Free speech?

So I wake up from my not-long-enough night and pop on Facebook to see what's up before attempting to go back to bed. Along with the usual game requests and other junk----love the pics from those who have escaped this crappy weather for spring break (slightly sarcastic, heavily jealous), I find a post or two linking to and commenting on different news stories.

Or what purports to be news.

Frankly, I don;t find reader reaction to a letter to the editor/opinion column to be news. I find it to be more opinion based on the prior opinion. How is that news? But apparently somebody thinks it is news to react to an opinion piece espousing anti-gay, anti-black, etc. thoughts. And the same someones apparently think all such talk should be at least hushed up, if not outright banned.

No, I did not read the link. I read enough of the reactions of some on FB to irritate me.

No I do not espouse the "kill 'em all" or whatever opinions against any group.

BUT.....

Last time I checked--and someone let me know if Obama has executive-ordered the 1st amendment to be unconstitutional yet---we have freedom of speech in this country. It's one of the things that sets us apart from places like Syria, Iran, etc.....even a lot of Europe these days.

So whether or not you agree with me, or agree with the in-my-honest-opinion nutjob carrying on about getting rid of whatever group he's ranting against, or agree with anything in general, we all have the right to state our opinion, and do so without calls for banning our speech.

Banning certain speech b/c it's not PC, or "nice" or whatever doesn;t make the thoughts go away. I can tell my daughter all I want that she is not allowed to say certain things...mainly based on her age.....but having once been a child, I know that I can;t stop her from thinking those things. All I do is change her venue for saying them. Now she knows she can;t say them around me, or Daddy, or grandparents, or teachers, or whatever....but around her friends? To her siblings? In her journal?

There are always better ways to say some things. Instead of cursing a vulgar, crude blue streak, try using some real vocabulary..be imaginative....instead of saying you hate a certain group, maybe try getting to know someone in that group....I don't condone a lot of lifestyle choices, to say the least, but they are not my choices to make. I try not to judge a whole group (although with Obama voters, it gets tough..lol), but rather deal with the individual. Just b/c one person in a group does something stupid doesn't make the whole group guilty of it. There are a lot of great gay, straight, white, black, purple, polka-dotted, whatever religion or lack thereof folks out there.

Deal with the fact not everyone is the same or thinks the same. Wouldn't this be a boring world if they did?

And yes, if you don;t agree with what someone says/does, you too have the right to say it...as long as you are respectful....if you are not, then you lower yourself to what you think the other person is guilty of being.

An open letter to the NRA:

QUIT BACKING DUMBASS CANDIDATES WHO ARE ONLY BENT ON TAKING AWAY OUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!!!!

Here's a couple of examples:  Joe Manchin and Nick Joe Rahall.....

And you wonder why I let my membership drop.

That is all.

So over the last few months, I have become increasingly strident in supporting the Second amendment, as it seems our fearless leader is bound and determined to not only destroy it, but any other Constitutional right he deems necessary to get his agenda done. And now I find myself contemplating a letter writing campaign to my senators and representative demanding they do the right thing and not bow down to the dictator-wanna-be.

I used to be heavily in favor of gun control. The kind that takes all weapons away from any non-military, non-police citizen.

Then I grew up.

I understand that people have differing viewpoints on just what 2A means and how it should be interpreted. I have no problem with not owning an assault weapon---although the case could be made that even a rock is an assault weapon if used to attack someone-----but what the lefties keep dragging out are semi-auto weapons and in some cases, not auto in any way.....they have no clue what they are talking about. The media can;t even get right what the Sandy Hook shooter used.....here's a hint: the sick bastard did not use a fully auto weapon..get your facts straight.

Which brings me to another point: background checks....

I'm all for them. Matter of fact, some pretty stringent laws concerning background checks are already on the books.

But background checks would not have stopped Newtown.....the shooter obtained his weapons by killing his own mother to gain the weapons......his own mother had gone through the lengthy process requred by this country, as well as any state/local regs, to legally own her guns. Her son did not. her son committed illegal acts to obtain her weapons to carry out his sicko plan.

Most mass shootings are not the work of legal gun owner. Yes it does happen. In any segment of society, you are going to find a few folks on the fringe, or a couple who just need the right tension to make the wire of sanity at least temporarily disappear. Gun owners, non-owners, black, white, yellow, purple, Christian, Jewish, Muslim...whatever the group, there is always someone who may flip their lid to a destructive extent.

The point is, you are not going to solve one problem by creating another. If you take guns away from the law abiding, then the criminals/sickos/etc who are bound and determined to create murder and mayhem will have free rein. No one will be able to stop them b/c no one will have the capability. i mean, it's not like one can just carry a crossbow with a multitude of arrows into a theater, right? If you don;t want to own a gun, that is your choice. No one is forcing you to. But leave my right to defend myself in the manner I choose alone.

So once again, we have lost a family member, my uncle on mom's side, her youngest brother. It was totally unexpected, even though he had been having some fairly serious medical issues; he had in fact just been released from another hospital stay only the evening before. He leaves behind 4 sons, 1 daughter, and 2 stepdaughters, many grandchildren, and lots of siblings, nieces, nephews and so on...He joins his wife of I think 20 yrs or so in Heaven.

My purpose is not to write his obituary. I give no names, as to keep the privacy as much as possible of the family as they mourn.

My purpose is to remember. And while so many of my memories are jumbled with each other, with everyday living, working, surviving, and existing ...I will never forget this big man with some rough edges who loved his family and did his best for them.

