Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Taboo....

Its long been said that the two worst subjects to discuss while in the company of strangers are Religion and Politics. I have always loved ranting about today's government and the socialists that control it. From Father's rights to the petty debate of health care its always been a great source of pleasure for me to verbally demolish and otherwise destroy that which you have called a free society. But in all my years of writing I don't believe I have ever touched on the insanely popular debate on whether a Deity exists.

My esteemed colleague, co-writer and best friend in the whole wide world and I agreed along time ago to disagree on the subject of supreme power in the heavens. She grew up in a local church... actually, the very one my ex-husband's father preaches at. Not that this influenced my decision any on converting to athiestism, but it sure did spark the questions I had that ultimately led to my education and thus my disacknowledgement of The Almighty.

It was when I was out with my sister yesterday, she being a devout christian to the extreme of the sense, that I opted to share my beliefs with you, my loyal reader. My sister, having faith for many, many moons now was contorted with questions. I could see in her face that the things she had come to believe all this time were not reconciling the drama and pain the world has caused her. Every religion, every bible teaches that faith in God will heal you. Every religion indeed teaches that faith is blind, and God is merciful. And every religion teaches tolerance of others; but it also teaches that their belief is the only TRUE path.

I was brought up Catholic... as most Sicilians are. Rosaries and butter lambs were a daily way of life for me. But even at the tender age of 4 I remember crying in church because some dude was hanging from half a tree bleeding all over the place above the alter. What the fuck kind of shit is that? And they call this a family atmosphere? I can tell you, sweet reader, that I would not allow any of my children to witness such a thing, let alone week after week with very little explanation other than "Give money" and "God's Will".

So, in my twenties, I began questioning existence of a higher authority. How can a God allow hurricanes and disease and hunger if he is so loving? Answer; "God's Will". If he "Wills" this to happen, then that is one sick fuck. Who does that really? If anyone of us, save the lunatics that spark violence and rampage, saw a dying man on the street corner, would we not offer a cloth or a ride to the local ER? Would we allow our loved ones to parish from Cancer, AIDS, Sickle Cell Anemia or any other disease because its "Our Will"? I'm telling you, that is one crazy bastard.

Now if religion teaches us that death and disease are God's will, then wouldn't logic teach us that this Cat in the Sky is the greatest serial killer of all time? And he has never been caught!! In fact, he is revered and idolized for his acts. God's Will. What a crock.

Now religion also teaches us that its not for us to know why it is God's will. I'm sorry, but this guy really has a good thing going for him. He can kill, screw, mame, and otherwise destroy any man woman or child.. even animals, and he gets worshiped for it. I really want his job. If I so much as spank my kid, I could go to jail and this guy gets to fuck up who ever he wants and gets praised???? Talk about job perks. I wonder what his health care coverage is like.

So we die, and its taught that we go to a heavenly place... And its taught that eventually there will be a day of judgment where all dead souls of history will be resurrected to account for their lives. All Dead Souls. Do you know how many people die world wide a day? Its like 1500. EVERYDAY. So you multiple that times history and you get a number into the trillions of gazillions! But they'll all be resurrected? Now that is a feat. And not only that, but His kid will come to decide who gets the permanent axe and who moves on to an Eden like Earth. Between you and me, I wouldn't let my kid decide what socks I should wear let alone who gets to live or die for eternity. I wouldn't be added to the "eternity list" if my kid wrote it... But the guy that makes Sour Patch Kid's would.

Speaking of parenting, is the Almighty not the worst parent you have ever heard of? He lets his kid get tortured for his beliefs his whole life.. starves him for 40 days..... and then has him beaten and killed and we are taught that this was a loving act? Poor kid didn't even have butter for his bread at his last supper. Not to mention he was a rebel 20 year old who partied too hard turning water to wine. Let me find out MY SON is at a party whipping up jungle juice.. I would beat his ass.

Ok, so back to the gruel we are fed.. Does the question arise in your sweet head of why we are taught this? The very same reason we teach our own children that if they do something naughty they will go to time out. Time Out to children is Hell to adults. Same difference. Father Baker's, boot camp, go to your room; These are all variations of Hades.

And yet we look into the sky and hope for someone else, not to worship, but to blame. That's what "God" is for the entire world. A Reason. A reason to blame for the death of a loved one. A reason to go to war. A reason to explain the things our infinitesimal minds cannot understand. "God" is simply the easiest way out. Its easier than saying "He had a heart attack because he stuffed his face with 40 pounds of grease a day" we can rather say "Its God's Will." We don't want to think about our mother's or father's decaying in the ground with worms and roaches spreading feces and carcasses all through their eye sockets so we say "He is with his father in heaven" and that makes us feel better. We have little theory as to why humanity exists so we create a convenient story about ashes and ribs. And this is more believable than a UFO. This is more believable than evolution. This is more believable than horoscopes and ghosts.

