It's all about ME, ME, ME!

All summer my husband has been ranting about politics with one of his old college buddies. This guy used to be moderate but has turned into an obnoxious Neocon. "Smith" is against universal health coverage, taxes and gun control. Smith is a sales rep for a pharmaceutical company (in other words, he works for the devil).

A few days ago we went out to dinner with a group of friends and Smith was with us. Smith and I got into a heated argument over universal health care. He thinks it's awful and horrendous where I think it's necessary in a moral society. Smith probably makes a 6 figure income (if not 6 figures, then close to it) plus full health benefits, retirement benefits and all car expenses are covered by his employer. He bought his home (a condo in a plush building in a highly affluent area of town) over 12 years ago; long before the housing boom. Unless he refinanced, his mortgage and property taxes are less than the current rent of most lower income families. He has no concept of what the lower and middle classes are going through. He thinks all people who are uninsured are lazy welfare recipients who have no interest in bettering themselves.

He actually said that everyone who is uninsured needs to go out and get an education so they can get better jobs. He stated outright that he doesn't want any of his tax money going to support welfare or public entitlement programs. I explained that societies are judged by how they treat their poor. He replied, "According to who?" I'm left wondering what kind of person cannot comprehend such a simple concept.

I tried to explain how my husband and I are struggling to make ends meet in the current economy and how we can barely afford health insurance. We are very lucky my husband is on a group plan with the school district he works for. It was at this point that Smith said something which shredded whatever credibility he had left. His hubris won't allow him to see how wrong he was in making the statement either. He said he is struggling to pay his bills too. The financial decisions he has made since I've known him directly contradict that statement. His cushy job of 13+ years contradicts it too. In a way it was condescending for him to say that.

But it boils down to one thing; he's one of the most self centered and selfish people I know.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I finished reading the book on Monday; 2 days after it was released. Now I'm going back and reading parts of it but I'm sure I'll end up reading it again cover to cover. It was wonderful but very different from the rest of the series. They're not kids anymore in this book; they're very much young adults. There were some incredibly intense and scary parts too. The deaths were pretty sad and there were a lot of them. The first death in the book, which was not a human, came at the beginning and I was horrified and dumbstruck. It was so senseless. But then war is senseless.

The death eaters and the ministry of magic (under Voldermort's control) reminded me of Europe under Hitler's ruling thumb. Muggles and Muggle born witches and wizards were treated like the Jews under Hitler. It was sad, frightening and creepy.

Overall I knew she wouldn't kill Harry in the end and I was right. Who would put so much into a beloved character and then have them die? Frodo lived to see through his quest, so did Luke Skywalker. It was fitting that Harry conquered Voldemort. It felt good to see the bastard finally get his comeuppance; ditto for Bellatrix Lestrange. It was so awesome to see Molly Weasley calling Bellatrix a bitch too! Stupid death eater; you don't fuck with Mama Weasley or her kids. That's just asking for trouble.

I am a bit sad now though. I thoroughly enjoyed the series but now it's over. JK Rowling is saying that she is thinking about making an encyclopedia for the series. She says she wants to take a break right now, which I certainly can't blame her for. But she's got most of the back story written for a project like that. I would have to assume that a lot of the work would involve organizing and editing rather than actual writing at this point.

So now I have "The Satanic Verses" by Salman Rushdie waiting. I'm not ready to start it yet. I also really want to read "1984". We never read it in any of my English Lit classes and I've been putting it off for years.

Summer Boredom

My husband is in education so he is currently on summer hiatus. The man needs to go back to work ASAP! The poor guy is bored, so he's been ranting and raving about politics for the past few weeks. I agree with everything he's saying, but I don't think he realizes how insanely bored he really is right now. He's starting to drive me slightly batty.

It's official-I'm a Harry Potter geek

I remember back in 1999, when every time I would head into a bookstore I would see posters and books about Harry Potter. I wondered what the big deal was. Why did the stores have so many displays with the books? Why did they seem so popular. Who was Harry Potter anyway? I wanted to know, so I asked one of the store clerks. I was informed that the books were about, "a boy who finds out that he's a wizard on his 11th birthday and goes to wizard school." I thought that sounded like a lot of fun and in my opinion, books should be fun. This was shortly after the 3rd book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" was released. The 4th book was in the works.

I went ahead and purchased the 1st book figuring if I enjoyed it I would later buy the 2nd and 3rd. I loved the book. It was magical (no pun intended) and fun. I was transported to another place. The book was an experience. I quickly bought the other 2 that were available and ate them up. I waited months for the 4th book and attended the midnight release party. I was hooked.

Fast forward to summer of 2007. In anticipation of the release of the 5th book, turned movie, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (which I saw yesterday and was fantastic) and the release of the 7th and final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Over the past few weeks I've been rereading some of the other books gearing up for so much Potter mania. Coincidentally, I have wanted to make myself a new summer skirt. Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes inspired me. I ended up making myself a brown, wrap style, knee length skirt. There's a fiery phoenix on the front with a few swirls of gold stretching to the back where a single phoenix feather floats. My husband assures me that I will be the envy of HP geeks everywhere at the midnight release party for the 7th book next week.

Smarty Pants

A week ago on a Sunday morning my 4 1/2 year old came into my room at around 6:30 AM toting a bag of cheese puffs. I should add that we buy organic, baked, cheese puffs at Whole Foods Market and the brands we get actually have cheese in them. I should also add that said bag of cheese puffs were up in one of the kitchen cabinets. The only way he could have gotten the bag was if he climbed up onto the counter, by way of step-stool. He probably stood up on the counter top too.

