The Flipside of Feminism?

What a load of trash.
I heard an interview on NPR of Phyllis Schlafly today. You can listen to it here.
This is a  woman I have never heard of either through my ignorance, or her shear lack of importance, I'm not sure which.  At this moment, she's the next on my list of women who make me cringe, right after Sarah Palin. 
Her new book, co written with Niece Suzanne Venker, is called The Flipside of Feminism.   I haven't read the book yet, having just heard about it, but based on the interview, it's a book that I would throw out in disgust.  This woman all but stated that women should get back into the kitchen.  I couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth!  She stated out right that the "Feminist Woman" was a man hater, that the entire idea of feminism was about hating men and putting them down, rather than what I know it to be: the idea that women should be held as equals in the eyes of men, the workplace, and in the judicial/political system.  
Rebecca Hagelin seems to agree with this bunk.  As I was googling the name of the book to find out more information, I came across her article which made me even more angry. This sounds like the same woman hating crap that comes out of Ms. Palin's mouth regularly.  The idea that we should be at home raising families, cooking dinner and cleaning house and occasionally venturing out to get part time work only is incredibly antiquated.  If these ladies had their way, women would have to go back to the dark ages of back alley abortions (which resulted in untold numbers of dead young ladies due to a lack of safe medical care) of being treated like cattle by men, and patted on the head and told to not "worry our pretty little head" about politics, money, national security...and on and on.  

"Feminism" is nothing more than "the female left," driven to impose a liberal, radical agenda on families, businesses, and institutions.
Second, the feminist promise that women could be just like men and enjoy everything men typically do -- like casual sex, long hours at work, less family time -- proved empty. Heartache, broken relationships, failed marriages, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, and skyrocketing rates of emotionally wounded children have been the real legacy of feminism. It turns out -- no surprise -- that human nature cannot be repealed, overturned by judicial fiat, or reshaped by media messages. -Rebecca Hagelin

 I asked my husband if he enjoyed  either  casual sex, long hours at work, or less family time and strangely enough, not one of these things are on his favorites list.  So not only are they placing women in this old, rusty, uncomfortable mold, they would do the same thing to the men.  Let's assume men aren't chauvinistic pigs who hate coming home, having sex with their wives, or spending time with their children. Let's say that the feminist movement helped change our gender roles positively, making way for men to love and nurture their children. ( Many these days are stay-at-home dads and love it.) Lets say that men actually love their wives and can't wait to get home to make love to them.  Lets say that guys like my brother love to be in the kitchen making beautiful meals, and taking pride in the work they do at home.  To not say these things is to do a disservice to the  men  in my life, none of whom are the Cro-Magnon men these ladies would like to think they are.
To the point, I do actually fit into the mold. I am a stay at home mom with two school age children.  The majority of my time is taken up with housework, chaperoning children, paying bills, and taking care of the La Forest family.  Ask me if this is fulfilling at all.  I will tell you the absolute truth.  NO.  I love my kids.  I do.  They are not the center of the universe.  I would love to go back to the Red Cross, or Operation Homefront.  I loved it.  I had something to show for the hours I spent during the day.  All moms know that the only pay off you get is the one at the end of eighteen years when those kids go off to college and become successful.  That's just not doing it for me right now.  There are a few reasons that I am not working, the largest of which being the Army, and I have also chosen to stay at home so that my kids are mind-fu***d by strange people at daycare centers. Had I had a real choice earlier in life, I wouldn't be where I am now, and I imagine I would actually indeed be happy. It is possible that the grass is greener....however the point is that they have decided that the choices that I have made should make me, the numb headed little woman, happy.  They are wrong. 
 I find it humerus that they blame women being more equal for things like abortion, broken marriages, and sexually transmitted disease.  As if women got the vote, then promptly ran out and slept with every man they saw, got abortions for the resulting pregnancies, then went on to later HAVE children and proceed to emotionally damage and destroy these children that they didn't abort.  REALLY?  As if there aren't men out there cheating on their wives, spreading disease, getting divorces, abandoning their children, etc.  MEN are perfectly innocent in the break down of our country, right?  I'm irritated beyond words.  It seems to me that this shouldn't even be an issue.  If these ladies were following their own advice, they have their mouths shut, at home, doing the whole "woman's work" thing.
On that note, I'd like to point out that these two women are terribly busy being "anti-feminist warriors".  Ms. Phyllis' bio is incredibly full.She's had six kids, but I'm confused....in reading the bio, it seems like she spent a lot of time out of the home herself. (She states that she spent time at home, and that politics was her "hobby") Her niece seems equally busy, also currently having two children AND working her butt off.  So, let me get this straight.  You go to work, get accomplished, write books, be well known, and supplement your husband's income...and we will all listen to you, drop the careers and run home to wash the dirty nappies.  Okay!  Got it!