Please don't get me started on a talking snake. You and I both know if you were to tell anyone that you and a boa had a conversation in the produce section you would be kindly sedated and escorted to a rubber room.

But Mankind... in fact 80% of mankind, believes in some variation of this bed time story. A tale that was spun with the sole intent to control the masses, the same reason we spin tales to our children. Folk lore and superstition force us to hold on to this belief structure simply out of a "Knock on wood" theory and not for fact.
"God's Will" "Blind Faith" "Dogma" and "He works in Mysterious Ways"

Bull shit.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Ricki's Rant: Toddlers & Tiaras

So, I decided to start a discussion on our Facebook page.  Here is what I started with:

"What does everyone think of Toddlers & Tiaras? Putting little girls in ten pounds of makeup, the frilliest dresses a mom can find, and prancing them around on stage to be judged on how big they smile.
I personally think this is ridiculous. I think it is a bunch of moms that never had the chance themselves and are living through their children. Yes, there are some dads that do this too. But, if you have ever watched the show, you can see these kids don't even want to do this, or the ones that do have been turned into the most spoiled brats alive! I saw one girl that her mother fed her pixie sticks all day to keep her awake until it was her time on stage! Come on! Let the girl take a nap for Christ's sake!"

Please feel free to leave your comments here, or on our Facebook discussions tab.  Feel free to start your own discussion while you are there too!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Update: Ricki's Rant on Juvenile Justice System

This morning my husband traveled down to Edinburgh to pick up our son and take him to court.  When they got to the courthouse, our lawyer was there trying to get to the prosecutor before he went into court.  No luck.  Then, they find out that they are not even on the docket for the day and that they can not get him on the docket....too full.  Court started at 9am.  At 9:30am, they see the judge walk out of the court room with his cup of coffee, leaving for the day.  "Full day", our lawyer says, "don't overwork yourself!"
They find out that our son is to turn himself in at the jail.  So, they head to the jail and find out that the Sheriff there is not a big fan of this judge.  He could not figure out why the judge put out a warrant for him before the two days we were given to have him in court.  When paperwork was found, they read that the warrant was actually issued on Tuesday and, according to what the judge wrote, if our son didn't turn himself in by this morning, my husband would have had a warrant issued.
So, after processing our son and having the warrant rescinded, they are able to schedule court for Tuesday morning.  Our lawyer was able to talk to the prosecutor and find out that they are willing to accept the program as part of his punishment.  They were going to recommend 21 days house arrest and 4 months probation, but will change that to spending his probation time in the program.  If, for any reason, he leaves the program, he will have to serve his house arrest and probation.  Okay, fine.  One problem.  Is the program going to allow him to leave again for another day in court?
My husband called the director of the Hoosier Youth Challenge Academy.  This time he had to ask for another day away for court.  The director was happy to allow it for our son.  He said that our son has been doing very well, and knows that he wants to be there and wants to make something of his life.
I can not say enough about this program.  I hope that someday every state is able to have this program in place for their at-risk youth.  I hope someday that this can be something that the courts can recommend as a rehabilitation program for our young boys and girls that want to get on the right path and out of the system.
I was able to go with my husband this afternoon to return our son to the program.  On the way there, I asked him about some of the things they have to do.  He said that they are up every morning at 6am.  They are in bed by 10:30pm.  They are only allowed to drink water from their canteens.  They eat what they are given.  They do not complain about anything, or they are made to do push-ups until they agree that what they have been asked to do is the best thing for them.  They have already taken a CPR class.  They wear military fatigues and boots while they are doing their physical training.  He knows the proper way to do a push up.  He knows the proper way to dress.  He knows that what we have done for him is what he needs to do to become the man he wants to become.  He thanked us today and that was the greatest thing I have heard in a long time!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Ricki's Rant: The Juvenile Justice System Is Failing Our Youth

