Tag Archives: Writing

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Son, Can You Play Me A Memory

Like many people my age, I grew up with an appreciation of classic rock. Even today, The Beatles are one of my favorite bands. To me, that music is essential in life because they made music that allowed for many of the musicians that I enjoy the musicians that they are today. Even when I’m writing, I need at least a tune in my head if I can’t listen to my iPod or I sit staring at a screen with nothing coming out. Music is essential to me and everything I enjoy. I always sing to my boys, and I always encourage them to sing even though the baby just claps along. My oldest son has a guitar he enjoys trying to play, and has the same fondness for music as I do. And yes, I borrowed the title from “Piano Man”.

A few months ago, a friend on Facebook said something like “I feel bad for our generation’s kids, because we don’t have any real classic music to pass along to them”. As my husband and I were driving around during errands, my husband posed a question “what real ‘epic’ bands do we have in our generation?” An “epic” band to him is a band that has a staying power, where they stay relevant and touring for many decades. Bands like our parents had, like Aerosmith, The Who, The Rolling Stones, that still perform for decades later and continue to be well-known.

I had to think about this. Our legacy is going to end up being the Beastie Boys or Nirvana. But are they “epic” bands? What bands do we have to share? The only one my husband could think of that would fit would be The Red Hot Chili Peppers. In this age of reality talent shows, what do we really have to add into the pool of “epic” music? Kelly Clarkson made herself a big hit, but how many of you knew that Ruben Studdard made 4 other albums after the American Idol paid for one? At this rate I’m becoming terrified that the legacy of music we’re going to pass onto our children is Poison or Guns ‘n Roses, or god forbid… I can’t even stand to stay it… Metallica.

My money is on Muse, though my husband has a point with The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Our legacy to our kids will be crappy and forgettable music with trillions of dollars of debt, and a government so partisan nothing will ever get done. I agree with my friend, I do feel bad that we can’t pass on any “epic” bands to our next generation. I’d be interested to hear what other people have to say on this topic.

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Friday Has Come

Sometimes I struggle with what to write about at the end of the week. By Friday, I feel like I address whatever needs to be addressed. I don’t get a case of the “Mondays”, I get a case of the “Fridays”. The week drains me, and by Friday I do want to toss aside my writing to take a day off. Most Fridays I have simply run out of things to write about, so I don’t bother. I want to break myself of this habit. I do consider my writing as a job, one that pays poorly, but is that different from many other people out there?

The only thing newsworthy today is the hearings on the IRS. Shocker: a government agency filled with corruption and biased politics. I’ll remember to be surprised. It is a filthy day in the world when the already most hated agency in America because one of the most illegally corrupt ones. Well done, IRS, for showing us the hated can become more hated. It proves to you with hope and bad intentions, anything is possible. Also, I learned there are way too many people sitting there “trying” the IRS officials and they spend too much time talking about random and useless things that don’t really seem to matter or help find out what’s wrong. Maybe cut the committee actually asking the questions in half, and make them actually ask questions would help. Or at least make things less boring and move them along quicker.

My Hubpage is doing well, I think anyways. I don’t know if being featured on there is impressive or not, but it does help my ego and inspire me to work harder in all my writing. The idea of someone moderating my work and decided if it’s worthy or not helps my self-esteem by marking their approval on my writing. I hope this continues and helps me continue on my creative streak. You should check out my Hubpage by using the sidebar link. It’s dedicated solely to parenting, and for those who love my Dylan stories, there’s a nice one about him and his Relay for Life walk.  Also, check out my Kindle Author Page to buy my novella since you’re already looking at the sidebar.

I hope everyone has a nice Friday, and I hope you have a great weekend.

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The Women in the News

Sometimes watching the news can absolutely sicken me. I often say that sometimes watching the news, I can’t help but to imitate my dogs in their confusion. How can people be so stupid, I sometimes say. How can something like that happen? I get a lot of mixed feelings about things I read. I can’t help it, no one can see everything in black and white. Well, most people can’t. Today, I dedicate this post to the women in the news and a female related issue, and as always, I acknowledge I’ll probably offend people or upset people.

