My Opinion On The Revenge Porn Websites

There are websites where jilted men can post naked photos of their ex-girlfriend/wife with all the information they want to reveal in a smear campaign:  names, address, phone numbers, etc., thereby allowing stalkers, rapists, and freaks to find them.

Look, I'm sorry this will offend those that have been hurt, but if you let someone take a naked picture of you:  You're an idiot.  "I was in a long-time committed relationship" is what most of the victims are saying.  "I trusted them."

You weren't married and even if you were, you'd better make DARN sure they have no access to any of it in case you get divorced.  No files, no negatives, not the camera, don't text it, email, or anything else.

I've been married 17 years.  SEVENTEEN YEARS.  I'm pretty sure it's "'til death do us part" (one way or the other), but there is no way he will get a naked picture of me.  He has ME to look at, he doesn't need "proof".  Traveling?  Phone call.  Use your imagination if you need an image.

Naked Skype?  Not a chance!  I know you can capture an image...

How immature and petty does a man have to be that he has to post naked pictures to get revenge?  The worst part is they do it anonymously.  You really want to ruin someone's life?  You should give them the chance to somehow get even, attach your name and mugshot to your idiotic actions!  Because women travel in packs.

I find it truly sad and pathetic.

When did we stop meeting people that looked better than your ex and flaunting that?  Dating someone more successful?  Moving on and moving up?

These women are being wrongly judged and it's affecting not only their self-esteem, but when your boss, co-workers, or friends Google you, this is what will come up. This isn't a short-term revenge out of temporary anger, it's a total life ruination.

The guy that runs the original website stands behind his idea with freedom of speech, freedom of the internet.  Probably because he is profiting from it and that is just cowardly and greedy.  He is hurting people in ways that he can't fathom (or doesn't care because it's not him) and until women get so distraught they start committing suicide over their distress, it will continue.

I hope the women suing get the websites taken down.  If they can regulate internet gambling in this country, child pornography  illegal sales, then why can't they regulate porn-against-a-woman's-will?  That can't be legal.  Exploitation charges?

In the meantime, stop letting your men take naked photos of you, it's a stupid choice that should red-flag your brain immediately!!  Stop drinking so much you'll agree to anything.  I don't think a petition (currently circulating) will end this.

NOT letting them taking pictures is your only safeguard to protect yourself and your future.

My Unintentional Cat Whisperer Vibes

I like all kinds of furry animals, but cats are my particular favorites.  Perhaps because they taught me at an early age that I was special to them.  I own two Maine Coons as well as an Australian Shepherd.

When I was two we were in a pet store buying turtle food when the one and only kitten, a white Persian reached out, grabbed me, and refused to let go until my mom brought it home with us.  It was eventually stolen, but that cat followed me everywhere.

They would follow me home from school when I was young and we still lived in the city.  They would find me in a parking lot, they would rush at me from trees, and they would sit on our carport just waiting for me to come out to pet them.  I never encouraged this, I wasn't feeding them, they just came.

My mom once dated the guy who raised the big cats for the Audubon Zoo.  We were at his house and I rolled around and played alone with a lion named Sampson.  I'll never forget how that made me feel.

My husband and I met 18 years ago and he noticed this behavior right off the bat.  That's partially why he believes I'm some sort of witch.  Being from New Orleans, where voodoo is prominent, and his being from New England where he grew up superstitious doesn't help.  He has this Stephen King Sleepwalkers fear they want to eat his face off.  He won't let me have any bigger than a Maine Coon because he thinks they'll make him dinner.

When we bought our first house in a cul-de-sac in Utah, the neighbors couldn't keep their indoor cat home.  It would dart at every opportunity to our house and sit in the front window or try to come inside.  Another neighbor's cat did the same thing and when they moved, they left him behind because he refused to go with him.  We ended up taking him in because they never came back feeling he abandoned them.

One Halloween, me and a friend from our cul-de-sac were walking our children around trick-or-treating and a kitten came bolting from around a corner straight at me and leaped into my arms.  "Do you know that cat?" she asked.  "Never seen it before," I replied as I nuzzled it.  She gave me a funny look and didn't hang out with me any more.

When we moved to North Carolina, my husband and I went for a walk one evening and a little orange cat left a front porch and came running to me.  It tried to climb my leg so I picked it up and pet her little head then set her down.  She followed us after for a long time and I had to stop and tell her, "No, sweetie you have to go home to your house."  She looked at me sadly and went home.  My husband gave me the oddest look.  I just shrugged and we moved on.