The flipside of an idiot

OK, so I'm not necessarily your average man. I'm not a sports addict, I don't live for fast vehicles, and John Wayne is not my ideal man. I know that Stacy has likely filled a few pages with ire at what these fools have said, but I feel the need to weigh in with my apparently superior Y chromosome.
(those of you that agree with these nincompoops may need to be informed that the above statement was written sardonically)
Jokes aside I do have a few bones to pick. First and foremost is the basic principals of the book. Narrowed down to the most primal statements, this woman appears to be saying that the woman's liberation movement is the cause for all of the nation's ills. Maybe I'm oversimplifying, but this female is using her past as a politician to tell us that the revolution that gave her the rights to be a politician needs to be reversed and we need to go back to when women kept their mouths shut. EXCUSE ME? Can I get a remedial revision of this book because I just don't understand. Is this similiar to the rock and roll artist who became famous for performing while stoned telling me not to get high? Come to think of it she is starting to make a strong case for at least one woman to go back to keeping silent.....
And to Mrs. Hagelin - from one human being to another, no offense intended, but what are you smoking? I am a father of two daughters and for you even to say that the feminist movement assaulted the family or freedom is downright baffling. Where is the "radical agenda" in me telling my two little girls that they can be anything they want to be? The promise was not that woman could be scum and "enjoy everything men typically do -- like casual sex, long hours at work, less family time." The promise was that women could be FREE to attempt to live their lives as they saw fit and not as some theocratic dictator decided they should. Listen, lady, I want better too. I want my marriage to last, I want to know that my children are properly cared for, I would love to work part time if it payed the bills; unfortunately we don't have that choice anymore. In a time when families are forced to get three jobs just to get by, you would have the women stop working? And just how would that improve their situation? . . . . . . Oh, you want them to read a book that they then couldn't afford and stay home and clean the house so the bank can take it when the mortgage isn't paid. By the by, thanks for only telling us to share this book with our pastor. At least the priests, rabis, gurus, assorted other clergy, and of course all the agnostic and atheists out there won't have to waste time on such drivel.

Idle Wednesday

I got to use my torch to make these moonstone, silver and copper earrings.  After hammering the silver wire, I punched a hole in the flat end, torched the ends of some copper wire until it balled up, and then used that to affix the bead to the silver wire.  I am in LOVE with these!

One of The Many Reasons That Jay is Awesome

He bought flowers for no particular reason!

They smell wonderful!

Lady GaGa ''Telephone'' Westboro Church Parody ''Ever Burn'' LOL

WBC and Lady Gaga, it's just funny, really.

Idle Wednesday

Crochet Hook Roll, inspired by the jewelry roll I got for free at Mitchael's.

Unrolled.  There is plenty of room for more hooks.  This is a great way for my hooks to not get lost in drawers. 

Rogue Soldiers, Afghanistan Photos, and why we should be done with these wars.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2011/03/21/nr.griffin.soldiers.bodies.cnn.html

If you click the link above, you will understand why I felt the need to say something.  There are pictures published in a German magazine this week, which show some of our soldiers posing with dead Afghan civilians, as if they were ten point bucks back in Kentucky.  They blur the dead mens' faces, but you can still see the disgusting nature of the photos.
If this latest development (the actual incident happened last September sometime) isn't proof that the American military needs to pull out of the middle east, I don't know what is.  Things like this have been happening since the beginning of the war, and of course, things like this have been happening since the invention of war, but this is no excuse.  One of the soldiers was prescribed meds, rather than actually having  his mental issues properly treated.  As they state in the video, these meds are known to cause suicidal thoughts, and violent behavior...The Army as a whole seems to treat soldiers' mental issues this way across the board.  Yes, there are a couple of programs in place for PTSD, and they ask you when you get home if you "are going to, or feel like you might, kill someone."  However, the things they do to try to prevent suicide, and the things they do to treat PTSD are superficial at best.  It has been time for quite a while for the military to get a break.  We are NOT accomplishing anything in Iraq, after TEN years, and god only knows what's going on in Afghanistan, seeing as the media practically ignores that country altogether.
To top it all off, I have heard two different government officials refer to Libya as a "small war".  When is WAR ever small?  General Ham himself said to an ABC reporter that he wasn't sure what the plan is over there.  Countries are backing out of helping because they ware unsure as to who is in charge, there is no plan, and no one knows what the objective is.  America needs to learn from it's mistakes.  We have no right to be involved in Libya, and as of last night the news reported that we don't have a clear picture of who these rebels even are, let alone what their endgame is.  We need to turn around, and fly the hell home.  My god, what is Obama thinking???  I absolutely refuse to to accept another war, another deployment to another crappy country, or more "rebuilding".
I don't know a single Army wife that isn't sick and tired of being a single mom, or grabbing a screwdriver and fixing her own washing machine for the fourth time, or having panic attacks every time there is an unexpected knock at the door. 
If I believed in hell, I'd ask the man I voted for to go visit there until the wars are over.  All three of them.
I'm pissed.