I’ll start with the most recent article of news. Angelina Jolie has had a double mastectomy and is regarded as a hero. She is also in the process of removing her ovaries to also prevent getting cancer. Sure, she did a brave thing undergoing surgery to prevent a couple of types of cancer she has a gene mutation for. But how many of the “everywoman” can get tested for a gene to see if they’ll get a cancer? Then how many of them can also undergo an optional surgery for “just in case” measures? Not many. I don’t feel this need to congratulate her, and I’m probably the only one. She’s rich, she can do that sort of thing without worrying about how to pay for things and how much insurance covers. The normal, everyday woman can’t. They get cancer and have to deal with it. To me, those are the brave ones. These things don’t guarantee you’ll never get cancer, just that you’ll never get “those” types of cancer. She could end up with terminal brain cancer, or stomach cancer. I don’t disregard what she did; any type of surgery requires a great deal of strength. But I don’t think I would pin her up as more of a hero than a person who fights for their life because they aren’t fortunate enough to have the same hand dealt to them.

My next point involves Ariel Castro. I was reading an article where the attorney stated that “women unfairly judge my client as a monster”. I don’t think I’m being unfair in thinking a guy who so callously and aggressively abuses women in the manner he has. I don’t think a man who even slightly abuses a woman should even be considered a man nor should be deserving any of my time. A man like this is a monster. Chaining up women, assaulting them and torturing them in every way possible. Abuse so bad that the women miscarried the children that were created by his sexual assaulting them. Yeah, if that’s not a monster I don’t know what is. I don’t see how they can spin this to make it any more ridiculous than Jodi Arias stabbed her boyfriend nearly 30 times and slit his throat and shot him could consider it “self-defense”.  I can’t wait to see the defense on this, because I’m sure it’ll be comedic how creative they’ll need to be to make this man seem like anything less than a cruel beast. It must take a real “man” to beat up a woman, let alone 3 16-year-old girls chained up for 10 years.

My final note involves the idea of men in the military that watch over sexual assault cases. An Army sergeant, whose job is to oversee sexual assault crimes in the Army, is now being accused of…. you guessed it… sex crimes. Prostitution, to be specific. I know when I think of people I’d feel comfort watching over sexual assault cases, I want someone with ties to a prostitution ring in which he may or may not have sexually abused his prostitutes. I wish I was making any of this up, but I’m not. In fact, I don’t even know what I can say about this because it really says everything without me adding to it. Shame.

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No Taxation Without.. Wait, What?

I tried to do my research before writing this post, but I’m not going to lie and say that reading financial laws and tax-exemption laws are interesting enough to make me want to know what I’m talking about. Then I figured, if news organizations can get away with rattling off misinformation under a guise of a mass amount of research, why can’t a blogger who admits not knowing what I’m talking about get away with it. I’m sure I have less of a following than the media does, and I get the bonus of honesty before spouting out opinions that may or may not be backed with actual facts.

The average person has to pay taxes, it’s how we pay our teachers and public service employees. Even celebrities get slammed for not paying taxes, and get hunted down for it. There are 2 certainties in the world: Death and Taxes. Without taxes, services we enjoy go away. I don’t mind paying a bit more in taxes if my children get a better education or I feel safer on the streets due to better trained police officers. I’ll even pay more for better and safer parks for my children to play at. Taxes are why we get these luxuries. I won’t get into a belief about wasted money on people taking advantage of a system meant to help people who are in need, this isn’t about that. This is about people paying taxes like people should pay.

The whole time I’m listening about the IRS breaking laws and discriminating against Conservative groups, I only had one thought in my mind: Why are they even qualified for tax exemption? I didn’t understand what made an organization tax exempt. I knew the Catholic Church was tax exempt, but I also knew the Catholic Church bought a Crystal Cathedral for nearly $60 million. It’s okay though, they saved up from not paying taxes. I wonder if the Catholic Church, which one could argue is probably one of the wealthiest organizations in the world. With food pantries and homeless shelters, I’m sure that $60 million they spent on the cathedral that they didn’t have to pay taxes on could surely actually help the poor. What type of overhead do they really have, I thought priests and nuns took a vow of poverty or humility. Upon further reading, I actually shocked myself by seeing the some professional sports agencies are also tax exempt. I wonder if I could apply for tax exemptions on the grounds that I just don’t want to pay taxes if these organizations don’t have to.

