Too many thoughts to cram on Facebook, or I was frustrated but felt much better after writing

Ok, so I haven't written on my blog in 18 months.  Honestly, I have not had the time with school and the kids.  Or, really the inclination to write about a difficult year and a half.  I'm still not ready to write about that, so instead I want to write about the things I see going on around me that are driving me nuts.

1) Richard Trumpka is one of my all-time least favorite people in the world.  Maybe next to the former head of the UN, Kofi Annan.  I prefer the new the new head of communist China to these two. Anyways, when it was the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Trumpka released a statement about how 9/11 was a memorial for Labor.  Um.  No.  It's not.  So when a long-time friend posted on fb a political cartoon that commented on all the bad things that happened because of 9/11 (think Abu Ghraib), I commented that maybe they should put a picture of Trumpka holding a picket sign with a closed fist on it since he had inserted Labor into the 9/11 narrative.  Maybe that makes no sense.  Especially if you hadn't read what Trumpka said about turning 9/11 into a story about Labor.  But my friend's response, to the effect of- Be quiet, Sarah, and let the adults have a conversation- was just the beginning (and also end) of some incredibly hurtful and  patronizing remarks that ended a long friendship.  As I was the first girl he ever asked out.  As in we took piano lessons together in 5th grade. I cried for days after this because, without being friends of fb, it is honestly as if this friend has died.  All because of stupid Trumpka.  (Oh, and my friend was apparently having "a Monday" so he couldn't be blamed for making that comment to me.  Incidentally, I kept waiting for Neil's righteous indignation that someone was being mean to me.  Maybe Neil was glad to be rid of my friend because that indignation never came.)

So, fast forward to Trumpka deciding that Mitt Romney and crony capitalism are to blame for the mass extinction of Twinkies.  Hey, four years later, we are still blaming Bush 43 for the economy, so we can blame Romney for pension and health care costs.  Unfortunately, Trumpka failed to mention that when the greedy capitalists at Hostess had to file for bankruptcy twice before, that it was venture capitalists who supplied the funds to keep the company running and the employees in a job.  This time there are no venture capitalists out there to save the day.

It turns out that some of the unionized employees were willing to come back to work, but not enough.  So the ones who hated those greedy capitalists failed all of their colleagues because they wanted more money.  They are the reason the company is closing its doors 50-something days before Christmas.  But Mitt Romney is the greedy and mean one?  The one who doesn't care about poor people?  These people were striking because the company stopped contributing to the pensions.  That stinks, but in this economy, really?   In my opinion, these families can blame Richard Trumpka.  They can blame Obama because he is pro-union and his wife is anti-Twinkie.  And hopefully the next time some union boss tries to get their employees to strike because the greedy man is making money off the backs of Labor, those employees will think twice about being greedy in this economy and will stay at work so they can feed their families.

That is the first thing that bothers me.

2)  The second thing that bothers me is the reaction to Romney's comment about how Obama gave gifts to a section of the population and they voted for him.  GOP all over the country are jumping down Romney's throat because the comment is mean and divisive.  Too bad Romney's statement is true.  I have some educated liberal friends who voted for Obama because they want social issues and the environment addressed and because they want poor people to be given things to help them.  They believe that liberal principles are compassionate and the way to end unfairness and alleviate suffering.  Great.  I have no problem with someone who votes on principle like that.  I much prefer that to the Obamaphone lady; she represents some of the worst excesses in our country and, honestly, she makes me ill.  No one can defend her comments.  

The poor, the youth, and women voted for Obama, and apparently reflect a shift in our country's demographics.  That said, if these groups voted for Obama on liberal principles, one could ask, "which principles are those?"  Larger safety net?  Through bigger government?  Save the environment?  Through bigger government?  Stay financially solvent?  Through higher taxes, meaning bigger government?  Protect states' rights to legalize marijuana (and manufacture it, license it, and sell it)?  Through bigger government?  Give women free birth control and abortions?  Through bigger government?  Health Care?  Student Loans?  The list can go on, but all of these principles boil down to bigger government, or an increased role of government, and increased spending aimed at certain populations.

So, it turns out that Obama is really Obamaclaus, ending unfairness and suffering by throwing money at a problem, and thereby receiving votes either from the people who receive the gift or by those who think it will make a difference.

Samuel Adams once said, "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom — go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!"     

3)   The last thing that bothers me is no one cares that Obama wanted people to vote as the best revenge.  No one is asking, "revenge for what?  revenge against whom?"  I guarantee you it is not 'vote as revenge' against a poor black single mom.   It is revenge against the Man for every injustice ever perpetrated against anyone.  So basically Obama was saying, "Vote for me because I will stick it to the Man for you."  That's not divisive?  Warning: if you even closely resemble the Man, you are screwed.  But we should ignore those comments, as in "Move along.  There is nothing to see here," because Obama ran on hope and change and moving forward.  And kindness and compassion.   And unicorns and rainbows and lollipops.  And Obamanomics, as defined by the idea that 'you didn't build that-the government gave it to you.' Or conversely, according to Obama's logic: 'If you want something built in your life, get in line because the government will give it to you."

To add some balance: the thing outside of my family that I am truly happy about: Johnny Football.  I have said it before, but "A thing of beauty is a joy forever."  That is what I think of when I watch that kid play football.  Even this well-respected Defensive "guy"(for lack of the actual technical term) from LSU commented that while Manziel is a quarterback, he still leads the SEC in rushing yards.  I don't care how the Aggies do the rest of the season; it has been nice to just be part of something exciting in college football for once.  And, you know, the fact that more people in the state of Texas tuned in to watch the A&M v Alabama game than all of the Longhorn network for the entire season combined, that isn't so bad either.  I know, I am such a hater.  I cannot escape it.  Too bad even Mack Brown agrees with me about the Longhorn Network.  According to Brown, it is at the root of all of his problems this year.

And happiness #2: the last Twilight movie was so much better than I expected.  Somehow I hadn't planned on watching Taylor Lautner undress, albeit in a pg-13 way...Anyways, the cinematography was amazing and the opening credits were breathtakingly beautiful.  Neil kept teasing me about seeing a movie for a book I have read a few times. I responded with, "I thought they might change the ending."  I about died when I realized I wasn't far from the truth.  And, honestly, I loved the movie because it boiled down to the hope of millions of people that their families are forever, that true love is real and it endures, that children are a blessing to be cherished and should become their parents' closest friends in the end.  This wish is deeply seated in our hearts. The makers of pop culture do not realize that when they make movies like "Inception" or tv shows like "Lost" that they are echoing this most basic truth.  Even the Ritz Carlton knows this and models its entire business around how strongly people desire an "idealized version of Home."  What is heaven, if not that?