Strong Women

"Did they not yearn to muffle these strong and unpredictable women in order to mask their own impotence?" -Azar Nafisi in "Things I've Been Silent About"

(She was speaking about the men who flog women in Iran for showing their hair in public.)

The Welfare Debate

Every year Todd files his taxes early so he can get his rebate as soon as possible. Every year he complains that his brother, who makes very little money, gets back all the taxes that were withheld from his check, plus a nice bundle on top of that. He hates that people are able to survive on welfare. He hates that he has to pay extra taxes so his brother can get extra money.

This year when he started talking about his brother and taxes I was prepared. "So, Todd, you take all the welfare that you are offered, right?"

"Yeah, right. Like I am offered ANY welfare."

"What about your deduction for all 3 of your kids? What about the interest you write off of your mortgage? Isn't that the government deciding that you deserve a little more than everyone else because you have kids and a house?"

Steve and Todd both went silent. Todd was so angry that I would imply that he accepts a handout that his face turned bright red and he turned to face his computer and started typing.

An hour later, he turned around and weakly asked, "Don't you write off your kids and mortgage interest?"

Of course I do. But I can accept that those programs are part of the welfare system. In private, Kurt told me that I should keep teasing Todd and Steve about welfare because it makes them both very angry.

The debate got out of control today. Steve was complaining that his sister lived in low income housing and got paid to live because she had a baby and no job. Me and my big mouth blurted, "OH, So it is OK for you to accept your legitimate welfare, and because you make twice the national average you deserve it, but THOSE poor people getting THAT type of welfare are beneath government help." Much eye rolling ensued.

This afternoon, Steve sent an email with the following subject: Perhaps I don't feel so bad about receiving "welfare."

wel⋅fare –noun 1. the good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity, etc., of a person, group, or organization; well-being:

May we all have plentiful welfare for the rest of our lives.

Sad Day for Stable Relationships

It is interesting that a church which has a history of redefining marriage away from the normal definition (polygamy) is so bent on ensuring that nobody else can define it outside of the standard definition.


Although I feel that homosexuality is wrong, I feel that it is more wrong to discourage stable relationships. And I think it is horrendous for any church to try to be so influential in the national government. I certainly hope Islam doesn't start legislating its' beliefs.

Here is a quote that is in the holocaust museum in Washington DC, and I think it applies well to gay marriage:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out --Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out --Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out --Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me.

--Martin Niemöller

Although I am saddened by the results of Proposition 8 in California, it is really interesting to see democracy at work. A judge was creating laws instead of enforcing laws, and the people took democracy and set one of the new laws back to how it had been.

American No Matter What

Dad dug this cartoon out of the shed. He had to look for it twice before he found it in the bottom of a box, at the bottom of a stack of boxes. We changed the name from "Carter" to "Obama." It just goes to show ya that even if your candidate didn't win, life will go on. And eventually nobody will care about those few years so long ago. Except, of course, for those kids who were concevied during those years. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for not making the Carter years useless!

At work we were talking about a problem for Republicans that Democrats don't face. When liberals talk about leaving the country to get away from Republican presidents, there are plenty of places to go (pun intended). Canada, anywhere in Europe, and Kurt has a relative who moved to New Zealand when Bush was elected. But there are no democratic countries that are less socialistic than us. Ya just can't find another America.

So, if you aren't happy with the election, let's try to make America better, but no matter who you voted for, it sure is nice to be an American.