I get it, I’m a silly girl who knows nothing about economics and tax law. Understand, I don’t care what the laws are but I don’t need to know them to understand how screwed up entire system is. I don’t think political groups should be tax exempt. I don’t think a religious organization that is richer than most celebrities should be tax exempt. In fact, I’m not sure of many people I don’t believe should be taxed. If you make money, why shouldn’t you pay your share of taxes on it?

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Then People Go A Little Crazy

I sat around watching the news recently, and wondered “are we getting more sensitive in our age, or are people just crazy?” I can’t say I ever truly figured out that answer. It’s always “____ group was offended because ____” and usually it’s something I can’t help but to tilt my head at the television, with a confused look on my face as if I were mimicking the dogs. What’s the big deal, I thought. So what? I can’t quite figure this out.

Just because I enjoy a steak, that doesn’t mean I enjoy a cow being tortured. It just means steak is delicious. One time my son approached me about why we eat meat, and if it’s cruel or not. I said “Dyl, people have been eating meat to survive for eons. Besides, if God didn’t intend you to eat bacon, why does it taste so good?” He nodded happily. I don’t care PETA exists, they have their purpose. Just because I enjoy a steak, doesn’t mean I want to wear a fur outfit from an animal I wouldn’t eat. Sure, killing an animal for it’s fur and tossing the remains aside is cruel, in my opinion. But it someone wants to wear a fur coat, it’s not my place to lecture them. So when I saw on the news that PETA was outraged by the killing of a spider, I thought I would’ve killed the freaking thing too. I don’t freak out on PETA for killing plants to eat, though plants are definitely living things. Who are they to decide what living thing is fit to be eaten? How do they know plants don’t have the capacity to feel pain or love?

I use this same philosophy on religions. I don’t care if they want a manger in the center of the town at Christmas time, no more than I’d care if they tossed up some other religious articles up at their holiday time. Atheists are allowed to be Atheists as Christians are allowed to be Christians, etc. If you don’t want to celebrate the holiday, then simply don’t celebrate it. I won’t judge you like you judge me. Being of one school of thought doesn’t make you smarter than another, unless you’re just a hateful bigot. Then I’ll ignore you on the grounds that I’m a better human being.

I think I figured it out. It’s not about the cause, it’s about the airtime you get for it. In this age of social networking and everyone being a photographer thanks to smartphones, news spreads. And people are suckers for stories on the news that makes us die a little on the inside because of the sheer stupidity of it. Do I think PETA is really offended by the killing of a spider? Probably, but I won’t tell them how many ants they probably kill walking around everyday. But crying outrage on stupid and asinine topics sells the real agenda you want them to, because you’ll get all the airtime you want.

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Random Musings From BooBoos to Another Plan

The best thing about weekends aren’t just the family time with my boys that I enjoy. It’s getting to sit around and listen to the current events so on Monday, I can run a nice commentary on. From the incredibly joy of headlines, and face-palming at others, Mondays are a day when I can share them with you. I admit, some of my comments today will be silly and childish, but sometimes things bring that out in me.

1) Not the Biebs! I have a soft spot for reading celebrity news. Sometimes you  just need the mindless crap those type of stories come across. Imagine my squealing with glee when I read the headline “Bieber was attacked!” I know, that might make me sound like a horrible person. I decided to stop making Bieber jokes a while back, after a Jimmy Fund girl had been treated very kindly by him. I changed my mind not too long after, deciding that based on actions and the way he presented himself, that a kind act can be forgotten if you’re a spoiled rotten and entitled brat. So seeing that he was attacked delighted me in such a way, until I discovered that he was merely poked or something similarly painless. I don’t want the kid dead, but I certainly think anyone who behaves as he allegedly behaves, could benefit from a little rough up. It builds character.