(Beloved Butler 11/1/1996 - 5/26/2012)

We often are awakened to my oldest cat yelling out the window because there is a cat wanting in.  Actually, we've had about twenty cats since we've lived here hanging around, wanting inside.

I currently have a foster cat in our guest room.  I work with an animal rescue group and there is a feral kitten they took in before I started volunteering there.  Sassy is her name.  She is very shy and doesn't work well with anyone so she has just stayed in her enclosure at Petsmart for the last several months.

She liked me.

When she heard my voice she came to the glass, she'd put her paw up reaching for me, she cuddled with me, and would always turn sad and sullen when I'd leave at the end of adoption day.  So I brought her home for a "cage break" and to try to help her be more social with others.

She is working well with the rest of my family and even our pets, so I'm hoping she'll get adopted soon.

This morning, there was a beautiful black cat outside my window screaming for me.  I went out to see what all the caterwauling was about and he jumped into my arms.  De-clawed and obviously a house cat, I had to send him home.

I've heard it's because they are drawn to my energy, that they are in some way my guardians, and that I would make a good modern day witch.

Shhh!  Don't tell my husband...  ;)

What Makes A Good Leader For Our Children Outside The Home?

A big question with a lot of argument behind it.

With the Boy Scouts of America considering dropping the ban on gay members and leaders, there is backlash on both sides.  Personally, I don't care either way, but it brings to mind a discussion I had yesterday over whether to home-school or not and what's best for our children.

When my Bear was in kindergarten, his teacher had a PhD in child studies, Dr. Jones. A wonderful, caring and encouraging man.  We lived in Utah then, Mormon/LDS country and there were a few fanatical mothers  that were not the same tolerant Mormons I know, my BFF especially, they banned together to get him fired because there was "no way a man can be nurturing enough to raise our children".

First of all, I raise my children, teachers teach my children.  I stood by this man, that my son adored and I thought was a great teacher, but in the end, he was discredited and fired.

The world is changing and we must change with it.  I don't agree with the way people relate to each other, with communication between humans based on a texting lingo that doesn't remotely resemble English and not actual voice contact.

I don't like the language kids are using, but the teachers in school use it, too.  I don't think keeping my children at home will benefit their growth in this new world we inhabit, I just use each example as how not to behave.

I don't think that being gay or not being gay makes a difference in how a person can or cannot teach.  Whether or not they would make a good leader. That's personality, character, or ability.  I don't think having a gay person in charge will make my kids gay.  I think it will help them understand there are many different types of people in this world and they can learn to live with it, or be eaten with hate from the inside out.

My oldest didn't know what race was until he started school and was taught by other kids and other adults. Up until that point he thought there was only varying degrees of "tan".  That all people were equal no matter what they looked like, where they lived, or where they come from.

I wanted to raise a child that understood to judge someone from the heart, not the stereotype.

I have friends of all races, backgrounds, and religions.  They are my friends because they are funny, morally upstanding, and not openly judgmental.  I don't care how someone feels on the inside, but keep your negativity to yourself!

Now I teach my children that not everyone in this world is nice.  Most people are ignorant of truth and fight from hatred rather than facts because that's what they were taught.  That no matter what they encounter, remember the lessons I've instilled and try their best to be tolerant and understanding.

If they don't agree with something to the point of arguing, study the issue from the perspective of the other's view before entering a disagreement, that way their argument will have an intelligent and insightful point rather than arguing for argument's sake.

Because that is what makes a good leader.

Theft of Laundry Detergent On The Rise

Yeah, I said laundry detergent.

All over the country, mass quantities of large liquid Tide detergent is being loaded into buggies (or carts) and being walked out of store doors without being paid for by thieves.

They take a $20 bottle and sell a capful of detergent or one on those "pods" one shot at a time in laundromats making up to $60 a bottle in profit.  But I'm still left asking aloud:

WHAT?!?  Really?  Soap a high commodity?

It's the same as when they put security devices on razor blades.  Why can't a normal, honest shopper just BUY stuff in peace?  They're now starting to put security devices on soap in stores around the country.

Isn't that why Walmart has those people standing at the door "greeting" people?  If you see someone walking out with a buggy filled with laundry soap and only laundry soap.......I have an idea:  stop them!

I have a hard enough time shopping at large store because everything has some sort of tag that needs removing and it takes forever because I always get the clerk that doesn't have the necessary tool to remove it.  Always.

I'm so frustrated over a handful of idiots that are ruining everything for the rest of the normal world it makes me nuts.  I can't by sinus medication without a background check, I can't shave my legs without a security clearance and now my clothes cannot be cleaned without being placed on an FBI watch list.