Large Group Performance

Getting ready to leave.

Waiting for our turn.  These kids are so loud and unruly!! Just like another band I remember...

Laurel and her boyfriend, Xavier.

Wishing I could go in to listen to them warm up.

That's my baby!

All packed up and going home, instruments and music in the back of the jeep.

The kids did great!  They got Superiors, both the site reading (Awesome!) and the performance.  For those of you who don't know, the site reading is a scary thing...they get six minutes to look over music that they have never seen before, then they have to play it, and are scored on the performance.  Superior is the highest score you can receive.  I don't have pictures of them playing, because you aren't supposed to have recording devises, or cameras.  I snuck and recorded the  music with my ipod. 

Large Group Performance Song Three

http://imtransfer.im4mobile.com/uploads/994130054536274736/2011-18-03%2016_40_29.MP3

Large Group Performance Song Two

http://imtransfer.im4mobile.com/uploads/5009130054535930779/2011-18-03%2016_47_27.MP3

Large Group Performance Song One

http://imtransfer.im4mobile.com/uploads/6598130054530664122/2011-18-03%2016_33_13.MP3

Four years?

I just realized that this month (on the 5th) is the fourth year that I've been blogging.  I never thought I'd actually keep up with it.  I have hundreds of half-full journals all over my house starting when I was in fourth grade. Later I'll have to re-read some of my old posts, just to see how far we've come.  Four years in the Army is a long time.  I wonder what we'll be doing in another four years time?

Large Group (Band)

I'm chaperoning Laurel's trip to the Large Group Performance today, for some reason I keep wanting to say "Big Band"  lol.
Last year I took Miah with me because at the time Jay's schedule absolutely did NOT lend itself to emergency kid pick ups...however this year he gets home just after her school lets out so he can skip PT to get her. 
I have to load the 7th and 8th grade's instruments into the back of my Jeep, drive an hour and then spend most of the day waiting.  Laurel's part is only going to be about three songs, but there is a lot of rigmarole involved.
Miah really made the entire day entertaining. She took pictures which I posted here, and she danced to music and recorded herself, and she cheered her big sister on like no one else can.  I'm going to miss that today. 
I've been trying to upload videos here for days, and it's still not cooperating, so there more than likely won't be videos posted later, but I will post any pictures I get.  Wish Boo luck, she's nervous as hell.  She's got this though. 

Pickles!

Jay saw this place on the way home, and became almost obsessed with trying it out for days. He used the NCO of the quarter board as an excuse to "celebrate".  That's just Jay for ya.

Fried pickles.  They were actually good!

The same sort of "smile" I always get when I ask him to hold still for the camera.  Doesn't he look happy to have won the NCO of the quarter board?