2) How about a “Plan C”? In the middle of crisis, we sure know how to put things in perspective and get our priorities straight. They have recently made Plan B accessible by 15-year-old girls. People are opposed this because “abortion is wrong” and “15-year-olds shouldn’t have sex anyways”. Let’s ignore the facts that “Plan B isn’t an abortion drug” or “15-year-olds are having sex anyways”. Or that so many people are morally outraged they teach sex-ed in schools or tried to make condoms accessible in the nurse’s office or hand them out to students. How’s teaching abstinence only working out? Oh right, it’s not otherwise 15-year-old girls wouldn’t need Plan B. Maybe we should consider educating our children properly so maybe we can reduce the amounts of “oops”, and there wouldn’t be as much of a need to make this medication accessible to kids.

3) World’s Most Eligible Bachlorette is no more. I tried to watch Honey Boo Boo once and I’m going to be completely honest here: I wanted to bash my head against a wall repeatedly in hopes that it’d dumb me down so much that I would understand what was going on. When I saw on the news that her mother got married, all I could think of was “really, that’s news? A dumb redneck married another dumb redneck, but it’s ok because they exploit their daughter and profit from it so this whole thing is newsworthy?” Sure, I detest her because her family is full of white trash you think really only exists in crappy movies and that’s how they are edited on television. Maybe they have some sort of intelligence, realizing that people enjoy watching stupid people do stupid things.

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The Next Project

My focus has suddenly come back. With the little one coming into an age where he actually enjoys naps I can finally focus back on my writing. I’m finally back into a groove with my blogging here, and I’m starting a nice groove on my Hubs. This is important to me, because it’s encouraging me to find my way back to my goals. I needed to refocus, I needed to set up goals to hit to force me back into my projects. My head has already started writing a new project, and trying to finish the next 3 done.

My next project, which I know I’ve promised already, is essentially done. It’s an anthology of short stories and poetry. Most of the poetry was written in high school, and though there’s something awful about them in quality, there’s a sort of purity in the rawness of it. I feel that poetry is something written from the heart and soul, and to do anything to edit that (no matter how awful) seems to ruin its integrity. That part makes the anthology easy in the editing department. The rest of the story anthology is another story.

It’ll be done, I’ll dedicate the rest of my weekend to it. It’ll be up, and my husband has volunteered to do the cover art this time. I wondered if he offered because he’s awesome, or because I asked him to help me with my blog and Hubs by getting him the camera of his dreams to be my personal freelance photographer. He can add that title to his “read to tell me if it sucks” one that he does for free. Well not for free, it costs me in time making sandwiches and coffees. But for more free than getting an editor or publishing company to do the jobs for me.

With any luck, I can add my second book onto my Kindle e-publishing author page. Which you should check out and maybe even buy my first publishing while you’re there, the link is on the side bar. At $0.99, it’s cheaper than a candy bar or a bag of chips. And if you enjoy an off color sense of humor, you might enjoy it. I’ll keep you guys posted when it gets put up for sale. I also apologize for the boring blog post, but I felt like sharing this for people who are also writers who understand the long process this finishing projects entail. Also, check out my Hub page, which also has a link to the side. Bookmark it, because I post there Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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Random Thoughts That Might Make You Hate Me

I can’t help but to sit and let my mind wander. And it definitely wanders all over the place. Elections, current events, whether I have pity for people, and people and their opinions. Then, while my mind ran away from me when I sat down to make my post, I realized I had no idea what to post about. Rather than admit defeat though, I decided to share my wandering thoughts with you. Then I thought, “I’ll probably upset a lot of people with them”. Then I considered that and realized I would probably upset those people in real life anyways. What do I have to lose? So here are my random musings of the day.

To start with, I was watching a morning show I tend to watch and they were discussing about how a ESPN commentator was discussing Jason Collins and his announcing his sexual orientation. He said about how sex outside of marriage was a sin, and so was being gay. I didn’t care, he’s a guy saying his opinion. Everyone who didn’t agree with him about homosexuality being a sin became nasty, spiteful people. Do I agree with him? Absolutely not. But I didn’t see people who disagreed about sex outside of being married was a sin also feverishly defending their views. Last I checked, he was a “commentator” and that means he is paid to give his opinion. Not everyone is going to agree with everyone. If you someone based solely on their opinions, what makes you really better than they are? I don’t agree with him, but he’s not on a soap box, calling for homosexuals to be tossed into a fiery pit. He stated an opinion. Now, if they force their opinion on other people and it affects their business life, then you can get aboard the “fight for your freedom” train. Until then, let a guy who’s paid to give his opinion have his opinion, it’s his right to have it whether you agree or not. Welcome to America, the land where you can tell other people how to think by bullying them. Besides, people shouldn’t think too much into it, I never even heard of either guy until this whole thing happened and I’ll probably forget the commentators name tomorrow.(I did need to look it up, and kept forgetting it so I felt that it wasn’t actually important to the point.)

