It has been so long! But I have much to say...

Oh how I have missed blogging. But between being a wife and  Tegan's mama, work, and school (Yes, for some strange reason I am still attempting to complete my program, don't ask me why)... well, it just got away from me.

There is much to say that cannot be said on outlets such as facebook. So, we begin again. In case anyone happens to be reading.... Beware :)

I found This Article very interesting.
It discusses the "evangelical" agenda in the United States as it relates to politics, something that I think about alot, especially during this last election.

This really struck me, because I have thought this EXACT thing  while hearing friends and family spew their political/ religious views during the election season (assuming that I agree with them) :

While most evangelicals are still “pro-life,” abortion is not their only concern. Not all are convinced that Republicans have the best answers to all the life issues.
While most evangelicals are strongly committed to strengthening family life, not all think equal rights for gay and lesbian people are a threat to the family. Poverty reduction, immigration reform, a consistent life ethic, the creation care of environmental protection, a less militaristic foreign policy, and a deep commitment to racial and economic justice are all issues of concern.

The ironic and tragic thing about the religious right is how little of their own agenda they have achieved. And by voting for a conservative ideological agenda, they have actually hurt the poor, resisted immigration reform, promoted endless wars, and neglected the environment.

 

So, why do so many of my "evangelical" friends and family members vote Republican, no matter WHAT? Why can't they educate themselves? Why are they so fixated on abortion and gay marriage? Why don't they want to talk about the REAL issues we face, like the extreme income gap between the wealthy and the poor....

Why do so many of them blame our budgetary problems on the welfare system, when they themselves have made use of these welfare programs? "Well, we just needed a little help at the time." Or, "Why not take advantage of the system, everyone else is?" .... That is great and all, but don't agree with me that these programs are necesarry, make use of them, and then act like the world is going to end when a Democrat gets elected. I find it hilarious that many of the 47% Romney referred to who use government assistance or are in the military voted for HIM, and many of the rest of us who have never used government asistance voted the other way. Why is this?

Do we just believe what we're told? Vote, act, live, and believe the way the people around us do? Is that how Tegan will think?
Why...don't people read anymore? Why don't they think critically? Are we lazy? Are we just that self-righteous? And why are the people who act so concerned about MY religious beliefs (or lack of) these same people who don't seem to think about the world at all beyond their own "personal relationshop with Christ" yadda yadda.... (Ah, but that is another matter entirely)

These are the things I think about. Oh, to be inside my head. It's.... interesting in there to say the least. :)
 

Food for Thought...

"Imagine if the Tea Party was Black" - by Tim Wise

Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called “Imagine.” The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure - the ones who are driving the action - we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins.

So let’s begin.

Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose.

Imagine that white members of Congress, while walking to work, were surrounded by thousands of angry black people, one of whom proceeded to spit on one of those congressmen for not voting the way the black demonstrators desired. Would the protesters be seen as merely patriotic Americans voicing their opinions, or as an angry, potentially violent, and even insurrectionary mob? After all, this is what white Tea Party protesters did recently in Washington.

Imagine that a rap artist were to say, in reference to a white president: “He’s a piece of shit and I told him to suck on my machine gun.” Because that’s what rocker Ted Nugent said recently about President Obama.

Imagine that a prominent mainstream black political commentator had long employed an overt bigot as Executive Director of his organization, and that this bigot regularly participated in black separatist conferences, and once assaulted a white person while calling them by a racial slur. When that prominent black commentator and his sister — who also works for the organization — defended the bigot as a good guy who was misunderstood and “going through a tough time in his life” would anyone accept their excuse-making? Would that commentator still have a place on a mainstream network? Because that’s what happened in the real world, when Pat Buchanan employed as Executive Director of his group, America’s Cause, a blatant racist who did all these things, or at least their white equivalents: attending white separatist conferences and attacking a black woman while calling her the n-word.

Imagine that a black radio host were to suggest that the only way to get promoted in the administration of a white president is by “hating black people,” or that a prominent white person had only endorsed a white presidential candidate as an act of racial bonding, or blamed a white president for a fight on a school bus in which a black kid was jumped by two white kids, or said that he wouldn’t want to kill all conservatives, but rather, would like to leave just enough—“living fossils” as he called them—“so we will never forget what these people stood for.” After all, these are things that Rush Limbaugh has said, about Barack Obama’s administration, Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama, a fight on a school bus in Belleville, Illinois in which two black kids beat up a white kid, and about liberals, generally.

Imagine that a black pastor, formerly a member of the U.S. military, were to declare, as part of his opposition to a white president’s policies, that he was ready to “suit up, get my gun, go to Washington, and do what they trained me to do.” This is, after all, what Pastor Stan Craig said recently at a Tea Party rally in Greenville, South Carolina.

Imagine a black radio talk show host gleefully predicting a revolution by people of color if the government continues to be dominated by the rich white men who have been “destroying” the country, or if said radio personality were to call Christians or Jews non-humans, or say that when it came to conservatives, the best solution would be to “hang ‘em high.” And what would happen to any congressional representative who praised that commentator for “speaking common sense” and likened his hate talk to “American values?” After all, those are among the things said by radio host and best-selling author Michael Savage, predicting white revolution in the face of multiculturalism, or said by Savage about Muslims and liberals, respectively. And it was Congressman Culbertson, from Texas, who praised Savage in that way, despite his hateful rhetoric.

