come running out into my lane and then he commences running toward me in the section of the road my left wheels are supposed to go. I get it. The sidewalk is full of snow and I am supposed to risk my life and go over the yellow line so the idiot can go for his run.

If exercise is what the dickhead is looking for, I have a shovel and bunch of snow that needs to be cleared. He could be useful and shovel snow for an elderly neighbor. But no, the selfish dickhead would rather than risk his life going for a run on slick roads that are barely safe for vehicles. And let me guess, it would be MY fault if I slid into him.

Stupid people numbers 2 and 3: I was relieved to not have to drive the last leg of my trip into work. I was safely sitting on my shuttle bus, which I could tell was slipping a bit here and there. I look out the windshield to see that a car has spun out. It evidently hit the center guardrail, spun around and stopped across the two left lanes of traffic with it's bumper slightly extending into the right lane.

As we get closer, two people, who I assume had been the occupants, are walking around the car investigating the damage. Maybe they thought they were the only people that might slide out of control. Maybe they thought their jackets are made out of titanium. Maybe they just weren't thinking. Walking around on a relatively busy highway with cars being driven by lord knows who on lord knows what kind of tires is asking to be made road pizza.

Folks, this is the first of perhaps many snow storms this season. The morning run is not critical unless you are training for the Olympics, and then I would hope you have an indoor track somewhere. Call 911 from your damaged car if you have an accident. Human bodies do not stand a chance against a ton of metal, glass and plastic.

Or maybe it's candid camera without the witty host . . .

A friend went to CVS with a 25% off coupon hoping to buy some perfume for a Christmas present. He asks for assistance to get the perfume, waits 20 minutes. He asks again, waits another 5 minutes. He asks again, telling the manager this time that he has ready waited 25 minutes and all he wants is for someone to unlock the perfume cabinet because he knows exactly what he wants. The manager grudgingly goes to the cabinet, unlocks it and extracts the box of perfume.

At the register, he pulls out the coupon.

The cashier says: "You can't use that."

He inquires: "Why?"

"Because it's on sale."

"Oh? For how much?"

"$46.95"

"I thought that was the regular price. What is the regular price?"

"$46.95."

My friend is confused, "But it's on sale? ....."

"Yes, buy one get one half price"

"But I don't want a second one, so when I buy one it's not sale."

"It is on sale. Buy one get one half price."

"I don't WANT two, I only want one! If I buy ONE it is NOT on sale."

"Not really."

"Then I want to use this coupon"

"You can't because it's on sale."

"Let me talk to the manager."

Wash, rinse, repeat with manager, only this time the manager says "Sorry, that is just the way it is."

My friend says disgustedly "Fine"

As the cashier rings up the perfume sans coupon the irritation wells up in my friend and he says: "You know what, never mind. Screw it, I don't want it now." And he leaves.

Yup, old Groucho couldn't have done better himself.... And why my friend won't shop at CVS anymore.

The Pope took the opportunity during his Christmas Message to make another statement about "traditional marriage". I find it amusing that a man who has vowed celibacy fancies himself an expert on what works in marriage.

Wouldn't it be great in perfect world? In a "perfect" world, every marriage would consist of a man and a woman who respect and honor each other. Also in that "perfect" world, every copulation (missionary position, of course) would be mutually agreeable between the parties in a "perfect" couple and would result in a child. Every child would be wanted and born to those "perfect" couples. Those "perfect" children would sit calmly in church with their hands folded.

Doesn't it sound lovely? Doesn't it make you misty? Almost, because reality ain't so "perfect".

In fact the man in the pointy hat has demonstrated that he really doesn't care about "perfect", just obedience to what he considers God's plan. Women are merely vessels to make babies. Gays are damaged. Children are best raised in a flawed heterosexual household rather than a loving homosexual household, whether they are loved or not.

Reality is there are women who love and trust and are abandoned by irresponsible baby-daddies. There are women who are raped and left pregnant. There are abusive husbands who terrorize their families.

Reality is there are men who love men who make wonderful fathers. There are women who love women who make wonderful mothers. Both make better homes for children than many of the dysfunctional "traditional" families.

