Hmm, A NJ Baggy Pants Ban Is Racist?

June 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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This amusing story comes from TMZ.com and reminds me of a time I got lost shortly after driving out of the Newark, NJ airport. I had to turn around and the only way to do so was going through a rather iffy neighborhood. As I drove along, I observed three males walking, whose proximity to my car usually might have given me pause.

But suddenly I felt very safe – all three had pants that were so baggy they were falling down past their butts, and the only they could walk with any dignity was with one or both hands keeping their pants hoisted up. I couldn’t figure out how they would run or make any fast moves without tripping over their pants. All I could do was laugh out loud.

Which is what you will do when reading this ridiculous claim and “color” commentary (and pardon Mr. Game’s rather, er, colorful language):

“A new law  banning saggy pants on the Jersey Shore has pissed off a bunch of famous rappers  — including The Game, who tells TMZ, the anti-sag movement is  racist … and tantamount to SLAVERY.
In case you didn’t know, the city  of Wildwood, NJ just passed a law that prohibits anyone on its boardwalk from  wearing pants that sag 3 inches below the hips, exposing skin or underwear.  First time offenders are subject to fines ranging from $25-$100 … and after  that, the fines go up to $200. 40 hours of community service is also a  possible punishment.
Now, several rappers are speaking out against the  law — Game tells us, “N***** should sag down to their socks out there. They  trying to get people to not sag, please. Can’t tell people how to wear their  f***ing clothes. What time are we in? This ain’t the f***ing slave days. F***  that.”
He adds, “I am with the sagging movement. First five people to get  fines, I will pay their tickets … I will go there and sag cause I am a sagging  Sagittarius.”
Bizzy Bone from Bone  Thugs-n-Harmony tells us, “Are they talking about black people? How can  they do that? This is racist and ridiculous.”
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And  for the white guy’s perspective … Mac Miller says, “I just  think that’s ridiculous because no one has time to do that much community  service. I sag and will sag anywhere I go.”
The law’s scheduled to go  into effect next month. You’re welcome, Larry Platt.”

 

Filed Under: Celebrities Behaving Badly Tagged With: , ,

The Wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt

June 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

“You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.”

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’”

“A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

“Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.”

“You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.”

“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”

“You must do the things you think you cannot do.”

“One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes… and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.”

“It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”

“Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.”

Filed Under: Inspirations, Quotes Tagged With:

Silenced By Design

June 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Tell me if this sounds familiar.  One of our Informed Women’s Network members, a school board member, related the following about her experience (from our Facebook page):

“It really strikes close to home for me when you describe your group as one where women can express their views in a supportive environment. Our school superintendent was describing our fiscal situation (grim) and then said something along the lines of…so now all of you who voted for our governor [editor's note: he is a fiscal hawk and trying to keep state spending in line] can now stand up and take credit…I felt awfully lonely as I stood…superintendent looked awfully surprised that someone did actually stand…but I am tired of hiding.”

We all need to find our voices and be confident in them because we are right. The bullying we experience every day is designed to be the end of our Constitutional right to freedom of speech. It’s why people don’t want to run for office and why they are so (pleasantly) surprised when they talk to people for the first time, somewhat hesitatingly, about the issues that matter to them and discover that others feel the same way. It’s why we sometimes have women on the verge of tears of happiness and relief at being able to attend our meetings and have their political souls nourished without looking over their shoulder for the next grenade tossed their way.

And it’s not just fiscally responsible women who feel bullied. Stay-at-home moms and housewives who choose to support their husbands at home report rampant condescension from the militant you-aren’t-worth-anything-unless-you-work-in-an-office crowd. This was driven home to me (no pun intended) in one the saddest episodes in my personal experience, as I helped a friend update her resume.

Incredibly intelligent and insightful, this woman had many talents which she had put to good use as a school and community volunteer when she left an excellent job in the paid workforce to take on the most important job there is, having and raising children (and hers, it must be added, are all very well behaved, respectful and accomplished). As her girls were getting older and in school full-time, she decided to look for a part-time job with “mother’s hours,” which is how I came to help her.

The full force of her emotional turmoil came bubbling up as we catalogued the skills she could bring to any lucky employer. She suddenly let out a mournful and resigned sigh saying, ”Yes, but who will want to hire me? I’m only a mother and a housewife.”

The IWN celebrates women who work both inside (with no pay!) and outside the home. We celebrate women who dare to stand up to those who want to tax us into submission, who dare to believe that political correctness will be the death of this country, who dare to dream that we should all be given a chance to live up to our God-given potential with hard work, initiative and responsibility for our own actions and destiny.