I am the step-mother of 3 teenage boys.  One of them is a 17 year old that has been lead down the wrong path.  Last year, he came to live with us, by his choice.  He had bad grades in the school that he was in, and was hanging around the wrong kids.  We enrolled him in school where we live, and prayed that he would turn his grades around since he was not hanging out with friends all the time.  Unfortunately, that wasn't meant to be.  His grades continued to fail, and numerous times we were told by teachers that he was falling asleep in class.  He just didn't care.  It didn't matter that we had taken most privileges away, he just kept getting worse.
We had found out about a program that is offered here in the state of Indiana.  It is called The Hoosier Youth Challenge Academy.  Basically, it is a boot camp for at-risk teens, boys and girls.  They live on campus for 5 1/2 months and do physical training.  They are put through a GED program and offered GED testing at the end of the program.  The last week of the program involves meeting with colleges, military recruiters, and they have a job fair.  The program is 100% funded by our state and federal government.  The facility that we have here in Indiana is at Camp Atterbury which is run by the Army National Guard.
This program only takes in 150 cadets every 6 months.  We went through an entire process to get our son into this program.  It started with an informational seminar where we turned in the application.  He was then chosen to be interviewed.  Then we got some bad news.
It wasn't that our son was not chosen, it was that he had gotten into some trouble while visiting his grandmother.  He was left at her house alone, though we had told her that he was grounded and not to hang out with any of his friends that live near her.  He decided that since he was alone, he would have some friends over.  One, or more, of his friends brought alcohol to the party.  He made a bad choice and decided to drink with his friends.  The party got a little loud and the landlord came over to investigate.  The landlord that lives in the apartment attached to this one that these kids were partying in.  The landlord that is also a town cop.  Yes, stupid teenagers!
Now, we all have been there.  You want to be cool.  You don't want your friends to call you a pussy, so you partake in the drinking.  That is what he did, and he got caught.  He got caught so bad that while the landlord was calling for on duty officers to show up and break up the party, all of his friends took off and left him there to take the punishment alone.  Great friends, huh?  However, he has decided not to be a snitch.  He will not give up the names of any of his friends that were there with him.  He was taken to the police station, and the landlord called his grandmother to come pick him up.  My husband and I were not notified until the next morning.  Why?  I have no idea.  Seeing as we had custody of him, we should have been called before the grandmother, but what do I know?
So, charges were filed and a date in court was set.  First, he had to meet with the probation office.  By the time his probation meeting came around, we had gotten word that he was accepted into the program.  However, one of the rules is that there are not to be any pending court cases when you go into the program.  So, we had our work cut out for us to get this court thing resolved.  We went to the probation meeting with paperwork in hand.  The paperwork outlined the program so we could show them the opportunity that our son was given to turn his life around.  You would think that they would take one look at what this program is all about and use it to their advantage that they do not have to put this boy through the judicial system, should he make it through the program.  Nope!  They still set a court date.  January 19th.
Our son was set to start the academy on January 10th.  We contacted our lawyer to see what we could do.  Time was not on our side.  The probation meeting was just a few days before the academy start date.  We sent all of the paperwork to our lawyer and he said he would contact the court and see what he can do to get things postponed until our son graduates the program.  Great!  That is what we want.  We aren't asking them not to punish him their way, we just want to give him a chance to go through this program that is not easy to get into.
The date was getting closer, and after numerous calls to the lawyers office with no return calls, we had to make a decision.  We decided to take him to the academy.  Again, if we have to pull him out, we will.  We got him signed in, they whisked him away and got in his face right away.  It was like watching day 1 of basic training.  Drill Sergeants yelling in the kids' faces as they were trying to enter the building.  Kids yelling, "Sir, yes, Sir".  It was a breath of fresh air to see our son getting the discipline that he needed.  It was also quite humorous to see the moms walking away with tears in their eyes knowing that their son/daughter was getting yelled at and being made to do the right thing like they should have been all along.  Mom's wanting to turn around and hug their children and tell them it is going to be okay.  No, Mom, it isn't.  Your son is about to be made a man.  He is about to see that the world is not something he can just spit on and feel like he can get his own way.  That is not why you put him in this program.  You put him there to make him a better person.  Deal with it and walk away.  Come back on family day.
So, now our son is in the academy, we are getting letters from him every day.  We are still waiting to find something out.  Court day arrives and we decided we were going to show up on our son's behalf.  We still had not heard back from our lawyer.  Apparently they do not approve of this in Hendricks County Indiana.  If you do not show up with a lawyer, they don't even want to talk to you.  If you do not show up with the accused, they really don't want to talk to you.  We gave them the paperwork and neither the judge or the prosecutor wanted to hear about it.  They said that they had never heard of such a program and they didn't even believe us that he was actually there.  The boys that went before his name was called received, at most, 6 months probation.  One of the boys was on his second offense.  So, was this going to be the same recommendation that was made for our son's punishment?  6 months probation?  We have him in a program that is 10 times that punishment!  The judge and the prosecutor weren't hearing it.  They gave us 48 hours to produce our son in court or warrants would be issued for our son, and my husband!  What?
So, we again try to contact our lawyer....success this time.  A little late, but we were able to go meet him in his office.  He said that he had tried many times to contact the prosecutor and the probation office but no one was calling him back.  The reason we hadn't heard from him......my husband was giving him the wrong number to call back.  He had his cell number backwards.  Damnit!
So, what do we do now?  Our lawyer went to the courthouse this morning to try to talk to the prosecutor again.  Again, he was told that we have to produce our son in front of the judge.  He has to have his day in court.  They will not postpone this case.  Now we have to call someone at the academy and let them know that we have to pick him up.  But, first, my husband decides that he is going to try to see if we can get him back in after he goes to court.  According to the rules, once you leave the academy, you are not allowed back.  The director of the academy was very understanding.  He said that our son is doing very well in the program and he is willing to work with us.  The court's recommendation is 6 months probation.  If we can get them to set the probation up so that he does not have to go to weekly meetings with his probation officer, instead have the academy check him in to say that he is still there, then he can go back.
So, what we have here is a program that is out there that works with these kids to keep them on the right track to becoming productive citizens.  On the other hand, we have a judicial system that wants to slap him on the wrist and take away his chance at bettering himself.  Making him just another high school drop out working at McDonald's, or even scrounging off the system collecting welfare!  What seems like the better choice to you?
No wonder these kids that get into trouble are not getting better.  There is no guidance from the courts.  They just want you to do what they want you to do and that is that.  My husband put it best when he said that the judge is just trying to show the world how big his pecker is.
We were never asking that the courts not punish our son, we were only asking that they postpone their punishment until he returns from the academy.  Give him 6 months probation, but do it after he returns.  He is basically in jail as it is!  Stuck in the middle of nowhere Indiana on a military base with someone screaming at him to wake up at 5am everyday, then he has to have lights out at 9:30 every night.  All day long they eat what they are told to eat, they do the physical activity they are told to do, they go to class when they are told to.  Argh!  It pisses me off that the courts do not see this as the better option for him!!!!
Below is a video showing what this program is about.  I think more states need something like this, and they need to get the funding to put more kids through it.