Although the Pope also preaches understanding for homosexuals, it is a condescending type of sympathy. And that is one of my primary issues with the Papacy. They call upon their Catholic minions to warp our laws to fit their vision of perfection, forgetting the fact that many of us do not drink the Catholic wine. In their book non-Catholic are flawed and need fixing.

If my Baptist family thought the same way, you heathen Catholics wouldn't be allowed to drink wine at your sacrament. And forget bingo and dancing at social events...

So, Mr. Pointy Hat, preach to your followers but quit trying to force the of us to follow your rules. Yes, same-sex marriage is becoming legal in more and more places. Get over it.

A lot of attention is being directed toward a discussion of gun control in the tragic massacre that occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. Its true that fire arms were the tools that were used to kill many innocent people. However, it is coming to light that the person behind the massacre was deranged and people were aware of it. And this is not the first time that a crazy person was behind he trigger.

Nancy Lanza was supposedly becoming afraid of her son and rather than secure her firearms or place him in an institution (which may sound easier than it is to do) she must have thought that she and she alone could help him. It is obvious that she couldn't. Unfortunately rather than her son Adam solely taking out his anger on merely his mother he decided to take it out on staff and students at the school for reasons only Adam knows. It is very possible that if Nancy had secured her firearms, that her very bright and very sick son would have figured out another way to hurt a lot of people.

We don't have the right to lock loonies in mental hospitals. We don't have the right to compel those that are nuts and dangerous to take their meds or get treatment. We just have to accept that they are "different", even when they scare us because they have rights.

Who looks after our rights? We can't do anything until they actually do something, and sometimes the first time they do something it is tragic. Even when we have strong suspicions and some evidence of erratic behavior, we are left with the burden of proof that someone is a danger to himself or others. And sometimes a little proof is not enough.

Yes, Adam Lanza used guns to kill a lot of people. However, he would have never shot his mother and then drove to a school to finish his deed if he wasn't nuts. Mental health issues really need to be taken far more seriously. You might be able to take the guns away, but if a crazy person (especially a smart one) wants to hurt people, they will find a way.

It's one thing to send letters that offer services that victims of Hurricane Sandy may need. It's another to "offer" those services in a letter that seems to be a threat that is mailed to people who have documented oil spills and on letterhead that resemble official government letterhead (logo and font). The former is good marketing and the latter is just plain scummy.

Guess which G. E. Environmental did?

The logo on the letter this private company sent out to the unfortunate property owners who had petroleum spills associated with Sandy looks suspiciously like the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation logo and the font they use is suspiciously similar to the font that agency uses. The company's website (www.gcenvironmental.com)uses a logo with a "G" and a "C". One can only assume that their convenient change in logo for this particular letter was to deceive people who are under stress while they clean-up their homes and property from water damage and petroleum spillage. And they include the following in their letter:
"Your failure to initiate timely spill cleanup and removal .... could result in your being billed for all actual costs incurred by New York State as set forth in Section 181 of the Navigation Law. ..."

The NYS DEC is aware of the attempt to scam property owners and issued a consumer alert.

Scamming and attempting to victimize people that have been through enough already is pretty low. Personally I will bad mouth this company till the cows come home (or until they become insolvent). Besides, if they can do this, what other forms of unscrupulous behavior are they capable of. I certainly wouldn't trust them to do a good cleanup and honest billing.

I reiterate, G. C. Environmental, you suck. May your "clever" marketing bite a big chunk out of your bottom line. Karma can be a bitch.

The conservative Christian group, One Million Mom's had their granny panties in a bunch again over Ellen DeGeneres being a spokesperson for J. C. Penny. They took issue with the fact that they have pulled Ellen out of the closet for a Christmas ad. They label Ellen as "strong gay activist" and from the Christian Post: "...JC Penney viewed as a family store, many have found its embrace of a non-traditional family lifestyle offensive..."

Ellen a "strong gay activist"? Because she is married to woman? Ellen is one funny lady, but Million Moms are quite a hoot themselves. Ellen doesn't hide from the fact that she is a lesbian, nor does she rub it in anyone's face. She is just plain honest. She has been married for over four years, a long-time by Hollywood standards. As far as current day comediennes are concerned, Ellen is down right wholesome. No need to send the kids out of room when she tells a joke. Her humor is never mean or demeaning. Except her choice of mate (in many Christians' opinion), she embodies what I would consider christian values.