Let's Call it a "Quick" Trip to Lowe's

I have to make a confession.  I am a procrastinator.  The evidence is this:  I've been using only two burners on my stove for a really long time.  So long I don't even remember when the two burners stopped working!  Jay begged me last night to go to Lowe's today and fix the stove...of course it was only important to him at the time because HE was the one cooking.  I asked him back when the big burner broke to pick a new burner up for me, and he only looked at Wal-Mart before giving up.  I still think Wal-Mart has burners, and he just couldn't find them.   He's guilty of not trying very hard to fix the problem, and I'm guilty of putting off what I knew I would end up doing eventually anyway.  I was trying to give him a chance to take care of it....
So, anyway, I picked the kids up from school and headed to my favorite store to pick up the goodies.  I LOVE going there, because every single time I go I learn something.  For instance, did you know they made Appliance Epoxy that covers scratches and prevents rust?  I didn't, but I do now!  Our fridge is old as hell, and belongs to the house, so there was (I thought) nothing I could do about the scratches, and rust developing around them.  Ha!  In a little bit I will scrub that old thing down and make it look like new again. 
While I was at the store, I saw that they also had the Range Receptacle (the thing the burner plugs into) so I grabbed it as well as four new burners, the drip pans, and brand new knobs that have the temperature markings on them.(the black is seriously wearing off of the stove, and gets worse every time I wash it.)
I washed the stove, then re-wired the large burner, and replaced the rest of the plates and burners.  Not only does it look a million times better, but every single burner works perfectly.  Also, Laurel now knows how to use the breaker box, and where it is.  One more thing that won't intimidate her later, as I explained what it's for and why you need to flip the switch before you do any handy work. -Ninja Mama
Miah would like me to say for the record that Daddy taught her how to pump gas yesterday.  She was so excited to fill the gas tank, while dancing around and singing.  She is always complaining about gas prices, so it's only a matter of time before I look over my shoulder to see her pumping unleaded and singing songs  about going broke to buy gas.   I wish I'd had my camera, because the Miahs were so cute together. 

Idle Wednesday

Super simple!  Sterling silver wire, pretty beads, and a couple of minutes worth of work.  I have to do these while Jay's at work because he can't stand the sound of me hammering the wire.  My favorites are the wooden beads.

What's Goin' On?

We've been forewarned..."Expect orders in the next ninety days." -Ya right, I say.
A certain someone doesn't know how to to the job assigned them...so Jay's leave forms are still sitting on a desk, unsigned.  We were supposed to be heading out the first week of April...-Ya, right, I say.
I've been doing yoga, Pilates, and some weight training for the past three weeks.  I'm starting to feel a difference in my energy level (that is until the time change, grrrr!) and I'm already more flexible.  Jay showed me how he and the guys have been working out, an now my right arm is on fire.  My left arm is perfectly fine, but my right one is screaming at me.  How odd. 
I've been feeling the "lets go somewhere bug" for a while now.  Mentally packing my stuff, and planning purges of unneeded items.  Long before the threat of orders, I've been ready to take this adventure elsewhere.  It's so much easier to leave a place when you have no connections to it.  I have successfully NOT made any friends here, so there is nothing holding me here.  It's funny that the last time we lived in this woe begotten state I did the same thing, and Jay was always fussing at me about it. However, when it came time to go, I was unencumbered.  Who says I don't know what I'm doing?  Fort Campbell was different.  We were there for seven some odd years and a wonderful group of friends sort of waltzed in and pulled me in.  Thank goodness they did too, because I have some of the best, coolest, most talented army friends in the world.  I am so ready to leave here that I actually miss Campbell!  I never thought I'd say that!  I'd love nothing more than to head to Colorado, Oklahoma, or even Kansas.  I've never lived on the other side of the Mississippi, and it's just about time to.  I know Mom and Ron won't like it, but it's half the point of being in the Army in the first place.  The first thing the recruiter says is "You'll get to travel, and see other parts of the world."  Maybe Jay has, but all I've seen has been the East Coast...unless you count Alaska. 
Anyway, on to other things.  Laurel has a new boyfriend.  He plays the trombone in her band, and is already scared of me.  lol  Good.  They had a recent field trip to the Theater here in town, and a band concert as well.

Playing.

Miah and her boyfriend Mathew.

The band, waiting for Mr. Sliver.

Clapping for the other students.

Adds up to thirteen, is this the same bus the Band always uses on field trips?

Laurel decided to ride in the Jeep with Mama.

Waiting for "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" to start.  Not sure what this has to do with band.

We sat on the balcony.  Laurel freaked over the height. I thought it was cool!

This is an old theater, and it shows in the design.

Great details!

On the way back to the car, Laurel got her pic taken with the "Godfather of Soul".  He was born here.  Laurel isn't unhappy, she's just folding her arms because it was SOOO cold!

 The theater's history:

Imperial Theatre

The Imperial Theatre is an 853-seat theater. The theater opened on February 18, 1918. It is named after the Imperial Theatre in New York City.

History

The Wells, was built for the presenting of vaudeville and photoplays to the community by Mr. Jake Wells. The Theatre opened on Monday, February 18, 1918. A reporter for The  Chronicle attended the opening and reported in the paper the following day: "Presenting B. F. Keith's Supreme Vaudeville Co. Formally of The Grand Opera House, another Jake Wells operated venue." It was very successful first week. Below are price listings for opening night.