For more information on the National Guard Youth Challenge Program, click here.
States that currently have a program in place: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California has 2 facilities, Florida, Georgia has 2 facilities, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Puerto Rico
States that currently do not have a program in place:  Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont
If your state is on the list of those that do not currently have this program, I suggest that you write as many letters as you can to as many government officials as you can.  Try your best to get this program in place for your children.  For their children.  For your friends' children.  This is a program that should be nationwide.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Ragi's Rant:

I was listening to NPR the other morning. This is quite a common occurrence for me while driving alone taxiing one life form or another to their desired destinations.
This woman was droning on and on about how Manhattan, yes New York's own little financial mega-structure, is a racially degridated institution. Stating African American's only account for something to the tune of 3% of the executive population in the big apple. One wall street big wig was quoted to have said he was merely lucky to have had the fortune in the industry that he has had... when Nazi Stat woman claimed it wasn't luck that bought this hard working kid a position in the CEO suite, it was simply because he was white.

Hold on, my dear reader.. Put your ACLU cards away and quit trying to call Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton to run amok over me. I am not prejudice... Had you read our disclaimer you would have learned that I hate EVERYONE EQUALLY. Black, white, male, female... hell, the fucking pigs aren't safe from us with their bastard swine flu shit. If you've existed, then you're open ground for my ridicule.

So getting back to corporate America being racially segregating against the poor African American Community... I say BULL SHIT! If the fucking AAC (short for African American Community... pay attention) would get off their ghetto asses and go to college which I might interject that FUCKING GOV'T WILL PAY YOU TO DO SOLELY BECAUSE YOU ARE BLACK (how's that for racial irony?) and yet here I sit broke and education-less because I am WHITE and not eligible for minority relief??? STOP KILLING EACH OTHER and learn something. Maybe then the big apple would have more black CEO'S to fall back on. As it stands statically, the AAC makes up about 14% of our country... yet they make up 80% of our jails and another 76% of our welfare receivers nation wide. WTF? Stat Nazi claimed that because AAC makes up said 14% then they should comparably account for 14% of our national executive level.

BAH! If they laid off the gangs, crime and drugs, maybe then they would make up a higher percentage of the WORKING CLASS. WORK, you know that thing in which one does to earn a paycheck?

Look, I get no breaks because I am white. In fact, unlike the AAC, I don't even get an all white TV channel to watch. I can't listen to all white music and GOD FORBID I be proud that I am white, just as they have their cultural pride, then I am deemed a racist. Do I get a foundation that ensures me a college education? Nope, that would be racist. To top it all off, I can guarantee that a less qualified or educated black woman will beat me out for a position merely because she is black. I am never going to get a job, and education or a break simply because I am white. If this same said woman that beats me out for a job then sucks at it.. I can't sue the company based on racial segregation. I just have to take it up the ass.

So, in this socialist society, we WHITE AMERICANS will just have to figure out how to rewrite the constitution so that maybe we can get a break too.