Little Man woke me up from a dead sleep and said, "Mom, can I have these for breakfast?" In a half asleep daze I replied no. Now here's another interesting bit from the story. The bag of chips in question had been opened the day before. It was only closed with a chip clip. I'm actually rather surprised he even asked. About 3 minutes later he came back into my room again holding the chip bag and said, "Mom, do cheese puffs have calcium?" I replied, "Yes they probably do have some calcium...but you're still not eating them for breakfast.

Part of me is amused and impressed that he tried to use reason to get what he wanted. Part of me wonders what on earth he will come up with when he's 10.

2 weeks to go

The 7th and final book in the Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be released in 2 weeks. I can hardly contain myself.

Happy Treason Day!

The founding fathers of our country committed treason against England when they signed our most cherished document, the Declaration of Independence. In their time they were the counter culture; pure radicals. They were brave men with conviction, intellect, vision and ambition. They imagined the possibilities and made them happen. Today we view their treason as heroic.

On this 4th of July I wish Americans everywhere would take our country back from the creeps currently running it. I wish they would remind Mr. Cheney that our government has 3 branches (not 4...no Mr. Cheney does not have his own personal branch of government) and according to our constitution he's part of the executive branch. That's why he's called the vice president. If he were part of the legislative branch we would refer to him as a senator or congressman. While we are on the subject, could someone please let Moron Boy (also known as George W. Bush) in on a secret; his title is not King George. He does not have the power to reign supreme.

In a true democracy the government should fear the people. The people should never fear the government, yet that is the current reality. We are living under an oligarchy. Stop voting for morons! Demand term limits! Put an end to career politicians! Tell the special interest groups to go fuck themselves!

Rant over. Happy Treason Day...4th of July...whatever.

Ill Communication

My husband sat on the phone this morning arguing politics with his friend "Smith". I asked my guy why he insists on banging his head against the wall ranting and raving with Smith when there is just no way the turkey will ever accept a viewpoint that does not go along with his increasingly conservative stance. Among other things, this guy thinks it is his constitutional right to drive a big, gas guzzling SUV. My guy repeatedly tried to explain that yes, it's your right, you can do whatever you want to do. But when our soldiers are sacrificing their lives overseas, it is patriotic to drive a small fuel efficient car. Particularly when one of the main sources of terrorist funding is oil...that we purchase. Smith just doesn't get it and no amount of explaining will get him to see it.

fall semester

I had my appointment with academic advisement this morning. Unfortunately the computer system was down across the campus so I wasn't able to register for classes. But I did find out which prerequisites I need and what my options are. When I sat down with my adviser, since he didn't have access to my files in the computer I gave him a little bit of relevant background info and explained that I was drawn to the coursework for Public Communication. He smiled and said, "Yes...Gender, Race and Communication...Ethnicity and Communication...Minorities and the Media...Political Communication." I wanted to give him a high five. He saw exactly where I was coming from.

I'm going to have a difficult time deciding exactly which classes to take because so many of them look fantastic. I mentioned the Storytelling class which is offered as part of the performance component and he smiled and said, "Oh, I would love to take that class!" and proceeded to explain a little bit about the professor. Then he cracked a joke about how our founding fathers did not sign the Declaration of Independence and create the Constitution for us to up with Bush's signing statements.

As it turns out I am required to take 2 college level foreign language classes, which were the only classes I didn't need for Art Ed. I immediately knew I would take Spanish. Over the years I've actually considered taking a Spanish class but never actually did it because I didn't have to. My mom groaned when I told her about the foreign language requirement. But I'm taking it in stride; I figure it's high time I made an attempt to learn Spanish. In high school I never really put any effort into the 2 Spanish classes I took. I did just barely enough to pass the subject.

So this fall I plan on taking the main prerequisite for my major and my first Spanish class. In the Spring I will take my second Spanish class and something fun like a political class, pubic speaking or storytelling.

Sweet Revenge

Several months ago my husband received a membership for the NRA. Upon receiving it, he immediately called the organization and cancelled it. As it turns out, he figured out who sent/paid for it. It was one of his buddies he has known since college. I'll call him Smith (as in Smith and Wesson).

My guy and I are obviously liberals. I used to think we were fairly mainstream liberals, but as times are changing it seems we are, by mainstream standards, fairly radical. Smith used to be moderate but has become increasingly conservative as the years have gone on. I feel it's important to note that he is a sales rep for a pharmaceutical company. I'm quite certain that has played a large part in his conversion to conservatism.

They are still good friends but in more recent years they have had quite a few debates on politics. This entire weekend they were shooting political emails back and forth (pun intended). Finally last night my guy told me that he is quite certain Smith had paid for that old NRA membership that he cancelled. I felt rather stupid that I didn't realize sooner it was his buddie.

This morning in an email Smith pointed the finger at me, stating that I have "changed" my husband into more of a liberal. I had a good laugh at that one. (As if I would have married a Neocon.) Smith went on to ask if he could make a donation to the NRA in my name. My husband thought that was hysterical. He replied in a fit of laughter, "All hell will break loose if you do that & I will step back from it all and have nothing to do with the situation. You will have to deal with her wrath yourself if you do that."

Hopefully he won't be stupid enough to something like that. But if he does I will not call him up ranting and raving (as would be my first, knee jerk reaction). I will simply make donations to both the National Organization for Women and to the Human Rights Campaign in his name. (He's a big time homophobe.) If he really pushes my buttons I'll throw in the American Civil Liberties Union too for good measure.