I thought about pity and the type of person I pity. I realized I don’t actually “pity” anyone, that seems like such a negative term.  I feel bad for people who are forced into a life they can’t seem to get out of because of bad luck after bad luck. I don’t feel bad for ones that don’t try. I feel as bad for people like that as I do a drunk driver that kills himself in an accident. You knew better than getting into that car after drinking, and you died a horrible death. No, I don’t feel sorry for you for causing your own misery. People don’t realize consequences and actions, and these days no one ever makes people face them. Life can be crappy, but are you going to sit around crying about it or are you going to stand up and do what you need to in order to make the situation better? If the answer is “sit on your butt and feel sorry for yourself”, then why should I feel bad for you? The answer is “I shouldn’t”. We were given free will, and no one commands our lives but us. You want that job, work your butt off and get your dream. Eventually it’ll happen, with enough will and effort.

I know, these two paragraphs have probably upset some readers. But I write to put my opinion out there, and if you don’t agree then you don’t agree. I don’t think I should have to change what I think to make people like me, I’m only me. I don’t ask you to agree with my opinions anymore than I ask you to agree with opinions of people I don’t agree with at all. (See above.) Overall, my main point is that everyone should have the right to say what they believe without a fear of people egging their house or stalking them into the streets assaulting them. I don’t want to have people accuse me of being anti-gay because I said someone who believes homosexuality is a sin should be allowed his opinion. The great thing about people talking about their opinions, is if you don’t agree with it you can ignore it. That doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to say it.

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I Fear Them More Than They Fear Me

I went to take a nap yesterday, and when I moved the curtain away from the fan, something fell. All I could think of was “EEK! A SPIDER!”. I did what any rational person with irrational fears would do: I called my husband, begging him to save me from this maybe spider, and when none was found, I slid down the bed and went to sleep in the fetal position at the bottom of the bed. I admit it, I’m a “scaredy-cat.” No, I think I go a little beyond a simple “scaredy-cat”. I tip-toe that fine line between “scaredy-cat” and “irrationally phobic personality”. So, today I’ve decided to share my ridiculous fears to get them out there. Sure, I’m sure you’ll laugh reading them but that’s ok. I’ll probably laugh at how crazy they sound as I read this aloud.

1) Spiders. And anything else creepy crawly. I hate spiders, though I”m definitely getting a lot better. If I see a small one, I’ll smack it down and pretend I’m hardcore. I’m not, any spider bigger than an ant gets me to cower like a little baby. And don’t get me started on anything with a stinger or that looks like it has a potential to. And I have nightmares of earwigs, those things are just incredibly terrifying. Why do they need those pincers? Just to look like menacing ugly things? It works. And you can tell me a dozen times not to run away from a hornet, wasp or yellow jacket because it doesn’t help, but I’ll do it anyways because I really just want to get away from those things. I’ve never been stung and I don’t intend to start now.

2) Anything “too high up”. This might seem like a rational thing, not too many people aren’t afraid of being too high up. I assure you it’s just more insane than you  think. I do get freaked out looking out a 14th floor window. But I have trouble looking through on escalators because I’m “too high up with little protection”. So that adds another “afraid of escalators”, but that really doesn’t need it’s own paragraph, since the only real reason I’m afraid of it is watching myself go “too high”.  I plan trips around “which escalator am I least afraid of”. Stairs count too, I’m definitely afraid of certain stairs because of how high up they go and that I can see myself go up them. (Enclosed stairs are ok, those ones with the glass windows are not.)  This is probably what I’m the most afraid of.