I remember being little and being scared--more likely overawed---by this giant of a man with the booming voice....at least he seemed that way to a little girl....He teased us all, just like we were his own.....as i got older, when I would be visiting my grandparents and he was around--and even well into the middle age I am now---"how ya doing, uglier-than-i-am?"  As I got older, I would respond in kind: " No such thing." and tease him back.....as, no longer scared or overawed, I was comfortable with him....

He had his faults; we all do. He had his rougher times of living when he was younger. He was a Vet, God bless him. He was married and divorced twice before settling down with his third and last wife, who sadly preceded him in death a couple years ago. He had a passel of kids with his first 2 wives, and helped his last wife raise her young daughters to adulthood.

I'm gonna miss you, uncle dear......say hi to my aunt for us all...we truly miss you both. Rest in peace.

tolerance and civil discourse

I've been playing around a lot on Twitter lately.....sometimes posting prolifically  and sometimes just watching the tweets roll by. I've also been rather politically vocal on my Facebook page. And one thing I have noticed is the extreme lack of anyone really listening to anyone. Especially without the comeback of "Well, F you and the horse you rode in on." if someone dares to even politely disagree.

Yes, I am vocal and very blunt, to the point that yes I could probably be called rude on occasion. I call it like I see it and some may choose to see that as intolerant. Plain and simple, if I disagree, one of two things will happen....I will either shake my head and roll my eyes, but scroll on past the item and go on my merry way....or I may decide to comment. Most generally, I try not to be rude but approach in a agree to disagree manner.

However......if I am attacked, called rude vicious names, or the like....then I will fight back.....most generally with a cutting sarcastic remark that will probably go over the head of the one it is intended for---as I have discovered that such so not tend to pick up on sarcasm.

I respect anyone's opinion, whether I agree or not....and i require the same of anyone who posts comments on here---which is generally not a problem---on my FB page or anywhere else. if you feel the overwhelming need to show your command of vocabulary by dropping the F-bomb constantly, then please go to another page and do so. it will be deleted off mine.

Just want to scream some days

So I'm actually having a pretty good weekend off....relaxing, sewing, baking, and so on.....power's on and AC is cranking.....yeah we were one of the millions without power after the derecho 10 days ago.....

So after dinner and this evening's storms, hubby and I are enjoying sitting on the front porch swing watching the birds play, and I ran inside for a minute. When I came out, hubby is talking with son #2, who is on the computer. he walks outside and I look at son's posture and ask him what is wrong. Turns out his bio dad, my ex, who promised to buy him a laptop for college as a graduation gift, like he did his brother, is backing out. Says he can't afford it since he just paid son #1's tuition for his school......now bear in mind, this is the payment he made the contract with the university for, and had failed to pay from LAST semester, and had to pay before said son could register for next term.....actually son #1 was on final verge of losing his registration and housing for next term b/c of dad's failure to pay.

So he screws over son #2 and blames son #1 for it.....needless to say I am pissed to the gills. It takes every dollar I make to stay an inch away from foreclosure and shut-offs.....so for him, who makes twice the money my hubby and I together do, to plead lack of funds is just beyond me. He no longer has to pay child support, as son #2 just turned 18. He constantly plays games with the boys, and thinks they don;t see through it.

So our advice to the boys is to call his bluff-----he promised, he needs to ante up. Or at least come up with a more truthful excuse.

So my daughter comes to me tonight after we eat dinner and she takes a bath and says with all seriousness that she needs to ask me a question. Her question? "How can you miss someone so much and not even remember knowing them?"  So I pulled her over to me and gave her a hug and asked who she was missing. Turns out she is missing my Mommaw Adkins.....her great grandma..So I gave her another hug and cuddled her close and told her it was because she knew her, so she was a part of my daughter's memories...she just doesn't remember knowing her.....I know it sounds a little weird, but...

Shellie was 4 when my mommaw died at the age of 91, in her sleep. We lived in town then, but the house was being packed up in preparation for our move to our new house soon..We actually were only days away from closing on the property when my mom called about 1030 that Saturday night and told me mommaw was gone....It hit me like a knife in my heart, because as much as I loved my other mommaw, who had died in 1984, I was around mom's mom a lot more growing up, it seemed like...maybe it was just because of the 22 years between their deaths. And we were getting set to move within 5 minutes of her home.

I remember so much growing up around them....I remember--can still smell the smells of her cooking, how she knew what I liked to eat and made sure she kept it on hand. Even when us grandkids got to the stage of teenagers and might have been a little more difficult, she was always still Mommaw...always treated us the same, always loved us. I remember staying the night at her home growing up. Playing endless games of Aggravation--the board game, that is!!! I remember how loud the tv always was b/c Poppaw was hard of hearing.....and how hot that trailer was in the summer, although in winter it sure felt good. I remember good times with my cousins, who lived all around there...how we'd tramp the hills and ride bikes up and down the holler and run in and out of the doors of all the houses......

Then there were all the family reunions, still going on today, although not as strong as they once were. The last picture I remember being taken of Mommaw, in my collection anyway, is one of 4 generations of Adkins women.....Mommaw Rhoda, Mom, me, and my daughter.

I told Shellie to treasure her grandparents. To ask me and her dad and our folks about the family history. I wish so badly I had picked my granny's brain in the years prior to her death. So much oral history gone. This is why I continue to go to the reunions year after year. To hear the stories, not only of what has gone on in the months or years since seeing various relatives, but the stories of them growing up, and sometimes of us kids growing up...

Shellie says she feels her granny is her guardian angel. If she believes it, who am I to say any different?

I do know one thing---she picked a great lady to be her angel---I knew as soon as I had heard of her passing, that Jesus had welcomed another angel to His side.