Imagine a black political commentator suggesting that the only thing the guy who flew his plane into the Austin, Texas IRS building did wrong was not blowing up Fox News instead. This is, after all, what Anne Coulter said about Tim McVeigh, when she noted that his only mistake was not blowing up the New York Times.

Imagine that a popular black liberal website posted comments about the daughter of a white president, calling her “typical redneck trash,” or a “whore” whose mother entertains her by “making monkey sounds.” After all that’s comparable to what conservatives posted about Malia Obama on freerepublic.com last year, when they referred to her as “ghetto trash.”

Imagine that black protesters at a large political rally were walking around with signs calling for the lynching of their congressional enemies. Because that’s what white conservatives did last year, in reference to Democratic party leaders in Congress.

In other words, imagine that even one-third of the anger and vitriol currently being hurled at President Obama, by folks who are almost exclusively white, were being aimed, instead, at a white president, by people of color. How many whites viewing the anger, the hatred, the contempt for that white president would then wax eloquent about free speech, and the glories of democracy? And how many would be calling for further crackdowns on thuggish behavior, and investigations into the radical agendas of those same people of color?

To ask any of these questions is to answer them. Protest is only seen as fundamentally American when those who have long had the luxury of seeing themselves as prototypically American engage in it. When the dangerous and dark “other” does so, however, it isn’t viewed as normal or natural, let alone patriotic. Which is why Rush Limbaugh could say, this past week, that the Tea Parties are the first time since the Civil War that ordinary, common Americans stood up for their rights: a statement that erases the normalcy and “American-ness” of blacks in the civil rights struggle, not to mention women in the fight for suffrage and equality, working people in the fight for better working conditions, and LGBT folks as they struggle to be treated as full and equal human beings.

And this, my friends, is what white privilege is all about. The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis.

Game Over.

- Tim Wise s among the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the U.S. Wise has spoken in 48 states, on over 400 college campuses, and to community groups around the nation. Wise has provided anti-racism training to teachers nationwide, and has trained physicians and medical industry professionals on how to combat racial inequities in health care. His latest book is called Between Barack and a Hard Place.
AND, he is white. GASP.

GRE Update

I did not do very well.

Blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I did ok on the verbal section, but missed the score I need on the math by like 30 points (3 questions). Did very well on essays. If the whole freaking thing was essays I would be good as gold. but NO. I have to pass a math exam that is hard as hell to get into a graduate program in which I will not have to take a SINGLE math class. what kinda sense does that make?

Anyway, I have been told I might be able to get in on probation, where I have to keep a certain GPA for my first semester. I think I am going to meet with an advisor about it. I dont know yet. Truth be told, I'm avoiding thinking about it. Because that's just what I do. ;)

GRE, Working on the house, and so on...

I take the GRE in 10 days. Wait just a moment while I get over this brief wave of nausea.

Ok, better. I am SO nervous. Already. I am afraid I will bomb it. And then have to try to study AGAIN and take it AGAIN. It will take about 4 hours to take. There are two verbal sections, two math sections, and two essays. It is all broken up and timed. I hate standardized tests. HATE them. I have been trying to study for about an hour each day and I am taking a full length practice test online saturday morning.

In other news, Tony's little sister Sherri is pregnant. I'm excited for her... also a little worried because it wasn't planned and they have only been married 6 months... and she is in the middle of nursing school, and they have no health insurance, etc etc etc. I could go on an on about why I am worried... but I know they will be ok no matter what they have to face. They're pretty self-sufficient/ responsible. I am just a planner and can't imagine not being ready for something like that. But that is why I am me and she is she right? (that didn't sound right.. should it be "she is her"? nope, still sounds wacky. oh well)

Hmmm what else... we are planning on re-rocking our driveway this weekend and lining it so the grass doesnt grow in. After that we have the following things planned over the next several months:

-sprinkler system in the front yard

-expand flower beds in the front yard

-plant a live oak

-cover the deck in the backyard

...and that is just the outside. There is a whole separate list for the inside! It never ends when you own a home... but I wouldn't change it ;)

Ok that's all!

Anniversary

Today is our five year anniversary.

I love the fact that I can say I have no regrets. That I am happy. That after five years, I still love this man more than anyone on the planet. I would say "oh, it doesnt seem like we have been together that long" but truthfully I feel like I have known Tony all my life. He knows everything about me, and I him. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that we have already been through a lot together. Anyway, I love him!

Thinking...

I'm thinking about my grandmother today. She fell this morning and was rushed to the hospital at about 6:00. My mom will not call me back... I wonder if anyone is with her or if everyone was too busy... I wonder if this will make my mom and dad take her seriously when she says she is weak and frail... I wish I could snap my fingers and be there... I hope she is ok. My brother and I are her only grandchildren. She is like my second mom. I love her.

New Year, New Post, New Things

I have decided that I am applying and will (hopefully) begin grad school in the fall 2010 at Ut Arlington. I will be getting a Masters in Public Administration, and I am freaking excited.

Posting it here makes it feel real... like maybe I won't back out this time. I bought a GRE prep books this weekend and the math is killer, but I am pretty sure I can study up and do it. I think I can I think I can...

Hopefully this will give me options. Options to work in a position/ area that I am taken seriously, given responsibility. Maybe make more than measly pay( although that isn't the first priority) AND, I am super excited to take polysci and urban planning classes because I am a DORK.

I am planning on meeting with an advisor within the next couple of weeks, we will see!!