3) Amusement park rides. You’d think the height would be what makes me terrified of these things, you’re wrong. Every creak on a ride, I freak out. I imagine the ride stopping abruptly, or just collapsing right there with me on it. I don’t like the feeling of being shaken around, swung around, or just not being in control of what’s happening to my body. I hate them, I think they are death traps, and when my son and husband are on them I close my eyes so I wouldn’t have to watch something happen to them.

4) Clowns. When I was younger, I was forced into watching “It”. I remember being instantly terrified of these clowns. I also remember having to sit through “Killer Clowns from Outer Space”, and it sent me over the edge. I then remember having my room decorated into a “circus” theme, and I remember having nightmares that the clowns in my room were going to come and kill me in my sleep. It was a rough time. I don’t remember when the clowns went away, and I don’t remember why. I’m glad it’s gone. I still close my eyes and see the room though, and it still gives me the creeps. Clowns, you aren’t happy or awesome. You are scary creatures, scary and freaky and ugly creatures.

5) Murders, Robbers, and Creeps oh my! I live in a nice area, where nothing of not really ever happens. Even still, I’ve watched enough television and movies to know that places that are quiet little holes in the walls are more likely to have shocking crimes happen to them. I obsessively check locks to make sure no one can come in and kill me or my family in my sleep. I make sure that my sons are not kidnapped, and that they are still breathing. Then I repeat that cycle a few times just to make sure. This is probably my most irrational of all of my fears, which says a lot because they are all a little silly.

Those are really just the top things that scare me. Mostly those are the only ones that I’d consider as “insane” fears. I’m a neurotic person with a few crazy irrational fears. That doesn’t make me less of a person; merely it makes me uniquely me. Share your thoughts, fears, and a laugh at my expense. I look forward to it.

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All About Politics, and the People Who Discuss Them (Rejected Blog Post)

I watch the news daily, I read about current events. I cry a little when I read the top headlines, because rather than any news of substance I see things like “_____ celebrities ate tacos”. I don’t care if some celebrity was walking around with a Cheeto bag, and when I do care I will read “Celebrity” news, not the top headlines of the day. Actual news should be separate from useless nonsense. It’s not hard to wonder why American’s need to be told “Chechnya is an entirely different nation than the Czech Republic”. All foreigners are the same and celebrities are more important than current events. Amurica. (Purposeful and sarcastic misspelling.) So this brings me to an Election Day post I rejected. I agree with the main point of “celebrities need to worry about being celebrities”, but I felt the post felt flat otherwise. Happy Friday!

I watch the news to see the pundits argue out their points. I watch entertainment to be entertained. I watch the Daily Show and Colbert Report to be entertained by comedians mocking the news. I don’t watch an interview with a celebrity to hear their political views, I want to hear about their new movie or something funny that happened while filming said movie. Likewise, I don’t want to hear a politician giving a review about a movie. I don’t care what they think. It’s great that they want to indulge themselves in whatever philanthropic pursuits they wish or is the “in” cause. It’s good that they incite the masses to donate whatever time, money and resources we have to help others and some of them actually put their money where their mouths are. That’s using their celebrity for good.

However, I don’t care who you vote for or what your political views are. You’re actors/singers/models, there to entertain. I will listen to your songs, political or not, because I like them and not because I want to vote for whomever you’re voting for. I don’t want to listen to an actor telling me what to do in elections, I pay you to at least decently act in whatever movie I’m choosing to see. I’m glad you’re voting. But I don’t care if you tell me to vote for Obama or Romney, because your opinion doesn’t matter to me and I’ll take whatever you see with the same grain of salt I’ll take the major news channels on their election information.

So my lovely celebrities, save your money from those commercials you make to try to sway our vote. I don’t care how many Academy Awards you have, reasonable people won’t vote for people because you tell them to. Everyone (whether they admit it or not) has pretty much decided how they are voting. Most of them are just going to vote along party lines like good little ducklings following along. And those that aren’t voting “the way they should” are probably too smart to care what an overpaid privileged celebrity says about elections or really just don’t care about voting. Maybe you should put that money someplace useful, like the open pantry or soup kitchens or battered women shelters.