Welcome home.

Filed Under: Life, People Behaving Badly, Politicians Behaving Badly Tagged With: , , , ,

On Memorial Day, Our Thanks And Gratitude

May 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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As we honor our son, Joe Dench, and all others in the armed forces who serve or have served on our behalf around the world, we give thanks from a grateful nation.

My grandfather served in the British army during WWI and at his 100th birthday party was still telling war stories – amazing to think of how they fought, the technology available at the time, the trench warfare, men dying of infection. During WWII he ran the Hampton water works which was responsible for providing water to London during the entire war, including the Blitz.

From FoxNews comes the story of American hero, Richard Arvine Overton.

For his 107th Memorial Day, Mr. Overton, who saw many of his  fellow soldiers fall in the line of duty in World War II and even more die over  the following decades, is planning a quiet day at the Texas home he built after  returning home from World War II.

He wouldn’t want it any other way.

Mr. Overton, who is believed to be the nation’s oldest veteran, told FoxNews.com  he’ll likely spend the day on the porch of his East Austin home with a cigar  nestled in his right hand, perhaps with a cup of whiskey-stiffened coffee  nearby.

“I don’t know, some people might do something for me, but I’ll be glad just  to sit down and rest,” the Army veteran said during a phone interview. “I’m no  young man no more.”

Mr. Overton, who was born on May, 11, 1906, in Texas’ Bastrop County, has gotten  used to being the center of attention of late. In addition to being formally  recognized by Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell on May 9, Mr. Overton traveled to  Washington, D.C., on May 17 as part of Honor Flight, a nonprofit group that  transports veterans free of charge to memorials dedicated to their service.  Despite serving in the South Pacific from 1942 through 1945, including stops in  Hawaii, Guam, Palau and Iwo Jima to name a few, it was Mr. Overton’s first time in  the nation’s capital.

“I was really honored when I got there,” Mr. Overton said of his visit to the  World War II Memorial. “There were so many people, it was up in the thousands.  And we danced and we jumped … them people tickled me to death. It made me happy  as can be.”

The entire experience gave Mr. Overton a “good thrill,” he said, and the  significance of visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial at a time when an  African-American holds the country’s highest elected office was not lost  him.

“I was very, very happy,” Mr. Overton continued, adding that he wasn’t deterred  by Washington’s expansive National Mall. “At my age and my strength, I’m able to  stand up and do anything. My mind is good, so I’m able to do what I want.”

Mr. Overton credits his longevity to aspirin, which he takes daily, and the  relatively stress-free life he’s enjoyed since getting out of the service in  October 1945. He then worked at local furniture stores before taking a position  with the Texas Treasury Department in Austin. He married twice but never  fathered any children and still attends church every Sunday.

“I got good health and I don’t take any medicine,” he said. “I also stay busy  around the yards, I trim trees, help with the horses. The driveways get dirty,  so I clean them. I do something to keep myself moving. I don’t watch  television.”

Mr. Overton also passes his time with up to 12 cigars a day and a little whiskey  in his morning coffee. The hooch helps keep Overton spry, he said.

“I may drink a little in the evening too with some soda water, but that’s  it,” he said. “Whiskey’s a good medicine. It keeps your muscles tender.”

Mr. Overton’s secrets may be unorthodox to some, but it’s hard to argue with  someone approaching supercentenarian status — an individual aged 110 or older.  There are believed to be just 57 people worldwide that meet that classification,  including 114-year-old Jeralean Talley, of Inkster, Mich., who is the oldest  person in the United States according to the Gerontology Research Group.  (Talley, who was born in 1899, reportedly celebrated her birthday on Thursday  and passes her time listening to baseball on the radio and watching  television.)

Among U.S. veterans, it’s extremely difficult — if not impossible — to  confirm Overton’s place as the oldest living former soldier since just roughly 9  million of the nation’s 22 million vets are registered with the U.S. Department  of Veterans Affairs. But that didn’t stop the city of Austin from recognizing  him as the oldest veteran in Texas during his birthday proclamation at City  Hall. Mayor Leffingwell, in a statement to FoxNews.com, said Austin is “honored”  to call Overton one of its own.

“I’ve spoken with Mr. Overton on a few different occasions, and admire his  spirit for life and his country,” the statement read. “He is truly one of our  unsung heroes and we are privileged that he calls Austin his home.”