Stop it.  Just stop it.

This world is going crazy and it won't be long before I own my very own "high-powered assault weapon" to protect my Pop-Tarts in my own home from bandits!

This is the zombie apocalypse, it's not a fight against disease-ridden humans that have transformed into monsters out to eat our flesh, it's a battle against idiocy in a world where "normal" no long seems to exists.

Subway Restaurants Being Sued: Are You Kidding Me?

Subway.  We've all heard those annoying commercials:  Five.  Five dollar.  Five dollar foot-long...

The company's chains in New Jersey are being sued for selling their foot-long sandwiches that are allegedly coming up short at eleven inches.  The two guys doing the suing are saying that the last bite is short changing them, literally by 65 cents per sandwich over a span of several years.

Really?!?  Let's start with:

You're a moron.

First of all you're eating Subway way too much and how do you plan to prove how many sandwiches you've been shortchanged on?  If I were a judge, I would want a photo of every sandwich that was only eleven inches long, not just the one they show in a photo, which could have been an accident.

I've eaten there.  That bread is incredibly soft and after being crammed in paper and then shoved in a bag, perhaps it got squished a bit?  Who carries a giant tape-measure around?

Second, what is wrong with you that you hired a lawyer because your filling packed loaf of bread isn't long enough?  It's literally a loaf of bread.  Who really needs to eat a FOOT long sandwich?  You're not a professional athlete!  This isn't an episode of Seinfeld.

Thirdly, it's fast food.  Should I sue Taco Bell because I had one eight of an inch of my Mexican pizza missing some cheese?  What the frick??  They have five star restaurants in NYC selling an appetizer at forty dollars a pop on a decorative plate and calling it an entree and you're complaining about an entire giant sandwich that you only paid five dollars for not being enough?

There are people starving worldwide as well as within the boundaries of our own country and you're going to try and profit off of a company, probably shutting the chain down in that area and causing people to lose jobs because you got short-changed an inch?!?

Come to my house.  I'll give you a knuckle sandwich for free.

GROW UP!

An Angry Southern Woman

Recently, with the release of the movie Lincoln, there have been many comparisons to the Old South and the New South which, as God as my witness, got my feathers ruffled.  A couple of quotes from two articles:

"The Solid South speaks less and less for America and more and more for itself alone."

"Lincoln's unfinished war rages on, as the neo-Confederacy tries to turn back the clock on women, gays, God and guns."

The New Yorker chimes in with "Southern Discomfort" and Salon with "Welcome to the New Civil War".

Usually I'm happy as a dead pig in the sunshine, but reading those made me angry.  No incensed.  No livid.  I'm not sure there is a word to express how angry I was, reading this garbage.  It would make a Bishop kick in a stained glass window. And then I had to step back and calm down because I was scaring the kids trying to tell my husband about it.  By the way, he is a Yankee from Boston.

I was brought up as Southern Baptist, Republican, in a very small town (218 people at the time).  The KKK was an active institution in our overall area, segregation was still apparent, not by law, but in such a way as to make it applicable without saying it out loud.

I was friends with a black girl (they weren't called African Americans back then), Chandra, even brought her home to play.  I liked her, she was nice.  Period.

I was also brought up with guns.  We had snakes, very aggressive, very poisonous snakes.  We also hunted for our food.  I ate squirrel, rabbit, deer, hog, and duck.  We had a boat and we shrimped and fished.  We also had a garden where we canned all summer to eat all winter.  Too poor to paint, too proud to whitewash.  I got my first gun at ten.  My first big gun at sixteen.  

It was a way of life.

I can also sew, quilt, and one of the best cooks my friends and husband have ever met.  I'm ex-military, combat proficient, can out-shoot most men, and if a zombie apocalypse ever did occur, many want me with them.  I'm a good mom, homemaker, and volunteer.  I've also survived cancer.  SIX times.

I left the Church years ago.  I'm pro-choice.  I don't care if you're gay and if you are, you have a right to be in a relationship equal to anyone else.  I'm predominantly Republican, but will vote for whoever best benefits my family.  I'm a great leader, I'm funny, and most people love me.  I am a woman and treated with respect by my peers (men and women).  So why am I angry?

Because these reporters don't know me.  They don't know my friends or family.  They don't know what life is really like in the South outside of the movies and a few fanatics.  I think Westboro Baptist Church is a group of idiots; they don't speak for the South.

Everyone is given the same opportunities to do well in school, to compete for scholarships, to choose their path in life despite economic backgrounds, so don't hand me your excuses about a caste system and how we as Southerners perpetuate it, I grew up poor and worked my way out.  In high cotton.