I also find the hypocrisy in these Christians cherry-picking out a lesbian as a target for their boycotting stones. Why do they not threaten to boycott stores that use divorcees as spokespeople? Or adulterers? Or fornicators? Or thieves? Or is a person who cheats on their opposite sex spouse that much better a role model than someone who is faithful to their same sex spouse?

For now, the Million Moms are "moving on" from their protest of J. C. Penney using Ellen as a spokesperson. At least this sanctimonious bunch have backed off before they made complete fools of themselves. Wait, too late.

Urban Outfitters has evidently hit the ire of the conservative crowd again with some of their profanity laced products. I can't say I agree with the conservative, Bible thumpin' folks entirely on this issue, but I can't say I disagree completely either. I just have different reasons for not liking it.

The words "fuck" and "shit" are just words. They are words I typically try to use sparingly. Not necessarily because they are considered offensive by many people, but because those words really lack any sense of creativity. Anyone can say them to in a lame attempt to make themselves appear "hip" and "edgy".

Therefore, in my not so humble opinion, Urban Outfitters using "fuck" or "f*ck" and "shit" of "sh!t" on their products is just a bit lame. Sorry, personally, I am not impressed. In addition, a lot of their crap looks like a crude version of stuff that used to come out of those little dispensers lined up by the supermarket door for which I used to beg my mother for a quarter when I was a kid. Some of their other stuff looks like someone snuck into my garage and fished it out of my rag barrel.

I won't be digging into my pocket to stuff any of their stuff in someone's stocking this year. If I get that desperate I might be able to recycle something out of that rag bucket and scribble "f*ck" with a magic marker on it ...

I read this an a article about the ways small family run farms are changing to survive. Half a million farmers to retire by 2030. The older generation are retiring and many want to pass on the land and the heritage to their children. However when growing McMansions is more profitable than growing veggies or raising livestock, the land is frequently sliced-up, tore-up, and sold.

Some might say: "So what if small farmers are being essentially run out of business? There is plenty of food in the supermarket." I've touched on this topic before, but I consider it important enough to bring up again. If you are OK with the prospect of China or South America growing and making your food, then I guess continue skipping blindly through the supermarket throwing tidy little packages in your basket.

Many family run farms are essentially shifting from what would be considered wholesalers to what my friend's husband called "boutique" farms, as if it were some quaint hobby for the farmers. However, these operations may be saving us from ourselves for future generations. They are preserving the knowledge on how to grow by passing on their farms to their children who frequently worked side by side with their parents while they grew up. They are selling the right to develop their property to municipalities that want to preserve the agricultural use of their towns or countries or to not for profit organizations.

Selling development rights may not grow food itself, but it does prevent McMansions taking over the land. Quaint little "boutique farms" may not fill the supermarket shelves, but they do offer an alternative. And in the future, if China or South America decides they don't want to send food our way, we might actually be able to grow food to feed the masses on the land that has been preserved.

The entertainment news has been reporting Demi Moore letting her hair down, literally, and having a good time at a couple of Miami parties. She has been photographed hamming it up and dancing, and in some opinions acting "girlish". With those reports comes comments that Demi Moore is a has-been actress trying to recapture the spot-light by drawing attention to herself. And others saying that 50-year old Demi should "act her age".

I say: "Why?"

Is there a particular way a 50-year old should act? Is dancing and laughing and acting goofy for the camera something those only under 30 or 40 should do? Please tell me. I'm far closer to 50 than 30 and I want to be prepared.

Do I need to work on my bun making skills so that I can keep my long, graying hair like a proper older lady? Do I need to practice my dour face, lest I err and smile for the camera once I pass my 50th year? Tell me what a proper 50-year old should do.

I have a better thought: Let Demi and all the 50-yr olds that want to dance, dance. Let them laugh and sing and make hair mustaches for the camera. There are far too many sour pusses in the world. I may be sarcastic and bitchy at times, but most of the time I am cheerful and goofy and love a good laugh. If that offends others, well that is just tough titties. Go tell it to someone who cares.