Mr. Overton, for his part, believes he’s the oldest veteran in the country,  although he said he feels decades younger and doesn’t really embrace the part.  He wishes he could spend a few hours this Memorial Day reliving war stories with  fellow veterans, but he’s outlived most — if not all — of them.

“I know I had someone from my platoon until recently, but he passed so now I  don’t have anyone that I know,” he said. “So I feel lonesome by myself  sometimes. I would love to ask some of them some questions, but nobody is here.  Everybody’s passed.”

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

Opportunity, Assimilation And A Lesson From Sweden

May 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment

As the immigration debate rages on, we need to make sure we agree on the importance of assimilation (as opposed to developing boatloads more “progressive” voters who are able to keep the tax and spend crowd in power).  While some immigrants will fully embrace their new country with unbridled enthusiasm, others will live here, disaffected and unproductive for years. A permanently alienated population of millions is nothing but trouble.

Lavish welfare payments aren’t the answer. (Whenever something is given away as a hand out, not a hand up, there is no gratitude, and no assigned value. In fact, there is not only a quick dependence but a demand for more and more government largesse.)  Learning the language is essential, of course, but there is still something else.

In fact, the only thing that really encourages immigrants to assimilate, to become productive citizens with a sense of belonging, is opportunity. Opportunity to put their God-given gifts and talents to work, opportunity to create their own businesses, opportunity to earn, save, build and create – to assimilate fully into everything society has to offer those who work hard and play by the rules.

Stockholm, in the notoriously welfare-happy country of Sweden, is, literally, on fire. Unhappy (and ungrateful) immigrants are sending a message. Are we here in the U.S. ready to listen and learn?

I am committed to fighting for an economy which embraces opportunity.

What are you committed to? Go and make it happen!

 

Filed Under: People Behaving Badly, Politicians Behaving Badly, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Parenting Is Supposed To Be A Verb

May 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Buckley school

Manhattan private schools are furious that nannies are being made to participate in activities that they feel parents should be involved in.

According to the New York Post, well-to-do mothers and fathers are calling on hired help to take their place in bake sales, biannual ‘safety patrol’ duties and even accompanying children to entrance interviews.

Manhattan Private School Advisors’ Amanda Uhry told the paper: ‘They’re sending nannies for bake sales, book clubs, for the ice-skating group. Parents can’t be bothered two days a year for an hour.

‘Now the schools are getting angry – and other parents are getting angry. They don’t want to work the school bake sale with someone’s paid employee.’

But after many began deferring the duty to nannies, it issued a stern warning on its website.

‘Parents are the only acceptable option for patrol,’ it read. ‘Caregivers, housekeepers, etc. may NOT walk safety patrol.’

One local mother, whose daughter goes to the $40,000-a-year Birch Wathen Lenox School, is not so impressed by such diktats though.

‘These schools are exorbitantly expensive, they hit you up for school fees, donations, and then they want your time?’ she argued. ‘I have three kids at three different schools. If I can send my nanny, I’m happy to do it.’

For some schools though, working with hired help is preferable to dealing with parents.

The former admissions director for the Horace Mann school, Dana Haddad, says children often behave better at entrance interviews when accompanied by a nanny instead of a parent.

And Epiphany School welcomes them to the extent that they serve up a Caregivers’ Breakfast where nannies and their wards can dine together and take home a photo of the occasion.

Parenting is supposed to be a verb, an action word.

I am committed to supporting parents who actually do their jobs.

What are you committed to? Go and make it happen!

Filed Under: Parents Behaving Badly Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

I Don’t Care What You Are, Just Leave Me Alone!

May 14, 2013 by 1 Comment

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Have you seen this mock Public Service Announcement video narrated by three well-known actors, George Takei (of the original Star Trek television series), Jesse Tyler Ferguson of ABC’s Modern Family and Brad Goreski, who has a new show on Bravo? The video was produced to promote an organization which gives money to gay marriage initiatives.

Here’s how Takei’s narration begins as he describes an actor, “Dale,” who represents a “typical” supporter of traditional marriage:

“There is one person living on this street whose orientation threatens to destroy society…What you can’t tell about Dale is that he’s sick. He opposes marriage equality. Dale looks normal, but he gives off clues of his prejudice with buzzwords like “pro-family”, “traditional marriage” or…” – this is a family blog, so we’ll delete the offensive reference to oral sex.