I'm educated. Once I was told by a school principle (in Utah) when I was upset about something going on in their school that affected my child, "You're just a housewife, what do you know?"

What do I know?  What do I know??  I used to work for NASA's Space Program as a meteorologist before CHOOSING to stay home and raise my children.  Not allowing my kids to be raised in day-care so I could have a "career".  I didn't need one, I was already educated enough to know right from wrong, to have morals and wanted to make sure my children had them, too.

We stay married in the South.  Family means something there.  Sunday dinners with everyone is a ritual; if someone needs help, everyone comes to assist, and if that means we are a bunch of crazy fanatical neo-Confederates, then those that would call us that haven't got a clue what that nomenclature means.  Honey Boo-Boo IS NOT THE SOUTH.  Swamp People IS NOT THE SOUTH.  Duck Dynasty IS NOT THE SOUTH.  Neither is Moonshiners, but every dog has a few fleas.

"the South might occupy a place like Scotland’s in the United Kingdom, as a cultural draw for the rest of the country, with a hint of the theme park."

Those are words to fight over and enough to cause the rift they speak of.  Stop insulting us like unwanted step-children and maybe we would cooperate a little better.  You might as well insult my Momma and as a reminder, I do own a gun (that I will be keeping).  Come walk in my shoes and I'll jerk a knot in your tail, otherwise keep your ignorant assumptions to yourself.

Oh and Bless Your Heart!

(Southern colloquialisms added for effect)

Pandemic Or Just Carelessness?

The flu is currently running rampant around the U.S. and also with it, Norovirus.  Influenza is commonly known, but what is Norovirus?

It's commonly known as the Winter Vomiting Virus.  Never heard of it?  Well, familiarize yourself because it's here.  It's also the biggest thing to plague cruise ships.  Food poisoning, bah!

The viruses are transmitted by fecally-contaminated food or water; by person-to-person contact; and via aerosolization of the virus and subsequent contamination of surfaces. Noroviruses are the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis in humans, and affect people of all ages.

Norovirus infection is characterized by nausea, forceful vomiting, watery diarrhea, and abdominal pain, and in some cases, loss of taste. General lethargy, weakness, muscle aches, headache, coughs, and low-grade fever may occur. The disease is usually self-limiting, and severe illness is rare. A small number of people die, mostly the very young, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems.

So why are the two viruses tearing through like a pandemic leaving make-shift parking lot emergency rooms and death in it's wake?  

Complacency:  people simply didn't get their shots.  I blame two people on this one.  My doctor told me that we shouldn't get our shots in October, but wait until later because the flu usually breaks out in January.  How many people adhere to this?  Well, this year the influenza breakout occurred earlier (oops), but we were covered.  I still insist we get our shots before sickness outbreaks.

Norovirus?  People don't wash their hands.  Period.  I have watched someone not wearing gloves in a restaurant wipe their nose, then handle food.  I walked out and called the health department.

Restrooms:  How many people barely rinse their hands under a trickle of water, too busy admiring themselves in the mirror?  It makes me ill.  

My hands are so dry they hurt to bend my fingers, but I'm a chronic hand-washer.  We keep Purell in my purse, our backpacks, I Lysol doorknobs and anything people touch often.  When I go to the grocery and they have those little wipes for the buggies?  I bypass them and pour sanitizer from my purse to my hand and then wipe the buggy down.  Then I wash my hands when I get home.  

Again.

I don't shake hands either.  Sorry, but I have a child that is highly susceptible and refuse to risk his health.  We try not to eat out or go to too many places in winter because I don't need a sick family!  

And I certainly don't want to be a statistic on the news.

The vaccines are running low because people waited too long and drug companies didn't produce based on the old supply-and-demand theory.  Tamiflu, the cure-all drug of choice is running low as well because they were unprepared for this outbreak.  Many people will have to ride it out without help and that is how many people are dying.

Take heed and do the right thing.  Keep your kids home if they are sick, stay home if you are sick, and for Heaven's sake WASH YOUR HANDS!!

Geriatric Pets And Their Quirks

Old age affects animals in the same manner as people.  Dementia, paranoia, arthritis, grey hair, Alzheimer's-like traits...

I'm not sure how much research has been put into this, but from experience, I see the same things with my furry kids that I do with my aging family members.

My beloved 15 1/2 year old cat, Butler developed this quirk where he would scream his head off at night when we went to bed.  When the TV and lights went off, he revved up.  For many hours into the night, it would make us all crazy.  He had health and mental issues before getting older so we figured it was just something he did.