Prices for Opening Night, Feb. 18, 1918

• Matinee: $0.10 and $0.20

• Evening: $0.15

• Orchestra $0.35

• Balcony: First Section: $.35, Remainder: $0.25, Gallery (Colored Section) $0.15

Celebrity at the Theatre

Although it is a certainty that a large number of celebrities of the day must have graced the stage of the theatre only a few are documented in the Imperial Theatre's archives. Among the earliest recorded appearances was the visit of Charlie Chaplin, who appeared at the theatre on April 18, 1918 selling Liberty war bonds.

The Wells Becomes The Imperial

On Sunday, October 6, 1918, over 3,000 cases of Spanish Flu were reported. With the death of 52 servicemen from a local military camp, the city announced the closure of all public venues, including the theatre. The quarantine began October 7, and during this time Jake Wells encountered great financial difficulties. He sold The Wells to Lynch Enterprises. On November 27, 1918, shortly after the sell, the quarantine is lifted. Two weeks later the theatre opened under the name of Jake Wells with The B. F. Keith Supreme Vaudeville Co. After the acquisition of several other local theatres by Lynch Enterprises, The Wells Theatre's was changed to The Imperial Theatre. Throughout the early 1900s the theatre continued to provide the city and the surrounding area with great entertainment. Included in this bill of fare was Leo Carrillo who later became the Cisco Kid's partner, Poncho; and the famous ballet dancer Anna Povlova. It is in the Broad Street Historical District and is listed on the National Register as important to the character of the entire district. -Wikipedia

365 Days

So, here is what I'm doing next, on my blog.The majority of the people that gave an opinion, voted for 365 days of pictures. As I thought about it during the day, I realized that it could get pretty tough to get pictures that were interesting, every single day for a year.  So, I decided to compromise and do 365 Days of THEMED pictures.  Jay and I are making up the themes/titles/ideas for the days right now.  I'm going to start on April 1st, and go from there.  Laurel is also currently composing a banner for the posts. There  is a possibility that in the next 365 days things will change a lot.  We'll see!

Idle Wednesday

 Perfect is boring!

My mom directed me to a tutorial on wiredupbeads.  I like the idea...but it's blue first of all...and it looks too perfect.  The directions are made for beginners, and I found them irritating...I used my own much smaller pliers, smaller gauge wire, and I made the loops lopsided, overlapping, and different sizes, because perfect really is pretty boring.  The other change I made was to the hook (the directions made theirs huge) and the last loop.  I made the hook smaller, and I wrapped the loop to finish it rather than leave the tail loose.  That drives me nuts. That said, I love the bracelet I made.  It's small and delicate, and light as a feather.

From http://www.wiredupbeads.com/pages/tut_infinity.php

Hook and Loop Clasp

Mine...made from 24 gauge copper wire.

Enneagrams-I'm an 8, What Are You?

Image Icon results:

Main Type	Overall Self

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test

Scale (|||||||%) results:

Enneagram Test Results Type 1 Perfectionism |||||||||||||||| 64% Type 2 Helpfulness |||||||||||| 41% Type 3 Image Focus |||||| 27% Type 4 Hypersensitivity |||||| 30% Type 5 Detachment |||||||||||||| 60% Type 6 Anxiety |||||||||||| 41% Type 7 Adventurousness |||||| 27% Type 8 Aggressiveness |||||||||||||||||||| 84% Type 9 Calmness |||||||||||| 50% Your main type is 8 Your variant is social

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Thirty Days of Pictures

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss. (I thought a video would do him more justice. )
This video was taken with the first digital camera I owned, so there is no sound, and it's pretty fuzzy, but you can still see why Chet was so fun.  He loved the snow, and thought it was great fun to run circles around the tiny back yard.  Poor Miah (Look how small she was!) couldn't keep track of him. It still makes me laugh.

Idle Wednesday

My favorite.

Practicing consistency.  Not easy!

Learning how to use the pick to drag different colors of glass together.

This is so UGLY, but I was playing with making vines and flowers.  The cream colored glass I started with turned into a sooty version of itself.  I'm not sure what happened.

Learning to encase strands of color in translucent glass.

Not my best photos, but I'm short on time today, so I had to go with them.  Remind me next time I take pictures of my hands to get a manicure first!  I'm still just learning how to do this, so don't expect too much!  I'm practicing almost every day, basically learning how the glass acts when you do certain things to it.  Youtube is an amazing source for tutorials if your interested in seeing how it's done.  I'm going to go ahead and post this before I change my mind...I keep noticing things wrong with the beads, and it's bugging me!  So, here goes! I'll post more as I get better!