The video goes on to say that “Dale would let any two idiots marry, unless those two idiots are gay.” In the video, Dale is seen shouting at and arguing with his wife, and Takei points out he’s been divorced twice. Takei says his current wife is unhappy being married to Dale and shows Dale with a drinking problem.

Blah, blah, blah….before concluding:

“The most important thing to remember when dealing with people who don’t support marriage equality is to be kind. They’re most likely hiding their own homosexuality [Editor's Note: Dale pinches a man's butt as this line is delivered] … besides these people don’t know they’re being a**holes.”

In other words, Dale is a sick, bigoted, ignorant, drunken, hypocritical, fill-in-the-blank. Which is exactly what they want you (and the rest of society) to believe you are as well.

This disgraceful show of hate speech (toward heterosexuals) demonstrates and even declares the actors’ own heterophobia (against heterosexuals) and bigotry (against heterosexuals). Apparently some homosexual marriage activists clearly believe their own propaganda about gay marriage being inevitable. Emboldened by this misconception, they are now no longer attempting to hide their loathing and hatred of those of us who believe marriage is the unique and special union of husband and wife – man and woman.

I am committed to calling these hypocrites out for what they really are.

What are you committed to? Go and make it happen!

Filed Under: Celebrities Behaving Badly, Politicians Behaving Badly Tagged With: , , , , ,

The U.S. Dept. of Education Wishes You A Happy Parent 1 Day!

May 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The move is designed to better accommodate students who are brought up in gay homes where there are two mother or two fathers

From the Daily Mail: The U.S. Department of Education is replacing the terms ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ on student loan forms with the less gender-specific ‘Parent 1’ and ‘Parent 2.’

The changes will be introduced on the 2014-2015 federal student aid form (FAFSA) and the move is designed to better accommodate students who are brought up in gay homes where there are two mother or two fathers.

‘All students should be able to apply for federal student aid within a system that incorporates their unique family dynamics,’ Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement.

For the first time the department will collect income ‘from a dependent student’s legal parents regardless of the parents’ marital status or gender, if those parents live together,’ reports the Washington Times.

The announcement has already elicited an angry response from conservative Christian groups.

‘As a mother, I find that deeply offensive,’ said Cathy Ruse of the Family Research Council.

‘I carried my children for nine months in my womb, I endured the pain (and joy) of birth, I nursed them for many months after they were born, and every morning they jump into my bed screaming, “Mommy!”’

‘But the federal government says I’m Mommy no more. I am Parent 1. Or maybe Parent 2. Mr. President, I dare you to tell my daughters I’m not their mother.’

According to education secretary Duncan the change is about more than being inclusive and will help the department to more precisely calculate federal student aid eligibility based on what a student’s whole family is able to contribute. [Editors note: Uh, what???]

The change will help ensure that taxpayer dollars are better targeted toward those students who have the most need, he said.

Filed Under: Politicians Behaving Badly, The War on Men, The War on Women, You Can't Make This Stuff Up Tagged With: , ,

Happy Mother’s Day!

May 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The brilliant Anne Taintor has it right – we know and appreciate the value of all women, whether they work  inside or outside the home (or both).

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

Filed Under: For Fun, Inspirations, Life, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

What Do Barack Obama And Pontius Pilate Have In Common?

May 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Gregory Hicks

Gregory Hicks, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli on Sept. 11, 2012

After listening to the testimony today of those who told us what really happened in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, a few thoughts came to mind.

• The mainstream media has long held up Barack Obama as “The Savior.” Their Biblical references are all wrong. In fact, the feckless President Obama is really Pontius Pilate, washing his hands of any personal or administration responsibility for the unnecessary and unanswered deaths of four Americans.

• When a president lies to the American people and is clearly part of a vast cover-up, he cannot continue to govern. Obama will be lucky if all he gets away with is impeachment – and it should happen sooner rather than later.

• Hillary Clinton’s role in this sordid whole affair must be kept front and center. This woman has failure after failure and scandal after scandal on her resume. It would be disgraceful to dignify and recognize her with her party’s presidential nomination in 2016.

• I am beyond thankful that I don’t have White House Spokesman Jay Carney’s job. How you live with your conscience after having to come out with pure lies (“spin”) each and every day, including claiming the four American deaths at Benghazi happened “a long time ago” is beyond my comprehension.

I am committed to government officials taking responsibility for their actions.

What are you committed to? Go and make it happen!

Filed Under: Politicians Behaving Badly, You Can't Make This Stuff Up Tagged With: , , , , ,
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