Now my dog is acting weird.  He is a 14 year old Australian Shepherd and at night he barks.  Just one or two barks like every 20-30 seconds.  For hours.  We have a sound machine that plays rain showers for 45 minutes and shuts off after we fall asleep.

We have this because the dog snores like an old man and his bed is on the floor next to my side of the bed.

For the last month or so, the dog has been getting up about midnight after the sound machine shuts off and doing the bark thing until around 4:30 am.  At first we checked for burglars, cats, dogs, opossums, anything that would set him off.  Then we started closing doors to rooms with low windows and he would just stand in the middle of the living room or dining room and bark.

Go get him, put him back to bed, he'll get right up and start over.  Let him outside, same thing.  He just barked.  For no apparent reason.

We haven't slept, we're exhausted, we're all snapping at each other and I'm starting to do klutzy things because my concentration is off.  Throw in dieting and exercise and I'm a step away from becoming a serial killer.

I got this idea to leave on a night light, but have trouble sleeping with that tiny green glow from the smoke detector so nixed that idea.  So last night, I thought to leave the television on in the living room, volume down.  We're not sure if exhaustion finally caught up to us or it worked, but nobody remembers hearing him bark last night.

I always leave a TV on when I leave the house because all of our pets are rescues and I feel bad leaving them alone.  Maybe it gives them comfort, but maybe it eases my guilt of leaving them alone.

So we'll try the TV again tonight, but turn it off Friday night (since we don't have to work the next day) and see if that's what did the trick to stop the barking or if we just slipped into a mini-coma and didn't hear him.

Fingers crossed, we all need the rest!

Move Over Kim Kardashian, Katherine Webb's The New "IT" Girl

Miss Alabama and ranked in the top ten for Miss USA, Katherine Webb is AJ McCarron's girlfriend.  Who's AJ?  Oh, he's the quarterback for Alabama, the team that just won the BCS Championship.  Again.

After being seen on TV Monday night, her Twitter followers increased by 200K+, that's double what her boyfriend has and includes Lebron James as a new fan.

She seems humbled by all the hype.  Says of her boyfriend, "I just thought he was really cute", but let's get real.  Unless he gets a really large contract with the NFL, how long before she moves on to a baller that has money?

She has her looks and knows how to use them.  She'll ride her BCS train as far as it will take her, then move on to someone richer, just like Kim Kardashian.

It's AJ I feel sorry for.  

He thought he was the celebrity in their relationship who got a good-looking girlfriend, but little did he know how far he would fall down the ladder of interest when in a post game interview he was asked how he felt about Lebron following her on Twitter.

Take heed, AJ.  Put a ring on it if you want to keep it, but make sure you're willing to give up half later when she's exposed to a broader spectrum of men.  

Don't believe me?  Just ask Reggie Bush what it's like to have your biggest supporter run off and marry another, only to divorce him a week later for yet another.  Even Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit spent enough time on her during the game to warrant "stalker alert".

And for those just looking for a sexier picture of her, because I know that's why you clicked this link, here you go:

Ugh.

Scattered Thoughts With A Head Cold

I should be halfway around what we call "the back loop" in my morning walk by now.  Instead I'm in my robe with a pounding headache.  I blew my nose and a green Buick came out.  This is the worst thing to me, my sinuses acting up.

Sinus Infection, head cold, what's the difference?  I still feel like poop.

I really hate when someone gives you advice, too.  No, I haven't tried that, really, it will fix all my problems?  Let me invest more money in useless crap then...

I boiled about $50 worth of ginger in water with an orange, the netty pot nearly drowned me when I tilted the wrong way, I already eat spicy foods, The head over the steam with a towel thing doesn't work and every time I bend over I'm not sure if I pass out or fall asleep, but I've been trying to tie my shoe for an hour.

My doctor has been on vacation for weeks and by now, even if I could get an appointment, I don't want to be in an office full of people sick with the flu or have to get dressed and drive there.

Driving hurts my head with a sinus thing.  Makes me feel slightly off and my vision is blurry out of one eye.

No fever, no other symptoms besides what's going on in my head so I'm not concerned with any other issues, but please, please, please go away.  Everything smells and tastes like old garlic and I can't breathe when I sleep.

Starve a fever, feed a cold?  I'm supposed to be dieting and all I want is cookies because sweets are the only sense that my tongue recognizes. Old habit that is really hard to break right now.

I guess spending the day sleeping in bed is my best bet at this point.

(yawn) What was I saying?